AN: Yes, I am aware my chapters are becoming shorter and less frequent, but hey, I figure it's better than longer and MORE infrequent! All things considered, I still update far faster than the majority of authors on here, so yay me? -hopeful look- So... enjoy! Oh! And thank you to ChaseChippy and landshark3509 for there marvelous ideas! If you don't see your suggestion here, never fear! The plane ride is FAR from over! Enjoy!

Matt POV

I never thought there could ever be such a thing as too much Mello. Never. Whether he was ranting about nonsensical things, failing at my video games, causing mischief, being a general smartass, or... doing things along the lines of what had happened in the bathroom... Mello has always been an endless source of entertainment. His spontaneity and eccentricity had always been thrilling, but at times like these...

"MATT! I'm tired! Carry me!"

...it went a bit to far.

"Mello," I sighed, thoroughly worn down by the supposed genius' antics, "chill out. We need to find L and the others and-" I wasn't given the opportunity to finish as Mello, in effect, glomped me. "Ah!" I cried out, as the violent boy an inch taller than I sent me toppling to the ground.

"Why not Matt?" He questioned innocently, from his not-so innocent perch on my stomach. Before I had a chance to retort, I was once again coaxed into silence as Mello leant down, suspending his lips just above my own. "I thought you loved me?"

I wasn't surprised when heat rushed into my face for the seventh time in about twenty minutes. Was it just me, or was Mello a bit more... er... intimate than he had been the last time he'd gotten dangerously sugar high? "Yeah." My voice managed to crack on the single syllable.

"Then-"

"MELLO! MATT!"

"Don't yell at the children, Light-kun."

Mello was ripped from my no-longer-unwilling grasp. Mello struggled to his feet and whirred around to face the intruder. "Get your fucking hands off me, Light-bulb."

"Real original," he snarled. "What were you two doing on the floor, anyway?"

"I never ask Light-kun, and I suggest you refrain from inquiring as well," L murmured, his lazy words slicing the rapidly building tension in the air.

I blinked in confusion. What did L mean by 'never?' It was only yesterday that we... um... kissed and stuff... My lingering blush deepened back into a bright crimson hue at the very thought. I looked up to Mello, wondering if his thoughts aligned with mine. From the looks of his own slightly puzzled expression, he too did not understand the statement. And from the flash of understanding in his eyes, swiftly melding into a knowing, condescending gleam, accompanied by a traditional Mello smirk, he also had surmised where my thoughts had wandered.

"Please remove yourself from the floor, Matt. We are about to miss our flight."

"WHAT?" Light's hands flew up in exasperation. "If you had told me about this trip, I'd have planned it much more efficiently! Are you really saying you had us dropped off here a mere hour before boarding?"

"An hour before take-off, actually. I assure you, it will all work out."

"How can you be so certain?"

"I am..." L's marble eyes shifted furtively from side to side. "...who I am." He accompanied the statement with a mysterious wave of his un-cuffed hand.

"I don't reason with faulty logic," Light replied haughtily.

"Then we are agreed."

"We most certainly are no-"

"Cease your squabbling, the plane is taking off shortly," a soft voice droned. I scrambled up and peered around L to find that a certain bleach-skinned recluse had been clinging to the back of L's shirt the entire time.

...Creepy.

Without a further word, the five of us dashed to our terminal, our running forms as awkward as our wardrobe choices.

Wouldn't it be ironic if five boys, all with IQs above 170 failed at the simple task of catching an airplane?

L POV

An unforeseen complication.

"Sirs, please take your seats!" a mousy flight attendant begged.

Despite the fact there was only a .087% chance I had been mistaken, I reread the two remaining tickets- the ones that had survived the eager snatching of my three young proteges.

"As if my life couldn't get any worse," Light's quiet words were bloated with melodrama that was mostly uncalled for.

"I had surmised that 11-C and 11-D would be adjacent," I told the small flight attendant.

"Well... they are," I refrained from wincing at her high, grating voice. "The isle won't get in the way too often."

"Just sit, L, she'll see for herself."

I obliged with a shrug and plopped into my seat just as Light glided into his.

"O-oh," her muddy brown eyes widened at the sight of the chain stretched across the isle, and an unattractive blush discolored her cheeks. "U-um I see why you- you- um... I'll go check with... someone about... something," she made out before franticly retreating, tripping over her own feet along the way.

I grinned to myself, highly amused by her not entirely incorrect suppositions and even more so by her response. I turned to gouge Light's reaction.

"I," thud. "hate," thud. "my," thud. "life," thud.

Light was repeatedly throwing his head into the cushioned seat in front of him. This action had no detrimental affect on Light's head due to the cushion and his lack of force, and thus was solely for dramatic effect. Somehow, I am unsurprised.

I smiled at the agitated boy fondly. The man in the seat in front of him sent him a look that was not quite as affectionate.

Near POV

Unlike the foolish passengers on either side of me, I did not lower my tray table until the pilot voiced his approval of the action. The small plastic sheet was off-white and scratched from use, and was most likely teeming with bacteria. I shrugged, and dug my new action figure out of my bag, placing it on the aforementioned plastic table. Although I was aware of the bacteria that dwelled upon all surfaces in varying amounts, I usually chose to ignore it.

"That's Joe-Man!" I rotated my head forty nine degrees to the left and rolled my eyes downwards to regard the small boy gazing at my action figure in absolute delight. He flashed me a toothy grin, sporting his yellowing crooked, assortment of baby teeth and pre-developed matured ones, and widened his dim grey eyes. "How'd you get that? It's only on sale in the US! You must have like... spent lots of money or something!"

"I have my connections," was my mysterious reply.

"Do you know someone who lives there?" the small boy pressed, leaning onto our shared armrest in an egregious infringement of my personal bubble. I cringed away from the lad, preserving the few remaining inches of space between us.

"No, I do not. I had this figurine shipped to me in the hopes that it would illuminate some of my misconceptions of American culture. Joe-Man is a model of the perfect average American citizen built by the populace and intended for them as well. It is a design meant to inspire patriotism in times of trouble and set a positive example for todays youth. However, many negative stereotypes have unwittingly been portrayed."

The young child continued to stare at me with a vacant expression. Ignorant youth. He may have shown interest in my figure but he was not only unaware of its significance, but also unable to comprehend it when imparted to him in simple terms.

"I think he's cool 'cause he has a gun, and his flag is pointy for stabbin'," he finally responded. By the looks of his expectant gaze, he considered this pathetic drivel a valid input.

I rolled my eyes, and turned back to Joe-Man. "You're level of comprehension is close to zero. You are both pathetic and naive if you are incapable of properly appreciating a simple toy. I deem your intelligence to be below average, and thus, you will most likely go on to spend your life working at minimum wage in a desolate small town or poor urban area, forever to be cursed by your own stupidity. If you were to kill yourself today, the world outside of your family and friends would not take notice."

When his wails grated at my ears, I realized this would be a long flight. Still, I did not regret my admittedly harsh predictions. It is worse to have your dreams crushed then to never have dreamed at all.

AN: You like? You may have noticed that I've been experimenting with a new writing style. I'm using shorter POV segments and thus creating multiple small arcs rather than one large one. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! I kind of have no idea hat I'm doing! Well... I really never do. I'm just guessing how to write in general! :)