The bookshelves in his room had taken more then their fair share of a beating, but Near loved them just the way they were and refused to get new ones. He took a stool, since Parasyte and Uzumaki were both down the line of the alphabet, they went to the upper part of the bookshelf. Near had done his alphabet backwards, seeing as a lot of his books started with letters closer to the beginning of the alphabet.
Parasyte was put away easy enough. U.. U...... Ugh, not high enough of a stool. Near tried a chair, feeling unstable on it. He hated heights since he was close to the ground(short joke :D). But, Near had OCD so he was more determined to get the books done up right then to place it somewhere it shouldn't be. He reached up high, on his tippy-toes when..
SNAP!
One of the chair legs underneath him broke, leaving the boy holding onto the bookshelf for dear life. It really wasn't that high.. But it was at least two of Near. The chair made a loud thump as it broke, and the bookshelf banged against the wall with the added weight of Near on it now. Near himself looked down to the ground, giving a small whimper. If only he could press the call button for his intercome to Rodger's office he could call for help..
Matt jumped slightly when he heard the snap, looking curiously down at his game. The last time he had played the dungeon crawler it hadn't made noises like that. His game hadn't been updated in any way, so it couldn't be that. Plus, Matt had been careful, there weren't any cracks in his DS! So what had made that snapping noise?
Figuring that it had to have come from Near's room, Matt hesitantly knocked on the door. He didn't want to seem like he was bugging the white-haired boy, but he was worried. Had he fallen and broken something? Years of video game violence reassured him that it hadn't been a bone. Still, Near could be hurt!
"Uh, hey, Near, are you alright?"
And just as if things couldn't get any worse there was a dilhema at his door... If he let Matt in Matt could get Rodger--or help him down from this god awful climate.. But they had just started talking.. They were having such a nice time, why ruin it with something like this? Still, Near was terrified being up here..
So Near did what he does in every situation where help is offered. "I-I'm fine.." Shit, he stuttered.. Hopefully Matt hadn't picked up on it.
Matt rose an eyebrow, had Near just stuttered? That didn't sound like him. If he was stuttering didn't that mean that something was wrong? Still, he was probably embarrassed by whatever it was. There was the pros and cons list again, popping up into his head. He almost felt like he was at a crossroads in a game. One path would keep him on the main game, but the other path might give him a super rare power-up.
"I'm coming in, okay?" He asked, not bothering to wait for an answer. Taking a deep breath he pocketed his DS and turned the knob. What he saw made him unsure whether to laugh or panic. There Near was, hanging from a bookshelf. Sure it was a precarious place to be in, but it was still kind of funny.
"Um, hey Near, are you sure you don't need help?" He laughed, though he didn't do so in a mean way. If anything Near looked even more adorable, dangling up there like that. "Let go and I'll catch you."
Near, now embarrassed, kinda wanted to be able to fall and clonk himself on the head. Didn't he tell Matt he was fine? ... That stupid stutter.. Near would give his vocal chords a mental scolding later. He couldn't believe this had happened--but it was his own fault, hadn't he known that chair was wiggly?
Near just clung to the bookshelf tighter, closing his eyes as he tried to hide the blush from the obvious distress. He shook his head a bit, "N..No, that's alright.." Letting go would do one of two things: 1. He could hurt Matt in landing wrong, or 2. Matt wouldn't catch him and he'd end up falling... Matt didn't seem like he was mean enough to not catch Near, but then again the redhead was best friends with the bane of Near's exsistance...
"But you can't stay up there all day," Matt insisted. "Come on, are you worried I'll drop you?" He paused for a moment, trying to think of how to convince Near. "I swear on my DS that I won't, okay? I'll catch you no matter what."
Matt figured the reason Near was so worried about being caught was the fact that Mello was Matt's friend. Hadn't he already proved that being friends with Mello didn't necessarily mean that he was a bad person? Obviously not. A few minutes with Matt couldn't convince change Mello's torture.
Would Near take his oath seriously? Matt's most important things in his life were video games after all. If something happened to his DS he would be distraught. The redhead spent more time with it than actual people, after all. He held his hands out, trying to encourage Near to let go.
Near looked down at Matt, blush still on his cheeks. Matt? Swearing on a gameing unit? ..
Near closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his shakey hands let go of the bookshelf, falling for Matt to catch him. He was afraid for his life, hoping that Matt would keep his word.
For a second even Matt was worried that he was going to drop Near. It wasn't that he was big or anything, in fact, Near seemed underweight. It was just he hadn't expected Near to just agree like that and let go. Still, he had told Near that he would catch him and had sworn on his DS. If Matt didn't catch him the redhead would not only feel terrible, but be very bored.
A feeling of relief came over Matt as he felt Near drop into his arms. Quickly he opened his eyes, having closed them after noticing that Near had let go. Sure it had been a bad idea, but he had been worried! If Near had gone splat the last thing that Matt wanted to do was watch it happen.
"See? Nothing too it, I told you it'd be fine." His voice betrayed none of his earlier worries. In fact, it sounded almost like catching Near had been the easiest thing that he had ever done. "You alright?"
Smiling down at Near, Matt noted with an inward laugh that the boy was bright red. He hoped that Near didn't really think it wasn't noticeable. With his coloration it was very easy to tell whenever he did so.
Near opened his eyes slowly to see that Matt had caught him. He smiled, relifed, and looked around to make sure that he wasn't on the ground or anything.
"Thank-you." When he found he was very much alive, he looked up to Matt. Then came the obvious awkward moment wher Matt had Near in his arms. The was eniveitable to come but Near hadn't thought of that before he jumped. He was just worried he would die up there..
"Hey no problem, just try not to get hurt, okay?" Matt asked tilting a little bit so that it would be easier for Near to stand up. He hadn't realized just how tiny the curly-haired boy was until he was holding him. Small and quiet, the complete opposite of Mello. Then again, Matt was taller than the blonde... Maybe it was just because he had such a presence.
Glancing around his room, Matt realized that Near was a lot more organized than Mello was too. It was like they were night and day. Didn't that mean that he should dislike hanging out with Near, though? And yet he found that he didn't. Maybe it was just because that, by himself, Matt wasn't one to pick fights. There wasn't any real reason besides Mello's attitude to dislike Near anyway.
He looked back down at Near and found himself blushing. The way that Near looked up at him made his heart skip in an uncomfortable way. Why did he feel like that when he looked at Near? Was it because he just looked so helpless.
"Ah... You can stand now, if ya want."
Near almost jumped from Matt's hands, reacting that quick. He placed his sleeve clad hand to his mouth. ".. Shall we continue down to the food court?"
Near still felt a bit awkward... Matt's arms felt strong for a boy his age.. Near wondered why he liked being held by them, but he decided it was better as a thought then spoken. Besides, why make a new friend awkward by saying something like that? Mello was strong too.. But Near didn't want that violant blonde in the same room as him let alone touching him... or holding him...
.. But... It was okay if it was Matt.. Although he wouldn't let that be known by anyone other than himself.
Matt tried to hide his blushing face and nodded, mumbling an 'Okay' under his breath. Why was he reacting to Near like that? It wasn't like he hadn't seen him before. They had never been that close, though... He shook his head, trying to clear such confusing thoughts. Best to ignore them and lose himself in the realm of video games.
He reached into his pocket as they walked, gripping on tightly to the familiar gaming device inside of it. The redhead refused to worry about his feelings. He never had before and he wasn't going to change that in one day. Plus if Mello came back and saw him worrying over such things the blonde would pry and pry until he knew. Mello knowing that Matt was feeling things in a strange way for Near was not a good thing.
Opening the DS he tried to concentrate on the screen that was now lighting up his orange goggles. Still, it was a good thing he was playing nothing more than a simple dungeon crawler for he was having a hard time paying attention to it. Matt's eyes just kept slipping over to Near's cute little form, sleeved hand up to his mouth. Was it just because he was cute? Maybe it was like seeing as basket of puppies or kittens playing with yarn.
Matt could say for sure that it wasn't lust, atleast not exactly, that he was feeling for the younger boy. He'd felt lust before, that should have been obvious. And, like most teenage boys, he did indulge in quite a bit of porn. He wasn't shy about that, hadn't he thrown about his hentai and porno magazines when Near was in his room without a care? So it wasn't embarrassment...
But then why was he blushing?
"Aww man," He mumbled, starting to unravel the mystery. "Don't tell me..."
Did he have a crush on Near? But how?! They had never even really talked until today...
Near lead the way to the food court, although he was pretty sure that matt knew the way there too since he had seen Matt there countless amounts of time. The walk there seemed longer than normal... Why had he agreed to dropping like that? .. He should have just told Matt to get Rodger.. Rodger had pulled him from the bookshelf more than once before..
The more he though about it the more detail he noticed about it. How warm Matt was.. How calm he seemed.. Ugh! It all got to him, making that blush on his face stick there. Near had never delt with a crush on someone before, so he didn't know what to classify this as.. Maybe he just felt comfortable with Matt..
Yeah that was it, he just felt comfortable.. Matt was the second person to approach him kindly in the orphange, but the first one he actually liked.. -As a friend! He only liked Matt as a friend! .. He figured Matt's words were only expressions of his gaming expirence.. Matt had wanted to shut him out by playing a game? Understandable, Near assumed he could get annoying after a while..
Near stood in line with Matt and they collected their lunches before taking a seat. Like always Near held one knee to his chest as a foot rested on the seat with him as he slowly begun to eat the food in front of him.
The irony of the situation was that Matt actually wanted to talk to Near. The only reason that he didn't strike up a conversation was because he figured Near didn't want to speak to him. Sure, the albino boy was quiet, but Matt had figured that he was sure to say something. Apparently he was wrong.
Ignoring the eyes on them as they took their seats, Matt placed his DS next to his tray. Though he tried not to, the redhead found himself observing Near once again. The way he say was strange too, but it didn't make him any less appealing. In Matt's opinion Near would be the character in the video game that the heroines and the fangirls would squeal over and glomp. Why he found himself feeling a slight tinge of jealousy he wasn't quite sure...
"Why do you sit like that?" He asked curiously, finally taking a look down at his tray. Thankfully Wammy's was different in the food aspect from a normal school as well as their curiculim. There was no mystery meat and they were all properly balanced. "Ick, salad."
He speared a letture leaf and held it up to his face. Matt was never one for vegetables. It was probably because of how much junk food he ate. After awhile he had gotten used to it and thus found the transition from cottan candy and chips to salad a hard one.
Near looked up, his attention caught by the question. It broke him from his train of thought, but he wanted to be broken from it. The more Near was left to think about the situation in his room the more he kept to himself.
"Increases my reasoning up twenty percent." He nodded, confirming himself before looking to Matt's fork. What was so wrong with salad? ... Oh right, all that junk food in Matt's room. "Greens are good for you.. It's a great source of amino acids and protien."
Matt studied the lettuce for another moment before he looked over at Near. It made him smile, hearing such things come out of his mouth. How could Mello get irritated when Near acted like that? Sure he was smart, but Matt didn't see how he was being smug. It was endearing to watch the boy just spout that so casually.
"Yeah, I guess so." He laughed and put it into his mouth. Sure it wasn't very good to him, but he figured it would make Near feel better. Though would Matt eating lettuce really make Near happy? Doubtful. Still he decided to take the boy's advice.
"So, twenty percent, huh? Doesn't work for video games though." Teasingly he stuck his tongue out at Near, "Though you didn't do that bad for your first time. If you practice some more I bet you'd be good."
Near smiled seeing he convinced the other to eat something good for him. Near liked to eat healthy because he didn't do any form of excersise to burn off the fat of chocolate or candy.. Then again he had seen Matt playing outside with the other boys in the orphange. So he must work it all off him to stay in shape.
Near shruged as Matt spoke. "I can practice.." He nodded confirming his doubts. "That is, if you'd like to have me again in your room."
"Why wouldn't I?" Matt asked, sounding mildly confused. "I mean..." Worried that he sounded too eager he added, "S'nothing wrong with friends getting together, right?"
His face heated up a little and, in order to try and hide it, he concentrated on getting rid of his salad. Surprisingly he found it easy. It seemed that Matt would go through any length possible to avoid letting Near catch his face the pink color that it was.
"There are a lot of different games we can play," He said, swallowing another mouthful of salad. "I'm sure Mello won't mind too much."
Instantly he regretted bringing up Mello. Except for the blushing their conversation had been going so well! Why did he have to bring up someone that Near hated?
Near smiled, well until Mello was mentioned. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking to Matt. Did Mello really need to be there? "Mello doesn't need to join us.." At least that was his opinion. ".. We don't get along.."
"Yeah I know, sorry..." Matt flashed Near an apologetic grin and started to work on the rest of his food. Now that the salad was gone he seemed much less hesitant to eat. It wasn't that he had a problem with eating real food, it was just rabbitt food. "Me and my big mouth, right? I must have insulted you a couple of times by now."
He wasn't sure if he had or not, but laughed all the same. It wasn't a laugh that Mello would have given, one that meant he thought it was funny to hurt Near's feelings. It was just a relaxed laugh that basically meant 'I didn't mean to, but sorry. It's just the way I am.' Unlike Mello with his low-selfesteem Matt was pretty comfortable with himself. He didn't see why he should change or try too hard at anything. (Especially schoolwork.)
Near smiled shakling his head, "No, you haven't. I would have spoken up if you had." Near hadn't grabbed much food, so he was done eating relativly fast. "I'm not as much of a pushover as everyone thinks I am."
And he really wasn't. Near didn't make a scene of things, but he didn't let himself be walked all over. Which, was why Mello was such a struggle.. Ugh. But enough about Mello.
"You know.." Near swung his foot a bit, looking down to the table with a smile. "You're the first boy here to actually talk to me.."
Matt's expression brightened when he heard that Near hadn't been offended. He was so use to walking on eggshells around Mello that it was nice to know that Near wasn't angry with him. It wasn't that he didn't like his blonde friend, really he still did, it was just hard to please him. With beating Near and becoming L on his mind nearly 24/7 he was stressed.
Once more though, Matt found his smile slipping away to reveal confusion. He was really the first boy to talk to Near? That was, excluding Mello who simply yelled at him. For some reason the redhead found himself pleased by this fact. Though he wasn't sure, Matt thought his grin was stretching from ear to ear. Something about seeing Near smile like that made him happy.
"I don't know why," Matt said honestly. "I don't see anything wrong with you. I mean, you're smart and all, but that's not that strange. You're fun to talk with." Would Near think he was strange for complimenting him so much? Hopefully not. "I mean, I like hanging out with you..."
Another blush found its way to his face and this time Matt didn't have his food to hide it with. Trying to be nonchalant he grabbed his game and pressed a few buttons.
Near twiddled his toes on the dangling foot, keeping his eyes down to it. He hoped when they found more things in common then their small talk would turn into conversations. Matt was really interesting, and it really made Near think twice before judging people. He had thought Matt to be just like Mello, only a bit more quiet. But he wasn't.
"Really?" He looked to Matt, holding his smile. He didn't know how Matt could find him interesting, but he found Matt very interesting. Seeing what his room was like, playing video games on a tv for the first time, borrowing manga reccommended to him. He figured Matt wouldn't like the things Near found fun. Puzzles, cards, studying, dice... They required a lot more paitence and tranquility.
"Yeah, not to mention you're pretty impressive..." Matt said, trying not to sound cheesy, but unable to help himself. "I've never seen anyone make domino and dice towers like you. I wish I could do that, but I'm not that great at that. I always wanted to make card houses, but I could never figure out how to get them to stay."
Mello knew how to, but Matt had tried to get him to teach him only once. The blonde had informed him that it wasn't a hobby for people like Matt who bored easily. It was too much of a hassle to fight with Mello to try and get him to teach him, so the gamer gave up. He could always find some game where one of the puzzles was a card house. Near didn't need to know all of that though, did he? It would be too much information, something Matt was good at doing. He couldn't help it, sometimes he was in a talkative mood.
Near tilted his head a bit before looking back to his foot. Near had never thought Matt would admire him for those things he took for granted. He had thought that everyone knew how to make a card houses. They were simple.
He stood up and took his trash to a bin, clapping his hands free of invisible dirt. "I can show you how to stack them if you'd like?" It was the least he could do. Matt had shown him how to play video games and had had civial talk with him.
Matt followed Near, tossing his trash after Near. Near would really teach him how to build a house of cards? That was nice of him! But wasn't he worried that he'd have to spend his day watching Matt screw up again and again? Besides, like Mello had pointed out, the redhead didn't have a lot of patience.
"Thanks!" He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "But you know, I'm not that great at sitting still and doing one thing... Mells always says I'm hopeless."
Near lead Matt upstairs to the common area, and took a pack of cards from the shelves and laid on his stomach on a bit of carpet. He held his legs up, swinging them a bit. Showing Matt would be fun, and since Matt already showed him video games Near figured it'd be only fair. He set up two cards, "Just make sure that the flat part at the top is touching each other and you should have no real problem with balancing."
At least he didn't have any problem with balancing them. He only assumed Matt wouldn't either.
"Alright..." Matt said, studying the cards for a few moments. He picked two of them up and place them against each other. After a few seconds and they hadn't fallen down he grinned and pumped his fist into the air. "YES!" The motion sent both the cards Near had set up and the ones he had falling to the ground. "Oh fuck..."
Maybe this was why Mello said he couldn't learn, his stupid celebratory dance. There was no savefile, so if they fell over he couldn't start from his last savepoint. Determined to get it right he tried, but by the time he had set up the second pair the first one felt down.
"Shit!" This time he laughed at his failure, looking at the cards helplessly. "See what I mean?"
Near giggled a bit, placing a sleeved hand over his mouth as he smiled behind it. "No one keeps them up forever." And it was true. Near had never known any pair of cards to stay standing forever. Gravity took place one time or another.
Matt's victory announcement was found amusing. Near never boasted about accomplishing something, because it didn't matter to anybody but him. It was a personal victory everytime.
Matt was shocked to hear Near giggle, but grinned nonetheless. Near had a nice laugh and he was glad that he was able to get a reaction out of someone that Mello swore was so emotionless.
"It always seems like you do," Matt said, toying with a card. For a second he considered throwing it across the room to see if he could embed it in something. Then he realized that he wasn't Gambit and that nothing would explode, it would just fall to the ground and he'd look like an idiot. "The towers you make are so cool!"
He started to set them up again, a victorious grin when he got three up with none of them falling down. Though the temptation to strike a pose was there he stopped himself from doing so.
"Alright, what next? I guess I should start small."
Near picked up a card, two spades, and gently placed it flat on top of two pairs. "Place a card like that on the other side, then built two more pairs on top."
He hadn't meant to giggle, but he didn't pick up that he did. Otherwise he would have blushed. He smile was there to stay though, Matt was just so amusing and interesting to be around. He put Near in a light mood, made him want to be social.. But only with Matt.. Everyone else still had to earn their dignity with Near.
"Be careful though, it gets tricky nearing the top."
"Okay..." Matt said, hesitant to ruin his work. He placed a card on top gently, wincing when he let it go. His eyes were shut tight behind his goggles, as if he couldn't bare to look. "I can't look man, I just can't do it! Are they still up?"
He was being overdramatic on purpose and knew that they were still up. He would have felt it give way if it had fallen down. Matt just wanted to see if he could make Near laugh again. Could he get him to stop covering his mouth when he did so? It'd be nice to see Near relax a little more.
Near nodded, his smile only growing with another small giggle. "Yes Matt, they are still standing." He placed two more cards beside the small tower, "Now stack these two up just like you had the other five."
It was an obvious to do that, but it was so nice actually talking for once. Even nicer he was teaching someone something. His sleeve clad hand still covered his mouth, but that was a natural thing to do.
Matt opened his eyes, inwardly cheering as he heard Near giggle again. Mello didn't usually laugh unless it was at something mean. The redhead usually forced a laugh in those situations or ignored him. There used to be times when Mello would laugh for good reasons, but now he had become obsessive with winning. Thinking about that made Matt sad, however, so he brushed it aside.
"Alright, sweet." He replied, picking up the cards Near had sat down. His brow furrowed, tongue poking out slightly as he stared at the cards in concentration. "Let's do this."
He set the cards down lightly on top of his tower and forced himself to move slowly so as not to disturb them. Behind his goggles his eyes widened as if he couldn't believe that he had actually gotten it on top.
"W00t!"
Near's smile grew, gently clapping not to disturb the tower. "Congradulations." An honest congradulations. No sarcasm involved. He was happy to see Matt excited about making something he found so simple as a card tower--a very small one at that.
Near imagined Matt must have felt the same about the video game. He had played it so many times before, but when Near had accomplished a level Matt seemed more interesting in talking to him then the game. Of course, Near didn't make a big deal of it like Matt was having fun doing, but he figured Matt had played it millions of times before too.
"Now we just have to see if I can finish this thing, right?" Matt said, grabbing the next couple of cards. For a few moments he was silent, something that normally only happened during a deadly boss battle. (Though, even then it was rare. Matt was very confident in his video game skills and loved to taunt the screen.)
When it came down to the very last two cards that needed to be set down, Matt studied his tower for a little bit. He was reveling in having gotten this far, something he hadn't been able to do with Mello. That wasn't too surprising though, since before he'd been doing it before with Mello. The blonde had taken great delight in taunting Matt and blowing the cards down whenever there was a chance of Matt succedding. Atleast, in the gamer's words, he had the King of Cards to give him a power-up now.
"Oh... my... hero of time." Matt said, staring at the tiny card tower like it was the most amazing thing in the world. "Do you see that?! I did it! Near, you're awesome!"
He held up a hand towards the younger boy, waiting for a high five. The redhead wasn't being dramatic on purpose, he just hadn't thought that he'd be able to do it. It was like finally doing enough farming for experience to finally take on the boss monster. Granted he didn't get a cool weapon nor a bag of gold for winning, but the feeling was close.
Near watched Matt place the cards up, forming a tower. He had never watched anyone else besides himself and L do this before, and seeing Matt build his own castle of hearts, spades, diamonds and aces created anticipation in Near more than he had known in a long time. He waited for every card to fall in place, praying that it wouldn't be the last that would knock it all over.
When Matt begun to celebrate so did Near, smiling without concealing it behind a sleeved clad hand and saying small congradulatory praises. When Matt had raised his hand, Near flinched before noticing that it was only a high five. He smiled agian, slower this time, and gave the redhead a small high five.
In all the excitement of finishing his very first card tower -not to mention seeing Near smile without his sleeve over his face- Matt didn't pay attention to what he was doing. The redhead blanched upon feeling a card hit his leg and turned just in time to see his tiny card tower meet its untimely demise.
"Noo~!" He cried, picking up a handful of cards. His shoulders slumped, a little sigh escaping his mouth. "Man, I didn't even get to take a picture of my first card tower..." Still, when he thought about it, it wasn't that bad. He'd gained many things during the process of making his card tower. Not only had he completed something he'd never done before, but he'd gotten to see Near smile and got a high five.
"Oh well, what goes up must come down, right?" He grinned, the rain cloud that had appeared over his head gone in a flash. "Let's build a bigger one together! Ooh, better yet, let's build a castle!"
The gamer already had one in mind, his very favorite castle from, what else, a video game. Before it hadn't seemed possible, but with Near's help, Matt was sure it could be finished. And if it was too big of a project to finish that day then they could work on it another! So what if Mello didn't like it? He was always too busy nowadays anyway.
Near knealt down and gathered up the cards. "If you want to build a castle, might I suggest using dice in replace of cards? There's more dice then cards, and they are more sturdy."
After all, fifty two pick up wasn't that fun. Imagine it happening over and over and over with building a castle. Near could only build little towers with cards, but with dice he could do anything. Matt might like dice a bit more too, they were easy to stack.
"Sounds good to me," Matt said eagerly. Stacking dice didn't seem anywhere as hard as stacking cards and that only encouraged him farther. "We can rebuild Hyrule in all its glory!"
Near, who didn't play video games, was not likely to know what Matt was talking about. This comment and the comment about the Hero of Time Matt had made earlier were references to the Legend of Zelda franchise. They centered around a young man -in some cases a young boy- with elf-like ears who tries to save the princess Zelda, collect the triforce, and defeat an evil character named Ganon. (And, in some games, Ganondolf.)
'Does that make Near my Zelda?' The redhead wondered, grin growing wider. Though his cheeks were tinted pink by that though he was hoping that Near would think of it simply being because he was excited. 'I always did want to be Link... Heheh, I bet that makes Mells, Ganon.'
Near pulled out a box full of dice, and begun making a shape on the ground with them. It would be the base to the castle. "How wide do you want the primader to be?"
The base to every castle was a sqaure, no doubt about it. Sure other parts likw the tower or courtyard were circles, but everything else was squared. Squares were easy to base, and even easier to build.
It was actually funny to Near that Matt had used the word 'castle'. Near had always called these a 'fortress'. Why? It kept Mello out.... Fifty percent of the time. The other fifty percent Mello just knocked it down, leaving Near to pick up every piece... Not that he wasn't going to clean it up anyway. Castles seemed more.. fantasy. Near liked fantasy, but he never really explored his liking for it. The whole Prince/Princess thing made him choke, but that was only because to him it wasn't real. There would never be anyone out there that Near would save on a white horse clad in armor, so why get his hopes up?
Jumping to his feet, Matt stretched his arms out to the side childishly. Though he was usually more reserved, if only by a little, the redhead threw his normal, lazy attitude out the window. It was surprising how fun it was to play with Near, especially since it was just dice and cards. It was the company, Matt decided. None of the other children were quite like Near and even though the boy didn't speak much he was fun to be around.
"Let's make it huge!" He insisted, eyes lighting up at the prospect of re-creating his virtual playground in real life. "Hmm we'll towers and guards and a stable would be a good idea... A place for the nursemaid to sleep and all of the guests! The Princess's room as well!"
They didn't have nearly enough dice for the things that Matt had in his head, but that didn't stop him. Truthfully he knew that he was being silly, but why not? If other people could be lazy on their days off then why couldn't Matt be energetic on his? With Near smiling one might believe that it was opposite day.
"Our rooms would be right next to each other, of course." The boy insisted, mentally making Near's room the same as Zelda's. "Though I wouldn't be there too much cause I'd be out fighting the bad guys!"
Near only smiled as he shook his head. There really wasn't enough dice for it all, but if Near could stretch it then maybe he could make the palace Matt wanted. There also were the lego people they could use as figures for people, and he was sure that there were cowboy vs. indian horses somewhere they could use as steeds..
Near was excited, he had hurried through the bases while Matt continued to ramble on about whatever fantasy world he was living in at the moment. Of course, Near was somehow getting pulled into it himself.. And well, it interested him. The idea Matt could be so into making a fort- Castle, plastered a smile on Near's face as he kept building.
"I'm sure there's lego people in the toy box we could use as residents."
Matt turned to look over at Near and felt a few butterflies flutter about in his stomach when he saw how happy Near looked. Why didn't anyone want to hang around the young boy? He was smart, but he wasn't as smug as everyone swore. Maybe it was because Mello hated Near and no one wanted to be on Mello's bad side. When the blonde was angry there was no telling what would happen.
Forcing such things out of his head, Matt sat down next to Near, finding it hard to sit still with all the energy he had. After watching Near carefully place dice he joined in, hoping that he didn't put them in the wrong place. The last thing that Matt wanted was to be the downfall of Hyrule Castle.
"That would be great!" He said in response to Near's suggestion about the lego people. "This is gonna be the best castle ever, don't you think?"
It couldn't be better even if he had built it himself. Not only would it have been a seriously deformed castle -if he had no one to talk to he would have surely lost interest-, but also it seemed that Near was required for such a project. He put a special touch on it... Would it be too cheesy to think of it as Near making the castle with love? Probably. He'd just have to think about it as Near's skill points contributing to the building.
"Hmm you know Near, since we're creating Hyrule that makes us the Kings of the castle!" He'd let Near take that how he wanted to.
Kings of the castle? .. Wait, there was suppose to be a king and a queen.. But there wasn't any females around.. Who was going to be their queen? And Matt had said he wanted a princess too.. Oh god, Near mentally prayed they wouldn't call in Linda to be their princess... If Near had to prince Linda's princess, he's shoot himself.
Then again what other girl would play with him? .. Did they need girls? No.. Not really.. But then again you can't have a princess or queen without one.. And there couldn't be two kings. That just didn't work. So, being a little kid, Near said what his child mind thought fit.
"There can't be two kings. You need a king and a queen. Here," He faced Matt and held out his hand in a loose fist. "Rock, Paper Scissors. Best two out of three. Loser gets to be the queen."
Matt blinked, then chuckled when he saw Near hold out his fist. So that's how he wanted to settle it? Resisting the urge to point out that Near, the younger, more feminine of the two should be the queen, Matt nodded. He refused to lose! A determined Matt was hard to beat and the thing that he wanted most right now was for Near to be his queen.
"Alright!" Matt nodded, agreeing that it was fair. "Rock, paper, scissors... shoot!"
He clenched his hand into a fist, deciding to start strong with rock. No one would expect that, right? Okay, so maybe it was obvious, but not too much! For a second Matt wondered if he should have rolled some dice and seen if he could get his luck stats up.
Near had always had a way of choosing paper first. It was the non violant of the three. paper covers rock. Non-violant. Scissors cuts paper, rock smashes scissors. Violant. He smiled placing his hand over Matt's breiftly, "Paper covers Rock."
He took his hand from Matt's and went again, "Once, twice, shoot!" Scissors were always second. The lesser violant of the two violant acts. Smashing and cutting were very different. Besides.. They didn't specify what kind of scissors they were. They could have those nifty pattern cut out edges..
"Ack!" Matt cried, though he was still smiling. One loss didn't matter, it was two that would be the problem. He didn't plan on losing anymore! By the end of this he'd have Near as his queen! (It just wouldn't seem right were it the other way around, atleast, not to him.)
He picked rock again, as usual. Hey, until someone caught on that he used rock almost everytime it was a good strategy! And then bam! He'd choose paper and it would all be downhill for whatever person he was playing against. Everyone knew that surprise attacks worked best!
"Rock smashes scissors," He informed Near, gently placing his fist on top of the boy's fingers as he made an explosion noise. So what if that wasn't the noise something smashing something else usually made? It didn't have to make sense! Paper beating rock sure didn't.
It was the last round, palms a little sweaty Matt prepared his final attack. This would be the one to end it all! It was time for the surprise attack of paper! Which would prevail? The reigning champ or the white-haired newbie? In Matt's mind this game was even more exciting. "Rock, paper, scissors shoot!"
It was always a given that Near used all three of the items given to him. What use was it just to use one over again? No fun at all. Then you wouldn't have Rock, paper, scissors. Like with Matt, you'd have Rock, paper, another rock. Who wants two rocks? Well.. If you were innocent like Near you had no use for rocks. They were insignificant forms of fossilized earth. Not destruction at in it's greatest form.
A fist and a palm. Matt had won.. Greeat.. Near was the queen.. Near didn't think it would be a big deal, but he had never played the role. After all he was a little boy. Boys didn't pretend to be queens... Until today.
The battle was over and the champion had come out on top once more! Matt didn't care that he had two rocks and a piece of paper, he had won! And that meant that he'd recieve his prize. In this case, Near as his queen. Even though they were just playing around, Matt couldn't help, but be pleased. Who wouldn't want Near to be their queen? And unlike Mello he wouldn't force the boy to do humiliating, womanly things.
"Good game, my queen!" Matt teased lightly, throwing an arm around Near in what he hoped the albino would take as just him being friendly. So far he had avoided being seen as a copy of Mello, but Matt hadn't missed the way Near had flinched when the redhead had went to high-five him. "Hmm I think our first order of business should be to name our kingdom, don't you think?"
He'd decided that there was no longer any need to make Hyrule. While such a building would have been impressive, Matt preferred to create his own kingdom with Near.
Any raised arm would have Near flinching, which meant that a raised arm to wrap around him made him flinch. It was all the physical abuse Mello enduced on him... That fucking blonde.. Aw well, Mello was still number two.
Near nodded, "Well, my lord," This was the first time Near had ever tried a roleplaying scenerio, so he was a bit shakey on how to go about it. Hopefully Matt had enough imagination for the both of them. "it is the King's duty to name his kingdom."
"I agree..." Matt said with a nod, "But I feel I must take into account the ideas and feelings of my better half."
The boy gave Near a fond smile, allowing himself to be cheesy. They were just playing around, so Near wouldn't read too much into it, right? If he did it could be bad. Already Near was so jumpy when it came to people, Matt didn't want him to feel even more uncomfortable. Knowing the little crush that the redhead had developed might make him feel awkward. It was a lot just asking to be friends with Near, why ruin all their progress?
"A good King knows that he should listen to everyone, but our subjects have been curiously silent on the matter." With his free hand Matt picked up a nearby lego person and looked at it as if wonderng why it did not speak.
Near covered his mouth with a small smirk. Matt was amusing to say the least, Near had never been around somebody trying to be funny before.. It was fun. It made him smile. It made him laugh. Near knew Matt was smarter than he put off, he was third of their class afterall, but it was such a relife to see someone loosen up around him.. Near had begun to worry that he scared the other children off by being number one in his class.
But Matt was third and he didn't scare off children. You would think that the top three would scare off children because they would be so intimidating. But Near could see why children weren't afraid of Matt even if his BFFL was the world's scariest period cramp.
"Why not name it after the land it was founded on?" Which would be Wammy's common room.
"A smashing idea!" Matt said, aqquiring an over-the-top British accent. Despite living in England there weren't many children in the orphanage with an English accent. That wasn't too weird when you took into account that they came from all over the world. For a lot of people -Mello included- English wasn't even their first language. "I now pronounce you the Wammy's Common Room Castle!"