what is home?
if dan heng was asked that question when he was in the xianzhou, he may not have been able to answer.
when dan heng was reincarnated, he didnt have the luxury of a clean slate. instead, he was born, already burdened with the sins of his predecessor, forever in his shadow and always treated as such.
the xianzhou may have been his birthplace, the place he acknowledges as his origins, but it was never really a place he'd look back upon affectionately, never a place he could truly call his "home".
he thought maybe he'd never have one. maybe his life as a nomad would forbid him that, and the astral express would just be another name in his long list of residences.
he doesn't know when it started to mean so much to him, from the train and pom pom, to himeko and mr yang and march 7th, to you. he doesn't know when detachment became attachment, when nothing became everything, when you became a fundamental part of his life.
the feeling was, naturally, foreign to him, a warmth that slowly settled in his chest. from your first meeting, all the way to amphoreus, you've burrowed your way into the place he's unknowingly guarded, letting yourself in like you were always meant to be there.
perhaps amphoreus was the final trigger. far too many threats unlike before, countless separations that made him wonder if this would be it for either of you, and suddenly the thought of never seeing you again felt all too real.
when dan heng inherited earth's coreflame, all he wanted was to bring you back to him. when he journeyed all those years, from the scorching heat to the freezing winners, none of it bothered him. those seasons wouldn't kill him.
all he wanted was to find you.
maybe it was fate who finally guided him to you, or maybe it was your souls searching for each other that brought him to you. he doesnt know, but neither does he care. you're here, tangible, real, breathing, and now it feels like he too can breathe again.
warmth, once so foreign, settles into him once again, and he knows instinctively that it feels like coming home.
so, what is home?
is it the place you are born, or the place you grew up, or is it the place you go back to at the end of a long day?
for dan heng, neither of those answers are right.
for dan heng, home is wherever his heart is warm, his mind is placated, and his soul is soothed; where a smile may grace his lips, a place that he can close his eyes and be assured of a tomorrow where he isn't alone.
and if that happens to be with you, then, for dan heng, home is with you.
