When the other eight members of Achievement Hunter took off their SlowMoGuys shirts to reveal their almost-matching 'Ryan the _ Guy' shirts, Ryan could only grin in amused disbelief.
But then he saw that each of them had something different written in the blank space and Ryan wanted to damn Jon for making those shirts in the first place, even though he still took the shirt offered to him by Caleb and put it on without complaint.
Because of course Kdin would have 'Ryan the missing footage guy' on his shirt, and of course Lindsay had 'animal' written in the gap, Gavin had 'hot', Geoff had 'butthole', Jack had 'loophole', Ray had 'psycho', and Caleb had 'loading screen' on his shirt.
Wait… Gavin had 'hot' written on his shirt?
Did he really think Ryan was hot or was he messing about like he did with the others a lot? Was he trying to make a pass at Ryan? Was the sneaky grin he wore purposefully made to get Ryan flustered or was he playing it up for the audience?
Ryan sighed into the mic and shook his head; just leave it to Gavin to make Ryan distracted within the first few minutes of a live panel in front of thousands.
Somehow Ryan managed to survive that panel without too many bumps in the road; he'd gotten distracted and completely blanked when Ray asked him a question, mind too preoccupied with the man sat two seats away from him.
Then he ended up doing the cliche 'longing stare whilst leaning face on palm' thing about halfway into the panel which prompted Geoff to chuckle at the dumb thousand-miles-away expression on his face.
Ryan also distinctly remembered actually stuttering like a teenager after Gavin quirked an eyebrow at him, giving him a sexy and seductive look in answer to a fan's 'fuck, marry, kill' question - that much was obvious because Gavin was saying "well of course I'd have to marry Ryan, there's no way I'd wanna share him."
He went on to say that he'd fuck Geoff because they've seen each others dicks before, what difference would this make? And of course he'd kill Jack, to which Jack rolled his eyes and said "no hard feelings, Gavin, I'd kill you too."
The audience had laughed at Gavin's answer before the next fan stepped up to the mic and asked a question.
But Ryan couldn't concentrate.
The sneaky and sly smirk from Gavin as he winked had broken Ryan. That was it, he was completely non-functional.
The worst part was that it was the simplest things that seemed to get to Ryan, leaving him an uncharacteristically flustered and stammering mess.
It was when Gavin said "hello" with a sparkle in his eyes as he greeted Ryan in the morning.
It was the moments when time seemed to come to a halt when Gavin sauntered close to Ryan, sparks rushing through Ryan's veins when their skin touched.
It was when Gavin stared off into the distance, lost in thought with a serene and calm expression on his handsome features.
It was the mornings where Gavin brought Ryan coffee exactly the way he liked it when it was just the two of them plus Geoff early in the office.
It was every time he licked his lips before parting them in a smile that reached his eyes after hearing something obviously funny during editing, but he would often fight against it and force himself to concentrate and continue with his work.
It was the way Ryan couldn't even do the simplest things around Gavin.
It was every time he walked into a room and smiled a little bit wider when he saw Ryan.
Ryan wanted to scream from the rooftops "I'm in love with Gavin David Free!"
But whenever he even came close to asking Gavin out, even as friends, he would end up tongue-tied and would ask for something else like spare batteries or a pen.
Ryan was the most eloquent of the Achievement Hunters, but when it came to Gavin, he would clam up and fall over his words, leaving the other guys laughing at him until he grumbled and gave up with whatever he had been trying to say.
So that's exactly how the remainder of the panel went, Ray even poked him in the side and whispered a concerned "you okay?"
"Yeah, just fine… Words are hard." He confessed honestly, prompting a chuckle from Ray before he quickly inputted a witty one-liner into one of Michael's stories.
When the panel finally ended and the nine Achievement Hunters left the stage, Ryan breathed a heavy sigh of relief and took a cool bottle of water offered to him by one of the guardians.
Gavin had left quickly with most of the others which left Ryan and Geoff stood backstage, thankful for the peace and quiet they got back there.
"Did you like the thing we did with the shirts?" Geoff asked with a smarmy grin, looking down proudly to the shirt he was still wearing.
Ryan dropped his shoulders and cocked his head to one side ever so slightly with his eyebrows raised at Geoff. "Ryan the butthole guy, really Geoff?"
"Hey, you were the one who wouldn't shut up about it in the Minecraft Let's Play!" Geoff said in defence. "But don't blame me for it, it was Gavin's idea to do the whole shirt thing anyway." Geoff added before Ryan could get in edgeways, making an excuse for himself the second he saw the Brit heading their way, saying something about taking a nap underneath Griffon's stand again after that exhausting panel.
Gavin smiled as he passed Geoff and also smiled at Ryan when he walked into the backstage area, but somehow his smirk seemed more cheeky and teasing than the friendly one he'd given Geoff.
Ryan was confused, but he'd been like that a lot lately and he wasn't insanely fond of it. "I thought you went off with the others to meet the fans?"
"Yeah, then I told Michael I didn't remember where I put my phone and said I had to go back for it." Gavin informed, smile never leaving his face as he stood by Ryan who narrowed his eyes in confusion when he realised something that made Gavin's return make even less sense.
"Gavin, your phone's poking out of your pocket." Ryan said immediately upon noticing the device peeking out the top of Gavin's jeans.
"Well that was easy." He said, smirking slightly as he patted his pocket and looked at Ryan with unreadable eyes. "And now I guess I've got some time to kill before Michael expects me back."
And if that wasn't cryptic then Ryan had no idea what was.
"So I thought I'd ask you what you thought of my shirt." Gavin explained, pointing to the white box that held the word 'hot' in Gavin's neatest handwriting.
And Ryan's mind all but broke.
"I thought it was…" Fuck, not again. Words were Ryan's worst enemy right now. He took a breath and said the first word that came to mind. "Funny."
Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Funny?"
"Yeah, the audience love it when you pretend you're attracted to various members of Rooster Teeth." Ryan said, forcing himself to speak clearly and ignore the blush that was blossoming on his cheeks. Thank fuck it wasn't too bright backstage, the black curtains blocked off most of the light and left the room dim but still lit.
But Gavin was giving him a mischievous quirk of the eyebrow and a sly smirk and Ryan suddenly had doubts that this was a joke. He gave Gavin an incredulous look, showing his confusion clear as day in the dim room. "You actually think I'm…?"
"Hot? Yeah." Gavin admitted with a cool and collected smirk. That motherfucker knew exactly what he was doing to Ryan. "Well, I would've written 'devilishly handsome and incredibly sexy' but that wouldn't fit so I had to make a compromise."
Ryan felt his jaw drop in surprise, but then a grin tugged at his lips and he found himself shaking his head in disbelief. He was about to continue in his unbelieving state and say "seriously?" Because if he was honest, he still thought Gavin was just messing around.
Gavin must have seen the hesitation and confusion on Ryan's face, because to shut his doubts up for good, he grabbed Ryan by the shoulders and tilted his head to the side ever so slightly to ensure their noses didn't bump uncomfortably when Gavin pressed their lips together in a kiss that felt warm and welcoming.
Although he wouldn't like to admit it, Ryan stood there, frozen in place with his arms by his sides and his eyes wide open in shock for a good few seconds before his mind finally registered what was happening. He then nervously wound his arms around Gavin's waist and responded to the kiss with fervour, causing Gavin to smirk faintly into the kiss.
After a few blissful moments where Ryan accepted and understood that yes, this really was happening, Gavin really was kissing him and he really was attracted to him, Ryan broke the kiss and grinned at Gavin with what was probably a dorkish smile but he didn't care.
They only pulled away from each other when a guardian walked into the room, Gavin ducking away from Ryan quickly and taking a few steps back to ensure they didn't get caught.
But before they left the room, Gavin sidled back over to Ryan and muttered in his ear. "So, wanna go to dinner with me when we get back to Austin? RTX takes up way too much time, we'd be too exhausted to do anything."
"I'd love to, that'd be really awesome, yeah." Ryan couldn't help but practically fall apart and gush at the very idea of a date.
"Brilliant." Gavin said with a pleased grin. "Right, we better go meet some fans then, eh?"
Ryan nodded, blush heating his face when Gavin quickly kissed his jaw before grabbing his hand and tugging him out of the room and towards the main hall.