AN: I’m cutting it close, but here it is the final chapter of A Wammy Christmas. This is the chapter I was most excited to write, so I hope you’ll all enjoy it. Merry Christmas! Enjoy your meals, your family and friends, and your gifts and I hope everyone has a great holiday.

Disclaimer: Matt and Mello TRIED to come to me, but they were denied. Don’t worry, Mello is rather…er…persuasive.

/…/…/…/…/

Chapter 4: Caught Under the Mistletoe

Finally, after the weeks of anticipation, decorating, and preparation, Christmas was almost upon them. It was Christmas Eve morning, and the children of Wammy’s were impossible to calm. They ran in hoards through the orphanage, desperate to wrap that one last gift or just let off a little steam. The Christmas Eve feast was being prepared in the kitchen, and the cooks had to keep shooing away children trying to get a peek at what was to come.

The orphanage had been decorated beautifully this year. Lights hung in streams of garland throughout the orphanage, brightening up the building. To top the day off it had started snowing a few minutes ago, leading many of the children outside to play.

Matt and Mello, now twelve and thirteen, were not among them. Mello was sulking because he was out of chocolate, and was not being allowed in the kitchen to get more. Matt had listened to Mello rant for a while before pulling out his Gameboy.

“Stop sulking Mello. We’ll eat dinner in a couple hours and then you can get more chocolate.”

“Easy for you to say,” Mello snapped. “You still have your Gameboy. What if I took that away?”

Matt held it closer, protecting it from the blond. “Have a heart Mello, it’s Christmas!”

“Not yet it isn’t.”

Matt sighed and saved his game, turning it off and directing his full attention to Mello. “Well what do you want to do then?” he asked.

Mello shrugged. “How should I know?”

“You’re impossible,” Matt said, standing and heading towards the door.

“Matt! Where are you going? Matt!” The redhead didn’t answer and the door closed behind him. Matt growled and threw one of his textbooks at the door. It made a loud thump then fell to the ground. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as hitting Matt with the book, but it would do. Mello flopped back across his bed and glared at the ceiling.

It must have been ten minutes before the door began to creak open. Mello sat up and glared as Matt entered the room. “Where the hell did you-“he stopped abruptly as he saw what Matt was carrying; two bars of chocolate.

“Will this tide you over for a while?” the redhead asked, sitting on Mello’s bed and tossing the bars of chocolate at him.

Mello simply tore off the wrapper and bit into one of the bars. The taste of chocolate calmed him instantly.

“A thank you would be nice. It took ages to sneak through the kitchen to get those.”

Mello rolled his eyes. “Thanks,” he said anyway, biting off another chunk of the chocolate.

“You’re welcome,” Matt said, leaning against Mello’s legs and pulling out his Gameboy. They sat in silence a few minutes. Mello finished his chocolate bar and looked across the room where his book was lying. He’d wanted to finish that chapter today…psychology really was interesting. He stared at it a moment, childishly willing it towards him, before he looked down at Matt.

“Hey Matt?”

“Yeah?”

“Go get that book for me.”

“…I really hate you Mello.”

/…/…/…/

Christmas dinner had lived up to expectations, and the follow up dessert of cookies and fudge had delighted everyone. It was getting late for the younger children, so after one last cup of hot chocolate everyone was told to return to their rooms for the evening.

Children headed separate ways to reach their rooms, chatting happily about Christmas being tomorrow. Matt and Mello walked side by side, heading up the stairs and ignoring several of the boys behind them going to their own rooms.

What happened next was a direct consequence of one of the girls being near the top of the staircase. Matt tripped over the top step, and Mello paused to make sure he wouldn’t fall, leaving both boys standing motionless in the doorway.

“Ohhh look! Matt and Mello are under the mistletoe!”

Both boys froze and their gazes traveled involuntarily upwards to see that there was indeed mistletoe nestled above them.

The boys behind them burst out laughing as Mello incredulously questioned why there was any mistletoe in the orphanage.

“Go ahead Mello, kiss him,” one of the boys taunted. All three of them gathered below the pair and watched, sniggering.

“Or are you chicken?”

“It shouldn’t be so bad Matt. After all, Mello kind of looks like a girl.”

Mello’s growl was drowned out by the boys laughter. “Do it!”

“Is the infamous Mello afraid of a little kiss? I wonder what the others would think of that.”

“I bet its Matt who is scared. Don’t know why. He only talks to Mello.”

Matt shrunk back slightly. He didn’t like being teased, and he especially did not care for any of the boys on the stairs. Mello noticed and his glare intensified. “Shut up! I didn’t know you got off on watching two boys kiss!”

The boys stopped laughing, but one wasn’t perturbed by the remark. “We didn’t know you did either. Obviously something’s wrong if you’re so afraid of a little kiss.”

“Oh Mello, is something wrong?”

“Yeah is there a reason that matches your physique?”

Mello’s hands clenched at his side and Matt took a deep breath, grabbing Mello and turning him towards him.

Later, he couldn’t say what made him do it. Maybe it had been to stop them from teasing Mello and him. Maybe to stop them from insinuating something about his only and best friend. Or maybe in that brief moment he wanted to. Either way, Matt turned Mello towards him and abruptly placed his lips on Mello’s.

Mello was shocked, especially when Matt didn’t instantly move away, lingering a moment before pulling back, eyes wide. The boy’s cheers and laughter went unacknowledged as the pair stared at each other, both blushing. Finally Mello turned and fled to their room.

“Didn’t know you had it in you Matt.”

“Yeah, he’s going to kill you.”

The boys walked off leaving Matt alone in the hall. His face was still heated as he hesitantly touched his tingling lips. They were right; Mello was going to kill him. Why had he done something so stupid?

Matt had never kissed someone before, and it finally dawned on him that his first kiss had been his best friend. And it hadn’t really been that bad…

He cut that train of thought off right there, shaking his head and starting slowly towards his and Mello’s room. Roger was sure to be patrolling the halls soon, looking for anyone wandering about. He didn’t want to be punished on Christmas. Then again, he really didn’t want to go back to his room and face Mello either.

He reached the door and opened it hesitantly, walking into their room. The lights were off, the only light coming from the stands of Christmas lights they had hung up several weeks ago. Matt closed the door and leaned against it, letting his eyes adjust to find Mello lying facedown on his bed.

Matt said nothing, walking as quietly as he could to his own bed and sitting down, eyes trained to the floor. Neither boy said anything for a while, simply sitting in an awkward silence. Finally Mello sat up, and settled his eyes on the bowed figure of his best friend. “Why did you do that?”

Matt flinched and looked up at the blond. “I just…I don’t know,” he told him.

“That’s not a very good answer.”

They descended into silence again for several minutes.

“They’re never going to stop teasing you about it now. And me! Imagine what people will be saying about me!”

“I know. I’m sorry. They just wouldn’t shut up…”

“Well now they never will!” Mello snapped.

Matt cringed and let his eyes fall to the floor again. “…Was it really that bad?” he finally asked.

Mello flushed and looked away as well. Matt didn’t expect an answer, except for a disgusted exclamation, so he was surprised with the answer he got. “I didn’t say it was…bad…exactly.”

Now Matt flushed too. They sat there awkwardly for a minute longer before Mello cleared his throat. “Well…let’s just exchange gifts tonight.”

Happy for a change in topic, Matt nodded. “Okay,” he said, rummaging under his bed until he came up with a package. He sat on Mello’s bed and handed it to him. “Here. Merry Christmas.”

Mello smiled at the sloppy wrapping job and opened it quickly, discovering a box of expensive chocolates. “Thanks Matt.”

“There’s more…when you open them…”

Mello did so. Sitting inside the box was another smaller box. He opened it and pulled out a new rosary. He gaped at it, turning it over slowly in his hands.

“I knew you were upset when you lost your old one. I mean it doesn’t make up for it, but I thought you’d appreciate it anyway.”

Mello smiled warmly. “It’s perfect Matt.”

Matt’s cheeks heated again as Mello leaned down and retrieved his own gift. He took the present in his hands and slowly unwrapped it, finding a new Gameboy game and a light.

“The light is so you can see the screen at night. That way you don’t have to keep me up with the light on…or try to play in the dark…”

“I love it.”

They sat in a slightly more comfortable silence now, watching the snow fall outside their window. “Hey Matt.”

Matt turned, watching Mello. The lights lit the room slightly, allowing them to see each other pretty clearly. “Yes?”

Mello shyly leaned forward and kissed Matt. When he pulled back both the boys were red, but Mello couldn’t hold back the small smirk from his face. “No Matt. It wasn’t that bad.”

“I-I’m glad.”

Mello just smiled at him. “Merry Christmas Matty.”

“Merry Christmas Mello.”

/…/…/…/

AN: The end! I hope you all enjoyed it. This was my favorite chapter to write, so I hope you liked it. Again, I hope everyone enjoys their Christmas. Have a good one. Also please review to tell me what you thought.

THE END