(Matt P.O.V)

Mello had gotten much better in the short time he took to heal. He was still a little weak from being immobile for so long, but he was definitely coming back to his old self.

His attitude changed drastically while he rested. He didn't yell or curse so much anymore, nor did he verbally abuse me like he had prior to recent events. I wondered if it had something to with that notebook being away from him, but I decided not to question it. I had Mello back, the one I grew up with. That was all that mattered.

The bandages came off his side as soon as he was able to stand up. However, as expected, he was left with a huge scar running down his back and up his face. He hadn't lost any sensitivity where the burn scar was – in fact, I'd say it was too sensitive since he'd flinch every time it got touched – so it wasn't all bad. The charred hair had been cut and grown out, so it helped hide a bit of the scar. But, it's not like he took the news well.

From the very moment he looked in the mirror I could see he wasn't happy. He wasn't angry at me for not saving part of his face, or even angry at anything really. He was just morbid. Depressed. It broke my heart to see him look so broken by this.

I really didn't care about his scar, I would love him either way. However, when you're someone who prides themselves on their looks, knowing full well it can help you get by in life… losing that honour can break you in ways you hadn't thought you could break before. And I knew he was feeling that way. Broken, hideous, and ugly. I really wish there had been some way to help him.

But that was beyond my power. I was just happy to have him alive and walking. I didn't care what he looked like right now. I still cared for him.

I suppose he could see that, but it was still a heavy subject to him. I kept my mouth shut for his sake, but I still tried to make him see the brighter side of it all.

I convinced him to leave the hotel room when he was walking more around the rooms. He got stares, to say the least, but he didn't seem to pay any attention to them. At least not while I was close to him, making sure everyone knew he was with me.

At the end of that short week, Mello seemed more than healthy to be moving around and getting back to his feet. He had even gone as far as going out on his own – behind my back no less – and grabbing himself some chocolate from the convenient store across the street. I was mad to hear he'd left while I was napping, but also happy to hear he was more confident to leave the rooms. I had worried for the longest time that he'd hide away because of how much he hated his face, but knowing this much made me glad.

I did however make him wear a leather patch over his eye. It would just be for a while, but he needed it to help with the light sensitivity.

At that moment we had been sitting in the living room of my hotel suite, him watching the news and I on my 3DS. He was lounging on the couch with me, his legs resting on my lap, when he suddenly spoke up.

"Have you spoken to Near lately?"

I paused my game to look at him. It was one of the only times I'd heard Mello bring up Near in the past week and a half. "No, why?"

He didn't look back, but continued to stare on at the television. A report about Kira was currently running on. "I've been thinking about how fast Kira had found me. I'm wondering if he's gonna do the same to him. Find and eliminate him."

I closed the DS and set it aside. I then rested my elbows on his legs, holding up my head. "Aww, is Mello worried about his baby brother?"

He gave me a playful knee to the chest. "Shut up. I just don't want Kira getting to him."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Unlike you, I don't think he's gonna blow himself up to get away from the maniac."

"No, I doubt that he would. But how long before Kira will want to eliminate all the Wammy kids?"

"What do you mean?"

He sat up then, resting his head on my chest whilst holding my neck. It had become a habit of his to stay as close to me as possible now… not that I minded.

"What I mean is; he knows full well where and what the Wammy house is, and knows me and Near were in line to succeed L. What happens if he doesn't want any competition? He'll eliminate everyone at the Wammy house, making sure L's namesake remains dead."

I hugged him close while I thought about what he'd said. "But Mels, he doesn't know you're alive. He barely knows about me. Even if Near was killed by Kira, which I highly doubt will happen, there's still us to take his place. We'd just have to change our names."

"I don't wanna take that chance." He said, moving his head to look into my eyes. "Wammy's was good to us, L was good to us. Should we really repay him by hiding out and waiting for the storm to just pass over?"

A quick look into his unpatched eye and I knew he was right. Still, I didn't see how we could help without really revealing that we were helping.

Mello left my lap then and strode over to the window. He looked a lot more desperate than he had while he was in the Mafia.

"Matt, I promised L before he died that I'd look after you and Near. I broke that promise the moment I got the news about him." He paused then, leaning against the side of the window. "I broke a lot of promises I made to him." He said under his breath.

'Well, if it isn't the real Mello!' I thought happily.

I stood up then, walking over to him to place a kiss on his scar. He made a sort of grin-sneer at me for it. He hated it whenever I got even remotely close to his scar, let alone kiss it.

I only chuckled. "So then, what do we do, boss?"

He gave me a look of incredulousness. "Uh… 'We'?"

"Yes 'We'. You think I'm gonna let you take on a psycho madman on your own? I think you blew out some of those brains back at the headquarters."

"Matt, I don't want you in danger…"

"Too bad." I interrupted. "I'm tired of waiting for you, Mello. Now that we've reunited I'm not too keen on letting you go alone again. So, I'll stick with you. Right to the end, like we always promised each other."

I was answered with a heavy sigh from the blonde, followed by a small smile. "I'm never gonna shake you off my tail, am I?"

"Nope. You're stuck with me." I emphasized by hugging him from behind. "Besides, I'm a lot more useful to you than you believe."

"Well," he thought aloud, "you do have a car. And I'll need transportation."

"So I'll ask again…" I said as I let him go. "What's the plan?"

Mello grinned as he shook his head in annoyance. "Well, first and foremost, we need to go back to the explosion site and scavenge for some supplies. Mainly weapons and data I may still have there waiting for me."

"You think they survived?"

"Maybe. But that's why we're going to look. I'm kinda hoping my closet survived, though."

I chuckled a little under my breath. Under Mello's skeptical look, I explained, "Sorry, but I find it funny how much you miss your clothes. Makes me think you're more female than you let on."

I was roughly punched for this, but I still giggled at the thought. I can't say he looked to feminine anymore, but his attitude would be able to fool anyone.

After I calmed down a bit, he continued.

"After we retrieve a few things, we're headed to New York. We're gonna be driving there in your car, so be prepared for a long trip."

"We're gonna drive there!?" I exclaimed. "Jesus, Mel! That's a cross country drive!"

"It's only a few days, Mattie. And besides…" he hugged my waist amorously, nuzzling his head into my chest. "We'll be spending a lot of alone time on the road. Just you and me, for a few days and nights, no one to bug us. Doesn't that sound appealing to you at all?"

'Dammit.' I thought vehemently. The bastard knew me well.

I hugged back with a sigh. "How dare you play that card?"

I swear I could almost feel the smile on his smug face. He almost always knew how to get his way, and did anything he could in his power to get what he wanted. Bastard.

"So, are you on board still?" He asked with a cheeky smile on his face.

I let out some frustrated air through my lips, then nodded. "Yup. I'm on board. But since it's my car, we stop where I want stop for food, gas, and sleeping arrangements. No back talk from you."

The blonde groaned. "Fine. I guess that's fair."

We finally let go of each other and got to work with packing up. We made the plan to leave in the morning, but on that day we had gone back to the destroyed headquarters to retrieve a few things. Lucky for Mello he'd found a few leathers that survived the explosion – a rather feminine, feathery coat, and pair of boots – as well as his gun that he'd stolen from his father.

There wasn't much else to find, so we headed back once we were finished. The next morning would come soon and we needed the rest. I really didn't feel like driving for days on end, but I suppose Mello knew what he was doing.

I had to trust that he knew, anyway.

I honestly had a bad feeling about all this. Like everything was about to end soon, and it wouldn't exactly be a happy ending. I was always sensitive to this stuff, so I learned to listen to my gut over time. However, there was no changing Mello's mind once it got into action. And I wasn't going to leave him alone.

Not again.

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