First...I screwed up. I wasn't very careful with counting the reviews for RR, and I ended up mailing two different people telling them they were the 200th reviewer. BUT I'll write oneshots for each of them anyway, because I don't like disappointing people. :D
This one's for itsatruemiracle. Their request was 'a fluffy oneshot with Mello as seme and he and Matt go trick-or-treating/or Matt and Mello on Halloween.' Seme-Mello made me think that they wanted an M fic...which I'm not very ready to do. Sorry. ^^'
So here's what I did instead. Enjoy.
October Thirty-First
Trick-or-treating was for sissies.
Really, Matt and Mello weren't doing it this year just so they could wear the costumes they've been saving in the back of their closet just for this particular day. No, wimps did that. Matt and Mello were going trick-or-treating for a completely different, non-sissy reason. Mello was going to get as much candy as he can - both from houses and 'borrowing' from other children - to put in a big box, wrap it, and send it to L as a late birthday present. Matt...well, he was just going to help Mello get the amount of candy desired.
The two, being determined as they were, made edits to a map of the neighborhood that Roger was apparently going to take them to. They'd been given the maps so they wouldn't get lost, but Matt and Mello took a Sharpie and drew their route.
"Okay, we're getting dropped off here. We'll go through this street first, then turn right. After that - Hey, Matt, are you even listening?"
"Mello, look! I'm balancing the pencil on the nose!"
"Pay attention! Okay, where was I? Right. After we turn right, there's going to be - Ugh, stop that!"
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, whatever. We'll just follow the route that I drew in. Sound good, Matt?"
"Yeah."
"We're going to get so much candy!"
"More than the other orphans, because we're the best."
"I know!"
"I love you!"
"...What?"
"Nothing."
"Oh."
In simple words, the two thirteen-year-olds were ecstatic for the event. They made plans, bought their costumes, and even packed an extra pillowcase if the ones they were using got too full of candy. They thought of everything and made it so it went accordingly to their plan.
They did not, however, account for Near going with them.
"Mello," Roger tried to explain for the umpteenth time, "you two have to take Near with you. He can't be left here in the House, and you and Matt have been the only two orphans that he's ever talked to. He can't go alone. You know he has a leg problem."
"So?" Mello shrieked. "If we're lucky, he won't be fast enough and get run over by a bicyclist!"
Matt and Near winced. "It'll be fine, Mels," Matt said. "Besides, Near won't talk much, and we can always be a couple of steps ahead of him so he doesn't hear what we're talking about."
"What do Matt and Mello talk about?" Near inquired.
Mello ignored him. "But he's going to slow us down! It'll mess up our schedule!"
"I'll spend lots of time with you afterwards alone in our room," Matt said, smiling.
"What?" Mello asked.
"I said, we can go steal other orphans' candy when we sneak into their room," Matt repeated.
"Oh." Mello mulled over the decision for a while as Roger shot Matt a confused look. The redhead only shrugged. "Well, fine," Mello finally said. "But if we get less than a bag of candy by the time we get back, I'm locking the sheep in his closet."
"Deal."
The next day - Halloween - Matt and Mello made sure to sleep as much as they can. They figured that if they slept already, they wouldn't be tired too early in the night. There was, after all, some party that the older kids hosted in the basement every Halloween. It was for ages thirteen and up, so the two boys were excited to finally be able to get in.
They woke up at twelve in the afternoon and spent the next four excruciating hours trying to hold their excitement in. The wait was killing them.
At five o'clock, an hour before Roger was going to take them to the neighborhood, Mello dragged Matt to their room, practically ripped open their closets, and got out both of their costumes. Mello yelled out, "I'm changing in the bathroom!"
Matt pouted. "Why can't you change out here in front of me?"
Mello gave him a disturbed look. "What did you say?"
Matt met his gaze evenly. "I asked you if you're going to take a long time again."
Looking suspicious, Mello said, "Are you insulting me?"
"Of course not."
"Good. Now be a good boy and change out here while I change in the bathroom."
Once the door was shut and Mello was out of earshot, Matt whispered, "Yes master."
An hour later, Matt, Mello and Near stood together with the other orphans in front of Wammy's gates, slightly shivering in the cool air.
Mello looked most extravagant of the three. He wore a black leather vest that cut off an inch above his belly button, complete with matching leather pants and black combat boots. Over the outfit, he had on a long fur coat that reached down to his knees, the hood lined with fur. Everyone had been required to wear something to cover at least half of their face for safety reasons, so to top it all off, Mello wore a black mask that covered the upper part of his face. His appearance had triggered the following conversation once Matt saw him:
"I don't get it. What are you supposed to be?"
"Matt. I'm eighteen-year-old Mello, duh."
"Oh. In that case, you look hot and delicious."
"Er...What?"
"You look great and fabulous."
"Thanks."
The redhead himself was wearing a costume that raised questions from Mello, too. Matt's mask, or if you called it a mask, was a big teddy bear head that covered his own. The eyes were big buttons the size of his fist, with a small hole in the middle for Matt to see through. One of its ears looked like it had been halfway chewed off. The bear head had a big smile, but no nose.
"It looked weird with the nose," Matt, the creator of this 'mask,' explained.
"Ah," Mello said understandingly.
The rest of his outfit consisted basically of a pair of his old brown pajamas, brown gloves, and brown boots. "D'you like it?" he'd asked Mello.
"Yeah. It's cute," Mello replied.
"Perfect! That's what I want the people to think, so they can give me extra candy."
"Smart move," Mello said, nodding.
The youngest and smallest of the trio, Near wasn't exactly wearing a costume. Still clothed in his white pajamas, the only difference was the brown paper bag with two holes for his eyes that covered his head. In a tiny hand, he clutched at an empty pillow case.
"Aww!" Matt exclaimed once he saw the albino. "He looks so cute!"
"Shut up, Matt," Mello ordered, smacking the redhead's teddy bear head.
Inside the head piece, Matt whimpered.
Once the two buses arrived(they were regular school buses that Roger had rented), everyone filed in. Matt and Mello sat together, no surprise, while Near sat on the opposite side with Linda as a seat-mate.
"Near looks so cute!" Linda crowed in her gypsy costume, the pink veil that covered her face swaying as she bounced in her seat excitedly.
"Thank god we didn't get paired with her," Mello said in a relieved tone, leaning back in his seat.
"Linda's okay," Matt said, taking off his bear head for the time being. "One time she drew a picture of you and me kissing in front of a sunset. I asked her if she can find a frame for it and give to me to keep."
"You what?" Mello said incredulously.
Matt shot him a weird look. "I said that I threw the picture to the ground, stomped on it, then threw it out the window."
Looking uncomfortable, Mello nodded and shifted so he didn't have to look at the gamer with his blush. He busied himself with taking out the folded map from the pocket of his jacket and tracing their route.
Fifteen minutes later, the two school buses simultaneously rumbled to a stop outside the entrance of the promised neighborhood. All of the kids began shoving each other out of the way to get out first. Being the top three smartest, Matt, Mello, and Near stayed until the aisle was clear. Matt put his bear head on, Near studied his paper bag, and Mello led the way.
They cleared the first few houses with little trouble in the aforementioned position: Matt and Mello walking in the front with Near shuffling after them in the back, the paper bag crinkling as it kept threatening to slip off of Near's head.
Then Matt bumped into some guy in a fancy suit holding a leash connected to another teenage boy wearing a black vest and garters.
A...pimp and whore? Matt thought, bewildered.
"Sorry dude, didn't see you," the one in the suit apologized.
"It's okay," Matt said.
"Here, you can have these M&M's. We've got a ton." Grinning, the stranger handed Matt a pack.
Matt grinned. "Thanks," he called as the other pair walked away.
"What are M&M's?" Near asked, coming up behind Matt.
"You don't know what M&M's are?" Mello asked in a scandalous voice.
Near shook his head. "No."
"You're missing out!" Matt exclaimed. He ripped the packet open and handed it to Near, who hesitantly drew a green M&M, slipped his hand under his paper bag hat, and put it into his mouth.
"It tastes peculiar," Near said. "Are you sure this is safe to eat?"
Mello rolled his eyes. "Of course it is, sheep," he all but growled, taking Matt by the sleeve of his pajamas and dragging him forward. "Now hurry up. We've got forty five minutes left."
So the three went around the neighborhood according to plan. Halfway through, whatever had been in the M&M's began to take over Near.
"Matt is more cuter than Mello," the snowy-haired orphan said casually, popping up in between Matt and Mello's loosely held hands.
"W-what?" Under the bear head, Matt blushed.
Mello stopped in his tracks to glare murderously at Near. "What did you say about him?" he demanded in a low voice.
Near blinked innocently through the two holes in the paper bag. "I made a mere observation," he stated. "Matt is cuter than Mello."
Matt chuckled nervously. "Uh, Mel, he's only saying that because I'm in a teddy bear costume," he tried to convince Mello.
"I'll take that as an answer for now," Mello snapped, glaring daggers at Near.
"Okay, moving on," Matt chirped, beginning to walk onwards.
The redhead and blond reached to their side expecting the other's hand to be there. Instead, Near's hands caught both of them. Holding onto his pillow case with the same hand that held Mello's and using his other to keep Matt's in another grip. He swung his arms back and forth, smiling.
There was silence.
I want to hold Mello's hand, Matt thought, pouting.
For some odd reason, I want to hold Matt's hand, Mello thought.
"Well, it's better than carrying him on our backs," Matt offered, laughing slightly.
Near looked livid, staring at some invisible thing in the darkening sky with a gaping mouth. He didn't seem to be hearing anything.
"What exactly was in those M&M's?" Mello asked angrily. "It's a good thing we threw it out."
"Aw, come on, drunk-Near is fun!" Matt giggled, nudging Near's elbow. Near stumbled to the right a little, bumping into Mello.
The leather-clad teen raised an eyebrow. "You think there was alcohol in the candy?" he said.
"What else could it have been?" Matt said.
"I guess."
They visited four more houses, Near's condition steadily getting worse.
"Santa!" he slurred, pointing a weak hand at the sky. "Hi Santa..." He stopped in his tracks to stare up, mesmerized.
Matt and Mello stopped, giving each other weird looks.
"Backpack!" Near suddenly exclaimed, eyes going wide. Three seconds passed and he looked brainwashed again.
"I'd pay a hundred bucks to have on tape what he's imagining," Mello snickered.
"Don't be mean." Matt leaned down in front of Near's face, studying his covered face. "Hm. What is that?" he asked confusedly, seeing a string of liquid dripping from under the paper bag and onto the collar of Near's pajama top.
"I think it's drool," Mello said, sounding amused.
"Optimus Prime," Near whispered in awe.
Matt laughed.
"Why you laughing at Near?" Near asked, eyes flitting down to look at Matt.
"You're just funny," Matt explained.
Near didn't say anything for ten seconds. "So are you the seme?" he finally decided to ask.
Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "Seme?" he questioned.
It was Mello's turn to chuckle nervously, slightly shoving Matt to the side. "It's nothing, Matt."
"Does that mean you're the uke?" Near asked Mello.
Mello turned red, both angry and embarrassed. "Shut up, Near!"
"What are you talking about?" Matt whined, stomping the foot and making his bear head wobble slightly.
"I said it's nothing, Matt," Mello said snappishly. "And we've got ten minutes to get back to the bus. Let's go."
"Tell meeeee!" Near complained the whole way back to the entrance. "I-I'll-" hiccup "-give you a l-lol'pop," he offered.
"For the last time, no!" Mello said, flushed red. He refused to answer Matt's questions or Near's pleas the whole ride home.
Near woke up the next morning back in his bed with a crumpled paper bag beside his head. There was a sack of candy on the foot of his bed. What happened last night? the genius thought, rubbing his throbbing head tenderly. Never before had he woken up to this.
"What's this?" He looked to his left, at his bedside table. There was a CD there with a yellow sticky note on top of it. 'Here's who's seme and uke,' it read.
Near blinked. Seme? Uke...?
Slightly interested, he staggered out of bed, grabbed the CD, and inserted it into the DVD player that he rarely used. He turned on his TV and switched the input until there was a DVD on the upper right side on the screen.
The video started with Mello, still in his Halloween costume sitting in front of the screen. "Here's the answer to that stupid question last night, you little bastard," Mello snarled, taking off his mask.
The blond stood, pushed the chair away so Near had a clear view of the bed Matt and Mello shared. The redhead, Near noted with a blush, was already on the sheets and half-naked.
Mello crawled up to Matt, and Near watched them share a kiss.
The video carried on for another twenty minutes. Near didn't stop watching once.
No offense to trick-or-treaters out there, you are most certainly not a wimp or sissy. Matt and Mello only like to think so to make themselves feel better.
Also...who was seme? XD