Spoilers, spoilers everywhere! I advise you not to read this until you've finished either the anime or the manga. Also, I think it's obvious I don't own Death Note. There are no pairings intented, but if you want to read this with a pairing in mind, be my guest!
Near felt ever so small while he fled from the thunder, three of his stuffed toys in his arms. He found the room he was looking for and barged in, closing the door anxiously behind him, as to keep the storm out. It didn't take long before he was faced with the exact reaction he had expected. "Near? What are you doing here? Get out!"
"But I'm scared."
"I don't care! Go away! GO!" Mello grabbed a pillow and threw it with full force at Near's head. He barely managed to protect himself from the impact by hiding behind his stuffed toys.
"Mells, could you help me a hand here?" Matt hadn't looked up from the screen. It seemed like he and Mello were in the middle of a video game, both sitting on one bed, a laptop between them, their faces illuminated by the screen.
A lightning flash lit up the room, followed by a deafening thunder, and Near ran towards the foot of the bed and dove underneath the sheets.
"Near!"
He didn't listen and curled up into a little ball. They weren't going to chase him away.
"Hang on, Matt, pause the game for a moment." The sheets lifted and Mello grabbed Near and carried him towards the door, hurting the younger one's ribs as he did so. "Ouch! You guys were supposed to be asleep over an hour ago. I'll tell Roger."
"And then what? We'll pretend to have been asleep all along. As if Roger would check twice." He tried to open the door while also keeping hold of Near.
"Matt, I know you've been smoking."
"So what? Were you planning on telling Roger like the baby that you are? Number One or not, you'll still need prove."
"Who said I don't have any prove? I've been filming you while you smoke."
"You creep! Whatever. For all Roger knows, it might have been filmed over a year ago, and that's exactly what I'll tell him."
"I've thought about that. That's why I've included shots of newspapers from that day, among other things."
Matt stared at Near with mouth open and a horrified expression on his face.
"Matt, help me shove him out the door!"
"Mells, don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kinda being held hostage over here."
Mello managed to open the door and was about to shove Near out, but Matt jumped forward and slammed the door shut.
"Matt!"
"I can't have him go to Roger!"
"We'll talk you out of it."
"Are you sure, Mello?" said Near calmly. Mello's fingernails were digging just a little bit too deep into his flesh, and he wanted it to be over already. "You think you're so safe?"
"Save from what? You? You little twat…"
"I have written some fake articles on chocolate, in case I ever needed anything to blackmail you with. But Roger won't know that they're fake. When he reads them, he'll be so shocked that he'll never let you even look at a chocolate bar again."
Mello stared at Near, wondering if his nemisis was being serious. The thunder that sounded right that moment only made Near even more determined to not sleep alone that night.
Matt had had enough. "Mello, let the freak sleep here. He's so small, we can pretend he's not even there."
"Fine," said Mello through gritted teeth. He grabbed Near by the collar. "Not a sound, you hear me?"
Near nodded and ran towards the bed, where he curled up just like before, hugging his stuffed toys close to him.
"No, you'll sleep in the other bed. I said, the other… Oh, never mind…"
The boys continued their game while Near tried to fall asleep.
"Okay, Matt, I have no idea what I'm doing right now…"
"Look, you press this button and… Wait, what are you doing?"
"I don't know. My character just walked into a wall and now I'm stuck in there."
"Damned graphics sometimes. Here, let me try this…"
A flash of lightening was immediately followed by a clap of thunder and Near crawled closer to the boys, until he was laying by their side.
"I said…"
"I'm not making any sound," Near whined, unable to keep his voice from trembling.
"Just ignore him, Mells. He'll fall asleep soon."
Mello shot Near one last angry glare and then ignored him.
A little while later, when they thought Near was asleep, he could hear them talking.
"I say we go into his room tomorrow. I would really like to get my hands on those recordings."
"He's probably just bluffing. If not, we're not going to find anything anyway. I mean, he's stupid, but… just not that stupid. Not as stupid… as this… stupid… boss… Come on, just die!"
"Look out, behind you!"
"Thanks, buddy."
"You know I'll always have your back, right?"
A short silence.
"Matt?"
"Yes?"
"Will you really always have my back? Through everything?"
"Yeah, off course, why not?"
"Even if…" Mello took a deep breath. "Even if L were to die and Near would success him?"
"Of course."
"And if I were to try to take the title anyway? Even though everyone is on Near's side? If I had to use force to take it from him?"
"I would, but… why even bother? Create your own title. Let the children here at Wammy's want to grow up to be the next Mello. Turn the title of L into a consolation prize."
A sigh. "Matt, you idiot. You don't understand."
"Then I don't. Still, I'll have your back. No matter what. Just tell me where to go."
"Well, first, down these stairs, I think I saw the key we're looking for down there…"
"Just lead the way."
Near fell asleep not long after. Looking back on this night, he often wondered how he could have slept this peacefully, while on the other side of the world, the Greatest Detective was being killed by Kira. He could think of so many things he could have said or done that night to change Mello's actions the next day. He could have prevented him from running away, and maybe even from getting killed. He could have convinced Matt to not blindly follow Mello's lead, but to protect his friend from his own self-destructive tendencies. The chances were slim, but still, it would have been worth it.
Mello and Matt would have lived.
And Near wouldn't have to spend the stormy nights on his own, alone and afraid.