Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think; I would love to know XD I own nothing and no one.

JUST SO YOU KNOW: I have taken creative liberties with middle names, so please take that into consideration. Also, I've only seen the Anime and have only JUST started the Manga.

This is my FIRST Death Note fic, so I suppose you could say I'm new to the Fandom! Also, I live in England; I don't know Japanese, so any Japanese I use in this story I get from Google Translate XD

Please, please review XD

P.S. This is an AU - Light was never Kira, but still helped during the investigation; obviously, Light and L did not die; the Kira case took 1 year to clear up, not (about) 7; set in 2016. I apologise for OOCness, but it IS an AU ;)

Chapter 1

L

Staying in Japan, after the Kira Case had closed, had never been in the plan. It was supposed to be: come to Japan, solve the case, go back to England... Of course, I suppose, one could never foresee how difficult it is to leave once you make a friend. Let alone how difficult it is once those feelings of friendship begin to develop.

Light had been my reason for staying in Japan.

He had been the reason for me uprooting Watari and myself. Words couldn't begin to describe how hard it had been, trying to explain the situation to the boys. Especially since Watari and I had to go back to England for a short time, collecting the rest of our things and making sure Roger knew what he was doing, spending some time with the boys before we left.

People liked to think I was emotionless, that I was some kind of robot. Only a few knew the truth - Watari and the boys being a part of those few. But being viewed as emotionless was what helped me. Say, for example, that my identity was let out into the world - if people suddenly had a face to put to the name. That would be all they had. They would have nothing else. They wouldn't know who I was close to, who they could use against me to affect me the most. Being seen as something other than someone with human emotion, was what would save the people I cared about.

That was a larger number than people ever thought and, the scary thing was, that number had grown since being in Japan.

It hadn't taken long for Watari and I to move from England to Japan. I mean, we already had a place to move in too - what else would I use the Task Force Headquarters for, now the case was over? All we had to do was pack up the few things we had left and hop on the jet again. Of course I knew, this time, it wouldn't be so easy.

Watching the boys from the jet, after a long and tear filled 'goodbye', had been one of the most painful things I had ever had to do in my lifetime. The guilt at leaving them washing over me, making it that much harder for me to go to sleep... It got to a point where Watari had to place sleeping pills in my hand, just so I could rest for a couple of hours. Even though I spoke to them, almost, daily, the separation and knowing that I really had left for good, only going back to visit them whenever I could, it didn't help any...

I had come to depend on the boys - my boys - much like they had Watari and me.

I had thought long and hard about bringing them with me to Japan, don't get me wrong. There was enough room, as you could imagine. The issue was the danger. I didn't know what case could come up next, or where it could take me... I didn't want them to be dragged into it, not yet anyway - not with how young they were! They were only teenagers, children... They shouldn't have to worry about whether or not they would be kidnapped, or shot at, if someone figured out who I was or that they knew me. I had even spoken through the situation with Watari, the man having the same thought trail as me. Obviously, in the end, we decided against bringing the boys with us.

Of course, that didn't mean to say, we would refuse them if they wanted to leave England and join us. If it was their decision, if they approached us about it, then that was fine. There would always be space for the three of them.

I had been living in Japan only a few months - properly I mean, without the case holding me in place. I hadn't had any major cases come my way, especially none that had grabbed my attention. Mainly, I just looked over cold cases, seeing if there was anything of interest.

Watari was in his own quarters, taking a well deserved rest - with everything he had done for me over the years, let alone during the Kira Case, he more than deserved a break. He was, most likely, reading the newest book Roger had sent him, a mug of tea resting on the table to the right of his armchair. This left me to myself.

Well, no, that was a lie. I wasn't alone.

Light was with me.

Light and I had not noticed the attraction between us at first, not until it was firmly in place on both sides. Misa had been the one to point it out - well, scream would be the better word for it - exclaiming how I really was a pervert, forcing 'her' Light to 'do icky things'. It was one of those moments where she just burst into the room, screeching like a Banshee, no one really understanding what she was going on about... It took a while to figure out that she thought I was 'forcing Light to cheat on her'. The problem with that? First, she and Light were not together, never had been. Second, Light and I had only been friends. Once this had been pointed out to her, Misa then rambled on about all the ways Light and I acted like she and Light 'should'. Apparently, she thought, I had replaced her in this imaginary relationship. From that point on, separately, Light and I began to question the issue, even going as far as to ask our respective fathers - or, in my case, father figure - if what she had said held any value.

Apparently, the entire Task Force had thought Light and I had been dating since a few weeks after we had first met. Including Light's own father...

It had taken a lot of talking, and I mean a lot, to settle things between us. Which is why, two months before the Kira case ended, Light and I had started a rather timid relationship. Now, four months after the Case had ended, Light and I had been together for around six months.

Light's family had been very accepting - I suppose, thinking we had been dating for longer than we had, they had all had time to digest the thought and accept it. At least, that was how Light was taking it. I just thought of it as they were good people; a loving family.

Light usually joined me when he wasn't at the university or with his family. More often than not, you could find us together. Most of the time spent with each other was spent in my new 'home', though that wasn't to say we never went out. We just preferred each other's company - no one staring at my odd habits, no questions constantly being thrown at us... We would go out on a 'proper date', as society would deem it, once every week, sometimes every two - depending on how we felt.

On this day, we were staying inside.

"How did you meet the boys?" Light had asked me, the eighteen year old resting his head on my shoulder as we sat in the living room area. "You've told me about them, you've shown me pictures, but never told me how you met them."

I knew, from experience, that Light would not push for information if I told him I would rather not speak about it. However, I also knew he deserved some answers. After a few months of dating, the boys had all given me their blessings to tell Light their stories, if I ever needed to, so asking their permission wasn't the problem... I problem was that, if I told him about them, then I would have to tell him about me...

Only Watari knew my story.

But Light deserved to know about me, considering how much I knew of him. But I had never opened myself up to another person before.

"Wammy's House." I told him. "It's an orphanage in Winchester, in England. Watari is the one who established it, along with several other homes."

"Orphanage?" Light asked, slowly, lifting his head.

"Yes. It was initially designed to be a training facility, of sorts, for especially gifted children. I was there from the age of eight, the boys arriving seven years later."

Light didn't say anything, just sitting up properly, shifting until he could look at me. He bit his lip, frowning slightly... I knew he wanted to ask. It was obvious he wanted to ask. He was stopping himself, because he didn't know how I would react, or if he would be overstepping some boundary by asking. So I asked for him.

"I can tell you the stories, if you would like?" I shrugged. "I'm allowed to divulge such information to you."

"Y-You trust me enough to tell me?" he stuttered, lightly.

"Of course. And the boys wouldn't say I could tell you if they didn't trust you."

"But they haven't even met me!"

"But they know how I feel about you."

Light's mouth slammed shut, his teeth clacking together. His entire demeanour turned shy, a side to him I had only recently come to know - Light didn't like people seeing him vulnerable, knowing he could be vulnerable. I, of all people, could understand, which was why I had never commented on it and never would.

"I would like that..." he whispered.

"Alright. I shall start with Mello - he was the first to join me at the house." I said.

P.S. This is an AU - Light was never Kira, but still helped during the investigation; obviously, Light and L did not die; the Kira case took 1 year to clear up, not (about) 7; set in 2016. I apologise for OOCness, but it IS an AU ;)

Please, please review XD

Thanks a lot XD