Being the heir to the world's most prolific detective when the man couldn't make up his damn mind was like losing the battle of a never-ending war. A serial killer was still at large and he refused the offer to work with Near, the boy he'd always felt compelled to beat at his own game. And there came an exasperated groan as the teenager vigorously rubbed his temples. He refused to give up that easily.
He'd no use for anything more than the clothes on his back. It was not as if he had anything valuable to him since his first arrival at Wammy's. He closed the door behind him, exhaling with a slight sigh before making his way down the stairs, not even daring to glance back at his old confinements.
He stepped out through the back door, spotting the familiar bushes where he had planned to escape from the gates. Stepping into the backyard, the teen quickly found his way behind the bushes, peeking through to find Matt sitting behind the aforementioned gates.
"Did you loosen the bars?" asked Mello.
"Mmm-hmm," answered Matt, pushing back one of the loose bars with his hand.
The two raised one of their hands, giving each other a light smack in accomplishment. Matt then picked himself up from the grass, turning his attention briefly towards the kids before returning back to Mello, who was already pushing back another of the loosened bars. A solemn expression was plastered on his face, acknowledging the fact that this would probably be the last time he hears from his good friend. Regardless, he trusted his decision that he was better off elsewhere.
"Mello…"
Mello's gaze did not move away from the bars while Matt spoke, but he gave a quick nod, acknowledging the fact that he was listening.
"If you end up dying in Los Angeles, I'll personally fly over there and piss on your grave, provided they didn't already feed your corpse to the dogs."
An amused snort fell upon Matt at his own sarcastic jab but there was really no time to joke around. With a roll of his eyes, Mello started pushing back the final bar and said, "Just shut up and do your job." Matt nodded and stepped out of the bushes, cracking his knuckles as he squinted to locate his target. Without a word of hesitation, he broke into a sprint and charged.
In the distance, Mello heard a young boy cry out in pain, followed by protests of "Help! He's hurting me!" Leave it to Matt to obey such a stupid order but he was not going to risk getting caught. Moments before he made his squeeze through the space, he heard Roger and the other caretakers rushing towards the scene where Matt had started the fight.
By the time he began to push the bars back into place, a brief silence followed in the front yard. Matt was probably caught and sent back to his room. While he couldn't bid farewell to his only companion at Wammy's, he had work to do in order to beat Near at catching Kira.
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"Welcome home."
Naomi's voice greeted Raye from the living room of their condominium as he stepped inside. An exhausted groan overcame him, which only left the woman to feel a pang of empathy for him. It's been almost a year since she retired from the FBI. Granted, she missed spending time with her fellow agents at the office but she knew after she accepted Raye's marriage proposal that the decision was long overdue.
He removed his coat as he made his way towards his wife, collapsing onto the spot next to her on the couch. Naomi uttered an annoyed groan in response, raising a hand out to push the weight of his leaning body away from hers. Immediately taking notice, Raye grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.
"Raye!" squealed Naomi, playfully batting Raye on the shoulder with her free hand but to no avail. The man may appear to be exhausted but he would have more than enough energy to press his rough lips against the side of her neck. Naomi bit back a gasp and she continued struggling to break free from his grip.
Luckily for her, the doorbell rang before they could continue any further. Raye sighed in defeat and Naomi pried her hand away from his grip. Not a moment later, the couple heard the all-too familiar female voice call out to them. Naomi stood up from the couch and made her way towards the front door. She waited a few moments, peeking through the peephole against the door before answering it.
Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her towards the embrace of the ecstatic woman, long brown waves bounced as she did a little jump. By the time Naomi reached her hands out to push her away, she staggered backwards, elbow hitting the edge of the door. The woman gasped in response.
"Sorry! I just got back from the office and Raye never tells me how you're doing."
Raye snorted upon mention of his name. In spite of Naomi's retirement, she was humbled to realize the people she used to work with would keep in touch with her. Leticia Juarez was no exception. She had been working in the forensics department around the same time she was working as an agent. Even after she retired, she remained good friends with the bubbly Puerto Rican woman.
"Oh, I've been well," answered Naomi, rubbing her elbow as Leticia fumbled an embarrassed grin. "For some reason, my boss keeps telling me my translations need more work."
"Does he not realize that he's telling you to translate from Japanese, which is your first language? Isn't that why he hired you?" scoffed Leticia.
"It's not like he could do it himself or anything," huffed Naomi, thinning her lips.
"What a pendejo."
Leticia gaped her jaw at her friend. Turning her head slightly to meet her gaze, Naomi's expression remained neutral for a brief moment before the two erupted into bursts of laughter. And not long after, they embraced again with a light squeeze.
"You never cease to amaze me, Naomi," said Leticia as she pulled away from the embrace. "Of course, I expected no less from my fellow star pupil in capoeira."
"I could definitely say the same about you," answered Naomi. "We should meet up for coffee sometime this week when we're not busy."
"I'm down. You have my number. Don't be a stranger." Leticia's gaze peered over at Raye, who seemed to be preoccupied with the evening news to drone out their conversation.
"You too, Raye!"
"I won't," Raye called back.
"I promise I'll call you tomorrow," said Naomi as Leticia took her exit.
"You'd better!"
By the time Leticia was out of sight, Naomi stepped back inside, closing the door behind her. She peered over at Raye as his attention remained occupied with Peter Jennings announcing the day's top new stories. Making her way back towards the couch, she sat next to her husband in the same spot as before. His eyes did not waver from the television until Naomi pressed a gentle hand against his cheek.
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said before. About us starting a family, I mean."
"You have?"
"I have. We've been together for quite some time and if there's one thing I'm confident about, it's that you'll definitely be an amazing father."
The sincerity in her tone, accompanied by a warm smile, was enough to leave Raye at a loss for words. She leaned in towards him, lips slightly parted and he would echo her motions, meeting her lips halfway. Naomi sucked in a breath as her other hand reached for his other cheek when he suddenly pulled away, leaving her in a slight daze.
"Not tonight, though. We'll wait until next week. If you're still ready by then, I'll take the day off work so we can try for a child."
Her stomach fluttered in anticipation at the thought of her first time with the man she loved. The bittersweet thoughts of retirement would soon be diverted with thoughts of family and becoming a mother. Still, she would do her best to be patient until next week.