Choices

AN: Thank you so much for helping me get past 500 reviews! (I just looked an I’m on 80 peoples favorites list and 93 peoples alert list, now imagine how many reviews I could get if at least one of those lists reviewed the last three chapters? But I’m not greedy, I love my 500 :)

And I have more fanart up on my profile, this time by Lellozawa!

And I have no idea when the next chapter will be out as it’s not even edited. (the only reason I was able to get so many out recently was I was done with training and had a few days off before my new schedule started)

Time to pimp one of my new oneshots. It’s called Hurt Me, and I’m not sure how many have actually read it, but its not emo or angsty despite the title. It’s practically pwp. Heheh.

Suggested listening: Move You by The Urgency; CHILD'S PLAY by Gothica (kinda creepy...)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Virus

Mello had suggested that he just rest for the day, even if it meant just lying on the bed and playing on the PSP, and for once, Matt agreed. He had hardly any energy and was far too preoccupied to have paid even the smallest amount of attention on something else.

Mello had gone to look at the rankings on his own, and on his return, though he had still gone up another point, had stated that he had arranged to get some extra help from the teachers that day.

Mello had basically signed himself up for another day of classes. Wasn't that fun?

Mello had left a bar of chocolate on Matt's bed before he'd left and Matt knew that part of the reason was because the blonde had felt guilty for leaving, though the other was purely Mello being Mello.

Matt had left for the quiet of the library almost as soon as Mello had left for 'classes'. He just hadn't wanted to be cooped up in the room any longer, though he knew he would probably do nothing more than stare off into space until he could get his thoughts sorted.

He had already smoked half a pack of cigarettes…though he knew if Mello ever found that out he'd probably throw the rest of them out.

Matt kept his gaze fixed on the scenery outside the open window and watched the way the breeze made the trees sway, though rain clouds loomed off in the distance.

He sighed and rested his face against the windowsill for a moment before he stood up and walked from the window. He had more important things to do than mope around over something he couldn't change.

He may not be able to forget it, the irony of that statement alone, but that didn't mean he couldn't ignore it.

He needed to finish Wammys system and now that he had an entire day to do so, he might be able to finish it. He placed the laptop onto his knees and stretched his legs flat out in front of him; his feet barely touched the shelves across from him.

He took everything off of pause and set to work, he had already left things alone for far too long as it was.

He had already finished the outer defenses along with most of the middle, but the tricky part was having to undue the previous things he'd placed upon the system and retrieve the data that had been corrupted as well as keep that safe as he redesigned the core of the system.

Tricky, but not difficult.

He was in the process of retrieving the corrupted data, just before lunch, when something popped up in his system scan. He frowned slightly and he stopped all previous tasks and pulled up the full scan.

The problem originated in a few of the files under 'decorations'. That was where all the actual information was stored. The files flagged were 'successors', '12', as well as a few others. But the first two were the ones that stood out.

They were the ones whose data had been corrupted by his protection program, or virus. But that wasn't what had been picked up on the scan. No... it was something not of his own design.

But it was a virus.

And according to the numbers on the countdown for it, it had just finished whatever it had been doing and was up to something else, which was what had registered on his scan.

“Fuck.” his fingers flew across the keyboard as he tried to figure out just what exactly it had done. The probability that it was from Kira was high, as he would have known how to have the virus run silent and undetectable until it was too late to do anything about it; he would have known how to use Matt's own programs against him.

However, computers were Matt's domain.

His frown deepened as he looked over the virus. It had collected data from certain files, which were the ones that had ended up corrupted, and was in the process of sending the data back to its sender.

Matt swore again.

Had he only caught the damn thing sooner it wouldn't have had a chance to get that far. He violently shoved those thoughts away and concentrated on disconnecting the internet line the virus had been using.

The second he did that the virus began to pick away at his newly created firewalls, and had they still been the old design they would have fallen away. He isolated the virus in a junk folder and contained it.

It would hold for some time, but he didn't want to completely get rid of it until L saw it. L would probably know what was in those files and know if they were in trouble again.

Matt sighed and stuck a cigarette in his mouth, though he knew better than to light it if he were going to just walk through the halls again. He closed the laptops lid and stood up and headed for the kitchens.

L would either be just about there for his cake run, or Matt would have to go to the detective’s room. But the kitchens were the closest thing and he didn't want to have to wait around his room if he wasn't in there.

The day was shaping up to be just wonderful, Matt thought sarcastically.

As it happened he nearly collided with L as he half jogged out of the library. “Just who I needed to see.” Matt muttered. L jerked his head in the direction of the kitchens and Matt followed him inside just as the halls began to fill with children.

“So what did you need me for?” L asked as he stuck his head into the refrigerator and dug around for his cake.

“Well, we may have a slight problem.” though Matt wasn't sure if he was understating the issue at the moment or not...

He explained the entire situation to L, and pulled up the list of folders the virus had swallowed. L had made a noise of discontent and placed his thumb to his lips. “Security will have to be doubled again. I will alert Watari of the issue when I get back to my room.”

Matt looked at L in question.

“There is no way to know what information has been sent without possibly creating more problems, correct?”

Matt nodded unhappily. There wouldn't have been a problem in the first place if he hadn't been so stupid...

“Then there is no reason to uproot the children just yet. Add that to the fact that Kira likely doesn't know where we are just yet, it would draw too much attention to us if we packed up and moved everyone at the moment.” L finished and took in a mouthful of cake.

Matt's shoulders slumped. He couldn't disagree with L, as the detective was correct. “Yeah, makes sense.” he muttered rather reluctantly.

“I'll delete the virus and finish Wammys security. I should be done by tomorrow.” he turned away from L, feeling wholly disappointed with himself.

“Matt.”

He stopped in the doorway and looked back at L, who had called him. “Don't forget to eat.” L told him tonelessly, though Matt knew it was more of an order than a friendly reminder. He merely nodded.

Mello wouldn't let him skip dinner anyway. But neither of them could do anything about lunch, and Matt just wasn't hungry at the moment...

He moved back to his and Mello's room, rather than the library, as he could smoke in it. As long as he was by the window, which thanks to the spring weather could be open. He was aggravated, but he didn't want to have to work outside, where the sun would hurt his eyes after a while, just so he could smoke.

Mello wasn't in the room, though Matt didn't know why he had expected him to be as Mello should have been at lunch by then. Where he should have been as well. Mello was not going to be happy... well he wouldn't be happy about Matt not having rested either...

He deleted the virus the moment the laptop's lid was up. Such a small thing had caused so many problems...

He checked the rest of the system, as well as his own laptop just in case, to make sure there was nothing else that lurked. After he finished that he continued on to the rest of the system. Provided he didn't have too many distractions he would have it completed before bed that night.

Matt flinched slightly as the door banged open and struck the wall with a harsh crack. He didn't need to turn to see that Mello was rather displeased, and probably all of it directed towards Matt himself.

“Matt- why the hell does it smell like smoke in here?” Mello hissed the last part and it was obvious that it had not been his original question. Or rather demand, as it were.

“It only smells a little. And it's because I lit the first one with the window shut.” Matt wondered if Mello would hear him out or just begin to yell...

“And why did you feel the need to smoke in here?” Mello asked testily, though the fact that he hadn't immediately began to berate Matt showed a considerable amount of restraint on the blonde's part.

“Well, earlier I found a virus in Wammys system that may or may not have sent a bunch of stuff to Kira, and I didn't really feel like going outside to finish fixing the system afterwards.” Matt decided to just tell Mello the real reason rather than come up with something else that wouldn’t worry him. He would have had to eventually tell Mello anyway, and there was no reason to lie.

Though Matt would have preferred that it wasn't his fault...

Matt turned around, finally, as Mello had stayed silent. Mello looked worried as well as contemplative.

“We won’t have to leave here if that's what you're thinking.” Matt commented and Mello's eyes flickered to him.

“But if something like last time happens-”

“L has doubled the security. It's also doubtful that Kira has gotten our new location.” Matt said as he exhaled smoke through his nostrils, though he knew that neither of them really believed the last part.

If Kira knew where they were, it wouldn't matter how much security L had placed, because Kira would get in. Matt just hoped that L wasn't underestimating Kira. Matt may not have been able to remember hardly anything about Kira, but there was an almost sick feeling in his gut every time he thought about him.

That had to count for something, didn't it?

Matt watched as Mello turned his attention to a small packet he'd been holding and sat down on his bed. Matt's attention went back to the computer, where he had paused everything the second Mello had entered the room, and continued on.

All things considered, Matt had been lucky. They hadn't even gotten into a fight. Mello must have been willing to go easy on him in the first place, probably because of the night before, or he wouldn't have listened to Matt at all.

He heard the rustling of papers and a sigh before the stack was unceremoniously tossed onto Mello's desk and Matt could almost see the frown that Mello wore.

“Do you think I’ll ever reach number one?” Mello asked suddenly, he sounded so unhappy and disappointed with himself. It was something Matt had felt with his own performance for the day.

Instead of telling Mello yes, as Matt was not a psychic and didn't honestly know, he went with his version of it.

“Maybe.” his fingers slowed on the keys and he smiled slightly, merely a small twitch of his lips, as he heard Mello hiss back 'Maybe?!'

“Your score keeps climbing, but there is no guarantee in anything. Just keep going as you have been and don’t stress yourself out too much. And maybe...” he shrugged a shoulder and only kept half his focus on Wammys.

He heard foil crinkle and the tell tail snap of chocolate. “Maybe, huh?” Mello's voice sounded lighter then it had before and he let out a small huff of a laugh.

“Thanks Matt.”

That time Matt did smile and the room faded out of focus as his attention finally went completely back to his task.

He decided that the last thing to be done would be to fix the corrupted files. It was much more pressing to have the core of the security up and running first, or it would be pointless to fix the data just so it could be stolen and in perfect working order for whoever nabbed it.

He had already passed the most difficult stages so now the rest was mostly time consuming things, but he would not rush it. He would not allow himself any more screw ups on that.

The next time he looked up from the laptop was at the smell of food, and after a quick glance at the clock he noticed it was well into dinner. Mello looked at him with a smirk as he set down a plate next to the laptop.

“I knew you'd forget, but I figured it would be easier to get something into you if I just brought it back to the room.”

“Thanks.” he grinned at the blonde and turned away from the laptop, plate balanced on his knees, and started on the food. Matt had completely forgotten about food, and probably would not have eaten had Mello not done that.

But at least he had been able to comply with L's demand... in a way.

He had just finished when Mello snatched the plate from him before he could stand. “This is the only time I will do this, as I know you need to get that finished.” Mello told him, though he had a feeling that if he were to get sick Mello probably wouldn't mind doing much of the same for him.

Mello was out the door and down the hall before Matt could even reply, though he supposed it didn't matter, Mello knew he was grateful.

It was almost nine o'clock but Matt felt he would still finish on time or at least on time by his self imposed deadline.

By ten thirty his fingers were stiff and ached, having not been used to long hours of typing after months of nothing but idleness, though he was in the middle of the second corrupted file. He held back a small yawn, though he was far from being too tired to continue.

Only a few more files and then he would be done. At least that was what he told himself.

Matt knew that his programs and viruses could do a lot of damage, but he had never had to clean up the mess afterwards until those files. He should probably just create a program that would work with all his other stuff so if that ever happened again he would have to pick everything apart by hand and piece it back together.

He whistled lowly as he finished and closed out the program, though it would easily come back up to show Wammys new system once he brought it to L.

Matt stood up and stretched. He sighed heavily as his back popped a few times and slumped into a slouched stand. It was only eleven-thirty and he doubted L would have gone to sleep at that time...

He reached for the laptop but paused as he felt Mello's eyes on him. There was no way Mello would let him leave that late... and perhaps it was just best to leave things for the morning. And that way he would have a small amount of time to check over the system and make sure everything was in working order before he presented it.

Not that he doubted himself...

He shut the laptop off and watched in amusement as Mello rolled over, the lights on his side of the room off, to sleep the second it appeared Matt would sleep instead of go to find L.

Matt shook his head and changed there, as Mello's head was halfway under the covers and turned away from him, and was practically asleep before he even got into bed.

He had underestimated how much the last few days had drained him...

-

The sunlight in his eyes woke him, as did the soft taps of a laptops keys. He squinted in the soft morning light but the glare made him unable to read the clocks time. He sighed and sat up, and noticed that Mello was at his desk rather than his own.

“Matt.. this is... amazing.” Mello mumbled quietly. Matt blinked a few times, yawned, and got up to see just what the hell Mello was so interested in. He shivered slightly as his body cooled from the overly warm temperature it had been under the blankets.

Matt was surprised to see his system displayed on the small screen and watched as Mello's eyes greedily took in every detail. “I don't even understand half of it. Why the hell are you third? You could have easily made it another spot...” Mello sounded confused but not angry.

“To my knowledge I didn't, and still don't, want to be L. And in case you haven't noticed, my only motivation comes in concern of technology.” he told Mello around another yawn. He wasn't tired, just not...awake.

“But Matt-”

“I thought you wanted to be first, so why are you complaining?” Matt watched in amusement as Mello opened his mouth to say something only to close it with a frown. “My only real smarts are computers. Stop worrying so much.”

He backed away from the blonde and gathered spare clothing and headed for the bathroom. He actually had time to take a long shower instead of those crappy five minute ones..

“I'm not worrying.. just confused.” Mello sighed heavily. Matt looked back and saw Mello halfway reclined in the wooden chair, head tilted back and an unreadable expression on his face. For Mello to openly admit he was confused by something...

“Mello you're my friend, and that's more than enough of a reason not to try any harder than I am. I don't want to be L, because you do. Get it yet?” he watched as Mello flinched at the word 'friend' and his heart fluttered.

“Just go take your shower.” Mello waved him off, though Matt caught the smile that tugged at his lips. Maybe he should have just told that to Mello from the beginning, though he couldn't remember ever having a conversation like that before with Mello...

He closed the bathroom door with a shake of his head. It was better not to think on it, he would rather avoid a migraine if he could.

He let himself relax under the hot water and stood still as the water slid down his body. He breathed in deeply and allowed himself the pleasure of simply standing there for a while longer.

“Matt if you manage to use all the hot water I will kill you.” Mello yelled from the other side and Matt had to smile. It was impossible to use all the hot water but Matt would go with it. He was awake enough already so he didn't mind having to slightly rush the rest of the way.

A wave of steam rushed out into the room with him as he exited the bathroom, halfway still in the process of pulling his shirt down. “Happy now?” he called to Mello and looked up.

“Very.” Mello turned his head away with what looked suspiciously like a blush staining his cheeks. Well that was odd...

Matt decided any further thoughts on that could wait as he needed to let L know he was finished. Mello was still seated at his desk with the system pulled up. “I'd ask if you noticed any issues but you already admitted to not being able to understand half of it.” he said as he leaned over the blonde's shoulder.

“Thanks.” Mello stated sarcastically. Matt shrugged and his eyes scrolled across the innards of the system and he made calculations in his head, checking and double checking his work. He couldn't find anything wrong with it, though it was only at a quick glance.

But he couldn't stand there all day and check everything over, he knew the new system was fine, he just seemed to have picked up Mello's nasty habit of worrying too much.

He brushed aside Mello's hands and picked the laptop up. “You're taking it to L now?” Mello asked as he looked up at him. Matt nodded and shut the laptops lid before he slipped it into the book bag.

He could have carried it normally, but he was too lazy to at the moment. “I doubt I’ll be there too long, I’m sure you can find something to entertain yourself with for the time being.” Matt laughed as Mello stuck his tongue out at him and closed his eyes as he reclined in the wooden chair.

Matt shook his head as he left the room. The hallways were a jumble of motion as children ran back and forth or passed from room to room or just loitered around with their heads in the clouds.

Matt supposed that they had all but forgotten the accident, and the fact that they were in a different orphanage than they had been in months ago. He doubted that any of them had really had anything more than a scare concerning the fire, as he hadn't heard of any other injuries other than Mello's and his own.

They were lucky, even if they didn't know it.

The sounds faded away the closer he got towards L's room. Matt thought he rather preferred the quiet, despite how utterly lonely it made the place seem.

The door was shut, though Matt had to wonder if it was ever left open, so he knocked twice and waited. L wasn’t necessarily expecting him at the moment so it would be rather rude to just barge in.

A few seconds later the door opened and Watari stood there, small smile on his wrinkled face.

Matt could just see passed the older man and could see, as well as hear, that L was in the middle of some sort of meeting with someone over his computer. “He's going to be a while, right?” Matt asked quietly. Watari nodded so he pulled the laptop from the book bag and held it out to the older man.

“Just have him open the internet, as I have it linked to Wammys for the moment. I'll shut it off once L approves everything.” Matt told Watari in the same soft voice and once the older man nodded Matt took his leave.

It had certainly taken far less time than he'd thought, but he hadn't expected L to be doing something as he hadn't been all those other times. Sometimes, Matt supposed, it was just easy to forget that L was... L.

Matt soon said goodbye to the quiet and was tossed back into the busy main hallways of Wammys. Two boys ran passed him and he could have sworn he heard one of them swear, though they were pretty young.

Maybe they had hung around Mello? Matt laughed at the thought.

As he reached the small hallway section that lead to their room he spotted Mello, who stood there, chocolate bar in hand, waiting for him. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde who shrugged.

“I figured that you would want to smoke before breakfast starts in a few, and now that you're done with your project, there is no way I’m allowing you to smoke in the room anymore.”

Mello pushed himself away from the wall and Matt smirked. Oh well, he hadn't expected the blonde to let him continue anyway. Mello pushed him slightly as he walked passed and Matt punched him back, lightly, in the arm.

Mello laughed, and raced ahead and out the front door and into the warm air. Matt laughed, though he made no move to run after him, instead he kept to his normal stride. Mello was certainly in a good mood that day.

Mello stood on the steps, impatient as he waited for him.

There was a strong breeze that day and Mello frowned as his hair was whipped in all different directions but he didn’t bother to try and keep it in place. Matt didn't like the outdoors too much, but with the prospect of a shady tree to sit under, he didn't mind too much.

If only things could stay that way for a while longer, Matt thought, he could be happy.

-End Virus-

AN: Hehehe. Not quite a cliffy, but I’m sure you all caught the ominous line at the end. Hehehe.

Can you feel the change in tone with the fic? So things have started to pick up.... though I think everyone should take a nice long look at the summary. Yup. (My beta was laughing, as she finally got it...)

And if the genre's end up being wrong, blame my beta as she said they were fine as they were...