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Despite Matt’s best efforts, Mello had never been all that interested in video games.
He could just about tell Mario and Pikachu apart if Matt pestered him about it, but anything beyond that was knowledge he considered a waste of perfectly good brain capacity.
(If anything, he probably thought that thinking too hard about it would actively cause him to lose brain cells).
And sure, Matt would have loved to drag Mello into playing multiplayer games with him and make cheesy gamer jokes, but Mello’s indifference was probably for the best considering his competitive streak. Matt played games because he needed to ease his boredom and turn off his brain; he didn’t want to have to take that hobby too seriously on top of everything else because Mello demanded it.
Imagine his surprise when Mello curiously looked over his shoulder while he was sprawled over their couch and playing Tomodachi Life, and instead of scoffing and walking away, continued to keep watching.
The last time Mello had watched him play this intently was the night before their not-quite-suicide mission during the prime of the Kira investigation, when neither of them had been able to sleep and Mello had cuddled up to him in a way that had made Matt wish he could freeze time and stay in that moment forever.
(That was many years ago now, and in hindsight, Matt was glad he did not have time-freezing powers, because then he would never have gotten to see this older, softer version of Mello he loved so much).
He had a vague suspicion that making one of his usual jokes would ruin the moment though, so in an excellent show of self-control, he managed to keep quiet and continued to play for Mello’s entertainment.
Matt’s island was primarily filled with fictional characters for the sole reason there weren’t many real-life people they were particularly close to, but he’d made Mii’s for a handful of real people, himself and Mello included. It was oddly amusing to watch the Mii versions of Mello and Near become best friends so effortlessly to say the least.
When he checked up on Mii-Mello, the real Mello scoffed, sat down on the armrest of the couch, and crossed his arms as if assessing his Mii-making skills just a little too seriously.
This time, Matt couldn’t stop himself from grinning and making a comment.
‘You’re cute like this.’ he said, holding up the screen for Mello to see. ‘Look, I even got you a cool outfit and everything. Though your Mii-self doesn’t like chocolate, so I guess it’s not that accurate…’
‘So the real thing wasn’t doing it for you anymore, is that it?’ Mello huffed, though his tone was light. He wasn’t pissed off (yet), just amused and perhaps mildly concerned about Matt’s life choices.
‘You know I’d never choose a bunch of pixels over you.’
‘Mhh.’
Mello then stood up once more, jabbed Matt’s side to make him scoot over faster than if he were to just ask, and sat down next to him so he could properly look without murdering his back in the process.
(Their age was catching up to them, okay? Their days of hunching over laptops and sitting on couches and chairs in all kinds of positions save for the intended ones were over, unless they felt like complaining about cracking and popping joints for two days after).
‘You play such weird shit.’ Mello complained, watching with a raised eyebrow while his Mii counterpart took a nap and dreamt of worshipping a piece of hard candy in some kind of satanic ritual.
‘It’s fun, though.’ Matt argued. ‘You can make all the characters interact, and have them build relationships and whatnot. And gay marriage is legal now, so that’s a plus. I actually had Luigi and Bowser get married just yesterday.’
‘Who?’
‘Never mind.’ Matt sighed.
‘So are we married in this game?’ Mello asked, undoubtedly regretting his question the moment he saw Matt’s amused grin.
‘Not yet.’ Matt said casually. ‘I’m still working on that.’
Unfortunately for him, Mello’s indifference towards video games did not mean he didn’t catch on quickly when it came to specific game mechanics, however. When he glanced at the screen and noticed the relationship rankings for his Mii, his eyes narrowed.
‘Why the fuck am I friends with Near?’
‘Because that’s how the game works.’ Matt quickly explained. ‘They kind of want to be friends with each other all the time.’
‘How boring.’ Mello huffed. ‘And wildly unrealistic.’
‘That’s the one thing you find most unrealistic about this game?’ Matt asked with a chuckle. ‘And anyway, don’t be too quick to judge. They can have fights too. I’m pretty sure it’s possible for them to beat each other up if you piss them off badly enough.’
At this, Mello shot him a look which Matt wasn’t sure was one of mild interest, or one of absolute disdain. Honestly, it could be both.
‘Besides, a little birdie told me you don’t nearly hate Near as much as you used to.’
‘I tolerate him.’ Mello clarified.
‘Which, for anyone that isn’t me, is pretty much the highest possible level someone is capable of achieving on the Mello scale.’
Mello glared at him, but didn’t argue.
‘Do you want to try?’ Matt asked, wondering what possessed him as he held out his Switch for Mello to take.
Mello never played video games.
Except apparently he did now, because he took the Switch from him after contemplating for a few seconds, then smashed the buttons to get familiar with them.
‘Just, uh, don’t delete my island or anything.’ Matt mumbled, too taken aback by the fact Mello had just voluntarily agreed to try out a video game to pay the damage he could do any real mind.
‘I’m not that petty.’ Mello scoffed, before recalling that one time he’d put a hole in Matt’s PSP before Matt even had the chance to open his mouth and remind him. ‘…anymore.’ he begrudgingly added.
(He’d gotten him a replacement the very next day, as well as the newest PlayStation at the time as means of apology. Which, to anyone else, probably seemed toxic as fuck, but Matt thought he was allowed to cut Mello some slack considering he’d been freshly blown up and Kira had been breathing down their necks with that stupid murder notebook in hand. Matt dared anyone who questioned their relationship based on that to try and stay sane in that situation. And anyway, it had only happened once).
‘Alright, go wild I guess.’ Matt mused, putting his hands behind his head and making himself comfortable so he could watch Mello play.
Mello didn’t need to be told twice.
And as Matt watched him play for several hours on end, he realised that the real reason Mello wasn’t into video games wasn’t because he didn’t like them, but because he got a little too much into them once he allowed himself to indulge. He was invested now, and Matt was in turn invested in whatever Mello was doing.
Apparently, it was still possible for him to discover new things about his partner even after all these years.
(Matt wasn’t complaining though).
He also didn’t complain when he found his own Mii married to Mello’s Mii the following morning, something that didn’t surprise him in the slightest.
(Both the being married part as well as Mello playing the game all night).
Mello had even had the decency to screenshot the whole thing so Matt didn’t feel left out, which was uncharacteristically sweet of him.
The only thing Matt could have complained about just a little bit though, was that Near’s house had been moved to some kind of quarantined little isle in the corner of the map that had most definitely not been there before.
And the fact that Mello had spent all his money on an entirely new wardrobe for himself.
And the fact that Mello had, apparently, kept feeding his own Mii chocolate in hopes of changing his preferences, and failed.
Actually, Matt didn’t really feel like complaining about any of those things at all. Mello had clearly been enjoying himself, and that was a rare thing on its own.
When Mello walked into their kitchen later that morning, Matt decided to try and increase his real-life relationship ranking just a little more too, just because he felt like it.
Just because they’d already reached the maximum amount of points didn’t mean he couldn’t indulge every now and then.