Disclaimer: I do not own or make money from the anime/manga Death Note

.

Suggested Listening: Nervous – Melissa Etheridge

.

Part 10

.

Mello was beginning to believe that Matt had a real perverse, borderline sadistic streak in him that had to have developed in their time apart. Matt had indeed figured out that Mello didn't like going into elevators—there was no way he hadn't—and he insisted no matter where they were and what other available ways there were, that the elevator must be used and they must go together. No matter the reason. He said it in such a way that Mello couldn't help but believe Matt was getting some form of pleasure out of his discomfort.

The first time Mello had thought nothing of it; Matt was in a wheelchair so Mello figured he had brought it upon himself. But then the third, fourth and fifth times when Matt had 'forgotten' something, and they'd had to go back and use the elevator each time, Mello had gotten suspicious. Matt was at least as smart as he was, so there was no way Matt was forgetting things as frequently as that.

Then there was that secret sort of half smile Matt tried to hide by tilting his head to the side. Mello just had to get involved with the sadist didn't he?

Matt had visited Mello's hotel room that day, saying he wanted to see where Mello was living, even though Mello had insisted it was nothing special. And they of course had needed to take the elevator up, and now that they had eaten dinner after a day of doing nothing, the elevator was needed again. Mello felt like he would scream or shoot something. Or both. Maybe Matt, if the bastard kept things up.

Mello watched the numbers on the elevator going down; only three more floors to go before he was off of that thing. He would be taking the stairs up later, that much was certain. Two more- wait. The numbers had stopped. It was stuck between floors three and two. But it was a glitch right? It was still actually moving...right?

Too bad the power flickered, and the cube lurched as though taunting him, telling him blatantly that yeah, they were stuck. Matt pressed the help button once, and Mello felt like rushing over there and childishly pressing it over and over.

Instead he leaned against one of the walls, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. He tried to appear casual, but how well could one do that when shaking?

Mello had never been like that before a certain incident had left him trapped inside an elevator for nearly three days. It had started off normally—well, as normally as any elevator malfunction. The steel cage had stalled and stopped before the power cut and died. No emergency backup turned on like it should have, and no amount of pressing buttons or angry yelling had gotten him a response.

It was hot in the elevator, dark and the constant creaking of the cables had put Mello on edge. Mello had never before been bothered by enclosed spaces, but the tiny cube was driving him mad. All he could do was pace around the square with his hand on the wall for balance, his stomach growling and his mouth dry; he shouldn't have skipped eating the day prior.

Hours had turned into days, and Mello cursed himself for not bringing his cell phone. He didn't know if he would die in there or not, but who knew how long it would take for them to actually get around to fixing the damn thing?

After two sleep cycles Mello had finally heard someone working on the elevator, though it was impossible to tell how far away they were from the echoes of the shaft. He tapped his foot tiredly and impatiently, waiting for the power to come back on so he could give management an earful; instead, the elevator lurched, and Mello's almost swallowed his heart and swore he heard a cable snap.

There was an uneasy moment of silence before the elevator lurched again, titling sideways, making Mello crash hard into the wall. Funny enough, that was when the emergency power finally kicked in and something crashed on the roof. Looking up, it almost appeared to be the shape of a duffel bag.

There was a small ding and the elevator door opened. "Hey, there is someone in here!" the workers outside seemed surprised, and Mello had swore he was going to kill whomever decided not to check the insides. He was shaking like a leaf upon exiting, and Mello supposed the emotions attached to that time never really went away.

So to say that Mello hated elevators would be an understatement. They were fine when they worked, but then so was everything else.

"Mello?"

"Y-yeah, Matt?" Mello grimaced at the crack in his voice. Wasn't facing your fear or whatever supposed to be therapeutic? Mello's heart was racing. No, definitely not helping. He wanted out. Now.

"They said it would only be a few more minutes. Something about a short in the circuits that made it stop." Mello noticed Matt's small and almost comforting grin, and maybe Matt had gathered some small picture of how much Mello disliked elevators, but it wasn't helping now.

"Mello? Why don't we do something different tomorrow," Matt suggested.

"Different how?" he asked.

Matt was looking directly at him, and now that Mello had his gaze, he couldn't look away. "I'm not sure. Something that won't burn my apartment down. Other than that, surprise me."

Surprise him? Was that even possible? Mello could probably bring male strippers into Matt's place for a lap-dance, and he doubted Matt would bat an eyelash at it. He seemed unaffected by the things that would bother most people. Then again, Matt had always been a little like that.

The normal lighting coming back on had Mello blinded for a moment, and the elevator doors chimed as they opened on the correct floor before he had even noticed it had moved. Matt grinned a little, and Mello realized Matt had done that to distract him. For that, Mello figured he should do something nice for Matt, though 'what' was the question.

He didn't thank Matt, as it was sort of his fault they were in the elevator to begin with, and instead, wheeled him out of the building and into the parking lot. Mello had thought Matt would have fought him more on the helping, as Matt really seemed to value the things he could do, but whenever Mello offered lately, the redhead let him.

The flick of a lighter and the scent of smoke had Mello's eyes trained on Matt in a second. "You smoke? When did this happen?"

"Years ago."

Mello gaped. How the hell had he missed that? Matt's apartment should have smelled like smoke. Hell, Mello should have seen cigarette butts and an ashtray there.

"I just don't smoke in there, only in my bedroom and by the window. The landlord doesn't want smokers, and I refuse to be kicked out or quit. So, generally, I only smoke more if I'm outside." Matt shrugged and blew out a puff of smoke as Mello lifted him into the truck.

Mello found himself staring at Matt's lips more than the cigarette squashed between them, and he couldn't explain it other than maybe a passing fascination. The problem was, he was getting a lot of 'passing' fascinations with Matt lately, and none of them were leaving.

Mello wasn't stupid and knew that his interest in Matt might be going deeper than friendship, and maybe it was inevitable, considering the company he usually kept, but Mello wanted to believe he had a choice in the matter of not to complicate things. Maybe he was in denial.

Matt smirked at him, and Mello almost swallowed his heart.

Oh yes.

Denial.

"Who said you could smoke in here?" he snapped.

"Who says I care?" Matt sucked in another mouthful of noxious smoke, grinning.

Mello rolled his eyes and pretended everything was normal. Because really, what had changed? Nothing. Nothing at all.

.

-End Part 10-

.

AN: so it is finally here... sorry for the wait XD (and for those waiting on MLS update it will be out this week, if not tonight)

There is also a new poll on my profile about what you would like to see posted after MLS is finished :)

.

Special Thanks to: xxbeyondxbirthdayxx, fatkitty123, Nazlyn101, MelMat, Keono, Deadly Nightshade1395, brightnight003, issagokurosaki, other

.

.

.

Review?