Hello, everyone! This is my first fic under my new name, rohm274. I used to write under divineria369 (some of you may remember me if you like Phantom of the Opera). Intended pairing is LxLight, and I promise it will be good for fans of FLUFF! Warning, this is SLASH. BoyxBoy. Yaoi. Shounen-ai. Whatever you want to call it. Don't like, get the hell out of here. I own nothing!

Hope you enjoy this first installment of Childhood!

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Graying sunlight filtered dimly through thickly constructed glass, adding to the light provided by the fluorescent bulbs above. The spacious investigation room felt very empty indeed, the eerie silence accented only by the sharp tang of typing keyboards. The team was hard at work today just as any other day, and each man went about their own particular business in a stoic, businesslike fashion. Aizawa, along with Mogi, filed through papers on the couch in the expansive room's center, while Matsuda poured himself a cup of coffee near the blackout windows. Soichiro worked diligently alongside the team's leader, called by his alias Ryuuzaki, but known to the group only as L.

In his usual curled position, L's round, expressionless eyes searched the screen as if the answer they had long sought after rested within nameless pixels. His typing was quick and purposeful, continuing without breaks for long periods of time. Command after command was efficiently carried out by the high tech machine, which hummed quietly as a new application was opened. Matsuda, having retrieved the cup of coffee he had longed for hours before, now walked back to his computer next to Soichiro's. Just as he was about to take a seat, however, L's typing stopped abruptly, his chair swiveling violently to face his underling. "Matsuda-san," he spoke up quietly.

This single name had been the first word spoken in task force headquarters in over four hours, and Matsuda, being the somewhat nervous man that he was, reacted by jumping back and spilling his precious cup of coffee. Red crept neatly up his cheeks as he stooped to pick up the offending cup, eyes averting L as he stood up again. Aizawa looked up with a stern face whilst Mogi tried to suppress a laugh. Soichiro took one glance at the floor, one to Matsuda, and one to L before returning to work as if nothing had happened. L's face looked painfully empty, putting Matsuda even more on edge. "I was going to ask you to take on the three folders I had just emailed to you, but it seems now you have a different task to handle," L noted accurately. Matsuda opened his mouth as if to speak a reply, but decided against it and simply nodded before hurrying off out of the room to fetch the needed cleaning supplies.

Rounding a corner swiftly, Matsuda ran a hand through his hair, kicking himself over and over again mentally. His face lightened for an instant as he muttered a quick "Hello!" to a figure in the hall before returning to remorse. The figure smiled curtly, taking a brisk pace towards the investigation room. One hand curled deftly around the door handle, turning it and stepping inside. The men looked up from their work; each offered up some form of greeting save L, who hadn't bothered to break his pattern of typing. Soichiro, who was the boy's father, appeared very pleased that his son had come to help work on the case. "Good to see you, Light." he greeted his son.

"Hi, Dad," Light said in return as he walked to take his place at the remaining computer next to L. Much to his misfortune, he failed to notice the coffee that swirled dangerously on the spotless floor. L's dark eyes sparked suddenly; "Light, watch out for th--"

His warning came far too late. Light stepped right into the dark pool, his sneakers lacking the necessary traction to keep him from sliding. His almond eyes widened as his foot skidded erractically, pitching him backwards. The back of his head connected with the computer desk with a sickening thud, and Light slumped helplessly to the floor. A cry of alarm rose up from the men in the room; Soichiro was immediately at Light's side, his hand flying to his shoulder and shaking it forcefully. "Light! Light, are you alright?!" The youth remained unresponsive, his body giving off anything but movement. Still curled in the same chair, L was absolutely frozen, his eyes wide with horror. His hearing tunneled out all sound as he remained transfixed on Light's lifeless form. 911 calls were made as the team rushed about in frenzied madness. Soichiro remained at his son's side, clutching him close and biting back tears. No one seemed to notice L's lack of response as each was focused only on their fallen team member.

Matsuda, having heard the commotion, then stormed into the room. It was this and only this that brought L from his trance -- his black hair hid his eyes as he raised his head to look at the door. The young man's face contorted grievously as he realized what had come to pass. "Light!" he exclaimed, rushing to his side. Aizawa gritted his teeth together, unable to hold back as he spat a hateful barb, "Matsuda, this is your fault! You and your stupid, clumsy--" "Aizawa! Enough!"

L's head shot up in defiance as he spoke without raising his voice, but with an intensity that stopped the tall man mid-sentence. The investigation's head held his subordinate's steely gaze for a moment longer before returning his attention to Light. His breath hitched when he noticed a reddened handful of paper towels that Soichiro held at the back of his son's hand; the bunch trembling with all the worry and strife of a parent. L brought a thumb to his mouth, biting it fiercely as Matsuda backed away from the scene, running a hand through his hair. Without turning his head, L glanced his way, feeling a twinge of what he thought may be guilt. It's not your fault. It's...mine...

--

A young girl, no more than five or six, watched L curiously as she sucked on a lollipop given to her by a well meaning doctor. Her inquisitiveness was justified, as the small man was curled in a chair, a finger in his mouth. She tugged on her mother's sleeve impatiently, whispering to her why he could suck on his thumb and she couldn't suck on hers. Her mother reprimanded her sternly, but eyed the man in question surreptitiously. The woman made the most logical conclusion she could come up with -- he must be a patient from the mental wing. They would come for him soon.

Soichiro sat in the chair next to L, his face in his hands as he rigidly awaited a doctor's arrival. The rest of the team had decided unanimously to remain behind and work on the case in Light's absence -- they sent their best wishes. Matsuda apologized excessively to Light's deaf ears as he was lifted onto a stretcher, while the others had remained silent. Feeling somehow compelled to accompany, L had suffered a very uncomfortable ambulance ride with the paramedics and Light's distraught father.

"Mr. Yagami?" came the voice of a sturdy, middle aged man in a flawless white coat. Soichiro stood up violently and without warning, causing the little girl to squeal in shock. He strode swiftly over to where the medic awaited him. L placed a foot neatly on the cool, tile floor, but then decided against it. It wasn't his place to hear this kind of news, he felt.

The doctor's eyes darkened as he spoke in hushed tones, relaying information in a quick an efficient manner. He made his points by pointing to charts periodically; L noted different changes in Soichiro's behavior as he nodded sluggishly, a hand coming up to rest at his brow. L's shadowy eyes darted between the two figures, desperately trying to gauge Light's condition. His eyes narrowed slightly as the doctor suddenly stopped talking and glanced over at L analytically. Feeling exposed, L clutched his knees tighter, but met the professional's gaze without so much as a second thought. The two men then shook hands, and Soichiro followed the doctor out of the room, gesturing for L to follow before he disappeared from his line of vision.

Uncurling himself methodically, L got up to follow the taller men; his slight hunch was cause for some curiousity among the nurses in the hallway, but L wasn't at all bothered. His mind was clearly elsewhere.

The doctor indicated which room belonged to Light, shook Soichiro's hand once more, then crossed the hall to converse with a pair of nurses. Irresolute, Soichiro opened the door to his son's room, leaving it ajar for the dark haired man. Once the detective had rounded the corner to enter the hospital room, Soichiro had already come to Light's side, taking his hand and grasping it firmly. L loitered uncomfortably about the door, closing it, yet feeling unwelcome. He could hear the steady tick of Light's heart as translated through a heart monitor, which came as a great relief to L. From what he could see, Light's head was bandaged, with special attention paid to the back of it. "Ryuuzaki..." came Soichiro's voice, faintly. "Please, come here."

Feeling almost childlike, L conceded, shuffling to the other side of Light's bed and curling up in a chair identical to the one Soichiro now occupied. Bloodshot eyes remaining on his son's peaceful face, Soichiro spoke up in emotioneless tones, "The doctors reached a diagnosis not long after he arrived. I won't bore you with the details of how, but..." the older man gulped, eyes flickering elsewhere before meeting L's eyes for an instant. Stony as usual, L gave no sign of either interest or boredom. Deep within, he longed to know.

The boy's father sighed deeply before going on. "Light has been diagnosed with horosphyxia due to a blow to a certain part of the brain located in the back of his head. I'm not sure if you know what this means or not, but it does mean that Light will not be himself for at least two weeks." L's eyes widened. Horo...sphyxia? How peculiar. He knew he had heard of the ailment before, yet... "Please, go on." he prompted Soichiro quietly. The older man's tired eyes searched his for any source of meaning, and, finding none as usual, he continued, "This means that that part of his brain, which happens to deal with intelligent growth, has, essentially, gone back in time to a different track of function. What this means is that Light will no longer act like the teenager he is, instead, he will act more like he was when he was five or six." Soichiro studied the clean, pressed sheets in front of him for a moment before concluding, "Of course, in a few weeks, that section of his brain will have repaired itself sucessfully, and Light should return to normal. He suffered a large cut on the back of his head as well."

L was thunderstruck. Light would be acting as if he were...six?! His dark eyes pored into the floor as if they held some sort of solution to this problem. The loss of Light's witty intelligence, even for a few weeks, would severely compound the progression of the Kira case. "It's alright, Ryuuzaki," the older man offered. "It's only a few weeks."

Seemingly unaffected by this statement, L turned his gaze to Light's sleeping form. His face was clear and radiant as always, appearing to feel no pain as he dozed on. L's toes twitched in the face of Light's plight. Mesmerized by the racing thoughts of his preternaturally quick mind, he couldn't help but feel that the next few weeks were going to be drastically interesting.

--

Note: Horospyxia is an entirely fictional affliction, as are all its symptoms. I've taken artist's license to create this illness, since it creates a lovely excuse for scenes to follow!

Hope you enjoyed the first installment, and PLEASE rate and review!

Love to your lovelies, rohm274