Work Text:
The house was silent, besides the steadily ticking clock echoing through the living room. The only ambient noises came from outside; the tip-tapping of the boiling rains as it started to fall from the sky, low rumbles and crackles of thunder, and the distant panicked screams from residents of the town as they ran for cover.
It was cold, and the house was empty, all except one witch.
Mattholomule was curled up on the couch, limbs tucked close to his body for warmth. He could get a blanket, but for the moment moving felt like too much effort. He was home alone; his mothers had both gotten caught in a work meeting and would probably stay at a hotel until the rains passed, while his siblings were staying with friends at the moment; so he couldn't ask any family members for help either. So, what, he'd just lie there all day?
Sure. Not like he had anything better to do. Stupid rains.
Mattholomule was exhausted, so a day where his family physically couldn't get home was sometimes nice; he had the entire home to himself, so he wasn't gonna waste the opportunity. He could finally relax, get some time alone, and look through the bookstore for something relating to that illusionist graveyard he'd gotten himself stuck repairing with Augustus.
Getting to his feet, he stepped into the kitchen and looked for something to eat. A pack of hex mix was enough to please him, so he took the bag and left. In the hall window, he could see the battering rains and the light flashes of distant lightning. He had always wondered if human weather was like this; it was rumoured the rains didn't boil there. What would it be like walking in the rain?
Hmm. Maybe he could find a book on human stuff. Since he'd become president of the HAS, he'd been forced to do at least a little research, and he couldn't say it wasn't intriguing stuff. Of course, he wasn't as enthusiastic as Augustus- he even wanted to be the ambassador to the human realm. Mattholomule chuckled at the thought. After what had happened at the ruins, Augustus didn't seem so bad overall. Whether that meant they were friends? He still wasn't sure of it. But maybe soon, he could figure that out.
==
Gus had been walking the street staring at his scroll as the thunder started to roll, and tiny droplets of boiling rain hit the world around him. He soon started to panic, realising he'd been walking way slower than he should've… And that boiling storms lasted entire days sometimes! Where would he go for that long?
Scanning his surroundings for a quick escape, he spotted the local bookstore; The Book Nook. Getting stuck in a bookstore for a few hours… Or days… Didn't seem so bad to Gus. So, without hesitation, he ran towards it and around the back; the store wasn't open today, but they were taking book deliveries; and so, the back door would probably be open.
Sure as he'd thought, there was indeed a delivery at the moment. The delivery person today was a witch he'd seen around Hexside before; she was panicking, pressing a button to close the shutters before running away under cover of a somewhat-large book that probably wouldn't do much to protect her. Gus hoped she would stay safe in this weather, then made a mad dash for the back door; the shutters almost catching his foot as he jumped through the small gap. He let out an exhausted sigh, then glanced around the room; it was a storage room, packed with books and papers and boxes of who knows what. It was completely dark, the only thing illuminating the room being light from a window, and the odd flashes of lightning.
Gus got to his feet, going towards the nearest doorway; through it was the rest of the bookstore. Bookshelves lined every wall, and more shelves created aisles of books; there was a corner for reading, tables of papers and maps, posters lining the walls as well as a couple of glass spheres lined up on a wall. It was like a much smaller version of the library, except here you'd buy books rather than borrow, of course. There was a set of stairs that led to a second story, this one also filled with books as well as some more places to sit down.
Gus opted to find a place to sit, finding a cosy enough corner and casting a light spell so it wasn't so dark; he turned to a bookshelf and hummed, reading the spines of the books to find something of interest. Here were mostly cookbooks, but it wasn't like Gus didn't like cooking- so he took hold of one of the books, titled How to Cook for an Insatia-demon; tips to avoid becoming dinner addition! Gus doubted he'd ever need such a skill, he didn't even know what an Insatia-demon was, but he could never be too careful!
And so, he took hold of the book, finding it slightly hard to pull out; nothing a little tug couldn't fix!
…But it didn't budge.
He tried giving it a push instead, hearing a small click- Strange. Why would it-
Suddenly, the bookcase turned and the other side of it hit him in the back, pushing him into a completely different room and landing him face-first on a carpeted floor.
Gus groaned in pain, pushing himself off the floor a little with one hand and holding his head with the other. He turned to look at his surroundings, and found a very familiar witch staring at him with wide eyes.
"Augustus?!"
"Mattholomule…?"
==
Mattholomule huffed at the witch laying at the end of his hallway.
Oh for titan's sake, why him? Why now? Why me!
Gus quickly got to his feet and brushed himself down, a mix of worry, surprise and intrigue on his face.
"I'm so sorry, I don't mean to impose or anything- home's too far and The Book Nook was the nearest familiar place, so I snuck in! I didn't know you worked… Here…" Gus paused as he noticed he was in a house interior, not a bookshop. "Wait, this isn't part of the-"
"It's my house. It's connected to The Book Nook because my family owns the place. The bookshelves make it easier to get around and all-" He sighed. "So I guess you're gonna stay here now, aren't you?" Mattholomule pulled an unimpressed face. Gus laughed sheepishly and cleared his throat.
"If it's okay with you to stay here until the rains pass… It'd be nice."
"Ugh. Sure. It's not like I'm gonna throw you out there to suffer in a boiling storm."
"Eheheh… I'm really sorry for showing up uninvited. I really didn't know-"
"It's okay, twerp. Just…" Matt folded his arms and started to walk back into the living room. "Take your shoes off. House rules- my moms would kill me if they saw your grubby footprints all over the place."
"Noted." Gus took his shoes off and placed them besides the other neatly-placed shoes in the hall, before hastily following Mattholomule into the living room.
As he entered the room, he noted how nice it was; the room was somehow bright despite the outside world being darkened by thick grey clouds, there were shelves of plants and books, a slowly-dying fireplace… everything felt comfortable about the room.
On one of the walls were framed photos, which caught Gus' attention.
"Oh! Is this your family?"
Mattholomule looked up from his scroll, having already sprawled out on the couch.
"Oh, yeah." He placed the scroll in his pocket and stepped up beside Gus.
"Those are my moms- and my siblings. We aren't really close with any other family, besides my grandma-" He pointed at each different frame as he spoke, "and we don't really talk about my dad."
Gus frowned a little, curious but not wanting to press on. Mattholomule noticed the face however, and sighed.
"My mom and dad divorced years ago, I was still pretty young. He wasn't a great dad anyway, none of us were exactly… happy, with him around. Then my mom met someone new, and… Everything got so much better. They're happy now, and that-" He shook his head gently. "That's pretty cool."
Gus tried not to let out a chuckle, instead opting for a small smile. He could tell Matt loved his family and cared for them a lot more than he wanted to let on.
"Yeah, that is cool."
Now that the two were standing side-by-side with no shoes on, Gus noticed just how small Mattholomule was.
"...Do you always wear heels?"
"What?! Why are you asking me tha-" As he glanced up at Gus, he realised the reason why he'd asked. "Oh. Yeah, I'm small, get over it." He grumbled and rolled his eyes.
"It's not a bad thing!"
"Mhm." Mattholomule went back to staring at his scroll, slumped on the couch.
Gus frowned a little.
"Hey… Are you okay? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine, Augustus. I just wanted a nice, peaceful day to myself, and now you're here. Go figure."
"Oh…" Gus looked at the floor, not knowing what to do. "I'm really sorry."
Mattholomule paused, frowning. He'd been nothing but rude to Gus this whole time, and he was starting to feel bad for it. Gus was, indeed, much different from his old 'friends'. And although it could be an act, when Mattholomule looked into the witchling's eyes, he always felt something… Different. Something genuine. He was different, and genuinely cared for him; although why, Matt always pondered the answer to.
With a sigh, Mattholomule put his scroll away and got up.
"No, wait… Don't apologise. I'm sorry, I'm being a jerk, aren't I?" He frowned, his ears drooping a little. "I don't mean it. I'm not feeling great today and my mood is… Really low, I guess. And I kinda… Kinda don't want you to feel bad too…" He made eye contact with Gus, something brimming in his eyes. Gus wasn't sure if he was imagining it, or if Mattholomule really looked like he might cry at any given moment.
"It's Alright- We could do something while I'm here, something that'll help you feel better! Like, watch a movie maybe?" Gus gestured to the crystal ball on the table with a small grin.
"No no no. Better idea." Matt got to his feet once again, a small grin crossing his face. "Follow me, I know the perfect place where we can wait this rain out."
==
Gus had been led upstairs, and to a bookshelf in the hallway. Mattholomule just stood there with a smug grin, waiting for Gus to realise what was going on.
"...I don't get it. Is this the perfect place? The hallway?" He pulled a disappointed face. "What's so fun here?"
"Oh no, it's not here." Matt placed his finger on one of the books and gently pushed it further back into the bookcase until a click could be heard. The shelf slid into the wall, revealing… A secret passageway?
"Your house has secret passages too?!"
"Oh, yeah. This place was built so people could get around easily… This leads to most secret openings in both the house, and my moms' bookstore, and there… We can find a much bigger crystal ball." He smirked at the illusionist, "Plus, this place has a bunch of other secrets we could go find!" He punched the air and laughed, grabbing hold of Gus' arm and pulling him along. Gus let out a laugh and ran alongside him, taking in the surrounding bookstore. They were on the second level he'd seen before. Although from up here, the store looked much more wondrous; Gus was still in awe at the amount of things here. No doubt this was how Mattholomule knew a little about humans and how his brother had managed to get a map to the looking glass graveyard.
Mattholomule pulled Gus to a halt at a bookcase placed between two pillars.
"Now, here's a cool one." Matt pressed on a book, opening the secret passage into a small study room.
"My moms used to use it, but they let me have this all to myself- I told them my siblings were ruining my study time. So I come here to get some peace." He glanced up at Gus. "I've never really… Shared this with someone before. But…" He shrugged. "I figured you could be the first. I uhh… I trust you wouldn't tell anyone." He led the way into the room, the bookcase-door closing behind Gus as he entered. He felt honoured that Matt trusted him; he didn't seem like the type to trust easily, which meant he was maybe finally accepting them as friends?
The room was completely dark, until Gus noticed a spell circle glowing in front of him and a small light appearing in the palm of Mattholomule's hand. The light spell illuminated the room, casting it in a warm, glowing gold.
Mattholomule placed the spell on a candlestick, the light immediately growing and making the entire room now be visible.
Gus could now make out the furniture; the walls were lined with bookcases, the only empty one being filled with posters and the map to the looking glass graveyard; there was a couch, a small table placed in front of it, and cushions littering the floor. On the table sat a bowl filled with assorted snacks, an issue of tween bo$$ and a pile of assignments. Between two of the bookshelves opposite the couch was a table holding a large crystal ball; perfect for watching movies.
"Wow… This is so cool!"
"I know right?" Matt fell onto the couch and put his feet on the table. "Tried making it as comfortable as possible. It's great being here, although… I think I'm kinda glad I'm sharing it now." He looked up at Gus with a soft grin, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Gus grinned back, falling on the couch beside him.
"That's so nice of you! I'm… Glad you trust me enough to show this place to me. I promise I won't tell anyone- and, just to be sure!"
The boy raised his hand, sticking his pinkie finger outwards. Mattholomule stared, confused.
"...Huh? What are you doing?"
"A pinkie promise! It's a human thing, uhh-" He demonstrated putting his two pinkies together. "Like this, see?"
"Is this like the human version of an everlasting oath? How does it work if there's no magic?"
"Well… You just trust someone enough, I guess."
Matt chuckled.
"Oh really? Well… I do trust you, Augustus." He placed his pinkie finger around the illusionist's.
Both of them didn't really know what to do next, and so ended up staring at one another with their pinkies interlocked. A blush grew on both their faces, a mix of embarrassment and fluffy feelings they'd both been trying to ignore.
"Uh… Why don't we shake on it, too?" Gus laughed a little, moving his hand to instead hold the constructionist's hand. Matt shook his hand, his blush only growing as he noticed the other teenager get redder before him.
The two of them were focused on their hands; Gus' were soft, while Mattholomule had much coarser hands. The contrasts fit together perfectly, and they could feel it too.
Matt snappily pulled his hand away eventually, feeling it be sweaty. Gross, he thinks I'm gross, what the hell, why didn't he let go? Why didn't I let go?!
He cleared his throat and drew a spell circle, levitating a nearby box and placing it on the table.
"Movies, right? Let's watch one, that's why we came here."
==
They had bickered a little on what to watch, eventually setting for a human rom-com; apparently it would be good 'research' for the next HAS meeting.
Eventually, Mattholomule ended up falling asleep, feeling drained from a tiring week. Gus had noticed, but didn't do anything about it until the end of the movie; he was interested in it, and Matt looked like he needed to rest. The thing that made his heart pound was the fact Matt had ended up leaning on him, head on his shoulder and snoring lightly.
He's so cute.
Gus felt his cheeks heat up again. He couldn't deny it at this point; he definitely had some feelings he needed to work out for Mattholomule.
He looked at the witch sleeping against him and smiled a little. It could wait for now.
Leaning over into a comfortable position, accidentally-on-purposely wrapping an arm around Matt, Gus closed his eyes and let a nap take him.