A/N: Ah, hello, hello. Not much to say other than thank you all for the reviews. XD You don't know how much of a kick I get out of knowing your thoughts. Okay, well, onward!

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Azure Paler than the Sky.

three.

It was at around three o' clock when Mello closed Near's dorm room door behind him as he went out into the hallway. Near was laying asleep wrapped up in his covers. The lucky bastard didn't have another class until evening but Mello couldn't afford to take a luxurious afterglow nap since he had another class at five. He scratched at his partially exposed stomach as he opened the door to his own dorm and found Matt there, as expected, laying over the armrest of the couch with his DS in his hand.

"Yo," Matt said, not looking away from the small screen.

Mello waved and walked past the redhead on the couch, straight into the kitchenette. Matt continued to play his game and small beeping sounds were emitted and barely heard as Mello opened the fridge and cabinets.

"… How is it we never have any food?" he asked, exasperated.

"What do you mean, Mel? We've got canned food in the cabinets."

A pause. "Corn. We have five cans of corn, Matt."

"S'healthy."

"Matt, I'm fucking hungry!"

"We have a cafeteria," Matt grounded out, slightly frustrated. "Give me a sec, I'm trying to clear this level."

"What's that?" Mello poked his head out into the living room, a scowl decorating his features. "Don't ignore me for that stupid thing!"

"It's not stupid-"

Matt yipped when a can of corn went whizzing overhead and nearly nicked him on the ear. He ended up dropping the system to the floor where the restart button was clicked and there was a game over noise sounded as the game shut off. Matt looked over the side of the couch, his goggles askew on his face and his eyes wide open.

"Aw, Mello, you prick."

"Maybe you'll listen to me every once in a while then, Matt," Mello said smugly as he walked around the couch to fetch the can of corn on the other side of the room. He was so focused on enjoying Matt's pain and misery that he stepped on the discarded system and the game went sliding forward while Mello himself went slipping backwards, whirling his arms about crazily. Matt gasped and tried to get a hold of Mello's shirttail not to save his friend but to save his game from being crushed under Mello's weight. The blond was heavier than Matt had thought and was too heavy to catch with one hand and they both went tipping over and crashed right into the ground.

Matt groaned out as Mello lay all of his weight on the redhead's stomach. When he looked up, the can of corn was rolling around beside him.

"Get up," Mello growled.

"You're on-"

There was a sound at the door, a jiggling of the handle, and before either of the boys knew it, the door was open and Raito was staring down at them with a raised eyebrow.

Matt raised a friendly hand. "Hey! Mello, I invited Raito over to eat."

"Thanks for telling me."

"Am I interrupting?" Raito asked.

"No," Mello growled, finally getting to his feet, "but I hope you like corn."

"Um."

"Hey, guys! I don't mind corn," Matsuda said, who's smiling face popped up over Raito's shoulder.

Matt and Mello exchanged glances and Raito shook his head.

The two of them came in as Matt was shuffling around the floor, collecting his system and the discarded game, mourning over the fact that he was so close to the final boss. He sighed and placed it on the coffee table before coming over and giving Raito a hug. Matsuda wanted a hug too and after knowing Matsuda for so long, Matt obliged without comment. Matsuda went over to hug Mello and the blond stood there and took it with a sour look on his face.

"How was your first day of school?" Matt asked, grinning slightly at Raito.

Raito rolled his eyes. "I felt like an idiot, sitting there in almost remedial classes."

Matsuda looked cheerfully at Raito. "But you were in the same classes as me!"

"… Yes."

Matt laughed.

Mello was rummaging around in the kitchen. There was no more of Near's birthday cake leftover and all they had really was those wayward cans of corn. He wondered slightly where Matt had even gotten them from. Mello supposed they could go down to the cafeteria and eat but would everyone want to walk all that way…?

And just why the fuck was he the one worrying about all of this?

"The new professor is very knowledgeable," Raito was saying. "He also seems to be able to keep the students in line which is something even I had trouble with."

Matsuda frowned a little. "He isn't very friendly."

"Aw," Matt said, looking across Raito to the dejected sculpture student. "Was he mean to you, Matsuda?"

"N-No… well, he didn't shake hands…"

"He probably is not one for much physical contact. Not a bad way to be with SARS and e-coli running around these days," Raito said thoughtfully.

"He shook your hand, though."

"I'm a former teacher, it's only respect."

"He touched you a lot," Matsuda continued, eyes rolling upward in vague thought. "He put his hand on your shoulder a lot during class and winked."

Raito noticeably glared at Matsuda for saying those things in front of Matt, who was obviously not liking it. Matt raised an eyebrow at Raito as he asked Matsuda, "That so? What else?"

"Well-"

"Matsuda's making too much out of this," Raito explained, sending a charming smile his lover's way.

Matt sighed.

At that moment, Mello came stomping out of the kitchenette with four cans under his arms. As he passed the three sitting on the couch, he put one can in each of their hands and then sat on the bed across from them.

Raito and Matsuda looked at each other in question.

Matt laughed at Mello's huffiness. "Ah, Mel, you're my favorite housewife, ya know?"

"Shut the fuck up."

-

Mello and Matt had other classes to attend that day and so Matsuda and Raito were left alone in about an hour. However, Raito did a very impressive shake move on poor Matsuda and ditched him somewhere in the hallways. Really, Raito thought, Matsuda wasn't a bad guy at all. He was just hard to digest in large doses and Raito had had more than enough for one day. Three classes shared in a row was not the best thing for him at the moment. All this student stuff was terrible, really. No privileges! The very thought of not being pampered made Raito cringe inwardly as he walked about the campus, careful to keep away from places he knew Matsuda would be lurking.

Being forced to eat cafeteria food all the time was not great, but he could handle it. It's just that things seemed to be going downhill already and it was only the first day. He couldn't remember when things were so bad that he sat in a dingy, dirty room with three other men eating straight out of a can of uncooked corn. Even when he and L were in college together, things were sometimes unconventional but Raito didn't even like corn.

What he needed now was something old and familiar, something to help him get through all of these changes. The leaves of the trees were shaking lightly in the wind as Raito crossed the courtyard to the next building and headed down the hallway for the teacher's lounge. Technically since he still had a teaching license, it wouldn't be too much of a problem if he went inside to relax for a little bit.

Raito shut himself off from the wind and the sounds of people talking outside as he shut the door behind himself and went down the hallway. He stopped at the teacher's lounge and sighed at the feel of the familiar door handle under his grip. When he entered, he sighed for quite a different reason.

"Hello, Raito," L said, waving. As usual, he had a fork hanging out of his mouth with a slice of half-eaten strawberry shortcake in front of him and was alone at one of the tables. No one else was in the room.

Raito walked over and pulled out a chair across from him. "Hello, Lawliet."

"I didn't expect to see you here."

"Same to you."

"Mm," he hummed, swallowing, "only you are trespassing and I am not."

Raito frowned, leaning his elbow on the tabletop. "Don't be this way, Lawliet, I've had a rough day."

"I see. You should have a talk with Matsuda about his obsessive-compulsive adoration of you if it is so stressful." He took another bite.

"… How did you-"

Suddenly L began to cough. He turned his head away and spat out the bite that was in his mouth and Raito, alarmed, began to furiously smack L on the back which almost knocked him out of his delicate sitting position. L turned back to Raito and fended his hands away, insisting, "I-I'm fine."

Raito sighed and leant back. "You should chew your food, you know. The average man should chew each bite eight times before swallowing and not only does eating properly ensure proper digestion but-"

"Raito, do not lecture me on pristine bowels," L said sullenly and stared at his cake a little.

Raito rolled his eyes. "I was only trying to help."

"…"

Both men looked up simultaneously as the knob on the door began to shake. Neither was prepared to see the new teacher, Mikami, walking through the door and said man paused upon entering to see Raito. Raito gave a small smile and a wave at the young professor and Mikami smiled back slightly.

"How unexpected," Mikami said, coming over to their table and pulling out a chair next to Raito. "Mind if I join you two?"

"Of course not," Raito said. He looked to Lawliet who was giving little glares at his untrustworthy slice of cake. "Lawliet, this is Mikami, the new sculpture professor. Mikami, this is L, an advanced painting professor."

"Hello," Mikami greeted and reached out his hand to L.

L looked up and nodded, shaking hands, ignoring the small disgusted noise Mikami made when he pulled back a sticky hand. He sighed and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his hand off under the table.

Raito cleared his throat. "Sorry if I surprised you, Mikami, by being in here… it's just I'm having a hard time getting used to student life…"

"Oh, I don't mind. But it hasn't been that long since you were a student yourself, isn't that right, Raito?" he asked, looking towards the brunet.

Raito grinned. "I'm not that young."

"Really, you fit right in amongst the students."

"You're pretty young yourself."

"Oh, stop."

L had, for probably the first time in his life, lost interest in his cake in favor of the blatant sweet-talking going on right in front of him. He rolled his eyes underneath his dark bangs at the two of them going on and on about each other's youth and liveliness. L didn't see it as so much of a problem on Raito's part as he was known to have an amble amount of charisma and would inadvertently flirt with plants if he had the chance to.

This Mikami, though, with the way he was leaning in a little close and his eyes were sliding all up and down Raito's body seemed a little out of line. Raito loved the attention and L thought it was his duty as a friend and a teacher to intervene before raping took place.

"Ahem," he said, interrupting the two. "Mikami, it's a good thing you're here because I need another professor's opinion on something."

Mikami looked up. "Oh? What's that?"

Raito held back a pout. "I'm a professor, too, you know, just not an active one."

"Of course you are, Raito," L simpered. "That's why I will take your opinion into account as well."

Raito seemed somewhat mollified.

L continued, "It's about my career as an artist. This past summer, I had a showing in London and that went pretty well, though I couldn't attend… I was thinking about preparing one here in Japan."

Raito looked at L interestedly. "That's a good idea. You've never had one here, have you?"

"A small one, a few years back. I shared that with a few other artists, so I want one on my own here."

Mikami nodded. "It is a good idea but you seem to have your mind all made up so what did you need our opinions for?"

"It's not that," L said, shaking his head. "I just haven't had much time to paint except for this summer and nearly killed myself with all the pieces I've put together. Other than that, I'm teaching year round and students take up a lot of my time. I'm proud of my work but I wanted to have one or two highlight paintings and for that I will need help."

"Lawliet," Raito gasped, surprised. "I'm very flattered but I really can't paint-"

"I was not asking for your help."

"…"

"I am interested in having… an apprentice of sorts. And, naturally, Near and Mello came to mind."

Raito was still a bit putt off and so Mikami answered first. "Who are Near and Mello?"

"Two of my Junior students."

Mikami blinked. "For a professional showing, you'd have two students help you? Isn't that a bit risky?"

L shook his head. "I have confidence. They're both very talented and with Mello out of his slump, he seems to have a sort of ambition about him now that is amazing. Near has already proven himself to be very skilled…"

"Won't you have to pick one?" Raito asked, getting over himself.

L nodded. "I suppose it wouldn't be fair to make them compete."

"But what if they don't want to?" Mikami asked.

"I have a strong feeling that it will interest them at the very least."

Raito rolled his eyes and mumbled, "They practically worship Lawliet's bare feet."

"Jealousy is an ugly thing, Raito."

"I'm not jealous!"

Mikami laughed lightly and pushed himself away from the table. Raito watched as he got up and when he said, "Sorry to be leaving so soon but I have another class soon. Hope to see you again soon, Lawliet. Raito, I will see you tomorrow."

"Yes, goodbye," Raito said as he left. When the door shut, Raito hummed and turned back to L, his chin rested in the palm of his hand. "He's very nice."

"He is a pervert and a masochist."

"… Lawliet!" Raito shouted, blushing. "How could you say that about a fellow teacher, you don't even know him."

"I have gathered all the information I need."

"Oh, is that so?"

"It is."

Raito stared at L apprehensively for a moment and when L continued to eat cake, Raito sighed and turned away.

-

At around eight that night, Near was walking alone in the corridors on his way back to the dorms from his night class. Finally, the day was over and he could go to bed. But from the sounds of it, his fellow students were planning to stay up all night and celebrate the completion of another "first day." He just hoped that back at the dorms, it wasn't quite so noisy.

He walked with his head slightly drooping. It had been hard to stay awake during class even after his little catnap. He made a mental note to remind himself to tell Mello that they could not partake in certain activities in the middle of the day anymore because it always made Near so tired.

Well, he thought, maybe just not on weekdays during the days. Or, perhaps, from noon to three on weekdays is more precise since-

Near walked right into an opening door on the right side of the hallway and yelped more out of surprise than in pain.

The door-opener peeked their head over the jamb and came out upon seeing Near standing there, cradling his head and sighing to himself.

"Near? Are you all right?"

Near looked up, one hand over his right eye. "O-Oh, L, I'm sorry, I walked into the door…"

"No, I opened it on you." L put a hand on Near's head and the other underneath his chin to lift his face up. L studied it and noted that there was no real injury. He sighed and patted Near on the head. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he assured, smiling. "I'm just so sleepy, I wasn't paying attention."

"Ah." L started walking down the hall and Near caught up, keeping his side company. "We should get you back to your dorm then."

"Oh, you don't have to come with me…"

"No, I'm obligated to do so."

"You are?"

"Yes. It's my duty as an educator… and besides that, I feel guilty for hitting you. So I will protect you from other doors on the way," L said, not sparing Near a glance.

Near smiled and looked ahead. "Okay."

-

to be continued.

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A/N: Enjoy it? Please let me know!