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steflionheart · 8 months

Text

Cherished

Fandom: Honkai Star Rail

Pairing: Dan Heng x Caelus

Wordcount: 2.482

tags: AU - canon divergent; soft and fluffy; tooth-rotting fluff; bold Dan Heng; flustered Caelus; Caelus walks in on sleeping Dan Heng and is totally smitten with it and accidentally causes mayhem; but don't worry, it was the best that could've happened :3

“Dan Heng?” Caelus asked, gently knocking only once at the door to the archives. He didn’t want to startle his friend.

Caelus waited for a few moments. Seeing that there was no answer coming from the other side, he assumed that Dan Heng was completely lost in either one of his books or browsing the databank of the Express for any information he was after.

As per usual.

All the more reason for Caelus to bring him the snacks and some calming tea he’d prepared especially for the bookworm.

The Express had stopped by a smaller planet nearby to stock up on provisions not too long ago. Welt and March had been chosen by Himeko to actually go out and get them while Caelus had been assigned with looking after Dan Heng.

Which he gladly did.

They all knew that Dan Heng, once engrossed in his data research, easily lost track of time and didn’t even notice that he was actually in need of something. So they’d all decided to mostly let him be, but check in on him regularly to make sure he didn’t dehydrate or starve himself.

“Coming in now, hope you’re not undressed!” Caelus chuckled before pressing the lock on the door to Dan Heng’s room.

He blushed slightly at the idea of actually finding an undressed Dan Heng in the archives but immediately pushed the thought aside.

‘Not the right time for such indecent daydreams,’ he reminded himself.

The door slid open with a soft shuffling sound and revealed the familiar, mostly quiet room. The only sounds one could hear was the soft whirring of the machines as well as deep, relaxed breaths, accompanied by soft snoring.

Caelus smiled to himself as he took a step inside, ready to announce himself and the meal he’d brought— but instead, he froze to the spot the very next moment.

‘Snoring?’ he asked himself.

He took another, cautious step forward and craned his neck to look around the data carrier box that was blocking his view. He then spotted a very much fast asleep Dan Heng, comfortably lying on his bed and only half covered by his usual thin quilt.

Caelus stepped slowly closer, focused on not making any sound. He didn’t want to risk waking Dan Heng or even startling him. He then placed the tray gently on the desk to his right before turning around.

Caelus simply stood there and observed Dan Heng’s sleeping figure.

His handsome face and posture seemed relaxed but Caelus noticed the slight twitching of muscles and how Dan Heng’s eyes danced behind his lids.

‘He must be dreaming,’ Caelus assumed as he took yet another few steps forward and stopped right beside Dan Heng’s bed. ‘I hope it’s a pleasant one for once. He deserves it.’

Caelus smiled gently to himself as he thought those words, a sense of fondness and warmth settling deep in his chest and spreading through his whole body. The longer he gazed at Dan Heng’s sleeping face, yet another strange sensation nearly overwhelmed him.

A deeply rooted longing suddenly clutched at his heart and squeezed it tightly.

He wondered what it meant at first until the moment his body eventually acted on its own. He lowered himself into a squat as his eyes wandered over Dan Heng’s delicate features and his right hand automatically stretched out towards the black-haired man’s face.

Almost reaching its destination, Caelus’ hand suddenly froze mere inches away from Dan Heng’s cheek as the latter stirred slightly. Dan Heng inhaled deeply before sighing and finally falling back into a relaxed state.

Caelus exhaled quietly, releasing the breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding in. He noticed his hand, still hovering above Dan Heng’s beautiful face. Shaking his head slightly, he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

‘What do you think you’re doing here, idiot? Get a grip already, you can’t just touch him while he’s sleeping!’ he scolded himself. He retreated his hand and slowly dragged it over his face instead as he groaned inwardly.

The moment he opened his eyes again, his breath hitched.

Dan Heng’s pale indigo eyes were staring right into his amber ones and Caelus startled with a gasp. He wanted to retreat by standing up but instead, he felt his whole body tipping backwards as he lost his balance.

The last thing he saw was Dan Heng’s eyes growing wide in shock before he called out to him.

“Watch out!”

Knowing full well that there was the metal railing right behind him, Caelus could not do much except for bracing himself for the impact. He clenched his eyes shut and pulled his shoulders up to his ears in a weak attempt to protect his head. At the same time, his hands reached down to somewhat lessen the impact on the floor.

But against his worst expectations, he felt a strong hand clutching the back of his head instead, while another settled around his back as they both pulled him flush against a sturdy chest.

Caelus needed a moment to process what exactly had happened and as he eventually dared to open his eyes again, he found himself surrounded by darkness. He wondered if he’d actually managed to hit his head and if he’d fainted.

That was, until a very familiar scent tickled his nose and eventually filled his lungs. He realized that it was way too distinct for it to only be a trick his mind was playing.

Caelus blinked several times but the darkness still didn’t fade, instead he noticed an increasingly faster and with each moment passing louder thumping sound. It felt unsettling but at the same time strangely soothing as it almost sounded like a heartbeat; way too fast and excited for its owner’s well-being.

He tried to move but the iron grip around his body only tightened and he groaned quietly as breathing became harder.

Slowly but surely, Caelus’ clouded mind cleared again and he became aware of where and in what situation he was.

The darkness surrounding him was actually Dan Heng’s black shirt as the silver-haired man realized that his face was pressed into his friend’s chest. Hence, why breathing was hard, too.

And the by now steadily fast and loud thumping sound was nothing other than Dan Heng’s heavily beating heart right underneath where his head was currently resting.

Caelus felt a wave of panic wash over him as he tried once again to move, realizing how close they were. He tried to lean back from Dan Heng but the other man was still holding him firmly against his body. Caelus managed to at least move his legs so that he was finally kneeling on the floor and not in a crouching position anymore.

The muscles in his thighs seemed to thank him and they pleasantly tingled as the blood rushed back through them.

A few more moments passed in which Caelus finally found the courage to lift his own arms and carefully wrap them around Dan Heng’s trembling body. It must’ve been straining to stay in this position or could it be… was he anxious or even terrified?

“Dan Heng…” Caelus muttered, voice muffled against the soft fabric of the other’s shirt. “I’m okay, you can let go now.”

The black-haired man inhaled a shaky breath and slowly loosened his embrace as he released that breath again. Caelus eventually blinked against the bright lights of the archive as he took a deep breath of his own.

His eyes immediately found Dan Heng’s.

Amber stared into pale indigo as seconds passed, hands still resting on each other’s arms as they both simply couldn’t do anything else but gaze at each other.

They were both kneeling on the floor, Dan Heng panting slightly with concern evidently written all over his features as his eyes scanned Caelus’ face intently. Caelus was taken aback at the sight of his friend being so worried, almost panicked even.

“A-are you really okay? Y-you… you didn’t get hurt?” Dan Heng asked and Caelus heard the light trembling in his voice. Caelus’ eyebrows shot up in surprise and he unconsciously squeezed Dan Heng’s forearms, where his hands were still resting.

“I’m fine, Dan Heng, really. You… saved me,” Caelus reassured him with a breathless smile and just a moment later, Dan Heng’s body slumped as he let out a breath of relief.

“I’m so glad… I couldn’t forgive myself if— if you got hurt because I startled you.”

His words were merely above a whisper, almost unintelligible but Caelus could easily make out the fear and honesty in them. A soft smile naturally found its way onto his lips.

He huffed a single breath of laughter before he confessed. “If anything, I shouldn’t have been here in the first place, so it was my fault anyway. I’m sorry, I woke you up.”

Dan Heng’s head snapped up, eyebrows knitted in confusion as it was written plainly all over his beautiful face. His delicate lips were slightly parted and the sudden urge to taste them almost threw Caelus off his feet again. He blinked and dismissed the thought as soon as it popped up in his mind as Dan Heng spoke up.

“Right… What were you doing here?” he tilted his head slightly, lifting one of his perfectly sculpted eyebrows in question.

Suddenly aware of them still being way too close, Caelus practically jumped up from the floor onto his feet and moved over to the desk where he’d left off the tray earlier. A flush crept up his neck and he desperately tried to wish it away.

To no avail, though.

Dan Heng just watched him, once again utterly confused until he saw a blushing, flustered Caelus simply standing there with the tray in his hands and mumbling.

“I wanted to check in on you and brought some snacks and tea…”

Caelus’ gaze snapped briefly to Dan Heng’s but immediately away again as he flushed even harder. He smiled sheepishly at his next words.

“You know best how immersed in your books or research you can get, so you often forget to eat or drink. I ju—” Caelus took a deep breath in an attempt to finish what he was trying to say. “I-I just wanted to…”

Dan Heng’s smile was fond and understanding was written all over his face as he got up himself and took the few steps towards Caelus. It was a genuine and heartfelt smile; a smile he rarely ever showed anyone.

Caelus was one of the very few, lucky devils that had witnessed it once before, yet he was still as mesmerized by it as he was the first time.

Dan Heng then reached out with his right hand and gently cupped Caelus’ cheek as he finished what the silver-haired man was actually trying to say.

“You just wanted to look out for me,” he simply stated, voice soft and affectionate. “Thanks for taking care of me, I really appreciate you.”

After another brief moment, Dan Heng retreated but the soft smile from before still lingered on his lips as he took the tray from Caelus’ hands. He placed it on the desk beside him before grabbing one of the sandwiches and taking a bite. He savored the taste, eyes closing briefly before he groaned quietly.

Dan Heng swallowed and his Adam’s Apple bobbed up and down; and all the while, Caelus’ eyes had been fixed on him, captivated by every single movement.

He eventually snapped out of his trance as Dan Heng reached out for the cup to take a sip of the by now merely lukewarm tea. Apparently, it didn’t bother him at all as he let out a content sigh after placing it back on the tray.

Dan Heng’s eyes found Caelus’ once again, gaze tender and voice soft as he spoke.

“Thank you, Cae, that was exactly what I needed now.”

Caelus was surprised that Dan Heng suddenly called him by a nickname and once again that afternoon, a bright pink blush settled high on his cheekbones as he sheepishly rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. His eyes wandered to the ground for a short moment before he looked back up at Dan Heng.

His voice cracked slightly as he answered. “Y-you’re most welcome. I… hope it was to your liking.”

“Mhm, it was delicious,” Dan Heng replied before closing the distance between them.

He leaned in, his face suddenly close as their gazes locked briefly and Caelus swallowed hard at that. Dan Heng then moved another few inches closer, past Caelus’ face. His body was taut in anticipation until Caelus eventually felt soft lips pressing gently against his left cheek.

It felt better than he could’ve ever imagined; Caelus’ skin tingled where Dan Heng’s lips touched it, sending a pleasant warmth surging through his whole body as the tension slowly subsided, and he practically melted into the touch.

Caelus wanted this moment to last longer— to last forever even, if possible— but he dared to doubt the possibility of this ever happening again.

‘It was probably just a spur-of-the-moment thing, don’t read too much into it,’ he thought to himself.

But against all odds, Dan Heng didn’t leave much room for any doubts.

“I gotta admit, I really like this,” he whispered. He leaned back slightly, cupping Caelus’ face in both hands as he stared into the other’s eyes and continued. “Will you bring me snacks and tea every day, from now on?”

Caelus was captivated by the intensity of Dan Heng’s gaze as he swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and simply nodded. He didn’t trust his voice at that moment.

And Dan Heng seemed to be satisfied as yet another gentle smile spread on his lips before he tightly wrapped his arms around Caelus' body, who returned the embrace with just as much eagerness.

They both enjoyed the moment and their closeness for just a bit longer, reveling in each other’s scent and warmth and just the feeling of each other.

Until three loud knocks at the door eventually interrupted their shared moment.

“Dan Heng? We’re back!” March called through the closed door. “Enough locking yourself up in there. Come on, hang out with us in the parlor car, we brought something for you.”

Both men pulled back and looked at each other for a short moment before chuckling at March’s order. Dan Heng then let go and his hand slid down along Caelus’ arm until it clasped around the other’s hand.

It felt amazing.

It felt right.

It felt like the most natural thing in the whole universe.

Fingers intertwining, Dan Heng then turned towards the door and gently dragged Caelus along.

Caelus couldn’t help but smile happily, gaze fixed on their joined hands as they both left the archive and headed towards the parlor car.

As demanded by March.

#dancae #caeheng #dan heng #caelus #honkai star rail #fanfic #fanfic writing #soft and fluffy #i love them a normal amount #pls theyre so cute #theyre in love your honor #steflionheart #steflionheartwrites

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