A soft breeze blew through the room from the open window. Mello lied on the comforter of his room, glaring at the ceiling. This can't be happening.

Roger had only given him the news this morning and he resisted the rage boiling inside of him. That undeniable malice that he himself didn't understand sometimes; all that mattered was it was there. A rustle sounded from the floor.

"Mello, could you pass me cube on that shelf near you?" that annoyingly neutral voice asked. Mello sighed with frustration and snatched the cube off the shelf, dropping it on the ground instead of lashing out and whipping it at the white haired boy he now shared a room with.

The blonde clenched his fists thinking about his current situation.

"Mello, could you come down to my office?" Roger asked as he poked his head into said blonde's room. Mello sat at his desk, books and papers spread out and revealing little of the desk's surface.

"I'm a little busy right now," he insisted after swallowing a bite of chocolate. "Is it urgent?"

"Yes, it is. I'll explain everything in the office." Mello sighed in defeat, leaving his chocolate on the sill of the window as he pulled himself up and followed Roger down the halls of the Wammy House. Mello noticed an odd smell; it was the weekend so he hadn't left his room since dinner last night.

Sniffing the air, he asked, "Is something burning?"

Roger didn't answer when they approached the office doors, opening them. The first thing Mello noticed was Near, sitting on the floor as usual with his puzzle in front of him. Glaring at Near as he stood beside him while Roger passed to sit behind the desk.

"What's this about?" Mello asked in suspicion. Why was he standing in front of a desk with his rival like it was some kind of judgment? Unless…

Did L choose one of them as successor? Wait, no, it was too early for that. But what could it be?

"Mello, there was a fire last night," Roger stated outright. Huh?

"The fire only hit the west wings so none of the east wings were affected. We suspect the wiring sparked and the wood caught aflame. Anyways, no one was hurt, seeing as it wasn't very serious but Nears room got the worst of it," Roger explained. Mello just stared at him, his eyebrows creasing to decipher Roger's expression.

"Because of all the cardboard games and toys Near had, the fire grew the worst in his room. We're surprised he made it out, actually." Mello resisted a smirk at the thought of Near passing away and him being made number one. That would've made their battle much simpler.

"Anyways, his room was completely destroyed, along with most of his toys and wardrobe. And…" Roger took a deep breath, looking like he was about to regret what he was going to say. "Your room is the only one free at the moment."

Mello's eyes widened at the realization at what Roger just said.

"No! I refuse to share my room him! I'll room with anyone except him," the blonde stated venomously.

"Unfortunately, you're the only single room left. The wing will be prepared in a week so it's only temporary," Roger spoke with the indignation that this arrangement couldn't be changed. Mello thought quickly.

"You know that Near and I don't get along! What if Near roomed with K and I could room with Matt?" Mello suggested. Roger shook his head though.

"Mello, it'll only be a week. Those kinds of accommodations would be made if it would take months for repair but it's illogical to go to that effort for just a week." Mello knew then, by the straight thin line of Roger's lips, that these terms were unchangeable. He knew when he couldn't win.

"If I may add my own thoughts, Mello, I assure you that I won't cause any trouble during this week. Just continue as you would without me there," Near promised without raising his head to look away from the puzzle.

For the first time that morning, Mello actually took a chance to really look at Near, biting the inside of his cheek. Near hid his face but Mello could see some raw burn marks on the hand that took pieces of the puzzle from the pile and place them down. The normally white shirt and matching pants also showed some scorch marks, and Mello noted one on his arm that had burned right through, leaving a black rimmed hole to reveal milky white flesh.

Even the puzzle itself, usually completely white with the black N in the corner, showed damage through burn marks on pieces, but it was obviously well protected due to the minimal damage.

Mello sighed, almost taking pity on the boy. But, it was still a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, if it isn't going to be long. I expect him to be out of my hair next week Sunday," the blonde growled, venom dripping into his voice. He was ready to leave the room before Near monotonously stated, "It's only a week Mello. Just be thankful it wasn't you."

Only a week… Only a week… It's what Mello kept telling himself. Stupid Near, having so many board games. They were just asking to catch fire eventually.

"Also, a mattress will arrive for Near tomorrow," Roger informed. Mello froze though. Tomorrow…

"Well, I guess he'll have to enjoy sleeping on the floor tonight," Mello stated with restrained anger before leaving the room, not letting the matter to be discussed. With the current state of things, he wouldn't lose whatever freedoms he had left. That included a bed to himself.

Mello was on his back, his eyes on the clock, on his bed. It was 7:58 at the moment. The House called a lights out at 9:00. He had just about an hour to kill until he had to deal with the bed possession matter. He rose from the mattress.

"I'm going to the grounds," he stated coldly to Near. Near had replaced his burnt cloths, almost making it seem like the event never happened, save for a couple visible burns on his hands. "Don't touch my stuff." With that and a quick pause to grab his chocolate, he was gone.

Near listened to Mello close the door and his steps as they faded down the halls; when he couldn't hear anything except the crickets outside, chirping, id he let his fear out.

Near let his emotions release, the fear that he had felt when he was surrounded by flames, the pain of the burns caused by the merciless orange flames, and even the sadness of the loss of his many puzzles and games he spent the greater deal of his time with. All of these released in a series of relentless sobs and flowing tears.

His logical mind kept telling him that these tears were completely unnecessary. That the time had passed and he was still alive. Yet, the simple release of tears felt like a weight was being lifted from him. All those emotions that had been boxed up inside of him, covered over by his neutral misdemeanor, set free.

After what seemed like hours but, as Near checked, had only been ten minutes, his tears ceased and he suddenly felt exhausted. He glanced at the bed for just a moment before shaking his head.

"There's an 87% chance that Mello would kick me out of his bed when he returns. An even higher chance that he'd resort to physical violence," Near murmured. Taking a chance, he looked under the bed. Like he thought, an extra pillow had carelessly fallen between the wall and headboard of the bed.

Near retrieved the pillow, fluffing it to remove the dust, before resting it over his scorched puzzle; he unbuttoned his shirt and decided to use it as a makeshift blanket. Near usually slept shirtless, wearing only the pants. He hissed though when a raw burn made contact with the cold floor. It was because of these habits too that made the worst of the burns invisible under the shirt.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Near reminded himself it was only for one night without the mattress and only one week to spend in this room.

Pulling his shirt to cover himself, he fell asleep as quickly as possible in his current state.

Mello returned to the room not long after Near fell asleep. The blonde was surprised at the sight of the white haired boy sleeping on the floor with just a pillow but didn't exactly care.

He crawled into his own bed, too stressed to sleep. After five minutes of tossing and turning, he looked over the edge of the bed, distracting himself by watching Near sleep.

He looked at the sleeping face of the boy, thought lines and creases smoothed out to give his face the look of youthful innocence. Mello rolled his eyes. Innocent, as if.

Near sleeps on his back, Mello noted with disinterest. The boy shifted, so that, instead, he lied on his side, his back facing Mello.

The blonde was about to go to sleep himself, uncaring until he noticed something about Near's back; under the sweater carefully draped over him, a small amount of his flesh was revealed. The thing that kept Mello's attention was the sheer red of the skin.

Mello carefully stepped down from his bed and kneeled beside Near, removing the sweater slowly without disturbing the sleeping boy. Mello winced at the one long streak of red that stretched across his back. It almost looked like a whip mark but fresh.

Mello let his hand ghost over the skin, feeling the heat emanate from even an inch of distance. His hand just barely brushed Near skin when he heard a small whimper, freezing Mello with his retracting hand. He'd never heard Near whimper before.

He draped the sweater back over Near's frail form. Near sighed in his sleep, and Mello took slight pity on the boy, debating waking him up and inviting him into his bed.

Then, he shook his head. What am I thinking? Humiliated by his own thoughts, Mello crawled into bed, the image of Near's burn still fresh in his mind.

~!~!~!~!~

Written by Lucian! ~