In Charge

Chapter 4 – At Home

By Threshie

AN: I won't spoil, but a certain scene in here is one of my favorite scenes in the story so far. :) The other favorite is in the next chapter...which will be posted soon.



I wonder what Mello's up to...something dangerous, from the sound of it.
Matt was still wondering uneasily what that bit about being "safely out of range" was about...

Near looked up sharply as he opened the door. Seeing who it was, he visibly relaxed; Matt was surprised that his expression actually changed as much as it did. He really doesn't like dealing with strangers much, does he...?


Near didn't bother hiding how glad he was when Matt returned. He hadn't been left alone in years, not for more than a few minutes...it was uncomfortable.

It made him uneasy.

It was even more uncomfortable when he still felt so weak that he could barely move. Matt was back, though, so he shoved these thoughts aside for now.

"Did you tell him?" He asked, of L, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah," Matt said a bit flatly, coming back over and sitting down on the chair beside the bed again. He kept his eyes downcast. Body language tells me he doesn't have any good news.

Still, when he didn't offer any further details, the white-haired boy prodded tiredly, "What did he say?"

The redhead glanced up at him; Near wondered if Matt even knew what color people's hair and eyes were, when he looked at them through those yellow-lensed goggles all the time. He probably thinks I'm blonde like Mello. What a thought that was...

"L said we should stay here for now." He paused, then sighed. "He said there's some complication with the case he and Mello are working on, and that they can't come back here for awhile."

Near sighed, hugging the blankets. He suddenly felt very tired again.

"I see..."

He closed his eyes, focusing on the situation at hand and trying to ignore how sick he felt at the moment.

So they have a "complication"...

If not for the fact that he had been completely absorbed in working on the threat letters' riddles and the related case, he would have been the one to accompany L instead of Mello. How fortunate... He looked down at his stomach accusingly, My appendix would have caused a "complication" all on its own. L's trip would have been a tiresome chore then...like Matt's task at the moment.

He sighed again, very faintly. No matter how casual Matt seemed about the situation, he knew that it must be tiresome to be looking after Near in his current state. Especially considering the fact that he hadn't seen the red Gameboy even once since coming to the hospital... He hasn't smoked in here, either...and he hasn't left the room except for a moment or two to make that phone call. Not long enough to smoke while he wasn't in the room, then.

Hmm. That must have been even more tiresome...

He directed his thoughts back to the news Matt had told him of L's and Mello's case. Mello might look at the case from a different angle than me, but he's quite competent. And I need not mention L's abilities...so, what could possibly prevent the two of them from moving during an investigation?

Because he had been busy with his own case, he didn't know many of the particulars of the one that his mentor and Mello were working on, but he hadn't recalled hearing anything that would account for this. Perhaps it was just politics...L was always careful to do things legally, even when that meant he had to pause in his work to pull some strings.

Or maybe Mello's impulsive nature made a mess that L had to stop and clean up, he thought tiredly, frowning to himself. Mello...you had better not be making trouble for L on the one occasion where you and him are working together alone...


Near didn't look well at all, Matt thought worriedly, watching the other boy slump back into his pillow and close his eyes. His face was ashen again, almost as bad as it had been when he had first collapsed.

The two of them sat in complete silence for awhile; Matt was beginning to wonder if Near had fallen asleep again. No, he just...frowned? I wonder if what L told me is bothering him. Having such a brilliant mind was a chore sometimes, Matt knew. He had trouble getting his mind to stop analyzing things and to just relax, himself—he couldn't even imagine how difficult it must be for Near, who was constantly focused on solving some puzzle, riddle or mathematical problem. I wonder if he ever isn't thinking?

Impulsively, the redhead leaned forward and ruffled the smaller boy's hair. Near's eyes popped open; he looked at Matt, a look of scrutiny.

Determined not to be intimidated by the intense stare, Matt smiled and said, "Don't worry, just rest, okay? I'll take care of you until L and Mello get back." Give your brain a break for a bit, will you?

Near blinked, just once, then sighed and settled back into his pillow again.

"Yes...thank you."

He doesn't really sound thankful, Matt thought, sighing himself. Oh, well. At least for now the situation was taken care of. He'd gotten Near to the hospital, he'd explained things to L...he hadn't made any huge blunders yet. Now all he had to do was to not let Near out of his sight for the next week or so...

Ugh. When he put it that way, it sounded a lot harder to do.

This's gonna be a long week.


Hours passed. Matt lost track of how many; he's learned a long time ago that the more often you looked at the clock, the slower the hands seemed to travel, so he did his best to ignore the fact that he was wearing a watch.

Even that game he'd already beaten dozens of times would have been better than nothing. Unfortunately, he'd tossed his Gameboy onto the couch at the house when he'd gone to check on Near, so he didn't even have that option. He'd lost track of how many times he'd kicked himself for not shoving the little game machine into his pocket instead.

Damn am I bored... The redhead sighed, leaning both arms onto the edge of Near's bed and resting his forehead on top of them. The white-haired boy had been sleeping soundly for most of the day.

Remembering what L had said about Near being scared inside, Matt watched him thoughtfully. The medication in the IV probably accounted for how heavily he had been sleeping. It was for the best—he did need to rest, after all, and while he was awake it was pretty obvious that his mind was still going full speed ahead. I think what he needs is a distraction; if I was stuck in a bed with nothing to do, I'd probably sit and wonder about what's going on with L and Mello, too. I wonder how I could make him feel a little better about being stuck here, Matt mused, sitting up to lean his face on one hand instead.

Near seemed unhappy about having to interact with the medical staff, but that wasn't exactly optional when he was a patient. Maybe something to make him feel more at home...I've got it! Matt got up carefully, so as not to jostle Near, and pressed the nurse call button, smiling to himself. Of course, it made so much sense—why hadn't he thought of it sooner?

"Yes, do you need something...?" The male nurse poked his head into the room, looking mildly surprised that somebody like Near would ever use the nurse call button. Seeing that the patient himself was asleep, he turned to Matt, adjusting his narrow-lensed glasses with an expectant look.

"Yeah, um...I need you to do me a favor," Matt said, a bit distracted—he had thought the man had short hair before, but when he'd leaned in the door the redhead had noticed a small ponytail hanging down over his shoulder. What a weird guy. He's such a grump, I don't know if he'll even do what I'm asking, but I guess it can't hurt to ask...

The nurse arched a brow and waited for him to elaborate. Coming over to stand by the door so as not to wake Near (not that it was much of a concern, but Matt was used to him being a light sleeper), Matt explained his request. The nurse looked pretty skeptical, but as he turned to leave he said shortly, "I'll try."

Figuring that was the closest to a "yes" he was going to get out of the grumpy guy, Matt went back to watching Near sleep, leaning on one hand again.

You're gonna have a good hospital stay if it kills me... He sighed heavily, slumping his forehead down onto the edge of the bed again, And since they won't let me smoke in here, it just might.


Near awoke a couple of hours later, and it was obvious that he wasn't feeling at all well. Besides the fact that he was ashen-faced again, the most obvious sign was that when he woke up, he actually groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. Matt blinked, looking up from the magazine that he'd lifted from one of the hallway's plastic chairs (not an unwelcome distraction, per sey—he'd already read everything in it. Several times.)

"Hey," he said, smiling even though he was pretty sure Near couldn't see it through the blanket anyway. Lowering the piece of cloth in question, the white-haired boy peered over the edge at him with very tired eyes.

"..."

Oh, boy...he usually only makes that face when he's talking to Mello...

"Uh...h-how are you feeling?" The redhead asked a bit uneasily; he had never actually seen Near get angry at anybody, but this was the closest he'd come to it in his "debates" with Mello, and Matt had seen plenty of those. Near was one of those people that he really did not want to be on the bad side of...

"...Ask if the doctors are clearing toxins out of my blood or just siphoning more in," the white-haired boy said flatly, dropping the blanket at last. His small fingers immediately began to crumple and twist the fabric; he wasn't used to being empty-handed.

Matt smiled a bit. Not for long... In his current mood, he wasn't sure that Near would even appreciate it, but he went ahead and pulled out the item he'd had the nurse get for him anyway--a large green dinosaur figurine with an impressive mouth full of teeth. It had been the nurse's best guess at what Matt might want instead of his first choice (a robot of some kind), which the pediatrics ward had not had.

" Here, I, um...got this for you." He held the plastic beast out to Near with both hands, hoping that the white-haired boy didn't hate it. I've never seen him play with any dinosaurs before, but...he has a Godzilla, that's pretty close, right? Eheheh...

Near's eyes widened at the sight of the toy. For a moment, he looked truly surprised. Slowly, he reached out and accepted the gift, examining it solemnly.

Matt couldn't decide if he liked it or not; he seemed to be checking it for hidden booby traps or something, with how closely he was looking at it.

"I-I thought maybe you might feel a bit better if you had something that reminded you of home," Matt explained a bit sheepishly, glancing down at the edge of the bed. "Sorry if it seems a bit..." Silly? Stupid? Insulting to your intelligence? It's so confusing talking to you, Near—you play with toys a little kid would play with, but you're way smarter than I am...

"No..." He looked up, and found to his surprise that Near's lips had curved into a secretive little smile. "It's perfect." He hugged the dinosaur to his chest, turning his dark eyes on Matt again. "Thank you." He actually sounded like he meant it for once.

Relieved, Matt smiled too. "It's no trouble...I'm glad you like him." Near nodded, returning his attention to examining the toy carefully. Well, he looks a lot happier than he did... Mission accomplished, I guess.

It had occurred to Matt earlier that if he was feeling bored and listless without his Gameboy, then Near was probably feeling even more so without any of his ever-present toys. He was usually surrounded by either toys or small items of some kind, and his hands were almost always busy.

Being empty-handed was something that Matt wouldn't wish on anybody. Anybody except myself, I guess—I didn't ask that guy to get anything for me to amuse myself with. He sighed. Ho-hum—it would've seemed a bit odd for a fifteen-year-old to be asking for a pack of smokes, anyway. ...I wonder why L lets me smoke? I guess he's not exactly like a guardian, or he wouldn't...then again, he's not really one to talk, with all of the junk food he eats.

Once again, he wondered what was going on where L and Mello were. Saying that he and Near were "safely out of range" implied that L and Mello were in range...of something dangerous. I hope they're okay...maybe I'll call L again tomorrow. He glanced at Near, who was making the dinosaur walk across his pillow's top hem with a very serious expression, and knew that that wouldn't work. I promised myself...and practically promised L, too, that I wouldn't let Near out of my sight until Gevanni or Rester show up to watch him while I'm gone. Calling would probably just distract them in the middle of their investigation—it can wait. I can wait.

All he really could do was wait.

--End Chapter 4


AN: I had to think for a bit about some toy that Near didn't already have, and the dinosaur seemed like a good idea. I played with toy dinosaurs a lot when I was a little kid. ) Anyway, the mental image of Near with a big toy dinosaur is adorable...LOL.

Once more, poor Matt is left waiting. At least Near's awake to talk to now. ;

Disclaimers: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. Gameboy belongs to Nintendo. Godzilla...I'm not sure who owns him, but it sure isn't me. (Sweatdrop) As much fun as he is, I still must disclaim him.

Thanks for reading!

-Threshie


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In Charge Akugi! Volume 4

Akugi #13

Near: "Did you tell him?"

Matt: (Flatly) "Yeah."

Near: "What did he say?"

Matt: "He can't return your feelings, 'cause he's dating Mello." (Wonders if this fic is REALLY non-yaoi....)

Threshie: "The Akugis don't count." =P

Akugi #14

Near: What could possibly prevent the two of them from moving during an investigation?

Matt: "In case you're wondering, they ran out of sweets and chocolate."

Near: (Imagines trying to solve a case with no toys) ; "Understandable"

Akugi #15

Narrator: Impulsively, the redhead leaned forward and ruffled the smaller boy's hair. Near's eyes popped open; he looked at Matt, a look of scrutiny.

Near: "What are you doing" (STARE)

Matt: (Gulp) "Um...nothing!" (Resolves to never pat Near on the head again)

Near: "Good. It takes a lot of styling products to make it look like I just got out of bed and didn't brush my hair." u.u

Akugi #16

Narrator: Matt went back to watching Near sleep, leaning on one hand again.

Matt: You're gonna have a good hospital stay if it kills me...

(The next morning...)

Doctor: (Sweatdrop) "Uh...he needs two new kidneys."

Matt: (Determined) "Take mine, I don't need 'em anyway!"

Doctor: "....That would kill you."

Matt: (Nod-nod) "Uh-huh, whatever you say. How soon can we operate?"

Doctor: (Decides that Near isn't the only one with health problems--Matt's are just mental)