Archive of Our Own

     The air around him was fresh, the wind blowing through his hair slightly as he walked towards his destination. The leaves on the trees around him were red and orange, customary for the time of year. Although, there wasn’t much time until they would be flying off the trees and sticking in his hair. The sun was warm on his face, and he huffed out a breath, tightening his grip on his backpack straps.

     Matt scanned the houses in the neighborhood, trying to remember the number Gus had told him so long ago. He had probably been to Gus’s house a thousand times already, but he still couldn’t remember the address.

     Matt stopped in his tracks, scowling at the sky, then staring at the houses around him. They all looked familiar, and Matt knew he was getting close. Then his eye landed on a small house tucked into a corner, the bushes surrounding it still bright green; the lawn trimmed.

     Matt sighed in relief, walking towards it. He had to remember, every time. Gus’s house was always the best kept one.

     Matt stopped at the steps, taking a deep breath. He had never been early, or on time, before, but his brother had woken him up way too early for a weekend and he decided, why not?

     He was sort of regretting the decision now, staring at the steps of Gus’s house. Matt shook his head, clearing his mind from whatever thoughts were coming. All he had to do was knock.

     He started walking up the steps and wasn’t on the third one when he tripped over the top of the edge, toppling over the stairs and straight into the door, banging his head against the frame and shoulder hitting the doorbell.

     The door let out some sort of shriek, the sound ringing in Matt’s ears as he clutched his aching forehead.

     The door swung open, and Matt looked up at it to see none other than Perry Porter, looking at him slightly concerned. Matt blinked in surprise, then chuckled awkwardly, swiftly taking his hand away from his forehead and waving. It was usually Gus who answered the door, and they would leave right away, diving into plans for the graveyard.

     This was what he got for being early, he supposed.

     “Are you here for Augustus?” he asked, smiling at Matt slightly. Matt nodded, then winced. Perry smiled again, then turned his head away from the doorway, presumably to call Gus.

     What Matt did not expect, however, was for Perry to start narrating.

     “This just in!” he exclaimed. “A teenage boy, about fourteen years old, waits outside the door for Augustus Porter, who—”

     “Dad!” came an exasperated voice from behind the door, then the loud thumping of footsteps walking down the stairs.

     Gus appeared in the doorway, looking slightly disheveled but smiling. He looked back, waving Perry away, then turned back to Matt.

     “Sorry about that, he does that with Luz and Willow all the time.” Something about being compared to Gus’s closest friends sent a warm shot through Matt’s chest. Gus huffed, then continued. “You are a bit early though.”

     Matt shrugged sheepishly, pursing his lips. Had going earlier been a bad idea? “I can always go somewhere else for a bit—” he started, before Gus cut him off.

     “Oh no!” he cried, waving a finger in front of Matt’s face, then opened the door wider. “You can eat breakfast with us. I know you, and know you probably didn’t eat much this morning, so…”

     Matt opened his mouth to protest before a loud rumbling stopped him in his tracks. His cheeks heated up in embarrassment as Gus laughed loudly, and Matt begrudgingly entered the house.

     It was spacious, with a large staircase to the left of him, a couch, and a larger doorway on the right. There was clanging coming from the doorway, and Matt assumed Perry had already started making breakfast. The sound of soft music filled the house, a warm morning tune.

     “Just set your bag down there and take off your shoes,” Gus remarked, pointing next to the door, then walked towards where Matt presumed the kitchen and dining room was.

     As Matt followed behind Gus, the scent of food drifted into his nose. His dad was cooking something sweet and something else he could hear sizzling. His stomach growled again, quieter this time, but Gus still shot him an amused look. Matt scowled back.

     Gus pulled out a chair for Matt, then went to sit in his own. Matt patted his knees, trying to think of a way to not make a conversation awkward. It had been his first time in Gus’s house, and his first time eating with him, save for the snacks they brought with them and ate at the graveyard.

     “So why are you here so early?” Gus asked, resting his head in his hand, and quirking his head to the side.

     “My brother woke me up way too early today and I couldn’t get back to sleep,” he sighed, fiddling with his hand.

     Gus nodded. “I know the feeling. I’ve had to wake up way too early for my dad’s jobs when he didn’t want to leave me home alone.”

     Matt chuckled, opening his mouth to respond.

     Conversation flowed smoothly after that, as it always did. Matt made a remark, making Gus laugh. Perry came and gave them Gus and Matt milk and orange juice respectively, telling them their food would be done soon, and to be patient, then walked away ruffling Gus’s hair. It gave Matt a nostalgic feeling, remembering how his brother did that to him on a daily basis.

     The second Perry’s back was turned, Gus looked back at Matt, sticking the ends of a spoon and fork into his nose, making him look like a demon of some sort. Matt snorted his orange juice out of his nose and mouth, choking.

     Gus burst out in laughter, banging his hand against the table as he patted Matt on the back as well.

     Perry stuck his head out of the kitchen to stare at them for a second, then came out with three plates of food. He chuckled a bit, setting them down in front of the two boys.

     “Do you need a napkin?” he asked Matt, and Matt felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment once more as he nodded and accepted the napkin he was given. Perry sat in front of him, and Gus started animatedly talking to Matt again.

     Matt stuck his fork into the food, nodding along with Gus, adding in his own comments. There was a lull in the conversation for a second, and Matt took the opportunity to shovel food in his mouth before Perry broke the silence.

     “So Mattholomule,” he started, and Matt stopped chewing to stare at him for a moment, “you’re here a bit earlier than usual.”

     Matt blinked for a moment, before he realized he was probably supposed to answer. He tried chewing his food faster, patting his chest as he swallowed. There was a small thump from under the table, and Matt shot a look at Gus, who seemed to be telling his dad something with his eyes. Perry was focused on Matt, though, and Matt swallowed again, out of nerve and not necessity.

     “Well, my brother woke me up a bit early today, so…” he admitted, waving his hand around and setting the fork down.

     “Ah,” Perry nodded, then took a sip from his mug. “What were you planning on doing today?”

     Gus stared at Perry for a moment, then Matt felt his chair shift slightly. He raised an eyebrow at Gus, who was grinning sheepishly. Perry’s chair shifted then.

     “We… Are going to the graveyard today, as always,” Matt declared, taking another piece of breakfast and slowly put it in his mouth.

     Perry nodded, putting his chin on his hand, mimicking his son’s earlier position. “What have you been doing this past week? Anything fun? School going well?”  

     Matt thought for a moment, watching Gus groan as his head fell into his hands. “Dad!” Gus exclaimed, and Perry shrugged, putting his hands up in surrender.

     “I’m just asking simple questions!”

     Gus heaved a sigh, and Matt poked at his food, pursing his lips. “School is fine,” he spoke up, and Gus groaned again.

     “You’re provoking him,” Gus hissed, pointing his fork at the other boy. Matt smirked, shrugging, then leaned back in his chair.

     “I like this one,” Perry nodded, setting his hand down on the table. “What have you been doing in school?”

     Now, Matt wasn’t one to talk much about school, mostly because it was monotonous and boring, but the way Perry formed the question made Matt want to answer, want to rant about his boring school day, and how much better it was when he was able to meet Gus after school.

     He opened his mouth to answer again, but the scrape of a chair interrupted him.

     “Nope!” Gus exclaimed, grabbing Matt’s hood and dragging him off his chair. Matt yelped, stumbling to adjust his footing. “I know where this is going!”

     “What!” Matt cried out, and then Gus was dragging them both out the door. “My shoes and bag!” Matt said, even though he was letting Gus drag him at that point.

     They fumbled down the steps of Gus’s house, and Gus let go of Matt’s hood for a second, running back into the house before coming back out with his own bag, Matt’s backpack, and Matt’s boots.

     Gus seemed slightly flustered, and he blinked in confusion when Gus shoved the boots into his hands. Gus clapped, turned and walked away.

     “Well then!” he exclaimed. “Onto the graveyard!”

     Matt shot a longing look at the house, then followed Gus as he stumbled to shove his shoes on. “I didn’t even get to finish eating,” he muttered.

><><><>< 

     “I still don’t get why you had to drag me away,” Matt complained for the hundredth time, and Gus sighed. He turned to Matt, who was making small tools out of construction magic they would use later.

     “Just—because,” he stuttered, flushing and looking away. He made another illusion of the graveyard blueprints, studying them for a second, even though he had them memorized.

     In reality, he knew what his dad had been doing. Really, it was just a test of friendship he did, bombarding his friends with questions the first time he met them. Heck, he had done it to Luz and Willow!

     There was something different with Matt though, something steadily growing in him that Gus hadn’t placed quite yet. It had just felt different.

     Matt huffed, standing up and walking towards Gus. He sat next to him, studying the blueprints from over his shoulder. Gus watched as Matt’s eyebrows furrowed, the crease between them showing. Gus wanted to smooth it out.

     “We still have a lot to do, yeah,” Gus observed, voicing both of their thoughts, then he banished the illusion. He leaned against Matt slightly, who was still sitting next to him.

     It was silent for a moment, before Matt shot up, making Gus fall to the side slightly. Gus shot him a bewildered look, but Matt was looking up at the sky. “Well, we should get to our work then!” he declared, then turned and started walking.

     Then immediately tripped over a root and fell.

     Gus stood up immediately, running to his side and sighing. Matt falling was an almost daily occurrence, but he usually never fell that hard. Matt groaned, rolling over, and Gus spotted that his knees were scratched and bloody.

     “Are you okay?” Gus asked, extending his hand for the other. Matt nodded, grabbing Gus’s hand and letting himself be pulled up.

     Gus’s hand came away bloody, and he grabbed both of Matt’s hands, inspecting the scratches that adorned them. He sighed, looking at Matt, and Matt shrugged, his cheeks turning pink. Most likely from embarrassment, Gus guessed.

     “I’ve had worse,” Matt murmured, looking away, and Gus smacked Matt’s head lightly. Matt scowled at him as Gus dragged him towards a statue to sit at, which he begrudgingly did.

     Gus opened his bag, taking out the healing glyph they had made for accidents just like this. He took one of Matt’s hands in his own, placing the glyph onto it and pressing. It gave off a small blue glow, then dissipated into Matt’s hand, leaving the mostly clean skin. There were a few scars, but they would fade within the hour.

     He traced his thumb across the palm of Matt’s hand for a second, feeling the way his skin was still slightly bumpy, slightly calloused from his work with construction magic, but still soft.

     Gus looked back up at Matt, who was looking down at their hands, cheeks pink. Gus suddenly felt his face explode with heat, dropping his hand lightly. He grabbed the other hand and repeated the process, then continued with Matt’s knees.

     He grabbed the bandages from the bag. Taking out a stripe of it, he ripped it and grabbed Matt’s hand. Matt groaned but complied. They had had the argument about whether the bandages were necessary plenty of times, but ultimately Gus had won it by saying it would keep Matt safer.

     He finished both hands, then looked back at Matt, grinning. Matt blinked, and Gus swore he could see a bright shade of red cover his face, before he stood up, flexing his fingers.

     “Uh—um, thanks, Gus,” Matt murmured, and Gus grinned, his ears flicking slightly.

     He placed a hand on Matt’s shoulder, smiling softly. “You know it’s no problem, Matty.”

     Matt smiled at him, and Gus’s stomach fluttered unusually, cheeks flooding with color.

     Stop that, he told the butterflies in his stomach, taking a deep breath before reaching down to squeeze Matt’s hand, careful of injuries, then walked forward to continue repairing the graveyard.

     He didn’t stop thinking about how nice it felt to hold Matt’s hand, though.

><><><>< 

     Matt ran his hands through his hair, sighing as the sun started setting, the blue of the sky still visible even with the hints of pink and orange tinting it.

     He stared back down at his hands, which had healed considerably from the day before. There were no scars anymore, just the skin of his palm as it usually was. That was the way healing magic worked, he supposed.

     He traced his thumb across his hand, remembering the way Gus had done that yesterday, as if he were checking for more injuries. As if he cared that much. His face burned at the memory.

     He looked back at Gus, who was standing in front of a statue, illusion of a cleaner, straighter statue next to him. They had fixed at least half of the statues that surrounded the graveyard, but many more still needed to be fixed.

     Gus seemed focused on making another illusion, next to the perfect one. It was an exact replica of the larger statue, imperfect in almost every way. He seemed to finish, then turned to Matt, who startled.

     “I think this is what we should work on next time,” Gus noted, nodding his head towards the floating illusions.

     Matt nodded along, stretching. “I don’t really want to go yet,” he murmured, and Gus walked over to Matt, standing next to him.

     “Me neither.”

     They were silent for a moment, staring up at the sky. Matt dug his foot into the dirt under him, hands stuffed into his pockets, posture slouched.

     “Wanna play a game?” Gus smirked, looking over at Matt.

     Matt raised an eyebrow, not in question, but in challenge. “Sure,” he agreed, standing up straighter. “What game?”

     Gus hummed for a moment, staring out at the graveyard before grinning. “Hide and seek.”

     Matt scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Please, I’ll beat you fair and square,” he declared, grinning.

     “Then you wouldn’t mind counting first, would you?” Gus asked.

     Matt narrowed his eyes but nodded. He closed them completely, then started counting down.

     “Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…”

     Matt could hear Gus’s footsteps as he ran to the left. The bushes rumbling was quiet, but he could hear the way the leaves and branches crunched underneath Gus’s feet. Gus wasn’t as sneaky as he thought, Matt supposed.

     “Three, two, one!” he finished, snapping his eyes open. The graveyard was silent now, and he couldn’t hear anything but his own breath and the wind of the evening.

     He narrowed his eyes, staring around the clearing, before he started towards the left, where he heard Gus go earlier. He slowly approached the bramble, then when he was close enough, quickly shot forward and opened the bushes.

     Gus blinked at him, and Matt shook his head, smirking.

     “You’re really bad at this,” Matt chuckled, extending his hand for Gus to take.

     Gus smirked back, tilting his head to the side. Matt felt his grin falter. “Or am I?”

     Then he reached forward, grabbing Matt’s hand before he disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke.

     Matt blinked at the empty space where Gus’s illusion had been. He narrowed his eyes, turning around and screaming, “Augustus Porter!”

     Matt heard giggling, then spun. It was coming from all around him, and he groaned. Of course Gus was going to use his illusions.

     “This is against the rules!” Matt yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. The sound echoed around the trees, and the laughing became louder.

     “What rules?” the multiple voices said, snickering, and Matt facepalmed.

     “Just—the commonsense rules!” he exclaimed, exasperated, waving his arms around.

     The laughing faded, and Matt was left with silence and absolutely no idea where to go.

     Matt found Gus forty minutes later, hiding behind the same bush his illusion had been under.

     Matt punched Gus’s shoulder, and Gus laughed, hitting back. “I can’t believe you didn’t find me!”

     “You had put an illusion there! How was I supposed to know?” Matt groaned, rubbing his hand over his face.

     “I thought my footsteps were pretty loud, actually,” Gus admitted, shrugging. Matt groaned again.

     “They were!”

     Gus started laughing, and Matt joined a few seconds later, shaking his head. Gus looked up at the sky, frowning at the hues of dark blue. “It got pretty late…” he started, but Matt stood up, shaking his head.

     “I will not let you beat me at hide and seek!” he exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips.

     Gus scoffed, standing up and staring at him. “Please, like you’ll be able to hide better than me!” he said, crossing his arms.

     Matt smirked. “Watch me!”

     Gus turned, and the second he started counting, Matt spun and shot off into the woods. He knew exactly where he was going to hide.

     The leaves and branches under his feet barely made any noise, which Matt was thankful for. It would throw Gus off his trail. He couldn’t hear Gus anymore, and he hoped it was just because he was too far rather than Gus was done counting. It was probably the latter, if Matt were honest with himself, but the forest was dark and Gus most likely wouldn’t find him soon.

     Just in case, though, Matt looked back as he ran. The forest was steadily growing darker, the trees shadows lengthening. But no sign of Gus. Matt grinned.

     He turned back around, then felt something snag the tip of his shoe. He didn’t have any time to process before he was barreling towards the ground. He landed with a loud crack, pain shooting up his right arm.

     Matt muffled his scream with his left arm, squeezing his eyes shut. No matter how many times he broke his bones, they always hurt the same. He opened his eyes slowly, getting up.

     His arm didn’t feel too broken at least. Would he have time to hide? He considered making himself a splint, but thought better of it, knowing he wouldn’t have enough time to hide if Gus found him. And he could not lose to Gus after he wanted to stay past sunset to hide. He refused to.

     Careful with his arm, Matt slowly approached a tree with lots of branches. He inspected them quickly, and although it was one he wouldn’t usually choose, he was in a bit of a time crunch.

     Slowly, he grabbed a high branch, placing his foot on a lower one, then hauled himself up. With his broken arm, he tried to reach up, ignoring the way it burned, and grabbed another branch. As he hauled himself up, it screamed with pain, but Matt bit back his yelp.

     Eventually Matt got to the top, panting. That took more out of him than it usually did. Sure, he’s broken his arm by falling out of a tree before, but climbing one with a broken arm? Never.

     He looked back down at it, then winced. It was throbbing with pain, slightly swollen, and he looked away, biting his lip. The things he did to win.

     Matt didn’t know how long he stayed there, taking quiet and deep breaths to keep himself steady. He had hoped the ache would get better, but it only got worse. He didn’t know when he stopped caring about winning the competition, taking large gulps of air. He pretended he couldn’t feel the tears running down his cheeks, or the way something scraped in his arm every time he moved.

     How long have I been here? he wondered silently, eyes blurry and unfocused. Everything was dark now, and he couldn’t see anything but the stars through the canopy of trees, and his hand. I must have beaten Gus by now…

     Matt tried to straighten his position slightly, shifting about before he heard another crack. He whipped his head around, his brain trying to catch up with the situation before it happened.

     Another crack, then Matt let out a scream as the branch fell, dragging him with it.

     He tried to turn, to not fall on his bad arm, but the other branches scratching his skin as he fell seemed to disagree, tilting him over until he finally, finally hit the ground. Matt let out another pained yell, turning over and holding his bad arm.

     He heard a rustling of something, trees maybe, maybe the ground, before Gus was in front of him. Or maybe it was Gus. All Matt could see were their feet.

     “Matty?” a voice called out, kneeling in front of him. Yeah, that was Gus. “Matt? Mattholomule? Are you okay?”

     Matt let out a groan, and it seemed like Gus finally noticed his arm, gasping. “Matt what—what happened?” he asked.

     Matt blinked at him before grinning. “Did I win?”

     Then, everything went black.

><><><>< 

     The first thing Matt saw when he opened his eyes was a blinding white. The second thing were the silhouettes next to his bed, and he could vaguely hear what they were saying, words as muffled as their shadows.

     There was a rustling, and another bright light shone in his face. Matt hissed, trying to recoil, before he realized his right arm was wrapped in something.

     “Oh good! He’s awake!” he heard a chipper voice say, and he focused on where it came from.

     The lady in front of him had dark brown curls, escaping the bun she had placed them in. Rectangular glasses covered two out of her four eyes, and her skin was a dark brown. She smiled, showing off her fangs.

     “How are you feeling, sweetie?” she asked, pushing her hand onto his forehead, it felt like something his brother would do when he was sick.

     “Fine, I guess?” he mumbled, still slightly disoriented.

     The lady (healer?) nodded, then pulled away, and that’s when Matt saw him.

     Gus was sitting in a chair at the edge of the bed, nervously playing with the sleeve of his tunic. Matt blinked at him as Gus’s face turned from worry to relief to upset.

     “Mattholomule!” he exclaimed, and Matt winced. “You’re an idiot! An absolute idiot! How did you break your arm like that? Why would you make me worry? How did you break your arm so bad that they could barely fix it with healing magic?”

     Matt winced. He looked back down at his arm, which he could now see was in a sling. He pursed his lips. “I kind of… Climbed up the tree when it was broken.”

     It was quiet for a moment. Only a moment though, because Gus’s eyes widened, and he let out the loudest “What?” Matt had ever heard. If he had been groggy earlier, he was definitely awake now.

     “You—” Gus started, but he groaned again, falling back into the chair and placing his head in his hands. “You know what, I should have expected this,” he sighed, muffled through his hands.

     Matt sighed. “Yeah, you really should have.” A pause. Then, “I’m sorry.”

     Gus looked up from his hands, head tilted to the side and blinking. “Why are you sorry? I should be the one apologizing. If I had found you sooner or—or—I don’t know—”

     “Hey!” Matt objected, cutting Gus off. Gus stared at him for a second, and his cheeks flooded with heat. “It’s not your fault. It was dark and, you know, I’m a little clumsy…” he chuckled, looking off to the side.

     Gus sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I’m still sorry. Idiot.”

     Matt scoffed. “I’m sorry, too... Twerp.”

     Gus grinned, and Matt grinned back.

><><><>< 

     Gus hummed a small tune as he walked across the sidewalk, the afterschool sun beating down on him. It was days like these that made Gus curse the fact their uniforms only came as long sleeves.

     Gus blinked against the sun at the rows of houses across the street, trying to find the familiar red bricks. He finally saw it, then continued his way down towards it.

     He felt a buzz in his pocket, rapidly taking his scroll out of his uniform. He deflated when he saw it was just his dad asking when he would be home. He shot off a quick text, saying he would be there soon, then sighed. He had been hoping Matt would have been the one to text.

     It wasn’t that he was worried or anything. He just wanted to make sure Matt was okay after breaking his arm! Which… Gus sort of realized it was part of the definition of being worried.

     He sighed, walking down the stone path towards Matt’s front door, then knocked.

     There was no answer, and Gus pursed his lips. He took out the spare key Matt had given him (well, Gus had forced it from him after Matt slept in late too many times, but tom-ato tom-a-toe) and opened the door.

     It creaked open, the house inside dark except for the small strips of sunlight escaping the window curtains. He opened the door wider, letting in the sunlight, bathing the front in light.

     There was a loud thump from another room, and Gus startled. He narrowed his eyes, making his ways towards the kitchen, where he presumed the sound came from.

     He turned on the light, blinking due to the sudden brightness before he took in the scene in front of him.

     On the floor were multiple shards of glass, and to the left of Gus there was a batter of some sort. Bowls and utensils were in disarray on the counter, and in front of Gus was Matt, facedown on the ground.

     “Matt?” Gus called out, walking forward and kicking his side lightly. Matt groaned. “At least you’re alive.” Another, more annoyed groan.

     Matt lifted his head from the floor, glaring at Gus. “What are you doing here?”

     “Came to check up on you,” Gus offered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring around the kitchen. “And uh—what were you trying to do?”

     Matt grunted, trying to stand, the sling on his arm making it seem difficult. Gus held out his hand, and Matt reluctantly took it.

     “I was trying to get a snack,” Matt argued, standing and kicking at the ground. “Then my sling got stuck and I tripped.”

     Gus snickered, and Matt glared at him again. “It’s not funny!”

     “Of course, of course,” Gus retorted, still snickering. He looked at Matt’s arm, still stuck in a sling, then reached forward. “Is your arm okay, though?”

     Matt shrugged, trying to cross his arms before seeming to realize he couldn’t. Gus hummed, looking around the kitchen for a second, before making a spell circle and having a sweep appear.

     It started to clean, and Gus walked towards the kitchen, looking inside Matt’s fridge for anything he could use to cook.

     “What are you doing?” Matt questioned, walking up next to him, and Gus grinned.

     “Well, since you can’t cook or do anything right now, I’ll be making you something.”

     Matt blinked at him for a second, furrowing his brows before shaking his head. “Um, no. You are not using my kitchen.”

     Gus pouted, taking some things out of the fridge before shutting it. “Whyever not, Matty?” he asked, pouting at him as he walked towards the counter and placing them all there. What could he make?

     Matt spluttered, waving his good arm around. “Because you can’t cook!”

     “Says who?” Now, he had a few things here… Maybe a soup? You only made that for when people were sick, but a broken arm seemed to fit that as well.

     “Says everyone?” Matt exclaimed, and even with his back turned, Gus could tell he was scowling and still waving his arm around. Gus hoped he wasn’t waving his bad one, too. Now, what else did he need for soup?

     “You’re barely listening,” Matt sighed, and Gus made a noncommittal hum as he walked past and stuck his head into Matt’s pantry. “At least let me help—”

     Gus turned around to stare at Matt. “Your arm is broken and you already tripped, I do not need a repeat of that,” Gus scolded, waving him off.

     “Well I do not need you burning my house down. So I’m helping!”

     Gus heaved an exaggerated sigh, handing Matt something from the pantry. “Fine, fine, you can help. Not much, though!”

     “Whatever you say,” Matt grumbled, following Gus to the stove.

><><><>< 

     A few minutes later, they were both covered in broth and burnt pieces of soup filling, the pot on the floor and flour (flour? Gus didn’t remember taking that out) scattered everywhere.

     “At least the kitchen isn’t on fire,” Gus said, nodding. It was an improvement from the last times he had cooked.

     Matt’s stomach growled. Loudly.

     “You want to make some popghoul and watch a movie instead?” Gus asked, making another illusion to clean up their current mess.

     “Please,” Matt sighed, and Gus laughed, ruffling Matt’s hair.

><><><>< 

     Gus entered Matt’s house for the second time that week, his satchel overflowing with papers and books from school.

     He sighed, walking towards the living room, where Matt was settled, eating something from a bowl and watching the crystal ball. He looked over when Gus entered, waving with his good arm.

     Gus sat on the floor in front of Matt, leaning against his legs. Suddenly the bowl was waving in front of him.

     “Want some?” Matt asked, and Gus smiled, taking a handful of whatever it was.

     “How’s your arm doing?” Gus replied, looking at what was playing on the crystal ball. It seemed to be some sort of sitcom, with three characters sitting at a diner somewhere.

     “Better, I guess,” Matt said, and Gus turned to watch him shrug. Matt sighed, blowing a piece of hair out of his face. “I’m just bored.”

     Gus hummed for a moment, then took a book out of his bag. “Wanna study with me?”

     Matt’s nose crinkled as he made a face, and Gus laughed. “Why would I want to study? That’s even more boring!”

     Gus rolled his eyes, taking out a paper and a pencil. “It’s not boring, it’s actually very interesting. Now, I’ll be here studying, if you want to join.”

     With that, he flipped to the page of the book he needed to read for the day, skimming the paragraphs. He wasn’t lying when he told Matt what he was learning wasn’t boring. It was pretty interesting, and although Gus knew most of what was written, it was fun seeing a new perspective.

     He felt Matt kick at him but ignored it in favor of writing something down. There was a sigh, then he felt Matt roll off the couch and sit next to him. Matt continued to poke at his shoulder, and Gus looked up, a small grin playing on his lips.

     “Yes?” he asked innocently.

     “I’m bored,” Matt repeated, looking like he wanted to cross his arms again.

     Gus nodded, looking back down. “Wow, I wonder if there’s something you could do with me that would relieve your boredom. Oh, if only…”

     Matt groaned, punching Gus’s shoulder. “Fine. Fine! I’ll study with you! But if it’s not interesting then we get to do something else.”

     Gus grinned triumphantly, hitting Matt’s head with his pencil. “That’s the spirit! Now, read this with me,” he commanded, nudging the book over to Matt. That earned him a flat stare, but Gus just grinned back.

     Gus watched Matt’s face as he read through the pages, waiting for the look he knew would happen. After a few seconds, Matt’s face went from relatively bored to interested. Gus smiled, watching the way he slowly got more into what he was reading, bringing the book closer to himself.

     Gus eventually let Matt take the entire book, and he seemed so entranced he didn’t even realize when Gus had stopped reading to watch him instead.

     Gus knew what Matt looked like when he was concentrating. He had seen it many times at the graveyard, when he tried hard on constructing, or when he was tinkering with materials on his break. However, Matt reading seemed to be a different kind of concentration.

     His eyebrows were furrowed, less from strain and more relaxed. His eyes scanned the paper faster than Gus would have thought. Although it made sense because he and his brother did work at a bookstore, so Gus shouldn’t have expected any less. He bit his lip continuously, then blew at a piece of his fringe, although it kept falling back into place.

     Gus reached out, pushing Matt’s hair behind his ear. Matt startled, looking up from the book and blinking at Gus. Then his face flushed, ears flicking slightly. Gus could feel his face heat up as well as he smiled shyly.

     “Your hair kept getting in your way, so…”

     Startled, Matt looked down at the book that was completely in his lap, then back at Gus, his face turning even more red. He shoved the book back at Gus.

     “Sorry,” he mumbled, fiddling with his sling. “I didn’t mean to uh, take that from you…”

     Gus laughed, waving his hand. “I already know most of this stuff anyway, this was just for review.” He nudged the book back towards Matt. “You can keep reading if you want.”

     Matt narrowed his eyes, but took the book back anyway, flipping back open to the page he was on. Matt’s hair was still in his face, although he didn’t seem to notice, his nose was once more buried in the book.

     Gus looked around the room quickly, then grinned when he saw what he wanted on the arm rest of the couch. Grabbing it, he slowly made his way behind Matt, then grabbed his hair.

     Matt jumped again, looking back at Gus. “What are you—”

     “Turn your head back around,” Gus chastised, cutting Matt off as he flicked his ear.

     “Titan, okay!” Matt shouted, turning back towards the front. “Just keep harming the injured person, why don’t you?”

     Gus chuckled, gathering Matt’s hair into a small ponytail at the top of his head. He had practice whenever he would do Willow’s hair, but doing Matt’s was different. It was shorter, for one. It was also unfairly soft, and Gus ran his fingers through it a few more times before finalizing the ponytail.

     Just for getting out the knots, Gus told himself.

     Matt reached up, patting the top of his head before turning to look at Gus. “A ponytail?”

     Gus shrugged. “As I said, your hair was in your face.”

     Matt turned back to keep reading the book, and instead of working on his paper like he should have been doing, Gus looked over Matt’s shoulder, resting his chin there.

     “What part are you at?” he asked, skimming the pages. There was no response, and Gus took his chin off Matt’s shoulder to look at him. “Matty?”

     “Uh,” Matt began, his eyes still stuck to the book. “The part about the tree seeing your… greatest desires or something?”

     Gus’s ears twitched slightly, and he looked over Matt’s shoulder again. It seemed Matt had gone a bit past the reading Gus was assigned for class, reading over to the part about the Giving Tree.

     Gus skimmed over the pages once more. It seemed like something with a name the Giving Tree would be something nice, but like all things in the Boiling Isles, it actually fed on a witch’s bile sack, taking away their magic and a part of their soul.

     “Woah,” Gus breathed. “That’s pretty cool, actually. You went a bit past what I was supposed to do but…”

     “Oh,” Matt pursed his lips. “Oops, I guess.”

     Gus shook his head, sitting next to Matt. “My paper can wait. Scoot over, let me read this,” he decided, waving at Matt. He rearranged himself, shifting the book so Gus could see as well.

     They sat there reading for a while, talking about the facts they read and theorizing about the plant. Gus tapped his chin, pointing at a certain paragraph.

     “How do you think the plant shows your greatest desire?” he questioned. “It could always read your mind or something…”

     Matt nodded in a way that made his ponytail shake with him. It was so adorable Gus almost forgot to pay attention to the words coming out of his mouth.. “Something like that? It says it takes away magic, too…”

     Gus lit up, smacking Matt’s shoulder repeatedly. Matt winced, then glared. “You’re lucky that’s not my injured arm,” he muttered.

     “Sorry, sorry, but,” Gus offered, grinning, “The heart is like, where your deepest desires lie right? And we all know witches are most influenced by their hearts desires, because that’s where our magic source is located. So, this tree simultaneously feeds off of magic and soul by taking the things that you want most or make you happiest! And it probably, I don’t know, takes those things away, too, but that’s a stretch.”

     Matt blinked at Gus, then nodded and turned back to the book, ears slightly flushed. “But… wow. Think about if you didn’t know what you desired most. You finally figure it out then, boom!” He lifted both arms for dramatic effect, then winced at his injured one. “Dead,” he continued.

     Gus nodded, pursing his lips. Then he blew out a breath. He couldn’t imagine how that would feel… For the next few minutes that person was alive. He looked back at the book, flipping the page.

     “It says here that the illusion lasts anywhere from ten to twenty minutes. So ten to twenty minutes of living your greatest dream until… Kapoot,” he made a small spell circle, creating a small explosion illusion. “I bet Willow would know a lot more about this since she’s on the plant track and all,” he concluded.

     Matt nodded. “Probably.” Then he looked at the window, where the sun was already starting to set.

     Gus sighed, then stood up to stretch. “I’d better be on my way then,” he admitted, picking up his things. So much for getting his paper done a few days before the due date, he thought.

     “Um,” Matt stuttered out, standing as well. He scratched at the sling, and Gus reached forward to stop him. Matt blinked at their hands for a second, and Gus could feel his cheeks heating up. “Do you want to stay and watch another movie since we didn’t earlier? My brother doesn’t get back from work until later…”

     Gus smiled, squeezing Matt’s hand before letting go. His paper could wait a while longer.

     He sat down on the couch as Matt grabbed the remote for the crystal ball, sitting next to him. “Why does your brother get out of work so late?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.”

     “Oh,” Matt said, “well, running a bookstore alone takes time, so…”

     “He runs it alone?” Gus asked incredulously. He had assumed he and Matt either worked or volunteered there, now owned it.

     “Well, yeah,” Matt replied. “Our parents’ death was hard on him, and I was just a kid. He inherited their shop so we’ve just… Kept it afloat, I guess.” He took a deep breath. “I wasn’t… The best brother, for a while.”

     Gus smiled sadly at him, reaching over to hold the hand that was currently in a sling. “For what it’s worth,” he confessed, “I think you’re a great brother now.”

     Matt laughed, and it felt like a small weight had been lifted off of Gus’s shoulders. He laughed along.

     “Thanks, Gus,” he replied with a small smile. “Now, let’s watch a movie.”

     Gus grinned, leaning in closer to Matt. He didn’t let go of his hand for the rest of the movie.

><><><>< 

     Gus teetered in front of the door to his friend’s house, the plants he got from school balancing in his arms. He conceded to knocking on the door with his foot. However, he ended up slamming his foot into the door instead and winced at the loud noise.

     He heard more thumping from inside the house, then the door opened to Matt. He looked shunned by the sight of Gus practically juggling plants in his doorway. Gus just grinned.

     “Guess what we’re going to do today?”

     Matt opened the door wider for Gus to enter, and he stepped in. “I hope we’ll be playing crystal ball games and not outside in the—” Matt stuck his hand outside, “—chilly weather! Dang, why is the weather so wacky?”

     Gus laughed, setting the plants down in the living room. “Please, I would beat you at C.B. games in a second.” Matt scowled. “No, today we are going to, drumroll please!” he made a spell circle, making some drums with illusion. “Planting plants!”

     Matt groaned. “My arm is broken Gus, I don’t think I can,” he whined dramatically, holding his arm.

     Gus rolled his eyes, pushing up the sleeves of his uniform. “Too bad, you’re doing it anyway, you can handle it,” he declared, waving. “Now, help me move these plants to the backyard.”

     He picked one up, moving towards the back of the house and out the back door. He hummed as he walked, setting down the pot. Matt came in a second after, still grumbling about his arm.

     Gus sent him a look, and Matt sighed. “Fine, I’ll stop complaining.”

     Gus grinned. “This’ll be fun, you’ll see. Just like the other day!”

     “Are there any more plants?” Matt asked, staring at the two Gus had brought with him. They didn’t seem like much, but Gus knew the second they were out of the pot, they would be a bit more of a hassle.

     Gus shook his head, putting his hands on his hips. “This will be enough for today. Now, stand back, I need to try something. When I say ‘come,’ you need to grab the roots of this plant before it screams too loudly.”

     Matt blinked at him. “Screams? How did you even get this? And why do you know what to do?”

     Gus shrugged, grabbing the stem of the plant. “I snuck into Willow’s class today while my illusions were in my classes. Very interesting things, I have to say.”

     Matt opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, then closed it and shook his head.

     Gus raised an eyebrow at Matt, telling him to get into position, and Matt obliged. Gus slowly started taking the plant out of its pot, furrowing his eyebrows. He got to the part where the roots started, then stopped, knowing that’s where the screaming would start.

     He motioned towards Matt, who knelt by him. “One…” Gus muttered. “Two… Three!” Gus yanked the plant out of the pot, and the roots started screaming as the entire plant thrashed. Quickly, though, Matt’s hands shot up to hold its roots, and the screaming stopped.

     Gus nodded towards a patch of soil he had seen earlier, then walked with Matt towards it. Sticking his shoe into the dirt, he really thought he should have dug a hole first.

     Slowly, they both lowered the plant into the small hole Gus had made. When the soil touched its roots again, the plant stilled, and Matt let go of the roots, relieved that the screaming stopped.

     Matt let out a sigh, falling back to sit down as Gus finished patting the plant in soil. It was beautiful, the multicolored petals swaying in the slight breeze. Gus looked behind him and smiled. The plant didn’t hold a candle to Matt, though.

     “I’m never doing that again,” Matt groaned.

     Gus laughed. “Well, we still have another plant to do.”

     Matt fell onto his back, groaning. Gus kicked his side, then held out his hand.

     “Up and at ‘em,” he responded cheekily, then grinned when he saw Matt smile back.

><><><>< 

     Matt took a deep breath, looking up at the sky and the way the sun started to set over the horizon, the sky still mostly blue. The plants were swaying slightly in the breeze. As he sipped at the drink Gus had made for them, he thought about the trouble the plants had been for them. He was still trying to get out the remaining soil from his sling.

     He and Gus had gotten distracted while planting (definitely not throwing dirt at each other), and ended up unearthing one of the plants, causing it to scream and thrash unrestrained, making it even harder for Matt and Gus to pick up. Needless to say, it was stressful.

     “So,” Gus started, kicking his feet, “This was fun right?”

     Matt turned to Gus, face deadpan, and Gus laughed. Matt kicked at his ankle, and Gus kicked back. They both exploded into giggles, watching the sky go dark.

     Gus sighed. “I’d better get home, for real this time,” he confessed, dusting himself off and shaking his hair out.

     “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Matt inquired, and Gus grinned.

     “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he walked back inside, presumably towards the front door and back home.

     Matt looked back at the sky, the chill air biting at his skin as he sipped a cool drink. He would wait for his brother to get home, then go inside.

><><><>< 

     Gus didn’t knock as he swung open the door to Matt’s house that weekend, screaming, “I’m home!”

     He heard a groan of annoyance come from the living room, and laughed as he walked towards it. Matt was, as always, sitting on the couch, blanket wrapped around his shoulders and arm in a sling.

     “How’re you feeling?” he asked, sitting on the couch next to him and crossing his legs. He grinned at Matt.

     Matt shrugged. “Same as always, I guess? My arm feels better, I think.” Matt narrowed his eyes. “What’s the smile for?”

     Gus’s grin turned devilish, and he stood up, holding out a hand for Matt. “That’s great!” Gus exclaimed, ignoring Matt’s other question. “Because you know what day it is today?”

Matt narrowed his eyes harder, and Gus waited for a moment, keeping up the suspense. “Cleaning day!” he yelled, making jazz hands.

     Matt groaned even louder. “My arm is broken,” he complained, waving his other hand at the sling for emphasis. “If I work, it will definitely never, ever heal.”

     Gus pouted, but he knew Matt was exaggerating. Then he smirked, putting both hands behind his back.

     “Oh, so I guess you wouldn’t mind if I cleaned your room myself? I could definitely organize that place better…”

     “Don’t you dare,” Matt growled, and Gus shrugged. Matt let out another huff of annoyance, finally standing up. “Fine, but I won’t like it,” he argued, pointing at Gus’s chest.

     Gus shrugged. “I didn’t say you had to. Now, let’s go!”

     Gus confidently made his way up the stairs with Matt quickly trailing after him.. He went past the second floor, and Matt paused, looking between Gus and the second floor.

     “Hey, twerp, where are you going?” he yelled up at Gus, and the illusionist  turned to him to grin wickedly.

     “The attic,” he replied, then kept climbing.

     Gus could hear Matt’s stuttering from behind him, and then came the quick footsteps. “But why?” Matt complained. “The attic is so much work! There’s a reason we don’t go to the attic!”

     “Then I’m sure it’s a great place to start,” Gus stated. “Besides, it must be horrible if you’ve never gone up there, right?”

     Matt sent Gus a look, which he ignored in favor of pushing up the hatch of the attic. He peeked his head in, but it was mostly dark. He crawled up the hatch, shaking his head before taking a piece of paper and pencil out of his pocket and drew a quick light glyph.

     Before he could press it, Gus heard a small knock under him, and looked back down at Matt. “Since I can’t climb up there, can I get a pass on cleaning the attic?”

     Gus rolled his eyes, holding out his hand. “There’s a ladder, and if you hold onto my hand, you’ll be fine.”

     Matt’s face fell. “It was worth a try,” he muttered, putting his foot on the ladder Gus had disregarded earlier, and grabbed Gus’s hand. He struggled for a second, but eventually got up, falling on his side.

     “You’re so lucky that was my good arm,” Gus laughed at his friend’s dilema. “This place is so dark,”  Matt noticed, standing back up.

     “Well I have just the thing for that!” Gus exclaimed, pressing the light glyph he had drawn. The paper crumpled in his hand as it turned into a small ball of light, and Gus could get a better look at the attic around them.

     When he saw what was there though, he let out a small gasp. The room wasn’t dirty at all, nor was it very messy. There was a desk in the corner, a few papers piled on top. An old looking red couch was near the middle of the room, a futon in front of it, and a bookshelf was to the right of those things, as well. A few trunks were in the farthest corner of the room. A small light was on the ceiling, and Gus walked over to click it on.

     The room brightened, letting him see all of those things with more detail. He looked towards Matt, who seemed just as shocked as he was that the attic was actually another room.

     “Did your brother do this?” Gus asked, looking around again.

     “I—I guess,” Matt stuttered, walking over and touching the maps on the walls. Gus hadn’t noticed them before. “I thought my bro just kept everything in his room. I didn’t know there was more.”

     “It’s pretty cool,” Gus muttered, walking over to some of the trunks. They seemed pretty old, and Gus assumed they used to belong to Matt’s parents.

     “Cool?” Matt exclaimed, and Gus watched him examine all the maps. “This is more than cool! Why didn’t he ever tell me about these?”

     “Maybe he didn’t want you stealing any of it?” Gus laughed, walking over to the bookshelf and taking one off. The cover was green, gold lettering on the side in a language Gus couldn’t understand. He put the knowledge of the letters in his mind for him to research later, then put the book back.

     Matt scoffed, walking up next to Gus. “I would never,” he blinked innocently, giving Gus a small smile.

     “Likely story,” Gus laughed, poking Matt’s nose. Matt laughed too, stepping back.

     Matt caught sight of the trunks, then walked towards them. He kneeled next to them, using his left arm to try and pry it open. He huffed, furrowing his brows before looking towards Gus.

     “Can you help me?” he asked, and Gus rolled his eyes.

     “See? You would have totally stolen something if I weren’t here to stop you!” he exclaimed, walking towards the trunk and trying to pry it open.

     “Would you really stop me if I stole something?” Matt asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Gus struggle.

     Gus sighed dramatically, then grinned. “No.”

     The trunk finally opened, and they both peeked in to see its contents. There were a few scrolls, and some books. Gus picked up a small golden replica of a skull, weighing it in his palm. Matt reached forward as well, taking out one of the scrolls.

     It was wrapped with a red ribbon, which Gus didn’t see very often. He placed the mini skull down, watching as Matt untied the ribbon, the scroll unraveling. Matt held it open with one hand, and Gus grabbed the other side.

     “Woah,” he breathed, tracing the careful lines of ink that had been placed on the paper. It wasn’t a scroll, not really, but more of a map, the places detailed and shaded beautifully. Gus would do anything to be able to make illusions of the places depicted.

     As his eyes scanned the rest of the map, he landed on a less detailed drawing of something. There was a small X next to it, but Gus could not tell what it was.

     “It’s a treasure map,” Matt gasped, and Gus blew out a breath. He had no idea where these places were, except, it seemed, for the first landmark on the map. A small pond he and his dad used to go fishing in.

     “For what treasure, though?” Gus asked, following the trail the map would lead them on.

     It seemed familiar, and looked to be a hidden path separate from where Gus and his dad always came from. Maybe he just hadn’t looked hard enough when they were there.

     “It doesn’t matter,” Matt said, grabbing the map from Gus’s hand. “We have to go!”

     “Didn’t you say your arm was still healing?”

     Matt waved him off. “Whatever, it’s fine now.”

     Gus frowned, pursing his lips. Cleaning the house and following an unknown map from somewhere were two very different things. He looked back at the map in Matt’s hands, weighing the pros and cons. On one hand, Matt’s arm needed proper rest to heal. On the other hand, it was a treasure map.

     Gus grinned. “I’m in.”

><><><>< 

     “Do we have everything?” Gus asked.

     “I think so,” Matt hummed, looking through the backpacks they had packed for the trip.

     “Water?”

     “Check.”

     “Blanket?”

     “Check.”

     “Food?”

     “Check.”

     “Paper and pencil?”

     “Why would we need—never mind, check.”

     “What about—”

     “Gus,” Matt interrupted exasperated. “We have everything, calm down.”

     Matt watched Gus take a deep breath, then nod. Matt smiled, then looked back at the backpack checking one last time. He didn’t want to forget anything after he confidently told Gus they had everything.

     Matt zipped the backpack up and sighed. Gus had come significantly earlier than usual that day, only because they didn’t have school. Matt had wanted to go on the hunt yesterday, when they found the map, but Gus insisted that they had to be more prepared. Thus, the next day, they were ready to go.

     Matt fiddled with the strap of his sling, looking back towards Gus, who had started rifling through his own bag. He picked up the backpack, then grinned. He had been confined at home for too long, and even when Gus came over, he was still bored for the majority of the day. He was even starting to miss school, for Titan’s sake! An adventure, following a map towards what was presumably treasure, was the perfect thing to ease his boredom.

     And who knew, maybe they would get rich in the process?

     “Are you ready?” Gus asked, picking up his backpack and walking towards the front door.

     Matt nodded, grabbing the map from the counter and grinning. “You know it.”

     Gus grinned back, and they left the house. The day was chilly again, and Matt shivered slightly. He took a deep breath, and they set off. Matt fumbled trying to open the map, before Gus took it from him.

     There was a silence as they walked, and Matt looked over Gus’s shoulder. “Uh, do you know where we’re going?” Matt questioned, eyes wide.

     Gus scoffed. “Of course I know where we’re going!” Matt sent him a look, and Gus sighed defeatedly. “I do, technically, I just haven’t been there in a while.”

     Matt nodded, looking back at the map. “So, what is it?”

     “It’s a small pond,” Gus started, his eyes lighting up. “My dad and I used to go fishing in it all the time when I was younger. I almost fell in multiple times, which would have killed me but,” Gus waved his hand, “whatever. Biggest thing to know, it’s a boiling lake.”

     Matt raised an eyebrow. “Most water here is boiling. We need to do… something with it to be able to drink it.”

     Gus shook his head. “This isn’t just any normal rain water, Matty, it can burn your flesh off if you stay in it for a minute, and five minutes in there and you’re as good as dead.” Gus paused. “I learned that fact from school.”

     Matt blinked at Gus, mouth parted slightly. He quickly shut it, looking back forward. “Well then,” he said, shoving one hand into his pocket, “we’ll just have to be careful.”

     Gus nodded, and they took another right, onto a path differing from the main one. Matt followed, even if he had a slight hunch Gus barely knew where they were going.

     It seemed like it took forever to go where they needed to, with Matt tripping and cursing under his breath multiple times, until they eventually came to a large clearing.

     Matt started walking forward, until he felt a yank on his hood that brought him back. His sling pulled at his arm slightly, and Matt let out a yelp. He turned to glare at Gus, but frowned when Gus pointed to where Matt was about to step.

     Matt turned back around, staring at the ground. Or, what he thought the ground was. The floor bubbled, popping and sizzling. Matt shivered. Oh, so that was the lake.

     “It looks different than when I came as a kid,” Gus frowned, and Matt didn’t want to see that facial expression on him again.

     Matt patted his arm. “It’s been a few years, I guess people just stopped caring for it.” He internally winced. That was not the way to comfort someone.

     But Gus just sent him a smile. “Yeah, it’s fine, let’s go!”

     Gus walked around the tree line, and Matt followed in his footsteps. He did not want to be the one to fall into a pit of boiling water and die. No siree. He stumbled a few times, but immediately straightened back up.

     “What’s the next place?” Matt inquired, and he could hear as Gus ruffled the map.

     “Um, I think there’s a large stretch of forest next, and then some uh, ruins?”

     Matt hummed. “Well I hope we don’t need to volunteer to fix these ruins for another crazy ghost,” he commented, smiling.

     Gus laughed, and they finally got to the edge of the pond. “I hope not,” he commented. “What we have is already more than enough.”

     Matt chuckled, walking up next to Gus. The forest was already getting thicker, and Matt could feel Gus pressing closer to him. Or maybe they were both doing it.

     “How do you know where you’re going?” Matt asked, until he looked down. “Oh.”

     On the ground there were glowing pebbles, unnoticeable if he weren’t looking for them. Luckily, he was, and he watched as they walked over the stones.

     “I’m pretty sure these are leading us the right way,” Gus pointed out, and Matt nodded.

     They kept walking for a while, talking as they traveled through the brush. Eventually, Matt got tired of walking, and tapped Gus’s shoulder.

     “I thought there was going to be more adventure,” Matt complained, and Gus furrowed his brows at the map.

     “Honestly, I did, too,” Gus murmured, and Matt looked over at the map.

     No matter how detailed it was, the actual contents of the map seemed quite boring. The trail was long and plain, and other than the ruins Gus had mentioned before, there was nothing else in the way of the treasure.

     “I wonder why my brother never went on this trail…” Matt muttered, more towards himself.

     “What do you mean?” Gus asked, looking over at Matt.

     “Well it’s just,” he waved his hand, “if there were a potential for something bigger, wouldn’t my brother have already gone? He hasn’t been on many since the bookstore started taking off but… This seems like something he would like.”

     Gus hummed, then shrugged. “Honestly, I think he was just busy. Not much time for fun adventures when you’re too busy.”

     Matt stared at the ground. He couldn’t help but think that something felt wrong, his gut twisting slightly. Then there was a loud growl. Matt and Gus startled, jumping up and staring at each other for a moment.

     Matt sighed, a small chuckle escaping him. “I’m hungry, apparently.”

     Gus laughed. “Break?”

     Matt nodded, and they both found a good place to sit and eat a few of the snacks they had brought along. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

><><><>< 

     Gus tapped his knee as they ate. Questions were going through his mind, and very few of them had answers. What would they find? Was it going to be an easy trek? Would they get back home before nightfall? What if one of them got hurt? Or even more hurt, in Matt’s case.

     Matt seemed at ease, though, and Gus let himself take a deep breath. Matt was looking over the map, wiping crumbs off of it whenever some fell. Gus looked over his shoulder, and Matt turned to look at him, their noses almost brushing.

     They stared at each other for a moment, before Matt coughed, looking away and back at his lap. “Uh, we’ve been walking for a while, so we might be near the ruins,” Matt said, ears a bright red.

     Gus nodded and pulled back slightly, hoping his face wasn’t equally as red. “Probably. Do you want control of the map for now?”

     Matt’s eyes lit up, and he nodded, holding the map closer. Gus laughed, then stood up, holding out his hand for Matt.

     “Let’s go,” Gus declared, and Matt grabbed his hand, transferring the map to his sling arm.

     “Okay,” Matt confirmed, looking at the map, then back at the glowing pebbles still on the floor. “I think we can go this way and it’ll be correct.”

     Gus nodded, following Matt and finally taking the time to stare at the scenery around them. The trees were thicker than the ones around the pond, and the lighting was dim due to the canopy above them. It was relatively peaceful for a forest in the Boiling Isles, but Gus didn’t want to jinx it.

     They made idle conversation, and Gus was careful of Matt’s arm whenever he tried to elbow him. They were in the middle of laughing before Gus looked in front of him, and the laughter was cut off.

     Extending as far as Gus could see were ruins. But they weren’t like the ones from the graveyard, which were easily recognizable. These were already crumbled almost to dust, the small cubes of concrete the only truly tangible thing. Gus didn’t think he would have been able to recognize whatever they were as ruins if it hadn’t been obviously labeled on the map. Just sad blocks.

     Matt paused when Gus did, and he could tell when Matt caught sight of the ruins, because his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

     “Well,” Gus let out a low whistle, walking forward. “This is a bit of a surprise.”

     “Just a little,” Matt agreed from behind him, and Gus turned to watch him walk. “I was hoping I would be able to do… Something.”

     Gus offered a sympathetic smile, looking out towards what really was, in a literal sense, ruins. “I was kind of hoping, too. But you can’t fix it when you don’t know what to fix, huh?”

     “Unfortunately,” Matt grumbled, as they walked, then stumbled forward, seemingly tripping over his own two feet. Gus looked to realize he had tripped on pebbles, then had to work to silence his laughter.

     “No wonder you broke your arm, dude, you’re tripping over pebbles,” he teased, failing his plight to not laugh.

     “Shut up!” Matt exclaimed, reaching forward to punch his arm. “I can walk just fine, thank you.” Matt punctuated his statement by kicking over a piece of cement.

     Gus laughed, taking joy in the affronted face Matt made towards the rock. He sighed, his smile turning into a soft stare as Matt rambled about being able to not trip for at least twenty-four hours, and Gus rolled his eyes.

     He slowly reached forward, taking Matt’s hand in his own, which made Matt go silent. “What are you doing?” Matt questioned, and Gus swore Matt’s ears turned slightly red..

     “Making sure you don’t fall,” Gus shrugged, looking away slightly so Matt wouldn’t be able to see his slowly reddening face. “We don’t want you hurting your arm any more than it already is, right?”

     Gus wasn’t looking, but he could hear Matt’s puff of laughter, and felt his hand being squeezed. Gus squeezed back, finally looking back at Matt, who seemed to be trying to hold the map with one (bad) arm.

     Gus chuckled, taking one side of the map and bringing it in front of both of them. Matt huffed, and Gus laughed again, the sound echoing around the ruins.

><><><>< 

     “We’re finally out of there,” Matt announced, looking behind him at the ruins and then in front, where a trail lay.

     “This seems a bit easy,” Gus muttered, examining the map again. He didn’t feel like pointing out the fact he and Matt were still holding hands.

     In any case, the way they had traveled had seemed way too easy. Other than the boiling lake, there was nothing dangerous. Unless he and Matt had somehow avoided a confrontation with a creature that guarded the ruins, but knowing their luck, they would have run into a guardian sooner rather than later, if there was one.

     “This is boring,” Matt lamented after a while of walking. Gus nodded in agreement, fiddling with his side of the map. “Like, where is all the adventure? The excitement? I thought a quest was supposed to be a bit more… Exciting than this.”

     “Well at least we don’t need to worry about your arm,” Gus grinned, and Matt bumped their shoulders, scoffing.

     Gus reached over to take the map and put it in his backpack, stating that all they had to do now was follow a trail. Matt eventually relented, letting Gus take the map and put it away. Gus took Matt’s hand again, without a word, and continued walking, swinging their hands.

     “It’s pretty scenic,” Gus stated, looking around. There were less trees than before, few and far between, and the sky was still bright, the sun shining even as a cool breeze hit his face. It was, overall, a good day for adventure.

     “Do you think there’ll be a marking?” Matt wondered, looking back at Gus. “So we know where to stop?”

     “I mean, I think so,” Gus said, looking back at Matt. “I kinda hope so.”

     Matt nodded, then looked back forward. Not even a second later, he groaned, then dragged Gus forward. “I’m bored,” he complained as they walked, and Gus laughed. He had been bored, too.

     Gus grinned. “Race you!” he exclaimed, then took off past Matt, darting across the path and laughing as he heard Matt run after at him.

     “Augustus Porter!” He could hear Matt catching up to him steadily.. “I have a broken arm!” Matt screamed again, still behind him, and Gus slowed down slightly.

     “So?” he still yelled back, and Matt ran up next to him, trying to look annoyed, but his upturned mouth told Gus otherwise.

     “You’re a jerk!” Matt shouted, and Gus shrugged.

     They ran for at least five minutes, darting between trees when they felt like it and leaping over rocks. Gus was faster than Matt, but Matt kept insisting it was because he had a sling and couldn’t run at full force.

     Gus laughed, running backwards and faster than Matt. He turned a sharp corner, still laughing, until he looked forward and stopped abruptly, staring above him.

     “Augustus!” Matt screamed again, and Gus knew what was happening too late. Matt rammed into Gus’s back, letting out a muffled yelp. “What…?”

     Gus could tell when Matt saw what was in front of them, his voice fading away.

     “Well,” Gus said, “guess this is our landmark.”

     The tree in front of them was large, a sort of moss hanging from its branches, swaying in the wind. They were orange, and red, with hints of pink stretching across it. The trunk was wide and dark brown, and roots were poking out of the ground. It looked familiar to Gus, but he couldn’t place from where.

     “Do you think there’s treasure buried under the roots or something?” Matt whispered.

     “I think the tree is the treasure,” Gus whispered back, although he had no idea why he was whispering. It may have been the aura of the tree, large and looming, imposing. It was that same thing that made the tree so intriguing.

     Gus wanted to walk towards the tree, to run his hands over the moss hanging from its branches and feel the smooth bark. He wanted to be close to it, feel the trunk against his fingertips, warm and cold and soft and rough all at the same time.

     The voices in his mind were soft, steadily growing louder, consuming all his thoughts and replacing them with an addicting melody. His mind was warm, and he slowly closed his eyes, ready to be taken by a warm, happy rest…

     A loud crunch came from next to him, and Gus blinked, turning his head. Matt was standing there,  next to the tree.

     Gus’s eyes widened, and he realized he was already underneath the tree. He removed his hand from the bark, stumbling backwards. Gus panted, staring at the tree with his hand clutched to his chest.

     The sounds seemed to disturb Matt, because he turned around, looking confused. Gus opened his mouth to speak at the same time as Matt. However, a shrill scream resounded throughout the forest interrupted them, and the moss from the tree shot out, aiming every which way.

     Gus shut his eyes, covering his ears with his hands. Suddenly, the screaming stopped, and Gus slowly opened his eyes. Gus’s vision immediately shot towards the tree. Now Matt was nowhere in sight, under the tree was completely empty.

     Memories itched at the back of Gus’s mind, until they shot forward like a punch to the face. The Giving Tree.

><><><>< 

     Matt’s eyes slowly blinked open, sunlight swimming through his vision. He felt comfortable, covered and surrounded by blankets and pillows. His eyes opened fully, and he was able to look at where he was.

     The room was familiar, and he realized that it was his room, albeit a cleaner and more organized version of it, but his room, nevertheless.

     He sat up in bed, stretching, then wringing out his arms. He let out a small gasp, then turned to look at his right arm. Completely healed. He let out a huff, then shook his head.

     How long have I been out? he wondered, removing his (stark white) blankets and getting out of bed. He teetered for a moment, catching his balance in the nightstand next to the bed. He took in another breath, then let it out.

     Matt’s ears twitched, and he looked up. The door to his room opened, and it finished to reveal Gus, cast in a golden morning glow. Gus caught sight of him, then grinned and ran up to Matt, tackling him in a hug.

     “Ah!” Matt exclaimed, toppling before Gus steadied them.

     “You’re okay!” Gus exclaimed, squeezing Matt once more before leaning back. Their faces were close, and Matt could feel Gus’s breath on his face, see how Gus’s eyes were… purple?

     Gus blinked again, as if waiting for an answer, and his eyes turned back into their blue-gray color. If they ever were purple. Matt shook his head, squeezing Gus’s wrists for a moment before smiling.

     “Yeah, I’m okay. What happened to my arm?”

     Gus sighed, pursing his lips and looking away. Matt suddenly felt bad for asking. Then Gus perked up, shrugging. “You were out for so long it healed itself! The healers checked, and you’re fine now!”

     “Oh,” Matt muttered. “Okay.”

     “C’mon!” Gus pulled away, grabbing Matt’s wrist and dragging him out of the room. “Other people are downstairs waiting for you!”

     “Other people?” Matt asked, but his question went unanswered and Gus pulled him towards and down the stairs. Gus was holding his hand, and a brief memory flickered through his mind before disappearing.

     As they walked down the stairs, Matt looked at the pictures on the wall. There were a few with Matt and Gus, ones that he had been meaning to put up, but worried that they would cross a line.

     Matt slowed down, still staring at the wall. He felt Gus pause with him. There were other pictures hung up, some of him, Luz, Willow, and Gus. Some of him and Bria, smiling and grinning at the person behind the camera. There were endless group pictures, some with and without him, and even a few with his brother. One that caught his eye was from he was younger, Matt perched on his brother’s shoulders and smiling, and even larger tooth gap than he had now showing.

     “What—” Matt started, but was cut off with a tug on his hand, and he looked down at Gus, who was nodding his head down the stairs.

     “You coming?”

     Matt swallowed, then nodded, catching up with Gus and stumbling slightly on some of the last steps.

     They entered the living room, and Matt let out a gasp when he saw who was sitting on the couch. His brother was there, bent over a piece of paper. His hair was falling into his face, and Matt’s brother was blowing out of his face, shaking his head. It seemed he had seen something out of the corner of his eyes, because his head whipped up and eyes landed on Matt.

     Matt was expecting him to groan, or roll his eyes and say something about how Matt was finally up, or that it took him long enough. What Matt was not expecting, however, was for his brother to grin widely, dropping his scroll on the couch to envelope Matt in a hug.

     Matt let out a surprised yelp, his feet being lifted off the ground as his brother squeezed tightly.

     “Can’t breathe,” Matt gasped out, and his brother immediately let go, chuckling.

     “Sorry, sorry, it’s just… So nice to see you back to your old self. You feeling better, bud?”

     Matt nodded, although the events of why he wouldn’t be feeling well were foggy in his mind. His brother clamped him on the shoulder, and Matt let out a huff of air.

     Turning, he realized Gus was no longer in the room. He could hear the faint chatter of voices coming from the kitchen, and Matt slowly made his way over.

     It seemed he wasn’t quiet enough, because Gus turned around the second Matt entered the kitchen, greeting him with a blinding smile that turned Matt’s legs to jelly.

     “Matty!” Gus exclaimed, waving him over. “The others are on the phone! Come say hi!”

     Matt blinked for a second, wondering what others would be contacting Matt. Other than Luz and Willow, who Matt only knew briefly, he didn’t know many people. Just vague glimpses of them, their personalities, knowing what they were like from the endless stories Gus told about them. Matt wondered if Gus told his friends about him.

     “Mattholomule!” a voice called from the phone excitedly. Matt walked over to see Gus’s scroll filled with people. Luz was the one who had said his name, and Willow and Amity were next to her, Willow’s grin large, and Amity’s small but genuine. Behind them was King, who seemed to be more in the background than anything, but was still obviously paying attention to the call. 

     “How are you?” Willow asked. “Gus told us you were awake, but we almost didn’t believe it!”

     Matt let out a small chuckle. “Uh, yeah, I’m feeling better, thanks.”

     “Well, guys,” Gus cut off, glancing at Matt before quickly looking away, “I think we should get a bit more rest. Matt just woke up, after all!”

     There was a chorus of “awwwe’s” that made Matt’s cheeks flame, but he waved goodbye to them anyway before Gus hung up.

     Matt let out a small sigh, before he felt something grab his hand. He looked up to see Gus, who was smiling at him. “You feeling okay?” Gus asked, and Matt nodded.

     “Uh, yeah yeah, I just need some rest,” Matt smiled.

     “Let’s go then. I can fill you in on some things that happened while you were out.”

     Matt nodded. “That would be nice.”

     He ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach as he went up the stairs, telling himself they were just nerves.

><><><>< 

     “Hey!” Gus screamed, kicking at the tree. “Give me my friend back!”

     The tree stood still, tall and menacing, and Gus panted, still kicking at it. He tried to recall what the textbook had said to do if he were to ever encounter a giving tree, but all his thoughts were consumed by the overwhelming panic in his mind.

     He could only think about the negative effects. What the tree would do to Matt. How it would bring him to a happy place, something close to a perfect life, something so seemingly plausible that it must be real life, but it really wasn’t. He thought about how the tree was currently sucking away Matt’s magic, taking away his life and power.

     Gus kicked the tree harder, then stopped, leaning his forehead against it. “Give him back,” Gus muttered again, hitting his fist against the tree.

He looked up, the bright moss hanging from the branches seemed eerily inviting. It reminded Gus of something he had learned about in the human world, how the brighter things were in nature, the more likely they were to be poisoned. He didn’t like those odds very much, but he reached out anyway, grabbing one and tugging himself up.

     Immediately, the tree began screaming, moss shooting out of the ground and at him. Gus made a spell circle in the air, casting a beam of bright light in its direction and making them hiss away.

     Gus climbed onto a branch, keeping his balance. It was just like riding a palisman right? Gus looked over to another branch, grabbing another piece of moss to keep himself balanced, and leapt over to a higher branch. Gus let out a sigh of relief, then continued jumping, hoping to find Matt.

     Gus eventually came to a larger part of the tree, which he didn’t even think was possible. He crept around, keeping a low profile just in case any more sentient moss came after him.

     Gus’s foot hit something, and he looked down, letting out a startled yelp when he saw a giant clump of moss.

     He poked it with his foot again, realizing it was vaguely witch shaped… He gasped. Matt.

     Gus knelt down, trying to rip the moss from around him. It kept growing back, however, and Gus let out a frustrated groan. Rip, grow, repeat. It seemed like whenever Gus thought he was getting somewhere, the moss would just grow back.

     Gus made a spell circle, trying to use his magic to his advantage and find some way to get Matt out of the strange moss cocoon he had found himself in.

     Suddenly, Gus felt something cold creep up his back, and he gasped, whipping his head around, and didn’t see anything until he looked down. Moss was already starting to grow around his legs, and Gus made a face, trying to stand.

     The moss, however, did not seem to like that, if the way it tightened around Gus was any indication. Gus fell back on the branch, and the moss slowly covered him, it’s screams still echoing in his ears.

><><><>< 

     Gus slowly opened his eyes, a bright light hitting his face as he sleepily opened his eyes. He felt something stuck to his cheek, and he removed it, staring at the strange piece of paper with a bunch of equations.

     He rubbed the top of his head, shaking it, then stared at where he had been asleep. Several papers were strewn about, covered in words and numbers and a few drawings of giraffes. His computer was open in front of him (how did he know what that thing was?) and it currently displayed the time- 11:12 AM.

     A knock on his door startled Gus, and he jumped, leaping from his seat to open it. On the other side was Matt, looking down at a phone. His other hand was behind his back, and he was wearing a red hoodie, dark jean jacket thrown over it, and when Matt looked up, he sighed.

     “Did you fall asleep at your desk again?” Matt asked, shaking his head.

     “Maybe?” Gus replied innocently, looking back at his desk. It was worded as something someone wouldn’t want another person to know, but in reality, Gus had no idea.

     Matt brought his hand from behind his back, handing Gus a mug of coffee. “I knew you would. I made you a cup of coffee, go get ready. I’m leaving with or without you.”

     Gus nodded, clutching the mug tighter. The action felt so… Normal. So familiar, as if they had done it before. He took a sip of the coffee, exactly how he liked it, then quickly got changed, throwing on a light blue shirt and flannel. He stuffed his computer into his backpack, quickly chugging the coffee before leaving the room.

     “Let’s go now,” Matt sighed exasperatedly, pocketing his phone when he saw Gus. “I do not want to be locked out of class again because you were late.”

     “That was one time!” Gus laughed, not quite sure how he knew that.

     “A time I would not like to relive,” Matt retorted, shaking his head.

     Suddenly, Gus felt something warm grab his hand, and he looked towards Matt, who seemed nonchalant. Matt intertwined their fingers, as if they had done it a thousand times before. But with the familiarity of the way Matt’s hand fit in his own, how natural it was to swing their hands in between them lightly, maybe it was.

><><><>< 

        “I’m bored,” Matt complained, putting down his book. He and Gus were in his room, hanging out silently. He was reading a book that should have been interesting, but Matt couldn’t focus, eyes constantly straying and body constantly moving.

     Gus looked up at Matt from his position on the floor, cocking his head to the side. “Well, we could go out and do something together?” Gus smiled, and Matt felt his face flush slightly before nodding.

     They both stood, waving to Matt’s brother on their way out the door. Matt took a deep breath as they exited, already feeling calmer with the sun on his face.

     “So, did you have a plan?” Gus asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

     Matt hummed, walking along the streets of his neighborhood. They lived close to the bookstore, for obvious reasons, and close to the bookstore was…

     “Wanna get some eyescream?” Matt asked, and Gus grinned brightly, nodding. Matt blew out a breath. “Then let’s go, I guess.”

     “Lead the way,” Gus laughed, hitting Matt’s shoulder with his own. Instead of something solid hitting him, Matt only felt a cold rush of air flow past him. Gus kept walking, unaware Matt had stopped.

     He felt a large shudder run down his back. He stared at the back of Gus’s head until Gus turned to look at him, and Matt could have sworn there was something in his eyes, but it was gone in a second and Gus was back to smiling.

     “You okay there, bud?” Gus inquired, tilting his head to the side.

     Ignoring the large pit in his stomach, Matt swallowed and nodded, jogging to catch up with Gus.

     “I’m fine,” he smiled, hoping Gus couldn’t notice how fake it was. (Who was he kidding, Gus always knew when his smile was genuine or not. The effects of spending every weekend, sometimes more, with someone, Matt presumed. He had picked up on quite a few of Gus’s habits himself.)

     Instead of calling him out, though, Gus just smiled, grabbing Matt’s hand. “Let’s hurry then!”

     Matt’s hand felt cold.

><><><>< 

     “We made it!” Gus cheered as they ran into the classroom, Matt panting beside him. He flashed a triumphant grin at Matt. “And, I win!”

     “Whatever,” Matt scoffed, walking past Gus. “I’ll beat you next time.”

     Gus laughed, thinking back to less than five minutes ago when he and Matt had their impromptu race to class. Gus’s coffee had almost spilled multiple times, but you had to do what you had to do. He knew Matt would beat him at something else sooner rather than later, anyway, so he didn’t feel too guilty.

     Matt led them to a pair of seats that seemed vaguely familiar, the way Matt sat closer to him than the person on his other side comforting.

     “What do you think we’re going to learn about today?” Gus whispered, as their professor started talking. Matt rolled his eyes.

     “We’re obviously going to learn about how much our Professor loves his chihuahua more than his own ‘ungrateful children.’ Even better, how much he hates his sister because she coddles his kids.”

     Gus laughed a bit too loudly, drawing the attention of multiple students, some glaring and some staring in curiosity.

     “Or how his cat almost got into a fight with his chihuahua, again,” Gus laughed, drawing the memory up from somewhere deep in his mind.

     Matt stifled his laughter into his shoulder, and Gus pinched him lightly. “His chihuahua kind of reminds me of you,” he murmured to Matt, and Matt let out a loud guffaw.  

     The professor’s eyes snapped to them, eyes squinting through his glasses. “Is there anything you would like to share with the class, lovebirds?”

     Gus shook his head, eyes shining with mirth. “No, sir, we’re just taking notes and Matt poked his finger with his pencil,” Gus lied easily, his voice echoing slightly in the large (and currently silent) room.

     He felt Matt kick his leg under the table, and Gus almost let out another laugh. The professor lifted an eyebrow at them, then turned back around to keep teaching (before the subject would inevitably change).

     Gus sent another grin towards Matt, and Matt chuckled and shook his head. Gus wrapped his ankle around Matt’s, expecting the same warmth that always came when he was close to Matt.

     Instead, the only thing that flooded Gus’s mind was a horrible sense of wrongness. It was something dark, something syrupy, thick as oil or molasses. It covered Gus’s brain, and he felt as if he were about to pass out. He took a shaky breath, blinking against whatever was threatening  to cover his mind and vision.

     “Gus?” he heard Matt whisper, and he looked up, meeting Matt’s concerned eyes. “Are you okay?”

     Gus opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He still felt syrupy, like he was going to fall asleep at any second. He ended up just nodding at Matt and smiling.

     Matt pursed his lips but kept quiet, looking back to the front of the class. Gus looked back as well, still taking deep and heaving breaths. He felt something cover his hand, slowly prying the pencil he was holding tightly away from him. He looked down, watching as Matt intertwined their hands, rubbing his thumb across Gus’s knuckles.

     It didn’t feel as comfortable as it should’ve.

><><><>< 

         “That is not how it works,” Gus laughed, taking another bite of eyescream and shaking his head.

     “Yes it is!” Matt yelled indignantly. “Stop biting your eyescream like a heathen.”

     “I’ll eat my eyescream however I want!” Gus declared, and Matt kicked his legs, trying to hold in his laughter.

     “You’re horrible,” Matt countered, licking his eyescream like a normal witch.

     “I can hear what you’re thinking from here,” Gus claimed, poking the side of Matt’s head. “And I do not appreciate it.”

     Matt laughed, swatting away Gus’s hand and eating his eyescream again. They both sat in comfortable silence, watching clouds move through the sky and listening to children’s laughter and shouts. He shut his eyes, trying to banish whatever happened earlier from his mind.

     His gut had stopped churning after he got his treat, thankfully, and he had hoped it was just from the hunger. Steadily, the horrible feeling was coming back, and Matt didn’t know what to make of it.

     Why did he feel so bad all of a sudden? Wasn’t he supposed to be healed? Did whatever magical thing they used to heal him actually have negative side effects?

     Matt sighed, licking his eyescream again and opening his eyes. The sun was burning them, and Matt blinked rapidly against it, hoping the sting of his eyes would overcome the pain in his gut.

     “Hey, Matty?” Gus muttered, tapping him on the shoulder.

     Matt looked over at Gus squinting at him, and Matt raised an eyebrow. Gus slowly reached forward, grabbing Matt’s cheek and angling it towards him. Matt’s breath hitched, his heart rate picking up.

     “You have something here,” Gus said finally, wiping a bit of eyescream off the corner of Matt’s mouth. He smiled, wiping it on his pants. “There,” he said, but he didn’t move away.

     Matt blinked at him, cheeks heating up. He could see a slight red appear on Gus’s cheeks, noticing the way Gus grinned cheekily. Matt’s eyes flitted across Gus’s face, his soft smile, his slightly creased eyebrows, his eyes that were… Blue? Brown? Purple? Flickering and flickering and—

     And then Matt’s eyes were closed—or maybe those were Gus’s—but they were kissing, and Matt felt like he was flying, floating above the clouds, above the atmosphere, higher and higher where nobody could reach.

     And then it came crashing back down, sudden and abrupt as Gus slowly pulled away. Matt felt like he had just climbed five flights of stairs, up and back down. He blinked slowly, digesting what had just happened.

     Gus smiled at him again, and Matt was helpless to do anything but smile dopily back as Gus grabbed his hand. Maybe… Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

     It was only then that he realized he had dropped his eyescream at some point, and he groaned, leaning against Gus. Gus just laughed, and Matt could feel the vibrations from it.

     Yeah, Matt could get used to it. He could get used to a bit of cold if it meant he would mostly feel warm.

><><><>< 

         “You, sir, are a menace to society,” Gus whispered as they both walked through the darkened corridors.

     Matt shook his head, chuckling silently. “Need I remind you this was your idea in the first place?”

     “Yes well,” Gus admitted as they creeped out the door of the dorms, “it was just a suggestion, you were the one who actually put it into motion.”

     Matt hummed, tapping his chin as he grabbed Gus’s hand. “I don’t seem to recall.”

     Gus laughed and squeezed Matt’s hand, ignoring the memory of what had happened earlier that day. He had probably just been tired, sleeping at desk must not have been for him.

     Gus tried to focus on what was happening now, how he and Matt were sneaking out past curfew for an impromptu date at some sort of diner that Gus randomly remembered.

     He felt Matt squeeze his hand back, and Gus tried to convince himself the gesture wasn’t strangely empty.

     They kept walking through campus, and Gus’s eyes flitted to every small thing. The flowers growing from the bushes around benches, the towering trees that provided shade in harsh sunlight, the cracks in the sidewalk that Gus avoided but Matt actively tried to step on.

     Memories kept coming back to Gus, quicker now. How he, Matt, Luz, and others had gone to the human realm for college. How excited he was that he and Matt were going to be roommates. The exact moment he fell for Matt, when they were laughing together on the couch, watching a movie and throwing popcorn at each other instead of eating it.

     “Matt, stop that,” Gus called out, pulling at Matt’s hand to stop him from stepping on another crack. “Doesn’t that mean you’ll get back luck?”

     “I’m pretty sure it actually means I’ll break my mothers back,” Matt hummed, then grinned. “Good thing we don’t have moms.”

     “Oh my gosh,” Gus cackled, reaching out to ruffle Matt’s hair. “You’re an asshole, you know.”

     Matt’s nose scrunched up, and he swatted Gus’s hand away. “Yeah, but you love me anyway.”

     Gus laughed, opening the door for Matt as they arrived at their destination. “Yeah,” he confessed. “I love you anyway.”

     Matt sent him a grin over his shoulder, and Gus grinned back. They both went to sit at a booth, and a lady came over with two menus. She eyed them.

     “Doesn’t the local college have a curfew?” she asked them, and Gus knew that even if they admitted to her they did, the mischievous twinkle in her eyes told Gus she wouldn’t rat them out.

     “Yup,” he said, popping the p, and she just laughed. “I’ll get you kiddos some coffee, how does that sound?”

     “Awesome,” Matt exclaimed, and Gus chuckled fondly.

     The lady walked away, leaving Matt and Gus to their conversation. Gus turned to Matt, smiling. “You know what you want already?”

     Matt grinned smugly at Gus. “Yeah, a burger. With fries.”

     Gus narrowed his eyes. “On the side, right?” Matt whistled, looking away. “On the side, right?”

     Matt’s grin widened, and Gus huffed, shaking his head fondly. “Dolt.”

     Matt stuck his tongue out at him, and Gus mirrored the gesture. Matt narrowed his eyes, and Gus did the same. He then made another strange facial expression, which Gus repeated, until they were both laughing too hard to continue.

     “Your coffee,” the waitress announced as she came up to them, smiling lightly, although her eyes shone with laughter. Gus’s cheeks heated up as he realized she must have seen their weird face changing, but he smiled anyway, shaking it off.

     “Thanks,” he said as she poured coffee out, and Matt nodded in agreement.

     “Have you two figured out what you want to order?” she asked, taking out a notepad, and the two boys looked at each other for a moment, before they both nodded. They named their orders easily, then continued talking when the waitress walked away, sending a wink over her shoulder.

     “Oh gosh,” Gus objected as he saw Matt grab a handful of mini coffee creamers. “Please don’t put all of those in.”

     Matt sniffled indignantly, opening a creamer cup. “How dare you assume such a thing. I’m going to be putting in two handfuls of creamer. What do you think I am, a barbarian?”

     “Probably,” Gus laughed, and Matt laughed along with him.

     Their laughter died out, and they were left sitting in comfortable silence. Gus looked down at his mug of coffee, seeing his face reflected in it. The coffee was dark, almost black, and although Gus didn’t drink black coffee, he took a moment to revel in the feeling of steam blowing onto his face, the mug warming him up.

     Unbidden, thoughts of earlier appeared in his mind. The inky darkness of the coffee reminded him of it, of the darkness that had tried to consume and take him away earlier. He hadn’t liked the way it made him feel, warm and comforted, but also like he was being physically ripped away from something, as if he were super glued to something and taken off by a strong force.

     Gus blinked down, trying to make himself do something. But he couldn’t, couldn’t make himself move for the creamer or even bring the cup of coffee to his lips.

     He faintly heard Matt call his name, somewhere in the front of his mind. Matt’s voice was tickling it, but something stronger was calling Gus, from the back. He let himself close his eyes, briefly. A second, nothing else, but when he opened them, the coffee was gone from his hands, and he was standing in the middle of a pitch dark room. The same color of what he had been seeing his reflection on only moments before.

     Gus tried to blink again, then pinched himself, hoping it was all some awful, horrible dream. He didn’t wake up in a diner, though, he didn’t wake up at all.

     He felt pressure at the back of his mind, the darkness begging him to fall even more, go even deeper into its depths. It poked and prodded at something forbidden, something that had always been sitting there that Gus hadn’t thought to pay attention to.

     “Gus!” a voice rang out, and he immediately recognized it as Matt’s. Gus took a deep breath, holding it. “Gus, come back!”

     The thoughts at the back of his head started creeping forward, the darkness turning into a key that unlocked all Gus needed to know.

     Matt his arm twisted at a horrible angle, probably even worse than what Gus could see, the shadows twisting around him.

     “Gus, come back, are you okay? Come back, drink coffee with me!”

     Matt standing in the kitchen, pretending to be annoyed when he and Gus messed up multiple recipes they were trying to make.

     “We have class tomorrow and you won’t be able to sleep later if you take a nap now!”

     Both of them reading together, in Matt’s living room, learning about something, something that Gus couldn’t remember what was it?

     “You don’t want to go back, I promise, there’s only pain, only suffering, nothing will end well!”

     He finally, finally remembered the way Matt’s hand actually felt in his own, the real warmth of the shoulder bumps they always exchanged, the way his heart did a spontaneous pitter patter every time they were around each other.

     “You’ll have to fight! A war against Belos, so many powerful witches, you’ll surely die. Slowly and painfully. Unless you stay here. Rest. Be at peace.”

     More memories, more and more and more. Willow telling Gus about plants, the way her eyes shone beneath her glasses, the way her arms would move about everywhere as she spoke excitedly. How Luz always saw the best in people, how she made friends everywhere she went and lit up an entire room with just her smile and bubbly, wonderful personality. His tentative relationship with Amity, how she was trying her best to change, for the better, and although he still held a grudge, he was willing to let her in and embrace her changes.

     The darkness consumed him.

><><><>< 

     Gus woke with a start, letting out a strangled gasp and sitting up. He was covered in leaves and moss, and he shuddered, thinking about where those had been just moments before. About to suck away his magic.

     He let out another shaky breath, then turned his head to the side. There was Matt, his eyes closed peacefully. He was breathing deeply, as though he was just asleep, but Gus knew better.

     He crawled forward, shaking him. He hoped it would work, unlike last time. He started ripping at the case, shredding it and shredding and shredding. The plants seemed weaker than they had been before, more pliable, and Gus took it to his advantage.

     He was eventually able to rip the rest off Matt, and he gasped, sitting up straight and banging his head with Gus’s. They both let out a pained groan, but Gus shook his head quickly.

     “Are you okay?” he asked, and Matt seemed confused, before understanding slowly dawned on his face.

     “Y—yeah,” he stuttered, shaking his head then he winced in pain.

     Gus reached out, slowly, to help Matt up. He wondered what Matt had seen. He must have realized this was the giving tree by now, that this was all just a figment of their imagination, their most recent wish. Just that, and nothing else. Gus had to remind himself of that.

     Suddenly, the tree started to shake, and everything started crumbling around their feet. They both gasped, taking a quick look at each other before the group was swept from under them and they were falling, falling, falling.

     Gus felt something move underneath him, but had no time to register it before he landed on something hard. The thing under him wheezed, and Gus took a moment to register what was happening, his brain jumbled.

     He snapped his eyes open, scrambling off of Matt. He seemed okay, although as he sat up, he winced and stared at his already broken arm.

     “Are you okay?” Gus exclaimed, reaching forward to run his fingers over Matt’s sling.

     “Maybe?” Matt croaked, but his voice was obviously filled with pain.

     “Why did you do that?” Gus exclaimed.

     “I think you’ve done more today than I have,” Matt shook his head. “When I was there, something happened. It was like, everything around me started cracking, and all I could hear was your voice, calling me. And then I… I woke up.”

     Gus shook his head. “That was still stupid.”

     Matt chuckled. “I know. At least only one of us got badly hurt.”

     Gus blinked, looking at himself. Other than being very fatigued from having magic sucked out of him (had it gone back in?), he was otherwise unscratched. Just very, very dirty.

     “Let’s go home,” Gus sighed, and Matt nodded in agreement.

     “Let’s. Hopefully I can uh, do something about this, ” he added, gesturing to his arm.

     Gus held out his arm to help Matt, and Matt gladly took it as they stepped out of what used to be a tree. The moss that hung from its branches were now scattered, bark everywhere. 

     Taking another look at the destroyed tree, Gus narrowed his eyes, then grinned. He whispered something in Matt’s ear, and Matt grinned back, nodding.

     They both turned towards it at the same time, screaming, “Screw you, Tree!” They both laughed, Gus holding onto Matt’s good shoulder for support.

     Suddenly, the ground started rumbling again, and the boys almost toppled over from the force, rocks shaking and moss gathering in the middle of the rubble.

     “Uh oh,” Matt muttered, and Gus nodded.

     A large arm of moss emerged from the pile, and Gus just barely pushed himself and Matt out of the way in time before the arm lashed out., A large hole formed on the ground where they had been standing only moments before.

     “Oh Titan,” Gus mumbled, and they both scrambled up.

     Gus winced in sympathy when it seemed Matt was in pain, but he had no time to focus on that as more long strings of moss emerged. Gus yelped, jumping to the side. Matt’s hand flew to the floor, bringing up walls of dirt to surround them.

     The moss shot straight through them, coming in from all sides, and Gus ducked. He made eye contact with Matt from across the field, and they both nodded.

     Gus drew a quick circle with his hand, creating an illusion set of stairs, which Matt immediately started constructing. They both climbed up the stairs quickly, before the moss had time to recuperate.

     “What now?” Matt asked, panting, and Gus looked around at the moss.

     He narrowed his eyes at the large pile covering the tree, then nodded resolutely. “We narrow it down to the source,” he decided, then turned to Matt. “Can you help get me over there without me getting hurt?”  

     Matt’s eyes widened, but he nodded just as the moss escaped its construction trap, and Gus started running towards the large pile of moss. A string of moss started going after him, but instead of stopping to fight it somehow, he kept running. He trusted Matt with his life, and knew he would protect him.

     Sure enough, a block of construction flew over Gus just as it got close, and the moss exploded onto the ground. He didn’t stick around to see if it regenerated.

     He kept running, more blocks of construction magic flying over him at random times. The run felt like ages, when in reality it was probably only a minute.

     He fell to his knees when he arrived, his fall being softened by the moss. A dome of dirt surrounded him, the sounds of bangs all ringing in at the same time. They didn’t break through though, and Gus hoped it would stay that way.

     The parent moss seemed to not be sentient, or at least not as sentient as its counterparts outside. He started digging through the strange softness, trying to find something, anything that could help. He hoped his theory was right.

     Eventually, Gus felt something hard under his hands, and he tried to pull it out. It gave in easily, and suddenly Gus was holding something hard and beating that he did not want to think about.

     Quickly, Gus made a spell circle, and the thing crumbled in his hand. He let out a deep breath, then knocked on the walls of the dome loudly. It collapsed, and Gus immediately searched for Matt.

     He was standing there, panting but smiling, and Gus smiled back. They were exhausted, and Gus couldn’t wait to get home, take a nice shower, and finally rest. Best of all, though, was that they were okay now.                       

><><><>< 

     “I knew you’d be up here,” Gus declared, and Matt turned his head to see Gus scaling the roof. He slipped slightly, fumbling, before righting himself and plopping down next to Matt, legs swinging over the edge.

     It had been a week since Matt and Gus had decided to go on their adventure, and Matt’s arm was still suffering from the consequences. He looked over at Gus for a second, then turned back to the sunset.

     He shut his eyes, feeling the warmth settle on his face. The memories from what had happened before filled his mind, but Matt tried to push them away. They came anyway, and Matt let himself be dragged down.

     He remembered holding hands with Gus, laughing at everything, still on the high of eyescream and kisses. Gus’s hand had felt cold, hard, a bit like plastic in his own, and he almost disregarded it, if it weren’t for the blinking lights of warning in the back of his mind.

     Matt tried to ignore them, he really did, but eventually the blinking lights turned into screams, and the screams into words, and suddenly Gus’s hand was slipping out of his own and he was disoriented.

     It seemed as though everything was glowing, brighter and brighter, until everything started to crack. Something inky bled through the cracks, a color darker than Matt had ever seen before.

     He tried to scream, but no words came out, or nothing substantial at least. The words being shouted in the back of his mind became louder, a chorus of his name, “Matt, Mattholomule, Matty, Matty, Matty!”

     He shut his eyes, covering his ears and falling to his knees. His arms started to hurt, and his breath got deeper, shallower, and he found it hard to breathe.

     The glowing behind his eyelids became darker, darker, darker, before Matt felt himself become engulfed by something dark, the same darkness that had been seeping out of the cracks. It had been harder to breath then, and he couldn’t stop taking in gulps of air, trying to catch his breath in any way he could.

     Until his eyes snapped open, and he was met with purple eyes. He had immediately sat up, taking in gulping breaths of air. The rest went by in a blur, the collapse, the fight, the walk back in darkness.

     “Matt?” Gus’s voice said, and Matt was snapped out of whatever trance he was in. “You okay?”

     Matt huffed. He didn’t know how to answer, so he just shrugged, hoping it was enough to convey his jumble of emotions.

     Luckily, it seemed to, because Gus nodded, swinging his legs back and forth. “Yeah. That kind of sums it up.”

     “Does it really?” Matt questioned, shaking his head, and Gus laughed, bumping their shoulders together. Matt revelled in the way he actually felt warm, no horrible shudders to ruin the moment. Just two boys, together, the sun rising in front of them.

     He fiddled with the strap of his sling, taking another quick look at Gus. The sunlight was reflecting in his eyes, making the dark speckles in them even darker than usual, making him glow, making his smile brighter than it had any right to be.

     “What happens next?” Matt asked, ripping his eyes away from Gus to look at his feet, dangling helplessly from the roof.

     “We probably tell the others what happened,” Gus replied. “Embellish the story a bit, make us seem like heroes. We can say you just tripped again on the way home.”

     “Jerk!” Matt exclaimed, reaching over to hit Gus’s shoulder. Gus laughed even harder, and Matt joined, letting it echo off the rooftops.

     “But, really,” Gus started, and suddenly his hands were in his lap, as Matt had never realized how close their hands had been before. “I think we just… Move on. This was… Hard, yeah, but we got through it, and we can move forward. We’ll be fine.” Gus took another breath in, then out. “We’ll be fine.”

     Matt looked down at his own hand, the one currently fiddling with his sling, but he reached out, grabbing one of Gus’s hands in his own.

     “I think you’re right,” Matt admitted, smiling, and Gus smiled back. Then, Matt knew that everything really was going to be okay. They made it out, and they would continue to make it out of sticky situations. Together.

     Matt stared at his hand for a second, resting on top of Gus’s, before slowly intertwining their fingers. They were soft and warm, unlike the vision, illusion, whatever thing from before. It was real, and that’s all Matt could have asked for.

     Seemingly reading his mind, Gus grinned down at their hands, then at Matt. He extended his other arm, and Matt fell into the embrace thankfully, taking care of his already shattered arm.

     Leaning his head on Gus’s shoulder, he felt Gus lean against his head as well. And there, hugging Gus with their hands intertwined and the sun rising, Matt thought it seemed like an awfully good new beginning.