[closed]

[cardfortress]

Characters: Matt, Mello, Near, Sollux
Location: Some bar, idfk. XD
Rating: PG-13, probably
Time: Backdated to the night of October 31st.
Description: Halloween shenanigans!

Comments

[Early in the night, starting outside Casualty Commons]

[want_the_world]

Mello seldom did anything without three good reasons, and actually dressing up for Halloween was no exception. He knew there were cameras throughout the city, and though his name wasn't, or shouldn't have been, a concern anymore, he still had a bone-deep aversion to the idea of his real face being caught on film. There was also that damn chalk drawing making it awfully appealing not to be a blond for a bit. Finally, if Near chickened out, he'd be the only one in their group not dressed up, which was too good a chance to miss.

There was plenty left over from the mission stipend to cover face paint, temporary hair dye, and electrical tape for a costume that wasn't stupid.

He almost walked right past Near; it was his height and a glimpse of white hair that made him turn back.

"Really?" he said, amused. "The psychological implications are disturbing, N."

[cardfortress]

He had been hesitating slightly before heading out, hoping that perhaps he'd stumble upon one of his companions, although he wouldn't admit that to any of them. All his stalling paid off, thankfully, because Mello was also heading out; even though he had dyed his hair a different color and painted his face, Near could still recognize him. It seemed Mello hadn't recognized him in return, though, not right away, and when the Meister turned around and recognized him, Near had a little satisfied smirk on his lips.

"I could say the same for yourself, you realize," he retorted, adjusting his fedora hat. His other hand brought up a water gun and Near pressed the trigger, sending a weak squirt of water in Mello's direction. "Bang."

[want_the_world]

Mello just rolled his eyes at the water gun's appearance. "You're going to give our stalker more evidence, you know."

He started walking towards the entertainment district, glancing back over his shoulder to smirk. "And this seems fitting to me. Except that I was efficient enough to get my revenge before I died." It was difficult to be bothered by a death that sure as hell seemed nothing more than nominal, and if Mello had trouble sleeping at night, well. He'd never slept much, anyway.

[cardfortress]

Near lowered his water gun and shrugged slightly. "She's probably going to believe her own made-up ideas about us. There is no point in worrying about any possible evidence we may give her just by interacting with each other."

As Mello started walking, Near followed him. "I suppose it is somewhat fitting," he said, squirting his water gun at a small group of children running excitedly past them. "Except for the part about seeking revenge for your lover."

[want_the_world]

"She wouldn't recognize us right now, anyway. Especially you, consigliere."

Mello would've argued, if he had felt like getting into it, that the revenge he'd been after was much more important. He expected Near would've claimed it was just as motivated by emotion, and he wouldn't have been wrong.

They hadn't spent much time together outside of practicing and the mission, and Mello was surprised to find that something of the resonance carried over, even when he wasn't making a conscious effort at it, a sort of comfort that made him, paradoxically, feel on edge, suspicious of it.

It wasn't a long walk to the bar, and he turned most of his attention to checking out the costumes, variously ridiculous and risqué and clever, of the people they passed.

[cardfortress]

Near almost snorted at that term. Almost. "I am the master of disguise," he commented, obviously distracted by the same thing as Mello: observing everyone who walked by, both because of his curiosity but also because of his ever-present paranoia. And just like his Meister, Near noticed that odd comforting feeling that he could attribute to their resonance, lurking behind his conscious thoughts. Contrary to the other man, however, it didn't make him feel on edge, perhaps because he had experienced it before; Near wasn't one hundred percent sure of the reason why

[want_the_world]

Having met Sagittarius in person, Mello hadn't been shocked at seeing Sollux, but he had been surprised by how young he was. Not that it made a big difference. Mello had been on his own since around what he judged the troll's age to be in human years.

Mello had been matching Near drink for drink (of course; it was a question of pride), but at some point, he'd lost track of just how many drinks that added up to. He swirled the last sip of whiskey left in the shot glass around, frowning at it thoughtfully. Hadn't it been full just a moment ago?

He was sprawled, by now, on a convenient couch, gone enough that he didn't mind Near's curled-up leg pressed against his, not so far gone that he didn't find not minding strange.

"The bartender must have got confused," he said, enunciating carefully in the way of someone who'd slur if he didn't watch it, but wanted to prove he could still talk. "I'm sure I didn't order you any booze." Lies. He tossed back the rest of his drink, and gave Near a crooked smirk. It was a hell of a lot easier to

[cardfortress]

Near twirled a strand of hair, or tried to, because his fingers let that strand of hair slip and he had to catch it again, to resume his usual gesture. Still frowning, he looked sideways at Mello, also aware that his partner was slurring his speech, and making the very logical deduction that both of them were drunk, or at the very least tipsy.

"I find that very unlikely. I think you did this, not the bartender" he said, before taking a sip and finishing his own chocolate-y drink. "Don't justify it with saying new experiences are good for me. You have an ulterior motive behind all of this, don't you?"

[want_the_world]

Mello shrugged, one-shouldered. "Maybe I thought it would be interesting to see your inhibitions lowered."

This was inconveniently close to the truth, and far too close to admitting he'd started off with ordering a mudslide for Near. He was glad the makeup hid the flush he was sure had crept over his face; he'd never had much to drink, as a rule, back in his own world.

There was something he'd been trying not to ask for a while, something he knew he shouldn't, but was horribly tempted to anyway, and he would blame the alcohol, later, but it just slipped out. "Why do you hate me?"

[cardfortress]

"You would," he retorted, a little smirk forming on his lips at the clear admission that the Meister had been responsible for it. It was far too obvious that Mello was behind it, even when his brain was pleasantly fuzzy from all the drinking. And that drinking was also responsible for the flush coloring his face; unlike M, Near had no make-up on and thus his flush was fully visible, making him look even stranger than usual, considering his clothes were also as far from usual as you could get.

Near was adjusting his fedora hat-- which had conveniently fallen backwards in the meanwhile-- as Mello spoke again, and he blinked at that question, trying to make sense of it. He didn't hate Mello, and he didn't understand why the blond would think such a thing, even though it didn't surprise him that he did. "I don't hate you, M," he answered, bringing his knee closer against his chest so he could support his chin on top of it. "I never have."

[want_the_world]

Mello was genuinely surprised by that. He'd always assumed Near devoted as much thought to, felt their rivalry as strongly as, he had himself all those years at the House and after. For a moment, the world seemed to spin crazily around him, cast loose from one of the forces that had held it in its pattern.

Maybe, he thought in the next instant, it was the four (five?) whiskies. The world righted itself, but it didn't feel quite the same as it had done a few minutes ago.

"Why the hell not?" He felt, vaguely, insulted, that he hadn't rated a feeling that strong.

[cardfortress]

He noticed his surprise, and even in such a state, he found it very interesting. The fedora fell from place as Near tilted his head to the side so he could watch Mello better, but he didn't bother putting the hat back in place.

"Why would I? I respect you as my equal and I enjoy our rivalry, but I have no reason to hate you." Mello was, in fact, one of the very few people he genuinely liked. "The only person I hate is Kira."

[want_the_world]

Mello picked up the hat, and set it back in place on Near's head. He wasn't sure why; it just seemed it needed to be done.

"I hated you." There was a flood of words he could have let out, if he'd been the tiniest bit less aware of the consequences of doing so: how Near had never seemed to care, how everything had come so easily to him, while Mello had pushed himself and wanted, needed, to be better, and had never surpassed him.

He realized he'd used the past tense, unwittingly, and it wasn't that Near didn't still drive him batshit, it was only that it was... more complicated, now.

[cardfortress]

Near had begun twirling a strand of hair in the meanwhile, but when Mello put his hat back in place, he was careful to twirl a different strand of hair so he didn't knock the hat off on accident again.

"I know. Your feelings towards me have always been obvious," he replied, and the way he was staring would probably have unnerved anyone else: eyes wide, staring fixedly and curiously at his companion. And to make matters worse, his lips curled into his usual little crooked smile; the alcohol-induced flush on his cheeks probably made him look slightly less creepy than usual, however. "You used the past tense."

[want_the_world]

Mello was more than used to Near's occasionally unnerving intensity of focus, and he usually affected not to notice it. Unless he wanted to be offended by it, which was occasionally useful. At the moment, he wasn't sure what to think; this was new territory for him. He couldn't even bring himself to be annoyed at Near's pointing out his lack of subtlety. It had served Mello well more often than not.

"So what if I did?" Oh yes, he was definitely going to make Near be the one to try to figure out the significance of that.

[cardfortress]

"Then it means that your feelings have changed in some way," he answered calmly, if a little slowly, given the way his words slurred slightly. "Perhaps you've stopped hating me, or perhaps there's something else mingled with hate." And then, because a wild thought crossed his mind and Near's brain wasn't entirely capable of filtering what he should and shouldn't say out loud, given the alcohol in his system: "Or perhaps there are caliginous feelings involved."

Not that he actually knew what those were, but he was fishing for information and hoping to catch Mello off-guard: he remembered the word from the story their stalker had written on that wall, and he was sure that Mello knew enough to explain what, exactly, that meant.