Author's Note: Before I go on, I would just like to say that I was trying to wait out for three more reviews, to reach 200 before posting. Too impatient, obviously. Also, I'm pissed off because my writing was practically insulted today. That, and my stage designing capabilities. And just my creativity and opinion in general. So, to prove to myself that I still have people that care about me and think I'm cool, here's the final chapter of Life Note.

This is the second story, in my whole life ((besides short stories/one-shots)), that I am finishing. It means the world to me that so many of you have stuck with it since the beginning, or however later on you began. I wish to thank you ALL!

I love you all and hope you enjoy this last installment of my longest, longest-running, and most popular story!

And yes, the second-to-last chapter of Death Note is named "Curtain." I thought it seemed fitting, you know?

Warning: Lemony goodness, finally...Or is it? It's not detailed ((sorry)) and there's needed info and stuffs inside, so there's no warning before. Suck it up. And swearing. In no way do I like pedophilia, but L's technically in his seventies...SORRY! BUT IT'S TRUE!

Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, it'd go a little something like this: *nerd walks up to bully* Nerd: "What up, homie?" *bully beats the crap out of nerd* Okay, so I don't own Nigahiga's "How to Be Gangsta" either, but it's funny, right? I miss the good ol' days...I DO OWN LIFE NOTE! I own it entirely and completely. And I love it like my own child...Oh, and I own the ideas behind all created names for the characters. This includes L. Oh, yes. That's right.

Chapter 20 – Curtain

"And so I turned in my files and left. He was just too ignorant!" Light concluded, slamming a fist on the table.

Mrs. Yagami laughed lightly and said, "You always did have quite a temper. Has Mr. Mikami not been able to train that out of you?"

With a scoff, Mr. Yagami stated, "It doesn't matter temper or not. What I want to know is if you still have a job!" Obviously, Light needed to keep his internship and be able to come back once he was done with law school to work full time.

"Dad," Light sighed. "This was just one small spat. It's not going to cost me any favor I have in their eyes. They know I'm too valuable. And anyway, Uncle Teru rarely has time for me, let alone time to train my attitude."

Light's father shook his head slowly. "I wish you'd stop calling that man your uncle. You're too old for that."

"Dear," his wife warned.

Frustrated, Light retorted, "If I consider Miles my brother, then I have every right to consider Terrance Mikami my uncle. Dad, will you stop with your archaic thinking? I know you don't like same-sex marriage, but no talking like that in this apartment!" Fed up, he stood and before his mother asked, he answered, "I'm just checking on dinner. It should be ready soon."

Once in the miniature kitchen, Light collapsed into L's waiting arms. He didn't understand how his father was fine with his son being gay and having a boyfriend and his son's two best friends dating each other and yet disapprove of two men marrying out of love. He wasn't even that religious!

L held onto his boyfriend, petting his head in comfort. "You're just both nervous, is all…This is their first time at our apartment and the first time they're meeting me. I'm nervous, too." Even with the body of a twenty-four-year-old, he still had the wisdom of a seventy-year-old.

"Yeah, I know…I love you," Light muttered into his shoulder.

"I love you, too…" He kissed the top of Light's head and they pecked each other's lips. "Dinner's ready, so go tell them I'm coming out with the food."

"Do you want my—" Light tried to offer.

L interrupted, "No, I'm fine. Now go!" he added with a push to Light's back.

Practically thrown out of the kitchen, Light stopped dead in his tracks at his parents' looks of astonishment and worry. He picked himself back up, standing up straight and dusting himself off. "Dinner is ready," he announced before taking his seat.

His parents sat up straighter, preparing themselves for their first glimpse of Elliot Larson, their son's long-term boyfriend.

Accompanied by the tantalizing aroma of authentic Japanese food—that Mr. Yagami hadn't had since his grandparents passed away when he was a child—L stepped into the small dining room. He was wearing the same outfit he had when first meeting Miles's godparents five years prior; Light had bought him the dress shirt, slacks, shoes, and bowtie for tonight at his request. Gasps filled the small apartment.

Both adults recognized the man, despite his slightly tamed hair and nicer clothes. His slouch was much less pronounced, but they wondered if it was only because he was carrying dishes and platters on his arms. He didn't have the same bags under his eyes—most likely Light's doing, as he was obsessed with physical beauty, as his mother knew—but his skin was just as pale. As he placed the food on the table, they noticed his spidery fingers. His smile was welcoming, but his eyes were a hallow black that they just couldn't understand how Light found deep and alluring.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Yagami. It is a great pleasure to finally meet you," L said in a gentle voice. Before he sat, he offered his hand to both, but only Mr. Yagami shook it. Light's mother ran around the corner of the table to hug him tightly. He and Light laughed at the action.

"It's wonderful to officially see you in person, Elliot! Oh, you're just skin and bones!" she exclaimed. "Now I know you can't be L; no real man could eat so much cake and be this skinny!" The younger men exchanged knowing looks, but said nothing.

"Frieda!" Mr. Yagami scolded. With a slight gasp, his wife pulled away, hand at her mouth, muttering apologizes.

L chuckled lightly and said, "Don't worry, we often joke about that. Sometimes Light slips up and calls me L, so I in turn slip up and call him Light—oh, wait…" Even Mr. Yagami couldn't hold in his laughter. "Elliot" had officially pulled off the first impression with flying colors…rainbow, of course.

The next hour or so was filled with light conversation and many well-meant questions. Eventually, Light had to leave L alone with his parents, who seemed to be getting along quite well, so that he could get the dessert.

A few minutes later, Light came back with four small plates of perfectly sliced chocolate-vanilla swirl cake with a perfect swirl of vanilla and chocolate frosting. At everyone's glazed-over eyes, he admitted bashfully, "I learned from the best…"

"Oh, stop," his mother blushed.

After taking in another mouthful, his father questioned, "This is my secret recipe, isn't it? You recreated it…almost flawlessly." At Light's bugging out eyes, he went on to explain the exact amount of certain ingredients he needed to be careful with to make it even better, not that it wasn't heaven already.

L just sat quietly and moaned for the cake in his head. Sometimes, he moaned aloud while eating Light's baked goods, but that was when it was only he and Light home alone. Recently, Light had also been trying to cut back on the amount of unhealthy foods L consumed.

After some time sitting around the table over empty dishes, Light's parents knew it was time to go. It was much later than they had original thought they'd be staying. Light and L walked with them to the front door of the apartment building. Once there, while his mother hugged Elliot once more, saying how much she enjoyed his company after reading his numerous emails through the years, Mr. Yagami turned to his son.

"He's a keeper," was all he said before he took his only son into his arms. Light missed his father's hugs. God, Mr. Yagami had to admit this man was better than that Nicole girl. He ruffled Light's hair before pulling away and looking at his son at arm's length. "You've grown so much…"

"I'm sorry for earlier, Dad. And I really do love you," Light apologized. He looked into his father's eyes, which were tearing up slightly.

"There's no reason to apologize," he replied. "I'm sorry, too. I'm working on it, you know that." Light nodded and the briefly hugged one more time. Mr. and Mrs. Yagami exchanged boys and Mr. Yagami took hold of L's hand.

They said their goodbyes as Light and his mother hugged. "You're a very lucky man. I just wished you'd introduced us sooner, sweetie."

"I know, I know," Light whined. "I've told you for years, though…It was really…complicated. And I was scared…"

"You know there's nothing to be afraid of with us here. Love you." With that, she kissed his cheek and followed her husband out the door to the parking garage.

Once back in their apartment, L stated brightly, "That went well."

Light collapsed onto the couch. "You're right," he sighed heavily, utterly exhausted.

L followed, but grabbed Light's computer on the way and placed it on the coffee table. He sat on Light's stomach, starting up the instant messaging program. "No sleeping yet; you know what we have to do first." Light whined, not wanting to do this, but he knew he had to, as L had said. And it was impossible to sleep with the dead weight on his abdomen.

The screen soon showed the accepted video call from the other end. A computer-lighted redhead with goggles over his eyes appeared on the screen, turned away from his computer and screeching, "MIKEY! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS IN HERE ALREADY!"

"I'm coming, you douche! God!" Michael stormed into the shot, portable flat-iron in hand. "And don't call me Mikey. I thought we've been over this."

"Oh, shut it," Miles replied. "They can hear you, you know." He motioned towards the screen.

Michael took in the image of his best friends laughing hysterically on his boyfriend's computer and quickly ran out of the room again. "Just a minute!" he called. A few seconds passed and he ran back in the room, his flat-iron having been turned off and cooling down in the bathroom. He quickly grinned widely and jumped on Miles's back to get into the shot better. "Hey!" he greeted.

His reply? "Who the fuck flat-irons their hair at eleven at night?"

Miles smiled and pointed his thumb at the guy on his back. "Him, apparently. I don't get it either, but hey, I live with it."

Michael pouted but quickly recovered. "So…How was it?"

As promised, L and Light spared no detail of the first meeting. It took a full hour, but their best friends were finally satisfied. That's when Light took in Michael's hands wrapped around the other's neck.

His tired smile spread. "And is there anything you two want to share?"

They innocently looked at each other and then looked back to the screen, shrugging and shaking their heads no. At Light's intense eyes, they caved.

Michael shoved his hand towards the webcam. "Matty proposed!" he squealed.

L and Light could only stare skeptically. Michael started rambling before Miles interrupted him to say he was going to take him to bed and tuck him. The blond whined, but obliged when Miles promised to turn off his computer, too, so he would follow him to bed.

Michael ran off to their room, shouting out his goodbyes. Miles stayed behind to whisper that he'd be right back. The other two waited, Light nodding off slightly and L trying to keep him awake long enough so that they could talk with the man in question.

A couple of minutes later, Miles returned. "I don't know how he does it. One minute, he's how you just saw him; the next, he's sleeping like the dead." He shook his head in wonder. His friends remained silent on the screen. He knew what they wanted. "Okay…so…you're wondering why the hell I'd propose to him? I love him, that's why!"

"And…?" Light deadpanned.

"And…I thought it might help with all our fighting. See, he keeps thinking that I'm gonna leave him or something like that. I mean, that's what I thought he was often worried about. So, after talking with my aunt and uncle, I decided that maybe I needed to prove that I'm not going anywhere and that I love him. I know marriage isn't always the answer and might turn our horrible in the end, but who's to know? If we aren't meant to be, then we aren't meant to be. But at least I'll know that I sure didn't waste these past five years…"

It was a pretty logical explanation. His interpretations were more or less accurate and maybe this was the final solution.

Michael had returned home a few days after he came to Light's place. He knew he wasn't welcomed too much anymore by then and decided maybe he could work it all out with Miles. It turned out that Miles was waiting for him with the ring. The redhead just couldn't live without him. Near was a witness to the pain his owner had suffered.

Finally, they all wished each other goodnight, Near popped in for a moment to say hi to L, and then everyone sighed off. L carried the half-asleep Light to bed and pulled off both their clothes until they were in nothing but their boxers. He crawled into bed next to Light, wrapped his arms around his love, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

A few weeks later, Light sat at his desk, similarly to how he had the night he'd changed his and L's lives forever. The only difference was that the desk had switched apartments to the one on campus he and L were sharing for the new school year.

A sigh escaped him as he leaned on his hand, his elbow supported by the desk. In his other hand, partially lying on the desk top, was a flimsy piece of white cardboard-like material folded in half. On the top part were the words "Life Note" in black calligraphy.

The notebook that never ran out of pages was empty. He unfolded it to see the barren inside. Nothing. No trace of paper ever having been bound inside. On the inside cover, the rules still remained. But those rules would never work again, obviously.

No matter how hard he tried, Light couldn't remember everything that happened, especially concerning the pages of the Life Note. What he did remember, though…

"Wait, Light!" L cried.

Light's hand flew across the page, scratching in the words that he knew would make their world so much easier, so much better.

Even before he was done writing, the white glow around L began to increase. When his pen finally left the page, the room was completely bathed in white light. He turned back around only to be blinded. "L!" he shouted, the glow actually causing a roaring to rush through his ears. No answer. What was going on?

"L!" he screamed, but still all he could see and hear was the fucking glow. He stood, despite his instincts telling him to stay seated. "Oh, God, L!" As if going against a tornado, he stepped forward, one foot at a time.

The hand that wasn't shielding his eyes finally grasped the bare skin of L's arm. His hand burned as if touching an ice colder than winter. He tried to pull L towards him, but only managed to drag himself into L's arms. The Spirit was completely naked now, but neither could see anything, only white.

L clutched at Light's body in pure pain, wanting everything to just stop. He hated this, hated it all. He didn't know what was going on, didn't know what he should do, if anyone had ever done this before. The pain was unbearable, searing straight to his heart. His blood was both boiling and frozen in his veins. The very laws of nature were shifting inside his body.

Why did Light have to do this? What irrational, naïve thoughts were going through the boy's head when he wrote down L's name in that accursed Life Note? They were happy, weren't they? So, L was immortal and Light would eventually die. They still had his lifetime together, right? Light could introduce his boyfriend to his parents, just sneaking a bit of Life Note onto their skin, couldn't he? Their life was comfortable, happy…

What if all this right now meant he would be leaving Light? He couldn't even see most of what Light had written, his body freezing soon after the words were etched into the paper and the light blinding him. He didn't want to leave his Light, no matter what. He didn't want to leave his love…

Abruptly, the white light turned to black darkness. Still, L could not see anything, only feel Light's shivering body wrapped around his. He couldn't hear the shouts coming from Light, asking what was going on. But he did hear a violent ripping vibrating the air. Was the time itself ripping?

No, it was…Oh, no…Lace-like paper became visible, circling around the two as if they were the eye of the tornado of darkness. Most of the paper was blank, but a few sheets stood out with their black writing, a name at the top of them and some small unreadable words underneath.

The Life Note…had torn apart…

One sheet flew towards them both and suddenly, they were visible to each other again. L could see the tears in Light's eyes, and as Light looked up, he could see the tears falling down L's cheeks as well. What had he done? Oh, God! What had he done? What was going on? What was happening to his Life Note? He hadn't been thinking. It was just something he'd contemplated when alone at work a few times. He didn't think he'd ever actually go through with it!

The sheet that now circled above their heads froze. Light could see it now…It was the one he'd just written on, the one that had caused all this. It shot downwards and all Light could think was, 'Don't give me a paper cut.' But, oh, was he going to get a paper cut.

The piece slipped between their chests, which were both now miraculously bare. Though L was already in pain, and Light was numb, having been holding onto L's icy body for so long, their chests hurt beyond reason.

Fire erupted from within and they could do nothing, both just statues in this netherworld Light had created. Neither could even breathe, their hearts having stopped functioning, their brains all but gone…

And then…

A single, solitary breath, a gasp of air suctioned into both their lungs and their world stopped twirling and they collapsed to the floor of their bedroom, only the lights of the city seeping through the blown-open curtains.

It was over, all the pain, all the suffocating pain and ice and fire and numbness…Everything…

The only sound for several still moments was their heavy breathing. But soon, the door handle jiggled and their door flew open. Michael stood in the open doorway, a smirk plastered on his face. "Finally," he said before closing the door and going back to sleep on the couch.

Light finally took in their position. They were lying on the floor, L on top of him, and both were naked, sweaty, and panting…Well, that would definitely cause quite a few misunderstandings…They both agreed to wait until morning to explain to Michael what had happened…

Somehow, L had turned human. Neither totally understood what all that light and darkness had to do with it all. L explained that when he turned immortal, a blinding light did indeed envelop him, but he passed out it seemed like and woke up almost immediately in the Spirit World. There was no pain at all, just a feeling of loss, of losing his mortality and his body.

The next morning, Light had gone out to buy L a wardrobe, his Spirit clothes having vanished…along with Light's pajamas, much to his annoyance. He rather liked those; they were comfy.

It was definitely hard adjusting to the new L for many reasons. L, having lived with the Eyes for so long, had a hard time getting used to actually asking Light about his day and the like. The world was so much duller now, he decided. And he had to constantly remember that he needed to use the door, that other people could see him, and other people could definitely hear him.

Light…missed his nightlight. He missed the feeling of L watching over him all night. The man, while displaying some insomniac qualities, actually did sleep almost like a normal person. He soon became Light's alarm clock again, after a few nights of sleeping for the first time in forty years.

A large slam of the front door awoke Light from his daydreams and memories. L was home, and he didn't seem particularly happy. He was home much later than he said he would be, and Light had even taken off a little bit early to meet him.

Since his boyfriend didn't seem to be in the kitchen/dining room/family room, L made his way to the bedroom they shared. Light was waiting for him in front of the door once he opened it, a beaming smile on his face.

"How was work?" Light questioned, thoroughly curious. While his clothes were completely gone after the transformation, sitting inside an old briefcase that appeared next to Light's were documents about L, like his birth certificate, his social security number, his many college degrees, and so forth. Somehow, they were all authentic, but the birth year was obviously off by quite a margin. L used these documents and some old credentials to find himself another university professor job.

Since the new semester hadn't started yet, he was only going a few days a week to his new classroom, preparing things for his rebirth as a professor. Today, he had a meeting with the head of his department.

With a glower in his eyes that could scare small children, L questioned, "Is it me, or have college professors gotten stupider?"

Light laughed and ruffled his lover's hair, though it really didn't need it. "It's just you…I think," he tried to assure him. In reality, since he wasn't alive forty years ago, he actually wouldn't know.

"Lighto…?" L asked, using Light's old nickname that hadn't been uttered in years. "I had a horrible day…Since once the semester starts, you won't have any time for me…could we…?"

Chuckling, his voice getting deeper and more velvety, Light replied, "Only if you don't use that pout on me again to just get sex…"

"Deal!" L cried, jumping onto Light with a huge smile and kissing him, legs wrapping around the younger's waist. Holy crap, Light could feel that his boyfriend was already quite hard. Stupid jeans covering that until now.

Light led them to the bed, L's weight causing him to topple onto his back. Enjoying the friction it caused, L continued to sensually dry hump Light while his tongue attacked his mouth. The glorious feel of not having to restrain himself anymore took over and primal instinct became the only thought in his head.

L had waited forty years to have sex again. Light had waited only twenty-three; he could handle a bit of pain. Their first time was animalistic to the point of blood being drawn from not just Light's ass. For some reason, Light actually didn't mind. Maybe he was in need of this too much, as well.

Now, L had a lot more control over his actions. Still, both knew it would take a while longer before all animalistic qualities abated. Five years of sexual tension does that to people. Both quickly shed each other's clothes, buttons and zippers undoing and bare skin soon touching.

L's tongue traveled downwards, lips faintly ghosting over the skin above Light's heart. Light's fingers danced on L's back, his thumb eventually weaving its way to L's chest and touching the same area above his heart. A shiver ran down both their spines.

After a bit of preparing, L thrust inside Light, filling him with a completeness that he never truly understood how much he needed. They felt…like they were one, together forever, yet deliciously mortal.

At their moment of climax, the still-tender skin above their hearts touched, scorching their insides in pure passion…and slight pain. Heavy breaths coming out in pants, L laid down beside his love. His eyes followed Light as he relaxed his whole body before wrapping his arms around L. He nuzzled his nose into L's neck, lightly nibbling before biting just hard enough to cause a slight bruise that would disappear in day.

Something in the hickey Light made caused a surge of pride to course through him. He'd been the one for so long that would have to cover up hickeys his "imaginary" boyfriend gave him. Now, L had the ability to show off his taken status to the world.

"Light?" L soon whispered.

"Hmm?"

After a pause, L stated, "I'm hungry." Light groaned, but rolled off his boyfriend and to the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry for ruining the mood," he apologized. Light waved it off and just grabbed a pair of boxers. He headed off to the bathroom to clean himself quickly off before he prepared dinner. He didn't hear any sounds of L following suit, so he concluded L was probably lying on their bed, basking in the afterglow of sex until the smells of dinner would draw him to the dinner table.

After he cleaned himself off the best he could without a proper shower, Light glanced at himself in the mirror. His eyes were immediately drawn to the scar over his heart. Oddly enough, it was legible in the mirror. L had one too, but was backwards if seen through a mirror.

He let his fingers trail over the letters carved forever into his skin, taking in the significance of them. He was so glad he'd done it, despite the pain it caused in the moment and the soreness that skin would still have for quite a while. The only problem was that nobody else could see the scarred skin, even if they were able to see L before or if they touched the skin there. It wasn't like the Life Note…It was theirs.

L Lawliet
Becomes mortal once more, but stays with me for the rest of our lives, aging from where he left off.

He smiled to himself and exited the bathroom, still only in his boxers. Eventually, the apartment filled with the smells of home-cooking and L joined him at the dinner table for one of their last meals together before school started again and Light would have to live off ramen and L off cookies.

L looked up from inhaling his food to grin at Light. The blissful feeling was mutual. Even though they knew they wanted to live one day at a time, their future called to them…

A perfect lifetime…just waiting for them to live it…

Author's Note: I am sorry. I wasn't in the mood for writing a lemon. It also just didn't seem...appropriate?

A bittersweet ending in my opinion. There is no such thing as a happy ending after all, just new beginnings. Is this a new beginning? I sure freaking hope so. After all, you don't really know what will happen...Do you like how the last line references their thoughts two chapters/five years ago? There's a lot of thought in that, so why don't you analyze it?

Oh, and now you finally understand how Light can have a Japanese name and yet not have Japanese parents, what w/ what you know his mom's name is. His great-grandparents on his dad's side were immigrants.

To clarify before you guys start complaining! In Wo-Man, Soichiro Yagami is a heartless, homophobic bastard. In this story, Mr. Yagami is a confused father who grew up a certain way with certain beliefs drilled into his head. And I thought the argument might foreshadow something...XP So, he loves his son and he is trying. It's just hard. I wanted it realistic, alright?

About that proposal: I know that marriage doesn't solve everything. But I realized that since I didn't want to fast-foward too much, didn't want these guys breaking up completely, and didn't want something stupid where they realize their differences and live happily ever after...I thought that this is something the overprotective Miles will do for his "Mikey." Marriage by no means solves all problems, and in fact can create more. But it proves Miles is serious and commited and trying. Right?

I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I have loved writing it. You guys are utterly amazing and I really have to thank you for sticking with me even when I'm such a weirdo or a dork or whatever. I would really appreciate reviews and words of wisdom for my future writing. Speaking of future writing: Imperfection will now be put at top priority, along with, but

not as strongly, Wo-Man. Sorry King of the World fans, but I'm having issues with motivation for that...So it's still on hold.