"Drying The Tears" by blackdragonflower

Requested by: MCL3690

Summary: The dream always haunted him, and probably always will. But with loving arms to cry into maybe it'll all pass and he can find the pleasantries of sleep once again. MattxMello

Characters belong to Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Warning: May have disturbing concepts.

--

The room was bright, a type of cheerful despite being dirty and worn down. A young boy with messy red hair sat amongst a pile of laundry on the floor trying to read a book. The pictures fascinated him more so than the words. He looked up from the pages hearing his mother enter the room. The child frowned when he saw the man with his arm so perversely situated around his mother's neck. Still he greeted his mother cheerfully, "Hi mommy!"

"Sweetie... Mail darling... this is Mr. Kardinski."

"H-hullo..." Mail muttered trying to hide behind his book. He didn't like this man, something about him scared him.

"He always this shy?"

"Not usually Mr. Kardinski."

"Please Charlotte... how many times do I have to tell you to call me Devin?"

"Yes sir... I'm sorry sir... Mail come here dear..."

The five-and-a-half year old trotted to his mother's side and extended his arms wanting to be held. "Why mommy look sad?"

The woman looked like she was about to break down, but picked up her child. "Oh baby... mommy's perfectly fine." The redheaded boy laid his cheek on his mom's shoulder feeling sleepy.

"Okay... Mail no like see mommy sad."

The child's sleepy eyes were crawling closed when the mystery man spoke again. "Charlotte I'm taking the boy and if you try stopping me or call the police I'll have your mistake of a son killed. I'll be paying the rent for this dump and to cover up your mishap... However you need to get your ass back into working shape instead of worrying about a child. If you don't start showing some return..."

"I understand!" Charlotte cried tears beginning to stream down her pale cheeks as she held her son. "Please don't hurt him Devin..."

"Dear I think you have more things to be worried about. Now give me the boy."

Charlotte held the nearly sleeping child close kissing scarlet fiery locks. The little boy's fingers clung into his mother's skimpy top. "Don't cry mommy! I wuv you!"

"I love you too baby... Sleep well Mail. I love you... I hope one day you'll be able to forgive me." Devin grabbed the child prying the boy from his mother's arms, his eyes narrowed in frustration. Mail reached for his mother over the man's shoulder his big green eyes filling with tears, as he was no longer sleepy but afraid.

"Mommy!"

"Sh... It'll be okay baby. Remember I always love you."

Mail sniffled tears sliding down his baby smooth cheeks. "...Mommy..." That's when the man pulled the gun and blew a few bullets through the woman's torso and left her there for dead. "MOMMY!"

"MOM!" Matt jolted awake, his fingers curled tightly into his blankets and sheets. His breathing was heavy and he whimpered burying his face into his pillow letting the sobs escape. Coldly, brutally he relived his mother's murder. That man had wrecked his life and almost taken it. The memory caused shivers to snake down Matt's spine making him wish he'd worn a shirt to bed. It had been a long time ago, but he couldn't let it go no matter how hard he tried. The man who'd taken him, murdered his mother, was a mafia junkie. It was later that he'd been busted in a drug exchange, at that time Matt had been gagged and deposited in a closet so he couldn't make noises to disturb the dealings. He was frightened to death when he heard the gunshots ringing around. It wasn't a surprise when the little boy's bladder did what it's supposed to and made a slight mess out of the child's pants, soiling them. The gangster tried getting to the closet to grab Matt and use him as a hostage but was shot down before he made it that far. Matt had shrunk away from the door when he heard the doorknob clicking and the light shimmered through.

"Sir there's a child here!"

"A child?"

"Yes sir. He's gagged... the suspect was probably going to use him as a hostage..."

An old man with a whitened mustache took the frightened thing in his arms. "Poor thing... You soiled yourself. You don't have parents do you?" The child shook his head while he tried squirming away. "Then I know the perfect place for you. It's a place where you can make friends your age and have good food with a comfortable bed."

"I...can sleep in comfy bed and not floor?"

"You can have whatever you want."

The boy sniffled and cried. "I want my mommy back!"

"...I still do..." Matt murmured tears still leaking down his face. The gamer looked up from his pillow when he heard the rustling of covers and Mello sitting slightly up. The blonde rubbed his eye and yawned glancing over.

"Hey Matt... what's the matter? You have that nightmare again?" Matt nodded in response. Mello sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "C'mon... you can climb in my bed since it calms you down."

Matt wiped the silver trail from his cheek. "You sure Mells?"

"I locked the door... so no one can walk in on us... Just c'mon... before I decide to change my mind."

"Okay..." The redhead slipped from his bed and went to crawl in beside his secret boyfriend. Both boys were still rooming in Wammy's and if the fact they were secretly dating got out they'd be in trouble, and worse they'd be separated from one another. Neither could bear that thought. Matt clutched Mello close around the waist smiling faintly when the blonde embraced him in return. The gamer breathed a sigh a breath of relief when he felt Mello softly running his slender fingers through his fiery locks of hair.

"There... feeling better?" The chocolate lover yawned. Matt nodded and leaned up a bit kissing Mello on the lips. The blonde's icy blue eyes widened in shock.

"Thank you Mells."

"That dream's been bothering you a lot lately... but you never told me what it was about..."

"It's about my mother... and how she died in front of me when I was real little..." Matt choked out burying his face in his teen lover's neck.

"Oh... you never told me about that..."

"It's... real hard."

Mello sighed and buried his face in Matt's messy hair. He didn't know how to comfort Matt; comforting wasn't his strong suit. "I'm sorry."

Matt sadly chuckled and pinched Mello's cheeks. The blonde growled under his breath. "Don't worry about it Mel-Mells!"

"Hmph... and I'd just thought of a way to calm your sorry ass down." The archangel rolled his eyes then smirked devilishly. Matt loved that smirk, because it belonged to no one else but Mello.

The gamer was curious now though, what had Mello been planning? His memories of the nightmare slowly began to fade away. "Mello... what is it?"

"I remembered a song my father use to sing to me when I was having trouble sleeping."

"Your father?"

"Yeah... cuz my mother left him and deposited me in his care without so much of a goodbye... so he took care of me by himself, and one day while he was driving home from work a bridge collapsed and he was trapped underneath it and died."

"Oh... wow Mells... I'm sorry."

"Ah... who's apologizing now?"

"Well... anyways..." Matt bit his lip, almost afraid to ask. "can you still sing it to me? ...Please...?"

"Fine... but it's in German..."

"That's okay." Matt snuggled close to his lover excited to hear his voice. Just being this close to him brought an insane amount of warmth and comfort. Despite Mello's outrageous personality he put out a certain frequency of calm that was just right for Matt to tune into. With a deep breath Mello began to hum a couple bars then sang a lullaby. It was sweet and his cheeks were hazy pink. He was probably embarrassed to be doing this. When it finally came to a close Matt was yawning cutely, little tears dotting the corners of his eyes marking his tiredness.

"That sounded pretty Mel-Mells... Are there English lyrics?"

"Well... the lyrics in English roughly translate to, If you're afraid and can't close your eyes remember I'm here by your side. No matter how great the storm I may face to be there I'll make my way to you and hold you tight, and keep you safe through the night. Nothing will hold me back from wiping your tears or loving the smile you show, the one I hold so dear. So close your eyes and let sleep consume your weary body and spirit because I'll watch over you and keep you safe... even when I'm gone I'll still be here."

With a soft touch the redhead placed his hand against the blonde's cheek bringing his lover in for a sweet good night kiss. Mello's hands rested against Matt's neck and drew the young teen in closer for a more engaging kiss. The bed creaked gently with the adjustment of weight and Matt cracked open his eyes to find Mello straddled over top of him hair falling down like a sheet of rain. "Do you... still remember your nightmare Mattie?"

"N-no..." The redhead licked his lips staring into his boyfriend's chilly azure eyes. "N-not at all..." Matt shivered when Mello swept down, pressing a cool kiss to the underside of his jaw. "It's getting harder to resist Matt... but we really need to go to bed..." Somehow Mello was able to get himself back on the mattress instead of over his best friend and boyfriend. Matt's nose crinkled as he smiled with a laugh. "Can you sing me that song Mells? I liked it a lot... you sing real nice."

"Alright... fine..." Mello muttered, "but don't you dare mention this to anyone!"

"Don't worry honey I won't."

"Grr... I don't have to sing for you Matt..."

"I'm sorry Mells! It was just cute, like you! Please sing..." He pouted to further increase his chances of getting his way. Mello sighed.

"Fine bum."

"Love you Mells!" The redhead recited cheerfully, the memories of his nightmare gone for the while until the next time it harassed him. Cuddled underneath a warm blanket, snuggled close Mello sang to Matt the lullaby he'd heard when he was a small child. It was like a walk down memory lane for the both of them as they recalled similar embraces to the ones they use to share with their parents before their departures from the world. But both thought trains drifted from the then to the now and they smiled, because they were happy and had each other. For now, that's all they'd ever need.

-- -- -- -- --

-- -- -- -- --

Hiya. As you saw at the beginning of this fic it was in fact requested. I had a little difficulty because I'm kinda out of MattxMello plots... :nervous chuckle: But anyways! MCL3690 dear I hoped you enjoyed the fic since you requested one!

For all those else that read: Thank you very much for taking the time out to do so! If you liked it (and you wouldn't mind) I'm very thankful for all those that leave reviews so I know what I did good and what I need to improve on and would much appreciate a review (even if it's super short)!

Hugs for everyone, Tata!

bdf