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Matt clenched his teeth, doing his best to refrain from cursing out his Nintendo. He watched helplessly as Mario plunged into the digital lava-pit. For some reason, the gamer couldn't help feeling sorry for the 8-bit plumber. It wasn't the little guy's fault that Matt's reflexes weren't quick enough. Then again, most things were Matt's fault these days.

He supposed it began when L had died and Near succeeded him. Mello just hadn't been able to handle it—-he had always been second-best to the white-haired boy, but it had driven him over the edge to see Near get all the support and funding while he had to make do with dingy Mafia hideouts and the thugs that came with them. Matt hadn't immediately registered the change in Mello's demeanour, being too absorbed in his simulated world to notice.

However, Matt eventually twigged that something was wrong. The first clue was in the way Mello kissed him; something had extinguished his characteristic fire, and the kisses were lifeless. There was no longer any meaning behind the words, "I love you, Matt," although he rarely said them.

Then the kisses and caresses stopped altogether. Mello was completely obsessed with catching Kira, and would spend all day and most of the night with the Mafia members who supposedly shared the same goal. Matt knew they were only in it for the money, or to save their own skins, but Mello didn't care. His men were loyal to him, so he was satisfied. He had never shown any indication that he cared about leaving Matt alone in their shared room, where he spent hours hacking Government websites for fun or just playing Super Mario.

The redhead glanced across at the man he called his lover, who was slumped in the armchair opposite his. His eyes were closed and he had donned an enormous pair of headphones. Matt liked to think he was just listening to music like a normal teenager, but he knew it was more likely to be the bugs they had installed in Light Yagami's apartment.

Matt considered saying something to Mello, but caught his tongue at the last minute. He'd only get yelled at for disturbing him. Sighing, he went back to his game.

~~~

1:20 am. Matt anxiously twisted his watch around his wrist and continued to pace the room. Mello had been coming home later and later, and Matt could see that they would end up fighting over it. Again. He knew that catching Kira was important, as was beating Near, avenging L, blah blah blah, but he wished that Mello would at least acknowledge that he had a boyfriend.

It wasn't that he didn't want to help bring Kira to justice. He did. It was just that apart from all the "techie stuff," there was not an awful lot he could do to help.

Then it hit him like an avalanche. He slapped his forehead, dislocating his goggles in the process. "Stupid!" he yelled at himself. "Mail Jeevas, you are an idiot!" It was time to stop sitting around and hoping Mello would love him; he now knew exactly what he would do. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

~~~

In a way, Matt supposed, it was fortunate that Mello was so obsessive over the safety of his stash of chocolate. He kept it all in clever hiding places that nobody except he and Matt knew about, because he trusted his boyfriend not to mess with it. Big mistake.

Matt silently replaced the floorboard in their bedroom. He knew it was a terrible hiding place, but it would do. With a bit of luck, he wouldn't need to keep the chocolate hidden for long.

He glanced at Mello's sleeping form. He still couldn't get over how sweet he looked when he slept—-all the pent-up anger and frustration dissolved, and he actually looked like he wouldn't kill the first person to look at him the wrong way. Matt almost felt bad about manipulating him like this, but he brushed those feeling aside. He had to be resilient.

Matt knelt next to the blond and put his hands on either side of his shoulders, leaning down do whisper in his ear."Mello..." he said in a slightly sing-song tone, because he knew it was annoying. He stroked the side of the other's face. "Mello, wake up..."

The other boy opened one eye and batted his hand away as if it were an irritating insect. "Wha-?" he mumbled dozily. Mello was not a morning person.

"Mello, I have hidden your chocolate," Matt declared, deciding not to beat about the bush. "You will not get it back until you kiss me, say you love me and sound like you mean it, because I know you do."

"You did what? Matt, you bastard!" Mello cried, looking a bit like a kicked puppy.

Damn he's adorable, Matt sighed inwardly, but he refused to give in. "You heard me. I hid your chocolate and you know what you have to do to get it back."

Mello narrowed his eyes. He was sure he'd be able to find his chocolate after a brief search of their room, but that was not the point. It was true that he felt slightly guilty about neglecting Matt, but he needed to catch Kira and this wasn't helping. He couldn't afford any distractions. Even so...

"Come on, Mello," Matt coaxed, leaning in closer. "Kiss me and the safety of your chocolate is guaranteed."

"Fine," he growled, taking care to hide how badly he really did want to kiss Matt. Now that he thought about it, it was kind of sad how he needed to be blackmailed into kissing his own boyfriend.

He leaned in and met Matt's lips with his own. The familiar taste of cigarette smoke, which used to make him retch, now brought a smile to his face. Unfortunately, it's quite hard to smile when your lips are locked with someone else's, so he pulled away.

"I love you, Matty. And didn't mean to make you feel neglected, it's just...this case..." He rested his forehead against Matt's and closed his eyes.

"I'll forgive you if you kiss me again."

This time, Mello needed no persuasion.