Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. I'm not that smart, I wouldn't be able to come up with that awesome story. And I'm not talented enough to be able to draw the wonderful pictures. All credit goes to Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.
A/N: I enjoyed writing this. I can see Near and L's love being as simple as a kiss now and then. After finishing it, it striked me that you actually doesn't see Near slove puzzles after L died. Or maybe I'm just forgetting something.
Near liked puzzles. Everyone who knew him knew that. He had over 50 puzzles. Puzzles was his thing. If someone found a puzzle on the floor, they always knew who it belonged to. Not that Near ever left his puzzles on the floor. He was too responsible to do that.
Near liked puzzles. He liked the symmetry, the order in them. He liked the fact that you could only solve them in one way. He liked that one puzzle piece only fit together with four others. It could not be solved if you tried to fit it with other puzzle pieces, than the four. Puzzles helped Near think. They helped him solve problems, and stay logical. Puzzles were order. And when you had solved them, you could always solve them again.
L liked to watch Near, when he came to visit Wammy's. He liked to watch how he solved puzzles. How his tiny, pale hands clicked everything into place. How he made the puzzle pieces come together and form a whole, sometimes a picture.
Every puzzle piece was individual, yet very alike to the others. It fit togther with some, with others it didn't. It was special, not alike the others, yet it was.
L liked to solve things. He liked how everything fit together in the end. He liked to find clues, that led to other clues, that led to the solution. He liked how every clue was a piece of solving the crime. L liked to solve things.
So did Near. He liked to solve puzzles. They always fit together, if you did it right. You could never be wrong. They always fit together in the end, in some way. They would always form a picture. If only you kept trying, it would always be solved in the end.
L liked to watch people, not only Near. He found that you could learn quite a lot about a person if you only watched them. You could learn more than you could with seeing someone's face or appearance. You learned their habits, how they moved, and reacted to certain things.
And through watching Near, L had learned certain things about the younger.
*
L crouched next to the white haired. They were in the playroom, that was free of other children. L had stayed a few days this time, and eventually the kids had returned to their normal routine. It was a sunny day, so most were outside. L, who was not a big fan of the sun, had decided to stay inside with his successor. Mello had been kicked out of the room earlier, by Roger, and had now found Matt and agreed to, to quote Mello, 'kick his ass in some game'.
Near clicked a puzzle piece into its place and turned his dark eyes towards L, while his hand searched for another piece on the floor. L was staring on his hand that had found a piece and now moved towards the almost complete puzzle. Near looked down and his hands clicked another piece into its place.
"Can I join you?" L asked, curious. Near looked at him, and a ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he moved a little to make room. L was very curious. He, himself, had never been interested in puzzles, but he wanted to figure out what made it so popular to his successor.
Near clicked the last puzzle piece in place and tilted his head, looking at the puzzle a last time before moving it. L watched him. Near reached over L to grab one of the puzzle boxes. L moved to grab it instead. He reached it towards the younger who reclined it with a shake of his head.
"I prefer white puzzles" he said, his voice monotone. L nodded and grabbed another box instead.
Near opened it and spilled its belongings out on the floor. He let his fingers run over the pieces. L watched him. Near separated the bunch into two and pushed one towards L.
Near grabbed a piece and lay it down. L grabbed one, too, and tried to get it to match together with the first. Near smiled. He couldn't help it.
"Not every piece fits together, L" he said. L tilted his head.
"Right" he mumbled.
Near picked out a piece from L's bunch and clicked together with the first. L stared and grabbed another piece, clicking it in place, next to the other two pieces.
Near nodded. L reached over and planted a kiss on the youngers lips. Near closed his eyes. L tasted sweet, of strawberries. L pulled away, a tiny smile crossing his features.
"Thank you for teaching me, Near. I have to go back to Japan now" L stood up and left the room. Near was still blushing, but picked up a puzzle piece and clicked it into its place, next to the other ones, while he tried to figure out these new feelings.
*
The next time L visited Wammy's, he broad along a new puzzle for Near.
Near opened the package, and saw a blank, white puzzle. It reminded him of himself. He turned to L.
"Thank you. You remembered". L nodded and sat down beside Near, reaching for the new puzzle. He turned it upside down, so all the pieces fell down onto the floor.
Near grabbed one and clicked it into place. L watched. He reached over and planted another kiss on Near's lips, just like last time. Near kissed back. L pulled back.
Near grabbed a puzzle piece and clicked into place. L watched. Just like always.
*
"L is dead".
Near clicked the last puzzle piece in place. He lifted the puzzle and turned it upside down, making all the pieces shatter onto the floor. He watched the black L fall apart, and separate into pieces again.
*
Near never used that puzzle again. Neither the ones they had solved together. Neither the ones L had given him. From that point on, Near rarely solved puzzles. And if he did, it was always the ones with pictures on them.