Hey y'all! I'm here with an alternative ending as suggested by FanFixion01 om AO3.

I have an story planned, so this piece won't be linked to future chapters, but hey, this idea was too good to be ignored, right?

I hope the characters aren't too OOC. I tried to be as honest as I could with them and with my personal interpretation and headcanons of them. I hope to mold their characterization better as the main story progresses.

Aa always, this story is unbeta'ed and English isn't my first language.

Comments and kudos are the lifeblood of any writer n.n

Find me on tumblr as miitzwrites and send me prompts if you wanna!

Enjoy!

Watari entered into L's office, bringing a package with him. A few days before, he got a call from Soichiro Yagami, urging him to give him an address to contact L. Apparently, a missing information regarding the Kira's case had been discovered, and it was extremely important that L had it.

"Poor man," Watari said to himself, knowing full well that the killer lived under Soichiro's roof. Since L had instructed him to avoid any contact with the Chief Yagami for the time being, Watari opened the package himself, and found a video tape, along with a note that read:

"L: I can't blame you for what happened, after all, you didn't write his name on the notebook. Chief Yagami "

Intrigued by the short note, Watari pulled out the video tape, and played it.

Ooooo

Watari kept his eyes glued to the monitor when the video finished. For L's sake, he was about to put the contents of the package away. "What's that?" L said, taking a bite of the chocolate cake that Watari had baked for him a couple of hours ago. "Oh, it's nothing important to your current case," Watari wasn't good at lying, and his face gave away that something wasn't quite right.

L approached the monitor, frowning when he identified the handwriting of Chief Yagami in the package. "I told you, unless it is for a new case, I'm not interested on keeping on contact with them."

"It's more than that, L. It's probably necessary for you to watch this tape " Watari regretfully said, and stood up to leave the office.

L nodded, and took a seat in his unusual way. He read the note that the Chief Yagami had sent. Something was off, he could tell, and putting his thumb in between his lips, he pressed the play button. The images started rolling, and was greeted by an old, and yet familiar face. Light Yagami stared directly at him -at the camera-, and L wanted to turn the damn video off, and forget that it existed, but deep inside, he missed that face, so he let the video continue playing.

"Hello L. By the time you watch this video, I'll be dead."

'What kind of joke is this?' L wondered to himself, sure that Light had lost what was left of his sanity. Was that a secondary effect of the Death Note?

"I've left a series of instructions, leaving two more video tapes. One for Sayu and mom, one for my father, and finally, one for you, L." The voice of Light flowed through the office, and momentarily, L closed his eyes, letting himself feel once more, the goosebumps that such a sweet voice caused. "I cannot tell you something that you don't know already. You, the top three detectives in the world, deduced my identity when everyone else thought you were insane. And for once, I'll give you this satisfaction, L. Yes, I am Kira."

L leaned closer the monitor, trying to figure out what kind of game was Light playing. "No, L, I'm not playing with you, if that's what you're thinking. This time, I'm trying to be as honest as possible."

The Light in the monitor leaned back against the pillows of a bed that L recognized immediately. He had recorded the video in the same bedroom that they shared for many nights. L blinked, then he noticed the black notebook that Light was holding. Silently, Light opened the notebook. And showed what he had written in one of the pages: 'Light Yagami. Dies of a heart attack after recording three different tapes, confessing.'

"As you can read, L, I'm not specifying what I am confessing. So I will tell you. The first video tape, I confessed my mom and sister that their perfect son and brother wasn't as perfect after all. I confessed to them that I'm in love with a man, and then, asked them for forgiveness. The second video tape is for my dad. I confessed how I became Kira, how I used the Death Note, and what you represented in my life. I hope he can understand why I did this. After all, I just wanted to follow his example, and bring justice to those who had to suffer in this rotten world."

Without breaking the eye contact with the video, L dialed the Chief Yagami's number, but a record machine answered his call. He didn't leave a message, and focused his attention on the next part of the video.

"And while I don't doubt that dad will watch this video, this words are only for you, L. I confess firstly that I've wanted to kill you since you first challenged me, using Lind L. Tailor as a decoy. Then, when you came to me as Hideki Ryuga, I wanted to kill you, because you were an arrogant fool who could face me without suffering. And when I momentarily lost my memories, I wanted to strangle you in your sleep with that damn chain, because you kept insisting that I was Kira. And you know what's the worst part? That I was certain that, if I turned out to be him, you would never want to be with me."

During their time together, either by choice or by obligation, L learned the different masks that Light wore around others, two being the most prominent. When he was around people, his eyes would narrow a little bit, his jaw would be tense, but only a real observant would notice it, and his lips would be permanently drew into something like a smile. His expressions were too studied, exactly what people expected from him. But in private, he would show more of himself, his eyes would reflect exactly what he felt, and his lips would express things that weren't always all that sweet.

This Light, however, was new for L.

His eyes were glassy and red, and dark circles rested beneath them. His face wasn't the careful mask that he had tailored over the years, on the contrary, the raw emotions were there.

"… and you're gone L, but you gave me your name. And even now, in this very instant, I still want to kill you," the Light in the video showed his notebook again, and L saw his name written over different pages, but Light only managed to write the first letters of his last name. "But I can do it, L! I can't write your fucking name down because I love you. So I decided to write down mine instead."

L brought up his knees to his chest, biting absently his thumb as the images progressed. He felt a burning sensation behind his eyes, so he took a shuddering breath and continued watching.

"But you gave up on me, L, didn't you? Since you know the truth, I'm sure you must despise me, and I don't blame you, I'd despise myself as well.

L, you're a worthy adversary, but this game has to stop, eventually, and it is a shame. I know you would never join me, but I've dreamt about us, together, you would be my king, and me the god of this new world. You're the only person who deserves my admiration, L, and the only man who will always hold my heart."

He was talking like a madman, but his words struck something in L that he thought he had forgotten.

"… and I hate boredom, L. What am I supposed to do now that my only equal has quitted this game? So, this is my farewell, L." The Light in the video rested his head on the headboard, and his eyes fluttered closed. His chest heaved, and he managed to say in a raspy voice "I trust I will see you again." A smile crept into his face, and then a grimace of pain appeared. Light held tightly on a white cloth that L identified as one of the shirts that he left in that bedroom. Another ragged breath, and then he stopped.

Light died in front of his eyes and there was nothing L could do.

His blood ran cold, and in the confines of his office, L allowed himself to feel. A tear fell down, and then another, and he couldn't stop them. His whole body was shaking as sob after sob wrecked through his body. The only person who he could ever feel something remotely similar to love, was gone, and there was nothing the world's greatest detective could do.

He felt alone.

Watari entered some minutes later, carrying a blanket and a hot mug of chocolate. He placed the mug on the desk, and with the blanket, he wrapped L's shaking shoulders, hoping to offer enough comfort.

"I'm sorry, Wammy." L apologized, using Watari's real name. The old man remembered then the young child who would cry at night when he first brought him to the Wammy's House, and then the young man, who had seen too much evil to deal with it alone. "You don't need to apologize, L, you're a human being after all."

But L shook his head, his messy hair bouncing in time with his negation. "I'm sorry because I responded to his feelings, Wammy. When I started this job, I promised I'd be justice itself. And yet, I fell for the most prolific serial killer. I allowed him to be free. I failed what L represents. I failed you."

Just like Light had done, L used two masks, too. The first one, being the detective one. The mask that only a few people know. And then, there was his second mask. And it wasn't a real mask, it was the face of a man, and only Watari had seen him unmasked.

Well, Watari and Light, but just small glimpses of the man underneath.

"You didn't fail me, L," the man answered, silencing L with a hand rubbing soothing circles on his back. "You didn't fall for the killer, L, I saw it. You got closer to this young man when he was chained to you. And during that time, you could see the real Light Yagami. His intellect matched yours. Sadly, it was bound to happen."

L sniffed, and wasn't all convinced with Watari's words. "But it is my fault, isn't it?" He argued, and Watari only sighed, shaking again his head. "It's Kira's fault. Not yours."

Another tear rolled down L's pale cheeks, and weakly, he nodded. "Cherish the time you spent with Light Yagami. Grief his memory, but keep going on. You know that's what he would have liked."

"I'm going to take a nap." L announced, as he stood up, still in his usual crouched position. "Please, call Chief Yagami, give him my condolences, and inform me what is his decision regarding the case." L paused, then he added "and send my condolences to his family as well. A bouquet of white roses should be appropriate. Sign it as Ryuzaki."

Watari nodded, and L finally said, " And Watari…thank you."

L's mentor did as he was told, and L retired to his bedroom. He pulled out a red tie that belonged to Light, and that he had borrowed before leaving Japan, and hugged it to his chest as he moved to the bed.

Sleep didn't come easy for him, and his dreams where plagued with red and black, and the laugh of a winged Shinigami who was mocking him.