Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
A/N: Taking a break from Prove Me Wrong. I didn't re-read this after I finished, so it might be a little off.
BREAK
It was a bright day outside the Wammy's House. There were very few clouds in the sky, and just enough of a breeze to cool the kids playing on the gated grounds. Birds were chirping happily on low branches, pausing in surprise only when there was a collective cheer after someone scored a goal.
Ever since Roger had splurged on two more footballs, the children never missed an opportunity to play. Roger knew that if the kids kept up this level of playing, he'd soon have to buy new nets to replace the worn ones. He didn't mind, however, because it brought them happiness. He often regretted forcing the young children to sit in study halls for hours, giving them complicated problems to solve until there were outbursts of protest or frustrated crying. It was all in the name of justice, he knew that, but it still ate away at him.
The name of L would always need to be passed on. The world could never be without L. Roger found himself wondering idly what it would be like to live without the security of knowing somewhere, at this very moment, L was guarding righteous citizens from demons in human clothing. Just last week, L had brought to justice a rapist who had a victim list in the double digits. The police embarrassedly praised L's success in the media. They had been working on the case for quite some time, and only three days after L was given the case, it was solved. Up until the police had admitted to L they needed help on such a "menial case," in L's words, the great detective had strong faith in their abilities. However, since the incident, Roger had noticed a great rise in the success rate of cases. 'L must be working twice as hard now,' Roger mused, 'taking on the police department's share, too.'
"Roger! We're all out of soda!"
Roger gave a small start, having been yanked out of his thoughts. "Hm? Pardon?"
The brunette in pigtails giggled at having surprised him. "Soda, Roger. We don't have any."
Smiling at the little girl, Roger stood. "Well, that is quite a dilemma, isn't it?" He set his book down on the vacated chair before motioning to the group of running children. "Ask the others what they want, Chantal, and I'll go to the store, okay?"
Chantal nodded enthusiastically before running off.
Roger made his way to the doors of the institute, humming to himself. He knew for a fact that Nia was somewhere within those walls, and the thought of the withdrawn child made his heart ache. He had caught a group of possible-successors cruelly teasing him the other day, and noticed that Nia's rare outings had become even more rare.
"Roger! We know what we want!"
Roger turned around casually to find three children grinning broadly up at him.
"Chris wants some kind of iced tea," Aaron said, making a face. "And Takeru wants Dr. Pepper."
"Yeah, and Kou wants Cherry Coke, but Jenny wants regular Coke," the second boy, Shane, said, looking up to the sky as if the list was written on the clouds.
Chantal took her turn next. "Matt wants the new Mt. Dew soda thing, the one that's really sugary. I forgot its name…"
"No! Matt wants Sprite!" Aaron claimed.
"What? No, he said the new one," Chantal argued.
"That was Stephie who wanted Sprite," Shane said meekly.
"I thought she wanted orange soda," Aaron turned to Shane, scratching his head.
"Nope. Wait, if she wanted Sprite, who wanted orange?" Shane turned to Chantal.
"Well, what did you want? Was it orange?" Chantal stood with her hands on her hips.
"I know what I want. It's not orange."
"That doesn't help."
"Does anyone even know what Kevin and Amanda andDean want?" Aaron interrupted.
"No, but who cares about them?" Huffing, Chantal crossed her arms.
"Hey, that's not nice," Shane said, tugging at his sleeves.
"Well, they're not nice," Chantal retorted.
"Yeah, but aren't you supposed to take the high road, and all that?"
"I will when they will."
"That's not how it works, Chantal!" Shane's outburst made Aaron step back, and Chantal stuck out her tongue.
"Hey, I remember who wanted orange!" Aaron exclaimed excitedly.
Sighing, Roger prepared himself for a long wait.
BREAK
Nia sat crouched beneath a large computer desk, working quietly on a puzzle. The pieces were piled haphazardly to his right, just far enough away that Nia had to stick his hand out from under the desk to reach them.
'There's a nineteen percent chance that this is an end piece, eighty-eight percent that it's a sky piece,' Nia thought while deftly grabbing another piece.
The small piece had light blue print and none of the edges were straight. Nia pouted. Looking down at his work so far, he leaned against the desk's wall sullenly. At this rate, the puzzle's sky would spill from underneath the table. He'd have to move soon. Glancing warily at the world beyond his hiding place, Nia absentmindedly brushed his fingertips over a dark bruise on his cheek. He quickly weighed his options for giving himself more room to work. When he found none favorable, he sighed, looking back to the troublesome pieces.
'Maybe I can just finish tomorrow…' Bruise abandoned, he curled his hair around his finger and closed his eyes in thought, 'No, that wouldn't work. With fifty-thousand pieces, I need to work as much as I can.'
This particular puzzle had never been finished by anyone in the institute, and when Nia found out, he was up to the challenge. Stopping now would be giving up. Not that he hadn't given up in other scenarios, but…well, this was different… Besides, what else was there to do? He could live without the tedious "brainteasers" the staff would give him in hopes of entertaining him, and he couldn't go outside because…
While he was thinking, Nia failed to notice that he was no longer alone. When he heard the soft crinkle of a wrapper, he was startled but managed not to jump. He saved face by merely blinking. Looking out of the desk's opening he saw Mero. The thin boy was sitting in the desk's swivel chair, leaning forward slightly to see Nia.
"You're hiding again," he said disgustedly. Mero was so tired of finding the other like this. Why couldn't he just stand up for himself? He eyed Nia's bruise and quirked an eyebrow. He'd actually been hit this time? He bit the inside of his cheek and chose not to bring attention to the bruise.
Still shocked by Mero's sudden appearance, Nia said nothing. But why should he bother replying anyway, when Mero obviously knew the answer?
"HasKevin and his friends been missing with you again?" Mero had shifted slightly, his head resting in the palm of one hand, while the other held a new chocolate bar near his mouth.
Nia switched his seating position, too, letting his left leg rest against the floor while pulling his right leg to his chest.
Mero noticed Nia's defensive posture; using his right leg to separate them, but didn't say anything. He took a few licks of the frozen dark chocolate before slipping off the chair to sit on the floor. Nia could annoy him to no end, but he hated to see him sad. He bit his lip, let his stoic mask fall from his face, and said, "Well, if they've left you alone this long…" Mero took time to slip off his sneakers in respect to Nia's current hiding place, "then isn't it okay to stop hiding?"
When Mero had dropped to his level, Nia's eyes darted over in nervousness. He lifted his right hand to tangle his finger in his hair again, further blocking himself from Mero. He was so preoccupied with thoughts of the pile of puzzle pieces keeping Mero only a short distance away that he didn't realize Mero had been talking until he'd finished. Oops. Nia didn't know if he should apologize and ask Mero to repeat himself or just remain silent. He looked over to Mero to decide which route would be best only to find the other licking the candy bar with an expectant look on his face. Nia's brow furrowed; Mero wasn't helping. Nia sighed, looking away. He hated not knowing what to do. Mero always had this affect on him, this feeling of uncertainty and self-doubt. Mildly frustrated, Nia finally voiced a thought that wouldn't leave his head, "Why aren't you with Matt?"
Mero paused in his content licking, dropping his hand slightly. "What?"
"He's gotta be more fun than me, so why not hang out with him?"
"For being a genius, you're pretty stupid."
Nia turned to Mero to tell him off but instead made a small noise of distress as the taller boy swept away the puzzle pieces between them.
"I like to hang out with you, too," he said as he moved closer to Nia. "Only," Mero paused, staring silently at his friend, "you let others determine your habits too much."
Nia stared back just as intently, arms at his sides. "…What?"
Mero sighed. "This," he said, gesturing quickly to the desk they were beneath. "This hiding and refusing to live." Scooting backwards, Mero grabbed Nia's arm. He frowned when he felt how thin and small it felt encased in the loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirt. 'Maybe we should get some food before we play videogames…'
Nia squeaked, not used to being touched unless it was to be shoved away, or more recently, struck. His first instinct was to flinch. When a second passed and he hadn't been hit, his second instinct was to pull away.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Mero's tone was surprised with a subtle hint of anger. 'Just how many times has he foughtKevin and his mindless friends?' The first time Mero had witnessed it was yesterday, and although there were times Mero wish he'd never met Nia, he never wanted him to suffer. If only he was at Nia's level of intelligence, then maybe his stupid pride wouldn't get in the way of their friendship.
"Me! What are you doing! Lemme go!"
Before Nia could blink, he was in Mero's tight embrace. He froze, eyes wide.
Mero felt Nia holding his breath, but he continued to hold him close. He whispered, "I'm so sorry, Nia. I just…Kevin won't hurt you anymore… No one will." He squeezed Nia affectionately, minding the chocolate bar.
Relaxing in Mero's arms, Nia released the breath he had been holding. He tentatively lifted his arms to return the hug. When there was no protest, he tightened his hold and buried his face in Mero's neck.
"Nia, your knee, it hurts."
"Oh." Nia simply said before wiggling the offending limb out of their way before pulling Mero closer. He clutched at Mero almost painfully, hoping to keep the other boy like this forever. He knew that in all of Roger's attempts, Mero had never shown Nia this kind of attention. Nia wouldn't let it slip way.
"Let's go get something to eat."
Nia shook his head.
"C'mon, we'll get something to eat then we'll go play videogames," Mero insisted, pulling away.
Reluctantly letting go, Nia drew his leg close to his chest again; Mero's fleeing warmth left him feeling empty. Mero's hand wrapped once more around Nia's arm and tugged gently.
Nia was quick to follow. He didn't mind leaving the safety of his simple hiding place as long as Mero was with him. Mero protected him a lot; he didn't quite understand why. Usually Mero was competing with him for attention. Nia hated being praised for that reason alone – Mero would see and get depressed. Mero's depression eventually turned into spiteful competition. Always. Nia liked the Mero who protected him more than the mean Mero. It was as if there were two Mero's. And when one got bored, he'd go find the other Mero and they'd switch places. But where does the other Mero hide until then? And what does he do?
"Hey, are you listening to me?" Mero waved his hand before Nia's face, a smirk on his lips.
"What?" Oops. Not again… "Sorry, Mero…"
"It's alright. I was just telling you I know whyKevin always fights you."
Nia continued to follow Mero down the hall, trailing a few steps behind. They passed one of the study rooms and Nia felt a tinge of sadness. Soon they'd return to that horrible room, and Mero's score would be bested by Nia's. Then the mean Mero would come back.
"He feels threatened by you, intellectually," Mero closed his eyes in guilt momentarily – he was no better. At least he had never attacked Nia. He looked over, "Oh, and remember the time Amanda was flirting with you? She's turned it around, and now he thinks you're trying to take her away."
Nia pulled a face. As if anyone would want her, anyway. He had almost been sick when she threw herself all over him.
Mero laughed at Nia's reaction. "Yeah, I agree." They turned into the kitchen and he said, "When I first saw her, I thought she was a boy." He opened the fridge and dug through it for a moment before producing two cans of soda. "Put this over that," he motioned to Nia's bruise, "before drinking it. Just for awhile." He opened his can and drank before looking through the cupboards.
"I thought there was nothing left," Nia murmured, gazing at the can in his hand. He placed it hesitantly to his cheek, wincing at the cold.
"It's mine. I don't like people touching my stuff."
Nia opened his mouth to ask why he was sharing then, but bit his tongue before uttering a single sound. He didn't want to chase off nice Mero. Instead he asked, "How do you know that's why he hates me?"
"I beat him up."
Nia's jaw dropped. 'You fought him for me?' He watched in silence as Mero placed four boxes of cereal down on the table. Mero nodded to a seat and Nia sat down.
"Not sure which one you like, so go ahead and choose." Mero turned around, retrieved two bowls and took a step from the table. "I'll be right back."
Nia reached for a box, setting his soda down. He gave a small gasp, 'Did I chase off nice Mero?' He'd do anything to keep mean Mero in his hiding place. "No, wait, don't go get him!"
"Don't go get who?" Mero propped up his chocolate bar against his bowl, raising an eyebrow at Nia. "I was going to go get milk…"
Nia felt incredibly foolish. There couldn't be two Mero's. He had to start thinking more logically. He nodded, averting his eyes to the box in his hand, and heard Mero turn away.
Mero scowled at the fridge as he neared it. 'Who did he think I was going to get? Kevin?' He grit his teeth. 'Why the hell would I?' He grabbed the ½ gallon container of chocolate milk, paused, and grabbed the white milk, too. When he got back to the table, Nia was looking up at him almost fearfully. Mero's expression softened, "I'm not sure which of these you like, either." He pushed the containers to him, letting him choose first.
Nia smiled. He reached for the white, knowing Mero would want the chocolate. 'Everything's ok because Mero will protect me.'
'Nothing will hurt you again,' Mero thought, watching the small boy for a moment before looking away to avoid being caught. He bit a piece of chocolate as he poured his chocolate milk.