A/N: My comp is evil honestly. I tried to update this chapter a zillion times. I couldn't figure out why the thing was 12MB it was weird. Apparently I had a table in it that I didn't know about. It's weird. Well, I've got it fixed and I can update now. So here you are. Enjoy. Read and Review please.

Chapter Four

Matt woke up feeling very warm and comfortable. He rolled over and came face to face with Mello. He smiled remembering the events from the night before. He leaned over and kissed Mello on the forehead. He looked so docile while he was sleeping, it was cute. It was hard to believe that he could harm anyone or that he was so quick to anger. Matt gave a little sigh. "The angelic face that hides the devil inside..." The quote described Mello to a T really.

Mello felt something warm lean into him. Unconsciously he rolled closer, just wanting to relieve the cold he felt. The air above the blanket was crisp, and whatever was next to him was a soft warm object. A small voice in Mello's head shouted to him that this thing he was moving closer to was Matt. That was right, Matt! Mello had never been one to wake up quickly, having a low blood pressure in the morning. Memories of last night flooded into his mind like an unblocked damn. Lazily Mello opened an eye to find Matt looking at him. "Mmm..." Mello sighed sleepily.

Matt wondered how Mello would react to waking up with him so close. He instinctually backed off slightly, as if he thought the night before didn't give him any permission to be so close to the blonde. He was used to having the set rule of how close he could come; currently he was still breaking it being only a half a foot away from Mello. He looked into the younger male's ice blue eyes, he obviously wasn't fully awake. He was unsure how to deal with the situation at hand, maybe he was thinking too much into it...

Mello growled frustratingly. All his work at moving closer to Matt was wasted as the man rolled away. Mindlessly, Mello reached over, groping around for Matt. "Uhh...get back over here..." He found the man's hip, pulling him back over. The same small voice in the back of Mello's head reminded him that neither of them had clothes on, but what did that matter? "...Cold...I'm." Mello's speech slurred as he fell back into a light state of sleep now that he was warm again.

Matt blinked as Mello dragged him closer again. He was slightly confused. Never before was had he been allowed to be so close to Mello, with the exception of last night. He didn't regret it all, but he was worried that Mello would. He had already told the blonde that he loved him. Mello said that he was cold...Matt wrapped his arms around the blue eyed male letting him snuggle closer. 'Don't hate me...'

Mello vaguely acknowledged Matt wrap him up in his arms. His eyes were struggling to stay open as sleep took over Mello once again. The feeling of being cared for as he slept was extremely unfamiliar, yet reassuring. Forty five minutes passes as Mello fell in and out of sleep quietly. Every time waking to a strange feeling of being held. He would wake slightly with a start, and then realize it was Matt and fall back to sleep. Mello had always been good at being aware of his surroundings, yet with Matt there watching, Mello let everything go.

Matt drifted in and out of sleep himself. After awhile he shifted to get into a more comfortable position, his arms had started to fall asleep. As he moved he felt a sharp pain shoot up his spine. He gasped and closed his eyes waiting for the pain to pass. It did after a bit and he let out the breath he was holding. He looked at Mello, who had drifted back into sleep for probably seventh or eighth time. He brushed a stray strand of hair out of the younger male's face. He smiled, he couldn't help it, Mello was so beautiful and he was in his arms.

Mello finally awoke, feeling able enough to get both eyes open and observing his surroundings. He had slept better then he had in months, not waking up drawing his gun at every sound made. Looking up, he noticed Matt watching him. Feeling flustered, Mello rolled away to sit up in the bed. Letting his legs hang over the edge, Mello had his back to Matt, not caring about his lack of clothes. He rubbed his bandaged arm tenderly, remembering the new scares distastefully.

Matt sat up slowly, leaning on his right arm. He stared at Mello's back. This was what he was afraid of. Mello had immediately drawn back, moved away when he was fully aware of the situation. What was going to happen now? Matt sat up a little more fully. He winced at the pain his back, he knew that it was a bad idea but he had been caught up in the moment, the passion and pleasure. Now he had to deal with his probably fractured back, optimistically it was only bruised. "Mello?" his voice was soft, he sounded unsure.

Mello noticed his gloves lying on the floor near the foot of the bed. Reaching down, he picked them up and pulled them on. Rarely had he ever taken them off, but getting caught up in the moment last night, they were taken off. When Matt said his name, Mello turned to look at the man. Suddenly he froze, hearing a distinct walking sound on the floor above them. Pulling his eyes away from the ceiling, Mello made eye contact with Matt.

Matt glanced up to the ceiling. He looked back at Mello. His eyes said it all. 'They've found me.' He had been so careful. He was used to having assassins sent after him, for some reason he now couldn't keep himself hidden. He looked at Mello, his brain for a moment, playing a trick on him that Mello was the cause of it all, that the blonde had sold him out for some information on the Kira case. He cast the thoughts from his mind as soon as he was finished thinking them, he knew that he was being stupid. Mello would sell him out like that, not while he was still useful...but was he still useful? 'No...stop thinking that.' Matt got out of the bed and pulled on his jeans. He pulled a gun out of a drawer and loaded it.

Mello walked around the bed, finding a pair of Matt's jeans and putting them on. The black and white shirt that had been discarded was found on the other side of the room. Mello slipped it on, finding it to still be many sizes to big. Making eye contact with Matt again to make sure he was ready, Mello took his gun off the table and headed over to the door. Turning the door knob slightly, Mello's ears were assaulted with the sound of a deafening explosion. He felt an invisible force flinging him backwards off of his feet. The door itself was blown off the hinges, but thankfully took must of the force of the explosion. Mello yelped in surprise, landing on his back with an intense thud across the room.

Matt turned as Mello opened the door, he was far enough back as to escape the explosion which was not big, just enough to blow the door down and startle those inside, maybe injure who ever opened the door. It was hard to tell if the bomb had been rigged up that way or not. He watched as Mello flew across the room hitting the floor. Matt was by his side not a second later making sure that the blonde was alright. He realized his mistake too late, only when a bullet ripped through his bare shoulder. He fell to his hands and knees gripping his shoulder. He glared back at the shooter. He let off a few rounds in the shooter's direction. He caught him in the chest with the second shot, while the first missed completely and the third caught him in arm. Matt's version was becoming blurred and distorted as pain shot up his back and through his shoulder. 'Shit!'

Mello had the wind knocked out of him. Finding it hard to breath, he wheezed, trying to regain his composure. Matt was by his side when the first shots rang out. Seeing Matt flinch, firing back, Mello knew he had been hit. Doing his best to keep his breathing even, Mello groped around for his gun that had been knocked out of his hand by the blast.

Matt shook his head closing his eyes for a moment, forcing his body to ignore the pain. He looked at Mello. "Get out of here." He stood and turned. The man that had blown down the door was dead but there were at least two others in the house. Matt disappeared from the room heading off to search for the other two men. He had grabbed a second gun on his way out. He didn't know if Mello would do as he said, but he hoped that the blonde didn't get himself hurt or worse killed.

Mello coughed, watching Matt leave the room and finally getting his breath back. 'Since when do you give me orders Matt?' Mello sat up, seeing his gun slightly under the bed. He picked it up, getting to his feet slowly. A small amount of blood stained the now ruined carpet. "Matt..." Mello mumbled angrily. The man was hurt, and taking on to much. Mello figured that Matt could handle anyone else in the home, or at least drive them out. Heading out over the broken fragments of door, Mello headed for the front door. When the people inside decided to run, he would be waiting. Down the stairs, Mello cautiously opened the door to the garage. As soon as he was down the small set of stairs he was caught off guard by the sound of a gun click. "Don't move Blondie." Mello looked angrily at a man holding a gun to his head.

He glared at the man. He was a well built guy, slightly taller then Mello. Mello knew that in hand to hand combat, he couldn't win. If only Mello could surprise this guy, then he could give him a run for his money. "Drop your gun." Mello didn't answer, or move. "Fucking hell Blondie, drop that thing!" He had no choice but to drop it. The gun clanged to the floor. The man pushed the gun harder on Mello, instructing him to move away from the door. Grabbing both of his arms, the man forced them behind Mello's back. "Oww! Fuck you!" Mello growled, unhappy with himself and the situation.

The man roughly cuffed Mello's hands behind his back, taking a sick satisfaction in making the cuffs to tight. He then led Mello to the opening of the garage, making sure they were in full view of the door and nothing else. Instructing Mello to get on his knees, the man pulled what looked like a blindfold out of his pocket with his free hand. Dropping the gun, the man was quick to get a rough hand on Mello. Mello sat there, hoping the man would be careless and get his fingers to close to his mouth. Luck however was not on his side. With the blindfold in place the man stood up straight, a hand firmly in Mello's hair. "Now we wait Blondie."

888

Matt moved along the wall, he could hear exactly were the others were, by the sound of it there were only two more in the house. He had set up this house to give off intruders right away. He had been to content, calm from the night before. He hadn't expected this; he had been too lenient with his awareness. It would cost him his life if he didn't remedy the fact quickly. He hid in a dark portion of the second bedroom as the other two walked into the hallway. He knew what they had been doing; the house would burst into flames probably in less then an hour. Matt aimed the gun at one of the men's' heads, he had a silencer on. The man's head was torn in half as the bullet ripped through his temple. His partner turned his gun toward the door and unloaded a full cache into the door.

Matt had already escaped into an air vent by the time the assassin had unloaded his gun into the door. The only things the bullets hit were his PS2 and flat screen. Matt peered down at the elder slightly balding man from the air vent right above his head. He stuck his gun through the slits and aimed a bullet into the top of the man's head, instantly killing him. Matt dropped back into the room he had been in previously. He leaned against the wall and took deep breaths. The pain in his shoulder was getting worse as was the pain in his back. Matt left the wall, walking over to a desk in the room; he pulled out a needle and a vile of clear liquid. He filled the syringe and took a deep breath while tightening a quickly made tourniquet on his arm. He stuck the needle into a vain and injected himself with the clear liquid. The pain vanished nearly immediately. Matt pulled out the other bottles and a few other needles from the drawer, placing them into a bag and slipped them into his pocket.

The red head left the room keeping his gun close and checking every corner as he headed toward the garage, he knew he couldn't stay in the house; he didn't have enough time to disarm the bomb.

Matt reached the first floor; he was feeling almost confident that there was no one else inside. He looked around the first floor. Grabbing a jacket, not wanting to ride any of his bikes without something covering his chest and arms. He had both guns on them still, both re-loaded. He was expecting a fight still. He made his way to the garage door, and froze when he saw it open. He could see Mello from his position, he had been captured. He leaned against the wall. 'What do I do?'

The man restocked his gun, realigning it at Mello's temple. "Come on out here Matt, and let's have a little chitchat." Mello looked up, not able to see but still pointing his head in the direction he thought was the door. "Matt!" Mello yelled, trying to tell him to stay put. Mello growled deep in his chest, still unhappy about everything. The man struck Mello violently over his head with the gun. "Good god, shut up!"

Matt winced. He heard the order in Mello's voice. "Stay put." He had heard it and yet he wouldn't obey. He wasn't going to get Mello killed for his sake. He walked toward the door, then down the stairs. He stood on the last step, staring at the man. His face was blank, unreadable. He seemed calm, while in reality he was nervous as hell. His heart was hammering at one-hundred beats per second. He felt as if he could have a heart attack at any second. "What do you want from me, Sean?" His voice was oddly hollow in the calm.

Sean smiled an evil smile, enjoying the fact that he had the upper hand. "Don't sound so upset Matt; you knew I'd find you eventually."

Yes, he had known that this man would show up at his door sooner or later. He had been cruel in his earlier killings before meeting Mello in the real world. There were many who held a grudge against him; however, many of those people were now dead, killed by Kira, ironically enough. Criminals, unfortunately it seemed that Kira's judgment had missed this man. Sean, his old partner.

Sean tightened his grip on Mello's hair, yanking his head up. "I want to see all of your guns. Take them all off." Sean waited behind Mello, using him as a shield. "He's very pretty Matt." Sean said referring to Mello in a sickeningly affectionate voice. "Almost as pretty as Carla was. Looks a lot like her before you killed her. Pretty and fragile. His head might blow in the same way hers did, bloody and messy." Sean looked back at Matt, smiling.

Matt's heart stopped. His calm façade ripped away. His hand shook as he removed both of his guns from the places that they were hidden on his body. His past was catching up to him to fast. He placed his guns on the floor and kicked them away from him, so they were closer to Sean. He had to come up with a plan fast. He had no idea that this was the person that had been tracking him the last few days, if he had known he would have never come here. Sean knew this place almost as well as he did...it was Carla's house after all. "Leave him out of this Sean, he's got nothing to do with our problem, he wasn't even privy to what it felt like to kill a person yet when this started." He had never before spoken about Mello in such away, like he was a kid with a gun and a short temper and not the cruel calculating man, that the red head grown to love.

Sean laughed, "On the contrary Matt, I think he has everything to do with this." Sean turned his tough grip on Mello's hair to a soft stroke, almost petting the boy. A soft smile crept on to his face, as if remembering something special. The smile was gone just as fast as it came, turning to an icy glare. "I want to hurt you Matt, beyond repair. I'm going to take your most important thing away." Sean laughed. "I'm going to hurt him." Sean's fingers stroked Mello's face. "I'm going to hurt him so bad you'll wish it was you, just so that you won't have to go through the shame of meeting him in hell and having to apologize for the horrible way he died."

'No!' The anguished scream nearly tore from Matt's throat. His brain clicked off rational thinking. He only had his resolve to keep himself from attacking the man. He needed to keep his brain and body from making irrational decisions. This was his punishment...but Mello didn't deserve it. Still Matt's pride would not let him beg and he knew that Mello would think him weak, if he was unable to think his way out of this problem. 'It would be so much easier if I didn't love you...' He couldn't keep the thought out of his head. He almost let the idea fuel a plan, but he knew he could never go through with it. Suddenly an even more ludicrous plan came into his head. He pulled out his cell phone. "One call, Sean...you'll be dead before you could even lift a finger to hurt him." He just hoped that the fear that criminals had of Kira was strong enough to freeze him for a long enough time.

Sean giggled, sounding more like a high pitched choking sound. "Oh? Is that so Matt?" Sean seemed to think this over, petting Mello who was growing impatient. Every once in awhile Mello would shift, being uncomfortable on his knees. Finally the man looked up, serious. "I don't think you have a connection like that Matt. Can you really call upon the god Kira?" The high pitched giggle ripped through Sean's thought again, throwing his head back.

Matt gave an easy smirk. "I can...one click, you're dead. I don't even need to talk; you'll be dead once I push send." He was glad that Sean assumed it was Kira he was talking about. The man had no idea was he really was planning. He had to admit, Kira could be helpful when he wanted to be. The red head knew who Kira was and he did have his cell number, but there was no guarantee that Light Yagami would help him out of this situation, of course Matt didn't really need Kira's help. Or so he hoped.

Sean frowned, thinking again. He had taken a liking to touching Mello, and the blonde man was growing restless over it. He could hear everything fine, but he could not place where Matt was exactly. Sean's hands were warm, but felt rough as if coalesced. Mello detested the taste it put in his mouth. Finally Sean stopped moving his hands, looking Matt dead in the eye. "If I'm going to die, you're going to sit here as I take your precious little lover with me." Sean cocked the gun, realigning it to Mello's temple, sure to be a fatal shot.

Matt stared back cold sober, all emotion gone from his face. "Kira can manipulate death, did you know. You won't be able to hurt him." Matt's eyes had started to look over Sean's left shoulder, in reality he was watching something align for the shot he needed, but he kept his gaze looking unfocused, for the sake of the act. This plan was dangerous, but he just needed less then a minute more. He would have prayed, if he believed in God.

Sean noticed Matt looking away from him. He was growing angry at Matt's persistent lie. Or was it a lie? Maybe the man did know Kira. Sean thought this unlikely. Matt looked over his shoulder again, not keeping eye contact. "There's no body here but you and me anymore." Sean wanted no more then to hear Matt scream and beg for him not to kill the blonde kid. He wanted to cause as much pain as possible. Noticing Matt look behind him again, Sean's curiosity got the better of him as he turned only slightly to see what Matt was looking at.

Matt clicked send on his phone and suddenly the gun was shot out of Sean's hand, followed by six rounds hitting him in the back. If he wasn't dead yet, he was relatively harmless. "You shouldn't assume..." Matt walked off the last step and over to the man lying on the ground he picked up a gun and pushed it into Sean's temple. "I said you would be dead before you could hurt him."

Mello flinched, ducking his head down at the sound of gun shots. He couldn't hide the fact that he was trembling slightly, from fear or adrenaline he wasn't sure. Sean's eyes watched Matt, slowly become more and more dull. His mouth opened and closed slightly, as if trying to say something before he become completely still.

Matt stood straight. Sighing, he looked over at Mello. He walked over to the blonde and unblindfolded him. "Are you hurt?" His face and voice were unreadable. It was hard to tell if he was worried or upset, he still sounded hollowly calm.

Mello looked up at Matt, wincing from the sudden light. "I'm fine." He shifted, trying to get off of his knees. His hands were still tied. "Undo these." He looked at Matt, just wanting to be in control of himself again. He wouldn't be able to get up unless his cuffs were undone, or Matt practically picked him up.

Matt gave a slight nod and moved over to Sean's dead body. He searched the pockets of the corpse and soon found the keys. He unlocked the cuffs. He looked at Mello seriously. "We have to leave, there's a bomb planted in the attic, I won't have time to disarm it so we need to leave now." The thing was where would they go? Matt wasn't keen on going to another one of his hide outs, knowing that there would be more people trying to kill him there.

Mello rubbed his wrists, standing up. A bomb? Had Mello knew that this house would have been such a problem; we would have suggested another place. "I have a place outside the city to the south. It's about three hours away." Mello walked over and kissed Matt lightly. He knew he had been through a lot, and the look on his face showed it. "Do you have a car?"

Matt gave an absent nod. He walked over to the other side of the garage that was currently dark, he flipped on the lights and there was a covered car. Matt pulled the cover off to reveal a dark red Thunderbird convert. The top was currently up and it had been modified a bit. That was easy to tell. He looked at Mello, "You wanna drive?"

Mello nodded, walking over to the car. It was a nice car, Mello had to admit. Getting into the drivers seat, he found the keys in the ignition. It started clean, and seemed to run just as nice. Matt pushed a button to open the door. As soon as it was open, Mello pulled out, leaving the house behind as he sped down the road. The drive would be long, and the house was in a secluded part of an extremely small town.

Matt glanced at his home and hide out. It would be destroyed in a few moments. He could help but feel regret that things had turned out this way. Mello had almost died because of a past discretion of his. He should have never let Sean live. He was too merciful, or maybe not merciful enough, hadn't the man begged for death after he had killed Carla? Matt shook his head; he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to remember what he was before...cold hearted, cruel. Back then not even a Shinigami would want him for company, let alone a complex person like Mello. Still the red head hadn't changed until he had met Mello again after the blonde had left the Orphanage. Matt hadn't lived at the whammy house long, he left after only one year, but he remembered Mello from that time, for some reason the blonde's image and personality had stuck with him. At the time when they had met again years later, Matt had already killed over sixty people and had been committing the oldest sins in the newest ways. Matt glanced over at Mello, wondering if the blonde remembered what had happened when they had first met, they had nearly killed each other.

He contemplated asking Mello for a moment. Would the blonde remember? Would he even want to, they were friends and lovers now. Everything had changed so much since then. For the first year that Matt had worked for Mello, he had hated the blonde chocoholic. Everything about him got on his nerves, the way he dictated every aspect of his life. It was annoying, but he suddenly was used to it and wasn't annoyed by it in the second year. He couldn't figure out what had changed him. What happened? He looked at Mello. "Do you remember how we met?"

Mello glanced over at Matt as he drove out of town, away from the busy streets. "Do I remember how we met?" Mello contemplated this for a short while. Of course he remembered. The incident had left an impression on him. In the end both had drawn their guns at the same time, ready to kill the other. The discussion after the stalemate had caused them to partner up. "I don't remember." Mello made no motion that he was lying, looking straight ahead.

Matt sighed and looked out the window, how could Mello not remember? His last confrontation had brought him here, this abandoned warehouse. It was falling apart; most of the windows were shattered or had large holes in them. Of course it had to be raining when he was stuck in a place like this. Matt sighed and tended the wound that he had received, he heard the door open. He looked up automatically pulling out his gun. He slowly lowered it when he saw who it was who entered the warehouse. A young blonde kid, he couldn't be more then fifteen. Matt lifted an eyebrow staring at him. He looked familiar some how.

The blonde turned and spotted Matt. He wore a look of disgust. "Good job getting yourself injured. That was a stupid move that you pulled at the end." Matt glared at the kid. "What do you know?" Mello gave a sneer then smirked cocking his head oddly. "I know more then you obviously, I don't have to explain anything to someone who lacks intellect."

Matt's head snapped up. He recognized this kid now, from so many years ago. He had lived at the whammy house with the other world's smartest orphans. Matt had spent last then a year there. He stood, noting that he was quite a bit taller then Mello, something that would change in the following years. "Pick that line up from Nate, Michael?"

Mello glared at the red head that stood before him. How could he possibly know those names? He had been too careful for anyone to know his name and he knew that Near was the same. Roger didn't even know his real name. He had been Mello for as long as he could remember, and yet this stranger new both his and Near's name. He could have thought Kira, except for the fact that Near was no where near them. Then something in his brain clicked. "Matt..."

The red head smirked. So he did remember him. He wasn't surprised to see a gun pointed at his head. They had never been exactly friends and Mello couldn't have anyone know his real name that could possibly use it against him. "I don't think you could do it." Mello sneered, "Really?" He unloaded on bullet into Matt's arm, causing the boy to drop to his knees. "Think I will now?"

Matt pulled out his gun and aimed it at Mello's head. "Shall we learn who's quicker to the trigger, of course I've been doing this a lot longer then you have so I will probably win. Still, you could try."

Mello rolled his eyes. "Obviously it's ludicrous to try..." After that they had spent time talking about the past, each pointing the other's head. In the end Matt lowered his gun first, thinking that Mello would not shoot him. He was right, in a sense. For when he lowered his gun, Mello simply said, "Bang." and Matt knew that if the blonde had wanted him dead, he would have been.

Matt looked at Mello. "So you really don't remember?" He looked away and then looked back at Mello, "When did we stop fighting?" Mello had to remember that, but how could Matt expect him too, when the red head didn't know himself.

Mello didn't say anything, reliving the moment as Matt was. Driving farther out, cars and houses had all but disappeared on the winding street. "We stopped fighting when you started listening." Mello said flatly. His heart told him different. 'We stopped fighting when we fell in love with one another.' Mello almost gagged at his own thoughts. What a useless thing to think. Banishing the thought from his mind, Mello shifted in his seat.

'But I'm still not really listening...' Matt noticed Mello shift in his seat. He sighed again; he was slowly becoming more depressed. "How far?" He needed ask a full question, Mello knew what he was talking about.

"Fucking hell Matt, if you're gonna ask questions the whole way down you can sit in the god damn trunk." Mello gripped the wheel angrily, feeling more like himself then he had in awhile. It had almost been 10 hours sense his last bar of chocolate, and his sugar levels were going down. He was tempted to stop at a gas station along the way and get some, but thought it better to not stop if possible.

Matt jumped slightly. He hadn't expected such harsh words from Mello so quickly. He bit back the retort that he had only asked three questions and that Mello was overreacting. He looked out the window and lapsed into silence. He wouldn't even look at Mello now. This day was just getting worse.

Mello drove on in silence for what seemed like hours. In reality it may have only been one hour, but that particular hour stretched for an eternity. As they got farther out, the sun was getting high in the sky and the weather was starting to warm. Mello pushed the sleeves of his shirt up, trying to cool himself off. Warm weather always made Mello tired. Warm things in general just did that to him. Pulling over to the side of the abandoned road, Mello put the car in park and opened the door. "I'm tired, you drive."

Matt looked up at Mello. "Right..." He got out of the car and started to walk around the front to get into the driver's side. He paused for a moment, and then walked down the road, past the car. He started to walk back toward the city.

Mello walked around to the passenger side, stopping when he noticed Matt. "Where the hell do you think your going?" It was hot out, but what the hell was wrong with Matt? Mello just stood there, watching him walk away.

Matt paused a little ways from the car and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and took a slow drag on it. He slowly let the smoke stream out of his mouth and lungs. He finally felt calm. He took a deep breath and took another drag on his cigarette. He glanced back at Mello, he figured the blonde was pissed, but he had been too tense, he was also slightly annoyed with Mello. Hadn't he just risked his life for the man? He had confessed his love and the blonde was already back to normal. He sighed and took another drag on his cigarette.

Mello watched Matt smoke his cigarette. 'Fine.' he thought. 'Smoke that disgusting thing. Just get your ass back here.' He sat down in the car, out of the sun. Pulling the sleeves of his shirt up as far as they would go, Mello examined the bandage on his upper arm. A strange yellow color had already seeped through the white bandage, stressing how much it needed to be changed. The burns still hurt, but slowly around the edges it was beginning to itch. Mello couldn't tell what he hated more, the burn itself, or the constant itching he would feel for the next week.

Matt dropped the cigarette on the ground and put it out with his heal. He walked back to the car and got in the behind the wheel. He waited a moment for Mello to get situated then drove off. He stared straight ahead at the road. He didn't speak to Mello, even though he had no idea where they were going. It was obvious something was bothering him.

Mello pulled his sleeve back down and folded his arms. Matt had no idea where they were going, Mello knew that much. Whatever. It was at least another 70 miles on this road alone. Mello leaned back making himself comfortable. Sleep would be easy if he tried, yet something seemed wrong. What was Matt so upset about? "What?" Mello questioned Matt's sudden quietness and attitude.

Matt didn't respond right away. "Maybe it just sunk in that I was nearly killed." This was the only statement he gave before he relapsed into silence. In his head he finished the sentence, '...trying to protect you...yet you don't seem to fucking care about that, or anything else...' He knew that he would eventually die for Mello, but currently he didn't think that he wanted to make that sacrifice. Thinking about how it used to be brought back old fights, and he could now remember the things that love had removed from his sight and mind.

Mello didn't say anything, keeping his arms crossed. Why was Matt sulking? Death was a constant presents in the line of work they had. A day spent not in danger wasn't a real day at all. It was nothing but false hopes to think that they weren't in a constant state of danger. 'But I'm happy you came and saved me.' Mello chewed angrily on his lower lip, turning and looking out the window.

Matt glanced at Mello; he turned his attention back to the road, letting the silence settle over them both, and despite how uncomfortable it was. A small nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he didn't know where the hell he was going. He would have to break the silence eventually to find out where he needed to go. He sighed. 'This is stupid...we're acting like five year olds...'

Mello was content to let the silence go one for awhile. If Matt wanted to be like this, fine let them not talk the whole way. The road was starting to narrow down, and Mello noticed they would be getting to the turn soon. He couldn't really remember if the road kept going, or it stopped and you had to fallow a dirt road for some time. Whatever. They would know soon enough.

As the car moved farther on. The road began to disintegrate. The pavement became cracked, then into chunks. Finally it turned to gravel, then just large rocks. About 40 feet ahead of them a sign and barricades was posted says 'End of Road.' Mello stretched his arms out. "You missed the last turn about fifteen minutes ago." He said casually.

The car screeched to a stop. Matt sat still staring at the road ahead of him. He didn't say anything for a while. He looked at Mello, "And why didn't you fucking tell me that?" He sounded pissed. "You're the one that wanted me to drive, so wouldn't that usually mean that you would give that person directions, or did you just assume I knew where we were going. Or did you know that I didn't have a clue where I was or where I was heading and you thought it would be funny to have me look like an ass." He was really blowing this out of proportion, but there was just something that was pissing him off and Mello had something to do with it.

"You were to busy pouting for me to tell you." Mello stated simply. He was getting tired. The sun seemed to be beating down on them again, and Mello was having a hard time focusing. Why were these clothes so damn hot?! Mello pushed the sleeves back up, trying to cool himself off. Matt was just throwing a hissy fit for no reason. Maybe he was hot too. That could be why he was so uptight.

"You know what..." Matt put the car in park and turned it off. He got out. "Just forget it...maybe I should have just let him blow your head off." He walked away from the car slamming the door shut. He continued walking down the road, heading toward the city, he knew how far away it was but he didn't care. For some reason Mello was infuriating him right now. It wasn't just one thing; it was a bunch of little things. What had he expected? Had he wanted Mello to thank him multiple times for saving his life? For risking his own life? That wasn't Mello, Matt knew that...and yet he was still pissed. There had to be another reason...maybe it was regret.

Mello didn't look at Matt getting out of the car. He also didn't look as Matt began to walk away for the second time. '...should have let him...' Mello clenched his fists. 'Just forget it...' His shoulders slumped. What had Matt just said? '...blow your head off.' Mello was stunned by the statement. "He...should have let him?" Saying it out load just made it hurt more. Mello felt like kicking in the windshield of the car. He felt like screaming at Matt, maybe giving him a good punch in the face. Before he knew what was happening, Mello noticed wet stains on his gloves. He looked up to see if the roof was leaking, but found nothing. He felt another one running down his face and realized they were coming from him. He was crying. Angrily, Mello whipped them away, cursing himself, Matt, and the world. Angrily Mello opened the passenger door, slammed it, and moved over to the driver's seat. Turning the car on, he threw it into reverse, spun it around, and started heading down the road. Passing Matt, Mello watching him in the rearview mirror. Fine! Matt could walk home. If he was so worthless, then why stay? Mello watched him grow smaller and smaller in the mirror. Suddenly Mello slammed the breaks on. More tears forced their way through, as Mello decided to curse everything for not being able to leave Matt like that.

'Maybe it just sunk in that I was nearly killed...' 'Obviously it's ludicrous to try...' 'He's almost as pretty as she was...his head might even explode the same way...' 'You missed the turn fifteen minutes ago...' '...would it be funny to have me look like an ass...' 'Or what Matt?' '...or I could keep you warm.' 'They're only after me...' 'Matt...' 'Don't hate me...' Matt felt like screaming, there were too many thoughts running through his head. He didn't know what to do. He heard the car's engine rev up. He looked up from the road and saw Mello speed past him in his car. The red head stopped walking. He watched Mello drive away. He felt as if his heart was being ripped out. What the hell was wrong with him! What did he want from the blonde? Something that he knew that he could never have... He saw the car skid to a stop. Mello must have slammed on the breaks, Matt could tell by the dust. Matt felt his heart beat painfully in his chest. "What the hell are you doing? Don't just stand there, run to him, beg for fucking forgiveness if you need to!" screamed his brain. Matt hesitated for a second then ran toward the car. He skidded to at stop, grabbing the door to stop himself. He stood there, staring at Mello through the open window. "I love you..."

Mello turned, looking up at Matt in the bright sun. A fresh set of tears ran down his face. 'How weak am I?' Mello couldn't find it in himself to wipe these away like all the others. "I love you too." He said simply. Mello had always been an angry impulsive person, but never had he thought that it would hurt those around him. His anger was always present, and people around him had always just learned to deal with it.

Matt's heart throbbed painfully when he saw that Mello was crying. Matt opened the passenger side door and got in the car. He leaned over at wiped away Mello's tears. "I'm sorry..." As much as he hated it when Mello was bipolar and became angry at little things without warning. He knew that he hated it when Mello cried more. He never wanted to see that again. He kissed Mello softly on the lips; he knew that he couldn't ask Mello to change. Though he felt better knowing that Mello had said it once, if he would never say it again.

Mello felt like a small child being comforted. Deciding to just ignore the feelings turning inside of him, Mello let Matt wipe away what was left of the tears. "Yeah...me too." Leaning over, they kissed for a short while, finding comfort in the fact that they weren't yelling at one another anymore. When Mello pulled away, he put the car back in drive, and continued down the road. Slowly, he moved his hand to hold Matt's. Uncharacteristically, Mello blushed lightly, staring at the road.

Matt gave Mello's hand a little playful squeeze. He leaned against his seat closing his eyes. He felt lighter then he had in the past few weeks. It was odd. They drove in silence for a while. Soon Matt had fallen asleep half-leaning on Mello, his hand still holding onto Mello's.