Work Text:
SPLAT .
Pink, half-mixed witchlet formula exploded everywhere. Gus stood in front of the counter in shock for a second, staring at the mess. He sighed deeply as some of it began to drip down the side of his face, barely able to see through his glasses.
It had been a long, exhausting day at work, with him having to break up a heated disagreement between several students. He didn’t like having to use his authority very often, since he vastly preferred being known as the “cool Illusions professor,” but when kids in his class started threatening each other with a physical fight he knew he needed to step in. He had picked up some takeout food on the way home for himself and his husband, but Matt had needed to head out the door for work almost immediately after Gus got home, taking his food to go and leaving Gus alone with their two month old daughter. Luckily for the kitchen-challenged Gus, it was near impossible to screw up preparing her formula—or so he thought.
He stared at the mess in front of him with weary eyes. And after he had been doing so well with taking care of Cici in the evenings since Matt returned to his job from paternity leave, too…
Gus heard Cici babbling behind him and turned to check she was still fine, laying on her stomach on the baby blanket he had laid down on the floor. His heart panged with love as he watched her reach for the toy in front of her and shake it, giggling in her adorable little baby voice.
He smiled fondly and turned back around with renewed energy, wiping off his glasses and face before cleaning up the rest of the ruined formula and preparing a new bottle.
Once Cici had been fed, burped, bathed, and put to bed, Gus settled in for a late evening nap in the living room as he waited for Matt to get home in a few hours. The exhaustion of the day took hold and he passed out pretty quickly there on the reclining chair.
*********
Matt opened the front door and stepped inside the house, stopping by the laundry room near the entryway to take off his dirty boots. He quickly stripped off all his filthy work clothes, absentmindedly tossing them in the hamper. He spotted a clean, folded pair of sweatpants Gus had apparently laid out for him and pulled them on before making his way to the living room.
Surveying the room, Matt noticed his sleeping husband, curled up in the recliner. His mouth was open and he was drooling a little, but Matt still thought Gus looked adorable.
Matt laughed a little, shaking his head and sighing as he approached. He climbed up onto the chair next to Gus, who stirred as he slowly woke up. Gus latched onto him, turning over to snuggle into his side and wrap his arms around Matt’s torso.
“Welcome home, babe,” Gus mumbled sleepily into Matt’s skin.
“Mhmm,” Matt responded, leaving a self-indulgent kiss on Gus’s forehead. He always missed his other half when he was away at work (no matter how much he would deny it if anyone asked), but tonight he was feeling particularly clingy and sappy.
One of Matt’s arms wormed its way around Gus, holding him tightly. They stayed there, cuddling in silence for what felt like forever. Matt even wondered if Gus had maybe fallen back to sleep.
Until, that is, they heard cries coming from Cici’s room—clearly, she’d woken up and needed something. Gus let go of Matt and stretched his arms and legs out, yawning. He moved to get up, about to go check on her like he normally did, but Matt stopped him, his hand on Gus’s arm.
“Gus, wait. I’ll handle it.”
Gus blinked at him, curious about the change in routine. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I got this. How about you go get ready for bed while I check on Cice and see what she needs?”
Gus thought for a second. “Actually, how’s a midnight snack sound? I could heat something up for us.”
“Oh. Yeah, okay, I could eat,” Matt grinned, his chipped tooth flashing in the low light as he shifted in the chair and prepared to stand up.
Gus kissed Matt on the cheek before letting him go check on their daughter. Cici’s cries quieted pretty soon after Matt disappeared from Gus’s sight, and he smiled as he headed to the kitchen.
He dug around in the fridge for a minute before emerging triumphantly with some leftover spaghetti and eyeballs Matt had made a couple days ago, spooning some out onto a plate and popping it into the microwave. He marveled to himself, pondering how the denizens of the Boiling Isles had begun using human realm appliances to supplement their magic and the established way of doing things since Belos’s reign had ended some 20 years prior. Gus was proud to have had a hand in restoring and adding to their culture, and he was glad to have helped create a world for his and Matt’s daughter that was far better than the way either of them grew up.
As Gus pulled the hot plate out of the microwave, food steaming, Matt walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing his face into the space between his neck and shoulder and breathing in deeply.
“Hey there, you,” Gus laughed, setting down the plate and drawing a spell circle in the air to bring silverware over to them as Matt kissed the nape of his neck. Gus turned his head, meeting his husband’s gaze with tired eyes. “We gonna eat or not?”
Matt grinned, loosening his hold on Gus. “Sure thing, boss,” he saluted. Gus rolled his eyes, but they managed to make their way to the table, food and silverware in hand as they sat down next to each other to eat.
They ate in relative silence for a couple minutes, the only sounds their forks clinking against the plate and the quiet hum of the refrigerator behind them. Gus pushed an eyeball around with his fork, not making eye contact.
“So…how was work?” Gus finally asked, catching Matt off-guard with a mouthful of pasta. He hastily finished chewing and swallowed.
“Pretty normal for the last day of the week, I guess. OH! Oh my Titan, I almost forgot. Jim’s kid was there shadowing us all night. You remember them, right?” Matt gestured with his fork in the air and Gus nodded. “So, I got to show them the second shift supervisor ropes. I think Jim said they’re graduating university next semester and they’re looking to start work right away, so I’ll probably be seeing more of them, I suppose…”
Matt trailed off, noticing the look on Gus’s face. He stopped mid thought to consider how Gus had wanted to stay up with him rather than go to bed, even though he was clearly exhausted. “Okay. What’s wrong?”
Gus’s head snapped up, his eyes widening. “What?”
“I know you, Augustus. Did something happen while I was gone?”
Gus sighed, putting down his fork. “ Okay . I guess, nothing really bad happened or anything, but…” He took a deep breath and the floodgates burst all of a sudden. “Things just felt so off without you here, and I just felt like I was fucking everything up…first at work today there was a fight between some students and then I messed up making Cici’s formula and it exploded everywhere and that’s SUPPOSED to be simple but I ruined it anyway,” he paused to breathe before diving right back into his rant. “And the house felt so quiet and empty and lonely without you and we’ve barely had any time for just us lately, and I feel awful for saying it because I know how excited you’ve been to go back to work but mother Titan , I miss you.”
Matt stared at him, shock written on his face at how much Gus had kept bottled up. Gus looked down, embarrassed now that all his cards were on the table. Matt chewed on his lower lip, thinking.
Finally, he turned in his seat and reached for Gus’s hands, holding them in his. “Honestly, I’ve kind of been feeling some of the same things. It’s probably stupid to miss being here for the evening routine with Cice even though I’m already home with her all day, but…yeah.” Gus stared into his eyes again, encouraging him to continue. “I guess…well, you know how my parents were always working and missed everything when I was growing up.”
“Yeah, they basically abandoned you and left you and Steve to fend for yourselves. I’m aware,” Gus spoke up, a dark, stormy look in his deep grey eyes.
“I just…Well, I just don’t want Cici to feel like I did, I guess. I worry sometimes about working too much and missing out on things.”
“You’re not like them,” Gus responded earnestly, gripping Matt’s hands and lacing their fingers together, his thumb rubbing over Matt’s tanned and callused skin. “Not in a million years, Matt.”
Matt brought their interlocked hands up to his lips and kissed the soft skin of Gus’s knuckles, rendered speechless at his husband’s words of reassurance. Gus turned a hand over, cupping Matt’s cheek in his palm.
“All these years and we’re still dumb as hell about sharing our feelings, huh?” Matt chuckled under his breath.
Gus snorted. “Sure, Matty . At least we haven’t had a slap fight in 20 years, if nothing else.”
Matt grinned in response, leaning forward. “Who says we can’t right now?” he teased.
Gus rolled his eyes so hard, he thought they might roll right out of his skull. “Matthaniel Fenris Tholomule-Porter–” Matt made a noise of protest hearing his full name. “–I swear on all my illusionist ancestors, if your grown ass tries to have a fucking slap fight with me…”
Matt leaned in and kissed the tip of Gus’s nose. “Oh, I wouldn’t dare .”
Gus grinned. “That’s more like it.” He tugged his smirking husband in for a real kiss.
They finished eating and left the dishes to soak overnight in the sink, Matt promising to wash them in the morning. At long last, they made their way to their bedroom, stopping briefly to check that Cici was still asleep.
Since it was the weekend, Gus didn’t bother laying out robes for the following day like he normally would on a school night. He sleepily pulled on a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top he was pretty sure was Matt’s—the ripped sleeves gave it away—while Matt brushed his teeth in the adjacent bathroom. Once dressed for bed, Gus joined Matt in the bathroom, brushing his own teeth before putting on his bonnet and beginning his skincare routine.
Matt, having just splashed his own face with some water to rinse off the construction site grime from earlier that evening, was washing his hands when he noticed Gus was almost done. He reached for the moisturizer before Gus could begin applying it. “Here, let me,” he said, carefully spreading a thin layer over his husband’s skin. Gus’s eyelids fluttered closed, long eyelashes blinking against his cheeks as he melted under Matt’s touch.
Finally both ready for bed, they crawled under the sheets, lying close together. Gus sighed, knowing they didn’t actually come up with a solution to their problem during their earlier conversation. He traced a pattern with his finger on Matt’s chest, listening to him breathe and watching the subtle rise and fall.
“So…” Gus began.
“So..?”
“I guess, I was just wondering what you want to do about the job thing.”
Matt gently ran his fingers along Gus’s arm. “Well, I think I might have a solution. I could switch to working from home in the evenings? That way I can be here with you and Cice and I won’t get home in the middle of the night anymore.”
Gus’s palm flattened against Matt’s chest. “Are…are you sure?” he asked in a small voice, even as Matt nodded in response. “It’s just…I know how much you love your job, not to mention it’s a pay decrease and a position decrease. You don’t have to do all that if you don’t really want to.”
Matt pulled Gus in closer and kissed his forehead, effectively shutting down his negative train of thought. “I’m sure. I’ve been thinking about it even before tonight, but I never had a really good reason to consider it before you said something. Plus, I’d rather be here with both of you than miss out on anything.”
He paused for a second, thinking through his next words. “We can work it out again with my boss in a few years when Cici’s old enough for school, maybe. If you’re still working at Hexside, that is.”
“Oh,” Gus breathed, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, that could work.” His lips split into a full grin and his voice took on a teasing tone. “As long as I don’t get sick of having you around again or anything.”
Matt glared at him half-heartedly. “I changed my mind! Don’t want to be around you after all!”
Gus just laughed, leaning in closer and resting his forehead against Matt’s. “I think we BOTH know that’s a lie, asshole.”
“Maybe so,” Matt shot back, rapidly losing the bite in his tone as he stared down at Gus’s lips.
Gus took notice and blinked slowly before reaching up to grab Matt’s chin and pull him in, that final inch of space between them disappearing at last as their lips met. He was suddenly overwhelmed with how much he loved this stupid man, who’d loved him in return since they were dumb teenagers too scared to say they liked each other.
He drew back all of a sudden and Matt gave him a look of confusion.
“Do…do you ever feel like I’m abandoning you during the day with my job?” Gus asked, a faint quiver of uncertainty in his voice.
Matt looked completely flabbergasted. “ What ?? No, not at all!”
“I just feel a little guilty, I guess.” Gus was panicking a little and shrinking into himself, still unsure.
“I promise, I don’t feel that way at all, Gus. One of us has to work full-time anyways, right?” Gus nodded. “Plus, you love teaching those kids and you have better hours than my job. Even if I miss you sometimes, that doesn’t mean I think you’re abandoning me–OR Cici, for that matter.” He noticed Gus was still a little shaken up and he reached for his hand. “Breathe, baby. It’s okay, I’m here.”
Gus inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, counting in his head to ground him as he watched Matt mouth the numbers silently, still gripping his hand tightly. This many years into their relationship, Matt had walked him through countless panic attacks, both large and small—like this one.
When Gus had gotten his heart rate back under control, Matt let go of his hand and cupped his face in both palms. “You are a great husband and an amazing dad. I hate hearing you doubt yourself.”
Gus could only manage a nod as he stared up into Matt’s eyes. Matt raised his lips to Gus’s forehead, pressing a soft and gentle kiss into his skin. When he pulled away, Gus cuddled in closer, wishing not for the first time that he and Matt could just meld into one.
“Titan, I love you,” Gus breathed into his neck. “Cici and I are so lucky you’re ours.”
Matt smiled and rubbed soothing circles into Gus’s back, his hands methodical in their ministrations. “We’re just as lucky to have you too, babe.”
Gus was just starting to feel the pull of sleep, warm and safe tucked into Matt’s arms, when he heard Cici’s cries again. He groaned a little at having to disentangle himself from his cozy husband.
“I’ll get it,” Matt said, a hand on Gus’s chest to keep him in bed.
“You got her last time.”
Matt was already getting out of bed and Gus jumped up to follow him. Matt looked at him, confused. “It’s okay Gus, I don’t mind.”
“No, we can check on her together,” Gus grinned. “We always work better as a team anyway, and this way, no one misses a moment.”
Matt just laughed and shook his head. Gus was probably just as sleep deprived as Matt was (if not more), but it was worth it. Being near his husband and baby girl for every moment would always be worth it.