AN: I think the point where you know you've published too many fanfictions is when you have difficulty coming up with something to write in your Author's Notes. Ah, well. I hope you'll all love me anyway. :)
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The door to the Kira Taskforce Headquarter's main office fell to the ground with a crash. Standing above it an unfamiliar red-haired man looked about the room and smiled. "Looks like I got the right place. That's good; if it had been another building it would have been troublesome."
Sitting around a table cluttered with paperwork, Yagami-san, Mogi, Matsuda and Raito simply stared at the newcomer. At his chair, L's lips curved into a faint smile. "Matt."
"Ryuzaki," the man nodded in acknowledgement. Stepping over the battered door easily he moved to sit beside L at the table, taking a chair from a nearby desk without second thought. Pulling out the gun at his waist and placing it in plain sight, he rested his crossed arms on the edge of the table. "It's good to see you again," he told him.
"And you," L replied. They fell into a sort of companionable silence, and the rest of the Taskforce, being offered no explanation about this sudden entrance, just watched in confusion.
With an angry expression on his face, Raito stood up and reached over to grab the gun. He disarmed it quickly and poured the bullets into his hand. "Watari," he called, and when the butler appeared at his side he handed him the ammunition.
Meeting the redhead's gaze he glared at him dangerously. "I'll tell you now; I don't like you. So when you've finished whatever business you came here for, you can take your hardly passable weapon and get the hell away from L."
"Come now, Raito. That wasn't at all polite of you," Yagami-san chided, returning his attention to the papers in front of him.
"No, no, he has a point," Matt said peaceably. "That gun is getting a little outdated, but Mello is fond of it somehow and won't let me get rid of it."
Raito looked at him without expression, turning the gun over in his hands. "That's a lie," he spoke finally, closing his eyes and tossing the gun across the table back at him. "That kind of wear not only around the trigger but at the top, you're the type to touch your gun absently. You're the one who loves it, and this Mello girl is probably 'fond' of it because she realizes that."
A wide grin spread across Matt's face as he holstered the weapon again. Turning to L, he told him simply: "Your people are so entertaining, I'm jealous."
"You're not the only one," Mogi noted drily.
"Ah, is that what it was?" Yagami-san looked at his son for affirmation.
Raito sighed and gave them both a tired look. "Must you? No, don't bother answering that."
"So, Matt," L ignored the harassment his lover was experiencing at the older men's hands and began to speak to his guest. "Why have you come by?"
Instantly some of the amusement fell away from Matt's face, and he adopted a more serious look. "Well, I've found myself in a dangerous situation. We're getting a little low on supplies right now, and you know how Mello…" he smiled at Raito and continued: "…howsheloves her chocolate."
"I understand completely," L replied. "Has she changed her preference in the time since you last visited? I'll have Watari bring you what you need from the kitchen. Watari, if you could."
"No, still the same as ever. Milk chocolate, and only milk. Can I bother you for some?" Matt directed his question at the butler who had now moved to stand behind them.
"Certainly sir, I will be back in a moment," Watari answered and bowed politely.
After he had left the room Matt turned back to L. "In all these years I don't think I've ever seen him age a day!" he laughed and L nodded in agreement.
Seeing his son's wary expression return, Yagami-san smiled inwardly. "And may I ask, how many years is that exactly?" he said, unable to resist the temptation to tease Raito.
"Hmm? Ah, what is it…ten, fifteen years…?" Matt said slowly, looking to L for confirmation.
"That long. My, you two must be close," Mogi joined in.
The two watched Raito expectantly when he closed his eyes. Matt, seeing who they were actually paying attention to, also looked at the youth with evident curiosity. They almost jumped when he stood suddenly, walking around the table to where L sat. With an entirely serious expression on his face Raito stopped behind L's chair, reaching to embrace his lover from where he stood. He glared at Matt possessively.
"…comfortable?" Matt asked, surprising Yagami-san and Mogi with his easy acceptance of his friend's relationship.
"Quite," Raito replied coolly.
The door clicked open and Watari entered, pushing a silver trolley in front of him. When he reached the table he silently began to unload it, putting box after box onto the table. They watched in awe as the pile grew larger before them. When it appeared to be completed Raito thought that he had counted at least thirty reasonably sized boxes in the pile.
Matt clapped his hands together happily and smiled. "Wonderful, I'm saved. Thanks again, Ryuzaki."
Collecting himself, Raito looked at him sideways. "I'm sorry, but what kind of girl are you dating?"
Without warning the door that the chocolate had just come through fell to the ground in pieces. Another stranger stepped out of the doorway, brandishing a gun openly. "Get out here, Matt! What the hell do you think you're doing, running off without any explanation?!" he shouted. An apparently unconcerned Watari moved to wheel the trolley back to the kitchen, and the man lowered his gun for a moment to nod at him respectfully. "Watari."
"That kind," L said.
"Ahahaha…ha…" Matt gave a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.
Walking toward the table briskly the man cocked his gun, lowering it only when he noticed L's presence. "Matt, what the hell are you doing, coming to see L without me?" he said accusingly. Grabbing Raito's now empty chair he dragged it to sit beside L.
"Ah, dear-" Matt began and stopped when the man lifted a hand to silence him.
"Quiet, I'm angry with you," Mello said shortly.
Raito exhaled slowly and then extended one hand from where it had rested at L's shoulder. "Gun," he told him simply.
Examining him for a moment, Mello submitted and handed him the weapon. "Name," he said in reply.
"Raito," the youth told him absently, loosing his hold on L to disarm the gun. He leaned forward and showed it to Matt, pointing at the trigger. "See, no more faded paint or scratches than one would expect from normal use. He's not the type to love his tools."
"What are you doing?" Mello asked, his irritation fading to curiosity.
"He's just showing me how much you love me," Matt explained and smiled.
"And I couldn't do that?"
"Sometimes only a gun can do the trick," his lover winked.
Raito looked at both of them with a pained expression. "You guys are even worse than L when it comes to feelings, I see," he sighed.
"It's good to know that anything's possible," Mogi remarked.
"But it would be great to know what is actually going on right now," Yagami-san muttered.
"That's a good point," Mello nodded. "Why did you have your arms around L so closely earlier?" he asked Raito.
"Why don't you have your arms around me now?" L added.
"Why did you come in through the kitchen door? Isn't there a perfectly good broken one already?" Raito asked Mello in return, moving to stand behind L once more.
"Why aren't you surprised that Mello is a guy?" Matt said with a look of disappointment. "I was looking forward to your reaction."
"And you," Mello turned to him sharply. "Why do I keep forgetting to be angry at you?!"
"Why have I been completely left out this entire time?" Matsuda asked dejectedly from his spot at the table. Nobody paid him any attention.
Pulling out his gun, Matt loaded one of the slots with a bullet from his pocket and stood up, firing a shot into the air. When everybody had stopped talking and L had had sufficient time to work out the damage done to his ceiling, he lowered the gun. "Hello," he said quietly.
"Hello," the people around the table replied hesitantly.
Seeing he had their attention, Matt put his gun back in its holster and smiled at them all. "My name is Matt," he began. "I met Ryuzaki when I was young and he became something of an older brother to me. I enjoy smoking, watching cartoon shows and Mello. Thankyou." When he had finished speaking, he sat down.
Everybody simply stared at him, when Mello laughed and broke the silence. "Ah, you idiot," he told him affectionately. Getting up from his seat he walked over to his lover and kissed him lightly. He turned to look at the others, slipping his hand into Matt's seemingly out of habit. "I'm Mello. I like chocolate, breaking stuff and kitchens," he said with a pointed look at Raito.
"We noticed," Yagami-san commented, gesturing to the pile that had been overlooked since Mello's arrival.
"…" Mello's eyes widened when he saw them. He bent over and whispered into his lover's ear, his blonde hair falling gently into his face. "That wouldn't happen to be…"
Matt smiled up at him. "I love you, Mello," he told him softly.
"I love you too," Mello replied happily and kissed him again. "You know, I think that's why I can't be mad at you."
"Hmph," Raito frowned at the pair and slipped his arms around L, holding him close.
"Alright, well!" Mello said loudly and straightened. "I'll just take these boxes and Matt now, and we'll be off. I'll come back and visit you guys again in a week, okay?" Somehow managing to pick up well over half of the pile as he spoke, he allowed Matt to pick up the rest and with a grateful smile they were gone. Yet again, the room was filled with silence.
"Well," Mogi said. "Should we bother about fixing the doors?"
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AN: I like guns. I like writing about guns, they're such an interesting tool when writing romantic comedy stories in particular. Whether it's having one character threaten another, or shoot at the ceiling to get people to be quiet, or as a demonstration of how much somebody loves somebody else...they're just very helpful. I would like to use them a bit more in my stories, if I could. I'll often toy with ideas while I'm writing that, if I were a little more impulsive, you would have just read. For example, in one of my running stories I intended on having a chapter where one of the characters was shot by another and you had to work out who did it to whom. Shot in a romantic and comedic way, of course. Anyway, the cards aren't off the table yet...we'll see. ;)