(A/N) Hi!! This is a quick one-shot about Near, Matt, and a little bit of Mello. Maybe a bit of OOC-ness on Mello's part… maybe not. xD

So, in honor of the secular (non-religious) side of Easter, here it is!

Slight, unintentional slash if you squint. I do not mean it, nor is it there unless you twist it and contort it. (I only say this because this is where my friend BeyondL's mind went when she read this…).

I do not own Matt, Near, Mello, or any idea from Death Note. I did own several chocolate eggs… but Mello stole them. D:

Near stretched, shaking off the drowsiness of sleep. He shook his ruffled mop of pure white hair, in a rather good mood… for him. Well, that mood darkened considerably when his mind fully woke up. It was Easter. And he would get no peace.

"What do you mean, no?!" came the screeching. Near winced.

"I mean no you idiot!!" the new boy, Matt, screamed back. Near resisted the urge to hide under the covers.

"It's mine!!"

"Is not!!"

"Give it!!"

"Damn it, get off me!!"

"No!! Give it here!!"

Near scowled, pulling at his white hair. Every year… curse the chocolate…

Yep, that's right. Poor Near's aggravation, Mello's rage, and Matt's bruises (possibly broken bones), were due to one thing and one thing only: chocolate.

Every year, come Easter, everyone holed themselves up in their rooms to eat their chocolate in relative peace. Matt had made the mistake of going out, probably for a drink or a slice of bread. There, outside Near's room, he had been attacked by the semi-rabid Mello. If it had been someone else, they would have given Mello their chocolate by now. But not Matt. Matt would never give in. And so, Near would get no peace that day. Plus he would probably end up wrapping some of Matt's deeper wounds and sheltering the boy in his room until Mello calmed down.

Easter. A terrible time for the Wammy's boys.

"Owww!!!!" Matt howled, probably as his arm was twisted.

"Give it give it give it!!!" shrieked Mello, oblivious to the younger boy's squeals of pain.

"You're friggin insane, man!! It's just chocolaaaaaaaahh-!!!" Matt's protest dissolved into incoherent wailing.

Near face-palmed, embarrassed for Matt. Better go save him… Mello'll kill him at this rate… gosh; this new boy has no idea how to deal with Mello… So Near shrugged out from under his blanket, shuffled over to the door and pulled it open.

The scene outside was chaos. Mello was on top of poor Matt, straddling the younger boy and twisting his arm behind his back. Matt had three bloody scratches along his cheek, and was cowering. Mello had a bit of an evil, mad glint in his eyes, and his face was covered with the brown smudges of chocolate. Near grumbled inaudibly about how Rodger should know better than to hand out chocolates.

Mello stood up, holding Matt down with a foot between his shoulder blades.

"Near-y boy…" Mello cackled. "Give me your chocolate. Now!!"

Near shrugged. "I don't feel like getting my face mangled," he reached inside his pocket and pulled out the chocolate eggs. He tossed them, and Mello released his grip on Matt for a moment to catch them. The red-haired boy scrambled into Near's room; Near closed the door quickly, leaving Mello to eat his prize.

"Thanks," Matt panted, licking at the blood on his cheek. "It's Near, right…?"

Near shrugged. "Yeah. And no problem. Mello has no right to bully anyone like that."

Near was surprised a moment later by an ever-so-slightly-crushed chocolate egg under his nose. Matt was looking down, his face slightly red.

"Want one?" he asked. "Mello didn't get 'em."

Near shrugged again and excepted the offering. "Thanks."

The two boys ate their chocolates in silence for a moment, neither looking at the other. They could hear Mello starting to roam the halls again, looking for anyone who might carry chocolate.

"Why is he like that?" Matt finally asked curiously. "Why would he mug someone for chocolate?"

Near shrugged. "Addiction. How someone can get addicted to chocolate, though… I really don't know."

"Weird," Matt commented, licking the chocolate remnants from his fingers.

Near nodded, playing absently with the foil wrapper. "Yeah. Mello gets this way every year. Halloween isn't as bad, with L here and all, but Valentine's Day…" he shuttered, then met Matt's eyes, "Well, you'll get used to it."

Matt laughed despite himself. "Yeah, I guess I will."

Near set aside the wrapper, which he had straightened out. It didn't have a single crinkle in it. He glanced at Matt again. "You know, you've got guts. Most people would never stand up to Mello like that."

Matt snorted. "I didn't 'stand up to him.' I was a coward."

Near shook his head vehemently. "Not even close. You didn't give him your chocolate. That's more than anyone can claim, even me."

"But you still risked your neck to save me," Matt argued.

"I was never in danger, because I never intended to defy him," Near corrected. "You, on the other hand… well, I'll just say that that was the bravest thing I've seen in a while. One day, you'll make a great Letter."

Matt smiled slightly. For Near, number one, to say something like that… he shook his head in amazement. "That means a lot. A hell of a lot."

Near nodded. He didn't give out praise lightly. But bravery was one thing he didn't see in himself. He had no doubt in his reasoning ability, intelligence, or anything else… but he wouldn't describe himself as brave. And he admired this young boy for that very quality. He gave a very slight smile.

"I look forward to working with you one day."

Bravery and mental ability… huh. This could work out very nicely…

(A/N) Kawaii!!

If you liked it, please review!! Please…? Maybe Mello'll share his choco… no, definitely not. Review anyway?