Near sighed, and looked around the room he used to share with two older boys. He was back at whammy's house, in his old room. He looked at the three single beds. Two by the window, and one – his own- in the corner by the wall. He could remember that, even before they were together, Matt used to crawl over into Mello's bed. His own was rarely used until Mello left. Matt probably wouldn't have wanted to sleep in Mello's bed on his own, Near thought. Or maybe he did, to feel close to him. I don't know, I've never been in a situation like that.
Near was…. a little jealous. It seemed everyone knew how to cope with loss except for him. Though that was a terrible thing to be jealous of, he still barely felt anything for it. Where Mello's feelings had enhanced his abilities in most cases, Near's own feelings were dulled by his intelligence. It was one of the things that put together made them L, but separate they could barely make half way.
Both Matt and Mello had lost their parents at a young age, but Near never knew who his were. Matt had lost Mello when he had left, and Mello had lost Matt just before dying. Both had lost L. Heck, even Light had lost his father, as had the task force. Near's "record" was clean (excusing L), and now it seemed a little ironic he was having all of their deaths thrown at his face.
The price to win was to be the last in the game. Maybe if Mello had known that they could have worked together, and neither he nor Matt would have died. Maybe Near should have explained that to him.
Near wished that Mello could have ended it. That he, Near, would have died from the Death Note, only to be followed by Matt and Mello rushing in and proving Light was Kira with his death. Then Mello would have finally won the way he wanted, and Matt, well….
What did he get from helping Mello?
The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Matt had no real reason to be there, but he was. And he it was like he was meant to be.
That was the moment Near understood it. Near and Mello couldn't work alone to become the next L, but even if they worked together, they still couldn't have done it. They would have argued too much, and failed. But with Matt around, calming Mello down and telling him when to ignore Near, they probably could have done it.
Near was white, Mello was black; Matt was the stripes in between.
Near sighed and turned to go. As he went he could have sworn that he saw a flash of colour; black, blue with blonde, and green, red with stripes.
But there's no way that that could have happened.