PruCan ~ Northern Addition (Book 1) UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Final Confession (Maybe)

Gilbert

The guy that pushed me out of the way of the car kinda reminds me of a moose. I bet Matthew would freak.

Matthew. I have to get to him, make sure he's alright. Francis came from that direction. If he touched one hair on my Canadian's head...

Ignoring the old, black car that's following behind Francis very closely, I turn and race back to Mattie's house. The thunderstorm is still going on, and it makes the road slippery, so it takes me longer than it should to get there.

I burst through the still open door, looking around. Matt's not in the living room. I check the entire downstairs, but still don't find him. I go upstairs and look for him there. I finally find him in his own room, and I catch him just as he's locking himself into his closet.

I gently pull the door back open. He has his eyes down, and he's hugging his knees. "Hey, doesn't that make it harder to cope with?" I ask softly. He mumbles something. "What?"

He brings his eyes up to mine, and I'm struck with a sudden sense of longing from deep in those blue eyes of his. "Do you really love me like that?"

I tense up, waiting for the rejection I'm bound to get when I say this. "Yes, it's true. I've always loved you, Matthew. I just have never had the actually chance or courage to tell you. And I understand if you don't want to be my anything anymore." I turn and begin walking, ready to go find Blue and bring him back here to live with Matt.

"Gil, wait." I turn back, and he has his arm out like he's scared of what I'll do. I step a bit closer. Lightning flashes, and just a second later comes the thunder. Matthew flings himself at me, and I catch him in my arms, gently slipping to the floor. I don't try anything, I just hold him.

Matthew

He pulls us both to the floor, wrapping me in his arms. I can feel how much effort it's taking for him to hold back from doing anything other then this, and I don't like the way he's so tense. He needs to relax.

Says the guy terrified of thunder and lightning, says a small voice in my head. Oh, shut it, I tell it.

After a while, even though the storm is still raging on, I find myself hardly shaking at all, and I feel more relaxed then I ever have before. It's time to confess fully.

"Gil."

"Hm?"

"I love you, too."

He tenses up even more for a second, and I'm afraid I just scared him away. But then he relaxes completely, and he pulls back for a moment.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that. I've been saying it for quite a while now, but German is very different from French Canadian."

"How have you been saying it? I haven't noticed at all."

"Iche leibe dich, mein kleines Ahornblatt."

I adopt a face of recognition, remembering all the times he's said those words. "je t'aime."

Without warning, his lips are on mine, but not in a ferocious way. It's gentle, and I get the feeling that I am the literal only person he's ever actually cared about in this way. I find myself kissing him back.

Suddenly, the door bell rings, breaking the spell Gil and I have on each other. The storm has finally stopped, meaning I can get up without worrying. We go down the stairs and I answer the door, finding Blue there.

I stoop down and sweep him into my arms quickly. Gil throws his arms around both of us a second later. We can actually be a happy family now. Tears are falling from my eyes, but I don't care. All of my questions can wait.

This moment is the best I have ever had.