Wow, long time guys. Haha, my bad. This is the epilogue, and although it is short I hope you enjoy it. I did the best I could. :)
Leaving was one of the easiest decisions he'd ever made in his life.
He had made up his mind during that one long and seemingly endless night at the hospital: there would be absolutely no goodbyes. He would simply pack his things while Noah was in class, and limp out the door without anyone ever knowing he left. A perfectly clean break, the best option open to him. Quick and painless. Not that anyone in that god-forsaken building would miss him. Sure, there'd be the initial wave of confusion. People he barely knew would pretend that his departure hurt him, just like at Matt's funeral. But after a couple months or so, they wouldn't remember that Mihael Keehl even existed.
His plan was dead set in his mind and there was absolutely no going back. He knew exactly where he was going and how he was getting there. There was just one thing Mello couldn't anticipate: the death of L.
He would not, no, he could not work together with Near. There was just no possible way. And even though they'd acted civilized towards each other recently, all the feelings of rivalry and bitterness could not disappear. They were too deeply rooted. But in the end it did not matter; he was already set to leave the orphanage. Everything he owned in the world was in a small backpack resting at his feet. This only made him more resolved to leave everything he'd ever known behind. a fresh start. That was what he wanted, he convinced himself.
So with all emotion aside, Mello hobbled out of Roger's office and out the main doors of the orphanage and did not look back.
He never saw it coming: a lanky, green-eyed boy trailing behind him.
"God, I can't believe it. How long has it been?" The two stood on a sidewalk glazed with ice, facing the building. The rooftop, as unchanged as the rest of the place, was coated with pure white snow. Children bundled in heavy winter coats chased each other by the playground, pure delight etched on their faces despite the freezing weather. The taller of the pair buried his numb hands in the pockets of his light jacket. He exhaled heavily, his breath a clearly visible cloud in the wintry air. He peered down at the blonde man beside him through his red hair that hung in his eyes.
"Six years, I think. Maybe seven. It's been awhile," said Mello. He shrugged his wide shoulders and stared at his shoes. This was the first time either of them had seen the place they used to call home in more than half a decade. They both agreed that it would be appropriate to at least see it one more time before the next day, a Thursday. "I can't remember. How old were you when we left?" Mello had to tilt his head up to smile at Noah. He'd grown so much in the past few years; just like Matt had always been, Noah was at least a full head taller than him, even though Mello was eight years his elder.
Mello stared at the playground and the children's joyful laughter and was instantly jealous. He hadn't been that blissfully innocent for a long time.
Noah grinned. "I was eight. So, yeah, it's been almost seven. Wow." He pulled his right hand out of his warm pocket to scratch his head. "Now that I think about it, my life would be a lot less complicated if you hadn't have taken me with you that day." He grinned.
"If I remember correctly, you had to beg me to come with." The corners of his mouth turned up in a little smile at the memory, despite his best efforts.
"You were going to leave me behind. I'm still not over that yet, you know." He stuck his tongue out at Mello.
Mello rolled his eyes. "I think I've had enough nostalgia for one day."
"What do we do now? We can't go in. No one can know that we're still here."
He was right. The police were baffled when they went to Wammy's the day after Mello was released to take him to the juvenile detention center. His sentence wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been, because of the rich lady's weakness for sad stories and Near's testimony. Six months and community service wasn't bad at all, but Mello would have left even if it was only a day. He wouldn't be able to stand being tied down.
"I guess we leave. I don't have any business here." He turned to walk towards their car. Noah followed close behind, as always. Climbing in the passenger's seat, Mello warmed his frozen fingers in front of the heater.
Tomorrow could be their last day together. Even though it was very carefully planned out (they'd spent weeks pouring over little details and endless scenarios) nothing about this was certain. Many things could go so wrong. It was flawless and completely reckless at the same time. But it needed to be done.
Mello was still, after all this time, living in Near's shadow. And this was the only way to get ahead. He needed to beat him to the punch this time. And it was going to happen tomorrow.
This was his battle, not Noah's. Noah just happened to be his sidekick, just like Matt had been seven years ago. Noah just happened to be the one person Mello couldn't go without.
The resemblance was much more pronounced than it had been before. In fact, they could have been brothers. But it didn't matter anymore. Mello had let go of Matt all those years ago when he had decided to leave the boxes containing Matt's belongings in his room behind. He had said his goodbye.
Besides, now he had someone else to push around.