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littlebluedandelion · 4 months ago

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AHHHH NO WAY 🥹this is incredible! Thank youuu ✨

Kiss Me Like the World is Ending - Honkai: Star rail Fanfiction

Hoyoverse does not get to CPR kiss-block the DanStelle fans twice. So I fixed it. (Special thank you to @littlebluedandelion for THIS illustration that sparked my inspiration for this story.)

Everything hurt.

Stelle pried open her eyes, blinking them against the sting of dust and smoke. Even once her vision focused, all she could see was rubble covered in a fog. Where in the heck was she?

Her head throbbed, but she forced herself to recall her last moments. The jostling carriage, plummeting to Amphoreus at a dizzying rate. Her reaching out to Dan Heng; him grasping onto her in return. The way she clung to him as they were thrown from their seats, flying forward. And that was where her memories ended.

But now, there was no one in her arms, nor was she in anyone’s arms. She was alone.

Her stomach plummeted, her heart picking up its pace as blood started roaring in her ears. Where was Dan Heng?

A new urgency filled her, calling her to push past any soreness and get to her feet. There were white bits of stone scattered all around her, the dust settling everywhere. Her breathing quickened as her heart raced, lining her already dry mouth in a chalky coating. When she looked up to survey her surroundings, she could see the train car on top a pile of rubble, fire obscuring it.

Her increasing worry was making her sicker by the second. Please, aeons, say Dan Heng wasn’t in there. She couldn’t lose him. Not now; not after everything they’ve been through.

Not after she’d realized she was falling for him.

Two seconds later, a flash of green caught her attention.

Oh, thank Akivili.

She rushed over to Dan Heng, practically collapsing to her knees beside him. “Dan Heng?”

He didn’t stir.

Although he was propped up against shattered white marble, he hardly looked comfortable, his head hanging at an odd angle while his legs and arms were curled in such a way to barely keep him upright.

Before she did anything, she laid him down as gently as she could, cradling him in her arms as though he was priceless. Because to her, he was. She proceeded to adjust his limbs so they weren’t bent at odd angles, checking him over for injuries as she did. Though his clothes bore signs of dirt, dust, and minor burn marks, she didn’t see any sign of blood.

“Dan Heng?” she called out again. She reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes. Even at her touch, they remained closed. His face didn’t seem to bear any wounds, thank goodness, but he showed no signs of stirring either.

“Dan Heng.” She was growing slightly more worried now. Even as she shook him, he didn’t wake. Her gut began to tighten again. How was she supposed to get him back to consciousness? Did he hit his head too hard?

Think, Stelle, think! What would Dan Heng do?

Pulse. Right, that. There were a few major pulse points on the body. The ones she remembered were on the wrist and neck, one on each side. With shaking hands, she reached for his wrist, trying to find the pulse point Dan Heng had shown her in the past. But she couldn’t feel a thing.

Ugh, that one was always hard.

Ripping off her gloves, she reached for his neck instead, trying to find the… artery… of some name. Oh, whatever! Who cared about the name; she just had to find it.

Deep breath, Stelle.

She forced herself to inhale, then with quivering hands, ran her fingertips under his jaw. Once, twi—there! A pulse.

Before she could think, she moved her hand over his chest, over where his heart would be. Where it was beating. She allowed herself to exhale, her gut untangling once again. If she focused long enough, she could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He was breathing, however shallow it was.

But he still wouldn’t wake.

“Dan Heng.” She shook his chest. “Please, I’m begging you, wake up.”

No response.

Now what?

Her mind flashed back to when she’d first met March and Dan Heng, back when she’d been graced with his face being the first thing she saw upon coming out of unconsciousness. What was Dan Heng trying to do when she’d first met him? Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?

She hesitated. Should she?

The immediate question that screamed in her mind was why was she hesitating? She absolutely should. The man she cared for more than she’d ever realized she could needed her to do something. She couldn’t just sit on her heels and cry!

Truth be told, she didn’t want her first kiss with him to be like this. She wanted him to swoop in like one of March’s aeon awful romances and—

Dangnabbit, now was not the time!

She tilted his head back, trying to recall how to go about this. Chin, nose, breath. Right?

“Sorry, Dan Heng,” she whispered, her voice a little shrill with worry. Still, she touched her lips to his, hesitating a moment before—

A hand cupped the back of her head.

Startled, she pulled away with a gasp.

Below her, Dan Heng started coughing.

The last bit of tension in her stomach eased. He was alive. He was breathing. He was moving.

He was coughing from her assistance.

Before an apology slipped from her mouth, the hand on the back of her head slid down to her neck, his fingers clinging to her tighter. They stole the words from her throat.

“Sorry… for what?” His voice was breathless… and blessedly present… and devastatingly handsome, are you kidding? That voice was going to haunt her dreams later.

“Uh… uhhnn…”

His fingers threaded through her hair, holding her head there. Finally, his eyes cracked open. Aeons, she hadn’t realized how happy she was to see those gray-blue orbs.

“Not keeping you safe,” she finally managed, her voice squeakier than she would have hoped.

“Don’t,” he whispered. “I… I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Her heart squeezed. Had he worried about her, too?

Don’t be stupid, she warned herself, her hopes of his words holding a deeper meaning plummeting. Of course he was worried about her. They were friends, after all.

Friends. Just friends.

She shoved her disappointment from her mind. “Are you hurt?”

He took a deep breath. “Sore. But fine.” Regrettably, his expression soured as he pulled his hand away. Only, it didn’t stray far before it was back in her hair, brushing it out of her face. “I’m more worried about you. You passed out from the crash. I barely managed to pull you out before I fainted. Are you okay?”

She couldn’t form an answer as his fingers continued their exploration of her head. She was going to melt under his scrutinizing gaze. But then his other hand came up to grasp her shoulder before running over her body; down her arm, over her back, prodding her side.

Oh dear aeons, take her now. She was going to have a heart attack the way he was feeling her over.

She opened her mouth, hoping she would be able to speak even a half-coherent sentence when his fingers once again found the back of her neck, and all words flat out died like Cocolia in her throat. Hot dang, she was going to explode. Her face wouldn’t have been this warm if she’d stuck it in a fire.

“I…” I’m going to melt under your touch and cave to the urge to kiss you again. “I can handle a beating.”

A weak chuckle escaped him, his lips tilting into a lopsided smile. “I know, but that’s not what I asked.”

He ran his hand up her back, prodding at her spine.

Her face was on fire.

“I-I’m fine,” she finally stuttered out.

His expression faltered, and the hand he was checking her over with came up to cup her cheek. “If you’re sure.”

“Yes.”

He rubbed his thumb under her eye, swiping something away. “Then I’ll trust you.”

Between his tender touches and his concerned voice, she was jello under his touch. He hadn’t the faintest clue that he was giving her fodder for months’ worth of happy dreams right now. How was she supposed to live with herself?

Focus, girl!

“Can you get up?” she asked.

He heaved a sigh, his eyes fluttering closed. “Give me a moment.”

She took a breath of relief, hanging her head lower over him. Only, the hand on the back of her head felt heavier than she realized, coaxing her to dip her head lower, lower, lower still…

Until she flat out collapsed on him, their chests pressed together as her chin rested on his collarbone and nose brushed against his neck. If she leaned forward, she could…

She slammed her eyes shut. There would be no more kissing or thoughts of kissing or anything of the sort until they were out of the woods. Yes, it was a disappointment, but there were more pressing issues right now!

Instead, she took a deep breath, holding it for a second before slowly exhaling.

She could feel his body tense beneath her, his chest heaving from his sharp inhale as he tilted his head back.

She froze. Did she do something?

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, lifting her head to meet his gaze.

He grunted. “Go easy on me…”

The words were spoken so quietly and quickly she barely heard them. “What?”

He cracked his eyes open again. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest when she realized how close they were. “I… I’m fine. We…” He took a breath, simultaneously stealing hers when he rubbed his fingers at the back of her neck again. “Should go.”

“Y-yeah…”

Yet neither moved.

His fingers twitched against her skin, and she fell closer, her eyes flitting down to his lips.

And was it her imagination or did his eyes flit to hers?

Screw it. Kiss him!

Hesitantly, she lowered her lips closer to his, wondering what CPR would be like this time.

But Dan Heng tilted his head away and cleared his throat. “Um… That’s… not how CPR is supposed to be done… by the way.”

Embarrassment flooded her face. Hell, even the Scalegorge Waterscape would say they were only lightly watered by comparison. “Sorry!” she squeaked, scrambling to her feet. Spotting her discarded glove, she snatched it off the ground, focusing on putting it back on so she wouldn’t have to face the source of both her adoration and mortification.

If she thought about it, the fact she so strongly felt the first probably exacerbated the second.

Dan Heng slowly propped himself up, taking a moment to collect himself once he reached a sitting position. It took Stelle far too long to have the good sense to offer him a hand up. He took hold of it, hosting himself to his feet.

Which brought them chest to chest again.

She caught hold of his arm, grabbing tightly to steady him. It didn’t take long for her mind to register just how toned those arms of his were. What would they feel like wrapped around her body, holding her close in a tender embrace? She’d already had them around her in a protective fervor more than once, and she hated that she wasn’t able to truly savor those moments, not when they had to get up and fight and—

Her heart was fluttering, the sudden urge to kiss him rushing back to her once again. She bit her lip. Do it. Just do it! This once, throw all caution to the wind and—

He leaned forward first, closing the distance between them as their lips touched. Briefly, lightly, world-endingly. And then he dared to whisper, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

… Okay, as far as real first kisses go, it may not have been what she pictured, but it was still perfect.

“Me, too,” she returned, before clarifying, “About you.”

The world had frozen, containing just the two of them. Like they were stuck in a photo on March’s camera. It was idealistic.

But Dan Heng pulled away, shattering the illusion. “We… we need to go.” Although he put a step’s worth of distance between them, he didn’t drop her hand. “It’s not wise to stay here.”

“Y-yeah.” Although reluctant, she had to agree. This place was a disaster zone, and her mind oh-so-kindly reminded her that they were here on a mission. And, much to her dismay, that mission wasn’t “Operation: Kiss Dan Heng.”

He cleared his throat, turning away. Maybe the low lighting was playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn his cheeks were red. “Um… forget… what just happened. That was… inappropriate timing.”

Yeah, there was no way for that to happen. “So?”

His eyes widened slightly as he turned back to her. Oh, he definitely wore a blush.

It proved she wasn’t the only one here flustered. Ironically, knowing that calmed her down. “I… if we’re going to… you know, be walking into trouble, um… that’s really nice information to know. ‘That’ being what just happened, not knowing that we were walking into trouble. Not that that wouldn’t be nice to know—”

“Stelle.”

Thank you for shutting me up. “Yes?”

He switched which of his hands was holding her, allowing him to lace their fingers together. “We’ll… we’ll find a more appropriate time to talk about… um, all this.”

She gave his hand a squeeze as her heart danced hopefully within her chest. “Promise?”

The smile he gave her was devastatingly handsome. “You have my word.”

And then he began walking forward, pulling her along.

She used their interlocked hands to pull him half a step closer, their shoulders bumping in the process. “One last thing before we drop it?”

“Can it wait?”

She stuck their hands out in front of them. “I like this.”

He gave her hand a light squeeze. “Just prepared if I have to let go.”

“Why? Do you hate holding my hand that much?”

He glanced over at her. “In case we run into trouble.”

Oh… duh. Her face felt warm again. Her gaze fell to the rubble-scattered ground before her. “Yeah, that.”

Dan Heng then leaned closer to her ear, causing the most pleasant skitters up her spine. “I won’t let go otherwise.”

Aeons. She could die happy now with all the promises he’d made her. She leaned into him, once again bumping their shoulders together. “Sounds good to me.”

#danstelle #just wow #love this #honkai fanfic #honkai star rail

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