A/N: I'm slightly disheartened by the lack of reviews from the previous chapter. I guess everyone was just very busy this week and didn't have time to let me know what they thought...right? Well anyway. Here's another, albeit short chapter. I hope this one illicits some response.

Darkroom
Chapter 3

"Roger, I'm uploading the photos of the suspect to you now." Near said while sitting in his usual position on the floor, viciously typing keystrokes into the laptop.

"I'm guessing that last night was a success then. I must admit that I'm impressed." Roger replied, feeling somewhat defeated.

"Yes, while I'll admit that it was more difficult than I had initially thought, I suppose I was lucky in finding a good place to hide that offered a good vantage point."

"I suppose you weren't noticed by anyone then?"

Near swallowed as he sttared at the green-lit blur in the very corner of one of his pictures from the previous night, trying to not pause too long and give Roger a clue that something might've gone wrong. Besides, Near still wasn't sure if there was someone watching him last night, waiting silently in the shadows to assault him.

"No, everything went as planned." Near said.

"Excellent then. I'll use these to prepare the case file for our client. With any luck we'll be able to get a warrant against Montvac and this case will soon be closed. I'll keep you updated." Roger said before disconnecting the call.

Near leaned back against the bed, clutching a mug of coffee in his hands, another vice that he had picked up lately. As he took a careful sip of the hot liquid, his hands jolted at the sound of the doorbell, nearly spilling some of the coffee on his pristine white shirt. His eyes flitted to the screen of the laptop, which was linked to the apartment's security system, showing the downward view from the camera mounted above the door.

Stripes and red hair.

Near scowled.

"So now you don't even wait for me to call you first? You think I need you that badly? At 9 in the bloody morning?!" Near muttered to himself irritatedly.

He lifted himself up from the floor and shuffled over to the front door, ready to unleash a verbal barrage to the rent-boy who brazenly took it upon himself to come see Near, to make Near beg for it as if he were feeding an addiction.

Near had his words prepared. They were in the chamber and ready to fire with a twitch of his tongue. Something had told him to look in his eyes first before opening his mouth. Some sort of involuntary instinct that said Wait! Don't start as soon as you open the door!. He's glad he listened to that instinct because what he saw when he opened the door and looked upwards left his jaw hanging open.

"Hello Near." Matt said with a wide grin.

Frozen – Near was utterly frozen in time. Synapses started firing rapidly in his brain, trying to make sense of the sensory input being fed to them.

"M...Maa..." Near stammered, still unsure if what he was seeing was actually real.

Matt gently took hold of Near's shaking hands. The warm touch nearly breaking him as his heart raced and a tingling sensation took over his limbs. Matt pulled Near into an embrace. The feeling of Matt's warm body pressed against his finally broke his state of denial as he shut his eyes tightly against Matt's chest as tears began to flood out from his eyelids. He wrapped his arms around Matt as his body quivered and whimpered softly. Matt placed a gentle kiss on Near's head as he rubbed his hands up and down the trembling boy's back.

"I missed you." Matt simply said.

Near sobbed even harder against Matt, he wanted to say that he missed him too with his face muffled against his shirt, but the words simply wouldn't come out. The years of pent up emotion seeming to flood out of him all at once.

Matt slipped a hand underneath Near's shirt desperately wanting to feel his smooth bare skin and rubbed his back gently with his open palm. He felt Near starting to get heavier as his legs trembled.

"Come on, lets go inside." Matt said, lifting Near up before his legs finally gave out. Near instinctively wrapped his arms around Matt's neck and his legs around Matt's torso as he was carried inside the apartment, Matt shutting the door behind them. He carried Near over to the small breakfast table and chairs adjacent to the kitchen and gently set him down, keeling in front of him, and looking into Near's large dark eyes, all wet and glassy from the tears that simply wouldn't stop flowing. He rubbed some of the tears off of Near's cheek with his thumb as Near simply stared into Matt's crystal blue orbs. His face was mostly expressionless. The only indication of emotion being a solitary tear strolling down his face, followed by another.

"I thought you were dead." Near said, in nearly a whisper.

Matt smiled.

"I know. Everyone did. But I'm not. I'm right here with you."

"How? I saw.. I saw what happened to you! How did you survive..."

"Shhh..... it's a long story. I'll tell it to you but not just yet. Come here." Matt said, pulling Near into another tight embrace.

"I love you." Near said.

"I love you too."

A/N: I'm willing to bet a lot of you saw this coming. Actually I hope nobody did, but I'm sure it was transparent to some extent. I promise the rest of the story will be slightly less predictable. PLEASE REVIEW. Dont make me kill myself. Ok I'm kidding about that... but it will make me feel good.