"That's a marvelous way to tell yourself you won't be hurt," Irene offered softly, just going ahead and leaning her forehead against Amaya's. "I didn't mean to, either. You were just supposed to be this pretty blacksmith with absolutely killer guns who I liked to flirt with. But then you went and you were you, and there I went and...I told myself I could never be like that with someone again, when I came here. It's terrifying to be that vulnerable, yeah? Against your will and everything, too."

She got it, Amaya. She really, really did.

A beat, and then -- maybe an even deeper confession than her prior one: "But I trust you."

And Irene, as a general rule, did not trust anyone with anything. But maybe she could make just one exception.