Mello stepped back inside the hotel room later that night and wasn't surprised to see that the front room was empty. Only twenty-four hours earlier he would have been surprised. He would have wondered why L wasn't still working, being the insomniac he was. But…but now, now that he knew who was sharing L's bed every night, well, now he just didn't want to think about it.

He moved quietly through the dark room and pushed open the door to the bedroom he was sharing with Near and Matt. He paused in the doorway as light burned his eyes. "Mells!" Matt yelled out and Mello found himself pulled into the room and the door being closed as he was wrapped into a hug.

"Matt, what the hell?!" Mello asked furiously, forcing the redhead's arms off of him.

"You were missing all day! We thought that maybe something had happened to you or-"

"Mello should not do that again."

Mello turned his head slightly so he could face the person that spoke. Near's dark eyes were burning as he stared at him, unblinking. He was standing beside his bed, his back straight for the first time since Mello could remember, his head held high. His hands were at his sides and his hands were fisted in his shirt at his sides.

And he looked furious.

Mello could only look at Near in shock as Mello shifted anxiously beside him. He had never seen Near look this angry. He hadn't even looked this upset during that…that incident in their previous life when he broke into their headquarters.

"I, uh, I'm going to let L know you're back. He was worried."

Sure he was. Mello wanted to speak the words but they seemed to get stuck in his throat. He wasn't even able to look at Matt as he disappeared out of the bedroom door, once again closing it softly as he left. His eyes seemed to be locked on Near's. It was like they were pulling him in, like a tractor beam. He wasn't sure how long the two of them stood there. Mello wondered if he should say something. He didn't know what Near was even so upset. He should be the one upset with Near, not the other way around.

"Mello will not do that again."

Mello's eyebrows rose. "What exactly is it that I'm not going to do again?"

Apparently, that wasn't the correct question to ask.

The corner of Near's mouth twitched and his eyes burned even more furiously as they narrowed. Mello felt his blood begin to burn as his heart pounded in warning. He felt as if he should escape from this situation as quickly as possible and he inwardly scoffed as his fight of flight instinct kicked in. This was Near. He wasn't going to run away. That would be ridiculous.

"Mello will not run. Mello will not disappear for an entire day when we are tracking a killer. Mello will at least contact someone if he does not want to be here. You will not do that again."

Mello blinked frantically as Near took several steps forward and let go of his own shirt with his right hand just to grab Mello's instead. Once again, words stuck in his throat – not that he knew what he even wanted to say. Was Near…worried about him? Was that what this was about? "Near-"

"Mello will promise."

"…what?"

"Mello will promise."

Mello just blinked at the smaller boy, unsure of what to say. Promise? "Promise to what? Near, I don't understand what you're wanting."

Near's jaw clenched. "Mello disappeared and died. He will not do it again. Promise."

That – that was not something that Mello had expected. "Near, how much do you remember about-"

"Mello is avoiding the issue. Mello will promise."

Mello stared at Near. Could he promise that he wasn't going to leave? He had been considering it just that morning. The only reason he was here now was because he knew he now had Penber and Naomi on his side and they agreed with him about Yagami. Pain, which had been lingering in his chest since that morning, suddenly stabbed at him sharply. Yes, he had Penber and Naomi but he wished he had his best friend on his side.

And Near.

"I promise," Mello rasped, confused about the thoughts currently swimming in his head. Near studied him a moment longer and Mello felt like he should do something, anything, to prove himself to the other boy. He hadn't yet made up his mind as to what that something should be when Near nodded his head. He took a small step back, his hand still fisted in Mello's shirt.

"Mello will keep his promise."

"I will."

Near was still frowning as his back slumped and his head ducked down into his familiar posture. He shuffled toward his bed, his arm reaching back behind him as he pulled Mello along with him by his shirt. Mello didn't fight the hold, somehow knowing Near would grow even more upset if he did. Though, Mello admitted it was odd. Near wasn't one for physical contact. Well, he didn't used to be. Now that he's thinking about it…Near had seemed to grow comfortable with physical contact lately. With Mello, at least.

Near sat on his bed and tugged on Mello's shirt, imploring him to sit down beside him. Mello climbed onto the bed and Near shuffled around until the two boys were sitting with their backs against the headboard and Near was curled, just slightly, into Mello's side. "Where did Mello go?"

Mello hesitated at the question. He had told Penber and Naomi that they would keep their meeting a secret but he remembered the longing he had felt just a few minutes earlier. Wishing his best friend and…and Near…had been on his side.

Maybe they still could be.

The door slowly creaked open and Mello rolled his eyes as Matt stuck his head through the gap. His eyes searched the room a bit wildly, finally coming to rest on Mello and Near. He let out a loud sigh and stepped fully into the room, a bright smile overtaking his face. "Oh, good. I was afraid you two had killed each other."

"Matt-"

"I'm just kidding!" Matt said before Mello could even growl out the rest of his sentence. "So, what are you two talking about?"

Mello paused, staring first at his best friend and then glancing at Near. The younger boy was watching Mello calculatingly and, as soon as their eyes met, he sat up slightly, pulling away from Mello and making Mello wish he hadn't as his side instantly began to cool. "Did you see L?" he asked Matt to get his mind off of the boy beside him.

"What? No way I'm going in there," Matt yelped, frantically shaking his head and causing his goggles to slid slightly down his nose. "I just didn't want to be here when Near got his claws into you." He plopped down onto the bed, avoiding Mello's kicking leg as he did so. "So, where did you disappear to?"

Mello hesitated once more, his earlier thoughts swarming him, before he made a quick decision. "I ran into some interesting people. We talked. And I'm proud to tell you both that I fucking knew Yagami was lying to us."

Matt's mouth dropped open but all playfulness disappeared from his face. "Mells-"

"Matt will let Mello speak." Mello turned his eyes onto Near once more, seeing the smaller boy had begun to twirl a strand of hair around his fingers, a sure sign he was concentrating. "What did Mello find?"

Mello explained about meeting Penber and Naomi. Both seemed surprised that Penber had all of his memories and Naomi was slowly remembering her own. "The theory that people dreaming about the other timeline would be irrelevant if Misora remembers as well," Matt said contemplatively, his fingers fiddling with his bottom lip and his eyes staring somewhere about Mello's head. "She didn't mention touching the Death Note, right? So why does she remember?"

Mello let out a deep breath. He leaned forward and pressed his head into his hands. "I have no idea. But I do know that Yagami lied to us. He didn't tell us about Penber. He didn't tell us about Naomi. He had Penber write in the Death Note. He had to have known that the man would have-"

"We get it, Mells," Matt groaned, closing his eyes tightly and shaking his head. He sighed. "Who's going to tell L?"

"L will not be told," Near replied quickly. "Not until there is more information. If Light has not said anything about Penber and Misora than there is a possibility that there is more that we are not aware of. It is time for us to sleep."

Mello was taken aback for a moment at the sudden change of topic – until he realized that it wasn't a sudden change of topic. Near wanted to sleep because there was a possibility he would find out more information in his dreams. Mello's brows furrowed and he glanced at Matt. "You haven't dreamed anything, right? If Misora was able to-"

"Nothing," Matt said quickly, shaking his head. "Got to admit, I'm a bit thankful for that. Our other life didn't seem fun. Neither did the multiple bullet wounds."

Mello grimaced at the reminder and he couldn't help but be glad about that as well. Near managed to wiggle around so he was under the bedspread, his hand once again gripping Mello's shirt, and Matt was moving over to their shared bed. Mello made to stand but found himself unable to pull away from the younger boy. "Near?"

"Stay."

Mello blinked. Had he heard that correctly? It was said so low, low enough that Mello almost believed that he imagined it. "What?"

"Mello will stay?"

Mello's blood rushed in his veins. "I- yeah, okay. But I need to change first." Muffled snickering came from across the room but Mello ignored it.

He was in a good mood, after all.

Unfortunately, said good mood didn't last the entire night.

L woke them at three o'clock the next morning, turning on the light and announcing the news before the three boys had even managed to blink themselves awake.

Takada Kiyomi was dead.