The second he burst through the front door, Gavin knew what he had to do. Ryan watched in confusion as the Brit scrambled for his laptop, booting it up immediately and opening up Steam.
"Gav?" Ryan asked, hoping that his boyfriend would explain his erratic behaviour, but he was immediately shushed by Gavin who patted the empty seat of the couch next to him.
Ryan complied, sitting down and peering around to watch as Gavin entered his credit card details, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 sitting in his basket. He stayed silent as Gavin proceeded through the online checkout, for fear of messing Gavin up. Only once the game was installing did Gavin look up at his boyfriend, determination writ on his face.
"Michael wants to do a bloody Play Pals in it and I wanna make sure I don't look like a goddamn fool again like I did last time," he explained, and Ryan nodded in understanding, but he couldn't help the smirk that worked its way onto his face. Man, his boyfriend was stubborn. And he really didn't like losing to Michael, even if they were both technically the losers. "Will you play it with me?"
"I dunno, Gavin," Ryan shrugged with an unconvinced expression. "It seems pretty scary, I wouldn't wanna have nightmares."
"Aw, but Ry-an." Gavin whined, dragging out Ryan's name and sticking out his bottom lip in the biggest pout he could pull off. "I need my big strong Rye-bread to protect me!"
"What's in it for me?"
"You get one favour that you can cash in anytime, anywhere."
"What kind of favour are we talking here?" Ryan queried, his voice a low purr as he leaned not-so-subtly closer to Gavin so their sides pressed together.
"The sexual kind, duh." Gavin replied with a wink.
Ryan pretended to contemplate it for a few moments, tilting his head in thought. "Sounds like a fair bargain," he answered, and Gavin grinned widely before opening up the game that had finally finished downloading.
They both held their breath as the short cutscene played, nerves already settling deep in their bones. Gavin flinched when the screen suddenly began to crackle and fizzle into the main screen, and he practically leapt out of his skin when Ryan stood up.
"I'm turning off the lights." He declared with a devious smirk, striding over to flick the switches, leaving the open living room in darkness, save for the dim light the laptop screen gave off. It illuminated Gavin's face in an oddly eerie way, but Ryan knew it was just the prospect of playing such a scary game that was getting to him.
Gavin opened his mouth to complain and demand the lights be turned back on, but Ryan silenced him with a chaste kiss before sitting back down and draping an arm reassuringly over Gavin's shoulders. The Brit smiled in thanks before clicking 'new game'.
If Ryan hadn't been on-edge before, then the oddities the guy on the phone spoke of and the various unnerving rooms made sure he was. He hadn't played the first game, only watching the Play Pals video and reading a few articles and reviews about it. Fighting off a shiver that shot down his spine, Ryan wished he had played it, if only to ensure that he wasn't going into this completely blind.
They bantered and bickered as they discussed tactics – Gavin always forgot to wind up the music-box which left Ryan's heart racing as he ordered Gavin to wind it up – but nothing prepared them for when they flashed their torch down the corridor only to see Chica stood there.
"It's the bloody duck, Ryan!" Gavin exclaimed, almost throwing the laptop in fear. Ryan's own heart felt like it had taken up new residence in his throat.
"It's clearly a fucking chicken, Gavin." Ryan snapped back irately; if his arm around Gavin tightened ever so slightly then neither of them made any mention of it, opting to focus their attentions on the game instead.
"I DON'T FLIPPING CARE WHAT IT IS, RYAN, IT'S GONNA EAT OUR FACE ANYWAY!" Gavin yelled, fumbling as he found himself almost too flustered to shove the empty Freddy head on. He held his breath – a contrast to the heavy breathing of the in-game character – and leaned closer to Ryan as he waited for Chica to leave.
After a few moments of doom-laden music and off-putting sound effects, Ryan turned to Gavin. "Do you think it's gone?" His voice was no more than a whisper.
"How would I bloody know?" Gavin replied snippily, holding his shaking hand over the trackpad of the laptop for a few seconds. "I'm gonna take the head off and check."
Ryan nodded, not trusting himself to speak coherently through his uncharacteristic fear, and waited with bated breath for something to happen once Gavin removed the empty animatronic head.
The silence prevailed for all of three seconds (in which the two found themselves hopeful for nothing to happen) before all hell broke loose.
The freaky chicken popped up in front of them, its screech filling the room before it crackled into darkness. The jump-scare had Gavin carelessly shoving the laptop to the other end of the sofa before throwing himself into Ryan's arms, shaking mildly and burying his face in the crook of Ryan's shoulder.
Evidently he hadn't noticed the terrified yelp Ryan had let slip before he held onto Gavin, forcing himself not to quiver as he held tightly onto Gavin. Even when he almost didn't open his eyes for fear of there being something lurking in the looming shadows of the lounge. Gavin probably assumed it was because Ryan was playing the protective boyfriend role, not because he was just as scared (if not more) of the game as Gavin was.
After kissing Gavin on the forehead and rubbing his back - finding the action calming to himself as well as Gavin - Ryan calmly gestured for Gavin to pick the laptop back up so they could begin attempt number two.
"Okay, okay, I think I'm over it now." Gavin shook his hands to rid them of the jitters and loosen them up before he started the first night over again.
This time it went a little better; the first attempt had mostly been full of his nervous demeanour at playing the terrifying game for the first time. But he, unlike Ryan, had some experience with the first game. He claimed that although the game mechanics were easier, the animatronics were scarier because they looked older and creepier compared to the pristine (albeit still fucking horrifying) animatronics in this game.
Gavin's apprehension and unease slowly decreased into slight jumpiness as they continued to play, but Ryan's remained as full-on terror.
Even on their first attempt of the third night (they'd somehow got lucky with the second one), Ryan was practically buzzing in his seat with an unnerving concoction of dread and panic.
Honestly, what wasn't fucking anxiety-inducing about this goddamn game?! The weird mish-mash of parts that had been referred to as Mangle filled Ryan with worry, the heavy breathing of their character when he wore the mask was just plain awful. And to top it all off, the sound effects constantly sent chills down Ryan's spine, leaving him a discomposed mess of emotions.
Ryan kept an avid eye on the in-game time and the battery of their flashlight (or torch, as Gavin insisted it was called), trying to ensure that he didn't miss a single thing. The last thing he wanted was to be caught off-guard. But of course there was something that Gavin forgot to do, and of course they didn't notice until it was too late.
Ryan had been in a constant state of high-alert, but Gavin's sudden nervous demeanour concerned him. Gavin closed the screen of cameras he'd been looking at to glance around the room, but it was too late.
The high pitched screech combined with the horrifying red animatronic with dagger-like teeth which swung down from the ceiling, causing the game to end, had Ryan finally completely losing his shit. He shouted incoherently in horror-filled shock, unable to stop his own hand from shooting out to shove the laptop away from him so he didn't have to look at it.
His breathing was heavy but it wavered when he heard the crackle and buzz of the game that continued to run on the home screen.
Ryan had turned his back to the laptop (and consequently Gavin, too) and he flinched in fear when he felt something touch his shoulder.
"Relax, love, it's me," Gavin's voice was grounding and Ryan welcomed the soft contact of Gavin's warm hand on his shoulder. He rubbed a few circles on Ryan's back before standing up and switching on the lights. "Y'know, I never pinned you to be a scaredy-cat."
Ryan huffed in annoyance but shrugged in agreement. "You've gotta admit, that's one fucking terrifying game," he admitted in a timid voice that left Gavin half-smiling and half-worrying for Ryan.
"Yeah," Gavin reached over to deftly close the game and shut his laptop down before lacing his fingers with Ryan's and tugging. Without a single complaint, Ryan allowed himself to be pulled through the house to their bedroom where Gavin made quick work of discarding their clothes – save for their boxers.
With a smile on his face, Gavin gently pushed Ryan to lie down on the bed before he knelt above him. He held the covers like a cape above them before lying down on top of his boyfriend and wrapping the covers around them. Ryan didn't know why Gavin was trying to make a human burrito, but the comfort and warmth of the contact made him feel safe.
"No scary ducks or foxes are gonna get us here," Gavin informed, littering gentle kisses along Ryan's shoulders and collarbone before slowly working his way up Ryan's neck and jaw. He finished it with a slightly longer, more loving and intimate kiss to his lover's lips, lingering for a few moments before pulling away.
"For the last time, Gavin, it's a fucking chicken," Ryan somehow found it in himself to put on a faux-grumpy tone as he retorted, humouring Gavin. All his fear had subsided somewhat and he felt like he was six years old again, curling up in his parents' bed again after a nightmare; only this time he had his boyfriend wrapped around him after playing a game Ryan vowed that he would never play again if he could help it.
"Alright, you win." Gavin smirked, nuzzling his face into the crook of Ryan's neck and squirming to get comfortable. Only once he settled did Ryan return the favour and wrap his own arms around Gavin's middle, holding him close with a firm grip that informed Gavin that Ryan still wasn't over the game.
But as Ryan relaxed, breathing in Gavin's scent and bathing in his presence, he found himself calming down gradually. The sounds of the man draped over him steadily breathing slowly pushed Ryan into relaxed enough state to fall asleep, comforted by the knowledge that Gavin had closed their bedroom door. Most of all, he felt co reassured by the heavy presence of Gavin on top of him, knowing that he would be safe from any outside threats. Not that there were any, but Ryan liked to be sure.
However, as he fell asleep, only two thoughts were on Ryan's mind.
One; he was never playing Five Nights at Freddy's ever again. Not even if Geoff paid him to do it.
Two; he had never felt so grateful for Gavin being so understanding and loving – he could've made a huge deal out of Ryan being a baby, but he hadn't. He'd comforted him and snuggled up in bed with him, ensuring that he felt as safe as possible.
Ryan honestly couldn't ask for a better boyfriend (even if said boyfriend had forced him against his will to play that stupid fucking video game).