My Own Way

The retribution was swift and unyielding. Men scattered as Mello charged across the yard and bore down upon the hapless soldier. The blond only came up to Ox\'s shoulders, but he wore a mask of such viciousness that the older, bulkier man took an involuntary step backwards. Cold, blue eyes seemed to tear the flesh from his bones, before the gun even rose in a gloved hand. Mello growled out, "You were saying?"



"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Older and far more respected by his peers, Frankie was probably the only person present who dared step between Mello and Ox. He might have been a dinosaur, but anyone so much as looking at him in the wrong way would have to answer to Rio. "Mello, you Yankee bastard, leave the man alone. Ox, you mind your mouth. You should know better than to provoke him."



Everyone watched, most of them grateful that it hadn\'t been them that Mello had overheard. In truth, no-one understood how he\'d heard at all, because he\'d been well down the corridor by the time the comments had been made. There was the sound of running feet and the Consigliere appeared. Whatever happened next, it probably would not involve the assembled soldiers. Mello had been a consigliere. His reputation had preceded him and nothing that had happened, since he\'d walked into their midst, suggested that his intellect had been any blunted by the events back in America. There was tension between him and the Consigliere that might one day erupt. This could well be the day. "Ok, what\'s going on here?"



Mello hadn\'t waivered in his stare. His hand on the semi-automatic was steady against the underside of Ox\'s chin. The big man was visibly sweating. Mello smiled, but it was chillingly without mirth. "Ox was sharing his views, amongst his fellows, that I might be a \'flaming queen\'. Do I quote you correctly, Ox?"



"Oh come on, Mello." Frankie patted the teenager\'s back. "I don\'t know what you had in America, but this is London. Folk like me learned acceptance of poofs back in the days of Ronnie Kray. You spoke a word out of turn then and you were likely to have your face held over a gas hob."



"Heh." Mello\'s grin grew wider, but it still didn\'t infuse warmth into his icy gaze. "Such ideas."



Too late, Frankie remembered that the other side of Mello\'s face, that turned away from him, was melted with burn scars. "I didn\'t mean anything by that, son. Old Ronnie would just as soon sliced your face off with a knife. Good man was Ronnie Kray, one of the best, but he didn\'t tolerate fools gladly."



"Frankie, you\'re not helping." The Consigliere muttered. He stepped now on the opposite side of them. "Come on, Mello. We can talk about this like reasonable men. Ox, maybe an apology is in order?"



"Ok." Ox rumbled. "Sorry, man. I speak some shit sometimes."



The Consigliere nodded. "Mello, Ox is integral to our contacts in Seattle. You said that the operation should come in via the Washington coast, well he\'s the person ensuring that it\'s then taken on by our people there. We haven\'t time to forge new links before it all goes ahead."



Mello smirked as he lowered his gun. "Apology accepted." Then he turned his head and met every eye in that place. \'It was like looking into the face of death!\' Someone said later, after he\'d gone, and no-one disagreed. "Anyone else want to comment on my hair? Or my mannerisms? Or speculate upon the identity, sorry, gender, of my comare?" No-one did. They shuffled and looked visibly relieved when his gaze passed from them. Mello sneered and retraced his steps back across the yard. He paused by the loading gate. "For information, you can hear every fucking word in the corridor through that vent up there." He snorted and left them.



Rio already knew by the time that Mello entered his office. That, in itself, was impressive, though Mello had passed Nigel Preston in the bar on the way here, so assumed that he was the source. The brown-nosed git had fled shortly after Mello had gone to deal with Ox. The don didn\'t appear too concerned by the episode though. His comments were more of advice than castigation. "The men need to let off steam. They work hard. Don\'t you think it\'s only natural that they speculate on each other\'s partners? Especially yours, because you keep your little one well out of it, don\'t you, Mello?" Rio flashed a baracuda smile. "Now no-one has to guess about my Steph. You\'ve all met her. You\'re a hot-blooded male, Mello, I think your tastes would be a lot like mine. Love my Steph to bits. She\'s a complete airhead, but breasts the size of Ben Nevis. I imagine your comare to be the same."



"Mine?" Mello sniggered, though his expression told even the don that he didn\'t want to be in this conversation. "Not really. Mine has been noted for a modicum of intelligence. What\'s happening on the West Coast?"



"I\'m concerned about the National Guard. When you worked up there, there were sheriffs and senators that had been fixed. Plus the National Guard aren\'t diverted to the Middle East as they were a few months ago. Kira saw to that." Rio frowned. "I have to say, Mello, I am considering your proposals for burning Kira." He tapped his forehead. "They are up there. Let\'s see how this operation goes first."



Hope flared in Mello\'s heart and this time, his smile had charm and warmth. "I won\'t let you down."



It was another three hours before Mello made it home. He\'d waited until Ox confirmed that Seattle had received the shipment and were already processing it ready for resale. It was a small foothold, but a lucrative venture nontheless. Rio was pleased. He heard again Mello\'s plans for a strike against Kira and promised to consider them carefully. Mello rode back to Hampshire, already making plans for phase two, feeling confident that Rio really would approve phase one this time. He was thoughtful as he stepped out of the lift and turned the corner towards their flat. His key raised, the front door opened and Matt nearly collided with him. The redhead shrieked and Mello frowned. "Where do you think you\'re going?"



Matt\'s lips formed around the word, \'what?\', but he didn\'t verbalise it. He simply handed Mello the bin bag full of rubbish and sauntered off back into the flat. Mello rolled his eyes, but pushed through the heavy fire-door to send the bag down the chute. He returned to the flat to be greeted with a second and third bag being held out ready for him to take them too. Matt was in his bare feet and didn\'t have his jacket on, Mello realised, as he gave him the once over. He should have noticed that before. "That\'s the lot." The redhead informed him, by way of saying hello.



"You\'re a lazy cunt." Mello sighed, taking them off him. "And your propensity for causing trouble outstrips you." He waited until he\'d been to the chute and back again, before finishing his sentence. "You\'re not even there and you\'re causing chaos."



"Orly?" Matt appeared more bemused than contrite. "I\'ve got us a cheese pie."



Mello ushered him back into the flat and closed the front door behind them. "Where have you got a cheese pie from?" He asked, more accusingly than he\'d intended. "Where have you been?"



"Maggie from next door baked it for me, as a thank you for fixing her grandson\'s laptop."



"Who\'s Maggie from next door?" Mello stared, paranoia piquing.



Matt had been wandering away. He stopped now to cast a sidewards glance at his lover. "Well, as far as I could make out, her name is Maggie and she lives next door."



"But we don\'t know anything about her?"



"Oh, yeah! She has a grandson, which implies having had at least one child first." Matt disappeared into the front room. The flat was freezing, overlaid with the heavy scent of a lot of cigarettes having been smoked in an enclosed space. Matt lit another one now. " Oh! And she bakes cheese pies."



Mello sighed and closed the windows. "Don\'t be smart."



Matt smirked. "Sorry about the mess. I wasn\'t expecting you until around midnight."



"So you\'re doing the housework now?" Mello sat down and took out a chocolate bar, hating the fact that he had sounded like a prissy nag since he\'d arrived home. "What have you been up to for the rest of the week?"



Matt laughed. "God! You\'re so fucking possessive. I\'m half tempted to say I\'ve been off shagging the window-cleaner, just to see what you\'d do." He sat down on the other end of the settee. "How have I been causing trouble?"



"You\'re the wrong gender."



"Right." Matt took a drag on his cigarette. "But don\'t you think it might cause problems between us if I was female? For a start, we would never have been allowed to share a room at Wammy\'s; and secondly..."



"Don\'t go there." Mello growled. "Matt, this fucking flat is a shit tip! I\'ve just put three full bin-bags down the chute and I can still see a pile of cans by the side of the armchair. I\'m amazed you can put another cigarette out in that ashtray without causing a small fire." He pointed towards the coffee table. "And what the freaking Hell is that?"



Matt shrugged. "It was a steak and kidney pie, but I got full, so left the rest."



"When?"



"Have your friends been picking on you for being gay then?" Matt asked. "Only I\'m not sure I\'m prepared to be castrated just to keep the Mafia happy."



Mello frowned at him. "Matty, I..." He growled in frustration, recalling that just ten minutes ago the world had seemed just that little bit brighter and now he was feeling like an utter failure again. The worst thing was that he couldn\'t put his finger on precisely what he felt he had failed at. "Look, it\'s hard work out there. All I\'m asking for is a bit of support, ok?"



"How?" Matt blew smoke at him. "Have hormone replacement therapy?"



Mello sighed. "Maybe I should just walk out and come back in again. See if you can aim for a civil welcome home the second time around."



Matt gasped out an incredulous laugh. "What have I done?" He pointed with his cigarette. "I didn\'t ask you to take the rubbish out. In fact, I was going out to do it myself when you arrived. I haven\'t been anywhere and haven\'t seen anyone, except for Maggie next door. That was yesterday. She knocked the door and asked if either of us knew anything about computers. I told her I knew a bit, then locked up and followed her into her house. All that was wrong was the settings on the firewall didn\'t allow for javascript. I reset her firewall, waited to see if her grandson\'s game would load. It did. I came home. Story over." He took a final drag, then stood to stub it out in the overflowing ashtray. "Yes, the flat\'s a mess, but in my defence, it would have sparkled like a showroom if you\'d come back when you said you were going to. All good?"



Mello rose and pulled him around, planting a harsh kiss on his lips. They both knew why he\'d chosen now to do it, rather than while they were both sitting on the settee. In his boots, Mello was currently significantly taller than Matt. The blond smirked as he peered down at him. "Stop trying to make me out to be the unreasonable one." He moved forward slightly, holding onto the redhead, in an action that was designed to throw Matt off-balance. He kissed him again. "Do I stress you out, Matty?"



Matt twisted a leg behind Mello\'s, kicking him suddenly in the back of the knee with his heel. Mello had anticipated it and instead used the fact of Matt standing only on foot to his own advantage. A short scuffle ensued that ended with the redhead careering into the coffee table. The mouldy remains of the steak and kidney pie landed upside down on the carpet. "Arse!"



"Heh." Mello grinned. He sprang backwards, his hands open wide ready to ward off any retaliation. Matt, though, straightened himself and stepped back a couple of feet. They surveyed each other warily, trying to divine what the other would do next. A little smile played on Matt\'s face and Mello enjoyed that. Sparring with Matt was far more interesting than overpowering seemingly more dangerous men in the Mafia. It was nothing to do with physicality. It was the mind behind it. The cattle in the mob could be brutally inventive; but Matt was unpredictable. Just as Mello was. That was the edge that they both had and the challenge which so delighted Mello now. "What you going to do, Matty? You know I could beat you in anything you choose to do."



"Orly?" started Matt, but didn\'t get any further, before Mello leapt onto the coffee table and off again. He landed on Matt like a leopard taking down a gazelle, but the redhead shifted at the last minute. The landing was clumsy. Mello had Matt and he brought him down onto the armchair, but Matt was pulled on top and soon slid into his escape. "Ooops." He laughed from behind the settee. "Didn\'t see that coming, did you?"



"Matty, come here." Mello said, affecting a tone that was as apparently disinterested, as it was commanding.



"What?"



"Come here." He didn\'t shift from the armchair. He lay where he\'d landed, with his leather-clad legs spidering out into the detritus of the floor. "Don\'t look at me like that. Just come here."



Matt appeared dubious at first, then slowly retraced his steps back towards the armchair and his lover. A foot away, he paused. "What you going to do?"



Mello didn\'t move. He continued smiling at the redhead, until Matt stepped forward, his thighs touching the arm of the chair. He was braced to flee at the slightest provocation. Mello still didn\'t make a grab for him, though his right arm was only inches from Matt\'s groin. "Come here." He pointed to the carpet in front of him. Matt hesitated, then took the extra steps to the position indicated. "And kneel."



Matt\'s gaze slid away, like he was considering it, then he shrugged and did as he was told. Mello\'s arms snaked around his neck. "\'kay."



"And they called you a fucking genius. You were away and you came back and placed yourself right in my grasp."



"Yep." Matt agreed. "But you\'re going on the assumption that I actually don\'t want to be in your grasp." He grinned into the blond\'s face. "You\'re wrong. I do. So that\'s like an epic win."



Mello chuckled. "Yeah, Matty, I suppose it is." He turned away, to rest the uninjured side of his face on the redhead\'s shoulder. Though Matt didn\'t hug him back, just merely knelt there, it felt a bit like comfort in a world without much of it. That, in turn, engendered yet more hope, that Rio really would come through on the Kira proposal and that the campaign could get underway again. Mello would beat Near and become number one. He would win the L title and develop it, as the world\'s number one detective, in his own way. Sometimes, in the midst of all these dreams, it barely seemed to matter anymore that Matt was male and yet the smell of him, and the touch of him beneath his arms, felt so right. Mello could have held him forever. He caught himself almost saying \'I love you\', but bit it back, horrified with himself. Next came disappointment, that that thought had unsettled that momentary stillness inside, and he sighed. "You and me, full of epic win."



"I think so too."



He patted Matt\'s back. "Come on then, let\'s get this place sorted out and the cheese pie heated up. Then we can chill out for the rest of the night. Because Matty," Mello leaned back with an evil grin on his face, "I have such plans for you."