"I love you."

Silence. Gilbert Nightray had been sitting behind his desk, grading papers, when suddenly he heard a familiar voice before him. Staring with wide eyes, the man didn't know what to think of the situation at first. Oz Bezarius, an exchange student who came to Pandora Academy at the beginning of the year, was standing before his desk. The boy made himself look so innocent in that moment. His hands were behind his back, possibly in the fashion of being held together from what Gilbert could see. The teen had a nice smile upon his lips and those eyes…they were staring up into Gilbert's own pair, refusing to let the man look anywhere else. Had a ray of light been surrounding the boy's frame, he would've sworn a pair of angel wings and a halo would appear.

But Oz had also made it well known that he could be quite the mischief kid when he wanted to be. He had targeted Gilbert himself several times with his jokes and pranks. Who was to say this time wasn't any different then the last few?

"O-Oz," Still surprised from the comment, Gilbert did his best to hold a scowl on his face and a stern voice. However, he was failing at both of these. "That's not something to joke about."

If Oz was being serious or playing another prank, the comment still had an effect on him. They were the three little words that Gilbert fantasized to hear from the student. Ever since Oz came to this school, he refused to leave Gilbert's mind. Gilbert Nightray, a twenty-four year old man, was in love with Oz Bezarius, a fifteen year old boy.

Gilbert fantasized about Oz at least once each day. Just to hold him close or kiss those soft appealing lips of his as a lover would. At night his most detailed fantasies of Oz played in his mind as he slept. Several times he held his breath as Oz walked past him in the school halls. He'd watch Oz during classes while peering over the rim of his grade book. Every time the boy happened to glance in his direction, he did his best to try and look like he hadn't just been staring at him, fear that Oz could see right into his mind through nervous golden orbs.

Several times he found himself thinking, maybe even wishing, that he were around Oz's age. His situation wouldn't be so bad as it was now. Two students being in a relationship was far more acceptable in society than a student and his teacher, even if Oz had been the one to initiate feelings first.

"I'm not joking."

The boy hadn't moved from his spot and he still held the same stare and smile. Gilbert was beginning to struggle with his inner self. Was Oz being serious? The boy could be rather convincing when he wanted to be. But Oz didn't seem the type to stoop so low like this just for a joke.

No wait, scratch that thought. There was the suicide note incident he pulled on him just a few days ago. Gilbert was in the teacher's lounge by himself for their lunch period and he noticed a piece of paper being slipped under the closed door. Curious, he moved over to pick it up; surprised to see it was for him. A few minutes later, Gilbert was out the door, worry written all over his face. Oz had been crouching down on the floor, across from the teacher's lounge, just sitting there, with a silly expression on his face. The whole thing had been a set up to get Gilbert to come out from hiding.

"O-Oz, please. Stop this, the joke is over. You've had your fun."

It hurt him inside to say this. Part of him wanted to believe Oz's "confession" so easily. But he was sure that if he allowed himself to give in to his inner desires, he'd look like a complete creep, trying to pick the boy up and place kisses against his lips over and over again. Oz would no doubt run to the office staff and report him, where Gilbert would end up in prison.

The sudden change in Oz's facial expression caused Gilbert to blink in surprise. Oz looked like he was hurt. There was no way that he. . . could he? No, he wasn't in love with the older male. Gilbert held onto his grip, not allowing his walls to cave so easily.

"I said I'm not joking."

This time, Gilbert found himself standing up from behind his desk, both palms flat upon the desk's surface. He could feel his cheeks reddening up a bit. He had to keep a hold of himself, he just had to.

"Oz… I will not allow this kind of harassment to go on. You can get in so much trouble if someone were to walk in right now! And for what? A joke of the moment?"

Again, Oz looked like he was hurt. Why? Why was Oz doing all of this just for a joke?

"I would never joke about something like this."

Gilbert really had no idea what to say. Instead, a sigh fell from his lips and he fell back into his chair, a hand coming up to rest against his forehead. Why was this happening to him? As much as he'd love for Oz to want to be with him, a part of him has wished for Oz never to fall for him. He would've wanted the boy to end up with some silly crush on a girl in his class. It would hurt Gilbert he knew it would… but he would learn to adjust, he'd learn to forget.

"Gilbert."

A sudden weight in his lap caused Gilbert to remove his hand from his face, a startled gasp falling from his lips which was followed up by a red blush across his face.

"O-Oz! What are you-!"

An index finger being pressed against his lips stopped him from completing his sentence. Blinking several times in confusion, Gilbert stared back at Oz, whom was still smiling as when Gilbert last looked at him.

"Gilbert, I love you. I want to be with you. I've noticed you looking at me during class, I know you have some sort of feeling for me."

Gilbert's cheeks only turned a darker red at these words. Damnit! Was he really so easy to read? Or had he not been careful enough around Oz? Before Gilbert could think of any times he managed to slip up around Oz, the raven haired male's eyes had widen at the sudden contact of lower regions brushing against each other. And not in an innocent manner either.

A gasp was muffled as Gilbert had brought his hand up to cover his mouth. His eyes were shut tightly and his body had shivers going up and down it. Gilbert could've sworn he had heard Oz chuckle. He had to keep a hold with himself, emotionally and physically. Especially physically. He had to keep his body from acting up too much. What if someone walked into the classroom and saw them both like this, with Gilbert having a bulge in his pants? He would have to worry more than just getting fired.

Finally getting some sort of control over his body, Gilbert removed his hand from being over his mouth, planning to scold Oz. However that didn't really go the way he had wanted it to. The stutter in his voice made sure of that.

"O-Oz," Damn, why did he have to stutter like a wuss? He needed to sound like a grown up figure right now. "You need to stop this right n-now."

Oz didn't move nor did the smile on his face leave. Instead, it changed into a smirk. Gilbert suddenly swallowed, knowing that smirk too well. It was one of the famous Oz smirks. Something was on the boy's mind.

"Come on, Gilbert. I know you like this."

Damn, how right he was. Oz sitting in his lap so willingly, their lower bodies dangerously close. Gilbert was doing everything he could to hold himself back from grabbing Oz and pushing him down onto the top of his desk and have his way with him. But even with all these urges, Gilbert still managed to push them down enough for him to keep control of himself.

"O-Oz, no. Stop fooling around."

Oz's smirk once more turned into another hurt expression. What was with that face anyway? Did… Oz really feel something for Gilbert? He frowned lightly. If Oz did have something for Gilbert, he was sure that it was just simple teenager lust. Oz was a boy, he was going through the years of curiosity and puberty. Of course he'd be interested in Gilbert, but only in the lustful way, not in actual love. The blond probably just wanted to experiment with Gilbert. How exciting it must've sound, a student playing around with his teacher. It was not an uncommon idea.

"I want to be with you Gilbert," Oz brought a finger up to be placed against the older male's cheek. A small wave of shivers ran up Gilbert's spine as Oz began to let his finger softly trail down to his chin.

"O-Oz, you don't know what you're saying."

This was just the lust talking, that was what Gilbert kept saying to himself. But Oz seemed to only look a bit annoyed now through the hurt expression he was still holding.

"I do know what I'm saying, Gilbert. I'm not just another horny teenager. I really, truly, want to be with you."

Before Gilbert could try to protest yet again, he found himself being silenced with Oz's lips pressed up against his own. There were a few blinks as his mind began to try to process what was going on. Then, a dark blush appeared across his face. Oz… was kissing him!

This was not happening. Oh god, this was not happening! Gilbert's fingers twitched as he sat there, Oz's lips being pressed a bit more firmly against his lips. The boy wanted Gilbert to respond back to the kiss. So much Gilbert wanted to kiss Oz in return, to allow his hands to roam all over the other's body. But he couldn't.

Unsatisfied with the lack of response, Oz pulled away from the kiss he had initiated, a soft hurt expression upon his face. Gilbert sighed and placed his hands on Oz's shoulders.

"Oz, this is wrong. You're. . . You're fifteen. I'm a twenty-four year old man. I'm too old for you."

The blond boy just shook his head. Did the fact that Gilbert was an older man not bother him at all? The raven haired man couldn't help but feel a bit warm at the thought, that Oz didn't think age mattered. But there were still issues in the way that stopped them from being together, if Oz was truly serious at all.

"I don't care if you're older than me. I still want to be with you, Gilbert."

"O-Oz. We can't. We'd get in trouble with the law. Y-You know better than this."

What was he saying? Gilbert was talking like they had some sort of chance of being together when in reality, they didn't. He didn't need to be leading Oz on like that. With another sigh, Gilbert frowned and stared back at Oz, his hands still resting upon the boy's shoulders.

"Oz, please understand. We can't be together. We can never be together."

It hurt him to say, it really did. He didn't want to get into the topic that once Oz was eighteen, he could date anyone he wanted to. Even then… Gilbert would still be older than him. He'd always be older than Oz. It was something they could never get out of. Thankfully, it looked like Oz was finally letting the information sink into his head. The boy let his head hang down, in a defeated manner. There was a few moments of silence, causing the air around them to become a bit tense.

"…Wait for me."

Gilbert blinked, confused. "What?"

Oz brought his head up, staring up into Gilbert's eyes with his own. Gilbert could've sworn he saw a new fill of determination within them. Just what was going through Oz's mind now?

"I said, wait for me."

The boy leaned up and placed a kiss to the corner of Gilbert's lips, a new smile forming across his lips. Another wave of shivers went up Gilbert's spine. "W-What do you mean?"

"Just what I said," Oz was still smiling, as if he had something all figured out in his head. The boy would lean away from Gilbert, placing his own hands, palms down against Gilbert's chest. "In three years, I'll be eighteen. The law says I'm an adult as soon as I'm eighteen. Then, we can be together."

Gilbert's face flushed up. Had Oz just been reading his mind a few moments ago? No, Oz was smarter than Gilbert had given him credit for. He should've known better. "O-Oz, I don't…"

What was the point in arguing with the boy? He was sure the blond would just try to persuade the older male into the plan. Three years from now was a fair amount of time. It meant there was still plenty of time for Oz to grow out of this silly crush he had and actually end up feeling something for someone in his class. Gilbert would have plenty of time to prepare himself for that day, to tell himself that Oz being in love with him would never really happen. This was nothing but a crush. If he agreed to wait for him, just to go along with it, he was sure it would end this way.

"…Okay."

A spark of surprise was shown on Oz's face. Had he not been expecting Gilbert to easily cave in?

"I promise… I will wait for you. Once you're eighteen, we can be together."

The raven haired man forced a smile, which caused Oz to have his own smile spread across his lips. The boy reached out and wrapped both of his arms around Gilbert's upper body, pulling himself closer to the older man for a hug.

"You really mean that? We'll be together once I'm eighteen?"

Gilbert slowly brought his own arms to wrap around Oz's body, hugging him in return. With one hand, Gilbert patted Oz's back gently. "Yes, I mean it, Oz."

Oz pulled away soon after Gilbert said this, the smile on his face only brighter than it had been moments ago. This made Gilbert smile as well. Oz's smiles were always so bright. It made Gilbert feel warm and fuzzy, causing him to smile whenever he saw the boy smiling. There were moments where he felt younger just because Oz had smiled.

"I'll be waiting."

A sigh fell from between Gilbert's lips. He was in need of a cigarette. The long day of underclassmen not wanting to do their work nor listen to his lectures had gotten to his nerves. Most of his students wanted to go and see the graduation that was taking place in the academy's large gymnasium. Gilbert would've preferred to be sitting between two strangers and watching the graduates, himself. But he had to stay put in his classroom, teaching students who were too unwilling to pay attention.

Now that it was everyone's lunch period, Gilbert was free to stand by an open window in his classroom, a cigarette soon to be within his hand. Reaching into his pocket, Gilbert pulled out a lighter, lighting up the cigarette he placed just between his lips. With one inhale, the man was soon exhaling out a puff of smoke.

"Gilbert, you're going to die one day from those cancer sticks."

Blinking, Gilbert turned around, to face who it was that had just spoke. He hoped to the Heavens above that it was not a student who was interesting in trying to get some of these "cancer sticks" out of Gilbert. He did not need to get in trouble for some trouble maker's curiosity of cigarettes.

"I would be very sad if that ever happened to you."

Surprised, Gilbert stuttered as he replied. "O-Oz? What are you doing here?"

The blond, now a graduated student from Pandora Academy, smiled and moved closer to where Gilbert was standing, his hands suddenly brought behind him. Before he got too close, Oz stopped, his hands still behind his back. The blond had a smile come upon his face. Something about this image before Gilbert made him think something like this had happened before.

"I love you."

The older male stood there, his cigarette still hanging out of his mouth, a confused expression placed across his face. Oz only chuckled at the image of Gilbert.

"Don't you remember? You said you'd wait for me."

Gilbert blinked a few times, trying to figure out what Oz was talking about. Then it hit him. A dark blush appeared upon his face. Oz had been serious? He was still interested in him? As much as Gilbert tried to get over Oz, tried to date women his own age, none of it worked. He always went back to watching Oz through the hallway, behind his grade book, or from behind his desk computer. He was in love with Oz. He had never imaged that Oz would still be interested in him after these three years.

"I'm eighteen now, Gilbert. You said you'd wait for me to be of age."

"O-Oz," Gilbert brought a hand up to take the cigarette from his mouth, putting it out in an ash tray that he had set down on the window sill earlier. "Are you serious about this?"

Oz kept his smile and gave a nod. "I would never joke about something as serious as love."

Gilbert's corner eye twitched suddenly. "Yet you'd joke around with suicide notes…"

A wave of laughter broke through the air, the laughter coming from Oz. "That's because I love the way you look when you get all panicky, Gilbert. It's so adorable."

Gilbert's face flushed up. "A-Adorable!" Gilbert was never really taken seriously. The man was never violent with anybody ever, he lacked the appearance in muscles, and he was always mumbling and stuttering whenever he talked to others. The name Gilbert didn't really help him either.

These thoughts of his lack of manliness left his mind however when Oz walked closer. "I really do love you, Gilbert. And I know you have feelings for me."

The blush Gilbert held earlier ended up growing into a more darker shade. "U-Uh, yes, I do."

Again, he was fumbling around with his words. Oz always had that effect on him no matter what. He could never seem to get himself to say anything calmly around the blond. With a wider smile, which Gilbert could've sworn was more like a small smirk, Oz moved closer, his hands now coming out from behind him. The blond brought his hands out to place them palms down against Gilbert's chest.

"You ever done it in a classroom before, Gilbert?"

That was it. Gilbert's face was now as red as a tomato. "O-Oz!"

Another wave of laughter fell from the boy's lips. The blond's hands clutched tightly at the material of Gilbert's shirt. He yanked the other's upper body down, allowing him to press their lips together in a kiss. Gilbert was caught off guard at first, but his shoulders soon slumped, being proof that he was relaxed. Gilbert's hands soon found their way up to roam through Oz's hair and his lips pressed back to return the kiss. The world melted around them. Nothing else mattered to Gilbert right now. All there was besides himself was Oz, right in front of him. The blond's lips were as soft as ever.

"O-Oz," Gilbert felt the other pull away after a few minutes went by. Just one simple kiss from Oz could send Gilbert into a world of bliss. The blond smiled and once more said those three little words.

"I love you, Gilbert."

A smile slowly formed over Gilbert's lips as he stared back down at Oz. Finally, Oz would hear those same words being said back to him, something he had been waiting to hear for three years now.

"I love you too, Oz."

And with another kiss, this one being initiated by Gilbert, the two would continue to enjoy Gilbert's lunch period together, showing each other how much they loved the other.

- End -