Disclaimer: Quite obviously, I don't own. Blah blah blah. I do own original characters.
AN: Whew, this is intense. Please forgive me. ;)
Matt drew in a deep breath as he stared at the building before him. His old house. Matt scoffed at the idea that he'd ever even called it home.
Shaking his head and avoiding the gaze of the blonde beside him, Matt kicked the door in. The house was littered in dust and liquor bottles, no surprise. Matt stomped up the stairs with his blonde companion in tow. "Please don't ask," Matt said in a strained voice.
Mello followed willingly, shocked at the mass amount of bottles on the floor. He was disgusted. Even though it had been months since this house had been inhabited, the smell of alcohol and sex lingered in the air.
"Matt…" The blonde was met with pained eyes turning to look at him. Mello shook his head and motioned for them to keep going.
Matt took a deep breath and pushed his door open, stepping over the debris and wreckage of the room and grabbing his suitcase. Mello stood in the threshold, mouth agape.
Blood was splattered across the walls and staining the carpet. A mangled belt was on the floor with stains on it. The mattress had been overturned and the dresser was on the floor, drawers scattered out. The redhead was darting around the room, grabbing everything that he deemed worthy of taking with him.
Mello stared in horror at the claw marks on the bed and floors, obvious indications of Matt's struggle. He turned his eye to the dents in the walls where Matt had been slammed harshly against the wall.
Bile rose in Mello's throat. He was disgusted that anyone could commit such a heinous crime. He looked away and closed his eye, bringing a hand up to the patch that covered the left. It had been just under 17 weeks since the surgeries. Beyond and Mello were due back to have the transplant preformed in just over a week.
Mello tried to distract himself with thoughts of the past months in Matt's presence. L had pretty much let them drop out of school, claiming to be homeschooling them. Much to Mello's surprise, Matt was a genius. He was skilled beyond belief with technology, fluent in 7 languages, capable of college level calculus and physics, and could recite American history without a book. Mello wondered how Matt managed to retain all that information when his thoughts were always distracted by a video game. The boy never studied. L had decided that it would be best to say that for their senior year they home-schooled and have them graduate with the exit courses.
Mello shook his head. Thinking about the future gave him a headache. Instead, he thought about what he had learned about the redhead. The prior months had been spent going to the movies, playing pranks on people, staying up late watching horror movies and playing video games. No matter the location, every night they went to sleep cuddled in each other's arms. He usually woke up with a mop of red under his chin and Matt's breath tickling his chest.
Mello was snapped from his revere by a sharp gasp. He looked over to find Matt holding something in his hand. As the gamer walked closer, Mello noticed that it was a collar.
"Xana…"Matt murmured quietly. Mello stared at him questioningly. "Xana was my cat. I took her in when she was a kitten… I guess Thomas found her and killed her." Mello noticed the sadness that laced the redhead's tone.
Placing his hand over Matt's, Mello whispered his apologies. "Come on, babe. Let's get out of here."
Matt nodded and stuffed the collar in his vest pocket. Taking Mello's hand in his own, he walked from the room and all but dragged Mello down the stairs. Without a second glass at the room, Matt stood in the living room.
"Where is it…" he murmured quietly to himself. Looking hard around the room, Matt searched for the box he knew Thomas kept. He hoped desperately that Thomas hadn't taken it with him…
Spotting the old wooden box, he made his way through the bottles and food cartons.
"Matt, what are you doing?" his blonde cohort questioned. Why on earth was the boy going farther into a house that had obviously caused him pain?
But then Matt was facing him again with a wooden box in his hands. He opened it and rummaged about inside, nodding to himself afterwards. He withdrew something and shut the box, securing the latch and tucking it in his bag.
Mello stared at the artifact in Matt's hand as the boy approached him. Matt strode past him while staring at the picture, his eyes glazed over. Matt didn't seem to realize where his feet carried him until he was seated in the driver's seat of his Chevelle and Mello was beside him.
"Matt…" Mello asked gently.
"Hmm?" Matt looked up and glanced around. "Oh, sorry…" He held the photo out as an offering.
Mello took the picture and gasped. It depicted a gorgeous redheaded woman with long hair. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring down at her lap, where a redheaded boy was curled up and sleeping. Mello didn't have to ask to know that the boy was Matt and the pale, smiling woman was his mother.
Mello looked up to find Matt staring down into the box once more. Mello peered over to see what was in the box, only to have it snapped shut.
"Sorry," Matt murmured lowly. "It was all my mom's stuff… If you wanna see it you can…"
Mello shook his head. "No it's okay. If it's personal I get it," Mello reassured him. Matt smiled weakly and started the car, giving one last glance at the house before driving away forever.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Just over a week later, Mello planted a small kiss on Matt's lips. The blonde was quaking slightly, obviously nervous. Matt took the blonde's face in his hands and made Mello look him in the eyes.
"Everything will be okay Mello. I'll be waiting here for you when you get back."
Mello nodded slowly. He took Matt's hands and drew in several deep breaths, forcing himself to relax. When he felt relaxed enough, he dropped one of Matt's hands and stepped out of him room, descending the staircase and waiting by the front door. While Matt quietly reassured him that he'd be okay, B bounded down the stairs screaming with joy.
"I'm getting eyes! I'll be able to see again! Woo hoo!" he screamed. Mello cracked a small smile and took a shaky breath, stepping out the door with his guardians and Matt.
As they slid into the backseat of the limo, Matt laid down across the seat with his head in Mello's lap. Mello smiled and threaded his fingers almost roughly through the crimson tresses, relieving pent up stress.
"Beyond!" A harsh slap pierced the air, followed by a gasp. "Calm down and get in the car!" Mello's eyes went wide at the volume of L's voice. Matt jumped at the noise and nuzzled his face into Mello's stomach.
B crawled into the car with a pout on his lips. He was quite obviously upset about his brother's slap and he was nursing his injured cheek. Mello stifled a laugh. L crawled in after his twin and motioned for Watari to drive.
They arrived at the hospital just before four a.m., Matt stumbling in after Mello. B stepped in briskly and L followed as though he were bored. They made their way to the waiting room where Matt sat on a couch next to Mello, laying his head on the blonde's shoulder. Mello reached up and stroked Matt's hair, lulling the boy into a light sleep.
When the doctors called for Mello and Beyond, Mello kissed the top of Matt's head and stood, causing the redhead to fall onto the couch and whine lightly. L stood and followed Beyond and Mello as they entered the operation room, watching the sedatives kick in for both. He sighed.
"What time will I be able to get them?" he asked in a tired monotone.
"Well, if you're comfortable with them still being heavily sedated, you can come and get them in about twelve hours," the doctor replied.
L turned and walked from the room, gathering up his redheaded ward in his arms and taking him back to the limo. When he laid the boy across the leather seats, Matt mumbled in his sleep and turned slightly, sighing in contentment.
Upon arriving home, L half supported the sleeping gamer as he pulled him up the stairs. With Watari's assistance, L pulled Matt's unlaced combat boots off and pushed the gamer into the bed, throwing a blanket over him.
As they left the room, L turned to Watari. "You should retire for the night, Watari. I shall do the same." Watari nodded and turned, going to his bedroom. L ambled slowly to his bedroom and crawled into the bed, curling his body around a pillow and tugging the blankets around his shoulders. As his onyx eyes drifted closed he found himself smiling slightly. Who knew that this redheaded boy would save Mello?
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Three days later, Mello stood nervously in front of the mirror. He didn't know what color his left eye was. Beyond had ripped off the gauze as soon as possible and didn't care that his eyes were a medium, amber brown. He had run through the house laughing and shrieking about being able to see again. Mello knew that his vision would be bad in his left eye, and that he would have to train the nerves again, but he was worried.
"Mels, babe. I'm sure it'll be beautiful," Matt said softly as he saw Mello standing in front of the mirror.
"But it's not the blue I'm used to. I don't even know what color it is."
Matt took Mello's shoulders and turned him, facing Mello's back to the mirror. "There, now I can see before you do."
Mello shook his head so fast that he got dizzy. "What if…" he couldn't continue.
"What if… what?" Matt asked slowly.
"What if you don't like it?"
Matt sighed. "You know, for a genius you can be a dumb-ass." Mello's head snapped up and his eye showed hurt and anger. "I don't like you because of your appearance. That's just a bonus. I like you because of you. You're strong and compassionate; caring and kind. That you're gorgeous is just icing on the cake. And I'm sure that no matter what, you'll still be beautiful."
Mello's heart fluttered at Matt's words. Matt liked him for… him? But no one liked Mello for who he was. They wanted him, sure. But no one ever liked who he was.
Taking a deep breath, Mello closed his eye and pulled the bandages and gauze away. He left both of his eyes closed, taking deep breaths. When he felt Matt's breath brushing his cheek and smelled the cigarettes and Axe that followed him, he slowly peeled his eyelids back.
Matt couldn't contain a gasp. In Mello's right eye he saw the beautiful cerulean that he had grown to love (huh, he was using that word a lot lately) but his right eye was grey. It wasn't the same, blank slate as Near's, but it was the color of brewing storm clouds. It was light and clear, with small slivers of black running through the depths and a dark grey outer rim. It was… beautiful.
Mello turned and looked in the mirror, letting his own surprised gasp escape. That… certainly was not what he was expecting. Mello leaned closer and examined the grey that resided in his new eye, comparing it to the blue he had come to pride himself with. They were so different.
His blue eye was an ocean of feelings and a torrent of emotions. He could manipulate the emotion within to do what he wanted it to do, whether it be radiating anger or seeping seduction. But the grey was stoic, hardly showing emotion. It had its own captivating beauty, enticing anyone to try to solve the riddle within. They were so distinctly opposite, yet went together so well. Especially with Mello's new complexion, with the grey being embedded within rough scar tissue and the blue resting within the pale, flawless skin. Mello tilted his head, deciding ultimately that he liked it.
When he turned again, Matt was following his eyes with his own. He watched the grey with focused intensity, staring at the combination afterwards. After, he smiled softly.
"It's gorgeous."
Mello brimmed with happiness. Matt liked it as much as he did. Now, it was time to show everyone else. Light, Misa, Near, L, Beyond and Naomi had gathered in the den of the house, wanting to see Mello after so long of little to no contact.
Mello and Matt made their way downstairs, hand in hand the whole time. When they stepped through the door to the den, Matt flipped on the lights completely and Mello looked up. A collective gasp went through the room at the sight of his scar. Mello blushed slightly and went to turn away when Naomi spoke up.
"That's badass!" she exclaimed, gaining agreements from everyone in the room. Mello smiled and went to the couch with Matt behind him, their fingers still interlaced.
When they passed by where Light was seated, he noticed their tangled hands.
"Aw, did you stake a claim on Mattie? Shame, I kind of wanted to play with him." As they passed, Light pinched Matt's ass.
Mello didn't miss the jealousy that flashed in L's black eyes.
Matt jumped and latched onto Mello, who turned and pulled the redhead's body behind him. His eyes flashed with unsuppressed rage and he fisted his hands in Light's shirt, lifting the brunette off the couch.
"If you even look at him, I will kill you." The threat was enunciated and low, almost a snarl.
Light trembled under the rage in the azure eye that so many had grown to fear. But the rage and instinct to kill in the stormy grey was terrifying. The storm cloud grey was churning and brewing.
"H-Hey, man, I was just kidding, put me down!" Light stuttered. Mello dropped the boy back onto the couch.
When he turned, the room froze under the stare of Mello's multi colored eyes. No one wanted to face the rage buried deep within the orbs.
Mello stalked to the couch and sat down quickly, pulling Matt down with him. When Near and Light's eyes lingered too long on the redhead, Mello pulled him closer with an arm protectively around the boy's waist. Matt snuggled into Mello's side and shrunk away from the prying gazes. Misa apparently decided it was up to her to break the tension and started talking rapidly. Her rambling was desultory and loud, and no one was really listening.
Beyond looked at Naomi through black lashes, almost shyly. Naomi inched closer and took his chin in her hands, tilting his face up so she could see the rough scar material. She stroked the skin with her fingers, moving up to his eyelids and stroking them gently. He slowly opened his eyes and allowed the honey colored orbs to meet hers, shrinking away shyly.
"You should have known that I would like them, Beyond," she said quietly. Neither of the two seemed to notice that Misa's babbling had stopped. Everyone was staring at them with rapt attention. When Naomi closed the distance between them and brushed her lips against his, everyone let out a collective cheer. Naomi jumped away, blushing, only to have Beyond's arms wrap around her waist and pull her back.
"No, I've been waiting too long for this," he said huskily as he kissed her hard. The room cheered again as their hands laced together.
For another hour, the room talked quietly about nothing in particular. Near was quiet, staring at Mello and Matt's interlaced fingers intensely. He twirled his hair around his finger and tilted his head slightly.
When Matt caught the albino boy staring, he glared sharply and Near looked away.
Light and Misa left after about an hour, causing Naomi to glance at her watch and curse.
"I have work tomorrow, I need to go too," she said apologetically to B. He smiled and kissed her. "It's okay," he whispered.
Near left with Light and Misa, Naomi trailing behind them. L, B and Mello watched them go, Mello grabbing Light before he could leave.
"I was very serious earlier. You are not to lay a hand on Matt without his consent, or I will make you regret it. Do you understand?"
Light nodded shakily with wide eyes. He scampered across the yard like a scared puppy and jumped into the car, peeling away.
L and B retired themselves to bed, leaving Mello and Matt to their own devices. Mello suggested that he and the redhead do the same, to which Matt agreed. As they ascended the stairs, Mello noticed that Matt seemed lost in thought.
"Are you okay babe?" he asked worriedly. Matt nodded slowly as they entered the room. Mello shut the door, only to find himself pinned to the wood. The redhead before him kissed him, hungrily and passionately. Mello gasped and Matt plunged his tongue into the other's mouth, drawing a moan from both.
"Mello," the redhead panted when he broke away. "Mello, take me."