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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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understanding people with ADHD

To: fiat_luz on twitter

From: @hhhhhotleafjuice / kingofpentacles on ao3

Prompt: Mello helping Matt with his ADHD

Word Count: 2.9k

A/N: This prompt intrigued me!! I eventually decided that Mello’s strategy to help Matt would be to research it, slightly dehumanizing Matt (not on purpose, just because i like making him dumb), and just generally getting it wrong and having to be put in his place

anyway, i would rate this as Teen, for cursing but this has mostly light themes, just dumb boys being boys. also peep the it’s always sunny reference :D

The atmosphere in the nearest public library was warm and cozy. Mello might have called it romantic, if he was the kind of person who said things like that. The main lights were high above him, but also, a yellow glow seeped from fairy lights strung along the walls of the lobby, contributing to the richly comfortable and Christmas-y feeling of the library. It wasn’t a huge place, but Mello admired whomever put up all the decorations. There were good quality dark green wreaths with bright red ribbons on each wall in the entire place. It smelled like books, and faintly, coffee. Probably, someone around the corner was studying for their final exams with a Thermos. Mello remembered doing the same almost every year before he left Wammy’s house.

But Mello hadn’t done that- or celebrated Christmas, for that matter- in a long time. He’d forgotten the smell of books, and how cheerful the holiday season was. He found himself lighting up at the sight of decorations, and deeper into the silent library, at the endless bookshelves, tall and full with knowledge waiting to be soaked in.

That night, he settled on the couch with one of the books he’d checked out, which was titled Understanding People With ADHD. The disorder was actually pretty interesting. Mello couldn’t really relate to it, but it sounded sort of magical and frustrating at the same time. Many people with ADHD struggle with executive dysfunction that seriously affects their lives, the introduction to the book said. But they are also some of the most creative, spontaneous, and energetic people you could ever meet. That definitely described someone he knew. Speaking of..

The quiet, beeping music of his GameBoy sounded across the room as Matt walked in.

“Didn’t know you could still read,” he said lightly. “Good for you, Mello.”

“Dickhead,” Mello said easily.

“Nah,” Matt mused, curling up into a ball on the other end of their ratty couch. Mello just kept reading and ignored Matt’s little character dying over and over. Each time he fell into a swamp, or the void, or got stomped on by a monster, whatever- it played a sad little tune that made you want to get back up again so the game wouldn’t be so disappointed. Which Matt did (get back up again), over and over. Beep beep beeeep, cried the game when he inevitably died.

The atmosphere of their lowly lit living room was cozy in spite of sad 8-bit background music. The warm, comfortable feeling in his stomach reminded Mello of the library, and he wondered whether they should get some fairy lights or wreaths in here, to make it a little prettier. It was a nice thought. But realistically, it would be like putting a feather boa on Jabba the Hut. They couldn’t make their shabby apartment pretty if they tried. It was comfortable, at least. This was comfortable- reading on the couch next to Matt, the heat of his presence little more than a meter away.

Either an eternity, or an hour- probably an hour- later, Matt suggested they watch a movie. They picked a romantic comedy they said they’d watch ironically, but ended up genuinely enjoying. It was about a woman (named something boring) who kept reliving the same twenty-four hours on Christmas Eve, or something like that. Anyway, she (Amanda?) got a concussion, baked banana bread, and fell in love, and Matt and Mello were cheering for her (Rose?) the entire time.

As the film progressed, they spread out on the couch, and ended up bumping knees and shifting a bit closer together every minute. The movie was good enough, though, that they were both glued to the screen the whole time, and loosely held hands and pushed their legs together unconsciously. Only after (Kate) got her happy ending did each of them wake up from that daze you get watching movies, realize they were touching, and separate.

“Wanna watch something else?”

“Nah,“ Mello said, feeling a little dazed, trying to shake himself awake. It was night now, he realized, and it had been dark for a while. Matt eventually shut his game and walked around the apartment shutting the curtains like he did every night.

"So, ADHD.” His voice came from a room away and was a little muffled. (So he had seen the book title. Mello had wondered about it earlier.)

“Yeah?” Mello said.

“Didn’t know you were so interested in all that psychology stuff.”

“You don’t see why I’d want to be informed about ADHD?” Mello deadpanned.

Matt’s head stuck out from his room, several feet away.

“If you really want to understand me,” Matt’s voice had a sarcastic lilt, mocking the title of the book, “I don’t see why you wouldn’t just ask me about it.”

Mello stuttered a little. “Well- I wanted to be educated and hear from the experts first,” he came up with randomly, an obvious cover for yeah, I genuinely didn’t think of that. Matt didn’t fall for it.

“Well, when you decide who’s more of an expert, I’ll be here.”

“Fine,” fell from Mello’s mouth, but there was no truth behind it. His mind was racing, berating him for not seeing the simple answer, and already plotting for the future. Matt went to bed, and Mello stayed up a little longer on the couch.

From his position (and from a small-ish window) Mello had a limited view of the night sky: about three faint stars could be seen from their apartments main window. Three stars in a black, unforgiving sky.

He wondered what he was going to say to Matt. Matt.. He seemed cool almost all the time. Bored. But if he wasn’t bored, he was racing with energy. Both sides of the spectrum of normal human emotion, equally intense. Matt was like that: all or nothing. He was going to be the best in a certain subject, but he didn’t care about the other ones. He loved cigarettes and hated alcohol. He loves me, he loves me not.

But was that a bad thing? There were good words for that kind of trait: spontaneous was one of them. Creative, hardworking, passionate. Calm, cool, determined. There were bad words, too. Irrational, impulsive, fidgety. Bored, mean, angry. It depended on who he was talking to, whether it was good or bad.

Who was to say ADHD was a disability? Maybe it was just a quirk.

..Then again, Understanding People With ADHD had made it clear that it was difficult to have. It made socializing difficult. It made your life difficult. It wasn’t fair to people with ADHD to say that ADHD is just a quirk. It wasn’t fair to Matt. Even if Matt didn’t appear to need help or at least want to talk about it, he’d just invited him to. And then there was that conversation a couple of nights ago..

(What he had said during their conversation the other night had been running through his head all day. They had gotten drunk off some peppermint thing Matt had almost definitely stolen and Matt had said something along the lines of “ADHD is a huge part of who I am and you know nothing about it, dude” and Mello had said, “I want to understand you, it’s just that we can never really talk unless we’re drunk,” ..or something like that. They had talked all night, and kept drifting towards each other, hands sliding together and eyes connecting sometimes..)

The window seemed to blur the more Mello stared at it, and he ended up with his head resting on his hand. Eventually, as he thought, his head slipped and his chin bumped into the arm rest. He winced. Time to go to bed.

Christmas Eve morning:

“Dude, I think I was a centaur in my past life."

Mello started to roll his eyes, but instinctively corrected himself and took a sip of coffee to hide his irritated face.

"I had the weirdest dream, and I’m starting to think at one point my mom was a horse. She had horse energy."

Matt chattered a bit, talking about his dream, which turned to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles somehow. Mello tried to genuinely listen, but found himself entranced, for some reason, by Matt’s hair.

It was a little wild from sleep. Matt rolled around a lot in sleep, and it made his short curly hair stick up every which way. He never took care of his hair anyway, so it was permanently frizzy, even more so now.

It made him look soft and relaxed, not to mention vulnerable, as he explained the plot of a kids show in vivid detail. How he could do this but not study for more than an hour, Mello had no idea. But he wasn’t going to judge anymore (well, he was going to try, at least). That was the whole reason for this research/communication thing.

”..you got me?“

"Yeah,” Mello instinctively responded, waking up a bit.

“One thing: I hate shopping. I don’t spend money when I can steal."

Mello scrambled to catch up. What had he been talking about? Turtles, Christmas episode of the turtles, Christmas, decorating.. Oh, stealing Christmas decorations. "We’re trying to be normal citizens now, remember? Not criminals. We definitely don’t need cops on us, with our records. And besides, this place would look even more like shit if we got a bunch of cheery Christmas decorations in here.”

“I call bullshit,” Matt declared.

“You’re impossible.”

After arguing for a while, they decided to go shopping and did not steal; although Matt was seriously tempted when they drove by a Hobby Lobby. (“Come on,” he complained. “They’re homophobic, you know. It’d be homophobic not to steal from them. And they have really good Christmas stuff.”) They ended up visiting a Dollar Tree instead, since Hobby Lobby was insanely expensive (and tempting). They didn’t have lights, but they did have a ton of tinsel and cheap shit that they could drape everywhere, and hopefully that’ll give the same effect, right? Mello wondered. ..Meanwhile, he felt like he was looking at Matt too long, too many times. He was so close all of a sudden, since last night, or maybe before then. Every once in a while, he would lean in and suddenly he was just slightly too close, and Mello imagined leaning over and smelling his hair, for some reason.

It was kind of annoying and (intriguing?) at the same time. He couldn’t tell if Matt was really standing closer than normal (to mess with him? why else?), or if his brain was just warping everything for some reason.

By the end of their errand running, they had a small tree, a shit ton of tinsel (whatever the hell that was), and a really lazy looking Nativity scene. The sheep looked bored. When they got home, Matt drifted over to the couch and curled up on it, hunched in on himself like a hedgehog. Mello got to decorating, not able to help from glancing at his friend every few minutes.

Eventually, he stepped back and looked at the whole apartment. He sighed.

“Matt,” he said loudly, jolting the boy out of his haze.

Matt looked around, and nodded easily. “I like it.”

Mello stared. “Seriously?”

“Um.. It does look a little..” Matt gazed at the room and smacked his lips. In the manger, Baby Jesus seemed to give a sigh. “..Drab."

Mello groaned, looking like he wanted to pull out his gun at the decorations and threaten them until they got better. Or at least, looked less out of place in their worn apartment. He had been right; you couldn’t make this place pretty.

He glared at Matt as an I told you so, and fished a bar of chocolate from his jeans. It was a little soft, so it didn’t snap like he liked it to. Nevertheless, he chewed it hard, somewhere between enthusiastic and vicious. He started to take the decorations down, but Matt protested, coming off the couch to put a handful of tinsel back.

"I’ll fix it for you, Mel,” he said. Mello sighed. Weirdly, it felt like it had been a long day, even though it was just before noon. Actually trying hard to make this place look something like his childhood Christmases and utterly failing had taken something from him, and he felt vaguely like pouting.

“Could you even go shopping by yourself?” He challenged Matt. “I had to stop you from spending all our money on random crap like, three times. How did you even live without me?”

Matt looked at him. “See, dude, it’s shit like that. Didn’t you say you wanted to understand me, the other night? Understand this, asshole: don’t insult me about things I can’t control.”

“I-” Mello was caught off-guard, and felt his stomach sink a little. “I didn’t know you even remembered that."

"So you thought that I thought that you were just randomly into ADHD all of a sudden?”

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t a nice thing to say.” Mello practically had to kick himself to get the words out, stumbling and sounding like he was reading off a card. He felt a little embarrassed at himself, that it was this hard for him to apologize. He was in his twenties, if barely, and was legally an adult. Shouldn’t he be better at this? But the law had nothing to do with nature. Nature said that he still sometimes had childish urges that were completely unadult. Nature made Mello bad at apologies. (Still, all that meant was that he had to practice.)

“I’m sorry,” he said again, more firmly this time. “I didn’t mean it.”

Matt nodded his acceptance, flipping the screen of his toy up and down, thinking. “You mind going out again then?” It was true, Matt probably couldn’t do all the shopping on his own (lists, planning, and deadlines were not his forté).

Mello didn’t mind. He was realizing now that he already helped Matt with plenty of things, and it was instinct to point him in the right direction, and encourage him, in his own way. Mello hadn’t needed to do research after all, just to listen (and pay attention).

They decided to put some real effort into it this time, and returned some of the stuff from Dollar Tree, just to scrape up every cent they had. They easily spent twice as much as before at a flea market, and (after Matt insisted) Hobby Lobby (although they did a fair amount of “borrowing” as Matt called it).

Matt also insisted on hiding a few things he bought, making Mello turn away as he swiped a stolen card for them.

They decorated all afternoon, taking much longer than Mello had with the initial things from the dollar store. Matt put on a Christmas playlist, and Mello hummed sometimes, under his breath. Matt was more the type to belt it out, although he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. It was incredibly annoying (and cute, but Matt didn’t need to hear that).

They ended up having enough supplies that they decorated the kitchen too, and put up a few wreaths in the hallway. The end result was actually kind of.. quaint. Mello had ended up getting things that reminded him of the library, dark green and bright red and low yellow lighting (Matt pushed him into impulsively buying the fairy lights). It was less expensive looking than the library, but it was very them, not to mention cozy-looking and warm. They kept the simple nativity scene, but decorated it with tinsel, making even the sheep look a little more happy.

As much as the living room looked like the library Mello had visited, he couldn’t help but also be reminded of Wammy’s House, mostly from the things Matt had secretly gotten. The little Christmas tree had also stayed, and Matt had bought a silver angel for the top, similar to the one they pulled out every Christmas at Wammy’s. Stacked next to the tree were a few small presents Matt had wrapped in newspaper, another reference to their childhood. Besides the tree, Matt had gotten a cinnamon-scented candle, a reminder of a little blonde girl from Wammy’s House who had gotten a candle for Christmas and lit it every Christmas Eve in the sitting room; she made it last four years. Cinnamon always reminded Mello of her, and simple kindness and generosity. But the apartment also reminded him of Wammy’s House just because of how happy he was, and having Matt by his side for his first real Christmas in years.

Mello walked around the living room (it didn’t take long), occasionally trailing his fingertips along some wreath or bauble. It was pretty in the room, and glittering everywhere. It was- dare he say- romantic. He shot Matt a smile, uncaring that he probably looked ridiculous, grinning so openly. It was going to be a bitch to clean up, but it was also so pretty in here.

They sat together on the couch in their newly Christmas-ified apartment and watched another clichéd romcom movie that was enjoyable in its ridiculousness. Matt pulled out another thing he’d snuck from the store: a small box of candy canes. Naturally, they sucked down the end of their respective candy canes until they were sharp as needles, and fought with them like swords.

Their first kiss tasted like peppermint.

#submission

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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Matsuda’s Gift Exchange

From: @s-w-o-l-o

To: @memekami

Prompt: Matsuda organizing a gift exchange

Word count: 1982

“No.”

Touta Matsuda blinked. “What?”

Shuichi Aizawa’s eyes never left his monitor. “You heard me, Matsuda.”

Matusda frowned. Not surprised, but I didn’t expect such a short response.

“Come onnn, Aizawa, this can raise the morale of the team!”

“No.” Aizawa’s perpetually stern expression was unchanged.

“It’s festive.”

Aizawa frowned. “Since when do you celebrate Christmas?”

Matsuda shrugged his shoulders. “Since I saw online this thing the American’s call…dirty Santa?”

Aizawa’s typing stopped. “Is this a porn thing?”

Matsuda’s face reddened. “N-no! It’s a gift exchange.

Aizawa paused what he was doing to finally give Matsuda a sideways glance. “What kind of gifts?”

Matsuda gave another hapless shrug. “Anything really! It’s really fun, everyone gets a gift, then we sit around and each chooses one randomly.”

Aizawa exhaled slowly. “I’ve barely got the time or money to buy my kids gifts, much less one for you guys.”

“It’s nothing big! Maybe two to four hundred yen?”

Aizawa frowned. “You really want to do this? Why?”

Matsuda let out a sigh, leaning back to his chair. “I don’t know sir…We’ve all just been working our asses off. More So lately than in the last five years, and…” He leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper, though they were the only two in the room. “The team needs this after what happened to the Chief.”

Silence fell between the two as suddenly they tried everything in their power to avoid eye contact. It had only been a handful of weeks since Soichiro Yagami’s sudden passing following the team’s raid on the hideout of the terrorist only known as “Mello” and his allies from the American mafia. Father of fellow member Light Yagami, Soichiro commanded the respect of his subordinates- not only respect for his position but also for his character. The man had embodied honor, and his absence was felt heavily by the whole team.

Aizawa shook his head. “Look…” He turned to Matsuda. “If you can get everyone- everyone- on board with this, and you set up a place and time.” He couldn’t believe he was saying this. “Then I’ll agree to this gift exchange of yours.”

Matsuda was stunned. “Thank you sir!” He moved to hug Aizawa but was hastily pushed back into his chair. “Glad to see you’re feeling the Christmas spirit!” Matsuda gave him a wink.

Aizawa tried to fight his grinning, jamming a thumb towards the door. “Its getting late, get home, you moron.”

______________________________________________________________________________

With glee Matsuda closed before him. Aizawa was always going to be the most difficult to convince. With him on my side, the others should go along easily! As if by fate, at the end of the hall Matsuda spotted his colleagues Hideki Ide and Kanzo Mogi, chatting with each other.

“Ide! Mogi!” Matsuda shouted, sprinting down the hallway, waving the two down. He could already tell Ide had a disgusted look on his face, while Mogi stared with the same unreadable expression as always.

“Stop running in the halls, Matsuda, we’ve been over this.” Ide chided. “The floor below us is going to complain again.”

“Sorry! I just had to talk to both of you before you went home.”

Ide grimaced. “What is it?”

Matsuda gulped. Ide was never one to hide his distaste for him- even all the way back to five years ago when they first started working together, and since Ide had rejoined the investigation…nothing much had changed. Observing the man’s already annoyed expression, Matsuda knew he was already on the losing end of the ensuing discussion. Taking a deep breath, he began his pitch with renewed confidence.

“We’ve been through alot these last few months, wouldn’t you two agree?” Ide and Mogi gave each other confused sideways glances, and nodded slowly.

“I was just talking with Aizawa, and I thought it was a great idea for us to have a gift exchange!”

Ide raised an eyebrow. “A what exchange?”

“A gift exchange! For Christmas!”

Ide put a hand over his face. “Ridiculous…” He halfway muttered.

Matsuda pursed his lips. “Aizawa thought it was a good idea-”

“He probably said that to appease you,” Ide’s hand slipped away to reveal disappointed features. “We don’t have the time.” “The time? We’ve been chasing Kira for five years! A night to ourselves wouldn’t hurt!”

Ide gritted his teeth. “It’s pointless!”

“It’s not!” Matsuda gave Mogi and imploring look. For once, the giant seemed flustered, looking back and forth between the glaring Ide and Matsuda. Finally, he raised a hand to speak.

“It’s a nice gesture, Matsuda, but Ide’s right. With the chief gone, the work has increased for all of us, and with Mello now to contend with, every night must be devoted in finding him.” Mogi spoke with a calmness, and Matsuda could tell from his eyes that he was speaking truthfully, and not just to brush him off.

Matsuda stared sadly at his feet. “I guess you’re right..” He put a hand in his pocket and crossed his fingers tightly. Mogi gave Ide a disapproving look and an elbow jab in the ribs. Ide cursed him under his breath and looked back to Matsuda.

“Hey, stop moping.” Ide drew a deep breath. “What would this gift exchange entail?”

Matsuda beamed. “We would each draw a name, get a small gift we think that person would like, and then get all together at a restaurant or someone’s home to exchange!” He looked earnestly at both of them.

Mogi looked to Ide. “It’s harmless, really.”

Ide opened his mouth to object but received another glare from Mogi. From the disapproval of him and the eagerness of Matsuda, Ide finally caved. Rubbing his temples, he simply gave a slow nod.

“Yes!” Matsuda took them both by surprise by wrapping an arm about both and embracing the two. “You’ve made my day.”

“What’s this?” The three froze in place at the voice of none other than Light Yagami coming from behind them. Ide practically threw Matsuda to the floor trying to get him off as the three tried to regain their composure in Light’s presence.

“N-nothing!” Ide’s voice cracked. He and Mogi gave each other a nervous glance. Any interaction with Light outside of official investigation work was a rarity, and even after five years the team truly never knew how to react to his presence. Light for his part gave the same smile he ever did. Matsuda always thought Light’s smile, though it looked friendly, always had a certain chilling nature about it. Despite his smile, his eyes were always intense- he almost looked to be dissecting any person he looked upon.

“Hey Mogi,” Ide gave him a quick pat on the back. “Thanks for the offer to drive me home!” He gave a completely unsubtle head to the stairway exiting the hall and Mogi was quick to pick up on his hints.

“Of course! You’re very welcome.” Mogi gave an unconvincing performance. The two gave their goodbyes and quickly departed, leaving Matsuda alone with Light. The latter turned and gave Matuda that same lifeless look he had given his subordinate a thousand times before. He stayed quiet, almost daring Matsuda to speak first.

“Ah…Light, what luck.” Matsuda played with his hands. “I was just hoping I’d run into you before you went home.”

Light’s smile endured. “Yes, Matsuda? I haven’t long, so make it brief.”

Matsuda’s words fumbled. “I was talking it over with the others, and I had an idea for a team building- yes! A team building activity!”

Light cocked his head. “What would this activity be?”

“A gift exchange! I saw online how the Americans do it! We still have time before Christmas!”

Light blinked. “What?”

“I think the Americans call it dirty Santa…or White Christmas…or…something with an elephant?” Matsuda’s mind was starting to wander.

“Stop, stop.” Light raised a hand. “A gift exchange? Why would we partake in such a thing?”

“Well you see, I know the whole team has been down since…” Matsuda took a deep breath. “Since your father’s passing. I believe something like this can-”

“Stop.” Light didn’t have to raise a hand this time, as Matsuda choked on his last words. “Who has expressed any such feeling since his death?”

Matsuda raised an eyebrow. How could he talk so nonchalant about his own dead father?

“No one, Light, I just have a knack for feeling this sort of thing. I think we would all enjoy a little distraction from everything that’s been going on, and I know your father would want us to-.”

“Now I want you to just stop talking entirely.” Straighten his tie. “I find it offensive that you dare to even assume what my father would want when you barely knew the man, and then you try to explain to me, his son, how he would feel.” Matsuda felt dead inside, but he knew Light had only just begun. “You also insult my father by implying he would condone this frivolous garbage, and not only is it pointless, but it distracts from our goal.” He seemed to loom over Matsuda as he spoke these next words. “Now, if you want to spend all of your time planning ridiculous social events, I can easily have you transferred to a more…blithe department.”

Kira, kill me now. Just so I wouldn’t have to be here any longer. Matsuda gave a weak nod.

“My apologies, Light, I spoke out of turn and without regard. I won’t let such distractions interfere with my work again.”

Light placed a hand on his shoulder. The grip was harder than Light was letting on. “Thank you, Matsuda, I’m glad you understand.” After an eternity, he released his hand. “Now if you excuse me, I must be heading home.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Days later, Matsuda’s mood hadn’t improved in the slightest. He avoided Light as much as he could, and even the other three sensed that something had gone down between the two. Where Matsuda would usually hang around the investigation headquarters to chat with the team, now he was leaving as quickly as possible. All to avoid another unpleasant encounter with Light.

A week after the confrontation, Matsuda noted that Aizawa and the others had packed their things and had left before him.

Weird.

As he made his way onto the parking lot, in the ebbing sunlight he spotted three figures huddled around his convertible. He quickly realized as he drew closer that it was Aizawa, Mogi, and Ide.

“You guys…?”

Aizawa turned to him. “Matsuda!” He raised out a hand, clutching a small, wrapped box.

Matsuda’s eyes widened as he realized what he held, and he noticed that the others held identical gifts as well.

Aizawa noticed his confused glances. “We thought about it, and we decided your idea was a good one after all.”

“But Light-”

“What Light doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Mogi spoke.

Ide sighed. “Now do you have your gift or not? Our reservations are in half an hour.”

Matsuda couldn’t believe it. “Reservations!?”

Aizawa smiled. “Yeah, Mogi here got us a table at that fancy ramen place, Ichiraku.”

“That’s incredible!” Matsuda was beaming. “My gift has been in the car for weeks, I was actually going to throw it out tonight.”

“Well, good thing you didn’t!” Aizawa laughed. “Now, you’re driving.”

“Ah hell, Matsuda is a terrible driver!” Ide complained.

“Stop complaining and get in, Ide,” Mogi gave him a slap on the back of neck.

“Thanks for this guys” Matsuda said as he got into the car. “I really…” Aizawa noticed the heaviness that overcame him.

“Don’t sweat it, Matsuda, just drive. I’m starving!”

Matsuda smiled. Soon the four were on their way “Hey guys! I almost forgot, I burned a CD of some Christmas music. There’s a really good one on here, its called…What I want- No! All I want for Christmas!”

#submission

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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From: @fiat_luz (only on twitter)

To: @s-w-o-l-o

Prompt: anything with Matt and Mello’s friendship

#submission

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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Don’t forget to get your submissions in! The box closes Jan 4th so make sure you don’t miss it.

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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moonshine

From: @cat-soda

To: @anakien

Prompt: For Mello/Near, a story where they’re undercover at a bar and start tailing someone outside. To prevent themselves from being spotted, cue make out in an alley.

Word Count: 1623

Additional Tags: mentioned rape, mention/implied human trafficking, (nothing happens to anyone dw), alcohol & drug mention, rated T for Tons of sexual Tension, Meronia

The bar is a hole-in-the-wall kind of nightclub, with sticky countertops and stickier glasses, and strobe lights that flicker and flash across the room in random intervals. People move together in a sweaty mass in the center of the dance floor; Mello leans over and mutters “Wanna dance?” into Near’s ear just to snicker at the vague look of disgust he gets in response.

But, no. Even if either of them wanted to, tonight they had a mission.

Residing in the seediest part of Seattle’s Chinatown, The Lost City was a central hub for various underground dealings. Among those were aphrodisiacs and date rape drugs that moved hands from manufacturerers to linchpins, and from there into the drinks of future mail-order brides. There were several men involved in the operation. Mello, Near, and the rest of their team had managed to pinpoint three of them: David Smith, Jason Liu, and Emanuel Rivera. Undoubtedly aliases, but identifiers nonetheless. Catch any of them taking part in an exchange, and Mello and Near could blow the entire operation apart — all they needed was a testimony.

As it turns out, though, eyewitness accounts are hard to come by when everyone is hellbent on keeping mum. So, one evening, Near came up with an idea.

---

“We’ll call it a date night,” he said with his palms cupping Mello’s chin.

Near was sitting on top of a desk, face shadowed by the many monitors behind him. Mello, settled neatly between his legs, ran his hands up Near’s thighs. “You call a night out doing surveillance ‘a date?’”

He tilted his head, eyes wide. “Do you not know how to multitask?”

Lover be damned, Mello was getting tempted to bite through the bone of Near’s thumb as it swept over his lips. He settled for taking it into his mouth and sucking instead.

---

So. Blue eyes sweep across the room, long since having gotten bored. Mello takes a sip from his rum and coke. Clearly uncomfortable beside him, Near almost seems to curl around his own drink. Some date this is shaping up to be.

If nothing else —he amends, looping an arm around Near’s shoulders and pulling him closer— at least they look good together. Courtesy of himself, of course. Near probably would’ve come in his usual attire if the decision had been left up to him. Pajamas, messy hair, curious expressions and all.

No, scratch that. At least they both looked legal, now.

Regardless, they were still having trouble blending in, standing off to the side as they were.

He takes another disgruntled sip of his drink as a man wearing a half-bun enters the main room. Mello’s attention immediately latches onto him.

Jason Liu, age 37.

He touches a hand to the choker on Near’s neck, pulls on it slightly. “Found him,” he says in quiet Portugese.

Near’s lips curl upwards in excitement. “Good,” Near replies in kind. He slips a hand into the back of Mello’s jeans and squeezes just hard enough to earn a glare. “I want to get closer.” He sets aside his beer and turns, a mischievous half-smile playing at the edges of his mouth. In English, “I suppose I’ll take you up on that offer from earlier.”

Mello’s eyes narrow. Near, what are you thinking…? “My pleasure,” he manages before the other detective sets off for the dancefloor.

There’s nothing subtle about the way Near pushes his way through the crowd, and just the shine of the lights on his hair is enough to draw Mello’s gaze away from Liu as he struggles to follow. Focusing so heavily on the other must have been a mistake, however — a clubber upends half their drink onto him when they happen to collide. To make matters worse, Near reappears at his side as easily as he’d disappeared, lightly teasing, “Alcohol is supposed to go in your mouth, Mello.”

“I realize that. Thanks, Near.” Mello lifts his wrist to his mouth and tentatively licks, internally grinning at the way Near’s ever attentive eyes darken and go half-mast. “‘s not bad.”

He sees Near’s attention dart away from him, then—

Going up on the balls of his feet, Near hangs his arms around his partner’s neck in a too-loose-limbed imitation of drunkenness. His breath is scentless —his drink had gone untouched all night— and it leaves nothing to focus on besides the resulting dampness and heat that meets Mello’s ear as Near murmurs, “The target is leaving the area through the back entrance.”

Mello looks around, quickly relocating the stout Asian man. Sure enough, he was just stepping out the door. He places a hand over Near’s shoulder blades in a kind of caress, hissing, “What, you thought I wouldn’t notice?”

“You looked distracted. Was I wrong?” A sharp nip to his earlobe, then Near pulls away with an affected —dizzying— quirk to his smile and a touch of brightness to his eyes. “Shall we?”

Mello scowls as the other man slips away from him.

Seattle’s winter is sharp as they step outside, the cold air hitting his nose and cheeks with a special kind of vengeance after the warmth of the bar. The pair of them take a moment to glance around, Mello hardly daring to breathe in case his good ear happens to miss a sound.

Quietly, they hear the scratch of shoes against pavement.

Mello jerks his head in that direction and, at Near’s nod, takes off with Near close at his heels. They stick to the shadows to avoid arousing suspicion, never more than a few meters behind Liu. When he stops in front of a nondescript van, they step in sync into the dark of a narrow alleyway, creeping to the edge of the brick wall to watch. The back doors of the van open and out come—

—he’s turning this way—

—Near pulls him deeper into the alley.

The only other warning Mello gets is the glint of Near’s teeth as he grins, sly and stark under moonlight, before Near drags him downwards by the collar for a kiss. Their lips meet, teeth clashing harshly — Mello’s back hits the other wall with enough force that it shoots molten arousal down his veins. Ah, shit. He fumbles for the gadget in his pocket and sticks it to the wall-space next to him, then crawls his hands underneath Near’s shirt just to feel him shiver.

Near’s fingers reach up to tangle in and pull hard at Mello’s hair, half-lidded eyes watching the bob of his throat before Near sucks at his neck, insistent— Mello lets out a quiet moan that’s quickly cut off by another kiss. Biting at the blond’s lower lip, Near pulls away just far enough to whisper, “Careful. We don’t want to get caught, now do we?”

“Shut up, Near. Shut up, shut up—!” Grabbing his forearms tight enough to bruise, Mello spins until the other man’s back is hitting the wall —Near’s breath stuttering in surprise— and pins his wrists up against it. He tastes the heat of the other’s mouth, swallowing down the soft noise he makes, and moving his tongue molasses-slow against Near’s until the fog begins to clear from his head.

He pulls back, panting slightly but wearing a smirk at the way Near chases him out of the kiss. Still, he gently rubs the other’s wrists in silent apology as he lowers them. The air around them lowers by several degrees as Near relaxes against the wall, breathing hard through his nose. “That hurt, Mello.”

His smirk disappears. “Sorry. Are you—”

“No, I—” Near’s eyes open, revealing charcoal pupils blown-wide. “I meant that I liked it.”

Sparks shoot down Mello’s spine.

He works to clear his throat, and manages, after a few seconds, “Still. We should… try to be more careful. In the future.”

“...sounds good.”

Near twists a strand of hair between his fingertips. Mello tries to will his heartbeat back to normal. Offhandedly, he notices how silent the night’s become.

Near straightens up, suddenly alert. “The target!” He looks around the corner at where they’d last seen Liu, biting down on a reddened lip. “I shouldn’t have gotten so…”

“Distracted?”

Turning pink at the reminder of his earlier teasing, Near throws a cold stare Mello’s way, whose only response is to grin back, cat-like.

“‘Distracted,’ yes.” He sighs. “He’s gone. We’ve lost the target.”

Near goes into a crouch, hugging his knees to his chest in a forlorn manner, and Mello immediately decides that that’s enough wallowing in self-pity for one night. He brushes his hand through his hair, starting, “Well…” and wincing when he hits a tangle Near’s fingers had caused. “No, not exactly.” He frees his hand, then gestures to the tiny camera he’d stuck to the wall. Matt had handed it to him before they left headquarters earlier that night, citing this is a date, after all! with a shit-eating grin. “Check this out.”

Near’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead. He leans in, inspecting the gadget before turning to look over his shoulder with a slight smile, genuine and warm. “That was very clever of you, Mello.”

The soft-spoken compliment has Mello’s face flushing a brighter shade of red than it has all night. “Fuck off,” he mumbles. He takes the camera off of the wall and shoves it back in his pocket, huffing.

He can still hear the smile in Near’s voice as he responds, “Alright.” Thin, pale fingers interlace between his own. “We should go home.”

Mello finally looks at him, heart skipping a beat at the way Near almost seems to glow in the evening’s darkness, and concedes. “Yeah,” he says. He clasps their hands just a bit tighter together. “Home it is.”

---

moonshine (n)

moon·shine | \ ˈmün-ˌshīn \

Definition of moonshine

1 : moonlight

2 : empty talk : nonsense

3 : intoxicating liquor, especially : illegally distilled corn whiskey

(via Merriam-Webster!)

---

a/n: and then they probably fucked :p

my apologies to anyone named david smith, jason liu, or emanuel rivera -- i swear i don't have anything against those names >.< umm, it was my first time writing smth so... spicy?? so i hope i did well. anakien, if there's anything you want me to change, i absolutely will!!

let's see... special thanks to my friend, jean, for reading this over for me, haha!! oh, and the playlist for this fic can be found here!! thanks for reading!!

#submission

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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To: @cat-soda

From: @memekami

Prompt :L getting caught pretending to be Santa by the kids at Wammy’s

Merry Christmas cat-soda!! I hope you had a good holiday (or at least as good as it gets in these times). I really hope you like!! I spent a lot of time fussing with it, definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone but was very fun to do

My idea for this was near caught santa the year before and Mello wanted to catch him first this year. Matt and him camped out by the tree waiting for him. Mello has one of those papers you get santa to sign for "proof" (doing this as a kid kept me convinced for years)

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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Hello everyone! Because of the issues people have been having submitting fics on tumblr, we’ve created a google form as a backup! So, if you try to submit on tumblr and it doesn’t work, you can go here and submit it. If this form doesn’t work, you can go ahead and message us and we’ll figure it out!

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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Title: Gift Exchange

From: @anakien

To: @user-null

Prompt: Mello & Near gift exchange without the other knowing

Word Count: ~3,800 words

A/N: Hi! I hope you enjoy this! :)

Mello will never admit it, but he's always liked Christmas.

He has fuzzy memories from being a kid, long before he was ever brought to Wammy's. On Christmas Eve, he attended church services with his mother. He remembers kneeling with her in the pews, clutching her rosary, and listening to her sing.

He can't picture her face anymore, but he remembers her there.

Christmas at Wammy's is different. Wammy's is always lighter, somehow. The place is decorated, all lights and trees and little ugly snowflake decorations up on the walls. Roger takes a carload to the nearest church for the Christmas Eve service, though Mello no longer goes. The chefs bake more, laying out plates of cookies and other spiced holiday desserts. And though all of the kids are too intelligent to truly believe in Santa, Watari's and L's Santa traps are kind of fun (though, as always, it's only a test for the successor path).

But Mello's favorite part of Christmas might be the gift exchange they do every year. Some of the older kids started it several years ago, X, Y, and Z, but every year the tradition continues.

This year, Linda begged and begged until the others let her organize the exchange. They pile into one of the empty classrooms after dinner, the others buzzing with excitement. Even Matt looks relatively excited, his GameBoy ever-present but sitting paused in his lap.

Even that little twit Near is around, sitting quietly in the corner. He meets Near's gaze and holds it for a moment. Near doesn't look happy really, but there's still something akin to excitement in his gaze.

Mello doesn't let that curb his good mood, his own excitement still bubbling in his belly. He turns away, back to Matt, and shoves him to go put their names in the hat.

Linda yells at everyone to settle down, hands on her hips. She trots around the room, waving the hat under everyone's nose.

Matt draws his slip first, and then Mello grabs his, under Linda's watchful eyes.

He leans back and peers at it. Linda, the slip reads. He snorts. Easy. All he has to do is get her art supplies.

He watches her flounce off to the next person, and Matt groans as soon as she's out of earshot.

"Damn. I wanted her," he says. He pushes his goggles up to the top of his head and sighs.

Mello smirks. He is no stranger to Matt's not-so-secret crush. He briefly flashes Matt his little slip of paper, and Matt's eyes grow wide.

"Switch with me."

Mello cackles. "No way. She's easy to buy for."

"Mello," Matt says pleadingly. He's practically begging, and Mello relishes in this newfound control. "Come on, man. Let's switch."

"What'll you give me?"

"A month's supply of chocolate."

"You were going to give me that anyway. That's my Christmas gift."

"Two months!"

"Six. And next time Roger gets on my ass, you cover for me."

Matt sighs and looks longingly over in Linda's direction. "Three months, but I'll do the Roger thing."

"Deal." Mello sticks out his hand, Matt shakes it, and they exchange slips.

Only that's when Mello realizes he never found out who exactly Matt had. He unfolds Matt's slip to see Near written in tiny letters.

"Hell no," he says immediately, trying to shove the slip back into Matt's hands.

Matt gives him wide eyes. "Come on, we shook on it."

Mello grits his teeth. He turns around, scouting for Near. Nowhere in sight; he must've left as soon as he got his paper.

"I hate that little sheep," he sneers.

Matt looks genuinely, legitimately disappointed, and Mello's resolve starts to falter.

"I'm a good fucking friend," Mello grumbles finally.

Matt's face lights up, and he slaps Mello on the shoulder, grinning.

They leave the room, and Mello fights the irritation that lingers.

------

One week before Christmas, Roger rounds up all the kids who want to physically buy their gifts to head to the closest department store.

He and Matt climb into one of the vans, followed in by Sura and Hermine. Both girls chatter away in the front row, smiling at Matt but ignoring Mello.

Mello scowls and looks out the other window. He can practically feel Matt's silent gloating, though he stays quiet as he pulls out his GameBoy.

"Got room for two more?" A new voice says. Mello turns, and Linda grins at them. Near stands next to her, looking as impassive as ever.

Matt lights up and immediately scrambles out of the back seat, making room for Linda.

"Come here," Sura says to Linda, beckoning her over. Linda gives Matt an apologetic smile and scoots into the middle row next to Hermine.

Near stands expectantly, looking up at Matt.

"We got room," Matt says to Near. Matt looks disappointed, but Near obviously doesn't care. Mello averts his eyes as both turn towards him, angling his body as close to the side as possible.

Mello stiffens as Near climbs in next to him. He remains still, holding his breath, even as Near straps in and ignores him. Matt climbs in next, sending Mello a silent expression that's a mix of amused and apologetic.

Near suddenly leans even more into Mello's space, digging into his pants pocket, and Mello chokes for a moment. Out Near pulls a small wooden toy and then moves back into his own space. He murmurs a small apology, obviously waiting on Mello to yell at him.

Instead, Mello could only focus on how warm he was, and on how soft his hair was against his cheek.

"Watch it," Mello mutters, but without any venom. It's also a beat too late, and Matt is staring at him with an eyebrow raised. He snorts on the other side of the van, trying belatedly to turn it into a cough. Mello glares over Near's head, feeling his cheeks heat in embarrassment.

Their staring match is interrupted as Roger climbs in the driver's seat, craning around to count them. He sighs, visibly exhausted, at seeing Near next to Mello.

"Mello, am I going to have to separate you two?"

One of the girls giggles, and Mello's cheeks flush even more.

"You don't have to worry about me," he says irritably. "Tell the sheep to stick to his seat."

"I'll be okay," Near says, not even looking up at Roger.

Roger sighs again, but turns around, cranks the engine, and they're on their way.

The girls chat amiably. Matt sticks to his GameBoy, occasionally leaning over to say something to Linda, and Near fiddles with his toy. Mello gets bored of ignoring everyone after about ten minutes and turns to watch Near.

He's playing with one of those wooden block puzzles, where the goal is to get one brightly red piece to slide neatly out of the entrance. He watches Near fiddle with it for longer than expected, until Near finally clears an open line and frees the piece.

Near huffs a little, pleased. Suddenly, he turns to Mello and holds the puzzle up. "Want to try?"

Mello cocks his head and reaches out to snag the toy. "I'm only doing this because I'm bored," he says, "not because I think your stupid toy is cool or anything."

Near jerks the puzzle back, but before Mello can say something angrily, he mixes up the pieces on the block, setting it up for Mello to have a fresh start. He holds it back towards Mello, who grabs it silently.

"It's more fun when it's a challenge," Near says simply.

Mello doesn't know what to say, so instead he turns his attention back down to the block and begins. Near stays quiet, simply watching.

It's kind of fun. Mello will never actually admit it, but it scratches the itch for challenge in his mind.

And damn, Near mixed the pieces up well.

He finishes the puzzle, sliding out the little red piece, just as the van pulls into the store parking lot. Grinning, he looks sideways at Near and holds up the piece.

"Got it," he says, radiating satisfaction.

The corners of Near's mouth tilt up, and he gently takes the piece and toy back from Mello. "On the ride back, you can attempt to complete it faster than me."

Mello snorts. His chest feels warm. "Yeah, right. I definitely beat that faster than you!"

Near's eyes are bright. "Perhaps with a little more practice."

Mello opens his mouth to shoot back another comment, but Near doesn't wait to hear it, already slipping out of the backseat and heading towards the store without looking back.

Mello sits for a moment, an odd feeling in his chest that only occurred when Near smiled at him. He brushes it off and climbs out after him. Matt, waiting just outside the van door, steadies his arm as he trips out.

"Well," Matt says, amused, "that was new."

"What?"

"Oh, you know. Just you sitting next to Near and not trying to kill him for once."

Mello scoffs. "Shut up."

"It's a Christmas miracle!"

Mello shoves him.

———

The store is ridiculously crowded. There's still another week left until Christmas, but people are already out in swarm.

He and Matt split up at the sight of the crowd of people. Mello heads straight back for the toy section, pushing and shoving his way through. Luckily, the puzzles aren't really picked over, and he picks out a 1,000 piece puzzle with some picturesque mountain landscape on it.

Well, that was easy.

Roger gave them an hour to shop. It's barely been fifteen minutes. Groaning, he trudges off in the direction of the craft aisle, in search of Matt.

Said friend is found squatting on the floor, looking between two identical green paints.

"I'm done," Mello says. "Come on."

Matt waves him off. "Go check out." He holds the tubes up towards the light. "I have to pick the best shade."

Mello rolls his eyes. "Those are literally the same color."

Matt shushes him and squints even more at the paint.

Mello huffs and turns to head out. As he leaves, the white paint catches his eye. Near's voice echoes in his head, "It's more fun when it's a challenge." He grabs a tube and heads to check out.

———

For the ride home, Near gets into the other van. Mello doesn't know why this actually bothers him.

———

Only a couple of days before Christmas, Mello actually gets started on Near's gift. It's painstaking - painting each piece white, front and back.

Matt ribs him a little about it and snags a picture of him sprawled out on his stomach on the floor, legs kicked up in the air and tongue peeking out. Mello threatens to break his camera, but Matt laughs and hides it away. Pretty soon, it's all forgotten as he has to get back to painting.

When he's finally finished, it looks pretty damn great, if he says so himself. He's never been one for puzzles, so he doesn't bother to put it together by himself. He somehow cons Matt into doing it with him, and when it's finished, both of them stare at it.

"I think Near'll like it," Matt says, stretching out the crick in his neck, "but you could never pay me to do that again."

"It needs something else," Mello says, squinting down at it.

Matt shrugs. "I think the white looks good."

Mello doesn't disagree, but it sticks in the back of his mind until he sees Linda the next day. She's an artist; she'll be a better judge of style than Matt, who wears that same ugly vest and goggles everyday.

He waves her over. "Come look at this for me."

She looks confused, but follows him back to his and Matt's room. He points out the puzzle.

"Oh! That looks good. For Near, right?"

"It needs something else," he says bluntly, "but I don't know what."

She hums. "What about his name? Or initial?"

Mello considers it. "Can we make it small? The white - he says he likes a challenge."

She looks at him, amused. "Oh, so you've talked to him some more?"

"Shut up. Can you sketch an N or not?"

She grins and grabs a pencil off of Matt's desk. In the top left corner, she draws the N, stylized in the same font that L does his.

"What about this? You can paint it," she says, leaning back on her feet when she's done. "I have black paint you can borrow to fill it in."

"Thanks." It was exactly what he had in mind. She drops the paint off and he spends the evening doing delicate, small strokes so each line is straight.

He leaves it out to dry. Even Matt grudgingly admits it looks better than before.

There's still a couple more days until Christmas, but Mello can't help but be excited, even though the gift is for Near of all people. He thinks about the weird way he felt the other day when Near smiled at him. It probably is just excitement for the idea, no big deal.

———

The gift exchange takes place on Christmas evening, after dinner. Mello's been antsy all day, but he only started to get a little nervous once the meal was over. He's pretty sure Near will like the puzzle. After all, it's practically custom-built for the little twit. Still, his stomach twists uncomfortably as he watches Near from across the dining hall.

As if knowing Mello's thinking about him, Near looks up and catches his gaze. Mello immediately looks down at his food. He forces himself to look away for the rest of dinner, though he can still feel Near's eyes on him every now and then.

Everyone meets back up in the living area fifteen minutes after dinner. It's enough time to go back and grab the gift. He'd wrapped it the day before, so all he has to do is pick it up and head back with Matt. Matt has Linda's gift tucked under one of his arms, and his GameBoy under the other.

There's already a crowd of people waiting and chatting loudly. Matt and Mello sit with some of the other guys. Mello keeps one eye on the door, waiting for Near to walk in. As more and more people file in, Near still doesn't show. He shifts, antsy.

"Dude, relax," Matt says. "He'll show."

"I'll be pissed if I put in all this work for nothing," Mello grumbles.

Matt rolls his eyes. "Sure. That'll be why you're upset."

Before Mello can spit something back, Near walks in, just as composed as ever. He holds a small brown box in his hands, a deck of cards resting on top.

Matt nudges him. "What did I say?"

"Shut up."

"Everyone, quiet!" Linda stands up, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Is anyone not here? I think everyone's here. We're about to get started! I'll read off the names. If you have that person, bring them their gift. Easy?"

The room buzzes, and she flaps a hand to get everyone to be quiet.

"Okay, first off... Ronan?"

There's not a whole lot of students, but the exchanges still seem to drag. Mello occasionally throws peeks towards Near, who doesn't even look like he's paying attention. Instead, he's building a tower with his cards.

Linda calls her own name at some point and looks ridiculously excited over her new paints. Matt practically glows all the way back to his seat, which only grows more intense as he opens Hermine's gift for him - some brand new game for his console.

"Near!"

Near looks up expectantly when his name is called. Mello slowly gets to his feet at Matt's prodding, feeling the eyes of every other kid in the room. He hears some of them whisper as he walks by - after all, his and Near's rivalry has always been the subject of much gossip.

"How did Mello get him-"

"Poor Near, I bet-"

Mello ignores them and comes to a stop in front of Near. He holds out the gift. "Here," he says, gruffly. "Merry Christmas."

Near looks up at him, wide-eyed for only a moment before he composes his expression into something more neutral. He takes the box and scoots away from his cards.

Mello cringes inwardly, looking down at his sloppy wrapping. Near doesn't seem to care, though. He just calmly unwraps the puzzle box, displaying the mountain landscape.

"Thank you, Mello," he says.

Mello swallows and gestures lamely. "Open it. It's uh, not the mountains."

Near tilts his head at that, but he does as Mello says and opens the box. The pieces are all mixed inside, but Near holds up one of the ones with the black initial on it.

Mello is well aware that everyone's eyes are still on him. He sweats a little. "It's an all-white puzzle. Except for your initial. I, uh, painted everything on it." He clears his throat. "You said it's more fun with a challenge."

Near's face is devoid of all emotion, but his eyes are bright. "Thank you."

That's as much recognition as he's going to get, so he nods and turns back around. As soon as his back is turned, he hears the telltale sound of all the pieces hitting the floor. When he gets back to his seat, Near is already hard at work on his puzzle.

Matt looks at him, smug. "Better than a baby puzzle, huh?"

"Shut up."

Near looks up and meets Mello's gaze. He smiles, softly. Mello lets one side of his mouth tilt up.

Linda calls the rest of the names. Mello waits impatiently for his own name to be called.

"And last but not least, Mello!"

Much to his surprise, Near is the one who stands up and walks over to him. Mello takes the box Near hands him and tears it open, no regard for the neat wrapping. Inside is a stack of chocolate bars, twelve in total. He lifts one up and flips it over to see that dark chocolate content is 82.5%.

"This is my favorite chocolate," he says, a little shocked. "How the hell did you know that? I never can find it in stores. L special orders it for me for my birthday."

Near looks satisfied and doesn't answer his question. "It would be a year's supply for anyone but you," he says dryly.

Mello smirks. Near walks back to his spot, and Mello immediately tears into the first bar. The room titters.

Linda stands back up. "I think we're done! Thanks for participating, everybody. See you next Christmas!"

The room gets loud again as people start to trickle out. One of the other guys leans over to poke at Mello, smirking and taunting him about how he and Near got each other's names.

"What, you think I planned that?" Mello scoffs. "Yeah, right."

Matt jabs at him with his foot, already plugging his new game into his GameBoy. Linda comes by to speak to Matt, and Mello ducks away because he really doesn't want to see Matt's sappy expressions. Instead, he drifts closer to Near, until he squats down beside him. Near doesn't look up from the puzzle.

"Did you know I had you?"

"No," Near says. "Nor did I suspect you knew I had you." He tries to snap a piece into place, but it doesn't fit. He grimaces slightly.

Mello preens.

"It took me four hours to put it together," Mello says. He conveniently leaves out the fact that Matt was helping him. "Beat me. I dare you."

"You don't want me to take my time, enjoy my present?" Near's voice is too innocent for Mello to believe him.

"Smartass. Sounds like something someone would say when they know they can't beat my time."

The corners of Near's mouth tilt up into a smile, though he still doesn't look up. "Merry Christmas, Mello."

Mello snaps off another piece of his chocolate. Damn, that's the good shit. "Near." With that, he turns and leaves him to it.

———

The next morning, Mello walks through the living area on the way to the dining hall. In the corner, in Near's spot, the puzzle lays finished. A piece of paper rests on top, and he bends down to pick it up.

Six hours. - N

Mello can't help it. He laughs. "Merry Christmas, Near. Guess I'm still better than you, after all."

———

A/N: I slightly changed up Near’s classic all-white puzzle for this fic. In the show, you see Near working on it in the episode where Roger tells them that L died. But it actually has an L on it, not an N! But I thought it would be cute to have Mello spend so much time working on it for him out of spite (though, it’s not spite, it’s more of a crush, even if he’s not aware of it yet). Either way, I hope you enjoyed this! :)

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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Hi everyone! Some people have had some issues submitting their fics because tumblr has a word limit on paragraphs. If you’re having these issues, you can always send your fic in through messages (I know it might take a few messages to do it, but it will work). Or, if you have another way you’d rather do it, just let us know.

My apologies, this is my first time doing an exchange and I didn’t realize this would be an issue. I’ll definitely figure out a way to make it better next time! Thank you for being patient with me as I figure things out!

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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Confessions at the university

From: @creyes96

To: @madmeridian

Prompt: University AU (all I ask is you include Near in this one, otherwise go ham with it. I also will love you if you chose to add Mello/Near, but only if you’re comfortable with that)

Additional tags: Meronia

Word count in total: 2511

Authors Note: I’ve tried with this one but I hope you like it, I apologize for my bad grammar and this had to be split into 4 parts.

Nate River was starting University of Winchester as a freshman to study criminal justice, he was top of his class during his early school years and has earned his scholarship so he didn’t have to worry about school loans. Though he didn’t want to go to the university but his good friend Linda, made him go, she says he needs to have more friends and be a bit more social and his father L who had studied the same university where Nate was going and now he’s the worlds best detective for his best intelligence and solving the most difficult case, had said it will do him good for Nate to have a good career, instead of him being in his room all day, playing with his toys. His mother died while giving birth to Nate so L and Wammy were the two people who raised him, Wammy is like a father figure to L, even when L had turned lazy and let him eat a lot of sweets let’s him sit in a frog like posture. Nonetheless, L tried and succeeded in being a good father towards Nate and never ask for anything other than toys. Nate was in his room getting reading to head off to the university, when he heard a knock, Wammy had open the door. “Hi Mr. Watari, is Near ready yet?” It was Linda. Linda doesn’t know Nates and Wammy’s real name for good reason. Why? Because even though L is the best detective in the world but before Near was born, had received many hates and death threats and Quillish Wammy had saw this coming and so did L, which is why L Lawliet is Ryuzaki, Wammy is Watari, and after Nate was born but eventually when growing up and became a lot smarter, named Near. “Oh hello miss Linda, yes I suppose he should be ready now,” Said Watari who open the door wider for her to come to wait for Near but he was already ready to go. “Hello Linda” Said Near walking out of his room, dressed in uniform which he dislike and had a luggage with him and had a stuffed bunny he got for his fifth birthday from his dad. L was in a chair, sitting in his usual frog like posture, eating cake and stacking sugar cubes, he sat up and went to greet Linda. “Yes hello Linda, I take it you’re going together with Near to the university?” Said L, he knew Linda would be at his house to get Near since he wasn’t the type of person to go alone and Near prefer it that way. “That’s right and Near I’m glad to see you ready” said Linda smiling. Linda is planning on studying arts at the university. Both her and Near would not be seeing Watari and L for a while until the holiday break. L wasn’t the guy that liked to be touched anyway, like simple hug or a poke in the shoulder or a hand behind his upper back, but he knew it would be a while to see his son again, L hugged Near at the front door and Near hesitated for a moment, then hugged him back, then L pulled back from the hug. “I hope you find happiness, Near” Near then walked towards Wammy and gave him a hug as well. Wammy was like a father towards L and in a way, became like a grandfather to Near. “It’s not so bad at the university Near, I remember when I was headmaster in the university that each student had made memories they will never forget,” said Wammy with smile while looking at Near. Quilish Wammy was indeed the headmaster of the university for a while, now that he retired, Near had heard Roger is the new headmaster. “I see, well best not to be late for the bus, good bye father, Watari” Said Near in a monotone, then heads out the door with Linda. Both L and Wammy waved at Near and Linda goodbye. They were at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive, Linda talks about art she’s going to study and other things about meeting new friends.

The bus had arrived shortly and they were on their way to the university. She had a crush on Near since they were thirteen but saw Near liked someone who’s just born from Slovak and moved to England when he was seven, his name was Mihael Keehl, but prefers to be called Mello since he wanted to earn the title of being L and was second best candidate, he made friends with Mail Jeevas which he happened to be third best candidate though he did not care about it, and Near is first best candidate in a school only gifted students. Mello hated the thought Near was first place, he studied early morning to late nights, Matt had informed Mello, with Matt’s hacking skills, Near is the son of L. That information had Mello’s blood boil, he thought just because Near is the son of L, means they purposely put Near in first place, that wasn’t true, Near was simply very intelligent at his age. Near had found out Matt had hacked his personal information while Mello was yelling and screaming at Near. Mello had given up to beat Near and left the school, Matt soon followed after. Nobody else could see Near’s emotion except Linda, from what she could in his face he was deeply sadden that Mello had left and Near was starting to dislike the fact of being Ls son but never showed it to anyone, not even Linda. They made it to the university but had to go separate ways to there hall of residence. Once Near had received a room number, he made his way to his dorm, arrives at the front of the door, he opens it, it had two beds and two desks, perhaps he could very much have a roommate, but nobody came in hours after Near had arrived while unpacking his things, Near was okay with that, he’s used to being alone before him and Linda became friends. Class had started, Near and Linda had to go separate ways to their studies, while other students were coming in and Near was sat down, reading a book, and noticed a blonde chin length hair and a reddish brownish hair with goggles. It was Mello and Matt. Near was almost widen his eyes but went back to seemingly emotionless face, he was shocked to see both Mello and Matt again, but there was something different in Mello’s face, he had a burn scar. Near wondered what exactly had happened to him during these four years of not seeing him, but at the same time, even he didn’t want to show it, he was happy to see Mello again. “Is that Near? Hi Near, been awhile” Said Matt, waiving at him. “Yes it has Matt, glad to see you two are doing well” Said Near in a monotone voice, waiving back at him. Near wasn’t happy to see Matt after what happened, he was still a bit angry with him. Mello had noticed Near and scoffed at him. “Tsk, yeah whatever class will be starting soon,” Said Mello and frowned, looking like he’s not surprised that Near would be at the university and both him and Matt had taken a seat more in the back of the classroom while Near was a little forward so they both were behind Near. It was time for class as soon as the professor walked in. While class was in session, Near couldn’t help but to feel like someone was staring at him, he dared himself not to look who was staring at him and just focus on the lesson and taking notes while the professor was teaching. This was going to be a long school year, but it wasn’t so bad as Near thought it would. Near was expecting Mello to insult him, yell at him, and call him mean nicknames just like before but it was but different, he didn’t do any of that except the nicknames but it wasn’t as mean as before it was just ‘sheep’ or sometimes ‘cotton ball.’ It was strange to Near but maybe because he’s mature. During the school year was rather interesting, a side that Linda and him would still talk with each other about classes, school work, how the test or exams went, Linda mostly talked about is Matt. Near knew Matt pretty well and knows about it and sometimes would constantly asked about what Matt is like and what does he do for a living, what are his hobbies, it annoyed Near but he answered in honesty.

“He cares nothing about the world, he’s very messy, likes to smoke a lot and plays video games.” Said Near coldly while him and Linda were sitting on a bench eating sandwiches for lunch. “Oh Near, I love you as a friend but could you at least not be so straightforward all the time” Linda was pouting now. “You know I am not that kind of person who would lie such thing also sugar coated would make things worse and you’re my friend Linda, despite my seemingly cold demeanor, I care for your well-being and your feelings” “Aww sometimes I forget you could be sweet at times thank you, but you know I’ve seen someone at this university has been somewhat staring and maybe stalking you” At first Near didn’t know who it was, but for a while now, it was Mello. He talked to Near a couple of times about closed and unsolved cases the professor had taught them but that was about it. Near didn’t mind with Mello staring and stalking him. “Yes, I am very aware Mello is doing such thing” “What! And you didn’t tell me? Near this could’ve been serious if you didn’t tell me sooner but anyways at least it’s not something dangerous, it’s the way Mello looks at you, it seem like he’s really interested and liking you, maybe might be in love with you” Near could not believe what Linda was saying, Mello had hated him when they were younger, still Mello had matured but Near knew he still hated him for being number one. Near still didn’t believe Mello had liked him as he liked Mello. “That is ridiculous, I know Mello very much doesn’t like me, even hates me, he just does those things because he despises me and still wants to beat me.” “I don’t know Near, the way he looks at you, wasn’t the look of hate.” Linda could be right and Near might be wrong. He hated how wrong he is. The holiday break was already starting, Near was packing his things to celebrate Christmas with his father and Wammy, Linda would still visit Near but mostly would celebrate the holiday with her family and believe it or not, she had gone out with Matt. It wasn’t Linda who asked him, Near was surprised that Matt had asked her instead, but so far they’ve been alright together for a few months. Matt had asked Near if he could crash Ls house for the break and said yes, Matt didn’t have a family, neither does Mello which he’s also okay with Mello staying at his house. L didn’t really mind on having the two at his place since L knows Matt and Mello pretty well. Near was still packing his things at his room when someone was at the doorway. “You still kept that damn stuffed bunny with you and still playing with toys, you’re old enough to not be playing with them” it was Mello saying such rude things, which it surprised Near. “They served purpose, nothing more, nothing less” said Near in a monotone voice and starts twirling his hair. “Tsk whatever Near” said Mello, now walking closer to Near. “Need help with packing?” “I am fine, thanks for asking. Should you start packing as well if you’re going to be staying at my father place.” “I’ve already done that” “I see, then there’s no reason for you to be here” “damn it Near stop ordering me around and I came here to talk to you” “What is there to talk about, we are just spending Christmas together as colleague” “It’s personal Near and I needed to talk to you alone” “Then speak then” Both Mello and Near were facing each other, Mello took deep breaths and said: “I know you caught me staring and somewhat stalking you and you think it’s out of hate but it’s not about that” Near kept quiet, looking at Mello and he continued: “I know I’ve been an asshole to you when we were younger but after I left, I started to feel regret of what I did, not just leaving you but for yelling at you too and my anger and hatred for you had gone. When I saw to at the university from day one, I’ve realized that I missed you, so much. I’m sorry for leaving.” Near couldn’t believe what he was hearing, Mello had missed him and he regret of what he did, Near didn’t show it but he felt happy and his heart pounding.

“Mello, did you come here just to apologize and saying that you missed me” “No not just to say that and I know you missed me too and I’ve told Matt to never hack into someone’s personal file again or I’ll either kick his ass or bitch slap him if he does that.” Near smiled at that. “But anyways Near, I’ve wanted to tell if you’re willing to go out with me” Near knows what he meant by it and was in shock but he had to be sure if it was not a trick. “Meaning going out as friends?” “No Near and I know you aren’t a dumbass to know what I mean” “I know, just making sure this isn’t a trick” “Why would I— Near I’m asking you, are you willing to date me or not” “Yes Mello I will go out with you” “Good then” Mello came closer to Near, lifted his right hand to caress Nears left cheek. “You know I’ve never hated you Mello I’ve always liked you.” “I know and I’m glad you liked me” Mello lean down and gave Near a kiss on the lip with eyes closed. Eventually they all spent Christmas at Ls house and Near would have to tell Linda that he was going out with Mello after the break. It was a good Christmas break after all, Near had gotten some new toys, Mello had got his favorite brand of chocolates, Matt had new games he could play but was busy enjoying his time with Linda which her gift was art supplies. Near hoped in the future, him and Mello and maybe Matt would work together, but for now and even though he didn’t show it, Near was happy.

#submission

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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For anyone who wants to post in the ao3 collection once their submission is posted, it is now open. I completely forgot to do it last night, my apologies!

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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from @user-null

to @creyes96

prompt used: Near tries to bake a chocolate cake for Mellos birthday with Lidner's help

hope you like it!

#submission

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deathnotesecretexchange · 4 years ago

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Christmas Traditions

From: @madmeridian

To: @hhhhhotleafjuice

Prompt: mello and nears first kiss and all of the whammy kids on christmas (combined)

Additional tags: Meronia

Word Count: 1850

Author’s Notes: Okay so I thought it would be a cool idea to combine these two (I guess you’ll see why?) I like Christmas a lot so I was really excited to do that particular prompt! Anyway, I really hope you like it! If not I can try to rewrite it or smth idk let me know :)

Christmas at Wammy’s had always been an extravagant affair. It was rare to find a child or staff member who wasn’t excited for the Christmas season. The halls were lined in garland, lights were everywhere and there was no shortage of Christmas trees anywhere. In fact, it was near impossible to find a room that didn’t have one, whether it was a small one that children kept in their rooms, or large ones where the stars and angels on top were nearly brushing the ceiling.

Gift giving was an important part of these traditions as well. Children rarely tried to sneak out after hours, but during the holiday season, there were far more attempts, each more bold than usual. When they were inevitably caught, they stomped their feet and argued that they were only going out to buy gifts for their friends, even though the caretakers often took them down to stores and whatnot to do so. None of the orphans had been particularly good with socializing like normal people did, but they understood well that giving gifts was a good way to show friends that they cared.

Near was one of the few in the orphanage who neither gave nor received gifts. He’d only ever received one, from Linda the year prior, but only because she’d just found out that he didn’t get any and got teary-eyed about it the way she always did when hearing about some aspect of Near’s loneliness. Near supposed that he’d have to give her one this year in return, as would be expected of him.

He did see the value in giving gifts, but figuring out what to give people was a nightmare. Near had never really cared about anyone enough before to want to give them a gift. Likewise, no one had ever cared enough about him to do so, other than Linda.

Of course, she was easy enough to get a gift for. She constantly complained about the lack of art supplies she was given to by the orphanage, so Near got her a nice set of quality paints. It would make her happy and hopefully show her some appreciation. Near wasn’t necessarily the best with people, but he did hope that she’d at least recognize this was his thank you from her gift last year.

Linda was the only person he bought for, though. It was an advantage, having so little people to shop for. Other kids spent hours in town, blowing all their money on gifts and still not having enough to buy everything. Near had been asked to loan out his allowance more than once, but he wasn’t dumb enough to say yes to that. He’d never get anything back.

Near often got called stingy for doing so, but he didn’t mind at all. He did spend his money on other things, like toys for himself and decorations for his room. Outwardly, he didn’t seem that much in the holiday spirit, but he did rather like Christmas. Simply put, he just didn’t celebrate the way everyone else did.

The weeks leading up to Christmas were often chaotic and Near preferred to stay in his room, to avoid it all. Spirits and energy were high, with no schoolwork to keep them busy. Near often watched from his window as kids played outside, throwing snowballs and making snow angels and snowmen outside.

Unsurprisingly, Mello was terrorizing some of the other kids his age, chucking snowballs hard at them while they screamed and ran away. Mello liked Christmas too, Near had noticed, but not quite for the same reasons the other children did.

Mello took great pride in reminding everyone of the religious significance of the holiday, though the only ones that really listened to him were the little children, who didn’t quite understand it all. Near had listened to him tell the story a few times too and found himself enraptured. Though, he was more enchanted by Mello’s passion for telling it than the story, which Near didn’t really believe in.

Of course, that meant that Mello didn’t give out many gifts, since he was a staunch believer that Christmas should be less about gifts and more about the religious aspects. In all the years Mello had been here, Near only remembered him ever giving Matt a gift and no one else. The staff, at least, was relieved they wouldn’t have to deal with Mello trying to sneak out for Christmas shopping and the like.

Near could see a small group of children gathered further out in the field, whispering amongst themselves. They kept giving shifty looks to the caretakers watching over everyone outside. Near supposed they’d be the next to sneak out and probably the next to fail. Those that made it out were never that obvious about their plans like these younger children were.

Attempting not to get caught by the caretakers, especially Roger, was a time-honored tradition at Wammy’s. It was a high achievement if you were clever enough to be able to sneak out and back in without anyone knowing you’d left at all. Not many students had done it, since most didn’t make it out and those who did were quickly noted as missing. Though the punishment for sneaking out was often harsh, students still dared each other and tried.

Well, the staff at Wammy’s had encouraged them to try to achieve the impossible. It was only to be expected things like this would happen.

Near would’ve thought that those trying it would at least be smart enough not to talk about it outside, in the open. The group of children soon dispersed, but the caretakers had taken notice of their little meeting. Near was sure he would hear all about their failure tomorrow morning in the common room.

Another time-honored tradition at Wammy’s was staying up as late as possible on Christmas Eve. The caretakers knew the younger children would fall asleep fast, and the older children would follow. If anyone was truly able to stay up into the late hours of the night, they’d just be sent to bed and told that Father Christmas wouldn’t deliver their gifts if they didn’t.

Near did join in on this tradition, since he could still sit in the common room, unbothered, watching the others celebrate. It was during this time that the children who’d attempted to sneak out would regale everyone with the stories of their failed escape. Others would tell about their Christmas traditions from before Wammy’s, or lack thereof. Several of the older children told scary Christmas stories, resulting in many of the younger ones screaming and crying to the caretakers.

Overall, the energy was quite chaotic, everyone shouting and jumping everywhere, convinced they could stay up late. The caretakers often tried to set up games, so that they could tire everyone out, but it devolved into others making up their own “games” to play. One of which was another common tradition at Wammy’s.

It wasn’t so much a game as it was a way to bully people into kissing each other. A group of kids would run around with mistletoe, proclaiming the two poor souls they had under it had to kiss. Some told them to bug off, while others did it to avoid being called a coward. Near was only lucky enough no one ever came close to him to get stuck in that situation.

Unfortunately, one of the kids that was new to the orphanage this year wasn’t quite clear on who to pick on and who not to. He had his turn to choose who to stick under the mistletoe and zeroed in on Mello. The child giggled and quietly crept up on him. Near almost thought that Mello was going to deck the child when his chocolate was snatched away, but the boy darted away, triumphantly waving the chocolate in the air. Everyone else had frozen. No one did that to Mello, not without getting their butt kicked by him.

“If you want it back, you have to kiss someone,” the boy sang, ignoring the worried looks everyone was giving him. “I choose…"

The boy’s eyes flitted around the room, searching for the perfect target. Then he settled back on Near with an evil grin.

"You have to kiss Near, Mello.” He rushed over to dangle the mistletoe over Near’s head tauntingly.

Near thought that Mello would just storm over and take his chocolate back, judging by the furious look on his face. Then another kid piped up, trying to support their friend.

“Yeah! Are you chicken, Mello? Not gonna do it?"

Some other kids half-heartedly joined in the jeering in a weak attempt to stop their friend from getting decked. Mello’s scowl turned more into a frown as more kids piped up and Near saw the cogs turning in his head. If he were to just take back the chocolate, he would be seen as a chicken for not taking up the dare. The downside was, he’d have to kiss Near.

Eventually, he came to a decision and stomped over. Near had predicted that Mello would take the fall so that he wouldn’t have to kiss his self-proclaimed rival. Everyone else did too, judging by the way they looked at the new boy with sympathy.

However, everyone was proven wrong when Near was dragged up by his collar and his lips met Mello’s. Confusion briefly overtook him, as to why Mello would possibly agree to kissing him. But the feeling of Mello’s warm lips on his distracted his train of thought and he finally melted into to it-

and then he promptly fell back on the floor when Mello let go of him.

Near noticed that Mello’s face was flushed, that Mello had even whispered a small "sorry” to him. Then, just like that, Mello turned to the kid and took his chocolate bar away. He also pushed the kid to the ground, but that was far more expected than what had just happened.

“Near, are you okay?” Linda asked, rushing up to him. Near realized that his face was equally as red as Mello’s had been and that he’d just been sitting there, dumbfounded. He hid his face a little, picking up another piece of his puzzle.

“Fine, thanks,” he mumbled, hoping she wouldn’t push further.

Linda put her hands on her hips, lips pursed, but didn’t say anything else. Near noticed her giving Mello and Matt a look briefly before going back to her spot on one of the couches.

Near refused to leave the common room early, despite the incident that had occurred. He was one of the few that was sent up hours after everyone else had fallen asleep, since he didn’t mind staying up late. Mello was one of those people too and Near pointedly avoided his gaze as they all stumbled up the stairs to go to bed.

That night, Near had trouble falling asleep, the feeling of Mello’s lips on his still stuck in his mind. He couldn’t shake the thought that it was the best Christmas gift he could’ve gotten.

#submission

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