(I own nothing)

A/N: Last chapter! It's a long one...

~Chapter Twenty~

Matt had just finished hanging up the streamers from the ceiling, when his phone rang, belting the Mario theme song across the room. Seeing that it was Gevanni, he answered cheerfully.

"Hey, man. What's up?"

"Just seeing how things were going."

"Good. Everything is still right on schedule. And you? You two getting ready?"

"Yeah. Near is getting really impatient." Matt laughed, able to imagine Near's frustration at being the only one left out.

"Tell him to just hold his horses and be patient for just a little longer. He'll like it, trust me."

"Hey, I believe you. He's the one being impatient."

"How can he focus on cases, and catching criminals, for hours at a time, for years at a time, but he can't wait a few hours for a goddamned birthday party?"

"Great question. We'll see you in a bit, then?"

"Yep. Just get here on time, and I'll take care of everything."

"Awesome." Gevanni always wondered what Matt could accomplish if he was ever motivated enough to try. Probably world domination. "Just... one more thing...No offense or anything, but... have you been keeping an eye on Mello? You know, just... that seems like something he would do, you know? Mess with something for Near's birthday party?" He hadn't really meant it to sound like they were talking about five-year-olds, but sometimes, that was how they acted.

"Oh, yeah. I've been with him all afternoon," Matt lied. "He's not screwing anything up yet." He really had no clue where Mello was, and it was making him incredibly uneasy. He'd just sort of vanished a few hours prior, which was never a good thing.

"Thank you. I'll see you then?"

"Yeah. See you later." Matt dialed Mello's number the second he'd hung up with Gevanni. He'd tried earlier, but no one had answered, which meant absolutely nothing with Mello. For all Matt knew, he could be laying dead in a ditch somewhere (unlikely), or he could just be acting moody and not feel like answering his phone (very possible). This time, though, he answered.

"Yo. What do you want?" He was always so cordial...

"Where are you?" Matt couldn't quite keep the edge out of his voice.

"Chill, Matty. I'm just picking up these balloons for you. Like you told me to. I'm being nice, for once. You'd better write the date down, because I'm not planning on it again any time soon." Huh. Matt had ordered balloons, but he didn't remember asking Mello to pick them up. Well, it was to be expected that he would be forgetting things, with how busy he was.

"Oh. Um... thanks. When are you going to be back?" He heard Mello snicker.

"What, you miss me already?"

"Always. So you'd better hurry up." Also, the guests would be arriving fairly soon. If he could at all help it, he wanted to have everything set up by then. He'd done all of the decorations, wrapped his present, and had set the table. The cake was all set, waiting in its bakery box to be put on the table. All that was left was the balloons, which Mello was apparently getting, and the punch, which he was going to get out when everyone arrived.

"Matt? Where are you? Come get these goddamn balloons out of the car. My hands are full." Matt rushed into the other room to help Mello, who was burdened down with several heavy-looking paper grocery bags.

"What's in these?" He asked Mello curiously.

"A surprise. Don't look." Uh-oh. A surprise? From Mello? Usually, that involved someone getting shot.

"Mello, what kind of surprise?"

"A good one. Now go get the fucking balloons." Mello gave him a dangerous look, and Matt hurried out to the garage. He easily spotted the car that Mello had taken- it was bursting full of brightly-colored balloons. As he gathered the balloon bouquets, he noticed that each one was weighted down with a brand-new toy robot, and he had to smile. He knew for a fact that he hadn't said a word about balloon weights or robots. Mello could claim to hate Near all he wanted, but Matt knew better. He went inside with the balloons and saw that Mello was already pouring together the different punch ingredients.

"Oh, I was going to wait to do that until everyone got here so that it was still cold..." Mello rolled his eyes.

"Well that's retarded. Might as well just stick it in the fridge until the jerk gets here."

"I guess we can do that..."

"I know we can. Now go set up those balloons." Still, Matt hesitated.

"Mello... just... please don't poison anyone..."

"I said go set up the balloons." Some days, Matt just wanted to punch Mello, but he knew that doing so would be a very bad idea- if he wanted to survive. So he ignored Melo's flippant, bossy behavior (like he had for the last 20ish years) and set up the damn balloons just as Halle and Rester arrived.

"Hey, guys!" He greeted them. "Thanks for coming." Halle smiled sweetly at him while Rester nodded, and then went in the other room to greet Mello.

"Thanks for doing this for Near, Matt," Halle thanked him. "It's very sweet of you."

"Eh, it was Gevanni's idea," Matt insisted, and Halle smiled somewhat smugly. No one had believed her when she predicted their relationship; she'd seen it coming for months.

"Well, either way, it's still a really nice thing to do. And I'm impressed that you got Mello to help." Matt nodded in agreement.

"I know. Trust me, he's not happy about it. I think he's planning something, though. He's been... too helpful. I'm worried." Halle laughed.

"Oh, God. Yeah, you should probably keep a close eye on him."

A few more people from the task force arrived after that, including Matsuda and Aizawa, and then a few of the (surviving) Whammy's kids. Matt hadn't really wanted to invite Linda, but she'd found out about it somehow, and pretty much invited herself.

"Alright, everyone," Matt hushed the growing crowd of people. "Near and Gevanni are going to be here soon, so- Oh, hello. He nodded in greeting to Watari, who was followed- to everyone's surprise- by L. Of course he had been invited, but no one had really expected the detective to actually show up.

"Hello. I apologize for our tardiness," L said, half-smiling at Matt. "Please, continue."

"Alright then. As I was saying, Near and Gevanni will be here soon, so just be ready. Also, try not to freak Near out any more than he already is. You know how he is around large groups of people." The guests all either nodded or murmured in agreement. The only ones that Matt was really concerned about were Mello (duh) and Linda, who'd always had a mad crush on Near. Matt didn't think that she'd heard about Near and Gevanni, and he wasn't really sure how she'd handle it. He made his way over to the overly-cheerful girl, deciding not to postpone the inevitable. "Hey, Linda. How's it going?"

"Hi, Matty!" He winced at the sound of her shrill voice. Only Mello was aloud to call him that... "I'm doing so well! How are you? Have you and Mello been doing well? I was so worried about all of you when I heard you were working on such dangerous cases, but I'm really glad you're all okay." This was why no one, other than Mello, was able to be very mean to her. She was just too damn nice to everyone.

"Um... it's going okay. Hey... listen. There was something I wanted to talk to you about." Her expression sobered immediately.

"What's wrong, Matt? Did something bad happen?"

"No, no. nothing like that. Well not really. Just... I know you've liked Near for a while, and I hate to have to tell you..."

"Oh.." Her expression only fell the tiniest bit; after all, it wasn't as if she wasn't used to rejection when it came to Near. "Does he have... a girlfriend?" Matt smiled kindly.

"Well, not unless there's something about Gevanni that none of us knows..." Her eyes widened.

"O-Oh! I see!" She seemed mildly more cheerful. "So it's not my fault he doesn't like me?" Matt wasn't sure he'd go that far, but he just nodded.

"That's right. If it's any consolation, they're pretty much perfect together. Gevanni takes really good care of him." She smiled brightly at Matt.

"Actually, that does make me feel better. I'm glad he's happy... he never used to be." So true. "Thank you, Matt." He shrugged awkwardly, but was saved from having to deal with any more uncomfortable, forced conversation with her by the arrival of the guest(s) of honor. "Near's here!" Linda ran to find her present for him. Matt rolled his eyes, but had to smile at her enthusiasm. It was sort of endearing, but she was so hard to deal with for any extended period of time. He followed the ecstatic girl to where a pissed-off looking Near was half-hiding behind Gevanni from the mob of people wishing him a happy birthday.

"Alright!" Matt shouted. "What did I just say about not crowding him too much?" After a moment, the crowd backed off, and everyone went back to interacting with one another. Matt jumped as he felt an arm encircle his waist.

"Hey, babe," Mello purred into his ear. "You want me to get anything for you? The punch, maybe?" Okay, something was totally up. A thought occurred to Matt.

"Oh my god, Mello. You'd better not have spiked that punch. I swear-"

"Now Matt, why would I do that when we're going to be drinking it too?" Matt couldn't think of an explanation, but he still didn't entirely trust the smile that Mello was giving him.

"Fine," He sighed. "But you'd better not mess with anything."

"Don't worry, Matty-boy." He kissed matt's cheek. "I wouldn't dream of ruining things for you." He had slunk away by the time Matt turned to reply.

"He'd fucking better not.," Matt muttered as he closed the distance between Near, Gevanni, and himself. "Hey, Near! Happy birthday!" An overwhelmed Near turned to Matt.

"Hello, Matt. Thank you."

"So, what do you think?" He laughed at Near's traumatized expression. "Don't worry. It will calm down after people give you their presents." Near's eyes widened in confusion.

"Presence?" He asked, clearly puzzled.

"Yeah. You know, birthday presents."

"Whose presence?" Neither of them realized that they were talking about two totally different things.

"Yours!"

"Why... would they give me my own presence? That is not even possible. It is impossible to be away from myself, so how would they have my presence, when I didn't?"

"What?" Matt was utterly lost.

" Presents, presence," Gevanni finally stepped in, seeing where this was going ("Who's on first." "Who?" "Yes."). "Near, Matt means gifts. Matt, I think Near thought you meant like, you know, your presence in the room. Like, you're currently present at this party."

"Oh," they both replied at once.

"Well, that makes a hell of a lot more sense," Matt laughed. Near, however, still looked perplexed.

"And what... is the purpose of these... gifts?"

"Really, dude? You're serious?" How did Near not know about birthday presents? "They're just, you know. For the hell of it. Everyone loves presents, so people give you gifts on your birthday. See?" He pointed to the still growing pile of gifts. "Everyone brought you something." He leaned closer to whisper in the boy's ear. "And you see those robots? With the balloons?" Near nodded. He'd been eyeing the robots, but he hadn't realized that they were actually intended for him. "He'll deny it to hell and back, but Mello picked those out for you." Near looked at Matt incredulously, and Matt laughed. He'd never seen Near look so surprised about anything (even when he had found out that Mello wasn't actually dead). "See how awesome that is?" Near was rather impressed with the concept. He had been beginning to think that this whole birthday party idea was a bad one. Why would he want to walk around all night with people watching him and talking to him? It made him very uncomfortable. Matt didn't care about attracting attention, though. "Okay! Who wants to give Near his present?" A shriek from the back of the room told him who would be going first. "Alright, Linda," he sighed. "Go ahead." She giggled as she handed Near a gift bag.

"Here you go." Near hesitated.

"It's okay, Near," Gevanni muttered. "You can open it." Linda didn't miss the quiet exchange, but it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would.

Near felt extremely exposed, with everyone watching him open his presents, but he removed the tissue paper to reveal a deluxe Lego set and a custom-made deck of tarot cards. Near was genuinely impressed to see that the cards featured amazing drawings of different people or things that had either been in Whammy's or who had been involved with the Kira case (the most influential case he'd worked on) as the trumps- Roger as the Magician, Matt as the High Priestess, Aizawa as the Empress, Watari as the Emperor, Kira as the Pope, Raye and Naomi as the Lovers, Mello as the Chariot, Misa as Justice, Near as the Hermit (of course), Whammy's house as wheel of fortune, Mogi as strength, the man, F, who had rescued Near from his home as the Hanged Man, L as Death, Gevanni as Temperance, Light Yagami as the Devil, the Death Note as the Tower, the entire group of the newest generation of Whammy's kids as the Star, Beyond Birthday as the Moon, Matsuda as the Sun, Teru Mikami as Judgement, the SPK headquarters as the World, and, amazingly, a very lifelike depiction of Ryuk as the Fool. He noticed that each card's subject fit the personality of the trump, as opposed to following the more common stereotypes (the way people tend to view Death as a negative card, when in actuality, it represents change, usually for the better).

"Linda, these are amazing..." He remembered that Linda was a very talented artist. "Did you create the artwork?" She nodded. "How did you know what the shinigami looked like? And... and F?" She blushed.

"L helped me with the shinigami, and for F... I'm a little older than you, Near, and I never forget a face. He visited Whammy's every now and then when I was younger." Near was still looking through them in awe.

"Well... um... I must thank you for this gift." She giggled, then went back to where she had been standing.

"He likes it!" She whispered loudly to Matt, who gave her a thumbs-up. Even he had to admit, that present was pretty kick-ass.

Near seemed to relax a little with the steady stream of gifts, ranging from blocks and dice to puzzles, and even a small cheesecake (from L, of course). Finally, people began to say their farewells to an exhausted Near. He wasn't used to having that much social interaction in a month, let alone in a single evening.

"Hey! There you are!" He smiled at Mello who had shown up next to him from seemingly nowhere.

"Yeah, I brought you some punch. We were out, so I made more." Matt raised an eyebrow.

"You'd better not have drugged me, or anything weird like that." Mello just smirked.

"I don't need to drug you, Matty-boy, and you know it." Matt blushed, sipping at the drink in question.

"This... this does taste a little different," he said warily as he held it up to the light. Mello rolled his eyes.

"Dude, chill. We were out of the one kind of juice, so I used another. Nothing to worry about." Matt wanted to press the issue, but the blond had already disappeared, returning a moment later with a fresh bowl of punch. Matt knew that Mello was up to something, but there was really nothing he could do at this point. He watched as Halle swished her glass suspiciously, taking a careful sip. When she didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, and began drinking it more comfortably, Matt followed suit, relaxing and drinking the rest of his glass. So far, everything seemed okay...

"Gevaaaaaaaaaaaniiiiiiiiiii~!" Near whined, sprawling on the floor and wrapping his arms around Gevanni's ankles. The older man was at a loss; he wasn't sure what had gotten into Near in the last hour, and he wasn't sure how to react.

"Um... what's up, Near?"

"I like youuuu!" Yeah, something strange was going on.

"M-Mello?" Matt called unsteadily. "What the fuck d-did you do to us?" He was having trouble pronouncing his words. And walking. Mello was doubled up with laughter.

"You are all such lightweights! Look at you!" Sure enough, everyone except for Watari (who didn't like punch), Rester, and Gevanni were acting strangely. L was laying across the couch, singing to a flustered Watari, Halle was giggling uncontrollably, and Matt was unsteady on his feet and slurring his words slightly. "You guys really can't hold your liquor, can you?" Matt was livid.

"You m-moron! Near 'n' L don't ever h-have alcohol! Why'd you do that?" He struggled to keep focused on Mello.

"Aw, come on. Like you haven't wanted to see Near drunk?" Well, there was that...

"Not the p-point, 'nd you know it!" Mello shrugged.

"Well, he's having fun, isn't he? And Gevanni seems to be enjoying himself." It was true; Matt had never seen Near smile so openly, nor had he heard him laugh louder than a cynical chuckle. At the moment, however, he was smiling constantly and was giggling with abandon as Gevanni helped him to his feet. Matt had to admit that it was kind of nice...

"Fine," he sighed. "You should've told me you w-were gonna, though," he pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, like you would have gone along with it. Besides, I like you like this." He pulled Matt down on the couch.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" He muttered, failing miserably to keep his balance.

"Yeah. That's why you like me, though."

Matt quit trying to argue, settling for watching Near play with the robots from the balloons. He was even more engrossed in it than usual, making loud sound effects and exaggerated motions. "Here." Mello handed Matt another glass of punch. He sighed heavily, but accepted it anyway.

"Just don't give any more to Near. He's had enough."

"Dude, shut up. You're ruining my fun."

"Yeah, well it's his b-birfday, 'n' if you give him any m-more, he's gonna have a big hangover t-tomorrow. Y-you don' wanna do that to him o-on 'is birfday, do you?"

"Yes," Mello answered without hesitation.

"Well, don't," Matt snapped, irritated. "Is not nice, 'n' if you don't want me pissed at you, l-lay off." Mello knew that when Matt threatened to be angry with him, it meant withholding certain "activities."

"You suck."

"Nooo! He's Awesommmmme!" Apparently, their conversation had attracted Near's attention. The pale boy threw his arms around Matt's neck. "He's so nice to me! Not like you." He scowled at Mello, who was resisting the urge to throttle him. "You're mean. But... you're cool, too." He smiled suddenly at the blond. "Did I show you my puzzle? It's a star chart!"

"You moron, I helped pick out that puzzle for you!" It had been from Matt, after all. Near's eyes widened dramatically.

"You did? Why?"

"Because, it's your birthday, dumbass!" Matt elbowed him in the ribs, but Near just started giggling, as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

"Mello, if it weren't for y-you, 'e wouldn't be a-acting all w-weird," Matt reprimanded.

"Thank you, Mello!" Near chimed, before wobbling his way back to where Gevanni was sitting in a chair. He pulled Near onto his lap.

"How's it going, Near?" Near beamed at him.

"I am quite intoxicated, I believe," Near speculated, brow furrowed in concentration. Gevanni laughed.

"No, you think? How do you feel?" Near paused.

"I'm not entirely sure. I fee quite unusual."

"Well, you are kind of unusual..." Gevanni was relieved when Near smiled at his joke.

"Yeah. That's why you like me, though."

"True enough. You knew that already, though."

"Well, you guys," Mello broke into their conversation. "We're going to head out now. Have fun, be good." Matt giggled next to him.

"Bye! Happy b-birthday, Neeeeaaar!" Near giggled back at Matt, and both Mello and Gevanni rolled their eyes at their boyfriends' drunken states.

"Hey, old man!" Mello shouted at Watari. "L! We're leaving! You might want to give these two some alone time!" L stuck his tongue out at Mello, and Watari attempted to reprimand him. Usually, sticking one's tongue out at Mello was a bad idea, unless you were either named Matt or you wanted to die. Mello, however, was feeling just buzzed enough that he didn't care. Plus, it was his fault that L was acting that way. He doubted if the detective had ever even had alcohol. He put his arm around Matt, and led him out of the room, while Watari struggled to make L listen to him.

" L, please. It's time to leave. No, you can not eat that, you gave it to him as a gift! Put it down this instant." The dark-haired man pouted as Watari took the strawberry cheesecake out of his grasp. "We have an entire one back in your room. Can we leave now?"

"... Guess so," L pouted. Watari sighed with relief, returning the cheesecake to the table. He helped L to his feet.

"Goodbye, Near. Happy birthday," Watari called as he helped an unsteady L out the door. Rester followed him, he and a giddy Halle also wishing Near and Gevanni well.

"So, Near," Gevanni said, turning to Near once they were alone. "You want your present?"

"More presents?" Near looked at him in surprise.

"Well, of course," Gevanni laughed. "Did you think I didn't get you anything?"

"Well, what about the party?"

"Hey, that was mostly Matt. I just sort of helped a little bit." Near smiled slowly.

"Okay." Gevanni laughed, passing a gift bag to him. Curious, Near pulled the contents from the bag. It was... a new pair of fuzzy, rubber ducky print pajamas. "Duckies!" He stated happily, beaming at Gevanni.

"Heh, yeah... so, do you like them?"

"Uh-huh." Near nodded. "Thank you lots." Gevanni flushed.

"Y-You're welcome." They lay there in silence for a few moments.

"Thank you for the birthday," Near said suddenly, staring at Gevanni seriously.

"Um... you're welcome..." He was slightly unnerved by the serious, intense stare Near was giving him. "Woah, you feeling okay?" He moved to support Near, who had stood up without warning, as he swayed dangerously on his feet.

"Oh. T-thanks." He leaned heavily on Gevanni.

"Maybe you should go to bed," Gevanni suggested.

"I... guess." He seemed troubled about something.

"Everything okay, Near?" Near blushed and seemed unable to make eye contact with Gevanni.

"Can- can you... not leave me tonight?" he stared intently at the floor as he twirled a lock of hair.

"Of course I'll stay!" Gevanni was surprised that Near had even been so concerned with that, but it was evident that it had been bothering him, as a wide smile stretched across his face. Gevanni sighed, smiling, and helped the boy into his (new) pajamas. After putting on his own, he joined Near in the bed. As soon as he was under the covers, Near curled up against his body, nestled against him affectionately. "So, how are you doing right now?" Near blushed.

"What do you mean?"

"You know. How are you functioning, after Mello's little 'stunt?'" Gevanni raised an eyebrow at Near playfully.

"Well, as I am unable to form a coherent statement, let alone argument, I feel that this conversation is... um... done." Gevanni burst out laughing.

"Aww, man! You held it together up until the very last word!" Near hid his smile against the sheets. "So close." He leaned in, waiting for Near to surface for air before swoopin in for a kiss.

"Muffkme!" Gevanni didn't even try to understand Near's muffled protest as Near gently pushed him away, laughing happily.

"Oh, yes. World's number two detective right here." He kissed Near again. "Seriously, though. Did you have a nice birthday?" Near nodded, smiling sleepily.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"You're welcome." He kissed Near's forehead as the boy fought (unsuccessfully) to keep his eyes open. "I love you." Near grunted, rolling onto his side as he clutched at Gevanni's arm.

"Love you too..." Within a few minutes, Gevanni could tell that Near was asleep.

"Happy birthday, Nate. Sleep well."

Near blinked as he opened his eyes to the bright morning sun.

"Good morning, sunshine." Gevanni smoothed Near's hair back from his face. Near yawned and smiled, stretching his limbs. "How'd you sleep?" Near paused, considering.

"I slept... well. Very restfully..."

"Well, how do you feel now? Headache, nausea, anything?" Near shrugged.

"Only a little... but it's okay."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I'm really happy." Near was blushing, but he didn't look angry.

"...Why are you so happy right now?"

"Because you're with me. Right now, and you like me, and... um... I like you. And I... I trust you." His cheeks were burning by the time he finished, and he stared at his trembling fingers. Gevanni took said fingers in his hands, kissing the tips of them lightly.

"Yes. I'm here with you. And I'll stay with you as long as you want me to, and I'll never do anything to betray your trust in me." He kissed Near's forehead, and they both flopped back into the bed. They lay there well into the afternoon, only getting out of bed to eat a dinner of cheesecake and jelly beans and play with Legos. And Near didn't even care that they were wasting valuable work time.

A/N: GAAAAAAH! It's over! What am I going to do with myself? Maybe start a new Death Note one... I have two Yu-Gi-Oh ones going, so yeah. And a Kingdom Hearts one that I haven't started posting yet.

But anyway, thank you soooo much for reading. Somehow, I think this author's note is going to be a long one.

I'll start by explaining the Tarot trumps, and why I chose who/what I chose for each one.

Magician- the magician is supposed to be really dynamic and symbolize change, and power through will. I thought that fit Roger, just b/c of the fact that he helps run Whammy's and all that fun stuff.

High Priestess- yes, I realize that Matt's a guy, but that's not the point. the priestess is supposed to be secretive and use intuition, and to focus on the bringing together of opposites. it doesn't get much more opposite than Matt and Mello.

Empress- again, Aizawa is a guy, but one of the major traits of the empress is that she protects her children at all costs. at some point, he leaves the SPK to be with and protect his family.

Emperor- The emperor is just power. you know, Watari and his power over the kids' lives.

Pope- again, power, but "the illusion of security at the expense of freedom." can you say Kira?

Lovers- duh. of course it would be Naomi and Raye. Unfortunately, I couldn't justify having them still alive, since Raye's death was sort of the turning point for Light. Very sad.

Chariot- it's kind of like a "end justifies the means" kind of card, and it doesn't really get any more Machiavellian than Mello, you know?

Justice- true justice, according to this, sets aside bad laws. Light had a good idea in the beginning, but he just got all messed up. he's different from Kira.

Hermit- Near is the hermit. the hermit is supposed to be smart, withdrawn and secretive, and he knows the outcome of his actions before he acts. yeah.

Wheel of Fortune- even as things change, the essentials stay the same. I thought Whammy's worked, b/c it's where Near and everyone came from, and even though they're awesome now, Whammy's is still there... yeah.

Strength- I just kind of like Mogi, and he seems to be a good candidate for strength, which can be either physical strength or otherwise.

The Hanged Man- he's really interesting, because the hanged man is supposed to be a happy kind of guy, even though he's hanging. he represents sacrifice for something greater; F died, but he died to save Near, who ended up being awesome.

Temperance- Gevanni keeps things balanced. the card is pretty self-explanatory.

Devil- No, I didn't make Misa the devil b/c I hate her, b/c I don't. the devil card is supposed to represent weakness and lack of achievement. Misa just sort of followed what Light did, so I thought that worked.

The Tower- not a nice card, usually. it's supposed to be inevitable change and destruction. Death Note. enough said.

Star- Peace, tranquility, and new hope. the next generation of kids still have hope to not get as fucked up as their predecessors.

Moon- crazy and "lunatic," the inability to separate reality from illusion. Basically, if you had to sum it up in one person, it would be poor old crazy Beyond Birthday.

Sun- the sun is a really happy one, with everything right in the world. Matsuda is so damn happy-go-lucky, that this worked.

Judgement- criticism, praise, and self-evaluation. also, I thought Mikami worked pretty well, b/c he's so hardcore with punishing people who oppose his "God."

World- completion, wholeness, etc. I was sort of desperate, but since they finished the whole Kira case, I guess the SPK... maybe... meh.

Fool- here, this is what the website said: "The number zero is usually associated with this card. In fact this is simply a shorthand for saying that The Fool has no number. He is outside of such systems: 'I am not a number, I am a free man.' As such this card can be considered to fall at the beginning of the major Arcana, or at the end, or anywhere in between. The Fool represents naivety and childlike innocence - yet the Fool is wise. He carries only what possessions he really needs, having thrown off the rest of the materialistic baggage that we carry. He journeys through life, tasting everything it has to offer then letting it go and moving on. In many Tarot decks The Fool is illustrated as being about to step off a cliff. Is this symbolic of dangerous, impulsive risk-taking? Or does it indicate one who simply refuses to be held back by the problems life throws in our path." Sooo yeah. Ryuk.

I'm sorry if I messed any of those up; I don't know as much about the tarot as I would like to, so hopefully, I made that all work.

~ahhh, poor Linda. don't worry, Linda. I know how you feel. except that it's my boyfriend of three years... :(

~I have fuzzy rubber ducky pajama pants, just so everyone knows. my mom gave them to me for Christmas.

many, many thanks to my best friend and awesome beta, soundofmadness223, aka krista. we both are very sorry that it took so long to get this posted. we've been slacking off big time.

and finally, once again, a huge thanks to all of my readers. this is my longest fic yet, and I really owe a lot to everyone who read, reviewed, and favorited this story; thanks for helping me get this to 20 chapters. :D

I love you all!

~alex~