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The Express was docked on the Luofu for a short time, mostly because Stelle and March 7th wanted to explore a bit more. Stelle was… remarkably stubborn that she would find some form of a dumpster somewhere on the ship, and March was more than willing to hunt with Stelle because walking around the Luofu would bring a myriad of opportunities to collect more photos.
They’d also invited Dan Heng, of course. They always would, and he was always grateful.
But he wanted some time to revel in the bitter nostalgia that had plagued his entire existence. It was a morbid feeling, but one that he wanted to dwell on a bit.
So he left March and Stelle to their valiant journey searching the Luofu for trash cans and made way for Scalegorge Waterscape, a place that Dan Heng felt such an aversion to that it almost seemed to paradoxically and forcefully pull him in.
He walked silently about the ruins, taking a peculiar sense of leisure in the stark lack of life around him.
He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, nor did he have a specific destination in mind. He just wanted to wander, surrounded by the sound of the waters around him.
As he carefully stepped over a jagged ledge, he felt a shiver go up the back of his neck, like the very atmosphere of Scalegorge Waterscape was trying to warn him of something.
Warily, Dan Heng turned in a circle, but the feeling had already subsided. There were plenty of monsters in Scalegorge Waterscape, but none of them were close enough to be a threat at the moment.
He didn’t see any mirage echoes about either. He felt alone again, but for safety’s sake he summoned Cloud-Piercer, taking comfort in the familiar coolness of the staff in his palm and the thrum of his own power.
He continued his wandering, but his steps grew slower again as he felt himself getting… closer. To something.
Some semblance of life, twisted as it felt in the back of Dan Heng’s mind.
He caught a glimpse of blue and black behind a cave wall and a chill went down his spine. Dan Heng took a few steps to the side and his suspicions were confirmed.
How was it that every time the Express was on the Luofu, the Stellaron Hunters seemed to be nearby?
Blade hadn’t seemed to see Dan Heng. Thankfully, that meant he wasn’t stalking him this time. But if he wasn’t after Dan Heng, what was he here for? It couldn’t have been anything good.
Actually… that might have been wrong. It… didn’t look like Blade was looking for anything. In fact, he almost seemed as though he was doing the same thing Dan Heng had been doing moments prior, just wandering among his own memories and passing thoughts. He walked with his shoulders relaxed, expression calm. The fire in his eyes was diminished for now as he trailed his hand across the stone face of the wall to his side, gaze vacant but thoughtful.
He looked almost human. Sane, even. It was truly unnatural to witness.
With a small sigh that Dan Heng only caught due to the slight rise and fall of his shoulders, Blade dusted off a small stone ledge with his gloved hand before sitting down, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.
Dan Heng decided it was his time to leave. If Blade was momentarily reasonable, he didn’t intend to change that by getting caught in his line of sight.
He was about to quietly sneak away when the natural rhythmic sounds of Scalegorge Waterscape were broken by a deep, hoarse voice that filled Dan Heng’s head every time he heard it, like a sickeningly sweet but hopelessly forgotten memory.
“I know you’re there, Imbibitor Lunae. This whole place resonates with your presence.”
Dan Heng froze where he stood, half of him scared out of his wits at Blade’s gentle tone, and the other half desperately wanting to stubbornly repeat the phrase Blade seemed incapable of registering.
He settled for the latter. “I am Dan Heng,” he said, pulling his shoulders back and his posture up. He shifted Cloud-Piercer in his hand, ready for a fight.
His stance was entirely ignored. Blade didn’t even open his eyes. He just took a deep breath, his chest expanding slowly before he exhaled through his nose.
With the option of leaving now gone, Dan Heng decided to make sure he wasn’t about to find a sword at his throat. “What are you doing here?” He asked, refusing to let down his guard.
Blade’s mouth stretched in a thin grimace of a smile. Normally, when Blade smiled it meant blood was to be spilled. But this smile… it was different. Lacking the manic glee Dan Heng was used to seeing behind it. “Most likely the same as you, Imbibitor Lunae.”
Dan Heng nearly rolled his eyes. “My name is Dan Heng.” He hardly even noticed his own grip loosening on Cloud-Piercer, his own shoulders slowly relaxing in response to Blade’s calm demeanour.
Blade ignored his reminder. “I’m surprised you still wield Cloud-Piercer after knowing who made it for you.” Blade finally opened his eyes slightly, his gaze running up the spear in Dan Heng’s hand.
Dan Heng felt a spring of defensiveness well up inside himself. An immature bashfulness, as though Blade had called him out on something. “...It’s what I’m used to. I wouldn’t put it down just because it was made by you.” Dan Heng bit his tongue back from an additional remark about how it was made for someone else, someone who was long gone, whether Blade would admit it or not.
Regardless, if Blade was capable of remembering not only his own past at the moment, but also the recent past, including Jingliu’s summons of the High-Cloud Quintet, it might be reasonable to assume that he was momentarily in an undisturbed state of mind. Or as undisturbed as Blade could be, Dan Heng supposed.
“...Take good care of it, but do be careful when cleaning it,” Blade’s eyes gained an edge as they found Dan Heng’s face. Something flashed in his expression that sent a peculiar feeling down Dan Heng’s spine, like the caress of a ghostly breeze. “It’s rather sharp.”
Dan Heng refused to acknowledge the familiarity of the words, even though the phrasing wasn’t exact. It was not his memory to recall. Just one that he happened to be aware of.
“You seem… calm,” Dan Heng said finally.
“I am.”
He could have left.
He could have turned around.
Maybe he could have found Stelle and March. At this time they would probably be searching for an early-evening snack.
Instead, he took a cautious step towards Blade, like he was approaching a wild animal.
Then another.
Before he knew it, Dan Heng stood in front of him, looking down in careful consideration. Finally, as though resigning himself to his decision, he sat next to Blade on the stone ledge, leaving just enough space between them to be safe.
“Feeling bold?” Blade’s voice gained a tone, one that was part teasing and part curiosity.
“Perhaps a bit of company isn’t so bad in this hollow place,” Dan Heng replied simply, keeping Cloud-Piercer balanced diagonally on the leg farthest from Blade. He looked at Blade carefully. “Maybe if I’m friendly enough, you’ll stop trying to kill me.”
“Elio’s script does not detail your death on this day. Regardless of his script, I promise that you will eventually be slain by my blade, as I yours.”
“I wouldn’t think you cared about the script, what with how many times you’ve swung your sword at me already.”
Blade was silent, closing his eyes and folding his arms. He didn’t seem to want to offer a response.
Dan Heng’s mind was filled with questions. Why was Blade so calm? How was he calm? Dan Heng could still sense a murderous rhythm thumping in tune with Blade’s patchy pulse, a bloodlust resting under the thin veil of his exterior. But it was subdued. And for some reason, Blade was temporarily… approachable.
“Your eyes are heavy, Imbibitor Lunae. If you have something more to say, speak.”
Dan Heng startled, a bit perturbed that Blade could feel his questioning gaze. He was surprised enough that he forgot to correct Blade on his name.
“I… was just curious why you’re…”
“Sane?” Blade offered.
“...Less like a bloodthirsty zombie, more like.” Dan Heng said flatly. Blade’s earlier promise of Dan Heng’s eventual demise had already knocked him out of the ‘sane’ category. Dan Heng suddenly realised he was relaxing without meaning to, speaking the way he would to the Express crew, and he hadn’t even noticed the shift in his own demeanour until now.
Blade laughed, something so ridiculously unexpected that Dan Heng hardly knew what to do with himself. It was short, and Blade’s eyes squinted shut as the laugh was huffed through his throat like it wasn’t something he did often. A grin spread on his face as he looked back at Dan Heng, and his eyes narrowed in a way that still made Dan Heng feel like a small bird caught in a wolf’s sights. “So you can joke?” The hint of a laugh was still there in the edges of his voice.
Dan Heng blinked wide eyes. “So you can laugh.” Yes, Dan Heng had heard Blade laugh plenty of times before, usually in ways that were demeaning, meant to be provoking, or just plain maniacal. But he’d never heard it sound so… genuine.
Blade looked away at the far wall of the open cavern, his expression sobering slightly, though his brows remained raised, as though he himself were a bit surprised. “I suppose.” He was quiet for a long moment before he spoke again. “Kafka tried some new technique with her Spirit Whisper. That’s all I know.”
When Blade was relaxed like this, reasonable like this, Dan Heng felt oddly at ease. He caught himself wanting to capitalise on this bizarre opportunity. Wanting to know more. Wanting to talk to the person that had apparently been sleeping behind those eyes of raging vengeance.
Maybe it was the Trailblaze that had been so deeply ingrained in Dan Heng at this point; the desire to explore, the need to connect.
Maybe it was something else, something he refused to give a second thought.
Something that was starting to pull him in, traitorously drawing him to this ‘Blade’, who had a slight dimple in a smile that could perhaps be described as mischievous, whose eyes resembled more closely a sunset-lit ocean than a raging fire.
However, despite what he may seem like now, Blade was still the same person that had come hunting for Dan Heng’s blood on more than one occasion. Even now, in his relatively sensible state, he’d still casually promised Dan Heng his death.
A thought passed through Dan Heng’s mind, an image of bringing Blade back to the mainland with him to maybe get a cup of tea from a street vendor, maybe walk around Aurum Alley together, before Dan Heng had to slap the lid of reality on his own inexplicable delusions.
First and foremost, wasn’t Blade still a wanted criminal on the Luofu? Not that Jing Yuan seemed to care much about whether Blade came or went from the ship, considering their past camaraderie in the High-Cloud Quintet.
Even if Dan Heng was stupid enough to actually entertain the idea, it was already getting dark, the sunlight fading away. It would almost certainly be completely gone by the time they made it out of the Waterscape.
But, even if they didn’t leave the Waterscape, he could still walk with Blade a bit, maybe learn more about him.
At his core, Dan Heng was still just as reckless as March or Stelle. Around the other Trailblazers, obviously he had to be the responsible one, but maybe, just this once, he could let himself be a little impulsive.
He looked down at Cloud-Piercer, rubbing his thumb over the staff one last time before he quietly dismissed it. In the corner of his vision he saw Blade watch the spear disappear with an unreadable expression on his face.
Dan Heng pushed his hands to his knees as he stood up before turning to face Blade.
“Walk with me.”
Blade held his gaze for a long, cold moment. Dan Heng couldn’t help but question if Kafka’s Spirit Whisper was wearing off, and he was currently speaking to the Blade that wanted him dead more than he cared about Elio’s script.
Dan Heng’s hand twitched in that long moment, debating whether or not to call Cloud-Piercer back to his side. He didn’t.
With a small sigh, Blade stood as well and in their relatively close proximity, Dan Heng was struck by their height difference.
“Very well. Lead the way, Imbibitor Lunae.”
Dan Heng opened his mouth to protest the title, but he caught Blade’s gaze before he could speak. There was a damning sparkle that told him it was meant to rile him up this time. The mere fact that Blade now seemed to be teasing him of all things was simultaneously shocking and… it made Dan Heng’s ears burn just a bit.
He just closed his eyes and turned, waiting for Blade to follow after him as he walked. He could swear he caught another small, huffed laugh behind him before he heard the sound of Blade’s shoes keeping pace with him.
With a slightly longer stride, it wasn’t difficult for Blade to make it to Dan Heng’s side.
“Is this…” Dan Heng trailed off slightly, glancing momentarily at Blade. “What you were like before?”
“Before the mara, or before you and the Quintet?” The ‘you’ he was referring to was obviously Dan Feng. The question sounded sincere, so much so that Dan Heng had to wonder exactly what kind of influence Dan Feng had been on Blade’s life. He didn’t return Dan Heng’s gaze, instead staring out at the tall waves around the Waterscape.
“I was never part of the High-Cloud Quintet. But… I suppose I’m asking about both,” Dan Heng said finally. Initially, he’d just been wondering about the mara, but he had to admit he was curious, even if asking about Dan Feng might be digging his own grave. Again, he would blame his curiosity on the spirit of the Trailblaze.
“Before the mara, yes. Before the Quintet, no.” Blade paused as he and Dan Heng stepped up a ledge to continue walking down the path. “Still, it’s been a long time since my mind has felt even this clear.”
He didn’t seem to want to expand on the period prior to the events of the High-Cloud Quintet. Based on what he did know, Dan Heng could understand. He had a feeling that if he asked about it any further, he’d only end up interrupting every reference to Dan Feng to remind Blade that he was Dan Heng.
Though perhaps the mere fact that Blade was willing to walk with him like this, that his eyes looked at Dan Heng with just a bit of uncertainty, meant even he knew deep down that there was at least a small difference. Maybe.
“You seem to like asking questions today,” Blade commented simply.
“Well it’s not normally this easy to hold a conversation with you,” Dan Heng replied with a small amount of bite. He caught himself and softened a bit. “I don’t suppose the next time we meet will be this civilised, will it?”
“Probably not, Imbibitor Lunae.”
“Even in this state, do you really still think I’m him?” Dan Heng stopped walking, turning to face Blade. He had to raise his head a bit to make eye contact.
Blade was quiet. He seemed to actually look at Dan Heng for a long, steady moment. His eyes were so focussed on picking through every one of Dan Heng’s features that it actually made Dan Heng feel a bit self-conscious, his face growing warm. Still, he stubbornly kept his chin up, watching Blade’s eyes pour over him.
“I’ve seen you transform into your draconic form. I’ve seen the power you still wield at your fingertips. No one else is capable of that. And you, Dan… Heng, wouldn’t be capable of it either, if there wasn’t still part of Dan Feng within you.”
“I don’t have all of his power though. I can’t heal like he could. His cloudhymn magic is an ocean compared to the small drop of magic I can wield.” Dan Heng felt almost desperate to get Blade to see him as Dan Heng. And this was his best chance to do that; when Blade was still reasonable.
“But it still exists in you.” Blade crossed his arms. “There are other things as well, but…” His eyes narrowed a bit.
“Like what?” Dan Heng challenged.
“It’s just… details.”
“Go on,” Dan Heng pushed, glaring indignantly.
Blade closed his eyes, his brows furrowing. “...Your eyes… are the same shape. And… your ears still turn red when you’re embarrassed.”
Ironically enough, Dan Heng could practically feel the tips of his ears burning after hearing Blade mention it– the fact that he’d noticed it. He clapped his hands over his ears, turning his head away. Regardless, he was sure his face was a bit red too. “That… could happen to anyone.” He managed to say after a moment of morbid embarrassment.
“Tell me why you still wear the bracer then.”
Dan Heng’s eyes fell to said bracer, firmly strapped to his right forearm. “I-”
He was interrupted by a distorted growl and whipped his head around to see a mara-struck monster behind him.
He heard Blade let out a small sigh as he drew his shattered sword. “What a nuisance.” His voice dropped, gaining the threatening edge that Dan Heng was used to hearing from him. This time though, it wasn’t directed at him.
Two other monsters crept up to the first’s sides, flexing their claws, watching Dan Heng and Blade with inhuman predation.
Dan Heng summoned Cloud-Piercer, turning it over in his hand before taking a defensive stance.
Blade tilted his head to the side, staring at Dan Heng over his shoulder. “If you think you’re so different from the Dan Feng I knew, then show me how you wield Cloud-Piercer.
Dan Heng didn’t reply. Instead he just turned his attention back to the monsters as they began closing in.
The mara-struck tried to strike first, but Blade swung his sword before they could even lay a claw on him. Unfortunately, more of them were already showing up.
As a monster went after Blade’s exposed back, Dan Heng darted in, blocking the attack with his spear and then knocking the monster back.
He swung his spear in his hand, desperately fighting off monster after monster as they rained down upon him and Blade in droves. The rejuvenation abilities of the mara were becoming a hindrance, dragging the fight on as though there were twice as many monsters as there actually were.
Dan Heng cast a glance at Blade when he had half a second to catch his breath. Though he might have been a bit more sane than usual, Blade still fought the same way. Violently and gracefully at the same time, his technique reflecting a muddled combination of traditional training and self-sacrificing recklessness.
A claw swiped across Blade’s cheek and he just grinned. Dan Heng almost thought the vibrancy of his eyes had shifted a bit, just a little closer to the wild orange-red he was used to seeing. Blade dragged his thumb across the cut, smearing the blood away as the wound healed itself. “That’s it?”
Dan Heng couldn’t tell if Blade was getting lost in the battle or if he just enjoyed taunting his enemies that much. Regardless, he had to turn his attention back to his own side of the fight.
A mara-struck managed to slash at his left arm, digging through the white cloth of Dan Heng’s sleeve. Dan Heng ignored the sting, thrusting his spear forward with a grunt and striking true, finally felling the mara-struck before it could heal itself.
He wasn’t sure how long it lasted. How long he fought while simultaneously trying to defend Blade’s ever-open blind spots. Either he really didn’t care if he got hit or he trusted Dan Heng just that much. Unfortunately, it was most likely the former.
There were only two left. Dan Heng felt ragged. The cut on his arm had stained the entire forearm of his coat sleeve red and he’d accumulated a few other minor scrapes as well.
Behind his back he heard a low chuckle. Then it escalated into a laugh, but it was different from the genuine laugh Dan Heng had heard earlier. It was manic, untamed. Dan Heng muttered a curse under his breath before risking a glance over his shoulder to confirm his suspicions.
Of course the sanity could only last so long. Especially through a fight like this.
With one swift movement, Blade slashed right through the mara-struck closest to him. His eyes never left Dan Heng, orange-red as vibrant as a burning flame. He grinned like a wolf with its prey lying helpless in front of it.
While Dan Heng’s attention was diverted, the mara-struck moved to attack, which he only caught at the very last moment, frantically blocking the strike with the shaft of his spear. He could hear Blade slowly walking toward his back, his sword dragging behind him.
“Blade…” Dan Heng gritted through his teeth, unable to look back at him as the mara-struck pressed down on his spear. “Blade, this is not a good time.”
“Imbibitor Lunae…” The words rolled off Blade’s tongue like a poisonous caress. The sound of metal dragging on the ground had disappeared, which meant he was raising the sword to strike.
Dan Heng’s heartbeat quickened in his ears. He couldn’t make it out of this if he didn’t shift forms. It just wasn’t possible.
With a slightly pained grunt, he put all of his strength into kicking the mara-struck away, giving himself a bit of space. He heard a whoosh of air at his back and barely, just barely managed to avoid the end of Blade’s shattered sword.
He darted out of the way and summoned the water to his will, letting it permeate his very self, taking its home in the thrum of his pulse. With a shaky inhale, Dan Heng closed his eyes for a breath of a moment as his draconic features showed themselves, ears elongating, horns growing atop the crown of his head.
Blade’s smile only grew as he beheld Dan Heng’s Vidyadhara form. “So you show your true self at last.” He drew his sword back.
There was no helping it. Dan Heng would have to fight him… and if Blade didn’t come to his senses, Dan Heng would have to kill him as well.
Almost forgotten, the mara-struck monster charged at Dan Heng again, only for Dan Heng to lift his fingers, summoning the waves to crush it beneath their weight. It survived only two more strikes before Blade forced Dan Heng’s attention back to himself, his sword swinging dangerously close to Dan Heng’s throat.
Dan Heng willed the water toward his adversary, but Blade either managed to dart away from the strikes or bore them with little effect. Dan Heng would be lying if he said he wasn’t holding back just a bit.
To think that only a few minutes prior they’d actually been talking like any two normal people. It made Dan Heng hesitate just a bit.
Still, he was forced to attack in order to defend himself. Otherwise Blade would just keep coming at him.
Blade only seemed to get faster and more unpredictable, striking wildly at Dan Heng, like he was only hoping for his sword to hit. He was just looking to draw blood at this point.
With a grimace, Dan Heng concentrated his power with the core of Cloud-Piercer levitating in his palm. The water surged around him, and with his other hand he tried to fend off Blade’s unrelenting attacks while he charged the water into what he hoped was a high enough concentration to incapacitate Blade.
Blood ringing in his ears, eyes bright with reluctance, Dan Heng summoned Imbibitor Lunae’s power to come crashing down at Blade all at once.
In the aftermath of the strike, Blade wobbled on his feet, a hand clutching at his chest as he coughed. Dan Heng felt his own will waver for a moment until Blade looked up at him, his gaze filled with nothing but cold hatred.
“Of five… people…” His voice was ragged, his chest heaving. “Three… must pay… the price…” He took a few shaky steps towards Dan Heng, coughing again. “You,” The word was filled with burning loathing, “Are one of them… Dan Feng.” Blade spat out the last word like it was a curse.
Dan Heng watched him, floating slightly in the air. “...My name is Dan Heng,” He said simply, feeling a twinge of sadness at how utterly and completely useless it was to say it to this version of Blade. There was no reason left in this man. Only an inferno of vengeance and anger. Still…
“Please Blade, come back. This violence is meaningless…” If there was a possibility, any chance at all that the Blade from a few minutes ago was still there, Dan Heng wanted to bring it to reality. If he could bring him back…
“You will pay… for our sins…” Blade muttered, as though he was hardly even talking to Dan Heng at this point.
“Please…” Dan Heng heard his own voice break slightly. He felt the water around him reacting to his slight panic, completely ignoring his control, thriving entirely on his emotions. He felt it sway and bubble, stretching and pulling with each quick breath he took.
The water condensed towards Blade and he swung his sword at it pointlessly, teeth clenched and eyes wide like a caged animal.
“Wait…” Dan Heng raised a hand, reaching out. Still, the water didn’t heed him. Dan Heng could still feel his connection to the water– it still thrummed in time with his heartbeat, pulsing with the blood in his veins– but at the same time it seemed to have a mind of its own, moving without orders.
Gently, almost like the touch of a lover, the water coalesced into a single, small droplet and shot itself into Blade’s chest, directly where his heart was.
Dan Heng flinched as the water dissipated, breaking away from his awareness. It was like it had just dissolved. He wasn’t sure what he’d just done to Blade.
A faint thread of hope made its way to the front of his mind as Blade blinked, his expression shifting for half a second. Blade slowly raised a shaking hand to his heart, his chest rising quickly as though he was suddenly able to breathe after being underwater.
His eyes flicked up to Dan Heng momentarily. His mouth opened to say something.
And then he grimaced, the hand over his chest curling in on the fabric of his coat as he hunched over. He groaned in pain and all Dan Heng could do was watch, unsure of what to do.
“...Blade?”
Blade only laughed hoarsely in response, raising his sword. Preparing to strike again.
Dan Heng closed his eyes, sucking in a breath of resignation. He must have been fooling himself. He really had no choice other than to kill Blade.
But… if he could choose at least one thing… He didn’t want to use Imbibitor Lunae’s power to do it.
He slowly lowered himself down and Blade faltered, probably questioning his actions. Dan Heng couldn’t revert his form back very easily right now, but he could at least change the core of Cloud-Piercer back into the gently-crafted spear that had been wielded both by the person Blade saw in front of himself, and the person that was actually in front of him.
Blade saw this as a threat. He shifted his stance, one leg bracing against the ground, about to charge forward. He moved, his shattered sword striking directly toward Dan Heng’s heart.
The spear reached Blade first, piercing into his chest.
He froze, crimson eyes wide as blood gurgled around the spear. With a pained frown, Dan Heng swiftly pulled the spear back, dislodging it from Blade’s body.
The Shard Sword clattered out of Blade’s hand. He slowly folded, collapsing. Dan Heng caught him before he could hit the ground, supporting Blade’s weight in his arms as he carefully lowered their bodies as one.
Blade’s eyes found Dan Heng, sweeping over his face. His mouth opened, as though to say something, but the light in his eyes faded before he could speak. His body slowly went limp, becoming heavier in Dan Heng’s arms.
Dan Heng felt his eyes burn a bit. He felt helpless. And a little bit lost.
Fate was a twisted, twisted thing.
He wondered for a moment, Blade’s corpse gradually turning cold in his arms, what might have happened if Blade had never been cursed with mara.
He would have died as Yingxing, died to Jingliu’s sword as punishment for the crimes he committed with Dan Feng.
But what if he’d managed to survive somehow, managed to still meet Dan Heng? What if they’d managed to break past Dan Feng’s legacy, managed to cultivate a bond that didn’t hinge on sins of the past?
It was a preposterous, delusional notion. One that probably never would have even been possible.
Perhaps it was even similar to the catastrophic train of thought that led to Yingxing’s death in the first place.
But Dan Heng liked the idea of it all the same.
And he hated that he liked it.
He sighed, shaking the fanciful thoughts from his mind.
He could leave Blade here. Let him wake up and eventually either find his way back to the Stellaron Hunters or be found by them. If he was unlucky, maybe Jing Yuan would find him and have to keep him captive due to protocol, only for Blade to ‘mysteriously’ break out.
But Dan Heng’s imagination supplied the possibility that maybe, just maybe, when Blade woke up, he’d be rational again. With that thought in mind, Dan Heng had already decided his next course of action.
He hoisted Blade onto his shoulders, struggling a bit under his weight. Dan Heng would need somewhere to keep him until he revived. Night was falling and the monsters would only become more active.
The Astral Express was on the other side of the Luofu, which was a bit too far to drag Blade. If Dan Heng took the skiff he’d brought to the Waterscape, he could get Blade back to the mainland and find a hotel.
He chose the second option. It was less distance to travel, which meant less people to see the bleeding Vidyadhara carrying the dead body of a Stellaron Hunter. It would also be easier on Dan Heng’s shoulders.
He lugged Blade to the shores of Scalegorge Waterscape and then onto the small boat. By the time they made it to the docks, the stars were high in the sky and the full moon was shining down, illuminating the path for Dan Heng.
Luckily, there wasn’t anybody near the docks at this time, but once Dan Heng made it up to the main streets, he had to be careful, sticking to dark alleyways and sideroutes to avoid civilians and guards.
He paused in an alley to catch his breath, lowering Blade to the ground and stretching his arms above his head, momentarily free of the weight of a corpse on his back. After casting a quick glance at Blade to confirm that he wasn’t waking up yet, Dan Heng pulled out his phone.
First, he sent a message to the Astral Express group chat to let Himeko and Welt know he would be spending the night on the Luofu.
Then he searched for nearby hotels on his map. He managed to find one with a self check-in, which was convenient. It looked a little… raunchy, which made sense, and the price was stupidly high for a room with one bed, but Dan Heng didn’t have many options.
He took note of the route he’d have to take before lugging Blade back over his shoulder, wincing at the fact that he was already sore.
When he finally, finally managed to unlock the door to the room and kick it shut behind him, Dan Heng all but tossed Blade’s now somewhat cold corpse onto the bed, letting out a long, heavy sigh now that his weight was no longer on his back.
There was a full-length mirror on the wall next to the door, and upon looking up at himself, his hands still on his knees as he kept trying to catch his breath, Dan Heng belatedly realised that his vidyahara features had faded away over the course of the long trek. His hair still had some length in the back, and his nails were a bit longer than he normally kept them, but his clothes at least had returned to normal, minus some lingering moisture, and his ears had gone back to resembling those of a human.
His eye caught on the bright red stain on his coat sleeve and he inwardly rolled his eyes. It would be a pain to clean, no doubt.
Blade remained motionless on the bed as Dan Heng shrugged the coat and its accessories off, hanging it on a coat hanger from the closet and leaving his shoes underneath it. He stepped into the adjoining bathroom, rolling up his shirt sleeve and doing his best to clean what little remained of the cut under the sink.
Then he dropped gracelessly into a loveseat that faced the bed. The cushions looked like they were about half a century old and he shuddered to think of how rarely the seat must be cleaned, but he was already filthy anyway, covered in sweat, blood, and the smell of seawater.
With yet another sigh, Dan Heng folded his arms, watching and waiting for Blade to wake up. As an afterthought, he summoned Cloud-Piercer, resting it across his thighs. He should be ready just in case.
It took perhaps two more minutes before Blade took a sharp inhale, the slightest bit of colour slowly filling his pale skin. He took a few more shuddering breaths as he sat up, bringing a hand to his forehead.
Dan Heng watched silently, carefully unfolding his arms to grip Cloud-Piercer in one hand.
Blade’s eye caught on him, a glimpse of orange under the dark hair that had fallen over his face. Dan Heng’s knuckles whitened on Cloud-Piercer’s shaft.
“How…” Blade raised his head, his hand falling away as he fully turned towards Dan Heng, his eyes wide in something like confusion. “How did you do that?”
Dan Heng was taken aback to say the least. “Do… what?” He ventured carefully.
“The water. Vidyadhara magic– whatever it was.” Blade shifted as though moving to get up from the bed and Dan Heng felt his shoulders tense out of habitual wariness. All Blade ended up doing was moving to sit on the side of the bed facing Dan Heng. “How did you do it?” The look on his face was so… lost. His hands sat with their palms up in his lap, his eyes scanning Dan Heng’s face.
Hesitantly, Dan Heng rose from his seat. With one hand, he held Cloud-Piercer behind his back. Not a threat, but not letting his guard down either. He took one step towards Blade, and then another, all the way until he stood right in front of him.
“Are you calm?” Dan Heng asked, fighting the way his voice almost shook with hopefulness.
Blade frowned, indignant. He glared up at Dan Heng. “Yes, I’m calm, Imbibitor Lunae. Don’t treat me like a child. Tell me how you did it.”
Dan Heng let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. Relieved, he sat down next to Blade, feeling his eyes follow his every move. Still, Dan Heng forced himself to release Cloud-Piercer just a bit. “I’ve always been able to fight with it… I’m still a Vidyadhara after all, even if I’m not Dan Feng.” He raised a brow as he matched Blade’s accusatory stare.
“No, you healed me somehow.” Blade’s glare grew darker. He drew his shoulders back, pressing a hand over his chest. “There was a moment that I felt it go through me. The mara… dissolved.” There was something else in Blade’s eyes as he looked at Dan Heng. Like he hardly wanted to believe his own words.
“As far as I know, I’m not capable of that– Hey!” Without warning, Blade grabbed Dan Heng’s hand, turning it over like he could read some secret code on it if he tried hard enough. Dan Heng felt his ears burn despite himself.
“You say that only because you’re so stubborn.” Blade turned Dan Heng's hand over once more before releasing it. “If you were a normal Vidyadhara, of course you wouldn’t be capable of it.” He raised his chin to glare down at Dan Heng, though he still had some height advantage without doing so, even if they were sitting down.
Dan Heng’s lips drew into a grim line as annoyance creeped into his veins. He knew exactly what Blade was implying. “I. Am. Dan. Heng.” His tone seeped with resolute persistence. He moved to pull his hand entirely out of Blade’s reach, but Blade grabbed it again before Dan Heng could put it behind his back.
“How did you do it then?” Blade leaned closer, threatening. His hand tightened almost painfully around Dan Heng’s.
“I don’t know.”
“Lies.” Blade’s voice darkened, almost shifting into a growl. “How did you heal me?”
Dan Heng curled the hand Blade held into a fist, trying and failing to wrench it away. “I don’t know how I did it!”
“You liar.” Blade tugged on Dan Heng’s hand and their faces were suddenly a bit too close for comfort. Blade probably meant it to be intimidating, but Dan Heng couldn’t help the way his heartbeat picked up for a different reason. “Just admit it already.”
Instead of answering, Dan Heng just struggled, trying desperately to pull his hand back, to give his racing heart a bit of space. Blade only responded to his futile attempts by shoving him down. Dan Heng squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the back of his skull to hit the wall behind the bed, but his head only sunk into the pillows, which were admittedly a bit softer than they looked. Blade loomed over him, his hair falling like a curtain over his arm, making the space between them feel even more enclosed.
“I’ll admit…” Dan Heng gritted through his teeth. “I have some of his memories. And I may look like him. But even those memories I have are nothing but blurs of the past.”
Blade sneered, huffing a cold, sardonic laugh. “You fight like him too. And you’re still ever so prideful. And don’t you know your way around the Luofu a little too well to try and tell me you don’t remember anything but ‘blurs of the past?’ My own memory is patchy at best, but I can still acknowledge the suffering you and I have wrought upon each other and the myriad of bystanders around us. It’s ingrained into me.” Blade raised his bandaged hand to grasp at his coat, just over his heart, as his expression gained a semblance of torture. And yet, you have the nerve to suggest that the toasts we made, the battles we fought, the-”
“I didn’t even know you and Yingxing were the same person.” Dan Heng’s voice was quiet. Blade went completely silent. The only semblance of a reaction was the harsh tightening of his gloved fingers around Dan Heng’s hand.
Dan Heng continued, turning his head to the side to avoid looking Blade in the eye. “I had no idea, even with all the times you and I fought. His face was just a smudge in my mind, like a dream I’d long forgotten.”
Almost as an afterthought, he added, “Even now that I do know, you and Yingxing are still two separate people in my mind. The same way that I and Dan Feng are two separate people.”
Blade’s brows furrowed as he winced. “That’s…” He trailed off as Dan Heng hesitantly glanced at him, steadily holding his gaze.
His face and ears burned all the while as an idea came to his mind. A completely shameless idea, once that would practically lay Dan Heng bare. But maybe that was the only way to get Blade to really see that he wasn’t Dan Feng.
Slowly, Dan Heng pushed himself up a bit, turning his head just slightly. His lips met Blade’s for barely a second before he slowly retreated, adrenaline running through his entire body.
“Would your Dan Feng do that?” Dan Heng was confident he’d managed to throw Blade off. He was certain that this must be something that set him apart from Dan Feng. The High Elder of the Vidyadhara was revered as proud and proper. Unlike Dan Heng, Dan Feng had probably never even glanced at anyone, any woman much less another man– certainly not one of his closest confidants– with any semblance of attraction.
Blade exhaled a shaky breath, his hand loosening considerably on Dan Heng’s. “You…” There was a tremble in his voice. Abruptly, he dropped his weight, laying atop Dan Heng, his face hidden next to his shoulder.
“You really… have no idea, do you?”
Dan Heng wasn’t sure what feeling was more overpowering. The way his chest went cold, or the way his face seemed to catch fire. “What…? He breathed the question, hardly even registering the actual words of Blade’s response. All he could focus on was the meaning behind them, the mere implication. Dan Heng swallowed thickly, trying to turn his head to see Blade’s expression, but it was no use with their current position.
“You’re cruel, Imbibitor Lunae. You always have been, and you always will be.” Blade sounded almost defeated. His hand had completely let go of Dan Heng’s. Now, it curled into the sheets next to his head, crumpling the fabric between his gloved fingers.
Dan Heng blinked, feeling the realisation sink in that his similarities to Dan Feng were a little more prominent than he’d thought they were. As though it were a last-ditch effort, he struggled to form the familiar words he repeated so often. “I…” He licked his lips, suddenly feeling like they were horribly dry. “My name… is Dan-”
“Heng.” Blade finished the sentence for him. “You’re like a gnat in my ear about it.”
Hesitantly, Dan Heng raised a hand over Blade’s back, resting his hand there. “...Can’t you just accept it then?”
“No. You can’t escape our sins… You can’t run away that easily.” Blade sounded almost like he was grasping at straws. “Even if your memories might have been clouded over, you’re still the same at your core.”
“Your name is different too… You aren’t Yingxing any more than I’m Dan Feng. So can’t ‘Blade’ and ‘Dan Heng’ exist separately from ‘Yingxing’ and ‘Dan Feng’? Know each other differently?” Subconsciously, Dan Heng’s fingers clenched slightly in the back of Blade’s coat.
Blade sighed, his breath ghosting over the side of Dan Heng’s neck. It sent a shiver down Dan Heng’s back. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to flirt by saying something like that. Especially after that little stunt.”
Dan Heng tensed. That hadn’t exactly been his intention, but… He couldn’t deny that something still drew him to Blade. Like a red thread that just pulled him in no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. Assuming Blade’s earlier comments had in fact been alluding to some kind of romantic relationship, he hoped with his entire being that it wasn’t just Dan Feng’s lingering memories of Yingxing that tugged at his heart, that made Blade’s close proximity set Dan Heng’s body on edge.
“Don’t just go quiet, Imbibitor Lunae. Or was I right?” Dan Heng could have sworn a hint of amusement snuck its way into Blade’s voice.
“You’re not… I’m not…” Dan Heng’s heart was racing again. He was caught between confirmation and denial as Blade’s hand snaked back into his, his fingers folding between Dan Heng’s. “I’m not Imbibitor Lunae,” He managed to say weakly, his other hand tugging at the back of Blade’s coat, a futile and ultimately unmotivated attempt to pull Blade away. He was embarrassed with himself for being unable to deny the accusation.
Blade finally raised his head, eyes scanning Dan Heng’s slightly panicked face.
“Fine.”
The hand on Blade’s back went slack as Dan Heng’s eyes slowly widened. “...What?”
“Fine.” Blade repeated, his thumb caressing the side of Dan Heng’s hand, a movement that sent a tingling sensation through his skin. “For now, I’ll grant you that name. That willful ignorance of yours. But I can almost guarantee,” Blade lowered his head, his nose nearly brushing Dan Heng’s. “There’s a reason I know exactly where every single one of your most sensitive spots are, Dan Heng. All you have to do is let me prove it.”
Just hearing Blade say his name was unnerving enough, sparking an electric feeling through Dan Heng’s body. The words that preceded it just made it worse, dripping as they were with filthy implications.
Dan Heng must have been out of his mind at this point. He could hardly think— not with Blade this close to him. Not with the promise of something so sweet yet so bitter right in front of him, begging him to just give in to whatever this invisible feeling was.
“Okay…” He whispered the word, hardly even aware he was saying it.
Before Dan Heng even knew what was happening, Blade was kissing him. It was nothing like the short peck Dan Heng had done earlier. It was aggressive, almost violent with how Blade pried his lips apart to penetrate Dan Heng’s mouth with his tongue.
The hand that Blade still held down twitched slightly before Dan Heng finally willed his fingers to close around Blade’s, holding just as tightly.
It was almost hard to breathe with how Blade kissed him, filling the air between them with heat and small sounds that involuntarily escaped Dan Heng. When he really just couldn’t take it anymore, he removed his hand from Blade’s back, using it to push weakly at his shoulder.
To his credit, Blade did draw away, letting Dan Heng suck in a quick, heavy breath, his chest heaving.
Blade tilted his head slightly, looking down at Dan Heng curiously. “You act like this is your first time.”
Dan Heng froze. He didn’t dare respond, but he knew the reddening of his ears would speak for him regardless.
“...You’re telling me that this body is still…?” Blade trailed off.
Hesitantly, Dan Heng met his gaze. The emphasis in Blade’s words left a question burning in his mind. ‘This’ body? “What happened… with Dan Feng’s body?”
Blade’s initial surprise shifted quickly into a self-satisfied smirk. “I happened. I thought that would be obvious.” His eyes then trailed down Dan Heng’s body, his expression turning slightly thoughtful.
“You are a bit smaller than you used to be…” His free hand trailed down Dan Heng’s chest, his middle and ring finger lightly tracing a line down his abdomen. Dan Heng felt like he was holding his breath. Finally, Blade’s hand stopped near his navel as his thumb circled down. He looked like he was thinking. “You’ll probably be fine.”
‘Probably’ wasn’t very comforting, but Dan Heng’s mind was already giving up on rationality. He felt like he was burning up, desire and arousal clouding his thoughts as he started to realise exactly what Blade planned to do with him.
Blade leaned down again and Dan Heng closed his eyes, letting himself melt into the sensation of Blade’s lips against his own. Somehow it just felt right. Like some form of fate had been what brought the Astral Express back to the Luofu, what brought Dan Heng and Blade to Scalegorge Waterscape at the same time to meet when Blade just happened to be a little less inclined to stab him in the heart.
It was an absurd, romantic idea, one that wouldn’t normally cross Dan Heng’s mind. At the moment, however, he didn’t particularly care.
He shuddered as the cold tips of Blade’s bandaged fingers edged under his shirt, ghosting over the skin of his stomach. They pressed more firmly into his skin as his hand moved upwards, Dan Heng’s shirt being pushed up slightly at the same time.
Blade pulled away from the kiss, his tongue slowly tracing his own lip as he stared down at Dan Heng’s flushed face like a wolf watching a rabbit. Almost predatory.
As desire-addled as Dan Heng’s mind was, he belatedly came to the realisation that it was very much possible that doing this sort of thing together could potentially be dangerous. Arousal was completely capable of surging adrenaline much like a fight would. There was a chance, no matter how small, that continuing like this could trigger Blade’s mara. There was also a chance, hopefully even smaller, that Dan Heng’s form could shift, which could then also subsequently trigger Blade’s mara.
Those thoughts were completely stamped out as Blade moved one of his legs, positioning it right between Dan Heng’s legs, just close enough that Dan Heng could feel his knee, but not exerting any pressure. A threat, almost. Or a promise.
Blade lowered his hand from Dan Heng’s palm, curling his fingers under the strap of the bracer, sliding down his wrist. Expertly, as though he’d done it a million times over already with just one hand, Blade somehow managed to undo the straps holding the bracer on and then promptly slid it up, over and off Dan Heng’s hand. He then tossed the bracer to the side somewhere before grabbing the hem of Dan Heng’s shirt and trying to pull it upwards.
“Blade-! Blade, there’s a zipper-!” Dan Heng pushed Blade’s hands back down as Blade tried and failed to pull the shirt over his head.
With an annoyed huff, Blade let go of the shirt’s hem to aggressively grab one of the two zipper tabs at Dan Heng’s throat, pulling the shirt collar away from his neck. “You’re lucky if I don’t just tear it off you.”
Dan Heng flushed a bright red as heat seemed to build low in his stomach, but he didn’t have time to muster a retort before Blade, despite his words, tugged the zipper down and open in one smooth motion. His hands then moved to Dan Heng’s sides, sliding up his ribs as he pushed the shirt back up, over his chest, then his arms, and then over Dan Heng’s head, leaving his hair disheveled as Blade unceremoniously tossed the shirt over his own shoulder and onto the floor somewhere.
Blade leaned back down, his hands already wandering to Dan Heng’s chest when Dan Heng hooked his pointer and middle finger through the window in Blade’s coat.
“Not so fast. This is coming off too,” Dan Heng said slowly as Blade’s hands faltered. He blinked wide eyes before he raised a brow and smirked, showing the dimple that Dan Heng was slowly becoming enamoured with.
“Alright then. No need to be so high and mighty about it, High Elder.”
Dan Heng narrowed his eyes, pulling at the coat window. “I am Dan Heng.” He said it like an accusation, glaring directly into Blade’s mischievous eyes.
“So I can’t even tease you? How cruel.” The words rumbled low in Blade’s throat and despite himself, Dan Heng actually felt his arousal spike, the heat between his legs building. “Seems you’re not as against it as you say you are, anyways.” Blade cast a knowing glance downwards, at the tent in Dan Heng’s pants.
“That’s not-” Dan Heng cut himself off, biting his lower lip to keep back a groan as Blade finally decided to push his leg forward, pressing it into his member. He was going to say that it wasn’t being called by that old title that set him off, but honestly it might have been more mortifying to admit that it was just because of the way Blade’s voice sounded when he was being playful.
Already struggling to keep himself in check, Dan Heng just tugged insistently at the coat window. “Just…” He could hardly believe how breathless his own voice sounded already, bordering on a whine. “Take it off.”
Blade just gave Dan Heng a look, as though he wanted to say something else, but he knew Dan Heng would just snap at him again for whatever it was. He sat back on his knees and tugged the glove off his right hand before lowering his eyes as he slowly undid the clasps on his coat one by one. Dan Heng watched silently, partially wondering how he’d even managed to end up here, as Blade, a Stellaron Hunter, a man who had tried to kill him more times than he could count, a man he’d been forced to kill in turn more times than he could count, casually took off his clothes at his insistence.
As Blade pulled his lapels apart, Dan Heng felt his throat go dry for more reasons than one. Firstly, Blade was remarkably muscular, something Dan Heng probably should have assumed, given his prowess in a fight. He couldn’t help the way his own eyes trailed down Blade’s abdomen, taking in the firm evidence of years of training and fighting. Secondly, Blade’s body, or that which wasn’t wrapped in bandages at least, was completely covered in scars, a great deal of which may very well have been Dan Heng’s doing. A great deal more of them could have indirectly been Dan Feng’s doing.
“You’ll burn me with your eyes if you stare that hard,” Blade commented blithely. “Scared?”
Dan Heng quickly averted his eyes, staring at the wall instead as Blade, much like he’d done with Dan Heng’s shirt, tossed his coat over his shoulder. “Not quite,” He said in lieu of a more informative answer, his ears burning yet again.
“Oh?”
Dan Heng still didn’t dare meet Blade’s eyes, but his lips pulled thin into a grimace as he caught the sound of a laugh edging into Blade’s voice. He knew exactly what Dan Heng was thinking. “I’m curious, Dan Heng,” If hearing his name wasn’t enough, Blade also pushed his knee upward as he said it, making Dan Heng wince, squeezing his eyes and mouth shut in an overwhelming combination of pleasure and embarrassment. “Are you sure you haven’t seduced anyone else before?”
Dan Heng forced himself to respond, gasping around his words as Blade’s knee pushed forward almost insistently. “Of course… I’m sure…” He summoned the will to glare weakly at Blade.
Having been locked up for a large portion of his life, and then having been exiled and finding his way to the Astral Express, obviously there hadn’t been many chances for Dan Heng to indulge in the warmth of another person’s body. There was little space in the Trailblaze journey for intimate relations, despite the fact that Stelle flirted unseriously with every dangerous individual or trashcan she came across.
Besides that, even if there had been chances, even if he’d come close a few times, considering going back to a random man’s room for the night, there had always been… something that just didn’t feel right about it. Like he just couldn’t do it at the end of the day.
None of those potential partners had been the right person. Dan Heng could hardly explain it to himself if he tried. Maybe he was just too sentimental for a random hook up.
Or maybe…
No, he wouldn’t acknowledge that possibility.
It scared him to even consider it.
To think that maybe, at the end of the day, whether it was himself or Dan Feng, he would just be pulled back to Blade, the same way Dan Feng might have been pulled back to Yingxing like the ocean’s tides, forced to violently crash back into each other every time they parted.
“Somehow I have a hard time believing that.” Blade’s face was impassive, purposefully so, as his finger pressed into Dan Heng’s nipple, sending a shiver through his body. “Aren’t you a little too willing to get into bed with a wanted criminal?”
Dan Heng felt himself smile a little bit at the absurdity of it all. “In the eyes of the Xianzhou, I’m hardly innocent myself. If I’m going to let someone take me, it may as well be another wanted man.”
“So any wanted man would do?” Blade pressed his finger in harshly, staring down at Dan Heng with narrowed eyes.
Dan Heng’s breaths came quick, his own heartbeat pounding in his ears as Blade’s other hand played with his belt, teasing. “No…” He muttered through gritted teeth.
“Go on, Dan Heng. Tell me the truth for once.” Blade was enjoying this. The bastard was toying with him, leaving him no other choice but to give in.
Dan Heng shut his eyes, trying to forcefully even out his breathing as Blade continued playing with his chest, circling his fingers around the pink, abused bud. Blade’s other hand tapped at the clasp on Dan Heng’s belt like a metronome, counting down the seconds. Dan Heng forced himself to swallow his pride, his cheeks and ears already flushing as he opened his mouth to speak.
“Just… you. I wouldn’t…” The rest of the sentence would have been ‘do this with anyone else’, but Dan Heng’s pride had genuinely reached its limit. He couldn’t make himself say the words if he tried. Especially because, as he tried and failed to say them, he realised how horrifically true they were.
Blade just smiled, his eyes still narrowed as he looked down at Dan Heng with an expression that could have been something sweet, or maybe something dangerous. The hand that had been tapping at Dan Heng’s belt stopped, shifting to undo the clasp.
Stelle had told Dan Heng something once, rather recently in fact. After they’d briefly made another stop at the Luofu.
Somehow she’d ended up meeting Kafka and a mara-struck, barely functioning Blade, and Stelle sheepishly admitted to having asked Kafka about Blade and Dan Feng’s old relationship. In Kafka’s words, Yingxing and Dan Feng had been ‘good friends that were bad for each other’. Dan Heng had initially been a bit perplexed by this, and he obviously wasn’t capable of giving Stelle any additional details. He couldn’t even imagine, based on the murky, lighthearted memories he had of Yingxing, that the two of them could have been bad for each other somehow.
But now, he could see exactly how their relationship could have been problematic. If Yingxing and Dan Feng were anything like the current Blade and Dan Heng personality-wise, it was likely that there existed a consistent, fragile tension between them, something ingrained in their very natures that made them so incompatible that it would normally drive two people away from each other, rather than toward one another. However, just like Dan Heng now found himself baring himself to Blade despite all odds, Dan Feng and Yingxing had likely completely ignored that tension, instead forcing themselves together like two puzzle pieces that just wouldn’t fit, because the only way to complete the picture was for them to be side by side, shoved into place.
Blade leaned down again, his mouth finding Dan Heng’s as he finished undoing his belt, pulling it and its adjoining accessories away, leaving Dan Heng feeling rather unarmed.
If Blade really wanted to kill him, now would be the perfect time to do it.
Blade’s tongue pushed into Dan Heng’s mouth at the same time that his hand slid under Dan Heng’s waistband. A vocal gasp escaped Dan Heng, swallowed by Blade’s persistent kissing as his hand cupped Dan Heng’s warm, throbbing, member, bandaged fingers sliding against heated, red, flesh.
“I’ll try to be nice,” Blade whispered between kisses, and Dan Heng was almost perturbed by the uncharacteristic sincerity in his voice. He didn’t have much time or cognizance to consider it very long, however, as Blade’s fingers, now remarkably warm, closed around him.
Blade opened his mouth, giving Dan Heng the chance to suck in a sharp breath, suddenly very much aware of how long it had been since he’d attended to his own needs himself. With disaster after disaster just barely at the Astral Express’s back, it felt like Dan Heng had been in a constant fight-or-flight for the past few weeks. It was an amusing thought, considering that amidst most of these messes, he’d had his own private room at luxurious hotels. Unfortunately, there had been far too many things to worry about for anyone to relax on any of their recent Trailblaze missions.
Dan Heng bit down out of habit as Blade stroked his hand up slowly, languidly. Normally, he would have been biting his shirt or his own bottom lip as a means of stifling his own noises, but now, with Blade intruding in his mouth, he bit Blade’s tongue instead.
Not that Blade seemed to care all that much. He just pulled away, a small chuckle escaping him as he raised his free hand to thumb away the blood at the corner of his mouth. “Feeling feisty?” Something glimmered in his eyes and Dan Heng once again considered, however briefly, the potential dangers of his current situation.
He could taste Blade’s blood in his mouth, the metallic tang of it on Dan Heng’s own tongue. He licked his lips, clearing away the little amount of blood that had rubbed off there. “Didn’t mean to,” Dan Heng replied breathlessly, not entirely sure if he actually wanted Blade to believe him or not.
A short hum was Blade’s only response as he squeezed his hand around Dan Heng, his thumb digging into the head almost painfully.
“Gh… ah…” Dan Heng gasped, arching his neck back as his breath shuddered in his chest. The hand that had remained above his head this entire time curled, twisting into the pillowcase it laid on. “Isn’t there– More than just this…?” He struggled to say, the movement of Blade’s hand, lubricated by Dan Heng's own fluids, making it hard to even think, much less speak coherently.
“Plenty.” Dan Heng felt Blade lean back down, his lips moving just over his vulnerable throat. Dan Heng’s eyes were shut tightly as he still tried and failed to keep his breathing steady. “Don’t be impatient, Dan Heng. We’ll get to that once you stop holding yourself back.”
Dan Heng groaned, the sound of his name ghosting against his neck sending a jolt through his spine. “Don’t…”
“What? Your name? You’ve spent all this effort just trying to get me to use it, and now you want me to stop? Look at yourself, Dan Heng. Dripping in my hand, getting harder just from hearing it leave my mouth.” Blade’s lips moved to the side of Dan Heng’s neck, hovering over his thrumming pulse as Dan Heng forced down a sound that no doubt would have only made Blade tease him more.
“Just don’t… say it like that.” He genuinely couldn’t think of a better comeback. What Blade said was unfortunately more reasonable than anything Dan Heng could muster in his half-functional mind. He’d spent all this time trying to get Blade to acknowledge him, to acknowledge his existence as something separate from Dan Feng, and now Blade was using it against him, saying his name with a voice full of nothing but lust and filth.
Blade exhaled a sigh against Dan Heng’s neck, his teeth grazing the skin. The hand around Dan Heng’s member continued to move at a torturous, leisurely pace, edging him ever closer, but denying him any sight of an end. Blade’s other hand, relatively unoccupied until now, slid up Dan Heng’s chest, circling a finger around his nipple.
“Hah… faster–” Dan Heng muttered, bringing his hand up to tangle in Blade’s hair. Blade kissed the side of his neck, seemingly deaf to his words as his hand continued at the same, mind-numbingly unhurried rhythm, as though they had all the time in the world. “Blade-”
“Say please and I’ll consider it.” The words were quietly mumbled against Dan Heng’s skin, tickling his neck.
Dan Heng felt his pride bristle. Still, Blade was nothing if not stubborn. Dan Heng had no doubt Blade would actually refuse to go any further if he didn’t give in eventually. He was probably having a grand time just testing Dan Heng’s limits like this.
Blade stopped moving both of his hands entirely and Dan Heng let out a frustrated sigh as he felt Blade smile against his neck.
“Blade… please.” He practically had to force the word through his teeth. “I-”
Dan Heng was about to say he couldn’t take much more of this, but before he could, Blade’s teeth dug into his skin. At the same time, he moved his hand again, much faster than he’d been doing so previously. His other hand pinched Dan Heng’s nipple, roughly squeezing it between his fingers.
Dan Heng felt as though he’d been electrocuted somehow. The combination of Blade biting into the side of his neck paired with the abrupt shift in pace on his member and the abuse of his chest left Dan Heng open-mouthed, practically gasping for air.
“Gh-!” He saw white as the biting shifted to sucking, no doubt leaving a vibrant mark deep in Dan Heng’s pale skin. The hand in Blade’s hair clenched, nails digging crescents into Dan Heng’s palm while his other hand could do nothing but grip the pillowcase tighter. His own spend spilled over Blade’s hand and onto his own stomach.
Something warm and wet slowly licked over the new mark on Dan Heng’s neck, Blade’s tongue, he realised belatedly as his awareness slowly came back to him.
Exactly how was Blade this patient? Dan Heng couldn’t make sense of it. Was he even-
His chest still heaving as he struggled to regain his breath, Dan Heng lowered his chin slightly, struggling to look down between his own body and Blade’s. The very obvious erection in Blade’s pants was an immediate contradiction to Dan Heng’s thoughts.
Curiously, and perhaps a bit spitefully to make up for the edging, Dan Heng raised his own leg, his thigh hitting Blade’s clothed member.
Blade made a sound next to Dan Heng’s ear, almost like he was choking on air. “Calm down, we’ll get to it.”
“You seem to be taking your time,” Dan Heng said back, not without a small bit of frustrated bite.
Blade huffed a laugh, finally raising his head as his hair fell gently over his shoulder, pooling on the pillow next to Dan Heng’s head. “I’m not stupid. You Vidyadhara have way more stamina than humans. If I don’t pace us, you’ll run me ragged, first time or not.”
Dan Heng frowned at the implication of Blade’s experiences with Dan Feng. “I’ve already had to fight you and those monsters today. Whatever extra stamina you think I have, it’s probably long gone.”
“I’d hope so, because it’s getting a bit difficult to keep holding back.” Blade’s hands moved to Dan Heng’s hips, fingers curling under the waistbands of his pants and underwear at the same time.
In one smooth motion, he tugged Dan Heng’s pants down before managing to drag them over and off his ankles. Dan Heng couldn’t bear to watch, instead turning his head to the side, his ears and face burning furiously now that he found himself completely bare in front of Blade. He was practically at his mercy.
Blade was leaning back over him before he could even think, one hand sliding under the curve of Dan Heng’s spine, gently lifting his back to arch a little more before trailing down the ridges of his spine to stop right where a draconic tail might have been in his other form.
Blade’s fingers drew a slow, electrifying circle around that point on Dan Heng’s back, sending a shiver through his entire body. Instinctually, one of his hands reached up for Blade’s shoulder, but Dan Heng couldn't do anything but dig his fingers into the already scarred flesh. It became rather apparent that his refractory period had already ended, heat already flooding downwards as blood rushed through his veins.
“I told you I knew where you were sensitive.” Blade’s voice was like a purr in Dan Heng’s ear, low and sensual. He pressed his fingers in, his nails threatening to break the skin.
Dan Heng just gripped Blade’s shoulder tighter, wide-eyed and feeling a bit unfamiliar with his own body. It was like Blade had him right in the palm of his hand.
Finally granting Dan Heng a bit of mercy, Blade’s hand trailed lower, following down his tailbone. He paused suddenly, hesitation creeping into his movements. It was almost unsettlingly unlike him.
“What is it?” Dan Heng asked after a moment.
“Lube…” Blade murmured, shifting to reach one arm out towards the nightstand next to the bed. Dan Heng glanced at him as he tugged the drawer open, a victorious grin splitting on his face. “Well, what do you know?” Golden-red eyes flicked to meet Dan Heng’s. “Did you choose this hotel on purpose?” Still watching Dan Heng, waiting for him to give a response other than red-faced and open-mouthed shock, Blade reached into the drawer to withdraw a small bottle and a ribbon of foil squares.
“I… did not,” Dan Heng finally managed to say, watching intently, almost disbelieving as Blade popped open the cap of the bottle to drizzle a generous amount of its contents over the palm of his hand.
Eyes still glued to the lubricant slowly coating Blade’s hand, Dan Heng pushed himself up on his forearms. “What was your plan if that wasn’t…” He was just curious, but the way Blade narrowed his eyes made him regret asking.
“I’d choke you on my fingers and let your own saliva do the work for us.”
Dan Heng shivered despite himself. Blade’s eyes trailed down his body, watching in amusement as Dan Heng’s member twitched, practically broadcasting his thoughts. The corner of Blade’s mouth lifted, but he turned his attention back to the lube on his hands.
“Or…” Blade capped the bottle, tossing it to the side on the bed. He leaned over Dan Heng. “If you were willing to shift forms, your water magic might have done the trick.”
That made all sorts of complicated emotions run through Dan Heng’s head. On the one hand, Vidyadhara magic, especially that of the High Elder, was something sacred, cultivated through centuries of dedication. To use it for something like this was practically sacrilegious. On the other hand, with how casually Blade said it, Dan Heng had to wonder if the upright and proper Dan Feng had ever used it in such a way. He could always ask, but he dreaded the answer.
Hooking his bandaged hand under Dan Heng’s knee, Blade pushed his leg up, baring Dan Heng’s body to him. There was nothing to be hidden now, as Blade’s eyes swept over every inch of Dan Heng’s skin, taking in the sight of him.
Dan Heng frowned, turning his face away. He had half a mind to tell Blade to quit staring already. It was making him restless, uncomfortable under the heavy heat of Blade’s gaze.
Before his patience could snap, one of Blade’s fingers prodded against him, making Dan Heng try to draw his knees together instinctually. The hand under his thigh effectively prevented this, gripping tightly to keep him from moving.
As Blade’s finger pushed into him, Dan Heng grimaced as his body tensed, unfamiliar with the intrusion.
“Breathe. This is nothing.” Blade’s eyes remained completely focussed on where his own finger sank into Dan Heng’s body. He moved it a bit, bending the finger at the knuckle like he was just experimenting, feeling the shape of Dan Heng’s body. Every small shift sent Dan Heng’s nerves firing, darting between discomfort and pleasure.
Still propped up on his elbows, Dan Heng genuinely wasn’t sure if he wanted to watch or not. As Blade lifted his one finger to make room for another, Dan Heng just squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the feeling of the second finger entering him.
The slide of the lubricant and occasional squelching noises were not helping Dan Heng to sort out the confusing combination of physical sensations stemming from the way Blade split his fingers inside of him. Still, he was adjusting, slowly but surely. He was getting his breathing back under control, and though his heartbeat was still running faster than a warp trotter, he was slowly grabbing hold of his senses.
Then Blade hooked his fingers and Dan Heng was hit by an almost violent spike of arousal that seemed to wrack through his entire body. He couldn’t even hold back the moan that tore itself through his throat as he teetered on the edge of release, his member dripping against his stomach and his hands clenching at his sides in the bedsheets.
“What…” Nerves alight, his brows drawn close, Dan Heng struggled to speak.
“Too much?” Though his words could be mistaken for concern, Blade’s tone was anything but worried.
He bent his fingers again, pressing against that spot inside Dan Heng.
For the second time, Dan Heng’s vision seemed to go white as another orgasm shook his body. He slapped a hand over his own mouth, holding back a weak moan as he shuddered. Blade’s fingers finally relented as Dan Heng collapsed back onto the bed, his arms basically giving out.
Though Blade was no longer pressing against that one spot, his fingers still moved inside Dan Heng, splitting and stretching him open, hardly letting his frayed nerves rest.
Dan Heng almost didn’t notice a third finger entering him, still shivering and trying desperately to reign himself in.
He was honestly still worried about the control he had over his form– He had no idea if his arousal could forcefully trigger the physical shift from human to Vidyadhara, but if it could, he didn’t intend to let it happen, for various reasons.
He heard a shuddering breath, and for a moment thought it was himself. But when he managed to glance up, he saw Blade’s face, eyes narrowed in careful concentration, brows furrowed as he continued working his fingers. His erection strained against his pants as his bandaged hand gripped the underside of Dan Heng’s thigh tightly, fingers digging into soft flesh, hard enough that there was no doubt there would be dark bruises there later.
Dan Heng sucked in a breath, swallowing thickly. “Just do it already,” he said weakly. “It’s fine.”
Blade’s fingers stopped moving entirely as he levelled Dan Heng with an unconvinced glare. Somehow, his hand tightened even harsher in the meat of Dan Heng’s thigh. “...Don’t be so rash. I’m not planning to go easy on you just because this body is new to this.”
“Then quit taking your time,” Dan Heng bit back right before Blade’s fingers hooked again, pressing back into that electric bundle of nerves, making Dan Heng groan in overstimulated pleasure. It was too soon. His body hadn’t completely recovered yet, and now Blade was pushing its limits. He was probably just trying to shut Dan Heng up.
He gritted his teeth, raising his chin slightly. “I’ll be fine.”
Blade looked him over once more. Finally, he sighed and ever so slowly, as though he wanted to drag out Dan Heng’s frustration just a little longer, pulled his fingers out with a slick sound. “Always impatient. You really never change.”
Blade released Dan Heng’s leg, letting it fall to the bed as he moved his hands to his own belt, quickly undoing the buckle. Dan Heng watched him for a moment before he had to just tear his eyes away, if only for a moment, his heart beating uncontrollably as the reality of the situation started to sink in.
As Blade pushed his pants down his hips with one hand, he grabbed the ribbon of condoms with the other, lifting it to his mouth to tear one off with his teeth. He tossed the rest to the side, turning his attention back to getting the rest of his clothes completely off before throwing them onto the floor.
Dan Heng looked from Blade’s hand to his erection, mentally comparing the size of his fingers to the size of his member. A semblance of uncertainty settled itself in the back of Dan Heng’s mind as he realised that Blade hadn’t been lying at all when he’d said earlier that his fingers were nothing. Despite his concerns, Dan Heng also felt warmth rush over him, running through his body like a wave of unbridled need. He was too far gone to worry much.
Blade tore the condom open with his teeth and one hand before quickly rolling it over his length, swapping the wrapper in his hand for the miniature bottle of lube he’d discarded earlier. Popping the cap open, he poured the remainders of the thick liquid into his hand before tossing the bottle somewhere to the side of the bed.
His eyes flickered up and Dan Heng caught himself staring, open-mouthed. He blinked, averting his gaze again, but Blade had already caught him.
With a slow inhale, Blade leaned back over Dan Heng, his eyes alight with mischief. “Getting hard again just from watching?” His voice was low, just barely restrained.
Dan Heng refused to grant Blade an answer to that question. He turned his head to the side, his lips suddenly feeling extremely dry.
A hand caressed the side of his face, gently prompting him to face Blade. Lips ghosted against his own, and Dan Heng’s eyes fluttered shut. It was unexpectedly sweet. Almost caring.
He heard the wet sound of Blade’s lubricated hand on his own member. Dan Heng fought the shiver that threatened to run down his back as he felt something hot probe against him, guided by Blade’s hand.
A small, anticipatory noise escaped him and Dan Heng clapped a hand over his own mouth, ears and face blushing red in embarrassment. Blade hadn’t even done anything yet and he was already-
Blade leaned up, staring down at Dan Heng in amusement.
“I know I said I’ll try to be nice but,” Blade smirked slightly. “I’m not making any promises.”
A gasp was pushed out of Dan Heng, forced through his parted lips as Blade entered him in one slow thrust. Pain and pleasure blossomed through Dan Heng’s body, mixing together in such a way that they were almost indecipherable from one another as his hole was stretched around the width of Blade’s member.
It was unfamiliar, but at the same time, something connected in Dan Heng’s mind; this wasn’t the first time– not in the genuine sense– and something told him that it would be far from the last.
Shaking and barely able to catch his breath, Dan Heng slowly reached up, trembling hands finding reassurance in the steady muscle of Blade’s shoulders.
Blade exhaled slowly, pushing forward slightly, which led Dan Heng to realise that he wasn’t even completely in yet. He groaned as he was only stretched wider, his body slowly but surely accepting the intrusion.
A low sound rumbled in Blade’s throat next to Dan Heng’s ear as he pushed just a little more. “Relax… You’re too tight.”
The sound of Blade’s voice so close, coupled with the burning sensation of his body struggling to accommodate his size only made Dan Heng tense more, his toes curling into the bedsheets as Blade let out a shaky breath.
“Relax,” he repeated, his voice sounding a bit hoarse.
“Gh…” Dan Heng could barely even breathe, much less relax like this. His entire body felt like it was on fire, his nerves screaming at him that it was all too much.
Blade’s bandaged hand gripped his chin, forcing Dan Heng to turn his head. Gently but firmly, Blade kissed him, his warm mouth opening before slotting against Dan Heng’s. Like this, Dan Heng was practically forced to breathe through his nose.
With Blade’s tongue against his own, Dan Heng was distracted from the discomfort in his lower body. Gradually, the tension in his muscles eased, letting Blade slide in the rest of the way until his hips were flush against the underside of Dan Heng’s thighs.
Blade slowly pulled back from the kiss, letting Dan Heng sigh in relief.
His hands travelled down Dan Heng’s sides, tracing over his ribs and then the sides of his stomach before they reached the top of his hips, fingers digging into his skin briefly.
Without any warning, the light hold on Dan Heng’s hips turned into a strong grip, lifting him slightly before Blade snapped his own hips forward.
Dan Heng’s head tilted back, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Blade gave him half a moment to try and fail to collect himself before he was tugging Dan Heng’s hips again, meeting him halfway with another rough thrust.
An aborted noise escaped Dan Heng before he could shut his mouth. Heat was already pooling in his gut again while his nerves sparked frantically. Blade pulled back a bit, the drag of his member no less stimulating than the thrust that followed.
His mouth found Dan Heng’s collarbone, lips pressing against his skin softly before they parted to make way for sharp teeth. It was getting harder and harder to control his reactions, and the small shout that left his mouth as Blade bit down made this fact very obvious.
Dan Heng wasn’t sure if Blade drew blood– he wasn’t sure of anything at the moment. All he knew was the pleasant, overwhelming sensation of Blade inside him, around him, encompassing him. The heat of his body, the intensity of his gaze that might have been a little more concerning if Dan Heng had more of his wits about him.
Blade’s thrusts grew slower, more leisurely as one of his hands moved back up Dan Heng’s torso towards his ribs, his lips trailing down his chest.
“I think you’ve made a mistake, Dan Heng.”
Blade’s voice, soft and quiet, paired with the cooling intensity of his movements helped slowly bring Dan Heng back to reason.
“A mistake…?” He muttered, trailing off as he caught the sound of his own voice, rough and drawling slightly.
He felt Blade’s lips move against the skin of his chest, splitting into a small smile. “You can’t give a starving man some food and expect him to just go back to his fast. I’m only going to want more from you now.”
Dan Heng hummed in response, hands moving up to Blade’s hair, tangling in the dark, midnight strands. Surprisingly, he was fine with that. If Blade was going to be chasing him down anyways, they may as well make the most of their otherwise violent encounters.
“It will only make our eventual end all the more painful.”
Dan Heng went still, Blade’s words sinking in.
He had a point.
Even without Elio’s script, Dan Heng knew well enough. He could tell that his and Blade’s story would only come to completion once they’d pierced each other through. He’d known that since Jingliu’s reunion of the High-Cloud Quintet, when he’d told Blade with every honest intention that he would accompany him to the end.
He sucked in a sharp breath when Blade gently pushed forward again, his hand moving further up, circling around Dan Heng’s back before dropping down along the curve of his spine.
“When that day does come that I finally greet eternal death,” Blade said softly, lifting his head to glance at Dan Heng through the messy hair that had fallen over his face. “Perhaps I will be able to smile, with Cloud-Piercer through my heart.”
A complicated feeling overcame Dan Heng. The corners of his eyes burned a bit. Such an emotional response was starkly unlike himself, and it was even more peculiar considering the many, many times Blade’s heart had already been stabbed by Cloud-Piercer, held by a hand that never hesitated.
Because he always knew Blade would be back.
Did he feel pain each time he died? Or had Blade grown numb to the sensation of his life leaving his body?
Would Dan Heng feel the same pain if, when that day did inevitably arrive, Blade’s Shard Sword went through his own heart like Blade intended? Would he be able to smile back at Blade, satisfied with his final moments, dying with a man who had never really been his, but had been his all along just the same?
Dan Heng could feel himself getting painfully sentimental. All it had taken was half a day, maybe not even that, and here he was, falling deeper into the man he’d discovered Blade to be.
Dan Heng moved one of his trembling hands, using it to sweep away the hair at the side of Blade’s face. He leaned up, craning his neck to reach Blade’s mouth, kissing him boldly, without restraint.
An odd sense of sorrow filled Dan Heng’s chest as the hand under his spine circled his waist, lowering him back down to the bed. He deepened the kiss himself, tilting his head just so, still using his hand to keep Blade’s hair from tickling his face.
Would Blade even remember this the next time they met? How much did Kafka’s Spirit Whisper wipe from his memory? Would he just be a mindless killer again, seeking nothing but Dan Heng’s blood and retribution for crimes he still refused to believe he’d been a part of?
“Stop thinking so much.” As the softly-spoken words were murmured against Dan Heng’s lips, Blade pushed his hips in another sharp thrust, making Dan Heng cry out as the pleasure overrode the spiral of thoughts his mind had been going down.
As Blade brought their bodies into a rhythmic pace, slowly pulling out just to snap his hips forward, driving himself deeper, Dan Heng’s hands slowly fell from Blade’s hair back to his shoulders, slipping down the solid curve of his scarred arms.
“Hn-!” Dan Heng started biting at his own lower lip again. He could feel Blade penetrating the deepest parts of his body, burning him from within. Every few thrusts he would brush against that bundle of nerves, sending a spark through Dan Heng’s veins. It was a sweet kind of torture, one that set his entire body on edge.
As heat started building in his stomach again, Dan Heng could feel the warnings of a form change. His ears burned, draconic horns threatening to materialise on his head. He could have sworn his hair had already started growing by a few centimetres. He choked on his own moans, trying, begging with his own body, to keep his current form.
Blade hadn’t noticed yet, as far as Dan Heng could tell. He’d lowered his face to the space between Dan Heng’s neck and shoulder, sighing hot breaths against his sensitive, flushed skin.
With a deep, shuddering breath, Dan Heng dragged himself back into his human form, forcing himself into the mould that he was so desperate to keep right now. His body burned even hotter with the effort, and the fact that Blade continued mercilessly pounding into him was not helping him reign himself in.
Large, warm hands slid under the arch of Dan Heng’s spine, sending a shiver through his body. Still, he felt like he’d managed to get his form back under control for now. Blade lifted his head, his thrusts slowing slightly as he lifted Dan Heng with him, using his hands on his back as leverage to pull him up into a long, melting kiss.
Every time Dan Heng let himself think for a moment that they were slowing down, Blade would pick up the pace again, driving into him without relent.
The cord that connected Dan Heng’s earrings bounced against his shoulders with each movement as his nails dragged vibrant red marks into the scarred skin of Blade’s arms. He didn’t even notice Blade’s hand moving over his stomach until it was gripping his member tightly.
Dan Heng couldn’t even do anything to stifle the guttural groan that was pulled out of him as Blade dragged his hand up in one long stroke, gliding with the help of Dan Heng’s own sweat and fluids.
With the hand on Dan Heng’s length still moving at a deliberately slow pace, Blade also leaned toward the right side of his head. Dan Heng had no idea what he was doing until he suddenly felt a sharp nip at his ear, sending his adrenaline rushing all at once.
He shivered, hands pushing weakly at Blade’s shoulder as his eyes squeezed shut and he gritted his teeth. “Sto-hah-!”
Blade did pull away, however briefly, with a small hum of curious revelation. “So even in your human form…”
“Huh…?”
“I told you. I know exactly where you’re most sensitive, Dan Heng.” Blade’s lips brushed against the red shell of Dan Heng’s ear
Dan Heng didn’t get to answer, cutting himself off with a belatedly restrained moan as Blade licked up the edge of his ear before biting down again, his hand closing around the end of Dan Heng’s member at the same time.
The pace of Blade’s thrusts quickened, gradually losing any conscious rhythm. Dan Heng just dug his fingers into Blade’s shoulders, losing himself to the thrilling sensations that seemed to overtake any rational thoughts as Blade hit that one spot inside him repeatedly.
Absent-mindedly, he could hear Blade’s breaths coming quicker, heavier, his voice grating through as his hand around Dan Heng’s erection became more careless. The bed creaked obscenely beneath them, but the sound was practically drowned out by the short gasps and moans escaping Dan Heng.
Dan Heng came one last time, the orgasm raking through his body like a violent wave of pleasure. The sharp snaps of Blade’s hips didn’t cease; if anything they got faster, overstimulating Dan Heng’s spent body, not giving him even a second to gather himself in the after-effects of his orgasm.
Finally, with a low, gravelly moan, Blade’s motions stuttered, his skin flushing hot under Dan Heng’s harshly clenched hands as he came.
Both of them panting, chests heaving as sweat dripped off their bodies, they slowly stilled. Blade raised his head slightly just to rest his forehead against Dan Heng’s, strands of his long hair clinging to Dan Heng’s damp skin.
Dan Heng felt like he was actually able to breathe for the first time since Blade’s hands had first touched him, however long ago that had been now. Glancing at the small window on the wall, it was still dark outside from what he could see through the drawn curtains.
Blade pulled away slightly, lashes fluttering over his eyes as his brows furrowed. Like he was deep in thought, lost in a question.
“I… was not expecting to feel this… human, afterwards.”
The lost sound of Blade’s voice tugged at Dan Heng’s heart a bit.
Blade closed his eyes and leaned back, pulling out slowly. Dan Heng sucked in a sharp breath at the sudden feeling of emptiness. Blade drew further away, tossing the used condom in a small wastebasket.
“Does that mean,” Dan Heng managed to say as he sat up, his own voice feeling raspy in his throat. “We can just talk normally next time… instead of stabbing each other?” He was half-joking, but there was some hope in his words as well.
Blade huffed a laugh, a sound that was becoming almost painfully familiar. Even more painful, when Dan Heng realised he might not hear it again for a while.
“No… Even without the mara breathing down my neck, I still intend to take your life myself, Imbibitor Lunae. And I guarantee, even if it has rescinded its hold on me for now, it will be back, driving my hands to seek your throat whether the time is right or not.”
Dan Heng went on full alert, the name he had been free from for only a short time suddenly caging him in yet again. His fingers twitched, instinctually wanting to summon Cloud-Piercer.
But Blade’s eyes were akin to gentle embers rather than a raging fire. He was still a man, not a monster, for a brief while yet. A rather murderous man, but a man nonetheless.
Slowly, Dan Heng turned his face away, drawing his knees up to his chest. “Then I won’t hesitate either.”
“Thank you.”
A heavy lump formed in Dan Heng’s throat. He closed his eyes and dropped his head to rest on his knees, breathing deeply. He felt something brush against his head, a gentle hand pushing his hair away from his forehead. It remained there for a long moment, like Blade was debating something. As Dan Heng finally opened his eyes to look at him questioningly, Blade was already removing his hand, turning his back to Dan Heng.
The mattress dipped under his shifting weight before he stood from the edge of the bed, grabbing his pants from the floor to pull them up while his belt buckle clanked against a jade pendant on a strap.
It wouldn’t be safe for him to stay much longer, Dan Heng supposed. Even if Blade was sane now, even if his eyes were gentle, it would come to an end sooner or later, and Dan Heng honestly wasn’t sure when he would regain enough energy to be ready for a fight.
Slowly but surely, the stickiness clinging to his skin was becoming uncomfortable, but Dan Heng couldn’t even bring himself to move yet to wipe his body down. He just sat there, knees hugged to his chest as he watched Blade slowly dress himself.
He looped his belt before he tugged his now loose bandages a little tighter, securing them around his chest and hand. Then he picked up his coat, sliding his arms, decorated with quickly healing red marks courtesy of Dan Heng’s nails, into the sleeves.
As Blade finished with his buttons and leaned down to tug his shoes back on, Dan Heng hesitantly opened his mouth.
“I’m glad it was with you.”
You were the only one it could have been. The one to be his first, and almost certainly his last. In more ways than one.
Blade turned slightly, about to say something in response. The silence of the room was abruptly filled with a faint buzzing noise and Blade blinked, his posture straightening.
“I need to get back to Kafka and the others.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and glancing at the screen as it continued insistently buzzing in his hand, notifications of messages filling up the screen.
He put it back in his pocket, still vibrating with frantic messages as he walked slowly to the door.
“I’ll find you again. For better or for worse.”
And with that he was gone. Dan Heng was left alone, a cold chill settling into his bones as the heat that had seemed to permeate his entire being moments before slowly faded to a distant memory.
After cleaning himself off, he slept in the hotel for the remaining few hours until dawn. Perhaps it was more accurate to say he just rested rather than slept, his mind running furiously, coming to terms with what he’d just done, what he’d just gained only to lose it again within moments.
When morning came, he showered and found the rest of the Astral Express crew, ready to set off for their next stop in the name of the Trailblaze.
He wasn’t sure when he’d see Blade again. When they’d find each other, whether he would have to watch the light die in Blade’s eyes yet again.
But he knew it would happen eventually.
For better or for worse.