L's Wife

End of November 2003, entering Death Note timeline

November was coming to a close and Acelia was two months pregnant. She was due in June, which she was happy about. L and Acelia had fit into a comfortable routine. The mornings were spent quietly as Acelia and Near, who was still living with the Lawliets, worked on coding and securing information for various intelligence organizations. L knew what they were up to but he left them to their own devices. Besides, he thought it was amusing how discrete Acelia was trying to be about her work. L was usually in his computer room while they worked. He was looking for something of interest to work on but nothing came up. At first he thought that nothing was interesting lately because he was more focused on Acelia and the baby. But when he looked at his options objectively, he came to the conclusion that regardless of his wife's condition, so far there hadn't been anything particularly interesting.

Midday was when Acelia left the house to take her daily walks. She loved her husband a lot but she needed time to herself, especially since her feelings of apprehension hadn't left her. She thought that it was time to see a therapist. What she was feeling could possibly be anxiety, but being pregnant complicated matters. Acelia was aware that L knew what she was up to in regards to Whammy House matters. What he didn't know was that she was being blatantly obvious for a reason. He thought that she was hiding her work. She was in fact hiding her search for good therapy. Looking for a therapist was not easy considering her circumstances. Acelia kept out of the public eye for a reason. Her husband's work and identity could be compromised if she made the wrong acquaintance. Obviously she wouldn't tell the therapist her exact circumstances. But without the full story it would be difficult for anyone to understand her worry.

What frustrated Acelia even more was that she had never felt this way before, never in her five years of marriage to L. She knew what his line of work entailed and the dangers involved. She loved him and cared about his safety but she had never before experienced this gut wrenching ache of worry that didn't stop nagging her. This was coupled with her hormonal pregnant body. She felt so unbelievably happy with her baby and pregnant hormones one moment, and the next she was wracked with this terrible mysterious worry. She was going insane, she was sure of it. To make matters worse, L was too perceptive. She did not want to worry her husband any longer so she hoped that he'd find a case, and that she'd find some way to relieve her irrational anxiety.

Acelia knew that talking to a therapist was a nice idea but it could never happen, what with being incognito and all. So she was looking for holistic solutions. She was still searching but with L and Near being home, she didn't have that much free time. So she usually came home without any luck.

The evenings were the best part of their day. They'd have dinner, make sure Near was in his room and then do what lovers did best. Making love was a time when Acelia wasn't worried. It was a time with just the two of them, showing each other the care and affection they held for each other. It was soothing and comforting, warm and all consuming.

"Where are you going?" L asked his wife. They were relaxing after their nightly activity. Acelia had gotten up and put on shorts and a t-shirt.

"I need some water, do you want anything?"

"Yes"

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue. He looked at her with a smug expression. The fire in his eyes gave him away.

"No" she said firmly.

"Ah my wife, be good to your husband. It has been so long." He beseeched her with his big striking eyes.

"It hasn't even been an hour yet!" Acelia replied with slight shock.

"That is too long," L said resolutely.

"My dear husband let me remind you that you go without for weeks, sometimes months at a time." She smiled haughtily, pleased with her answer.

"No, that is when I am deeply involved. I have no room for anything other than cracking my case. Unraveling the mysteries that others deem unsolvable, being certain that nothing can escape a logical strategy set to explain those mysteries. Above all else, it's about winning. I always win." L showed a deeper facet of himself at that moment. Acelia shuddered, when L got like this she felt both nervous and excited. She also desired him.

She forgot all about her water.

The following morning started out like any other, except that Near was going back to Whammy House. Watari felt that Near and Mello had spent enough time apart from each other. Near and Acelia had also finished their "secretive" agenda with the intelligence agency in Germany, the BND. L was glad. He didn't mind Near but he liked having his home to himself and his wife. It also meant that Acelia couldn't go running off with Near to avoid her husband. While Acelia had done a great job of acting like everything was fine, L saw her unguarded moments. Those revealed that not all was well with his wife. L wanted to write this off as just a symptom of pregnancy but he couldn't. He just had to hope that she would pull through and everything would right itself with time.

Near left and L went to do his usual search in his computer room. He really didn't expect to find anything. His search program ran through international intelligence agencies and collected data around the world. As he was searching L stopped. His already large eyes widened even further. There were an unusually large number of criminals dying. It was too many to be considered a coincidence. L didn't really believe in coincidences anyway. His mind formed a correlation and as he looked further into it he saw that the killings seemed to be based from Japan. This was it, his muse, his case. L was lost. The detective was back in action. There was nothing else that could be done. All that he was would be dedicated to solving this mystery.

In that moment Acelia was in the kitchen washing the dishes that were left after breakfast. A shiver went up her spine. Dread clenched her heart and for a moment she feared that it would give out. She tried to get herself to calm down. After a few minutes she finally got her heart to stop racing. Her hands were on her tummy hoping that this latest panic attack didn't affect the baby in any way. Once the dishes were done she went to check on L. She wanted to see if he wanted to join her on her walk. Acelia thought that perhaps it was time to be completely honest with L. Maybe she should let him know how anxious she had been lately. As she headed towards his computer room she heard rushed typing. She opened the door and saw L hunched over various screens.

As soon as she saw him she knew. She knew that L was not her husband at the moment. He was L the detective. She understood this was a vital part of him. This was something that came along with loving him, accepting him. Acelia knew he would be leaving soon. Oddly enough her anxiety didn't bother at all. A strange peace fell over her.

"L, I'll go notify Watari now." Acelia turned to walk away but stopped when L called to her.

"Acelia" he was looking at her. She couldn't decipher his expression. He walked towards her and held her close. She was a bit startled. Once he was involved with a case he didn't usually display affection. He grabbed her face and gave her a fierce kiss. Then he let her go and gave her a nod. She smiled at him and went to call Watari.

An hour later L was picked up by Watari and she knew that was the last she would see of L until he finished this case.

Well now it will enter the canon timeline. And no Acelia will not go interfering in Japan. KIRA KIRA KIRA (3)