Summary: Chronically insecure Gilbert just wants to hear his master tell him that he loves him. How hard could that be?

Words: 969

Rating: G

Writer's Note: A prompt from the kink meme: "Gil obviously wants Oz to say "I love you" (not like he would have the guts to ask him straight out) but Oz doesn't want to. Go wherever you want with this, anon, but I want a tsundere!Oz, please? Of course, Oz does tell Gil he loves him in the end, that's a must 3"

Gil lit up a cigarette, then opened the window.

"Those things smell awful, Gil!" Oz griped, putting his hand over his nose and mouth. "Paaa! I need some fresh air." He tugged his boots on and headed for the door.

"Let's go for a walk then," suggested Gil, grabbing his coat.

"Well, if you walk with me, smoking that thing then I have to smell it. So I'm just gonna go out by myself."

Gil looked at Oz's scowling face and sighed.

"Okay. I'll catch up with you. It's not safe for you to walk around this city by yourself."

Oz slammed the door behind him, leaving Gil alone to finish his cigarette. Why can't Oz accept my smoking? I tolerate annoying things about him, like the way he teases me. I thought if you loved someone, you put up with even their bad habits. Except…maybe he doesn't really love me? Come to think of it, he's never really said, 'I love you'…

Whenever Gil dug himself into an insecurity hole, he needed a strong rope to pull himself out of it. And this time, the rope would be the words "I love you," coming from the mouth of his master, Oz Vessalius. Nothing less would do.

He put out his cigarette in a cup of half-drunk tea, put on his hat and left the apartment, jogging long, lumbering strides to catch up with Oz. He finally saw the blond chatting with a young woman about his age and the self-doubt welled up like a lump in his throat. By the time Oz finally noticed his raven-haired servant lurking there, Gil had chain-smoked two more cigarettes.

"There you are!" Oz said, grinning. Then he noticed the cigarette in Gil's hand and glowered. "Still smoking!"

Gil's cheeks flushed pink and he hastily tossed the cigarette down and ground it into the pavement with his boot.

"WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU?" Oz hollered and pounded Gil's chest with his fists. "I can't command you to quit. We've tried that. And the candy cigarettes didn't work either."

Gil grasped Oz's hands to keep him from hitting, and tried to maneuver them into resting gently on his chest, hoping against hope that his master would give him some reassurance in the form of tender touches. He'd longed for that, as much as he longed to hear the declaration of love.

"Oz," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "How do you feel about me?"

Oz pulled his hands away.

"Well, right now, I feel annoyed by you."

Gil sighed, lamenting his poor ability to read the atmosphere. He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair to soothe his nerves.

"Go back to my place?"

Oz shrugged and the two walked side by side down the streets of Reveille. Gil walked along shifting his eyes in his master's direction every so often to see if his mood had changed. When he noticed the brightness had returned to those emerald eyes, he dared to say,

"I thought you didn't mind me smoking."

"I'm worried about your health, silly. I don't want you to die before I do." Oz looked at Gil and grinned. "Then who would serve me?"

Gil's heart leaped at Oz's smile, then felt his heart sink into his nervous gut again as he imagined a world where he'd outlive Oz.

"But…aside from my cigarette smoking, uh…um…how do you feel about me?"

"You're a faithful and devoted servant," said Oz, kicking a rock into a hole, "who I love to tease."

I love…to tease. Gil shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and poked his finger into the hole that had formed from years of him shoving his hands in so aggressively.

"I mean…" Gil started to say, then faltered. "uh…like…um…what do you, think, I mean…"

"For crying out loud! SAY IT ALREADY!" Oz hollered and shook his fist at Gil. A few passersby stared at them, and a man inside a nearby apartment shook his head in irritation and shut his window.

"YOU say it already!" Gil shouted back, then immediately felt embarrassed by his outburst, and fell to his knee in obeisance.

"Say what?"

"Say…I-I-I…lo-…" Gil stuttered, put his head in his hands and felt a lump forming in his throat. "Oh, it's useless…you hate me!"

"I don't hate you." Oz looked at his servant, and put his hand on his shoulder. "Get up, everyone's looking at us."

Gil staggered to his feet but kept his face down, his eyes averted from his master.

"What's up Gil?" Oz looked concerned. "What's going on?"

"Sometimes I'm afraid…you don't like me…" Gil slowly raised his face and their eyes met. A single tear trickled down Gil's left cheek.

Oz looked at him kindly, and reached out his hand to stroke the other man's cheek, gently brushing the tear away.

"Gil…of course I do," he said, smiling, his eyes shining. "I like how you're such a sissy and a crybaby, and just the way you are... In fact…" He put his hands on Gil's shoulders and pulled him close. "…I love you, Gil. Really…I do."

Gil grinned through his tears.

"I love you, too, Oz!"

Gil threw his arms around Oz, pressed the boy's head into his chest and joyously kissed the top of his head. Oz snuggled into the warm arms of his beloved servant and returned the embrace.

A handful of applause sprung up from around them, as a few vendors cheered.

"That was beautiful," said a cigarette vendor, approaching the two as they released from their embrace. "That really made my day. Take these as a token of my appreciation for that lovely show." He handed each of them a pack of cigarettes.

Gil and Oz looked at each other and smiled, then giggled into fits of raucous laughter.

(END)

[You knew it would be corny, right? ]