Slow Dance With a Stranger

Suggested Listening: Stay With Me by Breathe Electric

Part 12

~Now~

They had long since pulled apart, the previously open door now closed and locked. Both were resting on the couch, Mello leaning on the side of his body that wasn't still tender and burned.

"Grab your stuff, you're still leaving here. If I can find you so can the rest of them." the blond said after a while, his eyes half lidded as though he were about to fall asleep without all the adrenaline flowing through him.

"Rest of them?" Matt asked, though he already had a good idea...

"What, did you think I was the only one who survived?" Mello looked at him incredulously, sitting up from his previously relaxed position. Matt noted the way his eye twitched if he moved too quickly. He probably still should have been on bed rest. Matt almost snorted, somehow he doubted that would have worked all that well, Mello was too stubborn.

Matt shrugged to Mello though and the blond sighed, rubbing his eyes. "How the fuck have you survived for so long with that kind of an attitude?"

"By being paranoid as fuck?"

Mello gave him a long and withering look so Matt put his hands up in a gesture of surrender as he went to grab other stuff he would need now that he didn't exactly have to rush as the hit man who was supposed to kill him was standing hardly six feet away with no weapons drawn. It was probably stupid, but he trusted Mello enough to believe the blond wouldn't turn around and kill him.

Those nights of sex with Mello must have killed off more brain cells than he had thought.

"Not everyone was at the factory when I blew it up-"

"Wait, you were in it when it exploded?" Matt interrupted, staring at Mello with an open mouth.

Mello glared at him. "Where the fuck else do you think I got this, which I'm still pissed at you about." the blond gestured to the healing burns on his face, which Matt could see extended beneath the leather top he wore. They probably still needed to be bandaged too.

"You were in it, but you blew it up? You crazy son of a bitch." Matt shook his head with a laugh and dodged whatever of his Mello had thrown at him. It cracked as it hit the wall behind him and he hoped it hadn't been one of his handhelds that had been on the table.

"You can thank your employers and the cartel for that though, I would have been fine going on but they had a little thing where they liked to kill all the hackers they used. Sorry but I don't lie down and die for anyone." Matt commented, stuffing an extra pair of jeans in the bag he'd dropped earlier, though when he looked up Mello had an odd gleam in his eyes.

"Take everything you need, you're not coming back. I'm torching the place before we leave." Mello got up and turned to walk away, perhaps to inspect the rest of the tiny apartment, but froze in place a moment later.

"You are staying with me by the way. You aren't the only paranoid one." Mello gave him a small smile that Matt returned full force.

Thank God he hadn't left the apartment earlier. Mello had caught him, and damn if Matt wasn't happy he had.

-End-

AN: Yay, only the epilogue left for this.