Gavin threw a shirt haphazardly into a partially-packed bag resting on his unmade bed when he heard the soft ping he had been waiting for. He rushed to his laptop, a smile lighting up his face as he saw who it was.

Flutterfighter: Hey Creep, wats up?

Slowcreep: im packing, Flutz! im moving to take that new job next week

Flutterfighter: wow already? thats so cool! some guy is coming to our work next week too. hes coming from a different country and everything. he'll prolly hate America lol

Slowcreep: ooh so u live in America, huh? finally i've learned something about you!

Flutterfighter: hah, and that's all you'll get fucker

Slowcreep: wont stop me from trying

Flutterfighter has left the chat

Gavin let out a soft sigh, turning away from the computer. He'd been talking to a mysterious person he met in a random chat site about video games for months now, both of them being rather vague but growing a close bond nevertheless.

He didn't know anything about Flutz, but was now almost completely certain she was a female around his age, if not a little bit older. And now he knew she lived in the United States.

"I'm going to the United States." He mumbled to himself with a small smile. Of course, the US was big so he'd probably never see her, but the thought of doing so definitely entertained him.

A faint knock on his door disturbed him from his thoughts.

"Come in." He called, still throwing things into his suitcase.

"Hey, B." A faint voice whispered, and Gavin looked up to see Dan with a sad smile on his face.

"Aww, B! I'm not leaving forever!" Gavin pulled his oldest friend into a tight hug, a lump forming in his throat. "I'll call often! And then I'll be back before you know it, blowing up things." Dan chuckled, pulling away to wipe his eyes.

"You better." Dan demanded. His eyes caught on Gavin's horrid packing job and he let out a dramatic sigh. "Here, let me help you pack like a normal bloody human being."

-

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet our new employee, Gavin Free." Geoff introduced the shy Brit to the office. "This is Jack," he gestured to a bearded man who waved back happily. He seemed like a nice guy. "Ryan," another man sitting on the couch looked up from his laptop. He smiled back, kinda creepy-like. "and Ray." A man around Gavin's age grinned, removing his headphones.

"And Michael is…"

Geoff was interrupted by a slew of curse words being screamed from a nearby room, followed by a loud banging noise.

"…Doing his Ragequit segment, so we should probably avoid him for a little while." Gavin had seen one or two of the Ragequit videos, and he agreed. That Michael guy looked crazy, and Gavin wasn't too keen on meeting him in the first place, let alone when he was so angry.

"This'll be your desk right here." Geoff gestured to the right desk of two empty ones. The one beside it had several knick-knacks, including a little pony figurine. "The one to the left belongs to Michael." Gavin noticed the fist-shaped dent in the desk and held in a groan. He was gonna be working by a psychopath!

"Thanks, Geoff!" Gavin flashed him a goofy smile, placing his bag in his little swivel chair and carefully putting things on his desk.

About an hour later, Michael finally came back into the office. Gavin turned around at the sound of the door opening to see the older man walk in. His face was still tinged pink and his reddish curls were puffed up like he had been pulling on his hair. He was fixing his slightly askew glasses when he spotted the newest addition sitting at the desk next to his.

"Who the fuck is this guy?" He pointed at Gavin, looking at Geoff for answers. Gavin sunk into his chair a little, wishing more than a little bit that he could disappear. He looked over at Geoff with wide eyes, but the man urged him to introduce himself.

Gavin hopped up, putting on his best smile, and extended his hand. "Hi, my name is Gavin. I'm the new recruit. You must be Michael!" The older man stared at the hand before taking it warily.

"It's Michael, not Mi-cool." The older man made a face before going to his chair and sitting down.

"But that's wot I said." The Brit tilted his head to the side, confused.

"No, you said it in a fucking retarded way." Michael sneered back.

Gavin deflated, taking a seat as well. The rest of the day, Gavin got to know Ray, Ryan, and Jack pretty well. Michael seemed to keep his distance, letting out little annoyed noises whenever Gavin would accidentally knock something over or fuck up in the game they were doing.

By the time Gavin got home, he was in rather high spirits about it overall, except for the slight nagging feeling in his gut.
He rushed down the hallway to his bedroom as soon as possible, whipping out his personal laptop.

Flutterfighter has entered the chat room

Flutterfighter: Hey! howd ur first day go?

Slowcreep: overall? lovely. but there's this 1 guy that works there that really bugs me. he was a total jerk the whole time and treated me like i was an idiot!

Flutterfighter: wow wat an asshole. dont let him get to u

Slowcreep: how about u? did you get that new employee today?

Flutterfighter: yeah. and that guy is a REAL idiot. he cant even say people's names right!

Slowcreep: haha wat a dummy.

Flutterfighter: Did everything else go ok tho?

Slowcreep: yeah! i'm really loving it here already. the ppl are so nice, nd u guys have candy ive never seen!

Flutterfighter: lol. u r so cute.

Flutterfighter: i mean ur excitement. ya

Flutterfighter has left the chat

Gavin giggled as he turned away from the computer. Whoever this girl was, he could tell she was secretly a mushy type. He hummed to himself as he prepared for his first REAL day at work.

-

The next day was awful. Gavin was doing his first Let's Play, and was getting along rather well with everyone… except Michael.

Gavin had swiveled his chair to the other side of the room and was plotting with Ray, whispering to each other jokingly, receiving glares from the older man.

When Gavin killed Michael, things went completely downhill.

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!" Michael screamed, hitting the desk with his fist so hard Gavin was surprised it didn't split in two.

"I was just playing around, Mi-cool!" Gavin defended, raising his hands in the air as a gesture of peace. Michael ignored it, face red. Gavin swore he could hear the other man's teeth grinding away at one another.

"You're not even part of our fucking group, asshole!" He stood up, slamming his chair into the side of his little table and making the objects rattle. He stopped at the doorway and turned his head to glare at Gavin.

"Why don't you just go back to where you fucking came from?" And with that, he left the room, slamming the door behind him. Gavin turned to the other men at a loss for words, his lip quivering with sadness and confusion bubbling up inside him.

"I… I didn't mean to.." His voice cracked and his throat felt tight and dry. Geoff gave him a sympathetic look.

"It's okay dude. This is just how Michael is. He'll be fine, I promise. He just needs some time to cool down is all. When he warms up to you, it'll be a lot better; he's just annoyed that there's a new person here and that you got the upper hand on him when he had so many items on him. Haven't you seen the Ragequit series? That's just Michael, you'll learn to love him." Geoff shot him a reassuring smile.

Gavin scoffed, mumbling to himself. "Somehow, I doubt that will happen…" He still felt upset. He hated when people treated him badly, especially when he had done nothing to deserve it. Sure, he makes mistakes sometimes, but the point of the game was to kill the opponent! And for Michael to tell him to 'go back where he fucking came from'? He was NOT some foreign alien. And he definitely did not intend on going anywhere.

When he got home that night, he threw his stuff angrily in the corner, immediately hopping onto his laptop to see a message from Flutter was already waiting for him.

Flutterfighter: I officially hate my coworker.

Slowcreep: the sentiment is shared on my side. hes such a jerk! the arsehole treats me like im not even human, screaming at me and calling me bad names! and my boss just lets it happen!

Flutterfighter: Wow they both sound like total douches. just hit him or something, that'll stop him from being such a jerk. speaking of hitting someone, i almost beat the shit out of my coworker today. god i spend fucking hours working on something and he just destroys it for a fucking laugh! i felt like i was going to explode

Slowcreep: well MY guy yelled at me for doing my job! what a total knob

Flutterfighter: YOUR guy, huh?

Slowcreep: ew not even. not if he was the last guy on Earth. hes such a jerk, i cant handle someone like that

Flutterfighter: i know how you feel. my guy is so dumb, i feel my IQ dropped by just being in the general vicinity of him!

Slowcreep: lol thanks for making me feel better, i was really stressed out today

Flutterfighter: thanks to you 2. if only you were the one working with me instead

Slowcreep: i wish, thatd be so much better

Slowcreep has left the chat

Gavin flopped down on his bed, his lips tugging up at the corners.

Tomorrow would be a better day. He would make sure of that.

-

"Gavin, can I talk to you for a moment?" Geoff pulled Gavin aside during lunch break, secluding them into an empty hallway.

"Sure thing, Geoff. What's going on?" Gavin was a bit frustrated. He had come to work in high spirits, determined with all his might to stay that way, but the little verbal jabs Michael kept tossing at him were not affecting his outlook in a positive way.

"Listen.. and don't hate me here, but I need you to stay after work all this week. We are gonna have someone training you on stuff, so you can learn more." Gavin let out a little groan but nodded his head nevertheless. Even though he had been helping Geoff and his organization for years, he knew he still had a lot more to learn.

However, the guilty look still present in Geoff's bright blue eyes suggested that there was more to the story than just that.

"What's the REAL bad news?" Gavin planted his hands on his hips, cocking an eyebrow at his boss and close friend. He knew Geoff well enough to know he was stalling on something else.

"Well.. I.." Geoff rubbed the back of his neck, looking everywhere but directly at Gavin.

"Oh no. Oh no no no no no!" Gavin's face fell as he realized what the worst part would be. "You're going to have HIM training me, aren't you?! That's why he's been even ruder to me today, because he already knows and he's just as minged off as I am!" Gavin stomped his foot angrily, cheeks puffing out.

"Look, I'll tell you the same exact thing I told him yesterday evening: You two clearly don't like each other. But I think the main reason you are pissed at one another is a bad first impression and poor communication skills. Michael doesn't warm up to people easily, but when he does, he's a sweet little kitten." Gavin rolled his eyes, receiving a stern look from Geoff before he continued. "Plus, the dude knows his stuff. He can teach you. Just… try not to mess up too much. I don't want to have to fill out any accident reports." Geoff bit his lip nervously before walking away, leaving an extremely flustered Gavin behind.

"Bloody Hell." Gavin muttered under his breath, clenching and unclenching his fists.

Gavin was in a sour mood the rest of the day, mentally cursing Michael and Geoff and America itself for his rotten luck. When everyone left to go home, Gavin begrudgingly stayed behind, growling to himself as the older man with auburn curls also remained in his seat.

For the first ten minutes, it was completely silent. The two men continued to work silently, each on their corresponding computers.
Then, it started.

"Okay dickie bitch, I have been recruited to waste valuable time I could be spending doing a thousand other things more pleasurable, like hugging a cactus or something, with you. However, clearly you have no idea what you're doing for Geoff to enlist my help. I can't say I'm surprised." He sneered and Gavin was reminded of Professor Snape from Harry Potter.

"I'm not a total bloody mong! I know what I'm doing; I've been working for this bloody company longer than you have!" Gavin objected, face blotched red with anger. What was it about this guy that pushed every single one of his buttons? Gavin was seething, jerking his mouse violently.

"Yeah but clearly I'm the better one if he asked ME to help YOU." Michael pointed out, smiling as if he had won the argument. Gavin stood up, throwing his headphones into his chair.

"He picked YOU because you're a bloody arsehole and he was hoping you would stop being such a prick if you spent time with me! You're a jerk, and I know exactly what I'm doing so just.. stay out of my way!" Gavin yelled, hands balled into fists at his side.

"Fine! Get your fucking work done right then! And I'll have you know that I'm a fucking pleasure to be around when the person's not a complete dumbass!" Color was rising in Michael's neck and he sat down in his chair hard, shoving his headphones onto his head and blasting the volume as high as they could go.

Gavin turned his nose up to the older man before taking his own seat and getting started on editing the clips he was supposed to be working on. His mind was all fuzzy with anger, and he'd never been more relieved than when the clock struck an appropriate hour to leave work.

He left without saying goodbye, slinging his bag over his shoulder and making a bee line for the door as quickly as possible.

"Bloody douchebag." Gavin murmured to himself as he called for a cab. He, of course, didn't drive. He assumed Geoff was hoping that Gavin would get a ride home with Michael, maybe he thought they would be best buds by now, like that would ever be possible. He saw Michael leave the building and walk right by him, not even thinking about offering a ride. Gavin grimaced at him and Michael sniggered back.

That night, he slammed the door behind him as loud as he could, making sure Geoff was well aware of how truly rotten the night had been for him and what a disaster Geoff's plan was.
'It was a stupid plan from the start!' Gavin thought as he saw Geoff trudge into the kitchen, rubbing his tired eyes. A lazy smirk touched his face as he saw the fuming Brit.

"I'm guessing tonight didn't go well." Geoff drawled, leaning against the marble counter.

"You think?!" Gavin snapped, drumming his fingers on the counter. He expected Geoff to be disappointed, or sigh in irritation.

He did NOT expect to hear the throaty chuckle from behind him.

"Are you having a laugh at me?" Gavin was incredulous and taken aback. This was not a funny situation!

"I'm just thinking how you two are gonna look back on this when you're best friends." Geoff's voice cracked on the last word and he laughed harder.

"Never." Gavin sneered, retreating to his temporary living quarters..
He yanked out his laptop and opened up the chat site to talk to the only person currently keeping him sane.

Slowcreep: I swear that im gonna kill my guy.

Flutterfighter: I love how alike our thinking is right now. This fucking asshole acts like he's all high and mighty, like he's better than me or sumthin!

Slowcreep: same here! Then he leaves me out alone in the middle of the night, didn't even offer a ride!

Flutterfighter: what a douchebag. Something could have happened to you

Slowcreep: *sigh* I don't know how to even handle this. My boss just thinks it's funny

Flutterfighter: damn same here. I have no idea wut to do

Slowcreep: maybe we should try killing with kindness? Be nice to them, yknow?

Flutterfighter: ew.

Slowcreep: I know but it could work! And then our problems will be solved. We just pretend like we can't be bothered by them for a bit, they'll get bored and leave us alone, and we don't have to talk to them ever again!

Flutterfighter: never talking to him again sounds nice. Every time he says my name the wrong way it makes me fucking cringe

Slowcreep: what a dummy. Okay, tomorrow, let's try kindness and see what happens!

Flutterfighter: sounds like a plan to me

Flutterfighter has left the chat

Slowcreep has left the chat

-

Gavin paused in front of the door to the office and took a deep breath.

"Kill him with kindness. Kill him with kindness." He put on his best smile before walking in, waving to the boys.

"Good morning, Gavin!" Michael said, smiling back.

Wait.. What? Why was MICHAEL being nice?

Did he get talked to by Geoff? Maybe he got yelled at. Gavin liked entertaining that thought.

Maybe he had the same idea as Gavin, that kindness was key.

He was only frozen for a second in confusion before he responded "Good morning to you, too, Mi-cool."

Okay, he MAY have purposefully made sure to mispronounce Michael's name even more than usual, and his smile turned more genuine when he saw the older man's jaw twitch as he ground his teeth secretly.

"I see you two are getting along now." Ray grinned at the two of them and Gavin winked back.

"Of course! How can you spend hours alone with this guy and NOT become best buds with him?" He bit his lip, irritation seeping into his veins. God even pretending to be nice to this guy was unbearable. He chose to get to work instead, and the two boys didn't really talk the rest of the day.

'Maybe it worked!' Gavin thought, 'I'll have to tell Flutter about this.' He smiled triumphantly.

As the other men left, Gavin found himself glancing at the clock more and more. Now he only had to get by three hours just on their own. He hoped they wouldn't talk again.
Of course, his hoping was absolutely useless.

It was all going well, until Gavin got up to try and get a thumb drive he needed on Geoff's desk.

He tripped.

He tripped pretty badly, actually.

His foot caught on a rogue wire, and he went tumbling down.

He threw out his hands in front of him in an effort to catch himself, but instead banged his elbow off the floor. The neat stack of video games nearby tumbled over into a large pile of disorganization, several of them bouncing off Gavin's lanky body.

"You. Fucking. Dumbass." Michael was laughing a cruel, rapid laughter, unable to hold back. He was standing over Gavin, not even trying to help him as the young man scrambled about on his hands and knees to pick up games, ignoring the throbbing pain in several parts of his body.

"Shut up, Mi-Cool." Gavin mumbled, face tinged pink with frustration and embarrassment. He put a small little pile of games back up in the corner, scooting to pick up more.

"And Gavin?" Michael had gone to walk away but turned his head to look back at the young man still on the floor. "It's fucking Michael." He growled, using the edge if his foot to nudge over the pile Gavin had collected, bringing him back to square one.

Gavin swore under his breath, fuming to himself. After all the games were cleaned up, he limped back to his seat and they worked in silence until time was up, but Michael's smirk never left his face.

As Gavin was leaving, Michael stuck out his foot to purposefully trip him.
Gavin stumbled but thankfully didn't fall. He glared daggers at Michael, who laughed even louder.

Gavin sighed when he got home, ignoring Geoff like an angry teenager as he hobbled to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Slowcreep: okay so kindness didn't work for me. You?

Flutterfighter: well it did at first but then he started being really fucking stupid and purposefully trying to bug me

Slowcreep: he's started getting violent with me.

Flutterfighter: whoa that's not okay! Is he hitting you? Shouldn't your boss do something about a guy beating up a girl?

Slowcreep: girl…? I'm not a girl. Aren't you?

Flutterfighter: no, I'm not….

Slowcreep: oh …well.. That's cool and now I've learned more about you

Flutterfighter has left the chat

Holy shit, Gavin was talking to another man.

This entire time, he had pictured a girl and apparently this mystery man had as well.

Personally, Gavin didn't mind. He'd always had a preference for guys and girls, so the close bond he felt with this random stranger was unaffected, albeit weird to other people.

But maybe Flutz was weirded out by it. He thought he was talking to a girl this entire time, and now what if he didn't want to talk to Gavin? He flopped onto the bed, wincing as his bruised knee hit the mattress.

"God, today has been absolute KNOBS!" He yelled to no one in particular before dozing off.

-

Gavin came to work in a bad mood and it wasn't hard to tell. Even Michael seemed to leave him alone more. Nobody talked to him much, and for that he was grateful.

After everyone left, and only Michael and Gavin remained, he decided to work on editing a Slo Mo Guys. He didn't have the patience or focus to work on something more trying than that, which was probably why he didn't notice Michael come up behind him.

"What's that?" Michael piped up, making Gavin jump in his chair.

"Oh, um.. It's my channel I run with my mate Dan. We film stuff in slow motion." The video he was currently editing featured Gavin desperately attempting to pop a gigantic water balloon, which was being very stubborn. Michael watched as Gavin took a running jump, only to be bounced back by the rubber water trap. The older man chuckled at it and Gavin cocked
an eyebrow in confusion.

Finally the balloon popped, spraying water everywhere, and the slow motion view began.
Gavin was slightly uncomfortable with Michael leaned over his shoulder, but proud of his work.

"Wow so you do this slow motion stuff?" Michael was amazed as he watched the elastic tension finally break and a spray of water fly gracefully through the air.

"Err.. Yes." Gavin was surprised to feel a blush creeping up his face and blamed it on the Texas heat (never mind they were indoors with air conditioning).

"Hm." Michael grunted before returning to his seat and once again starting the everlasting silence. Gavin had become really good at keeping quiet for long periods of time.
He stood in the parking lot afterwards, waiting for his cab like he had the past two nights. He didn't want to call and bother Geoff, and it was Wednesday so he figured he should just continue with that.

"Hey… Do you want a ride? I know where Geoff lives, and it's on my way anyways." Michael offered, gesturing to the small car across the lot.

Gavin hesitated. It'd be nice to save money and not have to wait… But did he really want to get in a car with Michael, the man that had been tormenting him since he started his new job? In the end his tired feet won the battle and he nodded, calling to cancel the taxi before walking to Michael's car in a silence that was now much more awkward than before. The car ride was the same way, and Gavin muttered a thanks as he closed the car door behind him.

As soon as he walked through the door, he was met with Geoff's smug grin.

"I see SOMEBODY gave you a ride home." He leaned forward smugly.

"I see SOMEBODY should mind his business." Gavin retorted, trudging to his room.

He checked his computer and saw, to his disappointment, that Flutz was offline. What if he really didn't ever want to talk to Gavin again? He sighed, flopping down on his bed and falling into an uneasy slumber.

-

Michael and Gavin were alone again, and Gavin was struggling.

He couldn't figure out how to transfer a file he desperately needed to a certain place and he had tried everything. He wished he could just drag it with his finger, and even considered trying it for a maddening second after yet another attempt failed to accomplish his goal.

He kept glancing at Michael, unsure if they were now on close enough terms to ask for help.

"Can I help you?" Michael rolled his eyes, turning to Gavin. Maybe his glances hadn't been as unnoticeable as he thought.

"I.. I can't figure out how to get this," he gestured at the screen, "onto this." He brought up a tab, pointing to another area.

"Oh yeah. When I first got here, that gave me loads of trouble, too. What you gotta do is.." He scooted closer, describing each step in detail and even smiling at Gavin when he did it right. Gavin felt more confident then, asking Michael about all the questions he had kept in the past three days, and when it was time to leave, Gavin felt much more informed and positive he wouldn't have any more problems.

He hopped into Michael's front passenger seat, and they chatted about video games all the way to Geoff's.

"Um.. Thanks for the help." Gavin smiled at Michael as he left and the latter awkwardly muttered a welcome.

Gavin smiled at Geoff as he went to his room, pulling out his computer as always.
Flutz wasn't on. Again. He groaned, deciding to preoccupy his time by checking out Twitter.

Ten minutes later, he got the notification he was hoping for and quickly opened his chat.

Flutterfighter: hey, you weren't on yesterday

Slowcreep: I thought YOU were the one that wasn't on lol

Flutterfighter: nah, I drove my guy home. He's been acting better lately.

Slowcreep: mine too! He's been really nice. He's actually not that bad

Flutterfighter: I'm glad he's not picking on you anymore wats his name, anyways?

Slowcreep: Michael. Jones, I think.

Slowcreep: hello?

Slowcreep: helloooo?

Slowcreep: earth to Flutz?

Flutterfighter has left the chat

-

Michael was acting weird the next day. He kept looking at Gavin, and the Brit wondered if he had done something wrong the night before.

He supposed it didn't matter, it would be their last night tonight, since it was Friday. He wasn't sure if he was going to miss the time or not.

To his slight disappointment, they spent most of their alone time in tense silence, much like the first couple days. Michael twitched nervously as the clock chimed for them to leave.

"Hey!" He called out towards Gavin. "I was wondering if you wanted to catch dinner with me tonight. My treat. Sort of like an.. Apology for tripping you and stuff." He looked down at his feet as if he were ashamed.

Gavin's stomach growled, and hunger easily surpassed the confusion he had over the kind gesture.

"Um, sure." He said and Michael seemed to brighten up.

"Cool! Where do you want to go?"

After several minutes of the two trying to get the other to choose a place, they finally decided on Applebee's.

"So what made you come here, anyways?" Michael asked, trying to strike up polite conversation.

"Well, like I said, I've worked with Rooster Teeth for a while, and it's always been my dream. So when Geoff offered me this, there's no way I was going to refuse. I mean, I miss home and all but I love this." He gestured around to accentuate his point, smiling in content.

"Hm. What about those Slo Mo videos? How long have you done those?" Michael inquired further, nodding at the waiter as their food arrived. He took a large bite of his burger, keeping eye contact with Gavin to show he was still paying attention.

"Oh, it seems like forever. I've always enjoyed camera work, and slow motion is so cool. I've even done if for a few movies before." He puffed out his chest proudly, remembering the filming time fondly.

"That's seriously awesome." Michael took a sip of his Mountain Dew.

Gavin nodded, cheeks full of food. When he swallowed, he continued.

"Can I ask YOU a question now?" Michael nodded warily. "How come you're being nice to me? Why did you take me to dinner? We hate each other." He smirked and Michael's face fell.

"Oh. Um.. Yeah. You hate me." Michael rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the floor. "Right. Of course you do. Why wouldn't you? We hate each other…" He let out a weak laugh and the sound hurt Gavin in a way he didn't understand.

"Well… We should probably go." Michael mumbled out, voice much softer than usual.

Gavin looked at his barely eaten food, confused as Michael flagged down the waiter and asked for two to-go boxes and the check. He paid quickly and they left, driving in deafening quiet.

"Did I say something..?" Gavin inquired, starting to feel guilty.

"N-no, it's fine." Michael stopped in front of Geoff's house. "I'm really sorry, Creep."
Gavin exited the car with a bewildered expression. Creep?

Did Michael just call him a creep? He didn't think he had been creepy.

His brow furrowed as he walked down the hallway to his bedroom and pulled out his computer. He opened the chat to see if Flutz had messaged him while he was gone. Maybe he could make sense of it; that is, if he would talk to Gavin. One problem at a time.

Slowcreep has entered the chat room

Creep.. CREEP!

The realization hit Gavin like a brick wall and he yelped loudly, falling out of his chair. Geoff and Griffon rushed in to see him scrambling off the floor and taking off, ignoring their questioning looks. He skidded to a halt halfway down the hallway, smacking himself on the forehead.

"GEOFF! I need you to drive me to Michael's house!" He yelled.

"O-ok dude." Geoff was stock-still, shocked by the sudden outburst.

"NOW!" Gavin screeched, running outside and hopping up and down impatiently at the locked car door.

"Chill, man." Geoff whined, unlocking the door and watching as Gavin flung it open and slammed it shut behind him. Geoff's pace was much too slow for Gavin, like he was purposefully doing it.

"GEOFF!" He yelled as the older man finally got in. Geoff giggled, starting the car and pulling off.

The best thing about Geoff is that he didn't ask questions, completely unbothered as Gavin ran up to the apartment building, jogging up the stairs when the elevator proved too slow. He counted down the numbers in his head until he came to the right door, pounding on it furiously.

Michael answered the door, looking a complete wreck. His eyes were puffy and red, his cheeks stained with fresh tears. He was wearing a ratty t-shirt and sweat pants, his auburn curls disheveled like he had run his hands through them several times in frustration with himself. It broke Gavin's heart.

"Flutz!" Gavin yelled, making Michael's eyes widen.

"W-wha-"

"FLUTZ!" Gavin's face broke into a big grin as he pulled Michael in by the collar of his shirt and smashed their lips together, teeth clicking against one another gracelessly. Michael nearly fell over, planting his feet firmly on the ground before retaliating, pulling Gavin up and into his arms as he deepened the kiss. Gavin wrapped his legs tightly around Michael's thighs, his fingers twisting into his curls.

Michael whimpered into the Brit's mouth, tongue fighting with Gavin's. They broke apart after several moments, Gavin peppering Michael's face with small, needy kisses.

"Listen you." Gavin said in between, tasting salty tears on his lips. "I do not hate you. If anything, I guess I love you so shush. I love your curls.." Kiss. "Your dimples.." Kiss. "Your temper…" Kiss. "Your compassion…" He finished it with another chaste kiss on his lips.

"I'm so sorry I was mean to you at first. I didn't.. I hadn't.." Michael wiped his eyes as new tears pricked at the edges.

"Shush. I know. I get it. I wasn't exactly a sweetheart to you either Mi-cool." He cooed, smiling.

"What are the odds we would meet each other?" Michael mused happily, pressing their foreheads together. Gavin shrugged, and for a while they just stood there together in silence that was exactly the same as all the other times yet so completely and stunningly different.

"Y'know, I love when you say my name like that." Michael nuzzled Gavin's neck.

"Mmph." Gavin sighed happily. "Now, how about we go make up?" He smirked as Michael pulled him into the apartment, shutting the door behind them.