Title: L.
Author: Sun
Fandom: Death Note
Rating: Reserved
Genre: Pre-Canon, Friendship, Family
Word Count: 1591
Summary: Eighteen-year-old Lawliet was supposed to be watching the smaller boys, his supposed "successors," but they've evaded him yet again.
A/N: Okay, just a warning: this sorta ran away from me. I think it still hits the mark for the prompt, but if it doesn't, that's fine. I just hope everyone's in character! ^_^ And since they're in the UK, I used a great deal of British slang; if any of it was misused, I would be very thankful if you would correct me!
Hands tucked into deep pockets, Lawliet walked the grounds, his large grey eyes lazily scanning every room, every hallway, every inch of the courtyard for the smaller boys. Mail, Mihael, and Nate were nowhere to be found. Lawliet knew that this was definitely not a good thing; as much as Mail and Mihael got along, Mihael and Nate normally ended up fighting like dogs, with Mail just sitting back and enjoying the show.
The teen clicked his tongue against his teeth. What is it with those three? he couldn't help but wonder. Every time I'm home, they start off clamoring to get my attention – and then when they have it, they just run off and hide!
He stopped when there was a familiar chuckle just a few steps behind him. Lawliet turned, blinking passively at Mr. Wammy, who stood there, arms folded, a thin smile on his lips. "Lost them again, L?" he asked his young protégé.
The boy just stared at him. "I'll find them," he said, turning. "I always do."
Wammy just smiled after him, watching Lawliet exit through the kitchen, stopping to raid the freezer and the silverware drawer. With spoon and pint of chocolate chunk ice cream in hand, Lawliet popped off the top, dug the spoon in, and went out the back way.
The sun was brilliant today, and the birds sang high up in the trees where no one could see them. This both annoyed and amused Lawliet, who had never really liked birds to begin with. Shoveling a spoonful of the delicious frozen dessert into his mouth, the young detective walked slowly through the small yet thick woodland behind the manor. The more he walked, the more ice cream he ate – and the louder a few certain voices became.
"Belt up, Near!"
"I'm jus' sayin' it's beastly, is all."
"I said, belt up, dimwit! Matt and I think it's ace!"
"I'm not dim, Mello."
Lawliet approached slowly, listening as the two younger boys argued rigorously. Quirking a thin, black eyebrow, the older boy continued his approach, slow and silent, peering past the thick trunk of a tree at the sight Mail, Mihael, and Nate wanted to keep private so badly. It seemed to be a makeshift fort, and Lawliet paused in his ice cream bender to fully observe the boys at "play." As expected, Mail just sat back in the top of the botched tree fort, his legs swung over the edge of the wooden base. Lawliet could hear the faint sounds of his electronic game beeping and buzzing from where the rest of the boy's torso was hidden.
On the ground, gathered around a makeshift rope ladder hanging down from the branches of the large tree, stood Mihael and Nate. "Mello" was a good foot taller than little "Near," who no one else knew was actually the first in line to succeed Lawliet as L.
Lawliet chuckled at the way Mello, the second in line, had puffed himself up; the boy was so brash and emotional at times, and it amused him to no end that it was normally Near to brass him off. The white-haired boy was much, much smaller in comparison, though his personality more often than not tended to be the opposite of Mello's – he was cool and collected, and absolutely brill.
Matt, the one to take over for him if Mihael and Nate could not, was also quite the strategist, and he had a good hold on his emotions. Lawliet had to admit that if the candidacy had been based upon personality alone, then Mail would have been first; however, that wasn't the case, and it turned out that the boy had a real problem focusing on anything that wasn't electronic, and this, Lawliet knew, would become his biggest problem. Matt absolutely adored video games much the way that Near loved his toys, or that Mello couldn't be without his precious chocolate bars.
As this thought crossed Lawliet's mind, he looked down at the almost-empty pint in his right hand. The right side of his mouth twitched slightly before rising, creating a seemingly cynical half-smile.
"That ladder looks duff…" Near murmured absentmindedly, looking over the frayed rope.
Mello fumed. "It's not duff; you're jus' dull!"
Near seemed to ignore him, still looking the ladder over.
"Look," Mello said, grabbing hold of one of the boards notched into the rope, "it's easy peasy. I'll show you!"
"Looks dodgy to me."
Mello whirled around, his eyes wide with surprise as he regarded Lawliet, who had finally stepped around the wide tree trunk. Near just smiled at their superior, twirling a single strand of white hair with his index finger; Matt had sat up to gawk at Lawliet over the edge of the fort base.
"Oy! Lawli!" L blinked and released his head, meeting Mail's smirk. The younger boy shoved his aviator goggles onto the top of his head, and the detective noticed that he'd set his game down on his lap. "What's dodgy, mate?"
Still smiling up at Matt, Lawliet pointed to the rope ladder that Mello was currently hanging off. "That ladder. It looks dodgy to me."
Near said nothing as Mello hurriedly dismounted, brushing himself off once he'd landed on solid ground once more. Lawliet slowly stepped forward; Mello kept his eyes trained on the ground as Near watched L with adoring eyes and a wide smile. Lawliet patted the boy on the head, ruffling his hair slightly as he bent over some at the waist to look Mello in the face.
Mihael finally glanced up, his eyes meeting Lawliet's; the detective just smiled at him as his hand settled on the boy's shoulder. "You thought Near was just being dumb, eh?"
Slowly, Mihael nodded.
"Mind if I take a butcher's?"
Again, Mihael only nodded.
Standing mostly straight again, Lawliet reached over the two smaller boys, his fingers wrapping around the rope of the ladder. Giving it a good yank, the thing came apart in his hands, coiling onto the ground with a small "thud!"
Lawliet looked at Mello once again. "See?" he asked the boy. "Maybe you would have looked a little closer at the places where the rope was splitting if you weren't busy being such a brat."
As Matt's barking laughter reached their ears, Mello flushed a deep scarlet. Near giggled slightly, and even Lawliet smiled when the boy's ears turned red. Laughing, he patted the blond on the shoulder, earning a slight smile from the often rambunctious pre-teen.
"Ah!"
All of them looked up at the voice of the sudden newcomer; there stood Watari, next to the very same tree that L had used to hide himself just moments ago. The elderly inventor smiled slightly, eyes closed, at his small group of favored prodigies. "I see you found the kids."
"Hey!" Mello hollered; L smiled at the boy's strong reaction. "We're not playing around here! This is serious business!"
Up in the fort, Matt just laughed loudly; Watari chuckled as he responded, "Of that, I am sure, Mello." He turned slightly, meeting L's gaze. "We're needed in Los Angeles, Lawliet."
The teenager blinked, staring hard at the older gentleman. "Another case?" He sighed, his thumb against his bottom lip. His eyes left Watari's, and he looked over his shoulder at the three younger Wammy boys, who were all looking up at him with expectant eyes. "Damn! I just got home!"
"It's B."
There was no outward reaction, but on the inside L had jolted – he was intrigued. He turned back, facing Wammy. After barely another moment of contemplation, the famed detective announced, "We will return for a period once this case has been solved." Turning to the boys, he gave them a cool look. "Now, I'm sure you boys are knackered, and it's getting parky out, so off to the manor you go! And no more rows for the three of you!" Lawliet smirked at the various groans and grunts he received as Matt jumped down from the tree fort, landing on his feet with video game in hand and following after Mello and Near.
As Watari and L followed the boys at a safe distance, Lawliet couldn't help but ponder the immense satisfaction he drew from spending time with the boys – even a period of time so miniscule as today. It made him feel warm and good, despite the bitter cold of the wind, and he chewed his thumbnail as his thoughts deepened.
The next morning, before and Watari left, he stopped by one of the playrooms. There, inside, were his three young successors – Near focused on his action figures and plastic trains; Mello biting off another chunk of his chocolate bar as he attempted to trick Near out of toys time and time again; Matt sitting in the brightly lit windowsill, one knee against his chest, the other leg hung over the side of the seat, the screen of his handheld almost pressed to his nose.
Lawliet didn't dare smile at the scene as he walked away from it, tossing his bag into the towncar alongside Watari's. As he settled in the seat in his odd way, Lawliet began the sometimes arduous task of leaving himself behind.
While on cases – especially ones like this one – he had to leave Lawliet behind at the Wammy House, with the little ones. While he was away from the only home he'd ever known, L knew that he needed to be on top of everything, that he couldn't be distracted or amorous or squidgy.
He was L.