𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑤𝑎𝑦 ; shirbert oneshots

2

A SWARM OF BEES IN MAY
( gilbert )

GLITTERING rays of sunshine danced playfully across the field. It was an unusually warm afternoon for May, and Gilbert Blythe had decided to spend it outside. The dark haired boy lay in a bed of wildflowers with a book of old nursery rhymes shielding his eyes from the sun. The book was important, in more ways than one. The most important way was that his mother had used to read them to him when he was a child, and they comforted him in a way that he never felt anywhere else. 

Gilbert sat up and looked around at the delicate flowers he was sitting amongst. The blues, oranges, pinks and yellows mingled together in a quite simply breathtaking way. The boy's mind wandered back to Anne, and how she would love a bunch of those flowers. His eyes drifted over the page and landed on what had been his favourite poem as a child. It was one that had perplexed him in his younger years, and he still wasn't quite sure of it's meaning. It was called 'A Swarm of Bees in May', and Gilbert's mother had said it was about predicting the weather. The teenage boy was alone in the field, so he thought he might read it aloud. It seemed like something Anne Shirley-Cuthbert would do, read poetry aloud in a field. 

"A swarm of bees in May," Gilbert began softly, a smile forming on his face. "Is worth a load of hay;" he was reading louder now, and more passionately. "A swarm of bees in June, is worth a silver spoon." the boy went on. "A swarm of bees in July is not worth a fly."

"Gilbert?" a girl's voice called out behind him.

Gilbert Blythe dropped his book suddenly and swivelled his head around. It was Anne, with unruly red locks in messy braids, wearing a simple dress and tunic and holding a basket full of the very same sort of wildflowers that Gilbert had nestled himself in. She looked very pretty, her tresses illuminated by the sun's glare. She was smiling, which wasn't common when she was around him, which made the rarity of the moment more special. 

"Anne," Gilbert uttered her name, his voice soft, as if it had been swept away by the wind. 

"Fancy seeing you here!" The girl said brightly. 

"I was just reading," the boy stood up, brushing off his trousers. "What brings you here?"

He was, at that moment, unaware that his chocolate curls were freckled with tiny yellow petals.

"Originally, I had set out to fetch Marilla a few wild roses to put on the dinner table," Anne stared off into the distance, a wistful smile on her face. "But I got carried away, and ended up here. Aren't these flowers just..." Anne seemed to ponder about the perfect word for her sentence. "...sublime!"

Gilbert nodded, staring transfixed at the fiery beauty before him.

"They're magnificent," he said quietly, feeling a smile creep onto his face.

"That's a good one," Anne replied, bending down to pluck a purple one from it's stem and settling it down in her basket. "M-A-G-N-I-"

"F-I-C-E-N-T," Gilbert finished for her, and immediately regretted it, hoping her friendliness wouldn't cease.

Anne only chuckled, holding out her hand for Gilbert to shake. He took it gingerly, feeling a tingle in his fingers.

"I would call that a tie," the girl spoke. "But I don't need your help, Gilbert Blythe."

Gilbert beamed, not quite sure what was going on. It was pure chance that the two them would meet in that very field, in that very hour, on that very day, when Anne was in such a good mood, but it seemed like it was meant to happen. 

"Do you want me to help you find more flowers?" the boy asked, hoping he wasn't pushing the boat out too far.

"Did you not just hear me?" Anne laughed as she spoke. "I don't need your help."

Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "You don't fool me, Anne Cuthbert."

Anne rolled her eyes, kneeling down to pick more flowers. Ignoring what she had said, the boy did the same.

"I expect Marilla will be wondering where I've got to," Anne said. "I just hope I haven't vexed her, but I'm sure she won't be too annoyed once she sees these exquisite flowers. She'll be just as entranced by them as I was."

Gilbert smiled to himself, furrowing around for more flowers to put in her basket.

"You know, I'm not even troubled that I haven't come across any wild roses. I'm sure these flowers will look charming on the dining table."

"If it's wild roses you're looking for, I know a place to find them not too far from Green Gables," Gilbert offered, smirking a little. "I could show you the way—If you wouldn't mind my helping you?"

"I suppose I wouldn't mind ever so much, just because of how much I love wild roses..."

***

As they walked Anne prattled on about the many trivial faults of her life, such as being so redheaded, having such a 'mammoth' amount of freckles and her endless and unsatisfied longing for puffed sleeves. All the while, she didn't once mention being an orphan and all the while Gilbert stared, captivated by her.

"Here we are," the boy said as they arrived at a cliff's edge. 

Along the edge of it were hundreds of wild roses. Anne let out a gasp.

"I saw this on the way over, when I first arrived at Green Gables," she said, leaning dangerously close to the edge to pick the biggest looking flower. "I owe you for bringing me here."

Gilbert beamed. "You're welcome m'lady," he said ironically.

"I don't like owing people," she responded, standing up and holding out the flower. "So here you go."

Gilbert took the flower and looked up at Anne, the now setting sun casting a warm orange glow onto her freckled skin.

"Technically, you also owe me for telling you about the mnemonic device, and for not being annoyed with you for hitting me with a slate." he said, smiling.

"First of all, I didn't ask about the mnemonic device," Anne said, sounding a little heated. "Secondly, You had it coming to you when you called me names and third—" the girl snatched the rose from Gilbert's hand and hurled it off of the cliff.

The boy chuckled, and Anne put her hands on her hips in a huff.

"I was joking."

There was a pause.

"I'd better fetch you another flower then."

a u t h o r ' s  n o t e |

I feel like I portrayed Gilly really badly in this one shot, I'll try to do better next time!