A/N: Actual conversation I had with my 3 year old nephew shortly before this went up.

Me: Austin! I'm late!

Him: You're late? We're late to color?!

Me: No, I'm late to posting my update.

Him: *calculating* You're ok, Mimi.

I love him. So very much.

By the way, hello, lovelies! We need to talk for a hot second. I see this all the time every week. Someone comes in and says, "I'm x amount late to this". Sometimes, it's hours. Sometimes, it's a day or two. Sometimes, it's someone who just found the story and still thinks they're late to the party. I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

*whispers* This doesn't go anywhere. Once it's posted, it's posted. It's not like I'm going to delete it any time soon. Or ever, really. My favorite fic got deleted across the internet and it broke me. But then, I found a new one. It's this Hetalia fic on FFN. Here nor there. Anyway, there's no such thing as being late to a party that's not stopping. You come in. You know where the drinks are. We'll either be hanging around the pool or the firepit. Just…Come in and hang out. There's no such thing as being late here. It's alright. I'm just happy to see you came. :)

And because I'm so happy to see your faces, I realize I've put you through it in these last couple chapters. You deserve something nice. Here. Have nice things.

As the day started to wind down and the Thames swallowed the sun, L had gone upstairs with Light following behind him. After the day they both had, neither one was going to turn down sleep. However, in a shocking turn of events, sleep eluded Light. While L slept soundly in his bed, Light slid out from under him and left him to sleep. Go ahead. It's alright. You'll be ok without me for a minute or two. Light grabbed his new phone off the nightstand and tiptoed downstairs.

In the short time they've been in London, Light had gotten a decent layout of L's house. Despite it being its own special maze, Light had it mapped. Although, he had yet to spend any amount of time in L's study. But quickly, Light fell in love. I can see why he misses this place. The gentle rumble of an approaching thunderstorm tied the ambience together. And he wants me to move with him? This wouldn't be that rough to take. But Light had a heavy head in this study. And he needed to vent. Where better to vent than one of his favorite people in the world? Light scrolled through his contacts. Please be awake.

"…Hello?" the voice on the other end sounded confused, but Light knew it all too well.

"Hi, Sayu."

"Light!" Sayu chimed, "Hi!"

"Keep it down," Light teased, "I probably could've hung up the phone and still heard you clear as a bell."

"Very funny," Sayu could complain and whine all she wanted. Deep down, she missed her brother. And she counted the days until he came home, "Sorry about when I picked up. It's not often I get a weird number calling me."

"I didn't keep my number?" Light thought out loud, "L trashed my phone the day we left for London, so I had to get a new one. I'm still trying to get used to it."

"Why would L have trashed your phone?" she wondered, "It's your phone. Don't you still need it for work and stuff, too?"

"L…" he let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. I know I couldn't blame him, but…There were a million and one better ways he could've handled it, "He didn't like the sound of my alarm going off, so instead of hitting the snooze button or the dismiss button like any other sane person, he figured destroying it with his bare hands was a better solution."

"You know," Sayu giggled a bit to herself, "He might be a weird guy, but I like L."

"I like him, too," Light could smile a little more. Until he remembered his reason for calling Sayu in the first place. But he quickly shook it off, "So, how are you, Sayu? I haven't heard from you since the night we got here."

"And whose fault is that?"

"My phone was in pieces, Sayu," he argued, "And L uses his for too much. We've had a lot going on in the last couple days. Cut me some slack. I'm sorry for not giving you a play by play of what's been happening. So, I ask again. How are you, Sayu?"

"I already know everything about how I've been," she turned the tides. Although, Light did kind of see it coming, "And I'm bored. I'm much more interested in you."

"Of course, you are," Light made himself comfortable in L's dark leather desk chair.

"I'm serious, Light," Sayu begged, "How's London?"

"It's…" he knew what was coming. He knew where his head was. And that didn't mean he had to like it, "It's been. It's definitely been."

"Are you ok?" she worried, "You sound like you need either a good drink or a good hug. Maybe both, depending on what your next words are."

"You'd be so scary in the wrong hands, Sayu."

"I know. Don't avoid the question."

"Well…" Light chewed on the inside of his cheek, "I can't sleep."

"It must be serious," Sayu knew how Light worked and down to the second his body's clock is. If Light could naturally stay awake past midnight, something was wrong, "What happened?"

"For the most part," he began, "London's been great. L's house is amazing. The area is wonderful. It's just…Today. I…You know why we're in London, right?"

"You said L had some graduation he got invited to," she remembered, "What about it?"

"Sayu…" Light braced himself for whatever might explode out of Sayu next, "The graduation was for one of his exes. I met both of them today."

"WHAT?!"

"Dammit, Sayu!" he held his phone away from his ear, "What did I tell you about an inside voice?"

"You met L's exes?" she gasped, "That smells awkward and uncomfortable."

"You have no idea," Light vented, "It was for his most recent ex."

"Is everything ok with you two?" Sayu kept her fingers crossed. You found a good one, Light. You finally have a win for a change. Don't let him get away.

"Everything's…fine," he wasn't sure how fine, but he knew they were fine enough, "We've been better."

"Tell me about them," she begged, "I need to know what L's type is."

"I'm not even sure of that one," Light chuckled a bit, throwing his legs over the arm of the chair, "And I'm the one dating him. He says he likes me because I'm not them. I'm not a hundred percent sure what that means, but…"

"It means he sees you as a total upgrade," Sayu explained, "It'd be like if you were to tell L you liked him because…No. That wouldn't quite be right."

"What?"

"I was going to say it'd be like if you were to tell L you liked him because he wasn't Misa," she told him, "But I don't think that's it. It's not quite the same feeling. L definitely makes you more comfortable, wouldn't you say?"

"Than who?" Light wondered, "Misa? That's not exactly a high bar, Sayu."

"And he makes you feel safer than Misa ever did, right?"

"Again. Low bar, Sayu. A wet sponge would make me feel safer than Misa."

"What you do in your free time is totally your business," Sayu shook him off, "But that's not what I'm saying. I've been the fly on the wall of your relationship damn near since the beginning, Light. You've made sure of that."

"Because sometimes, a fresh perspective can't hurt," Light pointed out, "And as I said before, you would be scary in the wrong hands."

"Flattered," Sayu melted inside, "But not my point. You said L told you he liked you because you weren't them, right?"

"Right."

"Tell me about them!" she whined, "I need to know where everyone's coming from."

"Well," Light thought back, "Which one do you want to hear first, Near or Mello?"

"Let's start with Mello," Sayu picked, "What's that one's story?"

"I'm not sure what his full story is," he explained, "But Mello…Mello's a powder keg. I've heard him referred to as a firecracker by L and a spitfire by his boyfriend Matt, who actually isn't all that bad."

"You've met L's ex-boyfriend's current boyfriend?"

"We bonded in a coffee shop."

"Cute."

"But Mello is absolutely a powder keg," Light went on, "He is a time bomb. And God forbid he doesn't get what he wants when he wants. I can see why someone like that caught L's eye. If L isn't spoiling who he loves, he gets twitchy."

"Hence your new phone that's likely a brand new model and the shiny bracelet he probably gave you and your college tuition that's all paid off?" Sayu teased.

"Maybe," he could feel a certain heat in his cheeks. And he hated nothing more than the fact that Sayu was the one to bring it out, "But that's beside the point. Mello's nothing but a whiny brat that could easily raise hell if he didn't get what he wanted. Believe it or not, he's not the one that worries me."

"Near?" she assumed.

"Near scares the shit out of me," Light confessed, "You know I love L, right, Sayu?"

"Of course. That's obvious, if you know what to look for."

"But you weren't there," his voice shook a bit, "Without any sort of regard for whoever was there, when the ceremony was over…It was like Near snapped into a magnet. He stuck to L like glue. And I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me. Just a little. And it only got worse from there."

"What kind of worse?" Sayu listened intently. Oh, L…Don't be the one to screw this up. I've seen Light get hurt too much to see this one end the same as all the others.

"Apparently," Light managed to pull himself together. Not by much, but enough to keep talking, "Near was having some kind of selective mutism episode. Without even batting an eye, L took care of it. He knew exactly how to take care of it and how to get him to a place where he could talk again."

"So, he was doing something nice for someone else," she figured, "That's not something to…"

"You don't understand," he cut her off, "I've seen L run over someone's toe at task force headquarters with his chair and not even flinch. But for him to happen to be able to take care of one of his exes like it was muscle memory? I'm sure it was just a coincidence, Sayu. Just the good deed for the day."

"Alright, alright," she settled him, "I get what you mean. You're worried he's going to run back to Near."

"I'm not worried about him running back to Near," Light sighed out, "I'm worried about Near trying to run back to L. L told me that he's made a lot of progress since the last time he saw him, but…That doesn't mean L might have blinders on, too. I think he might still harbor a little flame for Near and I don't know how to snuff it out. If it's even my place to snuff it out."

"Have you talked to L about this?"

"A little, yeah," Light thought back to their earlier conversation. The uncomfortable conversation that needed to be had, but they both came out on the other side. And one thing in particular made Light smile, "When we weren't talking about Near…He said that once the case is over and he comes back here on a more permanent basis, he wants me to move here with him."

"And you're worried," Sayu melted inside, "Light, that's so sweet."

"He said he wanted to rent out ad space around Shibuya Crossing to announce our relationship."

"LIGHT!" she squealed, "That's so romantic! Is he doing it? Because I would gladly help him with that."

"Relax," Light stopped her, "We'd have to tell Dad first and I got a feeling it might not sit so well with him."

"Why?" Sayu wondered, "Because you're dating a man?"

"Because I'm dating my boss," he clarified, "You know how Dad is about professionalism. Nothing says incredibly unprofessional quite like screwing the boss."

"That's in your off time," she brushed him off, "Isn't it? It's not like you two are flirting with each other while you're working. You know how to separate those things."

"Of course." Does telling him that I'd suck him off under his desk on the lid of a box of donuts if we were the only ones there count as us flirting at work? Light bit his lip, "Definitely. We can keep professional and private separate. Obviously, Sayu. Look at how things are with us now."

"I'm not there when you're working."

That might be a good thing, "He wants to see Near one last time before we leave."

"Light," Sayu thought for a brief moment or two, "Where's L now?"

"He's asleep," Light told her, "I've thought about dipping into his sleeping medication, but I don't want to go comatose. And I see how L's medication kicks his ass. I don't need that."

"Understandable," she let it go, "Light…"

"Yes, Sayu?" Light managed to get out a yawn.

"Do you want L to see Near?"

"I'm a little nervous about it," he admitted, "But…Maybe this could be good for him."

"How?" Sayu tested him, "How could this be a good thing?"

"That's a good question," Light didn't even know the answer to that. But he thought long and hard and honestly about it, "It could be to just get it out of his system. You know…Closure and all that."

"Do you trust L?"

"Of course," Light swore, "But I'm not saying L's the one that can't be trusted."

"Eee…" Sayu cringed, "That can't be pretty."

"Near has a handler," he clarified, "I met him today, too. He's not bad. He's not good, but he's not bad. When he manages Near, he might as well have a spray bottle and a newspaper. But Near…He…"

The sudden hitch in her brother's breathing put a knot in Sayu's stomach, "Light…? Are you ok?"

"I don't want him to backslide, Sayu," Light's voice broke, "I'm worried about him. I'm worried about the progress L's made since he's been away from Near. It'd be like if I were to have one last conversation with Misa. She wanted us to go out again. Just to catch up. But I knew better. I knew where that could've landed me. She'd only get back in my head and make me a drooling mess again and I didn't want that for myself. But L…Near had L wrapped so tightly around his little finger. I just don't want to see L get hurt. Is that so terrible?"

"No," Sayu's heart shattered to pieces, "It's not. I know you don't want to see him get hurt, Light. But like I said, do you trust L? Do you trust that he has a plan and that he'll be able to say goodbye to Near?"

"God, I hope so…"

BOOM!

"What the hell was that?" Sayu squeaked.

"Some thunder outside," Light brushed her off, "It's no big…"

"LIGHT!" a sudden screaming upstairs put Light on high alert.

"Shit…" he jumped up from the chair, "Sayu, I need to go."

"Don't let me stop you."

Click.

Light threw his phone on L's desk, not even caring about how accurate his throw was, and bolted upstairs to find L in the middle of the bed, balled up and shaking. But he knew better. I can't be freaked out when I take care of L. He'll feel that. He'll take that in and suck it up like a sponge and it'll only make him worse. Light shook off as much as he could and gently sat on the bed. The second he sat down, L threw his arms around Light's waist, "L…? What is it?"

"I woke up and you weren't there…" L shivered, holding onto Light for dear life, "It made me nervous."

"I'm still here," Light put a hand on L's back, making sure he knew, "I promise. Are you ok?"

"Fine…" L's voice went up an octave. And as another clap of thunder shook the house, L's grip on Light only got tighter. And his shaking got worse.

"You're…" Light put two and two together, "L, are you afraid of thunder?"

"Ever since I was little. I hate it, Light. I fucking hate it so much."

"It's alright," Light grabbed one of the blankets and pulled it over L, "It's just a thunderstorm. It'll pass. You'll be ok. It's not like the storm can get to us in here."

"I know," L snapped, "That doesn't make it any better."

"Come here," Light got back into bed and pulled L into his chest, gently kissing the top of his head, "I promise it'll be ok. Do you trust me?"

"Always."

"Good," Light smiled a bit. Then, maybe I could return the favor. Dammit, Sayu. I hate when you're right, "You know…It's hard to believe one of the most brilliant minds of the twenty-first century…"

"The most brilliant mind," L corrected him.

"The most brilliant mind of the twenty-first century…" Light let out a quiet sigh of relief. You are still in there, "…is afraid of a little thunder."

"I normally have a better lid on it," L admitted, cuddling into Light's ribs, letting the steady sound of his heartbeat be his comfort, "It's been a long time since I've been this bad."

"It's ok," Light assured him, "It happened. We'll get through it. Won't we?"

"I suppose so…"

Rumble, rumble…

L buried his face in Light's chest. And Light held him tighter, "It'll be alright, L. I promise. I'm not going to let the storm get to you. Ok?"

"Ok," L's shaking started to subside. Only slightly, but any progress at this point was welcome, "Light…?"

"Hmm?"

L climbed up to Light's face, his forehead pressed against Light's. And his lips shortly following suit, "Thank you for being here."

"Of course," Light wrapped his arms around L, much surer than when he picked up his phone, "Where else would I be?"

"Someone would've found you," L figured, "You don't seem like the type to let the bed go too cold."

"Someone did find me," Light pointed out, "He was kind of weird, though. The day we met, I'm pretty sure he had someone taking pictures of my ass."

"You did catch that," L hid a smile in Light's shoulder, "I still have those pictures, you know. I've thought about having them framed and put in my apartment, but I feel like that would send the wrong message."

"Not to mention, weird my dad out," Light figured, "It weirds me out and it's my ass."

"That's probably why."

"Why don't you try going back to sleep?" Light suggested.

"And…" L hoped, "You'll stay right here?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Light promised, giving him one last kiss, "And when you wake up tomorrow morning, I can guarantee I'll be right here."

"Ok," L shut his eyes and forced himself back to sleep. I love you, Light. I love you so much. More than my words could ever possibly convey. Never ever doubt that.