Escort to Happiness.

Sixteen.

A week later, the chill of oncoming winter really had set in and Raito had been at a complete loss when picking out what sweater to wear in the winter section of his closet. With the gentle blue of his tie and slacks, he decided on a light, aquatic blue to accentuate it and thought he was quite clever, wearing such a heavy sweater knowing that the AC was broken in his office. However, upon arriving, he was both horrified and embarrassed to find that the vents were fixed and heat was rapidly blowing down onto the fourth floor.

Mrs. Weatherly smiled as she walked by the elevator Raito came out of. She smiled at him with an arm full of papers. "Good morning, Mr. Yagami! Isn't it nice that they fixed the heater? And just in time for the cool air, too."

"Yes… just in time," Raito growled, yanking on his tie.

"Well, see you… oh, and that's a beautiful sweater," she said, walking away.

Raito sighed. "Right. Thanks."

When he made it to his office, it was even warmer, and in some form of protest or possibly denial, he sat at his desk placidly with his sweater on. He attempted to answer some emails and check on the company's stocks but in the end, the seventy-nine degree weather got to him and he cried out in rage and started to furiously tear the sweater off his body.

He was still fighting to get the fabric over his head when the door opened and Near walked in with a steaming cup in hand.

He stopped in the doorway and Raito halted, one eye and a tuft of hair visible over his crooked arms and sweater.

"… Perhaps this is a bad time." Near shut the door behind him.

Raito cleared his throat and then proceeded to gently take the sweater off. He threw it to the floor with a flourish and straightened his tie. "Yes, Near, perhaps it was. Now, what is… um, what is this?" he asked as Near handed him the cup. He peered down into it and it didn't seem like coffee.

"It is hot cocoa. Fitting for winter, is it not?"

Raito raised an eyebrow and squinted. "Are those tiny marshmallows?"

"Indeed."

"Near," he groaned, taking a small sip. "You got me hooked on coffee and now… I… mmm. This is good, Near!"

"Thank you," Near said, smirking a bit. He placed his hands behind his back and straightened. "L and I have come to the consensus that you are too caffeinated too often. So, I am weaning you off of coffee with this delicious substitute."

Raito barely gave him any attention until the cup was emptied, devoid of all liquid and marshmallows. He set the cup down and sighed, opening his brown eyes on Near. "You know what? I'm going to miss you, Near."

Near blinked a few times before reddening a bit and shaking his head. "You speak as if I'm moving cross-country."

"Oh, I know…" He placed his chin in his hand and sighed. "It's just down the hall, right? And you'll have your own office, too. I'm proud of you, Near, both L and I are. You did a great job with your presentation and because of all your hard work, we won't be in a position to merge with Oak Group."

Near nodded deeply. "Yes, however, we may be the only few happy about it."

"What makes you say that?"

Near wrapped his finger around a lock of hair and tugged distractedly. "I was in the kitchen giving a stern talking-to to the Lunchbox Bandit and-"

"Wait-"

"I don't interrupt you-"

"You caught the bandit?" Raito asked, ignoring Near's indignant expression.

Near sighed. "Yes, I did. He did not take my bait of tuna salad last week so I tried again with some cupcakes and it worked. It turned out to be the portly man from the third floor, Dennis Webber. He had been pilfering others' food as he was passed over for a raise and his cable bill was raised, hence he began to steal in order to satiate himself."

Raito blinked. "Wow. Near, some fat guy was taking people's food."

"I already said that."

"It's really disturbing."

"Yes… unfortunately, I am too traumatized to put anymore foodstuffs into that kitchen. I will have to search for refrigeration elsewhere…" He narrowed his eyes at the floor.

Raito pursed his lips. "Huh."

"Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yes. I was reprimanding him-"

"Wait, did you report Webber?"

Near groaned.

"Inquiring minds want to know!" Raito protested.

"No, I did not report him. It seems my talking-to was punishment enough. He was also thoroughly berated by on-lookers, those who have been his victims. May I continue?"

"Sure. I'd report him though."

"I'm sure you would. Now, after I sent Mr. Webber on his way, I turned to Mrs. Weatherly to congratulate her on a job well done in capturing the culprit. However, she told me it was my fault the third floor was forced into massive amounts of work to produce this new product and deal with the Oak Group's agitation at our bailing out of the deal."

"Oh, psh. Is that all? Screw them."

Near blinked.

"Be proud, Near. I am."

"Mm. Right," he said and smiled. "I am. I'll just be moving my things off my desk. If you need something, I'll be available for the next few minutes." He turned for the door and stopped in mid-step, reaching for his back pocket. "Oh, and I forgot. L told me you liked these?" He pulled out a small bag of Cheez-Its and tossed them over to Raito.

Raito caught them, wide-eyed. "Are… these from the first floor vending machine?"

Near smirked. "B5," he said smoothly.

"They fixed it! Finally," Raito hissed greedily. "Thank you, Near."

Near shook his head. "No, it is still broken."

"… What? Then how-"

"I kicked it. See you, Raito," Near said, hand on the doorknob. He paused again before glancing over the jamb. "And I will miss you too."

The door shut and Raito slipped the Cheez-Its into his drawer. He would eat them later. Maybe.

-

While variety wasn't exactly L's forte, he had agreed to meet Raito for lunch at a new place that had recently opened up. Their deserts were supposed to be unmatched in creamy goodness and so L decided that, being a sweets connoisseur, it was his duty to try it out. He arrived in front of Almandine at one o' clock, with not more on than jeans, sneakers and a brown turtleneck over his usual shirt.

Raito was at a seat near the window and he saw L as he entered and waved to him. L sat across from him in his fetal position, earning looks from the patrons unused to him.

"This is a small place," L observed. "But it smells good. How have things been going?"

"Good, good. And I think what you're smelling is my cologne," Raito said proudly, smirking to himself.

L nodded. "Leave it to you to douse yourself in it."

"What?"

"Why do you smell like something to eat?"

Raito shrugged. "It's a new scent called Cinnamon. It reminded me of the coffee so I…"

"That is a strange attempt at garnering Near's attentions."

"That is not it! You talked Near into taking away coffee from me. And I miss it. So I'm wearing this. And anyway, don't criticize me about fragrances; you smell like an old shoe!" Raito huffed, turning away.

"I don't remember Mello ever complaining."

"Pft, well, you can't go by him…" Raito raised his eyebrow towards L as the waitress came over to their table and L seemed to order three or four things off of the desert menu, which didn't surprise Raito. Raito ordered what he considered to be actual food and when she was gone, he folded his hands in his lap and said, "So how is the little fur ball anyway?"

"Adjusting."

"I bet! Like a cat to water."

L chuckled, "He wants me to do nothing for him. He even wants to pay rent."

"Do you let him?"

"Of course. It is ten dollars a month, to pay for fines we get when he inevitably throws things out of the window."

-

The bell rang in the front room and Rosie called out, "Mello! Is that you?"

Mello was standing at the apron rack by the door and tying the strings around his back. "Yeah, I'm here," he said and punctuated his statement with a yawn.

"Don't you come back here! I've got a surprise for you!"

There was a pause and then a shudder from Mello as he shook his head. Oh no… what's she done this time? he wondered, looking towards the threshold of the back room. He had a feeling, however, that it had to do with the rigorous search they had been enduring the past week for a new employee.

With L gone and Near gone back to IDM and making it apparent that they would not be coming back, Rosie could take the stress of only four hands no longer. She put the 'Help Wanted' sign back in the window and even an ad in the personals column, which Mello later droned on that that was not the place to put an ad reading: $8/hr for a pair of strong yet gentle hands!

Applications did begin to pour in, however, and they had interviewed people from all walks of life: ranging from bums on the corner to forty-year-olds who resided in their parent's basement. After the first few, Rosie kicked Mello out of the interviewing process, as he insulted the interviewees on their odors and faces before they really got started.

So Mello wasn't too surprised when finally Rosie came out of the back with a big grin on her face. "Mello," she sang heartily, "come meet your new partner!"

From behind the threshold stepped a young man in full Rosie's Posies uniform with the stems of azaleas wrapped elegantly around the name Matsuda. He beamed under a head of thick black hair at Mello.

"Hello! I'm Matsuda; it's nice to meet you, Mello!" He walked around the counter and extended his hand to the blond. "I don't know much about caring for flowers but I'm eager to learn. And, also, I had an oak tree in front of my house as a child that I liked to sit under. That has to count for something, right?"

Mello blinked and looked over his shoulder at Rosie, unimpressed. "Seriously, Rosie?"

"Oh, now, Mello! Be nice! Matsuda is darling!"

Mello shook his head and took Matsuda's hand, shaking it limply. "Right, well, I guess Rosie will be training you so it can't be all bad, right?"

Matsuda chirped, "Right!"

"Not right, Mello," Rosie said, leaning on the counter happily. "I'm getting on in years and haven't the energy to train little Matsuda. You'll have to take him on."

Mello stared. "You aren't old! That's a lie!"

She giggled, waving away his comment. "Oh dear, Mello, you frisky thing, are you calling me young?"

Sensing this was a fight he was destined to lose, Mello groaned to himself and led Matsuda over to the counter while Rosie flitted away somewhere, crowing about how they would become such good friends. Matsuda, as it turned out, had had some prior experience with a cash register at his last job at the local Burger King.

Mello raised an eyebrow at him. "Why'd they fire you?"

"Oh, they didn't, I quit. The manager kept making passes at me," he said somberly and Mello had to hold back a loud bark of laughter. Matsuda continued, "But Rosie doesn't seem like the harassing type. She has kept telling me all morning, though, that she hopes I don't get run over by a car. Does that happen often or something?"

Mello sighed. "I guess you could say that."

"Wow, really? I'd better be careful crossing the street though!"

"You'll be fine if you wait for the walk sign."

"Hmm. That seems pretty simple."

"It is," Mello yawned.

Matsuda blinked and smiled at the blond. "You've been yawning a lot. Are you a night-owl?"

Mello shook his head, covering his mouth. "No, I just-"

Rosie laughed from the back room and poked her head in with a big smile. "Oh, Mello's been yawning all week! He just moved in with a past employee of mine. It's pretty hard to get used to less sleep, right, Mello?" She winked.

Mello blushed heavily. "T-That's not it at all; we've been moving my stuff in and-"

"Moving, is that what they're calling it these days?" Rosie chuckled under her breath and ducked back into the other room.

"Rosie! Why do you have to tell all my business like that anyway, huh?" Mello raged.

Matsuda, who was slightly pink at hearing all of this, turned away and said, "Um, I'm not listening, Mello, you don't have to be embarrassed…"

"I'm not embarrassed!"

The bell rang suddenly and when a man entered the shop, Rosie jumped out into the open and pointed at him violently. "A customer! Men! At your stations!"

Matsuda pumped his fist in the air. "Yes, ma'am!"

The customer was beyond stunned and looked around nervously and Mello sighed heavily.

-

It was eight o' clock at night when the shop was closed up and after a long day of breaking Matsuda in, Mello was beyond ready to get away from the place. The streetlamps were lit and cars raced behind them down the streets and, distantly, there was music playing out of an open window. Standing outside the store, the three employees began to part ways.

"This was fun," Matsuda announced, sighing happily. "I learned a lot and didn't get sexually harassed all day!"

Rosie blinked. "Well, of course you didn't, Matsuda… why-"

"Because I'm not used to that." He nodded confidently. "So I would say things are certainly looking up!"

For once, Rosie seemed at a loss for something to say and it was at that moment that a black Mercedes pulled up to the curb. Mello sighed with relief that he could finally get away from such strange conversations and had to stop himself from diving into the passenger's side. When he opened the door, Rosie cried out fangirlishly at the driver, "Hello, L! Hi! Take Mello home safely! Don't keep him up too late!"

L smiled back and Mello shut the door, sticking his tongue out at Rosie childishly as they drove away. As soon as Mello rolled the window up, he shouted, "Man! Rosie just wouldn't leave me alone today. Oh and that guy she was standing with? New guy she just hired. I have to train him, can you believe that? Shit… he's a real weirdo, too, he's used to being sexually harassed! Rosie loves him though, and she's got the shop running like a pirate ship. I think he called her 'my captain' today. And… what?" Mello looked over at L when they were stopped at a red light, noticing the constant stare he was receiving. "Am I talking too much?"

"Not at all. I like it," L said and turned his attention back to the road. "It's almost like riding with Raito."

"Hey! Don't compare me to him!"

L raised an eyebrow. "You're right, I shouldn't."

"Good," Mello huffed.

"By the way," L said, turning the corner into the driveway of their apartment complex, "what do you think about someday having dinner with Raito and Near?"

"Oh God. What the hell for?"

"It might be entertaining. You would get to see Raito's sad attempts to hit on Near."

Mello considered this. "Well… that could be pretty funny. What day did you have in mind?"

"Tonight."

"Aw hell!"

When they parked, Mello got out on his side and stomped up the small walkway to the stairs that led to the second-floor apartment. L followed close behind and asked as Mello opened the door, "What's the matter with that?"

"You can't tell me something like that on such short notice. What if I had plans?" he asked, turning around in the living room, arms raised above his head.

"And what would your plans have been?"

"Um. I dunno. Something."

"Something doesn't sound like much," L stated.

Mello stared at him for a moment with an icy glare, one which L had learned to take in stride and in a minute, Mello no longer cared and turned towards the bedroom. The majority of his clothes were still packed away in a large box over by the walk-in closet and Mello headed for it, throwing the box open and rummaging around. He called out in challenge, "I'm not ironing my clothes though!"

"That's fine," L called.

Mello sighed, searching through the pile of jeans and felt something smooth beneath his hands. He blinked and pulled out the leather vest and, beneath it, found the pants. "Hey," he said softly, "I can wear these."

"You can."

Mello yipped, surprised to hear L so close, and turned around to see him standing less than a foot away. "Jesus, L, what'd I tell you about that?"

L ignored this and touched the leather, a fleeting contact with Mello's fingertips. "I like the way it looks on you. We have to leave in a few minutes to make the reservation so hurry and put it on," he said.

"What? So soo-" Mello was cut off by L's lips on his and he was close to not being agitated anymore before L pulled away quickly and, with the flash of bright obsidian eyes, turned and walked away.

Mello frowned, and just before he could call out some curse or another or tell L what an asshole he was for never finishing things he started, he clutched the material tighter. And before they left the apartment again, he was smiling.

The End.

A/N: Boy am I tired. Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone. The poll has been heeded and I posted the winning category fic which was "sexual." So that's up if anyone cares to read it. (Also, Matsuda was the new guy because I didn't feel like making an OC. Plus, he's cute.) If anyone would like to give me any closing comments, please do.

See you next time.