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They sat close to one another, basking in the silent night. Their shoulders brushed and thighs touched. The western wind picked up, a soft and warm breeze, bringing calm weather and warm days their way. Ren’s hair swayed in the gentle wind, tickling Dan Heng’s cheek.
Dan Heng closed his eyes, letting his other senses takeover, he wanted to focus on Ren and only Ren. He tilted his head and let his cheek meet Ren’s shoulder.
It was a cool evening, the sun had long set and the moon was shining down brightly upon them, joining them on their midnight meeting, bearing witness to their soft words and gentle touches. The moon would keep their secret.
Dan Heng was dressed lightly and the cold tiles that lined the rooftop pierced through his trousers, but he could not feel the biting chill, instead his body burned where it came in contact with Ren’s. His hand found Ren’s and he interlaced their fingers, slotting one perfectly against the other. They were both dry and weathered, the years of training and sparring had built up leaving the pair with faint white lines and calluses on their hands. Ren’s thumb stroked Dan Heng’s hand gently, leaving a comforting warmth in their wake.
Dan Heng opened his eyes and looked at Ren. He took in every detail of his lover’s face as if they had just met, as if Dan Heng hadn’t gazed upon these same dark eyes countless of times. As if he hadn’t long since memorised every eyelash and its curve, every mole and its place and every crack in his dry lips. Dan Heng drank in his face like he was falling in love all over again.
Without a word, Dan Heng reached out to touch Ren’s face, running his fingers across his face, trailing a soft path only he knew the target of. He let the pads of his fingers dance over Ren’s strong brow bone, he let them trail down his soft cheeks and brush against the pillow of his lips. Ren’s hair moved gently in the breeze, illuminated by the white light of the moon it looked like it was spun of pure silver. Dan Heng tucked a stray strand behind his ear, spun of silver and coated in soft silk.
Ren leaned in. Their lips met in a tender kiss, so soft that Dan Heng lost any sense of time and place. So soft that all Dan Heng could think of was Ren. Ren and his bitten lips, Ren and his soft hair, that never tangled no matter how many times Dan Heng raked his hands through it. Ren’s hand found Dan Heng’s waist, and he gripped it, bringing Dan Heng even closer. Their bodies melted together; they were made for one another. The warmth in Dan Heng’s chest grew as they savoured every moment of their embrace. Their kiss seemed to last for an eternity, but what is eternity if not a fleeting moment for an immortal?
Breaking apart, Dan Heng gazed up at Ren, lost in his lovers eyes. It was then that Ren spoke, his words breaking the silence, yet filling the space with love and warmth.
“I love you,” he said softly.
Dan Heng closed his eyes, letting his cheek fall back to Ren’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I would do without you,” he whispered, too scared to let even the moon overhear his confession.
“Then I shall never leave you,” Ren declared, always the more confident between them.
“Can you promise me that? On your life?”
“I promise, if it is for you, I will do anything you ask of me. If you wish me to stay, I will reside by your side until the end of time, and if you wish to banish me I will leave, however, my heart will long for you for every moment we are apart.”
Dan Heng tilted his head up and gazed at the celestial bodies above. The moon stared back. Dan Heng turned back to Ren’s shoulder and buried his face into his lover’s neck. He closed his eyes against the warm skin.
“Can you predict the future?”
“We are not mere slaves to destiny. We will carve our own path.”
The moon stared on, a witness to the shared promise, a witness to the relationship that did not stand the test of time.