CHAPTER 9 - LATE NIGHT THOUGHTS AND DISCUSSIONS

"Mello, have you seen my brother?" Sayu asked her golden haired friend. It was almost 10 PM, a few minutes before all the higher classes were all sent to their beds. Their group was still sitting in the great hall, studying.

Mello shrugged: "No. I am not exactly interested in what your brother is doing."

Sayu rolled her eyes at the answer: "He was here half an hour ago… I didn't see him leave. I thought he could have helped us with the homework for potions."

"I've got it already, you can copy, if you want." Matt said and sent a shy smile towards Sayu.

Sayu wasn't sure what to do for a moment. She was not very happy that the redhead was making nice gestures towards her. Because she was rude to him most of the time. But she had a good reason. He was too close to her darling Mello.

"Don't give it to her! She will never learn like this!" Mello opposed and snapped Matt's hand.

"Copying is also a form of learning." said Near calmly and smiled at them.

"Yeaah! Exactly!" Sayu nodded and took Matt's notebook. "Thank you Matt."

"You're welcome." The boy said and quickly turned his head back to his studies. But Mello noticed the blush on his cheeks. And he didn't like it at all.

The problem was… Mello was in love with Matt. For some time already. They were best friends from childhood but Mello's feelings grew over the friendship in the past few years. And moreover, he was actually able to smell him. Faintly, but he did. Which was ridiculous, because none of them presented yet. So it was technically impossible. But Mello could swear Matt's scent was getting stronger and stronger in the past few months.

Maybe Matty will present as an omega after all. Mello thought.

He always thought Matt would be a beta but having him as an omega also wasn't a bad scenario.

Mello had it all planned. He would present as an alpha and Matt would be his beta. Matt just didn't know yet. Mello was sure it was gonna change once he presented. Once Matt will smell his scent, he will surely want him as much as Mello wanted Matt.

Recently, Mello was getting a little nervous. Because Matt was growing into a very attractive man. Not attractive as him, but in a different way. Matt had the most captivating green eyes Mello had ever seen. And the older they got, the more piercing his sight was. He even got a little taller. He will probably never be tall as L, but he lost the child's posture. Even his shoulders were broader. Mello had a really hard time not watching his beautiful back, when the boy was walking in front of him.

The bad thing was, that these little changes were also noticed by a few of their classmates. Mello watched with clenched fists as omegas were eyeing his Matt and giggling when they were walking around. Luckily Matt mostly thought they were after Mello. And Mello let him believe that. So until now, he had Matt mostly for himself. He was able to tolerate Near. Because they grew up together. He was able to tolerate Sayu because she obviously had her attention elsewhere.

But... as he was looking at Near and Sayu now, he wasn't so sure if they are not a threat to their future. Matt was always spending a lot of time with Near. Anytime Mello and Matt were not together, Matt was with Near. And Near was an omega now. And Sayu? Of course she did not like Matt but… why was he blushing so damn much when he was giving her his notebook?

What the actual hell?

"Something bothering you L?" Watari asked his ward, while he was pouring the potion into his leg again, late, the same night. The boy didn't seem to feel any pain this time, he was deep in thoughts and frowning.

"Hmm? Oh yes… giving points to houses."

Watari gave him a scolding look: "L I told you at the beginning of the year to give the points to the kids directly. Doing it later on might lead them to think you are changing your mind." with that, he was out of potion and the boy was already standing up from his chair:

"Which is exactly what I am doing… But I have a serious reason. I've been writing down the points I would give to each house and student at the end of my classes. But the problem is, if I give them the points as they are, or give them directly at the place, other houses wouldn't stand a chance against Ravenclaw."

Watari narrowed his eyes at the boy: "L, are you favoriting your own house?"

"What? No! Of course not! Just look!" He said and took a notebook from his table. He handed it to Watari and the old man was examining it for a moment. L was really making notes each day and he was not giving many points. 15 points for one person was his maximum and most of them had only five. Some weeks, no one got a point. It all seemed fair and normal until Watari turned to the page of the 7th year.

"Oh my… you assigned 200 points to Ravenclaw in less than two months just in 7th year?" Watari let out in shock.

"That's not the worst about it… The points are all of one person." L said and pointed to a name in a row. There was a name: Light Yagami.

Watari lifted an eyebrow: "I was under the impression that you don't like him. Now you are favoriting him?"

"I am not favoriting him." L rolled his eyes: "Yagami is extremely hard headed and hard to cope with but that doesn't mean he is a bad wizard. He is actually the best here… But if I let the points out like this, he will stop trying and his ego will cloud the sun in the sky." he said with a theatrical tone. "He still has a lot to learn but he is too arrogant to actually listen to me. I see no point in bursting his ego by giving him those points. Not to mention that the rest of the students will be extremely demotivated by that… Which is why… I need to figure out how to cut his points and be fair at the same time."

Watari rubbed his mustache: "Hmmm I see. In that case it's probably better you are not giving the points straight away. But no matter how you do it it will be unfair to him."

"Yeah…" L said and scratched the back of his head. The fact that he still had some troubles with his boy was getting on his nerves. Not to mention that the boy was in this very room 40 minutes ago.

"But maybe there is a way to make it up to him" Watari started: "I heard from his father that he is about to ask you for private lessons."

"He already did." L said and headed to his chair.

"And?"

"I said no."

"L…" Watari breathed out and rolled his eyes.

"No, Watari. I have my hands full of the Kira case and I am teaching daily. I don't have time to babysit." L said and stuffed a piece of cheesecake in his mouth.

Watari gave him a scolding look: "Two minutes ago you wanted him not to get overwhelmed by his ego and learn more but you don't want to help him with it?"

L shrugged: "Because he doesn't need a DADA teacher! He needs therapy! His whole problem lies with him not accepting his second gender and that's all."

Watari sat on the chair opposite the desk and watched as L was stuffing himself with a cake.

"That's why you are perfect for the task. It's not that long ago when you were fighting being an alpha…" the old man reminded him.

"That's different." L said and gave him a hard look.

Watari shook his head: "No it's not. I assume that his wand is not listening to him at some point?"

L was not surprised that Watari figured out this fast. He was the one doing wand research after all.

"Yes…"

"But he started studying the topic and he wants to understand it anyway. That means that even over his ego, he has a will to get better."

"Yes..."

Watari smirked: "And the real reason you don't wanna help him is...?"

L rolled his eyes and put the plate down on the table with a loud clunk: "This is not the right time for omega to enter Auror's office."

Watari folded hands on his chest: "Since when do you have prejudices against omegas?"

"I don't! And if it wasn't for Kira I would gladly go and hold the door for him but now it's too dangerous." L said and his hands were gesturing in the air.

"It's dangerous for all of us, not just omegas."

L shrugged and looked a bit unsure of himself: "I just don't think he should be there now. He is getting overly emotional every other second. He is a good wizard but not stable in his second gender."

"Which is exactly why you should give him those lessons. His chances to survive will be much higher with your training!" Watari insisted.

"Come oh Watari…" L sighed and his back leaned deeper in his chair.

The old man on the other hand, leaned closer:

"Look L, I understand. I really do. The boy made an impression on you. And your inner alpha wants to keep him away from danger but... it's not up to you to decide. Light will try to make admission to Auror's office whether you like it or not… And he will most probably get there. With your training he will be better prepared for what's gonna wait for him there."

L was getting truly desperate. When Watari set his mind on something there was no going back. But he had to try anyway: "Roger will not approve it."

"Leave Roger to me. If it works out, you might get the colleague you always wanted. From what I saw the boy is good enough to challenge you."

L lifted an eyebrow: "Now you are exaggerating."

Watari chucked: "No I am not. And if you don't wanna do it for him, do it for his father."

L closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Of course Watari would play on this note.

"Soichiro Yagami helped you with investigations more than once and he spoke up for you anytime you made a bad step. You owe him that."

Was it already midnight? Light didn't know. He lost count on time. After getting to his room, he was unable to sleep. He was shaken to the core by the change in Lawliet's scent, by his own reaction to it and by the fact that he was not getting his private lessons. Because he was hundred percent sure Lawliet would agree. That he will help him with his magic and maybe they could work together in the future… as equals.

But no. It was totally wrong of him to assume something like that. Lawliet was older than him after all. He had his own life, his investigation and it only made sense that he didn't have time to teach every student individually. Light's brain understood that. But his pride couldn't. He was wounded by the way the discussion ended. And he knew it was mostly his fault. That was what was hurting him the most. Because never in his life, he lost composure so many times as he did these past two months. Never in his life he felt so thrown off his way. But from the beginning of the school year? He felt like nothing was right. Like he was completely losing control.

In the end, Light figured he wasn't going to sleep anyway. He needed to breathe a little fresh air. So he headed to the attic.

He opened the window but he didn't sit there, as he always did. Instead he stepped at the window sill, conjured up a small staircase and sat on the chimney. The staircase disappeared again after a moment and it was only him, and night silence. Light wrapped himself into a blanket and looked around. The night was beautiful. It was a full moon and the air was ice cold, so he could see the landscape with mountains and lake as well, as it was daytime. He loved this view. It was even more beautiful in the night. It was calming him down. But just a little. He was so angry that he didn't even want to be calmed. He wanted to scream. Scream from the top of his lungs or break something. But he couldn't do any of it. It would draw attention. So he only sat there and watched the night scenery, while tears were slowly falling down his eyes.

L transported himself to the attic of Ravenclaw's tower. He showed his wand into his back pocket and headed to the opened window. He looked out to find Light Yagami sitting on a chimney and staring into the landscape. He was wrapped into a blue Ravenclaw blanket, his legs hidden under him, and his eyes were red and wet.

"I thought I might find you here…" L spoke to him.

The boy gasped in shock that someone caught him there, but he relaxed when he saw it was just L.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked and wiped his eyes.

L shrugged: "I told you already… This used to be my favourite place. The view from here is spectacular….But you are currently sitting on my spot." L said and pointed at the chimney.

Light looked into the blue landscape again: "Can't say that I am sorry… Sir."

L rolled his eyes and hid his hands in his pockets.

Omegas. So damn emotional. He thought.

"Okay look… if you want me to teach you, you will have to put aside this attitude. I can't deal with it on a daily basis. I would lose my nerves and turn you into a sharpener or something more useful."

Light turned to him and gave him an angry look. L could practically see a cloud of steam coming from his ears: "What? Who do you think you are? You think you can just insult students and…" then he stopped when he realized what L just said: "Wait what? You wanna teach me?"

L shook his head: "No...I don't. But I owe your father a lot so apparently... I have no other option."

Light looked away from him again: "You don't have to take a pity over me just because of my father."

"Great!" L said theatrically with a voice octave higher than usual. Light narrowed his eyes at him and watched L making a small bow: "Really thank you, because if you don't want me to teach you anymore I won't have to explain to anyone, why I don't want to… So… have a good night!" with that he took out his wand and opened his mouth to whisper a port key spell but Light stopped him:

"Wait… You would really teach me?"

L shrugged: "Not if you don't want to…"

"I want to…"

L put his hands on his hips: "You should make up your mind."

"And you shouldn't be such a pain in the ass!" Light spat and then blinked a few times as if he realized, he shouldn't act like that: "I am sorry professor. I didn't mean it."

L only laughed at it: "Yes you did. At least it's clear between us. You don't like me and I am not exactly happy I should be teaching you. But… It is apparently the only way to teach you something because you are much more advanced than your classmates..."

Light's mood immediately changed and he smiled from ear to ear. He quickly conjured up the staircase again and climbed down from the chimney. He stopped in front of L and bowed to him:

"Thank you professor I… I appreciate it really. You won't regret your decision."

L waved his hand in the air and went inside, to the attic. Light followed him.

"Don't thank me yet. You have to understand a few things first."

Light frowned and folded hands on his chest: "I am listening."

L scratched the back of his neck and started pacing around the attic: "Auror's office might not be as a great job as you dreamt it. It's not only work in the field but also tons of paperwork. There are moths when you practically don't do anything else. And then when you are finally in the field you wish you were actually in the office, because dark wizards are masters of hiding and you might be chasing after them for months, without a result. So all I am saying is… that maybe you could use your potential elsewhere."

Light's temper was getting up again. He frowned and used a much harsher tone than he wanted: "Are you trying to dissuade me? You think I don't know what I am doing? I worked with my father in the past. I don't mind the paperwork and seriously can't see where else I could be using my potential."

L put his finger on his lower lip again and tilted his head: "What about your movement? I heard you were quite good at helping other omegas…"

"What? No! Definitely not! Giving up my life dream would go against everything the movement is trying to achieve…"

L waved his hand in the air: "Alright… Forget I said something… I just…"

I just want to protect you. His inner alpha whispered but he discharged that thought within a second: "Another thing you have to understand is that even if you will be asked to do things as an alpha or beta, you will never be able to…"

Now Light seemed like he was about to explode any second: "What? That is exactly what I am trying to achieve, what the movement is trying to achieve…"

L rolled his eyes and without much thinking he sent some pheromones to calm the boy down. Not that it would help something when he couldn't smell him anymore, but it was a reflex.

"No! You are not listening to me! Same opportunities and rights for omegas are one thing but working yourself out like you are an alpha is another."

The pheromones obviously didn't work because Light threw his blanket on the floor in an angry gesture.

"See! I knew it! You have prejudices like everyone else! You think omegas can't do it!" Light was getting furious.

"No... That's not what I am saying at all. I am just saying that you are doing it all wrong!"

"What?!"

"Light…look…" L said before thinking about it. Of course he did use his first name. Because Watari was always addressing this boy by his given name, so L made an easy mistake. But what was done, was done: "Can I call you Light?"

The boy looked a bit taken aback by that question and he nodded. He was obviously not happy about it.

"Light...I read a few of your articles on the topic of omegan rights. They were good. I really mean it. But you were writing mostly about unleashing your inner self and realizing your true potential. And that is exactly what you are denying yourself."

Light opened and closed his mouth: "That's not true! I know my potential! I am working my ass for it every day…"

"No that's not what I meant…" L said and took a Ravenclaw blanket from the floor: "What you need to unleash is not your eagerness or your talent. You need to unleash your inner omega. You need to act like one and turn your second gender into your strength, not to take it as your weakness." with that, he handed the blanket to the boy.

Light was only staring at L, trying to understand what he was saying. L realized that the boy would not take the blanket so he made a step forward and wrapped it around the Light's shoulders. For a moment they were standing very close to each other and L saw how the boy's eyes were taking him in. He obviously didn't understand what L was talking about. At all.

"You are denying this part of your personality and that's why your wand doesn't want to corporate."

Light finally snapped from his shock:

"But… why is it only offensive magic?"

L shrugged and stepped away again: "Because that's the magic you are trying to do like an alpha. You need to conjure those up as omega would do it."

"How?" Light asked and held the blanket closer to his body.

"There is not an exact recipe for that… it will come to you… but you have to learn how to accept your omega part first. Think about it. If you will be able to do that, then having private lessons with me will be useful. Otherwise it's a waste of time for us both."

With that L used his wand as a port key and disappeared.