[There it is: a pride that Mello can preen over. L should be stubborn and strong, should be offended by the idea that he's anything close to weak. The Doe was wrong; Mello knew it then as he knows it now. What his mentor is currently experiencing is a natural chain of psychological events which occurs when one person loses another they'd considered a partner. M knows this, can cope with it and not look down upon his idol for it.]
[It's temporary. It's all so temporary.]
[His head is almost spinning, but he pinches another piece of bacon from the plate between two fingers and bites into it, chewing as he contemplates his response. L's pride is an intimate thing, spoken low over smoky cognac, and Mello can only listen with rapt attention.]
I'm insulting you.
[Thoughtful, distracted. Mello has pushed himself up on the counter, legs dangling over cupboards. His eyes are lazy and contemplative — glossy, faded blue — and when he takes his next sip, it's significantly smaller than the last. He raises them to properly assess his Bonded — frail, powerful thing — and the look L receives is nothing short of that of a child in awe.]
Even this, it's insulting. [The food, the doting.]
no subject
[It's temporary. It's all so temporary.]
[His head is almost spinning, but he pinches another piece of bacon from the plate between two fingers and bites into it, chewing as he contemplates his response. L's pride is an intimate thing, spoken low over smoky cognac, and Mello can only listen with rapt attention.]
I'm insulting you.
[Thoughtful, distracted. Mello has pushed himself up on the counter, legs dangling over cupboards. His eyes are lazy and contemplative — glossy, faded blue — and when he takes his next sip, it's significantly smaller than the last. He raises them to properly assess his Bonded — frail, powerful thing — and the look L receives is nothing short of that of a child in awe.]
Even this, it's insulting. [The food, the doting.]
Why won't you tell me as much?