Renewed - ToMatt

1

(Re-published 1/10/26)

Winter.

The best time of the year. Cold hands, thick sweaters, and about a million adolescent bundles of joy. It's the greatest excuse to cuddle, the absolute best time to go out. Everyone loved the type of weather, especially with the upcoming holiday.

An obnoxious noise was ringing through the air, which brought the ginger's attention from his work. In the distance, a man in red was loudly ringing his bell for spare change to go towards charity. He wore a jolly smile, waving towards pedestrians as they passed by and laughing, "happy holidays!" Steaming coffee suddenly spilled all over Matt's apron, almost sizzling as it hit both him and the floor. He hissed out in pain, covering his mouth so he didn't swear. He then ran for a towel to clean up himself and the hot mess in the floor. It was the afternoon. Matt was working on a coffee maker that just-so-happened to give out on them the previous morning during rush hour.

Why stay broken when you can be rebuilt?

Dark grey carpeting tucked under a black mat that greeted everyone at the door. The walls were painted a light creme. Young teens and adults quietly chatted at tables either over books, family, or coffee. That's all the place had to spare anyway. Soft fairy lights, much like Christmas lights only with much thicker bulbs, hung from above and gave a soft yellow tint to the store. Books laid neatly out on a table, many were packed together on the rows of shelves, while others were kept behind a grand glass bookcase. Coffee machines churned with water and freshly ground beans. The smell of coffee, hazelnuts, and pumpkin spice filled the small bookstore and teased the noses of near passers-by.

Matt had wiped off his green coffee-stained apron and put the towel on the floor to soak up the remaining mess. He huffed and ran a hand through his light orange hair. He noticed someone at the front desk looked a little lost and made his way up behind it. He put on a gentle smile, "Can I help you?" It was a young preteen boy; he peeked over the counter, "Um, do you have any of those books with the wizard boy and the other one with a demigod and his goat friend?"

"...Of course."

After helping the boy, guiding him through paperwork to set up a tab and actually get the books, Matt had set his attention back to the broken coffee maker. He pulled back the busted machine and crossed his arms with an annoyed sigh. He was ready to kick and demolish it already. Matt tapped his foot and decided to test it out for the umpteenth time. He refilled the filter with coffee grounds and the back tank with water. He stood back and listened as it warmed up and sputtered. Liquid coffee soon slowly began to drip down into the glass holder. He finally relaxed, his arms falling free from their folded state, and ripped off the 'Out of Order' sign with pride.

A few minutes after minding his own business, sweeping up the small place and cleaning off counters, the ginger gave a quiet tired hum and untied his thin, dirty green apron to change into thicker clothes.

A man was seated at a table beside Matt, chewing on a black coffee stirrer. He wore a wrinkly red sweater and black jeans. Stubble hinted at his chin and cheeks and dark brown eyes settled underneath large, thick eyebrows. "Sorry I couldn't fit much in today Paul," he paused, "tomorrow I'm teaching you how to fix coffee machines." The ginger pointed down at him with a rather frustrated look. Paul gave a shrug and moved the stirrer the corner of his mouth, "I'm good with mechanics; it's no rush." Matt smiled and waved him a 'goodbye', going for the door. He was ready to go home. Maybe he'd stop by Tom's house on his way.

Matt stepped out of the store, his mouth and neck bundled up in a white scarf. His lavender hoodie and green overcoat was smoothed out and crisp over his shoulders. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked up to his car. A blanket of snow covered the roof of it, sheets of thick ice covered the glass windows. Ice even covered the wheels.

Matt uncovered his mouth and tried to open the door, but it was unfortunately frozen shut. He tried again, this time harder. The whole door handle then broke off into his hand. He fell back in the snow with a 'unf'. He huffed out an annoyed sigh, a puff of his breath showing in the air. Matt got up from the ground and shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. He fiddled with his keys and kept close to himself, shivering lightly. Snow crunched underneath his shoes. He looked forward, white overtaking his vision. He wondered what Tom thought of this weather.

After a few minutes of crunching snow, an old, lonely house came into view. Blue-green paint chipped at the sides of the house and snow covered both the roof and the porch. The stairs were covered in thin ice, the edges of it were dark and wet from melting. There was a singular window on the front of the house, to which the ginger squinted to make out what was inside. It was too dark to see through. Tom always kept his house so dark, he worried he'd been a vampire this whole time.

Matt's heart raced as he stepped onto the icy, snow-covered porch. He took a shaky breath and knocked on the door. A few seconds after the second knock, the door unlocked and opened to reveal the upmost handsomest boy Matt had ever laid eyes on. Dark brown hair naturally spiked upwards, thick eyebrows raised above solid black eyes. How those dark eyes widened a bit at the sight of him. The way his flushed pale cheeks creased and caused little dimples when his lips curved upward into a gentle, genuine smile. A look from that, even a slight smirk could make the ginger melt into a puddle.

Matt was a gay mess.