Present for Mello AN: Special thanks to MothMask, without whom this ... thing...would suck beyond the telling of it. And thank you to the people who reviewed and kept my mind going with ideas.
Near stood outside Matt and Mello's room, fingering the puppet he made for Mello. He was hesitant to follow through with his plan, but Near was far too excited. His face showed none of his feelings as he carefully opened the door.
Near glanced down at the puppet, nearly smirking in satisfaction. It was some of his best work yet. He had toiled for hours with an incredibly small craft knife to work in the details, and it had paid off.
The puppet's hair curled irregularly, in a perfect likeness of Near's own. The angle of the jaw matched nicely with his, showing that the puppet was unmistakably modeled after himself. The eyes had been rather difficult, but they were deep and dark, carved into the surface with a slight counter-relief. The puppet's pajama shirt folded just so, giving the impression that it was slightly oversized.
Near was proud, and rightly so.
Near knew that Mello was searching for him, and that Matt would have tagged along. It's a known fact in Wammy's House that wherever Mello goes, Matt will almost certainly follow.
Near carefully slipped into Mello and Matt's room, stepping over wires from video game consoles and old, abandoned chocolate wrappers. He sighed in distaste at the messy room.
He eventually picked his way across the floor, to Mello's bed shook his head, amused by Mello's choice of bed sheets. Black, of course, and haphazardly strewn across the mattress. Near made Mello's bed and, with great care, placed the little Near finger puppet in the center of the pillow. He felt a shiver run up his spine at the sight of "himself" on Mello's pillow.
Near turned to leave just as the door opened. For once, Near's feelings were clearly shown on his face. "Oh crap" was written all over his features.
It was Matt. He was alone, thank goodness, but Matt alone walking in on this scene was no big relief. The redhead looked up from his game in surprise as he elbowed the door shut.
Matt stopped short as his eyes landed on the nervous albino. The door clicked shut audibly. They stood still for a moment, staring at each other, before Matt panicked. "Near! What the hell are you doing in here? Do you have a death wish!".
Near managed to reign in his emotions, regaining his usual stoic expression. "I am merely delivering the finger puppet Mello requested." Near broke eye contact with Matt, unintentionally showing his discomfort. "I had hoped to be gone by the time you and Mello returned."
Matt glanced over his shoulder frantically before rushing over to Near. "Mello's checking the kitchens, so you'd better scram! I'll make sure he doesn't freak, okay?" he said in a sympathetic voice. "Just make yourself scarce until he calms down a bit. Got it?"
Near nodded his thanks and hurried off to find somewhere Mello wouldn't think to look for him.