heng_like_a_dragon

[Holy... how well off is Blade if he can say this so casually??]

No, I'm not opposed to going inside. It's just... um, isn't that a high-end restaurant? As in, one that requires dressing up for?

[Dan Heng's trying his damn best to stay polite without actually asking Blade pointblank if he realizes how expensive that place is. And then the man just casually drops that hint about the holidays. Permanence, grant him strength. Dan Heng sighs softly.]

If you're taking me out to such a nice place, then I would prefer the beginning of December to get prepared.

[Mentally, emotionally, budget- and wardrobe-wise.]

[He knows how much things cost but he's not stupid with his money like Dan Heng's cousin so let him have this.]

It's a steakhouse. You wouldn't be the first person in a polo to show up, and certainly not the last. [He pauses, then his lips curve into a little smirk.] What, are you imagining me in a bow tie?

[Blade actually teasing back is a bit of a development at least?!]

That's fine. I can wait.

[It's a steakhouse, he says. Dan Heng gives him a flat side-eye.]

I'm not going to that restaurant in just a polo. My mother would kill me for being so disrespectful, for starters, and then my cousin would have his turn killing me.

[He returns his attention to the road. The temptation to bite back with how he can more easily imagine Blade in a collar is resisted valiantly, and only because he knows that'll be taken as innuendo.]

I can't imagine it at all, actually.

[His tone is dry as he retorts, but there's a notable absence of ice.]

[Blade tries to stifle a laugh in his hand, but he's only halfway successful. He'll just pretend he didn't say anything.]

If you insist then we can dress up. I'll try not to embarrass you.

[HONESTLY...]

There's valet parking included, at least.

[This... feels easy. Comfortable. Familiar. But he knows it can't be, because their past lives were so fraught with danger and anxiety. That's probably why he can't remember the good times he supposedly had, though sometimes he sees bits and pieces in dreams. In one of them, he recalls gently-gloved fingers tying the bracer around his arm, and then touching his cheek. It makes him ache.

Anything else is always taken from him if he's awake.]

... A few days ago, I spoke to the kid who got rid of his demon. It's real. They found a way to defeat it, and he's free.

It looks like I have another reason to live instead. Even if it's just so we can have stupid arguments like this... I'm fine with that.

[He pointedly keeps his gaze outside, and he thinks of what Kafka said. We are all on borrowed time, Bladie.]

Maybe I'd like to keep on arguing with you, and listen to you talk about your family, and eat the food you bring me, for as long as I can.

That's good enough, isn't it?

[He resists the urge to roll his eyes.]

Of course there's valet parking.

[Because people should abso-fucking-lutely show up to a restaurant wearing a t-shirt when it offers valet services. So appropriate and not at all embarrassing.

However, then the conversation turns more serious. Dan Heng falls silent as he listens to Blade, and something in his heart... aches. He's not sure what to do, honestly. Should he reach out to him? No, he's being silly. Dan Heng's driving and he doesn't want to jeopardize their safety.]

... I'd like to continue as we are, too.

[He feels as if he's been missing something his whole life, but didn't know it until now.]

If that's good enough of a reason for you, it's good enough for me. [Dan Heng pauses for a beat.] I will help you gain that freedom if you want me to. Just let me know.

[Maybe he shouldn't have changed the subject. He's worried for a minute-- but then Dan Heng says that, and Blade realizes he has been holding his breath.

Ah...]

I don't know if I can choose when 'it' happens. If it was as easy as issuing some kind of challenge, I would have fought it a hundred times over already...

[He's quiet for a long moment, and then he says:]

... When that time comes, I'll trust you. If anyone can lead me out of that place, it's you.

[After all, Blade followed him everywhere before. But this time it'll be for their survival, and not the sake of a misguided obsession.]

[Dan Heng gets a sense of deja vu. In a way, it seems they're continuing a cycle. One leading the other out of darkness. He thinks... Yingxing did that for Dan Feng, and then it fell to Dan Heng to lead Blade back. Now, it feels as if they're doing both at once in this life. Sometimes, he wonders if life has a sense of humor.]

I'll make certain that I'm ready by then.

[Blade's trust means a lot. He understands it's normally not easily won.]

Until then, try not to get arrested when you gift me with something while I'm on campus. [His tone is dry, but he's trying to lighten the mood a little.]

[It does indeed, but he can't say he hates what they are now. He... wouldn't mind the potential of getting closer, but... there is a big fat demon in the way, and he understands that.]

All right.

[... Then Dan Heng just has to say that. Blade is trying so very hard to keep a straight face, but he can't resist the little curve in his lips, the glimpse of a grin. Maybe in this life, Dan Heng is the one to break his cranky facade instead of Yingxing being Dan Feng's humor.]

I didn't take you for the flowers type. Or should I go for poetry?

[BLADE]

[The temptation to toss this man out of his car into incoming traffic is so, so high right now.]

I think your poetry would be hampered by thoughts of smithing.

[Dan Heng's really starting to wonder if this is just... how the two of them specifically flirt. It still seems difficult to tell, though. However, despite the teasing back-and-forth they've got going on, Dan Heng decides to open up a little more.]

I'm not... accustomed to gifts like this. Flattering as it is that you're taking the time to create things like that sword for me, I don't want you to get into trouble for it.

[He manages not to bark a laugh, but only just barely.]

Perhaps.

[Dan Heng does seem to understand what's in his head at any given moment, at least lately.

... Is he opening up? Blade actually looks over.]

If anyone tried to stop me, I was going to tell them it was for a history project. [bruh] Besides, it's Halloween season. No one is going to look twice at an escaped con guest.

[BLADE PLEASE STOP BEING SELF AWARE

also there's a pause, and then--]

You think it's flattering?

[BLADE]

Edited 2023-09-17 07:17 (UTC)

You're... [He sighs in exasperation. Dan Heng's suddenly reminded of a certain Trailblazer who has gotten the same sigh out of him.] Blade. You give the impression that every season is Halloween season.

[Not that it's a bad thing, necessarily. He's just saying, though.

Dan Heng glances at Blade with a faint hint of incredulity.]

Yes. Why would it not be?

[Blade does not look fazed by this.] I wear what's comfortable. If that happens to convince people to stay away, then all the better.

[He glances back at the window.]

It's just that... most people would probably find it strange. Not that it stopped me.

... I don't think it's worked as well as you hoped, then.

[Everyone likes a feral, goth badboy. Apparently. That's what pop culture has taught people.]

... You're obviously a craftsman of considerable skill. Even if it had been leather gloves instead of a sword, I would've been flattered that you took the time and effort to create something specifically for me.

[He pauses.]

Though, perhaps it would've been less... concerning if you had shown up with a kitchen knife set. At least then it could've been put into a more inconspicuous box. However... hm. It feels more like you're being genuinely yourself by giving me something like an enchanted weapon.

[Which is to say that he's still grateful and that he'll simply have to be more prepared next time he's gifted a weapon by Blade.]

Only because some people like a challenge.

[HE LIKES A CHALLENGE]

... Ah. [Well, it's not like he's... embarrassed by that or anything.] I felt I needed to make something, and inspiration can come from anywhere...

[Casually admitting Dan Heng is kind of his muse? Oops.]

... I could still make you a knife set. If you wanted.

Such as yourself?

[Yes, he's calling Blade out. The man deserves it almost always.

... Yeah, that sure is a confession of being Blade's muse. Somehow. Only now is it dawning on Dan Heng just how bad Blade seems to have it for him. He's not sure what to do with that information, so he just keeps it in the back of his mind for now.]

I suppose you're right. [...] Whatever you make for me, I will keep and treasure.

[He's weak to that sad, dejected dog look that Blade can now pull off because of those damn ears. Dan Heng will make only one exception for that look working on him, and that exception is apparently an unhinged blacksmith with a demon problem. He's blaming Dan Feng definitively for everything.]

Perhaps.

[He didn't survive a horrible accident just to be bored until the demon takes his life.]

You don't have to keep something if it's not good. [Said like a guy who just Makes Things and throws them away all the time.] I won't be upset.

Like I told you before, I can't slow down for anything. At my skill level, failure is just an indication that I need more experience. In time I'll be able to tell if something is worth the energy or not, but I'm still learning my way around magical materials, not to mention different types of magic enchantments.

[Dan Heng sighs softly. He pulls into the parking lot of a grocery store, but he reaches over to tug sharply on a strand of Blade's hair. Normally, he wouldn't do this. However, Blade's words deserve it.]

The way you say that makes it sound like this gift means nothing and that I should treat it as such. However, I know for a fact that you made this with me in mind, and you put forth all of your current effort for that purpose.

[He gives Blade a Look.]

Many people could make this exact weapon, but none of them would be able to make it like you could. That is what makes it special as a gift.

—Ack!

[Is that the reaction you wanted, Dan Heng? Because Blade smushes himself against the door and looks extremely offended, his ears pinned all the way back, not unlike a cat who has just been sprayed with water.]

Yes, but—

[...

He is not winning this one, he can just tell. He sighs after a moment and gives up.]

... Anyway, I've only been here once or twice since I moved, so I don't know where everything is.

[... The ears make this far more comical than it should.]

Good. Neither do I.

[He just happens to know generally how the store will be laid out. It'll be a fun, domestic adventure. Or something.

Dan Heng gets out of the car and will head into the grocery store with Blade. This is still Not A Date. Totally.]

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