author’s note: i will admit, i have been obsessed with honkai star rail lately. the brain rot is so bad right now, and i love the astral express trio with all of my heart. i hope you enjoy this lil ficlet of the three <3
“March…?” Caelus said, his voice not above a whisper.
Dan Heng held her in his arms, his shoulders slumped but forearms wrapped protectively around her lifeless body.
Wait a minute… lifeless?
Caelus rushed over to the two huddled figures, immediately dropping to his knees.
“What happened?” He cried out, reaching his hands out to lightly grasp the wrist that was dropped to the ground.
“I…” Dan Heng started, “I don’t know… I got her signal… she sent one to you too, no?”
Caelus swallowed. “Yeah, that’s why I came. I was worried she might be in danger.”
He started rummaging through his pack. He had to have something in here, anything. Soon enough, he found a life-saving device.
Dan Heng sighed a shaky breath of relief. He gently turned March’s quickly-cooling body towards Caelus, awaiting the device to be placed around her mouth and nose.
Caelus worked swiftly but gently, not wanting to hurt her more. His heart ached as he did so, but he wasted no time in turning the device on for it to work it’s magic.
The two watched tensely, Dan Heng’s grip on her slowly loosening as Caelus helped him set her down flat on the ground. They waited in agonizing silence, both quivering slightly in expectance.
Finally, March 7th’s frail body took a shallow breath.
Caelus let out a quiet whine of relief, body sinking further to the ground as he gripped her hand closest to him, whispering prayers of thanks to the Aeons.
Dan Heng brought a hand to his mouth, grimacing and looking away. His lip trembled and his eyes glazed over, tears threatening to spill. That was too close a call. Too close for any of their liking.
March’s head rolled to the side, looking at Caelus first and then her eyes reaching Dan Heng.
“Hi boys… did I miss something?” She smiled weakly, coughing a bit as a glint of her teeth showed.
The two almost immediately let out a painful laugh in synch, throats tightening and hearts beating intensely.
They laughed with tears rolling down their cheeks in the cold air, holding on to March’s now-warm body, and they were never letting go again.
selfish desires / dan heng, march 7th, & trailblazer
♡ dan heng x march 7th x caelus
♡ word count: 857
tags: fluff, a lil angst, hurt/comfort, hugging, crying, kisses, happy ending
content warnings: identity crisis (?)
author’s note: another ficlet of the Astral Express trio! i can't get enough of them, and the angst that came with the 1.3 update :') this one is basically about Dan Heng having an identity crisis after the events of 1.3, and he's having a hard time, even after being pardoned by Jing Yuan.
“Dan Heng… it’s okay.” March reached out to him.
There was a sharp intake of breath, and then silence.
“… Is it?”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
He continued, “I-I don’t know March, I don’t… feel okay.” Dan Heng walked backwards until the back of his knees hit March’s bed, and he fell to sit on the plush comforter, hands gripping it tightly.
“Dan Heng…” she quietly trailed off, a worried expression adorning her face before she continued.
“What matters more? The opinion of those people or the opinion of those who you care about?”
He shook his head instantly.
“You two, your opinions. Himeko’s too, and Mr. Yang, and Pom-Pom. Everyone on the Express; they’re… they’re….” He let his words falter as he tried to find his voice again.
“They’re my family. And you two are my… my family.” Dan Heng finished, looking up tearily at March, his eyes red-rimmed and throat choked up.
“But I can’t be selfish. Not after all I’ve done. After all that… he’s done.” He shakily breathes out. “But I want to be. Aeons, do I want to be selfish.”
“Selfish how, Dan?” Caelus questioned, coming to kneel at the dark haired man’s legs. He reached forward with his large hands to grasp Dan Heng’s smoother ones, rubbing circles with his thumbs.
“I-“ Dan Heng started, then cut himself off with a choked-off sob.
“Oh, starlight…” March said, immediately joining Dan Heng on the bed and holding his face to her collarbone, allowing him to lean his upper body weight on her.
His hot breaths matched the tears rolling down his cheeks, face burning as he tried to stop crying but couldn’t. March rubbed his back up and down, shushing him gently.
Dan Heng tightened his grip, his right arm wrapped around March’s side, pulling her closer as his body was wracked with tears. His left hand trembled in Caelus’s tender hold, but he squeezed back whenever the other did, to let him know he was still there and grounded.
Eventually, once the two had calmed him down enough to breathe steadily, Dan Heng pulled back a bit. His long lashes blinked the tears away, and he let out a deep sigh.
“I want to be selfish. With you two.” He confessed.
March and Caelus looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Caelus turned to Dan Heng, after having moved to join the two on the bed.
He continued to hold his hand. “With us?” He asked, gently urging Dan Heng to continue.
The man nodded. “I want to be more to you… both of you. More than the family we’ve made on the Astral Express.” His pale cheeks were soon blooming with a slight blush, more evident at the tips of his ears as they burned with anxious anticipation for a response.
He jumped when there was a sudden warm feeling across the back of his hand. Dan Heng turned so quick, he heard his own back crack. Caelus was there, next to him, pressing his lips to Dan Heng’s hand. His hand.
His mouth opened slightly ajar, in shock. It opened even more when he felt March’s cool lips against his temple. He was blindsided by how the two reacted.
“What are you…?” He breathlessly asked, not even finishing his question.
March giggled at that.
“Dan Heng! Isn’t it obvious? We’re showering you with love and affection!”
Caelus hummed in agreement.
“Okay… um. But why?” He breathed, the air seemingly knocked out of his lungs.
Caelus smiled a bit, chuckling into Dan Heng’s hand as he lowered it between the two of them.
“Dan Heng… we feel the same way. March and I, we’ve felt this way for a while. We just didn’t want to upset or offend you in any way, since we hadn’t come up with a plan on how to approach the subject yet.” He stared into Dan Heng’s eyes with a genuine smile, eyebrows tightly knitted together.
The dragon’s eyes were wide, almost glowing in the night; it took a moment, but they soon returned to their natural color and he squinted towards the three of their hands, all interlocked.
“Truly, you both mean this?”
March and Caelus nodded in synch.
“Absolutely.” March stated, harrumphing as she scooted closer to the two.
“Of course.” Caelus added on, leaning his head on Dan Heng’s shoulder. He continued playing with their now-joined hands, pressing his thumb into the skin.
“We’d never lie about something this serious.”
Dan Heng laughed a small laugh, eyes glassy as more unshed tears threatened to fall. He caught them before they did, wiping away at his cheeks before returning his hands back to their original positions. One was wrapped around March and the other held onto Caelus’s hand.
“Alright then,” Dan Heng stated, a hint of a bona fide smile in his words. “I guess if you allow it, I too, will be selfish with you two.”
The three settled in, huddling beneath March’s plush comforter, with hearts beating in synch, loving touches exchanged, and words of affection passed on in quiet whispers meant only for their three souls to hear.
