Erend kept himself busy when she was gone. She still came and went as she pleased, but she was sure to tell him when she was leaving. It didn't make it any easier for him to be without her, but he found himself occupying his time with work, engaging with his men. He was happy that she had responded to his confessions the way she did. He even found himself enjoying interacting with Avad.

"You seem… better, my friend. Healthier. Happier." The Sun-King spoke to him from across a table, dinner laid out in front of them. Erend took a drink of tea brewed in the sun. He hadn't touched alcohol since the night Aloy had knocked on his door.

"I am," he said, smiling.

"Things must have gone well when she returned?" Erend nodded.

"It was… messy, but good. I was… seeing someone else when she returned. I thought for sure she was dead. She knocked on the door and Miri answered. You can imagine my shock, followed immediately by my regret. I'm lucky, Avad. Lucky she listened to me, lucky that she gave me the chance to listen to her. Things are still hard, there's still so much to work on, but we are doing that. Working on it. Together. And it's the best I have felt in a very long time." Avad smiled.

"A smart match, Erend. She is formidable, as are you." The Oseram man laughed.

"Terrifying, you mean. I've never been so scared of someone so… small." It was Avad's turn to laugh.

"Yes. I suppose she is."

He walked back to Aloy's apartment, just to check on things. He made a habit of checking on her place every other day while she was gone. He checked to make sure that the apartment hadn't been broken into, and to put fresh flowers into a vase he had made for her on the table. He walked just outside the city gates on the days when he needed new flowers, picking a bouquet of the ones that reminded him of her hair. He always scanned the horizon for signs of her, some cloud of dust or Charger speeding toward the city, but never saw anything indicating her return. He knew she would come back at some point, knew she would come to him when she returned, but it didn't soften the emptiness he felt when she was gone. He replaced the flowers and locked her apartment up, heading back to his home for the night.

Erend had, for the most part, given up drinking completely. He would enjoy an Oseram brew with his men after a long day of training, or when one of the Vanguard had received a royal commendation, but he found that he preferred to drink tea in the comfort of his own home. The first night he had turned down his men's offer to go drink to stay home he smiled, thinking only of how proud Ersa would be. Good job, little brother, he could hear her say. His second thought was, of course, of Aloy, and how she preferred him to be sober. As he brewed tea for himself after leaving her apartment, he noted that he was running low on his favorite leaves. He would visit the market tomorrow. There was a quiet knock on the door, and Erend's heart began to race. He pulled the door open to find Aloy standing on the step, looking up at him with a sheepish look across her face. Disregarding this, Erend pulled her tightly to his chest, happy to feel the warmth of her body against his again.

"You're back!" he said, smiling. Aloy wrapped her arms as far around his body as they would go, nodding against his chest.

"I am," she said, "...and I need a favor, Erend."

"Anything!" she gently pulled herself away from him, looking up at his face.

"Can you let me into my apartment? My key...well, it melted." It was then that Erend noticed the bandages across her forearms and the smell of Hintergold hanging in the air between them. He quickly surveyed the rest of her, eyes scanning from head to toe, then back to her face.

"Melted?" he was trying to stay as calm as possible, knowing that her standing in front of him meant that things were okay.

"It was a stupid mistake, nothing crazy. Accidentally stood too close to a Behemoth when it exploded. Got my arms pretty bad. And when I reached for the canister I keep my key in...well, the canister was melted into the key. So. Can I borrow your key?"

"After you melted yours!? No way. This key is important. This key needs an escort. What if you run into a torch between here and there? Nope. Looks like I'll have to go with you and unlock the door myself." She smiled widely at him and punched his shoulder gently.

"I deserve that, I guess. Come on then. I really need to get out of this armor and bathe."

They walked quietly to Ally's apartment, fingers gently tangled. Erend noticed she moved gingerly, but didn't bring it up, knowing she would tell him of her other injuries eventually. He unlocked the door and held it open for her, chuckling as she started stripping off her armor the second her feet crossed the threshold.

"I'll light the burner for you," he said. She looked at him quizzically, and Erend shrugged. "You know, for your bath?" She shook her head.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Erend. Burner?"

"Aloy, don't tell me you've been taking cold baths the entire time you've been in Meridian," he groaned. She looked at him even more confused than before.

"There's another option?" he smiled at her, holding back laughter.

"Go upstairs. Wait ten minutes. Then, draw your bath. You can thank me later." She rolled her eyes and trudged up the stairs. Ten minutes later, he heard a delighted squeak from the bathroom as the water roared to life, filling the bath. She had only bathed in hot water when she came across natural hot springs, and had never thought it would exist inside a city, unless she wanted to boil it herself in the kitchen to fill the tub. She sunk into the water, eager to wash the grime off of her body. She lathered her hair with some oil she had purchased from a merchant the last time she had stayed in the city. As she rinsed it out, she realized how dreadfully tangled her mane had become. She would have to spend hours brushing it out later. Satisfied with how clean she had become, she removed the plug from the drain and got out of the bath, wrapping herself in a towel, also purchased during her last stay. She looked down at her forearms and sighed, realizing the hot water had made the burns covering them begin to ooze and sting. She walked from the bathroom to her bedroom, pulling out clean leggings and a cropped Carja silk to wear for the rest of the evening.

"Erend?" she called as she dressed.

"Still here," he said up the stairs. She smiled, pleased that he had not gone home.

"Thank you," she said. He was glad she couldn't see him grin. She came down the stairs, barefoot, and sat at the table. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the vase of flowers sitting in the middle. "Flowers?" she asked. Erend shrugged, grabbing the back of his neck with one hand, embarrassed.

"They, they remind me of your hair," he said. "I hope you don't mind." She shook her head slowly, smiling shyly at him.

"They're nice. Thank you." She pulled a small bottle of Hintergold and some clean bandages from a pocket in her leggings and set them out in preparation to bandage her arms once again. Erend stepped towards her, placing a hand on the table.

"You know, Hintergold isn't the best thing for burns. Great for other wounds, but not for this. You need aloe. And I know Olin had a plant out back. Let me go check." He walked quickly out of the door, returning just minutes later with a handful of a green plant Aloy had never seen before. He pulled a knife from his pocket and gently sliced one of the leaves in half, holding it out to show Aloy the contents. She took the plant from him and scooped the gel from inside, smoothing it across her arm. He was right, of course, and Aloy felt near immediate relief. She wrapped the bandage snugly and moved to the next arm. When she was done she looked up at Erend, who was staring back at her with a soft expressing across his face.

"I can help you with that, next time," he said gently. Aloy nodded.

"I've never seen that plant before."

"Well, it wouldn't grow in the Nora lands. Too cold."

"That makes sense. Shame, though."

"We can get some bottled up for you before you leave again. It's a handy thing to have." She nodded at him again, and stood from the table, crossing the room almost silently to her bag. She pulled out a comb and sat in a padded chair, wincing as she began to tear through her hair. Erend again stepped towards her, offering a hand out to her. "If...if you don't mind, Aloy, I could...well, I could help you with that. Give your arms a break." She stopped suddenly, as if a shock had coursed through her body. She looked up at Erend, face hot and cheeks flushed.

"With my hair?" she asked. Erend swallowed and nodded. She stood up and held the comb out to him after a few moments had passed. His heart was racing.

So was hers.

He took the comb and walked the few steps to the chair she had been sitting in. His free hand swung lazily as he did so, fingertips brushing across Ally's bare midriff. She inhaled sharply, skin blazing where his had met it. He sat, and she followed, taking a place on the floor in front of Erend.

This isn't real, he thought. This can't be happening. He began to gently run the comb through her fiery hair, starting at the bottom and working up, pushing the knots further down until they disappeared. It was silent, but Erend could hear the pounding in his chest. Aloy sat as stiff as an Oseram Hammer in front of him. No one had ever offered to brush her hair. Not even as a child. Rosy had taught her to keep her hair combed and braided at an early age, telling her that he would cut it off if she wanted, to help keep it out of the way. She had insisted on letting it grow, sneaking into the various settlements throughout the Sacred Lands to observe how the Nora wore their hair. To have someone else comb through it, to have Erend comb through it, felt better than she could've imagined. Her scalp tingled and her skin prickled. His fingertips occasionally brushed across the skin of her neck or her partially exposed shoulders and she found a warmth settling in the space just below her stomach.

"You're...that feels really nice, Erend. Much less painful than when I do it. Thank you." He chuckled, smiling widely.

"Ersa always wanted long hair. I used to help her with it when we were younger. She ended up cutting it all off when she joined the Vanguard, told me she couldn't be caught with her little brother brushing it. But every once in a while, when she had had one brew too many, she would ask me to brush it for her. Our mother used to do it, before she...well, you know how that story goes." He gave one final run through with the comb before handing it back to her. "Tea?" He asked. She nodded, and Erend stood up, moving to the kitchen. He set a kettle to boil and turned back to Aloy, watching as she quickly wove her hair back into braids, fastening them with string and blue beads. "Now that I can't do. You'd end up with very functional knots." She smiled as she wove in the last bead, rising from the floor. His eyes drifted towards her bare stomach, watching the muscle beneath skin contract and extend gracefully as she stood. He sat two mugs on the table and filled them both with tea, sitting down after placing the kettle back over the small fireplace. She took a seat across from him, pulling a mug towards her.

"There's still Shadow Carja out there," she said quietly. "They have hideouts in the west. I came across some of them as I was running errands for the people still recovering at the Sun Ring. I thought I had them all and then one snuck up on me. I had no choice but to run, and that when I found the Behemoths. Took out the rest of the men following me, but also scorched myself." she sighed. "I'm tired. I need a break. I think I'll stay here for a bit." She took a long drink from her mug, Erend doing the same. He emptied his in one pull, setting it back down gently.

"I'm sure if you get too bored, there's plenty of people around here who would love to have someone run errands for them. But you should rest. No one deserves it like you do. Speaking of, I should let you sleep. Sure you haven't had much of it the past few days." He stood from the table, picking up both empty mugs and placing them in the sink. "Goodnight, Aloy. I'm glad that you're back safe." He turned to walk out of the door when her voice stopped him.

"Erend," she said quietly. "Would you...want to, I mean, only if you aren't busy or anything...stay here tonight? With me?" Her cheeks were so hot she was certain they would explode. He turned back to her, jaw slightly slack. Did she just...ask me to stay? Here? With her?

"Aloy, I-"

"I'm so sorry, Erend. I don't know what I was thinking. You're probably exhausted and want to be in your own bed, by yourself, I'm so sorr-" he interrupted her with a kiss, running his fingers gently through her hair.

"Of course I want to stay here, Aloy. Of course I want to stay with you. I love you, remember? You. Just you. Only you." He took her hand and walked slowly up the stairs, blowing out lanterns as he went. They made their way up to her bedroom, Erend stopping shy of the bed, realizing he was unprepared to stay in a home that wasn't his. He had brought no change of clothes, no soap or razor, no armor to wear the next day.

"Is everything okay?" Aloy asked meekly. He exhaled slowly.

"I don't have any of my stuff here," he said. I'll have to leave early to get ready for work."

"Is that okay? Or do you want to go-" he interrupted again with a kiss, this one deeper. He would never get enough of the taste of her lips.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. He slid his hands up to cup the back of her head and kissed her again. She brought her hands up to rest on his chest, her palms burning him through his cotton shirt.

He would stay right here the rest of his life, if he could.