End Transmission

AN: Sorry for this being so late... i was tired on tuesday when i started editing this, and i knew i'd leave a lot of errors if i posted it as is, so i made you wait another day. XD

Suggested Listening: Time to Play by Metro Station; Strange Boy by Kerli

Chapter Twenty-One: Promise

Mello woke groggily to the feeling of heat all around him. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeing, simply odd. Just as odd as the slightly cooler breaths against his bare chest. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and wondered just how he had gotten so much sleep, once again, that the sun was out.

The sensation of weight on him finally filtered into his senses and he looked down to find Matt asleep on his chest, which surprised him a little. He had brought the redhead into his bedroom the night before but they had been on separate sides of the bed. How they had ended up in the middle, and like that with Matt's injuries, was a mystery.

Mello didn't mind though.

He closed his eyes again, though he was most certainly awake, and simply lay there in wait for Matt to wake up, whenever that might be. Matt's breaths were soft, almost tickling, on his chest, and it wasn't hard to notice the change when they became deeper, but not that of sleep.

He watched as Matt's eyes fluttered open, very slowly, and green eyes locked onto his briefly before something about 'goggles' was muttered. Mello snorted softly and stretched as much as their position would allow in order to grab the aforementioned plastic. He even went as far as to place them on the redhead and felt oddly warmed at the silent look of gratitude he received.

He brought his lips to Matt's hesitantly and felt as Matt settled even deeper into his arms. It was probably horrible of him to think, but he was almost glad that L had Matt abducted. Matt's almost death had shaken him so deeply that it had allowed him to make a move that had ended in them starting... whatever it was they had. Mello knew that he was too stubborn to have done so otherwise.

Mello moved his fingers though Matt's hair and felt him wince through the kiss, the lump on his head obviously bothering him. He sighed and gently flipped the redhead underneath him, taking care not to injure him more than he already was. Matt settled again and lifted shaky arms to settle around his neck. Mello found that he liked the gentle weight across his flesh, pushing him closer against those split lips.

He drew back after another moment, tongue darting out to lick at Matt's bottom lip, and simply watched Matt's half lidded eyes through the goggles. "What a way to wake up." Matt mumbled with a lazy smirk. Mello rolled his eyes and knew that Matt was fine if he was making comments like that. He had never held back before, when they had taken the time to talk, and it had slightly disturbed him that Matt had been so silent the day before.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, there are things that need to get done." he mumbled and watched as Matt's expression fell slightly. "I'm only taking a shower and getting breakfast..." he trailed off. Though he supposed it had sounded as though he had Mafiya business. He couldn't blame Matt really.

"I'm even going to let you smoke so just lie here and behave yourself for a while." Mello supposed he should have been offended at Matt's response to the mention of cigarettes, but he knew how addicted the redhead was to the disgusting things.

"Go do what you have to, I'll be fine for a while.." Matt told him with a slightly wider grin. Mello wondered just what Matt would do, as Mello didn't have a television in his room, and he hadn't brought any of Matt' games in their either, but decided he didn't really care. Matt was perfectly capable of entertaining himself.

Mello crawled off of the redhead, aware that Matt watched his every move, and gathered clothes for after his shower; though perhaps it might have been amusing to waltz in there with nothing but a towel to cover himself. However he didn't feel like walking into Near in that state, and the albino was simply far too silent for his own good.

He showered quickly, though savored the scalding heat that soothed his tensed muscles, and enjoyed how hot the bathroom became from the steam. He wiped a part of the mirror clear and frowned as the ugly marred side of his face came into view. He quickly wiped more of the mirror clear and stared at his refection for a moment before shaking his head. Whatever Matt's reasons were, he wasn't about to complain...

Gooseflesh pimpled across his exposed skin as he exited the bathroom and the change in temperature hit him full force; it felt like winter inside the apartment. He shivered slightly and moved to the thermostat to adjust the heat. It may have just been him, because of the shower, but he wasn't about to be uncomfortable.

He stretched, letting his bones pop loudly and his muscles loosen comfortably, before he silently peeked into his room to find Matt's head turned to the side and his breathing slow. Mello rolled his eyes; how typical of Matt to go back to sleep. But the redhead needed it so he wouldn't accuse him of simply being lazy.

It was probably a good thing too. It gave him time to prepare a better breakfast rather than toaster pastries which would have been served had Matt been awake and waiting. Mello frowned at his own actions but continued on to search through the cabinets and refrigerator to see what there was to use.

He settled on taking out the makings for omelets: peppers, cheese, eggs, black pepper, salt and salsa. He was surprised Matt had bought half of that and wondered what the redhead had planned on making. It was probably a good thing he had decided to cook, as the peppers would have gone bad soon. Though to be honest, he was getting tired of omlettes.

Mello searched for a rubber band and quickly pulled his hair back to the nap of his neck, though his bangs still slid into his eyes constantly. He cracked eggs and dumped the innards into a silver bowl until he felt there was enough for the three of them, and whisked it to his desired consistency before starting on the peppers. He heard soft shuffling, decided it was Near, and continued to chop the red and green peppers into tiny bite sized pieces.

"Mello is up late." Near commented, his shuffling stopping beside him, though not in any way close enough to get in his way.

"I can't understand it either." he mumbled, his concentration mostly on the knife and not chopping his fingers off. He sped up his motions slightly and dumped the peppers straight into the egg mixture when finished. He added black pepper and salt before getting a skillet out and heating it.

"Are you going to eat one Near?" he questioned the albino next to him, and when he received no verbal answer he turned to Near, who had tilted is head to the side, and stared at him.

"There's more than enough here if you want one." he continued, though his tone had gown darker in the end; Near had better not get used to this, because Mello certainly wasn't about to do this everyday.

He could cook, but it didn't mean he liked to. He was only doing it since Matt was injured... that and if they left the coking up to Near they'd all starve.

"One shall be sufficient." Near told him at last. Mello resisted the urge to sneer at the fluff ball in front of him and instead poured a small amount of the mixture, about the amount Near would eat, and cooked it until he was able to fold it in half, and served it shortly after. He had the temperature on too high as it had cooked too quickly, nearly burning it.

Near took the plate offered and wandered out of the kitchen, perhaps to his customary spot in the main room, but Mello didn't mind, he knew it bothered Near to stand or walk for too long, or even sit sometimes.

He dumped a far larger amount in the skillet for the second one, this one being for Matt, and made sure, with how thick it was, that it had cooked all the way before setting it aside to make his own. Once it was done, and plated, he put the dishes in the sink and left them for later, along with the ones he had not done the night before...

Mello piled salsa on top of Matt's, never quite understanding how he could eat it like that, and took it to his room. Matt's eyes were open, a grin on his face, at the sight, or probably more accurately smell, of food. He sat down beside the redhead and set the plat on Matt's stomach as he had seen Matt do the day before.

"What, you're not going to feed me?" Matt questioned innocently; about as innocently as someone with a devious smirk on their face could.

"Continue to make comments like that and you will not like what happens." he snarled, though Matt hardly looked put off, smiling wider. How, in the course of under twenty-four hours, had Mello lost his edge with the redhead?

When you kissed him, his brain immediately supplied. Right, so he had brought it upon himself? Lovely.

He savagely cut into a piece of his omelet and sank his teeth into it, teeth clashing against the metal of his fork; though he wasn't honestly annoyed. Matt had obviously not been all that serious as the slight clanking of metal on ceramic filled the air, Matt cutting his own food. It would take a while to get used to this... to them... but Mello didn't mind. It was something new, but it was something he had wanted for a while. He just didn't know what to do now that he had it…

He shoved the last bite of the omelet into his mouth, a small while later, and set the plate onto the dresser, glaring at Matt as the redhead shakily held out his own; he had to have inhaled it to be done with the amount Mello had made for him.

Matt had always been odd with eating, either he picked at his food over an hours time or he devoured it in minutes. Mello would never understand that part of him; either you were hungry or you weren't.

Matt laid there, expectantly, for a few minutes until Mello sighed and stiffly left the room. He knew what Matt wanted, his cigarettes; his body was probably craving them after the long lapse too.

He found them on the gamer's computer desk, half shoved under a stack of papers covered in binary, and the lighter sitting beside the laptops case. He hated the way Matt immediately brightened up at the sight of his drug.

Matt fumbled with the package and promptly stuffed one in his mouth and lit up, smoke filling the room lazily. He puffed through two cigarettes, as though they would be his last, before calmly lighting the third one and slowly smoking it, letting it rest precariously close to falling from his mouth in his customary manor.

Mello frowned, but knew that the nicotine withdrawals Matt would suffer should he be deprived of them wouldn't help his recovery in the least. He simply wished, if Matt wouldn't outright quit, that he would at least cut back a little; those things were going to kill him.

But he wouldn't say anything ,at least not for the moment, as Matt's recovery was paramount to anything else. After that, perhaps they could come to an agreement...

Matt had just stubbed out his last cigarette, Mello still staring off into the distance, when Matt ran a finger across the exposed skin of his arm. He jerked his head to Matt, question in his eyes. Matt simply shrugged, as much as he could, and stared at him.

"I'm not a mind reader, Matt." he muttered, though he had an idea of what Matt wanted. It irked him how easily his thoughts drifted towards it after he'd had a taste... Matt merely smirked slightly and tugged the arm Mello had been using to lean on the bed out from under him. He nearly collided with Matt, which would have hurt him, and glared furiously at the redhead until Matt leaned in and kissed him.

Matt's lips tasted of heat and spice from the salsa, an odd combination accompanied with the smoke of the cigarette, but not a deterrent. Matt sighed slightly and Mello felt fingers work themselves into his hair, pushing his skull closer with a slight force.

He wormed his tongue between split lips and ran it along the insides of Matt's mouth, loving the way Matt moaned softly against him. He was half leaned across Matt, chests almost touching, when a soft 'cough' echoed through the otherwise silence.

He broke away from Matt, a sigh of disappointment echoing from the redhead, and turned to find Near staring at them, seemingly not in the least bothered by the display he had obviously watched. "Mello missed a phone call." Near told him as he held out the red object absently.

"Damn..." he muttered. It had probably been something important, depending on who it was that had called. Mello slid from the bed and gave Near a slight nod as he took the phone from his grasp.

Mello was honestly surprised he hadn't heard it, as he had the volume on maximum at all times; unless he was doing something dangerous in which it would be suicidal to even so much as leave it on vibrate.

He walked from the room and scrolled across the list of recent missed calls, thankfully it was only the one, and frowned at the name. It was that of one of his undercover informants; he had one in any country of interest if it was manageable, he needed every bit of information on L he could get.

The man he had sent there, hardly all that much older than himself, had been a friend of a recently deceased high ranked associate of Mello's and he had wanted to help. The man was hardly cut out for normal Mafiya work, but despite his appearances he had a sharp mind inclined for detailed analyses and was good at reading people. Something that Mello valued in a world where everyone lied.

For him to be calling there had to be something going on, whether or not it would ruin Mello's good mood was something to be seen. He hit the call button and pressed it by his ear as it rang. His annoyance levels soared as it reached the fifth ring and he was about to hang up when it was hastily answered with a 'I'm sorry I had to make an excuse to get away from the meeting.'

Mello sighed, it honestly couldn't be helped considering the man was in with the NPA.

"What do you have for me?" he asked, ignoring the sigh of relief the man gave.

"Something that just might make you happy for a change." came the confidant tone over the line. Mello stood a little straighter at that; this man never bragged unless he thought there was honestly something good.

"Well out with it!" Mello snapped. He was hardly annoyed, but he wasn't exactly known for his kind words or soft demeanor.

"There is an officer here, he's younger than me but smart. Genius level even. And recently he has been poking around in things that could get him killed if he wasn't so apt at covering his tracts." Mello arched an eyebrow at the statement. Obviously he wasn't that good if his informant had caught him.

"The only reason I knew what to look for was a conversation I overheard him and his father having about L."

Mello hissed at that name and he could almost see the wince his informant gave. It wasn't that the name was said over the phone, it was a secure connection, just that he had to hear that damnable name after what he had done to Matt. It was enough to make his blood boil.

"His name is Yagami Light, and he has latched onto L. I'm not sure what started it, but I know that he is digging around for information on L and has even found something on a place called Wammys House that is connected to him." the informant told him seriously, his tone quiet.

Mello sucked in a breath. This Yagami person had found out about Wammys? They had to be at least good at hacking for that sort of thing. A Matt kind of good. But the real question was...

"What does he think of L?" Yagami would be of no use to him if he worshiped L and salivated at the mere mention of the 'esteemed' detective like everyone else did.

"I'm honestly not sure as I haven't talked to him about it." the man said carefully, obviously having sensed Mello's irritation. And his reply hadn't helped any. He couldn't make a move if he didn't know where Yagami's loyalties lay.

"But..." the informant continued hesitantly. "In my opinion, and I will stake everything on it, I believe Yagami is beginning to realize just what L really is." and that had Mello's lips slide into a feral grin. If his informant was willing enough to stake his life on his instincts, then Mello could work with it.

"How high ranked is this Yagami person?" he asked. His informant was already in the NPA, and while he was at a relatively good position it was always better to have someone higher, if possible.

"He is the son of the Chief, and he is currently deciding whether or not to work with the ICPO; he could easily take over for his father." the man sounded pleased with himself, and Mello allowed it. It was good news, if, and only if, Yagami could be trusted.

"I will get back to you once I decide what we are going to do. Until then keep a watchful eye on the man but do not draw attention to yourself if possible. Id rather not have you uncovered as a spy." he didn't give the man time to respond and simply hung up on him.

That was definitely something, especially if he could get Yagami on his side... though it might be a challenge as he was a Mafiya boss and Yagami a detective. He would have to go to Japan and do some surveillance of his own. He slipped the phone into his pocket and retreated back into the bedroom where Near and Matt were before he stopped in the doorway. There was a slight problem with going to Japan... Matt would not be left behind.

Not could not, but would not. Mello knew that the redhead would follow him on his own if it were required of him. And after the latest incident... perhaps it would be best of he kept Matt with him at all times. That, and as he watched Matt wave his hand about as he explained something to Near, maybe he didn't want to leave him behind this time.

And perhaps even Near.

He actually liked the little fluff ball.

Surprisingly.

Matt turned to him, their eyes locking briefly, and Mello knew the redhead had figured out that something was up. Matt didn't call him out on it, for the moment, and Mello made a silent promise to him not to leave without him; even if it meant waiting until he was healed. L could... wait.

-End Promise-

AN: y4y w3 h4z pl0t! (I'm sure certain people simply appalled at my wording. Well you can bite me ^-^)

Well other than that, how is everyone liking this so far? (I bet everyone thought it would end with Matty being rescued, my beta did, but for a different reason, as she is like privy to more information than you all, mwahahah)

Any thoughts on who the mystery informer might be? My bets kinda got it right lol. She gave two guesses. :)