1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

a christmas to remember

near was in the corner of the room where most of the wammy house kids hanged out at, stacking some of his dice idly, and curling a strand of his hair.

he was a bit excited, since l would be coming soon today for christmas, which was tomorrow. of course, he wouldn't allow his excitement to show.

honestly, l was the only part of christmas near liked. though, getting presents was a little fun, but he didn't want anyone to know that, even though l and roger both somehow already knew. the rest, near didn't really care for. it always felt so much more crowded and noisy on christmas.

he heard someone walk over to him. well, it was actually two someones. of course, he already knew who they were and what this was about.

"so, you think he'll like the present we made him?" mello asked nervously. every year the three smartest kids in the wammy house would work together to make l a christmas and birthday present. whenever l was around, near always got along with mello and matt better.

it wasn't like they acted...it was just...well, perhaps since near and mello always fought to be the successor of l, they never got along. but when l was around...it made them forget about trying to be the next l. and since they had always forgot, they would get along much better. even a couple of days after l leaves, they would get along.

but then when more lessons come up, their rivalry returns. that was near's only explanation. l always made things better.

"i'm sure he will." matt mumbled, not sounding very confident though.

"even if he doesn't, he'll pretend to." near mumbled as he continued stacking the dice.

"oh great, that's so assuring!" mello snapped sarcastically.

"i mean, knowing l, he's got to like it!" matt quickly said.

"what if it doesn't taste right?" mello groaned.

"the blanket we made?" near asked, the end of his mouth curving up just the slightest.

"no you idiot, the ginger

ead house!" mello yelled at him.

"it should taste fine." near told him.

"should. doesn't mean it will! i still think we should have tried some of it!" matt yelled.

"it would have ruined it." near said.

"shh! he's here!" matt quickly said. in usion, mello and near both said, "l?" looking up at the doorway of the room, where all the kids were crowding at. l was barely visible through the crowd.

"okay everyone, calm down now." l said, and the kids backed up a bit.

he bit is thumb, looking around. "nice decorations this year." he mumbled. all the kids started to talk at once. after a while of talking to the kids, they finally went back to what they were already doing.

that's when near, mello, and matt, stood up, walking over to greet l.

they all hugged him and eagerly began talking to him. near tried not to crowd l too much though. he didn't want to seem clingy and annoying like all the other kids or anything.

soon it was getting a bit late and l left to talk to roger. and soon, they all had dinner, and were off to their beds.

near couldn't sleep though. he was too excited to sleep. he always was at this time of year, as childish as it was. he always told himself that l and presents were the only parts he cared for. but it was something else. just...the feeling of christmas altogether. there was no way near could explain it. it was always just so much fun...near would never ever admit that though. it was too childish.

he sat up in bed, and looked out the window. he gasped and couldn't help the

ight smile on his face as he saw snow starting to slowly fall outside. why was it, every year, it was always so

eath taking?

he quickly got out of bed and walked into the main area of the wammy house, where the christmas tree was. it was so colorful with all the little blue, green, red, lights with all the nice ornaments. it was lovely.

then he heard a creak, as if someone was walking in the hall. near walked near the entrance of the room, peaking out of the room. mello and matt were walking to the front room.

near raised an eye

ow. he noticed they were dress very warmly. were they...going outside?

near couldn't help but quietly follow them. he watched as mello and matt opened the door that led outside, muttering excitedly to themselves. of course they closed the door behind them.

after a long moment, near walked over to the door and opened it as well. he shut it behind him and was immediately shaking. it was freezing.

"too bad there's not enough snow for a snowball fight yet." matt mumbled.

"yeah..." mello agreed. they had their backs turned to the building, looking up at the sky.

"hey, what do you think snow taste like?" matt asked.

near smiled a bit and slowly walked over to them. cold air blew through his hair, and he shivered more. it was too cold for pajamas. of course, that was obvious since it was snowing. he stopped walking as he was now right behind them.

"hello." near muttered. he forced himself not to smile as matt and mello jumped.

"dammit, near, what was the hell was that for!" mello yelled.

"hmm, your going to wake someone if you keep being so loud." near told him, curling his hair.

"whoa, why are you out here in that!? it's cold out here! and your barefoot too!? your just asking for a cold!" matt lectured. near started to feel a bit embarrassed and thought about something cool and smart to say to that. but suddenly mello cursed under his

eath and grabbed near's wrist, pulling him back in the cozy building.

"you sure are stupid, for someone so smart." mello snapped.

"it wasn't so bad." near lied.

"yeah, right. i was cold, and i'm wearing a coat!" mello snapped.

"you also tend to exaggerate over everything." near shot back. mello just growled and gritted his teeth.

"okay guys, settle down before you wake up someone." matt mumbled, shutting and locking the front door back. near couldn't help but wonder how they got the key to open the door, since only roger had it. or, well, he wondered when they stole it.

"ugh, i don't think i'll be able to sleep! i can't wait for all the awesome video games i'll get tomorrow!" matt said.

"me neither. how about we hang out at the christmas tree? we can watch the sunrise!" mello suggested to matt, who nodded to the idea.

then they walked into the hangout room. near hesitantly followed them.

when he got there, he saw matt sitting beside the christmas tree, leaning against the wall and playing on his 3ds. mello was beside him, eagerly watching him.

they both looked up to see near. "can't sleep either?" matt asked with a knowing smirk.

"i don't get excited for things, if that's what your thinking. i am simply...not tired." near tried. mello just laughed. "right, right, whatever. move over matt. he's obviously just here to witness your mad gaming skills." mello teased, moving over, giving matt room to move over a little as well.