A/N: By R, for the occasion of A's birthday. Please be warned that Near/L is not my cup of tea, but I did try.
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, nor can I spell the names of those who do. D:
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Near.
At a very young age, Near became an orphan. It was decided that he'd go and live with Yagami Light. However, Light was already taking care of two women. He took Near in so he could gain another servant. Light and the two women (named Misa and Takada) worked Near down to the bone.
They made Near do all of the chores. By age ten, the boy did all the cooking and cleaning around the house. Even though he was treated like a slave, Near was thankful. All his life, he'd heard the horror stories about orphanages and children left on the streets. Working hard seemed a small price to pay for a home.
Years went by, and Near grew to be a beautiful young man. When Misa and Takada realized this, they grew jealous and demanded that something be done. So, Light ordered that all of Near's clothes would be burned and the two women would provide him with a new wardrobe. What they gave him was old dresses that had been torn and stained.
Because of his new attire, everyone took to referring to Near as 'one of the girls'. It didn't matter much to him. All Near cared about was becoming smart. He figured if he could learn enough, he'd be able to get a job in the king's court when he was older.
And this is where the story begins…
"Girls!" Near sighed and looked up to the ceiling. He knew that Light was calling, but at the same time, the young man also knew that dinner needed to be finished. Light called again, so Near wiped his hands on his apron and made his way to where the older man was. As he shuffled down the hall, Near wondered idly what Light could want.
"Move!" A shrill voice cried.
Near let out a quick gasp as he was shoved into a wall. Misa, one of the woman who lived with Light, rushed past in a blur of black and blonde. Trailing behind her was Takada, who was walking so calmly, her dress barely rustled. At the bottom of the stairs stood Light, holding a large envelope. He looked arrogant as ever as his three charges descended the staircase.
"Our chance is here," He began loftily, "Very soon, we will be in our rightful place, among the royal family. We will be the rulers of the kingdom and we will turn it into a paradise."
Misa and Takada both squealed and hugged each other tightly. At this, Near frowned deeply and asked, "How exactly are we going to become royalty?"
The brunette sighed, as if Near had just asked a very stupid question. Light held up the envelope, "This is an invitation a ball the king is throwing. The ball is being thrown so Prince L can find a suitable match."
"Well, naturally, he'll pick me!" Misa said, tossing her hair back.
Takada sneered, "The prince is an intellectual. He won't want some flimsy little airhead like you."
"Girls," Light scolded, "All that matters is that Prince L picks one of the three of us."
"Three?" Misa and Takada echoed.
Light nodded, "Naturally, I'll try and snag the prince for myself."
"What about me?" Near asked quietly.
The three others spun around. Near was just standing, twirling a bit of his tangled white hair and looking perfectly innocent.
Misa giggled loudly, "Like the prince would take you!"
"He has loads of servants already," Takada said, "Why would he want another mouth to feed?"
"Now girls," Light reprimanded and then smiled, "Would you like to go to the ball, Near?"
The boy nodded vigorously. He knew that many of the people who attended would praise his intelligence. If he was able to attend, Near was sure that he'd get a job offer at the palace. Light studied the young man intently. After a few seconds, his smile grew into a smirk and his eyes gleamed.
"You can go to the ball," Light paused until Misa and Takada's protests ceased, "Near, you may come to the ball, but you must be presentable the day of."
Near blinked in surprise, "Is that all?"
"I will not help you," Light warned, "You have a week to get whatever you need."
Misa and Takada began to snicker again. They knew that Near had no way to buy a dress or the fabric to make one. He wasn't paid for any of the work he did and Near's shyness kept him from making friends.
"I'll be able to do it," Near promised.
"Very well then. Go and pack a trunk full of things for Misa and Takada."
"Where are we going?" Misa asked, her eyes going wide with childish curiosity and excitement.
Light smirked again, this one clearly directed at Near. He tossed his auburn hair with easy type of pure arrogance.
"We need to go get new outfits, Misa. After all, no one would dare to show up in anything but the latest fashions!"
Near ignored Misa's giggling and the two sneers aimed at him. It took him nearly two hours to pack both the trunks and drag them downstairs. It took another two hours to pack the trunk for Light, who was very particular about his clothing.
Finally, when all the trunks had been loaded and the three were off, Near snuck into the attic. In the very back, he pulled out a small trunk. It was all he had to his name and he had been careful not to let Light find out about it. Opening it, Near examined the toys he had loved as a child with nostalgia before moving on.
At the very bottom of the trunk were the things that had belonged to his mother. A hairbrush and hand mirror were rested on top of a box filled with jewlary. Next to that were a pair of fine shoes and a plain, white gown. Near gently took the gown out and examined it.
His mother had been taller than he was now, so the hem would have to be fixed. Not to mention that the high collar was nothing like the scoop tops that Near had noticed both Misa and Takada wearing. Other than that, the dress was well preserved and perfect for a ball.
Near returned to the trunk, got out his mother's sewing kit and set to work.
The day before the ball, Near finished mending his mother's dress. The same night, Light returned along with Misa, Takada, and several boxes filled with all kinds of frivolous things that would supposedly make the prince fall in love with them. The next day was a flurry of excitement and activity. Though the ball wasn't until the evening, Light had them all up at dawn. Near spent all his time running quick errands for Misa and Takada, who spent most of the day worrying and throwing tantrums.
Finally, Light told Near to get dressed so he could examine his outfit. Near did so, slipping into the dress and his mother's jewelry quickly. He then tried he best to make his hair lie flat. Finally giving up on the impossible task, Near went downstairs and presented himself to Light and the girls. For a moment, no one said anything. Near forced a smile as the others stared. Finally, Misa lunged at Near and ripped at his bracelet. Near pulled away quickly and yelled, "What are you doing?"
"That's mine!" She cried, "Oh, Light, he's stolen my braclet!"
"And my shoes!" Takada added, pointing to Near's feet, "The ones you got me for my birthday!"
"Near, since you had to resort to theft," Light said with a smirk, "I'm afraid you can't come."
Near was in complete shock. He watched as the three turned and climbed into the carriage. Near watched as the carriage took off for the castle. Then, realizing that his chances for going to the ball and getting free were ruined, Near ran up to the attic.
He sat in the corner with the trunk of his things, staring at them forlornly. As Near read over some of his mother's letters, he felt a few tears fall. As soon as they hit the fading parchment, a great wind blew through the attic. There was a flash of light and suddenly, another young man was in the attic with Near.
He had red hair and wore odd looking glasses. In his gloved hands was a strange device. Behind the first man was an androgynous being with short blonde hair. The redhead studied Near intently and said, "Yo."
"Who are you?" Near asked.
"I'm Matt. Your fairy godfather," Matt said, smiling.
In a gruff voice the, now obviously male, blonde added, "Emphasis on the fairy part."
"Hush, Mello, I'm trying to work." Matt scolded, then turned back to Near, "So what's your problem?"
"I need new dress for the ball," Near replied and then quickly added, "And a way to get there."
Mello snorted at this and Matt elbowed him in the ribs. The redhead made Near take him to the garden, where and apple tree stood. Mello plucked the two reddest apples from the tree. He mumbled to himself and one of the apples turned into chocolate. Mello took a bite and tossed the second one to Matt, who caught it easily.
"This will be your carriage," Matt told Near, as the apple transformed itself.
A pair of stray cats became two fine horses and a doll became the coachman. Matt then turned his attention to Near himself. The dress had its color renewed and all the jewelry was taken away. Matt managed to get Near's unruly hair to go flat and then he presented the young man to Mello.
"What do you think?" Matt asked.
"Shoes," Mello replied easily, taking a chunk out of his chocolate apple.
The redhead nodded and mumbled a few more words. The once plain shoes on Near's feet now looked like they were made of hundreds of little dice, which had been the young man's favorite toy as a child.
"Thank you very much," Near said shyly, once everything was done.
Matt shrugged, "It's what I do."
Mello rolled his eyes, "Just remember to be back before midnight, that's when the spell will wear off."
Near nodded, and in the blink of an eye, the two strange men were gone. The young man decided that he didn't have a moment to waste, so he hopped into his apple-carriage and was gone.
"Watari, you cannot expect me to go out there!"
The outburst was made by Prince L, who was currently throwing a tantrum in his bedroom. At age twenty-five, the young man was very much a spoiled child and didn't like that Watari was not bending to his whim as usual. In fact, the king was demanding that L go out and socialize at the ball. In the past, he hadn't bothered, hoping that L's social akwardness and withdrawl from people would stop on its own. Since it didn't, King Watari decided that his heir needed a ball to find a proper match.
The only problem was getting L to actually go and mingle. Since the prince was incredibly smart, he quickly grew annoyed by those he found below his level. Therefore, he was refusing to even attend the ball, knowing that the chances of finding someone interesting was slim to none.
"L," Watari said gravely, "Unless you attend your party, no more cake."
L's dark eyes narrowed, "You must be joking."
The king sighed, "I'm afraid not."
With that, L left his room and joined the party, shooting deadly looks at several people. He was forced to greet a few who King Watari knew well, but finally, L managed to sneak into the gardens. By then, it was nearly eleven and he expected to find them empty.
However, a small figure was in the garden, bathed into shadows by the moonlight L approached the figure, completely prepared to throw the person out. The figure turned around and said pointedly, "You're the prince."
"And you're a boy in a dress," L replied.
"Not by choice," The figure replied, "It was forced on me as a punishment. But must we really discuss fashion? Personally, I prefer politics."
All thoughts of throwing the stranger out abandoned L's head as he sat down. The two talked for quite some time, but finally a bell went off signaling that midnight was fast approaching. The figure stood quickly and tried to leave, but L grabbed himn by the wrist.
"I have to leave," The figure said.
"No. Stay here," L replied, "I could let you live here forever."
The figure smiled sadly, "I come from a simple family. You wouldn't want me."
"I think I know what I want," L argued, "And what I want is for you to stay."
The stranger sighed and then whispered in L's ear. The prince's eyes went impossiblely wide and when the stranger saw this, he broke free and ran. On the stairs, the figure stumbled, but kept going until he was out the doors.
The next morning, King Watari announced that the prince had found a match and was now searching for the person who's foot could fit into a shoe made of dice.
"Girls," Light said seriously, "As you know, the prince has found his match."
Both Takada and Misa nodded from where they were sitting at Light's feet, watching the man with loving eyes. Near, who was dusting the sitting room, held back a nasty comment about how the two resembled a pair of dogs.
"He's been searching the kingdom for the person who can fit into the shoe," Light continued, "He'll be coming to our house today. No matter how tight it is, make your foot fit into that shoe. Understand?"
The two nodded again just as a knocking came from the door. Light ordered Near to answer it and when he did, Prince L was standing there. Near lead him into the sitting room, where Misa and Takada were waiting eagerly. Misa's foot wound up being too small, and the shoe slipped off as soon as she tried to walk. And no matter how hard she tried, Takada couldn't manage to fit into it.
"Allow me to try?" Light purred.
L handed him the shoe forlornly, obviously getting sick of trying to find the stranger from the ball. Light got the shoe on easily and grinned broadly, "See? It was me you spent the night with?"
L smiled, "Wonderful! Now, could you get the other shoe?"
Light's face blanced, "The other…shoe?"
"Yes," The prince said nodding, "To assure that you really are who you say you are. After all, hundreds of people could have the same shoe size."
"Ah, well," Light stammered, "I don't have my other shoe because-"
"Because the shoes are mine!"
Everyone turned to look at Near. He was smiling wickedly, holding the duster in his right hand and the other shoe in his left. L smiled, glad that Near's plan had gone off without a hitch. Light stood flabbergasted while Misa and Takada burst into tears.
L allowed Near to get his trunk from the attic and then the two left the Yagami house. As they shut the door on the carriage, L wrapped an arm around Near's waist. He was smiling playfully, "You know, you put me through a lot of work just so you could leave in style."
Near shrugged, "It was worth it. Besides, you promised me a place beside you when you become king. I figure we can figure out a way for you to pay me back later."
"Let's start with this," L said, and kissed Near softly.
Misa, Takada, and Light were forced to do all the chores they'd previously forced on Near. They never gained their dreams of royalty. When Watari died, L took his place as king and Near was his royal advisor.
And if you ask about their love life, Near will tell you that they wound up living happily ever after.