Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think; I would love to know XD I own nothing and no one.

JUST SO YOU KNOW: I have taken creative liberties with middle names, so please take that into consideration. Also, I've only seen the Anime and have only JUST started the Manga.

This is my FIRST Death Note fic, so I suppose you could say I'm new to the Fandom! Also, I live in England, I don't know Japanese, so any Japanese I use in this story I get from Google Translate XD

Please, please review XD

P.S. This is an AU - Light was never Kira, but still helped during the investigation; obviously, Light and L did not die; the Kira case took 1 year to clear up, not (about) 7; set in 2016. I apologise for OOCness, but it IS an AU ;)

Chapter 8

P.S. I know it's been a while, but I've been having a lot of issues with family, University, my anxiety, etc. It's kind of knocked me off of my writing. Trust me when I say I'm trying to write for my fics as fast as I can.

L

It wasn't a shock that I didn't sleep that night. With my mind racing as fast as it was, it was to be expected, so I just stayed up looking at old pictures and watching video recordings of the boys and me. Stupid, sentimental, little things. At first, I couldn't understand why I bothered to keep them.

Suffice to say, I now knew.

How could I get rid of any memories I had of my boys? They were one of the only things that kept me sane when I was away from them. Though it was a double edged sword, I suppose. Whilst the pictures and videos kept me in the right mind, reminded me there were people I was making safer, they also hurt me. Knowing that I couldn't be with them at that moment, knowing I couldn't speak to them as often as I usually would, it hurt me. I couldn't win either way, but it was better than having nothing of them at all.

I didn't know what to do with myself. From, around, four o'clock that morning, I stood at the window in the living room. I just leant against the cool glass, staring down at the lamp light, watching the few cars on the roads drive by. The sun was starting to rise in the east, a mash of soft colours everywhere you looked. Light oranges and purples spreading across the vast sky, rolling over the city like a bead of blood running down your arm.

I had always loved watching the sunrise. It was proof, ever since I was young, that I had made it through another day, that I had survived to see the next. It was just a small thing I took pleasure in seeing, something I had to see every morning.

It was pathetic. A grown man still relying on something as commonplace as a sunrise, to prove that he was still breathing.

It became a habit that I just couldn't break... Though, it only became that once Watari took me in. At first, I wasn't conscious of what I was doing, when I was still existing with the man that co-created me. I would wake up, if I even slept, pick my way out of the cupboard and peaked out of the curtains to see the day begin. When I started my life at the house, with Watari, I forced myself to stay awake, too scared to sleep. He would check on me every morning, since I didn't like the leave the room I had been given, and he noticed me looking out of my window before acknowledging him. He was the one that made it a conscious action, even watching the sunrise with me. It gave me peace back then, especially having someone I trusted with me.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the cool glass, wrapping my arms around my torso. I knew I wouldn't be able to stop my habit, even if I wanted to. I was in too deep, I needed it too much.

Just as I needed my boys.

Light

I was used to waking up early, especially on weekdays. Before I met L, I would use the time to get ahead in my studies, cleaning up a bit or do some reading. However, over the past eleven months and eight days, I would go see L. Considering his insomnia, I rarely had to worry about going around so early and waking him up.

Mom and Dad didn't mind me spending a lot of time with L. Honestly, I think they were just happy that I had finally found someone I genuinely wanted to spend time with, outside of my family. Even though I was considered popular, surrounded by a large group during the academic year, I only considered a few of them friends. Even then, I wasn't all that close with them, not like I was with my family or L.

I took my time getting ready, enjoying the rush of the water from the shower, lazily getting dressed. It would be no good to rush, anyway. L was nervous, that much was obvious, so giving him time to calm himself down, by taking a little longer getting dressed, was probably a good path to take. Besides, I would still get to him early.

If I was being honest with myself, I was terrified. I was meeting three people that L considered family. The three people he would speak about and smile over. These three people, these three children, meant everything to him. I knew L would die before he saw anything bad happen to those boys. It was...intimidating, to say the least. I mean, I was meeting his family! I had never cared before, it had never mattered to me. But I felt different towards L than I ever had towards any girl I had ever dated. Sure, there was an obvious difference - gender - but it was something more.

It made my nerves worse.

I paused for a moment, after I pulled my shirt over my head, taking a deep breath. It wouldn't do for me to start panicking. I just had to try and stay as calm as I possibly could... It was easier said than done. I honestly couldn't remember a time I had ever been so nervous!

The night before, my Mom had tried to gauge my feelings for this meeting. She and Dad, even Sayu, all knew just how dear the boys were to L. They knew they meant everything and more to him. They knew this, so Mom knew I could be feeling quite overwhelmed.

But I was a good actor.

Ever since I was a child, I could hide my emotions, my true thoughts and feelings. I could pretend to be alright when, inside, I felt as if I was screaming inside a soundproof box. I told Mom that I was fine, I told her I wasn't scared... I felt as if, around my family, I had to put on this front; I felt as if I had to act stronger than I sometimes felt.

I didn't know if my act would last the rest of the day.

L

There was a knock at my door around quarter to six that morning. I could tell who it was from the force and rhythm. Dragging myself away from the wall, I shuffled towards it, one hand in my pocket and the other swinging by my side. I wouldn't lie and say I didn't expect Light to turn up early, but I could say with a hundred per cent certainty that I never expected he would arrive as early as he had.

The hallway Light was standing in was only dimly lit, , the only light coming from the inside of my quarters and the light near the elevator. Light seemed to have forgone his usual attire, almost dressing down compared to what he usually did. Just a simple pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a thin jacket, plain and simple. He had his satchel on his shoulder, holding onto the strap loosely as he stood there.

Light looked up sharply as I opened the door, stopping his shifting from foot to foot. We didn't say anything as Light walked in. We never did. Not in the morning, anyway. Light hung his satchel and jacket on the hooks I had placed near the door, as I took a seat on the sofa. When Light joined me he moved right up against my side as he curled himself up, leaning his head onto my shoulder. It was our usual routine, one we had gotten used to over the months. Being comfortable enough with a person, enough to not have to talk with all the time, was a nice change since the Kira Case. Having to explain every action I made to everyone on the taskforce, especially when I was hardly comfortable with talking to people other than Watari and my boys, was difficult to say the least. I liked having those moments alone in the silence, because I knew I didn't have to force myself into conversing with everyone. With Light, I didn't have to do that either. He seemed to understand, seemed to need that silence himself, sometimes. The silence was comfortable with Light.

I could tell he was worrying. The way he was holding himself, the slight tension in his face and body, the way he played with the material of his jeans... Little things made it easy to tell how he was feeling. Watari had told me to expect it, had explained how Light might be. I was beyond grateful to him because, otherwise, I wouldn't have understood just what was wrong.

I didn't know what to say. Was there anything I could say that would help? I had never been in such a situation myself, nor had I ever witnessed anyone in such a situation before. How could I know what to do or say if it hadn't happened to me? So I just sat there, my arm around his shoulders as he rested against me, both of us sitting in our silence.

I know it's been a while, but I've been having a lot of issues with family, University, my anxiety, etc. It's kind of knocked me off of my writing. Trust me when I say I'm trying to write for my fics as fast as I can.

Please, please review XD

Thanks a lot guys XD