Chapter Text
the bouquet at the doorstep originally spooked matt out more than anything else. he assumed he had some sort of obsessed stalker who had somehow figured out his address. a bit dramatic, but you can’t blame him when his entire life is plastered over the internet. better safe than sorry and matt sure as hell wasn’t taking any chances.
once he’d picked them up and, after a few moments of contemplating, brought them inside, he concluded they could just be from a friend. though he wasn’t sure why any of his friends would be sending him flowers, with no warning nonetheless. still, it seemed like a much more logical conclusion than his original one. that is until he realized the bouquet had one small white card with ‘matt’ typed across it in a bold arial font.
matt had only ever seen people get bouquets in movies, but don’t people usually write notes saying who they’re from and why in these? sure he could be overthinking it, but what’s the point in sending someone flowers if they don’t even know they’re from you?
“hey chris…” matt starts walking into his brother's room unannounced “you aren’t expecting anything from someone are you? something like… i don’t know a random fucking bouquet of flowers?” he asks shaking the bouquet at the end for special emphasis.
chris turns his head so fast he genuinely feels it beginning to ache. a smile taking over his face despite himself as he shakes his head, “no… why?”
“just… there were flowers at the door. and they have my name on ‘em but…” matt trails off staring at the bouquet in hand.
“why the hell would you ask me if they were mine when they have your name on them matt?” chris questions, exasperated, (or at least trying to sound so).
“i don’t know! i thought maybe somebody fucked up or something! i don’t know who these are from or what they’re for. i just wanted to make sure they weren’t for you or nick!”
and when a simple “whatever bro” is all matt gets in response, he decides to take his leave, bringing his flowers with him. he debated going to nick’s room to question him too, but briefly remembers how embarrassed he felt when chris pointed out how silly his question was and instead decides against it.
maybe matt’s a bad person, or maybe just a cautious one, he’s not really sure. but he figures creepy, cryptic flowers from a stranger aren’t a good look so he tosses them in the kitchen trash before making his way back upstairs to his room.
truthfully, matt soon forgets the flowers, instead lost in thoughts of the upcoming trip he and his brothers were going on. by the time matt had begun packing his bags the bouquet was long gone out of his mind. it was, however, all poor chris could think about.
he knew matt didn’t suspect they were from him. why would he? still, his heart raced though matt had left at least ten minutes ago. chris wasn’t sure if it was fear of being caught or an adrenaline rush from seeing his brother holding the gift he had spent so long hand-picking flowers for, but either way, his heart just wouldn’t slow down.
chris had to get it off his chest. the way he felt, those inexplicable emotions matt bought out in him, he couldn’t keep it in any longer. regardless he couldn’t exactly walk up to his brother and say ‘hey matt i’ve been in love with you for like, i don’t know ever, wanna make out?’. so chris found other ways to show his love.
he didn’t mind that matt didn’t know it was him, he actually preferred it that way. it meant he was free of any inhibitions or timidity when he wanted to be. chris had already begun planning what he’d do next. he’d found a new high in pleasing his brother in any and every way he could.
on his way out the door chris saw it. the bouquet in the trash. they all had agreed to go out for dinner and as he walked past the kitchen he almost instantly noticed the thorns sticking out of the trash can. surprisingly enough chris wasn’t hurt by matt throwing the flowers away.
matt didn’t know those flowers were from someone near and dear to him, chris had half expected him to not even pick them up. he knew, eventually, matt would realize the flowers weren’t just a one-off. that someone was deliberately leaving matt gift after gift randomly and anonymously. that eventually, matt would keep it- chris’ affection, albeit in the form of a physical item. eventually, when chris had done enough and matt was so in love and overwhelmed with devotion for his secret admirer, chris would confess. eventually, matt would be his.
in the meantime, however, chris had to focus on the present. seeing the flowers thrown out had somehow only spurred chris on. all throughout dinner chris had been madly distracted. lost in thought of how exactly he wanted to go about delivering his next gift and when. he’d gotten so excited that he’d been on his phone throughout over half the dinner placing various things in his online shopping cart.
he didn’t want to send another package just yet, his fear of alarming his brother or scaring him off greater than his need to be noticed. so he instead began to write down his meticulously planned gift ideas in a notebook the second they got home. chris had always been a bit scatterbrained, so he knew it better for him to write things down to have a physical keepsake with all of the necessary details in it. the dates and times he wanted to send certain gifts, what he wanted his notes to say, or if he even wanted any notes at all.
this would go smoothly, chris would make sure of it. every possible flaw, every mistake he could make, chris had considered it all and he’d already come up with a solution for all of it. he took a deep breath, glancing around his room as though someone could somehow just see him and know what he was thinking. he’d decided in one quick moment to leave nothing to chance, to lay it all out on the table, save for his identity of course, and to let the cards fall where they may. chris wasn’t worried, he didn’t need to be. matt already loves chris, it’s just a matter of making him realize it.