Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Title: Always and Forever

Summary: Mello and Matt have been friends for as long as they have known each other. They will always and forever be friends. Unless they are torn apart by something unforeseen. [romance, angst [MelloxMatt

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Mello had always looked for acknowledgment. Not friendship, not even power, but recognition for what he has done. Always, he was Number One. The smartest, most cunning, clever little genius who succeeded at everything he did. Winning came easy, without even trying.

But then came a block in his road in success. It seemed small at first, a tiny boy named Near, who sat in the game room and played with puzzles all day. Mello watched him with guarded eyes, curious as to who this newcomer was, and why he shut himself off from the world. Friends had always been one of Mello's main concerns. After all, what were friends if not allies? No matter what happened in the game of life, friends would back you up, even give their life for you. In reality, Mello was not a friend back. He would not mourn deaths of those close to them, only accept them with a little bit of sadness, for he would have to find one to take their place. But this boy…this boy sat by himself, twirling a strand of hair around his pointer finger, and calmly put together the pieces of blank puzzles. The hardest puzzles that L ever gave them were solved in a mere matter of hours for Near, while Mello had sat for days staring at one when he was younger. Three days, and his patience had worn out. Standing up with a huff, he had kicked the puzzle pieces, shouting about how stupid the puzzle was, and how he had better things to do with his time. The puzzle pieces had been left scattered on the floor, battered by his fiery blind rage. Now they were slid carefully into place, one after the other, in a steady stream of solutions that seemed to never cease. Mello stewed and brooded over the fact that a boy that had barely been here a week could solve what he couldn't.

Over the next few months, power slowly slipped away from Mello's grasp. Without even trying, Near had stepped in and taken Mello's place as The Best. Number One. All of the tests, he aced. The puzzles continued to be solved. The other orphans stared in astonishment as the mutely silent boy won the game of intelligence. However, Mello was not going to go down without a fight. In fact, much of his life he had been fighting, even when not threatened. Challenges were what he lived for, and as long as he could overcome them, they were almost a game. Studying all night for most of the nights, and attempting to increase his intelligence during his free time, Mello was confident he could beat Near. The rivalry that the other boy was hardly aware of was a war-zone to Mello, and every move was carefully analyzed. The next test came and passed, and he waited anxiously for the results. It took three days for it to be graded, and those were the most anxious days of his life so far. Results could either make him, or break him, compared to what Near got. The day finally came when they were handed back, and Mello beamed and gleamed at his results. After class, he calmly walked over to Near, with an air that exuded confidence, power, and arrogance. "Hey, look at my grade," he had said, holding up his test for the whole world to see. Ninety-nine percent! One percent away from perfect, and nobody could be perfect, Mello had decided. "That's very good," the other boy said, looking up at Mello with a blank stare that held no emotion. "Well, what did you get?" demanded Mello. He simply had to know. He had to prove himself right. "A one-hundred," came the answer, spoken slowly and purposefully, although he did not notice the hint of a challenge in his own voice. Or, at least, challenge that had been interpreted by Mello. Standing in shock for a good, long moment, Mello did not move. His joints seemed to be frozen, as his stuttering mind failed to comprehend that not only was Near still better than him, after all those nights of studying, but he was also perfect. "What?!" he bellowed, fist slamming down on the desk. A crowd had gathered around them now, fueled by interest for the fight. Again he slammed his fist down, cracking the wood, and coming dangerously close to the other boy, who regarded him with slightly widened eyes. The crowd gasped in awe, although they were never surprised by Mello's random outbursts of anger. Mello had raised his fist again, this time aimed at the perfect boy still sitting, but a teacher had made his way over. "Mr. Mello!" he barked. "That is quite enough out of you! Come with me, if you will." It was not a request, it was a command. The adult grabbed Mello by his arm and dragged the boy behind him. Although walking completely composed, not afraid of repercussions, he craned his next behind him and shot a glare at Near that could mean one thing: certain death, certain rivalry, and certain failure. Mello's grip had loosed on the paper that held his failure in two simple numbers, and while leaving the room, it fell entirely. It drifted slowly to the ground, face up, as if for the whole world to see Mello's shame. The crowd by this time had dispersed, save for one person. Shaggy brown hair fell over the boys eyes as he watched Mello get dragged away, knowing he would be back tonight. He followed them out the door, by paused to look down at the forgotten test. Bending down to pick it up, he started to crumple it in his hands, wanting to erase this moment of failure from his friends memory forever, but instead stopped. Shrugging seemingly to himself, he shoved the piece of paper into one of his deep pockets, and resumed returning to the room.

Later that night, Mello returned to the room he shared with the shaggy haired boy, Matt. Matt was sitting on one of the beds, fingers flying over a laptop, although his eyes were unfocused on the screen. The door flew open with rage, banging against the wall, and nearly rebounding back into the face of the boy who came practically flying into the room. Without turning, he swung the shaking door shut behind him, somewhat pleased with the reverberations around to room from the slamming of the wood back into its place, still wobbling unsurely on its hinges. Mello took forceful strides to his bed, and rammed himself down on top of the comforter, not even taking off his shoes before turning over onto his back.
"Bad?" Matt asked distractedly. By now, he was used to Mello's frequent visits to 'the man.'
"Bad?! BAD! You know what they did Matt?" he asked loudly. Without giving Matt to even take a breath to answer, he plowed on. "You know what they did? They accused me of being jealous! Jealous, Matt! Of that freak! Who spend all his time sitting, playing with stupid games, that won't even help in real life! I have experience! I'm better! I'm better, Matt! I'm better than him!" Glancing up at his clearly enraged friend, Matt gave a little sigh. "They're idiots, Mello. They don't even know who you are." Lifting himself from his bed, he walked over to his friend, stopping awkwardly at the bedside. They stared at each other for a long moment, Mello's eyes bright with wrath, Matt's soothing, calming. "They don't know you," Matt whispered, voice soft and low. "You will always be better than him, and he knows it. He's just trying to….show off." He stumbled for words to calm down his friend, who always seemed to be in a flurry of emotions. Personally, Matt didn't know why Mello let such things get to him. He was so strong, so sure of himself, yet he lashed out at anybody who spoke otherwise, like he wasn't comfortable in his own skin. "Near knows," Mello visibly winced at that name, "that the only skills he has is intelligence. You have so much more. Cunning, cleverness, skill…" Mello almost didn't care that Matt was being redundant with his choice of words. He sighed in resignation, closing his eyes momentarily. "It's just…" he trailed off, searching for the right words. But Matt knew how he felt, it was indescribable. It was the feeling that you were better, but nobody would sit up and take notice. Like you were undiscovered, your own brightness dwarfed by something burning brighter, but that other light was a falsity. Despite that, it still drowned you in failure and resentment. "T-thanks," the overly-emotional boy said, the emotional upset finally disappearing from his voice. "No problem," Matt smiled. It was a gleaming, joyous smile, complete with flashing cheeks and glimmering eyes. "That's what friends are for, right?" Reaching down, he brushed a lock of blond hair from the perfect face below him, using his fingers to gently comb it back behind the boys ear.

"You'll always be my friend?"

"Always and forever."

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A/N: This is the first chapter to a three chapter series. I like to think of Mello as a hurricane, causing destruction and fueled by rash actions. Matt, I like to believe, is his calming force. Telling him to think reasonably, slow down, and take time.