And the truth shall be used against you in every way possible ((closed RP, Mello, Matt, A))

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

So, Matt and L...ouch, the thought alone hurts. But, Matt seems happy with L...or maybe I'm reading way too much into what I saw in the bar. Between finding out Near is indeed ticklish and practicing, though, I haven't had a chance to really find him and ask him. And, asking in the bar would have been...well, even I'm not that direct.

And, since I still want to be able to talk to him, I'm not sending him an owl.

So, I've been tracking him down. I start at the library, then the Great Hall, then his room. Why I didn't try here first, I don't know. It would have saved me time. I don't hear sounds of gaming as I knock, but there are some sounds behind the door.

Comments

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Who is it?"

There aren't many people who would knock on his door, Matt thinks, but still. He's busy. He's not just letting anyone in.

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

"Cupid," I reply sarcastically. "Who the hell do you think it is?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

He recognises Mello's voice, obviously. "Come on in. Door's unlocked."

His room is in a pretty bad state, but - surprisingly, maybe - the consoles and games have been shoved to one corner. The rest of the room is covered in computers in various stages of disassembly, wires, a couple of laptops (the one that L bought safely on the bed, the rest lying on the ground, all of them running) and several heavy-looking books on Runes. He's sitting with his back to the wall, a desktop keyboard on his lap.

"Careful where you step."

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

I step around the door, standing in the half circle it cleared. "To be careful where I stepped in here, I'd have to walk at least half a meter off the floor. What exploded and why?" I look around, and really don't see a path that looks like it would to to anywhere I could sit down. "This is more equipment than you ever used on anything I've seen you work on. What are you doing?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"I'm experimenting. You've never seen me do much of that before. And this is the first time I've tried using magical elements in anything..."

He's still fiddling with the keyboard, peering closely at it through his goggles.

"There's not much on the bed, if you wanna sit there. Just be careful about the laptop."

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

I carefully weave my way through the mess, walking on my toes most of the time, not easy to do in boots. But, I manage to make it to the bed. The wall paper on the laptop is a calligraphic L. What an opening.

"So, you seem pretty close with L," I say. What a smooth opening. Next time I'll try 'do you want to fuck him?' as an opener. Shit. Why can't I be rational and logical about L.

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. He's good fun." Matt seems to have his own little circle of space around him; after a moment, he puts the keyboard down and pulls an old desktop towards him. More fiddling ensues. "I know you don't like him much, but seriously. Give him a chance."

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

"A chance?" I start and then stop myself. "What about you, are you giving him a chance?" I ask, leaning heavily on the word. Maybe it'll get his attention. Probably not.

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

He's too absorbed in what he's doing to really notice.

"I don't need to. We're already friends. What is it about him that bothers you?"

Yeah, he's taken entirely the wrong end of the stick.

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

I roll my eyes. "That is not the point," I snap. Maybe it'll get him to look at me, at least. I will not demand his attention and if I did, I think he'd throw me out. "I'm talking about you and L."

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, me and L are friends." To be entirely honest, Matt is only half listening. The computer boots up and he taps into it, before laughing.

"Look!" he says, shifting until he's sitting on his knees. As he types, the characters come up as Runes. "I just need to figure out the best way to create bindrunes with this thing... I'm thinking I create a couple manually for now. See which ones I use most often... Once I'm using them magically I should switch to red font," he adds. He glances up at Mello, grinning.

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

Okay, he's in serious geek mode. If I snap him out of it, he'll be pissy at me. That's not what I need. But, he might reach a break soon, which would give me time to talk to him. I peer at the screen, frowning. "What language are you using as a base programing language. This doesn't look like any I know." I know a couple, Foltran, C and its variants, and most internet scripting. I frown. "You're writing it in BASIC?" I look at the screen again. "You want the computer to do magic?" I asked, a little puzzled at his goal.

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"I want to put magic into the computer." He's grinning, triumphant. "Think about it. Charms against infiltration, charms against viruses. Adblocks of DOOM."

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

I laugh, "A hacker's dream come true! Hack any system and no threat of being caught doing it. No traces. No way to link you to it and you get all the juicy information."

I shake my head. "Just think if a bad guy got a hold of this. But, then, they'd have to be smart enough to get past you, wouldn't they?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. It won't be a first line of defense, not by a longshot - I'm thinking more a safety net, underlying everything. It's too blatant the way it is now, you could spot it a mile off even if you didn't know what it was..." This is assuming someone could get past enough of Matt's security in the first place. "And I probably won't use it much while I'm actually hacking. Too easy. Maybe some of the tougher government-level stuff..."

He puts the keyboard down and stretches, grinning. "Not a bad start, though, right?"

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

I laugh. "Should've known you wouldn't use it as a hacking device. Half the fun is the thrill of maybe getting caught." I glance at the screen again. "Looks like an awesome start." And now maybe we can talk. Though, I really would rather he had a different crush.

And, knowing him, he doesn't know he's got another crush.

"So, you're friends with L?" I know he wants us to call him Ryuzaki in public, but this isn't public.

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Totally." He's still itching to mess around with the computers some more, but it's reached the point where it'd be rude. He grabs a couple of chips from the open packet next to him.

"Yeah, I'm friends with L." He frowns. "What's happened? Did you guys have a fight or something?"

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

"No, not that. I haven't talked to him since. What...the reason I ask is..." Shit, how do I say 'I know you have a crush on him' without saying 'I know you have a crush on him'? "Have you considered..." Damn it!

"Look, what I mean to say is you seem to really like him."

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"I told you, I do really..."

Comprehension dawns.

"... what the fuck, Mello."

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

Is it too late to pull innocent? Probably. "Just based off observation. That's all. I'm just asking. I'm not gonna do anything about it. Shit, man."

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

It's tempting to get angry - what, does Mello think he can't a friend without wanting to-- just because they've been hanging out doesn't mean--

But Matt knows how well that went last time, and. Well.

"... we're just friends," he says, letting his head fall back to rest against the wall. Fuck.

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

If I didn't know him, I wouldn't have seen. I look at the wall over the bed. "He's not me," I mutter. Like that's not the understatement of the century. "Just because..." I can't bring myself to say 'I screwed up,' even if it is the truth. I look down at my lap. "He's not me," I repeat.

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"I know he's not you, Mello," Matt tries very hard not to snap. "Jesus."

[mello-n-choco.livejournal.com]

I think I've utterly screwed up. And not just before. This whole conversation.

I search my pockets. Fuck, I forgot chocolate. "Look, can we...go to the Great Hall or something and y'know...talk about...something else for a while." A sort of attempt at a peace offering and apology.

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

Matt just sort of stares at him for a few moments.

"... fine. I need something to eat, anyway."