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

Chap. Nine: Unbidden Attraction

As we made our way through the cloud-like hallway, I took the occasion to study Dan Heng's physique for... really, the first time since we'd met. He had calloused hands that were unusual for a data accountant; he'd been training with a weapon for quite a long time. Lean muscles accented his build without making it too bulky, although his coat blurred the lines a bit. He wore a jade ear cuff on one side and a metal piercing on the other... rather bold fashion choices for someone who didn't strike me as the type to dabble in jewelry. Overall, he was obviously someone more than a simple archiver, yet the job seemed to suit him better than anything else. Soon, we stood before a door that just precedes the entrance to the parlor car; one that I quickly realized to be the door to the Archives.

He slid open the door, revealing an engineer's dream room; servers, consoles, and various other unnamable devices littered the room, with a mesmerizing water-patterned pattern rippling dynamically on the tiled floor covering the back half of the room. Dan Heng strode towards the desk lining the back as I wandered over to one of the walls, curiously running my fingers over the many grooves and ridges that created the technological landscape.

"Here, change into this," Dan Heng called out, drawing my attention as he tossed a small bundle towards me. Snatching it out of the air and unfurling it, I held up a soft black dress shirt a good few sizes too large for me. "Do you need shorts as well?" he asked, nodding when I shook my head. "Miss Himeko mentioned that you still don't have your own wardrobe, so deal with this for the time being," he said, turning his back as he retraced his steps back to the door. "I'll clean up the broken glass, so make yourself comfortable. You can't sleep, right?" he added when I stared at him questioningly. "I'll teach you how to work the consoles so you can access the financial records," he explained before sliding the door shut. I was left alone once again... yet a certain presence continued to linger in the air around me, blanketing me as I stood in the middle of unknown territory.

A strangely familiar presence.

An incoming sneeze tickled my nose as I quickly massaged the cartilage to hold it back, reminding myself of my foremost objective; changing out of my soaked clothes. Sending a silent apology to Himeko for ruining the nightgown so soon after receiving it, I stripped the thin cloth from my body, the cold air biting my bared skin prompting yet another sneeze to threaten the silence. Quickly making heads and tails of the shirt I was given, I slipped it over my head and threaded my arms into the sleeves. It was warm and soft... and it smelled like Dan Heng. In fact, the entire room smelled like Dan Heng; the ocean breeze laced with a hint of cool mint. It was almost as if the man himself was there, holding me in a gentle, comforting embrace...

Aeons, what was I thinking about?

I was no better than the gossiping women back at my old mercenary group, always giggling about the handsome new hire or the rugged older veteran. Why did my mind wander so naturally over to thinking about him? Even when I had that puppy crush on him, I could still go a full day without a single thought of him crossing my mind. With Dan Heng... Damn it, what was with this strange tug on my heartstrings every time our eyes met? Objectively, yes, he was a very handsome individual. However, I had eliminated dozens of men with faces as fine as his without a second thought, as my missions required. I was fairly immune to the hypnotic properties of a fair face... yet there was something about Dan Heng that gave me pause. Something about his guarded yet gentle gaze that made me want to lean against his shoulder as I slept, our shared warmth a comfort to each other; his straightforward, blunt words that I felt that I could trust to not deceive me.

Padding over to the tiled half of the room, I crouched as I extended a hand downwards, slowly tracing one of the ripples even as it danced away from my touch. It was like a little game of cat and mouse, and I could feel my competitive spirit flaring as I strove to predict the escape routes those fickle patterns sought to throw me off. I nibbled at my bottom lip in concentration, lowering myself until I sat on the floor, my legs curled to the side as I propped myself up with an arm.