Erina's Guide to Grinding Gears

Chapter 1

There was some engine grease on her cheek, right above the edge of her lopsided smile, the curve of her lips so perfect.

And her warm, brown eyes.... Halian could stare into them forever, get lost in them completely.

He couldn't help but fantasize when he was overwhelmed with her beauty like this. In his mind he was kissing her, telling her how much he loved her, and she was saying it back. And then she was pushing him down over his drafting table, bending him over and spreading his legs to—

Halian swallowed, blinking. He really needed to get a hold of himself.

"You okay?" Erina asked, now frowning a bit, concern in her eyes.

Halian blushed hard. "Uh, yes, of course." He cleared his throat, getting up to run a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face. His was just as wavy as Erina's but ginger and shorter. Though still it would hang down the length his nose of he let it.

"Your hand is giving you trouble, hm?" Erina asked gently, looking down at his sketches. Halian scowled at the unsteady lines within the designs. It looked like a child's drawing more than the achievement of engineering the Iln-monger 3000 was supposed to be.

"It's fine," Halian said, clasping his hands behind his back, though not even he knew if this was meant to demonstrate his strength or to hide his weakness.

Erina stared at him, still gentle but also firm. It shut Halian's further protests down immediately. "We will get you a new battery. It will be good as new."

Halian shook his head, strolling to the one window in his study, a large circular one, right in front of his desk. He pressed the button next to it, opening the metal, aperture-like blinds, and staring down at the city beyond.

Great, tall towers spread out as far as the eye could see, nestled neatly between two mountains, with airships small and large flying above. Some twenty years ago, when Halian had been a boy, the city had seemed impossibly large as it had been, but objectively, it was even grander now.

There was light snowfall, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Ilnara was a place of snow and ice and brass. It was almost startling every time summer came around. Most of the snow disappeared and delicate plants grew outside of the bio-warehouses. And then, merely a few weeks later, it would all be gone again, replaced with more snow and ice.

It got quite morose at times, especially once the long nights came, but Halian wouldn't trade it for anything. The cold and ice never failed to make him proud of his ancestors for building all of this. And he wanted to continue doing his part to improve things further. If only his metal arm would let him.

"We'll fix it," Erina said as she walked to his side, nudging his shoulder with hers. "I can work with your plans, no matter what."

Halian looked at her, sighing. She was trying so hard. But he would eventually just end up dragging her down. It was wonderful that she'd been so dedicated to helping him after the incident, to the point of moving into his house so she would always be around if he needed her.

And when didn't he?

But it really just served as a constant reminder that Halian was keeping Erina chained to the ground. She was such a talented builder, the best mechanic he'd ever met. She deserved to work with someone who would hone their craft and become better and better.

All Halian was going to manage was the opposite.

"You shouldn't have to be forced to decipher my awful writing or shaky lines," Halian huffed.

"Uh-huh." Erina took the stack of his sketches from his desk. Halian expected her to say something about them, but instead she then rolled them up and swung the papers, hitting him over the head.