Wish You Were Here
The chilling breeze of Autumn stirred up a cloud of dead leaves and battered his windowpane harshly. No mind was paid to it. A rhythmic 'click, click' of dominoes drowned out the raging wind. Navy blue eyes stayed astray of anything but the model castle of dominoes in front of them.
They were sad, dull eyes that had no intention of looking elsewhere. It distracted them from the mind's thoughts. "Ahem," Coughed a stern voice. Had he cared, he might've looked, but he didn't care. "Ahem," The voice came again. "Gevanni, I suggest you drink something to clear whatever is clogging your throat, move to another room if you insist on making such fruitless sounds, or quit your ignorant racket with the intention of getting my attention."
His tone was harsh and crude, uncaring, but he had given up on being nice long ago. "Right, you have a call from L, Near." With that, Gevanni left the room silently. Near didn't move at once, but after a few moments he grabbed an extra domino beside him and threw it at one of the many TV screens in the room.
It bounced off the glass soundlessly and landed upon the white switch that turned on the microphone. "You wished to speak to me, L?" He asked carelessly, returning to his miniature skyscraper. "Yes, Near, have you the in formation on the criminals' deaths?" He gazed up with those sad, dull eyes, being greeted by the countless screens of a black 'L' in a white background.
"Of course," He said somberly. "Why wouldn't I?" An edge of bitterness lingered in his voice. This man he hated. The man playing as L to get Near's help with the Kira case. Near knew of L's death, deprived of information or not, he easily figured it out.
Obviously, he was devastated, but it didn't hurt near as much to know of Mello's death. Not even close.
"Excellent. Will you send them to me?" The distorted voice asked. Near pushed his finger against the cool, dipping surface of a domino at the base of his model, bring it all down in front of him, row after row. "Yes," He began. "I'll have Gevanni send the information shortly."
"It's good to be working with you, Near." 'L' ended the transmission, leaving the young detective to stare at a blank screen. He averted his eyes to something else, his attention being caught by knocked-over figurines.
Upon closer examination, Near discovered that his dominoes had toppled over his set of rubber figures; each representing someone from the case. Important or not, they were there. His gaze lingered on the figure he claimed to be Mello. In his fingers the rubber was cool and smooth. The painted, white teeth of Mello grinned wickedly up at him.
Near's fist clasped around it, shielding it from his view. For once, the albino's eyes were filled with something other than a null void of dark blue. They were filled with burning tears that blinded his sight.
Mello was the closest thing Near ever had to a friend. Despite his irritable behavior and erratic personality, Mello was a hero to Near.
Mello was unbreakable, hot-headed, and reckless; but her was never afraid to show how he felt with something. Near was no exception. He never hesitated to show how much he loathed or envied the younger detective.
But, Near couldn't hate him back despite the feud between the two Near cared deeply for Mello, though he never showed it. Mello's leaving of Wammy's House tortured him for night's on end until his graduation. Even then, Near had nothing against Mello. It was the only thing he found impossible: Hating Mihael Keehl.
He, Nate River, had never felt so upset before. Even when the other Wammy Kids teased him about being a 'freak' or 'weird'. The death of Mello struck him hard, bringing him back to reality instead of his fantasy world of toys and models.
Kira was on the loose. A cold-blooded killer without a face. He had killed L, the world's greatest detective, and Mello, the short-tempered, fiery mafia leader. Now, Near was alone on the case, having nothing but a wanna-be L who was probably Kira himself and a barely-trained group of police officers who know nothing of Near's distress to aid him in catching the biggest criminal in the world who has nearly everyone all over the Earth on his side.
Near was just a kid.
Near was just a freaking kid. He didn't want this. Everyone on his team, besides Gevanni, had been killed by Kira's reign. And even Gevanni began to hate the distant albino. Near was 99% positive of it.
He frantically rubbed at his eyes, trying to rid of the tears. Trying to rid of the pain. Trying to rid of the guilt. Trying to rid of the stress. It was all too much - whether he showed it or not. He wanted to be with Mello, he wanted to be like Mello - he wanted to be Mello. Mello would've never broken on this case. He would've slammed his fist down and taken a big chunk out of his chocolate bar.
He would've taken the case head-on and would've killed Kira himself with his own gun. No help at all - well, maybe electronics done by Matt. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Near missed Mello with all his heart.
If it was up to him, he might've killed himself already to be with Mello.
"Quit your whining, Near. I don't want to have to deal with that all day." An all-too familiar voice snapped. Near spun around so fast that he toppled over onto his pile of dominoes. "M-Mello?" He cried in a daze. "What?" The voice spat.
Near picked himself up and looked around. "W-Where are you? I don't- I don't see you!" "I'm right here, you whiny little twit!" Now the voice was fainter, as if fading away. The young detective crumpled. "Mello," He wailed to nothing. "Don't go. Don't go, please!" He heard no response besides the steady hum of the electrical wires.
"Mello!" Near tried again and again helplessly, hid dark, dark blue eyes darting around the room for any sign of his ally. "Don't go. P-Please don't g-go." The poor kid was in tears. "Near," Came the voice from a different, undetected source. It was softer, kinder, caring. "I'm not going anywhere, Near, I promise. I'm right here."
An aching pain hit Near hard in the chest - like his heart was being smashed with a jack-hammer. He collapsed onto the ground in silent sobs. The Mello figurine was still clutched tightly in his hand. Near was nothing like Mello. He was weak. He was breakable. So very breakable.
"I wish you were here, Mello." Whispered the boy through his unfamiliar tears that he had never shed before. His throat was hoarse from crying and it hurt to speak, but he couldn't help himself. "Wish you were here so much." And for once, Nate River couldn't put himself back together.
Gevanni later found Near sprawled across the floor, his cheeks red and puffy from crying. The great detective, Near, the emotionless, loner kid, longed to be with Mello. The one he loved. He wished. He wished Mello was with him more than anything.