Chapter Text
The door slid open to reveal the archives- or, apparently, Dan Heng's room.
Caelus marvelled at the decoration, a moving mural of the night sky on the far wall.
Beeps and clicks sounded throughout the room from the various archival banks built into the wall, next to thin bookshelves.
"If you're going to be here, at least let me help. What are you looking for?"
Dan Heng spoke from a chair to Caelus's left, making him jump.
He had his arms crossed, and was facing a bookshelf, an open volume in his lap. He turned his head over his shoulder to watch Caelus sign.
"I was coming in to say hi. Is this where you sleep?"
He caught sight of a sleeping bag on the floor near the back of the room.
Dan Heng grunted.
"This isn't a room for chatting. It's for learning."
"Do you like reading? I don't think you've mentioned it."
The man's shoulders tensed.
"Mhm."
Caelus looked around the room again.
"I like that wall." He pointed to the mural, and Dan Heng's eyes followed his hands.
"It's a data bank. I can basically search for anything on it."
"Nice! That must be useful?"
"Yeah. I can show you, come."
He got up from his chair, placing a piece of scrap paper into the page of the book he was reading, and walked to the far wall. Caelus followed him.
"Careful. There's steps."
They ended up stood next to each other, and Dan Heng started swiping at a small screen just below the wall. The golden lights above started glowing in certain spots, and the trailblazer watched them, his lips parted in a smile.
His friend watched him smile, then forced himself to focus on the data bank.
"Look, we have records on you."
He looked down again at the screen, and saw a picture March must have taken of him when he wasn't looking and a few lines of text.
"We have a bunch of information about basically everyone on this ship, different light cones, factions, enemies, aeons... a lot of stuff. It's pretty interesting."
"That's so cool! You must be really smart if you put this together" He signed, an excited expression on his face.
Dan Heng smiled a tiny smile.
"I didn't do all of this. I really just sleep here and spend time here, it's not all my work."
"It's still awesome!"
"Thanks."
It went silent, and both of them seemed to realise how close they were standing, Caelus's shoulder brushing against Dan Heng's to try and see the screen.
Neither of them moved.
They made eye contact for a second, and it seemed like the beeps and clicks of the tech around them entirely phased out.
Dan Heng looked down at the screen, his cheeks and the tips of his ears turning pink.
Caelus didn't look away, smiling.
He started signing again, and blue eyes watched his hands move while he watched them.
"About the way we met..."
"I've said sorry twice already. It was an accident." Dan Heng cleared his throat, still embarrased by his own mistake.
"You don't need to apologise." He signed, smiling and tilting his head.
The archivist hummed, and he watched his friend's smile for a moment, his cheeks turning pinker as he recalled their meeting.
"I think I do."
Caelus's smile turned sly, and he raised his eyebrows.
"I wouldn't stop you from doing it again."
Dan Heng balked, and he blinked once, twice, and stared.
"What?"
"I wouldn't stop you from doing it again."
They both stayed still for a moment more, blue eyes meeting yellow.
Their proximity made it so that they could see every tiny microexpression made by each other, so Caelus saw when Dan Heng glanced at his lips and pressed his own together, his eyes lingering.
He saw when his eyebrows furrowed slightly, his cheeks still pink.
Dan Heng saw when Caelus's eyes went from teasing to sincere, and when the trailblazer's hand reached up to brush his jaw, he didn't stop him.
When they grew closer, both of their hearts beating faster, he didn't stop him. He just closed his eyes and kissed him, this time on purpose.
It was better than the first time. They only kissed for a moment, but when they parted lips and opened their eyes, neither of them moved away.
This time, Dan Heng moved back in, catching Caelus by suprise.
He lifted his hand to hold the one on his jaw, his cold and calloused, Caelus's warm and soft.
They stood there, their eyes closed and their lips together and nothing else mattered to either of them.
The stars on the wall shone, and the bookshelves beeped and clicked and they didn't care, because this time it was on purpose and it was real.
March poked her head into the open doorway, ready to annoy Dan Heng into playing a card game or chess with her, and her jaw went agape at the sight of the two kissing.
It was quite pretty, though, the blue and gold behind them like the night sky...
She took her camera from her belt and snapped a picture, the click alerting them to her presence.
They jumped and moved back from each other, both bright red.
Dan Heng cleared his throat, turning to face the door.
"March. Delete that picture."
"No. It's cute. It's actually going on the wall in the parlor car, some of my best work yet!" She teased, and both of the men's eyes widened.
"Do not. I will throw you off of this train if you do that, I'm not joking."
"What? You embarrassed? It's not like this is your first time kissing in front of me."
March mustered a shit-eating grin, and Dan Heng very nearly threw himself over the rail in front of him to get to her.
"Delete it!"
"No! They're memories, I won't delete it unless both of you want me to!"
Their eyes went to Caelus, and he paused.
"Maybe just don't put it in the parlor car? Please?"
She sighed and nodded, and Dan Heng shrugged.
"Fine. Compromise. If you want a physical copy for the archives, just let me know, Dan Heng! I'll leave you two to it."
She laughed, slid the door closed and skipped back to her room.
Dan Heng and Caelus looked back at each other, still blushing. Their hands touched, and the gray-haired man laughed his half-breath laugh, lighting up the archivists heart again and forcing a hint of a smile onto his own face, making him agree to file away the March problem until later.
For now, he was busy.