Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, not me.

A/N: This is the sequel to For Honor and the Corner Office, which must be read first if this is to be understood. Anyway, this chapter is pretty short, sorry. Think of it as an introduction. But at least I posted it fast!

Forever and a Week

Chapter 1

Matt went to work in the morning feeling very apprehensive about spending the whole day in Yagami's presence. When he got there, Light hadn't come in yet.

He wasn't surprised, as anyone would be hard pressed to remember a time when Light hadn't come in late, or when Matt hadn't come in early, but for some reason in bothered him.

He sat at his desk with his laptop and started doing his work as usual, and when Light finally did show up, they greeted each other in a friendly manner and gave identical nods of acknowledgement before Light sat down at his own desk. They both worked quietly for nearly five minutes, then Takada decided to come in and gossip with Light.

"So then she looked under his bed and there were someone else's panties under there!" Takada was telling a story about her friend.

"Oh my God, seriously?" Light said, totally into the story. Really, everybody who had ever spoken to him should have known he was gay long before Matsuda told everyone.

"Yeah, but that's not the best part. Guess who they belonged to?"

"Who?" Light asked. But Matt had sat through enough of this inane chatter and he was trying to work.

"Could you guys go talk somewhere else, please?" Matt said. Light rolled his eyes, but got up to leave, gesturing for Takada to do the same, which she did.

About ten minutes of peace and quiet later, Light returned. He sat at his desk with his arms crossed and his chair tilted back and just stared at Matt until he got his attention.

"What?" Matt asked.

"Nothing." Light replied, shrugging. Matt shook his head and went back to work. Light kept staring at him.

"What?" Matt exclaimed once again, rather annoyed at this point.

"You know, you're kind of cute, in a geeky sort of way." Light said, tilting his head to the side. Matt opened his mouth and closed it again without making a sound. Then he turned back to his computer, horrified by the heat that was rising in his face, signaling a blush.

"Leave me alone." Matt finally said weakly. Light laughed and then actually started typing at his computer like he was supposed to. They both worked in silence for about twenty minutes, and then the silence was shattered when Matt's phone rang, causing him to jump about a foot out of his chair. Why did they make phones ring so loud? And who could possibly be calling him?

"Hello?"

"Hi, Matt? It's Mello." Said the person on the phone. He had a strange tension in his voice, like he was stressed.

"Uh, hi. What's up?" Matt asked, hoping it was nothing.

"Can you come meet me at the airport right now?" Mello asked.

"What for?" Matt leaned forward on his desk and drew his eyebrows together in worry.

"I just found out I have to go to Chicago for a week for work and my plane leaves in an hour, so…" Mello said quickly.

"What? They can't do that! They can't make you go without giving you any notice!" Matt said in disbelief.

"I know, but it's kind of an emergency, I need to be there for a case I've been working on for months! Please just come meet me so we can say bye…" Mello said in a begging tone, as if he honestly didn't think Matt would be willing to go meet him. Well, in the past he might not have wanted to miss work, because he was dedicated to his job that way, but he certainly wasn't going to let Mello leave without saying goodbye.

"Uh…sure, yeah. Of course." Matt said, and he began shutting down his computer.

"Okay, see you soon."

"Bye." Matt said, shoving his stuff into his bag and standing up.

"What's going on?" Light asked from his desk across the room.

"Mello's going on a business trip right now; I have to meet him at the airport to say goodbye. Um, could you cover for me if Mr. Wammy asks?"

"Sure." Light said casually, returning to his work. Matt snuck out of the building and got in his car, all the while trying to comprehend what was happening. Mello was going to be gone for a week. Matt was going to have to live without Mello for a whole week.

It had been a really, really long time since he'd gone so long without seeing Mello. They'd been roommates since college and friends since…a long time before that.

He couldn't believe this was being sprung on him without giving him any time to mentally prepare himself. The drive to the airport wasn't long, so he got there quickly and ran through the gigantic parking complex to the entrance.

And there was Mello, waiting by the door. He ran over and glomped him, then lifted him in the air with the force of his hug.

"Okay! Put me down, Matt!" Mello said, laughing and lightly beating his fists on Matt's back. Matt set him on the floor, and then for the first time he noticed that someone else was there.

There was a very small, pale dude with white hair and white clothes standing close to them and watching. Mello followed Matt's gaze and shook his head.

"Matt, this is Near. He's working on the same case that I am." Mello said bitterly. This must be the 'stupid albino idiot' that Mello mentioned yesterday. It was obvious that Mello didn't like him very much.

"Hello, Matt." Near said in a quiet voice, which was monotonous in a way that was reminiscent of L. They shook hands and Near let go very quickly, bringing his hand up to instead twist a lock of his own weird hair. He seemed nice enough, if a little shy. Matt wondered why it was that Mello disliked him.

"Well, I need to go check my baggage, wait here." Mello said, leaving Near and Matt alone. Near intently watched Mello's retreating back, and then looked back up at Matt as soon as the blonde had disappeared in the crowd. They stood there silently for a few minutes, engaged in an awkward staring contest.

"I would like to have sex with Mello." Near said suddenly, but still without expression. Matt choked.

"W-what? Well, you can't!" Matt sputtered with shock and outrage.

"We shall see. A lot can happen in a week." Near replied simply, unfazed by Matt's anger. Matt kept opening his mouth to voice his disbelief, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Then Mello returned.

"Okay, our flight is going to leave soon." He said, hugging Matt again.

"Mello, he-" Matt started, but was cut off by Mello kissing him.

"We really need to go, there's no time."

"But he-"

"I'll call you tonight when we get to the hotel." Mello said, and then he left, and Near followed him. Near turned to give Matt a tiny, but unmistakable smirk over his shoulder when they were about to pass the security barrier.

Matt let out a loud indignant noise, but could only watch in horror as the two of them walked away.

A/N: Review! I mean it!