Note: Daily update and a long chapter, it's been long since I did that ^^
Shameless self advertising: I posted a oneshot yesterday called "Counting Scars", check it on my profile, in my stories list!
I said Lionheart would be 10 chapters long but it seems I underestimated the plot so I think there will be 12 at least.
In a desperate attempt to close the door, although he knew that it was useless since his opponent could easily shoot through the wood, Matt slammed himself against the door, trying to push it with all his weight. But it was a lost battle, Jim's shoulder was stuck in the doorframe, and he chuckled at the redhead's pathetic attempt that only resulted in a loud thud, the tall man totally unmoving and the door cracking at its base.
Knowing it was a lost cause, Matt withdrew from the door and ran to the kitchen. If he couldn't get rid of the man, then he should at least get a knife or something.
But Jim, pushing the door open, caught the boy's wrist before he could make it to the kitchen.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you or the pathetic excuse for a boss I have there." Jim said, his chin briefly showing Mello's direction, "Actually, I just want to talk..." he pushed the door closed and, letting go of Matt's wrist, he walked to the bed, glanced at the blond still lying there, lightly moving but not awoken yet, lit a cigarette and sat on the desk, "...for now."
Matt quickly reached the bed and sat beside Mello, unconsciously putting himself between Mello and the man.
"What do you want?" he spat, trying to sound angrier than scared, not that he succeeded, but he really didn't want to show the fear growing in his guts. He had hoped for an instant that the doctor was here with Jim, but it was now obvious that the man had come alone.
He was in deep shit, and he had to face it alone. And anyway, it was a good thing that Mello was still unconscious, because otherwise he would be so pissed at him that it wouldn't be good at all.
Suddenly, he felt a cold sweat roll in his back. Mello knew he had fucked up, he knew he had called the doctor of the Mafia... would he leave him for screwing things up? No... after all, it wasn't Matt's fault that Mello had joined the Mafia, let alone hurt himself that bad, and the doctor had taken care of him, so it couldn't be as bad as it seemed... but still, Matt felt like he would vomit, at the sole idea that Mello could leave him because he had screwed up.
"You see, everyone really believes that the boss is dead, among the remaining guys in the branch he was in charge of. We are only two persons knowing he's alive and in a pretty bad condition. Three, counting you, but who gives a shit about the boss' little slut?" Jim stopped talking a moment, savouring the effect of his words on Matt, whose face was now a mix of surprise and panic. Then he went on, smirking: "The doc doesn't care about things like power or control, as long as he gets his money and is not involved in too much shit, he does his job, whoever the current boss is. He's got a thing for his solemn promise of healing anyone in need or whatever, and believe me, when he said you were lucky you called him and not someone else from Mello's contacts, he was damn right."
Jim stood up, and walked to the nearest ashtray, then settled in front of the window, looking outside, before focusing back on Matt, whose eyes were glued to him.
"But I'm not like this." the man's smirk turned into a cruel smile, "I care about money, power, control, and everything a man could wish for in this world."
"What does it have to do with us? We're supposed to play dead, right?" Confusion was gaining Matt. But somehow, he was seeing it coming: blackmail.
"It has everything to do with you two. With him because there's no way for him to play dead and I perfectly know that he'll come back as soon as he'll be on his feet again, he won't accept to leave his place like that, considering what he's done to get there. And with you because you'll be an easy way to keep the boss on a leash." The man lit another cigarette, looking straight in Matt's eyes. He repressed the odd feeling the redhead's look gave him, as Matt stared back, but he couldn't help but look away. That kid had some nerve, he had to admit it, looking at him so frankly despite the fact he was armed and twice his stature. And there was something in his eyes, something that would have been even creepier than the boss' look if the kid himself had been aware of it. Something related to some kind of insanity.
Pulling himself together, Jim went back to his badass attitude, dismissing the idea that Matt could be as dangerous as his boss. It couldn't be, except this strange expression in his eyes, he seemed so naïve... not like Mello.
"Actually, I wonder what the guys would think about the boss and you making a happy little couple..." he let the words out airily, avoiding looking at Matt, but smirking again nonetheless. He could almost hear the ticking of the bomb he had just launched.
"I guess Mello would shut up anyone daring to make a remark about the subject." Matt replied, unphased.
Jim laughed out loud this time. Yeah, this boy was extremelynaïve. Not only didn't he even try to deny, but he thought that things would be that easy...
"Matt, Matt, Matt... Do you know how we call fags in the Mafia?" the man asked. Not only what we called them, but what we do to them... he thought.
Matt staying silent, he answered his own question: "We call them cigar smokers. Oh, not for the fact they suck dicks, believe me. Actually, they almost always end up emasculated in a corner, their own dick in their mouth. That's the Mafia's special signature, even the police knows it."
Matt shuddered. "So what do you want exactly? Money? I can get you a lot of cash, if that's what you want."
That's all he could offer, but since the man seemed greedy, Matt was more than willing to hack into any bank or society if Jim left them alone afterwards.
"You're exasperatingly stupid, y'know?" Jim was growing impatient. It had been funny at the beginning, but he was getting bored. That kid couldn't figure things out, and it was no wonder the boss had left him out of the confidence about the nature of his job. He wouldn't know how queers chose their boyfriends, but he would at least have thought that someone as smart and restless as Mello would have gotten himself some smart ass bad guy, not a fairy like this little redhead. "I'm gone." the man said all of a sudden. He didn't want to play anymore, and it would be a few days before the boss showed up so he had some time ahead of him.
He reached the door, and, his hand on the knob, gave a last warning: "I'll wait for his return, until then, don't try to fool me, your balls are not big enough for that."
Then he left, his heavy steps fading out in the stairs.
Matt stood in front of the window a long moment, looking at Jim's car leaving, until it was out of sight. He jumped ten miles high when Mello's voice stirred him out of his contemplating.
"He's so stupid..."
"Mello! You heard it all?" the redhead rushed to the bed, refraining himself to hug his boyfriend not to hurt him.
"Hey sweetheart..." Mello weakly replied.
"I'm sorry Mello! I didn't know! Please don't leave me! Please, I didn't mean for things to be that way, I'll make up for it, I promise!" Matt was now crying, burying his face in his boyfriend's neck.
"Shhh... why would I leave you? I was the one to lie... I'm sorry Matt... maybe if I had told you all of this wouldn't have happened..." The blond raised his right hand and softly stroke Matt's hair. He had worried Matt to no end once again, but this time, it wasn't only guilt that pinched at his conscience, it was fear.
The Mafia knew of Matt's existence, and of the nature of their relationship. It was only Jim for the moment, but the man had made it clear that he would blackmail the boss without hesitation to get what he wanted. Probably Mello's place or at least being his right hand. None of that was an option for Mello, and he knew that, submitting or not to Jim's blackmail, Matt was in danger. Words could slip past lips, accidentally or not, and if no one should be trusted in the Mafia, Jim should be even less than anyone. He had been close to Brooke and that was a reason good enough to doubt him, and Mello had planned to get rid of him after the mission at the factory. He would have to carry this plan to its end as soon as he would be able to stand on his feet.
"You're not mad at me?" Matt asked in a whisper, still nuzzling Mello's neck.
"Of course not... Matt, you should be the one to be mad right now... I had planned to tell you, I promise... I just didn't have time to do it... I've put you in a pretty big stress, haven't I?" Mello closed his eyes. He was too tired to say more. Talking took too much effort, and he just wanted to rest a bit, with Matt next to him, "Lay down, I want to feel you close to me..." he murmured, pulling Matt into an embrace with his only valid arm. Matt snuggled closer, snaking his arm around Mello's waist, trying not to touch the bandages on his left side.
Sighing, he couldn't help but speak his heart out. He had been alone during three days, and the solitude had been hard to take. He needed to have a real talk with someone else than himself: "Mello... what are we gonna do? I mean... what do you think Jim will do? If you go back there they'll kill you, I don't want you to..."
"Matt." Mello cut him, hugging him tighter, "I will have to solve some things there, I won't have a choice. If we want to be safe, I need to get rid of Jim, and probably some others. I can't just let things like this and hope that Jim will leave us alone. But for now, I just want to rest, ok?"
The blond didn't mean to sound irritated, but he was angry at himself and couldn't help the tone of his voice, with the tiredness.
Soon, Mello's even breathing told Matt that Mello had fallen asleep. But himself couldn't sleep. Things were turning round and round in his head, driving him insane. He tried to calm down. Mello was finally conscious, he was here with him, safe, for now, and he would recover soon, but it wasn't enough to stop the panic that made him feel helpless. Matt could feel his heart hammer in his throat, and suddenly, laid there, unmoving, not to wake his boyfriend, he thought he would choke. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to reason himself. It was gonna be ok, Mello would change his mind, he didn't have clear ideas for now, but in a few days he would have given up the idea of going back to the Mafia, he would see it was a bad idea.
Matt lulled himself with happy thoughts of a soon-to-be perfect life and drifted to sleep.
Matt didn't moved an inch until Mello woke up the next morning. When the blond finally stirred and yawned, the redhead almost jumped out of the bed.
"I'm gonna make breakfast!" he yelled, awaking Mello completely.
"Sometimes you make me think of the Energizer bunny." Mello stated, laughing, "I think I'm gonna take advantage of the situation and let you bring me breakfast in bed." he added, as Matt poked his head out of the kitchen to stick his tongue out at the comment.
Examining his bandages, Mello noticed the pain growing. He shouldn't have moved too much when he woke up.
"Matt, can you bring some painkillers with the breakfast?"
Matt, alarmed, left the kitchen. "We don't have painkillers but I'm gonna buy some immediately!"
He had slept with his clothes on so he quickly slid in his boots and grabbed his keys.
"No! No, Matt... it's not that urgent. Let's have breakfast, then I'll take a bath and if you don't mind, you'll get painkillers in the meanwhile. Don't stress yourself, it's ok sweetheart."
Mello felt guilty once again. Matt, faithful as a puppy, was jumping at his every request. He was in more pain every minute, but he wouldn't let it show, Matt had had enough trouble these last days, it was no need to worry him more than he already was.
"When I said I was a crappy boyfriend..." he mumbled to himself, trying to make himself comfortable against the pillows although he could feel his left side itch, burn and crack.
A while later, Matt was draping Mello in fresh bandages he had gotten at the closest convenient store after he had covered the burns with the ointment the Mafia doctor had brought a few days ago. Mello had taken a double dose of painkillers, and the pain was now bearable although not completely faded. You can't expect too much from Advil with third degree burns...
"I think that I'll be able to stand alone soon, probably at the end of the week. I'll take care of Jim and we'll be fine." Mello stated, out of the blue, while Matt was smoking, staring by the window. He wasn't serene and couldn't help checking for the presence of any suspicious car in the neighbourhood or the parking lot of the apartment complex.
Matt's heart sunk in his stomach. No, no, Mello couldn't do that. He wouldn't let Mello risk his life once again, there certainly was another solution. His brain sizzled. He turned to look at Mello and smiled, the cigarette dangling from his lips, then focused back on the parking lot.
Mello was sleeping soundly after some more painkillers and a tasty dinner Matt had lovingly cooked for him.
Matt, sat at his desk, made sure to type silently, his face glowing with the light of his laptop's screen. He had a lot to do, and had to do it fast.
Once he had set a P.O. Box at the nearest post office with his now usual fake identity, he made his way through the security system of the biggest furnisher for medical supplies for hospitals and, once he had found what he needed, placed an order. The delivery would be fast, and he wouldn't even have to pay for it. God bless security failures. If God agreed on Matt was doing right now, that is. Matt wasn't convinced of that, but he wasn't a believer so whatever.
When he was done with his hacking, he left the apartment, and walked to the nearest gas station, a container in hand. He'd need his car in the next days, so it was time to get some gas. And now he had a good load of cash in his wallet, thanks to his new and full bank account. Mr Mario Link was rich, extremely rich.
The sun was already high in the sky when Matt parked his Camaro in the parking lot of the apartment complex. He reached the stash of medical supplies in his trunk, stash that he just had picked at the post office, thanks to an overnight delivery to his P.O. box, and took the few necessary items, leaving the rest there.
"Matt?" Mello called when he heard the door.
"Yeah, I'm here Mello." the redhead replied, leaving what he had in his hands on the kitchen counter and walking to the bed, "I needed to go to the chemist, we didn't have gauze and bandages anymore. There was a lot of traffic so it took me long, I'm sorry, I didn't think of leaving a note."
"It's ok, I just woke up." Mello pulled him close and kissed him. Fuck the pain, he was feeling an urge for physical contact, and he was going to have it. Sliding his hand under Matt's shirt, he tried to pull it over his head, but using his left arm hurt too much, and he fell back on the pillows, sighing in exasperation.
"You just have to ask Mello, no need to get worked up about that." Matt pulled his shirt off and leant to kiss Mello's pouty lips, "But are you sure you can..."
"Of course I can!" Mello protested. Burnt or not, he was still a man, and he still wanted to fuck Matt's brain out.
Or the other way around, considering his state.
Matt's lips traced the blond's jaw as he threw the sheets at the foot of the bed, uncovering Mello's naked body, only covered with bandages. His member was already hard, and Matt moved down, capturing the erection in his mouth.
"Matt..." Mello called him after a few minutes, "Matt... not like this... I want... together..." he panted, trying to push Matt away before he reached his peak.
"Mello, I don't want to hurt you..." Matt murmured. Mello was stubborn but Matt couldn't bring himself to have sex with him the normal way, Mello wasn't ready for that. The freshly closed wounds could crack open with any harsh move.
"At least let me return the favour." Mello complained, reaching for Matt's zipper.
Matt undressed totally, and, placing his knees on each side of Mello's shoulder, he lowered his pelvis until Mello could comfortably take him in his mouth. The blond winced at the contact with his chapped lips, but he went on.
"Huh Mello..." Matt moaned as his boyfriend's tongue swirled around the tip of his erection. They usually had sex almost everyday, and now it was five days that they hadn't done anything like this. Matt had missed it, and feeling Mello's lips suck him so eagerly sent shivers through his spine. Resuming what he'd been doing to Mello a little earlier, he returned the attention with the same hunger.
He could feel Mello's hand press against the small of his back, asking him to go even lower, as the blond deepthroated him, humming lightly. Matt couldn't take it any longer, he shot his load in Mello's mouth, groaning around his lover's member who twitched lightly before spurting its hot liquid a few seconds later.
A few minutes later, Mello's stomach growled, as they were cuddling, post sex laziness taking over them.
"Oh right, we didn't even have breakfast!" Matt noticed, glancing at the clock, "although it's already half past noon."
"Breakfast is ok, don't bother making something complicated." Mello stated, rolling on his right side where Matt's body heat had warmed the sheets.
"I wonder if you really want to save me work of if it's an excuse for getting chocolate pancakes." the redhead winked before heading for the kitchen.
Matt hesitated slightly, while making the dough for the pancakes. Taking the small glass bottle on the counter, he briefly checked the notice before letting two of the capsules drop in his palm.
He made a pile with half the dough for himself before opening the capsules and dropping the powder they contained in the bowl.
Mixing consciously, he baked the rest, making sure to put them on another plate, then covered them with chocolate before bringing the plate to Mello.
Wiping his mouth with a paper towel, Mello swallowed the last bite of his chocolate covered pancake.
"Mmh, sex and chocolate pancakes, what more could I ask for?" he sighed contentedly, snuggling in the pillows.
"I'm pretty sure you could come up with something, knowing you." Matt giggled.
Mello yawned. Once, twice. "I feel a bit dizzy, I probably took too much painkillers" he whispered, laying down in the bed again.
"Take a nap, there's nothing else to do anyway, in your state." Matt smiled, depositing a kiss on his forehead and taking the tray to the kitchen.
Putting the tray in the sink, Matt washed the dishes, and made sure to put everything away, along with the valium capsules.