Gabe roused himself and sat. One night stand. That's all this was. This was a good opportunity to leave. He had a ton of work to do and was no closer to fixing any part of his underworld. He came back to search the body of Logan Myers and figure out what it was that Rhyn wanted him to know. He found a strange woman with pink hair and a blue face, sprawled on the beach, staring at the sky with a childlike fascination. He really thought her some sort of underworldly creature that somehow ended up washed up on the beach.
Last night was an oasis, a slip. It was probably a mistake, but he truly admired her spirit. He'd never been guilty in his role as an assassin or as Death, until sitting with her on the beach. He'd wanted to make it up to her for her life ending too soon. Or maybe, he wanted to get rid of his own regret at the idea of taking such a sweet soul, someone who might've been a kindred spirit in a different time and place. He saw himself with a mate like her, one who was able to remind him what it was like to feel human.
It was one night. He had work to do. He'd see her soul soon in the underworld.
Gabe got dressed, tying one boot as the sound of the shower stopped. He braced himself to tell her thanks for the night and farewell. Hopefully there were no tears, and he was able to walk out instead of tumbling into bed with her like he wanted to.
"Can I ask you something?" she called through the door, an odd note in her voice that made him pause as he pulled on the other boot.
"Yeah," he said.
"Are you one of those serial killers who marks their victims?"
He chuckled. He'd never considered Death a serial killer, but he did kind of fit the bill.
"Like with a tattoo or something? I'm not mad. Curious. Or whatever," she paused, as if waiting for his response, before continuing. "It's pretty. Love the color and the swirlies, like Celtic designs around it. I saw on TV that some serial killers are possessive and do these sorts of things."
Gabe rose and swirled on his trench coat. There was genuine uneasiness in her voice that drew his interest. His movements stilled as he listened.
"Is your name Gabriel by chance?" she ventured.
He froze. His heart stopped in his chest, and for a long moment, he couldn't breathe.
"Show me," he managed at last.
"It's okay. I think I'll stay in here."