Author's Note: Ummm, this is my first fic, so if you review, please be gentle. This is based off of various conversations my friends and I have, combined with an idea from my sister, who suddenly developed a puzzle fetish over this past summer and repeatedly asked me to come 'play puzzle' with her. That phrase just struck me as something Near might say... I also gave a friend of mine permission to post this story on some LiveJournal Death Note communities, so if you happen to see this somewhere on LiveJournal, it's fine, I know about it and it's not plagiarized. Beyond that, enjoy(I hope)!
Warnings: Rated T for swearing(on Mello's part) and spoilers for Near's, Matt's, and Mello's names.
The small albino boy sat on the floor putting a puzzle as white as him together, piece by piece, never hesitating. Two fingers twiddled incessantly with a small piece of snow-colored hair. From the next room he could hear the piercing screams of his self-proclaimed rival's frustrations. As his temperamental neighbor threw yet another object, a rather large object, judging from the dull thud it made as it hit their shared wall, Near got to his feet and padded softly out into the hall on socked feet.
He stopped in front of the door next to his, listening for a moment. From across the hall, another door opened and a yellow-goggled redhead poked his head out.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! STUPID, SHITTY-" SLAM!
Near softly knocked. "Mello, whenever I am upset and not thinking clearly, I like to put together a puzzle or two to calm down," he softly stated. His hand unconsciously crept back up the side of his face, and he resumed twirling his hair. "Would you like to come play puzzle with me?"
The only sounds that now came from the suddenly silent room were stomping, until the door was thrown open to reveal an angrily flushed Mello. "Go. Away."
"Are you sure? You seem like you could use the-" the pearl-white boy began, sounding almost bored.
"FUCK YOU, NEAR!"
Leaving one hand in his hair, Near reached toward the door again to knock when another hand touched him on the shoulder.
"Near, you'd best leave him alone. You know he doesn't like you in the first place, and since you're the reason he's so angry right now, you'll only make him worse." Matt had silently crept from his room to attempt to prevent his best friend from possibly devouring the marshmallow-white boy in his rage.
"I don't see why he's in such a bad mood. I only outscored him on the exam by four points, I certainly wasn't trying to anger him."
"C'mon, Near," Matt sighed. "I just got a new video game, but it's better with two players, and since Mello's in a pet right now, how about you help me try it out? If you do, I'll- how did you put it? – 'play puzzle' with you, if you like. Besides, Mello'll calm down faster if he's left alone."
"Very well," the small white figure monotoned, turning to follow Matt to his room.
A minute later found the two in front of a TV, Near with one knee drawn up to his chest, the other leg off to the side. Matt had flopped onto his bed and now hung upside-down off the edge, teaching Near the controls. "Ok, you press the X button here to jump, the square to throw your projectiles, the triangle to charge your special attack, and the O button to attack. Also, this button" he pointed out a button on the top of the controller, "will scroll through your weapons, and the one right behind it," Matt pointed again, "is your defend button. Got it?" He received a single nod from Near, who glowed ghost-like in the near-darkness. "Ok, you ready?" Another nod.
Several rounds later Near broke the almost ritual silence. "Matt, I'm not trying to make Mello feel incompetent, no matter what he thinks. However, if he is ever to be the best, that means he must do better than the current best, and if that's me, I'm not going to make it easy for him just because he wants to be number one. That way, when he 'wins,' he will have earned it and not had it handed to him." The white-haired boy had ruined the effect of this heartfelt (by his standards, anyway) speech by stating it in his usual monotone in the middle of another battle, when Matt was too engrossed by the game to really hear.
"Yeah," the avid gamer muttered distractedly. A moment later, Near's character lay on the simulated game-ground, dead. "Mello's just frustrated because no matter how hard he tries, he never can seem to do better than you." So much for Matt not listening.
"Hmm. I believe you have tested your game out enough to satisfy your curiosity about its contents, yes? Shall we go play puzzle now?"
"All right, I suppose."
They quickly shielded their eyes against the brightly-lit hallway and quietly sneaked past Mello's door, listening to his infrequent mutterings for a minute before continuing to Near's room. On the floor lay the half-finished puzzle Near had been working on before Mello's tantrum had distracted him. Matt silently stretched out on the floor on one side of the puzzle, Near sat on the other side, and they quickly settled into a familiar pattern; Near quickly locating and placing one piece, Matt hunting for a few minutes to find one that would fit somewhere, but, more often than not, having to build onto his little puzzle island that didn't fit anywhere yet, while Near waited patiently, still fiddling with his hair.
Neither of them noticed Mello's muttering had died down until Mello kicked in Near's door and began screaming profanity at the very startled pair.
"What the FUCK, Matt?! I go to your room to play your stupid new game with you to take my mind off things, and I find that you've already PLAYED IT WITHOUT ME and now you're hanging out with that- that- that THING!!! What the BLOODY HELL do you think you're doing, anyway?!"
"We- we're playing p-puzzle," stammered Matt, a puzzle piece still in his fingers.
"What are you, three?? Let's go!"
"Mello, what are you- " Matt was cut off by Mello grabbing him by the scruff of his vest and dragging him out of the room behind him. Matt made no effort to get away, he was too busy trying to breathe.
"Later- ACK! Near-" Matt was cut off by Mello jerking on the vest violently forward to prevent him from talking to Near anymore. Mello shot Near a venomous glare when he saw him waving forlornly to Matt and slammed the door shut again.
After Near heard the ill-tempered blond's door shut again, he played puzzle some more through a few minutes of Mello's screaming before he came to a perplexed halt. He then realized that Matt still had the last puzzle piece!
Digging beneath his bed and emerging with a package, Near quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper and taped it on top of the package, which he left in front of Mello's door before knocking again and scampering off to his room again, an impish smile barely concealed on his face.
Mihael,
I apologize for upsetting you earlier, it was unintentional. This is why I wanted you to play puzzle with me earlier, you wouldn't accept my birthday present to you. Please, instruct Mail to return the last piece of the puzzle we were working on, its incompletion irks me. Also, inform Mail that he is welcome to come work on another puzzle with me if he wishes.
-NateMello's enraged cry of "NEAR! I'LL KILL YOU!!" informed the afore-threatened genius-in-training that Mello had not only found the package and read the note, but had opened the box to find a 1,000-piece puzzle made entirely of chocolate.