There and Back Again
folder
Death Note › General
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
12
Views:
2,206
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Death Note › General
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
12
Views:
2,206
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Death Note, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Returning Lux
January 12-13, 2006 nighttime
There was darkness. He knew his eyes weren’t closed, but he couldn’t explain the darkness. He registered the sensation of soft, cushiony material underneath him. He knew he was lying on his side and he could move his arms and legs, fingers and toes, but he could not sit up. Any moment now, his eyes would adjust. He kept telling himself that, but he knew this was an impenetrable darkness, the kind you could never see into. Just when he thought he was on the verge of panic, the darkness began to change. A small, glowing, and golden light began to grow and illuminate the area around him. The light entranced and captivated him. He couldn’t pull his eyes from it.
He felt something gently moving down his spine, then back up, caressing his shoulder, his waist, his hip. Fingers . . . a hand . . . someone was with him. With him where, he still did not know. Then, lips touched his jaw line, the crook of his neck, and his body visibly relaxed. He hadn’t even realized he’d been tense. Softly, barely a whisper, the owner of those lips spoke.
“L. I missed you.”
His breath hitched and he couldn’t help the shaky exhale or the lone tear that slipped down his cheek.
“Light,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are. That doesn’t make this any less real. It doesn’t mean I’m not truly here.”
“I don’t want to wake.”
“You’ll have to, eventually. I don’t have a lot of time. We both know how light a sleeper you are.”
“Can I see you? I can feel you. I can hear you. I want to see you.”
For a brief moment, L registered the absence of touch and then Light was there, before his eyes and bathed in that golden glow. L held his arm out to lay his palm on Light’s cheek. Light brought his own hand to cover L’s and closed his eyes.
“See? Real.” Light smiled. “I came to ask you something, L. What are you doing? Why are you stepping down?”
“Because I need to. If I ever was justice, I am no longer.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. Simply by bringing you here to live with me, by turning a blind eye to what you had done, I turned my back on justice. I can’t be L the detective, the symbol. I can only be L the man.”
“L the man isn’t doing any better. You almost never leave your room, and when you do, it’s only to sit in silence with Ever.”
“Have you been watching me?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t? You need to snap out of this stupor. Step down if you must, I can’t keep you from doing that, but you can’t stop living. I need you to live for me.”
“I’ll try. I won’t promise anything.”
“You never keep promises anyway.”
They lay in the quiet, L barely breathing, lightly tracing the features of the other’s face.
“What’s it like? Is it what you expected?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Light said. “I can’t really say much about it, there aren’t any proper words to describe it. I’m also not allowed to.”
“You’re actually following rules now?”
Light smiled. “I always followed rules.”
“Except the ‘don’t kill other people’ rule.”
“Water under the bridge. Besides, I have more to lose now. The two of us are bound more then we ever were.”
A bell tolled in the distance. Light looked up quickly and L clutched at his arm.
“I have to go.”
“No. Not yet.”
“I have to, L. I’ll be back. I swear.”
“When?”
“I don’t know, but soon. Remember, we’re bound. I’m by your side always, everyday. So, leave your room more. It’s boring me.”
L’s eyes snapped open, and then quickly closed against the sun that streamed through his window. For the first time in weeks, L didn’t cry upon waking. Instead, he smiled.
********
February 23, 2006
For the past month, she’d noticed the change. L had ventured from his room almost everyday. He’d seemed . . . happy. She didn’t know why and she supposed it didn’t matter. Ever and L seemed to be inseparable. When Mello left, Ever didn’t even have a chance to feel sad, L had been right there for him, distracting him, playing with him, trying to keep his mind occupied. Alta had been too upset that day to do those things for her son. She had been so grateful to L.
Mello had always been impulsive and headstrong. She’d been expecting him to take off, but the memories of another boy running off into the night had resurfaced, and she’d spent the day after in a sort of foggy haze. Matt had taken it the hardest. She thought she understood what he was going through, until she looked closer. She had simply been missing a friend when Beyond left. Matt was missing much more. He was missing his other half, his heart and soul. She’d known they were close, but how close was only just becoming apparent. During the first week of February, he had knocked on her door.
“I can’t do what Mello did. I can’t leave without saying goodbye.”
“It would have been fine if you had. We would have understood. He needs you.”
“I need him.”
**
“There you are,” Alta said. “I thought I might find you here.”
L moved his eyes to glance at her, but said nothing as she sat beside him on the stone bench. She read the words carved on the marble before them.
“It was his birthday today.”
“Yes,” he said. “It was.”
“Birthdays are always difficult.”
L couldn’t help but feel there was a double meaning in her words, but didn’t comment on it.
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“Why are you here then?”
“Now, he’s truly gone and I’ll never see him again. He told me . . . last night.”
She looked at him, confusion crossing her features. “L, what are you talking about?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me. At this point in my life, I believe in a lot of things.”
L then proceeded to tell her about the nightly visits he’d been receiving. Most of the details he kept to himself, but he did repeat the last of his conversations with Light.
“L, I have to leave now.”
“Now? But, there are no bells.”
“No, not that kind of leaving. This is good-bye.”
“Good-bye? No,” L shook his head. “No, I refuse to say good-bye. Not again.”
“Neither of us has a choice. I won’t be gone long. Just wait. Wait as long as you can and I’ll do the same. Don’t stumble backwards. No more sadness over me. Focus on Ever. Hell, focus on Alta. I don’t care, so long as you focus on something other than me.”
“So, I decided to come here. To think.”
“He visited you every night?”
“No,” L said. “Not every night.”
She looked at his hands, tightly gripping his knees, and sighed.
“L,” she said, gently placing her hand on his. “You two were so lucky to have found each other. Most people wait their whole lives for what you had.”
“Oddly enough, that doesn’t make me feel better.”
********
July 20, 2018
The past six years had been difficult ones. After years off the map, Mello and Matt had resurfaced. L hadn’t been too surprised to learn Mello had joined some sort of mafia organization. Mello working on the other side of the law made perfect sense. L thought of it as Mello’s own personal ‘fuck you’ to Wammy House. It had frustrated Near to no end, being thwarted by the second best at every turn. Not that he had ever shown it, but L could tell. Mello’s forte’ had been kidnapping. He was quite skilled and always received whatever outrageous ransom he demanded, until a fateful misstep in March of 2012. Matt had played decoy and died in a hail of gunfire. Mello had followed later that night in an explosion. L suspected it had been deliberately set off. Mello quite possibly had felt cornered by the authorities and chose to burn out, rather then fade away.
Bear had returned to Wammy House days later and sequestered himself for months. L had resumed his former duties temporarily while Near silently mourned. It was around this time an eleven year old Ever approached L and Alta, expressing his desire to enter law enforcement. Generally speaking, a homicide detective . . . specifically, the position of L.
Alta had been horrified.
L had only nodded.
Four years ago, L had been dealt another blow. His mentor, his caretaker, his father, had passed on. L felt he really should have seen it coming. The man had been eighty-three after all. But, Quillish Wammy had been on of those men that you could never imagine, never believe, could die. He’d been full of life and kindness up to the very end, and L would be forever thankful the man’s passing was calm and quiet.
L had another problem on his hands now. A big one. He’d received a transmission earlier that day. The words “L is dead” shone from the screen on his phone. He’d known Near had been having trouble with a band of criminals intent on assassinating the great detective. L had known it was worse then he’d previously supposed when Near had sent Ever home earlier in the year. The teen had thrown a spectacular fit, trashed his room before sulking and skulking through the halls, threatening everyone who came his way with a glare and a sinister sentence.
“Wanna know when you’ll die?”
His mother overheard him once. She’d never struck her son before, but reflex took over and the palm of her hand met his cheek with enough force to leave an angry red imprint.
“Never again do I want to hear you say that. Is that clear?”
Silence.
“I said is that clear?”
“Crystal, mother, crystal.”
Unfortunately, the group had been successful and now the world was once more without an L.
Now, L was sitting in the large office, formerly Roger’s, facing an anxious and upset Alta.
“He’s dead? Near?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Christ, L! How many more are we going to lose?”
“I don’t know.”
They sat silently while the severity of the situation dawned on her.
“Ever.”
“Yes.”
“No. No way, L. He’s not old enough. He’s not ready.”
“He’s older than I was. He is ready. There’s no one else.”
“Why not you? You could do it. At least until he’s older.”
“No, I can’t. I no longer have the stamina or the desire. I lost that long ago. I’m pushing forty, Alta. I stepped aside already. It’s no longer something I should do. You knew this day was coming. It’s what he’s been working for. It’s his goal. He wants to become what his father could not. Are you going to be the one to take that from him?”
She looked away from him. “No. No, I’m not.”
********
November 5, 2021
Just over a year ago, L had approached her with what he’d called a “science experiment of sorts.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m quite serious.”
“Don’t you think we’re both a bit old for this?”
“No, not yet. We both very soon will be and I see no reason to put it off. There’s really no other way this could be possible for me and I trust you.”
“Let me think about it,” she’d said.
She had eventually agreed, and after many failed attempts, an insemination had been successful. She’d figured after all the gains and losses they’d been through, gifting L with a child was something worth doing. Seeing L now, cradling his infant daughter, she knew she’d made the right decision.
“What are you going to name her, L?”
“Shouldn’t we both decide?”
“No. She’s more yours than mine. I did you a favor. I’m just the egg donor, the surrogate. You name her.”
“You’re not just a donor.”
L smiled as a tiny hand curled around his finger.
“Veritas”, he said. “Veritas Light Lawliet.”
********
May 1, 2026
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
L heard the scream in the hall, very loud and getting closer. He sighed and removed his reading glasses. He rubbed his temple, two thoughts flitting through his mind I’m getting too old for this, and getting old sucks. He’d been waist deep in paperwork and had just started to feel like he’d made a dent. Alta had signed off on a new tutor for the children and he would arrive later this evening. He hated when she did those things without informing him.
In all honesty, he truly detested administrative work. He’d always looked down on Roger. Now, after many years, he had come to fully appreciate what the man had done to keep the school running.
The door slamming open caused him to look up. There, disheveled and panting, a brush tangled in her hair, was his over-active and very loud, pride and joy.
“What seems to be the emergency of the second, Veri?”
“The . . . the brush . . . daddy. I tried to . . . do it . . . myself. It’s . . . it’s . . . stuck!” The distraught four year old burst into tears and attempted to pull the tangled mess from her head.
L rose slowly from his chair and sauntered over to her.
“Don’t pull. It will only get worse.” He then began the arduous process of disentangling plastic and bristles from hair. After many minutes, the brush was free, the hair tangle-less and bound in a long braid down her back. He turned the still sniffling girl around.
“Tell me, why not ask your mother to brush your hair?”
“Because I’m a big girl and she hurts my head sometimes.”
“I see. Instead of tangling yourself with a brush, how about you ask someone first?”
“But, I’m a big girl!”
“Yes, you are. But, even big girls need help. Now, I want you to run along and play for awhile. I have a lot to do today. Ever is back home. Why don’t you hunt him down?”
Veritas gave a high pitched squeal of joy that only a small child can produce. She turned and fled the room, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor, long black hair already freeing itself from the confines of her braid.
L shook his head as she ran. Must be genetic, he thought.
**
A lone figure stood outside the gates of Wammy House. He’d been waiting forever to come here. He thought he’d feel more nervous. Who are you kidding? He thought to himself. You’re scared as hell. He peered through the heavy iron bars and noticed a small girl, crouched on the ground poking at an insect with a stick, her thumb firmly planted in her mouth.
“Hello? Excuse me?” he said trying to gain her attention.
She looked up at him and frowned.
“Are you supposed to be here?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m supposed to see a Mr. Lawliet. I’m the new tutor.”
“Oh, mother told me to let you in if you showed up.” She scrambled off the ground and reached toward an electronic keypad, pushing a large number sequence before backing away from the swinging gate. He walked through, starting a bit when they clanged shut once more behind him. The girl kept her large grey eyes trained on him as he made his way into the building.
He left his bag just inside the door and made his way to the opposite end of the school. He was surprised he knew exactly where he was going. It had been so long, he’d thought he might have forgotten. But, he’d walked these halls so often in his sleep, in his memory.
He crossed the grounds and made his way to a small gated area. There, on a small bench sat the one he was looking for. He moved as quietly as he could, pausing for a moment to drink in the site. Unkempt hair, white shirt, blue jeans, no shoes. He was almost completely unchanged. Older, yes, but still the same. He crept up behind the man and looked at the stone the other was gazing at. He paled slightly. He should have expected it.
He leaned down behind the sitting figure and whispered, “I thought I told you not to do this. How often do you visit me here?”
L stiffened. That voice . . . he knew that voice. It was a voice he thought he’d never hear again. He closed his eyes. He didn’t want to turn his head, didn’t want to be disappointed. He knew he had to. Slowly, so slowly and carefully, he moved his head. There stood a young man, a young man whose face he knew. A face he would never have been able to forget.
“Light?”
“I told you I would be back. I’m sorry it took so long to get to you.”
********
A/N: God…I’m scared stiff about Veritas. I mean, the story’s almost done and people didn’t seem to have a problem with Ever but, I feel I’m really pushing it with the OC’s. Part of me really feels like this could be an ending, but we’ll see. I mean, doesn’t it feel like an ending to you? Hmmm, oh well. Anywho…for anyone who wants to know and doesn’t, Veritas is latin for Truth. I was going to go with latin for Justice, but that was Aequitas and even I thought that was a bit much for a ridiculous name. But, the irony of having justice and light in the same name…yeah, I was tempted for about 2.5. But, Veritas won…because it’s 1) my favorite word in the whole world (cause I’m a nerd like that, with my favorite words.) and 2) Veritas shortened made Veri and I thought it was a cute nickname for a kid (cause I’m a dork like that) Also, I just wanted something good to happen to L on Guy Fawkes' Day, instead of his standard canon death...and babies are good...right? Plus, I managed to get him a kid withought having to do the nasty with a girl OR have an mpreg situation. And that makes me happy XD I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter. I'm still fairly certain I've got at least one more left in me.
There was darkness. He knew his eyes weren’t closed, but he couldn’t explain the darkness. He registered the sensation of soft, cushiony material underneath him. He knew he was lying on his side and he could move his arms and legs, fingers and toes, but he could not sit up. Any moment now, his eyes would adjust. He kept telling himself that, but he knew this was an impenetrable darkness, the kind you could never see into. Just when he thought he was on the verge of panic, the darkness began to change. A small, glowing, and golden light began to grow and illuminate the area around him. The light entranced and captivated him. He couldn’t pull his eyes from it.
He felt something gently moving down his spine, then back up, caressing his shoulder, his waist, his hip. Fingers . . . a hand . . . someone was with him. With him where, he still did not know. Then, lips touched his jaw line, the crook of his neck, and his body visibly relaxed. He hadn’t even realized he’d been tense. Softly, barely a whisper, the owner of those lips spoke.
“L. I missed you.”
His breath hitched and he couldn’t help the shaky exhale or the lone tear that slipped down his cheek.
“Light,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are. That doesn’t make this any less real. It doesn’t mean I’m not truly here.”
“I don’t want to wake.”
“You’ll have to, eventually. I don’t have a lot of time. We both know how light a sleeper you are.”
“Can I see you? I can feel you. I can hear you. I want to see you.”
For a brief moment, L registered the absence of touch and then Light was there, before his eyes and bathed in that golden glow. L held his arm out to lay his palm on Light’s cheek. Light brought his own hand to cover L’s and closed his eyes.
“See? Real.” Light smiled. “I came to ask you something, L. What are you doing? Why are you stepping down?”
“Because I need to. If I ever was justice, I am no longer.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. Simply by bringing you here to live with me, by turning a blind eye to what you had done, I turned my back on justice. I can’t be L the detective, the symbol. I can only be L the man.”
“L the man isn’t doing any better. You almost never leave your room, and when you do, it’s only to sit in silence with Ever.”
“Have you been watching me?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t? You need to snap out of this stupor. Step down if you must, I can’t keep you from doing that, but you can’t stop living. I need you to live for me.”
“I’ll try. I won’t promise anything.”
“You never keep promises anyway.”
They lay in the quiet, L barely breathing, lightly tracing the features of the other’s face.
“What’s it like? Is it what you expected?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Light said. “I can’t really say much about it, there aren’t any proper words to describe it. I’m also not allowed to.”
“You’re actually following rules now?”
Light smiled. “I always followed rules.”
“Except the ‘don’t kill other people’ rule.”
“Water under the bridge. Besides, I have more to lose now. The two of us are bound more then we ever were.”
A bell tolled in the distance. Light looked up quickly and L clutched at his arm.
“I have to go.”
“No. Not yet.”
“I have to, L. I’ll be back. I swear.”
“When?”
“I don’t know, but soon. Remember, we’re bound. I’m by your side always, everyday. So, leave your room more. It’s boring me.”
L’s eyes snapped open, and then quickly closed against the sun that streamed through his window. For the first time in weeks, L didn’t cry upon waking. Instead, he smiled.
********
February 23, 2006
For the past month, she’d noticed the change. L had ventured from his room almost everyday. He’d seemed . . . happy. She didn’t know why and she supposed it didn’t matter. Ever and L seemed to be inseparable. When Mello left, Ever didn’t even have a chance to feel sad, L had been right there for him, distracting him, playing with him, trying to keep his mind occupied. Alta had been too upset that day to do those things for her son. She had been so grateful to L.
Mello had always been impulsive and headstrong. She’d been expecting him to take off, but the memories of another boy running off into the night had resurfaced, and she’d spent the day after in a sort of foggy haze. Matt had taken it the hardest. She thought she understood what he was going through, until she looked closer. She had simply been missing a friend when Beyond left. Matt was missing much more. He was missing his other half, his heart and soul. She’d known they were close, but how close was only just becoming apparent. During the first week of February, he had knocked on her door.
“I can’t do what Mello did. I can’t leave without saying goodbye.”
“It would have been fine if you had. We would have understood. He needs you.”
“I need him.”
**
“There you are,” Alta said. “I thought I might find you here.”
L moved his eyes to glance at her, but said nothing as she sat beside him on the stone bench. She read the words carved on the marble before them.
“It was his birthday today.”
“Yes,” he said. “It was.”
“Birthdays are always difficult.”
L couldn’t help but feel there was a double meaning in her words, but didn’t comment on it.
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“Why are you here then?”
“Now, he’s truly gone and I’ll never see him again. He told me . . . last night.”
She looked at him, confusion crossing her features. “L, what are you talking about?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me. At this point in my life, I believe in a lot of things.”
L then proceeded to tell her about the nightly visits he’d been receiving. Most of the details he kept to himself, but he did repeat the last of his conversations with Light.
“L, I have to leave now.”
“Now? But, there are no bells.”
“No, not that kind of leaving. This is good-bye.”
“Good-bye? No,” L shook his head. “No, I refuse to say good-bye. Not again.”
“Neither of us has a choice. I won’t be gone long. Just wait. Wait as long as you can and I’ll do the same. Don’t stumble backwards. No more sadness over me. Focus on Ever. Hell, focus on Alta. I don’t care, so long as you focus on something other than me.”
“So, I decided to come here. To think.”
“He visited you every night?”
“No,” L said. “Not every night.”
She looked at his hands, tightly gripping his knees, and sighed.
“L,” she said, gently placing her hand on his. “You two were so lucky to have found each other. Most people wait their whole lives for what you had.”
“Oddly enough, that doesn’t make me feel better.”
********
July 20, 2018
The past six years had been difficult ones. After years off the map, Mello and Matt had resurfaced. L hadn’t been too surprised to learn Mello had joined some sort of mafia organization. Mello working on the other side of the law made perfect sense. L thought of it as Mello’s own personal ‘fuck you’ to Wammy House. It had frustrated Near to no end, being thwarted by the second best at every turn. Not that he had ever shown it, but L could tell. Mello’s forte’ had been kidnapping. He was quite skilled and always received whatever outrageous ransom he demanded, until a fateful misstep in March of 2012. Matt had played decoy and died in a hail of gunfire. Mello had followed later that night in an explosion. L suspected it had been deliberately set off. Mello quite possibly had felt cornered by the authorities and chose to burn out, rather then fade away.
Bear had returned to Wammy House days later and sequestered himself for months. L had resumed his former duties temporarily while Near silently mourned. It was around this time an eleven year old Ever approached L and Alta, expressing his desire to enter law enforcement. Generally speaking, a homicide detective . . . specifically, the position of L.
Alta had been horrified.
L had only nodded.
Four years ago, L had been dealt another blow. His mentor, his caretaker, his father, had passed on. L felt he really should have seen it coming. The man had been eighty-three after all. But, Quillish Wammy had been on of those men that you could never imagine, never believe, could die. He’d been full of life and kindness up to the very end, and L would be forever thankful the man’s passing was calm and quiet.
L had another problem on his hands now. A big one. He’d received a transmission earlier that day. The words “L is dead” shone from the screen on his phone. He’d known Near had been having trouble with a band of criminals intent on assassinating the great detective. L had known it was worse then he’d previously supposed when Near had sent Ever home earlier in the year. The teen had thrown a spectacular fit, trashed his room before sulking and skulking through the halls, threatening everyone who came his way with a glare and a sinister sentence.
“Wanna know when you’ll die?”
His mother overheard him once. She’d never struck her son before, but reflex took over and the palm of her hand met his cheek with enough force to leave an angry red imprint.
“Never again do I want to hear you say that. Is that clear?”
Silence.
“I said is that clear?”
“Crystal, mother, crystal.”
Unfortunately, the group had been successful and now the world was once more without an L.
Now, L was sitting in the large office, formerly Roger’s, facing an anxious and upset Alta.
“He’s dead? Near?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Christ, L! How many more are we going to lose?”
“I don’t know.”
They sat silently while the severity of the situation dawned on her.
“Ever.”
“Yes.”
“No. No way, L. He’s not old enough. He’s not ready.”
“He’s older than I was. He is ready. There’s no one else.”
“Why not you? You could do it. At least until he’s older.”
“No, I can’t. I no longer have the stamina or the desire. I lost that long ago. I’m pushing forty, Alta. I stepped aside already. It’s no longer something I should do. You knew this day was coming. It’s what he’s been working for. It’s his goal. He wants to become what his father could not. Are you going to be the one to take that from him?”
She looked away from him. “No. No, I’m not.”
********
November 5, 2021
Just over a year ago, L had approached her with what he’d called a “science experiment of sorts.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m quite serious.”
“Don’t you think we’re both a bit old for this?”
“No, not yet. We both very soon will be and I see no reason to put it off. There’s really no other way this could be possible for me and I trust you.”
“Let me think about it,” she’d said.
She had eventually agreed, and after many failed attempts, an insemination had been successful. She’d figured after all the gains and losses they’d been through, gifting L with a child was something worth doing. Seeing L now, cradling his infant daughter, she knew she’d made the right decision.
“What are you going to name her, L?”
“Shouldn’t we both decide?”
“No. She’s more yours than mine. I did you a favor. I’m just the egg donor, the surrogate. You name her.”
“You’re not just a donor.”
L smiled as a tiny hand curled around his finger.
“Veritas”, he said. “Veritas Light Lawliet.”
********
May 1, 2026
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
L heard the scream in the hall, very loud and getting closer. He sighed and removed his reading glasses. He rubbed his temple, two thoughts flitting through his mind I’m getting too old for this, and getting old sucks. He’d been waist deep in paperwork and had just started to feel like he’d made a dent. Alta had signed off on a new tutor for the children and he would arrive later this evening. He hated when she did those things without informing him.
In all honesty, he truly detested administrative work. He’d always looked down on Roger. Now, after many years, he had come to fully appreciate what the man had done to keep the school running.
The door slamming open caused him to look up. There, disheveled and panting, a brush tangled in her hair, was his over-active and very loud, pride and joy.
“What seems to be the emergency of the second, Veri?”
“The . . . the brush . . . daddy. I tried to . . . do it . . . myself. It’s . . . it’s . . . stuck!” The distraught four year old burst into tears and attempted to pull the tangled mess from her head.
L rose slowly from his chair and sauntered over to her.
“Don’t pull. It will only get worse.” He then began the arduous process of disentangling plastic and bristles from hair. After many minutes, the brush was free, the hair tangle-less and bound in a long braid down her back. He turned the still sniffling girl around.
“Tell me, why not ask your mother to brush your hair?”
“Because I’m a big girl and she hurts my head sometimes.”
“I see. Instead of tangling yourself with a brush, how about you ask someone first?”
“But, I’m a big girl!”
“Yes, you are. But, even big girls need help. Now, I want you to run along and play for awhile. I have a lot to do today. Ever is back home. Why don’t you hunt him down?”
Veritas gave a high pitched squeal of joy that only a small child can produce. She turned and fled the room, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor, long black hair already freeing itself from the confines of her braid.
L shook his head as she ran. Must be genetic, he thought.
**
A lone figure stood outside the gates of Wammy House. He’d been waiting forever to come here. He thought he’d feel more nervous. Who are you kidding? He thought to himself. You’re scared as hell. He peered through the heavy iron bars and noticed a small girl, crouched on the ground poking at an insect with a stick, her thumb firmly planted in her mouth.
“Hello? Excuse me?” he said trying to gain her attention.
She looked up at him and frowned.
“Are you supposed to be here?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m supposed to see a Mr. Lawliet. I’m the new tutor.”
“Oh, mother told me to let you in if you showed up.” She scrambled off the ground and reached toward an electronic keypad, pushing a large number sequence before backing away from the swinging gate. He walked through, starting a bit when they clanged shut once more behind him. The girl kept her large grey eyes trained on him as he made his way into the building.
He left his bag just inside the door and made his way to the opposite end of the school. He was surprised he knew exactly where he was going. It had been so long, he’d thought he might have forgotten. But, he’d walked these halls so often in his sleep, in his memory.
He crossed the grounds and made his way to a small gated area. There, on a small bench sat the one he was looking for. He moved as quietly as he could, pausing for a moment to drink in the site. Unkempt hair, white shirt, blue jeans, no shoes. He was almost completely unchanged. Older, yes, but still the same. He crept up behind the man and looked at the stone the other was gazing at. He paled slightly. He should have expected it.
He leaned down behind the sitting figure and whispered, “I thought I told you not to do this. How often do you visit me here?”
L stiffened. That voice . . . he knew that voice. It was a voice he thought he’d never hear again. He closed his eyes. He didn’t want to turn his head, didn’t want to be disappointed. He knew he had to. Slowly, so slowly and carefully, he moved his head. There stood a young man, a young man whose face he knew. A face he would never have been able to forget.
“Light?”
“I told you I would be back. I’m sorry it took so long to get to you.”
********
A/N: God…I’m scared stiff about Veritas. I mean, the story’s almost done and people didn’t seem to have a problem with Ever but, I feel I’m really pushing it with the OC’s. Part of me really feels like this could be an ending, but we’ll see. I mean, doesn’t it feel like an ending to you? Hmmm, oh well. Anywho…for anyone who wants to know and doesn’t, Veritas is latin for Truth. I was going to go with latin for Justice, but that was Aequitas and even I thought that was a bit much for a ridiculous name. But, the irony of having justice and light in the same name…yeah, I was tempted for about 2.5. But, Veritas won…because it’s 1) my favorite word in the whole world (cause I’m a nerd like that, with my favorite words.) and 2) Veritas shortened made Veri and I thought it was a cute nickname for a kid (cause I’m a dork like that) Also, I just wanted something good to happen to L on Guy Fawkes' Day, instead of his standard canon death...and babies are good...right? Plus, I managed to get him a kid withought having to do the nasty with a girl OR have an mpreg situation. And that makes me happy XD I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter. I'm still fairly certain I've got at least one more left in me.