Walking around the city with Halian was always so peaceful and calming. It was very chilly outside, and the snowfall had gotten worse, but they were well equipped for the weather, what with their coats and hats.
Erina was enjoying seeing Hal in his top hat so much. He was so cute in it, especially with the goggles on it.
Halian always loved to make a big stint about how it was improper to use goggles as only an accessory, that they should be worn on a hat only if a person had gone somewhere using vehicle with no windshield, but he tended to forget to take them off himself.
Or so he claimed whenever Erina had pointed it out. But thinking back on it, he'd started forgetting after she'd told him he looks good with them like this.
Her heart ached. It was probably just a coincidence and wishful thinking, but she yearned and couldn't help herself. Just like she was currently yearning to hook her arm around Hal's.
They'd done it before, and it had always made Erina's heart flutter, but she could never tell what Halian thought of it. When asked, he said something about it being pleasant, but something was always off about that tone. And he always tensed up. He never stopped her, though.
Deciding to just go with it, Erina's yearning too much to handle, she pulled her hand out of her pocket just so she could sneak her arm under Hal's, making the man blink at her.
Erina grinned at him, sticking her hand in her pocket again, and Halian smiled back, his cheeks pink. Though they might have already been pink from the cold.
"Where do we go shopping first?" Erina said, energized by their interlocked arms. It was sort of ridiculous, but she didn't care. She was a simple creature, and touching her best friend just sparked joy.
"I suppose the, uh, hardware...store?" Halian said, looking distracted, now definitely blushing, his eyes flicking from the buildings around them to the motorcycles and cars zipping past on the street next to them.
Erina grinned. He was such a cutie.
"Cogs and Nuts, you mean?" she asked, sniggering as she pointed at shop on the far corner of the street. "My favorite supplier."
Halian huffed, turning his nose up. "You only picked them to go to because of the name."
Erina laughed. She sometimes on purpose pronounced the titular cogs as much more cocks than was necessary, just to fluster him. Halian was so adorable when he got all embarrassed.
"It is funnyyyy," Erina said, nudging him with her elbow. "I'm honestly jealous. Could have called my repair business that."
Erina only repaired things occasionally as some extra income because her main occupation was working with Halian for the government, creating his machines, so she hadn't even bothered naming it. But she had been playing around with ideas for a very long time.
Halian shook his head. "No, that name would not fit a repair shop. You can think of a much better innuendo."
Erina grinned as he sighed dramatically. He couldn't hide the little smile in the corner of his mouth from her.
"It will be the most obnoxious thing," Erina said, her head raised high in delight.
Hal chuckled. "I expect as much. Or I shall not approve the sign to be added to my house."
Erina saluted, sniggering. "Yes, sir!"
Halian ducked his head, making Erina blink. He almost seemed uncomfortable with being called sir jokingly, his mouth drawn into a little frown and his eyes sadly staring at the cobbled sidewalk beneath their boots.
Before Erina could ask what was up, though, he cleared his throat. "Good. Off we go to get those gears."
"And I need a new number ten spanner. I got a bit frustrated with a cog and used a hammer. And well..." Erina shook her head. "And there's a few other things."
It was a good thing they'd brough their shopping drone with them because they needed a lot of things, and it would be incredibly inconvenient to lug around the city.
Erina looked back at the machine, smiling as it followed them, tilting from side to side a bit as it whirled it little propeller, clicking as its gears worked. It was a very simple machine—basically just a metal basket that could fly—but the drone was very useful, having served them for years now.
Erina had of course glued googly eyes on the front of the machine, as was appropriate. And named the drone Sindy. Originally the name was a dig at her mother Sindana because she tended to drone on. But Sindy was a good girl and didn't deserve to be associated with her awful mother anymore, so Erina didn't acknowledge the origins anymore.
She took a deep breath, enjoying walking around with Hal so much. It was almost a shame when they reached the shop. The lack of snowfall inside made the atmosphere much less magical.
She didn't let go of his arm, though. She just told the woman running the shop, Astron, what she needed while sneaking glances at Halian and the subtle blush on his face. He didn't seem to have any interest in letting go either, though.
They did separate once Astron brought in everything, though, so they could load up Sindy, but once everything in order, and they walked outside again, it was Halian this time to lock their arms together.
Erina grinned at him, adjusting her bowler hat as cold wind hit them. She couldn't even feel it, though, not with her heart all fluttery.
"Where to next?" Erina asked as they started walking again. "Ooh, maybe we get those waffles from that one place. You know the one."
Halian chuckled softly, smiling at her. "You mean every single place that sells them? You always proclaim the ones you most recently tasted are the best ones."
Erina sniggered, wagging her finger at him. "Listen, all waffles are the best waffles. I'm a simple woman."
Halian's smile turned much softer, his eyes so very fond, but it only lasted a moment before he looked away. "You are not wrong."
Erina always wondered what was going on in Hal's head when he got like this. He never tended to talk before thinking. It made her incredibly happy when he let himself speak with more ease when they were alone, and there was nothing wrong with being the silent, broody type, obviously. Erina just wished she knew what he thought of her.
They went on to get those waffles, enjoying each others company. They ended up getting the ones with chocolate on and in them, and they were delicious. Erina would never get tired of eating these.
After finishing the waffles, they were about to head to head to the bank to deposit their jar of pearls, get one bit closer to their goal of fixing up Hal's hand.
Unfortunately, the good mood didn't last, though. Erina had been telling Halian about how difficult the latest build had been when she noticed him glaring at something on their right.
She paused, looking that way too, making Halian stop as well given their interlocked arms. And a second later she realized—there was a wanted poster for Tamrien Enreth on the wall, a loose corner of it flapping in the wind, but the rest staying firmly in place.
Erina scowled. She still remembered when Halian had told her about his family
It had been shortly after moving in together, just a few months in, but she remembered that night vividly.
Erina jerked awake when she heard soft, distressed cries coming in from the next room. It took her sluggish brain a second to realize what must have been happening. What had been happening a lot lately.
Once she woke up properly, though, she was immediately springing up from her bed, running out of her room, and barging into Halian's.
Her heart clenched when she saw the man curled up, half-uncovered from tossing and turning as he whimpers and shuddered, trying to hug himself as best he could with half his arm missing.
Every time she saw him without his mechanical arm—sometimes even with it—Erina felt a wave a guilt wash over her. But she wouldn't give that any thought, certainty not right now.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," she said as she rushed to Hal, sitting down next to him and shaking him.
Halian flinches and cried out as he woke up, blinking at in shock, his eyes wide as he panted.
"Oh. Just a dream."
Erina put her arms around him immediately, pulling him in so that his head was resting against her shoulder. Halian closed his eyes, sighing as he took a few deep breaths.
"Thank you for waking me. I...woke you up, didn't I?"
Erina shook her head. "Don't you dare feel bad about it. I'm here for you. I'm here to help you."
Halian nodded. Erina watched his throat bob. The poor thing had never slept well—she'd known that much from how often he spent his nights working—though it really made Erina wonder just how much worse this had become after the accident. Had he had nightmares like this before?
Erina sighed internally. If he had, he wouldn't have told her. He would have said some nonsense about him not being worth worrying about.
"Thank you," Halian sighed. "I'm sorry."
"No, none of that," Erina said, shushing him gently as she stroked his hair. "I'm glad I'm here to help you."
Halian took a deep breath. "Thank you. I...I tend to handle things better. It's just...well. I...dreamt about my father."
Erina paused her petting just for a second, surprised. Hal never talked about his family. She'd originally thought he'd been an orphan, even. She'd never asked because she hadn't felt like she had any right to ask.
"Did he hurt you?" She gritted her teeth. If Halian was having nightmares about the man, then—
"Not physically." Halian shook his head. "He just...he disowned me when he realized I refused to follow in his footsteps."
Erina hugged him tighter. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, I'm better off like this," Halian said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "It just...hurts, still. Even though I shouldn't care."
Erina puppy eyed him. "Of course you should care. Should I stop being upset about what happened with my mother just because I am much better off without her?"
Halian opened his mouth, only to frown and close it. "Hm."
"Yeah, exactly," Erina said, hugging the man tight. "It's okay to feel hurt. It's okay to be upset."
Halian nodded, sighing. "I've never told you who he was."
"I don't have to know if you don't want to tell me," Erina immediately said, continuing to pet his hair.
Halian smiled, hugging her back and taking another deep breath. "I haven't told you on purpose."
Erina nods. She hadn't thought that it had been an accident, or Halian forgetting. But before she could say as much, he spoke again.
"I...I'm worried you'll think less of me."
Erina gasped, holding him tighter. She has to immediately put a stop to this nonsense logic. "I could never. Hal, of course I wouldn't think less of you. It doesn't matter what your father did. None of whatever it is reflects on you."
Halian nodded, sighing as he rubbed his eyes. "I...I know. It's just.... My name. It's Halian Enreth."
Of all the things Erina had expected, this wasn't it. And yet it changed absolutely nothing about anything. Just because Halian was the son of a crime and drug lord didn't mean anything. Halian was wonderful and good, unlike his father, and that was all there was to it.
Erina just embraced him more, kissing his temple. "Thank you for telling me."
Halian blinked at her, staring in silence for a moment. "That's.... I expected a bigger reaction."
Erina hummed. "None of that matters to me. I just care about you. You're my best friend." She smiled, even as her heart gave a pang of yearning for more. "Everything is the same as ever. Except if you ever want me to shoot your dad in the face, I'll happily do that."
Halian smiled then, chuckling softly. "You're unbelievable. Thank you."
Erina kissed the top of his head, wanting to kiss his lips so badly—
Erina shook her head before she could get stuck in her romantic fantasies.
"We can keep going," Halian said, clearing his throat. But Erina shook her head, going over to Sindy to rummage around in her.
"Not yet," she said, finally finding what she was looking for—a black marker. She always kept some writing utensils and paper somewhere near her. She tended to randomly get ideas on the go.
She smirked as he uncapped it and walked up to the wanted poster, narrowing her eyes at Tamrien Ereth's face.
Now that she knew he was Halian's father, she could see some resemblance, mostly with the wavy hair and sharp nose. But there was none of the warmth in the man's eyes. It was only the printing of a drawing, to be fair, but Erina somehow didn't doubt that this was accurate to the real person.
She raised the marker, giving Tamrien a goofy mustache over his beard, giving him bushy eyebrows too before finishing off with fangs.
She turned around to grin at Halian, only to see him cover his mouth to muffle his laughter, his eyes sparkling.
Such a beautiful sight. Erina couldn't help but pause and watch him, so fond. He was so handsome and adorable.
Erina couldn't help herself from bounding over and hugging him tight. Then she twirled the marker. "Wanna go around the city tagging his face?"
Halian laughed harder, shaking his head. "Perhaps if we see another poster on the way." He smiled fondly. "Thank you."
He offered his elbow again, and Erina immediately took it, sighing happily.
"And meanwhile, I'll keep an eye out for something of your mother's to deface," Halian said, sounding like he was joking, but Erina was sure he was completely serious.
"It's a deal, partner."