~Lawliet's POV~

The loud noise had clouded my senses, so when Near clutched his chest, and his white shirt turned red with blood, I couldn't quite piece together what had happened right away. He looked down at his wound, and then up at me. I screamed, my thoughts finally processing at normal, if not heightened, rates. "NEAR!!" I yelled as he tumbled to the floor, his eyes fluttered close.

Oh, God, please no.

"OH, GOD, SOMEONE HELP!! ROGER! GEVANNI!!" I yelled, putting pressure on the wound, not daring to leave Near's side. "Its gonna be okay, Near, I promise, just hang in there."

Seconds passed before Roger and Gevanni came rushing out of the building. They stood in shock before Roger turned to go back into the building, and Gevanni came rushing over. "Watch out, Lawliet, I've got this." Gevanni said, and I stood up, my hands clasped tightly over my mouth. "Come on, Nate, hang in there. You can't leave me. Not now."

He pushed on Near's chest, trying to stop the bleeding, like I had been. I stood behind him, watching in horror as the most awful possibility hit me like a bus:

Near is probably going to die.

~Mello's POV~

Finally sick of waiting for {Y/N} to come back with Matt, I turned to B. "Is it just me, or have they been gone for a really long time?"

"Feeling jealous, huh, Keehl?" B teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"It's Matt. He could be confessing his love for her and I wouldn't be jealous."

B looked hesitant, almost as if he was trying to read me. "Do you know about... him...?"

For a minute, I was slightly confused as to what he was hinting at, but then I retraced the conversation back and sighed. "That he loves {Y/N}?"

When B nodded, I looked away and nodded. "He's loved her as long as I have. But Matt... he could never bring himself to hurt me or her. So he's kept it to himself."

"And you never worried about him taking her from you?"

"{Y/N} isn't an object, she can't be taken from me," I scoffed, "Besides, even if he did, it's Matty, and he deserves something happy for once."

"He really does seem to be the third wheel."

"Always has been. Even with Mina, he had eyes for {Y/N}. And of course, {Y/N}'s my girl, no one can take that away from me, but Matt's just been there for so long that he's basically part of us."

B remained quiet for a minute, before speaking up. "That day... when your son was born... those things that Matt said..."

"I know, he lied to keep us from worrying," I chuckled, "Matt really does love her, he was willing to issue death threats to me to make sure my heart was in the right place."

"But she got mad at him." he muttered.

"She loves him, but she's mine, like I said. {Y/N} can never hate Matt, not in a million years. But she can be get pissed at him, and for her, not knowing how the man's mind works, she didn't understand, and thought he was being malicious."

B nodded in agreement, leaning back. "I saw everything from up here. I was particularly interested in the three of you, because you guys had the courage to actually leave Wammy's House. Without money, without a job, without any adults. I thought you three would've been dead within a month."

"Not a bad idea, eh? Getting into the mafia business." I said.

"I wouldn't have thought of it, so it was clever. You, I had expected to leave or something. But for Matt and {Y/N} to follow you like that, I was surprised. So when I saw the pieces fall into place with you and her, I was genuinely happy for you."

"I appreciate that, B," I thanked, "But everything that happened is owed to {Y/N}."

"That girl really is a work of art, huh?" He sighed, "Such a strong person."

"After everything she's been through, I just want her to be able to see everyone one last time."

"She will," B assured, "A isn't an obstacle that you three can't overcome. She will."

~L's POV~

"L, are you absolutely sure you're okay??" Light questioned after a while. The silence that was between us had been a little awkward, but I was so close to breaking down that I was afraid to speak.

I nodded, causing Light to arch an eyebrow. He grabbed my chin and looked into my eyes. "You're not okay, what's the matter?"

And that was the my breaking point. The tears streamed out of eyes and I pulled away from Light, walking ahead. "Wait, L!!" He called after me, "Tell me what's wrong!"

I took a deep breath, trying to gain some composure. There was no point in waiting to talk to him any longer, since I was already crying. "...why did you fight A?"

He looked confused for a minute. "He was being a facetious jackass."

"Yes, but what set you off?"

He gulped, and it was like the world crumbling around me. Light had been a good liar while we were on Earth, but now I could see through the bullshit. "He was kinda poking fun at you and I." He tried, and I laughed.

He thinks I'm stupid.

"Light Yagami," I chuckled, "You really are something, you know that?? I'm not stupid, and I know that something so minuscule wouldn't set you off."

"He was just making fun of my love life, okay? Its no big deal, I just got caught up in the moment." He tried again.

"Your love life with me, or your love life with Misa Amane??" I screamed, causing even Ryuk to look at me in surprise. When Light looked away and didn't reply, I turned away and began walking ahead again. "You're so full of shit."

"No, L, wait, lemme explain!!" He said, grabbing my wrist.

"Let go of me, Light Yagami," I hissed, "You promised me, remember?? You promised that she was nothing to you!"

"She was nothing to me!" He exclaimed.

"Bullshit!! You just went from one bitch to the next. Because God forbid that anytime you wanted some, you were left by yourself."

By then, my sobs were almost violent, with my breathing uneven and my body trembling. Light looked weary and full of pain, but I couldn't have cared less, because in that moment, I knew that what I'd heard wasn't a lie.

"L... I--!" He began, but I shook my head.

"Save yourself the breath, Light. Its my fault, anyways. To think I could trust you. I mean, Jesus Christ, do you have any love or humanity in you?"

I pulled my hand from his grasp and walked ahead, tears still coming from my eyes. But I didn't care to look back, because if I did, I knew I wouldn't have been able to walk away.

~{Y/N}'s POV~

"Ready to go back now?" I asked Matt when he finally pulled away from me.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered, a blush painted on his cheeks. "Sorry about all of that."

"No, Matt, don't apologize," I said, "You of all people deserved to do that."

"What?" He scoffed, "Have a mental breakdown?"

"No, you deserved to let your feelings loose," I corrected, reaching up and fixing his messy hair. "You've always held it together for me. You're allowed to have your moments, too."

He softened and looked into my eyes. "I didn't wanna tell you because I couldn't hurt you or Mello like that."

We began walking again, and I took his hand. "No matter what happens, I couldn't never bring myself to hate you. You're a part of me, Matty. Its like... you're the other half of me. You're such an amazing person and in another universe, it probably was you that I ended up with. But in this one... in this universe, its Mello. And it doesn't mean that I don't love you, because God, I love you just as much as I love Mello. But I don't love you like a girlfriend, Matty. I'm sorry."

"I understand," he assured, "I just... I think I just needed to get everything off my chest."

"Okay," I agreed, "Now, lets go see if L's come back with Ryuk, yeah?"

Matt smiled bright; Brighter than I'd seen in a long time. And I knew he was going to be okay. Because after all, it was Matt, my brother, my protector. "Yeah."

He's gonna be okay.