Fear the name Alice Hyde (Near x OC) A Death Note FanFiction

Chapter 21: London Bridge

For the first time in a long time, I felt truly at ease. My limbs felt like lead and I was more than happy to let myself sink back into peaceful nothingness. Near was warm and every time I breathed in I could smell his shampoo. As my eyelids grew heavier and heavier I repeated the words Near had asked me to say to him to myself. We were safe and alone, no one could see us here and it was safe for me to love him. It was safe for him to be loved. I knew it couldn't last.

As much as I wanted to, the world would not let me stay in this tiny hotel room and hold Near close forever. In ten days this would end, Kira would once again rule our lives. In probably less than that Near and I would resume working on the case remotely. I had seen several laptops and a few of the case files in the suitcases when I changed clothes. So how long would I have this? Suddenly, I saw a timer ticking down until I wasn't allowed to kiss Near, wasn't allowed to touch him, and comfort him. It would be back to being friends and focusing on the case. But what scared me the most, was that the mental timer only showed a number of hours. No, no, no, I had more time than that. I had to have more time than that. The gears in my head were turning faster and faster as my anxiety began to rise. I felt my breathing diminish into shallow breaths. A warmth shifted around me and I felt Near reach for my hand. He interlaced our fingers and squeezed my hand in the dark.

"Hyde," he whispered, "go to sleep. I can hear you thinking," his words were tired and slurred, and I was surprised to hear them. I thought he had already fallen asleep. I wasn't shocked that he could tell I was wide awake. Our limbs were tangled up in one another and Near's head was tucked under my chin. I buried my nose in his hair and returned the squeeze of my hand.

"Sorry, it's just hard not to think sometimes."

"I know," Near's thumb moved gently over my hand and I felt my nerves settle a little. Slowly, I trailed a hand up and down Near's spine, hoping to soothe him back to sleep. An apology for keeping him awake, especially when he needed so much sleep to be able to function the way that he did. Near sighed in contentment and I couldn't hide my grin in the dark.

I was beginning to realize more and more just what it meant to love someone the way I loved Near. I couldn't lose him, it was out of the question. My determination to stop Kira strengthened, the sooner we stopped Kira, the sooner Near would be safe. Kira...

"When we go to Japan-" I started, but Near cut me off.

"I don't want you to think about what happens when we get to Japan," Near suddenly sat up, shifting on top of me. He leaned down and pressed a long kiss to my lips. He separated from me, only to rest his forehead against mine, "Not right now. Right now, I just want to be happy here with you," I understood. He doesn't want to think either. I could have laughed. Near didn't want to think? That was unheard of.

"Okay, I'll sleep," I leaned up to him again. The kiss was short, chaste, and Near quickly settled back onto the mattress. Near still had my hand in both of his and he was silently tracing invisible patterns onto my palm. I knew what he was waiting for. I smiled softly as I stared at the ceiling of the hotel room. "I love you," I said, and Near let go of my hand. He wrapped his arms around me and I felt him drift off in an instant. I glanced once at the clock, 2:42 AM before I let my own eyes flutter shut and fell asleep resting in Near's warmth.

***

The days were long, slow-moving, and lethargic. I couldn't cherish the feeling of getting to wake up to Near enough, and as the day carried on, being able to pull him in for a prolonged kiss felt like a breath of fresh air. But I had been right when I thought that the euphoric state would not last long. Just because the SPK was lacking a headquarters at the moment did not mean that Kira stopped to wait for us.