Author's Note: My annual 'write a birthday present for me' has come around again! Only this time, Mello gets to plan the party. Matt got to do that last year in No Doubt, on my profile.
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, so don't worry about anything here. Your secrets are safe with me.
Tick Tick Tick Tick…
The monotony of the work day is embodied by the simple, yet predictable swishes of Mello's mechanical clock; a gift from Matt, in celebration of his taking over the mafia some time ago. The cherry wood gears and rose wood hands are beautiful, and their elegant designs match the overall theme of his entire building. That's because Mello is Mello, so everything needs to be well-coordinated. Running the mafia is his latest project, after all.
But no amount of hard-earned extravagance can tune out the boredom. With two hours of the day still unfinished, Mello's shredded every useless paper in the office, arranged-and rearranged-his highlighters, pens, and stationary sets by color and brand, and ordered two members to organize his chocolate supply into something more aesthetically pleasing.
"A pyramid's not enough you guys," the blonde sighs with his head back in his spinning office chair. "Everyone has a chocolate pyramid in their office. Do something more unique." The chair makes another slow revolution, "Spell my name or something."
The men almost mask their frustration, but a seething sound slips between the teeth of one, as the other nearly knocks the tower to the floor. They grumble quietly to each other as they begin the agonizing task of taking the structure apart. It's the weekend, and everyone is anxious to head home to their kids, parties, and friends, and it seems like their boss is no exception. It's not like he'll let them off early, though.
Oh, hell no.
The workday finally concludes in the slowest, most anticlimactic way possible, and Mello can't be more excited. There was no way he is going to be late for tonight. He packs some files for re-reevaluating in his briefcase, throws in a few chocolate bars for good measure, and clocks out, wishing the nightshift good luck in the process.
In the few minutes it takes Mello to get situated on his motorcycle, he decides to stop by a florist for a last second detail. From his romantic viewpoint, how can a bouquet make his perfectly planned night worse? Matt likes long stem roses, right?
He finds out fairly quickly that the smell of a florist nursery in LA at the tail end of the day is sickening, and he feels a headache forming in the few moments it takes him to find the exact kind of roses he needs. The flowers are high quality, so the blonde only takes a second or two to scan them for wilting or mistreatment. Racing himself to the cash register, he is more than ready to leave the store.
Should he get yellow roses, too? A wallet halfway wrenched from his pocket, the thought stops him in his tracks; something his subconscious couldn't help but question. Slowly, Mello's arctic blue eyes reach the ceiling. The cashier nervously watches the man's pupils lose all focus while he thinks.
They're friends and lovers, so does Mello need to buy both red and yellow? Should he get white for purity, so he doesn't look like he has a single intention for the night? Does Matt even know the symbolical relevance of rose colors?
Does Matt like long stem roses?
"Sir? Would you like to pay for those?" The cashier prods the blonde, praying he'll stop doing…whatever it is he's doing.
Silently, the crime lord's eyes crawl down to the girl, only speaking once his face regains the recognition it had before. "Yeah," he says slowly and pulls his wallet free from his pocket. "Can you grab the yellow ones over there, too?" He gestures with his chin, looking over her shoulder. "And the white ones."
After the florist fetches his impulse buys, their hands trade flowers for money, and Mello bids her a nice weekend. Purchases in hand, he battles with the task of how to ride home with three different bouquets of roses.
Unsafe driving wins out in the end, and Mello is forced to balance the flowers on his lap with one hand while he maneuvers his bike with the other. The moon is fully raised by the time he gets home. Climbing the steps to their apartment, he tries to banish all of the knots in his stomach, replacing them with boastful pride, as he unlocks and kicks the door open.
"Sweet Jesus, a rapist!" Matt's yelp mixes with the tinny music from one of his ancient Sonic games, the loud speakers from their TV threatening to drown him out.
Mello closes the door for soundproofing, "Matt!" He screams.
"Don't take my supple body!" Matt's howls get louder as the blonde quickly strides to the living room. Dropping the flowers on the younger man's lap, he hops over the couch to turn the TV down.
Turning around, he's met with Matt's bewildered glances, alternating between the roses and the blonde himself. "Well?" He grins, crossing his arms in his own very self satisfied way.
"Well?" The redhead asks, his eyebrows pinching together. "What's with all the flowers?"
The blonde's eyes snap back to Matt, "You can't tell me you forgot about your own birthday," he says seriously.
Matt hums, and reaches to pull his cell phone out of his pocket. The device lights up as he checks the date: February 1.
He chuckles as he puts his phone away. Looking to Mello, he hands him the yellow roses, "I know when my birthday is, Mello. It's not today."
Mello feels like he's been filled with cold air, "What do you mean it's not today? We've always celebrated your birthday on the first!" He exclaims.
The gamer laughs again, still sitting on the couch, "No, my birthday's tomorrow! I think I would know that, y'know," he hands his dazed friend the white roses.
Embarrassment tackles Mello's heart full-force as he looks down at the bouquets in his arms. He can't change those reservations for tomorrow. The restaurant needs a three day's notice, and he booked the entire amusement park on the other side of town for tonight. How could he be so thoughtless to check the date? "Oh, well…" he trails off, unsure how to redeem himself.
"Hello? Come back, Mello!" Matt snaps close to his friend's face, apparently having gotten off of the couch.
Mello meets Matt's goggles with a grimace, taking the red roses; he hashes out a quick apology, "Just pretend it was a test run. We'll find something fun to do tomorrow," he remedies.
Surprisingly, Matt only laughs, "Mello, I was joking! You're right, today's my birthday." He pulls the blonde into a tight hug, "Thank you for the insane amount of flowers. If I didn't know your spending habits, I would've assumed there was a clearance sale."
Embarrassment is swapped with dumb humiliation as Mello stares over Matt's shoulder. He didn't make a stupid mistake. His perfectly flawless plan is still perfectly flawless. Anger jolts the young man back to life, "You jerk!" He yells into the side of his hair, and he's about to bite Matt's ear as hard as he can, but he kisses it instead, because it's his birthday, and Mello has to make it perfect for him.
He'll just beat him tomorrow or something.
Tell me what you think! I'm wondering if I should go ahead and write their actual date as a second chapter.
Thank you for reading! C: