Only a Game

"Matt, it's not here," Mello called, emerging from behind a pile of old and broken chairs. "For fuck's sake, it stinks here."

Matt did not look up, his dark red hair obscuring his face as he rummaged through a heap of old toys. "Keep looking then," he replied simply, turning over a broken doll's house. "It can't be too far away."

Mello let out a growling sound and went to stand behind Matt. He was frustrated, of course. This had to be one of the stupidest reasons ever to leave their place and risk being seen- and they were together too! If anyone from the SPK or Japanese task force saw them, they were pretty much screwed.

Mello, in a fit of childish annoyance, poked Matt in the small of his back with the toe of his boot. He watched in faint amusement as Matt lost the balance from the crouching position he had been in and fell on his butt on the dusty ground.

"Fuck's sake Matt," Mello repeated, peering about from under his hood. "It's not here. Let's just go."

Matt had got up and presently he turned to look at Mello through his goggles.

The blonde continued, still irritated, "I mean, come on, it's only a game. Just because you think you might have dropped it and it might have gone in the bin-"

He was cut off when Matt waved a rather manky-looking under his nose, dirt and grime caught in her plastic tresses. "And just because you want to beat Near does not mean I have to help you either."

Mello opened his mouth to argue but was cut off again before he could say anything.

"And if you do help you might just get some kind of reward."

Mello scowled and stomped off to look some more.

It was later, when they were leaving the junkyard empty-handed, that Matt let out a noise of surprise.

"What?" asked Mello, getting the keys to his bike out of his pocket and looking at Matt. In the redhead's hand were his keys and, apparently out of the same pocket, the Super Mario game that had been 'thrown out by mistake'.

Mello took a very long, very silent look at the other's sheepish and incredulous expression. "You owe me a hell of a lot of chocolate."