It was no secret that the leather-clad blonde bombshell that was Mello had a vicious temper, and absolutely no issues with making his displeasure known... Hell, even on his good days it was not uncommon to hear the boy lecturing some poor soul about one thing or another... To be honest though, he had hoped that this wouldn't turn out to be one of those days… But of course, fate seemed dead-set on making things as troublesome as possible, so as always... Mello's rapidly growing irritation was beginning to get the better of him...

The number you have dialed is not available or has been disconnected... Please check your number or try again later.

-Click-

He was really growing to hate the sound of that damned female automated voice. In fact, at one point he had seriously considered hunting the creators of the infernal automated voice mail system down and shooting them all in the face... After a while though, the appeal of that idea wore off when he came to the conclusion that the lot of them were probably just a bunch of nerdy middle-aged men who lacked anything resembling a social life (or a sex life for that matter), thus needed something to give their miserable lives meaning and purpose...

Those thoughts had come and gone long ago though, becoming more and more forgotten while his irritation turned into anger… Pure, unhindered anger that, with the aid of the adrenaline, that was beginning to course through his system thus increasing his heart rate causing his blood to feel as though it was boiling. Scorching every inch of himself, and infecting his mind with the desire to yell, and hit something, anything, everything, until either it or his hands broke... Whichever came first...

"Ah...! Damn it to hell... Matt... Why aren't you answering your fucking phone you asshole..!" He mused venomously, glaring at the phone clenched between his fingers as if it would somehow alert the red head to just how screwed he was once the seething blonde found him.. And apparently, Mello realized after a moment, he had been able to avert the strong and all-consuming desire to become a human wrecking ball... At least for now anyway, friend or not, Matt was in deep shit.

After another brief moment spent glaring at the offending piece of technology in his hand, the blonde uncaringly shoved it into his jacket pocket before proceeding to put on his riding gloves and securing his helmet properly. Hey, he may be known for his reckless abandon, and unwavering determination... But what good is that if you're dead..? Once he was settled and ready, the revving of his motorcycle's engine was all the warning that was given for the pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles alike to get out of the way lest they meet the unforgiving end of the former Wammy's resident's wrath, or more importantly the crushing weight of his motorcycle..

Yup... Today was definitely beginning to look like it was going to be one of those days...

Perfect...

His right hand tightened, narrowed eyes glued to the road ahead of him as he felt the engine beneath him quiver as it steadily accelerated in speed, seeming to resonate in perfect synchronization with the rate at which his mind was processing, and speculating over various reasons as to what Matt could possibly be doing that prevented him from answering his calls.. Seriously... All the gamer had to do was pick up the phone and accept the damn call... It wasn't like Mello was asking him to perform brain surgery...

With an indignant 'tch', Mello figured that it had something to do with the vast array of technology that his friend had strewn about their current residence. Particularly the video game systems as Matt was ridiculously attached to, and incomprehensibly obsessed with the things. Once the idiot started there was no pulling him away.. That was until Mello threatened to 'hurt' one or all of the games and the consoles necessary to play them...

About little over 15 minutes had passed, and there was still no reply from Matt... Okay, now this was just getting stupid... And since he was pretty much finished gathering Intel on Takeda, man was she ever boring as all fuck to tail around the city, he allowed a bit of distance to form before turning onto a different street and speeding away.

In the time that it had taken to get back on the right side streets that lead back to the base, it was evident that his temper was back, and if anything it had evolved into a raging inferno... But that was probably because of the fact that Mello had stopped off a time or two on his way in order to lose the rider on the green and black Suzuki that had started tailing him a few streets back... And each time he had stopped, yet another attempt was made to contact Matt. And as he was beginning to expect, each time the call went unanswered.

Aside from the odd prick of some feeling that twisted and gnawed at the edge of his mind as well as his stomach which left him feeling a bit sick that he couldn't explain, Mello couldn't find a logical explanation as to why or how that Suzuki had managed to find, let alone keep up with him for so long... It was as if the rider knew him.. And as if by some higher power guiding him, Mello somehow felt that something was very wrong... He just couldn't for the life of himself, figure out what... And that just served to piss him off even more...

For the time being though, that feeling, as well as the now lost stalker was put on the mental back burner as Mello refocused his thoughts on finding and grilling his red-headed friend for leading him to worrying... Not that he, the esteemed mafia leader, would admit that out loud of course... He somehow had a feeling that his Matt knew he cared-..

Whoa...

Wait a second...

Where'd that come from...? Since when did he refer to that game-obsessed loon as his...? Because sure, he had undoubtedly staked him claim on Matt back when they were still living at Wammy's... And there was no doubt in his mind that Matt had only left the orphanage because he was following Mello himself... But... After all these years, after they had grown up and changed... Well changed a bit... Could he still say that Matt, formerly known as Mail Jeevas was still truly his and his alone...?

And if that was still the case, what did that mean..? Would the way they saw each other change..? Was there the possibility that the relationship that they had now would become more... Would they... Could they grow closer than they were..? Or would the friendship they shared deteriorate and sever the bonds that they'd had since childhood...?

These thoughts unsettled the young boy as he brought the motor powered bike to a stop across from the apartment complex that he lived in with ... Matt... Upon getting off the bike though, he mentally cursed the odd feeling of weakness that developed into small tremors that caused his knees to quiver... With one last glare toward his feet, he removed his helmet and proceeded to properly lock up his bike all the while pointedly ignoring the curious stares he was receiving from bystanders... Be it from his outlandish choice of dress, or the fact that he had been standing there staring at his feet for some time he was unsure... Nor did he care if they stared or not, what he did really wasn't any of their business...

Between the inner-turmoil brought about by his odd mix of confusion and ever simmering anger, as well as the fact that he was still making it a point to ignore the stares and half-heartedly extended greetings from the nosy bystanders, Mello seemed to have missed one apparently very crucial detail... Because had he turned to make sure that he wasn't followed as he normally did, he surely would have noticed the familiar black and green Suzuki that had just parked next to his own motorcycle...

Though one could infer just by looking at the blonde, that he clearly wasn't fully present as he entered the elevator, phone pressed to his ear as a jumble of expressions flit across his features. The most obvious one being predominantly the steady return of irritation present as the elevator doors closed, seemingly at the precise moment that the Suzuki rider entered the building. So, by a logical stand point, it would suffice to say that his observational skills would be rather lacking at the moment… And with good reason.

Meanwhile…

There was an almost sickeningly sweet smile present on the rider's lips as he greeted a random woman, eyes intently watching the doors close, effectively hiding the blonde from view. But he was in no hurry; after all he had been watching his blonde angel for months now, though he didn't quite understand the clothing his beloved had taken to wearing... But he supposed he could understand, seeing as with a face, and body like that it was no wonder such perfection needed a disguise...

Once a decent amount of time had passed, the man put the random brochure that he hadn't actually been reading away and headed for the stairs. Now that he had disposed of the trash; he knew it was only a matter of time until he would have his sweet angel in his arms once and for all...

Mello's nose wrinkled slightly in distaste as he stared at the doors of the elevator... He had realized years ago that he really didn't like them... There was no telling what kinds of germs were infesting every inch of the small, designer human disease transmitter boxes... Which was why he preferred the stairs if he could help it... In fact the only reason that he was in this disease infested death trap waiting to happen was because it was faster and Matt was beginning to worry him nearly as much as he was pissing him off...

A moment or two later a soft i 'ding' /i was heard which signaled that the doors would be...- Mello was out of the elevator and walking down the grimy corridor before the doors had the chance to fully open, and just out of the rare show of humanity... He decided to give his friend one more chance... And with that, he came to a stop just outside of their door and hit the re-dial button before bringing it to his ear to listen...

Ring...Ring...

Ring...Ring...

Ring...Beep...-

The number you have dialed is not available or has been disconnected... Please check your number or try again later.

-Click-

. . . Calm down... He probably passed out on the couch... No need to get mad...- Aw who was he trying to fool...? Mello was beyond the realm of livid now... Screw giving Matt the benefit of the doubt. The little shit actually had the balls to ignore his fucking phone! The damn thing was ringing full blast, loud enough that Mello himself could hear it from the hall and still no answer...

Any sense of reason, logic, or caution was thrown to the wind as the seething blonde broke the door with a well-placed kick and stormed in ready to raise hell when he caught the red head.

"MATT YOU DA-..." He cut himself off as he took the moment to survey the empty area... Well that was unexpected to say the least, though on closer inspection, he noticed that the screen was on, but had darkened signaling that it, or the controller connected to the game had been idle for some amount of time...

Which led to a moment of confusion on the blonde's part, seeing as if Matt could help it, he would never let the screen go dim like that... But then where was he..? There was no reason Mello could think of that would bring the gamer to leave... Unless of course he had run out of cigarettes... But even then, Matt made sure to bring his DS or something, which upon looking around Mello saw all of...

Remember that prick of unknown feeling...? Yeah, well it was back with a vengeance, sending a wave of ice that seemed to extinguish the liquid anger instantly as he ventured further into the apartment cautiously... Once he was standing behind the couch, and had surveyed the whole room, bathroom included, he was at a loss for the first time in his life...

That was, until he caught a hint of... Was that pizza...? Blinking, he glanced downward to see that there was in fact an open box of partially eaten pizza sitting on the coffee table... But that wasn't the only thing he found... There, sprawled out on the couch asleep was the red headed gamer himself... Almost instantly, Mello was ready to yell at him, but oddly enough, found that he couldn't... He actually didn't have the heart to wake his sleeping friend... Even if said friend was a seriously deep sleeper who probably would have slept through the yelling anyway...

A small smile graced his lips as the blonde stared at the other for a moment longer before moving away to retrieve a blanket to drape over the boy. It wasn't until Mello carefully removed the goggles, did he notice that Matt's eyes were open, and realize just how cold the red head was when his fingers had brushed against Matt's cheek.

At that moment the icy wave became a frigid iceberg that settled in the pit of his stomach and seemed to grow in size as his mind began to piece everything together slowly... The feeling of unease, followed by the inexplicable sick feeling, and the undeniably recurring thought that something was wrong... It was all a grand fore-shadowing that was leading to this... Well fuck fate... She was cruel and unforgiving... But she wasn't going to beat him. Not today. Matt was his and his alone...

With that, he shoved the table away as best he could before gently moving his dearest, and only friend to the floor for added stability. Without wasting another second, the blonde could only hope that he wasn't too late as he began an alternating pattern of strong chest compressions and forcing air into the gamer's lungs.

"Come on Mattie... Breathe... Come back... You can do it... Breathe for me damn it...!" He whispered shakily, as he continued to try to bring his friend back to life. Though as the ten minute mark drew closer panic, as well as desperation, was setting in, but he refused to let go and admit defeat... Because that would be admitting that his most favored friend... The one person he could have seen as something more... was gone forever... And Mello refused to let Matt leave him so easily...

He had been at it for just over twelve minutes when he heard a voice speak, and instantly, hands only pausing for a second as his head whipped around to find the owner... And once he had, those light colored eyes narrowed dangerously, though still visibly filling with murderous intent as the intruder continued to speak.

"Why do you fret dear angel..? I have disposed of the trash separating us, now we are free to-" The man was interrupted, as Mello again pull the blanket over Matt as if to shield and protect him from the atrocities that were about to be committed... Once that was accomplished, the blonde stood, eyes shadowed by his hair as he moved to stand before the one he now recognized via clothing to be the same person that had been tailing him on the Suzuki earlier.

"You did this..?" It was spoken quietly, and if one knew him, then the air of malevolent danger would have been immediately noticeable... But it seems, that the rider was rather lacking in knowledge, as he took it as the angel being shy... How truly unfortunate for him...

"Yes. Misa, now we can fina-" The man was again interrupted, though this time it was because Mello had finally given in to his urge to break anything he could get his hands on.. In this case though, he wasn't just going to break this asshole... Oh no... Mello was going to destroy him.

Thus was proven as he forcefully shoved the other, who was on about something involving his possibly broken nose, out of the apartment before proceeding to release all of his rage on the fucktard who killed...

Killed...

Matt...

It was then that the horrible reality of this situation finally hit home in Mello's mind... This wasn't a game, Matt was dead. And there was no reset button... He wasn't coming back this time... His lost friend was all alone in their apartment, and this was his last chance to spend any time with him... So why the fuck was he still out here... Oh, that's right… He still had some unfinished business to take care of…

It was probably a good thing they chose a more 'seedy' place to stay... Less chance of intervention by nosy neighbors should something go wrong...? This provided the increasingly unstable blonde a small window of opportunity... This was all he needed, as he glared vengeful murder at the now near unrecognizable male he was sitting on. Just this wasn't enough though... His beloved friend deserved more... A lot more, this man needed to feel more...

More pain. More fear. This man needed to know the pain of losing that which meant the most to you... But how... Nail gun... No, too clean... Knife? Too over used. Baseball bat.? Too cliché... Then it came to him... It was perfect, painful, would make a mess, and would be missed. As a repayment for taking Matt from him, Mello had just the perfect plan for revenge... With his decision made, a sinister grin formed as the blonde went to retrieve what he needed. Their wrought iron door stop... Which a moment later had proven that apparently the man was still alive.

Well that is, if the blood-curdling scream that tore from the man's throat was anything to go by... But for this, Mello had planned ahead, and instantly a rag was lodged in the gaping hole that once was the man's mouth. Once silenced, Mello merely smiled and patted the other's cheek lightly and spoke as sweetly as one would to a child...

"Ah ah, no screaming now... Little Mattie is taking a nappy-pie... And if you wake him then you get a time-out in the no-no corner..." He mused with a giggle before returning to what he was doing. And thus, with another pained scream, Mello had effectively rendered this man permanently sterile. His expression turned disappointed and he stroked the cheek again.

"Awww I told you no screaming... Now you have to go to the no-no corner..." The blonde trailed off happily as he withdrew his gun and aimed after removing the safety...

BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG!

Payment accepted. Mello, while now covered in even more blood splatters, was wearing a crazed smile as he stared down in obvious satisfaction, at the mutilated, bloody corpse of the son of a bitch he had just emptied half a round into. He hadn't even noticed the screams as a woman poked her head out to investigate... Mello just rose, albeit rather unsteadily, crazed grin now coupled with his wide, but rather glazed over stare and he slowly retreated back into the apartment he shared with his Matt.

After standing in the door way staring at the far wall blankly for a moment, Mello's mental instability seemed to calm... And after another moment, Mello found himself clinging desperately to the icy body of the red-head he once called his friend...

No...

It all made sense now, Matt was still his... But it was more than that, because in a moment of clarity, Mello realized that he was just as much Matt's as Matt was his... They belonged together. They always have... He finally understood why Mihael had always felt like an outsider even when everyone looked up to Mello... It was because none of them went past getting to know Mello...

That was until he came along... Mail Jeevas... The weird little child who at the time had creeped him out to no end... But somehow proved, as they grew up over the years, that he was the best friend that Mihael could have ever wished for...

And Matt still was...

Only now...

Mello found himself wishing that Matt could be more... He realized that he was in love with his best, and only friend...

But that was over now. This 'Matt', the one that lay cold and lifeless, wasn't his anymore. There was no more tomorrows, no more I'll do it laters. Because as with everything he'd ever gotten, his best friend had been taken from him because stupid prick was blind enough to mistake Mello for some prissy bitch who didn't know how or when to shut up... And that damned desire to possess that which was not attainable, as well and a case of mistaken identities, lead to the death of the only person left that meant something in the life of the one formerly known as Mihael Keehl...

And with the loss of his friend, and... As of now, his newly found, but unrequited love, Mello found that he really had nothing left to live for... Thus his desire to see his Matt again won over his will to live as he found himself shifting closer to rest his cheek against Matt's motionless chest while his free hand moved to grasp tightly at one of the icy ones. After a moment though, he released it to close Matt's eyes for the last time as he worked up the nerve to say one final thing that would fall on deaf ears.

"... I... Love y-you.. Matt.."

After one last long stare at his lost love, Mello sighed, resting his cheek on the other's chest, before closing his eyes and-

BANG!

One final gun shot echoed out, and it was over.

Mihael Keehl left this world peacefully, a soft smile on his lips as he and his precious person entered an eternal slumber, never to be parted again.


This was written out of request from a friend...