Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters. This fanfiction, however, belongs to me. // Author's Note: Greetings again, all of my faithful lovelies. I know you are all going to kill me for not updating my other fanfictions, but this one just had to be written down. Please don't detest me for this. I promise you it will be worth it. Don't be dissuaded because this first chapter is from Watari's perspective. I'm trying a unique approach on this fanfiction. Stick around to enjoy and appreciate it. I adore you all! 3 As a general warning, the following may contain splashes of yaoi, possibly a bit more than that as the story advances. It does have a L x Light pairing, and explores what I imagine L's past was like. Spoilers reside in this fanfiction!!! You have been warned!!!

.Outside.

*

Watari stared solemnly at the security footage, keeping a practiced eye on the screen that concerned him the most. It revealed to him the colors of deceit, namely, the colors of reality. There was a room, a pale room full of state-of-the-art equipment that had been used for numerous criminal investigations over a long period of time. Of the two people occupying that room, only one knew of the memories attached to each object. And that one was more than just a person, more than any person really. He was L, the L that Quillsh Wammy had come to know and love so much. He was a son to Wammy, to Watari, and no one knew it better than L himself. Watari had given L a foundation, a base to grasp and build upon. In return, L had given Wammy all of the love he still possessed, along with his appreciation, gratitude, and trust.

But that was all in the past now, for a new obstacle had surfaced in his would-be son's life, and it wasn't the presence of something that Watari appreciated or understood. The obstacle was Light Yagami. Watari cringed in disgust as the name traced the contours of his thoughts. Light Yagami – that imbecile, that child, that fool. Light was the son of a middle class family, but his talents and appearance exceeded that of any man his age and a collection of people far older and wiser than he. Watari knew this, knewthe boy's potential, and knew that had the circumstances been right, the arrogant teen could have easily been swept off to Wammy's orphanage and taken the top spot in the listings for L's first in succession. He shuddered at the possibility.

Really, he was being utterly ridiculous. Watari was painfully aware of the fact that there remained a small possibility that Light was indeed not a mass murderer trying to take over the world and kill its appraised detective. All-in-all, that wasn't his problem with the boy. The old man leaned in towards the screen and his eyes narrowed suspiciously as Light's voice rang harmoniously through the speakers. He was making a joke about something minuscule involving the case, and L actually stopped in his work to bother listening. After a short moment, L laughed heartily, and Watari's brow furrowed. There lay the reason for Watari's loathing of Light Yagami. When Light spoke, L listened. It wasn't all that unusual, however, seeing as there were a select few whom L would stop for and pay attention to. Those were initially the handful of people he actually cared about, but to none of those people did L normally respond.

Watari wouldn't have cared if Light weren't such an arrogant, spoiled, overconfident brat. The fact remained, however, that he was all of those things....and L wasn't. L was nothing like Light. He had a difficult past, a dark one, and Light could never even fathom the things the detective had been through to get where he was now. That fiendish teenager literally had no idea. It might have helped ease the old man's conscience if Watari hadn't pushed L to his limits several times over, just to see if the young detective could handle the pressure. Without Quillsh Wammy, L would not be the world's greatest detective. He might have been a different person entirely – and Watari gulped at the thought. L could have been one of those clever criminals that the world so thoroughly resented, one of those people that Kira so enjoyed killing, though it was doubtful he would have ever even known L's true name.

That subject was a hypocrisy in itself. The hilarity of the great secret, L's true name, actually had the old man biting back a wicked grin. It was so pitifully obvious and actually staring Kira right in the face. L's name was no secret, or at least his first name wasn't. L. That was L's name, as it always had been. If one really wanted to know, to guess, he could find L's last name for knowing the first. After all, how many people in the world were defined by a single letter? Though Wammy had covered every loophole surrounding that bit of clandestine information, there was always the chance that it had slipped beyond his recognition and onto, say, the Internet? Who really knew these things?

Anyway, he was getting off track. Watari's clever mind – perhaps not as clever as his ward's, but close enough still – rerouted itself and arrived once again at the issue at hand: Light Yagami. Kira. That naïve little brat. What was there to do about him? Watari's hand fisted against the tabletop, and he clenched his jaw, and he watched the security footage in ire as something else set his senses ablaze. Light was reaching around L, perched innocently in a chair, to get something off of a table. As the gorgeous teenager attained his goal, a black book, and brought his arm back across the way, his arm brushed L's back, and Watari grimaced as L shuddered marginally. Luckily, Light wasn't quite perceptive enough to notice L's little flaw. And wasn't that the most appropriate thing to call it? L's little flaw. His weakness, and damn but Watari had finally found it. He had recently realized L's one imperfection. Unfortunately, it was a big one.

You had to give the man some credit. Watari had been around a multitude of children for the time that he actually got to run his orphanage back in Winchester. He knew the mechanics of things, and worst of all, he knew the laws of nature. In short, the man knew all about love and lust. He saw the signs, though surely they were unrecognized and misunderstood by the procurer. Watari knew exactly what was happening to the young detective. L was falling in love with another man, and worst of all, that man was out to kill him. What a nice little plot twister for our story, Watari thought grouchily. Screw all things logical and politically correct. Instead, why don't we just have the two main characters – who are both male – fall in love with each other. That will be just peachy, exactly what this story needs! If there existed an author for life, he must have hated Watari. The elderly man had to wonder where he had ever gone wrong.

And then he chuckled, knowing that it didn't even qualify as a question. Not where but when. Forget the how and why. They didn't matter. All that mattered was L's life. L needed to live. L had to live. He deserved more than his existence had to offer, poor man, which is why Watari despised Light Yagami, the son who had every thing so easily dished out to him, yet didn't do enough to have earned it. There existed no fairness, no equality in the world of humanity. To Watari, and to L, there were only two things that mattered: Justice and Victory.

This was why that when L suddenly beckoned Watari to bring him lunch, the man stood up immediately to obey his "son's" request. This was why Watari hastily made his way to the kitchen and prepared lunch for L and Light. This was why he hid behind a grandfatherly smile as he passed Light Yagami his lunch in the main investigation room. And this was why he smirked confidently as he left said room. Because Light Yagami could never defeat L. The loathsome teenager wasn't going to win this war. L was, and when all was said and done, Watari wouldn't have to worry about the Yagami boy anymore. There was nothing to worry about. Light would be long gone before L ever realized what he was feeling for the younger male. There was absolutely no way in hell that L knew how he truly felt about his only suspect for the Kira investigation. There was just no way. Watari was certain...

But he was wrong, and it was already too late to change L's plans. Things were falling into place perfectly, and nothing was going to mess it up. Not even the worries of an old man for his would-be son.

No, not even that.

AN // Want to share your thoughts? Reviews put a smile on my face. Hopefully you'll get the hint.