Story! Spinning Shadow by Margaret Ronald

Spinning Shadow by Margaret Ronald. I liked the hopefulness of this, the companionship, a look at what redemption could look like.

Then I saw that she has a lot of stories published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies and read the previous one, In the Ground Before the Freeze, which is still about partnership, but much creepier. It made the first one creepier in retrospect, but I'm still recommending it.

ETA: Having poked at her other stories further, I recommend reading Spinning Shadow and stopping there, unless creepy is your jam.