When Matt first came to Wammy's house, he was a sight to see. Roger quietly brought him through the halls while Matt wailed loudly, his right hand clutching a hand-knit, white and black quilt with 'Mail Jeevas' stitched in the bottom corner, and his left hand held swimming goggles with a broken strap. Children poked their heads out their rooms, wanting to know what all the commotion was so late at night, while Roger just told them all to get back to bed; but of course there's always one person who never listened to Roger.
"Mello, please go back to bed," Roger said with a frown. "I don't need you starting rumors about our new house member already." He finished, as he cradled Matt –who has calmed down immensely- with one hand, while the other massaged his temple to relieve the on-coming migraine.
"Who's that, Roger?" The boy named Mello asked, one hundred percent curiosity dripping from his words. Roger held back an annoyed sigh; trust Mello to want to know everything about everyone.
"This…This is Matt, his grandmother died-" Matt's crying started again, loud and almost unbearable, making Roger have to speak up and try to comfort Matt at the same time. "His grandmother died three days ago- Shh, it's okay, calm down- and all of his other family members have either passed away or are unable to be contacted in any way." He rubbed small circles on Matt's back, reducing the sobs to hiccups muffled by his quilt.
"I need to fill out his paperwork that's going to take me a very long time, so please go to bed, Mello." Roger began walking away, bouncing Matt gently in his arms as he did so.
Mello took one step into his room before exiting again, telling Roger to wait. "If it's just for the night, he can sleep in my bed, its big enough for the both of us I think."
Roger seemed to think about it, taking a quick peek into Mello's room and indeed, the bed looked big enough to fit them both and have a large amount of personal space.
"Alright, I guess its fine. Thank you, Mello." Roger set Matt down, who barely held himself up on shaky legs. "Now, Matt, this is Mello. You'll be sleeping with him tonight, and then tomorrow Mr. Wammy will set up a room for you." Roger turned towards Mello, his question more of an order. "I trust you two can get along?"
Matt took a teary glance at Mello, before clutching both his possessions in the same hand, and grabbing hold of Mello's hand with his own empty one. Mello scowled a bit, wanting to shake away from Matt's hold, but not wanting him to cry again.
"Yea, yea, we're just gonna be sleeping, it's not like I have to live with him; c'mon you munchkin." Mello pulled Matt inside his room, closing the door before Roger had any objections.
Mello released the redhead's hand and walked over to his closet, pulling out extra pillows and blankets. Casting a quick glance at Matt, he noticed the younger had yet to move from his spot where Mello left him.
"Quit standing there and get in the bed." He ordered, tossing a few pillows on the mentioned bed. Matt shifted his gaze from the floor, to Mello, to the bed, and then proceeded to remove his shoes and socks. He wiggled his toes, a nervous habit of his, not sure what to do next.
"What's wrong? Do you need tucked in or something?" His voice dripped with sarcasm, but Matt nodded his head anyways. Mello sighed, walking over to the bed and setting up the blankets. "Get in." he ordered when all the blankets were at the foot of the bed. Matt shuffled over, having a bit of trouble climbing into the bed, making Mello have to help him in.
"Seriously, you're hopeless." He whined, tucking the blankets in up to Matt's chest before slipping under the covers himself. Reaching over to turn off the bedside lamp he heard Matt let out a small whimper. He held back a loud groan, letting out a small one instead.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark too!"
Matt could only blush and nod, bringing the covers up to just under his nose. "P-please leave the lights on…M-mello." He begged with an accent Mello thought was French, attached to his words. Mello scowled for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, turning towards Matt to block out the light.
"You better be grateful, I can't believe you're afraid of the dark. How old are you, two?"
"N-no…I'm three, my birthday is next m-month."
"Whatever, just get to sleep."
Mello closed his eyes, almost near his dreamland when he heard a soft rustling of blankets and soon Mello felt Matt clinging to his shirt and not too later, a kiss on his cheek.
"Goodnight, M-mello." Mello couldn't help but look down at Matt and smile.
At least he's trying to sleep.
Placing a kiss on Matt's forehead, Mello drifted off to sleep himself.
(It started with a kiss)
Mello packed all he could into his backpack; clothing, money, chocolate. L was dead. Roger's words rang through his ears, he had to leave, he had to beat Near.
"Matt! Stop crying like a chick, it's not like I'm the one who died! I'm going to beat Near my own way, and that means leaving Wammy's, so get over it!" Mello barked, cramming more money into his pockets.
"It's just L, Mello! Can't you wait until I'm old enough to go with you? I mean, we've been best friends since I came here!" Matt managed to choke out through sobs as he wrapped his arms around him in the corner of the room.
"Just L?" Mello snapped, anger rising. "Just L? You're saying the man I've seen as an idol is just L?" He took a step forward, Matt trying to scramble back in fear, he regretted every saying it. Mello's voice rose ten-fold as he continued.
"Matt, L is dead, I know. But you know what else? He never picked his successor; Near's going to become L because I turned it down. I would've had to work with that stupid albino if I wanted to even think about becoming L!" He took another step, making Matt feel trapped. His voice quieted down to a low whisper as his gaze was on his feet, Matt strained to hear him.
"So I'm leaving, right now. I'm not going to wait for you because I have to do it now." He looked at his friend, hoping he'd understand. "Matt…just promise me you won't follow me, okay? I need to do this on my own right now."
Matt's sobs grew louder as he curled in on himself, it was too much.
"Mello, I can't promise you something like that! Please wait, just a few more months," his word were muffled, so he lifted his head, meeting Mello's dry eyes with his own teary reflection in them. "Then…then we can go together, and we'll defiantly catch Kira…please…" He lowered his head again, feeling another onslaught of tears coming.
Mello sighed, a deep, depressed sigh that only he could make. He walked over to Matt, kneeling down and then forced Matt's head up with his hand. Staring into Matt's eyes with a sadness that could equal the redheads, Mello repeated himself.
"Promise me you won't follow me, Matt."
Clenching his fists, Mello nodded and vocally agreed, his voice shaking all the while.
"Mello…I won't follow you…I promise." Eyes downcast he wasn't ready for was Mello was about to do.
"Thank you…Matt, and I'm sorry." And as a farewell, he crushed their lips together before taking his backpack and leaving the room, thunder rattling the window just beyond it.
(It ended with a kiss)
Years later, Matt lay on the stained couch in his stained apartment in some part of Los Angeles. The victory theme to his latest game echoed through his brain as he pressed more buttons on his PSP, thinking about the last few hours.
He never expected it to happen, but by some miracle it did, Mello found him. The blonde was resting in his bed, knocked out by pain killers and wrapped in enough bandages to make a mummy jealous. Matt had been following his friend ever since he left the institute himself, deep in the shadows and thinking Mello wouldn't know. But just last night he'd pounded on Matt's door, demanding to be let in.
A loud groan came from the bedroom, and Matt shut off his game immediately before heading over to Mello.
"Hey, Mel, how you feeling?" he asked, giving him a glass of water.
"I feel like shit," he muttered, downing the glass and putting it on the table next to him. "But I have to get better soon; Kira isn't going to go on vacation for me."
Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Mel…what do you plan to do next?"
"I don't know, whatever it is…I doubt I can do it alone." He let out a low growl, rubbing his uncovered eye.
"Mello," Matt started, getting the blonde's attention. "Whatever it is…I'll be there."
"Matt, what happened to you promising not to follow me? I can't beli-" his words were cut off by Matt's lips on his own.
"Promises are meant to be broken, Mello." Matt said with a smile.
(And it began again with a kiss.)
End