MeroNia

Meronia is the slash ship between Mello and Near from the Death Note fandom.

History
Mello and Near were raised at Wammy's House - an orphanage for gifted children in Winchester, England. They were resigned to being L's successors and after his death, Roger (the orphanage manager) communicates Mello and Near about L's death, telling both that L had not chosen a successor. So Roger suggested that they work together, but Mello refuses to work with Near. Mello leaves Wammy's House with the goal of finding Kira in her own way. Sometime after leaving the orphanage, Mello goes to America, where it joins forces with the Mafia. After a while, Near also leaves the orphanage and goes to America, becoming head of the SPK (Special Provision for Kira).

Almost four years after L's death, Mello learns about the Death Note thanks to a member of the newly formed SPK who, under the leadership of Near, began his own quest for Kira. This member keeps Mello informed of SPK's plans. After some confrontations involving Mello and the second L, Near suspects that there may be a spy inside the SPK, because of this, he plans to find out who the spy is leaking information to Mello. Shortly thereafter, Mello asks a mafia member to write down the names of almost all SPK members in Death Note, not only to severely hamper Near's investigation and reduce the number of his resources, but also to kill the spy within the SPK. After this occurred, Near and the second L agree to share information, causing the defeat of Mello.

A while later Mello and Near meet briefly for the first time after years. In this brief meet, Near gives Mello the photograph that which he kept, and in return Mello tells him about the Shinigami and the fake Death Note rules. Each wryly promises the other that the race is on to see who finds Kira first. In the end, Mello is killed after his name was written on a piece of Death Note sheet. During the final confrontation, Near gives the credits to Mello as the most important person to expose the plans of the second L (Light Yagami/Kira) and, thus bringing its later defeat. Near talks that he and Mello have managed not only to match their idol, the original L, but also surpass him and avenge his death by obtaining the evidence that leads to the downfall of Kira. After overthrowing Kira, Near officially becomes the new L. He is later shown eating a bar of chocolate, paying tribute to Mello with his favorite snack.

Rivalry
Both in the anime and in the manga Mello and Near are represented having a rivalry, it's not known the origin of the rivalry of both, but by what is portrayed Mello wants at all costs to overcome Near. The relationship of the characters is unilateral, the hatred that Mello feels for Near is not reciprocal, since Near doesn't see Mello as an enemy, on the contrary, Near likes Mello. At the end of the manga, Near is shown eating chocolate in honor of his late rival.

Fanon
Just as L and Light, Mello and Near are rivals. So this ends up attracting the attention of some people who like the "Enemies to Lovers" relationship. This is one of the main reasons of this ship being shipped.

When Mello receives his childhood photo from Near. On the back, Near has written "Dear Mello". This is a fact that intrigues shippers.

In some fanfictions, the relationship of Mello and Near in the second arc of the original work is portrayed more profoundly. It has been confirmed and it is evident that Near likes Mello and doesn't see him as a rival. So this unilateral relationship between them is greatly explored. Both characters have opposite and unique personalities which is useful in developing different plots in fanfictions.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Near/Mello on FanFiction.Net

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * "Mello" in Japanese is "Mero" and "Near" in Japanese is "Nia." This is why the ship has received this name.