Death Note One-Shots

I'm Here - Protective! Near X Reader

I'm Here - Protective! Near X Reader

(Requested by @Reits_)

Nate River - otherwise known as Near - was someone you had known for a while - nearly twelve years, actually. He had been there ever since you were brought to Wammy's House orphanage when you were eight years old, and Watari had assigned him to look after you when Roger or Watari himself weren't around. Near was only a few months older than you, so he had been almost nine, but aside from the toys that he spent his spare time playing with, he seemed more mature than the average nine-year-old. He was shy and quiet, but when did he speak, his grammar and vocabulary were that of someone much older. He was good at looking after you, since you were shy like him, and he seemed to know how to talk to you. You felt like you could open up to him, tell him anything - he was your best friend.

He was there for you the first time you were bullied. The older children at the orphanage seemed to think they were better than you, and a group of boys has picked up on the fact that you weren't very confident. You were sat with Near by the fireplace, and the two of had been steadily building up a tower made out of wooden blocks, setting up for a game that the box proudly proclaimed as 'Jenga'. You had stiffened as soon as those boys had walked in; you had never much liked them and you had seen them bullying another girl before. When they came over to you and Near, you could only sit and wait for them to do something - and they did. One of the boys stepped forwards and kicked over the Jenga tower so forcefully several of the bricks flew into your face. Later, you would find a bruise forming below your left eye.

Near hadn't tolerated this sort of behaviour. When he stood up to face the boys, despite his quietness, he possessed an air of authority that had them retreating. Near sent them away with a warning of what he might do if they bothered you again - and to your surprise, they hadn't come near you after that. You had never thought of Near as someone that the others would respect and even fear - he had seemed more like you, more like the one who sat quietly and took the bullying without a word.

Near had always been essentially your bodyguard. He had promised to many a time that he wouldn't ever let anyone hurt you, and you believed him. You trusted him with all your heart.
When you were older, you forgot about the promises he'd made you. You went your separate ways and although you followed very similar paths career-wise, your lives became different. You found yourself in a relationship with a partner you eventually moved in with, while Near remained as solitary as he had been before he met you. You got engaged to your partner and you practically forgot about your old best friend. You didn't need him to protect you any more.
Your relationship with your fiancé became less pleasant and he started being more aggressive towards you to the point that he was violent. You argued with him frequently, and didn't enjoy his company any more. But you couldn't escape, because on the day you decided to leave, he prevented you. He stopped you from leaving him and threatened you to force you to stay. You couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the man you had fallen in love with.

He still allowed you out by yourself because he knew how frightened you were. You were too scared to run away or go to the police for fear of what he might be able to do. You were currently sat on a bench in the nearest park to your fiancé's house, with your head in your hands, the rain already having drenched you to the point that your hair was plastered to your face and your clothes stuck to your body. You weren't really paying much attention to what was going on around you, but then again, there wasn't anyone else around just yet.

You heard a car drive down the road that ran alongside the park. You didn't think much of it, until the car slowed, then began to reverse until it came to a halt. An old man climbed out, putting up an umbrella and holding it over the head of a white-haired young man who followed him out of the car. You blinked as you watched them approach, knowing that you recognised them from somewhere - but the rain blurred the details of their features and you couldn't quite make out who they were from this far away - especially when a large rain drop splashed in your eye.