the moon rises over antarctica

[reedsea]

[ the thing about visiting the Xianzhou Luofu is that it's not quite home, but it was once home. it's like returning the place that you grew up after you grew up and moved away, something distant and wondrous all the same, both foreign and familiar. due to circumstances, Dan Heng never got to experience the Luofu while he was growing up post-rebirth, so whenever he steps foot on it, it always feels a bit wistful in a way he can't explain.

that is to say that he does like going, even if he's recognized from time to time, being able to experience something that he was unable to experience when he was younger strikes a certain chord. this time his visit is framed by strings of lanterns in the dim night air. the atmosphere is lively, full of bustling people and various smells of street food.

Dan Heng is content to watch the people mill about: a group of children playing hide and seek past their bedtime, a young man making a gallant attempt at flirting with a woman at one of the food stalls, and a group of foxians chattering away as they pass through, trying to decide on what their next nightly activity should be.

he let Caelus decide on what to get to eat, settling down at an out-of-the-way corner seat of Du's Teahouse. it's a nice night for a date — that is what this was, right? a Festival Date. Himeko gave him a look when they told her where they were going, holding her hand to her cheek as if she were going to comment about how fast they were growing up. instead she gave them a stipend for a night like a big sister making sure her little brother (or brothers, he wonders) would have a good time. she looked happy, though, in a way that Dan Heng didn't think he'd make her look happy.

for a moment his mind wanders as he watches a lantern sway a bit, and he thinks about visiting the Scalegorge Waterscape sometime later, both for a moment of quiet, and because it felt appropriate.

then Boss Du brings the tea. ]

Thank you.

[ he looks down at the two cups.

er, "tea" might be a better word for it. ]

Comments

[receptacles]

[ As dense as Caelus tends to come off on most days, there are ways in which he's often a bit more socially adroit than Dan Heng is. Case in point: he was fully aware of all of the emotional reasons that Himeko smiled at them and gave them an allowance for the night. The other members of the Express crew have noticed by now just how much Caelus puts Dan Heng at ease, and how much they like being around each other, but none have approached Dan Heng with their teasing because it doesn't quite seem that Dan Heng himself has realized that he's fallen into the role of Caelus's boyfriend.

Caelus gets the brunt of it, though. Snarky texts from March about when their next date is; meaningfully worded, cautious notes of encouragement from Welt. The Luofu festival should be a good opportunity for you two to spend some time together. Why don't you take Dan Heng to one of your favorite places?

Easy enough. Caelus's favorite place on the Luofu is Aurum Alley by far, where he knows every shopkeeper by name and can talk his way into freebies at every stall. He only scored a discount at Du's Teahouse, though, since old Du charges exorbitant prices for what is secretly the best booze on the Luofu. But it's tea, of course. Legally, he has to insist that it's tea.

Caelus has been ignoring the tea, though. He's unfolded a beautiful gift box full of mooncakes in gorgeously individually wrapped settings and has been working on cutting one into bite-sized pieces appropriate for the miniature fork included with the box. Sure, maybe his motions are detracting from the beautiful harvest moon overhead, but does it matter? ]

Dan Heng, look, look. I got us mooncakes.

[ At last, he extracts a wedge of delicious cake, glossy with oils and a luscious yellow yolk at its core. He holds one hand beneath it to catch any crumbs — there usually aren't any — and holds it out to Dan Heng across the table, on a beeline for his pretty mouth. ]

Say "ah."

[reedsea]

[ Caelus comes back into his range of vision, proudly displaying a decorative box full of seasonal desserts. Dan Heng wonders where he got it, or how far he had to go to get it, but contemplating the whole thing leaves him a bit at a loss: was this is all for him? it's difficult to fathom, especially at first, and his eyebrows knit as if he's trying to parse out what to do about the whole thing.

but Caelus is holding up a cake, something specifically that he brought for him.

how could he deny him? ]

Is that for me?

[ okay, that was a little bit awkward, obviously it's for him. Dan Heng looks at Caelus, then looks at the cake, then looks at Caelus again as if it's crossed his mind that Caelus may shove the cake somewhere else that's not his mouth.

then he opens his mouth.

two seconds after his mouth is open he follows up with an ah. ]

[receptacles]

[ Is that a good ah or a bad ah? It's hard to say; Dan Heng usually likes pure, unadulterated flavors, which is a nice way of saying that Dan Heng doesn't really season his food, so it's possible that he doesn't really like the mooncakes. On the other hand, Dan Heng is often quite prideful when it comes to any aspect of Xianzhou culture, and one would be hard-pressed to find someone on the Xianzhou who dislikes mooncakes. ]

Do you like it?

[ Caelus asks in a way that has his eyes shining with anticipation. If he were a dog, it would no doubt be clear from his tail and his ears how excited he is for Dan Heng's (hopefully positive) reaction. He takes the opportunity to pop a bit of mooncake into his mouth himself; sure enough, at least to his tongue, it's mildly sweet and delicious. ]

[reedsea]

[ (when you're made of this much water, salt becomes the enemy, ok.)

Caelus has become quite good at putting things in his mouth – he manages the right size bite, a good mixture of the texture of the spongy cake to the filling, and has the trajectory down between his fingers. for a moment, Dan Heng chews, less considering the cake itself and weighing the texture on his tongue.

it is good. it's not too sweet, and the egg giving it a tad of custard that comes after. ]

...

It's good.

[ before Caelus can toss the piece of mooncake in his mouth, Dan Heng (thanks to his Vidyadharan reflexes) snags it before he can make it close. instead, he gives Caelus the same treatment he just gave him, holding it out for his partner to take from his fingers. ]

These are a seasonal food, so I haven't had them before.

[ he admits, thoughtfully. ]

[receptacles]

[ Salt... the enemy...

Dan Heng liked it! This is good! Relief seems to waft out of Caelus in waves, and he doesn't hesitate as he leans forward to take a bite of mooncake all on his own. It's springy and more chewy than he thought it would be; pleasured, with a smile tinting the corners of his lips, Caelus chews like a hamster, then swallows it down. ]

Oh, yeah, you wouldn't have, huh? Since you were...

[ In jail for most of your life is not a sentence that Caelus is going to say out loud. It makes him mad to think about it — mad and sad in equal measure — but he papers things over with his own usual cheer and bluster, abruptly leaning forward to plant a mooncake-flavored kiss on his boyfriend's mouth. ]

Well! We'll just have to eat all the seasonal foods we can while we're here! [ A sunshine grin. ] And every other holiday, too — we'll come back!