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ineffable--omens · 6 years

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Dream Daddy Secret Santa

This is for @kuzeykirkland, hope you have a very happy holiday season! (alt link)

Lost and Found

Mat x Brian Steampunk AU

Mat walked through the calm streets of Maple Bay. He looked up and saw large airships chug across the sky between thick plumes of gray smoke. The street was quiet, save for the familiar sound of clicking gears and a whistle from some distant steam machine, and Mat was thankful. The hustle and bustle of running a place like the Brass Spoon can be exhausting. If he had one more person leave crumbs all over his nice tables, or, god forbid, try to hold a conversation with him while he was handling a tray with multiple cups of scorching hot liquid-- Mat sighed. He could barely hold a conversation without balancing armfuls of heated drinks sometimes, and what kind of slob leaves a half-eaten tartelette between chair cushions? If it wasn’t for these afternoon walks, Mat might just go mad.

He hummed to himself as he continued his walk, some song from an obscure band that played at the Sound Garden a few weeks ago. This is nice, he thought. Stretching my legs, getting some fresh air… He glanced at the smokestacks looming above the city and frowned. Well, as close as you can get to fresh air. He eyed the dark fumes hovering above the rooftops and felt the urge to cough.

I feel like I’m the only one in this city who can’t stand all the smog and steam.

“Mat!” boomed a voice from down the street, jolting him out of his thoughts. Mat squinted and spied Hugo strolling down the cobbled road.

“Hello, Hugo!” Mat called, waving back. “How’ve you been?” Hugo crossed over to him and gave an enthusiastic clap on the shoulder, knocking Mat off balance more than he’d like to admit. Hugo wore a tawny twill vest over a cream colored shirt, coupled with dark brown pants and a nifty bowler hat.

“I’ve been well,” Hugo replied, holding up a cloth sack. “I bought some nice looking brie from the market and more than half the class actually read the assigned chapter of Copper Bones and Steel last night.”

“That’s great,” Mat said. “Carmensita is reading one of the Wheelwright classics for her class and she loves it. I get a line-by-line analysis of that day’s section over dinner.”

Hugo chuckled, “Glad to hear it. Next time you get a chance, tell her that a great way to annoy her teacher is to insist that Theodore is actually Professor Raven’s long lost son.”

“I have no idea what that means but I’ll let her know,” Mat laughed. “How’s Earnest?”

“Oh, the usual. He got in trouble the other day for lighting his homework on fire behind the school. Tried to say his teacher wouldn’t believe him otherwise. He was also apparently offering to burn his classmate’s homework as well in exchange for one of those new locket bobbles.”

“The Clockwork Hearts?”

“Yeah, you know them?”

“I actually bought one for myself the other day. It’s weird, you go to the shop, they take you into a backroom and have you write down three true loves, two deep fears, and they take one drop of blood. After that they supposedly mix it together and give you a locket imbued with your essence.” Mat held up his hand and wiggled his fingers for emphasis.

“Hm, seems a bit odd,” murmured Hugo. “Is it worth getting?” Mat shrugged.

“Yeah,” he said, “I actually like it. It helps with my anxiety a bit, somehow, even if it’s just a scam.” Mat reached into his coat pocket to so he could show Hugo the locket, and fished around for a few seconds before frantically checking his other pockets.

“It’s gone.” Mat groaned. “Yep, gone. Damn. I only got it a few days ago.”

“That’s not good,” said Hugo. “Can I help you look? It must be around here somewhere.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think I have time. We’re hosting an open mic tonight and I need to get back to set up for it. Chances are I left it at home anyway. Will I see you at the show?”

“Depends, are you playing?”

“Well, I- um..”

“I’m just messing with you. You know I’d love to hear you play, but it really depends on whether I think I can leave Earnest home tonight and expect the house to be standing when I return.”

“Oh, alright,” Mat replied. “I hope to see you there, but have a good evening regardless.”

“Thanks, Mat. You too.”

Mat hurried down the street towards the Brass Spoon. His mind was racing with the preparations he still needed to finish, and although he know that his Clockwork Heart was probably just an overpriced pocket watch, he felt a little empty without it.

Brian strolled down a candle-lit street, at ease in the evening dimness. He wore a crisp white button-up and crimson trousers under a long overcoat with silver buttons. He had also donned a rather dashing feathered top hat, or at least he thought so. As he mindlessly scratched at his beard, a glint of light caught the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a small heart-shaped locket on a silver chain resting on the cobblestone street. Brian paused, quickly looked down the lonely street to see if it’s owner might be nearby, and decided that whoever lost it must be long gone. He picked up the locket and squinted at it. He knew that he shouldn’t take it, but he also didn’t want to just leave the locket there, abandoned. After a minute, he placed it in his pocket. Maybe someone at the open mic will recognize it, he thought. As he continued on his path underneath the glowing street lanterns, he pondered who it might belong to. One of his neighbors? A hurried duchess leaving her forlorn husband? He made up elaborate fantasies as he walked. A clumsy pickpocket who was caught and ditched the evidence, or a lover who uncovered a marital affair and couldn’t bear to keep the locket, which had been a gift from their cheating spouse. Maybe the owner is a dashing prince who would sweep Brian off his feet. Brian chuckled. Whoever the mysterious owner was, Brian hoped he could meet them.

Brian pushed open the door to the Brass Spoon and was greeted with the sight of a hearty crowd. He spotted a few of his neighbors around the tavern, like Joseph and his herd of children in matching waistcoats, and Lucien with a group of his friends crowded at a corner table. Across the room he noticed Amanda and her father- what was his name again?- sparring with their forks over a bowl of chips and melted cheese. Brian smirked at his poor technique, he should know not to relax his wrist. He walked over to an empty seat at the counter. Pablo strutted over to him grinning, his seafoam green hair tied back in a high bun.

“What’s up, Brian!”

“Good to see you, Pablo,” Brian responded cheerfully. “I’ll have a green tea if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Sure thing,” Pablo replied. “Glad you can bend an elbow. How’s Daisy?”

“She’s great. She just designed a self-imploding lock in tinkering class.”

“A what now?” asked Pablo as he poured fresh tea into a cup.

“It’s a lock that melts its insides after a failed attempt at unlocking it. Renders any lockpicking useless. She got an A+ for the project and a company has offered to buy her blueprints.” Pablo slid the warm cup across the counter to Brian.

“That’s pretty sweet.”

“Yeah, I’m proud of her.”

The other patrons began to cheer and Brian turned his head to see Mat walking onto the small stage in the back of the tavern. He wore a simple suit with embroidered shoes, and his hair had that messy, I-didn’t-have-time-to-style-it-but-I-still-look-good kind of look that Brian found himself really liking.

“Welcome to the Brass Spoon open mic, everybody!” said Mat. Brian felt the locket grow warm in his pocket. He fished it out of his pocket and held it in front of his face. Maybe it was just the glint of the lights but he could swear it had started to glow.

“We’re so glad to have you all here tonight. We have some pretty great people performing, so I hope you’re all excited. At least, I think they’re pretty great, and all of them are cool people so I think you should be excited.” Mat stuttered and tugged on the bottom of his jacket. “But I can’t control you so if you’re not, um, well, I think this intro has gone on way too long so I’m gonna introduce the first act. Please welcome Cecilia to the stage, who will be performing an original piece on her flute.” The audience clapped and Mat walked off stage as Cecelia unpacked her instrument from its case. Brian saw that Mat’s cheeks were bright red, and he sympathised with Mat’s struggle of being up on stage and not knowing what to say. Still, it was kind of adorable.

The lineup consisted of Cecilia, two kids who performed a singing duet, a “retro-steamwave” pianist, lackluster stand-up comedy from one of Lucien’s friends, and a small set by a local rock band. After they concluded their last song with a rousing D chord, Mat returned to the stage to end the night.

“Thank you, Gears For Fears, for that fantastic performance. Make sure you check out their new album, they’ll be selling some copies at the door. That brings an end to our night, everybody, thank you all so much for coming-”

“What about you, Mat?” rang Pablo’s voice from behind the counter. A chorus of echoes rose from the crowd. Mat winced and said, “Oh, I’m sure you all don’t need that…” Amanda started a whisper chant and the audience joined in until the room was bursting with, “Mat, Mat, Mat…” cheering for him to perform. Brian smiled and clapped along, but paused when he felt the locket turn ice cold. Mat forced a smile and raised his hands in defeat.

“You all are lucky I’m so susceptible to peer pressure.” The crowd laughed and Pablo raced up to the stage to hand him an acoustic guitar. As Mat slung the guitar strap over his shoulders, Brian noticed that he was fumbling with his positioning and wiping sweat off his forehead. He frowned and ran his thumb over locket’s clammy metal surface. Despite his anxiety, Mat sat down, took a deep breath, and began to play. The song was breathtakingly beautiful, wrought with passion and gentleness. Although there were no words, Brian knew it was a love song. The locket began to pulse with warmth in his hand. Brian was captivated by the music, but more so by the man playing it.

It wasn’t his first time performing in front of a crowd since Rosa passed, but it never seemed to get easier. Mat finished the song with a slow pick up the strings and the crowd erupted in a standing ovation. He fought every instinct he had to not bolt off stage, but somehow managed to thank the crowd and even remind them to check out the album selling at the door. After a few minutes of recuperating in the back, he finally reentered the room and and tried to quietly slip behind the counter. Mindless work like dishwashing was a great break from all the talking and performing, and there was a generous heap of dirty plates and cups that would gladly provide that relief. Mat grabbed soap and a rag and started scrubbing. He heard a voice from behind him,

“Excuse me, sir?”

Mat set down the plate and rag, dried his hands, and turned to tend to his customer. He locked eyes with a large, full-bearded man warmly smiling at him from the other side of the counter. Mat gulped.

Oh god.

He’s hot.

The man waved him over and Mat realized he had frozen up staring at him. His legs carried him over to the counter and he tried to casually smile and adjust his messy hair.

“Why, good evening, sir. How can I help you?”

“I just wanted to tell you I really enjoyed the open mic. Especially your performance, it was stunning.” Mat blushed.

“I appreciate that, thank you.”

“You wrote that song yourself, right? It was incredible. What inspired it?”

“Well, um, it was about love. And, also the feeling of missing being in love.” Mat paused and tried to read the man’s reaction, but ended up just staring into his eyes for a few seconds and awkwardly looking away. Damn it, Mat, play cool. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a relationship.” The man grinned,

“No way!”

“What?”

“I don’t believe that after seeing you and hearing you play. Surely everyone is dying to be with you.”

Mat just stared.

“I know that I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity like that.”

Mat squinted in mild confusion.

“After all,” the man smirked, “how could anyone resist someone so good with their hands?”

Mat’s eyes widened as he finally realized what was going on.

“Oh! Um, yeah I guess,” he stuttered, blushing even harder. Damn it, Mat. He tried to casually lean on the counter and look like those sexy men in the movies. “I mean, we close in 20 minutes but I think I could make an exception for a hot dude with a great beard and gorgeous eyes. Especially a hot dude who’s interested in my hands. Want to stick around?”

“Sounds like a plan.” the man laughed. “This dude’s name is Brian by the way,” he reached in his pocket, “and I think this belongs to you.” Brian held out an open hand with Mat’s Clockwork Heart. Mat stared at it in disbelief. He looked at the locket, then at Brian, and back at the locket before slowly reaching for it. He grabbed it and let his hand linger before pulling it back quickly.

“Wow. Thank you.” Mat smiled at Brian and returned to the sink, heart racing, trying to hurry through the heap of dirty dishes. The Brass Spoon was nearly empty but it might as well have been the lunch rush. He couldn’t stop thinking about who was sitting just a few feet away, and the gift that had just been returned to him resting around his neck. He had returned the locket, but Brian still had Mat’s heart, and Mat hoped he might have it for a long time.

@ddaddsss

#dream daddy #ddadds #brian harding #mat sella #fanfic #Brian x mat #ddaddsss-2017 #ddaddsss2017

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