I got this idea one day while watching Tag Team Cakes on the Food Network, and this idea popped out. I started working on it earlier in the month, but problems sprang up so I just got it posted now. The ending is a bit rushed, but I like it. I hope you do, too!
Disclaimer: I don't own Death note or any of the copyrighted things mentioned in this story.
xoxoxo
It was a crisp, cool fall day at Wammy's House – September 30th, to be exact. The leaves were turning lovely shades of red and orange already, and the once lush grass surrounding the orphanage was quickly turning dry and yellowed. The weather still wasn't cold enough to require scarves or hats, but it was chilly enough outside to require that the kids wear heavier clothes.
Even so, some of the more stubborn ones preferred to stay in clothes more fit for summer, under the excuse that they'd just get hot while running around outside, playing some childish game like tag or football – that's soccer for you Americans out there. Though there were quite a few children in the orphanage, picking out these stubborn children was never a problem, especially not for bright L hopefuls.
Every child knew, whether they were brand new or 'Wammy's House seniors,' just who the most hotheaded child in the orphanage was.
Mello.
As if it wasn't obvious enough by the boy's crude, reckless nature. But on this crisp autumn day, it was particularly easy to pick the boy out of the crowd. Even a passerby could tell (though Wammy's House was an out-of-the-way estate). Their reasoning process was simple, and would run much the same way as yours probably would:
Mello was the only child wearing a t-shirt, shivering madly, all the while managing to glare at anyone who questioned his choice of clothing and toss a few loud, angry words in their direction. If one were to observe him further, he was the only child who took pleasure in launching balls towards teammates' heads, the only boy to torment the girls so viciously, and the only person to despise the number one child at the orphanage with such a burning hot passion.
Another interesting fact about this boy: out of all the orphans at Wammy's House, he was revered as looking up to their idol, L, the most, some would say even more so than the boy who exceeded him in practically everything, Near. Knowing this, it was only natural that he would want to do something extra special for the man for his birthday – ironically, that day was also Halloween.
The kids knew L's birthday. It was only fair that they knew at least that about him. What were they gonna do, anyway? They were kids, and even though L had to be the most secretive person in the world, that tiny bit of information wouldn't do much – if anything – to reveal L's identity.
This year, for whatever reason, Mello wanted to do something extra, extra special for the man he so idolized. Of course, that was what he said every year. Even so, he always felt the need to one-up not only his rivals, but also his friends, people he didn't even know, and most of all, himself.
Mello knew exactly what he wanted to do this year. What better to get L than the thing he loves most of all?
Cake.
But not just any cake.
The most spectacular, wonderful, super mega ultra awesomest cake there ever was! (Bear in mind those were Mello's exact words.)
He had thought that up right in the middle of playing a game of football with some of the boys – that's right, he can play football and think! Wasn't he just the absolute best at multi-tasking? He liked to think so. Of course, when he had this breakthrough, he stopped short of running after the ball to smirk widely in self satisfaction at his own greatness, leading to a ball being kicked directly into his head. Hard.
"OW! What the-?!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up to grab at where he'd been hit.
"Ha, ha!" teased the voice of one of the other kids, mocking the tone Mello would adopt when he pulled the same move on one of the other kids.
"Goddamnit, Hank, I'll-!" he started, glaring ferociously in the direction of his usual target.
"Gah! Retreat!" Hank yelled, turning away along with a few formerly snickering boys to make a beeline for the entrance of the orphanage.
"Get back here, I'll gut you!" Mello yelled, charging after the boys at full speed.
He managed to chase the boys all the way into the orphanage, running through a few halls and disrupting many a child, before he finally crashed head-on with one. Both he and the other boy crashed to the ground, sending an object the other was holding clattering noisily across the hall.
"Fuck!" came the loud reaction, immediately alerting Mello as to who he had ran into. There were only a few people who would dare to swear quite as heavily as Mello did, and both the voice and the object now laying quite a ways away from them tipped Mello off.
"Oh. Hey, Matt," he greeted casually, as if he had not just been running after people he intended to do horrible things to, causing possible bodily harm to his companion on the way.
"Ah-! Shhhhit… -ake mushrooms!" the redhead said, scrambling to retrieve his fallen object. Mello couldn't help but chuckle at his pathetic attempt to mask his swearing.
"Bastard! Why the hell are you laughing? I was about to beat Gaara!" Matt said angrily, cradling his Nintendo DS in his arms before checking it over for damages. With Mello around him so often, it was a wonder how it had stayed intact this long alone. He let out a sigh when he saw there were no noticeable damages, but his anger bubbled up again when he saw his game lying a few feet away.
"Gaawhata?" Mello asked, rubbing his sore head from his still-seated position in the middle of the hallway.
"Dude, you have no idea how hard he is to beat!" Matt said, inspecting Naruto: Ninja Council for possible damages.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure he's a real toughie. ANYWAY…" Mello said, jumping up once he was sure his brain sustained no notable damage. "We have more pressing matters to attend to."
"Like what?" Matt asked, as if he felt no matter could be more important than pixilated ninja battles.
"Like… My ingenious plan to make L the greatest cake in the universe!" Mello said proudly, clenching a fist in front of himself.
"Oh god, not this again…" Matt said.
He had recalled Mello's last few attempts to woo the detective with 'wonderful' birthday gifts, none of which turned out well. Matt shuddered as he remembered last year, involving designer pants, papercuts, and thievery of many of Near's toys – though, he noted, that last one wasn't really a rare occurrence.
"Shut up! Now, here's my plan…" Mello said, yanking Matt up by his collar.
Silence.
"…Well?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We, uh…. We… We make the… And we…" Mello said, trying to piece together what he wanted to do specifically.
Shit.
He hadn't actually gotten that far. All he knew was that he wanted to make L a cake, and he wanted that cake to be different than normal cakes. Bigger, better, shaped like something that would appeal to the detective, highly detailed, professional baker quality… But he hadn't thought of anything specific.
Matt sighed, giving Mello's wrist a squeeze to signal him to let go of his ever-stretching collar.
"Look, if you want to make something spectacular, you can't hope to make it on your own," Matt said.
"I know!" Mello replied, suddenly much more chipper. "That's why I have you!"
"That's not what I meant," Matt replied, wiggling his way out of Mello's grasp. "What I mean is, if you want to do something large-scale, you need a lot of help."
"Where am I supposed to get a 'lot' of help?" Mello shot back angrily.
Matt wanted to slam his head into a wall.
"Mello… We're in a building living with a ton of other kids."
"Incompetent kids!" Mello retorted. "I don't see any of them making first, second, or even a measly third!"
"Mello," Matt said, eye twitching. "I'm third. What are you implying?"
"I-"
"And furthermore," Matt interrupted, holding up a finger as if he had been in the process of making a speech. "You can't even make first. Why don't you ask Near to help you? He's competent, right?"
Silence.
"Oh-oh god!" Matt said, realizing his mistake. Before Mello had time to fire back a few threats and insults, Matt had raced in the direction Hank and the others had gone a few minutes ago.
"Get back here, you stupid friggin' nerd! What the hell did you say to me?!" Mello called, running after Matt while shaking a fist wildly.
xoxoxo
Matt was fine. Luckily, Roger had intervened before Mello got the chance to hurt him too seriously. The old man had suffered through an elbow to the stomach and various little insignificant injuries while trying to pull Mello off of Matt (who he had just begun to assault), but it was nothing a little Advil couldn't fix.
Because it had happened so often and Matt was widely established as Mello's 'closest friend,' Mello didn't have to sit through yet another of Roger's lectures about being calm and collected or something. Mello didn't really listen to them. The last time he had listened, Near's name was mentioned, and that was the day Roger learned you NEVER speak of Near as if he's better than Mello while within 50 feet of the boy.
Mello had been released with a firm word that he didn't care to heed with Matt in tow, rubbing a mildly sore cheek. Nothing too major…
"I hit the ground pretty hard, you know," Matt complained, striding down the hallway with Mello (though keeping his distance for the time being).
"No one cares. Anyway, I was thinking about your suggestion…" Mello said, completely disregarding Matt's words.
"And you think I'm right and deserve praise and less beatings?" Matt asked hopefully.
"Shut up," Mello said, glaring. "I just want you to know that I'm doing this because I think it's a good idea and want to try it of my own accord, but let it be known that I would've arrived at the same conclusion by myself sooner, had I not been chasing you at the time."
"Right…" Matt drawled skeptically.
"Don't act all high and mighty. You're working, too," Mello said.
"What? Why?" Matt complained. "I have better things to do than help you bake!"
"I highly doubt that the world will explode if you don't train your… Pokepetdog… mudkip… pony… Husky… thing…"
"Okay, first of all," Matt started, and Mello knew he was going to make a big deal out of correcting him, as always. "They're Pokemon, Neopets, and Nintendogs. Second of all, I like mudkips, it's called a Uni, and the dog's name is Waffles."
"Who the hell names a dog Waffles? And what self-respecting dude has a unicorn as a pet? And-" Mello started, but was interrupted by Matt.
"Shut up!" Matt said defensively. "The point is, I have urgent matters to attend to, and baking will just interfere!"
"Interfere with what? Your frolicking time with Sparkles the unicorn?" Mello said before snickering.
"Her name is Amazonia!" Matt yelled, red-faced. Several older kids who were walking by snickered as well, making odd gestures at Matt. Fucking older teenagers.
"Sure," Mello said. "The point is, you're doing it, so shut up."
"But- I-!" Matt stuttered, though he knew he had lost. More than the argument, as a matter of fact.
"Now let's go get everyone else!" Mello said, running down the hall after the older teens. "Hey! You three! Get over here and help me!
xoxoxo
It hadn't been easy to convince everyone in the orphanage to help him out. Most of the boys had downright refused, and much blackmail and threats were required to sway them. The girls were easier, though it was still a challenge.
All of Mello's work definitely wasn't as challenging as asking one particular person to help him, though.
Near.
Admitting to his rival that he needed help from him was one of the things Mello had sworn he would never do (right next to doing the Hare Hare Yukai and owning a Neopets account), so it was obvious he would have no idea whatsoever how to go about doing so. He approached Near looking less menacing than usual (something Near himself noticed), and when he was standing in front of the boy, he didn't snatch his robots or knock down his Lego tower.
"Hey, sheep-face," Mello greeted, as snide as usual.
"Hello, Mello," Near responded, looking back towards his Lego city.
"Listen up," Mello boomed. For his own safety, Near allowed his eyes to drift up to stare at Mello. "I need your… your…"
Near raised an eyebrow as Mello tried to choke the final word of his sentence out, unaware of the mental battle Mello was having with himself at the time.
'Why do I even need his help? I have the rest of Wammy's on my side, and he'll only slow me down. But he is the be… be… He's number… NO! He has… a large brain under that mass of white hair. That's it. His smarts will be useful with measuring and such. Not like I need his mental help… I'm awesome, after all… But it doesn't hurt, does it? Yes! Yes it does! Aw, screw it. It's for L. Yeah, for L! FOR L!'
After Mello had mentally persuaded himself and cheered for a moment or two, he managed to choke out what he needed to say.
"I need your he-ski-talen-… This isn't working. Okay, I need you to help me and the rest of the orphanage-"
"The orphanage and I," Near corrected. Mello glared at him, but continued regardless.
"Me and the rest of the orphanage bake a cake. For L. For his birthday. Just because your tiny sheep body may come in handy at some point in time. That's all," Mello finished, taking a deep breath after he was done.
"I don't see why you need me if you already have-" Near started, before Mello cut him off rudely.
"DON'T question my logic, twirls-a-lot," Mello said, annoyed that Near was starting up the fight in his mind again. "So will you do it or not?"
Near seemed lost in thought for a moment, staring down at the unmoving robots in his hand, before the ever-increasing volume of Mello's foot tapping impatiently on the tiled floor brought him back to reality.
"No harm if I do, I suppose… Though I ask you behave," Near said, twirling a strand of hair in unseen anticipation.
"You know, if you don't want to do it, just tell me, you don't have to annoy the hell out of me," Mello said, glaring furiously.
Near's eyes widened a tad for a split second before his expression returned to the same stoic one from before. His hair twirling seemed to grow a bit more feverish, but other than that, he showed no more emotion.
"I didn't mean any offense. I just wouldn't like, say, flour shoved down my pants or anything of the sort…" the albino said softly, looking downwards.
'Damn it! How does he always know what I'm going to do?' Mello thought angrily.
"Whatever," he vocalized. "Just get up, you look stupid playing with those baby toys."
"They help me think…" Near muttered.
A small yelp escaped his lips as his arm was grabbed and he was roughly yanked upwards, his robots crashing noisily to the ground. This resulted in several of Near's intricate Lego towers breaking, which, in turn, resulted in a rather downtrodden-looking Near, which resulted in a rather happy-looking Mello. Don't you just love chain reactions?
"Come on, we're going to the kitchen," Mello said, dragging Near along with him and out of the playroom.
xoxoxo
Mello pushed Near roughly to the ground when they reached the kitchen used to prepare meals for the whole orphanage. As such, it was a large place, and many men and women were often rushing around hurriedly to get everything done. The kitchen could accommodate many people, but not necessarily an entire orphanage's worth of children and teens. This meant that many were uncomfortable, and many had to seek higher ground…
"Mitchie, George, get off the tables! We need those!" Mello barked. "Wha-? Alexandra, they're not gonna hurt you, but the STOVE probably will. Bill, Chuck, Fred, get away from her… Near, you're not going to explode because you're in a room with other people. Chill the fuck out. Jesus, you people are… Ugh."
Soon growing tired of the kids disregarding his words, he walked to the end of the room with no people and climbed up onto a counter – disregard his hypocrisy. He grabbed a metal ladle and banged on the metal surface of the counter, creating a loud sound that bounced off of the other appliances and made many kids grab their ears in agony.
"Alright, fuckers!" Mello yelled once the noise of both the spoon and the orphans had ceased. Several children gasped at his foul language, but he didn't pay any attention to them. "Listen up! We only have certain time periods when we can work, so we need to get going! Right now the cooks are doing… Whatever cooks do when they're not cooking, so let's get started! I expect you guys to be here every night from eight until when I say you can leave!"
Many of the children groaned, much preferring to spend their time doing things such as playing video games or building Lego cities, but Mello didn't care. He figured they were in need of some motivation.
"Come on guys, this is for L! L! Don't you care about what happens on his birthday? He's our idol!" Mello said.
"My idol is Tony Hawk…" one boy said.
"Mine is Winston Churchill," another said shyly.
"Mine is Leonardo DaVinci!" Linda proclaimed.
"Well, mine is L! And yours should be too, even if none of you have a chance of succeeding him!"
Mello got a lot of blank stares and glares.
"Okay, okay, look at it this way. He sits up in a room all isolated all year, with only old Mr. Wammy to keep him company. Don't you think he deserves a birthday present that he'll love? One that he'll remember forever?" he said, raising his hands for emphasis.
The orphans seemed silent for a minute before Linda spoke up.
"Yeah! Let's do this for L!" she said, grinning widely.
"For L..!" a girl next to her said, a bit hesitantly.
"For L…" Matt said lazily, waving a hand to show he'd heard everything while keeping his eyes glued to his DS.
"For L…" Near said quietly, looking down at the shiny kitchen floor, devoid of his precious toys.
At Near's outburst (not like you could call it that), several more kids got motivated. If even an emotionless kid like Near wanted to do something for L, what was stopping them?
"For L!" a group of boys said, pumping their fists in the air.
"For L!" some children said a tad bit energetically, jumping around in glee.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with cries of, "For L!" the noise echoing off the walls and appliances similar to when Mello had made the racket with the ladle. In next to no time, the orphans were less random in their shouts, and a steady chanting of "For L! For L! For L!" soon filled the room.
"For L!" Mello finished, holding the ladle above his head. "Now let's get started!"
TBC…