Christian smiled crookedly at the way Penny questioned his words. His eyes flicked back and forth between hers. [color=#B0E0E6]”Yes, you silly girl. I never say anything I don’t mean,”[/color] he said and started to clean up. He paused when she apologized to him again. 

An image of the life he had to take in placement of Penny’s flashed before him, and he shook his head before he stood. [color=#B0E0E6]”You don’t need to keep apologizing. I made that decision because I wanted to, not because you forced me to. As for what happened after, it’s all water under the bridge,”[/color] he said, smiling at her gently before discarding the garbage and moving the towels into the bathroom.

Christian couldn't tell Penny what happened even if he wanted to, but he didn't want to. He wanted to save her from the uglier parts of his work being a reaper. He wanted to protect her, even now when she knew how to look after herself. If things went well on the date with Charles, Christian wondered if Penny wouldn't need him around us much. The idea of that worried him, which, in turn, confused him.