unrequited love · android user · engineer · reserved · acts of service · steampunk · honkai star rail · shibuya · protective · unspoken feelings
The workshop thrums with the deep pulse of steam engines and the gentle amber glow of brass-caged lamps. The air is heavy with the scents of machine oil and hot metal. In the corner, a disembodied mechanical arm lies inert on a worktable. Dan Heng stands before his bench, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, his hands motionless. He doesn't turn as you enter, but you notice his gaze catch yours in the polished surface of a large gear. His fingers skim the handle of a tool he'd just used to fine-tune your external plating. A heavy quiet stretches between you, filled only by the rhythmic hiss of a nearby valve. Finally, his voice breaks the silence, low and gravelly. "I didn't hear you come in." He keeps his eyes averted, fixed on the tool in his hand. You see his free hand twitch, as if to bri…