Night 49: Nurse Lounge

[vstheworld]

[From here]

A slightly larger and comfier-looking room greeted the pair next. A couch and several cushy chairs littered the space, along with a table, chairs, and a large cabinet, among other things. Definitely wasn't the worst place they could have ended up in, Scott thought. They could have ended up in a fridge or something.

Speaking of fridges. "Anything you wanna grab from in here? I kinda want to see if there's anything in there," Scott said with a little grin, gravitating toward the side of the cabinet where a mini-fridge sat. If he knew mini-fridges, he knew they tended to contain at least one of two things: alcohol or pop. With the former, he didn't want any, but he could think of at least a few people who probably would. With the latter, he didn't really like the fizziness, but hey, there could be free power-ups in them, at least!

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[gamingsostfu.livejournal.com]

His left eye narrowed at Mello as the blond put him off again; it was getting old. Forcing himself to his feet with crowbar and flashlight in hand, he opted to ignore the snack packages on the floor and fixed Mello with an even glare. The curiosity was killing him, and Matt felt like he deserved to know what could possibly happen to him during his stay. The more he thought about how forcefully Mello was trying to keep his secret hidden, the more Matt couldn't help imagining Claude being dragged from their room... and he couldn't stop imagining himself in Claude's place, kicking and screaming to keep from being... whatever. Tortured, or experimented on. Those just weren't on his list of to-dos while at Landel's.

He didn't want to stoop to such low levels - Seems more like something Near would do, he thought, a bad taste in his mouth. Or Kira. He really didn't like that, but he knew it needed to be done. So Matt just shoved both those thoughts away and braced himself for an act he wasn't feeling too confident giving. Screw it - Mello's probably done this t'me hundreds of times.

"We need to make time," he answered, somehow managing to keep the shake from his voice. "You may not feel like you owe me anything, but I wouldn't be here if I hadn't helped you." True enough. "If there're dangers here that I don't know about, you need t'tell me. Y'didn't make the danger clear when I signed on for the Kira case with you, and look how badly that turned out.

"Don't hang me out t'dry again." The last part was a lie. He'd known the dangers very well - Matt had just chosen to ignore them. Maybe the logical outlook mixed with a mild guilt trip would ease the truth out of Mello? Maybe, maybe not, but it was worth a try, and he knew he was laying it on thick, but it was all for the greater good - or his survival. Depended on who was looking at it.

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

Mello's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The guilt trip still worked, echoing as it did, and very effectively, everything he'd been trying not to think. Plain and simple, his future self had fucked up. Knowing he wouldn't sacrifice Matt on purpose made it even worse. What had he not anticipated? Where had he failed? That train of thought needed to be derailed quickly. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to concentrate. Just tell him. He's most of the way there already.

Most of the way wasn't all the way. It wasn't specifics, and those were what Mello couldn't stand the thought of anyone knowing. To know someone was seeing in their mind's eye the way he'd been, helpless and effortlessly manipulated; to hand them a scalpel to dissect his behavior, to pick it apart for what was real and what was left over from that night. No. Matt should have known he would never give anyone that power.

He would also never have expected Matt to follow him blindly.

There it was. A way out of this. Aren't you asking him to follow blindly now? the insidious whisper came. Mello gritted his teeth. So what if I am, and so what if he knows it? He let his hand fall, stood straighter. "I asked you to sign on for something without laying it all out for you, and you agreed?" He paused to give Matt his most skeptical look. "I don't think so.

"Now quit dicking around, and let's get going."

[gamingsostfu.livejournal.com]

Matt's eyes narrowed, and he huffed a small chuckle as his cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Should've known he'd figure it out. This was Mello he was talking to, no matter what mental hoops they'd forced him to jump through the last few days. Of course, he couldn't say anymore that he was blindly following Mello; after all, each and every one of the tiniest nuances in the blond's reactions had told Matt more than the other man was willing to come out and say. Something bad was going on in this place, and it was nearly impossible to escape. He knew they'd manage, though. It was just what they did.

He swallowed. "Just tell me how bad it is. Y'know. For when it happens t'me." Matt knew that if Mello was no match for these people, then he sure as hell wasn't. When they burst into his and Claude's room to drag him off, he could kick and scream all he liked - but no one would do anything about it. Then we'll go, he thought, because he knew Mello was right; they didn't have enough time to be dallying.

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

He could have lied to Matt, but he dismissed the option instantly. From the age when most kids were still sounding out words in primers, Mello had believed, with the fervor of a convert, that nothing was truly frightening if you understood it; a belief that had taken a knockout punch in the last twenty-four hours, but one he was committed to nevertheless. With reliable information as fucking scarce as it was here, he didn't begrudge Matt the question.

"There's nothing you can do if they take you," he began, starting with what he'd found strangely reassuring to learn. "And it's random, so they may never come for you at all. But if they do, don't lie there beating yourself up wondering what you could've done to stop it." Not that Mello was able to practice what he was preaching, and Matt, damn him, could probably tell.

He tipped his head toward the door before going for it, his way of saying he'd spill a little more on the other side.

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