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The pain of going back stung harder than he hoped.
And the resentment he felt sunk deeper than he imagined.
Thus, the anger that came back was biting and brutal.
Mello hissed, his hand inching towards his face as he let out a pained groan as he attempted to navigate his way towards the stairwell. His hand had fallen limp on his side as he collapsed towards the wall of his childhood home— which was up in flames. Matt had tried to talk him out of it, but the pictures had pushed him over the edge. His gloved fingers inched over a frame, which proudly displayed his parents next to two smiling children. His delicate fingers glazed over the children’s faces, then at the small kid that was cut off by the end of the frame.
The fire roared, bursting in his face.
Mello dropped everything to hold the burn that inched up his sleeve, up his neck and towards the left side of his face. The smoke ran down the hallway, threatening to chase after him. He looked around, the room was filled with a disgusting grey that mimicked Matt’s smokes he was used to back at the apartment. He slumped down onto the ground, pressing his rosary to his lips as he thought of one person.
Matt.
Seconds passed, and his hope wavered. His fists was clutched tightly with the zippo he held— the ones he used to start the fire. His vision began to blur in and out, his hands shaking as he glanced at a pair of boots running his direction. Matt grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him into the elevator, slamming the button shut with a loud thud.
Mello stared blankly at the elevator doors, his eyes blurring in and out with messy tears. His hands were empty, the pictures he had desperately tried to hold on to were fed to the flames, he swore he could hear the crackle of the glass as the heat shattered it to pieces. The elevator lights flickered, malfunctioning from the heat of the fire.
The silence was palpable.
Mello carefully clutched his injured arm, trying to ignore the stinging pain as it throbbed in slow, rhythmic intervals. The sting was getting worse with each passing second. His head slumped on the cool metal of the elevator door, his eyes closed as he relished in the agony. The only sound was the hum of the running elevator, carefully bringing the two down to the ground floor.
Matt’s breathing was heavy, his gloved hand clutched tightly on the metal railing that ran through the centre of the wall. He fixed his goggles, the lenses cracked from the illuminating head beyond the elevator doors. His heartbeat slowly came down from its rapid pounding as he slumped against the wall opposite to Mello. He swallowed thickly, letting go of a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding.
“I told you not to go back there.”
Matt’s voice was ragged, dry from smoke as it cut through the suffocating silence in the elevator. With a cough, he pulled himself up to a sitting position, his emerald eyes zeroing on Mello’s unusually fragile frame. Mello ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the charred ends at his fingertips. He shot a bitter glare at Matt, his words spitfire.
“I told you I was handling it!”
“Is this what handling it means to you?! I had to save your sorry ass from the front of the apartment. Jesus Christ, you couldn’t even make it out of the fucking door!”
“So what?! What if I wanted to burn in there? It could’ve been my final ‘fuck you.’”
“Don’t be so goddamn melodramatic.” Matt sneered, taking out his cigarette, digging through his pocket for the zippo. Then his face contorted into a sharp glare. “Damn it, where’s my lighter…”
“You’re seriously gonna smoke when theres fire literally outside?!”
“Not my fire, not my fucking problem.” Matt hissed, glancing at Mello’s closed fist before realising. “Did you seriously have to use my lighter to start your fire?!”
Mello threw the zippo at Matt’s head with brute force, causing Matt to wince and bang his head towards the back of the elevator wall.
“Have your goddamn lighter, jackass.”
“I hope you rot in hell!” Matt hissed.
The elevator stopped at his outburst, the dim, yellow, overhead light sputtered for a moment before exploding and hissing violently. Matt stood up and looked at the ceiling, the sudden panic he felt before rose in his veins. He had completely forgotten about the cardinal rule of taking an elevator. Heat crawled up his neck as he began to pace. The elevator’s descent sped up before halting abruptly, leaving them stuck.
Matt mumbled a curse under his breath, glancing at Mello with accusatory eyes. Mello cowered behind his dark, ashen blonde bangs, hiding his upset expression. He turned his gaze away from Matt, who, for the first time, made it seem like looks could kill. Matt was usually impulsive—but paired with Mello’s recklessness left no one grounded.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“I wasn’t gonna bring it up,” Matt lied, tugging on the sleeves of his shirt anxiously. The heat from the fire outside contributed to the heat he was feeling from his panic. His eyes darted around the room, beads of sweat trickled from his forehead to his cheek, then dripped onto a small puddle by his clunky boot.
Mello shut his eyes once more, the hum of the elevator had came to a complete halt. Mello knew perfectly well it was his fault. The silence grew louder between the two, and they fell voiceless once more.
A minute passed.
Then two.
“They had another family.” Mello spoke, huddling into a smaller ball in the elevator. Matt had completely stopped his pacing, turning his head to look at his friend. The burn mark looked horrible now that the smoke had cleared. Mello’s eyes began to water, stinging open wound on his face. He leaned his head to the left, letting the tears run down to the floor. “They cut me out of the picture.”
“Assholes.” Matt uttered, letting out a sharp exhale. “This is why I told you not to go back there.”
“I don’t want an ‘I told you so’.”
“You sure need one. You love ignoring me, don’t you?” Matt whispered, his voice turning softer as he inched towards Mello. Mello had shut up once more, his voice clearly falling on deaf ears. Then, once again, the elevator shifted, dropping a few floors. At the jerk, matt flinched and crouched in front of Mello, covering his head. The elevator stopped and he groaned at the impact. Mello glanced at Matt’s scared demeanour, his lips curling upwards for a second.
“Scared?” He teased, distracted from the pain in his burns.
“Yeah.” Matt conceded, slumping his body on Mello’s untouched shoulder. Mell carefully lifted his arm, resting it on top of Matt’s head as the blood dripped down, mixing with Matt’s messy burgundy strands.
“I do regret one thing.” Mello mumbled, glancing up at the broken ceiling light.
“That’s a first,” Matt huffed sarcastically. “What is it?”
“I regret burning the place so quickly,” Mello scoffed. “Should’ve waited for them to come home.”
“Brutal.” Matt mumbled, tilting his head to the side to look at Mello. His eyes zeroed on his sharp jawline, the way his adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow. Mello’s aquamarine eyes focused on Matt, and his shoulders relaxed. Matt exhaled, staring at the curvature of his cupid’s bow before pressing his head back into Mello’s shoulder with a flushed face.
“It’s hot.”
“From the fire? No shit, Matt—”
Mello was cut off with a slow, deliberate kiss. Matt’s goggles pressed against Mello’s forehead as Matt leaned up from his slumped position on the ground. He leaned his body into Mello, his soft lips moving gently against Mello’s own. His hand inched to cup the side of Mello’s face—where the burn was, and Mello winced, harshly grabbing Matt’s wrist.
“Other side.” He lectured. Matt chuckled and switched hands.
“Sorry.” He muttered, his gloved hand pressing Mello's chest towards the elevator doors.