Matt beat Axel for the eighth time that day. Before that he leveled up his orc warrior from sixty to ninety seven and before that he'd finished final fantasy iii through viii and even before that he beat portal twice. This, of course, hadnt happened in one day but three days. In which time mello had been busy writing names of other mafia men down in the murderer's notebook and matt was desperately trying to ignore near's words. That he was just using matt to get to the top. It was becoming increasingly plausable in his mind as every hour went by with matt sitting in the control room alone, switching between games and glancing at the 'front door' screen every once in a while. This was how he watched the notebook be delivered by some nyc giants and then nothing. Generally people werent allowed in and out without clearance which was just about never. His phone rang and he picked up not really caring untill the first line the man on the other end of the line.
"hello, this is the president of the united states of america. Am i talking to one of the perpetrators that killed the japenese chief of police?"
"...hold on, man."
Matt got up and left the room for the first day in awhile and stretched his legs quickly before walking out into the hall to grab the first guy that went down the hall past him.
"can you carry a phone?" he asked
"can i kill you for being a geek?" the man replied.
"not if you want to keep your ass from mello. If you give this to him though things might be happier.."
"who is it?" he growled clearly annoyed
"the president" thats all it took, the man grabbed the phone and rushed back into the room to hand it to the boss who directed it to mells. The rest of the conversation was almost too much to handle.
Mello was threatening the president with a third world war that would cause thousands-millions even- of lives, innocent lives. Just about everyone had nuclear weapons save for the periphery states. It would be huge and terrible.. But mello was using it to get support and information. Plus the whole time he was smiling like when he used to pull lynda's hair when he was a kid, like it was somehow sadistically pleasing. Munching a bit of chocolate mello took a look at the phone and called matt in the room.
"why didnt you give me this yourself?" he said still smiling from the call
"because i dont want to come in here and hear the crap youre doing" matt stood behind him looking down on his lazy stretched out figure on the couch.
"you listened anyways" he pointed out
"and i shouldnt have" matt felt a bit angry at his tarryng in the doorway.
"but," the blonde frowned "we are closer to kira now. Arent you proud of how good we're doing?"
"no, im not proud of YoU trying to kill everyone"
"me? We're in this together, matt. We are going to catch kira and make him pay no matter what"
"we are not having this conversation in front of these people. Give me my phone" he held out his hand expectantly
"no, we are going to talk about this" he growled
"then not here"
"why not here?" mello shoved the phone down his pants next to his gun and everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably at the tension in the air between the two.
Matt shot a look at mello and left the room in a quick irritated walk. How could he do that to him? He wouldnt do that. Or so he had wanted to believe. Slamming the control room door shut he turned and kicked the wall as hard as he could and even through the boots he could practically feel the rubber collide with the wall and smash his foot. Dammit. Mello had never embarrassed and humiliated him in public or private before and it stung that he had changed. He was a god be damned murderer now. So, if he knew that then why was his heart still aching for him? He disregaurded the law, basic humanity, the line of good and serial killer, and matt's feelings. Not that he'd ever noticed that last part in the first place but it still hurt that he still loved mello. Why wouldnt his heart hear the words of reason he thought? Couldnt it see the indirect blood all over him?
Matt turned off his game console and turned off the lights before going next door to his room to sleep it off. It would get better eventually, he told himself. At least he left sayu and her father alone. He couldnt sleep at night thinking of what he had done to her and how hard she must be taking it. The girl had been so innocently nice the whole time and he had put her through a nightmare all for mello.
He woke up to the sound of mello's voice down the hall. It sounded like it wasnt comming from the big pad but the other dead end of the hall where that stupid big chair was. Matt got up groggily and walked out thinking it was time to start the video game marathon again. Maybe he could set up disidia and play that first since it was pretty hard and time consuming. As he had thought, mello was sitting askew on the big chair at the end of the hall with the notebook in one hand and matt's phone pressed against the side of his head with the other.
"who is the new L?" he asked with his taunting casual voice "...i guessed it was somthing like that. Of course youll be ready to give me the names and pictures of everybody on your team...fufufu goodbye, subdirector yagami" he clicked off and looked up at matt as he walked into the control room trying to hide his face and got up to follow.
Matt was already turning on the screens in the dark, not bothering to turn on the over head lights this early in the morning when mello walked in. The blonde shoved the phone in his pocket as matt set up a game without looking back at the guy in the room with him and started playing. Mello sat there staring at his fast moving hands over the control before going to kneel down behind matt and sticking his head over the gamer's shoulder to watch the interesting game. It was certainly ridiculously hard but matt never screwed up so he beat everything flawlessly. For a moment looking at his face mello thought he looked like an albino that he seemed to remember with the same blank countenance as he put together huge puzzles together over and over again without looking up at anyone. Some one he remembered absolutely hating. Ugh, even tbe memory still pissed him off.
"are we going to talk about yesterday?" he said peeved at someone who he hadnt seen in years and didnt expect to see again.
"i thought you said you were done with sayu. Im sure you just used her again to weasel information out of her father even after he supposedly said he was done with the police." he said after a while
"i need to get things like that, you should understand that. Leads dont appear out of nowhere and i sure as hell cant pull them out of my ass." he snorted
"well, did you find kira with that phone call?" he asked bitterly
"Im doing my best to level of to the final boss, matt. Cant you think of it as one of your games? You have to shoot a few people before you can win the war or find that gay silver haired guy that turns into some dragon at the end of the game." mello sighed digging his face into matt's shoulder.
matt felt a strange de ja vu come over him and he fought the urge to move away. Instead he let out his anger in mello's direction. "dont you think thats what im trying to do right now? You keep playing in god mode and i switched servers so i wouldnt have to think about it but thats not working with you around, now is it? All of this is wrong, miheel, you are being just like kira using the notebook." mello stilled on his shoulder.
"is that what you think of me?" he whispered
"yes," matt said carefully " thats what youre becomming only for a different reason. Just stop using-"
"get to work, matt." mello got up quickly and left the room and matt turned to watch him go with regret.
His only and best friend had just walked out again without listening to him. And it was his fault for trying to tell mello what to do. Damn, mells was number two and he was just third in the race. He always would be under him as mello would always be under near despite what did to get ahead in the race to get to kira first. Near was right, mello was probably just using him. He hadnt even heard him out on the issue. Mello had always listened in wammy's even when he would stay up late at night to study for the next test that he wanted so desperately to at least tie with the other boy. But now.. It was different for some reason. They had only gotten older and colder but it had hit mello the hardist. Mello had left and found leather and murder where matt had simply found addiction in the city. Life was trying to kill mello before the rest of them and all he could do was sit and watch him die. But near... somebody ran by and killed his person with one clean swipe as the screen laughed in his face with a sign that announced defeat... Dare he say near had never changed..Or at least he didnt show it.
So as mello fumed writing down the names of his rival's investigation team, matt started another three days alone. Neither spoke the entire time to the other by unspoken consent not to make it worse. On the fourth day matt glanced up nonchalantly at the screen from his game and paused a moment. Some thug was walking out carrying out an envelope partially hidden in his pocket. Something about the man's blank stare cought his eye. It was like he wasnt even alive at all. The envelope shifted in his pocket for a moment as the man left and matt dismissed it as some weird thing. Maybe it was the light. Hed check when the man came back.
But when he never came back a day and a half later matt felt a little uncomfortable. Because instead some weird bird looking thing came to the door and simply walked through before appearing again on the screen in the front hall where he stood in the corner watching mello with the death note. Matt rushed out of the room and made it in time to see the thing pick up the death note causing mello to look up surprised a moment before he got it under control again.
"hello, shinigami." he smiled ripping off a chunk of chocolate from the bar.
Matt turned and left at that moment. He would not be cought watching these things again by mello. He really wanted nothing to do with the murder anymore and he wanted that yellow haired death note wielder to have to reasons to drag him into it. All these thoughts were useless because he knew that if mello asked him and listened he would say yes in a heartbeat to just about anything. It wouldnt even be that hard to get him to kidnap someone for the third time. He had already helped capture the japenese director of police and held the subdirector's daughter hostage so why not a third? Maybe the president's expecting wife, he thought bitterly at himself. why not set a record
Night came and everything got quiet as everybody but matt left to go to sleep where ever they slept. Not like matt would know locked up in one room or the other all day. Somthing behind him stirred and he turned to see the bird shinigami standing weirdly in the corner watching him play super smash brothers brawl. He moved his attention back to the screen and continued playing.
"why do you play as a pointy eared woman?" the thing asked and matt tensed up not wanting to talk to it. But of course it moved closer and matt transformed zelda into her soldier suit hoping he wouldnt get it. "oh, she is warrior! May i play this thing too?" matt held in a sigh as he ignored the thing and entered a sudden death round with the big glove boss- trying to get to the final boss, matt. Mello's voice echoed- and won with a swipe of his mace as the hand came down. The shinigame moved in front of matt and started mumbling looking down at him "the one human who isnt scary and he hasnt touched the death note yet to see me. How mean is this human wor-"
"oh shut up and get out of my way. I can see you just fine" matt snapped at the surprised thing
"but i j-just wanted tO play t-too." it stammered
Matt sighed "fine, then go away after youre done playing and dont come back here. Just go back to where ever you came from"
"but ill die if i do that and then ill never get chocolate from that scary blonde girl again. I already had to wait around for the other guy to get the letter with this address in it and now i have to wait for the girl to-"
"what? Wait, wait, wait... What was that about a man getting a letter?" the suspicious man flashed in his mind.
The shinigami fidgeted "who again? I do not remember getting a letter-" he started saying loudly walking out the door "i think im busy, human, sorry i cant play games with you."
"oh god" matt breathed and followed the shinigami out of the room but when he got to the bigger room it was already gone.
But he found mello asleep on the big sectioned couch and he went over to him quickly and woke him up. Mello almost cought his chin with his first when he swung out his arm half asleep but matt dodged it and shook him again calling his name.
"what the hell do you want?" he moaned
"somebody knows where we are, mello." he whispered
"go to bed and sleep off whatever youve been smoking, matt, staring at these screens isnt doing much for your sanity." mello sat up fixing him with a sleepy glare.
"no, im not making this up and i only smoke cigarettes. That shinigami accidently slipped up and said somthing about him following some guy until he got this address sent to him in a letter. Normally, that would be a mystery out of our knowledge. But when i asked he denied saying it and left. Plus not long ago one of your goons left with an envelope in his pocket and never came back. Please believe me, my friend" matt pleaded.
"do i have to put you to bed or will you just shut up?"
"but mello! I-" matt was cut off when lips crushed his.
A hand crept up to bury itsself in his red hair and yanked hard as mello got up from the couch. Matt found himself being let back to his room where mello ripped off his goggles and threw him on the bed. He looked very cranky but extremely dangerous as he knelt on the bed before matt and leaned down to take matt's zipper in between his teeth and matt started squirming.
"if you wanted some attention all you had to do was ask, mail. You didnt have to find some reason to wake me up" he started unzipping his pants bit by bit and matt moved further up the bed away from him.
Mello just smiled his ripping wings off butterflies smile and moves up on top of him and leaned in to kiss him again. This time matt recognized the taste of harsh alcohol in his mouth and understood. Mello was drunk and had probably passed out after celebrating his new find. Matt turned his head away from him and the blonde merely unzipped his vest and pulled down the collar of his shirt to suck lightly on his shoulder.
"mello, stop it. I was just trying to warn you that we have to leave before kira or whoever got the letter comes and-" mello got up from him and started screaming.
"you leave! If you cant trust me to be right then you shouldnt be here anyways! I thought you were my best friend but i guess not! Just go if you think you can leave me!" he shoved matt's phone at him and waited, completely sure of himself.
Then matt did something he never thought he would do: he got up from under mello, grabbed his goggles off the floor, and left mello in his room. He walked out of the building and kept going until he was a fair ways away when he finally started crying. He pulled out his phone and dialed a phone number that he had never called before now and let the cold night air comfort him as the other person picked up.
"im waiting on some street corner. Come pick me up, near"
