AWAE Alternate Universe: not-officially-dating shirbert at Queen’s College (stand-alone fic)
Summary: Everyone knows that Anne Shirley-Cuthbert and Gilbert Blythe are practically an item, despite the lack of official announcement that the two are courting. Well, everyone except Royal Gardner. Will the two finally own up to their feelings for each other?
Gilbert Blythe stared at an aggravated Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, who was presently glaring at the trigonometry problems in her textbook.
He felt his heart flutter as Anne bit her lip, trying to focus on solving the fourth equation. The two had made it a habit to study together within their first two weeks of attending Queen’s College, and Gilbert didn’t know how much longer he could bear having Anne at such close proximity yet far from him in matters of the heart.
The study group started out with all the Avonlea students, but the number dwindled by early-October when other pressing matters, like courting and social engagements, presented itself. Anne and Gilbert, unsurprisingly, were the only two who had stuck it out thus far throughout the year. Diana Barry would never tell Anne this, but she felt it right for her to bow out and join a secret study group that Jane and Prissy Andrews were in, not wanting to be a third wheel to an unofficial couple.
It was now mid-November, and the two students were sitting at their usual table on the second floor of the library.
Anne groaned and looked up at her study partner and friend. Gilbert flitted his eyes down to his notebook before she could notice he’d been staring.
“This is impossible. I’m not getting this at all, Gil!”
Gilbert coloured. He loved the new nickname with which Anne called him. He definitely preferred it over Slateface, a name she would tease him with when occasion called for it. “Gil” spoke of friendliness and familiarity. Fondness.
The curly-haired boy cleared his throat. “What’s confusing to you?”
Instead of explaining what she didn’t understand, Anne began her classic rant on the perils of trigonometry and why it should not be mandatory to learn. She then glared at Gilbert, which startled him.
“What?” Gilbert said, feeling defensive.
“I’m not?” Gilbert immediately felt the corners of his mouth drop.
Gilbert’s half-masked smile turned into a full blown grin. He threw up his hands. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry, you’re just so...” he trailed off, trying to find the right word to describe Anne Shirley-Cuthbert.
“So what?” Anne’s brows furrowed in confusion, her lips slightly pouting.
Beautiful, Gilbert wanted to say, focusing all his energy on not glancing down at Anne’s lips which he suddenly wanted to kiss, then and there.
“I don’t know,” Gilbert shrugged, defeated.
Anne frowned at him and opened her mouth to speak, when a familiar voice called her name.
Anne and Gilbert turned to find Royal Gardner approaching their table. Gilbert’s hand reflexively clenched tighter around his pencil.
“Hello Anne,” Roy greeted cheerfully. He glanced at Gilbert briefly. “Gilbert.”
Gilbert only offered him a tight smile and curt nod.
Anne smiled politely. “Hello Roy. How are you this afternoon?”
“Swell. I actually came over to congratulate you.”
Anne blinked, confused. “On what?”
“Clearly not, since she’s asking what you’re talking about,” Gilbert muttered quietly. Anne kicked him under the table.
“Why, you won the Avery scholarship!”
“I was looking at the announcement board outside the registrar’s office this morning to find they had posted the recipients of the various scholarships. You’re one of them, Anne. Congratulations!”
“Are you serious?” Anne pinched herself, and when she flinched, her eyes widened.
“Come, see for yourself,” Roy motioned for Anne to come with him and she bounded out of her chair.
She glanced back at Gilbert. “I’ll be right back!”
The sound of a pencil snapping in half made Gilbert jump in his seat. He frowned when he realized that he had broken his pencil.
It wasn’t that he was angry about Anne getting the Avery scholarship, no. Gilbert was always proud of Anne’s achievements and believed in her when no one else would. Gilbert Blythe was aggravated. But with whom?
Anne’s frantic voice rang through the library floor and Gilbert looked up from his broken pencil.
Behind her trailed a grinning Roy Gardner, and Gilbert knew just with whom he was aggravated.
“Gilbert! Gil!” Anne flew past the desks that students were sat focused in until the redhead began making a commotion.
Gilbert stood up. The moment his eyes landed on a joyful Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, a genuine smile made its way onto his lips. He stumbled a bit when Anne propelled herself to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing.
“Gil, you got the Gold Medal! Congratulations! You got the gold medal!”
“And you?” His voice was muffled in her hair.
Anne pulled away to look him in his soft hazel brown eyes. Her grin was radiant. “I got the Avery!”
Gilbert laughed and in a surge of celebration and joy for the both of them, embraced Anne and spun her around.
“Congratulations, Carrots,” he grinned at the redhead who was very flushed.
“Congratulations, Slateface,” said Anne, out of breath.
Gilbert noticed Roy standing a few feet away, watching them. Gilbert’s face grew serious and he motioned to Roy with a shrug. “Gardner is waiting for you.”
Anne, looking confused, turned. “Oh, he’s waiting for the paper I edited for him. I’ll go give it to him now.”
Gilbert sat down in his seat and watched as Anne grabbed a folder from her bag and walked over to Roy.
“I made some notes on the side,” Anne began explaining her edits to a very invested Roy. Her back was now facing Gilbert.
“Oh, this is fantastic! Thank you, Anne. This is exactly why I asked you to edit my essay. You’re absolutely brilliant,” he smiled.
Anne nodded and said something Gilbert couldn’t quite make out.
“You give yourself too little credit. Thanks again, Anne,” Roy said. “I’ll see you in Writing Club?”
As Gilbert sensed the conversation coming to a close, he propped up one of the books he was supposed to be reading instead of eavesdropping on Anne. He was going to pretend he didn’t hear anything but when Anne sat down across from him with a wide grin on her face, he couldn’t help it.
“How’s your boyfriend?” Gilbert muttered, grumpy after having just watched Roy Gardner flirt with Anne.
Anne, without missing a beat and without looking up from her book, replied with, “I don’t know, Gilbert. How are you?”
The two friends froze as they realized the implication of more that had escaped from Anne’s mouth without permission.
“I’m fine,” Gilbert choked out, sounding on the verge of tears.
Anne kept her gaze on her book, feeling her face flush a deep red at her response and Gilbert’s reply. Quiet occupied the space between them for a few agonizing seconds before Gilbert allowed hope to settle in his heart.
Gilbert cleared his throat. “Anne?” Worry trickled into his voice at the sound of her stunned silence. “Carrots?”
Slowly, her eyes traveled up from her book to Gilbert’s red face. When her eyes landed on his familiar kind ones, she felt her tense muscles relax a little.
Anne sighed. This was Gilbert, her best friend. She had been content to let things stay the way they were because she loved their friendship. But more than their friendship, Anne loved Gilbert, and she could tell by the stolen glances and laughter from past study sessions and inside jokes and the way his eyes bore into her, like they did now, that he felt the same way.
Anne broke eye contact from the intensity of it all. How could she risk their friendship? What if Gilbert didn’t even feel the same way and she just tricked herself into thinking his kindness and friendship and the way he looked at her was more than it actually was?
Gilbert’s eyes furrowed in confusion and frustration. After the whole situation with Winifred, he knew Anne was the girl he truly loved, the girl he was in love with. But he had made the mistake of letting go of the momentum it took years to build in the progression of their relationship. Gilbert had left a letter declaring his love to Anne, which Anne, for reasons unbeknownst to him, did not receive. Hazel mentioned a letter Anne left for him but had mysteriously vanished.
Neither refused to disclose the contents of their letters and so here they were, back to pining and feelings of unrequited love that they knew deep down were anything but.
Anne had just about made her mind to continue this act of just friends, remembering the feelings of a broken heart she‘d experienced when Gilbert was courting Winifred. The voice of reason in her mind brought up the fact that Gilbert had broken things off with Winnie. Anne bit her lip to keep the tears threatening to spill from her eyes at bay.
Gilbert felt desperation surge through him. “Anne.”
Anne looked at him with shiny eyes. “Gil, I... I don’t know what to say.”
“I do,” said Gilbert, determined now. “I don’t know exactly how to say this so I’m just going to say it.”
After a few seconds of silence, Anne felt the corners of her mouth tipping up. “Gil?”
“Sorry,” Gilbert breathed out. “Just gathering my courage.”
The sound of Anne’s laughter gave him all he needed.
“Anne, I know some time ago we had sent each other letters,” he began. “That neither of us ever received. I thought I could go on without you knowing how I feel about you. I can’t anymore. I can’t sit by while others ask to court you–“
“No one’s asked to court me,” Anne rolled her eyes. “And I doubt anyone will.”
“But they will. Roy Gardner has had his eye on you from the beginning. Anthony Partridge and William Smith have been competing for your attention. But that’s not the point,” Gilbert exhaled. “The point is... I like you, Anne. No. I love you. I’m in love with you, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert. I can’t let us go on at Queen’s without you knowing how I feel, because I’ve allowed myself to hope that you might feel the same for me.”
“And it doesn’t matter if you don’t have feelings for me. I mean, of course it does, I’ll respect whatever your response.”
“I just want you to know that you shouldn’t feel obligated to say or do anything because of how I feel for you. If you don’t feel the same, I’m content to remain friends because I love you, Anne.”
“Will you let me say something now?” Anne looked at the boy with a pointed stare.
Gilbert blushed, sheepish. “Yes.”
“Gilbert Blythe, I love you too.”
Gilbert blinked. “Yes, I know you love me as a friend Anne–“
“No,” laughed the redhead. “‘I love you’ as in I’m in love with you, you idiot.”
The two smiled at each other with burning cheeks and joyful hearts. After a long time of waiting and pining, they were finally on the same page.
A familiar voice broke the trance Anne and Gilbert were in. Cole Mackenzie stood a few feet away looking at them knowingly.
“Hi Cole,” Anne greeted, elated to see their friend.
“Hey,” nodded Gilbert, smiling.
“Finally figured it out for yourselves, have you?” Cole smirked, glancing between the two.
“Shut up,” said the two in unison, garnering triumphant laughter from the art student.
Gilbert turned his gaze toward Anne, not bothering now to hide how captivated he was by her. He watched as Anne scolded Cole for skipping his class, even if it was to visit them, even if it was to escort his friend Genevieve to visit her sister at Queen’s, and does Aunt Jo know of your shenanigans because if not, you shall certainly be found out!
Anne felt the warm heat of a familiar pair of hazel eyes, and her cheeks flushed without even looking at Gilbert. She said goodbye to Cole, who didn’t even bother saying his standard dramatic “au revoir!” to the raven-haired boy because he knew Gilbert’s one-track mind was thinking of only Anne now. Anne felt Gilbert’s left hand take hold of hers across the table and she interlocked her fingers with his.
Silently, with the soft hum of kindred and requited love beating through their locked hands, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert and Gilbert Blythe went back to studying.
That is, until Anne could finally focus again on her trigonometry problem and be faced with the same infuriating dilemma, to which Gilbert would laugh and face the wrath of a redhead scorned by mathematics.
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