"I'm going to my family's place this weekend," Valko says, leaning against your apartment doorway as though he isn't asking anything important at all. "Come with me."

You blink. "That's it? No warning? No dramatic speech about how your relatives bite?"

"They do." His mouth twitches. "Mostly each other."

"...You're joking."

"I'll let you figure that out." You narrow your eyes. "I hate that I can't tell when you're serious."

"I know." Which, somehow, makes it worse.

The drive into the mountains is quieter than usual. Not uncomfortable, never uncomfortable, but filled with the sort of silence that doesn't need filling.

Valko drives with one hand on the wheel, the other resting casually near the gearshift. Every now and then, his fingers brush yours before pulling away as though it happened by accident. It never is.

"You've really skipped family gatherings before?" you ask. He hums. "Frequently."

"Why?"

"They're loud."

"I've seen you fight monsters without blinking."

"They're louder." You laugh. "And they never let me leave without eating enough for three people."

"That doesn't sound terrible."

"It is when six aunties are competing."

"...Six?"

"You'll see." Those two words follow you all the way to the enormous cedar house nestled between towering trees. The front door barely opens before someone shouts "VALKO'S HERE!" Chaos erupts.

The next few seconds are a blur of voices, footsteps, and at least three people trying to hug him at once. "There you are!"

"You disappeared again!"

"Grandma said you'd invented a new excuse this time."

"I did not," an older voice protests from somewhere deeper inside. "I said he was probably working."

"You always defend him!" Valko sighs with the practiced exhaustion of someone who has survived this his entire life. "I'm home." Then he steps aside. "And I brought someone." silence. Complete. Absolute.

Every head turns toward you. You suddenly understand why prey animals freeze even though you were a hunter. An older woman, who must be Grandma, adjusts her glasses. An aunt gasps dramatically enough to deserve an award.

A younger cousin nearly drops the tray he was carrying. "...Oh."

"...OH." Another voice cuts through the stunned quiet. "So." A woman with Valko's eyes folds her arms, grinning far too knowingly. "This is the friend." Several relatives exchange looks. "The friend?"

"The one from the phone call?"

"The mysterious friend?"

"You remember?" Valko asks, sounding dangerously calm. His aunt snorts. "Remember? Sweetheart, you declined a family reunion because you were" she puts on an exaggerated imitation of his voice"'entertaining... a friend.'"

She pauses theatrically. "You never explain anything." Another aunt points directly at you. "So this is the friend you were hiding."

"I wasn't hiding—"

"Oh, he was hiding you," someone interrupts immediately. "For months." "I told you there was no way it was just a friend."

"I won that bet."

"You WHAT?" Money changes hands. Actual money. You stare in disbelief as three cousins reluctantly hand folded bills to Grandma.

She smiles with the quiet satisfaction of someone who has seen this outcome coming from the beginning. "I said he'd bring someone eventually." Valko pinches the bridge of his nose. "...Grandma."

"What?"

"You were gambling on my love life."

"It was a very small pool."

"It was not small," another aunt argues. "We had a spreadsheet."

"You had a spreadsheet?"

"You've been avoiding every reunion for months!" she says, as though this explains everything. "Do you know how suspicious that was?"

"I was working."

"You've worked for years."

"You've never said no this consistently."

"You even skipped Lunar Festival."

"Unprecedented."

"We thought you were cursed."

"I thought he secretly got married," one uncle admits. "I thought he'd adopted another wolf."

"I still think that's possible." Valko closes his eyes. You feel his shoulder bump yours ever so lightly. His silent apology. You can't help it. You laugh. Not a polite chuckle. A full, helpless laugh.

The entire room softens. Grandma beams.