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Near was in the middle of his comically large bathtub. He had requested for a slightly bigger one as normal so he could surround himself in the rubber ducks he loved so much. Today, there weren't as many because the albino wanted to relax more than play. The past few days had been hard on him, he wasn't getting as much sleep and felt drained out from the pile up of new cases, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. It was something he was often used to, but this time around Near felt a bit overwhelmed from the increasing amount of pressure. Whenever the boy was in the bath at times like this, he enjoyed submerging himself in the water to drown everything out. He wasn't the best at holding his breath so he didn't stay in for long, but it was a peculiar habit he managed to pick up at Wammy's.
Softly, he pulled at his black hair tie to let his white locks fall into the water. Reaching over to the side, Near placed the hair tie on the cabinet before returning back to the middle of the tub. His hair desperately needed washing, but it had grown so long that it became tedious to take care of.
Before Near could find the energy to wash his hair, he heard a soft knock on his door. If it weren't for the ghostly silence in the bathroom, he probably wouldn't have heard it.
"Who is it?" It was probably Lidner, she never let Near's personal time affect her from giving updates on whatever they were working on. He sighed in defeat, wondering what was so important to interrupt bath time.
"It's me."
Oh.
"Mello?" Near squeaked out. He didn't intend for the blond's name to slip past his lips like that, but he hadn't seen Mello in over a week. The albino wouldn't admit it, but he grew restless waiting for the next time Mello would randomly appear - and he definitely didn't expect Mello to come when he was in the middle of personal affairs (bath time).
"Yeah, I said it's me, idiot," there was no venom in his voice as he spoke, only a soft chuckle upon hearing Near, "can I come in?"
Near sat up straight, huddling his rubber ducks around him so Mello could see as little as possible.
"Yeah, you can come in."
Mello's aggressive nature unfortunately never left him, he opened the door with more force than intended and hit the knob against the wall. He flinched slightly, muttering a small sorry before stepping inside.
Gasping in surprise, Near didn't expect to see what he was witnessing. He had expected Mello to walk in with leather plastered all over his body, but instead he was in his boxers staring at the bathtub.
"What? Why'd you think I'd want to come in if I wasn't planning on joining you?" Mello whistled as he grinned at the boy, "Gevanni wasn't kidding when he said your bathtub was ridiculously big."
Near scooted backwards (with his rubber ducks still attached to him) until his back managed to hit one of the sides of the tub. The blond started pulling his underwear off and Near averted his gaze as he felt his face heat up. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other man entering the bath. He then heard splashes of water as Mello sat down.
"What are you doing all the way over there? Don't be scared, it's just a bath. I'm not gonna harm you."
Mello grabbed Near's wrist and pulled the boy towards him, he turned him around so the albino was settled between his legs, his small back against his slightly larger chest. His rubber ducks were long gone and were now drifting to the end of the tub.
"Isn't this so much better?"
He chuckled softly as he heard the boy gasp for the umpteenth time. Mello hid his face in Near's snowy hair, inhaling his scent before scrunching his face up.
"You always smell nice but Jesus, Near, your hair needs a wash."
"I know," he didn't bother trying to get out of this situation, Mello had already asserted dominance when he arrived with no prior notice, "I just don't like washing it. But I know it needs a wash! I'm not gross."
The blonde chuckled again. "How come you don't like washing it?"
Near ran his fingers over some of the locks floating in the water, "it's so long now, my arms get tired when I wash it."
Mello smiled to himself, cute . He ran his finger over the parting in his hair, separating Near's hair into two and placing the sections on either side of his shoulders. He leaned down to the patch of his exposed neck, kissing the area lightly, enjoying the way Near slightly froze up.
He mumbled against his skin, "but I like your hair long."
Blushing from what he just heard, Near was glad they were sitting like this after all. "Thanks…" he bit the inside of his cheek to calm his racing heart.
"Maybe I should wash it for you then."
Before Near could protest, Mello was already leaning towards the shampoo and conditioner whilst he protectively held the albino to his chest.
"Don't worry, I've been told by many that I'm good at this."
"I'm going to assume that the only person who's told you that is Matt, and he probably told you that to not hurt your feelings."
Mello rolled his eyes, gently tugging at Near's hair to give him a warning.
"Meanie." Near pouted to himself, it didn't even hurt but his heart swelled up for an odd reason.
"No funny business, unless you want all this shampoo in your eyes?"
Near shook his head, spraying a bit of water on the walls. He heard the shampoo bottle snap open, and felt a weight on his head as Mello squeezed the contents out.
As soon as Mello's fingers were in his hair, he sighed happily, tilting his head back to give the blond easier access. He loved the way Mello's nails would sometimes scratch at his scalp, the way Mello's soft thumbs rubbed behind his ears, the way Mello would brush hair from his forehead before planting a kiss there. He loved it all, and he felt so loved.
"I love you."
The albino hadn't processed what he said until he felt Mello's finger still in his hair, he panicked a bit and was about to make a silly excuse before Mello spoke up first.
"I love you too."
They fell into a comfortable silence, their slight touches to one another conveying all hidden emotions. Near tangled their feet together under the water, Mello peppered little kisses anywhere he could.
It felt nice, it felt nice to be loved.
Mello filled the jug with water, pushing Near's head back and covering his eyes as he washed the shampoo out.
"Alright, conditioner next and then we can get out."
Near nodded, he didn't trust his voice yet. He might seem calm on the outside, but on the inside his heart was racing. No one ever expects to fall in love with someone they were destined to always be against, but Mello had the tendency to break walls down and it's not like Near was one to follow all the rules. The two of them were always going to fight against the universe, fight against those who didn't approve of what they had now. But it didn't really matter what anyone else thought, Near wouldn't mind giving everything up if it meant he could spend nights like this with the one he loved more often.
The albino was so busy thinking about Mello that he hadn't realised he was done washing his hair. He felt arms wrap around his waist as the blonde put his chin on his shoulder. Near turned to look at him and was greeted with a soft kiss on the lips, he could hear the silent i love you's being passed through the kiss. And for a moment, Near forgot about everything else in the world. He forgot about the cases waiting for him, the responsibilities of being a detective at such a young age, the troublesome worries he had to deal with, the burdens he carried on his shoulders. None of it mattered if Mello was by his side, he didn't need anything or anyone else.
He didn't notice his tears at first, but as they started to roll down his cheeks he couldn't help but sob.
"Hey, hey," Mello pulled away and turned Near around so they were facing each other, "what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He grabbed the boy's face and wiped his tears away with his thumbs. Near looked up at him with watery eyes, the blond felt his heart swell at that, he looks like a sad puppy. Mello planted kisses all over Near's face until the albino was starting to smile slightly.
"Are you okay?"
"I- I'm," Near took a deep breath before starting again, "I'm just so happy, Mello, seriously. I've never felt this way before, I've never been this happy."
"God, you're going to make me cry too, I'm happy as well. I'm so happy." Mello smiled as Near beamed up at him, it was like the boy had stars in his eyes. He was beautiful and all Mello wanted to do was kiss him silly, so he did.
After Mello had finished torturing Near with his endless kisses, the two of them made their way into the bedroom and onto the bed. The albino was in Mello's lap. He was watching the older boy put little sky blue socks on his feet, Mello had grabbed some socks as soon as Near said something about his feet being cold. Other than that, he was only wearing his long silk pyjama shirt and bed shorts underneath. Mello had put some lounge pants on, but didn't bother with a top. Near blushed a little whenever he was caught staring at him.
Once he was done, Near wiggled his feet happily as he sank into Mello's hold further. The blond had a firm grip around his waist, and was leaving teasing kisses on the albino's neck. Near sighed, gasped and laughed every once in a while. He felt butterflies in his stomach each time Mello touched him, it was like electricity was flying through his entire body.
Mello massaged his fingers into Near's scalp, "Alright, we need to do something about your mop of hair." He teased as he got up, opting to just carry Near as he didn't want to let go of the boy just yet. This time, Mello felt butterflies in his stomach as Near wrapped his tiny arms around his broad shoulders.
"Do you want me to brush your hair?" Mello asked as he picked up the brush and plopped down onto the floor, keeping Near in his lap but patting the space in front of him.
Near didn't know why Mello even bothered asking if he was that eager, but his eyes still lit up as he nodded and crawled off his lap onto the floor.
"It's like you're Rapunzel, especially if you keep growing it out. Who knows how long it'll get." Mello softly laughed, running his fingers through Near's hair before starting to brush it.
"Does that make you my Prince Charming?"
"Was- what's he called…. Flynn? Was he even a prince?"
"Eugene, Mello, his name was Eugene. Get it right!"
Mello ran the brush through Near's hair with a bit more force in retaliation to the albino's comment, all it did was make the boy giggle to himself.
"Does that mean you're not gonna call me Mello anymore?"
"Maybe….. Mihael ….. Do you like being called that?"
He stopped brushing for a minute to pull Near's head back, pecking him on the forehead as he mumbled, "I don't care what you call me, I'll like whatever you decide on."
"It's still a bit weird using our actual names with one another, but I will try and use Mihael more often. It's a beautiful name. I like it."
His eyes softened at Near's slight confession, he set down the brush and gathered the boy up in his arms. His hair is fine, I'll brush it again later if I have to.
"And Nate is a very beautiful name too, we can take stuff like that slow. Don't worry about it, angel."
Near smiled at him like that , and it took every bone in Mello's body to not pounce on him.
"I'm surprised I'm worthy of the angel status. Knowing how religious you are and all." Near played with the rosary around Mello's bare chest, blushing even more than usual.
"Well, you're my angel, it's fine. I'll let it slide this time."
Mello tucked Near's hair behind his ear, swirling some of the locks loosely around his fingers.
"I love you so much." Near whispered.
"I love you so much more."
As Mello continued to play with Near's hair, the albino leaned his head against his chest. It was soothing listening to Mello's breathing and the beating of his heart. He loved Mello so much, more than he could put into words. He hoped with time, he'd get much better expressing his feelings. He didn't want to give this up.
He wanted to stay like this forever.
He wanted to be with Mello forever.
And hopefully he will be.