Tanaka had imagined that dinner about twenty times.

Never in those times was Saeko so excited.

It had been exactly a year since you had started dating Ryūnosuke Tanaka, and although you already knew a good part of the stories about his family, this would be the first time you would have dinner at his house and meet your sister for real. Tanaka had spent the entire way there trying to act as if it wasn't a big deal.

It wasn't working.

He adjusted his shirt collar for the third time before they even reached the door.

It was ridiculous. Tanaka had already faced double blocks, played entire matches being constantly targeted by opponents and continued attacking even after being knocked down several times. But introducing you to Saeko seemed to require a completely different kind of courage.

Your sister knew all your flaws.

And, worse, she liked to remind him of them.

The night started better than he expected. Saeko greeted you as if she'd known you for years, striking up conversations, serving overflowing food on her plate, and telling stories from Tanaka's childhood that he tried unsuccessfully to interrupt.

"This one you need to know," Saeko said.

Tanaka closed his eyes.

It was a warning of a tragedy.

Saeko began to tell some story about him as a child, and Tanaka immediately protested, red to his ears. Sometimes he would tense up beside you, especially when he sensed some embarrassing memory was about to be revealed. You just watched, holding back laughter, while he tried to regain some control over his own dignity.

That was one of the things that had changed during that first year.

In the beginning, Tanaka wanted to appear impressive in front of you. He wanted to be the boyfriend who always knew what to do, who was never at a loss for words, who could turn any situation into a demonstration of confidence.

After a year, that had disappeared.

Now you knew the Tanaka who came home tired from training, the one who complained when he was hungry, the one who got too excited about small things, and the one who fell silent when a defeat truly hit him. You knew the noisy boy and also the one who needed a few minutes alone before he could talk about anything.

And Tanaka liked that.

He liked it more than he would admit.

Dinner ended late.

The kitchen light was already dim, and empty plates piled up on the table while the rest of the house began to quiet down. When you got up to help take the plates away, Saeko simply decided you weren't going to leave.

"Sleep here tonight. If you don't want to share the bed with Ryu, you can sleep with me."

Saeko winked, clearly playing with the situation.

The idea came so naturally that it took Tanaka a few seconds to process it.

Sleep there.

In his house.

Maybe with him.

For some reason, it seemed much more serious than it should have.

Tanaka stood motionless for two seconds.

Two whole seconds in which his brain seemed to simply abandon his body.

"What?!" The question came out too loudly.

Saeko immediately started laughing, resting her chin on her hand as she watched her brother.

Tanaka ran a hand through his hair, averting his gaze from Saeko and then glancing quickly at you. His face was still warm, and he seemed to be searching for some answer that wouldn't make him seem as affected as he was.

He cleared his throat.

"You can stay."

The sentence came out much quieter.

Tanaka glanced to the side, feigning sudden interest in the already clean table.

"I mean... it's late. And it's dangerous to go back alone now."

A pause.

"And I can lend you a t-shirt."