Gilbert paid no mind to the music echoing throughout Aunt Josephine's mansion. Or the guests clad in the most outrageous-looking costumes he'd ever seen. They could've been Avonlea residents in the usual greys and browns. All his attention was on his Anne, dressed in the most beautiful pink gown he'd ever seen. He inwardly chuckled at her old remarks about being unable to wear pink because of her hair.

Boy, was she wrong!

But before Gilbert could act on his desire, Anne disappeared.

Rats!

He was going to have to find her now. A task easier said than done with all these people occupying every corner of every room in the house. Thankfully, he spied a familiar face dressed in blue and immediately made his way over to her.

"Diana."

She broke away from dancing with Jerry. "Yes?"

"Have you seen..."

"Anne went upstairs to her bedroom. She twisted her ankle, the poor thing."

Gilbert felt his face flush at the prospect of Anne being upstairs. Alone. In a bedroom.

Jerry put his arm around his wife. "Yeah. I saw. She twisted it badly."

Diana giggled and gave him a teasing nudge. Then another voice joined in the conversation, Cole having appeared out of nowhere.

"If only there were a doctor around here…."

But before Gilbert could react to that statement, Cole walked off, throwing him a smirk over his shoulder. Diana and Jerry resumed their dance, and Gilbert headed towards the stairs. He reached the top and wandered over to Anne's designated room, knocking on the door.

"Anne? It's me."

"Come in."

Gilbert opened the door to find Anne barefooted, lying face up on the bed. He shrugged off his constricting jacket.

"Your ankle any better?"

She stood up from the bed and smiled bashfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I don't have a sprained ankle."

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at this unexpected bit of information. "Huh?"

"The sprained ankle was Diana's idea. She thought it was a good excuse for us to get away from the party and have some alone time. I've always thought she was a clever one. Not to mention a sly one."

Gilbert couldn't help but agree and set out a prayer to Diana Barry yet again. He unbuttoned his shirt, wanting to take Anne to bed right then.

"Now that I've finally got you alone, what would you like to do?"

He stared deep into her eyes. "You choose."

Anne began to remove her dress.

Oh no. That wouldn't do at all.

Gilbert stepped forward, causing her to pause her movements, her eyes wide.

"I'd like to undress you."

She nodded, letting him pull out her hairpins before moving on her clothes.

The pink dress fell to the floor. Followed quickly by her corset, which he managed to unlace despite his trembling fingers. He walked her backwards and gently pushed her, causing her to fall onto the bed.

Gilbert watched Anne shuffle backwards and get under the covers before getting into bed beside her. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he kissed her tenderly before rolling her onto her back and covering her with his body. He sighed into her mouth, pressing her more firmly into the bed. She felt so perfect that he couldn't help moving his hips against hers slightly.

"Is this all right?"

"More than all right. It's lovely."

Recapturing her lips, Gilbert's hands crept down from her face and tugged up her chemise, exposing creamy, freckled skin to his hungry eyes. Unable to hold back his desires anymore, he swooped down to place open-mouthed kisses along her torso, running his fingernails lightly over the soft skin.

She squirmed on the bed from his attentions. "Gilbert, that tickles!"

He chuckled against her skin, kissing further down her body and tugging off her drawers and stockings.

"I've studied up on this. I hope I can do it right."

Anne rose, confused by his actions. "Gilbert? What are you…oh my!"

She fell back against the bed, giving herself over to the agonising pleasure he was suddenly bestowing upon her. He loved her not just with his mouth but with his hands, letting them trail across her stomach, over her thighs, before sliding around to cup her glorious backside, holding her firmly in place against him.

"Will you make love to me?"

Gilbert almost misheard her. He raised his head and gazed into her eyes, seeing nothing but sincerity staring back at him. "Are you sure?"

Anne bit her lip. "Yes. I'm sure. We're already getting married, so I don't see why we shouldn't. I'm ready to do this with you, Gilbert. I am if you are."

He needed little encouragement and Gilbert kissed his way back up her body, removing his undergarments in the process. Before fully registering what was happening, he was inside her, rocking against her in clumsy yet pleasurable movements.

Any concerns about whether they should be doing this quickly diminished when Gilbert looked down to find Anne gazing up at him with the most tender expression he'd ever seen.

He leaned down to kiss her gently, his hands cupping her face as he continued to rock into her. "I'm not very good at this," he chuckled against her lips. "I'll get better at it. Don't worry."

Anne beamed back at him, caressing his cheek. "I can't tell. Feels amazing."

And with one last lingering kiss to her lips, no more words were spoken after that.

Minutes later, Anne lay in Gilbert's arms. They were almost about to fall asleep when loud cheers from downstairs broke the silence. Anne laughed, pressing her face into Gilbert's chest.

"I completely forgot that there was a party going on downstairs."

Gilbert smirked, drawing her closer to him. "What party? I don't remember the party at all."

He reclaimed her lips. "All I remember is you and that pink dress..." He pulled away, nipping at her lower lip. "Hmm...think you might want to wear more pink in future?"

"I'm not sure. I still think it clashes with my hair. I only wore it because I lost a card game against Diana. I wanted to wear the blue dress that she's wearing."

He chuckled into her ear, punctuating his words with soft kisses to her ear. "I'm glad you lost. I officially declare that pink is your signature colour now. How about we leave the blue for Diana, yes?"

That earned him a playful slap against his chest. "Oh, hush." She yawned, laying her head back against his shoulder. "Anyway, let's go to sleep, and we can argue about it tomorrow."

He rolled his eyes affectionately, giving her a peck on the nose. "Very well. Goodnight, my Anne."

"Goodnight, sweet Gilbert. I love you."

"I love you too."

And they fell asleep in each other's arms.