Author's Note: Filler chapter'd! Ahem. On another note: I'm dying. My roommate and I have been confined to the couch... whiney, sniffle-y, cough-y, ache-y, and marathoning ANTM for days. Therefore, if this chapter seems incoherent, disjointed, or in anywaybad... just semi-blame the flu. So... yeah, I'm sorry for the lack of updates... though I'm pretty sure writer's block had a little somethin' to do with that, I really have no excuse. But I'm going to my mum's this weekend for a little R&R, so I'll try to get the next one out even faster than normal! Blegh. Anyhoo, as previously stated this is a hardcore filler chapter, basically spanning from the end of chapter six to before Mello's twelfth birthday, which will start off the next chapter. I s'pose it can kinda be taken as snapshots of daily life and of course the usual Mello!drama that occurs at Wammy's. Boring... but don't worry. Chapter eight has enough action, drama, fluffy feelings, and angst to more than make up for the drastic lack of it previously. Mello's birthdays are like Buffy's... he should just think about not celebrating them.
Disclaimer: Don'townitdidn'tdoityoucan'tproveanything'kaybye.
.VII.
L's immediate priority was the complete erasure of his new protégés' identities.
The first step, and the last chance they were given to change their minds, was removing the children from the Wammy's House adoption list.
It was easy enough, with a small hiccough in the form of Abigail Locke... who adamantly insisted that if her twin sister was taken off, then she should also be removed, unwilling to be separated from her only family. L was surprisingly understanding about the whole mess, and obligingly deleted her name as well, after solemnly swearing her to the secrecy of anything that she might hear or stumble across throughout the duration of Autumn's training.
Second, and, incidentally, his first unauthorized foray into official government databases, was to delete any and all files that were in any way connected to their names, descriptions, whereabouts—existence in general, really.
This process garnered particular fascination in a certain redheaded ten-year-old, and so, once Mr. Wammy's and Roger's not-quite-heartfelt-enough scoldings were over and done with, Mail was allowed the privilege of curling up, wide-eyed, on the couch cushion at L's side as the detective maneuvered his way past encryptions and firewalls with no small amount of finesse. Mail was enthralled.
Third, and the ironic appearance of a rather bizarre sense of humor on L's part, was the giving of aliases.
Gathering his wards around him in the midst of pre-departure chaos, L retrieved a large duffel from Mr. Wammy on his way out the door, and calmly dug into the bag as a shudder of anticipation ran through the group in front of him. When he handed each child a laptop, there were mixed reactions throughout the group, ranging from Mail's veritable squeal of excitement to Mihael's small grimace of near-disappointment.
"Each laptop is the exclusive property of the person I gave it to, and it would be in everyone's best interest if you kept their existence a secret, if at all possible. Each one has been equipped with a wireless internet connection and you all have been given an email address, which you can only contact each other, myself, and Mr. Wammy through. Each computer is password protected; your password is on a note attached to the screen. Please be sure to destroy it after you have memorized the code." He graced them with a miniscule smile, before shuffling out to the car.
Mihael led the pack to Mr. Wammy's office, which had become their unofficial classroom and was the only place in the orphanage with complete privacy from the other children. Nate branched off near his and Mail's room, but the redhead, as Mihael felt a flutter of happiness to notice, kept steadfast to the blond boy's side with barely more than a glance at River as he disappeared. Closing and locking the door, Mihael grinned excitedly at the others, and plopped immediately onto the floor, opening the laptop, and snatching up the sticky note anxiously.
"'Username: Mello,'" Mihael muttered in confusion, though having the good sense to keep the short sequence of numbers after the word "password" to himself. He glanced up, meeting the three quizzical faces staring back at him. "An alias... Our username is our alias..." he whispered slowly.
"'Matt.'"
"'Justin.'"
"'Anya.'"
"Man, L is friggin' weird," Mail grouched, pursing his lips as he squinted at his own sticky note.
"Why'd you guys get normal names? And what the hell kinda name is 'Mello,' anyway?"
"It is rather odd, as you're not mellow at all."
"Shove it, Locke."
"Aw, cheer up. He coulda called you 'Marshmello.' Count your blessings."
"Oh, bugger off, Matt." Mihael growled, before glaring at Jessamine as though daring him to take a jab at him as well.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, Mihael..." the older boy replied peacefully, "my actual name is apparently 'Justice,' but he figured that it would draw attention, so he shortened it." Both Mihael and Mail cocked their heads in his direction with a pitying grimace."Don't look at me! It's in a note after the username!"
"Same here, Jessamine. 'Anya's' short for 'Anonymous.'"
The two shared a displeased scowl as the younger boys across from them burst into a gale of hysterical laughter. Mihael chortled softly for a moment, poking Mail's shoulder and holding out his hand expectantly. Almost as though he had read the blond's mind, Mail immediately dug into his pocket, producing a bright red lighter.
"Man, I wonder what River's name is, then?" Mihael mused as the slip of paper went up in flames.
"L is so friggin' weird,"Mail reemphasized, shaking his head with a small, amused grin as he snatched his lighter back.
When L returned from France, a memo was sent out to the staff of Wammy's, informing teachers and caretakers alike of the new names, and everything seemed to be moving along quite swimmingly.
Classes began once more after a short break in the spring, and Mr. Hughes adamantly refused to address Mello and Matt by their newly acquired aliases. The first time he called Matt "Mr. Jeevas," the redhead responded immediately, before a pointed punch to the shoulder from Mello made him doubletake, and he simply reminded the elderly teacher that he didn't go by that name and he'd thank him kindly to remember it the next time. Mello made a very obvious point of crossing his arms and ignoring the question asked when he was referred to as "Mihael." He was promptly sent to the caretakers' office for being disrespectful. Fifteen minutes later, Mr. Hughes had replaced him in the chair before Roger's desk, joined almost immediately by Mr. Wammy (who they were now instructed to address as "Watari,"), and the next day he looked as though he had swallowed an entire bottle of vinegar every time he said the word "Mello" or "Matt."
He didn't return to Wammy's the following semester, and no other teacher ever kicked up a fuss about "ridiculous nicknames" again.
The orphanage soon settled into a routine of sorts. After a while, the other children stopped caring why they suddenly had different names, stopped asking where they disappeared to for hours at a time; everything settled back into as normal an existence as it could. The days began to blur after that, time rushing by in a strict schedule of classes, homework, L, and what little free time they had.
As could only be expected, the war Mello had proclaimed on the small, quiet boy everyone now referred to as "Near" grew all the more heated and intense. As Near's grades continued to easily surpass his rival's, as L took more and more notice of the younger boy, Mello found himself focusing on his studies nearly every waking moment, sometimes forgetting and often refusing to take breaks even for food or rest—driving himself till he collapsed, frequently spending the majority of the weekend simply passed out on top of his bed, too exhausted even to get under the covers. As he grew thinner, so did his temper. The other orphans were soon going out of their way to avoid him, and if he was spotted anywhere in the vicinity of Near apart from around L—who seemed to be blessed with the miraculous ability to call a very feeble truce between the two—the room was very efficiently and immediately cleared of children, and a caretaker ofter called.
Matt, however hard he tried, could not seem to find a balance between the two. It is terribly difficult for one's best friends to despise each other so. Though the animosity had very clearly begun with Mello, it soon became clear that Near took more than a little pleasure in silently taunting the other boy with his superiority. Matt had spent countless hours talking at one or the other's non-responsive backs, begging, pleading for them to at least attempt to get along... for his sake, if nothing else. But his pleas fell on deaf ears. The rivalry had become too ingrained, had infiltrated every aspect of their lives.
Finally, after months of nothing, Matt gave up, bitterly accepting that he would have to precariously juggle the two most important people in his life and pray to God that Mello wouldn't snap one day and actually murder the other boy.
On the eleventh of August, Mello was startled out of a distracted daze in Watari's sitting room to find L quirking a disapproving eyebrow in his direction, while the other children stared at him, shocked and questioning at his inattentiveness. Near, the slimey little bugger, threw him the smallest of smug smirks as a blush burned its way across his cheeks.
"Would you care to share what you find so much more fascinating than the twisted mind of Ed Gein, Mello?" L murmured in a deceptively kind voice, "I'm sure that we all could learn from something so important."
Mello swallowed, feeling rather certain that the response, 'I found the movements of your graceful fingers as you talk more fascinating than the twisted mind of Ed Gein, Mr. L, sir,' would not garner the most favorable of responses. So he simply shook his head and whispered an embarrassed, "No, L, I'm sorry. Please continue."
It took about another week for him to finally accept the fact that he had the basic equivalent of a schoolgirl-crush on L, having found himself so easily distracted by the detective's quiet, gentle baritone... the glint of the setting sun off of unkempt sable hair... the slightest flash of excitement in jet-black eyes... He threw a rather impressive fit upon his realization that he had a crush on a man, taking several of Matt's secret "special occasion" cherry bombs to the stash of action figures under Near's bed. Which ultimately failed to soothe his irritation anyway, in that the exploit not only earned him four detentions—one for each ruined toy—but also that Matt refused to talk to him for a full two days for getting his fireworks confiscated.
He fumed his way through the detentions and proceeded to avoid L like the plague outside of his lectures for several weeks. It would go away. Any emotion can be stifled. He was not gay. He liked girls! Matt was all nervous giggles the day Mello drug him into his room and produced a rather rumpled, careworn, and very cover-less girly mag, which they poured over for less than fifteen minutes before carefully disposing of it, completely unsatisfied and more than a little perturbed.
Thankfully, his crush was relatively short-lived. He was quite relieved to find that the part of L that had been most attractive was, in fact, the detective's alarmingly brilliant mind. And after all, brilliance isn't determined by gender. L slipped elegantly back into the part of role model, and the excited spring quickly returned to Mello's step when he walked down to Watari's quarters for a lesson.
L was gone for most of November of that year, and it wasn't until he returned that Mello learned that he'd gone to Russia. There had been a string of disappearances in Moscow over the past month, and the federation had called the mysterious and highly effective detective L in to put a swift and silent end to the case. His investigation had run far more smoothly than any had even dared to hope for, and within the first three weeks, the culprit had not only been caught, but had also confessed his guilt to the crime.
On the thirteenth of December, Mello's eleventh birthday, L appeared outside the boy's room, with an expensive imported bar of high-quality Swiss chocolate, and a cardboard box tucked beneath one arm. Perched on the edge of Mello's desk chair, he silently handed over the box, giving a nod to open it at he boy's questioning gaze.
The box had three items buried among the balled up pieces of newspaper, all of which Mello gaped at with wide-eyed recognition. A rosary, its prayer beads glinting blood-red in the light of the desk lamp; a pair of careworn, soft black leather gloves; a framed photograph of a large, severe-looking man with his pretty wisp of a wife smiling softly down at the bundle of blankets nestled in her arms. Mello traced his mother's face with a tentative fingertip, his other hand automatically tangling itself in the rosary.
"This was all that I could find of the Keehls," L said quietly, gazing about the room in an absent manner to give the boy a moment unobserved with his memories, "As I am sure you are aware, that was a chapter in St. Petersburg's history that the federation would rather forget." He smiled sympathetically. "However, if you do choose to keep the photo, I must insist that you keep it well hidden."
Mello nodded numbly, as he silently slipped his mother's rosary around his neck. L gnawed absently on the tip of his thumb as he observed the bowed head of golden hair. The boy truly fascinated him sometimes—resilient, bold, ruthless, calculating, and brilliant, it was easy to overlook the fact that he was still a young boy that had probably never really come to terms with his parents' untimely deaths.
When no further words were spoken, he slid quietly to his feet, one hand resting comfortingly on a stiff shoulder for a moment before he made his way to the door to leave the boy in peace.
L's first official evaluation of their progress took place in January. The results were all as expected. Near scored nothing less than perfect, Mello nipping angrily behind by a single point. Anya and Justin both received top marks. And Matt had refused to do any studies whatsoever because Roger and Watari had bought a replacement Nintendo 64 (after the original perished in a tragic accident) as an orphanage Christmas gift, and he was hellbent on being the first to beat all five of the new games they included--L wasn't pleased... though he couldn't say that he was surprised.
In April, Matt caught the stomach flu, though no one could decide exactly how, as there was not a single other case reported within the orphanage. After he sprinted out of class in the middle of a lecture with little more warning than a, "Miss Boulter...? I think I'm gonna--" and a grimace, he was immediately quarantined to the infirmary with his own assigned bucket (just in case), so as to keep the sickness from spreading throughout the entire population of orphans, and no one was allowed to visit him save for the nurse and Roger. Mello, of course, thought this rule was complete bullocks and took it upon himself to nick the redhead's handheld and favorite game out of his room and sneak it in to him that night.
Matt was asleep when Mello snuck around the door, not bothering to close it for fear of it creaking and/or causing any other incriminating noises. He stopped just inside the room, taking in Matt's pale, sweat-soaked face where it lay bathed in moonlight from the window above the bed. The boy's crimson bangs were plastered to his forehead, and Mello had the strangest urge to smooth the hair back behind his ears. He'd been intending to get at least a few good-natured taunts about the illness in, but now, with Matt laid out before him, exhausted and miserable, he just couldn't find the heart to do it.
Mello swallowed, ghosting forward silently to lay the games on the bedside table next to a glass, a washcloth, and a pitcher of cool water. He stood over Matt for a moment, watching the younger boy toss in his sleep, his brow furrowing as a quiet whimper wormed its way past his lips.
The redhead's temperature, when he shoved the damp bangs aside to feel his forehead, was rather high—not life threatening, but likely very uncomfortable. With a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming, he snatched up the washcloth and plunged it into the pitcher, letting it soak a bit before ringing it out and gently smoothing it out across his friend's brow and eyelids. Matt moaned at the sensation, though it came off as a relatively pleased noise, and writhed a bit in his sleep.
Mello grinned fondly at the other boy, pulling the covers up over his chest and giving him a gentle, affectionate poke in the side of the head before turning to slip back out the door. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to jump and shriek at the sight of Near standing in the doorway, eyeing him with cold, calculating disdain, one finger curling in wild platinum hair.
"What the hell is wrong with you, sneaking up on people like that?" he hissed, glaring daggers at the other boy.
Near didn't reply for a moment, his pewter gaze sliding past Mello's enraged form to the prostrate figure on the bed behind him. His glance roved over the washcloth and adjusted sheets, before scanning to the Gameboy at the bedside. A slight spark of amusement was in his eyes as he met Mello's irrate stare.
"I didn't realize that you were quite so in love with Matt, Mello," he murmured quietly, watching the blond go deathly still at his words, eyes narrowing in a mixture of rage and confusion, "Perhaps I should be keeping my guard on that front more than academically, now? Since there is less than a 3.7 percent chance of your ever surpassing my grades."
Mello grit his teeth, fuming as he spoke, before surging forward to slam his palm against the wall beside that silvery head, bringing himself nose to nose with his rival. They stared each other in the eye, steel and emerald, ice and fire, before the sound of Matt shifting and murmuring caught their attention. Mello jumped back, glancing over his shoulder as the redhead simply rolled onto his side, before turning back to Near.
"Fuck you," he hissed, glaring down his nose at the other boy, baring his teeth for a second before sweeping past him out of the room.
He collapsed against the wall outside the door in an angry huff, banging his head back against the wallpaper in frustration.
'In love with Matt?' he thought, 'Please. Near's just jealous 'cause he's starting to like me more.' He swallowed, closing his eyes and repeating it several times. 'Just jealous. I'm not in love with Matt. Just my friend. Not in love...'
To be continued.
Oh. Dear. GOD. (Headdesk) I am so sorry. This is so much shorter than my usual chapters. And it's disjointed and crap and... I'M SOOOOOO SORRY! I got a record amount of reviews last chapter, and how do I repay you? With crap! I'm sorry! I swear, I had the worst writer's block. I hadn't written for almost a month and I just wanted to get to chapter eight and start all the drama and... dear god, I'm so ashamed of myself, I don't know how I'm even managing to convince myself that this is worthy of posting... but I really want to move on. Please don't lose faith just 'cause of this shite. Everything will get better after the next chapter, I solemnly swear. Please forgive me. (Whimper)
Reviews
camikaza: Oh, thanks so much for reading. I'm sorry you were waiting all excitedly for this. Ew. But, yeah. Zelda? Navi? Pfft. There was an irrational hatred from the get-go. Haha! I hope you muddled your way through this chapter! Thanks for the review! Solo Maxwell-Yamato: It really doesn't make much sense, does it? I s'pose even five is a bit of a small number... but I think L would want only the best, and honestly? I'm lazy. I don't wanna write more than a few OCs, they'd start to get annoying. lol. Thanks fer readin', hope this chapter didn't kill your brain or anything (I think it may have murdered mine, blegh). the-beginning-of-the-end': Yay L! I love that guy. Thanks for reading! Thanks for reviewing! Thanks for putting up with me in general! Ev: I am alive! ...Barely. Kinda dying now. Friggin' flu (grumble)... it took me out. I know, they're so young, I feel so bad, especially knowing that only two of them will ever really run with it. Saaad. I'm sorry this update is THE suck. It'll be better next time. Promise. Merry Belated Christmas/Happy New Year and Happy early Matt!birthday! Oh, saintly day to have brought that boy into existence... momijikk: I'm glad L's believable, I was really worried. Aliases all the way, wooooot! Thanks for the review and sorry you waited for a crappy chapter. I'll make up for it next time. aya: ...I kinda hate everything I write... or draw... or really do in general. I dunno. 's a thing. lol, sorry I made your heart sink with the "to be continued." Maybe I should think of something more upbeat and happy to say at the end of chapters... hmm... anyhoo, thanks for the review, as usual! Captnjeje: WOW. Thank you for the great compliment. I'm so ridiculously flattered, thank you so much! I'm soooo sorry you thought it was that good and I just unloaded that pile of crap on you! Don't give up on it, though!! Aclatis: Hey, are you alive? Um, yeah. I was gonna dedicate this chapter to you, but it sucks, so I won't. Do you want the next chapter, or a oneshot as an additional b-day present? I have ideas... AXENATOR: LOL! Poor Jessamine! I love his name so much... well, at least making fun of it. Thanks for the long review, it made me laugh. I love stream-of-consciousness-like stuff. That's probably why I love reviews so much. Anyhoo, I hope you were able to force your way through this chapter. Sorry it sucked. Esoteric Memories: Oh, don't worry. You'll be force-fed creepy nastiness galore starting next chapter. Sorry this one was so lame. It'll get better. And M&M in MIB suits...? YUM! Hair-Noodles: lol! I love Matty as a redhead, though every once in a while he's an endearing brunet. Sorry this was long pending and the literal suck. Next chapter'll be better... promise! Thanks for the review! WisdomSora11: Mello's a very in-your-face type cute, it's true! Thanks for reading! Sorry to keep you waiting! starapplek: Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy it! ...somehow. Heh. Sorry this chapter sucked! mustypaperback: Pending Matt!birthday! WOOT! And ew, that's so sad. Poor Matt. Though there's enough fan-love to more than make up for it. I can't believe I'm twisting your characters! Thanks for the compliment! And don't worry, I love long reviews, they always keep me very entertained. I'm so sorry that this chapter sucked so bad. It'll get better immediately. Pinky promise! youreverlastinglight: I got worried I wasn't gonna have a song for the last chapter! lol. But the wait was worth it, I like the choice. Good luck on your Zelda ventures if you so choose to re-start them! Tox: I'm... er... gonna use that name, your other one's looooooong. lol. I'm so glad you like it (and the vid) I hope it still stay entertaining after the heap of crap I just dumped on you all. (Facepalm) Yeah, Sheik is Zelda. But I must separate them in my mind due to intense hatred for Zelda and a ridiculous amount of love for Sheik. Le sigh. Thanks for the review! Melii Aile: As you see, Matt and Mello have arrived in all their alias'd glory! There's a... bit of fluffy feelings (though vehemently denied) in the end of this chapter... does that count? So sorry it sucks! Thanks for the review! Constance: Thank you so much for the review, I really appreciate it!
...wow.
Bwoff...?
