InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Like eating eggs with a spoon."

Near (blank_puzzle) wrote,
@ 2008-01-17 00:45:00

o13.
[[Continued from here.]]

Near nodded agreeably; "building stuff" was pretty much his number one hobby anyway.

"All right. Well, there are more dice in the boxes," He nudged a box under the table with his foot, "So you can build something to go with the castle, if you want, or something entirely different." He shrugged. "It's up to you."

He wasn't intentionally being cold, but after last night's realization that there were certain topic areas and ideas that made Mello angry and uncomfortable, Near had decided that it would be better not to make any assumptions in the future. As a result, he was keeping a slight distance, but he didn't think that was being... Whatever it was Mello thought he was. He sighed, adding another few dice to his castle, and glanced over at Mello, curious as to what he would choose to make.

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burnt_chocolate
2008-01-17 12:55 am UTC (link)

Mello knew well enough that he had Near cornered, in a sense. He pretty much knew that the younger boy was absolutely full of it and that he would very much behave weirdly if he were to take his vest off and try to carry on as per normal. The thing was, however, that Mello didn't know exactly what he should do with that revelation. So, Near was blushing (his skin was so pale that it was obvious whenever he did, even if it was very slight), and Near was blushing at the threat that he would take his shirt off. It wasn't a matter of modesty, or of distaste for nudity... or at least Mello didn't think it was, not considering Near's easy acceptance of being seen in the nude not very long ago. It wasn't the concept of a bare chest that bothered him, or got whatever sort of rise this was out of him: it was the thought of him-Mello- being shirtless and sitting next to him. Or, at least that was an option. Either that or Near, while being relatively unashamed of his own body, didn't much like other people being under dressed around him.

Mello would have been remiss if he didn't call Near's bluff, at least in part, unzipping his vest but leaving it on his body. It certainly was cold as hell in here, even for being indoors...

"Why don't you turn up the heater? You're in thin cotton at best- you must be cold, too."

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blank_puzzle
2008-01-17 01:16 am UTC (link)

Bloody hell. Well, if nothing else, this situation had taught Near one valuable lesson: never play chicken with Mello. He did his best to ignore the now partially nude Mello beside him, keeping his attention on the dice.

"I did warn you," he sighed, resolutely not lifting his gaze from the little cubes in front of him. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen Mello without his vest on already, anyway. ...Or that he wanted to. But even if he did, he'd seen it already, so what would be the point? "I'm fine as I am," he continued. "But if you really must keep your shirt off, then maybe you should go find the thermostat and turn it up yourself." That sounded suitably uninterested, didn't it?

The truth was, Mello was only half-right. Near was not particularly comfortable being nude around other people, and slept without clothes on the understanding that people did not typically barge into his room while he was in bed. So, while he was not especially modest or shy, he was definitely unaccustomed to being unclothed around other people, and even more unaccustomed to other people being unclothed around him. The fact that it was Mello only made things even more bizarre-- Mello was probably the last person Near had thought would be wandering around half-dressed in his company. It was odd, to say the least, and what was even more odd was the fact that it seemed to make Near more vulnerable and uncomfortable than it did Mello... At least, so far as Near could tell without looking directly at him.

Which he wasn't. And didn't intend to. And wasn't going to. Absolutely not.

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