Chapter Text
Saying that Gavin Free was nervous was a huge understatement. To say the least; he was utterly terrified. The sandy-blonde lad was a 23 year old British cinematographer on a plane to Austin where he’d been offered a job with the internet company Roosterteeth. He was meeting up with Geoff Ramsey who in charge of looking after the newbie and getting him set up within his new workplace. Gavin would also be staying with Geoff until he found his own place.
Since he'd been noticed by Rooster Teeth thanks to his work with slow motion capturing, Gavin wasn't worried about his job performance- he knew how to record and edit footage just fine. No- he was worried about how Geoff would feel about the Lad once he'd met him in person. After all- he was a hybrid and hybrids were considered to be the scum of the Earth to many people. Gavin hoped Geoff wouldn't be one of them.
Gavin's cat-like ears twitched uncomfortably from underneath the beanie he had perched on top of his head to hide the sandy-blonde appendages from public eye as the light above his head that indicated that he should put his seatbelt on because they were beginning to decent blinked on, accompanied by a soft ‘ding’ get his attention. Not that it was needed- he'd been staring at the small bulb for the past hour, nerves bleeding into his system more and more the longer he waited. Knowing that he’d soon be touching down on American soil wasn't helping those nerves. Maybe he should keep his secret hidden under the beanie for now.. The cat-boy’s tail was itching to flick around and get some air, but he was forced to keep it under wraps beneath his over sized, baggy hoodie and bandage to keep still. It was incredibly uncomfortable but it was necessary since he couldn't always control the random twitched and aggravated flicks that would be certain to jolt his clothing and arouse suspicion- if not get him instantly beat up by the more paranoid and aggressive individuals. Gavin shuddered at a distant memory of a time when he’d forgotten to bind his tail in his rush which had ended badly. He didn't fancy a repeat of that day any time soon.
The British man’s sensitive ears stung at the rapidly changing air pressure as the plane got closer to the ground, and his body tensed up. ‘This is it...’ Gavin thought, forcing himself to take deep breaths and calm down. 'Here we go...' Gavin closed his eyes and waited to feel the bump of the plane hitting concrete.
When he felt it, the Brit opened his eyes and stared out the window, forcing himself to breathe evenly as he awaited the plane's stop.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for flying with us today. Please wait for the plane to stop moving before you leave your seats and collect your on-board luggage. We hope you enjoyed your flight." The flight attendant smiled just as the plane pulled to a stop. Gavin stayed in his seat, waiting for everyone else to finish moving around and get off before he stood and did the same, smiling a thanks to the attendant and walking along the boarding deck.
"Well...no turning back now..." Gavin whispered to himself, following the signs towards the baggage collection while looking around for Geoff.
It didn't take long to find the man, he was standing right outside the gate with a huge piece of card labelled 'Gavin Free' which made the lad feel like he was on a proper business trip. He smiled and jogged up to the man, shoving his nerves deep inside of him to greet him.
"Hi Geoff," Gavin smiled, biting his lip as he held out his hand for a handshake.
"Hi Gavin." Geoff grinned, taking hold of the Brit's hand and- instead of shaking it like Gav expected him to do- pulled him into a hug, chuckling at the younger man's squawk of surprise. "Good to finally meet you."
"Yeah, you too." Gav grinned, hugging the man back. Pulling away, Geoff grinned at the younger lad.
"So, deal is, today you're gonna be coming round to my house to drop of your stuff and see where you'll be living, then we're gonna head off to work. You won't be doing any today, this is an opportunity to be able to meet your co-workers and learn your way around, Sound good?" Gavin nodded, returning the smile.
"Sounds great."
"Great! Let's go collect your bags and get our of this place then, shall we?"
After a long car journey of talking about Gavin's life back at home- who he lived with, what he used to do for a living, hobbies etc- Geoff finally pulled into his driveway.
"Home sweet home," he smiled, turning the engine off. "And welcome to your new home,"
Gavin smiled, following Geoff out the car as he inspected the outside of the house.
"It's a beautiful house,"
"Damn right it is!" Geoff laughed, going to unlock the front door while he left Gav to get his bags. "Step inside, wipe your feet, shoes off yada yada yada,"
Gavin laughed, pulling his suitcase from the boot of the car, slamming it shut a little too hard, jumping a little at the sudden noise. He shook it off and following Geoff into the house, closing the door behind him a lot gentler than he had the boot.
"Your room is down the hall, second door to the left. I'll let you get settled while I call Burnie and let him know you're here." Gavin nodded, saying thanks before heading down the hall to the room specified by his new boss and housemate. The room was nice, really nice. It had a lot of space with a large wardrobe and a double bed.
Gavin smiled as he began to unpack his bag, putting everything where it was supposed to go. For a moment, he debated getting changed or at least letting his tail free for a few minutes. Keeping it binded for a long time made it very painful, but he decided against it not wanting to risk being caught by his boss, still unsure on how he would react. Instead, Gavin stretched upwards, hoping to shift the bandages and allow him a little movement. No such luck, they stayed tightly in place, his back already aching from the effort and the pressure.
Gavin sighed, settling down again and rolling his shoulders. He'd have to endure it for now, he couldn't risk being caught.
"Hopefully a nice hot bath later on will sooth me..." He mumbled to himself, perching on the edge of his bed and looking around the room. He sighed again, rubbing his lower back- where his binded appendage met his body- hoping to at least sooth it a little.
"Gav?" Geoff called, knocking on the door. "If you're ready, we can leave for work."
"I'm ready." Gav called back, standing up and opening the door, smiling at the older man. "Let's go."
Geoff nodded, leading Gavin back out of the house and to the car.
"How did you like your room?"
"It's great," Gavin smiled, sliding into the passenger seat. "I've put all my stuff away, there's loads of room for everything." Geoff nodded.
"It's just the guest room, but we still like to make sure guests are comfortable when staying at our home." Geoff laughed, starting the engine up. "You'll meet my wife, Griffon, when we come home."
"Great, look forward to it,"
"You better, she's awesome." Geoff grinned. "Now, ready to meet your new coworkers?" Gavin took a deep breath and nodded, smiling nervously.
"As I'll ever be,"
"Then let's go."