#detco note

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Matt, terrifyingly, was crying.

“Shh,” Mello hissed, flailing around slightly as his eyes adjusted to the darkness before he successfully clamped his hand over Matt’s mouth. He didn’t know what to do when this kind of thing happened. Near never cried because he was a robot and Matt never cried because he was a stoner in every sense but physical. “You have to be quiet, they’re gonna hear us.”

Matt cried louder. Mello cast Near a panicked look that he would later deny to every living soul. You always know what to do, so help me out here!

Near’s eyes flashed. “L will be here soon,” he whispered. He reached over, then looked up at Mello in silent question. Mello, understanding, shifted to give Near access to the crown of Matt’s head; Near carded his fingers through Matt’s hair. “He’ll be here and everything will be fine. Right, Mello?”

“Yeah,” Mello said. How could he have forgotten? “Yeah. Duh.”

Matt’s sobs died into hiccups. “Promise?”

Near hesitated.

“Promise,” Mello said into the pause. “I promise.”

Another half-hour crawled by, every silent second like ants on Mello’s skin, before someone knocked on the storage closet they were packed into. The special Junior Detective League’s knock. Mello gestured for the other two to stay back before cracking open the door just a sliver.

It wasn’t L. Mello, who had craned his face upward expectantly, stared in temporary confusion at the empty space before looking down to see Asahi. “There you are!” He’d assembled his face into a facsimile of relief. “Come on, we don’t have time.”

“Where’s Ryuga?” Matt piped up like the idiot he was.

“Holding them off. Now come on.”

Mello glanced back. His gaze skipped past Matt’s glowing smile to land on Near. He raised his eyebrows.

Near made eye contact, then dipped his head into a reluctant nod. We can’t trust him but he’s probably telling the truth right now.

Mello spun back around. “Fine,” he said to Asahi, pushing the door open. The junior detective trio tumbled out. “Lead the way or whatever.”