A/n- This is another Modern AU story. It may or may not take place in the other Basketball AU, meaning it can but it also can stand on it's own. The thing to note in this one is that Rutger's trauma is a bit different here. Instead of his parents dying because of a world spanning war, which is a more medieval thing, he's the way he is because he had to start high school in Bern and because of his heritage he was severely bullied, taken advantage of, and the people were generally racist against him and Lyn because of being Sacaen. But then, with the help of Roy's family, his family moves to Lycia and he transfers to school there. Other than that, enjoy!

The Commission Files- File #112 Basketballs & Burgers

Characters: Rutger, Lilina, Roy, Lyn

Based on: a commission by PinkPio1 on Twitter

"Rutger! Where are you going? You haven't had your picture taken yet!" Lilina called out as she saw Rutger trying to walk out of the gym.

"Come on, I shouldn't get a picture with you all, I just joined the team a few weeks ago." Rutger replied. "It's not like it's that important anyways."

"Seriously!?" Lilina exclaimed back. "You're one of, if not the, best players on the team! You guys wouldn't have won so many games without how you've been playing!"

"Yes, but I don't really fit in with the team." Rutger countered. "Yes, I know Roy from back when we all went to middle school together, but everyone else... I'm pretty sure they don't want to be associated with me. Especially since I transferred here from Bern. The only reason they tolerate me is because of my skill on the court, and honestly I can live with that."

"Elimine you are so stubborn!" Lilina replied. "Look, I know you had a tough time in Bern with everything you told me and Roy, but here in Lycia it's different. You being from Bern or Sacae or anywhere else doesn't matter, and I wish you would just understand that. I think you'd be a lot happier if you let more people into that shell of yours than just me and Roy."

"You're starting to sound like my parents." Rutger commented. But deep down he knew she was right. Bern was not a good place for him, it crushed the youthful and spirited heart he once had and turned him into whatever this was that he was now. And he hated it, but he hated the thought of getting hurt again even more. He was lucky to have friends like Lilina and Roy though who knew how he used to be and wouldn't give up on him or his potential happiness. Little by little her words were convincing him, and she hadn't even used her ace in the hole yet.

"Good, because your parents are smart and reasonable people that you should listen to." Lilina teased him before going in for her last tactic. "How about this? If you come and take the picture with me I'll convince Roy to take us out to that new Lowen's restaurant that just opened down the street from his house. No parents or anything, just the three of us. I know you used to love going there in the past, so don't even try to lie to me that you don't care."

"Hitting me in the stomach, literally." Rutger noted, though Lilina was correct in her assumptions. And if it was just going to be the three of them? Well Rutger was trying to find a way to get a situation like that to happen anyways, so why waste this chance along with getting some really good food in the process. "Alright, you've convinced me. Where do we need to go?"

"It's just on the other side of the gym actually." Lilina explained. "You still have your jersey on right?"

"I do." Rutger replied before taking his jacket off and revealing his red #4 jersey for the Lycian Lions.

"Great! And here is a ball for a prop!" Lilina noted, passing him a ball which he caught easily. She was wearing her red #6 jersey already as well.

"Were you so confident that you'd convince me that you were holding that the whole time?" Rutger asked in a bit of amazement.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Lilina replied simply. "As much as you want to deny it Rutger, I know you more than you think. And I know deep down you take pride and have confidence in your skills on the court, just like your mother did, and I really like that attitude of yours. I wish you'd show it more in other ways, because you are good at more than just basketball."

"Heh, when I find those ways I'll be sure to let you know." Rutger joked a bit dryly, but again he knew she was right deep down. Either way they went over to where the pictures were being taken and the photographer posed them so that they had their arms around each other's shoulders with Rutger holding the ball against his hip with his left hand and wrist. It was quick and painless and Lilina was really happy that Rutger decided to reach out and do it, even if she had to convince him.

"Awesome! I bet the picture will turn out great!" She said happily as she and Rutger left the gym and walked to the parking lot. "Alright, I'm gonna text Roy and my parents and tell them what we're doing, and you should tell your parents as well."

"Sure, of course." Rutger said pulling his phone out of his pocket and walking a bit away from Lilina since he knew that it would be better if he called his parents since texts usually didn't get responded to immediately.

"Hey Rutger! How was practice today?" Rutger's mother, Lyn, answered.

"It was good, I had to take some dumb picture afterwards though." Rutger noted.

"Ah, I remember when I had to do those as well." Lyn replied. "But it's for the team and it raises school spirit. Any particular reason why you're calling before coming home though?"

"Well, I got convinced to take the picture by Lilina when she told me she would get Roy to take us out to dinner tonight." Rutger explained. "So, I'm not going to be home until later tonight."

"Do you have any homework to get done?" Lyn asked.

"Finished it during study hall." Rutger answered.

"Is it just going to be you three?" Lyn continued to ask.

"Unless Lilina's father decides to crash the scene, yes." Rutger noted. There was a short pause before Lyn spoke again.

"Your father wants to know if you're going to talk to Roy about some 'thing' he won't elaborate on." She finally stated.

"I plan to, though I'll have to find the right moment." Rutger replied before another short pause.

"Okay, well if that's all set up then just come home safe as always." Lyn noted. "And your father is saying 'good luck' for whatever reason, so take that as you will. Love you!"

"I love you too Mom, bye." And with that he hung up. By that time Lilina had gotten done with her phone as well and turned to Rutger.

"Well, it took some convincing with my father, but we're good to go." Lilina told him. "Roy's on his way to the restaurant now and since my mother dropped me off to school today I'm gonna need a ride, you drove here today right?"

"Yeah, but I have to warn you that my car is a bit of a mess." Rutger noted.

"Can't be any worse than your father's car." Lilina joked. So they walked to Rutger's car and he moved all the stuff that was on the passenger's side into the back seat so Lilina could sit up front with him. "Yeah, not that bad, but you should get this thing cleaned before it gets worse."

"Sorry, I really haven't had the motivation to do it recently." Rutger admitted.

"I can help you out if you want!" Lilina offered. "Just call me over whenever and I'll come over. Though I get to keep half of any of the money we find as a labor fee!"

"Now you're starting to sound like your Aunt Farina." Rutger joked, which got Lilina to giggle a bit.

"See, you're funny when you want to be Rutger, you should do that more." Lilina told him truthfully. "But I'm serious, if you need someone to motivate you, I'll do it for you."

"I'll keep that in mind then." Rutger noted, hoping that with the fading light that Lilina wouldn't see him blushing a bit. After that they drove to the restaurant where they met up with Roy. But not before enjoying a few songs together on the radio on the way there.

"I forgot to ask before, but did 'convince Roy to take us to dinner' mean that I was going to have to pay for everything?" Roy asked jokingly as his two other friends walked up to the entrance with him.

"Well, it is your turn isn't it?" Lilina noted. "Rutger paid for the Etrurian take out last week and I paid for all our movie food and snacks the week before."

"Oh yeah, then that would me it is my turn." Roy noted. "Not that I don't want to of course, I just forgot whose turn it was with everything that's going on lately."

"Speaking of that, how are your entrance exams coming along?" Rutger asked as they entered the restaurant. Roy was good at basketball of course, but he wanted to get a law degree so he could become an attorney that could help the poor and needy who needed representation.

"Well, I think it's going good so far, won't really tell until I take the tests though obviously." Roy noted as he told the hostess that they needed a table for three people. "I mean my father has been a great help since he has the same job I want, but it's still tough."

"And how is your mother doing? I know it's all a bit hush-hush because of the media and such, but you can tell us right?" Lilina wondered. Roy's mother Ninian was a famous singer, but also part dragon, which made it hard for Roy and his family for a number of reasons. One of them being that most people didn't know dragons still existed in Elibe and another being that most people who did know hated them. Lilina and Rutger's families were obviously cool with it, but they had to be careful not to let the secret slip.

"Well, we just had a doctor from Nabata come in and check in on her. It's some sort of sickness that only certain people can get." Roy noted, telling them it was a dragon thing without saying out loud. "So he had to take a blood sample and take it back with him to Nabata since that's the only hospital that can handle such sickness. But she's doing better. Without having to do all the dancing and singing she usually does she's gotten to rest a lot more than usual which is good. She jokes that if she wasn't sick I'd probably be getting another sibling soon."

"It's good to hear that things are looking positive on that end." Lilina noted, giving Roy a supportive smile.

"I know they've probably already told you and your father, but if you need anything, just give my family a call, you got us out of a bad situation and we'll do anything we can to help out." Rutger added.

"Thank you, both of you." Roy replied a bit more relieved and calm than he had been a few moments ago. "You both are really wonderful friends, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Same goes for us, we know you'd help us out if we needed it." Lilina stated.

"Already did for me." Rutger confirmed. After that they were taken to a table and they ordered their drinks and meals. Rutger and Roy got the house specialty burgers with fries while Lilina got a well done steak with a baked potato.

"What? You both know I need to get a bit more muscle still. Can't have people pushing me around on the court." Lilina commented when the guys gave her a look about her order. "If my father were here he would back me up."

"Your father is like an anti-vegetarian Lilina, sometimes I wonder if he thinks carrots should be illegal." Roy joked and that got the other two to laugh.

"Good thing your mother can keep him in check." Rutger added. "I still wonder to this day how they got together."

"I'm sure your father could tell you, though I have a feeling the story involves a lot of 'and then we all slept together' or something of the sort." Lilina joked.

"Yeah, that would make a lot of sense actually." Rutger noted. It was weird, but even though the three of them knew their parents were super close, close enough that it was okay for them to sleep around together a bit and it didn't cause problems, they really didn't find it awkward or anything. Probably since it didn't come up that often anymore, but still. Either way a bit later their food came and they dug in. And the food was great! The Lowen's chain of restaurants were famous for their quality service and food and this time was no different. Eventually though Lilina stood up to excuse herself.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom before we get dessert. If the waitress comes back tell her I do want a refill." She told the guys.

"Alright, will do." Roy replied before she left. There was a bit of a silence between him and Rutger as they ate a few final fries and such before Rutger finally spoke up.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something real quick? Something I don't want to bring up with Lilina right at the moment?" He asked Roy.

"Um, sure. What's up?" Roy asked back, sitting up a bit since Rutger was sounding serious and he didn't quite know why.

"Well, I don't know how to word this any better so I'm just gonna say it flat out." Rutger noted. "I was wondering if I could have your permission to ask Lilina out on a date. Like a romantic one, hopefully." It was clear by the look of confusion on Roy's face that this was not what he was expecting Rutger to ask him, like at all. But he didn't have time to leave him hanging since Lilina could be back any moment, so he had to give a reply.

"I don't see why not, but why do you think you have to ask my permission specifically for that?" Roy wondered. "Shouldn't you be asking her father?"

"One step at a time." Rutger noted. "But I wanted to ask you because, well, I didn't really know where you and her stand currently. Like you two have the whole 'friends from childhood' thing going on with each other and if you were just slowplaying things until your situation got less hectic I didn't want to get in your way since we're bros and all."

"Did you just call us bros?" Roy chuckled before letting Rutger's words settle in. "As for Lilina and I, I'm not currently trying to pursue a relationship with her. Can't really speak for her, but I'm sure once you ask her she'll let you know how it is, you know she'll be straightforward with you. And just so you know, you have the 'friends from childhood' thing too. Just because you left for a few years doesn't mean that you aren't as close to her as I am. There are a lot of things you know about her that I've never gotten to see, just like there are things I know that you haven't seen. I tell you this because if you are going to ask her out, you better do it right and not be all 'woe is me and my life' because we both know she won't like that."

"So, just to be clear, you're alright with it and you'd be okay with us dating and being a couple if things go well?" Rutger asked.

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I want my two best friends to be happy together?" Roy replied honestly. "Though if I find out that either of you are screwing with the other's feelings I'm gonna be the first to step in to protect the other."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." Rutger admitted.

"Then it's settled." Roy noted. "And thank you for taking my potential feelings into consideration. You're right in saying that my life is a bit hectic and that I don't really have time for dating and such, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't take your shot. Besides, between you and me, I kind of have my eyes on someone else. But I have to keep it on the down low for a few reasons."

"Noted." Rutger replied with a nod. "Oh, and obviously, don't tell Lilina about this conversation until after I ask her out. I'm hoping to do it soon, so you won't have to keep it a secret for that long."

"Of course, I'm not gonna sabotage something that I agreed with." Roy assured him. By that time they could both see Lilina coming back to their table so they sat back and went back to acting casual.

"Sorry I took so long, Wendy was in the bathroom and I got to talking to her. It seems that Ogier finally got the nerve to ask her out and he took her here for their first date." Lilina explained.

"Really, that's great!" Roy noted. After that they ordered dessert and then Roy paid for their meals before they walked outside. "You want a ride home with me Lilina? Since my house is closer to yours than Rutger's is?" Roy asked.

"Is that okay with you Rutger?" Lilina asked, since she was just a bit worried that Rutger would be driving home alone with his thoughts that could get him angry or sad.

"I think I can make it home safely, but thank you for asking Lilina. See you guys at school tomorrow?" Rutger asked.

"As long as I'm not sick or dying as usual." Roy joked.

"Of course! You promised to study for the history test we have 7th period tomorrow." Lilina added. Rutger gave them both a genuine smile and wave before getting into his car.

"Maybe things are starting to go my way again."