Perhaps they had stumbled upon the biggest difference between them.

They both loved one another, and despite whether the other was entirely convinced of it, it was in fact, true. But for Sohalia, that sort of endless love seemingly meant she could forgive Gaucho for his transgressions, both ones which were out of his control, and ones that were not. For Gaucho on the other hand, love was simply not a factor. How much, endlessly, or ceaselessly he loved Sohalia could not account for the fact that in a pure moment of weakness, she had given into a stallion in a way that betrayed everything about them. At least in Gaucho's mind, he had only 'been' with Ampere when Sohalia was away, and, given their reluctance for labels or verbal contracts of 'being exclusive' did not seem wrong, merely impulsive. And, he did love Ampere. But love made it possible for Sohalia to forgive that, regardless of whether or not Gaucho felt it needed to be forgiven.

But Aleta? Kaj? That had been pure weakness and betrayal. She had not come back weak and broken this second time around, merely lost and tired. She had found Ivezo first, and could presumably have come home with him immediately. He could have gotten Gaucho, or gotten Sohalia whatever it was she needed to make her return. But instead she took her son's word of what was happening at home, and allowed herself to run directly into the arms of another.

It wasn't forgivable, regardless of how much he loved her. He wanted it to be, but knew that he couldn't. He would see Kaj- and their child - upon her now with every glance. She had soiled her morals so easily, and that was not a stain that Gaucho's love could scrub clean.

From this day forward, he would look at her, and know that instead of doing what was difficult and talking to him, that she had taken the easy way out, and satisfied her needs with another man.

As she apologized, Gaucho's ears tilted forward and his head lowered slightly. Even so, his pained expression did not change. Wasn't that what was supposed to happen, at the conclusion of a fight? Someone finally gives in, everyone makes up, and the whole thing goes away? Only ... This didn't feel like a fight. Despite the lingering sense of hurt and the need for his wounds to be understood, an apology wasn't what he wanted. It was as he said - it was unforgivable, and as such, there was nothing to apologize for. Because apologies could be accepted and hers ... couldn't.

Even so, Gaucho couldn't pull himself away. Despite the fact that he hadn't wanted to leave his place on the far side of the blackened waters, now he felt unable to leave Sohalia's side. Deep down, something inside said that this would be the last time they ever spoke openly to one another, for after this, it would all be a facade of broken futures and unspoken things.

But had he anything left to say?

He did, but not even he was so cruel to utter the words that glistened in the back of his mind. The Wildfire looked at the Transcended with bitter regret - enough for the two of them. If only the storm ahead could wash their pasts as clean as it would everything else.  His blue-gray gaze fell upon her, watching as her face went from illuminated brilliance to a dull warm-washed glow as the Lightning faded.

I love you, those words were. And also, I wish you hadn't.

And most of all, I wish we could go back.