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"Hey, you good?"
Matt grimaced at the boy walking beside him, unsure of what to say in response. The harsh autumn wind bit at his fingertips, which refused to warm back up inside his pockets. He could barely feel his face, save for the snot running down his nose and onto his lip. As much as he loved the human realm, he hated Connecticut. Why did Gravesfield have to be so cold? A white puff of annoyance escaped his mouth as he sighed.
"Are you not freezing to death right now?"
Gus stared back at him, his mouth covered by a checkered scarf. Yet somehow, Matt could tell he was giving him the widest, most-annoyingest shit-eating grin the world had ever seen. It was all about the crinkles in his eyes.
"Sounds like you shoulda listened to someone's advice."
"And look like a loser whose dad made him bundle up just in case he caught a wittle mold?"
He made sure to emphasize the mockingness in that last bit. But his teeth kept banging down against each other, leaving him looking and sounding like a total dork. Which shouldn't have been possible; strolling next to Augustus, at least.
The boy was covered in oversized sweaters and hoodies; His hands were nestled in blue little mittens and he'd tossed an oversized scarf around his shoulders and over his cheeks. A knitted hat covered his ears completely, making him look like a bundled up teddy bear.
He was painfully adorable. Matt didn't want to admit he liked the look of that, however, lest he give him more ammunition. But the guy just laughed as he wrapped a mitten-covered hand over one of Matt's own.
"Yes, dummy."
"Whatever..." Matt sighed as he squeezed his hand. The mittens were so scratchy and uncomfortable. How did Gus even plan to survive all day wearing those? "Let's just decide where we're going, okay?"
They kept walking, trading little jabs and jokes along the way. Other than the cold, it was pretty nice out today. There were barely any humans outside, save for a few morning walkers along the road or families driving home after picking up breakfast. Seemed like everyone wanted to spend their Saturday indoors. Made sense. Fall always had a way of making people want to be cozy.
"By the way," Gus stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "If you wanted to hold hands, you could've just asked."
This caused Matt to pause.
"What."
"You know." The boy tried to boop Matt's nose with his finger, but the mitten made it a little more awkward than intended. "You didn't have to make such a big show of your hands being cold for me to hold them." The laughter in his voice peeked out like the sunrise through a cloudy sky. "I know you're, like, embarrassingly shy, but—"
He was shoved in the side before he could finish his sentence.
"Blegh, you make me sound like some sort of lovesick loser freak!" Matt groaned, pushing the boy away from him as far as possible, though not even trying to hide the glee written all over his face.
Gus exploded into a fit of laughter, stumbling back over towards him. "You say that like it's hard! You know—" He regained his balance, grabbing Matt's hand in the process. "I think you do that all by yourself."
Matt's stroked his thumb against the scratchy mitten in response.
"Oh, shut up, dude."
Matt stood and watched as the boy to his side blabbered on about just about anything: The comic book store they'd walked through earlier that afternoon, the harshness of the autumn wind, and all of the fresh, delicious pastries he was about to sample. They'd decided to end off their day out with a visit to the Robin's Roost, the local human cafe that they'd always frequent during their human-realm visits. The atmosphere here was definitely much better than that of the outside. It was so much warmer.
Matt attributed this mainly to the building's insulation and only slightly to the ever endearing personification of bundled-up warmth that was currently holding his hand. Okay, maybe it was more fifty-fifty. But still, he was very thankful for the shelter.
So as Augustus ordered for the both of them, Matt let himself slip into his thoughts. He felt quite warm. By this point they'd been inside the shop long enough that he wasn't cold at all anymore. The smell of coffee and vanilla and cinnamon filled the air, and he felt that lazy haze seep into his body.
His free hand grabbed at the sleeve of the new sweater that was draped over him. It was a deep, knitted brown with green and grey stripes; one of the ones Augustus had been wearing earlier. He'd made him put it on once Matt had complained about the cold one too many times, insisting that the guy would catch the mold had he not bundled up. How silly. But Matt wasn't complaining. He was warm. And he was with Augustus.
As he stayed in this state, he let himself be led by the hand across the cafe, studying the way that the warm overhead lighting reflected onto Augustus's face and scattered over the tips of his hair, like the dazzling gleams of a precious gem caught in the sunlight. The rest of that hour came over him in a blur; gulping down Gus's hot chocolate as the other boy politely tried Matt's apple cider, then watching him realize and devour Matt's almond pastry as quick as he possibly could, then inhaling his own raspberry-filled croissant with an equal fervor.
He remembered wiping the jelly off of Augustus's nose, and the way the boy had giggled as he tried to avoid the tissue. He remembered walking out of the building together, laughing so genuinely and smiling so warmly as they trodded against the chilly winds on their way home.
He needed this feeling to stay with him for a little longer.