A/N: Hello… here's the chap…

-

Azure Paler than the Sky.

sixteen.

"… Heh heh. Hey there all you late-nighters! Matt here with the midnight radio show! Things were pretty interesting last time I came on the air in the dead of night so I thought doing it again would yield the same results. Besides, there's nothing better to do. Mel and Near are off on a session and everyone else is asleep, I think.

"See, here's the thing. I've been brainstorming a lot lately and I think I'm going to sponsor an event for nudists. Really, in my photography class, we're about to move on to the human form. Only the thing is, we can't use super-model types. We have to use plain people or preferably obese people. Something about the beauty of the human body without fixtures or makeup.

"Whatever, sounds cool to me. I like being naked. I'm naked right now! … Ha, just kidding. Or am I? … Anyway, please call me here at the studio if you're interested in being a model for me. Or if you're a nudist. The number is 555-MATT. … Oh, a caller! Hello, you're on the air!"

"Hey, Matt… uh, this is Lisa…"

"Hi, Lisa! Wow, using your real name, that's brave. What's the word, chick? Are you a nudist?"

"Uh, well, you see… I just want to pose for you."

"Really? Great! So, are you fat? Abundance of cellulite?"

"Ummm. Well…"

"I'll take that as a yes. Meet me at the photography room tomorrow after my radio broadcast. Eat some pumpkin pie tonight. Later!"

"But-"

"All right, let's go to the next caller. This is going great, I already have one subject. Hello, you're on the air!"

"Yo, Matt!"

"Hey, dude, what's up? What's your name?"

"I'm Jay. Anyways, I'm kind of a hefty guy from the sculpture section but, like you, I really like being naked. So for this upcoming Christmas break, I thought I'd take my girlfriend to Sagging Pines."

"… Sagging Pines. Why does that sound so… familiar…"

"It's the nudist colony for old folks a few miles from here."

"… Wow. Why there?"

"Because I'm so big, I figure, if I surround myself with old people in the buff, I'll feel better about myself and my girlfriend will be more attracted to me."

"Uh. Dude, we need to talk. First off, comparing yourself to naked octogenarians doesn't sound like a great way to gain self-esteem. Also, why would that turn on your girl? If anything, she'll be sick the whole trip."

"…"

"… Aw, dude, don't cry. I-It's okay. I mean, uh, I'm sure your girlfriend is just fine with how you look. You don't need naked old men to be attractive to her."

"R-Really?"

"Really!"

"I can be loved the way I-I am…?"

"Of course, dude!"

"Do you love me…?"

"… Uh. Well sure… you're nice… uh…"

"I love you too, man!"

"Well… well, great…"

-

He looks gorgeous, Mello thought as he watched Near sitting in the moonlight from where he was at the table. He still had a few assignments to make up and worked on the charcoal drawings distractedly. When he looked up through his bangs, letting his hands wander on their own across the coarse paper, his eyes darted from Near to L. Sitting there like that with his legs spread apart and his head lolled to the side, Near seemed confident in a way Mello hadn't seen before.

Always, always Mello has thought that Near was one of the most beautiful things on the planet but he had had a tinkling feeling that Near didn't feel that way about himself at all. It showed in everything he did, the way he walked with his head down or avoided eye contact with anyone he wasn't already friendly with. Even when he wasn't in pajamas, he wore long baggy jeans and big t-shirts.

And it was crazy to see Near sitting like that, looking actually confident in his sensuality. Way crazy, Mello thought because he really never thought he'd see the day. At first, L had had to coerce Near into taking his clothes off in the beginning of every session, eating up about fifteen minutes. But over the course of time, Near had slowly gotten accustomed to it. Maybe it had finally clicked in his head that he wasn't in front of an audience of judges all waiting to critique his body. It was just Mello and L. And they were really…

Really close.

"Are you almost finished, Mello?" L asked, not taking his eyes away from Near. His hand moved furiously on the canvas, making minute strokes with the brush.

Mello looked up from the paper under his hand and then looked back down. "Uh… sure," he answered, not even sure where he was going with the drawing. It all seemed like parts of scenes pieced together. Maybe like something from Picasso.

"Come over here for a moment."

Mello got up from his seat and walked over to the canvas, standing beside the stool where L sat. He looked at the canvas and then over it where Near sat, his eyes like he was staring at an imaginary castle far away. When Mello looked back down he saw almost the same thing, of course only half finished. Mello's eyes zeroed in on Near's face created by paints. It was interesting to him how Near's face was detailed but with the absence of eyes. It made him seem like a lifeless doll as he hung there, draped over the chair.

"Where's the moon?" Mello asked, scanning the subject. In life, the moon which flooded light into the room, was small and barely visible through the window but it was there and Mello knew L would never skip out on such an obvious detail.

"Ah," L said, smirking, "that's why I've neglected the eyes thus far."

"… the eyes?"

"Yes. Don't you think so?"

"Think so of what?"

L blinked and then rubbed at one of his eyes with his fist. "Forgive me," he mumbled, "I haven't slept in days and it's catching up with me… Don't you agree that Near's eyes are like the moon?"

"Oh…" Mello looked at him and then the painting. He thought about it for a second and before he could respond, both he and L heard a sound from the other side of the room. Each man looked over the side of the canvas to find Near restraining a yawn, his hands pulled up to cover his mouth. His eyes were closed tight and when he had stopped yawning, his hands slowly came to rest in his bare lap. He looked over where two pairs of eyes were staring at him and he blushed, flustered.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I moved," he muttered, twisting about to reseat himself properly. When he glanced back at the canvas, L was standing, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

He was walking forward and said to Mello, "Grab his robe, would you?"

Mello went over to the table to get the white terrycloth robe that Near used in between breaks of session. It was too cold to be naked all the time in November. L was surprised that Near held up as well as he did and sometimes, briefly, he wondered if he was ever going to get sick but that wasn't a pleasant thing to think about. He came over to the chair where Near had, sensing that the session was breaking or ending, loosened up and closed his legs, sandwiching his hands between his thighs.

"Here," Mello said, having joined them and handed Near the robe. Near nodded in thanks and looked downward as he put his arms through the sleeves and wrapped it around himself.

He looked up again, at L, and said, "Are we done for tonight?"

"I think so," he hummed distractedly. There was something in his eyes - some spark of interest - and he reached one hand out of his jean pocket and touched Near's forehead, pushing his bangs aside.

Near blinked.

"You're warm," L said. Mello watched as L's hand moved down from Near's forehead, trailing down his pale neck and to his chest. He planted his long, spidery hand there over his heart. Near blushed a little but held L's gaze as the older man smiled. "I'm glad you're not sick."

"I-It's not that cold in here…"

Mello raised an eyebrow at their professor. "If you were really worried, you wouldn't have him nude in wintertime."

"The first snow hasn't fallen yet."

"And what about when it does?"

"We can get a heater for the room."

"Comforting," Mello groaned and rolled his eyes. L ignored him and took one of his hands, placing it on Near's chest where his had been. Near and Mello gasped in unison and when Mello looked at L like, what the hell are you doing? L placed his hand over Mello's.

"See?" L asked. "He's just fine."

Mello paused and then looked back at Near. He let himself relax a little then and kept his hand there. Near's chest rose and fell, rose and fell, and his cheeks reddened at all the attention. But it was relaxing. The three of them just… touching. It wasn't until Near closed his eyes and relaxed against their hands that he thought absently, My heart is beating so fast.

-

It was around eleven the next morning when Matsuda went walking through the halls of the sculpture building, his books clutched to his chest. As he walked down the corridor, he glanced out of the windows to his left, watching as the last of the dried up leaves fell from the trees. The lawns of Irai were now all but bare and the passing winds shook the naked branches.

Matsuda smiled and looked ahead, navigating through the moving crowd. He had yet to really talk to Raito about their date or about that kiss… really, Matsuda had never planned on doing such a thing and he blushed every time he thought about it. But it really couldn't have been helped. He couldn't just let Raito leave with a goodnight until the next time they saw each other. There was a raw, screaming need inside of him that begged for Matsuda to just lean in, just a little bit, and show Raito how much he…

But then again, it was so quick. Just a fleeting touch of the lips. And the tingling feeling where Matsuda had cupped Raito's cheek, that never left and was there on his hand as he held his books. It just wasn't enough. Being with Raito was amazing, just walking beside him that night was enough to make Matsuda happy, but still, he wanted more. He supposed he could always ask Raito out again. What would be the worst he could say, anyway?

No?

No wasn't so bad, Matsuda lied to himself. As he rounded the corner, he thought, There's probably no way I'll be able to talk to Raito during class. I was too nervous the other night… maybe after class when we're out of Mikami's sight, I can ask.

Upon coming into the classroom, Matsuda was greeted with the sight of Raito and the professor standing in the middle of the room in front of Raito's usual seat. Behind that, the rest of the class was sitting, apparently eavesdropping on what the two were whispering to each other. Matsuda blinked and stepped into the room, causing everyone to look at him.

"Um…" He looked up at Mikami. "Am I late?"

"Ah, there you are," Mikami said stiffly and began to turn to Matsuda when Raito's hand fell onto his forearm.

He whispered harshly into the man's ear, "You promised."

"Yes, of course, beautiful," Mikami returned. He addressed Matsuda, "You're not late. Just take a seat."

Matsuda brightened. "Okay," he chirped and went to sit next to Raito. When he sat his books down on the table and pulled out his chair, he noticed that Mikami had wrapped his arms around Raito's narrow waist and pulled him closer. Matsuda looked up, blinking, just when Mikami pushed into Raito, capturing his lips. He put his hand lightly on the back of Raito's head so as to not let him escape.

Matsuda gaped. "W-W-W-"

Other students stopped their chit-chatting and looked towards their teacher and fellow student engaging in a make-out session.

"I knew it," shouted a student in the back, "I wrote to Matt about it!"

Everyone else made noises of concurrence.

Raito finally managed to pull away, gasping for breath. He whirled his head around to find the class all eyes and sighed, frowning up at Mikami. "Yeah, that was a real mature thing to do, Teru."

"I'm sorry, princess-"

"Don't call me that in public!"

"If it will make you happy, I will start class now," he said and walked behind his desk as Raito huffed and went to sit down. Mikami pointed to the board, "All right, everyone, last time, we concentrated on form-"

"Aw, what? You just got done molesting a student and now you're going to start class?" a student asked, upset.

"Do you want to stay after class?"

"… No, sir…"

"Good. Then be silent and take notes."

"… Yes, sir…"

Mikami turned his back on the class and began writing on the board, things that would be on the midterm.

Raito was sitting at his desk, his eyes turned rigidly to the board where Mikami was writing. He didn't want to look at Matsuda. He didn't want to see a possibly hurt expression on that once eager face and know that he was the cause of it. Because really, Raito was never going to tell Mikami about the kiss. But the teacher had heard about it from Takada who had in turn heard about it from Misa who had hear it from L. Raito hated the chain of gossip at this school and wanted to put an end to it.

Just before he could decide whether he wanted to glance over in Matsuda's general direction, he felt something at his arm. He blinked and looked down by his elbow where a piece of paper was slid across the desk to him. He looked at Matsuda, whose head was bowed over his notebook as he copied the notes from the board.

Raito took it and unfolded it.

Don't worry about it, Raito, I don't mind, it said. Raito sighed and looked over at him once again. What a bad liar Matsuda was. Raito wrote something back and passed it again.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen. He heard about how you kissed me and now he's upset about it. It'll pass. So don't worry, okay?

Matsuda wrote, Okay… hey, Raito… would you go out with me again anytime…?

Raito stared at the paper for a long time, his pencil in hand. How to respond? He had promise Mikami that it would only be a onetime thing… still…

"Passing notes again, hmm?"

Raito looked up, gasping at Mikami standing there, arms folded across his chest. He gingerly took the paper from Raito's grasp and looked over at Matsuda, frowning. "Why do you insist on interrupting Raito's studies? Honestly, do I need to put the dunce ribbon on you again?"

"I-I wasn-"

"No, I suppose that is too easy a punishment. Matsuda, take the water buckets and stand outside for the rest of class."

Matsuda groaned.

Raito frowned and argued, "Teru, he'll miss the review if you send him out there."

"Then he should not have disrupted class. Matsuda, out," he said, pointing to the door.

Matsuda slowly got up, feeling dejected, and walked over to the door where two large water buckets were filled to the rim. He picked them up, one in each hand, with a large grunt and then walked out of the door, shutting it behind him with his heel.

Matsuda stood with his back up against the wall, looking out onto the scene of the barren hallway. The windows were fogged up with the cold from the outside and the heater working inside. He sighed and adjusted his arms. A whole hour of holding these things? He wouldn't be able to move his arms for the next week.

Then, the sound of shoes clicking against the floor down the corridor. Matsuda blinked and stretched his neck in that direction. Coming up the hall was a figure dressed in black leather with blond hair swishing just over the figure's shoulders. Matsuda brightened at once and shouted, "Mello! Hey, what's up!"

Mello blinked, looking in his direction and sped up his walking. "Hey, there you are," he said as he approached him, "I was just coming to find you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I almost got lost, I don't come here that often… so, let's go. You've got that appointment on Matt's show today."

"What… oh my gosh! I'm… that's right, I totally forgot!"

"That's why I came to get you. … What're those buckets for?"

"I'm on punishment…" Matsuda glanced down, eyebrows furrowing. "I can't leave here…"

"What'd you do?"

"Pass a note to Raito… So Mikami sent me out here…"

Mello raised an eyebrow. "I see." He reached out and took both buckets from Matsuda's grasp, throwing them on the floor, the water splashing all over the linoleum.

"M-Mello-"

"Come on, Matsuda." He grabbed his hand and went for the door to the classroom.

"But the buckets-"

"Matsuda, I said come on!"

With that, the door shut behind both of them loudly, causing a disruption in the classroom they had just entered. Mikami looked over from the board, startled and Raito's eyes widened.

"Mello?" he asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Dealing with random shit," he muttered and then looked at the professor. "Are you Mikami?"

"I am and who are you?"

"I'm Mello and I'm taking this guy with me. If you've got a problem with it, bite me."

Mikami turned around to face him. "You can't just barge in here and steal a student-"

"Fucking hell, he wasn't learning anything out there to begin with!"

"That's not-"

Raito sighed, placing his chin in his hand. "Let Mello take him. He's obviously not in a good mood."

Mikami frowned.

"Damn straight I'm not. Let's go, Matsuda."

Just as Matsuda was being pushed out of the door, he waved to Raito enthusiastically, calling, "See you later!"

-

"It's the noon-hour radio show! It's me, Matt, with our special guest for the day, Matsuda-"

"Hi, everyone, hello! Wow, this is so cool! I can't believe I'm actually here, everything is so high-tech and Matt is in his underwear! I'm so lucky, thank you so much for inviting me, Matt!"

"… Wow. You're my most enthusiastic guest yet. A real change of pace."

"Yes!"

"Well, do you want to get to the postcards now? Here you go."

"Okay! First one reads: Dear Matt, ever think of having a late night sex hour? Signed, Queen of Hearts. … Um… Matt, don't you have one of those?"

"Well sort of - wait, how'd you know about that?"

"Uh, well, you see, I have a radio in my room and I'm a really big fan so I listen in…"

"How come you've never called?"

"Oh, I could never do anything like that…"

"… You know… you don't have to masturbate on the phone."

"…"

"Next postcard! I'll read. Says: Hey Matt, are you bisexual or totally homosexual? And what about Mello and Near? I mean ... you should know right? Signed, Curious Fangirl. … um, okay. Well, I'm homosexual. So is Mello. And I'm pretty sure Near is too… if he were ever into girls, that'd be wild… Matsuda? Are you blushing?"

"Oh… no…"

"What about you? Are you bi or gay?"

"Oh, Matt!"

"Don't be shy! We're all friends here, right?"

"Well, I… I don't have very much experience in these things, I guess… um… jeepers… I guess I might be homosexual…"

"Guess, huh?"

"Oh, Matt, it's not funny!"

"Of course not… nope…"

-

to be continued.

-

A/N: Woo-hoo! I just got accepted into an apartment. I shall be moving out! Wish me luck! Oh, and thoughts, please!