End Transmission

Suggested Listening: Dance Floor Anthem (I don't want to be in love) by Good Charlotte

Chapter Ten: Flurry

There was a soft yawn in the mostly dark room and the only occupant, who sat in front of the brightly lit screen, stretched his sore muscles. He had been there for almost forty-eight hours, even Near had gone to sleep a while ago, no longer having the will to wait.

Matt however, wasn't about to go to sleep until Mello had gotten back.

What he was doing, at the moment, wasn't necessarily dangerous, however being a Mafiya boss was dangerous work on a good day, so it wasn't really saying much.

After escaping England in mostly one piece they had taken to hiding around the states for a while before jutting off to Russia and into the arms of the Russian mob.

Matt smirked, as he lit another cigarette, as he could still remember the men's faces the first time skinny little fourteen year old Mello had given them their first orders after he'd claimed his rightful place as boss.

Most of them had been of incredulity and disbelief that someone so young and frail looking was trying to run the mob. It had only taken one wisecrack about his hair, which hadn't had much time to grow out after being shaved on one side, for Mello to get pissed off and wave around the gun Near had bought him.

That and for the blond to shoot the idiot, who had laughed, in the leg. Their expressions had turned to horror after Mello admitted he had missed where he'd actually been aiming at. Ah, Matt thought, what good days those had been.

Until Mello had started retreating into himself, and hiding things from him and Near. Matt knew what they were about; the things the blond was forced to do as a Mafiya leader. He and Near could honestly care less what Mello had to do, and they weren't naive enough not to have some idea, so long as they were in the loop.

But it seemed that the blond had gotten it into his head they had needed to be protected from all the horrors, as though Mello himself was that much older and that much more equipped at handling the situation by himself.

Since then, Mello had kept him and Near as far away from Mafiya life as possible without outright deserting them. And five years was a long time.

Matt knew Mello had killed people, who could lead the Mafiya without doing such? He wished the blond had felt like he could trust them more to lean on them for comfort as Matt knew how much it could weigh on the mind... the first kill that was. You would always remember, no matter how much time has passed...

He never wanted Mello to know what he'd done to get them to the states, but he sort of wised he'd told him, maybe then Mello would have let him share the burden so that the blond wasn't on his own.

Matt rubbed at his face with a gloved hand and yawned again. He popped another pill and took a swig of his drink.

Caffeine pills and energy drinks were practically all he lived off of these days. That and cigarettes. Mello only knew about the latter. But what Mello didn't know wouldn't get Matt in trouble.

Not that Matt would have stopped at any rate. Matt listened to Mello on the important things, for the most part, and did what he wanted when the blond was away. Which was a lot of the time. Both he and Near had taken it upon themselves to watch Mello's back as much as they could without being caught by said blond.

With Mello's genius the Mafiya had been vastly improved upon in even ways they hadn't thought possible. Mello had even given their online network and systems a facelift, though he had not allowed Matt to help as it had been considered 'Mafiya work'.

That was where he and Near came into the picture.

Matt had subtly been upgrading the system over the years as well as fending off hackers and the like from getting any information from them. Mello's system was good, better than anything mainstream, but it was far from perfect as Mello was not as good at computers as he was.

And Matt had gotten good. Very good. He could hardly say he was the best in the world, but he no longer feared L finding them if he hacked into things. He could cover his tracts now in ways he had only dreamt of before. And he had slowly been teaching Near to do much of the same.

They generally took shifts watching the system and doing extras as 'hired hackers' the Mafiya employed. Mello never knew it was them. And Matt wanted to keep it that way. At least until the day where they could get past that hardened exterior the nearly eighteen year old had placed around himself.

Mello had been a handful five years ago, and was worse now. He was all guns and leather and chocolate and anger. Though there were times where his expression slipped into something akin to haunted.

Usually when L's name had been mentioned.

They were still hiding from L and there were reports that he had found two new potential heirs, no news on a number three. Mello still got a dark look anytime the man was mentioned, and Matt understood. They had all been changed because of Wammys.

They had survived of course, Mello having scars from the fire, and Near loosing one eye from his injuries. Matt supposed he was the only one Wammys hadn't left a mark on, as his leg had healed, though it did ache when the weather got too cold. At least not a physical one.

He had, in those years, taken up smoking. So perhaps that was, in his own way, a physical mark left by Wammys. Or perhaps it was more of an emotional one...

He often wondered what would have happened had their families not been killed, and the three of them hadn't met, or if he hadn't uncovered the crazy kidnapping plot, or if they hadn't gotten away.

But he knew that those thoughts were stupid as none of those what if's mattered. He wouldn't have met Mello if not for that horrible plot, and Mello really was the person that meant the most to him.

Matt knew that he loved the blond, had known it for a good two years. But he knew that it wasn't the right time to tell him; though he did wonder if there would ever be a good time. As in a time where Mello wouldn't disregard his feelings as puppy love, hero worship, brotherly love or simply push him away because of his need to protect him.

What he felt for Mello... It was an aching pain. It was longing. It hurt so very deeply to be so close to the one he loved and yet not being able to be 'with' him. But Matt knew that he would lose even that should he tell Mello at the moment.

He took a long drag of the cigarette and let his tired eyes scan the lines of code on the screen. A soft shuffling came from the direction of one of the bedroom but he didn't have to turn around to know it was Near.

"Have you slept at all?" the albino asked as he sat in his awkward way, adjusting it slightly to accommodate for the elevation of the couch. His hip still bothered him sometimes, a lot of the time, and Matt doubted that the albino would ever be free of that pain.

"You know I haven't." he knows Near knows this, and yet every time Mello was gone he asked. Matt had a feeling that Near suspected something about his feelings for the blond, as the little albino was quite perceptive despite his own emotional shortcomings.

He smiled fondly for a second. The two of them had become close friends in the last few years. And though Near was quiet, he was good company. To Matt though, it was a different sort of quiet, one that had only emerged after the loss of his right eye. And though Near didn't really let it affect him much in the way of doing his normal tasks, Matt knew he was still bothered by the loss of it. The way his fingers lingered around the eye patch sometimes attested to it.

It was an unspoken thing between them never to mention it unless Near brought it up. Matt wasn't bothered by it in the least though. There were things he'd rather not talk about either. Like why he'd picked up smoking. Or how he could hold his liquor.

Or why Mello sometimes smelt of cheap perfume...

He let out a small sigh and felt Near's gaze on him. Matt doubted that Mello was a virgin, not with his looks and position of power. Hell, Matt himself wasn't one. He had lost it a few years ago, though he couldn't remember much of the experience as it had been a drunken expedition in a night club bathroom. He made sure that neither Near nor Mello knew about it. Him going to the night club that is, he couldn't care less if Near or Mello knew he had had sex with some random stranger.

Well he might care what Mello thought on it... but he would never ask.

He was beginning to think that there were a vast many thing that he would never ask.

That was when the lock on the door front door turned as well as the sounds of an alarm being disarmed. Mello was a paranoid fucker after all. Not that it wasn't warranted with their current situation. Mello being a Mafiya leader and the three of them hiding from L.

Matt knew something was off though, the second the blond stumbled into the main room. The off part being that he had stumbled. His eyes zeroed in on the large bleeding gash on the blond's collar bone.

Whatever it was, had been sharp enough to completely rip through the leather vest. And though Matt wanted to go over to Mello and demand to know just what the hell had happened this time, he stayed put and let Near take the initiative as he usually did in those circumstances.

It was the only time Mello allowed their help in any way shape or form really.

When he was injured, that is. Matt figured it was more that Mello knew he wouldn't win an argument in those types of situations so didn't even bother to put up a fight over it.

Matt hated when Mello came back hurt. He always felt so useless. Near was always the one to treat him as he was better at it. Sure, Matt had quick hands, but they shook; though it could have been from all the stuff running through his system all the time nowadays.

But Near's hands never shook, which was why he was able to stack cards and make intricate designs with his toys that Matt could only dream of. Matt didn't care who treated Mello so long as it was done by one of them.

Or in the worse case scenario, one of the Mafiya doctors. Matt didn't really trust them too much though. Then again, he didn't trust Mello with anyone other than Near and himself...

From the needle and thread Near had taken out he could only assume that it would end up scarring. It always did if Near had to sew him up. Not because of anything Near did; it just meant it was deep. Matt mentally upped the number of scars Mello had to twenty, not counting his burns.

He could remember every time Mello had gotten injured badly enough that had required stitches. And he knew which ones of them had scared, some of them being so tiny they were almost invisible if you didn't know where to look.

But Matt would never forget.

He felt a yawn forming but stifled it as Mello glanced in his direction. The blond had probably known he was being looked at despite the fact that the goggles obstructed Matt's eyes from view; though only because he and Near seemed to know him too well.

Well enough to worry over him from time to time.

Matt tried not to wince as those blue eyes narrowed at the overflowing trash bin full of cans. His empty energy drinks. Or the way Mello frowned over the overstuffed ashtray he had forgotten to empty. Oh well. Either Mello would say something, which he probably would after he'd gotten some sleep, or he would simply frown at him every time he noticed either of the items.

Matt hoped it was the latter.

Though it would be his own fault if it were the first. He had known Mello was due home at any time, as he was over his given time, and still hadn't paused the hack to get rid of the evidence. The evidence of him having been at the computer for far longer than he should have been.

It couldn't be helped at that point, so Matt simply lit another cigarette and returned his gaze and attention to the hack. Mello would be fine in Near's care. He heard the sharp intake of breath, the low hiss, and knew that Near had started to sew Mello back together.

And though Mello was alright now, he couldn't help but wonder just what in the hell kind of trouble the blond had gotten into that time. It was only supposed to have been a meeting between Mello and some high up person who wanted to make a few deals with his Mafiya.

From the looks of it, Matt doubted there would be any future dealings with that person, if they were even still alive. It would serve them right if they weren't. Matt didn't really like violence outside of his games, mainly because he saw the after effects of it far too often on Mello, but there were some instances where Matt didn't mind it.

He knew he was simply biased because he was in love with the blond.

Whatever.

Matt supposed it didn't really matter one way or another.

"Matt..." he looked up at the sound of Mello's voice. It was tired, weary even, and laced with pain. He merely cocked his had to the side in question, though he knew it drove Mello up the wall when he didn't actually answer. Call it revenge for him getting injured. Mello frowned, ever so slightly, and Matt felt his lips twitch into a smirk.

"Put that fucking thing out and clean up that damn mess before we get roaches." Mello was staring at him with narrowed eyes but he could tell the blond wasn't really all that pissed off. Or at least not at him. Not yet.

Matt gave it until noon the next day before all the information actually sank into the blond's head. Then Matt would probably be in trouble. He shrugged a shoulder and practically sucked on the stick in his mouth; one last drag before he stubbed it out.

He was actually surprised he had been able to put it out with the other butts overflowing in the dish. And from the look Mello gave him, he was too. He would definitely hear about it in the morning.

On the upside, it meant that he would get to spend time with Mello. Even if it was only him getting yelled at. It was sad, and he knew it, but with Mello gone away on business all the time he would take what he could get.

He knew that Near felt the same in that aspect. They both missed their friend.

"In a minute." he answered finally, fingers moving quickly moving across the keyboard. Mello snorted.

"You say that but you will simply continue on with whatever damn game you are playing." Matt was confused at Mello's words for a second before he remembered Mello didn't know about his and Near's extra activities, well beyond what they had already done at any rate, and smirked.

Mello would kill them if he found out. Or at the very least maim them. And probably take every piece of technical equipment out of the apartment. He and Near worked hard to keep it at an 'if'.

He shrugged a shoulder and listened to Mello sigh heavily. He entered the last few lines of code, burned the fucker who had attempted to get into the Mafiya's network, and stole all their info before he erased everything they had on their computer.

Not bad considering he was tired as hell. He had gone longer than this without any sleep, but he had done this more than a few weeks in a row and it was finally catching up with him. He was getting burned out, if such a simple task took him the entire night, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he crashed.

He didn't want to see Mello's face on the day they couldn't wake him, as he would sleep until his body recovered if he did crash.

It would not end pleasantly.

"Matt-"

He sighed softly and stretched again before he shoved the chair out behind himself and took hold of the overstuffed ashtray and trash bin. He had already exited all of his programs, and not even Mello would be able to track his history, so he wasn't worried about the blond finding anything should he look at the screen or search his files while he was away.

Not that it appeared Near would have let him go at the moment. The albino had been uncapping the preventative crème, the nice expensive kind that kept things frOm getting infected, when he'd walked past.

Once Near was finished with that he would probably slap a quick bandage over the wound and send the blond off to bed whether he wanted it or not. Near, even without saying a word, could be forceful when he wanted to.

Matt just wished they didn't have to be forceful with Mello. But with years as a Mafiya leader under his belt, filled with a bucket full of horrors, as well as his normal resistance, made it impossible to be any other way with him as Mello simply would not concede to things otherwise.

He really wished things could go back to the simpler times, when Mello would be content to lean against him when he was feeling down, or play games with him and Near. If only things could have stayed like that.

But Matt knew it was stupid to wish for the impossible.

He emptied the garbage and rinsed the ashtray in the sink, as it had gotten rather disgusting looking with all the ash marks, as he got a new liner for the bin.

Matt was back in the main room just as Near finished with the blond and set about putting away the medical supplies. Near's blank eyes locked with his briefly and Matt knew that Mello's wound wasn't too serious.

He had gotten very good at reading Near. With nothing else to do, and no where to go, they really had had only each other for company while Mello was busy.

Mello opened his mouth, as if to say something, the moment he saw him, but just as quickly shut it and turned for his room instead. "Nite Mello." he said softly, though by the way Mello hesitated he had heard him.

Matt supposed that it was something, that he had even gotten a reaction. He sighed at the slightly hollow feeling in his chest and really wished sometimes that he wasn't in love.

He lit another cigarette and waved to Near as he shut his laptop down.

Mello was home, and relatively safe, so now he could sleep.

Perhaps.

-End Flurry-

AN: Wow.. this chapter was longer than intended and ender on a rather emo note. Again not intended. Oh well.