Tang Fei leaned into Huo Ting Cheng, her head resting against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath the fine linen of his shirt.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"For what?"
"For this. For dancing with me. For... letting go."
He was silent for a moment, his hand moving slowly up and down her back.
"I don't let go easily," he said eventually. "You know that."
"I know."
"But with you..." He paused, searching for words. "With you, it feels less like letting go and more like... coming home."
Tang Fei closed her eyes, letting the music and the firelight and the steady rhythm of his heart wash over her. Around them, the village continued its celebration—the drums, the dancers, the masked figures watching from the shadows—but in that moment, none of it mattered quite as much as this.
Just the two of them, moving together in the firelight, wrapped in each other and the quiet magic of the Moon Festival.
