(Okay. First I think it's only fair to apologize for Mello's OOCness. Secondly, enjoy the second chapter. D )

Ch. 2: No Light in the Dark

Monday nights were usually slow at the Bawd and Fox. It was the beginning of the work week, after all, and the regulars who usually found themselves at the small tavern were too mauled with work. Not that Mello minded all the quiet. It was nice once in a while not hearing drunken cat-calls as he busied himself with cleaning the wooden tables. But a lack of customers also meant a lack of tips and that was something Mello couldn't do without.

He sighed as he yanked out a dish rag from his apron and started going over the tables with it. "There goes another week without chocolate."

Mello shared an apartment with Matt and his sister and lately it was hard for the three of them to make ends meet. What with the rent to keep up with and the bare necessities that they seemed to constantly run out of (not to mention their educational expenses), it was hard to keep their wallets full. Luckily, before they had moved out, Yuna had saved up enough money to pay the rent for the first couple months, but they knew it wouldn't last long. Matt ended up getting a job down at a nearby department store while Mello kept his job at the local bar to help out. They hoped that getting a good education at To-Oh University would eventually put them all into good enough positions to make their lives easier, but for now, they were struggling students just like the rest of them.

There was one way Mello thought that could bring a little more money into their financial predicament. It wasn't like he hadn't done it before. And he knew exactly how to get a man to put down more than he initially intended. But then he remembered the way his sister had reacted when she had found out that her brother had gotten the money by sleeping with some guy. It wasn't Yuna's fault, but the way she looked at him – he didn't want his sister to worry – or to go bashing his brains in with a frying pan again.

The blonde winced as he remembered that day. Actually, he was amazed he could even remember it at all. A laugh passed his lips as he moved onto the next table.

Once again lost in his thoughts, Mello didn't notice his current lover seated in a booth next to the table the blonde was cleaning. The brunette male was quiet for some time, content with watching the smooth contours of Mello's body as he ran his rag across the table in front of him. A smirk then played across his face, knowing that, in his mind, he owned that blonde, like a doll that he could pick up on a whim; bending, moving and manipulating the blonde however he pleased, without worry of disloyalty. He could see the rosary dangling from Mello's neck as well. The thread that kept him tied to God? Light shook his head. No, the only god in Mihael Keehl's life was Yagami Light. He had made sure of that.

Mello sneezed. It wouldn't have surprised him if he was catching a cold. October was only a week away, come to think of it. But then he noticed Light sitting in the booth, his chocolate eyes roving over the blonde's body.

"This is a surprise." Mello raised a wary eyebrow as he stuffed the rag back into the pocket of his red apron. "What would your peers say if they saw you in a place like this?"

Light shrugged and laid an arm over the back of the bench casually. "It's eleven o' clock on a Monday night. No one will know."

Like Light, Mello was usually quick to finish his homework. He was a top student, after all. Actually, he had to be good at his work. If he wasn't, then he'd never stand a chance of being better than his rival, Nate River, a.k.a. Near. And Mello wouldn't be able to stand for that. Not now. Not ever!

But at the moment, Mello was bombarded with a task that he had been planning to go through with since lunch at the university. It wasn't a matter of how the blonde said it, but rather where he would end up as a result. Well, there was no point in prolonging it.

"We're done."

Light cocked his head to one side. "Excuse me?"

Mello glared at him. "You heard me. You and I are over."

He could see something in the brunette's eyes come alive, like a monster baring its massive teeth, but Mello clenched his fists and proceeded. In public, he knew all too well that Light would be unable to do anything. He did have a reputation to uphold, right.

The older male shook his head, lifting himself off the comfort of the booth to tower over the blonde. But Mello wasn't planning on backing down. He was tired of dealing with Light's superiority complex.

"I took you off the streets." He leered, that monster inside of him beginning to hiss and curl into a striking position. "How many people would take pity on a guy like you?"

But Light wasn't the only one harboring a monster that was ready to strike at a moments notice.

"Oh yeah, you're a real giver seeing as how many women you pull around daily. I bet they're real charity cases huh." He pretended to be one of the many girls he had seen on Light's arm. "Oh ple--ase, Light-kun. I need you."

"You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to go with me." Light's tone was low, but venomous. "You don't have a right to end this. I own you."

Own?

Who owned who again?

Mello was a man damn it! Not some bimbo that needed someone to latch onto like a leech!

"That's what you think." Mello could have grabbed hold of Light's neck and throttled him until he begged for mercy, but he didn't. If anything, the blonde had to keep his job and he was sure that committing a second degree murder would not help the situation.

Hoping that his shift was over, Mello glanced at the clock on the wall to his right. It was a few minutes past twelve. Thank God! All he had to do now was leave and that's exactly what he did. Without another word, Mello turned and stomped out of the Bawd and Fox, whipping out his cell phone as he passed though the glass doors to call his sister.