The hot summer night was making him restless, that's for damn sure. The blonde teen frowned at his quadratic equations and sighed, sending a longing glance towards his window. It was the perfect July night – humid, with the hint of a thunderstorm yet to come. Usually he'd have finished studying by now, but the sticky heat was distracting him. The boy stripped off his shirt hoping that would cool him off.

Thirty minutes later and Mello still hadn't written down a single number. As much as it frustrated him, he figured it would be for the best to close his books for the night. Sighing and laying languidly on his worn out mattress the 15 year old allowed himself to daydream. Entirely too soon however, a sharp knock at his door woke him from his reverie.

"What is it?"

He responded, irritated at being disturbed.

"…M-may I come in?"

A small voice hesitantly asked from the other end. It took a moment for Mello to place the voice but when he did he frowned. Near. Luckily for the younger boy though, Mello was relaxed, causing him to be more curious than pissed off. He slowly made his way to his door and opened it. The elder boy scoffed at what he saw. Thirteen year old Near clutching a pink bunny plush and looking quite hesitant indeed.

"Does Mello realize he is not wearing a shirt?"

"What the hell do you want, Near?"

The albino twirled a soft curl trying to seem confident.

"I became startled from the sound of the storm and came here."

Mello rolled his eyes.

"How many times must I tell you? I'm not- and won't ever be – your friend! Now why don't you go and –"

Mello's rant was promptly interrupted by a loud crash of thunder causing Near to jump and whimper. The blonde sighed, running a hand through his hair. Why was he feeling pity for Near, of all people? The white hair teen still tugged on an abused strand of hair, but was visibly quivering. Mello stepped aside, letting his rival in and the younger of the two obliged.

"You know, being afraid of a little noise is pathetic, even for you…"

Near just stared at the wooden panels of the floor trying to hide his shame.

"M-mello has no fears, I assume?"

He asked, arrogant (in Mello's eyes) even when he ran to the blue eyed boy for comfort. Mello scoffed.

"Of course not! What's there to be afraid of?"

The small boy just stared up at Mello, gray eyes pondering this answer. Surely Mello was afraid of something, right? The 15 year old sighed a second time, quietly remembering something his mother used to say when he was young.

"Listen Near, you shouldn't be afraid of thunder. It's just the angels having a party in Heaven. They don't even realize that they're making so much noise."

Near blinked twice.

"Mello does realize it's highly unlikely that-"

Mello groaned.

"Shut UP Near! I was just trying to help…."

Near suddenly smiled one of his rare quiet smiles.

"I am thankful for that, Mello."

The older boy bit his lip. How could his rival suddenly look so cute? And even…..inviting? Near looked up at him questioningly.

"What is it M- mmf!"

He was cut off mid-sentence as Mello pressed a soft kiss to his pink lips. Startled he pulled away, looking wide-eyed and flushed. Rare, for the usually unemotional teen. Mello glanced away sheepishly and mumbled an apology. Slowly mustering up his bravery and ignoring the storm outside, Near returned the small gesture of affection. Now it was Mello's turn to be shocked.

" N-near did you just…?"

"I apologize. Was it inadequate?"

Mello stuttered out a barely coherent answer.

"N-no…I'm just…surprised..."

For the second time that evening, Near smiled.

"Thank you for your assistance Mello. Goodnight."

He quietly left, leaving a stunned Mello to try and dissect what exactly happened that night.