Chapter Text
Opening his eyes, Caelus finds himself greeted by the ceiling of his room decorated with constellations and stars, the lights dim as he yawns and stretches from a good nap. With his body covered in a warm blanket, he finds himself wanting to return to slumber, closing his eyes once more to fall asleep. Before shooting his eyes open upon the realization that someone had brought him back to his room. His thoughts, albeit sleepy, try to think of the mystery person who carefully brought him back without him knowing.
He recalls stepping down from his room to the Party Car, chatting with Shush for a while and taking a psychology test, before deciding to take a nap on the couch out of pure boredom. And now here he was. Caelus didn't even know he was being carried back, he must've been fast asleep. Who could it have been? Perhaps it was Mr. Yang? It seems likely, but he rarely sees him hanging around in the Party Car. Maybe it was March 7th? Unlikely, she wouldn't be able to carry him and would most likely drop him before they could even reach the stairs to his room.
At this point, he was sitting up, mind fully awake as he went through the possibilities as to who it was who brought him back. He notices some of his stuff on the floor was carefully cleaned up and stored away. Maybe it was Miss Himeko? Caelus doesn't think she would've carried him herself even if she's capable, but perhaps would ask someone else to carry him. It could very likely be Dan Heng too, but he rarely leaves his room when he's in the Express. Somehow, Caelus' heart thumps at the thought of Dan Heng carrying him back to his room with no issue. No doubt he would be strong enough to do that.
Or perhaps… Was it a team effort?! Did all four of them have a hand in carrying him back? Did they do it all together? Caelus envisions an unbelievable scene of his fellow trailblazers putting all their might into carrying him with all four of them holding on to a different part of him, struggling to go through the spiral staircase without waking him up. He giggles to himself at his imagination. He finds it unlikely to have happened, but he wished it did, just because it was amusing to him.
Or even more outlandish, could it be PomPom? Or maybe even Shush, himself? As he lets his thoughts wander off, he really can't deny that he's grateful to have a family like the Express. He feels giddy knowing that he's surrounded with capable, incredible people who also care about him enough to carry him back to his room, despite the fact that he's certainly hard to carry. Caelus would do the same and beyond for them any time. Although he is grateful, he can't help but still be curious. He wants—no, he needs—to catch this mystery person in the act.
For no particular reason, really, he just really wants to know who it is. Caelus is also very much aware of the fact that he could just ask any of them, since they're all reasonable people, or he could even just ask Shush since he probably sees everything that happens in the Party Car, but he'd prefer to deal with it himself. And so throughout the course of a few days, Caelus finds himself taking more and more naps in the Party Car, but always seems to wake up back in his room again, instead of waking up while getting carried back.
Today was the nth attempt of him catching this mystery person, he honestly lost count at this point, but this time, he wasn't just going in like usual. This time, he had a plan. His plan is to just pretend to be asleep. Surely that should be easy enough. He lays down on the couch once more and closes his eyes, attempting to look as convincingly asleep as possible. And so he waits. And continues to wait. Caelus didn't know how long he was laying there for with his eyes closed but it certainly feels like forever. He was hyper aware of everything, as he was paying attention to the sound of the door potentially opening up anytime.
And so he continues to wait again. He doesn't dare open his eyes, although he wants to check the time on his phone. As time passes by though, Caelus finds himself thinking less, and eventually before he even realizes, he'd already fallen asleep. The sound of his breathing shallows even more, he's not even aware of the occasional sound of glass wiping from Shush. If seen from a different trailblazer’s perspective, Caelus can be seen snoring softly now while mumbling sleepily.
-
Who knows how much time has passed since then? Caelus finds himself awakening in his room again, greeted by the usual ceiling and dim light as he rubs his eyes. Did he actually fall asleep from pretending? But before he could even process his mistake, he notices a familiar figure slowly making its way out of his room. He sits up immediately from his bed. Could it be? Will he finally catch this mystery person? He rubs his eyes again to take a better look before calling out,
“Dan Heng?”
The man in question pauses in his tracks before slowly looking back at Caelus. It is! All signs of sleepiness had already worn off from Caelus as he grins widely and punches the air in excitement. But wait! He shouldn't celebrate yet. What if Dan Heng was here for a different reason? What if he wasn't the one who brought him back? He pauses his celebration and nods to himself.
“Dan Heng. Can you come here?”
His companion wordlessly complies to his request, walking towards his bed silently. “Did I wake you up? My apologies. I was trying to leave as quickly as possible.”
“Leave as quickly as possible? Did you… perhaps, possibly, maybe, perchance, carry me back to my room?”
“Indeed. Why?”
Caelus continues his celebration after confirming, not even bothering to answer Dan Heng's question right away. He grins widely, giggling as punches the air in happiness. Dan Heng, although confused, seems to like seeing him happy so he doesn't question it any further. He lets him calm down from his excitement before he gets back to answer.
“Well, I've been trying to catch whoever was carrying me back, so…”
“I see. Is that why you've been sleeping on the couch lately?”
“Yep, and I finally got my answer.”
Dan Heng chuckles in amusement. Caelus pats his bed, a clear invitation for him to join. He notices him hesitate for a bit, before reluctantly taking his coat off followed by removing his shoes, as he sits down next to him. Caelus smiles at him, filled with all the giddiness in the world that he finally caught his mystery person. Wait. So that means Dan Heng had been carrying him back this whole time? Caelus is filled with embarrassment, but still he was glad to know his mystery person was none other than the man he trusted the most.
“Why didn't you just ask?”
“What’s the fun in that? It's better that I found out about it this way, isn't it?”
Dan Heng stares at him intently, and Caelus finds himself squirming under his gaze but he doesn't look away. He can't, not when it’s Dan Heng in front of him. He smiles even wider. Caelus finds himself admiring Dan Heng—his sharp eyes adorned with long eyelashes, the shape of his lips, wondering how it would feel to touch his face, what his reaction to that would be like.
“You're cute, you know that?”
“What?”
Caelus watches his face turn red from the sudden compliment. He, himself, was surprised, it appears he was thinking out loud. Dan Heng was clearly taken aback, perhaps he wasn't expecting anything like that, and his eyes peeled away from him to look elsewhere, anywhere but at Caelus—which somehow makes him feel upset. Upset? Why would he be upset at such a thing?
Maybe it was the fact that Caelus found out it had been Dan Heng all along who was carrying him back that's making him act this way. But perhaps this feeling had always been present, and only now had he begun to act upon it. All Caelus wanted to do right now was to kiss him. But for the first time in his life, he hesitated. This wasn't the same as diving into a trashcan in Belobog, hoping for treasure, or choosing to say the most unserious dialogue option in his video games.
This was a boundary in their friendship that perhaps Dan Heng wasn't willing to cross yet, or ever. And Caelus would do anything to keep whatever they have right now. Kissing him would be a bad decision. He knows that, he's telling himself that right now and yet, he brings his hand up to cup Dan Heng's cheek, slowly turning him to face him. Their eyes meet in a way that makes time move slower, to Caelus at least. Dan Heng is breathtaking to look at.
Kissing him is a bad decision, he's only gonna damage the friendship they have now. But Caelus can't help but want more. He wants to have more than this friendship, and he wants Dan Heng all to himself, as selfish as it sounds. He almost flinches when he feels Dan Heng's hand holding the hand on his cheek. He swallows, his eyes indiscreetly going from Dan Heng's lips and back in his eyes, hoping to send a message silently. He can't really trust his mouth to say anything right at this moment.
“I'm going to kiss you.”
Unfortunately, to his complete dismay, his mouth betrays him and Caelus was, without a doubt, minutes away from crashing out completely. Fortunately for him, Dan Heng doesn't pull away. Caelus could see his calculating eyes going through all his choices in mere seconds.
“Are you okay with that?”
To that, Caelus raises a brow, not hiding the fact that he's confused.
“What do you mean, am I okay with that? I was the one who said it! Of course I'm okay with it!” Dan Heng shows no sign of discomfort or disgust, just pure embarrassment, which Caelus finds adorable. Dan Heng smiles at him before chuckling. “You're right.”
Before Caelus realized it, a soft pair of lips met his, and his vision was filled with Dan Heng. His lips were so unbelievably soft and warm against his, and Caelus, unfortunately, froze in his place, unable to move or think. Before he could even process what just happened, Dan Heng had already pulled away, his face red as he covered his face with his gloved hand. Caelus was still frozen in shock. He just kissed Dan Heng.
“My apologies. I'm not well versed in intimacy.”
Caelus continues to stare at him with seemingly no thoughts in his brain, just Dan Heng. “Caelus?” He calls out, tilting his head as he tries to get a response from him.
“Can we do that again? I promise I’ll do better!”
“I'm not sure. That was… my first kiss.”
“What?”
Caelus is clearly taken aback at the information. But he was glad, mostly—glad to have been the first person, and hopefully last, to ever have a taste of Dan Heng's lips.
“That was my first kiss too!”
He wasn't sure what he was referring to about doing better, when he didn't even know what exactly he's supposed to do, but perhaps with enough practice. His initial shock wears off pretty quickly, now that he'd processed in his head what just happened. Now it's all replaced with embarrassment, as he recalls himself freezing in shock moments ago. Real smooth, Caelus.
However, Dan Heng wasn't at all opposed to kissing him, does this mean he has a chance? Could he possibly get what he's always wanted?
“Dan Heng, I like you.”
Caelus blurts out. At this point, there was no going back from their friendship. He didn't even care anymore, he just wanted to get it out of his chest. Well, only, he did care. Too much, actually, he cares about it too much. His heart was minutes away from exploding just waiting for an answer from Dan Heng. It felt like time itself had stopped just for this crucial moment.
“I… I like you too. I always have.” Caelus pulls Dan Heng in a hug, borderline throwing himself at him. No words could ever express the amount of joy and relief that filled Caelus in this moment, knowing that the love he held was mutual. He felt Dan Heng hug him back tightly, as if he too was filled with the same joy and relief as he was now. Caelus finds himself giggling.
“I'm glad I fell asleep in the Party Car that one time.”