Tensions in Justice

Mello flopped into a chair, deep in thought. As he carefully unwrapped a bar of chocolate from its foil wrapper, he went over the Kira case in his mind. Since he had chosen not to team up with Near in the investigation and instead joined the mafia as their leader, he didn't get all the information he needed to solve the case, nor did he have the proper means of investigating. Taking a bite of the now unwrapped chocolate bar, Mello thought about his situation and what he could do to brighten it. How could he obtain the same information about the case that Near and the Second L were without going to either of them for help? He immediately turned his thoughts to Wammy's House.

Wammy's House, an orphanage for special children and successors to L, was where Mello and Near had grown up. The two young geniuses had spent their childhood battling over top scores and becoming the rightful successor to L. Unfortunately for Mello, he was always ranked second, right behind Near. This made him loathe the other boy, and when the time came to choose L's successor, Mello gave it up to Near, and left the orphanage.

Of course, those weren't the memories Mello had thought of when he turned his attention to the orphanage. He thought of Matt, an old friend of his, also from Wammy's House. Matt had been third in line to succeed L, but didn't want it as badly as Mello or Near. Matt was a quiet boy, always locking himself away from reality by tuning it out and focusing on his video games. He was very smart in the ways of electronics, and he had been Mello's best friend.

With a lick of his chocolate bar, Mello couldn't help but sneer wickedly at the thought of bringing Matt in to join the investigation. It was the perfect move, and he was already planning it all out: he would have Matt keep an eye on Amane Misa, the suspected Second Kira, by means of hidden cameras. But there was a problem—would Matt agree to it? After all, the two hadn't spoken in nearly four years. Of course he will, Mello thought; he practically owned the boy. Without a second thought, Mello pulled out his cell phone, flipped it open, and dialed Matt's number. After a few rings, a familiar, if not a little manlier sounding, voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Matt," Mello greeted. He could hear Matt inhale sharply in disbelief.

"Mello! Wow, how long's it been since we last talked?" he asked, happy to hear from his old friend.

"Four years," Mello told him bluntly. "But I'm not calling to catch up."

"Then, what?"

"How do you feel about Kira…?"

It didn't take much to get Matt to agree to join his team. With almost the mere mention of Kira, and a short briefing of Mello's plan, Matt had enthusiastically agreed to join the investigation and fly out to LA as soon as possible. Mello couldn't help but wonder if he was a bit too enthusiastic about it…?

When Matt arrived at Mello's base a few days after the call, he called Mello to let him in. Shortly after opening the base entrance, Mello heard a knocking on the door, and went to open it. There stood Matt, a dopey grin on his face. He dropped his luggage and promptly wrapped his arms around the angsty blond.

"Mello!" he cried cheerfully. Mello, taken by surprise at the sudden show of affection, quickly shoved the other boy off of him.

"Matt! I called you here strictly for business!" he growled, glaring at the red-headed boy. "Not to come glomp me like some school girl!"

"But I—"

"Business!" Mello snapped, reminding him one last time. Matt's expression dropped, and he picked up his luggage.

"Right. You got it, Boss. Where do I put these?" he asked in a sullen tone. Mello jerked his thumb behind him, motioning to a room in the back.

"In there. It's where I keep all the computers and stuff. That's where you'll be staying," Mello explained. With a nod, Matt picked up his bags and went to his room.

When Matt was gone, Mello sighed. Maybe he had been too hard on him? They hadn't seen each other in such a long time, he supposed he could have at least kept his cool. No, they had to get right to business. Kira didn't wait for old friends to catch up on the times. Satisfied with his conclusion, Mello silently promised Matt that he would make it up to him when this whole mess was taken care of. Whenever that may be.

After a while, Mello went to check up on Matt in his room, to see if he was settled and, more importantly, getting to work rather than goofing off with a video game. When he walked into the room, he saw Matt trying desperately to untangle a mass of wires as he was….smoking?

"Hey, how're things goi—when did you start smoking?" Mello asked in a spiteful tone when Matt turned around, revealing a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"Oh, this? Let's just say I hung out with a different crowd at Wammy's after you left," he explained vaguely. Mello leaned up against the door frame and frowned.

"Whatever. I just came to check up. Make sure you weren't playing video games instead of getting to work," Mello told him. He cocked an eyebrow. "You do still play video games, don't you?" he asked suddenly, sounding mildly interested. Matt grinned, continuing to untangle the cords around his ankles.

"You bet your leathery ass I do," he said with a chuckle. "Most of the shit I have on my computers is either pirated video games or cheats. And then there's my trusty Game Boy that you never seen me without. Oh, and I have every game syste—"

"Matt, I stopped caring at 'shit'. Now get to work," Mello barked, dampening Matt's spirits once again. With another almost hurt look from behind his yellow goggles and a half-hearted mutter of 'Sure thing', Matt quietly continued setting up all of his computers, and Mello left the room.

That evening, after Matt was all set up and settled in, the two boys sat around doing nothing in particular, an awkward silence floating between them. Without so much as pausing his game, Matt decided to break it with a question that had been bugging him since he arrived.

"So, I thought you said you were a Mafia leader, yet we're alone," Matt asked, bringing Mello out of his thoughts.

"I was," he began, "Before that bastard Kira killed them all." Mello viciously bit his chocolate bar to emphasize his anger. "The ones that are left are else where." Matt grunted a laugh, vigorously tapping buttons on his handheld. He had reached a boss stage.

"And that nasty scar over your eye?" Matt asked after a moment. Mello's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his scar. He hadn't expected Matt to bring it up, but then again, he had kept quiet about it for some time. Chocolate bar hanging from his mouth, Mello lightly touched the wound with gloved fingertips.

"My doing," he admitted after a moment. "But Kira's fault." Again, Matt managed a gruff chuckle. It was funny how Mello could still find someone else to blame for his mistakes. When Matt dropped the subject of his scar, Mello let out a quiet sigh of relief. He didn't like to dwell on his failure, and having it so plainly marked on his face was humiliating enough.

"And what's with the all-leather get-up?" Matt asked, getting another question off his chest. Mello glared at him.

"I ought to limit you to one question a day," he growled, not liking the sudden interrogation.

"C'mon, gimme a break. We haven't seen each other in four years, I'm just trying to start some small talk."

"Interrogating me on personal things is not small talk!" Mello snapped. Matt looked up from his game, almost daring to return Mello's glare.

"Well I apologize for trying to break the tension between us! I haven't exactly felt welcome here," he said, raising his voice slightly to accentuate his anger without reaching Mello's level.

And when did you turn into a sniveling cry-baby who pouts whenever he's yelled at?" Mello mocked. "Oh wait, you've always been that way! Though, after a history similar to now, I can't understand why you agreed to come? But then you were always easy to control, too! How convenient!" he sneered, and Matt returned his attention to his game, tapping buttons violently to control his rising anger.

"I never should have come," he muttered darkly, barely understandable to Mello. "I should have known you were still that selfish, cocky asshole who throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way. Only more so now than ever." If Mello's glare could kill, Matt would have dropped dead just then. With a look of utter resentment in his eye, one much similar to the kind he only saved for Near, Mello marched over to Matt and swatted his game from his hands. Matt looked up, returning the glare half-fold.

"You know exactly why you came," Mello growled quietly as he towered over the redhead. Matt simply glared up, never blinking, into Mello's hate-filled eyes. When Matt didn't speak, Mello grinned wickedly.

"Because you know I own you, and you can't disobey master's orders!" he hissed. The next thing he knew, Matt was on his feet, and punched Mello square in the jaw. Mello was only barely able to catch his footing before he fell to the ground. He grabbed his jaw, shocked at the amount of force Matt had used. He turned to Matt, only to find the boy stalking off to his room.

"Tck," Mello huffed, and spit blood from his mouth. He contemplated going after Matt and returning the gesture, but instead spun on his heel and stalked off just as angrily as Matt to the kitchen to retrieve some ice for his swelling jaw.

Once he retrieved some ice, which he wrapped in a towel and held against the swelling spot where Matt had punched him, Mello went to his bedroom to brood. As he sat there on his bed, undeniably moping and staring daggers into the wall, he went over all the spats he had had with Matt since he arrived. When he tried to blame Matt for instigating them, however, Mello couldn't. When he really thought about it, it was he who had overreacted at everything, and Matt was the victim.

Mello growled, sinking lower onto his bed. Matt had to be the one to blame; he never exploded at any of his mafia friends.

…Friends… Mello thought, softening his glare for only a moment. You wouldn't know it just by looking at him, but friendship was a serious thing to Mello. Shame on him for saying his mafia men were his friends; they were merely tools to him. Sure, some he had trusted more than others, but he couldn't consider them friends. And Matt, he trusted, and considered a friend. Perhaps his only real friend ever.

Thinking of that made Mello a little uneasy. Matt was his only real friend, and he had gone and fought with him. They had their spats in the past, but this one was bigger than any of those, and when he really thought about it, one of the most pointless ones. And of course, it was all his fault. Mello sighed, taking the ice pack away from his face and letting it rest on his lap. He had to let Matt know that he was sorry, but he'd be damned before he apologized.

With an angry 'hmph', Mello chucked the ice pack against the wall, watching the ice scatter everywhere, and let himself drift into a deep sleep.

Matt couldn't sleep. It was already two in the morning, and all he could do is mull the fight over in his head again and again. He felt terrible for actually punching Mello, but then again, the bastard had it coming. He took a long drag of his cigarette—his fourth one that night—and exhaled a cloud of toxic smoke. He couldn't help but wonder why Mello had been acting the way he had towards him. Had he done something wrong? No, he couldn't think of anything. Mello must be extra uptight because of the case. After all, he had lost many of his men to Kira. Perhaps he was afraid something would happen to Matt?

No way, Matt thought. That son of a bitch doesn't care that much about me. This was the damned truth. Matt knew for a fact that Mello didn't care much about Matt to fear him dead. Not to mention, nothing that had happened that day hinted that that could be the reason.

With another puff of smoke, Matt knew he couldn't stay mad at Mello. They were best friends, whether Mello would admit it or not, and despite all that had happened, Matt would willingly die for him and his cause. Deciding this, Matt stood and wandered to Mello's room. He figured he'd best tell him that he wasn't going to leave.

Mello awoke to a coughing fit, and quickly sprung out of bed when he smelled smoke. He examined the smoke-filled room, afraid that they were under attack or, perhaps, that Matt had accidentally left a lit cigarette to burn the place down. All of his suspicions were cleared, however, when he noticed Matt sitting against his door frame, smoking. He scowled, and began coughing.

"Are you trying to kill me in my sleep or something?" he asked crossly, and Matt laughed half-heartedly.

"Of course not," he began, standing up and putting out his cigarette on the bottom of his boot. "Just needed to wake you up."

"For what?" Mello growled, narrowing his eyes at the red-head as he made his way to Mello's bed. Matt sat down next to Mello, who continued to glare.

"To let you know I'm not leaving," he answered bluntly, and Mello appeared shocked. When he realized Matt had seen his expression, he quickly turned away, crossing his arms.

"I knew you wouldn't," he lied. "And if you tried, I wouldn't let you."

The two boys sat in silence for a while, each staring away from the other. They remained in their individual thoughts, waiting for the other to say something. Finally, Mello broke the silence.

"You know if you stay here and help me, you have a good chance of dying," he explained to Matt in a sullen tone. Matt sighed deeply.

"I know," he replied. Mello turned to him.

"And yet, you decide to stay here."

"Giving up my life is something I'm willing to risk, if it will help you."

Matt turned to meet Mello's eyes, which were ridden with disbelief. He gave the blond boy a disarming smile, and Mello turned away. After another moment of silence, he spoke.

"You're a good friend, Matt," Mello admitted. "And…" he paused for a moment, and Matt turned to face him. "I'm…I'm sorry for being such an asshole to you all the time."

After forcing the apology from himself, Mello turned away from Matt, blushing slightly. Matt chuckled, and placed a reassuring hand on Mello's shoulder.

"Apology accepted," he said, and he could see Mello ease up a bit. "How's your face, by the way?"

"It's fine." Mello told him, almost harshly. He then turned to face his friend, his natural scowl on his face again. "Now go get some sleep," he demanded. "God forbid you die of sleep deprivation, then I'd have no one to boss around." Matt stood, letting out another chuckle.

"You got it, Boss," he said, and left.

Fin.

Spirit: OH YEAUH. My first DN fanfic! And it's Mello/Matt, but only hints of it. Well, enjoy! -