Once upon a time, there were three orphans. But, you don't have to feel sorry for them, because their each in line to succeed to great detective "L". The three orphans are known a "M", "N" and "M2", more commonly called "Mello", "Near", and "Matt". Of course, even with a title as great as that, they each have problems of their own.
Mello hated Near, who was personally quite happy to work with him. Mello often bullied Near. He broke Near's toys, and ruined things he may be working on. At night, he would complain to Matt about everything wrong with Near. Matt could never say he was really happy about his friend's quarrel, but he wasn't the type to speak his mind and just stayed quiet. However, as Mello's bullying slowly got worse, Matt knew he would have to step in.
When Mello and Near were alone at work the next day, Matt came in playing his gameboy quietly. He sat down beside Mello, who was eating a large chocolate bar.
"Sup, four eyes." Mello teased. Matt adjusted his goggles awkwardly.
"Hi, Mel." Matt answered.
"…Check out Near!" Mello excitedly pointed to Near, who was playing with a large transformers toy. He placed the figure down on the table, and to his annoyance, the toy fell completely apart. Mello burst out in a hysterical laugh, almost choking on his chocolate. Mello stopped when he noticed Matt, who was completely silent. Not even a grin reached his face. Matt was normally known as the quiet type, but even so, he was always ready to help Mello. Whenever Mello couldn't think of something to say, Matt could always think of some kind of sarcastic comment.
"Mello…" Matt finally said.
"What?" Mello blinked as he leaned against the computer.
"Do you think you should…"
"Spit it out!"
"Maybe…" Matt took a breath and just said it. "Maybe you should give Near a break."
Mello blinked at the strange request. The idea was a rather odd one and Mello wasn't the type to give up so easily. So what else could he do? Mello laughed.
"H-Huh?" Matt gave Mello a bit of a worried look.
"You idiot!" Mello twitched. "What kind of a thing is that to say?"
"Well, I just thought it was a good idea." Matt looked sheepishly at Near, who sat in his seat, playing with his albino hair. He seemed quite interested in the event.
"More like a stupid idea." Mello rolled his eyes. He picked up one of Near's darts, and as if to simply irritate Matt, threw it at Near's plush bear.
Matt was barely in the mood for Mello's "fun". He got out of his chair and started out of the room.
"Where're you going?" Mello glared at Matt.
"Going out for a smoke." Matt replied, simply.
"I told you not to smoke anymore!"
"You told me not to smoke in the house." Matt scoffed and left.
"…You're gonna get yourself killed." Mello sighed and took another bite of chocolate.
"Now if only he had parents to tell." Near chuckled quietly to himself.
"Whatever."
Matt leaned against the side of the building, cigarette in his mouth. He sighed sadly. There were times when he only smoked to help him forget about his friends. Matt's trace of thought has broken when he heard Mello cough.
"Dang it, man, of all habits you could get yourself into." Mello said as he coughed and choked. Matt just shrugged.
"Whatever. If I'm gonna die, then just let me die from smoking."
"Matt." Mello glared at his friend. "This isn't about Near, is it?"
"Maybe" Matt sighed. "I guess." Mello calmed down a bit, though still not in the best mood. "Not that it really matters." Matt lit another cigarette, and put it in his mouth. Mello looked at Matt with a twitch. He hated the smell of smoke. Mello took out his handgun and shot the cigarette right out of Matt's mouth.
"Wh-What the heck, man?" Matt panicked at the gunshot. Of course, Mello had a great aim and it was rare for him to miss his target. Mello swung the gun around his finger and put it back.
"You were asking for it." Mello made a cocky smirk.
"…What?"
"Look." Mello put his hand of Matt's shoulder. "I can't stop doing what I do to Near. It's just who I am." Mello said in a softer tone.
"It's not that." Matt looked down at the ground. "I guess I just get tired of it. Bored."
"Is that is? You had to get all depressed over that?" Mello blinked.
"…Like you would understand." Matt's hand reached for another cigarette, but he stopped himself. "…We're all L's successors. We're partners. At least we're supposed to be." Mello sighed and leaned against the wall with Matt. It was a chilly day in Tokyo, despite it only being about noon.
"C'mon. Let's just go." Mello was about to leave when Matt grabbed his hand. "What? I said let's go!"
"Nah." Matt huffed. "Don't really feel like going back to Near yet."
"Why not? What are you gonna do, stand here like an idiot for who knows how long?" Matt was quiet. Mello hated silence. "…I can't believe you're being such a wimp over Near."
"Wimp?"
"Yeah. You don't have to stand here like some loser if you just want me to tone it down! …I guess."
"You laughed."
"So? What if I did?"
"Ever since I came to Japan from Wammy's House to help you with the Kira case, you've never actually cared about me!" Matt looked at Mello angrily. "You only care about you're little servant Matt, not Mail." Mail was Matt's real name. "It's always 'Matt, get me chocolate!' 'Matt, go spy on the police!' That's all you care about. …Chocolate."
"…What? What does that have to do about Near?"
"You don't care what I think. I just want us to be friends. Of course, I give you my opinion once, and all you do is laugh." Matt gave a slight pout, while Mello stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Matt… You don't seriously think that, do you?"
"Hmph." In truth, Matt wasn't sure if that was his true opinion. Though in his sudden outburst, he didn't really care. Mello was now beginning to find Matt's anger to be quite annoying. As if being led by his own frustration of wanting this to be done and over with, Mello grabbed Matt by the back of his neck, and pulled him into a kiss. Matt blushed and pulled away from Mello in a bit of shock.
"…What was that for?" Matt exclaimed.
"To get you to shut up." Mello rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little awkward, himself.
"…R-Right." Matt said. He had the strangest feeling, and despite his former mood, Matt began to laugh. Mello giggled a bit himself.
"Well, wanna go back now?" Mello grinned. Matt made a small nod. He ran over to the door, followed by Mello.
They spent the rest of the day working with Near. Although Mello had many temptations to ruin Near's day, Matt had made him promise not to do anything. Not that Mello was really happy about that, but he decided it was well worth it.