A/N: It's probably illegal to have THIS much fun with a chapter. I did it anyway. XP This chapter's for you, dear Samawama.

-

Azure Paler than the Sky.

eleven.

A day later and that's when the chilly air finally began to settle down over the Irai campus. Matt hadn't noticed it too much yet but when he went for a walk on the grounds, he was starting to think about taking his other jackets down again from the top of the hallway closet. The tan, furry vest just wasn't going to be enough soon and Matt had spent enough winters in Japan to know just how cold it could be.

But just then as he walked through the back lawns, the leaves crunching under his boots, it wasn't so bad. The wind kicked up the foliage around him and tussled his hair, turning his ears a light shade of pink. He got tired of getting his hair tossed in his face for a bit and went to lean on a nearby tree.

Looking out on the school like that, he had almost forgotten how huge it was. Usually he stayed in a small portion of it and lately had been traveling to the small studio they had set for him but that was about it. Midterms would be coming up soon and Matt guessed he should be studying or at least working on his project. He had his camera hanging around his neck but was trying to do what Mr. Gerri had told him and focus on inside photos.

He sighed and put his hand on the camera. Usually he'd be inside hanging around with someone but Mello was at a class and Near was still behaving as a hermit. Matt just didn't understand it, those two were supposedly L's responsibility and he didn't seem to want to help. Especially since they were working with him on a project and by Mello not cooperating, wasn't he lessening his changes of becoming L's true apprentice?

Near would come out of his room when L called him at night. He would simply make sure no one was around and if someone was around that he didn't feel like speaking to, he would throw a blanket over his head and travel down the halls that way. Coincidentally, since it was so close to Halloween, a few of the Seniors confused him with a Freshman in a poorly-made ghost costume and took pity on him by giving him candy. Matt had witnessed this all the other night while he followed Near around. Near may very well have been seventeen but he was a tiny seventeen so Matt felt it was his personal responsibility to look after him.

And when Matt tried to talk to Mello about it, he either got extremely defensive or shrugged off the entire thing like it wasn't a big deal.

Then, of course, he could've been hanging around with Raito but he was probably busy being accosted. And Matsuda was probably busy chasing after him. Matt decided just then that him being the only carefree one just wasn't fair. It was their college years after all, the time they would look back on when they were all decrepit and using bedpans. So, he thought, lifting himself from the tree bark, I'll help them out.

Matt started off towards the cafeteria and headed towards the dorms from there.

-

It's a unknown fact but… Near is not good at darts.

As one of his Christmas presents last year, he received from Hal a set of little darts with rubber ends. Near suspected that Gevanni had a lot to do with the rubber ends, probably advising Hal that they didn't want him poking out his eye or sticking one up his nose. Which was ridiculous since he hadn't done that since he was eleven or twelve. But that was beside the point. The point was that even after a year of playing with those things, he hadn't been able to hit a single thing.

And there he sat, in the middle of his room, throwing the darts at the beautiful painting that Mello had given him for his birthday. Just about every one didn't even come close, and the ones that did hit juts slid down, not sticking. Near wondered if he had to lick the tips and thought that would be too crude. The room was quiet and the windows were all close, the curtains as well.

Sometimes, he heard someone pass by in the hallway and he always stopped and perked up for a moment, thinking that maybe… just maybe, it might be Mello. But, of course, it never was. He felt stupid for even hoping for the blond to come over, to apologize or see how he was doing. Mello was far too stubborn for anything like that, Near knew that all too well. Of course, it would have to be up to Near if anything was to be done about their separation and spat but Near was sick and tired of taking on all the responsibility of their relationship.

If Mello was mad, Near would calm him down (of course, if he was really mad, Near would need Matt's physical assistance, lest he go flying.) If Mello was feeling restless, Near was there, ready and waiting. If Mello was depressed, Near had a chocolate bar in his pocket. So why…

Why did he have to be the "bigger man" and cater to him now?

He through another dart and hit bounced off of the side. Near sighed loudly and looked around. Maybe it was too dark to see properly. Just as that thought ran through his mind, there was a sound out in the hallway. Against his better judgment, Near perked up and looked back at it. Before he could decide whoever was out there wasn't for him, there was a loud knock at his door. More like a kick. Near groaned inwardly. Matt.

"Matt, please go away," he said, turning back to the painting.

"Near, let me in there!" Another swift kick to the bottom of the door and Near frowned. Matt continued, "I'll knock the door down. Don't think I won't. Please, Near?" Another kick. "I just want to talk."

Near tried to ignore him but the kicking was too much. He could just see in his mind's eye how his door was splintering. It was getting cold, he couldn't afford to have a draft in his room at this time of year.

"O-Okay, Matt, all right. Just please stop." Near sighed and got up from the floor, sighing after having sat there for so long. He smoothed out his t-shirt and then walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it a few inches, enough to look up at Matt disdainfully.

Matt looked down at him and chuckled at the feeble frown he was receiving. He pushed past the door and into the room, hearing Near sigh and the door click shut behind him. Matt looked around the room for a moment and then blinked, lifting his goggles from his eyes and placing them on his forehead. He blinked at how the curtains were all closed, the room shrouded in darkness. And when Near walked around him to go back to his sitting position, he was wearing a black 'Domo' shirt Matt had donated to his Clothing Fund and dirty jeans. Upon closer inspection, Matt also noticed there were slight bags under his eyes from not sleeping, probably.

"… Dude," he said. "You've gone emo."

Near looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"And what's up with the new look? You look like L Version 2.0."

Near blinked. "I simply put on the first things I saw."

"I meant the dark circles under your eyes," Matt said and pointed.

"… Oh," Near mumbled and lifted a hand, rubbing underneath one eye. To Matt's shock and surprise, the blackness came off and rubbed on Near's hand in a big smear. Near looked up at him and held out his hand. "It's makeup."

Matt stared. Oh my god, I'm too late! He's too far gone!

"From the sessions with L. We were experimenting with looks for me," Near explained and Matt calmed down a little but not much. Near turned back to walk around the couch but before he even took a step, he felt Matt's hands on him and was then hoisted into the air, carried bridal style to the couch.

"M-Matt! What're you-"

"Hush up, kiddo," Matt said, sitting down with Near in his lap. Near yipped a bit and looked around at his new position. He blushed when Matt was looking at him with one eyebrow raised and a grin tugging at his lips. "So," he said, "why aren't you talking to Mel, huh? You gonna stay in this room until you drop dead?"

"Maybe," he huffed. "Matt, I want to be on the ground."

Matt grabbed him before he could dismount. He laughed at Near's slight pout. "I'm not gonna let you wiggle away so easily. You didn't answer my first question."

"You know why, Matt," Near sighed, looking away.

"Near, you know that happened like four years ago. It was like one kiss, you know. Okay, maybe two."

Near narrowed his eyes.

"What? Don't you want me to be honest?"

"… Yes." He paused. "But Mello wasn't honest."

"Yeah, okay, 'cause he didn't want you to stop talking to him. And look what happened," Matt said, shrugging. He rolled his eyes when Near looked away and grabbed the boy by the chin, tilting his head up. "Hey, you. Listen, it was a kiss. Don't believe me, huh? C'mere, then."

Near blinked. "Um, Matt-"

Matt leaned over and pushed Near down onto the couch, pinning his hands up above his head when he tried to wiggle away. He placed his body in-between Near's spread legs and looked down at his bamboozled expression, smirking.

"M-Matt, I, um…"

"Hm?" Matt lowered his lips to Near's cheek and just barely grazed him there, dragging one of his hands down to the boy's face and cupped his other cheek. Near's face was bright pink, his eyes wide as he struggled a bit, trying to get his hands out of Matt's grasp. He let out a shuddering gasp as Matt's hand moved lower to his collar bone and ran his fingernail over it. "Near, you know you miss Mello," Matt whispered wetly into his ear, lingering there and laughing lightly when Near whimpered at the heavy sound.

He turned away from Matt's voice and slammed his eyes shut. "Matt, if you're trying t-to make a point… um, just know that I… uhh…"

Matt held Near's wrists tighter and ground his hips down onto Near's, forcing a surprised yelp out of him. He grinned when he could feel Near responding to him and the light buck of his hips upward. Matt leaned his face into the crook of Near's neck and gave a sharp twist of his hips, rubbing once again into Near and he unknowingly spread his legs wider.

"A-All right, Matt, I-I get it! Just…" Near sighed, arching his back just as Matt raised up off of him. Near blinked, suddenly feeling free from constraint, and looked up to see Matt sitting back on his heels, smiling cheerfully at him.

"So, you get my point?" he asked, lowering his goggles.

Near tenderly sat up, pulling himself to the other side of couch to lean against the armrest. He was blushing slightly and looking towards the closed windows in thought. Then, it seemed something clicked in his eyes and he delicately crossed his legs, his blush intensifying. Matt let out a boisterous laugh and tried to turn it into a cough when Near looked at him.

"I, um, I get it…" Near said softly, lowering his eyes. "Okay, so…" he sighed. "Maybe I'll go talk to him. If he even wants me to."

"Of course he wants you to!" Matt smiled and looked over Near's head at the digital clock on his nightstand. "He should be back in the dorm by now. Wanna go over? I'll hold your hand."

Near looked worried. "He probably won't want to see me."

"Near, trust me. He's just as lonely as you are."

Near flushed and turned away. "Matt."

"It's true! Come on, would I lie?"

"That's not really the point…" Near grabbed a hold of a lock of his hair and tugged on it nervously. He got up from the couch and walked around, towards the door. He gave Matt a small pleading look but Matt only smiled at him and Near took in a breath, opening the door. Matt was faintly reminded of a hermit who hadn't emerged to the world for over a decade as Near seemed to tiptoe out into the hall.

Naturally, such a sort distance was crossed in a matter of seconds and when Near was standing at the door, he found it was cracked open. The light was on and he could hear voices but, just in case, he went to knock. Just before his fist hit the door, he heard…

"What don't you just go over there?"

Near blinked. Was that Raito's voice? He slowly lowered his hand and peered into the crack of the door, spying Raito laying down on the bed, a plastic cup in his hand. He was red in the face a little, telling Near that he had probably had too much to drink. He was smiling dazedly at someone over on the couch and Near could see blond hair and black boots just inside his field of vision. In Mello's hand was a whole bottle and Near blinked.

"Dude, if he thinks I'm gonna cater to him like that… fuck that… S'like… if he wants to be a bitch about one kiss, fuck if I care." Mello took another swig. "I mean… s'not like I don't miss 'em…"

"It's boring not having somebody…"

"Yeah." There was a pause and then Mello broke out into a fit of laughter. "I-I remember - it's so cute - like, what he does… like, when he comes, his toes curl…"

Raito started laughing, too, much to Near's horror. "How precious."

Near snorted, his face bright red. Precious indeed! Mello, I cannot believe you! Near turned on his heel and made a mad shuffle down the hallway. He was going away just as Matt came out of his dorm room with a bag of chips in his hands, stuffing his face. He blinked at Near's retreating form.

"Wha - Near! Near, where're you going?"

Near looked over his shoulder for a split second and then continued on his way. "I can't go in there," he called.

Matt blinked, confused, and shoved another handful of Doritos in his mouth. He squinted at the door of his apartment curiously and walked that way, opening the door to the scene of Mello and Raito drunk beyond all reason with wine bottles laying around the apartment. Mello's eyes were rather bloodshot as he looked up to find Matt in the doorway.

"Aw, man, you got Doritos," Mello exclaimed happily. "C'mere, give me some."

"Hello, Maaaatt," Raito droned, looking at Matt upside down.

Matt's lips parted in confusion. "What is going on in here? Mel, I thought you just got back from class?"

"Nah, I didn't go. I saw Raito in the hallway and he had some of Mikami's stuff so, you know, here we are."

"Well," Matt said, chewing, "Near was just outside the door and then he went running away so what just happened? You two weren't doing anything, were you?"

Mello looked up sharply. "Near was outside the door?"

Raito snorted. "Honestly, Maaaaatt, how low do you think I'd sink…?"

"Hey!" Mello snapped at him and then turned back to Matt, his eyebrows furrowed a little. "Uh, Matt, how long was he here?"

"Hell if I know. What happened?"

"I… uh… hmm, nothin."

"Mel, what the fuck did you do?"

"Nothin, all right, just shut up," Mello groaned and leaned back onto the couch, collapsing. Some of the wine from the bottle in his hand spilled and he looked up at the ceiling, squinting. Jesus fucking Christ…

-

"It's Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show! Howdy! Today's an awesome day and I have a surprise for everyone; I'd like to introduce our first ever special guest! Welcome, Professor L Lawliet! Woohoo, yay, confetti!"

"… Thank you, Matt. I would like to make it clear that I am here specifically because you couldn't get anyone else on such short notice."

"L's being a bastard right now but that's okay! For those of you who don't know, L is one of the most qualified professors at Irai, popular for his contemporary paintings all over the world. He's won the Irai fundraiser two years in a row in his category. He also likes cake, long nights of no sleep and making love on washing machines."

"Did you hack my Live Journal again?"

"Dude, I've got a subscription to that baby. Now, let's get on with the postcards, huh? L's gonna help me out with responding. Ready?"

"I suppose."

"The first one reads: Dear Matt, everyone on campus knows how close you and Mello are. So, I was wondering, have you two ever been more than just friends? Or were you lonely all your lives? Oh, and I was wondering, is there really a threesome between you and Mello and Near? I'm curious. On a side note, what is your favorite game and what brand of cigarettes do you smoke? Signed, Curious Creeper from Hawaii."

"… Hawaii?"

"S'what it says. Anyway, uh, me and Mel… well, I mean, we had sort of a thing a long time ago…"

"As I remember it, Matt, you two flirted around quite a lot in your Freshman year as well."

"L!"

"What? I was under the impression I was supposed to be helping."

"That's not helping… Uh, yeah, so. There's no threesome between us. We're just friends. And now they're fighting even more so… I dunno, this whole thing is giving me gray hairs. Though, now that I think about it… a threesome is on my Things To Do Before I Die List… what about you, L? Any threesome action in your future?"

"A threesome is hard work to maintain. I would not advise getting into one unless you can handle the mental and physical pressure."

"Haha! Listen to you, dispensing advice like you've done it before!"

"…"

"… uh, L?"

"What?"

"You… did you-"

"I'll read the next postcard. Dear Matt, what videogame character do you fantasize about when you're… you know, getting friendly with your hand? Signed, LinksLover. … These people are demented."

"Hmmmm. I dunno, should I tell?"

"You've told everything else."

"True. Okay, I switch back and forth between Marth and Roy. Hot, hot stuff."

"Honestly, Matt. This is why everyone else has problems and you don't."

"What's wrong with being carefree?"

"Carefree and sex-addicted air-head are two different things."

"That's what you say. Oh, speaking of problems. Listen, everyone, I'd like to make a shout out to my good friend, Matsuda from the sculpture department. He's going through a tough time now with his love life, so here's hoping that Raito will give up that ass soon! You can do it, Matsuda!"

"…"

"Come on, L, cheer!"

"Sis boom bah."

-

Matsuda refused to come out of his room for a full twenty-four hours.

-

"Near, are you all right?"

"I told you, I'm fine."

L nodded and turned back to his easel. He'd finally set it up after all this time of staring at Near and working with poses, those eyes running up and down his body. Sometimes his shirt was on, other times it was cast to the floor. For the past few days, without Mello there, Near had been quiet and listless. He thought that if he kept quiet, he could refrain from telling L just what's been going on. But L knew. And Near knew that he did.

When Near had walked into the room that day, he was surprised to see the easel set up and the windows thrown open. It was colder in the room than normal and Near had hugged his shirt to him, shivering a bit. L directed him to the window sill and told him to sit on it. Near looked at him worriedly - they were on the third floor after all, what if he fell backwards?

But L had assured him that he wouldn't, so without further complaint, Near hoisted himself upon the sill and sat with his back to the window. L came over and placed his hands all over him, spreading his legs a little bit and tilting his shoulders until Near had a come hither look about him. L retreated from him to get a good look and almost chuckled at how confused and worried Near's expression was. His shoulders were already beginning to sag.

"No, no," he said, placing his hand on Near's back, straightening it. "You're wrong, you have to do this like you mean it."

"… Mean it? What-"

"Sit like you know you're desired. Lick your lips."

Near blushed madly and looked down just as L's hand caught his chin and forced him to look up again. Near averted his eyes. "L, I… I don't know…"

"Yes, you do. You have a lover, just look at me like you do to him."

"… I don't look at Mello that way."

L raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're going to look at me that way."

"L, don't-"

"Just-"

"I-"

"Ugh," L groaned and turned around, scratching his head furiously.

Near sighed. "Maybe you should get Mello. He'd know exactly what you want, he'd be able to do it easily."

"I'm completely aware."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because I want you to be able to do it," he said, looking over his shoulder. Near blinked at his gaze and L added, "I want it to be you."

-

to be continued.

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A/N: Keep the post cards coming. You can also add questions for the guest stars. Review, yeah?