Disclaimer: I don't own Deathnote… There, I said it… (sulks)

"Truth or dare, Mikami?"

"…Dare, I guess…"

"I dare you to kiss Near."

I stare at him, my mouth hanging open a bit. How many drinks have I had, how am I going to kiss the love of my life, and, oh yeah, how did I get here, sitting on the floor in a circle with six other men? Well, I'm about to tell you…

My name, by the way, is Teru Mikami. I live with a young man named Nate River, but he goes by the name of Near. I'm deeply in love with him, and that's the long and short of it. He's my adorable gaijin and the most beautiful person ever to grace this earth, and I can assure you of that. He has four foster brothers, of which he is the youngest; he's only eighteen, but he's a genius.

And all this mess started when he decided he was going to throw me a surprise birthday party. On June 7, I got out of court at five o' clock—we won the case; I've never lost a case, not even one—and I was just looking forward to coming home and going to bed since I'd been working almost non-stop all week. But, no, that wasn't happening. They all shouted surprise, and I didn't have the heart to tell them to go home.

And Near gave me a hug and baked me a cake. So here I was, with L, B, Mello, Matt, who are all Near's brothers, my friend, Light Yagami, and his friend, Touta Matsuda, and my gaijin, of course. I didn't approve of Near or Matt drinking, since they were both under the drinking age, but I let it go. They could all sleep over, if worst came to worst. And it eventually would, I knew all too well.

I should probably mention why this, this dare that led to this situation, happened in the first place. Matt, as I have mentioned, is under the drinking age, but he's also very reckless, even without being drunk, and he'd already had far too much. He was on the floor complaining of nausea, so Mello had picked him up and was holding him, glancing around listlessly and trying to get Light to turn the music down. He, unfortunately, was drunk too and wouldn't hear of it.

"Mello," I began, speaking loudly over the music. "He can lie down in my bed…"

"Aw, thanks, Mikami. He's just a little… tipsy." Mello snorted.

"Yeah… okay, come on…"

I led Mello up the stairs and into my bedroom, and I walked in first and turned on one of the dimmer lamps so I wouldn't hurt Matt's eyes. "Where are we?" I heard him ask groggily, and I felt a little bad for him.

"Shush, Matt. You'd… better get a trashcan," said Mello with a chuckle. I brought one over for Matt and set it next to my bed, and Mello was taking off his goggles. Matt rolled over on his side and basically fell asleep right there. Mello sat down next to him, smiling.

"He just needs a few minutes…"

"Are you sure? You should just let him sleep through the night…"

"No, he'd be so mad at me… So… What's with you and Near?"

I felt my face flush, trying to convince myself it was just the alcohol. "Um…"

"I mean, you seem pretty… Well… I mean… There's not really a nice way to say this…"

"Um… I'm not sure I'm following you…"

"I mean, Matt and I both noticed that… You…You'd like to fuck him, wouldn't you?"

Mello was nodding at me, and I was mortified, feeling sick to my stomach. Was I that obvious? "Mello," I began, having no idea what to say to explain myself, "that's very… inappropriate… I—"

"Look, Mikami, you don't have to say anything. What was it you called him…?"

"Gaijin," mumbled Matt from my bed, his eyes closed.

"That's right. Gaijin. Real cute, Mikami."

I felt myself get even redder, embarrassed that they would even bring that up, and I desperately tried to defend myself. The most cliché and ludicrous statement came out of my mouth: "We're just friends!"

Mello just looked at me, then turned to Matt to pet his hair. "You're looking a little green, buddy," he crooned to him quietly. I sighed, then relented.

"Fine. Please, please, please don't tell him, Mello."

"Well, I think he deserves to know…"

"I'll tell him myself!"

"When?"

He was smiling maliciously now, and I, already half-smashed, said, "Tonight," thinking it would satisfy him.

"Great," he said. "You have 'til midnight."

I flinched inwardly. A time limit? Matt sat up, leaning his head on Mello's shoulder for a minute, then smiling brightly. "Let's go party," he nearly shouted, surprising me.

"All right," said Mello, following him out of my room. He stopped at the doorway as Matt tromped down the steps, and said, "Don't be long, birthday boy. You have three hours."

He left with that, and I stood there silently. Three hours. And what was he going to do if I didn't tell him? Yes, well, I was soon to find out.

I walked down the stairs a few minutes later, where my guests were dancing in my now very crowded living room. As I tried to find Near, I almost tripped over something, rather someone, rather the person I wanted to find. Near was on his hands and knees, and I kneeled down.

"Sorry, Teru," he said. I could smell alcohol on his breath, which worried me.

"That's okay. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I dropped an earring."

"An earring? What's it look like?"

He pushed back his hair, which was technicolored by the lights, and I studied his matching earring, a robot, his favorites, I knew. "I hope someone didn't step on it…" he muttered, biting down on his bottom lip cutely.

"I'm sure it's somewhere around here…"

After a few more minutes of searching, I found it and returned it to him. "Thanks, Teru," he said, smiling. He put it back in, and I helped him up. He took my hands in his, smirking at me. I could tell he was drunk, or he'd never be so generous with his beautiful smiles. "You wanna dance?"

I nodded at him, thinking of how easy—assuming that I was even going to be afraid of Mello's threats and follow his conditions—it would be to tell him right then. Too bad that I didn't. I watched him dance, studied carefully the way his body moved, observed him more closely than I'd ever observed anything in my entire life, and all I could think about was how much I wanted him, how much I needed him right then. Many jumbled thoughts went through my head, some of them very clear like radio waves through the static, and one of those was a question: since it's my birthday, would he consent?

I fantasized as I continued to stare at him, until L, who was very tight at that point, ran into Near and spilled his drink all over him. He began to laugh madly, so much that I was convinced for a while that he was B, not L, but then he said, "I am so sorry, Near. Come on, I'll help you clean that up…"

"It's all right; I got it, L…"

"You sure? Sorry, hon…"

"It's fine…"

In a matter of seconds, he was grabbed around the waist by Light, and, giggling in that very frightening way, was swept back into the center of the room. I put my hand on Near's mid-back and ushered him into the kitchen. I helped him wipe off his shirt—it really wasn't so bad—and immediately after, I felt his hands touching my chest.

Suddenly, we were dangerously close, and I was craning my neck and our faces were in such tight proximity that we were breathing eachother's breaths. "Gaijin," I whispered, but in an instant, my neck jerked back to its natural position as Touta Matsuda, Light's friend as I have mentioned, walked in with B.

He was talking to B, but B seemed to be growling. I didn't need to know. "I think I'll just go upstairs and change," said Near, and I could see his slight blush clearly on his pale skin.

"Okay… Sure…"

"I'll be down in a couple of minutes…"

"All right."

Near smiled slightly, then disappeared into the next room. I glanced at the clock. God, three hours had gone by quickly. And Mello met me in the kitchen. I knew what was coming, so I waited, but he didn't speak to me. Instead, he addressed B and Matsuda, who were standing next to the table, drinking.

"Hey, guys, we're gonna play truth or dare," he said, smirking. "Come on…"

He left, and both of the men followed him. I went as well, feeling a bit suspicious of Mello's antics. However, against my better judgment (I was drunk, after all), I joined them in a circle. Matt shut off the sound system and turned on the lights. He sat to Mello's left; I was on his right. Light began, and in a few minutes, it was Mello's turn. "Truth or dare, Mikami?" he asked, grinning his crooked, distrustful grin.

But I had him down. He was too obvious. "…Dare, I guess…" I replied, almost grinning. The words he uttered next horrified me even more than anything he'd said to me in my bedroom.

He beamed cruelly and arrogantly. "I dare you to kiss Near."

And here we are. The others look confused—Near isn't even in the room, because he's still changing. Matt chuckles, and I feel myself blush. "N-no," I stutter.

"No saying no to dares!" protests Matt. "If you say no, then I'll say no! Anarchy!"

I frown at him, and he giggles. It's too late by this time, because Near has already entered the room. "What's going on?" he asks, surveying us endearingly.

"It's the guest of honor!" cheers Mello. The others are catching on, and they seem to find it a funny joke. They all break into a round of applause.

"Mello?" asks Near. "What are you talking about?"

"Ask Teru."

He turns to me. "…Teru?"

His beautiful eyes vaporize my soul, and I stand up. A dare is a dare, I suppose. I approach him, and he stares unflinchingly into my eyes. "Your glasses are dirty," he remarks quietly, reaching up to take them off. It's funny, the things that concern him at a moment so important to me. My heart pounds as if it will explode—it's not a good feeling unless you're in love. His arms have barely reached his sides, and I touch his face.

He blushes, mouthing my name, and I kiss his lips gently. As the others applaud again, I almost pull away, but I feel him kiss back, nervously, like a hesitant answer to a question. We kiss for a few seconds, then pull away. I am filled with ecstasy, relief, and unrestrained love as I stare at his flushing face. "I love you," he whispers, meeting my gaze valiantly.

"I love you too," I say, unable to keep a straight face.

"Happy birthday, Teru."

We kiss again, hardly noticing that the lights are off and the stereo is blasting, and everyone else is once again ignoring me. A job well done, I suppose. All in a day's work? It doesn't matter. The only thing I care about right now is Near.

"Gaijin," I say as he presses his ear to my chest to hear my heart beat for his.

"Hm?"

"My birthday's over…"

"…So it is."

We both laugh gently, our hands touching.