My first Death Note fanfic. I can't help it; I freakin' love Near. And Matt. And don't really like Mello. So there's light Matt x Near ahead. If you wanna look at it that way.
Warnings: OOC-ness ahoy! Sail on if you like, jump overboard if you don't!
I don't own anything! If I owned Death Note, it wouldn't be... well, it probably wouldn't be Death Note.
It was that type of storm. The windows rattled with the wind and with the clanking of debris hitting the glass as the torrent stirred it up. Lightning cast the room in white light every few seconds, the storm directly above Wammy House.
Matt and Mello lie in bed, both kept awake by the storm, watching and listening to the thunder and lightning. They both were feeling a little uneasy, but neither would say anything of it. There was a flash and Matt started in a whisper,
"One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand,"
"You're so childish," Mello remarked.
"Four-one thousand..." The thunder cracked, shaking the glass in the window, and feeling like it could have shook the boys' beds underneath them. Mello yelped quietly in surprise. "You were saying...?" Matt teased with a smirk, even though it was dark and Mello could not see his redheaded friend.
"I am not afraid of thunder!" Mello snapped.
"I never suggested you were," Matt chuckled.
Another strike of lightning painted the room white for a nanosecond. Matt counted to three this time. So it was coming closer. He heard the rustling of sheets and the creak of the springs as Mello shifted in bed, probably to put his head under the covers. He was totally bluffing about not being afraid. Matt had tried to confront him and offer him some comfort once. That ended badly. If Mello wanted to hide alone and brood, then he could. There was no stopping Mello being... Mello. Macho, hot-headed, proud, arrogant Mello.
But he was Matt's best friend. He always would be.
The thunder struck again, and then Matt whispered,
"Mello? Did you hear that?"
"The freaking loud thunder? Of course I heard it, dipshit," Mello grumbled.
"No, no," Matt murmured, sitting up in bed. "Something else. Shh."
Mello mumbled something incoherently and burrowed back under his blankets as Matt leaned in the direction the sound had come from. It sounded like somebody was crying. Aside from the patter of the rain, it was silent, and Matt pressed his ear against the wall beside his bed.
"I think Near is crying," he said.
"Psh, yeah, right. That albino little prick doesn't have feelings," Mello replied. "Go to bed, Matt."
"No, really," Matt said again, and listened against the wall that separated their room from Near's. Faintly, ever so faintly, he made out the sound of soft sobbing. "Something has to be really wrong then. He never gets upset."
"You act like you care," Mello scoffed.
"I... I do," Matt replied, and with that he stood and felt his way to the door and opened it, ignoring Mello's call. He strolled a few feet down the dark hallway and knocked lightly on the next door down that had a large black calligraphic "N" on it. He didn't get an answer, so he opened it.
There was a small sound between a hiccup and a sob, and then Near's voice said, "I am alright. D-do not worry about me."
"You aren't alright," Matt said.
The little white head popped up suddenly and dark eyes fixated on Matt. They were brimmed with sparkling tears.
"W-why would you come in here to see if I am okay?" the small boy choked.
Matt paused, considering. As he did, Near bowed his head and more tears landed on the sheets. "Because no one can always be alone," he decided. Back when the thunder was just rumbling in the distance and the kids were sent to bed, Matt had prepared himself to be a protector for a scared Mello if need be, but he didn't even realize that nobody had stopped to even consider Near. What if Near was scared too? Who did he have?
"Are you scared of the storm, Near?" Matt whispered, sitting on the end of the white boy's bed.
Near shook his head. "I... t-there are memories and images in my mind because of this weather and I do not want them there."
Matt nodded sympathetically. "D-do... you want to talk? You can talk to me if y ou want."
Near's obsidian eyes widened at the redheaded boy and in a second, Near was curled up, his little hands plastered over his ears and he shook his head desperately, tears falling once more. "No. No, no, no, no, no."
"Okay," Matt panicked. "That's okay. You don't have to. Near...?"
The white-haired boy had seemingly lapsed into hysterics, rocking back and forth with his hands over his ears like he was hearing some earsplitting sound, all the while tears carved trails down his pale little face. Matt felt panicky, not knowing what to do. It was one thing to comfort Mello when he got upset. Mello was explosive and erratic, and half the time he was just overreacting and it would be over in a minute. But this... Near was genuinely upset. He seemed to be in agony. Near, who never showed emotion, who was always quiet and logical. How was Matt supposed to know how to deal with him?
"Near," Matt tried again, leaning closer to the small boy, but he was plugging his ears, so there was no way Near had heard him. So he did the only thing he could think to do. Back when he had parents, they'd done this for him once. Matt scooted over and wrapped his arms around near, hugging him close. Near's hands immediately came away from his ears and he ceased rocking, and his eyes grew astonished. Matt met his gaze with a soft one of his own and whispered, "Near, it's gonna be okay."
At this, the smaller pale boy burst into a fresh wave of tears and buried his face into Matt's shirt. Matt awkwardly reached up to stroke Near's soft, wooly hair and whispered stupid little things to him like a mom would, he supposed. He felt like a total sap after thinking so, but because he could feel Near shaking violently, he decided he didn't care.
After a time, Near quieted down and Matt had failed to notice that the younger boy had fallen sound asleep, probably exhausted from his breakdown. All of Near's dead weight on Matt's shoulder still felt like almost nothing. But even so, Matt didn't want to move and wake Near up, even though he could easily shift the boy off of him.
Instead, Matt eased them both down onto the mattress so that they were lying side by side with Near facing into Matt's torso. The brief movement made Near stir and Matt feared he'd woken him up, but Near only shifted, latched tighter onto Matt around his waist, and went back to sleep.
There was no going anywhere now. Near had his grip on Matt tight like a vice. And, honestly, Matt would feel like a terrible human being if he disturbed Near from the peaceful sleep he'd fallen into. There was a slight little smile on Near's face and it made Matt happy. It made him happy to see some emotion on Near's face... some that wasn't misery and sadness, that was.
But even that... even that was almost welcome because it gave Matt–and probably Near himself– some assurance that Near was human. That Near felt things. Apparently, he felt a lot. Matt had almost never seen so much pain so suddenly. Sometimes Matt began to think Near was like a robot. Mello would tease him and taunt him and hit him and push him, and Near never said or did a thing in reaction. Other kids would avoid him and call him a freak. He never cared. He played alone and looked content doing it. But there was some emotion deep under Near's mask after all. It was good news that the albino boy hadn't gone dead inside.
Matt was torn away from his thoughts by the creak of the door. He had to strain, but he made out the shape of Mello stalking into the room. Matt got a nervous knot in his stomach, knowing what Mello would think of this. Mello stopped abruptly at the end of Near's bed.
"What the...?" Mello hissed. "What are you...? Never mind," Mello snapped and turned around, storming out of Near's room, slamming the door. That woke Near up.
The first words from the boy's mouth were, "I am sorry Matt. I am sorry I got him angry with you. You can leave. This is all my fault and I should not have..."
Matt tossed his distress at Mello aside and cut Near off. "No. Shh. It... it isn't your fault at all. You didn't deserve to be left all alone and scared. Mello can be jealous and angry because he doesn't like you, but it doesn't mean it's okay to let you hurt all alone. I came because I wanted to. Really Near."
Near stared blankly at Matt and then sighed. "I cannot detect if you are lying because I cannot see your eyes. And I do not know you well enough to read your body language."
Matt sighed back. "Okay." He reached up and did something he rarely ever did. He pulled the green goggles off of his face and tossed them aside, across the room. He looked Near in the eyes. "I want to be here. I want to help you, Near."
Near displayed more emotions this night. His expression became one of surprise, and his little mouth formed a shocked little "O." But he composed himself and whispered, "You are not lying." And then he cuddled closer to Matt's warmth and said, "Thank you."
And Matt whispered, "You are welcome Near... Always. You're not alone now."
BLAHHHH MLEEEEEEH I don't know how I feel about this. But hey, maybe people who've read any of my other stuff will realize that I'm not dead!
Review? I'll send you L in a box filled with chocolate cake and he's yours to do with what you want ;)
Haha yeah... if I had the power to do that, I'd keep him to myself. But it's the thought that counts.
Peace!