Halian cursed under his breath as his prosthetic arm once again got stuck, the gears and pistons making it up refusing to obey his will.

He needed to finish these sketches, and then transform them into proper schematics. The deadline for the new and improved digging machine was drawing nigh. But his arm kept malfunctioning.

Erina had cleaned all the gears and brass plating many times over, fix up all the components she could, but they both knew it wasn't the actual source of the problem. The battery was simply dying after years of use, and it needed to be replaced.

The problem was that they didn't have the pearls to replace it.

And if Halian couldn't work more efficiently, he might lose his junior engineering position. As if it wasn't humiliating enough before.

Halian had been the best of the best prior to his ignoble fall. And now he might fall further, simply because he couldn't keep up with the workload disabled like this. It wasn't fair.

Of course, if he could go back, he'd always choose protecting Erina over keeping his forearm. He'd rather she lived, every time. But it frustrated him to tears sometimes.

Especially because if he lost his job, Erina would get assigned to be the mechanic of another engineer. They'd drift apart, and the thought broke Halian's heart.

She was his best friend. And she was so much more. She was...well, she was his everything.

If only he wasn't such a coward and actually managed to tell her that at some point. But every time he'd tried, he'd lost his nerve.

Besides, Erina was too wonderful to settle for Halian. Especially now that his hand was barely functioning. It had taken him so long to learn to use it, and once he'd finally managed to, it had become old and cumbersome.

Without a new battery, it would stop functioning altogether eventually. And since he would lose his job then, he'd never scrape together enough pearls to fix it. He couldn't even do that now.

It was simply an impossible situation to deal with.

"Hey!"

Halian flinched in surprise when he was suddenly hugged from behind tightly, pressing him into his swivel chair. He chuckled a bit, unable to help it. Erina was simply too endearing.

He patted her arm since he couldn't exactly hug back like this, then turned his chair around as soon as she let go.

He wanted to get up to hug her back now that he could, but he found himself just sitting there, awestruck at how beautiful she was.

Her black, wavy hair was tied back into a bun, but it refused to be tamed, sticking out at all angles, especially around the goggles pushed up onto her forehead, a few strands falling into her eyes regardless.

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.

"None of that nonsense in this house."

Halian flinched and blinked, stunned into silence. She'd done this before many times when she'd felt he was being foolish, but it always ended up shocking him somehow.

She was so attractive when she got all uncompromising and firm, though. Halian knew now wasn't the time, but he couldn't help it.

"But it's true," Halian weakly argued, running his remaining hand through his hair. Doing it with his prosthetic always tended to get a hair or two caught between the gears.

"It isn't," Erina insisted. She stared him right in the eye with such intensity it made Halian want to look away. "I'm not being forced to do anything. I want to be here, and I wanna be with you."

Erina smiled then, gesturing with the rolled up plans in her hand. "Besides, if I could read your writing after you pulled that stunt with working for forty-eight straight hours, I can read this just fine. And meanwhile we get enough pearls to fix up your arm."

She took his metal hand into hers then, grinning at him, such unwavering conviction in her eyes. Her smile was so beautiful that it always made Halian believe for a moment that everything might truly be okay eventually. But then his pessimism always seemed to win over.

Well, Erina called it pessimism—in Halian's point of view, it was simply realism. Things were grim.

Sure, it was mathematically possibly to make enough pearl before the battery deteriorated to the point of once more losing his writing hand, but it was unlikely.

It simply made sense to him to prepare for that eventuality.

"It's gonna be okay," Erina said gently, petting Halian's hair. Halian found himself relaxing almost against his will.

She'd started doing this to calm him after moving in with him when he'd gotten severely upset or frustrated with his newfound limitations. And she'd never stopped.

Halian liked it so much, but it always made him feel guilty. To Erina, surely this must have been entirely platonic. But he couldn't see it that way.

It made his heart hurt, yet he'd rather die than stop it. As most things Erina did.

"Let's just get through this a day at a time?" Erina said, hugging him tight. Halian hugged back, not caring at all that this would likely get his clothes stained from her work overalls. He just melted and nuzzled the crook of her neck with his nose. She always smelled of motor oil, which he normally didn't care for, but on her it was the best thing ever.

"Come on, you can keep me company in my workshop for a bit," Erina said, pulling him along by his wrist. Halian couldn't help but smile at that. "You need to get out of here for a bit. You've been locked in here for hours."

"I don't lock the door anymore, actually," Halian said, snorting as he followed her out of his study and down the spiral staircase, heading to the workshop, which used to be his garage. "I know better by now than to try to keep you out."

Erina grinned back at him, sniggering. "You can't keep me down, old man."

"You are three years younger than I am," Halian said, pretending to be huffy and offended, while Erina giggled.

"Ooold."

Halian rolled his eyes playfully, his heart fluttering. She was so endearing.

"I'm gonna take a look at your arm, too," she continued as they reached the workshop.

Halian had never been that good at building things. He could design them so well, but when it came to actually working with materials, the most he'd managed was build a miniature airship. He couldn't even begin to imagine how to actually build a proper sized one, no matter the amount of people and tools. So being in any kind of workshop had always made him feel anxious and insecure.

But there was something so homely and familiar about Erina's. It was just cozy, and nothing else was to it. He settled himself in his usual armchair in the corner from where he always watched Erina work when he visited. It was just so fascinating, watching her realize his plans, turning them from paper to metal.

He had at first felt awkward about watching her, but after being told many times over that Erina didn't mind and enjoyed the company, Halien had finally managed to get over that particular fear.

Though something was different, he thought as he scanned the room and frowned at the water tank by the garage door.

"Why is Little Man here?" Halian asked, getting up again to stroll over to it. Little Man, their giant pet clam that needed a better name, was resting on his favorite rock in the massive tank. They'd had him for years now. Erina had found him one day, stuck in a drying out creak, and brought the clam home, and since then they had a pet.

Halian smiled when Little Man swam up a bit, settling himself down on another rock. Prior to acquiring their unusual pet, Halian had had no idea clams could swim, nevermind as fast as Little Man could go. It was a shame that clams made pearls so slowly. Little Man was forming one currently, but Halian wasn't planning on even using it to get the new battery. It would be a drop in the ocean. And it seemed too special for it.

Halian sighed. He knew what he'd love to use this pearl for, but it was a foolish dream.

"Oh, I think he was lonely," Erina explains immediately, going over to smile at the clam. "He got all excited when I walked past this morning so I thought I'd put him here. To keep me company."

Halian smiled at her. Her love for the clam was so endearing. "We really should come up with a better name for him."

He'd long since given up on trying to figure out how exactly Erina had decided that the clam was male—he didn't even know if clams had sexes that could be defined this way—since she claimed it was based on vibes. But he stood by his insistence that Little Man was not a proper pet name.

"Nah, Little Man is perfect. Because he's just a little man," Erina explained, cooing at the sight of the clam. She reached into the tank to gently rub him, making the clam snap its shells together.

Halian hadn't known that clams could feel good from being scratched either before figuring out as much through Erina really wanting to pet him.

"I should call you Little Man," Erina said, chuckling, which made Halian flush and scowl at her.

"I...I am not little. I'm of average height at worst," he immediately defended himself, folding his arms.

"Aw, you're little on the inside," Erina said, grinning at him. Halian huffed, no appreciating this teasing at all, though it did feel good, somehow. Maybe because he knew Erina meant it as a compliment.

It was simply difficult for him. He didn't like feeling like he was weak or lesser.

"Speaking of little men," Erina said, walking over to her work desk and grabbing something small off it. It glinted when light hit it, making Halian frown as he tried to make it out.

Once she returned to his side, it became incredibly obvious what this was. And yet it explained nothing.

"Why do you have a strap with miniature cat ears on it?" Halian asked, not understanding anything at all. The ears seemed well made and sturdy, tiny as they were, but what was the point of them?

"For Little Man, of course," Erina said, as if it was all so obvious. She then reached into the tank, scratching the clam's shell once more before pulling the strap around it, giving Little Man cat ears.

It was quite adorable, but Halian refused to say it. "Will he even be able to open his shell like this?"

Erina snorted, waving her hand dismissively. "Of course he will. I didn't make the strap tight. Just tight enough that it doesn't fall off."

As if wanting to demonstrate, Little Man swam up back onto the rock he'd been on when Halian had come here.

"Yeah, see?"

Halian hmphed, pissy that he finds all of this cute. "You would put a collar on him and walk him around the city if you could."

Oh, how Halian would love to be collared and taken on a walk by Erina.

Erina meanwhile laughed, such a beautiful sound. "Don't tempt me. I will figure out how to give him metal legs."

Halian smiled fondly. If anyone could make a clam walk on land, it would be Erina. She was just that brilliant.

"For the next hat, I'm thinking a top hat. You look adorable in yours, and you're a little man. He's a little man so he'd look adorable in his. The math works."

Halian stared at her, shocked and offended, but also privately very pleased as he blushed hard. "I do not look adorable in a top hat. I look professional and serious."

"Cutie," Erina said, petting Halian's head. She chuckled, nudging Halian with her elbow. "I mean not cutie—professional and serious."

Halian huffed, folding his arms. He would not stand for this mockery. "Top hats are very stylish and, as you would say, cool. Thank you."

Erina chuckled and beamed, hugging Halian around the shoulders. "You're the coolest little man I know."

Halian sighed even as his heart fluttered. He could never win these little banters, and if he were to be honest with himself, he didn't want to, either.

"Thank you," he said, blushing even more when he saw Erina smile wide.

"We should go out to get supplies later. Not to mention food," she said. "And you'll get to be cool in your little top hat."

Halian blushed harder, shaking his head. "It is not little."

"Little men have little hats. I don't make the rules," Erina beamed, grabbing his hand and pulling him to her work table. "Now, come on. I need to check out your arm."

Halian nodded. Perhaps at the very least cleaning it would help its movements. He didn't resist when Erina pulled his mechanical arm onto her desk, pulling out the little clockwork key needed to move the cogs enough to get the prosthetic off what was left of his arm.

Halian tended to only take it off for when he went to bed, but he did tend to have a copy of the key on him at all times. And so did Erina. In fact, the keys were nearly everywhere in case he ended up losing his own.

He sighed as he felt the mechanism of the arm loosen, the cogs moving to allow him to pull the remaining part of his arm out of the prosthetic.

Halian rubbed his now exposed skin. All the padding Erina had added made the experience of wearing the metal prosthetic as pleasant as it could possibly be. But his skin still tended to get itchy and sweaty in it. It was nice to take it off sometimes when he didn't need it.

"Oh yeah, there's dust in here again," Erina said as she pulled her goggles over her face, using the small, round magnifying glasses attached on the side to see better.

"Interesting how that is an ever-reoccurring problem," Halian deadpanned even as he smiled.

Erina grinned at him briefly before returning to her work, using tiny brushes to clean out all the gears and metal plates.

It was always a joy to watch her tinker. Halian wished he could visit her here more often without worrying about distracting or annoying her. She was simply so skilled and determined, and she never seemed to get intimidated when a problem cropped up. It was truly admirable.

"Got some worn gears that need changing here," Erina muttered thoughtfully, reaching into one of the drawers in her work table, bringing out new gears and putting them right next to his prosthetic arm even as she continued cleaning it.

It was wonderful to watch her work. Halian would never get enough. Erina herself was like a well-oiled machine, working efficiently and with delight. No wonder she built machines so well.

As Halian watched her meticulously fix up his arm, he let himself get lost in his fantasies, this time the simple one of just holding Erina's hand. He truly was a pathetic creature.

If only he could muster up the bravery, fight through his insecurities to actually say something. But when he opened his mouth to try at last, no words came. He only needed three, but he couldn't get out a single one.

And so he closed his mouth again, a failure.

It would be only a matter of time before someone else recognized just how amazing Erina was. And they would not be too afraid to say it.

Perhaps this was another inevitability that Halian needed to accept. She deserved better than a disabled engineer on his continuous fall from grace.

Halian smiled to himself sadly. He'd just enjoy Erina's presence for as long as it would last. It had been years. Perhaps by some miracle there still were a few more to go.