Getting him away from people helped more than I thought it would. I pulled him a ways down the hall and turned a corner to an abandoned wing. I leaned back against the wall.
Matt wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and clung to me fiercely.
I sighed and looped my arms around him. "It's okay," I murmured against his hair. "I'm here with you."
We stayed like that for the longest time and listened to the sounds of the orphans going to their rooms and the common room.
The moon shone through a nearby window, spreading shadows across the floor.
Matt loosened his grip on my waist and wrapped his arms around my neck instead. He sighed softly and I felt his breath against my neck.
"Matt," I said softly. "You want to go to bed?"
"Yeah," he murmured.
"Well, I'll walk with you to your room," I went on.
"Mm-mm," he mumbled. "I wanna go to your room…"
"Okay," I said, kissing his forehead gently. "Whatever you want, Mattie…"
He led me back to his room and shut the door behind us, before pulling me with him onto his bed and wrapping his arms around me gently.
I sighed. "Mel…"
"Shh." He placed a finger on my lips, shushing me. "Don't worry about it."
"But-"
"Dammit all," he grumbled. He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. "Don't worry about it, Mail," he whispered, gently running his thumb along my cheekbone. "I'll handle it."
"Mihael, it's my fault," I mumbled in protest. "I'm the reason he's mad."
"Oh, Mail," he sighed, resting his forehead against my own and squeezing me gently to himself. "Why must you always blame yourself?"
Instead of answering, I wiggled around just enough so that I could curl against his chest. We both knew the answer to that question.
"Mail…I love you, you know that, right?" he sighed.
"Mm-hmm, I love you too, Mihael," I mumbled against his chest.
He sighed heavily and stroked my hair comfortingly. He knew I wasn't going to answer; I always blamed myself. That trait had been ingrained in me long before I ever even came to Wammy's. I shifted just enough so that I could look up at Mello.
He touched my cheek gently with his fingertips. "I love you, Mail," he said quietly. "More than you'll ever know. So don't blame yourself, 'cuz it's not your fault. It never was…" He kissed me and I could feel him trembling. "Please don't…" he whispered weakly.
"Okay," I said softly, looping my arms around his neck.
"Thank you," he said quietly, seemingly a little brighter. "I'll make it better for you, and for us."
"For you, too," I urged.
"For me, too," he agreed.
I smiled. "Good."
When the sun rose the next morning, I woke up first and noticed Matt was still asleep. He was cute like that. His hair was slightly mussed from sleep, but he still wore that perfect smile, even in sleep. God, I loved that smile. He blinked slowly as he woke up.
"Hey," I said quietly.
"Hey," he answered sleepily. He yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I don' wanna get up Mels," he mumbled.
"I know," I said. I sat up and pulled him up, only to have him try to curl back up. "But you have to get up."
"Don' wanna get up," he said, his voice muffled by the covers he pulled over his head.
"Matt…" I hated when he was stubborn like that. I pulled the sheets away, grabbed him under the arms and hauled him onto his feet, only to have myself be a total klutz and trip over my own feet to pull us both onto the floor. "You've got to get up," I insisted.
"But, Mel…" he whined. "I'm not trying to be stubborn; I just don't feel too well today."
"Oh." Feeling bad for hauling him around like that, I helped him back into bed where he snuggled up against my chest. "Sorry, Matt," I apologized.
"S'okay," he mumbled. "It's nothing bad, my head just hurts a little."
"Oh, okay," I said. I kissed the top of his head. "You want to go get some aspirin from Nurse Jade?"
"Uh-huh," he mumbled, nodding and sitting up.
"Okay, come on."
I took his hand and led him to Nurse Jade's office.
"Well, hello, boys, you're up early," Nurse Jade said as we walked in. "Or, did you have a late night?" she hinted.
Matt flushed in embarrassment.
I felt my own cheeks heat up slightly as well. I hadn't even thought about making love with Matt again yet. I didn't think Matt was ready, but I really wasn't sure if I was either, though. "No, Matt just needs some aspirin because his head hurts," I said awkwardly.
"Alright, if you say so," she mused, pulling the keys out of her desk drawer and going over to get the aspirin.
I didn't even realize I'd been clenching my fists until Matt whined softly and set his head on my shoulder. Why did everyone assume I intended to rape him the second I got him alone? Honestly, what did they think I was, a fucking heartless bastard?
Nurse Jade tossed the aspirin bottle at me, which I pocketed, and then tossed me a bottle of water. "Just give him two capsules with some water now, and if he needs some later, use the same dose. And just the rest in case you need some later," she said.
I nodded and said, "Thanks, Nurse Jade." Without waiting for a response, and because I knew one wouldn't come, seeing as she had already gone into the infirmary's main hall, I turned to Matt and said, "Come on," before leaving.
Three hours later, my migraine had come back, worse than ever, and I was stuck in my history class with no Mello and no aspirin. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to will away the throbbing pain in my skull, to no avail.
The teacher was prattling on about WWII and how badly it had affected England.
Blah, blah, blah.
My head throbbed a little more as the teacher slapped his pointer against the chalkboard, pointing to some debt the air force alone caused.
If I'd have known we were going to learn about the war today, I would have skipped and found Mello. I already knew about the parts of the war this son of a bitch was talking about. The one big thing I remembered about my dad from before he left was that he was a big war buff. When I had been really little, he'd sit me on his knee and tell me stories about the war that his dad and granddad had told him. I loved it. But then, he left, and what had been a happy childhood went to hell in a hand basket that had the rope cut while it was still on earth.