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Ever since Ren had added his number to Dan Heng’s phone—without permission—he’s occasionally sent him random texts. There doesn’t seem to be any real purpose to them, nor does it seem like Ren’s goals have changed so he tries to ignore them.
He doesn’t know what possesses him to initiate a conversation this time.
Dan Heng looks at the picture of the Wubbaboo on his phone from this bizarre “Shadow” case.
It’s cute, right?
Before he can think better of it, he hits send.
Dan Heng: [Wbb.jpg]
He doesn’t get a reply until a few minutes later.
Ren: What is that
Dan Heng: a wubbaboo
Dan Heng: it’s cute?
He’s not disappointed at all when there’s no further response from Ren. Except two days later he gets a followup.
Ren: [DB.jpg]
Dan Heng stares at the photo. There’s a tiny white dwarf bunny sitting in the middle of Ren’s gloved palm.
His brain is having trouble processing something related to Ren being unequivocally adorable. There’s only one possible response though.
Dan Heng: cute
Ren: Correct.
Ren: As opposed to the monstrosity you sent me last time. Good to know your eyes are still working.
...So that’s why Ren didn’t punctuate properly that time. Saying they’re monstrosities is a bit much; March thought they were cute too, although Stelle did make a weird face.
But how in the world did Ren coax the bunny into his palm? Shouldn’t his murderous aura repel small animals?
Dan Heng: how did you catch it?
Ren: I held out my hand and it came up.
…What?
Animals always run away when Dan Heng approaches them.
Dan Heng: vid or it didnt happen
Ten minutes later:
Ren: [DB.mov]
Ren looks to be outdoors somewhere walking up to a small group of bunnies nibbling away in a meadow, recording with his phone in one hand. When he’s a foot away from them he half kneels in the grass—Dan Heng can see the grey edge of his trousers.
Unbelievably, he doesn’t even have any treats or make any cajoling noises. He simply holds out his gloved hand and two little balls of fluff come over to investigate. One nuzzles his hand before hopping on. Ren curves his palm so that the bunny sits securely in the center and brings it up to the camera. It sniffs inquisitively at the lens and twitches its nose.
Dan Heng’s thumb moves without any cerebral input to save the vid and photo to his phone. He looks at them a few times throughout the day—because the bunny is too adorable. If March saw it, she would probably have a fit of raptures.
When he’s getting ready for bed there’s a ding from his phone.
Ren: Are you sulking?
Dan Heng: why would i be sulking
Dan Heng groans and scrubs a hand over his face. He replied too fast.
Ren: I saw a kitten run away from you once.
Dan Heng: i dont see how thats relevant
Ren: [DB2.mov]
Dan Heng is going to regret this.
He opens the file. Ren is sitting on the grass crosslegged and there’s five little bunnies frolicking over his legs. One sits on his knee looking up at the camera. He scoops it into his free hand and it rubs its head against his thumb.
Fine. Dan Heng might be a little jealous. He’s still not telling Ren that though.
Dan Heng: i didnt know you liked small animals
Ren: I don’t particularly.
Dan Heng hates him a lot right now.
He saves the vid to his phone.
~
Two weeks later, he walks into his hotel room to see a cardboard box on the desk. Warily, he takes out his spear and goes over to investigate. The top is loose so he flips it open.
A tiny grey bunny looks up at him, nose twitching.
~
The bunny sows dissent among their ranks more effectively than the Stellaron Hunters or any other antagonist has. March and Stelle argue aggressively over whether Oreo (March) or Cookie (Stelle) is a more appropriate name for a boy bunny. He feels like his mind isn’t working properly as it tries to follow their argument. Aren’t they both gender neutral names? He can’t believe he’s putting so much thought into the gender determination of pet names.
Dan Heng asks, “Why not call him Oreo Cookie then?” and receives two glares that are so fierce he automatically takes a step back.
His very reasonable compromise is shot down and their disagreement culminates in an absurdly intense 11-round rock-paper-scissors showdown match presided over by Welt, who was deemed the “most neutral” party.
Welt has a look on his face that says he’s wondering what he’s doing here but still amiably judges the results.
Stelle lets out an uncharacteristically loud whoop of triumph when Welt announces her victory while March looks petulant and sulks in her room for a day. Stelle takes her out for a picture taking tour of a space station they have a layover at with Cookie as their model and they make up.
Oddly enough, Cookie seems to like Welt a lot, following him around even though Welt pays the least attention to him. It becomes a common sight to see Welt walking down the halls with a grey fluffball hopping after him.
One evening, Dan Heng is in the parlor car discussing their route with Pom Pom when Cookie wiggles onto the notebook Welt is writing in. Welt squints at Cookie pushing up his glasses and gently scoops him up, setting him aside so he can continue writing. Dan Heng happens to be at the perfect angle that day to see Himeko’s outright affronted expression.
Himeko had seemed charmed by Cookie but wasn’t as overtly smitten with him as the girls, retaining her elegant poise when petting the bunny so it’s something of a revelation. Welt looks bewildered as he “inexplicably” receives the cold shoulder from Himeko for three days.
What Dan Heng doesn’t understand is why no one asks him where this bunny mysteriously appeared from. Welt even comments thoughtfully that dwarf bunnies are a rare sight and muses on their history and habitats. Dan Heng has never seen Stelle or March listen so intently to one of Welt’s monologues.
But what is most puzzling is how Dan Heng seems to be Cookie’s favorite person. He can’t even get within five feet of small animals without them fleeing like their life depends on it, but Cookie frequently comes over to snuggle in his collar or nibble on his fingers when he’s entering data. He learns to be more careful because Cookie likes to sneak into his pockets and he almost squishes him more than once.
~
A week later, Dan Heng renames his bunny “Devil”.
He’s more than earned it.
Dan Heng: how did you find the one bunny thats a ninja escape artist
Ren: ...You can’t catch a rabbit?
Dan Heng can sense the judgment coming from his phone and feels incredibly wronged.
He’s tiny! And fast! The last time he escaped his cage the Astral Express members had mobilized in full force to search high and low for two hours before finding him. Part of the problem was that even when they found Devil, he would dart into tiny spaces at lightspeed and disappear. Dan Heng has never seen Himeko and Welt so disheveled.
Dan Heng: he escaped a cage with three locks on it.
Dan Heng: THREE
Dan Heng: how did you keep him contained??
Ren: He’s very obedient. I never used a cage.
Ren: Does he not like you?
If Ren was in front of him right now Dan Heng would not hesitate to stab him with his spear.
~
Ren is genuinely trying to kill him.
Dan Heng should have known that this would not change, but he had still foolishly hoped.
There is no hesitation in Ren’s strikes while Dan Heng...
He barely dodges a downward blow that would have taken his arm clean off.
“Dan Heng, if you do not fight me seriously, I will take your head,” Ren warns him gently as his sword chops towards Dan Heng’s neck in a move meant to decapitate. He brings his spear up to block, but there’s so much force behind the strike that it still slices into his neck, nearly cutting into vital arteries.
He can’t hold Ren off, fighting like this.
Ren can’t die, he reminds himself and the next sweep of his spear slams into the broken blade hard enough to force the Hunter back.
He promised Ren he wouldn’t leave him behind.
He sees an opening and takes it, spear sinking two inches into Ren’s shoulder, before he pushes Dan Heng off.
“Better,” Ren says, grinning maniacally.
Dan Heng fights for his life. He fights to survive.
~
Dan Heng: What kind of inhumane place doesn’t have a pet sitting service?
He texts the complaint to Ren out of pure frustration. Devil snuck into his pocket again when Himeko, Stelle, March, and himself had come to this space station for a Stellaron mission. Normally, he would have just hopped back onto the express and left Devil with Welt and Pom Pom but there had been an emergency at the Herta Space Station that the Astral Express had left to assist with. Of course, the Express had space-jumped five minutes before Devil poked his fluffy head out of Dan Heng’s pocket.
He sends over a few more gripes. Ren rarely responds so he’s somehow developed the inadvisable habit of treating him like a vent diary. If he happens to annoy Ren, all the better but...come to think of it, the man has never complained about it. He does feel like he’s been too free with texting Ren, though he is careful about the information he sends.
As usual, there is no reply. The next day they have to leave to go hunt down the Stellaron. After a tense Crisis Situation Huddle, they decide to leave Devil in the hotel with sufficient food and water. The Stellaron on this station has shown signs of acute instability so it’s too dangerous to bring Devil around with them. He secures Devil in the new cage he bought with three complex locks and prays it’s enough to hold this expert escape artist.
They’re chasing down a lead when there’s a ding from his cell. Himeko gives him a look of mild disapproval when he pulls out his phone in the midst of their pursuit.
The message he receives stops him in his tracks. Cold sweat beads on his forehead as he stares at the screen.
“Dan Heng? What’s wrong?” March asks when they turn back to see him standing rigid as a statue.
Himeko and the girls come over to see what has him so stunned.
They all freeze comically when they see the picture on his phone.
It’s a photo from Ren: Devil is sitting on a dinner plate in front of Kafka who appears to be cooing at him. There’s a bloody steak knife lying two inches from his tush.
March shrieks in panic, “Tell him not to let her eat Cookie!”
Dan Heng hurriedly raises his phone out of reach of her grabbing hands while Stelle throws an arm around March’s waist and lifts her two steps back with a grunt.
“She’s right next to Blade!” Stelle reminds her. “What if you give her ideas?!”
March squeaks and slaps her hands over her mouth.
Himeko is the first to recover. “I’m...I’m sure Kafka wouldn’t...hurt..a...bunny...” She clearly doesn’t believe her own words.
“I’m sure Blade wouldn’t...let her...” Stelle also trails off looking doubtful.
Dan Heng actually does believe the second one, but he doesn’t think he’ll be able to convince them of it.
His phone dings.
Ren: I have your rabbit. Kafka likes him.
No one looks reassured by this statement.
“...Exploding Stellaron,” Dan Heng reminds them reluctantly.
It’s the fastest Stellaron mission the Astral Express has ever completed though it still takes 3 days.
March mumbles “Cookie is okay. Cookie is okay” under her breath the entire time.
Stelle is even more reticent than normal and develops a permanent forehead crease.
Himeko lifts a thug by his lapels and slams him through a wall hissing, “I don’t have time for this nonsense.” The gang is very cooperative with her questioning afterwards.
Every evening, they all crowd around his phone to see Ren’s daily updates, which seem to include an unnecessary amount of photos of Kafka with Devil.
Dan Heng isn’t sure whether it’s on purpose or not. He’d say 50/50 maybe.
Their last day on the station, Devil reappears in their hotel room safe and sound.
Dan Heng has never felt so conflicted about thanking someone, but he has to admit that although Blade having Devil gave everyone else a heart attack, it had put his own worries at ease.
Dan Heng: Thanks for taking care of Devil.
Ren: Sure. Kafka wants me to tell you Devil is welcome with the Stellaron Hunters anytime.
Only if Dan Heng wants to be murdered in his bed by the Express crew.
~
They’re fighting in the Cargo Lane on the Xianzhou Luofu when it happens.
Ren breaks through his guard. His heart races with alarm as he watches the broken blade swing towards his neck—
—and jerk to a halt when there’s a terrified squeak from Dan Heng’s collar.
The tip of Ren’s sword is an inch from Devil’s little pink nose.
Ren and Dan Heng stare at each other wide-eyed for a long moment.
With another squeak, Devil jumps off his shoulder and streaks away in panic.
“Devil!” Dan Heng turns and gives chase without thought.
Later, when he’s back on the Astral Express he realizes that he left his undefended back to an armed Ren...and Ren did not attack him. He’s not sure what it means.
He runs after the tiny grey blur, absently registering Ren right behind him.
Devil races right towards a departing starskiff.
“Wait—!” He yells but it’s too late. Devil has already jumped onto the starskiff.
He tries to make an ill-advised, but theoretically possible, running leap to get onto the moving ship but he’s yanked back by his collar.
He whirls on Ren, prepared to berate him for stopping him—except there’s such an accusatory look on Ren’s face that he ends up defending himself instead.
“I secured him properly! There’s four locks on his cage now!”
“How are you so incapable of holding onto a rabbit.” Ren sighs running a hand through his hair. “...I’ll help you find him. Let’s go.”
Dan Heng’s pulse quickens for no good reason at the concession. He pretends not to hear the “What am I doing” Ren mutters under his breath as they get on the next starskiff together to Exalting Sanctum.
He watches as Ren ‘disguises’ himself with a beanie, sunglasses, and a face mask.
How is that effective? Well, whatever works...
He’s still in disbelief that Ren has agreed to help him with such a trivial task as they discuss the search parameters and divvy up the area they need to cover. Ren was trying to kill him a few minutes ago but he’s not going to be the one to remind him.
15 minutes into the search he sees Ren sitting at the base of a tree, relaxing in the shade.
“Weren’t you going to help me?” he asks, annoyed. It’s not like Ren to go back on his word.
“I’m waiting,” he says looking unconcerned.
What...he thinks Devil will just walk up to him?
Dan Heng fumes. He shouldn’t have expected anything from him.
He runs around frantically for three hours before his cell rings with a text.
Ren: I have Devil.
The text manages to radiate infuriating smugness.
Unbelievable. There’s no way.
Dan Heng: Where are you?
Ren: Same place.
Dan Heng looks blankly at the screen for a good minute. It’s definitely mocking him.
He jogs back to the tree where he last saw Ren.
And stares incredulously at the grey ball of fluff that Ren is playing with feeling betrayed.
Ren was the one who pointed a sword at Devil to begin with! He takes back everything he said about Devil being clever.
When he arrives in front of them, Ren drags his gaze lazily over Dan Heng. His hair and clothes are soaked with sweat from scurrying from one end of the Sanctum to the other looking for this little traitor. He must look a complete mess.
“No thanks for me?” Ren asks shamelessly with an extraordinarily punchable smirk on his face.
Ren didn’t do anything!
But he still ‘caught’ Devil, so Dan Heng grinds out an unwilling, “Thanks.”
“Don’t lose him this time,” Ren says dryly.
He stands taking Dan Heng’s wrist and places Devil in his hand. Ren’s scarred palm is warm where it holds him before he releases his wrist—he had thought it would be cold.
Dan Heng impulsively grabs his arm when Ren turns to leave.
“...Let me treat you to dinner as thanks.” They’ve been out so long that the sun is already sinking below the horizon.
Ren is going to attack him with intent to kill again next time, so it’s better to cleanly settle this debt first—that’s all.
He’s holding his breath as Ren studies him, expression unreadable.
“Did you have somewhere in mind?”
He leads them to a noodle stall that Jing Yuan had told him about a long time ago. It’s as delicious as the General had boasted. Devil—that turncoat—sits on Ren’s shoulder docilely as they slurp down their noodles in comfortable silence.
Once he’s paid, they walk companionably to the outbound starskiff port where the ship that Ren needs to take is leaving soon.
He forgets to tense up when Ren steps into his personal space, reflexes lulled into false security by the day’s events.
Looking into Ren’s shaded eyes, Dan Heng thinks that...he doesn’t know what they’re doing anymore. And he suspects that Ren doesn’t know what this is either.
But it doesn’t feel as hopeless as before.
Ren’s calloused hand is rough against his face as he caresses his cheek and traces his jawline.
“I’ll see you around.” The words are spoken softly, the edge of threat that should be there missing.
There’s a strange ache in his chest as he watches Ren disappear into the crowd.
[End.]