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So many things happened in Xianzhou Luofu that Caelus was physically and mentally tired. He thought he'd just face the Stellaron itself and maybe got thrown into troubles like in Belobog. However, the crisis in Xianzhou Luofu was so much different and complicated, with the disciple of Sanctus and whatever General Jing Yuan had planned by sending him, March and Mr. Yang around. Then the talked he had with Kafka only left him with even more questions than answer. Not even doing random errands or opening random packages could make him forget his jumbled thoughts. It instead just added more to the stress.
One time, when he rummaged through a random package, he found a manuscript, it was a fanfiction was what mentioned by a letter accompanying the manuscript. A tragic love story between 2 male protagonists. The name of the protagonists felt familiar, Jim Yan and Denn Fang, yet he never met anyone by those names. The more he read, the more he could feel the passionated love between those men yet they couldn't be together. However, at the same time something inside him ached, and it ached even more after he read through the ending that he immediatelly shoved the manuscript back to the package.
Caelus took out his phone and checked Dan Heng's message. Still no respond just like before. His fingers typed the manuscript that he found just now before deleting it again after he felt it was too ridiculous. Instead he just asked where was he and was he ok, and there wasn't any reply.. just like before.
Then Tingyun's betrayal happened, though Mr. Yang mentioned already that this probably wasn't the real Tingyun which made both March and Caelus felt relieved. Still, the sudden change of her attitude, and the head snap with that horrifying expression unlike her usual playful yet gentle one kept lingering in his mind.
It's still bearable, he thought to himself. When everythings over, he'd go back to the express and curled up into Dan Heng's bed, maybe asked for cuddles with the said man. Being with Dan Heng was comforting. The black haired man might look cold at first, but he was caring to the Astral Express crews. Dan Heng wasn't as welcoming as March 7th when he joined the Astral Express which was an understandable. Caelus was a stranger, not to mention he hosted a Stellaron inside his body, and it was his job to gain his trust.
When Caelus finally gained Dan Heng's trusts, he could see the change in his attitude. Instead of simply dragging him away when he was caught dumpster diving, Dan Heng would flick his forehead with a tiny smile on his face then held his hand to drag him away. Instead of just telling him how careless he was in battle, Dan Heng would hold his hand and told him, with a frown on his face, to stop being careless because he was here too. Instead of simply giving him a quick nod everytime he told him all the errand jobs he finished, Dan Heng would told him he'd done a great job and listened to him ramble about the errands while chuckled sometimes until he finished.
Instead of... giving him a weird look and shoo him away when he was found sleeping outside the archive one night, like what he had expected, Dan Heng invited him inside and asked him what's wrong with a gentle and worried look on his face. A nightmare like always was Caelus' answer. Unexpectedly, Dan Heng let him sleep beside him on his bed. With a caring look, he told him that he'd be fine here.
Everytime he was with Dan Heng, his inside would feel fuzzy and joyful as If butterflies were flying inside his stomach. Being with Dan Heng gave him comfort, especially when it's just the two of them in the archive room.
It was quiet and calming.
He felt safe.
He felt warm-
"Caelus."
Caelus was pulled back from his daydreaming to reality. He looked to his side. A person with a familiar face and voice stood there. His face looked worried with a mix of relieved and sadness. He was Dan Heng and Caelus knew it, but for some reason this Dan Heng that stood beside him felt so different, so ethereal and beautiful, and so far away that Caelus was worried Dan Heng had gone to an unreachable place from him.
He didn't know what to respond when General Jing Yuan brought a man with long black hair and ears, and a pair of teal horns whom he introduced as Dan Heng to them. Also the way the General talked to Dan Heng with familiarty made his inside ached again. After so much things that had happened, the only comfort that he had, had turned into a stranger whom he didn't familiar with. Someone that he thought he knew now becoming a stranger in his eyes, like Miss Tingyun before. Would the same later happen to March 7th? to Miss Himeko? to Mr. Yang? Caelus once again felt his inside ached even more.
"Is there... anything you'd like to ask?" Dan Heng asked while reaching his shoulder. His voice sounds nervous.
Many. There's so many things Caelus wanted to ask him. However, the moment he speak, he might not be able to keep himself from breaking down. There's so many things he wanted to say, but without his comfort, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
So he shook his head in silent and went back gazing to the vast sea in front of him.
There's gonna be a big battle which would determine Xianzhou Luofu's fate. He couldn't break down yet. It still bearable as long as he kept it hidden inside. Although, he would be lying If he said his ached inside didn't long for comfort.
Dan Heng didn't speak further, but he still stood by his side.
"I.. promise I'll explain everything after this over." Dan Heng said after a while, his voice sounds regretful. Then he took Caelus' hand into his. "And.. there's something I'd like to tell you too.. Cae."
Caelus turned his head around. A gentle and caring look with the most beautiful smile he ever seen painted on Dan Heng's face, the same one Caelus always saw when it was just the two of them in the archives, but... this time there was something else within those gaze. An unknown feeling yet it felt so warm and soothed his aching inside.
He felt like he might burst down right now right then, but, ah.. there it was again, the butterflies flying inside his stomach.