My apologies for this being so late. Life has been one notch above hard as of late.

Anyway. Yes. Third lemon in a row for you lovelies! Which may just be my favourite one to date. :D

I don't own Death Note.

A realization stung Amelia at two in the morning, when all she and L could focus on was the taste of coffee, stale air conditioner and two sleeping suspects on the laptop screen. It hit her with such a sudden bite that the muscles of her shoulders tensed, her fingers tightened around her mug, her lips pursed and brow furrowed.

It took L a mere three seconds to notice. "You're disturbed," he observed, mouth full of raspberry danish but eyes fixated on her stiffened form. "Are you growing fatigued?"

Amelia let her eyes meet his slowly, but drift away again when the concern in the heavy grey irises sent a chilled pang of guilt through her chest. "Nothing," she mumbled. "It's unimportant."

"On the contrary, it's very important," L objected quietly. He took another bite of his danish and looked at her out the corner of his eye. "Anything that causes irritation in you can hinder your deductive skills, thus making it more difficult to process information at your normal rate." A pause, and L looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully before swallowing his mouthful of food. "That, and I rather care for you. Both reasons will suffice."

Amelia smiled weakly at him before looking down at the dark well of her coffee mug, the creamer swirling idly on the surface. "It's rubbish, really. It was just a thought I had on a whim." She gave a small shrug and cleared her throat. "In fact, I feel silly for even noticing it."

L was silent for a moment, picking at his food mindlessly with his fork, but spoke softly enough to stir Amelia's attention. "You are far from silly, Amelia. Do take my word on that."

Amelia felt her face soften at his words as she set her mug down on the coffee table. "I'm such a nit sometimes."

"A silly nit?"

Amelia looked up at L, smirking, and continued. "I…oh, how do I say this…I have my strange ideals when it comes to human contact," she said slowly.

L's eyes widened slightly, a flit of a smirk dashing his lips. "Is this about what I…?"

"Oh!" Amelia shook her head rapidly, embarrassed. "Oh, no, that was…god, that was, uh…rather uplifting, to say the least, b-but that's not what I'm talking about at all."

She heard him huff out a laugh through his nose, taking a cheeky bite of danish and giving her a little nod of triumph. "That's encouraging," he noted in the midst of chewing.

"But sometimes I hold a sort of…um, interest, in the more minute moments that most normal adults in a s-sexual relationship partake in, which means that…"

When she ran out of words to describe herself, she took notice of the fact that L was leaning in closer to her face, tilting his head and studying her with that frustratingly endearing form of innocence that she knew was both twisted and genuine, which eventually pushed the trapped words free from their confinement.

"We're not quite the normal relationship, are we?" she asked softly. "Which means that some of the smaller moments can't really be ours."

"While I agree on the terms of not being exactly 'normal'," L said, "what are these moments that you're speaking of?"

It was then that the fresh, newly tapped embarrassment rose in Amelia's cheeks as she looked down at her crossed legs, at the hole in her sweatpants just to distract herself. "I…I won't be able to hold your hand," she whispered. "Not in front of the others, at least. And with the case at the point that it's at right now…it's not likely that we'll be seeing much of the world outside this hotel where we wouldn't have to be so highly guarded." She cleared her throat again and rubbed her palms nervously on her thighs. "And this isn't at all to say that I would wish for our lives to be completely average. I don't want to put on a pantsuit and go off to work as a secretary at some firm or any of that. That's not it at all. I…I can't ever think of a time where I've felt like I belonged the most than on this very case, but…"

L's gaze was soft upon her, neither draining nor supplying any other emotion besides her own embarrassment and childish desire. Another quiet nod from him and she was coaxed into speaking again.

"But…I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be yours and not have to hide from it," Amelia murmured, fingers fluttering up to her earlobe to give it a relieving tug. "Forgive me for sounding so juvenile, but it always seemed like such a lovely thing…h-holding someone's hand and whatnot…"

She did not give herself time to wander in her thoughts and stood up on unsteady legs, running her fingers through her feral hair as she walked towards the kitchen archway. "Well, um, now that that's on the table, I think it's time for some of that tea I've been meaning to make, the coffee is rubbish right now and-"

All thoughts of tea and coffee and kitchens delightfully melted away when L reached for her, softly taking her hand and guiding her into his timid embrace. Amelia gladly relaxed into the lean surface of his chest, breathing in the scent of cotton and raspberry danish, feeling his free arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her closer. "I'm not quite one for hugs, but I believe you can be my exception," he said into the wild pile of her hair, gently kissing her temple when she turned her head.

"I like being an exception," Amelia mumbled, smiling against his neck.

"Mm, I believe I like it as well."

And the only thing she had left to focus on was the warmth of his lips against hers, dragging her deeper and deeper into her own personal oblivion.

-

The days passed without avail. The coffee was made, the glances were stolen, the touches soft and in the secret of night, but the case was in a dry spell as they knew it.

"The most silent suspects I've ever come across," L muttered from his armchair, fiddling with his bottom lip. "Knowing you are innocent is one thing, but having such strong evidence against you and still managing to avoid any means of a confession in weeks is…"

With a bitter sigh, L dropped his spoon into his empty ice cream dish and frowned. "Positively absurd," he finished. "What are your thoughts, Lise-sa-"

A glance down at the girl, and L was stopped short. Amelia was fast asleep on her stomach, sprawled out on the floor with her hair completely concealing her turned face. Papers were strewn around her, resting beneath her limp hands, and her tea sat by her head, unfinished. Her breathing was slow, steady, and each exhalation brought about a gust of breath to ease through a lock of hair, blowing it lightly out of her face.

L took a quick survey around him and saw that the other two officers had toddled off for coffee, leading him to take the initiative to hop off his armchair and crouch before Amelia's sprawled form. He gave a tilt of his head as he thought upon how to rouse her without earning a swift punch to the jaw (he was so very aware, at that time more than ever, of just how much fire she could breathe when forced awake).

"You sleep so much, Amelia," he whispered, toying with his bottom lip gently. "And yet you're always so tired…"

His eyes were fixed on that lock of hair that clung to her lips when she inhaled, being blown back out when she exhaled.

"However…"

He reached out to her. Fingertips grazed auburn hair, stroking the soft strands without any thought behind it. Amelia did not stir; a heavy sleeper, L remembered, and he gently twirled his finger around the lock of hair. "I do wonder what you dream about."

Biting upon his bottom lip lightly, L stood up and made his way back to his chair. He would let her sleep, he decided with a faint smile. She needed it much more than he did.

-

Amelia awoke to hushed arguing and her hair in her mouth.

Taking a moment to tug the moist strands from her lips with a grimace, she dizzily sat up and caught sight of Aizawa standing behind L's chair, his back to her, with L standing before him. The latter caught Amelia's eye briefly, and it was just long enough for her to spot the faint irritation that dulled over the surface of his gaze. She stayed put and listened from afar as Aizawa began speaking, his voice hard and pressing.

"If criminals are steady being killed while Light and Misa are confined, then isn't that more than enough reason for us to let them free?"

"While I admit that it is odd that criminals are still being killed," L spoke stiffly, "the evidence against Light-kun and Misa-san is too strong to release them at this time-"

"But the fact is, Light and Misa serve no purpose being confined anymore," Aizawa stressed, emphasizing every word as if L could not understand him. Amelia bit her bottom lip to avoid bursting out with something rash as he continued. "They're both completely different people from when we first confined them, you said it yourself! If neither are giving us any information and don't seem to remember what happened before we confined them, then, tell me, what's the point in keeping them there?"

"I'm not going to explain this anymore to you, Aizawa-san," L said stiffly. Amelia could see the exhaustion on his face, the limp strands of hair that hung heavily over his gaze. She briefly wondered just how long he had been awake these past couple of days before he spoke in a quick, hushed voice. "The deal between Light-kun and I was that I would refuse to release him until I was one hundred percent sure that he was not Kira. Not once did he say, 'Don't release me until Aizawa-san believes me to be innocent', or, 'It's up to Aizawa-san to decide whether or not I am Kira and let me free, as well as Misa-san'. The point, Aizawa-san, is that I am not one hundred percent sure of Light-kun or Misa-san's innocence, and therefore will not release them until I am so. And please, save the effort of asking me this again until there is a new lead in the case. It is just a waste of time otherwise."

L wheeled around Aizawa so that he could go back to his chair, in turn causing the latter to take notice of Amelia, whom sat on the floor cross-legged like an eager child having just seen a scandal. He cleared his throat as L grumpily took his seat. "Huh, so you're finally awake," the officer stated casually.

It was an obvious attempt at changing the subject, Amelia was sure of that. Instead of looking at Aizawa or L, she pinned her gaze to the floor, the puzzle in her head racing madly. "What do you suppose would happen if we released Light and Misa?" she asked quietly.

Even without looking at him, Amelia knew that Aizawa was surprised judging by the stretch of awkward silence that permeated around them. She could feel the weight of L's stare upon her as she toyed with her earlobe, mind spinning.

"I-I don't know at this exact moment, but-"

"If we released them, say, tomorrow, or the day after…with what appears to be a memory loss in both Light and Misa, but surely enough backup to say that they were indeed both Kiras…could it be possible that they could somehow lead us to whoever is causing the new deaths in criminals? To perhaps regain some sort of memory and provide some information as to how Kira kills?"

"But, Lise-san," L added, voice low and dull, "if Misa-san could not even vaguely remember why she was being confined in the first place, how could she provide us with information in regards to Kira's killing methods?"

Amelia twirled her finger around a loose thread on her sweater and glanced at him briefly. She knew she was onto something, let it be the most minor of ideas or a fraction of a lead, but even through the haze of her mind she knew that it was something that could be built upon. If she could just get the words to string together in the right order…

Aizawa took a quick step forward. "Are you saying…that you think by releasing Light and Misa, they might somehow lead us not only to how Kira kills, but who has the power of Kira as of now?"

No, that was not quite right. Amelia bit her bottom lip and tried to collect her thoughts, dust them off and arrange them in some sort of fashion, but she shook her head and sighed, frustration mounting. "This isn't coming together right," she muttered. "I thought I had something to work with, but…" She shook her head again, pushing her hair out of her face. "No. Just forget I even said it."

-

L took his usual solace in standing by the window once more before he felt Amelia brush against his shoulder, heard her hoarse voice crackle through the silence.

"I'm sorry."

The fact that she had appeared out of nowhere was not what surprised him at all; no, it was the sheer fact that she had appeared out of nowhere with an apology to offer, and for what, he did not know. He looked at her out the corner of his eye. "I don't recall you having done anything calling for an apology, Amelia," he replied offhandedly.

The girl sighed and hopped up to sit upon the windowsill, her head turning to look out at the city spanning behind the glass. "My theory earlier. I don't know what I was trying to prove, it just…" She shrugged her frail shoulders and leaned her forehead against the window. "Maybe I'm just trying too hard to come up with a lead. I'm trying to pull one out of thin air to get something moving in the case, and I keep thinking it's supposed to be so effortless, but that's…so very unrealistic of me..."

L was gravitating toward her, he could pinpoint it without any qualms or questions; his upper body was instinctively leaning into her, his hand moving to rest on her knee, and yet he made no effort to stop himself and back away. In fact, he could see after a brief observation that she was sitting up straighter, her hand searching for his and finally making contact with her fingertips brushing up against his palm. Warm electricity, connection in such a quiet touch.

"I think it's because…"

Amelia's voice trailed off as she turned to look at him. "I have something I need to tell you."

L stroked her fingers softly, drawing forth a shiver from her as she gently pulled her hand away. When he visibly pouted, Amelia shook her head with a nervous little smile playing with the corner of her mouth. "You'll distract me with that," she whispered, face flushing as she looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. "I've been trying to keep my mind off our little intimacies in order to word this right in my head, so try to control yourself, ok?"

"Ahhh, but Amelia," L crooned softly, fingertips grazing her knee and fluttering upwards. "Is it me that has to control myself? Since you are the one who cannot speak and be touched at the same time, is it not you who needs to fight for control?"

Indeed, her eyelashes were fanning over her eyes, she was letting her leg drop down from the windowsill, and just as L's hand barely grazed her inner thigh, she took in a sharp breath and gripped his hand, pushing it away. "No," she whispered, "you need to know this."

Frowning, L tilted his head and scrutinized her flushed face, attention gripped. "Then do tell," he murmured.

Amelia's eyes took on a strange gleam as she twisted her earlobe tightly between her fingers. When her gaze dropped down to the floor, lips forming words but not executing them, L curiously reached out to touch a single fingertip against her chin. When he tipped her head up gently so that her troubled stare met his blank one, the tension broke with a resounding snap before she suddenly reached out and gripped his hand.

"I told you not to distract me," she growled, hopping off the windowsill and turning away. "Meet me in the shower in ten."

And as she sauntered off, fists clenched and feet stomping, L could not help but bow his head and smirk.

-

Heat. All around her. Pressed up so hard against her that she could feel herself molding into the shower wall.

It was always the first push of his hips that claimed Amelia's judgment the hardest, the most effortlessly, and with that first smooth thrust, her fibers and cells and bloodstream and mind were stolen. What made it worse, and she knew this without even having given it any wasted thought, was that L knew it, and that he had inwardly vowed to make each of their endeavors more maddening than the last.

He was hiking her legs up higher around his waist, slick from the hot water that pulsed from the showerhead above them, and her frantic counterattack consisted of digging her heels into his back and bearing down upon the hot intrusion between her legs. His new infuriating technique was taking as long as possible to pull out, leaving her shivering and cursing beneath her breath, then thrusting fiercely and unbridled back into her fully, smirking darkly at the restrained cry that choked behind her lips.

She wanted control, but with each one of those burning, impossibly searing plunges into her, she would lose any chance for opportunity just as quickly as it had arrived.

"I do believe," L growled against the nape of her neck, beginning the long and leisurely journey of pulling out of her, "that you had something you wished to tell me, Amelia."

Amelia stifled an agonized moan as she tried to press back onto him, to feel him sink back into her instead of leaving her (god dammit!). "I-if you think that I'm going to - ah, god - tell you at a time like this, you're fucking-"

"Insane?" he crooned into her ear. He was now halfway buried within her, completely ceasing all movement as Amelia squirmed and sweat against the wall, her legs attemping in vain to pull him back to her. He lay a wet, open-mouthed kiss against her shoulder and breathed out a chuckle, causing a thick pang of fury to rise in Amelia's chest.

"N-no…cruel," she hissed as his length left her completely. But if she was empty now, then that meant -

Yes. Hot, merciless, striking that desperate and cracking bell within her core as he suddenly lurched his hips upwards and drove back into her. Her cue was to immediately drop her hips down onto his and feel that wonderful crashing oblivion that came with that warm, wet contact of hips and frustration and thirst, but she was stopped in mid-slide when L suddenly pinned her harder against the wall and gripped her by the jaw. Her attention which was at once enraptured at the feeling of being so entirely full of him, his body heat, her own shivering limbs, was suddenly dragged to the hunger in his eyes as he scanned over her face before he kissed her.

So softly that it nearly made her weep, the pressure of the kiss was just enough to send shockwaves along her lips, a confused moan muffled behind them. His thumb reached up and coaxed her lips to open wider, to which Amelia druggedly allowed, as he gently, slowly, indulged in her mouth with that light skimming sensation of his lips.

And he was easing out again, this time much quicker, before driving back into her sleek heat without abandon, all the while kissing her so softly. Amelia's heels pressed harder, harder into his back and supported herself against the shower wall in spite of the heavy rocking below her hips, but nothing could suppress the groans, the whimpers, the nounless demands for more, god dammit.

But she could not be heard…no, that was the last thing that could happen. Through the haze of her sex-stupor, in the very midst of L pushing wet tendrils of hair out of her eyes, she imagined Matsuda, Aizawa, hell, even Watari standing outside the bathroom door, scandalized and stunned into silence and prepared to scold her for fucking on the job, but…

God.

With a sharp exhalation, he leaned back and looked at her.

Don't do that…I might just-

His eyes, dark and feverish, were now narrowing, his attention piqued onto her and only her, and Amelia shakily reached out to touch the dripping locks of hair that clung to his forehead with a timidity she would soon kick herself for. It was a quiet moment, one that she relished even in the midst of trembling in his arms and pleading with her eyes and fingertips.

Just before she nearly collapsed into herself, the feeling of being filled and yet so immobile becoming unbearable, L tilted his head softly and, with a touch that was barely there, grazed her lips with the pad of his thumb. Amelia instinctively pouted against it, eyelids sinking, her hips pressing harder downward onto his length, harder, closer…

"You…fascinate me…"

At his voice, that hoarse, gruff whisper, Amelia felt a hot burst of raw, untapped arousal, one that buried itself deep within her very being, one that had the potential to tear its claws down her abdomen and steal her heart entirely. In between staggered breaths, she dug her nails into the soft skin of his shoulders and buried her face into his neck. "Then…j-just-"

Move.

And he did He moved, a sudden, swift thrust, with such a force that Amelia's shoulders slammed up against the shower wall, their bodies crushing together as a strangled gasp erupted from her throat. Leaving no time for retrieval, she immediately felt the loss of him, the reviving push back in, sweet repetition as she desperately dropped her weight lower onto his length with each upward drive. When she could sense the harsh moans and grunts beginning to escape her lips, she immediately bit down upon his shoulder in an attempt to stop them, but she succeeded in only muffling them once L gripped her hair and coaxed her to look at him. His nails stung her scalp, but the sheer heat of his eyes forced a sharp spasm of pleasure through her stomach, shooting down to where they connected.

He drove on, propeling deeper and deeper, and as Amelia felt herself sink into the beginning of a divine breakage, her lips formed three words, slipping from her without her realizing it.

"I…love you…"

She could barely comprehend what happened next. They were cracking simultaneously. Iloveyou. His eyes were rolling back, eyelids fluttering shut, and as his mouth went agape and a shuddering series of gasps flooded Amelia's ears, she felt herself bear down as everything tightened unbearably around him. Iloveyou. Her hands flew out to his shoulders and she held onto him, his movements erratic and rough as the wave in her chest rose higher, as it became harder to control herself against him. Iloveyou Iloveyou Iloveyou.

It was no use.

Controlling herself against him. How stupid of her to think that she would ever want to do that at a time like this.

A silent scream was all she could manage without snapping completely; the pleasure was too much, L was too much, and yet she gripped him, rocked against him, harder harder harder, until everything boiled down to an exhausted friction between their hips and they remained trembling and panting in each other's arms.

Seconds passed, in which the only sounds to be heard were the water jetting from the showerhead and their heavy breathing. Heartbeats slowed as Amelia watched L slowly open his eyes.

And as their eyes met, Amelia began to laugh, soft and baffled.

While L cocked his head and scrutinized her, still catching his breath, she could only laugh harder as she began to sink down the shower wall with him until she sat on the slick floor. She bit down on her fist to stifle her chuckles once L crouched before her like a bird. "While I'm sure the final moments of copulation aren't exactly graceful," he mused quietly, "I never thought that you would find them hilarious."

Amelia sucked in a large breath, wiping tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. She waved his words off with one hand, flighty giggles seeping through her speech. "It's…it's not that that 's so funny, it's…" She took a couple moments to compose herself, but only managed to begin giggling harder, snorting as she inhaled. Meanwhile, L stared at her, round-eyed and open-mouthed.

"Then…?"

Amelia inhaled through her nose and pushed away wet strands of hair from her forehead, laughter dying down into an exhausted, lop-sided grin. "It's…what's so funny is…the fact that no matter what we do…no matter where we are or what we're talking about…we always seem to end up doing this!"

Once the explanation was out there, it was suddenly too hysterical to handle, leading to an uproarious thread of breathy giggles to slip through her lips as L took a moment to think it over. Amelia tilted her head up to the ceiling, tears streaming down her face at the sheer hilarity that came with this situation, the fact that they were both naked in the shower, the fact that their blood had barely stopped boiling after an explosive climax, the fact that they were even lovers in the first place. Amelia and L, two misfits that were too smart for their own good, orphans with tired eyes and aliases, and they had both just had a jolly good gambol in the shower, no less. It was all just so…

Unbelievable.

And twisted.

And wonderful.

"Bloody hilarious," she sighed out, smiling weakly as she closed her eyes.

She heard L's knees crack as he stood up, the sound of the shower curtain opening, a soft chuckle that she most likely was not supposed to hear. He turned off the shower, cutting off the water that streamed down on Amelia. "I suppose we'll exit the bathroom within ten minutes of the other, just to keep suspicions low," he explained. "I don't suppose you want to put up with ogling and accusations from the others any more than I do."

"I don't know, it's starting to become sort of routine to me." Amelia stretched out her legs, wincing at the slight pain at their previous awkward position. "Although, rather off topic, but Matsuda…he's been rather dotty lately…"

"I would think that that is what would be more routine to you," L said dryly.

Amelia opened her eyes then, glancing over at L, whom was already back in his clothing, hair dripping and heavy over his eyes. She shrugged her shoulders and cleared her throat, flustered at the sight. "He deserves more credit than what he gets, you know," she declared, voice soft.

At this, L furrowed his brow in interest. "Credit?"

"Yes," Amelia said with a little nod. "What I'm saying is-"

She suddenly stopped and looked down at herself. Nude in a bathtub, looking up at the man that she had just…

Snorting, she closed the shower curtain with nervous fingers. "This conversation would hold much more caliber if I was decent, I just realized."

L gave a dark laugh. "You worry about being indecent even in the aftermath of-"

"Yes, even after we just…anyway. Now hand me a towel, you dog in heat."

"Might I remind you that this was your idea," L said airily. "You coaxed me into the shower after not being able to control yourself-"

Amelia hissed out a laugh, feeling her cheeks redden. "You talk of me not being able to control myself when it was you who couldn't stop pawing at me while I was trying to talk."

And it hit her again. I need to tell him.

"L, I…"

"As you were saying before this sidestep of sorts." L opened the shower curtain, towel in hand. Amelia shakily reached out to accept it before standing up and turning away from him. Her lips formed words, but her voice failed to follow through with them.

L suddenly spoke, throwing her off guard.

"Lise Murray, are you Kira?"

Amelia spun around, her feet nearly slipping out from under her from the wet shower floor. "What the hell…?!"

"You weren't talking," L said, completely flatline, "so I had to do something to break the silence. That just happened to come to mind first."

Amelia let her eyelids drop halfway over her eyes, unamused as she began toweling off. "I'm just a little apprehensive. No need to bring Kira into it."

"Does Kira have to do with it?"

I can't lie.

"He's an aspect of it, yes, but…"

Before she said anything else, she reached down for the knob in the tub and turned it so that the sound of the water would drown out any chance of being overheard. She looked L in the eye, if only for a brief second before turning away again and resuming drying off. Best to keep herself busy instead of meeting that gaze…

"Their names are Russe and Arwen."

There. She said it. It was done.

No, it's not done and you know it, you nit…

When L was silent for an unnerving amount of time, Amelia began dressing, distracting herself and from the sudden tension behind her. "I came across the former while on an outing during my leave," she continued softly. "We had a falling out of sorts, leading for her to ultimately tell me that we are indeed sisters, which was proven by the fact that she knew both my true name and background. And Arwen…"

His sad eyes. The melancholy lilt to his young smile. His natural talent at the piano, his longing to meet L. It still had not quite left her.

"Arwen is her twin brother," she went on, pulling her sweater over her head. "I believe that he has…an incredible potential, one that he doesn't see in himself at all. He can play music without ever having any form of lessons, his view of the world is much more mature than the average seventeen-year-old, and…"

Her voice trailed off at the sensation of her throat tightening. She looked down at the hem of her sweater and began twisting it within her fingers. Just as she was about to add something, L spoke up.

"Where does Kira tie into this, Amelia?"

Stunned, Amelia snapped her attention onto him, her eyes darting over her shoulder. "Y-you…that's…you're not surprised? At all?" she breathed out.

L stroked his bottom lip, turning his eyes to the ceiling in thought. "Well, to be honest…"

Amelia stared on, her jaw dropping further at each passing second.

"I already knew of your siblings, Amelia," L finished simply.

…w-what?!

"While I didn't know the minor details regarding each of them, I have known for around three weeks that you had come in contact with a young woman who shared a similar dialect to yours and left a rather strange impression upon you."

As L continued toying with his lip, his eyes now fixed on her dumbfounded expression, Amelia tried to swallow the heartbeat in her ears and take a step forward, but she was pinned to the wall, her back crushed against the wallpaper as if held there by force. "What…but…how-"

Watari.

Watari told me to stay away from Russe.

Which means he had to have told L…!

"The resolution in your eyes tells me you figured it out," L said tonelessly.

"M-more or less…"

"But one thing that Watari didn't tell me was how Kira ties into this." L cocked his head to the side, rolling his bottom lip between his fingers and distorting his words. "In fact, he didn't even mention that Kira might have something to do with your siblings."

"They aren't Kira, if that's what you're thinking. They aren't his…disciples, or any of that."

"No, I've already deduced that much."

"Smug bastard."

"Of course."

Amelia let out a sigh and leaned over to turn off the tub water. "This isn't working. We're going to the balcony."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Amelia said with a nod, grabbing her dirty clothes and holding them against her chest. "Where no one can hear us. Make up some excuse for Aizawa and Matsuda. You're good at that."

"Are you insinuating that I am a good liar, Amelia?"

The smirk in his voice caused her to stop in her tracks before opening the bathroom door. She bowed her head and smiled to herself before meeting his eye over her shoulder. "Yes," she whispered, "and that I am getting just a tad better at reading you day by day."

Yotsuba is approaching dangerously fast...it's going to be one hell of a dramatic ride. Plus, Russe and Arwen make a return very soon!

By the way, guys, I've revised a couple of the earlier chapters. 1-5, I believe, and I'm much happier with them than before.

Reviews are wonderful, dears!