This fic is part of a series - Please refer to my profile for where this falls in the timeline. However, this can also read as a stand-alone fic, so feel free to take it as it is. :)

Meh, this felt a little rushed towards the end, but I always have trouble ending things. PLEASE BE WARNED - THIS DOES CONTAIN LEMONS. I don't really write a lot of lemons, but for some reason, I really wanted to write one for this couple. It has been decided - they are my new favorite. I am actually planning out many one shots, possibly a multi-chapter fic, revolving around this couple. Whether or not I get off my ass and actually write all of it remains to be seen - I have a tendency to leave things hanging for a while, sadly. I am trying to change that, so I hope you can forgive me.

Anyway, I do hope you enjoy this. Please feel free to offer any feedback, including constructive criticism. Thank you for taking the time to even look at this! :3

Insert usual disclaimer thing here.


"Are you sure this is a good idea, Near? She is - was? - is Yagami's sister," Lidner said, voicing her doubts and concerns about letting the sister of the deadliest serial killer known to the modern world into what was essentially their central command.

Near did not seem the least bit concerned as he sat on the floor, in his usual (or unusual, depending on how well you knew him) position, surrounded by his usual (see previous parenthesis) menagerie of cards, dice, and toys. She may be Yagami's sister, but with Yagami deceased, Near had witnessed her grief firsthand and she did not project the air of a person who was out for revenge. After all, she was none-the-wiser of Near's true involvement in the case or how everything had truly concluded in the end - for all she knew, Near himself had tried to stop the "murder" of her brother at "Kira's hand", and the reason the members of the task force had been so belligerent and avoidant of him at the funeral was because he had failed. All in all, from everything he had seen, she was merely in mourning and looking for some - any - kind of comfort, even if it was from the likes of him. He felt a pinprick of something that was either guilt or contempt - he could not tell which - but whichever it was, he kept it safely tucked away.

"She is merely returning something I mistakenly left with her the last time we met," Near said placidly as he carefully continued to build upon his most current card structure.

Although Near did not lift his head to look at her, he could feel Lidner raising an eyebrow at him. He ignored the dubious look she was no doubt sending his way.

"I still can't believe you gave her your personal contact number. It's the most careless thing I have ever seen you do. It's not as if-.." she scolded, and then her demeanor suddenly softened. Near braced himself for what he knew was coming next. "You know," she said gently, "you are not personally responsible for her emotional welfare just because you brought justice down upon her brother or because of what Mello did."

"I am aware. Thank you, Lidner," he said dismissively, hoping it would end her interrogation. With a small sigh, he added, "Suffice to say, she is welcome here. She will only be here a moment and then she will be on her way."

Lidner pressed her lips together disapprovingly, but said no more.

"She is here now. Please go ahead and see her in," Near said.

Shaking her head, Lidner obeyed, retreating to open the door to the command chamber. Before she did, she took one last look back at him - again, he could feel her eyes on him - and then opened the door.

Near resisted the urge to look up and see the girl as she stood on the other side of the doorway, instead focusing with added vigor on what he was doing. Lidner wordlessly gestured the girl inside and then closed the door behind her.

To say the ensuing silence between them was awkward was to say the earth was a sphere. The awkwardness was palpable and thickened the air in a most uncomfortable manner. Near could tell it was with a great amount of effort that the girl finally stepped forward and said, "This is... impressive. Did you do all this by yourself?"

Ignoring her praise and without even taking his eyes off what he was doing, Near cut right to the chase, "I had your brother's clothes laundered and left them on that desk over there. You may take them and leave mine in their place."

Sayu pressed her lips together. "Can we please talk?"

"..Go ahead."

Now it was Sayu's turn to hesitate. "Look, about the other day, I'm-..." She sighed. "Was... that your first time?"

Embarrassed all over again and feeling his cheeks heat up in spite of himself, Near could only offer a mute nod in reply. I could tell, he could hear her response in his head.

She was silent for a moment before whispering, "I'm sorry."

Her actual response took him by such surprise that he finally stopped what he was doing and looked at her. She looked every bit as apologetic as she sounded. When he said nothing, she continued, "I shouldn't have been so forward. I don't know what came over me. That wasn't like me at all. I'm not some scarlet woman, I was just.. I didn't mean to take advantage. Please forgive me."

Confused, Near replied, "Am I not the one who took advantage of you? You were clearly grieving - you still are. I could have stopped you at any time. In fact, I should have stopped you. I am the one who should be apologizing to you."

"No, please, just-.. let me apologize, okay? If that was your first time, it should... it should have been with someone special, someone you care about."

For a moment, Near was silent. The implication that he didn't care about her weighed heavily on him. He wondered if the idea weighed as heavily on her and if perhaps that was why she had not contacted him for nearly three weeks since the "incident", such as he had been inwardly referring to it. He had not told his team anything about what had happened, and due to his honed ability to not let his emotions become apparent or guide his actions, they had been none-the-wiser of the tempest of confusing emotions brewing inside of him.

He had to say something in response, but what to say? He had fled from her immediately afterwards. There really was no better word for it - he had simply fled. He was loathe to admit that he had been both shocked and petrified by what had happened, to the point where he had fled without even changing back into his own clothes (though they would have still been soaked through from the rain), and instead had left while wearing some of her brother's old clothes, hanging loosely off of him like a dead skin that he couldn't shed. Since he had fled from her, though, was there any way he could possibly salvage their acquaintanceship? Or was it more than that now? They had, after all, crossed an obvious boundary that day, whether intentional or not. They had never said anything to each other before about what feelings they may or may not have had for each other, but then Near was certainly not adept in this sort of thing, so what did he really know about his own feelings anyway? How could he even presume to know what exactly she was feeling towards him when he couldn't even piece together his own feelings?

A great many thoughts were tumbling around inside of his head, his high-powered mind desperately trying to make sense of them. Only one found its way out and he nearly stunned himself with the truth of it.

"May I be frank with you?" he said.

"Okay."

"I can think of no one else with whom I would have rather shared the experience."

"Really?"

"I never say anything I don't mean to say."

It seemed to be the right combination of words, because a dam visibly broke over the girl - her stiffness suddenly melted away, a bright smile lit upon her face, and a flood of words burst forth from her.

"Oh, Near, I'm so glad. I was afraid that for sure I had frightened you off for good. At first, I thought I could just wait until our usual time to see you again, but I was so afraid you wouldn't be there because of what happened.. I decided it was better to just take it upon myself and ring you up like you said I could and come to see you instead." She paused only briefly to take a breath before continuing. "Plus I'm sure you were missing these," she said, holding out his pajamas. "I've seen you in them a lot, so I assumed they were your favorite."

With a small smirk, he said, "They are."

"May I ask why you like wearing pajamas so much?" she asked, eyeing the pair he was currently wearing.

Finally, he found himself relaxing as well. "They are quite comfortable and their very comfort is what helps to increase my deductive ability. I'm not really comfortable in anything else."

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense." She hesitated a moment and then said, "May I sit with you?"

Finding himself suddenly nervous (as he always found himself around her as of late, for some reason), he stammered, "O-of course."

Slowly, the girl approached him, moving carefully around his display of cards, and sat down beside him, cross-legged. Near was all too aware of her proximity and what had taken place the last time they had been so close to one another. He could even feel his body reacting to it, much to his embarrassment. He swallowed involuntarily, an action that did not go unnoticed by Sayu.

"I promise I won't jump you this time," she said good-naturedly with a small giggle. He was beginning to wonder what she meant by "this time" (although, of course, it should have been obvious - dilated pupils, increased breathing, parted lips, exposure of the neck... no doubt her pulse was racing, just as his was) but then she elaborated, "But.. I am going to ask if I can kiss you again."

His eyes, which had drifted away from hers, now darted back to meet her gaze once more. And, gods be damned, he was feeling the flames under his cheeks reignite.

"O-Okay," he found himself stammering again, much to his dismay. He hated the fact that he found himself sounding like an idiot the more time he spent in her presence, and the fact that they had recently consummated their relationship (or whatever it was) certainly did not help.

Most of these uneasy thoughts ceased when she leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his. Unlike last time, he actually leaned in to receive her and he felt the entirety of him rejoice at getting to taste her again. He felt so warm, inside and out. Also unlike last time, their lips moved slowly and more controlled together, creating a sharp spark of arousal that shot straight to his core, causing him to temporarily lose his breath and break contact with her.

"Is everything okay? I'm not taking advantage again, am I?" she asked, concerned.

"Not at all," he said softly, offering her a small, boyish grin, "Perhaps I neglected to mention earlier that.. I would not necessarily be adverse to further exploring a relationship with you, in all meanings of the word."

Sayu bit her lip, sending back her own grin, "Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"If that is okay with you."

"Of course! I would love that." Her cheerful grin suddenly became coy and her lip-biting took on a whole new meaning. "And.. are you saying that you wish to pick up where we left off last time?"

"..Also if that is okay with you."

Moments later, after helping each other out of their clothes, Near found himself kneeling between Sayu's legs, ready to plunge in and try out this whole sex thing again, right there in the middle of the floor of his central command and surrounded by his towering structures of cards (he had fetched them some oversized pillows to lay on for comfort). He would be lying if he said he hadn't been thinking about it constantly since it had happened. Interestingly, Sayu seemed to be too impatient for foreplay - not that he was well-practiced with it anyway, but he figured he would eventually have time to learn. Once he was in position, she again took the initiative and reached down between them, grasping him and guiding him into her. It seemed she was damp enough from excitement anyway, because he slid into her with minimal effort. They both released a sigh at the reunion of their bodies.

As Sayu had been on top last time, Near was unsure of how to hold himself or how to start things at first, so Sayu helped encourage him by rocking her hips teasingly against his, which almost caused the boy to shut down completely. His eyes immediately snapped shut and he appeared to be lost in the sensation. He was trying in vain to steady his breathing, causing a sigh to build up in his lungs, which came out breathily against the girl's face. Sheepishly, he bit his lip and experimentally rolled his hips against hers, earning a small yet appraising moan from the girl beneath him. That sound encouraged him further and soon he worked himself into as steady of a rhythm as he could, being as inexperienced as he was.

He was so lost in all of the sensations going on - the slick, wet give and pull of her inner muscles; both of their sighs and her small, encouraging moans; her hot breath against the side of his neck and on his ear; the way she smelled both musky and flowery at the same time; muscles he had obviously not quite ever used before flexing and stretching, announcing their presence; the feel of his own teeth pressing down his bottom lip in concentration. Everything had happened so quickly last time, he had hardly had any time to register that he was actually losing his virginity, much less all of the different sensations going on. This time, he was going as slowly as he could and his mind was still struggling to keep up, struggling to record, catalogue, and analyze every sensation.

He barely registered a frustrated exhale from the girl beneath him, and it wasn't until she spoke up that his brain blinked back on, albeit running at only half of its capacity.

She said, "You know.. I am not a delicate little flower. You can be a little harder than that, I promise it won't hurt me."

Near paused in his movements and forced his eyes open, looking down at the beautiful girl who dared to let him touch her, have sex with her, and gave her a dubious, nonplussed look. He steadied his breathing, feeling his arms shake with this unusual amount of physical activity, his brain addled by chemicals and feelings he simply was not used to, "I-if that is what you want..."

He blinked at her sudden stern expression as she said, "Hey, this is not just about me. It has to feel good for you too."

A soft, incredulous, single-syllable chuckle forced itself out of him. "Everything feels good right now."

Sayu smiled at him, "I'm glad."

When she didn't elaborate further and now doubting himself, he swallowed quickly and said, "That is why I said if that's what you want, then please say so."

"Okay, then please, if you can, be a little, um.. harder."

With a sigh and feeling unsure of himself, like he was a performer of some sort and Sayu was the judge, feeling like he would not live up to her expectations or be able to please her, he gave a curt nod and resumed his languid thrusts. His pleasure had receded a bit during their brief talk, but now was returning full-force. It almost caught him off guard. He inhaled sharply at the renewed intensity.

He wanted to give her what she had asked for, though. It was just that... with the way her legs were draped open, receiving him, he felt so exposed to the air, so unsure of himself, without thinking he grabbed one of her legs and guided it up around his waist. Sayu must have understood the message, because she wrapped her other leg around him and locked them against his back. This felt much better, much more secure. Near paused his movements again, adjusted the angle of his hips, and surged forward with much more force than he had been using moments ago. This earned a squeak of surprise from the girl that quickly dissolved into a pleased moan. He felt an inexplicable animalistic pride rear up inside of him at that noise and continued with the stronger movements.

"Better?" he asked between thrusts, his voice shaking and strained amid the heavy breathing.

"Yessss," she breathed against his cheek. He felt her calf muscles tighten against his waist, indicating that her toes were curling, confirming what she had just told him. "You?"

"Uh huh," was all he could manage. It seemed he was finally able to get into the moment and truly enjoy it. He pressed his forehead against hers and let out a low, soft, barely-audible moan, the two of them sharing the same hot air between them. Sayu suddenly grasped at his hair - not hard, but not gently either - which felt surprisingly good. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter.

The sensations were building much more quickly and intensely like this. The white-haired boy didn't even realize how close he was until the moment was already upon him. There was simply no stopping it. He managed one last, strong thrust before his movements suddenly ceased as his senses exploded into oblivion. Emptying himself into her, he bit his lip hard to stifle what might have been a cry that instead turned into a whimper, burying his face into side of Sayu's neck to hide whatever undoubtedly embarrassing expressions he was making.

After giving him a moment to recover, Sayu gently grabbed his hair again and gave a gentle tug. "Hey," she beckoned softly. Near removed his face, damp with a light sheen of sweat, and peered down at her while remaining nestled inside of her. He could feel them both throbbing down there. It felt good, right, blissful... not at all awkward like last time. Reaching up to push hair out of his face that was sticking due to the sweat, she smiled and said, "Don't hide from me, Near."

Without even thinking about it, he said, "Nate."

"What?"

"My name. Nate. You may call me Nate."

"Okay," she smiled, pushing their foreheads back together and sighing softly, contentedly. "Don't hide from me anymore, Nate."

"I don't think I can," he whispered, closing his eyes at the feel of her forehead touching his, at the feel of all the intimate contact.

It was with great reluctance that he finally edged off of her, landing with a soft ploomp on the oversized pillow next to her. He gazed at her in wonder before his eyes took in the mess of cards around them, which had apparently been knocked over in their passion. Unexpectedly, laughter bubbled up from inside of him at the sight. Sayu's chortles joined his when she also took notice of the mess.

"Sorry about your cards," Sayu sighed, "But you seem pretty skilled at setting them up, so I'm sure you'll have it all rebuilt in no time."

"Sayu," he said in his usual soft tone, liking the way her name sounded on his tongue, "If I may ask a.. somewhat personal question?"

Sayu chuckled. "We have slept together twice - I don't think anything you could ask me is too personal now."

"Right," Near said with a small blush, looking troubled.

"What is it?"

"You didn't seem to, ah..." he trailed off sheepishly.

Sayu smiled softly, "That's okay. It doesn't happen every time."

"But you did last time." Hadn't she? he found himself wondering all of a sudden. It wasn't like he had seen any porn or anything - not that that was real anyway, according to a conversation between Mello and Matt he had overheard once upon a time.

"That was a fluke. I was, um... full of much more tension then."

"I see," he said, then was quiet for a moment before saying, "Well, I will just have to research the subject and discover the best way of bringing you to orgasm next time, then.."

Sayu blushed, despite everything they had already done together. "Oh, Near - Nate - that's not necessary."

"It is only fair that you should get to reach orgasm as well - You know, an eye for an eye and all."

Sayu chuckled at that. "You're so cute."

Near's eyebrows came together in confusion. "Cute?"

"It's not a bad thing," she said with a sigh, moving to sit up. Near sat up along with her, his eyes on her, waiting for her to explain further. She didn't. She instead said, "I really like you, Near. Nate."

In spite of himself, a small, shy, barely noticeable smile crept up on his lips. "I really like you, too."

"Let's go out soon, okay? What kind of food do you like? Are there any movies out you are interested in seeing?"

Caught off guard by all the questions, Near blinked. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I don't get out much. Work and all."

"That's okay, I'll just have to choose for us, then. Don't worry, I promise not to choose any movies with Hideki Ryuga in them."

"Who?"

Sayu chuckled melodiously again, and Near found himself yearning for her to make that sound as often as possible. "Never mind. Speaking of work, I should probably get going so I can let you get back to it. I didn't mean to distract you so much. I honestly only intended on bringing you back your clothes."

"That's okay. I think I was already distracted anyway."

Sayu smiled at him and leaned in, pressing her lips against his. They exchanged a tender, affectionate kiss, in which Near could feel himself becoming aroused again. He wanted nothing more than to push her back down and learn all the ways of pleasing her, but he really did have work to do. He reluctantly ended the kiss and moved to slip back into his pajamas and to tidy up the area they had defiled.

They made plans to see each other again sooner than the once a month they had been following for the last few months and then, with one last shared kiss, Sayu took her leave. Feeling immensely relieved by the turn of events and with a little extra spring in his step, Near returned to his usual spot on the floor and began the arduous task of rebuilding his card fortress. He had already prepared himself to face Lidner's fury, and no sooner than he had started the rebuilding process, said woman came marching in through the open door after having seen Sayu safely outside.

"Near, is everything okay in here? You were in here with the Yagami girl an awful long-..." Lidner stopped speaking, her mouth falling open in a most uncharacteristic manner when she saw the mess of toppled cards everywhere. "...time." Her mouth slowly closed and was replaced with a smirk when she next saw Near's disheveled hair and reddened lips. "Near... is she your girlfriend or something?"

Near chose to not honor her astute observations with any comments and focused on rebuilding his card fortress instead.

"For God's sake, you should have just said so," she admonished, then shook her head and left the room without another word. For a reason he could not explain even to himself, Near smirked at her ire after she left the room.

Later, though, the joke was back on him. A package of condoms had mysteriously appeared on his workstation, sitting there innocently as though they belonged among the array of action figures, dice, and playing cards. Near flushed at the sight and quickly relocated the package to a more private location, where later he thoroughly read through the instructions and decided it would be a good idea to use them next time.

Because Yagami's sister or not, on good terms with the Japanese NPA or not, Near was sure that there would be a next time with Sayu. Many more next times.