Author's Note: So, don't get angry, I know I'm long overdue for an update of How to Annoy… and Golden, but 'tis xxStrawberryMassacrexx's birthday today, and I had to write her something!Berry-chan, this has been a loooong time in planning. You don't even know. That being said, I hope you love it, my BFFL.
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, or the very sexy characters.
Warnings: Yaoi, Lime-ish? Maybe? Closest I've ever written. And very poor writing.


It's nights like these that make everything worth it.

Yes, the days are long. Day after day of classes I'm too apathetic to feign interest for, of feeling time creep by, wasted, knowing we'll never get it back. It makes Mello frustrated and me anxious. Being walled up in here, watching life escape through bulletproof glass, dragging past us, grazing its fingertips across our skin tantalizingly before slipping even further away… there are no words to describe it. It's enough to make me shudder.

But here, lying in bed next to Mello, watching him sleep, one of his arms flung across my waist, classes and grades fade into a bleak oblivion. It's so quiet, I swear I can hear our hearts beating, and it's so warm under the covers. I wish we could stay here forever and ever.

And sometimes, on nights like this, everything seems alright.

I roll over, and flash back to a night… it must have been a year ago, at least, I realize with surprise.

It was in this very room… I smile- it was even messier then than it is now, but not with clothes and papers and the rest of the junk surrounding us. Boxes. There weren't too many of them, but they were scattered and stacked without order all over the floor. A bed, this bed, sat in the corner, the mattress bare, and a desk sat near the window.

I was just standing there, in the middle of the room with my back to the door, knowing I should start unpacking but feeling too lazy, when I heard the door open behind me. I jumped and turned around, but relaxed when I saw it was just Mello. He grinned as he closed the door behind him.

"Hey," he said, tossing his backpack down on the floor beside the desk.

"Hi! I thought you couldn't be here for another half hour."

"So did I. But the teacher of my last class had a family emergency and they couldn't find a substitute," he said, walking over to sit on the bed. So they let us go early."

"Know what that means?" I asked happily.

"Mmm… what?"

"It means that you," I picked up the box closest to my feet, "get to help me unpack!"

He laughed and pulled me down next to him. He took the box from me and set it back on the floor. "We can do that later. I want to do something else right now." Before I could ask, he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

I pulled away, laughing. "Stop it! We have to unpack! It's already getting late."

How Mello had convinced Roger to let us share a room, I will never know. How he managed to get away with us sharing a bed, I never want to know. But either way, we were moving in together. Yeah, we were young, but… it felt right.

We loved each other.

"It's Friday, Matt. You worry too much. We have all night."

He pulled me back to him, wrapped his arms around me, and this time I didn't resist. Kissing quickly turned to making out as I moved closer to him, close to sitting in his lap when out of nowhere he stood up without pulling away. I was confused. I didn't want him to go. I wanted to stay connected like this- he couldn't leave me!

I threw my arms around his neck, refusing to let him break our kiss. He was still leaning over me, and his hands guided my legs around his waist. I didn't understand what he was doing until he actually picked me up. I gasped and tightened my grip on him, but we kept kissing.

He carried me over to the window. It was fairly average in size- the type you see in houses. As if this place could ever be a home. There wasn't really a ledge, but enough of a windowsill that he could rest my weight against it a bit. Our lips finally broke apart as he turned to stare at the scene outside.

"It's so big out there, isn't it Matt?" he whispered. "The whole world… this? This isn't even a little bit of it. This orphanage- this building- it's just a speck. It's not the whole world; it's not even close to being close… it won't be our whole world either, I promise. Someday, someday as soon as I can, I'll take you out of here and it'll all be ours…"

He turned back to me. I wasn't sure if he'd been speaking to me- he'd just kind of muttered the whole thing. Either way, I took his face between my hands and I kissed him again.

Sometimes I wonder if he remembers the night. I remember it so clearly- the way he breezed into the room as if he'd already lived there forever, the feeling of his body pressing against mine as he supported me against the frame of the window, the promise he made me.

I snuggle closer to Mello. Tonight, we're still here, and tomorrow, we'll still be here, but right now, our bed is an island were Mello can sleep I can reminisce peacefully. No need to think of the ocean around us- the rotting species that by some sick joke people still call humanity, the pristine building crumbling around us, and the maddening glacier slide into nothingness that was every day here. We have each other.

I trust Mello- more than anything or anybody. And I believe he'll make good on that promise one day. Mello's always been restless here; he'd never pass up a chance to go. We're getting older, and soon we'll be aloud to leave on our own. And then… I'll follow Mello. Wherever he goes, wherever he takes me. Because despite promising to show me how huge the world could be… mine will always be small, no matter how many countries I visit or people I meet. Because Mello is- and always will be- my world.