Playing Your Game | Mello/Near

Part One

A/N: Enjoy some Meronia content in the big 2026. Don't blame me if this is out of character; I'm rewatching the show now and I'm not at the part where they show up yet! There probably won't be any other parts to this, but it's always possible.

Cover photo is from Pinterest :)

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Mello always had it out for Near, or more accurately, believed that Near had it out for him. In reality, Near was just "playing the game," as he said; in his mind, it wasn't about defeating Mello. He was above that now that they were adults. Even if it was childish to hold onto their rivalry, the fact that Near surpassed Mello as L's successor was basically a declaration of war, and Mello believed it warranted payback. It was Mello who did what it took to get shit done, after all. Near just sat around and let everyone else do it for him, too afraid to get his clammy little hands dirty.

It was pouring rain when Mello decided to take his revenge against his childhood rival. He had the SPK headquarters surrounded by his own men, and they held Near hostage inside of his own place of work, which was no longer a secret to Mello. It wasn't hard to find him when the two never strayed far from one another. When Mello burst into the desolate room, which was inhabited by a few desks, computers and one pale detective, the agents who were already inside the building hurried to Near's side, trying desperately to protect the boy they knew as L's successor. Near dismissed them quickly, clearly not concerned with Mello's sudden appearance, despite the fact that he was wielding a gun.

"I expected you here, but not this early on. Do you need my help already, Mello?" The taunt caused Mello's eye to twitch. "Shut up. Tell your agents to leave the room, or I'll kill them all. We have the building surrounded, so don't get any ideas of escaping before I'm done with you." Mello's voice was lower than Near remembered, but that was probably because Near remembered him as the angry kid from the orphanage. The one who always used to pick on him. That image never left his mind, even as he was speaking with Mello now. Near looked back at his agents, giving them a nod, and they hesitantly backed out of the room, silently wondering what the hell Near was thinking by listening to his enemy.

"What do you want?" Near asked, sitting in that strange position he always seemed to favor. He picked up many habits from L, which Mello noticed as they grew up together. He always thought he was trying to be more like him, even if it was subconscious. "Sit normally. You look like a freak. And what I want is you," Mello said, gun still pointed directly at the boy. Near seemed clueless, which earned an exasperated sigh from Mello. "You know what I mean, so stop playing dumb. You've been pretending to be better than me for years, and I'm sick of it. What's worse is I can't get your damn face out of my head."

After a few moments of processing, Near started to understand. His face curled into an expression of confusion, as if he had no idea what to do with this information, or if he was even getting the right message out of it. He opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak. "Just say something." Mello ordered, eyes narrowing as they bored into Near's gray, blank ones. Near sighed, and decided to do what was asked, lest he be shot, though he was almost certain Mello wouldn't kill him. "Are you saying you broke into this building, held me and my agents at gunpoint, just to admit you have a crush on me? I'm not very socially adept, so forgive me if I'm misinterpreting." His tone had an unusual amount of bite to it, like he was truly shocked at the audacity of his rival's actions.

Mello's lips curled into a sly smile, eyes still focused on Near's clueless expression. "A crush would be one way to put it. But it's more than that. I want to be the one who makes you actually feel something, instead of just blankly overanalyzing everything like you always do." Mello finally lowered and holstered his weapon, which made Near's heart rate return to normal. He never believed Mello would actually harm him, but the threat was certainly cause for alarm. Near was silent for a moment, trying desperately to understand what the hell the other was talking about. Near had no interest in a relationship or anything that came with it. But with Mello, someone he knew well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.