Alright, guys, here's my first Matt x Misa bit, written/dedicated to SylverEyes, who requested it and stroked my ego quite nice-like. I hope you all enjoy it, even if Matt x Misa isn't the most insanely popular pairing in the fandom. Also, this was SUPPOSED to be light-hearted, but now my mind is sending it straight into the kind-of-dark-and-a-little-WTF direction, so IDK. Enjoyyy.

Misa was pale, but in the way that a porcelain doll is pale. It was like she was a complete work of art, sculpted, painted, written down on paper. A creation that came from the imagination of someone who needed something beautiful in their life.

Misa was pale, but it looked beautiful.

Matt was pale, but he just looked like he was on the verge of death. On those rare moments when he would pull his goggles up, Misa's eyes would be drawn to the dark circles that set off his ghost-white skin even more. They almost looked like black eyes that were healing; like he'd been in a fight. Matt was always fighting with himself, though, so that idea seemed poignant.

"Why don't you sleep?" Misa asked, running her slender fingers over the dark circles and causing Matt to blink rapidly.

Matt shook his head and pulled away from her. "Mello never really liked to sleep. He always needed to be doing something. Something productive."

"You don't do anything productive, though. You just play videogames. Or sometimes you just... sit there. Did Mello ever look like you do when he went without sleep?"

Matt thought about this. "... No. He looked more like you."

"... I'll bet you've always wanted someone to take care of you, right? Misa loves taking care of people." Misa's fingers were back in that same spot underneath Matt's eyes. She wished that he would notice the way her name sounded when it was leaving her own mouth. It didn't sound right.

"Misa needs to stop talking for a few minutes and let me beat this boss."

"Matt needs to go to sleep."

"Misa needs to go to sleep, actually, or her pretty movie-star looks are going to go down the drain. And then there's going to be no reason for Matt to keep her around."

Misa didn't take offense to this.

"So, just... go to bed. And I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

The two shared a quick kiss; double-quick, actually, because Matt really, really wanted to beat that boss.

Hours later, Misa woke up to a pathetic cry of: "Misa! Misa, will you please wake up?"

"Matt? What time is it?" Misa asked, her voice groggy and not at all appealing. She cleared her throat. "Matt, did you hear me? It's not like you to be up early..." She trailed off and almost went back to sleep.

"Misa, please come in here!"

Misa dragged herself out of bed. "Did you fall asleep on the couch again?"

The only reply she was received was a low moan. "Misa, I'm dying."

"Hmm?" Misa leaned over the back of the couch. "Aw, Matty are you sick?"

"Yes, I'm friggin' sick. God." Matt was being unusually crabby. He rarely saw anything worth being angry over, so he must have been feeling considerably horrible. (Misa wondered if he ever acted this way with Mello but decided not to ask.)

Misa felt Matt's forehead. "You're burning up. Here, let's get you in the bedroom."

Matt slowly climbed off of the couch and threw all of his weight on Misa. "I feel horrible..."

"Hmm. See, I knew you liked for people to take care of you, Matty."

"Shut up. That's not it."

But Misa knew good and well that that was it or else Matt wouldn't allow her to pull his thin, pathetic excuse for a body through the living room and into the bedroom. Matt let out a small groan as she slowly helped him crawl into the bed. "Here you go, Matt... Do you want anything?"

Of course, Matt wanted everything. He wanted his PSP, he wanted more blankets, he wanted Mello, he wanted something to eat, he wanted Misa to climb into the bed with him and run her fingers through his hair while she whispered It'll be okay, Matty, Misa will make it better, but he wasn't going to ask for that.

(Mello had always, without a doubt, known exactly what Matt wanted or needed at all times. Matt wanted Misa to be the exact same way.)

"I'll get you another blanket."

Matt sort-of-kind-of smiled. Misa was catching on.

"And I'll go you fix you something to eat."

Misa was catching on rather nicely.

Reluctantly, Matt closed his eyes. There was a chance that he was going to fall asleep and Mello wouldn't approve of falling asleep. Mello had never approved of sleeping, because you can't do anything while your sleeping. And rest is for the weak, Matt. Come on, get out of bed. But Matt kind of wanted sleep. Maybe because his body felt like it could very possibly just shut down---

"Okay, Matt, I fixed you some soup."

Matt had drifted off slightly and Misa had pulled him out of that strange place between asleep and awake. He used the last of his strength to sit up.

"Here you go..." Misa sat down on the edge of the bed with the bowl, and her sweet face, and her sweet voice. With her free hand, she gently stroked Matt's flushed cheek. "Bless you. Here. I'll feed you."

Matt was slightly embarassed, but too weak to argue or protest. He accepted Misa's gentle act of kindness, one that seemed just second nature to her. He realized that she had been telling the truth when she said that she loved taking care of people. Every time she would pull the spoon away from him, she would run her finger across his lips.

(The gesture was so light that Matt could almost pretend like it wasn't happening.)

Misa was right about Matt wanting someone to take care of him, even if he would never admit this out loud. And he would continue to act like he didn't want Misa's help, or that he didn't need Misa's help, but, oh, when she would lean over him to take his temperature and her hair would fall over her face, she almost, almost, looked like Mello. And when she would bring him more blankets and spoon-feed him, she was like the mother he barely remembered.

And when she would climb into bed with him and run her fingers through his hair, pressing her lips to his ear to whisper It'll be okay, Matty. Misa will make it better. she was very much like lover he'd never had.

And in the needy corners of Matt's mind, that's what he saw her as. She was a mother to him when he was sick and a lover when he was healthy.

Once again, that was something he would never admit out loud.