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Geoff knows right off the bat that something’s up between Ryan and Gavin and, because Gavin is practically his son, he figures that shit out real quick. As for the rest of the guys, for the rest of the company even, it takes a little while longer.
They do notice for a long time before it all clicks, however.
It’s the little things, like the way Gavin sometimes comes in on Mondays wearing a hoodie that’s way too big for him, or smelling vaguely like Ryan’s aftershave (when anyone comments on it, Gavin says that he and Ryan hung out the night prior and he just crashed on Ryan’s couch at the end of the night).
It’s their banter during Let’s Plays, and their old married couple fights over the stupidest shit, like whether or not dinosaurs and dragons could coexist, or why it would be worth it, if given the option, to choose to make everything you said come true, or even just over Gavin’s explanation of the latest strange thing he’s said. Sure, all the guys argue with Gavin at one point or another, but the two of them will go back and forth for the entire video if they aren’t stopped.
It’s how Gavin smiles at Ryan, a private little thing none of them have ever seen before, and how Ryan looks at Gavin, the kind of look princes give their princesses in Disney movies. Everything they do around each other is just different. Michael remembers the first time he heard Gavin doing that dumb laugh, later dubbed his Ryan laugh, and how he had turned his head just in time to catch them looking at one another. He wasn’t sure why in the moment, but it had made him uncomfortable in the I’ve-intruded-on-a-private-moment way.
It’s when they stand so close that their arms and hands are pressed together, and it’s the way they get each other snacks and drinks without asking but always seem to know exactly what the other wants. It’s that they seem to have endless inside jokes, and it’s Gavin’s moping and sulking whenever Ryan is out sick, and it’s the fact that their Twitter accounts are barely anything but each other for days at a time.
But it’s especially the way they both come in one Monday and don’t speak to each other the entire morning, not until they have to in the Let’s Play they film after lunch. The tension between them lasts all week, goes from awkward to painful very quickly, and it’s hard to see Gavin’s usual chipper demeanor look so forced. Geoff is thunderously moody all week, as well, and Jack actually catches Ryan crying in his car at lunch on Wednesday, information that he quickly shares with Ray and Michael. The entire office is on edge, their videos are shit, and Gavin doesn’t even come in the last two days of the week, to which Geoff’s bullshit excuse is that he caught a cold, and no one presses because he looks like he’s going to murder anyone who tries.
On Friday, Geoff, very curtly, tells Ryan that he needs to talk to him near the end of the day. Ray sends him a sympathetic look, because some shit very obviously went down between Ryan and Gavin and, by the looks of it, Geoff is blaming him for it, and then turns back to the video he’s just finishing. No one talks about it when Ryan returns and somehow looks more upset and less upset at the same time, and then they all go home. (Jack later decides that it’s more like he looks more guilty than before and less depressed than before, but he keeps that to himself.)
That Monday, everything is back to normal. Just like that. Ryan and Gavin come in together and are bumping each other’s shoulders and sharing glances and smiles and cracking jokes just like usual. All through the Versus episodes they film that morning, Gavin is all over Ryan, squawking and climbing on his shoulders or hanging off his arm or just provoking him into playful banter that, honestly, everyone really did fucking miss. They even leave for lunch together that day, which isn’t even something they did before their big fight, and everyone is slightly confused but super relieved that things are right again.
It isn’t until the end of the day that everything is cleared up. While Ray is packing his hoodie away into his bag, he sees Gavin stand and give Ryan a look. They seem to share a brief conversation using just their facial expressions--how even?--before Ryan stands as well and joins Gavin in the middle of the room, between the door and the desks.
Gavin clears his throa and waits until the other four Hunters turn towards them, then tilts his head at Ryan. Another mini face conversation occurs before Ryan speaks, looking nervous for what is quite possibly the first time ever, “So Gavin and I have an announcement to make.”
Michael and Ray look sideways at one another and instinctively both turn to Jack next. Is this about to be what they think it’s about to be? They don’t have much time to wonder, however, because Gavin starts to speak shortly after.
“So Ry and I’ve...” He sounds just as nervous as Ryan looks, but he’s making eye contact with them and that’s more than he usually does when he’s anxious, “Well, you see, we’ve, uh…” After another moment of hesitation, he rolls his eyes and turns to Ryan, “Oh, bloody--just c’mere.”
And then they’re kissing, which normally wouldn’t be anything any of them want to see, but in this case, it’s oddly sweet. It’s just a chaste little touching of lips, but Ryan has Gavin’s face cradled in his hands and Gavin was one hand on Ryan’s neck and the other curled around a handful of his t-shirt and the amount of emotion and love just in that simple kiss is very nearly breathtaking.
Whatever it is that the fight had been about, all four of them find themselves incredibly grateful that this couple didn’t get broken up.
The moment is ruined a few seconds later, though, by Michael throwing his hands up into the air with feigned annoyance, “Gavin! Why didn’t you tell me about this busta?! I’m your boi! I’m supposed to know about these things!”
Gavin giggles as he pulls away from Ryan, offering Michael a flippant shrug, “Sorry, boi, but we wanted to keep it a secret!”
“Who cares? All that matters is that Freewood is real!” Ray lets out a whoop of joy and reaches over to high five Michael with over exaggerated excitement.
“Oh, God. Ray’s going to go blog all about it now,” Jack jokes as he slips his phone into his pocket, “I hope you two are ready for the fans to know.”
“Jack, please, I’d never blog about that shit. I’m just going to tweet it to my four hundred thousand followers.”
Michael grins suddenly, waggling his eyebrows, “Hey! This means they get to free each other’s wood, right?”
Because of the playful banter the other three have going, Geoff is the only one who catches Ryan lean down and kiss the corner of Gavin’s mouth. Geoff is also the only one to see them share small smiles as Gavin takes Ryan’s hand, and he’s the only one to hear Gavin murmur, “Wasn’t so bad, was it?”
After that, though, Geoff turns away to finish packing up his things, grinning to himself. They’re both fucking idiots who get into dumb fights, but at least they’re happy together.
And that’s all that really matters to him.