Title: Friends 'til Death
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: T to M
Pairing: Matt/Mello, (some Mello/Near/Matt)
Authors: Mail and Mihael Jeevas
Disclaimer: We do not own these characters in any shape or form, thus we are not making any money from this. If we were we wouldn't be here right now. So no trying to sue us. All you'll get are old cigarettes and maybe a half eaten chocolate bar, and that's if your lucky.
Mihael's A/N: First things first, I gotta tell you that this fic is a joint effort between myself and Mail. Another thing that needs to be mentioned is that it is partly in roleplay format. It will turn AU a little later on, for now enjoy our little prologue.
Mail's A/N: Yeah, what he said. Though, I should point out that I did all the tweaking to roleplay stuffies to make it more story like as best I could. But anyway, enjoy and let us know what you think.
Summary: Meet young Mihael and Mail as they meet in another life without the pressures of being the next L, or capturing Kira. Being given this chance, what will they do? Will they meet a tragic end once again? Or will they continue to live and love?
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Prologue
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Police swarmed in to the room with their guns held high and ready, obvious looks of horror on their faces despite wearing helmets. Standing beside the body of their fallen chief was a young blond man clad in leather, though his face could not be made out because of the gas mask he was wearing. As well as one of his henchmen standing in the way slightly. Soon the sound of gunfire rang out in the room, easily heard outside as it filled the room. Then everything fell silent and the henchman that had been standing in front of the blond fell, dead.
The blond man, Mello, stood silently as he held up a small bomb, threatening to blow the place up. It seemed as if he didn't have a choice.
'When it comes to this... Win or lose..'
With a light click the small bomb was activated and only seconds later it went off.
Giving Mello only a split second to release the bomb before he was caught in the blast. The gas mask having been completely melted from his as he was thrown in to the far wall, the building starting to come down around him. Flames licking at his leather boots while he stared at them dully, all he could feel was the pain of what he guessed were burns on his arm and shoulder, and even the right side of his face.
Waiting. For a small period of time the blond simply waited, almost as if he were waiting for death to just swallow him up. But after a while longer the Mello became impatient, after all patience just wasn't his strong point. Using his seemingly unharmed hand he reached into his pocket, with relative difficulty and fished out his cell phone- which was surprisingly still intact. Yet as he started to dial a long ago memorized number, a twinge of panic began to take hold as he lifted the device to his ear. His free hand moving of it's own accord and reaching for the usually ever present rosary, only to come up empty handed in the end.
As a spasm of coughs assaulted him, the blond silently prayed that the other would answer as he impatiently waited for someone to pick up. And yet again, he was stuck waiting. How he hated waiting.
---
The room was shrouded in darkness, save for the faint glow that emanated from the small screen of a PSP. Which casted it's faint light upon the face of the room's sole occupant, and it was rather amazing he was still conscious- considering the heavy smell of rotten food hung in the air around him. Then again maybe his sense of smell had been dulled by the thick curtain of cigarette smoke. Which was spiraling up in to the dark from the lit stick of tobacco hanging from his lips.
Now and then a curse was muttered or the occasional growl of frustration, followed closely by the sound of button smashing. Other than those inconsistent sounds there was no other sound of life or occupancy. Then out of nowhere a certain annoying jangle broke his concentration, resulting in a string of curses being uttered as the screen of his PSP flashed those oh-so-annoying words: GAME OVER.
With a huff the redhead set the hand-held device aside, digging into his pocket for the source of that annoying jangle which was still going. Not bothering to pull the cigarette from his lips, or for that matter to look at the ID, Matt simply flipped the device open and put to his ear and groused, "What is it?"
For the redhead the use of a caller ID on his cell was pointless, considering there was only one person that called him that had his number: Mello. The very same person that had dubbed him 'Matt' years ago, simply because he didn't like his actual name, Mail. And quite honestly, he hadn't been rather fond of it himself, but he had dealt with it until the blond gave him his new name.
And now, said blond was calling him which meant Mello needed him for something.
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"Matt..." He began his voice sounding rough and forced as ash and smoke filled his lungs, "Come get me," the blond ordered finally.
The sound of debris falling around him could be heard through the receiver, his next few words lost to static. Mello coughed into his free hand as his lungs attempted to free themselves of the smoke and ash that threatened to suffocate him. He took a shaky breath trying to even it out a little as he waited for the other's reply.
His sight was beginning to fail, though, he figured that was because of the smoke that filled the air around him.
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As soon as he heard the other say his name, the redhead was on his feet with the phone pressed to his ear with one hand, the other stubbing out his cigarette. While in the process of shoving his feet in to his shoes, thankfully they still fit, considering how little he had been using them lately.
"Where?" Matt drawled lazily, picking up his keys and pack of cigarettes, taking note that he was in need of a new pack. He'd have to make a quick stop on the way to get some more.
Once he had everything required to on his person at all times, well, what he considered was necessary to carry with him. The lanky redhead sauntered to the door, stepping out side and waiting patiently for an answer to his question as he slipped his goggles in to place.
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"I blew the place up," Mello continued in a raspy voice as he closed his eyes against the smoke. Letting out a sound that should have been a laugh, but that's not what it sounded like. Gripping the phone tighter as he answered the question, "I don't know...inside the building."
There was slight amusement in that voice as he spoke once again, his voice barely audible, "Heh... I think I'm dying Matt..." The line went dead. Mello pulled the phone from his ear as his hand fell to the ground, the light of the phone becoming the only illumination in the small pocket that he was trapped in.
Consciousness was slipping and he no longer had a grip on himself, he really thought he was going to die right there.
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There was no reply to any of the blond's words, the redhead merely listened as he closed the short distance between himself and his car. Then again, if he had said something then more than likely the blond on the other end would think he was an impostor. But that was highly unlikely, considering not many people had his sort of personality: lazy, aloof, anti-social but loyal to a fault when it came to those that mattered. And Mello definitely mattered, in fact, the blond was ranked number on on that small list of people.
And as he continued to quietly listen, the subject changing to the matter of his friend believing he was dying. Matt switched in to panic mode. Determination took over quickly, he would reach the other man before that possibility became reality, after all it was his best friend that was in danger. And that alone was reason enough to panic.
As the tone of a dead line reached his ear, he stepped up to his car and snapped his phone shut. Slipping it back in to his pocket before unlocking and pulling the door open enough to slid in, before slamming the brightly painted door shut once more. With obvious haste the redhead jammed the key into the ignition, though, it honestly didn't seem like he was in that much of a hurry. But as soon as the car roared to life, he slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped off to retrieve his best friend.
Alley after alley, street after street the video game addict raced against the clock to reach the other in time. Mello could not die, it wasn't allowed. Well, the blond wouldn't be taken by death on his watch. It was NOT allowed.
After a long and frustrating twenty or so minutes, Matt finally pulled up at the back of the recently destroyed building. Cutting the engine and climbing out, taking a brief moment to survey the state of the still smoldering building he was about to enter, before quickly heading in to find the other.
With the building debris having collapsed in on itself from the explosion, not much space had been left and so his searching grounds were considerably less. But it still took a bit of time for the redhead to come upon the pocket in which Mello was trapped. Though, he might have missed it if it weren't for that faint glow of pale blue light that emanated from his cell phone, which lay in his left hand on the ground.
Approaching the barely visible form of his friend, thanks to the continuously falling ash that made the air hazy, Matt discovered that he was unconscious which explained why the line had gone dead earlier, but thankfully he was still breathing, even if it was unsteady huffs.
Surveying the blond carefully he was horrified to discover how badly beaten up Mello was from the blast. From what he could see the blond's right arm, shoulder and the right side of his face had suffered a nasty burn. The blond's arm black from ash and blood having mixed, there was some minor damage to Mello's bangs, a little singeing but nothing to worry about. About half of the other's tank top had been burned away, the rest barely hanging on to his thin and battered frame. Besides the obvious major injuries there were thin cuts and slight gashes all along his body as well.
...In other words, it was a damn miracle he was still alive.
Giving his head a slight shake and looking up at the sudden sound of a loud creak and the hollow tumble of a stone upon metal. He was reminded that the place was going to completely collapse in on itself at any second. And he prayed that happened after they were out of the building. Which meant he didn't have time to lose, adrenaline started to pump through his veins at the continued sounds of shifting rumble assaulted him from every direction. Picking up the ash covered cell phone and closing it quickly, shoving it in to his pocket with his own before stooping down beside his unconscious friend. Wrapping an arm about his waist and pulling his left arm over his shoulders, and with quite a bit of effort he hoisted the limp form of his friend up enough to drag him towards the exit of the crumbling building. All the while cursing the blond for being so damn stupid and pulling a stunt as insane as this.
The next few minutes were crucial, Matt dragged and manhandled Mello's lifeless body until they reached the outside again. Though he didn't stop until he was a fairly safe distance from the building, which meant he was only a few feet from his car, before he took the time for a small rest. Deciding to try and revive the blond or at least attempt too. "Yo Mello," he called firmly but strangely softly as well, giving the other's unharmed cheek a slap to get him to respond.
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That voice. He knew that voice almost as well as he knew his own. It penetrated through the darkness of unconsciousness, rousing him enough to open his left eye and glare at the other half heartedly. "What the fuck took you so long?" he rasped before leaning against his friend, closing his eye once more and drifting back in to unconsciousness. It might not have appeared as so, but Mello had lost a lot of blood and he was still bleeding.
In all honesty, Mello didn't think that the other would arrive in time, he remembered how lazy the other was when they were children. Though, when it came to him, he knew Matt would run a marathon if he simply told or asked him too. So, maybe it wasn't such a surprise after all.
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There was no way in hell he would be able to stop himself, it was already too late as it was. The small bubble just continued to grow until he was laughing softly, though, it was rather loud for the redhead of little words. Mello's half hearted glare had actually made him smile, simply because it was a great relief to know the blond was alive and he hadn't wasted his time on saving the asshole. Shaking his head and sending the ash that coated it flying, Matt once again hoisted his friend up better and dragged him to the car a few feet away.
With one hand he held Mello up while the other pulled the back door open, before he maneuvered the unconscious blond off himself and on to the back seat. Being mindful of the burn on the other's right side in the process, doing his best to get Mello in to a position where he wouldn't fall on to the floor. The redhead stepped back and shut the door securely before taking his place in the driver's seat once again, turning the car back on and taking off down the alley- though at a considerably slower speed than before.
Heading for the nearest drug store to stock up on bandages and the like, because it was apparent his supply at home wouldn't be enough for Mello's recovery. And besides, he could take care of a little extra shopping at the same time. Pulling out his cigarettes and lighting up, he took a long drag from the stick of tobacco and held the smoke longer than normal before exhaling.
After all the days to come were going to be long... and stressful. But thank god Mello was alive.
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TBC...