A/N: I know. I know. I'm sorry I'm late. I had a 3 year old to look after. Still do, but I figured the quicker I get this out, the better. I hope all is well and I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together, but apparently, if I'm away from him for five seconds, something catastrophic is going to happen. While he's watching cartoons. K, bye.

Slowly, but surely, Light's eyes opened up in a new city. A new country. A new continent. But one thing remained the same. He still had one of his most favorite views in the world. L still slept peacefully underneath him. Dammit, L. Why do you have to be cute? Why couldn't you have picked someone else to be your assistant? Still, the sight made Light melt inside. I'm glad you picked me. Go ahead and sleep. I'm sure I can find something to kill time. Light's first thought went to exploring the house, but caffeine sounded better.

He reached over and opened the nightstand drawer, expecting to find an assortment of sleeping aides like it was in L's room back in Japan. Instead, it was a bottle of painkillers, another pacifier, and a notebook. I'm sure that's Near's, too. He hasn't been home in a while. And from what I understand, he had his breakup with Near before he came to Japan in the first place. Light shook it off and grabbed a pen.

Went to grab coffee

Be back soon

Love,

Light

Carefully and quietly, Light left L on the bed to sleep off their flight. He made sure his note was somewhere L would see it. The last thing he wanted to deal with was L having a panic attack when he's the only one there to take care of it. He should be alright. If he's wondering where I am, he's got…Then, Light remembered. His phone was shattered to pieces before they left Japan. Before they even left the tower. Light grabbed L's phone instead. I'm sure he'd rather have a way to get a hold of me than not. He made a quick addendum to the note.

PS. Stole your phone.

Since you still owe me a new one. And Light knew he'd be getting a new one. L made him that promise that as soon as they landed, but they were both exhausted from the flight. Naptime took a higher priority. Light gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek and took off down the driveway on foot. He debated which direction to go, but at this point, he didn't care. As nervous as Light was for this trip initially, he couldn't wait to see where L called home.

Alright, London. You're not that bad. Although, Light wasn't quite used to the temperature swing between Tokyo and London. Or the heavy drizzle falling on him. Why did it have to be cold…? Like a shining beacon of hope, Light saw a sign up ahead after turning the corner that said café. Thank God, salvation. And hopefully heat. He walked into the small café just down the block and took in the warmth. This has to be L's regular. It's too close not to be.

"You look awfully cold, mate," the man behind the counter teased him, "Not from around here, are you?"

"What gave that away?" Light chuckled to himself.

"What can I get for you?"

"Small black coffee please," Light ordered. He felt around in his jacket pocket, remembering he didn't have much for local currency. Then, he realized he was good. Especially after finding L's black card in his pocket, "Large black coffee please."

"Got it," the man gave him a nod and watched Light swipe L's black card, "If you could step off to the side please."

"Sure," Light took one of the small tables off to the side and waited for his coffee to come through.

The bell at the front door chimed and Light watched as a different man took his sunglasses off and the smell of cigarette smoke followed him in. Although, to Light, his glasses looked more like flight goggles than glasses, "Can I get four shots of espresso with mocha creamer and heavy on the chocolate drizzle?"

"Give me a sec, alright?" the man asked.

"No problem." Light giggled a bit to himself. That sounds familiar. The other man looked at Light strange, "Something I say get to you, man?"

"It's nothing," Light brushed him off, "Your coffee order sounds like something my boyfriend would order. I thought he was the only one to do something like that."

"Oh," he let it go, "Let me guess. Does yours have a chocolate addiction, too?"

"Sugar junkie," Light clarified, "Major sugar junkie."

"Mine is, too," he laughed with Light, "Only mine would beat my ass sideways if it wasn't chocolate. I swear, it's an honest to God problem. That's not even for me. It's for him. Not really much for coffee myself. More of a Monster type myself, but God forbid if sweetheart doesn't get his way."

"WHILE I'M YOUNG, MATT!" an angry voice snapped outside, "I'M NOT FEEDING THE METER BECAUSE YOU'RE TAKING TOO LONG!"

"Speak of the devil…"

"Is that your boyfriend?" Light wondered.

"Yeah," the man smiled a bit, "That's mine. He's a little spitfire, but I wouldn't trade him for the world."

"MATT!"

"I'm coming!" he settled the bitterness outside, grabbing the liquid heart attack off the counter, "Take it easy, man!"

Ring, ring.

And there's mine. Light took L's phone out of his pocket and his coffee off the counter, "Good morning, sunshine."

"Where did you go?" L's grumbly, sleepy voice caught Light by surprise. It's not the first time he's heard it, but it still turned him into goo inside, "I woke up and you were gone."

"Did you not get my note?" Light wondered, "I left it on the nightstand for a reason."

"Oh…" L found a piece of paper on the nightstand and quickly skimmed it over, "Where are you now?"

"I'm at a café down the street," Light promised, keeping his voice down, "It's alright, L. I'm still here. It's not like I hopped a flight home."

"Good," L let out a quiet sigh of relief, "Should I just meet you there then?"

"If you want," Light sipped on his coffee, "I'll be waiting."

"See you soon."

Click.

Light couldn't keep the smile off his face if he wanted to. He's hopeless. But he also knew if L was still that sleepy, he could probably stand the caffeine boost, too, "Excuse me…"

"Yes, sir?" the man behind the counter chimed, "Did you need something?"

"I need another black coffee with thirteen sugars please," Light ordered.

"Thirteen?" the man giggled, "I've only known one person who took it with that much sugar in it. And…between you, me, the guy that just came in here? His boyfriend was one of them, too. Some people that come in here that have incredibly odd coffee orders? Those get remembered. But the one you just ordered, the guy attached to that one only went by a letter. Mad, right?"

"We might be talking about the same person," Light sighed out. Yep. I found your regular, L. All on my own, too.

Ding!

Speak of the devil…Light sat and waited to see how long it'd take L to realize where he was. Although, it didn't take nearly as long as Light thought it would. Especially when he found L sitting across from him, "Hello, Light."

"Hi," Light smiled, "I already have coffee coming for you."

"I knew I liked you for a reason," L rubbed his eyes, doing his best to get the rest of the sleep out of them, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." I'm just glad he didn't freak when he woke up.

"You weren't sitting here by yourself for too long, were you?" L wondered.

"No," Light shook his head, thinking about the other man that came in. And his squealy companion waiting for him outside. As Light thought harder and harder about it, the more the word spitfire stood out to him. And in that moment, something in his head clicked. That couldn't be…Spitfire and firecracker couldn't mean the same thing, could they…?

"Light?" L nudged him under the table, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Light shook it off. No. They can't be the same thing, "I'm fine. Just a weird thought. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Ok," L let it go. You're lying to me, Light. That look wasn't nothing. But I'm not going to push you too hard on it. But I can't help but wonder what you've seen without me being here. L took Light's hand, "So…Graduation's not until tomorrow and it's barely one o'clock. All of London is ours to do with as we please. Where would you like to start?"

Light didn't do much research into London before they left. He had other nitpicky things to do for L, so he didn't get to. But there was one place he had in mind. And mostly due to L's gushing. If we have Shimokitazawa and Nakameguro back home and he's already a little uneasy, I might as well see his equivalent here, "I want to go to the Chelsea Embankment."

"Really?" L looked at him strange, "Of all the places we could go here, you pick the Chelsea Embankment?"

"Yeah."

"Why?" L asked. If we're being honest, I'm not complaining. It's more or less curiosity at this point. Why the hell would Light want to go to the Chelsea Embankment?

"I'm sure you could use it," Light decided, getting up from the table, "Am I right?"

He's doing this…for me? Oh, Light. I know how to pick them. And I really do need to send your parents a fruit basket. L gave him a little nod, "Ok. The Chelsea Embankment, it is."

And so, L and Light left the café and started heading back toward L's house. It wasn't too terribly of a walk. Just a quick cut through L's backyard. And there it was. The Thames River ran behind L's house and L's hand never left Light's. The two of them found a spot to call theirs. Not a word was said between them. Nothing needed to be said. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, L was completely and totally at peace. This…This is home. My city. My embankment. My Light. What more could I ever ask for?

"You know, Light," L rested his head on Light's shoulder, "I've never felt so…Empty."

"What?" Light started to worry, "What do you mean, empty?"

"It's a good kind of empty," L clarified, "It's alright. No need for you to be concerned. I'm not going to shut my eyes and fall backwards. I'm not in a bad place. This is definitely a good kind of empty. It's like…On a good day, my brain is an overrun machine with no cooling system attached to it. My thoughts go faster than I can keep up with. And when too many are going at once, I get overwhelmed and that's when things like what happened in Odaiba happen. It starts to short circuit and I'm the one getting electrocuted. That's because it can get much worse when I'm away from home. Granted, since I've had you, things have gotten a little easier, but sometimes, it doesn't stop. I can't make it stop. But here…That's why I like coming here. It turns off. I have nothing to focus on. It's not necessarily empty, but more like clarity. It's quiet. It's nice. You made an excellent decision coming here."

"I know when you're a little out of sorts," Light explained, pulling L a little closer, "Sometimes, I know when to give you this because you won't give it to yourself."

"Sometimes, I get busy."

"And sometimes, that's going to be the ruin of you," Light kissed his forehead, "But I get what you're saying. I do what I can and I'm more than happy to do it. Is it my favorite thing? No. Because that means whatever's going on in your head, I can't stop it either."

"But you try," L cuddled into Light, "Goddamn, do you try. And I love you for that…"

Light pulled L's face closer to his, getting a much better kiss, "I love you, too."

"You know," L blinked the stars out of his eyes, "As much as the Chelsea Embankment was nice, I know somewhere else that has almost the same effect."

"Oh yeah?" Light pushed L's hair out of his face, "And where's that?"

"Do you remember when we went to Odaiba the first time?" L asked, "What made us go to Odaiba in the first place?"

"Oh yeah!" Light chimed, "You said something about a ferris wheel here, too."

"The London Eye," L nodded, "I'd love for us to go there tonight. Maybe around sunset. And watch it sink down into the Thames."

"That sounds…"

Ring, ring!

"What the hell…?" L pulled his phone out of Light's pocket and chuckled to himself, "I think it's for you."

"For me?" Light took L's phone and answered the call, "Hello?"

"Hi, Light!" Sayu sang on the other end, "Are you in London yet?"

"Sayu, why are you calling L's phone?" Light wondered.

"Because your voicemail said yours was out of service," Sayu argued, "Not my fault. What did you do to your phone?"

"I didn't do anything," Light shot a glare at L, "Someone broke it before we left."

"And I said I'd replace it," L assured him.

"So," Sayu figured, "You are in London?"

"Yes," Light grumbled, "Sayu, we're kind of in the middle of something."

Without another moment passing, L plucked his phone from Light's hand, "Hi, Sayu."

"Hi, L!" she chirped.

"It's getting late where you are," L pointed out, "And Light and I have plans for tonight. I'll make sure he calls you tomorrow morning, ok?"

"Fine," she let it go, "Can I at least talk to Light for a sec?"

"Of course," L handed his phone back, "Light, it's for you."

"I figured," Light rolled his eyes, "What now, Sayu?"

"Nothing, cranky pants!" Sayu got defensive, "I just wanted to tell you I loved you and to be careful."

"Oh," Light melted inside, "I love you, too, Sayu. Don't worry. I'll be home before you know I'm gone."

"You two have fun tonight…" There was something in the tone of Sayu's voice that made Light a little uncomfortable. Almost as if she knew what could go down. And that's when Light decided exactly what was going to go down.

Click.

"Since when do you have Sayu's number saved in your phone?" Light handed it back to L.

"I have a friendship with your sister," L shrugged, "Is that so bad?"

"No…" Light dropped it.

"Come on…" L got up and offered Light his hand, "I want to show you something…"

"Lead the way."