December 13th, 2009

03:00 am. Why was Mello out here, alone, in the street at this time? Oh right, because he ran out of chocolate, and he couldn't stand the annoying sounds came from his best friend's precious PSP. Seriously, Mello could swear: Matt would make out with it if it was a human. He needed to concentrate in order to catch Kira, for God's sake! But then again, the redhead never said anything about Mello's obsession with chocolate, so he couldn't complain. That's when he chose to go outside and take some fresh air.

But no! Life is such an ass. It had to be snow, SNOW, of all things! Maybe leather wasn't a good idea. But Mello shrugged that thought off nonetheless. He liked leather, and he's strong, he could handle this cold. The worst thing's that there was no store left open. Now he was frozen, he was irritated, and he was starving for sugar.

Brrrrrrrr

Mello felt vibration in his pocket. He took out his phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Mello..." There it was, that unmistakable, cold and firm yet soft voice.

"...Near." He was slightly surprised. Why would Near, of all people, call him at this time? "What do you want?"

"Would you mind coming to the SPK Headquarters now?" At this, Mello almost fell back and landed on hit butt.

"Why on earth would I-" the younger boy cut him off.

"Please..."

"..." Wow, begging-Near. That was new. "Fine, whatever."

"Good. When you get there, go to the monitor room. I've turned off security system, so there's nothing for you to worry about."

"Yeah yeah." With that response, Mello hung off immediately, staring at his phone for a few minutes. He angrily kicked a nearest bunch of snow. The blonde then head to the SPK Headquarters, confused and a little excited for an unknown reason.

03:30 am. Mello was standing in front of the monitor room's metal slide door. He took a deep breath. This was the same room where he had met Near for the first time in 4 years to retrieve his photo. Why am I so fucking nervous? He scolded and walked in.

White hair, white pyjamas, pale skin and stormy grey eyes. There he was, sitting in the middle of the dim room in his odd yet familiar posture, glowing softly thanks to his alabaster complexion. Near hadn't changed at all, Mello noted. No matter how old the albino was, he still looked like a kid. He only got slightly taller, his voice got deeper, and his cheeks got less round.

"I'm glad that you came, Mello." Near greeted in his monotone, but there was a hint of delight in it.

"Don't Near. That hospitality-tone doesn't suit you. Just go straight to the point." God, he wish he had had chocolate.

"You're correct. That doesn't suit me." The white-haired boy stated. "Please come here."

"Why don't you pick your lazy ass up and come here?" Mello mocked but he still did as told and sat on the floor, in front of Near. "Now what?" He asked absently. The younger male looked into his azure orbs for a moment, before took something from behind his back. A chocolate muffin.

"Happy birthday..." He whispered softly, his voice sounded awkward. Mello just stared, and stared at the muffin in those small hands. A smirk crossed his face.

"...So you do remember huh?" He whispered back, like their exchange words were something special, something needed to be kept secret.

"Why not? It's not like that you forget my birthday." Near tilted his head.

"Yeah, but I gave you stuffs like shit." Mello remembered everything he'd get Near when they were at Wammy's. There was a year, he gave the boy a piece of paper with 'Dear Near, you are an asshole' on it. And another year, the blonde gave Near crumpled cards so Near couldn't build anything with them. But the little teen always kept what his rival got him, and always gave Mello his favourite type of chocolate on his birthday. That, Mello could never comprehend.

"...You're the only one who remembered it anyway."

Awkward silence.

"Whatever. I'm gonna eat this muffin." Mello murmured and reached for the treat, but Near stopped him. He then took out a small candle and a lighter.

"No. You have to make a wish first." The albino put the candle on the muffin and carefully lit it up.

"...You've got to be kidding me!" The chocoholic growled. This kid was so unbearable!

"It's tradition, Mello." Near replied matter of factly. Mello had to snort at the boy's behaviour. Near didn't just look like a kid, he acted like one too. Hell, that seventeen year old still played with toys.

"Alright sir." Mello closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and blew out the candle. The mafioso then immediately grabbed the cake and took a big bite. Half of the muffin had gone into his mouth. He moaned, feeling the sweet on his tongue.

"Hey, have some." Mello offered the younger male the other half. Near just gazed at it before hesitantly opened his mouth and let Mello fed him.

"So, what did you wish for?" Near asked, curiosity filled his voice. The blonde laughed, ruffled his white hair fondly. Near's onyx eyes widened at the touch, but he soon relaxed and leaned into it. He liked, no, loved the feeling. He loved the feeling of Mello's hand in his hair.

"I can't tell, Near. It's tradition." The blonde teased. The albino rolled his eyes. Mello was right, unfortunately.

"So did you have it?" He asked quietly.

"No, not yet. But..." Mello trailed off, hand still on Near's head, stroking his hair gently. "...I'll tell you when I have what I wished for."

"When, exactly?"

"...When everything is over. When Kira get caught. When this case comes to an end. When everything is normal again..." The blonde whispered. "That's when, I promise, okay?" Ocean blue locked with stormy grey. Near thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Pinky swear?" He asked innocently, rising his pinky to Mello's eye level. Mello smiled a genuine smile, then hooked his own pinky with Near's.

"Pinky swear."

January 27th, 2010

Near was sitting in the monitor room, a letter in his hands. It was from Mello. Halle found it in the blonde's apartment. It had 'To Near' on it. The white-haired boy inhaled deeply and opened the letter.

'Near,

When you are reading this, I'd probably died. But I'm not the one who can't keep his promise. I'm gonna make this quick, because it's already weird as fuck. Writing this, I mean. So here we go.

What I wished for on my birthday was you, Near. I want you. Funny, huh? I wanted to beat you, now I want to be with you. I want your mind, your heart, all of you. I love seeing your smile, the way you twirling your hair,... I want to be the one you can trust enough to let your walls down, the shoulder you can lean on whenever you break down. You've always fascinated me. But I guess that having you is impossible now.

I'm sorry, Nate, for being a coward. At least you are safe now. Please kick Kira's butt, and lead a happy life, for Watari, for L, for Matt, for me... I'll be waiting for you at the finish line.

I love you.

Mihael Keehl.'

"Stupid Mello..." Near whispered, his voice was cold and empty. "You've always had what you wished for, you know..."

Outside the room, Rester, Gievanni and Halle watched silently as a single tear hit the floor.

A/N: to Mello, with all love and respect.

P/s: If there is any grammatical error, just tell me, don't hesitate :)