Title: Love Sickness

Chapter: One – Valentine's Day

Coupling: Hinted MelloxOC

Summery: Mello wasn't always the chocolate lover everyone knows and loves. Infact he didn't have any kind of addiction in the past. It was all her fault that he turned out this way.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or Mello!

Time, Eleven-Thirty.

Place, Wammy House. Winchester, England.

The date is February 13th, 2000.

Cough, cough. Hack, hack. "Ugh…" Sniffle.

"Liberty, you should really get some rest." An old man placed a kind hand upon a young girl's shoulder, a small smile on his face. "It's not good to stress your body like this."

In reply the young girl looked up at the man. She was standing upon a wooden chair to reach the counter top. An apron hung around her neck and was covered in many ingredients and her face had a few dots here and there. Her mouth was covered by a white mask to keep her germs to herself. But under that all was a simple girl. Long brown hair worn back in a pony tail, glasses sitting atop her head, hazel eyes peering out in adolescent innocence. A long sleeved black shirt hung loosely around her body, a hood attached to the back, black sweat pants matched the top with her bare feet. A sniffle left the mask before the girl replied. "Don't worry Mr. Wammy, I'm nine years old! Us kids have a lot of energy!" she said as a smile was hidden by her mask. But the smile soon disappeared as she body was attacked by hacks and coughs.

Worry graced Quilish Wammy's (Better known as Watari) eyes as he watched the young girl. She was always so kind and did things for others before herself. It made him sad that her life had turned so wrong. With a sigh he watched the girl climb down from the chair and her eyes smiled up at him. He gave her a kind smile and placed a hand on her head. "I'll help you finish these up if you promise to go to bed when we are done." With a nod and a hug in reply he chuckled and helped the girl work in wrapping up the goodies she had made.

This girl's name was Liberty. Real name, Unknown. She was one of the many children living in Wammy House to be raised to be a detective of immense intelligence. But at the age of five a disease took over her body. She became very weak and would submit to coughing fits and was often bed ridden for great lengths of time. But she never let it get her down. She stayed strong and worked just as hard, if not harder, than everyone else. She wanted to show everyone that despite her disease she could still be the best of the best. But she had a secret. A secret she would never tell anyone…

"Ugh, what's this crap? You actually think people will eat that?" called one of the boys of the orphanage as he grabbed a bag from Liberty's hands. It was Valentine's Day and the children were being their usual selves. Handing out chocolates and getting them in return. At least most of the children were…

"No, please! Give it back to me!" Liberty called as she gave a few coughs into her mask and reached up to try to grab the bag held high in the air.

"Why should I? So you can spread your germs and get everyone else sick!" the boy chortled as he swung the plastic bag in the air.

"Please, I worked hard on those!"

"Why? It's not like anyone is going to give someone like you anything," the boy snarled as he threw the bag at Liberty, "Not after when you did to Kairi…"

"Ka-Kairi…?" Liberty asked as she sat on the ground, having fallen over when the bag was thrown at her.

"Yeah, that girl you killed! My big sister!" the boy shouted in anger.

"N-no… No! It wasn't my fault!" Liberty called in fear.

"Yes it was! It was because of you that she died! She was perfectly fine until you gave her those stupid cookies! Then she died!" the boy shouted with a glare, "Why don't you just go die already?!"

Tears streaked Liberty's face as she sniffled and started to cough. She clenched her eyes shut and grabbed her bag tightly. With a few choking sounds coming from the girl she pushed herself to her feet and ran from the room with her bag in hand.

Liberty didn't pay attention to where she was running. Her feet knew where to take her. And soon she found herself crying, huddled in the middle of the floor of an empty room. L's old room. But she didn't notice that there was someone within.

"Hmm? What's this? Liberty…?"

Liberty's head shot up as she looked up at the face of her proclaimed elder brother, L. "Eh-L…" she muttered with a sniffle as she found the boy plopping down next to her, "What…what are you doing here?"

"Well, I believe this is my room…" L said in his dull voice as he scratched his cheek a bit, "So I think I should be the one asking you that…" He gave the girl a sideways glance as he watched her actions.

"O-oh…right…" Liberty said as she coughed a bit and went back to staring at her knees, "But…I thought you left Wammy House. You're 21 now…"

"Yes, that I am. But I decided to drop by for a visit to see you all. Is there a…problem…with that?"

"No…of course not…"

L rose an eyebrow as he glanced at the girl then to the bag. "Hm. What do we have here? Baking late at night again I assume. You know Liberty, it's no wonder you keep getting so sick if you're always up so late baking," L muttered as he dug through the bag and pulled out a smaller plastic one and pulled the ribbon off. Taking out a cookie he bit it in half and talked with his mouth full. "Don't listen to those kids. Besides, it's a shame to waste good sweets."

"L no!"

L stopped chewing and rose his eyebrow once more before swallowing what was in his mouth. "What's wrong?"

"L, you shouldn't eat those things. You'll die… Just…just like Kairi did…" Liberty muttered as she glanced at the floor.

"Of course I will. We're all going to die someday," L replied but held up a hand before the girl could continue, "Liberty… Kairi didn't die because of your cooking. She was sick, just like you are now. It just happened to be a coincidence. Think nothing of it." He placed his hand down and spotted something in the bag, pulling out one that seemed special. "Now onto something important…" He knew Liberty wasn't watching him, she was staring at the floor again. So it gave him time to search for a name. He found it and rose an eyebrow as he glanced to the door where said person had appeared. "Mello…"

Mello had seen Liberty run by him in a coughing/crying fit. He was going to find L and tell him that something happened again when he stopped and watched L consol the same person he had seen moments ago. He was going to leave when he saw L examine a bag and look back at him, saying his name. He blinked a bit, wondering why his name was being said and what he had to do with that bag if anything.

Liberty heard the name and her head snapped up quicker than anything. Seeing the bag in L's hands she grabbed it quickly and then hid it with her arms, holding it tightly to her chest. Her cheeks tinted pink as her glasses fell a bit down her nose.

"What's this now? I remember when you only made me those type of bags. Could it be that I've been replaced…?" he mussed as he tilted his head to stare up at the ceiling, knowing he was going to trick the nine year old.

"Wha?! No! Never!" Liberty called in panic as she looked over at L, "I-i-it's just that…" Her voice turned to a mutter as she looked over at the wall.

L let out a chuckle as he placed a hand on Liberty's head and used it to push himself to his feet. "I understand. Hey, why don't you give it to him?"

"I couldn't… He would never eat stuff like this. You're the only one who ever eats my stuff…" Liberty muttered as she continued to stare at the wall.

"Yet you still always make things for everyone. Liberty, if you really thought these things were going to kill us. You wouldn't make them anymore. Besides," L munched on another cookie he had taken from the earlier bag, "Watari was the one who made those cookies Kairi ate. You were too young to cook back then. Now, I want you to stand up…" He waited a bit before tapping Liberty on the head to get her to look up at him. "Stand up…"

"O-oh!" Liberty said as she stood up, not thinking he actually had wanted her to do it. She stared up at L as she waited for further instructions, still holding the bag in her arms.

"Close your eyes…" L instructed as he watched the girl listen to him. He looked over at Mello and waved him over when Liberty's eyes were closed.

Mello had been planning to just watch and see what he had to do with any of this but when L waved him over he glanced down both the halls to make sure no one was watching. Satisfied he slowly walked over and stood next to L. He was positioned by L who had a cookie hanging from his mouth.

"Now, turn this way…" L muttered as he went to turn Liberty towards Mello, her eyes still closed, "And now I want you to say and do exactly what you would if Mello were standing in front of you…"

"Wh-wha?! But wh-"

"Without opening your eyes…" L instructed before Liberty would open her eyes to protest.

Liberty sighed as she turned her head back to the front and after a deep breath let out a few coughs. Well the longer she stood here the longer she would have to endure it so best get it over with, right? With a sigh she clenched her eyes a bit tighter before letting them relax, imagining Mello standing there in her mind. "Ano…M-Mello… I… um… I…" she muttered as her hands fidgeted with the bag.

L watched in amusement as he munched on his treats, watching the scene as if a movie. "Come on Liberty…" he muttered as he leaned in towards them as he sat on his bed. It was as if he was watching a soap opera of sorts.

'I can do this…' "Mello, I…I like you! So I… I made these especially for you. Happy Valentine's Day!" she called as she clenched her eyes tightly, bent her head, and held out the gift in front of her.

Mello was shocked and stood there. He didn't really know what to say as he blinked at the girl. Liberty had always been so quiet and off by herself since Kairi had died. The girl was shunned from everyone because they believed it had been her fault the older girl had died. Truth was, he always felt bad for the girl. She didn't have any friends except L. And Mello loved L. So the least he could do was befriend L's friends, right? But then his own friends would have left him.

And now he was faced with a dilemma. This girl who everyone was against had told him she liked him. He was nine years old, like he really knew what to do. He had even teased her from time to time on his own. Yet she liked him and made him his own special Valentine's Day bag. But didn't she make bags for everyone every year? But then again, L had said earlier with the bag that before Liberty only ever made him those kinds of bags. So maybe there was a difference…?

With a hesitant hand, Mello reached out and took the bag from Liberty's hands. "Th-thanks…"

Liberty hadn't expected anything to happen and was wondering why L had her do this. But that was when she felt someone take the package from her hands and say thanks. 'That voice...' Liberty's head shot up and her eyes snapped open. She was looking straight into Mello's eyes, his cheeks were pink as he looked at the bag he was given. "M-Mello…" she muttered as she backed up a step and clutched her hands tightly together and held them close to her chest in slight fear.

Mello glanced up at Liberty and had to force himself to hold her gaze. Both of them were now blushing lightly and he knew L was still watching them from the side lines of his bed.

But that was ten years ago. Now Kira is at large, L is dead, and Valentine's Day is crap. There were no more special bags made for Mello, no more catching a girl's eye in the hall, no more Liberty.

The day is February 14th

Year, 2010.

Mello stands in front of a tomb stone. His black leather jacket blows lightly in the breeze as he stares down at the stone. Crack. The chocolate bar snapped as Mello bit into the hard sweet substance. No one was around, he had dismissed his men to leave him be for a bit. "Feh, stupid Valentine's Day…" he muttered as he tossed a bag at the tomb stone. Turning with a flourish of his coat he bit into his chocolate bar again as he walked away to leave the yard.

In his wake no one saw the gentle smile of a girl as she sat upon her tomb stone. At her feet was a bag of Valentine goods. They looked like crap, obviously home made. But the girl couldn't have been happier. "Thank you…Mello…"

Elizabeth Waters

1991-2004

For Peace, Happiness, and Liberty

In Death and in Life