Musings Part Two - "Canon, Fanon, and World Domination" : There are four things about Mello and Matt that I absolutely will not give in on, no matter what manga, anime, or fanbase says. Number One: Red. Matt is a redhead, damnit! The anime gave him two scenes; even the manga had more Matt action than that. Therefore the animators have no say, and anime!Matt is not my Matt. There was one saving grace to anime!Matt… which segues into Number Two: Blue. I like anime!Matt's eyes. Not all redheads have green eyes. In fact, the only redhead I know who has green eyes is me. And my hair's far closer to brown than red, anyway. Quite a few of them have blue eyes. And I like Matt with blue eyes, so deal. And on the eyes theme…Number Three: Green. Mello is the one with green eyes. That was one thing I loved about anime!Mello. I loved his green eyes. Because of that, my Mello will have green eyes forever. No matter what anyone says. Loooooove the green. And finally, Number Four: Height. It makes no logical sense in my head that Mello is taller than Matt. My Mello is tiny and vicious… like a Chihuahua; and Matt is bigger and more easy-going… like a Great Dane. It just seems far more natural to me. I will not yield! My Matt is taller than my Mello, end of story. These are the rules of my Death Note world. Feel free to replace any adjectives with another of your choosing. Thank you, have a pleasant day.
By the random by... Abi and I made a new music video for the story. If anyone's interested, here's the link: www (dot) youtube (dot) com/watch?vA-b3jU9LGu0 Y'all know the drill with the links... (rolls eyes)just replace the (dot)s with periods. Woot!
Disclaimer: Don'townitdidn'tdoityoucan'tproveanything'kaybye.
.V.
Mihael popped a small chunk of a chocolate bar into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully as he turned the page. Across the room, Nate had settled himself beneath one of the larger tables, and was in the midst of setting up an intricate battle with the toy soldier set he had gotten for Christmas; every once in a while, Mihael would shoot an irate glare at the younger boy over the pages of his psychology textbook.
A decidedly uncomfortable air permeated the common room, accompanied by a thick silence as the other orphans scattered about the room shot nervous looks back and forth between the two--cautious… terrified that even the slightest disturbance would set the volatile blond off and it would be the end for everyone.
Crumpling up his candy wrapper, Mihael dropped it unceremoniously onto the window seat next to him as he watched Nate carefully place the last tiny soldier at the end of a meticulously straight row. His eyes narrowed as he watched the snowy-haired little boy settle onto his stomach, kicking his legs up and down as he carefully inspected the battlefield before him.
Finally, the quiet proving too much for him, Mihael let out a quiet growl and slammed his book shut. "Where's Jeevas?" he asked loudly--for lack of better silence-breakers--pointedly ignoring the shocked squeaks from the group of girls at the table next to him.
Nate cocked his head to the side ever-so-slightly, plucking one of the toy men from the ranks before him and bulldozing his way through the opposing group. "I don't know," he said simply, not even sparing the blond a glance, "He's the one that keeps track of me, not the other way around."
Forest green eyes narrowed furiously at the subtle barb. There was another short silence, broken only by the muted sound of plastic against plastic, while Mihael drilled angry holes into the top of Nate's head with a heated glare and the other orphans attempted to continue their work as silently and discreetly as possible.
"Did you want to play, Mihael?" Nate finally asked--all-too-innocently--glancing up to meet the older boy's pointed stare for the first time.
Mihael huffed, a small, sardonic grin twisting his lips at this, settling back to lean against the windowpane. "Heh. Kids' toys aren't really my thing, River," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest with a haughty smirk.
Nate only blinked, one hand slowly raising to idly wrap a strand of hair around his finger as fiery green and icy gray clashed across the room. "Something else, then?" he mused, noting Mihael's confident smirk dimming slightly as he turned to glance about, "Chess, perhaps?" He nodded slowly in the direction of the battered chess board propped against the T.V. stand.
Mihael frowned, following the other boy's gaze. 'A challenge…?' His eyes flicked from the board to the barely concealed smile tugging at the edges of River's mouth contemplatively. Gritting his teeth, he got to his feet, tossing his book aside. "You're on," he growled, stalking over to the table the other boy had been huddled under as Nate shuffled around the couch to retrieve the chess set.
A different sort of hush had settled over the room, now--the other children seemed frozen in their own activities as the two boys swiftly set up the pieces, pausing to watch the potent battle of wits brewing in the center of the room.
Nate set the last pawn in place, before casting a surreptitious glance at the older boy from behind unkempt platinum bangs. "I hope you don't mind taking black, Mihael?" he asked monotonously, not waiting for an answer as he slowly, pointedly swiveled the board so that the white pieces were laid out before him.
Mihael bit the corner of his lip, his eyes narrowing marginally. "Whatever," he hissed. 'I'm much more suited to black anyway….' "White moves first, River."
"I'm aware."
"Alright!" Roger called loudly, swinging the kitchen door open with a flourish, "I think that's quite enough for one day, don't you?"
The boy perched on the stepping-stool before the sink turned slowly, pushing a clump of sopping crimson hair out of his eyes. "Quite," he replied, the slightest hint of mockery coloring his response. Wiping his soapy hands on the apron about his waist, he hopped down and quickly made his way over to where Roger stood in the doorway, beaming at the pile of sparkling clean dishes stacked on the counter.
"I do hope you've learned your lesson, Mail?" the elderly man asked, quirking an eyebrow as he held out his hand expectantly for the apron. An incredulous cobalt stare was his only reply. He chuckled lightly, twisting the damp material in his hands absently. "Well, away with you, then. Go change into some dry clothes."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Mail muttered petulantly as he turned to shuffle his way down the corridor in the direction of a warm sweater.
Roger sighed, shaking his head slightly as he puttered about the kitchen, retrieving a cup and saucer for his afternoon tea. "Young people these days have no respect," he lamented to himself as he vacated the room, retreating into the hall with his Earl Grey, "no sense of privacy… and Mail, one of our brightest!" He gave another despairing shake of the head as he stirred his tea.
Encountering a small crowd of excitedly murmuring children gathered around the doorway of the common room, he slowed to a halt with a small, confused frown. "What's all this about, Jessamine?" he asked a taller boy near the back of the group, placing a weathered hand on his shoulder.
"River and Keehl are playing chess," he replied without turning, straining up on his toes in order to get a better view.
Roger blinked, his eyebrows shooting toward his hairline in surprise. "They are…?" Wading into the group, he glanced around the doorframe to catch sight of the duo at a table in the center of the room.
Nate sat calmly perched on top of a large dictionary, twirling a strand of pale hair around his forefinger as his calculating gaze scanned the board. Reaching out, he slowly maneuvered his queen-side bishop several diagonal spaces to the right before settling back and looking at the blond across from him expectantly. Mihael--who had been up on his knees, grinding his teeth as he hovered over the pieces warily--heaved a sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly as he lashed out to snatch up one of the white pawns and replaced it with his rook.
Roger hmm-ed approvingly, nodding his head in relief. It was about time those two started getting along. Turning, he gave Jessamine's shoulder a gentle pat as he continued his stroll down the hallway. If only Nate and Mihael could somehow overcome their strange abhorrence of each other; there was so much potential there….
Mihael growled, jade green eyes sparkling with subdued rage as pale fingers plucked up his queen and slowly set it down on the table beside the board. He glanced from his surrendered queen to the large collection of captured white pawns to his left. …River was better. While Mihael had been jumping at every chance to take one of Nate's pieces, the younger boy had been biding his time, systematically waiting for the larger victories. He had not wasted time on Mihael's pawns, choosing instead to dismantle his army from the top; his knights, a bishop… now his queen…. What were a few pawns and a lowly rook to that?
He gnawed furiously on his bottom lip, quickly mapping out where each of River's essential pieces were, analyzing any and every way to take them out with the few remaining pieces he had….
"Checkmate."
He froze, his eyes going wide as he stared at the bishop he hadn't even noticed before as Nate pointedly maneuvered it to corner the black king.
"Oi! What's going on?" Mail forced his way through the gaggle of kids blocking the door of the common room. He was tired, he was annoyed, he was damp… and all he wanted to do was collapse onto the couch and vent his frustration through a couple rounds of Mortal Kombat; was that so much to ask?
Wrestling his way to the front of the group, he caught sight of Nate and Mihael squared off on opposite sides of a chess board, staring each other down. He paused, his eyebrows knitting together in consternation.'What the--' Chess pieces went flying in all directions as Mihael furiously batted the board across the room.
Mail ducked instinctively as, behind him, the spectators scattered with several shrieks. Glancing up, he watched, wide-eyed, as Mihael lunged across the table, catching the collar of Nate's shirt in one fist and winding back with the other.
"Mihael, no!" Mail yelped frantically, springing across the room and latching onto the blond from behind. Mihael snarled, struggling to free himself from the bigger boy's grasp as Nate toppled off his chair to land in a rumpled heap on the floor. "Mihael! C'mon, man! Snap out of it!" Mail yanked him back against his chest, pinning the other boy's flailing arms to his sides.
"Let go!" Mihael howled, scratching at the redhead's arms, his livid gaze locked on Nate as the small boy got slowly to his feet, unblinking eyes darting from the violently struggling blond to the arms clamped firmly around his chest.
"Get away, Nate!" Mail grunted exasperatedly as Mihael landed a sharp elbow to his side, throwing their weight off-balance and sending both of them toppling to the floor. Casting a worried glance over his shoulder, Nate turned and made his way quickly out of the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
Silence overtook the room, punctuated only by the breathless panting of the two boys tangled together on the rug.
"Are you done?" Mail snapped, rolling over to pin the blond boy beneath him, glowering irately, "What the heck!?"
Mihael scowled, wrenching his wrist out of the redhead's grasp and shoving him off. Silently, he sat up, his back turned to Mail as he angrily straightened his sweater, glaring at a tiny black pawn that had rolled to rest against the overturned chair in front of him.
"Geeze, what's wrong with you, man!?" Mail groused, wincing as his fingers found the spot where Mihael had elbowed him. He glared angrily at the other boy's tussled golden hair. When Mihael's stony silence only continued, he sighed, closing his eyes and reaching up to rub his cheek. 'He's unstable, you've known that from day one. Why are you so surprised…?'
"How?"
Mail blinked sapphire eyes open confusedly, glancing up at the rigid, trembling figure sitting across from him. "Wha…?"
"How is he better than me, Mail?" Mihael tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, glancing at the other boy over his shoulder. "No matter how hard I try… he… he always--he's better!"
Mail closed his mouth dumbly, unsure of how to respond. "Well… I wouldn't say he's better, Mihael--"
The smaller boy snarled ferociously. "He is. You know it, I know it, this whole damn place knows it! He's younger than me and he always beats me!"
"He always beats me, too, y'know," Mail replied with a tiny, sly smile, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I--!" Mihael paused, whatever he was about to say freezing somewhere in his throat, and he blinked at Mail as the redhead slowly began to gather the chess pieces within arm's reach of where he sat. Mihael crossed his arms, irately staring down the table leg. "That's… not saying much," he finally finished lamely, snatching up a stray rook and tossing it over his shoulder in Mail's direction.
Mail smiled gently, though the blond couldn't see it, gathering his collected pieces into a pile before crawling over to the other boy. "Not for you, maybe," he said, "but I'll have you know that I'm quite a formidable presence in this establishment!"
Mihael snorted, resting his chin on his arms in exhaustion as the hot rage slowly drained out of his body. Behind him, Mail let out an exaggerated sigh and stretched languidly, before collapsing to rest his back against Mihael's. The blond grunted softly at the added weight, but made no comment as a comfortable silence slowly permeated the room.
"You're getting my neck wet," he grouched after a moment, scooting to the side and letting Mail fall to the rug with a surprised yip, "'d you just get out of the shower or something?"
"Roger's idea of unimaginable torture, actually," the redhead replied with a grimace, sitting up to rest his weight on his elbows, "He made me do dishes for my detention. Blegh!" He made a face.
"Detention?" Mihael asked sharply, glaring down at the other boy disapprovingly, "For what?"
Mail shrugged carelessly, picking at the carpet in a bored manner. "He caught me on his computer last night."
Mihael scrunched up his nose at this. "Why were you using his computer? There're tons of them in the library."
"Yeah, but none of those have top secret, classified information on 'em, do they?" Mail whispered conspiratorially, wiggling his fingers for dramatic effect, "I was bored, figured I'd try my hand at hacking." He grinned roguishly at Mihael's shocked expression. "Took him two months to catch me. Now he'll go and reconfigure everything…" He sighed despairingly.
"Stupid!" Mihael hissed, kicking at Mail's knee with a sort of dull irritation, "Of all the things to do when you're bored, why'd you decide to hack Roger's computer!?"
"'Cause I could, I guess," Mail replied blandly, cocking an eyebrow at the blond's outburst, "Yeesh, don't get your knickers in a twist! That was how I knew when your birthday was, after all!"
"Oh, well…." Mihael thought this over, remembering the hastily-gifted chocolate bar and those bloody warm, fuzzy feelings that had accompanied it--the first true feelings of friendship and camaraderie he'd ever felt for another human being. He shook himself. "Stupid! Why'd you get caught!?"
Mail grinned, rolling his eyes as he reached up to playfully shove Mihael's arm out from under him.
"--wasn't taking sides!" Mail sighed as Nate only hugged his stuffed cat closer, seeming to curl up into a protective ball around the little plush creature, burying his face into its fur.
The redhead groaned, wrapping his arms around his knees and glaring at his roommate half-heartedly; he forgot, most of the time, just how young Nate really was--that behind the child prodigy… deep underneath the genius IQ, he was still just an eight-year-old kid, with eight-year-old-kid emotions.
"I stopped him from killing you, and you think I was taking his side?" His only response was the distraught wiggling of the younger boy's toes. "Ugh! I hate it when you're like this!" Flopping back to lay on his bed, he rolled over in frustration, pegging the wall with a scowl.
The two laid in a stony silence broken only by the sound of a glorious snowball fight taking place just below their window. After a moment, Mail's curiosity got the better of him and he clambered to his knees in front of the window. Pressing his face against the chilled glass, he stared longingly down at the group of children happily bombarding each other with hastily compiled snowballs.
"I don't know why you two can't get along…" he murmured, knowing that Nate would hear his hushed tone. His eyes locked on to a golden head right in the thick of the action, watching as Mihael managed a rather lucky duck and roll before bolting up and pegging his attacker in the shoulder with a triumphant laugh. A tiny, affectionate smile worked its way across Mail's lips. "But I'm not going to choose between you."
Mihael yawned, lazily wiping the window clean and not at all caring that he was leaving new streaks on the glass in the process. Honestly, he hadn't even landed the punch! Was a detention really necessary? Stupid River brat. When he found out who had squealed on him….
Rolling his eyes, he shuffled idly in the direction of the next window. There were far better and more important things he could be doing with this time--like studying for that big algebra test in a couple days…. Really, geniuses shouldn't be given detention. There was abso-- He blinked, focusing his gaze beyond the soap dripping down the glass, and stared intently at the black car that had just pulled to a stop outside the gate.
Another lonely, childless couple looking to fill that gaping hole in their lives, perhaps? He grinned slightly, though it was far less malevolent and more lonely than he wanted to admit as he waited to see who had come to visit the secluded orphanage. He nearly dropped his roll of paper towels as the back car door swung open and harsh mid-February sunlight glinted sharply off the messy tangle of black hair that appeared.
His eyes widened marginally as he took a short, hitched breath, before darting down the corridor, all thoughts of window-washing and test preparation abandoned along with the paper towel roll.
L...
To be continued.
Jessamine is pronounced "Yes-uh-mean."
Uh. Yeah. Anyhoo… sorry the ending was mega lame. But I needed to stop it there in order to make the next chapter of sufficient length. …Yeeeeeeah….
So, REVIEW, yes? I'd be ever-so-grateful!
Review'd!
Dawn-at-Midnight:Phew. Glad to hear that my fears about the OCs are mostly unfounded. I hate Mary Sues. Ew. I also hate the "OMG, we totally got sucked into Death Note, lol, and now L and Light (and/or) Matt and Mello are totally in love with us! Like, totally!" plot. Blegh. Anyhoo… I hope you liked this chapter! Aclatis: Two words, my friend: …Doctor. Who. Esoteric Memories: L in an oversized, fluffy anything is just the most adorable thing ever! Eeeek! (Giggles) Anyhoo. I know it's not really soon… but I hope it's okay…? Thanks for the review! aya:Hee. Thanks. Mello is totally a spoiled little rich brat… I mean, with the way he acts all the time, there's really no way around it! I'm so glad you liked it!youreverlastinglight: Heh. I'll admit, I was a little "WTF?" when you said the Misa Theme… but I actually agree. I'm glad you understand the necessity for the OCs; I mean, it really wouldn't make sense for our boys to only interact with each other, right? Yup. And the Mello/L crush thing…? I was actually contemplating it! Dunno if/when/how it'll show up, but it's a definite possibility. And I hope the "Musings" explained my thoughts/feelings about the little nit-picky stuff…? I mean, it's like Harry Potter, right? (At least to me) The movie-Marauders? MEGA LAME! (At least Lupin. EW.) Sooo not my Marauders! Sorry if that's offensive in any way… forgive me…?Ev: And the tug-o'-war continues… heck, even intensifies! And rock for the double-reviewage. Two reviews makes me feel that much more loved! Thanks! Micuko: Thanks for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it. Glad you liked it and thanks so much for reading! Kumakii: Hey, thanks! I'm so glad you liked it, I feel flattered. Yeah. I'm pretty much an angst-addict. I was trying to explain it to my mom the other day and accidentally said it was like "emotional masochism" …she wants to send me to a psychiatrist. Ugh. Thanks again! And dude, you have better grammar than a lot of people who've been immersed in the language their whole lives. Rock! Melii Aile: Thanks so much for reading, and taking the time to review… it means so much! I'm glad you liked it! MikuMonster: Yessum! Glad to oblige! Thanks for reading, I'm so glad you liked it!Trinity Spark: Yay, I'm so glad you liked it! Woot! Also glad you approve of the characterization… I get so paranoid about Mello… still am, actually… gah! Thanks for the review, hope you like this chapter!
Bwoff!