I just wrote this. I don't know where it came from, or why, but it's here, so enjoy it!

Operation Fairy Capture

by Darkness Princess

.m.

Mello had been sitting in his chair in his fourth classroom, fingers in his mouth. He had tried not to be distracting, but when his tongue began to flitter about against his teeth, it had distracted him again. He looked idly out of the window, the sounds of a history lesson drifting past him--if it wasn't about war, it just wasn't interesting--while he fiddled in his mouth.

"Mello?" the teacher called.

The blonde looked to the man idly, fingers moving back and forth at a testing pace. "Wmuh?" he mumbled behind his hand.

"I asked about the King of the time period," the teacher stated, frowning, "but it seems as if you've got other things on your mind. Anything you would like to tell the class?"

Mello's eyes narrowed, but he soon looked back out the window after quickly scanning the group of other students in the classroom. "Muh toof's movin'," came his muffled reply.

Matt looked up from secretly playing his GameBoy underneath his desk. "He has a loose tooth," he figured. Soon, he smirked slightly. "Maybe he needs to get it pulled, he's been doing that for days..."

Mello gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, shaking his head quickly as he grunted a 'no'. A few students snickered, but the teacher approached him, gently prying his hand from his face. "I don't wanna lose my tooth!" he replied. "I want to keep it where it is! It's just bothersome..."

The teacher frowned slightly. "You've never lost a tooth before, have you?" he asked. Mello's glare was quickly interpreted as a 'no, I haven't', and the teacher smiled sympathetically. "It's okay. See, Mello, right now, you've still got your baby teeth, and you outgrow them; they usually fall out, but sometimes they have to be pulled--"

"I'd rather keep it!"

More laughter.

The teacher shook his head. "It's better if it comes out. It'll fall out on its own, I'm sure. Then an adult tooth grows in its place, and you get to put your baby tooth under a pillow for the tooth fairy to take."

"What if I want to keep it?" Mello asked with a frown.

Matt looked up again. "You don't wanna. The tooth fairy always gives you something in exchange for your tooth. Sometimes cash, sometimes other stuff."

"Exactly," the teacher agreed. "You'll just put it under your pillow, and the next morning, you wake up to something under your pillow."

Mello stared for a moment, then went back to wiggling his tooth. "I hope it falls out quick," he mumbled.

.m.

"Loose tooth?"

The seven-year-old looked up from his spot on the couch, chocolate bar on his thigh, fingers in his mouth again as he fiddled with his tooth. The group was having playtime, and as he vaguely watched the news, mainly staring out the window, he could feel the dark eyes of a certain six-year-old watching him quietly. He frowned behind his hand at the white-haired boy observing him from the center table.

"Wha's'it to you, Near?" Mello murmured angrily.

Near shook is head, placing another sky-blue puzzle piece down on the table. He blinked quietly, looking up at Mello once before glancing back to his task at hand. "Nothing at all," he replied quietly. It took a second or two before he looked up again and a tiny smile formed. "The Tooth Fairy usually delivers pleasant gifts."

Mello looked up in curiosity. "Really, now..." He moved from the couch, holding the chocolate bar tightly as he made his way to the center table. Standing opposite of Near, he stared calmly. "What makes you say that?"

Near's mouth opened and he pointed to the bottom left corner, where he lost a tooth. "Last week, the Tooth Fairy brought me two puzzles," he explained. "And a few months ago, I also got a transformer."

Mello brought his knee onto the table and leaned forward, looking closely into Near's face. "And what does this Tooth Fairy look like, hmm? How does she get into the school with the security? How does she know what you want?"

Near's eyes widened at the taller boy, a cautious look drifting for a split second to the puzzle before becoming a state fixated on Mello's face. "Uh, well... No one knows. She comes when you sleep, and she leaves using magic."

"That's illogical," Mello said, leaning closer. "Magic's improbable."

Near shrunk a bit under Mello's gaze. "It's just how it is, Mello, I don't know..." Frowning, he looked down. "Please move, you're going to harm the puzzle."

Mello's glare intensified, and he stretched his arms out, siezing Near's shoulders in a show of rage and ego. "Don't you tell me to move!" he almost yelled, but soon found himself falling forward, table toppling as books, puzzle pieces, and pencils collapsed onto the ground, Mello falling onto Near. Both boys cried out in surprise and frustration, but Near found himself silencing when he noticed Mello stop his wailing a second before he had.

"Mello, get off, you're heavy," Near said, trying to slide himself from under the older blond boy.

Oddly, the blond obeyed, shifting to sit on the ground. He had a peculiar expression plastered on his face, and Near's eyes widened slightly.

"Uh..." Near blinked, unsure of what to say. "Mello...?"

Mello brought a hand to his mouth and soon spit out a tiny white tooth, eyes widened at the small thing. A moment of silence passed between the two boys, before Mello began to wail, his normally-pale face a bright red shade as he panicked.

Near sighed. "Mello, it's only one tooth," he tried to dismiss, but the other's silence didn't come until one of the attendees entered to find the mess and attempted to calm the situation.

.m.

"It just feels so weird... I can taste blood!"

Matt rolled his eyes, looking up from his video game for the first time that evening. Today's dinner was rather uneventful except for the anxious boy in front of him, who seemed so jittery at the feel of his exposed gum. He didn't seem to be handling the entire situation well, in Matt's opinion, and the boy was getting a tad irritated.

"That's just the gum, Mello," he said calmly. "It'll stop tasting like that if you stop licking it."

Mello frowned. "I'm not doing anything!" he argued. Soon, he leaned forward, his voice lowering as he whispered, "Who's the tooth fairy?"

His red-haired comrade could only shrug. "Dunno. She comes when you sleep," he replied, returning to his game as he crammed a chicken nugget into his mouth whole.

"B-but... someone's got to know!"

Matt didn't even respond. He merely continued with his game, as Mello drowned a french fry in ketchup until an idea finally came to mind. He looked up for a moment, pulling a chocolate bar from his pocket.

"I'm gonna find out," he said, tugging at the wrapper.

"Find out what?" Matt asked through his fictional exploration.

"Who the tooth fairy is," Mello replied smugly. "I'm gonna catch her."

The redhead looked up. A moment passed as the two stared in silence, Matt looking for any evidence of a joke, Mello's dark gaze assuring him there was none. Soon, the older one smirked and took a bite of his chocolate bar.

Matt almost dropped the gaming system. "I can't believe you're serious!"

.m.

"Okay, so it's all worked out," Mello announced to the two in front of him. They sat on his floor quietly, staring at a map carefully drawn by Matt on notebook paper. Mello pointed to a small square. "Okay, so Near, this will be where you'll stand, with one of the walkie-talkies."

Near frowned. "I don't want to catch the tooth fairy..." he murmured.

Mello ignored him. "And Matt, you'll be in the closet, okay? Could you get into the science room?"

Matt nodded. "I got it before I drew up the picture." He frowned slightly. "I don't know if this is such a good idea, Mello..."

"Shut it," Mello interrupted his protests. "We're doing this, got it?" He leaned back and cracked his knuckles. "If it goes wrong, someone's getting a meeting with my fist, got it?"

Matt sighed; Near inwardly shuddered. Both knew there was no changing Mello's mind in this, he was going to catch the tooth fairy whether they wanted to help or not.

.m.

Everything was going according to plan. Every night at nine, Roger and another attendee at the orphanage, Marcia, strolled down the hallways, checking on the students, who were supposed to be sleeping. They'd make sure those who had fallen asleep at their desks or in the library were tucked into their beds, and that some weren't struggling with nightmares or fictional creatures. Near knew they came to his room at nine-eighteen every night, making sure he was settled in quietly, before continuing down the hallway two minutes later.

He sat in his bed, staring at them with wide eyes Marcia pulled the covers up over him, and he promptly kicked them away. It had been routine for her to fight to keep him warm, and tonight seemed to be no different.

"Near..." she said softly.

"Good night, Marcia," he said softly.

She pulled the covers over him again and he couldn't help but smile gently at her persistence. He laid still as the two wished him sweet dreams and moved to the hallway, leaving an inch of light from the hallway to peer into his room. He promptly kicked the covers away and waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps before he rose again.

Pulling the communication device from under his pillow - and regretting having laid on it for five minutes, pained by the feeling of the device poking at his head through the cotton material - he pushed a button. "Okay, they've passed my room. Now heading down hall G," he spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"Got it," Matt replied in his device.

Matt stood quietly in his room, playing his video game next to his desk, walkie-talkie hidden from sight when Marcia and Roger came in. As Roger took the device from him and carefully saved his game, Marcia led him to his bed, helping to tug off his sweater and help him into bed. He was tired, used to being urged into bed and falling asleep once his head hit the pillow, but he couldn't today. It almost bothered him, but he merely clicked a pen under his pillow as he was tucked in and told good night. And soon they were gone, heading into the next room to Mello. Matt creeped over to his door and watched through the small space between the doorway and the door as they slipped into Mello's room.

"Okay, Mello, did you put it under your pillow?" Marcia asked him, straightening his blankets.

He nodded calmly, a small smile on his face. "Yep, all ready for the Tooth Fairy."

She smiled and pet his hair.

"Faster you go to sleep, faster you'll see what she brings you," Roger piped in.

As the two drifted down the hallway, Mello smiled and hurried to his door, opening it a crack. Matt blinked, instantly getting himself into gaming mode - his more awake mode - as he was beckoned into Mello's room. Shoving his pillow under his blanket, he spoke into the device once more.

"Operation Fairy Capture is underway," he said, "I repeat, Operation Fairy Capture is underway."

Near made a small noise on the other side of his, soon followed by, "I'm going into the hallway."

Matt carried the device and a large butterfly net into Mello's room and let the blonde silently lead him into his clean closet. Everything seemed as dark as usual, from the shadows to the dark clothing, and Matt couldn't help but smile slightly at the lack of boyish shirts and colored fabric.

Mello returned to his bed, too awake to fall asleep, so he merely stared at the ceiling for a little. Any sounds could possibly alert the Tooth Fairy that they were awake, so he had to keep silent.

Near had no problem with silence or camoflauge, in his white pajamas with his hair blanketing over his pale face, while in the white hallway. Nobody came for well over two hours, and as Near began to wonder if maybe this was a stupid idea, he heard footsteps and a familiar voice. He couldn't quite place a name to it, but he was sure he had heard it. Immediately, he reached for the device. "Alert - someone's coming!"

Mello smirked and whispered to Matt, "This is it!"

Matt nodded, hands grasping the net in his hands. The door to Mello's room opened and a tall figure walked in, hidden in the shadows of the bedroom. A shape could be made out, and the figure approached the bed calmly, feet making the softest of noises on the ground as it travelled in. Only faintly, Mello could make out the outline of messy hair and a white shirt through his squinting eyes, but as the figure came close enough to the bed, hand sliding to the pillow, Mello jumped to his feet. Matt, who had crept behind the figure, quickly threw the net over its head.

"Got him!" Mello shrieked excitedly. "I got the Tooth Fairy!"

Matt continued to hold the net over the confused, moving 'Tooth Fairy' as Near hurried down the hallway to the bedroom door, Watari and Roger soon right behind him. Watari flipped the light switch to hopefully find a reason to the sudden noises.

Mello was jumping on his bed, hands tightly holding onto the arm of a thin figure, staring at the doorway with a bright grin on his face. "I caught the Tooth Fairy!" he explained quickly. "See?" Turning to look at the one whom he had caught, his eyes widened.

"L?!"

L smiled sheepishly to the young boy in front of him. Roger looked at Watari, unsure what to do, as Watari blinked; L could handle this, couldn't he?

"You're the Tooth Fairy?"

"Um, well, not exactl--"

"I can't believe you're the Tooth Fairy!"

Mello almost attacked the teenager, wrapping his arms around his neck tightly in a thankful hug. L, unsure what to do, merely pet the boy's back once, before trying to sepreate the child - and the butterfly net - from him. He accomplished to get one, as Matt lifted it and let it fall to the floor, yawning.

"Mello," he called softly, "I don't think you understand..."

"Of course I do," the small one protested. "You're the Tooth Fairy!"

Watari sighed. "I think we should go downstairs and have a little discussion..." he whispered to Roger.

.m.

L sat perched on a chair, sipping a cup of tea as he looked between Mello and Roger, wondering who would give up first. Roger tried to explain that the Tooth Fairy delivered the gifts to them to deliver to the children, but Mello insisted that he was merely covering up for L, who wasn't saying a word on if he was the Tooth Fairy or not. Roger was tired and a tad flustered with the boy, who didn't seem exhausted at all and refused to give up.

"Mello..."

"No, you're wrong!" he said quickly, hugging his new box of chocolate bars. "It's L and you're lying!"

Watari sighed. This was really going nowhere, and already, Mello's partners in crime were starting to fall asleep. Near was curled up in his chair, head reading on his knee as he dozed; Matt was asleep with his head on the armrest, drooling on his chair. After Mello glared at Roger for another minute, he leaned back and crossed his arms, as if ready to quit the argument or wait for more from Roger.

L turned to Watari. "Maybe we should just send them to bed. This could all be taken care of in the morning, and they need their sleep," he spoke.

Watari nodded, and looked at Roger. "Well, whatever the case may be, I think it's well after midnight and that means little boys should be asleep."

Mello frowned at Roger. "You're still wrong, but I don't care," he argued one last time, and rose from his seat. Turning to L, he gave the older boy a bright grin, then walked to the doorway, yawning loudly. Watari nudged Near and Matt, and began to lead the boys back to their rooms to settle them back in for sleep.

Once they had left, Roger sighed and turned to L, who was inspecting a small white tooth in a small plastic bag.

"That was rather difficult," he muttered.

L gave a mild hum as he looked at the tooth peculiarly.

Roger waited in silence, before a curious look formed. "L... I might sound rather rediculous for asking, but... you're not the Tooth Fairy, right?"

L looked up with a slight smirk. "It's not rediculous at all. And if I happened to be the Tooth Fairy, I couldn't tell you."

As L left with his cup of tea, Roger had to raise an eyebrow.

.m. owari .m.

Okay, folks, there you have it. Boredom at its weirdest. Is L the Tooth Fairy? Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, who knows! But I hope you guys like it.

:Darkness Princess.