Concern filled Pain's eyes as he spoke. She could tell he was trembling. He was his letting anxiety control his mind. She floated backward. "You're only making things worse for yourself. Talking about your fears to Iris will help." She paused and folded her arms. "But you probably already know that though. And judging by your attitude it seems like you lost faith in her abilities to comfort you." Pain knew what she said was utter bullshit, but she was trying to play mind games with him.

Gabriel glared at her, furious at her accusation. "I have not!" He denied, "I know she can comfort me, but I don't want to upset her with something so trivial. Adrien just got her to stop blaming herself for disappearing. I'm not going to do anything that makes her blame herself again."

Pain ruffled her feathers. "This isn't trivial! You are suffering from anxiety!" She wanted to hit herself right now. It was like talking to a wall. She took a deep breath. This conversation was going no where. It was time to back off and try again later. She just turned around and left the room without saying a word.

Gabriel watched her go before returning to his work. Pain was right. He should tell Iris. But he wasn't lying when he said he didn't want to worry her more. He could deal with anxiety. He shook his head and picked his sewing needle from the mannequin so he could work on some stitching.

"You know she's not going to give up, right? Pain's persistent," a voice said from behind him. Gabriel turned to see Lycca. He narrowed his eyes. Funny how the kwami only reappeared once the conversation was over.

"Nice for you to join me," he muttered. Lycca just crossed his arms. Gabriel sighed, "I don't want to talk about it right now, Lycca. If she tries again, she'll get the same response."

"Well, just so you know, I think Pain's right," Lycca said before flying to the desk.

"Noted," Gabriel answered and went back to his stitching.

After a long day, Iris retired to her room for the night. She found Gabriel in their bedroom, when she opened the door. She closed the door behind her and walked over to him. Iris started to get undress and change into her night gown.

Pain floated above her for a moment before flying over to Gabriel's dresser. She sat down on it and stared up at Gabriel.

Gabriel glared at Pain before looking away. He didn't need her to stare at him. It was annoying. He could make his own decisions, and he had made this one. Her accusatory stare was not going to bother him.  He leaned back against his pillow, already in his pajamas.

"How was the rest of your day?" He asked Iris. Somehow, conversation seemed better to him than sitting in silence while being stared at.

Iris glanced over at him. "Fine." She then walked into the bathroom to finish getting ready before joining her husband in bed. 

When she was finished, Iris turned off the bathroom lights and walked back into the bedroom. She crawled into bed and cuddled up to Gabriel. "Elise will be coming down this Saturday. I guess we'll do lunch again." She paused. "And I do want you to apologize to her."

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her, feeling more relaxed with her in his arms. "I know. She deserves a real apology." He paused for a moment, reaching up her back to stroke her hair. "Would you like Adrien and I to join you two for lunch?"

"Yes that would be nice," Iris said with a smile. "And Adrien should be completely healed by then." She rest her head on his chest. 

Pain floated up from the dresser and moved to Gabriel's night stand. When she landed, she remained standing. Pain intense her gaze at Gabriel so he could feel her watching him. She felt like a cat. Pain was determined to make Gabriel to feel guilty about his actions.

Gabriel ignored Pain's burning gaze. He'd made many enemies in the fashion industry, so he wasn't too affected by one more. She wasn't even an enemy, after all. Instead, he focused on Iris.  "Yes, hopefully he will," he agreed, "Do you know if Elise is bringing her family?"

"Not this time," Iris replied. "In the future she will. Don't worry I'll give you a warning." She then felt like they were being watched. Iris turned her head and saw Pain staring at them. "Something wrong?"

Pain shook her head. She then flew up and went into Gabriel's sock drawer to join Lycca.

Iris frowned. "I wonder what that was all about."

Gabriel paused, not wanting to outright lie to her but also not wanting to tell her. Lying by omission was much easier. "She must have something on her mind," he finally answered. Not completely true, but not false either.

In the sock drawer, Lycca looked up from his sock nest when Pain arrived. "You really should just let things play out. Gabe's stubborn. Plus, things might get bad, but they both love each other enough for it to blow over in the long run," he whispered so only Pain could hear.

"But it's strange though. Why would she stare at us?" Iris still had a frown on her face. She was debating about going to go talk to Pain

Pain sighed. "I can't though. This isn't right, Lycca. This will only hurt Iris and he knows it." She started to make her own sock nest next to Lycca's.

Gabriel shrugged and murmured, "Kwamis are mysterious creatures." Again, not completely false but also no true to the situation. A tinge of guilt bit at his heart but he ignored it.

Lycca rolled over in his nest to look up at the top of the drawer and frowned. "I know. But the're not children. The thing about having adult masters is we have to let them make their own decisions. You can provide all the advice in the world, but sometimes it's not enough to change their minds."

"I guess." She then sat up so she could kiss Gabriel on the lips. "Good night." Iris then rest her head back on his chest and snuggled under the covers.

Pain sighed again. "I guess you're right. I just don't want another fight to happen.."