Work Text:
Dan Heng sits quietly on the bus stop bench, busying himself with a random mobile game.
The chilly night air swaying the trees on the forested road was making everything extra creepy. He also couldn't help but miss the cozy coat left forgotten on his dorm room chair.
He glaces at the top of the screen, ignores multiple missed call notification icons and checks the time.
11:50 pm. It was almost time now.
He taps his way into the notes app and scrolls through a long thread of notes and observations he'd been recording, eversince he started attending college in the small town. He stops at one, No.91, and double checks it.
Another glance at the time reveals it's 11:51 now. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, mentally readying himself. Then he opens them again and ignores the bus standing right before him, and keeps his gaze on the phone.
11:52.
Distantly, he hears the automated door open.
"Hey kid." The middle-aged bus driver says. "This is the last bus for tonight, if you're getting on then move." The man waits expectantly, and Dan Heng can feel his eyes trained on him, but he neither answers nor look up. About 5 seconds in. So far so good.
"Are you listening to me? Hey at least answer when someone's talking to you!" The man's voice was sounding aggravated, taking clear offense at being ignored. Dan Heng taps out of the notes app and instead opens his contacts and starts scrolling. Only 15 seconds have passed by now.
"Kids these days I swear!" And that's the last thing Dan Heng hears in a gruff but reasonably human voice. At the 30 second mark however...
"H̶͔̤̽Ę̶͂͌Y̵̛̯͑ ̶͍̺̔Y̷̱͌̿O̴̲̳͗͗U̸͉̱͝ ̴̜̼̏̚B̷͇̮̒R̷̯̋́Ȁ̶̮̝T̷̯̈͋!̷͒̒͜ ̶̜̈̕D̶͖̟͑̈Õ̶̰̾Ǹ̴͓'̵͎͍͊͆T̴̢̪́͐ ̷̭͒Y̷̟͒O̵̳̯̅U̷̧̠͌̇ ̸͕͓̋K̵̗͎̿Ṋ̶̇̀Ơ̵̡̼̄Ẁ̶͋͜ ̴̢͉́̓Î̵̪T̶̜̖̿'̷͇̐̀S̶͓̿͌ ̶̢̂ͅR̷̝͊͝U̵̡͈͊̈D̷̪͆̚E̸̞̺̊͗ ̴̠̋͌T̴̹͗͒O̷͓̩̍͘ ̵̮̔͒I̸͙͕̒G̷͔̈́̈́N̷̖͛Ó̸̫̹R̸̩̫͌É̴̲̻ ̵̪̉͂Y̶̲̋̔͜Ȯ̴̞̙̇U̵̥͝R̶͓̩̄ ̶̛̙̰Ȅ̵̠̅͜L̵͕͛̊D̶̜͑E̵̝̐R̵̯͈͂̽S̷̝̈́?̴͉̃!̴́ͅ" The "man" was pounding on the steering wheel, still trying to get his attention.
The flickering light coming from inside the bus, previously a standard industrial yellow slowly morphs into an ominous red.
Dan Heng still has his eyes trained down on his phone, but from the edges of his vision he could tell the bus was almost shuddering. His finger hovers over the call button.
"R̴͎̔̓̑̍͛͛̇̍̈̐̉̐̈́̇́̏̊͆͘͝U̶̞̜͚̹̦̥̗̬͉̼̠̓̉͛́̽́̈́͊̒̓̀̚ͅD̸̡̨̼͎̭͔̥̬̝͎̰̩̲̮͈̺͚̻̬̬̽͌̂̌̀̐̈́̓̈́̈́̒̚̚͝͝Ë̵̛̬̘̬̩̙͍̖̳͉͎͙͇̰͈̳́͑̃́͋́͒̐̆̊͗̓̋̀̕͠ͅ ̸̡̛̛̟̙̝͙̲͖͉̝̯̜̒̾͐̀́͂̀̈́̌̿̓͂̍̅͛͜͠͝B̸̨̡̯̤̮̮̖͇̫̝̜̜͕̅͂̆̇̌̏̍ͅR̵̛͓̻̹͉̱͈̖̠̹̤̟̳͈̭̰̀̈̉͑̒͆͘͘͠͠A̵̼͚̩͍̾͒̂̆̎̆̀̓̔̀̍̊͐̍̇̚̚͝T̶̡̧̪̙̭͍̩̼̯̤̳̈͆͆͗̏̇̀̇S̴͎̲͉̲̦̉͆ ̷̧̨̛̰̖̲͎̩̭̄͊̀͑̽̃̔̅̇͘̚͝L̴̥͇͎̤͎̥̙̰̻̺͂I̷̛̳̮̝͇̜̯̠̩̖̿́̈́̈́́̍̑͋̚K̴̨̜̯͓͚̹̲̭̭̖̼̼̝͓͙͎̙̗̹̲̓̆͂̀̾̽̊̇̀̈́̿̽̉̉͌̔̔͆̚͜͝͝Ę̸̢̨̡̺̥͉̦̘͙̙̩̻͈̯̱̽̍͂̅̒̈̈͑̓̌̔̿͌͊̀̿̎̕͜͠͝ ̵̛̤͐̍̓́̅̔̈́͋̽̔̈́͐̽̀͠͠ͅŸ̵̨͇̭͚̥̥͉̙̙̻̹̱͉̀̑̄̉̓̈́̏̈͐̍̈́̿͌̚͠͠O̵̼̣͎̤̻̤̜͚̟̺͚͑̊͜ͅͅǓ̶̧̡͈͓̦̯̣͓̝͇̬̳̤͇̭̼̙̗͒ ̸͎̣̠͙̠̎̓̐̾͂̉̈̾͗̉̔͋͛̃͋̂͗͜͝͝Ń̴̼̰͖̹̰̭̠͈̙͑̔̏̂̃͝Ę̷̨̜̹̥̉͗̀̀͑͑́́̌̓͋́̈́́̋̌̅͜͝E̴̢̛̪͍̹̱̠̹͈͎̯͎̻̣̠͔̟̩̾͗̏̒̉̋͊̆͐̋̔̌̉͑̉̕̕͝ͅḌ̸̛̞̼͚̩̘̩̹̼̦̆̿̌́̄̃̈̓̀̓͑̅̓͑̽̔͘̕̕ ̵̫͚̗̤͒̈́͋͛̋̽̈̅̐̅̊̽͒̽͊̈́̚̕͜ͅT̴̨̢̢̡̢̙̫̲̰̫͖̦̪̺̯͍̺̩̖̐̑͌͌̀̂̽̉̉͌͋̌̕͜͠͝Ơ̶̯̈́̀̅͆̈́̉̈̉̿̐̔͛̎̎̃̚̚͝ ̴̛̭̞͚̼̤̏͋̀͌̀̃Ḅ̴̢͇̝̝̭̞͔̘̳̗̫̭̖̀̉̅̓̔̀̏̏̋͗̚E̶̟̳͚͚̭̞̠̘̿̃̆̈́̆͊͆͐̔̄̈́̚͠ ̷̦̤̜̂́͐̿͝T̵͍̳̩̟͖̦͈͕͖̰̫̩̼̫͌͊̃̽̅̈́͌͒̋̐̾̈́͑͋́̚͝ͅͅÃ̶̠̲̟̘̞̺̀̎̉̈́͜Ų̵̡͉̖̺̩̻̳̠̲̜͖͈͙̜̗̪͓̿̀̊̃̍̀̐͐̇̐̃̑͊͘͜ͅG̵̢̨̡̖̞͚̰̮̙͓̫̥̰̟̘̒͂̔̌̃̃̓̚͝H̶̗̳̣̫̥̘̽̋̑̏̅̉̉̓̓́̑̒͗̅̾̂̎̔̿̔̇T̷͎͈͙̣̐͌͛ ̴̧̮͔̰̜̂̾̈́A̷̢̛̜̖̖͉̠͎̳̲̗̮͉͕̾̈́͒̄͑̈͆̍͠ ̶̜͙̰̟͕̪̲̪̬̩̪͎̗͚̪̺͌́͊̍͜ͅĽ̸̢̧̥̺̰͙̗̻͈̙͚͎̄̋̿̐͂͗̾͗̄̀̽͘͝Ẹ̷͔̻̠̤̤̯̌̿̅̌͆Ś̵̢̛̭̬̙̝̠͇̩͔̭͎̗͓̳̯͂̋̆̈́͌͒́͆̽̐̐͑́̋͝͠͠Ş̷̳̲͓̝͉̰̾̑̍̐̊̃O̴̻̼̬͊̉̃̀̅̇̋ͅŅ̸̢͕̜̠̫͚͓̱̪̲̙̰̭̹̫̹͙͕͕̣̒̈́̓̍͂́̉̈́̎̄̔̈̎̈̋͌͒́͝͠.̷̢̗͍̫͉̤̇̓̅̂̾̐̓̒̍̊͗̂̚̕ ̵̨̲̻̗̘̳̪̟̜̫̞̫̬̿͊̓̎̀̌̇̂̿̈̈́̓̒̌̚͜͝P̸͇̟̼͕̞̪͙̩̮̘̤͖̯̞͖͍̙̱̙̾͜ͅU̶͕̰͇͒T̸̢͖͇̜̦͐̎͗̓̓̈́ ̷̢̺͓̣̭͈̔́̌͜D̸̛͚̩̞͔̠͍̯̺͙͔̹͔̬̥̰̰̈́̋̓Ō̶̧̪̰͙͚̩̙̈́͂̉̃́́̍͗͝͠ͅW̷͈̥̪̺̙̪͙̥̲̗͔̠͎͛N̴̨̢̛̘͖͉̲̟̘̪̫̬̔̾̿̅̓́͋͛͑̉͂̐̕͘͘ ̷̡̛̼̹͇̱̲͔͙̥͉̩̻̤̳̟͋̿͊̐̃̎́͌̂́̓̚͘͜͜͝Y̶̤̙̞̟͈̺͎̯̺̆ͅȌ̴̢̼̯̠̯̣͍̥͎̤̭̰̞͇͈̺̭̫̱̟̖̓̊̀͂͑̀̓̌̂̑̅̈́̍Ư̷̢̥͚͍̫͙̮͙̦̗̤̩͊̊̊͗͑̋̈́̈͛̊̈́̕͝͠͝Ṟ̷̫̼̝͇͕̝̠̗̌̇̊̒̒̏̊́́̀̚͘͝ ̶̹̦̤̞̥̤̻̪͎̖̠̲͓̏́̓̓̉̇̂̋̈́̚̚̚͝͠ͅP̸̢̤̩̭̮̫̘̪̪͍̥̹̥̃̿̉̾̀̑̽̽̆̆͛̔̄̚̕͠H̴̗̳̲͓̼̖̦̲̲̯̘̜̱͎͎͒̓̋̒͐̄̑͌̓̒̈́̑͊͌̆̆͘͝͝O̵̧̭͙̐̾̌̚ͅN̷̝͎̓̊È̷͕̤̝̮̟͎̭͕̤̺̘̫͓̼̗̞͓͕̤̗̿̔̒͂̎̐̕͠ͅ ̵̞̘̤̜̜̻͈͉̑̈́̈́̈́̒̉̂̀͒̏͒͑̎͂̅̉͂̉̅͘͝Å̸̞̯̅͐̀͌́̌͘͝͠N̸͓̠̻͕͖̜̰͖̮͂̎̊̍̈́̆̅͆̄͑͜D̸͉̼̩̣̟̲͓̂̄̃̒ ̸̧͙͚͙̥̯̟͊̀̿̇̽̅́́̓̈́̂̉́̒̋̈͠G̸̨̣͎̯̰̠̼̤̰̬̤̭̹̠̣̰͚͙̗̾̃͂̉̕͝Ę̴̰͖͉̥̟͔̗̞̯͔̙̣͍̹̺̠̱̞̋̇̅̃̈́͛͒̉̀̈́́̄̀̆͊̀͛́̈́͜͜T̸̛̛͙̈͊̔͆͋̉̇̃͐̓̕͘̕͜͠ ̵̢͕͔̝͈̮̬̬̩̻͖̻̜̜̣̹͚̘͈̘̱͑̀̌Ơ̴̧̢̪̟͕̤̭̟͈̝͓̺͎̙̫̹͎̹̔͒̃͒͆̋̄̂͆̆̐̑̇͂̉́͌̕͜V̸̢͎̰͙̲͈̜̾͂̃̃̈́͗̑̓̋́̃̌̈́̅͠E̷̢̛̦̫̤̺̩͖̙͔͇̲̦̝͉̱̭͈̮͑͐̄͌̒͑̄͋̊R̸̩̯̲̜̻̞̥̬̞̫̻͚̫̖̬̻̻͊̐̐̑̃̽̌̋̀̓̋͛̃̊ͅ ̶̰́̅̐̅͌̏̎̄͊̓̍̄̕͝͝H̸̜̹͖͚͈̯̩̖͍̖̓͋̿̉̀̄̌̌̆̓͋̅̀̂͜͝͝͠͠E̸̝͚͒͜Ŗ̷̢̺͙͎̘̬̼̳̣̩̣͓̣̙̲̓̔͜͜͜͝Ē̶̘̖̈́̑̽͌̃̐͊̏͂͌͠ ̶̢͖̪̩̪̦͔̹̠̜̞̈́̅́͒́͑̃͌̈̀̐͛̀͘͜͠͝Ṛ̶̥̏̏̈́͌̇͛͠Ǐ̷̢̬͉͓̦͑͝G̶̩͕̱̓̓̍̒̑̀̅̓̈́̀̀̋́H̴̡̨̗͓̰̲͚̝̗̺̭̜̗̰̓̈́͗̈̂T̷̡̨̗̭̦̥̖͎̤̖̝̮̥͇̙̜̞͙̪̊̿̅̀̔̋̀͝ͅ ̸͙̩̠͙̙̣̭̲̦̲̫̩̤̈́͌͆̿̚͝N̷̻̤̳̥͎̞͇̺̊̈̀͛̈́̅̇̐̈́̓͝ͅƠ̵̢͇̳̤̰̪̮̣̙͔̝̞̦̖̭̦̰̰͎̎́̓̈̎͐̿̃̃̏͘̕͜͝͠W̷͓̞̞̭̘̫̦͕͚̝̤̬̱̟͉̺̞̱̯͊͗̒͂͑͆̔̀̽̑̍̿̕̕̚͜͝͝.̵̨̧̘̞̳̫͈͉̪̗̖̗͙͕̠͕͙͍͔̑̃̋̽̒͗̒͌̅̂̏̏͌͐̕͜͝"
At this point the words are completely unintelligible, the thing screeching at the top of it's lungs. Dan Heng gives up on maintaining an aloof facade and shuts his eyes, hand clenched around his phone. He still doesn't press the call button though.
Just when the unnatural screaming reaches its peek, when he really wonders if he should just get up and run, ignoring the instructions of note No.91-
His phone's ringtone blares loudly, startling the everliving crap out of his already terrified soul.
And then, when he opens his eyes to look at the screen - caller ID displaying a 'March🌸💗💙 ' from when she'd saved her contact- he checks the time and-
Thank the heavens it was 11:53.
He looks up, and the "bus" was nowhere to be seen. The forest road was dark and eerily quiet but empty from both directions.
After what was arguably the most torturous minute of his life, he accepts the call only to be met with a group of frantic and worried voices.
"Dan Heng?!" A very concerned March asks.
"Dan Heng? Is that you?!" And that very panicked voice would be Caelus.
A simple "Yes." is all he can muster with his heart still beating in his throat.
"What did he say?" That much more collected one was Stelle. He then hears shuffling and a "Hey it's my phone!" From March before a deep voice asks, cutting straight to the point: "Where are you right now?" Ren.
Dan Heng takes a stuttering breath. "At the bus stop right outside of town."
"The one in the forest? Near the old clinic?" Ren asks to confirm, but Dan Heng can recognize the judgemental tone well enough.
"...yes."
"Stay there." He hangs up.
Immediately after, March calls him again. Dan Heng really made them worry it seems, because they keep the call going for as long as they can.
"I'm sorry." Caelus said. "I shouldn't have been so pushy that day... or today." Dan Heng could hear him sniffling.
Last month, when the town had first heard about strange cultists slinking around the churche's graveyard, Caelus had been the one to convince their classmates to go hunt them down. When Dan Heng tried to be the voice of reason, pointing out how dangerous going after such people could be, especially when the Cherif was already on the case, he was met with jabs about how "stuck up" he was from the class, that he needed to "learn to loosen up". Well look how that turned out.
Two of his classmates were still missing.
But that wasn't really Caelus's fault now was it?
Dan Heng sighs "It's... it's fine. You just wanted to apologize and I ended up overreacting." Storming out of a lecture hall dramatically was not something he ever thought he would do. It was a testament to how frayed his nerves had gotten in the last few weeks.
"I was gonna go for a quick walk around town and cool off, but one thing led to another and it was already nighttime and well... I was no longer in town."
"Well next time," that was March now, "Can you at least answer our calls? Everyone was sick with worry you know?"
"Ah-" he debates whether to lie that his phone was on silent or make something else up, but in the end he settles on, "yeah sorry March, I'll try to be better next time."
Faintly he hears the flapping of wings in the distance. As they approach, and from the sound alone, he could tell they were far too big and powerful to be a bird's wings.
"I gotta go. Ren's here to pick me up." There's a short silence on the other end, and he hears Caelus mumbling "Huh? Didn't he just leave?" But he's already pulling the phone away to disconnect the call.
He stands and turns in time to see magnificent black wings folding back and disappearing completely out of sight, their owner heading straight for him from where he landed.
Dan Heng meets him halfway, and Ren quickly brings two strong hands to his shoulders, checking him over for injuries, all while looking mighty disappointed.
Dan Heng gulps. "Uh- I'm sorry." He says hesitantly, trying hard not to avert his eyes.
Ren sighs and pulls him in for a hug. "Why must you make me worry." He says into his hair, in a very tired tone.
Dan Heng easily returns the hug, arms wrapping around Ren's strong torso. "I really don't know, I just-" he closes his eyes, "I'm mad at myself for not having been there. If I hadn't gotten separated from the group, maybe we wouldn't have lost two students, maybe-"
Ren pulls away and quickly brings a hand to the other's cheek, his thumb sliding to his mouth, silencing him. "Dan Heng. This is no one's fault but the perpetrators. Whether it's the cursed cultists or someone or something else. We'll get to the bottom of this and find them." Dead or alive goes unsaid but understood. "So don't go making yourself feel even worse, it won't help."
Dan Heng takes a few deep breaths, keeping the tears at bay. Ren would never judge him for crying, but this was such a tender moment and he wanted to enjoy it. "You're right. Thank you Ren... For everything."
The long haired man gives him a smirk, the usual teasing glint returning to his eyes "Well if you want to thank me you could do it properly," he glances at the abandoned clinic in the distance "Look we even have a nice place with beds right there-"
Dan Heng pulls back quickly, though Ren's arms don't let him get far." Yeah how about we don't go in there, like weren't you just lecturing me about wandering off to dangerous places?" Ren laughs, clearly feeling triumphant he lightened up the other's mood. And despite how he was built like a fridge, Dan Heng found him inexplicably cute.
"Let's go home already, I have classes tomorrow and don't you have a job interview?"
"Oh yeah..." Ren seemed to wilt at the reminder and Dan Heng had to roll his eyes, "Tell you what, if you get accepted, I'll get you a gift." That seemed to do the trick, and Ren perks up again, bending to gather Dan Heng into his arms, his wings appearing and expanding from his back. "Can I ask for something specific?" He asks with a sly grin.
"Sure, what do you want?"
Ren doesn't miss a beat, he immediately captures Dan Heng's lips in a quick kiss then replies "You."
Dan Heng's brain stutters to a stop and before he can say anything, Ren takes to the skies, the wind too loud in their ears to talk at the speed he was flying.
Oh this sly sly- Dan Heng thinks, I'll get back at you for this just you wait.
But despite his thoughts, Dan Heng's body melts into the embrace, tightening his hold on the other, head leaning fully on Ren's shoulder.
It's not until much later the next day he realizes he hasn't seen his phone since he got up from the bus stop bench.