"You're not gay, is that it?" Gabriel blurted out bluntly, anxiousness bringing a tremor to his voice. "Not that you look like ... I just ... I’m gay, but that’s not the point."

Pink colored his cheeks, and he made a face, clearly frustrated at struggling with words.

"The point is, I thought we had some kind of empathy going on. I'm sorry if I've offended you, it wasn't my intention. It's just ... I know how you feel. I know what it's like to suspect people and feel inadequate; I've been there. I can't make you trust me, but I can prove myself if you give me a chance. It’s okay if you can't speak, I ... like you ... as a person ... just the way you are."

Christian couldn't do anything but blink at Gabriel. Well, he hadn't been expecting that. Especially not the overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

"I wanted to talk to you ever since I saw you sitting at that table with your sister," Gabriel admitted, heaving a sigh, and running his free hand over his red locks nervously. "I've sworn to never deny myself the things that I want, so ... it's fine if you don't like guys. I just really want to get to know you better and hang out with you. That's all. I'm ..."

Gabriel cleared his throat, looking down at his hand gripping Christian's wrist, letting his voice drop until it was almost a whisper. "I’m very drawn to you. Even if it means nothing to you in a more intimate sense, please don’t walk away like this and just tell me straight out you want nothing to do with me."

Biting his lower lip, Christian stared into the intense green of the other man’s eyes, feeling his anger and fear fading away to give place to a vivid flame of embarrassment, surprise, and most of all, hope.

How could Gabriel think he wanted nothing to do with him?

Christian wanted to cling to the anger, to be strong enough to not believe Gabriel's words, but as he felt a thumb rub nervously the underside of his wrist, he found that his brain -- his heart -- couldn't deny the fact that he desperately wanted it all to be real.

He had waited for that for so long, clutching to the dream that, someday, he might find Gabriel once again and that, at some point, they might become friends and perhaps form a stronger bond, too.

Was Gabriel truly attracted to him? He had sputtered a lot of bullshit because he had meant something more than just normal hanging out between two guys.

Gabriel didn't even know who Christian was. Could they even claim to truly know each other at this point? Christian had never even attempted to communicate about himself yet.

It seemed too good to be true, and the whole situation hurt in ways Christian couldn't explain.

Even if he wanted to indulge, the question was: was he ready to put his hopes and trust in someone else?

"Please," Gabriel whispered, imploringly. "Don't walk away like this."

Christian couldn't help but huff, lowering his head and closing his eyes briefly. He could feel Gabriel's full attention on him, expectantly and completely disregarding the fact that he was supposed to be working and not wasting time on him.

With a calmer, softer gesture, Christian shook his wrist free, and Gabriel, feeling the lack of animosity, finally let go, fingers loosening slowly, brushing skin as Christian pulled away and turned to him.

Taking a deep breath, Christian adjusted his backpack on his shoulder so he could use both his hands. Fighting the embarrassment, he slowly made the gestures that would allow him to tell Gabriel what he wanted, hoping that the man hadn't lied when he said he knew sign language.

Gabriel intently watched his hands and his mouth with eyes comically wide.

I will think about it. About us.