Where Are They Now? (5 Year Edition)

[dead_black_eyes]

This meme was done before in this game, right here, and that is where I am stealing it from. But instead of giving characters the option to return home in this hypothetical scenario, the war is still going on five years from the current date in-game, and BREW still needs everyone.

The question is, what has happened in those five years? The children have become adults, the adults are just a little older without being old, and goodness knows a lot can change in that amount of time. Maybe you're thriving, in your business or your partnership. Maybe not. Either way, with no end in sight, life goes on in the city named after Death.


INSTRUCTIONS

-Post with your characters(s)
-Write a short blurb about what has happened in five years. Love, heartbreak, sickness, wealth, what was in the cards for your Weapon or Meister, and what has it shaped them into? Set a scene for the present.
-Tag others in the scene they kindly set.
-Profit$$$$$$$$

Comments

[dead_black_eyes]

The truth was that both L and Near disliked their visits, and neither of them really made any secret of it. There was no point pretending, no point in behaving superficially to soothe feelings or reassure one party of blamelessness or innocence. Some days were certainly politer than others, but they were never affectionate or gladly tolerated. When Near visited, it felt to L like he was driven to by something other than desire. Fear was a strong motivator, too, and that felt like it fit better, even though Near was far from the superstitious type.

Don't step on a crack, and maybe you won't crack. Throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder to combat the slowest death. Visit your broken mentor in the mental institution to keep yourself firmly on the outside.

The staff were more ready to accept Near as a relative of L's than they were to accept Mello. Because while one was fair and the other was dark, they looked like inverted shadows of each other, especially now that they were both older. The childishness, the youthful faces that had retained their elasticity without the wear and tear of excessive smiles and frowns, the dark, dark eyes that devoured whatever fell into their line of sight... it all rather concerned the nurses that checked him in for his visits, as if there was an underlying time bomb their professions demanded they remain attentive towards. Add to it the fact that Near's infrequent visits were the ones that almost exclusively happened on L's bad days, and it was practically a Pavlovian response of nervousness and bracing for a storm when Near appeared.

The last visit hadn't gone well. L had initially mistaken Near for Bakura visiting at the wrong time, and this was upsetting.

You always come at 6:00. You always come at 6:00 PM, why are you doing this to me? I hate you. Never come see me again.

When Near had come closer, L had realized his error only to replace it with another.

You're L. I thought you'd died. I thought I'd gotten rid of you. Meddling brat.

Much of the visit had consisted of L glaring daggers at Near, even throwing his coffee at the younger man (lukewarm and decaffeinated and harmless), speaking in a nonsensical but uncanny imitation of Light's speech patterns. Japanese was the only language he would produce or respond to, until the end of the visit, when a moment of clarity had warranted a switch to English and the first and only lucid moment of that entire week.

Is Mello better? When we convinced him to agree to this arrangement, it was the best decision we ever made.

Because L had argued vehemently in favor of Sunny Graves. Even after the mission that had brought that rickety structure of L's sanity crashing down on all their heads, Mello had wanted to keep trying to make things work. Sending away L was what Yagami wanted, it was cruel, it was betrayal.

Listen to your partner. I agree with Near, Mello. This has to be done, and I will hate you forever if you make me live with causing your death someday. Please tell me that you can see reason in this case. Don't ignore the evidence just because it's painful.

Near had never had a problem looking at the unpleasant evidence head-on. That was both a strength and a deficit, because it meant that he couldn't fully move past Mello's close call. The more one looked at it, the uglier it became, and L's claims that he had seen a vulture suggested that he selfishly perceived his successors as a threat, even after all his efforts to protect them and professed devotion to their partnership.

Hopefully, this visit would go better than the last one. Since L knew himself, today, it appeared to be going in that direction, at least. Maybe they could finally discuss the incident rationally, with the distance that time had put between them and it.

"Hello, Near," he answered quietly. His fingers twitched; he wanted his chess set, but he would delay taking it out until he needed to. Lucidity was a gift, these days, and it could be snatched away at any moment with the least bit of provocation.

"Welcome to my tomb. You don't have to stay long, because in all honesty, I probably won't, either. Just tell me you're still Mello's partner."