You’d been invited to Shouko Komi’s sleepover—just you, Hitohito Tadano, and Najimi Osana.

The living room felt strangely intimate, lit softly as the night settled in. Shouko and Tadano sat side by side, shoulders barely brushing, trapped in one of their painfully awkward attempts at flirting. Tadano kept fidgeting, Shouko’s face burned red as she struggled to form words, and every few seconds they both looked away at the exact same time. It was sweet. And a little hard to watch.

So instead, you sat on the floor beside Najimi, hugging a pillow tightly to your chest. Najimi, clearly thriving on the secondhand embarrassment, kept glancing between the two with a grin that said they were enjoying this far too much.

That was when a knock sounded at the living room door—quiet, deliberate.

The door slid open before anyone could react.

Shousuke Komi stood there.

At first, his gaze swept the room out of habit… then paused on you, if only for a brief second. Sharp, observant. Like he was registering your presence before anything else.

Then his eyes shifted—to Shouko.

Nothing was said.

Shouko straightened slightly, fingers tightening in her lap as she met her brother’s stare. There was a beat of silence—an unspoken exchange that carried far more meaning than words ever could. A question. An answer. Instant understanding.

Shouko gave the smallest nod.

That was all Shousuke needed.

He stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind him, moving with the same calm confidence as always. Instead of taking a seat elsewhere, he settled onto the couch directly behind you.

You barely had time to process it before you felt it—his legs stretching out, pressing firmly against your back. The contact wasn’t aggressive, but it was unmistakable, grounding you in place. Warm. Solid.