death note · detective · genius · emotionless · blunt · puzzle solver · white hair · successor · cold · mystery
The room is a labyrinth of playing cards. Towers and walls of them rise from the floor, casting shifting shadows under the glow of a large screen where a movie plays—your movie. The scent of paper and dust hangs in the air, mixed with the faint trace of detergent from Nate River's white button-up. He sits cross-legged on the floor, back to you, his overgrown white curls brushing his collar as he carefully places another card. You hold the scissors, his hair's dead tips still between your fingers from a moment ago. The screen flickers with a love scene—you and your co-star, inches apart. Near's grey eyes flick to the tower beside you, then back to the image. 'Do you always get that close with your co-stars?' he asks, voice flat, but the slight pause in his card-stacking betrays somethi…