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"I'm PROTECTING YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, FENTON!" Gyro yelled, forgetting himself for just a moment as his emotions came to a roaring boil. His breath heaved in his chest, hands clenched into trembling fists at his sides as Fenton stared at him, eyes wide with shock.
Oh, shit. The thought crashed through Gyro's mind like a thunderbolt, the words making an unwelcome home there as he realized exactly what he'd just confessed. He told Fenton. After all this time, all these years of careful distance and measured words, he had actually told Fenton how he felt. Something he had sworn to himself he would never do, had forced himself never to even dream about. His chest constricted painfully as the silence stretched between them. He knew - had always known - that Fenton could never, would never feel the same about him. That knowledge squeezed his heart like a vice, making the simple act of breathing feel like an impossible task.
"What." Fenton's voice came out barely above a whisper, cracking on that single syllable. Because here he was, having spent countless nights convinced that Gyro could never love him, that it was impossible, ridiculous even to hope. How many hours had he spent watching Gyro from across the lab, desperately trying to interpret every small gesture and passing glance? How long had he stood faithfully at Gyro's side, grasping at the tiniest thread of hope that maybe, just maybe, his feelings weren't completely one-sided? The answer was painful: way too long - so long that the very thought of this moment actually happening seemed more impossible than the grass turning blue and the sky turning green.
"Forget it." Gyro grumbled, already resigned to letting his heart remain shattered on the concrete floor of the lab. He turned sharply, fully intending to stalk off to his private office where he could lick his wounds in peace and do his level best to forget this moment ever happened. At least, that was the plan until Fenton's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"You can't fucking tell me you love me and walk away!" Fenton yelled, his voice echoing off the lab's high ceiling. His usual carefully maintained composure cracked completely as years of pent-up emotion poured out. "It doesn't work like that! What am I supposed to do? Pretend you never said anything? Pretend I don't know that every time you're looking at me, I'm convincing myself that you can't possibly love me back! That I've been such an idiot, hoping against hope that maybe someday..."
Gyro whirled around, his lab coat swishing dramatically with the movement. "You've been what?" His voice came out hoarse, disbelieving. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting harsh shadows across both their faces as they stared at each other.
"Hoping," Fenton repeated, softer now but no less intense. His hands were shaking as he took a step forward. "Every single day, watching you work, listening to your ideas, even when you're yelling at me about proper lab safety protocols... I've been falling more in love with you, convincing myself it was pointless, that you'd never—" He cut himself off with a sharp laugh that sounded dangerously close to a sob. "And now you're telling me that all this time..."
"All this time," Gyro echoed, feeling like the ground beneath his feet had suddenly shifted. The impossible was happening right in front of him, and he couldn't quite believe it. "We've both been..."
"Complete idiots?" Fenton supplied, a wobbly smile starting to form on his face. He took another step closer, close enough now that Gyro could see the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Absolutely terrible at communication?"
"I was going to say 'mutually pining in silence like a pair of lovesick fools,'" Gyro said, his own lips twitching upward despite himself. "But yours works too."
"M'ma would be so disappointed in us," Fenton murmured, now close enough that Gyro could feel the warmth radiating from him. "She always says communication is key."
"Your mother is a wise woman," Gyro said softly, his heart thundering in his chest as he hesitantly raised a hand to cup Fenton's cheek. "Perhaps we should start making up for lost time?"
The moment hung between them, delicate as spun glass. Fenton leaned into Gyro's touch, his eyes fluttering closed for just a moment as he savored the warmth of Gyro's palm against his cheek. When he opened them again, there was a determination there that Gyro recognized from their most challenging experiments.
"Yes," Fenton breathed, reaching up to place his own hand over Gyro's. "But first—" He pulled Gyro's hand away from his face, but didn't let go, instead intertwining their fingers. "I need you to understand something. When you said you were protecting me... that's not what I want. I don't need protection, Gyro. I need a partner. Someone who believes in me as much as I believe in them."
Gyro's breath caught in his throat. "Fenton, I—"
"Let me finish," Fenton insisted, squeezing Gyro's hand. "I know you care. I know you want to keep me safe. But I chose this life, just like you did. The lab, the experiments, the danger... I'm not here because you dragged me into it. I'm here because this is where I want to be. Where I choose to be. With you."
The words hit Gyro like a physical force, making him sway slightly where he stood. He'd spent so long trying to shield Fenton from the dangers of their work, from his own mistakes, from everything that could possibly hurt him... and here was Fenton, brave and brilliant Fenton, telling him he didn't need a shield. He needed an equal.
"I'm not very good at this," Gyro admitted, his free hand gesturing vaguely between them. "At... letting people in. At trusting them to handle themselves. At..." He swallowed hard. "At loving someone without trying to control everything around them."
"I know," Fenton said, a fond smile spreading across his face. "But you know what? I think you're better at it than you think. You just need practice." His eyes sparkled with that familiar mix of mischief and intelligence that had first made Gyro's heart skip a beat years ago. "And I'm willing to help you with that. For science, of course."
"For science?" Gyro couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from his chest. "Really, Cabrera?"
"Well, we are scientists," Fenton grinned, taking another small step closer. "And this..." He gestured between them with their still-joined hands. "This definitely requires thorough investigation. Multiple trials. Careful observation of results..."
Gyro had always found Fenton's tendency to ramble endearing, even when he pretended to be annoyed by it. But right now, watching Fenton's lips form words about scientific methodology when all he wanted to do was kiss him... well, there was really only one logical solution.
In one fluid motion, Gyro tugged on their joined hands, pulling Fenton flush against him. His free hand came up to cradle the back of Fenton's head, and before either of them could overthink it for one more second, he pressed their lips together.
The kiss silenced Fenton mid-word, his surprised "oh!" melting into a soft sound of contentment as he melted against Gyro's chest. Their joined hands separated only so Fenton could wrap his arms around Gyro's neck, pulling him closer, deeper into the kiss.
It wasn't perfect – their glasses clinked together awkwardly, and they were both trembling slightly from the overwhelming rush of emotion – but it was them. Years of longing and missed opportunities and careful distance dissolving in the warm press of lips and the steady beat of their hearts finding a shared rhythm at last.
When they finally parted, just enough to breathe, Fenton let out a shaky laugh. "That's... that's one way to start the experimental trials," he whispered against Gyro's lips.
"Would you please," Gyro murmured, resting his forehead against Fenton's, "stop talking about science for five minutes?"
"Make me," Fenton challenged, eyes sparkling with joy and mischief.
So Gyro did, again and again, until they both forgot about everything except each other.