I didn't have time to write a whole new thing, so this is a new and improved version of this fic to include Sylvain in my ever-expanding "Matthew deserves all the love in the world" universe and also as an entry for @fourormore's Pride month event.
Wish you lovelies all the love, happiness and acceptance this Pride month and forever <3
~~**~~
“Is it done yet?” Matthew asked her, barely able to keep himself still in his seat.
“Almost. Now don’t talk or I’m going to mess it up.” Cordelia chastised him, but kept focused on her task. “Just one more line, aaaand… done! You can look at my masterpiece now.”
Matthew almost fell from the vanity seat from turning around so fast, but he caught himself on the table and turned his face from side to side in front of the mirror. Two colourful hearts were painted on his cheeks, one with the colours of the bisexual flag and the other with the colours of the polyam flag.
“It’s perfect! Cordelia, you’ve outdone yourself. You are a true Van Gogh. No, Picasso. No, Frida Kahlo!” He exclaimed his praise with his finger high in the air when he found the right metaphor, then turned back around and pulled her for a kiss.
“You’re welcome, Math. Now move, I need to do mine next. You can go help Jamie put on his shirt without smudging the paint.”
“No need. It dried a while ago, so I already put it on. I can help you, though, if you want,” he added towards Matthew.
Matthew joined James sitting on the bed and beamed at him. Matching hearts to his own were painted on his cheeks and Jamez already had on the shirt that read “I’m with them” with an arrow pointing to the right, a mirror to Matthew’s one. They had argued over who would get to stay in the middle, but in the end Cordelia had won the rock, paper, scissors.
“Can’t believe I have the honour to take you both to baby’s first pride,” Matthew said after his shirt was over his head, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “Let me introduce you to a world of love, acceptance, hope, and, not less important, debauchery, beyond your wildest dreams.”
“Hey, I’ve been to pride with you before!” James said.
“You have been as an ally, now you are part of the club, Jamie. You get to sit with the popular kids now.”
“Pride sounds an awful lot like high-school, I’m not sure I want to go anymore,” he teased.
“Too bad,” Cordelia interrupted, “our shirts don’t work unless we are all together so you have to go now.”
“Hmmm, fair.”
“Plus, if you don’t go, I’ll cry. You don’t want your beloved Math to cry, do you?”
“Eehhh…”
Cordelia saw Matthew hit him across the head with a pillow through the mirror and James laughed.
“I don’t! I don’t! Careful with the paint!”
“That’s better. I’ll go get Oscar ready.”
He left at the same time Cordelia finished her own make up and got up. One of her hearts had the polyam flag that matched theirs and the other the queer pride flag.
James helped her put on her shirt with “I’m with them <–->” on it and then she did a twirl.
“How do I look?”
“Gorgeous. And happier than I have ever seen you, my Daisy.”
“We all are, I believe. And that’s also what today is about. Let’s celebrate our happiness and the light we found in each other after so long beating ourselves up over something so simple.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
James kissed her until the sound of the doorbell ringing and Oscar barking startled them out of it.
"I'll get it!" Matthew screamed from the other room and then his quick steps drummed down the stairs, followed closely by Oscar's.
"Must be Sylvain," Cordelia smiled and fixed her hair in the mirror. And sure enough, Matthew's excited voice could be heard all through the house until he burst through the door a few moments later, pulling the French boy along by their interlocked hands.
"Look who I found!" he announced and Sylvain tilted his head to the side.
"But I am the one that came over, so wasn't I the one that found you?"
"Tomato, tomahto." Matthew waved away the comment, then clinged to Sylvain's arm in a sudden burst of theatrics. "Can you believe Jamie said he would not care if I cried? On Pride day? That's why you are my favourite, mon chou."
James rolled his eyes.
"Sylvain, can you please tell your boyfriend he is being an over-dramatic drama queen and that's not what I said?"
"Cordelia, can you please tell your husband that he is mean and the angels will punish him for slighting me so?"
"Sylvain, can you please tell my husband and my boyfriend that if they continue to be ridiculous and ruin my first pride, I'll feed them both to the ducks at Hyde Park?"
Sylvain nodded solemnly.
"You heard her, gents. But, fatally, I'm French, I can not live without a bit of drama." That was not a very helpful comment, but he tilted Matthew's chin up and distracted him with a kiss before he could claim his victory against James and start any more ridiculous fake fighting, which Cordelia approved.
Sylvain was a more recent addition to their dynamic, fruit of Matthew's latest cruise trip and a well-timed exchange program in England, and she was pleased to see how well it all had worked out in the end and how they all got along in their own way. Specially, she liked seeing how pleased it had made Matthew, who had been so worried at first, and how their happiness just seemed to be multiplied instead of diminished the more love there was to go around.
Sylvain's "I'm with them, but specially with him" shirt had to be custom made, but it was a perfect way to complement their little joke. Though she knew their perfect line was bound to devolve into chaos sooner rather than later as they moved through the crowd.
James' phone buzzed, and he fished it out of his pocket.
“It’s Anna, they are all already waiting outside. We should go.”
“Let’s. Last one to the door is a slowpoke.”
Matthew bolted out the door, James rushing right behind him and complaining of him cheating. Cordelia and Sylvain looked at each other in shared amusement, before he motioned to the door and stepped aside.
"Ladies first."
Matthew already had his hand on the doorknob and was bouncing in place when they got downstairs. Now that Cordelia actually had time to look, she could see Oscar would have made his namesake proud, with a bandana and leash covered in rainbow colours.
Her eyes went from Oscar to each of the boys, and it made Cordelia so happy, her eyes filled with tears.
“Come over here for a second, you two.”
She hugged James and Matthew tight, then pressed their foreheads together.
“I love both of you so, so much, and I am so happy we are together.”
“Me too,” they murmured back at her. She looked over her shoulder and motioned for Sylvain to come closer. "And I am so thankful for you, too. For accepting us, and joining us."
Sylvain came over, passing his arms over Matthew to join their hug and smiling. "It's my pleasure to be here."
They stayed there for a moment, basking in themselves and their warmth, until Oscar whined.
They all stopped to give him pets.
“We love you, too, of course, Oscar.”
Matthew opened the door and past their small yard all their friends and family were already waiting, many of them decked in their own pride colours themselves, the others carrying rainbow flags and happy to display the pride and love they all had for each other.
Cordelia started crying again, overcome with such joy and love she could not contain it. This was what being part of a community meant, this was what being surrounded by people that loved and accepted them meant.
Hate may try to rear its ugly head up from time to time, but love and joy would always win in the end, because they were the strongest forces the human race had ever known.
She took her place in between James and Matthew with a smile full of delight, winked at Sylvain on the other side of Matthew, and all together they walked and all together they marched, towards an always brighter future.
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary: Matthew tells Thomas the truth behind his greatest sin.
A/N: This was originally posted on Ko-fi, but I was having trouble with the site so it’s now on AO3 too. Still, if you like my works and would like an exclusive piece of writing just for you, come share a coffee with me!
"Is it done yet?" Matthew asked her, barely able to keep himself still in his seat.
"Almost. Now don't talk or I'm going to mess it up." Cordelia chastised him, but kept focused on her task. "Just one more line, aaaand... done! You can look at my masterpiece now."
Matthew almost fell from the vanity seat from turning around so fast, but he caught himself on the table and turned his face from side to side in front of the mirror. Two colourful hearts were painted on his cheeks, one with the colours of the bisexual flag and the other with the colours of the polyam flag.
"It's perfect! Cordelia, you've outdone yourself. You are a true Van Gogh. No, Picasso. No, Frida Kahlo!" He exclaimed his praise when he found the right metaphor, then turned back around and pulled her for a kiss.
"You're welcome, Math. Now move, I need to do mine next. You can go help Jamie put on his shirt without smudging the paint."
"No need. It dried a while ago, so I already put it on. I can help you, though, if you want," he added towards Matthew.
Matthew joined James sitting on the bed and beamed at him. Matching hearts to his own were painted on his cheeks and Jamez already had on the shirt that read "I'm with them" with an arrow pointing to the right, a mirror to Matthew's one. They had argued over who would get to stay in the middle, but in the end Cordelia had won the rock, paper, scissors.
"Can't believe I have the honour to take you both to baby's first pride," Matthew said after his shirt was over his head. "Let me introduce you to a world of love acceptance, hope, and, not less important, debauchery, beyond your wildest dreams."
"Hey, I've been to pride with you before!" James said.
"You have been as an ally, now you are part of the club, Jamie. You get to sit with the popular kids now."
"Pride sounds an awful lot like high-school, I'm not sure I want to go anymore," he teased.
"Too bad," Cordelia interrupted, "our shirts don't work unless we are in three so you have to go now."
"Hmmm, fair."
"Plus, if you don't go I'll cry. You don't want your beloved Math to cry, do you?"
"Eehhh..."
Cordelia saw Matthew hit him across the head with a pillow through the mirror and James laughed.
"I don't! I don't! Careful with the paint!"
"That's better. I'll go get Oscar ready."
He left at the same time Cordelia finished her own make up and got up. One of her hearts had the polyam flag that matched theirs and the other the queer pride flag.
James helped her put on her shirt with "I'm with them <-->" on it and then she did a twirl.
"How do I look?"
"Gorgeous. And happier than I have ever seen you, my Daisy."
"We all are, I believe. And that's also what today is about. Let's celebrate our happiness and the light we found in each other after so long beating ourselves up over something so simple."
"You're absolutely right." James said and kissed her until his phone buzzed in his pocket.
"It's Anna, they are all already waiting outside. We should go."
"Let's. Math, time to go!"
"Me and Oscar are waiting for you in the living room!"
In the living room was an understatement. Matthew already had his hand on the doorknob when James and Cordelia came downstairs. Oscar would have made his namesake proud, with a bandana and leash covered in rainbow colours.
It made Cordelia so happy, her eyes filled with tears.
"Come over here for a second, you two."
She hugged both of them tight, then pressed their foreheads together.
"I love both of you so, so much, and I am so happy we are together."
"Me too," they murmured back at her, and they stayed there for a moment, basking in themselves and their warmth, until Oscar whined.
They all stopped to give him pets.
"We love you, too, of course, Oscar."
Matthew opened the door and past their small yard all their friends and family were already waiting, many of them decked in their own pride colours themselves, the others carrying rainbow flags and happy to display the pride and love they all had for each other.
Cordelia started crying again, overcome with such joy and love she could not contain it. This was what being part of a community meant, this was what being surrounded by people that loved and accepted them meant.
Hate may try to rear its ugly head up from time to time, but love and joy would always win in the end, because they were the strongest forces the human race had ever known.
She took her place in between James and Matthew with a smile full of delight, and all together they walked and all together they marched, towards an always brighter future.
James and Matthew in Edom | requested by Anonymous
"Then you must choose, I suppose," said Belial. "Your life, your parabatai's life - or the world."
"The world," said Matthew, and James nodded in agreement.
"We are Nephilim," he said. "Something you would not understand. Every day we risk ourselves in service of the lives of others; it is our duty to choose the world."
"Duty," said Belial dismissively. "I think you will find little satisfaction in duty when the screams of your parabatai are echoing in your ears."
(I meant to post this together with the fic I'm writing; and also to finish the fic during this holiday. But I barely had 10 minutes to myself these past few days and couldn't write anything at all 😭 So hopefully this can serve as reassurance until then. Have a sneak peek under the cut, the fic starts right after the quote from Belial above!)
It happened before James had even had time to think. A sickening crash echoed from the wall behind him at the same moment Belial disappeared from his view.
He heard Matthew cough and gasp and whipped around. Belial was holding him against the wall by the neck and even though Matthew was trying to claw and pull at the hand, he had no strength left to move it. He barely had had strength to stand.
James started to run, but was abruptly pulled back. Belial's demon companion had taken hold of his arms with two insect-like claws, its gaping maw dangerously close to James' neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate. I can rip your arms out, I can, and the boss wouldn't like to have a body with no arms."
"I really wouldn't," Belial chimed in. "But I am sure we can come to an agreement without needing all that."
ChoT scene in Edom with James and Matthew, where James doesn't come up with an idea to save themselves so easily, not before Belial has tortured Matthew and then left them to make a decision
Evil nonnie, I love you, this was a delicious prompt to receive and write. I am sorry it took so long, but I hope you like it and it makes up for the wait!
The part about the clock was inspired by Helena Blavatsky's story "A Bewitched Life". I was translating it for work at the time I got this ask and then I couldn't NOT use it here, it was too perfect to pass up.
Warnings for physical and psychological torture, and everything that went down in Cast Long Shadows. Hope you all like it!
~~**~~
"Duty," said Belial dismissively. "I think you will find little satisfaction in duty when the screams of your parabatai are echoing in your ears."
It happened before James had even had time to think. A sickening crash echoed from the wall behind him at the same moment Belial disappeared from his view.
He heard Matthew cough and gasp, and whipped around. Belial was holding him against the wall by the neck and, even though Matthew was trying to claw and pull at the hand, he had no strength left to move it. He had barely had strength to stand, even with Kit's tonic.
James started to run, but was abruptly pulled back. Belial's demon companion had taken hold of his arms with two insect-like claws, its gaping maw dangerously close to James' neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate. I can rip your arms out, I can, and the boss wouldn't like to have a body with no arms."
"I really wouldn't," Belial chimed in. "But I am sure we can come to an agreement without needing all that."
"No..." Matthew rasped. "Jamie, no matter what he does to me, you don't accept his offer, you hear me?"
"Oh, enough with your chatterbox." Belial pulled Matthew forward and then slammed him back against the wall, making him scream once and then sag like a rag doll.
James yelled, a roar that sounded like a wild beast, and started pulling against his restraints again, not even feeling the blood run down his arms as the demon's claws cut him.
"Let him go! Let him go right now or I will kill you! I'll rip you apart limb from limb and feed you to the flying demons."
"Now you are really starting to sound like my grandson. But enough with you, too. I just said I didn't want a mangled body to possess. Get him."
A sharp pain erupted from James's shoulder, strong enough it jolted even Matthew with a gasp. The demon had sunk his fangs on James, and he could feel his limbs getting heavy, his face numb.
"Wh-what..."
"Got you with my venom, I did. Don't worry, mate, it's not gonna kill you. But it's gonna keep you quiet as the boss works. Yes, it will."
"Thank you, Stymphalia. Now where was I? Oh, yes. Give your body over to me now, if you don't want your parabatai to go through pain worse than death in front of your eyes."
James gulped. He wanted to kill Belial, but he barely had enough control to minutely move his head from side to side. His muscles seemed locked in place.
"No? Oh well, it's your choice. Keep that in mind for the next few minutes."
Belial turned back to Matthew and raised the free hand to his face. For a bizarre moment, James thought he was caressing Matthew's cheek, but Matthew's scream and their twined pain hit him at once.
It was excruciating, like flaming barbed wire spreading through his veins, and if what he felt was just an echo...
James wanted to throw up.
Matthew's screams filled the barren land, attracting the other demons that had been flying overhead. They landed on the tops of the walls surrounding the court, and screeched, and watched.
Like vultures waiting on a dying prey.
James's vision blurred and his head started falling forward, but the demon behind him used his claw to grab his hair and lift his head back up.
Now one of his arms was free, but that meant nothing. With the venom running through his veins, he could barely lift a finger, as might as he tried. Could barely let out a sound, even if he wanted to scream as loud as Matthew was.
Matthew's veins were turning black from the point where Belial's claw had pierced him, spreading through his temples, down his neck, a criss-crossing spiderweb. The venom of a regular demon could already be catastrophic, but the venom of a Prince of Hell...
Corruption. Unmaking. A Fall as painful as Lucifer's.
"S...top..." James was able to rasp out, barely a whisper drowned by Matthew's screams, but Belial tilted his head at him anyway.
"Hm? What was that?"
"Stop..." James repeated. He meant to sound menacing and definitive, but it was not much better than the first time.
"Stop? You want me to stop? Then, my dear grandson, you know what to do."
James pursed his lips. No matter how much he wanted to, he knew Matthew would never forgive him if he did. He simply couldn't betray Matthew like this.
"No? Are you sure?"
He ran his claw down Matthew's right clavicle now, and impossibly Matthew's screams got even higher and more desperate. James almost passed out. He watched the web of poisoned lines get closer and closer to Matthew's heart and Matthew's whole body shaking, and, before he knew it, he was throwing up down his chin and on the dusty floor in front of him.
"Ew, mate, not cool," the bird demon behind him complained and scooted back, then reached from a bigger distance to pull his sagging body back up, but Belial's eyes remained impassive over him.
"And what about now?"
James coughed and gagged, tears streaming down his cheeks, and he opened his mouth to say... Something, anything. But, before he could, Matthew's voice broke through the clearing, raspy and low, but still unbroken.
"No... N-no... J-amie, no..."
"I thought I told you to stay quiet," Belial admonished, a tinge of irritation in his voice, and pressed Matthew's throat until he gasped. "Answer me, James."
But James had heard the voice of his parabatai, so he only gritted his teeth and pursed his lips, giving no answer.
Belial sighed, and tapped his finger against his chin.
"You Shadowhunters are so tedious. You grow up smacking each other with swords since you are born, so you don't think much of physical pain." A devious smile spread across his lips. "Mental torture it is, then."
James' brain rang in alarm, but not even that new burst of adrenaline could get his members to move more than an inch at a time. He tried reaching out to Matthew when Belial dropped him carelessly to the ground, but he could still barely raise his hand.
It's okay, he is still breathing, he is still alive, you can feel it. He is okay and you'll be fine, you'll both get through this.
It would be easier to convince himself of this if he knew what Belial was planning to do next. What exactly did he mean by "mental torture"?
For now, after dropping Matthew, he was drawing on the wall with his claw, ashen lines singeing the rock in dark runes and demonic symbols, unknown even to the warlocks that dabbled in the darkest of dark arts available on their world.
He patted his hands when he finished, and smiled at James.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
He received no answer, but he wasn't looking for one. He hit his hands on the wall and the runes gleamed in a black light, and then the whole scenery around James changed.
Gone were the demons and the sandy walls, the rough ground and the scorching sun. Everything around James had turned pitch black, except for the light coming from the smooth surface he now found himself kneeling on.
It took some time for his brain to process what he was seeing, but then the image solidified into a recognisable shape:
James was kneeling on the surface of a giant clock.
A second light appeared over him, and he managed to lift his head enough to see a mirroring clock face was floating in the darkness in front of him. And floating in front of that clock, arms spread open like a mockery of the crucifixion, was Matthew.
"Ma...Math...", James tried calling to him, but got no answer.
"I wouldn't waste my breath if I were you. He is sound asleep." Belial's voice came from the darkness around, seemingly echoing from nowhere and everywhere. "Just sit back and enjoy the show. It's going to be better than even I could have imagined. Your little drunkard friend has a delicious darkness inside him. Let the endless nightmare begin."
A chill spread ice through James's veins, as the hands on the clock in front of him began speeding backwards. Round and round they went, and when they stopped, James found himself standing in a familiar place, but witnessing an unfamiliar scene.
Alastair Carstairs' young and angry face was staring at him, his usual venomous tone saying words so out of context he didn't understand them for a moment.
And then Matthew's voice sounded from behind him, and James turned, suddenly realising not only he could move now, but also that his body seemed light as a feather.
He realised he was pale and incorporeal, and neither boy could see or hear him - in fact, even when he tried to speak, his voice wouldn't come out - and just kept arguing with each other, until Alastair said the most venomous words of his life:
"You are Gideon Lightwood's bastard. Everyone knows it, but you."
Rage swelled inside James, and he felt momentarily vindicated when Matthew punched him in the face, like James himself wanted to do, but the scene didn't stop there.
James's body got pulled forward without his conscious thought or will and followed Matthew. James felt a bubbling rage and hollowness inside him, and he knew, without knowing how, that this was how Matthew felt.
He wanted to scream, tell Matthew not to believe that stupid bastard, but he was starting to understand it would be futile, that this was a scene of the past, all said and done.
His body suddenly stopped and then seemed to be propelled forward at the speed of light as the scene changed, and changed again, and again, and James's anguish grew with every new scene he watched.
The weight crushing Matthew every time he saw Thomas, the sense of abandonment and of not belonging every time he was with his family. The self-doubt, the self-hate, the fear, paralysing and agonising fear at every moment of every day; paralysing and agonising guilt.
He saw Matthew at the Shadow Market, talking to a fairy woman that was bemoaning Shadowhunters's cruelty and promising to sell wares that could make people tell the truth. He saw uncle Jem call Matthew back, but not before he had hidden the vial under his coat.
James grew pale. His brain had connected the dots, but he refused to believe that conclusion. It simply couldn't be.
The scenes carried on, moving inexorably to their climax.
Matthew declaring to himself he was nothing but a waste of space. Matthew wanting to bring up Alastair in their club room, but not wanting to upset them. Matthew dropping a single drop from the vial on the scones he had baked his mother.
Then Aunt Charlotte collapsing, Uncle Henry dragging himself to her side, Charles blaming Matthew and his bond with James, Matthew's own realisation sinking in and him wishing his father would take a knife and stab him in, Matthew taking in the news the baby had died with impassivity, then lying to Uncle Jem, closing his heart forever.
Then some scenes he knew all too well, warped into a new awful and terrifying context. Matthew shuddering away from Lucie, Matthew sending even him away, Matthew crawling to the darkest corner of the room and sealing himself into that tomb of pain alone forever.
The pain and the guilt had somehow multiplied infinitely from before, choking James and making his stagger.
Had Matthew really been living with this all this time? How could he not have told him? How...
How could he not have known?
His wrist was burning cold where the mark of the silver bracelet still lay.
A scream woke James up and he found himself back on the darkness with the two clocks, and realised it was Matthew who was screaming.
"No! No! I don't want to see it! I didn't mean to! Don't make me remember!"
Belial's chuckle echoed around them as the clock rewound once more, and James found himself once again standing on the tower of the Academy, looking at Matthew and Alastair argue.
James remembered what Belial had said: "Let the endless nightmare begin", and panic swelled in him.
Because he knew Matthew was reliving the same scenes James was a witness to. Every emotion, every feeling, every pain, every ounce of guilt. And if just the ghost of them was already enough to nearly make James crumble...
They were tearing Matthew apart.
The scenes passed in rapid succession, until they reached their merciful end and the clocks were once again all James could see.
Matthew was crying and trashing against the invisible bonds keeping him in place.
"Enough," James rasped out, his real body still weighted down. "Stop this."
"I have told you before, James, if you want me to stop, you know what to do."
Before James could answer, they were once again plunged into the visions of the past, all the events repeating themselves, but not becoming any less painful in their continued repetition.
"So?", Belial chimed. "What do you say?"
It was too much, too quickly, too painful, James couldn't break out from the shock to even think of an answer.
They dived into the past again. And again. And again.
When they emerged next, James fell forward, burying his face in his hands. The venom in him had passed, but he couldn't move as might as he tried. His legs felt like jelly, his hands trembled, the dark cloud of horror weighing over him.
Matthew was sobbing and pleading above him, each cry a rip on James's soul.
"Mama, Papa, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Please make it stop, Mama, please. I'm sorry."
His mind was hanging by a thread. They were both about to break.
The hands on the clock started turning back again, and complete panic took over James.
"Stop! Please, stop! I'll do whatever you want, just stop this!"
Belial's form materialised in front of him, winning grin on his lips as he saw the tears running down James' face.
"Whatever I want?"
"Yes, whatever you want, anything. I'll give you my body, I'll destroy London myself with my bare hands, just stop. Leave him alone, please."
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it? We would have never had to go through all this if you had just done that from the start."
Belial snapped his fingers and the figures of the clocks disappeared. James was back in Edom, kneeling on the dead floor, the familiar walls around him. Matthew was still lying on the floor near the opposite wall, curled up in a ball and crying and screaming in agony.
"Math!" James was running to him before he could even think about it, body moving automatically. He pulled Matthew's body onto his lap and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
For not knowing, for allowing him to suffer alone, for letting Belial do this to him, for not being able to protect him, for breaking his promise in the end.
"How touching," Belial said, without any emotion in his voice, then checked his watch. "I still have much to do in London to ready it, so I will leave you boys to your drama, and we will perform the ceremony once I get back. I just wish you hadn't taken so long to make up your mind, James, it doesn't seem like that one will survive until I get back. Pity." He turned his back to them and walked back to the winged demon. "All right, you worthless bird, we're leaving."
Matthew had started shaking uncontrollably, although the crying had stopped. James hugged him ever tighter, hoping it would be of any solace to him, as his mind finally started working properly.
He had a plan now, but he feared it might be too late. He buried his face on Matthew's hair, and prepared himself for the worst.
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Hiii, I didn’t see your post earlier 🙈 but if you’re still in the mood, may you bless us with a fluffy little snippet from the coffeeshop universe?
Sorry, just found out my inbox notifs are broken so only saw this now. Anyway, coffeeshop universe has me in a chokehold lately, can't stop thinking about it, so really this wish is my command.
This is the coffee shop!au btw if anyone wants to know more!
Here's a little thing that sparked that thought about Matthew's insomnia:
~~//~~
James felt like he had barely closed his eyes when a blaring alarm made him jump up on the bed, adrenaline running through his veins as he tried to find the source of the emergency.
"What the- Fire? There's a fire? We need to-"
"Shhhh," Matthew wrapped his arms around James from behind and kissed the top of his head. "Not a fire, or anything. Just my alarm. Sorry, I forgot to warn you about it."
"Alarm? For what?"
"To get ready for work?"
"Work?" James looked around, rubbing his eyes. His heart was still hammering in his chest and he was groggy from sleep and disoriented due to it being his first time spending the night at Matthew's. But he could tell that it was still extremely dark out there. "What time is it?"
"Four AM."
"Four A- What are you waking up at four AM for?"
Matthew chuckled behind him and kissed the shell of his ear next and suddenly James could think of at least one thing they could do at four AM.
"I've gotta get things ready for the café. You know my amazing scones and buns don't just magically appear on the counter every morning?"
James had... Never thought about that, actually.
"But... Four AM?"
"How long do you think it takes to make bread, Mister 'I've never cooked anything in my life?"
James thought he could answer that, if Matthew wasn't still kissing the back of his ear and neck.
"If I want to have the first batches ready at open, I need to get started now."
"You do this every day?"
"Uhuuummm."
"Every day?"
"Uhuuuummmmm."
James frowned and tried to think through what he thought was a hickey Matthew was trying to leave on his shoulder.
"Didn't we fall asleep at like, one AM?"
"More or less, yeah."
"And you are getting up to work now?"
"Are you always this slow in the morning, Jamie?" Matthew was laughing at him again.
"I'm just trying to wrap my head around your absolutely horrendous life choices. You go to night class, then wake up at four am the next morning every day?"
James could feel Matthew's arms move around him in what he thought was a shrug.
"I'm used to it. Never needed much sleep growing up, so it doesn't bother me. You can go back to sleep, I promise that with the door closed you won't hear a thing and I'll not disturb your beauty sleep."
"No, no, I'm awake now. We could both stay here and continue whatever this is."
Matthew chuckled once more and kissed his shoulder one last time, and then his delicious arms and lips were gone.
"And disappoint my horde of adoring fans? No way. You can come and help me if you want, or you can stay here."
Matthew got up and crossed the room to get to the closet, still naked. James raised an eyebrow and fell back on his pillows.
"I think I'll just stay here and enjoy the view. Don't want to risk ruining any of your pastries or actually setting fire to anything on my first time here."
"Hmmm, probably a good idea. Go back to sleep and I'll come wake you when breakfast is ready." He walked back already dressed and gave James a kiss. "See you later. Sleep well."
"See you. If you need anything, just yell, I'll be downstairs."
He kissed Matthew one more time and then drifted off to sleep. He would have to save the talk about work-life balance to another time.
"Why do you like stargazing so much?" Cordelia asked, while playing with James' hair.
"Hmm? I like it because Matthew likes it."
Which was such a James answer she had to laugh.
"Fiiineee." She turned her head to the other side. "Math, why do you like stargazing so much?"
"Once when I was little, I was being fussy, so my father brought me here to the Gard and sat me on his lap as he told me about the stars. I've loved looking at them ever since."
She gave him a kiss on the cheek, wishing these moments never ended.
