The Silent Place

AN: Randomly…… And for the shorter chapters I usually wait 10 reviews (on any of my accounts) or three days and the normal length is 20 reviews or a week. I do this since I need time to write my new fics, and since I'm pressed for time now (yay for more work days… not!) I'm not able to write as many chapters during the week. (I used to be able to get around 3, now I'm barely making 2, sometimes only 1)

I like to start posting my fics once they are completed or almost so, though with Choices I started posting at like chapter 4. *headdesk*


Suggested Listening: Marked by Seasons After

Chapter Four: Meeting

Mello sighed as he looked away from the phone in his lap and over at the glowering redhead across the room. He rolled his eyes as he punched the numbers into Matt's phone, his having decidedly been put out of commission.

Matt was upset, and he supposed rightfully so, over the fact that he was calling Takahashi Hiko. They'd gotten into a nice argument over it, as Matt had not so kindly pointed out that whenever Mello called him it usually resulted in 'favors' being done for the man.

He had tried to reassure Matt that he was asking for this information as a personal favor to him, and that if Takahashi required something from him to get it then he wouldn't do it. Not this time.

As he pulled the phone up to his ear Matt sat down, and from what he could see, rather irritably, by his side. He leaned slightly closer to Matt and was greeted with an amused snort of irritation, but the redhead hadn't moved away, and that was the only reason Mello knew Matt wasn't truly angry.

His eyebrows knitted in confusion as the phone kept ringing, usually someone would have picked up, and after nearly eleven rings the phone cut out and he was left with nothing more than a dial tone.

In Takahashi's business it was prudent to have the phone answered at all times, otherwise deals would be lost as well as important people being pissed off. He pursed his lips together and looked at Matt.

"There is something wrong, no one picked up. And as this phone wouldn't be registered, as so many of their client's phones, it doesn't make sense. But I believe this proves that there is definitely a tie to the mafia."

It was too much of a coincidence for him to have gotten those strange phone calls and then when he tried to contact his only remaining mafia connection, it went unanswered. Mello knew what he needed to do… he knew he needed to head back. That even if they stayed where they were, things would eventually catch up to them. That no matter where they ran, they would be found, if they hadn't already.

He kept his gaze on the coffee table and let his mind wander. It wandered to a time that was so far from his normal now... back when he first met Takahashi Hiko.

-

Mello glowered and sneered at the snickers he received from the other men in the car. He narrowed his eyes and tore his gaze from them and stared stubbornly out the window to watch the scenery speed by.

He puffed up his cheeks in irritation.

They were about to do business with a new client, another family, supposedly from China or something, as they had important connections. He had been brought over as a 'gift' for whoever wanted to use him for the week. That and Mello supposed a boat load of money for negotiations.

He had never felt so degraded, like a cheap whore, but with Anderson out of the picture, and the Don's ailing mind freed from that sharks control, Mello knew that he would be allowed to rise up should he be 'pleasing' in any and all dealings he had, sexual or otherwise.

He hated it with every fiber of his being. But this was something big apparently. A huge accomplishment should the deal go over well. But that didn't mean he had to like it at all.

They soon exited their cars and were taken into the building through the alleyway entrance and crossed through the kitchens until they were walking down a long hallway where a pair of thick doors stood tall and looming.

"Stay here, and don't move a muscle. Got it?" one of the men asked him, he was one of the nicer ones, but still far from not being an asshole. He nodded his head, as that required movement and was satisfied as the man frowned at him before entering the room with the others and the doors closed behind them.

Mello immediately relaxed his stance and leaned casually up against the wall across from the meeting, so that if he were being watched he wouldn't be accused of listening in, as that would have gotten him into a fair amount of trouble.

He let his mind wander and his eyes swiveled around to glance at all the gold that adorned the hallways trim, or at least gold paint. There was a large tapestry of a dragon as well as a table off to the corner with an expensive looking vase on it. It too was decorated with what appeared to be dragons.

He was slightly startled not even five minutes later, as a girl, who looked to be a few years younger than he, ran around the corner only to be quickly pinned against the wall; a hand going across her mouth to keep her silent.

"You're father can't save you now.." the man hissed angrily; he had Asian features and Mello wondered if he worked there. Though he supposed it didn't matter much. He almost thought about ignoring the situation, at least until the man's hands seemed to travel lower on the girl's body.

"Hey what the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted as loud as he could, startling the man, as he ran towards them. He knew it would draw the attention of those who were in the meeting, and he was proven right only seconds later as the doors swung open behind him.

The man dropped the girl, who crumpled to the ground, and took off down the hallway, with what Mello assumed were Takahashi's guards chasing after him. Spitefully, Mello hoped they shot him in the crotch.

He knelt down beside the frightened girl, who had tears filling her large brown eyes, and held out his hand for her. She hesitated and he gave her a small smile; she seemed to relax a bit and took his hand.

The moment she was on her feet she hugged him, latching onto his waist in a vice-like grip and he couldn't help the heat that rose to his face. "Hey, there's no need for that!" he urged almost silently. She only clung tighter and he had no idea what to do.

He heard a deep, but soothing, laughter and looked up to see a tall Asian man in a very tidy business suit. And from the looks of respect, and sometimes fear, he assumed that man was Takahashi.

"What is your name boy?" he asked in amusement, his accent very much as Asian as he looked.

Mello wasn't usually one to be intimidated, but was more than a little distracted by the uncomfortable feeling of the girls arms around him. So much so that he nearly blurted out his real name.

"Mi...ah.. Michael." he knew he had drawn the attention of those who had brought him there, as they knew him only by Mello. And with some sort of pleasure he hoped they thought it was his actual name, though it was a might too close for his liking.

"Well then, Michael. Thank you for helping my daughter." and Mello knew, at that moment, that he would be able to make deals with that man...

-

"Mello?" he looked up from the coffee table as Matt called his voice softly.

"You went somewhere for a moment, you all back now?" Matt asked him. He nodded. "Just remembering how I met Takahashi." he muttered before he hauled himself from the couch. He heard Matt's slight intake of breath and realized what the redhead must have thought.

"Not like that. It was never like that with Takahashi." despite the things he'd had to do as payment for the man at times, though never with the man himself, he'd grown to like Takahashi in a way. The man had protected him and helped to convince his Don that Mello was more than smart enough to do things other than be a whore.

Though he didn't say any of those things to Matt. Instead, he headed to the kitchen to fish out more chocolate. He didn't have any hidden on him at the moment and really had a craving. He heard Matt stand and follow him, though he didn't particularly care much.

He grabbed a bar from the cabinet and unwrapped the foil; as he sank his teeth into the confection he spied Matt leaning against the counter. "So what's the plan Mello? I know you are working on something in that mind of yours." Matt lit a cigarette and he felt his lips twitch, though he didn't smile at the other.

"I'm going back to New York. Things may have started in L.A. But Takahashi is in New York." He watched as Matt bowed his head.

"Don't you mean 'we' are going to New York?"

"Only if you want to." he breathed out slowly.

"When do we leave." Matt asked. Mello felt some of the tension drain from himself as Matt stressed 'we'. He was glad Matt would be coming with him. He would have left him there, had he not wanted to go, to settle his past by himself. And despite not wanting to expose Matt to any more of that world, he was relieved that he wouldn't have to go alone.

"Sometime soon, you work out the details. We can crash at Jasper's for a night or two after we arrive." he said thoughtfully. Matt hummed in agreement.

"Jasper would be pissed if we didn't visit him, despite the circumstances, while we are there." he snorted at Matt's comment, as he knew all too well that it was true.

"Matt.... do you think it will ever be over?" he questioned. The small moment of amusement had passed and now the weight of the situation hit his mind like a ton of bricks. It seemed that it was only one bad thing after another, constantly.

"Isn't that why we're going back, to finish things?" Matt asked gently. He saw Matt reach out towards him but sidestepped the touch. He didn't want the comfort... it was making him weak. And that was the one thing he couldn't afford to be during this, especially as he was at a disadvantage already.

"Don't shut me out Mihael, not when you finally started to open up again." Matt whispered and grabbed at his arm as he tried to pass. Matt's grip on his arm was weak at best, and he knew he could easily wrench it away.

His fist clenched and he narrowed his eyes. He knew that if he pulled away now, that there would be no more chances, and Matt would probably keep his distance for a good while, or until he worked up the courage to apologize to the redhead. Though the latter, Mello knew, would be unlikely.

He couldn't do that to Matt. Not after everything his boyfriend had done for him... and he didn't want Matt to keep his distance. He just didn't want to slip up because he was too soft...

He dropped his gaze to the floor, closed his eyes and took a step backwards.

"Thank you." Matt's voice was just above a whisper, as though he believed if he spoke any louder the moment would be broken and he would step away again. Matt didn't move any closer, and he didn't move any further away; not for a long while.

"I should start on dinner...." Mello mumbled some time later, though he didn't actually move until Matt's hand had dropped from his arm.

"I'll book us some tickets." Matt said and left the kitchen. Mello sighed. That had been... awkward. Though not unpleasant, just awkward. He loved Matt, he really did... he just couldn't seem to express it anymore.

And sometimes... it almost didn't feel worth it. And he hated the times he felt like that.

He shook his head and opened the cabinet to shift through what could be eaten that didn't take much preparation or cook time. He eventually found two packages of vegetables in the freezer as well as frozen chicken and decided on a vegetable stir fry.

He popped the chicken into the microwave and set it to thaw while he tossed the vegetables into a pan, though he didn't start to cook it. He spotted a left over package of rice, though he couldn't remember the last time he'd bought the minute kind, and thought it might go well with the stir fry.

Matt had sat down at the kitchen table, just watching him, around the time he'd added the thawed and diced chicken to the slightly less frozen vegetables; the rice cooking in the microwave.

He felt a small smile tug at his lips. Matt didn't even move to help him, and he appreciated it.

Nearly twenty minutes later they both sat, silently, at the table to eat the finished meal. It wasn't the best thing he'd ever made, but he hadn't felt the need to put much effort into the food as there were other more important things to do.

"Our flight leaves at ten AM tomorrow." Matt commented around his last bite of rice. Mello looked up sharply. He honestly hadn't expected Matt to book one so soon. He supposed that Matt was probably just as anxious to get everything over and done with so they could try and move on.

It hadn't directly affected them yet, other than the phone calls and the mystery of Takahashi's silence, but they both knew that it was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down around them. It always did.

"We'll need to get packed before tomorrow then." Mello stood, all intending to clean up, somewhat, when Matt took the plate from him with a smile.

"Thank you for dinner."

Mello didn't complain as he knew it was difficult to do dishes, as they didn't have a dishwasher. So everything was done by hand, and no matter what he tried, the dishes just never came out quite clean enough with only one hand.

But he didn't dwell on it; instead he quickly cleaned the counters before heading into the bedroom to pull a duffle bag out of the closet and a suitcase out from under the bed. He had just placed a pile of his clothes onto the bed and watched with irritation, after he took a shirt off the top, as the pile teetered precariously for a moment before toppling to the floor.

He narrowed his eyes and swore quietly as he eyed the mess of, now unfolded, clothes.

Matt chose that moment to walk in and rose an eyebrow at him to which he frowned. He picked up his clothes and set to work on meticulously refolding them and placing them inside the suitcase.

"Are we coming back here?" Matt asked as he set his own suitcase on the bed. Mello paused in his folding. Would they be...?

"I don't honestly know. Take everything that you immediately need, things that you can't replace, and if we can't come back we can just buy new stuff." Mello smiled, a warmth spreading throughout his being, as Matt immediately placed his gameboy and accompanying cartridges inside a side pocket of his own duffle bag.

It was the gameboy that he'd given to him not too long ago. Matt looked up and gave him a smile in return, seemingly knowing what it was all about. He placed another shirt inside the suitcase when Matt walked around the bed and nudged his side slightly.

Mello pursed his lips but conceded to let Matt quickly finish refolding the messy clothes for him, as he took longer. He didn't mind too much. He cooked better than he folded anyway. He had never really had to wear clothes that required folding, and even after two years he still sucked at it.

Instead he concentrated on gathering all the other odds and ends that he, and if he spotted it, Matt would need for the trip. He didn't know how long they would be gone, and as he told Matt, if they would be coming back, so it was imperative they took anything of importance.

The time in which they packed was spent in silence; it wasn't as though they really had anything other then what they would do when they got to New York to talk about. Mello yawned for the fourth time within a five minute span and knew it was time to attempt sleep as soon as the bags were moved from the bed.

Matt took the hint, after he'd taken his duffle bag and moved it to the living room, and zipped up the two suitcases and moved them. Mello took the last duffle bag, which was heavy with whatever Matt had put in it, and carefully added it with the rest. Knowing Matt, it probably had some sort of electronic equipment.

Matt had begun to rifle through one of the cabinets in the kitchen so Mello took the time to wash up. Though he didn't take as long as he usually did as he was honestly too tired by the days events to really care.

He striped himself down to boxers only, as he didn't feel the need to put forth the effort to throw on another pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. He turned the bedroom light off as he held no clue when Matt would join him, if at all if he were still working on something.

His eyes had just begun to droop when he felt the bed dip ever so slightly. He still lay in the middle of the bed so Matt wouldn't have had much room, but an arm snaked it way around his front as he began to slide away.

His breath caught in his throat as the redheads fingertips brushed lightly across his hip, just over a scar caused by a deep knife gash. All his muscles tensed and he jerked away from the touch, heart pounding at the memory the touch had invoked.

He heard Matt sigh softly but didn't even think of scooting back over to the middle. He instead stayed to his edge of the bed, the left side of the bed, closest to the door.

The tense silence that enveloped the room ensured that, despite his tired nature, Mello would not be falling asleep any time soon. In fact, Mello doubted that Matt would be either. He hadn't meant to hurt the redhead, as he knew he had, but he didn't like to be touched sometimes.

He had gotten better, as the first few months back had been hell for the both of them, but he knew he still had a long way to go. He missed Matt's touch.... and yet at the same time, he despised it.

It would be a long night indeed.

-End Meeting-

AN: Yay for angsty mello and more mafia days? Perhaps some more plot next chapter? I'll just say that chapter 6 is my fav. :)