There's been an accident.
Gavin's heart stopped with those four words. He quickly threw down his controller and grabbed his coat, fleeing from the Achievement Hunter office without a word to the others. The worst-case scenarios began flipping through his mind like a picture book, each more devastating than the last.
His heart beat so quickly and so violently he thought it might fly from his chest.
"No, no, no," he kept repeating, speeding the whole way to the hospital. He ran red lights and stop signs, narrowly missing cars that had the right of way. He didn't give a shit if he led a high speed pursuit all the way to the hospital, he had to get there. Michael was there. His whole world was currently lying in a hospital bed.
He pulled into the parking lot and rushed from the vehicle to the front doors. He dashed to the counter and, out of breath, managed a, "Michael Jones." The nurse behind the counter tapped away on her computer, her brow furrowed as she searched. As Gavin waited those brutal seconds for Michael's information to come up, he saw the sympathy that began flooding her eyes and face and the pity when she finally looked at him.
"He's in critical condition and the doctors are doing everything they can for him," she said kindly, reaching out to brush his arm.
Gavin felt faint, the blood rushing from his face within a matter or moments. "What…what happened?" he finally whispered.
"There was a drunk driver. Mr. Jones stopped at a stop sign and when he finally stepped on the gas the other driver came from his side and ran into him. Direct impact with the driver's side of the vehicle."
The room started spinning violently and Gavin stumbled to a seat in the waiting room. His hands shook as he covered his face. Tears slowly ran between his fingers and down his cheeks, getting caught in his beard. As he sobbed, his mind drifted to three days ago, when he and Michael had a date night.
"When you came to this country, did you expect to fall in love with a foul-mouthed American?" teased Michael, cuddled against Gavin's chest. Gavin smiled, planting a small kiss on his boyfriend's messy head.
"Not at all, but I guess it was an underlying hope of mine. A dream, I suppose," he replied. "I knew in my heart that the person I was meant to be with wasn't in the UK or even on that side of the world. When my journey led me here – to Rooster Teeth, to you – I knew."
Although he couldn't see Michael's face, he knew he was grinning from ear to ear; one of those genuine smiles that he only gave to Gavin. Michael sat up suddenly and faced him, gathering his hands in his own.
"I knew that I wasn't going anywhere when I lived in New Jersey. When I had the opportunity to work for Rooster Teeth, it just felt right. It felt like it was where I needed to be, even though I didn't really know why that was. I do now. My dream was to make people laugh with my videos and be able to go to bed knowing that I had made someone's day, whether it be in this country or one across the sea." Michael pulled Gavin closer, so close that if Gavin leaned in just an inch they would be kissing.
"I love you," Gavin whispered, staring into Michael's eyes. The corner of Michael's lips turned up ever so slightly.
"And I love you," he responded, finally closing in the gap between the two lovers. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Nothing else existed. It was just Gavin and Michael, two people who loved each other with every fiber of their being. Nothing could tear them apart.
Breaking free from the memory, Gavin sobbed harder into his hands. His eyes stung and his cheeks became swollen and tender from the salty tears. He couldn't lose Michael; if he lost him he would lose a piece of himself that he would never be able to get back.
He felt someone sit beside him and glanced over. It was a little girl, no more than five or six years old. She had dark blonde hair, freckles, and glasses. She was staring at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. She held a Rapunzel doll in both hands. It was worn from being played with so many times.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her high voice like glass to his ears. Gavin wiped his face even as stray tears kept falling.
"No, I'm not," he answered honestly. He felt broken already just from having sobbed for so long.
"What's wrong?" she questioned.
"My boy—my friend," he said quickly, "my friend is in here and he's not doing so well." Her little brow furrowed as she processed what he said. She was still for a moment before handing him her doll. He politely waved it away. "No thanks, love, I don't really need it. But thanks for the offer." He braved a small smile for the girl.
She seemed upset for a brief moment before smiling at him and running back to her corner of the waiting room.
At that moment the doors opened and the doctor came out, face mask around his neck. He searched the room until his eyes landed on Gavin. With a somber look he walked to where he was sitting and took a seat beside him.
Gavin knew what he was going to say.
"I'm sorry, we've done all we could, but his injuries are just too extensive. He hasn't got long."
With each word spoken, Gavin broke a little more. "Can I…" he cleared his throat, his voice attempting to break, "see him?"
The doctor nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. "He's been asking for you. I assume you're Gavin?" He nodded. "Right this way. I must warn you now: he's attached to a lot of machinery but we've made him as comfortable as we could. I can't give you an exact amount of time, but just know it won't be long. I'm very sorry." The tears started up before they even reached the room. He stopped just outside of it and tried to compose himself so that he wouldn't add anymore burden to his love.
He heard the beeping before he saw the machines. Michael laying in the hospital bed, bandaged and broken, made Gavin sob even more. Michael smiled at him from his bed, even though it pained him to do so. "When I imagined this moment, I imagined us old and wrinkly," he joked weakly, rasping his words.
Gavin laughed and then cried harder, sitting in the chair by Michael's side. He gathered his left hand and planted kisses on each knuckle. "You're gonna be okay," he said, mostly for his own benefit. He wanted to believe in his heart that Michael was going to make it. That he wasn't…
"Don't lie to yourself, Gav," Michael said softly. He lifted his hand out of Gavin's grasp and stroked his cheek.
"Th-th-this isn't f-f-fair," he sobbed. "We were going to have this w-w-whole life together. You and me. Team Nice Dynamite."
"I guess we just won't be lucky enough to have a fair life," whispered Michael, his voice getting weaker.
"How will I go on without you?"
"You're a strong, sensible person, Gav; it's one of the many things I love about you."
Gavin sat there, his sniffling piercing the short silence that followed. The heart machine began to pick up, Michael's heart beats coming faster. He held his hand tightly to his cheek, then leaned and placed a kiss on Michael's lips for the last time.
"Gavin. There's one more thing."
"What is it, love?"
"Gavin… you were my new dream." Michael smiled at his boyfriend for the last time.
"…and you were mine," Gavin sobbed. The monitor flat-lined. Michael was gone. His whole world was no longer there and he knew he would never be the same person ever again. Michael was his other half; without him, he was broken.
He laid his head on Michael's stomach and cried and cried and cried until he felt like screaming. He wanted to die, too. How was he to live without Michael? Life didn't make sense anymore.
Little footsteps made him look up, and there was the same girl with the same doll. She silently walked over and put the doll by his arms on the bed. She wrapped herself around him in a hug and then left the room. He picked up the doll and stared at it for a moment before angrily throwing it against the wall. He laid his head back down and continued to sob, even while Rapunzel sang to him.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates design,
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine,
What once was mine.