Just a little late Christmas fluff. I always intended to have this chapter here, but I decided to fluff it up a bit for your reading pleasure. Enjoy and Happy New Years!

Title: All is Forgotten, All is Forgiven

Author: kathleenrose747

Pairing: L (Lawliet, Ryuzaki, Eraldo Coil, Denueve, Hideki Ryuga)/OC

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I have not, nor will I ever own anything relating to the idea, copyright, persons/characters and creation of Death Note. I also don't own any of the sweets mentioned in here. The only things I own are Michiko Nakashima, Melody Chance, and Piero; characters of my own creation.

Authors Note: I do use some of L's other aliases in the story. Also, L is 30 years old in this story. So yes, we can consider it AU. Please review with constructive criticism. I would also like unadulterated praise, if it is available. :)

Chapter 21- Blame the Mistletoe

25 December, 2012

L was wary as hell. Not because he was worried about Michiko. Not because it was a traditional holiday season. Not because the Volya case was weighing heavy on his mind.

L was wary because Mello had thought it would be a "smart" idea to hang mistletoe in every doorway of Wammy House. Mello knew of L's propensity to follow rules as certain customs necessitated. As it was, L was hiding in his room, trying to think of a way to get to the kitchen without running into Michiko and without being seen.

'Wait. Why am I overanalyzing this? I can just ignore the rules. I'm sure everyone else is.' L stretched and stood up. Before he could move to the door, there was a quick knock. "Come in."

Michiko opened the door with one hand, jumped inside and quickly shut the door behind her. In her other hand was a small basket assortment of chocolate, fruit, and other sweets. She looked slightly frantic with her hair slightly wild and the pink in her cheeks indicated she had been running. L raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry. I had to play 'dodge the mistletoe' to get here safely. Who came up with the bright idea for people to kiss under a parasite?" Michiko leaned on the door to catch her breath.

"As an overall concept, it stems from Norse mythology when the goddess Frigga declared that mistletoe would forever stand as a symbol of love after her son Baldur's death. Historically speaking, there were no 'love' ties to mistletoe until the Druids started viewing it as a sexual symbol." L rolled his eyes. "Those are the easy explanations. In this case, it was Mello's idea."

"Doesn't surprise me much. Especially since I saw Melody beating him over the head with a file folder." Michiko walked over to L's desk and placed the basket on the corner so it didn't block the monitor. "Consider this to be a small Christmas present from me."

"You could have just walked over from your room. It's just next door." L looked at the basket, trying to kick the idea of mistletoe out of his head.

"I could have, yes. However, I had all the food and no way to carry it. Hence, why I went on that terrifying basket hunt." Michi smiled and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "It's just my small way of saying 'thank you' and… well…" Michiko looked to the floor and L felt his stomach knot up.

'Don't let this be a confession. Especially not on Christmas. That just reeks of clichés.' L hated that the cynic in him was piping up now of all places, but it was true. However, holidays had been known to incite high levels of oxytocin in people's brains. So perhaps her brain felt that now was as good a time as ever for Michiko to say something. L waited patiently for Michiko to continue. But before she could, a cell phone rang loudly, disturbing the moment.

"Oh Lordy. That's me." Michiko pulled a 'pay by use' phone out of her pocket. She glanced at the screen, smiled, and flipped it open. "Hey daddy. I'll call back in two minutes." She listened for a moment, quickly hung up, removed the battery and re-pocketed the phone.

'Okay. I'll bite.' L thought. "May I ask what that was about?"

"I always call my parents every Christmas just to let them know I'm okay and get a quick update." She patted her back pocket. "I call my dad on this phone and he calls me back on a pay phone. He then tells me the phone number of a pay as you go phone that he has on him and them I call him on another pay by use phone that I have double encrypted ahead of time." She smiled. "Both of the phones I have and the one my dad has in his possession will be destroyed after the conversation. It's the only way I know of to keep them safe and still stay in touch once a year."

"Smart move." L nodded. This was why he liked her. She had a good head on her shoulders. 'Well, one of many reasons.' L thought. "I'll leave you to the phone call. Forgive me if I don't follow you to the door."

"I don't blame you." Michiko turned and walked to the door. She turned to smile once more at L, opened the door behind her, and quickly slipped out.

L let out a 'whoosh' of air and looked out the window, running his fingers through his hair. He had spoken to Melody a few times after the incident at The Caves. They both acknowledged that his possessive nature was certainly starting to cause problems. Seriously injuring a case suspect was slightly outside L's territory. When L had told Melody that he had only done it in retribution for Ruslan branding Michiko, Melody had put the situation in simple terms.

"You're pissed off that he marked what you deem to be yours."

"Yes."

"But does she know she's yours? I mean, really? Outside of the small conversation you two had about possibly moving into the realm of a relationship, what have you done that shows her that you want her to be yours, in the romantic sense?" L had had to stop and think over that question. When he couldn't produce an answer, Melody had leaned forward. "That's your problem, L. Until you show or tell the girl that you want her to be yours, she won't see future attacks like that as 'possessive' or 'protective'. She'll only look at those acts and wonder when she will be the next target of your anger."

L sighed. He was frustrated with the whole situation. Yes, he wanted to tell Michiko how convoluted and tangled up he felt around her sometimes. Yes, he wanted to find out what it would be like to be more than 'partners' with someone who had the same feeling as him. 'But it couldn't possibly work out.' L rationalized to himself. 'I'm the most wanted, unknown man on the face of the Earth. If she was discovered to be associated with me in any way, that would spell her demise. That, and when the hell would either of us have time for each other, after this case?' L sighed. It was a depressing thought that he would be alone the rest of his life, but it was one he had resigned himself to years ago.

L looked at his laptop. He couldn't work without Michiko nearby. He had gotten so used to her sleeping nearby or being near him as he worked that he had taken to working on his laptop outside her room. Yes, he acknowledged it was slightly stalker-ish, but he couldn't get work done otherwise.

'I blame it on unconscious conditioning.' L thought as he picked up the laptop and headed to the door. He took a quick peek outside to make sure no one was in the hall and then stepped out and closed his door. He looked over his head and saw the offending mistletoe. 'That needs to disappear.' L reached up to pluck the offending foliage from the doorframe and then pocketed it. He then walked the few steps towards Michiko's door and crouched by the door, steering clear of the mistletoe that was still affixed above it. As he settled in to get some work done, he could hear strains of Michiko's laughter through the door. He leaned closer to the door so he could listen in.

"Of course I'm okay, mom. Stop worrying so much… I know it isn't easy but it's what I have to do to keep you guys safe… Who? My partner?... He's an interesting man… Yes, daddy, he's taking great care of me… No, mom, you won't be meeting him anytime soon… Because, I don't want to poison him with your cooking!... Rose! I can cook!... Burnt toast counts as cooking!"

L had to lean back from the door or else his laughter would have been easily heard. As he covered his mouth to stifle the sound, he came to a shocking realization. 'I'm laughing… really laughing. Holy shit. I thought I wasn't capable of that anymore.' Then again, ever since Michiko had shown up, L had been shown that he was capable of a lot more than he thought of himself. 'She's certainly making me out to be a bit more… human. Yet she also accepts that I can't be easily changed.' As L pondered what that meant for him, he heard the last bits of Michiko's conversation.

"Love you all and I'll talk to you next year… Sure, daddy, what's up?... Well, I couldn't tell you… I know you want me to settle down, but life is too frightening to settle down… I know, but safety only comes after the danger has passed. You know this… If that ever happens, you will be the first to know… Love you too, daddy. Keep mom and Rosie safe… Bye." L heard the click of a battery being removed from its casing and then silence. As he considered standing up to knock on her door, there were soft footsteps and the door opened next to him.

"Oh. Hi." Michiko looked down at L. "How long have you been there?"

"I've gotten used to working with you around. Hope this isn't too…" L waved a hand around, trying to find the right word.

"Creepy? It is, a little bit. But I understand the need for the familiar." Michiko smiled. "I finally got the coffee pot to work in here, want something to help you stay awake?"

L nodded and stood, leaving the laptop on the ground. As he went to walk by Michiko, he stopped. 'When an opportunity presents itself...' He took in the current situation he had landed himself in: both he and Michiko were standing in a doorway. Under mistletoe.

Michiko seemed to read his thoughts and looked up. "I'm sorry. Should I…?" She made a move to try and reach the mistletoe, but L quickly grabbed her hand. She looked back at him, shocked. "Um… L? Are you okay?"

L's wondered if she was referring to his actions or to the fact that his heart was beating damn near out of his chest at the moment. Yes, Michiko was not the first woman he had kissed. But she was the first one he was going to kiss outside of a mission plan and with the intention of making sure she stayed.

He moved in slowly, giving her plenty of time to back up, say 'no', or even hit him. But she did none of those things. When their lips met, it felt as comfortable and easy as if they had known each other for years. In that quiet moment, L and Michiko allowed themselves to love and be loved, something both of them were quite new to.

After a moment, L pulled away and watched as Michiko slowly opened her eyes. She looked drugged and slightly delirious, with a lazy smile creeping on her face.

"Well… that happened." Michiko said, softly. L chuckled and pulled her in for a hug. There was no question now as to his feeling for her. The only remaining factor was how it was going to work.

'I have enough time to figure that out.' L thought. Michiko pulled back and looked up at him, now looking slightly more awake.

"So… about that coffee?" Michiko raised an eyebrow at L.

"I would say I'm running on enough adrenaline to work easily enough. I might need access to coffee after the crash, though." L leaned down to pick up his laptop and finished his walk through the door. Michiko rolled her eyes.

"And why, good sir, would you have an adrenaline crash?" L crouched in the chair and opened up his laptop, a small smile still on his face.

"I think we can blame the mistletoe for that." he replied. Michiko giggled softly and walked over to the coffeepot, ready to continue work on the case side by side with her partner.

End Chapter 21