Work Text:
It's a pretty slow day in the Achievement Hunter Office; more than a few people are somewhat behind on their work. Jack and Michael are both editing separate Let's Plays; Gavin's left to scavenge something from the kitchen; Ryan, and Geoff are just finishing up some back-logged videos that need editing while Ray kills time with a console game.
In other words, it's pretty quiet.
Half an hour had passed like this before Michael finished, resigning to tapping away quietly as he texted you, who lay sick at home in bed, as he waited for the video to render. He'd just sent off another message when Gavin's voice sounded right over his shoulder ('texting at work again, Micool-- tsk, tsk.'), making the gamer jump and swear while the Brit squawked out a laugh.
"Goddamn, dude," Michael breathes, turning his chair to look at him with a bit of a glare.
"Jesus, Michael, a bit wound up, aren't you, boi? Something wrong?" Despite having laughed at his coworker just moments earlier, concern is apparent on his features.
Michael doesn't give him much of his attention, instead just shrugging as he sighs and types out another message. "[Y/N]'s sick at home. They had a fever when I left this morning."
Gavin gives a cheeky smirk, a hand coming up to pinch at one of Michael's cheeks as he coos. "Aw, did wittle Micool want to stay home to take care of his girlfriend?"
Michael's hand slaps Gavin's away, thwarting his attempt. "Fuck, Gavin, I told you, they're not my girlfriend." He reminded, annoyance edging into his tone.
Gavin lowers his drink from his mouth as he scowls. "Damn -- I'm sorry, Michael. I keep forgetting!"
Michael's about to respond when Ray pipes in. "Forgetting what?"
"That [Y/N] isn't my girlfriend."
The Puerto Rican looks surprised. "What do you mean? Did you guys break up?"
Michael sighs, licking his lips as his eyes flick towards the ceiling before back to Ray, putting his phone down for once. "No, I mean, they're not my girlfriend, because they're not a girl. They're non-binary, so they're my datefriend."
Ray's thick brows knit together in confusion as he pauses the game to turn around and face Michael completely. "But she looks like a girl."
"Who looks like a girl?" Geoff asks, taking a sip of the water bottle on his desk. By this point, the other Achievement Hunters have all paused their work in favour of turning to face the rest of the group.
"Michael's girlfriend!"
"GAVIN!" The russet haired man shouts, earning a squeal from Gavin as the Brit covers his face with his free hand.
"Datefriend! Sorry, again, Michael."
Jack's brow furrows, arms crossed over his chest. "Datefriend? What does that mean?"
Michael tries to remain calm, because that's always what you'd want him to do in this situation. But then Ryan starts to explain what he thinks it means, and then Jack tries too and it's just-- They don't understand. Geoff seems to notice how Michael is getting tenser and tenser, and tries to help out. "Ryan, Jack, shut the fuck up. Michael, explain what it means."
The gamer is just barely holding onto some semblance of calm as he speaks. "Thanks, Geoffrey." Michael sends a small, appreciative smile to his boss. He sighs in exasperation, rubbing the middle of his brow. "Datefriend. It's exactly like the term boyfriend, or girlfriend, except it's gender-neutral, and used to describe a significant other that is non-binary, like [Y/N]." He glances around the room to gauge his coworker's expressions.
"Maybe you should explain what non-binary means, Michael." Geoff encourages, seeming to be one of the only educated people in the room.
"Alright, uh, so non-binary is sort of an umbrella term for people who identify outside of the binary genders which are boy and girl. [Y/N] is non-binary, which is why they're my datefriend."
"You keep saying 'they', is that what you call... them?" Ryan speaks slowly, looking somewhat confused, but eager to learn so that he doesn't make any mistakes.
Michael nods. "Yeah, they usually want everyone to use they/them pronouns to describe or talk about them. Sometimes they use other ones, like fae/faer."
"Fae/faer? Those are bloody cute, actually." Gavin grins, settling down into his desk.
Michael smiles, too. "I know."
Ray is frowning a bit, head in his palm. "God, I feel like such an ass. Why didn't you tell me before I met them?"
"Ray, it was like for two seconds. Completely by chance, too, you weren't really supposed to meet yet. In fact," Michael spares another glance around the room, "I was planning on having you all meet them as a group. Bevs or something."
There's a chorus of agreement and nods around the room, everyone stating that they've got no plans for the night, to which Michael shakes his head, replying to another text. "No, not tonight. They're sick. Uh, maybe Friday?"
There's another round of agreement, and Geoff states that it sounds like a plan before turning back to his computer, the rest of the room doing the same, leaving Michael to think about the conversation. He's a little nervous for the guys to meet you, but he knows that you'll fit into their dynamic, and that they'll do their best to respect you.
--
Friday night comes around and Michael's nervous while he waits for you to arrive. The group, which consists of the Achievement Hunter guys (as well as Lindsay and Griffon), is conversing amongst themselves. They're at some inauthentic Italian place, a few bread baskets split between them.
"So, tell me why didn't you pick he--them up, again?" Jack inquires, reaching into one of the baskets to retrieve a breadstick.
Michael's proud of how quickly Jack's learning, his lips twitch up just a bit before he shrugs, replying to a text from you, asking for an estimated time of arrival. "'Cause we came from work and I didn't wanna fuckin' have them come to the office and have to meet everyone on the goddamn planet at once. And they came from a friend's hou--"
Gavin interrupts Michael, animatedly waving towards the entrance of the restaurant with a giant grin on his face. "Micool-- They're here!" The Brit exclaims excitedly. "[Y/N]! Over here!"
Equal parts embarrassed and amused, you make your way over, smiling at the full table as you take a seat in between Michael and Lindsay; Griffon's on her other side with Geoff seated across from her next to Ryan, Jack and Ray. And, of course, Gavin's seated on Michael's other side at the head of the table.
"Hey, [Y/N], glad you could join us." Ryan greets, smiling brightly at you.
"Thanks, I'm glad to finally meet you all. I've heard a lot of things about you." Michael's hand finds yours, interlocking your fingers under the table, causing a smile to spread across your face.
"Same here. He's always distracted by texting you at work. It's nice to put a face to the name." Geoff's friendly smile shows he means no harm.
"Hey, [Y/N]!" Gavin waves at you again, and you laugh a little.
"Hi, Gavin."
"So, are you assholes gonna introduce yourselves or what?" Michael barks, but his small grin shows he's really pleased so far.
Going around the table, the each member of the group introduces themselves, Ray joking about how he's 'the quote guy', earning a collective bout of laughter from the group. Soon, after some small chat, the waitress shows up, taking orders. When it comes down to you, her brows furrow a bit.
"And, um, for you... Miss? Or is it sir?" Her voice is the condescending kind of sweet, her eyes narrowed as she looks you over.
You're stunned into silence by her manners (or lack thereof), but Michael quickly speaks up, other members of the table looking about ready to do the same.
"Why do you have to make assumptions? Why can't you just say 'and for you'?" Michael demands, brow furrowed as he glares up at the employee.
The woman seems unphased, her smile never faltering. "I'm not making an assumption, she's clearly one or the other."
Michael shakes his head. "No, they're not. And you're being fuckin' rude about it." He's poised to get out of his chair at this point, and you put a hand on his knee in hopes of keeping him seated.
"Is there an issue, here?" Another employee, seemingly the manager, has walked up, and is now standing behind the waitress with arms crossed over his chest.
You start to say 'no', just to keep things under control, but Geoff interrupts you. "Yeah, yeah there is. Your employee here is a fuckin' piece of work." He explains, motioning to the woman before crossing his inked arms.
"Olivia? I find that hard to believe. She's my best waitress."
"I find it hard to believe that you're not going to trust a customer's word," Ryan comments, his arms crossed as well.
"I think there must be a misunderstandi-"
Despite your attempts to keep him seated, Michael stands up and quickly closes the distance between him and the apparent manager, jabbing a finger into the man's wrinkled button-up shirt, practically spewing venom when he speaks. "Yeah, there was a misunderstanding. Obviously we should've just fuckin' ordered pizza." He turns and offers you his hand, which you take even though your eyes are still a bit wide in surprise of the turn of events. "C'mon, [Y/N]. We'll just go to my place and order pizza." You stand up and push your chair in out of habit, nodding with a small smile on your face despite the situation.
"I'd like that."
There's a few loud moments where the only sounds are chairs scraping against the floor and some shuffling, to which you turn around to observe with a slightly confused look. Gavin notices and looks a bit offended. "What, did you think we'd just stay here and eat at this damned place?" He jabs a finger in the direction of the manager (who looks particularly shocked and offended). "With that guy as manager and her as a waitress? You've got to be bloody joking, [Y/N]."
Everyone nods, and you can't help but stare at them all, shocked by the fact that they've only just met you, yet are willing to be apart of the disruptive scene that's taking place. "I'm just Michael's datefriend, you really don't have to."
"Hey, if Michael thinks you're worth it, then we do, too." Jack replies with an affirmative nod, which earns a smile from you and a small grin from Michael.
"You're one of us now, [Y/N]," Lindsay adds, giving you a sincere smile as she touches your arm. Ray starts chanting 'one of us' in a hushed voice, causing another round of chuckles.
"Pizza party at the Ramsey's!" Griffon chirps, finishing off her water.
"PIZZA AND BEVVVVVVS!" Gavin bellows, pushing past the stunned employees as the group starts to head towards the exit as a mass, Ray trailing behind with a breadstick in hand.
"Your fucking breadsticks suck, by the way." The Puerto Rican announces, taking a bite afterwards for emphasis as he walks backwards before he turns around and catches up with his friends.
Once outside, everyone piles into cars with plans to meet up at Geoff and Griffon's house for pizza, bevs, and the company of decent human beings. This, of course, is not how the night was originally planned to go, but it works out. You find out that Lindsay and Griffon are definitely fun to hang out with, the three of you having exchanged numbers with talks of going out (or in) sometime in the future. You get along well with everyone, fitting nicely into the dynamic as the group shares pizza, (admittedly shitty) breadsticks, and bevs over some video games. Geoff, while hammered, divulges that he thinks of Michael as a son, and he's glad that he's with someone like you, and that soon you'll be his kid, too. This makes Ray and Griffon laugh next to you, the former making note of the conversation for more joke material against Geoff after the weekend is over. Gavin's just as drunk, if not more drunk, than Geoff, and he's cuddly with you, calling you 'his enby' similar to the way he calls Michael 'his boi'. You and Jack have a nice conversation where he politely asks you a few questions about you and where you work, and Ryan pipes in with a few queries about how long you and Michael have known each other, as well as where you're from and why you came to Austin.
Things wrap up around midnight, Jack leaving first, followed by Ryan who's giving Ray a ride home as well. Gavin's fast asleep after Ray's gone, curling up on the couch next to Geoff, who's also fighting exhaustion. Michael's only had two beers by the time you leave, but you take Griffon's suggestion that you drive, and your boyfriend doesn't argue. You say your goodbyes to Griffon and Lindsay- who's stayed behind to help clean up- and leave in Michael's car to go to his apartment.
His hand on your knee almost makes you jump, and you glance over to see him gazing sincerely at you. You give him a confused look and he licks his lips, sighing as he faces the road again. "I'm sorry about tonight. I really am. I hope that place gets fuckin' shut down or something."
You snort at that, making the turn into the street where Michael's apartment complex is. "What're you gonna do? Give them a bad review on Yelp?"
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "No, I'm serious, though. I fuckin' hate people like that. The fact that the waitress was transphobic wasn't even the worst part. The manager refused to fuckin' listen, so I doubt she'll get fired. But, I'm just... I'm sorry that you have to face shit like that. And I want you to know that you're not, like, alone and shit, okay?" He glances at you as you pull into his designated apartment parking space. "I've got your back. And the people you met today do, too."
You turn the car off, drumming your fingers on the wheel a bit before you turn to face him, lips pursed. "I'm not helpless, you know. I can fight my own battles." You hate it when people treat you like you're fragile or incapable. You're just like them, just a little more queer.
"Fuck, yeah, [Y/N], I know. Which is why I said 'we got your back', meaning that you've got us. And we've got you. Like, mutually, or some shit." He sighs in frustration and rubs his face before meeting your gaze again. "Look, all I'm saying is that you don't have to face the bullshit alone. And tonight was bullshit."
"It may have been, but I had fun. And I'm... I'm really glad your friends are so accepting. It's, um, really refreshing."
"No one asked you those questions your hate?"
"Nope. Did you prep them or something?"
He shrugs, smirking. "Maybe a little bit. I'm sure they did a little research after I told them about you being NB. Anyway, do you wanna stay the night?"
When there's a bit of silence, he tries to correct himself. "I mean, like, clothes on, spending the nigh-"
"What if I sleep in the nude?"
"You sleep in the nude?"
"Obviously, I don't, but what if I did."
"Then, I, uh... I'd ask if you were comfortable with cuddling? Even though you've never slept in the nude before."
The serious expression on your face is intentionally overdramatic. "That you know of." Michael gives you a bit of a look, and you laugh. "Yes, I will spend the night, you fucking loser. " You reply, laughing as you get out of the car.
"Hey, take that back! I'm not a loser-- You're the loser!" He shouts, a grin clear even in his voice as he slams the door behind him, jogging around the car to catch up to you, but you're already running to the elevator. "I'm gonna fuckin' make you take it back! Don't you fuckin' worry!"
--
When you settle in for the night, it's with your head on Michael's chest and his arm around your shoulders. You're wearing some old merch of his and boxers, him wearing the same. After some shifting, you're finally both comfortable enough to try falling asleep. You're halfway there when you hear Michael murmur 'I think I fuckin' love you', while rubbing circles into your upper arm. With a grin, you nuzzle him and reply 'I think I fuckin' love you too'.