Chapter Text
Himeko often took in strays. Very often. First it was Welt—though Welt was hardly considered a stray—then it was Dan Heng. Then March 7th. And now their newest member.
Caelus.
Although the circumstances of finding him were slightly disturbing. Especially when realizing a Stellaron was sealed in him. Welt himself had even advised Himeko to be careful and consider letting him on very carefully. Himeko had seen the boy’s not very happy look when Herta offered to let him stay at the space station.
What she did like was seeing the boy’s eyes light up at the Express. Of course, it was part pride, certainly. But also part relief. Relief at seeing that despite the mess that was finding him, Caelus could still manage joy.
Even better was how easily he had taken to March and Dan Heng. The yin to Dan Heng’s yang, and a mirror of March’s excitement. Himeko was glad for that at least. Pom-Pom had told her of times before on the Express when passengers didn’t get along. And she would greatly prefer them getting along over the…alternative.
She had left the boy to explore while she made him tea. Mostly because he’d been way too excited exploring the space station before they left. And Himeko would like to get something in his system before he goes to bed. At least just so he doesn’t pass out like Dan Heng often did because he was so enraptured in the archives.
Maybe she should bring Dan Heng some tea too
The sound of the water finishing boiling pulled her out of her thoughts. Almost automatically she prepared the tea, of course she’d done this many times for other Express members, but this time, she added a lot more sugar than usual. Mostly because she had a feeling Caelus had a sweet tooth. At least if his loud and boisterous personality was anything to go by. Plus, anyone who begged for a vending machine desert for twenty minutes clearly had a dangerous relationship to sugar.
She could only hope he hadn’t touched anything he wasn’t supposed to yet. But, seeing how he ran around touching things he wasn’t supposed to far too often in the space station, she wouldn’t be surprised if she somehow found him in the engine room holding a wrench he should absolutely not be holding.
“...Caelus?”
She called out while stepping into the Parlor Car, which was empty save for Welt staring at the stars in the “I’ve seen too much and I’m too tired to be alive” look he had when he was alone.
She pivoted towards Welt with ease, “Hey, have you seen Caelus?”
Welt’s eyes left the window and met Himeko’s, “He passed by, something about needing to find one of our trash cans…for some reason.” He answered with a small shrug.
“...Trash cans. Really?”
“You heard Herta say he kept finding weird looking trash cans in the space station.”
“...God he’s feral.”
“And yours now apparently.”
“Mines? I think you mean ours.” She said with a grin, moving to hold his hand for a moment before letting go again. “...You think he’d like tea?”
Welt’s mouth twitched upward, “I think he’d prefer an energy drink with how adventurous he seemed on the space station.”
“Hush. I’ll look for him and see if he likes it. Maybe the damn mountain of sugar I put in it makes him drink it at least.” She said, starting to walk to the next car to resume her search for their newest stray.
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the tea?” Welt called behind her, the smug grin he had audible in his voice.
“Oh fuck you.” She laughed, throwing a middle finger behind her as she opened the door.
“Frequently, actually!” Were the last words Himeko heard from Welt as the door closed behind her.
With her smile on her face, she glanced around the Party Car. She hadn’t expected to find Caelus very easily. But somehow, she did. Just not in the way she had expected at all. He’d fallen asleep on the floor…leaning on the trash can they kept in the car.
For some reason.
“...Of course Welt’s right…” Himeko mumbled under her breath, before crouching in front of the boy. “Hey, Caelus.” She said quietly, slightly shaking his shoulder. Which did pull a quiet noise from him. At least Caelus wasn’t a heavy sleeper like March.
“Mmm?” Caelus mumbled, eyes blearily opening to see Himeko looking at him. He looked absolutely wiped, gold eyes dull with exhaustion and half open.
“Hey kid, what’re you doing on the floor, hm?” She asked, gently moving the cup of tea into Caelus’ hands. Which he managed to hold despite his very obvious half-asleep state. She could see the way his hands slightly twitched with the heat radiating from the mug.
“...Trash.” He said easily and seriously, as if the single word alone explained everything.
It in fact did not explain anything. But Himeko supposed she shouldn’t push too much. Especially considering Caelus looked like he could barely stay awake. Maybe the adrenaline crash after defeating the Doomsday Beast finally got to him. Which was very fair. Considering it was his first week being…a person basically, and he was already thrust into galactic battles.
Himeko softly smiled, “Okay, you wanna move?” She then asked, hoping the answer was a yes, but she knew better. The kids almost always gave her the answers she didn’t want. Which she didn’t mind. But still.
Which she was right, because Caelus shook his head, fighting hard to stay awake, and failing miserably. His eyes kept drifting shut before they jerked back open. It was like his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds.
“That’s fine kiddo. We can sit here.” She smiled, not bothering to try and coax him to stand yet. Mostly because she knew forcing Caelus to stand while asleep was probably not the best idea. She would not repeat the mistake she made with Dan Heng. So instead, she gently pulled the untouched mug of tea from Caelus’ hands and moved it to the side. She suspected he’d fall asleep fairly quickly anyways.
And that he did. After not even five full minutes Caelus started quietly snoring. He must’ve been really wiped. Jeez. She’d make sure everyone was quiet while she made sure he got a good amount of sleep in.
“...He really is a stray.” Himeko smiled. She just knew Caelus would fit right in with everyone else on the Express.
But there were other pressing matters to deal with. Mostly the fact he was leaning against a trash can and looked very uncomfortable despite clearly sleeping like the dead. So she stood up, and with some slight struggle, managed to get Caelus into a bridal carry. This wasn’t her first time carrying a tired passenger to bed. And—against all odds—it felt like it wouldn’t be the last either. Still, she had the small and futile hope that Caelus would wait longer than five hours before falling asleep somewhere strange.
“Let’s get you to the Parlor Car, hm?” She whispered, a smile never leaving her face as she started walking, stride even and unbreaking even with Caelus in her arms. She expected him to weigh more considering how easily he swung his bat around. But that was neither here nor there. But maybe she should make sure he ate enough later.
As she opened the Parlor car and maneuvered inside with Caelus in her arms, she looked up. And Welt was of course still there. And upon seeing Caelus in Himeko’s arms, Welt raised an eyebrow. “...He knocked out that fast?” He asked, voice quiet as to not wake Caelus.
“Adrenaline crash. I assume.” Himeko automatically responded, gently laying Caelus down on one of the couches and putting a pillow under his head and a blanket over him. Even if the boy didn’t have a room yet, she wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. At least as much as he could be.
“...Was he digging in a trash can?” Welt lowered his voice, a small grin on his face.
“Worse. Asleep leaning against one.” Himeko responded with a quiet huff as she moved to take off Caelus’ shoes and put them next to the couch. “Y’know I thought he’d be doing something normal like sitting in a corner. Both March and Dan Heng did that.” She hummed softly, moving to sit next to Welt.
“That is not normal, Himeko.” He responded dryly, moving to wrap an arm around her.
“Maybe.” She responded, soft smile still on her face as her eyes landed on Caelus again. “You think he’ll be alright?” She asked, eyes meeting Welt’s brown ones once more.
“Of course he will. He’ll be exploring planets with March and Dan Heng in no time. Just give him some time to adjust. Waking up with your memory wiped isn’t a walk in the park. At least I would assume.” Welt said easily, gently placing a kiss on her forehead.
“I suppose so.” She hummed, eyes flicking to the galaxies outside the Express’ windows. As they both settled into a comfortable silence, Himeko found herself hoping that Caelus would adjust well to life on the Express. As long as he was happy, she didn’t mind.
Ah. She was already really attached, wasn’t she?