Chapter Text
The bell on the door rang as Willow pushed it open, Gus followed behind her as they entered. This bakery was adorable, he was used to just passing it every day and wondering what it was like on the inside, but now that he was here it was super exciting!! The place had a cute aesthetic, it was all pink and red and there were even some cute strawberries painted on the walls, Willow ordered the signature Strawberry Cake Slice and got them both strawberry milkshakes, at least that’s what Gus thought she’d ordered, he was too busy wandering off. He quickly realized the bakery was not just a normal-themed bakery but also a cute little gift shop, with very cute merchandise. Very, very cute merchandise. Gus picked up a white pottery bowl, the top was lined with tiny painted-on strawberries and it was adorable. He put it down gently and continued deeper into the store when he saw someone. There wasn’t anyone in there when they had first entered, not from what he could see anyway, whoever this was must have been in the back looking around before they arrived, Gus being Gus hid behind the nearest shelf, he looked in-between the shelves, the figure seemed familiar, as the figure got closer Gus slowly got farther, he sucked in a breath and swiftly turned the corner to see who it was, only to find that no one was there??
“Huh,” Gus thought aloud
“BOO!” Someone shouted from behind him,
Gus shrieked and jumped back, the figure was Matt, and he was laughing at him. Gus’ cheeks grew red with embarrassment,
“Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t help it,” Matt said between tears,
“Yeah ha ha.” Gus rolled his eyes,
“Wait- what are you doing here??” Gus pointed an accusing finger at him, Matt went red slightly, opening and closing his mouth trying to find a way to tell him what he was up to, Gus smiled, he and Matt were only just becoming friends, and seeing him embarrassed was a first, and catching him somewhere as cutesy as this was certainly unexpected,
“Augustus!” Willow's voice rang out from somewhere behind them, Gus jolted slightly, Matt seemed to relax somewhat,
“This isn’t over!” Gus squinted at him, Matt only smirked,
“AUGUSTUS!!” Willow yelled again,
“Sure it isn’t,” Matt joked,
Gus rushed off past Matt, making sure to hit his shoulder as he went, and went over to where his friend was, he took a seat across the table and offered a cheeky smile, she looked unpleased.
“What took you so long?” She questioned,
Gus opened his mouth to answer but when he heard the bell above the door ring again he practically snapped his neck around, Matt was leaving the store,
“See you next time Mattholomule!!” An employee yelled out,
Gus laughed as he watched his newest friend from outside the window as he squirmed away,
“Who is that?” Willow said in a suspicious tone, her eyes narrowed at him and Gus could see the slight smile on her lips,
“A new friend,” Gus answered honestly, he purposefully avoided eye contact as he spoke, somehow afraid Willow knew something that he didn’t,
Willow hummed and handed Gus a fork, he took the first bite of cake and was delighted with how it tasted, so much so that he immediately went for more, sipping a bit on his milkshake as he went,
“Someone has a sweet tooth huh?” Willow smiled sweetly at him,
“This is amazing!” Gus agreed,
“Although I don’t like the taste of strawberries, you can have them all.”
-
This wasn’t stalking. It was observing..! Yeah, just observing. That’s what Gus kept telling himself at least, ever since he’d caught Matt here he’d waited for him to come back, everyday, same time. If he didn’t show up he pretended to look around a little bit and left, this was the third time he’d got lucky this week alone, and he was never caught! Willow said it was kind of stalkerish and weird considering they were friends now but Gus didn’t know Matt well enough to just approach him and make conversation like a normal human being, no, he had to take his time with this, and by NOT stalking him but observing, he could get to know him better without having to be awkward. Plus, he was kind of pretty. From afar of course, and there’s no harm done when admiring from afar! Gus watched as he went up to the counter to order, no doubt to get his usual, a medium orange soda, which was weird as hell for someone in a strawberry-themed bakery, and a strawberry ice cream cone, which was also really weird considering he was eating it with an orange soda? An odd combination but honestly it was kind of funny, it was soo...Matt. Was that crazy? Nah. This was totally normal.
“Can I help you?”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH”
…
Matt cocked his head slightly as he looked at him. Gus had been staring and thinking for so long he must not have realized that the boy in question had noticed him and was now a foot in front of him. Gus smiled awkwardly,
“I was just about to leave soo..”
“You were watching me, you weren’t gonna order anything?” Matt looked even more confused now,
Gus blinked,
“Yes. I was going to do that.”
A smile quirked the corner of Matt’s lips, he must’ve thought he was insane.
“Well, be my guest,” Matt motioned toward the counter, he looked him up and down once more before making his way over to a table. Gus let out a sigh of relief and anxiously looked over at the counter, if he left it would be super suspicious. He had to order something. Slowly but surely, he approached the cashier, said person looked up at him and smiled
“What can I getcha?” They said in a cheery tone,
“Uhhhh-“
“Today is Strawberry Saturday, so every slice of our original strawberry cake is 50% percent off!!”
“Cool, I’ll take that.” Gus smiled at them, only agreeing because that was the cheapest option, and he wasn’t sure how much money he had,
The cashier put the order in the machine and Gus handed her a card, she swiped it and gave him a look,
“It declined..”
A snicker was heard from behind them, Gus whipped around to see Matt quickly look away and pretend to do something on his phone, but he was smiling, asshole.
“Sorry about that,” Gus tried as he took his card back, the cashier offered a friendly smile as Gus left the store. The bell rang as he pushed through the door, embarrassed, Gus sat at one of the tables outside. He flipped out his phone and opened it to contacts, he was about to call Luz to come drive him home when he heard a ring noise, the bell door. He turned around to see what looked to be a couple coming out, he sighed and rolled his eyes until he noticed the scrawny figure exiting behind them, Matt. When Matt saw him he made a funny face and came up to him, he dropped a bag in front of him and sat next to him at the table. Gus gave him a look but looked inside of the bag and low and behold, there was the strawberry cake.
“You…” Gus started, not sure whether to thank him or not,
Matt went a little red,
“Yeah, well. It was kinda sad you couldn’t even afford it despite it being half-off,”
“You laughed.” Gus said sarcastically,
“I did.” Matt chuckled again, and Gus smiled at the sound. Gus pulled the cake out of the bag and opened up the container, he opened the plastic package containing the fork and handed it to Matt who seemed surprised he was offering him any. But he took it and tried some, handing the fork over to Gus when he finished. Gus watched as Matt’s eyes lit up, Gus munched on some cake himself and smiled at him,
“Never had this before?” He asked,
Matt glanced at him,
“It’s been a while, that’s all.”
Gus accidentally ate a piece of strawberry and made a face, Matt laughed at him,
“What’s wrong with you?” He snickered,
“I don’t like strawberries, just the cake.” Gus shrugged,
“Dude seriously? I love them! I’ll get down on any strawberry you don’t want!”
Gus broke out into a fit of light-hearted laughter,
“Okay weirdo, they’re all yours.”
Matt smiled, took the fork, shoveled a sizable chunk off the cake, and stuffed it into his mouth. Gus was surprised he hadn’t choked.
“Jesus, that good?” Gus teased,
“Shutbupnerd,” Matt said while still chewing,
“Hey, that reminds me of something!” Gus smiled,
Matt looked up at him and swallowed,
“Yeah?”
“The olive theory!”
“The hell is that?”
“Let me explain. It’s about a girl and a guy, I don’t remember the names-probably not important- but basically, one of them hates olives the other loves them, and part of that is what makes them such a good couple!” Gus explained,
“Couple?” Matt went a little red again,
Gus quickly retorted,
“No- I meant. Like- it’s kinda like us? But like with strawberries and without the couple part!!”
Matt avoided eye contact, he tucked some hair behind his ear nervously,
“Yeah no I get it.”
Just then, as if a miracle was sent straight from God, Gus got a text, it was his dad.
“I’ve gotta go,” Gus said, packing up the cake and putting the container back into the bag, he got to his feet and looked over at Matt
“Thanks for the cake, will you be here tomorrow?”
“Yeah? Same time,” Matt replied in a confused tone,
“Cool! See you tomorrow then!” Gus flashed him a smile as he ran off,
Matt found himself smiling too. Couple. Huh. What a weirdo,
-
[Extra Scene]
Matt followed Gus around the half of the bakery full of merchandise, he’d already picked out two matching keychains and now he was looking for something he swore existed last time they were here. It’d been about four weeks since Matt first caught him staring and somehow ended up buying him that slice of cake, this place was kind of becoming some sort of weird tradition for them. After Gus finished up they’d order the usual strawberry cake slice and chow down while yapping about whatever the hell it is they talked about. Time flies fast when he’s with Gus.
“Oh my gosh.” Gus stopped in his tracks and gasped,
“Matty look at these glasses, aren’t they cute??” Gus held up two glass cups. Matt examined them,
“Little red strawberries?” He gave him an unintentional up-and-down look,
“No good?” Gus frowned,
Matt felt a pang of guilt,
“If you want 'em buy 'em, I’m paying anyway.”
“But you don’t like them! I can’t buy them both unless we’re both gonna use one!” Gus whined,
“I don’t really care what we use, let’s just finish up,” Matt tried,
“But you don’t like the little red strawberries..” Gus looked down at the glasses and then back up at Matt,
“No, I love little red strawberries,” Matt offered a smile,
Gus’ eyes lit up,
“To eat.” Matt finished with a smirk,
Gus gave him a sarcastic look but put the glasses in the red shopping basket nonetheless,
“Let’s head up front,” Gus smiled softly at him,
Matt felt his cheeks redden slightly, he only nodded, Gus cheerily grabbed his hand and dragged him to the front, he handed Matt the basket and went to wait outside. When Matt finished ordering and paying for whatever Gus had put in the basket he went and found him.
“My place?” Gus asked, even though he knew the answer,
“Yeah,” Matt smiled,
“Let’s go.”