A/N; Hopefully this means regular update will indeed recommence for this story. Though from the way things are looking... I've definitely lost some of you lovely readers because of my absence.

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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Chapter 8

L tensed as he awoke, the unfamiliar surroundings making him immediately alarmed, something that could only happen to him in that oh so brief moment between sleeping and waking when he wasn't able to think clearly. Fuzzily he tried to remember where he was, and then frowned as his great mind exploded into clarity. He couldn't believe he had been quite so silly; it was certainly nothing he had ever done before. He sat up swiftly, taking in his surroundings as he raised a hand to rub at his eyes. For once he was glad he wasn't waking up next to Light, his partner would have taken too much delight in his rare moment of confusion.

He looked around at what would soon be his and Light's bedroom. He had to admit to certain feelings of trepidation and a slight sense of betrayal in sleeping in there for the first time without Light, but he knew he was just being strangely sentimental. His partner had been very eager for him to see the room for himself without him there, probably because Light had been given almost complete control over the furnishings; L viewing it alone would mean his judgement wouldn't be biased because of his lover's presence.

His gaze swept round the room, a space much larger than any other they had shared before, but they had both been in agreement about needing the extra space. They wanted their own little sanctuary to escape to if they were coming back to the bustle of Wammy's. In front of him stood a small but grand fireplace, pictures of Light, him and Eleanor, and the occasional shot of Jason, adorned the mantelpiece above. It was flanked by two cream sofas and a very soft, deep pile rug placed over the smooth, wooden floor. The sofa's had to either be antiques as the other furniture in the room; it was too close to regency style to be copies.

The wall to his left was adorned with heavy curtains, shielding L from the sunlight, but also from the view of the balcony and the garden beyond. On the other side of the room a couple bookcases and a chest of drawers stood square against the wall. Aside from that though the room was uncluttered, and L wondered if that was so they had room to add to it. Their clothes had even been banished from their room, hidden away behind an almost secretive door that was barely visible behind him. None of that had truly surprised L, but the bed had. It was a large four poster bed, and it looked as if there were space for drapes once they had truly moved in. It went well with the room, but it wasn't at all what he had expected.

Overall the whole room just screamed 'Light' though. It was understated in its decor and yet at the same time rich with a strange elegance and timeless beauty...L smiled and shook his head ruefully as he wondered whether he was still thinking about the room. He rose from the bed, bare chest giving way to light blue pyjama trousers. He shrugged on a dressing gown in the same blue colour that Wammy had insisted on leaving for him. He was glad of it now, England felt far too cold after the warmth of Italy.

Running his hands through his hair to remove the worst of the knots, he made his way out of the bedroom, down the small hall that marked out his and Light's private territory, into the larger main corridor where Jason and Eleanor's rooms were and into the main room of the suite. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his visitors, sat beyond the cluster of sofas and chairs that surrounded both another fireplace and a widescreen TV along one edge of a large dining table that was festooned with a vast variety of food.

The trio had decided to drop in for breakfast.

Near was playing with the contents of the sugar bowl, a trait he had probably picked up from L, and for a second the genius felt guilty about that. Matt was sat obviously absorbed in a game on his DS, his food untouched before him. Between the two Mello sat in a strange oasis of quiet calm, as one hand pulled apart a chocolate croissant with practised ease and the other held a book he was quietly reading. It was only then as he saw them that L realised how long it had been since he had seen them in the flesh, nearly a year, and they had changed far more than he had expected. Always he had seen the teenagers in them, the strange immaturity they had kept since childhood. But now, all he saw were adults, even if they were still playing.

"Damn," Matt muttered suddenly, and with a brisk action closed the DS and almost slammed it down onto the table. He looked up then and stared a little shocked, at L, "Hello L."

"Good morning Matt," L replied, and the sudden sound of his voice alerted the other two to his presence, "Good morning Mello, Near."

"L!" Mello exclaimed, rising to his feet and quickly approaching him, while Near just nodded in acknowledgement a small smile on his face, "You're joining us for breakfast."

L gave a small, quiet laugh at that order from Mello, it almost sounded like the blond man had expected him to bolt when he saw them. Yet after the news of their previous phone call he supposed they had a right to be worried. L forced his face to be still as he sat down at the table, even while he frowned inwardly, he had a growing suspicion for the reason the trio had arrived so suddenly and he felt anger at being so little trusted by them. But he had to admit it was exactly what he would have done had he been in their position.

"We just thought we'd come down and say hello," Matt commented, finally remembering he had food before him, "We thought you wouldn't want a long drive after all the other tasks you no doubt have, just to come see us."

"No doubt you probably have a very busy week ahead of you," Near added, "You're not one for wasting your time."

"What you mean," L replied, deciding to give voice to his suspicions his voice soft and quite like the one he had used for many years as L the detective. He couldn't help it, the trio had put him on edge for the first time, "Was that you didn't want your only witness wandering back to Italy without talking to you first. Please, try to remember I used to have your job."

L knew his suspicions were entirely correct as the trio exchanged a worried glance.

"That was hardly our only reason," Mello retorted, "We would hardly think you of all people would run off on us. We genuinely did want to see you; I suppose we're beginning to understand how difficult it was for you to separate the detective part of you from the rest of your life. It's yet another reason why we're still shocked you've left us with the gig for so long and don't want it back."

For a moment L considered all Mello had, and hadn't told him. For L had caught the hidden meaning behind Mello's words, and he couldn't help but wonder at the trio's continued worry about him taking away all he had given them.

He never would.

Even if there were days when he was working so hard on the cases he had now and a part of him longed for the past, for the strange thrill and energy it had supplied him with then, the challenge of it all... But then Light or Eleanor would walk in to whatever room he had decided to work in, or he'd hear them playing or laughing somewhere around the small villa and he'd realise all he had gained. He felt so free and happy with them, and in some ways there was a whole new challenge in it, he'd never jeopardise that for anything.

"There is no need to worry," L said at last, turning to look kindly at each of the trio, "That role has passed from me forever. I do not believe I am quite the same person I was when I defined myself as 'L the World's Greatest Detective' my life has other challenges now besides cases. Besides, I never lie to those closest to me, certainly not over things that truly matter. When I told you it was for good I meant it, despite everything that was happening then I did not act in haste. Now, as much as this may surprise you, can we please talk about something less involved? I've only just woken up."

L smiled as he saw their stunned faces once more, he was having fun startling them as many ways as he could. He knew full well that Eleanor would have been very proud of her daddy and the way he had emphasised the final line in his small speech, very proud indeed. Then, to his surprise Matt started laughing, his goggles falling from their place on his forehead to lie around his neck, and L smiled. With the redhead's sudden outburst it felt like the tension that had been building had quietly broken. Reaching for a croissant he asked them about any gossip they may have heard about this rebuilt Wammy's and the children here. He thought he would know most of it already, but it never hurt to ask.

...

Light awoke to a very small hand pushing at his shoulder, and the quiet intonations of Eleanor calling, 'Dad, dad, dad," repeatedly at him. All in all it was quite a cute way to be woken up, but being on the receiving end of it now was... well it was like Eleanor had turned herself into a human shaped alarm clock, but Light realised there was unlikely to be any snooze button. He did know though that he hadn't slept through his actual alarm, he was being woken up early.

He groaned slightly, and tried to hug the duvet closer to him, before surrendering to his daughter. He knew if he didn't she would only go fetch 'Uncle Jason', and he would never live this morning down. He couldn't let his daughter's actions against him go unpunished though, and with sudden speed he darted forward and hauled the suddenly giggling girl up onto the bed and tickled her. He relented after a few seconds though, her loud laughter at his actions too much for his recently awoken mind.

He sat himself up and pulled his daughter into his lap, his arms coming around her to hold her in a loose embrace. He smiled down at her and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead, despite being woken so rudely by her he couldn't find it in himself to get angry at her.

"Why are you waking me up so early little annoying child of mine?" Light asked, stifling a sudden urge to yawn.

Eleanor's beaming face became suddenly serious, and she snuggled in close to his chest, hugging him tightly.

"I miss Daddy," she replied, voice slightly muffled by Light's pyjama clad chest, "It's not the same without him here."

He stared down at the top of his daughter's head sadly; he knew this was the first time that L had been away like this and it had to be having an effect on her. He had hoped that with Jason and him still being around it wouldn't have got like this, but it seemed that wasn't to be the case. His arms tightened around her and he sighed a little.

"I do too," Light said, deciding for complete honesty, "but he won't be gone for long, and then we'll see him again. I tell you what, how about we have a really exciting week together and make him feel really guilty about leaving yes?"

"Yes," Eleanor giggled at that, and now that he was more awake Light appreciated the sound of the high-pitched laughter. There was so much about his daughter that he loved, it didn't matter that they weren't biologically related, none of that had ever mattered.

She went quiet quickly though and Light realised that more was probably needed, he glanced at the clock and debated what to do. Would it be too early to call L now? He knew that his partner always awoke before him, and even though they were an hour ahead here, at just after nine in the morning making it just after eight in the UK, it was still debatable if L would be up. He decided to risk it, at worst they would only have to try again later.

"How about we go and try and call him on the phone?" Light suggested, and Eleanor was suddenly beaming up at him again, yes this was the right thing to do he decided, she definitely needed this. Then she nodded furiously up at him long black unruly locks dancing around her shoulders as she did so, and he added, "you go find the phone wherever it has hidden itself this time, and I'll meet you in the kitchen."

She darted from the room, and Light shook his head slightly at his daughter's boundless energy. He certainly didn't feel as though he could ever be that energetic, but then he only had himself to blame because of how late he had been up. He sighed and rose from the bed, sidling out on bare feet towards the kitchen, pausing only to hurriedly run a brush through his hair. He smiled happily as he saw Jason was already there pouring coffee from a cafetière into two cups. He looked just as tired as Light felt he saw, but then he had been up into the early hours with him too.

"I was woken when her bedroom door slammed," Jason said quietly, "As I realised her destination was most likely you I thought we would both be in need of this."

"Thank you," Light sighed, taking the suddenly proffered cup gratefully. He had time to take one sip of the coffee, a blend that both he and Jason always liked in the morning flavoured as it was just slightly with the taste of oranges, before Eleanor came bounding up phone unit in hand. Light exchanged a smiling look of understanding with Jason as they both felt even more tired watching her bounce around in front of them.

"Ah, you found it," Light said, "Do you remember how to find daddy's mobile number in there?"

Eleanor nodded, and was already searching through the menu as Light moved to sit on one of the nearby sofas. Without even looking up his daughter curled up next to him, and he heard Jason laugh quietly from where he had begun to work on breakfast. He felt no guilt in letting Jason continue on preparing breakfast, he knew the man enjoyed the task, and if he didn't want to do it he wouldn't.

"I found it," Eleanor said happily a few seconds later, and she offered the phone up to Light.

"Why don't you call him," Light laughed, "You can give daddy a nice surprise."

"Okay," Eleanor agreed, and she pressed the call button before holding the phone up to her ear. Light wondered vaguely, as both her knees came up to her chest and her thumb to her mouth how he was going to cope with another person in the house with L's eccentricities. Eleanor seemed to be picking up all of L's habits and none of his own, or perhaps he just wasn't noticing them in her because he would see them as natural. He smiled down at her and took another sip of coffee; he wondered what L would make of his early morning caller.