Disclaimer: Note that none of these characters belong to me. I an merely borrowing them for use in the fanfic.

Note: This story will contain Yaoi/Shounen-Ai.

Another Note: I'm really horrible at writing humor. If you have any suggestions, PLEASE, don't hesitate to leave them in a review or message!

Day 29

After coming off the main road, the trio had eventually been forced to abandon all streets for sake of saving time. Over countless fields and plains, rain and sleet had forced the three to lose distance. They probably would have saved time if they'd stuck to the road. The one other thing Near didn't calculate or remember was the river.

Standing on the edge of a wide expanse of muddy water, Mello fumed at his adopted brother. Matt had long decided to stay out of the one-sided argument. He wouldn't be able to help anyway. No, Mello was too enraged at that point.

Near sat staring at the blonde, wondering when his ranting would end. Sometimes, the boy really could be annoying. He would rant for hours like that, just screaming at the boy for getting them lost.

"We're not lost. I'd just forgotten about the river." Near looked at the ground, away from Mello.

Matt placed a hand on Mello's shoulder to calm him down. Over the past days, they'd become even closer.

"Which way is the road?" Matt turned his head both ways the river gave them access to. Neither showed any signs of life aside the vast fields.

"I'm not sure," Near replied sheepishly.

"Then we're lost! Nice going, bone-head!"

"Mello, calm down." Matt gave the blonde a crude and disapproving look.

A slight wind rustled the tall grass, creating a whispering that seemed to call to the trio.

They needed to find a way to cross the river, but how?

"We could swim…"

"No, that would be suicide."

"Maybe we could make a raft out of grass and float across."

"Another suicide."

Mello was hiding in the grass, fuming at Near's stupidity. The boy always got them lost. He should have never followed the bleach-blonde idiot.

"I'm stumped"

"You never apply yourself, that's why."

"I know." Matt turned to look at Mello, who had vanished completely in the grass. The only indication of his location was the oval of missing grass.

"We should travel upriver and see if there's a thinner point. Maybe we can jump across."

"Sounds like a plan. C'mon Mello." Matt reached into the oval and took Mello's hand. The blonde grumbled, but stood up anyway.

"Do you think he'd use the Death Note if he got it back?"

"Nah. He's changed too much. I doubt he'd even consider it." The apple crunched and slurped as the Shinigami bit into it.

L nodded and committed the idea to memory. If Light did try to use the Death Note again, he didn't know what he'd do. If Light succeeded in killing anyone, he'd be executed. There was no doubt about it this time. The boy had barely gotten away from that fate the previous time. L couldn't save him again.

L looked back up. The Shinigami had vanished, taking L's cake with him again. The detective sighed and stalked back to the kitchen. He only wished he could show the damned beast that his cake belonged to him. It was a very cruel prank, but Ryuk seemed to love it.

There had been nothing eventful of late. Light's mental state had only broken down further, and L had attempted to consol him day after day. It took quite some time, but Light was slowly growing fonder of L. They inched closer with every passing day. But they would never fill all the gaps. Right? Maybe they would, but L knew Light wasn't gay. Nor was he. But if there was any proof that Light was, then he would find it.

Pulling out the record booklet of Light, he shifted through the pages. There was nothing that would say he was. Maybe behavioral disorders? No, none of those. He just didn't seem like the type of person that would pair with their own sex. But, one could never know unless they knew that person by heart. He didn't know Light very well. Not yet, at least.

Pulling out the last file, L decided to read over it thoroughly, hoping to catch something. The last two words of the page were 'Light Yagami'. What could he get from that? Maybe spelling them backwards? It was worth a try.

He decided to start with 'Light'. Thgil. That meant nothing in the slightest. Maybe 'Yagami' would give him something.

'Imagay'. How odd…Almost as strange as 'thgil'. But space it out and you got… 'I'm a gay'. L stared at the paper, stunned. Could that be proof? No, just coincidence. There was no chance anyone would purposely change their last name to be some sort of puzzle like that. No. It just wasn't possible.

With his hair still slightly damp, just after showering, Light slipped down the stairs to see L engrossed in a large folder. The folder had his name on it.

"Did you get a new case?"

L immediately crumpled up a paper that had been on his desk.

"No." He wasn't a very good actor.

Light could tell he was hiding something. He held out his hand.

"Give me the paper."

In a last effort, L shoved the paper into his mouth. Through the wad, he mumbled: "What paper?"

If it was really that important, Light wasn't going to find out. Maybe it was where the Death Note was. That would be silly, but a plausible explanation for L's behavior. Maybe it had his real name on it. He probably didn't have any information written down about himself, though. Did he even know what his real name was?

The water ran deep and muddy there, but the river was much thinner than before. At its thinnest, the waterway only reached approximately four feet in width. It was still a far jump, but they were sure they could make it. All except for Near.

He'd never been much of an athlete, so the jump might be somewhat like a leap of faith for him. If he fell in, though, they might lose him. He had to do his best, or he might not only look as pale as a ghost.

Mello shuddered. He didn't want Near to haunt him.

"Are you sure this is the thinnest place we'll find?" Near seemed uncertain.

"It probably is, Near, considering how wide everything else is." Mello wasn't happy with how scared his brother was. It unsettled him, and also annoyed him.

"How about we jump first, and you can see how it's done? Besides, we have to get across soon or I'll go insane. I hate the outdoors"

Mello went first. In a flying leap, he cleared the gap and landed about seven inches away from the edge. Matt, being the less athletic of the two, went next. He felt his heart racing as the brown water soared by beneath him. Only when he felt Mello's reassuring touch did he know that he'd made it. The adrenaline wore off, and he wrapped his arms around Mello, fingers clawing at the blonde's leather jacket. He had never been taught to swim. He had never been brave. Hr had always been the one to scare, the one to tease over cowardice. The one, when you were with him, to point somewhere and scream "ghost!" and laugh when he cowered. Mello had never done anything like that to him. The worst thing Mello had done was to make him jump that river.

Finally, it was Near's turn. He nervously backed up, twiddling his thumbs. The rucksacks had been thrown across before any of them jumped, as to not hinder them. Even so, the ghost boy was very anxious. If anything went wrong, he could, and probably would, lose his life and his chance to see L again. That was the reason they were even out there. To see L. To ask him why he freed Kira. He couldn't let his whole purpose go to waste. Taking a deep breath, he tensed his muscles for the jump. He'd never been so weary to start with, and now he had to jump around four feet across raging, muddy water. Perfect.

Another deep breath, and with all his might, Near bolted forward towards the river. His foot caught the very edge of the tiny cliff that fell into the water. The feeling of flight it gave him was amazing. It felt like magic, like he was actually flying. Only a little farther over the murky waters, and he'd be able to join Mello and Matt on the other side.

The tip of his foot touched the opposite shore. Only the tip. Immediately, his feeling of magic was shattered as his whole leg was submerged. He yelped with how cold the water was, and with surprise. It was the end. He was going to die, to drown.

A hand wrapped around his own. Mello's eyes burned down into his, blazing with determination. He seemed to have decided already that he would not let Near die. Matt Grabbed Near's other hand, and they hauled him onto the other side. All three panting, they lay in the grass, too tired to move. It had been a long trip. Eight days of constant travel had taken its toll on the trio, as well as not having enough food or water. They would be at headquarters soon, but would they make it? If anyone, who would be claimed by death's hand?

After many minutes, the three stood up lethargically, and tottered along. Without any warning, though, Mello tripped, toppling face-first into the damp earth.

Matt laughed openly, and Mello glared at him, wiping the mud off his face.

Damn, I love that kid.

Wait…I love him…

Damn! I love him!

The realization caused Matt to stop dead in his tracks, the other two continuing to walk. His eyes wide as saucers, he stood stalk-still, his mouth slightly agape.

Mello backtracked and took Matt's hands. At the contact, the latter blushed deeply, still slightly in shock with his new knowledge. Unknowing of the red coloring that had found its way to Matt's face, Mello continued on. Near dipped behind Mello to peer over at Matt, who was still blushing. The ghost smiled. He had known it would happen eventually.

Please leave a review if you liked the story!

Also, this will be the last post until next Saturday. I am deeply sorry for the delay, but I will be vacationing in Savannah, Georgia during this time. Again, I apologize.