Birthday Cake.
The young redheaded boy stared at the computer monitor with his mouth agape. He knew he shouldn't be looking through student records, but Mello had begged him to...no, more like dared him to do it, saying that he didn't believe Matt had enough nerve.
If there was one thing Matt was powerless to, it was a challenge. So he snuck into Roger's office while he was away in a teacher's meeting and looked up Near's grades like he was told to do.
What had him so surprised however wasn't Near's grades, which were usually perfect anyway, but the realization that today was Near's birthday.
"Mello! Mello! Did you know it Near's birthday today?" Matt said excitedly, dashing into Mello's room.
"So, do you expect me to bake him a cake? What the hell do I care? Tell me about his grades!" Mello asked.
"That's not nice Mello. It's his birthday. You should at least try and treat him nicely just for one day."
"Pshh.. whatever. Grades?"
"Perfect as always, Mello. He beat you by two points this quarter. Is this what you wanted to know?"
Mello's eyes narrowed as jealousy and anger coursed through his veins.
"Get out Matt. Get the hell out of my room now." Mello snapped.
"Fine, jerk."
Matt wandered the halls of Wammy's house, asking if anyone realized it was Near's birthday and trying to organize some type of celebration. Nobody seemed interested. In fact most of the replies were something along the lines of "that's nice" or "i'm really busy."
As Matt crossed the doorway to the common room he spotted Near sitting by himself as usual. On this particular day it was toy robots, the day before it was puzzles. He looked so lonely it nearly broke Matt's heart. Why didn't anyone want to show him even the slightest bit of appreciation?
Matt pursed his lips in determination as he decided that he was going to do something...anything for Near on his birthday.
"So do you expect me to bake him a cake?" Mello's words echoed in his mind.
"Well that's exactly what I'm going to do then Mello." Matt whispered quietly to himself.
It took him a good 2 hours, plus another 15 minutes to convince the chef to leave him alone for a while and that he wasn't going to burn the kitchen down. However when he was done, a rather nice birthday cake covered in white frosting stood in front of him. He used some cherry flavored pastry gel to write "Happy Birthday Near" on the top and finished it with some blue birthday candles he found in one of the drawers.
Satisfied with himself he carried the still warm cake to the common room. Near wasn't there anymore. Matt figured the next logical place to look would be Near's room, so he carefully carried the cake upstairs and down the hallway until he reached his destination. The door was slightly open.
"Near?" Matt said, pushing the door open with his toe.
He found Near sitting on his bed, staring downwards towards the floor. No toys in front of him. No book in his hand, nothing. Just staring. He wore a solemn expression. He looked up at Matt with large glassy eyes when he noticed the redhead enter the room. His mouth opened slightly in surprise when he saw the cake in Matt's hands. Matt gently placed the cake on the bed, and pulled his lighter out of his pocket and began lighting the candles, one by one.
"Matt. What is this?"
"I noticed it was your birthday today, and I felt bad that nobody seemed to notice or care. So I wanted to let you know that I care. So I baked you this cake."
"Matt. I don't even know what to say. Nobody's ever done anything this thoughtful for me before. Thank you so much." Near replied, he looked like he was going to cry, but was holding it back.
"Well you should probably blow the candles out before they melt all over the cake."
"True."
Near leaned forwards and with one swift breath blew all the candles out. He smiled weakly as the smoke rose up past his face. Matt took notice of how beautiful Near looked, it's as if he never looked close enough to even notice. Maybe it was his expression because as far as Matt was concerned, this was the first time Near had ever shown any type of emotion.
Matt had wished he had done more. If simply baking a cake and wishing Near happy birthday was enough to nearly make him cry. What if he had done more? He wished he had gotten him a gift of some sorts. Something. Anything. He just wish he had more time. An idea hit him, and he moved closer to Near.
"I had wanted to get you a present, but I didn't really have enough time. So I'm going to give this to you instead."
As soon as the last words left his mouth Matt leaned forwards and kissed Near tenderly on the lips. At first there was no response. Matt's hands started to shake, figuring he had done something horribly wrong and utterly stupid. Just before Matt pulled away however, he felt Near's hand on the back of his head, pushing him further against his own mouth. Near's lips parted as they shared a long, romantic kiss.
Matt was the first to pull away. He needed to catch his breath and calm down his heart which was doing somersaults in his chest. As he pulled away he saw Near blushing, and in a similar state as Matt. Matt wondered if he was blushing too and upon realizing what had just happened, he suddenly became very self-conscious and stood up.
"Umm.. I should probably get going now. Happy Birthday Near." Matt said.
"Wait. I'd like you to stay for a little while longer, Matt." Near said, twirling his snowy hair with a nervously shaking hand.
"Are you sure?"
Near nodded.
"Yes, I'd like you to stay. Stay the night in fact. I.. I like your company."
Stay the night?!? Matt's inner voice shouted.
"Umm. Ok. Yeah I'd like to stay also." Matt replied.
"Can you close the door? Actually you should lock it as well."
Matt got up from the bed and closed the door, turning the small knob on the end of the door handle. He wasn't sure what to do next, however Near motioned with his hand for Matt to come closer. Matt sat back down on the bed. Near once again placed his hand on the back of Matt's head and pulled him towards him. However he stopped just shy of their lips touching.
"Thank you for the best birthday ever Matt. I've had a crush on you for so long I can't remember. This is a dream come true."
Before Matt could reply their lips were touching again. Matt had one fleeting thought before his and Near's hormones took over. It was a thought that made him want to crack up laughing right then and there.
"Thanks Mello for making me look up Near's grades!"