Matt hummed as he finished draping a blanket over the side of their private sanctuary, smoothing out the edges so there would be no weight for the construction to collapse under. The evening had been spent building a fort in their shared room rather than getting ready for bed. One side was tacked to the wall above the window, the other anchored to Matt's bed by books, toys, and Mello's supply of chocolate taken from Matt and a number of the other children during dinner. Matt briefly surveyed his work before crouching to enter the fortress through the curtains of sheets. He crawled clumsily amongst the piles of pillows and comforters that padded the floor toward the light of the single flashlight jutting out of the fluff.

"Where did you get all of these poofy blankets?" He asked the blonde who sat with his back against the side of the bed, looking curiously ahead. Shuffling forward, he plopped down next to his best friend to breifly rest his chin on his shoulder.

"Took them from the linen closet. Look, Matt."

Lifting his head, Matt's eyes followed the pale finger pointing to the open window. A hundred or more fireflies spotted the summer air outside, softly glowing and dimming as they floated dreamily amidst the humid purple sky. He glanced at his friend's profile, blonde hair glinting off of the yellow glow and crystal eyes alight with thought, the way that made Matt go all fuzzy inside.

"They really do remind you of summer, don't they?" Matt curled his knees to his chest.

"They remind me of how little time we have like this." Still looking ahead, Mello could feel Matt's questioning frown. "I mean, we're not little kids anymore. In four years or so we'll be too old to stay here. Every summer that passes means one less year that we have to spend like this."

"But growing up isn't that bad. You should just enjoy the time you have now. Seriously, what do you think you want to do once you leave?" Mello's silence was his only answer. "I mean…besides being the next L?"

"L still hasn't chosen yet."

"I know, but…" Matt's sentence died off when he realized he didn't know what to say. Was Mello scared of the future, of not succeeding L? Was that why he was bringing it up? Asking so would probably only end up with him having a bloody nose, so he instead kept still in wait of some form of response.

"I want to live in the city." Mello mused after a while, his voice quiet. "There would be more to do there than here out in the country. More opportunity for success."

Matt let out a small laugh. Of course Mello would want to go somewhere lively and exciting; he was always in motion, always planning something new. The city didn't sound so bad anyway, especially if Mello would be there, he thought. He turned to face the other boy, grinning. "I'll go with you."

"What?"

"It'd be fun! We could party every night and go to those night clubs with the strippers in cages. And we'd be able to break all the laws, 'cause everyone knows the police can't catch us with so many other people around. Oh! And we could get really awesome cars to cruise around in, and just run over everyone who gets in our way. Wait, I guess that means we should invest in monster trucks instead of sports cars. Yeah, that sounds good. We could…" He paused, letting his friend laugh at his rantings of crime and debauchery. "Build a house just for us."

"Matt, you can't build a whole house in the city. It's too crowded."

"Then we'll tear something down to make room. Like a-"

"Toy store. While Near is inside." Mello smirked, pleased with his own deviousness.

Matt gave him a playful shove. "Okay, Mel. Definitely no Nears allowed."

He peered at the blonde who began elaborating on his own plans, unable to listen to the actual sentences formed. He watched silently as the words rolled off of Mello's lips. His eyes trailed across the milky skin of his face, the bright blue eyes framed by long lashes, the mesmerizing smile as words still danced off his tongue. It was true that in the rare moments when Mello would smile, it spread contagiously to those around him. The shifting glow of the lightning bugs outside let subtle shadows glide across his face, softening his usually intimidating demeanor.

As Matt leaned in closer to see him better in the dim light, he found his hand brushing over the smaller one next to his. A sudden silence filled the air as Mello paused to look at his hand, then at him, his face blank and unreadable. Matt stopped abruptly, his hand still resting atop the other. Still leaning in, his eyes settled once again upon his friend's now still lips. At that moment he wanted to feel Mello, more of his warm pale skin, but most of all those lips that graced him with smiles only every so often. Without a second thought, he leaned farther forward to place a fleeting kiss against Mello's cheek, his lips brushing tentatively across the corner of his mouth.

Mello inhaled sharply, an obvious sign of discomfort to Matt. The redhead pulled back and turned his head away, cheeks turning the color of his hair as he realized what he'd just done. He should have known it wasn't a good idea to act on impulse like that, it was clearly uncalled for. Frozen with embarrassment, he couldn't bring himself to look at his friend for a sign of reassurance. Surely Mello wasn't the kind of person to let something like a kiss get between their friendship, but still... any normal boy wouldn't want their best friend to go around doing that sort of stuff. Should he apologize? Would that make things more awkward? What seemed like an eternity passed as Matt sat with panicked and paranoid thoughts racking through his brain. Shit, now he won't talk to me ever again, he thought. That was so stupid. Stupid stupid stupid stupid…

He was startled from his thoughts as a hand give his arm a gentle squeeze. Another arm wrapped around his shoulder gave him barely enough time to turn his head before he was nose to nose with the blonde, his breath warm on his face. Slowly tilting his head and closing his eyes, Mello pressed a kiss to Matt's own lips. A warm tingling spread through Matt's stomach as he wrapped his arms around Mello's thin waist, like a hundred fireflies flitting around inside of him as he returned gentle kisses against soft lips. He tightened his embrace around the boy, pulling him into his lap, never once parting their hold on the other. Matt smiled into the kisses as his hands explored down Mello's hips, across his stomach, over his legs.

Mello finally broke the bind, looking up at him with serious eyes. "You're my best friend, Mail. I want you to be with me. Always."

Matt hugged him closer at the sound of his real name. He knew Mello meant it. "I'll follow you wherever you go." He held his head as Mello trailed his fingers down his chest, combed his fingers through golden hair while pressing light kisses to his forehead. "No matter what you do."

Mello leaned up for another kiss, which was gladly accepted. As he opened his mouth to sweep his tongue against his friend's, Matt was certain that the light, dizzy feeling spreading from his chest to his head was the best feeling he'd had since…ever. It was then that he knew exactly how much Mello meant to him, and vice versa. He was his best friend in the entire world, and something more, it seemed. Then again, he felt like it had been like that forever. This must be that feeling of belonging he had often heard about, and he sure as hell wouldn't give it up for the world. That much he knew.

He tickled Mello's sides, making him giggle and twist in his lap. Their shared body heat and the warm summer air coaxed them both to drowsiness, their shared caresses slowing to one last lingering kiss.

"So about our house." Mello laid his head on Matt's chest again, whispering sleepily into the material of his shirt. "You know we're going to need a chocolate room."

"And a fort room filled with pillows that we can share to sleep. Together." Matt sunk lower to the padded ground as Mello took a moment to turn off the flashlight and pull a blanket around their entangled forms. He rested his cheek atop angelic hair, taking in his scent as he drifted into bliss, be it sleep or new love, along with the boy in his arms.

Neither of them knew that much too soon would come the death of the great detective, and Mello's impassioned vow of revenge. How Mello would go against his words of companionship and leave everything behind, and how Matt would keep his promise to follow. No matter what the cost.

Outside a hundred fireflies floated about, speckling the night like city lights.

While i was writing this I remembered that during the series Mello, ironically, ends up leaving Wammys when he hears about L's death.
Oh well, we can't keep all our promises.

Thanks for reading, and reveiws are lifeforce.
:)