Fiorella stayed where Shifu left her. Knees burning against the stone, palms flat, head heavy. She told herself she'd get up. One minute more, then she'd stand. One minute stretched into ten Into twenty.
The courtyard stayed silent. The incense smoke from the hall had long thinned out, leaving nothing but the damp night air. Her bones ached, but she couldn't move. Shame pinned her harder than the cold floor ever could.
She didn't hear the door until it clicked open then She lifted her head.
Mo Ye stood there Barefoot. Shirt loose, hair falling into his face pretending he'd just woken. The moon caught his jaw, sharp, pale. He didn't come forward. He just looked at her.
She froze, hands curling tight against the stone. She wanted to explain, to say something first, but her mouth wouldn't obey her,
"Why are you here like this Fi?" His voice was low.
Her throat closed. She looked at him, looked down, looked back up. Words cracked out, clumsy. "Because I was wrong. Because I was stupid. Because I left when I shouldn't have."
He didn't move.
She pushed on, voice shaking. "I saw what they said on the news the minister you killed. I thought… I thought maybe you were wrong. That maybe I didn't know you at all. I thought leaving would keep me safe, that I could just… run away from it. From you. But then I found out what he was doing. To those kids. I saw their faces. I knew you were right. You've always been right. And I left you anyway."
Her breath broke. She pressed her forehead , stone biting skin. "I was a coward, Mo Ye. I hurt you. And I hate myself for it."
The silence that followed was brutal. Her pulse hammered in her ears. She wanted him to shout, to drag her up, to tell her it was too late. Anything.
But Mo Ye only walked forward, slow steps across the courtyard. He crouched in front of her. One hand reached out, his fingers brushing her shoulder, light like he was still deciding if he should touch her at all.
"You think running saved you," he said finally, almost quiet enough to get lost in the night. "It didn't. It just broke us."
Her chest cracked open at his words
She lifted her head slow. Eyes wet, cheeks hot. "I know," she whispered. "I know I broke us. I just… didn't know how to fix it. Until now."
Mo Ye's gaze held hers, steady in the moonlight. His hand moved from her shoulder to her cheek, thumb brushing the corner of her eye. The touch was feather-light, careful, like she might vanish if he pressed too hard.
"I was never angry," he said. The truth of it cut straight out of him. "Not once. Just hurt. That you didn't trust me. That you left when I…" He stopped, jaw flexing. "When I needed you."
Her throat closed again. She caught his wrist, held it against her face like it was the only thing keeping her here. "I'm sorry," she breathed. Raw. "Mo Ye, I'm so sorry."
For a moment he didn't move. The silence sat heavy, stretching her nerves thin.
Then he let out a long breath. Almost a sigh. And he pulled her into him. Arms wrapping around her, hauling her off the stone like she weighed nothing. She clung to him, fingers in his shirt, face buried in his neck.
"I forgive you," he murmured, voice against her hair. "I forgive you because I can't do anything else. Because it's you."
Her chest shook with a sob, muffled into him. He held her tighter, pressing his face into her shoulder, like if he let go she'd disappear again.
The courtyard stayed quiet, the night folding around them. Just the two of them breathing each other in.
Before i continue please mo ye wasn't in the courtyard or anywhere in the temple, he had business outside so when he saw her kneeling was exactly when he came back!