Summary: Spoilers for Retrace 55! Gilbert has less than ten minutes to talk some sense into Break and tell him how he really feels about him. Brief one-shot scene. De-anoning from kink meme.

Words: 537

Rating: PG-13 (language)

Fang and Lily departed the scene as quickly as they'd come, leaving Gilbert alone with Break. The white-haired man held his hand over the wound on his side to try to staunch the bleeding, and stood gazing in the direction of his young protégé.

"Break, listen to me," Gilbert said urgently. "I don't have much time…but…all the advice you gave to me over the years…it finally all makes sense. As much as I dearly care for my master, he's not the only one who is important to me." He put his arm on Break's shoulder, and the older man's eyes grew wide with surprise. "You were the only one who believed me about Zai being the one to throw Oz in Abyss…you were the one who saved me from Gryphon in Sablier…time and again you've helped me…"

"Oh, Gilbert that was for my own reasons…"

"I don't care! I don't care why you did it, Break. The point is you've helped me so much…and you are a priority for me, too. You mean a lot to me…"

Break looked uncomfortable and swallowed hard, as Gilbert pulled him into an embrace.

"Ah, my children are finally growing up…" he managed to say. He wanted to pull away from Gilbert, but he was feeling too weak from blood loss to bother. "Now I can depart this world knowing that you, and Sharon and the others can take care of yourselves…"

"What the hell, Break?" Gilbert said, pulling back.

"I feel faint…" Break swayed.

"No!" Gilbert swooped him up in his arms bridal-style. "Look I have to get back to Oz and you're coming with me." He started walking quickly toward the mansion with Break in his arms. The injured man retained his consciousness, but the jostling of the movement was uncomfortable for him. Gilbert continued, "I don't want to hear anymore talk of you 'departing this world.' When the hell did you become so self-sacrificing? What is this bullshit? I thought you still had a lot to do?"

"I don't care anymore, Gilbert-kun."

"WELL I DO!" Gilbert shouted. "I care about YOU and I totally care what happens to you."

"GILBERT!" Break cried out, his voice more anguished than Gilbert had ever heard it before. "Can't you see I don't want any attachments? If I care…then it will hurt…and I am tired of hurting…I just want to die…"

"That's not acceptable, Break." The raven-haired man was now calm, focused and even-tempered, as they entered the mansion and began walking down a long corridor. "Giving up is the most self-centered thing you could ever do. And you are not as self-centered as you pretend to be. I know you care about people, your actions prove it, even if your words say otherwise."

"Ah, you've seen right through my façade," Break murmured. "The real me was actually…a lot like you…gloomy, irritable, emotional, caring too much…I always recognized myself in you Gilbert…"

"Then recognize this, Break…I am stronger than I ever believed myself to be, and you are stronger than you think, too. Together we're going to fight. Together with Oz and everyone else here."

They rounded a corner and there were all their friends. The time was one minute to midnight…

END

Afterward: This is the kink meme request I was trying to fill:

"So...my mind...IS BLOWN.

Gilbert spent THE ENTIRE CHAPTER angsting about Break. The ENTIRE FREAKING CHAPTER.

In this chapter, we definitely see how much Gil cares about Break. But since I highly doubt that Gilbert will actually tell Break this...I'm asking you a favor, anon.

I want someone to write this scene for me: after Raven chases off the baskervilles, before Gil runs back to Oz, Gil decides to tell Break exactly how he feels. Break is both shocked and a little touched by it, not that he'd ever reveal the latter.

Please. Please fill this."