Iris laughed. "You haven't changed."  She then pushed him onto her bed. She then wrapped her arms around him and buried herself in him. Iris bit her lip. "I'm sorry.. for disappearing..."

Gabriel stared at her for a moment, surprise and confusion flashing across his eyes. She was blaming herself? Why? It's not like it was common for jewelry to magically seal people away when they touch it.  He wrapped both arms around her waist. "There's no need to apologize. I don't blame you for something you couldn't have possibly foreseen."

Iris looked up at him tears forming in her hands. She felt her lip trembling and was trying bring herself to answer. The tears then escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "But I have no memories of being gone! It's not fair, Gabriel!" She was now sobbing.

Gabriel's eyes widened as the tears rolled down her cheeks. He removed an arm from her waist so he could reach up and gently wipe a tear from her face. "Life isn't fair, Iris... Don't beat yourself up for this. Even if you have no memories of being gone, you still lost the chance to see Adrien grow up."

Iris cried harder. "I know!!" She clenched her fingers on his shirt. "I hate that so much!! It was awful!! Seeing the fucking date on the calendar when I returned!" She let out a small scream into his shirt and continued crying.

Gabriel held her closer as she cried, not quite sure what to say or how to comfort her. He wasn't good with emotions, after all. Unless he was trying to exploit them... And that obviously wouldn't help here.  

"I wish I knew how to make this better..." he whispered; a passing that that he hadn't meant to vocalize.

Iris held onto him tightly and took a deep breath to help calm herself down. She just ignored his comment. "I want to know," she spoke very quietly. "I want to know the suffering you went through. I read some things online..."

Gabriel tensed at her request, his heart suddenly pounding a little faster. He didn't like to think about those first few years where every corner of them media was against him, spreading rumors and perpetuating the idea that he was somehow responsible for her disappearance despite having no motive. It cut so deeply that his once dismissive attitude towards the tabloids and any media source went from apathy to pure distrust and avoidance.

He bit his lip and took a deep breath. "Why do you want to hear about that? It'll just upset you more..."

Iris could hear his heart pounding faster and felt his body growing tense. She crossed a line. She just sat up and her rubbed her eyes to get rid some lingering tears. "I just want to know your side." She paused. "But we can talk about it, when you're ready or not at all. It's up to you."

Gabriel sat up as well and gave her an apologetic look. "I don't like to think about it... It was a very hard time..." He paused for a moment before he decided to add, "I'm sure you already know basically everything they wrote about me was a lie."

"Of course!" She placed her hand on his cheek. "You would never hurt me. Those assholes just wanted to use your suffering to increase their revenue. People eat up missing celebrity stories." Although Iris never thought of herself as celebrity. "I won't let them hurt you or Adrien ever again." Her eyes looked fierce and determined.

Gabriel relaxed as the warmth of her hand spread into his cheek. He hadn't really needed to confirm the lies of the media with her seeing as they both knew what caused her disappearance, but it still made him feel better about it; especially since one of the media's proposed motives was him having an affair with Mrs. Morin, his wealthiest client. He was always willing to drop everything and design for her thanks to her generous investment in his business, and he really shouldn't have been surprised at the time when the media spouted those lies.

He smiled at her words, amused and grateful for her determination. There was no doubt she would follow through with her promise of protection. "I pity any reporter who tries to get past you," he said with a chuckle.

Iris gave Gabriel a smug look. "They better brace themselves because a storm is coming." She was about to lean and kiss him, but there was a knock at the door. Iris nearly jumped. She glanced at the door. Maybe it was their kwamis. Fu was having lunch with his friends today. "Come in."

The door opened and Fu walked in. "Hello, Iris." He gave her a sly smile. "I see Gabriel knows the truth? Why didn't you tell me?" The three kwami were floating above him.

"I uh," said Iris speechless. She didn't tell Fu about Gabriel to avoid the home conversation.

Gabriel stared at Iris for a moment. She didn't tell Fu that she admitted her identity to him? Would Fu have made her go home if he knew? He bit his lip before jumping in, "It was a very recent development. She probably didn't get a chance to mention it."

"Ah well. Doesn't surprise me," said Fu. "I figure you would out her soon, Gabriel."

Iris's jaw dropped. She looked upset. "Knew that he knew!?"

"The closet incident, Iris. Does that ring any bells?"

She looked back at Fu. "Oh. Right you two talked..."

"Well I'm going to go take a nap. It was nice seeing you, Gabriel." Fu then left he room with Wayzz. Lycca and Pain stayed in the room.

"Uh..," Iris said and looked back at her husband. "I uh forgot to tell Fu..."