Iris was in shock. He actually agreed? She looked away for a moment to think. What did want to know first? What would be the less painful? He did tell her some things. Like why he changed the house, locked her sewing room, and why their bedroom was left same. Iris sighed. She couldn't make up her mind. She looked back at him. "Whatever is the less painful."

Gabriel was quiet, not quite sure what to say. All of it was painful. There wasn't a single moment he could think of that he wanted to talk about; to relive every painful detail. Six years was too long a time frame to choose one thing. "I..." he sighed and shook his head, "I don't know what to say. It was all painful..."

Iris bit her lip. That didn't help. She thought harder. When she thought of something, Iris took a deep breath. It was going to be hard for him, but it would help the current situation. "The media." Plus it was thing she wanted to know most besides Adrien.

Gabriel fidgeted, tapping his finger on his knee as she decided what to talk about. The media was the biggest factor in the hell that was the first year after her disappearance. The one thing that got to him most about the entire ordeal. Something he had never taken seriously until it dragged him so deeply through the mud that it felt like his reputation would never recover; haunting him even now with every false story it could find.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and let out a very heavy sigh. "The media was on it the day after you disappeared. It felt like there was no time to even breath before being flooded with calls. When I told them I didn't want to comment, the worse news agencies and the tabloids started reporting any rumor they could get their hands on as fact. They went so far as accusing me of hiring someone to abduct you so I could have an affair with Mrs. Morin. All because that meeting with her was my alibi. And they kept capitalizing on it even after the police decided there was not enough evident to charge me."

He felt his chest tighten as he spoke, the pain of even thinking about it, let alone talking about it, was unbearable to him.

Iris stared at him. She remembered the old articles she read about Gabriel having an affair with Mrs. Morin. It made her mad then and now she felt even madder. Hearing the pain from Gabriel's voice made her blood boil. This made her even more determined to talk to the media. It won't undo everything, but hopefully it would make the media leave them alone for good. That way Gabriel would feel less anxious in public.

She shift their position so she could hold him. Iris didn't say anything at first. She wanted to give him a moment to breath. "When did the media move on?"

Gabriel leaned into her as she held him, taking comfort in her warmth. "It took a while compared to most news cycles. I think it was about a month after the courts wrapped up that custody case your parents brought against me..." Yes, that time frame seemed about right. By then, he had stopped going in public altogether, preferring to limit any interaction with the world to the bare minimum of what was necessary for his business.

Iris rubbed his back. She allowed another moment of silence. When she felt she gave him enough time to breath, Iris spoke up. "Even though things died down. It must have haunted you." It was kind of stupid to say that seeing how Gabriel now had social anxiety. But she wanted him to state it.

Gabriel sighed. "There were so many people whispering every time I went out at the time. I took Adrien for ice cream to try and cheer him after I had to leave him and go talk to the police, and all I could see were people staring when they thought I wouldn't notice. I couldn't handle it..."

Iris felt heart sank. She decided to take that as a yes. It was probably best to stop the conversation, but another thing popped into her mind. Something else she really wanted to know. Iris moved herself a bit so she could look at him. "One more thing then I'm done. What was it like at night?" Iris paused. She realized it was a poorly worded question. "When you were trying to fall asleep." She hoped that clear things up.

"Extremely lonely. It just made everything all the more real..." Gabriel answered. He was grateful she knew when to call it quits. He didn't think he could answer many more questions. This entire questioning had been every bit as painful as he thought it would be, and it would take a lot of effort not to withdraw next time she wanted to talk about it. Just like it had taken a lot of effort to make himself agree to talk this time.

Iris thought back to the comment he made about their room. About how he kept the colors so he keep her closer. She wrapped her arms around him tight. She didn't say anything at first. Again Iris wanted to let him breath. After a moment of silence, Iris moved and placed her hands on his cheeks. She gave him a small smile. "Those nights are gone."

Gabriel let out a content sigh, bringing one of his hands up to rest on hers. He had felt weak at first for not being able to handle the pain connected with these memories, but now that it was over he felt just a little bit better. Maybe it would be a little easier to force himself to talk next time...? He wasn't sure, but hopefully that was the case.

"Thank you. I needed this conversation.." He murmured.

"I'm happy to help," Iris said. She removed her hands from his face. "So.." Iris leaned her back against her pillows. "Will you support my plan?" She really wanted him to be at the press conference. She felt both his and Adrien's presence would make a strong point.

Gabriel took a deep breath and nodded, still not enthused by the idea. Talking through the media's attack on his reputation did not make him any more comfortable with actually being present at a press conference, but saying no would indicate he'd made no progress from this conversation. "I will. If you believe your plan will help, then I'll support you however you need me to do so."

"It won't change the past," said Iris. "But it will make the media move on. At least I hope it does. As right right now I just have a vague idea." She gave Gabriel a confident smile. "I'm sure I'll figure it out soon."