A few days later, Mello opened his eyes to the sound of giggling. First, he looked drowsily to the people in the doorway, then to the clock which read 7:39 AM in bright red, then back to the people. It was dark and the shades were drawn, so Mello couldn't see and specific features. He did, however notice the outlines. Outlines he knew so well that he didn't have to see specific features.

"Happy birthday, Mello!" Matt yelled. Near pulled a string connected to a plastic cylinder which made a loud pop and threw confetti out of a circular opening.

"My birthday? My birthday!" Mello yelled as he jumped out of bed. "I'm thirteen!"

Near shuffled over to Mello and kissed him lightly. "Happy birthd-"

Mello pulled him into a more passionate kiss. It was cut short by Matt, who crawled in between them and pushed them apart.

"Okay, okay. Save that for tonight, lovebirds," he murmured, holding them at arm's length.

Near coughed, but nodded. "Yes. That's enough."

The birthday boy smirked. He had gotten so wrapped up in his life that he hadn't even noticed that it was December. Christmas was right around the corner, and so was Christmas vacation! The orphans got a little over two weeks off, just like other children, and they got to play with their new toys, which kept them out of Roger's hair for exactly sixteen days.

Then Mello's smirk became evil. He had seen enough sitcoms to know what happened between lovers on their birthdays. Mello's eyes drifted to the window. A light snow had fallen, paining the outside world a white as pure as Near. The thought made him even happier as the three snuck to the kitchen. Inside, the cooks were as busy as bees, running around, already preparing the special birthday dinner each child got on their birthdays. It always warmed Mello's heart to see that they worked extra hard on his, making it an all-you-can-eat instead of a one-size-fits-all kind of thing like they did for every other child.

"Mello!" one of the chefs called happily. She was a large female, with red cheeks and a cheery smile. "Happy thirteenth birthday! That's such a big change, we're making you a huge breakfast and lunch. And of course dinner, too."

Another chef winked at the boy, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. "Feel free to take as many chocolate bars as you want!"

"Yes!" Mello exclaimed as he ran over to the box of chocolate bars. He used his shirt as a pouch and filled it while saying, "I love birthdays!"

--

Rodger paced in his office. Every birthday, the special child would go wild with excitement, tearing through the orphanage like a tornado. And this was Mello's birthday. Mello's thirteenth birthday. He couldn't even conjure up what horrible ruckus the boy would cause through the orphanage! The old man pictured the walls stained with chocolate, the chandeliers broken in millions of pieces, the couch cut to shreds, toys thrown all over the place, graffiti-written slurs about Near on the side of the Victorian building, himself crying in the corner...

And, dear God, the sugar high!

Mello just happened to be the chefs' favorite child, being the flirt that he was. The old women would swoon over him and his feminine features, absolutely building his ego one block at a time! It was already 10, and Roger just couldn't bear to look outside. He just knew the place would be a disaster area!

And then, the phone rang.

Roger picked it up. "Hello?"

A quick "hello" came through the receiver.

Roger nearly dropped the phone. "L?"

"Yes."

Roger said nothing as he thought of a reason why L would call. "Is this about Mello's birthday?"

"Of course. He is second in line, isn't he? I wish to come there. Yes, today. Now. Actually, I'm right outside the building. I'm walking in. I'm-"

Through both the receiver and outside the door, Roger heard Mello and Matt simultaneously shout excitedly, "L!"

"Ah, Mello. Ha-"

Roger hung up and rushed to the front door.

"-ay." L finished as Roger ran to his side, panting hard.

"L!" he panted. "Why didn't you call beforehand?" Roger waited, but L didn't even acknowledge him.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," L told the short boy in black.

"Don't you have the Kira case, L?" Mello asked.

"Yes. Yes, I do. But I came for the day. I won't even be spending the night. I'm only here for a few hours. I'll be getting back to the case after I spend a little time here." L patted Mello's head. In response, his shining eyes widened.

Roger sighed. "But why are you here?"

"Well," L began, biting his thumb, "I couldn't think of a better birthday present than myself."

Mello smiled, and Roger knew he was admiring L's ego. Roger shook his head. And he's probably setting a goal to be like him, too.

Mello took L's hand and dragged him to the kitchen. "C'mon, L! There's candy in the kitchen!"

Roger slapped his forehead as the women in the kitchen squealed in delight at L's sudden appearance.

--

On the floor in the living room, Near sat next to Mello, their sides touching. Mello's thumb and index finger were wrapped unconsciously in the elastic part of Near's sock.

L had raised an eyebrow at the odd sight, but said nothing further. Neither of the two explained, but L didn't need explanations. He had never been in love, but he had seen Misa and Light together. The two couples sat alike, very close and very content, although they hid it well. So they were gay. Not that it mattered to the detective. Actually, the two being lovers would calm poor Roger's nerves, and probably save the world after L was no longer working. This was really the best thing that could happen between the two.

Matt sat next to L on the couch. Although the boy missed sitting next to his best friend, he wasn't going to argue when placed next to his idol. "So, how are you, L?" Matt asked.

"Quite fine. But, Matt, I-"

"How's the Kira case?" Mello interrupted.

"smell cigarette smoke on you," L finished, ignoring Mello. "You don't happen to smoke, do you?"

Mello gasped, insulted. Near patted his shoulder, a loving move on his part. It did not go unnoticed by L, but he didn't react to it.

Matt's muscles tensed. "Err... no?"

L nodded. "And I believe you, because you would never lie to me."

Matt flashed a Hollywood smile. "Of course not!"

"How's the Kira case?" Mello yelled again.

"As good as can be suspected, I suppose. Although I haven't found Kira, I do have a suspect. Actually, I have a few," L answered as the chubby chef brought over a cup of tea and a saucer of sugar cubes. "Ah. Thank you."

The woman laughed. It was a very happy sound that eased even Matt's tension. "You're quite welcome!" Then, she scurried away to the kitchen.

L glanced at the large grandfather clock as he dropped in cube after cube. "I must be going in a half an hour. I'll finish my tea and take my leave."

"No! You have to tell us more about the Kira case!" Mello whined.

"I will, when it's over. But don't worry. I promise you I'll catch him." L too a loud slurp from the cup. "And then I'll pick my successor. Unless you two... wish to work together." L's voice mocked the couple slightly and Matt giggled, only to be silenced by a a death glare from Mello.

"We'll see when the time comes, L," Near said, speaking for the first time during his visit.

L took another slurp. "Yes, I understand."

"L!" All four boys turned to see Watari. He motioned for L to follow. "Time to go."

L finished his tea and got up. He waved to the three boys and disappeared out the door and into the snow.

Mello looked at the grandfather clock. It was 1:12 PM, and almost time for the late buffet he had been promised.

As if on cue, the happy chef made her way into the living room. "Time for Mello's birthday meal!" she exclaimed. She led the way to the cafeteria, where food lined the walls.

The three boys weren't the first ones there; other children had already piled in and some were already eating their share of the mountain of food. Mello smirked as he made his way to the dessert table.

--

"That was delicious," the birthday boy muttered as he lay sprawled on the couch, his over stuffed belly in the air. He looked at the open boxes on the floor. One was from Matt, containing gourmet hot chocolate that he bought with Roger's money. In the other was a badly painted picture of everyone that the children had drawn for him. And from Roger he got one "get out of time out free" voucher.

"You two ate too much," Near commented, playing with a toy airplane on the floor, his back against the couch by Mello's feet.

Matt was sprawled out on the floor, doing his fest to keep himself from vomiting. "Screw. I'm going to bed."

Near looked over to him. "It's only five."

"It's all the food," he said, as if that was a proper response. He walked to his room and closed the door, leaving Mello and Near alone in the living room. All the other children were either still eating or sleeping, because it was only every December 13 did they ever get such a feast.

Near spoke, ending the silence that had followed Matt's departure. "Mello, L gave you a present, the chefs gave you a present, the kids gave you a present, Roger gave you a present, and Matt sort of gave you a present, if you can call it his present instead of Roger's preset. Since it was Roger's money. But I'm the only one that didn't get anything."

"That's alright. It doesn't matter," Mello lied. It was his birthday. Of course it mattered. But he refused to tell Near that. He'd just buy Near something amazing to make him feel guilty.

"But I have one for you."

Mello sat up. "Really?"

"Yes," Near muttered calmly although his heart beating madly. "Come to my room." He looked up at Mello and landed his toy airplane, placing all of his attention on the boy on the couch. Near didn't know that they way he stared up at Mello through his white hair was not only intimidating, but kinda sexy. "Tonight. Alone."

Now, Mello was not a stupid person at all, but Near's statement dumbfounded him. "What?"

Near didn't answer. He simply picked up the plane and began playing again.

"What do you mean, Near?"

"We're young."

"What?"

"But I don't care about my age."

Mello swallowed, his throat so dry that the saliva hurt as it traveled down. "Are you.. Wait, what do you mean?" Mello had an idea, but he was quite sure Near wasn't the type of person to instigate something like... like that.

"You know what I mean," Near stated as he stood up. "So come tonight." He gave Mello a serious look before walking to his room, his toy plane flying at arms length from his face, as if nothing had happened.

Mello watched Near until he disappeared into the shadows of the house, wondering what he was supposed to wear. He was painfully aware of how tight his pants were.

--

--

--

During the Kira case, Mello would have been younger. Remember that Light gets into college from high school? That's a time skip, although not as dramatic as after L's death. This isn't "almost dead" L, this is "I think I suspect Light" L. If that clears anything up about the ages and the Kira case relation.

Thanks for the help, Forbiddensoul562! Dang. This one is long.