Gil changed into his civilian clothes at the end of the shift, listening as Johnny and Roy talked among themselves, listening as Johnny and Chet antagonized each other.

It was funny, the contrast between Johnny at the station and Johnny out in the field. Johnny out in the field was sharp, decisive, confident. Johnny at the station, well, was very much like the gawky kid he remembered from high school.

That had been a close call, back at the hospital with Larry. He'd managed to pretend not to remember Johnny, but oh, he remembered. He remembered him so well.

Gil used to watch him between pole vaults. He'd been a senior the year Johnny was a freshman, and he'd been struck by the difference between Johnny on and off the track. Off the track, he was gawky, his arms and legs too long for him, with a mouth that frequently ran ahead of his brain. Once he was on the track, it was a whole different story. He was settled, determined, and more importantly, fast. What had been a loose collection of limbs held together by some unknown force became smoothly connected on the track, his legs turning over and over as he flew around the track.

Even then Gil had been a little jealous. He'd never been able to run like that, and his coaches knew it too, guiding him toward the field events. Sure, he was good at it, and there were few better feelings than sailing over that bar and landing softly on the mats below. But he would have gladly given that up for just a fraction of Johnny's running talent.

The Johnny that stood before him now was no longer that gawky, awkward kid. No, Johnny had grown up and grown into those limbs, moving with a casual ease and confidence that did something to Gil. That damn half-smile of his hadn't changed, though, along with the laugh that was more like a scoff.

Johnny turned around to search for something in his locker, and Gil quickly turned away. Things had gone pretty well once Roy gave him that pep talk, and he didn't want to leave things on a sour note. And if Johnny knew that Gil had been watching him, that would most definitely do it.

"How about you, Gil?" Johnny asked.

"Huh?" Gil realized he hadn't been paying much attention to whatever conversation was going on around him.

"I was gonna get some breakfast." Johnny explained. "There's this diner me and Roy stop into once in a while after shift."

"You guys go ahead." Gil told him. "I don't want to be a third wheel."

"I can't today." Roy spoke up. "Joanne has plans for me."

Johnny shrugged and once again turned to Gil. "Guess it's just you and me. How about it?"

Gil thought about that for a long moment. The prospect of spending time alone with Johnny was equal parts exciting and scary. It might be okay if he managed to stay cool about it.

"Sure." He nodded.

"Great." Johnny's face lit up in a wide smile as he closed his locker and stepped over the bench. "You know where you're going?"

"I don't know this area very well, so no." Gil admitted.

"Well hey, that's no problem." Johnny told him. "I'll wait and you can just follow me over. It's not far."

"Great, thanks."

Soon the two of them left the station, and Johnny started toward his vehicle. "I'll see you in a few, right?"

"Right." Gil answered. "I'm right behind you."

Johnny gave him that little smile along with a nod, and Gil watched him for a moment as he climbed up into the vehicle.

This was just breakfast with an old high school classmate, nothing more, Gil reminded himself. As long as he played it cool, everything would be just fine.

# # #

Gil pulled into the parking lot next to Johnny's vehicle, shutting off the engine and meeting up with Johnny for the short walk into the diner. He flashed Gil that smile and gently guided Gil ahead of him as they went inside, that little touch setting off something inside him.

He was trying to stay cool, but Johnny was making it more than a little difficult.

"Hi, Johnny." The waitress greeted them from the counter. "No Roy today?"

"Nah, his wife has other plans for him." Johnny lightly touched Gil's shoulder again. "This is Gil. We went to high school together, and he's been training with us for the last couple shifts."

"Nice to meet you, Gil." The waitress smiled warmly and came out from behind the counter. "Follow me."

The waitress seated them in a booth and gave them each a menu. "Coffee?"

"You know it." Johnny turned over his coffee cup, and Gil did the same.

"I'll bring you guys out a pot." She told them.

Gil looked over the menu while occasionally sneaking looks at Johnny. His brows were knitted together as his eyes scanned over the menu before he glanced up, setting it aside. "Don't know why I'm looking. I always get the same thing."

"Creature of habit, huh?" Gil couldn't help laughing a little.

Johnny shrugged and sat back against the seat of the booth. "Suppose when you find a thing you like, you kinda keep going back to it, you know?"

"Yeah." Gil glanced back down at the menu, making his decision before setting his own menu aside.

The waitress returned with a pot of coffee and to take their orders, disappearing as quickly as she had appeared, and they both reached for the pot. Johnny pulled back, gesturing toward the pot. "Go ahead."

Gil picked up the pot, pouring a cup for Johnny before pouring one for himself. Johnny seemed to flush a little, the color apparent under his tan skin as he picked up his cup and took a brief drink.

Gil did the same, unsure how to start a conversation with Johnny. It was different back at the station, when he'd just fallen into whatever conversation had been going on. Now it was just the two of them, and Gil had no idea where to start.

"Suppose you're feeling better about being a paramedic now, huh?" Johnny started. "After yesterday, I mean."

"I think I am." Gil agreed.

Johnny beamed at that. "Figured you would be. Just needed a confidence boost, that's all. And there's nothing like saving a life to boost your confidence."

Gil took another drink of his coffee. "It sure was something, watching you work. You've come a long way since high school."

Johnny arched an eyebrow. "Thought you didn't remember me."

So much for being cool. Gil felt his face heat up. "Well, maybe I remembered you a little."

Johnny smirked a little. "Well, I definitely remembered you. Kinda hard not to."

"Oh yeah?" Gil was instantly curious.

"Sure." Johnny nodded. "Used to watch you during practice. Man, the way you just… launched yourself up and over that bar. It was incredible. Suppose that was how you made state champion, huh?"

Gil laughed quietly. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure." Johnny leaned forward a little, resting his arms on the table.

"I used to watch you run between pole vaults." Gil told him, glancing downward into his coffee. "You were this weird, gawky kid, but the minute you got on the track, it's like you…transformed. You were…smooth, fast. Pretty incredible. Didn't you go to state, too?"

"Not my freshman year." Johnny answered. "Junior and senior years. Placed out of the medals though."

"Still a pretty big deal."

"Yeah, I guess." Johnny took another drink of coffee just as the waitress showed up with their meals.

They both started eating in silence until Johnny broke it. "What do you think of me now?"

"What do you mean?" Gil was completely thrown by the question.

"I mean, you said I was this weird, gawky kid in high school." Johnny explained. "Which is true, I was. Guess I'm just wondering what you think of me now."

Fear clutched at Gil. This wasn't a question Johnny really wanted the answer to, he was sure of it. "Well, I mean, we've both grown up, right? Neither one of us is the same as we were in high school."

"You haven't changed that much." Johnny told him casually. "Except for the moustache. You didn't have that in high school."

Gil took a bite and chewed, trying to think of how he wanted to put it. How could he explain how he perceived Johnny now? Self-assured, confident, capable? Yes, he had all of those qualities and more.

How was he supposed to tell another guy that he found him attractive?

He swallowed the bite and followed it with another drink of coffee. "You've…grown into yourself. You're still all arms and legs, but you've figured out how to manage them, I guess."

"Mostly." Johnny smiled ever so slightly. "Still trip over my own feet pretty regularly."

Gil managed what he hoped was a smile in return. "It's not just that. You're confident and you're capable and…well, I have to admit I felt kind of like an idiot when we were at the hospital. You had it all together and I just…froze."

Johnny shook his head. "That just takes practice. The more you do this, the better you're gonna get at it. I've been doing this for a couple years, you know? You're just starting out. And you sure as hell didn't freeze up at the amusement park, right? Looked like you had it all together to me."

"Only because you were up there with me." Gil felt compelled to point out.

"Like I told Dix, you and me made a pretty good team." Johnny answered. "And wherever you end up, you're gonna be a damn good paramedic."

"That means a lot, Johnny." Gil told him quietly. "More than you know."

They fell silent as they continued eating, eventually making their way through the whole pot of coffee. Gil kept glancing at Johnny every so often. He couldn't help wondering why Johnny had asked him what he thought of him now. Maybe it was just curiosity, maybe there was some other reason.

He didn't dare entertain the thought that there might be some other reason. The likelihood that they were playing for the same team was minimal, at best, and Gil wasn't going to ruin whatever was happening here by assuming things. If Johnny wanted to reconnect and stay friends, that was fine with him, though he had to admit that it would be nice if there was something more there.

"You boys want some more coffee?" The waitress broke into his thoughts.

"Um…sure." Johnny nodded before turning his attention to Gil. "Unless you have somewhere to be."

Gil shook his head. "No, not right now."

"Great, I'll bring you boys a refill." The waitress responded. "Back in a minute."

Once the waitress left, Johnny smiled slightly. "You've been pretty quiet over there."

"Just thinking, I guess." Gil replied.

"Oh yeah?" Johnny set his plate aside and rested his elbow on the table, his chin resting on his hand.

"Yeah." Gil knew he had to tread carefully. "Just thinking how it's been good seeing you again. I know we didn't get to know each other all that well in high school."

"No reason we can't get to know each other now." Johnny replied.

"I suppose not." Gil answered, feeling the heat creep up his neck and face.

Johnny tilted his head slightly, a curious look on his face. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, it's just…well, maybe there's something you should know about me." He needed to get this out. His nerves were starting to get the better of him. "See, when I used to watch you in high school…well, I guess I wasn't really aware what it meant back then. I just liked watching you."

Johnny's expression changed ever so slightly as he seemed to realize what Gil was saying. "Huh. Guess that makes two of us."

To say that Gil was surprised was an understatement. "Really?"

Johnny shifted so that he was once again leaning against the back of the booth before nodding. "Took me a while to put it all together, you know, that I wasn't just into girls."

It felt as if a weight lifted from Gil's shoulders. "So…there is a possibility we play for the same team."

Johnny's face broke into that familiar wide smile. "Kinda sounds that way. I'm still kinda going back and forth between the teams, but…yeah."

The waitress showed up with another pot of coffee, and Johnny immediately grabbed it, filling up Gil's cup before filling his own. He set the pot aside and raised his cup. "So…here's to getting to know each other."

"In more ways than one." Gil responded.

Johnny smiled again, clinking cups with Gil's before taking a drink. They fell into more casual conversation after that, spending the remainder of the morning in that booth. Gil would have spent all day there with Johnny if he could have.

Finally, with another pot of coffee down, the waitress brought the check, and Johnny immediately scooped it up.

"You don't have to do that." Gil told him. "I'll pay my share."

"My treat." Johnny answered. "You can cover it next time."

Something in Gil warmed at the thought. "I'll make sure to do that."

They left the diner and made their way out to their respective vehicles. Johnny pulled a memo pad and a pen out of his pocket, scribbling something down before handing it to Gil. Gil tore off the bottom of the page and wrote his own phone number before handing the memo pad and pen back to Johnny.

Johnny studied it briefly before sticking it back in his shirt pocket, moving toward Gil. "I'll call you. Promise."

"Or I'll call you."

"Okay." Johnny looked around for a moment. "Do you see anyone around?"

Gil glanced around. "No. Why?"

"Just wondering." Johnny leaned in and quickly kissed him before pulling back slightly. "Your moustache tickles."

"I'm not getting rid of it." Gil told him, still feeling caught a little off-guard. "Worked too hard to grow it."

Johnny acknowledged that with a nod before leaning in again, this time capturing Gil's mouth more fully, letting it linger and deepen for a long moment before they finally broke it off.

Gil reached for Johnny's hand, squeezing it briefly. "I'll see you around, Johnny."

"Damn right you will, Gil." Johnny answered, squeezing his hand back in response.

Gil stepped back as Johnny climbed up into his vehicle, starting it up and shoving a pair of sunglasses on his face. He waved at Gil before backing out and leaving the parking lot.

He couldn't help smiling to himself as he got into his own vehicle for the drive home. This would be a very interesting reunion in more ways than one, and he couldn't wait to see how it turned out.