HH_mirror

"... told him?" Matt frowns, glancing at Mello. After a minute he sits cross-legged on the floor. "I thought he was there?"

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"He was," I say, though it's not as growly as I meant it to be because Shrodinger has a very itchy ear, apparently. I can feel my face burning and am glad for the cat to give me an excuse not to look at them.

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"No no no, no that, no..." although A giggles, remembering hexing Mello. "I used it, really used it."

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"Really used it?"

Shit.

On one hand, it must have went okay, otherwise A wouldn't be so pleased about it. On the other hand, the fact that he'd needed to use a defensive spell...

"What happened? You're okay, right?"

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Really used it? On B? Has A practiced deflecting? I mean, I may not like him, but leaving anyone at the mercy of B...and now with him knowing how to cast the spell. "Have you practiced defense?" I add to Matt's question.

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"B, it was B, filthy, oh, he's so filthy, I stopped him...!" A is all but glowing with pride. "Stopped him," he repeats.

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...

filthy?

Oh holy fuck.

"It's good that you're able to - defend yourself. L probably wants to know all about it. You could owl him, maybe?"

L must know about this already, surely, but still... Jesus.

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"A, listen, get L to show you how to block that hex. Just in case, okay." Shit, why am I worried about him? "And learn more hexes."

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"Oh yes," A breathes. "More hexes. I want to learn more hexes."

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Mello's right. "And blocks. So that people can't cast hexes on you. Right?"

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"Exactly. You don't want him to be able to catch you with that hex." I lift up my hand so Schrodinger quits rubbing up against me. "Promise that you'll talk to Ryuzaki about it, A. Today. You need to be able to block that hex." Because as sure as anything, B will use it on him. I stand up.

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It may not look like it; it doesn't look like it, but A makes careful note of their words as he lures Schrodinger back with a morsel of sausage. Because if he can cast spells, then B can.

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A doesn't look like he's going to respond. Matt stands up, wondering if he ought to owl L.

They wander over to the nearest house-elf. "I need a plate of fries," Matt tells it. "Mello?"

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"Oh, uh, hot chocolate," I say. I can't shake the feeling that if A doesn't talk to L today, it'll be bad.

And, somehow, this greatly eclipses me totally inserting my foot in my mouth in Matt's room.

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"That was... really fucked-up." Matt sits on one of the long benches at the tables while they wait for their stuff. "D'you think we should owl Ryuuzaki ourselves?"

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I nod. "Yeah, but...I'm honestly not sure how he'd react to an owl from me about it. I mean, you know and he knows how I feel about him." I shrug. "But, yeah, I think we should let him know."

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"I still think you should give him a chance," Matt shrugs. Now is a nice time to pretend the conversation in his bedroom didn't happen. "I'll owl him, if you want."

He glances over at A. "Jesus. Poor kid."

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I frown at him. "Think about it Matt. I bitch at Ryuzaki every chance I get. And then I send him an owl. If you were in his position, what would you do? Would you even look at the note? Honestly?"

I follow his gaze. If he manages to get the right training, maybe not such a poor kid.

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"I meant in general. And I don't think he's the type to dismiss a note just because you don't get on, anyway."

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"In general, I can learn to, if the need arises. But, this case specifically, he's likely to think I did something to the note. It would get through faster if you sent it." Well, there, that's subtle. You start dating and I'll learn to get along with L.

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"It's not a 'need arises' sort of thing. He's a good friend." Whatever. Mello's loss.

"I'll write to him."

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I shrug. "It's hard to think of someone you've been pushed your whole life into becoming as 'friend' material." And how did L become a 'good friend' in such a short amount of time? That hurts, strangely. "And, good. He needs to know and I'm not sure A would tell him what he really needs to know, though I'm sure he'd figure it out, but let's save him time, for once."

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"I guess. Still." Near didn't seem to be having too much trouble with it. And Matt could make the argument that he'd gone to Wammy's too, but... he knows it was different for Mello and Near.

Matt thinks through the conversations he and L have had about A. "He might have already told him. I'm not sure, but it's not impossible."

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