Near sat comfortably on his matress, which was placed on the floor in front of his small T.V. set. He yawned as a commercial came on, listening to Onion rustle around in her bag somewhere behind him. It was a Tuesday, and despite the fact that Onion had just turned seventeen, she still stayed in Near's room once a week. She heard him yawn and said,
"Your internal clock must be winding down for the night, hm?
"Yes," Near replied, "But there's not actually a clock. It is only a rhetorical figure of speech." He felt the need to remind himself that this was not to be taken literally. Onion was used to this type of thing, so didn't acknowledge it,
"Near, I'm going to change into pajamas, alright?" Near nodded and continued watching the late night cartoons on his television screen. After a minute or so, he heard Onion groan,
"Crap…I accidently brought the pants that Matt dumped soda on, " she said, "Can I put these in the hamper and then just borrow a pair of yours?"
"Yes, that's fi…" he trailed off when he turned to look at her. She was standing by the dresser, wearing a blue braw with yellow trim, and blue boy shorts with a star on the thigh. Near also mentally noted the two barbells above her hipbones, which he'd never seen before.
"So, I need to put these in the hamper real quick…" Onion said, pants in hand. Near's mouth went dry as he watched her walk all the way across the room, past him, and to the bathroom. Once she'd disappeared from sight, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and tried to assess the situation in his head,
'What's wrong with me?' Near thought frantically, 'I mean, yes, I have always had a slight "crush", as they would call it, on her…but right now…it's different. Maybe this is how adolescant boys are supposed to feel when a situation, such as this, arises…?'

Just then, his mind stopped funtioning properly as Onion walked out of the bathroom. Near couldn't think of anything to say to her, but she didn't mind,
"There we go!" she smiled, "Now for the clean pair…" Once she started back across the room, it was suddenly as if Near was no longer in control of himself. It seemed like he was watching himself from the outside, reaching out to take hold of her wrist, pulling her closer to his level, and then, without warning, kissing her on the lips.

It was a quick, slightly off-centered, chaste kiss that surprised him as much as it did her.

Onion gasped a little, blushing when he swiftly pulled back. Near's icy blue-grey eyes grew wide as he realized what he'd done. Then, suddenly, he curled in on himself, hiding his face, twirling his hair, and making a soft humming noise. Onion bit her lip,
"Near…it's okay, come here…" she said quietly. When he didn't answer, she sighed, "Don't do this Near…it's alright, I'm not mad…" she moved towards him, slowly reaching out and putting a hand on his head,
"Please sit up and look at me…" After a moment, Near did as he was told, but was unable to look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry," he said, sounding shaken, "I don't know what got into me." Onion watched his hands twitch from lack of holding a toy, so she took hold of the one that wasn't in his hair,
"Things like this happen at our age," she said with a small smile, "It doesn't matter that we're…different, than most teenagers…things like this are normal." she squeezed his hand slightly, waiting for some sort of response. Finally, Near spoke in a small, quiet voice,
"That's it, then."
"What do you mean?" Onion asked, just as quietly.
"That was my first proper kiss…and it isn't likely that I'll ever be in a relationship, and you're with Mello…" he hesitated, "So that was most likely my last kiss as well."
"Oh...Near…" Onion realized no why he would be upset, "It doesn't have to be like that…"
The two of them sat in an awkward silence, neither knowing what to say.
"I…I wish I could kiss you again…" Near said, almost inaudibly. Onion looked over and swallowed, thinking of what she should do. After a moment of internal conflict, she spoke,
"If…if you want, you can," she replied, "I can show you what real kissing is like." For the first time in minutes, Near looked up, his eyes wide,
"We couldn't do that…what…what about Mello?" he sounded like he was considering her offer, despite his words.
"You don't worry about him," Onion said, trying to reassure him, "I know for a fact that he and Matt have done a lot more than just kiss, which is all that we would be doing. He would never have to know."
"But--"
"Near, you have as much right as anyone else to experience something like this," she said, "It would be no big deal." The boy thought it over very carefully for a moment, and then…
"Okay." Onion smiled slightly,
"Alright, would you like to lay down or sit?" she asked, "It's all your decision." Near shook slightly, being nervous, and all, but still thought about the two choices,
"L-lying down seems like it would be more comfortable…" Onion nodded in agreement, lying down on the mattress, waiting for him to join her. He breathed in deeply before copying her actions, trembling anxiously. Onion moved forward, cautiously putting her arms around him,
"Calm down…" she whispered, petting his hair, "There's no need to be nervous; it's just me…" Near felt his cheeks heat up once he realized that Onion still didn't have any other clothing on. He squirmed uncomfortably as she watched him closely.
"Near…it's all right." He nodded hsitantly, surprised when she kissed his cheek, "Any time you want to stop, just say so, okay?" she said, taking hold of his hand and placing it on her waist. Near swallowed and nodded again,
"Yes…"
Onion scooted a bit closer to him, then gently pressed her lips to his. He was motionless for a moment, not having the slightest idea of what he was doing, and then he deepened the kiss slightly, moving closer to her. He was confused when she pulled back a little, but then found that she wasn't stopping, she was just repositioning her mouth against his. He was trying to mimic her actions to the best of his ability, but every movement seemed awkward. As he tried to think of what he could do to fix this, he suddenly felt Onion's tongue on his lips.
"Nng!" Near pulled away, becoming tenser than he was before. He tried to calm his breathing, but it wasn't working. Onion brushed some hair out of her eyes,
"Near, I'm sorry, I--" she began, but was cut off,
"No," Near mumbled, "I wasn't paying attention and it startled me." She sighed and pulled him close, their bodies touching,
"I believe that you were actually paying attention a little too much," she said in a low tone, "What you need to do is relax, clear your head, and do what feels good." Near blushed and nodded,
"I'll try…" Onion smiled,
"Good…" she put her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead, nose, cheek, and jaw. She kissed him gently on the lips, murmuring,
"Close your eyes and relax…" Near hesitantly closed his eyes as he leaned in to kiss her before she got to him first. After a minute, he felt her tongue flicker across his bottom lip once more, so he calmed himself and allowed her to slip her tongue inside his mouth.
Though Onion kissed him with passion, he remained still. Near soon received a gentle poke in his side, encouraging him to move. This seemed to make things better; he smiled into the kiss, reminded that he was with Onion. Onion, who he cared for and trusted. And with that, the boy started to lightly caress her tongue with his own. For a reason unknown to him, this made Onion's breath hitch, and she pressed ever closer.

Suddenly, Near gasped, and the kiss was broken,
"W-what's the matter?" Onion asked, out of breath.
"My…my arm got twisted backwards," he replied, rubbing the appendage, "M-maybe we should sit up…" She nodded,
"Yea…let's…let's do that…" She sat up, her eyes bright and awake, looking at Near in an expecting way. He, on the other hand, took his time sitting up, stretching, and positioning himself in front of Onion.
"Okay," he said finally, "I'm ready."
Onion wrapped her arms around him, not even bothering with a closed-mouth kiss. Near did his best to keep up with her and seem like he was dominant, but that just wasn't happening. Onion pulled away suddenly,
"N-near…you can touch me, you know," she said, "You can rub my back, o-or put your arms around my neck, or hold me…you don't have to just sit there." Now, Near wasn't too good at reading people, but he had the feeling that she was actually asking him to do those things, not just informing him that he could,
"Okay, Onion…" he said quietly. He moved to sit on her lap (something he did on a daily basis), facing her and putting his arms around her neck.
"There…" Onion said, then kissed his neck, softly sucking at the skin, "Can't have hickies…" she mumbled. Near just nodded incoherently, his heart pounding, a sigh escaping his throat. His eyes were half open as Onion's mouth traveled to his collarbone and nipped at it lightly, making him whimper.

Near put a hand on her cheek to bring her face back to his, and kissed her deeply. Onion kissed back, making content little moans as she did. As they kissed, it was becoming clear that this wasn't only for Near. This was for Onion as well. Near was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Onion unbuttoning his shirt. As she got the last button, he pulled away, panting, his face red and sweaty,
"O….Onion…s-stop…" he said, "We have t-to stop…"
She looked down at him, also panting, with a look of need in her eyes.

--

Near lay with his head on Onion's torso, toying with one of the hip piercings,
"So, when did you get these?" he asked quietly, breaking the awkward silence that had been going on for 20 minutes.
"Hm? Oh, those?" he glanced in time to see her put on a distant little smile, "Mello said that it'd be sexy if I got them…"
"I see…" And the silence was revived. Five minutes passed before Near heard quiet sniffling sounds. He sat up to see Onion crying softly,
"I-I'm so sorry…" she said, not looking at him. He wasn't quite sure what he should do at this point,
"Sorry for what?" Near asked, starting to twirl his hair. Onion sat up,
"For taking advantage of you…that was wrong…"
"Why did you do it?" At these words, she started sobbing, putting her head in her hands,
"I-I didn't mean to! At f-first I was doing it for you, and simply going through the actions…" she said, wiping her eyes, "Then I thought that I might as well enjoy it and use it as a way to get back at Mello. But…t-then…" Near tilted his head as she trailed off, then crawled over and put an arm around her shoulders,
"But then?" he encouraged her subtely, wanting to hear the reason. Onion sniffled,
"T-then, when you started kissing me back, I realized how lovingly it was…and…and how long it had been since someone kissed me like that," her voice broke, "I…I just g-got too into i-it and was g-going to see how far you w-would go…" Near listened to her cry for minute or so while he processed her words. Finally, he put his arms around her and held her close,
"If we were supposed to be together, we would already be together," he said quietly, "It may not seem like it, but Mello loves you very much. I should've never agreed to this…but…" he lifted her chin and kissed her delicately on the lips one last time, "Thank you…I know we can't do this anymore…and though it shouldn't have gone so far, I hope that I helped you." Onion looked up, wiping the tears out of her eyes, smiling slightly,
"Yes…you did." she hugged him tightly, petting his hair, "Someday, Near, you're going to find a girl who is crazy for you, and you won't need me anymore." Near breathed in and closed his eyes as he laid his head on her shoulder,
"That will never happen…" he whispered.
"And why's that?" she asked.
"Because…I will always need you, Onion."

-owari-