Haunted by the Living

They walked in silence for a bit, the question hanging between them. Then Ein stopped and pointed at the background. "Adriel, take a good look around. What do you see?"

It was a run-down industrial neighborhood. Crumbling buildings left and right. Unwelcoming and devoid of life. Even with the snow softening the edges of everything, all the grime underneath couldn't be hidden.

"The street?" Adriel looked around, puzzled. "What about it?" 

"Our lifestyles are not compatible."

"Our lifestyles?" Adriel let out a confused chuckle. "It's not like I'm asking you to marry me. What's wrong with spending a bit of time together?"

Ein sighed and kept walking. He could think of enough reasons why that would be wrong. 

For one, if the press caught a whiff of Adriel hanging around suspicious individuals, his reputation would suffer. Not to mention how Ein would be plunged into the public eye, and Avery would find out.