giftsofglory | Time of Transition

"I would have, had you not insisted in including him."

"I didn't!" Mello argued, almost desperately. "I didn't know what was happening!" He couldn't believe he was defending himself by pleading incapacitated, he'd have hated himself for it normally-- but in this case, not only was it true, it was the only thing he had.

He shook his head slowly. "No. No, you looked right at me and called me him, I won't ever accept that. Even I respect you enough to never call you by anyone else's name."

"Don't you even fucking realize that it was you who put me in that state?! As if I'd ever make a mistake like that!" He was at a loss, and he was still trapped against Sephiroth's body, trying to get him off.

He retightened his grip with a sigh. "If you hadn't kept pushing when I was already upset I would not have snapped and hurt you. Lestat is a very sensitive topic to me." There was a fleeting thought that that name would not be utterly unfamiliar, considering the havoc he'd created in his passing, the destruction that came to be associated with that in underground circles. But there was nothing to say that the thought was worth considering either, not so many years later.

So his name was Lestat. Mello frowned, squirming a few more moments before giving up, mostly because he wanted to be able to think past the pain that got a lot worse when he struggled like that.

He knew the name, of course, but hadn't actually been on a case involving him. Somehow, he thought it made sense it'd have been that guy, of all people. Crazy as Sephiroth, he was sure.

"I don't care. You don't understand a thing about logic, but we could trace cause and effect all day. And you're fucking terrible at accepting responsibility." Mello glared up at him, and kept pushing despite everything.

"Maybe it's because there's something else you don't want to accept responsibility for. Do you blame yourself for his death?"

"Every day." There wasn't even the slightest bit of hesitation in that. "So clearly, that's not it."

"No, that's exactly it. You blame yourself, but you still can't accept it." His tone was harsh. He spoke from experience.

He actually contemplated that. "Possibly, but that doesn't mean I intend to let go of -you-."

"Didn't say that." He hadn't thought it either. He knew it was a lost cause unless someone--Nakago, he kept hoping, bitterly--managed to help him. Mello hated accepting he needed help but, by now, it was painfully obvious.

"No, you didn't. Did you find out what you were aiming for?"

"Nothing I didn't already know." A pause, and he asked suddenly, "How did he die?"

"He was killed." His lips pressed together. "Why?"

"I think I deserve to know, since my life is all fucked up now because you can't let go of him."

he considered this for a moment. "While there are superficial resemblances, you're not enough alike for that to be true. You... I might have lost interest in you if I hadn't had to work so hard to -find- you."

"It's still true," Mello corrected with cold logic in his tone. "Your initial interest makes it true, whether or not we're alike. Your need to have someone even if only for a pet. It all connects back-- and if you insist it doesn't, you're lying about your feelings."

"I told you I was tired of being alone weeks ago my detective that isn't new."

He'd still been pointing out that it was totally Sephiroth's (or Lestat's) fault, but he didn't repeat himself because it would be a waste of breath.

He returned to the previous subject. "So did you kill whoever killed him?"

"Quite, and their associates, and then I destroyed the businesses and reputations of all -their- personal contacts."

"How thorough of you." A pause. He looked away casually.

"Too bad you couldn't prevent it. You wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble. Hell, would've been better for me too. Obviously, your shortcomings are just fucking up everything."

"Yes, it is a shame." He shifted his hold, held Mello too tightly. "But one learns from their mistakes."

Mello wasn't sure why he was trying to provoke Sephiroth again, but it was frustrating that it wasn't working. Maybe he thought he would do something stupid, like let him go... Except it seemed to be the opposite.

He grunted, the breath squeezed from his lungs, and bit his lip hard at the wave of pain not just from his injuries as Sephiroth practically crushed him against himself. "Let go," Mello gasped, barely able to breathe.

"No." Then he leaned down and bit his neck on the uninjured side, not hard enough to break skin, but definitely abruptly.

Mello gasped, mostly in surprise, and tried to at least shift so his ribs didn't feel like they were caving in. "I can't - breathe, you fucker--"

He growled lowly, sucking hard on the spot caught in his teeth, only easing his grip the tiniest fraction.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject