remailcsiD: I t'nod nwo htaeD etoN.

Chapter 14 Suprises

It had been a week since we had begun observing the two households under suspicion. As a result, everyone (excluding L and Watari) was exhausted. And it showed too. In fact I was slightly grossed out by everyone's current state of personal hygiene and if I was more awake I would probably objected to sitting next to any of them. Can you blame me for not wanting to sit next to men with five o'clock shadow and morning breath who haven't changed or showered in at least three days? L of course acted oblivious to the tired atmosphere and went on with the morning's meeting like usual. That is to say, fiddling with some sort of sugar coma inducing food/drink, dodging every and any questions, and being purposely vague on how long the surveillance was going to continue. L decided at this moment to speak.

"In the past few days I've listened to all of our audio recordings and reviewed the video footage we captured. I've gone over them many times." L as usual was perched in a chair at the head of a coffee table littered with sweets and files. In his hand was a partially wrapped chocolate, most likely with some sort of filling. "And I've come to a conclusion." He paused unintentionally causing suspense. "Our surveillance of the Kitamura and Yagami households has revealed," everyone leaned forward in anticipation, "nothing." The investigators sagged in defeat. L pulled the wrapper completely off the chocolate. "We will remove the cameras and wiretaps."

"All that and we still don't have any suspects…" Matsuda muttered dejectedly.

"It's okay Matsuda," Dad replied, pushing his glasses higher up on his face. "We'll have to pursue other leads but we'll get them."

"Please don't get the wrong idea," L interjected while licking his finger. I raised an eyebrow at this and stared pointedly at his finger. He ignored me and continued on. "I only said we were unable to reveal anything suspicious based on our observations."

"What," Dad asked in obvious horror.

"Even if Kira was among them, I'm sure he wouldn't make it obvious." Damn it, L. Stop getting Dad's hopes up. Just tell him straight off the bat that Light is our main suspect. "No in fact, it could mean he was able to continue killing criminals without doing anything outwardly suspicious."

"Or she," I added throwing in some avocation for women. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be offering up the opinion that Kira could be a girl. It was a bit of an insult to all the other females on Earth.

"Well then you believe Kira is among one of those families?" Dad pried, hoping for a real answer. L pensively stirred his tea.

"As I've said, there's a five percent chance." Which in L-speak equaled about ninety-five percent. L stared into his tea obviously thinking hard about our next strategy. When he looked up, I tilted my head questioningly. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly. I nodded in understanding. Later then.

I found myself in the worst position in the entire world at the moment. Heading off to take a crucial exam that would determine which life-altering college I would get into with my deranged serial killer of a brother who had a god complex. This was only made worse by my family who whole-heartedly wished us luck, completely oblivious to the severity of the situation.

"Light, Rei! Hurry up! You don't want to be late! Do your best!" Mom called as we walked out of the house.

"I know you don't need it, but good luck," Sayu cheered, still in her pajamas. Ah the carefree attitude of middle school. How I missed it. Okay, so it wasn't middle school I missed, but can you blame me for wanting to laze around in my pajamas for once?

"I really don't see why you two are making such a big deal out of this," Light commented. Like you weren't loving every minute of it.

"Yeah," I agreed. "This is going to be so simple."

The ride on the train was some mixed form of awkward. Like the kind where you have to explain that you killed your friend's goldfish or tell a little kid how babies are made. And not the elusive stork bit. I mean the science that some genius thought to teach as a class.

Basically, because it had been less then a week between Light and I's spat, we were unsure how to react to each other. We had progressed to the polite, but distant faze. However, now L was insisting that I apologize to Light, if only to lessen his suspicions towards my behavior and possible involvement of the Kira case. In other words, L wanted me on Light's good side so he wouldn't kill me the moment he found out I sided with L. And because not dying was ranked pretty high on my priority list, I had agreed.

Once we stepped off the train and were in relative privacy, I couldn't put it off any longer.

"Light?" I asked in a small voice, faking regret.

"Hm?" he asked glancing at me in passing. I stopped walking, and grabbed his arm effectively bringing him to a halt.

"I'm sorry," I muttered looking down, trying to fake some tears. If I looked up at the right moment he should buy it.

"For what?" he questioned. The jerk was going to make me say it. I looked up my eyes shining with my crocodile tears. He jerked back in bewilderment.

"For our fight." My voice cracked slightly. Oooh nice effect. I should get an Oscar. "It was really unfair for me to lash out at you like that. I was just defensive and mad and…." I trailed off hiccupping in the process. Was I overdoing it? Apparently not, Light was eating it up.

"Rei, I'm sorry too," he "admitted." Hah more like lied between his teeth. "I was just upset that you hadn't trusted me." He ran his fingers through his hair in false distress. Wow, he really was a drama queen. "Can you forgive me?" I nodded and he pulled me in for a hug, unaware I could see him smirking over my shoulder. We were worse than a soap opera. I brushed away my fake tears and gave him a small smile as I pulled away.

"Let's go then," I said, making my voice still shake a bit. Light smugly let the way. Cocky bastard. Did he really think I was that easy to win over? We continued to the exam center and were greeted by some random man at the gate.

"You there! The exam will be starting in ten minutes! So you better hurry up!" Light sighed in minor annoyance.

"It's fine. I planned to get there three minutes before the test. I hate waiting. I'm here too early," Light answered coolly.

"Someone's confident," I commented. Light's head whipped from where he was apparently staring at thin air to me, barely concealing the alarm on his face.

"Whaaaat," I said slowly. Light shook his head, sparing me one more side glance. Huh. Weird.

I took my place in the exam hall next to Light, who was absently spinning his pencil. I couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching me. The bell rung loudly and the test proctor ordered us to begin. I picked up my pencil and flipped open the test packet my eyes sliding down each question. All multiple choice except for an essay question. Easy.

The test proctor walked past us, obviously heading towards some unfortunate kid who wasn't obeying protocol.

"You there!" he belted out. Ahh such a melodious voice. Like kittens being skinned with broken glass by a drunken Irish man singing love ballads. "Student number one sixty-two! Sit properly in your chair!" I froze. No. Freaking. Way.

I glanced over my shoulder, already knowing who it would be. Sure enough, L was sitting a few rows behind us. His pencil dangled from his delicate grip as he peered owlishly in our direction. Well that explains who was watching me. I forced myself to turn around and focus on the test, making sure there were no signs of recognition on my face. It wouldn't do if Light discovered I knew L.

When I finished the test, nearly a half hour early I might add, I found myself bouncing in my seat, willing the clock to move faster. I needed to speak to L. Obviously, this was somehow part of the conclusion he had reached. But putting himself in a position where he could possibly interact with Light was a dangerous one. This meant I somehow needed to establish a story. Something that would allow L and I already to know each other when school started.

When the test finally ended. I leapt up from my seat, almost certain I could hear L's quiet chuckle a few rows down. Light gave me a strange look while I nervously hopped from foot to foot while he stood up. Once we were outside I put my plan into action.

"Why don't you go home without me, Light," I suggested keeping one eye on the exit. I wasn't going to let L slip back into headquarters.

"Sure," Light answered giving me yet another strange look. Yeesh, I was his sister he was supposed to look on my bizarre behavior with love in his eyes or something, right? I milled around the building pretending to be waiting for a ride or something, I really could care less what people thought I was doing, when I spotted the slouching detective trying to escape under my radar.

In order to catch his attention, I found myself yelling the first name that came to mind.

"Oi, Ryuuga!" I shouted. To my surprise he turned to face me, most likely having recognized my voice. I sped over to him avoiding more stares from what I supposed would eventually be my fellow classmates. As a result, I was slightly out of breath when I arrived and was doubled over with my hands on my knees panting. Eerily enough, my position looked like some odd imitation of L's.

"Yes, Rei?" he inquired, amusement in his tone.

"Where do you think you're going," I gasped heavily. Though a more accurate portrayal would be, "Where-gasp-do you-gasp-think-gasp- you're going?"

"I was returning to headquarters," he answered amicably, his hand shoved deep into his pockets. I shook my head.

"No you're not," I disagreed, tugging his thin frame to one of the many benches surrounding the building.

"And why," he said quite good naturedly for a guy being dragged by a girl about seven years younger than him if I was judging his age correctly, "am I not?"

"Because we need to establish an alibi," I argued firmly, finally sitting on a bench. He stood awkwardly. "Well come on." I patted the seat beside me. He sighed before resuming his typical crouch.

"An alibi," he finally muttered like this was a foreign concept. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes an alibi. I seriously doubt you need me to define it for you." He brought his thumb up to his lip, eying a little girl waking with her parents who was looking at us curiously. She flushed when he caught her staring.

"No, I do not require a definition," he replied. "Though I am curious to how the word relates to our particular situation. What crime are you concerned about being suspected for?" I resisted the urge to flick him.

"I meant for when you meet Light. It's much easier if you already know me when you introduce yourself to him. Besides, it makes you look impressive if you already managed to infiltrate this far into his life already," I explained. He nodded.

"I see…but why could this not be discussed back at headquarters?" I raise an eyebrow waiting for him to come to the conclusion on his own. "I see. If our possible classmates have already seen us together it creates less suspicion later on. This also avoids having this conversation in front of the other investigators," he concluded.

"Very good. If I had a gold star, I'd pin it on your shirt." He chuckled, clearly choosing not to hear my sarcastic tone. I sighed heavily. "Don't tell me I'm being amusing again." He gave me a goofy grin and nodded again.

"I find you very amusing when agitated. I'm assuming your apology to Light is the source of your mood?" I didn't say anything. "I'm taking your silence as a yes."

"Whatever. Should we head back?"

"That would be prudent," he answered. We both stood and made our way to where Watari was surely waiting.

"Tomorrow is Rei's birthday?" L asked with slight surprise. I gave him a strange look. It wasn't like him to not know something like that. I was almost positive that he had every member of the team's blood type and horoscope sign memorized, so why was my birthday a shock?

"Yeah," I answered. "February twenty-eighth. Why?"

We were back in headquarters. It had been nearly two months since the exam incident. Because school didn't start for a while, there was little we could do on the Kira case other than look over death patterns and statistics to try and force a connection that didn't exist to appear. As a result, L had been much more lenient with the team. He allowed more breaks and everyone went home at least four times a week. This conversation had spawned when Matsuda, unable to wait any longer, gave me my birthday present.

"I was aware of the date of your birth. I was not aware that it had approached so quickly." Matsuda looked on in confusion. He was still hopeless at translating L's weird speech patterns. I rolled my eyes.

"Basically Matsu, L lost track of time," I offered helpfully. His mouth parted in understanding.

"Was I not clear enough?" L asked.

"You were clear to a college English professor maybe, but not to any normal humans."

"English professors are not human?" L asked with a trace of amusement. He seemed to enjoy our pointless banter immensely and took every eye roll or raise of my eyebrows as a compliment.

"Not even remotely," I grinned back. I turned back to Matsuda. "Do you want me to open this now or later?" Matsuda waved dismissively at me.

"Open it whenever. Just don't peek," he instructed.

"Sure, sure." I glanced back at L who seemed deep in thought about something. "Ryuzaki. Ryuzaaaaaaki….Ryuzaki!" L snapped back into focus, but ignored me.

"Watari," he called.

"Yes, Ryuzaki?" the elderly man answered.

"From Kira's current actions of late do you believe any new information will be gathered at this point in time?" L demanded.

"No, Ryuzaki."

"So a 'day off' so to speak, would not be detrimental to the case?"

"No, Ryuzaki."

"Thank you, Watari," he said smoothly. "I would like for you to gather up the remaining investigators." I looked at him questioningly, he finally acknowledged me with a small smile.

"What are yo- " I began to ask but he cut across me again when the rest of the team filed in.

"Thank you for coming. I have a proposition for you. Tomorrow I would like to take a day off from the case and," he sent me brief look, "celebrate Rei's birthday." Everyone stared at him, mouths agape.

"Ryuzaki," Aizawa said, slowly building up the anger he always seemed to have on hand. "Don't you think it's frivolous to be spending time on something as stupid as a party when we haven't even finished our job yet?

"You need a break," L stated firmly. "All of you. I am quite experienced at determining when someone is on the verge of overworking themselves and all of you are hovering on the brink. I was already planning this short halt from investigating; Rei's birthday just provided an excuse. Besides, Kira has no change in behavior from a month ago and perhaps a short break may open connections we were unable to see before."

"I think it'll be fun!" Matsuda exclaimed, but quickly withered under Aizawa's glare. L gave him a nod of recognition which made Matsuda practically beam.

"Thank you Matsuda."

"And what pray tell," Aizawa drawled, "are we going to do if suddenly Kira changes patterns tomorrow?"

"We will immediately return to work. That is the reason the party shall be held here." He turned to the others. "I all suggest you begin preparations. Gifts are not necessary, but I believe parties require some source of food and decoration." He said this in such a commanding way that everyone hastened to obey. Soon the room was empty excluding L, Watari, and myself. I stared up at L's most trusted contact.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"I believe Ryuzaki just decided to throw you a birthday party," Watari answered, smiling behind his moustache. I nodded numbly and sat back watching L work on his laptop, his fingers flying across the keys before he suddenly stood up. He made as if to leave, but stopped at the last moment turning to face Watari.

"I can trust you with the cake?" L asked seriously.

"Of course," Watari chuckled. L met his gaze for a long moment, finally nodding giving one last glance in my direction.

~L's POV~

Of course when I had requested Watari would take care of the cake I had been referring to Rei. Taking care of had meant distract. And by judging her comatose state, she hadn't realized my true intentions. That was all the better. I needed to have a long conversation with Matsuda and Rei's presence would certainly ruin a surprise.

Just what kind of surprise I was at a lost. But that was exactly why I needed to consult Matsuda. Having never been to any birthday parties before, least of all my own, I had no idea what to give as a gift. Especially to a young girl I may or may not wish to be romantically involved with. Emotions were so complicated. Pleasant, but complicated.

I caught the rookie of the team just as he was about to leave. He was blithering on about some sort of balloons that were needed. Ignoring his protests, I gripped his arm and pulled him to a vacant room in the spacious hotel suite. When I turned to face him, the man looked terrified. And after reviewing my actions towards him the past few days, he had a right to be. I had been outwardly hostile to the man every time he was within touching distance of Rei. Deciding that the best way to disable his fear was to explain my dilemma directly, I began.

"Matsuda, I would like your help."

"AHHH! Please don't fire me Ryuzaki!" He begged, cringing away from me. I only stared. "Please this is so important to me! I want to catch Kira! I know I'm an idiot and mess up but please! I'll do better!" he paused when what I said actually registered with him. "Uh….."

"Matsuda, I am not going to fire you. Though I am relieved you are going to improve your future performance," I said in an attempt alleviate the awkwardness of the situation.

"Heh heh. Right," he replied, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "So….you want my help." I nodded in affirmation.

"It is concerning Rei's gift."

"Oh! You wanna know what she likes?" he guessed.

"While that would be helpful, that is not exactly my dilemma." He waited for me to go on. "At the moment I am currently unaware of my feeling towards Rei and I was curious what exactly…" I stopped trying to phrase the question. "I wish to know what gifts are acceptable for someone you wish to be romantically involved with." Matsuda gaped at me. It was a much better reaction than I had expected, that is, until he did something that caught me off guard for one of the few times in my life.

"I. Was. Right!" Matsuda gasped. I blinked, sure I had misheard.

"Excuse m-"

"I was right! I was right! I was right!" Matsuda chanted happily.

"And what were you right about?" I interrupted slightly off put in the rapid change. He pointed at me dramatically.

"That you liked Rei!" I am sad to say that at that moment the most profound thought going through my head was,

I was that obvious?

"I see," I said pretending to be completely at ease with this information. "Now when you are done," I tried to think of a word to describe his strange maneuvers around the room, "celebrating." I finished flatly. "Would you be so kind to answer the question?"

"Of course!" Matsuda answered at once. He sat down in a chair, clearly in his element. "Most guys take the easy route. You know CDs, candy, stuffed animals. But if you wanna give her a bit of a hint, tickets to something for the both of you or flowers are good way to go."

I considered this. Did I want Rei to be aware of my possible feelings? If I went for the more heart felt gifts and learned that I felt something completely different than romance I could always feign ignorance. As she liked to say, "I had no social skills." So something from the second category.

Tickets were out of the question. I would be far too uncomfortable revealing myself in public at any large scale event. I only did so when working undercover on cases, and the times I was required to do that had dwindled significantly after I became known as L. Flowers perhaps? But a bouquet didn't mean anything. A single bloom was so much more significant….

Inspiration struck at that moment. Quietly, I explained exactly what I wanted Matsuda to purchase for me. He responding grin wiped away ant doubts I had towards the idea. After he swore that everything would be done according to my instructions, he swept away, still in high spirits from his victory. I was left alone then, smiling softly in anticipation for tomorrow.

~Rei's POV~

I was sitting on a stool in the small kitchen provided in the room for us, my head resting on the counter top. Because everyone had left me on my own, I was currently watching Watari make my cake and was occasionally a taste tester. The elderly man hummed happily, clearly pleased with something. I yawned tiredly as a question came to mind.

"Watari?" I asked softly.

"Yes Rei?" he answered, beating eggs into the batter.

"What do you think Ryuzaki is doing?" he stayed quiet for a moment, contemplating his answer I suppose.

"I believe he is asking Matsuda for advice," he replied just as quietly.

"About what?" I asked my eyes drooping slightly.

"I believe he has his eye on a young lady." I mumbled in response and buried my head in my arm. "Pardon?"

"Does she deserve him?" All was silent for the next few minutes. The only noises came from the additional ingredients Watari added to the mix. When I had almost fallen asleep, he answered.

"Yes. I believe she does." I smiled sleepily, relieved. Then I nodded off to sleep.

The party the next day, surprisingly enough, was quite well done. There were decorations, food, and even music. I decided not to ask how L attained a list of my favorite songs. Despite L's previous declarations presents weren't required, I received something from everyone.

Aizawa, whether it was meant to be ironic or not, gave me a package of red hot candy. The package clearly displayed a man steaming in rage, his expression not different from Aizawa's. Mogi, also ironically, had given me a gift card in a large obnoxious card that sang loudly in a drunken tone whenever you opened it. Ukita had given me a lighter and was met with a disapproving gaze from both L and my father and it was hard to say whose stare was more intimidating. Dad had given me a new advanced program for my laptop that I had my eye on forever, but had no desire to spend my college tuition on. Matsuda had given me a collection of American movie classics, like James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Gone With the Wind. Watari's gift was an apple pie he had somehow managed to make along with the cake while I had been sleeping. I was surprised when Ryuzaki didn't give me anything. But when I looked his way, he merely mouthed "later."

Later came along when Watari convinced the rest of the team to have a drink at the bar in the hotel lobby. I was not invited due to my age and L, according to Watari, not only had a low tolerance for alcohol, but hated the taste.

"Is it later?" I asked eagerly.

"I suppose it is," he answered with a chuckle. He left and shortly came back with a long thin box. I took in from him and lightly shook it and was greeted by the light crinkle of paper. Slowly I pulled the lid from the box to reveal a single red rose.

I gasped softly in appreciation. This was the type of rose you read about in storybooks. The kind that could keep a man transformed into a beast or be the last token between two lovers. I removed the rose from its home, pressing it to my face and inhaled deeply.

"It's beautiful," I murmured.

"I suppose it is," L answered with his goofy smile. Suddenly, I felt something tight constrict in my chest and I leaned forward slightly. The door was loudly pushed open by the tipsy members of the team. I realized with a start, how close I was to L. Immediately I scooted back. Luckily everyone else was too involved in their conversation to notice the momentary closeness.

Only when L was across the room, engaged in a talk with Matsuda, did I see what almost happened.

Did I…did I almost kiss him?

~L's POV~

The party was long over and according to everyone, a success. The investigators were all slumbering throughout the suite in what looked like various uncomfortable states of sleep. I picked my way through the decorations and paper that littered floor to Rei's unconscious form.

She was splayed across the couch, with one arm dangling towards the floor. Her hair was fanned around her face and a few strands fluttered every time she took breath. Clutched tightly in her other hand and pressed against where her heart would be, was the rose.

I smiled fondly and brushed her hair back. Slowly, making sure she was asleep I pressed my lips lightly against her cheek, pulling back before she would stir. I whispered softly in her ear,

"Happy Birthday."

~Author's Note~

This is the fluffiest thing I have ever written. I almost gagged. Just kidding. I figured we should throw a bit of romance in there. Yes L is OCC. Almost all fanfics have L doing inane things like going to the beach or a rock concert or something. I have almost no events planned like that in this story. I'm saving them all up for another one. And this is the most believable OCC thing L would do I think. Why?

The investigators needed a break anyway

It provides an opportunity for him to further to determine his feeling towards Rei

And cake. Yep, L would think birthday cake as a pretty good justification.

So yeah fluffy romantic chapter. And then Rei almost kissed him! Huzzah! Finally they're starting to catch on. I realize the relationship is progressing much faster than it should, but I wanted to give them ample time together before…you know. That thing that makes us all sob uncontrollably and clutch an L plushie to make the hurting in our heart go away. If you don't get it, get out now.

Thank you everyone for reviewing!

Mega –Chan: haha yeah…well I told you this would be fluffy. Aren't you vomiting profusely? And now you can leave me comments by signing in! YAY!

Ailia Sparrowhawk: Thank you, I aim to please. I'll try to fit in Matsuda Rei fun whenever I can, but I don't think l would like it. And I apologize about L being out of character in this one. I just wanted to do a romantic fluffy chapter. Besides I could never hate you! Unless I don't know you were Kira…then I'd hate you with my entire being ^_^.

Ookami: Insomniacs unite in online chatrooms at two in the morning! Haha thanks for sympathizing and reviewing.