Chapter 2

Thank you everyone, for the lovely reviews last chapter! They made me so happy. :D I haven't written fanfiction in years, and even then never finished a chaptered story, so I love the encouragement. :) I feel a little bad about taking so long to update this though, so I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner this time.

I also just realized that Mello's been naked a lot in this fic, and he's not even with Matt yet… XD

So now it was down to a battle of the wills. Mel obviously cared about who else I was hanging out with, but if he wasn't going to admit it, he could just go ahead and stay curious. I knew that kind of thing would drive him crazy.

And now that I knew he was following me I could take the standard precautions – hiding in the bathrooms to make my phone calls, switching up my routes when I would go meet Alex, not announcing it when I left the apartment… Like I said, Mello sucks at stealth. It wasn't exactly difficult to lose him.

Though, while sneaking around like a hormonal teenager with strict parents was certainly a fun little game, I'm not nearly as stubborn as Mello. When common sense comes into the equation, I'll usually take that over my pride, and I couldn't very well avoid bringing Alex back to the apartment. She deserved to at least see the place, even if it wasn't much.

"Shh… We don't want to wake up my roommate," I stage whispered to Alex between kisses, as we settled onto my couch in the quiet sunlight of the early morning.

"Mm… okay," Alex replied, and pushed me away slightly so she could talk. "Shouldn't we go to your room then?"

Uh… You're looking at it? We just had a little three-room deal, and Mello usually took the bed while I played video games undisturbed in the main room until I finally crashed on the couch.

"Er, we share a room, so this is probably better," I said vaguely, then stood up. "Wait here, I got something for you."

I really do like getting little presents and things for people; I just enjoy seeing that little twitch of the mouth that signals pleasant surprise. Though I guess by 'people' I mean 'Mello,' since I don't really talk to anyone else… Well, except Alex now too. And, since Alex was my first girlfriend and all, I did want to do something sweet and romantic for her.

…Chocolate is romantic, right?

It's up there with flowers and stuffed animals, but I wouldn't feel nearly as stupid walking out of a store with a box of nice chocolates. And thanks to Mel, I know a hell of a lot more about different types of chocolate than I do different types of flowers. Plus, flowers and teddy bears are really kind of useless; you can at least eat chocolate. And if the way Mello eats it sometimes is any indication, it sure as hell is sensual. Seriously, the way his face gets sometimes when he's eating a real fancy chocolate bar – you'd think the bar was nibbling on him, not the other way around. It's almost obscene.

Which is kind of exactly where I was going with this.

I started off sweet, placing the first chocolate into Alex's mouth before having one myself, all smiles and hushed giggles as we took the time to just savor the first bite. Because for the second and third bites, I planned on being occupied with a few other things besides taste. "Here, let's split this one." This time I placed the chocolate between my teeth and leaned in towards Alex so she could bite off the other half as we started to kiss.

I had been slightly worried the mechanics of this wouldn't work out exactly as planned (eating and kissing probably being a bit awkward, and how would chewing or swallowing work?) but things were going surprisingly well. The chocolate was softened from the heat already, and melted quickly in our mouths, so it wasn't even like eating really... more like kiss lubricant. Chocolate-flavored kiss lubricant. Shut-up, you know that's the best way to describe it.

And oh, but chocolate was meant to be shared like this… The thick stickiness coating the insides of both our mouths, slowing us down to a luxuriously slow pace… Everything tasting of bitter dark chocolate, laced with a hint of sweetness… Oh God this is fucking awesome. I guess I had gotten it into my head that a kiss should taste like chocolate or something, because this really was adding a new layer of 'hell yes' to it all. I felt a tongue dart out to lick away a bit of chocolate that had melted against my bottom lip, pausing to suck every last bit off –

"Ahem."

I cracked open an eye at the sound, my mouth still engaged in a chocolate-flavored ecstasy, only to be met with the sight of Mello's penis, dangling not two feet in front of me.

Understandably I choked. The sudden association of chocolate-lubricated anything and Mello's junk was just too close for comfort.

"Geez Mel, do you mind?" I yelped, freezing up in mid-caress so that Alex couldn't turn around to see Mello. Who, having just woken up, was standing there completely naked.

He growled a question at me, but I didn't hear it due to the sudden and inexplicable feeling of panic that suddenly went through me. Mello was naked. There was someone in the apartment besides me. Therefore, someone besides me would be able to see Mello naked.

"Go get dressed would you?" I snapped, keeping a firm but gentle grip on Alex, whose eyes suddenly widened in understanding. Really, it was one thing for Mello to walk around au natural while I was around, that was totally ok. We're cool. But you don't go around like that in front of just anybody. It was… indecent!

"It's my house too. I'll go around naked if I want to. Now how did that get in the house?" Mello crossed his arms, clearly having no intention of being cooperative.

"One minute," I said apologetically to Alex, giving her a light squeeze on the shoulder as I stood up and grabbed a fistful of Mello's hair to drag him to the bedroom. Of course he wasn't going to take that sitting down, and we ended up in a bit of a walking scuffle by the time we got to the bedroom and I had safely closed the door, pinning my best glare on Mello.

"Mello, has it ever even occurred to you that not everyone in the world wants to see you naked?" I demanded, grabbing some clothes from the closet and throwing them at Mello. Though even if the entire world did want to see Mello naked, that didn't mean the entire world should necessarily get to. "Get dressed. I don't want her thinking I live with a freaking nudist."

"Ah, so you have a girlfriend?" he asked, completely ignoring the pile of clothes I had thrown at him to give me a scrutinizing look.

"Yeah, I do," I answered. "And I'd like to be able to bring her over without you doing…this." I gestured awkwardly at my still-naked roommate. Mello rolled his eyes slightly, but grabbed some underwear and shorts and began to get dressed.

"That's the problem with girlfriends, Matt. They interfere with your entire life," he lectured. Like he's ever even had a girlfriend. "See, one-night stands are better. No commitment, no having to change your life to impress anyone. And just a quick note here: she's not my girlfriend. Why does she have to interfere with my life? And what was the deal with all the secrecy?"

"Just shut up, would you?" I sat down on the bed, trying to gather my thoughts. Of course Mello disapproved, I never even entertained the fantasy that he'd just give me a friendly slap on the back and be all peaches and cream about the whole thing… But he needed to get it through his head that I wasn't looking for a quick fuck, I wanted something that would last. That I could hold on to in this crazy life of hopping countries and fake names, where I could disappear and no one would even know I had existed in the first place.

Except Mello, of course. Though he kind of just verbally spit in the face of emotional attachments.

"Look, I don't want to live like this my whole life, okay? I'm not into just using people and throwing them away." I glared pointedly at him. "Her name is Alex, and she works down at the gas station with me. I didn't tell you because… Well I didn't want you to get upset. I mean, since it's always just been us-"

"She isn't moving in," Mello interrupted, frowning even as he put on his rosary. "No way."

"She's already rooming with a friend near the college," I said, a little taken aback by the very idea. Mello's the only person I've ever lived with, the closest thing to family I'd ever have. I couldn't imagine 'coming home' to anyone else. "I wouldn't have her move in with us."

He continued to look at me suspiciously. "Are you going to marry her?"

I'm pretty sure my jaw must've dropped in shock at the ridiculous suggestion. "No. No, no, no. I'm not thinking marriage here, man, sheesh," I said quickly. Sure, I liked Alex well enough, and I said I wanted something that would last, but I've never given a thought to signing over the rest of my life to her. The only person I could really see myself ever spending the rest of my life with was…

"I was just checking," Mello said, stopping his line of questioning. "Whatever. It's your life right?"

I nodded. Of course. It's my life. Mello's got nothing to do with it.

…Okay, that's a blatant lie, he's got everything to do with it. He'd had everything to do with it up until now, and will probably continue to have everything to do it for… well, the rest of my life. Just, not in the romance department.

Oh, who am I kidding, even that's not sacred. I can't imagine him just sitting back and watching this go on without causing some mayhem of some sort.

"Just try to be nice, okay? Don't offend her."

"Sure, whatever," Mello answered, which was really the best I could've hoped for I guess.

We walked back into the main room, assuring Alex that all was well and making the general introductions and small talk. I have to admit, I was getting a little tense with Mello and Alex talking for some reason, even though he was making the effort to be polite. It's kind of like two of your worlds suddenly colliding, you know? And a split of loyalties. Like I was bringing the girlfriend home to meet the wife.

Er - best friend. Yes, it was clearly more like that situation. Classic dilemma. Perfectly normal to be entirely uncomfortable and wanting to end this awkward scene as soon as possible, shoving both parties back into their respective universes. It wasn't long before there was a lull in the conversation, and I decided to snatch the opportunity to escape before my good luck ran out.

"Well, me and Alex were actually gonna go catch a movie, and stop by the pool afterwards," I announced, standing up. I'm not sure what exactly I was anxious about, but something was telling me no good could come from this. A quick escape was best. Unfortunately, Alex had to go throw a wrench in the gears of my master plan, grinding the whole delicate machine to a screeching halt.

"Since you're Matt's roommate and all, I think it would be nice for me to get to know you too," she said, making me freeze in my tracks. "You don't mind, do you Matty?"

Yes, of course, bring Mello along. Prolong my awkward and torn mental state. What could possibly go wrong? Oh Jesus, this could not end well. And I did not like the way Mello was snickering like that.

"No. I don't mind at all."

…

The lights in the theater dimmed, signaling the start of the movie previews, and now I was sitting in the dark with Mello to my right, and Alex to my left.

Well, this wasn't awkward at all.

Especially when Alex started rubbing my knee like that. If Mello wasn't here we'd be making out by now – but I couldn't really do that now, could I? Wouldn't that be terribly inconsiderate? Or would it be more inconsiderate to put the filter on my date with Alex and not kiss her at all? Would she be mad if I got all stiff and awkward, 'ruining' our date? What is one supposed to do in a situation where it's your girlfriend or your best friend – you can't really choose between those! Oh God, the pressure! How the hell do people deal with the politics of social situations 24/7?!

Alright, calm down. Alex will know what to do – she's the one that invited Mello along anyway. Clearly she knows the proper protocol for these types of dilemmas. I'll just follow her lead. Which seemed to be just to act natural. Like if Mello wasn't there.

I did say that if Mello wasn't there we'd be playing tonsil hockey by now, right? So yes, that's exactly what transpired.

Fucking. Awkward. I was making out with Alex, Mello sitting not three inches to my right, and I swear to God, he was watching.

…I think. Maybe I was just being paranoid again. Because really, this was all rather stressful and could very well be making me see things that weren't there. Like Mello running his tongue over his lips like that, the thin coat of saliva giving his pout a pearlescent shine in the dim light…

Dammit, I should really be paying more attention to Alex. Or maybe less. All this nervousness was making me tense up, and I was releasing all that frustration by being a bit more intense in a public setting than I probably should be. Maybe that was why Mello was watching. Was he watching? Should I care?

I can't say I wasn't a little relieved when he suddenly got up and left, mumbling that he'd be back in a minute. I finally relaxed a little bit, keeping an eye out for his return, but he didn't come back for the rest of the movie.

We found him again on the way out, sitting by the concession stand and biting on a chocolate bar slightly more viciously than normal. Warning lights immediately went off in my head that he was now in a mood. Suspicions confirmed when Alex made the mistake of implying that perhaps chocolate was not the end-all panacea substance of the gods.

There was a tense moment when Mello basically told me to quit with the 'public porn act' and I bet I turned as red as my hair. So apparently he was watching, and it was enough to disgust him to the point of leaving. Which was not entirely complimentary, coming from the guy that probably buys half his wardrobe from fetish shops. Luckily Alex dissipated the tension by poking a hole in Mello's ego when he started going off. She's really something, that girl. I like her.

No, no, I should say I love her. Cause I do. Really.

I just need to keep telling myself that.

…

A nice cool dip in the pool was exactly what I needed now, to try and relax while maintaining the balance of being a good best friend and a proper boyfriend, without sliding into the category of 'public porn.'

Goddammit, life was so much easier when I only had one person to please.

Anyway, Mello was of course stubborn at first, refusing to swim in the 'cesspit of bodily fluids' or put on sunscreen when it was obvious he'd fry up within the hour, while Alex and I splashed around and enjoyed ourselves. She eventually got out of the pool and ended up talking to Mello for a while, and I chuckled a bit to myself since it almost looked like they were bonding while tanning together, or something equally girlish. Whatever Alex said though, she managed to get Mello to finally put on some sunscreen by the time I decided to come out and join them, giving her a quick peck on arrival.

"Don't forget your back, too" she reminded as Mello finished up his arms, causing him to scowl darkly at the suggestion.

"I'll get it, Mel," I said quickly, cutting off any smart-ass comment that might've been on the way and plucking the bottle of sunscreen out of Mello's hands. He was still clearly not in the best mood, and if I was gonna do this balancing thing right, I needed to make sure I paid him some proper attention too, yes?

Plus, Mello has… really nice skin. Flawless actually. Well, except for the gigantic burn scar running down half his face and over his entire left shoulder. But that really only serves to emphasize how smooth and blemishless the rest of it is in contrast. And soft too, despite all the rough materials he wears. It was kind of nice, having an excuse to run my fingers all over it like this. Across the shoulders and the wiry muscles there, up to the tender bit where shoulder turned into neck, teasing down the spine, to his lower back and approaching the waistband of his swim trunks…

Mello flinched, jerking me back to the reality of the situation, and the fact that he was all tensed up. Shit, did I just make him uncomfortable?

Wait, that was ridiculous. Rewind, if you will, to this morning and the strutting around naked bit. There are a lot of words to describe Mello, but 'shy' isn't one of them.

"Done," I said, deciding to ignore it for now. I was suddenly kind of hot though, and getting back in the water seemed like a good idea. I casually tossed the sunscreen onto a towel, then proceeded to blatantly ignore the 'no running' and 'no diving' signs by taking a running jump into the pool, announcing my presence with a yell of warning as I cannonballed into the deep end.

When I surfaced, I was immediately splashed in the face with the spray from Mello's dive, coughing a bit as some of the water went up my nose. Competitive little fucker did a flip in. He came up for a gulp of air before going back down again, holding his breath.

Huh, well what do you know. Mel finally deigned to follow me into the pool, germs and shared bodily fluids and all. I paddled over to where he was holding his breath underwater, intending to get my revenge for that little splash. Besides, I haven't played with Mello all day.

Almost a full minute later he started to swim up for air, and I playfully pushed his head back down under, just as he was reaching the surface. He immediately dug his fingernails sharply into my forearm, using the leverage to come up fast behind me, pushing down on my shoulders to dunk me in the water while raising himself up for a breath of air. I turned myself around, dragging Mello down and pushing him beneath me so that we were both underwater now.

And then he suddenly let go – a strange look of surprise and horror on his face. Really, what was wrong with him lately? Well, maybe he just swallowed some pool water and was freaking out about it. We horsed around for a while longer, coming up to the surface eventually for air, but not pausing in the water assault. Well, I didn't pause at least. Mello froze for an instant, making it easy for me to twist his arm behind his back and pin him against the side of the pool.

"Ha! Got you Mello. You got weak there for a second. Can't let your guard down around me. Give up?" I teased, pressing him into the cement a little while he half-heartedly struggled against me.

"Yeah, I give up," Mello said in a strange voice.

Huh. That was weird. Not only did he let me pin him, he gave up entirely too easily. Even if I had done something wrong and he was pissed, this wouldn't exactly be normal behavior. I let go of his wrists but didn't back off, just shifted my arms so that I was draped over his shoulders now, turning my head so I could get a good look at his face. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, nodding quickly. I smiled at that, but wasn't entirely convinced.

"Look, I know this whole thing with Alex is really sudden," I said a bit guiltily, since I hadn't let him know until it was already a full-fledged relationship. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No," he said right away, as if such a thing were ridiculous. "Of course not. Why would I be mad? It's great, you finally dating someone."

That got me to raise my eyebrows. Mello wanted me to date? Wasn't he completely against this like, this morning? Did he really not care if I spent my time off at the movies with Alex, instead of goofing off in the pool with him? …For some reason that hurt. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. Why? Don't you?" he shot right back at me. I pulled myself up out of the pool, suddenly feeling very tired, and somehow defeated.

"Of course I do," I mumbled unenthusiastically, laying down on the hot cement and letting it burn all the water droplets off my body. "It's the best thing in the world, just about." Besides laying here next to you. "Having a girl and all…" I needed to stop sounding like I was trying to convince myself. "Maybe you should try dating sometime." So I can stop feeling so damn guilty.

"I don't think so," he said, getting out of the pool as well. "I really don't think there's any girl out there that would put up with me for long."

Well those girls are all idiots. I've put up with you my whole life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Mello didn't deserve to be lonely though. Surely there was some girl out there for him that could deal with his personality.

"Well, Halle likes you. You still have her number, don't you?" I suggested. Mello didn't answer, but the look on his face told me plain enough that he wasn't terribly enthused with the idea. Truth be told, I wasn't either… but that was just being selfish, me wanting to keep Mello all for myself.

…

By the end of the day, I had accumulated quite the load of confusion and tension. Mello and Alex finally meeting, the guilt I felt whenever I was with one and not the other, my frustrations with Mello and all these doubts I was so desperately trying to keep from surfacing to my consciousness… It can really leave a guy feeling pretty frustrated, you know.

Me and Alex fucked like rabbits that night.

And we did it on Mello's bed. Well, it's mine too technically, but Mello's the one that always sleeps on it. When we walked in, the covers were still tangled from when he had lain there this morning, as naked as Alex and I were right now. I didn't know whether to feel guilty or incredibly turned on. The fact that he was in the next room, probably hearing every gasp and moan, wasn't helping matters.

My mind was a jumble of emotions, but if I stopped to think, I had a feeling I might not like the conclusions.

So I simply refused to think. Just lost myself in the heat of passion again and again, until we were both exhausted enough to fall into a deep sleep. Maybe if I was lucky, when I woke up there'd be some kinda cosmic sign to make my decisions for me.

If you've read Mello's POV, "Red is for Valentines," you know what's coming. XD Also, I've never actually kissed anyone while eating chocolate, so that scene very well might not work out as well in real life as my imagination says it does. Try it out and let me know, ok? … For science.