Choices

AN: Fair warning..... I was absolutely knackered when I wrote this. (which inspired the beginning....) Like ready to fall over and sleep. And yes, I used the word knackered. ;p

And this chapter has been split into two parts, as it was 6,000+ words, to make it easier for me to edit and get it out on time. So, if it seems to end oddly, that’s why.

Suggested Listening: Frontline by Pillar; Houmatsu by heidi.

Chapter Seven part 1: Coffee

Matt woke as a chocolate wrapper hit him square in the face. It made his nose itch and he couldn’t help but sneeze, causing laughter to echo from across the room. Matt had no idea why but he wasn't annoyed, like he felt he had a right to be.

That place messed with his head, he decided as he sluggishly blinked and sat up; he hadn’t quite realized that his goggles weren't on.

“Since I can’t study now, I’m bored- hey your eyes are green!” Mello sounded surprised.

Matt blinked again at the sound of Mello's voice and after another moment finally registered what the blonde had been saying.

Green eyes.

Wait...?

That meant that his goggles were somewhere in the bed, probably tangled within the sheets. Matt didn't really care that Mello knew his eyes color, it was the fact that Mello could ask him anything and if the blonde paid enough attention to his eyes he could discern the truth even if Matt were to lie.

Mello could ask him if he were Kira's spy and then everything would go down the drain…

Matt shook his head slightly. Why the hell would Mello even think to ask him that? Matt yawned widely. He was never really all 'there' whenever someone else woke him up. He needed to wake naturally or his thoughts got all jumbled for a few minutes, sometimes longer.

It was the weirdest thing....

“Matt?” he looked up at Mello's voice and wondered when he'd looked away. He needed caffeine. He hadn't seen them serving coffee at breakfast, so he would have to check the kitchens to see if they had any. Though it made sense since many of the occupants there, besides the staff, were children under twelve.

Caffeine....

“Matt? What the hell-”

“Not awake yet. Need coffee....” he yawned again and slid from the bed. He could feel Mello's eyes follow his every movement, except for when he started to pull his boxers down to change.

Matt finally slipped his goggles back on and headed for the door.

“You’re serious aren't you? Oh damn why did I wake you… hey wait!” Mello's face was lightly tinged pink though Matt didn't really care to examine why. He hated the cobweb feeling that invaded his brain when he got like this.

It wasn't every time he was woken by something other than his internal clock. Just sometimes…. A lot of the time. And Matt had no explanation for it, though it had never really posed a problem as he'd always had coffee on hand.

Coffee, cigarettes and games. That and the work he did for Light, was his life.

He really needed to 'wake' up if his thoughts were going down this road right now. Matt was vaguely aware that Mello had followed him and he wondered at that. Perhaps Mello really was as bored as he'd stated. Matt closed his eyes and let out a small breath. Sleep was overrated....

The door to the kitchen was closed and Matt made sure to listen for any sounds going on in there before he entered. Having heard nothing he pushed the door open, he didn’t bother to close it. The kitchen was large and seemed to be stocked with everything one could want, just like the rest of the house.

Seeing all the cabinets and extra pantry space, he sighed. Just where in the hell would the coffee be?

“It's damn near impossible to find anything if you've never been in here before, and even then its confusing. I used to get caught all the time when I was little. Though I still think they moved things around on me....”

Matt watched as Mello strode passed him, once again decked out in his skin tight leather, and bypassed the cabinets and went into one of the pantries. It was large enough for a two people to walk in, thought still difficult to move in.

“There are a lot of brands... I’ve never even seen anyone drink coffee, why the hell do we have so much?!” Matt joined the blonde inside and was surprised to a half a row dedicated to coffee.

He smirked. One more reason this was better than HQ. He never had the good stuff there, and this... this had a lot of good stuff. Expensive stuff.

He chose a hazelnut flavored one; he had to reach over Mello's head to get it, and walked back out into the main room. His eyes quickly scanned the room and he found a coffee maker next to the stoves. Mello was silent the entire time Matt set up the coffee, and all the way until Matt actually had a mug in his hands.

Matt sipped experimentally at it, and finding it alright temperature wise, took a larger sip. Nothing was better than strong coffee with just two sugars.

“Are you all there now? I swear it was like half your brain had run off...” Mello had his arms crossed and a particularly annoyed expression. Matt shrugged. It was Mello's fault for waking him. It was a hit or miss regarding that particular reaction though.

“Let’s go before we get caught, you do know we are not supposed to be here, right?” Mello commented. Matt raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

“I didn't figure you for one to sick to rules.”

Mello got a rather devious look and smirked. “True.”

Matt refilled the coffee before he left with the mug. He'd bring it back eventually. Or just use it for more coffee runs. The latter sounded more appealing. Though now that he was more alert, and had caffeine running around his system, he wanted a cigarette.

“Where are you going now?” Mello hissed. Matt had to admit, irritating Mello was rather amusing especially when the blonde willfully followed him.

“It's cold out, why the hell are we going outside!” Matt ignored the small outburst and slid a cigarette between his lips.

“Why do I feel like I’m talking to myself...?” he heard Mello groan softly to himself. Definitely amusing.

Mello coughed slightly as Matt lit up, the wind having blown it right into his face. Matt almost felt bad. Until Mello punched him in the arm, hard. Yup, that killed the guilt. Beat it with a stick and killed it.

As much as Matt wanted to stay out there and smoke a few more while enjoying the coffee he wasn’t supposed to have, it was too damn cold. It was almost winter... Matt took one last drag before he stubbed out the remainder of the cigarette on the bottom of his boot.

“Finally!” Mello complained while he darted back inside. “I was about to freeze my ba-”

“What was Mello doing outside?”

Matt smacked into Mello's back and they both stumble foreword. “What the hell did you stop for?” After he checked that the coffee was still intact Matt looked up and noticed Near; who stood in the hallway with the same blank expression. Well, that would definitely be the reason Mello stopped.

“What do you want Near?” Mello practically snarled. That made Matt curious, if Mello really disliked the boy to that degree, then why did he sit with them during meals? Not that Matt was really sitting with Near as more of being followed by him.

Damn stalker.

He knew the moment he changed tables the strange albino would follow him. And Matt supposed Mello would as well.

“What were Mello and Matt doing outside?” Near completely disregarded Mello's question, though Matt had an idea that Near had merely been playing with his toys until recently. Really, he never seemed to sleep much. He was almost always being recorded in the common room or even the library.

“Nothing for you to be concerned with!” Mello's eyes had narrowed and Matt sensed a fight looming. He didn't know either of them well enough to know if actual violence had occurred between them before, or what they might do if it did occur.

It was too damn early for that shit.

“I'm sure Rodger will tell you if you ask him nicely. I'm going to finish my coffee in peace, you coming Mello?” Mello looked momentarily taken aback before he nodded and began to follow Matt.

Near was left to stare at the two retreating figures.

Upon entering their room, Matt headed for his desk and sat backwards on the chair, coffee held in one hand while he turned his PSP on with the other. Matt knew he wasn't really awake enough to attempt the brain teaser game at the moment, but did so anyway.

Mainly to see how badly his score would be affected.

Mello was silently doing something on his side of the room, probably studying. Which wouldn't actually be breaking the deal, as Mello had rested the night before. And as long as he ate his meals and didn't tire himself even more he would be within the constraints of the deal.

Matt sighed; it almost felt like he had to take care of a child…

When Matt finished his coffee, he knew it was around the time breakfast would start. And when he looked at the clock he was proved correct.

He stood up, stretched his stiff joints, and entered the bathroom to rinse the 'borrowed' cup. Which he then left by the sink.

Mello had indeed been studying before Matt poked him in the arm. Blue eyes meet his and he saw Mello's shoulders slump slightly.

“Time to go already?” Matt didn't respond as Mello had already put the textbook aside and stood. Mello took one last forlorn look at the abandoned book before they left; Matt had to wonder about the blonde’s sanity.

Too much studying was brain rotting. At least to Matt.

Despite the earlier confrontation, everything was normal at breakfast. Or at least normal where Mello and Near were concerned. Matt concentrated on his food, though his appetite was still off. He glanced at Mello every once and a while just to make sure the blonde actually ate.

“Why is Mello here?” Near finally questioned, having finished his food a small while before. The albino always ate less at breakfast than he did any other meal.

Mello rolled his eyes and gestured towards Matt, which didn't really answer the question in Matt’s opinion. And Near seemed to understand that Matt would not answer his question either so he remained quiet after that.

If Matt thought on it, it would seem odd to Near that Mello was at breakfast. On a Friday. Which was the testing day. For it seemed that Mello hardly ate anything on those days...

Though Matt could see just how much more alert Mello was, just from relaxing one night. It wouldn't make up for however many weeks, months or even possibly years the blonde had been doing that. But it was a start.

It made Matt wonder why Mello hadn't thought of that before? Or had he, and dismissed it because it cut into his study time?

Did being L really mean that much to him that it clouded his judgment? Or did the blonde just get so absorbed in things that he lost track of time to that degree?

The last made the most sense.

Mello was talking animatedly about something or other, Matt didn’t really listen, and it was almost odd to see him in such a good mood. Thought he doubted that Mello would ever admit rest was a good thing.

With everyone getting up Matt knew it was time to leave. Which he did rather reluctantly. He'd rather skip the tests all together. Some were challenging, he supposed, but mainly they just didn't hold his attention.

They all had the same classes now that Matt had been moved up, so he merely followed Mello to the classroom. Matt was seated all the way in the back while both Mello and Near took seats in the front.

Matt didn't mind not being next to Mello during the testing, in fact, he preferred it. He could already feel the tension that surrounded the blonde. Everything was a competition to him especially when Near was involved.

It wasn't hard to see that.

During the tests Matt did his best to make sure he stayed third, if that was possible. It would be rather bad if he overtook Mello. The blonde would see the entire deal they had as a ploy made just so Matt could take his spot. Mello would never trust him again if that occurred.

Though for the mission that may have been a good thing.

There were three tests then the break for lunch. And with the blonde in the same room it was easy to make Mello go to lunch. Though with the threat of no chocolate hanging over him if he broke the deal he doubted Mello would have dared to go study.

Lunch was quiet.

Mello seemed lost in his own thoughts, and it passed quickly. For Matt at least. He was finally able to go out for a quick smoke before the next round of tests as well as play a few minutes of his game.

The last test of the day had a computer portion on it and Matt couldn't help but answer everything correctly. It had been too easy. He doubted he could have left false answers on any of them even if he wanted to. It would have irritated him.

Technology was his field. And he refused to get a low score for it.

Matt stood from the desk as the final test ended, and stretched. He saw Mello narrow his eyes at something Near said and snarl at the smaller boy. Matt sighed. At this point he wasn't even sure if Near was doing those things on purpose or if he honestly didn't notice.

Mello turned around as he heard Matt and practically dragged him from the classroom.

Matt stood, blinking, at the entrance to their room where the blonde had finally released his arm.

“That damn albino pisses me off so much sometimes! Bastard thinks he is so high and mighty...” Mello took a large bite of chocolate, though from his expression was disappointed in the taste, and paced his side of the room.

Mello, while more lively, was still tired. Matt could see it in the way he was moving, and even in his foul expression, which was strained.

Though it didn’t seem as bad as the week before, not nearly as bad, but it appeared things were finally beginning to catch up with him now that his body had been allowed some form of actual rest.

“Don't push yourself so much. If you’re tired then take a nap.”

Mello turned his scowl on Matt. “A nap? What am I, five?”

Matt raised an eyebrow and Mello glared.

Though Mello couldn't hold his sour expression for long as a yawn broke free. Mello sighed heavily before he flopped onto his bed. “Fine. But don't let me sleep too long.”

Matt grinned. “I'll be back in a little while then.”

“Where are you going?” Mello propped himself up on his elbows and Matt had to glance away.

“Library. So I can play my games with sound.” Matt, despite the fact that he wanted to do just that, would only have the days surveillance as entertainment.

Mello laughed and rolled his eyes. “You're supposed to be quiet in a library.” Matt shrugged which made Mello hum in amusement.

“Whatever, just make sure I’m up before dinner.” Mello rolled over and it gave Matt the chance to grab his book bag where his laptop was still inside.

He quietly exited the room and headed off for the library. Though it was a cold day, it was sunny, so Matt doubted that there would be anyone in there. There was still the possibility of Near being in there, but he mostly frequented the common room.

The good thing about surveillance was that one could quickly come to memorize another’s routine. Near tended not to deviate very much from his so Matt was almost certain he would be left in peace for a few hours.

Matt swiftly climbed the stairs to the second floor of the library and settled himself into the plush chair there, thought he didn’t move it closer to the table. Instead he leaned back and propped his legs across the chairs arm and placed the laptop on his stomach.

The position was only moderately comfortable.

As usual there was nothing worth looking over, or even listening to. Mainly children discussing L and Halloween plans. Though Matt wasn't sure why the detective would possibly come by on that holiday.

It wasn't all that far away though, only a week or two away.

Other than that however... there was nothing. Anything recorded from Rodger's office was boring and mostly about the children that resided there. Though Matt did overhear him and Whammy conversing about himself. Rodger couldn't seem to understand why Matt had not requested a change of rooms, or why he wasn't sporting bruises because of Mello.

Matt smirked at that.

He and Mello were... well Matt would almost call themselves friends, he didn't know what Mello would say to that though. But he doubted Mello would hit him anytime soon. Unless of course Matt happened to surpass him in the rankings, or hid his chocolate again.

Matt shook his head. No, then Mello would probably murder him. The thought was rather amusing despite how it really wasn’t supposed to be.

He quickly got bored of searching the feeds for anything useful, and decided to begin his new report. This time it wouldn't have to be as long. Matt didn't even know why he had to do them in the first place; there was only so much he could say about his weekly activities before it all became monotonous.

Light would probably stop reading it once he realized there was no change in anything. Then again, the man's obsession with L might prevent that...

As Matt began to write, he decided to leave out most of his dealings with Mello as they really had nothing to do with the case. Though he did mention him in the report, as he was his roommate. He merely stated things about Mello's study habits, and nothing more.

He wasn't sure why exactly, but Matt wasn't comfortable with Light knowing too much about Mello, even the little bit that Matt actually knew. He doubted that any of this would be helpful to Light so he wasn’t too worried should Light discover he left things out.

Matt ended up finishing earlier than he had planned and was left with no more work. Or rather, nothing more that he wished to do for the time being. He checked the time just to make sure, it had only been around two hours, and he packed up the laptop and pulled out his PSP.

He slowly made his way down the stairs, eyes trained on the small PSP screen, and continued on to their room. Albeit slowly. The more rest Mello go the better for him, though Matt knew if he wait too long to wake the blonde, Mello would not be happy.

-End Coffee-

AN: OH DEAR KAMI! This chapter took forever, it kept giving me issues! I honestly thought I would never be able to finish it. But I did. And it got better after the first thousand words. *shrugs*

You will have to wait a few days for the second half of it though…

OK really randomly…… my beta and I were talking about the new vampire movie that is coming out (“Daybreakers”) and she jokingly asked me if they ‘sparkled’. Neither of us like Twilight (no offense to Twilight fans, but it’s just not our cup of tea.)

She then asked me where the hell they came up with that idea, so I replied ’someone’s kid spilled glitter on the table’

So needless to say (as I was editing this at the time) I made fun of that with DN.

Death Note vampire omake:

Matt: *covers self with glitter* Hahahah I’m a vampire!

Mello: *face palm*

Yeah….. lame I know. But this is what we text to each other….. What’s my age again?