A/N: Hey guys! XD My stomach's currently making really weird noises because I think I ate a bit too much for breakfast, and it's really annoying. -_- I don't know why I told you that. :)
Soo, here's Chapter 6! I'm actually really proud of this chapter. I can't remember exactly why, but I am. :) I hope you like it too!
Thank you veryy much to:
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Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters. All credit to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. As usual.
Chapter 6: Relocation
"So, here she is!" Matt announced proudly, gesturing towards his baby. The Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 shone a gleaming red in the dim light of the garage.
"You do realise the thing I'm most impressed by is the fact that you have a garage in your tiny place, right?" Mello deadpanned, munching on a chocolate bar and looking decidedly disinterested by the vehicle. He had no time for cars.
"But look how gorgeous she is!" Matt protested, slightly injured.
Mello appraised the car for a few moments before he clicked his tongue and looked at Matt again. "Not seeing it," he informed him.
Matt tried not to pout like a five year old the entire way to the so-called ultra-secret headquarters that Mello was directing him to.
The pair had packed their (Matt's) belongings early that morning, and had left the small apartment for the last time at seven am. Subsequently, Matt was finding it hard to stay awake at the wheel, but thoughts of what Mello would do if left to his own devices kept the redhead's eyes determinedly open.
Despite Mello's warnings that the person they were going to see (who for some reason had a preposition for a name) was "fucking annoying" and "sheep-like", Matt was curious to meet them. Even putting aside the possibility of free accommodation, anyone who could get Mello this riled up when they weren't even in a fifty-mile radius had to be something special.
Near, as it turned out, was very special indeed.
"Mello," he greeted in a monotone, "What a surprise."
He certainly didn't look surprised.
"Cut the crap, Sheep, I need accommodation," Mello demanded rudely.
"Me too," Matt chipped in, not wanting to be overlooked.
Near regarded him distantly. "And who might the stranger be?" He directed the question at Mello, which offended Matt slightly.
"I'm Matt," he said, stubbornly refusing to be put down so early in the conversation.
"And what is Matt doing here?" Well, at least the guy had the courtesy to actually talk to him now, even if it was in the third person.
"I'm Mello's..." Matt hesitated. What was he to Mello? They certainly weren't friends yet, but they weren't strangers either.
"Matt's my new, self-appointed mother," Mello told Near, smirking slightly.
Matt resisted the urge to hit the blond.
Near's facial expression didn't change in the slightest. "I see," he said, "And why would Mello want accommodation if he has such a generous benefactor?"
Matt glowered. He hated to admit it, but Mello had been right. This Sheep was fucking annoying.
"We got tangled up in gang business," Mello explained curtly, obviously not liking having to respond to Near's question.
"I see." Near nodded slightly. "I recently heard from Gevanni that Mello has been dismissed from his criminal group. Is that true?"
"You've been keeping fucking tabs on me?!" Mello snarled furiously.
Near nodded again, utterly unashamed. "Just as Mello has been keeping tabs on me, or else he would not have known where my new headquarters were."
"Fuck you."
Near ignored the expletive; it seemed he was used to them. "And how did Matt get mixed up in Mello's unsavoury career?" he turned to the redhead.
Matt sighed. "Long story." Seeing Near's blank face that may have been supposed to show expectancy, Matt elaborated, "I saw Mello get kicked out of his gang – literally – and brought him back to my place to heal his injuries. I was probably followed back to my apartment, and after Mello left, they abducted me to try and get information on his whereabouts so they could kill him."
Near's ears pricked up (figuratively, of course). "To kill Mello? But if they wanted Mello dead, why did they not just kill him immediately?"
Mello scoffed. "The bastards shot me in the shoulder and dumped me on the street in the freezing cold. They probably thought I'd die of blood loss or hypothermia: whichever came first. But then Matt came along." He shot a glance at the redhead that could have been interpreted as either grateful or patronising, depending on one's self-esteem.
Matt had always had a very low self-esteem. He ducked his head. "Well, excuse me for saving your ass," he mumbled.
Mello didn't answer.
Near decided the mini-conversation had come to a close. "Continue," he commanded Matt, who didn't appreciate the order in the slightest.
"So, they abducted me, but Mello got me out of there because he'd realised I was gone while he came back to look for his jacket..." this time it was Matt's turn to shoot the patronising look, "...and thought it'd hurt his pride too much to let me be tortured to death. After we got back, we agreed we'd live together for an indefinite period of time, as neither of us really have a home anymore," Matt lied through his teeth. "We couldn't stay in my apartment, for obvious reasons."
Near looked unperturbed by the obvious fib, apparently deeming it unimportant as to why the two had really decided to live together. "I see." Those seemed to be his two favourite words of all time. "And why would Mello and Matt think I would provide them with accommodation?" he asked flatly.
Mello actually growled. "You bloody well owe me that much, you fucking bastard! I risked my life getting the information you wanted on my boss!"
Matt made a mental note to ask him about that particular mission later.
"That is true," Near allowed. "Very well," he announced, "I see no problem in giving Mello and Matt free accommodation for the next few months, until they can find a place of their own to stay. However, I will make Mello and Matt an offer."
Mello narrowed his eyes, Matt following suit, though no one could see behind his goggles.
"What kind of offer?" Mello asked suspiciously.
"I will allow Mello and Matt to stay in the accommodation I give them indefinitely, and in addition pay for their necessities," he began.
Matt interrupted. "Woah, really?! No way!"
"Don't get your hopes up," Mello warned him, "He'd never make this offer without a reason."
"Mello speaks the truth," Near said. "My conditions are that Mello and Matt give up any criminal activity they may be involved in, and also help me on a case I have recently come across that is giving me slight trouble."
Mello's eyebrows practically shot through the ceiling. "What?! A case is giving you trouble?" he asked incredulously. "What kind of case?"
"I shall tell Mello that if and when he accepts my conditions."
Mello pondered. "Fine, we'll do it," he accepted for both himself and Matt.
The redhead didn't complain: free stuff was good, right? Especially now he didn't have the boredom factor to worry about.
The white-haired boy didn't seem to be finished, however. "Matt," he addressed the redhead.
"Hm?" Matt was still daydreaming about free stuff.
"The fact that Mello has acquiesced to living with Matt strongly suggests that Matt is involved in some form of criminal activity. By accepting my terms, Matt has promised not to partake in such activities again, so that in itself is not a problem, but it is necessary for me to know what he was doing, as it might help further my case," Near explained at length.
Matt blinked. "I'm – I was a hacker. I'm pretty good with technology."
Near nodded. "Very well, that will be useful." He turned his back to them. "Halle will show Mello and Matt to their new home now," he said, "It's three floors above."
Matt was flummoxed. "We'll be living in this building?" he asked, looking around at the uninviting, cold metal walls and ceilings.
"I can assure Matt that the higher floors are more comfortable," Near told him. "Halle."
A blonde woman walked over and addressed Mello only. "I will take you to your rooms now."
Matt rolled his eyes at the obvious brush-off. He couldn't help it if he wasn't as gobsmackingly gorgeous as Mello.
The followed the Blonde Bitch, as Matt had named her, to the lift and stood in a horrendously awkward silence as they waited for the elevator to reach Floor Three. Finally, the bell 'dinged' and the two males stepped out.
Halle stayed in the elevator, and before pressing the button that would send her back to the ground floor, she told them (or Mello), "The entire floor is yours to do with what you wish. I hope you find it satisfactory." The doors slid closed and she disappeared.
The two stood there for a while, taking in their surroundings.
"Pretty snazzy, huh?" Matt said. Understatement. To him, it was the equivalent of the Ritz.
Mello hummed in what Matt decided to be agreement, and walked off down the corridor. An opened door revealed a full-sized kitchen and dining area.
Matt gawped. The only thing he could think was, They actually have a smoothie maker...
Mello didn't seem to be as impressed by the room as Matt was, setting off again to discover a bedroom.
Matt nearly died at the sight of the king-sized bed. "I'm in heaven..." he murmured, awed.
Mello rolled his eyes. "There should be two bedrooms in this place, unless the Sheep thinks we want to share," he said.
Even Matt's amazement at his new living quarters couldn't stop a blush spreading across his cheeks.
Mello snickered. "This room's mine. Go find yours, and meet me back here when you're done ogling the furniture," he ordered.
"Why?" Matt asked, "Are we gonna go down and get our stuff from the car?"
"Not yet. There's something I want to check first."
Matt looked at him in confusion, but went to find his room anyway.
Upon discovering it, he couldn't stop himself from taking a running leap at the massive bed and bouncing up and down on his knees for a full five minutes. Then he remembered Mello's words and reluctantly trailed back to the blond's room.
"Finally," Mello greeted him from where he was sprawled out on his own mattress.
Matt tried not to lick his lips at the sight of Mello's bare midriff (the blond had taken off his jacket). "So...what do you want to check?" he asked.
Mello sat up swiftly, beckoning the redhead over.
Matt hesitantly made his way to Mello's bed and sat cautiously on the edge of the mattress.
"So, what?" he asked again.
Mello's words immediately sent Matt's system into overload. "We're being watched."
"Huh?" was all Matt could manage through the chaos.
"There're security cameras all around the place. I'm sure Near, the fucker, knew we'd know they're here; he probably just wants to piss me off. But I'm gonna need your help getting them all dismounted."
Mat groaned. "Do you even have any idea how many there are?"
Mello shrugged. "Not the foggiest. But I've counted the ones in my room, and I've got seventeen. Help me get them down?" He tilted his head to the side, as if that alone could make Matt do what the blond wanted.
Unfortunately, it could. "Fine..." Matt got up. "Where are they?"
"There are some in the lampshades and stuff, but I'll need help reaching the ones on the ceiling," Mello admitted, "I'm only five six."
Matt scowled. "Well I'm only five foot five! How am I supposed to help?!"
"Together, if I sit on your shoulders, we'll be about eight foot three inches. That should be enough."
"Why should I carry you?" Matt demanded, "I'm smaller!" If only by an inch.
"I'm lighter."
"Are you now?"
"Last time I measured, fifty two kilos."
"Fuck you. I'm about fifty two as well."
"I'm rounding up from fifty one point seven."
"You're the strongest!"
"How would you know?"
"I spend all my freaking time in front of a computer screen! I'm hardly going to be muscular, am I?"
Mello reached out to trail a hand over Matt's painstakingly-created abdominal muscles. He practically purred, "Hmm...I don't know about that."
Matt's face was now maroon, but he refused to give in. "I am almost completely certain that you are stronger than me, and should therefore be on the bottom."
"This conversation could easily be taken the wrong way, couldn't it?"
Maroon had turned to puce. "I...I..." Matt spluttered.
"You'll be bottom like the good little puppy you are, right?" Mello whispered huskily, hand still on Matt's lower stomach.
Matt didn't seem to remember how to form a sentence.
"Good, that's settled then!" Mello hopped off the bed and walked over to the corner of the room. "First one's here!" he announced, pointing up.
Matt grudgingly walked to the blond and stooped over. "On you get, then," he grumbled.
Still smirking, Mello clambered onto Matt's shoulders, his bullet wound seemingly completely healed, and gripped his hair.
"Careful with that," Matt warned, "I don't want to go bald anytime soon."
Mello loosened his grip slightly. "Right. Now straighten up a bit," he ordered.
Matt obeyed, realising he wasn't in a good position to defy Mello now. Mello removed one hand from his hair, stretching it up as high as possible. He just managed to grab the tiny camera in his gloved palm.
Got it!" he exclaimed, throwing the thing coolly onto his bed and leapfrogging over Matt's head, landing neatly on the carpet. "Next one!"
They went in such a pattern for nearly forty minutes, the hardest one being right in the middle of the ceiling. Mello had nearly ripped Matt's hair out by the roots trying to reach it without any support from a wall.
Finally, the two had removed all the bugs from Mello's bedroom. Matt collapsed on the bed among the decommissioned cameras, exhausted, while Mello just sat down on the duvet, like he did things like this every other day.
"Fuck, we're gonna have to do that for every fucking room," Matt groaned, seriously contemplating suicide just to get out of it.
Mello wrinkled his nose in distaste. It seemed he wasn't too fond of the idea either. "If we ask Near nicely, we may be able to get him to remove them himself. If that doesn't work, we'll ask him not-so-nicely."
Matt sat up in a fury. "You think of that now?"
Mello smirked. "It was quite fun using you as a stepladder," he admitted cheekily.
Matt just groaned and flopped back down on his back. "I hate you," he mumbled into his arm, thrown melodramatically over his face.
"You don't mean that," Mello told him confidently.
Matt didn't think Mello needed the ego boost of being told he was completely right, as always.
"Anyway, I'll phone Near now." Mello produced a mobile phone from somewhere on his person (Matt had no idea what part of his skin-tight leather outfit had space for a pocket) and dialled a number. He then started nattering in gobbledegook, causing Matt to look at him in alarm.
After the blond hung up, he said, "There'll be someone round in a few minutes to remove all cameras, and I have permission to shoot him if he leaves any."
Matt ignored the information and instead asked, "What the hell kinda language was that? Why can't you speak in English like a normal person?!"
Mello looked at him patronisingly. "That was Japanese, Matt. Surely you know what Japanese sounds like?"
"Not when you speak it that fast, I don't! And since when do you know Japanese?"
Mello rolled his eyes. "It's hardly an inhuman feat. It was one of the languages taught at the youth institution me and Near went to," he explained.
Matt narrowed his eyes. "And what were the other languages?"
Mello thought for a second. "Mandarin, Cantonese, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Dutch, Punjabi, Portuguese, Hindi, Arabic, Javanese, Tamil, Romanian and Polish."
Matt gaped. "And you're fluent in all of them?"
"Nope, I only took eight. But Japanese is my favourite."
Matt just put his head in his hands. "Why...?" he groaned.
"What's the problem?" Mello asked unsympathetically. "How many do you speak?"
Matt looked at him. "English, French and American."
"American? Do you mean Nahuatl?"
"No. I mean American. Like, English with a drawl and misspellings."
"Right."
Matt clutched at his hair again. "I feel like a retard!" he cried.
"Aren't you?"
"Fuck off, you're not helping."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Near sent me to remove the cameras," a disembodied voice informed them.
"Go ahead and do it, then," Mello suggested. He waited for the man to walk away, then jumped up, dragging Matt along with him.
"Hey!" the redhead protested, "What are you doing?"
"Observing him to make sure he doesn't put in any more bugs or crap," Mello stated.
Matt just sighed and followed the blond out of the bedroom.
Though Mello watched him like a hawk for the entire time he was removing the cameras, the man sent by Near did not, in fact, set up any more bugs. After the job was done, he gathered up the enormous amount of gadgets and walked out with a short, polite word of farewell, which neither occupant of the floor returned.
When they were sure the elevator was long gone, Mello finally seemed to relax slightly. "Good. I hate being watched...fucking Near."
Matt watched him carefully. "What's your relationship with Near?" he asked out of curiosity.
Mello snorted. "Non-existent."
"Right. So how do you two know each other?"
"I told you: youth institution."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly was this 'youth institution'?"
Mello leaned against the wall and thumped the back of his head lightly on the plaster. "It was called Wammy's House. It was an orphanage for kids with higher intelligence than usual, hence the multiple foreign languages etcetera. We studied and lived there until we came of age, and were sent off into the big, wide world by ourselves."
Matt's eyes bugged. "Woah. Near's over eighteen?"
Mello snorted. "Don't be daft, at Wammy's House, you 'come of age' at fifteen."
Matt frowned. "Isn't that kind of young? Seems a bit callous..."
The blond shrugged. "We live in a callous world. And we were all geniuses, anyway. We could fend for ourselves."
"By going off and joining shady gangs?" Matt asked sardonically.
Mello gave him a very nasty look indeed. "Shut the fuck up," he suggested.
"And one more thing," Matt continued, prompting another glare fit to kill, "What exactly was the favour you did for Near? The one where you had to gather intel on your boss."
Mello was silent for a long time. Matt was about to ask again, when the blond said, "Near suspected my gang of being involved with something other than the usual stuff. Something like assassination of business officials and the like: he didn't give me full details."
"Right. And how did that go?"
"I gave Near all the information I could, risking my ass, and he said he'd help me out in the future if I needed it. That's all there is to it." He shrugged.
Matt smiled softly enough to compel Mello to ask, "What're you smirking at? That story sound funny to you?"
"No," Matt denied, still smiling. "It's just, you pretend to hate Near so much –"
"Pretend?! I do hate the fucking bastard!" Mello interrupted angrily.
Matt ignored him. "You say that, and yet you'll do a favour like that for him, with no initial reward. I think you're kinder than you'd like other people to think, Mello," Matt told him.
"I felt like I owed him something for not handing me over to the police straight away when he became a detective," Mello muttered, seeming to address the floor.
He could have been, for all the notice Matt took of him.
"It's nice to know you have a softer side to you," the redhead said quietly.
Mello's stinging slap caught him off guard.
"What?!" he yelled, cradling his cheek.
Mello glowered at him, furious. "The sooner you realise that not everyone is all happy with sunshine and rainbows twinkling out of their backsides, the better. You piss me off, with all this idealistic shit! You're as naïve as a fucking toddler, always looking for the 'softer side' of every person you meet! It'll get you killed one day!" the blond screamed.
Matt was silent, biting his lip and holding both his cheek and his tears.
Mello stared at him for a while, before sighing heavily and crouching before the hunched-over youth and gently removing the redhead's hand from his face.
"Sorry for disrespecting you like that," he said softly, examining the stark handprint on Matt's otherwise flawless cheek. "I should have punched you properly instead."
Matt stared at him incredulously. "What the fuck?"
Mello explained, "A slap is a sign of disrespect. It shows the assailant can't be bothered to curl their hand into a fist and hit the other in the proper way."
"Well that makes me feel a whole lot better," Matt mumbled, his eyes watering for reasons completely unrelated to the sting lingering on his face. He hated being looked down on, especially by someone he was actually trying to trust.
"Hey, I said I was sorry. That doesn't happen often." Mello tilted the redhead's face towards him and looked him in the eye. "You can slap me back, if you want." He didn't mention it, but an offer like that had never happened before.
Matt shook his head, whispering. "It's okay, I was being stupid and idealistic. I'm too naïve for my own good."
Mello frowned, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. "Oi, don't put yourself down like that, it's..." he stopped himself from saying 'annoying'. "...not healthy. If you don't stick up for yourself, who will? Man, for a guy who had an illegal job, you sure can't handle yourself."
Matt smiled humourlessly. "I am slightly useless, yeah."
Mello tapped him on the head sharply. "Stop it. You're not useless, and if I belie myself later, don't believe me. I have a habit of letting my mouth run off with me when I'm in a temper."
"I can see that," Matt chuckled, a small speck of humour finally working its way back into his voice.
Mello exhaled with relief. "We're going to have to work on that self-esteem of yours. I physically cannot work with someone so self-deprecating. When did it start, anyway?"
Matt hesitated. "When I was small...I used to get put down a lot. Like, kids would tease me about my hair and asthma, my parents would tell me I was stupid...stuff like that. I guess it kind of rubbed off on me. I usually hold it in quite well, though. Sorry you had to see me in depressed mode," he apologised lightly, but his expression wasn't any less serious.
Mello hummed in thought. "Yeah, I've seen people like that before. A few of them committed suicide in the end. I hope you're not thinking of doing that too." The warning was barely concealed.
Matt shook his head fervently. "No way. I'm not that depressed! And anyway, I'd be too scared to do anything like that. I have a sort of phobia of my own blood and stuff. Not for me."
Mello smirked. "Right. Oh, and about your asthma."
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any medicine for it? It can get pretty bad," Mello warned, as if Matt didn't know already.
"Yeah, but I'll have to get a repeat prescription soon, the preventative's running out," Matt told him.
"We'll get Near to get you another," Mello decided, "The Sheep may as well be good for something."
"He is giving us free housing," Matt reminded him.
"We've got to help him on a case for that. And trust me, any case Near needs help on isn't gonna be a piece of cake. He's one of the smartest people I know," Mello admitted grudgingly.
"Smarter than you?" Matt teased.
Mello scowled.
Matt laughed, and received a thump on the arm.
"Don't you dare tell him I said anything like that, okay? I can promise that you will die slowly and painfully."
"I believe you."
"Good."
"...It's still cute, though."
"Shut up."
Later that night, while Matt was asleep in his own bedroom, Mello lay awake, staring up at the ceiling in the dark.
It bothered him that the redhead he was living with was so unsure of himself, when (though Mello would never admit it to anyone) he was one of the most amazing people the blond had met. Without even realising it, Matt had changed him, Mello, into something he barely recognised. He apologised more, he tried to comfort Matt...he hated to think it, but Matt was right. He did have a soft side. One that Matt himself had created, with a click of his fingers.
Mello frowned. Matt was his one chink in his armour, already his weakness, and he'd only known him for a few days!
However...seeing the redhead's grin when he was happy, seeing his awe at simple things like smoothie makers...it made Mello, for lack of a better word, happy. And Mello wasn't quite ready to give him up yet.
Also, it was just too much fun to play around with Matt's empty attraction to him, and see that adorable blush on his face. He was too cute...
Mello snorted derisively at his own sentimentality. His having a softer side was ridiculous, something to be mocked.
But he was willing to trade that for Matt.
A/N: There it is! Please leave a review with your opinions, they're much appreciated! And my poor memory could always use a reminder for updates! :P I'm ashamed to say I nearly forgot today.
Also, good news that you probably don't care about! My stomach shut up! WOO!