Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note and I make no profit from writing or posting this story.
Rating: K+
There is always something to see - or so Near has said - and it must be that he's always looking, because he's always staring. Usually, it's from the most inconceivably awkward of places, so it isn't surprising that Matt almost stands on Near as he searches for Mello on the third floor.
"Hey, woah!" Matt exclaims as he rights himself. "What the hell are you doing? This is a doorway!"
Near doesn't reply; his eyes are fixed on something above them. He's always staring at something, so it's not terribly unusual, but Matt looks up anyway.
"Oh," he squeaks at the cheery little branch of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. He's immediately tempted to scratch the back of his neck and reach for the elusive comfort that the action seems to promise, but his arms have apparently chosen this moment to freeze stiff. "I bet Linda put that there," he laughs in a two-octaves-too-high voice.
Does Near think they should-
No. Of course not.
It's stupid. He's just being stupid, even thinking about that.
He really couldn't-
Not with Near, anyway.
Near wouldn't want something like that.
(Not with him.)
"It's a pointless tradition," Near says flatly.
A little too quickly, Matt blurts, "I wouldn't call it pointless..."
Near's gaze flickers momentarily toward his face before his eyes are fixed on the mistletoe again.
His lips are so pink and full. They could be soft-
"It's an unavoidable social convention," Matt says after a short moment, recalling with some effort the best way to con someone so impossibly socially retarded. "You can't really ignore it."
He's half-hoping Near doesn't buy it.
"It's inescapable?" Near paraphrases, his brow furrowed.
Matt realises with a start that Near actually buys it, so he glances up at the mistletoe and replies, with a nervous, twitching smile, "Yeah, pretty much."
And then things are awkward again, because Near's fingers are reaching, halting, fumbling at Matt's face. He's too short to reach so Matt, disbelieving, stoops down and his vision is immediately full of white, fluffy hair. He's about to let out a hysterical giggle when he feels Near's lips brush very faintly and hesitantly against his.
This isn't Matt's first kiss, but he feels horrifically nervous anyway. His heart is beating so quickly that he worries he might actually collapse and squash Near to death, but miraculously his legs don't give out, even when Near's cool fingers relax their death-grip on his face to trace his jaw. More than a little shocked, he inhales sharply and Near pulls away completely to stare at him, his cheeks and lips pleasantly flushed.
The pressure to say something is overwhelming, so Matt swallows thickly and mumbles in an odd, choked voice, "O-Okay. Um. Well."
Perhaps taking pity on him, Near says, "Mello is in the playroom - third on the left."
Something strange settles in the pit of Matt's stomach and starts squirming. "Right. Yeah. I'll just go and find him then," he says giddily.
Near nods once and settles back down in the middle of the corridor, and Matt quickly leaves him behind, one hand at his mouth and the other shoved deep into his pocket. He hopes Mello doesn't mind the wait.