Don't Leave - Jealous! Near X Reader
Requested by (@tamaranean_princess)
This one-shot is a little AU, just in the fact that in this, Mello and Matt are alive after the Kira case is over.
Kira. The name had once struck fear through your mind, alongside the same thrill you always felt when working on a difficult case. This case had been one like no other you had ever encountered before, and there had been points where you had almost believed Kira would win. But you and Near together had taken over in L's role after his sudden death, and you had brought Kira to justice. To you, it was your biggest achievement, despite that you sorely missed the the detective you had always idolised, even though you had never met him.
After the case, Near hadn't seemed as happy as you had been to finish it and see Kira stopped. Something hadn't been quite right with him, and although you knew that, you didn't really want to ask him what was wrong. He wasn't one to chat about emotions, and sometimes you wondered if he even had any at all. The two of you were good friends, sure, but he never really showed any sort of affection towards you that would make you believe you were close to him. You didn't even know if he understood the true concept of friendship. And this was why you turned instead to someone else for the signs of friendship that you felt you were missing from your life. A certain blonde-haired boy whom you had known from the orphanage where you had grown up with Near and the other who lived there: Mello.
You hadn't always been friendly with Mello. You had known his best friend Matt for longer - at least, you had talked to him since way before you had ever started speaking to Mello. In truth, you had been somewhat scared of Mello for a long time, probably because you were nervous when it came to making new friends, and Mello was rather intimidating. But after becoming proper friends with Matt and spending as much time with him as you did with Near, Matt had decided that it was time for you to introduce yourself to Mello. Surprisingly, Mello had quickly accepted you into his friendship group (which, honestly, had only really consisted of him and Matt) and for a while, you spent more time with them than you did with Near - mostly because he didn't really seem to value you as a friend, much like what was happening now. Looking back on those times, you often felt bad and hoped that Near hadn't minded too much that you hung out with Matt and Mello more - he certainly hadn't seemed to have minded, but you couldn't be certain. Now, however, when once again you felt like he was subtly and slightly excluding you from his life, you turned once more to those other friends from Wammy's House.
You had recently bought your first phone, and you were sitting beside Near while he worked, the phone held to your ear as you waited for someone to pick up at the other end - you hoped that it would be Mello. When a blunt 'What?" could be heard, you grinned and responded, "That you, Mihael?" You saw Near glance at you in surprise as you said that, and wondered briefly if he would tell you off for contacting someone who hated him - but he simply turned back to his work.
There was silence for a moment on the phone, and then, "Who is this? You have ten seconds to explain yourself." You realised that he was talking about his real name, and how you knew it.
"Woah, woah, Mello, wait," you answered. "It's just me, (F/N). Don't get so uptight."
"(F/N)?" Mello paused, then continued, "I didn't expect a call from you. Didn't even know you had a phone, or knew my number for that matter."
"You gave me your number a long time ago, and I wrote it down," you replied. "I just wasn't sure if you would still have the same one, so I'm glad you do."
"Yeah. Look, is there a particular reason that you're calling me, (F/N)? I have things to do, you know."
You couldn't help but feel a little offended. "Don't you want to talk to me? We are still friends, right?"
"You never know when your phone is being tapped." He avoided your question.
"That's a bullshit excuse, Mello, and you know it," you said bluntly.
He sighed. "I have a lot of things on my mind," he said. "But yes, we are still friends, so I shouldn't be aggressive towards you. Sorry." It was a little uncharacteristic for him to apologise, and you appreciated it. "Actually, one of the things on my mind lately has been you, (F/N)."
Near looked over in faint surprise again, and you realised that he could probably just about hear what Mello was saying. You weren't sure why your conversation would interest him at all, though. "You were thinking about me?" you asked Mello.
"Yeah. We haven't seen each other for a long while, after all," he said. "You know, I wanted to contact you after Matt and I left the orphanage," he explained. "I decided that I wanted you to come with us. I sent Matt back to Wammy's House, to sneak in and find you, but you weren't there any more. You and Near had both left, presumably together - that was confirmed when I found out that the two of you caught Kira."
You felt a little shocked. "You...would have invited me to come with you?"
"That is what I said. Weren't you listening?"
You rolled your eyes at his harsh tone, even though he couldn't see it. Sometimes it offended you, but honestly, you should be used to it. Mello wasn't exactly soft and sweet. "I'm just surprised," you said to him, "that you would have wanted me along. I always thought I was just a fraction too annoying for you, Mello."
"You've never been too annoying. I can tolerate you better than Near, certainly."
"Well isn't that a remarkable compliment?" you chuckled. "Much appreciated; thank you."
"I have an offer to make you," Mello continued, ignoring your sarcasm. "I mean, if we really are still friends...it isn't too late to join me."
Your mouth almost dropped open. "You mean that?"
"Of course I mean that. Matt's been pining over you since we left the orphanage. He really misses you, you know."
You smiled to yourself at Mello's way of speaking about himself through Matt. He would never admit to you that he missed you himself, or that he wished things had happened differently and you had come with him sooner. Instead, he would always tell you that these sorts of feelings only belonged to Matt, keeping himself in a colder, less emotional light. But you knew what he meant, even if he didn't want you to.
"I'll have to think about that, Mello," you told him, remembering Near suddenly. You had called Mello because Near didn't seem to care whether you were around or not, but at the same time, you felt bad about considering ditching him to join Mello and Matt. "I can't just...leave headquarters. I'm used to it, and I do like it here." You couldn't tell him that you were reluctant to abandon Near; obviously he was biased against Near, and would tell you just to leave anyway, uncaring about the situation.
"Think, then," he replied. "But before you go, I want to tell you something else."
"What's that?"
"Matt really likes you, (F/N). I think he might even love you, if that's possible. I thought you should know now, in case we don't see you after all." Mello's voice was quieter, calmer, than usual.
You felt your heart flutter at this almost-admission from Mello. "You don't really mean Matt, do you?" you asked, a little teasingly. "I don't think he's the one who really likes me."
There was a pause, and then: "No. He isn't," before Mello hung up.
You giggled to yourself and put the phone down. Mello liked you? It was strange to believe, but at the same time, you liked the thought of it. You could picture yourself with him, in a romantic way, even if he did seem angry and cold and emotionless a lot of the time. You could change him, perhaps, into a boy you could truly love and care for deeply.
"What was that about?" Near demanded, turning in his chair to face you. His eyes had narrowed curiously, and you thought he looked faintly annoyed. You were also fairly sure he'd heard Mello speaking, and therefore knew what the conversation had been about.
"I just wanted to speak to Mello again," you replied. "It's been a while."
"You're not going," Near said after a moment. You could have sworn he spoke through gritted teeth, in an uncharacteristically sharp tone of voice.
"Excuse me?"
"I won't give you permission to go and join Mello," Near stated firmly.
"Permission?" You frowned. "I don't need your permission, Near. I can leave if I want to."
"Don't." He leaned over, plucking your phone from your hand. You had mistakenly left it unlocked, and you watched as Near opened your contact list and scrolled through them until he found Mello. "I'll delete his number for you, if that will make you stay," he said, and promptly deleted Mello's contact details.
"What the hell?" you cried, snatching your phone back angrily. "You want to stop me contacting him?" You stared at Near. "What is up with you? This behaviour is so unlike you, Near."
He looked away suddenly. "I don't want you to leave."
"That doesn't really justify deleting his number!"
He sighed. "You are right - my self-control wavered and that wasn't like me. I memorised his number before I deleted it. I will give it back to you."
"Is that your way of apologising?"
He ignored you, instead asking, "Do you really miss Mello?"
You sighed. "Yes; I want to see him again, and preferably more than just one visit or something. But I wouldn't have intended to leave here suddenly - I'd definitely need time to think about it." You looked sadly at your phone. "Except now I can't call him."
"I said I'd give you back his number, didn't I? ...But I still don't want you to go to him," Near said slowly, looking away. "I like having you here, (F/N). You have come to mean a lot to me, and it's nice to have company."
You raised one eyebrow. "Interesting. I have to say, I've definitely never got that impression," you replied coolly, watching him.
"That's because I never made it obvious."
You snorted. "You can say that again."
He glared at you, his piercing, pale eyes boring into you until you stopped looking like you were going to continue mocking him. "I have my reasons," he said. "You understand the concept of social awkwardness, right?"
You almost laughed. "Me? Of course I do."
"Perhaps not as much as I do; I am a little more experienced in that department, though I will not pretend that's a good thing."
You paused, and stared at Near. "So what are you trying to say? You want me to stay? And you actually do like being friends with me?"
"More than that. I want you to stay because I like you." Near responded.
The way he said it made goosebumps appear on your arms, and you felt a flutter in your chest and stomach. What was he suggesting? It didn't sound like he had been attempting to say it in a way that would make it come across like you were friends. But at the same time, it also didn't sound as if he meant the two of you were anything less close. So what did he really mean?
When you didn't respond, Near added, "Maybe I should try it the Mello way." He hesitated, before saying, "I think Mello really likes you. As more than a friend, but he's too shy to mention anything about it."
"I know, he just told me - " you began, and then stopped suddenly as it dawned on you what Near actually meant. He had been referring to Mello's habit of projecting his positive emotions onto Matt and claiming they weren't his own, and that it was the exact method Mello had used just a moment ago to tell you he liked you. And now...Near was copying him in an attempt to tell you the same thing. And the funny thing was...for some odd reason, you preferred it when Near said it. You felt happier about it than you had when listening to Mello.
"Near..." you paused, and then, in order to confirm whether your feelings were suggesting that you liked him back or if you were simply happy that someone appreciated you, you decided to take action. Leaning forwards, you planted a kiss right on his lips, staying where you were for a couple of seconds before pulling back and eyeing him carefully to gauge his reaction, while mentally trying to also confirm your own reaction. Within mere moments, you realised that, in fact, you did like him - and while you'd only just had hopes that you could learn to care for Mello and change him into someone you really loved, you realised that you didn't need to hope that with Near. He didn't need changing; he was already at that point, of being someone you could truly love - in fact, you were fairly sure that you already loved him.