Death Note One-Shots

Puzzle - Child! Near X Child! Reader

You headed straight for the flat, stone patio just in front of the orphanage, rather than the grass lawn - simply because it would be easier to lay out the puzzle on flat ground. The other children laughed and played together on the grass, and although you were on your own, you didn't envy them and their friendships. You liked being by yourself; there was a nice peacefulness to it, and it gave you room to think. You glanced over at a group of children younger than you, playing tag together. Further away you could just about see the blonde-haired boy, Mello, and his friend Matt, sitting up in a tree. Everyone was outside, enjoying the warm summer weather and the brief slot of freedom before having to go to the hall for dinner - everyone except that one boy, sitting in that room with the Rubik's cube.

You focused your mind on the puzzle in front of you, fitting the pieces together quickly. You had always been good at puzzles - it was one of the things Watari had praised you for when you'd first arrived at the orphanage. You could still remember your first day, when you were just five years old, your eyes wide and curious as you gazed around at everything before you. Everything was utterly new to you, and you had been terrified. For the first several weeks, you had spoken little to anyone, and in your free time you had locked yourself in your room and read books that Watari had said you could borrow from the small library.

You smiled to yourself at the memory of sitting on your bed engrossed in a book. Despite your gain in confidence over the years, you still didn't really have any true friends, so you always spent your time with books. You must have nearly read every book in that library by now. There were at least three books stacked on your desk back in your room, and a few of the ones in the library you had liked so much that you had begged Watari to let you keep them. He had reluctantly agreed that if you ever left the orphanage when you were older, you could take some of your favourites with you, if you still wanted them.

Your thoughts were drawn back to the present as you neared the end of the puzzle. You had almost completed it, despite not having been concentrating fully on it. You glanced over at the pile of remaining puzzle pieces, and then back at the puzzle - and frowned. You could see right away that there wasn't going to be enough pieces to fill in the space. With a disappointed sigh, you fit in the last few pieces, feeling deflated as you pressed in the second-to-last piece and saw the empty gap staring back at you where you had no piece to put there. You grumpily watched the other children playing, wondering which on of them had taken the last piece and hidden it somewhere.

The was a cough next to you, and you looked over to see the white-haired boy standing there, with the Rubik's cube - now solved - in one hand. His other hand was curled into a fist, clutching something small, and he reached out to you and opened his hand. Lying in the middle of his palm was a piece of a jigsaw puzzle - the puzzle piece you needed. "I thought you might want this," he said softly - surprising you, since you had never heard him speak before.

You blinked. "I...uh, thanks." Taking the piece, you placed it into the puzzle. "I was just thinking that had gone missing. Where did you find it?"

He shrugged. "I noticed it on the floor. It must have fallen out of the box."

"Well, thanks, um...what was your name again?" you asked.

"Near."

"Do you want to sit with me, Near? I mean, neither of us have anyone to hang out with, so we can hang out with each other!" You grinned at him. "I'm (F/N), by the way." You stuck out you hand formally, and he shook it slowly.

Blinking, he pushed his white fringe away from his eyes. "You want to sit with me?"

You nodded eagerly. "Sure! It'll be fun, come on. Let's see how fast you can complete this puzzle," you challenged.

His eyes moved to the puzzle, and he nodded. "Okay."

Five minutes later, when the puzzle was completed, Near folded his arms and looked at you with a hint of smugness in his expression. Your mouth gaped as you stared - he was three times faster than you, and that puzzle had been hard!

"Wow, you're really good at this, aren't you?" you commented in surprise. "I thought I was okay, but you've just brought me to shame!"

A small smile appeared on his face. "I suppose that's why I'm in line to be the next great detective," he said softly.

Your eyes widened. "No way! You're the successor to L?"

He nodded. "It's either me, or Mello." He nodded towards the blonde-haired boy, who was sitting with his friend Matt over underneath another tree.

"I think you're better than him," you said. "Mello's too arrogant. You'd make a great detective, though, Near."

A faint blush appeared on Near's cheeks. "Thank you," he mumbled awkwardly.

The bell sounded that meant free time was over and it was time to head inside. You gathered up the puzzle and shoved it back inside the box, picking up the box to carry inside with you. Near followed as you headed for the door along with the other children, and Watari was standing waiting to make sure everyone came in. You returned the box to the shelf where it belonged, and as you turned to leave the room and head to your bedroom, someone tapped your shoulder. You turned around to see Near standing behind you, his hands clasped together nervously.

"(F/N). I, uh, wanted to ask you something," he said.

"Okay! Go ahead," you replied.

His eyes met yours for a brief moment. "I had fun. Hanging out with you, that is. I wanted to ask if you wanted to do it again sometime."

You giggled, a smile appearing on your face. "Of course, I'd love to hang with you again, Near!" you laughed. "If you hadn't asked, I would have sought you out next time anyway! You seemed lonely before, and I'm lonely too - we make the perfect couple." Near's face reddened, and yours did too when you realised what you had just said. "Um, that is, we make good friends!" you corrected.

"We're friends?" he questioned, a little disbelievingly.

You nodded. "Yep! I mean, if you want to be!"

He smiled, just a tiny half-smile. "I'd like that."