The smaller hand on my deskside clock finally points to five.

'I suppose twenty minutes should be enough…' I think to myself as I sit upward and remove the blankets from on top of me.

I take one more long breath before I move any more.

I've had plenty of time to indulge in the memory of today. Sitting here and smiling to myself about the past hour is only going to lessen my remaining time to ask Nii-san about what happened tonight.

It's just difficult to not feel the high of Senpai carrying me in his arms like that, gently tucking me into bed for the first time since I was sick last month.

Though I feel a bit guilty for tricking him into thinking I was asleep, the way he awkwardly tried to move me to my room without waking me, and how he stood there next to my bed for a few moments longer to make sure I was comfortable…

It would have been nice if he had taken off my sweater, as I do feel awfully hot at the moment, but I'm not sure if either of us would have been able to handle him undressing me, even if only a little-...

I need to stop myself.

I can go back to thinking about him later tonight.

I'd like to satisfy another curiosity before I go to sleep, as well as fulfill a promise I made this morning.

Getting up and exiting through my guest room's door into the hallway of Senpai's home, I'm immediately met with the tall, slender figure of the only woman who would still be wandering the halls at this hour, a small teacup held between her delicate fingers.

"O-Oh, Rider…!" I greet my servant with mild surprise.

She stops her movements directly in front of where I stand, forcing me to slightly adjust my gaze upward to meet her rectangular pupils with my own.

Having to do this was admittedly a bit anxiety inducing at first. I've always been used to the boys my age standing taller than me, but never before had I met a girl who towered over me like this.

Though, by now, I'm quite used to Rider's uncommon height. It's actually a bit nice having my servant be this much taller than me, and even if she is insecure about it, I think that if anything, it only adds to her already present beauty.

And besides, I am far too aware of how sweet she is to be scared of her anymore, but it still seems like I'm the only one who does as of now.

Rider returns my greeting with a slight nod of the head.

"I was just brewing myself a cup of tea to drink while I read. My apologies if this wasn't something I was supposed to do without asking."

"Oh no, don't worry. I'm actually happy that you're getting more comfortable staying here."

"That's good." She replies in the same monotone voice she typically speaks in. "I suppose you're looking for Akito?"

"Yes, I was going to check in his room first, but if you saw Nii-san somewhere else I'd really appreciate you telling me."

"No, you suspected correctly. I spotted him entering by himself when I made my way towards the kitchen."

"Ah, thank you! I'm sorry for leaving so quickly, but I would like to ask him about his day with Saber-san before he goes to sleep." I say with a small, apologetic bow.

"You don't need to apologise. I figured as much when I saw you."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning then, Rider. I hope you enjoy your tea!" I give a second small bow with my farewell and turn myself around towards the guest room next to my own.

"Tomoki."

I wordlessly turn back around.

The woman who had previously been monotone for our entire brief exchange is now wearing a warm, reassuring smile.

"You did a good job today. Shirou was acting differently than usual when I met with him as he was going to his room to sleep. I'm certain he's been thinking of you."

I can feel my cheeks flush a tiny bit red.

"U-Um- thank you..." is what I manage to sputter out.

My servant's smile widens at my reaction, giving me a "Goodnight, Tomoki. I'll see you tomorrow." before leaving me to my own devices as she returns to hers in her own room.

I sigh to myself once she turns the corner. As good of a job she usually does at calming me down, it really does seem like Rider takes some kind of pride in getting me embarrassed like that.

Not to say that I don't enjoy the few times when I can see her flustered myself, so maybe it's only fair.

Though now that the thought that Senpai is thinking about me more has entered my head I'm right back to the same level of restlessness I had when I had exited my room.

Pushing that idea out of my mind, as much as I wish I could indulge in it for longer, I knock on the door to my brother's room.

"Come in!" The muffled voice of the room's occupant signals my entrance.

"I'm sorry for arriving so late." Are my first words to Nii-san as I enter his room.

He stands himself up from the chair he had been seated on, clearly almost as restless as I currently am.

"It's fine, I wasn't about to go to bed yet anyway." He says as he naturally brings a hand to his hip. "Just if you don't mind, I'd prefer if we don't talk for too long."

"Ah, that's fine Nii-san." I respond with a momentary smile before anxiety takes over my expression.

I feel my heart begin to beat a little faster.

This was a big day for him, I'm not sure if I'm ready to hear if it didn't go well.

"U-Um…. So…" I attempt to jump right into the question as awkwardly as someone could, subtly gesturing back and forth between my brother and the door with my hands as I continue with "a-are you and Saber-san…?"

Nii-san's face flushes a bit pink.

He moves his right hand from his hip to the back of his scalp as he averts his gaze slightly to the left of me.

"Y-Yeah, he's my boyfriend now."

My expression suddenly beams with the confirmation. "C-Congratulations!" I say in a voice probably too loud for this time of night. "I'm really happy for you, Nii-san!"

His pink cheeks deepen into a red. "I-It's not that big of a deal, alright…! You don't have to throw me a celebration or anything for finding another queer who likes me…"

"Well, I think it's a pretty big deal. You were pretty worried about this." I say with my arms moved behind my back and a puffed out chest.

"Everyone goes through the same-" Nii-san attempts to respond but is promptly cut off by the sound of his bedroom door being opened, the two of us both turning to meet the sudden arrival.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to intrude on anything..." Says the now guilty blond haired servant.

My words catch themselves in my throat as I examine the boy who now stands before me.

The simple white button up top and boxers he wears as pajamas aren't something I've seen very often, if at all, outside of his own room.

Why is that catching my attention though? I should only be curious about why he is wearing them before bed-

Oh my god.

My cheeks flush a similar pink to my brother's.

I really shouldn't stay here long if that's really the case.

"Y-You aren't, Saber, he's just asking how my day was." Nii-san speaks first, probably aware of what had just entered my mind but refusing to acknowledge it.

"Oh, then is Tomoki aware of…?"

"Yes, he knows that we're dating." The tallest of us responds with an embarrassed sigh.

"I-I was just congratulating him actually! Thank you for taking care of him!" I try my best to regain the same excitement I had before Saber-san had walked in, but it's not exactly easy talking about anyone's homosexuality with someone I haven't before, regardless of who. "I hope you don't mind that I've been aware of Nii-san's feelings for you for a bit... B-But I promise that I really have nothing against you two being in a relationship!"

"Th-Thank you." Saber-san responds with some embarrassment. "Though, I wasn't ever worried that it would upset you, Tomoki. And I had already assumed that you and Akito have talked to each other about this."

"We were actually talking about you a bit on the way home." Nii-san adds. "We'll probably tell everyone else living here in the next few days. It'd be too much trouble keeping it a secret anyway."

"That's probably not a bad idea, just please stay safe when you do so." I follow up with a worried look, watching my brother's new boyfriend (It feels strange to think of Saber-san like that) move to his side.

"We will, you're probably more worried about this than we are." Nii-san responds.

"Well, I don't believe that Tomoki's worries are entirely unfounded, Akito."

"Yeah, I know. Just knowing him he's probably thinking about how Fujimura-sensei will try to force Emiya-kun to kick us out or something."

Before I get a chance to retort, Nii-san looks back towards me and casually changes conversation topics.

"Anyway, how did your day go, Tomoki? You seemed to be enjoying pretending to sleep on Emiya-kun's lap when we got back."

"A-Ah, um-... it was fine…" I sputter out with an obviously forced smile.

'Nii-san…

not

around

Saber-san

PLEASE'

"Tomoki, you don't have to be worried about that. I've figured that you've had these kinds of feelings for Shirou for a while." Saber-san says with a sympathetic look.

'H-HUH!?'

My heart rate spikes.

"I-I-I-..."

'YOU TOLD HIM!?'

"H-Hey, he brought it up himself! I wasn't going to tell him until you were ready. He's my boyfriend now anyway, it'd be really weird if he had anything against it in the first place."

…

"I-I guess…"

I breathe.

It's fine.

Saber-san is gay too, it's fine.

"We don't have to talk about this if you aren't comfortable." The smallest boy asks me.

I swallow.

It's fine.

"No, I can talk about what happened. I'm sorry about that." While I do have to force my smile, I have managed to calm myself a bit after that miniature panic attack.

"Are you sure? I'm sorry for asking that out of nowhere."

"I promise, Nii-san. I'm fine now."

My brother continues to give me a worried glare for a few seconds longer before conceding himself, with his arms crossing themselves as a show of such.

"Okay then..." He starts. "So what even happened between you two? Like, how did you manage to get Emiya-kun to let you sleep on his lap? He seemed pretty flustered when we got back, so I doubt you're dating or anything yet, right?"

"N-No…!" I stammer through my beet red cheeks, averting my gaze towards the floor in embarrassment. "It's… um-... It's a long story…"

"I can listen for a bit. I don't particularly feel tired at the moment, so as long as Saber isn't either I'd like to hear." Nii-san pulls out a chair from his desk as he responds, turning it around and seating himself on it backward to rest his arms on top of its back.

"I suppose I'm interested as well, but I understand if you would rather not share." Saber-san follows up as well. Even if he is trying his best to be polite, it's quite easy to tell that he's just as interested in hearing of the events of the past day as my brother, if not moreso.

It shouldn't hurt to talk about this with someone anyway.

I sigh.

"Can you tell me how your date went for you if I say what happened…?" I meekly plead with my one bargaining chip, it's only fair if they have to share after me anyway.

The couple glances towards each other as they almost act as though they are having a debate over their response telepathically.

Saber-san moves first, crossing his arms and letting out a sigh himself.

"I believe it's only fair." He says, seemingly to Nii-san's displeasure as his expression momentarily displays clear annoyance before he silently comes to his own conclusion internally and mirrors his partner's pose.

"Yeah, it's fine with me..." Nii-san pouts "Y-You first though! I'm not letting you skimp out on this with a cheap story just to hear how we kissed!"

My face returns to a similarly beaming smile I wore earlier as I puff out my chest again.

"Okay! I'll hold you to that then too!" I say in a slightly exaggeratedly sweet tone to hopefully guilt him into keeping up his side of the bargain.

I don't know about Saber-san, but I at least can vouch that Nii-san is weak to some of my own abilities.

And seeing how his cheeks slightly flushed a bit more red and his pout slightly weakened, I can also vouch that I'm still good at what I do.

"Yeah, whatever. You can tell Issei that I'm bi if you aren't satisfied…"

He should know that I wouldn't ever do that, but I'll take it as verification enough.

One last time, I take in another breath.

I still would rather not have to say any of this, but I can't exactly decline when Nii-san and Saber-san both want to hear.

And it should at least be fun to hear about how Nii-san did today afterwards.

And besides, I technically don't have to tell them everything that happened…-For Senpai's privacy of course! It isn't fair to him if I confess everything.

Yeah, that'll do then. Good thinking Tomoki, this will be a lot easier now!

I let out an exhale.

"Well, I guess I'll start a bit after you two left…."