The car rolled onto the road, the forest slowly disappearing behind them. They're going back home.
Silence filled the inside.
Not awkward.
Not angry.
Just… careful.
Asuka stared out the window, hands folded in her lap. Emma sat in the back seat, watching the trees blur past. Ethan drove, one hand on the wheel, eyes forward.
Minutes passed.
Then Ethan cleared his throat.
"You know," he said casually, "that bear yesterday?"
Asuka didn't respond.
Ethan continued anyway. "If it waited five more minutes, it would've caught me mid-bathroom break. That would've been the most undignified death in Elarat history."
A pause.
Asuka let out a short breath.
Then—
a small laugh.
Ethan smiled to himself.
"Oh? That got you?" he said, warming up. "Good, because I've got worse. Remember that camping trip in '98 when I tripped into the lake naked and blamed it on tactical reconnaissance?"
Asuka laughed again.
Louder this time.
Emma's eyes lifted slightly from the window.
Ethan kept going.
"And you still married me after that. Which means either you loved me… or you had extremely low standards."
Asuka covered her mouth, laughing openly now. "Ethan—stop, you're terrible."
"I warned you I peaked early," he said smugly. "Everything after that is just disappointment."
Her laughter filled the car, real and unguarded.
Emma watched from the back seat.
The tension she hadn't realized she was holding slowly loosened.
Asuka leaned back, still smiling, eyes damp from laughing. "You always say the worst things at the best time."
"That's why I'm still alive," Ethan replied. "Pure talent."
Asuka shook her head, still amused.
For the first time since the forest, the air felt lighter.
Emma allowed herself to rest her head against the seat.
No smiles.
Just quiet relief.
----
Home felt… normal again.
Shoes by the door. The familiar creak of the floor. The quiet hum of the house breathing the way it always did.
Asuka went to the kitchen to put the bags down.
Ethan watched her for a second, then turned to Emma.
"Get your jacket," he said. "We're going out."
Asuka glanced back. "Where?"
"Just a drive," Ethan replied calmly. "I'll bring her back."
Asuka hesitated—but nodded.
Emma grabbed her jacket without asking questions.
---
They drove in silence for a while.
No radio. No jokes.
Just the road.
Ethan finally pulled over somewhere quiet—an empty stretch overlooking nothing but land and sky. He turned the engine off.
He didn't look at Emma at first.
Then he asked, plainly:
"What did you feel… after killing the bear?"
Emma didn't hesitate.
She stared straight ahead.
"Good."
The word landed heavy.
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Not relieved?" he asked.
"No."
"Not scared?"
"No."
"Not guilty?"
Emma shook her head once.
"Good."
Ethan exhaled through his nose.
"That honesty," he said, "is the only reason this conversation is happening."
He finally turned to her.
"When you say 'good,' what does that mean?"
Emma thought for a moment.
"It felt… right," she said. "Clear. Like everything made sense for a second."
Ethan closed his eyes briefly.
"Yeah," he muttered. "That's what I thought."
He leaned back against the seat.
"That feeling?" he continued. "It's not evil. And it's not special. It's a weapon."
Emma looked at him.
"And weapons," Ethan said, "don't decide when they're used. People do."
Silence.
Then Emma asked quietly, "Did Mom feel afraid because of me?"
Ethan didn't dodge it.
"Yes."
Emma nodded once.
"She shouldn't see that part of you," Ethan said. "Not because it's shameful—but because it's unfinished."
He looked at her sharply.
"You don't let that 'good' decide things. Ever. The moment you chase it, you stop being human."
Emma clenched her fists.
"So what do I do when I feel it?"
Ethan leaned closer.
"You acknowledge it," he said. "You control it. And when you walk away instead of indulging it—that's strength."
He paused.
Then added, quieter:
"And Emma… if you ever start smiling again in moments like that—"
"I'll stop," she said immediately.
Ethan studied her face.
Not fear.
Not denial.
Resolve.
"Good," he said.
He started the engine.
"Now," he added, voice lighter, "let's go home before your mom starts thinking I took you to bury something."
Emma almost smiled.
Almost.
But she didn't.
The road stretched ahead, familiar now.
Streetlights passed one by one, washing the car in brief flashes of yellow.
Ethan kept his eyes on the road.
Then, casually—too casually—
"So," he said.
"Do you love that boy."
He didn't say a name.
He didn't need to.
Emma didn't answer.
The silence lingered.
Ethan didn't push. He just drove.
After a while, he spoke again, calm and grounded.
"You don't have to protect him from me," he said. "If that's what you're doing."
Emma's fingers curled slightly against her thigh.
"I don't know," she finally said.
That was the truth.
Ethan nodded. "Good answer."
She glanced at him. "You're not angry?"
"No," he replied immediately. "Concerned, maybe. Curious."
Another pause.
"He's dangerous," Ethan continued. "Not because he's violent. Because he's willing to be."
Emma's voice was quiet. "So am I."
Ethan smiled faintly. "Exactly."
They drove a little farther.
Emma spoke again, softer.
"He didn't run."
Ethan hummed. "That matters."
"He didn't tell me to stop being what I am," she added. "He just… stayed."
Ethan took that in.
Then said, carefully, "Love isn't about someone who likes your darkness. It's about someone who doesn't let it own you."
Emma stared out the window.
The city lights reflected in her eyes.
"I don't want him to get hurt because of me," she said.
Ethan's voice lowered. "Then you'll have to decide whether keeping him close makes you stronger—or reckless."
The car slowed as they neared home.
Ethan didn't look at her when he said the last part.
"And silence, Emma… usually means yes. Just not safely yet."
Emma didn't deny it.
The car pulled into the driveway.
The engine stopped.
And for a moment, neither of them moved.
---
The house lights were low when they got back.
Asuka was already inside, moving quietly through the kitchen.
Ethan stepped out of the car with Emma—and that's when he felt it.
A presence.
He turned his head slightly.
Upstairs.
By Emma's window.
Liam had just pulled himself up, one hand on the frame—
—and froze.
Completely.
Because Ethan was looking straight at him.
Liam straightened instantly, heart slamming in his chest.
"H—HELLO, SIR."
The words came out too fast. Too loud.
Emma blinked and looked up.
"…Oh."
Ethan didn't smile.
Didn't shout.
Didn't move.
He just stared.
The kind of stare that measured weight, intent, and consequence all at once.
Liam swallowed.
"This is it. I'm dead." Liam thought.
Ethan took a slow breath through his nose.
He was angry.
Of course he was.
A grown man climbing toward his daughter's window at night—
touching her
wanting her for himself.
His jaw tightened.
But then he glanced at Emma.
Not at her body.
At her face.
Calm. Honest. No fear.
And he remembered the silence in the car.
The way she didn't deny it.
That she loves him.
Ethan clicked his tongue quietly.
"…Tch."
Liam stiffened even more.
Ethan finally spoke.
"Boy."
"Yes, sir."
"You have terrible timing," Ethan said flatly.
Liam nodded immediately. "Yes, sir."
Ethan looked at Emma.
She met his eyes.
No pleading.
No excuses.
Just truth.
Ethan exhaled.
Then said the words Liam never expected to hear.
"Emma."
She turned fully toward him.
"Go with him."
Liam's eyes widened. "S-sir—?"
Ethan raised a hand.
"But," he added, voice low and firm, "if you ever make her cry for selfish reasons—"
His gaze snapped back to Liam.
"I won't raise my voice."
Liam nodded so fast it was almost painful. "I understand. Completely."
Ethan stepped aside.
Emma paused for half a second.
"…Thank you," she said quietly.
Ethan didn't answer.
He just turned toward the house.
As Emma walked toward Liam, Ethan stopped at the door and added without looking back:
"And use the door next time."
Liam blinked.
"…Yes, sir."
Emma smiled.
Ethan knows. That They're. never gonna leave each other.
Chapter end