A/N: Ah. I've been proposed to. Five or six times. XD Well, I accept all of you, however I hope you don't mind my impending harem. Also… it's my birthday, well, on August tenth. The big eighteen. … Hmm. All my wives are underage. X.x;;
-
Azure Paler than the Sky.
twenty-one.
"I can't believe it! You're not going to be there with me?"
"Calm down," Raito sighed, his hands planted firmly on his hips. He had been trying to avoid telling Matsuda that they wouldn't be taking the midterm together but with all the studying they had been doing lately… it seemed to just slip his mind. Until the testing day.
Matsuda shook his head. "I can't do this by myself, Raito-"
"Matsu, please don't make such a fuss," Raito said, lowering his voice. They were standing out in the courtyard, some students walking by and Raito didn't want anymore attention for the two of them. "Listen, I made straight A's in that class so I don't have to take the midterm. Anyone not testing isn't allowed in the site. But you don't need me there, you know all of this yourself."
"What if I forget?" he insisted.
"You won't," Raito said, lifting his wrist. It was ten minutes to three. Raito, who had tuned out of Matsuda's further babblings, took the man by the hand and walked with him off of the square. The snow crunched under their feet, remains of the vulgar crafts that were once littered around the school. The blue and green scarf around Matsuda's neck fluttered behind him as he was dragged to the sidewalk beside the building and given a little push in the direction of the sculpture building.
"You're going to do great!" Raito encouraged.
Matsuda sighed, looking off toward the building.
Raito smirked a bit and touched Matsuda's cheek, turning his head around. "Hey," he said when he gained the other man's attention, "how about this? When you're done, we'll go out again. This time, I'll pay."
Matsuda's eyes practically lit up. "Really?"
"Sure."
"Okay! I'll do my best, okay?" he nearly shouted, clearly pumped up. Matsuda took a few steps backwards and Raito cringed slightly, wondering if he would trip over his own two feet. He didn't, however, and waved as he raced away, leaving Raito standing on the sidewalk.
Matsuda looked at his own watch as he ran down the other side of the building, trying desperately to avoid the icy patches on the concrete. There were way too many people around for him to slip. As he ran, he held up his wrist to see his watch. When it said twelve midnight, he groaned aloud.
I forgot to replace the batteries! What if I'm late? Oh no, oh no, oh no!
He closed his eyes and - slipping be damned - ran for his life. He busted in through the first hallway doors and scared the living daylights out of a couple of girls standing by the water fountain. They squealed and squawked as he flashed by, yelling an apology incoherently, flying down the corridor. At the end of the hall was a stairwell and he bounded up the stairs nearly two at a time.
"Hey! Slow down," called a janitor who had almost been mowed over. He was pushed up against the wall and tripped on his mop bucket, falling and crying out, "My leg! Oh God, my leg!"
"Oh, goodness, I'm sorry," Matsuda called down the stairwell, running ahead. "I'll have someone sent down to help yoooooooou!"
His voice echoed and his footsteps fell away.
In less than a moment, he came bursting through classroom 146, panting like a maniac with his hair wild. Everyone in the room gasped, shirking away from the door, thinking him to be a crazed rapist. But they all relaxed instantly upon realizing it was only Matsuda.
Mikami, who was standing at the head of the class with a stack of papers in his arms, looked at Matsuda with little surprise. "Ah, Mr. Matsuda. Pleasure to have you show up today," he said coolly.
Matsuda sighed, relaxing a bit. He walked forward and closed the door behind him. "Um… I'm not late, am I?" he asked as he sat in the front row.
"No, we were just about to begin. There will be no talking during the test and no trips to the restroom, so I hope you've taken care of any needs beforehand."
"Oh, sure."
"Good." Mikami walked forward and just before he laid down the paper on Matsuda's desk, Matsuda raised his hand.
"… What is it, Matsuda?"
"Uh, well, I don't have to go to the bathroom or anything. But there's this guy in the stairwell… he's got a broken leg, I think."
Mikami blinked unbelievingly. "What?"
"Yeah, I was in a hurry to get here so I think… I think I might've hurt him a little. He might still be laying there. Just… thought I should say something…"
"…"
-
"Lisa, I just want to say that the past few weeks I've spent with you as my model have been some of the happiest weeks of my life. And I want you to know that no matter how famous I may become because of this spread, I'll always remember you. It's the little people who make the stars shine as bright as they do. I may even send you a fruit basket! So, c'mere, kiddo, let's put the hands in there! On three, Team Matt! Ready?"
Lisa nodded. She had learned in her time with Matt that if she never said a word, her life would be much easier.
Matt threw his hand in the center of their two-person circle and Lisa put her hand on top of his. When their other free hands joined in, Matt shouted, "One, two, three - TEAM MATT!"
"Woohoo," she said quietly, standing there and waiting for Matt's next speech or command.
"So," he hummed, looking at his watch. He held his portfolio in his other hand. "Is there anything you'd like to say before I go present my project?"
She blinked widely. Matt had never asked her what she thought of anything. Well, he had, but he didn't shut up long enough for to answer. He was actually waiting for her to speak. She looked down for a moment, unable to see her shoes a good inch deep into the snow, and tried to collect her thoughts. Finally, she spoke.
"I'm nervous."
"Ah, kiddo, don't be nervous!" Matt clapped her on the shoulder in a manly fashion. "You're in good hands. Your naked body is about to be revealed not only to my fellow advanced photography students but to the Irai photography board!"
"… That's not really hel-"
"Well, time for me to get on my horse and ride." He snuck a peek at his watch once again and turned on his heel for the photography building. He looked over his shoulder at the chubby girl in the many frocks, standing in the snow, her blonde hair hanging over her shoulders and winked. "It's going to go great! Just wait and see!"
-
"WHY, GOD? WHY ME?"
"It's all right… Matt-"
"Aw, Jesus, this sucks so bad! I just knew it would be a hit! I swear to God, I knew it! But those damned rules… Fine print! Have you ever heard of anything like that? I ask you! Who even reads those rubrics anyway? I thought they were guidelines, not rules! Oh… by the way, this is the Irai noon-hour school show… I'm Matt… I'm also ready to climb a clock tower and break out the ol' uzi."
"…"
"By the way, Lisa's here. Say hi, Lisa."
"Oh… hell-"
"Dude, this is fucking ridiculous. For those of you who don't know what happened, I'll fill you in on the details. In short, my portfolio breeched some kind of obscure 'no porn' rule or some shit… so I got revoked before I could even properly present! This is complete what-the-fuckery."
"Well, I thought they were a little graphic…"
"Graphic? It was ART! How is art graphic? I'll tell you what's graphic! Those pictures Julie took of lesbian poetry in motion! Really, and they banned ME! I hope she gets slammed with some obscure rule. Like, 'sorry, no Rosie O'Donnell cosplayers.' That'd show her."
"I think-"
"Wanna know what I think? I think it's racism!"
"…"
"That's right, I said it."
"Maybe-"
"So now I have to bust my ass within the next week to redo the entire thing for an entire LETTER lower than what I would originally get. Just ain't right, just ain't right."
"…"
"So… we have postcards."
"…"
"…"
"… Should we answer them…?"
"Eh."
"…"
"…"
"Are you su-"
"I'm gonna go get drunk. Man the airwaves, Lisa."
"…"
-
It was after six in the afternoon on New Years Eve and the sun was setting behind a falling curtain of snow. The campus had been rather quiet all day, which was odd for a day on which there were no classes. Mello had earlier wondered where Matt had been and then he faintly remembered something… but then L came into the picture and distracted him from whatever path of euphoria he was on.
Mello made a small grunt in the back of his throat and wrapped his arms around L's neck. Their lips were melded together, tongues running over and across each other in order to help release some of the tension between their bodies. Finally, Mello broke away, only long enough to attempt to pull L's shirt over his head. L sat up on his knees and left Mello laying on the mattress amidst riled up comforters and sheets, throwing his shirt to the ground.
Mello grinned as his lover began to unzip his jeans. "Hey, where the hell is Near anyway?"
"Mm, I'm not sure. Didn't he say something about a nap?" L mumbled, sliding the jeans down his legs. When they joined his shirt on the floor, L leaned back down over the blond and placed his mouth to the crook of Mello's neck and the blond moaned happily, resettling his nails into L's back.
"I-I keep thinking," he whispered thoughtfully, "that there's something I'm forgetting…"
"Like what?" L asked, trailing his fingertips down Mello's torso. After a moment, Mello shuddered, closing his eyes, not wanting to think any longer.
"N-Noth… L…"
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, both L and Mello stopped and blinked at each other, then turning to look towards the door where Near was standing, dressed in a black tuxedo. His hand was on the knob of the door and he had his head tilted towards the bed, a small pout decorating his features.
Mello laughed. "Hey, you, what're you so dressed up for? Tea party with your rabbit?"
L frowned at Mello.
Near ignored that comment and shut the door behind himself. "What in the world could you two be thinking? Get dressed, we don't have time for any of this. L, I'm surprised at you. We're supposed to be at the gallery right now and here you are-"
"Oh my God, I KNEW I was forgetting something," Mello wailed, tumbling out of bed.
L's expression was one of utter bewilderment as he jumped out of bed, his legs tangled in stained bed sheets. "I-I can't believe I forgot…"
Near held back the urge to impatiently tap his foot on the ground.
"Well, we still have time," L hummed, his thumb in his mouth.
Near nodded towards the digital clock on the bedside table and it blinked in large red writing, 6: 36 PM. "It starts at seven, doesn't it? And the building is on the other side of town."
"…"
"…"
L and Mello regarded each other before L slowly pulled his cell phone out of his discarded jean pockets and flipped it open.
"… Hello? Raito? Yes, I'm on my way. Traffic. Horrible traffic. Yes, I'm lying."
-
Raito sighed and shut his phone, sliding it back into his pocket. He looked around himself nervously at the well-lit room. There were curtains all over the walls, each hiding a piece of art made by L and, up at the front of the room where Wammy stood on a small stage, there was another curtain there. People were filing in fast, their coats dusted lightly with snow as one of the employees took their coats and hats at one of the entrances. Patrons with pockets almost as deep as Wammy's were very eager to indulge in L's art. After all, the man who was considered one of the greatest modern artists in the northern hemisphere was somewhat of a shut-in, locking himself inside the towers of the castle called Irai Academy. A chance like this to see his work on display and perhaps purchase some was very rare indeed.
Knowing all this, Raito considered L to be a complete idiot. How could he get so caught up in whatever-the-hell-he-was-doing that he didn't realize his own gallery that he'd been slaving over for the past few months was finally at hand? Raito was standing over by the whine table with Matsuda by his side, who was quite enamored by all the niceties of the place. The floor was coated in a glossy sheen and all of the windows were open, letting in the scenery of the snow falling outside and the moon a giant ornament somewhere off in the distance.
"Raito? Is there something wrong?" Matsuda asked, noticing the brunet's tired sigh earlier.
Raito looked at him and shook his head, his hand to his forehead. "No, no," he said, "it's just that Lawliet and Mello and Near are going to be late getting here and we're about to start in less than five minutes… I swear, he's always dumping his mess on my lap!"
Matsuda blinked as Raito told him to stay there and walked across the room, trying to avoid casual how-do-you-do's and social norms. He finally made it to the stage and climbed the three stairs to find Wammy with a tense, worried look on his face.
"Raito," Wammy cried, turning to him, "where in the world are those three? Everyone's been asking for L!"
"I know, it's just… well, they'll be a bit late. When I got off the phone with Lawliet, they were still at Irai."
Wammy looked slightly disturbed for a moment and then composed himself, straightening the coattails of his blazer. That young man is going to receive quite the ear-full when all of this is over with. Finally, he said, "All we can do is wait for him."
"Well, yes, but what about the guests?" Raito inquired.
"I'll instruct the waiters to put out more shrimp. The patrons won't know the difference."
"… Between shrimp and Lawl-"
"Trust me, Raito, I've been around the wealthy for many years."
"Yes, sir."
Raito stood there until Wammy gave the signal for more shrimp and, as the dean had predicted, the herds of rich people moseyed on over to the table, trying not to seem like hungry cattle. Out of the corner of his eye, Raito noticed Matt coming through the front door, goggles placed on his forehead. The hatcheck man harassed Matt a bit about leaving his goggles at the door but Matt finally got away, meeting with Raito in front of the stage.
"Yo, there you are! Can you believe that guy? He tried to steal my goggles!" Matt glared over his shoulder at the man who was now not paying him any attention.
Raito rolled his eyes and walked with Matt over to where he had left Matsuda at the wine table. "He was only trying to help you."
"Help, yeah, sure. Oh, hey, Matsuda!"
"Hi, Matt," Matsuda greeted cheerfully. He smiled at the redhead and handed him a glass of wine, which Raito frowned at, not wanting Matt to end up tipsy. Matsuda twiddled his thumbs and finally said, "I-I'm sorry about what happened. I heard about your project… I know you worked very hard on it."
Matt nodded somberly. "Thanks, man."
"Speaking of which, where's Lisa?" Raito asked.
"Eh? Oh, I dunno. I was gonna ask her to come but I forgot." He scratched the area under his goggle strap as Matsuda and Raito exchanged looks. "Anyway, it's all right because I turned in my replacement project. Those pictures I took of the girls in the bathroom earlier in the year seemed to do the trick. You know, I don't get it. How's that make the cut but not my other spread. I think the judges are pervs."
Raito groaned aloud. This school's staff gives teachers everywhere a bad name!
Matt looked at Matsuda. "How'd your exam go?"
Matsuda laughed, shrugging. "Oh, I'm not sure. I don't get the grade for another week still but I think I did all right… Professor Mikami kept glaring at me during the test so it was sort of hard to concentrate.
"Honestly, that man…" Raito rolled his eyes.
"So where're the men of the hour anyway?" Matt asked, refilling his glass.
"They're on their way."
"What, not here yet?"
"My sentiments exactly." Raito turned his head casually toward the door and his eyes widened upon finding L walking through the door with Mello and Near in tow. He redirected his gaze to the stage at Wammy who seemed to be overwhelmed with relief and hurried L on stage, whispering something to him. "They're here," Raito sighed.
Matt and Matsuda turned around just as L was handed the microphone. He looked highly uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him, the patrons finally recognized that he had arrived and was not edible. Near and Mello were standing beside their lover awkwardly, that was, until they noticed Matt out in the crowd, waving enthusiastically at them accompanied by Matsuda. Raito gave them a smile and Near sighed, relaxing a bit. Mello stuck his tongue out at Matt and grinned.
"Ahem," L cleared his throat, pushing his other hand deep into the pocket of his black pants. "Thank you all for coming. I apologize for my tardiness. I've been looking forward to this showing for a while, not only to boost my ego but to have something else to strive for other than harassing my students in class day in and day out. Even though, out of that, I have emerged with two very bright students, whom I have commandeered for this project. Mello Kheel and Near River," he said, motioning to the two beside him. Mello grinned and Near blushed as the guests clapped politely and Matt made obscene noises in the back.
With that, L passed the microphone to Mello, who subsequently passed it on to Near without a second thought. Near blushed, flustered, and there transpired a small tiff which L dosed by telling Near to say something.
"Ah… um, yes, well… as my mentor said, thank you for coming. Mello and I helped Lawliet as best we could…" Near blushed harder when everyone peered at him through their tiny spectacles and whispered to each other. Near thought he heard the word 'tiny' float around. He was a bit surprised when the microphone was taken from him by Wammy, who smiled at him kindly.
He said, "The pieces have been revealed, please take a look." He gestured around the room and to everyone's surprise, all these wonderful portraits were up on the walls, staring down at them. They all made little clicking noises of appreciation and wandered around, gasping and awing at the paintings.
Near's eyes flew to the back of the room where the painting the three of them had worked on hung in the middle of everything like a lighthouse's beam in the middle of a storm. A smiled tugged at his lips. Finally, all the hard work was shown to the world. Admittedly, in the back of his mind, the shy boy he still harbored within himself blushed at how he was spread wide for everyone to see. But the person he was becoming looked at it in earnest and as he stepped off of the stage, wanting to go over there, he heard his name being called off in the distance.
He looked up and to the left and gasped soundlessly, his eyes widening. He stuttered, "G-G-"
"Near," Gevanni sighed as he ran forward and dipped down on one knee, wrapping his arms around the boy in an embrace. He pressed a swift kiss to Near's temple and hugged him tighter. "I'm so sorry we couldn't make it for your birthday. But when we were notified that you were going to be featured here, well, we just had to come… it's so good to see you."
"G-Gevanni…" Near breathed, slowly bringing his arms up to hug his guardian. When he looked up, both Hal and Lester were standing in front of them, smiling widely. In Lester's arms were a large bouquet of sunflowers and as Gevanni stood again, Lester handed them to Near. Near blinked owlishly. "Where in the world did you get sunflowers in the wintertime?"
"Nothing's too difficult for you," Lester answered.
Hal smiled at him. "We're so proud of you; you are definitely on your way to becoming a great artist."
Near nodded, smiling uneasily. Oh, good Lord, why…? Have they… no, surely they haven't seen it yet… Gevanni's still breathing… He said, "How… how did you know I was working with L?"
"We received an invitation to the gallery, of course," said Gevanni.
"I see…"
"Hey, Near," said a voice and Near knew it to be Mello's even before the blond put his arm around the boy's shoulders. Near looked up to see Mello staring at his guardians with a bit of defensiveness and kept his eyes focused as he leant down and placed a firm kiss to Near's ear. "I didn't know you called your body guards to come."
"I did not."
"Hello, Mello," Hal said smoothly and she reached in her back pocket, a chocolate bar emerging in her hand. She handed it over. "A pleasure to see you."
Mello's eyes lit up as he took it. "Dude, it's chocolate!"
Hal smiled at Lester as if to say, Tiger tamed.
Gevanni pretty much ignored that little exchange and looked behind Near and Mello where something caught his attention. He held out his hand eagerly and took L's hand in a handshake, to Near's surprise. He had not know his teacher was there.
"Oh, Mr. L, congratulations," he said. "The art is beautiful. Thank you for using Near as one of your assistants."
L nodded, retracting his hand and slipping it back into his pocket. He looked down at Near and cracked a smile. "He was quite useful. I'm assuming you haven't seen the portrait he posed for, have you?"
"Not yet," Gevanni hummed, a finger to his chin as he looked around. Hal and Lester joined him in surveying the area and Near prayed silently.
"Well, um, I hope your relationship with Mello is going well," Hal said, seeming a bit uncomfortable and both men looked at her strangely. She cleared her throat and held out her hand to Mello. "I trust you've taken good care of Near."
Mello blinked and took her hand. "Yeah… I have…" He sent a glance towards L and then at Near, who was looking at L as well and blushed furiously.
"Yes." Gevanni peered over at Mello. "How has it been going?"
"Fine," Mello said, leering. He sent a smirk L's way then and continued, "Actually, our relationship has been flourishing."
"Mello," Near whispered harshly.
L looked away disinterestedly.
Suddenly, breaking the tension, Matt came bursting over with Matsuda and Raito by his side. He seemed to completely bypass the three guardians and exclaimed to his three friends, "Dude, that picture is fucking awesome! L, can I have a wallet size? Please?"
"Matt, you douche!" Mello growled.
"Hush up, Mel, I bet you already have one!"
Mello rolled his eyes. "I don't need one, I can see it anytime I want."
Near gasped, embarrassed and L patted him on the head.
"Oh?" Gevanni inquired, looking towards Matt. "You've seen it? Could you show it to us?"
Matt blinked, recognizing the three. He ignored Gevanni's question and looked at L, Mello and Near. "Okay, who invited these guys?"
Lester frowned. "Don't call us 'these guys'!"
Matsuda noticed Near's bouquet and squealed happily, "Oh, what pretty flowers!"
Near nodded. "Thank you."
"Lawliet, what're you doing over here?" Raito asked, standing a little closer to L. "Go mingle with your guests, they all want to see you. It's not proper for you to stand in one spot."
"I am mingling," he said, watching the scene before him with interest.
"I don't mean with one group of people. Besides, shouldn't you want to go guard that painting… you don't want them seeing it…"
"Why not?"
"They will have a cow!"
"Let them have their farm animals," L said casually. "Near is proud of it."
"That's not-"
"Oh! Come on, you two, I think I see the top of Near's head!" Gevanni called back to his two counterparts as he sped walked into the crowd. He looked back at the real Near. "We'll be right back, all right?"
"W-Wait-" he began to shout but the three of them were already walking away. Near's eyes widened as he looked up at Mello and L. "What are we going to do? They're going to-"
All of a sudden, the lights were shut off inside the entire building and everyone gasped simultaneously, Near included. He reached out and grasped onto a hand, feeling the familiar span of L's spidery digits grasping his wrist, holding him in place.
"What's going on?" Matsuda asked, turning about wildly and swatting Raito in the face with his hair.
"Quick," said Gevanni to his counterparts, "secure a perimeter around Near!"
Hal rolled her eyes in the dark. "It's a faulty switch, not a raid."
"You don't know that!"
"Both of you be quiet," Lester said.
"Ah, it seems it's eight thirty," said L, ignoring the idiocy.
Mello's voice sounded, "The lights go off at eight thirty?"
"Yes. It's the other highlight painting."
Near made a small confused noise and wondered to himself, Other…?
There was a light then, bright in the darkness and startling to everyone, drawing their attention to the front of the room on the small stage. The curtain that had been hanging up behind the stage was gone, held by Wammy who stood somewhere off to the side and Near and Mello gasped jointly upon seeing the painting it had been masking.
Through the water that was swirling like a whirlpool around his body, Near found his eyes in the painting, the way they shone through the heavy, rolling waves like blind bubbles. His body was wrapped up in the tide on half of the large canvas - he was tied up, twisted in the water. his mouth open slightly and the water rushing into his body as if it were air. He survived. His arms were wrapped around his slim torso and his hair was lifted just out of the water, rolling on the waves. His legs were parted, swaying as if his body were limp and not his own and the white foam of the tide covered his groin.
His eyes seemed to be watching the other side of the painting where flames nearly boiled over the canvas. Mello's bottom lip dropped a little from his top as he studied himself bound to flames, every spark emitted from his pores, his eyes like two coals bursting of blue fire. His hair was tossed and flirted with, shining like the sun chased out of hiding by the dawn. Everything about him was rising, beginning, burning with the excitement of possibility. Possibility that was in the arch of his back, the curve of his hips, the plump coral lips that smirked as he threw his head back.
The two of them lay side-by-side, Near on his back and Mello on his side, their eyes wandering towards each other. It would seem to any normal onlooker like their eyes were searching for each other… as if they were lost, one in the world of water - calm and serene with just a hint of introversion under the surface of the waves. And the other, bound and gagged in the realm of fire - bold and bursting with too much energy, too hot to touch, to even come close to.
But really…
Really, their eyes were locked on one another. And the sky and sea were seeing eye-to-eye.
Near's breath caught in his throat as he looked up at Mello for a moment, finding Mello looking back at him with the same expression. At once, they both turned to L and like the twins they were, asked in unison, "When did you-"
"Maybe now I'll finally get some sleep," he sighed, his shoulders sagging. "It wasn't easy working with you two until two in the morning and then working on this until seven every night for a few months."
Mello blinked disbelievingly. "You mean you… L, you idiot, don't sacrifice sleep like that for… for…" He searched for the right word, eyes flickering up towards the painting and then back at L. The lights slowly came back on and he found the man smirking tiredly.
"It's amazing," Near breathed, squeezing tightly onto L's hand. He fought back the domineering urge to kiss the man - wanted to kiss him - for fear of what his guardians would say. At the moment, however, the three of them were soundly enamored.
"That's…" Hal blinked, fidgeting with her hands. "…Well, it's quite good, Mr. L. You captured both of them beautifully."
"Thank you."
"Right," Gevanni hummed, thinking. "It is very nice. Thank you for covering Near."
"You're welcome."
Lester nodded.
L returned the gesture.
"It came out better than I thought it would, Lawliet," Raito said, putting a congratulatory hand on his friend's shoulder.
Mello fumed. "Hey, Raito, you knew about that?"
"Yes, so what if I did?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise," L interjected.
Matsuda was still a pile of fanboying mess as he told L what he thought, which L paid little attention to. Raito silenced Matsuda a bit and asked him to come look at the other pieces with him. Already, there were patrons intercepting L from the rest of the group, asking for L to name his price. This was something L had expected but was not used to and Wammy came scurrying over to help defend the painter from the rabid clientele.
Gevanni seemed determined. "Now we've got to find that other painting! I wonder if it's as good as this one…"
Hal and Lester followed him once again and Near stood there, looking defeated.
Mello waved away the boy's apprehension. "Don't worry about it. This place is huge, he won't find it and when he comes back, we'll tell him it's a different one that we know is safe. Problem averted."
"Haha, Mel, your plans never work."
"Shut it!"
"Listen, Mello," Near said, blushing a bit. "I want to keep our relationship with L a secret from them. Just for now, it's best if they don't know. It'd be too much for them, they can barely swallow you and I together, don't you think?"
"Hell, I wasn't going to say anything."
"Good. Well, that takes care of that-"
"JUMPING JEHOSAPHAT…!"
Matt shrugged lightly as Near hid his face in his hands. "Hey, he found it."
-
to be continued.
-
A/N: All right, the epilogue's next. Sheesh, that was hard to get out. Anyway, how about a birthday review, eh?