A/n: Okay, so i wrote chapters 2-5 in the last two days...talk about work! but it helped that i was really bored...but hey! that's a good thing if people actually like this story. lol im going to stop talking now while you read. *zips lips*

OH! and thank you, Timekeeper101 for being my first review! :)

Chapter 2: Great Minds Think Alike

Ever since Rosalee arrived at Wammy's House she has never once frowned. For the past two years she has been taking classes that match her level of intelligence. She's now seven years old and has become quite a little prodigy in a subject she took a great liking to…ballet. Her grandfather explained to her that Wammy's House finds a child's unique talent, and helps them excel in it far more than they could imagine. So, it was quite surprising to some that a five year old showed such discipline and dedication to this particular art.

Quillish Wammy has treated Rosalee kindly, much more so than her father. After a year of silence the police in Brighton called Roger, Mr. Wammy's partner, and shared what they found out. There are no leads to who killed Jack Shilling. Without any fingerprints or any other telling evidence they just couldn't crack the case. No other cases of murder like the Shilling Murders popped up around that area or in the town, pointing them no where. All they could say for a fact is that Anne Shilling, maiden name Wammy, was murdered by her husband. For now, the mystery of who killed Jack Shilling will remain unsolved.

It's a quiet afternoon in mid-January at Wammy's House. Rosalee is sitting in her room on the top floor, listening to calming classical while working on homework. She was passing the time until her grandfather came back. They were about to enjoy each other's company over tea, but he was called to pick up a child a little ways away. It's usually him and only him that bring children to Wammy's House. The child he's bringing apparently solved a case known as the Winchester Mad Bombings…and he was only eight years old. With a little help at Wammy's he could become a great detective in the future.

Rosalee finishes her homework and decides to pass the time by staring out her window, looking out for her grandfather while enjoying the light snow that is currently falling. As she watched the snow cover the ground and buildings her mind wonders off to her parents. She missed her mother terribly so…but she never gave a kind thought to her father. Before that horrible day of their deaths Jack Shilling was very mean to Rosalee. She remembered he was always rude and verbally abusive, but he never laid a hand on her…just call her foul names and lock her in her room, not letting her out to eat or use the bathroom. Unfortunately, her mother received all the physical abuse. Sometimes at night Rosalee would hear her father thrash out on her caring mother. It is to her understanding that her father only married her mother for her family's money. Since Anne was the daughter of a great inventor you would expect to live an easy life…but what Jack didn't know is that Anne and her father cut off all ties to each other for he didn't approve of her marriage. Anne thought that it didn't matter, but Jack made it very clear when they ran into debt. Rosalee's hopes of stopping her father was granted…she just wished that her mother didn't have to go too.

I should've acted sooner, she thought sadly. She might still be-

Before she could continue her thought she spotted her grandfather walking down the street. Beside him was a small boy that came up to Quillish's waist. Rosalee squints her eyes to get a better look at the boy, but they were too far away. So she waited, watching them make their way to the gate of Wammy's House. The boy was holding onto Quillish's hand tightly. This made Rosalee smile; she always thought every child here was like a grandchild to her papa.

They stopped in front of the gate. Rosalee focused on the boy a little closer now. She noticed that he was biting his thumb in between his lips. His untamed black hair was catching snowflakes, making the boy shake them off. This made Rosalee giggle as she continued to study the new student of Wammy's. His skin was extremely pale against his dark hair. Even though he was dressed in winter clothing the boy was shivering just a bit. Quillish reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, one of them being the key to the gate. He unlocked the gate and led the boy on through, closing the gate back before they proceeded inside.

Rosalee moves away from the window and leaves her room. She takes to the stairs, hurriedly skipping two stairs at a time until coming upon the last set of stairs. The front door faces this part of the staircase. Rosalee sat down on the top stair and waited. It didn't take long for the front door to open and Quillish to step through with the boy right beside him. Rosalee perked up and watched as her grandfather helped the boy out of his winter coat. After hanging up both their coats Quillish looks up and spots Rosalee sitting atop the stairs. He chuckles lightly as he smiles.

"Have you been waiting for me all this time atop the stairs?" he asked amused. Rosalee just smiled and answered, "No…I did my homework before waiting for you. I'm still craving tea!" Quillish just simply smiles as Rosalee descended the stairs at a fast pace. As she came closer he kneeled and pulled her into a big hug, picking her up off the floor so that her feet were dangling. Rosalee squeezed tightly, not caring that his skin was a little cold from the winter weather. Quillish gave one last reassuring squeeze before putting her back down on the ground.

"I'm afraid that I can't join you for tea right now…I must go have a chat with Roger immediately. Is that okay?" he asks as he brushes her bangs out of her face. Rosalee pouted for only a moment before nodding her head. Quillish gives her a kind smile. He turns to the boy still standing next to him. "If you'd like to you could accompany her to the kitchen for tea. I'm sure you will need to know where that is since that's where all the sweets are kept."

Rosalee shifted her eyes onto the boy. She meets the gaze of big gray eyes. They reminded her of clouds right before a thunderstorm, so dark and mysterious, but mesmerizing all the same. It made her feel like he was staring deeper than just her appearance…it was as if he was trying to read her thoughts. This didn't intimidate her. She just stared back, waiting for his answer.

The boy breaks his eye contact as he looks back at Quillish. He nods his head. Quillish smiles. "Good…She will show you to the kitchen. I will join the both of you shortly." Quillish turns towards his granddaughter. "Don't eat all the cake. You also have a bit of a sweet tooth. Save a piece for me at least." Rosalee giggles. "I don't have that much of a sweet tooth! But I will save you a piece all the same." Quillish pats her head, making her messy pigtails wobble. He walks on ahead until reaching Roger's office. He knocks and pauses for a moment before opening the door and entering.

All is silent between Rosalee and the boy. Those dark gray eyes are once again staring at Rosalee…only this time they have a certain sparkle of curiosity. His finger was between his lips again and his other hand was stuffed inside his pocket. He stood a little hunched over, making him seem a bit shorter than Rosalee. She couldn't help to feel a bit unsettled by his intense stare…but his mannerisms are enough push that feeling aside and catch her attention. Rosalee tilts her head and begins to twirl a strand of hair as she stared back at the boy. His eyes seem to widen when he realized that she was examining him. He down cast his eyes and turned his head away.

Hmm…he doesn't like to be figured out, Rosalee thought. A slight smirk curled on her lips before heading towards the kitchen. She stopped when she noticed that the boy wasn't following her. "Well," she called out, "if you want strawberry cake you'll have to follow me!" The boy tilted his head. He pulled his finger away from his lips and stuffed it into his other pocket. Still hunched over he walks over to Rosalee. When he gets just behind her, Rosalee begins to lead the way to the kitchen with the boy hot on her heels.

After traveling through a few hallways they finally reach the kitchen. Rosalee grabs a step latter and sets it in front of the sink. She fills a pot full of water, sets it on the burner of the stove, and turns on the heat. Next she puts a couple of teabags in a teapot. Then she gets a bowl of sugar cubes and honey and places them on the table in the corner of the kitchen. She opens the refrigerator and snatches a tiny pitcher of milk, placing it with the sugar and honey.

While Rosalee set everything up the boy took a seat at the table. The boy sat in a strange position; it looked like he was squatting in the chair. He hugged his knees close to his chest. His eyes followed Rosalee's movements as she went about the kitchen. Rosalee took no notice of the boy's haunting gaze as she poured boiling water into the teapot. She turns off the burner and brings the teapot to the table. "Only thing missing is cake!" she exclaims as she placed the step latter in front of the counter. She grabs a cake dish and the boy tilts his head again as he begins to bite his thumb.

Rosalee giggles at his reaction as she places the dish on the table. She quickly fetches two teacups and three plates and three sets of silverware, the third being for her grandfather's requested piece of cake. "The tea should be done by now," she declares as she pours some chai tea into the teacups. The boy picks his cup and takes a sip. He frowns at his cup as he set is down. Rosalee shakes her head. "Haven't you ever had chai tea?" she asks sweetly. The boy shakes his head, the messy black hair bobbed as he did so. "Chai tea is traditionally sweetened with honey and milk. Some people prefer sugar to honey…and since I don't know how you like your tea I brought both." Rosalee smiles as she grabbed the honey and began to spoon a good portion of it into her tea. The boy opts for the sugar cubes, adding two cubes at a time until half of the dish is empty. Rosalee pours some milk into her tea and offers some to the boy. He holds out his cup to her and allows her to pour some for him. Together they took a sip. This time the boy gives his cup a look of approval.

As the sipped their tea they both indulged into a delicious strawberry cake. It was frosted with white icing and eight strawberries decorated the top of it. Taking the cake spatula Rosalee began to cut the cake into eight pieces. While she did this the boy opts for more tea and pours some for Rosalee as well as himself. "Thank you," Rosalee said nicely, remembering that its good manners to thank someone. As she places a slice of cake on a plate she heard a soft voice answer, "You're welcome." Rosalee looked up. She saw that the boy was staring at her once again, but this time his eyes seemed to soften and his lips curled up in a grin. Rosalee smiled back as she placed another piece of cake for the boy. Together they raised their forks and dug into the sugary treat.

While Rosalee was halfway through her cake the boy finished his and helped himself to another piece of cake. By the time she was done and ready for another piece the boy was already beginning his third piece. And papa says that I have a bit of a sweet tooth? Rosalee thought to herself as she saw that the cake from the dish was half gone. This boy's whole mouth is filled with sweet teeth! She watched amazed as the boy finished his third piece and helped himself to another piece. When Rosalee was finished with her second piece she placed another into the third plate for her grandfather. This left one last piece. "Would you like the last piece?" Rosalee offered the boy. The boy looked at the piece of cake while his finger tapped his lips. His eyes shift over to Rosalee and he nods his head. Dear God…he's going to ruin his dinner! Rosalee thought worriedly, but she still put the last piece on his plate. While the boy devoured his fifth piece of cake Rosalee poured what was left of the tea into their teacups.

When they were done Rosalee grabbed the dishes and headed towards the sink. When she got there she realized that she couldn't reach the sink without the step latter. "Darn it…I always forget to get the latter before taking the dishes. I seem to forget that I'm short," she muttered to herself. A screeching of a chair sliding on the floor made her look back. The boy walked across the kitchen, grabbed the step latter, and placed it in front of the sink. Rosalee nodded at him before climbing up and placing the dishes at their appropriate place. When she descended the step latter she sees the boy hunched over once more, one hand in his pocket while the other had its index finger playing with his lips.

They faced each other, neither one backing down as their eyes bore into each other. The boy now had that curious glint in his eyes. Rosalee found this intriguing and returned his gaze with more obvious glare by leaning forward. The boy flinched back a bit, but he didn't break eye contact with Rosalee. "Why do you keep staring at me? Hmm?" Rosalee asked as she narrowed her eyes. The boy did not answer…he just continued to stare. Rosalee sighed and turned away from him. He may be new, but it's still annoying and rude to stare, she thought as she began to walk away.

"Why do you think I'm staring at you?" the boy called out. His voice was soft and strong. Rosalee stopped and turned back. The boy stood still, waiting for her answer. Ah…I see what you're doing, Rosalee thought slyly. She smiled and looked in the boy's eyes as she answered. "I think you're trying to figure me out by studying my actions. You're also testing me, seeing if I can be intimidated or easily manipulated."

The boy just stared at her for a moment…then he blinked as his eyes shifted sideways, staring off into the ground. "Well done…I see that man wasn't exaggerating when he said that this place was for exceptionally brilliant children," he said matter-of-factly.

"Of course! This is Wammy's House. It's here that they'll cater to your unique mind and talents," Rosalee said proudly.

"Mm…and what is your unique talent?" the boy asked curiously.

"Well, I'm a dancer." The boy looked up and tilted his head. "I know it's not as impressive as some things…but it's what I love. I'm sure that's what you're here for," she said as she approached the boy. He removed his finger from his lips and scratched the back of his head. "Yes…Mr. Wammy said that I can possibly be a prodigy in the detective world," he said softly.

Rosalee smiled at the mention of her grandfather. "He is a great man. You'll come to learn that in time."

"You seem very close to him…are you by any chance related to him?"

"Can't get anything by you, huh?" Rosalee said teasingly. For a split second she thought he was going to laugh, but he held it back. Letting out a short giggle Rosalee said, "Yes, I am Mr. Wammy's granddaughter."

"Isn't Wammy's House supposed to be an orphanage?" the boy asked dully.

Rosalee stiffened but she didn't falter. "Yes, it is…my parents were murdered and my grandfather was the nearest living relative. So, I'm not technically an orphan."

"Your parents were murdered? Did they catch the culprit?" the boy asked seriously. Rosalee shook her head. "No…it's unsolvable," she said warily, looking down at her feet. She heard the boy's feet shuffle across the floor. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up she met the startling gray gaze of the boy. His eyes glistened with the slightest of sadness while determination swam in those gray pools.

"I bet you that I could probably figure it out…and bring the murderer to justice."

Rosalee's eyes widened. "You? No, you don't have to…even my grandfather believes it to be unsolvable. It's just simply impossible to crack that case."

Before the boy could reply Quillish walked into the kitchen. He looked at the two children with a warm smile. "I see you've become acquainted nicely." He glances over at the sink and chuckles. "And you ate all the cake! I told you not to eat too much."

"I didn't!" she said as she vigorously shook her head.

"I did," the boy said boldly.

Quillish laughed hardily. "Did you at least save me a piece?"

"Yes! It's right here!" Rosalee said excitedly as she ran over to the table and handed the plate of cake to her grandfather. He takes the plate and pats Rosalee's head. "Ah, thank you. I'm going to leave it down here for a second while I show our new student his room. And I do believe that you need to have ballet practice." Rosalee nods happily and starts for the door. When she gets to the doorframe she stops in her tracks and turns back to look at the boy.

"Even though we just had tea and light conversation together…I do not know your name."

"I don't know yours either," the boy answered back lightly.

"Rosalee."

"L."

Rosalee nodded. "Nice to meet you, L."

"And you, Rosalee," he said softly before shifting his gaze to the side.

As Rosalee walked down the hallway she couldn't stop thinking about the boy…especially his name. It's not a name…it's a letter! She shook her head. Even though his "name" was probably fake the boy himself was a unique character. Rosalee smiled to herself. She had a feeling that Wammy's House just got a lot more interesting now that L entered its hallways.

So, how was that? I found it a bit difficult to write out L's character. i believe he was a bit different at the age of eight, but still had those similarities we all adore in the manga/anime. i hope it was okay. but i won't know that until you review! please?