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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!]

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[Don't question him, Mello. He just has to ask someone to bring him a change of clothes, that's all.]

I'm sure the answer to that question is obvious enough for you, even though you're drugged.

[He remains silent after Mello replies, and focuses on the blond's words and the feelings he can pick up on through their resonance. He understood his partner's reasoning, of course-- he had understood it when it happened, amidst the panic and the adrenaline rushing through his system-- but that doesn't mean he has to like it.]

I've noticed.

[Unnecessarily abrasive, perhaps, but his Meister is lucky that Near isn’t making him face his anger. They’re partners: they are supposed to stay together, no matter how dire the circumstances may be.

(More than being his partner, Mello is Mello, and he’s not allowed to die. Not again.)

Being able to pick up on how scared Mello felt before he threw him isn't enough to let go of this anger, however, despite how his own thoughts had reflected M's at that point. Right now, though, Near does his best not to let his anger show, but the sheer effort of doing that while keeping up their connection ensures that he’s quickly running out of energy, and he needs to turn back before he loses control over the transformation and ends up turning back while leaning against Mello, or something equally dangerous, given his Meister’s condition. Some of his annoyance shows through, however, but he makes it look as though he’s annoyed at having to turn back so soon, and not at Mello for what he’s done.]

I have to transform back. Is there anything else you want to tell me before I do?

Edited (well that was an awkward typo.) 2012-11-15 05:12 (UTC)

[Mello picks up on Near's annoyance, and catches some of it himself, even though, he thinks, he shouldn't be irritated that Near has to change back so soon.

Except that he is. Near should be recuperating, not making things even worse by ignoring his exhaustion. Mello wonders if he can bribe or threaten the clinic staff into sedating him, or if they're going to get all picky about not technically having his permission.]

I want to see my chart. And I want my rosary back.

[He's sure there were other things he wanted--needed--to ask, but they've slipped away from him. Already, he's having to fight to keep his eyes open, and his fingers curl a bit more tightly around the Rubik's cube, as if that could force Near to stay. Until Mello catches himself doing it, and forces himself to stop, and to set the cube aside at a safe distance.]

[Near would have had a hard time ignoring his exhaustion if he really wanted to do such a thing, specially given how strongly it hits him. But turning back-- voluntarily or involuntarily-- is only a matter of time, and it’s going to happen sooner rather than later. Mello’s fingers tighten slightly around him, and this helps holding out for a little bit longer, but not by much.

(His Meister’s requests are only natural and far from surprising, but Near can’t help feeling a flicker of disappointment at having to return Mello’s rosary this soon, and then surprise that he felt like that in the first place. Did he actually miss having it?)

When Near turns back, he looks even more exhausted than before, but tries not to let it show too much in the way that he moves, or how he looks at his partner. But his hands still tremble just slightly when he hands Mello his chart like his partner asked him to do, and he leans a bit more heavily against Mello’s bed than he’d expected. The Weapon moves a hand up to the rosary around his neck before he stops entirely, and then glances at his partner, before speaking up:]

They will probably ask you to remove it again.

[Or, in Near-speak: are you sure you don’t want me to keep it for you?]

[Mello thinks he senses a twinge of disappointment from Near, but he's not sure what the reason for it is.

He scans his chart, all too aware that his ability to process information is drastically slower than what it should be. There aren't any surprises there. Seeing it all at once, though, is overwhelming. I could have died, he thinks. And people who die here are gone. He tries to think if he's ever heard of an exception, if anyone has died and later been brought back by BREW, and he can't come up with any. And even if BREW did bring someone back, they wouldn't remember Death City, which means sheer luck is the only reason he's still here with all his memories intact, and-- No, fuck no, he's not going to think about this right now. He can barely breathe as it is; the last damn thing he needs is to panic.

He focuses instead on trying to keep his expression from giving away too much of his thoughts, and on Near's last words. He doesn't miss the way he starts to reach for the rosary, and Mello shrugs, to say fine, keep it for now, as if it weren't laughably easy to translate Near's desire to do just that, which doesn't make any sense, because it's not like he needs it to remember Mello by. He'll think about that later, too. He points to the chair and gives the Weapon a stern look. And rest.]

[As Mello reads his chart, Near notices that his breathing rate and heart rate go up, as is displayed on some of the various monitors by his partner's bed. It isn't hard to determine the cause of his Meister's discomfort and possible anxiety: it's one thing to know of your injuries from a reliable source, and it's another thing entirely to read the actual medical reports about it, and know just how close you came to dying. He's sure he would have reacted the same way, had it been him instead.

Mello's shrug gives him the answer he needed, and Near shrugs slightly in return, releasing the rosary and letting it remain around his neck. His partner makes it very clear that he wants him to rest, too, and Near has to hold himself back from pouting very petulantly and replying with something very mature, along the lines of "I do what I want". Instead, he says something as mature as that:]

I was sleeping when you woke up. I have been resting.

[He just needs to actually sleep, instead of taking little naps here and there while curled up on the big armchair by Mello's bed.]

[Mello gives Near a flat look for a long moment. Don't try to fool me, that look says. I felt how rested you aren't a minute ago.

He sets the chart aside, as far away as he can put it, turned so he can't give in to any temptation to reread it. He'd like to tell Near to make them take him off the painkillers so he can think, but he's reasonably certain the clinic staff would refuse, for one thing. For another, he suspects several broken bones and blood in his pleural cavity would add up to a hell of a lot more pain than the burns that scarred him. Not that he'd admit that part out loud.

He'll make them stop the meds tomorrow. For now, he's just going to close his eyes...]

[Unfortunately for Mello, that look is far from being effective. Near can interpret it perfectly, but that doesn't mean he does what his partner is (very strongly) suggesting: he'll take more naps here and there instead of actually sleeping, thank you.

When his Meister places the chart away from him, Near puts it back in its place, knowing that the nurse will stare disapprovingly at him as soon as she realizes he looked at Mello's chart yet again. He doesn't really care about that, though, much like he doesn't care about pestering the clinic staff... which he will end up doing in a few hours, he's sure.

Mello's exhaustion is clear, as well, and the way he closes his eyes only makes it more obvious. Near doesn't try to hold his attention or otherwise keep him from sleeping: he steps away from his partner's bed and moves back to the armchair, and it doesn't take him long until his own lack of energy and strength catches up with him, as well.]

[Mello dozes on and off for a while, interrupted several times by visitors. He doesn't get a chance to sleep until after Kaworu has gone. It's easier now that he doesn't have that damn oxygen mask anymore, and he's more tired than he'd like to admit from being made to walk around as part of his physical therapy. (That's going to get old really fast.)

He's falling again, the floating island already an impossibly tiny dot far above him. He doesn't know where Near is; his hands are empty, and he can't remember if he lost his grip on the Rubik's cube or managed to throw it back towards the carnival like he meant to.

As bad as he knows hitting the ground will be, this is worse. He's helpless to arrest his momentum, has no idea if Near's safe, and time's stretching out, dilating, so he has plenty of time to think, I'm going to die, there's no way I'm surviving this one.

The insistent, agitated-sounding beeping of his heart monitor wakes him, or maybe hitting the ground does. It's fast, too fast, and Mello still feels like he can't get enough air, panic seizing him, and he instinctively reaches for resonance, can't find it, and calls out.]

Near--

[Near has done his part as the ~~stalker~~ worried partner that he is, hovering by whenever someone came to see his Meister, and also during the times when Mello had to walk around as part of his rehabilitation process. He’s hovered by whenever Mello napped, too, taking those moments to hack into his files at the Agency and into the surveillance network as well, to finally figure out how the hell Mello survived such a fall.

He manages to do so by the time Mello actually sleeps, and it barely takes him any time to locate the cameras in question and review their footage. He’s lucky, to an extent, because a lot of the cameras were destroyed, but when he finally takes a look at Mello’s fall, he realizes what ‘lucky’ really means.

He watches the footage again and again, from all angles available, determined to absorb every information he possibly can, and tries to ignore the odd tightness in his chest at seeing just how close Mello was to dying.

He loses track of the time-- something that rarely happens with him-- and dozes off for a little while, but he wakes up in the darkness with the distinct feeling that something is wrong. Near thinks of the madness, at first, but the fast beeping of Mello’s heart monitor and his partner’s increased breathing rate tells him that this is a different kind of madness entirely, and one he is quite familiar with, as well.

He does nothing but listen in, eyes wide open even though the dim lights from the monitor screens barely illuminate Mello’s bed, and when Mello finally wakes up and calls out his name-- is he trying to hide his panic, or is Near’s imagination running wild?-- he closes the very short distance between the armchair and the bed, and reaches for his partner’s hand, giving him both something physical and their resonance to hold on to.]

I’m here.

[Mello grabs Near's hand and hangs on tight, trying to will away the betraying physical symptoms of distress. Resonance helps, steadying him as it always does now, but it's several seconds before the beeping of the heart monitor seems to slow.

Why the fuck has this hit him so hard? He's actually died before, in a place where he knew there was no coming back. It's not like he's afraid of death, and he doesn't believe in any of that soppy bullshit about life becoming more precious when you realize how fleeting it is. He knows the risks every time they go into battle here.

He doesn't realize what he's going to say until he's already speaking.]

We were close to the strongest we've ever been, and we still almost fucking died.

[He'll hate himself for blabbing it later, but right now, he just needs to get it out, as if that could keep it from festering in his mind and coming back to poison him later. If their best isn't good enough, what the hell is?]

[Near waits, giving Mello the time he needs to return to normal. He's surprised at how much his Meister is showing, and at the sheer intensity of whatever made him feel this way-- a nightmare, most likely; those are only bound to get stronger after what happened to them-- but he doesn’t let it show. Mello hangs on tight, and Near awkwardly returns the gesture, thinking that curling his fingers tighter around his Meister’s hand may actually help. He’s not entirely sure; he isn’t very good at comforting someone else, even if the someone in question is the person he knows the most about, after himself.

The resonance feels fuzzy like when it did when Mello wielded him after waking up that first time, but now it isn’t just the effects of the drugs: this time it’s the drugs and the jangled mess of emotions coming from Mello’s end, most of which Near could figure out without the aid of resonance. There is a thought that makes itself clear through Mello’s words, though, and after he blurts them out loud, Near can feel the annoyance through their bond.

Near understands it, of course, and he shares Mello’s frustration, but he’s well aware of how powerful a Witch is, and how powerful they aren’t. Not yet.]

So we get stronger, until we've reached the top and can take down a Witch. You know we can do it.

[A direct reference to the doomed future ten years from now, certainly, but Near isn’t even thinking of that: he just knows they can get that powerful if they set their minds to it.]

Edited 2012-11-25 19:22 (UTC)

[Of course that's the answer--the answer Mello's always given to any creeping fear that his best might not be good enough. What do you do? Make your best better. He should've remembered to tell himself that right away; he was gripped too hard by the visceral panic of the nightmare to do it.

The emotions of the dream are receding, leaving Mello to wonder why it was so frightening, when it was something he already lived through (all right, barely, but still). His nightmares are usually both more and less than his mind recreating events, disappointingly blatant from a psychological perspective--foreboding of a threat that never materializes, or finding the flat empty.

Mello does know how strong they can get. The doomed future was averted, but it's proof they can reach Death Scythe status. He doesn't intend for it to take ten years, but is Near really saying he expects both of them to be here long enough to reach that goal, and that he accepts it?

He's fine now, so he pulls his hand away.]

You're ready to commit to that?

[Little by little, Mello returns to his usual self, and Near can feel the changes through their resonance, can see the slight changes in his partner’s body language. When the blond pulls his hand away, Near’s hand feels colder immediately after, but the Weapon ignores that and reaches up to twirl a strand of hair.

Right. Moving on, now.

He looks at his Meister and ponders those words, asking himself the same question. Is it a commitment? Near doesn’t see it that way, not really: it’s only a matter of survival. They’re stuck in Death City-- or rather he is, because Mello has nothing to go back to-- so they need to make sure they are strong enough to survive. It’s as simple as that; until BREW decides to fuck things over for them, they need to reach new levels of power, because they don’t know for how long they’ll be in this world. Naturally, leveling up means becoming a Death Scythe and killing the creatures that almost got both of them killed. Can his Meister understand his reasoning if he puts it like that, though? Or is he really expecting-- or aiming for-- some sort of commitment?]

I’m ready to become stronger. I’ve always wanted to do so.

Even if it means knowing all the work will be erased if you get sent home?

[He didn't realize when he asked his last question, but the parallels are obvious between stepping up their involvement in the war, essentially saying to hell with the chance that they might not get to see it through, not as they both are now, and getting any closer.]

You haven't seemed willing to consider Death City anything but temporary before.

[He has to stop and catch his breath after that, annoyingly.

Mello still plans to get the two of them, L, and Matt safely back to their world, if it's at all possible, but that has slowly shifted from being something he insists to himself will happen into a best-case scenario where the next-best option is as good: all of them staying here after the war ends.]

Has that changed?

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[timeskipping to after Kaworu's visit]

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