AN: I believe this would be classified as an AU, though I really didn't think through a lot of the details when I was writing it. I am already thoroughly attached to it, even though I only came up with the idea less than hours ago. Have you ever experienced the beautiful feeling of having the one you like write you notes? It's such a sweet satisfaction, and much less nerve-wracking than having an actual conversation! I have fond memories...but, oh, this story is completely fiction. :)
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Are you an idiot?
Mello barely resisted the urge to crumple up the rough sheet of paper resting on the table in front of him and throw it at a certain red-haired classmate of his. Who, he noticed when he glanced at him, justhappened to be staring quite intently at the blackboard that usually didn't get the privilege of his attention.
The blonde sighed and wrote his reply underneath the message in his usual neat, carefully controlled script. He unsuccessfully tried to hide a happy grin when he slid the paper silently back on his friend's desk.
Only idiots call other people idiots for liking something.
Matt's reply, as usual, was slow. The guy had no patience for classwork, preferring to do everything by himself in his own time. The annoying thing was, he would get his assignments done in the minutes before class much too quickly, and he was, more often than not, right. If he could work so well and so fast, then why did it always take him so many long minutes to reply when they passed each other notes?
Finally the paper was slipped back onto his desk. Matt's ridiculously messy, practically unreadable writing contrasted with Mello's own. When they had first begun what had quickly become an unspoken tradition of passing each other notes in their third period Maths class, Mello had had a lot of difficulty making out the words he wrote. Now, however, it was second nature, as easy as breathing to him and - though he would never admit it - far more important.
Then I suppose we can be idiots together.
A faint blush tinged Mello's cheeks, and he looked at Matt questioningly. The redhead was watching him with a fond smile on his face. When their eyes met he stuck out his tongue at him teasingly. Really, the guy was beyond immature. But it was part of his charm, in some indescribable way…
I don't keep company with fools.
No, I guess you just attract them.
Is that an insult?
Thinly veiled.
You're a fortunate guy; I've decided to ignore it.
Consider it an expression of my affection for you.
Now, now, would Vissa be happy to hear you saying things like that?
You're more charming than Vissa, and twice as beautiful.
I'll ignore that.
The blush on Mello's face had deepened by the time the bell signifying the end of the class rang, and he was unable to disguise a brilliantly happy smile that only grew as he read the various notes that his friend kept sending him. Sitting in the next row, Matt had given up all pretense of attentiveness, instead watching the other boy with an affectionate smile.
The clatter of students rising from their seats and beginning to chat amongst themselves disturbed Mello's happiness somewhat, and he stood up without a second glance at Matt, pushing his books casually into a pile. In moments he had schooled his expression to its normal superior smirk, and without so much as a goodbye he slung his bag over his shoulder and left the room coolly.
Matt didn't mind. After all, he had been the only one who had seen the blonde slip the worn piece of paper they had communicated on so carefully, gently into a particularly well cared for folder, which he knew to be filled with the sheets and papers from all their previous conversations. He was the only one who was allowed to see the cold Mello's sweet and caring side, and this was his blessing.
The teacher stared pointedly at Matt when she took the roll, dropping entirely subtle hints about the importance of paying attention in class, but neither Matt himself nor the source of his distraction Mello reacted to what she was saying. This was just another part of the day, and it wasn't as if the woman would call out her two best students.
Your shining sapphire eyes are particularly entrancing today.
Matt was always the first to write. It was his paper too, always so tattered at the edges and manufactured by some company that Mello couldn't recognize. The guy never seemed to move any of the many books stacked awkwardly on his desk at all, and Mello still had no clue where the paper they shared appeared from. Smiling at his latest flirtatious comment, the blonde quickly penned his response.
Consider me flattered.
One so enchanting should not be enchanted so easily.
Delivery is everything.
True, don't things seem more romantic on paper?
Despite himself, Mello's heart began to race slightly at his words. What they shared was nothing more than a playful friendship, but when Matt said things like that he couldn't help but be a little charmed by them. Against his better judgment, he decided to say something dangerous.
Like my sapphire eyes?
Believe me, nothing compares with the real thing when it comes to you.
The blonde flushed, and clamped his hand over the lower half of his face in an attempt to hide his embarrassing reaction. He stared at the words on the page for a few moments, as if disbelieving, before looking suddenly up at the teacher talking at the front of the classroom. Quickly he scratched his message on the page, before returning it to a waiting Matt.
15(a-b) x a x (b-8)
-480
Matt's answer was surprisingly quick, and Mello knew it was accurate. The problem was quite simple if one understood the information, and it was far from challenging. It had been the first equation he had heard the teacher discussing, and this was why he had used it.
I see, thankyou for the help.
Why are you trying to change the subject?
Reading these words the blonde started slightly, and glanced at Matt, only to find the redhead staring at him with an unusually serious expression on his face. He seemed almost…concerned, Mello realised, and he looked away quickly. Sometimes this odd and incomparably valuable relationship he had with Matt was painful. It hurt because he was too understood.
Mello did not write anything to Matt for the rest of the class. He didn't turn, because he felt the boy's unfaltering gaze centered on the back of his head. The attention Matt gave him was wonderful, and kind, and…undeserved. When the bell rang at last for the end of class Mello suddenly wrote something on the bottom of the sheet, and left it lying on his desk, almost pushing people over in his hurry to leave the classroom.
I don't deserve honesty, but I still can't handle it when I'm lied to.
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My Gameboy broke.
I can't say we weren't all expecting that, the way you mistreat the thing.
When the image died, I spent hours cradling it to my chest, trying tearfully to find a heartbeat.
How sweet of you.
I'm a naturally caring person.
Mello was glad they had returned to normal conversation today, after the awkwardness of what had happened yesterday. It had been his fault though, he knew he'd be treading fine ground by writing what he had written, and he had done it anyway. Thankfully Matt seemed to be ignoring the incident, and Mello was more than happy to play along.
I'm still trying to work out if the Gameboy was your pet or your master.
So sweet Mello is as capable of jealousy as the rest of us.
Phrase it like a question, and Imight bother replying to that.
Don't worry, the Gameboy could never hold as interesting conversations as you do.
I suppose that's some consolation.
I love you.
The paper slipped from Mello's fingers and floated gently to rest atop his assorted textbooks. The blonde himself was stunned, his thoughts thrown into disarray by those three simple words. Unconsciously his gaze travelled to Matt, who was watching his reaction, entirely serious. After a few moments the shock, though it had not fully disappeared, had dulled slightly, and Mello wrote his reply.
You can't.
I love you.
How can you love me?
I love you.
It's not possible.
I love you.
Mello's pen, almost pressed against the page, faltered for a moment before he wrote his next message. His face was hidden behind a curtain of sleek blonde hair, and he was glad that his friend could not see the flushed, scared and ultimately vulnerable expression he wore. His hand trembled slightly when he slipped the message slowly back onto Matt's desk.
I love you, too.
Unable to meet his gaze, Mello was never to see the purely exultant grin that stretched across Matt's face when he read these words. Nothing more was written, both momentarily satisfied by the progress they had made, and the honesty that they had both, with some difficulty, managed to express.
When the bell rang this time, Mello and Matt left the classroom together. The two boys walked in silence down the hallways until they found a completely secluded spot. Dropping his bag indifferently, Matt pushed Mello gently against the wall, bringing their faces close. The blonde shut his eyes tightly, refusing to meet the other boy's gaze. His face was reddened and his brow furrowed with embarrassment, and, Matt thought, entirely beautiful.
Silently Matt kissed him, the light touch of their lips brushing together deepening as both found themselves to be, beyond a doubt, perfectly happy.
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AN: I really was surprised when I finished, realising that I was actually able to end a story with the words 'perfectly happy'. It may be a first for me.
And I suppose I should mention, props to E-chan who let me borrow her character, however briefly. :)