Undying Love (Honkai Star Rail: Dan Heng x Fem! OC)

Chap. Four: Old Friend

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Dan Heng, no fair! You sly dog, you!" March's indignant voice jolted me out of my dreamless sleep, a raspy groan slipping out of my lips as the back of my head collided with the wooden edge of the cushioned chair I had fallen asleep on.

    "March, what are you misunderstanding-" Dan Heng's sleep-addled, bewildered voice brought me further into the present, my sleep-encrusted eyes cracking open to try and understand what the hell was going down first thing in the morning... or whatever time it was. I was met with yet more darkness, however, as my vision was blocked with the fluffy monstrosity that had somehow migrated through the night over to engulf my entire body head to toe. I struggled a bit to understand where the edge of the blanket was, and when I was finally able to pull it off the top of my head... I was faced with chaos.

    "Meanie, meanie, meanie, meanie, meanie!" March chanted as she pounded Dan Heng's arms with closed fists, the latter holding them up without much sign of physical discomfort. "I met her first, yet you got her to open up enough for you to stay with her! That's not playing fair! I was gonna be her friend first!"

    "March, did you drink some of Miss Himeko's coffee earlier?" Dan Heng deadpanned, the question causing March's fists to stall.

    "Uh... N-no?" she said questioningly, her eyes darting over to the side awkwardly... and landing on me. "You're awake! How did you slee... eeeeeeeep?! You're not a kid anymore!" her question evolved into a yelp as she circled me curiously, her eyes sparkling as I stifled a small yawn. I sleepily patted my lap as I searched for my phone, frowning when my fingers met nothing but blanket fluff, until Dan Heng tapped the chessboard-patterned table between us. On it sat the object of my quest, which I picked up and flicked through until I reached March's name.

March 7th
Today is also March 7th~
________________________________________

Mirage

[Good morning, March. What's with the
commotion so early in the morning?]

    March's phone vibrated with a sound that can be most accurately described as ice cracking, the speed in which she whipped it out of her skirt pocket being almost superhuman. "Awwww, your name's Mirage? That's so cute and fantasy-esque!" she squealed over my username before focusing on the content of my message. "Oh, this? I woke up, had a chat and a drink with Himeko, and came to wake you up when I saw this! Person! Right! Here! Sleeping peacefully in the chair next to you!" she pointed indignantly towards Dan Heng, who sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck and stood up from the chair. "Gutsy move for someone who wasn't even interested in meeting her yesterday!" she pouted.

    "March, it's too early in the morning for you to be this energetic... I only got 3 hours of sleep," Dan Heng groaned, roughly running a hand through his hair as he checked the time on his phone.

    "Serves you right! Aaaaaaah, I wanted to chat with her until morning too!" March grumbled as she crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Dan Heng.

    "It's quite busy this morning," Himeko chuckled as she swept into the room, a cup of steaming coffee delicately balancing between her fingers. "Oh, so you were able to return to normal safely. It's a pleasure to officially meet you..." she trailed off, awkwardly realizing that she still didn't know my name.

    "Mirage! Isn't her name so pretty?" March gushed, answering for me as she bounced up and down excitedly. "I'm so happy to have another girl on board! Himeko is nice, but having someone closer to my age is definitely gonna come in handy for girls' talk!"

    "On that note, I'm returning to the archives. I need extra sleep," Dan Heng sighed, turning towards the parlor door.

    "Just a moment, Dan Heng. I'm sorry to delay your rest, but you should also listen to this," Himeko said, stopping him. "Mirage here has accepted my offer to become a new Trailblazer, thus we need to have a conversation about how to accommodate her."