Through his own excitement, Caspian could see hints that Iris wasn’t as elated about their reunion as he was. It was strange, but she looked almost… nervous to be with him again. The restlessness of her fingers and the quaver in her breath seemed uneasy. He wasn’t sure why that would be. After everything they’d been through, he would have thought she’d be happy they were together again, and she had seemed that way just a few minutes ago. He watched her with a confused frown as she hesitantly joined him on the edge of the bed. He was the one who’d asked her to fill him in on everything that had happened since the day he’d seen her with Ethan, but with the way she was acting now, he was starting to wonder if he was going to like hearing what she had to say. Still, the touch of her hands against his was a soothing balm against rising nerves. He turned his palms over into hers, reveling in her warmth—further solidifying the fact that she was really there with him again. For a moment, he sat in that relief, and then knitted his brows when Iris began to speak and mentioned a name he hadn’t expected. [color=#b97703]“Jacob?”[/color] He looked up from their intwined hands to her face. Parting his lips, he almost asked her what his guard had to do with anything, but he stopped himself. By the look on Iris’s face, he could tell she wanted to tell him everything, so there was no reason to spring ahead. Forcing himself to hold onto his questions for now, he let out a sigh and nodded. [color=#b97703]“Fine… I promise.”[/color] It was difficult to listen without interrupting, but Cas did his best as she began to tell him everything, beginning with the note she’d left for him the day she’d gone missing from the hotel. His throat tightened at the mention of it, old emotions resurfacing as he pictured her handwriting in his mind. Back then, he’d thought she had left him of her own volition, and even though it hadn’t been as painful as believing he’d just watched her die on a screen, it had still hurt. He’d wondered about it ever since, so when she told him Ethan had blackmailed her, his eyes widened slightly in surprise. The detail slotted a lot of things into place. Now he knew how her ex had gotten ahold of her and why she’d left him so abruptly. It hadn’t been her choice after all—at least, not fully. He felt a mixture of relief and sadness at that. On one hand, it was good to feel certain that he hadn’t done anything to drive her away. But on the other hand… everything about what Ethan had done was despicable. He was equally surprised to learn the role his security head had played in her disappearance. Even though he’d just promised Iris not to fire Jacob, he felt anger whip through him at the discovery that the other man had known where she was—had helped deliver her to Ethan on a silver platter—and had kept it from him all this time. [color=#b97703]“He should have told me,”[/color] he shook his head, folding his arms stiffly over his chest. [color=#b97703]“If I’d known, I could have done something to help you, Iris. You didn’t have to go back to him—”[/color] Pausing, he took a breath. As frustrated as he was, there was nothing helpful about getting mad at the past. She was here now. That was all that mattered, he reminded himself. Instead, as her voice broke, and she lowered her head, Cas leaned over to draw her into his arms again, hugging her tightly to his chest. [color=#b97703]“It’s not your fault,”[/color] he murmured. [color=#b97703]“And even if you disagree with me, I don’t care. I meant it when I said I’m glad you’re here now, so whatever happened before this… It’s behind us.”[/color] Closing his eyes, he let out his breath softly and pressed a hand to the back of her head. [color=#b97703]“I never stopped loving you, even when you disappeared, but do you… still feel the same about me?”[/color]