AN: Hello and welcome to my first fanfiction. I sincerely hope you enjoy.
l-l
Lightning flashed across the stormy night sky, briefly illuminating the dim marble entryway to Wammy's House for Gifted Children. Rain pounded forcefully on the windows, echoing loudly in the lavishly decorated space. About halfway up the staircase that led to the second floor sat a young boy of about nine. He was ghostly pale, with a wildly unruly mop of black hair atop his head, curtaining his face. His long, slender fingers tightly gripped his knees. He sat watching the front door, waiting.
Finally, the door burst open, the wind throwing it open with more force than the elderly man on the doorstep had intended. He shuffled inside, guiding a child wrapped in a coat much too large for her small frame in with him. The fierce wind had made a mess of her damp, raven-colored hair, tossing it into her large dark blue eyes.
The elderly gentleman glanced up at the boy now standing on the staircase. He unwrapped the small seven year old girl from the coat and she backed away from him a little, keeping her small gloved hands pressed under her arms as she shivered, still chilled from the bitter wind. While she wasn't crying or screaming, there was obvious fear and confusion on her young face. The boy stared at her with wide grey eyes.
"L," the man addressed the boy on the stairs. "What are you doing up and about at this time of night?" While the boy, L, didn't sleep often, he usually kept to his room this late at night. At least the other children appear to be in bed, he thought.
"I was awaiting your return, Watari," L responded in a voice that seemed too old for such a young boy. He didn't take his eyes off the girl. When he spoke she looked up at him, appearing startled as if she hadn't realized he was there. She shyly moved to hide behind the man, who chuckled.
"Yes, well, this is Violet," he told L. "She will be staying here now."
l-l
TWELVE YEARS LATER
Violet stared up at the ceiling of her pitch black bedroom. She could hear rain tapping rhythmically against her window. It was the middle of the night and, as had been happening more and more frequently lately, she couldn't sleep. Sighing quietly to herself, she stood. She pulled on the black leather gloves that she wore almost constantly, just in case. When Violet couldn't sleep she often wandered the halls of Wammy's House, and tonight was no exception.
Her sock clad feet sank into the plush carpeting of the second floor hallway. She headed for the stairs down to the first floor. Just as she rounded the corner, someone coming from the opposite direction ran straight into her. Cool hands reached out to steady her. Violet flinched back almost violently at the contact.
Familiar wide grey eyes and an untidy mess of black hair were visible in the dimness. "My apologies," he murmured, just realizing who he had run in to.
"L," she said coolly, although inside she was anything but. She hadn't actually spoken to him in at least three years, and he hadn't been to Wammy's House for nearly seven months.
Ever since they were children, L had almost always avoided her, and when that was impossible he tried his best to ignore her. When she was younger she had attempted to speak with him on a few occasions, and he had made excuses and ducked away hurriedly. After a while she had simply stopped trying, although still was hurt that she seemed to be the only one he acted this way towards. She'd always assumed he thought she was a freak, seeing as how he was the only one who knew of her ability other than Mr. Wammy. Because of this she always thought he was a bit of a prat.
"I didn't know you were coming to visit," she stated quietly when he just stood there looking at her, not hurrying away as usual. The look in his eyes confused her, and she wondered what he was thinking. She suddenly felt very shy under his unwavering gaze.
"It was last minute," L responded after a pause, seeming to shake himself out of his miniature trance. "Excuse me." He slipped past Violet, continuing down the hallway. She watched him until her turned the corner and was gone. Violet sighed. It seemed some things never changed. She hated herself for being disappointed.
After standing in the empty hallway for another minute, she coninued with her wandering, still puzzling over the raven haired detective. She supposed she was being rather hypocrictical in being bothered by his behavior. It was usually her who brushed people off, choosing to stay alone in vacant rooms in the house as opposed to being around the other kids that lived there. Although, that wasn't by choice.
She also thought it was strange that he would show up unannounced. Usually he had the house in an uproar for weeks before he arrived. The children would all be very excited to see him, Violet was sure, but she didn't know if it was because they missed his company or the mountains of candy he always brought with him. She assumed it was the latter, although to be fair he wasn't bad with the children. They all adored him.
Violet thought over all of this while her feet wandered aimlessly, taking her through the kitchens, the dining room, the entryway. She paused at the foot of the stairs and gazed nostalgically at the ornate front door, the same one she had come through twelve years ago on that first stormy night she had stayed at Wammy's House. Immediately after coming through that door had been the first time she'd ever seen L.
She remembered how innocent and young he had looked, at the age of only nine, and his strangely refined speech as he'd told Mr. Wammy he had been 'awaiting his return.' She giggled once and then grew somber. He had stared at her then just as he had stared at her only moments ago, almost as if she were something unexpected, but not unpleasantly so. It was also tinged with a slight guarded curiousity as if he didn't quite understand her. Again she wondered what his brilliant mind had been thinking behind those grey eyes.
She sighed once again and continued on.
The girl shook her head a few times, attempting to shake the thoughts of him out of her mind. She was unsuccessful, of course. She always was. Violet thought about him much more than she cared to admit.
l-l
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. I would appreiciate reviews. Constructive critisisms are always appreciated!