#my dash when i whip out a ship developed thru discord randomly with 1k word threads: mr krabs whiplash

[mercysfool]

he's comfortable in silence. that likely isn't surprising, even to someone who has known him only the timespan of a few days : he prefers it, oftentimes, to the busy chatter of the world around him. so is it with ease he lets the topics of his express and idle meandering about their time with sushang die off. he does watch him for a moment, still, to gather what his angle for their conversation is. when he sees that he is gathering his thoughts, he hums in acknowledgement, but doesn't push him. instead, he lets the silence draw out, attention once more on the chain he weaves 'tween his fingers in absent mind.

in truth, he didn't expect him to break through the quiet so suddenly, nor curtly. he supposes he should've, given what he'd gleamed of dan heng's nature, yet nevertheless, he startles not from the sound of his voice, but how sharp it is.

he pauses his fidgeting, but doesn't look up at him. his first instinct is to assume he must be suspicious of him, as such would make sense given his crew's apparent impression of him. he'd never met them, of course, but if welt's warnings were anything to go off of, it was probably for the best that be the case. what he doesn't account for is the subsequent explanation that it isn't in negative connotation ... or for anything that comes after.

he is a good listener, contrary to one might expect of how distant he oft presents himself. not quite cold by any means, but never personable either. calling him shady wouldn't truly be an insult so much as observation : but he does pay attention, where it benefits him. his gaze stays trained on the gold of the trinket he holds, but his lips part, eyes shifting to glance at him only from the corner to read what little of his body language he can at this angle. he expects to find him laughing, smiling, something to prove to him that he'd been incorrect in assuming that dan heng had no sense of humor whatsoever. he expects that he is joking. he is simultaneously unsurprised and rather confused to see that is not the case. an impression he doesn't quite have to voice, when his company has taken the liberty to do that for him. he's right. he isn't the type to be open, nor heartfelt, he had made that much clear with sushang in their party. sentimentality, then, is the last he'd expected.

"i hadn't thought i'd have made that much an impression, to leave you fumbling with your own feelings." his voice is quiet 'gainst the traffic that races past, and the soft bustling of the city around them. they're only a small part of the heartbeat of luofu's public that day, but for all it's chaos, dan heng certainly has his attention now. he finally shifts to look at him proper, eyes narrow in both thought and shockingly tender regard. he has a feeling, call it intuition, he should approach this subject rather delicately, whereas there are perhaps plenty who may wrongly think someone like his companion, cold as he comes off, may be acting overdramatic. "lady sushang ... wasn't me." parroting him feels strange, but it takes a moment for him to realize exactly what he's saying.

... it seems he'd picked up an admirer, in the chaos of the luofu's infestation. self admitted, in his own words, but watching him now, luocha couldn't possibly fathom how. he had hardly let anyone overstep their boundaries in his company, always playing his cards close to his chest. sushang had parted his company friendly but distant, as expected of a professional. he had figured dan heng would do the same, no matter how longingly he'd caught him staring unbeknownst to him, he's sure. his assumption, then, incorrect.

he let's him speak, because it is polite, and because he thinks he needs to. but he realizes it, somewhere between his mentioning of losing focus when he looks at him, and the long-winded, near never-ending speech about things that could only be summed up as sweet nothings that follow. taking his hand during the uproar of the tree's springing to life had been a tactic to calm him at the time, and it seems he'd done quite the opposite : but now the realization makes him stare in abject curiosity, far too gentle to be offended, yet too confused to fully understand.

he's being confessed to by someone who does not even realize they are pouring their heart out to him.

"were you not so straight-forward, dan heng, i would think you were making fun of me. that's not the case, though, is it? shockingly genuine, aren't you." he's aware his own words could come off as mockery if not worded correctly, but the way he speaks carries some form of delicacy : soft enough that he would hope it comes off as the opposite. he is staring at him in awe, partially struck speechless by the outpour of emotion he had so calmly offered, but also perhaps, to some degree, a little embarrassed. no one walking by could deign to notice it, of course, so subtle is the way his eyes have widened, nor the faintest fluster of his cheeks. his expression hardly changes, but the emotion with which he looks at him certainly does. he ... is blindsided. "and what about now, i wonder? is your heart beating that fast, now?"

he truly doesn't know, does he? he almost feels sorry for him, but he doesn't voice that part. not when he is on the receiving end of it, listening to someone ramble for what must have been a good several minutes about things almost unfathomable. this is something out of a book, he laments inwardly. romantic literature, indeed. what a dense boy.

though the bait is there, he cannot take it, for teasing him with a doctor's diagnosis would be, in honesty, rather cruel. instead, he reaches out to gingerly take the other's chin 'tween his fingers, forcing him to meet his gaze. "pardon me, dan heng." there is so very little he can say in the face of all he has just been bombarded with. he does afford him his full attention, though, chain tucked safely back away as his body shifts to face him proper. "have you fallen in love with me?"

     A small grin appears, slightly relieved that it seemed Luocha didn't think any less of him. He watches the way he messed with his chain out of the corner of his eye, sitting up properly now that the coast was clear. "Hm. I see. I hope I get to see more of those talents of yours." Flowers. He makes a quiet note of that, absentmindedly shrugging at the mention of security. "I understand. I am very aware of how the officials are around here, they can be.." Hostile. Though perhaps at times Dan Heng himself was as well. He could be sympathetic with them, if he didn't carry a delicate distaste toward them. "We were lucky we found Sushang when we did. She was more lenient. The three of us needed each other, in a way, differences and morale aside." It was nice to have a Cloud Knight as an ally. Though maybe they were also lucky she was new in the profession.

"He is," he admits, clicking his tongue, "he is very protective of us, but his feelings can often get the better of him. I simply hope he gives you a proper chance." Especially from what he read there was no reason for those suspicions. He sighs, wanting the topic on Welt to end there. He feels almost bad for talking about his superior like this, but everyone on the train knew how much respect he had for him.

He turns his head to properly look at him. The space between them was comforting. It's only been at most a week or two since they first met, but they spoke to each other as if they were old friends. He catches the way he looks at him, pupils very briefly looking at his smile before looking away with a hum. "Sure. I was. But neither of us could have made it out with so few injuries without you." There was a slight tension in his body as he remembers what he wanted to say before they got interrupted, dissipating as quickly as it appeared as he gently shakes his head.

     "No.. of course not. It was initially to see how you were doing, in all honesty." And something else. But that would have to be put in the back burner for now. He doesn't think that giving him a proper invitation to the train now would be in good timing. What he was going through had been weighing on his mind for days, and even if it was embarrassing to discuss those feelings with its target, he felt as though the two were at constant similar wavelengths. He trusted Himeko, Welt, March, but no one in that group would be able to help him. Not in the emotional or blatant blunt level that he needed. And Aeon forbid he could avoid March's teasing on what was going on.

"I feel off around you." The start of it was curt, perhaps too straightforward. He keeps his eyes on the skyways, watching as a crane bird flies by before clarifying; "Not in a bad way. Which is why I never said anything before. But they're... mm."

He pauses, hesitant. Brows furrowing as he tries to figure out a way to word this. Dissecting his emotions out loud was not something he was built for. And certainly not in front of someone else. Not he, who was so cold and reserved, who seemed more interested in shutting himself away with his books and papers than dealing with casual chatter with the others. He had to be read like a book by Himeko to crawl out of his shell enough to seek comfort, and even then he was a struggle.

So he was quiet for far longer than he expected it to be. Silence is broken by an inhale as he admits, "They're different. And I don't know what's going on. You probably have figured out by now, I'm not exactly an open person. I sit and deal with everything. I take what's in my head at face value, and there is nothing deep to look at. I can accept pretty much anything.. I know what it is. But not this time." And it's annoying. And I don't know why I think you would know the answer either. Perhaps he doesn't, but either way, the feelings revolve around him. It'd be rude to not admit something that could affect their relationship, wouldn't it?

     Truth be told this was already the most he has been open to someone already. He starts to fidget a bit, tugging on the cloak he wore around his shoulders before continuing; "I admire you. That I know. I liked having you at my side when the tree exploded. Sushang too, of course, but she..." Pushed my buttons. Annoyed me at times. And Aeons forbid the number of times he almost snapped at her when his stress came at its highest. "But she wasn't you."

Perhaps that was the root of his concerns. His inexperience showing. Sushang was more like March. A friend. An ally. Someone that he had to take a while to get used to. And sure it was the same for Luocha, he wasn't used to his presence or having to journey with him right off the bat, but.. "The moment things were calm, and I looked at you, it felt as though something clicked. Like I found something I didn't realize was missing in the first place." Thinking that he viewed him as a friend didn't sit right. This was not how he felt towards his friends, it was plain as day for him. It was as though anything he liked about a friend was incredibly heightened to the point he had no name for it.

His focus was gone, he was clearly not looking at the skyways. His mind was entirely elsewhere as he mumbled something under his breath before continuing on. "Do you remember when you calmed me down after the tree came to life? When you told me to hold your hand and think of anywhere else? I believe that was when it became worse." Better? He isn't sure. But it was agony for him either way. "Everytime you look at me, or talk to me.. I don't know. It feels like things are okay. You smile and for a second I lose my attention on anything else. How annoying."

He tilts his head back, eyes slowly falling shut for a moment. His words felt as though they were going no where. The stoic, cold protector that he had developed for so long was faltering moment by moment. Now he just looked like a lost individual who was picking at what he said as if he was nervous of saying the wrong thing. Unsure of himself, unfocused, picking at his cloak as if trying to find an outlet that would ensure he doesn't bolt. From this point forward he may as well say what came to mind for several days now.

His eyes only open halfway, trained down to the floor as his voice lowers. "You're something special to me. We were separated for a short period of time and yet it felt as though something was left behind. The idea that we would have to go our separate ways at some point just... did not sit right with me. Sometimes my heart beats so fast whenever you look at me it was as thought I was in the middle of an anxiety attack. That is not normal now is it? Aeons forbid I even think of you at all, it makes my chest hurt and my head fog in a way that Welt would have scolded me for if he saw how distracted I became."

     He finally lets go of his cloak, fingers aching a little as he runs them through his hair, careful that the hood doesn't fall and expose his face completely. "I must sound like a damn fool don't I." He was completely flushed by the time his hand dropped back down to his lap, gaze anywhere but Luocha. "This isn't everything, but the rest is hard to put into words. Everything is just.. something I would read from a romantic piece of literature I had found in the library." The connection flies completely over his head. If it weren't for the fact he was glaring at a flower vase one would assume he was absolutely joking, even with the exhausted and serious tone he held in his voice.

He falls silent now, a weight partially lifted from his chest. Himeko would be so proud, how open he was with everything. He spares Luocha a mere glance to check if he was actually still sitting next to him before looking back at the vase. He takes the time to adjust his hood, humming, desperate to ignore that he had a complete rant. "Well, doctor, you have a clue what's wrong with me?"