"Happy birthday, Matt!"
Groaning as he tried to drag the covers over his face, Matt cringed at the exceptionally loud tone that his wife took so early in the morning.
"Happy Perftday!" an equally excitable voice squealed beside his head. "Daddy, chu gots to wakes up now."
"My favorite people in the world," Matt groaned, trying to be enthusiastic. Finally daring to blink into the space above his comforters, a large plate full of pancakes with three candles lit was revealed.
"Blow!" Lawliet encouraged as he bounced excitably.
Screwing his face in thought, Matt made a quick wish and blew out all three candles in one go. "I did it!" he cheered, getting his son all the more worked up.
Mello set the plate down on the sheets and then slid under the blankets next to his husband to offer a gentle wake-up kiss. "How's the morning wood?" he whispered as their son dug his chubby fingers into the fluffy pancakes. "Is Lawliet going to ask why Daddy's thigh is poking him?"
Laughing, Matt placed a kiss on Mello's forehead. "Give me a sec and I'll have it down."
"Just think of Roger getting his balls waxed."
"Ewwww!" Matt squealed, childishly covering his ears. "How do you come up with these gross images?"
"Daddy?" Lawliet questioned in concern.
"Aww, baby, don't worry. Daddy's fine."
"Kay." Grabbing another fistful of pancakes, Lawliet shoved them towards Matt's mouth.
Grinning, Matt took the tiny fist into his mouth, and made gobbling sounds. "Oh no!" Mello laughed. "Daddy's eating you!"
Soon, the remaining pancakes were squished between the sheets as the family began to engage in an eye-gouging, don't-hurt-the-baby, tickle-fest.
/_/_/_/
"Fucking shit!" Mello snapped as the cherry red Camero jerked to a halt as it met with the trash can that had been left out for the garbage man.
Lawliet's eyes went wide upon hearing the "potty words" that came from his mother's mouth. As soon as the boy had begun mimicking everything his parents said, the two of them had sworn to remove foul language from their vocabulary so that their son wouldn't go around telling strangers to fuck off.
Snorting in amusement, Matt looked over as Mello covered his mouth with a manicured hand and his face turned red. "Smooth."
"Mama, you can't say potty words!" Lawliet chided.
"Mama's sorry, luv," Mello mumbled as he looked over his shoulder.
"You scratched my car!" Matt tried to hiss, but it came out as a giggle. Seeing the great and powerful Mello getting embarrassed about saying a few mild curse words was just too cute. He couldn't even pretend to be angry about a possible scratch on his brand new vehicle.
"Oh shut up," the blond sighed before pulling the car forward than successfully guiding it around the trash can. "Now let's see if we can get to the convention in one piece."
/_/_/_/
"It's got to be this way," Mello mumbled irritably as he twisted the convention's map in his hands. "Where the hel—hay are we?"
Pulling his son away from a stand full of breakable Ramune bottles, Matt turned over to look at his flustered wife. "I don't know, Len, you're the one with the map."
Bristling at the foreign name, Mello flushed in embarrassment. How that stupid brunette managed to convince him to cosplay was beyond comprehension. How he managed to get Mello to cosplay as a Vocaloid, for fuck's sake, was a damn miracle. "Matt, I know how hot and bothered you get seeing me in these ridiculous shorts and this da—lame girly sailor shirt, but calling me by that name is just a little too much."
"But you're in character," Matt reasoned, adjusting the goggles situated on his head. "Besides, you wouldn't be the gay Cloud to my gay Reno! So there, no room to whine."
"Matt…you dressed my son as Ponyo. Fucking Ponyo."
Looking up at his mother from his spot on the floor, Lawliet (Ponyo) frowned. "Potty mouth!" he chided for the second time that day.
"He's in a nightgown with a wig on!" Mello moaned, looking away from the cuteness that was his darling son. "What kind of sick people sell these things and even worse, you're the sick freak who buys it!"
Chuckling, Matt scooped up his squirming son and moved in to kiss Mello on the cheek. "Thanks, Mello. You won't have to get me any birthday or Christmas presents for another three years."
"Just three?" the blonde pouted as he adjusted the oversized headphones he was forced to wear as part of the ridiculous get-up. Hopefully, his glares would continue to be enough to keep people from asking him to sing those ridiculous Japanese songs.
Then again, he had memorized and rehearsed at least a dozen of them for Matt's sake…
"So where are we going now?" Matt asked as he checked the airbrushed "scars" that were neatly placed on his high cheekbones accentuating his ridiculously green eyes. And yes, Matt had splurged and bought "Mako enhanced" contact lenses.
"Uh, this way. You wanted to see the fandubbing competition, didn't you?"
"Yeah! Lead the way, Len!"
Gritting his teeth, Mello began to plan on how brutally he was going to beat his husband with that overpriced Turk e-mag rod. Unfortunately, memories of how they had, uh, "broken in" Matt's new toy erased all thoughts of brain-bashing and turned them towards more lascivious thoughts. After all, it wasn't that often that Matt would willingly be wearing a suit and carrying a very dangerous device.
"OMG!" a crazed Sailor Moon screamed. "It's RENOOOOOO!"
Pictures started flashing like crazy from every which direction, and Matt just stood there and grinned like the idiot he was. "So you guys like what you see?" he teased after handing off Lawliet to the overprotective mother.
"Cool," a man's voice interrupted. "I haven't seen a decent Reno around here all day until now. Wanna pose with me?"
Mello's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets as he beheld a very fine looking Cloud Strife. And yes, dammit, he knew all their names! Toned arms peeked out from an Advent Children style leather outfit, and Fenrir earrings were clipped to his shapely ears. Blond hair was spiked and gelled nicely, and was surprisingly not a wig. But the coolest thing, by far, was the giant sword hanging over his shoulder. That piece of art was no dollar-store version of the Buster Sword, but was in fact a very convincing replica. For the first time that day, Mello had officially joined along with the open-mouthed drooling over a cosplayer.
The next thing he knew, Mello was being squeezed in a growing crowd as they took numerous pictures and then called their friends to come take some more. Before long, other Final Fantasy VII cosplayers arrived on the scene with their meticulously arranged costumes and hairdos. A girl was posing as an excellent Vincent Valentine, and some guy was dressed as Reeve Tuesti as he carried a Cait Sith doll; even cuter was the fact that the man's son was following behind dressed as the giant Mog doll that the whiny cat had ridden on during the entirety of the Playstation game.
"Hey Rufus!" one of the girls called out excitedly, "Give Reno a kiss!"
A roar of consent rang immediately as the yaoi fangirls made themselves known. The blond-haired President surprisingly remained in character and gave the crowd a condescending smirk. Matt stuck out his tongue teasingly at the girls, causing a wave of laughter and cheers.
"Aww, just one kiss!"
"Pretty please!"
"Kiss!"
Matt's temporarily green eyes found his husband's eyes and after a quick exchange he knew that it would be okay. They were far beyond petty jealousy and insecurities.
As Rufus tilted his chin up in disregard, Matt swaggered over to the Shinra President. "Come on Boss, 's not like we've never done it, yo." Another roar of elation sounded off. "One little kissy kissy?" he teased with a cocky grin.
Whipping out his Twin Ivory gun, a beautiful replica of course, Rufus placed it against his red-headed Turk's temple. Ooohs and ahhhhs followed. "Do you want to make that request again, Turk?"
Looking back towards the crowd, Matt nodded knowingly. "He's just scared o' Tseng finding out," he chuckled with a wink. "That or he's just too shy!"
"I'll show you shy," the Rufus guy hissed with a velvety and commanding voice. "Open wide."
Closing his eyes, Matt open his mouth and screams flooded the halls as Rufus delved in for an open-mouthed kiss. A cosplay Yuffie began jumping up and down excitedly and screaming as she practically jumped on Reeve.
Allowing his grin to fall just a little, Mello felt that twinge of…some emotion. Nobody wanted to see Reno kissing Len. They weren't even from the same universe. Damn, maybe he really should have dressed up like gay Cloud.
Thirty minutes later found the Jeevas-Keehl family wandering down a row of booths in search of the fandub competition. "We're lost, aren't we?" Matt chuckled.
Blushing at the fact that he, a one-time Mafia head could not seem to read the map of a anime/manga/gaming convention, Mello looked down at his son who was contentedly sucking on a Pocky stick with one hand and clutching his father's hand with the other. "Sorry."
Reaching out with his only available hand left, Matt took his wife's hand and gave it a squeeze. Sometimes it was just fun to be lost but holding hands.
/_/_/_/
Popping a pan of cake mixture into the oven, Mello huffed and brushed his bangs back. With that taken care of, he decided to see if Matt got those fake tattoos scrubbed off yet. Lawliet was sleeping on a large floor beanie chair still dressed as the strange sea-girl, and the blond took a moment to tuck a blanket around the exhausted toddler. It took a lot of energy for a little kid to survive in a convention for several hours.
Making his way up the stairs, Mello thought of how happy the three of them had been all day. Matt was so excitable about everything, and since it was Lawliet's first time, he had tried to see and do everything at once. Seeing his two favorite boys having such a blast, Mello enjoyed his time as well. Would he spend hundreds of dollars and countless hours preparing for such an event and then pour hundreds of more dollars into coming to such an event if he was by himself? No. Hell no. But would he do that much and more for his man and his child? Absolutely.
"Luv, are you done yet?" he called out in the general direction of the bathroom. He had picked up the strange habit of using "luv" as a term of endearment after getting married, but he couldn't seem to figure out how that happened.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Matt looked like a steamed lobster. His hair was still the color of red courtesy of some heavy duty hair dyes, and now his face was practically raw from being scrubbed so often. Alas, the airbrushed designs were gone. "Tada~"
Wrapping an arm around the slightly taller man, Mello leaned in and gave those pouty lips a kiss. "Happy birthday," he whispered before adding another peck. "Did you have fun at that convention?"
"Yup," Matt replied before leaning in and adding his own kiss to Mello's lips. Those sinfully curved lips just begged to be showered with affection. "Thanks for dressing up, babe. You looked hot in those shorts."
"I look hot no matter what," the blond snorted in amusement.
"Of course."
Pecks turned to proper kisses and proper kisses led to affectionate fondling. It didn't take long for the two men to kick shut the door and proceed towards the bed.
Situated under the covers, the lovers rested on their side, engaging in a slow and deep kiss. Mello's deft fingers whispered over Matt's face and teasingly trailed down his throat as he moaned softly into his husband's mouth. Turning a deeper shade of red, Matt ran a hand through the mussed blond hair as he put all of his weight on his other elbow.
Patiently and tenderly, Mello's leg rubbed along Matt's outer leg and his fingers began their journey across the expanse of the brunette's back. Hot breath floated between their two mouths before being swallowed up by a hungry kiss. Sex was just a three lettered word, but the emotional and physical act that they engaged in was so much more.
Fingernails dragged slowly down a pale back, digging deep enough to pull blood to the surface. Tears welled in eyes as the physiological energy built up to a climax. Toes curled and backs arched in a frenzied completion of physical and spiritual release.
Holding to each other in the aftermath, Mello nuzzled against Matt's neck. The heady scent of his lover's masculinity made his head swim in comfort and affection. Pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the available flesh, the blond dragged himself high enough in the bed to rest his mouth next to Matt's ear.
"I love you," he whispered softly, legs entwining and fingers interlacing.
"I love you too," was the sated reply.
More sweet nothings floated past those lips, as the older of the two men pulled up close and relished the delicate moment.
BEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP!
The shriek of the fire alarm jerked both men straight out of bed. Dragging the covers with him, Mello lunged towards the door and jerked it open. An overwhelming smell of burning something filled the air, and they could hear Lawliet's coughs.
"The cake!" Mello screeched as he sprinted down the stairs with nothing but a long train of bedsheets.
Swiping his boxer briefs from the floor, Matt ran through the house opening windows and jerking the batteries out of the alarms. With that accomplished, he checked up on his drowsy son and was able to lull the boy back to sleep.
"Is everything okay?" he called out before shuffling to the kitchen.
Biting his lip in order to stifle the laughter that wanted to bubble up, Matt took in the sight of a blackened brick that was supposed to have been a cake. Mello's face was scrunched up as he bravely tried to keep from crying in frustration. "You're cake," he croaked. "I-it was supposed to be your favorite."
Why was Mello being so emotional about a silly cake? Pulling the blond away from the toasted dessert, Matt wrapped his arms around the other and tried to keep his giggles down to a minimum. After all, little moments like this when Mello was still high on emotions from lovemaking and a charcoaled cake stood on the counter was something worth laughing over.
But later, when the threat of Mello killing you for laughing at him wasn't so high.
/_/_/_/
It was nearly midnight and the television was showing a new infomercial. Looking down at his right side to study the visage of his nodding-off spouse, Matt felt warmth spreading through his chest. Today had been such a wonderful birthday and it was made even more precious by how hard Mello tried to please him. Going to the convention, baking/burning his favorite cake, and even the way he whispered such sweet nothings after their lovemaking. Mello had never really been one to say such things, even when begged. This time, however, those words had come out unbidden and that had made it all the more sweet.
The familiar tingling sensation began to dance across his right arm which signaled that it was falling asleep. Just as he was about to tell Mello to move to his lap, the words caught in his throat as he saw the completely relaxed features and heard the slow deep breaths. Mello was already asleep. Although there had been plenty of space on the couch they were both seated on, the blond was curled right up against him, his angelic face nuzzled against the bony shoulder. Sensual lips were parted slightly as he relaxed further in sleep and the golden hair draped itself across his forehead.
It was such a beautiful scene, and one that Matt didn't get to appreciate all that often. If there wasn't work he had all day, or going to sleep early in exhaustion, he was spending time with his darling son. Life was busy, and he liked it that way, but little moments like these were his favorite. Each and every one of the moments could be tucked away into his memory banks, to be recalled at a moment's notice when he needed it the most. When Mello was on his man-period and refused to have sex or refused to even say "I love you" he could just lean back and smile as these memories would crop back up. A painfully numb arm couldn't even begin to compare.
"You've stolen my heart away, Mels, and I bet that you didn't even know it."
Leaning his head back against the couch so that he could better watch the infomercials, Matt completely missed the delicate smile that curled on Mello's lips.
Author's Notes: Ugh, I think that I'll be puking rainbows and teddy bears for a year after writing this. XD This story is dedicated to a most dear friend of mine as a birthday present. Happy birthday!
Plot inspired by the song "Little Moments" by Brad Paisley.