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Gordon sighed. It had been a long month away from his friends, touring the mainland with his brother. Much as he'd enjoyed it, he was glad to be home.
Libby waited at the station expectantly. She had shrugged off the thought of the big blue engine being away for a month, but in reality it had been hard. Of course all of the other engines had been friendly, but it wasn't quite the same.
Gordon caught sight of Libby on the platform, and his face brightened immediately. He'd missed her, although he was too proud to openly admit it. "Libby!"
"Gordon!" she cried, her face breaking into a huge smile. The engine looked as grand as ever, his sleek paintwork shining and every inch of his metalwork gleaming. She wanted to run over and plant a friendly kiss on his cheek, but she was well aware that it wouldn't be appropriate.
As he pulled into the station, his driver had gotten out and patted his cab gently. "You can head back to the sheds, Gordon."
As Gordon headed off, he slowed just enough for Libby to be able to hop into his cab.
Libby glanced around quickly. Everyone else on the platform was absorbed in their own business. She smiled to herself and stepped onto Gordon's footplate. Inside the engine, she immediately felt at home. She lay her hand gently on his metalwork and grinned happily. She felt complete. "Shall I shovel coal?" she asked.
Gordon smiled warmly. "If you please, Libby dear." He loved being around Libby, she just made him feel happy in ways that other people didn't. He chuffed steadily back to the sheds, where the other engines were fast asleep.
With reasonably practiced hands, Libby shovelled coal for the proud tender engine. She knew him well enough to not expect an unseemingly over-enthusiastic greeting. But she was looking forward to spending some time in his company and hearing all about his time away. She was glad that the other engines were asleep. She liked them all, but right now she wanted some uninterrupted time with Gordon.
As Gordon backed into his berth, he smiled at the familiar surroundings. "I am glad to see you again, Libby. It was very lonely traveling the mainland without you."
He let off a soft whoosh of steam, settling into place. "Come sit?"
Libby took up her usual place upon his bufferbeam gladly. She laid her cheek on his and just took a moment to appreciate how lucky she was. She knew that Gordon could sometimes be haughty and hard to get on with, but she had been privileged enough to see his gentler side. "It was lonely here too," she admitted.
Gordon raised an eyebrow. His dear Libby, lonely? How upsetting. He'd have to make it up to her sometime. For now...
"Is it still lonely, now that I'm back?"
"No Gordon, it isn't lonely now." She didn't want to come across as needy, that wouldn't sit well with her companion at all. But, genuinely, Sodor without Gordon was just... not right. "How was the mainland?" she asked.
Gordon smiled. "It was incredible, to be able to see my brother, my relatives and my old home once again. I helped the Flying Scotsman pull rail tours for enthusiasts."
His face fell slightly. "...and I saw Mallard again..."
"Wow," said Libby, "I bet you were quite the celebrity!" She was aware that many people would do almost anything to have the chance to ride in a carriage pulled by the beautiful Flying Scotsman. No doubt, passengers had viewed Gordon with a similar enthusiasm. But Mallard.... was that bad? "Is... Mallard ok?" she asked.
Gordon sighed. "He's... Prickly. Being on static display hasn't done anything for his ego, and he very much has a 'holier than thou' attitude."
Gordon had gotten chewed out for basically escaping the mass scrapping of their kind, despite that not actually being something he had control over. Green Arrow and Scott had to step in to get the bitter A4 to stop.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Libby, "I would have thought that being so well known would make him feel proud." She pursed her lips and thought about the situation. It made sense really, what steam engine would want to be stuck on static display? "Is there no hope of him being out on the rails again?"
"On his own power? It'd take an intense restoration and a lot of money to do so. To take him out on a flatbed might be possible, but his ego would prevent him from appreciating it."
Gordon closed his eyes, clearing his thoughts. "But never mind. We mostly leave the 'sitting duck' to himself."
"I think we take it for granted here on Sodor," said Libby, "the mainland is a very different place, from what I've heard." It scared her to think that an engine could get to the point that a restoration was not viable. "But," she said, "the Flying Scotsman, he still finds himself busy enough, right?" Before getting the job here, she had looked up short breaks to Scotland, and found they were very expensive! The Flying Scotsman was in high demand.
"Oh yes, my dear brother often finds his schedules packed months in advance. He's been many places, even Australia at one point."
Scott had spoken fondly of the mainline running he'd done there. Australia was a lot more welcoming of steam engines on mainlines than BR.
"Would you ever... be tempted to leave Sodor and join him?" Libby wouldn't dream of ever holding Gordon back, but her heart beat fast at the thought of him leaving. Australia was a long way away, and she had never left Sodor.
Gordon shook his head as best he could, wobbling Libby slightly on his bufferbeam. "Despite how nice it sounds, Sodor is my home."
He looked over at Libby, smiling slightly. "And besides, I could never leave you behind, Libby my dear."
Libby blushed. She would follow Gordon anywhere, if he asked. But Sodor was everything she knew. "That means a lot, Gordon," she said.
Her cheeks coloured as she thought through the last month. "I… was worried that you might meet another engine," she confessed.
Gordon's eyes widened, and he'd looked over at Libby in surprise. "Libby..."
He hadn't thought she might feel that way. "Even if I had, I could never leave you behind. You mean a lot to me."
Smiling happily, Libby patted the engine's paintwork. "Gordon, you mean the world to me." She had said it without thinking, and as the words hung on the air she suddenly realized just how far they had come. When she first arrived at the railway, being there had been an absolute chore. But now.... she understood.
She understood why people flocked to see the steam engines, why documentaries got made about them, and why a driver always called their engine a 'him' or 'her'.
Gordon smiled brightly, proud that Libby thought of him in such a way. He had never been told he meant the world to anyone, and was highly flattered.
He stared up at the stars quietly, contemplating. He remembered his first meeting with Libby, and everything that they had experienced together since. It put a warm feeling in his boiler to know that he was cared for like this. He'd never expected to be loved, merely to be useful.
The stars glinted in the sky above them, tiny points of light in the wide black sky. Libby felt relaxed and comfortable, the tension she had been carrying in her shoulders fading as she allowed herself time to be still. "Sometimes, people say that you can see the future in the stars," she said, "what do you see in the future for us?"
Gordon squinted. "Well, that cluster looks like a clock. Perhaps we have a lot of time left together, or a lot of time around each other." He blinked, surprised. "That one's movi- Oh no wait, that's a plane."
He sighed, bemused. "I suppose I'm not very good at this, am I Libby?" He chuckled. "I'm an express, not an oracle."
Libby laughed. "You're my express!" she said happily. Carefully getting to her feet, she stood on the buffer beam and stared up at the stars. One hand rested on Gordon for balance, his metalwork comforting and familiar. As her eyes adjusted she began to see patterns and shapes in the sky. She imagined lines linking the scattered lights, joining them and spreading out like a great network of… tracks.
Gordon did his best to stay still and not jostle Libby, but he knew he couldn't hold it for too long.
"Libby dear, please come down from there before you fall off. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
But he loved how happy she'd looked, how carefree she'd seemed, a solid figure amongst a sea of sparkling stars.
"Oh, alright, " she called, carefully climbing back down. Her voice held a gentle mockery. Gordon was always so genteel and careful; so much more of a gentleman than, well, any man she had ever met. But it wasn't a side he showed to just anyone. She grinned to herself as she imagined what the other engines would say if they witnessed this side of the arrogant express. "You know...." she said thoughtfully, "everyone has you all wrong, don't they?"
"I don't know what you mean! They have me perfectly right!" Gordon spluttered.
He turned a brighter red than James' paint, and mumbled something quietly.
"Do they, Gordon?" Libby hopped off the buffer and stood in front of the engine, facing him. She tried to keep her voice down so that she didn't wake the others. His face had hardened into that uptight expression that everyone else knew so well, but to her now it didn't suit him at all.
Gordon could hear the disappointment in Libby's voice, and couldn't hold the facade. He relaxed, and sighed. "They do."
He looked up at her. "I'm only ever like this for you."
"Well I am immeasurably lucky," she said, "but don't you think that... maybe... they deserve to know the real you?" Libby bit her lip, part of her wishing she could take those words back. It wasn't her place so say things like that.
Gordon couldn't look Libby in the eye. "I... I do, sometimes. I know I shouldn't hide like this but... I'm terrified."
"I've shown them a strong, confident exterior for my whole life! I... I'm scared they'd reject me. Or worse, mock me."
"But you've seen all of the things they have gone through! Has anyone ever been rejected or left behind? And everyone has a soft side... even the worst of us... so why should you need to be any different?"
Gordon was trembling, ashamed. "I... I..."
He couldn't get it out. He couldn't say it. The words stuck in his throat, and glued his lips shut. 'I don't,' he wanted to say. 'I don't need to be any different. I only need to be me.'
But the words could not be spoken, and he looked down in defeat.
"Oh, you big blue idiot!" Libby ran forward and hugged him, closing her eyes and just savouring their closeness for a moment. Pushing it wouldn't help. Maybe she should just be satisfied that the engine felt comfortable enough to share his true self with her.
"I know," Gordon whispered quietly. "I know I am. But somehow I'm less of one around you."
He focused on her embrace, on the warmth of a hug from his dearest friend and, dare he say it, love. It grounded him, and the shudders slowly tapered off.
Libby felt herself blush. Perhaps that was it, the great gift that they shared was their ability to truly see each other, flesh and metal aside.
A wave of emotion overcame her and she pressed her forehead to the cool paintwork, steadying the swirl of her thoughts. She wore her own facade too, she realized, but here under the blinking stars it was falling aside. Who cared what the world thought? Who cared what people might say? Some gifts were too good, too rare and to beautiful to hide away. Like the stars, they should be allowed to shine. "I love you Gordon," Libby murmured.
"I love you too, Libby." Gordon replied.