A/N: Ok, I'm not entirely sure how this came up, but it somehow took all my attention so I wrote it and posted it so I could focus on chapter 7 of my story... (I'll give it a funky abbreviation: DLP! XD Because I'm cool like that, ok? ^^') The most wonderful caveat lector was kind enough to edit this for me so it's not crap, so thank you! And please please review, reviews make me soo happy, and they don't even have to be thoughtful reviews, I just love getting them!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the position of the words next to each other. ^^'

I was typing up an email (there wasn't much else to do, now that Kira was gone) when he came back. I heard his boots on the doormat and the ringing of the keys as he tossed them onto the table.

"Hey Mel!" He had recently gotten into the habit of making up 'cutesy' pet names for me. Ugh.

"What the fuck do you want, bastard?" I turned around in the swivel chair to face him as he walked into the living room. He smiled at me. I swear, I think God made him just to torment me. Does he have any idea how soft that fucking smile is making me? Maybe he does. That's probably why he uses it when he wants something from me.

He held up the bag he came in with, and lifted out… a box of sparklers. "Wanna call Near?"

No, I damn well didn't, but I remember very clearly what he was referring to.

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L had just come back from his latest case, and Matt came with me to meet him at the door. Near was there too- he stayed at least five paces away, playing with some stupid finger puppets. L had just opened the gate when I flew into him, hugging him tightly, repeating "L!" and "welcome back!" and "How are you?" and other stupid nothings into his shirt. He patted me on the head until I calmed down, stepping back and smiling up at him.

I clung to him walking back to the stairs, like high-school girls cling to their boyfriends on their first date. Matt saw us coming and quickly dropped his gaze to his game. I was confused at the time, but when I think back to his rueful smile and how his hair shielded his eyes, I know he had been jealous. Near also got a hug, and Matt only made eye contact with L, and they nodded to each other. I guess quiet people communicate in their own way.

L continued to his room in the attic, and Mr. Wammy came behind us with their suitcases. Matt walked beside him in companionable silence. If I had stayed behind for a minute, I might've heard the two talking quietly before following after L. Matt seemed to like Mr. Wammy more than L, and maybe he still does. I've never asked him.

Near and I lingered around L's door, unsure of entering. It was almost a sacred place, for me at least. But Matt just walked in after Mr. Wammy, nose in his game, and sat on the bed without a care in the world. The room wasn't so intimidating when Matt was there, so I sat next to him. We stayed there until dinner, when Mr. Wammy shooed us out of the room and down to the dining hall. However, he got dinner for himself and L and left shortly after.

"Just forget it," was Matt's advice. Near was silent, aggravating as always. I really wanted to go back up… I finally settled for going to my room with Matt though, and he actually studied with me, for once.

Sometime later that evening there was a knock on the door, and Mr. Wammy came in. Matt sat back and smiled. He really did like Mr. Wammy… I had a really random thought then of how I wished he would smile like that for me.

"Watari, everything good?" Matt was the only one besides L I ever heard call him that.

Mr. Wammy smiled back. "L has agreed to participate, if only to pay me back for my services to him." Matt smiled wider and was about to say something when I interrupted him. I hated not knowing what was going on.

"Agreed to participate in what?" Matt pouted because I cut him off, and I couldn't help but think it was cute. In fact, Matt was cute in general, but there was no way I was going to tell him I thought that.

Mr. Wammy responded to my question with another question. "Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"Uh… August 24th?" Matt slapped his forehead despairingly. Mr. Wammy cleared his throat to explain.

… Wait a sec… "Why are you doing something special for Near's birthday?" And why was Matt helping organize it? I thought Matt was always on my side!

Matt answered this time. He was smiling slightly to himself, staring off into space. "You'll see, Mello…" He snapped out of his daze and looked at me. "Besides, L said he'd come, so you'll come too, right?" I hesitated, but agreed. Matt looked so hopeful I felt like I couldn't disappoint him. And besides, I got to see L, so what did I have to lose? Wait…

"You're not going to ask me to do anything for the twerp, are you?"

Matt frowned. "Of course not!" Then he hesitated and looked down at his hands. "Well… maybe a little help…" He glanced up, and I waited impatiently for him to continue. "OK, here's the deal…"

They were planning an outside party with a barbeque and fireworks. Mr. Wammy said he even had yukatas made for all the children, and even L would wear one. When I asked why yukatas, Mr. Wammy just blew it off saying he thought it would be fun or something… I learned afterwards that the yukatas were actually Matt's idea. At the time though, I reasoned that L's last case had been in Japan, as Matt was keeping track of where Mr. Wammy was traveling to through his computer, and that perhaps Mr. Wammy wanted to set up the party like a Japanese summer festival.

"So, I just have to… tell people? Without letting Near know?" That shouldn't be too hard; the kids were taught to keep secrets well. Especially when I was involved. I mean, I knew I had a bad temper, but…

Matt nodded. "You can do all that? Watari and I will take care of setting everything up."

"Sure, but it's all happening tomorrow, right? I still need to study tonight." Matt nodded and jumped off the bed to talk privately with Mr. Wammy. He seemed really excited… I wondered why he knew Near's birthday. I hadn't noticed him ever talking to Near…

I fell asleep on my textbook before Matt came back to get his game, which was still playing the Pokemon theme song, over and over. When I woke up, though, the game was gone and someone had put a blanket over me… that was nice… Matt…

Crap. Today was Near's birthday. The day shitface began to plague the world. Ugh. I opened the door and walked right into the path of an excited, running Linda. What a way to start the day.

"Oof! I'm so sorry, are you alr…Mello?" Linda got up and brushed herself off.

"What the hell are you excited about?" In truth, I already knew. Anyone with eyes (or even without them) could tell that Linda liked Near. Obviously she'd have known when his birthday was, and I had no doubt she'd gotten him something.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all!" She replied giddily. Well, that was about the most blatant lie I had heard in my lifetime so far.

"Linda, you're blushing. You know what today is, right?" She looked at me strangely and I mouthed 'Near's birthday.' She froze. I stepped closer to whisper in her ear. "We're throwing a party for him at sunset. You coming?" She nodded stiffly. I had forgotten I had that effect on people. They were all scared of me. "Spread the word, but make sure nobody tells Near. And act natural, he'll think something's up if you're that stiff." I stepped back, and she blinked, relaxed, and smiled.

"Who'd have known you were so nice, Mello! I'll tell all the girls, you worry about the guys, okay?" And with that, she dashed off to the playroom to wish Near a happy birthday.

She caught me later, in the hallway before lunch, to announce that all the girls knew and were coming to the event. I asked if anyone she knew could approach the more quiet boys without being suspicious. She said she could handle it, and I thanked her for taking care of it. My work was over.

When she went on her way again, I asked myself why I went out of my way to find all those people. I pondered this until I walked into the dining hall and saw a red puff of hair. Oh, right. It was because he asked me to.

When I sat down, he paused his game to talk to me. "So, how are things going on your side?"

"Uh... I told the guys, Linda told the girls. I almost feel like I'm taking advantage of her helpfulness... but not quite. What about you? What are you doing?"

"Hehe, I'm going to be skipping my last two classes to..." He stopped abruptly and changed subject. "...and I just finished the elite four in Pokemon for the sixth time!" I glanced over and saw Near in the doorway. Good observation, Matt. Then again, that was his skill. Maybe that was how he had found out Near's birthday... though how he could've figured that out from observing, I don't know.

Near didn't stay long; he never liked the dining hall. Too many people. Matt continued where he left off. "I'm skipping my last two classes to set up stuff outside with Watari and L." Lucky! He was spending time with L? Unfortunately, I couldn't go with him. I had my last classes with Near, and he'd notice if I was gone. I pouted as Matt continued to talk about random things; I wasn't mad that he was telling me about his recent video games, but I wanted to be able to set up with him and L…

Last block felt like an eternity. Usually the perfect student, attentive and bright, I could barely pay attention, and tried to hide my strange action with loss of sleep. I caught myself before I started running out of the classroom. That wasn't something I usually did… I hated monitoring my actions. It was hard, but necessary. I wondered how much longer until I could go outside.

Turned out I didn't have to wait long, though. Matt came to get me from my room shortly after last block ended. We snuck out the back door, since the front was next to Near's playroom (well, it wasn't really Near's, but he was always in it, and the other kids were intimidated so they never used it).

What I found was a whole festival- they did some really detailed planning. There were red lanterns hung everywhere, and many stalls too—I assume that people would be assigned to them for the party—with food and games, and of course the fireworks. I wasn't aware that we were actually allowed to set them off but… I supposed it was Wammy's House—we were allowed to do anything we wanted. Almost.

Kids slowly started joining me outside, and when I suppose everyone was there, Matt came back to find me. Nancy, the nurse, took the girls to change into their yukatas, and the boys changed when they came out. The second playroom had been turned into a dressing room, and Matt and I helped each other get into our yukatas. They were actually fairly difficult to figure out… I wondered again why Mr. Wammy thought they were necessary… but if this was a party I was supposed to be enjoying myself, so I stopped pondering it.

When everyone was outside and had chosen a stall to temporarily take over (they were running in shifts) besides me, Matt and Near (of course), L went to bring Near out. I used this time to ask Matt a few questions. "Matt, why are we off stall-duty? Even the adults are working shifts."

Matt turned around to look at me. "Well, Watari and I were the ones who planned the party, so that kind of gives us the privilege not to work, but Watari said he didn't mind, and he took your spot… I guess…" I didn't really think there was any logical reason for Mr. Wammy to want to take my shifts for me, though, so I wondered what Matt was trying to hide. Then again, I assumed I would figure it out later, because Matt could never hide things from me for long. I smiled at this, and Matt smiled back, shyly. What did he have to be shy about?

Near came out a bit later and was genuinely surprised for the first time in his life, probably, and was convinced to change into a yukata by L, who agreed to tie it for him. I suppose even L could be nice for someone's birthday… I had a selfish hope that he would see me on my birthday, even though I knew it was very unlikely. I wandered around the stalls for a bit, picking up food along the way, watching everyone have fun. I was kind of lonely, I guess, since L was permanently attached to Near, and I didn't want be around Near. I just knew I'd mess up his party for him.

Somehow I must've given out an unconscious 'help' signal, because right then Matt came up and asked, "What's wrong?" I shook my head and he smiled at me. "Then, wanna come look at stalls with me?" I said nothing but Matt took my hand anyways and ran to whatever stall he wanted to go to. I watched him play and have fun, and it made me smile. Matt having fun made me happy, for a reason I didn't want to admit at the time.

After a while, the sun had set and the lanterns were on and Matt had played enough games and won them that he had his arms full of prizes (all supplied by the generous depths of Mr. Wammy's riches). He set them down on a table far enough away from the crowd that they wouldn't be noticed and took my hand again, pulling me away from the stalls. I could feel the warmth of his hand in mine, and I wondered where we were going. We were far enough from the lights that I could no longer see them.

"Hey, Matt… where are we going?" He held tighter to my hand, and I couldn't tell whether it was a conscious action or not.

"Not too much farther…" He seemed to be looking for a particular place. "Here!" He pulled me into a clearing surrounded by the trees. The clearing had been set up somewhat like a patio; the ground was grey stones, there were decorated stone benches set up, and a water fountain in the middle that had stopped running. All around the edges of the stone boundaries were small white flowers. I noticed that this place had been set up; there was no dirt on the stone, even though the place couldn't have been used anytime recently, the water fountain had lit candles floating in it, and there was a box of something I couldn't identify on one of the benches.

"Matt… what is this place?" I was astonished. He couldn't have found this place himself; he never went outside. Did Mr. Wammy tell him about it?

He just smiled and started walking around. His hand lingered in mine until he was too far away to touch me anymore. "Isn't it pretty?" He hadn't worn his goggles all night, because they didn't work with the yukata, and his eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight. He paused in his walking to answer me. "It's an old patio. I found it a while ago and cleaned it earlier today when we were setting up." He looked at me. "Let's watch the fireworks from here."

"Sure… what's that box?" He followed my gaze.

"Oh, that's for after. After the fireworks. So, you ready? Where do you want to sit?" I picked a random bench and he came to sit next to me. He was so close I could feel the heat from his body next to me. Evidently he noticed too, because he quickly scooted to the other side of the bench and looked away from me. Well, that was a little extreme… I never said I didn't like him being close… What was he so embarrassed about?

Wait, embarrassed? Why would he be embarrassed? I didn't have enough time to think about that because the fireworks started and Matt apparently forgot about being embarrassed to look at them. He didn't even seem to notice that I was staring at him. He looked happy, with the fireworks reflected in his eyes. I didn't notice I was getting closer to him until he turned and out noses touched.

Both of us jumped backwards, me back to my seat on the other end of the bench and Matt onto the ground. I heard a groan from where Matt landed. "Oww… Mello, what was that for? That hurt…"

I got up and went over to him. "Matt, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Well, I didn't know what I didn't mean to do, so I stopped there. I noticed that Matt's face looked darker than usual, and if it was light enough to see I would've seen that was because he was blushing. I figured it out without the specific color, though. That also made me notice that we were about as close as before, on the bench. Matt saw this too, and blushed deeper, but this time he didn't scoot away.

"Um… Mello…"

"Oh… well, sorry, okay?" I backed away that time, assuming that he wanted distance. There was an awkward silence until the fireworks stopped and Matt got up and brushed himself off. I stood up too, waiting. He went to retrieve that box I had seen earlier. They were sparklers.

"Uh… there's not a lot of time until they come, so… um…" Matt was definitely blushing hard and I wasn't too sure what he wanted to say, but I was always one to act first, think later. So I kissed him on the cheek. And realized that I kissed him on the cheek.

"I, well, I mean…" What was I supposed to say to him? He looked astonished for a minute and then smiled and kissed me back. That adjusted what he was trying to say earlier. 'I like you' was no longer necessary. And apparently I liked him too.

We were interrupted in our moment of confession by L and Near, coming with more sparklers. At that point, Near being around didn't upset me enough to ruin my mood, so I smiled when they came close. They were surprised when I said "Happy birthday," and Matt just smiled and giggled to himself like a little schoolgirl. Mr. Wammy, who had been standing at the edge of the clearing, smiled and nodded. I supposed that he was the only one who knew what Matt had wanted.

We lit the sparklers and in general had a lot of fun. I think that Near was enjoying himself as well, judging from the small smile that was almost inexistent. When he was feeling smug, his smile was larger and slightly creepy, so I believed this to be his truly happy smile. I forgot about scores for the moment, and just had fun for that one night, with the only people I considered family.

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Remembering that was probably part of his plan. Oh well, I wasn't so against seeing Near now… I turned around to send my email. "You're calling." I could imagine him smiling wider and dropping the bag on the couch to fumble his phone open. He was too cute to ignore.

"Near? Hey, it's Matt… Yeah, you free today? We've got something… Mel and I, we've got something to show you… tonight? That's perfect! See you then!"