Chapter Text
It was barely a month into their first term and the twin siblings Caelus and Stelle had just recently managed to settle in their apartment. They had applied to Astral University as it not only offers dormitories but also assists the students in moving into their own personal housing for those who did not wish to be bound by rules or curfew. This was one aspect of the university that stood out from others as well as its variety of majors to choose from, therefore this worked in their favour.
The first month was still packed with introduction courses and after school events which they had to attend, of course it wasn’t by force but it was highly recommended by the university. It would make projects much easier if they were somewhat familiar with their peers. Caelus knew that today was going to be long, he still hadn’t packed up all of his things even though they moved into this apartment more than a month ago. Looking at the unpacked boxes that were still stacked next to his door. Internally groaning, fully aware that he has to deal with those sooner rather than later since he is currently scouring through them to locate things he needs on a daily basis at this point.
Contemplating on how to deal with the busy university schedule he now has and also spare the energy to unpack the last things, Caelus found himself standing in front of his full-length mirror. Subconsciously double checking that his t-shirt was covering the mark which was located right below his right clavicle. Shaking his head in an attempt to stay focused, knowing that he was getting distracted by his own thoughts again. Reaching out to the mirror and tracing his reflection with the fingertips along the outline of his right shoulder, retracting his hand slowly as he pulled the collar down a little and there it was, a letter in a very pale shade of green. In all honesty he had asked his sister several times to figure out the colour since he himself could barely tell if it was blue or grey or both even! Whereas she had looked at it for a while and concluded that it was definitely a type of greenish hue, but a very pale version of it.
Caelus let out a sigh as he let go of the collar that in turn covered the mark once more. Although due to the saturation of the mark itself was barely visible in general, he still preferred to keep it hidden since he knew that the chances of ever meeting your soulmate was extremely rare. Wanting to keep it out of sight to not be reminded of the ‘what could be’.
Even if the odds are against him, a part of him wanted to meet his soulmate. A constant thought in the back of his mind, wondering what this person would be like. Would this individual be like a best friend or a partner for the rest of their life? Caelus had heard rumours about it before that a soulmate didn’t always mean ‘a romantic interest’, but is in reality the person that is supposed to be your other half. Never truly understanding what they meant back then, even now it still seems somewhat elusive. Perhaps if the odds are in his favour and encounters them, maybe that will be the moment he will finally understand the meaning behind it.
Letting out another sigh Caelus looked out the window that was on his left and walked past his desk that was next to the mirror and gazed outside for a moment, taking note of the cloudy weather. He grabbed the black hoodie that was draped on his chair and tied it loosely around his hips just in case it would get cold later. Today they would hang out with their class at a restaurant as a get together and learn to know each other over dinner and drinks, so who knew how long they would be out and about. He walked back to the mirror double checking again, his nerves were on edge. Social gatherings were not something he fancied.
It was still noon and the twins had a few classes before the night out with their class and according to Stelle, another class would join in since the majors would be working together occasionally. Apparently their teachers said it wasn’t an uncommon thing that those who were within game development and computer science would cooperate with each other, since the university itself had overlapped the two majors with each other. Thus Caelus who was majoring within 3D animation had to share a class or two with the people who were actually studying programming and software development. It was rather complex in itself so he never pondered about it and simply ignored it as long as he got to study what he wanted.
“Caelus… are you for real? How long are you going to stare at yourself in the mirror?” A female voice said, sounding amused. Caelus dropped a heavy sigh before turning around to face his twin, whose appearance was like a female version of himself. Stelle was casually leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. He was aware that his sister could read him like an open book, just like he knew that she was aware about his insecurities and the fact that she knew that he wasn’t looking forward to this evening.
“I'm nervous, okay?” Caelus retorted and glanced at the mirror briefly, before continuing. “You remember how highschool went for me, right? A part of me is scared that it might end up like it did then” He walked across his room picking up his raccoon plushie as he sat down on his bed, fiddling with it a little before looking up at the roof.
Sensing that his sister is staring down at him, Caelus faced a somewhat frowning Stelle. Highschool wasn't his most pleasant memory and she was fully aware of this fact, especially since Caelus didn't really have any friends due to his awkwardness. What also did not help was their overall home situation back then, nothing either of them would call unpleasant but neither something they could openly talk about. Hearing her release a sigh as she walked over, plopping down next to him before gently giving him a nudge.
“It will be okay! Also you were rather popular with the ladies back then as well-” Stelle said as she was trying to lighten his mood, causing Caelus to snort.
“Right… ‘popular with the ladies’...” Caelus laughed lightly as he interrupted Stelle. “You know I don’t swing that way…” He continued and nudged her back in a playful way. “And you swing both ways so don’t even start, you were popular with both you know? Not to mention the teachers hated us for disrupting class a lot due to the commotion we caused!” He continued with a snicker.
“There we go! We will still be as much of a menace now! No one can stop us as long as we are together! Also, RUDE! Just because I swing both ways doesn’t mean I have more fish in the pond! Wait..” She stopped for a second to think about what she just said. “I do? Not the point! you know what I mean!” Stelle pouted and then laughed as she dragged Caelus up, not missing that eye roll he pulled and jabbed him in his side before walking behind him and pushing him out his room.
“Yes yes don’t push me Stelle! I’m gonna trip” Caelus responded as he placed his hands on the doorway to come to a stop. “Gosh… I can walk on my own!” He continued and looked over his shoulder watching his sister that was half a head shorter than him, still pushing him.
“Then move it! Slowpoke!” Stelle retorted and gave another push, causing him to stumble straight onto the wall across the hallway. Placing her hands on her hips she looked at her twin who was now squatting in front of the wall while rubbing his nose. “We have class in like an hour” Her voice was stern but kind, earning herself a groan from the other. Caelus tossed a glare at Stelle and sighed before grabbing his backpack and walking towards the foyer, having her hot on his heels. He did though take a double glance at Stelle’s wrist and couldn’t help but to think that her mark was somewhat brighter than before. It was an unusual colour since it was a gradient between pink and blue, however compared to before it seemed like the pink area that was usually blending in with her skin tone was now more prominent.
“Hey, I just noticed but your mark… is it just me or has it gone brighter?” Caelus asked as he took a hold of her wrist, scrutinising it a little. Stelle tilted her head slightly and pulled her hand back and scrutinised it as well.
“You think so? It doesn’t look any different to me?” She questioned as she kept looking at it from different angles.
“Maybe I'm just imagining it” Caelus said as he took another quick peek at her mark once more.
Stelle hummed as she kept looking at her wrist now and then as the pair walked down through the apartment complex and out the entrance to the bike rack that was to the side of the building. Caelus took out the keys from his pocket and unlocked their bike, pulling it out to the street he finally nodded to his sister to take a seat on the carrier. This was something they had been doing since they were young, Caelus being the one who rode the bicycle while giving Stelle a lift. It was a routine at this point.
The travel time wasn't long as they would reach the university pretty quickly. Astral university is the most popular in Astral city, every year there are thousands of applicants making it very hard to get accepted since there were many who applied from other cities. The university itself was located at the very heart of the city sitting close by the station of the Astral Express train that connects all the cities, making it vastly more accessible compared to the rest of the city’s places of learning. Taking all of this into account the twins considered themselves lucky since they’d now managed to fulfil one of the conditions of the deal they had made with their guardian, leaving them to make sure they can uphold the last condition of the deal until they graduate…
Feeling the gentle breeze on his skin and how it ruffled his hair was something Caelus loved about riding a bike and the fact that Stelle just had her arms wrapped around his waist which made him feel at ease. Riding through Astral city and looking at its overall futuristic architecture yet due to it also having several parks it gave the city a good balance of both city life and nature. Along their route to the university they had to pass one of the biggest parks in the city named Hydra park, the park was huge, filled with maple trees, cherry blossom trees, almost looking like a garden with the ponds and bridges to cross the small tiny rivers that ran across the park. When he had time he would love to take a walk around and maybe even find a spot to sketch a little while listening to music, it was even perfect for a run! Caelus wasn’t as good as Stelle when it came to drawing but it was still one of his hobbies. He imagined himself leaning against a tree while holding a sketchbook or maybe even a handheld console and just let time pass and relax, not needing to think of the complex reality. After passing the park he could see the university slowly coming into view, the path was rather straightforward and there was only one crossing he had to pay attention to which was the one right before the university itself.
The moment they arrived Caelus motioned to Stelle to get off the bike as he proceeded to find a vacant parking spot. Due to most students commuting by bicycles it was like a sea of them at the parking area so finding an open spot wasn’t easy but nonetheless he managed. Reaching for the keys he locked the bike making sure that nothing was left behind. As he waltzed out from the parking area he double checked what time it was, seeing there was still a good chunk of time left before his class started.
A short distance away from this sea of bikes Caelus saw Stelle chatting away with someone he didn’t recognise. They may be twins and share several personality traits but they were still their own person, Stelle had a much easier time making friends and dealing with people than him. Feeling a bit awkward as he started contemplating whether to walk up to them or not, taking a long look at the female his sister was talking to. The girl had the same grey hair colour as them, although more of a silver hue than their ashy shade of grey. From the looks of it she seemed to come from a wealthy family, probably belonging to one of the more ‘serious’ majors if he was to base it on how she was dressed. Caelus was never one to judge by appearance alone but she was definitely giving the vibe of a lawyer or doctor, something along those lines which caused him to wonder how in the world did Stelle manage to meet someone like her. Internally scolding himself for being so awkward he managed to build up some courage and started to walk towards them.
“Who is this? A friend of yours?” Caelus asked as he walked up behind Stelle taking a more proper look at the female across from them. She looked taller from afar but up close he noticed that she was a whole head shorter than him, duly noted that clothes can make one appear taller or shorter. She was wearing a pair of black trousers that had a high waist and a white blouse that was tucked in only enhanced that illusion of her looking taller.
“There you are! This is Bronya, we met yesterday in the cafeteria!” Stelle said quickly in excitement as she continued. “She isn’t in the same major as us but belongs to the law major!”.
“Oh, I thought so, law major huh?” Caelus thought and hummed a little as he noticed the female named Bronya staring at him with wide eyes. He groaned internally, his dear sister probably hadn’t mentioned the fact that they were twins. Bronya looked back and forth between Caelus and Stelle and seemed at a loss for words, which wasn’t uncommon since they looked like identical twins even though they were fraternal twins.
“Hello, I’m Caelus, her twin brother…” He said somewhat quietly and gave a small nod as a greeting. Sensing that Stelle was most likely squinting at his awkwardness.
“Nice to meet you, Stelle did mention a sibling but not the fact that you were twins!” Bronya replied and even her voice sounded surprised. “Although, you two sure look identical…” She added leaning in slightly as if she was trying to find anything that wasn’t identical. Caelus was used to people being intrigued over the fact that they were essentially like mirror images, just different genders. He glanced at the silver haired female and noticed that her eyes matched her hair, a sharp silver grey shade, in comparison to their vibrant amber coloured eyes.
“Yeah we get that a lot!” Stelle laughed as she placed her hands on her hips, which is her favourite pose at this point. Watching the two conversing with each other and having started to walk towards the main building. Caelus stood still for a bit as he took a gander at the entrance that had the same futuristic sleek design you could find all over the city, but somehow he found it tantalising, provoking all kinds of emotions. Taking a deep breath he began to follow behind the two girls that were now some distance ahead of him, awash with a sensation of an oncoming change.
Climbing the short flight of stairs he noticed that Stelle was waiting by the doors while waving at him mouthing ‘slowpoke’, not having anything to toss at her like he usually does, Caelus could only glare at her in annoyance. Finally catching up to them he gave his sister a good jab on her arm as he passed by her, knowing that he would only receive that endearing laughter she had while teasing him. The foyer was open and spacious and all the conversation that was happening between students bounced off the walls turning everything into incoherent murmuring. Caelus looked around a little, seeing other students walking up and down the nearby staircase that led to the second floor and some that were gathered around a table at the shared self study area, probably discussing school projects. He walked up to a vending machine and bought himself something to drink, glancing back to the entryway seeing Stelle waving bye to Bronya who was starting to walk off in a different direction.
“Right, law major students are in a different wing from us…” a passing thought as he opened the cap of the bottle and started to drink while waiting for his sister.
“Stelle!” Two female voices yelled out of nowhere. The sudden call of his sister’s name caused Caelus to almost choke on his soda, he put the cap back on the bottle as he suddenly saw Stelle sprint past him with a grin plastered on her face. Utterly stunned by his sister's behaviour, he gawked after her and saw two girls waving eagerly a little further down the hallway. This was a side of his sister he usually saw when the two were exploring new areas or when they were pulling pranks on people back when they were younger, meaning this was a side he didn’t see as often like he used to.
“March! Seele!” Stelle yelled back as she came to a stop right in front of the two girls. “Right, you two! This is Caelus, my younger twin brother!” She continued and emphasised on ‘younger’, causing him to roll his eyes. He had just caught up to her and this is of course the first thing his sister starts to brag about, glancing at his phone to check where his lecture is at.
“By a couple of minutes, Stelle…” Caelus retorted and looked up from his phone and saw two females looking at him with a doe-eyed look. He really didn’t know how to react when people were checking him out the way these two did at this moment, feeling shiver after shiver going down his spine.
“Damn, Stelle! You could have mentioned the fact that he is handsome!” The two blurted out in unison. Feeling a bit awkward and dumbstruck, Caelus stood there frozen in place and stared desperately at Stelle, begging for help who was currently snickering and trying to hide it with her hand. Facing the two females again he cleared his throat which caused the two to jump and took a few steps backwards, very much to his relief since they were, in fact, right in his personal space. At this point his sister was laughing incredibly hard, after she managed to calm down a bit Stelle faced towards the pink haired female who was standing closest to her.
“You call him handsome but don’t forget we are twins! Does that mean I am handsome too?” Stelle speculated out loud with a smug grin, earning herself a slight blush from the pink haired girl. Caelus studied the way his sister was behaving since she was in fact acting somewhat differently from usual, not being able to pinpoint it he stopped pondering about it since he could tell it wasn’t anything bad. They were chatting for a few minutes until Stelle finally interrupted mid conversation.
“March, don't you have a lecture in a few minutes?” Asking out of the blue as she looked at the time on her phone.
“Oh shoot! I only went over here because I have to pick something up that I forgot at home!" March started and pulled out her phone and tapped away on it at lightning speed. “My best friend brought it with him since we share an apartment! He said he would meet me here… but where the hell is he?!” March said frantically and whipped her head back and forth as if that would make her friend appear suddenly. How her head didn’t snap from the speed was a complete mystery and Caelus glanced at his sister who was glancing back at him as she gave a shrug before looking back at March.
“Did he mention a location in the message? Maybe we can help out? Considering we have most of our lectures here” Stelle suggested and nudged Caelus’ arm as a sign to help out as well. March lit up like a christmas tree the moment she heard the offer and eagerly showed Stelle the message she had gotten.
“Caelus!” Stelle called out and grabbed his arm as she pulled him closer to show him the message as well. “Since you occasionally have lessons with the computer science major people, you should know where this is right?” She continued and gave Caelus the puppy look she knew he couldn’t deny. Internally groaning Caelus gave up and glanced at the message, shockingly enough he knew exactly where that was. That is the very classroom he has his upcoming lecture in.
“Uhm… yeah that’s where I’m going for my lecture…” Caelus replied in a nervous voice as he looked to the side, wanting to escape since he hadn’t been interacting with the other two really. Trying to calm his thought process since he was surrounded by people he barely knew although they didn’t seem to mind him so perhaps he could let down his guard a bit. Considering that Stelle was undeniably comfortable around them, maybe he should take that as a sign that he should be fine as well, otherwise why would she introduce them to him in the first place.
“Wait, are you also a computer science major student? I thought Stelle and you were in the same major?” March asked instantly with a surprised expression.
“This girl clearly didn’t listen to what Stelle said….” Caelus thought then audibly sighed.
“Uhm… no, I'm studying 3D-animation so I share a few classes with those in computer science for the first year…” Caelus answered and placed his hand on the back of his neck as per usual when he is nervous. Stelle picked up on it right away as expected and decided to chime in at that very moment. “I can tag along as well and then follow you back to the exit since we still have a few minutes left right?” She suggested and smiled at the pink one which he figured was ‘March’.
“Stelle, shall I go to our classroom and take two seats for us? I can bring along your bag too” The purple haired girl offered and looked at her wrist watch. In comparison to Stelle and March, she seemed to be more level-headed out of the three of them in Caelus' eyes.
“Yeah that would be great!” Stelle replied and then looked at her brother. “This is Seele, we are in the same class!” She continued and handed her bag to Seele, discussing something before Seele left in another direction from where they were going.
“You sure made friends fast as per usual” Caelus casually mentioned and then glanced at March who was still fiddling with her phone. “How did you guys even meet?” He asked which caught the attention of them both.
“Oh we met by chance at the cafeteria!” March answered quickly with a smile. “I accidentally ran into Stelle last week and we just clicked” She continued and started to look around again.
“It’s this way” Caelus pointed out and walked past March before taking the lead as he continued to listen to the story and how they met Bronya in the cafeteria yesterday.
“The cafeteria sure sounds like a meeting spot to meet new people” He thought and glanced over his shoulder seeing the two girls giggling and chatting away slightly behind him. Not wanting to interrupt but he had to ask since the walk was rather short. “Did your friend mention if he was going to wait outside or inside?” Caelus asked and slowed down a little to match their pace.
“No he didn’t mention that, but considering his class should have just finished by now he could still be inside the classroom” March answered with a thoughtful tone.
Coming to a sudden halt he gawked at March. “Hold on! He is a second year student?!” Caelus blurted out in pure shock. He had never interacted with the second year students yet, although he was aware of their classes overlapping sometimes, for example today is one of the few times where the second years have their class before the first years. He may have only been here for barely a month but he has never really taken a good look at the second years nor had he seen March nearby before. In fact she does stand out a lot so he would have remembered seeing her before if that was the case, especially if she had been waiting outside the classroom or nearby for this elusive friend.
“Yeah we are second year students, I’m studying photography so I am rarely here which is why I don’t know my way around in this building, since Dan Heng is the one usually coming over to my class” March said with a giggle.
“Dan Heng?” Stelle and Caelus asked in unison as they stood next to each other, both of their heads somewhat titled towards each other. This action brought out another laugh from March.
“Yes, that is his name!” She laughed. “Woah, you two really are twins! Even your reactions match like a mirror image!” March continued and almost doubled over. Caelus and Stelle looked at each other before letting out a snort at the same time, indeed they had a tendency to give the same reaction when they are stunned but it had been a while since someone pointed it out. “Sorry I never mentioned his name before but yes, his name is Dan Heng, a tall guy with black hair and almost always wears this stone faced expression” She snickered as she described him.
“Oh? Is he a hottie?” Stelle asked out of nowhere, making Caelus almost choke on his own saliva.
“STELLE!” He cried out in sheer embarrassment.
“What?” She questioned with a smug voice. This only made Caelus groan and face palmed himself, since a part of him knew she probably asked just to play wingwoman. Turning around and continuing to walk at a slightly faster pace, feeling extremely embarrassed about his sister's behaviour. He could still hear her laughter behind him and didn’t want to wait a single moment to hear March’s response.
As he turned a corner Caelus noticed a tall raven haired male leaning against the wall as if he was waiting for someone outside the classroom. Coming to a stand still as if frozen in place when someone abruptly slams right into his back causing him to stumble forward catching the attention of the raven in return, their eyes meeting for a brief moment. The male looked surprised for a split second before his teal eyes darted over to the presence of Stelle and March, focusing on the latter.
“March, a friend of yours?” The voice was gentle and calm. Caelus looked towards March and his sister as he then carefully glanced back at the raven who still had his arms crossed. Stealthily inspecting the raven he now assumes is the friend named ‘Dan Heng’ who is wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck with dark grey jeans. Judging from his appearance Caelus could only speculate that this guy was from Xianzhou, mostly from the design of his bag, an ornate yet traditional looking shoulder strap bag with black and accented with green not to mention the way he carried himself. Only being able to base his assumptions of what he knew about their culture since it was drastically different from what existed in Astral city, Xianzhou being more traditional in contrast to over here.
“Yeah, remember how I told you about Stelle? That’s her twin brother” March replied with a smile and there was a glint in her eyes. Caelus stood up straight and slowly moved back next to Stelle who was the culprit of walking straight into him.
“Right, you mentioned you had met someone the other day” He stated and took another glance at Caelus before sliding off his bag and started to search for something.
“Here, not only did you forget your keys but you also forgot your camera” The raven said somewhat annoyed as he let out a sigh, before looking at the twins. “My name is Dan Heng, March’s roommate and friend” He continued and held out his hand. Stelle reached out first since she noticed that her brother looked dumbstruck. “Nice to meet you! I’m Stelle and this is my twin brother Caelus”.
Dan Heng looked at Stelle and then Caelus, retracting his hand after the handshake with her. His gaze lingering a second longer on Caelus before glancing at March.
Caelus was still dazed as his gaze stuck on the other male as he suddenly felt Stelle jab him in his side, making sure that the jab pulled him back to reality.
“Oh sorry, I blanked, n-name’s Caelus a f-first year student, nice to meet you” Caelus stammered out and gazed at Dan Heng completely lost in his own thoughts. “Damn, March wasn’t kidding when she said he had a stone face expression…” For some unknown reason he couldn’t stop looking at the raven. Although in his own opinion he wouldn’t call Dan Heng’s expression ‘stone face’ but more like he had schooled his own expression to stay neutral. However, if he was allowed to be completely honest, this guy was indeed extremely good looking.
“Caelus you are staring” Stelle whispered and looked a bit smug but yet her voice had a hint of concern. “I’m gonna go with them ok?” She continued.
“Y-yeah see you later I’ve gotta go to the lecture anyway” Caelus responded and opened the classroom door, pausing for a moment and had this urge to turn his head just to get another look at him one last time. Giving in to this urge he side eyed the trio, fully turning his head as he was greeted by a pair of teal coloured eyes gazing from a distance at him once more.
The moment lasted for no more than a few seconds as those teal eyes looked away the moment he turned the corner. This stirred something inside his body that he couldn't explain, just who was this guy and what was it about him that caused Caelus to feel this need to fixate on him?