[There are moments of silence — long moments — where Mello just stares L down, analyzing his motivations, breaking down his reasoning to the finest detail. And what he comes up with is — ]

[This is L's burden. This is L's pain. It's his, and it's not about their trust at all, is it? No. It's something L needs to feel in order to complete whatever process he's going through, and he thinks Mello is trying to steal it from him.]

[But he's not. Oh, he's not.]

I don't want silence.

[Because that? Is more than pain. It's the greatest pain known to man.]

I want to steal your suffering from you and deal with it on my terms.

[Sentimental as it might be. He refills his own glass. This will be the last. Any more, and he'll be borderline incoherent.]

I want — I need — you to be okay. Do you need to understand why? Do you need me to explain it to you?

[Because he will, right now. At length. And it's not something he thinks L wants to hear.]