DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note. Also, this story was inspired by Obata's (the artist for Death Note's) opinion about Near. He said about Near's finger puppets in an interview, and I quote, "And I don't think Near liked L all that much, so he made him ugly… I guess. But he liked Mello so he worked hard on that one." And did you know that Near is his least favorite character? Interesting stuff. Anyways, since a reason for Near disliking L wasn't provided, I decided to write this. Tell me what you think! Oh, and by the way, this will probably be OOC. XD

L had come to visit them the other day and again Near had acted like it was nothing special. That wasn't even the surprising part, though. Near was constantly emotionless, so that wasn't unexpected. What Mello couldn't understand was why the albino seemed to be cold towards the world's greatest detective and would actually try to come up with any excuse he could to leave the man's presence as soon as possible. Mello had been wondering about it for hours last night while trying to sleep, but he still had no idea why the other genius did this. He was, however, definitely gonna find out.

It wasn't very often that the blond found himself in front of Near's door, but today he didn't let himself hesitate as he knocked three times.

"Come in," an unfeeling voice responded. Sighing, he left the hallway and entered the plain white room to stand in the middle with his arms crossed. Near, sitting on his bed with a puzzle that was as blank as his face, glanced at Mello and hid his confusion. Mello never visited him, after all. He finished placing the last piece and then turned his full attention to the blond. Right as he was about to ask what Mello wanted, the chocolate addict spoke.

"Why don't you like L?"

"What would give Mello that idea?" Near asked calmly, although there was a sudden flash of emotion in his dark gray eyes. Mello couldn't tell what it was, but he knew that it meant his rival was hiding something.

"Near, I'm not gonna play your games. You can either tell me or I'll make you tell me," he growled threateningly, obviously meaning by his glare that he'd shove his fist down Near's throat if the boy didn't give him a satisfying answer. Near frowned, pausing for a moment. Shaking his head, he decided that he wasn't quite in the mood for getting a beating.

"I… simply know that I am no more than a successor to him. If I were number four instead of number one, he would not take the time to look at me. He doesn't care about me. Not really. Not for the right reasons."

Mello blinked, a little shocked by the bitterness that Near used to emphasize the words him and he. But he felt like Near wasn't confessing everything and pushed onwards.

"Go on…"

"And I… suppose that I might blame him for Mello's hatred of me."

"What?"

"I like to believe that things would be… different if Mello and I were not in competition to take over for him."

"Explain."

"Mello hates me because he is competing with me, does he not?"

"Well-"

"And I want Mello to look at me the way that he looks at him!"

Mello gaped at Near, who was currently blushing after such an outburst. Near gazed at his feet and mumbled an apology, hugging his knees to his chest. Mello briefly considered that this was a dream. Was Near truly being shy?

"Why?"

"Because Mello looks at him with respect."

"I don't get it."

"…I like Mello."

"…Oh."

And then Near was hiding his head in his lap.

And then Near's shoulders stiffened.

And then Mello realized that Near was crying.

Unable to describe the pang in his heart, Mello subconsciously moved in Near's direction and wrapped the twerp in his arms. He smiled faintly when he heard a tiny gasp from Near and nuzzled his cheek against Near's neck.

"Mello?"

"Look, I don't hate you that much, okay? Please stop with the tears already. I don't wanna see you like this…" he replied, grimacing. Skinny limbs draped around him and he chuckled. Near buried his face in Mello's hair and took a deep breath, taking in Mello's sweet scent.

"And Near?"

"Yes?"

"…I like you too. Always have."

…Just to make this clear, I love L. Near doesn't. :P