Li Shen got home a little later than usual.
The front door was already open when he stepped onto the porch, which made him pause for half a second before he reached for the handle.
Claire was standing inside, one hand on the edge of the doorframe, like she had been waiting there on purpose.
Which, knowing her, she had.
She looked up when he entered, then smiled.
Not a small one either.
The kind that said she had information and was not about to be normal about it.
"You're back," she said, as if that was a deep revelation.
Li Shen closed the door behind him. "Yes."
Claire tilted her head. "You said it like you were reporting in."
"I am home."
"Right." Her smile widened. "And you are also the reason Mom and Dad had priceless expressions on their faces tonight."
He stopped walking.
"Priceless expressions?"
Claire nodded eagerly, clearly enjoying herself.
"Absolutely priceless. Dad looked like he was trying to decide if he had heard you correctly.
Mom did that thing where she goes quiet before she gets suspicious."
Li Shen looked at her. "I asked to go to a party."
"Yes."
"That is normal."
Claire stared at him for a beat.
Then she laughed. "No, it is not, not when it comes from you."
He considered that.
It was possible she was right.
Not because the request itself was strange.
He understood that much now.
But because he had said it like he was asking to borrow a book or step outside for fresh air.
It had not felt like a big thing when he said it.
Apparently it had been a big thing to everyone else.
Claire stepped aside and gestured toward the living room.
"Come on," she said. "Mom wants to ask you a few things, and Dad wants to pretend he is calm while asking you a few things."
Li Shen followed her in.
The house felt warm in the way only a home could.
Not just because of the temperature, but because everything had been lived in.
Familiar noises. Familiar smells.
The low clink of plates from the kitchen. The faint buzz of the refrigerator.
The television in the other room playing something nobody was actually watching.
His mother was at the counter, wiping her hands on a towel.
His father was sitting on the couch, but only barely.
The posture of a man trying very hard to look casual while being very much not casual.
When Li Shen entered, both of them turned at once.
His mother's eyebrows lifted.
His father straightened.
There it was.
The priceless expression Claire had mentioned.
His father looked directly at him for a second, then at Claire, then back at him, as if some hidden detail would suddenly make sense if he stared long enough.
His mother did not stare quite as openly, but she did have the look.
The one that said: I am listening, and I have already started thinking three steps ahead.
Li Shen waited.
His mother spoke first.
"So," she said carefully, "you want to go to a party."
"Yes."
His father coughed once into his fist.
Claire immediately made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a suppressed laugh.
His mother glanced at Li Shen. "Do you know what kind of party it is?"
"A celebration," he said.
Claire leaned against the wall with the sort of satisfaction only a younger sister could have when watching the rest of the family deal with her brother.
"A celebration of what?" his father asked.
"The match," Li Shen said.
His mother looked at him for another second, then slowly nodded as though she had decided that was, in fact, a real answer and not one of the stranger things she had heard all month.
His father rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"And who's going?"
"Teammates," Li Shen said.
Claire raised a finger. "And me."
His father looked at her. "You're going too?"
Claire shrugged. "Obviously."
The room went quiet for a moment.
Then his mother asked, "What time?"
Li Shen had already thought about that.
"Eight."
His father's eyebrows rose. "At night?"
"Yes."
Claire spoke before anyone else could. "That's a normal party time, Dad."
His father gave her a long look. "You say that like you have a lot of experience."
"I have enough."
"That does not sound reassuring."
Claire grinned. "It is not supposed to."
His mother sighed softly, but there was a small curve at the corner of her mouth now too, like she was trying not to let the entire situation become amusing.
"Eight is fine," she said. "Where is it?"
"Daniel said his cousin's place," Claire answered before Li Shen could.
"It's not far. About fifteen minutes by car."
His father nodded slowly. "Who will be there?"
"Team," Claire said. "A few others probably. Nothing wild."
Li Shen looked at her.
Claire looked back without flinching.
That sentence had been far too confident.
His mother noticed the exchange immediately. "Claire."
Claire raised both hands. "I said probably."
His father looked from one child to the other and seemed to realize, with some quiet horror, that he was not getting a reliable answer from either of them.
Li Shen decided to be helpful.
"It will be manageable," he said.
That made all three of them look at him.
He paused.
Then added, "I think."
Claire pressed a hand to her mouth.
His father exhaled through his nose, which was probably the closest he got to openly laughing.
His mother shook her head once, but there was a clear fondness in it. "That is not a very convincing statement, Li Shen."
"It is honest."
"That part I believe."
Claire was still smiling when she pushed off the wall and came to stand beside him.
"I'll go with him," she said. "I'll keep an eye on him."
"I can keep an eye on myself," Li Shen said.
Claire turned to him. "You asked what a homie was less than an hour ago."
His mouth opened slightly.
Then closed.
That was fair.
His father caught the expression and made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh.
His mother put the towel down and folded her arms.
"If Claire is going, that makes me feel better."
Claire looked very pleased with herself.
Li Shen glanced at her. "You knew that would happen."
"Of course I did."
He looked back at his parents.
His father was still trying to process the fact that their son had gone from silent, mostly withdrawn, and occasionally unsettlingly intense to asking for permission to attend a party with confidence bordering on deadpan absurdity.
Li Shen waited for another question.
His mother asked one anyway.
"Do you want to go because they invited you, or because you want to go?"
He thought about that.
It was not a difficult question, but it deserved an honest answer.
"Both," he said after a moment. "They invited me. I want to see what it is."
His mother's expression softened a little.
"Okay," she said. "That is fine."
His father nodded once, then looked at Claire. "You're really going to watch him?"
Claire turned toward him with mock offense. "What, you think I can't?"
"I think you both are going to make this more complicated than it needs to be."
Claire smiled sweetly. "That sounds like a yes."
His father pointed at her without conviction. "Do not twist my words."
Li Shen stood there, watching the exchange, and quietly filed it away.
This was what a family argument looked like in this world.
Not blades. Not blood. Not threats.
Just people circling each other with concern and affection and a refusal to say either one too bluntly.
He found that interesting.
His mother asked one more practical question. "What are you wearing?"
Li Shen looked down at himself.
His school clothes.
Then back up.
"…Clothes."
Claire laughed so hard she had to brace one hand against the counter.
His father closed his eyes briefly. "That is not what she meant."
His mother's mouth twitched.
"It means," she said, with admirable patience, "something a little more suitable than your uniform. If it is a party, you can at least look like you understood the assignment."
Li Shen considered this.
"I Understood the assignment."
Claire immediately looked delighted. "No, wait, I want to see this now."
His mother pointed a finger at her. "Do not encourage him."
Claire's grin only widened.
"What?" she said. "This is going to be funny."
Li Shen looked at the three of them.
Then at the clock.
Then back at them.
He could probably change.
He also had no idea what "suitable" meant in this context, but Claire clearly did, which at least made one part of the problem solvable.
He turned toward the stairs.
"I will choose something," he said.
Claire followed him halfway up, still talking.
"Please do not pick something like you're going to a funeral."
"I am aware parties are not funerals."
"That sounded suspiciously like a question."
"It was not."
His mother called after them from downstairs. "Nothing too formal!"
His father added, "And nothing that looks like you fought a tree and lost!"
Claire paused on the stairs and burst out laughing again.
Li Shen looked back down.
"…That seems specific."
"It is," his father said, now fully committed to the bit. "And avoid anything blacker than necessary."
Claire was nearly bent over with laughter at that point.
Li Shen nodded once, as if this were a serious and reasonable instruction.
Then he went to his room.
Claire followed, of course.
She always did when she wanted to supervise his existence.
He opened the wardrobe and stood in front of it for a moment, taking inventory of what he actually owned.
Most of it was practical.
Simple shirts. Pants.
Things that did not shout for attention.
He had not thought much about clothes since arriving in this world, and even now he felt no strong urge to start.
Claire leaned on the doorframe and watched him scan the hangers.
"You are overthinking this," she said.
"I am thinking."
"Same thing, for you."
He ignored that.
After a moment, he pulled out a dark shirt and a pair of fitted pants that did not look too formal and did not look like he had borrowed them from someone twice his size.
Claire gave them one glance and nodded.
"Good. That will work."
He glanced at her. "You approve quickly."
"I am trying to save us both time."
He set the clothes on the bed and picked up his phone.
A message from Diego was waiting.
Party at 8. Don't be late.
Below it, another.
Actually maybe be early. We're not letting you disappear.
Li Shen read that once, then once again.
Then he typed:
I am not disappearing.
Diego replied almost instantly.
That is exactly what someone disappearing would say.
Li Shen stared at the message for a second.
Then looked at Claire.
She was already watching him with too much amusement.
"What?" he asked.
She nodded toward the phone.
"I think your friend is scared of you."
"That is inaccurate."
"Then why does he sound like that?"
Li Shen thought about it.
Then said, "He is energetic."
Claire snorted. "That's one way to say it."
He put the phone down and started to change.
Claire, as expected, did not leave immediately.
"I'm not turning around," she said.
"That is not what I was concerned about."
She laughed and finally stepped out, though she left the door open just enough to keep talking.
"You know," she said from the hall, "Mom and Dad were really trying not to freak out."
"Because of the party?"
"Because you asked like it was normal."
"It is normal."
Claire leaned her shoulder against the doorframe again. "For other people, maybe."
He pulled the shirt over his head and looked at her once he was done. "What is unusual about it?"
Claire stared at him for a beat.
Then she laughed softly.
"That," she said, pointing at him, "is exactly why this is going to be entertaining."
He did not answer.
Mostly because there was nothing useful to say.
A few minutes later, dressed in a way Claire had apparently approved of, Li Shen stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself.
Simple clothes.
Nothing flashy.
Nothing loud.
Still, somehow, it felt different from school.
Not because of the fabric.
Because of the intent.
He was not going to train.
Not going to play.
Not going to perform in the same way he had on the field.
He was going to step into a room full of people and see what happened.
Kind of like a gathering of nobles? According to his previous worlds knowledge.
That thought settled in him quietly.
Interesting.
That was the best word for it.
Claire reappeared in the doorway with her phone in one hand and a small smile on her face.
"You're ready?"
Li Shen nodded.
"Eight," she said. "We've got time."
He glanced toward the window.
The sky outside was already darkening, but not enough to make the evening feel finished. Streets below still held motion.
Cars. People. Lights.
Somewhere out there, the place Diego had called a hangout with the homies was preparing itself for his arrival.
Li Shen looked at his phone again.
Then at the door.
Then at Claire.
"Does this usually involve food?"
Claire blinked, then laughed. "Yes. Usually."
"Good."
She grinned. "That sounded almost excited."
"It did not."
"It absolutely did."
He did not bother arguing.
Instead, he took one last look at the room, then picked up his phone and slid it into his pocket.
A party.
He still did not know exactly what that meant.
But tonight, he would find out.
And Claire, with the pleased expression of someone who had successfully dragged her brother into civilization by force, followed him downstairs to tell their parents that yes, he really was going.
At eight o'clock, they would leave.
And for the first time, Li Shen would step into a kind of night that had nothing to do with winning.