1.
Ryan had taken Gavin out to their favourite restaurant. The food was fantastic, the atmosphere was friendly and the waitress had seen them holding hands as they walked in so she lit a candle and left it on their table while they ate. Gavin had blushed but Ryan had simply smirked, admiring the way Gavin always seemed surprised when people knew they were together.
After they'd eaten their meals, they held hands under the table and talked while they slowly finished off their drinks, neither of them wanting the night to end. They talked about their latest recording of Minecraft, then Gavin enthused about an idea he had for a game of GTA, and Ryan laughed at the comments that had been edited into their building of Geoff's Anatomy where he'd lost his capture. They laughed and talked and laughed some more until they'd finished their drinks and Ryan had sneakily paid for their dinner while Gavin wasn't paying attention.
"Dammit Ryan, next time I'm treating you, okay?" Gavin said determinedly, taking Ryan's hand in his own as they walked out of the restaurant and into the darkened parking lot, only illuminated by the soft orange glow of the streetlights.
"On one condition." Ryan reasoned, slipping his other hand into his pocket to hold the small black box in his fingers. Ryan almost froze in fear but disguised it with a short pause then he somehow found his voice which was surprisingly steady as he said, "you're not taking me to Jersey Mikes."
"Deal." Gavin said, giggling as he kissed Ryan on the cheek softly before hopping into the passenger's side of Ryan's car.
'Damn. I'm gonna have to plan this out better.' Ryan cursed inwardly as he slotted his keys into the ignition and continued chatting with Gavin as he drove them both back home.
2.
Ray and Michael doubled over in laughter as Geoff struggled to keep his phone steady to record the final moments of their latest episode of VS.
Gavin grumbled as he handed over the belt and trophy over to Ryan who draped the belt over his shoulder and ruffled Gavin's hair with his free hand. Gavin tried to scowl at his hair being messed up even more than usual but ended up smiling in adoration when he caught a glimpse of the cheeky smirk on Ryan's face.
"C'mon guys, is that all you got?" Michael questioned incredulously, holding a hand on his stomach to stop the pain from laughing so much at the dumb antics of Gavin and the ingenious yet evil acts of Ryan that had been showcased throughout the entire recording of the video.
"Yeah, give the fans a bit more Freewood action than that!" Ray teased with his signature childish grin. If anyone in the office were to encourage them, it just would be Ray, wouldn't it? And Ryan was only to oblige.
Ryan had a passing thought of the box containing a certain silver ring in his jacket pocket. That'd be a funny way to end an episode of VS and it'd make it a lot more memorable, too. But his mind went completely blank and all thoughts of proposing dissipated when suddenly Gavin was kissing him. Ryan played along and kissed back enthusiastically for the camera, only giving a playful nip to Gavin's bottom lip and pulling back when he heard Geoff's mock-gagging at the show. Ryan stepped away from an extremely flustered Gavin as he grinned triumphantly, both at his win, at the kiss, and at how adorable Gavin looked when he blushed.
"We'll save the M-rated stuff for when we get back to my place." Ryan purred into Gavin's ear, just quiet enough so that the camera didn't pick his voice up.
"Fuck. I did not wanna know that, Ryan!" Michael barked, covering his ears with his hands in an attempt to block out any other suggestions they might share. The rest of Achievement Hunter laughed at his misery and Ray had to sit down when Ryan winked at Gavin seductively, causing Gavin to quirk his eyebrows alluringly. Michael pulled his hood up over his head and smacked his forehead on the desk.
3.
It was that stupid fucking coin argument again. If Ryan was having this argument with anyone else, the conversation would have been dropped months ago. But there he was, in the Achievement Hunter office, having the same disagreement with Gavin about the coins. Again.
"What can I do to get you to realise you're wrong?!" Gavin exclaimed, running a hand through his hair in frustration as he huffed in annoyance.
'You could marry me?' No, he couldn't say that right then. He was struggling for words as it was, he'd end up in a mess if he let that one slip. And he was usually the most eloquent with words. Besides, he may not have thoroughly planned out his proposal but he knew he didn't want it to happen in the middle of an argument, no matter how much of a joke it was.
"I'm not the one who's wrong, Gavin!" Ryan insisted, putting his hands on his hips and standing a little bit taller. There couldn't have been more than a few inches in their height difference but it never stopped Ryan from constantly using it to his advantage.
"But Ryan, if you flip a coin three times-" Gavin started to counter Ryan's point once more but was cut off by an angry looking Michael.
"Okay, I've fucking had enough of this shit. Can we actually get some work done instead of you two fighting like an old married couple for once? Please?" Michael begged but he still glared at the two of them until Ryan had taken a deep breath and excused himself, saying he'd be back in a minute with drinks.
Michael thought they were like a married couple? Yeah, Ryan wished they were.
'Fuck. I need to stop chickening out' Ryan silently berated himself as his fingers brushed over the small box in his jacket pocket. He'd had it with him for at least a week.
'Next time I get the chance, I'll do it.' Ryan promised, returning to the Achievement Hunter office with a can of Coke and a determined smirk on his face.
4.
He knew he wasn't going to get to see Gavin much that day. He'd been overloaded with shit to edit so he planned to get it all done in one long day's work. He was also fully aware that Gavin had a lot of stuff to do as well. If he recalled rightly, he needed to record an episode of HUNT with Ray, he had their Minecraft Let's Play to finish off editing, and a pile of other stuff.
So that's why Ryan smirked determinedly to himself as he set the bouquet of red roses down on Gavin's desk, slipping the piece of paper under them so Geoff didn't see it as he watched Ryan leave the room. He'd seen how mortified Michael had reacted when he'd suggested 'M-rated stuff'; he didn't want Geoff reacting in a similar way. All he'd written on the note was "Can't wait to see you, I've got something special planned for later x Ryan" but he knew how wild Geoff's imagination was and he didn't want to run the risk of him misinterpreting what 'something special' meant.
The rest of the day was more or less planned so Ryan got through the day with an air of confidence as he patiently waited for the end of the day to come. But the day seemed to drag on forever so Ryan breathed a heavy sigh of relief and grinned when he finished his final piece of work for the day.
Sure enough, he'd found Gavin bouncing around the almost empty Achievement Hunter office, the excited grin on his face only widening when he saw Ryan in the doorway.
"You ready?" Ryan asked, twirling his car keys in his hand and leading Gavin to his car when he'd finally grabbed his jacket and bid Geoff farewell for the night.
The rest of the evening couldn't have gone better if Ryan had scripted it. Which he had tried to do. Several times. But he found that letting his words come naturally gained a far better result than a sentence he'd repeated in his head until it no longer sounded like a sentence.
They'd had a coffee each and Ryan had cooked dinner while Gavin entertained him with his aimless ramblings and crazy questions which Ryan couldn't help but laugh at when he tried to answer them. At some point he'd had a plan for the night. But when they'd finished dinner and Gavin seriously looked like he was about to lick the plate, Ryan decide it was time to clear up and after that, he followed Gavin to the couch.
"What d'you wanna do next?" Gavin asked, smiling curiously at Ryan whose internal monologue freaked the fuck out before coming to his decision.
"I could totally kick your ass in Halo?" Ryan offered, cursing himself once more for backing out. The amount of fucking times he'd planned to propose to Gavin but had backed out was getting ridiculous.
"Oh you're on." Gavin declared, a wild grin on his face as he took the Xbox controller handed to him and waited as Ryan logged them both in.
But as they played, Ryan realised that he didn't actually care if he got the question out that night or not. They ended up having so much fun and Gavin had even won a fair amount of rounds after Ryan had let his guard slip momentarily. It must have been hours that they played for because when Gavin started to yawn, Ryan let them finish the round they were playing and turned the console and television off quietly.
He would have picked Gavin up and carried him into the bedroom if he hadn't already fallen asleep on the couch. Ryan couldn't help himself from resuming his spot on the couch and smiling when Gavin wrapped his arms around him and tugged him closer. Relaxing into the comfortable embrace, Ryan allowed himself to finally fall asleep, his plan completely forgotten for he'd had so much fun with his boyfriend that he couldn't even bring himself to regret it as he quickly drifted off into sleep.
5.
Ryan's predicament had become so ridiculous that even Geoff had noticed. He had immediately weighed out the pros and cons of Geoff knowing that Ryan was planning to propose to Gavin. The pros included the fact that Geoff hadn't protested, so he must have approved. And getting Geoff's approval was just as good as getting his parents' approval.
The cons… Well, Ryan didn't know whether to class this as a con or a pro. Geoff had rounded up Ray, Michael and Jack and the four of them had shoved Ryan and Gavin into the nearest supply closet, locking the door behind them. Ryan knew that Geoff had the intent of keeping Ryan in there until he'd proposed to Gavin.
"How mad do you think they'd be if we screwed in here?" Gavin asked and the light wasn't needed for Ryan to see the mischievous smirk he was being given right then.
This may have been Geoff's oh-so-subtle plan to get Ryan to man-up and propose, but since when had Geoff's spur of the moment plans actually worked? Besides, a quickie in the supply closet sounded like a far more interesting idea than proposing.
"It would be their own fault." Ryan mused aloud, moving in closer to Gavin and closing his eyes when he felt Gavin grab a fistful of Ryan's shirt and tug him down into a heated kiss. Ryan allowed Gavin to take control, revelling in the way his boyfriend could be so dominant.
"Well then, we better make sure they know it's their fault." Gavin muttered into the crook of Ryan's neck as he bit down gently and rocked his hips forward into Ryan's, eliciting a low groan from him. He immediately understood Gavin's suggestion and tugged on his hair, causing his moan to almost match Ryan's in volume.
When Gavin finally came so hard into Ryan's mouth after his orgasm had been denied for so long that he almost saw stars, they would have been surprised if the people all the way over in the annex hadn't heard them. After cleaning up their mess and making themselves look at least vaguely presentable (or at least as presentable as one could after getting off with one's boyfriend in a darkened closet), Ryan tried the handle of the door to find that it opened without trouble. One of the guys must have unlocked it after they'd heard what was actually going on in there.
Ryan was the first to enter the Achievement Hunter office and he couldn't help but smirk devilishly when he saw everyone in the office wearing headphones with various things blaring from them. Geoff noticed the arrival of his two idiot co-workers and pulled out his phone to quickly type out a message, sending it to Ryan and flipping him the bird before turning back to his computer.
Geoff: Never am I ever going to lock you in a closet with Gavin ever again. Ever. You were loud as dicks! Michael nearly stormed in there and punched you but then he realised what he'd be walking in on.
Ryan: You locked me in a small dark room with my undeniably hot and irresistibly attractive boyfriend who also happens to come up with ingeniously risqué ideas. What else did you expect?!
Geoff: I fuckin knew it was his idea.
+1.
Burnie's New Year's Eve barbecue party was always one of the most anticipated and spoken about events of the whole year and pretty much the entire office had turned up. Cars flooded the drive and the surrounding streets, people were everywhere and loud music was blaring throughout the neighbourhood.
Upon arriving, Gavin had immediately lost himself in the sea of people, a beer already in hand as he found Michael and Ray somewhere amongst the crowd. Parties were Gavin's natural habitat; he loved being in the centre of all the music, dancing, bevs and fun. And he'd always be the one with the biggest hangover the next morning.
Ryan, however, was different. He enjoyed parties but preferred to stay in the less crowded rooms where he didn't feel too uncomfortable around all the people. That's how he found himself in the living room, laughing at the crazy antics of Miles and Kerry who were retelling the story of some trick they had recently played on Monty. Apparently they had set his screensaver to the the infamous 'blue screen of death' and watched from afar with a camera as he freaked out.
"Hey guys, it's like 11:50. You gonna come out for the fireworks?" Ryan saw Lindsay peek around the corner of the living room, Gavin and Michael in tow as she enthused over how awesome the fireworks were going to be this year.
"C'mon Ry, let's go!" Gavin tripped into the room past Lindsay and tugged on Ryan's arm. Ryan laughed and allowed himself to be pulled outside and into the huge back garden as Miles, Kerry and everyone else who had been in the room followed. The music had been turned down to a more bearable level so it was easier to hear people speak which was much nicer seeing how the garden wasn't hugely packed any more. A lot of people had spilled out into the street and front yard so they could see the fireworks without being stepped on in the process.
"TEN!" Ryan flinched at the sudden outburst and Gavin laughed at him, wrapping his arm around Ryan's waist and leaning his head on his shoulder.
"NINE!" If he was honest, Ryan was surprised Gavin wasn't already completely smashed.
"EIGHT!" Ryan was glad. It would make what he was about to do next so much easier.
"SEVEN!" He could vaguely see Burnie and a few others ready with lighters to set off the fireworks.
"SIX!" The music was still playing. It was some playlist someone had made with all of the top hits from that year. Plus some others that had more important meanings which would be a sin to leave out.
"FIVE!" He remembered how hard he and the rest of Achievement Hunter had laughed when Careless Whisper started playing.
"FOUR!" Ryan brushed his fingertips against the outside of his pocket, feeling the square shaped bump of the tiny box.
"THREE!" Anticipation and nerves had built up in his stomach and he knew it wasn't because of anything to do with the New Year.
"TWO!" 'Oh fuck, I'm not gonna back out, am I.' Ryan realised in shock.
"ONE!" He'd put this off for so long and here he was, about to actually pop the question.
Numerous variations of "HAPPY NEW YEAR" were thrown about loudly as everyone cheered and whooped. The first set of fireworks blasted off upwards and multi coloured sparks filled the sky, painting the sky with coloured smoke and letting off loud BANGs as they exploded.
Ryan mentally counted to ten before nudging Gavin gently who turned around to face him, an elated grin on his face. Ryan returned his wide smile with a slightly nervous one of his own.
"Can I ask you a question?" Ryan asked calmly, forcing himself to not tap his fingers or rock on the balls of his feet in anticipation. He was fucking nervous.
"Sure, fire away." Gavin replied, looking briefly up at the fireworks, causing Ryan to smirk at the blatantly awful pun. Trust Gavin to nearly give Ryan the giggles in this situation.
"Okay, right." Ryan took a steadying breath as he faced Gavin, fully aware that the fireworks were going to last at least another five minutes. Burnie had gone full out that year. "Gavin, I love you more than words can describe. We've been dating for over two years and they've been the best two years of my life." Ryan spoke loudly and clearly enough for Gavin to hear him. He pointedly ignored the butterflies that fluttered about stupidly in his stomach as he got down on one knee and pulled out the black box, holding it up to show Gavin. "So, Gavin Free, will you marry me?"
Even the fireworks seemed to pause as Gavin's mouth fell open in shock. But it immediately turned into one of the biggest and most beautiful smiles Ryan had ever seen. Words had completely failed Gavin (not much different to usual) as he nodded frantically and after a few seconds, he exclaimed a loud "oh my god,yes Ryan!"
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and utter bliss as he took the silver ring from the box and slipped it onto Gavin's finger. Gavin pulled Ryan to his feet, took his face in his hands and kissed him, a smile still on his face. Gladly kissing back, Ryan couldn't help but smile as well as he wrapped his arms around his fiancé, completely prepared for when Gavin jumped and hooked his legs around Ryan's hips to keep himself steady.
When they finally broke the kiss for air, Ryan rested his forehead against Gavin's and chuckled as the fireworks continued to light up the sky above their heads. He was fully aware of the people around them with cameras, Lindsay had even recorded the event on her phone but Ryan just couldn't bring himself to care.
"Five bucks says this is gonna be on next week's RT Life." Gavin whispered, pressing a soft kiss onto Ryan's lips before they both laughed and Ryan let Gavin back to the ground. They continued to watch the remainder of the fireworks, elated grins on both of their faces. But when Gavin took Ryan's hand in his own, he couldn't resist smiling even wider when he felt the cool metal of the ring on Gavin's finger.