Work Text:
For most of both of their lives they were considered 'broken'.
Their counters resting not at a number but at question marks. And that is where the similarities of their childhoods end.
Gavin grew up with only one real friend who he wasn't related to; Dan. But his parents supported him, making sure he knew they loved him. George, for a long while, couldn't stand to have others know he was related to Gavin, something that came screeching to a halt when Gavin was sixteen.
It was brutal.
George, Dan, and their parents had raced to the hospital when they got the call that Gavin had crashed his car.
"Hello Mrs. Free and Misters Free. I'm Detective Inspector Gregory Thomson. I'm assigned to Gavin's case." No one corrected him on his assumption that Dan was Gavin's brother. The two adults dazily shook his hand.
"His case?" George asked, shooting a glance at where Dan was smothering his brother in concerned affection. He could tell Gavin would start chafing at it soon.
"Yes, his case. Do you know why anyone would want to attack Gavin and carve 'FREAK' into his chest?" Thomson asked. Their mother went weak in the knees. Their father caught her as George scoffed and Dan's worried fluttering increased.
"Is there something you'd like to say Mr. Free?" He asked. George shook his head.
"Of course he does. He always has something to say about me and my freakiness." Gavin spat at him. George growled.
"There's nothing to say about it! You're a freak Gavin! You're broken! Your counter has been question marks since the day you were born! You would be better off if you were never born with one!" George shot back. Gavin stood up, pushing Dan away. He ripped off his shirt.
"So you think i deserve this? That i deserve to be held down as i scream for help that doesn't come? To lay there in agony as someone that while they weren't a friend, i thought i could trust, ripped my chest open with a knife? To hear the laughs and jeers at my tears and pain?" Gavin questioned his big brother.
"It's not natural!" George said in lieu of an answer.
"That's not an answer George. Did i deserve this because of something i cannot control?" George stayed silent.
"DID I?" Gavin yelled in the silence.
"OF COURSE NOT! But it still happened. It's always going to happen, why won't any of you accept it?" George snapped.
"Because it shouldn't be something i have to live with, that anyone has to live with. Is that why you hate me?" Gavin asked, broken. George sighed.
"I don't hate you. I never have, but being rude and mean with you means when someone actually means it, it doesn't hurt you as much." George explained. Gavin released a sob.
"It makes it worse George, because if you think that same as them, how can they be wrong?" Gavin told him. George sighed and pulled his brother into a hug.
"Well they are wrong. The only thing wrong with you has more to do with your heads then your counter. I was wrong. I love you bro." George assured his baby brother. Gavin clutched at his brother, Dan shooing the three adults out quickly and quietly.
And so ended George's 'hatred' of his brother.
Life moved on. Then one day the impossible, the unthinkable happened.
Geoff was telling about how they were looking to hire a new guy for behind the scenes stuff when it happened.
His counter turned on.
Ryan's story is quite different.
His early childhood, the first seven years or so years, his counter a bunch of dashes, his soulmate not yet born.
Then when he was seven and a half his counter changed, but not to numbers as he hoped.
His counter was filled with question marks.
After that the boy's, James's, life changed.
He was abandoned by his friends and hated at home. When someone saw his counter, no matter where he was, they shrunk back, trying to get away, as if it was contagious.
But what was the worst was his home life.
His parents had died in a car crash when he was five and he was shipped off to live with his mother's parents. He didn't know them, but the courts ignored the arguments of both James and his father's side of the family and placed him with them.
They hated the name Ryan and insisted on calling to boy by his first name instead of his middle, which everyone had always called him. Then they began to grow inpatient with the birth of Ryan's soulmate, checking his counter day in and day out.
They started voicing their doubts of him ever receiving one soon after where anyone, including James, especially James, could hear them. James was punished for any and everything that went wrong.
By the time his soulmate was born his maternal grandparents had driven off almost every member of his paternal family. When the question marks showed upon his forearm James gained daily beatings as the last of his paternal family was driven away.
All except an aunt. His father's little sister looked after him whenever she could, though she had long stop reporting the abuse, for all that led to was her unable to see James for weeks and the charges being swept under the rug.
James understood but it wasn't made easier by anyone in the small Georgia town.
It came to a head when Ryan, for he was Ryan now, turned eighteen. His grandparents came home to an empty house. He had spent the past week quietly moving out and that day he and his aunt had quietly transferred schools to two towns over where the rest of the remaining Haywoods lived.
As they went to report Ryan as kidnapped police from two towns over arrived. These police were not so easily bribed by the couples money, not after the thin, battered, and bruised eighteen year old had shuffled into their station, his loving, well known aunt beside him, quietly requesting to press charges against his former guardians; even after learning of his counter.
Ryan quickly reconnected with his father's family and finished the second half of his senior year there. That summer, between the therapy appointments, both psychological and physical, Ryan worked at his uncle's computer shop and a few falls later, delayed by the trial and appeals of his maternal grandparents, on a full ride, he went to college in Texas, his faithful aunt following him.
After the first semester he made her return to Georgia.
It was after he graduated college and was looking for a job to use his multiple computer degrees that it changed.
1 month 3 weeks 5 days 3 hours 2 minutes 32 seconds.
Both men, miles apart, but so close, stared at their counters, forgetting how to breath.
They were terrified and excited at the same time. The next several weeks dragged on for the two men, neither telling anyone for fear the moment they said anything the question marks would reappear.
Once the day arrived, they both felt like it got there too fast.
Gavin bounced around the small office where he was hanging out with Jack.
Ryan tapped his hand against his thigh as he followed Geoff to the main Achievement Hunter office where he and Jack worked, telling Ryan he would be in the warehouse with other editors and animators.
"... the British idiot known as Gavin is probably in here bugging Jack." Geoff spoke to Ryan opening the door to the office. Jack and Gavin spun around.
Ryan and Gavin's eyes locked, and they felt the soft heat on their arms that many had described feeling when meeting their soulmates. They ignored Jack and Geoff as Gavin jumped up from Geoff's chair.
They took a half step forward, clasping hands in a handshake.
"Ryan Haywood" he offered, a half smile on his face.
"Gavin Free. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" Gavin asked. Ryan nodded. They were still holding each other's hands as they finally tuned back in on the rest of the world, having not even realized they had block it out.
The rest of the world(Geoff) was not happy with being tuned out and was making it clear. Loudly. Loud enough that a passing Joel, Gus, and Burnie had poked their heads, and soon their entire bodies in to watch.
"- dumb as dicks that have foreskin! Seriously they just tuned all of us out and agreed to go on a date tonight. What the dicks is going on?" Geoff was growling. Jack was trying to calm him down as Gus and Burnie laughed and Joel was mumbling about how the two other men were obviously soulmates, idiots, which prompted everyone to look at Joel and Gavin to laugh.
Gavin and Ryan still held tightly to each other's hands, after a small shift so it was a left hand and a right hand not two rights, and stood close to each other, Gavin almost buried in Ryan's side.
"What's so funny?" Geoff snapped.
"My counter may have started working 1 month 3 weeks 5 days 3 hours 2 minutes 32 seconds before you and Ryan walked in." Gavin shrugged. Geoff stared as Joel started crowing. Ryan tugged lightly on Gavin's hand to get his attention.
"Started working?"
"Yeah, started working. It's been question marks my whole life till then." Gavin said shyly. Ryan smiled at him.
"Mine was dashes till i was seven and a half then they were question marks till 1 month 3 weeks 5 days 3 hours and some odd minutes ago." Ryan shared. Gavin smiled up at his slightly taller soulmate pressing a kiss to his cheek. They heard Geoff groan in disgust. The room went still.
Even with counters there was those who were homophobic.
"Geoff?" Gavin almost squeaked at his close friend.
"Ryan strikes me as someone that if he ever joins the videos would put animals, live animals mind you, in a hole, and now he's going to be around my kid." Geoff groaned. The four other men laughed and Gavin relaxed.
"Is that a good thing?" Ryan whispered to his soon(hopefully)-to-be lover. Gavin turned to him and nodded, a grin wide across his face.
"Since Griffon had Millie, hell since they found out it was a girl, Geoff can't watch, read, play, or listen to anything with a little girl getting hurt because he gets too upset, and he didn't even question if you're allowed at the house... I may be staying with Geoff and them while I'm in the states." Gavin blushed. Ryan smiled at him.
"Okay" Ryan replied. Gavin smiled and Geoff gagged in he background.
"Take the day off. Both of you." Burnie and Gus told them. They nodded and quickly left for a early lunch.
February of 2012
It had been around three years since Gavin and Ryan met. It had been almost two and a half years since Gavin had had to go back to the UK. They tried to make sure they saw each other in person at least once every six months. They were both firmly stuck living in their home countries for the moment.
Then Geoff announced that they were expanding the cast of Achievement Hunters by two before the year was out.
It was a boring Tuesday when Geoff had Jack gather everyone into the office because the first new guy was there. Ryan and Michael were irritated, Ryan because Gavin had to cancel his vacation for work, and Michael because he was trying to recover everything he had lost after throwing his X-Box out the window. Jack and Geoff were excited to see the reactions to the new employee.
"-and you have the dickheads we work with. Watch out for Michael. He will punch if you poke too much." They heard Geoff warn from the other side of the door.
"Geeeeoooofff..." they heard the whine as Geoff held the door close for a few seconds. Ryan shot to his feet from where he had been lounging in the new guy's chair. Geoff laughed and the door slamed open, a tall thin blur slaming into a surprised Ryan.
After a second Ryan laughed, hugging Gavin to his chest. Both men started talking excitedly. Geoff and Jack laughed and Michael was confused.
Gavin pulled back, a grin splitting his face, and leaned up to kiss the other man.
Michael let out a noise of surprise. He had started there just after Gavin's last trip, the trip in between was Ryan's turn to fly. He had never met Gavin, or even seen a picture of the man. Hell Ryan and everyone were tight lipped that Ryan had even met his soulmate.
So Michael was surprised to say the least.
The two soulmates detached from each other. Gavin bounced forward.
"Hi, I'm Gavin, you must be Michael. Rye-Bread and Geoff have told me about you, and your rage quits are bloody top." Gavin rambled, shaking a dazed Michael's hand. Geoff and Jack laughed at the look while Ryan sighed.
"Breath Sweets, breath." Ryan reminded his lover as Jack stepped forward.
"Gav's the new member and Ryan's soulmate. We keep that little piece of information on the down low if possible. Gavin has some pretty insane fans from Slow Mo Guys." Geoff explained. Michael nodded.
"Okay no mentions of their relationship in video or on any sites. Got it." Michael double checked. Gavin hugged him.
"Yep. I'm going to go bug Gus, Burnie, and Joel." And Gavin flew from the room, a wide grin cut across his face.
"I guess it's okay for him to cancel his trip for work." Ryan snarked at Geoff. Geoff just smiled back at him.
As time moved on as more people joined the company, Gus and Burnie created a new policy.
No mentioning any couples online unless you have permission. It made sense as Ryan and Gavin were not the only two to meet because of work and they weren't the only ones who tried to keep the relationship private. They were the most successful about though.
Then the five year anniversary of their first meeting rolled around.
They were filming AHWU when Geoff announced that Ryan had something to say. This, Barbara and Lindsay peaking in with cameras, Geoff walking behind the camera to focus it and the fact that Ryan pulled him to his feet and in front of the camera peaked his curiosity.
Then Ryan knelt on one knee keeping hold of his hands. Gavin's eyes widened and started to tear up.
"Five years ago my counter changed from the question marks it had been for the past twenty one years to actually numbers. My mind went crazy trying to imagine what my soulmate would be like. When i got this job i knew i would meet them here and when me and Geoff walked into that office and i saw you i knew the past twenty nine years of waiting for you were worth it.
"We've been dating for five years. I've been hopelessly in love with you for four and a half. We've lived together for the past year.
"And now, exactly five years ago as close to the second i can get i have a question for you." Ryan let go of one hand, Gavin using his now free hand to wipe at the tear streaming down his face, and pulled out a velvet box that he flipped open. Inside was a thin white gold ring.
"Gavin David Free, will you marry me?" Ryan asked, his nervousness written across his face.
"Of course I'm gonna marry you, you little mung! I wouldn't dream of marrying anyone else." Gavin replied in a choked voice, pulling Ryan to his feet and kissing his fiancé. Everyone in the office broke out into cheers. This reminded Gavin that they were filming AHWU and he pulled back from Ryan to look at the camera. He looked at Ryan when he wordlessly slid to ring onto Gavin's left ring finger before turning back to the camera.
"You're watching AHWU #200 and we just got engaged!" Gavin grinned. He turned and kissed Ryan again. Everyone laughed at Gavin, and he heard someone yell that they dared them to put that at the beginning of the video.
They avoided the internet for a few days.
When they finally got back on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, the Rooster Teeth website, and tumblr along with several other social networking sites, it was mayham. #freewood was trending not just one sites but several of them. For the most part they seemed to be in stunned acceptance of the couple while some were confused as they never even seen a hint of it. The very few that were against it were smothered by the overwhelming support that was appearing. Several sites had small groups of people saying 'I told you so'.
It made both of them so happy.
Somehow the new T-shirt Tuesday was a peach color tee with a counter on it.
1 month 3 weeks 5 days 3 hours 2 minutes 32 seconds
Surprisingly Gavin and Ryan were okay with the community suddenly wearing that combination of numbers.