#oc: mathus

“I would love to,” Aldric responded, returning his attention back to his paperwork. He huffed after realizing that he’d lost his place in reading. “But there’s just too much information here for me not to take as much time as I can to study it properly.”

“The trial’s not for another two weeks, though.”

Mathus understood well enough that Aldric was very dedicated to his job—it was was one of the things that he loved most about him; however, he wasn’t too keen on the man needlessly exhausting himself almost constantly. He’d spend countless hours pouring over papers and files, insistent on memorizing each and every detail, usually at the expense of proper sleep. Mathus would assure him consistently that his skill and intelligence were more than enough to carry him through a case without routinely burning the candle at both ends, but that typically fell on deaf ears.

“I’m aware, love,” Aldric said, sighing as he began to flip through one of the files atop his desk, seemingly searching for something specific. If there was an order to the chaos of paperwork, Mathus couldn’t see it. “But I need to ensure that I’m fully prepared.”

“Is it that bad?”

Again, Aldric sighed, giving up his search and removing his glasses to run his hands over his face. Without them, Mathus could see just how tired Aldric truly looked. His eyes were heavy and reddened, and the ponytail keeping his hair off of his face was starting to come undone. There was a mug on the table that Mathus could guess was empty, knowing his boyfriend’s habits fairly well when it came to his work.

“A double homicide intertwined with several instances of blackmail, embezzlement, and enough unreliable witnesses to have at least 8 separate accounts of what actually happened?” Aldric ranted, frustration bleeding through his tone. “No, it’s practically a walk in the park.”

“Gotcha,” Mathus nodded, knowing that his boyfriend’s frustrations weren’t necessarily aimed at him intentionally. He’d get back at him with well intentioned overbearingness. “But you should still take a break every now and then. That’s how proper studying works anyway.”

“Oh? Are you an expert?”

“No, but I bet you can’t even tell me what the hell the last few things you’ve read are even about,” Mathus smirked, leveling Aldric with a knowing look.

When he received no response aside from an annoyed huff, Mathus knew he was right and approached the desk to start gathering everything into a neat pile which he then set aside. When Aldric didn’t even protest, the brunet then rounded the desk, spinning his boyfriend in his chair and pulling him to his feet. Aldric knew to simply cede by that point, allowing himself to be led out of the office. Mathus shut the door behind him, gently shoving Aldric forward through the house towards their bedroom. The exhaustion of the night weighed down on him quickly and calling it an evening started to seem like a smart move.

“I’ll have to be up early to start reviewing it all again,” Aldric pointed out, failing to keep the snark out of his voice. Mathus merely rolled his eyes, not gracing him with a response until the two were finally in bed together.

“If you’re going to be a smartass, you should’ve gone through naming all of the flowers too,” Mathus responded, decidedly unamused by Cheeky’s mocking. He shot them another glare after they giggled at Pierce scolding Mathus to sit still.

“We’d all be late for the damn wedding at that point,” Cheeky countered before shaking their head with a sigh. “Look, I promise everything’s in order. I’m pretty sure Buggie would have my head otherwise.”

The sorcerer promptly left the bedroom before Mathus was able to kick them out. The brunet settled, willing himself to remain as still as possible as Pierce finally finished styling his hair.

“Please don’t mess it up,” Pierce sighed, almost knowing the request would be in vain.

“I’ll do my best,” Mathus promised, looking himself over in the mirror. He wasn’t completely dressed yet, still missing his suit jacket, tie, socks and shoes, but he figured that he didn’t look half bad. His suit fit him nicely, hugging his form well and showing off his nice build—Terion made sure of that, stating that she would not let him look anything less than “formally sexy,” as she put it. And Pierce did a great job with his mess of hair, neatly slicking it back but letting it keep some of its natural curl; Mathus had to guess that was because the archer became frustrated with trying to get it completely straight. He hoped, once put completely together, that he’d make a good groom for his husband to be.

“Mr. Dioxin,” a quiet, recognizable voice spoke behind him. He turned to see one of the kitchen staff members standing in the door way looking rather nervous. “You’re needed in the kitchen.”

“Why?” Mathus asked, perhaps a little too harshly given the servant’s slightly wince. He quickly apologized with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Theo. What’s the problem?”

“I’m not sure,” came the meek reply. “The cook asked me to bring you to the kitchen whenever possible.”

With another sigh, Mathus nodded, promising Pierce he’d be as quick as possible to keep him from having a fit. He follow the servant down to the kitchen, having to stop along the way several times in order to answer what felt like one thousand questions from various different people. He was sure Eleazar was going to get him back later for being so short with him, but that would be a problem for later him. Later, married him.

Mathus knew he was being obsessive over every single little detail but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He was hoping he’d get a pass, or several, considering it was his wedding day. Evidently that wouldn’t be the case with some as he had to be physically pulled from the kitchen by Terion for micromanaging so much that even the cook threatened to beat him with a ladle.

“Would you let the woman work, Mathus?” Terion chided, sighing as she watched Mathus begin to pace.

“I just needed to make sure everything would be ready on time,” he defended, trying to peek another glance into the kitchen. However, Terion blocked his view with her body, her hands on her hips and her wings spread wide. “The wedding’s in two hours.”

“I know that, Peppers.” The Bacterial did feel sympathy for her friend, his anxiety noticeably surging through him. She tried to take his hand in an attempt to stop his nervous pacing, but his skin was incredibly hot to the touch. Instead, she leveled him with an understanding look and kept her tone gentle. “But everything’s fine. I’m making damned sure of it.” 

“I know, I’m sorry, I just...I never thought I’d ever get married and now I’m less than two hours away from marrying the man I’ve been so stupidly in love with for five whole years,” Mathus started, reaching up to almost run a hand through his hair before stopping himself after realizing that Pierce would actually skin him for it. Instead, he began to ring his hands continuously in time with his pacing. “God, he’s just made me so happy and I love him so much. I need this to be perfect for him like he’s made everything for me.”

“Mathus, that is so incredibly sweet,” Terion said, her eyes beginning to visibly water. “But I’m gonna need you to stop because I’ve been on the verge of tears all day and I’d really like to save it for the ceremony because once I start, I’m not going to be able to stop.”

“Okay,” Mathus chuckled almost breathlessly, not being able to keep a small smile from forming at just how emotional Terion was getting. His nerves were still eating at him, but his little rant succeeded in reminding him just what the day was really about. He was getting married to the love of his life with his family there to see it and by god, he really couldn’t wait. 

“Oh, but I just can’t believe my two best friends are getting married,” Terion sniffed, almost reading Mathus’s mind. She reached up to cradle Mathus’s face in her hands, her smile wobbly and sincere. “I still remember when I couldn’t stand either of you.”

At that, Mathus laughed loudly, taking Terion’s hands in his own and leaning forward to gently kiss her on the forehead. “Thank you, Bug. For this. For everything you’ve done for us.”

“Stop it! If you make me really cry right now, I’m going to hit you.” Terion gently shoved him away, fanning her face and taking quick, short breaths. “Besides, if this wedding is anything less than perfect, I’m going to kill whoever is responsible.”

“Alright, alright,” Mathus ceded with another laugh, knowing full well that she wasn’t entirely joking with that last bit. “I better go finish getting ready before Pierce has another fit and pulls out my hair for me.”

“He’s taking his roll of assistant planner very seriously and I couldn’t be more proud,” Terion chuckled. “But, yes, go finish getting ready for god’s sake. You look ridiculous without shoes on.”