Take Me With You- Anne with an E, shirbert fanfic

Wouldn't That be Lovely

Anne did not pull away from Gilbert.
She held herself still and acknowledged her fate.
For a moment she stood shocked, an unrestrained, curious smile shaping her lips- tinged red. Her hair fell into her face in wispy strands, unnoticed to her.
Until he started laughing.
A beautiful, bell-like sound that filled the whole schoolhouse with a delighted luster. Anne dropped her nervous stance and started laughing too, and for a few moments they stood there, leaning on each other, unable to control their giggles, lost in a world unbeknownst to everyone but them.
Ruby started crying.
Josie Pye stood up and left, face bright red.
Diana Barry, unwavoring in her support, smiled warmly.
Miss Stacey stood in shock at her desk, facing the equally surprised children in her class, unable to decide whether or not to reprimand the two or congratulate them. Maybe both?
Before anybody had gathered their wits about them, Gilbert Blythe took notice of the situation he was in. He stooped his tall, handsome frame over Anne, whose face was now as delightfully scarlet as her hair,
and took her pale hand behind her back.
"Uh... this is awkward, sorry..." he muttered as he guided her out of the classroom, trying his best not to laugh at his classmates' stubbornly shocked faces- all except Diana, who, again, looked rather pleasant.
When they had reached the door and shut it behind them, Anne exhaled loudly.
"Gilbert- I can not believe I just- I, wh-," she started to say, clearly in a panic, her cheeks flushed and a smile still worn on her face.
"Hey, shhh, It's fine," Gilbert took both of her delicate, slender hands in his and lifted them up to his level. Anne couldn't help but notice his bright hazel eyes, they were alive in their luster, and resembled a side of Gilbert Anne had never met.
"Did you see their faces?" He choked out, barely keeping himself together.
"Oh my goodness, yes!" Anne couldn't help herself, so the two broke into fits of laughter, decidedly similar to the ones from before.
"Wait, come on," Anne said, letting go of one of Gilbert's hands and holding tightly to the other. She leapt off of the schoolhouse steps gingerly and began to lead him into the woods, following a well-worn trail she had cherished since her arrival in Avonlea. She was on her way to a small building that, though it never could quite be restored to it's original glory, she loved dearly. Anne, Diana, and Cole had once left it the way it was for the last time, abandoning it in it's final moments of splendor. It would never be the same. Still, she loved it anyway, and wove through the trees with the tall, handsome boy following behind her.
That boy was swept off of his feet, entirely wrapped around the little finger of the girl in front of him. When he watched her, he saw everything that everyone else missed. He was enraptured with her, if she had chosen the word. He let her lead him onward, silently captivated by her.
When they reached the place of Anne's pursue, Gilbert wondered how he had never seen it before.
It was a quaint little building leaning against a tree. The sun shone on it in lovely bright patches, weaving through the trees as if it had tried to reflect upon it. The wood that constructed it was old and in some places mossy, and it looked rather small. When they entered, however, it proved to be much bigger than he thought. Sunlight poured in from the one window that it could, illuminating all of the charms inside. Feathers, books, paper, pens, and many other small trinkets littered the floor in organized piles.
"Woah," the boy said, the sun shining warmly onto his face, highlighting the captivation in his hazel eyes.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Anne was just as alight as he, a happy smile painted onto her delicately enamoured expression.
Gilbert turned to look at her, memorizing the feeling of her presence.
"Yes," he paused before he spoke, still watching her. "It is."

There was silence for a moment as Anne stared at her knees. She looked upset.
"Oh, Gilbert," she sighed, twisting the end of her braid in her hand, clearly distraught.
"What is it?" The boy worried so that she would not, stepping over to her and stealing her auburn plait. She sat down and he kneeled next to her, still watching her every movement with the tender, careful gaze of no other boy infatuated.
"Why me?" she bit her lip. How Ruby had loved him- and how beautiful she was as well, her golden curls cascading down her pink, puff sleeved shoulders. And if not Ruby, rather, any other girl in the school! Diana was divinely beautiful, and couldn't have said no to him if she tried. Jane, Tillie, Josie Pye, each were more beautiful than her, even if their passions did not match up quite so well, or their connection to words was not so strong.
"Anne," Gilbert looked almost angry, his brow furrowed deeply and his eyes held true hurt within them. She couldn't hardly bear to look. Instead, she kept her eyes down.
"When I first saw you," he began. "I thought you were beautiful. You were spirited, smart, and independent. You were the first girl to ever tell me no," he laughed. "You don't like it, but your hair is beautiful, even when you cut it all off," he tucked a strand behind her ear. "And the freckles you despise- I loved them too.
"When you hit me over the head with a slate, I suppose I knew somewhere that we had a future together even then. Your lack of puffed sleeves and pink dresses meant nothing to me."
She turned at these words, heart lifting a little.
"You mean it?"
"Of course, Anne," he smiled at her, not a simple smile of shallow pleasure, or the forced smiles he presented his peers.
A real smile.
She had brought him some of the first since his father.
And so there they stayed until the day grew dark, talking in the spirit of each other about another day, and the hopes and dreams of each kept most quietly in their own heart did finally realize in time.

~

Oh how rapturous the evening had been! Anne had waltzed pleasantly back to Green Gables with a helpless Gilbert in tow, chatting happily the whole while. She began to memorize.
He likes books.
He's passionate about becoming a doctor.
His eyes light up when he talks about his family and Mary's expectancy. He's excited for a little brother.
How warm Anne felt, her chest bursting as if it might all explode out of her in an effervescent dance. How lovely a dance did sound! She laughed cheerily as she recounted everything to  Diana the next morning.

"Oh Diana, you wouldn't believe him! His intellect is matched perfectly to mine, you know, it's as if I could talk with him forever without bore," Anne sighed and put her hands on her cheeks. "He's so delightfully compassionate, Diana, I hardly knew what to do with myself. When he talks about the things he loves, he just glows, I swear it." Anne looked dreamily out the window as she spoke, disregarding her cheery little friend.

"Oh we know about that," Diana laughed.  "He sounds perfectly wonderful. You must really like him," Diana stole the girl's attention back from the window, and she quickly spun on her heel with more haste than she had intended, her fiery hair whipping around with her.

"You must swear never to tell anyone of this, Diana. Do you promise?" Anne stared intensely into the chocolate eyes of her dearest friend, anticipating an answer.

"Of course, Anne," Diana calmly spoke.

"Good," Anne smiled, relieved. "Oh, Diana..."

And this was the way many a night passed. Anne was not alone in this habit.

"She's lovely, you know, Charlie," Gilbert tried to hide a smile, entirely unsuccessfuly.

"Yeah, the whole class could tell that you thought so," Charlie joked, picking up the planks he would need to lay on the Town Hall's roof.

"No, I mean it," Gilbert laughed. "What a fiery, passionate thing she is," he gazed off for a moment, lost to his memory.
"But when you get past her temper, a mindful, compassionate, effortlessly caring girl lies there Charlie. I know. I've met her."

"Enough gushy talk about Anne," Charlie sighed, irritated. He playfully punched Gilbert's shoulder. "You might as well ask her to marry you."

Wait.
It is a lovely idea, isn't it?
Every time he had seen people be married, he didn't ever think of it for himself. It was a totally foreign idea to him- something he had never really desired.
Not until now.
Images of Anne as his bride danced around in his mind, leaving him oddly jittery.
Gilbert made note of all of that and carried on, promising to acknowledge it in his own time.

—

"How is it?" Anne asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"It's coming along I guess," Gilbert responded. "It's nearly liveable again," he laughed.

"It's a shame," the girl said with a slight smile. "I'll miss you."
Gilbert took a step closer to Anne, pausing for a moment to admire her pink nose and cheeks before pulling her into his chest. He rest his chin on her auburn head.
"I'll miss you too," he sighed.
For a moment they stood silently, barely noticing the first little crystalline snowflakes of the year fluttering politely on their way to the ground.
"You'll still walk me to school, won't you?" Anne asked playfully, pulling away from his chest and tugging at a little brown curl that had fallen into his eye. It had been months since he cut his hair. He smiled.
"Of course."
That was the first time Anne really noticed what his travels had done to him. He was much wiser and gentler now, and his smile lines were even more worn in. His eyes sparkled with the vibrant glow of maturing youth, and his brow furrowed politely over them. He was different now. Still Gilbert, but different nonetheless.

"You may as well ask her to marry you."

Anne's blue eyes peered up at Gilbert thoughtfully. He put his hands over her little cold cheeks and lifted her face to his.

Maybe I will.