A/N: I'm feeling much recovered after a short break. So with little ado~
Shout out to Diana Wolfe and cygnusx10 for reviewing.
Cygnusx10: Light is emotional because, well, who wouldn't be after your world has fallen apart? I keep thinking about how manic he was in the last episode of the manga and how a survivor of a mental break like that might react to situations as they recovered. As a long sufferer of panic attacks, I know that emotions are frayed after a fit like that and it can take months to recover fully. Anywho~ L is still a manipulating bastard, he's just in love. Hard to keep him completely cannon in a romance. Though, he's more obsessive than romantic...
Anywho~
House of Cards
By Catsitta
Chapter six: Truth
A representative from Whammy's House arrived in a sleek, black sedan shortly after the flight ended. Light protested every second of being wheeled to the car, but L was good at securing her down at this point. She was fuming in silence by the time they reached the car.
The man, a nondescript employee of Roger's, codename J, opened the door of the car in silence. He wore all black and held himself like a proper butler, the brim of his driving hat shadowing his face discreetly. They exchanged nods and L positioned Light in the back seat. As he slid in next to her, Light's eyes flashed with indignation for the umpteenth time since she woke up. Her emotions were at a manic high since her brush with death, as if coming to terms with Kira had broken the stoic barricade to splinters. She was nervous, twitchy and quick to start a fight. He missed the relatively calm girl from before, who would throw a punch in anger when she didn't like something L said.
As of now, she was snappish like a bobcat in a claw trap.
"We'll reach the new facilities soon," L said quietly. Roger would meet them there. After all, the private medical building was a wing of the unknown institution that raised him to be the nameless man he was today. "I'm sure Light would like some rest and some pain killers."
"I would like to go back to Japan."
"That will never happen, Light," he turned to look out the tinted windows at the passing scenery. "England is your home now."
Had she the energy, she would have smacked him a good one, he could see it in the way she tensed and the way her jaw twisted. She was rigid in her seat, quite out of her depth. L was in complete control, and Light was at his mercy. He could dandle her about as he pleased and there was little she could do to stop him. If he wanted to steal her away to the middle of nowhere, nothing would stop him except his own morals, and those were terribly strained these days.
Tired. He was so very tired.
The rest of the long car ride from the airport was in uncomfortable silence, the only sound that of their breathing and the clatter of small debris against the windows. He watched Light nod into partial slumber, obviously in pain and exhausted by it. She would need a few days to recover from this trip before starting her new physical therapy sessions.
"We are here, sirs," announced J as they slid into the gravel drive. He walked around and opened the door. L peered out into the gleaming afternoon sun and stared at the familiar gates that towered above. The wrought iron was touched with ivy and rust, but was no less impressive in its ornate design. A script WC marked the center. Trees cast cool shadows onto the pebbled road beyond the gates. In the distance stood the fine, stone manor that was Whammy's House, home to exceptional orphaned children. As far as the public was concerned, it was merely a place for child geniuses to go to be schooled when their parents either died or could no longer care for them. But those who walked those halls knew better.
Whammy's House had a darker side, bloodied by ambition. Quillish and Roger meant well, but their earliest program landed them with deeply disturbed and dead children. When L assumed his title, reforms brought light to this place. His heirs would never know those harrowing first days where the minds and bodies of the children were pushed to the limit in order to create perfection.
They were clever and dangerous creatures still, but no one would ever be quite the same as L the assassin.
His reverie was broken by the gates opening and a tall, aging gentleman in blue suit and glasses stepped forth. Stone-faced and cold, Roger approached as a man might his execution. L slid out of the car, unshod feet quiet against the gravel, and bowed.
"Roger," he said.
"L...Welcome home."
"I must admit, I am thankful to be home." He shoved his hands into his back pockets. "This last case had me bracing myself for death. Never have I been closer to it in my life..."
"Well. It is fortunate you survived. The boys are not ready to assume the title of L."
"Will they ever be?" L was wistful. "Mine is a name with many implications."
"You set the standard," Roger groused. He was done with this idle chit-chat. "Now, where is your companion? You made arrangements to have them lodged in our medical wing without divulging any information."
L turned and assisted Light out of the car. The teen was unreadable. She gazed at Roger with unfaltering gravity, her injuries obscured by the way she held them. It was difficult for her to look imposing as she was, her loose sweat pants and baggy jacket dwarfing her sickly frame. But she maintained her prideful aura, determined not to allow her health or appearance to humble her.
"This is Light," L said, motioning at her. "Light, this is Roger. He is one of the founders of Whammy's House for Exceptional Children, where I grew up."
Wordlessly, she bowed.
Roger remained unimpressed.
"Light needs rest. May we proceed?"
Reluctantly, Roger waved J away and led the pair towards the manor.
"Tell me, L, why you felt that bringing an outsider here was a good idea," he said in a casual voice, pitched just for L to hear. The detective sighed. This question. Always this question. "Who is he to you?"
They were near the front doors of the house.
Now was as good as time as any to come clean with his deception.
"She is my wife," he replied airily, as if it were as normal a thing to declare as a change in the weather. Both Roger and Light stopped walking. L turned. They were equally pale. "Is something the matter?"
"Wife?"
"Quite impressive. It's not easy to speak in harmony like that with a stranger."
Roger flushed red, "What is the meaning of this L?"
"Yes. What exactly do you mean by wife, L."
The detective fished around in his front pocket, pulled out a piece of gilded paper and unfolded it. With a careless flick of his wrist, he presented the document.
"I believe wife is what one calls the woman who is legally bound in union to him."
"You never mentioned this!" Roger then shot a glance at Light, who was shivering, her eyes narrowed into fiendish slits. "And this is a female?"
Light grunted. L sighed, "Yes. Biologically speaking as well as according to the gender Light identifies as, Light is female. Though he is most comfortable being referred to as he as well as dressing as a male due to certain circumstances. When Light is more comfortable here in England, this will change."
"You're now determining how I identify?" Light grit out in a tight voice.
"Light is a girl. He confessed how he wishes to be known as a while ago. There is no shame in wanting to be female, nor is there weakness in needing to maintain a male facade until Light feels safe enough to act as a woman. If being seen as a male is a defensive mechanism that suits him, then who am I to deny Light that security. But once Light is well again, there will be no reason for him to hide and he can be as he wishes to be."
Light bodily turned from L, "Sir. Could you please escort me to the medical wing. I can't look at his face right now."
Roger, surprisingly, nodded and placed a kind hand on her shoulder. He cast a disapproving glare in L's direction before guiding Light inside the manor. The detective stared at their backs. There was going to be a fall out. Whether he would crash and burn because of his manipulations was yet to be foreseen. Right now, he just wanted a moment of privacy to figure out his next plan...
"Woah! He's back. Guys. Come look. L's back!"
He stiffened as a dozen young children popped from various rooms with excited grins. A few teachers even peered into the hallway to see if the ruckus was true.
L saw his quiet vanish into a puff of smoke as a familiar trio emerged from the crowd.
Tbc
A/N: (Hmm. L finally confessed, and Light is seeing red. And how will the boys react to a certain bit of news? See y'all tomorrow.)