Breaking the Unbreakable

Chapter Four

Mello sat in a chair at Near's bedside, his face buried in his hands. After he'd found Near half-unconscious in their bathroom he freaked, picking Near up, and rushed his limp body to Roger's, close to tears. After that, he barely remembered what happened, he followed Near in a daze, just Near. Now he was here, in a sterile, white room, Near hooked to a blood bag. Hesitantly, Mello reached for Near's hand, gripping it gently. A single tear rolled down Mello's cheek and he touched it, confused. He wasn't crying, it was just one seemingly random tear.

Suddenly, Near's hand squeezed Mello's. Mello jumped out of his chair to hover over the bed, his eyes searching for any more movement. Near's eyes fluttered open, his face blank, yet confused and innocent. When he focused on Mello, he broke character; a genuinely happy smile graced his pale face.

"Mello, you're here," he softly whispered.

Mello blinked in confusion and felt Near's forehead. It was cool. They sat, staring at each other, Mello confused and Near smiling. Finally, Mello broke out into a grin, his hands covering the one closest to him. Near struggled to sit up and Mello immediately rotated the crank behind the bad to elevate it. Near flashed him a toothy smile of thanks and shifted to make himself comfortable Mello reached behind Near and fluffed the pillow, moving it down a bit so Near's back was supported. When he finished, it dawned on him just how close he was to Near, who made the first move.

Near straightened just a bit and moved his hand to grip the back of Mello's head, his gown slipping seductively down one shoulder, and he pulled Mello into a firm kiss. Mello's eyes widened. He'd always thought Mello to be the submissive type. 'It's always the ones…' He thought, closing his eyes.

The kiss turned hurried, frenzied, passionate. It was the way the two shared exactly how they felt and Mello put all his pent-up love and desire into this kiss. When he had no more air, Mello was forced to pull away and he held Near close, never wanting to be away for a second. Alarms startled him and he opened his eyes.

He was at Near's bedside, still in the chair and still with an unconscious Near. For a split-second he was utterly confused, until the alarms went off again. The heart rate monitor sounded rapidly as the numbers displayed rose. Near's breathing became erratic and he writhed on the bed, trying desperately to breathe. Sweat beaded off his skin and soaked the sheets as two nurses and one doctor ran into the room, checking vitals and exchanging rapid-fire diagnoses. The chaos continued until Near flat lined.

"He's in defib, prepare the paddles!" The oldest doctor yelled over everyone else. A nurse rushed to the defibriator and applied gel while another grabbed the clothing scissors hading overhead and cut Near's nightshirt in two. The doctor grabbed the paddles from the nurse and rubbed them together.

"200 Jules!" He shouted. A nurse set and turned on the machine. "Clear!" Both nurses took two large steps away from the bed while the doctor emitted a jolt into Near's tiny body. The heart rate was normal for a few seconds, but flat lined again.

"250!" The doctor cried, rubbing the paddles together. By this time Mello finally regained his senses and moved closer to the bed, clearly in a daze. "Clear!" The doctor shocked Near again, and the same thing happened. The doctor shook his head, but had determination written all over his face. "300!"

Mello was panicked and he searched Near's body as if the answer to keeping him alive was there.

"Near." He murmured when the doctor shocked his body again. "Near! C'mon, Near! God, please! NEAR!" Mello rushed to the bed and gripped the cool metal edge, tears streaming down his face at full force. The doctor and nurses turned to him in surprise as he was screaming.

"I need another bag of B, 300 Jules, 'n I need that kid either our 'r away!" The doctor ordered to the nurses. The strongest one dragged Mello from the bed and held him as he struggled to get back to Near while the other attached another blood bag to the I.V. and charged the defibrillator. "Clear!"

Nothing.

The room suddenly became cold and silent save for the high-pitched hum of the machines and the steady tone of a flat line. Mello's breathing became heavy and grew in volume as reality sank in. The doctor glanced at the clock and sighed heavily.

"I'm callin' it."

"NO!" Mello screamed, tearing away from the nurse to kneel next to Near's bed.

"Time 'a death…"

"Near!" Mello cried, gripping his cold hand. "Near, don't go. Don't you dare leave me here alone! How am I supposed to fight for the best if you're not here to aggravate me? Matt aggravates me enough but he's not you. Near! NEAR! Damn it, damn you!" Mello pounded on Near's chest before burring his head into the soft white chest, succumbing to terrible fits of tears.

"…0603" The doctor finished sadly, watching Mello grieve. He walked to the monitor and moved to turn it off when Mello screamed out, "Near!" and hit Near on the chest on last time. The doctor, startled hesitated to stare at Mello.

-beep-beep-beep-

Everyone turned to stare at the monitor, which began beating strong and rhythmically, in wonder. Mello slowly got up, wiping the tears from his eyes, and blinked in disbelief. 'God, pleases let this not be a dream or fantasy.' He silently prayed, not knowing why he chose the Christian God to pray to. When he looked back to the bed, Near's face had regained color and the nurse removed the bag from the tube down his throat so he could breathe normally. Near's eyes slowly opened and he looked around, seemingly unconcerned at where he was or what had happened. He felt his face, fingering the tape which attached the breathing tube, and stared at Mello.

"Can you take that out?" Mello asked quickly to the nurse next to him. She nodded and removed the tape from Near's mouth.

"I want you to take a deep breath in when I tell you," she instructed Near. "And when I pull it out you breathe out as hard as you can, okay?" Near nodded, not even bothering to look at the nurse. "Breathe in." Near's lungs filled with oxygen. "Out." As soon as Near exhaled the nurse slowly, but purposefully, pulled the tube out. Once it was all the way out, Near coughed slightly, but remained unaffected.

"Thank you." He said placidly, pulling himself up a bit to stare at Mello. "I would like a word with Mello, though, if you don't mind." Silence. "Alone, now." Mello nodded to the skeptical doctor who was ushered out by the nurses. Mello watched them leave and once they were out he turned back to Near. His focus was somewhere in front of him and refused to move it toward Mello, who opened his mouth to speak.

"You should have left me there."

Mello stopped, his eyes widening. Near sat so statue-still that Mello wondered whether or not he really spoke.

"I mean it," he continued. "I should have died on that tile floor. You had no right to bring me here. Didn't you once think there was a reason why I did what I did?"

"You mean do what you do, right?" Mello interjected nonchalantly, gesturing toward Near's arms. Near smiled, not even bothering to cover his exposed arms. He pulled a knee up to his chest and rested his cheek and rested his cheek on it.

"That's true, Mello," Near replied. "This is how I deal with problems just like you have a way to deal with problems. Both are dangerous and both are considered immoral to the eyes of many." Mello walked up to Near's bedside, his hip pressing against the railing.

"What do you feel that makes you cut?" Near stared forward, refusing to answer.

"Is it frustration? Anxiety? Depression?" Mello dipped his head to look at Near at eyelevel. "Affection? Love? Lust? Tell me, Near." Near's eyes dropped down to his lap and then to Mello after a long moment he glared at Mello, trying to scare him off.

"Got out, Mello," his voice was low, cautious, and threatening. "The best solution for both of our problems is this, a permanent separation. Now please, leave." Mello straitened, shocked at the deep level of emotion in Near's voice. Then, suddenly, wave after wave of furious scorn washed itself over Mello. It was so powerful Mello began to physically shake from the emotional force.

"I saved your life," he began, his bangs covering his eyes. "And this is what you give me? A permanent separation?! That makes no sense, Near. Explain your logic to me!" Mello had pulled himself up to full height and was glowering down at Near, rage licking at his soul.

"Its apparent that the emotional distress from earlier this week has strained us both to the point of needing or defensive disorders to handle it." Mello smirked at Near's unemotional tone.

"So I distressed you? In a good or bad way?" Mello seethed, his hands balling into fists. Near's eyes dropped and his voice was barely above a whisper.

"I don't know. It was… confusing. My experiences, meaning the physical ones, were limited… especially then."

"Limited?" Mello sneered, not in the mood for his rival's cheap lies. "So you're telling me that when I kissed you, when I touched you, it was all your first?" Mello exhaled sharply and turned from Near, shaking his head in disgust. "You picked a bad time to learn how to lie, Near." After that they were encompassed in the black silence that came often between them lately.

Mello was too angry to notice when Near's hand slowly moved up to his face and touched the pale skin. He stared at his, now, thoroughly wet and shaking hand. His breathing was labored and hitched the more wet his face became and his vision blurred.

'Why?' He asked himself. 'Why is my body doing this? I feel cold, isolated, and… and…' Another emotion surfaced one Near hadn't felt in many years. It was the feeling he got when his mother turned against him when it came to his toys and when the government took Near from his mother, saying that she was really his father's 'bad friend' who stole him from his parents years ago. Tremors ran through his body, and he willed them to still, but his will couldn't stop the tears. His control was slipping and he became afraid of it.

Near quickly scanned the room and found his target, the clothing scissors that the nurse used earlier. He reached for them and held them open and ready, with practiced ease, over his arms. Mello, now completely aware of the movement, was shocked by the blatant disregard Near had for where he was. He immediately reached out for the scissors but was surprised by Near's strength. They struggled back and forth for the scissors with all their might and Mello finally managed to get the scissors away from Near, his hand bloody from the blades rubbing into the skin. Mello threw the scissors away and they skittered across the floor. He stared at his hand, the red, warm blood running down his arm. He noticed Near was staring at his hand with the same wound.

Mello reached out and slapped Near across the face with his good hand and then Grabbed Near's bad hand with his. Near stared placidly at their hands and their blood mingling together. Mello pulled himself closer to the cutter until his lips touched Near's ear.

"Our blood is in each other now. We are bonded forever. It cannot be broken."

"A bond that does not exist cannot be broken. Therefore, any existing bond can be broken. Your logic is faulty," Near replied.

"As is yours, but if you're right I want to break your bond," Mello moved himself nose-to-nose with Near for the second time. "This bond we both have needs to be broken and fixed to each other."

"Explain," Near said, his gray-blue eyes staring coldly at Mello's sapphire ones.

"IF we can replace the bonds or 'defense disorders' with good one, then neither of us would be in any true physical desentization." Near looked down at their hands still clasped together and began playing with a lock of his hair.

"You're trying to break something that we both know is unbreakable, Mello." Mello pressed a kiss against Near's forehead and smiled.

"Maybe, but God knows I'm going to try."

Phantom just started another LLight story for me, (YAY) so it might be a while until the next chapter of Unbreakable comes out. Sorry about how long it took me to upload this chapter. The wireless Internet in my house died and I just now fixed it.