Disclaimer: I do not Own Death Note or any characters affiliated. I do own Raine.

a/n: Here's the Christmas story I promised to my World of Their Own Readers.

It's meant to be a lost chapter that falls within the months between chapters 11 and 12.

I tried to write it so that even people who aren't reading A World of Their Own can read it, but I'm not sure if they'll enjoy it as much.

Snowman's Smile

"Raine, would it be possible for you to play with your yo-yo elsewhere? I'm very busy at the moment and I find it distracting." L was spending a typical day in front of his laptop. He would stare at his screen for hours; flipping through case files and hacking into other systems that held the information he wanted. He'd only look away long enough to stir sugar into his tea or to pluck another piece of candy from the dish that sat beside him.

"But I'm on the other side of the room, Ryuzaki!"

"Yes, but the sound of it is annoying me. Every time I hear it return to your hand, I lose my train of thought."

"But I'm bored! I can't go out on the balcony and play with it because it's raining." Raine hated being stuck in the hotel room while L worked. She had already read through all of her books. She could have turned on the television, but daytime soap operas and talk shows didn't interest her. "I know! I can go down to the lobby and play with it. Or maybe the game room…"

"I would prefer it if you not wander around an unfamiliar place without someone with you." L never turned away from his monitor.

"But… that's not fair! Why do you treat me like I'm three years old? I'm a grown woman, Ryuzaki! I know how to take care of myself! Who the hell made your word scripture anyway? Why do I need your permission to do everything?" Raine poked out her bottom lip and pouted.

"As usual, you're blowing things out of proportion. You don't need my permission to do anything; unless you feel the need to do something stupid such as venture out by yourself."

"Well, if I can't go on the balcony and you won't let me leave the room, then where else can I practice my yo-yo tricks so it isn't bothering you?"

"I suppose you'll either have to wait until the storm is over so you can go out on the balcony or wait until Watari returns so that he may accompany you to wherever it is you wish to go." L still hadn't looked away from his monitor. It annoyed Raine to no end that she always had to have conversations with the back of his head.

"Watari won't be back until late this evening. He's at the Lillian Fields orphanage watching the children perform a Christmas play." Raine sighed and loosened the yo-yo string around her finger. Watari normally spent his days paying visits to his chain of orphanages as they traveled from city to city. His had facilities all over the North American and European continent.

L was getting tired of hearing Raine whine. As much as he normally enjoyed her company, being around someone every hour of everyday for months could create moments of tension. Raine normally didn't have such a hard time finding something to entertain herself with while he was working; but today was just one of those days that she couldn't keep still. Raine decided to do one final trick with her yo-yo before she put it away. The last minute decision made her forget that she had already loosened the string around her finger. She attempted an around the world trick. The string slipped off of Raine's finger and the yo-yo went flying across the room. It popped L in the back of the head before it landed. The sound it made when it hit him indicated it was probably a painful blow. Raine gasped. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

L was rubbing the back of his head in silence. He still hadn't turned away from his monitor, but he did stand up. After a minute of standing with his back turned to her, he finally turned around. Without any sign of emotion, L walked over to Raine and dangled her yo-yo in front of her face. "I believe this belongs to you."

Raine gave him a puppy dog look. "I'm really sorry, Ryuzaki. I really didn't mean to." She reached out to take her yo-yo back from him; only to have L pull it away. She tried to take it again, but L kept pulling it away from her. It was a strange scene for two adults- like a boy teasing his kid sister by holding her favorite toy just out of his reach. Raine eventually gave up and sighed. "No fair! You're so much taller than me when you're standing up straight! I don't stand a chance!"

L looked down at Raine with his dark eyes and studied her without expression. "You owe me for the headache." He took Raine's hand and held it so that her palm was open. With his other hand, he placed the yo-yo in Raine's. Slowly, L closed her hand around the yo-yo and lightly brushed his thumb over her fingers. "You're blushing. Have I somehow embarrassed you?"

"N-no. Well… maybe just now when you pointed out the fact that I was blushing." Raine looked away shyly.

"I suppose I'll accept your embarrassment as payment then." L shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled over to his candy dish.

"For… the headache?"

"Correct." He picked through the remaining pieces of candy and narrowed his eyes. "Raine… I realize you aren't fond of anything that's cherry flavored; but would it be at all possible if you left me another flavor to indulge in every once in a while? I really miss the sour apple and watermelon."

Raine sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I can be a real nuisance at times."

"Yes, you can be highly annoying…" L always knew exactly what to say to make a person feel better. "However, that's to be expected considering the only time we aren't in the same room is when one of us is in the restroom." The balcony was the only other escape they had from each other, but not every hotel room always had one.

"Is that why you take so many showers? Because I bother you and you need a break?"

L didn't answer her. The truth was he did take a lot of showers because of Raine, but it wasn't because she bothered him. There were times when a certain mechanic in his body would cause a disturbance just below his waist. As inconvenient as it was for him, he couldn't control his many random arousals when he was around her; especially when he caught whiff of her shampoo or bath products. His showers were his private time- a temporary fix to a problem that never went away for long.

L decided to dodge the question all together. "I believe we need an outing. Being cooped up is obviously staring to get you." He grabbed a handful of cherry candies and stuffed them into his pocket. "If you'll give me but 20 minutes to bring my work to a close, I'll be more than happy to escort you to wherever you like."

"I don't understand why you won't just let me go out on my own. You shouldn't have to worry about entertaining me all of the time. I know you have important things to do."

"Even if you did go out on your own, I'd have to follow you. Either way, it pulls me away from my work."

"I still don't understand it, Ryuzaki; but I don't want to argue with you. I saw a flier on the table when we first got here that mentioned a Christmas event in the lobby and reception area. I believe it said there would be music and caroling. There's supposed to be a tree lighting ceremony too."

"Raine, holidays have never been of any interest to me. Perhaps I can convince you instead to go to a bakery or coffee house?"

"But we can go to those any time of the year. You really don't like holidays? They can be so much fun! Christmas in particular is really beautiful! There're beautiful lights everywhere and the music is so heartwarming!"

"You speak as though you have memories of previous holidays." L strolled back over to her and eyed her suspiciously. "Are you starting to recall your past? Perhaps something about your identity was revealed to you in a dream… or a nightmare?" L had found Raine lying unconscious next to an abandoned warehouse several months earlier. She had no idea who she was or where she came from. In fact, it was L who had given Raine her name. The only possession he had found her with was a strange flute, which had the ability to mesmerize people when she played a certain song.

L had spent countless hours investigating her origins, but he never found any leads. There didn't appear to be any record of her existence. L had considered forgetting all about it so that Raine could build a new life (with him); but she had recently started talking in her sleep. The words that escaped her while she dreamed suggested she had some sort of repressed memory that was trying to resurface. She also frequently said a certain name that suggested to L that her dream was very similar to a nightmare that had haunted him for years. L wanted more than anything to know what it was that she dreamed about. He wanted to know if it provided clues to who she was; but most importantly, he wanted to know if her dream had any connections to his own. The only problem was Raine refused to talk about it.

Raine's reluctance to share her dream with L had brought their efforts to form a romantic relationship to a screeching halt. They had both professed their attraction to each other a couple of months earlier, and they shared random moments of innocent affection; but it hadn't progressed any further than that. Despite the setback, L continued to have patience with her. He also continued to fall for her. "Ryuzaki, I'm begging you. Please, let's not start with the dreams again. I'll wait on you to finish up what you were doing and then we can go look for a coffee house."

L bit lightly on the inside of his bottom lip. He took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze to let her know he wasn't angry with her for not answering his question and then went back to his computer. "In twenty minutes, then. No more, no less."

It wasn't long before they were both walking the busy city streets. It was rainy and the wind chill was freezing, but it didn't seem to bother either of them. The wind made Raine's long ringlets of brown curls blow everywhere. They eventually had to stop so she could pull it back into a ponytail. Whenever they had to pass through a crowd, L would grab Raine by her chain bracelet and lead her through without letting go. Raine couldn't figure out why L didn't like her leaving his sight when they were out. Sometimes she wondered if L was the overly possessive sort of guy who didn't want his woman making any contact with the rest of the world. It could have been a possibility, though it didn't seem likely. The vibe that L normally gave her seemed to be that of a personal body guard rather than an overbearing and jealous boyfriend. Raine always felt safe when she was with him; even if he didn't exactly have the protective physique of a warrior or wrestler.

Raine stopped in front of a Christmas store. The outside was decorated in an array of Christmas lights. A miniature snow village was on display in the window. "Ryuzaki, can we go inside? It looks so cool!" L didn't look impressed, but he didn't tell her 'no'. Raine's eyes grew wide when they walked into the store. There was a huge snow village display near the counter that was even nicer than the one in the window. A toy steam engine sounded its little whistle as it hurried along the tiny tracks that ran through and around the village. There was a soft Christmas melody playing from the speakers of the store. The air carried the scent of nutmeg and ginger. "See what a great holiday this is, Ryuzaki? It's appealing to every sense! The music soothes the ears, the scent of Christmas spices and Christmas trees pleases the sense of smell, the lights appeal to the eyes, and the warmth that it sends to our hearts touches us."

"You're forgetting about taste." L didn't appear to notice anything special about the store. To him, it was just a bunch of stuff. The music didn't sound bad, but he wasn't really much for music most of the time. Modern music sounded like an irritating noise to him. The kind that he could tolerate always made him zone and he'd lose track of what he was supposed to be thinking about. L had decided as a result that he should stay away from music.

"There's something to make the taste buds happy too! There's gingerbread, and candy canes, gumdrops, eggnog…" Raine stopped and thought some more. "Hmmm... what else did I see on those Christmas specials last night? I know some people have a really big feast." All of a sudden, Raine remembered one. "Ahh! The roast beast! I don't know what sort of beast it is, but that's obviously what they serve on Christmas! Maybe it's pork. It wasn't a very big animal. It was on the show where the green guy stole it."

L wasn't sure if he wanted to smile or roll his eyes. Raine was obviously referring to The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. L realized then that Raine wasn't remembering all of these Christmas oriented things because she was getting her memories back. It was because she had seen it on television. The Christmas specials had been on almost every channel. Though Raine was a very bright young woman, L wasn't sure if she understood the concept of cartoons.

L found himself playing with Raine's bracelet. It was becoming a habit. His index finger had slid underneath the chain and was moving slowly back and forth over each link. He studied her golden yellow eyes inquisitively. "Is this sort of thing really something that makes you happy?"

"Well, yeah. It just has a good vibe to it. Don't you find any of it spectacular?"

"Not really."

Raine sighed and poked her bottom lip out slightly. "Oh. Well, I guess we could leave then. We can go somewhere that you'll enjoy."

"There aren't many public places that interest me."

"Sometimes I wonder if there is anything that interests you, Ryuzaki. Anything that isn't a capoeira move, a puzzle or junk food."

L rested a finger on his bottom lip. "I'm interested in lots of things."

"Like what?"

"Like things that don't involve appearing in crowded public places."

"Ooookay. Well… we could always just go back to the hotel room and order room service like we always do."

"I believe I'd prefer it if you continued to browse this store until you're ready to leave. You seem very fond of it."

"Well, you're obviously not enjoying it. Seriously, we can leave now. It isn't like we can buy anything in here. We don't have a tree or a home to decorate." She didn't give L a chance to argue. Raine pulled him by his sleeve out of the store. "Did you still want to look for a coffee house?"

L quietly sighed. "There was no reason for you to do that. While it's true I had no interest in any of the items in that store, it didn't mean I had no desire to be there. My location is irrelevant as long as I'm…" L caught himself and stopped. He had almost said something very cheesy, which was unacceptable in the book of L. He finished his sentence silently in his mind while he chewed on his thumbnail. '… spending time with you.'

Raine arched her eyebrow, wondering if L was going to finish his thought out loud. When it became obvious that he wasn't, she took a few steps forward to indicate she was ready to start walking again. As they walked, they came to a street that was hosting a Christmas parade. L cringed as the music from the marching band rang in his ears. He normally enjoyed his outings with Raine, but the Christmas hysteria that had swept the city was starting to irritate him. He was more than grateful to see that Raine lost interest in the parade the minute the marching band had passed.

L and Raine stopped at a coffee house for cake and tea before heading back to the hotel. While they were there; they decided to talk more about Christmas from a sociological point of view. L knew all about the rise in suicide statistics at that time of the year, but he didn't really have anything positive to say about it. Raine still couldn't understand why L wasn't interested in Christmas. "Do you not like the warm and fuzzy part of life? Is that why you don't like Christmas?"

"Raine, I never recall saying that I disliked holidays. I merely stated that they didn't interest me."

"Not one? Of all the holidays, not one of them interests you in the least?"

"Holidays are great for allowing people to act fake. Society uses them to try and pretend like they're spending time with each other and growing closer. Christmas is the worse. People will go out of their way to buy presents for others and do nice things for strangers because they know it's only a once a year obligation. Do you see them being so nice and cheerful at any other time of the year aside from another holiday? Holidays are when people pretend to be nice to each other so that they can feel better about themselves. Do you really think any of it is sincere?"

Raine stared down at the table for a minute, looking incredibly disappointed. L started pouring more packs of sugar into his tea. "Is something wrong? It wasn't my intention to say something offensive. I only stated my honest opinion. There's nothing wrong with liking the holidays. You don't have to stop liking them just because I don't personally care for them."

Raine didn't look up. "Well, it's just…" She pulled something out of her pocket and put it on the table so L could see it. It was a Christmas ornament; shaped like a smiling snowman. "They were giving these out at one of the airports. I thought I would get one for you because the smile on the snowman's face reminds me of how I feel when I'm with you… most of the time. I know it's not really something you can use. I'm… sorry. I'm not giving it to you just so I can feel good about myself though. In fact, I feel kind of crappy now if you don't even think it's a sincere gesture."

L could feel his eye twitching. 'She really knows how to make me feel like a jerk. It must be a special gift of hers because no one else seems to have that ability.' He picked the ornament up by its string and dangled it in front of his face as he studied it. Though the smile that formed on his face was very sincere, it was still weak from guilt. "It's very nice, Raine. I'm very happy that you thought of me. Thank you. I really like it."

'No, you don't.' Despite her thought, Raine smiled at him and nodded before looking back down at the table. "I'm… glad that you like it. Maybe one day you'll actually find a use for it."

"I'm sure I will."

They didn't talk much after that. When they got back to the hotel, there was a pianist in the lobby playing Christmas songs. Raine's eyes widened with excitement. "Oh, wow! He's really good! Ryuzaki, can I go get my flute so I can play a song with him?"

"I suppose." L walked with Raine to their room to retrieve her flute. When they returned to the lobby, the pianist was finishing his version of Silver Bells. Once he finished, Raine rushed over to him and exchanged a few words. He asked her what songs she knew and she hummed one that she had heard on a Christmas special. Once they agreed on a song, the pianist started playing. Raine stood behind him and brought her flute to her lips. The pianist nodded to her for her cue and she began playing the melody to Oh, Holy Night. The combination of the piano and flute sounded beautiful together.

L sat perched on one of the lobby couches. Though he normally wasn't much for music, he couldn't help but enjoy the sound. It made him feel what Raine had referred to as 'warm and fuzzy'. He watched Raine intently as she played. Never had she looked more beautiful to him than in that moment. He was completely smitten with her. L sucked on the tip of his thumb and lost himself to the sound.

That same night, they left for their next destination. Raine slept for most of the plane ride. She was so groggy when the plane landed, she didn't even hear the pilot announce where they were when they landed. They were somewhere in the mountains. Watari apparently owned a cabin in the Appalachians. The cabin rested next to a lake. It was very quiet and serene- a huge change from the big city noise they had just left. Raine was too tired to take all of it in. There wasn't really a lot of light to see anyway. She went straight to bed after Watari directed her toward a spare bedroom.

She spent most of the next day admiring the lake and playing her flute while L stayed inside working on cases. Raine loved her new surroundings. The air lacked the polluted thickness of the cities they visited. The water on the lake was smooth like glass. Raine tried to picture someone walking on it. It started snowing that same afternoon. It only took it a few hours to cover the ground completely. The days were short since it was winter; so it wasn't long before it started getting dark. It was a lot darker in the wilderness than it was in the city. Raine went inside when it became too dark for her to see.

She sat in front of the fireplace to get warm. Watari had been kind enough to build a fire. He brought her some hot cocoa and wished her a goodnight. He apparently had a long night ahead of him going through paperwork in his office. Such was the stress of running dozens of orphanages. Raine watched the fire alone as she sipped her cocoa. She thought about the conversation she had had with L in the coffee house about Christmas and frowned. She felt so stupid for giving him a cheap ornament as a gift for a holiday that he didn't even care about. Raine was pretty sure he had probably discarded it at the hotel without giving it another thought.

She couldn't help but sulk as she thought about the little things that she did that unintentionally irritated L. "I wish I could be useful to him instead of annoying."

Raine hadn't meant to say it out loud. She was startled to hear a reply come from behind her. "Once again, you're stuck on the subject of being useful." Raine bolted around in her seat to see L standing behind her. He walked around to where she was sitting and perched beside her, taking her hand into his and lightly kissing it. "I don't suppose you'd mind coming with me for a moment? There's something outside I'd like to show you."

"Sure." Raine put her coat and boots on and followed L outside. The moonlight that escaped through the blanket of clouds reflected off of the snow. It was otherwise very dark and the snow was falling at a heavier pace than it had been earlier. "It's kind of dark out here, Ryuzaki. Isn't there a porch light out here?"

"Yes. In fact, the light switch is just inside the door. Would you mind turning it on for me?"

Raine reached over and flipped on the switch. When she saw what it turned on, her eyes lit up. "Oh, my god!" She ran out into the yard to get a full view. The entire yard had lit up with lights. Almost every surrounding tree had lights around them. Even the cabin was covered in lights. Raine had been so busy looking at the lake; she had failed to notice the unlit strings earlier that day. "Look at all the Christmas lights! They're so beautiful!" Between the lights and the snow on the ground, it looked almost like daytime on a cloudy day. She ran back to the porch and threw her arms around L in excitement, which almost knocked him off balance. "When did you do all of this?"

L smiled and returned her hug. "I had a feeling you would find this holiday appealing, so I hired someone to drive out here and place the lights before we arrived. If you wouldn't have been so tired last night, I would have shown you sooner. I thought perhaps we could stay here for a few weeks so that you may properly celebrate the holiday. Watari and I plan on getting a tree tomorrow. I'll be able to display my first and only Christmas ornament. I thought perhaps we could enjoy the snow tomorrow as well."

Raine started to laugh. "I can't picture you playing in the snow."

"I don't have to play in it to enjoy it."

Raine looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you." It was then she noticed the mistletoe hanging over the door frame. "Did you have the mistletoe put there on purpose?"

"Mistletoe?" L looked up at the doorframe. His eyes grew wide like an owl. 'You're a sneaky one, Watari. You knew I was going to show her the lights tonight.' L turned his head toward Raine again. As soon as he was there, he felt her lips on his. It was a very quick little peck, but it was enough to send L into a minor shock. His eyes managed to grow even wider before he closed them. Raine pulled away from him slightly and studied his frozen reaction. "Ryuzaki? Are you okay? I didn't mean to freak you out."

L's eyes stayed close. "I just… need a moment." He brought his hand to his lips and lightly touched where she had kissed.

"You're not quite ready to take that next step yet, are you?" Raine didn't seem disappointed. She was just happy spending time with him.

"… I…" L couldn't get his head out of the clouds. It was an odd feeling for him.

Raine brought her finger to his lips. "Don't worry about it. I'm still smiling even bigger than your snowman ornament."

L kissed her on the head and held her close. "So am I." He finished his thought silently. '…and as long as you're with me, I know it will never melt away.'