While we flew through the bustling skies of Erastus, I attempted to get a hold of myself.

"Are you going to be okay?" Alannah asked me. I had put my armor and helmet on before leaving, so I was able to hear her through my comms set.

"I'll be okay." I assured her. "Sorry..."

I felt her pat me on the back. "What did I tell you about apologizing? You have nothing to be sorry about, silly."

I sighed. "I just don't want to be a liability..."

"You're not a liability, Cylus," Alannah replied. She had a pair of goggles on to protect her eyes against the whipping winds, but I could still see her eyes glitter with humor, "You're...My special friend."

I cocked an eyebrow behind my helm. "Special friend, eh? What, pray tell, does 'special' entail?"

She turned to wiggle her eyebrows at me, only to loose a stream of curses when someone cut her off. "Go fuck yourself!" she snapped, standing up in her seat and flipping the person off. "See this? This means 'fuck you' in Terran! Memorize it, motherfucker!"

This woman does not take any bullshit. I realized. I love her so much. 

I had to force myself to think clearly as I tugged on the sleeve of Alannah's shirt.

"Please sit down." I pleaded with her. "And put your seat belt on while you're at it."

With a huff, the gunsmith sat back down, fastened her seat belt, and flashed me a coy grin. "To answer your previous question, my lovely Cylus, you're...more than a friend."

"I don't understand." Oh, I understand entirely. I'm just playing dumb right now.

Her smile made me squirm in my seat. "You'll understand...soon enough."

I ignored the rapid beating of my heart and focused on breathing so I didn't pass out.

I heard the devious redhead laugh. "Who would've thought I could make the galaxy's deadliest bounty hunter squirm in his seat?"

"You have...Quite a way with words." And you use your smoldering good looks to your advantage.

She shot a wink my way before focusing on flying her vehicle. "I come by it naturally, Mortie. When you've been a store owner and a bounty hunter for almost half a decade, you learn a few nifty tricks."

"I take it you've used your...skills on unsavory customers before?"

"You bet your breeches I have!" Alannah chirped. "For the especially disgusting customers, I lure them into a nearby alley and blow their brains out!"

"You catch that, Boreas?" I prompted my partner.

"Yep. The woman you're smitten over is as homicidal as you are." he replied. "Who would've thought."

"Hey, you laugh now Boreas." Alannah began. "But just wait: I'll save your skinny ass sooner than later."

He sighed. "It's sad just how correct you are."

We all shared a laugh, and before I knew it, we arrived at a small launch pad behind Alannahs's shop.

"We don't have to stay here, but I thought this would be a good place to start." she explained, only to sigh when her hair settled down around her in a wild mess.

I brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and chuckled when the gunsmith blew a rasberry at me. "I'm perfectly okay with starting here."

Alannah beamed at me. "Perfect! I can show you a few prototypes I've been working on."

I smiled behind my helm. "Sounds wonderful to me."

As we walked into her shop, the gunsmith frowned. "I don't think I ever gave you your knife back. It's probably somewhere in my room..."

"Keep it," I responded, "I'll feel better knowing you have one of my knives to protect yourself with."

A faint blush illuminated her freckles. "But...But that knife is easily worth fifty-thousand credits! The modifications done on the weapon make it effective against, well, anything that breathes. That being said, your knife is a piece of art!"

I chuckled to myself. "I'm glad you like my handiwork. However, my decision stands. Keep it, mijn sintel."

"Mijn sintel?" Alannah echoed, frowning in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"My cinder." I explained. "You may not be a raging inferno, but you still burn those who dare trifle with you."

Her blush deepened, and I could tell she was glad we were currently in the middle of an aisle full of guns.

"...Huh," she finally managed to say, "What language are you speaking, Cylus? It's one I haven't heard much of before."

I smiled to myself. "It's an old language my mother used to speak. It originated from Terra, and I believe its old name was Dutch."

"Dutch? Hmm, interesting. You said your mother used to speak it?"

I nodded and felt a smile appear on my face. "She did. I guess her family didn't let go of tradition. She...always spoke to me in Dutch so my father would never be able to understand us..."

"Oh...I see." Alannah breathed. "I won't ask any other questions..."

"Thank you..."

And with that, the gunsmith gave me a more thorough tour of her shop. Alannah showed me the larger weapons she's built, and I couldn't help but be impressed by her handiwork. Whether she was showing me a long-barreled handgun that shot explosive bullets or a sniper rifle that put my monstrous anti-material rifle to shame, each weapon was crafted with love and attention to detail.

The next weapon Alannah showed me was a shotgun with elegant engravings on its bronze body, and I was thoroughly entranced by the superb craftsmanship. I spent about an hour studying Alannah's creations with the creator herself at my side. She had to disappear every now and then to help a customer with their purchases, but she stayed beside me for the most part.

"Hey Cylus, I think I have another bounty for you." Boreas chimed in after I returned a plasma long rifle back to its rightful place at the back of the store.

"Oh?" I inquired.

"Yeah. I'm sure you'll be interested in it."

I chuckled and looked at Alannah as she stood beside me. "Think we can have a sort of competition and see who can take the target down first?"

She leaned against me and chuckled. "That sounds like a lovely evening to me." 

"It's settled then." I continued, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Who's my next target?"

"Um...Looking at the file now..." Boreas murmured before speaking up again. "His name appears to be Gavin Mendel. Not much is known about this guy–Well, other than the fact he's a prolific bounty hunter. I think he was last seen on..."

I stopped listening. The instant I heard the name of my target, nothing else mattered.

Gavin Mendel...The man I once considered my friend–My brother in arms.

And the man who killed the love of my life.

Leaving Alannah's side, I exited the store in an attempt to get a hold of myself. once outside, I found a flight of stairs that led to the roof of the building. Scaling the stairs, I sat away from the edge of the roof and took my helmet off. I threw it off to the side before Boreas could say anything else, and I sat down against what I believed to be the A/C unit for Alannah's store.

I tried to organize my thoughts, but couldn't. The mere mention of my old friend's name made me see red, and I fought against the urge to scream in fury.

"What the hell, Cylus?" I heard Alannah demand. I should've known she was going to follow me. "Why did you bolt from the store like that?"

I sighed. I can't handle this right now...

The redhead sat beside me and looked me straight in the eye. "Talk to me, man. I've kept myself from asking questions, but I can't feign ignorance when you do this...That's not how I work."

"I know." I breathed, hiding my face in the palms of my hands. "...Forgive me. I haven't heard the name of our target in a long, long time."

"Who? Gavin Mendel?" Alannah asked. "What's wrong with him?"

It took a tremendous amount of willpower on my part, but I got myself to talk.

"Gavin and I used to be friends..." I hissed.

"What changed?"

"He...He killed someone dear to me."

Alannah didn't respond, but I had already started talking. I couldn't stop the flood.

"She–She was just a regular civilian. I met her on Perstalsxi VI when I was twenty. I had been injured taking care of a bounty, so I tried to get somewhere safe to clean myself up. Unfortunately, I bumped into her without meaning to."

"What was her name?" Alannah asked me softly.

"Katherine." I breathed, feeling a tear roll down the left side of my face. "I tried to get away from her, but she insisted on tending to my injuries. After that initial meeting, I would always find her in the local maketplace holding a bouquet of flowers. I always thought they were for someone else, but she always handed me a flower when she saw me."

"Did your relationship become a serious one?"

"It did...Katherine and I were together for a few months before we started to date. About a year into our relationship, we decided to live together in a small home on Perstalsxi VI. At this time, I was a part of a guild simply referred to as the Dead Men. I joined the guild out of desperation, and I had been able to make quite the name for myself as a lucrative hunter. However, the creed of this guild stated that a member could not form any significant bonds with other people. Our only job was to pursue bounties, kill our targets, and get paid."

"You didn't want that though..."

"No, no I didn't." I breathed. "I had lost enough at that point. All I wanted was to find some glimmer of happiness. I thought I found that glimmer in Katherine: she had this...Aura of happiness around her. You never could be sad around her since she would always find a way to brighten your day."

Alannah nodded to herself. "What...What did Gavin do?"

"The bastard broke into my house while I was busy taking care of a bounty and...and..."

I couldn't continue. When I got back to the house Katherine and I owned, I entered our kitchen to find the love of my life laying on the ground, motionless. The blood that covered the floor...Still paints the darkness of the void I find myself in every time I close my eyes.

I forced myself to continue. "Even though she was bleeding out through several wounds, she was still able to speak...I remember her parting words as if they were spoken yesterday: Stay strong, my love..."

I couldn't hold myself together any longer. I banged my head against the A/C unit as hot tears escaped my shut eyelids. "And Gavin...Vanished like a god damn fleeting thought. I hunted him for three years–three goddamn years, and I came up empty handed. Now, he's back..."

Alannah embraced me, and I felt sobs overcome me.

"Shh..." she murmured, kissing my forehead. "I'm here for you..."

"Why the fuck do you care about me?" I managed to get out. "Anyone I try to befriend ends up dead."

"I care about you because you're a good man, Cylus."

I loosed a dejected laugh. "Boreas seems to think that."

"And he's not wrong." she continued. "Back in the lower city, you comforted a little girl as she passed away. You didn't have to do that, yet you did. To me, that says more about you than words could ever convey."

I...had no response.

"Hey." Alannah called, lifting my head back up with one of her hands. "Don't hang your head. You'll miss the present if you do."

I huffed out a chuckle as another tear slid down the right side of my face. "I'm a fucking wreck..."

"And that's okay." she finished for me, closing the distance between us. "Sometimes, we have to fall apart before piecing ourselves back together."

Without hesitation, she kissed me on the lips. Everything went silent in my head, and I closed my eyes when the kiss was deepened.

Well then...

When we broke apart, a vibrant smile adorned Alannah's face. "You helped me when you didn't have to, so please, let me help you in return. I don't know what good I can do, but please don't push me away."

You're already helping. I remarked to myself. You're reminding this broken old man what it feels like to be human again.

"I won't." I murmured. "I just hope I won't scare you away..."

"We all have our demons." She began, helping me stand up. "I understand you have to fight through them, but I promise I'll be there to help you."

It felt as if a weight was lifted from my chest. "Thank you, Alannah..."

Her eyes glittered with joy. "It's the least I can do, love."