[A bottle of Kahlua, then. While it might not be particularly as potent as cognac, the flavor would definitely be more enjoyable. Mello has been stashing away most of the money he's made at the tavern, aside from a few clothing splurges here and there. He can afford to treat L on his birthday, of all days. Especially when he's propositioning him with something so preposterous.]
If you deemed it enough of a risk to you to be overtly harmful, you would've simply shot me down on the spot.
[It isn't Mello's intention to harm his mentor.]
That you're willing to hear me out tells me that you can handle it.
[Of course he can; L can handle anything. He takes a moment to order up the entire bottle along with two fresh glasses, much to the surprise of the bartender. Mello knows; he's been bartending himself, lately. An entire bottle in a tavern is thrice what it would cost otherwise. He'll just. Watch his finances more carefully after tonight.]
[I know what you want from me. Does L see this as beneficial in no way?]
I'm not worried about myself. I'm not going to bond with monsters to quell my power; it's sabotage.
[Even though bonding with a witch is, in fact, the definition of self-sabotage. He'll cross that brigde when he comes to it. Which will be soon, he suspects.]
I want to be strong. [His resolve is for the ages.] And I want to be there to protect you in the event that there's another incident. [More quietly, now.] You don't know what your initial death did to me — to us — we were all too young to process it properly.
[If they're going to be blunt, Mello is going to be honest.]
When I saw you lying there —
[Banish the image.]
[No, he's not going to finish that thought. It's too heavy, and it makes no difference.]
I think Bonding would be beneficial for both of us down the line, and if it becomes too much for you, I won't take offense if you decide to break it.
no subject
If you deemed it enough of a risk to you to be overtly harmful, you would've simply shot me down on the spot.
[It isn't Mello's intention to harm his mentor.]
That you're willing to hear me out tells me that you can handle it.
[Of course he can; L can handle anything. He takes a moment to order up the entire bottle along with two fresh glasses, much to the surprise of the bartender. Mello knows; he's been bartending himself, lately. An entire bottle in a tavern is thrice what it would cost otherwise. He'll just. Watch his finances more carefully after tonight.]
[I know what you want from me. Does L see this as beneficial in no way?]
I'm not worried about myself. I'm not going to bond with monsters to quell my power; it's sabotage.
[Even though bonding with a witch is, in fact, the definition of self-sabotage. He'll cross that brigde when he comes to it. Which will be soon, he suspects.]
I want to be strong. [His resolve is for the ages.] And I want to be there to protect you in the event that there's another incident. [More quietly, now.] You don't know what your initial death did to me — to us — we were all too young to process it properly.
[If they're going to be blunt, Mello is going to be honest.]
When I saw you lying there —
[Banish the image.]
[No, he's not going to finish that thought. It's too heavy, and it makes no difference.]
I think Bonding would be beneficial for both of us down the line, and if it becomes too much for you, I won't take offense if you decide to break it.
[There it is: the lie.]