Near found himself speechless. He was in the presence of someone incomprehensible, someone extraordinary, someone he looked up to. L stood in the doorway, scrutinizing the two boys trembling before him.

"Hello," he said casually, "I am L."

Near's fingers curled around and around in his hair, hiding his nervous shaking.

"It's you..." Mello breathed next to him.

"Yes, it is I."

"Oh, my God. I can't fucking believe it."

"Language," L cautioned, his eyes still on Near. Near looked back at the man he was destined to become, at his future. He gulped.

Playing with the carpet with his toes, L started, "I'm going to ask you a question."

Near felt Mello tense beside him. Emotion flashed across Mello's face, confusion. What had he expected, that L would walk in, announce that, as the next letter in the alphabet, Mello was chosen to precede him? Near played with a smile at the idea.

L looked at the ceiling, thinking. "There are good people in this world, and there are bad people. But that in itself is too broad. Sometimes, good people to bad things, and vice verse. A woman saves a girl from a rapist, but kills the attacker in the process. Was the killing justified?"

Mello, as the oldest and the more arrogant of the two, puffed up his chest. "Of course it was justified!" he exclaimed, "The girl was being brutally attacked. The woman was doing her, and the rest of society, a favor by killing him."

L nodded. "That's dangerous thinking, Mello. He didn't have to die. Prison would have been just fine."

Mello paled.

"I-- I just, I mean--"

"Near?" L cut him off.

Near looked at the ground, his fingers curling hair until his scalp hurt. "Yes, but the woman shouldn't go unpunished. She did something good. She saved someone. But she took a life, and that shouldn't be awarded."

"Self-defense," L said, his eyes boring into Nears, "She would claim self-defense."

Suddenly, Near's throat felt unbelievable dry. He met L's gaze because he had to, not because he wanted to. "B-but," he started, his voice catching, "she wasn't the one being attacked." Something flickered across L's eyes, something Near couldn't identify. A smile ghosted across his lips.

"How about a treat?" He asked.

And that's how the three ended up at a cake shop.

Mello immediately knew what he wanted, going straight for a heart attack disguised as chocolate cake. Near was at a loss. There were so many options, so many smells, and he was overwhelmed. L caught on to his dilemma.

"What would you like?" He asked the albino.

"I don't know," Near said, shaking his head.

Mello smirked. "Near doesn't eat sweets."

L's eyes flickered over to Mello, then back to Near. "Mind if I order for you, then?" Near shook his head, white curls falling into his eyes.

"A slice of triple chocolate and two slices of strawberry, please." The pretty blonde behind the counter busied herself with getting the slices while L searched in his pocket for some money. He paid her, and the three boys took their cake to a table facing the street. Near took his fork in his hand and held it poised above the sugary mass of strawberry flavor. L was devouring his slice, sitting in the most peculiar manner, savoring each bite as he scraped it off his fork. Near didn't touch his, just looked at it. L noticed this.

Near watched through his mess of light colored curls as a fork shaved off a the tip of his slice. He looked up to see L holding a fork with the missing piece on it.

"Do you want it?"

Near opened his mouth to respond, and instead found a fork shoved between his teeth. His eyes widened, his jaw clenching involuntarily, and L withdrew the fork, leaving the bite of cake on the boy's tongue.

"Mm, it's good." Near thought, chewing slowly. And then he realized. He was holding his fork. And the fork L was holding still had whipped cream on it. And L is sure to lick all the whipped cream off of each bite. Which mean--

"L just fed me with his fork."

Near blushed deeply, bowing his head to try to hide it with his unruly silver locks. L cocked his head when he saw near blush and smiled to himself. Mello, however, started to rant about how Near could very well feed himself.

As they rode home, Near thought about the fork incident. Was it such a big deal? Of course not. So why was his heart beating so fast?

When they got out of the car, L thanked them for meeting him. Mello spewed nonsense about how great it was to meet him and that it was entirely their pleasure and will he come back to them soon? L smiled, nodded, said, "Hopefully," and patted Mello on the head before the small blonde ran off to tell Matt everything. Near looked up at L, the two of them alone now.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," L said, peering down at the boy. Near nodded, suddenly not wanting L to leave. There was a pause, and then L bent down and gave Near a loose hug. Near hugged back, a second too late, and kept his arms around him for a moment too long. L broke the hug, said a goodbye, and climbed back into the car, leaving Near to wonder about this strange feeling in his stomach and his curiously frantic beating heart.

After all, he had never had a crush before.

- - -

]AN:

WHAT. WHAT.

Expect things to be more or less the same, with some (hopeful) improvement with my style and some plot changes.

Happiness.