A/N: So here it is at long last. The epilogue, courtesy of Mello. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is just a fan fic – now a finished one, at that!

Note: Announcements are at the bottom.

Epilogue

When I saw her appear at the end of the aisle, my heart became filled with such sheer, raw emotion that I knew with absolute certainty that nothing could ever ruin this day or the days to come. That nothing could ever ruin us.

Hell, if we had defeated Kira together, then we could also take on the devil himself. Together, we could conquer anything.

"You look amazing," I whispered in Allie's ear once she reached me.

"Don't I always?" Allie asked airily as she produced a burgundy tie seemingly out of nowhere. She wrapped it around my neck and looped the silky strips together. Allie paused, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Nice try," I growled, prying the mock noose from her hands.

"Suits suit you, Mello. Very classy!" called a new voice from just outside the tent. Without even having to turn around, I knew that my best friend had finally arrived.

Allie grinned at Matt, who had just strolled into the canopy. "Classy? More like badass."

"You know it," I purred at the both of them.

"Anyway, Near sent these," Matt declared, dumping a mass of white roses onto the nearest banquet table. "He says congratulations, and that he's sorry he couldn't make it today."

I automatically grimaced at the blindingly pristine sight that was rapidly becoming my former rival's trademark. Near had sent the exact same kind to the Yagami family four months prior for the funeral of Light Yagami, fallen hero and falsely proclaimed Kira victim, as a token of condolence. He had refused to answer the Task Force's incessant questions regarding whether he really felt for them or not.

Well, that's Near for you. Always dodging the third degree.

I couldn't blame him. In fact, I actually commended him for his steadfast façade, which was a necessary burden as the most sought-after detective in the world.

One of them, anyway.

"Too busy being L, huh? Understandable," I remarked out loud while adjusting my tie.

"Being N," Matt corrected me. He did a double-take when he spotted Allie.

"What are you looking at?"

"You can't dress like that," Matt protested. "It's a wedding!"

Allie smoothed down the lapels of the black motorcycle jacket – my jacket – draped loosely but proudly over her small frame. "I'm wearing a gown," she pointed out, gesturing toward the folds of blue satin peeking out from underneath the contrasting leather.

I couldn't help but smirk at this. Not a day went by when Allie didn't leave the house wearing that jacket. It was the sole reason she had survived long enough in that burning church with Takada. From that point on, it had become something akin to a good-luck charm for her, like a pair of lucky underwear or socks without the persistent stink (vinegar had done the trick quite well).

"Besides, I wouldn't be talking," Allie continued, tapping Matt's tinted goggles with a manicured finger before pushing them up onto his forehead. "Has anyone ever told you how much you look like a flyboy in these?"

"A flyboy, hmm?" Matt mused, his exposed jade-green eyes sparkling with delight. "I'll take that as a compliment. I suppose it's better than being called "Bugman" over at the SIS–"

"Quiet," I hissed, punching the redhead in the shoulder. "Someone's coming!"

We shouldn't have needed to worry. It was only Monica Robinson and her husband, who was visibly bursting at the seams with excitement over walking his first and eldest daughter down the aisle.

"Thank you, Mello. You've done a fantastic job," Allie's adoptive mother said appreciatively, gazing around the decorated site.

It had taken me merely twenty minutes to set up the tent and another fifteen to unload the tables and chairs from the delivery truck. There were champagne fountains and chocolate fountains – my idea – in each alternating corner, as well as a buffet table at both ends of the seating area.

I gave a modest shrug. "It's the least I can do," I told her, thinking of how Monica Robinson had generously offered me a place to stay when Near returned to New York and Matt was officially sworn into the MI6 following the Kira investigation.

Of course, I had declined, but that didn't stop me from accepting their daily dinner invitations whenever Matt's old apartment felt too large for one person.

John Robinson clasped his hands together and nodded toward the gazebo stationed across the grassy field. Guests were already gathered in the seats; some were even fanning themselves against the sweltering heat of the first day of summer.

The ceremony was due to start soon.

The older man exhaled noisily and dabbed at his teary eyes with a handkerchief. "Well then, are you ready?"

Half an hour later, I found myself asking Allie the exact same question.

The wedding had been fairly small and intimate, simple but breathtakingly beautiful. It was the first one that I had ever attended in my life. Amanda Robinson was now Amanda Parker, married by a minister before a dozen of her fellow Harvard graduates, family and in-laws, and several other neighbors and friends.

And then there were us.

Matt and I, the very two people who had turned their family upside down but ultimately helped change the world for the better, had been included in the invitee list. But there was no surprise there – after all, who could ever knowingly overlook two heroes like us?

Nate River sure hadn't.

After he had elected Roger Ruvie to be L's new Watari and granted me a full pardon, Near had proposed that I join him in heading a brand new provision of America's elite, composed of one Anthony Carter, my good friend Halle Bullook and the valiant but insufferable Stephen Loud. I had accepted Near's proposition and was now currently awaiting the president's approval of my blueprints to construct my own SPC – Special Provision for Crime – headquarters in Los Angeles.

Eraldo Coil's blueprints, to be precise.

Who ever said that L's three secret personas couldn't be taken literally?

"Yes, I am," Allie replied, squeezing my hand. "Well, what is it? I'm totally dying from suspense here."

"Are you sure you're ready?" I jokingly asked again. I was stalling for time, and she knew it. I received a stern glare in response.

"Mello!"

"Right. No time like the present. In that case, Allie Robinson, would you –" I slipped my other hand into my pocket and pulled out a red velvet box.

Allie's mouth dropped open.

"– like to move in with me?" I finished, snapping open the tiny case. Stuffed inside was a copy of the key to Matt's apartment. Well, my apartment now.

Allie's eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline. "Wow. I don't know what to say."

"Say yes. It makes perfect sense. I mean, your campus will just be a ten-minute ride away from my place," I explained calmly, crossing my legs like a refined mobster. But on the inside, I was jittery as hell. "And, you know, time saved is time earned…" I trailed off with a suggestive leer.

"Plus you'll be able to help out with our cases once in a while," Matt piped up, sliding two plates of salad across the table toward us. "Deneuve" smacked his lips enthusiastically before digging into his own food.

"I'll have a lot on my hands," Allie sighed dramatically. "Studying. Rehearsing. More studying and rehearsing."

"Studying?" Matt scoffed. "Don't jerk us around. You'll ace everything with your hands tied."

It wasn't an exaggeration. Upon her much gossiped-about return to Los Angeles Coast High, Allie had passed all the exams she had missed with flying colors and had taken her second and final semester by storm, gotten into UCLA, and graduated with top honors. She had further shocked the entire student body and faculty by declining the valedictorian award. She hadn't felt comfortable with receiving it due to her, well, unfair advantage.

I quickly wolfed down the salad. While everyone watched the glowing bride and her father take to the dance floor, I only had eyes for my two closest companions.

Allie.

It hadn't even been a month since our accidental meeting when she had professed her feelings for me in Sayu Yagami's bedroom. The possibility that Allie was on the rebound and was simply caught up in the moment had initially crossed my mind, but I was glad that I had taken the gamble. Call it instinct or call it madness, but I had undeniably known there was no one else out there I could ever fall for.

There were just some things that couldn't be explained in words that weren't my own: "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."

Allie Robinson was that flower. She had proven it over and over again.

And now, with her amnesia completely dissolved after the head trauma she had received in the truck collision back in January, she was both emotionally and mentally stronger than ever. It was unfortunate that I couldn't say the same for the Yagami family or Misa Amane, according to Mogi's occasional reports.

As for Matt...

Before he had accepted the job offer with Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, Matt had confessed to me that if Allie had never intervened and I had instead died by Takada's hand as the spokeswoman had intended, he probably would've lost his will to live, even with Commander Rester's successful donation.

He never in a million years could have been able to go on without his thicker-than-blood brother. This revelation disturbed me greatly. Had I known this, I never would've befriended Mail in the first place all those years ago at Wammy's.

I shook my head just as applause and whistles rippled through the air, praising the end of the traditional father-daughter dance.

No, that wasn't true. I couldn't even begin to imagine a life without Matt, either. The same went for the others. It was unbelievably liberating and satisfying to be able to trust these people – even a certain albino-esque associate – with my life.

"We're gonna be unstoppable, just wait and see."

It seemed like ages ago when Matt had given me that pep talk during our first night at the Perin Hotel, but his words still rang clearly in my mind.

"Just wait and see."

Glancing beside me, I caught Allie's faraway dreamy expression and smiled.

Matt had been right.

Together, we were unstoppable. Together, L would live on.

Fin.

A/N: I hope you liked that! Hehe, I'm such a sucker for optimistic endings.

*instantaneously combusts from fluff overload*

Time for a few announcements! If you like my writing, be sure to keep an eye out on a future collection of one-shots that I will be releasing later on, Museum Musings, which will feature a variety of Death Note characters and the theme of Greek mythology. I will also be posting another story consisting exclusively of "prize" requests from any reader/reviewer of this particular fic. YES, THAT'S RIGHT! Because, seriously, I never would've reached this point if it weren't for each and every one of you guys.

This project will be named Mosaic. So feel free to drop me a message with your favorite pairing (it can be any: crack, slash, OC, etc.), a plot bunny, or a general prompt, and I'll dedicate a small drabble/ficlet to your name. In fact, I INSIST ^_^

Thank you all for being such incredible readers. I adore you all from the bottom of my bottomless heart!

Well, this is me, signing out. I bid you adieu.

– Miss Bright