*I loved writing this. That's all. Full a/n at bottom.*
There’s been an excitement fluttering around the house, a level of happiness that you haven’t seen or felt since your birthday a few months ago, probably. There’s some surprise that the boys have all been talking about, but all three refuse to share anything with you. It is driving you absolutely insane.
Matt walks in and smiles once he sees you’re up. "Oh, good, you’re up. Get dressed, I want to show you something," he says, barely able to hide his grin. You get ready and follow him quietly to his car, confused but excited. He hasn’t said a word, but it clicks—this is the surprise. You get dressed fast and go to his car.
The drive is quick, he pulls into the parking lot of a bookstore, and your heart jumps. You look at him, but he doesn’t meet your eyes. He just shrugs and gets out. Once you walk inside, he puts his hand on your lower back and gently guides you to where he wants you. That’s when everything comes into focus—a worker setting up a stack of books, and on top is a small display of Matt, with the words, “What Happened Yesterday by Matthew Sturniolo.”
You freeze in place. "Matt… Am I really seeing this?"
He nods, cheeks burning as he bites back a proud smile.“Go on, look. But don’t grab one—yours is at home. It’s special.”
You step forward, your whole body shaking with all of the feelings. He really did this, and you had no idea. Suddenly, all the emotions flow out. "Shut the fu— Matt?! Is this a book?!”
Matt smiles, and his face goes red. "Yeah. You’re going to be the first person to read it, well, besides my brothers and me. Should we get home so you can see your copy?”
You snap a quick picture of the stand, grab his hand, and practically drag him to the car. He laughs the whole way. The drive home is quiet; you’re shaking with excitement, barely able to form words. Matt occasionally just looks at you and smiles.
Once parked in the driveway, you bolt from the car. Matt is right behind you as you burst through the door. On the couch, you spot it: your copy.
“That’s yours. It’s special, you’ll see why in a second.” He whispers, coming to stand behind you.
You take in his words, turning the book over and over in your hands. You’re gentle, as if holding a sacred heirloom. The book smells heavenly, and you smile. This is huge—and you’re the first one to hold a physical copy. You knew he was working on his project, but you never had an idea what it was. Now you realize it was so much more than something silly. Matt wants you to experience this page by page, moment by moment, feelings fresh and new with each chapter.
Suddenly, you giggle and look at him. You give him a quick kiss. You both sit on the couch, and you snuggle with him so your back is against his chest, tucking your feet under you and looking up at him. His arms come around your sides and hold you gently. "I can’t believe this is happening," you whisper. "My boyfriend really wrote a book. Wow."
Matt laughs nervously, squeezing your side softly. "It’s my first book, let’s not judge it too hard, ok? I put a lot into this."
"Matthew Bernard," you scold softly, looking at him. "It’s going to be absolutely perfect, and I’ll be obsessed, I just know it."
He ducks his head, giving you quick kisses to your temple. You smile. “Thank you, I hope you really do love it, [Y/N].”
You smile as your finger finds the edge of the cover, and you open it. It’s as if all the air leaves you, because there, on the inside of the cover, is a note… from Matt. In black ink, with his messy handwriting that you always tease him about, is a message.
“To my home,
Thank you for never giving up on me when things get hard, for being my guiding light in this part of my life, and for always loving me regardless of what is happening around us. This book isn’t about us, but I always had you in mind because you always told me to chase my dreams and make something I’m proud of. I love you more than any amount of words can ever say, and thank you for just being you. I hope you enjoy this.
Love you forever,
Matt.”
You sit there, not moving. You read the words about ten times over, tears falling gently down your face, and your heart so full. "Did you really give me my own dedication in my book?" you whisper.
Matt nods, wiping away the tears carefully as he looks at you. "You always thought it was cute when authors did that, so I wanted to give you something that was yours."
You bite your lip, trying to stop the tears. You quickly turn around and kiss him.
He sighs into the kiss. When he pulls away, he wipes more tears away and whispers, “At this rate, you will never get to read it. No more crying baby, unless it’s from the book. Got it?”
You giggle and nod, settling back against him. You smile one more time at the dedication, then flip to the first page. Matt wraps his arms around your waist again, his chin resting softly on top of your head so he can watch all of your reactions.
As you're reading, Matt fingers are never still—he’s twirling a strand of your hair, then tucking it behind your ear, then tracing lazy patterns on your cheek. You sigh, melting into the gentle touch. It’s so, so him. You reach up, batting his hand away, but he just grins and starts again. A small giggle leaves your lips.
Matt quietly reads behind you, both of you enjoying the book together silently. Every once in a while, you let out a soft laugh at something funny only he could write about. Sometimes, though, you let out a soft gasp or choked sound at something vulnerable or sad, he wrote. When you do that, he gives you a gentle squeeze to reassure you that he is truly okay.
Somehow it went from silent reading to you two popcorn reading out loud—specifically about his family, the loss he went through, and how it changed him.
Your voice is like a whisper as you read, something this heartfelt isn’t supposed to be loud, you think. Matt listens, his throat closing up as tears fill his eyes, but don’t spill over. Amazed at how you can bring his personal story to life like you did, just by reading his words.
When you finish that page, you pause for a second and look at him. You both have tears falling, you reach up and wipe his away as he does the same for you. A moment of simple intimacy. But it doesn’t last long before you sniffle and laugh. Soon, Matt joins, and it goes from crying to laughter.
You fall into each other, laughing softly and holding onto one another. Matt gently strokes your cheek, smiling softly before whispering, "I don’t know how I got so lucky with you."
“I could say the same to you, Mr. Sturniolo.” You rub your nose against his, lovingly.
You return to your original position and continue reading silently. The afternoon sun is slowly setting, you’re getting close to the end of the book, and you panic, you don't want it to be over yet. So you start to read slowly, really taking in every word. As you reach the last page, you trace the ending with your finger and smile.
You turn in his arms, you stare for a second, taking in all of his features that you love. "You wrote something that matters, Matt. You wrote something that’s going to change people."
He shakes his head, but you shush him with a finger to his lips. "You are going to change so many people with this. Don’t you dare think you won’t."
He grins, pulling you impossibly closer. Affection that words can’t say.
You wiggle out of the hug and fumble for your phone, nearly dropping it on the floor. "Okay, time for me to be a total cliché. We need a selfie, obviously—I have to be the first one with my new favorite author," you say, laughing as you scoot closer to Matt.
“We take pictures all the time, what are you talking about [Y/N]?” But even as he laughs, he leans in softly and presses his cheek against yours, smiling. His grin is the biggest you have ever seen since knowing him.
You take a few: one with big smiles, one making weird faces at each other, and one where you are holding his book up and you two are kissing behind it. You both scroll through them and smile. “That’s my favorite, I want to print it out and frame it,” Matt says softly, pointing to the last one.
“I think I can make that happen for you, writer boy.” You say, smiling at him.
For a moment, everything else is forgotten as you stare at each other. Matt suddenly kisses you, slow, grateful, loving. It’s not rushed, hungry, or intense. Just peaceful, which is your favorite type of kiss from him. It means he’s feeling everything at once.
You pull away, cupping his jaw, searching his eyes for a second. Your voice shakes, but you don’t care. “You make me so proud. Every day. But today especially. You’re going to make so many people feel seen and heard. You’re going to be their safe place, Matt.”
He closes his eyes in satisfaction, letting the words flow through him. "I really hope so. That’s all I ever wanted. Was for people to not feel alone," he whispers.
You rub his cheek gently. “They won’t. They have you and the beautiful words you just wrote.”
He laughs, tears forming in his eyes once again, "Jesus, when did you become such a fucking sap?”
"I think I learned it from my boyfriend, even if he likes to say he isn’t one.” You tease.
Later that night, as you two lie on the couch together, Matt nudges you softly. "So like," he says, his voice teasing, "you might need to keep an eye out for the next book, heard it might include something about a pretty girl in it. Or ya know, whatever, you don’t have to.”
“Oh? Already planning a second book? Not even going to see if this one will be big? Ambitious dreams, Matt.” You grin, heart fluttering at the thought.
“Well, I mean, if I did make a second one, would you be okay being mentioned in it?” He asks quietly.
You don’t have a chance to respond, the front door swings open, Nick and Chris step into the room, big smiles fill their faces.
"She read it right? God, please tell me she read it?” Nick asks as he plops down on the couch by your feet.
Chris sits on the chair across from the couch. “I want to know if she read the dedication you wrote her. [Y/N], Matt read it to us like ten times to make sure it sounded perfect.”
You look at Matt, then at his brothers. "It was better than I ever expected, honestly," you say. Suddenly, Nick and Chris attack you and Matt. Loud cheers fill the room. They are finally able to celebrate the big surprise.
Matt’s face goes completely red. You’ve never seen him blush this hard before. He laughs as he lets his brothers hug you two. Totally enjoying celebrating with the people who love him most.
This is what happiness looks like.
M yaps: I kicked like a school girl, I screamed like a school girl, I giggled like a school girl, and I may have cried? But OH MY GOD this was my favorite thing to write. So proud of Matt, WTFFFF
thank you to @courta13 and @privatelyowned-t for helping me with the pictures and dividers. Mwah!
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