Prompts 6-10 of 30

Tank

Mello watched quietly as Matt drove the toy tank back and forth across the carpet, mowing down plastic army men in the process. They'd been in the play room for the past hour because Mello had agreed to come if Matt stayed with him in the library while he studied.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked, not seeing the point.

"Huh? Oh, playing army," the child grinned, holding out the tank to Mello.

"That's not how the army works."

"It's how this one works."

Matt apparently sensed Mello's apprehension and tugged him over closer, handing him the tank. He stood up the army men and divided them in two before moving across the floor so he sat opposite Mello.

"What do I do?"

"You just- you play," Matt said, not sure what exactly he was supposed to say.

Mello shrugged but tentatively drove the tank forward.

Quiet

It was around two in the afternoon when Matt noticed.

A winter storm had blown through, covering everything in snow and it was nearly impossible to get outside. He'd gone shopping before it hit so they'd be fine until the roads were cleared. Mello was curled up on the couch, wrapped in the comforter from their bed. His head was lolled back slightly, lidded eyes gazing at the ceiling. Matt was on the floor in front of him, resting against his legs, and he realized that there was no background noise.

Usually there was always something. Whether it was rushing cars from outside, the neighbors across the hall fighting, or even the sounds from Matt's video games. There was Mello angrily chewing on chocolate, or his huffy breaths when he was annoyed, there was Matt whining for attention and chuckling happily when Mello gave in.

But there was none of that.

It was just him, and Mello, relaxing in the rare quiet.

And Matt wasn't about to ruin it.

Medication

It was a bad one.

Bad ones happened some times, less often than moderate ones, more than horrible ones. Bad ones weren't fun. Matt couldn't touch him if it was a bad one. That only made it worse. So he sat in front of him, making sure to keep his breathing even because after a few minutes, Mello would subconsciously match it as he calmed down.

His fingers were curled around the bright orange of his pill bottle and Matt judged his level of composure by how tight his grip was. When it had loosened considerably, Matt knew it was okay to at least speak.

"Are you gonna need another one? Or are you okay? Because we can stay put as long as you need."

Mello just shook his head and silently handed him the pills, ignoring how his hand was shaking.

"I'm gonna help you up, okay? Is that fine?"

Mello nodded and Matt got him onto his feet, keeping both hands on his shoulders just in case his knees buckled. He slipped the bottle into his pocket and tried to forget that it would need to be refilled soon.

Cartoons

"I don't see how this is entertaining, the physics are all wrong to. Not to mention, the cat looks fucking creepy."

All Matt wanted was a lazy Saturday, he thought it a reasonable request, and when Mello admitted to not having watched many cartoons growing up, he couldn't resist. If under interrogation, Matt would deny the fact that he had several volumes of Tom and Jerry on his computer.

They'd settled on the bed and Matt selected an episode at random and went to put together something for breakfast while Mello began watching.

All he wanted was a lazy Saturday and in all honesty, he might have suspected that Mello would criticize the show. But he'd gone for it anyway.

"Just watch it."

"But it's creepy, Matt!"

"It's a children's cartoon, damn it!"

Hula-Hoop

"What in the hell is that?"

"It's a hula-hoop."

"Again, I say, what the hell is that?"

The expression on Mello's face was one that Matt had never seen before, which was saying something considering how long they'd known each other.

"It's a toy, Mello, come here, you try," he lifted the hoop from his hips and held it out to Mello, who regarded it like he'd just been handed a bomb. He accepted it, regardless, and turned his gaze to Matt.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You put it around your hips and then you move so it spins, and you can't use your hands."

Mello arched a brow but followed his poorly given instructions. To both of their surprise, he had no issue keeping the hoop up