David was lying on the bed, book propped against his chest. It was cool in the house, but he was on top of the covers, wearing only a pair of boxers. He looked up, thinking he'd heard the front door, but it was too quiet to be sure. A moment later, though, he heard the distinctive sound of the fridge opening, and then she came into the bedroom. He set the book aside and sat up, smiling at her. She looked chilled, like there'd been a wind blowing on her face. "Hi," he said softly.

She gave him a big smile and stepped out of her running shoes and unzipped her hoodie. "Hi, yourself. Howzit?"

"It's good." He watched her for a moment, trying to read her mood. He'd gotten pretty good at figuring out what she was feeling, but there were some times when she still stumped him. Finally, he just asked. "How did it go?"

She stripped out of her hoodie and the t-shirt that was underneath it, then out of the jogging pants and socks, and left them in the hamper. Standing at the edge of the bed, wearing just a sports bra and panties, she gave him a guilty look. "About as well as can be expected, I suppose." She turned away and went to her dresser, rummaging through it for a pair of his boxers and one of his t-shirts that she'd stolen months ago.

He wasn't entirely sure what that guilty look meant. "Did you get into another fight with him?" Granted, he'd only seen them after a series of really unpleasant events, but it sure seemed like the two of them fought a lot. He wondered if had been like that when they were together. His suspicion was yes.

She stripped out of the bra and slipped into his t-shirt and then into his boxers before turning around, her hairbrush in one hand. Giving him a rueful look, she went and sat in the chair across from the bed and started on her hair. "Not exactly." She paused, quiet for a moment and then at length said, "I kissed him. He kissed me. I don't know. We kissed." She was studiously avoiding his eyes now.

"You kissed," he repeated, his tone still even. He tapped his fingers on the bed, was silent for a moment. Don't jump to conclusions, he told himself. Emotions were strong all around them, and that was putting it mildly. He couldn't quite forestall the flash of anger and resentment he suddenly felt towards Rhys, but it was a close thing, and he pushed it away quickly. It was as plain as the sun that the guy still loved her, and he knew her well enough to know she still loved Rhys to some degree. He nodded, half to himself. "I get it," he finally said.

She was frozen, brush halfway to her head, as she awaited his reaction. She saw the flash of anger, thought it was directed towards her, and very slowly lowered the brush to her lap. She looked down, playing with the fraying edge of the shirt's hem, guilt growing in her heart. When he spoke again, she looked up, daring to meet his eyes. "You get it?" she said softly.

The guilt and worry on her face made his heart ache, made him want to go over and hold her, make her smile. If there was any anger still lingering, that look would have washed it away. His expression softened, and he didn't try to stop it. "I get it," he said again. "He loves you. You loved him. Part of you still does." He nodded again.

Her eyes flooded with relief and she launched herself off the chair and into his arms. She held him close, pressed her face into the junction of his neck and his shoulder, her favorite place on his body. She inhaled deeply, filling her nose and her head with his scent. "Thank you," she said, her voice muffled. He wrapped his arms around her back, leaning his cheek against the side of her head. From that position, she couldn't see the glimmer of tears in his eyes. For an instant, just a bare instant, he'd been afraid she was going to tell him that she was going back to Rhys, back to the life she'd almost had with him. But she wouldn't do that. "I love you," he said softly, then even more quietly, almost whispering, "I trust you."

She leaned her head back, looked up into his eyes and smiled. "God, David. I love you, too." She leaned in and kissed him, guiltily using his touch to erase the yearning, the longing she'd felt for Rhys.

His lips met hers eagerly, even hungrily. After several long moments, he pulled back just enough to speak, breath warm against her mouth. "Don't feel guilty about caring, okay?"

She sighed heavily and sat back, straddling his thighs now, her hands resting on her hip bones. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it pensively for a moment. "What about... What about feeling guilty that I still love him? Or feeling guilty about knowing that there's a small part of me that misses him and wants to be with him again?"

"That just makes you human," he said, and there wasn't any irony in the statement. He reached up, brushing a gentle finger across her lip as she chewed on it.

"You're not mad?" Suddenly, she felt a little like a child, who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"I was a little mad at first," he said honestly, "but I know you didn't do it to hurt me."

She nodded and sighed deeply, a weight lifting off her. "I told him that we - you and I and him, I mean - need to get together again and talk about what's going on. I'm worried that he's gonna do something stupid and try to take care of everything on his own."

"I'll be nice," he promised, in case she was worried that he'd lash out at Rhys for the kiss. "Do you think he would actually do that?"

"Yep. In a heartbeat. Especially if he thought it'd keep me safe." She climbed off of him and slid under the covers at his side. Stretching out along the length of his body, she propped her head up on her hand and looked up at him. "It's been pretty quiet lately. I feel like I've got the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head."

He eased down onto the bed, lying on his back again, and turned his head to watch her. "I know. I've been feeling the same thing, and hoping it'll hold off for a while yet."

"Maybe I should go talk to Mesteno again. Ask him if he knows any way to kill a demon. Rhys has decided that Lilith is going to be the first to go, because of...well...because of what happened to me in Tucson and because she was the one to get the Unseelie involved."

He rolled onto his side, nodded, leaning his head on his hand in a mirror image of her position. "There has to be some way. Everything's got a weakness."