Sugared Coincidence by blackdragonflower
Summary: Watari is watching a ten year old L put together a puzzle, when a memory visits him. The memory, the day he first met a seven year old L Sweet childish innocence, genius intelligence, what a coincidence that both are found in the same child, on a cold snowy day, what a sugared coincidence...
Characters belong to Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
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'He's so quiet… but intelligent…' Watari watched the child with black smudges underneath his eyes studying a complex 1,500 piece puzzle. With a hesitant hand the boy reached out and began connecting pieces together. Watari leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, just for a moment.
It was a cold day, freezing, so cold it could stop the blood in your veins. There was a rustle that made Watari's head turn. Inquisitive eyes watched his every move, they were attached to a boy in thin rags. "Hello little boy."
"Hello sir. Going home from work?" The boy questioned.
"Yes, how'd you guess?" Watari knelt down.
"Can we go someplace warmer? It's cold… then I'll explain…" Watari smiled underneath his bushy mustache.
"There's a café just around the corner, we can chat there." The child with greasy black hair nodded and followed Watari at a distance. Watari held the door to the café open and the child peeked inside.
"Are you sure I'm allowed in? The people usually don't take too kindly to homeless orphans in their stores…"
"I'm sure it's just fine… go sit in a booth and I'll order you some hot chocolate." The boy smiled.
"Thank you very much. If it's not too much to ask… may I have a slice of cheesecake?" Watari melted as he watched the child climb into the booth, sitting very awkwardly, but cutely, the weight of his body resting against his calves and ankles. Watari placed his briefcase on the booth seat opposite the child.
"I don't see why not… Just stay here-"
"You can call me L."
"L?"
"Mhm… I don't give my real name to strangers." Watari grinned.
"You're a smart little boy." He ruffled L's coal black hair. L chuckled quietly, a smile spreading across his pale face. "I'll be right back." Watari walked away to order the warm beverages and the treat for the boy. When he came back L was working on a sudoku puzzle, in a local paper he'd found on the seat beside him. He was muttering quietly to himself and almost every box was filled in his mind. Watari put the things down and riffled through his pockets. L looked up.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize L, It's quite all right." L's eyes fell to the hot chocolate and the cake. His eyes were glimmering.
"Thank you very much sir." L took the cup of hot chocolate and watched Watari as he sat down.
"Interested in sudoku?"
"It's interesting… and challenging to the mind…"
"Would you like a pen?"
"I already completed it."
"May I see?" Watari found the pen he had been searching for in his pocket and placed it onto the table. "I mean… would you fill in the boxes?"
L nodded and took the pen, within a minute or two every box was filled in. Watari looked at the sudoku and chuckled. The sudoku was the hardest level and this child only looked about seven and he'd figured it out. "Perfect L. Do you mind if I give you a quiz to do?"
The child had cheesecake in his mouth, the fork dangling in his hand on his lower lip. He shook his head, and blinked before swallowing. Watari took a sip of his tea then flipped open the tabs on his briefcase. He opened the lid to his briefcase and pulled out a thin booklet. He put it down on front of L. L picked up the booklet and looked it over his chibi eyes big and interested. Functions and intellectual thoughts glistened in the dark orbs. L immediately went to work on the different types of questions, the pen leaving many marks across the paper. When he finished Watari picked it up and looked it over. L picked up the fork and finished off the last of the cheesecake.
The boy was smiling. "That was fun…"
"…" Watari looked over the answers, there was no way they could be right. But almost every single one was correct. 'Could this be my successor?' Watari softly smiled, his lips upturned at the tips. "L… would you like, to live with me? I don't have any children of my own and you seem a very intellectual child. You seem like quite the interesting person to chat with."
The little boy sat quietly thinking it over. He took a sip of hot chocolate and bit his lower lip. "Alright. I'll come live with you." Watari patted the boy's head.
"You'll like living with me. Promise. Do you like to invent things?"
"I like to figure out how things work…"
"Then you and I will get along just fine. You can tinker with my inventions." L grinned, the embodyment of childhood sweet innocence.
Watari opened his eyes to find L staring up at him, ten years old now, the puzzle almost completed. L unwrapped a chocolate bar and nibbled on the edge. "You fell asleep…"
"Oh, I'm sorry L." L laughed quietly. Him and the older gentleman had come to the terms that even though L's name was known to both he would continue to call L, L.
"It's alright. You seemed tired. Your patent went through on your latest invention."
"Mmm? Oh, that's jolly good. Thank you L… how's your puzzle coming?"
"Just about done. We'll have to get more soon…"
"Already? You go through those puzzles so quick L… maybe you should try another type of mind stimulation…" L looked up at Watari, then smiled.
"Alright. I hear interesting things about videogames and how they improve your hand-eye coordination, and how some are puzzle games too…"
"Next time we go into town we'll take a special look into it. Alright?"
L nodded and returned to the puzzle at his feet. It was a brilliant puzzle of a snowy day in the city. Watari looked at the puzzle, smile on his face. It was just like the day three years ago, the day he'd first met L.