Chapter Text
"Dude, you have a fear of commitment." Geoff noted, shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't saying it harshly or with judgement, just lazily stating a fact.
"I do not!" Ryan retorted angrily, crossing his arms.
"You just ran out on your own wedding two days ago."
"Well... She just wasn't the right girl!"
"This is the third time you've done this, each a different girl." Geoff fixed Ryan with a skeptical look and Ryan huffed.
"It's NOT because of a fear of commitment. They just... They were weird! I mean, the first one did that weird blinking thing, and the second had an obsession with birds. I don't even like birds, Geoff." Ryan tried to defend, but Geoff was smirking at him knowingly. "I could easily marry someone!" He growled, and something glinted in Geoff's steely-blue eyes.
"Oh really? Want to wager that?" Geoff was practically purring at the possibility of a bet, and Ryan was much too worked up to see the problematic flaws that would no doubt pursue if he said-
"Yes." He scowled and Geoff's grin turned chesire.
"Fantastic. The next person that asks you to marry them, you do it. No hesitation."
Ryan thought about it; girls didn't really ask the boy, honestly, and he figured he was pretty safe with it. "And if I don't?" He inquired, just to be sure.
"Then you owe me... two thousand dollars." Geoff decided, nodding happily at his smarts.
"Make it five thousand because I know I'm definitely going to win this." Ryan pounded his fist against the diner table, still annoyed.
"What if you do marry them? What do I have to do?" Geoff narrowed his eyes suspiciously; five thousand dollars was a lot to offer for nothing in return.
"Not a damn thing, Geoff. That's how sure I am." Okay, so it was probably a really stupid decision but Ryan was NOT a commitment-phobe. It was purely coincidence he'd left three girls at the altar, probably.
"Beautiful." Geoff smirked. "I can't wait to make plans for my new five grande."
"We need to make some ground rules. You can't hire anyone or have anyone ask me. It has to be someone that doesn't know about the bet, okay?"
Geoff practically whined but nodded his head, accepting the terms. "Fiiine. Shake on it?" They connected hands just as the waiter tripped into view, spilling freezing water down the front of Ryan's shirt.
"Shit!"
-
Meanwhile, Gavin Free had been having quite possibly the worst day of his life. He'd gotten into a ridiculous fight with his parents that morning (who he still unfortunately lived with at the age of twenty-four) about how he was always going to be alone, only to then come to his job as a waiter in a foul mood, one that only darkened with each customer he had.
"It must be Pick-On-Gavin Day." He muttered to himself as yet another person cursed him out over their food being slightly imperfect. He was at the end of his wits, honestly, and still had three grueling hours of work in front of him.
He approached his newest table where two men were shaking hands; he was wondering why when he tripped over a bump in the carpet, the water he was balancing on his tray spilling over the one with sandy blond hair.
"Shit!" The man cursed and Gavin could have smacked himself in the face.
"I'm so sorry, sir! I honestly didn't mean to! Oh bollocks, I'll get you some napkins!" He rushed into the back, returning with armfuls of the paper squares and preparing to be screamed at yet again.
"Once again, sir, I'm so bloody sorry." He apologized profusely but the man only smiled at him (he was cute, Gavin noted).
"Don't worry about it. Stuff like this happens all the time." The man reassured him and Gavin sighed in relief; he really couldn't handle another rude customer.
"Thank goodness you're not mad." He breathed, patting the table clean.
"Nah. Being a waiter is hard. I had to wait for a while during college, and the people were crazy. It's a tough job." The man chuckled, wiping his shirt down.
"You're the first person to not be an arsehole all day. Seriously, marry me." He teased, starting slightly when the man's companion suddenly burst into laughter, a loud laugh that rang through the restaurant.
"W-what?" The man looked up with wide, blue eyes full of panic and shock.
-
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Geoff was wheezing beside him and the waiter, Gavin (according to his name tag), was backing away slowly in fearful confusion.
"I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean to offend!" He held up his hands in a sign of surrender as Ryan stood, his mind whirring for a way out. Well, he thought, if he played it up, maybe the waiter would just run off. And then he hadn't lost the bet and it could all be resolved before it even started; overall, it was a better solution than his plan of waiting until one of them died.
"Yes. I'll marry you." Ryan said firmly, and Geoff's laughing halted suddenly.
"W-what?" The waiter had stopped now and Ryan stepped closer, smirking at him; the waiter was probably straight and afraid, so it would be easy to scare him off.
"I'll marry you, and I can take care of you. You can quit this shitty job, come live with me, and be my husband." He was really hamming it up, and the pseudo-sentiment in his voice made himself want to gag.
There were several beats of total silence in which Ryan waited for the man to run off. He had not expected, however, for the man's face to light up in a huge grin.
"Yes! I accept!" He tore off his apron and threw it onto the ground, stomping on it once for good measure. "Hey, Burnie! I bloody quit!" He yelled into the back and Ryan's heart practically stopped. All he could hear was Geoff's booming laughter and the blood rushing through his veins for several moments, and he was fairly certain he was dying.
"Wait..." Ryan started, but Gavin was already running off to collect his things.
"H-holy shit, Ryan! I'm... I fucking can't BREATHE!" Geoff managed to gasp. "Will that be cash or a check?" He asked proudly, holding out his hand.
Ryan's brain restarted all at once and he snapped his head back to snarl at Geoff. "No, you know what? Fuck you, Geoff. We made a bet, and I don't intend to lose it."
Geoff sobered, looking confused. "Ryan, you don't even like dudes."
"I could. He's kinda cute."
"Ryan, you can't seriously do th-" He was cut off as Gavin returned, a bag over his shoulder and a beaming smile on his face.
"Um, I don't have a car. Could you maybe give me a ride to my house? I need to pack." Gavin shrugged sheepishly, his face reddening, and Ryan firmly nodded.
"Of course. You're my fiance now, after all." He turned to Geoff at that, soaking in his incredulous look. "You coming, Geoff?"
"Dude, this isn't... I don't even know where to begin." He sighed in defeat and followed them out, looking very similar to a child that hadn't gotten his way.
"So..." Gavin piped up once they were in the car and his address had been entered into the GPS. "What's your name?" He questioned and there was a loud snort from where Geoff sat in the back seat.
"Um, it's Ryan." With each second, the severity of the situation was hitting Ryan and his mind was whirring to find a solution. Until then, he supposed, he should probably learn more about this guy as well. "Where are you from?"
"I'm Gavin, by the way." The man added quickly before answering. "I was born in Oxfordshire on the twenty-third of May, nineteen eighty-eight." He smiled awkwardly. "My family moved here when I was seventeen because of my father's job. What about you?"
"I was born in Georgia on December sixth, nineteen eighty." He replied simply, the awkward silence that followed suffocating them.
"I'm Geoff, by the way. I'm gonna be the best man at your wedding." Geoff piped up, grinning wildly, and Ryan's fingers clenched the steering wheel harder.
"That's fine! As long as Michael and Lindsay get to be up there, too. They're my best friends. They're also married! Um, to each other, I mean. I live with my parents, by the way. Would you like to come in to meet them?" He asked suddenly to Ryan, the idea just hitting him.
"Wow, that was a lot of information thrown at me at once. Listen, Gavin..."
"We're here! C'mon, Ryan, you can talk to my parents while I pack. You can come in too, Geoffrey." He offered and Geoff shook his head, laughing to himself.
"It's Geoff. And I'll just wait here." He snickered as Ryan hesitantly left the car, each step suddenly feeling like he was walking closer to his death.
"I have to warn you, they might not be the most... accommodating." The Brit looked towards the door heavily, as if it were going to bite him, before continuing. "Mom! Dad! I'm home, and I have someone I'd like you to meet!" Gavin called into the large house and there was a shuffling of footsteps.
"It better not be another bloody-Oh! Who's this?" A man and a woman, probably around fifty, both appeared, eyeing Ryan curiously.
"He's my fiance." Gavin puffed out his chest proudly and seemed to enjoy the shocked faces his parents both shared.
"Actually, um, I should probably-"
"This is a joke, right? Gavin David Free, did you hire someone to pretend to be your fiance?" The father laughed as the mother began to giggle, a sound much more menacing than it should be.
"Is this because we called you a lonely loser this morning? You think you can just PRETEND someone actually asked to marry you?" His mom blurted out, snickering. "That's so sad!" They were both laughing loudly now and Gavin seemed to shrink within himself, shaking slightly.
"It's not... I didn't... He..." Gavin's voice was barely above a whisper as tears pricked up in his eyes and Ryan felt as if a monster was clawing at his intestines, guilt ripping him apart.
"God, Gavin, I had no clue you'd actually go to this extent! How much did you have to pay this poor guy, huh? What do you think, honey?" The dad jabbed his wife playfully and she gasped for air between giggles.
"Probably five thousand dollars, honestly!" The accuracy of her statement pierced Ryan's heart and he slouched, glancing over at Gavin, the latter of which was hiccuping with his effort to keep from crying.
"I'm... I'm moving in with him. I'm going to pack." He tried to stand taller as he took a deep, broken breath.
His mom went to open her mouth but the father cut her off as if a brilliant idea had just struck him. "Now hold on, honey. Let's see how far he's willing to take this charade. We might actually be rid of him here!" He grinned at her excitedly and she nodded her approval.
"Exactly. I can finally stop being a burden on you." Gavin whispered quietly so only Ryan could hear before shuffling up the stairs quickly.
Ryan looked after him, his whole body hurting with guilt and questioning how he could explain the situation to Gavin, when Gavin's father cleared his throat, making his presence known once again.
"Listen, boy, and don't think I'm trying to talk you out of it, but what do you even see in Gavin? He's lanky-"
"-Ditzy-"
"-Big nosed-"
"-Ignorant-"
"-Messy-"
"-Has a horrid personality-"
"And he's not really outstanding in looks, overall, is he?" The man turned to his wife, ending their little back-and-forth with a chuckle, while Ryan stood their incredulously.
"Um... I think he's really attractive." And he was; though Ryan had never really been attracted to men (except for that one time in theater class in college), he could definitely appreciate Gavin's beauty. He was tanned and thin with smooth curves and wild golden-brown hair that was accented perfectly by the faint stubble on his pointed chin; and while his nose was admittedly big, it sat snugly between two hazel eyes in a way that just looked right on him.
Overall, there was definitely worse people that could have proposed to Ryan.
"Kid, you don't have to lie to us. We aren't going to tell him." The dad laughed and Ryan could feel his blood begin to boil at the utter disregard they had for their child, even if he wasn't so much of a child anymore.
"Excuse me, I think I'll go help Gavin pack." He stomped up the stairs, looking around rather lost for a few moments until he heard movement behind a closed door and changed course towards it. He knocked once, softly, before pushing the wooden barrier open slowly.
Gavin straightened immediately from where he stood hunched over a partially-packed suitcase, his body and face turned away from Ryan. Distinct sniffles could be heard and Ryan wanted to kick himself.
"Hey, look, I'm sorry I didn't... y'know, say anything, back there." He mumbled and he heard Gavin laugh in a watery sort of way, still not turning towards the older man.
"Oh, that? Don't be silly, Ryan! My parents were just joking. They do that all the time!" He finally turned, his face red and splotchy, eyes swollen and wet, but he was grinning so wide it was painfully unnatural for what he already knew to be Gavin's real smile, and it hurt for him to look at for a reason even he couldn't explain. "They like to play this silly game. I'm sure you'll get to know it!" His voice was cough syrupy-sweet and it left a bitter taste in Ryan's mouth.
"Gavin..." Ryan took a seat on the edge of Gavin's unmade bed, his blue eyes raking over the disorganized room; it was a bit messy, he supposed, but certainly not unreasonable. Gavin chose to ignore him, shoving more clothes into the case with blurry eyes and a determined face until the silence proved too much for him.
"This isn't usually something I deal with, y'know, with a person I just met less than an hour ago." Gavin finally sat down beside Ryan, bumping his shoulder gently. Ryan returned the small sign of comfort, smirking.
"The parent thing or the spontaneous marriage thing?" He teased and was proud to see Gavin crack a smile.
"Both. It kinda feels like... Romeo and Juliet, I guess. Without the death and tragedy, and feuding houses, and love triangle."
"So... basically nothing like Romeo and Juliet?" Ryan snickered and Gavin pushed him playfully.
"Shut up, ya mong. You know what I mean. They got married like a day after they met." He held out his two hands in front of him as if that completed the comparison and Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but they were idiots, too."
"We're kind of idiots." Gavin admitted. "I have my own weird reasons for allowing myself to run off with you and get married, and I'm assuming you must have some fucked up reasons as well." He smiled at Ryan and the older man nodded in agreement, if not a bit nervously. "But maybe that's a good thing. I'm not saying soul mates or anything, because that's really ridiculous. Besides, the concept of calling someone your soul mate is silly because you can only tell if they're meant to be with you through all of your lives, if you have more than one, after you've died. And that's still assuming you'll remember your other lives once you do die, or at least just know that person is your soul mate. What I'm trying to say here is, do you maybe wanna just kiss me?" Gavin had rambled some weird speech that Ryan was still trying to wrap his head around before turning to the older man, twiddling his thumbs nervously.
Ryan's face flushed as he finally took in what Gavin was saying and his whole body seemed to tense for a moment.
"I-I mean, it was just an idea. Y'know, because we're getting married, I suppose. I just thought.... Never mind, I'm known for being stupid." Maybe it was the way Gavin's word trailed off, or him calling himself stupid, or something else entirely, but Ryan ducked his head in, connecting their lips in a chaste kiss
Ryan had kissed some guys. Granted, they'd all been staged in theater and were incredibly awkward and fake, but he had kissed them. This, however, was nothing like those kisses. Gavin's lips were slightly chapped and a little rough against his, but with a soft underlying texture, and they moved on Ryan's like they'd been doing it for years. It only lasted for a few seconds and was nothing spectacular, yet it was incredible in it's own way. When they pulled away, Ryan had to blink a few times before he took into focus the smiling face in front of him (a genuine one this time, Ryan noted, not that fake crap).
"Wow. I guess I picked a pretty great guy to propose to." Gavin winked playfully and Ryan couldn't help but snort.
"C'mon, dummy. Geoff's still in the car, I'll help you pack."
-
"If I were a fucking puppy, I would have died already."
Geoff, needless to say, was not very happy about having been left in the car.
"Dude, we were in there for like, twenty minutes tops."
"Actually, it was twenty-six minutes and approximately thirty-two seconds." Geoff snarked back, making Gavin giggle.
"I like your friend, Ryan." He remarked and Geoff threw Ryan a "tell-this-poor-boy-what's-going-on" kind of look. Ryan chose to ignore it because he'd be damned if he didn't already KNOW that, but Geoff hadn't seen Gavin's parents; they certainly made an already-hard situation much more difficult.
"Geoff, this is your stop." Ryan said coolly, parking the car in front of the eldest man's house. He was rewarded with another sharp glare before he sarcastically congratulated the
'happy couple' and departed.
The silence of just the two men stretched on for hardly a minute before Gavin pierced it, his eyes glued to the scenery outside. "What's your favourite colour?"
Ryan started, confused momentarily by the sudden question, before answering. "Um, blue. You?"
"Green. Do you have any siblings?"
"Nah, it's just me. Um, do you?"
Gavin looked to him at that, a wide grin spreading across his face that infected Ryan into smiling as well over the memories that were no doubt swimming in Gavin's mind. "Oh, yeah! My brother, George. Boy, he's great; bloody stupid as a rock, mind you. One time, he tried to convince me that if you stuck your head far enough up your arse, it would eventually come out of your mouth."
Ryan perked his head to the side, confused. "Wha-How could you even... That's literally not possible." He was torn between scowling and chuckling, the latter winning out as Gavin continued.
"He tried to-He tried to explain it," He wheezed, now full-fledged laughing at the memory. "By making this diagram. But the bloody thing had three heads by the end of it, one of which was just kinda floating by what he called the 'original head'! I actually filmed it. I could show it to you." He let out a little squeak as he laughed and it caused Ryan to laugh even harder.
"That sounds... incredible." He mused. "I'd love to see what reasoning he could possibly have for that."
"It's horrid." He snickered. "Oh, and once, we couldn't pop this giant bloody water balloon-"
"Why was the balloon bloody?" Ryan interrupted and Gavin blinked once before the joke caught up with him.
"Ryan, you silly little sausage." He giggled and Ryan cocked an eyebrow at the nickname. "Anyways..."
-
By the time they'd reached Ryan's apartment, he knew a significant amount about Gavin, his brother, and his best friend from Britain, Dan. He'd listened to every story, surprisingly not finding himself bored by any of the odd tales he was told, and was still listening when they entered Ryan's apartment, arms laden with cases and bags of various items; he hadn't realized Gavin had actually stopped talking until he was wondering what exactly happened with the paintball gun scenario Gavin had been laying out. He turned to Gavin for some sort of confirmation to find him staring with wide eyes at the humble living space.
"This is lovely, Ryan!" He squealed excitedly, dumping his bags down carelessly at the doorstep as he went to further investigate. The front door led them into a living room area with a kitchen attached, and a hallway led to his bedroom, a room he'd made into an office, and a bathroom. The bedroom door was closed and Ryan stopped him suddenly before he could open it, remembering several boxes of his now-ex's belongings still remained, awaiting her pickup.
"Just, um, let me tidy up real quick." He excused, rushing to shove the boxes into the far back of his closet and straighten the bed a little before opening it up for Gavin's criticism. The younger man immediately fell face-first onto the bed, smushing his face into one of the many pillows. Ryan chuckled, smirking to himself. "So, do you like it?"
"It'f top!" He grunted through the pillow, voice slightly muffled and Ryan was pleased (though he wasn't really sure why).
By the time they'd unpacked Gavin's things (something that was still incredibly unreal to Ryan, but it wasn't like he could just tell Gavin to get out now) and began to watch television, it was already dark outside, and the Brit was yawning more periodically. He threw his whole body into yawning, Ryan noticed; he'd stretch himself backwards and extend his arms, seeming to open his mouth as wide as it could go each time he did it. His shirt, looking to be a size too small for him, rode up past his navel each time and Ryan was surprised by the incredibly hairy stomache revealed to him (not that he was looking).
"Do you want to go to sleep?" Ryan finally asked after Gavin had yawned three times in the span of a minute. Gavin's head lolled to face him slowly and he nodded, a tired smile touching his features.
"You can have the bed." Ryan offered without thinking, missing the look of surprise on Gavin's face.
-
"Do you not want to sle-"
"Oh no, seriously, you can have it. Don't worry about it. I don't really sleep much at night. Insomnia, you know? It helps me get work done though." Ryan interrupted, assuming Gavin was going to persist he instead took the couch.
Do you not want to sleep in the bed with me? Gavin finished the question in his head, a frown tugging at his lips. He replaced it with a smile when Ryan looked up at him with patient expectancy.
"Thanks, Ryan." He reached out a hesitant hand towards the older man as he unknowingly turned back to the television before pulling it back to his side. "G'night." He turned away in slightly lower spirits.
"Oh! Gavin?" Ryan inquired and Gavin practically whipped around like a puppy.
"Yeah, Ryan?"
"I was thinking... Y'know, since we're getting married and all, that maybe you'd want to go on a date with me tomorrow." He was blushing, Gavin could tell by the faint light, and it made his heart flutter.
"I'd love to, Ryan."
-
"So, where are we off to, Rye-Bread?" Gavin asked, happily trotting beside the taller man.
"Rye-Bread? Where'd that nickname come from?" He asked, rolling his eyes at the silly pet name.
"Well, the first part of your name is a homophone for Rye. It only makes sense, to me."
"Of course it only makes sense to you." Ryan muttered teasingly, receiving an elbow to the arm in return.
"But really, where are we going?" It was a beautiful day in Texas, which meant the heat was more than a little bit unbearable as they walked down the streets.
"Well, I don't know if you've heard of this place or not, but I happen to really enjoy lazer tag." Ryan hinted as they rounded the corner to reveal the large building.
"Blazer Tag Adventure Center." Gavin read the sign, giggling. "Honestly? And you think I'M a child."
"I didn't call you a child this morning. I simply said you must be watched in the kitchen like a child." Ryan retorted, recalling the burnt toast that had set off his fire alarm.
"Details, Ryan. How about we make this little match interesting?" He asked and Ryan sighed, thinking about how similar words had him where he was at the moment.
"Sure. What's the wager?" He asked and Gavin's gleeful look reminded him remarkably of Geoff's.
"Whoever loses buys lunch."
Ryan's blue eyes glinted as he mulled it over, knowing full well that his ability would highly overpower the younger's. "You're on."