Work Text:
Things started off relatively normal during Caelus’s first visit to the archives; Dan Heng explains how to use the data bank, and he nods along. They haven’t known each other long, but so far Caelus has struck him as the quiet sort, a much welcome reprieve from March’s exuberance. A couple of questions are asked, but they’re all about the things he’s explaining. With everything so simple and comfortable, he begins to let his guard down, an obvious mistake when he thinks back on it. Caelus is still an unknown, and apparently one who had just been biding his time.
“Dan Heng, I was wondering…”
Expecting another question about his archiving work, he hummed, focused on the shelf of books in front of him.
“Did you want to kiss me?”
Well that got his attention. His head snapped out of the book he had been examining, eyebrows raised as he turned to Caelus. At the crooked grin on his face, he sighed, turning away without bothering to respond. March had obviously been a bad influence on their newest trailblazer.
“But we can’t blame March for interrupting, I suppose it was just the wrong time and place.”
Annoyed – he had been trying to help and wouldn’t have that misconstrued – Dan Heng turned towards Caelus once again, his brow furrowed and mouth already open to protest, but instead was met with soft lips on his cheek and a hastily retreating back.
“To tide you over,” he called over his shoulder with a wink, sliding the door closed behind him.
The fountain in Belobog always had quite the crowd around it, people bustling to and fro in the frigid air. The trio had decided to take a break in their sightseeing; Caelus was sitting with March on the side of the fountain, trying to convince her to count the coins with him while Dan Heng stood with his arms crossed off to the side. He was studying the populace, taking mental notes to add to the data bank, while half-listening to the banter behind him.
“Please, March? Aren’t you curious?” Caelus was pleading, puppy dog eyes in place, but Dan Heng could catch the slightly teasing undertone now that he was listening for it. In all reality, Caelus was probably just bored and riling March up for fun.
“Uh, no? I mean, maybe a little, but not enough to count them,” she said, propping her hands on her hips. Her eyes narrowed at Caelus, whose pouting face was giving way to twitching lips as he tried not to laugh. “Leave me out of your shenanigans, mister, I’m going to browse the florist we passed by earlier.”
Spinning on her heel, she stomped off in the direction of said florist, Caelus’s laugh ringing out behind her.
“You two are like children,” Dan Heng muttered, shaking his head, only to regret it as Caelus’s focus shifted to him, a predator locking onto his prey. His grin shifted, becoming much more sly as he leveraged himself off the edge of the fountain and came to stand by Dan Heng’s arms tucked behind his back as if to feign innocence. It was Dan Heng’s turn to narrow his eyes at him.
“Just having a bit of fun, you could stand to try it, Dan Heng,” he said, but he took a step back anyways, making sure to leave Dan Heng his space.
The chance to appreciate it was very brief, however, for the next moment someone shoved by Caelus, apparently in a hurry. With his focus on Dan Heng and quite literally caught on his back foot, he wobbled precariously and – before Dan Heng could catch his grasping hand – toppled right into the fountain with a loud splash.
All eyes turned toward the sound, only to find a soaked trailblazer sitting on his butt in the water, eyes wide with surprise. Nothing happened for several moments, Dan Heng’s hand still frozen in midair where he had reached for the other, but then Caelus started laughing a bright, ringing, joyous laugh that had the spectators shaking their heads before looking away, smiles on their faces.
“I guess it was my turn to be the one in the water, right, Dan Heng?” he asked between laughter, and Dan Heng couldn’t respond. He was distracted, staring at the bright boy with water dripping off his silvery bangs, cheeks flushed with cold and amusement. When he noticed the staring he attempted to stifle his chuckles, trying to look at Dan Heng coyly from beneath his lashes. “Taking the chance to observe?”
The moment ended in a whirlwind of motion as March stormed over and hurried Caelus out of the fountain before a guard could come and reprimand them. He just smiled at her before an abrupt sneeze stopped anything he could say, and she frowned.
“Guess it’s time to go to the hotel. Geez, I can’t leave you two alone for a second!”
Dan Heng and March 7th were waiting in front of the Goethe Hotel (Underworld version), sure Caelus had gotten distracted by another detour of some kind, when Dan Heng’s phone chimed. A quick glance at the screen told him all he needed to know, and he sighed.
“Speak of the devil,” he muttered, just loud enough for March to hear and start snickering. He shot her a glare, still suspicious of her influence on their companion, before turning his furrowed brows to the screen.
>> Dragon Young…
<< ...Please, act normal.
<< You want to say something? Just say it.
>> I have a request…
This was going to be troublesome; Dan Heng could already feel a brow twitching. After some uncharacteristic beating around the bush, Caelus finally got to the heart of the issue: some of his fans from the fight club wanted a photo, and he was ready to make a profit off it. Dan Heng sighed.
<< …Okay, don’t go overboard.
<< [Image}
>> Thanks Dan Heng! Don’t worry, I’ll split the credits, I just know I can charge a premium for a handsome guy like you ;)
Dan Heng’s fingers froze over the screen long enough for Caelus’s status to switch to offline, but he didn’t realize he was still staring until March’s hand waved in front of his face.
“Helloooo, earth to Dan Heng? What did Caelus say?” When he finally glanced up she gasped, overdramatic as always. “Are you blushing?”
“No.”
“You are!” She followed after him when he turned to leave, leaning against his arm to try and read the messages, only to pout when he locked the phone and slipped it in his pocket instead. “What did he say to get someone like you blushing? Come on, Dan Heng, tell me!”
“Don’t whine, March, it’s nothing.”
It was obvious Seele was quickly losing her temper; her fists were clenched at her sides, her shoulders were climbing upwards, and her jaw was clenched. Dan Heng obviously wasn’t the only one to notice, though; Caelus stepped forward with a gentle hand on Seele’s arm and a small smile quirking at his lips.
“Mind if I try talking to her?”
“Tch, whatever.” She crossed her arms over her chest, visibly annoyed but also obviously grateful.
Caelus gave a soft laugh before kneeling in front of Clara, whose hands were clenched in front of her chest in visible distress. It was troubling to be causing the young girl such trouble, but they truly needed to speak with Svarog, and preferably before Seele got it in her head to storm the settlement. Dan Heng was admittedly curious as to what Caelus would try; she seemed quite resolute.
“Can I tell you a secret, Clara?” He mock-whispered, easily audible to everyone else. Still, it had the intended effect. Clara’s eyes widened at the the show of trust, and she nodded her head, apparently eager to hear more. Even March, as eager to stick her nose into other people’s business as always, was listening carefully.
“Do you see my friend over there, the one with the grumpy look on his face?” He pointed at Dan Heng from behind a hand, fighting a smile at the automatic scowl on the man’s face. Once Clara nodded again, he leaned toward her. “You see, I have this secret theory that he actually gives the best hugs.” Despite the noises of confusion and a couple of protest he continued, the grin growing on his face. “Do you know why?”
“Is it because he’s strong?” she guessed, studying Dan Heng with new eyes. It was a fair guess – she had just watched them all take down the fragmentum monster.
“That certainly helps,” Caelus agreed with a laugh, but he shook his head. “But the real reason is because he’s actually one of the kindest out of everyone here.”
“Really?”
Dan Heng was torn between wanting Caelus to just stop talking please and slight offense at Clara’s response.
“Really,” Caelus said with a nod. “And you’d never guess it looking at him, right? Couldn’t the same be said for Mister Svarog? He doesn’t actually know us, right?”
“But-”
“Just a little conversation, Clara,” he said, holding a hand out to the girl. “Let’s give Mister Svarog the chance to know us better too.” Once the smaller hand slipped into his, he gave her a small smile and stood straight, walking with her towards the exit of Rivet Town. As he passed Dan Heng he gave him a wink and a slow pat on the arm.
His chatter with Clara started to fade before a low whistle came from his right, and he jerked his eyes away from where he’d been watching them leave. Seele just shook her head, gave him what was probably meant to be a comforting pat on his other arm but felt a lot more condescending, before following the others.
5.
A lot had happened in Belobog, and Dan Heng could tell that both Caelus and March were bothered by the fact that there was truly nothing more they could do to help recover from the stellaron. But they had said their goodbyes and put off their departure for long enough; Dan heng was more than ready to get back to the Express and make his additions to the data bank.
Caelus, it seemed, had other plans.
“I’ll miss you so much,” he whispered, patting the top of the lid to the last trash can before leaving the city limits.
“C’mon, Caelus, it’s just a trash can,” March said with a sigh, apparently nearing the limits of her patience.
With a dramatic gasp (he really had been picking up too many habits from March), Caelus crouched down to put his hands on either side of the trash can, as if covering its nonexistent ears.
“C’moooon, let’s go!” March whined, before looking to Dan Heng for backup.
He was not getting involved. With his arms crossed over his chest, he looked in the other direction, pretending that he didn’t know either of them at all, despite the glare he could practically feel drilling into his back.
“Just one minute, March. Please?” Ah, there was the pleading tone, and Dan Heng knew there was probably a very convincing pair of puppy dog eyes accompanying it. Sure enough, March acquiesced with a sigh. Dan Heng snuck a glance over his shoulder.
“You know there are trash cans in other places, right?”
“Sure,” Caelus replied, wrapping his arms securely around the can in a hug. He squished the side of his face against it, giving March that same pathetic look. “But it’s not the same.”
“How?”
“Well, Belobog just has so many, you know? Besides,” and here his eyes took on that same mischievous glint that had become so familiar, his lips tugging in a grin as he caught Dan Heng’s eye, “you never forget your first, right, Dan Heng?” He winked.
“Ugh,” March groaned while Caelus stood with a self-satisfied smirk, brushing off the front of his clothes. It was then she noticed the tips of Dan Heng’s ears had gone red and her jaw dropped. “Seriously? That’s what gets you?”
“Be quiet, March,” he huffed, taking long strides ahead of the others to avoid showing his face.
+1
Caelus hummed lightly as he closed the door to the parlor car, his gaze fixed on his phone as he turned to continue down the hall of the cabin car. He’d made a lot of friends in Belobog, and although he seemed to have even more questions than answers at this point, he would call it a successful trip. Getting to spend time with Dan Heng and March had been a highlight, even taking the whole ‘not dying and getting new powers’ thing into consideration. March was a delight, and he was glad to call her his friend.
As for Dan Heng…
Just as he was reflecting on the man, the archive door flung open. A flash of white and green flashed into the hallway as a hand clasped around his arm and yanked him inside. He barely had time to orient himself before the door slid shut and he was pressed against it, seething grey eyes boring into his own.
“Caelus.”
He blinked slowly, finally catching up, before grinning at Dan Heng. “You know, this isn’t exactly what I meant when I mentioned hugging to Clara.” Dan Heng’s eyes narrowed, so he hastily added, “Not that I mind!”
“Why?” It was just a rasp of a sound, and if they weren’t standing so close Caelus doubts he would have heard it.
Another blink. “Why do I not mind?”
“Why do you keep doing this?” Dan Heng grit out.
“Why do–” Caelus was obviously struggling to follow, his voice trailing off until his eyes lit up in understanding. “Why do I keep teasing you?” A nod. “Come on, Dan Heng, I know you’re not that dense.”
He was met with silence, Dan Heng’s eyes sinking to the floor with an almost haunted look. With a soft laugh, he gently pulled his wrist out of Dan Heng’s grasp, instead giving his chin a tap, forcing his gaze back up.
As genuine as ever, he gave Dan Heng a small, slightly sad, but fond smile. “I like you, Dan Heng.”
An incredulous, airy laugh, but he wasn’t pushing him away, so Caelus would count it as a win. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Dan Heng’s neck, giving him a wink before pulling him into a hug of his own, letting his head rest in the crook of his neck and shoulder.
“You know, I’m apparently quite the catch, if you say no I could always go talk to Gepard and aaaaa–” He quickly brought a hand up to cover his mouth, his cheeks blossoming a vibrant red as Dan Heng’s teeth sunk into his shoulder.
Dan Heng pulled away, gaining a self-satisfied smirk of his own when he saw the expression on Caelus’s face. “I finally figured out how to make you be quiet.”
“That’s not–”
“Fair? On the contrary,” he said, head lowering so his lips brushed against Caelus’s neck with every word, “with how much you have been taunting me, I would say this is what you were asking for. Isn’t that right?”
Caelus gave a full-body shudder. Oh, he was in trouble.