Sae had always been an older brother. It was engraved in him, like it was part of his genetic code to be protective and caring towards his siblings.

It was in his every move around you and Rin. The way he'd let you have the spot you both liked in the couch, popsicles after soccer practice, sharing snacks, never complaining over you both eating the last piece of something he had been eyeing since breakfast, you and Rin always walking in the sidewalk with Sae on the side close to the road. He was, before soccer, an older brother.

Sae had only ever wanted to play football, whether he got paid for it or not hadn't even been considered when he had first picked up the ball. So when he started playing professionally after being scouted and making a living out of the very thing he lived for, he didn't had a single idea of what to do with his first paycheck. It had sat there, untouched, for a while because he really couldn't think of something to spend it on. And it was too much. What was he supposed to do with it?

So, he came up with the best he could think of, spend it in his younger siblings.

It wasn't different from what he had done before. Back then, things he bought had been purchased with his own pocket money, and now, it would be the same just a bit different.

It started slow, with a few 'oh, get them something nice and tell them it's from me' during phone calls with his parents. And as time passed and communication wavered the more he rised up in the ladder of the football world, the only thing that stayed consistent were the gifts he sent home. Even after his fight with Rin and their brotherly dream broken and shattered in pieces, he hadn't stopped. His gifts towards Rin had gotten quieter, the ones that were hidden behind his parents actions but actually meant and thought from Sae. Yours, however, stayed the same.

No matter how far away he was, whether emotionally, physically, or mentally, Sae would always be an older brother.