"That doesn't sound good," Missy commented, frowning after Mail.

"Maybe I should go talk to him." Matt offered.

"No, I will." Lawliet said suddenly- nodding to Missy. "Go find Mihael."

She gave a small nod, before looking at Mello and Matt. "You two should probably check on Nate. He was always really torn up when they fought when we knew him."

With that said she headed outside.

"Damage control." Matt sighed as he headed up the stairs with Mello moving up right behind him.

They found Nate curled up on his bed, a pillow hugged against his chest.

"...Oh crap." Matt sighed before he moved over to the bed and sat down- placing a hand on Nate's head. "Nate? Nate what happened?"

"Shit." Mello stepped in and closed the door. "What did I tell you Nate...what did you say?"

"I didn't even get to explain to him why," Nate muttered. "He just... got up and wanted to leave. Mihael listened with a blank face but Mail... he didn't want to hear. Then he told me he was sad now, every time he looked at me... and like an idiot I told him not to think about me anymore."

Mello stood by the door before he walked over to join them on the bed. Matt gently pulled the ivory-haired boy upright so he and Mello could both wrap their arms around him and hold him gently.

"...You know they care...enough to be hurt by this, bu they're idiots." Mello said.

"We're only strong together...three links in a chain, right?" Matt said softly. "Me and Mels aren't going anywhere. We're in to the very end and I'm sure Mail and Mihael are too...they're just really sad right now."

"Is it so wrong for me to wish they didn't care?" Nate whimpered, curling up against them. "To want to spare them the pain of watching this?"

"...That's something you can do." Mello said. "They want to be here...no matter what it means...because they care about you."

"How do you think me and Mels will feel?" Matt asked as he leaned his face into Nate's hair. "I can only imagine what those two are going through."

"You two are closer then I ever was with them," Nate snorted. "And its possible you'll have to lose Near too..." He cleared his throat. "But I can't imagine what they're going through, either."

"We have Near back...and now that you get the people you've been waiting for for eight years, you have to lose them all over again." Matt said softly. "Don't worry about us."

Mello kissed the top of Nate's head.

Nate sighed. "I love you guys like brothers, but you can't deny it... if traveling in time is causing my body to fail... then it will likely do the same for him."

"Why not all of us then?" Matt asked solemnly. "We're all traveling through time...this new timeline we made together...why do we always get left behind?"

He looked up at Nate sadly- Mello's face sad, but not as openly.

Nate leaned against Matt and sighed heavily. "Let's just hope that it isn't the time travel that did it, or that Near is somehow immune..."

Mello squeezed Nate gently- he'd always been so careful since they'd found out- like Nate was made of glass or something and might break.