Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, nor do I claim to own any other possible copyrighted materials that may happen to show up in this fic.
1) Lawliet does not steal.
Lawliet does not steal. This is a fact, and he clings to it, a last remnant of life before his mother died. Lawliet does not steal, however… he does not stop Beyond from stealing, either. Yes, he practically vibrates with worry whenever the boy is out of his sight, because Beyond is smart and fast and has an eye for danger, and he's only six years old and Lawliet's little brother, and—
He worries. But he pretends not to notice when they have more food than should be possible from begging and scrounging and running small errands for people who half the time don't even pay.
It feeds Nate and Beyond. And he's practical enough to know that his moral qualms have no place here, on the street. No matter what his mother may have taught him.
But that's just the thing. That's what makes living like this that much harder than it might have been. It's the gaze of his mother peaking from his memories, with her fake wildflower scent that just barely covered another he could never place, her bright smiles belied by weary eyes, her soft voice and soft hands that soothed any fear… with her unwavering sense of justice and faith in humanity.
All Lawliet has left of her are those ideals that his little brothers had been too young to grasp. He clings to them with the desperation of a disillusioned little boy who wants to forget the truths of life learned far too early on.
Hearing the creak of the door to the basement they are squatting in, he creeps forward until ruby eyes can see his brother's name and life span, still reassuringly long. Slipping away from where Beyond might see him, Lawliet allows himself to relax.
His mother would understand.
