A.N: … … Oh poopie. You know how I said I wouldn't start any random projects needlessly, because really, why would I do that to myself?

… … Somebody should shoot me now. O.O;

I won't make this a super-duper-updating-machine of a story, but seeing how I just love this movie… I couldn't help myself. If I'm a DN fangirl, then I am a Moulin Rouge! TRIPLE THREAT ULTIMATE FANGIRL OF ALL TIMEZ! And I am not even joking, unfortunately. This is my homage to one of my most favorite movies of all time, and my half-assed way of incorporating my love of DN with it. Unless this story is really well loved, this won't be updated at crazy intervals. In fact, this will probably be considered final priority on my list of things to do, if truth be told. So if you like it, you should probably let me know. If you hate it… well, I really don't care if you do hate it, actually. Mess with my love for MR!, and you shall feel my wrath. I'm serious. O: Wowzers… I think this idea's original with all the people who have managed to do rip offs on it within different fandoms, so, yeah. Bask in it, you guys. Bask in the freaking ambience. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, nor do I own Moulin Rouge!, or the portions of MR! taken for the sake of only this chapter (though I may use more scenes in future chapters; haven't decided yet). Love it, people. Love it, and cherish it. Lol.

Title: When Dreaming Ends

Chapter One: How Wonderful Life Is

It was about so much, and yet nothing at all.

That was what it felt like, at least, staring down at the dank hole before him and seeing nothing but darkness.

A piece of what could have been his soul had withered away, and unfortunately for himself, it was a piece needed all too much to survive.

Closing his eyes, he imagined what it could've been like to have had a few more sweet moments to capture the happiness he had at one time felt, but it was a vapid sort of pleasantry that soon became old. The empty spot within his chest grew larger and larger as he took a step back and scrubbed his cheeks with the back of his left hand, willing the insistent moisture clinging to his eyelashes and corneas to keep at bay and leave him at peace.

It was about so much…

Raito sobbed as he dropped onto the ground, ignoring the wide-eyed glances and pitying stares as he did so.

And now, only he would be left to share their story.

Or whatever was left of it now, anyway.

When I had first arrived in this city, it had been under the guise of innocence.

Many of the people I would come in contact soon after would tell me that my naivety radiated like a beam of light shining off of my countenance, undisturbed by the sullied companions that trailed after me on days to come.

But that was insignificant to me, I suppose. I was in search, you see, for something very important.

A sign, you could say.

Something to live for-

Great enough to die for.

Quite cliché, you could say, but it was the utmost truth, that I can promise.

What I found, however, far exceeded my expectations, and forced me to face a part of myself that I just did not want to see…

But that is going far ahead of myself, you see. Let me actually bring you to where my journey began in Paris, exactly one year ago, in a place called Whammy's House-

"Hey there, sweetheart! You just gonna pass us by without so much of a hello?"

Raito cringed as he kept a firm grip on his suitcase, dark caramelized eyes filled with nervousness as he ignored the cat-calls sent in his direction.

"C'mon, sugar, mama ain't gonna hurt 'cha now!"

"Aw, you're scaring the poor boy, Lettie!"

"So?!"

Turning away from the two scantily-clad women basically hounding him, a very intimidated Raito entered the large building lavishly constructed with bedazzling gold statues and decadently-colored walls. Opening the doors to what seemed to be the beginning construction of a great hall filled with vivid reds, bright oranges and startling silvers, letting his feet echo against the ceramic tiles covering the floors, Raito stared up at the structure encasing him.

'A gateway to every man's fantasy…' The light-haired wanderer thought to himself, weary from his own travels and lack of rest. 'Right…'

"Can I help you, sir?" Startled out of his reverie, Raito spun around and met a warm blue-eyed gaze filled with amusement.

"Uh… perhaps you can, sir." Bringing himself forward, Raito straightened himself out and pushed his hesitations out of his mind. "I heard that you were holding rehearsals here for this establishment's first work of premiere literature."

"Yes." The elderly gentleman, as there was almost no other way to describe him with his prim black suit, slicked back thinning white hair and slim bifocals, nodded as he bowed slightly. Honestly, you would never think you were in a whore-house with the way the man was acting! "Are you looking to audition, young man?"

"Yes, sir! If you would be so kind to oblige me the honor!"

"So proper, really! I should think that such a request would not be too difficult to grant, if you would follow me."

"Thank you, si-"

"You may call me Quillsh Whammy, before you go any further." Raito felt himself flush as the lively gentleman in front of him began to chuckle in amusement. "And you would be?"

"Um… Raito Yagami, si-I mean, Mr. Whammy, sir! Uh-yes, sorry." Blushing rather horrifically, Raito tried to ignore the stifled laughter sent in his direction.

"Well, follow me then, Mr. Yagami! Our writer is in an already foul mood, hopefully your genial disposition matches up to your acting abilities and pulls him out of his terrible funk!"

"Oh… of course! Thank you so much-"

"Believe me, child," The old man guffawed once more as he pulled Raito towards the opulent staircase standing overhead, "You are the one I should be thanking, not the other way around!"

Letting his eyes shut out the confusion he ultimately felt, the raggedy boy followed the older man with an open mind and a silent pair of lips.

I had had no idea what I was walking into, however.

I was already nervous, coming into a city I knew barely anything about and looking for a job in a bordello of all places, but the thought of being scrutinized by some writer who was probably drugged and buzzed to high hell was not an appealing concern to add to my already growing list.

For two years I had been scrapping to get by on what little I could live on, and Europe had not been kind to me so far, but still, I kept my optimistic out look set and ready. There was no reason to look down, since I was already on the bottom rung.

Thinking about it now, I can see why people were so enamored with my candid view of life.

Thinking about it now…

I had no idea how lucky I had truly been.

The beginning, no matter what anyone says, is always the sweetest. You always have so far to go; so much to appreciate without having to think about the ticking time-bomb that would inevitably loom over you in the end.

But that isn't important. Our story… that's what you wanted to hear about, isn't it?

Yes…

Of course it is.

"Look at him…"

"How cute!"

"Cute? The boy's absolutely GORGEOUS!"

"Aw…"

"I could show him some moves…"

"I'm sure you'd LOVE to, but stop scaring the poor boy, already!"

So used to the comments after being ogled for nearly all of his 19 years of life, Raito let the older man usher him past the buffets of women and men staring at his lithe, athletic figure and stared up at the stage growing ever so closer to his person. A slim figure shrouded by darkness stood crookedly in the middle of the overhauled stage still obviously under construction, hands clenching within his pockets as he let his dark strands of mangy hair hang limply so that it obscured most of his face and nearly dropped down over his hunched shoulders.

"L!" Quillsh shouted within Raito's ear, nearly making him jump out of his body in fright, "We have one last petition for-!"

"NO!"

Raito blinked as the stagnant, monotone voice quickly echoed within the large room all the people seemed to inhabit. Quillsh pushed the boy forward as he continued stomping down the unfinished aisle, which Raito supposed was to be used for seating, behind him.

"L, stop being so damn stubborn and let the boy have his chance to audition!"

The slumped silhouette on stage slouched into himself even further, digging his hands deeper within the confines of his pockets as Quillsh's voice resounded within the room.

"Must I really be continually tortured like this, Quillsh? I'm quite exhausted from all those other phonies you've tried to throw my way, butchering my words as if they meant nothing at all." Letting his ragged, baggy slacks lag further on his obviously malnourished form, Raito felt a small surge of anger kindle within his ego. "I am sick and tired of watching all of these amateurs take our stage and sullying my work for their own entertainment!"

This man who so obviously couldn't even do something as simple as take care of himself had the nerve to insult his skills as a performer without having even seen him do what he did best.

What petulance!

"May I have a script, sir?" Raito whispered within the bespectacled-man's ear before he could speak again, a rather bright competitive gleam shining within his mocha-brown eyes.

Stifling another guffaw at the boy's natural manner of being, Quillsh quirked an eyebrow up as one of the girls lounging about handed him a worn-weather copy of the writer's manuscript. Giving Raito a small smile, he let the boy open up the book and pick the first passage that appeared in front of his eyes as the one that would be his-

"… … It's a little bit funny!"

"What?!" A girl with blonde hair and bright green eyes jumped up, taking the female role, Satine, without another thought.

"Thi-is fe-feeling inside!" Raito stuttered, completely in the moment. "I'm not one of those… who can, who can easily hide. Is this… is this ok? Is this what you want?"

"Oh… poetry…" The blonde giggled as she let herself fall to the floor, now moaning about rather madly. "This is what I want, naughty words!"

"I don't have much money, but boy, if I did… I'd buy you a big house where we could both live!" Raito glanced up at the man standing on the stage, his back now only partially visible as the young brunette realized he had managed to capture his undivided attention.

"Oh, yes, gimme more!"

Somehow, Raito had no trouble believing that this young girl had done this before.

"If I were a sculptor, but then again, no…or a man who, who makes potions with a traveling show; I know it's not much," Here, Raito looked a bit put-off by the girl's overly-enthusiastic performance of tossing herself around and wailing madly on the floor, letting it pour into his own acting, "but it's the best I can do!"

"My gift is my song and this one's for you…"

Looking deeply within the young women's eyes, Raito felt the notes string out of his throat on their own accord, the piano now playing behind him struggling to keep up with his slightly off-beat tempo. Slowing down, Raito took a deep breath glanced back down at the script, trying to remember as much as he could within the few spans of seconds he had.

"You can tell everybody… that this is your song. It may be quite simple, but now that it's done- hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now that you're in the world…"

Grabbing the girl's hand, Raito rushed her down the aisle a few steps before hauling her into his arms, still maintaining the connection from before.

"Sat on the roof and I kicked off the moss; well some of the verses, well, they got me quite cross. But the sun's been kind while I wrote this song, and it's for people like you that keep it turned on!"

An vibration of excitement permeated throughout the air as Raito continued to sing, the writer on stage fully coming out of the shadows as he kept his dark cerealuen gaze on the actor entrancing the audience before him.

'He's… perfect…'

"So excuse me for forgetting, but these things I do-You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue! And, well the thing is, well, I really love you! Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen…"

Twirling the girl about in a circle, Raito almost smirked as the girl almost fainted within his arms, script still discreetly open within one hand as he chanced a glance in its direction.

"And you can tell everybody this is your song! It may be quite simple, but now that it's done… I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words… how wonderful life is now you're in the world!"

Quillsh smirked as L felt his lips twitch in newfound agitation, the spell of the boy's performance now passed. Though the writer looked indifferent now, the establishment's proprietor had not missed the expression of amazement that had littered the man's large blue eyes as he had kept his attention fully on the child before them.

"… I suppose he'll do."

Wanting to smack the spoiled writer over the head for his nonchalant comment, but not wanting the man to change his mind either, Quillsh swerved his gaze over to the boy now coming closer to the stage, the girl from before squealing madly as the actor all but ignored her presence behind him.

"So you liked it?! I have the part of Christian, then?" Raito asked immediately, almost regretting it as soon as the smirk became visible on L's face.

"The part of Christian, I'm afraid, has already been filled." It seemed it took all of L's self-control not to smile malevolently as the boy's expression literally dropped from his face, eyes filled with disappointment. "But I do have a part available if you're still interested."

Not liking the way the man's face illuminated with glee, Raito still took his chance.

"And…?"

"Are you picky about the parts you play, Mr-"

"Yagami. Raito Yagami." The touchy brunette snapped as the smile settled over the writer's eyes began to glow all the more prominently. If Raito didn't know any better, he'd say the older man was getting a kick out of pissing him off…

"Oh. Well, are you, Mr. Yagami?"

"I… suppose not."

"Even if I were to, hypothetically speaking, of course, grant you a… female role?"

The first thought in Raito's head was a resounding 'OH HELL NO!', however…

"And what role is that, Mr-"

"L Lawliet, and you would do well to remember that name." Stepping off the stage and onto the supposed aisle, directly where Raito was now standing after 'whisking' the girl behind still swooning off of her feet, L's grin seemed to become all the more jovial.

"We are, of course, still adamantly looking for our perfect 'Satine'. She, along with Christian, are the pivotal pieces to my show, and I would not let this performance run unless I believed with the utmost power that we had two people who could carry this show with all the merit it deserves." L nearly let out his laughter as the boy's face began to turn red from an eclectic mix of embarrassment and anger. "Though I now believe we may have found her."

'You need the money, you need the money, you need the money, you need the money-'

"You, sir, want me to play the starring female role of your impressive saga?" If Raito could have afforded it, he would have scoffed. With the way L had spoken about it, he had expected more of the man, really. "How… charming."

"Is that to say you refuse my offer, then?"

"No… I… um…"

The whole audience filled to the brim with courtesans, actors, actresses and various other people working on the production became utterly silent as they waited for Raito's response.

"What's more important to you?" L whispered tauntingly, knowing he had the teenager right where he wanted him. "You're pride as a man, or your pride as an actor."

'Damn… well, there goes that decision.'

"… … When do you want me to start?"

And as soon as the words were uttered from the 19-year-old's lips, the whole auditorium was filled with cheers and screams, though to the writer and actor in the middle of it all, they could only see each other.

"This won't be easy, you know. I won't accept anything less than 100 percent." The screenplay-writer whispered, amused.

"You don't need to worry, Mr. Lawliet." Raito whispered, smirking as the now pleased man across from him began to deflate at the words coming out of the cocky young man's mouth. "I won't give into you."

Turning around, Raito barely heard the man yell 'Be here tomorrow at six in the morning!' over the thunderous roar of noise and excitement bubbling within the air, or feel the intensity of his stare as he disappeared within the crowd of people surrounding him.

All Raito knew was that he had a job, and he was one step closer to finding what he had been looking for after two years of endless searching…

It was really the first encounter of many that would solidify just what L Lawliet would come to mean to me.

I wish I could figure out just what it was about him that seemed to keep me fascinated, but in the end, I don't think it mattered all that much.

This is about our story, after all. The how's and why's aren't so important when I think about just how wonderful life was back then…

If only it could have lasted forever.