Twelve: Thank You

There was a long moment of silence. In fact, it seems as if the very wind had stilled for this moment.

Lawliet was still pressed against the wall, trembling only very slightly, in a way that most normal people wouldn't notice. Quillsh Wammy was crouched over Alyss, holding him by the shirt collar with one foot on his chest. Alyss was laying on the floor, stunned and somewhat terrified.

Lawliet's eyes darted from Quillsh to the knife to Alyss and back to Quillsh. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, it sounding incredibly loud in the stillness.

That was when sound returned. The wind, the clicks and pops of the building and probably the scampering of a cat somewhere… and sirens. He heard sirens getting closer.

Quillsh slammed his fist into Alyss's face once and then again.

Lawliet watched the older man beating the other man, vision tunneling due to the blood loss. He could feel the salty tears running down his face and out of his nose; he could taste them on his lips. It was as if all the crying he never did, all the fears he'd never expressed, came flooding out all at once, and now he couldn't stop it.

Alyss howled, finally managing to shove the old man off of him and crawling away, bloody and with what looked like a broken nose.

Wammy was about to take off after the boy when he felt a tug on the leg of his pants. He looked down to see Lawliet staring up at him, looking barely half-conscious. "Wa… tari…" He stammered, sniffing.

Quillsh knelt down before the boy. "Dear God," He whispered, getting a look at the wound. He immediately grabbed the knife and kept it close so that he could be sure Alyss wouldn't snag it again. "L, stay with me."

"Don't go away…" Lawliet whimpered, sounding like a child for the first time since Wammy had met him.

Quillsh stared at the boy for a long time. "Law…" He began.

Lawliet squeaked, face contorting and turning slightly red.

Quillsh pulled the boy close to him in an embrace and then lifted him into his arms. The sirens were right outside. He made sure to take the secret exit so that they wouldn't be seen. As they disappeared through the hole, he saw the police filing in.

-

Outside, Wammy had stood off to the side, trying to formulate what to do. Hospital? That'd be a tough thing to explain. He really didn't know how to get a bloody child anywhere without being noticed right away.

Lawliet slipped back into consciousness while Wammy was debating. "They caught him…" He whispered.

Wammy glanced up, seeing the men filing out with Alyss handcuffed between them.

"Fucking L!" Alyss hissed. "Fuck!" He was so angry that it seemed he was frothing at the mouth. He continued shouting obscenities over the reading of his rights until a voice broke the air.

"Alyss… I didn't want to believe it."

Chief Glover stared at his son, his exterior shattering into a solemn disappointment.

Alyss burst into tears, wailing mournfully, unable to look his father in the eye as he was shoved into the police car.

A car pulled up by Wammy and Lawliet.

"I had a feeling that when you ran off you'd be needing some help. I just followed the sirens and here you are. Good job calling on them."

"Roger!" Wammy exclaimed, climbing into the vehicle. "Drive."

"You got it."

They left the scene before the cops had ever seen a thing.

However…

"So bizarre," One of the officers said. "Alyss was howling about L cheating him and lying or something… but the L we met was an old man, and these hairs acquired at the scene are black…. and all that blood. I hope he's all right."

"Maybe he was in disguise."

-

Roger had taken them back to his home where Quillsh nursed Lawliet's wounds. He broke out in a terrible fever over the night, but Wammy was by his side the entire time.

Between sleep, Lawliet would awaken and ask questions about the case, though at times his high fever caused them to not make too much sense or were at least unnecessary. The boy seemed to be at peace despite the wound, and around 4 A.M. that morning, Wammy discovered why.

"Watari…" He said quietly as he awakened once again. "How did you know where I was?"

"I followed your footprints. By the way, you're lucky you don't have frost bite."

"Oh…" Lawliet looked at the wall for a moment, dazed. "Well… why did you save me?"

"You needed saving," Quillsh smiled warmly and lightly stroked Lawliet's hair. "Why wouldn't I save you?"

"I didn't think anyone was going to save me is all…"

"I'm your caretaker. It's my job to take care of you."

Lawliet nodded, mulling the thought over a little. "Watari… I need you to promise me something."

"All right."

"Don't leave… and don't die. I… need your help more than I thought I did… and I like you too. You're my friend."

Quillsh smiled warmly. "I won't be going anywhere unless you are. I solemnly swear that I won't die until you do. I won't leave you alone, I promise."

Lawliet smiled and soon drifted off to sleep once more.

Wammy sat back, stretching. "Well, what can I say, kid? I love you."

-

Morning arrived, and Lawliet's fever broke. Wammy was exhausted but pleased. The mission had been accomplished, surprisingly, and it was actually pulled off fairly well. Lawliet needed to be carried still because of his injuries, but he didn't protest or act like it was an issue. He was quiet as usual, but Quillsh knew that there was a comfort there that hadn't been there before. For the first time, the boy had complete and utter trust in someone, and why wouldn't he? After all, he owed him his life.

When they returned to the orphanage, it was still early so everyone was asleep, except for a few suspicious nursemaids.

Lawliet slept in Quillsh's room while he caught up on work in the office. It seemed he'd gotten used to long nights without sleep. Well, maybe it was that, or maybe it was just that the guilt that he'd fallen so terribly behind on the work.

Life moves on, really.

-

A few weeks had gone by, and Lawliet was in Quillsh's office, working on a case via the computer that Wammy had bought for him (Lawliet had requested they keep it on the floor). This one wasn't nearly as dramatic as his previous one, and he'd pretty much figured it out already.

"Watari," Lawliet piped up, tearing his eyes away from the monitor for the first time in hours.

Quillsh finished writing his name on the document he was signing before looking up. "What is it, Lawliet?"

"I've been thinking."

"Oh, is that so? Let me clean your wound."

Lawliet crawled up onto the desk and pulled off his shirt. Quillsh removed the bandages from his shoulder and began dabbing iodine onto the place. It had healed rather well, though it looked as though there would be a scar.

"That stings," Lawliet mumbled, but he'd said it every time, so the bite had vanished from his voice over time.

"So, what is it you were thinking about?" Wammy asked, redressing the wound carefully.

"Oh, of course. Right. I was thinking about the problem with Alyss," Lawliet replied. He was referring to the stabbing, obviously.

"Yes?"

"It had me contemplating what may become of me. I of course don't intend to get myself into any peril like that if I can help it, but the fact that my questionable profession could put me in mortal danger. I've come to face the fact that I very well could die."

Figures that the child could talk about death so casually, just like an adult. Wammy would have been terrified, had he not come to expect this.

"However," He continued, pulling his shirt back on, "I certainly don't intend to be quitting this job until I'm good and ready. The money we were paid for helping them catch Poker Alice was quite a significant sum, after all, and I do enjoy it."

"Yes, L, and I've already deposited the funds into a saving's account for you."

"Yes, yes I know. Anyways, I was thinking that if something were to happen to me, I would want L to live on so that no one would suspect me of being L. I wouldn't want anything to lead back to you or any of these people here. Therefore, I will… require an apprentice."

"An apprentice?" Quillsh asked, laughing a little. "Yes, actually, I'd been thinking of that myself. However, I think it'd be hard to find someone as intelligent as you."

"Au contraire, Watari. I believe that there is an abundance of children like myself. Many of them have probably been unable to express their talents or even realize they have them. Of course… I wouldn't know how to come across such children…"

"Is that so? So there's something L doesn't know."

Lawliet grinned.

-

A few weeks after that discussion, Cosette was adopted out to some rich family. Lawliet was more than depressed but eventually he got over it.

Christmas came and went, and by the time January had arrived, Quillsh's intense work had paid off. Lawliet himself had been clueless until the day arrived.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"You'll see," Wammy replied, closing the car door.

Lawliet pouted, not a big fan of surprises, since it was information he didn't know. He was now the owner of a coat, gloves, boots, earmuffs, and a scarf, and they actually fit him, unlike most of his clothes. Wammy didn't admit it to the boy out loud, but he was pretty cute all bundled up like that… If one could get passed the tired-eyed vampire look, that is (and he could surely).

There was a light snow falling, and Lawliet almost watched it with wonder, though he was probably just reminding himself out how snow was created.

Such a strange boy.

He pulled to a stop outside a gated building. "We're here," He told the boy.

Lawliet clambered out of the vehicle, with Wammy's help, and walked hand-in-hand with the man up to the gate. "What… is this place?" He asked, staring up at the clock tower.

"Wammy House," Quillsh replied. "It's my new orphanage geared specifically towards gifted children. At this place, we may be able to find your successor."

Lawliet squeezed his hand a bit more tightly, and Quillsh glanced down at him.

"You did this for me?"

"Of course. And you have your own room here too. Roger will be running it-"

"Watari…"

"What is it?"

"… Thank you."

"Any time."

GAME OVER

((A/N: And that's the end! I hope you enjoyed reading my story. I intend to write a sort of sequel/spin-off of this story, so please look forward to it. Questions? Comments? Just review and I'll do what I can. Thanks so much for reading!))