A/N: The wheels on the bus go round and round... I'm normal, I swear. XD Anyways, hello all! I wanted to tell the reviewers of last chapter thank you. It was really nice and inspiring to know that I did well with that lemon, it being my first one ever written. XP So again, thank you! And I gots Jam from an awesome reviewer! :D Oh! And a quick note: To all of the people that have seen the movie don't expect certain things to happen or not happen. I stick to the plot as much as possible but some things just have to be different, like Mello on shots while Lisa had shocks, they are small things to keep the story rolling. Okay, now that that's done with, read, enjoy, and review please!

Chapter 14: Beyond

It was a good two hours after they'd left the house and they were still walking. A light blanket of white crystals covered the ground as the chilly morning air nipped at their skin, turning their flesh pink. Their breaths were turned into wheezes, visibly seen every time they emptied their lungs. They huddled close together to stay warm.

Bottom line, they were tired, cold, and wearing thin on patience.

"Mello, isn't that the street that A lives on?" L asked, pointing at the street sign that appeared before them. Mello took out the paper and unfolded it with numb hands, looking from the paper to the sign, a smile spreading across his face.

"It is! Come on, he lives in house one hundred and eighty!" Mello yelled, excited to get to warmth. He grabbed Near's hand and took off at a run, anxious to find the house. L and Light followed behind, anxious as well, and counting down the numbers of the houses, when Light saw L stagger and almost trip.

"You okay?" Light asked, lungs burning from the cold.

"My rear... is in slight pain..." L admitted, continuing to run.

"I'm sorry, we could walk if that's what you want," Light said, realizing what L was talking about right away.

"No, I'd much rather find warmth, my feet are freezing," L stated.

"Perhaps that is because you don't like to wear socks?" Light asked, slowing as he felt his lungs start to burn more.

"Socks are annoying no matter how much heat they help store. My tennis shoes work just as well as socks would," L explained.

"Found it! Guys, I found it! Over here!" Mello waved from a small house. It was light blue, two stories, and the windows were closed. If there was a heaven, then Light was sure that was what it looked like.

A house, warmth, and most important of all it's not white.

L and Light caught up to Mello as the blond knocked on the door, pounding his stinging fingers against the hard wood and not even wincing at the pain. There was a moment of silence, but to the four's relief the door soon opened and they were welcomed with A's face.

"Guys? What are you doing out there, alone, and in those clothes?! It's freezing! Get in here!" A yelled, opening the door and allowing them inside. Quickly, they moved inside, the warmth melting their skin and welcoming them in. L got rid of his shoes first thing, while Mello strutted right to the couch to sit down.

"You have any chocolate?" Mello asked, putting his feet on the table across from the couch.

"The real question is, what are you guys doing here? There's no way you were all let out at once," A stated, walking over to sit in a chair. Light also took off his shoes out of habit of his home manners.

"We ran away," Mello said simply.

"Ran away? To here?" A asked, confused.

"It's just a stop for a few days. Mello's ingenious planning has us going to Disney Land," Near replied, sitting next to Mello who glared at him.

"Stay here? Guys, that's not such a good idea... I mean, I have no heat, no power, the water doesn't work, I don't pay on time..." A was rambling, and not only that but he was rambling lies. Just by looking the four could tell that the power and heat worked.

"A, what's wrong?" L asked, sitting down with Light on the couch. This effectively stopped A's rambling, making him stare.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, at all," A answered, fidgeting slightly. Mello raised an eyebrow, walking to A.

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong alright. Just the same problem that has been causing A his same old issues. What did you think, A? That moving in a house bought by Beyond would do? What made you possibly think that things would go right?" Mello asked.

"Shut up," A ordered, standing up to leave the room. "I want you out of my house."

"What made you think," Mello ignored A's protest, grabbing the boy's arm to keep him from walking away. "That Beyond would be nice to you? Did you think he would just stop hurting you? Did you think that he would start loving you? Did you think that his feelings for L would go away if you were closer? You should know that a person's feelings don't just go away, A."

"You can't stay here!" A tried to take his arm back, but Mello held onto it tightly.

"Why? Because you're afraid Beyond is going to come and see you hiding people he doesn't approve of? Will he hurt you again A? Or will he be mad that you're keeping L from him? Will he kill you for that?" Mello asked, and then grabbed the sleeve of A's shirt and pulled it down to his elbow to reveal many cuts. "Or are you just going to keep cutting and pretend nothing ever happened?"

A finally got his arm away, holding it in his other hand and backing away from Mello, but not making a move to leave the room.

"What's the matter, A? Your medication isn't working? Or are you just not taking it?" Mello asked, grinning at A. Said boy stared at Mello for a moment before turning around.

"You can stay, but not for long. There's food if you get hungry, and please don't bother me in the morning, I like to take my time," A explained, but Light noticed something different. The boy did not sound like he used to; fun and full of life. He was more like dead. Then A walked away and up the stairs.

"That was uncalled for," Light stated, glaring at Mello.

"The kid is living in a world of lies. It was about time somebody woke him up," Mello explained.

"You have no right. How would you like it if someone dug into the deepest part of you and pulled out the ugly and laughed about it?" Light asked.

"I'd say Congratulations," Mello answered and left it at that, looking through the fridge. He found some chocolate syrup for ice cream, pasta, cake, milk, and jam. Looking at the jam, he shuddered, and grabbed the chocolate syrup, pasta, and cake. He put the pasta in the microwave for Light and Near, handed L the cake, and then went off down the hall with chocolate syrup in hand. Near watched him go, twirling a lock of hair through his fingers.

"How does he expect us to eat pasta at six in the morning? I'm going to sleep," Near stated, following Mello down the hall. How they knew where they were going, Light did not know. Then the brunet turned his attention to L who did not touch his cake, but instead was staring into the space in front of him.

"L? Hey, L. What's wrong?" Light asked, placing a hand on L's shoulder. This woke L out of his stupor, and the raven haired teenager blinked a few times and then looked to Light with fearful eyes.

"Beyond. He's going to come here some time. Isn't he?" L asked, hands shaking. Light hugged L and kissed his cheek.

"Don't you worry. I'll always protect you," Light stated as L cuddled into him.

"Thank you, Light," L yawned, eyes closing. "Thank you so much."

Then Light watched in amazement as the supposed insomniac fell asleep in his arms.

--

Light awoke later, not quite remembering when he had fallen asleep, but his body was aching from sleeping sitting up. He unlocked his arms from L to find, to his amusement, that L was still asleep. It seemed even insomniacs got tired after having sex. The clock read ten o'clock, and Light heard music playing from upstairs. He figured it must have been A and dismissed it since it was his house. He walked to the kitchen and found a note with money on top of it. It read:

Here's some money for food. The store is just a few blocks over. A

Light folded the money into his pocket and threw the letter away. He looked for a coat, finding one in the closet, and grabbing it for his quick trip to the store. After slipping his shoes on, he walked out of the door, only to find Beyond Birthday on his way to the house.

They paused, both of them trying to understand what was happening.

"Beyond..." Light growled. Beyond still stared, blinking at Light, and then grinning.

"So, Light Yagami. Were you finally freed of that asylum? I must say I was having a hard time coming up with a disorder for you from what A has told me," Beyond explained, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"No. I ran away, and L came with me," Light ignored Beyond's last comment, deciding to be risky and just take Beyond head on.

"L's here?" Beyond asked.

"Yeah, he's sleeping," Light smirked.

"Sleeping? But he's an insomniac..."

"Well, he got tired out last night..." Light trailed off, smirk never faltering. "We did have a good time in the bedroom."

There was a silence as Beyond glared at Light. Then the older boy ran at Light, trying to attack the brunet. Light moved out of the way of Beyond's punch and then quickly ducked when he saw Beyond's foot being aimed at his head. Light took the moment Beyond was using to bring his foot down to punch the other in the face, sending Beyond to the ground. Light quickly got on top of Beyond, holding the collar of his shirt and glaring at him.

"You listen to me, Beyond Birthday," Light ordered, growling the words out. "You are despicable. You chase and hunt after someone who does not like you and then, when they have the decency to reject you, you rape them! Then you take one of his best friends, use that friend's love, and have that person move in with you! You dress yourself as the one you love because you know you can never have him! You eat a certain way just to bring that person to discomfort! I may not be crazy, but you most certainly are! And if you ever, ever decide to try and get close to L or A or anyone else, then I will kill you. With my own hands."

Beyond stared in disbelief at Light growling angrily above him. The brunet let go and stood up, breathing heavily to keep himself calm. Beyond slowly rose to his feet, glaring at Light.

"Sorry Yagami, but…" Beyond started, stepping towards Light with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere."

Light crossed his arms. "Then you and I are going to have some problems."