Gabe could have misunderstood and he knew that, but still. "Hey, I'm the big baby in this relationship," Gabe said gently, one hand still on her back. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to be thinking I wasn't interested. I'm still a little scared." Rubbing her back helped him keep calm, never mind her. "I'm not going anywhere unless the world gets weird, and if it does, well, I can't really fix it. You know?" He worried about a lot, but worrying about getting vortexed was a waste of energy.