"I get that idea," Mello maneuvered his duckie around in a tight pattern in the water, whirling on Near's and driving them directly into each other, a plastic clacking noise issuing from between them. "From your duck being a little to friendly with mine."

He bumped the duckies together, the water sloshing as they motored around in the pool, and even if this whole affair was kind of questionable and strange and disconcerting to say the least... Mello found that it was also fun. Weirdly fun.

"Then again, you're just going to say something like 'of course the ducks will be touching, Mello, we're playing bumper-ducks and that's just part of the game.' And you'd be right, so I can't even continue to argue my point."