DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note.


The man standing before her had to be L.

Mr. Wammy leaned in to the younger man's ear, whispering something to L. The raven-haired man nodded his understanding, and slowly slouched his way into Wammy's House, keeping his hands fisted deep in his pockets. The fact did not go unnoticed to Cece that he did not acknowledge anyone on his way to the door. Mr. Wammy, however, was much more pleasant. He embraced everyone on his way to the door, before finally stopping at the teenage girl before him. "Why, you must be Cecelia! It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Please, follow me inside, I have to make myself more familiar with you!" he beamed down at her.

"Mr. Wammy, it is an honor to meet you. The pleasure is mine," the girl replied.

She whispered her goodbyes to Matt and Mello as she made her way inside. Cece followed the elderly man to his office, a room that she had never entered before. It was luxuriously furnished, with a large mahogany desk at one side of the room. Two chairs were placed in front of the desk, a lush carpet with an ornate golden and red print lay on the floor, and a roaring fire was crackling merrily away at a large stone fireplace. "Please, sit down," the man gestured as he made his way to his desk.

"Thank you, sir."

"So, tell me Cecelia, how are you finding Wammy's? I hope it is to your liking, and nobody is giving you any problems?" Mr. Wammy asked as he peered at her over the rim of his glasses.

"Oh, it's absolutely wonderful! A much better improvement than my previous orphanage, I have to say. Nobody's been giving me a hard time, they're all really so welcoming. You must have raised them the right way, sir! In fact, Matt and Mello are my best friends, and the people here are very kind. They're all really like my family."

The man smiled kindly at her, his eyes slightly twinkling. "Well, that is very nice to hear, although those two are quite troublesome. Great minds though, very intelligent. As you probably know, I am quite aware that this is my first time meeting you. Is there any questions that you would like me to answer? Anything you are unsure about?"

Cece thought this over in her head. Was there anything that she wanted to find out, anything that she was curious about? "Mr. Wammy, I already asked this question to Mr. Rogers, but the response I got in return was just not enough. What I am curious about is … is why I got chosen as successor instead of Mello or Near, who have had much more training and education here at Wammy's than me."

"Ah, Cecelia, I am afraid I will have to give you an indirect answer. Some things are just meant to be, whether it seems like the right thing to do is another question altogether. Sometimes, you just have to," he paused for dramatic emphasis, "give it a nice push."

Cece stared at him for a good ten seconds, observing his every facial expression, from his very twinkling eyes to his kind smile one would receive from a grandfather. She could find absolutely nothing that would help her understand that cryptic answer to her question. Why won't they answer my question? It's not even a hard one! Some things are just meant to be? Well yeah, I know that, but what is meant to be? What are they hiding from me?

"Mr. Wammy," she said in a very serious tone, "I think you have gone completely mad."

At this, the kind man sitting in front of her let out a chuckle. "You will understand when the time comes. Any other questions you want to ask of me, Cecelia?"

"Hmm, in fact, I do. I'm sorry, this question might be a bit personal, so you do not have to answer it if you feel uncomfortable. I could not help but notice how you helped open the door for L, almost like what, and pardon me for the insensitive word, almost like what a servant would do. And yet, you travel with him whenever he has to solve cases abroad, exactly what a father would do. What I'm asking, Mr. Wammy, is what type of relationship exists between you and L?

He looked at Cecelia for a moment before responding. "You really are observant, my dear. My relationship with L is a very complicated one, to say the least. Sometimes, life is not just black or white- relationships are not that simple." His eyes seemed to take on a distant quality, almost like he was reliving a memory that happened years before. "L came to the orphanage twelve years ago, when he was just nine years old. I did not know why, in fact, I still do not know now, why I felt drawn to him. Maybe it was his innocence, or maybe he was just like every other Wammy's resident, but I had taken a liking to him. I trained him myself, watched him grow up before my eyes from when he was just a little boy. I watched him change as every child does when they realize, for the first time, what type of world they live in. A world full of crime, full of greed and anger. So," he looked at Cecelia then, "I suppose he is like my son."

"And what do you think you are to him?"

Mr. Wammy mulled this over in his head. "I don't know, Cecelia. L is a very complex person with a very complex mind. Things have happened in his childhood that has shaped him into the man he is today, and those things had formed the base of our somewhat scrambled relationship."

"What things, Mr. Wammy?" Cece asked, all the while being aware of how tense the room became.

"Things that I cannot tell anyone, things that you will have to ask L himself. And this brings me to the very important point that I want to discuss with you. I know this might be a hard task, but I want you to try to get to know him better. L is a very reserved figure, doesn't really like to converse with anyone. I assure you though; he is a very kind man. I think that it would be nice if you tried to be his friend."

"Of course, Mr. Wammy. He is a very interesting person and I would love to know him more. It can't be that hard a task."

"You might be mistaken, my dear. You should go now, dinner is being prepared."

Cece thanked him very much, and quietly made her exit, pondering what the elderly man meant exactly by saying that befriending L would be difficult ...


"Cece, what took you so long? We've been looking for you for ages," Matt said, gesturing to Mello who was sitting next to him. The blond looked at Cece with cold eyes, snapping off a piece of chocolate with his teeth in the process.

"Sorry Matt, I had to talk to Mr. Wammy about some important things," the girl replied.

"Did he mention anything about L?" Mello asked in a quiet voice.

Before Cece could answer, the door to the dining room opened, and L himself slouched in, dragging his bare feet on the hardwood floor. He stopped at the head of the table, looking for an available seat at the already much too crowded table. Cece thought she saw a flicker of annoyance cross his facial features when he realized that the only seat available was the one right across from the brown-haired teen, but she remained unfazed. Cece took note of his every movement, from the way he walked, to the way he "sat" (she used the term loosely). L did not sit the way most people sat- he pulled his knees up and crouched on his chair. He finally brought his black eyes to meet those of Cece's, who was observing him with the utmost interest.

L held her gaze, returning it with a more intense stare, one that usually got people squirming in their seats, thinking to themselves "what is wrong with this guy?" Cece did not even flinch in the slightest. Instead, she slowly opened her mouth and spoke clearly to him, "Hello, my name is Cecelia. You must be L. It is my pleasure to meet you." She held out her arm, hoping to get a handshake in return. When L had not made any movement for a prolonged period of time, she slowly lowered it. I understand what Mr. Wammy meant now. He's not very into formalities, is he? she thought. L's eyes had widened just a tiny bit, and he was a bit taken aback. Who was this girl? Why was she talking to him? Why didn't she seem the least bit intimidated?He did not let any of his confusion show on his face though, maintaining the blank expression that had so successfully fooled many others. Instead, he slowly and deliberately brought his thumb to his lip, gnawing it with his teeth. "Extraordinary," he murmured softly. The word left his mouth almost like it was being carried by the wind- it was soft, but with a sense of authority that demanded attention. The girl he was talking to simply nodded.

Matt's growling stomach broke the tension that had filled the atmosphere. "Ugh, when are they serving dinner, I'm positively starving," he complained with a pout that did not suit his face very well. He proceeded to pull out his Nintendo DS, grumbling all the while to himself. Mello turned his attention back to L, speaking to him in his low voice. "It's nice to see you again L."

"Mello," the detective replied, turning his gaze over to the blond teenager who sat beside Matt as an acknowledgment to his greeting.

Just then, a booming voice filled the large and ornate dining room. "Dinner is served!" sang a chubby woman, waltzing her way in with three large pans filled with the evening's main course. She placed each of them on the long table at even intervals, the mouthwatering smell of her cooking filling the room. "Thank you, Madam Perdue!" Matt chorused in appreciation, the food clearly lifting his spirits. He turned off his DS, and eagerly pick up his fork and plunged it right into his pork chop, bringing it onto his plate. Cece noted wryly that he ignored the broccoli that was also on the pan. Without further ado, Matt brought the pork chop to his mouth and took a huge bite out of it, closing his eyes as he savored the taste.

"Fucking pig. You eat like a Neanderthal," Mello commented, his face a mixture between amusement and disgust as he watched his best friend eat.

"Dun 'ate, dun 'ate," the copper-headed boy replied through a mouthful of food.

As Cece ate her food in a more civilized manner, she noticed that L did not touch anything. He remained crouched in his chair, observing everyone else, his eyes darting along the table. "Aren't you going to eat anything?" Cece questioned. L simply shook his head in response. The girl merely shrugged, deciding that she would find a way to befriend him some other time. After the clattering of knives and forks had died down, Madam Perdue waltzed back in, this time with trays upon trays of dessert. L's and Mello's faces lit up when they saw a delicious chocolate cake, tiramisu cake, chocolate pudding, strawberry short cake, apple pie, and a large assortment of fruits that ranged from strawberries to bananas. Madam Perdue sure left everyone well fed!

Cece watched on in amazement as L devoured plate after plate of cake, occasionally picking up a strawberry and stuffing it into his mouth. It was not his table manners that astounded her- it was the almost impossibly fast rate he ate everything. He left his seat and returned not a moment later, a cup of coffee in one hand and what seemed like twenty packs of sugar in the other. He poured all of them into his coffee, stirring it with a little spoon. The amount of sugar he had eaten should have made him extremely obese, and yet, he remained skinny, looking like a healthy twenty one-year-old (except for his large dark bags under his eyes which she assumed came from his lack of sleep due to his abnormally large intake of sugar). "How do you stay so skinny?" Cece blurted out, unable to contain her curiosity. He looked at her for a few seconds, pondering how to answer her. "If you use your head, you won't get fat even if you eat sweets," he finally said tonelessly. Cece looked at him in utter amazement before a small laugh escaped from her lips. It was a funny comment, especially coming from someone who maintained such a straight face while saying it.

Cece finished her dinner and dessert, chatting animatedly with Matt and Mello for the remainder of the meal. She bid them goodbye at their room, and was walking to her own room when she saw Mr. Wammy walking towards her. "Good evening, Mr. Wammy," she said politely. "Ah, Cece, just the person I wanted to see! I'm sorry I didn't mention this before, but I forgot. L is working on a case tomorrow involving a murder in New York City, so would you be so kind as to help him out?" Cece frowned at him- she was fairly certain L did not need any help with solving cases, but she knew that it would serve as a prime opportunity to get to know him better. "Of course, Mr. Wammy. Will he be working in his room, or in the Pod?" The "Pod" that Cece was referring to was a room fully equipped with highly advanced computers that only the orphanage and the most important agencies (meaning the FBI, CIA, and other elite agencies) had access too. Cece loved the room, as did Matt. It was, after all, a computer geek's paradise. Other than the advanced technology that the Pod housed, there were also rows upon rows of file cabinets filled to the brim with previous cases that the residents of the orphanage had solved. You never know when evidence found in one case might prove to be useful for another one.

"He'll be working in his room. It is eight doors down from your own room."

"Thank you, Mr. Wammy. Good night."

"Good night, Cecelia."

She watched as the elderly man walked away, her head buzzing with excitement at what was coming the next day. She was going to be working with the world famous L, an opportunity that many people would kill for (well, not literally). She found it hard to fall asleep that night, but her fatigue finally got the best of her as her eyelids slowly closed and her breathing evened out, looking forward to what promised to be a very interesting day.


Thanks for reading, everyone! This is my first fanfic, so please excuse me for any errors or mistakes. I know I might seem like an amateur, so I am sorry for that! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Feel free to post any constructive criticism.

On another note, I'm getting quite busy studying for the SAT IIs in October. Studying Biology in the summer is not a very fun thing to do, and it is really time consuming, so the updates might only happen once in a week or so. Plus, school starts next week. Sorry, everyone!