✦ ⌇ Dan Heng ⌇ ✦

The Archives were quiet, as always. Dan Heng sat at his desk, a datapad in front of him that he hadn't touched in the last twenty minutes. His eyes were fixed on the screen, but he wasn't reading. He was thinking about you.

He'd been thinking about you a lot lately.

It had started the night you'd sent that photo. He'd been in his quarters, winding down after a long day, when his phone buzzed with a notification from you. He'd opened it without thinking—and then he'd stared at the screen, his breath catching in his throat.

You. Bare. Vulnerable. Trusting.

He'd saved the image before he could stop himself. He'd told himself it was for evidence, in case you tried to claim it was a hack. He'd told himself a lot of things.

The next morning, you'd sent a frantic message: "I'm so sorry, that was a mistake, please ignore it."

He hadn't replied. He couldn't. Because every time he thought about you, his chest tightened with something he didn't want to name.

Now you were standing in his doorway, your eyes wide and apologetic, your hands clasped in front of you like you were bracing for impact as you said you needed to talk to him.

He set down his datapad, his expression carefully neutral.

Dan Heng: "I'm listening."

You explained you were drunk and that you were out of your mind, and asked if he could just forget it

Dan Heng's jaw tightened.

Forget it.

He'd spent every night since then trying to forget it. Trying to forget the curve of your body, the softness in your eyes, the way the image had burned itself into his memory. He'd woken up more than once with his hand between his legs, your name on his lips.

And now you were asking him to pretend it never happened.

Dan Heng: (His voice was cold, controlled.) "Who were you trying to send it to?" At your face of confusion, he stood up, his tall frame casting a shadow over you. "The photo. You must have meant to send it to someone. Who was it?"

You said you didn't know and that you didn't remember

Dan Heng: (Stepping closer.) "You don't remember."

When you asked if he could try to forget, something in Dan Heng snapped.

He crossed the distance between you in two quick strides, his hands cupping your face, his lips crashing against yours. It wasn't gentle. It wasn't tentative. It was desperate and hungry and full of all the words he'd been too afraid to say.

You made a small sound of surprise against his mouth, but you didn't push him away.

When he finally broke the kiss, his forehead rested against yours, his breath ragged.

Dan Heng: (His voice was rough, mocking, repeating your own words back to you.) "'Forget it.'"

He pulled back just enough to look into your eyes, his thumb tracing your lower lip.

Dan Heng: "I can't forget it. I can't forget the way you looked. I can't forget the way I felt when I saw that photo." His voice dropped, softer now. "And I can't pretend I don't want you. I've been trying. Every day since then, I've been trying to push this down. But I can't."

He leaned in, his lips brushing against your ear.

Dan Heng: "So no. I won't forget it. And neither will you."

The snow of Everwinter Hill was relentless - a white storm that swallowed sound and blurred the edges of every jagged rock. Dan Heng had separated from the others hours ago, following a trail of Stellaron corruption that wound deeper into the frozen wasteland. His breath misted in the air, his grip tight on Cloud Piercer, his teal eyes scanning the horizon for threats.

He should have been watching his back.

The first blow came from nowhere, that caught him in the shoulder, sending him stumbling. He spun, spear raised, and found you standing ten paces away, your expression cold and familiar.

You.

The Stellaron Hunter who had been hunting him for months. The one who knew his fighting style, his weaknesses, his patterns. The one who should have killed him the first time you met - except Dan Heng had seen something in your eyes that made him hesitate. Something that didn't belong to you. Something that belonged to another lifetime.

Dan Heng: (Lowering his spear slightly, his voice flat.) "You again."

The battle was brutal.

You'd trained for this - every encounter had taught you something new about how he moved, how he thought, how he fought. Your attacks came faster now, more precise, driving him back across the snow-covered rocks. Dan Heng parried, dodged, countered, but you could see him tiring. His breathing was ragged. His movements were slowing.

And then you had him.

You pinned his spear arm to the ground. Your knee pressed into his chest, forcing him flat against the frozen earth. His teal eyes stared up at you - not afraid, not angry, just... watching. Waiting.

You expected fear. You expected defiance. You expected anything except the way his gaze dropped to your mouth, then back to your eyes, his pupils blown wide despite the brightness of the snow.

Something hot flickered in his expression. Something that made your next words die in your throat.

Dan Heng moved.

One moment you were on top, victorious, in control. The next, his free hand had grabbed your wrist, twisted, and reversed your positions. The spear clattered away, forgotten. You were the one pinned now, your back against the cold stone, his body pressed against yours, his face from your own.

Dan Heng: (His voice was low, rough, completely unlike the cold, controlled tone he usually used with you.) "You still fight the same way."

He should have killed you. Should have summoned his spear, driven it through your chest, ended this cat-and-mouse game once and for all.

Instead, he lowered his head and kissed you.

The world stopped.

His lips were cold from the snow but soft, insistent, moving against yours like he'd been waiting centuries for this moment. Because maybe he had. Not Dan Heng - but the man he used to be. The man whose memories flickered behind his eyes every time he saw your face.

Dan Feng.

Your past self's lover. Your enemy's past life.

You should have pushed him away. Should have broken free, finished the mission Elio had given you. But your hands weren't pushing. They were gripping his coat, pulling him closer, kissing him back with a desperation you didn't understand.

Dan Heng: (Pulling back just enough to breathe, his forehead pressed against yours.) "I've been waiting for you. In every lifetime, I've been waiting."

His hand slid from your wrist to your hip, fingers curling into the fabric of your suit. His mouth found your neck - not biting, not marking, just pressing against your pulse point, feeling the way your heart raced beneath his lips.

Dan Heng: "Tell me to stop." His voice was raw, barely controlled. "Tell me you don't feel it too, and I'll stop."

You couldn't. The words wouldn't come. Because you did feel it - a pull, a recognition, a warmth spreading through your chest that had nothing to do with the freezing cold around you.

Dan Heng: (Lifting his head, his teal eyes dark with want.) "I thought so."

The maid's quarters were small but comfortable - a place where you could retreat after long days of cleaning, organizing, and serving the crew of the Astral Express. Tonight, the shower was running, steam filling the tiny bathroom as you let the hot water wash away the day's exhaustion.

You'd been thinking about him again. You were always thinking about him.

Dan Heng. The quiet, reserved guard who rarely spoke more than a few words at a time. The one who accepted your coffee without comment, who let you clean his room without acknowledging the extra care you put into it. You'd been drawn to him from the moment you first saw him - his sharp features, his calm demeanor, the way he seemed to carry the weight of centuries on his shoulders.

And then there was the shirt.

You'd taken it from his laundry, just one, an old black turtleneck you'd assumed he wouldn't miss. You'd hidden it under your pillow, and at night, when the ship was quiet, you'd press it to your face and breathe in his scent - clean, faintly metallic, like rain on stone.

You were so lost in thought that you didn't hear the door open.

It wasn't until you heard your name - spoken in that cool, familiar voice - that you froze. You spun around, your hands flying up to cover yourself, and found Dan Heng standing in the doorway, the stolen turtleneck dangling from his fingers.

Your heart stopped.

Dan Heng: (His voice was calm, measured, but his blue eyes were fixed on you with an intensity that made your skin prickle.) "I found this in your quarters."

You tried to speak but he interrupted

Dan Heng: (He took a step closer.) "There's no need for excuses."

He set the shirt down on the counter, his gaze never leaving yours. The steam from the shower swirled around him, making his silhouette seem almost ethereal.

Dan Heng: "You've been on my mind for too long now."

You opened your mouth to respond, but no words came out. He was looking at your body - not leering, but appraising, like he was finally allowing himself to see what he'd been pretending not to notice.

Dan Heng: "I've been patient. I've waited. I've told myself that this was just infatuation, that it would pass." He took another step closer, close enough that you could feel the heat radiating from his body. "But it hasn't passed. And I find myself thinking about you—the way you move, the way you look at me when you think I'm not watching."

He reached out, his fingers brushing against your damp shoulder. You shivered at the contact, your heart racing.

Dan Heng: "You took something of mine. Now I'll take something of yours." A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "A shower. With you."

You were stuttering now, completely shocked.

Dan Heng: (Stepping past you toward the shower, his hand already reaching for the hem of his turtleneck.) "You don't have to say anything. Just... let me."

The water was warm. The steam was thick. And as Dan Heng's clothes fell away, you realized that this was what you'd wanted all along - him, finally looking at you like you were more than just a maid.

He stepped into the shower with you, his body close, his hands finding your waist.

The day had been long.

Dan Heng had spent most of it in the Archives, trying to focus on his research, but you'd made that impossible. Every time he turned around, you were there - brushing past him in the hallway, leaning over his shoulder to "check" his work, making little comments that were just innocent enough to be harmless but just pointed enough to drive him insane.

He knew what you were doing. You were being bratty. Purposefully. You wanted a reaction.

And you got one.

He'd had enough. He'd picked you up without a word - one arm hooked under your knees, the other around your back - and carried you through the ship to his quarters. He'd ignored your protests, your laughter, the way you squirmed against him. He'd set you down on his bed, pinned you beneath him with a single hand on your wrists, and looked down at you with those sharp blue eyes.

Dan Heng: "You've been testing my patience all day."

You feigned innocence, saying you didn't know what you were talking about

Dan Heng: (His voice was low, dangerous.) "Yes, you do. You've been poking and prodding and pushing. You wanted my attention. Well, you have it now."

You opened your mouth to retort, but he cut you off.

Dan Heng: "You wanted to see my true form. You've been asking for months."

He released your wrists and sat up, his eyes never leaving yours. Slowly, deliberately, he reached for the hem of his turtleneck and pulled it over his head. His pants followed, then his boots, until he was bare before you.

And then he let go.

The air in the room seemed to shift. A shimmer ran across his skin, and he began to transform. His hair grew longer, cascading down his back in waves of black and teal. Translucent green horns curved from his temples, and his ears sharpened into elegant points. His eyes—now a bright, luminous green—gained a slit pupil, like a dragon's.

And then there was his tail. Long, sinuous, tipped with a tuft of black scales that caught the dim light. It curled behind him, swaying lazily.

But it wasn't the horns, or the ears, or even the tail that made you gasp.

It was the two cocks standing proudly at his groin.

Dan Heng: (A faint smirk tugged at his lips, the first sign of amusement he'd shown all day.) "You're staring."

His voice was smooth, almost lazy, but there was a glint in his green eyes that made your heart race.

Dan Heng: "This is what you wanted, isn't it? My true form?" His hand traced down your side, coming to rest on your hip. "You're going to have to take both of them. That's your punishment."

*You gulped. Punishment? For teasing him all day?"

Dan Heng: "Yes, for being so insufferable all day." He nipped at your ear, and you shivered. "You're going to take everything I give you. And you're going to enjoy it."

His tail curled around your leg, pulling you closer, and his voice dropped to a low murmur.

Dan Heng: "And when you're full, when you've taken all of me, you're going to remember not to push me so far next time."

He pulled back just enough to look at you, his green eyes dark and intense.

Dan Heng: "Unless you want this again." A pause. "Which I suspect you do."