Page 60 of Witch's Promise

Clearing his throat, Gabe forced himself back to the present. "Finn did what he could for the burns. Said you were lucky - could have been a lot worse."

Sean nodded, his expression turning serious. "Yeah, I owe your healer friend a beer or ten. Don't think I would've made it here without his magical patch job."

The casual mention of how close Sean had come to not making it sent a chill down Gabe's spine. He pushed the feeling aside, focusing on the more immediate concerns.

"Think you're up for telling me what happened?" Gabe asked, trying to keep his tone neutral. "How you found Jessy, who took her... all of it?"

Sean sighed, his gaze drifting to the window. "Yeah, I guess it's time for that conversation, huh?" He turned back to Gabe, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes that made Gabe's chest ache. "Think we could do this outside? Under the stars, like old times?"

The request shouldn't have affected Gabe as much as it did. It was just stars, just a balcony. But Sean remembered. He remembered how they used to sneak out onto the roof, talking for hours as the constellations wheeled overhead. How the vastness of the night sky had always made their problems seem smaller, more manageable.

"Sure," Gabe said, hoping his voice didn't betray the storm of emotions roiling inside him. "Let's get you up, alright?"

He moved to help Sean, hyper-aware of every point of contact between them. Sean's arm around his shoulders, the warmth of his body pressed against Gabe's side - it was achingly familiar and utterly foreign all at once.

They made their way to the balcony slowly, Sean's breathing labored from even this small exertion. Gabe eased him into one of the chairs, trying not to hover too obviously as Sean settled himself with a barely suppressed wince.

The night air was cool against Gabe's skin, carrying the scent of blooming jasmine from his mother's garden below. Above them, the stars glittered like scattered diamonds, indifferent to the drama unfolding beneath their eternal gaze.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Gabe waited, giving Sean the time he needed to gather his thoughts. He'dalways been good at that - at knowing when to push and when to be patient. It was one of the things that had made them such a good team, once upon a time.

Sean's voice, when it finally came, was rough with emotion. "I never meant to leave you, Gabe. It was never my intention to hurt you."

The words hit Gabe like a physical blow, dredging up memories he'd spent years trying to bury. He watched as tears welled up in Sean's eyes, spilling over to trace silvery tracks down his cheeks. The sight made Gabe's chest ache with a mixture of sympathy and long-suppressed pain.

"After my mother died," Sean continued, his gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the balcony railing, "Dad fed me all these lies about witches. And when I found out that you were one... my prejudices got the better of me. You know the rest."

Gabe nodded, unable to speak past the lump in his throat. He did know. The memory of that final, explosive argument was seared into his brain - Sean's face contorted with disgust and fear, his own desperate pleas falling on deaf ears.

But Sean wasn't finished. "Even before that, though, I kept telling myself that witches couldn't be all bad if you were one of them. I was... I was about to tell you that I didn't care about any of it. That I wanted to be with you, magic and all."

Gabe's heart skipped a beat. "What? But then why-"

"My dad," Sean cut him off, his voice hard with old anger. "He told me he'd kill your entire coven if I didn't leave you."

The revelation hit Gabe like a ton of bricks. All these years, he'd thought Sean had left because he couldn't handle Gabe's magic, because his prejudice had won out over their love. But this... this changed everything.

"Jesus, Sean," Gabe breathed, his mind reeling. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have faced it together, we could have-"

"Protected your family?" Sean finished for him, a sad smile tugging at his lips. "You would have tried, Gabe. That's who you are. But my father... you have no idea what he's capable of. I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk you."

As if to emphasize his point, Sean reached for something under his shirt. Gabe's breath caught in his throat as Sean pulled out a familiar silver pendant - the one Gabe had given him on their first anniversary.

"You kept it," Gabe whispered, unable to hide the wonder in his voice.

Sean nodded, his fingers tracing the intricate designs etched into the metal. "Every time I got into trouble, I'd ask myself, 'What would Gabe do?' You'll never believe how many times it got me out of a tight spot."

The admission made Gabe's heart swell with a complicated mixture of pride, affection, and lingering hurt. Without thinking, he reached for his own memento - the ring Sean had given him, still hanging on a chain around his neck.

"I promised I'd never take it off," Gabe said softly, holding up the ring for Sean to see. "And I never did. You were it for me, Sean. But what you did... it hurt. I was a mess for a long time."

Sean's face crumpled, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Gabe. God, I'm so fucking sorry. For everything. I know it doesn't change what happened, but I need you to know that leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever done. And I've regretted it every day since."

The raw honesty in Sean's voice made Gabe's own eyes sting with unshed tears. He wanted to believe him, wanted so badly to trust that this time would be different. But the scars of their past ran deep, and Gabe had responsibilities now that went far beyond his own heart.

"I hear you," Gabe said carefully, "and I appreciate you telling me all this. But Sean, you have to understand. Things arecomplicated now. I've got a job in Manhattan, the coven... I can't just-"

"I know," Sean cut him off gently. "I'm not asking you to drop everything and run away with me or anything. I just... I want a chance, Gabe. A chance to prove that I've changed, that I can be someone worthy of your trust again. Can we... can we start over?"

---