He knew he shouldn't have gone outside.
Near winced and let out an involuntary whimper as his body continued it's (highly persuasive) argument against leaving the house ever again.
For, at Roger's insistence and the promise of the new Optimus Prime action figure, Near had gone to the beach with the other children of Whammy's House and had somehow, despite liberal amounts of sunscreen, managed to sunburn nearly every part of his body rather badly.
Deciding that lying there and wallowing in his pain wouldn't make it hurt less, Near slowly got up and made his way to the bathroom, hoping that a cold shower would soothe his skin somewhat.
After several minutes of pure agony, Near made it to the bathroom and turned the shower on as cold as he could stand (which was pretty damn cold). He then removed his boxers (shirt and pants having already been dismissed as sunburn irritants), and was about to step into the shower when a loud crash echoed around the bathroom.
Near glanced over toward the door and suppressed the rather strong urge to swear. He had been so wrapped up in the pain of his sunburn, he had forgotten to lock the door, which had just been opened by a now stunned Mello.
Suddenly regaining use of his vocal chords, Mello began to laugh, clutching the doorframe for support.
"Holy shit Near" Mello gasped out in between giggles (yes, I said giggles). "You look like fucking Valentines Day."
At that, Near finally turned to look at his reflection in the mirror over the sink. Sure enough, some parts of his body were only sunburned a light pink, leaving Near a very Valentine-y combo of pink, red, and white.
Just as Mello was gearing up for another crack at Near's predicament, a call came from the nearby hallway.
"Mello. Near. Where are you two?" Mello's smirk turned absolutely Kira-worthy as he replied.
"We're over here,." He called. Near could hear the blonde's smirk growing as his eyes darted around the room, trying to find a way to escape not currently being blocked by Mello.
Seeing none, Near gave up and quickly pulled his boxers back on, fighting back tears at the thought of what was about to happen.
Right then and there, for the first time in his life, Near truly hated Mello. For barging in on his shower, for laughing at his condition, and, most of all, for revealing his weakness to HIM. To L.
L. Near's mentor, occasional playmate, and secret crush for as long as he could remember, possibly even before that.
Knowing he had only seconds of dignity left, Near forced his face into it's usual mask of cold indifference as L stepped into the doorway behind Mello.
Obsidian eyes widened slightly as they took in Near's obvious (to L) distress, and Mello's Kira like smirk.
Mello's smirk, however, quickly slid off his face as L turned to the blonde and asked, voice warming with a slight edge of anger, "Mello, is there a reason why you are preventing Near from showering?"
Mello looked a bit shocked, and started attempting to explain, L's anger clearly not the reaction he had been expecting.
Ignoring Mello's sputtering, L turned to Near and held out his hand, voice returned to its usual monotone.
"I have something in my room that should help. This happened to me quite often when I used to go out more."
Near nodded and took L's hand, walking past the still stuttering Mello, and into the hallway.
L's room was on the other side of the orphanage, but L knew several shortcuts and back hallways, so they arrived in good time, and no one witnessed Near's predicament.
Opening the door to his room, L ushered Near in before shutting the door and walking over to his dresser.
While L was searching through his drawers for something, Near looked around for a place to sit, and, seeing nowhere else, sat down on the bed.
Turning around with a triumphant smile, L proudly held up a small jar of what appeared to be brown paste, which he then opened.
Walking over to Near, L sat the jar down on the bedside table before settling onto the bed behind Near.
Scooping up some of the brown substance, L began to gently rub it on Near's back, leaving the boy to spread it on the front half of his body.
2 minutes in and Near's movements stopped completely in favor of focusing on L's long, bony fingers gently kneading the muscles in his back and shoulders.
Near couldn't help the small noise of protest when L stopped his massage, but the detective merely scooped up more of the paste and reached around Near to start working on the albino's arms and hands.
Letting his head fall back to rest on L's thin shoulder, Near sighed in contentment and closed his eyes, allowing himself to sink into the soothing feel of L's hands and the sweet scent that seemed to cling to every inch of the raven haired man behind him.
Suddenly, the air in Near's facial area changed, becoming much warmer and… strawberry scented!?!?!?!
Opening his eyes, Near jumped slightly when he found that L had turned his head so their faces were an inch apart at the most.
They sat there for a bit, both frozen where they were, until Near, realizing that L was leaving the next move up to him, leaned forward, closing the last bit of distance between them.
L's lips were incredibly soft. Near had always thought they would be chapped, and was suddenly worried that it would bother L that Near's own lips were rather chapped and bitten.
L, however, didn't seem to mind at all, indeed, he pulled Near closer to him and turned the pale boy around so that Near was facing him, chest pressed against L's as Near used the new position to slide his arms around L's neck.
Seeing that Near was open to this, L licked his lips, silently asking for entry, which Near granted, his tongue shyly rubbing against L's.
Slowly, Near gained confidence, and after a short break for air, their lips were back together and Near began to explore L's mouth.
The detective tasted of strawberries and frosting, a taste which Near decided he could get used to, even though he wasn't very fond of sweets.
Sunburn forgotten, the two spent the rest of the afternoon there in L's room, moths and hands roaming as they pleased.
Much later, when they curled up to sleep, Near still held tightly in L's arms, Near decided that perhaps going outside wasn't so bad. It had been rather fun seeing the ocean up close. And now he had a sure-fire way to deal with being burned.