Gavin’s face lit up as Michael came closer. Michael ignored Ray’s indignant ‘what the fuck’ behind him and forced a smile to his face that didn’t quite match Gavin’s in enthusiasm.

“I thought you’d never make it,” Gavin said as he took Michael’s hand. Michael stared down at their linked fingers, too shocked to respond to Gavin. “Is it because you had to pick up your car from the garage?” Michael’s head shot up then. Gavin’s eyes were mischievous as he led them through the halls. Michael was quick to nod.

“Yup, now it’s good as new.” A lie, obviously. His car was as ancient and slow as it had always been.

“Uh-huh, if you say so.” Gavin winked as he opened a door for them to walk through. Michael looked up and read the door number. It was one of the many unused classrooms in their school, closed for various reasons that ranged from budget cuts to probably mould.

 “This isn’t my classroom, I have math first.” Michael untangled his and Gavin’s hands. Gavin rolled his eyes and pressed against Michael’s back in encouragement. Michael hesitated, looked over his shoulder to see that the hallways had already started to thin out. He looked back at Gavin who only pressed against his back more insistently. Michael squeezed his eyes shut, just in case Gavin had planned the ultimate trick and he’d be sprayed or dunked with something gross, and stepped in. He stood for a moment, felt Gavin brush past him and walk further into the room. Michael waited and waited, and waited. When he wasn’t doused, punched or laughed at Michael chose to open his eyes.

 The classroom had a few desks and some sun-bleached plastic chairs left inside of it. The teacher’s desk had been removed but a blackboard remained, covered with rude words and crudely drawn dicks. There were some cupboards at the back of the classroom, all opened and filled with aging textbooks. Then there were the people, Gavin’s friends. They were all staring at him. Gavin had sat next to Geoff and left a chair beside him. He pat the plastic and gestured Michael over. Michael caught the gaze of Barbara, then Mica and finally Ryan. He saw neither anger nor glee in their eyes. Their emotions were unreadable. Michael avoided Geoff’s gaze in particular and, with his head down, made his way to the chair Gavin wanted him to sit in.

 “Gavin, look what I picked up at the mall yesterday – it’s right up your alley,” Barbara said. Michael heard her get up, saw her feet as she came closer. He witnessed the flash of a gold purse as she passed it to Gavin but he didn’t dare lift his head. Gavin gushed beside him then there was the sound of a zip being pulled open. It glided so easily, so unlike the bag Lindsay had got last week. She’d bought it from some cheap clothes store, had saved up her money for weeks to afford it and still its zip was utterly useless. Yet here was Barbara with a shiny, fully-functional bag that she’d just ‘picked up’. Gavin’s elbow came in and out of Michael’s view as he studied the bag.

“Yesterday? It looks like you’ve had it for months – how much did you buy?” Gavin said. Scraps of paper fluttered to the floor by Michael’s feet. There were so many they covered almost all of the floor space that Michael could see. Michael almost choked when he saw the total on one of them.

 Barbara only huffed and snatched back her bag. She zipped it up hastily and stomped over to her chair again. Michael let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

“I didn’t buy that much, it was just a few things here and there,” Barbara said.

“We went to every store in the mall,” Mica said. She yelped as she was pushed. Mica barely managed to save herself as her hands shot underneath her and grabbed her chair. Michael flinched at the slapping sound it made. He almost shot from his chair when Gavin clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“You all right love? Your neck broken or somethin’?” Gavin lifted Michael’s chin. The classroom behind him faded into Gavin’s front garden as Michael looked into his eyes. He could hear the fountain, the gentle trickle of the water.

 Gavin pulled away and Michael saw the classroom fall back into place. Gavin rubbed at his neck to separate his wet collar from his skin.

“Geoff, why’d you do that?” Gavin turned to face his friend. Geoff shrugged, though the corner of his lip tipped upwards slightly.

“I don’t want none of that mushy shit here, I know you’ve got yourself a new boo but the rest of us are depressingly single,” Geoff said. He lowered his water bottle and placed it onto the ground.

“Oh Geoff, don’t be so grumpy.” Gavin leaned down and snatched the water bottle. He aimed it at Geoff and pressed gently into the side. Water squirted Geoff’s face and he sputtered while Gavin cackled. Even Michael somehow found it in him to smile.

 “The date went well then,” Mica was looking at Michael. He caught her eye for a second and then looked to Gavin. Gavin smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh, it was a great date! Did you see my insta? Michael bought these little sandwiches and oh, they were so tiny,” Gavin said. He held his hands as though he still had one of the sandwiches with him. Michael zoned out as Mica and Gavin got into a heated discussion about why sandwiches tasted so much better when cut into smaller shapes. His phone buzzed inside his pocket but he left it, knowing it was his friends wondering if he was still alive and in one piece. They’d ask what was going on but honestly, Michael didn’t know how to answer that. Nobody was talking to him and it seemed Gavin had brought him here just to show him off, like an exhibit in a museum. Michael wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

 Michael started to zone out as Gavin and his friends got into a heated discussion about this week’s plans or something Michael was sure didn’t concern him. He stared at a random spot, thinking about how his life had lead up to this. It was only when the spot moved when Michael realised he’d been staring at a person. Geoff Ramsey, in particular.

“Like what you see?” Geoff smirked. “Hey Gavin, I think your boo is interested in me instead.”

“What? Michael, you slut.” Gavin gasped. Michael shook his head violently.

“No, god, I’d never be into Geoff.” Michael said. He smacked his hand over his mouth when he’d realise what he’d said. There was a beat of silence, a moment where Michael’s eyes flashed before his eyes. He saw the library, saw hours and hours of him playing video games and just as much time of him eating junk food. What a wasted life.

 Then Gavin and all of his friends started to laugh. Hard. Gavin doubled over in his chair. He grabbed Michael’s knee for support and Michael held onto it when Gavin almost slipped. Geoff pouted over dramatically. He pushed his lower lip out so that it wasn’t cute, simply awkward looking.

“Hey, I’m a catch!” Geoff protested. He pointed an accusing finger in Michael’s direction.

“Sorry but you’re not my type,” Michael said. Geoff scowled.

“No, clearly. My nose isn’t big enough.” Geoff said. Gavin shot up and frowned at his friend.

“Geoffrey, you’re being an asshole.” Gavin accused. Geoff’s smirk was back and he even started to chuckle with the others.

 Michael was sure that their mini-argument would have gone on for much longer, but the gang was interrupted by the sound of the bell.

“Well, I guess we better actually attend a class,” Ryan said as he stood up. He grabbed his bag and reached for Barbara’s too, offering it to her once she had stood up.

“But I don’t want to,” Geoff whined. He slouched in his plastic chair and slipped against the material until his ass was hanging off.

“Suit yourself but I’m not retaking so that you have someone to hang out with next year,” Ryan said. Geoff huffed but he let himself slip off of the chair completely. He landed with a thump and when he stood, Geoff rubbed his ass. Gavin looked to Michael as everyone started to file out of the classroom.

 “So, want to walk me to my class?” Gavin said. Michael raised one eyebrow.

“It would be weird if I didn’t, we have the same class,” Michael said. Gavin scoffed.

“I was trying to be romantic, Michael.” Gavin shoved Michael’s arm. Michael got up, picked up his bag and shook his head. He chewed his lip as he thought about what to do next. He watched Gavin grab his own stuff but, before he could stand, Michael offered Gavin his free hand.

“It’s not funny!”

“It’s hilarious. I love it.”

Michael groaned, falling onto the couch beside his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Gavin laughed, curling into Michael’s side, pressing a consoling kiss to the older man’s cheek.

“You love that Lindsay knows about us and plays along.”

“That does make it funnier.”

Michael looked at the clock and swore. He gently pushed Gavin off his shoulder, heading for the bedroom.

“Going somewhere?”

“Monty wants to meet at the diner down the road to talk about RWBY. Want me to bring you back a milkshake?”

“You know me so well. Love you.”

Michael leaned over the back of the couch, giving Gavin a quick kiss.

“Love you too. See you later.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael walked into the diner, looking for Monty.

“Michael!”

“Lindsay. Let me guess, Monty wanted to talk about RWBY?”

“Yup?”

Lindsay grinned up at her friend, loving how annoyed their friend’s interference made him.

“Sit down, let’s have something to eat. And I bet you have to get Gavin a milkshake, hm?”

“Yeah, I do. Let me message him, tell him what happened.”

Lindsay watched Michael as he messaged his boyfriend. She loved watching his face soften, the soft smile on his lips as he contacted the other man. The two were, as Ray would say, relationship goals. She had to know why they never told anyone about the relationship. She found out by accident, letting herself into Michael’s apartment and finding the couple making out on the couch. They ordered their food, thanking the waitress when she delivered their drinks.

“So, tell me, why haven’t you come out at the office yet?”

Michael sighed, looking down at his phone screen to avoid eye contact.

“Gavin’s brother didn’t react well when he came out at home. And his parents weren’t too happy either. They don’t really talk anymore. He goes home at Christmas and doesn’t have much contact otherwise. After that, he’s nervous about coming out. Rooster Teeth and Achievement Hunter, we’re his family. He doesn’t want to lose us.”

“He’d never lose us.”

“He knows that, of course he does. But he’s scared. And I’m not gonna pressure him. We’ll come out when Gavin is good and ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been three months and everyone was still trying to set him up with Lindsay. At the beginning, he found it funny, but now it was starting to annoy him. And it was starting to affect his relationship with Gavin. Michael was snapping at the younger man now, quick to anger. He noticed that Gavin was becoming more and more withdrawn. He groaned as Barbara walked into the AH office, making a beeline for him. This again. Everyone was staring, knowing what was happening, that made Michael even more annoyed.

“Hey Michael, you wanna head out for some drinks this Friday? The RWBY cast are all going to be there.”

“And let me guess. I get a message just before reaching that bar that no one else except me and Lindsay are going to be there? Because this is another asinine attempt to set me up with my best friend? Even though I have absolutely no romantic feelings for her at all?!”

He was shouting at the end, standing, fists clenched at his sides. Chest heaving, Michael glared at Barbara. He knew that it wasn’t her fault, but this was so aggravating. Barbara stepped back, eyes wide.

“I….I’m sorry Michael. I never realised we were annoying you so much. But you and Lindsay make so much sense together. You seem to really like each other. I’ll go tell Monty that it’s off.”

“No Barbra, I’m sorry. There was no need for me to react so angrily like that. But I can’t date Lindsay because-“

“Because he’s dating me. Has been for nearly a year now.”

Gavin stared at his keyboard, refusing to make eye contact with anyone in the office. Barbara nodded, stunned. She smiled at Michael, a tight, close lipped smile, completely unnatural and walked out of the office. Geoff stood, ushering Ryan, Jack and Ray out of the office. As he passed Gavin, he placed a reassuring hand on the younger man’s shoulder, squeezing it softly. He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Not knowing what to say, Michael approached Gavin, pulling the other man from his chair. He wrapped his arms around him, holding the man tight. Michael could feel the other man trembling.

“Hey, it’s ok. Maybe not how I would have chosen to come out, but people know now, which is the important thing I guess.”

“I’m sorry Michael. I know how annoyed you were getting with this entire thing and I wanted it to end. I could have done it better though.”

Michael laughed, kissing Gavin.

“Doesn’t matter. They know now and we will have so many questions to answer when they come back in here. You ready for that.”

Gavin took a step back, wiping his eyes and running a hand through his hair. He smiled nervously, nodding.

“Yeah, sure. Let them in. I’m ready.”

“Love you Gavin.”

“I love you too Michael.”