End Transmission

AN: This chapter... oh dear KAMI this chapter... was a pain in the ARSE! *falls over dramatically* I actually had to cave in and do a time skip (which I dont really like doing) but it was either that or stop writing. Yup, it got that bad.

I hated this chapter...

Suggested Listening: Here Tomorrow Gone Today by Lifehouse

Chapter Twenty-Two: Transition

Mello continued on into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, across from Near who had taken to sitting, albeit a little awkwardly, in Mello's previous spot. Though technically the entire bed was his. He didn't particularly mind though.

It was strange, all of them together, and for a lot in the past few days. It was almost like the last part of their Wammys days... far too much, if Mello dared to think on it.

Though as Near shifted again, seemingly even more uncomfortable, Mello knew those days had long passed. "I will speak with Matt later." Near said calmly as he maneuvered himself off of the bed, almost limping as he left the room. Mello had to wonder if his injury had gotten worse or if it had always been like and he had just not noticed before. It was possible, with how little he had seen of Near unless the albino was sewing him back together.

He glanced back over to Matt, who was once again consumed in his game, and knew the redhead was simply waiting for him to spill what the call was about. Matt had an incredible sense when it came to things he wasn't supposed to know about.

Though it was different that time Mello supposed.

But he didn't want to tell Matt just yet. Matt needed time to recover, and if Mello immediately dropped the information into his lap the redhead would concentrate only on what would happen and force himself to recover too quickly.

Mello also needed to think of a plan before he even brought up the idea of going to Japan. In the end he might not even find it feasible to go in person, and he didn't want to plant it in their minds only to back out of it in the end. He hated appearing indecisive as much as he hated giving up.

Instead of simply letting Matt get away with ignoring him, he plucked the game from the gamers hands, and captured his lips earning a surprised groan. He didn't let it go too far, pulling back before any tongue could be involved, but was satisfied that he had Matt's attention. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stand to be ignored at the moment...

Matt did things to him that no one else in existence could pull off, and he did it without even being aware. It was so strange and yet at the same time seemed to fit. Matt had been the one to put himself inside Mello's life in the first place, and the one who had made sure he still had a space in it even years later.

"How are your ribs feeling?" he murmured against Matt's lips. Matt gave him a noncommittal answer until he got that Mello wasn't about to simply let the question drop.

"They are sore, and hurt if I move too much." Matt told him with a very slight shrug of his shoulder.

Mello wondered how much Matt was lying. He had seen him have trouble playing his games; seemingly having trouble with one of his hands, the one without the wrist brace; deep bruises had appeared on the fragile looking wrist and fingers marking them, they had to hurt a lot with having taken so long to show on the skins surface.

Mello supposed it was better than it could have been, he still had no idea what they had done to him, and he doubted that if asked Matt would be all that forthcoming about it. And it probably wasn't such a good thing to tell him, he supposed. He would only get more pissed off at L.

Matt slid his hand along Mello's chest and he rose an eyebrow at the redhead. Matt didn't go any farther than that but nor did he stop. "Are you having fun?" he asked, his back tensing from the fingers pressing into his sides. Matt had almost been able to hide his smirk but Mello had caught the slight upwards tilt of his lips. Having those hands on him was torture, an oddly heated feeling pooling up within him, but if Matt was contented for the moment he would deal with it.

Though he would only let it go on for so long…

Matt dipped his hand lower, far too low, and Mello practically snarled at him. Matt gave him a look that could have almost been called a pout, but as he had never in his life seen the redhead pout he settled on half-frown.

He didn't need to tell him to behave, the glare he gave Matt sufficient enough for it. The idiot was injured and yet he was pushing himself, and testing Mello's restraint, at the same time. It wasn't that Mello couldn't contain himself, far from it, but he didn't want to create a problem he'd have to go fix. A problem Matt would know about. Though that seemed to be exactly what Matt had planned.

He narrowed his eyes at the redhead, who merely grinned at him though Matt's hands had removed themselves from his person, but sighed before he got more irritated. Mello supposed that Matt was testing how far he would let him go while he was injured, how far Mello would let him go period. It wasn't as though Mello hadn't had sex before, only once and it had not been enjoyable, being in the mafia the experience was unavoidable.

But Matt was in no position for such things at the moment and he shouldn't have even been thinking about it either. He knew Matt was probably bored, and he was obviously happy about starting something with him, but he needed to wait…

"I have work to do so I will get your laptop as I can tell you are bored with your handheld." He told Matt and smirked as the redheads expression fell. It wasn't as though he didn't enjoy his time with Matt, far from it, but he knew Matt would continue to push things until he winded up hurt. Matt may not have been motivated in most aspects of his life, but when he did latch onto something it took all of his focus.

Mello hesitantly stole a quick kiss, feeling Matt's lips curl into a small smile, before he was off the bed and striding into the kitchen to find his bag. He noticed that Near's door was closed, though with the light coming from under the door it was doubtful that the albino was sleeping.

Mello sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face. Matt made him feel so damn strange normally and now that he was with him it had only gotten worse. He had almost lost his composure, more than once, whilst Matt had been abducted and now the redhead was causing emotions and urges to surface that Mello swore hadn't been as strong before.

Or had he simply repressed them to the point that it was finally boiling over now that Matt had shown his interest? Mello huffed out a sigh; Matt always made things complicated.

Mello spotted the bag and grabbed it, simply taking the stack of papers out before snatching a pen and going back to Matt after taking the laptop. He settled down beside the redhead, not bothering to glance at him as he knew Matt was watching, and began to read over the papers.

It is going to be a long recovery, was all Mello could think.

.

.

It was nearly two weeks later when Mello had finally decided he needed to go to Japan; and a few more days after that before he had a plan hashed out. There had been no more news from his informant, not that he had expected it, and Mello grudgingly settled on the usual approach.

Do it yourself if you want it done right.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his informants abilities... he would just rather scope things out on his own as well. The more eyes watching the situation the better, at least for the moment.

They would take a plane to Japan and travel by car to an apartment he had set up and waiting for them, meaning they would have to leave soon. There would be surveillance work done and if things were to Mello's liking they would approach Yagami about L when he felt the time was right.

Mello had just finished explaining everything to Near and Matt, the latter who was seated on the couch before him, while Mello sat cross legged on top of the coffee table, and waited for their responses. Matt merely smiled up at him from his game, eyes mostly hidden by his red fringe rather than the goggles that hung awkwardly around his neck; though Matt hadn't seemed to have been paying much attention to his game anyway.

Near simply inclined his head but Mello saw through the blank stare and noticed the emotion in his dark eye; he definitely approved, at least of the fact that Mello had included them in his plans.

It still struck him every time he saw the eye patch. It was such a noticeable accessory, a blatant admission of his weakness and Mello wondered if Near felt any less of himself for the injury. But Mello knew he would never ask him.

"I will not be joining Mello and Matt in Japan." Near told them a few moments later, surprising Mello. He hadn't thought that Near would decline...

"It is wise for Mello not to show all of his cards at once."

And while what Near said made sense, he didn't understand why the albino wouldn't want to join them, unless it had to do with staying in one position for that many hours, which his hip couldn't take. Near already shifted every few minutes to relieve the built up tension, a plane ride would probably drive him insane.

"Alright Near. It's probably better to have someone watching all of our stuff anyway, too much information to be stolen." Matt commented from Near's right. Mello thought that Near's gaze softened just the slightest bit at the redheads voice but he couldn't be certain.

"You just don't want your games getting robbed." Mello drawled and watched as Matt smirked, his expression becoming something of the cocky one Mello was more than used to seeing when Matt was enjoying himself when not pertaining to something game related or sexual.

"When exactly do we need to leave?" Matt questioned, and Mello could hear curiosity in his voice that was poorly disguised. If Mello had to bet, it would be because Japan was the gaming capital of the world or something like that.

"Tomorrow morning." Mello told him dryly and watched as Matt jerked his head back up in surprise.

"Shit, why didn't you tell me this sooner, I have a lot of stuff to pack!" Matt practically jumped from the couch, not being able to fully cover a wince at the sudden movement, and went off in the direction of his room. Muffled curses and thumps could be heard and Mello could just imagine him attempting to find his suitcases, if Matt still had any.

He had neglected to mention, at the moment, that the Mafiya would be handling the transportation of some of their things, as Mello couldn't very well bring his guns on the plane. But it was probably just best to allow Matt to pack for the time being, in his rushed way, rather than interrupt him.

"Will you be alright here on your own?" he questioned the albino suddenly.

"I am sure Matt will leave the necessary numbers and sites for me to sustain myself whilst I am alone." Near replied, fingers twisting a lock of snow colored hair as he stared at him. It wasn't exactly what he had meant, but if that was Near's answer then so be it.

"You can survive off of take out and microwavable meals for a while." Mello commented with a smirk and saw Near tilt his head to the side with a half smirk.

"And I do not now?"

Mello had to concede with a soft sigh, one filled with amusement; he supposed it was what they lived off of at the moment, probably Matt more than either of them. Though Mello was going to change that once they got back. He would still have a mafiya to run... but that didn't mean he couldn't be home more often, even if it meant he had to cook...

Mello simply sat there for a while, chocolate bar poised by his lips, as he stared at the wall, his thoughts on other subjects.

Such as the actual trip to Japan. They would have to take a commercial aircraft as it would draw too much attention to have a private one fly into the country; despite all attempts at secrecy, people always found out about them. And it definitely would not be a good thing in this situation.

No, Mello thought, neither would be attracting attention with their usual attire. They would have to disguise themselves as much as possible. While Mello's clothing had changed, and Matt's evolved slightly, their looks were easily recognizable. And if L didn't know it was them he was looking for, he definitely would then.

And Mello couldn't have L latch onto their location, or the fact that there was something important for them in Japan. Important enough to leave his Mafiya; and if they were identified L would certainly make the connection.

Mello scowled at the thought of anything other than leather to wear in public, but he would make do. Just as Matt would without his goggles and stripes. Thank god he hadn't been smoking at Wammys or he would have had that taken away as well. On the entire flight there, Mello wouldn't so much as look at a chocolate bar, it might kill him, but he would do it.

He turned his head suddenly in the direction of Matt's room, as if finally registering the sounds of complete silence. It hadn't been filled with the soft thunks of things being tossed around or Matt's barely heard curses in a while.

Near kept his attention away from Mello's gaze, when he had looked at him, as if shooing him away. His lips upturned into a slight smile and dropped his chocolate to the table as he stood, though he didn't immediately go to Matt's room.

Instead he grabbed his cell phone from the kitchen counter where he had left it earlier and dialed the third contact that came up. The call was picked up on the second ring and Mello gave no room to speak other than the first, gruffly spoken, greeting.

"Yuriy, I need some items to be picked up for me. Get a pen because I will not repeat myself." he had been far too lenient with them as of late, he completely blamed Matt for that, but he couldn't leave with them thinking he had gone soft...

Mello told him everything he needed and where to drop it off, a block away from the apartment where he would meet him before the flight in the morning. There was a curt, slightly surprised goodbye from Yuriy and Mello hung up.

It was simply easier for one of his men to acquire the items, the things he would need to disguise himself and Matt, then for Mello to go and get them. People were looking in the area now, searching, and if his appearance got back to L...

He left the phone on the counter again, knowing no one would dare call him unless it were urgent, and headed to Matt's bedroom.

He had expected complete and utter chaos, with Matt tangled in a web of his electrical cords and half under a pile of games, as it seemed to be the sort of thing he'd get himself into; so he was slightly surprised to see the room looking rather bare.

It was clean, more so than he had ever seen it, and there was hardly a hint at Matt's loved electronics and games. There were three suitcases leaned up against the wall and Mello honestly had no idea how the redhead had managed to pack everything into such a small amount of baggage.

Mello's gaze drifted to the bed and he was hardly surprised to see the redhead sprawled across it haphazardly with his goggles pressed to his forehead and eyes shut; breathing slightly unsteady. "I'm not asleep you know." Matt told him, cracking an eye open though it was squinted, as though he couldn't properly see in the rooms dwindling light.

"You probably should be. You overworked yourself a bit didn't you?" Mello asked rhetorically as he kicked his boots off into the corner and closed the door behind him. Matt finally seemed to register his intentions as he reached the bed and tiredly attempted to rearrange himself on top of the covers to give room.

Mello rolled his eyes and simply laid in the space available and was amused by how Matt, in his slightly sleepy way, managed to curl himself up against his side, head against Mello's chest, despite his ribs causing him discomfort. He supposed that as long as Matt didn't move too much his ribs would be fine; they were much less tender than they were right after the incident.

Mello's arms drifted, as though by their own accord, to wrap around Matt's waist. And despite everything still being new to him, Mello enjoyed the feeling of Matt's warm body pressed against his own.

He doubted he would ever regret the decision to bring Matt along with him to Japan.

.

Mello hadn't remembered falling asleep, but the fact that he had woken up attested to it. He didn't mind too much though, as Matt murmured something sleepily against him as he yawned and sat up. Mello couldn't see his expression in the dark room, hardly being able to see his silhouette, and didn't know if that meant it were in the middle of the night or very early morning.

"What time did we have to leave here?" Matt questioned; and Mello almost collided with him he sat up, though managed not to at the last second. "Quarter to ten." Mello replied, assuming Matt meant the flight time.

"... its almost seven now. I guess it time to get up." Mello blinked at Matt's sigh and slid from the bed. He should have known better than to lay down with him without setting the alarm first. Had they woken any later Mello doubted they would have had time to get ready. As it were they would already be cutting it close.

He heard the quiet shufflings as Matt walked across the room to get the light, which burned Mello's eyes when it was switched on. He watched, almost absently, as Matt dug through his dresser, still filled with clothing, and pulled out a striped shirt. If Mello felt up to it he would have bet that Matt had only packed a few pairs of clothing and even then only to insulate his breakable electronics.

"Don't bother getting dressed." he mumbled around a yawn, surprised at himself, and rubbed at his eyes. He had been sleeping too much with Matt around. He had such a calming effect and was so lazy about everything that it felt contagious. Things would have to be different in Japan or nothing would get done, and Mello simply couldn't afford that.

"Why not? Is it a nudist airport or something?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow and a cigarette Mello didn't remember seeing him take out in his mouth. Naturally Matt would come out with some disturbing comment, just the thought of an airport like that...eh.

"No. But if we want to get to Japan undetected we can't wear our usual clothing. We can't look like ourselves." he said as he stretched his limbs before finally leaving the bed. He felt tired, and so damn drained. He hated sleeping so much. And he knew that sitting on the plane for so many long hours wouldn't help him, nether the jet lag.

He had to get going, as he glanced at the time again, he was already almost late to meet with Yuriy; he was certain that it would be Yuriy as he knew the man wouldn't send a grunt to meet with him so close to the apartment. And though it had not been said, Yuriy was smart enough to know it was close to the apartment.

He didn't look back at Matt as he yanked his boots on, he knew the redhead was frowning but it couldn't be helped; Matt would simply have to get over it.

"I'll be back in a little while. Make sure you have everything ready, we'll be cutting it close as it is." he told Matt as he turned the knob and walked out. The main room was dark and quiet and the light in Near's room was off so he made sure to creep as silently as he could so as to not disturb him.

He had only hastily pulled on his jacket, leaving it unzipped, so he was unprepared for the rush of cool air that hit him like a wall the second he stepped from the building. It sent shivers running down his spine and goose flesh to break out across his arms. He sighed heavily and mechanically zipped himself up as he swung a leg over his bike. He didn't have time to deal with such trivial things.

Mello hoped the bike wouldn't wake Near, but didn't have time to dwell on his as he sped from his parking place and out into the almost uninhabited streets. It was early, but not so early that people weren't awake; then again he didn't quite care about the other people.

The icy wind, as he pushed the speed limits, helped to rouse him from his sleepy state and his mind was alive and alert by the time he had slowed and parked the bike by the unassuming brown car. He was unsurprised to see Yuriy step out of the vehicle not even two seconds later with bags in hand.

"Everything that you requested is in there..." the man told him as he held out the black canvas type bags. Mello wondered why he hadn't simply used plastic, but in the end didn't bother to ask.

"I trust that you will take care of things here?" he asked stonily as he accepted the bags and tied them down to the seat. He heard Yuriy mutter a soft 'of course'. The moment his head had lifted, hands away from the ties on the bike, he was pulled into an embrace. Mello froze, completely still, in those arms. It was such an unexpected act that he literally couldn't react.

"Stay safe boss." was muttered as Yuriy pulled away looking as uncomfortable as Mello felt. He would have liked to have made some sort of witty or sarcastic remark but all his brain could supply for him was a soft 'alright' much to his disdain.

Yuriy immediately turned heal and got back into the car, probably hoping he wouldn't be shot for the action; in truth Mello doubted he could have gotten his brain in working order quick enough for such a thing. Instead he simply shook his head and got on his bike. The entire meeting had been...weird.

He wondered if all L would have to do was walk up to him and hug him in order to abduct him. How pitiful would that be? He sighed and drove slowly back to the apartment and by the time he was back he knew dressing would have to be rushed, but it was entirely his subordinates fault. Since when had he commanded that much respect?

But he didn't have the time to think on it, as he reset the alarm and locked the door behind himself. Matt was sitting on the couch, sipping what Mello assumed was coffee, with his goggles over his eyes. Matt frowned the moment he glanced at the bags in Mello's hands.

"Time to play dress up Matty." Mello told him with a grin. Matt flicked him off but stood from the couch anyway, slowly.

"So what the hell do I have to wear?"

Mello set the bags on the counter and dug through them until a small pile of clothing had amassed. "And don't think you get to keep the goggles, you may as well not even change with how distinctive those are."

"No." Matt told him outright.

"No?" Mello repeated with a raised eyebrow, not quite annoyed yet. It always came down to the goggles in the end, always. But Mello wasn't about to give in. This was important. He stalked the few feet over to Matt and yanked their heads together for a kiss. He felt Matt yield to him almost instantly and slid his tongue inside his pliant mouth.

"Get dressed..." he told Matt when they finally broke apart. The redhead shot him a dirty look but grabbed the pile of clothing and stalked to his room. Mello was very pleased. Though he doubted Matt would let that work for very many more times.

He took the bag with his own things and went into the bathroom; he needed the mirror. Matt may not care about his appearance but Mello didn't want to look like he was wearing a wig; which he would be.

When finished the entire ensemble made him look strange. He wasn't used to seeing himself with medium length black hair, that was used to cover the left half of his face, or in the dark gray suit and dress shoes he was in.

He sighed but knew he would simply have to deal with it until the got to Japan.

When he exited the bathroom he saw Matt dressed in tan slacks and a button down dark green shirt with his brown wig practically tossed on. It would need to be fixed but he hadn't expected much from Matt in that department, especially when he was irritated.

Matt looked up from his game, goggles still across his eyes, and snorted in laughter.

Mello narrowed his eye and placed a hand at his hip. "What?"

"You should have just dressed as a woman; you like a transvestite at the moment." Matt told him with a smirk. Mello almost snarled at the younger man but couldn't decide if the redhead was simply trying to irritate him or making an actual statement.

"Take the goggles off, we need to leave." he watched, with some satisfaction, as Matt's expression fell but he complied, eyes blinking wildly the second they were off.

"You're going to go blind from keeping those damn things on all the time." he told Matt with a shake of his head. Matt laughed softly, though he couldn't see what had been so funny. But Matt had always been amused by the strangest things.

Mello made sure to check, twice over, that they had everything they needed, as there wouldn't be another chance to go back for it and he'd rather only have the Mafiya in the apartment once; though with how much Matt had managed to stuff into his suitcases there might not even be a need for it.

The main thing Mello needed transportation for were his guns, which he left at the base, and Matt's computer stuff. But if Matt had what he wanted then it was fine by him.

He had just disarmed the security and opened the door, Matt shuffling unsteadily out the door with his bags when Near appeared, almost out of thin air, in front of them. "Matt and Mello are leaving now." Near stated, fingers curled tightly around a strand of hair.

"Yeah, we'll play chess online when I get the computers set up there." Matt voiced from behind him, and probably giving Near a wave, if the soft thump of one of the bags meant anything.

"See you later fluff ball." Mello told him, allowing a small grin to ease onto his face as he reached out to ruffle his white hair. He loved the way Near's eye widened in surprise; Mello had always wanted to do that.

Before anything else odd could happen he backed out of the apartment and let Near close and lock the door. He was certain that things would be much easier between the three of them when they returned.

And though Mello would have preferred to drive he allowed Matt to do so as the redhead wouldn't have his car for a while. While Mello could have taken the extra effort to ship their vehicles to them in Japan, he didn't see it necessary. They could make do with whatever they could find there.

Matt would simply have to deal.

Mello didn't comment as Matt replaced his goggles, the ones Mello had tossed away in the apartment, to drive. Mello simply allowed it as the sun was bright and he'd rather Matt not get into an accident. L wouldn't matter anymore if that happened.

"Off." He stated, once they had rolled to a stop in the long term parking. Matt sighed again, having no delusions to what he'd meant, and grumpily tugged the goggles off though Mello did see them slip into one of the bags. He didn't have the time to argue.

The airport, as expected, was crowded. They had hardly a half hour left to get to their gate, once they had checked in their bags and gotten their boarding passes, and if the line had been any longer for security Mello was certain they would have missed it.

As it were, Matt had taken longer than him as he had 'misplaced' the passport Mello had given him in the car, fake naturally, and had taken a few minutes to find it in his clothing. Matt, in his opinion, was acting a little off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something wrong with how he was acting. It could have been the mass amounts of people they were around, or it could have been that he hadn't had a cigarette in almost three hours... it could have been a lot of things.

"I'll be right back..." Matt told him and wandered off in a random direction; if Mello hadn't been stuck with the carryon's he would have gone with him. As it were, Matt's stuff was fucking heavy and very valuable and couldn't simply be left on its own...

He cursed the redhead and promised to seriously hurt him if they missed the flight... though he wondered if he could ever really harm him...

Matt returned three minutes to boarding time with a pair of glasses sliding down his nose and a small bag in his hand. "I just don't feel right without my goggles..." he explained and offered Mello the contents of the bad, which happened to be chocolate covered peanuts as he couldn't be seen eating bars of it. And though he knew it was meant to placate his curiosity, a diversion, he accepted it anyway.

Mello knew there was something that Matt simply wasn't telling him but figured, as he ripped open the bag of nuts and held out his boarding pass to be torn off, it wasn't worth mentioning at the moment.

There were more important things, for the time being, than the inner workings of Matt's mind.

Such as how he was going to last the entire plane ride with only those disgusting chocolate covered nuts...

-End Transition-