disclaimer: I don't own Deathnote, all rights belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takashi Obata.

L's pov:

I watched Light out of the corner of my eye, while also keeping my attention on Beyond and Naomi playing the closing of their song. Light got mad at me this morning, in his own little denying way, but still mad. I had an inkling of suspicion why, but I didn't want to say anything, he would most certainly just deny it anyways. So I just kept my eye on him today, I would find out eventually what it really was that was on his mind.

The song came to a close with Beyond strumming the guitar and Naomi at the electric piano, the base of the sound raising higher before it dropped completely and ended.

I raised my hands in applause, alongside Light, Matt and Mello. Though the style of music wasn't my forte, I had to admit it was good. The thing was, Beyond was only in the band club so he could be closer to Naomi, not because he liked music. If he was doing it for love of the sound, then he might have been able to get into a great musical school. The boy had talent, he just didn't have ambition for it, right now he just wanted the girl, sadly.

Beyond let a grin on his face and high five'd Naomi, before hopping off of the small stage and walking over to us, Naomi just shortly behind.

"Well? Whatcha think?" He asked, his eyes drifting over all of us, though when he met mine his expression changed slightly. He was smart enough to know that I didn't agree with his methods.

"It's was great, you and Naomi are a perfect team" Light congratulated politely, while Mello nodded in agreement.

"It was, you guys could make a CD out of it" Matt agreed enthusiastically.

Beyond bowed mockingly, "Why thank you, but I couldn't have done it without this fine young lady" He gestured to Naomi, who chuckled modestly, but only made her way over to sit on a chair beside Matt. I caught Beyond's barely hidden frown when she did this, but he had quickly covered it up as he took his own seat in front of us. "Well I'm glad you like it, who knows where this will go" He chuckled, his gaze flitting over to Naomi briefly.

"Yea, and you only started playing instruments when we got here right?" Matt started, eyes alight. The teen seeming to have an interest in anything to do with technology, even instruments. "Thats been what, a month? You'll definitely get much better than now, considering you're already really good"

Beyond nodded in agreement, "It's likely, but anyways I was curious, how have you guys been doing in your own clubs? We haven't talked to much this last week, seems we have all been pretty busy"

"Um.." Matt leaned back in his chair thoughtfully "..Well our club is trying to make an Iphone minigame, kinda like flappybird but a little bit different" He stated, but he didn't seem very excited about it. It wouldn't have been to much of a leap to think that he has already made a code basically the same as the game required.

Mello nodded "And I'm sure you've found out that I'm going to be in the tennis game tomorrow?"

Beyond shrugged, "You won't win though-" that statement earned a scowl from Mello "-No one can beat L and Light" He finished.

"But me" Mello stated, turning to look at us with a grin "You're going to experience loss for the first time in your life L, Light"

I nodded "I'm sure we will" I agreed, knowing there was quite a chance. Mello had taken it upon himself to train until he fell over, once he realized; after Light challenged him, that he couldn't beat us. The boy was a case, and nowhere near as good as us at the game. Different levels of experience putting him lower on the scale. But Light wasn't really feeling in the mood for competition, and I didn't take it all that seriously anymore, it was more of a pastime if anything, I focused more on the extra classes that Light and I took. Whereas Mello took it as seriously as he possibly could, if anything, that motivation would give him a great chance.

Mello scowled at my statement, probably hoping that I would have argued, and let out a huff as he leaned back in his chair.

It was then that the door to the clubroom clicked open, revealing a girl in brown pigtails and a white dress shirt and skirt. Linda, I immediately recognized the girl as Near's friend.

"Hi guys" She chirped, hopping into the room, and sure enough Near followed behind shortly, a lock of the boy's pale hair entwined in his fingers as he shuffled inside.

"Hello, Linda, Near, how are you?" Light greeted courteously, though I'm sure even Near noticed that, as usual, Light really didn't care. I sent the boy a look, that he returned with a shrug, irritating me just slightly. Light's bad mood was starting to get on my nerves a little.

"He're great, actually Near just signed up for the art club with me" She told us all with a cheerful smile, while Near just looked his usual indifferent.

"Really? I didn't take you for an artsy person Near" Mello spoke teasingly, earning a glare from the pale teen. Mello had really taken to teasing the boy.

"It is similar to making puppets, I find it quite enjoyable actually" Near replied calmly, leaving no indication that he noticed Mello's mocking tone.

This earned a snort from Mello, and a mumbled 'Child' under his breath. Meanwhile Linda was looking in between the two, unsure of what was going on.

Matt's Pov:

I smiled at Mello's back as he walked onto the tennis court, his blond hair blowing lightly in the wind as he made his way to the left side of the flat.

Today's game wasn't between any other schools, but to determine the winner in our school. It was more of a challenge and a test, to see who can beat who, and usually the top competitors of this game went on to compete with other schools. Though essentially it didn't put you on a list, it earned you reputation, and it was fun for everyone to have to compete with each other.

As expected, the top scores were made up of a few kids that I didn't recognize, Mello, Light and L. Though now, the top scores were left between Mello and L, as L had beat Light just previously.

From watching L and Light play before, I was amazed. Even though I really could care less about any sports, between L and Light it looked like more of a battle to the death than a game. It was quite impressive, and almost made me want to try it out. Though I wouldn't, I was way too under-fit to play the game, I would probably pass out trying to score a point.

Mello took his place across from L, ball and racket in hand while he waited for the starting signal. Even from here I could see the pure determination in his eyes, given that look, no one would doubt that he could win.

"Game start!" The line judge called, and on the signal, Mello tossed the ball up in the air and effectively hit it with the racket. Sending it across the court to L, who received the ball easily and hit it back to Mello. And then the game was on, Mello ran and caught the ball, sending it flimsily back to L with a curse. Once again L hit the ball back with ease, sending it back to Mello at a higher speed than previously.

This caught Mello off guard, earning L his first point.

"Love-15!" The line judge voiced.

Then the ball was in L's hand, being sent off to Mello, this time Mello ran a sent it back to L. Who caught it and hit it back to Mello with ease. This went on for seven more hits before Mello sent off a spin ball, though L expected it, it was to late and the ball hit cement before L could do anything about it.

Cheers erupted on Mello's small side of fans as the score was called. I let a grin take over my face, pairing with Mello's own on the grounds bellow.

"15-15!"

Mello's grin stayed put as he prepared to serve, bouncing the ball on the ground a few times before throwing it in the air. I knew as soon as he hit the ball though, that he was getting ahead of himself.

The ball went to L before it was back, and when Mello hit it it landed out of grounds.

Mello scowled at L, while the ravenette only smile sheepishly at him and mouthed, 'Try better next time'.

"15-30!"

Then it was off once again, with L serving and Mello more determined than ever before after his lost point.

Mello hit the ball back, sending it with a spin and L just barely catching it, before it was back at Mello with the same technique. too many hits to count later L missed the ball, earning Mello a point.

"30-30!" The line judge called, followed by catcalls and cheers.

Mello's next serve went off without a hitch, with L catching it and sending it back with a backhand. Mello, caught off guard with the move, quickly ran to hit the ball, sending it effectively back over the net to L with a topspin shot.

The game continued, both Mello and L's points climbing up until four sets went by, both teens sweating profusely and breathing hard as they started on their final set.

L served first, and then it continued. The balls whizzing by with many different styles, though the teens stayed pretty well tied the whole time. L scored the first point, the line judge calling "15-love!" before Mello served. From there, their points continued to climb, both sides to stubborn to lose.

"15-15!"

"15-30!"

"40-15!"

"30-40!"

"40-40!"

the deciding round, Mello served, and L caught the ball sending it back to Mello once again.

I didn't even notice my shoulders tense up as I watched, or my hands form into fists. Too busy silently rooting Mello on from my seat and watching the game intently as it came to an end.

The last shot, L hit the ball back with a childlike level and, Mello not expecting such premature hit, missed.

"40-game! 2 sets to three!" L won.

Mello frowned, panting heavily as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and let his shoulders slouch. Meanwhile L came over to him, holding out his hand. Mello reluctantly took the gesture and gingerly shook L's hand. A few words were exchanged between the two, before they both began to walk to the changing rooms. Light catching up with L and holding him back as soon as they were off of of the court, while Mello continued on.

I got up from my own seat, and began to make my way through the groups of teenagers until I reached Mello, panting lightly as I reached him just by the door of the changing rooms.

"Mello" I spoke up, catching his attention as he stopped to look at me. "That was great" I exclaimed, pulling my goggles over my head as I stopped in front of him with a grin. Up this close I could see just how tired he was, his lips dry, his hair soaked with sweat and plastered to his face, and his clothing damp.

"But I didn't win" He told me blatantly, earning a sincere frown.

"Oh come on Mello, L has been playing for years and you only started less than a month ago. Besides, you really gave him a hard time, that wasn't easy for either of you" I scolded his downcast behavior cheekily, and much to my satisfaction, earned a smile from the blond.

"You're right, but I'll definitely win next time, you can be sure of that" He told me, giving a thumbs up. It was when he did that, that I noticed the blotches of red on his hands,

Instinctually I grabbed his raised hand and held it open, looking at the blistered skin with a painful expression. "Mello-" I started, only to be cut off.

"What can I say, I have small hands" He protested, pulling back the limb as I raised my head to give him a concerned look. It wasn't that I didn't think he could handle a few blisters, I just worried that old habits would resurface.

Seeing my expression he scowled. "Matt, I'm not going to do anything like that, you don't need to worry, I'm not that stupid anymore" He chuckled near the end.

"Alright" I agreed, letting it go. I knew my concern was unfounded, he was just pushing himself to much so that he would win. "Go get cleaned up, you stink" I commanded him, giving a little push in the direction on the changing rooms with a chuckle, he chuckled as well and complied, opening the door and taking a step inside before tilting his head back to me.

"And Matt, you really don't have to worry about that anymore okay?" He told me, his voice in a rare soft tone.

I smiled in return "I know, I wasn't going too" I assured.

Mello's Pov:

I was tired by the end of that match, and even now at midnight, my legs hurt and my hands burned underneath the gloves that Matt had given me. It was intense, and I might have been quite angry about losing if it wasn't for the fact that I really did give L and Light both a hard time. I doubted many people have even posed a challenge to them, and I was practically tied the whole time. For now, second was okay for me.

Despite my aching limbs and drooping eyes though, I stayed true to my intentions and stayed up until midnight, and then, after making sure that Matt was indeed asleep, I crept into the hallway, and into the living room.

It wasn't a surprise to me that Matt had forgotten his birthday, well, he might have just not mentioned it, but knowing him he simply forgot. He had done that ever since I could remember.

I opened up the jacket closet and reached into the top shelf until I found what I was looking for, an orange wrapped present box. I pulled the object out skillfully, before moving across the room and placing it on the coffee table.

Despite my feelings for him, that I had settled in the back of my head and decided to ignore, I wanted to do this for him. I still loved him platonically, he was still the best friend of my life, and I wanted to make him happy.

I went into the kitchen and pulled out another box, this one had a bakery logo on it, the name of the shop surrounded by a red fox. Before I found two plates, two forks, and a knife. Setting those on the counter I shuffled around the kitchen some more until I found a small bottle of sake. I didn't like the drink so much as vodka, but it would do the job, or in this case, the celebration.

With everything that I needed from the kitchen, I grabbed the present box, and brought all of the precariously balanced items upstairs in my arms.

Once I was back in our bedroom, I was relieved to find Matt still asleep in his bed. Though it wouldn't have ruined to much, it was still more fun to have to wake him up. I then set everything on my bed, before making my way over to Matt's.

I couldn't help but take a moment to look over his sleeping form in the darkness. As the moonlight spilled over his cheekbones and his hair, turning the locks to an orange more than a red and making his faint dusting of freckles more apparent. In the daylight you would have had to look really close, but in the dim silver lighting they could be seen easily, more like when he was younger. Really, with the visibility of his freckles, and the lighting sharpening his now sleepy features, he looked looked more like his younger self now then in any pictures from back then.

I found myself smiling as I pictured the teen as a child, when he was this kid running around with a DS, oversized goggles, and a baggy striped shirt. It was amazing that we became friends really, but we did, and I'm yet to find out if that was a bad decision or a good one yet. I was leaning towards the latter despite everything going on.

Shaking my steadily drifting thoughts from my head, I raised my hand a gave his shoulder a light shake.

"Matt, Mattie make up" I whispered, and as expected, Matt being the light sleeper he is, reacted almost immediately with a squirm. I took this to pull the blanket off of him a little and shook him again. This time his eyes opened, and he turned to look up at me sleepily.

"Wha? Mells?" He spoke incoherently.

"Happy birthday" I stated, and his expression quickly morphed into sleepy confusion.

"What- Oh" He sat up in realization, looking at me in mild surprise as he clicked everything together. "I forgot"

I chuckled, " I expected you to" I told him as I leaned over his bed to turn on his lamp, the light flooded his half of the room, causing him to cringe away from it for a moment as his eyes adjusted. But as soon as they did, he caught sight of the display on my side of the room, and his eyes widened.

"You did that?" He questioned dumbfoundedly, before making to get up from his bed. Lucky for me, Matt didn't often sleep shirtless or anything, but in classic flannel pajamas. So waking him up wasn't any more awkward than it needed to be.

"Yea, don't make a big deal okay? I just wanted it to be special, its your eighteenth after all" I told him as he sat down on my bed, slowly waking himself up as he picked up the bottle of sake with a sideways look. "I won't" he assured as I made my ways over and sat beside him, picking up his present and handing it to him in the process.

"Here" I offered him the gift, which he took easily, passing it between his hands for awhile thoughtfully before looking up at me. His eyes much more awake now than before.

"Is it a gaming system?" He guessed, earning a chuckle from me.

"Maybe, maybe not, open it"

"Okay dokey" He chuckled, pulling off the lid of the box. He stuck his hands inside, shuffling through the tissue paper until he pulled out a smaller white box, labeled 'DreamCast'. His eyes widened immediately and he looked up at me in surprise.

"Were'd you get this?" He asked me excitedly, before he proceeded to look at each angle of the box in amazement.

I shrugged, a smile of my face as I watched him inspect the object. "It was lucky, thats all I'll say"

"Thank you, so much" He gushed as he dropped the box and wrapped me in a tight hug, holding me tightly. His body was warm, I liked it too much, but I hugged him back anyways.

"I'm glad you like it, but there a few more things in there still" I told him warmly, causing him to draw back and pull some more paper out of the box. Next he pulled out a chain necklace with a gold circle tag on it, the words 'Hermitage Museum' engraved on it. I tensed up as he froze, staring at the trinket with an unreadable expression for a few moments.

I knew he had bad memories with that necklace, But it was also the first time we met, So good memories and bad ones alike. It was risky, giving it to him now, but I also knew he would appreciate it, at least I hoped.

"H-how?" He stuttered eventually, eyes not leaving the trinket as he placed it in his palm, staring at the engraved letters.

"It's not the original one, that's probably still lost somewhere in the woods, but its genuine" I offered, watching as his eyes began to water. Feeling bad suddenly, and regretting getting it for him I leaned over and wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't have" I apologized, Matt was silent for a moment, his nose buried in my shirt and creating a slight dampness there. But then he spoke, relieving me.

"Its okay, I'm glad you got it actually. I could feel his fingers tracing the metal accessory along my back, and relaxed.

"You sure?"

"Yea" Was his silent voice, then he pulled away, looking at me now. "I'm glad, it reminds me of the first time I met you" He stated, a smile crossing his features, "Thank you" Then he looked back at his present box and pulled it onto his lap.

"The rest isn't so great, just some other things I found" I supplied as he pulled out a small set of DreamCast games. He nodded in response and quickly shifted through the titles with a smile, before going back to the box, this time pulling out a pair of green goggles. His eyes flitted to me, with a raised eyebrow.

"Is this you way of telling me my current ones are getting old?" He questioned with a chuckle, I shrugged innocently in response.

"Maybe, I also thought you could use a change" I informed him, earning a snort.

"Thanks, but green?"

"Oh, come on" I complained, "Don't wear them if you don't like them, I won't be offended"

He laughed at that, his eyes raising to me and sparkling mirthfully. "I'm just fooling around, I love them" He told me as he slapped the accessory over his eyes, as if to prove that he meant it. Though I could tell he did, his face was glowing with his smile, and he looked beautiful if I had to find a word. I knew I shouldn't have been thinking like that, but I couldn't help it, today was special.

"Okay, there's one more thing in there" I told him, and this time he just dumped the box upside down, making mess of the tissue paper on my bed, with a small tin box landing on top.

Matt picked it up curiously, before recognition crossed his features and he made to open it right away, peeling off the plastic seal to reveal a pile of chocolate coated candies inside.

"I haven't had these in ages" He exclaimed as he popped a single square in his mouth. I chuckled, grabbing a piece of the candy myself.

"Just make sure not to eat them too fast, I had to get them imported from Winchester and I don't know when I can do that next"

He nodded in understanding, shutting the container and set it in the box, followed by everything else, though he took a moment to look over the DreamCast again before he set it inside.

"I can't believe you actually found that" He told me as he set it in the box and put the lid overtop, bringing his gaze to me, before he embraced me in yet another hug. "Thank you so much" He told me once again in his childish voice.

"Anything for you Mattie" I told him, pulling away after a second and leaning over the bed to grab the cake. "Here" I told him as I handed him the box, pulling the lid open as I did, and revealing the Boston creme cake. His eyes brightened immediately.

"You know me to well Mells" He told me as he set the cake down and grabbed the utensils and plates.

"I do" I agreed, a smile naturally appearing across my face.

L's Pov:

I paused at the door to Matt and Mello's room, curiously cocking my head to the side as I heard Matt's voice chirp a 'thank you'. Followed by Mello's 'Anything for you Mattie' using the boy's nickname.

I smiled around my lollipop in realization, recalling the date. February 1st, Matt's birthday, according the his records. Mello must have thrown him a small birthday party. Those two are certainly close, I thought as I continued to walk away from their door.

Like Light and I, they had known each other since they were young, and though they were probably closer than Light and I, it was pretty well the same. Though Mello's feelings for Matt separated the example. Or maybe they didn't, I paused in my steps at the thought.

It really wasn't that far fetched, if Light liked me in a similar way that Mello liked Matt. The thought had been at the back of my head all week, all day even, it just seemed surreal for Light to feel that way about me. Though with his attitude lately, it was much more of a possibility than I had given it credit to be before.

Though it wasn't completely me just not considering it completely, I was a little scared of it. If Light really did feel that way about me, I wouldn't know how to react, respond, and I wouldn't know what to do. I had never thought of romantic feelings before, and it was completely out of my league.

I made my way to Light and I's bedroom, opening the door quietly and slipping inside of the dark space. My gaze drifted to Light's sleeping form, and I stared at him for a moment in thought.

It was how Light had refrained from meeting my eyes as of late, how he put a purposeful space inbetween us on a daily basis. How his demeanor changed when he saw a gay couple. There were a lot of things that pointed to the conclusion, really it was hard to chalk it up to simply him coming out to us. On that topic, there is the fact that he told Beyond first, and not me.

I didn't like emotions, I took them as a challenge more often than I did as a feeling. Therefore I didn't like having to contemplate them, because I could never be sure if I was right. It wasn't logic, and so emotions were my weakness.

After a moment I made up my mind, and I leaned down to shake Light's shoulder, trying to wake the teen up. Easily he rolled over and looked up at me, almost as if he hadn't been asleep at all, but I knew better than that.

"What?" He demanded quietly, his eyes boring sharply into mine. Light didn't like to be woken up, though he had put up with it eventually, as I made a habit of doing it a lot when we were younger.

It was a good way to get things out of people, when their heads were foggy and their thoughts unclear. So I had always done it, if possible, when I wanted an answer from somebody.

"Light-Kun I would like to ask you a question if thats alright with you" I told him, earning a narrow eyed expression from the slightly younger boy.

"Go ahead" He told me, his voice void of amusement.

"I was wondering if you like me" I told him, watching his eyes widen a fraction as he placed together what I was asking him. It was something that was very hard to notice, even if you were looking for it, especially because he hid the reaction almost immediately.

"You woke me up in the middle of the night to ask me a stupid question like that?" He chuckled, rolling over onto his side again. I stayed silent, waiting for his answer. When he realized that I wasn't going to leave until he responded, he did just that.

"No L, you're my best friend, that a ridiculous notion in itself" He told me, mumbling the last part quietly.

"Alright, thank you for your answer Light-Kun" I told him, before walking back over to my laptop, and politely leaving the teen to go back to sleep.

But that little conversation confirmed my suspicions, it was in the way he responded. How his voice raised to a lilt, and how he forced that chuckle, hardly noticeable, but I knew him well enough to know when he was lying.

For some reason this brought a tiny smile to my lips, though it was probably just because I was certain of it now. Certain that I was right.

I sat down on my bed and went back to finishing up the last few sentences of my essay on Russian history, my thoughts easily shifting back into studying mode.

'To this day, replica's and evidence of Russia's history is kept in the Hermitage Museum, locatated in St. Petersberg. Along with a library, filled with books on the royal bloodlines that come from the country's history...'

Authors Note: Well look at this, things are picking up! Well of course I knew they would around here, but now its written out :) I hope you enjoy, and make sure to drop a review on the way out, I love to hear what you guys think :)

Oh! And thank you Randommuffin for the reviews! As well as Dapplepath and two unnamed guests :) I'm glad you like it.