butterflies ઇଓ matt sturniolo imagines

𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨

ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅ઇଓ

     you don't love the outdoors, to say the least. the greenery is beautiful, of course; all of the blossoming flowers in spring, and the way the sun shines through the leaves and makes it look like god chose to shine that specific ray down for you to see... now all of that, you like. but the bugs, and the cold, and the hardness of the ground under your back as you slept? you had different feelings for those facets. so, naturally, matt's suggestion that everyone go on a secluded camping trip mid-winter wasn't his best idea.
you wanted no part of it, but you are also the world's biggest pushover when it comes to your boyfriend. he has this childlike ability to nag and nag you until you have to give in just to appease him. his brothers have it, too, if matt can sway them towards his cause. so you've suffered a week's worth of begging and pleading from the band of boys, and eventually your sanity wasn't worth saving, so you agreed.
now, as you sat in the mouth of a frigid cold tent and frustratedly watched matt poke at a dying fire, you wished you would've been more headstrong about it being a brother's trip.

"maybe the wood is too wet." nick proposed, leaning back in his rickety camping chair. he was quite the sight- not a fan of the freezing himself, his face was all that was visible. foot to head he was clad in three layers of clothing, not a fingertip forced to endure the weather. his nose and mouth were free, but clearly he could bear it if it meant he could lay back in warmth and ridicule everyone all night... asshole, you thought, and then instantly felt guilty. alright, so maybe you were a bit irritable, but who could blame you? the temperature was in the twenties!

"thanks for that, genius," matt sighed, lighting yet another piece of a leftover magazine they took from home and pushing it into the sizzling stack of wood. the boy had been trying to curate a flame for twenty-five minutes, but it refused to catch. the campground had recently been subjected to a heavy rainfall just hours prior, when the boys and you were driving up; you saw the billowing gray clouds looming miles in the distance, and you wondered if they'd be a problem. weatherman chris promised they wouldn't be, but now he was less bundled then nick- by his own lack of clothes packing- and seeming to be suffering just like you.

"want me to go look for more firewood?" chris asked, jumping up eagerly. the boy was bursting to move and get some of the blood rushing through his body again before he got stuck in his chair.

"i mean..." matt trailed off, not wanting to admit he maybe should've tried harder to find drier logs.

"i'll go take a look around. won't go far. come on, nick,"

"what? no, i'm not moving!"

"get your ass up or i'll make sure you get fuckin' frostbite!" chris teased darkly, crossing the sputtering fire and tugging nick from his chair. the two jogged away, hoping at least to get a little warmer if wood was out of the question.

matt looked across the little camping spot they'd chosen to see you sitting quietly, legs criss-crossed on a little tree stump you'd cushioned with a blanket. your beanie was tugged down to your eyes, and your mouth was buried in the soft cashmere of the nice scarf matt had gifted you for christmas. you huffed slowly into the fabric and watched the hot steam of your breath puff through the weaving, and smiled softly at him. you couldn't be mad about the fire, because even though you were so cold, he was working so hard.
     he couldn't be more handsome if he tried. his flannel pulled tight over his shoulders, straining against two hoodies and a sweater underneath because in his words, he couldn't "sacrifice the fit"; dark jeans, dark shoes, everything dark so as to hide him from the naked eye in case he needed to take out some dangerous on-comers in the night. his fair face was flushed from the wind, and his blue eyes reflected the few sparks catching at the base of the fire, and his smile could've engulfed the whole thing in flames if its warmth was paranormal enough.