Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

* Note: this was edited due to some grammatical errors and mistakes. However, everything should be good now, so let me know if you catch anything else! Thanks!

Introductions

A Couple Days Before the Incident…

"L," Light said dully as he stared incredulously at the raven haired detective, "you can't be serious." L looked up at Light briefly before turning back to the computer monitor.

"Why would I be joking about something like this Light-kun?"

"I just can't believe it," Light said, his voice still showing signs of surprise, "you really want me to meet your family?"

L's huge dark eyes bore into Light's, making Light blush and look away because L was staring at him with such immense intensity.

"Is there a reason why I should not want you to meet them?"

"Oh, don't be like that Ryuu," Light said softly, taking L's pale hands between his own and squeezing them gently. "You know that I wouldn't do anything to them, I thought your suspicions of me being Kira were gone."

Now it was L's turn to roll his eyes.

"I know that Light-kun, we caught Higuchi nearly a year ago…but I have never brought anyone home for them to meet before."

To L's surprise Light chuckled and his lips turned into a smile.

"What? Are you nervous that they won't like me or that I won't like them?"

"Something like that, yes."

"Oh come on," Light said confidently showing his most devastatingly charming smile and sweet expression, "who wouldn't like me?"

"I can think of a few people," L muttered, but Light didn't seem to hear him, instead he got up to go refill his coffee mug, ruffling L's unruly locks affectionately on the way out the door to get to the kitchen.

Despite Light's nonchalant attitude towards the whole situation, L was actually very worried. He hadn't visited Whammy's House for nearly three years now and he was uncertain on how Mello, Matt, and Near-but mostly Mello- would react to L bringing Light along and introducing him. As his boyfriend, that is.

L sighed and gently bit the top of his thumb. He could somewhat guess their reactions: Near would remain impassive while secretly hurting inside and feeling confused on how L of all people could have fallen in love, Matt would be shocked, but get over it quickly and care more about how Mello would react more than his own feelings, and lastly Mello. How would the blonde react? Anger or anguish?

L had always known that he held a special place in Mello's heart, in all three of their hearts actually, but Mello's volatile emotions made him more susceptible to a breakdown than the others. They all had a special place in L's heart too.

L mulled it over, thinking how much his heart also belonged to Light as well now, and smiling uncontrollably at the blissful feeling of just having someone to love and being loved by that person in return. As if being summoned by L's thoughts, Light re-entered the room, holding a small plate with a delectable piece of strawberry cheese cake with whipped cream on top of it.

Knowing it was for him, L grabbed the plate and the fork from Light's hand and began to dig into the dessert.

Light sat down in the chair he had occupied just minutes ago and smiled affectionately.

"Your welcome."

L just hummed in agreement and continued the art of cake eating. Once his plate was thoroughly scraped and licked for any excess frosting and whipped cream, did he catch Light's attention again.

"We will be leaving tomorrow then," L said casually. Light seemed flabbergasted again.

"Tomorrow? But that hardly gives me anytime to pack!"

L shook his head in sarcastic sadness, "Light's feminine qualities cease to shock and amaze me." Light gave L an annoyed look before fleeing the area to start his erratic packing. L's laughter ringing throughout the room as he did so.

A Couple of Hours Before the Incident…

"Ryuzaki," Light said slowly, carefully picking his words, "how are you planning on introducing me to them?"

L glanced seductively at him, "I am planning on introducing you as my sex partner, of course." At Light's annoyed and a little alarmed face, L laughed, enjoying messing around with the auburn-haired youth.

"I am just joking Light-kun, did you really think I would be introducing you to my family- who are mostly children by the way- as my partner in bed or as my former Kira suspect?" Light looked thoughtful now.

"Would that annoy them?"

L brought his legs up upon the airplane seat and wrapped his arms around them almost defensively, ignoring the glare shot at him from the flying attendant. Looking up into honey colored eyes L felt some of his worry fall away.

"Well, since all of them are training to be the world's greatest detective someday, I would say that yes, telling them that you were once a Kira suspect would not bode so well."

"It might be amusing," Light said off-handedly picking up a pamphlet from the pocket in the seat in front of him. L did not answer to that, instead asking Light another question.

"What do you know about my family?"

"Nothing really," Light said shrugging, "I know Watari and I know you grew up in an orphanage in England, where they are now training the children to become mini L's, but other than that nothing."

L's worry increased as he realized that he was still hiding a great deal of himself from his lover. He hadn't told him about Mello, Matt, and Near? Because of L's almost doomed expression- which Light found incredibly adorable- he turned and gave L a quick peck on the mouth. The kiss seemed to bring L out of whatever stupor he was thinking about and he turned to his boyfriend.

"I should warn you Light, the general consensus will probably be disapproval when I introduce you to them." L saw Light's mouth open to fire off an inquiry, but he cut him off.

"It is not the reason your thinking of Light-kun." Light's mouth turned into a frown and L smiled at the cute pout that had formed on his lover's face.

"They will probably not like you… because some of them are your age."

At Light's confused face, L began to explain. "You turned eighteen about two months ago, some of the student's who will be graduating from Whammy's this year are around the same age as you are, and well-"

"Some of them might wonder why they couldn't be your lover if were the same age," Light finished for him.

"Exactly," L smiled, loving how they could feed off one another's sentences.

"So, then are all these kids in love with you? In that way I mean?"

"Oh, no," L said almost bemused, "just the ones that were in school while I was also attending and a few other notables. The others are just a bit…attached."

"Great," Light said sarcastically, "now I'm going to have to ward off your other lovers with a stick or something the whole trip."

L looked at Light amusedly, secretly loving Light's jealous, almost possessive response.

"Do not worry Light-kun, I would never cheat on you."

"You better not," Light said seriously, "or I'd have to punish you."

"Oooooh, is that a promise?" L said playfully, nipping Light's earlobe with his teeth. Light blushed and a large women behind them coughed loudly. Smiling profusely, L and Light both settled down for a long plane ride that led to a house full of very anxious children.

Minutes Before the Incident…

"You grew up here?" Light asked enviously, admiring the stone-like mansion with the massive gray pillars and a large almost park-like front yard with a small pond off in the corner. Large trees with great billowing green leaves swayed gently with the slight afternoon breeze and the large black wrought iron gate swirled into letters at the top to form the name: Whammy's House.

"Yes," L answered, his tone nostalgic when he spoke. Light smiled gently at his lover's almost bittersweet expression.

"Shall we move into the house now gentleman?" Watari's low, gentle voice came from beside them, and perhaps for the first time, Light could understand how great of a caretaker Watari could be.

"Yes, of course Watari," L said smoothly, grabbing Light's hand and tugging him along, reminding Light of their handcuffed days.

Light loved the orphanage already and he was actually quite excited to meet this so-called family of L's. Before they could even reach the door to open it however, the heavy wooden doors burst open with a series of loud voices crying, "L!"

Light instinctively let go of L's hand and stepped back as a hoard of children of varying ages rushed directly towards L, quite like a stampede Light thought.

Quite literally, L was dog piled under a what seemed like an innumerable amount of children. After a couple of seconds Light could barely see the top of his boyfriends untamable black hair.

"Now, now children," said Watari good-naturedly, "let's give L some breathing space and get into the house. It's getting chilly outside."

Reluctantly, the children let go of L, well except for one…

"L! I missed you so much! Why didn't you visit sooner! I haven't seen you in forever! Did you miss me? I missed you! You wouldn't believe how annoying Near has been!" The blonde haired little brat that had on all black and a rosary hanging over his neck was squeezing L tightly around the middle.

The boy couldn't have been much younger than himself, Light mused a little jealously, maybe fifteen or sixteen if he had to guess. All the other children had an expression of longing faces on, like they wanted to be hugging the air out of L as well. To Light's surprise, L wrapped his arms around the blonde boy just as warmly.

Now Light was really jealous.

Even though L had told him some of the kids were around Light's age, whenever Light pictured L's family he saw little three and five year-olds, sucking lollypops and holding L's hands to be able to cross the street, not mafia looking teenage boys who looked like they wanted to whisk L away for midnight trysts in seedy motels .

Light, still not noticed with all the commotion of L arriving, took the time to analyze the kids that went to this genius school for orphans. Their was a red-headed kid wearing green goggles and a striped black and white shirt with a furry vest over the top that was staring intently at the interaction between the somewhat girly looking blonde boy and L.

Actually, Light realized, the expression on the boys face would probably mirror his own if he were to look at his own reflection. His expression was one of jealousy and confusion as if something he once knew had been ripped away from him.

Deeming to keep his tabs on the strange goggle wearing kid, Light continued analyzing the other orphans. He saw a pudgy girl with pigtails that had paint splattered all over the front of her once white shirt, a disturbed looking boy with his fingers squirming inside of a jelly jar that had a scary resemblance to his beloved L, and a gentle faced youth with brown hair that could of looked gray if you didn't look closely enough at it. All these children caught his eye and he made a promise to watch them closely for the few short day they were here visiting.

Light was about to clear his throat to draw attention to himself when suddenly the great wooden doors opened again and a small child with abnormal curly white hair and white pajamas quietly joined the gathering that had occurred outside. The little twitters and chatters that had been going on between the other children stopped and they seemed to be anticipating something with bated breath. Light's eyes swiveled back and forth between his boyfriend, the blonde boy, and the albino now standing on the porch.

"L," the white child said quietly with an almost robotic voice, "you finally came home."

Light almost bristled. Home? Was L really that attached to these orphans? Not that it was a bad thing, but Light felt rather hurt that L had never told him about these children before if he loved them so much.

L gently tried to unlock the blonde boy's hands from around his waist and smiled slightly when the boy refused to even budge.

"Mello," L said soothingly, "I am not going anywhere, you can let go of me now." With great difficulty is seemed like, the boy named Mello- what kind of name was that anyway?- reluctantly unwound his arms from around L's waist.

"You promise?" Mello said wistfully, "you won't leave?"

"Not right away, no, but eventually yes." Mello seemed somewhat satisfied with this answer and grabbed L's hand, beginning to lead L inside. The other children followed along happily, whatever they had waited for earlier with nervous twitches was obviously not a threat anymore.

What were they afraid of? Light thought. It was almost like they had expected a fight to ensure or something. Light purposely waited for everyone to go ahead of him, so that he could tag along in the back, a better spot to watch everyone and what was going on.

When L came towards Near, he surprised Light again by holding out his hand to the small albino child, the said boy taking L's hand with a small almost loving smile.

Great, Light thought sarcastically, he would be competing for L's affections with ten year-olds. Oddly, the children still seemed not to have noticed him, or perhaps they just didn't care. Light found that unlikely though, because L had told him he had never brought anyone else back to the orphanage before.

Without further ado, L entered the mansion-like orphanage, the boy called Mello and the small boy in pajamas at his side with the rest of the excited children following behind them jubilantly. Watari clasped his shoulder when he walked by and told Light to not be shy and make himself at home.

"I will Watari, thank you. I'll be in in just a minute." Light wanted to stay out in the now chilly air for a little longer, just to get his bearings in check. Light was a little overwhelmed now. When he had first met L, he got the impression that L was lonely, that he didn't have anyone there for him, well perhaps except Watari, and now to find out that a numerous amount of children loved L and that L loved them in return, was unbelievable.

The detective was antisocial, rude, blunt, and completely naïve when it came to taking care of himself, and Light used to have the impression the he was the only one in the whole world who understood L. It had made him feel special and loved because L was the only one who had understood Light as well.

Of course, their was his mom and dad and Sayu, but in a way they didn't really count. He felt obliged to love them because they were his family, but these children weren't related to L at all. L chose to love them and they chose to love L in return. Before L, Light hadn't loved anyone like that. He didn't have any friends he loved, he didn't love Misa, he didn't love Mikami. L was the only one, and to find out that Light wasn't the only one for L was… heartbreaking.

Light sat heavily down on the steps in front of the house, letting out a quiet sigh as he did so. L probably hadn't realized that he wasn't even there, he thought petulantly and just a little bit bitter. He whished the trip was over, no even better he wished they had never came. Quietly he laid his head on his hands and started to sulk.

"Lighten up, dude, you just got here."

Light whipped his head up and stared in the direction the voice was coming from. Still leaning against the wall in the shadows was the red-headed teenager with goggles. Lazily the kid pushed himself up off the wall and walked towards Light, sitting himself down on the step next to him.

Light stared at the boy warily; a little annoyed for getting disrupted during his brooding time.

"Why should I listen to you?" Light said unpleasantly, "I don't even know you."

The boy shrugged and said, "True enough."

Light eyed the teenager critically, wondering why he wasn't inside with the other excited children and L. The two drifted into quiet for a few seconds before the red-head reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Light eyed him with surprise.

"You don't mind do you?" the boy said, already lifting the cigarette to his mouth to light it.

"Uhh, no, but your kind of young to be smoking…" Light said, years of his father's influence rubbing off on him. The boy laughed humorlessly.

"Whatever. It's not like your much older than me anyways, what are you eighteen?"

"Yeah," said Light slowly, "how old are you?"

"Just turned fifteen."

Fifteen, Light thought a little surprised, he would have guessed sixteen or seventeen. The boy seemed odd though. Every other child in this orphanage was beyond excited to see L, so why wasn't this kid?

"Why aren't you in there?" Light voiced his thoughts, pointing his thumb in the direction of the wooden doors.

"Don't wanna be," the boy replied vaguely, "I don't like crowds."

"But you'll sit with some stranger whom you don't even know outside in the dark?" Light said incredulously. The boy smirked, blowing out a puff of smoke.

"L brought you right? He wouldn't bring someone here unless he was absolutely sure it was safe."

"That's it then," Light said annoyed, his thoughts drifting back to L, "you'll sit with me because L brought me here?"

"Yup," the boy said simply.

"Whatever," Light said using one of the boy's phrases.

"Who are you anyways?" the boy muttered, scuffing his shoe on the step below. Light hesitated at this question, not sure what to tell the weird red-head. The boy, seeming to sense his hesitation switched his words around.

"Alright then, what's your name?"

"Light," he said after a moment, now realizing that it was now substantially dark outside and that L had still not come looking for him.

"That's a weird name," the boy concluded, "my name's Matt."

"Well, then it's nice to meet you Matt," Light said politely, ignoring the comment about his name and sticking out his hand.

"Ditto," said Matt and stuck out his hand to shake Light's. They drifted back into silence and Light realized this would be a good opportunity to get the scoop on Mello, the albino kid, and everything else preying on his mind.

"So," Light said casually, "were you friends with that one Mello guy or something? You looked about ready to punch L in the face at one point."

At the mention of Mello's name, Matt stiffened and averted his eyes from Light's. After a few minutes of silence and no answers, Light tried again and changed the subject.

"Okay, then, who was the albino kid? If you don't mind me asking that is." Light saw Matt's hands clench and tighten and when he spoke it was with reserved anger.

"His name is Near. He's the smartest kid at this school." Light was a little surprised at this answer and stored the information away to ask L about it later.

"Oh," said Light, unsure about what to say, "that's unexpected." Matt turned to him thoughtfully, like he was considering something.

"You know, your probably right. At first sight you'd think A or Beyond would be the smartest or something." Light nodded even though he had no idea who those people were. Matt looked at him critically for a moment and then looked away, inhaling another breath from his cigarette.

"You're smart aren't you?"

The question was so random and off topic that Light simply stared at Matt for a second.

"Pardon?"

"You," said Matt slowly, "are smart."

"Why do you suppose that?"

"Because your L's lover right? And L doesn't have anything but the best."

Light literally choked on his own saliva, eyes bugging out of his head comically as he stared at the smoker with unbelieving eyes.

"H-how did you know-"

"Who else would you be? Plus L seems different, he seems happier…healthier."

Light was about to start listing all of the possible people he could be, but was caught off guard at Matt's last statement.

"He does?"

"Most definitely," said Matt, finally butting out his cigarette on the rough cold concrete steps.

"He used to look sickly, ghostly, haunted, you name it, but now… he looks…well, he looks more human."

Light considered Matt's words and felt warmth invade his chest and belly despite the now frigid air outside.

"Yeah," said Light softly, "he's really-"

The two boys on the stairs jumped involuntarily as the wooden doors banged open and clambered loudly as the wood hit the wall with force.

"Matt!" Mello screeched, "what the hell are you doing out here? L's inside!"

"I know-" Matt started, but was roughly interrupted as the blonde marched forward and grabbed Matt by the hood of his vest, trying to pull him up and off his feet and into the house.

"Well come on then! I'm freezing my ass out here-" he stopped when he saw Light, sitting calmly on the wet concrete and staring at the blonde and Matt with inquisitive eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" Mello asked bluntly, still keeping a hold on Matt's furry vest.

"My name is Light Yag-" Mello interrupted Light mid sentence and turned to Matt, "who the hell is this guy?"

To Light's surprise, Matt looked at Mello coldly before ripping himself out of the blonde's grasp.

"Don't touch me," said Matt venomously, "you don't even care about me-"

Mello took a step back at Matt's poisonous glance and odd statement and looked at his best friend with confused eyes.

"Matt, what are you talking about-"

Light watched as a fuse seemed to go off inside the red-head, surprised at how worked up the boy could be after being so calm just seconds ago.

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid! I know I may only be third in line, but don't treat me like I'm an idiot! You know exactly what this is about!" Matt's breathing had increased and his face had turned splotchy.

"Matt, if this has to do with L-"

"Of course this had to do with L! Everything we know revolves around L! Why shouldn't this be any different?"

Before Matt could respond however, the double doors opened yet again and the white albino child stepped outside, seeming almost to glow against the black sky due to his almost fluorescent pajamas.

"Do you have to yell Matt? It is quite rude and distracting-" started Near, but was cut off from another howl from Matt.

"Oh, shut the hell up Near! This has nothing to do with you! Go back inside and play with your toys!" Matt's voice was now a screech, and he stared at the albino with an almost vengeful eye.

Light found Matt's last command quite odd and continued watching the growing incident with avid attention, not quite sure what was going on, but determined that it was important nonetheless. It almost seemed like the three of them were having some kind of lovers spat…

"And you," said Matt rounding on Mello again, "go back inside to your precious L! I don't care, but he," said Matt pointing his finger imminently at Light, "might have something to say about it." Light's eyes widened as he was brought into the conversation, Mello's incredible icy blue stare seeming to bore into him. Mello menacingly walked towards Light, his hands punctuated into fists, and his eyes alight with fire.

"What the hell does that mean, huh? You think you have some sort of connection with my no-" he stopped to look at Mello and Near, "our L?" Light bristled angrily at the misguided assumption, but Matt interceded before he could get out a scathing reply.

"Our? What do you mean our L? It's you two that are bloody in love with him!" Matt accused, pointing his fingers at Mello and Near.

"Love is a strong word," said Near quietly, curling his finger around one of his white curls.

"Shut up Near!" screeched Mello, the words rolling off his tongue as if he said them all the time, "Matt's just jealous!"

"Jealous? Of course I'm god damn jealous! I finally express my feeling for you after years of keeping them a secret and you just blew me off! You didn't even look at me after I told you I loved you, just because that's when Roger announced that L was coming home!" Now Matt's eyes bristled with tears and Mello seemed quite literally shocked to the bone.

Light was now extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation and wondered if he could just leave. Would L even care if he left anyways? It seemed like he had plenty of people to replace himself as a lover if he wanted to.

Mello swiveled his gaze around and stared at his best friend.

"Matt…I'm- why didn't you say anything?"

"Don't you know how long it took me to say it the first time? Fifteen years Mello! I- how do you think I felt when I finally confessed my feelings to you and got no answer in response just because L's name was mentioned?"

Mello didn't say anything and the group fell into it's first silent moment since Mello stepped outside the door. After a moment's hesitation, Near spoke up.

"So your L's lover?" he asked softly looking at Light, "I was listening to Matt and your's conversation earlier. I hardly believe L would pick anyone as stupid and pathetic as you. What do you even know about L anyway? Matt, Mello, and I are the only three people he truly loves and you should just go home before you get your heart broken. I don't think you have any reason to be butting into this argument anyways and standing there gaping like a guppy fish is highly unattractive."

Light's mouth dropped indignantly and he felt the flames of anger licking at his insides.

"And you have a right to butt into our conversation? Sounds like you're a little arrogant to me…" Matt asked Near before Light could respond. Near's mouth turned into a frown and the hand in his hair stiffened.

"Actually yes, I do have a reason for standing here," Near replied, turning his gaze to look at Mello, "I came here to confess my love for Mello." Light's mouth gaped open in surprise again and Mello's body had stiffened and his eyes had widened in shock. Matt's bleak humorless laugh interrupted the awkward silence.

"Great, Near. How wonderful. You and Mello can be together forever, solving puzzles and competing for which one of you can be L's bitch."

Light finally snapped. He was done. He was done dealing with all the drama and confusing relationships with people he didn't even know, but were obviously obsessed with his L. He was done being insulted, interrupted and judged. He was upset because L had still not come looking for him and everything he seemed to know about his lover was becoming increasingly blurry.

"Will everyone just shut the hell up!" yelled Light, his honey-colored eyes flashing dangerously. All eyes turned to look at him and Light felt everything bubbling up inside him spilling over.

"I am L's Lover which means you, you, and you," he said, pointing to each of the three boys, "can't have him. I'm not stupid and I'm not ashamed to tell all of you that I think you are extremely rude, cocky, and completely blind to the fact that L loves me and not you. Also, I have absolutely no idea what is going on between you three, but let me tell you right now. No one is going to be L's bitch because he doesn't need one, and none of you are going to be L's lover because he already has me! And I'm not sure if L loves you or not, but I know that he loves me and I love him and nothing you do or say is going to stop that!"

Breathing harshly, Light stared at the three teenagers who were staring at him with an indecipherable gaze. Suddenly, Mello burst out laughing and started clutching his stomach as if Light had just told the funniest joke in the world, Matt smiled a huge smile and sat back down on the steps, biting his lip to keep from laughing, even Near let loose a few giggles and pulled a transformer out of his pocket.

"Okay," said Light completely livid, "what the hell is going on-" suddenly a pair of pale sinewy arms round their way around his waist and a pointed chin fell on his shoulder. L's warm body pressed against his from behind and Light could feel L's soft black hair caressing his neck.

"I'm sorry Light, please calm down." L's soft masculine voice seemed to soothe Light's raging hormones somewhat, but he definitely deserved and desired an explanation. Turning around swiftly, Light looked at his lover dead in the eye, confused, bewildered, and a little hurt.

"L what is going on?" L smiled slightly and grabbed Light's hand, warming it up.

"I'm sorry Light-kun this is all my fault. Let me explain: I was worried on how Mello, Near, and Matt would react when they saw you so I told them about you beforehand. They were quite upset as I predicted, but after a while they calmed down and we came to an agreement- which I wouldn't have kept by the way," he said to Mello, Matt, and Near who regarded their idol with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, we know," said Mello, "we can see right through your lies, L. After all, we learned how to lie from you." L frowned at this, but continued his explanation to a still pissed off Light.

"Anyways, the agreement was that I would allow the three of them to test you in anyway they wanted without me there in order to prove your love was 'real' and that you were deserving of me." Light bristled, even more angry now.

"So you just let them make a fool out of myself! And to make sure I was deserving of you? What kind of question is that? Maybe your not deserving of me, L!" L cringed at his lover's harsh words and dropped his gaze.

"I'm sorry Light, it was a bad idea."

"Ha yeah, you think? God, I just want to go home."

"I apologize Light," said Near speaking up from the background, "it was a rude and perhaps a bit cruel of Matt, Mello, and I to test you the way you did, but please try and understand that we did it because we love L and we wanted to make sure that this person who had captured his heart was a good guy and that you were someone who loved L in return."

Light, somewhat pacified by Near's answer fell back against his lover's chest and sighed.

"You should let L decide for himself whether or not he wants to be with someone," Light said, his voice no longer sharp and angry.

"Yeah, your right," said Matt agreeing, "but we're persistent little twerps when it comes to L and we wanted to test you out to make sure."

"And?" said Light expectantly, "did I pass your sordid little test?" Mello sighed as if a heavy burden now laid on his shoulders.

"Yeah, I suppose you passed," he said as if disappointed, but his gleaming smile gave him away. Light smiled a small smile and twisted his torso so that his face was facing L's, ignoring L's three successors as they started yelling out highlights of their stunning performance in trying to fool Light.

"I am sorry Light," said L sincerely his great almost ocean like depths mirroring his apology. "I just didn't know what else to do that would make everyone happy. I knew that you would pass their silly little test with flying colors anyway and by doing it this way Matt, Mello, and Near were more willing to accept that I had a lover." L waited for Light to reply, but continued on when Light failed to say anything.

"They are important to me and I should have told you about them, about all of this sooner, but I was scared that you would get jealous or not understand."

"Yeah," said Light softly, "learning that I'm not the only one who understands you is kind of disappointing. I thought- I mean that I thought it was kind of like us against the world you know?"

"Yes, I know Light-kun, and I understand, but you have it wrong," at this Light narrowed his eyes slightly and L smiled, " why does it have to be us against the world? Why can't it be just us living in the world- together?"

Light was speechless from L's words and his raging heart had finally returned to the normal thump-thump that it usually was.

"I love you Light," said L, gently leaning forward to capture Light's mouth in a passionate loving kiss that would have made anyone watching blush. Light felt the warmth of L's lips against his own and eternally sighed, loving the pressure of L's mouth against his own, soft, comforting, and above all, a symbol of their all-consuming love.

They broke away and Light's smile soon turned into a smirk. L looked questioningly at his lover.

"I love you too, L," said Light somewhat wickedly, "but that doesn't mean your going to get out of your punishment tonight."

L laughed, a bright laugh, so full of life that it stopped Matt, Mello, and Near in their tracks and made them rooted to the spot.

"I wouldn't even dream of it Light-kun."

The End …