Dirty Little Secret Bar

[onlydisappear]

[Matt's in one of the bars scattered around the mansion, as he often is on the weekend. As usual, he has a pint of beer in front of him, a cigarette in one hand, and a paperback in the other (Unseen Academicals, today

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[redeemed_m]

[Having been here for a while, it would be impossible for Mello to confine himself to only his room, Matt's room, or the halls, and so he is taking more liberties, these days: showing less fear when it comes to exploration. (Though he always, always opens a door just a crack and peeks in with his hand firmly on the knob before entering.)

Oh. Bar.

Alright, then.

Of course, not being in the habit of looking down at himself very often (at least not in public), he fails to notice the large, black writing just below his navel, stating for the world to see: WONDERS WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO GIVE UP, AT LEAST ONCE A DAY.]

Hey.

[Maybe he'll drink something new this time.]

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[Matt's glance flicks down to the writing across Mello's stomach right away, and a look of panic settles in on his face to stay awhile: He is gonna kill me for having seen that. He takes a long drag from his cigarette to keep himself from pointlessly trying to cover his own secret.]

Hey, you. Non-pussy drink, I know.

[redeemed_m]

[Blink.]

Fuck's that about? [He lifts his chin in a small nod toward the writing on Matt's shirt, even as he drapes himself over a stool.]

And fuck it, gimme a Screwdriver. [No matter that his eyes are edging toward the very tempting bottle of cognac behind the bar.]

[onlydisappear]

The damn room, [Matt mutters unhappily, feeling his face flush. Better to get it over with, yeah? He points to the writing on Mello, and hastily adds:] I don't believe it.

[redeemed_m]

Mm? [He glances down...and frowns.]

Yeah, that's bullshit, [he mutters quickly, settling his elbows on the bar, leaning a bit closer to hide the writing.

Only it's not. It would make sense for Matt to claim that he doesn't believe it to cover the fact that his own is true.

God, he hates these rooms.]

If I was that curious, I'd do it. [A nod toward the bottles. Mello is definitely going to enjoy himself if this room intends on fucking with him at all.]

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Yeah, I- [Know you would? That's not quite what he wants to say.] I bet you could keep it up for about ten seconds.

[Yeah, much better. He gets out the vodka and orange juice, and he didn't miss Mello eyeing that cognac, so he moves the bottle over to the top of the bar.]

Find any interesting rooms lately?

[redeemed_m]

[But if his is true, then Matt's is. It has to be. Unless the room is playing "Guess what's bullshit" with all of them, in which case, it would be best to ignore it altogether.

Dammit, it's distracting him.

It shouldn't even matter.]

I try not to. [And of course, he swipes the cognac off of the bar while waiting for his screwdriver. A twist of the cap and the bottle's open. God, he's been drinking so much since waking up here.] 'Cause shit like this happens. [Another glance at the writing on Matt's shirt.] Yours. Bullshit?

[onlydisappear]

[Matt mixes up the screwdriver, making it pretty strong, and slides it over. He reclaims his seat, slouching, and lights a fresh cigarette off the butt of the old one.]

Yeah. It's totally bullshit. 'cause I'm not.

[redeemed_m]

[With one hand still holding the bottle of cognac, Mello catches the drink, briefly considering between the two before he sets the bottle down and brings the rim of the glass to his lips.

An inhale. Man, he never really liked vodka, but this is a change. Which he needs right now.]

You have this thing that you do when you lie. [A sip and Mello has to actually force himself to swallow. Shit's strong.] These, [A small reach of his arm and the tips of Mello's fingers brush over the rim of Matt's goggles before he retracts his hand, rests it on the bar.] cover it up, just a little.

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[Mello's allowed to touch the goggles. Matt usually likes it, in fact, as one of those unspoken intimacies he doesn't allow anyone else. But he recoils instinctively this time, offended as only a bad liar caught at it can be.]

I do not!

[But damn it, he's curious now.]

Why would you say that?

[redeemed_m]

[Matt only receives a chuckle in response as Mello proceeds to down half of the drink, sets it back down, and leans back on the stool.

He very well can't reveal that he suspects Matt is lying because of his own avoidance of the truth.]

Defensive.

[onlydisappear]

Just wondering.

[He takes a long sip of his beer, and half-smiles. This game only works as long as they both pretend what's on them is a lie, but leave it to Mello to try to get Matt to fess up without doing so himself.]

[redeemed_m]

Mhm.

[And the first drink is down. He doesn't bother asking for a second though. Not when there is a very appetizing bottle of cognac right there, which is definitely going to taste better than vodka.]

So what's the thing about this room then? Write lies on people and have us all questioning each other? That's kinda weak for the mansion. [A small, disbelieving scoff.]

[onlydisappear]

[Matt's beer is getting close to empty, and he tops it off from the tap. He has a feeling he's gonna need it.]

Well, last time, it um. [He looks away, as if something very interesting has appeared somewhere above Mello's left shoulder.] Wrote something on me I didn't wanna admit. In a really ugly font.

[redeemed_m]

[A slow blink, and Mello brings the bottle to his lips, tipping his head back and taking a generous sip before setting it back down.]

I get it though. [An idle shrug.] People come and go all the time, but you-[He runs his thumb over the side of the bottle absently.]-don't get to go. Doesn't take a fucken psychologist to figure that shit out.

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's not true. [Yes, he's still insisting, or possibly still in denial. He doesn't want it to be true, at any rate. Didn't he argue not so long ago, and to this very Mello, that knowing shit was doomed was no reason to-- He can't remember the rest of the argument. He shakes himself, and takes a pull from his cigarette.]

You, though. You wonder, but you don't give up. Yours 's better than mine.