It was another week before Matt felt confident enough to take Mello off the medication. Sleep deprived and terrified, he knew he wasn't in a good state of mind. After he gave the blond his last dose, he went to the kitchen and ate a proper meal before lying down next to the blond to sleep. In a way he was giving up and resigning himself to fate. Either the drugs would work or they wouldn't. It was out of his hands now and he knew what he would have to do if the virus came back. His gun was already loaded with two bullets in his bedroom.

Settling down for a long six hours of torturous waiting, he was surprised to wake up as Mello moved in his arms. Checking the clock he saw that he had fallen asleep despite his worry and fear. A slight shifting next to him caught his attention as he remembered that Mello would be coming out from under the influence of the drugs in his system. If he were cured then his mind would be back.

Matt swallowed around the lump in his throat as he looked down at the blond in his arms struggling to wake up. When he was finally half conscious, the redhead held his breath and waited for his eyes to open. To his immense relief, all the red was gone from the whites of his eyes, leaving them their natural blue. They were the eyes he'd always gotten lost in, the blue that made his breath catch when they focused on him.

He managed to force words out despite the overwhelming fear that only Mello's body had recovered. "How do you feel?" It was a simple question but the best that he could manage under the circumstances.

Mello only stared up at him and Matt almost lost it, terrified that the blonde's mind was lost. It took several breaths before he responded at all. The gamer almost leapt in fright at the blonde's first words.

"Thirsty."

Matt could feel tears welling up but he only wiped them away and nodded, not even sure why he would be crying. One word didn't really mean anything. Reaching over to the end table, he fetched a water bottle. Mello's response wasn't much, but it gave him hope that the former infected would be alright. Instead of letting Matt pour it into his mouth, he grabbed the water and gulped it down on his own, only further fueling Matt's confidence.

To the redhead's great disappointment, Mello went back to sleep for eight hours strait, only waking up once at Matt's urging in order to eat a small meal. When he finally woke up, he was lying next to Matt on the couch, their legs twisted together and the redhead's arms holding him tightly to his chest. He was confused and his head was pounding as he tried to make sense of his thoughts. Had they fallen asleep again watching the news for Kira? Why was Matt so close? He tried to wiggle free and look around.

This wasn't their flat in Los Angeles. He frowned and tried to put his thoughts together as he suddenly remembered. He shrieked and pushed at Matt's chest, trying to break free. This woke the redhead instantly from his light sleep and he only held on tighter, trying to calm the blond down.

"Matt, let me go! Stop, I'm sick, please stop! You're going to catch it, let me go!" He was screaming as he kicked and pushed, but careful not to scratch the redhead. He had left, he had left Matt after promising never to leave again because he was infected. How had Matt found him?

He didn't listen to what the redhead was saying to him, Matt didn't understand the danger he was in. He felt his heart leap into his throat as the gamer's teeth bit into his hand trapped between them and lapped at the blood that welled to the surface to prove that he was no longer infected. To Mello it was the worst thing he could do, as his blood would almost guarantee the redhead's infection. He tried desperately to pull away but Matt's tongue continued sliding against the cut, sealing his fate.

Mello was crying uncontrollably, in hysterics as he clutched Matt close. "No no no! Matt it wasn't supposed to be like this! I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." His heart was breaking as he held onto Matt for dear life. He'd killed the one he loved, sealed his fate by not being stronger, not running far enough away. The redhead didn't seem to comprehend, only stroking his hair calmly as he sobbed too hard to speak.

"Mello shh, everything's ok. You aren't infected, you're fine, everything's fine." When the blond didn't let up, Matt started to worry. "Mello please, you're going to make yourself sick. I promise you're ok, you're not infected. Please calm down…"

Eventually he calmed down enough to listen, running out of tears. Matt quickly took the opportunity to try and explain what was happening.

"Mello, do you remember leaving me?"

The blond slowly nodded, still hiccupping too much to speak.

"When was that?" Matt questioned.

Mello looked confused for a minute, unable to find the answer. "I-I don't know…"

"It's been five years." Before Mello could interrupt, he plunged on. "I don't know when you caught the virus, but it's been five years since you left. You came back to me infected, but you're alright now. I've found a medicine that works but I don't know if you'll need to keep taking it permanently or not ok? You're fine now; you're safe ok?"

Mello nodded and went slack against him. "I don't understand… How did I get here?"

"I'll explain everything, I promise, but why don't you tell me what you remember first."

"I remember leaving you." Tears began to slide down his face again. "God, I'm so sorry but I… I was sick. I had the virus and I was sure you didn't. If I left then you'd be… you would have been safe."

Matt wiped Mello's cheeks and continued stroking his hair. "That doesn't make sense, the virus didn't strike until a year later." He tried be patient when the blond, not sure if he was alright mentally yet or not.

Mello shook his head. "No, it was there before that. The government tried to cover it up; tried to prevent panic while they looked for a solution. Don't look at me like that! I know it sounds like a conspiracy theory but it was spreading through the underground like wildfire." He was rushing his words, trying to say everything as quickly as possible so Matt wound understand. "The druggies went down first. Sharing needles and supplies ensured that it spread quickly. It hit organized crime on three continents within a month but it still didn't reach the public because of course we weren't afraid to kill anyone that contracted it. Two months after it had taken out much of the mafia in LA I knew I had it. I could feel it. And you…" he choked on his words and paused to compose himself. "I thought if I could just keep it from getting to you…"

Matt nodded, accepting the story and quietly soothing the blond in his arms. The rest of the night was spent with Matt recounting events as Catrina had told them to the slowly calming man squished against him. When he was through, Mello could only stare. "The only thing I still don't understand is how you found me."

Mello had the answer to that. "I kept track of you after I left. The virus was slow back then, so I had a month before I was too far gone to do anything." Matt nodded, not sure how to comfort him. He was aware that when if first hit, the virus took a longer time to take hold and present symptoms, which also helped it to spread. As it progressed though, it could take a person in a matter of hours.

"Matt?"

He was still deep in thought as he answered, only half listening. "Yea?"

"I'm hungry."

Matt laughed at that, relieved beyond measure. It looked like Mello was going to be just fine.

"Alright Mello, let's fix you something good. I've got some chocolate in the fridge."

A/N: Just saying: this is NOT the last chapter. I know it seems like it, but no. :3 so for those of you who want more, no worries lol. Not much to say about this one, other than I WANT YOUR OPINION! k? this is a chapter that I cried while writing and that I'm very emotionally attached too but that usually means it isn't good unfortunately.