Sorry for the long wait. Thank you to everyone who reviewed.

I seriously think Matt's a closet romantic...

I still don't own death note... Maybe if i win the lottery?

Please enjoy...

Breakfast the next morning was a three ring circus. Although, to Near, it was considerably more entertaining than one.

Matsuda was sitting in a distinctly L-like manner, while Gevanni fussed over him like a jealous lover. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. The real question was; Could this be love, or was it purely physical?

On the other side of the table, Becca and Lidner were huddled together reading a printout. Apparently it was an E-mail from someone named Ted. Becca's eyes paused mid-page and she gave a whistle. "Hal, for shame!"

Of coarse, if the breakfast table really was a circus, Light and L would take center stage. "L, you have to eat healthier." The younger detective prompted, holding a fork filled with scrambled eggs in front of the eccentric detective's mouth.

"Light-kun, you know my reasoning ability will decrease it I don't take in the proper amount of sweets." L protested, but Light was ready for him.

"L, as much as I love you're body under mine, I'm going to have to deny you unless you eat something good for you."

Those dark eyes widened fractionally before L took a grudging bite of the eggs. Apparently, Light was just that good.

After breakfast, Antonia came for Mello. The old lady had strands of white hair sticking out in all directions and there was some kind of art material dried in patches across her face. "Good morning." She greeted them with an all too knowing look. "Did you sleep well?"

Matt groaned. "You are a mean, mean old lady..."

She just grinned at him and led Mello out of the room.

Once Mello was gone, Matt set up three laptops across the floor and sat in front of them.

Near shrugged and sat down to watch the hacker work. Mello must have asked him to retrieve some information. Rows upon rows of numbers and letters scrawled across the screen of one computer while, on the adjacent screen, confidential police files opened one by one. L could have just asked for the files, but Mello didn't have that kind of security clearance. Then again, who needs cooperation when you have Matt? He probably got the files faster anyway.

The red-haired hacker worked well into lunch, and eventually, Near was compelled to bring him sandwiches. When he got back, Matt was still working diligently, half of a chewed up lollipop hanging from the edge of his lips like his cigarettes used to. Only his gloved fingers moved over the keys.

"Near... There's a second pattern..." Distribution tables appeared on the third screen as Matt typed in commands. The first pattern, the deaths among cheerleaders, was done in red and overlaid by the second pattern, done in blue. "For every cheerleader who dies, two prostitutes are killed."

"Killed?"

"There's no explanation for the cheerleaders, therefore, they died. The hookers were choked to death manually. The connection is the suffocation." Matt explained as he printed off the information for Mello to look at later. "And they were all dressed up like school girls, even the boys."

"There were boys?" Near asked. This was a new development. "Were the boys raped too?"

"There were three cross-dressers among the twenty odd prostitutes who were killed. All of them had fresh semen... But in their line of work, it's hard to tell if it was rape or a recent job."

Near nodded. This had to be a sensitive topic for Matt. "Can this help us at all?"

"The working girls tend to keep a list... like a warning for bad tricks." Matt explained, using his finger to draw a diagram in the carpeting. "If he's attacked the girls before and one got away, there'd be a description of him on that list. We'd have something to work with, at least."

Near gave another nod and offered Matt a bologna sandwich. "They won't just give us the list, will they...?"

"Not to detectives... but if there was a new girl on the walk, they might give it to her..."

"Why am I not liking where this is going?" Near was just a bit unnerved by the calculating look he was receiving.

"Because you and Becca are the only ones we can afford to put out there right now." Mello was back, leaning against the door frame in full cheer uniform, complete with a purple trimmed, cream blouse and a violet skirt. "And we'd have to use both of you."

"Shit, Mello. If I didn't know it was you..." Matt muttered, openly staring at the changes to the blonde's body. "You make a really hot chick. They even feel real!"

Mello swatted Matt's hands away from his "breasts" with an irritated growl. "If you'd rather have a girl..."

"You know that isn't what I meant!" Matt protested, trying to kiss the blond and getting a slap for his efforts. "You're really sadistic, do you know that?"

"Then you must be a masochist." The blond licked the red hand mark on his lover's cheek almost tenderly. "So, Near, it looks like you'll be playing this game too."

"So it seems..."

"The million dollar question..." Matt intoned, "Do you think we can get Light to wear a pimp suit?"

Light took it well enough, ("ABSOLUTELY NOT! FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, IT'S PINK!") and soon, (with L's help, "Light-kun, you can sleep alone for a week.") they managed to convince him to help with their plans.

By the time that was accomplished, it was time for Mello to go to cheer try-outs.

Where Antonia's art had lessened Mello's age, it made Lidner older. She was playing the part of his (her) mother for this stage of the game.

They each took a place in the bleachers as Mello (Beth) walked to the try-out signups. Near watched as Lidner took her place in the lower level and Matt walked up to greet Mello (Beth)

"Bethany, its very nice to meet you!" The coach was so loud that Near could hear him in the upper row, where he sat between Light and L.

Mello looked down, muttered something. He did a good impression of a flattered girl.

"Are you ready?" The coach was working the crowd as much as he was asking Mello.

The pretty blonde nodded. When the coach gave him the go-ahead, he took four steps forward, jumped into the air, curled his beautiful body, and did a triple front flip. He caught himself on one hand and flipped himself backwards; his back arched in graceful parody of pleasure as he performed a double backflip and stuck his landing on Matt's shoulders. The crowd was his.

"I think we have a winner." The coach announced. Like there was any doubt.

A blonde girl walked over. She didn't seem happy. There was an exchange of words, during which Mello's lip twitched in that tell-tale way. He said something back and she stormed away.

"She was the girl Mello's replacing." Matt explained later.

Mello sat at the dinner table, looking very much himself again, and Near felt a sense of incomprehensible relief. He couldn't exactly explain it, but watching Mello do something he knew he didn't like actually hurt.

"It's okay, Near..." Mello's soft palm was against his cheek, caressing gently like he knew what Near was thinking. "We'll be fine..."

And they would, as long as the three of them were together, nothing could hurt them. His own hand came up to cover Mello's. There was just the faintest scar on the back of his thin wrist.

They only realized that they were lost in each other when Becca "Aww"ed at their apparent "cute-factor".

Matt was grinning like a loon, his fork half way to his already-cold steak. Near wasn't entirely sure what his red-haired lover was thinking, but it had nothing to do with jealousy.

It was easy to convince people that Mello was a cheerleader, the flips and jumps came naturally to him after years of martial arts practice. It was convincing anyone that Near was a whore that was the problem.

Near had a grand total of two sexual experiences, both of which had been gentle and reassuring. There would be no room for that tonight, and he wasn't sure he could do it. It would have to be... oral... He really didn't like oral. It made him feel defenseless... afraid.

Light would be there... Near suppressed a cringe as Becca applied his make-up for the night. The former Kira was his back up and his "mission" was to have sex in public... In front of Light and Becca and anyone else who felt like watching... The pale boy couldn't suppress the flinch this time.

"Hey, 's okay." Becca whispered, giving his shaking hand a squeeze. "You'll be okay... Mello isn't going to let anything hurt you."

Mello's gorgeous eyes flashed in the dimly lit alley a few hours later. They were almost the only thing visible between the beat up army jacket he had pulled up past his chin and the greasy baseball cap his hair was hidden beneath.

They'd moved into position without so much as a ripple of suspicion, and finally, after what seemed like an eternity of gut-wrenching fear, it was time to put their plan into action.

"Hey, honey... Looking for a friend?" He asked, trying to sound flirty and feminine. He even ran his hands down the pleats of his pink skirt, despite how uncomfortable even wearing it made him.

The blond's voice took on a tone Near had never heard before... Thick and dripping like poisoned honey. "Depends... Are you a good friend?"

"I'm a great friend... If you have enough money..." Just this act made Near want to be sick, but to win the game, he'd play the part.

"Tell you what, doll-baby. I'll even pay for the room... How would you like that?" Mello was still reminding him of a snake, coiled and waiting to strike, but he could almost feel the true intention behind the words. The blonde gave him a gentle shove into the passenger seat of a beat-up blue chevy.

As they pulled into the lot of a dingy motel, Mello turned a grin on him and pulled a bag from beneath the seat. It turned out that the bag was from an adult video store, and Mello popped the tape into the VCR as soon as they walked in...

Near tilted his head and gave the blonde a quizzical look, which was answered all to quickly, "Nobody else knows what you sound like when you moan."

That was good enough for him. "So what do we do for the next half an hour?" The pale boy viewed cuddling as an excellent way to show his appreciation at the moment, and from the way he pulled the pale boy closer, Mello approved.

"Cocoa and puzzles?" Matt answered as he walked in from an adjoining room, balancing a tray on one hand so he could get the door with the other. "And jumping on the bed... For verisimilitude..." He added, flopping back on the not-so-soft surface after he stowed the hot chocolate on the table. Mello pounced on him. A pillow fight ensued.

Near tried... and failed... to bite back a laugh when Mello tumbled gracelessly to the floor, Matt sprawled across his torso.

"Guess I'm on top, huh?" The red-head quipped, sitting up on Mello's stomach and reaching for his drink.

"Guess again, uke." Mello yelped in mock defensiveness, rolling them so he could sit on Matt.

In the end, Mello sat in Matt's lap sipping his drink while Near curled up beside him and solved a stack of sudoku books. Every so often he felt obligated to lean into Mello's hand where it was petting his hair. "Is it time yet?"

Mello gave him a thoughtful look, then ruffled his hair almost violently. Before he even had a chance to protest he was being kissed senseless and Matt was feeling him up.

"Now it's time." The slightly crazy blonde announced after another moment of contemplation. Not that Near would ever admit that he thought Mello was crazy.

He barely had to wait five minutes after Mello dropped him off for one of the working girls to approach him. "Hey, hun, you listen to me. That kind of man is dangerous. You never know what they'll do."

"What can I do, I don't have a choice." He tilted his head in that way that Becca assured him 'upped the cute factor by at least ten percent'.

"Oh, honey, I know. There's a list... here it is... At least watch out for the men on here, okay hun?" She seemed so sympathetic, it made Near feel bad for deceiving her.

"Why do you do it?" He asked softly, "This."

"Why am I a prostitute, hun? I have a little boy in the hospital and I can't make ends meet." She answered, "Why're you, hun?"

"Because I have a responsibility to protect people." He answered, looking into her eyes with all of his true intelligence. "Go home... Take care of your son..." He pulled a napkin and scrawled the number for his private line on it. "Call this number first thing tomorrow and ask for Near."

He wasn't entirely sure why he felt for her, but it seemed like the least he could do. A few hundreds were enough to convince her to go home, at least for tonight.

After waiting another twenty minuted in extreme boredom, a police car cruised down the vacant street. Everyone else made with the disappearing, but Near, Light, and Becca let Gevanni cuff them and place them in the back of the car.

"That was... Odd." Near commented, leaning back against Matt in the tub. He was more than a little glad to be home... and out of that skirt.

"Um-hm," Matt's deft fingers worked over his sore wrists as the three of them soaked. "Can't wait to sleep..."

"Hnn..." Mello seemed to be well on his way to asleep already, so Matt had to dry him off and tuck him in.

"Love you..." The red-haired gamer whispered in the dark.

"Love you, too." Near whispered back as he closed his eyes on a long day.

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