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Monday afternoon in the Rooster Teeth office was often quiet, as its inhabitants were busy working off their weekend laziness and getting back into their daily grind. At least, most weeks it was quiet. However, there were exceptions to every rule, and, that day, the exceptions liked to call themselves a special name.
"Team Lads Action News Team, go!" Michael’s voice almost reached every part of the building with his battle cry-esque warning. If you listened closely, you probably could have heard the multitude of sighs from the employees who knew they were about to be bombarded by the rambunctious bunch. The sound of sneakers hitting the hard floor, the sound of laughter, and the cries of the names of the first victims were the only warning the Warehouse received as the Lads barreled in, camera and mic in hand.
"RYAN! LINDSAY!" Gavin squawked, skidding to a halt, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, an expression mirrored in the other men, "News!"
"Whatcha workin’ on, Ry-bread?" Michael asked, as professionally as he could in, what they expected to be, a Red Bull induced energy high, shoving the mic in Ryan’s less than amused face. He could hear Lindsay trying to stifle laughter behind him, and his conniving mind instantly went to work on a plan.
"Boring stuff. But Lindsay’s editing this week’s Let’s Build."
The woman couldn’t help but throw the smirking Gent an unimpressed look as the Lads took interest in her, instantly bombarding her with questions and cries of “That’s me!” from Gavin, jabbing his finger at her screen. The flood of relief that went through her as Michael gave her a quick kiss goodbye before he followed the other two Lads out of the Warehouse was such a great feeling, though she couldn’t stop herself from spinning around and slapping Ryan on the arm, earning her a laugh, “You’re an asshole.”
They received much the same response from Gus, Barb, and Jon, including a “dammit, guys!” from the designer as, once again, the contents of his desk were on the floor. His cursing was drowned out by the hysterical laughter of the Lads as they ran down the stairs, loud thuds echoing through the hallway as they all tried to land a 360 off the stairs, each of them miserably failing but definitely not caring.
The mood changed in a second, however, as they bolted out of the doors, intent on harassing those unaware in the Annex; it was when they were halfway there that Gavin felt the first pull, sudden and powerful and his only thought was of the safety of the expensive equipment on his shoulder. He didn’t need Burnie or Geoff coming after him for breaking the camera because he couldn’t keep his brain in check. So, he did the only thing he could think of.
“Ray!” he called, his steps starting to get a bit staggered, “Catch!”
“What?” Gavin could have hugged Ray when the Puerto Rican caught the camera, looking bewildered and a bit flustered, having not expected the item to be hurled in his direction, “The fuck, Vav?”
“Nice catch,” Gavin murmured before his wobbling legs finally gave out, Michael’s arms encircling him, aiding his journey toward the pavement, making it much less painful than it could have been. The mic lay abandoned next to them, where Michael dropped it in favor of catching is boi; unlike Gavin, he was much more worried about the Brit than the equipment. Gavin watched blearily as the camera joined the mic on the ground, Ray kneeling on his other side; he noted that the recording light was off and sent a silent thank you to the youngest Lad.
“Gav, you still with us?” Michael’s voice was quiet, but he couldn’t hide the note of panic within the quivering of his vocal chords; this was only the second time he had seen Gavin succumb to his illness, and without the calming presence of Ryan and Geoff, it was ten times as terrifying. Especially as he watched the glassy gaze take over Gavin’s eyes, realizing it was the silent answer to his question, “Fuck.”
“What do we do?” Ray wasn’t fairing much better than Michael as he twisted his fingers in nervousness and panic, “What did Ryan and Geoff do?”
“They put him on the couch, and Ryan sat there, like, fucking petting him. You think that might help?”
“Take off your jacket and lay his head on it. It’ll at least make him comfortable, right?” Michael didn’t hesitate to follow directions, knowing arguing or debating about anything would be pointless. Ray watched as Michael sloppily folded up his hoodie, making sure the zipper was tucked in the fabric, before the two lowered their friend into a laying position, his head in Michael’s lap. It took a moment before Ray let his hand mimic Ryan’s form of comfort by running through the wild sanely locks. Seconds ticked by in tense silence, both men burning holes into Gavin’s face, waiting for any sign of him returning to reality.
“Should I go get Geoff?” Ray broke the silence first, his worried gaze flicking up to Michael, the older man not wavering from watching Gavin, “I mean…me might need help, here.”
“Give it another minute,” Michael replied, pleading with the Brit to come back that moment, “Give it another minute, then you can go get Geoff.”
A nod was the only reply he received, Ray’s hand still sliding though Gavin’s hair, though Ray had to look up again when he heard the soft humming coming from his hot-headed friend, a soft, melodic tune that seemed to just come from the depths of his worried mind. His gaze snapped back when a hum was heard in response, Gavin’s eyes having lost some of the glassy edge around them. Michael smiled, continuing his random humming, Ray shrugging and joining in, trying to coax Gavin into humming with them, relief tricking into their tense bodies as his eyes started to follow Ray’s shifting arm, much like he had done with Ryan. If anyone were looking in on Team Lads, sitting on the pavement, humming a quiet melody, they probably would have been a bit worried about their sanity. As it was, they couldn’t find it in themselves to care, the song continuing for the following seconds, until Gavin seemed to fully return to the real world, looking much more tired than he had been earlier.
“Micool? Ray?” he murmured as his bois helped him sit up, “How long?”
“Dunno,” came the honest answer, as they checked over the Brit, “It wasn’t as long as the one in the office, though.”
“Good,” he sighed, giving them an apologetic smile, “Sorry, though.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about, dumbass,” Michael said, no heat behind his words, though his expression looking less than impressed, “It’s not like you fucking decided ‘I’m going to have a fucking seizure in the middle of the parking lot.’”
“Still…”
“Still, nothing, Vav. Come on, let’s get you inside, maybe Ryan will share the couch.” Gavin chuckled softly, gratefully accepting the help up, the two men keeping close as Ray grabbed the camera and Michael slung the mic around his neck, only a bit of the chord dragging the ground.
“Thanks, bois.”
“Dude, Dr. Jones and Nurse Narvaez gotcha. You have the best medical team in Austin.”
“I don’t know if I should be bloody worried about that or not,” Gavin teased, earning himself a glare from Michael and a snort from Ray.
“Keep it up and I’m leaving your ass out here.”
“But, Micool!”
If there was anything they were thankful for, it was the fact that Gavin seemed to be alright after coming to, despite being tired and a bit of a whiny bitch, as Michael called it when they arrived back in the office, informing a protective Geoff of what had transpired outside. Lucky for said whiny bitch, Ryan was quite happy to share the couch, allowing Gavin to use his leg as a pillow. The Lad didn’t stand a chance against the need to nap, and was asleep before Geoff was done tucking him in, Jack quietly teasing him about his mother hen tendencies. After shooting Jack a glare, he turned to the remaining Lads, standing in front of them with his arms crossed.
“I feel like I should fire you assholes for not coming to get me, but, since you brought him back in one piece, I guess I won’t.”
“Thanks, Geoff,” Michael snorted.
“But, seriously, guys, thanks for taking care of him.”
“No problem. Team Lads Action Medical Team is always prepared.”
“Please don’t ever make that an actual thing.”
“We make no promises, Geoff,” Ray stated before spinning around and getting to work on editing an Achievement Guide; the two couldn’t help but laugh at the pained groan from their boss; if Gavin needed them, they were going to be the best Team Lads Action Medical Team the world had ever seen.