A/N; I shall endeavour to get updates running more smoothly soon, but finals are approaching.

http :// www .formspring .me/ Dragonrider4000 Please feel free to go here and ask me questions. I shall try to keep up with them even if I'm not posting regularly! (There are some spaces added to stop FF from removing the address, sorry about that).

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May I also advertise the works of my wonderful friend Dotti55, she has recently begun writing and her stories are well worth the read. I hope that you will take some time to go and read them. They are part of the Death Note fandom, and I myself am quite a fan of them. :D

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Chapter 7

With deft movements L picked up the silver spoon on the side of the cup and stirred in the copious amounts of sugar he had just added to his tea. His gaze settled almost absently on his task, barely noticing his own activities for his mind was elsewhere. With a small, almost inaudible sigh he placed the spoon down with a clink onto the white bone china of the saucer. With another sigh he raised the cup to his lips and took a sip his gaze shifting to look out the window and along the wing of the plane. He barely saw it though as his thoughts travelled back over the events of the day before; Mello's words had shaken him, this case had not been one he had thought would ever return. In reality he wished it hadn't. When he thought of it he was not the logical detective, but a scared seven year old staring at pictures that despite his great intelligence he had been far too young to see. Thanks to Mello it had all been brought back to him...

Large black eyes stared down with undisguised horror at the pictures in front of him, spots of light shining through the nearby curtain highlighting all too vivid areas of red on the people in the pictures. Bloody symbols stood out in horrid contrast to the white flesh beneath. It was all he could do to reach forward with a hand that only trembled slightly to shift through the stack. His mind wondered what sort of animal could do this to a person, they couldn't possibly be a fellow human being... for the first time in his short existence he had been forced to face the true reality of what people were capable of, and it chilled him to his very core. The back of his throat suddenly tasted of bile and he hastily covered the pictures with a bland police report, and for a second he could pretend he hadn't seen the images. The belief didn't last for long, his photographic memory providing him with a perfect recall that burned into his vision and was only worse when he closed his eyes.

He tried to get himself under control as he heard Wammy entering the room behind him; he couldn't let him see him like this. This was something he could fight through and continue on. All this meant too much to him to be removed because of one simple case. He knew deep down though that he was lying to himself on some level, this was no simple case. This case was terrifying...

Many years in the future L shook himself and tried to steady his own growing nerves. Realising with a rising irritation that the way he had felt as a seven year old was definitely how he felt now, just thankfully now he was more detached from it now than he had been in the past. In the intervening years he had learnt how to separate himself from his emotions, to some degree of course. Something he had only perfected since Light had come into his life.

Light...

In an instant L was his collected self again, his eyes drifting to the nearby holdall he had dumped on a nearby seat and the gift he had secreted inside. His partner hadn't expected him to pack it, but yet he had. Now he was grateful that he had, it was a physical memento of all Light gave him. Most importantly that all inclusive protection against anything the universe might throw at him, protection that was his even if his partner didn't have a clue how he would go about it. L smiled as he stared at the holdall, almost as though he was imagining the collar there before his eyes. His smile broadened as his mind turned to more pleasant things and he took another sip of his tea.

He grinned as he though back over the night before. At the time he assumed Light had been so gentle with him because he was reluctant to return to their old ways in some way. True, there had been far more force than usual, and there had been no whispered questions just demands... but that had been all. Now though L realised what his partner had been doing, Light had been ensuring L had a very recent memory filled with all the love he could muster for L as unambiguously as possible. Despite the brave face he had managed to put on all the rest of the evening Light had still known that inside he had been out of sorts and dwelling on what Mello had told him.

L gave a sigh that was far more audible, and far happier, than the sighs he had given before; so happy in fact that it was almost a small laugh. He wondered when Light had recovered that well to become so calculating. He grinned and looked back down at the table, and he felt even better than before.

He had forgotten he had cake.

...

Wammy smiled as he watched the plane taxi to a standstill, his neat black suit matched by the car behind him and the umbrella that was open above his head to shield him from the rain. It had been a long time since he had seen his ward; almost too long in fact. L was far more that a son to him, perhaps more than a son, and not seeing him for such a long time was sometimes a great burden on him. A burden he would never share with L though, he was too happy to see his ward happy to ever bring his own feelings into the issue. Besides with running Wammy's House, looking after Ryuk and creating new toys for the trio... he was always kept busy. Truth be told he enjoyed his new roles, like L he was grateful to have left the frantic pace of their old lives behind.

He shook himself mentally as the rear of the door swung back and a second later L stepped out onto the metal staircase that had been wheeled into position. When he realised his charge was without an umbrella he shook his head slightly, he could never understand L's fascination with the rain; but as L looked up into the rain and closed his eyes for an instant it seemed he was definitely doing so. Then his gaze shifted downwards and locked with his and the sudden warmth in those black eyes was noticeable even from that distance. Though, Wammy admitted to himself, he was probably the only one of a precious few who would actually notice it. For a brief moment he wondered how Light and Eleanor were coping without L around, but he knew with absolute certainty that the black haired man before him would never have taken a step out of the door unless he knew his family were going to be okay.

Wammy took a couple steps forward as L descended the stairs, his pose so familiar to Wammy with his hands shoved in his jeans pockets and shoulders hunched.

"Hello Wammy," L said, his voice quiet as he gave his guardian one of his rare but winning smiles. It was as he saw that smile that he knew he had been missed as much as he missed L. Wammy felt his happiness grow as L's smile widened into a grin, and it was only then he realised that he was smiling back at L as broadly. The whole escapade lasted only a second but it was enough to show both of them how much the other had missed them.

"Hello L," Wammy replied, and to both their surprise he pulled L into a one armed hug, holding the genius close to him for a moment not caring that the man was quite drenched from the rain already, they were both sequestered under the umbrella now anyway. He was touched to his soul when L's arms rose to grip him back. Wammy knew he would have to thank Light some day for making his ward confident enough with his own emotions to be able to show them so freely. Though Wammy also knew that he could never thank him enough for all he had done for L despite his initial desire to kill him. Here the old inventor had to fight back a laugh and he hurriedly pulled back from L, he didn't want to worry the other with his strange humour. A humour developed by the career that even his ward didn't know the full details of.

"It's always raining when I arrive back in England," L commented, "It makes me feel quite welcomed."

Wammy smiled at L's words; despite the United Kingdom's fascination with the weather he had to admit that before him was one of the few who would have felt so welcomed by the rain.

"That may be the case," Wammy said with another heartfelt smile, adding jokingly as he moved to the driver's side door, "but I think it best we get a move on before England welcomes you back with a cold."

"I have never been sick because of the weather," L murmured behind him, just audible to Wammy the tone vaguely chiding, "and certainly not from the rain."

As he got into the driver's seat Wammy beamed, it was wonderful to have L around again. To know that this was just the preliminary visit before he and Light returned to the UK made him happier still. It would be nice to have his family back together again.

...

L stared out the rain splattered window out onto the passing countryside. This was a landscape he had missed, a place that spoke to him of home that no other location on Earth seemed to manage... at least no other location that didn't have Light and Eleanor there. He smiled at the thought and he turned to look at Wammy. For a moment it felt almost like he was back before the Kira case, back before any of the horrible events with Beyond had happened; when he had been only about ten or twelve...

He sighed and shook his head slightly, turning his head so he could look back out the window at the grey lit landscape. He supposed it was Mello's questions about the case that was bringing out all this sentimentality today, he wasn't usually like this. He frowned as his thoughts dwelt on the case; he hated how it continued to dominate his thinking. He was never going to get anything of any worth done today if this kept happening, and he had so much more to get done on this trip than dwelling on something that had happened nearly two decades ago.

"Ryuk was very excited to hear you would be returning," Wammy said suddenly, his thought's cutting through L's sudden moping like a knife, "I fear he will have spent most of his day baking."

"That was something I never thought Ryuk would ever take to," L commented, a smile appearing on his face as he looked out of the rain splattered window as the buildings gave way into countryside, "I had always assumed he would have considered it too much like work, though the end products may have been enough."

"Yes, I believe even Ryuk is somewhat surprised by his activities," Wammy replied with a small chuckle, "He always looks so startled when he acts so very human in his activities and someone points it out. I don't think he has adjusted to the change even now. He is happy though."

"I'm glad to hear it," L said, "When I realised what he had sacrificed for Light and me... I didn't know what to think. From what Light told me of his time as Kira it had appeared Ryuk had only ever been in it for his own enjoyment."

"I think he's surprised about what he did for you two, and for Mello, even now," Wammy added, "He still hasn't accepted that there was a part of him that was inherently nice... Even if he did drop a death note just to have fun watching someone else using it."

L said nothing in reply to Wammy's words. He knew his guardian was not angry at Ryuk for his actions, far from it, there seemed to rarely be a conversation when the old man wasn't talking about Ryuk to him; it was like he had found another son to take care of with all Ryuk needed to learn about being human. L bit back a small laugh as he wondered if all Ryuk ever heard about was him.

He continued to stare out of the window in the sudden silence that had fallen between him and Wammy, his gaze drifting over the delightfully, familiar scenery. Left to wander his thoughts began to drift back to the new home he had just left behind, however briefly. It didn't help that it was somewhere they would all be leaving for good soon. It had been so hard to leave Light and Eleanor behind, Jason too, but it seemed that the loss of Light was the worst blow to him. Though it would have been a surprise if that wasn't the case... with the feeling of a blush creeping up his face his thoughts reached their inevitable conclusion. Light's present. Knowing that he had brought that with him, and all that it actually entailed for his future with his partner, it didn't help make the coming week look any shorter.

...

With great care Light began the last of the series of security steps he needed to clear before he could access the contents. The sleek black box had just been extracted from what had previously looked like a seamless part of the floor just a moment before. He had been through this process many times before, but there was no way he was going to let that be the reason he made a stupid mistake. He wasn't stupid. Even more so with the knowledge that the Death Note inside would be incinerated if he went wrong. He might have two more available but he was not going to deal with the reactions that would get from the trio or from L. So he gave a more than relived smile when the lock gave a small pneumatic hiss and the lid was released. As he picked up the notebook he fought back the usual thrill of power that went down his spine; he would never listen to that again. It had nearly cost him everything. If it hadn't been for L, in all respects, he wouldn't have the chance to continue with his plan. True, a highly modified plan thanks to L, but he was still able to enjoy the fact that he was permanently removing such vile people from the world. The hand had changed, but his task hadn't.

Rising from his kneeling position by the box he padded over to the nearby desk on silent feet. Idly he flicked through the book before him; each page telling of a separate list of people he and L had deemed had used up all their chances. There was a gradual decrease in names to be sure, but it wasn't at the rate either of them expected. It seemed some people just didn't want to even attempt to change. He wondered if he and L needed to sit and discuss this through again, but he doubted the world would act as docilely to his presence and L's acceptance of him, if the rules suddenly began changing.

"For someone who cares so deeply about his appearance," Jason said suddenly, his voice from the doorway startling Light out of his reverie, "You are certainly frowning deeply there. Aren't you worried about wrinkles?"

Light turned and gave the other man the glare such a comment deserved, his mouth twitching as it attempted to form a smile as Jason merely grinned back completely unrepentant as he shifted to lean on the wall by the desk.

"I thought you had gone to bed," Light commented, his gaze now fixed on the small pile of papers on his desk as he searched for the list of names. He pulled it out, glancing briefly at the bottom to ensure the two signatures were there; they were only ever on the final list. He and L were as careful as they could be to ensure no accidents happened.

"I couldn't sleep," Jason sighed, "and I thought if I couldn't it was likely you were still wandering around. It seems I was right, at least partly; you seem to be working instead. You do know that it is two in the morning?"

"Why is it I now have the all too clear image of L asking you to take care of me while he is away?" Light murmured, writing down two names and the date and times of their demise in quick succession.

"Because that's precisely what happened," Jason replied with a little laugh.

"And to think I thought I was master of this household," Light said, trying to force back a grin and glare at the insubordinate man at the same time.

"Oh you are, but that just means it's our job to look after you," Jason retorted.

"Yet when you and L work so secretly together I can't help but worry about what you might do," Light said slowly, feeling the slightest twinges of worry for an inexplicable reason at such a thought.

"Actually sir," Jason replied, and he gained an almost startled look from Light at his sudden use of 'sir', "You'd probably be the only one who'd be safe."

With that surprising comment he collapsed to the floor at Light's feet and sat with his back against one of the seated man's outstretched legs. Light wondered just how much time he and L spent talking if Jason became this lonely without him around or perhaps it was just because of the sudden change to their routine.

"You really couldn't sleep could you," Light commented worry creeping into his voice as he looked down at his close friend.

"No I couldn't," Jason whispered his voice barely audible, and Light knew the man now sat so close to him was putting a brave front on again. He let his right hand drop from the desk to hang in front of Jason's vision, and he smiled as he felt both of the other man's hands close around it. He'd be here for Jason as long as he was needed. His thoughts turned then to the other man he would always be there for, L, and he wondered how he was doing back in the UK alone. The brief call they had exchanged earlier as L's plane had taxied to a stop hadn't been enough for him. As Jason squeezed his hand briefly he knew that he wasn't alone in his thoughts.

In silence he continued on with his task, Jason keeping a tight grip on his right hand throughout. Light didn't mind though, he was suddenly grateful to have the company without L around.