Near and Mello's Early Morning

*I don't own Death Note. (If I did it would stink.)

Near woke up an hour earlier than usual, at 3:00 am instead of his usual 4:00 am. He sat up and twirled a piece of hair around a finger. Then sighed and stood up.
Might as well get this over with.
Near always got up early so he could shower alone. The other boys didn’t like him as much as they liked Mello so they rarely talked to him. And it saved him from the awkwardness of being in a room packed full of boys so different from him that were talking and laughing while he sat like a ghost by himself.
He smiled slightly as he thought of Mello, but quickly snapped out of his slight daydream. Near opened his bedroom door and started for the bathroom closest to the game room. It was farther from his room but he always went to the game room after his shower. It was not worth the trouble to try to go back to sleep and this gave him extra time to do his work.
When he got to the bathroom he grabbed a white towel from the closet and flung it over the shower door. He set his clothes on a nearby bench then turned on the water. As soon as steam started coming from the shower stall he stepped in to the wonderfully hot water.

Mello looked at the clock. He had just finished reading a book he had seen Near reading. He had been determined to finish it before him but now he was thinking it had been a bad idea. The bright 3:14 am seemed to yell at him how stupid it had been. He would just fall asleep and then have to get up for class. It would be better just to get up and take a cold shower to wake up completely. He yawned and stretched before finally heaving himself out of bed.
He stumbled down the hall wishing he had never seen that horrible book in that hateful Near’s hand. The book had been horrible and extremely dry. He could find no merit in the knowledge within those many, many pages.
Mello reached the bathroom that was closest to his room and to the game room and went in. As soon as he stepped inside he noticed the steam and sound of running water.
Hm… someone else must have woke up early. Can’t be very bright. Taking a warm shower will just put him back to sleep.
Mello shrugged, grabbed a towel and got in the next open shower stall. He turned on the water and turned the heat very low. It would be just above shriekingly cold but it would keep him awake.

Near did not hear the other person come in but noticed when the water pressure went down.
Sh**, someone got up early. Well the water is warm and will stay that way for awhile. I can always wait till they leave.
He could hear the other boy showering quickly and then the water turn off.
That was quick. Must have been a cold shower. Good that means he’ll be leaving soon.
Near listened closely for the sound of the door closing behind the boy but instead only heard the sink faucet turning on and then the sound of a comb through hair.
Da**, it was one of the vain boys. I hope whoever it is leaves soon. This water is starting to get cold.
Near listened and listened but the other boy never left and by now the water was freezing. Then all of a sudden the room was plunged into darkness.
Did the ba***** turn off the light?

Mello chuckled quietly to himself.
Whoever is in that shower stall wants me to leave before he comes out. Could it possibly be one of the girls?
By this point Mello had put on his clothes but he liked to sit in the bathroom till his hair dried and this was the perfect chance to annoy someone. He was looking at himself in the mirror when the lights went off and all he saw was blackness.

Well I didn’t hear him leave or go to the light switch so it must be a power outage. I could get out of here while the power is out.
He left the water on and carefully opened the stall door. He grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his hips. Then he stepped out of the stall or at least he tried. He had misgauged something and instead of stepping out he fell flat on his face.
Near was frozen, he couldn’t feel his fingers anymore, and now his entire front hurt from the fall. He knew that the other person had to have heard his fall and his only hope was that it would be one of the boys that did not care anyway about him and would just leave. He couldn’t help himself and as he sat up he started crying softly to himself.

Mello heard the stall door open but ignored it. But he couldn’t ignore the next noise. He heard the thump of flesh hitting floor and then muffled crying.
I should just leave. I’m sure that’s what he wants. But what if he twisted an ankle and can’t walk?
Mello stood up and walked calmly over to the last stall. Before he got all the way there he got down on his knees and slowly crawled closer reaching forward for the boy on the floor. His hand brushed against a towel and he heard the boy whimper slightly.
He must be afraid of the dark.

What have I done. What do I do now. Why couldn’t the person just leave?
He listened as the person got closer and hoped the person would miss him. Then he felt a hand brush over the towel on his leg. Without meaning to he let out a small whimper. He was shaking from being so cold and being this close to another person. A person who might have in the past beat him up.

Without thinking Mello pulled the person closer to him and wrapped his arms around him. Mello’s back was now pressed against the wall and the boy’s back was pressed against his chest. The boy was so cold. Mello started to feel bad.
If I left earlier this wouldn’t have happened. I hope he is ok. His skin is so soft.

Then suddenly the lights came back on. Mello looked at the white hair in front of him and tensed ready to fling this horrible person away from him.

Near froze when the lights came back on.
Oh my god it’s Mello.Near wished he could pull away but he was afraid that might make it worse. He knew by the time he left the bathroom he would be more then cold… he would be hurt. It didn’t matter how smart he was. This was a purely physical game that he had no way of winning.

Mello watched as Near’s eyes grew in shock. He started to shove him away, but then stopped.
It doesn’t matter who the person is. It is still the person I crawled too to comfort. It doesn’t matter that it is Near because he is the one that needs help now.
Instead of shoving Near away he just held him closer. Mello noticed how extremely pale Near was. It was so hard not to. They were sitting on a white floor, and Near was wrapped in a white towel. Everything about Near was white; his skin, his hair. This person of all white made him think of what he must look like. Covered in black it would not matter that his hair was blond. Mello looked down on Near as he held him close.
He’s blushing. Hehe. He’s not so white now.

Near tensed ready for a shove or blows or even yelling but instead something he had never expected happened… Mello hugged him closer. Near pulled slightly away and turned to look at Mello.
“Thank you…” Near whispered quietly.

Mello blushed and used Near’s slight distance away to stand up. He turned to walk away but stopped and turned back to Near. He reached out a hand to help the pale boy up.

Near held on to his towel with one hand and reached up to take Mello’s hand. Mello pulled Near up, but Near noticed that he didn’t jerk him or crush his hand. Near gave a slight smile to Mello.

Mello saw the small smile and smiled back. He leaned forward and brushed a kiss across Near’s cheek. Then turned and walked towards the bathroom door.
“And don’t think this changes anything. I will beat you and become number one,” Mello said over his shoulder before opening the door and vanishing.

Near smiled and brushed his hand across his cheek. Then went to get dressed and start his day.

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