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Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Dan Heng closed his eyes, trying to release the tension that had built up in his body.
The team had just returned to the Express and Pom-Pom and Himeko had greeted them warmly, a knowing look in her eyes despite not accompanying them to the Xianzhou. Welt broke down their journey - the Stellaron Hunters, the Stellaron, The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, his transformation - in a short fashion, before walking with Himeko to deliver a more detailed version.
March 7th was quick to wander off, loudly expressing how tired this day had made her.
“Don’t think I’m done asking you questions, Dan Heng! Once I… rest for a bit, I wanna know everything you’ll tell me, alright?!” She said yawning, one arm stretched in the air and the other behind her head.
And Caelus… well Caelus hadn’t said anything. He just kept staring at him.
At first, Dan Heng assumed Caelus’ staring was due to shock at his other, draconic form, but now he’s not sure what to make of it. Back on the Xianzhou, Caelus had refrained from speaking to him, which made him wonder if the other man was upset with him - a thought that didn’t exactly dissipate as they journeyed toward Phantylia.
Although maybe upset, Dan Heng’s not sure he’s felt Caelus’ eyes leave him once. Everytime he looked back at Caelus to confirm his suspicions, he found piercing gold eyes staring unabashedly back.
Too many thoughts ran through his mind at the possible implications of those looks.
Dan Heng opened his eyes and stared at the entrance to the main area of the Express. At this time in the day, Caelus was normally laid out on one of the couches out there and so Dan Heng decided that if Caelus is mad at him, the best time to address the issues he’s caused between them would be right now, while everyone else is occupied.
The hall door slid open and Dan Heng walked through, quickly finding Caelus where he assumed he’d be, on the couch buried in a game on his mobile device.
“Caelus.”
Caelus jumped up and quickly turned towards him, scrambling to right himself.
“Dan Heng! You, uh, scared me.”
“I apologize,” Dan Heng sighed, taking a seat next to Caelus on the couch. “For that… among other things.”
Caelus tilted his head. “Other things?”
“I apologize for keeping parts of my past a secret.” Shame coursed through his body as he spoke. “At the time, I felt it necessary to move forward but I realize now that trust is an important factor when it comes to being on a team and for you and the others to trust me, I must fully trust you all. I feel deeply remorseful for any pain I may have caused you.”
Dan Heng searched Caelus’ face for a reaction as he finished but was met with doe-eyed confusion.
“Um, huh? Dan Heng, you haven’t caused me any pain,” Caelus laughed.
“…I haven’t?”
“What? Of course not. Also I’m pretty sure you don’t owe anyone here your whole life story, least of all me.”
Dan Heng fell silent. If Caelus wasn’t mad or hurt by his actions then why…?
Caelus noticed Dan Heng’s face scrunch up in thought. “Uh, what made you think you had hurt me in the first place?”
“Caelus, you… you’ve been staring at me all day. And on top of that, you’ve been very quiet when I’ve attempted to talk to you.”
It was Caelus’ turn to fall silent. “Ah, yeah,” he replied, looking away.
Dan Heng watched in awe as Caelus’ face tinted pink while Caelus very visibly battled a newfound internal dilemma.
“Right. So, you know how you and March told me that I need to watch what I say in certain situations?”
“Of course,” Dan Heng failed to see where he was going with this. “You’re getting better at that, by the way.”
A small smile. “Thanks. I’ve been trying because I would hate to give people the wrong impression of you guys due to me saying the wrong thing. On that topic, today was pretty serious so I didn’t think it would be appropriate to talk about how incredibly, distractingly attractive you looked in your Vidyadhara form.”
Dan Heng processed those words. Then reprocessed them.
Dan Heng’s face began to match Caelus’ in redness. He jumped back slightly, eyes widening at the confession - new, less troublesome thoughts racing through his mind.
“Caelus-“
“I couldn’t focus on anything else, Dan Heng. It was pretty insane- I felt constantly warm gazing at you. I mean, I find you incredibly attractive normally but this was something else entirely,” Caelus rambled, eyes glittering.
Dan Heng wasn’t quite sure he could handle the words coming out of the crazy man in front of him. “Caelus-“
“I couldn’t focus on any of those stupid fights, Dan Heng. I kept thinking about how your horns felt and how you’d feel if I touched them- and your tail! I’ve wanted to feel it up ever since I’ve laid eyes on it- Dan Heng, you’d let me touch you, wouldn’t you?”
“I- you-“ The onslaught of information made Dan Heng feel light, faint.
“And it’s pretty obvious that I couldn’t say any of this in front of the general so I kept quiet as best I could. I mean, I can’t royally fuck up if I don’t speak- but then right before you parted the ocean like a badass, you came up to me and asked if there was anything I wanted to ask you and I saw your fangs. The inexplicable urge to be bitten almost overpowered me, Dan Heng. I almost died-“
Dan Heng slapped his hand over Caelus’ mouth and let his head fall on Caelus’ chest as he tried to calm his breathing. Why. Why couldn’t Caelus think about things like a normal person? Was he being punished? This felt like a punishment.
Dan Heng blinked back to the present, body still warm from Caelus’ rambling. At this angle, he was face to face with Caelus’ crotch, and Dan Heng felt warmth permeate his body once more. The realization that Caelus was hard - from talking about him - hit him like a ton of bricks and Dan Heng suddenly had an inexplicable urge of his own.
Dan Heng sat up and slapped Caelus’ arm with the hand that was covering his mouth.
Caelus yelped. “Ow! Hey- I just told you about all the suffering I had to endure to complete this mission! Don’t add to it, Master Dan Heng.”
“You’re insane, I rescind my apology,” he said, moving to leave, completely overwhelmed and flustered by the pure adoration and sheer horniness of the man in front of him.
“Wait! Dan Heng! You could bite me with your regular teeth too, I’m not picky!”
“Go to bed!“