Chapter Text
Finally Home.
Michael had been in the woods for a couple of hours and he had come to two conclusions. The first being the intense anger at himself was not going to dissipate easily and the second that he was fucking lost.
“Shit,” Michael mumbled feeling around to see if he had anything important on him. And thankful he didn’t have anything except for a stone sword and a couple of torches, both easily replaceable and made respawn a viable option if he got really fucking lost.
Feeling a familiar growl in his stomach, Michael went on the search for food because, in his experience, starvation was one of the shittiest ways to go. After finding and brutally slaughtering a pig, Michael began to set up camp, which was really just a measly fire with a couple pork chops roasting on a stick. This gave Michael plenty of time to think.
And Michael fucking hated thinking.
His thoughts immediately zoned in on Gavin. Gavin had been alive. And alone for so fucking long, while Michael was out getting ‘revenge’. “I’m such a piece of shit,” Michael hissed turning the pork chops over in the fire.
Looking into the fire, Michael could only see Gavin. The arrow in his chest. The way he had gasped out Michael’s named. Fuck, Michael could have stayed. Pulled Gavin away. At least distracted the skeletons into chasing him. But he had run. And instead of looking for Gavin, Michael had wanted cheap revenge. He felt like such a selfish asshole. Michael, not even caring how hot they were, ripped the pork chops off the stick and shoved them into his mouth.
Finishing the pork chops, Michael heard a sound. Something low. Guttural. Throwing the left overs in the fire, Michael stood up and readied his sword. Just in time for a horde of zombies push their way from the brush. “Fuck me, “ Michael said. Zombies were almost as bad as starvation. And as shitty as Michael felt, he didn’t really want to get ripped apart.
Raising his sword, Michael began hacking at the forerunners of the zombies. In one large swing, three zombies fell in an unceremonious huff. Michael slashed at a zombie’s face and an eyeball flew over Michael’s head. Then a couple of stabs to the neck and another zombie was down. It was so much easier to fight than to think, Michael thought during a momentary lull in the battle and then he decapitated another zombie, who had strayed to close. A couple bodies later, Michael glanced down at his sword to see that it was chipping and about to become useless. “Guess I’m going to have to punch my way out,” Michael said, a small part of him knowing that he was about to respawn back into his bed. “I’m FUCKING READY FOR YOU!” Michael said screaming at the remaining zombies.
Michael raised his fist and readied himself for the first zombie to get within arm’s reach. But they never came. Instead, Michael heard the familiar swish of an arrow fly by his head and through the zombie’s skull.
“Michael!” A familiar voice yelled and Michael felt his heart stop.
The familiar wave of guilt hit Michael in the stomach. “Fuck off Gav, I got this.” Michael said jabbing a zombie in the temple, which made it fall to the floor. And then Michael gave a definitive stomp to the back of the head.
But instead of an answer, Michael just saw another arrow wiz from the depths of the forest.
“Fucking prick,” Michael said feeling a smile threaten to show on his lips and kicking the kneecap out of a zombie’s leg. Before it could hit the ground, an arrow was in its head.
When the last of the zombies had been taken care of, Gavin jumped out of the nearest tree with ease but completely botched the landing. “You’re such a clumsy asshole,” Michael said helping Gavin up.
“Michael,” Gavin said with an unreserved smile.
“Hey,” Michael said trying to smear some of the blood off his face. “Sorry about running off and shit.” Michael paused. Then realizing that Gavin had no idea what he was saying, Michael decided to let off some steam. “I just feel awful about leaving you alone after getting shot and stuff. Made me feel like an asshole that doesn’t care. But I do… a lot. Care I mean.” Michael said looking up at Gavin, who was smiling but not in the goofy way he usually did but it was something more. “Thank Christ you can’t understand what I’m saying or you’d think I was being a complete bitch,”
“I don’t think you’re a bitch, Micool.”
Michael’s head snapped up. “Did you…?” Michael said looking around to see if anyone else in the woods.
Gavin tilted his head and confusion tinted his features.
“Fuck, I must have gotten a head injury,” Michael said mumbling, “I thought you could speak English”
“English?” Gavin mimicked.
“What I talked,” Michael said using exaggerated pantomime to get his point across.
“Oh,” Gavin said nodding and turned to walk away. “You mean speak human.” Gavin glimpsed over his shoulder with a cheeky smile.
And Michael’s jaw dropped. “What the fuck,” Michael’s said his voice going up an octave. “What the FUCK, Gavin?” Michael ran to catch up with the disappearing creeperboy.
“Ryan taught me!” Gavin said beaming and Michael could swear he could see a hint of smugness on Gavin’s face.
“ Stop fucking with me,” Michael said. He was still in shock that he was able to hold such a flowing conversation with Gavin.
“It’s true!” Gavin squawked wildly gesturing. “Ryan put me in this machine and it whirled and bopped and it was a swirl of words and images. And when I came out I could speak bloody human!”
“Holy shit, Ryan really is a mad scientist.” Michael said his eyes widening. “But why do you talk so funny?” Michael said leaning in close.
Gavin simply shrugged. “Jack said it was because they got the disks from Dan’s village,”
“Oh,” Michael said and the two walked in silence for a couple of minutes.
“I’m glad you ran,” Gavin interrupted the silence. “I didn’t want you to be hurt.”
“I’m not fucking glad,” Michael said. “I thought you died.”
“Silly Michael,” Gavin cooed, “I came back.”
“ But I thought you wouldn’t” Michael said grabbing Gavin’s hand to stop him. And Michael’s hand refused to let go, “How did you survive? You had that arrow in your fucking chest and when we came back your body was gone. I thought you died.”
Gavin blinked. “I did.”
“You did what?” Michael asked genuinely confused.
“I died.” Gavin said slowly. “Then I came back.”
“How?”
Now it was Gavin’s turn to look confused. “Don’t all humans do it?”
“No,” Michael shook his head.
“ Ray can,” Gavin said remember when the zombies had raided into the city.
“That’s cause we went on a fucking quest of immortality.” Michael said his eyes bulging.
“Oh.”
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘oh ’” Michael said near shrieking. “How the fuck can you do it?”
“I could always do it?” Gavin said shrugging non-chalant.
“Stop acting like it isn’t a big deal,” Michael’s voice suddenly went quiet. “I thought you were dead and I would never see you again,”
“I missed you too,” Gavin said and pulled Michael in for a hug and hissed softly in the back of his throat.
“What the fuck are you doing,” Michael said taking a deep breath in.
“It’s what creepers do when they have been gone from a loved one for a long time,” Gavin said beginning to hiss again.
“Well,” Michael said. “This is what humans do,” Michael said pulling Gavin in for a chaste kiss. And Gavin developed it into something more. Opening his mouth slowly, Gavin slipped his tongue into Michael’s mouth.
When they parted Gavin said, “does this make us friends,”
“You know what kissing means now, asshole,” Michael said smiling.
Michael leaned in for another kiss before being interrupted by a familiar shrill voice. “Gavin, where the fuck did you go? I was worried as dicks,”
“I went to find Michael,” Gavin said and pulled Michael in close. “And I did.”
Geoff’s face blanked for a moment until it broke out to a smile. “I still can’t get used to you speaking in a civilized language.”
“My language IS civilized, you silly mong” Gavin said pulling Michael into the familiar territory of down town achievement city. Giving Michael only a moment to think about how had the duo gotten back so fast. It had to have been Gavin or pure luck. Either or, Michael was glad.
“Sure it is buddy,” Geoff said turning towards the center of achievement city, “GAVIN”S BACK!” Geoff screamed.
“So are we!” Ray called pulling Dan into the clearing by the hand.
“B?” Dan said running towards Gavin and hoisting the creeperboy into the air.
“Dan!” Gavin screamed and began hissing and clicking at Dan, who chattered quickly back. Then Gavin’s face lit up. “Wait, I can speak human now,” Gavin squealed as Dan dropped him in shock.
“This is top,” Dan said pulling Gavin up off the ground roughly. “Ray said you could. But I didn’t believe it”
“Ryan did it,” Gavin said seeing Ryan make his way across the logo with Jack. “Thanks Ryan!”
“To be honest, I’m actually surprised it worked.” Ryan said smiling.
“What did you think was going to happen?” Ray asked. “Gavin getting his brain fried?” Ray joked.
“Well, I didn’t want to say anything,” Ryan said sheepishly.
‘Jesus Christ,” Jack said swatting Ryan. “You could have killed Gavin as soon as he came back from the dead.
“I didn’t,” Ryan said as if that was good enough.
“Okay, okay,” Geoff said trying to usher everybody into his house. “In case anyone doesn’t have eyes, it is fucking dark and, by the looks of things, two of us have already gotten in a fight today. Let’s get Gavin’s welcome back party started.”
“You blokes really like to party?” Dan said following everyone into the stone monolith.
“What else is there to do?” Michael asked with a firm hand over Gavin’s.
“Now Gavin, would you kindly tell us where the fuck you have been,” Jack asked and everyone turned to Gavin expectantly.
“Well-“ Gavin began but was cut short.
“Wait!” Geoff said running towards the chest near his bed. “I feel as if this is going to be a long as dicks story, so let me get us some drinks,”
Geoff quickly returned and handed out bottles of blue-tinted liquid. “Drink?” Geoff asked handing Gavin a bottle.
“Thanks, Geoffrey,” Gavin said popping it open and wincing as he took a sip.
Geoff smiled and settled to sit with the rest of the Achievement Hunter. “Welcome home, buddy,”