Mello never liked being the second to others, especially Near. Though, it always ended with the latter.
This time, it was time he showed he wouldn't lose.
The boys had thought it'd be great to play a game- gay chicken. When he first heard about it, he scoffed at the idea of this "game". The rules went like this, two people of the same gender go in for a kiss. First one to back out is 'gay' because retreating meant they were unsure of their heterosexuality.
Everything about this felt dumb to him. Nothing about it was logical. For god's sake, this is the Wammy House, intellectuals who might succeed L were raised here. Who knows, there could've been an ulterior motive behind this game such as fulfilling some "very hetero needs".
Nonetheless, he gave in to their demands, haunted by the fact they'd start chanting 'gay' at him for not playing instead.
Sprawled in the living room of the large common room were Matt, Astral, Beyond, and of course Mello himself. Several other kids were huddled nearby, possibly anticipating the event. Not that they were aware of what was about to happen.
Mello felt rather annoyed about it but resolved that remaining calm would be to his benefit.
'Who's going first?' Matt chirps, not glancing up from his Gameboy.
Beyond points to himself 'You're all cowards, of course I'll have to volunteer first.' Mello did nothing but narrow his eyes in response. The older kid may have had a calm demeanour, but that didn't conceal his planet-sized ego.
'With who?'
"Easy," His eyes flew towards the boy not two metres away from him "Astral, sit here."
Astral, despite putting effort into concealing him being nervous, had his face tinged peach.
"Ready?" Scooting closer, Beyond already closing a considerable amount of distance between the two.
Astral merely looked up past his fringe with eyes concentrated on Beyond's face, only hairs apart. Despite the fact his figure seemed to sway, his eyes were still concrete on keeping Beyond's gaze.
Mello was amazed at how Beyond made it seem like he'd done this countless of times. Watching this, Mello felt his pulse tightening, as if he was in Astral's place, planted in the domain of Beyond's presence.
Something strange started fluttering inside him. He felt warmth rise to his face and his breathing pressured. This was absurd. He's seen kisses in movies, he's watched porn. He's never had problems at the sight of them. Surely, he'd been desensitised by now.
But somehow, the thought of actually experiencing this was horribly terrifying, new.
As if Beyond had been stagnant for years on, his advance towards Astral, lips colliding took Mello by surprise. He'd actually went in for it!
What's worse, he didn't just go for a peck. Right now, Beyond and Astral looked like they were in tango, with their lips. Mello's eyes were wide, the heat he felt before amplified. It spread from the regions before and further down his body, second hand embarrassment was only the tip of the iceberg.
A wave of cheers erupted. Looks like a crowd was formed.
"Get a room you guys!" Matt hooted, finally having his attention on something other than his Gameboy. Mello observed him in confusion.
This only made the "battle" more intense. Hands all over, reaching over and under, inappropriate moans escaping Astral's mouth, still sealed with Beyond's and his slick saliva. By now, they'd started worming their tongues into each other's throat. The action reminded Mello of someone searching for long lost treasure.
How was everyone so enthusiastic? Was this a sport? They were comparable to a fire raging. In contrast, Mello was frozen in his spot.
Soon after, actually- a good three minutes of the overly sensual make out session, Beyond finally pulled away from Astral, or rather let Astral go. They were panting, their mixed slobber still smudged all over their faces. Everyone present hooray-ed as the intense match came to a close.
"Looks like we have two winners." Matt cut in, already back on his game.
With that, Mello only realised he'd spent that whole period just having his mind blown watching two boys wiping their faces on each other. The chocolate bar in his hand was soft under the foil wrapping, melted from the warmth of his clammy hands. He'd been so focused he forgot about what was about to happen next.
Oh god, he remembered what was next.
It was his turn.
"Mell, it ain't like you to be silent, cat got your tongue?" Beyond questioned. Mello didn't want to think about anything regarding tongues.
"Shut up," Mello extended his torso forward, facing towards Beyond's direction, "I didn't want to waste my energy." Was that believable enough? Now he stood a little higher, hoping to hide his nerves.
"Looks like it's you and Matt. When will you start, too scared?" Beyond already regained his composure but it seemed Astral was still in a daze, eyes only looking downward. He was sat rather awkwardly.
Matt retorted "Hah! You wish. Just giving you lovebirds a moment of rest, got it?" His eyes were still on his video game.
His posture was relaxed, as if what was about to happen next was not a big deal. Mello on the other hand, kept shifting in his seat slightly, nerves jumpy. He wasn't sure about who was making the first move, that's for sure. That would become a problem later. Wait, when was he never sure?
"Well, I think it's time you fags start." Fag. Mello winced at the word, he had nothing against homosexuals and he knew better than to use that term. He also couldn't bare being called one.
With that, he decided sooner was better. He yanked Matt's arm which was closest to him to his direction, which almost caused Matt to drop his Gameboy.
Matt wasn't too startled. In fact, he had a slight upturn on the edge of his lips, a smirk. Mello's brows were furrowed, eager to get this over with quickly, he pulled his friend closer until they had a fair distance in between them. He stared with pure determination into his friend's eyes and leaned in.
Then he paused, his newfound confidence faded away. He just sat there while his mind went blank. Was he really about to do this?
Matt noticed his friend's little dilemma but ignored it and moved in for a kiss. He was only half an inch away when Mello's own reflexes betrayed him.
His neck retracted like a turtle, pulling his face away from the red head.
At first, he felt glad when he was a safe distance away from the red-haired boy, until he'd heard that dreaded cackle.
"What do we have here?" Beyond was enjoying himself a little too much. Mello felt the strongest urge in his life to slap the older boy across his face.
Then he remembered the crowd around them. Fuck. Now everyone's going to call him gay.
It only worsened when he saw him.
Near was sat in the corner of the room, intently observing the four boys- no, Mello. When had he been there? Definitely not before the game started. He'd have kicked his ass out before any of that happened. If the others knew but chose not to tell them, he'd probably kick them as well. Hold on, he was too focused on the game to notice?
He could feel the weight of Near's stare. Whatever was going through the pale kid's mind, he knew he wouldn't like it.
Mello's stomach churned. Not only was Near going to mock him about his grades. Now, he'll taunt him about this too.
"The fuck are you staring at?" Near knew instantly that he was the one being addressed, not like he hadn't anticipated it.
Mello sat straighter (lol get it), turning his body to face Near, feigning confidence. "You gay?"
Matt was stifled his laughter as to not offend his childish friend. Astral too was now tuned in to the predicament unfolding before their eyes.
"I'm not the one who lost the game" Near turned back to his two robot toys. That was it, Mello was about to lose it. But before that, he caught something. He could've sworn the younger boy had frowned. Near almost never showed expressions, this piqued Mello's interest.
Don't you dare run away.
Then, Mello stood from his spot and strode towards Near. He squatted down in front of Near and practically towered over the white-haired boy who was lying on his belly.
"Prove it." Mello cocked his eyebrow. When it came to competition with Near, he was willing to do anything. This was nothing like the match with Matt or Beyond. Despite that, something inside still felt off.
Near only looked up to reciprocate Mello's challenging gaze. His face was back to its default setting, indifference. Just like a robot. This would only be easier for Mello.
"Okay."
All while he placed the robots aside and pushed himself off the ground, he remained silent. He remained perfectly calm as he sat straight.
"You won't be looking so cocky in a second." Mello didn't say it out loud but it seemed Near caught every word. Near could read Mello better than anyone else. That was frustrating, everything about the younger boy was.
Now, everyone was tuned into the whole ordeal. This seemed pretty ridiculous, a bunch of children crowding around two young boys who were about to kiss. Then again, they were still children after all. Added to the fact that this was Mello and Near, rivals, enemies. They all knew Mello despised Near. This was definitely something you wouldn't want to miss.
Beyond seemed to be very pleased and chimed in with a "So are you lovers going to start or are you going to keep staring at each other."
Mello glared at Beyond for a split second, accompanied by a tut. "Yeah, yeah, we'll make sure to go extra slow."
When Mello looked back at Near, another unexpected thing happened.
Huh? Something was strange, the white-haired boy's face was still, yet there seemed to be a hint of sheepishness. This was odd. Maybe Near was actually... No that couldn't be true.
Either way, Mello pushed those thoughts out of his head. He couldn't afford to lose again. That would only confirm their assumptions of his sexuality. "Mello's gay? Yeah right" He'd decided he'll make the first move to prevent his previous blunder.
In his haste, he must've pulled on Near's collar a little too hard because the pale boy let out a very startled "umf-" sound which was quickly silenced by the other's lips.
After the initial rush, Mello was left with a stiff-as-a-board Near, pursed lips. Silence filled the air as they stayed like that for a good few seconds.
Boring. Mello wanted to roll his eyes. Near wasn't going to do anything was he? He decided he was about to pull away soon, but not until he threw in a small surprise.
And that's what causes Near's eyes to fly open again.
Before he could stop himself, a soft whimper squeezed out of their conjoined mouths. Mello was massaging his lips against the smaller boy. Near could feel the blonde's mouth smirking against his, teeth nipping at his lips which were locked shut.
Near figured he shouldn't remain idle and let Mello take the lead. He couldn't. With all the might his small stature could garner, he channelled it into his lips.
Unconsciously, he sat up from the floor and was now on his knees, one hand grasping Mello's yellow tufts of hair and the other on the ground to maintain balance. He cheered internally when he heard an unmistakable groan of pleasure escape the blonde's throat. He also realised one of Mello's hands were groping him somewhere dangerously intimate
When Mello realised this, it only caused him to go rougher. He waited for the right moment... There! "Nn" was the only sound to come from cotton head as he felt their warm tongues glide over each other. Near could taste the cocoa in Mello's mouth
They didn't know when but soon they'd found a pace. Heat was building inside. It felt like hot lava was coursing in and out of their cells. The magma seeped into his hot saliva which formed a sinful concoction.
Break contact. Near's breathe escapes in exhausted intervals. He must have forgotten to breathe during their duel. Mello was panting as well. He wouldn't admit it but he was feeling the blood rise to his ears, much like a feeling akin to embarrassment was. He'd just made out with Near and it was... His hormones must be acting up.
Near's heart rate was twice the normal. To be frank, this was the most exercise he's done in years. Near couldn't deny facts. He'd really, really liked it. He'd known that he was attracted to Mello all along but not romantically let alone physically. He has never considered kissing him.
Kiss.
He felt that new sensation creep up again.
Mello got up and veered his attention to the other three boys, then the crowd. He had something to settle with them.
He went up to Matt playing the video game and pulled his shirt towards him, going in for a smooch.
"What the?!" Matt shoves Mello in the other direction.
"Who's gay now?"
The group then scattered, all to run away from the golden-haired boy spreading cooties.
Caught up in his revenge, he'd forgotten all about the small pale kid who was sitting starstruck where the whole ordeal too place. The once familiar room now had a new memory adhered to it. The same sensations from just an instance ago still lingered on his currently pink yet petite lips.
Mello forgot to eat his chocolate again.
AFTER NOTE: Yeah, yeah, A and B should be wayyy older than Mello and Near. Let's just pretend they're only a few years older than them?
Oh, and thanks for reading my first ever fic! It's probably a cringe fest. Who doesn't love looking at your past creations, posted on the internet for the public to witness? I surely do!
Anywho, I'm going to continue writing fics for this pairing whose fandom has died down considerably. Curse me and my tendency to enter fandoms way after they're completed. / Looks at HxH and Death Note.
And yes, I drew the cover image myself! I have more pride in my art than writing. It's A and B but it ended up looking like L and Light...
Stick around for more Mellonear fanfiction!
