Little Lamb
(Slightly AU; Matt and Mello meet, before Wammy's...the ending scene is set at Wammy's)
Mary had a little lamb
Who's fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
That lamb was sure to go
It was a relatively normal day on Mello's part. The five-year-old blond child pulled on his backpack, silently walking past his parents, who were passed out on the couch. When they woke up, they would be in what they called 'hangovers.' Mello didn't want to be around to witness that.
The door creaked mercilessly as he shut it. Thankfully, no angry father or mother came out, face flushed in anger, yelling swear words.
Their patio was long neglected, but the sunshine made it look a little more decent. Golden rays of light--the same shade of Mello's hair-- streamed down onto the leaf-cluttered granite floor. The round coffee table stood all alone in one corner...and was that a little boy hiding underneath?
Curious, Mello went down on his fours, crawling up to the stranger taking refuge under the table. The boy's hair was a red mess, head cast down into his knees, which were drawn up to his chest. He was asleep, it seemed.
"Hello?" Mello tentatively poked the exposed knee, noticing with a wince the scratches that lacerated the porcelain skin.
"H-huh?" The red-haired boy looked up, eyes wide behind silly goggles. His cheeks, Mello noted, were bruised.
Before Mello could answer, there was a loud crash from inside his home. Quickly, he pulled the redhead out. "Come on, before my parents find us." The two sneaked out the front gate, iron and rusted.
"I-I'm sorry," the redhead stammered once they had started walking along the sidewalk, starting the short walk to Mello's preschool. "I t-thought that it w-was abandoned."
"It's okay," Mello said, smiling innocently. Worried, he took the younger boy's hand when he saw he was limping. "Do you want to go to the hospital?" Mello had very little experience with hospitals, but he'd seen them in TV shows and could probably navigate his way around.
"No hospital." The redhead suddenly stopped, taking a step away from the five-year-old blond. "You're going to bring me back to them, aren't you?" He asked accusingly.
Mello tilted his head to the side. His eyes took in the sight of the shorter boy before him: a pure white fleece shirt(unusually clean), brown knee-length shorts stained with dirt, and grass stained sneakers. Where had he come from? Had he run away? "I'm not going to if you don't want me to." He smiled again, putting out his hand. "I'm Mello. What's your name?"
The redhead looked him over once, before deciding he could trust him. Shyly, he gripped Mello's flawless hand with his calloused one. "I'm Matt."
"Nice to meet you, Matt," the blond chirped, resuming walking. "Would you like to go to school with me?"
"What's school?" Matt asked curiously, basking in Mello's bright glow of energy.
"School is where you get to learn things," Mello said, looking excited. "If I ask Mr. Lawrence, I think you can come to school with me! That would be fun, don't'cha think?"
Matt made a face. "I don't like to learn. Who's Mr. Lawrence?"
"He's really nice; he gives me chocolate all the time," Mello gushed. "He's really smart too, y'know. I want to be just like him someday. Oh, we're here!" Mello started to run to the opened doors of his beloved preschool, Matt tagging along hesitantly.
Mello wouldn't turn him in, would he?
No, he wouldn't! a voice from his mind told him. He's too nice. He wouldn't do such a thing.
"Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence!" Mello stopped right in front of an adult in a suit. "I want you to meet my new friend, Matt."
"Hello, Matt." Mr. Lawrence smiled down at him.
Again, Matt felt shy at the sincere eyes.
"Will he be going to school with you, Mello?" The teacher asked.
"Well, not yet, but I was hoping you could let him in!" Mello said.
Mr. Lawrence's eyebrows furrowed in worry. "I cannot do that without his legal guardian, I'm afraid."
Mello blinked, though he pressed on, "I am his guardian."
Matt felt a wave of unexpected happiness flood through him.
"I cannot do that, Mello, I'm sorry," Mr. Lawrence apologized, and excused himself to go back in the building.
"...You can't come," Mello said softly once he was gone.
"It's okay," Matt said optimistically. "I'll wait here outside anyway."
"Will you be okay?"
"Of course!"
Later on, when the children were dismissed from the prison known as school, Mello was the first to rush out. "Matty!" He called, using the nickname he had decided upon earlier. "I'm here, you can come out now!"
Matt came tumbling out of a shrub, the once-snow white fleece sweater cake with tanbark and dirt.
"Silly," Mello giggled, smoothing out the leaves in that wonderfully soft mess of red hair.
Matt blushed at the affection he was getting. "Thanks. I stole this shirt anyway."
Mello hit him lightly. "Not nice to steal."
"I don't like it, either," Matt said airily, feeling at ease with the blond.
"About tomorrow..." Mello started as they began to walk back to his house, "...I can probably sneak you in to my room for tonight, but for school..."
"No worries, I'll just wait for you outside."
"We can't do that! What if it rains?"
"I don't care."
"What if it snows really really hard and you freeze off your tiny nose?"
"I'll still be waiting, Mello."
--
Eleven years later, the redhead, though now grown, with broader shoulders and a taller height, the white fleece shirt replaced with a striped one, stood in front of Mello, expression one of puzzlement. "What?" He asked. The voice had become deeper with that tone that Mello had grown to love.
"I'm leaving, Matt." The blond swallowed back the lump forming in his throat. "Don't expect me to come back."
Though as Matt watched his boyfriend leave the orphanage for good, he had a feeling that Mello would come back for him.
And he'd be waiting, whether it be raining or snowing really really hard that his nose could freeze off. I'll still be waiting, Mello.
"But does the lamb love Mary so?"
"And Mary loves the lamb, you know."