[open]

[cardfortress]

Characters: Mello, Near, and YOU!
Location: The Clinic
Rating: PG-13 at the very least
Time: April 5th, after the mission - April 8th
Description: The mission wasn't gentle to these two, and as a result, we have Mello in pretty bad shape at the clinic, with his Weapon hovering by and looking rather terrible, as well. Naturally, this means your character should come over and mother and fuss over bother them.


[Pretty much what it says on the tin!

Because of his injuries, Mello is going to have a couple of tubes draining blood from his thorax for the first couple of days, and he will be adequately drugged, so he may be too out of it from time to time. On top of that, the poor guy has a broken collarbone and a few broken ribs, so it wouldn't be a very good idea to poke him just to see if he's awake. That oxygen mask won't make communication any easier, either.

On the other hand, Near has a cut on his lip, and a few bruises on his face, forearms and hands-- but you really can't see his fingers or his palms, because they just so happen to be bandaged. His right shoulder has been bandaged, as well, which is also visible because his shirt (and skin) was ripped by the talons of a particularly vicious bird familiar. Ouch. Someone should bring him a change of clothes: all that dried blood makes everything look a lot worse than what it is.

Feel free to have your character approach one or both of them! Near will be either sitting by Mello's bed or hovering by, but if you want your character to have some time alone with Mello, just pretend Near went to the bathroom / went to get some food. Likewise, if your character just wants to talk to Near, just consider Mello's too drugged or knocked out to be conscious, or pull him aside. Just leave us a note somewhere in your tag so we'll know who you want!]

Comments

[dead_black_eyes]

[Not possessing a great deal of empathy, L rarely comes face to face with what it must be like to be held under his own discerning gaze. Only with Near is he ever subjected to the uneasiness of voids staring back at him, and the younger man has perfected it to the point where L is impressed despite his own misgivings. Having small soldiers created in his likeness was never an idea that felt wholly real to him until he encountered his successors as adults, and though he has gotten used to them for the most part, he hasn't gotten used to others being able to read him so well.

Near knows that something is wrong. L knows that Near knows, and he won't be able to dance around the subject forever. Despite his efforts, his state is disappointingly transparent.

He starts slightly at the gravel in Near's voice, shoulders stiffening and then relaxing after the white-haired boy clears his throat and continues in a smoother vein. L knows that he should accept Near's bare, utilitarian and matter-of-fact explanation as reassurance, a pardon for his absence. It makes sense to think that the thin detective would be more of a liability than an asset, it's logical, and that does help. But if even one of them dies, then L's legacy as he always wanted it perishes, too. And Mello has come far too close for comfort.]

Then it was bad luck...

[He tilts his head, definitely picking up on that slight soft note of affection.]

How is he? And have you had any rest?

[It hadn't occurred to L to bring something, and now he somewhat regrets it. Even some toothbrushes or a change of clothes might have been appreciated. And he does want to reward this kind of devotion, even if it comes naturally, now, to the point where treating it in a Pavlovian manner would be downright insulting.]

[cardfortress]

[Near notices how L reacts to the sudden roughness in his voice, but that reaction is gone as soon as it appeared, so he doesn’t give it too much thought. Despite his exhaustion, he has no problems with telling L once again-- if necessary-- how they were better off fighting by themselves.

Indeed, the Meister has come far too close for comfort to dying. It’s a good thing L didn’t voice those thoughts out loud, because Near wouldn’t have been able to mask his body language well enough to hide how that affected him.]

No… We are at war, so it was inevitable for something like this to happen. She toyed with us but didn’t kill us; if it had been bad luck, we would have been dead by now.

[It’s the truth, of course: they can’t expect to survive a war zone unscathed, not when they have been through so many things together, and will remain on fighting new battles and going on missions. They’ve always been fully aware of the risks.]

We are very strong when resonance works the way it should… but not strong enough to go against a witch.

[Which is something he plans on correcting as soon as both of them- but specially Mello- have recovered enough to fight.]

He’s okay, given the circumstances, and his prognosis is good. The clinical assessment revealed no neurological damage, so it’s only a matter of his lungs expanding correctly. It shouldn’t take very long.

[He gives a one shouldered-shrug.]

I have had a few hours of sleep, yes.

[Which is a nice way of saying that he was on the verge of collapsing and falling asleep against the wall, the floor or against whichever surface was right next to him. But the few naps he’s had have helped in that regard.]

[dead_black_eyes]

[It will gnaw at L no matter how many times he hears it; he is passionate and arrogant enough to believe that he could have had a hand in his successors' safe escape. But something Mello had said the night of his party also weighs heavily on L's mind. The blond, now bedridden, had asked if L thought that Light could use the scrap of paper hidden in his watch to kill on of them in a witch attack. It had been a mere example, and L had dismissed it at the time as unlikely, but now... it's far less unbelievable, with his successor looking discouragingly frail in that hospital bed. And now that L is painfully aware of what the Madness makes Light capable of, who's to say that he wouldn't use that scrap under it's thrall even if he'd know better in his right mind?

It makes him feel that he's been altogether too reckless. He's played with fire and gotten burned, and if not this time, then another, soon, will see people he cares for getting burned as well.

L is disgusted with himself. He hears Near say that he and Mello hadn't been strong enough to take down a Witch, and the first thing that springs to L's mind is whether or not he and Light might be able to. Despite recognizing that his draw to Light is an addiction like none he's experienced for years, despite recognizing that what had happened at the carnival had amounted to a near-fatal overdose, he still assumes that Light will be a present element of his future. To think otherwise feels like having no future.

He nods briskly, wanting to express gladness that Mello is going to be all right, that there's no neurological damage and that excellent brain will function as well as ever. Somehow, it falls short. Maybe it has something to do with Near's stoic demeanor, or the fact that comforting small talk in a room containing both L and Near just doesn't happen.]

That's not enough. If he is in the clear as you say, and it's only a matter of time, you should have a more substantial rest.

[Maybe there is something to Bakura's deflection technique. L has a new appreciation for how excellently outward concern for others can mask one's own frailties.]