Me again ^u^. Apologies for being so late with this second chapter, I had no clue how to continue from the last and I simply couldn't find the time before now to jot down ideas. But now I'm back! And I'm putting off my mountains of last minute studying to bring you my next crappy instalment. You have been warned...

P.S. In case anyone gets confused, I'm starting this chapter following straight on from the three months before part of the first chapter, then it goes back to the present day.

Mello's fingers wound themselves around and around in Near's messy locks as he once more pressed his own mouth against the other boy's lips. The response was whole hearted this time, Near pushing his body forwards, towards the leather-clad blonde's chest. Said blonde dragged his lips down onto the albino's throat to nip and suck at the milky white skin, transforming the perfect, smooth flesh into a field of red and purple blossoms that were sure to still be there the next morning. Near gasped at this new sensation, pain turning the noise into almost a whimper, and then a deep moan. At that, he felt himself being pushed against the floor and fingers wrapping around his waistband.

And that was when the trouble really started.

Mello sat impatiently on the edge of his bed. Three fucking hours. It had taken three whole mothershiting hours for the police to arrest the suspects and then formally charge them, and this had forced him far beyond his snapping point.

But he still had his pride. Everyone else had gone home long ago, and now it was just him and Near, alone in the building, waiting for the other to break.

And Mello was not one to break easily.

His bed was laid out, as usual, with black silken sheets, despite the obvious problems this caused when needing to remove… certain stains. Mello had insisted on re-decorating the entire room to soon after he'd arrived in Near's lair, and he was proud of his accomplishment. The walls were black. The carpet was black. The curtains were red. He had black candles in the black chandelier in the middle of his black room and a mahogany table in the corner, which gave an air of nobility to the surroundings.

Just when Mello was enjoying the silent moment taking in his creation, there was a knock at the door. He couldn't help but sneer at his victory so early into the game.

"Yes, Near?" Mello tried not to let his sudden surge of pride reveal itself too soon through his voice.

The door cracked open about a foot and Near stepped through into the half-darkness.

"I just wanted to wish you goodnight. You worked well today."

The patronising tone of the last sentence caught Mello off guard, but he told himself to keep calm.

"Don't even fucking pretend that that's all you wanted."

Whoops, so much for calm.

Near froze for just a split second, before lifting a single, limp hand to play with his curls.

"I think you may have misunderstood our agreement…" he whispered, before being cut off by the blonde's quick temper.

"There wouldn't even be an agreement at all if you didn't want to be fucking me Near." The albino's eyes widened little, his mouth hanging slightly agape in shock as he realised he wasn't sure how to both defend himself and keep Mello from potentially committing a felony at the same time.

"Just admit your 'reward' system is a nothing but excuse to ride cock once in a while." The leather-clad blonde rose for the bed and started towards the door. "Can you stop pretending to hate it for just one night at least? It'll make things a lot easier for us"

Near remained silent, and to anyone but Mello, it would probably have seemed to be out of pure astonishment. But the older ex-Wammy's student had known the small complicated boy too intimately and for far too long to be convinced by his façade of near purity. Though not a single muscle on his face twitched under the heavy pressure in the room at this moment, Mello could see the workings of his mind through his steel grey eyes as a watchmaker studies his mechanism.

Because, Mello thought, what Near now expected him to do was jump up, run over to him, throw him onto the bed and ravage him – but that was nowhere near what he had planned for tonight. And if the pure white genius had known about the lust radiating from his metal orbs straight into Mello's cerulean blues, he might have figured this out for himself; that his old rival would no longer be satisfied with being treated like a pet that needed feeding.

Oh no, he wanted a lot more from Near than just the use of his body right now.

Mello stopped his stride right in front of his victim, as he had the first day he had arrived at the SPK. He waited for his cue.

They were close enough to hear each others' quickened breathing. Near was preparing himself for the hand that usually grabbed his shoulder and dragged him to his 'duties', but it didn't come.

The situation was getting nearly awkward, the two men just standing there, staring into each others' eyes, waiting for the other to make his move. Near wondered what the other was waiting for – this stony silence wasn't what he had expected when he had started making his way to Mello's bedroom to 'make sure he was well'. Why wasn't he kissing him yet? The albino glanced at his companion's soft, pink lips, and felt a pang of desire. A lump rose in his throat which he quickly swallowed.

This was more than enough permission for Mello. He reached out one gloved hand and gently brushed it against the side of Near's face, before bending down and touching his mouth to the other's. He left them there, unmoving, until he felt the albino's lips tilt up into his. Softly, he began kissing him, slowly and tenderly, refusing to go further or faster until Near gave the signal to.

When he felt the smaller boy open his mouth for Mello's entrance, he had to hold back a sneer. This proved that Near could ask for what he wanted if pushed hard enough, which meant the blonde had won.

Benevolently, Mello ran his tongue slowly over the other boy's small, pale lips, before sliding it into his mouth. Near gave a little gasp, and Mello pushed further, rubbing their tongues together lightly.

Then he quickly pulled back, and admired his work. The pyjama clad bow was clearly blushing and his breathing was shallow and swift.

Mello grinned.

"You should have told me you could kiss like that before."

"I'm guessing you didn't plan this either, Mello."

The blonde sniggered as he continued to pick up his clothes that were strewn across the control room floor.

"You know Near, guessing isn't really becoming of you."He grabbed his boots in his one free hand and headed for the door.

"I need a shower. Is it okay if I use a guest room tonight?" He said those words with smile, not waiting for an answer before he disappeared into the corridor.

Near pulled one knee up to his chest and began to twirl a finger in his locks, and he stayed there on the floor well into the early hours of the morning, pondering the nights events.

Thanks for putting up with this jumble of mine so far, and remember, reviews equal updates!

Edit: Whoops, left out some lines there ¬_¬