Three months later L came to visit yet again. Those three months were rather uneventful. Mello picked a few fights with Near, but Near only obliged once when Mello knocked over his dice castle on "accident." Near retaliated by throwing handful of dice at the boy, and when Mello just laughed, Near soon followed his dice with himself, pouncing on the blonde and not quite sure what to do next. Roger wasn't sure how to react when walking in on the two flustered boys, Near seated on Mello's hips, Mello on his back, hands on Near waist. Roger settled on giving the boys a sex lecture and telling them it's ok to like boys, although he'd prefer if they were a little older before committing sexual acts. (Mello responded by yelling and telling Roger that he was not having sex with Near, they were fighting, and Near stared at the ground, blushing, embarrassed after just having "The Talk.")

L came to the orphanage unexpected. He had some extra time after working on a case in the area.

"Hello." He said quietly, standing in Mello's doorway.

"L!– er, Ryuuzaki!" Mello exclaimed, jumping up to meet the man. "What're you doing here?"

"I was around here so I thought I'd drop by." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"How was your last case?" Mello asked, hugging the detective.

"Easy." L replied, walking into the room and sitting on the chair. Mello sat cross legged on the bed.

"I hear you've been getting in a lot of fights lately."

Mello cringed. Just like L, always concise and straight to the point.

"Yeah . . . " he admitted.

"Why?"

"I . . ." he paused. It was odd, telling L this. "I do this to take out my frustration at my parents."

"You feel bad? Angry?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you think the other orphans feel the same? The other kids that were abandoned must have the same feelings of rejection and unlove."

"I know–"

"Mello." L interrupted, "You have to stop this behavior."

"O-ok. I'll stop."

"Good." L got up to leave.

"Wait– where are you going?"

"To say hello to Near and leave. You and I both know that any conversation we have at this time will be awkward. I am not one to make small talk, and no offence, especially not to children."

Mello nodded. "I understand. But I was wondering, do you want to do something fun?"

"Fun?" L asked, stepping back into the room. "Like what?"

"Video games."

Near walked through the halls picking model glue from his fingers. For some reason, the Gundam he was building has been quite troublesome. Ah well, it stood in full glory now, and he walked to his room in search of a nice puzzle to pass the time.

He walked past Mello's room and didn't bother to look in. He knew him and Matt were in there playing fighting games.

"Ha!" Mello's unmistakable voice shouted, "You're not very good at this, are you?"

"What?" Near though, "Matt's good at everything video game related."

"I apologize if I haven't spent days mashing buttons."

"That voice is deeper than Matt's. Besides, Matt had wasted days mashing buttons. That voice is familiar, but from where . . . ?"

"Don't apologize Ryuuzaki-kun, just get better."

"Don't make fun of my possible heritage."

Near retraced his steps and peered into the room. Sure enough, there was L next to Mello, some fighting game flashing across the screen.

Near knew that he had some pretty weird dreams, but this was pure nonsense. There was no way in hell that L was actually in there with Mello.

L smirked at the blonde as his character sent Mello's flying into the side of the screen, an announcer saying, "K.O!" as the fiery letters burned across the screen.

"Meh, it's only cuz I was going easy on ya."

"Right." L said. "You just don't want to admit that I beat you fairly."

"Yeah right." Mello retorted. "As if that could happen."

Then L stuck his tongue out at Mello.

"Ok," Near thought, "This definitely beats the nightmare I had about the talking rug. This is absolutely preposterous!"

He pinched himself just to be sure.

"Ow!" he yelped, covering the skin with his hand. He was awake.

"Hello, Near." L said calmly. "Care to join us?"

"I..." Near stuttered. "This is happening? Truly happening?"

"If he joined us, we'd have to play a racing game."

L pouted. "Right when I was getting good at Tekken, too . . . "

"I..." Near started again.

"Get in here, we wont wait forever!"

Near walked into the room slowly and took a seat next to L, one knee to his chest. Mello handed him a controller.

Near chose his character last. It was some futuristic motorcycle racing game. Mello instantly took first, L a little bit behind him, and Near being pushed to the back by the A.I. players. Dazed, Near pressed the X button hard. He had never played a video game before.

He quickly caught up with L and Mello. He may have never have played before, but he seemed to have a natural talent.

However, he soon lost his concentration when he felt L press against him, arm to arm. The breath caught in his throat when he felt the older man lean into him. L didn't seem to notice. That, or he didn't care as he stabbed at the acceleration button.

"Come on, Near." he said quickly. "If we shoot down Mello, you can still get first."

"Hey!" Mello protested, his eyes not leaving the screen.

The finish line was looming up. Near could hear the games crown cheering as camera flashes exploded from the animated bleachers. In a last attempt, L rammed his into Mello, his motorcycle exploding and Mello's slowing down considerably.

"Come on, Near." L said emotionlessly. Near pushed down hard on the button and avoided the wreckage as he flew over the finish line.

"Player 3– WINS!"

Mello stared at the screen.

"You beat me . . . " He said dazedly. "He always beats me . . . "

Near was just as shocked, his body tingling with delight from the contact with L, his mind buzzing.

"L helped me win. He helped me beat Mello."

And now he was leaving.

L got to his feet.

"I've stayed here longer than I anticipated. I'm afraid I must leave."

Mello jumped up and threw his arms around L.

"Goodbye Mello." L said, hugging Mello back.

"Bye Ryuuzaki." Mello replied, smiling happily.

He released the blonde as Near got to his feet and walked into L's arms. He breathed in L's scent. He smelled of fresh laundry, a sugary treat of some sort, and of a scent Near couldn't place. Of a scent that was L, and the most pleasant scent in the world. He loved the way his arms felt around him.

"Good bye Near."

"Farewell."

L turned and left the room without another word or second glance. Near decided that he too should leave. Mello probably didn't want him to be there any longer and went to leave
when Mello told him to stop.

"What is L to you?"

Near didn't turn around. "What do you mean?" he asked, although he knew exactly what he meant.

"Like, what does he mean to you? What do you think of him as? I think of him kind of like a father . . . "

"Yes," ear replied. "I think of him as a father."

Then he left the room and went to his own.

"What is L to me? How do I feel about him? This feeling he inspired in me– what is it? I've never felt this way about anyone. This whole situation is confusing." Near sighed and crawled into bed. He'd think about it in the morning.

Yay! Chapter three! I did a quick scan of this one but not a whole read through, so I apologize for any mistakes in advance.

Oh, and does anyone know how many years L worked on the Kira case before he... er, stopped? I need it for future chapters.

And a quick warning– the next chapter contains shounenai. Enjoy!

-Hybrid