Stelle had been trailblazing with Dan Heng and March 7th for quite a while. Ever since the start of her journey--from the Herta Space Station to Jarilo-VI, and then to many other vast places in the universe--there hadn't ever been a dull moment between March 7th's photos, Dan Heng's cold, distant (and cute) behavior, and the uncertainty of the Stellaron in Stelle's body.
Speaking of her companions, Stelle wasn't sure how March could even take some of her photos. Some were in places that she'd have never thought of, such as a background shot of when the Doomsday Beast attacked the Herta Space Station, or even the battle at Everwinter Hill. But she wasn't inclined to ask. Every girl had her own secrets, after all, and Stelle was no exception. Her past, her future, and even her present--it seemed like Kafka, the one who'd dropped her off at the space station all those expeditions ago, was the only one who knew of whom Stelle truly was in the past.
But that didn't mean that she didn't have anything that wasn't dear to her now.
Stelle sat on the couch in the parlor car of the Astral Express, taking out her phone to look at her contacts list. The car also currently housed two others: March 7th and Dan Heng, with the former gazing out of the window overlooking part of the Herta Space Station, and the latter situated just across from the gray-haired trailblazer herself, looking intensely at a plant nearby.
One would think that in that kind of circumstance, there'd be no need to text either of them, seeing as they were just mere arms' length of distance from each other.
Stelle scrolled through her contact list, headhunting for a certain emotionless, stoic man. She was well aware that he was sitting just opposite of her, but she couldn't help but smile just a tad as she pulled up their messages contact.
It wouldn't hurt to mess with him just once, could it?
Stelle
Hey, Dan Heng? Can I ask you a question
A simple question. That's all it'd be! She glanced up from her phone, seeing Dan Heng break his focus from the plant to give attention to the notification vibration coming from his pocket.
Dan Heng
...Yes?
He answered back without so much so as a glance towards her, as if used to being texted by others even if they were in the exact same room. Stelle was impressed, but calmed herself as she readied her next set of words. She was just going to ask a simple question with the simplest of answers, laid straightforwardly within the query itself. Still, she was curious about the answer that the question would bring.
Stelle
Between me and March 7th, who do you like better
March 7th, who'd been Dan Heng's trailblazing partner for... who knows how long before Stelle came into the picture?
Or would it be Stelle herself?
Stelle could feel the devil within her chuckle, already anticipating his response. To avoid any potential conflict, he most likely wouldn't try to pick between either of them. Instead, he'd try to dodge the question, or give her a pretty vague answer even if she explicitly said 'this or that'. It would bring about the most fair conclusion.
Dan Heng
...
Needless to say, his reply was... not what Stelle had in mind.
She'd figured that he would've typed something along the lines of, 'Don't ask such ridiculous questions', or even 'I'm not going to answer that'. To beat around the bush until she went off from the subject at hand, but...
What did a reply consisting of just three dots in a row mean...?
Was he thinking? Or was it the equivalent of 'no comment'?
Her brows furrowed slightly, eyes darting up to see if Dan Heng was thinking of anything else to say, when...
Stelle
Uh, I just saw you get up. Are you ignoring me
She could feel a hand on her shoulder as her text sent, the notification sound making a small woosh as she looked up from her phone. A phone buzzed on the table opposite of her.
Irises of blue jadeite viewed the abyss from her amber own as Stelle stared into the precious gem. She could even see a hint of flush emerging from Dan Heng's cheeks--an uncharacteristically adorable trait donned by the usually poker-faced guy. Her mouth fell slightly at the sight, and she was left petrified as he placed both hands on her to hold her up straight.
They were gazing at each other.
While Stelle held her own body frozen still, Dan Heng crept closer to her face, a hand brushing back protruding bits of gray hair that were stubbornly sticking out of Stelle's delicate head. That same hand then went over to the back of her head, as if to comfort and hold it in place as he inched closer than ever.
Then Stelle blinked, reminding Dan Heng that she was there as well. Upon noticing the golden hues of her eyes piercing his, he quickly fumbled, bringing his face up to her forehead instead. After he successfully broke eye contact, he gave her hair a small ruffle, the tips of his lips meeting Stelle's covered forehead as his flush became ever the more prominent.
He didn't have the guts to face the surging emotion in his heart wholeheartedly, but... perhaps this would be alright for now.
As for which of the two trailblazers he liked more... the answer was simple.
I didn't think you'd need to ask me that, he thought. Of everyone here, even--and who I like better, between you and March? I thought you'd know that by now, Stelle.
Elsewhere in the parlor car, March had long stopped viewing the outside of the Herta Space Station, of which the Astral Express had gone to for some supplies. With Welt and Himeko gone to converse with the researchers and whatnot, she was left to either join them or stay inside the Express. She'd chosen the latter, though with Pom-Pom making a hasty excuse to 'clean the engine room', she'd figured that staying in the parlor car to see the vastness of the station would be just fine with her as she waited for them to come back.
But she'd inevitably gotten bored. Dan Heng wasn't much fun to talk to--seeing as he was literally looking at a plant the last time she checked--and Stelle was on her phone. It'd been quite a bit of time since then, though, so she turned around to see what they were up to.
She looked at the couch of the parlor car, where the other two that made up their trio were currently very, very close to one another. Taking a few soft steps closer, she placed a hand on the camera she held dear, grinning ear to ear as a picture slowly emerged on the camera screen.
Pure gold--if she had to describe the scene that had unfolded in front of her, she was sure that the phrase 'pure gold' would do wonders. It was a wonderful, amazing, fantastic, marvelous, magnificent kind of gem that probably wouldn't ever be obtainable for a very, very long time, knowing Dan Heng's typically remote behavior.
It was right then and there that March decided what she was going to do with the valuable photo she'd taken that day.
Back it up to her photo board, place one behind Stelle's pillow, and then, after all that...
Make as many copies as she possibly could, so that she'd be able to plaster them all along the archives' walls at an unspecified time later.
She wondered how Dan Heng would react then.
Fin
If you made it to the end, thank you for reading! This fic was made as a kind of continuation/alternative version of a MMD render I posted on Twitter, so feel free to check that out as well!
