Well... this is kind of awkward... Hello there, dear reader. I am known as Gocty, and while I have written fanfiction before, I've never written a fanfic for Death Note until now. I'm not completely done with the series and am relatively new to the fandom (don't worry, I'm gonna catch up episode-wise soon), so I really hope you don't hate this story. As the summary says, it is an AU, one where Light never discovers the death note.

Yes, I know the death note in Death Note drives the plot, but after watching that episode... you know... episode 25... heh, heh... I've been moping about it for a week now, and I have even resorted to taking a break from the series and writing a fanfic where L doesn't die (aka this fanfic) to find closure over L's death. *sighs* WHY DEATH NOTE CREATORS?! WHY?! WHY MUST YOU KILL OFF THE BEST CHARACTER (best character in my opinion, that is) IN THE SERIES?! *sobs*

Light: You care too much about a fictional character.

Me: What- Wait a minute! How did you get up here?! You're supposed to be in the story! And you're a fictional character, too!

Light: You're the one who's typing, don't blame me!

Me: *grumbles* Just roll the disclaimer.

Light: Gocty- Hold on, that's a weird name. Where did it come from?

Me: THE DEPTHS OF MY MIND! (Okay, well, my fellow fanfiction author friends gave me the nickname of Gocty, since my full username is a bit on the long side) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AND ROLL THE DISCLAIMER ALREADY!

Light: Fine, fine. Gocty does not own Death Note, because if she did, L wouldn't have died. She doesn't own the characters, only the computer that is used to type out this story, yada, yada, yada, get on with the story, blah, blah, blah. She also apologizes if the characters are OOC.

Chapter 1: This Strange, Interesting Man


L pulled his heavy brown coat tighter around him as he strolled through snow-laden sidewalks. Despite the jacket, gloves, thick scarf, and wool hat he wore, the frigid air around him nipped at his skin. He shuffled along the countless shops and people, his feet freezing in his pair of old, battered tennis shoes. Okay, the freezing feet part was his fault, but who could blame him? It was a stretch for him to even wear dirty, falling apart tennis shoes, much less socks, and even without the socks, his feet felt as if they were in a leather and rubber prison.

What seemed to be a million snowflakes drifted around him, floating peacefully through the air, and L tilted his head up just in time to see a snow flake flutter in front of his face. He gave a faint smile as it landed on his nose and thought, "Snowflakes are the only good part about winter."

He stood in place, watching the snowflake as it gradually melted on his pale nose before continuing to walk. As the snowfall became heavier, his arms started to feel more and more like ice pops. His legs began to stiffen, and L was afraid that if he didn't get to where he needed to be soon, he would freeze in the middle of the road. That wouldn't be good at all. If that happened, that would attract unwanted attention, which was the last thing L wanted. After all, he is L, and he isn't only the world's greatest detective; he is also the most reclusive one.

With his eyes glued to the ground bellow him, L resumed to walk, trying to avoid eye-contact with anyone. Every so often, someone would pass him and accidentally brush him against the shoulders. That made him cringe, since he hated to be touched. When L finally decided to look up, he determined that his destination was only a few blocks away. Scrambling through the streets and sidewalks while ignoring the red and green lights at intersections, he swerved at a few buildings, rammed into a few people, grimaced when he ran into said people, and gasping and panting, he abruptly stopped in front of a bakery.

He gave out a relieved sigh. Thank goodness he got here without getting run over. Normally, Watarti would either make L sweets or go to a shop or something to buy them, but not today. You see, Watari was taking the week-long vacation he had every year, leaving L to fend for himself for that length of time. Of course, Watari definitely deserved and needed the break, but Watarti was also L's glue. He held L together, and it was a near impossibility that he could manage on his own for very long.

L was a man desperate for sweets, though, so he braved the journey from his hotel room to the bakery. Yes, Watarti had stocked him with a considerable amount of cake, candy, and chocolate, among other things, but... let's just say that Watari also underestimated the volume of sweets L would get through that week.

Everyone, even Watari, needed a vacation every once in a while, though, but even with that in mind, he still hated it when Watari left on his yearly getaway. Strange things always happened when Watari was gone. To be fair, though, strange things always happen in his life, him being the world's best, second best, and third best detectives all at the same time, but when Watari left, the strangeness got cranked up to eleven. This year was no exception, either, and for the entire week, L was paranoid of when the strange things would begin to happen.

During previous years and Watari's previous vacations, the strange things that happened so far were him almost lighting his hotel room on fire despite there being no kitchen, him being slapped in the face by an angry lady who swung her purse at him, and him running into the same pole on three separate occasions, all of them happening within the span of thirty-six hours.

Yes, L was a bit of a mess without Watari, so to speak, but worst of all, Watari wasn't there to drive him anywhere. Sure, he had a driver's license. Heck, he could operate a helicopter for goodness's sake(although he didn't exactly have a pilot's license)! It was just that he knew the cops would be less than thrilled if they caught him driving in his usual crouched position. It wasn't his fault that his deductive abilities dropped by forty percent if he sat normally. Although, if he did sit in his usual crouch, he wouldn't have been able to even reach the gas pedal, much less get on the road to be pulled over by the cops in the first place.

L sighed. " Get it together," he grunted at himself. "Watari will be back in four days, and you, Mr. L, are getting sweets no matter what." He pulled his scarf higher up his chin and his hair lower down his eyes, all in an attempt to hide his face. He gritted his teeth, approached the bakery door, and opened the door as gently as he could, hoping that no one would notice his presence. He shuttered a bit as the bell attached to the door rung, and upon entering, he realized the long line full of bored yet sweet-toothed people in front of him. He swallowed that lump that had formed in his throat and stepped forward, to the back of the line.

He could feel himself shake a little, as if he was shriveling because of the large crowd around him. Him shriveling because of all the people here wasn't far from the truth, either. He looked around. This was the bakery Watari suggested if he wasn't there and L wanted sweets. Of course, Watari not being there didn't happen very often. That was usually the case only when Watari left on his little vacations, but that didn't make standing in line at a jam-packed bakery any less painful.

As he waited in line, he stood with his shoulders locked into position and his arms tense and stuck to his sides. Despite the heat in the bakery and the fact that he was now sweating because he was so hot in his winter clothes, his arms wouldn't budge from his sides. His arm muscles had gotten too stiff to move.

All he could do was inch forward with the line, and on the bright side, he was getting closer and closer to stuffing a cake in his mouth with every step, no matter how slow those steps were. He waited a while, his mind zoning out a bit as he stared at the glass cabinet full of desserts. His mouth watered at them. He saw spongecake, cookies, mouses, and pretty much every dessert imaginable. He himself was surprised that the bakery staff could cram that many desserts into one display cabinet.

He was tempted to buy their entire stock of sweets, but he knew he couldn't carry it all home. What a shame, mostly because that many sweets possibly could've lasted the rest of the week, meaning that he wouldn't have to make any more trips out. Disappointed that he couldn't buy every single sugary thing the bakery had, he let his mind wander off for a while and surveyed his surroundings.

The bakery Watari suggest was quite nice to be honest. It was dimly lit and had pleasantly red walls. The red wasn't a bright, in-your-face type of red; it was mellowed out with shades of brown, making it deep in color. The air smelled of, of course, sweets, and every few seconds L would take in a huge gulp of air, savoring the scent of baked goods as he did so. Calming jazz played in the background, relaxing L by just a tiny bit. It was warm and cozy, and even though it was crowded, the chatter wasn't too unbearably loud, and the number of people that showed indicated that this particular bakery probably had excellent sweets.

L let himself melt into the jazz, as it made him feel at peace with himself and his surroundings. He tapped his foot along with the beat of the music, subconsciously humming the tune as he progressed forward in the line, when suddenly, someone cleared their throat, snapping him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"Sir, I don't have all day," grumbled the lady behind the counter. "What can I get you, sweetie? And make it quick, there's a long line."

L took a few seconds to actually register he was at the front of the line, and he looked behind him to see a load of customers glaring at him, which told him that he needed to move his mouth and place in the damn order. "Okay, really, you don't have to be this much in a hurry," L spoke in his usual monotone voice, although on the inside he was trembling. He heard his heart thump in his ears, and he mentally slapped himself, "Oh sugar honey iced tea! (if you don't get what I mean by sugar honey iced tea, take the first letter of each word and place them together... yup... my miserable attempt to curse) Uh! What should I get?! I completely forgot about that!"

"Mmm..." L spoke quietly, trying his best to convey that he was calm even though he really wasn't. A hundred options raced through his head, so he decided to grab a random dessert floating around in his mind and roll with it. Hoping that no one noticed the single bead of sweat that dripped down his face because of his nervousness, L opened his mouth, although it took a second for the words to get out, "I'll have a cheesecake, please."

L did his best to carry a blank expression over the storm brewing inside of him. He couldn't lose his cool in public. In fact, he didn't think he could ever lose his cool, not even in front of Watari.

"What type?" she asked.

L blinked for a few moments, probing his brain for what cheesecake flavor he would order, "Strawberry." The lady behind the counter took a cheesecake from the back and slid it into a white cardboard box, shoving it into L's hands as she yelled in a shrill voice, "Next customer!"

L quickly paid and exited, letting his joints loosen just a little as he stepped out of the warm bakery and back into the freezing, unforgiving winter air. He walked for a few blocks while tilting his head down, not really paying attention to his surroundings. To get back to the hotel room, he had to cross a pathway the lead through a park. The park was pretty, at the very least, so that comforted him slightly on his walk back.

Trees loomed over him, their leave-less branches both elegant and menacing. Their branches were caked with snow, and L could see endless footprints from the endless stream of people that strolled through the park. He heard the sound of laughing children out in the distance and the faraway wail of a bird. He continued walking, pushing the snow around with his feet as he did so.

Soon, he left the park, it's image getting smaller and blurrier the further L walked away from it. He rejoined the crowds at a busy intersection, holding his limbs and his precious cheesecake as close as could to his body. L felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold every time someone made contact with him, but he knew every single touch he felt was inevitable. With a city with this many bustling people, it was impossible to not knock into someone every few minutes. Still, it didn't make constantly bumping into people any easier, as violent tingles ran their way down L's spin at even the lightest press against his skin.

As he hurried through the city and passed who knows how many stores, he kept his mind occupied by thinking about the cheesecake in his hands. "It's going to be fine, L. It'll all be fine, right? I'll go back to the hotel room, sit down, and read over case files while eating a cheesecake," L tried to reassure himself. "Once I make it back to the hotel, everything will be in order again, and the world will resume spinning. It will be fine." L repeated that sentence over and over in his head, "It will be fine. It will be fine. It will be f-"

Bang! L heard a loud crash, and before he realized it, he was on the ground, the box that held his cake was on the ground as well, it laying in a crumpled heap, and he saw... someone interesting in front of him. "Uh, looks like I've run into someone. I should've paid more attention while I was walking! Okay, admittedly, that piece of hindsight won't help me now, but still!"

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay, sir?! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!" said the voice in front of him in a quick, panicked manner. L shifted his gaze from his cheesecake to the person in front of him, and his already huge, coal-black eyes widened.

"Oh, hello there, maybe crashing into you isn't so bad after all..." L looked at the young man in front of him, and a handsome young man at that. He was apologizing for what was most likely five minutes straight, but L didn't listen to the endless stream of apologies. He was too caught up in gauging the man who had just run into him. The man was probably in his early twenties, and he had chestnut-brown hair, which was arranged perfectly on his head without a stand out of place. He wore a thick coat and a pair of khakis, as well as brown dress shoes. He was dressed in clothes that were slightly more formal than an average person's, and he was for sure dressed better than L.

L looked at this man for a few more seconds, before he caught himself staring. Even as it dawned on him that he was starring at this strange, interesting man, he couldn't tear his eyes away. The person in front of him had perfect hair, perfectly healthy-looking skin, a perfect chin, a perfect jawline... perfect everything.

And there was L. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed with his wild, uncombed locks. His skin was so pale that one time someone actually thought he was a ghost. The permanent dark circles under his eyes made people think he'd never slept a day in his life, which wasn't as far-fetched as it seemed. He also, in according to the people around him, dressed like a slob. L's appearance, by definition, was the exact opposite of perfect.

"Um... sir...? Excuse me, are you okay?" the young man looked at L, who was still staring at him intently.

"L, what are you doing?! Watari said something about how it's not polite to stare!" L tried to rip his eyes away from the person in front of him, but he couldn't. Time was at a standstill. The world around him slowed, the only thing moving in normal speed being the handsome young man in front of him. L himself tried to move, in an attempt to pry himself away from further embarrassment.

"Oh, what's in that box?" the man asked. That pulled L out of his thoughts as he looked down at the destroyed cheesecake box. L quickly pulled the box towards him, and, while the box sat on the ground, L used both of his hands to lift the lid off, holding it up with his thumb and forefinger. Any hopes of his cheesecake being saved were crushed. When he opened the box, the cake laid smashed, somehow covered in dirt, and there was a huge crack down the middle of the previously delicious treat.

"Sorry..." the person L rammed into rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I can buy you a new one, if you want. I'm really sorry about what-"

"It's fine, really," L deadpanned, masking any sadness about his cheesecake beneath the tone of his voice. "I'll just buy another one."

"No, I insist, here," he reached into his pocket and handed L some money. "If there's any change, keep it. It's an apology for crashing into you."

They were both still sitting down on the sidewalk, and by this point, the people passing by them were giving them odd stares. Although, the stares were expected. It was an odd sight, two people on the ground with a destroyed cheesecake in between, and while one of the men had been saying sorry for five solid minutes, the other simply gawked with emotionless, soulless eyes, unable to look away.

"No, no, I have more than enough to purchase another cheesecake," L gave back the money while assuming his crouch.

"Oh, I haven't properly introduced myself yet," the other person interjected. He stretched out his hand. "My name is Light Yagami. What's your's?"

L blinked. He didn't expect this. Luckily, even though most people would never know his real name, he was often referred to as Ryuzaki. "Oh, yes, yes, my name is Ryuzaki, it is nice to meet you, Light," L accepted Light's hand, who abruptly pulled the two up. He looked at his other hand and noticed that Light hadn't taken back the money yet.

"Oh, I believe this is your's?" L waved the money in front of Light's face.

"Oh, no, keep it," Light smiled gently at L. "As I said, it's an apology for bumping into you."

"Strange," L muttered to himself, the word he just uttered being too quiet for Light to hear. "So," he continued, his voice void of any feelings, while putting the money in his pocket. "I believe that this isn't the most ideal situation to meet someone."

"Yeah," Light chuckled, although L noticed a nervous tinge to it.

"What is this nervousness I sense from him all about?" L asked himself. After seeing that L didn't respond, Light started talking again, but it wasn't the words L was paying attention to; L was paying attention to the way Light spoke those words, the way he carried himself.

"Interesting," L thought, trying to deduct more about Light. "Despite the earlier incident and hint of nervousness I previously detected from his voice, he seems to have recovered from it rather quickly. Judging from the way he talks, he puts on a confident, calm front, and judging from his appearance, he's quite nutty about his image. He is centered around perfection, or so it seems, but I notice something in his eyes... despite his smile, they appear dead... they appear lifeless, more lifeless than mine. It takes a trained eye to see this, though, and he hides his lifeless soul with a mask, a mask of confidence, a mask that is collected in nature, a mask that makes him appear perfect on the outside. It's all in the eyes, his cold, soulless eyes-"

His thoughts were suddenly cut off.

"Hey, Ryuzaki, are you busy at the moment?" Light inquired.

L shook his head, indicating a no.

"Well, I was wondering, since both of us have nothing to do, if I could come with you while you get a new cheesecake," Light suggested.

"Great, I don't need someone to tag along, but what should I do? I don't want to look like a jerk..." L held his pointer-finger to his mouth and bit lightly on the nail. "You really don't have to, Light, I can manage on my own, besides, I don't want to be inconveniencing you. We are both at fault for bumping into each other in the first place, you know."

"No, I insist, besides, I don't have much to do today. It's the weekend, I don't have work today, and all my family members are doing their own thing," Light gave another charming yet dead smile, not that the average person could pick up the falseness of Light's facial expressions.

L bit harder on his finger, making it clear he was thinking so that Light wouldn't interrupt his thoughts, "He's a fantastic liar. He's probably lied for his entire life. Even now, he's most likely trying to be polite with a... ninety-four percent chance that's the case. In any case, he definitely has a charming front. You are very interesting, Light Yagami... very interesting indeed... perhaps it is worth sticking around you for a few minutes, just to see if you can live up to the mask you present me with."

"Sure, I don't see why not," L shrugged, trying his best to hide the fact that he was analyzing Light's personality. He didn't want to seem creepy to such an interesting man. It could even be fun to peel off the mask Light had on and see firsthand who he really was.

"But really, I'm paying for your cheesecake," Light smirked. "Whether you like it or not."

"Ooh, what was that smirk all about? Do I sense competitiveness with a childish foundation?" L lead the way towards the bakery. "Looks like this is worth more of my time than I originally thought." "Like I'd let you pay for me," L retorted.

"You are very interesting, Light," L commented, still trying to maintain a monotonous tone. "That is all I can say for now."

"Okay then...?" Light gave L a funny look. L smiled on the inside; he caught Light off guard.

"Yes, that is all I can say for now," L continued as they strolled, him still in front of Light.

"I can only say the same about you, too," Light gave a good-natured chuckle, although L could tell otherwise. It was an invitation to a challenge, a battle of wits and who could out-maneuver the other.

L gave a nod, not only saying yes to Light's statement but to his little game as well. From the way Light's eyes lit up with a spark of life for the first time since L met him, L knew Light picked up on what the nod really meant.

In about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the bakery L was at about thirty minutes ago. The same lady was behind the counter, and she peeked out from behind the line to see who entered.

"You again?" she lifted an eyebrow.

L promptly ignored her, as he would rather not discuss his destroyed cheesecake.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Light questioned all of a sudden. L turned around to face him, meeting him in the eye.

"Out of all the questions you could've asked, you had to ask that one!" L screamed in his head. He locked on an expressionless face to prevent it from twitching. That would be a dead giveaway that he wasn't being completely honest, thus losing Light's game, and with someone as interesting as Light, you can never tell what they are capable of. "Oh, I simply do detective work," L explained. Even if he couldn't tell the truth, sticking as close to it as possible would prevent a slip-up in how coherent any of his explanations would be.

"Oh, really? Me too! I don't see you around, though, we probably work for different agencies or something," Light shrugged.

"Well, I don't want to be rude and only talk about myself," L said innocently. "What organization do you work for?"

"I work for the NPA," Light responded.

"I have high respects for them," L lied. In truth, he thought the organization was pathetic. "Oh, look at that," L pointed to a cheesecake in the display case. He squinted a little to read the sign under it, and he read out, "Cookie-dough cheesecake, that looks rather good."

He didn't care how much he wanted to call out the NPA for being so useless; he had to direct attention away from what he did as a profession without it being too obvious that he was, which was why he asked Light what agency he worked for first, to make him look less suspicious.

It would be a nightmare if Light asked him what detective/police organization he worked for since he thought almost all of them were inadequate. They only reason he even worked for them was because they offered quite a big paycheck for solving the unsolvable, although he really didn't know how they could be so blind to such obvious evidence. Well, obvious to him, anyway.

Light scrunched his nose a bit at the sight of the cookie-dough cheesecake, "I'm sorry, Ryuzaki, but that looks sickly sweet, no offense to your taste in dessert."

"None taken," L waved off Light's comment with his hand.

They took jabs at each other for a few minutes while waiting in line, and this time, L knew exactly what he wanted.

"Can I have the cookie-dough cheesecake, please?" L threw the money Light gave him on the counter; it appeared that he wouldn't get out of Light paying for the cheesecake, whether he liked it or not. Now he understood why Light smirked earlier when he was told he wouldn't be paying for the cheesecake.

Taking up the money, the woman who took the order whispered to herself, "What is up with this guy?" loud enough for L to hear.

"She probably intended for me to hear her," L concluded.

With the cheesecake box in his hands, L grabbed a fork and sat down at a table with Light, who sat down before L did. Light had ordered a coffee after L ordered the cheesecake, and now he was sipping the steaming, pleasant-smelling, and caffeine packed drink.

"Are you doing to eat that entire thing?" Light arched an eyebrow. His face was half filled with shock with the other half being amazement.

L brought his knees up to his chest, not caring that they were in public. He would need all of his deduction skills to counter Light in this game. "Yes, I do plan on eating the entire thing," L brought a fork-full of cheesecake to his mouth.

L then noticed that Light cringed, although the cringe was barely noticeable. Then he saw Light give him an odd look, only to have it replaced by another one of his brilliantly fake smiles as he brushed off L's posture.

"Interesting... very interesting, indeed," L thought to himself once more. "But really, why is that all I can describe about you? Normally, people are open like a book, whether they realize it or not. You, Light, are one of a kind, and I take it upon myself to read you. It will be a challenge, but this challenge, I believe, will be much harder to crack than any mass-murder case with no evidence or a wave of crime that suddenly hits the world... no, you will be my hardest case yet, Light, and I am determined to solve you, no matter what it takes, because Light, you appear to be the strange thing to have happened while Watari's gone."


Well, that's chapter one done! I'm not sure if I'll update, though. I love writing, it's just that the most tedious part is editing, which takes a while, and even then a few mistakes always make it into the final chapter. If you want more, say so in the reviews, because I'm not yet sure if I want to continue with this or not. Most of my stories fail by the time they hit five chapters, just to give you a heads up. XP Please read, review, and I hope you enjoy. I will see you (if I update) next chapter. :)