#disappointed Dan heng couldn’t be there

[scribbless-n-stuff]

I'm here to request since I can't write shit.

Dan Heng came home unexpected and even gave me his lightcone early. I'm screaming 😭😭😭

Anyway, I really want to just coddle him up. Pepper his face with kisses, hugs, play with his cheeks, he's just too adorable I can't

This is more of a ramble sorry. I hope you can write something out of this. Thank youu

Late Night Longings

Characters

Dan Heng (IL or not, depends on your imagination <3)

Warnings/Info

FLUFF!!! INTENSE FLUFF!!!

Author’s Notes

LET’S GAURRR CONGRATS ON GETTING DAN HENG & HIS LIGHT CONE, ANON REQUESTER!!!

Oh god I’m actually tweaking over this beautiful man (I’m a lesbian)

might as well make this a Dan Heng fan acc bro

Hopefully this doesn't disappoint...

After another week-long adventure, the Astral Express team finally boards back on the train. The mission was tough, almost everyone was tired and drained, including you. The train’s doors close, leaving the train car quiet. 

Himeko, who was keeping in check of the duties inside the Express, approaches you from her seat. You feel a hand on your shoulder, “Welcome back, Y/n, how are you feeling?” the red-haired lady asks.

You let out a tired smile, “All good, just tired.. I should go and rest....” Your voice trails off, as you look around for your partner, Dan Heng. However, he was nowhere to be found. He probably went straight to his room. 

Smiling bittersweetly, You let out a heavy sigh, drooping down in fatigue. Your brain was basically falling asleep as you were standing up. 

The sound of light chuckling pulls you back to reality. “Alright, sleep well then.” Himeko withdraws her hand from your shoulder, giving you a smile. She leaves your side, to check on the others. You nod back before also turning away, to go to your room. 

The last sounds you hear, before exiting the parlor car are March’s whiney complaints about how troublesome the mission was. You fondly smile, the crew was like family to you. However, someone was missing. 

Entering your room, you sigh and discard your clothes, getting into more comfortable ones. You also go to wash your face and brush your teeth. By the time you get on your bed, you stretch out your limbs and pop your joints. 

You yawn, as your mind drifts to Dan Heng. “He’s probably tired… Might as well give him space tonight..” you think, before getting into your sheets and wrapping yourself into a blanket. However, you couldn’t help but feel a bit sad, missing the closeness of your partner. Nevertheless, you needed your rest. 

As you felt the snugness of your mattress and pillows, you fell asleep almost immediately, lightly snoring as you dreamt of nothing. That’s how you know you’re having the best sleep of your life.

...

… knock knock

The sound of knocking on your door disturbs your deep slumber, you grumble in annoyance. As you peek open your eyes, you could literally feel eyebags forming below your eyes. You turn your head over to your nightstand to look at the digital clock. 

2:43 AM. 

You squint your eyes and huff in disbelief of the current time. Ultimately, you decide to ignore the knocking. Besides, it was almost 3 AM, there was no way you were gonna be awake during witching hour.

Flopping back down, your head lays back down against the pillow, shutting your eyes back closed. As your whole body relaxes once more, your facial features relax too. Finally… sweet, sweet slumber…

…

… knock, knock, knock

Your eyes snap back open, feeling your anger flare up. Hopping out of bed, temporarily bidding goodbye to your warm blankets, you stomp towards the door of your room. You whip open your door. 

“Can’t it wait ‘til morning?” You sharply scoff, before looking up to see a pair of teal eyes. It was Dan Heng, in more casual attire. Except, you couldn’t see his clothes much because he was loosely wrapped around in his blue blanket. 

“Oh!-” Upon seeing that it was him, you immediately regretted your harsh words, just because you were tired.

“Apologies..” The poor boy mumbles sleepily. “I’ll go back to my room..” Dan Heng sniffles, because of the cold air, as he turns away. His hair was tousled up, looking absolutely adorable, which made you feel even more guilty. 

You immediately reach out to yank him back by the hand. “NOOO WAIT!” you exclaim. “I’m sorry, I was tired..” 

Dan Heng blinks at you, feeling a bit surprised by your raised voice.  “It’s fine.. I shouldn’t have knocked so late.” He mutters. 

Tugging again at his hand, “Apology accepted…” You look at him with adoration, it was truly a rare sight to see this man so vulnerable, due to his usual stoic behavior and expression. “Do you wanna come in?” You offer, feeling happier now that your partner was here, disregarding the late hour. 

The next second, you see a small smile appear on his face. 

“Yes, please..”

With this, he basically engulfed you in his arms, also wrapping you in the blanket draped around his figure. Your yelp is muffled into his torso, suddenly bearing his body’s weight. You do your best to drag him to your bed, hugging him by the waist. 

Dan Heng clumsily waddles to the bed, still holding onto you out of clinginess. Eventually, you pry yourself out of his hold, pushing him onto your bed. “Man.. you’re different when you’re sleepy.” You huff at him, as he looks up at you with a sleepy expression. He doesn’t respond.

You smile, before also getting into bed, beside him. His and your legs tangle together, as you position yourself just a bit higher than him, so that his head is around the same level as your collarbone and neck.

His eyes were already closed, falling back asleep. Poor little thing must have woken up randomly, then decided to come to you for comfort. You coo at him, cupping his face with one hand and leaning in to kiss him on the forehead. 

Dan Heng furrows his eyebrows at his, as you feel his cheeks grow warm. Upon registering this reaction, you snicker, deciding to coddle him up even more. You release your next attack on his nose, giving him a quick peck. After that, you go to both of his cheeks, giving him four kisses on each one. 

“Mmmmfff..” The boy mumbles at you, the warm fluttering feeling swelling up in his chest was feeling too strong. The combination of the late hour and his fatigue were a dangerous combination. Nevertheless, he doesn’t tell you to stop… Or maybe he’s too tired to. 

Regardless, you wouldn’t stop either way. 

“You’re sooo cute~”  Finally, you kiss his lips. Slowly and tenderly, lightly biting his lower lip to tease him. This was the last straw for him. 

“You’re waking me…” Dan Heng muffles against your lips, but you just swallow up his words, as you pull away and give him another quick peck. Ignoring him, as you repeatedly kiss his face in the same order as before, except, more aggressive and affectionate. He blushes madly as his face scrunches up in feigned discomfort, but he secretly enjoys it. 

After a bit, he’s had enough, seriously wanting to sleep now. Dan Heng uses the last of his physical strength and energy to push and roll you onto your back. He gets on top of you, mainly to pin you down and restrict you from any movement to disturb him. The comfortability and closeness were just bonus points.

“Stop. Sleep.” He muffles again, as he nestles his face against your chest. As you’re pushed down, you feel your face heating up at the change of position. Even he felt slightly flustered and embarrassed at his own boldness, but he couldn’t help himself. 

You whine a bit at the loss of control, but you sigh and give in, feeling tired too. One of your hands is brought to his back, as you run it up and down to generate warmth for him. As for your free hand, you tangle your fingers in his hair, gently massaging his scalp to further lull him to sleep. 

Dan Heng on the other hand, his arms were still wrapped around your waist from earlier, holding you against him like a needy koala. The feeling of your fingers caressing against his hair made him let out a shaky sigh. He felt so content, and so did you.

[pauli-writes]

warnings: probably not lore accurate, shackling prison

pairing: dan heng x vidyadhara!reader

author’s note: i got the xianzhou on the brain, im sorry if this is bad i just needed to write something to get rid of my writers block :,)

eternity.

a state to which time has no application, timelessness. the concept of eternity was almost unthinkable to short life species such as humans, everything had a beginning and an end for them. but long life species view time differently, for them eternity was a feasible concept, yet equally as unreachable. whenever one thought they had reached it, they’d die or get reborn anew.

you have wished for eternity as long as you could remember, but you knew even if it would claim you, you would be reborn, doomed to repeat this endless cycle for millennia to come with no memories of your previous life.

and so life moves on, and yet you remained unmoving, as the shackling prison of the xianzhou luofu has been your home for the better part of this amber era. every day you looked wishfully at the dark walls of your cell, imagining a life outside of the prison, the life your other self had lived on the luofu.

but not everything was awful.

you had a friend once. his cell was next to yours, you never saw his face, but you could hear his voice, the screams and whimpers he’d let out when he had a nightmare. it wasn’t that unusual in the prison, but to you everyone else’s voices were scrambled and distant, and yet you could hear his so clearly, the anguish with in it, that one day you couldn’t take it anymore and asked him what he was dreaming about in an attempt to satiate your own curiosity.

“what are you always dreaming about?”

there was a prolonged silence followed by the soft rattling of chains. you assumed he was shackled to the wall just like you were.

“i think i’m remembering things from my previous life…” he spoke, but he sounded unsure and shaken up by his nightmare.

you frowned and shook your head, “that’s not possible.”

he didn’t reply after that. the two of you went back to being silent, for weeks you didn’t bother talking further. you were pretty sure he hated you, still eternity was so far away so you decided to try talking again.

“so, what did you do to end up here?”

he didn’t reply again, but you didn’t care, you needed to talk, to distract yourself from your prison, so you just continued. “i don’t really know, but i think my previous self did something bad.“

there was another pause and you believed this conversation to be another dead end until he spoke softly, “i think mine did too.”

your eyes widened as you heard him speak and you felt yourself smiling for the first time in a while. “i’m reader by the way...”

“dan heng.”

you paused for a moment, the name stirring a sense of familiarity inside of you. was it possible that… perhaps, perhaps not. all you knew at that moment that company was a momentary reprieve from this prison. so, you continued occasionally talking to your new friend, commiserating in your shared misery of being chained up for something you don’t really remember doing in the first place.

you were usually the one to initiate the conversations, dan heng wasn’t much of a talker you quickly figured out, but you mostly only spoke to him after you could hear him having a nightmare. but you were surprised as he spoke up first one night.

“do you know something about imbibitor lunae?”

you paused, a feeling of familiarity washing over you from the word, but nothing concrete came to mind. “it sounds familiar, but i don’t remember…”

“i see.” he replied, sounding disappointed. it made you sad that you couldn’t help him out, but you didn’t dwell on it.

“why are you asking me?”

silence filled the air once more, you could hear the chains rattling from his cell. “i… had a dream. i heard your voice. you said those words.”

“you have strange dreams.”

“you don’t?”

you looked to the ground, trying to recall the last time you had a weird dream, or even a dream. but you couldn’t remember, you slept so little that you definitely would have remembered a dream or strange dreams. “no… i don’t dream.”

“then you’re even stranger.”

you thought for a moment, “maybe…”

time continued passing outside of the prison and just as you found a moment of respite and comfort with the fleeting moments between you and your friend, they were ripped away from you in an instant like a cruel cosmic punishment. you didn’t see anything, but you heard the hushed voices, the whispered names and titles as the chains were loosened and the doors opened.

dan heng, dan feng, imbibitor lunae, the high elder of the vidyadhara…

those names meant something to you once upon a time too, maybe they would again…

[520cafe]

sour grapes. deja vu

you and blade decided to call it a day in the library earlier than usual. this was mainly due to how you might have passed out in the library if you stayed in that situation for even just a few minutes longer but, you couldn’t tell him that obviously.

originally, you were going to stop by the cafe and get yourself a refreshing cold drink to accompany you on your walk to try help calm your racing mind. however, that plan was ripped out the book when you managed to somehow encounter dan heng during your walk (or at least, he hadn’t noticed you yet).

there was dan heng, inside the familiar arcade with his full concentration on the claw machine to even notice you. uncharacteristically, he seemed to be struggling with the claw machine. given how dan heng was usually the one giving you the prizes from the claw machine back when you were dating, this was quite a surprise even for you.

“you’re not focusing.” you sighed, walking towards him.

“[name]?”

dan heng could only stare at you with raised eyebrows as he was caught off-guard by your sudden appearance, especially considering what happened last night which resulted in you ignoring both dan heng and blade.

this scene looked all too familiar: the way your warm hands slightly brushed over his cold ones to take over the controls, the way dan heng stood back to give you space but was still close enough to peak over your shoulder and the loud music booming from the claw machine.

as if you two were recreating a page from your storybook, the claw just barely picked up the plushie only for it to dramatically fall down in slow motion and roughly land back onto the machine. while you looked disappointed, you could hear dan heng holding back a soft chuckle behind you.

“it seems you’re not focused either, [name].”

“shut up, dan heng.” you sighed, leaning back from the machine. now that you thought about it, why did you even approach him in the first place when you meant to be ignoring him?

while you were silently contemplating, you were suddenly interrupted when a pair of arms gently snaked past your waist from behind and held your hands. you were frozen on the spot like a crafted sculpture but that didn’t matter, not when dan heng was carefully holding your hands in such a delicate manner as if your hands were a precious form of glass that he didn’t want to break.

“dan heng—!”

“trust me, [name].”

his voice when he spoke to you, it was hypnotising yet soothing; it was enough to drive your mind into spirals upon spirals of conflicting emotions. those two words: “trust me” were enough for you to stop resisting and melt in his embrace, just like old times. this feeling was nostalgic yet bittersweet, you craved more of it but you still wanted to be mad at him for what he did to you.

it was then you felt dan heng guiding your hands onto the controls of the claw machine, his hands were wrapped around yours softly as he focused on the plushie. it was hard to pay attention to what was happening around you: not with the blaring music, or the way dan heng was holding your hands or even the way you could feel his face so close to yours, with his warm breath just barely brushing past your cheeks.

everything went by in a blur and before you knew it, you heard the sounds of the plushie falling into the chute. dan heng successfully won the plushie. much to your dismay, dan heng let go of your hands and left a strange cold empty feeling in your chest.

“there we go.” he gave a small smile as he turned towards you, he couldn’t help but to feel satisfied by your flustered state. but, his smile slightly dropped when he noticed your silence.

“[name]?”

“dan heng, i’m still confused.. about everything.” you let out a heavy sigh, your mind and heart were running towards many different paths and not coming together that it only made you feel even more lost.

as if something switched inside him, dan heng took a step towards you and held your hand once more returning that same tender warmth. his heart ached at the sight of you like this, especially when he kept blaming himself for making you feel such a way.

“[name], i’m sorry that i’ve been hurting you.” dan heng’s voice was deep as he gazed intensely into your eyes like he was afraid you’d disappear if he broke eye contact for even a second. “even when we broke up and until now, you never left my mind once.”

“you can ignore me, hit me or even stop speaking to me but..” his grasp on your hand tightened, not enough to hurt you but enough to reassure you. “i don’t want you to hate me, [name].”

“if you’re confused about everything then...” dan heng paused. he was hesitating for a moment and even broke eye contact for a split second just to quickly look back at you again, as if you were the only person in this world.

time had seemingly slowed down before dan heng slowly brought your hand to his lips and affectionately kissed the back of your hand. if this scene was from a fairytale book, then dan heng would accurately portray the prince who had been waiting his whole life to get together with his fated other.

from the way he held you, spoke to you and now placed a soft kiss on the back of your hand as if he had been waiting for this moment, everything felt so cold that it sent you shivers. but, that didn’t stop the warmth that travelled to your face, or stop the way your knees might give up on you or halt your racing heart driving at dangerous speeds to the point where you felt dizzy.

he opened his eyes and observed your reaction, still keeping your hand close to his lips. dan heng tilted his head with a subtle and innocent smile, almost looking at you playfully.

“let my feelings for you answer your worries, [name].”

🍇 SOUR GRAPES 〈 29 deja vu

━━ MASTERLIST. ╱ PREV. ╱ NEXT.

╰► SYNOPSIS. after being in the same tight-knit friend group for over a few months now, suspicions begin to rise when march, seele and bronya start to notice the awkward tensions between you and dan heng. little did they know, you and dan heng were once high-school sweethearts who shared a romantic and fairytale-like past where the pages only lasted for a year. this heartbreak led you to meet another unfortunate victim of cupid but that chapter flew away as quick as stardust. yet, it appears that you two were also destined to cross paths once more.

╰► [ a/n ] : WRITING THIS ALSO HAD ME SCREAMING AND CLAWING MY WALLS BUT WOAH LAST CHAPTER FOR ACT TWO 🫣 act three will be the last act and i can’t believe we’re already nearing near the end of this series fhdhdhdjsjs i’m so thankful that you all stuck by until now :) thank you for supporting me and my works for so long <33

━━ TAGLIST (closed) @lauvwar-r @sunsethw4 @shizu-c @amyena @zephestia @loudeggbananaranch @lunavixia @twistedrxses @shinjuuz @danhenglovebot @flos-veritatis @sammy-hammy @kiwidoves @aeongiies @heartswonder @lilactaro @lunnaeclipse @bladesdarling @hansel-the-pierrot @astro-pioneer @aquatikk @obervation-subject-753 @vellichxrr6782 @rubberduckieyourtheone @viovya @stayriki @ceylestia @starryeyedkoko @theflameofyoursoul @kalims @liminalimmortal

[particular-one]

you are in love.

pairing: dan heng x reader author’s note: i have so many dan heng angst drafts, it’s funny that i ended up finishing the one that's more fluffy and comforting(?). awkward and touch starved danheng my beloved. 🤍 listen to taylor swift’s you are in love for the ✨experience✨

you can hear it in the silence, you can feel it on the way home.

dan heng wasn’t a man of many words. march has chastised him multiple times about this, but he preferred to keep things as brief and curt as possible. it wasn’t like he had nothing particular to say — he likely did, if he were being honest — but dan heng found it futile to voice out his insights if it contributed to nothing.

that was, however, not the case when it came to you.

“how do you sleep in here? there’s so many things on the floor …” you quipped, hands grazing on the books neatly lined up on the shelves. on a normal occasion, dan heng would have been able to say something pragmatic like “i find it impractical to decorate.” or “i prefer it like this.”, but something about you always had his tongue tied, so the best he could do was gape at you like a fish. since when did dan heng started to act this way around you? he didn’t understand why he stumbled with his responses or why his palms were always sweaty when you flashed him your signature smile juxtaposed to the sight of you having just killed a fragmentum monster. himeko had pulled him aside one time to ask him what was up, but dan heng simply brushed it off as a natural reaction to a friend, a good friend.

himeko didn’t believe him, naturally. but even if she didn’t, dan heng was grateful that she didn’t press on.

“dan heng?” oh, right — “i manage.” was all he replied. after all that musing and pondering, it was the best he could come up without getting tongue tied again. you simply gave him a soft smile before leaning against the bookshelf. “all things considered though, it’s a pretty nice space. i wish i could have gotten a room in the astral express at least.”

“then stay.” you looked at dan heng all of a sudden, and that was when he realized that he had in fact said that out loud. “w-with us, i meant.” it seemed so uncharacteristic of him to blurt something out without thinking — but your soft laugh only further complicated the turns and backflips at the pit of his stomach.

“you’re too sweet. i would,” you took a pause, and for a moment, dan heng’s hopes soared. “if i could.” aaaand he could hear his heart fall flat on the floor. dan heng simply nodded, lowering his head in an attempt to mask his own disappointment.

the sudden hand on his shoulder felt electric, and dan heng’s eyes met yours, as captivating as ever. you still had that soft smile, with a gleam in your eyes that dan heng always lost himself in. you radiated with a warmth that dan heng could not find in anyone else, but he was so, so hopelessly lost in trying to convey any of this to you. “now, now, don’t tell me you’re going to miss me?” there was your signature grin now, the one you used to tease him with.

“yes.”

you blinked, as if it was a surprise. even dan heng blinked, equally surprised himself. and yet, you were quick to brush the answer off with another laugh — and dan heng couldn’t help himself anymore.

it was probably a good time to burst out in a lengthy speech of the extent of his feelings, but dan heng was not a man of many words. so his hand simply reached out to meet your free hand, before interlocking your fingers together before you even thought of letting go. for a moment, dan heng thought you actually would, but moments passed where the two of you just stared at each other in silence. if there was something that dan heng was exceptional at, it was probably holding a gaze longer than usual, much better than when he is expressing himself. though he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

“dan heng ...” thankfully, you were the first to break the silence, but you had a strange look in your face that he couldn't make out. you seemed to glance up and down but never meeting his gaze, which unnerved him even further. before he could stop himself, his hand cradled the side of your cheek, as gentle as ever. say it, say it please.

all you did was smile, before mouthing the three words that broke and mended dan heng's heart simultaneously.

i'll miss you.

you can see it with the lights out, you are in love — true love.

written by carlyle (@particular-one) copyright: all content belongs to particular-one on tumblr (2023)

[madamofthestars]

A failed escape-yandere dan heng

Tw-Yandere themes

🖤how did things go wrong? You thought to yourself.

🖤you plan everything right down to even the minuscule of details but however you couldn’t see that dan heng seem to be a step a head of you.

🖤I mean he couldn’t let you get away and escape from him after all you are going to be his fiancé.

🖤the night the night before you were to make you escape deng snuck into your sabotage your alarm while you slept.

🖤he knew your password for he kept a good eye on you and your little habits.

🖤Dan heng smirks subtly to himself for his plan is going according to what he envisioned.

🖤he left your room as quickly as possible so you don’t wake up.

🖤you woke up and saw the time as you quickly try to head to the express to hopefully get their in time but unfortunately you were to late.

🖤Dan heng saw your expression on your face the look of disappointment and fear because you escaped plan failed as he waited a few minutes before wrapping his arms around you and whispering this.

🖤”my beloved I unfortunately can’t let you go for it’s to dangerous for you.”

🖤needless to say you were a captured dove in a small area only he is aware of as he made an excuse to why you disappeared from the crew.

🖤he comes by often to check in on you and spend time with you for he can’t have you get lonely after all.

🖤your escaped plan failed and you are now his cadged dove with no chance to escape.

🖤he has made sure of that for he can’t have his dove fly away form him now.

[lovelynim]

heeheehee- How about lee!Dan Heng x ler!Caelus with 🌼? Idk, just something silly and playful, it can be literally anything (like Caelus calling himself a Tickle Monster, or playful chasing with lots of teasing and sweet compliments, or using the nursery rhymes- just anything that would make Dan Heng all "StOp wiTh aLl tHat cHilDisHneSs >:[" while he's giggling and blushing adorably.......)

It takes a raccoon to pester a dragon

Honkai: Star Rail - Dan Heng x Caelus

[500 Followers Milestone Event - "Games"]

A/N: OMG I LOVE THIS PROMPT SO MUCH BECAUSE- UGH, IT FITS THEM SO WELL AAAA *cahem* I mean, hi anon! Heheh, I want to thank you for requesting them because they are my current brainrot so far and I was craving for more content of them, heheh

Summary: Caelus asks Dan Heng to help him cure his boredom, but after having his request denied, the trailblazer decides to find another way to amuse himself.

Word count: 1322 words

It was a simple task: watch over the Astral Express while the rest of the crew was gone. Easy, too easy, honestly, considering they had just stopped by Herta’s Spacial Station. Even more: it was Dan Heng the one staying with him, what was there to fear?

But it was exactly because of how easy this task was that… Caelus was terribly bored. He felt like he could die because of it at any given second and nothing seemed to humor him.

No energy to spend on his gacha games, no videos to watch, no people to chat with… what was he supposed to do?

Dan Heng, on the other hand, seemed very amused, completely entertained and absorbed by the book he had in his hands. “The Tales of-” agh, whatever, Caelus couldn’t bother himself to finish reading it.

He let out a disappointed sigh, walking around the parlor car before returning to the couch where they were sitting. Watching his cellphone’s screen with a blank look on his face, Caelus slowly let himself fall, leaning his head on Dan Heng’s shoulder. “Dan Heng…” He whined, looking up to the ravenhead, hoping to get some reaction from him.

“Yes, Caelus?” He mumbled, his eyes going through word after word at an impressive speed. So focused, so determined to finish that story, so… boring. 

Caelus sighed again, placing his hand on the other’s arms, weakly tugging at his clothes. “I’m bored… help me ~” He pleaded with an extra dose of drama in his voice, making puppy eyes as he stared intensely at the other.

He wasn’t sure what the other should do either, truth to be told, but it didn’t matter. As long as he came up with something to cure that boredom, it was fine. But, much to his demise, Caelus didn’t get an answer from him. Instead, he was pierced with a cold and confused look.

“You should try reading something for a change,” Dan Heng said, almost as if scolding him for his lack of interest in the literature works they had in the Astral Express’s archive. “I’m sure a good book would keep you entertained for more time than that game you’re always playing.”

And, just like that, he resumed his reading. Caelus was stunned, jaw dropped in disbelief. A book?! Is that what all he had to suggest?!

Letting out a loud groan like some kind of spoiled kid, the trailblazer threw himself over the other male, nearly pushing him down into the couch. “Come ooon ~ let’s do something, Dan Heng!”

The ravenhead grunted, tightening the grip around his book with one hand as he tried to shove Caelus away with the other. “What are you? Five? Get- ugh, get a hold of yourself!”

The trailblazer giggled as much as the other whined, putting up a fight and slowly managing to get a hold on him, straddling his waist and trapping him on the couch. “Himeko told you to take care of me, not to ignore me! ~” Spotting an opening, Caelus quickly snatched the book from Dan Heng’s hand, throwing it over his shoulder before the other could react. 

“Hey! I was reading th-” as he was about to finish speaking, he felt how Caelus pinned his wrists against the couch, completely trapping him.

“You are not reading it anymore, are you?”

“No, because someone is pestering me.” Dan Heng replied coldly, trying to feign annoyance as a faint blush spread across his cheeks. He tried to squirm his hands free or shake Caelus off his hips, but the boy kept him in place with a firm hold. Dan Heng groaned again, letting out a deep sigh before looking up to the other man’s face. “Happy?”

“Not quite…” Caelus said with a grin, trying to think of his next move. Looking around the parlor car, the trailblazer finally came up with a plan. “Apologize for being mean to me.”

“What?” Dan Heng raised his eyebrow, slightly turning his head, knowing the heat would spread all over his face if he kept looking at Caelus like that. “I wasn’t mean to you.”

“You totally was,” the other insisted, making sure he wasn’t going anywhere. “Apologize or-”

“Or what?”

“The Tickle Monster will get you,” Caelus said, as confidently and proudly as possible, acknowledging the true threat of those words. Suddenly, silence quickly filled the space as the two men stared at each other.

The red tones in Dan Heng’s face slowly covered the rest of his cheeks, going up to the tip of his ears and down to his neck. “...Caelus, don’t you dare.”

“Are you going to apologize?”

“No, but,” he continued to talk, but the trailblazer was already inhaling as much air as he could, “I’m warning yoHOHO- AHahAHah, C-CahAHAhaelus!!”

Hell broke loose before he could finish, sending him into a loud - and embarrassing - fit of cackles. Dan Heng kicked his feet as much as he was allowed to inside of Caelus’s hold, trying to scrunch up his shoulders to protect his neck while the other blew one raspberry after the other against the spot.

Nuzzling his face against that tight space, Caelus took turn between covering the flush skin with light, ticklish kisses, blowing air right on the other’s ear and - last, but not least - blowing more raspberries, making sure to make it as loud as possible, knowing it would make Dan Heng blush harder.

“AhahAHAH, s-stoHOHOP IHIIHIT!! LehEHEHet m-me gohOHO!” Dan Heng cried out in mirth, closing his eyes shut as he tried to block the ticklish feeling with all his strength, but failed to do despite his attempts. “T-This ihihis chi- ahAHAh, childish!!”

After another round of tickling, Caelus finally decided to give the other a break. Lifting up his face to look down at him once again, he now saw, instead of the usual cool and collected Dan Heng, a mess of a man, reduced to a mere puddle of laughter. “So,” he started, cockly as ever, “are you going to apologize?”

“Ahh… hah, you- agh…” Dan Heng gasped, trying to catch his breath as his chest waved up and down, still recovering from the last assault. He knew his chances of escaping were narrow, even more now that the tickling took the best of him, but, still, he had his pride. “...just let me go, Caelus, stop with all that childishness.”

“Stubborness is also childis-”

“AHEM,” a voice broke into their conversation, making both of them look to the side. Their eyes were met by an angry, really angry, Pom-Pom. The conductor stared at them with disapproval, they could almost see a little steam coming off from his head. “No dating in the parlor car! What if we had a guest coming over? They would think Pom-Pom allows this kind of stuff in the Astral Express!”

“W-what?! We are not datin-”

“Pom-Pom doesn’t want to hear excuses!” The conductor interrupted Dan Heng, stomping as he seemed even more angry than before. “No dating in the parlor car!”

Caelus gave Dan Heng one last look before slowly slide off his lap, sitting back on the couch while the others did the same.

Letting out the last huff, Pom-Pom resumed to walk away, going back to the tasks he was so diligent with. Once they were back to safety, Caelus snickered, covering his lips as he chuckled quietly.

“Hope you had enough after getting us in trouble with the conductor, you- you brat,” Dan Heng hissed, picking up his book from the middle of the cushions and checking to see if it was damaged.

“It was worth it,” Caelus teased, smirking, “and you still haven’t apologized,” he added, quickly looking in the opposite direction when Dan Heng gave him a death stare. Well, he could let him slide off that for now, they would have time for other games later - when Pom-Pom wouldn’t be around to save the express’s archivist from the Tickle Monster.

[revserrayyu]

2.4 Xianzhou continuance thoughts [part 3]

**SPOILERS** for the end of this patch’s mission, covering all the drama happening down in the Shackling Prison, so advert thine eyes if thou have not finished the story as of yet.

Once we found out we were actually able to visit the Shackling Prison during this update, I was eagerly waiting to see how Dan Heng would handle returning to this place. It certainly makes him uneasy, even before entering this cold place, and Nicholas does such a great job conveying all those anxieties into every one of Dan Heng’s lines whenever his past is brought up while here. The level of concern we hear from the Trailblazer is sweet too, like I audibly “aww’d” at this brief exchange.

I admire your confidence, Moze, but please don’t do anything reckless! But hearing how he’s a jail-breaker doesn’t really surprise me. There’s a bunch of shadowy figures of him bound by chains in his splash art and recent leaks showing off his skills can back up how he’s so swift in his escapes. He managed to avoid capture towards the end of this quest too.

Huzzah, another Jingliu mention that only surprises me because I haven’t bothered to read any of the relic’s descriptions of the Prisoner of Deep Confinement set. And how does one possibly manage to avoid eating for several centuries?

Not only did this beast apparently not starve, but he also endured unrelenting pain every day? Frightening. Hoolay is really out here surviving purely on hatred and a need for revenge.

Once glance at these notes and I just knew someone was gonna yap about Jingliu in front of him. Definitely wasn’t disappointed when it happened either.

Hey Moze’s defiance is valid! Never take random medicine from people! But in this case, yeah, it’s for your safety sir, “just swallow it already.”

Okay so there was like one or two instances before this where Jiaoqiu also noticed shape-shifted Borisin by their scent and makes me wonder how he could tell the difference. I assume Foxians have stronger noses than we do so perhaps it’s easier for someone like him to notice, or perhaps it’s a similar feeling to him being around Feixiao so often since she also suffers from Moon Rage? He did refer to it as familiar later on. Either way, he really should’ve spoken up about his suspicions earlier.

Y’all..these two are absolutely delivering each line perfectly and the emotion is squeezing my heart so tightly. I love the bond the Express crew has with each other so darn much! The hand pat is cute but let me hug this man please! He needs several!

The feels keep on coming as I was kicking my feet and squealing all giddy when Dan Heng jumped in to save us from being crushed. I know he’s literally doing his job as the guard of the Express but.. aww. I’d probably have a better screenshot if I wasn’t too stunned by what I was seeing with my own eyes, but alas. I fangirled too hard to care.

We always resort back to our trusty baseball bat, huh? I get how pulling out the Watchmaker’s hat probably wouldn’t be as epic or helpful, but I’d like to see us wield the flaming lance a bit more during cutscenes like this. Having us use it during the cutscenes with boss battle Aventurine were nice. Makes me wonder if Dan Heng will call upon his Imbibitor Lunae form if the situation ever gets too dire.

Ohh, and with all that chatter about poison to March and the kids before, I believe he’d be successful in creating such a medicine too.

His dedication to cure Feixiao’s condition is extraordinary and I’m wishing so hard for him to achieve it somehow.

On a side note, I am glad this whole mission continued with that split character perspectives feature that Penacony had so we could try out Jiaoqiu in battle a few times. I’m still quite fond of him, but after mixing him in with my team, I couldn’t really find a decent place for him. I may wait for his rerun before I pull but we’ll see if my mind gets swayed before his banner starts.

Getting a little sneak peak at what Moze can do was cool but sadly didn’t last long enough. Still hard to believe this man is a four-star but at least he’ll be easier to level up.

It’s funny to me seeing Moze go nuts with his abilities and sharp weapons, then you got Jiaoqiu fighting with a fan. And spices. And cooking enemies in a giant hot pot. The strange fighting methods fit right into Star Rail and that’s one of the many things I love about this game; how literally anything can end up as a weapon.

But yeah, as expected, Hoolay managed to escape with the helped of the many Borisin who transformed themselves to look like the prison guards.

Xueyi gets absolutely wrecked after a failed attempt to stop Hoolay and I probably would’ve been more shocked if they hadn’t shown her lifeless on the ground in the 2.4 trailer.

Yeah, thank Aeons she’s a puppet or else this really would’ve been her end.. and with how casually Hanya mentions such damage has become somewhat of a reoccurring thing, I guess we’re all worried for nothing. Even less so as Xueyi later pilots a conveniently placed cycrane up and out of the prison to inform Jing Yuan of the disaster that happened.

Dan Heng literally saying that he rather die than having anything bad happen to us.. aahh. He’s such a good boy. I feel bad for never using this regular form of his, until I remember Imbibitor Lunae is most likely my strongest unit, so all is well. But how about neither one of us dies, okay? That’s more ideal.

Jiaoqiu thinking about Feixiao first before the entire wellness of their home.. god, he’s so committed to that promise of his. Love that for him.

Hearing him quite literally triggering Hoolay was to be expected, but also sly of him to conveniently leave out that our former sword champion is no longer on the Luofu. I think one of the nearby Borisin noticed and corrected this information to Hoolay anyways, but whatever. It manages to keep our medic alive as a hostage.

After seeing Dan Heng throw Cloud Piercer in an attempt to stop the prison’s doors from closing, I wanna assume we managed to escape, but it’s still kinda vague. I’d hope we did because I certainly don’t want our faithful Express partner to trapped in this nightmarish place any longer than he already has! He deserves to be free from his past!

Heeyyy there, queen. Missed you but definitely can’t end this rambling without you. My expectations after this first part have been raised significantly so if anything, I better see her go all out and fight like crazy in 2.5.

Tell me how exactly. How does one manage to lose sight of a huge, menacing Borisin like Hoolay? Unless he’s also capable of shape-shifting, which would make perfect sense if he can and used that little party trick to escape, but damn.

And with that, I’m finished. Until the next update, of course.

[kazoohaa]

thinking abt one-sided love with dan heng🤧

𝐎𝐍𝐄-𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐃. honkai star rail

— notes. oh no that's horrible, i'm in >:)

— details. dan heng x gn!reader. unrequited love trope. angst.

falling in love with the astral express’ calm and quiet train guard would inevitably have you eventually faced with different kinds of hurdles, and you had already fully expected such troubles to occur, but even with such occurrences in the realm of possibilities you’d considered, you didn’t think it’d.. hurt this much.

you felt like such a fool for falling into the ensnarements of love, and because of him, of all people — but you just couldn’t help it. how could you, when dan heng is just.. like that? it’s almost too difficult to effectively describe what it is exactly about him that pulled you in like this. was it the way he looks? the way he acts? the way he speaks, or moves, or just does things in general? the way he thinks, or his knowledge? it was difficult to accurately pinpoint.

and again, you were fully anticipating something as trivial as your feeble feelings to go unrequited. you never ended up confessing because you didn’t want to raise up your own hopes then disappoint yourself further. after all, dan heng simply didn’t seem like the type of person to hold any sort of attraction towards you, or anyone for that matter. this preexisting knowledge didn’t lessen how much it was an internal slap to the face every time it was made apparent that he didn’t return your affections. he never did more than he should, as a friend, and his eyes never lingered on yours (only to show a questioning glance when he did), and he never

was there some higher being you could blame for your misfortunes? could you blame it on some certain alignment of the many stars that littered the universe, depending on how it looked from the grounds of jarilo-vi? could you just say such a sad outcome is because of an aeon like the nihility, ix? no, that was just stupid. foolishness almost on par with your hopeless crush, your ever-helpful brain reminded you. hell, you didn’t even know if dan heng’s caught on to how you feel. but knowing him, he probably has. were you being too obvious?

god, this man was as distant as the stars that litter the outreaches of space. or, at least, as unattainable.

because judging by his behaviour, your belief in having no chance was solidified — it was clear that dan heng had his eyes on someone else.

( this was kinda bad actually i'm sorry )

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 3 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

It was the morning of their departure from the Luofu, and Stelle was getting dressed for the day.

Er... trying to.

“You couldn’t have marked me elsewhere?” she commented as she stared at herself in the mirror. More specifically, at the red marks across her neck and shoulders. “Like, somewhere easier to hide?”

“Heat of the moment,” Dan Heng dismissed with a gleam in his eyes.

She shot him a frown, watching with dismay as the marks she’d given him in return were easily hidden beneath his shirt collar. “Why am I the only one paying for it?” she muttered, looking through her clothes once again.

A pair of arms wrapped around her torso from behind. “Sorry,” Dan Heng whispered before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

“I’m not going to forgive you so easily,” she grumbled, unsure if it was aimed at him or a reminder for herself.

“Then would you like me to help you find something to cover them?”

She shook her head, reaching for a shirt to examine. “No, it’s fine. You’re welcome to head out to breakfast first. I’ll meet you out there.”

“Are you certain?”

“Unless you want to listen to me continue to complain.”

He huffed, amused. “Then I’ll see you at breakfast.”

“See you.”

They shared a quick kiss before he slipped away and out of the room, smile on his face all the while.

With a disappointed sigh, she put the shirt in her hands down only to pick up another. It was plain white, but it had a high collar. She put it up to her chest in deliberation. Sure, it went with her skirt, but if she paired it with her favorite jacket, she was bound to get a comment from Himeko as to why she was wearing a high collar when she usually didn’t. And that was a question Stelle did not want to answer.

But then she caught sight of her hair sticks, ones Dan Heng had so carefully removed and set aside last night. Could she pull off the high collar if she wore her hair up with it?

Well, there was no harm in trying.

After putting on the shirt and her jacket, she decided it wasn’t too bad, although a little strange with the differing necklines. She looked through her collection of hair sticks, selecting one that boasted a brilliant orange flower. She remembered this one fondly, seeing as it was the first accessory Dan Heng had gotten for her claiming it reminded him of her eyes. For as little Dan Heng cared about objects, he sure took his time to select meaningful gifts for her. It made them all seem so precious.

She twisted her hair up, securing it with the stick then trying her best to get a good look at it in the mirror.

And hey, it didn’t look half bad. Hopefully, her hair would be enough to distract others from her high shirt collar. Maybe this way, she could pull off the excuse of trying to emulate the Luofu style today.

Yeah, she could totally do that.

With a newfound confidence, she headed out to the parlor car, where everyone was probably waiting for her by now.

“Ah, there she is,” Himeko greeted.

“Hey!” March added on. “You have your hair up!”

Stelle hoped her smile wasn’t awkward. “Y-yeah.”

“It’s cute!” she continued.

“It is,” Himeko agreed. “You should wear it like that more often.”

“I know, And I’d like to…” Stelle remarked, taking her seat between her husband and March at the breakfast table. “But they sometimes come loose in a fight.”

"You could avoid fighting all-together, you know," Dan Heng teased, reaching out to gently touch a silk petal.

"It's not like I look for fights," she lightly returned. "But I never know what will come my way as a Nameless, and I don't want to lose them."

“If you do, I’ll get you another."

“I’d rather take care of the things you give me."

“Ugh,” March grumbled, her nose scrunching as she pouted. “You two are so cute. When will it be my turn?”

“Maybe one day, March,” Welt calmly spoke. “Although, it’s hard to find someone as a Nameless. You might have more luck if you settled down somewhere.”

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” she countered.

Himeko giggled. “Maybe the universe will bring a new traveler just for you.”

“A girl can hope,” March sighed, dropping her chin into her hands. “So, we finished our business at the Xianzhou, right? Where are we headed now?”

“Well, considering our final member has gotten a clean bill of health, we can start exploring again,” Himeko answered. “I’ve already planned our itinerary for the next few months."

Welt hummed, frown on his face. “You say that as though we’re going for fun and not to clean up a mess Nanook left for us.”

At that, a wave of dread hit everyone at the table. Nanook may have been defeated but it came at the cost of shooting stellarons across the cosmos. Meaning that they were on clean-up duty for life.

“Well,” Himeko chirped, trying to keep up her positive attitude. “At least we’ll never be able to say we’re bored?”

“I think I’d rather be bored,” March grunted.

“I second that,” Stelle tiredly agreed.

“If Stelle’s agreeing with me, that’s a bad sign!”

Welt and Himeko both chuckled while Dan Heng simply shook his head in amusement.

“Even so,” Welt said. “We have a duty as the Nameless to help in whatever capacity we can. And that includes hunting down stellarons. However, I would like to mention that for our next stop, I think Stelle should stay on board.”

“Huh?” Stelle’s eyes widened.

“I agree,” Himeko said, giving Stelle an apologetic look. “You only just got a clean bill of health after giving us quite the scare. I think that for the next couple of missions, it would be best for you to stay with the Express until the situation can be assessed. Once we determine the situation is stable, then you can go explore.”

“As much as I hate to admit it,” March cautiously added. “I agree with them.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Stelle bemoaned.

“Sorry!” March cried. “But… we were really worried about you.”

Stelle sighed, a slightly bitter smile making its way across her expression. Yet, despite everything, she couldn’t say this came as a surprise, nor could she say they were being unreasonable. Her family was concerned for her, and she didn't want to worry them any more than she had. “No, I understand. I guess I have no choice but to behave.”

Underneath the table, Dan Heng patted her leg. She spared him a glance, only to see a sympathetic look on his face. She didn’t need to ask where he stood on the matter; she knew full well that while he thought it was for the best, he still felt sorry for her.

“I can stay with you,” he suggested. “If you’d like.”

She shook her head. “Something tells me you’re itching to get back out into the field. And you’ve been on Stelle-care duty for so long that I think forcing you to go out might be better for your sanity.”

“I’ll stay with Stelle,” Welt offered. “Since I know Himeko is getting antsy, too.”

The woman in question hid her sheepish smile behind her coffee mug as she took a sip.

Stelle bit back a teasing retort of her own. It was no small wonder Himeko was antsy considering she was the first of the crew to get the all-clear. However, that came as no surprise since she’d been at the rear, holding down the fort, but Stelle never once envied Himeko for her "seemingly safe" position. That woman had been in charge of the home camp, doing everything from managing communications between fleets, monitoring the medical units and the transport of the injured, and rationing supplies. She’d also been the first on scene whenever trouble managed to slip through their rear guard, a sector that had been led by Welt. She’d hardly been sitting on her laurels and sipping coffee while the galaxy had gone to hell.

“Then it will be me, Himeko, and Dan Heng,” March piped up. “Which I’ll only be okay with as long as Dan Heng promises not to fuss over Stelle the whole time.”

Dan Heng narrowed his eyes at her.

Sniggering, Stelle leaned back in her seat in a pitiful attempt to escape being in the middle of the rivalry. 

“You know I’m not exaggerating!” March quipped. “Every time you have to be separated from Stelle, you get all mopey.”

“I do not.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“That’s enough,” Welt cut in before the two could really get started.

“Anyway,” Himeko said. “To get back on topic, I do believe Pom-pom said we were going to hit warp-speed right after breakfast.”

“I’m assuming that the preparations involved with that is why our conductor is not eating breakfast with us,” Welt asked.

Himeko nodded.

Which made sense. Stelle had been wondering where their adorable conductor was.

“We should arrive within two days,” Himeko continued. “Barring any unforeseen circumstances. So I hope everyone is ready for our next adventure?”

Despite knowing what danger they were bound to be facing and the hard work they had ahead of them, Stelle knew everyone at the table was genuinely excited. As was she. This was their life: maybe a bit chaotic but worth living nevertheless. Even if their first “normal” adventure after the war was her staying with the train, she’d take it.

However, if they only had two days before arrival, that meant there was one little loose end to wrap up before starting off that new adventure.

Subtly as she could, she snuck a glance at her husband. Well, she supposed she would have plenty of time to talk to Bailu about the results of a certain experiment if she were to stay back on the train. She’d just have to pin her husband down before he left.

~~~

March had fallen over… again.

Dan Heng had long come to accept she’d never learn.

Other than that, the day of travel had been blissfully uneventful. He’d spent it organizing data files on the planet they were bound for in order to best prepare everyone for their stop. And while he was not looking forward to cleaning up stellaron crisis after stellaron crisis for the foreseeable future, he wouldn’t deny that getting back to traveling through the stars and exploring was much preferable to waging war against an aeon.

Having finished his shower, he headed back to his room, only to be greeted with the sight of his wife standing shirtless in front of the mirror as she applied Bailu’s salve to her scar.

Speaking of Bailu’s medication…

Shutting the door behind him, his eyes drifted over to the nightstand where a seemingly innocuous piece of candy lay. Maybe he had been too emotional last night to think straight about the medicine because all day long, his previous concerns had been haunting him. No matter how many times he told himself this was to help Bailu help others or simply to indulge his wife, the bad feeling that had slowly been growing inside him wouldn’t disappear. However, he knew they’d have to try it tonight, so he did his best to mentally prepare for it.

“Hey, perfect timing,” Stelle said, turning away from the little mirror on their dresser to face him. “Get over here.”

With a sigh, he did as told, slipping out of his shirt as he made his way over.

She smiled as she began swiping salve from the little jar to rub over the wounds on his shoulders. “Bailu gave me the all-clear to use this on you, by the way,” she said.

“Oh? You messaged her?”

“Yeah, just so she’d know I’d have to replace it sooner. She said that it was fine and she was happy to make some for all the crew if they needed it.”

“That’s nice of her,” he said, trying to focus on anything other than his wife’s tender touch. Or the fact that her teal-colored sports bra was one of his favorite things to see her in.

“Mm-hmm,” Stelle agreed. “Now, turn around.”

That he could do.

“And you think my scar’s bad,” she muttered.

He tensed at her warm touch, a sharp contrast to the slightly cool salve. “Is it ugly?”

She hummed in deliberation. “Mine is uglier; yours is bigger. They’re both bad in their own ways.” She then pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “But I still love you.”

He couldn’t hold back his smile even if he wanted to. “Love you, too.”

It hardly took any time for Stelle to finish applying the salve. “There. Done.���

He heard the clink of the lid being set back on the jar, but he didn’t turn around. Instead, his gaze was once again drawn to the nightstand. More specifically, to the little piece of candy on it. He walked over to grab it.

“So, you’ve been thinking about it, too, huh?”

Dan Heng looked up just in time to see the mischievous glint in Stelle’s eye, one that always promised trouble. “Yes. Realistically, we’ll have to tonight so as to get back to Bailu in good timing.”

“Uh-huh,” Stelle smugly agreed as she stepped closer to him. “So, about that… I have a little proposition.”

Dan Heng quirked a brow at her. “And that is?”

“This was once used in illegal love potions, correct?” she asked, tapping on the candy in his hands. “So I thought the effects must be potent, particularly if Bailu was so careful to limit how much she used. I propose we resist these supposed effects as much as possible. The first person to throw themselves at the other loses.”

Turning over the candy in his hands, he mulled over her words. “So, you’re saying you want to resist each other?” he asked for clarification. “Even though you originally wanted this to bring us together?”

“Well, originally, sure. But… last night…” A tinge of red touched her cheeks, softening that smug grin of hers. “We can get ourselves into enough trouble. And that’s… that’s way better than using an aphrodisiac for it.”

A fluttery feeling bubbled up in his chest at her words. He couldn’t find it in him to disagree with her.

“Besides,” she continued, “you’ll want to study the effects of this thing, anyway, so think of it as a challenge of how long you can keep your head on straight before you cave. And if it doesn’t do anything, then why force it? That’s the point of testing the aphrodisiac, right?”

“You’ve really thought this out.”

“I mean, isn’t that what Bailu wants from us? To make sure it’s not potent enough to cause trouble? Besides, I’m kinda curious, now. Like, is it really that strong, or is it a hoax?”

She did have a point. For all they knew, the little data that Bailu received could have been flawed. “A valid question.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” She puffed out her chest proudly. “So, what do you think?”

If he was being honest, he still wasn’t fully sure what to think. The uncertainty was still there, but she did make an interesting proposition. He’d been looking for a way to prepare himself all day, so Stelle's proposeal of a purely scientific approach seemed to be the best way to face this predicament he’d gotten himself into. “I will not lose to you. Data collecting is my specialty.”

“I know, but your wife is very competitive.”

That, he knew.

With a smirk, she took the candy from him and began unwrapping it. And after taking a step forward, her chest now mere inches from his, she put half the candy between her teeth.

All he had to do was lean forward to take it.

“I sincerely hope we do not regret this.” That said, he reached up to cradle Stelle’s cheeks. A giggle escaped her as he leaned forward, lips brushing hers as he bit off his half of the candy.

“I trust Bailu’s research,” Stelle quietly spoke around the candy in her mouth. “She did say she added what she deemed to be a safe amount. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“That is a question I’d prefer not to have answered.”

Chuckling, she stepped away from him. “Want to play a board game as we wait for this supposed love potion to kick in? It will give you a chance to record whatever data you find necessary, too.”

He huffed, a little bewildered by the suggestion yet unsurprised. Such was life with Stelle. “Sure, why not.”

“So, do you want me to put a shirt on, or can I keep tempting you?”

He looked her over, noting her teal sports bra and tight, red shorts she wore. She was showing a lot of skin, and Dan Heng would be lying if he said he didn’t find it attractive. But he was not one to cave to base desires so easily, no matter how tempting his wife was. Besides, he supposed it would be fair since he didn’t want to replace his shirt, either. The salve she'd put on him was quite pungent, and considering they didn't know how long it would take to fade out of their sheets or her shirt, it was probably for the best to let it air out instead of ruining more clothes. “It won’t make a difference.”

“Oh, you sound cocky.”

“There is a difference between cockiness and confidence, and it’s best not to mistake them.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “For that, I’m choosing the game. You just go write down your data or whatever.”

He snorted. Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad.

And maybe he spoke too early.

No, he definitely spoke too early.

Because by the end of the second game, he was feeling the effects very, very strongly.

“You’re really red,” Stelle observed, concern wavering in her voice.

One glance at her proved she wasn’t fairing much better. “You are, too.”

“I might be, but I don’t look like I’m dying.”

That was true. On the contrary, the flush of her cheeks only added to her beauty. It made the red hints in her golden eyes glow all the brighter. But the longer he stared into those eyes of the woman he loved so much, the faster his heart raced and, consequently, the harder it became to catch his breath.

“You need me to take notes?” she asked.

“You’re taking your own notes, right?” he said, forcing his eyes down to the paper and pen at his side. “I… I can take mine.”

He focused on picking up the pen, checking the time, and then describing his symptoms to the best of his ability. And once he managed that, he made a note of just how hard such a task was to do. It was a struggle to focus on anything, and the pounding in his head wasn’t helping any, either.

“Okay,” he said, taking a heavy breath before turning back to the board before him. “Shall we play another round?”

“Are you up for it?” Stelle asked, calling his attention to her again. “Maybe you should go lay down."

He shook his head, which was a terrible idea because it caused his world to start spinning. “No, I’m fine. I can keep going. I… won’t lose this bet.”

Stelle grimaced in concern but soon picked up one of the game pieces. “Alright.”

They made it halfway through the game before Dan Heng was seriously debating giving up. His chest felt uncomfortably tight, and his head was pounding as though he'd taken a beating. But worst of all was how intensely focused on Stelle he found himself to be. On her golden eyes, the pretty color that stained her cheeks, the marks he’d decorated her shoulders and chest with last night.

That thought sent a possessive feeling coursing through him, his gut tightening and breath hitching at the warm rush. Mine. The errant thought popped up and wouldn’t leave.

In a second of sanity, he slammed his eyes shut and hung his head. Get a grip, he warned himself.

“Dan Heng?”

He held his hand up in a motion to give him a minute to pull it together. Then, in an act of desperation, he allowed himself to transform into his vidyadharan appearance. He preferred hiding it as much as possible with few exceptions: whenever they went to see Bailu being the main one. But on the flip side, the one place he hated this appearance was when he was with Stelle in private. Hiding it made him feel normal, like his past didn’t have a hold on his future. And it was a comfort that Stelle happily accepted him just like that.

But right now, dropping that disguise allowed him just a touch more energy to focus on fighting… whatever the hell was going on with him at the moment.

When he looked back up at his wife, he was met with her wide-eyed bewilderment. “Sorry,” he grunted out. “Bear with me.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but it took a few seconds for the words to come out. “It’s fine, but if we need to stop this, say so. You’re worrying me.”

Great, that was exactly what he’d not wanted to do. “I’ll be fine.”

She didn’t look like she believed him in the slightest.

Which was fair. He wasn’t sure he believed himself. “Let’s just… finish this game.”

“Okay.”

In the end, she’d won, but he would hardly protest the loss. He felt like he was dying between the physical effects and trying to keep the ever-increasing desire for his wife under control.

“I’m calling off the bet,” Stelle said, concern carved into her features. “You need to go lay—”

“Don’t touch me,” he warned, shooting her a glare as she reached for him. He didn’t want to snap at his wife, but that was far better than snapping on her. “I… I don’t want to hurt you.”

There was a pause as she pulled her hand back. “Are you really okay?”

As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t lie to her or himself. “No.”

“Okay, so it’s bad,” she muttered to herself. He barely heard it considering how his head was spinning and his ears were ringing. “Still, you need to lay down. I’m really worried for you.”

“I should leave.”

“What?”

He forced himself to stand but ended up leaning on the table for support when he almost lost his balance. “I’ll go sleep in the archives—”

“I’ll go sleep in the archives,” Stelle cut in. “Please, Dan Heng, just lay down.”

“It’s fine. You take the bed.”

“Not a chance.”

He looked up at her, a muddle of messy emotions rolling through him like the churning waters at Scalegorge. “Stay.”

“Make me.”

She spun on her heels to leave, but before she could take two steps towards the door, he grabbed her wrist, yanking her back towards him so hard she crashed into his chest. Except her touch felt like lightning, and a painful throbbing began pulsing through his body at their contact.

He scrunched his eyes shut. Keep it together, he mentally warned all while he felt like he was falling apart.

“Dan Heng.”

Her voice, sweeter than pure sugar, broke through his thoughts.

Keep it together.

That’s when he felt her lean even closer to him, and his hands tightened their already firm grip on her arms. “You’re not going to hurt me.”

“I don’t—”

“I trust you.”

And then she kissed him.

Something in him snapped, and he threw himself into her featherlight kiss with all the pent-up passion that had been brewing inside him, the rest of the side effects temporarily forgotten. He clung to her tightly as though he was terrified she’d disappear from his grasp at any given second, and she made a muffled moan in response.

Aeons, that sparked a fire in him.

Acting on impulse, he pushed her back, back, back until her knees hit the bed, and when she threw her arms around his shoulders to steady herself, he collapsed down with her.

Her touch burned him, but he craved it, his skin feeling like ice if it disappeared. Between this fervor and the other dizzying symptoms, the world had faded away, leaving Stelle to be the only thing on his mind.

“I’m yours,” she murmured against his lips. “And I trust you.”

“You shouldn’t.” He wasn’t sure how he got those words out at all. He didn’t feel like himself. But at the same point, her words reached the deepest part of him, serving to bolster his rampant emotions and making it all the harder to do what he knew he should: bring this to a stop.

“But I do,” she countered, arching up against him and running her fingers over his shoulders. “And I always will.”

… Did he say he wanted to stop this? With his wife murmuring sweet words of encouragement like that in his ear and clinging to him like she would perish if he left?

Forget it. He had better things to do.

~~~

Stelle: Bailu.

Stelle: What in aeon’s name did you put in that little candy of yours?

Stelle: Because it is NOT safe for consumption.

Stelle sent off the texts to Bailu, then dropped her phone back on the bedside table. She couldn’t move much more than that, seeing as she had a dead tired vidyadhara laying on top of her.

With a sigh, she began stroking his long hair. It was a very rare occurrence for Dan Heng to be in his vidyadharan form, even more so when he was here in the Astral Express. But he’d never made love to her in that form before, making last night an exception beyond exceptions. It wasn’t like it had been any different, but she had to admit it was fascinating to know his eyes almost glowed in the dark. She wasn’t sure if she liked it or if she found it unnerving, particularly when they were focused on her so intently.

A ding echoed in the silent room. Surprised at the quick response, Stelle reached over to blindly fumble for her phone.

Bailu:( ⁰д⁰) What happened?

Indeed, that was the question. Stelle was still trying to piece everything together herself. Last night felt like a dream, her mind hazy. But the new lovebite marks dotting her skin and ache wracking her body certainly proved something happened. A very intense something.

Stelle: Let’s just say the aphrodisiac has very different effects on different species. Particularly Vidyadharas.

An understatement, Stelle thought. A massive understatement.

Stelle: I only just escaped with my life.

Bailu:  (o_O) ?

Bailu: Is Dan Heng okay?

Stelle: He is breathing.

Stelle: I would have put you through the reincarnation process myself if he was not.

Bailu: ( ＞Д＜ ) I’M SORRY!

Bubbles appeared for three seconds before vanishing again. And they didn’t return for some time.

Bailu: Can I call you? I’d like to hear all the details.

Stelle: I have a sleeping Vidyadhara on top of me. I dare not wake him. 

Stelle: It was a rough night for him. 

When it took longer than a few seconds to get a response, it clicked what Stelle had just admitted. She knew she could be shameless at times, but realizing just what she had said, and specifically what could be implied from that, was a little much, even for her.

Oops. 

Eventually, just as Stelle was about to put her phone back down on the nightstand, it dinged. 

Bailu: Noted.

Bailu: Then if you wouldn’t mind typing everything out, I could have notes to refer back to. 

Bailu: Start with you. How do you feel?

Stelle paused as she sorted through her thoughts, throwing her shame out the window as she tried to be as accurate as possible.

Stelle: Within twenty minutes, I was warm, but not hot. Racing heart. Notably increased attraction to my husband. And I was very sensitive to touch.

Her face flared at the memory of him grabbing her, yanking her back against him. Her heart had pounded like a drum, a needy warmth flooding her chest, and everywhere their skin touched had ached. Everything after that was a blur, her mind having shut down. But Bailu didn’t need to know those details.

Bailu: Do you have any side effects this morning?

Side effects? Well… er… she was feeling incredibly exhausted and a little sore, but with no small amount of embarrassment, Stelle realized that probably didn’t have anything to do with the medicine. But the way her head was spinning and the sledgehammer pounding behind her eyes was notable.

Stelle: Tired? But that might have been because I was awake late into the night.

Stelle: and a headache. Dan Heng also mentioned he was feeling one very strongly last night.

Bailu: Anything else?

Stelle: No, that was about it. For me, at least, as a short-lifed human imbued with a stellaron.

Bailu: Noted.

Bailu: So, what happened to Dan Heng???

Stelle sighed. Where did she even begin?

Channeling her inner Dan Heng, Stelle tried to be as logical and data-focused about this whole thing as she could be.

Stelle: I can’t speak for him, so you’ll have to ask for specifics later, but I can do my best. 

Stelle: Twenty minutes in, and he was experiencing similar symptoms to me, but seemingly more intense. He was really flushed, and he was breathing heavily. 

Stelle: Within five minutes after that, he transformed into his Vidyadhara form. His symptoms kept growing worse, and he was grabbing at his chest. 

Stelle: I tried to help him, but he was so sensitive to my touch he snapped at me not to.

Bailu: Wait, what do you mean transform?

Oh, that's right. She didn't know.

Stelle: Dan Heng likes keeping his vidyadhara form hidden as much as possible. He only transforms for you or are on the Luofu in general.

Bailu: I didn't know that! Why?

Stelle: You best ask him for the details.

Bailu: Fine. :( Anything else?

Oh, there was. There absolutely was. But even if Bailu was a doctor and studying medicine, Stelle didn’t really find a need to explain anything beyond that.

Stelle: Um… ask him later.

Stelle: What I can say is that the effects lasted for about an hour before he finally passed out, and he was really suffering through them.

That was true, at least. Which made her feel intensely guilty about talking him into this in the first place. She’d been curious about the strength of this love potion, sure, and while she could say the symptoms could have been fun under the right circumstances, she never would have suggested playing with this aphrodisiac if she’d known how poorly they’d affect her husband.

Bailu: Understood. I’ll talk with him later. 

Bailu: Thank you for doing this for me! I owe you both lunch next time you come back. I didn’t even think this would affect different species so differently! None of my research suggested that. I’ll be more careful with this medicine, then. Even if it means starting with a REALLY low dose and slowly upping the potency, it’s better than causing my patients to be negatively affected. 

Stelle: Please do.

Stelle: Oh, and my guess is Dan Heng is going to chew you out later, so good luck. 

Bailu:.·°՞(≧□≦)՞°·. Mercy, Stelle!

The figure lying over her stirred, calling Stelle’s attention. After setting the phone back down on the nightstand, she began stroking his hair.

With a light sigh, he relaxed against her. “Stelle?”

Aeons, that morning voice should be illegal. She wondered if he could hear her heart rate pick up at that rough, slightly groggy tone. “Morning,” she quietly spoke.

He grunted.

“Are you feeling okay?”

He took a few deep breaths. “Head. Hurts.” Each word he spoke was strained, speaking to just how bad his pain was.

Which only made her feel more guilty, but she’d apologize properly later. “Need anything?” she asked. “Water? Or sleep?”

“Tired.”

Feeling sorry for him, she lay a hand over his head, cradling it against her chest.

He seemed to relax under her touch.

“I’ll text Himeko to have breakfast without us. We can blame it on Bailu.”

He hummed. “’kay.”

After a moment of just holding her husband—and mentally running through a million apologies—Stelle reached for her phone, taking a moment to mull over just how to phrase things. Eventually, she settled on texting Himeko that both she and Dan Heng were feeling a little under the weather due to a reaction from some well-intentioned medicine.

Himeko had replied instantly.

With a smug expression emoji.

Himeko: No problem. You two just have fun in bed, okay. ;)

Stelle’s headache suddenly got worse. A lot worse.

Deciding she wasn’t going to respond to that, she opened up the text thread to Bailu again.

Stelle: Dan Heng still has a splitting headache to the point he can’t move.

Stelle: Forget Dan Heng chewing you out, you are in massive trouble with me for hurting my husband. 

Bailu: =͟͟͞͞ =͟͟͞͞ ﾍ( ´Д`)ﾉ

Bailu: I’M SO SORRYYYYYY!!!

[xamassed]

something small. ( insp. @ofhope )

❝ What do you mean you don’t have something else to wear? ❞

March 7th’s indignation and utter disbelief had been met with the usual — a nonchalant shrug and a grunt that, when taken in by someone else, should have sufficed as an answer. To her, it was a challenge. Dan Heng may have responded dismissively, but she simply couldn’t accept that there wasn’t another, sharper outfit squirreled away somewhere in the Astral Express archives.

He could be so handsome, she tried to encourage.

It didn’t matter, he argued. He didn’t need to be handsome.

She knew he didn’t need to be, but all she wanted was to witness the deadpan young man in a new light. They never knew when they might be given the chance to dress formally, and she absolutely loathed the idea of missing out. That’s it! She declared with the utmost confidence that they were going out, just the two of them. He tried to argue, claimed he was too mentally exhausted to enjoy himself.

March had accepted this once before, and she did believe him, but now she pleaded. Please, just for a little while. Fresh air would do him some good! True, her intention was to drag him into the nearest shop in search of a new wardrobe, but there would be air in between, she promised.

Purely out of habit, he nearly denied her again. If it weren’t for the fact that he had looked up from his work and spotted her sweet, pleading face, he would have sent her away. Those wide eyes, bright with a spark of hope and the undeniable desire to help, did him in. There was no rejecting her good intentions when she behaved like a well-meaning child.

He agreed, under one condition. He refused to stay out for the whole of the day, and she agreed that three hours was better than nothing at all. When she promised that they would only visit clothing shops, she meant it. Dragging him elsewhere would have been easy, but she didn’t want to risk breaking the trust he had given her.

Yet after those hectic three hours, he returned to the train with only one bag in tow. She had six, and they were heavy with her disappointment. The things inside were pretty and fun, but she couldn’t let go of the feeling that she had failed him.

❝ I can’t believe you only bought one outfit! There were so many that looked amazing on you! ❞ She gave a grand, exaggerated groan as she slinked into her room and tossed her bags onto her bed. With a slump, she joined them, face buried into her covers. Behind her, standing in the doorway, Dan Heng sighed.

❝ I told you: I don’t pick clothes because they look good on me. This was the only one that felt comfortable. ❞ He was gentler with his bag, letting it sit in front of his feet. March rolled onto her back and dug the heels of her palms into her eyes.

❝ They won’t be comfortable unless you wear them, you know? ❞ She whined and gave one foot a little kick at the air. ❝ We spent so long out there, and you’re no happier now than you were when we left! ❞

Dan Hang had begun to rummage through his singular bag, but her declaration surprised him. Head up, he watched her throw her miniature fit on her bed. ❝ You were trying to cheer me up? ❞

❝ Yes! You didn’t want to go with us yesterday, and I was okay with that. But you looked sad today too, and — and I don’t like it! I know you don’t like clothes the way I do, and I know it’s not fun for you to go shopping for it, but I wanted to do something. ❞

Dan Heng stood, a smaller bag in his hands. March sat up and spotted it, eyes growing wide with wonder. ❝ Wait, when did you get that? I thought you only bought one thing! ❞

❝ Remember when you went to get drinks for us? I saw a little stand selling jewelry while I was waiting for you. ❞ He stated matter-of-factly.

❝ You bought jewelry? ❞ She was awestruck, and without thinking, she quickly met him at the door. ❝ You? ❞

❝ You make it sound like it’s strange. ❞

❝ Coming from you, yeah. I didn’t think you were accessory type. ❞

❝ I’m not, usually. ❞ He couldn’t let her believe that her efforts had been for naught. Midway through their little excursion, he had understood the meaning of it. It didn’t matter to her that he had bought so little. What she wanted was his happiness, and he knew that for certain now. The stories, the giggling, the little touches to his arm as she dragged him out of the way when he nearly bumped into strangers on the street — her methods were roundabout and obnoxious, but that was what made her March.

She cared, and it didn’t sit right with him that he had brushed her feelings aside so readily.

❝ I’ll be honest. I wasn’t having fun at first, but I started to forget about the clothes once we started talking. I think I did need the air, and it was nice to move around in an space larger than the archives. ❞ He dared to let a small chuckle loose then, and he was rewarded with a giggle from March. ❝ I went to the stand just to keep myself occupied, but I saw this. . . ❞

He pulled a small box from the bag, and from that box he gingerly removed a single earring. A small, rectangular stone of a familiar blue dangled from a golden hook. Above the blue jewel and its many shimmering facets was a smaller cluster of pink gems shaped like a bunch of tiny, juicy berries. The design itself wasn’t the most subtle, and he did feel a little silly holding it up, but that silliness didn’t last long when the colors struck him again.

They were almost as gorgeous as her eyes, but he reckoned that nothing would ever shine as bright. She was too happy, too optimistic and too much fun for something as ordinary as jewels to outshine her.

❝ It made me think of you. ❞

Dan Heng thought he saw her turn pink, but he didn’t bring attention to it. Instead, he focused on the cuff around his ear. He removed it, spent a minute struggling to pierce the end of the hook through his nearly sealed earlobe, then fitted the cuff back into place. It was a smidgen uncomfortable, but it was exactly as she said: if he wore it enough, it would become comfortable.

❝ But. . . But it doesn’t match with the rest of your outfit! ❞ She was touched to the deepest parts of her heart, but she didn’t want him to wear it if he was ashamed.

❝ Does that matter? ❞

❝ Does it not? ❞ She countered.

❝ Not to me. I like it, that’s all I care about. ❞

❝ Even if it reminds you of me? ❞ One would think with this flat expressions and lack of enthusiasm that he would want the opposite.

❝ That’s why I wanted it. ❞ He reached up and toyed with the earring absentmindedly. ❝ I won’t always want to go out, and I won’t always want to be cheered up by anyone, but this will remind me that I do have something to look forward to. I have you, and I have the Express. It will take me a bit to stop thinking about everything that happened and what might happen, but today made it easier. ❞

❝ Dan Heng. . . ❞

A short-lived smiled was exchanged between the two before he reached for his bags. ❝ Can I go back to the archives now? ❞

March rolled her eyes and gave his chest a small, harmless shove. ❝ Yeah, yeah. Go on, but you have to eat with the rest of us later! ❞

❝ I will. I promise. ❞

❝ I’ll drag you out of there if you break that promise! ❞

Dan Heng turned, and one corner of his lips lifted again now that his face was out of sight. ❝ I know you will. ❞