Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think; I would love to know XD

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.

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 14

L

The days following my confession were a little easier. Light and I had barely slept that night, the two of us just holding each other and whispering in the darkness. By the time morning came, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. I had spoken with the boys, telling them enough to understand my reaction to Matt's question without actually divulging the entire story. They didn't need me to say much before I had the three of them clinging to me, Matt apologising profusely.

After that, everything went back to whatever our normal was.

Days later, on August 14th, I opened my eyes, from a light doze to the realisation that it had been exactly a year since Light and I began our relationship. It was surreal; never had I thought I would find myself in a moment like that. I dealt with myself and my morning breath quickly before strolling back into my bedroom.

Light was curled up in the covers; one leg hooked over them as he hugged them to his chest. The pillows half hid his face, hair gently falling over his eyes. I slid, as carefully as I could, into the bed, next to Light. I brushed the hair out of his face, watching the soft light of the sun brush over his sleeping form. Whilst sleeping in the light of the morning sun, I couldn't get over his youthful appearance. He was pegged as the best student, the best son, the best brother throughout his life. He was put up high in what people thought of him, and he worked hard to keep it like that. He did everything he could to keep his grades up; he loved his family with his entire being. He pushed himself to the absolute limit to show that he was what everybody thought of him as. Light didn't realise there was no need for that, that there was no need for him to make himself work so hard. All he needed to do was be himself and, still, people would see all of that and more. All the stress had put weight on him, a weight that pressed heavily on him any time he was awake, ageing him ever so slightly.

Everything about the young man in front of me was mesmerising to me; the glow and tone of his skin, the slightly reddish hue to his hair, the slight muscle that rippled with every movement. He was one of the most intelligent people I knew, his mind a thing of absolute beauty. I had never felt how I did for anyone else but Light. Of feeling like I wouldn't be able to breathe if he wasn't near me, of feeling complete when I held him in my arms. Even after such a short time, I could see a long and happy future with Light if he would have me when the time came.

Leaning down, ever so slightly, I couldn't resist brushing my lips over Light's forehead. I never expected for arms to wrap around me, pulling me closer. I had never heard the change in Light's breathing; I hadn't even registered it. My surprise was replaced, quickly, with laughter, moving until my arms slid around Light, under his body until I could enfold him in them. I buried my face into his neck, breathing in the scent that was purely Light, feeling his sleep-warm skin against me.

"Good morning," I whispered against his neck. "Sleep well?"

Light mumbled sleepily against my chest, nuzzling his face into the fabric of my shirt. Despite everything, Light always loathed waking up. His mind was fuzzy, and he was groggy, but it made me fall for him even more, watching as he slowly came back to himself.

"You do know," I chuckled. "If we stay here too long, we'll be subjected to the boys coming in here to jump on us. I'm not joking; they still do that after all these years."

I felt Light's body jolt slightly at the soft snort that escaped him, both of us pulling back to look each other in the eyes. Light's eyes were still heavy with sleep, a gentle smile pulling slowly at his lips. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought this young man was an Angel in disguise.

When Light and I left the room and made our way to the living area, I was surprised to find a note left on the coffee table. From Watari. The message read that Watari had taken the boys out for the day and wouldn't be back until late afternoon or early evening. Light and I had the day to ourselves, whether we wanted to stay home or go out.

I should have known Watari would remember.

As I looked up to show Light the note in my hand, I found him staring at the table, face flushed. I didn't have to look far to see why. After Light had removed its silver lid, we found a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries. Now, I know that is hardly something to get worked up about, suggestions aside. It was, however, in the way said strawberries were arranged. The strawberries had been placed to form a large heart, with an arrow shooting through it. Then, written in extra chocolate, within the centre of the heart, was:

L + L
EST. 14/08/2015

I decided to ignore the crude chocolate drawing of what I assumed to be of mine and Light's faces, lips locked, in the corner of the platter. Sighing, I shook my head; I would recognise Mello's artwork anywhere.

Honestly.

"I swear, those boys will forever be little imps." I chuckled, walking closer to Light. "I should have known they were up to something."

"Have they done things like this before?" Light asked, the blush on his face darkening ever so slightly, refusing to lift his gaze.

"They have, yes. Never this particular occasion, but they've created similar…. Pieces. And I can tell you this was Near's idea."

Light finally looked at me then, his eyes wide in disbelief. In all honesty, I could completely understand. People would look at Near and see a quiet and shy young boy, which he was at first. They found it hard to believe he got along with Mello and Matt the way he did, let alone that he would come up with an idea such as this. But that was because they didn't know Near. Near could be just as sly and mischievous as the other two, his brilliant little mind conjuring up all sorts of plans. Sometimes I wondered if it was safe to have the three boys together; who knew what they would come up with between them.

"That…. Doesn't surprise me, actually." Light mused, slowly, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "Not as much as it should, anyway."

Anybody else in Light's shoes wouldn't have believed me. They would have protested, fully, that Near would never. And here was Light, who had known the boys properly for only a few weeks, and he seemed to know. He knew what my boys were capable of, knew that they had the minds and skills to do almost anything.

Grinning, I slipped my left hand into Light's, tugging softly as I sat myself down on the sofa. Light lowered himself down after me, scrunching in on himself ever so slightly, eyes going back to the platter on the table. He bit at his lip, his index finger of the hand holding mine tracing little circles on my knuckles. I lifted our joined hands, kissing the back of Light's as I shuffled a little closer to the young man next to me.

"The only effective way to get rid of them is to eat them," I told him, managing to pull the platter closer until I could pick it up with my still bandaged right hand, ignoring the ache. "I mean, they're still good."

"Of course, you'd say that," Light snorted, leaning into my side as he smiled, softly. "Honestly, I think you could be persuaded to do anything if something sweet was on offer."

Picking up one of the strawberries from the platter, careful that none of the chocolate would drip, I offered it to Light, trying to keep my face straight as I stared him in the eyes.

"I'll give you this strawberry if you keep it a secret," I said, small chuckles escaping me.

I watched Light's eyes glint in amusement, his body shaking with laughter as he began to relax against me. Shaking his head softly, Light stretched his neck until he could suck the fruit out of my fingers. It was something we had done countless times, something I had never looked at and found erotic or in the least bit sexual. But watching Light's tongue swipe at his chocolate-coated lips, I couldn't help this feeling bubbling up inside me.

Before I knew it, our lips were locked together as I tried to erase all traces of chocolate from him. My mind was only just catching up with my actions; everything seeming to lag just a little bit. I noted my arms had found their way around Light, as they had that morning, my hands pressing against his back as I pulled him closer. Light's hands, for a quick moment, fluttered around as his own mind tried to piece together what had and was happening. In mere seconds, Light's fingers were threading into my hair, his hands pushing against my head to bring me closer.

I had a feeling it was going to take a long while before all the strawberries were gone.

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

Light and I had ended up going out, eventually, but only for a few hours and only to get lunch, as well as get a few provisions for what we had decided to do for the next few hours. As soon as we were back in the house, back in comfy clothes, Light and I had set up a home-movie-theatre, dragging duvets and pillows into the living room, moving furniture out of the way and creating a comfy nest on the floor. We watched as many movies on Netflix as possible, ranging from comedy and romance to horror, neither of us giving our full attention to what was playing on the screen. We talked lightly about anything and everything that came to mind, conversation flowing easily, sitting side by side.

It was dark by the time Watari came home with the boys, the three of them barging in like a herd of elephants. Light and I had been in the process of choosing something else to watch when they had come in, looking behind to greet them. They made themselves comfortable quickly, sprawling out in front of us, laying on their stomachs with Near in the middle. On the other hand, Watari placed himself on the sofa, his knees in line with my head. Light switched the TV off, with the remote, shifting himself until he leaned against me, his legs tucked off to the side. Light reached out and ruffled Matt's hair as Matt made some comment or another about the nest we had created.

"So, how was the anniversary?" Mello snickered. "Did you enjoy our present?"

Matt and Near were quick to laugh along, Matt snorting whilst Near gave a soft giggle, hiding his face in Mello's shoulder.

"We did, thank you." I coughed as a small, almost inaudible, squeak came from Light. "I never thought of using chocolate as a medium."

"Yeah, it's not the easiest thing to use," Mello grinned, pulling a half-eaten chocolate bar from his pocket. "A little messy, but a lot of fun. Guess I'll have to keep practising."

"We'll see about that; we'll see. Not sure I'm ready for that mess."

I looked up as Watari's hand landed lightly on my shoulder, his face turned down to me and smiling.

"Neither was I, this morning," the man admitted, chuckling slightly. "Chocolate, everywhere."

"It wasn't everywhere," Mello pouted. "It didn't reach the ceiling this time."

Matt fell into a fit of laughter, pressing his face into the duvets and pillows. Mello, still frowning, took a bite from his chocolate and glared at Matt over Near's head. Near just rolled his eyes, muttering how Mello hadn't looked that funny covered in chocolate, as he leaned into Mello's side. It only served to make Matt laugh more, his arms wrapping around his stomach as he rolled onto his back, pressed against Near. Now in reach, Mello reached out and smacked Matt on the forehead. Near and I moved quickly, the boy jumping on top of Matt as I launched myself at Mello. Despite his size, Near knew how to incapacitate someone easily. Back in England, he had easily managed to take down a child twice his size, pinning them to the ground with a simple touch.

"Now, boys, there's no need to get physical with one another." I sighed, wrapping my arms around the blond. "Just breathe."

"It's not funny," Mello growled, softly, struggling lightly.

"Come on, no fair," Matt whined. "Let me hit him back!"

"That won't happen." Near huffed, sitting on Matt's back. "You two always go too far, and someone always gets hurt."

I was able to hold Mello back easily. With the martial arts I had learned through my childhood, I had built up a lot of strength and muscle disguised by the baggy clothing I preferred to wear, despite all the sugary food I consumed. Though Mello knew this, knew he wouldn't get loose unless I allowed him, he fought against me, still pouting like a child. Even with coming to Wammy's at a young age, an age where his behaviour could still be changed and impacted upon, Mello still had an issue with anger. Many emotions, one's he despised, he would cover with anger – embarrassment, loneliness, depression…. Anger and lashing out was his default when he didn't know what else to do.

"Mello, listen to me," I murmured to the boy, going unheard by others thanks to Matt's protests. "Matt isn't being malicious; he isn't being cruel. Matt isn't making fun of you."

Mello's hands came up to grab at my arms; his head bowed until his hair covered his face. I held tight onto the boy, more hugging him to me than restraining, in all honesty. Matt and Mello had play fought many times over the years; many young boys did. Mello, however, sometimes took things too far because of what he had seen during the first few years of his life. A switch in his brain seemed to flip during those times – one moment, he was laughing and messing around, the next, he was attacking with everything he had. Near and I had jumped between them on multiple occasions when we saw things start to spiral out of hand. Despite this, neither Matt nor Mello wanted to stop their playful wrestling.

"He isn't trying to hurt you, Mihael," I whispered to him. "So, I need you to take a breath. Can you do that for me?"

Feeling the shaky breath Mello took, I felt some of the tension seep out of his body. Mello still gripped tightly onto my arms, his blunt nails sure to leave deep indents. But I didn't mind. Glancing up, I saw Near muttering lowly to Matt, the brunet slumping and resting his chin on folded arms. Looking to Light, I could see his brain try and piece together just what happened, wondering how and why this had happened, whilst Watari watched on, ready to jump in if necessary.

Still holding onto Mello, I walked us back towards the others, sitting down next to Light with Mello tucked into my other side. He buried close, back pressing against the side of Watari's leg, head still ducked down and face still hidden by blond hair. Near, slowly, climbed off of Matt, crawling until he could sit halfway on top of Light and half on me, his small hand reaching out to brush against Mello's arm. Matt was the last to move, sitting up and sliding up next to Light, biting his lip. Reaching behind Light, I placed a hand on the back of Matt's head, smiling as the boy lifted his head to look at me. His shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, eyes flickering to Mello but not saying or doing anything.

"Can we watch Les Mis?" Near asked, suddenly, softly.

Almost instantly, things seemed to snap back to normal.

By the end of the night, Matt and Mello were back to their usual selves. They had apologised, yes, and, as soon as those words were uttered, it was as if nothing had happened. They were back to bantering back and forth, leaning against each other and playful jabs. To Light's credit, he took it all in his stride.

It was late in the evening, around eleven, when we all headed for bed. The boys weaved and wobbled towards their bedroom, stumbling through the door and calling out a tired and slurred goodnight. Watari, although yawning, managed a more dignified farewell, shuffling slowly to his own quarters, as Light and I headed in the other direction.

The moment the door to my bedroom was closed, Light turned around in front of me, falling forward until his head rested against my neck, his hands on my chest. Wrapping my arms around the young man in front of me, letting my head drop until my nose was buried in his hair, I walked us both towards the bed. Light sat down slowly as his legs hit the mattress, face sliding down to press against my stomach.

"Don't think I've ever seen you quite this tired before." I chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

"Long day." Light muttered, voice muffled in my shirt. "Sleep now."

"God, I love you."

It took a moment before I realised Light had gone still in my arms, for my brain to catch up with what I had said without its notice. In the now-year we had been together, neither of us had uttered those words. Staring down at Light, I watched as he pulled back slowly, his eyes wide and all traces of sleep gone. I couldn't look away from him, unable to move. My stomach was churning, my heart thundering in my chest, and all I wanted was to hide.

"Wha-What?" Light stuttered, quietly. "You-You…. What?"

I opened my mouth to try and speak, but nothing came out. All I could do was gape at the young man in front of me, mouth opening and closing like a fish. My brain came up with nothing for me to say, not a single word springing to mind now I had placed myself in that situation. It wasn't like I could deny it! I meant it; of course, I meant it. I loved Light with my entire being. I never thought I would know love like how I loved Light. I knew the love of a family, from my Mother and Watari, from my boys. But having Light next to me, holding him close in my arms, the feeling of his lips on mine…. Just seeing him made me love him all the more.

"You love me?" Light whispered.

I was nodding before I could think about it, my entire body starting to shake slightly. Light pushed me back as gently as he could and stood up in front of me. My arms dropped from where they were around him but, still, I couldn't look away. Light looked into my eyes, just staring and not saying a single word. I wasn't sure how long we stood there, Light's eyes gazing into me before, slowly, he took my hands in his.

"Say it again," he said.

Choking a little, I shook my head, my hair flying into my eyes from the speed.

"Say it again," he said again, some sort of emotion colouring his tone.

Again, I shook my head. Finally, I managed to look away from him, screwing my eyes shut as tight as I could.

"Please," Light pleaded, taking a small step forward until our chests were pressed together. "Please, say it again. Please."

I dropped my head so that he couldn't see my face. I could feel the heat spreading across my skin, humiliation slowly taking over me.

"I love you." I breathed out; my voice barely audible even to me.

"I love you too." was all the response I got.

My head snapped up faster than I thought possible, almost colliding with Light's on its way up. He was smiling, a grin slowly growing as his cheeks reddened.

"Oh, thank God!" I managed to say.

Even if it were possible, I wouldn't have stopped myself from kissing Light.

Please, please review XD

Thank you all so much XD