In this life
Husband! Dan Feng x wife! Reader x son! Dan Heng
(Implied DanStelle if you squint)
In this life, Dan Heng has you and Dan Feng as parents tries to navigate through life after making plenty of mistakes. Oh, let me specify, Dan Heng hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s you and Dan Feng that are the problem.
Warnings: Mentions of torture, mutilation, and parole (?) <- correct me if I’m wrong yall
Part two - Part three
“Dan Heng?” March 7th asked as she, Stelle, and said man were walking down the street of his hometown, “I’m just— eh, well I’m curious about something.”
“Hm?”
It was winter break for them, after going through their grueling classes at the college, and barely surviving. Dan Heng had invited the two of them to come over to his home, clearly wanting to spend time with his friends rather than alone like he usually was.
The problem? “Do you even have parents?” Stelle interrupted, walking backwards with her hands on the back of her head. “I mean, you don’t talk about them at all. Like, I’ve heard nothing.”
“Yeah,” the pink haired woman agreed, “I always thought you were an orphan or something.”
Dan Heng paused, staring at the two of them in disbelief, “You thought I was an orphan?”
“You never talked about your parents.”
“But you immediately assumed I was an orphan??”
The two looked at each other, back to him, and shrugged. The moved out of the way when he turned to the right, grabbing his keys from his bag. “Hey, don’t blame us. We didn’t want to ask out of respect.”
It was true. He didn’t talk much about his parents, if at all. He never thought it necessary, and it didn’t help he already had certain… issues with them.
“Yeah,” Stelle punched his arm, “This was completely and entirely your fault.”
“Uh huh, I’m sure.” He rolled his eyes, unlocking the door and letting them inside, calling out to the house, “I’m home!”
March 7th wandered through the living room, curious about all of the trinkets lining the shelves. She poked at a vase, earning a smack on the hand by Dan Heng. It made her whine, rubbing the reddened spot and pouting.
The living room was neat and organized, almost from one of those home decor magazines. A cream colored couch sat around a television mounted on the wall, a brown shelf underneath it. In the middle was a glass coffee table with books and tea cups scattered around.
He took the time to grab the cups, taking them over to the kitchen, “I don’t know if my parents are home right now. My dad is probably at work or in his office upstairs.”
“This is nice, though,” Stelle nodded, flipping through a book and setting it down. March came over, “What’s that?”
“No clue. I can’t read the language.”
She grumbled, smacking her upside the head and grumbling, “Dumbass.” She flinched, squeaking and hitting her back, causing them to get into a tussle.
“Hey!” Dan Heng forcefully broke them apart, “quit fighting in my house!”
“Your house?” Came the low voice of a man, his teal eyes glowing as he walked down the stairs, scanning the three of them in the living room. “I didn’t know you came back,” he addressed Dan Heng. His dark hair long, spilling over his shoulders and ending at his hip. His robe was casual and loose, one side starting to slide off his shoulder. But his eyes were cold, as if they could freeze everything in the room with just a glance.
“It’s winter break.” The silence was awkward.
Another pair of footsteps came down, more eager than the man, and skipping step after step.
“Mā—“ Dan Heng yelped as he was crushed into a bear hug, hands holding tightly to his body. He huffed in amusement, leaning into you and hugging you back, “Hi, Māmā.”
“Hi, anima!” You grinned excitedly, cupping his cheeks and kissing them excessively, “Cur mihi non dixisti te venturum esse? Cenam tibi gratissimam paravissem!”
(Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would’ve made your favorite dinner!)
“Nolui te vexare,” He tried to say, his words and voice muffled from your lips. His father watched, arms crossed, face expressionless. Yet, it was obvious he was growing exasperated.
(I didn’t want to bother you)
“Excusatio!” Your shoulder was held, gently pulling you back. “Nǐ kuài bǎ tā mèn sǐle, qīn’ài de,” the man told you, his face softening ever so slightly. His hand reached to fix the collar of your blouse, strewn from just coming home a few minutes ago.
(Excuses.) (You’re suffocating him, my dear.)
Stelle and March stared blankly between the three of you, head shifting, moving their ears towards you like that was going to help them understand.
Dan Heng noticed, thankfully, and held your wrist, “Mā, these are the friends I was telling you about. Stelle,” he gestured to the gray haired young woman, “And March 7th.” She waved, saying, “Hello!”
“Lucundum est te tandem convenire, audivi—“
(It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, I’ve heard—)
“My dear,” the man next to you corrected, giving you a pointed look, “Nefas lingua.”
(Wrong language.)
“Oh!” You laughed in embarrassment, clapping your hands together, “Yes! Yes— I’m so sorry about that— it’s so good to finally meet you both, I’ve heard so much about you from my son.”
Stelle and March smiled, “Good things, we hope!” The former grinned proudly. You smiled back, “Absolutely!” You introduced yourself, telling the two your name and gesturing to the man next to you, “And this is my husband, Dan Feng.”
The two nodded, holding their hands out despite Dan Feng’s cold eyes, going as far as to shiver when they shook it. His hand was cold, even through the gloves, and they wondered how in the world his body temperature did that. And if it was normal.
“How long are you staying?” He asked.
“A few days,” March answered while Stelle rubbed a finger underneath her nose. Dan Heng lightly slapped her hand, making her hiss like a feral raccoon and pout with crossed arms. “We’re planning to stay at a nearby hotel, we don’t want to be in your hair.”
“Nonsense! We have plenty of room!”
“We do?” Dan Heng and Dan Feng echoed at the same time, gazing at you with similarly furrowed brows.
“Damn, he looks just like his dad,” Stelle mumbled, and the pink haired woman fully agreed.
“Yes,” you gave them both sharp looks, “We do. Bié nàyàng kànzhe wo, women you hěnduõ kèfáng.”
(Don’t look at me like that, we have plenty of guest rooms)
Your husband looked ready to argue, but you clapped your hands instead, “I’ve made dinner already, so you came at the perfect time. Come— come, sit.” The four had no choice but to take their seats at the table.
Dan Feng sat at the head of the table, of course. Dan Heng sat on his right, followed by Stelle. March sat across from her, fidgeting in her seat as you set their plates down in front of them, taking your own chair at your husband’s left.
The food was clearly delicious, if the women’s blissed out groans were anything to go by. March’s eyes sparkled, and Stelle was gobbling the food like the raccoon she was. Dan Hen sighed, leaning over and telling her to slow down. She swallowed and gave him puppy eyes, beyond elated at the seasonings on her tongue.
Dan Feng spoke quietly to you, his free hand resting on top of your own. Whatever you were discussing, it wasn’t like the guests could understand you anyway, but perhaps it was a more private conversation.
But the quietness, only interrupted by the scraping of plates and chewing, was comfortable. It felt warm, even. A nostalgia only a past memory could bring despite it being the present.
It was only broken when you had gotten curious about their school life, asking about their classes, their majors, what they study. All the works.
“It’s wonderful that Dan Heng has such supportive friends like you.” You sighed happily, feeling Dan Feng’s hand squeeze yours in warning before you could pinch your child’s cheeks. “Supportive,” your son snorted, which earned several protests.
“Dan Feng and I really try to be there for him, but it’s difficult with our jobs.” You stood from the table, grabbing your plate and your husband’s, only for him to stop you, “Sine me qui id faciat.”
(Let me do it.)
“Thanks, love.” You gave him a grateful nod as he took the two plates to the sink, setting each one down when you handed it to him. Stelle and March sat there awkwardly, wanting to help you clean, but not wanting to get in the way either.
“You’re still there?” Dan Heng asked, leaning back into his seat to look at your leg once he saw a familiar color of black and red, “I thought they would’ve let you go by now.”
“Her contract was recently renewed,” his father answered from the sink, turning it on. “They changed their minds just last month, saying she hadn’t blindly followed their orders.”
“I didn’t meet their requirements from the last contract,” you corrected, only for him to send you a look, “I said what I said.”
“But it’s been fifteen years.” Dan Heng stood, walking over to you, “What they’re doing is excessive— they’re just trying to get more from you.”
“Yes, well, thank the Marketing Development and Strategic Investment departments.” You shrugged, the smile on your face not quite reaching your eyes. Your son noticed, a strained hiss escaping his teeth, “Zhè bù gongpíng.”
(That’s not fair.)
“It doesn’t matter if it’s fair, it’s business.” Dan Feng gazed over his shoulder and returned to washing the dishes.
Stelle decided to speak up, curious and perplexed at first until she heard, ‘Marketing development’ and ‘strategic investment.’ “The IPC?”
You nodded, gesturing to the monitor around your ankle, “I was a little foolish in my younger years. I made some… mistakes, and I’m paying for it now. I’m under observation at my work, they need to make sure I won’t repeat patterns.”
The young women were shocked you had one on at all, having seen you as that super sweet mom that could do no harm. They were wrong, apparently. “What did you do?” March asked curiously.
That made you grimace and rub the back of your head. Dan Feng scoffed, and Dan Heng winced.
“Illegal things,” you crossed your arms.
“Justified things that didn’t deserve the punishment,” your husband corrected, making you raise a brow. “Is that what we’re doing now? My punishment was too harsh?”
“Wo de jiānjin bèi kuadàle.”
(My imprisonment was exaggerated.)
“Certe, si tortura et mutilatio in categoriam exaggerationis cadunt,” you snapped.
(Sure, if torture and mutilation fall into the category of exaggeration.)
“Wó de cuòwù nándào bù yìng gãi shòudào zhèyàng de chéngfá ma?” He narrowed his eyes, uncaring of the rise in tension in the room.
(Shouldn't my mistake be punished in this way?)
“Noli mihi id dare.”
(Don’t give me that.)
“Wó suo Jinglì de yiqiè dõu shì wo zìji xíngwéi de hòuguo,” he held up a hand before you could protest. “Quod tibi accidit, crudelitas appellatur.”
(What happened to me was the consequences of my own actions.)(What’s happening to you is called cruelty.)
“You know I hate it cum te ipsum sic abicias.” You sighed, sitting up from the counter. In the corner of your eye, you could see your son and his friend’s retreating steps, no longer wanting to be witness to your disagreement.
(When you dismiss yourself like that.)
The two of you went silent, refusing to meet the other’s eyes. It was heavy and weighing down on your shoulders, making you take deep breaths before going to hold his hand, kissing his knuckles.
“Stop acting like your pain doesn’t exist,” you whispered, “please, love. You want justice for me and Dan Heng, but all of it is out the window when it comes to you.”
“What I did—“ he tried, only to be interrupted, “— Didn’t deserve what happened to you. Nothing could ever justify what happened to you.”
He swallowed, reluctantly slipping his hand from yours, “Enough about me. We have to figure out how to deal with your contract.” Of course he’d change the topic, of course he’d refuse to acknowledge the pain.
Still, you went with it anyway, shaking your head and drying off the newly cleaned dishes.
Although, Stelle came back down the stairs, poking her head down and walking towards you both, “If it helps, I know some people from the Strategic Investment department. I could put a word in for you.”
Oh. Oh, that was… “Thank you,” you set a hand on her shoulder, “your effort is appreciated but I doubt you’d be able to do much for me.”
“I’d rather try and fail than not do anything.” Her conviction definitely reminded you of a certain someone, “So, I’m going to talk to them, regardless of what you say.” She was completely determined and satisfied with herself, throwing you a salute and sprinting right up the stairs.
You glanced at Dan Feng.
“She’s good for him,” he mumbled absentmindedly. “You don’t see a lot of ambition like that nowadays.”
“You’re not just saying this because she wants to help, right?”
“No,” he put up the last dish. “You saw how she and Dan Heng interacted, he cares about her. Deeply.”
“He cares about that pink girl.”
“Yes, but there’s something different with the other one.”
You couldn’t stop yourself from chuckling, kissing his cheek, “you would know, wouldn’t you?” He blushed, making you laugh even more, “Hush.”
A/N: Oh yeah! A little modern-ish AU. This is definitely going to revolve around you, Dan Feng, and Dan Heng being a family and all, and prolly try to mix the lore elements with the AU. Idk how it’s gonna go tho, lol. And yes, I used Google Translate. I’m sorry. Punch me. Comments/ideas are appreciated!









