Chapter 3 -The confession
Gibson followed Antauri into the command center, silently. Antauri hovered quietly, as Gibson sat down in his own chair. Antauri spoke calmly. "Gibson, do you have something you want to tell me?" Gibson could not at first reply. Then he said slowly, "Yes, It's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time".
Gibson spoke for a few minutes, Antauri just listened.
"Antauri, for all these years we've been friends, teammates. But you've always stood out more than the others, as more of a friend I could talk with. But now… I know it's more than that… the truth is… I'm in love with you Antauri; I have been for a long time. It's hard to really explain, and I didn't understand it at first, I tried to push it away. But I can't. Antauri took this all in with silence, and then finally said "I understand Gibson. I wondered if you felt that way. Something told me you were different from the others. More complex… more difficult to understand… yet in a wonderful way. I feel the same for you."
Gibson hadn't expected that. He had expected Antauri to say he wasn't that way, or that it was just a phase or even that he might get angry. But not this calm, resolute agreement. He got up, almost trembling. To his surprise, Antauri lowered himself to the floor, and hugged Gibson very gently. "I think this is the beginning of a much deeper relationship between us". Gibson hugged him back, and then turned bright red. He walked away quickly, "See you in the morning". Antauri nodded. Gibson went up to his room, and smacked himself in the forehead. "What an idiot I am! I told him the truth and then just took off! How can I ever face him now?"
Thanks for the reviews, this story isn't over yet. By the way, there's a BIG twist in the next chapter!