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remix_reduxTitle: When the Music's Over (At the Still Point remix)
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soubi_smalls
Summary: Matt, Mello, and the question of after all is said and done.
Rating: PG
Fandom: Death Note
Spoilers: Chapter 84 of the manga
Title, Author and URL of original story: "At the Still Point," byelwing_alcyone, Here
When the music’s over, turn off the lights. –The Doors
“What about after?”
“After? After what?”
Matt sighs, takes another drag of his cigarette. The smoke has filled the apartment since they arrived three days ago, but if it bothers him, Mello hasn’t said a word. Matt knows from experience this means Mello mustn’t really mind.
“After it’s all over with,” Matt starts, waving his hand holding the cigarette vaguely around, making lines in the air. “After we catch Kira. After Roger comes stumbling right up here on his cane with a personal jet just waiting for you, begging you with every ounce of persuasion he’s got to become L.”
“He wouldn’t have to persuade me,” Mello says flatly.
“I know. But what happens then?”
Mello stops himself halfway through opening another chocolate bar—perfectly halfway—and stares at Matt a second before he shrugs and peels the rest of the wrapper back, lets it drop to the floor amid the clothes shop mannequins. It lands on top of one mannequin’s blonde head and suddenly Matt thinks of Hal and how she hasn’t been in touch; Misa and how her apartment’s right next to theirs, and Mello, forever dedicated, is staring out there at her from the window.
“I need something to do,” Matt says, just to break the silence, “anything, Mello. Follow Amane around again. Buy you chocolate. Hell,” he says, and comes close to laughing, “I’ll mop the floors, if you want.”
Mello grins in response.
“I may take you up on the floors after Amane leaves and we install the bugs in her apartment.”
“Too bad I’m bored right now.” Too bad I haven’t bugged a room since I was fourteen years old, he thinks, but Mello trusts him, and that’s enough. “On second thought, forget the floors, that’d mean I’d have to pick up all the mannequins first. They remind me of that one episode of the Twilight Zone.” Matt pauses, forces himself to keep from trailing off. “But—Mello. Seriously. Once you’re L… will I still be able to work with you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could be my Watari.”
Matt snorts.
“They wouldn’t like that. Roger and Wammy’s House.”
“Why not?”
“You know.” Matt bends over to pick up a video game cartridge from the floor, wipes off the dust with one gloved hand. Pokemon Silver, nearly ten years old. “They don’t want it to work that way. They’d see it like a consolation prize for the runner-up. What’s more, so would the orphans. Give them something they might want to strive for beyond number one. Wouldn’t work, Mello.”
“Oh, who cares what they’d see it as,” Mello snaps. “I’m doing fine without them.”
(scarred, lost everything and he says he’s doing fine)
“Near is, too. Right now, they’re not doing anything to help either of you.”
“Of course not. They’re waiting to see who’ll win.”
A Kentucky Derby with people’s lives, Matt feels like saying, but there’s no point when Mello’s known that for going on five years.
“And if it’s you then they’ll make you an L replica, and then find you a Watari replica. And you’ll live the rest of your life hiding behind your fancy font L on the computers, your hotels. And that’s your world, not mine, and I’m not welcome to crash on the sofas, you know?”
“They’d let you if I told them to,” Mello says.
“I doubt it. I bet they’d—”
“Shut up!”
“Mello—”
Mello’s already gotten up from his chair, is staring out the window.
“Look at that! Amane and Mogi. Looks like they’re eating out tonight.”
Matt stands up hurriedly, joins Mello out the window and watches them leave, watches Misa tug on Mogi’s arm and exclaim something in broken English. Mogi opens the car door for her and she gets in, then Mogi takes the driver’s seat and pulls out.
“Mogi finally got sick of cooking. It’s about time. Want me to put in the bugs?”
“That depends on the last time you put in bugs.”
“About six years ago on the final for that one espionage class.”
“Then I’m putting them in.”
Matt makes a lopsided grin.
“Well, fine. But I’m coming, too.”
Mello shrugs and starts opening boxes full of tangled wires and spying equipment.
“Then help me untangle these wires first.”
“No. You come here first, then untangle them.”
Mello looks up.
“Matt, we’ve got to get this done. They could show back up at any time.”
“I know that,” Matt says, almost childishly. “But come here.”
“But you smell like an ashtray.”
“That never stopped you.”
“Then you come here, then,” Mello says, focus back on the wires, fingers poking through and untangling them, for a brief, bizarre moment looking like a child with a pile of jumbled Christmas lights on the floor. Then Matt blinks again and the illusion is gone.
“Let the wires go, all right?” Matt says, in Mello’s ear now.
“I’ve got to do it.”
(so persistent, so damn persistent)
“Five seconds, Mello.”
He’s slipped his arms around Mello’s waist already, feels Mello’s hands as they still and his arms grow slack at his sides. Relaxed for once, out of that permanent frenzy, that need, that desire for action, for motion, the ability to orchestrate the operations. Pull the strings.
Untangle the wires.
Matt kisses him hard.
“Could we—” Mello begins, startling Matt into taking a second to find his balance.
“What?”
As if Matt doesn’t have the idea already, as if he doesn’t know.
(forget Kira, forget Near, stay here, make our own world out of it)
(drop the wires)
(you’ve tried so hard, Mello, so damn hard, clawed your way to everything you ever had and now all I want is you dropping those stupid wires)
“Never mind,” Mello says, and he stands up, and to Matt it’s both a relief and a disappointment that he does. “It’s not important. Let’s go.”
Author:
soubi_smallsSummary: Matt, Mello, and the question of after all is said and done.
Rating: PG
Fandom: Death Note
Spoilers: Chapter 84 of the manga
Title, Author and URL of original story: "At the Still Point," by
elwing_alcyone, HereWhen the music’s over, turn off the lights. –The Doors
“What about after?”
“After? After what?”
Matt sighs, takes another drag of his cigarette. The smoke has filled the apartment since they arrived three days ago, but if it bothers him, Mello hasn’t said a word. Matt knows from experience this means Mello mustn’t really mind.
“After it’s all over with,” Matt starts, waving his hand holding the cigarette vaguely around, making lines in the air. “After we catch Kira. After Roger comes stumbling right up here on his cane with a personal jet just waiting for you, begging you with every ounce of persuasion he’s got to become L.”
“He wouldn’t have to persuade me,” Mello says flatly.
“I know. But what happens then?”
Mello stops himself halfway through opening another chocolate bar—perfectly halfway—and stares at Matt a second before he shrugs and peels the rest of the wrapper back, lets it drop to the floor amid the clothes shop mannequins. It lands on top of one mannequin’s blonde head and suddenly Matt thinks of Hal and how she hasn’t been in touch; Misa and how her apartment’s right next to theirs, and Mello, forever dedicated, is staring out there at her from the window.
“I need something to do,” Matt says, just to break the silence, “anything, Mello. Follow Amane around again. Buy you chocolate. Hell,” he says, and comes close to laughing, “I’ll mop the floors, if you want.”
Mello grins in response.
“I may take you up on the floors after Amane leaves and we install the bugs in her apartment.”
“Too bad I’m bored right now.” Too bad I haven’t bugged a room since I was fourteen years old, he thinks, but Mello trusts him, and that’s enough. “On second thought, forget the floors, that’d mean I’d have to pick up all the mannequins first. They remind me of that one episode of the Twilight Zone.” Matt pauses, forces himself to keep from trailing off. “But—Mello. Seriously. Once you’re L… will I still be able to work with you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could be my Watari.”
Matt snorts.
“They wouldn’t like that. Roger and Wammy’s House.”
“Why not?”
“You know.” Matt bends over to pick up a video game cartridge from the floor, wipes off the dust with one gloved hand. Pokemon Silver, nearly ten years old. “They don’t want it to work that way. They’d see it like a consolation prize for the runner-up. What’s more, so would the orphans. Give them something they might want to strive for beyond number one. Wouldn’t work, Mello.”
“Oh, who cares what they’d see it as,” Mello snaps. “I’m doing fine without them.”
(scarred, lost everything and he says he’s doing fine)
“Near is, too. Right now, they’re not doing anything to help either of you.”
“Of course not. They’re waiting to see who’ll win.”
A Kentucky Derby with people’s lives, Matt feels like saying, but there’s no point when Mello’s known that for going on five years.
“And if it’s you then they’ll make you an L replica, and then find you a Watari replica. And you’ll live the rest of your life hiding behind your fancy font L on the computers, your hotels. And that’s your world, not mine, and I’m not welcome to crash on the sofas, you know?”
“They’d let you if I told them to,” Mello says.
“I doubt it. I bet they’d—”
“Shut up!”
“Mello—”
Mello’s already gotten up from his chair, is staring out the window.
“Look at that! Amane and Mogi. Looks like they’re eating out tonight.”
Matt stands up hurriedly, joins Mello out the window and watches them leave, watches Misa tug on Mogi’s arm and exclaim something in broken English. Mogi opens the car door for her and she gets in, then Mogi takes the driver’s seat and pulls out.
“Mogi finally got sick of cooking. It’s about time. Want me to put in the bugs?”
“That depends on the last time you put in bugs.”
“About six years ago on the final for that one espionage class.”
“Then I’m putting them in.”
Matt makes a lopsided grin.
“Well, fine. But I’m coming, too.”
Mello shrugs and starts opening boxes full of tangled wires and spying equipment.
“Then help me untangle these wires first.”
“No. You come here first, then untangle them.”
Mello looks up.
“Matt, we’ve got to get this done. They could show back up at any time.”
“I know that,” Matt says, almost childishly. “But come here.”
“But you smell like an ashtray.”
“That never stopped you.”
“Then you come here, then,” Mello says, focus back on the wires, fingers poking through and untangling them, for a brief, bizarre moment looking like a child with a pile of jumbled Christmas lights on the floor. Then Matt blinks again and the illusion is gone.
“Let the wires go, all right?” Matt says, in Mello’s ear now.
“I’ve got to do it.”
(so persistent, so damn persistent)
“Five seconds, Mello.”
He’s slipped his arms around Mello’s waist already, feels Mello’s hands as they still and his arms grow slack at his sides. Relaxed for once, out of that permanent frenzy, that need, that desire for action, for motion, the ability to orchestrate the operations. Pull the strings.
Untangle the wires.
Matt kisses him hard.
“Could we—” Mello begins, startling Matt into taking a second to find his balance.
“What?”
As if Matt doesn’t have the idea already, as if he doesn’t know.
(forget Kira, forget Near, stay here, make our own world out of it)
(drop the wires)
(you’ve tried so hard, Mello, so damn hard, clawed your way to everything you ever had and now all I want is you dropping those stupid wires)
“Never mind,” Mello says, and he stands up, and to Matt it’s both a relief and a disappointment that he does. “It’s not important. Let’s go.”
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-22 04:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-22 10:42 pm (UTC)This is brilliant! Thank you so much! <3