"So, Sendoh-kun, tell us about your family," Rukawa's mother asked as they began to eat. She had cooked a simple family meal to share; rice, egg, fish and pork. It was a little crowded at the small dining table, and Sendoh was elbow-to-elbow with Kaede. He had to avoid jostling him as they ate.

Sendoh finished his mouthful of rice and then nodded. "We have a farm up in Akita."

"A farm?"

"Yeah. It's been in the family for generations, supposedly. It's quite an operation."

"Oh - tell us about it," he was encouraged. "Do you have animals?"

"No, it's mostly crops," Sendoh explained. "We grow soybeans, some wheat, and fruit trees. Four thousand acres and a few farmhands. It's a little bit difficult to get to. Dad's got a van for going back and forth from town but it's an hour's drive from the train station. That's why I don't go home every weekend. It takes a lot of time."

"Four thousand acres? That's big!"

Sendoh nodded. "It's pretty big, yeah."

Rukawa was watching him in silent curiosity.

"Do you help on the farm?" Professor Grump enquired.

"Sometimes. Especially for planting and harvesting. But I've got a reputation for being kinda clumsy back at home," Sendoh chuckled awkwardly. "My dad and eldest brother handle the daily chores and they usually want me out of the way, so I get stuck with doing the paperwork."

"I see. That's very interesting. Will your law skills help with the business?"

"I hope so."

Kaede silently considered this for a while, and then suddenly asked, "Do you miss the farm?"

Sendoh turned towards him. "A bit," he admitted. "I miss… certain things. Like the open spaces. And the quietness. It's easy to get away from people up there. Although, I've got five brothers," he grinned. "It's funny because I miss them when I'm away, but when I'm there, they're always so annoying." He took a sip from his teacup. "Do you have siblings?"

Rukawa gave a small nod. "One older sister. She lives in Tokyo. She's ten years older than me, so we're not close."

"Ah. So you're the baby of the family!"

"Tsk."

Sendoh chuckled, then, seeing that Rukawa had emptied his bowl of sweet pickles, casually passed over his own bowl for Rukawa to have.

"Do you like the countryside?" Sendoh enquired.

Rukawa shrugged. "I don't know. We've always lived in the city."

"I hope you will come and visit Akita sometime. I'd love to show you the farm."

Rukawa lowered his eyes to his bowl, picking distractedly at his rice. "That... would be nice," he said.

Sendoh beamed happily. He adjusted his leg, and crowded as they were beneath the table his foot accidentally touched Kaede's foot, and his knee touched Kaede's knee. Their eyes met for a moment.

Rukawa turned back to his bowl and said nothing. But he did not move his leg away.

Sendoh breathed out slowly, feeling that same fluttering starting up in his chest. The small radiation of Kaede's body heat melted into him though his sock. Their closeness beneath the table felt like a little secret communication, unknown to the two adults opposite. Something meaningful. Something clandestine.

For a moment, Sendoh couldn't remember what he had been talking about.

"Uhm…" he struggled to get his brain to work. He lifted his eyes to find that Rukawa's parents were still watching him with interest. He cleared his throat awkwardly, and still Kaede did not move his leg away.

"Is this your first time living in the city?" Rukawa's mother asked.

"Oh - yes," Sendoh seized upon the question with relief. "Well, I'm in my second year now so… since last year I've been sharing a flat on campus with some of my course mates."

Kaede flexed his foot experimentally, and Sendoh swallowed at the light brush of his toes.

"How do you like it here?"

"It's... uhm... different. The first couple of months I was here I couldn't sleep well because there's so much light. On the farm it gets really dark at night…" his eyes flickered towards Rukawa who was peering at him innocently, whilst moving his leg very slowly, almost like a cat brushing up against Sendoh's legs. Sendoh took a quick breath. "I'm really glad I came to this university. There's so many things to do. And since the campus is so green we can still get away from all the noise sometimes." He smiled a little wistfully. "And I got to meet Kaede."

The leg froze for a moment. The two parents exchanged a silent glance, and Sendoh immediately realised the directness of his comment.

"Oh, uhm, what I mean is-" he started quickly, turning rather pink.

But Rukawa's mother waved her hand and laughed kindly. "It's okay!" she said. She reached for the large thermos on the table. "More tea?"

Sendoh swallowed and nodded. For a moment, Kaede's leg pressed a little harder against his own, then it was gone, as if Sendoh had been imagining it.

Sendoh's ears felt hot. He avoided Rukawa's eyes and quickly took a sip of the tea.

"Will you go back to Akita after graduating?" Rukawa asked him quietly.

Sendoh set down the teacup carefully. "I'm not sure," he admitted after a moment. "Most legal jobs are in the city." He glanced at Rukawa from the corner of his eye. "Do you have plans for after graduation?"

Rukawa shook his head silently.

"Hmm," Sendoh considered. "Are you aiming to play pro basketball?"

"Actually I… want to go to America."

"America!" Sendoh turned his head and shoulders towards the boy beside him. His face broke out into a genuine smile. "That would be so amazing! I've never been out of Japan." He leaned towards Rukawa in sudden excitement. "If you go to America then… I will come and visit you!"

"Aa."

"Maybe you'll play for the NBA!"

"Maybe."

"Say, don't the Wildcats have an exchange programme? Isn't that why the Warriors are here now?"

"Yeah. For the third years."

"So you'll have a chance to go and visit soon!"

Rukawa looked at him, and seemed not to know how to respond to Sendoh's enthusiasm.

"You're good enough to do it," Sendoh breathed excitedly. "I really think you can do it, Kaede!"

His use of Rukawa's first name sounded like a thunderclap, stunning Rukawa momentarily. Besides that, Rukawa had never heard such a response before. Most people gave him doubtful encouragements, where he could see in their eyes their disbelief. His parents always spoke in terms of "we don't want you to be too disappointed if it doesn't work out". Other people were outright disdainful, pointing out all the problems and the unlikelihood of success. Eventually, he had begun not to speak about his dream to anyone.

Sendoh's reaction confounded him for a moment. But then he pursed his lips. A flicker of determination flashed across his features.

"Yeah," he said, and his voice was clear and bright. "I… I really want to go."

Sendoh observed his determination affectionately, then chuckled. "When you say it like that, I feel a bit embarrassed for inviting you to the farm."

Rukawa looked a little confused at that. "What? N-no," he stammered. "That… that is also… something I want."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Sendoh took the final mouthful of his rice and chewed cheerfully. "That makes me very happy."

Seeing that Sendoh was finally finished, Rukawa picked up their bowls and headed for the kitchen with them. "We'll shoot some hoops outside," he told his parents.

"Okay," Professor Grump turned towards Sendoh, "There's beer in the fridge, so help yourself."

Sendoh bowed in his seat, "Thank you so much!" He looked towards Rukawa's mother, "It was absolutely delicious."

"You're perfectly welcome," she replied.

"Do you want a drink?" Sendoh asked, looking in the fridge door and discovering a row of chilled beer bottles. "Your parents share their beers? That's so nice!"

Rukawa visibly wrinkled his nose, remembering his previous encounter with beer. "No, thanks."

"Soft drink?"

"No. Water's fine."

Sendoh took a beer for himself and then grinned. "It's tough to be an athlete, huh?" He patted his stomach contentedly. "That's something I don't miss. Now I can eat and drink whatever I want."

Rukawa rolled his eyes. "You're still fit," he pointed out accusingly.

Sendoh sent him a devilish smirk, "Do you think so?"

Rukawa was standing by the back door, spinning a basketball impatiently between his palms. At Sendoh's smug expression, he only huffed. "Whatever."

Sendoh popped the cap off his beer with a magnetic bottle opener that was stuck to the fridge, and followed Rukawa outside into the night air.

"You've got a hoop back here?" he asked, looking around the tiny court yard. It was lit by a security light shining from the side of the house. There was a small patio table off to the side where he put down his drink. A free-standing hoop stood on one side against the fence. There were a few pots containing shrubs sheltering close to the wall of the house, but mostly the yard was bare concrete. It was a little unexpected, considering how neat and cute the front garden had appeared.

"No flowers?" Sendoh asked, looking around. A small moth fluttered close to his face in the darkness, and he waved it away.

Rukawa shook his head. "Used to be," he explained. "But mum got fed up of me breaking all her pots."

Sendoh could easily imagine small ceramic pots being decimated by a basketball slamming into them. "Ah ha."

"Well," Rukawa focused his eyes on the basket and rose up to score an easy jump shot. "It's not like we have four thousand acres."

Sendoh smiled at that. "Wanna go one-on-one?"

"With a tubby like you?"

"He-ey! You just said I was fit!"

Rukawa paused, hooking the ball under his arm and turning to consider Sendoh where he stood. "Hn."

Sendoh's mouth dropped open. "What's 'hn' supposed to mean!?"

Rukawa shrugged. Beneath his lashes, Sendoh noticed the tiniest twinkle of good humour. It made him smile.

"You know I was MVP in high-school," Sendoh boasted playfully.

Rukawa clucked his tongue. "How many students did your middle-of-nowhere high-school even have? Five?"

"Wow," Sendoh was flabbergasted. "I had no idea you were this savage."

Rukawa tossed the ball his way, and Sendoh caught it casually. They looked at each other across the small courtyard. Sendoh let out his breath slowly, feeling like his heart was trying to squeeze its way out of his chest. He glanced upwards, and saw an inky city sky, dull and empty of stars. He could imagine the brilliant night sky at the farm, filled with a thousand pin pricks of light. He could imagine Rukawa standing there, with the moon reflecting in his eyes, and the wisps of the fireflies drifting about his feet. All his brilliance, uncaged by fences.

Although this is your home, it doesn't suit you somehow.

You deserve... a bigger space. A way to spread your wings. Jump as high as you like. Run as far as you can. Climb among the branches, and play freely.

I want to give that to you.

But I know that it isn't in my power to give.

If you find your way to America, it'll be without me.

I want that for you.

I'm just... a little confused right now.

He tossed the ball back to Rukawa. "All right," he grinned. Then he paused. "By the way, thanks for inviting me here. I had a lot of fun."

"Akira," Rukawa said.

"Huh?"

"Akira."

"What?"

Rukawa tilted his head. "Can I call you that?"

Sendoh's smile crinkled up his eyes. "Of course!"

Rukawa gave a brief nod of his head, then bent his knees, lowered his centre of gravity, and the game was on.

-tbc

ANs: Thanks Kaede4ever! Heehee yes! I can write again! I was stuck not able to write for about a year but I managed to rebuild my confidence somehow and I'm just flexing my muse a bit now and writing for fun ;) Ahaha yeah poor Akira. First love is so tough. Actually, all love is tough. He's not ready. Awe :( soon.

Girl - hey! I get it ;) But don't worry. I've been writing in this fandom for ages and ages T.T I don't leave fics half done, it just takes me some time, sometimes ;) Don't worry! Glad you're reading along and enjoying the story :) thanks for leaving a review!