Archive of Our Own ^beta

"you still haven't showed me how to cut the rest of it," he deadpans, setting the fruit down on the cutting board.

you sigh, getting behind dan heng, "okay," you let out long exhale, "i'll show you."

dan heng waited for you to stand next to him and demonstrate how to make incisions in the fruit. imagine his surprise when you grabbed his hands from behind, and put hands on top of his. your grip was tight; you were not going to let go. on the other hand, dan heng could barely control his grip.

dan heng was silence while you spoke, "when you cut open the pomegranate, you're gonna align your cuts with the white membrane," you grab his right hand and angle it where the white parts are. dan heng feels like his hands have turned to mush, "and we're just going to do a quick slice."

at this point, you're still doing most of the cutting. you guide dan heng's hand gently down the fruit, though still making a deep enough cut in the pomegranate. dan heng can barely feel his own hand as he's too focused on yours. how they feel against his; the way they are so gentle whilst cutting something; the way your touch was light on top of his hands. his heart was skipping multiple beats right now, and he hopes that you couldn't tell how shallow his breathing is from the back.

"that wasn't so bad," dan heng can feel you smile. your voice is soft: it's not as loud in comparison to other nights. maybe it was because of the intimate moment, or perhaps it was because you felt as breathless as dan heng.

no, that was definitely not it. dan heng internally facepalmed himself for thinking a thought like that.

"yeah," he mumbled, holding the pomegranate to the cutting board. you removed your hands from his, and now you stood next to him instead of behind him. dan heng tried to focus on the incisions instead of your hands. it didn't work out.

dan heng's cuts were not like yours. they were not angled, nor were they as deep. they were shallow and uneven: the sight made you and dan heng cringe.

as dan heng makes a few slits into the fruit, you begin to notice that they weren't exactly... steady.

"you want me to cut it?" you peer over his shoulder.

"no." yes. he now understands your frustrations with the oranges.

"let me help you," you reach for his hands once again, but dan heng pulled away. dan heng doesn't know why he did that, because he still really wanted your hands on top of his again. he pretends that his heart didn't drop as you pulled away from him as well.

you came back though, this time more stubborn than ever, "if you cut it like that, all the seeds are gonna uneven and half cut. you have to cut it along the white parts."

"isn't that what i'm doing?" dan heng mutters, sounding slightly disgruntled.

"no," you shoot back, "you're cutting on like, halfway on the white membrane. i don't even know how you do that," you crane your neck to observe dan heng's cutting skills, and he begins to feel slightly self-conscious. do you seriously think it's that bad?

"i can handle it myself," dan heng struggled to make another cut. this was getting embarrassing.

"i can help⎯" you tried to reach out for his hand again, but you were met with something else.

"i got it," dan heng exasperated, accidentally waving the knife towards your direction and striking your finger. it happened fast: you turned and then the knife sliced your finger.

horror painted dan heng's face. his eyes immediately widened and he didn't know whether he could reach out to your or not. there was red surrounding your thumb, and dan heng felt his heart drop all the way down to his feet. his hold on the knife dropped, and the metal clattered onto the cutting board.

you, however, didn't seem so affected. you only narrowed your eyes at your thumb, looking at it with more curiosity than horror. dan heng was terrified. why weren't you lashing out at him? were you going to leave? he did that. he hid his hands behind his back to hide the fact that they were slightly trembling. but when his hands brushed over each other, all he could think about was you.

you held your thumb up close to your eye again. within a moment, you've sucked all the blood off of your thumb.

wait⎯what?

"pomegranate juice," you held your spotless thumb up in the light. you didn't say anything else, and simply stared at dan heng's upset expression.

he doesn't say anything else. he doesn't pick up the knife or the pomegranate, and he just stares at your thumb. his hands are still behind his back, and so you desperately want to take them into yours. but dan heng looks different. he wasn't relaxed like he usually was on nights like these. he looked frightened.

"hey," your voice lulls dan heng out of his trance, as his attention and his eyes fly right back to you, "it was an accident. things like these happen," you show your thumb one more time, turning it so that dan heng can see he didn't injure you.

"i'm not mad. well, i actually don't know if i should be offended or not. you seriously thought a fruit knife would be able to hurt me?" you joked, "and even if it did, i'd get a bandaid." you opened the drawer filled with first aid kit supplies and watched as dan heng's face relaxed. his shoulders were less tense and upright; and his breathing slowed. and in turn, you felt more at ease as well.

"if i did hurt you though⎯" dan heng began, but you cut him off. a habit of yours that dan heng usually chides you about, however, he keeps quiet today.

"you didn't," you butt in, "and if you did, no worries. it was an accident. accidents happen all the time," you pause your sentence, tucking your hands in your pockets, "and i'm sorry by the way. for invading your personal space. i should've backed off."

"you don't have to apologize," a part of dan heng still feels bad about the entire situation. he doesn't want to let it go so easily.

you, however, have the exact opposite idea, "whatever," you nonchalantly shrug, "all water under the bridge now, right?" you smile at him. it's not a grin, or one of your usual smirks, but rather, it's small. it's hopeful, like you're wishing for everything to turn out fine. and with just one look, dan heng reassures you that it will be. he replicates your smile, squeezing one of his hands behind his back. when he sees your lips get wider, he feels as though his heart begins to throb as well.

"yeah. water under the bridge."

"great!" you clap your hands together, "so... you wanna finish cutting that? i'm starving."

dan heng chuckles. it was if the mood had never receded, and everything was fine, "i'll finish it," dan heng swallows before adding this next part, "only if you help."

he has never seen you beam as much as you did. dan heng never believed in the phrase, "light up a room," but he believes in you. and he believes that the room felt ten times as bright that night.

instead of getting behind him, you stand beside him. your hands are over his again as you guide him once more. your hands are not forceful or ridgid, despite the incident beforehand. they're gentle and loose, allowing room for dan heng to be able to cut by himself. dan heng tried to fight the small smile forming on his face as you two make more cuts into the fruit, together. the feeling of your hand over his was exhilarating. he could even describe it as perfect, but he realized that would probably be going too far. you two are still friends, after all.

you two work together to get the seeds out of the pomegranate, each of you getting a half and using different methods to remove the seeds. you opted for smacking them out with a wooden spoon, while dan heng insisted on taking them out by portions. yours was the more efficient (but loud) way. after a few minutes, dan heng found himself smacking the fruit as well. it's a mystery how the both of you didn't manage to wake up the entire express with the sound of fruit smacking.

finally, after what felt like hours of hitting (it was only thirty minutes), you two finally had a bowl full of pomegranate seeds. you sighed out of relief, rubbing your juice stained forearms on your forehead. dan heng recoiled.

"you know you just got a ton of juice on your forehead, right?"

you shrugged once again, "i was gonna wash my face after this anyway," you looked down at your arms, "maybe i'll take another shower too."

dan heng looked down at his own hands, which, were noticeably messier due to his first approach. when he looked back up, he saw you staring at his hands also. after you've been noticed, your eyes snapped back to his instantly, trying to ignore his hands.

"you should wash your hands," you lifted yourself up so that you would be sitting on the counter, nearby the sink, "told you my way was easier."

"your way was going to wake up all the express members, as well as any other neighboring planets," dan heng quipped, wiping off his fingers on a spare paper towel. he would need to rinse of his hands a few times though, since his fingers were practically stained pink.

"well then, we could have gave them some seeds as a peace offering," you pointed towards the bowl.

dan heng nodded, but he didn't want to share his pomegranate seeds with anyone else. was it so selfish to keep something just between two people? and after all this hard work he put in to get the seeds out as well.

"alright, i'm hungry," you rinse your hands and dry them off on your shorts, "shoot some seed in me!!" you proudly exclaimed.

dan heng's face dropped. he has never looked so absolutely mortified than he has in this moment. his jaw dropped⎯literally dropped. his eyes bulged out of his face as he saw you open your mouth and point inside. he blinked multiple times to confirm whether or not this was a dream.

it was not. you actually said this.

dan heng slapped a hand to his forehead, dragging it down the rest of his face. you were confused at his appalled expression. you just wanted to catch some pomegranate seeds in your mouth.

finally, dan heng sighed, hiding his face from you under his hand, "do you ever think before saying these things?" he asked, embarrassed.

and then, it hit you: the implications of what you had just said. but rather than doubling over in humiliation, dan heng heard you double over in laughter. chaotic, unhinged, loud laughter. you had to cover your mouth to contain your endless giggles, and dan heng was unsure if you were the embarrassed one here.

you bit your lip to hold in the rest of your (escaping) laughter, "i⎯" you could barely get one word out without laughing again, "i can't! i'm sorry⎯i didn't⎯" more laughter ensues, and dan heng finds that a smile of his own was forming, "wow," you finished, wiping tears from your eyes.

"okay," you took a deep breath, restraining the rest of your giggles, "first, i said seeds. like, plural. i wasn't gonna cut an entire pomegranate and then just eat one seed."

dan heng jumped in, "you said seed. singular."

"hm, actually i think i said seeds." dan heng gave up. there was no point in justifying this with you.

you let out another snort, "second, i have to tell you dan heng, you sure have a dirty mind."

dan heng's eyebrows rise up, "me? you were the one who told me to 'shoot some seed' in you!" he reveled. his statement only sent you into more laughter. dan heng was unimpressed.

"i clearly said seeds⎯"

"you didn't."

"anyway," you brush off his claims, “about your raunchy brain,” you teased, poking his head with your finger.

“i do not have a ‘raunchy brain.’”

“sure,” you said slowly. dan heng felt his sanity slipping through him, “have you been reading the romance novels i lent you? because that would definitely explain the raunchy brain.”

dan heng doesn’t fight against your arguments anymore, knowing his efforts would go in vain. so he says something else, “no, i haven’t. i’ve locked them in book jail,” he grabs a handful of pomegranates and eats them.

you look dumbfounded, and dan heng finds a small victory, “book jail?!?”

“book jail.”

your jaw is slack, “what is book jail??”

“books that should be locked up in jail,” dan heng says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“first of all, those books are actually really good,” you popped a few pomegranate seeds in your mouth before you continued, “second of all, you belong in a real jail for putting my books in ‘book jail,’” you followed with air quotations.

as you reached into the bowl of pomegranates seeds, you felt dan heng’s hand reach in there at the same time. your hand was above his once again. you resisted the urge to pull away, resorting to putting your hand underneath his to grab the jewels of the fruit.

dan heng opened his mouth to say something, but he was caught off guard when you threw a seed in his direction. it hit his cheek, and luckily didn’t leave a stain on there. but he looked towards you to find your shit-eating grin.

he threw a seed in your direction, only for you to catch it with your mouth. dan heng then realizes that is what you probably meant with shooting seeds, but he chooses to disregard it for now.

you two engage in the game of throwing pomegranate seeds in the other’s mouth. so far, you’re winning because you’ve caught the most seeds in your mouth. however, to your dismay, dan heng is catching up.

you claim it’s because of his height and because he was standing, but dan heng brings up the fact that you’re technically taller than him because you are sitting on the counter. you have no comment.

dan heng has moved closer to you during the game. he went from standing a few feet away to now only being a few inches away from your face. sure, it made the game unfair since the both of you were so close to each other.

but why would you two focus on that when your hands were nearly touching? when your faces were close enough that you could make out every detail on dan heng’s delicate face. you could notice every expression: every time his eyes narrowed out of determination, or widened out of victory. he was utterly endearing.

eventually, the claws of sleep hinged onto the both of you.

“sorry,” you yawned, clasping a hand over your mouth, “i forgot to tell you that pomegranates make you sleepy,” you rubbed your eyes.

you put your hand down on the counter, not acknowledging the fact that you placed it right on dan heng’s. but in your sleepy daze, you couldn’t seem bothered to care. and who was dan heng to wake you from your trance?

for once, his hand relaxed under your touch. no more tensing beforehand, or any shock when your fingers brushed on top of his. for now, he let it be. and it feels good. it feels amazing. he let the warmth of your hands envelope the chill of his. just for tonight, he can indulge in what is you.

“you go to bed first,” dan heng helped you off the counter, holding the hand that was on top of his to guide you back down, “i’ll clean up,” he whispered.

“what?” you uttered, staring up into dan heng’s eyes. your eyes were half-lidded and looked like they were about to close any second now.

“let’s go,” dan heng put on hand on the small of your back, guiding you to the back of your room like how you guided his hands earlier. he put a hand on your arm just in case you passed out on him.

once you got to your door, dan heng let you go. your body craved his warmth, even if your mind was out of it.

“goodnight,” he let go of you, “please don’t dream about seeds.”

you let out a quiet chuckle, “i won’t. don’t dream about anything dirty,” you taunted.

dan heng playfully rolls his eyes as he lets you go. he grabs a hold of his hand once again, and tries to feel the familiarity of your touch.

it seems, he misses you already.