Hiya! I'm back again with my second story. And like the last, it's MelloXMatt again, of course. And thank-you to all those lovely people who reviewed in my last fic. You made me so happy! I might write a companion fic to '9 Things' but we'll have to see how fast I can work and if I can get any ideas XD.
And just a note, dandelion clocks are those white fuffy ones. Yeah, I didn't know that until I searched it up.
And another note, I might also be writing more of these drabbles which are of this series called 'The Garden' which centers around plants and stuff...
Disclaimer: I do not own, by any means, ways or forms, Death Note or any of its characters. I only fangirl-squeal over them...
Dandelion Season
A Death Note Story by atomiclint
Matt liked dandelions.
They were common yet pretty. Things don't have to be rare to be precious.
Like Mello. Matt sees him every single day and still he doesn't get any less enticing if not more beautiful.
Matt liked the soft petals that were as bright as the pastels they use to use in art class. Heck, he even liked the stains they left on your skin when you hold them too tightly.
The yellow was only a reminder of Mello's golden hair. He wondered if touching Mello's hair would leave stains on his fingers. It sure looked pretty enough to.
Matt liked how they smelt of grass and sunshine.
Mello smells like chocolate and textbooks, he figures, but also a hint of something that is just Mello and he can never place a finger on what that was.
There weren't many dandelions in Los Angeles.
Matt could probably count them all on one hand. That was a depressing thought.
He stared up at the balcony that was theirs. He couldn't see Mello.
Mello had kicked him out of the apartment claiming that he wasn't only not working but also distracting Mello from working. Matt didn't know what that meant.
He inhaled on his cigarette, carelessly blowing a stream of smoke out. Even if he had been smoking for a lot longer than you might have guessed, he still couldn't blow a smoke ring.
Their neighbourhood was one of the back streets.
It constantly smelled like trash and something sour. Even Mello said Matt's cigarettes smelled better which was a big step from what he usually says (curses) about Matt's habit.
In the better parts of town, weeds grew out of the cracks in the sidewalk. Here, they get stepped on faster than they can even grow. It was sad and once they solve the Kira case, they can get out of here.
But until then, Matt can only wish.
He looked towards the sky.
Today was a cloudless day.
There was a faint, barely-there breeze. Perhaps he was only imagining it.
Though it couldn't have been because dandelion seeds were drifting through the air like tiny parachutes. It was a brilliant sight. Matt hadn't seen that since he was back at Wammy's.
He wondered where they came from. LA was not a place where you saw fields of dandelions.
He looked to the left. There was an old man collecting cans in a lopsided stolen shopping cart.
He looked to the right. A sweaty man was fixing a broken window two buildings down.
The mysterious dandelion seeds were swirling around him, taunting him.
Where could they be coming from?
There was a giggle. It was soft as if it wasn't meant for the ears of outsiders. Matt had to concentrate to find where it had came from. He tilted his head, closing his eyes to listen.
It sounded again. He heard it clearly though it must have been as soft as the last.
He was a little more than surprised to find that it came from right across the street.
He outright stared at the little shabby house where two little kids were on the porch, surrounded by dozens of dandelions, not the yellow flowered ones, but the white, fluffy clocks.
He raced across the street, not bothering to look either way for cars. He felt like he was back at Wammy's again.
"Where'd you get those?" He blurted out. There were times when he really needed to control his mouth.
The two kids stopped. They dropped the pot they had been holding and a new flurry of dandelion seeds was released into the air. Matt's head unconsciously turned to follow them go.
"Where'd you get those dandelion clocks?" He asked again, this time not so desperate and not so I'm-a-creepy-stranger.
The kids blinked. Both had pale blonde hair and dirt-streaked faces.
"They're from the dandelions," The girl said. The boy picked up the fallen pot and set it upright again.
"I know," Matt said quickly, almost anxiously. He wondered why he seemed so needy. For God's sake, it was only a fucking dandelion. But he finds his mouth opening again. "But where'd you get them? As you can see, it's not very common around here." He waved his arm over the streets that were very much lacking some greens.
"From the earth,"
Matt clamped his mouth over his bottom lip as to not let out a string of curses flying at the two kids. He really wondered if they were being difficult just to piss him off.
"I meant," He said, composing himself. He was freakin' nineteen. He could handle two six-year-olds. "Is there perhaps, a park where they grow or something? Somewhere I can get one?"
The kids blinked before shaking their heads.
"No," The girl said. The boy hadn't spoken a word yet. "You can't get 'em around here. They don't grow good in nature here."
"Where'd you get those then?" He asked accusingly. They beamed at him.
"We grew 'em," The girl said proudly. Matt sighed. He was hoping to get one. He missed them, the floating white parasols, the smell. It all seemed so foreign to him now.
"Would you like some?" The girl's voice broke through his thoughts. He realised that he probably looked pretty stupid standing there looking into space.
"Er," Matt said, blinking. "Sure." He grinned as the girl broke off two and handed it to him.
"We've got tons in the backyard," The girl said absently, breaking off another one and closed her eyes. She muttered a few inaudible words before she blew all the seeds off in one breath. She smiled.
"What did you just do?" Matt asked, fingering his own two, perfectly round dandelion clocks.
"I made a wish," She said simply. "And since I blew them all off in one breath, it'll come true."
"What did you wish for?" Matt asked curiously.
"That the tomato juice stain will come off my dress," He laughed.
"I've got to go," He waved as he rushed back across the street, carrying his new-found treasures carefully.
The stairwell was always grimy but today, he didn't even notice the dirt he kicked up on the way up.
He burst into their apartment noisily.
"Mello!" He exclaimed. "Look what I got?" He waved his plants around. Mello poked his head out from the living room, clearly pissed.
"What do you want, Matt?" He hissed, turning back to his laptop. Matt sighed, taking a seat beside him.
"It's dandelion clocks," He said, holding them purposely in between the screen and the blonde's face. He vaguely realised that Mello would more likely than not kill him but he was too excited now.
"I can see that," Mello replied, irritated. He knocked Matt's hand out of the way, causing the plants to drop out of his hand.
They flew through the air, in a perfect arc, landing gracefully on the dirty floor of their apartment. Two seeds broke off, one on each, floating in the air for a few short seconds before falling down.
"Look what you did!" Matt cried, pointing at the fallen plants as if they had been alive a moment ago.
He had wanted to show them to Mello because they've been so stressed lately. Mello was even more uptight than usual. Many times, only Matt could loosen him up. He prided himself on being the on person that could get through to Mello.
If that wasn't true anymore, what was he to Mello then?
"What?" Mello argued back, his teeth clenched. "It's fucking dandelions for Christ's sake." Matt frowned.
They were not only dandelions.
They were two wishes and now they were wasted.
"They're more than that," He mumbled. Mello quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah?" Mello sneered. "What did you wanted to do with them?"
"Wish on them," Matt replied truthfully. Mello was stunned. Only for a fraction of a second before he was back to his cool self again. Only Matt caught it.
"What did you wanted to wish on them?" He asked, turning back to his laptop, his fingers dancing across the keyboard.
Silence filled the room with only the soft tapping of keys to accompany it.
"I," Matt began before he thought better of it. Despite the low volume of the single syllable, Mello still turned and gave him a look that pretty much told Matt to spit it out.
Matt flushed seeing as his wish wasn't what he would tell his best friend.
"I," He looked away, knowing that Mello had a gun in his crotch and he didn't exactly want to stare death in the face. "I wanted to wish that you'd love me back like I love you."
Mello understood how deep the 'love' was.
There was a silence. This time, there were no comfortable taps beside it.
"And what's your other wish?" Mello asked. His voice was quieter than his usual screaming.
Matt rose an eyebrow in questioning.
"You had two," Mello pointed to the plants on the ground. "What was your other wish?"
"It was for you," Matt replied, finding it hard to look Mello directly. He opted for a spot just beside his ear.
"Well," Mello snapped, surprising them both. "I'm giving it to you. Now what will you wish on it?"
Matt gave him a strange look but nonetheless contemplated his given wish.
"I suppose I'd wish that we could move away from here. I mean, away from this Kira business." He paused. He sneaked a looked at Mello's face and found it to be unreadable. "We'll come back, of course." He added hastily, remembering how important it was to Mello.
There was no response.
Matt didn't take it as a good sign.
He sighed, contemplating on moving out before he felt his heart ache.
He couldn't ever move away from here.
Because of Mello and even if they never speak again, Matt figures it's better than having a permanent heartache.
Or perhaps it isn't.
He's tired so he stumbled into his bedroom to sleep.
Mello probably doesn't even want him around anymore.
He'll just sleep and rot away in his own bed, happy with the thoughts of Mello.
Even if it just might be an illusion.
The next day, he woke up to an apartment with no Mello.
Matt believed him to have moved out. Or just plain ran away.
He was craving and he decides that his problems will have to wait until after a cigarette or two.
He nearly drops the lighter when he sees two one-way tickets to Venice, Italy on the kitchen table.
And next to them are two empty dandelion clocks.
So here it is. You decide if it's good or not (though I hope it is XD). And remember, reviews are always welcome.
Cheers!