Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dan Heng liked working at a bookstore for the most part. He’d been working at Astral Express Books and Coffee for years; ever since he’d seen the help wanted sign one day when he walked in to buy something. It didn’t take him very long to get acquainted with everyone; March, Caelus, Stelle, Welt and Himeko.

There were two different parts of Astral Express Books and Coffee; one half of the store was a bookstore and the other was a cafe. The store was placed right smack dab in the middle of a mall, but it was still quiet for the most part. People would usually buy a book and go read at the cafe. Dan Heng liked the bookstore part of the place, though the cafe side left much to be desired.

He didn’t particularly like the hustle and bustle at the cafe in the mornings, the people running in with suits on to grab a coffee before work. Though he did like later in the day, when the cafe wasn’t as busy and the bookstore was a quiet place he could read to his heart’s content. He liked the way the bookstore felt like an inbetween space at the end of the day- the sensation was hard to describe really, but it gave him a calm and serene feeling.

Dan Heng liked working at a bookstore. What he didn’t like was the people who didn’t come in to buy anything. The ones who just went in there to goof off after buying things at other stores in the mall. There was one very particular offender; someone who continuously showed up and forced his way into Dan Heng’s space-

“What’re you reading?” The guy with dark hair and bright red eyes plagued Dan Heng’s days, more specifically his lunch breaks. It’s not like Dan Heng disliked people. He got along well with March and Caelus, even though their antics were a bit much sometimes. It’s just that this guy did everything to get on his nerves.

Dan Heng would always go to a certain part of the bookstore that not many people went to on his breaks, so he could read in peace. The thing was… this guy knew where his place was and consistently went there.

“Are you here to buy something or just to annoy me?” Dan Heng sighed, looking up from the book he’d been trying to complete. If he were to be 100% honest, it was a bit boring- maybe more than ‘a bit’, but it gave him something to do in between customers. He wasn’t usually rude to customers- or he tried not to be. He wasn’t the best at mincing words and Himeko would always lecture him about it. This guy though- he was a different case altogether.

“Hm,” The guy seemed to be thinking it through, putting his hand to his chin as he pondered the very straightforward question. “Maybe a bit of both?”

“A bit of both, huh?”

“Yes,” The guy sat next to him, shoulders rubbing against Dan Heng’s as he tried to look over his shoulder at the book. “You’re reading about atoms? That can’t be entertaining.”

Well, he was right about that. It was mind numbingly boring.

“You’re right,” Dan Heng got up quickly, trying as much as he could to make it obvious he didn’t want to converse any longer. “I’m going to find something else to read.” This guy shouldn’t bother him so much- he was a nuisance, but plenty of the people around him bordered on nuisances. So why did this guy get on his nerves so much?

The dark haired guy followed him as he walked past a bookshelf in the library, “Got any book recommendations?”

Dan Heng gave him a look. While he did have recommendations, he highly doubted this guy was going to read any of them. “Why?”

“I want something to read,” the guy answered. Thing is, this guy had never come into the bookstore to read. Hell, Dan Heng never saw this guy do anything in the store besides bug him. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yes,” Dan Heng stopped short, turning around to face the nuisance. “You’ve come here many times and never once did you even pick up a book.”

The guy raised an eyebrow before leaning closer and pulling a book off the shelf behind Dan Heng. “There.”

For some reason, navigating things with this guy was uncomfortable. Dan Heng had learned while working here what to say to people: what made them feel flattered or what made them politely back off. The Astral Express staff had helped him learn to be the best customer service person he could be. This guy didn’t fall in line with any of their teachings. He completely demolished the idea that Dan Heng had learned of people as a whole.

“I picked up a book,” The guy ripped Dan Heng from his thoughts, giving the book in his hand a little shake.

“Then read it,” Dan Heng glared, “Ask me again once you can summarize that book to my liking.”

Maybe it was harsh, but the guy took in the information with a smile and walked off to the front desk.

Dan Heng walked over to the wall where he’d been sitting before and slid down it.

“You know,” March was talking to him later in the day as they stood by the cash registers. “There’s this great smoothie place at the other end of the mall. We should go sometime!”

As much as Dan Heng really didn’t care for smoothies, he felt bad telling March ‘no’. It was just that he didn’t particularly like seeing her frown with that awful dejected look. March was one of the only people he could stand. Caelus and Stelle were more of a day-to-day basis thing; especially after the trash can incident.

“When would you like to go?” Dan Heng asked.

He watched as March put a hand to her chin, humming a little before responding, “Maybe during lunch break tomorrow?” She looked directly at him as she added, “I want to get a cute photo for my instagram.”

“Right,” Dan Heng responded.

“You really need to make social media,” March cut in, giving him a look.

“Do I really?” Dan Heng shot back. Dan Heng was pretty sure he could go his whole life without social media. He wasn’t sure March would actually let him do so since she’d been bugging him about it since he started working there, but he definitely could if given the chance.

“Yes!” March exclaimed, giving him her full attention.

“I’ll probably never use it.”

“I know,” March laughed a bit, “But just in case?”

Dan Heng raised an eyebrow. He would never use this website, but as aforementioned, he didn’t like saying no to March. Before they could discuss it further a customer walked up with a book.

Instantly March turned on her customer service voice; calling the person over and helping them check out.

“Tell me again why we’re doing this?” Dan Heng asked, as Caelus dragged him along in the mall. They were both on break, leaving March and Welt on duty at the store. Caelus did a double take of a trashcan before running to catch up with Dan Heng.

“I’m trying to find the prettiest trash can,” Caelus said as if it didn’t sound insane.

“You’re what?” Dan Heng asked again for clarification. They were not just walking around looking for a trashcan…

“As a member of r/trashcan, I have to always be on the lookout for new beautiful cans.”

It was one of those days Caelus was talking nonsense. Maybe it was some online jargon Dan Heng wasn’t completely privy to, but even then… “Why are you obsessed with trash?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Caelus responded, “With their beautiful metal exterior and the chaos of garbage within… It’s honestly kinda beautiful don’t you think?”

Dan Heng sighed. He didn’t even want to grace that with an answer.

“Yeah,” Caelus continued, but Dan Heng was distracted by the dark haired person walking their way.

“Come on Ren,” A girl with pinkish purple hair laughed as she walked next to the guy who’d been bugging Dan Heng at the store. Was his name Ren? Maybe that was his girlfriend. “Let’s go get some food to cheer you up.”

“The last thing I need right now is food,” Ren replied, giving an irritated look.

At that moment, Ren turned his head and the two exchanged a glance. As their eyes met, Ren smirked. Caelus must’ve caught on to Dan Heng’s lack of interest, because he cocked his head, “Who’s that?”

The biggest annoyance in Dan Heng’s life currently. “No one.”

The next day, a familiar face walked into the bookstore. Dan Heng desperately wanted to avoid this person, but he wasn’t on break and the guy- Ren was walking right up to the counter. “I read it.”

“Oh,” Dan Heng wasn’t sure how to respond to that. March was giving him a look from her register, eavesdropping on the irritating conversation. Why did this guy read it anyway? What did he get out of it? He paused for a second before saying, “Are you here to buy something?”

“What do you recommend?” Ren asked again. It felt like his eyes were boring into Dan Heng’s soul. Not to mention March looking at him as though he’d grown two heads.

“What do you like?” Dan Heng asked in the most customer service voice he could muster.

“You.”

March made a noise that sounded something like an animal dying, before covering her mouth and turning away.

“No, I meant what do you like to read?” Dan Heng responded with a sigh.

“Horror?” Ren responded, glancing over to March and then back to Dan Heng.

“Try Stephen King or something-” Dan Heng waved him off.

Seconds after Ren walked away, March was on his tail. “Are your ears broken? Can you not hear?”

“What?” Why was everyone talking nonsense lately.

“He said he likes you!” March pointed out, voice way too loud for Dan Heng’s liking. “Can you not tell when someone’s flirting with you!?”

“Flirting?” Dan Heng questioned. There was no way that guy was flirting with him. The idea was just incomprehensible. Why would someone flirt by being annoying?

“There’s no way you could read almost every book in the store without knowing what flirting is…” March crossed her arms as she spoke.

“I know what flirting is March,” Dan Heng told her. “What he’s doing isn’t flirting. He’s just messing with me.” Yeah, that’s exactly what it was. He was messing with Dan Heng, trying to get into his head… which he tragically had been able to do.

March pursed her lips, “Right. He totally doesn’t like you.”

“Exactly,” Dan Heng responded, turning away, “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Before March could say anything else, a customer appeared.

Things changed after that day. Ren wasn’t showing up as often and when he did, he wasn’t as forward. He would just pick up a book and sit at the cafe, without giving Dan Heng so much as a glance.

“He stopped bothering me,” Dan Heng said. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or upset about it. Ren, if that was his name, had been a bit annoying, but after a while, seeing him had become routine.

“Maybe because you rejected him?” March responded, as though she could read his mind.

“I didn’t reject him,” Dan Heng reminded her, crossing his arms. “He was just trying to bug me.”

She groaned, “I really didn’t take you for an idiot.”

“What’s going on?” Welt asked, walking over from the cafe. Dan Heng knew Welt, but they didn’t spend as much time together as him and March or him and Caelus.

“Dan Heng rejected this guy-”

“I didn’t reject anyone,” Dan Heng corrected again.

“You quite literally waved him off,” March reminded him.

“He was just messing with me.”

“Can you two stop fighting in front of the customers?” Himeko’s voice startled them both. Himeko looked happy, but there was a very small furrow in her brow of irritation. Not to mention she was using her customer service voice as she spoke to them. Dan Heng hadn’t even noticed there had been customers until Himeko said something.

When Dan Heng looked over, red eyes were watching him. There was a hint of something in them, but that something Dan Heng couldn’t quite figure out. Maybe Ren actually did like him. What if March was right? Dan Heng gave a pathetic and awkward smile to the person sitting in the cafe.

“A new shipment just came in,” Dan Heng’s head whipped over as Welt spoke, completely ignoring the terrifying aura coming from Himeko. “Dan Heng, will you help me bring the new books in?”

“Of course,” Dan Heng responded. Anything to get away from the suffocating glow of red eyes.