❝ someone had hidden it. ❞ but i don’t have to tell you that. carefully intent vision registers the faint surprise that would soften near’s features, a moment of understanding that is quickly extinguished.
and it comes as no surprise, that near is able to connect a mixed voice to a face — a presence. L watches, puzzle piece held between two digits as the younger focuses back on the puzzle at hand. his eyes follow nimble digits as they purposefully lock piece after piece together —- there’s some kind of warmth in the pit of his stomach. admiration, he could call it.
L gathers down on his haunches, missing piece soon placed beside near before palms rest at the rounds of his knees, posture keened forward —- his attention is on the puzzle, too. ❝ i am. ❞ response is soft, he appears curious.
❝ what are you going to do to the boy who hid your piece? ❞
“yes, it had been placed under the table leg.” the reply is instant, confirming what L said and expanding on it; he had already figured it out. quick witted he had deduced that the other child would go for a space low to the ground if not on the ground based on short stature (had he been smart he would have gone for up high to offend Near), and he had been correct. “he wasn’t very good at his prank.”
bored. the children of Wammy’s House offers Near no entertainment, be it from the idea that they either don’t like him or he doesn’t like them is debatable. whichever, though, does not seem to be an issue to the boy who plays with the puzzle pieces once more. he’s much more interested in his toys and solving things, such as identities of strangers in his presence, than what other children think of him.
in a small movement the snowy boy’s gaze moves enough to take in the way hands curl around knees and leans towards him, soft confirmation coming in the form of a whisper. “I assumed so, you’re the only person who would have found the piece as quickly as myself.”
silence follows, though he wonders how, exactly, the other had known he was planning on doing something to the boy. perhaps it had been something they shared; the need to win. winning was what mattered to near, he had nothing else in this life, and so seeking approval of the one who would choose him to be his successor? to win that? it was what mattered. “my countermove is already set up. it’s only a matter of time until it’s carried out.” finally a full glance to L. “you’ve never come in person. why now? it isn’t as if you need any help from us on any current case. perhaps a feeling?”
