A/N: This story was very unexcpected. It's amazing how a small, random prompt from a writing meme on DeviantArt can result in a one-shot...
Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
The day had started out quite dreary. The skies were bleak, covered with rolling clouds of gray and black, and the rain fell as hard as hail. There were very few people who were out in the streets, and those that were, were decked in attire suited for this weather from head to toe.
For someone like Mello, a current resident in Wammy's House, this day was absolutely horrid.
Watching the city of Winchester from his second floor window, Mello propped his arm onto his elbow and sighed. Occupying the second bed across from him, Matt was quietly playing his videogames on his GameBoy. The occasional sound effect and "Let's go!" from Mario were the only sounds other than the rain and occasional thunder. Bored with the situation, Mello promptly stood up, announced "I'm leaving," and proceeded to search his closet for appropriate clothing. Matt seemed to answer with a dull "Hmm," to which Mello rolled his eyes.
Once outside, Mello turned up the collar to his raincoat, grabbed one of the numerous umbrellas from the stand (this one happened to be yellow) and walked out from underneath the porch cover. Passing the gates and getting on the sidewalk, Mello breathed a sigh of relief. Living in Wammy's House was a privilege, but also boring if spent too much time on its acres. Its residents didn't get to leave the property much, especially Mello, who not only was a possible successor to L, but was also merely the age of a ten year old boy.
His face breaking into a grin at the mere thought of being outside unsupervised - the dream of every Wammy child - Mello decided to visit the candy store. Once reaching the shoppe's counter, Mello ordered eight ounces of chocolate covered cherries, Mars Bars, Hershey's Kisses, and Reese's Peanut Butter Bars and sixteen ounces of lemons heads. For L, he told himself. And lastly, he bought four helpings of Ghirardelli's 75% Dark Chocolate bars.
Walking outside with the candy-filled bag on his arm - umbrella in one hand and already half-eaten chocolate bar in the other – he resumed his leisurely stroll. Munching on his revered chocolate, Mello checked his watch and, with disappointment, thought it wise to start heading back.
Taking a left turn on the next street, Mello felt something soft land on his boot. Looking down, he was shocked to see a small tabby cat, soaked to the bone and shivering. Mello wasn't one who went crazy over animals - that was more Linda's role – but he felt as though he sympathized with this creature. Moving his umbrella slightly so as to cover the feline as well, Mello saw that the cat was no bigger than his boot. After debating the pros and cons, Mello sighed, stashed the chocolate bar into the bag, and picked up the small cat, bringing it close to his chest for warmth. Once he was sure he had a secure grip on it, he continued walking.
Nearing the porch, Mello shut the umbrella slowly, as to not frighten the cat anymore than it already was, and stowed it away with the rest of its companions. Slowly, he opened the door, looking left and right to see that no one would notice neither him nor the cat, and stepped inside. Carefully, he shed his coat while still holding the feline and hung it on the rack. While Mello's back was turned, he was caught off guard with a prompt clearing of someone's throat.
Mello instantly froze, thinking the worse - that it was Roger or Wammy or Roger and Wammy that had caught him and will ground him and throw the cat out. Slowly, Mello turned, prepared for the worse, but he was not prepared to come face to face with the man whom all the children in Wammy's House were trying to succeed.
"L!" Mello gasped, albeit a little obviously but not sure what else to say.
"Mello." L nodded. "What is that you've got there?"
"Oh, this?" Mello paled, holding up the bag. "Er, it's just a few pieces of candy. I brought you some lemonheads, too. I know how much you like them!"
L nodded. "Lemonheads are delicious. Sadly, that is not what I was asking. What I was asking, seeing as you will want to dodge the question, is why you have a cat in your arms."
"Oh."
Mello's mind raced for any possible solution, any possible excuse that would make L say it's okay to keep the cat. Mello knew that if L gave the okay on the cat, Wammy would give the okay on the cat, thus Roger, no matter how much he didn't want the cat, would have to agree to keep the kitten. But one look at L's wide, emotionless eyes and Mello knew no matter how convincing the lie was, he could never get it past L. He didn't know if he even wanted to lie to L in the first place.
His shoulders sagged and, sighing, he explained to L how he came across the small kitten. As he retold the events, he held the kitten with the both arms and brought it closer to his chest, noticing the sick thing trembling.
"Please, L," Mello begged. "I promise I'll take care of it."
L chewed on his thumb. "A pet is a big responsibility, Mello."
The blonde winced. "I know, but I can handle it. At least until he's well enough to find him a family."
"You'll get too attached. At that point, you won't want to give him to a family."
"Come on, L!" Mello begged. "Please? Just look at him; he's shaking!"
L's wide-eyed gaze traveled to the small creature, hunching his back to reach its level. Realizing it was being watched, the cat let out a small "mew" before returning to snuggling as close as it could to Mello. L looked back up at him.
"Please?" Mello asked softly. "I promise I'll handle everything. Then if other kids want to help, they can. But if they don't want to, I'll handle him on my own. Please?"
L looked sternly into his gaze and his black eyes met sad blue ones. L sighed, standing back up to normal height. He shut his eyes and seemed to weight out every possibility in as little as a few seconds. Once those seconds were over, he opened his eyes and stared down at Mello.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Mello?"
Mello beamed, a large grin forming. "Of course! Just wait; this little thing will be as good as new in no time!"
L blinked. "And you will buy all the necessities with your own money?"
"Yup!"
L sighed. "All right. Then I have just one more question."
Mello's brows furrowed. "What?"
"Did you really buy me lemonheads?"
A/N: L is so sweet to Mello. I was smiling as I wrote this. :)
I thought it was funny how the possibility L settled with was "If I let him keep the cat, asking for the lemonheads won't look like I'm demanding it."
Thank you for reading! And reviews will be much appreciated!