Late afternoon had slipped into that soft hour where the house slowed down.

  The sun hung low, painting warm gold across the living room floor. The day’s heat lingered faintly in the walls, and the ceiling fan hummed zily overhead.

  It was peaceful.

  Too peaceful to expect anything.

  Mom hadn’t moved in almost forty minutes.

  Not because she couldn’t — but because Eri was asleep.

  Curled against her chest, sideways across her p, Eri breathed slow and deep, her face half-hidden in the fabric of Mom’s shirt. One arm loosely held her waist while all tails pooled across the couch like a bnket, occasionally twitching in dreams.

  Her ears drooped comfortably.

  Every so often she made a tiny sound — not quite a word, not quite a sigh.

  Mom’s hand continued its gentle path through her hair.

  Mira sat nearby doing homework at the table, writing slower than necessary so the scratching of the pencil wouldn’t wake her.

  Yui was on the floor drawing.

  No one wanted to break it.

  The house felt… settled.

  But then the doorbell rang

  Eri didn’t wake luckily — but her ears flicked sharply.

  Mom froze.

  Yui looked up. “I’ll get it—”

  “No,” Mira whispered immediately, already standing.

  She walked to the door carefully, gncing once at the couch to confirm Eri was still asleep. She opened it only a crack.

  And immediately stiffened.

  “…Oh.”

  Standing on the porch was Alex.

  His posture wasn’t casual. Not like someone just visiting.

  He looked tense — eyes sharp, searching, shoulders tight like he’d spent the whole walk arguing with himself about coming here.

  “Hey,” he said quietly. “Sorry to just show up.”

  Mira stepped halfway outside, pulling the door behind her. “You probably shouldn’t.”

  “I heard rumors.”

  Her expression changed slightly.

  “…what kind of rumors?”

  He hesitated.

  “…about a girl. With ears.”

  Silence.

  Mira studied his face — really studied it — and whatever she saw there made her sigh softly.

  “You saw already,” she said.

  Not a question.

  His jaw tightened.

  “…in the gardens.”

  A beat.

  “I didn’t imagine that, right?”

  Mira shook her head once.

  Alex exhaled slowly, tension leaving his shoulders but repced immediately by something heavier — confirmation.

  “I needed to know she was safe.”

  Mira looked back through the window.

  Inside, Mom still sat on the couch — Eri asleep against her.

  After a moment, she stepped aside.

  “Be quiet.”

  Alex stepped into the house like he was entering somewhere fragile.

  The first thing he noticed was how normal everything looked.

  The second thing he noticed was the tails.

  He stopped walking.

  Eri y curled against her mom exactly as she had been — peaceful, vulnerable, completely unaware of him standing ten feet away.

  For a moment, Alex just stared.

  Not shocked.

  Not confused.

  Just… processing.

  “…she looks smaller like this,” he said quietly.

  Mom looked up at him, cautious but not hostile. She already knew who he was — Eri had mentioned him, carefully, indirectly.

  “Alex.”

  He nodded once. “Sorry.”

  “For?”

  “For being part of the reason she’s scared right now.”

  Mom studied him for a long second — then shook her head.

  “She was scared long before you.”

  His eyes moved back to Eri.

  Her tails twitched faintly in sleep, curling tighter around her waist. One ear flicked toward the unfamiliar voice, and she instinctively burrowed closer into Mom’s shoulder.

  Alex’s expression softened.

  “…she always does that.”

  Mom blinked. “Does what?”

  “Hides when she thinks she’s about to be seen.”

  A pause.

  “You knew.”

  “I figured it out that day,” he said quietly. “But I wasn’t supposed to.”

  Mira leaned against the wall nearby, watching both of them carefully.

  The room fell into a gentle silence again.

  Then Eri stirred.

  Her ears twitched twice.

  Her nose scrunched slightly — sensing something unfamiliar.

  And slowly…

  Her eyes opened.

  Half-lidded, unfocused at first.

  She lifted her head just enough to look toward the doorway.

  Her brain hadn’t caught up yet.

  Then it did.

  She froze.

  For one full second she didn’t breathe.

  “…Alex?”

  Her voice was small. Hoarse from sleep.

  Mom immediately felt her body tense.

  Eri didn’t move away — but her tails tightened instinctively around herself, defensive.

  Alex didn’t step closer.

  Didn’t raise his voice.

  Didn’t even shift his posture.

  He stayed exactly where he was.

  “…hey.”

  Her ears fttened halfway.

  “You— why are you here?”

  He hesitated — then answered honestly.

  “Because people at school started talking.”

  Her stomach dropped.

  “…what kind of talking?”

  “They don’t know it’s you,” he said quickly. “Just rumors. But rumors turn into searching.”

  Her breathing became shallow.

  “I needed to warn you before curiosity gets stupid.”

  Silence filled the room.

  Eri’s fingers tightened slightly in Mom’s shirt again — grounding herself.

  “…you didn’t tell anyone?”

  “No.”

  No hesitation.

  She studied his face.

  Long enough the tension in her shoulders wavered slightly.

  “…why?”

  Alex’s answer came quiet.

  “Because you trusted me once.”

  The room stilled again.

  Eri’s ears slowly lifted — not fully, but no longer pinned back.

  Her fear didn’t vanish.

  But it shifted.

  And Eri, she didn’t look like she wanted to disappear.

  Luna_