Inspired so much by Rinna-Kun and her fics, but nowhere NEAR as good.

Disclaimer: i own nothing

~x~

It was snowing.

Mello didn't know where he was. He didn't care. All he knew was that out of the snow there would come some solace. White had always been his color of purity, of life…the color he had loved so for it sheer perfection when he was young.

It was the color he had relied upon, although he wore black. He liked to think of it as his counter-part, his opposite, like an alkali to an acid. The purity that could make him neutral.

Then he had met Near. Golden Number One Near. Near who had stolen this purity.

Mello had never seen anything so pure white. Near's glowing white hair, skin and clothes were as pure and perfect as the snow, and Mello couldn't help but stare. That first day might have been when Mello fell in love with Near.

But when Near had looked at Mello with those emotionless eyes, Mello had felt something falling within him. It was as if he had almost wanted his purity to embody itself in this boy, all the white of snow to pale in comparison to him. It was as if he wanted the boy to be his alkali.

But the cold in those eyes. It made Mello hate him.

Over the years Mello's hatred masked all previous thoughts of Near. He couldn't neutralize Mello! Nobody could.

A black-clad silhouette, stark against the white of the blizzard. His eyes don't focus on anything- not that there was anything to focus on in eyesight. He tries to drown in the whiteness, dull the pain, dull the anger…dull the sharp pang of loss. But the white snow cannot compare to the brilliance of that beautiful boy.

At first, the person in the distance appears to be an oddly regular pattern in the snowfall. But no. As he draws closer, hesitant, unsure of his welcome, Mello sees the endless eyes, the beautiful white locks, the pure, soft, unblemished white skin, the perfect white clothing. Near. It's as if he read Mello's mind, or was drawn here by endless longing. He stopped a few steps away, unsure of how to proceed.

"Near." Mello didn't look at Near, or smile. Just let his name slip through his lips and into the cold, tasting the word as if for the first time. Near shivers. He didn't realize he'd find Mello out here, and was only wearing his usual indoor pajamas.

"Mello." He whispers, reaching a hand towards Mello's face. "Mello…" he repeats. Mello's eyes close, and he leans in as Near strokes his cheek. Near draws closer. Mello's eyes flash open. His twists his arm up, and soon he has Near pinned under his weight, face down in the snow, arm twisted up his back.

"Don't try and tame me, Near" he whispered "You're not my antidote." Near tried to figure out what Mello had said, but for the first time his mind drew a blank. All he can think is the name.

"Mello…please…" his breathing was labored as Mello leaned his weight on his lungs. "Please…" Mello frowned, tried to prevent Near from infiltrating his brain. He shook his head, trying to do what he had longed to do all through the years. Get rid of the one person who could tear his defenses, the one person who could steal his fight. But he couldn't. He couldn't take the life of the boy who lay beneath him, patiently waiting for the inevitable, patiently waiting out of love. Mello released Near's arm and rolled sideways off him, laying on his back in the snow, tears freezing his cheeks as the flowed so freely. Near lay still for a while, then sat up.

"Mello…Mello, I'm cold" Mello glanced at Near. His shirt front was soaked where he'd been laying in the snow. Mello sat up and brushed away a partially frozen tear from Near's cheek.

"I'm sorry" he whispered. "Near, I'm sorry…" he wrapped his arms round the small boy, drawing him inside his coat "I'm sorry…I'm sorry I fell in love with you."

Near lifted his head and planted a timid kiss on Mello's lips. "That's my line, Mello." Mello smiled through the still flowing tears and eased his lip back over Near's, deepening the kiss to a slow, passionate embrace.

When they could bear to break apart, Mello noticed that Near was shivering. He lifted him up, reluctant to leave the perfect moment. "You need to warm up, Near" he whispered, lips against the boys ear. "You'll freeze."

"I'll be fine as long as I'm with Mello." Near's eyes were full of trust and love. Mello smiled and kissed him once more.

"The heating in my room's better anyway…"

~x~

R&R? It wasnt great, but it gave me such peace of mind.