Work Text:
Miss Himeko had always said, “ Be wary of strangers!” especially after the third time someone managed to break into the express. As a very obedient person, Stelle knew better than to go against their navigator.
Which led her to the current situation.
“Just tell me where he is.” A blonde man with a way-too-smug-of-a-smile uttered, seemingly annoyed.
“.....No “ He was almost comically shady! Stelle was taking a walk with her new dearest friend (and future girlfriend), Firefly, when the latter got a call from Kafka sending her on a new mission. Since she was close to the Penacony hotel bar, she decided to buy something to drink and then return to the train. Almost immediately, this weird guy sat by her side, blabbering something a “dumb Joachim” and “herrschers”. After being met with silence, he changed his approach by demanding to see Mr. Yang!
He furrowed his brows. “hm, how about a deal then? You are the stellaron kid, aren’t you? You probably don’t know much about Mr Yang, so what about this: I tell you his secrets, and you tell me where he is.” That stupid grin made its way back.
.. Sorry Miss Himeko, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! (Plus, the last time Stelle trusted a freaky, creepy blonde with a constant punchable poker face, she got so many credits! And ok, she had to fight him, but it was totally worth it!)
“Deal. But It’s Galactic Baseballer for you, blondie.”
His smile faltered at the nickname. “ Great. I’ll start. Joachim had an idol phase. Not as a fan, no no, but as a performer. I must say, for his age, he did have great dancing coordination. He was part of a trio, but his performance was surely the highlight of the show.”
Stelle tried imagining Mr Yang singing a duet with Miss Robin... amusing. But regardless of the absurd claim, other things bugged her about this “info”. You see, Stelle is clueless about the older man’s past! She kind of assumed Blondie over here was a past enemy of some sort, but he seemed to be showering him with compliments.
“Why do you call him Joachim? And are you guys close?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “ It seems you are more unaware than I thought. Joachim is “Mr. Welt’s” given name, it’s a very long story. And for the record, I’m offended he never mentioned me at all! After all the intimate moments we spent together..! “ He accentuated his phrase by dramatically flipping his head, wiping a fake tear.
Oh.My.God. March is never going to believe this. Mr Welt- Joachim, had bitches? Blondie was kind of shameless, but he knew how to get her involved in this soap-dramaesque tale.
“ WHAT DO YOU MEAN??????” She exclaimed, a little too loud.
“ As much as I would love to tell you all about our relationship, It seems my part of the deal is over. But I could tell you. Just take me where he is right now, and I'll spill everything!”
“ Everything?”
“E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G” His grin was much similar to Sampo’s fox-like smile, but screw it!
Throwing some credits at the counter, she took his gloved hand and began running towards the train.
------
Pom-Pom’s eyes widened at the noise of the slamming door, and they wasted no time running to hide under the coffee table (they had been victim to one-to-many assaults on the drain, even with no physical harm, the damage was emotional and couldn’t be undone!).
The following sight was a calming one. “Oh, Stelle it’s just you and-”
The poor thing screamed something along the lines of “He’s back” “Help me” “Oh Aeons” and “Miss Himeko” as they ran to the conductor’s booth. Whatever, Stelle couldn’t really process it. Probably because of the flying spear almost hitting her head by centimeters. Oh, was that cloud piercer?
“ Hands where I can see them, get away from Stelle, and state your reasons.” Dan Heng sounded out of breath, and If the books sprawled on the floor indicated something, he probably threw the spear out of pure fight-or-fly instinct. Coooooool.
About the spear, it just flew and hit the door, silly cold dragon youth, so stressed and for wha- Wait.
Stelle turned around, but the blonde was already comfortably sitting on one of the couches.
“ My, my, what good reflexes. Have you finally come to terms with your nature, Vidyadhara spawn?”
Dan Heng’s face was red from anger. He tried taking deep breaths, but ultimately resorted to the little jade piece resting on top of the counter.
“ What is all this screaming ab- DAN HENG, PUT IT DOWN!” Himeko burst into the room, panickly running to the boy, holding him back as if hugging him from behind.
Another head appeared from the frame of the door: March 7th. “oh, hi Mr. Void!”
“ Ice kid? Is that you? You certainly changed for the best, you’re certainly looking like a proper young me-”
“ I-It’s girl now, Mr. Void! But thanks!” her cheeks reddened.
For the first time in this whole encounter, Blondie- how March called him, Void?- seemed puzzled. He scratched his chin. “ Hm, I see. That’s new. Good for you, ice girl. How’s the archery going? Vidyadhara, why don’t you let go of your toy and bring Joachim here?” Oh, so the jerkeery is back.
“ Why YOU-” Dan Heng tried to let himself free from the “hug”, but Himeko’s grip was stronger than it seemed.
tap- tap.
The familiar sound of a cane hitting the floor.
Everyone went silent as Welt calmly entered the room, seemingly unaware of the situation. He carried a tray with a teacup with some snacks. Mr. Yang was rather fond of both Pom-Pom and the youngsters, always taking some time to simply chat with them over some tea.
“Finally!” Welt visibly shuddered at the voice, recognizing it immediately.
“ It’s been some time,” the blond rose up, his long hair swaying as he walked towards the other. “ I’ve missed you, Joachim~”
He slowly pecked his cheek, embracing Welt in a hug. The latter was so shocked he let the tray fall, staining both their clothes, his face slightly red.
March covered her eyes as Stelle let out a gasp, while Himeko simply rolled her eyes. Dan Heng was mortified, all the fight in him dying in an instant.
Welt quickly collected himself from the shock and with that, the embarrassment made its way into his face. “ What happened to your concept of subtlety while you were gone?”
Void frowned. “ What happened to your manners? Don’t I get a ‘welcome back’ ?”
“ Welcome back, Void. “ (I’ve missed you) A small, rare, occasion of Welt smiling. March should’ve gotten her camera!
The room fell silent. Sick of seeing the two stare at each other like teenagers in love, Stelle cleared her throat, feeling every eye on her.
“Yeah, this reunion is pretty cool and all but. Hey. Can someone fill me in?”
Welt chuckled, distancing himself from the other man for the sake of Dan Heng’s mental state.
“ Stelle, this is Void Archives. He was a passenger in the express for a while. He left shortly after March joined us.”
“ Weird name. But you guys have my approval, he’s funny.” They both seemed pleased with the last part.
“ Well.. thanks? But, uh, I think me and our visitor need to talk now.”
“ And a change of clothes!” March reminded them.
----------
“ This room seems more empty now.” VA mused while looking through some clothes.
Joachim had taken his coat off, the sleeves of his black turtleneck folded way back to his forearms. He could run the coat on a washing machine, but his scarf needed to be manually taken care of. He did what he could with only the sink and soap.
“ You used to take a lot of space, it’s no wonder.” he said, earning a sock to the back of his head in response.
It didn’t feel nostalgic. It felt like Void Archives hadn’t left at all. They’ve had spent so many afternoons simply co-existing, and even with the constant bickering, It was as harmonious as it could be for a sentient AI and his object of affection (and target for pestering). Aside from Welt humming some old melody, the room was silent. Words weren’t needed, they both could understand what the other was thinking right then. (I’ve missed this)
“So, what’s with that kiss? I thought you disliked public displays of affection.” The brunette asked after completing his washing quest.
“I don’t mind it. But I theorized the dragon boy would be mad if I kissed his father figure in front of him. How could I waste that opportunity? Besides, I’ve already told the Stellaron girl about us~”
Their relationship wasn’t exactly a traditional one. VA had a sweet spot clear fascination for the ex-Herrscher, even when he was contained in that man’s mind. On the other hand, Welt was surprised once he realized he was actually enjoying Void’s company. They never labeled whatever they had, mostly because it never felt like it was necessary. Dan Heng once asked him what were they, to which Welt simply answered they were partners. Himeko had caught on to the romantic subcontext of their interactions, because of a very awkward “” accident ”” when it was just them and Pom-Pom. In the end, they never actually announced each other as romantic partners, which probably was the reason for the young passengers’ surprise today.
Father figure? Hm. ”Void, don’t mess with him, he went through a lot recently. He needs some time” The trip to the Xianzhou was still fresh in his mind. Deep green eyes made their way into his brain as his breathing went unstable.
“ I-i just remembered something, I met a stranger on the Loufu, and….” He explained about the mysterious lookalike, taking some time to calm down.
VA gave him a look of annoyance at the mention of Luocha’s attempts to befriend his herrscher, specifically his “ I’m the only one who can be a menace in your life” face. Both took turns telling all about their tales, and Void couldn’t help but be even more curious about this stellaron kid.
After the long chat, they fell into their comfortable silence once again. Welt always joked that Void’s heart would beat in binary codes. Void had written it off as silly back then, saying that his vessel’s heart- his current heart- was only there because its creator needed to feel somewhat human. It could stop for all he cared, wouldn’t make a difference in his performance. However, the current drumming at his core was so strong it threatened to spill from his ribcage. Noisy . But surprisingly welcome.
“ I’ve missed you, Joachim.” He felt unusually silly. Welt’s humanity must be rubbing off on him.
The brunette answered by kissing the top of his forehead, hugging him tightly. “ So did I, Void.”
--------
“I don’t get it, why does Dan Heng dislike him so much?”
“They used to bicker a lot, I think-- I was barely conscious back then, so my recollections are very few in between.”
“You seem to like Mr. Yang’s boyfriend, March. He was friendlier with you too!”
“It’s so weird to call him his boyfriend! They never told me at all! But yeah, I like him! He can be... creepy sometimes, but his help was essential in getting me out of that ice block. He went away some weeks after I woke up, but he helped me a lot! I was having some... well... identity crisis. In many different ways. “
“Because of your memories- or the lack of them…”
“Yes, but also some other stuff… He’s very wise when he isn’t being a jerk, and it was thanks to him I came to terms with myself! However, he was already gone when I figured most things out…”
“hmm, weirdly accepting of him! But that’s great! “
“Yeah!”
“....”
“....”
“Wait, he told me he would spill more secrets, but he has been chatting with Mr Yang for hours now-! “