Not An Angel

AN: This chapter is short, I know. but I did state earlier that Matt's chapters would be shorter..... don't hurt me... you'll like the next chapter..... hehe sorta.

Suggested Listening: Toxic Valentine by Time Low; Star by Cinema Bizarre

Chapter 5: Grasping Straws

~Matt~

I had just gotten in the door and shut it softly and thrown my keys onto the counter when I noticed the bedroom door was shut. I sighed. He was probably unhappy at the moment. The atmosphere in the car had been... bad to say the least.

“Mello?” I called softly through the door. I know he heard me because all movement stopped for a moment before continuing on; he was ignoring me. My shoulders drooped. Maybe I would kill that guy; we had been having such a good day for once and then that stupid man had to ruin it.

Turning from the door I headed for my own computer, there was no sense in waiting for Mello to come out, he would when he was good and read and not a moment sooner. At least some things hadn't changed over the years...

Bringing the murder video back up, I plugged in my headphones so it wouldn't be heard. About five minutes into it I noticed something on the killer’s hand. A silver ring, like the blonde in the photo Zane had given me earlier.

Granted it was a bit of a stretch, but nothing could be ruled out as coincidence with this case. Not until it was proven false.

I slowed the video down and zoomed in as far as I could. The ring was on the figures middle finger. I could almost make out faint writing on the top of it but when I tried to zoom in further the image began to distort.

There was definitely a connection between those hooded figures, the rings and the Detective Purge. We just needed more information.

Going back over the video I tried to find out anything else, any other scrap of data I might have missed. There was nothing. It was so frustrating. I was just about to quit for the day when I heard the light squeak of the bedroom door as it opened.

I sat there, staring at the screen as soft footsteps padded across the living room to stop a few feet from me. “Matt?” Mello's voice was hesitant but I couldn't bring myself to answer him despite my earlier willingness to talk.

I heard something crumple behind me, almost like a wrapper...

“Matt, on my laptop there are files that Jasper sent me. They are very important, so look them over. I'm leaving since there is obviously no reason for me to be here at the moment.” I cringed at his icy tone; perhaps ignoring him hadn't been the best option.

Before I could even say anything to him he stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door. “Well that went well...” I muttered. For once Mello was being apologetic, in his own way, and I kind of threw it back in his face. Great job Mail, I thought to myself.

Taking out my phone I called Mello, but as expected, he didn't pick up. There goes an afternoon of progress...

Heaving myself up from the chair I decided that I would at least look at the data right now. There was a flash drive sticking out of the USB port, and two folders pulled up on the screen. With a sigh I seated myself again, honestly I needed to get out more all I did was sit, and clicked on a folder.

Opening the one document I read thought I would just skim through it. I ended up reading the entire thing. This was... this might be what we were looking for. If all this was true...

The next folder was filled with pictures, pictures like the one I had received from Zane. “Damn.” Zane needed to be real careful now with watching them, these were assassin level people.

I sent him a quick text telling him to watch out for those three since they were dangerous. Hopefully he would listen. If not I had no doubt they would kill him, detective or not.

“Those rings.. ”I muttered. The only one not seen was the third members, and I suspected that was the one from the video. The one with the ring on their middle finger. Flipping open my phone I ran through my contacts list and found what I was looking for.

After the incident with Mikami Teru I had programmed Jasper's number into my cell phone.

“Well if it isn't the illusive J.” Jasper said upon answering. Despite him knowing my name he still insisted on calling me J.

“Hello Jasper.” I sighed.

“To what do I owe the honor of your call?”

“Mello actually.” I heard him groan. “What sort of trouble is he creating for me now?”

“Nothing, I just have a question.”

“Well if that's all, fire away.” he said after a brief pause and I wondered if I had interrupted him.

“What sort of information was on that flash drive you gave him?” he hesitated for a moment.

“Pictures along with data on an organization; that is all I will say on the phone. If Mello didn't show you anything you'll have to get him to, it's important shit he asked me to get.” Jasper's words were harsh and bitter, like there was something else going on in the background.

“No, he left the stuff here. I just wanted to know if you had actually gotten it.” I sighed in relief. It wasn't that I doubted Mello, I just didn't want him using his mafia connections to get this. Who knew what sort of favor they would want from him in return.

Jasper laughed. “Clever boy.” I blinked. Even for him, Jasper was acting odd. “I have to go. Some trash just walked in.” he cut off the connection and I was left with dial tone.

Just what was going on with everyone these days? Shaking my head in slight irritation I dialed another number. I didn't know if Mello had sent this to him yet, or if he already knew about this... but I had to call.

“Matt. I suppose you are calling about the information Mello sent Near.” my eyes widened. Mello sent it to Near and not L?

“Yeah. Did you piss him off?” I was unable to keep from asking. Sometimes, despite being twenty-something, my curiosity got the better of me.

There was a pause. “I suppose you could say that. Yes.” Maybe that was why Mello was acting more stressed by the day. He had always looked up to L, and I doubted it had diminished that much through the years, so it was plausible he would react in such a way if L had done something he deemed terrible enough.

But the moment I thought it, I discarded it. We weren't kids anymore. There had to be something more going on the background between the two. I just didn't have the energy to figure it out at the moment.

“I just called to make sure you had the information.” I lit another cigarette and let it dangle at the corner of my mouth.

“See ya.” I muttered before ending the call. I doubted very much that L would be offended; he still hated talking on phones.

I called Mello's phone once more but it stated that his phone was either turned off or the network down. Well wasn't that wonderfully helpful?

With nothing more to do I went back over the data Jasper had retrieved. I needed to go over it again, memorize it. And once that was done, go back through the video file L had sent me. It was an extreme long shot, since I had already watched the video so many times, but there might be something we were missing.

It might have been hours later, it might have been minutes, but something broke my concentration.

Hearing the dull roar of a motorcycle approaching I turned to glance out the window; lights came into view as the sound of the engine became louder. I could just make it out as it parked across the street.

Mello was back.

My lips were on his the moment he walked through the door. He was startled but didn't reach for his gun, I was lucky. “I'm sorry.” I murmured to him.

He relaxed in my grip, slumping against me. “I started it.” he sighed. I looked at him, really looked at him, at that. He had bags forming under his eyes, his clothes were rumpled and his hair was a mess.

“Where were you?”

“At Jasper's. We got into a little bit of a fight though.” he laughed. My eyebrows shot up.

“About what?” he instantly tensed. “Mello?”

“It was nothing, please drop it.” Mello was asking, not telling, me to do something. “Mello.” he shuddered. “No. Leave it.”

I tilted his head up and stared into his blue eyes. They were guarded, cautious. “Fine.” I told him. If he wanted to hide things then I supposed they were none of my business. I unwound my arms and pulled away from him.

There would always be things that he hid from me, always. But that didn't mean I was going to make it easy for him. Especially when I could tell that the secret was hurting him.

“Please...” I stopped in my tracks and turned around. “I can't tell you.” he wasn't looking at me and his posture was hunched; so unlike him.

“It's fine. I understand.” he flinched at my words. “Don't you have something that you can’t even tell me?” his voice was quiet.

“No.” I answered truthfully. There was nothing I would hide if he asked. Even if it was about the seven years we were apart. And maybe part of our inability to communicate well stemmed from the fact that we seemed to have unconsciously agreed not to talk about it.

We may love each other, but that alone wasn't enough. That much was obvious.

His hands clenched at his sides and I thought he was going to leave again, just like that, and it would have been the end of it. We would never breach the conversation again; just continue to drift further apart. And it was sad that I expected him to do that.

Instead he seemed to deflate. He leaned against the wall and slid down still not looking at me. “Not tonight... just not now.” I smiled. It was a promise, one that I would make him keep.

“Tonight just... stay.” he whispered. He was worrying me. He was not one to show his gentler or more vulnerable emotions and yet he was all but pleading me. It was unnerving.

Kneeling down in front of him I pulled him against me and was surprised when he didn't resist. Even more so when he returned the embrace. Whatever they had fought about had shaken him. He was very needy at the moment.

I smiled. But I didn't mind, he might not ever let me see him like this again.

“My Mihael.”

-End Chapter 5-

AN: ok I know of you are probably like ‘why is Mello so emotional?’. Well think of it this way. He finally has Matt back in his life, even though things are strained by the case, and suddenly Matt may only have 14 days left to live if he can’t solve the mystery. So he’s doing things he shouldn’t for information, worried about his boyfriend and stressed to high hell, now tell me you wouldn’t be just the slightest bit emotional, even if you normally aren’t? lol.

As always, review!