Author's Note: Hello! Thank you for clicking on this link to read my Death Note fanfiction! :D Yes, Death Note's finished, but I'll be so happy if anyone reviews! :3

L being a psychologist is only in this fic. This AU is about L having a bunch of odd jobs after all. :) I really want this to be a light-hearted fic, and so this first chapter not being all happy was necessary. I feel as though I stuffed all my plots into this. But it'll get better! :D

Spoiler Alerts: L's real name, some events that actually happened in canon. Oh, and Beyond Birthday is in this fic-in a way. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

Chapter one

"Wonderland"

He wrote in the book frantically, he couldn't get rid of them fast enough. The sound of Ryuk crunching the apple noisier than necessary was annoying, but he ignored it, his pen scribbling on the paper even faster…

Light's eyes slowly opened. The same dream every time…getting up from the bed, he rubbed at his eyes tiredly while yawning. Resisting the urge to dive back into the warm inviting bed, he walked sleepily toward the bathroom.

Fwump. Fwump. Fwump. Light Yagami's eyes flickered to the tiny panda doll hanging from the car window, attached by a suction cup, bump the window repeatedly before stopping and resting almost serenely on the glass.

The panda.

Light had found that blasted doll from under his bed of all places. He had no idea on how the heck it had got there, so he had given it to Sayu, his little sister. Although Sayu had liked it, the panda being fuzzy and soft to the touch, the panda had gone from hanging on Sayu's window to moving onto the car's. She said that the panda was "creepy", and Light privately agreed; the doll's wide staring eyes always seemed to be following you.

The sound of the GPS shook Light out of his thoughts ("50 kilometers from your destination.") and reminded him of where he was going, and Light had to control his grimace of annoyance and exasperation. He should never have told his father, Soichiro Yagami, about the dreams or his ideas. It wasn't a big deal, but his father had over-reacted, appointing a psychologist to talk to his son.

To say that Light was indignant would be an understatement. He was embarrassed, insulted, that his father thought he had a disorder of some sort. Light had everything, being intelligent and athletic, even having everything in the looks department, so hearing his father saying subtly that he needed professional help was humiliating. At least Soichiro was driving there.

"So," Soichiro Yagami said, looking into the review mirror at Light. Light turned his head in his father's direction to indicate that he was listening. "Anything exciting happening at school?" It was a rather bad conversation starter, in Light's opinion at least.

School was one of the most boring and mundane things in existence. Light had never gotten anything less than a hundred on anything, had been tennis champion, top of the class…the lists of his achievements went on and on. If anything, Light couldn't wait to work in the NPA like his father and follow in his footsteps.

Light, a natural born genius, couldn't say studies were exciting. Luckily, something did happen in high school that broke the usual routine.

"My English teacher tripped on the stairs and fell flat on her back yesterday," Light recalled, having been there to witness what happened himself. "She had to go to the hospital. A substitute will be here for the duration of her absence, but no one knows yet how long that'll be."

Soichiro glanced at the review mirror again and furrowed his brow in worry. "Mrs. Nakamura? I hope she's all right."

"She is," Light said reassuringly. "The school announced it a few hours after that the hospital said she would recover."

"That's good," Soichiro said. "A terrible thing to happen to her on Friday though." He hesitated, before saying in a rush, "Light, seeing a psychologist may seem like a waste of time to you, and I know you think it won't help you, but trust me, it will." It seemed that this is what he had wanted to say in the first place.

Light didn't know what to say to that. He looked toward the window, brushing his auburn hair out of his eyes. Light didn't complain when his father had set up the appointment, but Soichiro had probably known what Light was thinking. Well, it did injure to boy's pride.

The sound of the GPS rang out again, and the chief detective turned his attention back to the wheel. Light resisted the urge to slouch in his seat. His brown eyes stared out into the window in silence, wondering if he should start a new conversation with his father, talking about his work, for example. He decided not to, not in the mood to talk.

"Arrived at the designated destination." the GPS announced, and when the car stopped, Light stepped out.. It was a nice building, and looked like it hadn't been built for very long. He glanced at his watch. He had to go in at nine-thirty, and it was 9:28. He wasn't late, which was good. Light turned back towards his father, who hadn't gotten out of the car yet.

"Bye, Dad," Light called to him, waving. "I'll take the bus home, so don't worry about picking me up." The sun was shining brightly, and the auburn-haired boy raised a hand to his face to shield it from the sun.

Soichiro hesitated. "Are you sure, son? If you give me a call…" He trailed off into silence, unsure of what to say next without sounding like he was talking to a child. Light was seventeen, he knew how to take care of himself. And his son also knew that Soichiro was actually too busy to drop him off back home. Soichiro sighed, guilty that he couldn't do what he was going to suggest.

Light shook his head. "That'll be too inconvenient for you," which Light was secretly thankful for. He really didn't want his father to ask how everything turned out after it was all over. "If you want, I'll call a taxi to get home."

Soichiro gave his son a tired smile, before backing out of the parking lot, and as soon as he left, Light finally let out the grimace he'd been holding since the beginning of the car trip. Shaking his head again with a sigh, he composed his face to a smile before walking into the building.

When the receptionist, whose name was Shidori Takemiya, heard the door open and saw Light walking in, she looked at him interestedly. The boy looked about eighteen, and didn't seem like the sort to have any problems. He was very attractive, but if he was here, he had to have some problem.

"Can I help you?" The Shidori asked, standing up from behind her desk. She tucked a stray strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. She had a pretty heart shaped face that always seemed to be smiling.

"Yes, I have an appointment at 9:30," Light said, looking around. Soft music wafted out from a speaker, and there were a table and sofas with a variety of magazines. But Light couldn't help but notice how many security cameras there were around the place. How odd.

"Follow me," the receptionist said, getting up. Light followed her into a hall.

The receptionist sent him to one of the offices. And when Light stepped in…

….he was in one of the most weirdest rooms he'd ever seen.

The first thing he noticed before even looking inside was the smell. Oh, it wasn't an unpleasant one. Rather, it smelled like the inside of a bakery. Cakes and pies and other sweets' scents mingled together and created a relaxing atmosphere.

The inside didn't look like a psychologist's office at all. There was indeed one of those big, long, padded chairs that were often shown on T.V. when one was talking to a shrink, but it was pushed against the wall like it was a waste of space, and had a couple of smooth silver laptops positioned haphazardly on it, all three of them turned off.

The source of the pleasant aroma was obvious; a variety of sweets were scattered everywhere; candy, cakes, etc. Most of it were piled on a table in the corner of the room, next to a cup of steaming tea and a high pile of sugar cubes, but Light had to avoid stepping on a cake that was just two feet in front of the door.

…This so called "psychologist" ought to have some therapy himself.

Finally, the chessboard in the middle of the room on a coffee table got his attention. He had notice when he first stepped in that the black leather sofas on either side of the table were the only acceptable places to sit, so Light walked toward it, wary of stepping on any wayward pastries.

As Light sat down, he studied the chess board. It looked brand new, and it obviously wasn't cheap. The chess pieces were all elegantly shaped, and all spun of glass. One side of the chess board had black pieces, and the other side was just clear, which Light assumed was white.

And just like in the reception room there were an unusual amount of security cameras, but better hidden.

Who was this psychologist?

Just then, a voice said, "Hello."

The auburn-haired boy spun around to identify who was also present in the room, but there was no one. He saw a flash of white in the corner of his eye, however, that wasn't there before. Light turned to it, and saw that one of the laptops on the chair was now turned on. The white glowing screen had a big gothic looking L in the middle. Light raised an eyebrow. "Hello."

The voice was from the computer. It started again: "I am L. Are you Light Yagami? Then you are my patient." The voice was deep, but it wasn't exactly comforting. It had a mysterious aura. But Light wasn't intimidated. And what was with the 'L'? Did this man think that an alias was cool or something?

Light blinked. The psychologist wasn't even going to be present in the room. But it was apparent that this 'L' did use this room. The sweets everywhere was proof of that.

"You can have any candy you want," the voice offered.

Light looked around at all the candy and pastries, and his stomach turned at the idea of anyone being able to eat even half of all that in one sitting. "No thanks."

"That's a shame. Light-kun-can I call you that?" L asked, his voice coming out of the computer. He didn't wait for an answer, and just went straight to the point. "What is your problem?"

The auburn-haired boy was busy analyzing all of this information in his head. His eyes flickered to all the security cameras-the ones he could find, anyway. His father had said he got one of the best psychologists around, but Light never heard of a psychologist talking from a computer.

Although Light was lost in thought, he didn't let it show in his response. He was mainly preoccupied with how the cameras were positioned, trying to think of a way to get into a blind spot, just for fun. "It's not a big deal," he sighed, tired of having to repeat this phrase over and over. Light lost count of how many times he had told his father. He wondered which camera L was looking at him was.

There was a silence, until the voice replied, "…I see." There was a chewing noise, and a swallow, before L said, "But it is my job to hear it." The voice was emotionless, and it was impossible to decipher what the anonymous man was feeling.

Light leaned back. "It really isn't anything worth coming here. My father is just worried that I might have…a problem with murders." The seventeen-year old boy looked that the laptop defiantly, daring him to say that yes, it was a big deal.

The laptop's screen was just the same as ever, and Light felt some irritation that this psychologist was so unreadable. Dammit, using a computer was cheating! As if to emphasize that Light didn't know the other man at all, L said expressionlessly with a simple, "Continue."

Well, whatever with this unknown person then. You can't really find out anything with just a voice either. He got the impression that this L was pretty young however. Light said, "Well, for months, I'd been having some really strange dreams about me killing criminals."

"Every day?" L asked. Light nodded.

"I've always thought that the world would be better off without some people. Wicked people who commit crimes and causes terror for the innocent."

"That's understandable. Many people think that."

"But no one dreams about killing criminals everyday."

"No, I guess not. So the dreams are the problem." L said, keeping his responses short and to the point. Not a person to beat around the bush. He seemed to want to finish this as quickly as possible.

Light shrugged. "I suppose." If L wanted to get through this fast, then the feeling was mutual.

"Were all your dreams the same?" L asked, pressing Light for more details.

Light was about to answer when the ceiling above creaked. Was there a second story? No, the building didn't look like it…Thinking that he just might just be hearing things, he answered L's question. "Not exactly. When I first got the dreams-this was recently, a few months," the auburn-haired boy said before L would most likely have asked, "The first dream was different, and then it all became the same." He paused, looking directly at the laptop, but when it was all silent, Light went on. "The way I kill criminals is with a black notebook."

"How does a notebook kill anyone?"

"It's called the Death Note, and the human whose name is written down will die," Light said. Huh, he never really thought about it, but now that he did, the response came so naturally to him…weird.

"…I see," L said slowly. Light head a sigh emanating from the computer, almost in a wistful way, before asking, "So in all your dreams, all you do is write names in the Death Note until you wake up?"

"Yes, except for the first dream I mentioned.

"What happens there?" L asked. Light didn't know if he was imagining it, but it seemed that L seemed slightly more interested.

Light was about to speak, when the ceiling creaked again, more loudly, and Light couldn't pass this off as imagination. There was a soft cracking sound, not directly above Light, thank goodness, but a little bit in front of him.

"Oh…" L's voice came from the laptop, but this time Light didn't look at it, instead looking up at the ceiling. "Crap…"

All of a sudden, a loud bang sounded in the room, and the part of the ceiling that Light was looking at opened. The ceiling was all tiled, and one of the tiles fell out-Light jumped to his feet, but the tile wasn't falling, it was hanging off the ceiling on, strangely, hinges. The tile creaked as it swung back and forth, but wasn't in the danger of falling off.

But that wasn't important. What was important was when the ceiling tile door-thing opened, something came out with a whoosh, and Light saw that it was a person, landing in a sprawled heap on the opposite black leather sofa.

Light stared the person that just came from the ceiling, who was rubbing his neck and continuously muttering, "ow". He had ink black hair, with pale smooth skin, and wide-staring black eyes with dark bags beneath it, as if he'd never had a good-night's sleep in his wasn't sure if he was a boy or a man, but he seemed a little older than Light.

The black-haired boy/man? had apparently recovered from his fall, and positioned himself on the black sofa with his knees up and hunched over. He was dressed simply with a white long-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans. "Hello," he said as though nothing had happened, and Light managed not to gape. "I am L."

Light blinked. "Wait a minute-you're L?!" he said, and L looked up at him, cocking his head to the side. "You're-you're too young to be a psychologist!" But this guy's voice did sound exactly like the laptop…Light shot a glance at it, but it had shut down, the screen all black.

L looked at Light with his black-rimmed eyes and something about him reminded Light of the panda doll hanging off his father's car. Quickly waving those thoughts away, Light tuned into what L was saying.

"I am not too young. I am twenty-four," L said, shrugging. Light didn't really have a choice that this really was L, the voice was exactly the same. He was also rather relieved that L was older than him by quite a few years. It would have been embarrassing if L was his age. But it he was only twenty-four…

"I am not unlicensed," L said as if guessing what Light was thinking. "I finished college at a young age, and got the Ph.D and all the other requirements."

"How old were you when you finished college?" Light asked, frowning. So he was a genius then…that raised his respects for the black-haired man a bit more.

L shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Light-kun. We are not talking about me." L suddenly dropped his expressionless mask and looked a little smug. "If Light-kun is still curious, he may ask me later. But I will tell him now that when I first graduated, it was before my age was double-digits."

Light was shocked. "Are you kidding? Before you were ten?! How can-"

"Doesn't matter. So what happens in your first dream, the dream that was different than the rest?" L said briskly, going strictly to work-mode.

"Oh," Light blinked, recalling what they were saying before the interruption. But still, the fact that L…the auburn-haired boy could hardly concentrate with the fact that for once there was a person who could be smarter than him. Probably is. But if Light wanted to ask about it, he had to finish. "It's the same as the others, I continue to write names, but then Ryuk-"

"Ryuk?"

"A shinigami that gave me the notebook," Light said dismissively, a bit amazed at how easily they had gone back to how they were talking before. But it was different, with L sitting in front of you and trying to bore holes into your soul. "Anyways, he says that he was always going to write my name in the Death Note eventually, and pulls out his own, and writes my name in. And then…" Light hesitated. "…And then, as I'm dying and closing my eyes, I see an angel…"

…!!!

Light, managed not to gasp, but could not stop his eyes from widening with realization. He had, of course, saw the winged person in his dream, but he couldn't recall the face. Now he could. In his dream, a hunched over man with messy black hair and pale skin, with white feathered wings on his back, had stared at him with blank black eyes…

…Just like the black eyes that were staring at him right now.

L.

The angel was L!

How was that possible? Light was positive he'd never seen L before, if his eidetic memory was serving him right. Besides, if he'd ever looked the black-haired man in the eyes, he'd never forget him, with those blank eyes that tried to pry away every secret he had.

Coincidence? Unlikely, but the only possible explanation. But Light had a gut feeling that that wasn't it. Being a logical person by nature, he never really liked 'trusting his gut', but for some reason, however impossible it may seem, Light had a feeling that maybe he did meet L before. Whenever he had tried to picture the angel's face, he always got the faint taste of nostalgia in his mouth, of triumph…and regret? His emotions when he thought about the angel was always in turmoil, so infuriating, so joyful…

"Is Light-kun okay? His face looks white," L said, oblivious to what was going on in Light's head. Curling his toes to grip the edge of his seat, he leaned closer to the auburn-haired male. "Light-kun?"

Light, whose eyes were spaced and glassy, quickly focused back to L and abruptly leaned back when he found L's face much closer to his then expected.

"Yes?" Acting skills came into play. Light did not look defiant as he looked at L, or smile reassuringly. That would have been a dead give-away that something was up. Light really did not feel like saying, 'You're an angel,' because that would sound like he was gay, not to mention just plain awkward.

L waved a careless hand, though his eyes became more alert, still leaning forward by perching on his toes. "You were saying?"

"…And an angel stares at me as I die."

An angel? Is it because it is because you know that murdering, regardless if they are criminals or not, is sin?"

The auburn-haired boy's eyes flashed angrily. "The world is rotten! Some people just deserve to die. It's justice!"

L leaned even closer to Light, causing the younger boy to have his back pressed against the seat to avoid having his personal bubble violated. The black-haired man did not seem to be uncomfortable in any way-even thought his position at the moment made it seem as though he'd fall forward face-first at the slightest shove.

"Light-kun seems to be awfully supportive of the idea of murder. I can see why his father would be worried. Is Light-kun saying that if he did have a Death Note he would do the same as he did in his dreams?" L, with his unrelenting black eyes, seemed to be more of an interrogator than a psychologist.

"What?!" Light was outraged at L's blatant suggestion. "I'm not a murderer, okay? I don't know how anyone can kill that many people and not go insane!"

L finally plopped back into his seat at Light's outburst. He picked up a lollipop off the table with two of his fingers. "No need to be so upset. Back on topic. So this angel dream triggered the rest of your nightmares?"

"They're not nightmares…" Light muttered, nodding sullenly. He shouldn't lose his temper like that…what was he thinking? L just seemed good at provoking him.

"Hmmm…I wonder why the dream of you dying was first, then the rest. That seems out of order…" L mumbled, looking up with his thumb in between his lips. He waved the lollipop distractedly with his other hand as he mused. "Perhaps that dream came first to symbolize that you knew what you were doing was wrong…A warning? Or maybe your fate…no…" his mumblings became less and less audible until there was silence. Shaking his hair out of his eyes, L addressed Light again abruptly. "Did you see how the angel looked liked? I mean, its expression?"

Light decided to lie. The angel L's expression had been emotionless, but his mouth had been turned down in a frown, but if Light told L that, he might have to describe the "angel."

"No, I can't remember how the angel looked at all."

"Then do you think it was significant? What do you think it symbolized?" The black-haired man's tone made Light wonder if L knew he was lying.

This time, Light decided to be honest. "I don't know."

"I see…"

"…" The psychologist and patient were both silent as L thought.

"…….." When Light thought he couldn't take the silence anymore, L suddenly smiled. That surprised Light. The smile made L seem more…approachable, more normal. Warmer than the aloof air the psychologist seemed to always gave out. "I now know Light-kun's problem and the solution," he announced. Light blinked in surprise. Already? "Light-kun has…" L paused for dramatic effect. "…no problem at all!" The black-haired man shot the puzzled Light a thumbs-up.

Light was stunned. Running a hand through his hand, he wondered if he heard right. Though Light had already thought up of all the possible things that would happen after this session, he hadn't expected this… "Really? Are you sure?" This was better than he could have ever hoped for.

L had stuffed the lollipop into his mouth so his voice became muffled. "Yesh, I am shoor." The lollipop stick waggled wildly as he spoke.

Light couldn't help but grin. "I'm glad you understand." L was seriously the smartest person Light had ever met. Bit the auburn-haired boy's smile faded as he said, "But what about the dreams?" Probably some kind of sleeping pill that gave you dreamless sleep.

The black-haired man waved Light's words away, as if he couldn't care less. "Light-kun won't have any more dreams. The one he dreamt last night was the last one."

"How can you be so sure?" Light raised an eyebrow. L sounded very confident in his conclusion. Indeed, the other man was now looking away from Light, toward the ceiling in while the tile was still hanging, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. The problem couldn't have just been solved with Light just talking about it…

"Because I am L."

Because he was L? That was the worst explanation in the history of worst explanations. Speaking of which, that can't his real name.

Ignoring the almost disturbing lack of information, Light decided to let it drop. The auburn-haired boy had a sneaking suspicion that L knew more than he was letting on, but Light didn't really care, as long as he was free from this place, and L would almost certainly never tell him.

"So, 'L'," Light said, putting more emphasis on the black-haired man's supposed name. Light glanced at his watch. 9:52. They hadn't been talking very long, had they? Light should've just leaped out the door as soon as they finished, but couldn't resist his curiosity. "What's your real name?"

"L." L looked at Light, widening his eyes innocently. Light frowned.

"Really, what's your name?"

"L."

The auburn-haired boy resisted the urge to sigh. This man was extremely irritating. "What's your last name then?" he asked. Really, if L said 'L' again…

"Lawliet."

Light glanced at the psychologist, almost startled to hear him say an answer that sounded more believable. "Your name is L Lawliet?" Surprisingly, if fit the black-haired man.

The other man nodded, apparently not having anymore to say. His eyes were calculating as he looked at Light, and Light knew that L was more intelligent than his appearance suggested. Which reminded the younger boy about L promising he'd answer the college question.

"How old were you when you graduated college?" Light asked.

L glanced at the table with the pile of sweets and sighed, remembering what he had said as well. Tearing his gaze reluctantly back towards Light, he answered, "Nine."

Just as L had predicted, Light's brown eyes widened. "Nine?! How-"

"Light-kun does not need to be so modest," L said, and Light couldn't tell whether L's tone was being sarcastic or not. "Light-kun could have easily achieved the same had he been presented the opportunity." Giving the sweets another longing glance, L sighed, too lazy to actually get up to reach them, he picked up a stray sugar cube with his fingers. His hand brushed against a chess piece, and he looked down. "Does Light-kun wish to play?" L asked. He had a feeling Light had a lot of questions and was rather uncomfortable to answer them all.

Luckily, it seemed to distract Light. The brown-eyed boy's eyes lit up. "You're on."

Unluckily, like L, Light seemed to be skilled at multitasking. If anyone else saw the scene, if would seem that L and Light were simply chatting like old chums. It looked as though L and Light didn't even look at the chess pieces as they moved them. But both of them were playing their hardest.

Light, thankfully, didn't ask as many questions as anticipated. L actually enjoyed talking with the boy, which was a miracle all by itself. L didn't like talking to anyone really, save Watari, so to enjoy company with a seventeen-year old boy was a surprise, but a pleasant one.

The conversation that L enjoyed the most with Light was the one about the law system. The black-haired man had realized that the two were almost alike, yet there couldn't be two more different people.

"…but Light-kun, murder is still murder." L said, moving his pawn forward, still continuing the argument about justice.

"People who are guilty and should be persecuted roam free out on the street thanks to people with your sense of so-called justice," Light said, moving his knight out of the way.

L didn't answer, instead moving his rook five spaces. He looked up, and Light stiffened when he saw a smirk on the pale man's face. "Check," L announced.

Light looked down and widened his eyes. "Crap," he hissed under his breath, and ceased talking for once, frowning in concentration. After a moment, his face smoothed out, and L wondered what the Yagami boy was up to now.

"Check-mate." Light announced, smirking. But it had been a close match. L was certainly a formidable foe.

L looked up, blinking. "Congratulations," he said simply. He stirred his tea, which he somehow got Light to retrieve for him.

Light looked pleased himself. But then he narrowed his eyes. L looked up at the sudden change of expression.

"Wait a minute…" Light said slowly. "…You didn't let me win, now didn't you?"

The black-haired man's eyes looked painfully innocent. "What is Light-kun saying? I tried my hardest." Which was true. Until he pretended to slip up. For some reason, L had wanted to let Light win. Which was completely irrational, as L hated to lose. "Light-kun was the toughest opponent I ever had."

Light stared at him for a long moment, before abruptly setting up the pieces again on the chess board. "I want a rematch."

L sighed, looking at Light almost fondly. "As much as I enjoy Light-kun's company, it is getting late, isn't it?"

The auburn-haired boy looked at his watch. One-forty-seven. Time went fast. "Oh, you're right. I should get going. It was fun, L."

L nodded. "Likewise."

Getting up, Light reached the door. He paused, before turning around back to L. It was his first time meeting someone who could keep up with him. "Good-bye. Thanks for the…help." Light blinked in surprise, having had forgotten why he was in the room in the first place.

Dropping his sugar cube into his tea, L looked up at Light and smiled again. When L smiled, he looked kind of…cute. With huge eyes, the way he sat…Light tuned into what L was saying. "Yes, Light-kun. I hope we see each other very soon." His dark blank eyes were mesmerizing.

Light smiled back, and walked out the door, shutting it gently. L smiled even wider. The auburn-haired boy did not even notice that one of the glass chess pieces was missing.

When Light went back home, he put his hands into his pockets and was confused when his hand wrapped around a cold glass object. He pulled it out. It was a black chess piece. The king.

Somewhere in the world, a pale, black-haired child opened his blood-red eyes. Kira eyes. And for some strange reason neither could fathom, L and Light felt a bit lighter.

Thank you for reading! It'll get better after this. :)