A/N: Thanks for the support, guys. Hope you enjoy.

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Escort to Happiness.

Five.

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"The downtown area is an interesting one," L said the next morning as he reclined in the comfortable passenger's seat of Raito's silver Lexus. Raito's car had come back from the body shop a week late but looking ten times better than it had after Raito ran into a fire hydrant. L decided to pester the brunet for a ride to work and Raito didn't mind, happy to have control over the radio which played one of his many Shakira tapes.

Raito looked over at him as he turned the corner. "What makes you say that?"

'Oh baby when you talk like that, you make a woman go mad,' the speakers hummed and L had to speak over it.

"Everything is level." L held out his hands, palms up to show what he meant. He narrowed his eyes. "So that means if you are on the roof of one building with a pair of binoculars, you can see perfectly into an adjacent building on almost any floor."

Raito quirked an eyebrow. "That's a weird observation, L."

"It is a useful one. Speaking of which, I do believe Mello appreciated the gift of money." He nodded to himself. "I think we are on the right track. Remind me to thank Near, he is truly in tune with the young people of today."

"Near really didn't help, you know…"

"Oh?"

'Come on let's go, real slow…'

L frowned at the speakers and tried to ignore the bumping his seat was doing in reaction to the bass. He looked over at Raito. "Must we really indulge your obsession for sexual music?"

"I know you're not criticizing me, not after a week of listening to Ryan Farish in your car."

L shrugged, looking towards the street.

Raito rolled his eyes. "And anyway, what's this about Mello? How do you know he was satisfied?"

"… That is the problem with this woman's music. Her hip-shaking and belly-wiggling distract you from listening to me when I divulge the adventures of my evening. I went to the building across from Mello's apartment and looked to see what he was doing. It seems that he had purchased some food and was enjoying it."

"Wait a minute, you can't see Shakira through the speakers so how does that distract - what."

Raito had never parallel parked so quickly in his life and when they were safely tucked between two other cars, Raito shut the engine off. The music died on 'half animal, half ma-' and Raito turned his full attention to the dark-haired man sitting next to him, very surprised at the sudden parking.

"L. You didn't," Raito stressed, beseeching L to tell him it was all some sick joke.

"For the third time, I tell you that I did. Do not be cross with me, Raito, I only-"

"Peeped in on a young boy! L, this is… I just… good Lord," he sighed, eyes wide as he sat back his seat. He raised a hand to his forehead and brushed a few stray locks to the side, staring up at the rearview mirror.

L shook his head. "Raito, he is not a young boy. He's a full grown man."

"Well that doesn't make it any better! How would you feel if you knew someone had spied on you while you were in the comfort and safety of your own home?"

"I would wonder why it was being done."

"L, he needs privacy!"

L pursed his lips, lowering both eyebrows. He leaned forward as if to share a secret and said in a confidential tone, "Raito. If he had not wanted anyone to look in, his window would not have been open."

Raito frowned heavily and threw his hands into the air. "Oh, his window's always open! How else would he throw things out of it? Jesus, L!"

"I do not need Jesus. What I need is to help him," he said and looked into Raito's eyes.

"I understand that, L, I understand how you feel. I honestly do. But looking in on him while he's at home is not the way to do it. Understand? Promise me you won't do that anymore, all right? The last thing I need is to get a call at three AM in the morning from you in county jail, asking for me to bail you out. Promise me, L!"

There was a pause. Then, a sigh. "Fine. I promise."

"Thank you," Raito exhaled with relief. He caught sight of his watch and groaned, reaching for the key in the ignition, thinking they'd better get going.

L put a hand on Raito's and caught his attention. "However," he said, "I hope you have a suitable alternative."

-

Around ten that morning, Near was asked to make a quick run to the third floor. There were some questions about how the finances were set up to hold the Oak Group deal and Near was told to go straight to Mr. Lawliet's office to take back that manila folder which should have been filled with all the information. Near, dutiful as ever, made his way to the third floor with a cup of coffee in hand for the man he was going to see.

He arrived in front of the door and before even knocking, he took notice of a yellow sticky-note on the door with some scribbled text that read, 'Out to lunch.'

Near double-checked his watch and was highly confused. He looked up when a man walked by and tapped him, asking, "Excuse me, but have you seen Mr. Lawliet? It's very important that I retrieve something from him."

He seemed to give it some thought and then jerked a thumb in the direction of the elevator. "Actually," he said, "I think I saw him run that way about twenty minutes ago. But if you want to know where he went, I'd ask Yagami on the fourth floor. They seem to always be together… loafing around… Hey, are you going to drink that coffee?"

Near nodded and walked for the elevator, leaving the man thirsty and agitated.

Once inside the elevator, he stood on tiptoe to press the button to the fourth floor and rode upwards quietly. The doors opened for him and he found his way to the end of the hallway and Raito's office. He looked up, fist poised to knock, and found a note posted up on the door that read, 'Dragged to lunch.'

"Ugh."

-

The day was mild, a great day to be out and about, which was why the top was down on Raito's car, L reasoned. Raito didn't like being so exposed, especially not when they were doing this kind of work. He sort of wished L still had those ridiculous sunglasses and an extra pair for him so that they could go about this without being recognized. Raito was ducking down by the wheel but when he looked over at L, he seemed to be enjoying himself, his obsidian eyes reflecting the sun as he watched the sidewalk crowds and the young blond traveling in them.

"L, get your head down," Raito whispered harshly.

L blinked, looking back at the brunet with his nose to the steering wheel. "You're so conspicuous, Raito. He's a half-block ahead of us. Oh… look, he's going in that store."

"I don't know how I let you talk me into this."

"It's your penance for taking my peeping privileges away from me."

"… Penance?" Raito screeched.

"Park here," L commanded.

Raito did as he was told and did it with a reluctant sigh. Mello had been walking for blocks and finally arrived at his destination, a small shop in the middle of the street called Boom. Mello seemed to pause just outside of the door, looking up at the silver sign and then, eventually, going in.

L hopped out of the car, followed by Raito and as they approached the shop, L said, "What do you think it is?"

"It's a clothing store, of course. It's pretty popular. You'd know that if you ever bought any clothes," Raito said, giving L's raggedy attire a once-over.

L kicked at an unseen pebble on the ground. "I don't care much for fashion."

"I can see that. Well, let's go in then."

They walked towards the building and as they pushed the glass doors open, L smirked at his coworker, saying, "I didn't think you'd be so eager to come in after him."

"If this is the only thing that will get you to be silent and work the rest of the day," Raito droned, averting his gaze.

The shop was cool after being out in the sun and soft music was floating down through the speakers. A few people were dispersed throughout the store and a man who apparently worked there, decked out in a red vest with a nametag, stood by the counter and waved at the two of them in greeting. Raito lifted a hand in return and turned to see his coworker gone from his side.

He ducked down quickly and looked around, careful not to be recognized by Mello. He didn't see the blond in the immediate area and walked to the left side of the store, trying to peer over the racks of clothes and around the pillars.

"L," he whispered harshly, hoping his astray friend could hear him over the music. "L!"

"Yes?"

Raito gasped as he came around the pillar and found L posted up against it. "Ooh," he said, "don't scare me that way! What're you doing anyway? Where's… oh." Raito looked up ahead to find the blond a few yards away, looking at a wall that held up leather vests and leather pants, all black and shiny under the dimmed lighting.

L seemed to be considering. "I think he likes them."

"Oh. Well, I don't know if two hundred will buy those, they look really expensive," Raito hummed, watching with a distasteful eye the clothes that Mello wore - a hoodie stretched out of shape and jeans torn and frayed at the hem from dragging on the concrete of the city for too long.

-

Fucking awesome.

Mello looked up at the vest and knew it was for him. It seemed that he was destined to come here and find it, take it home with him and the two of them would live in wedded bliss. He would give the vest Matt's bed.

That, of course, was before he saw the price tag dangling from the back of the collar like an ominous thing that meant to stand in the way of their love. Four hundred and fifty dollars was not in his budget at the moment, not even with the two hundred he'd gotten from the strange man the other day. Mello looked down and saw the matching black leather pants that hung at eye-level. The hems of the pockets were beaded with silver and they swirled down the sides of the legs.

He sighed to himself, shaking his head. Maybe someday. If he ever got a real job and didn't snip flowers for a living.

He was about to walk away, maybe find some underwear within his price range and just as he turned, he was confronted with a man in uniform walking up.

"Oh, I'm just looking," Mello said instinctively.

"Do you like these clothes?" He asked, pointing to the black vest and the pants.

Mello nodded, pursing his mouth. "Yeah, I do," he said, not bothering to tell the man he couldn't afford them.

"Would you like me to bag them for you? I've been instructed to let you have whatever you'd like," he said, smiling widely, and Mello recognized that smile. It was the smile of a salesperson who has just made a large sale.

"… What? By who?"

"Just a gentleman," he said and Mello suspected that he had been given hush money.

The next ten minutes went by like some sort of strange dream. Mello walked to the back of the store with the outfit in his arms, the clerk led him into one of the dressing rooms so that he could try it on. Mello took off his old clothes, stiff from too many days without a wash, and pulled the leather on his skin, sliding it over his flesh and it hugged him tightly.

He didn't know what he looked like until he came out and saw the mirror, the person he was now. It was a huge difference and Mello slid his hand up the side of his thigh, the strict material holding his curves and moving as he turned around.

"Damn," he shouted, unzipping the vest a little and eyeing himself happily. "This looks amazing!"

The salesman's grin didn't falter and he nodded, saying, "Yes, indeed! Looks amazing! Shall I bag those up for you, sir?"

"Yeah, okay," Mello hummed, still admiring himself.

-

L whistled behind a thumb pressed to his mouth and grinned lopsidedly at Raito. "He looks quite nice, wouldn't you say?"

Raito frowned. "It looks a thousand times better, but L, really… so much money."

"It's for a good cause."

"That's up for debate…"

"He looks quite good."

"You said that."

-

L had seen Mello walk out of the store with a giant grin spread across his face but headed back to IDM before the guilt and worry set in with Mello. As he walked home, bags in hand, the idea of someone buying such expensive things for him, someone he didn't even know, consumed him. The whole purchase had to be over seven hundred dollars and Mello had a strong suspicion that the brunet from the other day was the one behind all of this.

It was almost a thousand dollars he'd been given not to mention the huge order of sunflowers that now lay wilting around his apartment. It was a strange feeling, knowing that he was out there somewhere, perhaps watching him at that very moment. Mello looked around, searching the crowds for that brunet with the plastic smile.

Why would he buy all this stuff for him?

Maybe, Mello thought, he's going to come back someday and expect payment for all this stuff. Mello's active imagination conjured up an image of himself sitting alone in his apartment when, all of a sudden, the rich brunet breaks in and laughs manically, taking Mello and throwing him to the mattress-

Mello decided to stop himself there.

No way in hell I'll ever let that happen! he determined and went home to put up his new clothes. He was due at the flower shop around one and took his time, leisurely checking his surroundings. He thought that if he ever saw that man again, he would question him extensively. There was too much going on and he definitely did not need a stalker. That was probably one of the few things Matt was good for - he kept people from thinking that Mello was available. They may not have been in a relationship but walking around together gave off that sort of vibe.

And Mello guessed maybe Matt did give everyone else a 'back the fuck off' sort of glance every once in a while. That helped.

Mello put his newly acquired items in his closet, and stared at them. They seemed out of place in such a crappy apartment and Mello was feeling less than great about the way he'd attained such lovely garments but it was too late. He looked too damn good in them to give them back.

He told Rosie that, a condensed summary of that thought, when he arrived to work and was tying the strings of his apron behind his back.

"Leather?" she questioned, looking up at him. "I've never seen you in leather, Mello! I didn't think that was your style."

"Well neither did I before I saw it," he said, remembering. "But then I tried it on and it was just perfect." It almost made him shiver, really, to think about the way the fabric hugged his hips and cupped his ass with a lover's touch. Mello grinned at the image of himself twirling about in that mirror, looking hotter than a fried egg. He really couldn't wait to wear them around town, a club maybe.

Rosie walked around the counter, joining him in surveying the store. "I don't know much about fashion but I heard Boom is pretty expensive."

"Yeah… this guy must have some money."

She giggled, earning a confused stare from her employee and giggled even harder, turning a light pink in the cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, Mello, please excuse me. It's just that I saw a movie just on Lifetime last week. You see, the heroin was just like you-"

"I'm not a heroin," he protested loudly.

"Oh!"

Mello folded his arms over his chest firmly. "Rosie, listen, I think I have an idea who this guy is. Remember that man in the business suit who gave me that big tip?"

"Him? He was quite handsome."

"I don't care about that," Mello said, frowning. "I need your help. If we see that guy again, I need to talk to him. I gotta tell him to cut this stuff out, it's really creepy."

She nodded excitedly. "This is it!"

"What's it?"

"This is just the sort of thing to happen… in a drama."

"This is not a drama!"

-

To be continued.

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A/N: Thanks for reading. Any comments for me?