Kogure smiled as he watched his redheaded boyfriend striding in front of him with an extra bounce to his steps. The junior was in a happy mood the whole day since he was given the position of an official player and now he was singing his tensai tune as walked.
"You're really happy, ne?" said Kogure.
The redhead turned around and gave him a grin, "Of course I am! Now the tensai can show how good he is on court! I'll show them my wonderful SLAM DUNK!!"
Sakuragi jumped and pretended to dunk a ball in an imaginary hoop and when he landed gracefully on his feet, Kogure laughed and clapped his hand.
When they passed by the vending machine, Sakuragi stopped, "Hold on. I wanna get a drink."
As the redhead scrounged his pockets for some coins, a metallic jingle averted Kogure's attention from the redhead to the keyholder hanging on the junior's bag.
It was the keyholder that Sakuragi dropped that time in the locker room and he've seen it on the redhead's bag everytime he saw the boy.
When the Sakuragi turned around with his favourite brand of drink, Kogure found himself commenting, "You must treasure it very much."
"Eh?" asked the redhead as he popped the tab can open.
"The keyholder," said Kogure looking pointedly on the mentioned object.
The redhead brought his gym bag up to look at the keholder, "Oh this."
"From someone special?" smiled the spectacled-boy.
The redhead arched an eyebrow, "Eh?"
"Can I know who it's from?" Kogure asked
"Hmm..." the redhead mused watching the boy with a thoughtful look.
"What?"
Sakuragi's expression turned from puzzlement to wicked pleasure, "You're jealous!"
"W-What?!" Kogure sputtered, blushing furiously, "At whom?!"
The redhead grinned holding up his bag again, "To the one who gave me this keyholder."
If the redhead wasn't looking he wouldn't have believed that Kogure was scowling.
"I am not," said the senior turning away.
The redhead walked to follow the other boy and said, "I got it from someone who's very important to me."
Kogure's steps nearly halted when he heard the statement. It wasn't the words itself but the way the redhead said it was so sincere and heartfelt that Kogure more than believed the junior's words at face value.
"That's good," said Kogure walking ahead and it was only for a short distance before they reached his house.
"Well, see you tomorrow," said Kogure, giving the redhead a short wave before he turned to enter the house.
Sakuragi continued walking when he was suddenly overcome by unease at teasing Kogure like that.
Was he angry? thought the redhead, turning around to look at Kogure's house which was still in plain view. Looking around he spotted a phone booth across the street before jogging up to it.
After slipping a few coins in the slot, he puched the numbers to Kogure's home line and waited.
When the dialing tone stopped, a voice of a man greeted him, "Moshi moshi, Kogure residence."
"Uh... moshi-moshi, can I talk to Kogure Kiminobu please?" asked the redhead uneasily.
"Who's this?"
****
Kogure was frowning as he unpacked his bag of the dirty clothes folded inside a plactic bag and took out his school books placing them on his study desk.
"Kiminobu! Phone call for you!"
The 3rd year stopped what he was doing and went to receive his call. He was still brooding as he picked the receiver up and answered, "Moshi moshi."
"Min-kun?"
Kogure's eyes widened before he stole a look at his father who was sitting a few feet away, reading a newspaper.
"Yeah... what's up?"
****
The two boys each took a seat on the twin swings in the park a few blocks away from Kogure's house where Sakuragi had waited for him after the redhead went home to drop his things off.
"Your father answered phone?" guessed Sakuragi, weaving his fingers together to support his chin.
"Hai," said Kogure.
The redhead gave his seat a little swing, "Damn, that was awkward."
"Did he say anything to you?" asked Kogure in worry.
"Iie. It's just that... I feel that..." the redhead's voice faded, somehow knowing that Kogure would know what he meant. And the senior did as he shuffled his feet on the soil.
"Gomen. Otousan can be like that sometimes," said Kogure regretfully, "It's as if his sons' rights are ignored and he's never pleased when things don't go his way. That's why he and Kaede always fight because they're both so stubborn."
The senior stopped his speech when he realised that he was rambling.
"I'm sorry," said Kogure sheepishly, "I'm saying bad things about my father."
Sakuragi tilted his head to gaze at the starry sky and said, "Hmm... I dunno. I don't understand actually but I think that he wants the best for you guys. If my dad was alive..."
Kogure quickly turned his head to look at Sakuragi as the redhead continued, "...well, I'd just be happy if he was still alive."
Sakuragi slipped his hand in his pocket and took out the keyholder. He smiled, "The person you were jealous about is my dad."
Kogure stared at him while the redhead lifted the keyholder to dangle it in front of his own face, "My dad passed away 5 years ago due to a heart attack. I liked basketball since I was a kid even when I couldn't play so my dad gave this to me. This is one piece of memory I have of him."
"Gomen nasai daijoubu," whispered Kogure, his head bowed.
Sakuragi pocketed the keyholder back and shook his head, "It's ok. I'm happy now."
"Umm... I'm also sorry that I was jealous of your dad. That was foolish of me."
Sakuragi grinned like a chesire cat, "That's nice to hear. You feeling jealous for me."
Kogure blushed, "Hmmph.."
When Sakuragi didn't stop chuckling, Kogure began giving light swats on Sakuragi's arm, "Enough already!"
The redhead only started laughing and Kogure felt like giving him a harder hit when the redhead suddenly caught his hand in mid-air and time stood at a stand still.
They had gotten close to each other in that small play and now Sakuragi brought them closer as he slowly leaned towards Kogure.
When the redhead's face was only inches from his, the spectacled-boy pulled away, "Umm... I-I..."
The redhead blushed but Kogure could clearly see the disappointment on the junior's face.
"Iie," Sakuragi said, "It's late. Let me walk you home."
****
Why did I push him away?