Gabriel Brown: Collection of Short Alaskan Bush People Fan Fics

What I Want

As you stood with Gabe on the beach of his family's land, your heart was happier than it had been in weeks. It was the last day before you and Gabe would leave for a two week trip to Anchorage. It was a business trip for you but your employer had given you plenty of spare time so you and Gabe had planned to turn this into a mini-vacation. It would be just the two of you. Finally.

You loved being with him in Brown Town and you loved his family, but it was more than you could stand just thinking about being alone with him for two whole weeks. You had planned your time carefully, carving out time to see all the sights in town and in the neighboring wilderness, but also making sure there was plenty of time to relax in your hotel room at the end of the day. Nothing you planned would start before 11AM. Every morning was designed to accommodate the two of you sleeping in and enjoying each other.

Turning toward Gabe and seeing the bright sunlight shining on his face, your happiness and excitement exploded within you and you impulsively grabbed him around the neck and pressed your lips to his. He wasn't surprised at your exuberance because you were always jumping on him and wrapping yourself around his tight, firm body. He was so sexy sweet, you had often told him, that you had a hard time keeping your hands and your mouth off of him. Gabe retuned your kiss with an urgency that surprised you a bit. But you didn't protest at all. As usual, his hand slipped down to caress you, but this time, just before he grabbed your butt, he stopped and pulled back, a small frown on his forehead.

"I can't go with you." Gabe spoke the words suddenly and bluntly and his blue eyes shifted to focus on a point far out into the calm, silvery water. You knew instantly that he was going to tell you something he didn't want to say and that you didn't want to hear. It was the way he looked when he thought he might disappoint you. But he was always so honest with you that you knew he would tell you the truth no matter how much it hurt him.
"Why? What's happened?" You stood stiffly next to him, disappointed. You turned your head to look in the same direction that he was staring. His gaze stayed on that distant point and your heart clenched as you felt what seemed to be a cool distance growing between you. Wanting to stop the feelings that you couldn't believe were true, you reached your hand around his waist and leaned your head on his shoulder. Your eyes squeezed shut as Gabe abruptly stood up and walked a few feet away, tugging nervously on the zipper of his leather jacket.

"I know I promised to go with you, but some work has come up here and the family needs me to help with the job."
Gabe had never lied to you before so you knew that had to be true. But you were also convinced that it wasn't the whole story. You refused to let your mind wander to any frightening possibility for even one second.
"What aren't you telling me, Gabey?" You lifted your chin and fixed your eyes on his, making it impossible for him to look away. He hesitated for a second and then rushed back toward you, scaring you a little with the abruptness of it, but you trusted him so you stood your ground. When his hands immediately went to your face, cupping it with his large fingers, your eyes darted left to right, looking at him intently.
"I love you." Gabe confessed with no uncertainty.
"Is there a 'but" coming?" You asked. "And before you answer, the only 'but' I want to hear about is that your 'butt' is coming with me."

Gabe reacted to your attempt at humor by pressing his mouth to yours and letting his warm tongue slide between your lips. His kisses always made you hungry for more, but this time, you pulled back. You needed to hear the rest of the story. "Did something happen?"
Gabe's mouth was still moist from the kiss and he licked his lips as he nodded his head.

"You know Dad and Mom weren't real happy when we told them you would be moving to live with me in Brown Town." Their disapproval had been clear. "Because we aren't married." You had known that, too. "But they didn't stop me because they knew how much I loved you and that we would be getting married eventually."
"When we're ready." You agreed.
"Right. But now, this trip? They've told me they really aren't comfortable with us going away together. Alone and still not married."

Gabe was a full grown adult man, but his life had always been profoundly shaped by his role in his family. And their opinions and desires for him held a weight that was hard for you to understand. Their ideas of life and love and marriage were so different from your own. Gabe's blue eyes were full of worry and you hated to see that look in his eyes. Since you fell in love with him, everything you did was to make him happy and to only see joy on his face. But it seemed like since the day you met his family, he was being forced to make decisions that caused a conflict in his heart.

Should he make you happy or make his family happy? It was clear how much he loved his family and would never do anything to hurt them. And you knew how much he loved you and didn't want to hurt you. And so far, in this battle with his emotions, he had chosen you. But here you were again, putting him in a position to have to pick one side over the other. He still made his horribly silly jokes and kidded around as much as he always did, but if you were to look closely, there was often a hint of sadness in his eyes that broke your heart.

"What do you want to do?" You asked the question boldly because you wanted to know the answer. And because that's just the way you were. Your boldness had been the way you had gotten your first laugh out of Gabe. You had walked up to him in the small bar and tugged on his shirt, saying "Dance with me." as you pulled him out on the dance floor. When he had followed you without hesitation and you turned around to see his beautiful grin, you fell in love with him.

"I don't want us to get married before we're ready." Gabe whispered softly, his hands still on your cheek. "But I don't want my family to have problems with what we choose to do."
"Look." You didn't give yourself any time to change your mind before you spoke. "You don't have to come with me and if you need me to move back to my place in town, I'll do that, too."
The look on Gabe's face was like a knife in your heart. He was actually considering your words. You had hoped he would immediately say, 'no, no, never!' but instead, he turned his face away from you as he considered the words you had thrown out to him. You had thought he would see the absurdity in them right away. But he was still thinking. You closed your eyes and dropped your forehead to his chest. Waiting.

"Can I tell you what I really want?" Gabe's voice suddenly boomed out clear and strong. You almost told him no because you could feel your whole life with him being settled in that moment. But instead, you nodded. You needed to know what he really wanted.
"I want to be with you forever. I want to go with you to Anchorage and when we get back, I want to marry you. I want to have a huge family with you." His threw his arms out as he said the word 'huge' and you laughed because you wanted that too. "I want my family to be as happy with you as I am, but what I really want?" His kiss was brief and sweet as honey. "I want to make you happy for the rest of our lives. Can I do that?"

You felt Gabe slip his hand into yours and give it a gentle squeeze. Pressing yourself to him, you smiled and nodded your head, swallowing down the lump that was forming in your throat.
"Come on, Sweetie." He began leading you toward his family's cabin, his shoulders swaying as he walked. "Let's go finish packing for our trip and tell everyone goodbye."