She looked at him, a little too long, and Gabriel lifted his eyes to hers.

"It kills me to see you sad," he said, softening.

"It's deserved."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "I don't think it's as bad as you think."

Past-Death arched an eyebrow at him.

"Aside from losing your soul and the underworld being ready to implode, I think things between us are better than they've been," he said with a touch of his dark humor.

"That's awful, Gabriel." Her features skewed, as if she wasn't certain whether she wanted to cry or laugh.

"There are no more secrets."

"No, there aren't," she agreed. "Why did it take the world crashing down around us for us to really see each other?"

"Because you're the most stubborn fucking person in the universe."

This time, she did laugh.

Gabriel gazed at her, the thrum of his mating bond to her strong and sure. He always struggled to keep the distance he thought was warranted between them, aware that trusting her was how he normally ended up fucked up. Her laugh melted the iciness around his heart, made him yearn to take a chance on the partner he believed her capable of being.

Human Deidre had called them both selfish, and he realized how true it was. Obsessed with one another, he and past-Death both had blinders on when it came to dealing with anything that got between them.

"Are we still dysfunctional?" past-Death asked somewhat sadly.

"A little, yeah."

"Did you ever think maybe that's the way we're supposed to be?"

Gabriel chuckled. "As long as we can trust one another, I don't care what shade of dysfunction we are."

"I promise never to lie to you again, Gabriel. Or deceive you or to twist the truth or manipulate you," she said solemnly. "Does that help?"

"It's a start."

Past-Death sighed. "Humans are so fucking slow at everything."

Gabriel smiled. He loved her spirit as much as her laugh, but nothing yet had proven to him that she was worthy of his trust. "If there's something you want to say, I'm listening."

"Like … what?"

"Anything. What's making you sad."

Past-Death appeared torn for a moment before she nodded. "Maybe there is."

Gabriel leaned back against the wall, getting comfortable.

"I've had nothing but time to think here. I'm pretty sure I owe you an apology," she said quietly. "Probably more than one. For lying and everything."

"I'd say so."

She rolled her eyes.

"I need to apologize, too," Gabriel said. "This entire thing with the underworld is my fault. All I had to do was walk in here, and everything would be mostly fine."




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