*S' POV*
"...wake up..." The quiet voice filtered through my sleep-addled brain. I made some kind of noise in hopes that the voice would let me get back to sleep, but I then felt a hand tapping my shoulder and I was forced to open my eyes. "Mmm?" I murmured.
"Ah, you're awake. Good. My shoulder's fallen asleep and I've been unable to wake you for the past ten minutes."
I jolted awake then; rubbing my eyes and corners of my mouth frantically. My chest tightened in panic. "A-ah, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
Near held up a hand, stopping me. "It's fine. You were tired, and you didn't drool on me either. I fell asleep as well." I had noticed that he was still slowly blinking a bit and his eyes were droopy. It was strange to think that Near slept. I always thought of him as barely human, so it was interesting to see a more human side of him. I felt the more time I spent with him, the more I found out about him.
"In any case, we should get back to headquarters; it's already late out." I glanced out the window and nodded. The sky was getting darker out, as far as I could see through the window. I stood up, slowly as to not stress my joints, as they got sore often, especially if I got up too quickly. I also got really dizzy when I stood up too fast, but I think that's something that happens with everyone.
I felt a tug on my right ear and glanced down to see my iPod and headphones still plugged in. I picked it up and exited the jet, Near trailing behind me.
The ride back to the SPK headquarters was quiet and uneventful, the only sounds were my quiet tapping to the beat of some song I can't quite remember the name of anymore, and Near fiddling with his toys.
***
'Ugh, I'm exhausted.' I groaned internally as I flopped down onto my bed, the white duvet cover fluffy and cool against my skin. I sighed and rolled onto my back, staring at my ceiling. Today had been really draining, and I was glad to be back. Don't get me wrong, I love detective work, but I'm better at staying behind in HQ. It's all I'm really good for to be honest.
'I probably could've handled Near better.' I sighed and covered my face with my pillow. 'I can't believe I fell asleep on him... How embarrassing.' Feeling the pull on my eyelids, I removed the pillow, rolled onto my stomach and sliding myself under the duvet. It wasn't very long before I drifted away.
***
I didn't stay asleep for long, though. I woke up, kicking and screaming and sweating like a waterfall. The tightness in my chest was back, but this time it was worse. It hurt, and I clutched the spot near my heart, fighting to get my breath back.
Twenty minutes later, I had begun to calm down. My throat was sore from yelling, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking, but I slowly detangled my legs from the duvet and wrapped it around my shoulders. My breaths came in as slow and as deep as I could manage, and I tried not to think about what my dream had been about.
It was no use though, violent flashbacks of especially horrific scenes kept forcing themselves into my brain. It made my heart ache, for Mello, for the cold yet secure Wammy's, for Nadia, who for all I knew was travelling the world, having fun without me.
My breathing picked up again and I knew that I would not be able to calm myself down on willpower alone. I'd need something else.
Gathering the duvet around me like a cape, I got out of bed and slowly made my to the kitchen.
It was quiet and dark, save for a few lights flickering from the main room. Strangely enough, there was a small amount of light shining from the kitchen and dining area too. I wondered if someone had forgotten to turn off the lights before leaving.
But there, sitting at the island, was Near. His eyes were closed, and instead of twirling his white hair like normal, he was rubbing his temple with the same hand he had his head resting on. His other hand was picking at his nails lightly, not enough to actually do anything to them.
It was rare to see him like this; and despite my usual penchant to give him trouble, I let him be, and tried to daintily tiptoe around him.
"Another nightmare?" Near's quiet voice made me jump and I sighed. "Yeah." I felt pretty ashamed to admit it. Children have nightmares, I'm a young adult for fuck's sake! And yet more and more often I was sent to the kitchen in the middle of the night to get comfort food.
I went to the cupboard and dug behind several canned foods before I reached my stash- soup. I'd been hooked on the stuff since even before Wammy's, and I always made sure I had some on hand in case of a rough night.
"You know you don't have to hide it, it is summertime, most people would think it too hot to eat soup." Near reminded me but my inner Gollum hissed 'my precious' and I shook my head. "It's a thing, Near." He didn't comment on it after that, I supposed he learned by now not to question my motives.
I cranked open a can of chicken noodle and prepared it before popping it into the microwave. I leaned against the counter and closed my eyes, listening to the hum of the appliances.
About two seconds before the microwave went off, I snatched a dish towel and yanked the door open before it could beep. Carefully maneuvering the dish towel and bowl, I managed to set it down on the counter without burning my hands on the hot bowl.
It was silent for a bit as I stirred the soup with a spoon in attempt to cool it down some before Near's voice rang out "Would you like to sit down?"
"Eh?" I whirled around and blinked. As far as I knew, Near loved his personal space, as did I, and this was the second time today that either of us breached it. I mean, it would be unwelcome to nearly anyone else, but alas I shrugged and said "Alright." before taking my bowl slowly to the kitchen island across from where he was sitting.
The silence rang out again, as I tried to not burn my tongue again on the hot broth.
"You're not usually this quiet." Near remarked and I raised an eyebrow. Why was he talking so much today? I mean, Near and I did speak, we kind of had to, being on the same team and all, but it was always about the case. Until recently, actually.
I shrugged. "I'm not usually very loud when I eat."
He mouthed a quiet "ah" and nodded. A few bites later, I sighed and put down my spoon. "Near, can I ask you a question?"
"Alright."
"Do you know what happened to Mello?"
He was quiet for a moment, and I began to feel a little panicky. "Near?" I pressed. He exhaled loudly before nodding a little and saying "More or less." in a quiet voice.
I froze, the spoon hovering over the pool of broth and other things. "What?"
"We have... A few theories of his whereabouts. He's been on the down low for the most part, but there have been possible leads." He took out a picture that I hadn't noticed from the breast pocket of his shirt and looked at it for a moment, frowning slightly. He then slid it over to me. I recognized it instantly- I had taken this picture.
Back when I still believed that I had potential to do something worthwhile in my life, I used to take pictures of things, and then recreate them in my own style. I has tried to get a picture of Mello to paint, but he always turned away at the last second or covered the lens with his hand and told me to fuck off.
But one day, for some reason, he agreed to stay still enough for me to take one. I had kept it hidden so long in my room that I'd completely forgotten about it.
I flipped the picture over to see the words 'Dear Mello' written in regal calligraphy on the back. I frowned in confusion. I hadn't written that, my writing wasn't that good. Had Near written that?
"We've been sending out agents all across the world to search for him. I have the feeling we might not be able to find him unless he wants to be found."
I took a deep breath and stood up. "Come on." He looked at me in slight confusion. "Make yourself some soup and then we'll get to work. We've got a lot to do."
A/N: Hey everyone! Finally, I finished this chapter. I have no idea how long this is exactly since I'm typing this on my 'notes' app to avoid Wattpad from deleting it, although I hope it's longer, because I wanted to make it longer since I've been inactive for so long! I'll try harder to be better at it >n< anyways, thanks for all the views and votes! I really appreciate them and I hope you love this story. Comment 'Campbells Soup' if you've read this, and until next time, hopefully soon! ~S