Anthony was in the bike shop when Henry arrived, bent over a wheel with a wrench in his hand, the showroom quiet as the lunchtime rush had passed. He seemed to be taking advantage of the lull to handle some much-needed maintenance.
He looked up as Henry entered, a grin spreading across his face as he set down his tools. "Henry! I was just thinking about you."
"Good things, I hope."
"Always." Anthony wiped his hands on his shirt and straightened. "What brings you here? Everything okay with the café?"
"Everything's perfect." Henry pulled out the designer wristwatch and held it out. "Actually, I brought you something."
Anthony's eyes widened as he took the watch, turning it over in his hands with obvious appreciation. "This is... wow. This is really nice. I have never seen a watch like this." He looked up, his expression curious. "But what's the occasion?"
"No occasion, just a gift for my best mechanic."
Anthony laughed. "I'm your only mechanic."
"Which makes you the best by default." Henry grinned. "Try it on."
Anthony fastened the watch around his wrist, admiring the way it caught the light—clean, modern, functional, exactly what Henry had imagined for him. "This is incredible," he said, his voice carrying genuine warmth. "I've really never had anything like this." He looked at Henry with sincere gratitude. "Thank you. Really."
"You've earned it." Henry clapped him on the shoulder. "Keep up the good work."
After bidding Anthony goodbye, Henry stepped out of the bike shop and made his way through the winding streets of Mondstadt toward his newly furnished café, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the cobblestones as he walked.
Alina lounged lazily on the chair in the café, sunglasses perched on her face as she read a book while sipping a cold drink, clearly enjoying the cool air drifting from the AC vents above. The afternoon light filtered through the windows, casting warm patterns across the polished floor, and she looked utterly at ease in the space she'd helped bring to life.
She heard the sound of the door opening and her glasses slid down her nose slightly as she looked up. "Henry! There you are." She took a step forward, then paused, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "You've been up to something. I can tell."
"Just delivering gifts," Henry said innocently. "Talking to people. Preparing for the opening."
"Uh-huh." She didn't look convinced, her gaze fixed on his face. "And that's why you've got that grin on your face?"
"What grin?"
"That one. The 'I've done something I'm not telling you about' grin."
Henry laughed, the sound echoing through the cool, empty café. "I brought you something too, you know."
Alina's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean, you brought me something?"
He pulled the white dress with blue accents from his System space—simple but elegant, light enough for casual wear yet refined enough to suit her presence. The soft blue along the hem caught the light as he held it up for her to see, the fabric flowing like water in his hands.
Alina stared at it, her mouth opening slightly as she set down her book. "Henry..."
"It's a dress," he said. "I picked it up recently when I went back. I thought you'd like it."
She stepped forward, reaching out to touch the fabric with something almost like reverence, her fingers tracing the blue accents, the elegant cut, the lightness of the material as if she couldn't quite believe it was real. "It's beautiful," she whispered. "How did you... when did you..."
"On my last trip to my world," Henry admitted. "I saw it and thought of you."
Alina looked up at him, her expression shifting from surprise to something softer, warmer. She took the dress from him, holding it against herself as if imagining how it would feel to wear it, and for a moment, she was quiet. Then she stepped forward and hugged him—brief but tight, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "Thank you," she said. "For... for everything. The job, the room, the café. And now this."
Henry returned the hug gently, patting her back. "You're part of my team now," he said quietly. "You'll always have a place here."
She pulled back, her cheeks slightly flushed as she looked down at the dress, then back at him. "You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?"
Henry grinned. "About my beautiful manager having a soft spot for me? Never."
Alina swatted his arm, but she was smiling. "You're insufferable."
"I've been told."
"Wait here, let me put it on." She moved toward the back room to put the dress away, and Henry watched her go, the fabric swaying gently in her hands as she disappeared through the doorway.
[Another satisfied customer,]
[You're getting good at this.]
I'm not collecting people like they're items in a game, Henry protested silently.
[Are you sure about that? Because it certainly looks like you're building a collection.]
Henry huffed, turning away and closing his eyes as he leaned back against the counter, enjoying the coolness from the AC as it washed over him after being outside for so long. Alina returned a few minutes later, her expression lighter than before as she smoothed the dress with obvious satisfaction. "Well. How do I look?"
"Dashing."
"Damm right I am," she said, then paused, her fingers tracing the fabric along her waist. "The dress fits perfectly. How did you get the size right?"
"Well, I—uh, took a guess."
Alina's eyes narrowed with knowing amusement. "Noted my size, have you? When you saw me in my underclothes?"
"Whaat? No—" Henry caught himself, then grinned back at her innocently, the old stammering version of himself nowhere to be found. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't answer. I can guess it all from the perverted look on your face."
"HEY—!"
"Now, what I wanted to talk to you about was the café drink menu. It won't be a café without drinks, right?"
Alina picked up the pen lying on the counter. "Well, let's first consider tea and coffee."
Henry's eyes went wide as the realization hit him like a physical blow—he had spent months planning how modern the café would be and the food menu too, but he had thought about everything except the actual drinks. He blinked, then slowly dragged his palm down his face. "Right. Tea and coffee. The two most fundamental things a café serves. How did I—" He stopped, staring at the ceiling as if searching for answers from the heavens.
Alina tilted her head, her sunglasses now pushed up to rest on her head, her eyes gleaming with barely concealed amusement. "You forgot drinks?"
"I forgot drinks."
"You built a café and forgot drinks."
"Apparently, yes."
She set the pen down and folded her arms, leaning back against the counter with an expression of pure, unadulterated delight. "This is incredible. You, the great Henry, who brought bicycles to Teyvat and elect city to Mondstadt—"
"Electricity," Henry interjected.
Alina gave him a sidelong glare and continued without missing a beat, "...the one who built this entire building from nothing, who somehow convinced the Grandmaster to approve everything—you forgot the drinks."
"Well then, that is why I have you, Miss Gorgeous Manager." Henry spread his hands with an exaggerated gesture of surrender. "Please help me in writing the drinks menu."
"Since you're being so nice, I might as well help my average-looking owner."
"Ouch."
"I'm kidding, love. You're built and look like a hunk."
"Well, thank you for your compliment, Miss Manager." Henry leaned over the counter. "Now let's get back to business. I need your expertise for this—I have no idea about Teyvat drinks that much."
Henry dropped into the chair opposite her, shaking his head. "Fine. But you should know, I actually can draft most of this myself."
Alina raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how would you know about Teyvat drinks? You've been here for what—a six months? I've lived here my entire life."
Henry leaned forward, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Here's the thing. The regions of Teyvat? They're similar to places from my home world. The cultures, the traditions, the food and drink—there are a lot of parallels."
Alina blinked, clearly trying to process this information. "Your world has... equivalents to all of Teyvat?"
"Not exact equivalents," Henry said. "But close enough that I know what drinks should exist in each region based on what people from those cultures drink back home. Traditional beverages, local specialties, that sort of thing."
Alina stared at him for a long moment, then pushed the paper and pen across the counter toward him. "Alright then, Mr. World Traverser. Show me what you've got."
___
Drop powerstones please?
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