A/N: the final chapter!! I finally got some idea after my freshie orientation at the university…having an L cosplayer (yes, he wore cosplay during the whole program) as a tour guide/ "senpai" was the coolest experience I ever had in my entire life and I cannot resist…it looks really cool seeing "L" carry several "bentos" and laughing so hard and saying, "This is your college" soooo kawaii! Lol…I'm definitely converted into joining his club…lol…enough drabbles already…let's get on with the final chapter!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. I wish I do.

--Chapter 14--

--Departure--

February 26. It is the day of Lira and L's departure from the orphanage. This is where they had spent a good part of their lives. Where they have grown and learned how to be independent among themselves. Where they have learned how to make friends and learned to think for themselves. This is the place where they truly had a family that would always be there for them, where they had all of the first experiences in life and love. It pained them to leave its welcoming presence and realize that they never know when would be the next time that they would visit it again.

The sun shone through the glass windows revealing under its rays the slumbering figure of L and the already packed luggage on the floor. A voice rang across the room as Lira shouted as loud as she could to rouse her roommate who, for the first time in his life had overslept.

"Oy! Wake up, you sleepyhead! We're gonna leave today!" She shouted as she took in her look in front of the mirror. She turned to look at L who was still lying on the bed with one hand above his head and the other on his tummy, his mouth slightly open. Lira never wanted to be late for anything so she went to the bed and sat on its edge, staring at the sleeping boy lying in there.

He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Or maybe it was because it was the first time that he had taken a full eight-hour sleep. He looked as if nothing had troubled him ever even though the eye bags under his eyes are still visible. They are too big to get rid of with just one proper sleep and Lira doubted whether he would be getting anything like that again once they left. It was due to her insistence that L had taken that badly-needed amount of sleep. Lira wouldn't give up on him easily so he finally settled on his bed in defeat and fell asleep immediately, tiredness noticeable in his face. But now, it was different. He looked so comfortable and peaceful like a child sleeping in his mother's arms. Lira nudged the sleeping teenager a little to wake him up.

"Oy, wake up!" she said as loudly as she can without shouting but the boy did not stir. She pushed him harder and still, to no avail. She shook him harder and harder until he finally fell off the other side of the bed. Moments later, he emerged, messing his hair sleepily and mumbling.

"Why do you have to push me?" he asked in a sleepy voice.

"Because we are going to be late, strawberry-san," Lira said, standing up and crossing the room towards the mirror.

"I thought we had a deal about that name?" L asked as he scratched his head sleepily and stood up. There was no point in going back to sleep. And he simply couldn't go back anymore because he's not much of a sleeper in the first place.

"Well, I figured out that since we are going to part it'll bring you no harm to call you strawberry-san. And anyway, you live under several hideous pseudonyms that it confuses me sometimes what to call you. Also, L in my opinion is not a very proper name. So, I decided that from now on, I will call you strawberry-san," Lira explained as she pranced in front of the mirror, checking her outfit as much as she could.

"Stop that, will you?" L called from behind and Lira turned to look at him with concern.

"If it bothers you," she said and looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"You said that from now on you will be calling me strawberry-san, am I right?" L asked.

"Yes, I said that," Lira nodded.

"Then promise me one thing," L raised a finger for emphasis.

"Which is?"

"That you'll be the only one calling me by that name," L said in that monotonous voice of his.

"Sure, nobody knows anything about that name anyway, and you officially don't exist in my world based on material memorabilia," Lira replied turning to face the mirror again. She could be so vain in times like this.

"I said stop that," L repeated.

"Oh, wait! You really are a very unfair person! Until the very last minute you're still making it very unfair in my side!" Lira said pointing a finger accusingly at L who backed a few steps away. He's been too used to Lira's outbursts that he had learned when to back away.

"What did I do now?" L asked as he stared at the finger with caution wondering what horrors it could bring to him if he answered wrongly.

"You have to call me something too!" Lira replied, lowering a finger a bit.

"Huh?" L asked. He could be so ignorant sometimes.

"A pet name! I call you strawberry-san and you call me something too! Not Shadow though. I hate that name. Come on! Think! The world's greatest detective should never run out of ideas!" Lira urged L to think and L, following the command pondered for a moment before he spoke out.

"I got it! I know now what to call you," he stated, approaching Lira, their faces too close to each other.

"And what is that?" Lira asked knowing what would be next to come. The past years with L made his sudden assertiveness clearly readable to her. L leaned in and kissed her lightly in the lips which made Lira blush a little.

"Baby," L said simply and stuck out his tongue. Lira blushed even more after that.

The sun was shining brightly above the lush green trees as they passed through the doorways. A familiar wailing sound mixed with several sniffs told everyone that was watching the scene that the children – Matt, Mello and Near – were bawling their eyes out again. Even though they have told L that they would be tough but the moment of parting got the best of them and they could not hold back the tears that they had tried so hard to fight. They were being restrained by an irate Roger who could do nothing about the kids. L walked past them with Mr. Wammy who was dragging the boy's luggage and placed a hand on Mello's head.

"I told you not to cry, didn't I?" He said in a voice that only Mello can hear. The child sniffed and looked up at L who was staring intently at him.

"Dad," he murmured and with that, he sniffed one last time and wiped his tears determinedly and stared back at L.

"That's my boy," L said, ruffling Mello's hair and giving him a faint smile and walked past him as if nothing happened. L had been so good being the cold-hearted detective that he was.

Lira followed the two men afterwards; dragging her own luggage and running a little to keep up in pace with those two. She then stopped by the children crying and turned to Matt who quickly wiped his tears so as not to show his weak side to Lira.

"You're the oldest so I will leave everything to you. Be kind to them always," she said and the boy nodded.

"Here," Lira said and took from her shoulder bag a large pair of orange goggles. It was intended for adults, apparently.

"Wear that when you're older to show me you've done the job I entrusted to you," Lira said as she patted the kid in the head and smiled. Matt merely nodded and tried to wear the goggles but it slipped his head and hell like a necklace around his neck.

"And you," she turned to Mello. The kid stared back determinedly.

"I have no right to tell you what to do but as much as possible, please help Matt," Lira told him and Mello nodded to show that he understands.

"Near," she said and turned to the white-haired kid who sucked at his thumb for comfort.

"I'm sorry that your past birthdays were not as good as the others'. I can't think of anything to give you so I made this," the girl said and showed the boy a package wrapped in brown paper. The boy took it in his hands and tore away the wrapper to reveal a jigsaw puzzle with a black letter "L" on one side.

"L may mean Lira or L. I thought this would be good to remind you of us. I don't know if you would still remember us when you grow up so I figured this out," she said, patting the kid's head.

"I'll make him remember that, mom!" Matt said tugging at Lira's sleeve.

"Thank you for that but please remember that both me and L will become professional undercover agents once we leave the premises of this orphanage. After we have left, we officially do not exist," Lira told the kid who stared at her in wonderment. With that, she stood up and chased after L.

They walked side by side for a moment of peace and calm not daring to look at each other when they heard a shout cut through the air. It does not belong to a kid as they expect though. It belonged to a man in his teens. Both spun around to see a boy in baggy long-sleeved black shirt and similar baggy pants with his feet bare running towards them, his fist clenched and held high. It was B, the child that both of them took care when they first met.

"Lawliet!" the boy shouted and in blur of black and white, his fist collided with L's face, knocking the latter to the ground.

"You idiot! What did you do that for?" Lira shouted turning to face B who was looking down at L.

"I'm fine," L said and stood up.

"The continuation would be outside then," B said and stared directly into L's eyes and the latter stared back with the same determination. L nodded and B gave him a sinister smile.

"As you wish," He said.

"I'll beat you," B replied.

"Try your best then, Beyond Birthday. Thank you for the remembrance. I won't forget you that easily now, son," L said as he rubbed his cheek where a bruise is slowly forming. L gestured for Lira to follow him and the girl did so, taking one last look at B who waved goodbye to her and turned to walk back to the direction of the orphanage. They had exited the large gates of the orphanage and crossed the road.

"Watari, could you leave for a moment please?" L said and the old man walked further away and waited under a lamp post.

"What was that between you and B?" Lira asked after the old man was well out of earshot.

"It's something that only fathers and sons understand," L replied.

"Well, alright. Its goodbye for us, then," Lira said, smiling for the last time.

"Yeah, I think so," L said and Lira turned her back to L. The man however had to succumb to the impulses that his body sent him for the last time for it would be a very long time, maybe never at all that he would feel them again, he grabbed hold of Lira's arm and turned her around.

"I asked you to promise me one last thing then before we part," He said as he stared at those hazel eyes. He was very determined to remember every single inch of her for it may be the last time he may ever see her again.

"Anything then," Lira replied, clutching at L's shirt for support as L dragged her closer.

"Promise me that you'll always be my baby," the man said and they shared their last passionate kiss as Wammy House orphans for when they turn around and walk separate paths, they would finally go out into the real world as adult never knowing when they would ever meet again.

--END--

A/N: yay! It's finished! Woohoo! I wrote this in about two hours but still it was short since I spent most of that time thinking…I just arrived from the orientation program at university and I can't resist putting this chapter off anymore after seeing that L cosplayer I mentioned above…(getting out sometimes really does help, lol)

Important: anyone who wants a sequel, I'm going to write one. But I don't have a title yet so I encourage anyone to put forward any title they think would be suitable for the sequel. The best one would be the title of the sequel (I may modify the title a bit, though) and it could really help me since I'm crappy at giving titles to stories.