Puzzle
"This is the last one," Near thought, "So this had better be good." He began fitting together the cardboard pieces. In under five minutes he was finished and a completed picture in front of him. Near sighed: "That didn't take long at all..." he thought with disappointment.
You may be wondering why Near thought this was his last puzzle. Well you see; Matt, Mello and Near had made a bet of sorts. They would each swear off their addictions (video games, chocolate and toys respectively) and see who could go the longest before they cracked. Whoever won got boasting rights and, naturally, sovereignty over the other Wammys. Near was determined to beat Mello. He wasn't so concerned about Matt. It was Mello who would be fun to win against.
So Near left the puzzle in the middle of the floor and wandered through the halls of Wammy's House wondering to himself: "What do other people do to amuse themselves?"
~*~*~*~*~
Two hours later, Near was beyond bored. He'd walked every corridor, courtyard and secret passage in the mansion and hadn't found anything interesting to do. Not even the records room held any interest for him. The only thing that could satisfy Near was a puzzle, the one thing he couldn't have. Maybe Mello and Matt had already snapped but not told him. "I'll go find them." Near thought. Hardly daring to hope, he made his way back to the main room where the three of them always gathered.
~*~*~*~*~
As it turned out, neither of them had snapped. Matt stood in a corner, calmly smoking. Mello lounged on the couch chewing on... was that an apple?
"So it turns out you can eat things other than chocolate, Mello," Near commented.
"Shut up," Mello growled through his mouthful of fruit, "I had to eat something."
"Because you're life's work is stuffing your face. I know," Near said pleasantly. Mello scowled but did not attempt to talk through his apple again. Near walked farther into the room and crouched on the carpet, eyes flicking between Matt and Mello. They waited like that for over ten minutes. The only sound in the room was Mello's loud chewing and Matt blowing smoke lazily. Finally, Mello snapped. He pulled up the cushion beside him and snatched up a chocolate bar. But in the same second, Near dove under the sofa and dragged out a puzzle. Mello snapped his chocolate and Near combined the pieces. After a minute, they looked up.
"I think I win," Matt said quietly. The tense silence stretched for a minute before Near said,
"Yes. You do." He then went back to his puzzle.
"But you're smoking!" Mello said between bites.
"I gave up video games, remember?" Matt said with a small smile. That started an argument on which was more addictive, which invariably had Mello challenging Matt to a rematch. Near just sat there, doing his puzzle. 'Let it never be forgotten who the true evil genius here is...' he thought as he put the last piece in place.