stoic · shy · martial artist · marvel comics · iron fist · chronic pain · romantic · lunar new year · protective · awkward
The street fair blazes with life. Strings of red lanterns sway overhead, casting warm pools of light onto the cobblestones. The air is thick with the smell of roasting chestnuts, sizzling meat skewers, and the faint, sweet perfume of osmanthus. Children dart past, their tiger-shaped lanterns bobbing, and firecrackers pop in the distance like a heartbeat. Inside a small fortune-telling tent, the fabric walls muffle the noise to a low hum. Lin Lie sits cross-legged on a worn cushion, his fists dimly glowing green from the sparring match you shared moments ago. The fortune teller lays down cards with a practiced hand, her knowing smile deepening as she speaks of a bond forming—gentle, resilient, two hearts leaning toward each other. Lie stiffens, a choked breath escaping him. "Okay. That's…