I'm going to start putting the timelines for these oneshots into the little intro, because I realized that I didn't for the last one and it may have been a bit confusing. It was mostly implied though that it was possibly a week or even a few days after the finish of Found. 

This one takes place maybe a few days after the end of Found and before the previous oneshot, when everyone else is still in the abandoned kingdom.

~

Gabriel didn't know what Linda was so fidgety about, but it was starting to worry him. She hadn't been able to get her eye checked yet, but he wasn't sure that it was the pain making her so twitchy. Shintaro had been too busy to heal her eye, and maybe she was anxious for Shintaro - who was organizing homes for the previous Darks. 

But Gabriel noticed that she got especially fidgety around him. For what reason he wasn't sure, but he wanted to find out to see if he could do anything to help. Had he done something wrong? Was there a way to make things right again? Why was she so awkward around him when they had known each other since they were young? 

Gabriel knew that Linda was just a naturally awkward, blunt, and sarcastic person, but she was never twitchy. Ever. It made Gabriel worry that she was in more pain than she was letting everyone else see, but why would she be fidgety? 

And why was she acting so weird around him and Shintaro? 

"Gabriel." 

He was yanked out of his thoughts by Linda's voice speaking behind him, nearly sending him into the ceiling. He turned around sharply with a startled frown, crossing his arms over his chest and searching until he found Linda in the doorway of the room he'd been given - one of the empty rooms strewn in the castle. 

She was leaning against the doorway, trying to appear as nonchalant as usual, but Gabriel could tell that she was anxious about something. Her eyebrows were drawn, her hands were clasped in front of her, and she wasn't leaning heavily on the doorway enough to suggest carelessness. 

"Yes?" Gabriel urged, gesturing for her to continue speaking without making it too obvious that he knew something was wrong. 

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked flatly, tilting her head to one side and making her purple hair flutter behind her. 

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, a million possibilities of what she would want to talk about shooting through his head. He shifted his weight to his right foot and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure," he said. "What is it?" 

She straightened away from the doorway and walked toward him, her steps holding the slightest bit of hesitation. When she was a few feet away from him, she stopped and blew out a sigh through her mouth. "Look..." she started, but didn't finish. 

Gabriel waited with an expression that he hoped wasn't too impatient, though he figured he was giving her his largest "hurry up" look at the moment. Sometimes he guessed his facial expressions seemed rude, because he didn't really know how to arrange his face to fit the mood. 

Linda sighed heavily again, putting an exasperated groan behind it this time. She looked back up at Gabriel, opened and closed her mouth a few times, then placed her hand on her face. "I suck at this, I really do." 

"Suck at what?" Gabriel asked impatiently, tossing his hands to show his confusion. 

"Telling you that I only think of you as a friend, or maybe even just a brother," she blurted quickly without looking up at him. 

Gabriel wasn't sure what happened to his emotions for her, because he found himself not feeling as crushed and angry as he thought he would. Of course she'd known that he'd liked her from the beginning - she was a telepath. There was no way that he was able to hide that fact from her, so why had he even tried? 

And why wasn't it carving a hole into his chest as he thought about a future without her with him? 

"You don't look upset," Linda mused, looking up only slightly to meet his eyes. Her blue eye was still closed from the cut, and it made Gabriel's gut twist every time he looked at it. 

Gabriel blew a sigh through his nose, leaning back on his heels and letting his arms fall at his sides. He was sure that this would probably hurt him later on because he'd liked her from the day they'd met, but something inside him was telling him that a future with her just wasn't possible. 

He'd wanted it so badly for years, and yet here he was, realizing that it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to keep Linda close in his relationships, but he didn't want her to be with him. When had his mind decided that? Why hadn't he noticed it before? 

Now that he really had time to think about it, he was sure that a future with Linda wasn't what he was looking for. 

"You're not?" Linda asked curiously, but Gabriel could hear the relief in her voice. 

"No, I don't think I am," he replied with a nonchalant shrug. It was still a little painful to hear that she didn't like him that way, but it wasn't as devastating as he'd thought it would have been. 

"Just so you know," Linda said quickly, "you did nothing wrong. I guess it was just me. I didn't realize it, but I was giving off the vibes that I did care for you that way when I guess... I guess I didn't. I didn't know that I didn't like you. I thought I did for a long time, but I realized not long ago that I just want to be friends." 

"I understand," Gabriel said as nonchalantly as he could. He wasn't sure if he was thrilled that she was pretty sure she'd liked him or he was upset that she thought she did and then realized that she never did. "I honestly think the same way," he added. "I don't think we would work out." 

Linda smiled faintly. "I'm glad your not upset," she said playfully. "I thought I would have to deal with a depressed Gabriel for a while." 

"What?" Gabriel said roughly, frowning at her. "When am I ever depressed?" 

"I don't know," Linda said with a shrug. "That's why I was really nervous about telling you this. I didn't want to make you upset, because it would be a strange thing to see." 

Oh, Gabriel realized. That was what she was so twitchy about. She didn't want to hurt me, so she was debating whether or not she should have told me.

"I would have been fine even if I did want a relationship with you," Gabriel snapped flatly, crossing his arms over his torso again and scowling at her. 

Linda laughed, and Gabriel didn't try to fight back the small smile that worked its way onto his face. Her laugh always made him smile, because she rarely used it - but it was amazing to hear her so happy. 

"So what made you stop liking me?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the right with a small smile. 

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Gabriel said with a shrug. 

"Alright, who did it?" Rachel asked, coming quickly around the bend of the doorway and walking cheerfully into the room. Her brown hair was up in a high ponytail, swinging behind her as she walked. Her pink bangs were loose at the sides of her face, framing her cheeks. She was grinning joyfully as she strutted into the room. 

"Who made Linda laugh? Was it you?" she asked, pointing to Gabriel with that infectious grin. 

Gabriel's heart did a strange flip in his chest as Rachel directed her perfect smile toward him. 

Oh, he thought with dawning realization. That's what. 

~