thenovelartist - Tumblr blog

[thenovelartist]

Relics hate me and the feeling is mutual!

I just want to power up my Imbibitor Lunae, and the game will not let me!!!

[thenovelartist]

The Unfortunate Amnesiac - Honkai: Star Rail fanfiction

Author wrote this immediately after playing Ruan Mei's mission, yet it sat unfinished and unattended for weeks. Oops.

Trusting Ruan Mei so blindly had been a mistake. Stelle didn’t think it should have been a mistake, considering this woman had contributed so much to the Simulated Universe that Stelle had tested on an unfortunately regular basis, but it was.

And now, here she was faced with the prospect of losing her memories once again.

She’d been too caught up in mad scientist drama to realize how terrifying a prospect that was, but now that the adrenaline was wearing off, her nerves started to kick in and her mind began replaying everything. She finally realized how horrifying that thought was, her hands shaking and stomach twisting so violently she wanted to vomit. I can’t… I can’t do this again. 

But there was no antidote. There was no fixing this. There was only loss.

She hung her head in her hands as she squatted in a corner of the space station, two steps from a mental breakdown. Was there really nothing she could do to preserve her memories?

A flash of green out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked up expecting to see a certain archivist—

Wait.

While the researcher passed her by, only sparing a concerned glance her way, Stelle’s mind raced with the realization that there was a way to save this, even if it was imperfect.

Scrambling off the floor, she ran to the Astral Express, tearing through the parlor at warp speed only to burst into the archive room. Thankfully, she was greeted with the sight of a shocked archivist organizing files instead of an empty room. 

“Help me.”

Dan Heng's brow furrowed, his eyes darkening in concern as he snapped his book shut.

I need to tell you about what just happened!

“I need to talk with you about garbage cans.”

Her eyes widened in horror. No!

That’s when the rest of her mind finally caught up with her. She still couldn’t speak on the subject. In her anger, she kicked the door frame. She couldn’t even ask for help from her friend. “Are you kidding me?!”

And with that cry, she slid down the wall to the ground, curling herself up into a ball as the tears threatened to spill over.

“Stelle.” The usually peaceful voice had an edge to it. She glanced up just in time to see Dan Heng kneel before her, taking one of her clenched fists into his hand to hold. “What happened?”

That’s when she broke. The tears spilled over before she could stop them. Now, she couldn’t talk at all, forget trying to even say what she meant without it diverting to something stupid.

His face contorted, though she couldn’t tell if it was anger or pity. Both, maybe?

Then he reached forward to cradle her cheek, swiping away one of her tear trails. “Talk to me.”

“I want to,” she said, her voice coming out weak and warbly.

“I’ll listen.”

“I… don’t know if I can.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

I mean I ate a drug that prevents me from doing so.

“I mean I hate plum cake!”

She didn’t have a chance to see the face he made. She just slapped her hands over her face.

His brow furrowed deeper in confusion.

Dragging her hands down her face, she looked back up at him. Could she try to talk around it? Maybe? Which begged the question: how could she even describe this? “Um… Oh! March’s mermaid.”

“March’s… what?”

“That story March was telling me about! With the mermaid that sold her voice to a witch.”

He looked confused but tentatively played along. “You… sold your voice to a witch?”

“Kinda.”

“Kind of.”

“I can’t speak because the mermaid signed her voice away.”

“You can’t speak because…” She watched as the gears in his mind turned over and over. “Can you not talk about it?”

Hope flashing through her, she eagerly tapped a finger to both his nose and hers. “I like sweets.”

“Because… you like… sweets?” he slowly reiterated.

She tapped his nose twice.

“To a…” His eyes soon shot wide in realization. Slowly, he took her hand in his, pulling it down away from his face. “Stelle, were you drugged?”

She nodded, relief suddenly rushing through her. This was working. She could pull this off.

His grip on her tightened. “Who?”

She wasn’t even going to attempt to answer that. Instead, she tapped her lips, shaking her head.

“You can’t speak on it at all?”

Not unless I want to blurt something stupid.

“The trashcans of Belobog are superior.”

He cocked his head in confusion.

She rolled her eyes.

“I… Ugh.” Dan Heng ran a tired hand over his eyes. “This is going to get us nowhere.” He went to stand up. 

No. No don’t! In her panic, she reached out to grab hold of his coat, clinging to it like a child. “Don’t leave.”

“I’m not,” he assured, grabbing her hands and pulling her up to her feet. “If you can’t speak, can you show me?”

Could she show him? Would the medicine allow that?

No, she had to try.

Her hand in his, she started running out of the Astral Express when she suddenly stopped, causing him to run into her.

“Stelle—”

“Wait there!” She left him in the doorway to the Express, running back to the archives to grab his notebook before running back to Dan Heng. She slid to a stop before him, slapping his notebook against his chest.

He took the notebook, looking it over as he thought. “You want me to record this?”

She nodded, her heart thumping painfully in her chest. How can I communicate I won’t remember?

“You tried to kiss me when you found me.”

… those were not the words she had in mind.

He sputtered. “I-it was not a kiss,” he corrected, looking a little flustered. “It was CPR.”

She sighed, her cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Um… March tried to find her memories on the Luofu. Fu Xuan was super awesome trying to help.” She then pointed at her head.

Catching on, his eyes narrowed. “Memories?”

She nodded, her eyes beginning to tear up again. “I…” Before she could even think of how to phrase her next sentence, the tears started rolling down her cheeks again.

With a gentle hand, Dan Heng reached out to wipe them away. “Stelle, will the drug affect your memories?”

She sniffed, biting her lip. I don’t want to forget. “Pom-pom is my favorite crew member.”

Was it just her, or did he look a little hurt by that? “I’ll… take that as a yes.”

Grabbing his hand once again, she led him off the train. Though, before she started making her way towards the storage zone, she glanced over towards the large window near the port, searching for someone who was long gone.

“Stelle?” Dan Heng’s gentle voice was paired with a squeeze of her hand.

Shaking her head, she turned away. “Let’s go.”

She led him through her misadventure, everything from the graffiti to the toilet portal. At every stop, she pointed at his notebook, instructing him to record everything she couldn’t say. Between pantomiming things and trying to speak in secret code, it took a long time to even get a fraction of her intent across. It was infuriating.

Thankfully, Dan Heng was the brains of the group. He caught on quickly even though he certainly looked exhausted by her antics. She couldn’t fault him for it; this wasn’t exactly fun for her, either.

“So… I’m going to assume you flushed the mooncake down this portal?” he asked to confirm.

She nodded.

“And do you know where it went?”

Unfortunately, all too well.

Instead of even trying to speak, she just grabbed his hand once again and led him to the elevator. Already, a pit was growing in her stomach, and she wanted to make her way to the nearest trashcan to cling to. However, she didn’t know how much time she had left; there was no time for detours. With a heavy sigh, she tapped the screen, waiting for the elevator to come and take them down.

And when the elevator opened with a quiet hiss, she found her feet frozen to the ground.

It was Dan Heng who led her forward this time. With him by her side, she found just enough energy to lift her feet and trudge into the elevator. The doors shut behind her, and it started its descent, her stomach dropping with it.

“Are you okay?” Dan Heng asked, now standing in front of Stelle and looking at her with concern etched into his expression.

She opened her mouth, words catching in her throat just long enough for her brain to process how she wanted to answer. “No.”

Then, she leaned forward, half slumping against his shoulder and using it as support.

Although he’d froze under her action, he didn’t chide her for it. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her up.

Sadly, she didn’t get to enjoy the moment for long. The elevator soon slowed before opening with that same gentle hiss. Taking a deep breath, Stelle forced herself to stand on her own again.

“You’ve got this,” Dan Heng gently encouraged.

… well geez, when he sweet-talked her like that, she had to keep going.

Grabbing hold of his hand and taking all the support from it she could, she led him forward out of the elevator into the room lit only with emergency lights and the occasional spark.

“This place is eerie,” he commented. “And has been off limits for a while now. How did you get—”

She flashed him a keycard she really wished she didn’t have.

He simply nodded. “I’m assuming that whoever was behind this gave that to you.”

“March is a mediocre photographer.” Instantly, she slapped a hand over her mouth. Where did that even come from?

At least Dan Heng chuckled this time. “I’ll keep that to myself.”

This day could not get any worse, could it? “I… don’t think that about all of March’s photos. Just… some of them. The off ones that she even says are bad.”

“Uh-huh.”

She hated this. Maybe it was better that she forgot everything. “Um… watch your step. It’s a mess.”

Dan Heng stepped around the broken glass. “Matches the rest of the station. They should send cleaning robots only when they have time to spare.”

Stelle didn’t even know how to tell him that it was robots that caused the mess in the first place, and not the Antimatter kind.

They headed down yet another elevator and through the darkened hallways in desperate need of some new lighting. Then they reached the first of the rooms, one where a few stray creations lingered.

“Whaaa! Don’t leave again!” The wail came from one of Ruan Mei’s creations that quickly hopped back up to Stelle. “Ruan Mei abandoned me, her own creation. What is wrong with me to be labeled a failure worth abandoning? You can’t leave me, toooo!”

Without thinking much about it, Stelle reached down to pick the creature up into her arms. It was soft and plush, more so than she remembered it being. Her head was beginning to hurt by now, which was worrying. Tiredly, Stelle laid her head on top of the creature, resting it there as the bright lights of this room were getting to her.

“Mooncake,” Dan Heng spoke in disbelief.

Despite herself, Stelle chuckled. Yup, she wasn’t lying that time. At least, kinda not.

Dan Heng looked at the creature in her arms curiously. “It said Ruan Mei, did it not?” He then eyed Stelle. “Is Ruan Mei the one who did this to you?”

“I’ve never been in a relationship before.”

… she should be used to it by now, but this was really starting to wear on her.

Dan Heng sighed. “Alright, that’s a yes.”

With a sigh, she put the creature down. I’m sorry this is difficult, but thank you.

“You’re more handsome than Jing Yuan.”

Stelle wasn’t sure who’s eyes shot wider, hers or Dan Heng’s. Her face flaming hotter than a star, she slapped her hands over her mouth. Before she could gauge Dan Heng’s reaction, she quickly spun away and strutted towards the recording lab where Ruan Mei’s research was recorded.

Thankfully, she heard Dan Heng’s footsteps echoing behind her, so at least she knew he was following. She was too embarrassed to turn around right now.

When they arrived, she began digging through the recordings, only to find most of them were gone. Were they auto-deleting?

Her heart racing anew, she hurried to find the last one she’d watched, the one with the relevant information to record. Once she did, she made sure Dan Heng was watching.

Neither said a word as the video played. Watching it the second time was almost worse than the first, so Stelle turned to Dan Heng in order to gauge his reaction. He wore an intense expression. Those who didn’t know him well might think he was slightly more stone-faced than normal, but to Stelle, his eyes were too dark, his lips pursed too tight, for her to believe any explanation other than he was livid.

Before it finished, the screen flickered, then the video disappeared. The screen now proclaimed “video deleted”.

Instead of turning to Stelle, Dan Heng opened up his notebook and began scribbling things down.

Stelle could do nothing other than wait. Clearly, he wanted to record everything while fresh considering there would be no recovering that data, so she kept her mouth shut as she stared at the floor. Without anything else to distract her, she realized her headache was growing worse.

Hold on, she mentally chastised, as though that would help. Almost there.

Finally, Dan Heng snapped his notebook shut, the noise strangely too loud for her to comfortably tolerate. “Lead the way.”

“Watch out for talking statues.” Upon realizing what she’d just said, she turned to Dan Heng. “Actually… there’s something to that. I don’t know who he was.”

At that, Dan Heng’s brow quirked up in curiosity before he shook it off. “Not important right now. Later, if you remember.”

“Yeah,” she managed to agree as she led him to the last room, the one that had held the monster that would terrify her nightmares. That is… if she could remember it.

She grabbed hold of Dan Heng’s hand when her stomach started churning.

He spared her a glance. The firm squeeze he gave her hand helped loosen the knots in her gut as they marched on.

The mess remained, a reminder of what had just transpired here just a little while ago, yet a new wave of adrenaline flooded her system as though she was preparing for a second fight.

“What happened here?” Dan Heng wondered, looking over the mess of bug guts still splattered around the room. In the middle, pieces of eggshell still lay in some other sort of goo.

I almost died facing a monster.

“Maybe Arlan should return Asta’s credit card to her.”

“Even if you are under the influence of a drug, that is still a terrible idea.”

“Belongs in the toilet?”

He shot her a flat look.

She managed the briefest of smiles, one bordering on insanity at this point considering she was still drugged, had a growing headache, and only managed to keep upright due to the adrenaline rush.

“Did you manage to say that on purpose?” Dan Heng asked.

“Maybe.”

He sighed as he turned back to the disaster before them. “So, based on the video we watched, I'm going to assume this was an emanator?”

“The eggs of the Vidyadhara are pretty.”

Even though she had very little control over what came out of her mouth, she regretted those words the most. Dan Heng didn’t like bringing anything related to his past up, and considering the flash of discomfort in his eyes, this was no exception.

“Sorry," she murmured.

“It’s fine,” he assured, picking up one of the eggshell pieces. “I would say that’s factual.”

He was trying to cover for her, which she appreciated.

“What happened to this thing?”

“Your Vidyadhara form is the most handsome man I’ve seen.”

He glanced at her.

Mortified, she slapped a hand over her mouth and collapsed to a squat once again. Maybe it would be best if she just stared at the shiny, bug-gut-covered floor rather than face the words spewing from her mouth right now.

Dan Heng cleared his throat. “Um… can you try to explain? Or should I assume there was a fight?”

A great assumption. Accurate assumption. Cheeks burning, she didn’t dare look at Dan Heng as she shot him a thumbs up.

“That’s predictable enough.” He then started scribbling things in his notebook.

Pulling herself together, Stelle tried to figure out how to more accurately explain. “The miners at Belobog would be better off with more powerful explosives.”

Dan Heng’s brow furrowed as he took in her hint. “It… exploded.”

“I wasn’t a part of anything.” Hey, that was actually helpful for once.

“It explo… so it self-destructed?” he asked, looking down at her for confirmation.

With a nod, she held up all five fingers at him.

“Five?” he guessed.

She nodded, then held up three fingers.

“Three.”

Again, she nodded.

“Fifty-three?”

She then held up two fingers, waving them around in hopes he wouldn’t connect this to the number.

“Two?”

She shook her head, waving her hand around again.

“Second?… Seconds.”

Happy he picked up so quickly, she tapped her nose with her finger.

“Fifty-three seconds?”

She shot him a thumbs up. “March always falls over during warp jump. Always.”

“Always,” he muttered to himself. Stelle was happy he so quickly picked up on her hint. “You’re saying fifty-three seconds is a repeat thing?”

Excitedly, she tapped her nose again.

Only then did the color drain from his face. “This wasn’t the first emanator Ruan Mei has made.”

“There’s amazing things to be found in a trash can. I found records there once.”

He huffed, ignoring her ramblings. “Her research belongs in flames, not a trashcan.” He surveyed the room once again. “How did she manage to hide such a dangerous experiment here?”

“My head hurts.”

The words slipped out of her mouth before she could bite them back. Although they were meant to cover for Ruan Mei, Stelle really did mean them. She allowed herself to fall back onto her rear end as she was too shaky to keep squatting.

Upon realizing she wasn’t joking, Dan Heng knelt beside her. He took hold of her chin, guiding her to face him as he scrutinized her. “You’re concerningly pale,” he said. “Can you stand? We should get out of here.”

“I… don’t know.” The world was starting to fade out around her. All she could see was Dan Heng. And that didn’t quite feel like a good thing.

“Stelle,” he called out.

But he sounded so far away.

She felt like she was falling.

He gritted his teeth as he came closer to her. “Stelle!”

But the darkness caught her first.

~~~

It was not the first time Dan Heng had had to carry an unconscious Stelle through the space station to the Astral Express, but this time was markedly worse.

He’d already texted the crew that Stelle had passed out on one of the lower levels and any assistance would be appreciated. March was the first to meet him as he came up the main elevator, offering to take her unconscious friend. This time, Dan Heng allowed March to do so, helping prop Stelle piggyback-style against March’s back.

“Himeko’s at the Express,” March assured. “She can help.”

“Take care of her,” Dan Heng said. “I have some important business to attend to.” Although whether he would complete said business was to be determined. Ruan Mei was a genius society member who undoubtedly had much to do here on the space station, particularly with Madam Herta and Screwllem.

However, he was lucky today.

“Madam Ruan Mei.”

The woman in question turned towards him. “Yes?”

A surprising amount of anger bubbled up within him. “Will Stelle be okay?”

If Ruan Mei was surprised, her expression barely changed. “How so?”

“She was drugged,” Dan Heng answered. “Rambling on about trashcans and toilets.” He’d leave out the comments Stelle had made about him, assuming they were made while under the impression of something this woman had given her.

He really shouldn’t think too much about any of them, but for some reason, they haunted his memories anyway.

Ruan Mei hummed. “I’m certain she will be fine.”

“I do hope she is,” Dan Heng spoke. “As I cannot bring myself to trust those who hurt my friends.”

His words must have struck a chord with her, seeing as her expression once again shifted subtly. “Trust,” she murmured to herself.

“Stelle is… an incredible woman,” he said, “who gives out help to many, even at the detriment of herself. If I have to step in to prevent that from happening, then I will. I…” An old pain squeezed his heart in a way he didn’t like. “I would do anything for my friends.”

Ruan Mei mulled over his words for a moment before nodding. “Commendable.”

“So, I’ll ask again, will Stelle be okay?”

“Your previous assessment of Stelle is an accurate one,” Ruan Mei answered as though she hadn’t heard his repeated question. “But I had no way of knowing. If I had trusted her before, maybe she would not have broken this trust. However, because I did not, my trust was broken anyway. How ironic.”

Dan Heng quirked a brow.

Ruan Mei then turned back to him. “The drug will wear off entirely.”

“And her memories?”

“Only those pertaining to me will be scrambled.”

Dan Heng clenched his fists.

“Your friend must trust you much,” she mused, “to turn to you first, despite everything.”

“I would do anything for her.”

“She is most fortunate.” The woman then turned her gaze away, staring blankly at the wall before quietly adding, “I envy that.”

Then Ruan Mei turned and strode away, ending their conversation.

An abrupt end, but Dan Heng supposed there was nothing more to say.

His phone buzzed.

March 7th: Stelle’s awake.

March 7th: Her memory is fuzzy, though. She wants you to help fill her in.

He felt for the notebook stuck in his jacket’s inner pocket. He wasn’t sure just how much he could help her, but it was better than nothing. He’d leave out her inability to speak, though. Considering her reactions, those were best left forgotten. There was no conceivable way she meant any of them, anyway.

“Your Vidyadhara form is the most handsome man I’ve seen.”

None of them. And he best remember that.

Dan Heng: I’m on my way.

[thenovelartist]

Out here just wandering around in Honkai Star Rail and I see this curio.

I am EMBARRASSED it took me this long to realize

Yeah, only took me... what, 9 months to figure that out? sigh...

[thenovelartist]

PSA for everyone.

Our hard work is not a free training tool.

fucking tumblr anyways go do this

[thenovelartist]

Hello! Just wanted to tell you that the Calgary library has not 1 but 2 copies of your book! One of them is actually checked out right now. Every time I search the book up I see 1 or both copies are out, people in cowboy city seem to like you book ☺️

I.. am speechless! The smile won't leave my face.

Thank you so much for telling me!!! Made my day!!! :D :D :D

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Epilogue - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter

“You really think they’ll swing for it?”

Sirius nodded affirmatively. “I bet we can pull this off.”

Luna, his sister who’d recently turned fourteen, didn’t look as convinced as he felt. “Dad’s gonna be hard to crack.”

“Yeah, but if we convince Uncle Cae, Aunt March, and Mom, then he’ll cave eventually.”

“Leave that to us,” Celeste, one of his seventeen-year-old cousins, assured with a wink. Beside her, her twin August shot him two fingerguns. It was bizarre to Sirius that despite being fraternal twins and therefore could have looked any which way, they both managed to end up with heterochromia and dusty pink hair, though August’s looked a little darker than Celeste’s. Though, Sirius supposed he couldn’t talk about oddities since, according to Auntie Bailu, he nor Luna should technically exist.

“Then you’ll be up first,” Sirius said, sticking his hand out into the center of their huddle. "We got this."

Luna slapped her hand on top of his, followed by August then Celeste.

With their huddle completed, each confident in their plan, they left the boys’ room. Sirius wasn’t quite sure how their parents had gotten the idea, but somewhere along the line, they’d decided to split up the siblings. Maybe it was because of the brother/sister dynamic, or maybe because of the six-year age difference between Luna and Sirius. Maybe they just wanted to keep the families contained to one car rather than spread across the train and that was the best way to do it. 

If Sirius remembered correctly, his parents had let Luna sleep with them in their room for the first year before putting her in the nursery, which was his old room. In return, his seven-year-old self had wanted to sleep in the archives like his dad before him. That went on for two years before they officially split the rooms, the nursery transforming into the girls’ room while the twin’s former room became the boys’ dorm. To be honest, Sirius liked the arrangement more often than not. Besides, if he wanted some privacy, the rooms were large enough to split into two with a divider.

When the quartet entered the main parlor, they were greeted by Aunt Himeko. “Ah, good morning, everyone.”

There was a round of ‘mornings’ in return.

“You look like you’re on a mission,” she said, a knowing twinkle in her eye.

Sirius didn’t know how Aunt Himeko could read everyone so well. Mom had mentioned it on occasion growing up, but it had taken Sirius a long time to understand what she meant.

“Maybe,” Celeste playfully returned.

“Maybe not,” August lightly dismissed with a shrug.

Behind her, Grampa appeared, wearing a smile of his own. “I’m sure they’ll say yes.”

See, when Grampa got that knowing look in his eye, Sirius felt that was far more normal, but maybe that was because he did it less frequently than Aunt Himeko. Either way, there was no doubt he’d been around the longest and had traveled the most. Furthermore, Grampa had shared many stories with all of them about the adventures of his past, which had led to a younger version of Sirius (and likely the others, too) looking up to Gramps as though he was an aeon. He’d since taken Grampa off that pedestal but the respect remained.

“Hopefully.” Luna held up her crossed fingers as she shot him a smile.

With a nod, Grampa and Aunt Himeko left the car. Sirius’s brow furrowed, but then he looked over at the breakfast table where their parents were all sitting in front of empty plates.

Oops, seems like they’d missed breakfast with their plotting.

The twins were up first, easily sliding into chairs close to their parents. “Mom, Dad, so we were thinking…”

“You know how we’ve been wanting to go on a mission all together?”

“Just the four of us?”

By now, Sirius and Luna took their seats. In Sirius’ opinion, it sometimes was odd to compare the two families. After all, August and Celeste looked so similar that it was obvious they were siblings. Furthermore, they looked like an even combo of both their parents.

On the other hand, while Sirius felt he and Luna each looked like their parents individually, they hardly shared any features that would peg them as siblings. Sirius’s gray hair somehow lightened even more than Mom’s, his eyes a chilling blue whereas Luna had hair blacker than space itself, making her golden eyes practically glow. The red lining on her eyes exaggerated that effect even more while Sirius felt the red dusting on the corner of his eyes was out of place (both Dad and Auntie Bailu insisted it wasn’t). The only thing they shared was their ears, both taking after Dad that way, but that proved they were of the same species rather than they were siblings.

“I wouldn’t mind,” Uncle Caelus spoke first.

“I mean, we did promise we’d let you when you were old enough,” Aunt March agreed.

Two down, two to go.

Sirius turned to his parents. “I promise to be a good and responsible leader,” he began, raising a hand as though in oath. “I even promise to not dig through any garbage cans.”

“Please,” Luna finished, clapping her hands together pleadingly. “You already took me out on my first mission and let me test the simulated universe for Madam Herta. I’ve already read all the info in the archives on this planet and am prepared to face it.”

She would, little bookworm. Maybe that’s why he still held onto the nickname of “little dragon” all these years later even though he was taller than Dad. (Maybe by a hair, but it still counted!) In turn, Luna's first nickname of “baby dragon” was soon switched to “book dragon”— “bookie” for short—when she only grew more attached to her books as she got older.

Mom looked over to Dad. “Well?”

Tentative three on board. Just one more.

Dad sighed, leaning back into his chair and crossing his arms.

But then he gave a small smile. “That’s why we’re here.”

Four sets of eyes went wide.

“Officially, we had another planet above this one on our list,” Dad explained, “but we know you four have been looking forward to the day you all could go on missions together. We all agreed that this was the best planet to allow that to happen.”

“So we can go?” Sirius asked, excitement bubbling up in him.

“Yes.”

August was the first to whoop in excitement, followed by a cheer from Celeste.

“Thank you!” Luna cried, already rounding the table to throw her arms around Dad.

His smile brightened as he patted Luna’s arms affectionately. But then he turned his attention to Sirius. “We’ll mission brief after breakfast.”

Sirius gave a nod, his stomach tightening in anticipation. That was a look of warning. As the mission lead, Sirius would be responsible for the other three, meaning Dad would have a lecture for him later.

He could not let him down. Or Mom, for that matter.

Or Aunt March, Uncle Cae, Aunt Himeko, Gramps. The reputation of the Astral Express at large…

Dang, this was a heavier responsibility than he realized.

After breakfast, Dad took him aside into the archive room, where they sat and talked the mission over. Although, half of their talk felt more like Dad grilling him rather than an actual mission brief. He was tempted to answer some of Dad’s questions with a little sarcasm but realized that it was better for everyone if he just played along.

“Lastly,” Dad said, the conversation coming to a close. “If anything goes wrong, call for backup. I won’t be upset.”

“Promise.” He hoped nothing would go wrong, but Sirius wasn’t so naïve to think that nothing could go wrong. One particular mission came to mind where everything went south and Dad was the one phoning everyone and anyone who would help out. And Dad liked doing things on his own as much as possible. Sirius had learned then that there was no such thing as pride or shame when your back was against the wall.

With a sigh, Dad finished his speech. “Alright. Then… I wish you the best of luck.”

“I can do it,” Sirius said. “Trust me.”

Finally, Dad smiled. “I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I didn’t think you could.”

Dang, now he really couldn’t let Dad down.

“Take care of your sister,” he said. “And your cousins.”

“Always.”

With a smile, Dad laid a hand on Sirius’ shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. It used to be head pats, but he’d gotten too tall for that.

“Go get ready to head out.”

Sirius didn’t need to be told twice. “Got it!”

He practically ran out of the room, only to run into Mom in the hall.

She wore a knowing look. “Dad give you a lecture?”

He nodded. “Yeah. But… that’s Dad.”

She hummed her agreement. “Don’t be stupid,” she warned, poking him in the side. “But don’t forget to enjoy the ride, either.”

“And help out people if they pay you well enough?”

She chuckled. “That, too.”

“Got it.”

Her smile soon turned wistful. “Geez, it feels like just yesterday, you were little. Now, both of you are all grown up.”

“Don’t get all mushy on me.”

“I can’t help it. You’re going out all on your own.” She poked him in the side again. “It’s what parents do.”

He knew that. It was the reason Dad gave him that redundant lecture. It was their weird way of showing they cared. In his life, where they traveled the stars and everything was constantly changing, what never changed was the fact he knew his parents loved him and Luna more than anything. “I’ll be safe.”

“You better.” And with that, she gave him a hug.

One he returned just as tightly.

“Proud of you,” she whispered.

“Thanks, Mom.”

 “Now, Brightest Star of the Astral Express,” she teased, pulling away to look him in the eye. “You've got a mission to complete.”

He smirked at the nickname. Yeah, he’d blame Auntie Bailu and the Xianzhou in general for that one, but it wasn’t all that bad. He’d prove to the galaxy he was living up to that name as he traveled with his family and whatever companions he’d meet along the way.

As he marched down the hall to the training car for his weapons, spring in his step all the while, he hummed the song he’d heard the ever-watchful Pom-pom play often as Sirius grew up.  

Come with me, take the journey.

[thenovelartist]

Ughh. Guess who's about to kiss all her resources goodbye?

... No, forget resources. Do I even have good enough relics for everyone???

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 10 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

Four Years Later

Having finished her chat with Himeko, Stelle walked through the train cars down to where she knew Dan Heng and Sirius to be. The Astral Express would be arriving at the Luofu soon, and since she knew the father-son duo had been training for most of the morning, Stelle would prefer they go clean up before they disembarked.

“Twist your wrist like this,” Dan Heng instructed, demonstrating the movement with his spear.

Sirius moved his small, wooden training spear in response.

“Slower.”

Although he pouted, Sirius slowed down his movement.

“Better.” Dan Heng gave Sirius a pat on the head in approval, earning a smile from the boy.

Stelle happily watched from the doorway to the training room. By the time he was two, Sirius had taken up swinging around the little plastic bat that Kafka had gotten for him. When Sirius was four, Caelus decided he’d teach him how to play t-ball, but that stopped upon a lamp getting broken. Needless to say, Pom-pom had not been happy. 

Since having his bat temporarily taken away by a particularly angry conductor, Sirius had been forced to sit where either Stelle or Dan Heng could keep an eye on him, which happened to be in the corner of the training room when they were sparring. It was after one of those sessions that Sirius regarded his father’s spear with a new, intense fascination and demanded to learn ‘how to fight like daddy.’

After some discussion, Sirius had been given a wooden pole so Dan Heng could teach him the basics. While the wooden pole with no sharp end would have sufficed, it was Yanqing who’d gifted Sirius a small wooden spear to learn with, insisting that the weight of the spearhead made a difference. Apparently, he’d learned of Sirius’ studying from Jing Yuan, who’d heard about it from Bailu, who never could seem to keep quiet about anything and everything pertaining to her nephew.

“Mom!” Upon spotting her, Sirius ran up to her. “Did you see me?”

“I did! You’re doing so well,” Stelle encouraged. Scarily enough, that was not empty flattery. Five years old, and he was already showing talent for the weapon in his hands. It filled her with an odd mix of pride and fear. 

Sirius’s entire expression brightened at her praise. The light pink in his cheeks from working hard seemed to match the dusting of red at the corner of his vibrant blue eyes. It wasn’t quite the sharp lining that Dan Heng had, but enough to show whose kid he was. However, his light gray hair and eyelashes had never shown any signs of darkening, proving her genetics had won out there. 

“We’re very close to Auntie Bailu,” Stelle said. “So it’s time to stop practice for the day.”

“I wanna show her everything Dad taught me.”

“She’s gonna be so excited to see it.”

“And G-genrul Jing Yuan.”

“General,” Dan Heng gently corrected. 

“Genral,” Sirius tried again. 

Instead of correcting him, Dan Heng simply nodded, probably thinking it was close enough. “When we go,” Dan Heng started, squatting down to meet Sirius on eye level, “what are the rules of Aunt Bailu’s home planet?”

“Rules are meant to be broken.”

“No.”

Stelle snorted, failing her attempt at biting back her laugh. Yup, that was her son. The boy may look up to his dad with blue eyes burning with fascination, but Dan Heng insisted Sirius did not get that chaotic streak from anyone other than his mother.

Eyes glittering with mischief, Sirius reached a fist out towards his mom.

She gave his little fist a bump, but then wrapped her hand around his fist and squatted down to his eye level. “Very funny. Now, what’s the real, number one, most important rule?”

Sirius’s expression sobered as he thought. “Stay very close to Mommy and Daddy.”

“That’s right.” Stelle then pulled her boy into a hug.

He hugged her right back.

“Now,” she continued. “You need to go take a bath. You and Daddy are stinky from working sooo hard.”

“I can do it myself!” he proudly insisted.

“I bet you can. So why don’t you go get your bathroom basket?”

“Okay!” He took two running steps towards the door before he froze. With wide eyes, he turned back to Dan Heng.

“What are the rules about your spear?” Dan Heng prompted.

Sirius then scampered over to the tool rack and grabbed a towel from the side. He then plopped down cross-legged, carefully wiping off the edge of what would have been the blade then the handle. Only once satisfied, he carefully put his spear in its slot. When finished, he popped up off the floor and scampered out of the room.

“That is so impressive,” Stelle remarked.

“Considering it’s the only thing he cleans, I would beg to differ.”

“He cleans his room… mostly.”

Dan Heng quirked a brow at her.

“Don’t give me that. It’s not like you frequently made your bed before we married.”

He looked away, knowing he couldn’t counter her on that.

“And besides,” Stelle continued, “he has a very strategic war zone he set up. Other than that, his other things are either in the bin or on the shelf.”

“I suppose,” Dan Heng relented. “I could do without accidentally stepping on his aeon figurines, though.”

Ah, yes. The aeon figures that Madam Herta, Screwllem, and Ruan Mei had gifted them before Sirius was born. Stelle recalled the look of disdain Dan Heng had given a certain aeon with vivid clarity. Sirius was now old enough to play with the figures, always curious to learn about them and their backstories from his parents. After all, they'd been through the Simulated Universe enough times to know more about them than they ever cared to.

“It’s always Yaoshi, isn’t it?” Stelle commented.

“That’s because that’s the only aeon that’s in pieces.”

“Not true. A few are missing limbs, although he knows how to put them back together. Yaoshi is the only one that stays in a constant state of dismemberment.”

“I’ll allow it. I just don’t want to step on it.”

“It’s hard when it’s the same color as the carpet.”

Dan Heng heaved a sigh. “At any rate, I better go check up on him before he makes a mess of the bathroom.”

“Alright. You better go, too. If you’re behind, Sirius is going to hurry you along.”

“True.” With that, Dan Heng pressed a brief kiss to Stelle’s cheek before walking out of the room.

~~~

For as often as Sirius shouted about breaking the rules on the Express before running off, usually while waving a toy weapon around—Dan Heng never knew how much of a headache children could be, nevertheless his own child—he did tend to listen while out exploring worlds.

Mostly. He was still a child. Stelle’s child, to be more precise.

They made it to Bailu’s with only one little “drifter” incident, and trouble was thankfully averted since Dan Heng was able to catch hold of Sirius’s hand before he could go explore the boxes of the freight area.

“He’s your son,” he’d whispered under his breath to Stelle.

“Proudly,” she’d returned, bumping her shoulder against his.

As tired as he was at times, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

When they got to Bailu’s house, Sirius was the one to knock on the door. A door that was soon thrown open by a very excited vidyadhara.

“My favorite nephew!” Bailu cried, instantly sweeping Sirius into a hug.

Giggling all the while, Sirius threw his arms around Bailu and held on tight. “Hi, Auntie!”

His heart warmed at the scene. Bailu had taken every opportunity she possibly could to see Sirius. She came aboard the Express about once a year and ended up staying for about a week, seeing as that was all she could take away from her duties both as High Elder and as the renowned Healer Lady. On the contrary, Stelle and Dan Heng managed to swing by a few times a year, but those visits were much shorter. They had arranged with the sky-faring commission to have the Luofu be a place where the Astral Express could restock supplies. There were a handful of people who were quite happy with this arrangement, Bailu being the loudest of the bunch.

However, seeing as they now had a new restocking landing, they didn’t visit Herta Space Station as frequently, much to the dismay of Asta and Madam Herta, the latter of which couldn’t test the Simulated Universe as frequently.

Dan Heng thought he and Stelle were still testing it plenty, though.

“It’s good to see you guys!” By now, Bailu had put Sirius down and was reaching for Stelle.

Stelle returned Bailu’s hug. “It’s always good to see you.” 

Then Bailu turned to Dan Heng.

With a soft grin, he wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to cling to him tightly. "Agreed."

“Glad you guys could make it,” Bailu said, pulling away. “Come on in! I got snacks.”

“Even my favorite?” Sirius asked, eyes shining with hope.

“Of course!” she cried. “You think I wouldn’t have my nephew’s favoritesnacks?”

They all sat down in Bailu’s reception room, where a bunch of snacks had been laid out on the table.

“Hey,” Stelle said, grabbing Sirius’s hand to get his attention. “You get to pick two.”

“Awww,” he whined with a pout.

“Because we’re going to take some home,” Stelle continued. “And if you eat them all now, you won’t have any for later.”

Although his look of disappointment didn’t fade, he relented. “Okay.”

Dan Heng patted his son’s head. “Good choice.”

For a while, they simply caught up. First, it was Sirius telling Bailu all about the adventures he went on, the ones he took with both his parents after everyone else had completed whatever mission they’d been called in for. Adventures he'd only get to take as long as the planet was stable enough for Stelle and Dan Heng's liking, which was far more often than not.

With as much as Sirius loved those outings exploring as a family, Dan Heng never questioned whether raising him on the Express was a bad idea. His son would undoubtedly grow up to be an adventurer, and while he may worry about the trouble his boy would likely get into with his wandering tendencies, there was no doubt Sirius would be a great Nameless.

Then, the topic shifted to Stelle and Dan Heng’s missions. He left most of the explaining to Stelle, as she was more willing to play the part of a proper storyteller than he was. Instead, he chimed in when necessary to either clarify things or add his own opinions to particular parts of the story.

Bailu was last to share, and her countenance was brief. For the most part, it could be summed up as “I did my duties. I didn’t overeat. And I didn’t run away… too frequently.”

By now, Sirius was anxious to go exploring again. With Auntie Bailu, of course.

“In a minute,” Dan Heng said. “I have one more thing I want to talk about with Aunt Bailu.”

Sirius sighed. “Okay.”

“It won’t take that long,” Stelle assured, already pulling out her phone. “Would you like to play the trotter game while you wait?”

He nodded, reaching out for her phone. “Please,” he added.

Stelle loaded up the rudimentary game that one of the space station workers had recommended. They didn’t often let Sirius play games, preferring to keep them as rewards or treats. What was surprising, though, was that had been Stelle’s idea. Dan Heng had just been more than happy to agree with it.

When the quiet music began to play, she handed it over to Sirius. “Don’t let it get any louder, okay?”

“Thank you,” Sirius said, taking the phone and happily plopping down off to the side.

With him properly distracted from the adult conversation, Dan Heng asked Bailu, “How is the situation amongst the Vidyadhara on the Luofu?”

“Well,” Bailu began, “if you’re talking about the troublesome kind, General Jing Yuan and I are fairly certain we’ve rooted out all the potential problems. There hasn’t been any more slander against you or Sirius from what I’ve heard. For the most part, the people are excited by the prospect of rebuilding our race now.”

At the hesitancy in her tone, Dan Heng quirked a brow at her. “Has there been an issue with your research?”

Bailu sighed, tossing her head back in exhaustion. “I mean… it’s better? Like, it works now, but I’d hardly say it’s the instant effect you two had.”

“As in?”

“Of all the participating couples, we have had two successful births and one more pregnancy. However, neither of the children born were vidyadhara. And at this rate, I hate to say it, but I’m not holding out hope for this third pregnancy, either.”

Three sets of eyes glanced over at Sirius, although Bailu’s gaze lingered the longest.

Stelle spoke quietly, “So he’s still the only…”

Bailu hummed affirmatively. “So far, he’s still our little miracle vidyadhara. The others are two foxian children. The other is likely to be long-life human.” With puffed cheeks, she tapped her fingers against the table. “I’m a little frustrated, but I shouldn’t be. I mean, the fact we got it working after three years of nothing is already forward movement. Who would have thought mixing medicines like that would have been the key?”

Dan Heng sighed. At the beginning of her trials, Bailu had been so careful to inform the surprising number of participating couples of all the known side effects of the fertility treatment, and she’d been even more careful to monitor exactly how much of the aphrodisiac ingredient to put into the doses. Yet, not only had it been unsuccessful for three long years, but none of the vidyadharas had reported having as strong of a reaction as Dan Heng.

Only after many conversations had Dan Heng and Bailu realized that there had been one more medicine at play: the topical healing cream. Considering that Bailu herself had warned them of its potency, they thought that some ingredient in that may well be the contributing factor. Hence, a new round of tests.

After a year, they’d had news of the first successful pregnancy.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Dan Heng encouraged. “The fact that there had been three children born to vidyadhara, even if those children aren’t vidyadhara themselves, is promising. Millennia have gone by without so much as a hint of progress. This is already more than the vidyadhara could have ever hoped for. With more work, I’m certain you will find success. Give yourself time.”

“I know,” Bailu dejectedly agreed. “I’m just anxious. You were able to successfully bear a vidyadhara child your first time. It took all these couples multiple attempts before getting pregnant, only to bear the mother’s race.”

Dan Heng’s brows furrowed. “The couples all consist of male vidyadhara with women of other races?”

Bailu nodded. “Yes. No female vidyadhara has gotten pregnant yet, whether it be with vidyadharan partners or other races. So this fertility experiment is far from complete. I haven’t deduced what exactly is at play or what is happening to change things for the male vidyadhara. And what if the female vidyadhara require a different fertility treatment entirely?” At that point, Bailu dropped her head on the table, groaning in frustration. “And there’s no other research to help me. I’m the forefront.”

“You’ll get there,” Stelle encouraged, reaching out to take Bailu’s hand. “Like Dan Heng said, you’re the first person to get results in millennia. Be proud of what you’re accomplishing.”

Dan Heng nodded. “You are young, and this experiment is still in its early stages. While the clan is far smaller than it once was, we are not so desperate that this is a race against the clock. It is in everyone’s best interest that you take your time to do your experiments properly and perfect it.”

“I know,” Bailu said, raising her head from the table. “But with this breakthrough, everyone is counting on me. I’m the High Elder of the Vidyadhara. It’s my duty.”

“Bailu,” Dan Heng cut in. “It is your duty to help your people in whatever capacity you can. It is not your duty to completely solve a problem that has gone unsolved since the beginning of our race. I reiterate: take your time; do this properly. Record every experiment and result you make and communicate with others to help advance your research. Already, you are a hero to the vidyadhara for opening a door for the preservation of our race. Do not belittle yourself or your efforts thus far.”

Glassy tears welled up in Bailu’s eyes. “Dan Heng.” Then she rounded the table and lunged at him in a hug.

He returned the gesture, hoping to calm the stressed vidyadhara.

“Hey.” Stelle poked Bailu’s side. “Don’t forget you didn’t just help us, but three vidyadhara were able to become dads because of your efforts. To them, that probably means the world, even if they didn’t have vidyadhara children.”

“You think?” Bailu asked, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

“Yes,” Dan Heng confirmed, sparing a quick glance at Sirius just as he did a happy little fist pump over his game. “Take my word for it: they are undoubtedly thankful beyond words for their children.”

~~~

“Stay close to Aunt Bailu!” Stelle called out, watching as one child and one child-at-heart ran off down Aurum Alley.

“I promise!” Sirius called back.

Stelle was only convinced when Bailu took hold of Sirius’s hand and continued running.

“It’s like watching two children,” Dan Heng muttered.

“Considering how many times I’ve had to literally chase down Bailu, I fully agree.”

Dan Heng shook his head tiredly.

“Hey!”

Stelle turned towards the voice, only to see a group of familiar people waving over to her.

“Where’s the li’l pipsqueak?!” Guinaifen yelled.

“Somewhere,” Stelle sassily returned, a grin splitting her face.

“Go say hi,” Dan Heng encouraged. “I’m going to follow after them. I know Bailu stated that she’s confident all the troublemakers have been rooted out, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

“Thanks.” Stelle gave his hand one last squeeze of appreciation before heading over to the former ghost-hunting squad. “Long time, no see!”

“To be fair,” Huohuo said, “you are quite busy these days.”

“I still can’t believe you replicated,” Tail sassed. “One of you is more than enough.”

Stelle grimaced. “It wasn’t exactly intentional.”

“Well, guess that serves you right.”

“Be nice!” Huohuo warned.

“Since when do you get to boss me around.”

“S-since I’ve grown up without you.”

Tail let out a long-suffering sigh. “Leave you alone for a matter of days years ago, and you never get over it.”

Stelle chuckled. Seemed like the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. 

“So what’s up?” Guinaifen asked, pushing out a chair from the table and motioning for Stelle to sit. “How’s being a mom these days.”

For a short while, they simply caught up, Stelle enjoying the girl time. She told them of all her adventures while they filled her in on their chaotic lives as well.

“Mom!”

Automatically, Stelle turned towards the call, watching as Sirius scurried up to her. 

“Found you!” he said, slamming his hands against her leg as though he’d just caught her while playing tag. “Auntie Bailu said you disappeared and we should find you!”

“Look who it is!” Guinaifen said, standing up so as to get a better look at Sirius over the table. “Bet you don’t remember me, do you?”

Sirius shook his head. 

Stelle pulled Sirius into her lap, introducing him to everyone at the table. “Once upon a time,” she explained. “I used to hunt ghosts with them."

His sparkling eyes turned to her. “Ghosts?”

“Yeah!” Guinaifen said, already shifting into storyteller mode. “You want to hear a super awesome story?”

Excitedly, he nodded. 

Hence, they listened to Guinaifen spin her tall tale of their old adventures, Sushang hopping in to correct embellishments while Huohuo helped explain the more technical details with the assistance of Tail. 

By the end, Sirius was awestruck. “Mommy!” he said, his eyes sparkling but his tone very serious. “When I grow up, I wanna be just like you!”

A proud warmth bubbled up in her chest. “You’ll have the chance to go on your own adventures someday,” she assured. “New ones that Mommy and Daddy weren’t able to find.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“See,” Tail complained, turning to Huohuo. “Why couldn’t I have been stuck with a kid like him instead of this coward?”

“I’m not a coward,” Huohuo countered. “Don’t be so mean!”

Tail sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Guess it’s fate. You’d be nothing without me.”

She pouted in protest but said nothing.

“Not that I want to cut things short, but it’s getting late,” Stelle said. “We should head out, but it was great seeing you guys again.”

“Thanks for stopping by!” Sushang said. “It was nice catching up again.”

“For sure,” Guinaifen chirped.

“Where are you off to now?” Huohuo inquired. “If you’re free, I know Xueyi and Hanya would like to see you again.”

Sushang chimed in, “And I know Yanqing said he wanted to meet Sirius again. He was really excited to see how far he’s progressed.”

“We have plans to see them tomorrow,” Dan Heng spoke up. “I’m sure Sirius would like to show Yanqing how he’s using his spear.”

Sirius nodded, very serious. “I’ve been working very hard, like Mr. Yanqing told me to.”

“You have,” Dan Heng agreed, patting Sirius on the head. 

The boy beamed under the attention.

With one last round of goodbyes, the vidyadhara family left the ghost-hunting squad.

“It’s about time for dinner,” Bailu said. “If you want to grab something here, I’ll pay… this time.”

Stelle chuckled. “Well, if it’s on you, then I don’t see why not.”

“I’d like to give Himeko and Welt time alone for now,” Dan Heng spoke up. “They are kind enough to put up with the children, but I’m sure they would appreciate some peace and quiet.”

A true statement, even if it had never been officially confirmed. Welt, Himeko, and Pom-pom had all taken the arrival of the unexpected Sirius in stride, even happily claiming him as family. However, that didn’t mean they didn’t deserve as much child-free time as possible. Another certain Astral Express duo felt the same.

Speaking of which... “Wonder where the others are.”

“We ran into them earlier,” Dan Heng said. “Oh, they’re right there.”

Stelle turned around to look where Dan Heng was pointing, only to see a particular family of four sitting at a table nearby. Of course, no one had been surprised that this was the end result for March and Caelus, but Stelle could have done without being in the middle of their little mutually-crushing mess. March had privately admitted she was hesitant to ask Caelus out because she wanted to be the one to be asked out like a romantic fantasy she liked reading. Then Caelus had been slow to realize his feelings in the first place and then even slower to realize March had a crush on him back. It took Stelle way too much time to convince Caelus to make a freaking move so she didn’t have to sit in the middle any longer. 

Although, Stelle had to wonder what was worse: the pre-confession confusion or the disgustingly snuggly couple they’d become afterward. 

Then came the wild surprise of the duo coming back from a mission and admitting they’d accidentally gotten married. Apparently, they’d found themselves in the middle of a wedding custom on a planet they visited and accidentally ended up as husband and wife. Despite getting questions of if the marriage was legally binding and if they could annul it, neither seemed particularly inclined to fight it. Hence, from that day on, they were married. March moved into Caelus’s room at the opposite end of what was now deemed the “family car”, seeing as it held the two married couples and one child, and that was that.

From there, one thing led to another, and next thing Stelle knew, she was stuck in a very familiar scene involving a trashcan, a distraught husband, and the couple’s friend running to grab water. Only, Stelle was fortunate enough to be the one on the outside looking in when it came to March’s morning sickness. Stelle hadn’t felt phenomenal, but she severely sympathized with March, who blamed her absolutely miserable pregnancy on the fact she was carrying twins.

March’s vehement protests of “never again” came to Stelle’s mind.

Caelus was the first to spy them, and he gave them a wave that Stelle returned. March turned her attention towards them, only to brighten and wave as well. “Hey! I’d say it’s a coincidence to see you here, but I’m guessing we both have the same idea.”

“That Aurum Alley has the best food?” Stelle offered.

“Well… yeah, that too.”

Stelle chuckled. “Manage to run off the twin’s energy?” she asked, watching as said twins finally caught sight of her, only to abandon plates in favor of running up to their aunt and uncle.

March released a longsuffering groan. 

“I’m assuming that’s a no.” Turning to the little two-year-old boy and girl that had run up to her, Stelle booped both of them on their nose. “You two aren’t supposed to run off.”

“At least it’s just to you,” March lamented, following after the twins. Behind her, Caelus collected their empty plates to throw away. “I’ve already yelled at them too many times today.”

“You have two in the terrible twos. What did you expect?”

“Not like that was the plan!” March defended. “Besides, Sirius seemed more well-behaved at their age.”

“That’s what you saw,” Stelle countered. “It wasn’t always the case.”

“Still,” March sighed. “After helping you with him, I thought this would be easier.”

“Give yourself some credit,” Dan Heng assured. “You have two to contend with.”

“Well, guess I’ll take the sympathy where I can get it.”

“They’ll grow out of it,” Dan Heng said. “Maybe.”

March made a show of crossing her fingers.

Caelus returned by then, siding up to March. “You finish eating yet?” he asked Stelle.

Stelle shook her head. “I ran into some old friends and got caught up chatting. We were just finding a place to eat.”

Bailu huffed proudly. “Like you have to find anything with me around. I know all the best spots.”

“Then we’ll let you go,” Caelus said. “I was gonna suggest walking back together if you’d finished.”

“We’ll bid you a good evening now,” Dan Heng said. “I have the feeling you two will be trying to get the twins down by the time we get back.”

“If they calm down in the first place,” March grumbled. “I never expected two to be this much of a handful.”

“Yeah, but look on the bright side,” Caelus added on. “They can entertain themselves perfectly well together.”

“Until they start colluding,” Stelle tacked on with a smirk.

Guilty, Caelus shot a finger at her. “Yeah, that.”

“Which is exactly what I’m afraid of,” March dryly responded.

“Daddy, daddy!” their little boy cried, reaching up to Caelus. “Fly!”

“Fly!” their little girl echoed. 

“Fly?” Caelus exaggeratedly asked. “You want to fly?”

“Fly!” They repeated sticking out their arms and running circles around him.

March shot a flat look at Stelle. “I swear we ran them out.”

Stelle snorted. “Your kids don’t stop.”

“No, they don’t.”

They watched as Caelus then grabbed the twins by the straps of their overalls and lifted them into the air as though he was carrying two tote bags. The duo squealed as they stuck their arms out.

“We’re gonna head out,” Caelus said, already walking away.

“Good luck!” Stelle said, waving them off. 

“Have a good evening!” March said, returning the gesture as she walked towards her husband. “See you back on the Express.”

“See you,” Dan Heng returned. 

“Geez,” Bailu muttered as she watched the family vanish in the crowd. “Two’s a handful.”

“They are,” Stelle answered. “Don’t tell March I said this, but she secretly loves the fact she had twins.” The exact sentiment being along the lines of ‘two for the price of one because I’m done.’

“I guess that’s one of those things you can’t account for,” Bailu dismissed with a shrug. “It must be weird to grow up with a sibling your age, though.”

“Vidyadhara grow up far differently than most races,” Dan Heng cut in. “I’d say the way we are raised is the oddity.”

“Meh." Bailu shrugged it off. “Anywho, I’m starving. Where do you want to go?”

While they soon started debating about which food stall to go to first, Stelle’s mind started drifting. Although her childhood memories were foggy clips at best, there were a few moments that Caelus had reminded her of. She didn’t feel it was a stretch to assume she was always thankful to have him around. Not for the first time did Stelle look to Sirius and wonder how different things would be if he had a sibling.

But then again, things were already far different for him than her childhood. She may have had Kafka as a parental figure with Blade somewhere in the background, but she wouldn’t say she had parents. Sirius’s childhood would already be so different from her and Dan Heng's. Besides, he was a miracle child already, one that shouldn’t have even happened in the first place.

But he had. 

And, if she really thought about it—

“Hey!” Bailu called out, waking Stelle out of her reverie. It was only then did she realize she’d fallen behind. “Hurry up!”

“Coming,” Stelle called back, taking a few quick steps to catch up. 

“Something on your mind?” Dan Heng asked, reaching for her hand. 

“Nothing important,” she lied, slipping her hand into his. 

Although he didn’t look convinced, he didn’t press. He simply gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.

“Unless you’re thinking of food,” Bailu quipped. “The thinking can wait until later. I’ll have to get back to work once you leave.”

“Did you put off your High Elder duties again?” Dan Heng warned.

“I’ve got more pressing matters!” she argued. “My research is way more interesting!”

Yes, her research. Stelle couldn’t help but wonder if she could help with that once again.

~~~ 

After saying goodbye to Bailu, they headed home. Dan Heng ended up having to carry an exhausted Sirius most of the way home. Between the busy day and his bedtime being right around the corner, the boy was barely able to keep his eyes open. 

Yet, after they’d gotten home and had him change into his pajamas—a trotter onesie that Topaz had given them—the bleary-eyed boy still held out a picture book. “Story?”

Dan Heng only once made the mistake of saying “maybe not tonight.” That had ended with Sirius crying himself to sleep. It was just better for him to fall asleep mid-story rather than refuse his right to open a book before bed. 

“Okay,” Dan Heng caved. “Do you want Mom or Dad to read to you?”

“Mommy does the voices.”

Stelle smirked. “Yeah, Mommy does the voices,” she repeated, shooting Dan Heng a smug wink.

With an amused huff, Dan Heng pat Sirius’s head. “Okay. Then I’ll let Mom read to you. Good night.”

Sirius wrapped his arms around Dan Heng’s neck, but his hug was weak with exhaustion. “Night-night.”

After watching Sirius settle into bed cuddling Hook's teddy bear to his chest while Stelle perched on the edge with a book in hand, Dan Heng slipped out of the room. He had some notes he wanted to record anyway. Sirius wasn’t the only one who liked to open books before bed, after all. 

After quickly changing into his nightclothes, he reached for his notebook, opting to lounge on the bed instead of sitting in a chair tonight. For a while, he lost himself in thought as he jotted things down, only to be brought back to reality when the door to the room opened. He hurried to scribble down the rest of his thoughts while Stelle headed over to the dresser for her nightclothes. 

His writing was messy, but at least he’d finished. Closing his notebook, he turned to drop it on the nightstand. “I’m going to guess Sirius—”

Stelle’s hands shot out past his head, slamming against the headboard as she straddled him. “I want another baby.”

Well... so much for finishing that thought.

Head empty, Dan Heng blinked a few times while trying to get his mind to restart. “W-what?”

“I want another baby,” Stelle easily repeated. She then pulled one of her hands away from the headboard, flashing a little foil-wrapped square in front of his face.

It took him far too long to realize what exactly that was. “You… asked Bailu for that?”

Nodding, Stelle leaned back to sit on his lap. “Yeah. I did.”

Dan Heng stared at the square for a moment, trying to get his thoughts in order before asking, “What brought this on?”

She shrugged. “I just thought it would be nice for Sirius to have a sibling, you know? Like March and Caelus’ twins. But I guess it’s not the same since there’d be a gap between them…” Her brow furrowed as she tentatively bit her lip. “Do you… not want to?”

He inhaled, opening his mouth to answer only for words to fail him. After a second, he released that tense breath. “It’s not that,” he said, his mind processing things at warp speed.

“Sorry,” Stelle muttered, fiddling with the medicine square in her hands. “I forgot how badly you felt after this. It didn’t hit me you might not want to repeat—”

“One night of that is nothing compared to what you have to endure,” he cut in. True, he didn’t exactly want to subject himself to feeling that way again if he didn’t have to, but this would be an exception he was willing to make.

Stelle frowned worriedly. “Then do you not want another kid?”

He swallowed, his mouth feeling dry. “I just… never thought we’d have another.” Although, having talked with Bailu today, maybe it was a mistake on his part to have written it off as impossible. Clearly Bailu’s medicine has been successful for others, so why wouldn’t it have worked again for them when they were the first successful case in the first place? “You just caught me off-guard. That’s all.”

“So, would you want another?” she asked, her eyes glittering with hope.

“I…” That was a good question. Yes, he loved Sirius, but was he ready to go through the sleepless nights and diaper changes and toddler phase all over again? Was he ready to split his attention between two children the way March and Caelus did? These were questions he never thought he’d have to think about. 

Apparently, it didn’t matter if it was the first or second kid, Dan Heng never thought he’d have a chance to grow his family twice. 

“Just one more?” Stelle added on when Dan Heng remained silent. “That puts us each in charge of one kid at a time.”

“What if we’re surprised like Caelus and March and end up with twins?” The question slipped out of his mouth before he even thought it through, but it was a valid question. “You and Caelus claim to share DNA, which would mean you are as much at risk for having twins as he is.”

“Then… I guess we have twins,” she said with a shrug.

“And you’re okay with that?”

Confidently, she nodded. “We can do it. But only if you’re up for it, too.”

Again, his eyes were drawn to the little square of medicine, one that promised to change his future once again should he take it. The question was… would that really be so bad? Having another kid to raise, to follow him around and call him Dad. Yes, it would be another child to keep an eye on, but… what was one more? The longer he thought about the possibility, the less opposed to the prospect he became. 

Finally settling on a decision, he wrapped his arms around Stelle's waist, pulling her close. “I am happy to have a family with you, whatever it looks like.”

Her expression brightened, her gold eyes glittering like starlight, and it convinced him he was making the right choice. “So we can try?” 

He took the medicinal square from his over-eager wife, tossing it over on her nightstand. “Not tonight.”

“Darn.”

“It’s not your fertile window.”

She quirked a brow at him. “Do I want to know how you know that?”

“I’m married to you. I know your cycle just as well as you do. Maybe slightly less.”

Amused, she accepted his answer with a sigh. “I shouldn’t be surprised considering your hobby is charting data.”

“It has its uses.”

“I suppose so.”

~~~ 

Stelle didn’t think she’d ever need one of these, but here she was, in the bathroom with a pregnancy test in hand. It had been just over a month since their little escapade, and Stelle realized that she was late. Hence, after they completed their trailblazing mission, they ran to the nearest store to grab a test. 

Now they were back on the Express, Dan Heng standing outside the bathroom while Stelle put the test face down on the counter as she waited for the result. 

After washing her hands, she opened the door, only for Dan Heng to instantly and eagerly look to her for an answer. 

“You want to look at the test together?”

With a single nod, Dan Heng followed her into the bathroom. In the small space, the nervous tension felt heavier than it should. Never had Stelle thought they’d be in the position of anxiously awaiting the result of a pregnancy test with the potential of it being positive.

Yet, here they were. 

Stelle reached for the test, steadying herself with a breath. “Three, two, one.”

And she flipped it over.

Her heart started racing. 

“It’s positive.”

“I’m pregnant.”

They looked at each other, their matching expressions of surprise only lasting a moment before they broke into disbelieving smiles.  

“You know,” Stelle began, her hands jittery with a mix of nerves and excitement, “this is way easier to accept the second time around.”

Dan Heng huffed. “Maybe a little. But… it doesn’t feel quite real yet.”

“Give it a few days to sink in,” Stelle assured, reaching out to grab his hand. 

His fingers wrapped around her hand, holding it tightly. “I think I’ll still be in awe, no matter how much time passes. There are moments when I feel the fact Sirius even exists is… unreal.”

Using their clasped hands, Stelle pulled Dan Heng a step closer so she could wrap her free arm around him.

He returned the gesture, using his free hand to cradle her head, bringing their foreheads together. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“My family.”

“Our family,” Stelle lightly corrected.

“Yes," he whispered, voice full of tender affection. "Our family.”

[thenovelartist]

I did NOT know I needed Bailu in a backwards baseball cap, but now that I have it, my heart is so so full! You cannot tell me Bailu is not Dan Heng's little sister. I refuse to believe otherwise.

This just made my freaking day.

Honkai: Star Rail | HoYoFair 2024 New Year Countdown Artworks: 3

Artists: Esojiros & atori_matori on Twitter

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 9 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

In the first month of having their first child, there were many things that had changed. Dan Heng had thought he’d been prepared, but Welt had been right in one thing: all the information in the data bank couldn’t fully prepare him for being a father. Mostly because while he could read about babies all day long, actually handling Sirius as an individual required much adaptation on Dan Heng and Stelle’s part.

But that was fine. Dan Heng didn’t mind. Not even when Sirius woke them up and kept them up in the night.

At the moment, Sirius had finally finished his crying, having burped up whatever gas bubble had been hurting his stomach. Seemed like Dan Heng’s attempts at pacing around the room while lightly bouncing him had been successful considering Sirius was now calm as he rested against Dan Heng’s shoulder.

Dan Heng glanced over to Stelle as she sighed in relief. From her spot propped up against the headboard of their bed, she shot him a silent thumbs up, to which Dan Heng shot her back a relieved smile.

“Do you think he’ll fall back asleep now?” Stelle quietly asked.

“Hopefully,” he returned just as quietly.

“I would offer to take him from you to take turns—”

“No,” Dan Heng cut in, knowing what she was going to say. And while he appreciated the offer, he didn’t want to change any variables in this successful experiment at the moment.

She raised her hands in the air. “I know. Don’t mess with success.”

He continued to pace the room, although without the bouncing motions now in favor of slowly rubbing Sirius’ back. It would probably be a while yet until Sirius fell back asleep and Dan Heng could put him down. “You can go back to sleep,” Dan Heng offered. “He should be fine now.”

“I know,” she murmured. “I guess I’m just too awake to even try right now.”

Dan Heng understood what she meant. Long before he and Stelle had even started dating, they’d spent many nights awake together because of nightmares, too much adrenaline in their system to so much as lay down. It was in those long nights spent awake together that they’d grown close. Even after they’d married, there’d been plenty of nights one of them would wake the other up due to nightmares. But, one of the biggest blessings of their marriage was having someone to sleep next to, to stay with while weathering the panic of the nightmares, to fall back asleep beside. Surprisingly, both had learned how to get more sleep that way.

Hence, waking up to Sirius’s crying wasn’t as bad as either had thought. They were both too used to this pattern already. Of course, it wasn’t ideal, but with time, Sirius would stop waking up as frequently and eventually start sleeping through the night, allowing things to return to normal.

“He looks like he’s fading,” Stelle mentioned.

Dan Heng’s pace had slowed even more by now. He noticed Sirius’s blue eyes drifting closed as he began to nod off. If he wanted to push his luck, he could put Sirius down now, but he’d rather not.

A light smile came to Dan Heng’s lips as he looked at his son. That wispy silver hair promised to be as frazzled as Stelle’s, but those blue eyes were his, even down to the dusting of red at the corners of his eyelids. Those ears, too; ones that were pointed like every other one of his kind. His son was truly a vidyadhara through and through, and Dan Heng believed Sirius only grow into his draconic features the older he got.

After a moment, Dan Heng felt confident enough to put Sirius down in the little crib, one he and Stelle had received as a gift. Yes, they had the absolutely beautiful nursery that the Astral Express crew had given them, and they used it during the day. At night, however, it was far easier to have Sirius sleep in the room with them, the little crib set up close to the bed with a makeshift diaper station and necessity basket set up on the floor.

Seeing as Sirius didn’t wake after being placed down, Dan Heng walked back to the bed where Stelle welcomed him with open arms. After turning off the light, Dan Heng happily settled into her embrace, wrapping his arms around her in return. While he didn’t quite feel tired enough to fall back asleep, he could try, at least.

That is, if Stelle stopped playing with his ears.

“Something the matter?” he asked.

“No,” she returned, her voice light with amusement. “I just… think it’s cute to see you two with matching ears.”

Ah, yes. That was potentially the second biggest change since Sirius had been born, and it had nothing to do with Sirius himself. Before departing to the Luofu for Sirius’ birth, Dan Heng had every intention of changing back into his human appearance upon returning to the Astral Express. However, that was before Dan Heng saw Sirius’s ears. The two-day wait for the Astral Express to pick them up had given Dan Heng enough time to imagine what raising Sirius would be like. It had hit him then that there might come a time when the boy would start questioning his appearance if neither of his parents shared the prominent features he already exhibited, which forced Dan Heng to make a decision. A decision he was still struggling to adapt to.

“Are you okay seeing me like this? All the time, that is?” he asked Stelle for what was certainly not the first time.

Instead of answering right away, as she normally did, she slid her fingers down his cheek, her fingertips lightly running over his facial features before she tapped his nose. “What have I told you before?” she teased.

“That you don’t mind.”

“That you’re still Dan Heng, no matter what form you take,” she confirmed, her fingers continuing to ghost over his cheek and jaw. “But… I gotta say, I do like seeing my son look so much like his father.”

Those whispered words paired with her tender touch was just what Dan Heng needed to hear to settle down.

Although, she wound him up again when she pressed a slow, lingering kiss to his lips. “I love you.”

He smiled, his heart warm and worries completely evaporated now. “I love you, too.”

~~~

Two months postpartum, and Stelle was… not happy. Because darn it, she should be able to fit into her regular clothes by now!

Tossing her head back in irritation, she let out a long, angry groan. She was just about ready to throw in the towel on this. Just admit this baby had wrecked her body and call it a day. Sure, it was disappointing, but she had a miracle son with her husband to show for it, right?

… Right?

The door to their room opened, and Dan Heng slipped in. “Hey.”

Stelle whipped around, ready to take Sirius from Dan Heng’s arms. Only, Sirius wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“Himeko has him,” Dan Heng answered before she could even ask.

“Oh.” Even after being married for years, she was occasionally caught off-guard with how well he could read her mind.

Dan Heng looked her over, his gaze lingering on her unzipped skirt. “I haven’t seen you wear that for a while.”

Stelle gave him a bitter smile. “Well, you’re not going to see me in it again.”

He quirked a brow at her.

In silent response, she once again tried to pull the top of the zipper together so she could zip it up, but it just didn’t fit no matter how hard she tried.

“…oh,” Dan Heng softly huffed.

With a grunt, she slid out of her skirt for the last time. “My hips widened out, and so it doesn’t fit properly now.” Out of frustration, she threw her skirt towards the bed, the opposite direction from the dresser. “Here I thought I was gonna be able to fit right back into my clothes once the baby bump disappeared, but apparently, I was wrong.”

She didn’t look toward Dan Heng. She didn’t dare. Not when she felt a little more emotional about it than she would have liked. Logically, she knew it wasn’t the end of the world. She was the kind to go with the flow pretty well, but this stung.

Before her mind could continue down its melancholy trail, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. The culprit didn’t speak; he only held her tightly and buried his head against her shoulder.

After a moment, Stelle relaxed into his embrace, fully leaning back against him as she placed her hands over his forearms.

“I’m sorry,” he began.

“For?”

He sighed, squeezing her tighter. “I… I know that growing a life took a toll on your body,” he said, words coming slowly as he chose them. “But I’m thankful beyond words for my son. So I don’t know what else I can say than that.”

It was her turn to sigh, his words and actions warming her heart and calming her anger. She was thankful for her son, too. It was just… with all the changes, she should be able to accept one more, but maybe this was the one that sent her over the edge instead.

“It’s fine,” she whispered, reaching up to cradle her husband’s cheek. “I’ll live. You don’t have to apologize.”

Dan Heng leaned into her touch. “I… No, I should.”

At that, she quirked a brow.

“Because I’m sorry… that I’m not sorry for accidentally…”

“Knocking me up?” she finished.

He sighed. “Yes. Especially since that should have been impossible.”

Yet, by some miracle, it had happened and left them with a child, one Stelle was genuinely excited about and thankful for. It was thoughts like those that made her realize just how stupid her complaints over her hips were, yet she couldn’t distance herself from her emotions just yet.

“I’m not mad at you,” Stelle assured. Taking a deep breath, she leaned fully back against him, relishing the feel of just being held by Dan Heng. “I remember talking about kids with you before that night. Remember seeing the kids running down the street and causing trouble.”

Dan Heng chuckled. “I remember that. That… was the first time I really started thinking about families in general.”

“Same for me,” she admitted. “What I didn’t tell you was how I was almost… a little jealous.”

“Jealous?”

She nodded, thinking back to that date night. “I meant it when I said I’d never really thought about a family with you before. But after our date, I started to wonder what it would be like to be a normal couple with you. To have a family and a home and whatnot. After our lives being so chaotic and never being able to think beyond the moment, I finally had time to wonder what it would be like to slow down; to not have one crazy thing after another happen.”

She slowly turned around in Dan Heng’s arms so that she could face him. “So it’s fine. I’ll get over the hip thing. Just… give me a little time.”

His arms wrapped around her waist, low as though to purposefully grab her hips and pull her flush against him. “If it makes you feel better, I still think you’re beautiful as ever, wider hips or not.”

Despite herself, she smirked. “You’d say that no matter what.”

“I mean it." Sincerity shone in his eyes, ones far bluer than she was used to yet adapted to with shocking speed. 

Ones that still made her heart flutter no matter what color they were. “I know.”

“Would you like for me to go shopping with you when the others return?” he offered. “To get new clothes that fit?”

Stelle shrugged, playing off how happy his offer had made her. “It’s fine. I’ll ask March. As much as I complain about shopping with her, those trips end up being more productive than when I’m alone.” That is… when March could focus and not get sidetracked. Two eyes searching through clothes made for quicker work as opposed to one, especially when one of those eyes had good taste in fashion.

“Okay.” He then pressed a kiss to her temple. “Then I’ll leave it to March.”

“Thank you for the offer, though,” she said, unable to ignore the warm-fuzzy feeling that had yet to go away. “I love you.”

He smiled, leaning forward. “I love you, too.” He pressed his lips to hers in a lingering kiss.

She couldn't help but grin against his lips, enjoying the moment.

“And no matter how your body changes,” he continued, his lips moving against hers. “I will still only love you.”

Her cheeks grew warm. “You need to stop,” she whispered in warning.

His brow furrowed, his body instantly freezing in worry. “What?”

“You can’t keep flirting with me like that and expect me not to swoon.”

She felt his body melt as he relaxed. Only this time, it was paired with an amused gleam in his blue eyes. “I’m not trying to flirt.”

“Still. It’s not fair.”

“How so?”

She didn’t have an answer for that. At least… not one she wanted to admit aloud.

His grip on her grew tighter as he waited.

So she just kissed him instead.

A chuckle escaped him. He’d seemed to expect her action. But in return, his hands slid slowly up her back, wrapping her fully up in his embrace. Her skin tingled with lightning at his touch, something sparking to life in her that hadn’t been lit in months. And that warm, buzzing sensation coaxed her to follow his lead as he dipped her back.

“Now, I’m flirting,” he said, the tips of his ears growing red at the admission.

… Drat it all, this was going to end one way, wasn’t it? That part of her that burned for the first time in months was screaming in eagerness, but her mind wouldn’t turn off “Mom-Mode” quite yet. “Sirius,” she breathily began. “What about—”

“He’s fine,” Dan Heng interrupted. “I think Himeko knew what she was doing when she asked to take him.”

Stelle felt her cheeks burn. Himeko, for some reason, just knew things Stelle would rather she didn’t. By no means was she classless or lewd, but she always seemed to know when the married couple aboard her star train needed a date night out or some private time. Not for the first time did Stelle wonder if she should confront Himeko or just buy the woman a thank-you gift.

Ugh, maybe the latter because she and Dan Heng hadn’t done anything in months and Stelle didn’t realize just how desperately she was missing her husband.

“Uh, b-be patient with me,” she asked, a new round of heat flooding her body, burning in her chest as her heart raced.

“Because it’s been a while?” Dan Heng asked.

“Because… it’s our first time since I pushed a baby out through these ruined hips—”

“They aren’t ruined.”

“Okay, but still! It might… be different. Or so I was warned.”

Dan Heng pulled his head back to meet her gaze. Those glowing eyes burned with an intensity that made Stelle feel small, as though she was truly at the mercy of a great dragon. Yet instead of the urge to cower in fear, as any sensible person would, she was doing her best not to swoon. “I’m not in this relationship for sex,” he clarified. “I’m in this relationship for you.”

Her heartbeat was growing more noticeable by the second, banging like a drum as her breath came in rapid pants.

“It just so happens that… with you is… amazing.” He cleared his throat, his ears turning redder. “So it doesn’t matter to me if it’s different. Whatever you need from me now, tell me. I’ll comply.”

Geez, with an answer like that, what else was she supposed to do except let him have his way with her?

So she caved. Happily and eagerly.

She just didn’t expect to be left absolutely exhausted on their bed, half-wrapped in the tangled sheet and sporting bite marks all up and down her hips. Behind her, Dan Heng had his face nuzzled into her shoulder, allowing her to feel the smile on his face as he spooned her. 

She couldn’t be upset at whatever pride he’d gleaned from their escapade, not when he once again lavished attention on her insecurities until they disappeared from her mind, if only for a bit. He may have become much more talkative with her over the years, the two of them learning how to communicate well with each other, yet he never stopped being a man of action when it counted.

Pushing back against him, she snuggled deeper against him and rested her hand on top of his. One thing was for certain: Stelle was a very lucky woman. And considering he liked making his love to her known by frequently leaving his mark, he never gave her the chance to forget it.

~~~

Dan Heng was very conflicted.

This was the third time Stelle had kicked Dan Heng out to be on the mission exploration team since Sirius was born. Her reasoning equated to “it was good for him to get out,” but Dan Heng didn’t like having to leave Stelle alone for days on end while he got himself into who-knew-what with whatever stellaron crisis they’d stumbled upon. Raising a baby was a team effort, and he didn’t like having to dump all the responsibility for several days while he was out and about. She warned him that normal couples would see the father off to work, leaving most of the care to the mother in that time, but Dan Heng argued that even in that situation, the father would return home for the evening, unlike him.

Of course, he couldn't win that argument when Welt and Himeko backed Stelle up. Hence, he was forcibly removed from Astral Express guard duty.

The problem came when he got out, stretched his legs a little bit, realized he didn’t have to deal with diaper changes for a couple days, and enjoyed being away for a bit. It never did take long for the guilt to set in. He tried not to focus on it too much and rather focus on completing this mission efficiently and quickly, but with the way it was going, they were going to be here a while.

At the moment, Dan Heng was in his hotel room, one provided by the city as they traveled, reading on his phone. It was the middle hours of the night, but Dan Heng just couldn’t get to sleep. Ever since he and Stelle had started sharing a bed, he’d found it easier to fall asleep. Now, alone with his thoughts in this unfamiliar bedroom, lounging on a bed that wasn’t nearly as comfortable as the one back home, Dan Heng just could not find the ability to sleep. Hence, he dove into research.

Until a message woke him up.

Stelle: I hope this doesn’t wake you. I just want to say I miss you. As does Little Dragon. 

Dan Heng: I was awake. Can’t sleep without you.

Stelle: :( I’m sorry. I wish I was there with you.

Dan Heng: Can I call you? 

Dan Heng: Or is Little Dragon asleep?

The moment he sent off that message, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. One he answered immediately. “Hey.”

“Hey,” his clearly tired wife greeted from the other end of the line. “How’s everything going?”

Dan Heng sighed. “It’s… going.”

“That sounds really promising,” she sarcastically retorted.

Dan Heng huffed a laugh. “How are you?”

“Meh, nothing to report. Baby was a little upset that I was the one rocking him to sleep tonight. You’re spoiling him.”

“Then I should sit the next mission out.”

“I won’t argue with the next mission, but I’m still kicking you out every once in a while.”

“I should offer to take him and send you out.”

Stelle paused.

“Maybe not the next mission,” Dan Heng said. “But one in the near future. I think you need to get out again, too.”

“I… I’d like that. I think I’m a little more out of shape than I realize.”

“You’re doing well to work towards it again.” The image of Stelle doing sprints up and down the train cars crossed his mind. He also remembered secretly asking Pom-pom not to yell at her for wearing out the carpet. “If you’d like, we can start sparring sessions.”

“Ugh. I mean, yeah, it would help me shake the rust off my lance, but I’m worried you’re going to hand me my butt on a silver platter.”

“I’ll go easy on you.”

“Not too easy.”

“Not enough to cause you a disservice.”

She chuckled. “You know, now that I think about it, I don’t think I would mind not having to change a diaper for a few days.”

A humored huff escaped him. “I… may have thought the same thing.”

“Can’t blame you. However, we’re off-topic. What’s happening on your end?”

For the next half hour, they lost themselves in conversation. Hearing her voice helped settle him more than any other sleep tactic he’d tried. But he could hear her yawn over the phone more than once and knew he couldn’t keep her.

“I should let you get back to sleep,” he said.

“It’s fine,” Stelle assured. “I was awake before Sirius started fussing. But he’s asleep now so maybe I should try to get a nap in while I can.”

“Then go,” Dan Heng said. “I’m glad I got to hear your voice.”

She hummed, her tone warm as she replied, “Same.”

“Then good night.”

“Good morning, you mean.”

He smirked. “Good morning. Get some sleep.”

“You, too. Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“And good luck on your mission.”

“We need all the luck we can get.”

She hummed, although it sounded a bit like a chuckle. “Bye.”

“See you soon.”

With that, the call dropped, and Dan Heng was left with almost a twinge of disappointment. Getting out was nice, but he’d at least like to spend his nights at home. He got about the same amount of sleep either way.

Dropping his phone back on the nightstand, he decided to give sleep one more try. Although it was so light that he awoke with the first hint of dawn creeping into his room, it was still better than nothing.

Dan Heng: Good morning. I hope I don’t wake you. I hope you have a good day.

Before he could put his phone down, he noticed the bubbles on the other line.

Stelle: Good morning. And good luck. ;)

With a smile, Dan Heng slowly slipped out of bed. Time to make as much headway as possible and get home as quickly as he could. He’d take diapers over sleepless nights and stellaron disasters any day.

~~~

Stelle hated being this rusty. She’d been out of the field for way too long. And of course, her first mission back had to be a complete and total disaster.

At least she didn’t look that out of shape when compared to the huffing Welt and worn-out Caelus by her side. Actually, the worn-out Caelus worried her the most considering he was in the best shape of the three of them. But then again, maybe he was like that because he was carrying most of the slack.

Stelle hated this.

Still, she pushed herself past what she thought was her breaking point, trying to evacuate the city from the spreading corruption caused by the stellaron while holding a lost, crying child in her arms.

Stelle hated a lot of things, but this she hated the most.

Finally in the safe zone, her knees threatening to fail her, she searched for someone to hand the young child off to, only to see a teary-eyed woman running towards her. “My baby!”

Relief flooded Stelle as she handed the child over to the mother.

“Thank you,” the woman said, sounding much like a broken record as she hugged her child tightly to her. “Thank you. Thank you.”

“I’m a mother, too,” Stelle said, although a bit breathlessly. “I get it.”

The woman looked up at her with shining eyes. “You’re an angel.”

In the past, Stelle had helped countless people of all ages. Of course, she understood people were appreciative, and she was always happy to be rewarded, but this time… this time felt a little more personal than she would have liked.

Taking a moment to catch her breath—as well as mentally beg her legs to stop shaking—she rallied herself for one last push to finish this up. All she wanted to do was go back home and hug her own baby, one who was thankfully safe and sound away from this disaster.

Move, Stelle, she chastized when her legs had a hard time starting.

Finally, after aeons-knew-how-long, the mess was over, and Welt had properly contained the stellaron.

Upon hearing that wonderful piece of news, Stelle’s legs officially gave out on her, and she collapsed to the ground.

“Don’t move me,” she muttered to Welt. “Let me die here for a minute.”

What she hadn’t expected was Welt to drop to the ground beside her. “No… no judgment here.”

A shadow then fell over Stelle, and she cracked her eyes open to see Caelus hovering over them. “You got it?” he asked.

Welt gave him a thumbs up. “Got it.”

At which point Caelus dramatically collapsed to the ground. “Good.”

Well, Stelle really didn’t feel so out of shape now.

“I’m confident… that I speak for all of us,” Caelus began, “when I say… we sit the next two missions out.”

Welt heaved a breath. “I do not object.”

“I’m sitting more than that!” Stelle whined.

Caelus huffed a chuckle.

“If it makes you feel better,” Welt huffed out. “You did incredibly well for your first mission in a year.”

That got Stelle to pause. Had it been almost a year since she was last out in the field. Although tired, she did some mental math. She'd had a couple light missions after discovering her pregnancy, but by the time she hit month five, she was out. Sirius had just hit seven months old. So just under a year. It had taken that long to not only get back in shape enough to actually help properly during these missions but also to feel comfortable leaving Sirius for a few days. Dan Heng was more capable of picking up her slack, to be sure, but she didn't quite count on her sheer unwillingness to leave. 

"Wow. What a year." She murmured to herself before realizing she should respond to Welt. “Thanks. I thought I missed it, but let me tell you, diapers have their appeal.”

Caelus propped himself up, just enough to meet her gaze. “You know, had you said that before, I would have mocked you. But I swear to aeons, I now understand the appeal of poop and vomit when compared to… that.”

Stelle couldn’t help but chuckle.

“By the way,” Caelus said, rolling over to lay flat on the ground again. “We’re not gonna move for the next ten minutes, right?”

“No,” Welt confirmed.

“Good.”

~~~

Dan Heng liked days like today: calm, recently finished mission, everyone home in the Express. These days held a certain peace to them; ironic considering the parlor was full with everyone aboard.

On one bench sat March and Caelus, the duo rather close as they chatted. March was showing off photos she’d taken of their past adventures while Caelus told her of his own adventures on whatever planet was in her pictures.

Stelle also sat on that couch, but on the opposite end, bouncing Sirius on her knee. However, the toddler who’d recently had his first birthday was looking over at the other couch with a longing pout. Amused, Stelle put Sirius on the floor, where he instantly turned happy as he scrambled to where his father sat.

With a smile, Dan Heng reached out for Sirius, grabbing him when he came close and pulling him into his own lap. Beside him, Himeko and Welt smiled upon the scene.

“He’s getting so fast!” Pom-pom commented, walking over to Dan Heng.

“I'm scared he’s going to be hard to keep up with,” Stelle said, crossing her legs and propping her elbow on her knee. Since replacing her skirts, she’d exchanged her mini-skirts for knee-length ones. In Dan Heng’s opinion, he liked this change. It gave her a slightly more mature air, which felt very apropos for her change into motherhood. Although they still had a thigh-high slit that showed off her signature teal garter, one that she'd previously mentioned was the same color as his eyes. Dan Heng quite liked that little detail, too.

“At this rate,” Dan Heng replied, putting Sirius back down on the ground. “I am worried about when he starts walking.”

“He’s almost there,” Stelle wistfully said.

Yes, and it was… almost a shame. It felt like just yesterday, Sirius was waking them up every two hours on the dot. Now, here he was, using Dan Heng’s legs as support to stand on his own.

“Good job,” he quietly encouraged as the little boy looked up to him with a smile.

Sirius let out a little, happy squeak of excitement, moving his hands to clap, although he only managed to clap twice before falling over off-balance. However, instead of getting upset, he simply rolled onto all fours and scrambled right back across the room to Stelle. Pom-pom, the ever-watchful conductor, followed right behind.

With a smile, Dan Heng watched as Sirius stood once again, this time using Stelle’s hands as support. Once he seemed to get his balance, Stelle moved her hands away, letting the boy stand on his own.

“Yay!” she quietly cheered, clapping her hands.

In his excitement, Sirius tried to mimic the gesture but flailed around too much and quickly lost his balance after one clap.

“Aww,” Caelus cooed, hopping up off the couch to skip over to him. “You did so good.”

In one smooth motion, Caelus swept Sirius up off the floor, lightly tossing him in the air before settling the boy against his hip. Sirius instantly brightened, squealing his excitement at his uncle’s playful attention.

In the next second, March was by him. She tickled Sirius’s sides from behind, causing the toddler to giggle and squeal even more.

“One would think they’re the parents,” Himeko whispered conspiratorially to Dan Heng.

Not for the first time did Dan Heng really examine the interactions between the duo. Since boarding the express, Caelus had integrated surprisingly quickly into the crew. He and Stelle had grown quite close, and the more their bond deepened, the clearer it became to everyone just how similar the duo were as siblings. Caelus might be a little more chaotic than Stelle, but Dan Heng would chalk that up to the fact he was a solo stellaron hunter for years. Or maybe that was just his personality.

Either way, Dan Heng himself couldn’t deny he’d appreciated the comfortable friendship he’d formed with the new male member. In fact, he’d learned to enjoy the time he got to trailblaze with Caelus. He’d ignore the fact he’d had to pull Caelus away from a couple of trashcans on their adventures, though. That just felt par for the course by now.

As for Caelus’ relationship with the other members, though, the one most notable was the one with March. They’d gone from constantly ribbing each other—which was fine by Dan Heng; he appreciated that March had someone else to bother rather than him or Stelle all the time—to practically being attached at the hip. Dan Heng wouldn’t say he had the best eye for social interactions, but even he wondered if their relationship would grow past a friendship.

“I agree they are quite close.”

Himeko hummed. “One of these days, I expect them to confess to us that they’re dating. After all, you and Stelle once looked like that.”

Dan Heng felt his ears warm. “Did… we really?”

With a smile, Himeko nodded. “It was adorable, though.”

That only made the warmth in Dan Heng’s cheeks intensify. He coughed in hopes of covering his embarrassment. “Hopefully, our relationship didn’t cause any issues we did not intend.”

Welt shook his head. “You two weren’t running into that relationship irrationally. It was evident that it had been growing for some time.”

“So we felt it was more an inevitability than an issue,” Himeko finished. “And I feel the same about those two.”

By now, the duo had handed Sirius off to Stelle. Sirius was standing on his own using Stelle’s hands as support. This time, when Stelle took her hands away to let him stand on his own, he bounced a couple times excitedly before falling.

The sight caused the heat in his face to channel down to his heart. His little boy was getting closer to being able to walk. Dan Heng just hoped he was around to see Sirius’s first steps instead of off on some trailblazing mission.

“Maybe,” Himeko quietly continued. “Given some time, Sirius won’t be the only baby aboard the Express.”

“Don’t let your imagination run too wild,” Welt gently chastised.

“March has too strong of a twinkle in her eye when she looks at Sirius for me to do that.”

Welt simply sighed. “Maybe it’s more appropriate to say ‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.’”

Himeko shrugged as she sipped her coffee.

Dan Heng quirked a brow at them. “Um… would you two be okay with that? Er... I mean, allow me to rephrase: are you… really okay with having kids aboard?”

Himeko set her coffee cup down as she thought. “I won’t say it’s easy. Having a baby around is a challenge with this lifestyle. But we like having you and Stelle around, so we were able to make things work to keep you both aboard. Plus, Sirius is adorable. I wouldn’t mind—that is, if Caelus and March did get married—if they started a family, too. With Sirius under our belt, we’d all be able to adapt to it quicker.”

Upon Dan Heng looking towards the older man for an answer, Welt provided, “I feel as though I’ve known you all long enough to confidently say this: trailblazing has become an integral part of your lives. I can’t see any of you happy anywhere else. And even though this life is different than what could be considered ‘normal’, I would hate to see you youngsters put your lives on hold for this. You and Stelle have proven you were able to build a family in the middle of this, however unintentional it may have been. I’m happy to be able to watch you both. It… now, this may be odd to say, but Sirius makes the Express feel… even more like a home.”

“It’s not odd in the slightest,” Himeko agreed.

It might sound the most odd coming from Dan Heng, but he also understood the sentiment. Having grown up in a prison, being hated from the moment he was reincarnated, and eventually forced into exile, he’d never known a home. It was not a concept he had the luxury of understanding until Stelle had come into his life and settled down with him. She didn’t exactly have a great idea of what ‘home’ meant, either, but she was the first to call what they’d built a home, even though she'd only been referring to their marriage and shared room at the time. Now, with Sirius in the mix—

“Dan Heng!”

Broken from his thoughts, Dan Heng turned towards Stelle’s call. She was standing in the middle of the room, bent over to hold Sirius’s hand in support as he toddled towards Dan Heng.

Instinctually, Dan Heng slid off his seat to his knees, reaching forward towards his son. With how little Stelle was actually supporting him, maybe Sirius could walk on his own this time. “Come on.”

A smile took the place of Sirius’s previous intense concentration, and he let go of Stelle’s hand. He took one very shaky step followed by steps two and three in quick succession before he fell forward, but Dan Heng quickly caught him, scooping him up into his arms.

“Good job, Little Dragon,” he said, tightly hugging his son. His words, however, were muted by everyone’s cheers. March even interjected that she’d caught it on camera.

Turning to Stelle, who now stood in front of him, they shared a smile. Yes, this was home, a safe place he shared with his wife, son, and the rest of his family. Unlike his father, Sirius would never know the pain of chains in a prison or be lacking in love. The Astral Express would be the place he grew up, where he was free to travel the stars, and surrounded by family. Dan Heng and Stelle may not have grown up knowing what a home was, but Sirius would never know anything but, and Dan Heng could not be any more grateful for that than he already was.

[thenovelartist]

Artwork for chapter 8 of my DanStelle fanfic "Life after Destruction"

For my years of writing fanfiction, this is the first time I've ever drawn for one of my own fanfictions. Surprising, but I can't say I'm not proud of it. :D

(Individual images under the cut)

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 8 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

Living on a star train, Stelle had gotten used to not having any direct form of sunlight to tell time with, so this “waking with the sun” thing was still taking some getting used to. But she certainly believed she could as long as she woke snuggled in Dan Heng’s arms.

She could do without her baby kicking her in the ribs, though.

“Baby,” she muttered, rolling over onto her back and rubbing her stomach as though that could settle her baby down. “You gotta knock it off. You’re not supposed to be stealing my sleep until after you’re born.”

The arm that was draped over her gently hugged her stomach. “Hey,” a sleepy voice muttered. “Be nice to your mom.”

She glanced over at Dan Heng. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

His eyes cracked open. “No, I was already on the verge of waking up when I felt the baby kicking.”

“Baby,” she scolded, patting her stomach. “You’re not supposed to steal Daddy’s sleep, either.”

As though in answer, Stelle watched a little hand press up and out of her stomach, right above where Dan Heng’s arm draped over her. “Don’t be rebellious,” she said, tapping her fingers on the little protrusion.

Of course, that only caused the baby to kick her in the ribs again.

With a heavy sigh, Stelle laid her head back against her pillow. It had been three long weeks since the Express had dropped her, Dan Heng, and Natasha off on the Luofu. She hadn’t realized how thankful she was for such a long vacation seeing as this last month had been the hardest on her physically. She was ready for this baby to be finished cooking and come out of the oven.

Beside her on the bed, Dan Heng propped himself up on his arm to look over her. “Do you need anything?”

She sighed. “I need this baby out of me.”

“Sorry. If I could make that happen, I would.”

“I have the feeling they’re gonna take their sweet time. They’re stubborn that way.”

“Like their mother.”

Stelle glowered at him.

The smirk he shot her in return was infuriating.

Unfortunately, she had to let it go. Even when cranky at him, she loved whenever his mischievousness made an appearance. She was a weak woman.

Dan Heng gently rubbed a hand over her stomach, their baby reaching out toward the touch. “Would you like to go swimming again today?”

Stelle cracked an eye open at him, mulling over the prospect. Their new habit was something Dan Heng had suggested soon after their arrival, swimming in the waters around Scalegorge Waterscape. Rather, it was less “swimming” and more Stelle floating on her back while Dan Heng stayed right by her side, supporting her in whatever way was most comfortable for her. It offered relief to her back, and the baby seemed to quiet down, too. It made her wonder if their child would be a fan of the water.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “That sounds really nice.”

Dan Heng laid back down, wrapping an arm around her to pull her close. “Then whenever you’re ready, we can go. But I would prefer if you managed to get some breakfast down first.”

“Rice bowl.”

“You’re up for that?”

Grinning, she nodded. “Yeah.”

“Would you like me to go make that for you now?”

She paused, pouting in thought as she looked over her husband’s bare chest. “No.” And then she reached out to throw an arm around his waist. “Stay. Just a little bit.”

He hummed happily. “Okay.”

Snuggled in her husband’s arms like this, Stelle became a very happy woman. She was also almost comfortable enough to fall back asleep.

Until her child decided to start kicking again.

Well, so much for sleep.

An hour and two breakfast bowls later, she and Dan Heng were heading to the beach. Before they left, Stelle had informed Natasha where they were heading. Natasha bid them a good time and informed them that she would be at the alchemy commission in case they needed anything. Stelle wished her a good time as well.

Honestly, Stelle had been worried that Natasha might feel neglected or out of place when they had first arrived on the Luofu, yet she had never shown any signs of distress. On the contrary, she seemed to enjoy her trip, diving headlong into any medical texts she could get her hands on as well as following Bailu whenever possible.

By now, Stelle would bet Natasha could make her way to the alchemy commission without any assistance from the young vidyadhara, but that theory would never be tested considering Natasha always had a cloud knight escort wherever she went. Jing Yuan had kindly arranged constant cloud knight protection for Natasha, Dan Heng, and Stelle. He’d also been the one to arrange for the house they were currently staying at for the time being. One thing was for certain: under his command, the very first vidyadhara baby and their family would be completely safe.

The starskiff they were riding on came to a stop, and Stelle took in the familiar sights of Scalegorge Waterscape’s beach. The knights that accompanied them were the first to disembark, then Dan Heng helped Stelle off the starskiff.

The two cloud knight escorts quickly scanned the area, deeming the coast clear for now yet never letting their guard down. As much as Stelle appreciated the protection, she wasn’t a fan of being followed around everywhere. However, it was a necessity for the safety of her and her child, so she wouldn’t complain.

Holding on to Dan Heng’s hand for support, Stelle made her way down the stairs to the beach. Once at the bottom, she kicked off her shoes, taking in the warmth of the sand under her feet. Pulling her hand away from Dan Heng’s, she made her way to the water’s edge, dipping her feet in the cool water and sighing in relief.

“Maybe I should have brought a chair,” Dan Heng commented.

Stelle shook her head. “Nah, the water will do just fine.”

“Then, shall we?” he asked, already slipping off his shirt. An action Stelle watched maybe a little too intently.

“Yes.” Reining her thoughts in, she turned back to face the water while slipping out of the wrap dress she wore to cover her two-piece swimsuit. If she were being honest, having her large belly exposed like this did make her feel a little awkward, but on the other hand, she didn’t want to have to buy a maternity swimsuit when one of her existing suits happened to fit her just fine. The bottoms had to stretch a little under her belly, and the top had become a bit tight thanks to all her body’s changes, but the point still stood.

After folding his shirt, Dan Heng dropped it beside the two towels he’d already set on a rock outcropping on the beach. He then took her dress as well as the sun hat she wore and laid both items on top of his shirt.

Taking her hand once again, Dan Heng led Stelle into the water. The higher the water got, the more pressure it took off her body until her stomach was fully submerged. At that point, she lay down in the sea, relishing the cool relief of the water.

Behind her, Dan Heng cradled her shoulders, supporting her as she floated. Beneath her, she felt the water move, gently pushing up on her as though she was sitting in a chair.

Stelle caught sight of the way Dan Heng’s horns glowed softly in the morning sun, a tell-tale sign he was using his powers to control the water around them. She couldn’t temper the smile that stretched across her lips. Playfully, she reached up to tap his horns. “You’re a good husband,” she spoke. “Ten outta ten would marry again.”

Chuckling, he snatched her hand, kissing the back of it. “It’s the least I can do.”

With a sigh, she let her eyes drift closed as she relaxed, allowing her ears to sink beneath the surface and hair to float around her as though to take away all other stimulation. That is, other than the muted vibrations of the water itself.

Until her baby kicking her in the lungs once again knocked the wind out of her.

“Baby, please,” she quietly pleaded.

At her plea, Dan Heng shifted her in his arms so he could lay a hand on the side of her stomach. Sadly, this shift took her head out of the water, but considering it now rested on his shoulder, she wasn’t complaining too much.

“They’ve been getting more active lately,” he commented.

“Maybe they’re getting ready to come out,” she said, mentally keeping her fingers crossed.

As though responding, the baby kicked out against her spine, sending every muscle in her stomach spasming. She bit back her whine, though failed to resist folding in on herself to compensate for the pain. Dan Heng's grip on her tightened, cradling her closer. 

After a moment, the pain subsided, and she loosened her grip on his hand. “I’m fine.”

He hummed flatly, a reaction she couldn’t quite judge.

That’s when the waves seemed to pick up in the sea. Not large by any account, but small enough to rock her body. Only after bobbing a few times did she realize Dan Heng was likely trying to calm the baby and keep her comfortable.

“Does that help?” he asked, confirming her suspicions.

“For now,” she answered. She tapped at her stomach with her free hand. “Can’t you just be happy?”

In protest, the baby shifted in her stomach, pressing out against her side and causing a little bulge in the process.

“That’s a no,” she muttered, reluctantly accepting her fate as she let her eyes drift closed.

For a while, they floated in the water together. Well, Stelle floated. She guessed Dan Heng was standing on the bottom of the sea the entire time they drifted around the coast, propping her up as she enjoyed floating. However, her enjoyment was inversely related to the amount her baby was moving around, and Baby was moving around a lot.

Finally, a glowing tail slipped out from the sea, draping over her stomach and giving it a light squeeze. Stelle couldn’t help but be captivated by the sight she rarely saw. Even when Dan Heng was in his vidyadhara form, he usually hid his tail for some odd reason she never felt comfortable poking into. He never volunteered that information, either.

Today, however, it was a most welcomed sight, especially since, oddly enough, that was what ultimately caused her baby to settle down just enough for her to finally enjoy the moment.

She gave Dan Heng’s hand a light squeeze. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

With a hum, he returned the gesture, a warmth flooding her heart at the action.

After some time, Stelle decided she’d had enough water for the day. A decision baby immediately protested with another kick to the ribs, one hard enough to send her core muscles spasming again.

“Maybe we should talk to Natasha,” Dan Heng said, already pulling Stelle back to shore.

“I don’t think anything is wrong,” Stelle grumbled, twisting so as to stand on the sea’s floor. “Baby is just being active in the wrong position today.”

Unconvinced, Dan Heng grunted. “Still, I would think it prudent.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll submit to a check-up.”

Hand in hand, they walked back up to dry land, Stelle feeling the weight of her belly as she did. Her back protested, having gotten too comfortable from floating. All she could do was heave a sigh. Hopefully, she would find permanent relief soon.  

Dan Heng grabbed one of the towels and draped it over her shoulders. “Would you like to sit for a moment?” he asked. “Or just go back as soon as possible?”

She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Back it is. Be sure to dry off properly.”

"I will," she tiredly assured, snuggling into the towel for a moment before drying off. Even with her belly, she’d been able to manage many things by herself. Bending over had only been slightly inhibited by the bulge, but after some of those kicks today, she felt like her spine would protest that particular movement. “Hey, Dan Heng.”

“Yes?”

She took a deep breath. “I can’t reach my feet. I’m really sore right now.”

Without hesitation, Dan Heng knelt before her and dried off her legs. “There.”

"Thank you.”

Once they finished drying off, Dan Heng gave Stelle back her wrap dress. While she slipped into that, he pulled on his shirt again. She was only a twinge disappointed. Even with all the scars, Stelle did like looking over her husband. At times, she could even argue the scars made him more attractive.

And there’d been times during her pregnancy she’d almost admitted that, wanting to see what kind of reaction she’d get from him. Pregnancy hormones were a real thing, and they came in a shockingly wild range.

“Ready?” Dan Heng asked, dropping her sunhat back onto her head.

With a nod, she took his hand in hers.

He smiled at the action, pulling her close to his side as they walked back to the awaiting starskiff.

Only, she made it about five steps before warm water suddenly started running down her legs.

She froze, eyes shooting wide as her hand covered her stomach. Dan Heng looked back at her in concern. “You okay?”

Was she? She was trying to process what just happened. “Um,” she began, her mind whirling at light speed now. “A lot of warm water just poured down my legs. And I don’t think I peed myself.”

His eyes widened. “Your water broke?”

She took a breath, trying to get her rush of thoughts in order. The adrenaline wave that hit wasn't helping that process. “Pretty sure.”

“Okay,” Dan Heng said, his hand tightening its grip on hers. His eyes narrowed as he focused, but his breathing picked up. Or was that her imagination? She couldn’t tell; she was a ball of nerves at the moment. “Okay. Let’s go back. We’ll have one of the knights go find Natasha and Bailu.”

~~~  

Dan Heng hated watching Stelle go through labor. There wasn’t much he could do to help with her pain as the day dragged on. Sure, he could support her in whatever position she felt most comfortable, letting her lean on him as much as she needed, but that was all.

Then the sun fell below the horizon, night having fully come upon them, and that was like a switch for Stelle’s labor to worsen.

Finally, when the moon was high in the sky, twinkling stars scattered around it, a baby’s cry broke the calm of the night.

“It’s a boy.”

The world around him seemed to slow down and fade away as Natasha took the tiny infant and placed him in Stelle's arms

Despite her very evident exhaustion, Stelle’s entire expression brightened as she cradled the tiny newborn against her chest.

Dan Heng felt his heart swell, relief flooding his body knowing that Stelle and his son were both fine. But the smile he wore wouldn’t disappear any time soon. Instead, he took in the sight of his flawless newborn son resting peacefully against the stellaron scar on his wife’s chest, an ironically sharp contrast yet so perfect. It was a memory he hoped to carve into his mind and never forget.

“Good job,” he whispered, kissing Stelle’s forehead before reaching a shaky hand out to his son. He was almost hesitant to touch this tiny little baby but ultimately couldn’t resist.

It was fitting that this little boy was born at night, underneath the moon and stars, yet none of them were as bright and dazzling as the sight before him: his wife Stelle and little son Sirius, the two brightest stars in Dan Heng’s sky.

~~~

Dan Heng: Baby Sirius arrived last night, healthy and safely.

Himeko: Wonderful news! Can we see a picture?

Welt: Congratulations. How is Stelle fairing?

Stelle: Stelle is tired. But happy.

Dan Heng: 

“Hey.” Stelle looked up at Dan Heng. “When did you take that photo?”

“You weren’t paying attention?” Dan Heng asked, smile on his face.

“Obviously, I had better things on my mind.”

March: !!!

March: Awww! Yay! He’s here! So cute!!! <;3 

Caelus: My little nephew is adorable! Good job, sis!

March: He’s not just your nephew!

Caelus: Stelle is my sister. He’s my nephew!

March: >:( 

Stelle chuckled. “They aren’t even here, yet I swear I can literally hear March and Caelus arguing.”

Dan Heng hummed tiredly in agreement. “As can I.”

Himeko: You look wonderful for someone who just gave birth, Stelle.

Stelle: ??? I look exhausted. I don’t know why Dan Heng thought it was a good photo.

Himeko: But you’re glowing.

Stelle: You’re just flattering me, but I guess I’ll thank you. &lt;3

Himeko: ;) You can send a photo of him in retribution.

Stelle: Is that your way of asking for a photo of Dan Heng?

Stelle: Because I’m happy to give those.

Stelle: 

“When did you take that photo?” Dan Heng asked.

It was Stelle’s turn to smirk. “Were you not paying attention?”

With a resigned grin, Dan Heng sighed. “I had better things on my mind.”

Welt: Out of curiosity, how did you come up with the name Sirius?

Stelle: It’s the name of the hottest star recorded in the galaxy. 

Stelle: I was leaning towards a more traditional Xianzhou name but switched when I found that one.

That was mostly true; she had been trying to find a name she liked that was from Dan Heng’s home world, but she could tell he didn’t really like any of her choices even if he said he did. It was clear to her that her well-meaning attempts to stay traditional for his sake were falling flat for reasons she felt fairly safe in assuming. In the end, she decided to change directions and look elsewhere for names. Henceforth, her happening to stumble across a book on the formation of the cosmos during a bored spell was probably the best thing to have happened.

Welt: I was curious because, on my home planet, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky. It’s a fitting name.

Dan Heng: I thought the same when she presented it to me. I liked it better than the names I’d found.

Himeko: Oh, I know where that star is. I’ve flown by it a few times. 

Caelus: It’s a cool name. For MY nephew.

March: OUR nephew >:(

“Now Caelus is doing that on purpose,” Stelle said, unable to stop from smiling.

Dan Heng sighed. “And March is taking the bait too easily.”

Caelus: … we just got yelled at by our guide.

March: He said to stop teasing your wife.

Caelus: And you AGREED with him!

March: I’ll agree with some respect around here!

“I’m tempted to let them continue going at it,” Stelle said, not bothering to bite back her grin. “This is the best entertainment I’ve seen all week.”

Dan Heng huffed a laugh. “At this very moment, I’ll just say I don’t miss them all that much.”

Stelle sniggered, watching the duo continue to send a barrage of emojis back and forth.

Stelle: Dan Heng just said if you two can’t calm down, you don’t get babysitting privileges.

“Why are you saying I said that?”

“Do you disagree?”

“… No, I’m simply asking why you’re using my name.”

March: Yeah, Caelus!

Caelus: … okay. Our nephew.

March: Better!

“Because it works,” Stelle answered.

Unable to retaliate, Dan Heng shook his head in amusement.

Himeko: I know it’s probably too early to ask this, but when would you like to come back home?

At the word “home,” Stelle’s heart warmed. It wasn’t the first time she felt homesick during their stay here, but this was certainly the strongest wave that had hit her.

Dan Heng: Even though we want to return as soon as possible, I believe we should stay a day or two here to give Stelle time to properly recover.

Stelle: I’m so tired that I’m not even going to argue with that. 

Welt: As I believe you can assume, we are in the middle of a mission at the moment. Although Caelus and March should be finishing that up very soon.

March: The guide says we’re really close. I can feel it.

Caelus: Yeah, we’re definitely close. This place is a disaster zone.

March: My guess is we’ll be done by the end of the day here.

Himeko: We’re a two-day journey from the Luofu. I’ll keep you informed as to when we leave, and we’ll pick you three up as soon as possible. 

Dan Heng: Take your time. Don’t rush on our account.

March: How can we not? We miss you!

Caelus: and want to meet OUR nephew.

March: :D Good job.

Caelus: :P

Stelle: We’ll be happy to be back home whenever you can make it. But we can wait for you to finish things up properly. I will happily nap until you come. ;)

~~~

That evening, after Stelle and Dan Heng had slept the day away, the first visitors arrived to see the newborn vidyadhara. Dan Heng knew he shouldn’t be as on edge as he was considering who the visitors were, but that knowledge still wasn’t enough to calm him down.

“We come bearing gifts for the young one,” Jing Yuan greeted when Dan Heng answered the door.

“Come in,” he said, allowing the duo to enter the small house that had been loaned to Dan Heng and Stelle for the time being.

“Thank you.” Fu Xuan entered first, a small gift held close to her chest.

Jing Yuan entered after, but instead of scurrying off to find Stelle like Fu Xuan did, he lingered behind with Dan Heng. “Has Madam Yukong been by yet?”

Dan Heng shook his head as he closed the door. “No, you two are the first visitors.”

Jing Yuan’s smile grew. “Well, that’s quite an honor.” He then presented a cloth-wrapped item, one bound by twine, to Dan Heng. “A gift fitting for the son of the former High Elder of the Vidyadhara.”

“Thank you.” Dan Heng took the gift with a bow of thanks, knowing what it was immediately without having to open it. This was not the first weapon to be presented to his child, but this was the only one that made sense. A spear bestowed upon the son of the former Vidyadhara High Elder by the General of the Cloud Knights was a gift worthy of both the giver and receiver. “I shall leave it wrapped until he turns of age,” Dan Heng said.

Jing Yuan nodded. “Now, if I may, I’d like to meet this boy.”

Dan Heng led Jing Yuan to the bedroom, where the others were. “Be warned: you might find Bailu is not willing to share.”

That garnered a chuckle from the General. “When Lady Bailu came to report the good news to us, she did seem like she was in a hurry to leave.”

“She is already very attached to Sirius. I figured she would be, as she is the current High Elder.”

“While that is true, I doubt that is the only reason she is so attached. After all, this is her nephew.”

Upon entering the bedroom, they were greeted with the sight of Stelle and Bailu sitting on the futon, Sirius held protectively in Bailu’s arms as Fu Xuan leaned in close to look at the child.

“Good evening, General,” Natasha greeted from the side, watching on.

“Good evening to you, Doctor,” Jing Yuan returned.

“It seems you will have to wait your turn before greeting the little one,” Natasha spoke with a smile. “He is quite popular.”

“For good reason,” Jing Yuan assured. “But I can wait. I best not get in between those two. Fu Xuan has been anxious to come all day, and I can see Bailu has no desire to let the child go.”

Natasha giggled. “Lady Bailu is already a very protective aunt. It’s very sweet to see.”

“He is a full-blood.”

At Fu Xuan’s voice, everyone turned to face her.

“Pardon?” Dan Heng asked.

Fu Xuan looked over her shoulder at him. “I can confirm this child is a full-blooded vidyadhara. He will reincarnate as any other member of your species.”

“I thought so!” Bailu cried excitedly. “When I saw his ears, I believed it to be so, but even I as High Elder had no way of being certain. It’s not like anything like this has ever happened before.”

Dan Heng looked to Stelle, who was looking back at him with the same shocked expression he was undoubtedly wearing.

“Congratulations to the happy couple,” Jing Yuan said, patting Dan Heng firmly on the shoulder. “This is a blessed day, indeed.”

“With this confirmed,” Bailu began, “I want to start medicinal trials to test the medicine I gave to Stelle and Dan Heng. If there is a chance to expand the vidyadhara population, then we should waste no time. Though, I’ll have to talk to the sky-faring commission about getting me in contact with the proper channels to acquire the medicines I need.”

“The vidyadhara suffered losses in the aeon war,” Fu Xuan solemnly spoke. “So this is a blessing, indeed. Should your research bear fruit, the vidyadharan race will not disappear to time.”

A knock then sounded at the door.

“Would you like me to answer that?” Natasha asked Dan Heng.

“I’ll bet that is Madam Yukong,” Jing Yuan said, heading towards the door instead.

Dan Heng allowed him to go, if only so he could continue watching over his wife and son as they were swarmed. In an attempt to calm himself, he studied Stelle’s expression, trying to judge if she was feeling overwhelmed by the guests or not. If she was, then he’d waste no time kicking everyone out, but she seemed calm enough, meaning he should really settle down, too.

“Isn’t this amazing, Dan Heng?” Bailu asked. “You’re the first vidyadhara to reproduce, proving we can save our race. With this, no one can hate you now!”

Dan Heng gave Bailu a sad smile. “Logically, it makes sense, but emotions are far more complicated.”

She made a show of frowning. “Well, as High Elder, I have the ability to exile the emotional ones.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sass in her tone.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Yukong spoke, approaching the commotion. “I was held up far longer than I wished to be.”

Stelle shot her a smile. “You’re right on time.”

“Hey,” Fu Xuan snipped. “Bailu, let me hold him.”

“As High Elder of the Vidyadhara,” Bailu began in a haughty tone, “it is my duty to protect all of my people, no matter what age.”

“What are you protecting him from?” Fu Xuan argued. “Come on.”

Stelle poked Bailu’s shoulder. “Bailu, share my son, please.”

With an exaggerated pout, Bailu carefully handed Sirius over to Fu Xuan.

“I thought you didn’t like small children,” Jing Yuan teased.

He was swiftly met with a death glare. “Only the obnoxious ones,” Fu Xuan muttered, staying extremely still as she cradled the bundle in her arms. “Besides, this is an honor.”

Yukong approached Stelle, who’d since stood from the futon. “Here,” Yukong said, presenting to her a box wrapped in decorative paper. “This is on behalf of the sky-faring commission. There are two items, one I will leave a surprise, but since you’ve been presented with gifts from these two already, I suspect you might know what the second gift is.”

Stelle nodded. “Is it a starskiff toy?”

Yukong’s soft smile widened. “Yes. So that when your son is old enough, he may reach for his future.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jing Yuan prompted, reaching over Fu Xuan’s shoulder to rub his finger over the little baby’s cheek. “He is the son of Dan Heng, undoubtedly a fighter at heart. He will reach for the spear.”

“How can you say he won’t reach for the jade abacus?” Fu Xuan questioned. “As the first vidyadhara to be born, he could come with a great destiny and sense of justice.”

“But he is the child of great adventurers," Yukong said. "Surely, he will reach for the starskiff.”

An overwhelming sense of unease once again weighed on Dan Heng’s shoulders. Even though the three visitors were all gentle and cautious, Dan Heng wished nothing more than to take his son into his own arms to shield him from the destinies that each one of the three wanted to impose upon him. And as Sirius’ father, he felt that was his job to do so.

Thankfully, Sirius gave him the opportunity to do just that without looking over-protective. The moment the little boy began to fuss from the attention, Dan Heng was quick to take his son from Fu Xuan, lightly bouncing him in an attempt to calm him back down. In his father's arms, it didn’t take long for Sirius to settle back to sleep.

Relieved, Dan Heng turned back to the guests. “I thank you for the gifts,” he said. “However, I believe that it would be unfair to make him choose one path.”

“You’re right.” Stelle sided up next to him. “Besides, he’s a Nameless. He’s bound to be all three.”

Finally, Dan Heng felt the unease weighing on his shoulders lift away. With his son protected in his arms and his wife by his side, everything was once again right in the world.

Yukong was the first to give them a nod of approval. “I suppose you’re right. A protector, an explorer, and a seeker of justice. May his future be his namesake: burning brightly among the stars.”

~~~

“Are you sure everything is packed?” Dan Heng asked.

“I already looked over the house twice,” Stelle answered. “I couldn’t find anything of ours. That is, unless Bailu stole something to make us come back.”

“I did no such thing!” Bailu protested before she cringed at her volume, guiltily looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms. “Although, I wish I would have thought of that sooner.”

Stelle couldn’t help but smile at the murmured admission. “We’ll do our best to visit frequently.”

“You have to promise!”

“I swear. Right, Dan Heng?”

“We promise,” Dan Heng reiterated.

Bailu’s panicked expression relaxed. “Good. And I’ll do my best to visit you on your travels, too. I miss you guys, but I’ll miss this little one the most,” she finished, beaming down at Sirius.

Stelle had to admit she’d enjoyed watching her baby be so spoiled for attention. Of course, Stelle much preferred holding her son herself, finding that simple action filled her with joy to the point she never wanted to let him go. Maybe that was because Sirius was not only her first child but also her unexpected miracle child. Becoming a mother hadn't really been on her radar, and it fully vanished after she'd married Dan Heng, but now she could say she might be the most excited to take this journey compared to any other before it.

… as long as nobody asked her about her thoughts when she inevitably became sleep-deprived from a crying baby.

“Then, if we have everything,” Dan Heng said, “we should head out. I’m sure the others are anxiously waiting for us to return.”

“Very likely.”

Natasha soon appeared in the doorway. “I did one last sweep of the house. I believe I have everything, and I didn’t see anything of yours.”

“We’re all set here,” Stelle returned. “Although, I do have one favor to ask of you.”

“Sure.”

Stelle then reached for the baby wrap she’d laid on top of her luggage. “I’ve watched that video ten times, and I still can’t quite figure out how to use this.”

Natasha chuckled. “That’s a little new to me, too, but I think I figured it out.”

Between the two of them, they managed to figure out how to wrap the long strip of fabric around Stelle properly. Once they felt confident in their work, Stelle took Sirius from Bailu—who gave him up only after whispering a goodbye and pressing a little kiss to his forehead—and slipped him into the newly formed baby sling.

“Hey, this actually feels pretty secure,” Stelle murmured, impressed. “Decently comfortable, too.”

Dan Heng held up the other baby carrier they’d brought with them. “Then would you like me to pack away this away?”

Stelle nodded. “Please.”

Bailu quirked a brow at the carrier before looking at Stelle. “Makes me wonder why you tried the harder one when you had an easier option.”

“I didn’t like the way it fit,” Stelle answered, reaching for the little knit baby hat with animal ears she’d received from Belobog. “It felt too bulky, but it was the backup if this didn’t work.”

“You sure had many options to choose from,” Natasha commented.

Stelle cringed as she slid the hat over Sirius’ head, covering his wispy gray hair. “Yeah, we got… a lot of baby shower gifts.”

Natasha giggled. “I’m not surprised. You two are quite beloved by the galaxy. It served to provide you with a lovely, well-stocked nursery. But don’t worry; I won’t tell Hook that you hid her teddy bear.”

“It’s not because I don’t love it,” Stelle quickly countered. “I just… want Sirius to be old enough to appreciate it.”

“And,” Dan Heng added, “not ruin it quickly by having to wash it frequently.”

Natasha hummed. “True. Then when Hook inevitably asks, that’s what I’ll tell her.”

Dan Heng zipped the last of their luggage shut, then stood from the ground. “With that done, we are ready.”

“Aww,” Bailu whined. “It feels so soon.”

“We were here for a month,” Stelle said.

“And I enjoyed every second of it,” Bailu said. “But I’ll miss you.”

Stelle held out her arm, allowing Bailu to side up to her in a hug.

“We’ll miss you, too,” Stelle returned, holding Bailu against her side.

Bailu then reached up to rub Sirius’ back one last time. “It was good to meet you,” she said. “I know I won’t be around all the time, but just remember Auntie Bailu loves you.”

Stelle pursed her lips, doing her best to hold back her urge to coo over the sweetness of it all. She’d discovered that giving birth didn’t instantly relieve her of the weird emotional swings. It probably just took some time to get out of her system.

After reluctantly leaving Sirius to Stelle, Bailu headed over to Dan Heng, fully throwing her arms around his torso.

With a gentle smile, Dan Heng wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you for everything Bailu.”

“I was happy to do it,” Bailu said. “I’m just sorry I can’t walk you back to the Express—”

“You have a backlog of work, don’t you?” Dan Heng teased.

Although she didn’t use words, her whiny grumble made it perfectly clear Dan Heng was spot on.

With one last pat on her back, Dan Heng let her go. Bailu then quickly wiped her eyes before turning to Natasha. “It was nice to meet you, Miss Natasha.”

“Likewise,” she returned.

“I’m glad you were here for Stelle and Dan Heng. You’re a pretty good doctor.”

“Well, that’s quite the compliment coming from you. You’re immensely talented yourself.”

Bailu’s grin widened with pride. “Thank you.”

“Also, I want thank you for allowing me access to so many books and leading me around the alchemy commission. I hope I didn’t intrude into your work too much.”

“Nah, not at all.”

Dan Heng cleared his throat. “It’s not her healer work she’s behind on.”

At that, Bailu guiltily ducked her head, her tail falling to the ground. “Uh, oops?”

“Once we leave, don’t even think about running from your responsibilities.”

“I won’t, I won’t. I promise.”

Dan Heng patted her head in approval.

Stelle reached for the baby's backpack, trying not to jostle around too much and wake her son as she slid the large pack on. Thankfully, he seemed to be sleeping pretty well for now, but Stelle wondered exactly how long that would last. Considering she’d recently changed his diaper and fed him, she hoped they could make it to the Express before he got fussy. She was still new to this newborn thing, so she didn’t have things like timing all worked out quite yet.

Dan Heng reached for the rest of their luggage, and as a group, they started making their way to the door, where a handful of cloud knights were positioned. However, what Stelle hadn’t expected was the presence of a young blond man.

“Heya!” Yanqing greeted, a sunny smile on his face as he waved in greeting. “The General asked me to escort you guys back to the Astral Express safely.”

“Thank you,” Dan Heng said. “Jing Yuan said you were elsewhere for training. I didn’t realize you were back on the Luofu.”

“Just got back last night. Otherwise, you would have seen me earlier. Congratulations, by the way.”

Dan Heng simply nodded while Stelle properly thanked him.

“Need help with your bags?” he offered.

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Stelle answered, looking at the large bag full of new gifts they’d received. “We’re leaving with more than we arrived with.”

“I’ve gotta go,” Bailu piped up. “Otherwise, I would have helped them. I was gonna ask one of the knights to carry that before I left.”

“I got it,” Yanqing assured, reaching for the new bag. He then pointed to the wrapped pole weapon Dan Heng was skillfully carrying along with everything else. “Is that from the General? I can get that, too.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

After jockeying the baggage around, they headed off, Bailu waving goodbye as they went. It took a minute for Stelle to get struck by the strangeness of the moment, though. This was the first time she’d left the house since giving birth, and this was Sirius’ first outing ever. Her desire to show him everything clashed with her new hyperawareness of things that could go wrong in this moment. Subconsciously, she wrapped her hands around her baby.

But then Dan Heng took her hand, giving it a squeeze. Just like that, Stelle felt herself settle. She shot him a smile as she returned the gesture, then allowed him to lead her back to the Astral Express.

No, not just to the Express. Back home.

The majority of their trip was made on starskiff back to the docks where the Express was. But upon arriving, Stelle spotted two very familiar faces. “March? And Caelus?”

“There they are!” March cried as the starskiff docked. She then poked Caelus in the side. “I told you it was this one.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Caelus muttered.

“Don’t forget our little bet.”

He just threw his hands up in the air in surrender. Then he reached a hand forward to help grab the luggage. “I can get that.”

“Oh, yeah,” March chimed in. “I’ll get whatever you can’t carry.”

After offloading the luggage, Yanqing disembarked the skiff before extending a helping hand for Natasha.

“Oh," she said, taking the offered help. "What a little gentleman.”

A light blush dusted his cheeks at the praise.

Dan Heng was the next one off the skiff, he then held a hand out to help Stelle out of the skiff.

Only, the moment she stepped foot on the docks, she was instantly swarmed.

“Aww!” March cooed first. “He’s so cute!”

“Hey, Little Buddy,” Caelus softly spoke, looking over Stelle's shoulder at Sirius.

“I didn’t expect you two to come meet us,” Dan Heng said.

“We couldn’t help it,” Caelus admitted.

“It was my idea to come meet you guys,” March confessed. “We only just docked the Express and were too anxious to sit still.”

“I think Welt and Himeko sent us to come fetch you because they were tired of watching us,” Caelus said.

“They’re anxious to see you, too,” March finished. “So let’s head out.”

Before Dan Heng could reach for any of the luggage, Caelus grabbed hold of it and started marching on. As for March, she threw the baby's backpack over her shoulders and was quick to follow.

“How’d you like your trip, Natasha?” March asked, turning to the forgotten member of their crew.

The woman beamed. “It was incredible.”

The conversation continued, coming back to Stelle and Dan Heng every once in a while. Stelle found herself eager to grab hold of the banter. She’d missed this, talking with her family. Sure, they’d chatted over the phone or through texts, but it wasn’t the same.

When the Astral Express finally came into view, Stelle felt an overwhelming feeling of happiness. She’d been homesick several times while on the Luofu, a sentiment she knew Dan Heng echoed. However, she hadn’t realized just how homesick she’d been until right now. For the first time, she felt like she and Dan Heng had truly made the correct decision to stay with the Express instead of settling down elsewhere. No matter how difficult this would be, they knew they would make it work. Ultimately, their home was among the stars with their family.

“There’s your home, Buddy,” Stelle whispered to the baby who was beginning to fuss a bit more. Although whether that meant diaper change or food, Stelle wasn’t sure. Maybe, if she was lucky, he just didn’t like the commotion going on around him and needed to go back to sleep. She could keep her fingers crossed, but she did her best to not hold her hopes too high.

After bidding goodbye to the cloud knights and Yanqing, they finally—finally—boarded the Express.

Oh, it was incredible being back home.

“Welcome back!” Himeko was the first to greet them, Welt echoing the statement a second behind her.

“We’re home,” Stelle returned, her smile threatening to split her face in two.

“Ahh!” Himeko squeaked, approaching with a little spring in her step. “Look at him! He's so precious."

Stelle looked down at Sirius, who now no longer fussed and instead looked calm as he stared at Himeko.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” Welt offered Stelle. “I have the feeling that we all wish to get a close look at him, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Stelle was happy to take a seat on the couch. It had been nice to stretch her legs, but there was something about having arrived home after being away for so long that zapped any remaining energy she’d had.

“I can go put the suitcases away,” Dan Heng offered.

“Got it!” Caelus said, already heading off down the hallway towards the bedrooms. “You’re good; I’ll be right back.”

“Ditto!” March chimed in, scurrying after Caelus.

“I’d like to put mine away, as well,” Natasha spoke up. “But I’ll be right back.”

Which left just five in the parlor.

“He seems to have calmed down,” Dan Heng mentioned, taking a seat right next to Stelle.

“Yeah, but I’d like to sniff-test him, anyway,” Stelle spoke, already pulling him from the baby wrap. Thankfully, taking him out seemed a little easier than putting him in, and the process also happened to put his little baby bottom close to her nose, allowing her to discretely check for any issues.

Shockingly, none yet. Maybe he really had been just fussy to get home.

“He’s so small,” Pom-pom cooed in a whisper.

Humming in agreement, Himeko nodded. “Oh, he’s adorable."

“Welt,” Dan Heng spoke up. “Would… you like to be the first to hold him?”

Surprised flashed across Welt’s face, but after the words sank in, a soft smile replaced that expression. “I… I would be honored.”

Carefully, Stelle transferred Sirius over into Welt’s expecting arms. Having already surrendered the newborn to Bailu and Natasha—and of course Dan Heng, but that went without saying—many times already, Stelle wasn’t nervous as she watched Welt cradle Sirius with a level of care that surprised her. He seemed to be a natural.

“I got to admit,” Himeko teased as she leaned over Welt’s arms. “I’m a little jealous.”

“What’d we miss?” March cried, suddenly bursting into the room. Upon spying the scene, she instantly whined. “And here I wanted to hold him.”

Dan Heng spoke up, “As the elder, Welt earned the first privilege.”

March pursed her lips in slight disappointment but didn’t put up a fight. “Fair enough.”

“Sounds like I’ll be last,” Caelus said, making a show of sighing.

“Deal with it,” March good-naturedly teased, playfully elbowing him in the ribs.

He made a show of being in pain.

To which March rolled her eyes.

After a minute, Welt passed Sirius over to Himeko. The little baby fussed at the motion but soon settled in Himeko’s arms.

“Welcome, Little Trailblazer,” she whispered, looking down with a gentle grin.

Welt soon started up questions of how their trip was, to which Stelle was happy to tell them all about it, Dan Heng chiming in every once in a while. Stelle did her best to include Natasha in the conversation, too, but Natasha seemed more than content to bat the conversation back to Stelle and Dan Heng.

Soon enough, Sirius was passed to March. Stelle, who’d had an eagle-eye on her son despite trusting her family completely, made March sit down before taking him from Himeko. Pom-pom had passed on their chance, shaking nervously at the prospect, yet they seemed happy to waggle their ears at Sirius in an attempt to get a reaction from the little one.

Finally, it was Caelus’ turn. Dan Heng stood to help March transfer Sirius to Caelus. Only, Caelus got to enjoy the baby for three seconds before Sirius's little face scrunched. 

"Oops," March teased. "Seems you're not the favorite."

Caelus, who was looking distressed at the prospect, tried to bounce Sirius lightly in a desperate attempt to calm him. But he soon stopped, his nervous smile contorting into one of discomfort. “What’s that smell?”

With a resigned smile, Stelle tiredly sighed. “Um, exactly what I was waiting to happen.”

“You can stay,” Dan Heng told her, already taking the baby from Caelus. “I know you’re tired from the trip. I’ll go change him."

“I’d appreciate that, but there’s a chance he’ll be hungry, too.”

“Then I’ll come back out with him if he doesn’t seem like he’d going to fall back asleep easily.”

“Okay.”

With a smile, he gave her a nod before heading down the corridor.

“Bring the baby monitor when you come back out,” she called out after him.

“Don’t worry; I will.”

Natasha grinned at the scene. “You two are already incredible parents.”

Stelle’s grin turned nervous. “It’s still so…weird? If that makes sense.”

Natasha shook her head. “It will take some getting used to, especially since it’s your first. Honestly, the hardest part of a baby is dealing with everything while lacking sleep. That’s why a family who’s willing to help is the best gift you can possibly receive.”

“I’ll babysit!” March eagerly volunteered.

“Same!” Caelus chimed in.

“Of course!” Himeko agreed. “It’s not every day you get a little one around here.”

“He’s part of the Nameless now,” Welt finished. “We’ll be happy to lend a hand when you need one.”

Their words offered more relief than Stelle had expected. As happy as she was to be home on the Astral Express, she would say she was most thankful knowing she and Dan Heng weren’t alone. They had an amazing family at their side to depend on when the trials grew rough, and that meant the galaxy to her. “Thanks, everyone. It’s really good to be back home.”

[thenovelartist]

The perfect example of "theory" vs "application"

Like, if this was in a preschool with a bunch of happy little children running around, this would work well. You'd have all the kids playing "don't step off the line." Fun! But this is NOT in a school. It's in a hospital, where there are sick and injured children. Where blood and bodily fluids will get on the floor. Fail.

Color Theory Pro Tip: don't forget who your client is.

[thenovelartist]

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!!

This is GORGEOUS!!!😍😍😍 Excuse me while I squeal and coo over this stunning artwork!

from Ch. 8 of @chocoluckchipz ‘s and @thenovelartist 's Bride for a Prince fanfic!

plus some design sketches

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 7 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

Month seven meant only one more month aboard the Astral Express before Stelle and Dan Heng would be dropped off at the Xianzhou Luofu. Stelle felt like things were happening so fast. The pressure to get everything in order this month, including finishing shopping for the nursery, was beginning to weigh on her.

However, there had been one minor roadblock to accomplishing that goal: Himeko and March practically begging her to wait with any form of shopping. Although Stelle supposed she would have a month on the Luofu to collect any remaining items she needed, she still wanted to get things in order now, as did Dan Heng. In the end, the two were so adamant in their request that she had to cave, and despite her repeated asks, they never told her the reason.

Until today.

“Surprise!” Asta and March said, waving excitedly at the obnoxiously large pile of gifts.

Surprise, indeed. To say Stelle’s jaw was on the floor was probably an understatement. Beside her, Dan Heng looked equally shocked. Probably because when Himeko said they needed to go to Herta Space Station to gather supplies, it never crossed either of their minds that this would be what she'd meant.

“Yeah, yeah, surprise,” Herta reluctantly agreed with all the minimal enthusiasm she could muster. To be fair to her, the fact Herta had even come down to greet them was a surprise in itself. “Now get all this garbage off my ship. It’s preventing me from seeing my curios.”

“Madam Herta,” Asta gently chided. “I know you don’t mean that. Didn’t you get them a gift, too?”

“I didn’t want to,” she snipped. “It was Screwllems’s stupid idea, and Ruan Mei just had to jump on board. But… I guess it’s not totally worthless. Because of this idiot—” Herta roughly pointed at Stelle— “I’m still able to do my studies and experiments in this galaxy. Although, she could have avoided getting knocked up.” With those biting words, she glared at Dan Heng.

Stelle chuckled nervously. Although Herta’s words said one thing, Stelle was fairly certain the only reason she was mad was because Stelle hadn’t been able to help test the Simulated Universe for far too long.

Dan Heng, for his part, simply ignored it. “So,” he began, looking over the mountain of gifts once again before turning to March and Asta. “Would you like to explain why there are so many gifts here?”

“It’s for a baby shower!” March explained. “Er… kind of.”

“You two are kind of famous, you know,” Asta elaborated. “So it was only natural that people would want to know that the galaxy’s savior was pregnant with her first child. These are all the congratulatory gifts from, well… everyone.”

Stelle looked over the tower again. This mountain was the galaxy’s well-wishes to her?

Her hand went up to rest on top of her growing stomach.

“Um.” From behind them, Arlan spoke up. “Would you like me to start organizing the transfer of these gifts to the Express?”

“Yes!” Herta cried. “Get them out of here. I’ve got more important things to do, like finding someone who doesn’t have a medical exemption from assisting with my tests of the Simulated Universe. I’m trying to get in contact with Nanook there since he’s long dead in the real world. Curious minds need to know his reasonings behind these wars.”

“You can have Caelus for your experiments,” Stelle offered.

Herta quirked a brow at her. “Who?”

“Wow, that’s mean,” March muttered under her breath.

“We’ve all done it,” Stelle flatly countered, trying to justify away the niggling guilt she felt. “It’s his turn. Think of it as a rite of passage.”

Dan Heng hummed. “If he wants the full experience of being a trailblazer, I suppose assisting Madam Herta is part of it.”

Despite being a doll, Herta’s eyes started gleaming. “Oh, so he is a new member? That would be useful to get a fresh perspective on the alterations to the Simulated Universe. You all have adapted well to it, which has been helpful in its own way, but that might have skewed an accurate perception of it.”

“He’s probably still with Himeko at the Express,” Dan Heng answered.

“Oh, perfect.” And with that, Herta shuffled past Arlan and out the door.

Asta cleared her throat to break the awkward atmosphere. “If you would please, Arlan. Moving all this will take a while.”

“G-got it,” he replied. “It’s preferable to being dragged around by Madam Herta. Just… don’t tell her I said that.”

“Where is this even going to go on the Express?” Stelle asked.

“Himeko said she’s figured that out already,” March dismissed. “So don’t worry about it.”

That was an impossible task. Especially as another question came to mind. “Where is all this going to go in the nursery?”

“Oh!” March’s eyes lit up. “So that’s the thing. When Himeko and I sent out the announcement, we kinda realized that you might end up with an excess of baby things. Himeko suggested they send things for the baby to grow into instead of just baby things. She promised that you guys could put all the things you wouldn’t need right away in storage.”

“Well,” Dan Heng said, nodding in approval, “that certainly is more practical, considering how many planets seemed to have been informed.”

“Yeah,” Asta agreed. “But they were all more than happy to send things along. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have all this.”

That was true. At that realization, Stelle felt quite honored.

Don’t cry, she mentally warned when she felt herself suddenly get emotional, an unfortunate side effect of her pregnancy. Suck it up. It’s fine. It’s just… really nice of everyone.

Soon enough, she was dabbing at her eyes.

“Please tell me those are happy tears,” Asta said, suddenly getting worried.

Dan Heng wrapped his arm around Stelle’s waist, and she allowed him to pull her close. “Yeah. I’m fine,” she said, leaning against Dan Heng's shoulder.

“Is it overwhelming?” Dan Heng quietly asked.

Stelle nodded. “But it’s really nice of everyone.”

“It… it really is,” Dan Heng agreed. “We’re going to have to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness.”

“I’ve got you covered,” Asta said, grabbing one of the boxes that was exceedingly plain. She took off the cardboard lid, showing a small booklet and a stack of cards and envelopes. “This is for you to record who gave you what. And then I got actual letters for you to send. Hopefully, that won’t be too overwhelming.”

“We’ll manage,” Dan Heng said. “Although… this will be quite the task.”

Stelle could not disagree in the slightest.

“I can help if you want,” March offered. “I don’t mind.”

“Thanks,” Stelle said, shooting her friend a smile. As kind as it was for her to offer, Stelle had the feeling she’d manage on her own. After all, she was getting quite bored staying still on the Express, her growing stomach getting in the way of being too adventurous. Writing a million cards might just be the cure for her boredom.

Or it would drive her insane. With her mood swings, who knew. Either way, it had to be better than helping Herta test the Simulated Universe…

Right?

~~~

Dan Heng had no idea how they managed to fit all the gifts in the Astral Express. Looking over the storage room that was practically overflowing, he was dreading the task of opening them. However, he would not complain. This was extremely generous of the galaxy at large, and he was appropriately thankful for their consideration. Furthermore, with all these gifts, it was likely he and Stelle wouldn’t have to go shopping for much more. That is, if they had to go shopping at all. While he wouldn’t have minded going shopping for the baby, he also couldn’t deny he would prefer if he didn’t have to. Shopping had never been his favorite thing, and one particular pre-Stelle shopping trip he’d been forced to take with March had spoiled that task for life.

“So,” Himeko began, approaching Dan Heng, “What do you think of the surprise? We wanted to organize a proper baby shower for Stelle, but that just wasn’t possible.”

“This is more than enough,” Dan Heng assured with a smile. “Thank you. It must have taken considerable effort on your part to organize this.”

“It did, but it was worth it. Hopefully, March and I did a good enough job communicating with everyone so you won’t get too many repeated items. You should be covered with a range of things up into their childhood years. Although, organizing certain toddler items does become more challenging when you don’t know if you’ll have a boy or a girl.”

“Stelle wanted to keep it a surprise. Otherwise, you would have known.”

“I know. And I also know you went along with her wishes to keep her happy." She then poked his shoulder. "Just remember you’re the father. You’re allowed to ask for things, too.”

“I know,” he returned. “But I couldn’t ask for anything more than what she’s given me. While I would have liked to know, just so I could be as prepared as possible, it ultimately doesn’t matter if we know ahead of time or not. I’ll be happy either way.”

Himeko’s smile was gentle. “Stelle’s very lucky to have you as her husband. And your child is going to be lucky to have you as a father.”

Bashful, Dan Heng turned back to look over the gifts. “I’ll… do my best.”

“Give yourself a little credit,” Himeko teased. “You deserve it.”

Unsure of what to say, Dan Heng simply nodded. He had plenty of doubts lingering in his mind over this, but he had to conquer them alone. And quickly, at that. The baby would be here before they knew it. While Dan Heng knew that everything about their life would change because of it, there was also only so much he could do to prepare. He would just have to adapt to everything else and hope he didn’t mess things up, for his child’s sake.

“Have you figured out names yet?” Himeko asked.

He nodded, thankful for the change in conversation. “Yes, we’ve settled on names for both genders.”

“Are you going to keep those a surprise, too?” Himeko lightly prodded.

“Yes,” Dan Heng said, giving her a slight smile. “But that was my idea to do so.”

“Haha. You two are certainly keeping everyone in suspense.”

Dan Heng shut the door to the storage room, blocking out the overwhelming sight of the mountainous stack of gifts for now. “On a different note,” he began, making his way back to the parlor. “I will be sitting this next mission out so as to help Stelle—”

“She warned me to not allow you to do that,” Himeko interrupted. “She said she could handle the presents and thank you cards on her own but that you should get out and about as much as possible before the baby is born. I agree with her. I doubt you’ll want to leave her side for a while after your baby arrives, so I don’t want you to get sick of the Astral Express too soon.”

Dan Heng sighed. Part of him figured this would happen. If it was just Himeko’s idea, he’d probably argue with her, but he wasn’t going to test Stelle. Her emotional state was growing more unstable with each passing month, so he didn't want to start needless fights with her. She was only doing this out of consideration for him, anyway. 

“It will be fine,” Himeko said. “You two can open the gifts together while we’re traveling. Then whoever stays behind with Stelle can help her write all the thank you notes. That is, if she wants the help in the first place. It’s quite obvious Stelle is growing plenty bored staying on the Express all the time. The letters will give her something to do.”

When Himeko put it that way, Dan Heng thought maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to leave that job up to Stelle, after all.

“Besides,” Himeko continued. “I appreciate you teaching Caelus what you know before you disappear on us. Don’t say this to March, but between the two of you, you are the better teacher.”

Dan Heng smirked in amusement. “My lips are sealed.” Although, he did suppose Himeko had a point when it came to Caelus. He was a plenty capable person and well-trained, but he came with his own challenges and quirks. Stellaron Hunters did things very differently than the Nameless, so there was much to teach him as well as many tricks to learn from him.

And if Dan Heng were being honest, he enjoyed having a male companion compared to traveling with two girls all the time. Not that he didn’t adore said girls, especially since they were his wife and someone he thought of as a sister.

They entered the parlor to see Stelle still chatting with March, Asta, and Arlan. Upon spying Dan Heng, Stelle grinned, waving him to come over before motioning to a large box at her feet. “From the Space Station.”

“Though Arlan organized it,” Asta said, elbowing the young man.

Arlan chuckled sheepishly. “I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure we will,” Stelle said. “Thank you.”

“And don’t worry,” Arlan added on, shooting Asta a warning look. “I didn’t let Lady Asta spend any money on it. She went overboard with the clothes, anyway.”

“I did not,” Asta countered. “It was fine.”

“It was not fine,” Stelle said. “It’s just that no one can stop you when you start.”

Before Asta could come up with a retort, the door to the Astral Express opened, and a frazzled Caelus entered.

Upon seeing all eyes were on him, he started waving his hands about. “Let me get this straight: you’ve all helped Madam Herta with her little ‘virtual reality’ experiment?”

Tempering a grin, Dan Heng nodded, noting that the others were all doing the same. He almost pitied Caelus. Almost. He’d suffered Madam Herta’s experiments enough over the years. It was Caelus’ turn to take up that torch. Besides, the more people who volunteered, the fewer times each person would have to assist.

“Like, once or twice?” Caelus tentatively inquired.

Stelle answered, “Sometimes, several times a week.”

“A week?” Caelus repeated, horrified.

“How’d you like it?” March teasingly prodded.

Caelus couldn’t answer right away, words clearly having failed him. Eventually, he just shook his head. “So many bugs.”

“Aww,” Stelle mockingly cooed. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

~~~

The pile of scrapped gift wrapping was growing astronomically fast, and the nursery was filling up with items almost as quickly. So far, there’d been a wide variety of things, from baby necessities to toddler clothing to a range of toys. Then there was the variety of wild card items ranging from medicine to information for the archives to weapons.

And then Stelle still wasn’t fully sure what that thing was over in the corner.

But even those odd items came with things like some diapers or children’s books, and each gift came with a letter of congratulations from the senders. Typically, they were from the government at large, but there were a few exceptions.

“Another from Belobog.”

Stelle took the gift Dan Heng offered her, the fourth one from Belobog. One from Bronya, who spoke on behalf of the country at large, then another from the Silvermane Guards. Wildfire even got her a gift.

As she looked over the plain brown box, her heart warmed upon seeing the still scratchy lettering that she recognized as Hook’s scrawl. To: Honorary Member and Little Honorary Member. From: The Moles. “They’re too sweet.”

“They are very kind," Dan Heng agreed. "I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them to scrape together the money to send that.”

That was true. Inter-astral mail wasn’t cheap. Even though she knew all the members of the Moles each had their own paying jobs now, it must have put quite the dent in their pockets.

Stelle opened the slightly battered box to reveal a jar of marbles, a teddy bear that looked handmade with a handful of clothes to go with it, and a torn, tattered book titled “Adventures of the Moles”. The longer she looked over the gifts, the more she recognized them, and soon enough, she began to feel overly emotional.

“I’m gonna yell at them for giving us these,” she whispered, her eyes growing watery.

“You should probably text them right away,” Dan Heng suggested, a gentle smile on his face while he soothingly stroked her hair.

“Yeah, probably.”

Dan Heng set the box carefully aside for her while Stelle pulled out her phone.

“I’m going to empty out the trash bin again,” Dan Heng said, standing from his seat. “And bring back the next round of gifts. Take your time.”

“Thanks,” she said, already tapping away at her phone.

Stelle: Hook! I just opened your gift!

Stelle: I love it. Thank you so much!

Stelle: Tell the others I said thanks, too.

Before Stelle could put her phone away, she saw little bubbles flash on the screen.

Hook: I’m glad! Do you like the teddy? I sewed it all by myself!

Hook: I asked the old witch to teach me how, and she said she would if I cleaned the clinic.

Hook: But she actually made me clean the clinic! (;° ロ°)

Stelle couldn’t help but chuckle. She could easily imagine the huffy pout Hook was wearing.

Stelle: It’s about time she made you keep your word. Natasha was too soft.

Hook: Honorary member! How dare you betray us!

Hook: Oh no she caught me

Stelle: Good luck with your punishment.

With a grin, Stelle put her phone down. Over the years, Hook had grown fond of the clinic. More often than not, Hook would volunteer a little of her time to help Natasha tidy the place up. Not exactly any of the “months” she’d ever promised, but Stelle supposed that development was enough to show just how much Hook had grown up.

While mustering the willpower to stand up and help Dan Heng pull some more presents into the nursery, her phone chimed. She looked over, expecting to see a message from Hook detailing how she escaped.

Natasha: Hey, Stelle. I’m sorry to bother you, but since you texted Hook, I thought you might be free for a moment. I have a question to ask of you.

Stelle: Of course. Shoot.

Natasha: Feel free to tell me I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but have you set up a birth plan yet?

Honestly, Stelle should have been expecting that from Natasha. If anything, she should have told Natasha her plans earlier.

Stelle: Yes. We’ve decided to go to the Xianzhou Luofu, which is Dan Heng’s home world. I believe I’ve told you about Bailu, correct? She was incredibly picky in recommending doctors to us.

Natasha: That’s good to hear you have people you trust. If you hadn’t, I was going to ask if I could help you in any way. Of course, if you need me for anything, I’ll help out as much as I can.

Stelle: Thank you. I promise I’ll contact you if I need anything.

Though it was reasonable to leave it at that, Stelle kinda wanted to keep the conversation going. Hence, she found herself typing out another message.

Stelle: Actually, I had been debating about coming to Belobog. I trust you as a doctor and would have felt the most comfortable with you, if I am being honest. But for other reasons, the Luofu is ultimately better.

Stelle: Sometimes I wish you could come, but I know you’re busy with the clinic. :)

Just as she finished, Dan Heng returned, his arms full of gifts once again.

Stelle put her phone down. “How many more do we have to go?”

Dan Heng dropped the tall stack. “With this, we’ve gotten through approximately two-thirds of the gifts.”

Stelle heaved a sigh. It had been a marathon, to say the least. She was growing tired of them, even though she was still incredibly thankful. Because of what they had received so far, the nursery was already stocked with everything they could need or want. Heck, they’d even gotten things they certainly didn’t need. At this point, she couldn't even fathom what other surprises there could possibly be.

Before Dan Heng could hand her the gift from the top of the pile, her phone dinged again.

Natasha: If you’d like, I can try to organize coming with you. I have two new assistants that could take over for a short period.

Natasha: I would have to double-check with some of the others, though, to make sure everything with Wildfire is running smoothly and that it would be okay.

Stelle blinked a few times at the message.

“Something happen?” Dan Heng asked, sitting down beside her again.

“Um…” Stelle pursed her lips as she glanced over to Dan Heng. “Natasha offered to come with us to be there for the birth of our baby.”

“Oh?”

Stelle nodded.

“Would you like that?”

“I mean… yeah.”

“But you’re hesitating.”

Stelle let her phone fall into her lap, giving Dan Heng her full attention. “Do you think Bailu would be okay with that? Or would that cause more problems? She said she’d already screened all the doctors there for us to meet. And I know Natasha said she’d be okay to leave for a bit, but we’ll be there for a month. Is it okay for her to leave for that long?”

Dan Heng paused in thought. “I wouldn’t worry about Bailu. Even though she did take time to recommend doctors to us, I doubt she would fault you for bringing a doctor you trust. As for if Natasha can take that time away from the clinic, I’d say tell her our plan and let her decide if she can accommodate us.”

“You think I should?” Stelle asked.

“I think you have the right to be comfortable with people you trust. And if they’re offering, I would accept. And... to be honest, I would be comfortable with Natasha, as well. For your sake."

Feeling more confident, Stelle picked up her phone again. "Bailu would be disappointed if she knew you didn't trust her judgment."

"I trust people you and I both know and have worked with. That's all."

Although he spoke them dismissively, she was happy to have her husband's full support. She leaned over to drop her head on his shoulder while she texted Natasha back.

Stelle: Are you sure that would be okay? About three weeks from now, we will head to the Luofu with plans on remaining there until the baby is born. By that time, I’ll only be eight months, so we’ll likely be there for a month or so. Is it possible for you to take all that time away from your clinic?

She sent off the message before dropping the phone back into her lap. 

Beside her, Dan Heng pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head before handing her another gift. 

"Was that encouagement to keep up this marathon?" she asked, feeling all fluttery from the tiny gesture. 

"Possibly."

"Possibly," she repeated, amused. Still, she sat up straight to open the gift, this one a box of children’s books and some unisex clothes. 

After recording the information in the booklet, Dan Heng took them to set aside just as her phone dinged again.

Natasha: So you’ll be spending the last month of your pregnancy there? That’s a wise idea. As for the length of duration on my account, things here should be fine between the two assistants that I’ve trained to handle the clinic here. Things have never run more smoothly. I’m sure I can disappear for a month or two. 

Natasha: Actually, Seele just came and told me to leave the affairs of Wildfire to her and Oleg. It seems I might be pushed to go with you in the end.

Stelle: If you’re able to, I would really like to have you around. 

Stelle: Take your time organizing things. We can come pick you up when it comes time and take you to the Luofu with us. I think you’d really like it.

Natasha: I would be going as your doctor first and foremost. But, when you put it that way, I guess that I would have a little free time to enjoy exploring a new place. That would be quite exciting. :D 

“I think it’s going to work out,” Stelle said, grinning as she looked over to Dan Heng.

He returned her smile with one of his own. “Then I’ll inform Bailu a little later once you two have sorted out more of the details.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Well, while you’re continuing to communicate with her, would you like to switch tasks? I’ll open the next gifts and you record them?”

Stelle looked over the tower of gifts before her. Her stomach sank even further when she recalled there were still more in the storage area. “Yeah, gimme the notebook before I get sick of opening gifts forever.”

~~~

“And you’re certain you packed everything?” Dan Heng asked for the final time.

Stelle sighed, clearly getting tired of his constant questioning. Yet, he watched her silently count on her fingers as she looked over their luggage. “Pretty sure.”

“All the baby’s things that Natasha instructed us to pack?”

“That was the bag I packed first.”

He nodded, looking over the luggage one last time. He couldn’t shake this anxious feeling swirling through him, like he was forgetting something. Or maybe he was anxious because he was about to spend the next month with Stelle on the Xianzhou Luofu. This would be the longest period of time he’d spent away from the Express since first boarding. Furthermore, he wasn’t leaving for a mission but rather for a familial reason, which felt still extremely strange to him.

“Well, if you’re finished questioning me for the umpteenth time, are you ready to go?” Stelle asked.

Startled from his thoughts, he looked back up at her. “Y-yeah. I think so.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded, but she was quick to shoot him a doubtful look. Worried that she was about to call his bluff, he reached for their luggage bags, ones the space station had gifted them for this very reason. “We should go,” he said. “The others put aside their expedition to make this trip specifically for us. I don’t want to keep them long.”

“I guess you’re right.” And with that, Stelle reached for her bag.

“Grab the baby’s bag,” Dan Heng instructed. “That’s all I’ll let you carry.”

She frowned up at him. “I can carry more.”

“You are carrying plenty.” He reached out to lay a hand on her stomach. “So don’t overexert yourself.”

“I’m fine, you know,” she quietly countered, placing her hand on top of his, a habit she'd picked up from whenever the baby was kicking and she pulled him close to feel it. At the moment, the baby was quiet. Maybe it too was feeling the stress of everything.

“I’d like to keep you that way.” With that, he leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

“Hey.”

He couldn't help but grin at the little pout she shot him, his worries disappearing for a second. Reaching up to cradle her cheek, he angled her head towards him and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Better?”

She grinned. “Thank you. For that, I guess I’ll let you carry the bags.”

He huffed in amusement.

Soon enough, the duo made their way to the parlor, Stelle carrying the baby backpack while Dan Heng dragged one large, rolling suitcase behind him. It fit quite a bit of their clothes for the month, but the rest of their things were packed in the overlarge pack he wore on his back. For some reason, a slight chill haunted him as he marched down the hallway. It disturbed him, this odd feeling of finality that hung in the air, like an end was imminent. He tried to tell himself he would return here to the Astral Express and that things would be fine, but the sadness weighing on his heart was too heavy to entirely ignore.

“There they are,” Himeko spoke once Dan Heng and Stelle entered the parlor. “Are the both of you set?”

“I believe so,” Dan Heng answered, pushing aside his feelings for now and focusing on the present. Beside him, Stelle made a show of crossing her fingers.

“Then this is where we part ways.” Himeko was the first to reach out and pull Stelle in a hug. “We’ll miss you. We’ll be hoping for a safe delivery.”

“Thank you,” Stelle muttered in return.

March was up next. “It will be so weird not having you two around,” she said, clinging tight to Stelle.

“It’ll be weirder when we bring back a baby,” Stelle bantered back.

“That’s true. But I’ll take that weirdness any day if it means you two are back.”

Dan Heng felt a small sense of relief knowing that he wasn’t the only one feeling strange about this whole arrangement. Not that there was anything to be done about it; it was part of Stelle’s pregnancy. One would have thought Dan Heng would have gotten used to change by now, with the months Stelle’s pregnancy had already altered their lives in numerous ways, but this felt different. They’d always had the Astral Express and the Nameless by their side to help them through it. Now, they were temporarily heading out on their own.

A weight on his shoulder called him out of his thoughts, and Dan Heng looked over to Welt. “I wish you both a restful month before the baby arrives,” Welt said, giving Dan Heng’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze. “You two have earned it.”

“We’ll try,” Dan Heng responded.

“Don’t worry,” Caelus said, giving Dan Heng’s other shoulder a bump with his fist. “We’ll take care of everything around here.”

“I believe you will.” Dan Heng had seen how quickly Caelus had integrated into the Astral Express crew. He would manage on his own. Although, Dan Heng still had some reservations about Caelus and March running missions together. The combination of March’s friendly, somewhat naive personality paired with Caelus’ impulsive nature was doubtlessly going to wind the pair in trouble at some point.

Caelus then turned to Stelle, reaching an arm out towards her. “Take care.”

Stelle returned the side hug with a smile. Despite the amnesia between the two of them making their past a jumbled mishmash of memories, they’d grown close over the last couple of months. Maybe because of how similar they ultimately were. “Don’t get in trouble,” Stelle warned him.

“I promise… to do my best.”

“March,” Stelle said, turning to her friend. “If something goes wrong, remember: blame him.”

“Hey!”

March laughed. “You got it.”

Caelus leveled a glare at March. “Rude.”

Chuckling, March shot back a cheeky wink and peace sign.

While the duo went at it, Welt had sided up to Stelle. “Take care,” he told her, reaching up to rest a hand on her head. “I’ll be hoping you have an easy delivery.”

Grinning, she reached out to wrap her arms around his torso. “Thanks.”

He wrapped an arm over her shoulders, looking every bit like a proud grandfather-to-be.

“Stay safe,” Himeko said, now at Dan Heng’s side.

“We will,” he returned.

“And know that we’ll always be here if you need anything,” she continued.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you any more than we have.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Himeko easily dismissed. “You and Stelle have been travelers on the Express for so long that you’re the closest thing to family I have. I guarantee you that the others feel the same. So it’s no bother. Besides, we’ll all miss you and can’t wait for you to come back, baby and all.”

At her words, more of the chilly unease in Dan Heng’s stomach dissipated. Maybe that was what had him in such a frenzy: he was leaving this place he considered home behind, even if it was just for a bit. For someone who grew up with nothing only to be exiled when he was old enough, the last thing he wanted was to let go of every treasure he'd found, for it to disappear.

But it wouldn’t. It was only a temporary shift for the sake of Stelle and his child. And once the baby arrived, they would come back home, to where his—no, their family was waiting.

“Sorry, sorry!” A sudden newcomer burst into the parlor. “I overslept. Apologies if I kept everyone waiting.”

“You came right on time,” Himeko assured. “Although, I feel bad for having to wake you in the first place. You seemed quite comfortable.”

“I was,” Natasha guiltily admitted. “Seems I’ve been working too hard lately and not getting enough rest.”

“Well, I hope you are able to get some rest on the Luofu.”

“On the contrary, I fear I’ll be too excited to want to sleep. And considering I have the very rare pleasure of caring for a single patient, I’ll have plenty of time to study a different world. I won’t want to miss a minute.”

Dan Heng spoke up, “I’m sure Bailu would be happy to let you read her medical texts.”

At that, Natasha’s eyes lit up. “It would be wonderful if I could find new techniques or medicines to take back to Belobog.”

“With as much free time as you’ll have,” Stelle chimed in. “I’m sure you’ll find something.”

“I look forward to it.”

With one last round of goodbyes, Dan Heng, Stelle, and Natasha headed toward the train's exit. Only, before they disembarked, Dan Heng transformed into his vidyadhara figure. Which he realized too late that Natasha had never seen before.

"That is... quite the surprise," Natasha commented, accepting the shift with grace. "But, I guess it shouldn't be, Cold Dragon Young."

He sighed. "I am impressed you can remember such a fleeting name."

"Fleeting?" Natasha asked, a mischievous twinkle coming to her eye. "The children still call you that."

Dan Heng wasn't quite sure what to think of that. Stelle certainly found it amusing, though. 

When they disembarked the Express, they were immediately greeted by a surprisingly large welcoming party, the most notable two being a young vidyadhara and a not-so-fearsome Cloud Knight Commander.

“Dan Heng! Stelle!” Bailu was the first to run up to them, throwing her arms around Stelle. “Man, you’re huge.”

“Gee, thanks,” Stelle deadpanned, still patting Bailu on the head.

“It’s an observation, not an insult,” she quipped back. Her pout soon became a grin as she turned to Dan Heng and threw her arms around him. “Welcome back.”

Dan Heng returned the hug Bailu gave him, although he didn’t cling to her nearly as tight as she did him. “Good to see you, Bailu.”

Having properly greeted him and Stelle, Bailu then turned to Natasha. “Ah, are you the doctor that Stelle wanted to bring?”

“Yes. I’m Natasha. You must be Bailu.”

“That I am.”

“I’ve heard much about you.”

“You should have,” Bailu proudly piped up. “Dan Heng is basically my brother.”

“Play nice,” Dan Heng warned, patting Bailu on the head as he walked past her, dragging the luggage behind him.

“Fine,” she playfully bemoaned. “But only because you asked nicely.”

Leaving the girls behind to chat among themselves, Dan Heng approached a grinning Jing Yuan.

“I believe a hearty congratulations is in order,” the man warmly greeted.

“Thank you.” Over the years, Dan Heng had forged an odd sort of acquaintanceship with Jing Yuan. He was sure that Jing Yuan would never be able to fully forget Dan Heng’s past incarnation and the close friendship he’d shared with Dan Feng, yet Dan Heng could tell the commander had moved beyond that and saw him for the person he was in this life instead of the man he once had been.

“Come now, no need to be so modest. You’re the first vidyadhara to ever reproduce. You should be thrilled.”

“I am,” Dan Heng said. “I simply have other concerns on my mind at the moment. Such as how the general population has reacted to that fact."

Jing Yuan’s expression grew serious, which only made the pit of worry in Dan Heng’s stomach grow. “I apologize. I encouraged Lady Bailu to leak that news. I thought it would be for the better to stir the pot and see what bubbled up beforehand rather than you appearing with your pregnant wife unannounced.”

He sighed, a heaviness weighing on his heart. Maybe this was the other reason he was so afraid to leave the Express behind. Yes, he would miss his family, but here, there were threats to Stelle lurking just under the surface. And if anything happened to her or the baby…

Well, he feared he understood Dan Feng a little too well in moments like this.

“You aren’t one to make an impulsive decision like that without council,” Dan Heng said. “I’m assuming you contacted the head diviner before making that call.”

“I’m pleased to know you know me so well. Yes, I did. She also agreed with that plan, believing it gave us the best chance to monitor the population’s reaction and weed out any potential threats prior to your arrival.”

“Did it yield harvest?”

“It did,” Jing Yuan confirmed. “They are facing judgment for their scheming. Although, I would refrain from claiming we’ve eliminated all threats. While many vidyadhara have accepted you back into the fold, there are those who still hate you regardless. To be honest, the other reason we wished to leak the information beforehand was to ensure that it would be safe for you to come here in the first place. Had the population reacted poorly, I would have told Bailu to send you elsewhere. However, the general consensus is a positive one. Most of the vidyadhara are happy to learn of your ability to father a child. You are now a symbol of hope for their race, after all.”

For a moment, Dan Heng was silent. “I understand that Stelle’s pregnancy provides hope to the vidyadhara population at large, and I should have pride in the fact I’m able to contribute in such a way to my race. But…” He turned to look at Stelle, who was grinning as Bailu held her swollen belly with a look of awe. “That is the last thing on my mind.”

Jing Yuan hummed. “I suppose I can’t fault you for that. Ultimately, you are no different than any other excited father.”

Dan Heng turned back to Jing Yuan. “There is a vast difference between knowing you have a child to carry on the legacy of a race incapable of having children and knowing that you are blessed to have a child.”

With an approving grin, Jing Yuan dropped a hand on Dan Heng’s shoulder. “That child is lucky to have you as a father. I’m happy for you.”

Dan Heng nodded his thanks.

Jing Yuan then gave Dan Heng’s shoulder a squeeze. “I swear on my honor that I’ll do everything I can to keep you and Stelle safe. Beyond you two being the parents of the first vidyadhara to be born, you two are the saviors of the galaxy. And even beyond that… you, Dan Heng, are my friend.”

For a moment, words eluded him, so Dan Heng had to settle for reaching up to rest a hand on Jing Yuan’s shoulder. “Thank you… old friend.”

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 6 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

“You were supposed to die.”

At the all-too-familiar sultry voice, Stelle looked up from where she was sitting to see Kafka. “What a way to greet someone,” she snipped.

“I thought I’d cut to the chase.” Uninvited, Kafka stepped closer and took a seat on the bench beside Stelle.

Stelle narrowed her eyes at Kafka. Even after all this time, she never could fully figure this woman out. The only thing she knew for certain was Kafka never wished any harm to come to Stelle. Though Stelle supposed if there was one thing to know about a person, that certainly wasn’t the worst.

“What brings you here?” Stelle asked, glancing around the crowded plaza of the planet they were visiting. “Out in the open.”

“The place is busy enough for people to notice everyone yet no one,” Kafka answered. “I’m nothing more than a face in this crowd, just like you.”

Well, that was true. Despite Stelle's face having become quite a famous one, no one had approached her. Honestly, for the better.

“I’m surprised that vidyadhara of yours left you alone, though.”

“He’s just across the street.” Through the crowd, Stelle could spot Dan Heng standing beside March as they waited in line at a food stall. The reason for that was March’s phone had broken on the latest mission, and they were currently waiting for it to get fixed at a shop down the street. After meandering the streets for a while, March thought she’d grab snacks for everyone, but Stelle was not up for standing in line. Despite being told her belly was smaller than average for a woman six months along, Stelle was beginning to feel its effects to the point she no longer protested the occasional break. Seeing as March had no phone, Dan Heng had gone with her, leaving Stelle to rest on a bench for now.

“Still,” Kafka continued, “he doesn’t often leave you alone long enough for us to chat.”

“You could approach me when he’s here.”

“That would ruin our girl time.”

Stelle just rolled her eyes at Kafka’s evasive answer. “Anyway, what do you mean? Or am I gonna have to play ‘truth and lie’ to maybe get an answer out of you?”

Kafka chuckled. “Actually, I’ll humor you and give you straight answers today. You deserve it, considering you’re still alive.” She leaned back against the bench, crossing her legs. “In every future Elio foresaw of us winning against Nanook, there was not a one where you didn’t die from that stellaron burst. As cruel as this might sound, we accepted it. A single life is a better sacrifice than a galaxy full of them.”

Considering she was that life, Stelle was inclined to hate that sacrifice more than anyone. But on the other hand, she also understood it. She’d met so many wonderful people, both comrades in arms and civilians who just wanted to live peacefully in this galaxy. She’d come to care for them so deeply that if she could pay a price that would guarantee their future, then she would.

Once again, she caught flashes of a particular green and gold coat as well as a cotton-candy-colored dress through the crowd. Heck, she would have made that sacrifice if only for those two over there, plus the other Nameless, of course. They’d given her everything, and she gladly would have returned the favor, even at the cost of her life.

A sudden jolt to her stomach was enough of a reminder that a very tiny someone was glad she didn’t have to.

“Is that all you wanted to say?” Stelle asked, automatically covering the spot her baby kicked with her hand.

“No,” Kafka admitted. “Actually, there’s quite a bit I want to say, but you’re not the only person I want to say it to.” With that, she stood. “That is, if you dare to follow me for a bit.”

Stelle quirked a brow.

“Don’t worry. It won’t take long. You better text your husband, though. He doesn’t look too happy.”

At the mention of Dan Hang, Stelle looked through the crowd for him, only to see he was glaring in her direction. Not only that, but Stelle watched March’s expression darken the instant she caught on.

She forced herself to give them a smile and a wave before pulling out her phone.

Stelle: It’s okay. 

Stelle: I’ll be right back.

Dan Heng pulled out his phone in response, March looking over at it.

“Now that you’ve taken care of that,” Kafka said, starting to walk away. “Follow me. I promise it will be worth your while.”

As Stelle stood, her phone dinged with a message.

Dan Heng: Where are you going?

Stelle: It’s fine.

Stelle looked up to see Dan Heng and March looking at her through the crowd.

Stelle: Trust me. Just get the snacks for when I get back.

And with that, she shuffled off after Kafka.

“Clingy, aren’t they?” Kafka joked once Stelle caught up to her.

“Well, I don’t need to tell you they don’t exactly trust you,” she snipped.

The woman shrugged it off. “Probably for the better.”

As they walked through the ever-moving crowd of people, Stelle didn’t initiate conversation, even though she certainly had questions.

“Congratulations, by the way, for being the first to bear a vidyadhara.”

“Half-vidyadhara,” she corrected.

“Full-blooded, if Elio’s prediction is correct,” Kafka returned. “But either way, a miracle child for the woman still miraculously alive. It makes for a nice fairytale, doesn’t it?”

More on instinct, Stelle’s hand rested on her stomach. Was Kafka right? Was her child a full vidyadhara? It wasn’t like they knew for certain, and there was a chance they wouldn’t know until it went through a reincarnation process. But if it was, then that would be a boon for Dan Heng's people. Even if they could add a single vidyadhara to the population, that was more than anyone could ever have hoped for. Though, she supposed a vidyadhara having fathered a child in the first place was already a miracle. 

Not that any of that ultimately mattered in Stelle's eyes. This was her and Dan Heng's child, and she was excited to have them come into her family.

“Do you know if you’re having a boy or girl?” she asked.

Stelle shook her head. She was at the point where she could find out if she wanted, but when discussing it with Dan Heng, she’d commented how it would be fun for it to be a surprise seeing as everything else about the baby was. At the time, Dan Heng had frowned, probably because he’d wanted to know, yet he’d humored her and agreed to wait until the baby was born.

Kafka hummed. “Elio wouldn’t tell me his prediction, either.”

“Does he know?”

“If he does, he isn’t telling.”

Stelle resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In all her travels, she’d crossed paths with the Stellaron Hunters many times, but never Elio. He remained a mystery that Stelle had grown too leery of to want to solve.

As they wove their way through the streets to an alleyway nearby, Stelle caught sight of a tall man with silver hair. She froze a moment, almost tripping over her own feet in the process as she was struck by an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

Beside her, Kafka chuckled. “I know you lost your memories when the stellaron was implanted in you, but do you happen to recognize him?”

They stopped in front of the man who looked down at her with uncertainty wavering in his golden eyes. “Should I?” she finally asked.

“I guess not,” Kafka muttered. “You could say he’s my gift to you.” She then tapped the blue gift tied with a pink bow in the man’s arms. “And then one for the baby. Curtesy of me and Silverwolf. I’m sure Blade would have reluctantly appreciated being included, too, if he’d survived.”

Stelle blinked in surprise. Blade was dead? But… wasn’t he…

Kafka seemed to read her mind, melancholy tainting her ever-present easy smile. “One of the very few ways an immortal can find relief from their curse is to be killed by an aeon. This battle presented Blade with an opportunity he could not resist.”

“Yeah,” the man weakly confirmed. “But he didn’t go down without fighting.”

Kafka sighed. “I suppose you’re right. It wouldn’t have been like him otherwise.”

At the somber mood, Stelle felt uncomfortable, like an interloper intruding on a private moment. There was also the fact Blade had a turbulent past with Dan Heng—er… Dan Heng’s past incarnation, which only made her feelings towards that particular Stellaron Hunter all the more confusing. Should she feel glad that Blade got his wish granted, or glad that he was gone? Was it wrong to feel both ways?

“Er, um…” With a forced smile, the man soon shoved the gift box at Stelle. “Sorry, for bringing the mood down. Here!”

Hesitantly, Stelle took the gift. While she did have half a mind to thank him, the only words that came out instead were, “Who are you?”

Kafka spoke up. “If I said he was your brother, would you believe me?”

Her… brother?

Wide-eyed, Stelle looked the man over. She knew he’d felt familiar in some odd way. Was this why?

His chuckle was strained, and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, I knew you wouldn’t remember, but it’s still kinda weird.”

Words were slow in coming, considering how dry her mouth was. “So… you remember?”

He nodded. “Yeah, kinda.” With an uncertain smile, he extended a hand. “I’m Caelus.”

“Stelle,” she returned, more automatically than anything, before taking his hand to shake.

“He can catch you up on the old times later,” Kafka spoke up. “That is, if he still remembers them.”

Stelle’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“I took a hit to the head in that last battle,” he answered. “The concussion was a monster. A lot of my memories are still fuzzy.”

“If you weren’t so reckless, you could have avoided it,” Kafka lightly chastised. “But then again, that’s to be expected of you.”

Caelus chuckled sheepishly.

“Getting back on topic…” Crossing her arms, Kafka looked over to Stelle. “I’m sure you want to know why I’m here, introducing you two now after all this time.”

Stelle nodded.

“I don’t care to be sentimental,” she said, “nor do I care to go out of my way unless I can see a benefit of it. But… I guess you two are an exception.”

The mood changed then, the world seeming to fade away. It clicked for Stelle that this was the first time she’d ever seen Kafka’s eyes look so clear, except the time Kafka was the Master Diviner’s captive. But considering that Kafka had been a prisoner then compared to now when she was free, Stelle was hesitant to count that as an exception at all.

“Many years ago,” Kafka started, “Elio predicted Nanook would bring about the end of the galaxy. So, he started making a plan. The first step being to produce a human that could be a vessel for a stellaron. This was a process that took a few years to complete, resulting in several babies being created. As they grew, they were constantly being tested for their ability to withstand the power of a stellaron. By the time the group reached the age of five, only two of the children remained viable vessels for the stellaron. We only needed one, but there were only benefits in having a backup, and if both of the vessels made it to adulthood, then we would choose the one that held the most promise. The other would remain a Stellaron Hunter.

“I was put in charge of your training. I gotta admit, I thought you two were going to be real hassles. And while you were in your own way, training you was… amusing. I wish more people had half the raw talent and determination you two showed. But, that shouldn’t be surprising considering whose DNA was taken to create you.

“Then came the day that one of you had to be chosen. Ultimately, both of you were good options to be the stellaron’s vessel, each having your own strengths and both of your bodies physically up to the task. But when it came down to it, there was something in Stelle that made me lean towards her as my choice. Hence Caelus stayed on as a Stellaron Hunter, running errands and whatnot behind the scenes so Stelle’s merry band of Nameless could handle other galactic problems and build alliances along the way.”

At the rush of information, Stelle was quickly growing overwhelmed. It was becoming a struggle to even continue standing when she felt so shaky on her feet. Yet, she forced herself to keep it together. Kafka was never forthcoming with information unless it benefitted her. From all their meetings, Stelle had learned to listen to what Kafka had to say and negotiate for anything more she wanted. But with Kafka dumping this out of her own free will, Stelle wanted to grasp onto every word.

“So… you raised us.” Stelle clarified.

“In a sense, I suppose I did,” Kafka answered. “In your eyes, I must not seem like the type.”

Stelle shook her head.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d be the type, either. And I wouldn’t say I was fully in charge of raising you. You both had a nanny who was actually responsible for you until you were about eight, at which point you were dropped fully into my care. I just taught you everything I felt was important to your life goal.”

“She was brutal,” Caelus whispered to Stelle. Yet, the light tone and slight smile he wore proved he didn’t mind.

Whether it was because she didn’t remember or because the part of her that somehow did remember didn’t mind, Stelle was unbothered by that fact. “So my ability to fight—”

“Came from me,” Kafka finished. “From your bat to your lance, I trained you in both.”

Absently, Stelle looked down at her hands, currently not in gloves allowing her to see the callouses that covered them. Callouses that took on a new meaning now that she knew she’d gotten them due to training with the Stellaron Hunter before her.

“Any other questions?” Kafka asked. “This is the one time I’m answering them freely.”

Clenching her fists, Stelle looked back up at Kafka. “What if I’d failed as a… vessel?” The word felt sour in her mouth. It was hard to grasp the fact she’d been artificially created to be a means to an end. As though her whole existence was, in fact, simply to hold a stellaron.

Kafka hummed. “If ever there was a future where you failed as a vessel, whether it was because you ran away or because you died, we had another stellaron lined up for Caelus.”

“What?”

Stelle glanced over at Caelus, whose jaw was practically on the ground at this point. Clearly, that was new information to him, too.

“Is it such a surprise we had a plan for you?” Kafka challenged. “You know how carefully everything was planned in your time as a Stellaron Hunter.”

Caelus didn’t seem to have an answer for that.

“Thankfully, we never had to implement that plan. It wouldn’t have been ideal anyway as the purpose of putting Stelle on the Astral Express was to help build an army that would rally behind her.”

So even that was planned, putting Stelle on the Express where she’d made a home for herself. Where she'd found a family and even a husband. 

But... then what was to become of them if she'd... “What of the Express members?" Stelle questioned, a defensive anger giving a bite to her words. "Did you mean to put them at the heart of the war?”

“Don’t get upset with me. They would have found their way into the war regardless. You just happened to be so charming that they rallied behind you. In that sense, you were an overwhelming success as an intended vessel.”

Stelle didn’t even know how to feel about that. Yes, she found a home on the Express, and she was thankful for it, but she could have led them all to their death, just because someone else had been controlling the strings.

Any freedom she’d ever thought she’d had over her destiny was slowly slipping away.

“Before you get too sulky,” Kafka continued. “Just realize that they would have all died without you. Along with nearly all the galaxy.”

“At cost of my life, right?” Stelle clarified, anger covering the fear that was creeping like ice through her veins.

Kafka frowned. “Yes. Maybe it was the pure determination both of you possessed to be in control of your own destinies that changed the outcome to something Elio couldn’t have predicted, but what happened was truly the best-case scenario. We were prepared to lose both of you in the aeon war.”

“So we were always meant to die?” Caelus snipped, a hard edge to his tone. "No matter which one of us was the stellaron's vessel?"

Kafka didn’t respond right away. Instead, her expression turned regretful. “I’m sorry,” she slowly spoke, those words ringing with more genuine emotion than Stelle had ever heard from her. “I know that this sentiment is far too little too late, and you might not believe me at all, but… I did care for both of you. A future where I lost either of you was not what I considered ideal, but when the existence of the galaxy was at stake… my feelings on the matter were irrelevant.

"But,” Kafka continued, “considering that you both defied all odds and predictions, I thought you both deserved the truth, no matter how harsh it may be.”

Stelle was rendered speechless. As overwhelmed as Stelle was, that sentiment felt genuine, at least, which almost made them harder to process.

Caelus, on the other hand, still had some fire in him. “How can you say that,” he challenged, “knowing you were raising us to send us off to our deaths?”

“Everything I did was to give you a fighting chance to avoid death,” Kafka answered, her voice taking on a growly edge in defence. “Stelle may not remember, but I know you do. You even said yourself I was brutal on you. I had to be because I knew there would come a time when I wouldn’t be around to protect you. Every bloody battle I let you face, where you screamed at me or cried or got hurt, was all to prepare you to face even worse situations that I wouldn’t be around to help you tackle.”

Caelus grew silent at that.

“I was not destined to save the world,” Kafka continued, her voice calmer now. “That was placed on you two. All I could do was give you every skill you would need to accomplish your destiny. But now… you two are all grown up with bright futures ahead of you. That is more than I could have ever asked for. So if you hate me now, I can live with that.”

“Kafka…” Caelus spoke, all previous anger now gone from his voice.

As weird as it was, Stelle felt similarly. Maybe she was too numb to make an accurate assessment of things, but she felt like Kafka meant every word. Like Kafka, her supposed enemy, actually did care for Stelle more than she knew. 

“Stelle," Kafka spoke, approaching the two of them, "you have a place you need to get back to, but I need to ask a favor of you.”

“Depends on what it is,” she said, her mind still reeling with information.

“Take Caelus with you.”

Caelus’ brow furrowed. “Huh? Take me where?”

A sad smile flashed across Kafka's face. “I’m kicking you out of the Stellaron Hunters.”

“What?! Why?”

She leveled him with a knowing look. “I know you’ve been sneaking off trying to fix stellaron problems the way the Astral Express does. So it’s better I let you do that instead of watching you get yelled at by the others for not following orders.”

Caelus fell silent at that.

Kafka hummed, amused at winning this verbal battle. “You’ll never hear these words from my mouth again, but…” She reached out, cupping Stelle’s cheek with one hand and Caelus’ with the other. “I’m proud of both of you.”

For some reason, those words hit Stelle harder than she expected them to.

The next second, Kafka pulled away. “Take care, Kiddos.” With a smile, Kafka turned on her heel and started strolling off down the alleyway.

Leaving a speechless duo standing in her wake.

~~~

“Where is she?” March muttered, looking over the busy plaza.

Dan Heng’s fists tightened. He should never have let Stelle wander off alone with Kafka. Nothing good could ever come from it. He’d been about ready to sprint to her side when he first saw Stelle with that Stellaron Hunter, but he’d trusted her and stayed put as she’d asked him to. That had been ten minutes ago, and despite he and March having acquired the long-forgotten snacks, Stelle was nowhere in sight.

He pulled out his phone again, searching for a response to any of his previous five texts, only there was none.

Just as he was about to call her—

“I see her!”

Dan Heng looked up, searching the crowd for Stelle and finally spotting her approaching with someone he’d never seen before by her side.

His feet moved on their own as he wove through the crowd towards her. “Stelle.”

Her somber expression brightened slightly as she saw him.

Before he could ask if she was alright, she threw her arms around him and held on tight. With her safe and sound back in his arms, relief flooded him, though he quickly turned a sharp gaze at the newcomer she’d been walking with. One who, oddly, looked familiar even though Dan Heng was certain he’d never seen that man before in his life.

"Hey!" March said, having caught up. "We were worried."

"Sorry," Stelle muttered. 

"Did something happen?" Dan Heng asked.

With a heavy sigh, Stelle pulled away. “Er… I’ll tell you later. But, right now…” She turned around, only to wave the man over to them.

At least the man had the decency to look abashed at his intrusion.

“So, uh…” Stelle gave Dan Heng and March a painfully awkward smile. “This is my brother, Caelus.”

“Brother?!” March cried.

Not bothering to cover his surprise, Dan Heng looked the man over, instantly seeing the family resemblance.

“Yeah,” Caelus sheepishly confirmed. “It's a long story. Uh… nice to meet you both?”

“You probably already know,” Stelle said. “But this is March 7th and my husband, Dan Heng.”

“Uh, nice to meet you, too,” March awkwardly greeted, giving him a wave.

Dan Heng gave a nod of acknowledgment, too surprised to do much else.

“So,” Stelle started. “From here on, he’s joining us as a Nameless.”

“Huh?” March glanced between Caelus and Stelle in surprise.

Dan Heng felt like he was going to have a headache with how fast the surprises were coming. He should have been used to it, considering who he was married to, but this was notably different. “Why don’t you sit down and start explaining?”

Stelle didn’t protest, allowing Dan Heng to guide her back to the bench before heavily taking a seat on it. Dan Heng took a seat next to her, unwilling to let go of her hand quite yet. Before he could ask her to start explaining, though, she patted the empty seat next to her. “Why don’t you take a seat?” she offered Caelus. “That was a lot for you, too.”

The man sighed, suddenly looking extremely ragged. “If you don’t mind,” he said, practically collapsing down on the other side of the bench. He set down the long gift box he’d been holding, leaning it against the bench before bracing his elbows on his knees and hanging his head.

Although his guard didn’t completely fall away, Dan Heng wasn’t so cruel as to not feel some pity for Caelus. Seems whatever happened with Kafka was hard on both the siblings.

Unsure what else to do, March held out the bag of snacks to Caelus. “We got some of the little donuts from the shop over there. Want one? I bet it would be a good pick-me-up.”

Though surprised at the offer, Caelus shyly accepted. “If you don’t mind.”

With a smile, March held the bag out to him. “We got plenty.”

He took a couple with a quiet thanks.

March then held the bag over to Stelle. “You better like these considering you disappeared on us.”

Stelle smirked. “And if I don’t?”

March yanked the bag away. “Then none for you!”

“I haven’t even tried them yet.”

March took a single donut out of the bag and put it in Stelle’s outstretched hand.

Stelle glowered at it.

The interaction was enough to clear the remaining tension in Dan Heng’s shoulders. Stelle was just fine. Everything was okay. Even with the exception of the newcomer who sat with a small smile as he ate his snack, everything felt back to normal.

With March having finished passing out snacks, including giving more to Stelle, Caelus scooted over to the edge of the bench so as to make room for March to sit.

“Thanks,” she said, plopping down between him and Stelle. “So, you’re going to be joining us?”

“Seems so,” Caelus answered, his mannerisms more relaxed now.

“You said you were Stelle’s brother,” Dan Heng prodded.

Caelus nodded.

“He was with the Stellaron Hunters,” Stelle explained.

“Then what brings you here?” Dan Heng inquired.

Caelus cringed. “It seems I’ve been kicked out.”

March frowned. “Huh? For what?”

“Apparently, being too helpful.”

“Do they think that’s a bad thing?”

Caelus shrugged.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” Stelle spoke up, “but it felt more like… an excuse than anything.”

“Seems about right,” Caelus quietly agreed. “It seemed like Kafka wasn’t exactly kicking me out. More like… she didn’t want me to have to be with them any longer.”

“What did Kafka say?” Dan Heng asked, his curiosity growing stronger by the second.

He almost regretted that question as a heavy cloud seemed to settle down on the siblings once again. Stelle answered, “I’d prefer to tell everyone all at once. It’s… a long story.”

“Okay.” Dan Heng rubbed her back soothingly.

“Then, I guess Caelus is really coming back with us,” March said, turning back to Caelus. “So, welcome to the crew.”

Caelus’ expression lit up. “If you’ll take me, I’m happy to be aboard.”

“I think we still have some time before my phone is fixed. So do you want—”

“Actually,” Dan Heng spoke up, having heard his own phone ding with a message notification. “They just finished, if you want to make your way back to the shop.”

March popped up from her seat. “Then let’s go.”

“Wait,” Stelle said, taking out her own phone. “I want to send a message to Himeko saying we’re bringing someone with us.”

“Good call,” March said. “Hey! Caelus, what’s your number, anyway? We’ll add you to the group chat.”

Caelus pulled out his phone, tapping it a few times before offering it to March. “Add your info, and I’ll text you when you get your phone back.”

“Sounds good to me.”

~~~

With their mission of fixing March’s phone completed, they all headed back to the Express. Stelle was beginning to feel the exhaustion kicking in but she had to keep pressing on. She had to properly introduce the newest trailblazer to Himeko and Welt, after all.

Much to their surprise, Welt and Himeko were waiting right outside the Express for them, Pom-pom standing in the doorway.

Suddenly, Stelle grew a little nervous, though she wasn’t sure if that was truly nerves or if it was her baby moving around. Maybe they were kicking out warning her to calm down and stop stressing them out.

Sorry, Baby, she thought, rubbing a hand over her stomach.

Dan Heng’s hand came to rest on her back, calling her attention. She glanced up at him, spying the concerned look on his face.

She just shot him a smile and a nod, hoping he’d understand she was just fine.

“Welcome,” Himeko greeted, being the first to approach them. “Is this the new Nameless I heard about?”

“Yes,” Stelle said, stepping forward to make proper introductions. “This is my brother, Caelus.”

Himeko looked him over in surprise. “Well, I can certainly see the resemblance.”

“Caelus, this is Himeko and Welt,” Stelle introduced, seeing as Welt had come up to them. “And over in the doorway is the conductor, Pom-pom.” Who, by the way, seemed very excited considering how frantically they were waving.

“We meet again,” Welt said.

Caelus nodded. “I guess we do.”

Wait… “again”?

“Huh?” March piped up, confused. “Do you know him, Mr. Yang?”

“Yes,” Welt confirmed, looking back over to Caelus. “In the war, you provided protection for the medical transport, did you not?”

“That’s where I’ve seen you,” Himeko jumped in, realization dawning over her. “You were always such a mess, and you never stayed for long so I never got a good look at you.”

Caelus gave a sheepish shrug. “Heh. Yeah, that was me. Kafka told me not to get too involved, but I couldn’t help it. If Stelle was going to the heart of the war, I couldn’t not follow, stellaron or not.”

“Wait,” March spoke up. “Where exactly were you? Dan Heng and I followed Stelle into the heart of everything, but I don’t recall seeing you.”

“I doubt any of us would have been paying enough attention to recall an unfamiliar face in the crowd,” Dan Heng said. “We had more pressing matters.”

“I started on the outskirts,” Caelus answered. “Just started dragging out the injured and helping them get to the transports. Occasionally, I’d ride with them to be a guard against the tougher monsters. The deeper I followed you guys into the mess, the less I focused on the injured and more on helping defeat the machines. Things get a little fuzzy toward the end, but Kafka said I took down a doomsday machine?”

At that, Stelle felt her jaw hit the ground as she stared at him. Suddenly, hazy memories tainted with vivid fear came rushing back to her. Standing in the middle of a war-torn planet, the acrid smell of burning machinery and the metallic smell of blood filling her nose as she stared up at robots larger than anything anyone had ever seen before. The worst of which was a destruction bot imbued with the power of Nanook himself as the dying aeon tried to hide behind it. It had taken all their strongest weapons and planning to even make a dent in it.

But then, they’d watched the center of the bot start glowing, brighter and brighter like bubbling lava, until it had exploded. It had taken a moment for everyone to realize what had happened, but once the dust had settled, a war cry had rung out. In the middle of the noise, Stelle had led the charge forward to Nanook himself, Dan Heng and March by her side with a roaring army behind her, ready to take on the last wave of monsters protecting the aeon.

“That was you?” Stelle murmured in awe.

“Don’t ask me how I managed to do it,” Caelus said, running his hand through his hair before lifting up a section to reveal a long, curved scar carved into the side of his head. “Cracked my skull open so I don’t remember much. Must have just charged headlong into the fray with half a plan and somehow completed it. Apparently, that plan was taking a stellaron and shoving it inside the core.”

“Wait, what?” March cried, suddenly stepping closer. “You were inside that monster?”

Caelus sheepishly smiled. “Yeah. Somehow. I’ve always been an ‘act first, think later,’ kind of person, more than Stelle ever was. Must have just run on impulse.”

“How’d you manage to survive the explosion?” Dan Heng asked.

Caelus shrugged. “My only guess is that my body, like Stelle’s, was specifically designed to withstand stellarons.” He lifted up the sleeve of his jacket, revealing a spiderweb of angry red scarring. But then took off his glove, revealing how his hand held no scarring and the red ring on his wrist that separated the two sections. “Weird, isn’t it? Kafka’s guess as to why my arm’s like this is that when I stuck my hand in the core with the stellaron, everything outside that core ended up being a mess whereas the inside was protected. As for why I survived at all when I definitely should have died… maybe the core expanded, protecting me? Don’t have a better guess than that. I remember seeing white; that’s it.”

There was a short pause as no one knew what to say to that. It wasn’t as though Stelle didn’t have anything she wanted to say but rather had too many thoughts rolling around in her mind and not a clue which one needed to be voiced first.

In the end, it was Welt who broke the silence. “You did well,” he said, resting a hand on Caelus’ shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Yeah!” March chimed in. “That was amazing! We had no idea how to take that monster down.”

“I second that,” Stelle finally said, giving him a smile. “Guess being a Stellaron Hunter had its perks.”

The mood lightened just ever so slightly at that as Caelus mirthlessly chuckled. “I guess it did.”

“Well,” Himeko said. “With a story like that, I feel you’ve earned a place on the Express. We’re lucky to have you, Trailblazer.”

Finally, Caelus’ smile turned genuine as his eyes brightened. “Happy to be aboard.”

“Here.” Stelle reached for the box Caelus was still holding. “I can take that while the others show you around. Thanks for carrying it back for me.”

With a nod, Caelus handed it over.

March watched with curiosity. “Who’s that for?”

“Kafka gave it to me. For the baby.”

“Oh?” Himeko said. “Baby shower gifts already coming in? Though, one from Kafka is most surprising.”

“No kidding,” March agreed. “Makes me curious.”

That one little remark was how Stelle found herself sitting in the parlor, gift on her lap while her family looked on. She understood why they were curious and maybe even a bit concerned. She felt similarly if she were being honest.

After untying the pink bow, she lifted the powder blue lid off the box to reveal white tissue paper inside. Laying on top was a small baseball bat, complete with plastic balls and a little glove.

Amused, she took out the toys, one clearly meant for a small child. A few chuckles sounded around her.

“It’s fitting,” Dan Heng said with a grin, taking the small glove to examine.

But the box felt too heavy for that to be the end. Stelle lifted the paper, only to see a full-sized bat, complete with baseballs and a leather baseball mitt.

Stelle pulled the bat first, looking over the blue design painted on the gray material. The weight was familiar in her hand, but as memories resurfaced, the weight soon settled on her heart. Kafka had trained her how to wield this weapon, a long time ago.

Suddenly, Kafka’s conversation came rolling back to the forefront of her mind.

“Wow,” March remarked. “That’s really… thinking ahead.”

“Yeah, but Kafka didn’t really want to get a baby item,” Caelus said. “At least she got something nice. She never spent money on toys for us.”

Stelle hummed, trying to ignore the haunting thoughts for now. “That sounds accurate."

“She did let us rummage through the dumpsters behind the toyshops, though," Caelus continued. "We found some good things in there.”

Suddenly, the room went silent.

And Stelle watched as Caelus slowly grew uncomfortable. “What?”

“So you’re telling me that was Kafka’s fault?” March cried.

Dan Heng sighed, suddenly looking very tired. “So that’s where that came from.”

“Uh…” Caelus’s expression turned sheepish. “Did I… say something bad?”

Stelle shook her head, a sudden headache coming on. For as long as she could remember, she'd always had a draw to garbage cans, making her the butt of many jokes and much harassment. She was happy her friends slowly accepted that part of her, seeing as a part of her never wanted to stop. She just got so much joy out of finding something good that nothing else seemed to faze her.

It was just... the last thing she expected was for her favorite hobby to be explained like this. “No. But just… never let them catch you rifling through dumpsters. They will never, ever let it go.”

~~~

With all the excitement that had occurred today, Dan Heng expected Stelle to be in bed by now. When he’d suggested earlier that she retire early for the evening, she’d looked tired with the way her eyes were glazed over and her cheeks had lost some of their color. The most concerning thing, though, was that she hadn’t protested to the suggestion.

However, instead of finding her resting in bed, Dan Heng entered the bedroom only to see Stelle staring at her chest in the mirror.

The scar that had once been so blatant had faded somewhat thanks to Bailu’s medicine. Although it looked slightly less angry than it once had, it would likely take years for it to fade. Even with Bailu’s medicine, Dan Heng doubted it would ever fully disappear. Which was fine. It’s not like Dan Heng cared that she had scars; he had them, too. The only reason he wished it would disappear was because his wife looked completely lost in thought as she ran her hands absently over the mark between her breasts.

Unable to watch any longer, he marched over and laid the small mirror down flat on the dresser, interrupting Stelle’s musings maybe a little too brashly considering that she startled at his action.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She shrugged dismissively.

He hated the way her eyes held none of their usual light, her face having taken on a gloomy gray tint. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Her gaze hit the floor, her brow scrunching together and lips tugging downward as though in pain. It was an expression that practically ripped out his heart.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. Her abdomen was growing, so facing chest to chest was becoming increasingly awkward, but she was still small enough where it wasn’t too bad.

She leaned into him, clinging to his jacket and nuzzling her face into his shoulder. The way she leaned so fully against him further proved something heavy was weighing on her. But he didn't want to press. He'd just wait for her to respond, or maybe, if need be, not respond at all. 

“Kafka said I was supposed to die.”

Her muttered words surprised him for just a second before a wave of anger overtook that feeling. It figured Stelle’s mood had something to do with that woman. He never should have let her go off with Kafka. “But you didn’t,” he reminded.

“No,” Stelle clarified. “Like… I was literally created to die.”

At that, words failed him.

She sniffed, and he held on tighter as she clung to him.

“But you escaped that destiny,” he finally said. “You’re here now.”

“I know,” she said, pushing away and wiping her tear-stained cheeks with the heel of her hand. “It’s just… I don’t know. It’s a lot.”

His heart was breaking as he watched his wife fall apart. Regret for his earlier actions—rather, his inaction—was creeping in as he cradled the back of her head, leaning forward to rest his forehead on hers. “I should have gone with you. If that’s all Kafka had to say, she could have saved it.”

Stelle shook her head, her bangs ruffling against his. “No. It’s not…” She sniffed again. “It’s fine, but…”

“Deep breath,” he gently instructed, rubbing her upper arms now.

She did as told, taking a deep albeit shaky breath.

“What all did Kafka say?” Dan Heng asked, leaning back to look her in the eye.

Wiping away the remnants of her tears, Stelle began. “She admitted that Caelus and I were both created to hold a stellaron so we could defeat Nanook, and that we were both supposed to die. In every foreseen future, there wasn’t one we were supposed to live. But… like…” She made a flailing motion, as though explaining that her foreseen future clearly hadn’t come true. “Obviously.”

“You made your own destiny,” Dan Heng said. “You and Caelus both, it seems.”

She nodded. “That’s why Kafka told us the truth. Because she… I think she felt bad.”

Dan Heng’s brow furrowed, yet he kept all opinions and doubts to himself.

“So… it’s hard because part of me doesn’t want to hate her,” Stelle continued. “Especially since she raised us and taught us so much. She's the closest thing I've had to a mother figure, even if I can't really remember. But I feel like I should be mad because I was just… I was used. And planted here to fall in line with their plan no matter how hard I tried to escape it. Every step of the way, I was fighting against their plans for me, yet… I was in their plan the whole time.”

Her voice was warbly, and her eyes were red as her tears started up again. He hated it, yet he was helpless to do anything but listen.

“And I’ve got this reminder now,” she continued, grabbing at her chest. “That… that their future for me was never something I could escape from.”

“But you did,” he cut in, cradling her cheeks and swiping the tears from them. “That scar is a reminder you made it out alive. That you’re still here, forging your own destiny with us.”

Her frown deepened. “Yeah, but… Caelus could have just as easily been the one to have the stellaron. It was just… as long as one of us made it on the Astral Express. So even being here now… I feel guilty, knowing I was just a plant. It’s my fault you all were dragged so deep into this war. It’s all… my fault.”

He took a moment to carefully choose his words. “Even if that was the intent of the Stellaron Hunters, you yourself were never a plant. You were, and still are, one of the Nameless due to your own choice.”

She finally looked back up at him.

He gave her a sad smile, his heart in pieces for her. “You choose this path. You fought Nanook because you ultimately are selfless. And we followed you because you were our shining ray of hope. The Stellaron Hunters couldn’t have accounted for the fact that you made such strong connections of your own volition and rallied the galaxy behind you to lead the charge for the universe. That was all you, not the Stellaron Hunters. Nothing is your fault.”

His words sparked a little glimmer of hope back into her golden eyes, only for it to fade just as quickly. "But that was their plan, for me to make connections."

He sighed. "Even if it was their plan for you, it was because of who you are that people rallied behind you. But... if that's not enough, then I guess I just have to give them credit for putting you here. It's because of the Stellaron Hunters' plans that I was able to meet you. Whatever opinions I have of them, it was because of them and their decision to choose you that I was blessed with you as my wife.”

Stelle glanced away, though this time, it wasn’t pain that flashed across her expression but sheepishness. “Kafka told me not to marry you,” she admitted. “At the time, she didn't tell me why, though I guess I understand now. That’s why I tricked you into marrying me. To spite her.”

His lips twitched up in amusement. “How many times do I have to tell you that you didn’t trick me into anything.”

“I feel like I did.”

“I knew what you were doing,” he whispered, holding her close. “Although, I wanted to marry you more formally elsewhere.”

“Sorry,” she returned quietly. “I know I messed up your plans.”

“With you, I’m used to it. I just couldn't say no to you when you were so happy.” He could still remember her unabashed smile as he agreed to partake in that ceremonial wedding dance with her on a planet many, many trailblaze missions ago. Several other couples surrounded them, but as they spun around together—likely missing many of the steps even though the announcer was calling them out and allowing their wrists to grow ever entangled by a silk cloth that connected them—Dan Heng felt like it was only him and Stelle in that moment. He could still feel the way the cloth bound their wrists in the end, tying them together in a union that would not be so easily broken.

He was never one for crowds, hence why he’d been planning a private, quiet ceremony elsewhere, but ultimately, he’d never regretted that being their wedding. Though Stelle did humor him later by partaking in customs he was more familiar with, allowing him to formally present her those particular hair sticks she loved more than anything despite rarely wearing them.

“So never feel bad about that,” he continued. “I was happy to follow you.”

“Yeah, but… what if I had died? Then Kafka would have been right that it was better to stay away—”

“But you didn’t,” Dan Heng cut in, reminding her again. “So don’t worry about a past future that’s impossible now.”

“I just don’t want to hurt you,” she admitted on a whisper.

Dan Heng frowned. “I know you never would on purpose,” he assured. “If I’ve learned one thing from my past incarnation, it is that death is not something we have control over. Even with all the power I have at hand, I cannot bring you back. Which is why I need to cherish the days that I do have with you. Scars or no, and no matter what intentions others had for you in the past, I consider myself blessed every day I spend with you, my starlight.”

Her eyes had lost their melancholy now, regaining some of their normal sparkle. Although, that might have been exaggerated by the new round of tears forming.

“And even if I’d known I would have lost you, I still would have married you.” Sweet words, yes, but words he meant. An outcast like him would have gladly taken that blessing even if he’d known it would be temporary. Stelle had taught him the meaning of “better to love and lose than to never have loved at all.”

She sniffed, her lips warbling as the forming tears broke free and rolled down her cheeks anew. Before he could swipe them away, she grabbed his cheeks and lunged forward to kiss him.

“I love you,” she said, her words weak and whispery.

“I love you, too,” he quietly returned before bestowing kisses of his own on her.

And promise I will love and cherish you for as long as we both shall live. Hopefully, for a long time yet to come.

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 5 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

It took about three days for everything to fully sink in, but once they did, Dan Heng couldn’t deny he was very excited. If he’d been told as a child that he’d have a family one day, both a wife and child, there was no way he would have believed it. Yet here he was, married to a woman who was pregnant with a miracle baby.

While fully aware that a baby would mean a lot of work, little sleep, dealing with tantrums, and messes everywhere, he had already decided he would be thankful for it all. He’d grown up an outcast, one exiled from his homeworld due to the heavy sins of a past incarnation. It had been intended that he suffer in this life. How ironic to be rewarded so heavily instead.

He would still think that way even if he and Stelle had to relocate. The Astral Express crew had every right to decide it was in his and Stelle's best interest to settle down elsewhere. Even now, after thinking it over and discussing it with Stelle for days, Dan Heng could see the logic in that choice. But ultimately, neither he nor Stelle wanted to leave the place they called home, filled with the people they considered to be family.

“We’ve decided to stay,” Stelle informed the others at the breakfast table. “If you’re all still okay with that.”

“Yes!” March was the first to exclaim.

“Of course!” Himeko followed up with a beaming smile. “If that’s what you wish, then we’ll all make it work.”

“As long as you are confident in your choice, then we are happy to have you,” Welt agreed.

“We’ve given it a lot of thought,” Dan Heng started, “and have gone over every option. But ultimately, we both feel most at home here.”

Stelle nodded her agreement. “We figure that between the two of us, our kid would be up for the adventure being a Nameless entails.”

A new, fluttery warmth filled Dan Heng’s heart even thinking about their child, a recent development that he wasn’t upset about. It was exciting, after all, to think about what a future like that would hold. And the way he spotted Stelle run a hand over her abdomen with a gentle smile on her face told him she felt the same.

Welt chuckled. “That is entirely likely.”

“So!” March piped up, excitedly tapping the table with her fingers. “With that out of the way, I think it’s only fair that I be called Aunt March from now on!”

“Oh!” Himeko joined in, her eyes taking on an excited sparkle. “If so, then I do like the ring of ‘Aunt Himeko’.”

“Now, now, both of you,” Welt gently chided. “They should be the ones to decide that.”

While Welt was right, it took only a few seconds for Dan Heng to warm up to the idea. These were people he cared about, who he worked with day-in and day-out for years and considered the closest thing he’s ever had to a family. Knowing they were each willing to take on such a role for his child, to provide them with a family from the minute they came into this world instead of one Dan Heng had fought for, was once again a blessing.

“I don’t mind.”

Surprise flashed across Stelle’s expression, but an amused grin soon overtook it. “I can’t believe you beat me to the punch,” she muttered.

Dan Heng just returned the grin.

With a twinkle in her eye, Stelle turned back to the two women. “I think you both deserve it at this point.”

“Sweet!” March cried, doing a fist pump in the air.

Himeko, for her part, lightly clapped her hands together.

“So,” Stelle said, looking at Welt. “Do you want to be ‘Uncle Welt’?”

“I feel like he’s more of a grandpa,” March said.

Welt chuckled. “Either one would be fine by me.”

“Oh, come on,” Himeko said, “surely you have a preference.”

“Stelle and Dan Heng can choose for me,” he smoothly returned. “I would be honored with any title.”

After Welt so easily brushed off the topic, March picked up the conversation again, happily proclaiming how she would be the best aunt a kid had ever known. Himeko challenged her for a bit before relinquishing the title of ‘best aunt’ in favor of ‘second best aunt,’ if only to humor March. While Dan Heng would question just how reliable a guardian March would be, he did believe March would be a good aunt. She was, after all, a treasured member of his family.

Breakfast came to an end, and the question of Welt’s title still lingered in the back of Dan Heng’s mind, but not because he was still debating the answer. On the contrary, he had one.

Hence, Dan Heng found an opportunity to approach Welt privately.

“I apologize if you felt put on the spot at breakfast,” Dan Heng said.

“I don’t recall you joining the ‘great title debate’,” Welt lightly returned, his calm expression showing he held no grudge.

Dan Heng smirked. “True. The girls required no assistance in that endeavor.”

“They certainly didn’t,” Welt agreed. “That said, if you would prefer that I have one title over the other, I will gladly accept it.”

“If… you wouldn’t mind,” Dan Heng began, an awkward feeling twisting his gut into knots, “could my child call you Grandfather or some variation of that title? I didn’t talk this over with Stelle, so she might have a different opinion, but I respect you as my elder, hence…” Dan Heng glanced away, unsure of how to finish.

But Welt called his attention back by plopping a firm hand on Dan Heng’s shoulder. No words needed to be said to convey just how proud and honored Welt was. “Then I’m genuinely excited to meet my first grandchild. And I’m happy for you to get the chance to become a father.”

Dan Heng smiled, that knot in his gut only halfway unraveling. They didn’t untie all the way as Welt’s words, oddly enough, struck him once again with the revelation that he was going to be a father. And how overwhelmed and inept that ultimately made him feel. “Forgive me if I’m encroaching on the past, but it’s always struck me that... you know how to be a father.”

“I may have some experience in that area,” he confessed, a wistful edge to his voice. “Never blood-related and never a baby, so calling myself a ‘father’ might be a bit of a stretch. But I understand how parents feel a little too well.”

As someone who also didn’t like to bring up the past, Dan Heng was hesitant to ask for any elaboration on the subject, but wasn't seeking out answers and wisdom the benefit of having a respected elder? “Then… can I ask for your help if I have any questions?”

“About being a father?” Welt clarified.

Dan Heng simply nodded. “It’s… overwhelming. The amount of knowledge I didn’t think I’d ever need yet I suddenly do, and I have a feeling that even though I still have six months, that time is going to go too fast for me to learn everything I need to.”

At Dan Heng's rambling, Welt smiled. “I have a feeling you’ll be okay,” he gently encouraged. “You could have all the time in the world to do your research, yet it will all go out the window when faced with reality. Each child is different; you’ll figure it out as you go. And just as you think you understand them, they do something else to surprise you. You’ll stress over them more than you know you should, but you can’t help it. They’ll be happy… heh, no, more than happy to keep you on your toes, as though it's their very job to do so. But you gladly step up to the challenge because they become more precious to you than life itself.” 

He sighed, turning back to Dan Heng after getting lost in his thoughts. “My advice is to not stress yourself out by overthinking it; it’s hard, but not in the ways you think. However, if you ever think you need advice, then I’m glad to offer whatever assistance I can. My door will always be open, for you and Stelle both.”

It was odd, the effect Welt’s words had on Dan Heng. On one hand, they were a comfort, bringing reassurance to the storm in his heart. On the other, they were so personal that Dan Heng worried he'd touched on a sore subject for Welt.

But just like every other time, Dan Heng refrained from asking. Instead, he simply patted Welt’s shoulder in return, offering silent condolences and reassurances all in one. “Thank you.”

Welt’s smile softened, the lines of age and hard experience on his face seeming to erase as he relaxed. “You’re welcome.”

~~~

Just over four months in, Stelle would say she hit the first milestone of her pregnancy: her clothes were growing tight. Specifically, her waistband.

She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, it meant she was beginning to show, just a little. It gave her a little thrill of excitement to be able to look sideways in the mirror and realize she could hold the beginnings of a little bump where her and Dan Heng’s baby was.

But on the other, it meant shopping was inevitable.

“And you don’t want to ask March or Himeko for help?” Dan Heng asked.

Stelle sighed. “I mean… yes and no. Yes because they are a help, but no because when it comes to clothes, those two are exhausting. But for once, those two aren’t the biggest problem here.”

Dan Heng was only puzzled for a second before realization dawned on him. “Lady Asta.”

Stelle ran her hands down her face tiredly. Yes, Lady Asta. AKA, the woman with no regard for money who just so happened to take a vacation and fly out to meet the Astral Express upon learning from March that Stelle was pregnant.

Don’t get her wrong; Stelle was glad to have such a good friend be so kind as to wish her congratulations in person. But Asta had already told Stelle in no uncertain terms that she’d gladly help acquire anything Stelle needed for the baby.

“You could just tell her ‘no’,” Dan Heng suggested. “Isn’t Arlan in control of her bank account anyway?”

“Normally, yes, but because Asta was leaving for vacation and traveling, Arlan returned the encryption key to her. And I know this because Arlan sent me a hundred and one text messages on top of a phone call warning me to not let her overspend on anything.”

Despite his sigh, Dan Heng couldn’t temper a smile. “So he put you in charge of Asta, then.”

“Yes,” she lamented. “So as much as I would like to go shopping now while we’re on a planet with a huge outdoor mall so close by, the last thing I need is to give Asta any ideas. I am too tired to fight her.”

At that, Dan Heng’s expression fell. “Are you too tired to fight Asta specifically, or tired in general?”

Oops, here came the inquisition. Her fault, she supposed, considering she knew better than to mention the word ‘tired’ around her husband. ‘Queasy’ and ‘dizzy’ were also words on the No-no List. “I’m somewhere between the two,” she admitted, knowing it was best to be honest at this point rather than lie and get Dan Heng to press. “I did manage to assist on that last mission without overdoing it, but even though I didn’t get into any trouble or start any fights, it kinda took a toll on me. Don’t worry, I’ll sit the next one out and rest,” she quickly tacked on. It was inevitable that she'd be perma-banned from missions soon, anyway. Best not to overdo it and move that inevitability up. She wanted to enjoy things while she still could.

Not to say she wouldn't enjoy being a mother. Honestly, she was excited for it, even if it did mean she would be benched from missions for who knew how long.

Pleased with her answer, Dan Heng relaxed. “Then I’ll help you shop at our next stop once that mission is completed. Unless you need to go shopping now.”

“Nah, I think I'm good. My clothes are getting tighter, but I can still fit into them. I just want things on hand for when I can't comfortably button my skirt anymore.”

“Alright. Then we’ll plan for that, then.”

Unfortunately, as a Nameless, plans go out the window all the time. And this time was no exception.

To be fair, Stelle and Dan Heng should have known better than to have this conversation in the archive room where they could be overheard by March, who conveniently missed the fact that Stelle did not want Asta to know that she needed new clothes.

Well, Asta found out and insisted she do something about it. And since Stelle was too tired to put up a fight against three excitable women, not even Dan Heng could save her from an all-girl shopping trip.

“So!” March began, looking around the outdoor shopping center with a worrisome gleam in her eye. “Where should we go first?”

“This is a mall run by the IPC,” Asta chimed in, looking far too excited for her own good. “So they should have thought to put a map up around here.”

“There,” Himeko said, pointing to a large electronic screen off to the side of the street.

Together, the girls looked over the map, trying to guess which of the women’s clothing stores would have maternity clothes then planning a route around them. Stelle would be thankful to Himeko for doing her best to map out rest areas as well as lunch and possible snack breaks.

“And if it gets too much for you,” Himeko whispered to Stelle when the two more excitable girls started dashing off ahead, “tell me and I’ll put a stop to them.”

Those words did help calm Stelle. It seemed that Himeko was on her side, at least. 

Once they arrived at their first stop, the girls began meandering through the store until they hit the maternity section. While thankful they managed to find what they were looking for at the first store they hit, Stelle felt weird looking through the oddly shaped clothes. It was once again a reminder that she was pregnant with Dan Heng’s baby, something that should have been impossible.

The other reason it was so strange was because looking at the models in the pictures made Stelle feel... awkward. Like, how big would she get? The doctors said if she kept active during her pregnancy, she was more likely to both stay in shape and bounce back faster after giving birth. But ultimately, they couldn’t tell her exactly how her body would change. They could only tell her what generally to prepare for. As happy as she was to have a little bump, to have proof that a child was growing in her, it both weirded Stelle out and made her a little nervous.

“Girls,” Himeko called out, pulling Stelle out of her thoughts before they could spiral out of control. “Before you run wild, just remember that we’re looking for pieces that will adapt with Stelle as she grows. I doubt she wants to subject herself to another shopping trip.” With that, Himeko shot Stelle a wink.

Stelle could have hugged Himeko right there for that. Instead, she just let out a breath of relief. “Yes. Please. I can still fit into my shirts, so I just need bottoms.”

“Adjustable bottoms. Got it.” March shot her a thumbs up.

“For now, at least,” Himeko reminded. “I’d say to get some shirts as well for when you do start growing into them.”

Stelle had to admit she had a point. Because her bump would grow to the point she needed those oddly shaped shirts. It was still weird to think about, though. “Alright, but just… don’t go overboard. I don’t want to spend too much.”

“Pshhh.” Asta waved her hand flippantly in dismissal. “You’re not paying for anything.”

And this was exactly what Stelle had been worried about.

“What do you mean?” Stelle asked, already preparing for the answer.

Beaming, Asta flashed a card Stelle knew a little too well. “Arlan gave me my encryption key. Which, by the way, did you know how hard I had to work to convince him to do so? Geez, it’s like he doesn’t trust me with money at all!”

Behind her, March chuckled nervously while Himeko tiredly shook her head. Both of which were appropriate responses.

Stelle tried her best to temper her grimace. “Um… as someone who has helped Arlan hide that key from you, I understand his sentiments.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I’m still mad at you for your little tag-team game two years ago.”

“It was for the best.”

Asta huffed, propping her hands on her hips.

“You know it was," Stelle countered. "Things got resolved the week afterward.”

"Bearly."

"It is no one's fault but the shipping company's that half the components came in broken. At least they offered to recompensate us by priority shipping all the replacements."

Relenting, Asta rolled her eyes and held her hands up in surrender. “Look, I won’t go overboard; I promise. But my parents did give me permission to help support the savior of the galaxy. So let me do this for you, okay? It’s just clothes. It’s not twenty security bots.”

Stelle knew Asta intended well. However, Asta frequently intended a little too well, even to her own detriment. But if Asta had gone as far as to get her parents’ permission to blow money on maternity clothes for Stelle, then she would be thankful and allow Asta to buy a few things. Heaven knew she’d go back whining all the way if Stelle didn’t. If anything, Arlan didn’t deserve to listen to Asta's lamenting. “Okay, just a few items.”

“Yes!”

Stelle’s mistake. A few items turned into a whole new wardrobe, and neither she nor March nor Himeko could do anything about it. Other than carry the bags for an all-too-proud Asta, that is.

~~~

It was about month five that Dan Heng and Stelle started seriously planning for the arrival of the baby. Particularly, where it would be born.

Dan Heng stared at the tablet in his hands, looking over the list of possible planets that they had slowly crossed off one by one over the last half hour. “So, we’ve narrowed down our options to three places: Herta Space Station, Belobog, or the Luofu.”

“Cross off the space station,” Stelle said from her spot lying on the bed. She’d gotten tired of sitting after a while, the baby now developed enough to begin moving around and making her queasy in the process.

Dan Heng tapped the screen with his stylus. “Can I ask why?”

“I know the space station took care of me when I was comatose and all, which I’m super grateful for, but I really hate being there. If I have other options, I’m taking them.”

With a nod, Dan Heng finally knocked that one off the list. He’d fought to keep it on in the beginning when they were first narrowing things down, just to keep a guaranteed good option open, but with two other options he was comfortable with still on the board, he would relent. “So Belobog or the Luofu. Realistically, the Luofu would be better seeing as Belobog is still a struggling planet with few resources, but I understand that with as often as you travel back there and as many friends as you’ve made there, it has become almost a second home to you.”

Stelle pushed herself up into a sitting position, propped up by the headboard. “As much as I agree, will you be comfortable there?”

“This isn’t about me,” he countered. “This is about you giving birth to our child.”

“Yes, but I don’t need you stressed out about things, either,” she said. “Which was why Belobog is our best option if you’re not comfortable going to the Luofu.”

“But you think the Luofu is the best?”

With a pensive expression, Stelle absently rubbed a hand over her growing abdomen. “I do,” she said. “For a lot of reasons, actually.”

Setting down the tablet, Dan Heng gave her his full attention.

“Starting with Bailu," Stelle started. "She’d mentioned she wanted to be one of the first to meet our child, which I understand. She is the high elder of the vidyadhara, and this is the first one to ever be born. I also know she would want to be there anyway since she looks up to you as a brother, so of course she’d want to meet your kid right away. Being there on the Luofu would be easiest for her.”

“Is Bailu the main reason?” Dan Heng asked. “Because I know she would gladly apply for leave to wherever you have the child.” Thinking about it, Bailu would probably be excited at the prospect of leaving the Luofu to go on an adventure, particularly if it meant leaving work behind for a little bit.

Stelle shook her head. “Actually, the rest is… more a mental thing than anything else.”

Dan Heng gave her a nod for her to continue.

“It’s… because the Luofu is your homeworld,” she eventually admitted. “I know circumstances were different for you, but… since our home is the stars, I just kinda thought it would be nice for you and our baby to share a birthplace.”

The surprise hit him hard, rendering him speechless as his heart gave an odd little squeeze in his chest. That was the reason? Because she wanted to give their child a form of family legacy?

Uncertainty grew across Stelle’s expression the longer the silence stretched on. “Well?”

While still fighting for words, Dan Heng stood from his seat, only to sit back down on the edge of the bed beside Stelle, laying a hand over her abdomen. “I'll ask again, are you the most comfortable there?”

She nodded. “Between Luofu and Belobog, it’s a wash.”

"And you're sure there's no reason you'd prefer Belobog more?"

"Not really. Only if you'd be—"

"This isn't about me," he cut in. "This is about you. I will be fine anywhere for your sake. So, if you prefer the Luofu, then it's decided."

After a beat, she sighed, relief flooding her expression. "Okay."

And with that, Dan Heng felt his own worries begin to ease. "Okay."

However, that didn’t mean all his worries disappeared just like that. Even after all this time, he still had complicated feelings about the Luofu. With everything that had happened—or maybe because of everything that had happened—he knew he could never fully escape his past reincarnation, nor the chains that had once held him down. It wasn’t as though he hated everything about the Luofu, particularly when the company of his companions helped obscure the dark memories he had of this place. However, he could never be fully at ease there because he was seen as two different people instead of just the one person he was now.

But beyond his own feelings, he had other, more pressing concerns. Namely, how would the vidyadhara population at large react when they learned that the first vidyadhara to ever be born in the history of their race was fathered by the reincarnation of the greatest traitor? His reputation as Dan Heng was slowly overshadowing his past as Dan Feng thanks to him assisting the galaxy’s savior in her battle to exterminate an aeon, but how far did that reputation really go? And more importantly, would his child be in any danger because of it? He and Stelle, along with Bailu, had been targets of assassins more than once.

A warmth that cradled his cheeks brought him back to reality.

“Hey,” Stelle softly spoke, concern etched into her face as she tenderly cupped his jaw. “Are you sure you’re comfortable with it? We can go to Belobog if you’re not.”

“It's fine,” he answered, grabbing hold of one of her wrists. Inwardly, he was kicking himself, guilt welling up within him. This was about Stelle and what she wanted. Ultimately, if Stelle felt safe there, then it was his job as her husband and father of her child to ensure she would be. If he had to call on the help of Jing Yuan or Fu Xuan to ensure their safety, he would do so. No one would bring danger to his family for as long as he was alive to do something about it. “Sorry. I just got lost in my own thoughts.”

“Care to share?”

“They aren’t important. I'm just concerned about you.”

“I'll be fine.”

“I know you will.” And to reassure her, he reached out to cup her cheek, leaning forward to lay a brief kiss on her lips.

That seemed to settle her, thankfully. “Then it’s decided?”

Dan Heng nodded, managing to give her a genuine smile despite the worries still clouding the back of his mind. “I’ll start making arrangements with Bailu. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear of your decision.”

Stelle grinned in agreement. “I’m sure. I bet she knows some good doctors to recommend, as well.”

That was a valid point. Dan Heng would have to admit that one of the bonuses of the Luofu was that they could trust whatever doctors and midwives that Bailu would recommend rather than having to do their best to find one Stelle would be comfortable with on other planets. “Her insight would be helpful. And if she could arrange things for us to be ready when we arrive, then that would be all the better.”

“We won’t be there too long, will we?”

“I’m thinking a month before your due date.”

“That long?”

The surprise on Stelle’s face was a reaction Dan Heng had expected. “I would feel more at ease spending your last month of pregnancy somewhere we could more easily monitor you, and if you go into labor early, we’ll be better prepared. Furthermore, you being off the Express and settled somewhere would be less stressful for you.” And me, he mentally added. The last thing he needed was to worry about Stelle any more than he currently was.

“Two weeks,” she argued. “I don’t need a whole month.”

“What else would you be doing on the Express compared to on the Luofu?”

To that, she had no answer. “But… don’t you want to continue helping the crew on missions?”

“The crew has already assured us they understand,” he countered. “And while it might be a bit much to make assumptions for them, I believe they also would be more relieved to have you off the Express the closer it becomes to your due date. For your own sake.”

Though Stelle crossed her arms in frustration, she didn’t counter. Meaning she accepted it, albeit reluctantly.

“Think of it this way,” Dan Heng said. “With the extra time we have on the Luofu, we will be able to find a crib for the baby.”

Stelle glanced over the room. “Um, we still need to find room for the crib.”

“I thought we could move the chairs and table over there.” He pointed to in front of the bookshelf. “Even though it feels as though it's blocking shelves, it would allow us to move the bed this way—” He made hand motions to indicate turning the bed sideways. “—and move it over, making more room for the crib here, which will ultimately be a better layout.”

“Not a bad idea.”

“I’ll ask Welt and Himeko for assistance moving things around. Don’t even think about offering,” he interrupted before she could say a word.

She just tossed her hands up in surrender.

Before they could continue the conversation, a knock on their door called their attention. “Stelle! Dan Heng! You in there?”

At March’s peppy voice, Dan Heng answered the door. “Did you need something?”

She looked about to explode with excitement. Himeko, Welt, and Pom-pom all stood behind her, excitement written on their faces as well. “We have something we want to show you,” she said, bouncing on her toes.

By now, Stelle had gotten up off the bed and stood beside Dan Heng. "What is it?"

March bowed, making some elaborate ‘this way’ arm gesture. “If you’ll follow us.”

And so they did, making the long trek to… the room next to theirs.

Dan Heng and Stelle shared a puzzled glance at the way everyone was gathered around the door.

“And now," Pom-pom announced, "presenting the brand new, first-ever, Astral Express Nursery!”

… Huh?

March flung the door open, only to stand aside and gesture for Dan Heng and Stelle to enter.

Stelle moved first, stepping into the room with wide-eyed surprise. Dan Heng was certain he looked the same as he followed her. The first thing he noticed was the crib in the corner, one complete with a mattress fitted with patterned sheets and a bunny plush toy. Next to it was another piece of furniture, one he realized was a changing table with little baskets underneath. Then there was a small chest of drawers, as well, on the other side of the crib. Finally, there was a small bookshelf behind them. 

Only after that did Dan Heng realize the walls were all painted with different scenes, ranging from an ocean on one side to a sandy desert to a forest with mountains behind it as the scene wrapped around the room. Even the ceiling was painted, sporting blocky, cartoon clouds that matched the illustrative style of the room.

He glanced over to Stelle, whose golden eyes were now glassy as she held a hand over her mouth. She turned to look over at the four other members of the express, who were all looking on with anticipation. “You did this for us?” she asked, her voice warbly with emotion.

“Of course,” Himeko answered. “Each trailblazer needs a room, and the little one is no exception. Do you like it?”

Unable to answer as tears started dripping down her cheeks, Stelle just nodded.

Overwhelmed himself, Dan Heng took his wife into his arms, allowing her to lean against him and sniffle softly into his shoulder. It was rare for her to shed tears, and while he knew pregnancy could affect a woman’s emotions, he felt making that assumption would be unfair seeing as he himself was moved by such a grand gesture. “Thank you,” he said, looking over at the crew, an indescribable warmth flooding his chest. “This is… this is incredible.”

Welt nodded. “Since we didn’t know whether you’d be having a boy or a girl when we started this, we wanted to keep it gender-neutral. But I thought that having something that would age with the child, at least for a while, would be better than something more baby-themed.”

Himeko giggled, gently elbowing Welt’s side. “He did a pretty good job painting the walls, didn’t he?”

“Then Himeko and I picked out all the furniture,” March chimed in.

“And Pom-pom specially ordered the bedding,” the little conductor proudly stated. “And the plush toy. Pom-pom thought it was a perfect decoration.”

Having had a moment to pull herself together, Stelle lifted her head out of Dan Heng’s shoulder to look up at the group. Her eyes were red, and she had to swipe the tears off her cheeks, but she was still grinning from ear to ear. “Thank you so much. I love it.”

“Yes,” Dan Heng agreed, his smile wide as he counted the blessings that currently surrounded him. “Thank you very much.”