Great White

Summary: Nine-year old Mello knew quite well what he liked and didn't like. Near wasn't someone he liked. Near drove him crazy, gave him violent impulses, made him want to hit things, shout and insult- but Mello never knew one of those impulses was to kiss Near. Shota.

Mucho thanks to everyone who reviewed. Keep the love comin'. And in response to a suggestion, yes, the rating will be upped. ;D I just didn't think the first chapter warranted an M rating.

WARNING: Shota shota shota shota shota shota…and shota. Don't like it, turn back now.

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Chapter 2

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"Bloody hell, forget this."

Mello tossed the book in his hands to the floor beside his bed with an irritated huff and flopped back onto his pillow. He closed his eyes and listened to the faint buzz of noise from the other children beyond his walls, again thankful he'd decided to retreat to the solitude of his room, even if it was still a few hours before their mandated bedtime. And he was never more grateful that he had a room to himself.

A lot of the other children liked sharing bedrooms, especially the girls. Mello was not one of those children. Right now, he felt that the added aggravation would just make him give into the urge of ripping the head off a stuffed animal, or something.

The blond sighed and rolled over, burying his head into his arms. Mello had been desperately trying to occupy his mind, to be doing something, so he wouldn't think about what had happened, about what he had done in that quiet, unused room yesterday afternoon.

Mello had bolted without a second thought , completely forgetting about that arbitrary hide and seek contest he was in, but an unlucky person had already been found. It had saved his allowance, at least. After that, he had immersed himself in new activities with the other children, or jumped at the chance to play videogames with Matt, anything he could, really. Mello didn't want to think about Near. He didn't want to think about Near's movements, he didn't want to think about Near's soul-bearing stare, and he definitely didn't want to think about how soft Near's lips had been against his own.

And despite his best efforts, the harder Mello tried to forget, the more his mind rebelled against him. Like a slideshow, Near's shock-ridden face played over and over in his head, the feel of the other boy ghosted across him. It was maddening.

So, after testing out the possibility of a distraction with a strenuous day of physical activity outside (unsuccessfully), Mello had come back to his room after dinner and tried a new approach: reading a book (The History of War in Pre-Modern Europe, one of his favorites). He was hoping that engaging his mind academically would distract him, even a little bit. But his eyes just skimmed over the same words again and again without sticking in his brain.

That left him there, sprawled on his bed, in need of another distraction. It wasn't good to lay there like this, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him busy. Maybe he would go hang out with Matt for a while…

Speak of the devil. The telltale click and thump of his door opening and closing reached Mello's ears, showing that his friend had the same idea. "Matt, did you get any farther in Spy-"

Wait. Matt always burst into his room as he pleased and made a big ruckus, he never quietly opened and shut the door like that, or padded almost silently across the floor like Mello was currently hearing, and Matt definitely wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut this long. So who the hell was in his room? Mello quickly rolled over, his gaze landing on the very last person he wanted to see.

Oh no. No no no.

"N-Near, what…what are you doing?" Mello stuttered out with his eyes going wide, and not just over the surprise of seeing Near in his room for the first time. The younger boy stood close to the bed, already clad in oversized white pajamas. He stared at Mello with that apathetic mask in place, but…no. It was different. More guarded.

The two boys stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, all background noise melting away, all unnecessary distractions just…fading, and it shot a rocket of anxiety into Mello's gut. What was Near here for? What was running through his mind? Did he think Mello was a freak? Did he come to point out how obviously messed up in the head Mello was?

Just when the blond boy was sure his heart was going to burst out of his chest, Near finally spoke up. "Why did you do that?" he asked softly, his large eyes glinting with an indecisive light, implying exactly what he was referring to. Really, what else could it be? Mello found that his throat had closed up, refusing to let him utter a sound. All he could do was blink helplessly.

Near seemed to gain resolution as he took a step closer to the bed. "Why did you kiss me?" the boy's dark eyes were searing a hole into Mello, demanding an answer.

Mello quickly averted his gaze to his comforter, feeling heat flare to his cheeks at the inquiry. What should he answer that with? Did he have an answer? Mello hadn't even allowed himself to analyze his "reason", so how could he give Near an answer?

"I…I…" Mello fumbled around in his mind, refusing to look Near in the eye. His gut was twisting itself into a tight knot, and he faintly wondered if he was going to be sick. Wouldn't that be just bloody perfect. "I…don't know." The blond boy finally admitted truthfully, glancing up to Near's face. Mostly truthful, anyway. 'I don't want to know' would probably be a more accurate response.

Something unreadable flashed across Near's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had shown itself. The younger boy reached out and grasped Mello's comforter, pulling himself up onto the bed and sitting down carefully in front of Mello.

Mello didn't move, and couldn't even if he wanted to. He was frozen in place, unable to lift a finger. If he had been able to move, he would be forcefully shaking himself for his ridiculous reactions to the other boy. It was just Near! Just Near, the quiet, solitary kid who played with toys and built models and did puzzles. Just Near. So why did it feel like a torrent of angry butterflies were whirling in a frenzy around his stomach?

The white-haired boy placed his hands gingerly in front of him, leaning onto them slightly. There was a certain determination swirling in the depths of his dark eyes. "Do it again."

The butterflies in Mello's stomach exploded murderously, beating around madly. He still couldn't move. "What…?" The older boy nearly whispered, much more timidly than he would like to admit. Near didn't back away, didn't break his bold, staring gaze. "Kiss me again."

Mello should have felt anger, annoyance, irritation, anything well up at Near's demand. How could Near just assume that Mello even wanted to kiss him again? Was the little brat really that arrogant? Had Near forgotten that they were rivals? Did he know that boys weren't supposed to kiss other boys?

Mello should have been thinking those things, but as the blond boy's eyes gravitated to Near's uncolored locks of hair, his round cheeks, his mouth…Mello couldn't think up any indignant retorts. Nothing even halfway intelligent. His mind was drawing a big blank. It was almost…frightening.

Mello mentally smacked himself and tried to quell his jitters. Why was he acting like such a scaredy-cat? He wasn't afraid of anything, especially not this kid! And besides, Near wasn't scared. The other boy didn't even look nervous. And there was no way he was going to lose to Near, in any shape or form.

With that thought in mind, Mello pushed the last of his convictions out of his head and leaned forward, placing his lips faintly against the other boy's. The tentative gesture was over as soon as it had begun, but that small contact seemed to restore Mello's confidence. He went back in, pressing his mouth fully against Near's.

Mello's eyes automatically slid shut, and he felt Near lean into the touch. The younger boy's lips were just as soft as he remembered, maybe even more so. The feel was strangely…enticing.

It was Near who pulled away first, but before Mello could protest, the white-haired boy scooted in a bit closer and resumed the kiss on his own, pressing his lips shyly to the blond boy's.

Mello's hands began to grow restless at his sides, jittery to move, to be somewhere. It was really quite aggravating, so he lifted his hands up from beside him and reached out, blindly placing them on the first thing they came into contact with: Near's hips and the fabric layered over them.

The other boy tensed at the touch, but Mello ignored it, wrapping his arms around Near's thin waist and pulling his rival to him. Near made a small noise of surprise at the sudden offset of his balance and quickly put his hands down to the mattress on either side of Mello's legs to regain his balance. It pushed the boys firmly into each other, brushing arms against arms, knees against knees with a surprising prickle of sensation.

Suddenly, like a television he couldn't turn off, images began to flash through Mello's mind, from all those American movies Matt downloaded off the internet when nobody was watching him. The two main characters of the film would, after going through a load of unnecessary drama and sappy romantic rubbish, (and more often, a bunch of flashy fighting scenes) do that odd kind of kissing where they stuck their tongues in each other's mouths. Mello had never understood it. He thought it was a strange thing adults did, and dismissed it as such. But now he was…curious. Why did they do it?

With a hint of reluctance, Mello broke their kiss. "Hey," he spoke in an almost-whisper. "I'm going to try something. Just do what I do, alright?" Near nodded mutely, and Mello sealed their lips together once more, but didn't continue. What was he supposed to do now? He wasn't sure. And would Near even go along with it? Or would he think it was weird and gross?

Mello hesitantly parted his lips against Near's, who paused a moment in confusion before doing the same. Mello took this chance to slip his tongue into Near's mouth, and a tiny gasp escaped the younger boy at the sudden intrusion. Mello continued, sliding his tongue over Near's until the white-haired boy began to reciprocate with uncertainty.

Honestly, it was a strange, foreign sensation- their mouths, their tongues moving against each other slowly, awkwardly- but the longer they went on, the more the awkwardness fell away as they found a rhythm with each other, and the more Mello began to enjoy it.

Their tongues clashed and twisted, growing increasingly heated. There was so much more to this than regular kissing, so much more to take in, and Mello was found himself focusing on Near's unique taste. Near tasted…clean, like mint chewing gum, with a touch of something sweet. Mello was quickly growing to like it. For a brief second, he wondered what he himself tasted like.

They finally broke apart for a proper breath of air, staying inches apart from each other, panting softly. Now Mello saw why those people in the movies did the tongue-kissing. It was fun. Really fun. His stomach was buzzing excitedly, and there was a tingling warmth spreading through his whole body. He liked it.

Mello glanced up to Near's face. The boy's dark eyes were glazed over, his lips were slightly swollen and parted to take in air, and his cheeks were flushed a delicious pink hue. The tingling throughout Mello increased, and he suddenly wondered where else it would be fun to kiss Near.

The blond boy kissed Near's cheek, then went lower to place a kiss to his jaw. Near tilted his head up faintly to give better access, in the process exposing the pale, smooth expanse of his neck. Mello stared at the skin in anxious contemplation. Did it feel as soft as it looked?

Intent on finding out, Mello leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to the boy's neck. And yes, it was very, very soft. He heard a sharp intake of air from Near, and Mello continued by planting a series of kisses down the younger boy's throat. A small moan escaped Near as he squirmed underneath Mello's ministrations, reaching up to clutch the other boy's shirt.

Near leaned back a bit, and Mello took the hint to follow the movement and leaned almost dominantly between the other boy's legs, moving his mouth down to the juncture of Near's neck. The white-haired boy took in a shaky breath before another string of soft moans and gasps welled up in his throat.

The small noises the younger boy was making sent a coil of heat flaring up in the pit of Mello's stomach, giving him an emboldened sense of…need. He needed something to soothe this heat.

Tingling and jittery once more, one of Mello's hands that was sitting snugly on Near's hip snaked around to the small of Near's back, going for the hem of the boy's pajama shirt to feel the soft skin underneath.

And that was when the door of Mello's bedroom swung open with a bang, freezing both boys in their tracks.

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Annnd end chapter 2. Commence the dirty stuff that I suck at writing. Harrah.

Oh, and I appreciate all of you that added me to story alerts/favorite story/author etc. lists, but please try to REVIEW also.

Yeah, reviewing. Comments, suggestions, constructive criticism, anything is welcome. Anything. So please review to motivate me to finish and post the next chapter.