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Caelus found Dan Heng in his makeshift bedroom on the Astral Express.
His hands rested on his thighs, one foot crossed beneath a knee in a meditative pose, eyelids fallen shut, locks of teal-tinted dark hair spilling over his bare shoulders and tight, sleeveless black shirt. It would have been a familiar sight, if not for the way his body hovered in the air inches above his mattress, two branchlike, ocean-colored horns curving from his forehead, patterns like waves gleaming along the smooth surface beneath the dim lights.
Dark lashes fluttered at the sound of sock-clad footsteps against the marble floor.
Caelus didn’t know what to think, when bright, iridescent blue irises rose to meet his, and the lithe form of the dragon tail that floated in a curve around Dan Heng’s legs twitched, the scales rippling like sunbeams across a pond.
“Caelus.” A flash of hope crossed the Vidyadhara’s features. The voice was still gentle and melodic, the cadence familiar.
The trailblazer in question stayed quiet.
Dan Heng’s expression faltered, as the silence drew on, the corners of his sharp almond eyes and the tilt of his mouth softening with an unidentifiable, hesitant emotion.
Caelus was usually endlessly optimistic, a bright light of enthusiasm and excitement, but, right then, his light was dull, subdued, shoulders slumped and lips thinned into a look of weary, bone-deep exhaustion.
Ever since he joined the Express, Dan Heng and March had been his only constants. The steady, quiet stability Dan Heng radiated, the bubbly, joyful nature of March, always talking about something, and now -
Was this still the Dan Heng he knew? This Vidyadhara High Elder, with long hair and horns and power far beyond what he had ever admitted to?
He watched the other young man, watched the clench of his fingers on his thighs, as he sunk through the air back onto his mattress, the length of his tail curling across the teal-patterned blanket, gaze still trained on the trailblazer with a look of soft uncertainty.
Dan Heng’s lips parted, as if to say something, but no words came out.
Caelus stepped forward. One foot after the other, until he stood at the base of the mattress on the floor, dropping to his knees with a lump in his throat and amber eyes that traced over the curve of a smooth jawline, the jut of pointed ears and the loose strands of dark, blue-highlighted hair that swept over pale skin.
A barely audible breath of, “ Caelus,” had the trailblazer reaching out, the pads of his fingers just brushing over the rounded point of the horns that extended from beneath Dan Heng’s bangs, ornate like painted porcelain.
Dan Heng’s viridian gaze held an air of quiet pain, desperate in a way that was unfamiliar, as long, lithe fingers reached up to curl around the back of Caelus’s hand, guiding it to press against the softness of his cheek. “I’m no different than I was before.” A hushed murmur. “I’m still Dan Heng.”
Caelus made no move to pull his hand back, nor did he shift away from the tilt of the Vidyadhara’s head toward his, sharing gentle breaths that spread warmth over the curve of his mouth, his palm drifting to brace against a muscular thigh, hidden beneath a loose pair of black sleep-pants.
“You won’t leave?” It was a whisper. Uncertain. “Now that you’re all - important - and -“
“No.” Dan Heng didn’t even let him finish. “I won’t leave. Not as long as I can help it.”
Caelus watched him, watched the earnestness that colored his pale features, the delicate way his companion just looked at him, and made a choice.
He lunged forward to press their lips together, and it was a little clumsy at first, their noses bumping and their knees pressing against each other, but then Dan Heng cupped his face, tilted his jaw, and kissed him back with such careful gentleness, lips soft, so soft, like the petals of the roses Himeko kept in her room, Caelus’s fingers tangling in silky strands of dark hair to pull him closer.
At the flicker of a tongue against his, the trailblazer jerked back, his eyes wide.
“Your tongue.” That spark of endless curiosity lit up his face, and Dan Heng couldn’t restrain a quirk of his lips as the silver-haired young man pried his mouth open, staring in awe at the forked tongue that unfurled over his bottom lip. “It’s forked. Is that normal?”
It was difficult to speak over the way Caelus proceeded to straddle his lap and prod at his unnaturally pointed canines, but Dan Heng did manage to get out a half-muffled, amused, “Very.”
The swish of his tail over the blanket drew Caelus to run the back of his fingers over the smooth scales, the tuft of fluffy blue hair at the tip, his previous apprehension disappearing with the warmth it exuded and the secure hold of the dragon in question’s hands on his waist, keeping him close, keeping him steady.
An involuntary yawn had his eyelids fluttering in an attempt to stay open.
“You should sleep.” Dan Heng’s expression didn’t shift much, but Caelus recognized the affection in the crinkle of his eyes at the corners. “It’s been a long day.”
“Can I -“ A pause, and, quieter, “Can I stay here?”
His companion’s gaze softened further.
“Of course.“
Caelus recognized the offered opening when Dan Heng moved to lay back on the mattress, and he practically scrambled to wriggle under the thick teal blanket, snuggling up to the other young man and tangling their limbs together, capturing him in a warm, comforting hug that had a huff of amusement brush atop his silver hair.
“Is that why you sleep in the archives?” The trailblazer voiced his realization aloud. “Because you’re cold-blooded, and the servers keep it warm in here?”
“Go to sleep, Caelus,” was the exasperated murmur against his temple.
~
Welt found them the next morning.
Both boys were sound asleep on the floor together amidst the constant, quiet whir of the server generators, Caelus’s silver head of hair burrowed beneath Dan Heng’s chin, a tail of blue scales and matching fur curled over their entwined legs, just like the arms they had tucked around each other.
Welt smiled a little, and gently pulled the door shut.