Fanfic: Settle In, I'm here to Stay - Chapter Nine
Title: Settle In, I'm here to Stay
Author: ilcocoabean
Fandom: Achievement Hunter RPF
Character(s)/ Pairing(s): Dan/Ray, Michael/Gavin, implied Dan/Gavin, implied Ray/Gavin, past Ray/Michael, Joel, Jack, Geoff, Ryan, Caleb
Genre(s): AU, Angst, General, Slash, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,922
Summary: Achievement City's been pretty quiet since Ray's arrival, so of course, they're due for another visitor.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use.
Warnings: Character deaths, adult language, and violence.
Note: Fuck this took for-fucking-ever. This was honestly the most difficult chapter to write ever. And then this was supposed to go up last night but my wifi was being a dick (it still is, the fucker). And yes I realize it's been like a month since I updated, I apologize. I've been busy writing/plotting for the Mavin Fic Bang which I'm quite excited about. Even put my other project on hold for the bang.
Be sure to read the side fics that went up along with this update. You can find a Michael/Gavin centric one here, a Ray respawn backstory that's Michael centric over there, and finally a Geoff and Gavin backstory over yonder. Those were fun to write. Not this chapter. Ugh. Hopefully the next chapter won't be too difficult.
AO3: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
LJ: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
Chapter Nine
While Ray was a little sad over trading in a proper bed for a sleeping bag out in the middle of no where, he was glad they were on their way again. The village had been ready to keep the party going for at least another week and while it had been tempting to stay they did have somewhere to go.
It hadn't been easy though, reminding the others that they needed to get going. After that first day of celebration the villagers had kept on going as soon as day broke and somehow they'd managed to get more people to come with more food. Ray had been quite confused about how the number of villagers had multiplied overnight but he wasn't one to pry. Villagers had their ways.
As the second day of the celebration began Ray found Michael and Gavin once again, swept up in the festivities, drinking, eating, and laughing alongside the people they'd saved. Ray hung around for a bit but he retreated to his room fairly quick. It was where he'd found Dan, looking out over the village, with a grimace.
And although it was a rather undiscussed topic amongst them, mentioning Gavin's experience orbs were what finally had them moving.
“Oh,” Gavin said, quietly. “Right.”
Ray still winced at the memory of Dan's guilty face afterward. That had definitely not been easy. Still it seemed as if Gavin was gotten over it. He was ahead of them chatting away, commenting about the differences between Achievementburg and the village.
“When we first found Achievementburg, there were so many zombies and creepers. Jack found five of them huddled around a corner and it blew away at least half of a house!” Gavin shook his head. “No wonder it was abandoned. I don't know how anyone could live there.”
Ray shook his head a little. He remembered that night. Unlike the others who each found a large house to fortify themselves into, Ray had made the mistake in running into what could only be called a shed. It had been so tiny with the one table taking up half the space leaving absolutely no room for a bed. Still, it'd done the job and he managed to survive the night with the others.
He glanced down at the map in his hand. They were still continuing with their original plan of crossing through the desert and plains biomes with only a minor alteration in that they were sticking closer to the wooden and jungle biomes. These biomes were further away from Slow-mo-vile and would put an extra couple days on their journey but it was unanimously decided that it was better they stay closer to trees they knew were actually there rather than chase after a forest that was probably gone.
They would probably be more than halfway there by the end of the week. If they could improve on their pace they would get even closer however, given how loaded they were with supplies (the villagers had been awful generous and were sad to see them go) that wasn't likely to happen.
Ray sighed and glanced up at the sky. The sun was high above them and Ray could tell that their idea to skirt the edge of the desert, where they could duck under the shades of trees, was the best idea they had in a while. The sun was too much for them but not for Gavin apparently. He kept his steps light and even-as if his bag were carrying nothing but feathers-and his mouth was running, switching between topics quickly. His conversation was mostly directed toward Dan.
“Geoff tells me he found me in the woods when I came to Achievement City. I always wonder about that since I always thought a little wander through the woods would be nice. Did I wander around Slow-mo-ville?” Gavin looked at the woods with interest. “Does Slow-mo-ville have trees?”
Ray looked at Dan out of the corner of his eyes, curious to hear his answer. Dan's eyes were on the ground, his mouth set in a grim line.
“You used to go into caves,” Dan replied, a little quiet. “We had to travel to a forest on the edge of the biome to get saplings for trees. There was mostly cacti around.”
“Oh.” Up ahead Gavin made a thoughtful noise and turned away from the trees. “Well that would explain why I made Geoff help me make a cacti farm. I mean we don't really need it for anything.” Gavin suddenly shrugged. “What about art? Are there any nice pieces at Slow-mo?”
“No.” Dan gripped his sword handle so hard Ray actually winced. “There are books though.”
“Books?” Gavin echoed, perplexed. “Huh. Must be nice to have bookshelves though. I don't think there's any books in Achievement City. We've got lot's of animals though. Ryan is an animal whisperer or something. It's crazy. Do we have any animals at Slow-mo?”
“No,” Dan said. “You can see the ocean though.”
“Really?” Gavin suddenly turned around, eyes wide. “Oh that's brilliant. I've never seen the ocean. Well I mean obviously I have but I don't remember. That's exciting. Ray, have you ever seen the ocean?”
Ray, who had been too busy looking at Dan, was startled. “What?”
“The ocean, you donut.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “Have you ever seen it?”
“Uh,” Ray blinked. “Yeah my village was by a bay that led to an ocean. I didn't visit much.”
“It'll be nice that we'll all get to see it then.” Gavin turned back around.
. . .
It wasn't long before they finally decided to make camp. They had a couple hours before the sun finally set but they needed the rest. Gavin set off with Dan towards the trees to collect some wood for their torches. Michael and Ray were left to finish setting up camp. Sleeping bags were unrolled and placed neatly around their fire. Ray took the food out of his bag and began to distribute portions into bowls. There was plenty to go around and they probably wouldn't have to hunt for food for the next week or so.
Without looking up Ray held out a bowl for Michael. When he'd been holding it for a solid minute he looked up and noticed the grim expression on his friend's face. Tilting his head a little, Ray waved the bowl in Michael's line of vision.
“Hey buddy?” Ray asked. “You okay?”
Michael shook his head a little and grabbed the bowl from Ray's grasp. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just, tired I guess.”
“You sure?” Ray frowned. “You don't look too good.”
“I said I'm fine Ray.” Michael rolled his eyes and picked at his food.
“All right,” Ray set the food aside for a moment and stared up at the sky peaking through the branches above them. “I don't blame you for being tired. Man, it was hot today. Was it that hot when we first started out?”
“Don't remember.”
“Gavin didn't seem bothered by it though, did he?” Ray sat back on his sleeping bag. “Dan seemed okay too. Think it has something to do with Slow-?”
“I swear to fucking God if I hear the name of that stupid place again, I will hurt someone.” Michael bit out.
Ray closed his mouth carefully. “Okay.”
Michael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. That wasn't-I didn't mean to say that out loud. It's just Gavin kept talking about it and it got really fucking annoying. Comparing Achievement City to that dump, as if it could ever compare.”
“Well I think he was just making conversation-”
“Yeah, with Dan.” Michael rolled his eyes. “I know. But even I could tell that the guy was uncomfortable.”
“You noticed too?” Ray was surprised. Although Michael hadn't displayed as much hostility towards Dan as before, Michael wasn't exactly kind either.
“I'm not completely blind.” Michael huffed a little in annoyance. “Man, talk about awkward.”
“Yeah,” Ray shook his head a little. “And Gavin had no idea either.”
“That's because he's an idiot and he never notices anything.” Michael crossed his arms. “Stupid idiot.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I mean would it kill him to think of other people for once?” Michael grumbled.
Ray narrowed his eyes slightly. “You sure you're okay? You sound like-”
Michael glared. “I said I'm fine.”
Raising his hands in mock surrender Ray turned once more to the food. He prepared Gavin's and Dan's portions and moved to place them by their bags. He got up and stretched, looking through the trees before turning to Michael firmly.
Ray crossed his arms. “Did you and Gavin break up or something?”
“Jesus Christ,” Michael covered his face with his hands. “No. We didn't break up. We're not even-look, I'm just... tired and annoyed. The heat is doing things to my head or something. Okay?”
“Okay.” Ray shrugged and reached over to pat his friend on the head.
“Stop that.” Michael shoved at Ray's hand. “I'm not a child.”
“No,” Ray grinned. “But you're still Gavin's boy.”
“Shut up.”
.
By the time Gavin and Dan got back both Michael and Ray were finished with their meals. Michael looked up at Gavin who averted his eyes and sat down next to Ray. Dan kept his gaze on the fire and ate his food in silence.
Raising his brows Ray turned to Michael who in turn, raised his own. Deciding it was better not look too into it Ray moved a little closer to Michael and they busied themselves with the wood the others had retrieved. Breaking the logs wasn't difficult and before long they had enough torches to light up the area around them.
When Ray got up to clean the plates, Gavin came with him. After leading him to the pond he and Dan came upon earlier, Gavin sat himself on a mound of dirt, plucking at the strings of his scarf. He opened his mouth and closed it when he noticed Ray looking at him expectantly. With a brief shrug Ray kneeled by the pond, scooping just enough water to rinse the plates.
He kept an eye on Gavin and the nervousness emanating from his jiggling foot but otherwise made no comment. Instead he waited patiently for him to say something and was rewarded when Gavin bent down to help with the last plate.
“Dan thinks I'm with Michael.” Gavin said, quietly. “Silly right?”
Ray's head shot up. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his tone deliberately casual. “And you aren't?”
“No!” Gavin cried out. He shut his mouth quickly and looked around. “I mean, we're just friends.”
“Right.” Ray nodded slowly. “Best friends.”
“Exactly.” Gavin agreed. “That's all we are. I don't know where Dan got the idea that we'd be... anything else.”
“Of course.” Ray piled the bowls on top of each other. “What a silly idea. You and Michael are totally the best of bros.”
Ray resisted the urge to smack Gavin. The conversation he'd had with Michael was starting to make sense. But Ray had been so sure. And if Dan had assumed that then...? His friends were fucking dumb. There was no other explanation. Or maybe it was just Gavin who was an idiot. Ray sighed.
Gavin chewed his lip thoughtfully. “It would be nice though... I mean!” He laughed. “Just hypothetically speaking and all. It'd be nice to be with you as well. Sleeping with you was okay.”
“Yeah until you bled all over my sheets.”
“That was an accident!”
Author: ilcocoabean
Fandom: Achievement Hunter RPF
Character(s)/ Pairing(s): Dan/Ray, Michael/Gavin, implied Dan/Gavin, implied Ray/Gavin, past Ray/Michael, Joel, Jack, Geoff, Ryan, Caleb
Genre(s): AU, Angst, General, Slash, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,922
Summary: Achievement City's been pretty quiet since Ray's arrival, so of course, they're due for another visitor.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use.
Warnings: Character deaths, adult language, and violence.
Note: Fuck this took for-fucking-ever. This was honestly the most difficult chapter to write ever. And then this was supposed to go up last night but my wifi was being a dick (it still is, the fucker). And yes I realize it's been like a month since I updated, I apologize. I've been busy writing/plotting for the Mavin Fic Bang which I'm quite excited about. Even put my other project on hold for the bang.
Be sure to read the side fics that went up along with this update. You can find a Michael/Gavin centric one here, a Ray respawn backstory that's Michael centric over there, and finally a Geoff and Gavin backstory over yonder. Those were fun to write. Not this chapter. Ugh. Hopefully the next chapter won't be too difficult.
AO3: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
LJ: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
Chapter Nine
While Ray was a little sad over trading in a proper bed for a sleeping bag out in the middle of no where, he was glad they were on their way again. The village had been ready to keep the party going for at least another week and while it had been tempting to stay they did have somewhere to go.
It hadn't been easy though, reminding the others that they needed to get going. After that first day of celebration the villagers had kept on going as soon as day broke and somehow they'd managed to get more people to come with more food. Ray had been quite confused about how the number of villagers had multiplied overnight but he wasn't one to pry. Villagers had their ways.
As the second day of the celebration began Ray found Michael and Gavin once again, swept up in the festivities, drinking, eating, and laughing alongside the people they'd saved. Ray hung around for a bit but he retreated to his room fairly quick. It was where he'd found Dan, looking out over the village, with a grimace.
And although it was a rather undiscussed topic amongst them, mentioning Gavin's experience orbs were what finally had them moving.
“Oh,” Gavin said, quietly. “Right.”
Ray still winced at the memory of Dan's guilty face afterward. That had definitely not been easy. Still it seemed as if Gavin was gotten over it. He was ahead of them chatting away, commenting about the differences between Achievementburg and the village.
“When we first found Achievementburg, there were so many zombies and creepers. Jack found five of them huddled around a corner and it blew away at least half of a house!” Gavin shook his head. “No wonder it was abandoned. I don't know how anyone could live there.”
Ray shook his head a little. He remembered that night. Unlike the others who each found a large house to fortify themselves into, Ray had made the mistake in running into what could only be called a shed. It had been so tiny with the one table taking up half the space leaving absolutely no room for a bed. Still, it'd done the job and he managed to survive the night with the others.
He glanced down at the map in his hand. They were still continuing with their original plan of crossing through the desert and plains biomes with only a minor alteration in that they were sticking closer to the wooden and jungle biomes. These biomes were further away from Slow-mo-vile and would put an extra couple days on their journey but it was unanimously decided that it was better they stay closer to trees they knew were actually there rather than chase after a forest that was probably gone.
They would probably be more than halfway there by the end of the week. If they could improve on their pace they would get even closer however, given how loaded they were with supplies (the villagers had been awful generous and were sad to see them go) that wasn't likely to happen.
Ray sighed and glanced up at the sky. The sun was high above them and Ray could tell that their idea to skirt the edge of the desert, where they could duck under the shades of trees, was the best idea they had in a while. The sun was too much for them but not for Gavin apparently. He kept his steps light and even-as if his bag were carrying nothing but feathers-and his mouth was running, switching between topics quickly. His conversation was mostly directed toward Dan.
“Geoff tells me he found me in the woods when I came to Achievement City. I always wonder about that since I always thought a little wander through the woods would be nice. Did I wander around Slow-mo-ville?” Gavin looked at the woods with interest. “Does Slow-mo-ville have trees?”
Ray looked at Dan out of the corner of his eyes, curious to hear his answer. Dan's eyes were on the ground, his mouth set in a grim line.
“You used to go into caves,” Dan replied, a little quiet. “We had to travel to a forest on the edge of the biome to get saplings for trees. There was mostly cacti around.”
“Oh.” Up ahead Gavin made a thoughtful noise and turned away from the trees. “Well that would explain why I made Geoff help me make a cacti farm. I mean we don't really need it for anything.” Gavin suddenly shrugged. “What about art? Are there any nice pieces at Slow-mo?”
“No.” Dan gripped his sword handle so hard Ray actually winced. “There are books though.”
“Books?” Gavin echoed, perplexed. “Huh. Must be nice to have bookshelves though. I don't think there's any books in Achievement City. We've got lot's of animals though. Ryan is an animal whisperer or something. It's crazy. Do we have any animals at Slow-mo?”
“No,” Dan said. “You can see the ocean though.”
“Really?” Gavin suddenly turned around, eyes wide. “Oh that's brilliant. I've never seen the ocean. Well I mean obviously I have but I don't remember. That's exciting. Ray, have you ever seen the ocean?”
Ray, who had been too busy looking at Dan, was startled. “What?”
“The ocean, you donut.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “Have you ever seen it?”
“Uh,” Ray blinked. “Yeah my village was by a bay that led to an ocean. I didn't visit much.”
“It'll be nice that we'll all get to see it then.” Gavin turned back around.
. . .
It wasn't long before they finally decided to make camp. They had a couple hours before the sun finally set but they needed the rest. Gavin set off with Dan towards the trees to collect some wood for their torches. Michael and Ray were left to finish setting up camp. Sleeping bags were unrolled and placed neatly around their fire. Ray took the food out of his bag and began to distribute portions into bowls. There was plenty to go around and they probably wouldn't have to hunt for food for the next week or so.
Without looking up Ray held out a bowl for Michael. When he'd been holding it for a solid minute he looked up and noticed the grim expression on his friend's face. Tilting his head a little, Ray waved the bowl in Michael's line of vision.
“Hey buddy?” Ray asked. “You okay?”
Michael shook his head a little and grabbed the bowl from Ray's grasp. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just, tired I guess.”
“You sure?” Ray frowned. “You don't look too good.”
“I said I'm fine Ray.” Michael rolled his eyes and picked at his food.
“All right,” Ray set the food aside for a moment and stared up at the sky peaking through the branches above them. “I don't blame you for being tired. Man, it was hot today. Was it that hot when we first started out?”
“Don't remember.”
“Gavin didn't seem bothered by it though, did he?” Ray sat back on his sleeping bag. “Dan seemed okay too. Think it has something to do with Slow-?”
“I swear to fucking God if I hear the name of that stupid place again, I will hurt someone.” Michael bit out.
Ray closed his mouth carefully. “Okay.”
Michael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. That wasn't-I didn't mean to say that out loud. It's just Gavin kept talking about it and it got really fucking annoying. Comparing Achievement City to that dump, as if it could ever compare.”
“Well I think he was just making conversation-”
“Yeah, with Dan.” Michael rolled his eyes. “I know. But even I could tell that the guy was uncomfortable.”
“You noticed too?” Ray was surprised. Although Michael hadn't displayed as much hostility towards Dan as before, Michael wasn't exactly kind either.
“I'm not completely blind.” Michael huffed a little in annoyance. “Man, talk about awkward.”
“Yeah,” Ray shook his head a little. “And Gavin had no idea either.”
“That's because he's an idiot and he never notices anything.” Michael crossed his arms. “Stupid idiot.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I mean would it kill him to think of other people for once?” Michael grumbled.
Ray narrowed his eyes slightly. “You sure you're okay? You sound like-”
Michael glared. “I said I'm fine.”
Raising his hands in mock surrender Ray turned once more to the food. He prepared Gavin's and Dan's portions and moved to place them by their bags. He got up and stretched, looking through the trees before turning to Michael firmly.
Ray crossed his arms. “Did you and Gavin break up or something?”
“Jesus Christ,” Michael covered his face with his hands. “No. We didn't break up. We're not even-look, I'm just... tired and annoyed. The heat is doing things to my head or something. Okay?”
“Okay.” Ray shrugged and reached over to pat his friend on the head.
“Stop that.” Michael shoved at Ray's hand. “I'm not a child.”
“No,” Ray grinned. “But you're still Gavin's boy.”
“Shut up.”
.
By the time Gavin and Dan got back both Michael and Ray were finished with their meals. Michael looked up at Gavin who averted his eyes and sat down next to Ray. Dan kept his gaze on the fire and ate his food in silence.
Raising his brows Ray turned to Michael who in turn, raised his own. Deciding it was better not look too into it Ray moved a little closer to Michael and they busied themselves with the wood the others had retrieved. Breaking the logs wasn't difficult and before long they had enough torches to light up the area around them.
When Ray got up to clean the plates, Gavin came with him. After leading him to the pond he and Dan came upon earlier, Gavin sat himself on a mound of dirt, plucking at the strings of his scarf. He opened his mouth and closed it when he noticed Ray looking at him expectantly. With a brief shrug Ray kneeled by the pond, scooping just enough water to rinse the plates.
He kept an eye on Gavin and the nervousness emanating from his jiggling foot but otherwise made no comment. Instead he waited patiently for him to say something and was rewarded when Gavin bent down to help with the last plate.
“Dan thinks I'm with Michael.” Gavin said, quietly. “Silly right?”
Ray's head shot up. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his tone deliberately casual. “And you aren't?”
“No!” Gavin cried out. He shut his mouth quickly and looked around. “I mean, we're just friends.”
“Right.” Ray nodded slowly. “Best friends.”
“Exactly.” Gavin agreed. “That's all we are. I don't know where Dan got the idea that we'd be... anything else.”
“Of course.” Ray piled the bowls on top of each other. “What a silly idea. You and Michael are totally the best of bros.”
Ray resisted the urge to smack Gavin. The conversation he'd had with Michael was starting to make sense. But Ray had been so sure. And if Dan had assumed that then...? His friends were fucking dumb. There was no other explanation. Or maybe it was just Gavin who was an idiot. Ray sighed.
Gavin chewed his lip thoughtfully. “It would be nice though... I mean!” He laughed. “Just hypothetically speaking and all. It'd be nice to be with you as well. Sleeping with you was okay.”
“Yeah until you bled all over my sheets.”
“That was an accident!”