A/N-Conceptually Nightmarish Literary Train Wreck Is Over.

Matt's going home. That's uh,…kinda it. Just basic wrap-up stuff, ya know?

XXV-Last Train to Ellsworth

"Finally going home, Dorothy?" Mello joked from the doorway. Matt turned to face the blonde, laughing gently. He realised then that the other boy wasn't wearing his jacket. The leather vest left his arms exposed from wrist to shoulder. His hair was brushed back revealing the burn scar on his face. It was clear that it still made him uncomfortable, but at least he'd stopped trying to hide it with his hair now.

"You're doing well." The redhead whispered with a small smile.

"I'm getting there." The blonde's German accent was a bit fainter but still noticeable. Mello leaned against the doorframe, pushing his hands into his pockets. He was still wearing his gloves. Something with a distant relation to sadness tinged his voice when he said, "It…will be lonely here without you."

Matt sighed, closing his suitcase. "Don't do this to me."

"I could have asked you if you think Near will be alright." All of Matt's good humour suddenly vanished.

"Don't ask me that." He said icily. He didn't want to think about it. Near was like a little brother to him. If he lost him… He sighed again. "Hey, do you remember when I first got here? The first night? I was crying, so you took me up on the roof to see the stars." As he spoke, he re-opened his suitcase and fished through it, eventually holding up a small bracelet. "And I was so happy." He continued, crossing the room to stand in front of Mello.

Taking the blonde's left hand, Matt slipped the bracelet around his wrist. It was a simple thing, really: a piece of smooth silver attached to a black cord. But right then it meant so much. Mello looked away. His eyes were starting to burn.

It was then that he noticed the date engraved in the metal. April 20th, 2007.

"This is…"

"The day we met." Matt smiled gently as Mello drug the back of his hand across his eyes. Then, in a rare moment of bravery, the redhead stepped closer and threw his arms around Mello's waist, hugging him.

It was strangely comforting, though he wasn't quite sure why. The soft smell of leather mixed with the faint scent of some slightly spicy German cologne that he had never learned the name of. Matt tightened his grip, though it was barely noticeable, and whispered, "I'll miss you, Mihael."

"How…?" Mello started, surprised to hear his real name spoken so easily.

"When you were in hospital." Matt told him. "Your name was printed on the chart."

A gentle rap on the wall called their attention to Quillsh, who stood just a few feet from them, smiling. "While I do hate to interrupt," he said with a good-natured smirk, "Your car is here, Matt."

Blushing a bit, Mello disentangled himself from the redhead. "Thank you, Quillsh." He said, surprisingly composed. "We'll be right down."

With a nod, Quillsh disappeared down the stairway. Mello and Matt stared after him, neither knowing quite what to say. Mello finally broke the silence.

"Strange, isn't it? To be saying goodbye." Glancing out from under a curtain of blonde hair, he caught Matt's eyes. The redhead laughed softly.

"I'm not really saying 'goodbye'. Because I'm not really going home." He flashed a heart-melting smile. Wammy's House was his home, and it always would be. The children here were his family. The only somewhat stable family he'd ever had. In that way, he and Mello were not so different.

The pair started down the hallway, splitting Matt's suitcases between them. At the foot of the stairs was L, face expressionless as always. Before Matt could speak, L threw his arms around him, pulling him into a close hug. Matt slung his free arm around the man's shoulders, returning the hug with a gentle laugh.

L released him and stepped back, only the slightest bit embarrassed. "Thank you." He said. He'd said it before but it never meant so much as it did right then. Matt smiled.

"No need to thank me." He said simply. It was clear to him why L had said that. He still felt grateful to all of them for saving him. To Mello especially. The man had nearly cost the blonde his eye. It wasn't impossible that even L would feel a little bit guilty.

"You should probably go." L was never good at goodbyes. "They're waiting for you."

Quillsh walked up to them, that gentle, grandfatherly smile fixed firmly on his face even though his eyes looked slightly misty.

Mello let Quillsh take the suitcases he'd been carrying. He couldn't watch Matt leave. He just would not let himself cry in front of L.

From the door, the redhead turned and waved before disappearing down the walk to the idling car. His cousins would take care of him now.

"We'll see him again." L said, his voice surprisingly soft.

Mello turned to face him, blinking to keep himself from crying. "Yeah?"

L smiled a bit, the first honest smile Mello had ever seen from him. "Yeah."

With that, L turned gracefully and disappeared through the door leading into the garden. Ever since the fiasco with Beyond, he'd began to spend most of his free time out there, lost in his memories. Mello gave a scoffing laugh, tossing his hair out of his face. He turned and began to climb the stairs for the thousandth time, wondering what Wammy's House would really be like without Matt.

What would it be like without Near? That thought stopped him in his tracks. There was always a chance that he could see Matt again, but Near…How much longer did Near really have?

As much as Mello hated to admit it, he just didn't know. Then the blonde did something he hadn't done in a long time. He prayed.

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L jumped onto the concrete bench, looking out over the garden. It had been years since he'd sat outside like this. He gingerly reached up, touching the burn scar that ran across his chest. Mello didn't know that he was injured in the explosion, and L would most likely never tell him. The blonde had taken the worst of the damage by far. L could never repay him for that.

Sitting outside like this, he found himself thinking back to that day in the garden. The day after J was killed. He could smell the blood on the younger man's breath when Beyond had kissed him. He'd told Quillsh about being able to smell the blood, but not about how he'd noticed it. Back then, when it was so innocent, it had felt like love. L didn't want to give that up, even knowing how dangerous Beyond was, because he had never really known love.

That wasn't true. He thought back to the hospital and the way Near had fallen asleep in his lap, apparently seeking comfort. The love of a child for an older sibling. He remembered how Quillsh had cried when L had touched his arm. The love of a parent for their child. L sat back against the cold stone of the building. After a few moments, he unfolded his long legs, leaning back with his weight on his right arm.

For the longest time, he stared up into the clear sky, lost in his memories. The past few months felt like a dream from a lifetime ago. It was almost as though none of it ever happened. But, like Mello, L would always carry the scars with him. Beyond had been right. Neither of them would ever truly escape him.

L stood up, standing at his full height, and made his way back into the House. Mello would be looking for him. It was almost time for breakfast.

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A/N-Well, that's my story. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this thing all the way through, everyone who reviewed this story, and of course, the original creator of Death Note. Thank you, Tsugumi Ohba and I'll see you in court. 

(*Stops begging for reviews.* They're still nice, though.)