The best cafe on campus was a branch of Tully's Coffee, which served a whole range of delicious lunches including sandwiches, pastas, and cakes. At one table, seated under a striped patio parasol, two girls were seated with drinks. The younger one had a big bag stuffed with notes and files, fly-away hair and a nervous expression. The other carried nothing but a handbag. She watched the girl opposite her rummaging in her bag with a faint smile.

"Thank you so much for meeting me," Haruko was saying, passing her essay in a folder across the table to Ayako, who picked it up. "I was kinda shocked when I saw the grade and I- I don't really understand what the professor means when he said that I should-"

Ayako shook her head. "I don't mind at all," she glanced at the title and introduction. "But you shouldn't worry too much. Freshman year is an adjustment period. It's always hard at the start, but you'll get the hang of it really soon."

"I've never got a mark so low before," Haruko explained, looking miserable.

Ayako sent her a smile. "It's normal," she promised. "Anyway, I'm sure I can give you some pointers if you want."

"Yes, please," Haruko gave a rapid series of nods. "Thank you, I-" she took a breath. "Thanks."

Ayako didn't reply, only lifting her coffee cup to her lips, and began to read.

Haruko glanced around the outdoor seating area as she waited. On a table nearby she saw two tall boys sitting together and eating their lunch. She straightened in curiosity, recognising one of them.

"Say, isn't that-?"

"Hm?" Ayako hummed distractedly.

"Isn't that the Wildcat freshman?"

The essay was dropped. "Really? Where!?"

"There."

Ayako sat bolt upright, staring. "Oh, it is!" She squinted. "Who's he with?"

"I… I don't know."

The two young women watched as the two young men finished the last of their food and rose to leave. They were standing close together. The unfamiliar boy was certainly paying a great deal of attention to his companion. There was clearly something going on.

"Let's follow them!" Ayako declared unexpectedly, snapping the folder shut.

"What?" Haruko replied faintly. "We can't follow them!"

"Why not?"

"It's not right."

"Says who?"

"Well - like - morals."

"A moment ago it was all please give me extra help with my essay," Ayako pointed out. "Now it's all about morals? Geez. Come on! Don't you wanna see hot guys kiss?"

"They're… students," Haruko tried to argue, even though she was also rising to her feet. "And you're-"

"Oh, nevermind that stuff. We're all adults here. Now move!"

Sawakita walked close beside Rukawa as they left the main cluster of university buildings, and headed out into the open greenery of the campus. They walked so close that the backs of their hands brushed against one another as they went.

"You're very lucky," Sawakita was saying, "to have a beautiful campus like this."

Rukawa nodded silently. He had agreed to show Sawakita around the campus as thanks for buying him lunch. Their university was situated in a huge park of many acres, outside of the city, and there was plenty of nature and open areas to explore, including a wooded area and even a small lake and stream.

They paused when Sawakita spotted a family of rabbits playing in one of the grassy areas outside the technology faculty block. "That's adorable," he said with a smile.

They watched the rabbits for a minute, Rukawa standing while Sawakita crouched to observe them more closely.

"Our university is in the city," Sawakita explained. "We don't have anything like this. But…" he turned his head and looked up at Rukawa, "…you'll see it for yourself, I guess. In a couple of years."

"Yeah-" Rukawa acknowledged, thinking of the exchange programme. He considered, then added, "I really want to see America." In fact, the Wildcat's American exchange programme was the deciding factor when he'd chosen this university to study at. The fact that his parents lived nearby was merely a bonus.

"Yeah?" Sawakita got up from his crouch, and dusted his trousers lightly. "I was born there, although my parents are Japanese. I've never lived anywhere else."

"What's it like?"

"Eh-" Sawakita gave a shrug. "It's home."

"But, do you like it?"

Sawakita nodded. "I do." Then he flashed Rukawa a confident grin. "After all, our basketball is the best in the world."

Rukawa's eyes brightened. "Yeah," he nodded quickly. "Yeah, that's true."

Sawakita gestured, and the two of them continued with their stroll through the parklands. They passed through a small wooded copse, over a narrow stone bridge that spanned a stream populated by ducks. There were bluebells blossoming amongst the trees, and Sawakita took photos with his phone. There wasn't much conversation to be had, but the silence was companionable.

"So," Sawakita said as they began to follow a footpath leading along the river towards the lake. "I met your… friend. Sendoh Akira, right?"

Rukawa said nothing, but he was attentive at once. His back stiffened, and his eyes shifted towards Sawakita.

"We spoke about you," Sawakita added.

This time, Rukawa turned his whole head, eyes widening in unpleasant surprise. Still, he said nothing. He didn't seem to know what to say. But although he didn't ask, he was powerfully curious to know.

Sawakita did not keep him waiting. "He said you're just a friend."

Rukawa's features did not change. That was not unexpected. And yet, somehow, he felt disappointed to hear that.

"That's the same thing you said to me about him," Sawakita pointed out with a soft chuckle. "Isn't that cute?" He paused at a point where the reeds opened out, and the full width of the lake was revealed. "Oh, wow. Look at this."

Rukawa stood beside him, also looking out across the lake. But he wasn't seeing the view. He was distracted by what Sawakita had told him, and by his recollections of the night before. Everything was rather hazy and yet he could recall the lights twinkling, strung above them, lighting Sawakita's face softly. His eyes close by. His lips. The desire, heated with alcohol, that had made Rukawa nearly tip forward into him.

He glanced at the man beside him now. It was impossible to deny that Sawakita Eiji was very fine indeed.

"As for me," Sawakita said then, and turned to look at Rukawa. He spread his arms in a casual gesture. "I'm also unattached."

Rukawa did not know what he was supposed to say to that, and only pressed his lips together.

"We fly home in ten days," Sawakita added. He took a small step closer, and Rukawa watched his approach uncertainly. "I want to enjoy myself while we're here. Make some good memories." He tilted his head. "How old are you, kitten?"

"Eighteen," Rukawa answered quietly.

"I'm twenty-one," Sawakita replied. "Graduating soon. Can you believe?" He peered into Rukawa's eyes. "It's nice to be young and single. Free to explore. Free to experience new things, have some fun." He lifted a hand and brushed a finger along the fine line of Rukawa's jaw. "Doesn't it feel natural? You and me, like this." He sent Rukawa an enquiring smile.

Rukawa only stared back at him, wide-eyed.

"Last night, I wanted to kiss you," Sawakita held his gaze. "Can I kiss you now?"

Rukawa's breath stuttered in surprise. He had never been in this situation before. Never met someone so confidently straightforward before. These Americans, he thought to himself in disbelief. Sawakita was totally different from anyone he'd met. He didn't mind it. In fact, he found it rather appealing. He liked it when things were simple. Last night he had squandered his inhibitions to the train of drinks, but at this moment he was entirely lucid. Yet he didn't back away from Sawakita's approach.

He thought briefly of Sendoh. Of the flush of warm feeling he had unexpectedly found himself with. But…

Just a friend.

He was grateful to have a friend. His first and only one. Even so, that Sendoh had described him in such a way made him feel unexpectedly disappointed. He didn't want to think about all that. At that moment, he wanted a different feeling. Being wanted. Being desirable. If Sendoh didn't think of him that way then… what was the harm in this? Sawakita was offering to him everything that he needed. Besides, it would be inaccurate to say that he wasn't attracted to Sawakita. And he made everything seem so… easy.

And so, unexpected even to Rukawa himself, he gave a small nod. "Okay," he whispered. Finding himself both ready and willing to take a step into a fascinating new world.

Sawakita sent him a smile, and stepped into his space, putting his arms around him and taking him into an embrace, chin to shoulder, brotherly. Rukawa tensed up from his toes to his cheeks, unused to contact, or being held. It wasn't comfortable, being so close to someone else. He found himself glancing around, worrying that someone might be there to see them, but no one was.

Sawakita did not rush him, but waited for him to relax. They stood there, by the lakeside, simply holding one another, with only the ducks to see them. Then Sawakita slowly drew back, his soft cheek brushing against Rukawa's, their faces close, hearing his breathing unexpectedly loud. Finally, they were nose to nose. Sawakita was smiling. Rukawa's eyes were wide and blinking.

"Close your eyes," Sawakita whispered.

Their noses brushed tips for a moment, and then slid past one another, and finally their lips met.

It was tentative and curious.

Rukawa drew in a startled breath and held it. His lips were sensitive; it felt strange to feel Sawakita's mouth upon his own. Sawakita's touch was sweet and unbelievably soft. The sensation unfamiliar. Sawakita teased him with gentle motions, and then the inner warmth of his mouth was on Rukawa's skin. The water line, a distinct change from the soft dryness of Sawakita's lips to the slippery, sensual wetness of his mouth, set a rush of sensation through Rukawa. He shuddered, his fingers tightened in Sawakita's clothing, and his lashes fluttered against his cheeks.

His consciousness of the lake, and the footpath, and the trees and the reeds, faded away. Everything became Sawakita. His entire attention focused upon his mouth, his lips, which instinctively began to move in response to Sawakita's motions. Their noses pressed together. Their cheeks felt hot and damp against one another.

When Rukawa felt Sawakita's tongue gently press against his lips, large and hot and slick, he shivered, eyes rolling a little underneath his lids. He parted his lips and unclenched his teeth, surrendering to Sawakita's possession. And then, when Sawakita pressed into his mouth with that wide, wet organ, a part of Rukawa felt vulnerable and overwhelmed, while the other half was roused with the thrill of the sensation. The butterflies in his stomach became a huge, whirling, pleasant ache.

They held each other tighter. Pressed in a little deeper. Rukawa's fingers lifted up and began to finger the back of Sawakita's neck, brushing curiously through the fine, short hairs there. Sawakita's hand went lower, to the small of Rukawa's back, beneath his jacket. Sliding along his waistband, two fingers dipping just inside, pressing his palm curiously against the bare skin of his spine. He squashed their stomachs together.

At the same time, as if orchestrated by some invisible conductor, they straightened their heads, parted for a short second only to meet each other's eyes, taking a breath, and then tilted their heads the other way, crashing their mouths back together, Rukawa's eyes sliding shut once again.

The world around him whirled.

His whole body was heat and pleasure and madness.

He opened his mouth wider, hungry for this new sensation, seeking to draw in more and more of this-

A sudden sound nearby broke them apart.

The moment shattered. Both boys turned their heads quickly.

An unfamiliar woman, phone in hand, had fallen flat on her face on the pathway behind them, apparently from out of a nearby bush.

She scrambled to her feet, looking mortified, brushing stones and dead leaves from her clothes. "Excuse me," she gasped. "I was just… I was just…" She looked around, then reached into the bush she'd just fallen out of, pulled out an equally horrified looking student who had twigs stuck in her hair. "Oh! There you are," the older woman chirruped in an unnaturally high pitched voice to the girl. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" She waved dramatically in apology. "Please excuse us." She gave a cringing, embarrassed laugh, and then the two of them fled down the path and out of sight.

The two boys stared after them, and then at one another.

Sawakita grinned. "Well?" he enquired.

Rukawa stepped back, out of Sawakita's reach, and lifted two fingers subconsciously to brush against his lips. What was he supposed to say? That the kiss had felt addictive. Amazing. Had filled him with a heat that had crept over his skin and into his guts in ways he hadn't expected. Woken something in him that was hungry and prowling. That he wanted more of it. More. And more.

And yet… the face in his mind was not the one in front of him.

"I…" he looked at Sawakita hopelessly. "I don't… think we should…"

But Sawakita interrupted him. "This isn't a relationship, kitten. No need to take it serious."

Rukawa hesitated, confused.

Sawakita gave a lop-sided smile. "This is just something to do together. Can't you feel it? You and me; we match. We love the same things. We want the same things. We live in the same world. On the court. Outside of it. It's only normal that when we are together…" he lifted a hand and caught Rukawa's wrist, pressing his fingers against his racing pulse, "…we make sparks." He stepped in closer again. "We can enjoy this flame as much as we want. So long as it's fun, why not?"

Rukawa only stared at him with wide eyes.

Sawakita laughed softly. "That boyfriend of yours-" he gave a small smirk. "-that's hardwork. Relationships like that, you gotta fight. Every day. When you care about someone like that, it costs you." He eyed Rukawa indulgently. "But this? Naw. This is easy. I'm not here to give you headaches. I just want to play with you. Want to see you feeling good. No strings. Like I said - in ten days, I'll be gone." He rested his hands on Rukawa's shoulders, squeezing lightly. Then he ran his palms up and down Rukawa's upper arms appreciatively. "Come back to my room," he tempted, his voice gentle and persuasive, his eyes kind. "I can teach you so many things."

Still, Rukawa did not know what to say. Perhaps… there was no harm in it. He was… as Sawakita had said… free. And this was just fun. Not serious. Why should he not… explore this?

There was a long silence.

It went on and on.

Eventually, Sawakita let out his breath and gave a disappointed smile. Seeing Rukawa's reluctance, he released him and stepped back. He offered his arm. "It's okay," he said. "I understand. Come on, kitten. I'll just walk you back to the campus."

Haruko was flushed with excitement. "I can't believe it. Can't believe… they… they saw us… and… and…"

Ayako was swiping rapidly through her phone gallery. "Do you wanna see the video I got?"

"They saw us!" Haruko repeated to herself, and then looked up as if she had only just heard Ayako's words. "Video?"

"Yes, here."

The two of them crowded around the phone to watch.

Haruko slowly went red to the tips of her ears.

"Can you… like…" Haruko pursed her lips, "…send this to me?"

"Already did."

"Oh. Ohhhhh."

Ayako grinned happily. "I'm hungry. Wanna go grab some lunch together?"

Haruko glanced down at her phone, which showed that the video-in-question had arrived in her message box. Then she looked up into Ayako's oblivious and excited face.

"S- s- sure. Yeah. I guess."

"Well, come on then!" Ayako waved her forwards. "Sushi? There's a great place down the road."

"Uhm, okay."

"Do you want me to send you the photos too?"

"Uh- I uhm- yeah. I mean. Yeah. Yes. Please."

"You have excellent taste in hot guys."

"Really? Ah. Well. Thank you. You too."

-tbc

ANs: This chapter was for the SawaRu fans by popular demand ;) After all your comments supporting Sawakita I decided to give him a turn at the bat ;) But from here on, please buckle your seatbelts and prepare to depart for Senru-City.

Thank you so much for your comments and reviews! Kaede4ever, , KS711, Ari, and Guest.

Kaede4ever "Greedy, clueless Kaede" ahahaha. Perfect description.