Scars to Your Beautiful (New)

Change is in the Air

A/N: Here is a Valentine for you lovelies. It came out kicking and screaming like an unruly toddler, but I managed to wrangle it into some kind of tameable creature worthy of you all.

By the end of the day, Emori had proven that she wasn't just all talk. With her help, I nearly completed all the builds, putting me back on track to finish the installs in the next two weeks. That is if Emori continued to help me. And that was a problem. Without some guarantee on my part, I had no way to convince Emori to continue working and staying out of trouble.

I sighed, tiredly rubbed my face, and glanced out the nearest window. The sky was beginning to change colors, letting me know it was time to start cleaning up. I took a moment to stretch out my stiff muscles before sighing again and heading to where Emori had set up a workstation.

I leaned against the table, watching for a few seconds as she worked before saying, "Emori."

The brunette thief glanced at me, sighing, "That face doesn't look good."

I tiredly chuckled, "I have a problem, Emori. You've proven to be a decent hand with these builds. You even managed to get me back on track."

She eyed me warily, "And that's a problem because...."

I sighed, "It's a problem because I've realized that if I want to finish on time, I need your help, and I have no guarantees of compensating you for the time and effort you'd put in. And I have no guarantee that you'll stay out of trouble if you were to continue to work for me."

Emori sighed, her shoulders slumping, and stood up, "So, I guess that's it then." Looking at me, she held out her arm, "Thanks, I guess."

I looked at her arm, then the workbench, and softly chuckled, "Yeah, I'm not falling for that. Lose the tools, Emori."

Emori blinked in surprise as she lowered her arm and started to pull tools out from her person, "How the hell did you even notice? You've barely looked over here while we worked."

I smirked, "You're not the first grifter I've met, Emori." I moved and patted her down, finding several components tucked away in her clothes, and set them on the table. "Let's be honest, you knew I'd have this realization but were hoping I'd let my guard down while I hemmed and hawed over the problem. Nice try, though. Your technique is nearly flawless."

Emori chuckled, shaking her head, "There's more to you than what everyone sees, isn't there?"

I nudged her towards the door, leaning on the frame as she stepped outside, and crossed my arms, "There's only one way for you to find out, Emori. You've got a half hour before the gates close for the day. Good luck conning those in the next village."

She smirked, lowly bowing before walking away. I watched until her figure disappeared before heading back inside, locking the door behind me. I cleaned up both workbenches and ensured that everything was locked up.

What I wasn't expecting was for Emori to show up the next day. When I asked, the brunette simply shrugged and gave me a sly smirk. I could only shake my head before unlocking the door to the warehouse and gesturing for her to enter.

This happened twice more before I reluctantly delved into my savings and went clothes shopping.

Even though I wasn't officially a seken, Indra still gave me a stipend to live off. It was enough for food, clothing, and other essentials. But since Ava moved in with me, most of what I earned was saved and used for emergencies or big purchases like furniture.

So, I had more than enough to pay Emori for the days she worked. I surprised the clanless thief when I showed up with them in hand.

"What's this," Emori asked as I set the money and clothes in front of her.