Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Matt stared down at the news report on his phone, every new paper had something to do with him, and a lot of them were bad. 

‘Spider-Menace!! The truth behind Spider-Cement!!’

‘Captain Steve is attacked by Spider-Man?!?!?!’

‘Captain Steve expected to make full recovery after violent attack!!!:))’

Gus snatched the phone out of Matt’s hand before he could continue scrolling down,

“This is all a load of crap you know that?” Gus sternly spoke,

Matt looked up at him solemnly, his motivation withered with each new paper that was published, it didn’t help that a lot of them were under Gus’ name, despite the fact he made it clear he didn’t think of Spider-Cement as some horrible villain the news tended to twist his writings and opinions up a little bit, to make it more newsworthy, to get people more engaged and to get people to gossip, the entire thing was draining, Steve had been in the hospital for months now, he was conscious at least, but he didn’t seem to remember what happened that night, he didn’t remember that Matt was Spider-Man either, which he supposed was for the better given that it might have caused his brother to reveal his identity to staff,

“Matt, it’s not your fault.” Gus reached out across the lunch table and gripped his hand,

“I know,” Matt sighed 

Although it was weird now that Gus knew his identity it was also comforting. He didn’t change his attitude towards him much, there’s some extra teasings here and there, some slip-ups when they’re out in public and he’s certainly gotten more protective but who could blame him? If Matt found out Gus was a superhero fighting dangerous villains he’d get way protective, like never leave his side kind of protective, as if he wasn’t like that already. Gus frowned but handed him his phone, Matt stuffed it in his pocket and opened up his journal instead, he’d been sketching down ‘The Purple Devil’, she was his main enemy, and he needed to know about her. Her abilities, when she normally attacked and where, her weaknesses, all that good stuff. Though he had decent handwriting his notes weren’t exactly the neatest….

“Still trying to figure out when she’ll next strike?”

“Yeah, I track down every time she attacks but it never makes any sense, there’s no pattern to it, no logic behind it! Like she just terrorizes people whenever she feels like it!” Matt ranted,

Gus offered a reassuring smile,

“You’ll figure it out,” 

“Sure hope so,” Matt muttered under his breath, letting out a groan of annoyance,

Suddenly Matt’s journal was snatched from beneath him, the girl behind it? Boscha. Matt jumped and tried to snatch it back from her, Boscha only chuckled and waved it up in the air while shifting her eyes to look at it,

“Dude, your down soo bad.” Boscha mocked him,

Matt cringed and out of embarrassment his cheeks reddened,

“I do NOT like..her!” Matt struggled to get his stuff back, he acted as if he would throw up if he used Bria’s name,

“Don’t be so shy loser, who wouldn’t like her, she’s so much cooler than Spider-Menace!” Boscha seemed proud of herself 

“What?” Gus and Matt both paused to say in unison

Boscha flipped through the pages,

“Give it back Asshole!” Matt demanded,

“Ew, you obsessed with superheroes and villains or something?” Boscha casually ripped out a page, tore it in half, and shoved it at Matt who fell back into his chair, Gus was on his feet now,

“And apparently Augustus,” Boscha smirked as she showed them both drawings he’d made of Gus, said boy snatched the journal from her and gave her a stern ‘get lost’ look, Boscha laughed and walked off, Gus handed the journal back to Matt who scowled as he watched her walk off,

“I hate her.” He mumbled,

Gus shot her a glance before she disappeared into a hallway,

“Me too,” he muttered,

“You okay?” Gus looked down at the papers on the floor, he bent down to pick them up and Matt didn’t notice him looking until the last minute, Gus looked down at the paper in his hands, holding them together to form a full picture, he went quiet and his eyes widened slightly, Matt sighed and assumed the worst,

“No good?” 

“Are you kidding me?” Gus looked up at him, he broke out into a smile,

“This is amazing!” Gus was grinning now. Matt looked up at him in surprise, a smile attempted to form but confusion overwhelmed him and instead, he half-smiled,

“You think so?”

“I KNOW so! You’re great at drawing Matty,” Gus handed him the two halves of paper, Matt delicately slid the papers inside his journal just to shove it into his backpack and zip it up, hugging it close to him as he looked up at his friend,

“Thanks..” Matt smiled genuinely, 

“Sure!” Gus beamed,

Just then the bell rang, Matt jumped to his feet and Gus swiftly packed everything up, Matt walked Gus to class per usual and then headed to his, he risked being late every single time but it wasn’t like he cared too much for chemistry. Gus practically skipped down the hallway as he and Matt talked on the way to his classroom, anytime someone gave him a weird look Matt scowled at them which tended to quickly get across his message. Gus was bubbly and fun and energetic and although Matt wasn’t quite like his friend personality wise that’s part of what made them such a good duo. Once they arrived at Gus’ classroom his friend did a very dramatic bow that made Matt stifle down a laugh before he was rushed into the classroom by Willow who had been awaiting his arrival, feeling satisfied Matt subconsciously smiled and walked off to head to class, he felt relatively happy and calm around this time of the school day, that was, until Boscha showed up beside him.

“Hey, nerd!” Boscha greeted him with a sly smile

Matt groaned and picked up his walking pace, Boscha matched his speed immediately, stopping him in front of some lockers,

“Your dad never teach you respect?” She snapped,

“My DAD, hasn’t taught me shit,” Matt replied, he laughed at his traumatic unfunny joke, 

“Okay, daddy issues. I have a question.”

Matt raised an eyebrow,

“I saw those drawings, what do you know about Bria?” She questioned him,

Ahhh. Boscha must know her girlfriend's secret identity, and she’s probably wondering if HE knows, Matt smiled and decided to entertain this,

“I know that she’s The Purple Devil,” Matt flexed his hand as he pretended to analyze his nails,

“Why? Jealous I found out before you did?” 

Boscha slammed a fist into a locker door, Matt looked her up and down, the girl takes things wayy too personally.

“Jealous? Of you?” Boscha backed up off the locker and shook her fist slightly,

“Why would I be jealous of a low-life, homosexual asshole, disgusting waste of space human being who can’t hold a friendship to save his LIFE.” 

“Damn,” Matt admitted aloud,

“Since when were you so mean?” Matt mocked,

Boscha scoffed and rolled her eyes,

“Also I can totally hold friendships. I’m amazing at making friends!” Matt fake bragged,

Boscha snorted,

“Amazing at making them disappear maybe! A word of advice, stick to what your best at, being the last resort.” Boscha whipped her ponytail in his face as she walked off,

Damn. Matt clenched a hand to his heart as he grasped the clothing of his T-shirt in a fist full. He let out a sigh and continued to class, Boscha was stupid. This school was stupid. A small spike shot up in front of Matt startling him, rather than worried he was annoyed, he rolled his eyes and walked off to head to class. Until he was stopped, again..

“Why aren’t you in class?” Some random ass teacher approached him,

“I’m headed to class right now,” Matt tried to walk off,

“Yeah right. To the principal's office!” The teacher scoffed, stepping in front of him,

Matt grumbled a word or two under his breath as he walked off and toward the office,

“What was that?” The teacher asked in a stern voice,

Matt turned around and flashed a fake grin,

“Nothing!” He said quickly as he scurried off. Once he was far enough to be out of sight he made a turn away from the office, he walked down the hallway that Gus was in, slipped his hood on, and ever so casually pulled down on a nearby fire alarm, chaos began to unfold, students rushed out of classrooms and teachers failed to keep them in order, Matt stood outside of his friend’s classroom, once he saw him he tugged on his cardigan and pulled him to the side,

“Matt? What are you doing in this hallway?” Gus’ face went from confused to stern,

Matt only smiled,

“We’re leaving, surprise!” 

“Tell me you didn’t pull the fire alarm, AGAIN?” 

….

“Would you believe me if I said no-?” 

Gus gave him a look of disappointment, but eventually, he chuckled, 

“Alright, let’s go.”

-

Matt lay on a pillow on Gus’ lap in his bedroom, his dad wasn’t home so he was finally at peace, no school, no dad, just Gus. Perfect. Besides the thought that Boscha may have been right about him.

“Augustus.” Matt shifted on the pillow slightly,

Gus turned off his phone to look at him,

“What’s up?”

“Am I bad at making friends?”

Gus considered his question for a moment,

“I don’t think so,” he sounded sure of himself as he spoke, 

“Really?” Matt looked up at him,

“Really.” Gus began to play with his bangs as he spoke,

“Why do you ask?” Gus questioned, glancing into his eyes,

Matt’s eyes locked on his friends, he swallowed,

“Something Boscha said..that’s all.”

Gus nodded understandably, but he noticeably took a quiet deep breath in and out,

“Don’t let her get to your head,” He offered a soft smile as he twisted a piece of his hair in his finger, Matt tried to smile as well,

“Yeah, I know.”

Just then Matt’s phone rang, he groaned thinking it was his dad but when he saw who was calling he sat up and answered immediately, Gus watched him cautiously, there were some murmurs before the conversation ended with Matt saying he’d be right there, Gus gave him a confused look,

“I need to go to the hospital,” Matt stated as he scurried for a bag and threw in some random supplies, 

“I’m coming with you,” Gus sat up quickly,

Matt looked at him a moment as he continued throwing whatever was necessary into his bag, he just nodded, there was no point in trying to convince him to stay here. 

“Let’s go.”

-

By the time Matt and Gus got there, the hospital was chaotic, per usual. But today particularly there was a lot of commotion, and Gus didn’t feel good about it at all. Something was off and he didn’t know what. Matt seemed anxious, but Gus wasn’t sure what was happening or what to do, just that Matt had gotten a call and now they were here. They walked into an elevator and went to Steve’s room on the second floor. Before Matt could even touch the handle a nurse approached and rushed them backwards. A few doctors ran into the room and Matt looked dazed, Gus tried to get his attention but his eyes didn’t pull away from that door, they were sitting right outside his door on a bench. Gus hugged his friend close, Matt leaned into his touch as they waited anxiously for an update or even for an answer, neither of them knew what was happening, or what was going to happen. They sat there silently for a solid ten minutes before Matt finally had enough, he jumped up and ran into the room, Gus chased after him. Steve lay still on the bed, doctors gathered around him, it looked as if they were performing an emergency procedure, but neither of them saw much before being rushed out again. Gus was easily pushed out of the room but Matt put up a fight, they had two people attempt to calm him down and get him to exit the room, Gus watched in horror as his friend screamed and cried, once they got him out they locked the door and Matt collapsed to the floor, Gus came to his side and Matt attacked him in a hug. They sat there on the floor as Matt sobbed in his arms. Gus offered soothing words as he hugged him tight. Another ten minutes passed and Matt was pacing holes into the floor, Gus noticed small spikes beginning to form where he walked, eventually he stepped on one slightly, jumping back and looking at the floor as he went, he made them disappear with a practiced ease and went back to stress pacing. A doctor left the room and approached them, Gus stood up and held Matt's hand as they awaited the news,

“We’re sorry.” Was all the doctor said as he looked to the ground,  

“He’s gone.”  

Matt looked starstruck, Gus held him closer as he looked to the doctor,
 
“I don’t understand…he was on life support, he was expected to make a full recovery.” Gus’ voice cracked as he went,

The doctor looked at him anxiously,

“We think someone might’ve purposely pulled his plug.”

“What?!” Matt snapped out of his trance, he seemed to slip into Gus’ arms, as if he were about to pass out, Gus cautiously led him over to a bench and they sat down together,

“I’ll give you both some time to process.” The doctor skittered off,

“First day on the job much?” Matt spoke sarcastically even through his tears and voice cracks,

“Who would do this?” Gus thought aloud,

Matt sniffled and sat up, wiping at his tears with his wrists he stood up and turned to Gus. He didn’t know how to describe how his friend looked right now, his eyes flashed an orange color, and he looked as if ready to murder or break down crying, a spike shot up from beneath Gus, breaking the bench in half, he hurried up and looked over at Matt, his friend wiped a single tear from his face, and Gus realized within an instant that the spike was no accident,

“We’re going to find out.” 

Chapter Text

Gus knocked on his friend's window, he hadn’t ever really been out ever since Steve was announced dead, and that was over four weeks ago. Occasionally Spider-Cement would show up to do his heroic duties, but Matt Tholomule refused to leave his room. He needs a break, but he also thinks he’s making his brother proud by continuing to be heroic even in tough times, Gus thinks he should at least rest a while. He is supposed to be moving in with him and his dad, for the time being at least, but all he could seem to think about was who killed his brother, and how much he wanted to get payback. He spent every waking moment either fighting as Spider-Cement or trying to figure out Steve’s case as Matt. Gus was worried about him, it was beginning to feel…unhealthy. Gus had been trying to convince himself it was his way of going through the stages of grief, but well, he wasn’t so sure anymore. The window creaked to life, startling Gus out of his thoughts, he entered the room feeling eerie, it was very, very messy. In a way that made Gus wonder how he even managed in here. Matt was on the floor, staring at a board he’d made, it was full of “potential subjects”. The doctors had made little progress, the cameras were old and glitchy and presumably, it wasn’t like anyone in their little town to sneak into rooms and pull people's plugs just for the hell of it. Gus took a deep breath and dropped some papers onto Matt’s bed, some work he’d missed, it was shorter than the other student's work given his situation at the moment. Gus approached with a smile, hoping to seem friendly,

“Heyy Matty, how are we doing?” He sat next to him, grocery bag in hand, hiding the concern in his voice

Matt turned to look at him, he offered a mischievous, broken-looking kind of smile, he came to another “conclusion” no doubt, Gus put on his best sympathetic face,

“I figured it out,” Matt spoke, his voice was raspy, it was probably the first words he’d spoken that day,

“Really?” Gus breathed out,

“Yep!” Matt leaned back on the palm of his hands, he lifted one finger to point towards the board,

“Bria.” His voice came out as a whisper as it creaked,

“Hmm,” Gus gave him a look,

“You’re sure this time?” 

Matt rolled his eyes,

“Positive.” He said sternly,

Gus sighed and opened his grocery bag, he took out a clear plastic container, and inside was a piece of strawberry cake, he and Matt would go and buy one every few weeks, they hadn’t been able to recently so he’d thought it would be a good idea to bring some, maybe give his friend some grounding. Plus, he couldn’t eat it without him, it wouldn’t have felt right. Exactly as Gus wanted, Matt's eyes lit up at the sight, Gus smiled, opened the container, and offered him a plastic black fork, one of which was immediately snatched out of his hand, together they lay in comfortable silence, just them and some delicious strawberry cake, Gus accidentally picked up a piece of strawberry and offered the piece to Matt who happily bit it off his fork, Gus gave him a look, he expected him to use his hand to get it off, not his mouth. Matt stuck out his tongue in response and Gus laughed slightly, it was a nice bittersweet kind of moment, and he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Matt was letting him in, even if only for the moment, soon enough he’d ask him about packing and he’d be shut out all over again, Matt wasn’t ready to leave. He knew that, but he shouldn’t have to live like this. No one should. Gus shuddered looking around the room, he went for another bite, thinking over how he should approach the topic this time, Matt always seemed to respond violently, his room got worse and worse every time he returned it seemed. Without warning Matt stood up and made his way toward the board,

“Think about it, Augustus! Bria hates Spider-Man, and me, well- I am Spider-Man. But that’s not the point-“ Matt started rambling,

“Matt- I don’t think this is-“ Gus tried,

“Now I know Bria would never be able to sneak into a hospital, their cameras are shit but they have good security, so she must have snuck into the place as The Purple Devil!!” Matt explained, ignoring Gus’ previous attempt at speech,

“I don’t think she’d kill my brother just because she hates me, but I know that she would do anything to defeat an enemy, in this case, Steve.” Matt’s voice broke slightly at the sound of his brother's name,

Gus noticed this and decided to just play along with this, just once more,

“An enemy??”

“Yes, as The Purple Devil. Spider-Man and the authorities have a rocky relationship but we have a common goal, locking up the bad guys. Bria, being one of those bad guys, saw an easy way to get rid of the captain of the police force in a weakened state and struck.” 

Gus cocked his head slightly and squinted at his friend's board. What he was saying wasn’t completely untrue, actually it kind of..made sense?? But even then Bria is their age, no way she’d kill anyone. But then...Gus didn’t know her as well as Matt did, he’s said before Bria has a Kill-or-get-killed type attitude about her, as does he, but he didn’t think he meant it literally. 

“Alright, I’m following,” Gus eventually replied, hesitantly looking back up at his friend who seemed to have some sort of supervillain glint in his eye despite being a superhero…

“I know that it was her.” Matt sounded angry but so sure of himself, 

“I’m going to confront her, the next time she causes chaos today as The Purple Devil.”

Gus did a double-take,
“What?”

“When I see her, it’s. on. sight.” Matt spoke sarcastically,

“No, Matty, that’s not a good idea.” 

Now it was Matt’s turn to be confused,
“What?” 

Gus hesitated, he looked mad, 

“You aren’t well M, I’m afraid if you fight her you won’t hold back.” Gus got to his feet, he took a step toward him but a spike shot up in front of him before he could get any closer, Matt’s eyes flashed that same bright orange color, the same color he’d seen that night at the hospital when he declared he was going to find out who killed his brother. The same orange that scared the life out of him, Gus backed up slightly, the spike disappeared with a snap of his friend's fingers. Matt seemed to take a deep breath before doing anything else,

“I’m going out, I’ll be waiting for her to strike, and when she does you won’t stop me from fighting her.” He spoke, his tone was demanding, this wasn’t a request. Gus stood in shock as Matt simply walked over to his bed,

“You’re not pushing me away this time. If you’re implying what I think you’re implying then you know there’s no going back from something like that,” Gus walked over to him, this time unafraid when another spike shot up, Matt’s expression changed for a split second before toughening up again,

“I’m going to follow you.” Gus firmly stated,

“No you’re not, this is your last warning.” Matt didn’t dare look at him, 

“What are you gonna do if I don’t listen? Cut me with a piece of wood?” Gus folded his arms

Matt made a funny noise under his breath,
“Something like that,” he spoke quietly, walking away from him and grabbing his mask off a nearby dresser as he went. Gus strained to move toward him, confused when he couldn’t lift his feet, he looked down, Matt had trapped him. Matt offered a sly, sympathetic smile from across the room, he entered his closet to change into his suit without a word. Gus tried and failed to get free, a minute passed and Matt exited the closet, Gus let out a loud tired sigh,

“That's your plan? To keep me trapped in here until you finish?” 

“Pretty much,” Matt shrugged as if it was a compliment and made his way for the window, just as he was about to put his mask on he hesitated, Gus took advantage of that,

“Aren’t you supposed to be the good guy?!” Gus shouted at him,

Matt froze in place,
“I AM the good guy.” He turned around and narrowed his eyes,

“If you try to stop me you’ll get yourself hurt, or worse, killed.” His voice shook as he spoke,

“I can’t let you die too.” A tear strayed and trailed down his face, but he quickly wiped it away,

Gus immediately regretted what he’d said. 
It went silent a minute, maybe ten, the silence seemed to stretch until Gus realized that Matt was approaching him, he avoided eye contact, Matt solemnly looked up at him, he looked as if trying to make a decision, torn between two wrongs or one right, Gus glanced over at him, no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t be to mad at him, and he was mad at him. But then Matt hugged him, and he couldn’t help but melt into his touch. 

Matt muttered something that sounded like an apology under his breath before he backed up and made his way toward the window, he slid his mask on and before he left turned around and webbed the remainder of the strawberry cake to him,

“Seriously?” Gus thought aloud,

Matt chuckled and smiled at him once before leaping out the window. Gus smiled slyly and reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, to his horror he heard another *thwip* and just like that it was out of his hands and onto the bed, the bed he’d be able to reach if his feet weren’t glued to the ground. 

“So close, yet, sooo far.” Matt teased, Gus looked up just in time to see him wink and leap out of the window again. The window closed with a thud, he was officially trapped, and Matt was officially on the way to making a terrible decision, he knew he had to help. No matter what Matt said, he could handle himself, powers or no powers, although, in this case, powers would be very helpful. Gus looked over at the phone, with a sigh he stretched out to get it, but he couldn’t reach it. He continued for ten minutes, took a five-minute break, and was back at it again, he settled on reaching for the bed's framing, his fingers barely grazed it, with another breath he reached and managed to wrap one hand around part of the frame, perfect!!! Using the little strength he had left he pulled it towards him, it moved an inch. Another tug, another inch. This was going to be harder than he thought…

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.”

Chapter Text

Matt closed the window behind him with a thump and pushed the thought of Gus to the back of his mind, Gus was safe, that's all that mattered. He ignored the pang of guilt as he swung to his usual lookout spot in town, instead he chose to focus on his anger. With each swing he got more frustrated, more angry. Every passing second Matt felt his rage grow to the point of no return, he landed at his destination quietly, sneaking near the edge of the rooftop and watching, waiting, plotting his next move, ready to finish Bria, once and for all. At first it wasn't so bad waiting for her to strike, but seconds turned to minutes and those minutes turned to hours, many hours. He began to wonder a little about Augustus, how he'd left things and if he was okay but he had bigger things to worry about when he spotted pink hair some distance away, he swung after the figure quietly, the figure stopped at a large sports stadium, glancing around a bit before entering, not many people had a key into such a place, so it wasn't hard to identify the culprit as none other than Boscha Brightman. Matt scoffed to himself,

“What are you doing Boscha?” he muttered to himself

After a moment of consideration he figured that there's a chance she’d lead him right to Bria, so he silently swung into the stadium through its open roof and hid behind the seats. Boscha entered the empty arena casually, stopped a little ways before the exact middle and waited with what Matt could only assume was a smirk from such a distance. The ground beneath them rumbled, and from the middle of the stadium arose The Purple Devil in her full glory on a throne made of stone, Matt almost laughed at the sight, she sure had pride. 

-

POV SHIFT: Bria:

Boscha smiled up at her,

“Nice of you to show up” She mocked,

Bria looked at her and hopped off her throne, giggling as she tackled her partner in crime with a hug and kissed her on the lips 

“Ready to do this?” Bria inquired

Boscha held her partners hand and smirked with pride,

“Of course I am, I've already set it up, go ahead my lady,”

“And you're sure the short circuit will be powerful enough for all the lights in town to go out?”

“This town is ass. And this is the biggest building that uses the most electricity, if this shuts down, so will the rest of this pathetic town, so yes, I'm sure bri.”

Bria started to laugh loud and high pitched, which turned into sinister cackling, it sounded so..natural, so evil, she loved it, it was thrilling, fun even. Meanwhile Boscha just smiled and giggled a little herself,

“I love you, ya know that?” Bria twirled at her girlfriends hair, sounding like a southern belle as she spoke,

Boscha grinned mischievously at that,

“Oh I know,” she stated, giving her girlfriend a look up and down in which Bria blushed,

“Oh lord, wrap it up.” A voice spoke from the audience, one lined with sarcasm and annoyance, one Bria recognized.

“Who are you.” Bria demanded, her voice echoing throughout the stadium, a spike conjuring by her side on command

“I know what you did” the voice answered back, whoever it was, they sounded insane. Bria did a 360, analyzing every seat in the stadium only to discover nothing, no one. Bria made sure to hold one of her girlfriends hands as a precaution. Then she heard it, a thwip, it happened so quick she almost didn't realize what was going on

-

Back to Matt:

Matt watched Boscha squirm on the floor, wrists, ankles and mouth covered with web so she couldn't move nor speak. Bria was quick to action but Matt wasn't having it, a spike threatened to strike him and he simply pushed Boscha in front of him, stopping Bria in her tracks but not in enough time to stop herself from slightly injuring the woman she loved. Bria stood there for a distant moment, her eyes were on her girlfriend, Matt knew she didn't care about anything else at that moment, and part of him felt bad, but a bigger part of him thought Bria had this coming.

“What do you want from me, Spider-Man?” Bria asked, Matt noted her voice was lined with a hint of concern, maybe even desperation.

He faked a smile,

“Why’d you kill the captain of the police force Purple Devil?” he asked way to casually

Said girl laughed,

“Steve Tholomule?-

Matt flinched at the name,

“I didn't kill him, flattered you thought of me though.” she finished,

Matt chuckled to himself,

“Alright fine, I'll ask again,” 

With practiced ease he summoned a spike, one threatening to hurt Boscha, The Purple Devil only glanced at her, Boscha looked at her with pleading eyes that made Matt roll his eyes, for a girl that bullied everyone she sure was a wimp.

“You won't do it.” Bria said almost teasingly before Matt could repeat his question, a nervous smile on her face like she wasn't sure she believed what she was speaking,

Matt tensed and slowly drew the spike closer, much to Boschas dismay..

“I won't?” he said mockingly

But the girl smiled and stood her ground, she took a step forward, Matt flinched but didn't attack so she took another,

“You’re a hero Spider-Man.” she stated simply, another step forward.

“I see straight through your little act,” another step, Matt watched her quietly, mind abuzz and exhausted, body frightening to give up on him, 

“You wouldn't hurt someone who's completely defenseless would you? What kind of a hero would that make you huh?” 

Matt breathed heavy as he took in her words, he knew he shouldn't listen, but she was right. He had no intention in hurting Boscha, though he wanted to.

“That's the thing about heroes I guess-” Bria started, Matt narrowed his eyes on her

“-you can always expect them to do something, well, heroic.” she finished, coming to a complete halt a couple feet away from Matt. That's when it happened. Matt felt it on his waist, striking pain of something wrapping around him and sending him flying into the audience seats, he hissed at the pain of the impact and swiftly attempted to get back on his feet but Bria was faster. She came to him in a flash and punched him down before he could get up. 

“Or as I like to call it, cowardly.” she growled,

Matt was on the ground being continuously punched by a girl with super strength, not the best feeling in the world. He barely managed to kick her in the stomach, sending her crashing into the arena. Matt stood up as fast as he possibly could, not without gasping at the intense pain he felt, and into the arena using his magic. Him and Bria took turns attacking and dodging each other, in his weakened physical state his magic seemed to be weakened as well, he threw up a wall in defense but Brias magic struck right through it, grabbing him once more and this time throwing him at the flagpole in the stadium, his back hit the cool metal with a loud bang, before he could pull himself together he was trapped, hands inseparable in rock and body seemingly attached to said flagpole. Bria approached him slowly, he’d been defeated, and Bria knew it too. She smirked down at him, wheezing a little herself

“Had enough yet?”

Matt flashed her a cocky grin despite him being in no state to do such,

“Almost.”

And as a last fuck you Matt willed a spike from the ground which struck Bria’s arm, she gasped in pain and looked back at him in anger, she looked as if she was going to strike and Matt flinched, closing his eyes and waiting for impact, but when nothing happened he opened his eyes to see she’d stopped mid motion and looked him up and down with a smile, this made him more nervous than being punched again. 

“Ya know what,” she almost yelled, the sound hurting Matt’s ears

“I'm going to leave you here. I have business to attend to, robberies and such, so you sit tight and enjoy sitting in the dark for a while,” she said speaking softer, she knelt down to Matt,

“I'll have my fun with you when I get back.” She paused after that, grabbing his face in one hand, seemingly to examine him, Matt worried for a split second she’d take off the mask, or even that she already knew who he was, but she just stood up and smiled at him,

“Stick around” she chuckled, walking off as she went to get her girlfriend and turn the entire town into a dark abyss. 

Matt watched breathlessly as she waltzed away, he’d have something snide to say if he weren't coming close to leaning over and throwing up from the amount of punches he took to the stomach. So he laid his head on the pole and looked up to the sky, soon enough all he could see were stars as he heard an electricity crackle and every light in the stadium turned off, he heard a door lock faintly but he didn't think to hard about it given he was dizzy and trying to stay conscious. He let out a groan, trying and failing to do something . Anything. He was far too weak to break free by himself. He thought of Gus as the night sky began to blend with the stars and the black circles threatening to take over his sight grew. He thought of how he should've listened, how he missed him, how Gus would certainly kill him if he made it out of this alive, that thought made him chuckle a little, at least a weak version of one, which made him grateful he was alone as he lost the fight to keep his eyes open and passed out.

-

It took an embarrassingly long time, but he’d done it! Inched the bed closer to him, grabbed his phone, now he just had to figure out who to ask for help. Gus went to his contacts and stopped to stare at Willow’s name. He couldn't get out of this alone, and Matt needed his help, he’d already wasted enough time trying to get his phone in the first place. He hit her contact and clicked the call button with his thumb, Willow picked up almost immediately, 

“Hey Willow! Weird question, do you still have that Sledgehammer…?”

- 

By the time Willow arrived 30 minutes had passed and the horrible feeling in Gus’ gut grew larger. Gus yelled that he was up in Matt’s room as if she’d know where that was but she managed to follow his voice and find him, she glanced at him, swinging her hammer over her shoulder and gave him a questionable look,

“Were you and Spider-Cement playing a little game or..” she spoke in her usual bright voice despite the accusatory question

Gus couldn't tell if she was joking or not. If she was implying what he thought she was implying, this was going to be a long night.

“Just help me.” he urged her, 

“Alright alright-” she joked, taking the hammer in both hands now, looking almost excited to break something, 

“-but you better explain to Matt why his best friend was with Spider-Man in his bedroom.” She side-eyed him, lifting her hammer and slamming it down onto the rock encasing Gus’ left foot, breaking it free. Gus yelped at the hit, not because it hurt, but because his friend was unbelievably strong and he’d expected it to take more hits. She did the same to his right foot with practiced ease. Gus let out a breath of relief and pulled Willow into a hug, 

“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” he sighed into her shoulder, Willows hugs were the best.

Willow set the hammer down and pushed her friend back, holding onto his shoulders,

“Of course, are you gonna tell me what's going on now?” Willow forced a smile, seeming concerned

Gus faked a smile and stepped back, placing both hands on his hips for dramatic effect,

“We’re gonna save Spider-Man!” he declared

Willow dead-panned and forced a laugh, but the look on her friends face was one of determination, she picked up and swung her hammer over her shoulder again,

“Oh. You're serious?”

“Yes. And we haven't a moment to spare!” Gus spoke, dashing for the door once the last word left his tongue, Willow startled but followed right behind him until they were out of the house completely. 

“Seriously Gus,” Willow started, meanwhile Gus was entering the passenger seat of her car, he paused in his seat and left the car door open to listen,

“-what's the deal with you two?”

Gus blinked at her, 

“Huh.”

Willow sighed,

“You and Spider-Cement, are you together? What about Matt? I thought you liked him?”

Gus smiled sheepishly at that, he didn't want to lie to her more than he already had, Willow was his best friend. But he didn't want to waste anymore time either.

“Do you trust me?” He pleaded with her, the words rushing out of his mouth,

Willow raised an eyebrow, her eyes softened at that and she seemed to relax a little, flashing him a small smile,

“Of course I do,”

“Then trust me when I say I will tell you everything when the time is right. I promise,”

Willow frowned a little at that, but she didn't argue, she tossed her hammer in the back and got in the driver seat, adjusted her mirror with its cute dangling crochet plant hanging from it and looked at Gus with a smile,

“The things I do for you,” she teased,

Gus closed his car door with a smile,

“Okay, so, where to?” Willow questioned, with a promising smile ready for adventure as she left the driveway

“Yikes, I hadn't thought about that...”

Chapter Text

When he was violently woken up he’d expected it to be Bria or her bitch girlfriend, he glanced at the figure briefly, still in throbbing pain and winced when said figure brought a hand up to his face and shined some kind of light at him with the other, the touch was tender, soft, familiar enough to startle him and force him to squint at who the figure was until he regained his sight enough to see it was Augustus, a very frightened looking Augustus. He was saying something. But Matt wasn't really awake enough to know what. crack. crack. break! ‘Oh hey would you look at that I’m free,’ Matt noted in his head, stretching out his hands and observing them as if he’d never noticed they were there. Gus hugged him now, and even though it hurt he hugged him back to the best of his ability. Then he started talking again, something bruises, something something reckless, something something thank goodness. Matt only squinted at the boy and occasionally nodded. Gus took a long deep breathe and released it slowly, then tried again,

“Can you hear me Matty?” he asked, rather calmly, Matt looked at him a second, those were the first words he’d heard clearly

“Mhm” Matt hummed, quieter than he meant to but Gus heard it and made a face Matt couldn't describe,

“Good. Lets get you home,”

-

It wasn't hard to find him. Willow and him were driving around looking for something, anything, when all the lights in town went out and Willow pointed out where the first lights shut off, from there they drove to the stadium and Gus left her in the car the moment it came to a halt, taking the hammer with him, much to his struggle as he went. He didn't hesitate in breaking the handle when he discovered it was locked. He couldn't see a thing so he pulled out his phone and clicked on its flashlight, walking slowly into the big empty stadium. At first he didn't see him, but he wandered a bit, deep onto the field, flashing his light around as he went, making sure to look around the entire stadium, it wasn't until he’d almost reached the other side that he spotted the boy. He ran to him the second he spotted him, dropping to his knees in front of him. Unthinkingly he grabbed his face in both his hands, after taking a moment to examine the unconscious boy before him his hands moved to his shoulders and he shook him roughly, Matt stirred awake and Gus let out a large shaky breath.

“Youre so fucking stupid,” Gus spoke softly, his voice cracking,

After a moment of consideration he slipped off his mask, revealing the boy underneath, said boy squinted up at him, seemingly flinching slightly when Gus shined his phone light to look at his face, placing a hand on it to hold his head, turning it side to side more and truly trying to pay Matt’s odd expression no mind.

“What're you looking at me like that for huh?” Gus tried, letting go of his face, venom unwillingly lining his tone.

Matt blinked up at him, his mouth stayed shut but his eyes seemed to communicate concern, as if he should be concerned about anyone but himself. Which only made Gus more angry as he picked up the hammer. He swung hard at the rock encasing his friend, once, crack, twice, crumble. Gus let the hammer slam to the ground, observing Matt as the boy stretched his fingers out, opening and closing them into his palm as if testing his ability to move. Gus hugged him then, and to his surprise Matt’s arms came to his waist in an attempt to hug him back.

“Okay,” Gus spoke, voice still shaky,

“We gotta get you out of here, you've got a ton of bruises Matty,” He frowned as said boy just cocked his head to the side

“You don't even know what I'm saying, do you.” He breathed out, more of a statement than a question,

“You're so reckless. Why couldn't you have just listened huh? Thank goodness you're not hurt worse,”

Matt nodded along as he spoke, a look of concentration on his face. Gus knew full well he was out of it, but the fact he was trying anyway made him smile a little. He attempted to calm himself, taking a deep long breath in through his nose and out through his mouth, then he tried again,

“Can you hear me Matty?” He asked, voice even and low, Matt’s eyes seemed to widen slightly and his ears twitched

“Mhm” came the weak response,

Gus frowned slightly, unsure of what he'd expected his friend to act like,
“Good,” he muttered, then he looked at Matt, attempting a smile,

“Let's get you home.”