Hey guys I'm back with another update for this story!!! Thank-you to all the kind readers who commented and reviewed this story…I'm working on getting back to you I promise…life's just way crazy right now!!! Anyway please review and let me know if you have any suggestions!!! I own NONE of Death Note or its incredible characters!

Show-offs, Cleaning Up, and Persistent Friskers

"Mel…Mel….Mel…you listening to me?"

The blonde boy jumped, sinking (if possible) even further into the soft, beat-up cushions of the leather couch. Looking around, he focused on the red-head in front of him. "Wah-sorry Matty, I was…thinking…what were you saying?"

Matt shook his head, smiling in a bemused sort of way that lit up the immediate area with a bright, cheerful light. Matt almost never smiled like that and when he did, Mello felt like the world stopped spinning and that the only thing that mattered was his best friend. "I was saying that Roger is doing an inspection this week; so make sure you clean up that (he jerked his head back towards a messy bed, surrounded by chocolate wrappers, case notes, and rumpled, leather clothes on Mello's side of the room) before he comes up here."

"If he's going in order by number, he won't get to our room for at least a year." Mello said, shaking his head as he remembered trying to find this new room on his first day at Wammy's House for Gifted Children. "Why's he inspecting the rooms anyway?"

"Well, besides the fact that he's a total and complete pedophile," Matt said looking up the wooden boards in the ceiling, "and needs an excuse to go through everyone's underwear drawer, Watari is coming back for a few days before going back to help L. He always wants things to look nice, when Watari comes to visit, so make sure you do clean up. I'd give you about a day before he comes to our room."

Mello shuddered "That is a really creepy thought I didn't need," he said, wincing as he imagined the old man who helped run the orphanage going through his clothes and personal items. "and why is it such a big deal that Watari is coming back for a couple of days? I mean I know Roger works for him and all, but seriously, does he really need to go this far?! It's kinda creepy."

"Well," Matt said, smirking at his best friend as he moved closer, "he doesn't want the orphanage to look bad for his lover now does he?" By now, Matt was pressed right up against Mello. His soft red hair fell in the blonde's face and his breath tickled his nose. For an immeasurable moment, both boys stopped breathing and stared at each other's faces, forgetting about the conversation they had just been having. Suddenly, without warning, Matt toppled off the couch and landed on his arse with a loud oof! Both boys stared at each other for a moment before breaking into uncontrollable laughter.

"Are-you-serious?!" Mello gasped, clutching at his sides to keep from falling off the couch Matt-style. "Watari and Roger are lovers?!"

Matt nodded, laughing too hard to talk. "Yeah-" he gasped, "creepy huh?"

"Just a little," Mello said biting a chunk off a new bar of chocolate and standing up to begin picking up the mess around his bed. Looking over, he saw that Matt needed to pick up his side of the room as well. His side just needed a little more work Matt's. Sighing, Mello set to work as Matt un-paused his game and started playing again.

By dinner time, all anyone in the orphanage could talk about was the visit from Watari. From the sound of it, he would be coming in two days. The next day, just as Matt had predicted, Roger came to inspect their rooms.

"My, my, you boys certainly keep your room clean don't you?" he asked trying (unsuccessfully) to look normal as he rummaged through Matt's top dresser drawer. Slowly he started to move over to Mello's side of the room just as Near came up the stairs, his face flushed from running around trying to find Roger.

"Roger," he huffed, gripping his patched-up stuffed dog tightly to his chest, "I've been looking everywhere for you! Watari just called, he said he'll be arriving early. He said to be ready in about an hour!"

Roger straightened up, taking his hand out of Mello's drawer as he did so. "Well then, there's no time to waste, I must get ready!" Without so much as a backwards glance at the two boys he'd been inspecting moments ago, Roger hobbled out of the room and out of sight. Near stood where he was, seeming to cower against the door frame as Matt and Mello turned to face him. He and Mello had continued not to get along as they competed in every way possible; Near had won more often than not. This had done nothing to improve Mello's feeling towards the boy but, looking down at him cowering against the door frame, Mello felt a little kinder towards the boy who had saved him from Roger's snooping fingers.

"Thanks Near," he said, trying to not seem too friendly as he spoke to the trembling boy. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, Roger would have kept frisking Matt's and my stuff."

It was hard to tell if Matt or Near was more surprised by this change in attitude. "N-no problem Mello," Near stammered, "Roger had just finished frisking my room when I heard the news. I new he'd be at your room right about now so I ran up to tell him."

Near turned to go but Mello called out, "Hey Near! Wanna stick around for awhile? Matt was just going to try to teach me how to play a new video game."

Stunned, Near nodded and slowly walked back into the room. He carefully sat down in the middle of the couch as Mello and Matt sat on either side of him. Half an hour later, Matt and Near were laughing hysterically as Mello's character fell off a cliff…again. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, make fun of the video-challenged guy. " Mello muttered as Near rolled off the couch, still laughing. "Oh, hey I think I've got it now! So I press B, then A, then X, and FUCK why the hell isn't this damn game working?!" Mello yelled as his character was decapitated by a flying rock.

Wordlessly, Matt grabbed the controller from the enraged blonde and promptly beat the level three minutes later. "Show-off," Mello muttered as Matt handed the controller to Near. Suddenly the dinner bell rang and the sound of thousands of running feet filled the hallway outside the door.

"Guess we should go eat," Matt said reluctantly getting up off the couch. "Hey Near, ready to go?"

Near looked up and smiled. This afternoon he had really opened up and had found that he enjoyed spending time with both the rebellious blonde and the quieter red-head. Taking Mello's extended hand, Near got to his feet and walked with the other boys down to dinner. Feeling the happiness that only finding new friends can bring.