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Everyone needs comforting. It's just a fact of life. Some people can do it with ease, open up their feelings as easily as opening a book and some people find it difficult. For most people their partner is the person they turn to when all they need is someone to listen and to understand.
Geoff almost always turns to Jack for comfort. Most of them do for some reason or another. Jack gives to best hugs, listens to them and tries his best to help. For Geoff it's a habit from before the relationship even started. If he was doubting his abilities to start Achievement Hunter at the beginning he turned to Jack for reassurance and support. When the others were testing his patience, he turned to Jack to calm him down. There was no issue that he didn't share with the bearded man. Sometimes he would worry about how he was older than the Lads, that they would realise this and leave him; and Jack was always there to called him a moron and reassure him that the Lads didn't care about his age, they loved him no matter what. If Geoff had to be stern with any of them, whether it was for work or in their personal lives, he would turn to Jack when he worried he had be too harsh this time, that he had done the right thing. Sometimes Jack would tell him that yes that was maybe too much but it was okay because they loved him and would forgive him. Jack had been with him for so long that confessing his fears and concerns to him were second nature. Honestly Geoff doubted he could hide it from Jack any way. Jack could always sense when Geoff needed him, he was so in tune with his emotions. Not that Geoff was any good at hiding them anyway.
Jack would normally turn to Geoff in return. For much of the same reason that Geoff turned to him. They had been by each others side for years and Geoff always knew what to say. If Jack was over worrying about the others or work then Geoff could always calm the anxiety within him. If Gavin had maybe gone a bit too far with a joke, Geoff was always there to remind him that it was just a joke and Gavin loved him. Geoff had a different way of comforting to Jack. Jack was all about feelings and listening whereas Geoff was straight forward and told it how it was. That doesn't mean Geoff was emotionless when comforting. A strong hand on his shoulder, a comforting hand rub on his back. Geoff had been around long enough to know Jack was a worrier and that his fears needed to just be stopped in their tracks.
There were certain things that he didn't turn to Geoff for. Sometimes he would worry about his place in the relationship and that Geoff was more into the others than him. He would worry that he was a terrible person for thinking this about his boys. He wasn't jealous of them, no he was happy that they all got along well but every now again a small fear would settle in his mind and eat at his slowly until he had to talk to someone. On these occasions he spoke to the remaining Gent, Ryan. Ryan would listen carefully, interrupting only to confirm how Jack felt. Ryan would then give him a logical explanation for why he felt like this and that it didn't make him a bad person for thinking that. He was just human. Ryan's approach was always to use logic to help them understand their feelings. That's why Jack turned to Ryan for this specific worry, he needed to put his feelings into perspective before he could move past them.
Ryan was not one for being open with his emotions too much, especially negative ones. Despite giving logically answer to Jack he would ignore himself when it came to his own issues. A self-trust issue he guessed. Whenever Ryan was upset or down it could take him up to 2 weeks before bringing it up with someone. Who he turned to depending on the subject, he would seek out specific people he felt would be the most helpful and comforting at that time. Mostly it tended to be either Jack or Michael. If he was genuinely upset about something, which didn't happen too often, he went to Jack. Just sitting next to the man quietly holding hands was enough to start making him feel better. If he was thinking negative thoughts that even he knew were stupid then he would turn to Michael who would tell him to suck it up and get over it because his brain was dumb sometimes. It may not seem all that comforting but Michael did it with love and sincerity and sometimes Ryan just needed someone else to tell him that he was being stupid to get over his thoughts.
Michael was similar to Ryan in some aspects, he wouldn't openly admit to needing comfort. He wouldn't just ignore it though either. It wasn't hard to know when Michael was upset but he mostly covered his problems up with humour and anger. He would turn to Ray eventually. Ray had been one of his best friends for years, helping him to even make the decision to move to Austin and work for Rooster Teeth when he doubted himself. Ray would provide him the right level of stupid jokes and genuine advice that made Michael feel like he wasn't bitching about his problems too much or acting like a baby. He rarely was, his concerns and fears were never trivial but Michael didn't really see it that way. Ray made him realise that emotions like this were okay.
Ray would go to any of the Gents for comfort, always feeling safe and secure when cuddling with them. To Ray the Gents represented stability. He knew that of course they had their own issues and problems. They weren't magical beings who would not waiver under anything, they were his perfectly human boyfriends. Ryan's arms made him forget about his fears, Geoff's hands grounded him and Jack's chest could lull him to sleep if his problems were keeping him from sleeping. Each Gents knew what Ray needed and how to help him. They knew that they had to wait for Ray to talk first, allowing him time to just settle as he fought to figure his emotions out. Ray would always approach one of the Gents as soon as he was feeling upset but putting his feeling into words took a bit of time. Ryan knew that he needed to remind Ray that he was only human, Geoff knew that he needed reassurance of his place in the relationship and Jack knew that he needed to tell Ray to take a break for a while. For Ray the Gents were the anchors in this frightening relationship.
Gavin didn't often need to be comforted. He took everything as it came, dealing with it in a very Gavin way. He wasn't bothered by a lot of things. When he did need comfort, he would most just turn to whoever was there at the time. He found comfort in all of his boyfriends. He didn't care about how they comforted him, whether it was telling him straight, listening to his problems, or just having a cuddle. Any level of comfort was enough for Gavin, he didn't need much comforting. As soon as he went to someone there was that. Once he feel better, which didn't take long in most circumstance, he would be fine again. Gavin had an extraordinary ability to bounce back. Very rarely, when he really needed more, then he would turn to Geoff. Geoff had be there for him when he first moved here and was away from his family and home, he was there when he doubting his ability to direct RvB and he was there were sometimes his workload would stress him out too much. Geoff had the advantage of not only knowing Gavin the longest but also having watched Gavin grow up, from his late teens to his early 20's.
Sometimes, there would be something big, something that shook one of them so much that it called for a mass comforting session. Times like when Gavin was leaving for a month for the Slow Mo Guys and they were all worried about spending that much time apart, times like when Ryan's family were less than please to find out about his relationship. It mostly involved a big talk, followed by some snuggling in front of a crappy film that they could all take the piss of out.
Yes people often turn to their partners for comfort but when you have five of them then you can seek for a particular kind of comfort. Some people might find it strange that one person was comforted more than others or that one person is turned to more often than the others. The fact of the matter is that different people have different needs and some people are just better suited to comfort people. The amazing thing is though no matter what the problem they will always come out better. Comfort in House Waffle-o was never a hard thing to come by, now matter what type you need.