Near looked down at his puzzle, the pieces were scattered in front of him and the frame remained blank. He had no desire to put it together. He stared blankly down at it, his thoughts were on other things. He felt a wave of sadness fill his heart and he was glad he was alone.
With the Kira case solved and nothing further set in front of him, he didn't have to hide anymore, he placed his head in his hands and took in a deep breath. To everyone else, Near had never seemed emotional, he was the logical one, he had to be. It would look like he was heartless and uncaring, but when he was alone, that couldn't be further from the truth. He and Mello had spent time with L and Watari. Not many knew this, but L had taught them quite a bit of the trade himself. It hurt Near to hear the words that came from Roger that day.
He had cared about L and the old man, they were the closest thing to a family he would ever know. L was different when it was just their 'family' he had cared about them,and Near wanted them back.
"Near?" The voice called forcing him to act as if nothing had happened.
"Mello." He said not bothering to turn around to see his rival.
"Look, you saved my life, so I owe you, I'm -"
"No. We're even, the case is closed, you and I can go our separate ways, no ties." Mello stood silently staring at the white haired boy.
"What's the matter with you,you sound different."
"It's nothing, just tired I guess."
"I know you better than that,are you -you're upset aren't you?"
"Have you ever known me to be upset?" Mello moved closer and knelt down beside him.
"No,but that's why it's so strange. You never do this." Mello grabbed Near's wrists and pulled his hands away from his face. Near's dark eyes were tearful.
"So you do have emotions, you aren't always-" Mello thought it best to not finish his sentence.
"Yes, I have emotions, L once told us that just because you don't see it,doesn't mean it's not there." Mello sighed and sat down looking away from the younger boy.
"You got what you wanted, leave." Near demanded.
"No, I didn't what 's wrong with you, I admit it's weird to see a softer side of you but -"
"just leave."
"I could do that, but I still owe you no matter what you say, tell me what's wrong and I won't bother you anymore." Near sniffled.
"why do you even care?"
"Just tell me." After hesitating, Near began.
"L and Watari, they-" he took in a deep breath.
"Do you remember when we were younger and L would talk to us and how Watari would bring us things from him?" Mello smiled sadly.
"I remember, L gave me my first piece of chocolate. I hadn't known what it was like before him. I remember him being around sometimes in that one room of the house. If we were afraid, we knew we could go there and he would protect us." Mello sighed.
"He promised to keep the monsters away, he always did have a soft spot for us didn't he?"
"Yeah Near,he did. He was so different with us,he didn't hide,when we needed him the most,somehow it seemed like he always had time for us if we contacted him."
"He promised to stop Kira, Kira wasn't supposed to win."
"He didn't Near, you stopped him and L and Watari would be proud." Mello said.
"L had the case solved already, that's why he was killed. I hardly did anything at all."
"Near, you closed the case, you did do a lot and you were really brave. If I was half the detective you are, I'd -"
"You're giving me too much credit." Near said quietly.
"I never thought I'd hear that from you, I'm surprised."
"I guess I'm just full of those. You didn't expect me to have a softer side either."
"No, I didn't. You're the logical one...but maybe that's why L didn't choose one of us. Maybe we're somehow supposed to help each other."
"Are you changing your mind about working together?" Near asked.
"Maybe, I mean we could be a great team. Who knows maybe we'll balance each other out. Let's give it a shot " Mello suggested but Near remained silent as if to think it over.
"Why are you suddenly interested in this?" He said at last.
"I could tell you,but I think it's better to show you...in time." After another moment Near agreed, his heart still aching. Mello further surprised him by placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and pulling him closer. Near didn't resist, he merely turned back to the floor, he didn't notice the soft smile appearing on Mello's face and the slightly older boy could only guess what Near was thinking of the situation.
His smile widened, if Near could hear his thoughts now, he would be amazed.
"I love you Near, and I'm one step closer to telling you." Mello would keep it to himself until the time was right.