Future Basket

A/N: Aomine dog-sitting Nigou – can he handle it?! Includes some light Kasamastu x Kise and Sousuke x Rin. But this chapter is mostly about Aomine and Nigou.

Warnings: Yaoi BL pairings: featuring Kagami x Kuroko, Makoto x Haruka and maybe some others in future chapters. The story takes place years after they graduated highschool, so readers who have not passed the Winter Cup finals in KnB, read at your own risk.

Chapter 7.5: A Cured Lovesick Puppy

The Friday morning that Kuroko and the others left for Iwatobi was also the Friday morning where Aomine began to care for Nigou. The husky stopped howling after a few minutes, but crouched onto the floor of the gekkan with his ears drooped. Honestly, Aomine felt hopeless, and even though he was worried, he still packed his things for work. He decided to treat Nigou like a man and let him have his space to cool off. So he carefully walked over the dog to slip his shoes on and pull open the door to leave.

Just when he was about to step out, he contemplated on something, grunted and returned to the kitchen.

Nigou's ears twitched when he heard the officer's footsteps. Next thing he knew, a bowl of water and a bowl of food were placed in front of him. He eyed the bowl, briefly sniffing the contents, then rolled his eyes up to meet Aomine.

"Er…um…" Aomine shyly rubbed the back of his head. He sighed through his nose, leaning down to quickly pet the canine. "I-I'll be back soon. G-Good boy. Eat up," he managed to say. Wearing his usual scowl, he took one last look at the dog before he closed the apartment door behind him.

Nigou heard the set of jingling keys then fading footsteps soon after. He pushed himself up from the floor to sniff the bowl of food again. When he took his first bite, he recognized the beef and fish flavour that Kuroko and Kagami had always fed him. He finished the bowl in a matter of minutes then thought that maybe the scary-looking nii-chan was not so bad after all.

The apartment door did not budge for hours. Nigou rolled onto his back, stood up, and sat at the gekkan interchangeably, all the while watching the door. It was very scary being alone in an unfamiliar apartment. He kind of wondered why his owners left him there. Would they even come back for him? But even if they did not, at least the nii-chan was there. He wished that the nii-chan would come home soon.

At that thought, lazy footsteps approached from beyond the door, then the sound of clinking keys. Nigou quickly sat up with his ears perked up. When the door opened to reveal Aomine, Nigou hung his tongue out in a happy smile.

"Yo," The tanned officer greeted as he closed the door behind him. "Been a good boy?"

Nigou barked excitedly, though he was still a bit cautious because he took hesitant steps forward and back. He whimpered a little.

Aomine raised a brow at that. But then he hummed in thought when Kuroko's instructions flickered in his memory.

"If he whines, it probably means that he wants a tummy rub."

Aomine looked down at the husky, shyly turning his head side-to-side as if he were afraid someone would be watching him. But he reached out a nervous hand to pet Nigou who, not before long, dropped to the floor on his back. Aomine took the opportunity to rub his stomach, of which the husky's tail batted happily in return.

"Heh, dumb dog," Aomine snickered.

That evening, Aomine ordered take-out and made sure to feed the husky the proper amount of kibble. His eyes glued onto the caretaking notes, he poured two scoops of kibble into Nigou's bowl.

"Heh," he snorted. "This is stupidly detailed."

Later on, they went out for a walk around the neighborhood and even stopped by the outdoor basketball court. The tanned officer shot hoops by himself, practicing his dribbling all the while Nigou barked every time he scored. Aomine found that extremely entertaining – save for the part when they went home. Along the path, Aomine grimaced as he picked up the umpteenth clump of Nigou's dropping.

"Damn, you poop a lot," he commented, throwing the bag into an alleyway trash bin before heading up the stairs to his apartment.

It was late into the evening when Aomine finished showering and entered his bedroom. He found Nigou already sitting at the bedside, eyes somewhat glimmering in anticipation.

"Uh…" He scratched the back of his head in contemplation then shrugged. "Ah, whatever, go up." He flicked his hand as a signal for Nigou to climb onto his bed, which the husky did immediately. "You're only allowed 'cause you're a special guest." He explained as he tucked himself under the bed sheets. When he turned over, he found Nigou had toppled onto his side and stared straight at him with light-blue eyes that very much resembled Kuroko's. Aomine grumbled in embarrassment. "Okay, 'night." He turned his table lamp off.

Saturday…normally people had the day off. But for Aomine (he groaned sleepily in bed), his team had a shift that day. Slowly, he forced himself up for his morning routine; Nigou still lay on the sheets fast asleep.

Half and hour later, however, Nigou jolted awake when he heard the set of jingling keys – the sound that he associated with "the nii-chan is leaving so I'll be all alone". So he jumped out of bed and dashed for the gekkan where Aomine stared at him with wide eyes. Nigou hopped on his hind legs to paw at the tanned officer's knees with a whimper.

"Ah? I put food in your bowl already." Aomine somewhat whined. He slumped his shoulders and returned to the kitchen to fetch said bowl. When he placed it at the canine's feet, Nigou still whimpered and stared up at him with lonesome eyes. "What do you want already?" Aomine grumbled irritably. But when Nigou's ears drooped and he looked dejected, the officer began to understand. "Uh…I gotta work though." He explained as he bent over to put his shoes on. "I'll come back soon," He reassured with a gentler voice, which surprised even himself.

Aomine pouted with a small blush. "Ah…!" He groaned as he brusquely pet the dog. "Good dog, be good." He took a step out of his apartment then began to close the door. He would not admit that his heart crumbled when he caught a glimpse of Nigou's lonely expression through the crack.

Near the end of the day, Aomine stared off into the distance during the team meeting in Captain Kasamatsu's office. The Captain was giving a briefing on their progress to Rin, Sousuke and Aomine. But the tanned officer's mind was elsewhere – somewhere in his apartment where he wondered how the husky was doing; Kasamatsu instantly noticed.

With a piercing, steel-blue glare, he called out in a calm yet deadly voice, "PC 53108."

Rin and Sousuke tensed – Kasamatsu only called out officers by their badge numbers when he became furious with them. What was worse was that Aomine was still daydreaming about something; he did not answer the Captain. Kasamatsu ground his teeth.

"PC…!" A vein popped up on Kasamatsu's forehead. "53108!" He roared, lunging forward to grab a doggy squeak toy on his desk which he threw at Aomine.

"Ow! The hell?!" Aomine snapped out of his thoughts, holding the squeak toy in confusion.

"I'm going to kick you! What the hell were you tuning out for?! HAH?!" Kasamatsu slammed his fist on the desk. "Did you sleep properly?! Yeah, I'm pissed off that we have to work on a Saturday too. But too bad! It's still a work day for us, so carry your brain to work!"

"Why are you freaking out? I was just tuning out for a bit – isn't that normal? Calm down, Captain," The tanned officer groaned.

Rin and Sousuke wore flat looks, cautiously inching their chairs away from their kouhai. Kasamatsu was sure to rain down a heavy storm at Aomine.

"Piece of crap! Pay attention during briefings! I'm going to punch you!" The Captain's glare pierced through Aomine.

The former Toō ace coiled into the backrest of his chair with a sigh through his nose. "Yes sir, sorry sir."

His two senpai watched him curiously – it was not every day that Aomine would submit to the Captain like that.

At the end of the briefing, all three officers exited the Captain's office and made their way down the corridors. Finally, they could go home – Aomine was glad for that…sort of. Just thinking of the husky at home made his head hurt. Were there even notes written on how to deal with Nigou when he felt lonely? Maybe he should have studied those paper instructions thoroughly, he thought.

"…No way," he lazily groaned to himself.

"Oi, Daiki!"

Aomine jerked his head to the side to see Rin giving him a scowl.

"What's the matter with you today?" The dark-magenta-haired officer clicked his tongue. "I was asking if you wanted to hang out. Did you hear anything I said?"

Aomine averted his gaze. "Pfft." He shrugged his shoulders and came back coolly. "I never hear anything you say, senpai."

"Tch!" Rin gave him a light, but firm punch in the arm. "Rude-ass punk!"

Aomine only grunted and massaged his arm; the small reaction was enough to leave both of his senpai in a little bit of a shock.

Sousuke sighed, giving a pat to Rin's back to bring him forward. "Come on, we gotta take the dogs home and buy groceries."

Aomine perked up. "Oh wait! Senpai, I do wanna hang out with you guys after all. At my place," he called out to them rather desperately. In a fit of the moment, he thought it was probably a good idea to bring some friends over. Nigou was a sociable dog after all – he might enjoy the company and forget about his homesickness. Or maybe Aomine was just too shy to directly ask for help from experienced dog owners. Either way, he felt helpless. He stuttered in embarrassment when his senpai stared at him with wide, wondering eyes. "And maybe…kinda…bring Cola and Chaco too?"

The couple's mouths hung open before they turned to look at each other then back at Aomine. "Uh…sure?"

The three made their way to the locker room to change out of their uniforms. Then they proceeded to the training ground to fetch Cola and Chaco. On their way home, the group stopped by the grocery store a few blocks from the police station. Sousuke tied the dogs' leashes to a pole and ordered them to sit, which they immediately obeyed. The three men entered the store, making their way to the meat section.

"When we get to your place, we're going to use your kitchen, if you don't mind," Sousuke mentioned.

"Oh yeah, whatever." Aomine shrugged.

He knew that whenever they would come over to his apartment with their dogs, they would bring along meat groceries. Not only to cook for them, but the dogs as well. Rin and Sousuke fed their canines natural meats and vegetables – they sure did treat them like dear family, Aomine thought to himself.

He grimaced – sometimes he wondered if his senpai treated their dogs better than they treated him.

"How about ground beef tonight, Sousuke?" Rin suggested as he picked up a pack. "Oh wait!" he walked over to the fish section and picked up a pack of trout filet. "We can grill trout! It's one of your favorite dishes, right?" He dumped a couple of packs into the cart.

"You're always thinking about me, huh, Rin?" Sousuke huskily said with a smile.

Rin's face erupted in a bright red hue as he pretended to ignore his partner. "Not really," he pouted. "I'm just thinking of the dogs. And you just happen to conveniently like trout."

"Right, right," The dark brunet leaned to the side to brush his arm with his partners'.

"Man, you guys don't care about the third wheel, do you?" Aomine groaned.

"Not when the third wheel is you," Sousuke retorted, earning an annoyed grunt from his kouhai.

"Hey."

A disgruntled voice suddenly sounded from behind the three. Aomine turned around and nearly choked.

"Kasamatsu?!"

The police captain stood before them in a dark-blue sweater and gray dress pants. He furrowed his brows further. "We're outside work, so I'm gonna let the honorifics slide this time." His expression relaxed when he turned his attention to Sousuke and Rin. "Hey. What are you guys eating tonight?"

"Oh, good evening, Captain," Rin casually waved. "We're eating trout tonight…sir."

"Mm, sounds good," Kasamatsu nodded in acknowledgment. "No need for politeness. We're off duty."

"That's a totally different tone! This is freaking favoritism! Favoritism!" Aomine comically pointed out, but was ignored.

"Kasamatsu-san, then," Sousuke greeted. "Say, if you're not doing anything tonight, would you like to come join us for dinner at Aomine's place?"

"Ah? Well, sure. If you both don't mind."

"What the hell? You should be asking if I don't mind!" Aomine growled, but was still ignored.

"The more, the merrier. Besides, it's Saturday." Rin showed a toothy grin.

Kasamatsu chuckled. "Alright, then. It'll get my mind off of some stupid things too."

"Hey! I'm not Tetsu! I have presence, you know?! Hey!"

In the end, Aomine gave up and reluctantly took his senpai, their dogs and the Captain to his apartment. Not that he particularly minded, but it felt just a tad bit awkward having his team's captain there.

Upon arriving at Aomine's apartment door, the officer turned his keys into the handle. He spun around to give the group his signature scowl.

"J-Just letting you guys know, I'm taking care of Tetsu's dog. So he's in there, and kinda lonely…he'd appreciate some lively company…I guess."

"Kinda 'lonely'? Appreciate company?" Rin blinked. It was the first time he ever saw his kouhai remotely care about any living thing like that. He brushed that thought aside, however, at the mention of the husky. "Wait! Tetsuya-sensei's and Taiga's dog?" He grinned. "What, this will be the first time we meet him! Come on, open the door. Lemme see."

Aomine rolled his eyes. Slowly, he turned the keys and opened the door. And there sat Nigou, watching them with curious eyes. He titled his head to the side.

"Damn, that's the misdirection guy's dog? He's huge now." Kasamatsu was the first to comment. He then hung his head to the side in a grimace. "Crap…how old am I?"

Aomine stuck his tongue out at him. "An old fart with a matching grumpy-old-man attitude."

Kasamatsu round-house kicked him into the doorframe. "I'm just three years older than you, dumbass!"

"Augh!" Aomine rubbed his back and face in pain.

Nigou excitedly wagged his tail. His happy smile came back as he looked at every one of the visitors. Chaco and Cola stood in place, doing the same.

"Aw look! He's happy that Daiki got beaten! I like this dog already," Rin chuckled.

"Senpai, you jerk!" Aomine growled.

"Sorry for the disturbance." Sousuke entered into the gekkan, removing his shoes before he bent down to pet the husky. "What was his name again?"

"Nigou," Aomine began to explain. "Because he looks like Tetsu, so they call him 'Tetsuya Nigou (number 2)', or 'Nigou' for short."

"Ah, so that's the story," Kasamatsu placed his shoes at the gekkan and closed the apartment door behind him. "I never saw it, but now that you mention it, he really does look like the misdirection guy." He rolled his eyes with a sigh and muttered. "Ryouta even said so."

Everyone entered the living room to settle down. Cola and Chaco sniffed Nigou's snout; a second later, all three dogs wagged their tails in excitement. Aomine smiled in relief to see the husky with his usual energy; it left his two senpai gaping in shock for a moment, but their stomachs made a rumbling noise that quickly snapped them back to focus.

Almost like it was their own home, Rin and Sousuke went to the kitchen to start on dinner, leaving Kasamatsu and Aomine by themselves. The Captain crossed his arms over his chest, staring at his subordinate with a disgruntled expression. Aomine tried to remain as nonchalant as possible.

"So, 'sup with you lately?" He decided to make conversation anyway. "You seem more pissed these days. Is Kise flying away for another few weeks?"

"He's been gone for almost three weeks. But he'll be coming back for the resting period soon."

"Heh, you actually answered. Oh boy, I knew it, the Captain is lovesick," Aomine crossed his arms behind his head with a snicker.

"The hell would you know?" A light-pink coloured Kasamatsu's ears.

Just then, his phone rang in his pocket; before the first ring ended, he pulled his phone out and flipped it open to answer.

"Hey. What do you want?"

"That's so mean, Yukio-senpai! Not even an ''I miss you'?" Kise's whining voice channeled loudly from the other side.

"The hell I would miss you! Work is work; you're away, then you're away. I don't give a rat's ass." He comically grimaced. "And I told you to stop adding 'senpai'. We graduated highschool ages ago! Are you stupid? And besides!" He eyed Aomine out of his periphery in realization that he was listening. "A-And besides," a deeper blush grew on his face. "We're in that kind of relationship."

"Heh…?" Kise chuckled. "What kind of relationship? Specify, specify-ssu!"

"I'm going to kick you when you get back."

"Good evening, Ryouta-san!" Rin suddenly peeked out from the kitchen.

"It's been a while," Sousuke also peeked out to shout over, holding a skillet in one hand.

Kasamatsu chortled , "The guys said 'hi'. Did you hear? I'm putting you on speaker."

"Matsuokacchi! Yamazakicchi!" Kise's cheerful voice boomed through the phone. "How are you both? Thanks for taking care of Yukio!"

"We're good. And not at all, it's the Captain who takes care of us," Sousuke answered.

Aomine grinned mischievously. "Yo, Kise, when are you coming back? Kasamatsu's like dying of lovesickness."

"Oi!" Kasamatsu snarled.

"Yo, Aominecchi!" Kise greeted before he laughed. "Awww, is that true, Yukio-senpai? Don't worry! Your adorable Ryouta will be back to kiss an-"

Kasamatsu pressed the 'end call' button. But seconds later, his phone rang again and he answered in a roar.

"What?!"

"So mean! Don't hang up on me like that-ssu!" Kise whined.

Kasamatsu scolded the blond through the phone as he walked off to another corner of the apartment for some privacy. The other three officers blinked – they swore it was their imagination. But Kasamatsu had a tiny, obscure smile hidden in his perpetual frown.

"Kise, come back soon," Aomine threw his head back on the couch. "We'd have an easy break if you can soothe Kasamatsu's premature andropausal symptoms."

"Do you have a death wish, kouhai?!" Rin clicked his tongue disbelievingly before he retreated into the kitchen with Sousuke.

Aboard Kiropengin flight 77N, Kise and Nagisa prepared for a landing in Tokyo. The pilot adjusted his headset microphone.

"Kiropengin 77N to Control: Requesting clearance to land." He calmly spoke into the microphone.

After a few seconds, the Control Tower answered. "Kiropengin 77N clear to land."

"Roger." Kise nodded to Nagisa.

Kise descended the plane a few more feet, then Nagisa pressed the switch for the landing gear. When the wheels bumped the runway and they came to a smooth stop, both men breathed a sigh.

"Well, that was bumpier than usual. Ryou-chan is losing his fo-" Nagisa jolted when he caught a glimpse of the captain. "R-R-R-Ryou-chan? Why are you crying?!"

Kise sniffled, only managing to whimper, "I miss Yukio-senpai!"

Nagisa coiled into his seat with a nervous smile, but he was somewhat relieved (and amazed) to see that Kise still managed to park the plane while bawling. Not that he was particularly worried – he could have taken over otherwise. When they came to a stop, Nagisa covered the palm of his hand over Kise's mouth, muffling the pilot's comical cries.

"Uh…welcome to Tokyo! Thank you for flying with Kiropengin Airlines; we wish you a wonderful day! Goodbye!" He shut off the intercom as quickly as he turned it on. He nearly tumbled onto the instrument panel, however, when Kise latched onto him. "Ah, there, there, Ryou-chan!" He chuckled and gave the taller man a few comforting pats to the back.

"Hazukicchi! Hazukicchi!" The pilot bawled even louder. "Yukio-senpai is so close but so far away!"

"Ah…un, he is, isn't he?" Nagisa sighed. It was true – they were doing round-trips from Iwatobi to Tokyo for the last few weeks. And even though they landed in Tokyo several times, they had no time to settle down at home. Not until they finished their hours and begin the resting period. The woes of being a pilot. But they both loved their jobs. Nagisa pulled away from the hug to firmly grip onto Kise's shoulders. "Don't worry, Ryou-chan! Fighto!" He cheerfully grinned. "Just a few more days! Then we can rest up for a while back here!"

Kise nodded while quietly whimpering. "Un! A few more days-ssu!"

Nagisa could not help but join in. Both men gave each other a supportive hug while they bawled together. "A few more days!"

The woes of being a pilot…

Back at Aomine's apartment, all four officers sat at the dinner table, finishing their meals; the three dogs dug into their bowls of food, eating side-by-side; Kasamatsu's phone kept vibrating, and every time he opened it to check the text messages, his face would relax before it turned back to the usual scowl when he closed his phone.

"So this is what a cured lovesick puppy looks like," Aomine commented.

"Ah? You said something?" Kasamatsu glared at him.

Aomine forced a nonchalant face when he whipped his head back to focus on his food. "Nothing."

Rin looked over to Nigou's bowl. "Damn, that's some top-grade kibble he's eating," he pointed to the husky's food. "It's almost one notch below the natural meats and veggies. You're really spoiling the little fella, are you?"

Aomine shrugged. "Tetsu left me that food for him."

"You should get kibble like that for your future K-9 companion," Rin suggested with a flick of his chopsticks. "Treat them like they're your treasured friend. Like how Tetsuya-sensei and Taiga do it."

"I'm already following his instructions." Aomine groaned. "The dog's a handful, but I can handle it. Except maybe for the affection part." He scowled. "I don't really have a super soft spot for cute animals like Tetsu."

"I beg to differ," Sousuke muttered in between bites. "You invited us over with the dogs so that Nigou won't feel so lonely, right?"

"Huh-wha?" Aomine grimaced at his senpai almost as if that was the most repulsive comment he had ever heard.

"You never make the initiative to invite us over, so…"Sousuke reasoned with a shrug.

Aomine's frown deepened – no, no, no. He did not care about animals. The only reason why he remotely cared about Nigou was because he was Kuroko's dog. It was his sense of responsibility that made him go to the trouble of all this, he tried to reason with himself. Not because he fancied the dog – not at all.

"Pfft," He scoffed, but his face clearly showed a tint of red. "It's a change of pace, why not? I leave the cooking to you guys when you come over, anyway." He smirked at his own 'clever' retort. "Free meal and labour – can't say no to that."

Rin snickered, showing his rows of sharp teeth. "Oh man, the reasoning of a tsundere."

"It is NOT, senpai," Aomine grumbled irritably as he lazily pouted at the magenta-haired man.

"It's a good thing, though. You have to learn to be warm to your K-9 companion while being firm for training." Kasamatsu commented. "Use this time to get a feel for taking care of a dog yourself. Of course, we'd be here to guide you."

Aomine stared at the Captain blankly. "That's awfully nice of you all of a sudden."

Kasamatsu grumbled. "You're my damn kouhai no matter how crappy you are. It's my job to mould you into a suitable K-9 officer."

The former Toō ace was taken aback, though his eyebrows pulled his face into a cynical expression a second later. "See, senpai? This is tsundere."

"I'll beat the living daylights out of you!"

Rin and Sousuke tuned out the argument while they continued their meal. The three dogs looked up briefly from their food before dunking their heads back down into their bowls. The liveliness kept Nigou's mind busy; after he finished his meal, he pasted himself next to Aomine's legs, resting his chin on the officer's lap. Aomine absentmindedly pet him back gently.

"Tch. This is clearly harassment."

Aomine grumbled the third time as he rinsed the stacks of lathered dishes in the sink. After the Captain and his senpai left with Cola and Chaco, they bid him and Nigou farewell, leaving all the cleaning behind for him to do. But, he shrugged it off and took it as a trade-off for all the dog-caring advice they had given him. He should last the next two days.

The officer looked down at his side where Nigou sat calmly with a batting tail. He felt ridiculous talking to something that did not understand much of anything he said. Yet he could not help voicing his thoughts to the husky. Possibly the Captain's advice to be warmer to a canine companion urged him to do it, or so he thought.

"Say, listen up," he muttered shyly. "I kinda got this secret." He peeked out of the corner of his eye to see that Nigou stared back with a goofy smile. He took it that the husky was listening intently, so he continued. "So, I liked someone before. We used to hang out and everything back in my school days, but I never said anything. Then we just parted ways, and honestly, I kind of regret it. I missed my chance." He sighed through his nose. "In the end, I still couldn't say anything even when we met up again. Then I had to watch that person get taken away by someone else."

Nigou whimpered and snuggled into a bundle at Aomine's feet. The officer only chuckled.

"Oh well." He briefly bent down to pet the husky. "No turning back. I'm glad, I guess. 'Cause that person looks really happy now with the love of their life, huh?"

Meanwhile in Haruka's old home in Iwatobi, the two couples sat together at the dinner table, enjoying their idle chatter when all of a sudden…

"Achoo!" Kuroko sneezed in Kagami's direction.

"Ugh! This was like the fifth time in the span of a minute. Cover up when you sneeze!" Kagami grimaced as he aired out the hem of his shirt in an attempt to shake away the germs. He reached over to pull a tissue out of the box at the end of the table and held it out to Kuroko's face. "Are you getting sick?"

The bluenet blew his nose into the tissue. "No, I just suddenly felt this odd shiver and then I felt like sneezing before I had the time to react. I'm sorry."

Haruka released a quiet chuckle. "Still flirting to this day," he teased with Makoto's warm chortle that followed.

Kuroko's eyes only widened with a growing dash of pink that coloured his pale cheeks; Kagami turned red, stuttering until he looked away with a defeated and embarrassed groan.

"But the sneezing…is it dust or allergies?" Makoto wondered aloud.

"No, I don't believe it is any of those." Kuroko gaped at the brunet.

"Someone is talking about you," Haruka reasoned stoically.

"Haru," Makoto chortled, "Let's not get superstitious."

Kuroko stared blankly into the distance, pondering about what Haruka had said. Not before long, his nose wiggled again.

"Achoo!" He sniffled, getting annoyed with whatever caused his sneezing streak. "I wonder."

Author's note: Just a little bonus info I added if anyone caught onto it; solely for the purpose of Aomine bonding with Nigou – not going to affect any of the couples. All of these pairs will remain super duper solid! Yeah! It's nice to see Aomine opening up, huh? I vote that he'll be a successful K-9 officer!

1. Sneezing: It's a common superstition in Asian culture that when someone is talking about you, you sneeze. A lot of anime show this too.

2. Pilots: I did some brief research on the overall job. So apparently pilots fly a route back and forth for some time before they have to take some time off to rest. And they do this on intervals.