#15 Chocolate
God damn stupid super-model-looking best friends and their addictions. And Damn stores for not opening at six am just to sell him candy and cigs. And damn Mello again for telling him to quit smoking, meaning he was having to stuff his mouth with bubble gum every five minutes just to get his mind off the drug.
Matt growled and threw another piece of gum into his mouth as he patted his pockets for the car keys, chewing frantically on the pink substance. The bag of chocolate bars rested on the passenger seat. Stupid Mello and his insistence that he only eat the most expensive brands, Matt was going broke paying for Mello's habit.
He gave a growl as he glanced out the window and realised that he'd left his stupid keys in the stupid car door.
It would have to be raining like a bloody hurricane was coming, wouldn't it? It couldn't have been a clear evening. How did Mello even run out of chocolate at this hour? When did the so-called genius sleep?!
Matt winced as he opened the car door again. He wasn't big on the outdoors anyway and especially not in this weather. Mello owed him big-time for this, minimum five hours alone with his consoles.
Muttering curses under his breath be pulled the door closed again and leant back in the seat, jamming the keys into the ignition if only so he could turn the heat on.
He stayed there for a few minutes, watching the rainwater race down the windows. He blew a few pink bubbles and swore a few more times that he was never going to do this for Mello again. And when he got home he was going to finally grow a pair and tell Mello he had to start paying rent for using Matt's place as a secret base.
And he was going to keep smoking if he liked it. They were his lungs, right? His tar-ridden lungs that made it hard to breathe in cold weather sometimes.
And so what if Mello screamed and raved and stormed out? Matt could do better than being his errand boy; he could be head of some computer company if he felt like putting the effort in.
Besides, it wasn't like he needed Mello.
It wasn't…
Matt sighed and rolled down the window, spitting the gum to the ground before ducking back inside the relative warmth of his car. Even he didn't believe all that crap.
He'd get home, and he'd dutifully hand over the chocolate, then get back to whatever task Mello set him.
Because he knew the truth. He adored Mello, always had. Oh sure, he'd had girlfriends, but those relationships had all ended for the same reason, the girl wasn't…Mello.
And Matt needed Mello more than Mello needed him.
~*~*~
Stupid red-haired dorks and their stupid agoraphobia… like that wasn't a cover-up for being lazy.
And stupid not-buying-enough-chocolate earlier. Matt should have known that twenty bars was barely enough for a day in Mello's case, Christ, they were supposed to be best friends.
Mello scowled and kicked the nearest piece of cheap furniture.
He deserved better than this dump. He practically ran the goddamn Mafia and now he was living in this rats nest, leeching off his best friend because all the money was gone.
And Near was winning, the stupid little sheep cripple. He was winning and Mello wasn't totally sure how to beat him.
And this apartment still smelt of Matt. Mello hated that. He growled and punched the wall, ignoring how bad it hurt. Stupid smell of nicotine and that store-brand shampoo. Oh, and the expensive aftershave. Mello said Matt could have it, given that the huge scar across half his face had pretty much destroyed the need for shaving.
Stupid Matt wasn't grateful enough for anything Mello did. He was cooking all their meals, wasn't he? Granted they were mostly simple, but it was better than the microwave paste Matt had been eating for the last however many years.
And he'd cleaned the place up, and got Matt to quit smoking. Those were things to be thankful for and all Matt did was complain.
He should just leave, Mello thought. He should grab his leather coat and just storm out into the rain. He got in with the Mafia in America; he could do it here in Japan, right? Right.
He certainly didn't need Matt.
He reached for his coat and glanced out the window at the raging storm.
Matt was out in that. And he really hated the rain. Mello remembered once listening in on one of the check-ups and overhearing that Matt had odd sensory patterns, so that loud noises and certain 'feelings' like dampness were more uncomfortable for him. That was what the goggles were about, wasn't it? Sensory deprivation to help him concentrate.
Mello sighed and hung his coat back up, going to the microscopic kitchen and flicking the kettle on. Matt would need a warm drink when he got back in, and…
And Mello knew that he did need Matt. He needed Matt more than he'd ever needed anyone. He wasn't sure when or how he'd started to fall in love with the geek, but he had.
Oh, there'd been other boyfriends; Mello had made his peace with those years ago. But he hadn't been able to trust or rely on them to the extent that he could Matt.
Not that he could ever tell him how he felt. He was pretty sure Matt was straight. Besides, the gamer always seemed annoyed with him these days.
He heard the door open.
"Mello! I brought your stupid chocolate!"
Mello sighed and carried the coffee cup out to him. "Thanks." He mumbled, taking the bag from Matt's hand and going back to the computers.
Matt paused before he went to his own room, glancing back at the figure in black hunched over three laptops, brow creased with thought.
"Um… make sure you get some sleep tonight, okay Mello?" he mumbled.
It felt like the only thing he could say.