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It was almost a surprise when the others started showing up again. Catherine and I had been playing together for a good two and a half months, almost every evening. In January, things kind of slowed down a bit as Catherine tried out for her school's team. She made it; of course she made it. They'd have been stupid not to take her.

That cut our after school practices down to about three times per week, sometimes two. The slush only got thicker, and it slowed us down. That was alright; it gave us an excuse to practice newer things and work out kinks in our playing style. I kept giving her pointers, and eventually she started giving me grudging advice, too. The subject of payment never came up again, and I was glad for it. I appreciated my new coat; it was warm and did a good job of keeping me dry. Catherine hadn't been stingy in picking it out, either. It was the type of coat that looked good and would probably do me for years to come.

Still, I felt a bit uncomfortable every time I put it on. It was a constant reminder of... I don't know. Selling out? I always found it annoying when people at school preached about how terrible it was to 'sell out.' Still, something about the whole exchange just made me feel dirty. My parents didn't ask about where I'd gotten the new coat. I guess they trusted me enough to know I hadn't done anything stupid. Besides, it definitely kept me warmer and drier than my dad's old sweater.

Regardless, Catherine didn't offer to pay me for advice again. I sometimes hoped it was because she knew how uncomfortable I was about it. In my less optimistic moments, though, I figured it was just because she didn't think I was worth the money.

Back to what I was talking about, though. In mid-February, things started warming up. Not much, of course. There was still a lot of rain, but far less slush. I hadn't even thought about the possibility of the others starting to show up again until I rounded the last corner from my school to the court and saw other people there. I think I probably blinked, and might have even stopped in my tracks. There were three people total, and even from that far away I could easily identify Garet's hulking form.

I shook myself and kept heading over. The coat on my shoulders felt heavier than normal. I knew I was just being ridiculous. We would meet, we would play, and that would be it. No different than it was before winter started.

"Hey Hiro. Long time no see." The big crocodile nodded to me, lifting a hand. If anything, he looked even bigger than he had before. Was it possible for him to have had another growth spurt over the past few months?

"Garet," I nodded back. He lifted a ball and raised an eyebrow.

We started passing back and forth. At first we were quiet, just focusing on the drills. Gradually, we started chatting in the same, casual way we normally would during games. He asked me, very meaningfully, how I was doing, and I told him it was mostly the same. I asked him about school, and he said it was boring. To most outsiders, it probably seemed like a normal conversation. Both of us knew that there was a lot more information being exchanged than it seemed. The two of us had learned, over the past year, how to ask each other about personal matters without showing it.

Garet still knew how to throw the occasional curveball, though. After a few minutes of passing, he abruptly asked, "So what've you been doing after school for the past few months?"

I replied without really thinking. "Same as always. Coming here to practice."

"With who?"

I heard the note of curiosity in his voice. At this point, I really should have thought about what I was about to say. Probably would've made things much easier for me if I had. Instead, I just blurted out: "Catherine. The two of us have been having one-on-ones most days."

He was quiet for the next few passes back and forth. I was just starting to realize the trouble I might have gotten myself into when he spoke.

"Oh. I thought you said you didn't get along with her?"

"I don't," I answered quickly, "but she was the only one showing up."

"Well did you finally manage to deal with her attitude problem?"

I got lucky. I was about to snap back at him with a sharp reply that I probably would have regretted. Kim, our cheetah guard, interrupted me by calling over to say that Catherine was pulling up. Garet and I turned towards the road and watched as the palm cockatoo stepped out of her car. She didn't even look at her wolf chauffeur as he closed the door after her.

As she stepped onto the court, Garet immediately called out, "Hiro's on my team." I, and everybody else, glanced over at him in confusion. It wasn't the way we did things, normally. The big croc just said, "Hiro and I against the three of you. Makes the most balanced teams."

Kim and the other player, an echidna that had played with us a couple times, both nodded. Catherine and I kept watching Garet, though. I wasn't sure what he was playing at. He'd seemed a bit too angry after finding out that Catherine and I had been practicing together. I looked back to Catherine, and was surprised to find the cockatoo's eyes on me. We held each other's gaze for a moment, and then I shrugged and walked over to my spot on the court.

Garet went to centre court, a few steps ahead of me. On the opposite side of the court, Catherine, Kim, and the echidna were speaking quietly. The three of them fanned out, with the echidna taking the centre position.

Catherine brought over the ball, and stood just to the side of Garet and the echidna. She held the ball out, then tossed it up into the air and backed off quickly.

Garet scooped the ball out of the air easily and sent it back to me. I caught it and moved forward fast, water splashing up across my shins from the ball after each bounce. The echidna came in at me, taking up a wide-legged stance as I closed with him. Just before I reached him, I sent the ball out to the left to where I knew Garet would be waiting.

The crocodile took the ball, and then he was moving. It was always surprising how light the big guy was on his feet. He slid around Kim with no trouble, leaving the cheetah stumbling. His path to the net was open, and so he headed straight for it, preparing to shoot.

Catherine appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly she was in front of him, and he had to stumble to stop himself from tripping over her. He brought the ball up, preparing for an impromptu, desperate layup. Catherine jumped up to reach the ball and slapped it out of his hands.

Kim dashed in to scoop up the bouncing ball, starting towards our end of the court. Catherine had already dodged around Garet, and was tearing down the court at a full-tilt run. I saw Kim start passing the ball, and I took off.

I stepped in front of Catherine just as she got the ball. There was no pause; the two of us just started moving. I turned with her, always keeping my body perfectly between her and the net. Over the next few seconds, our feet pounded out a hard, uneven beat in the puddles as we slid around each other again and again. She was making progress, but it was slow. Once or twice she had to awkwardly pull herself out of attempted shots as I cut them off.

It all ended very abruptly when Catherine turned, keeping me at bay with her shoulder. She threw the ball off to the side, past where Garet was using his bulk to block Kim, and right into the echidna's hands. He turned and shot, and the ball slipped through the net with no trouble.

The others took up their positions again as I went to grab the ball. When I turned to pass the ball to Garet, he was looking at me with an intense, narrowed-eye expression. He immediately switched it back to his normal aggressive look, and held his hands up for the ball. I passed it to him, a bit uncomfortable, and then headed up the court.

The two of us advanced in time with each other, watching the three members of the other team. I kept my eyes on Catherine, knowing everybody else was doing the same. She would come for either Garet or I, and the other two would cover whoever was left. Everybody was waiting to see what she would do.

Then, an idea came to me. I'd been playing against just her for too long. I wanted to change things up now that there were others around.

"Garet!" I called. Everybody looked towards me, and I was already dashing forward, heading for the space between Kim and the echidna. The two of them started closing the gap on me, and I heard the bouncing of the ball stop behind me.

I turned in midstride and caught the ball. I came back around and down, keeping my centre of gravity low. Kim and the echidna were facing me, ready and waiting. I knew that there wasn't a chance that I would get by both of them, but I didn't care in that moment. I just wanted to have some fun.

I came forward, ball going from hand to hand. Kim dashed in at me, reaching for the ball. I slid to the side, twisting my body awkwardly to keep the cheetah away. I sent the ball forward, just shy of her, and then I was past. The echidna came in, and I stopped dead, switching the ball from one hand to the other. He staggered to try and stop his momentum, and I stepped easily around behind him, still dribbling.

Much to my own surprise, I was suddenly facing a net with nobody blocking me. I stepped forward on instinct, and shot.

I'm not sure who was most surprised when the ball went into the net. I just stood there, staring for a few moments. I didn't really realize that I'd just gotten a basket until Kim smacked me on the back, congratulating me on the play. The echidna said something else that I didn't catch, and I thanked them on autopilot as I turned away, heading back towards centre court. I didn't have to look to know that both Garet and Catherine were glaring at me.

There was no way I could have just done that. I wasn't a forward. I'd never had the balance or the speed to deek reliably around one defender, let alone two.

I pointedly avoided looking at both Garet and Catherine as we took up our positions again, this time with the other team starting with the ball. The echidna took the lead again, with Kim hanging back and Catherine going up along the side. Garet naturally stepped forward to square off with the other centre, the big crocodile using his size and quick feet to put the echidna off-balance. That left me to cover Catherine as she tried to move into a better position for shooting.

I tried to keep my attention focused on the two big centres as they squared off, following Catherine's movements out of the corner of my eye. She faked steps forward and back a few times, just testing me in the off-chance I wasn't paying attention. We both knew that either Garet would steal the ball, or the echidna would be forced to pass. There wasn't a chance that he would get past the crocodile.

It happened fast. The echidna finally turned and sent the ball to Kim, knowing that Garet was too big and fast for him to pass around. Kim immediately sent the ball forward towards Catherine, and then started coming up the opposite side of the court.

I tried to intercept the pass, but Catherine easily stepped around me, grabbing the ball out of the air. She turned, and then we were moving again. I wasn't thinking about my movements anymore; she wasn't giving me the time. I was coming to realize that I didn't have to think, though. We'd spent enough time learning each other's moves in the sleet and slush, where we had to move slowly and focus on our balance. Now that we could move at closer to our normal speeds, our bodies just knew how to cut each other off.

Abruptly, she stepped so that her legs were spread wide, fencing me off from stepping around her. She brought the ball around and down, and sent it forward between her legs. She caught it around front, and then dashed by me, leaving me off-balance behind her. I tried to catch up to her, but it was a lost cause. She shot, and the ball slipped easily through the net.

This time Garet went to pick up the ball. As the other team backed off, he beckoned me over. I was confused and a bit apprehensive, but I went over regardless. Once I got close, he muttered to me, "Take Catherine."

"What?"

"I want to go against Kim and that other guy. You go with Catherine."

Before I could respond, he started advancing, heading over to the side that Kim and the echidna were on. I hesitated a moment, and then headed over towards the side that Catherine was on.

Garet charged forward abruptly, heading straight for his two guards. All of us were surprised, but we moved quickly. Kim and her partner closed with the crocodile, and I rushed forward, trying to get into a good position for passing.

Much to my surprise, as soon as I got close to Catherine, Garet threw the ball over to me. I caught it on reflex, and then Catherine closed with me. I jumped back a step, keeping the ball away from her, and then tried to slip around her. She blocked me, and forced me to slide around so that she was between the net and me. I dashed forward, letting her force me further out to the side. As I started running out of space, I halted my momentum abruptly and turned, dashing forward. She managed to reverse her momentum, keeping herself between the net and me. I was moving on a better angle now, and had far more room to work with.

For a few seconds, the two of us just dodged back and forth as I tried to slip around her. We were at a standstill until I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, far out to the side. I turned sharply and sent the ball over to Garet. He caught the ball in mid-stride towards the net. Kim and the echidna were way out of position, and I managed to position myself to keep Catherine from getting to him. The big crocodile took a few steps towards the net, then leapt. He slammed the ball down, slapping the rim of the basket with his open palm.

I was breathing hard and sweating now, despite the rain. I started heading back to our side of the court, thinking in my head. When had I gotten so good at offence? For that matter, when had Catherine gotten good at defence? We hadn't really done much...

That's when it hit me. We'd been playing in terrible conditions for two and a half months. Both of our footwork and balance would have had to have improved to deal with the conditions. On top of that, we'd only been doing one-on-one drills. I'd been forced to play offence, and she'd been forced onto the defence. Without realizing it, both of us must have gotten better over time.

Finally, the others... the odds were good that none of them had played at all over the past few months. Catherine and I were in perfect playing condition.

When I reached our side of the court, I turned around and waited. I noticed that Garet was looking at me again, his gaze going from me, over to Catherine, and back again. There was a calculating look on his face that I didn't like. I unconsciously glanced over at my coat, hanging carefully on the fence. Garet was thinking of something, and I didn't like it.

The rest of the game went more or less smoothly. Garet stopped forcing me to square off with Catherine so much, which I appreciated. He still had no chance of blocking her, but he had only small trouble getting around her when he had the ball. Kim remarked once or twice on how much my offensive game had improved, and I always thanked her, mentally wishing she would shut up about it.

Garet and I lost, but it wasn't by nearly as much as we would have under the same conditions a few months ago. We held our own, and I was satisfied by the end, if still a bit uncomfortable.

As always, the game ended when Catherine's car pulled up. Without another word, she turned away from us and hopped into the car, never acknowledging one of us as she rolled away. It was so sudden that the four of us remaining just stood there for a few seconds, not sure how to react.

Finally I coughed, and then said, "I should get going before my parents start wondering where I am." It was a lie; they were fine with me staying out later than this. I felt the need to break up the tension, though. I turned and walked over to the fence, grabbing my coat and tossing it on. I waved to Kim and the echidna, but Garet stopped me before I could bid him goodbye.

"Here, I'll walk with you for a bit."

Something in the way he said it set off alarm bells in my head. It wasn't a friendly offer of company; it was a simple statement. I didn't disagree, though, and so the two of us left the court, heading down the street.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, I finally muttered, "Well that was a fun game."

Garet nodded without speaking, and kept plodding along beside me. I sighed, and shoved my hands into my pockets.

"So, you two play together a lot?"

I wasn't surprised by the suddenness or directness of the question. I was a bit worried by how level his voice was.

"Wasn't anybody else to play with," I responded, as stiffly as I could.

"Got better during that time."

"It's surprising what two months of practice will do."

"Uh-huh. Seems like you got close with Catherine, too."

"Hardly."

"Oh yeah? That coat looks a bit steep for you, birdy."

He noticed. Of course he noticed. I sighed inwardly, then muttered, "Are you trying to say something?"

"Yeah. I seem to remember asking you to deal with her."

"You asked me to talk with her about her attitude."

"Uh-huh. Have you talked to her about it even once over the past few months of practice and bonding?"

I'm not sure what happened. Suddenly something went off in my head, and there was heat pounding beneath the feathers all across my face as I rounded on him. "For Christ's sake, your twice her fricking size! Just talk to her yourse--"

His hand was on the collar of my jacket, and then my back was against a wall, and the air was gone from my lungs.

"Maybe you've picked up your girlfriend's attitude problem."

"She's not my girlfri--"

"I bet your family's having trouble paying for groceries since your old man's treatments started." My muscles started tensing, and I was about to yell at him when his next sentence cut me off. "Be a shame if you couldn't work that weekend job because you broke a wing playing basketball."

The two of us were quiet. Garet was glaring at me, letting his words sink in. I met his gaze, trying to look just as aggressive as him. I wanted to shit myself.

"Bet your parents would be pretty worried. Probably tell you that you aren't allowed to play anymore."

"You've made your point."

"Good. So tell the bitch to work on her attitude, or I might just put two birdies in casts."

He shoved me back against the wall again, then stepped away. I stood up as straight as I could, watching him walk away. When he rounded a corner and disappeared from sight, my shoulders slumped. I reached back and winced as I felt the beginnings of a bruise behind my shoulder.

I just stood there for a bit, my chest heaving as I tried not to yell. Catherine hadn't even said anything rude or dismissive today. Garet didn't give a shit about her 'attitude.' He was just angry that Catherine had gotten even better than him, and that I'd... well. That I might be getting better than him, too.

In my head, I was playing out how asking Catherine to take it a bit easy would go. I had no doubt what her response would be.

I started for home, moving slowly. Somehow, the fun part of my day was starting to get just as stressful as being at home. I wasn't happy about it.