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Stelle had a problem.
It had been a week since Irontomb had been defeated. Afterwards, Herta and Screwllum had insisted that she, Dan Heng, and March all get a full work up in the Space Station’s medical facility. They had been here for three days now, getting various tests done to make sure the Scepter and coreflames and directly facing Irontomb itself hadn't had negative effects on their bodies.
Which was whatever. Sure, she was sure they had drained her entire blood supply like a mosquito, but that wasn’t the issue.
What was the issue was the betting ring she had found out about.
Apparently, there was a group of women among the researchers who were betting on who would be the first to get with Dan Heng. There was a prize pool for about 600 hertareum at this point. And that made Stelle mad. How dare they treat him like a prize to be won? Dan Heng deserved more than that. This was the man that spent 1000 years in memoria looking for her when she was lost. This was the man who spent days researching how to bring her back to life in a foreign world with foreign laws of life and death. This was the man who would keep her company when she was plagued by stellaron fueled nightmares, giving her articles to read about the world she woke up knowing nothing about 2 years ago.
This was one of her best friends and he deserved so much more than the objectifying researchers.
So, during one of her “poking sessions” (as she liked to call bloodwork nowadays) where she listened to the nurses talk about how Dan Heng had looked at them during his last test, she came up with a plan.
She had infiltrated the ring the previous day, joining the group chat (which disgusted her by the way. Good grief these women were delusional) and adding her meager hertareum supply to the pool. It didn’t matter; hopefully she would more than make up for it (and soon; she had been eyeing one of the retro games Wen Shiqi had gotten his hands on).
Today, she would find Dan Heng and let him in on her plan.
That night, after finishing her rounds at the station, Stelle located Dan Heng in the archives. He was sitting at his desk as usual, a pile of papers in front of him.
“Whatcha doing?” She asked as she walked in, shutting the door behind her.
“Working through the Scepter data the Geniuses managed to recover to see what I can find,” he replied, not looking up.
She sat herself on top of his desk, making sure she hadn’t gotten in the way. “Looking for anything in particular?”
“Not really. I just want to see if I can fill in some pieces in the Trailblaze Logs. There is still a lot about this situation that was left unanswered.”
She understood that sentiment. Despite the fact that she could use her powers of Remembrance to go visit her friends from Amphoreus at any time, she had a feeling they wouldn’t be able to answer her questions either.
But that wasn’t the point of this visit. Clearly Dan Heng realized that as well, as once he had looked up from his work to look at her, he raised a brow.
“You have a look on your face,” he said.
“Who me?” She teased. “I have no idea what you’re-“
“Uh huh. Spill.”
Dammit he was good.
“So….hypothetically, how would you react to knowing there was a betting ring about who would be the first to get you on a date with them?”
Something in his gaze darkened. “Did someone start one about you? If you need me to deal with the guys at the station-“
“No, no,” she interrupted before he could continue. She was incredibly flattered about how he reacted, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that. “They started one about you.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“That’s……..” he trailed off before turning his attention to the floor, his cheeks growing darker. "Why on earth would they do that?"
"Because you are undeniably handsome?"
Somehow the already furious blush on his cheeks got darker. "I'm nobody special."
"That is such a lie and you know it." Stelle found it unfair that Dan Heng never realized how handsome and charming he was. She wanted to make sure those who made him think that he wasn't anything special (specifically the preceptors) would burn in the pits of destruction.
"Anyways," she continued, "I want to offer you a deal."
"And that is?"
"Pretend to be in a relationship with me."
He had never looked more confused at her in the entire time they had known each other.
"And why should I do that?"
"I infiltrated the betting ring. There is at least 600 hertareum in there by now. Whoever wins gets all those coins. So if the others see me with you, we'll get the money, and those researchers hopefully will back off! What do you say?"
He sat there in silent thought for a while. While his expression was stoic, Stelle thought for a moment that there was a hint of sadness somewhere in there. Then he sighed and looked her in the eyes again.
"Sure. Why not?"
Pumping a fist into the air, Stelle leapt off the desk and practically ran to the door.
"Thank you, Dan Heng! I'll make sure you won't regret this!"
And she was gone.
The plan went off without a hitch. Before they could go off to get their individual medical test results from the day before, Stelle and Dan Heng stopped in the Base Zone reception center, where Stelle very publicly gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek.
It had it's intended effect.
As she was getting ready for the 3rd brain scan that week, one of the female researchers from the bet walked up to her and handed her a large bag of hertareum coins with a sour look on her face.
After a quick visit with Wen Shiqi (in which she got her game and a book she had never seen before about rare creatures she was sure Dan Heng would like, as it was the least she could do for roping him into this), she made her way back to the Express where she was greeted by March.
Who had a look on her face that would probably have killed Stelle on the spot if it was capable of doing so.
"Hey," March started, her tone one Stelle couldn't quite identify, but she didn't sound as mad as she looked. "When were you going to tell me you and Dan Heng were dating?"
A simple question that Stelle knew how to answer, but something about March was setting her on edge. And yet, Stelle answered honestly.
"Oh, it was an act to get the researchers to back off from him. And to win the bet they had made."
March's face twisted in confusion. "Wait, you two aren't actually dating? I thought you two were obsessed with each other, especially after what happened on Amphoreus."
"Obsessed?" Sure, the two had grown closer since their last Trailblaze mission started, especially since they had been trapped together for months, but obsessed?
"Yeah obsessed. Whenever there wasn't a situation to deal with on the mission, you were always together. Heck, even before Amphoreus, you were always seeking each other out."
Well, yeah. Dan Heng was her friend who she cared about. She wanted to make sure he didn't fully close himself off in the Archives, which he had threatened to do after that whole incident with his past life coming out in the open. It took her months of work to get him back to being just a regular old introvert.
Plus, she always felt safe around him, like she didn't need to hide anything. He had never given her a reason not to trust him, and in turn, she trusted him with her life.
"Hello?!? Express to Stelle?" March snapped her out of her trance. "You're even daydreaming about him."
"I'm not-"
"Lie to me and I'm sicking Evey on you," March retorted, referring to her memosprite. "Ugh, you're even worse than he was. He's known about his crush for months and still hasn't said anything."
"Dan Heng has a crush on me?!?" Stelle blurted out. That couldn't be true.
Could it?
"Yes! For months! I thought you two being stuck together on Amphoreus would have given him some resolve, but noooooo, I had to sit in the camera and watch you two pine like idiots."
"Harsh words, March."
"But they aren't wrong," March then grabbed her shoulders. "You mean to tell me you've never realized that you have a massive crush on him?"
"I don't-"
Oh.
Oh Aeons.
March was right.
And Stelle was an idiot.
Without another word, Stelle freed herself from March's grip and ran to the Passenger Car.
She ran up to the archives door, almost running over Pom-Pom in the process (she made note to apologize to the conductor later). Not knowing whether it was locked or not, she knocked on it 3 times. It wasn't her signature way, but she didn't really care at the moment.
She heard the faint sound of the door unlocking (Dan Heng kept a button on his desk so he could automatically lock and unlock it without being near the door) and a quiet "come in" from inside, which she took as an invitation to open the door.
After shutting it behind her, she finally faced the man she was looking for. He was grabbing books off of the shelf when she came in, and he was still focused on that task. He hadn't acknowledged her yet, and it killed her.
What was she thinking? Hertareum be damned, she hurt one of her best friends by not realizing his feelings. It was obvious to her now, what with how he had taken care of her while they were stranded. She promised never to be this ignorant again.
"Did you need something-" he started saying in an impassive tone, still not looking at her, but before he could finish his thought, she interrupted him.
"I'm an idiot."
This caused him to pause his actions and finally look at her. He looked exhausted, and it was most likely her fault. That made her feel even worse.
"I'm an idiot, Dan Heng," she repeated as she walked up to him, grabbing the books from his hands and placing them on his desk, determined to have his full attention. "I am so sorry I dragged you into a mess that you didn't need to be in, I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I am sorry that I hurt you because I didn't realize you actually liked me like that-"
"Slow down, Stelle," he said as he grabbed her shoulder in an effort to keep her from spiraling. "You don't need to apologize for any of-"
"No, I do. Because," she looked down at her feet. Despite knowing she needed to say how she felt, she still felt inadequate. Especially after this whole mess. "Because I am the idiot who didn't realize she was in love with you."
The grip on her shoulder tightened ever so slightly, and before she knew it, his hand was on her jaw, tilting her head up so she could look at him. He was looking at her with a mix of concern, nervousness, and a third emotion she had no idea how to name. She didn't know what to think.
"Stelle," he muttered, trying to find the courage to speak. "Truly, you don't need to apologize. If anything, I should apologize to you."
"Why do you-"
"Because it also took me way too long to realize that I was in love with you."
Stelle's heart skipped a beat.
"Maybe if I had said something sooner, we wouldn't be in this mess," he said after a moment. "I forget sometimes that you only have memories of the past 2 years since you woke up, and that there are some things that you don't know about fully."
"Hey."
He chuckled at her pout. He wasn't wrong, but it still felt like a blow to her already deflated ego.
"It's okay," he reassured her. "I'm not exactly an expert at this either. This is something we can learn more about together."
That made her feel better. She leaned herself into him and wrapped her arms around him, settling as his arms wrapped around her in turn.
"I don't know if I've ever said this," she muttered into his neck, "but thank you, Dan Heng. For everything."
Rather than answer her right away, he pulled her head from his neck and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Anytime, Stelle."
She smiled and grabbed his cheeks, pulling him to her so their lips met.
Something had changed between Dan Heng and Stelle.
Himeko, being the leader of this particular batch of Nameless, had always done her best to pay attention to the dynamics between her crew. She didn't want any discord to be sewn among them. After all, they were a small crew, and they were the family she had always wanted to have.
She knew about the bet. Asta had complained to her during their last chat over coffee that several of the female researchers had been despondent over something the last few days the Express was at the Station. It hadn't taken long for her to find out why.
She had also known about the more-than-obvious romantic tension between Dan Heng and Stelle. Despite the fact that the two kids had no idea, it was clear to see that they both wanted more out of their relationship.
(And even then, March had complained multiple times to Himeko about her two "idiot best friends.")
The morning after they left the Space Station, Himeko noticed something different. Normally during breakfast, Stelle would sit next to Dan Heng and show him memes she found on social media, and he would pretend not to be amused despite the growing smile on his face.
Today though, the two had scooted next to each other as close as they could. Stelle's phone was placed between them rather than in her hands, and they were scrolling together.
It was a subtle change, barely different, especially considering the fact that the two had grown even closer after their last adventure.
What gave them away, however was what happened after they finished breakfast.
"I'm going to go back to work on logging the Scepter Data," Dan Heng had announced.
"Do you need any help?" Stelle had asked.
A gentle smile had appeared on Dan Heng's face. "If you'd like. I could use the company."
Stelle beamed at that, grabbing his hand and following him to the Passenger Car.
Again, those changes were not so substantial considering how close the two were.
The most damning evidence was the fact that after the door had closed behind them, Himeko watched through the window as Dan Heng pulled Stelle close to him and planted a brief kiss on her lips.
She turned to Welt, who was sitting across from her at the table and was also watching the spectacle (March and Sunday had both left already and Pom-Pom was still in the kitchen). A cheeky smile appeared on her face as Welt turned to look at her and groaned upon realizing what she was thinking.
You see, the researchers at the Space Station weren't the only ones making bets. And upon learning about the whole scenario Stelle had concocted, Welt didn't believe Himeko when she said that it was based on true feelings.
So she watched him pull out his phone and type something up before putting it back in his pocket and going to put away his dishes. Her own phone had lit up with a notification after.
You have received 2000 credits from Welt Yang.
Regardless, Himeko was happy for her crew. Finding love as a Nameless wasn't easy, so she was glad Dan Heng and Stelle had managed to take that leap.