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“I can’t do this anymore!” Mello is shouting out in one of the sitting areas in Wammy’s House. Near is on the ground unfazed by the noise. Matt’s attention is all on the gameboy in his hands. L and Light are sitting on a couch.
Light looks up from his book, L is watching him. Almost trying to signal for help on calming the boy down. Light sighs and marks where he is in the book. “What’s causing the end of the world now?”
Light crosses his arms and tilts his head. Light is the only one that can match the sass that Mello has. L can, but he rarely has the energy to.
L is crouched next to Light, arms wrapped around his knees. He looks bored. There’s currently no cases that interest him, so they’ve been mentoring his successors. In other words, babysitting.
“I’m always in second place! None of you understand what it’s like.” Mello stomps over to where Light and L are sitting. He’s leaning over Light like he’s trying to be intimidating.
“Not true. You’ve got better fashion sense than Near. You’re much more direct as well.” L fiddles with his lip as he speaks. Light nods, agreeing silently.
“And what’s the benefit of that?” Mello huffs and sits next to Matt. He takes up most of the airchair. Matt shifts to let Mello into his lap. He barely bats an eye. He must be used to it by now.
“You’re proactive. You will, without hesitation, put yourself in somewhere that neither Near or L would. That’s a trait that stands out. You each have your own uniqueness. Stop comparing yourself.” Light speaks tiredly as he opens up his book again.
“Whatever. Come on Matt, we are leaving.” Mello gets up and storms out. It’s not uncommon. He’s going through puberty. L shakes his head, clearly frustrated. He cares for the boys, he just doesn’t speak up about it.
“I’ll go talk to him. He’s been planning on running away to the mafia. At least let him take it out on me and not innocent civilians.” Near gets up, taking a die with him. That leaves Light and L alone.
“Some time away from Wammy’s will be good for him. A vacation of sorts.” L sinks down. Light reads him easily, he reaches out a hand and runs it through L’s hair.
“It’ll be alright. Tell Watari about it. Let’s have Mello decide where we go. Give him some choice. I’m sure that will help.” This wasn’t the first time that this has happened. The most recent turned into a massive game of what Matt calls “hunted like a fucking deer.”
That evening, Light can’t stop Mello’s words in his head. It’s been more and more frequent. He rolls out of bed and heads toward Mello’s room. He knocks softly, waiting for his voice to let him in.
“What?”
“I need to talk to you.” Light opens the door and sits on the edge of the bed. It’s dark in the room. Only a small sliver of moonlight let in through the curtains.
“Are you here to tell me that I’m being stupid?” Mello sounds quieter than he had earlier. Light feels a sense of empathy, which he doesn’t feel often. Maybe it’s because he acted this way when he was younger. A sense of loathing for himself.
“Not at all. I’m here to tell you that it’s normal to feel that way. I treated myself horribly throughout high school because I thought I was weird and wrong.” Light opens up to this kid that’s only a few years younger than him.
“You were constantly compared to someone. You weren’t second place Mr. Highest Test Scores.” Mello gives him the usual defensive sass.
“While that is true, there was a bar that I had to meet. And you know what, I like your way of thinking better.”
“It makes me feel unimportant.” Mello doesn’t look Light’s way as he speaks. “Like they only care that Near gets to be his successor.”
“You realize that you’ll have to work together if he does die?” Light raises a brow toward Mello. The look on his face following those words clearly shows that he never thought of that.
“Whatever. That’s stupid.” Mello rolls his eyes and lays back down. After a moment, he speaks up again, “It’s normal?”
“Extremely.” Light gets up, planning to let the boy rest. It’s been a taxing day.
“Thanks. I guess.” Light closes the door behind him, a small huff loud in the silent hallway.
When he returns to his and L’s shared room, L turns to him. “Where did you learn that?”
“From comforting Sayu when she was younger. Some of the girls would tease her for dressing the way she does.” Light sits next to L, smiling softly. He does miss his sister. He never really expressed how much his family meant to him.
“Right.” L nods quietly. Light sighs and lies down on the bed.
“I’m sorry, come here.” Light opens up his arm. Recently, L had opened up about his childhood, in little bits. It was the smallest yet most devastating part of his life. Light had never heard him so quiet and broken.
L climbs over there and rests his head against Light’s. He stays like that for the rest of the time until Light falls asleep.