The first thing that Raito was aware of was a cool, soft hand clutching his uninjured one. It took less than a second for the memories of the events before he past out to settle in his head. He let himself slowly come to his senses, not surprise when he opened his eyes to a hospital room. Sitting in the chair next to his bed was L.

"How are you feeling?" A tired smile was pressed on L's lips.

"I don't know," Raito wanted to laugh but wasn't sure how. "My shoulder hurts."

"You might need more medication," L started to stand, but Raito tightened his grip on the detective's hand.

"No, it's okay," he told him quickly. "Can you stay?"

"Raito I've been sitting here for the past ten hours," L drawled with a tiny smile. "I won't leave until you tell me to."

"Thanks." This time Raito did laugh (he did his best to ignore the pain this put his bruised ribs through, but he was sure L notice). "I was asleep for ten hours?"

"I told the others I'd let them know when you were awake," L added, not answering Raito's question.

"Others?" Raito asked, groggily.

"Mello, Matt, and Misa," L said. "They left after the first hour."

"About Matt—" Raito tried to ask.

"He can answer any questions you have for him himself," L smoothly cut him off. "I'll go call them, if you can bare my absence for just a moment."

Raito rolled his eyes, but his smiled died quickly.

"L," he spoke before the detective could leave the room. "Beyond Birthday is dead, isn't he?"

"Yes," L's face fell to a serious expression.

Raito didn't know what to say (an apology didn't exactly seem appropriate), so he simply nodded and let L leave the room. L returned in less than a minute. Neither of them spoke until the others arrived, but L took Raito's hand in his again. Raito closed his eyes and tried to imagine what he should say to L the next moment that they were alone. Without realizing it, he squeezed L's delicate fingers. L gave his hand a light squeeze back.

"Raito!" Misa exclaimed as she threw the door open. Mello and Matt followed behind her with amused looks on their faces.

"Hello, Misa," Raito greeted her.

"I'm mad at you," she crossed her arms and huffed. Her initially relieved expression turned to a pouting one.

"I'm sorry," Raito held her eyes.

"Misa knows. She's just happy Raito's alright," she plopped down in the chair next to L. Mello and Matt followed her lead and sat down in the chairs at the other side of the bed. "Ryuzaki said he'd tell us what happened once Raito woke up."

"He probably didn't realize you'd be out cold for ten hours," Mello added with a smirk. "The same way we didn't realize that he wouldn't talk to anyone until you opened your eyes."

"Don't make fun of him for being worried," Misa scolded. "I think it's sweet."

"Yeah," Raito murmured, not letting go of L's hand. "It's sweet."

"Beyond Birthday died of a heart attack seconds before he would have ended Raito's life," L announced, bringing the conversation back to the events of the night before. He did not meet Raito, or anyone else in the room's, gaze.

"I didn't write his name," Raito felt the need to state, despite the fact that everyone had witnessed him throw away his shot to do so.

"Of course you didn't," L dismissed. "We found another death note and a pile of white sand in the conner of the room. Mello, you still have the note?"

Mello produced a black notebook from the bag he had been carrying.

"It was Rem's," Misa spoke now. Her voice and expression resembled the state they had been in when she first told Raito about the death note. "When you ran out I didn't know what to do. I was crying and begged her to follow you."

"I don't understand," Raito voiced. "Gelus saved you because he was in love with you, but I'm sure Rem was indifferent to me. Why would she give her life to save mine?"

"You don't get it!" A choked sob escaped Misa's throat, and she buried her face in her hands.

L, who was still sitting next to her, froze as if unsure what to do with the crying girl. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a tentative pat. Were the situation any different, Raito would have laughed at the poor man's awkwardness.

"Rem was indifferent to you," Misa said once she had composed herself. "She followed you because I asked her to."

"The only way for Rem to help you was to seal her own death," L murmured.

Misa nodded.

"Rem loved me," she whispered.

"And you loved the shinigami back?" Mello sounded more appalled than curious.

"Of course not," she shot him an irritated look. "But I know how much it hurts to love someone who will never see you that way."

Raito knew that she was talking about him.

"Misa, I—"

"Don't say you're sorry," she stopped him. "I don't want an apology."

"Okay," he nodded.

"Well," she paused to think. "Maybe you could apologize for kissing me. Yeah, I'd take an apology for that."

"You kissed her?" Matt asked.

"Only to distract me so he could run out of my apartment," Misa huffed.

"Raito-kun can be very manipulative," L sounded oddly pleased as he said this. Raito wondered if he had initially been jealous, and tried not to dwell on the fact that he liked that thought.

"I'm sorry," Raito did his best to put an end to the conversation.

"I forgive you," Misa smiled at him.

"What are you going to do with the death notes?" Mello spoked now, his question directed at L.

"Burn them," L answered. "And I'd like any extra pages that are hidden in your apartment, Amane-san."

"I'll get that to you," Misa agreed.

"I think we've more than proven that this is too dangerous of a weapon for any of us to keep," L stated.

"I have a quick question," Raito spoke up before L directed any more guilt to him. "Why is Matt here?"

"About that," Mello chuckled.

"It seems my deductions as to the identity of Beyond's spy have been wrong a second time," L looked more embarrassed than Raito had ever seen him.

"You don't say," Raito chose to see the humor in this now that the ordeal was over.

"Don't be too hard on him," Matt interjected. "He was partly right. I am a spy. I work for Wammy. Well, I was supposed to attend Wammy's House, but after going over my record and IQ I was asked to spy on Mello instead."

"Watari knew that Mello would do something to endanger himself and choose not to report this to Roger," L explained to Raito. "It was Mail's job to inform Roger on what Mello was actually doing, and to do his best to prevent Mello from getting hurt."

"Matt called that SWAT Team last night," Mello added.

"I just asked for reinforcements the night before," Matt corrected. "I didn't know they'd go to that extreme. Not that it was any help."

"Had Mail not be assigned to spying on Mello, right now he would be training to be my third successor," L stated, a slight degree of pride in his voice.

"Second," Mello corrected.

"Mello," L gave him a sharp, but forgiving expression. "Considering your big mistake was to give information to the boy tasked with keeping an eye on you, I am not going to hold anything against you."

"But what if Matt was what we thought he was," Mello argued.

"We're lucky he was not," L sighed. "Regardless I'm sure you have learned from this ordeal, and it's time for you to move on with your knowledge and stop dwelling on one flaw."

"You should be angry with me not yourself," Matt told the blonde, an oddly shy expression on his face. "I'm sorry that I lied to you for so long."

"It was your job," Mello dismissed.

"I still feel bad," Matt said sheepishly. "And I'm still asking your forgiveness."

"Well," Mello drew out the word. "I'm not upset, but I have a few ideas on how you can make it up to me."

"Shoot," Matt agreed.

"You now work for me indefinitely," Mello crossed his arms. "That means whenever I need a tech person—or anything for that matter—you have to help."

"Sure," Matt laughed. "I guess that's fair."

"So he basically becomes your servant?" Raito asked.

"Well…" Mello grinned.

"You guys are so weird," Misa muttered.

"I agree," Raito told her.

"I think it's cute," L murmured with a goofy smile.

I think that's cute, Raito couldn't help thinking.

"And I supposed your reasoning is that with Matt's help you will be able to exceed Near?" L dryly asked Mello.

"Pretty much," the blonde shrugged.

"L, if Matt wasn't Beyond Birthday's spy then who was?" Raito brought the conversation back to the case that had just closed.

"One of the new kids at the orphanage," Matt answered. "She was reading the reports Mello sent to Roger and explaining them to Beyond. They only found her yesterday, but it didn't take much for her to confess. She said that Beyond promised to pay her off so she could run away from Wammy's House. I almost feel bad for her."

"I don't. Apparently Linda caught her sneaking into Roger's office to hack his computer, when she was trying to do the same," Mello mused. "That used to be my trick. It's a good thing I taught it to her."

"Beyond had the shinigami eyes," L informed Raito. "I don't know how he got them. Now that he's dead I don't think I'll ever know, but that was how he knew when to attack you and Misa and when to kidnap you."

"That means that every time he killed someone they he knew that they were going to die that day anyway," Mello pointed out. "That almost justifies what he did."

"I'm sure that's how Beyond saw it," L's voice was back to the monotone. "But I don't think that's what was really happening. I think that Beyond was able to kill the victims not because they were going to die anyway, but because he was always supposed to kill them."

"That would explain the Lowood deaths," Raito concluded. "It would be odd for that many of the students to die any other way."

"Yes," L nodded. "I may not like this reasoning, but according to the death note, our fate is predetermined. If that is true, then B's actions should have been as well. He may have had the eyes but he didn't have a note, so he couldn't have changed what he was always supposed to do. Had Rem not intervened, Raito would not be alive right now."

"How much do I have left now?" Raito asked Mello, knowing that Rem's lifespan had been added to his empty one.

"I don't want to tell you," Mello answered with a solemn expression. "It's better if none of you know how much longer you have to live."

"I doubt that any of us will understand the toll that seeing death has taken on Mello," L said sadly. "Despite how much he tried to hide it."

"It definitely sucks," Mello agreed.

"If it's possible, I think you should give them up before we burn the death notes," L suggested.

"You're probably right," Mello complied. "Although, I did like being able to see everyone's real names."

"It's better that you don't know Near's," L seemed understand what Mello was hinting at.

"Whatever," the blonde rolled his eyes.

"You know," Misa spoke up. "A lot of what you guys were talking about doesn't make any sense to me. So, I think I'm just going to leave now. Raito, I'm glad you're okay."

"Goodbye Misa." Raito knew that, despite her feeling for him, there was little chance that she'd fully forgive him for his actions that night.

"We'll walk you home," Matt rose from his seat.

"Yeah," Mello nodded. "For protection."

"Thanks," Misa giggled and lead the way out of the room.

"One more thing, Matt," Mello said as the three made their way out of the room. "is your hair really natural or was that another lie?"

"I'm not sure I want to tell you," Matt smirked at the blonde.

Raito laughed as he watched the door close behind them, noticing that Matt and Mello's hands were interlocked as they walked away. He couldn't help but smile at this. After Mello's declaration, he didn't doubt that it would only be a matter for time before the two of them voice their feels for each other. Only now did he realize that maybe they didn't have to. Maybe Mello and Matt understood each other that well.

Raito was then suddenly aware that he was alone with L once again. Painfully, he wondered if this was the last time that they would be alone. Was this the last time that he'd see L? The case was closed, after all, and L would need to be moving on soon. There was so much that Raito needed to say to the detective, but he was clueless as to how to put it into words.

"Raito-kun," L's smooth voice broke through his thoughts.

"Yes." Raito looked up at L, trying to take in every detail of the man's beautiful face while he still could.

"It's my fault you were almost killed last night," L told him. Raito noticed that the detective's gaze was fixed on the bandages covering Raito's torso. The bandages that covered the letter L that Beyond had carved into his skin. "I'm sorry for putting you in so much danger."

"Don't apologize," Raito scolded sharply. His words brought L's eyes away from the wound and to his face. "It's my own fault that Beyond kidnapped me, you tried to keep me out of harms way but it didn't listen. Besides, I meant it when I said that you're worth everything that happened."

"Raito-kun—"

"No, it's my turn to talk now," Raito placed a finger on L's lips to silence him. "Before I met you I was bored out of my mind. My life was so dull it was painful to get through each day. I just kept waiting for something to happened, for some sort of achievement that would make me feel alive for one second. Needless to say everything fell flat to my expectations."

"I didn't realize Raito-kun was so depressed," L drawled, he gently removed Raito's hand from covering his mouth.

"Then I started working with you," Raito continued. "L, one conversation with you made me feel more alive than seventeen years of living ever has."

"You were going to kill Beyond last night," L remembered. "You stopped when you looked at me."

"Yes," Raito wasn't sure what else to say.

"You shouldn't have," L's words surprised him. "You could have saved yourself."

"It wouldn't matter," Raito dismissed. "I know you couldn't accept me if I was a murderer."

"Stop," L's tone was harsh now, his eyes still bared the look that it had when he was looking at Raito's wound. "I didn't want you to use the death note because I didn't want you to live with blood on your hands. I was upset that I was the one who drove you to that action. Raito, if you killed Beyond in selfdefense I would not think any less of you."

L paused his speech to bring Raito's hand to his lips. Gently he kissed Raito's knuckles. Ratio savored the feeling of L's soft lips on his skin.

"I haven't felt the boredom that you endured since I was very young," L admitted softly. "But I haven't felt human for a long time. Talking to you—being with you—made me feel human. Thank you."

"I'm in love with you," Raito confessed.

"I don't deserve your affections," L whispered.

"Yes you do," Raito told him.

"Does Raito still wish to become a private detective after everything that happened through this case?" L's question felt abrupt and off topic.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I gave up on that dream," Raito feigned annoyance.

"I'd like an answer," L gently brushed Raito's bangs out of his face as he spoke. Raito observed that the guilt was finally gone from his eyes.

"Yes," Raito answered. "If I could, that is still something I'd want to do."

"Even after nearly dying?" L asked.

"Living is worth dying," Raito answered.

"Then I have a proposition for you," L stated. "I work well when I have someone by my side, and Raito-kun is the first that I've met to rival my own intelligence. If you will accept, I'd greatly appreciate it if Raito would come work with me."

"You're joking," Raito gaped. "You realize I haven't even finished high school yet?"

"If Raito-kun would like you continue his education, I have no qualms with him doing so," L smiled. "I can wait for you. Or you could always live and work with me on the side."

"By living with you," Raito could feel a blush darkening his cheeks. "Do you mean…?"

"Would you like that?" L asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Raito exclaimed a little to quickly. "Yes, I would love that."

"Good," L's goofy smile was back.

Raito took hold of L's shirt and pulled the detective to him. Their lips crushed together, and he moved his arms so that they were now encircling L. He felt the detective's hands find his hair as they deepened their kiss.

"I think I love you," L whispered as he pulled away from Raito.

"L," Raito laughed. "How am I going to explain this to my family?"

"That I will leave in your hands," L decided.

"Coward," Raito accused with a grin.

"Just don't tell them how old I am," L added.

"Right," Raito smirked, and pulled L to him again so that their lips were almost touching. "Because that would make you look like a pervert."

"Oh, shut up," L breathed.

"Make me," Raito challenged.

They kissed again. Raito let everything that had happened the night before fade from his mind. Right now everything was right, and no murders or death notes or any type of danger was going to ruin this. Right now the game was finally over, and, for the moment, everything was perfect.

Well, that's it! This was the longest fic that I've written so far, and it was definitely something new for me style wise. I appreciate those of you who've read and reviewed. It's helpful for me to hear what people like and what people don't like about the portrayal of the plot and characters.

'Til we meet again, Piper

Callicanios, I knew that the ended was a little unclear on wether or not he lived, but I just don't have the heart to kill him off. I'll take the hugs and the swats for the ending. Thanks for all of your reviews!

bluxpudding, I couldn't go through with making Matt bad, but I will admit I enjoyed making all of you think that he was. Thanks for the review!

Rice Waffles, I get what your saying about the characterization (not that it makes a difference, but they kissed three times). I feel that most of my explanation on L's and Raito's actions were answered in this chapter, but I understand that there are still going to be readers who felt that he was being to harsh. Honestly, for this fic I'd prefer L coming off as unlikeable than too soft or emotional and vise versa for Ratio. Thank you for voicing your read on this, I'll consider these things more in the next fic I write.

Ryuko, hopefully your questions were answered in the chapter. Matt laughed because he didn't realize that Mello thought he was spying for Beyond and found the thought of him being capable of it funny instead of offensive. This was the most vague and evil way I could portray his reaction to this information. Thanks for the review.

NyanCatGirl13, they're sort of together. Thanks for the review.

Guest, Rem saved Raito because if she didn't Misa would be distraught and blame herself. Thanks for the review.

Kiii, thanks for all of your reviews, I'm glad you liked the story!