A/N: These just don't get ay easier, do they? xD I'm trying to stick to a "one chapter per day" schedule, but they just come out later.. and later… Dx
Reviews might help… *wink wink*
Reviewers: 494dwangel, FinalExtravaganza, wammy boys matt mello and near, MeLoNnAiSE, KeidenSato, mello-obsessed, ArcanineIce, Alexis S, Raindrop, LittleMissAnthrope, kerrybear-chan, and Bellatrix Keehl Thank you for the reviews and vitamin waters!
Story Alerts: Bellatrix Keehl, dancingsilverwolf, Deadly Nightshade1395, FinalExtravaganza, Holli-chan, IchigoKitty14020, JadeYasmin, KeidenSato, KikiOjji, LittleMissAnthrope, LsAngel, mello-obsessed, PaintedClocks, Shimeta, and Swifty444 Thank you!
Favorites: '-Chi-Charm-', ArcanineIce, FinalExtravaganza, IchigoKitty14020, JadeYasmin, KeidenSato, mello-obsessed, MeLoNnAiSE, and wammy boys matt mello near Thank you!
Find your name? Cool Beans. Did I spell it wrong? My bad. D=
Again, thanks for the vitamin waters ;3 I'm not sure why I received so many cookies, though lol. I don't remember asking for any .o But thanks anyways!
Ahh, yes. If you recall, I mentioned Mello being a princess in the last chapter. The offer was too good to pass up, so I drew him :3 I don't usually go for the cross dressing, but I must say.. He doesn't look half bad o.0
Anyways, here's the link if you want to see Mello's humiliation. It's crappy quality because I have no scanner D: So I had to take a picture with my camera, Chi. Just take out the spaces.
http:/ mindcontrol4dummies. deviantart. com /#/d2tnoho
Also, I have a REALLY busy day planned for tomorrow, (Greek festival for a few hours, babysitting for a few more hours, cleaning the litterbox…eventually…) so I don't think I can get the next chapter up by then D: I will shoot for Sunday, though. In the meantime, PLEASE REVIEW!
WARNING: I am in desperate need of potstickers and vitamin water! If any of the following has offended you in any way, Please refrain from throwing knives and lawsuits! Instead, why not throw a nice, steamy potsticker? Please?
SUGGESTED LISTENING: All the Small Things by Blink 182
DISCLAIMER: The only thing I own is some MAD drawing skillz, an iPod Touch, a mercenary cat, and whatever is inside my stomach! SO THERE.
Matt stepped into the rushing water and immediately jumped. "Fuck, that's cold!" he chirped.
Mello sat on a nearby rock, observing his pistol. Matt flinched when the blonde fired a shot into the sky.
"Warn me before you do that next time!" Matt rebuked. Mello stuck his tongue out at the younger man and fired another shot in the same direction.
Matt glared at him through the tint of his goggles. They were the only article of clothing he had on now.
"I'm scaring off the bears," Mello teased.
Matt couldn't help but grin. "Maybe I don't want them scared off. I mean, they helped me get you out here, right?"
"I thought the sleeping pills did that," Mello loaded another bullet.
"No, I mean out here instead of sulking in the cabin with your chocolate,"
"I would be doing anything but sulking," Mello muttered.
"Yeah, you're right," Matt inched farther into the freezing water. "You would be raping your chocolate and trying to makeshift a laptop out of that loveseat," he grinned at the image.
Mello stood up and pushed the redhead into the water face first. Matt let out a yelp as his head submerged and collided with a fish. He quickly retaliated and grabbed Mello's ankle, tugging him under with him.
When they both reemerged, Mello glowered at Matt. "You're lucky that wasn't my favorite pair of pants!"
Matt smirked and shook his head like a dog, spraying water droplets all over Mello.
Despite himself, Mello laughed. He splashed the gamer in return, grinning. The game continued like that, both men splashing each other in the freezing river.
They eventually tired themselves out and sat across from each other, panting and occasionally giggling.
Mello tried to remember the last time he had truly laughed like that. Fuck, had it really been that long ago?
As the boys slowly grew closer to each other, they started to open up a bit more. Mello made less snarky comments to Matt and instead just talked to him. Matt was less silent around Mello in turn.
The redhead had his gameboy replaced with a new one, courtesy of L himself. He still stuck as close to Mello as possible, and the blonde actually found his presence comforting instead of annoying.
But they couldn't stay together all the time.
Matt had left the room to grab a snack for him and Mello. They regularly took turns sneaking into Wammy's pantry for forbidden snacks.
As he was heading back, snacks piled in his arms, three boys stepped in front of him, blocking the path.
Matt immediately put up his first line of defense- staying silent. As they spat insults at him and pushed him around, Matt averted his eyes and said nothing.
The boys stepped on the snacks, crushing them beyond belief and shoved the boy around some more, stepping on anything that fell from his body.
"Where's your faggot boyfriend?" One sneered. "Why isn't he here to save you again?" he snatched the goggles from Matt's eyes and tossed them to his friend.
Matt panicked. "Give those back!" he pleaded, making a grab for his beloved goggles.
They were yanked from his reach and tossed to another boy. This time, they were tossed on the ground and stomped on cruelly. Tears welled up in the gamer's eyes as he fell to the ground and picked up the pitiful goggles. The boys kicked him a few times, opening up old wounds and causing new ones to show up. When they finally sauntered off, laughing, only then did Matt allow himself to break down and cry in the middle of the deserted hallway.
"Matt?" Mello's voice sounded out behind him, but he didn't turn around. He didn't stop crying or cry harder, he didn't do anything. The boys had shattered the only shield he had against everyone and everything. His silence was just a tool for him to use when he needed it. His goggles were constantly there; protecting him from the cruel glares people gave him; from the abuse aimed at his very being; even from himself. He didn't need to think to use them, they were just there.
And now they were there- the lenses in a million pieces, scattered around the snapped frames and dirty strap. Just the sight of them started ripping apart Matt's soul. Nothing was stopping the horrible reality of his world from taking over and performing the acts that his parents had helped create inside him.
Self-loathing.
Depression.
Fear.
Distrust.
Overwhelming hatred.
All of the feelings he had bottled up behind his goggles were now scattered out before him as well.
Mello had never seen this side of the boy before. It was all he could do to not turn tail and run from the frightening emotions exploding from the small boy.
No, instead the blonde slowly stepped towards him. He placed a hand on Matt's shoulder, and frowned when he gained no response.
He gently moved his hand down to the boy's elbow and urged him to stand up. Matt's psyche may have been long gone, but his body seemed to lean into his touch and follow his guidance. Mello slowly led the broken boy back up to their room and laid him on his bed. When he was sure Matt would be alright without him, he quietly left the room in search of only one thing.
It didn't take long for him to find it, either.
The three boys were sitting under one of Wammy's many staircases, bragging about their skirmish with Matt.
He didn't have to say anything for them to know he meant business.
Needless to say, those boys weren't found until morning where they were cowering under one of Wammy's many dark, ominous staircases.
Mello had stolen a pair of black swim goggles with orange lenses from the Lost and Found box after that.
Matt was in the same position Mello had left him in. When he wordlessly placed the goggles on the boy's back, the sobs stopped. Mello sat on his own bed across from him and watched curiously.
Matt slowly reached behind him and touched the goggles. A visible shiver ran down his spine and he clutched them as if his life depended on those plastic goggles.
Maybe it did.
Mello let out a relieved sigh when the redhead sat up and slipped the goggles over his eyes. The first thing he looked at was Mello.
They said nothing. It was as if by just slipping the goggles over his eyes, Matt already knew the story.
Mello couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled up to his lips. When it escaped, he was horrified. It was inappropriate to laugh at someone else's demise. That was the one lesson his mother would never let him forget.
He slapped his hands over his mouth to prevent any more from escaping.
But it was too late. A smile tugged at Matt's lips as well, and no matter how much he fought it, he ended up giggling uncontrollably.
The sight of Matt laughing sent Mello laughing as well. They didn't know why they found it so funny, they just did.
They laughed for hours, the chortles emerging even as they were out of breath with their cheeks and sides hurting. It never stopped being funny to them, even years after it happened.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked. He had noticed Mello's expression grow somber after the laughter had died down.
Mello looked up and immediately noticed Matt's goggles. He had taken good care of this pair and never let anyone near them.
"Nothing," he replied. He stood up, frowning at how heavy his clothes had become.
Matt laughed. "Why don't you just take them off? I'll bet you need a bath, too."
"I'm fine without a bath!" Mello protested.
"The flies beg to differ," Matt pointed out the flies that were constantly buzzing around them.
"They just want my chocolate, like you said before,"
"You don't have your chocolate with you,"
"How do you know it isn't in my pocket right now?"
"Because you wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the water otherwise,"
Mello glared at him, knowing it was true.
"Oh, come on! Are ya shy?" Matt approached him, grinning devilishly.
"Bullshit!" He tried to escape as Matt grabbed the hem of his pants.
"I don't believe you!" Matt sang. He tugged Mello closer to him and pulled his jacket off. The blonde pushed against his chest as the jacket was tossed on the shore.
"Matt, cut it out! I don't need a goddamn bath!" He still resisted and Matt began to tug his leather pants down.
When Mello was finally stripped down, Matt let go, making it easy for Mello to run off and grab his clothes.
But he didn't move.
He just stood there staring daggers at Matt.
"There, now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Matt cooed, taking one of the blonde's hands in his own. He brought it up to his lips and kissed his index finger, watching Mello through his wet bangs.
Mello sighed, defeated. He leaned in and wrapped his arms around Matt's neck, hugging him. Matt responded by snaking his arms around Mello's waist.
"I really hate it when you do that, you know," Mello mumbled.
"What's that?"
"Take my anger away from me like that. Sometimes that's all I have,"
"Bullshit,"
Mello leaned back and looked at Matt incredulously.
"You have me," the redhead clarified. "You've always had me- you're just too stubborn to notice it." He grinned stupidly.
A blush colored Mello's cheeks. "Shut up and take your damn bath," he shoved Matt into the deeper part of the river.
The gamer smirked and held out a hand for the blonde to take.
"Come on!" Mello called. He was already over the hill that looked over the orphanage.
Matt dragged his feet lazily. He wondered why he had agreed to go along with this. They were sneaking out of Wammy's to play hooky. When Matt had asked what they were going to do, Mello just answered with a shrug. If anything, the blonde was looking for a change in their routine.
He thought of his gameboy; sitting on his bed, abandoned. He wished he had thought to bring it. Nature didn't appeal to him at all.
Mello waited at the top of the hill for a few minutes, but when his patience for Matt finally ran out, he skipped down the hill. He desperately needed chocolate, and this was the only time he could get it. They were teaching material he already knew in class, so he wouldn't fall behind, and he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to romp around the town with Matt.
The bottom of the hill dropped off into a ditch that Mello didn't see. His foot slipped and he tumbled into the ditch with a yelp.
"Oww…" he groaned, rubbing the spot he had landed on. He had somehow managed to fall on the largest rock in the ditch. Tears sprung up at the pain.
"Are you okay?" Mello looked up to see Matt staring down at him with his hand extended.
Mello took it without another word.
When they had finished bathing, they walked back to the cabin and changed into clean clothes.
As Mello finished up tying his pants, Matt grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck and nuzzling it.
Mello reached back and placed a hand on Matt's head, but something was off.
"Fuck, Matt… You're burning up,"
A/N: Again- please throw potstickers if you are displeased at all!
Ahaha. Yeah, no lemons in THIS chapter. And yes, they can strip down and bathe together without getting a boner! I've seen it- ah… I've said too much…
Please remember to review! Don't be a Hit-and-Runner… It hurts Matty's feelings D:
Oof, I'm not joyful enough to write anymore. Cheers!