Mello broke off another piece of chocolate angrily in his mouth as he watched a second girl approach Near and give him another small present. It was August, which meant that the albino’s birthday was growing ever closer.

When the girl left, too embarrassed to watch as Near unwrapped her present, Mello approached him instead.

Near’s pale blue eyes looked up at him. “Hello Mello,” he said, twirling a strand of white hair.

The blonde didn’t say anything. He just thrust out his hand that had a crumpled piece of paper in it. Near’s eyes blinked once at the hand.

“Here,” Mello said, “Just take it.”

Near did so, reaching out and scooping it out his hand. When he took it, Mello turned around and walked out of the playroom.

Puzzled at Mello’s bizarre behavior, he unfolded the paper to view it’s contents. He saw something had been written in pencil before it had been hastily erased and rewritten, then erased again.

Scribbled in the center, nearly illegible, was the message “Happy Birthday Near”.

Near smiled. Out of all his presents he had received, Mello’s was his favorite above all.