Firestripe49: I cannot confirm or deny that theory. c: I think we find out who it is...next chapter? Maybe.

B: It does rather suck. Though if you have a lot of ideas at once, that's just overwhelming... '^' You don't know which one to go with and you get inconsistent...ah. Or at least, that's what happens with me in that case.

TheBlackArtist: Don't you worry, Anna and Near will be reaching the final stage eventually. ^^

Guys! We got to 400 reviews for It Is Written! I love all of you! I...I just shouldn't do a double update because I don't want you guys to catch up too fast. So I send you love and cookies! :D Yay!

And, uh, happy Valentine's Day! Yeah!

...Well, if you like fluff and/or LSam, this is the chapter for you. As always, I'm nervous about fluff, so..here.

Enjoy?

Sam and L approached the jewelry shop together, despite the fact L was inwardly cringing at the fact they were in public. In a city. With lots of people. And one of them was looking at him….

But there was a task he had to do, his Bond and his parents in mind. Sam wanted to carry out the task with L, thus they would do so. They walked into the shop, a small bell tinkling as they entered. A man with thinning hair looked up from his desk to look at them; it seemed that the man had originally been inspecting some jewels. "Ah," he smiled, and stood. "How may I help you?" he asked the couple, walking over to them. His eyes were glinting.

L tilted his head slightly, his eyes still wide. Sam thought of how he looked like a puppy. "I was the man who called yesterday asking for two wedding rings," he said to the man.

"Ah, of course," the man smiled, and held out his hand to L. L took it awkwardly. "Mr. Ryuzaki, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct. And this is my fiancée, Samantha." He gestured oddly to Sam, who was beginning to go red due to the conversation.

"Nice to meet you," the man said, holding out his hand to her. She shook it. "I am Takahashi. I apologize if my nephew was unkind, there, on the phone. Of course we could have your rings ready by today." He smiled wryly. "It would just mean a little more work for him, and he doesn't like work." He paused. "Come, let me show you your rings, then."

Takahashi led them behind the display cases and to his desk. On two ring holders were their rings: one was a golden band with a beautiful blue diamond, and the other was a blue band with a lovely yellow diamond. Each was the reverse of the other. "This is what you asked for, yes?" the man asked, a smile wrinkling his cheeks.

"Yes…," Sam answered him.

"Would you like to try them on to ensure that they fit?" He raised his eyebrows. "Or are you saving it for the actual occasion?"

A smile touched upon L's lips. "We'll be saving it," he said. He paid Takahashi his dues, and the two left, the man wishing them well as they did so. L carefully placed the rings in the pocket of his jeans. His hand closed around the two rings as they walked, both hands in his pockets. The hotel they currently inhabited was nearby, so it didn't take long for them to reach it and enter into its lobby.

They would reach their room on the thirty-first floor, and L would place the rings gently on the dresser before turning to Sam and saying, "I think this calls for cake." There was a pause. Sam blinked; her face was still a light pink from her lasting blush. Without another word, L made his way to the kitchen area of the hotel room and began taking out some ingredients. Roger hadn't given them cake, so they would have to make their own cake. It was only the afternoon. They had lots of time….

Today would be one of L's rare days off that usually only came around once every few years. They would make their cake to the best of their ability…. Watari used to bake with L, after all, so they would surely do alright….

It was after L had taken everything out that Sam joined him in the kitchen. "You know how this ended last time," she said. Her eyebrows were raised.

"Yes," L responded, and nonchalantly flipped a spoonful of confectioner's sugar back at her. Only then did he turn to her and smile ever so slightly. "Like this."

Sam sputtered. "Well." She paused, pursing her lips before licking at some of the confectioner's sugar. L tilted his head, a smile still touching his own lips.

"This won't be so fun at the final stage, will it?" he asked.

Sam scoffed, then snatched the vanilla extract and opened its lid to splash some in L's direction. L raised what would have been his eyebrows… that is, if he had had them. L flipped some heavy cream back in retaliation, just as Sam grabbed the salt and flung that at him. He paused. "…That's horrible. Really, Samantha? Salt?"

"Yep!" she chirped. There was a pause. Then, at the same time, the both of them grabbed at the whipped cream. Sam was laughing as the both of them grappled with the thing. One of them – being Bonded, they don't quite remember who it had been – pressed on the nozzle, consequently squirting the amazing stuff upwards. Sam tried to nom it mid-air, but failed miserably. Something like a laugh escaped L's lips. At this, Sam forced the nozzle to be pointed at his face.

A stream of whipped cream thus squirted at L, and he laughed. He laughed. L – the great L – was laughing…. Turns out love can work wonders on even the most impassive of men. And as L laughed and as Sam listened to the sound ring in her ears, L heard it too and could hear the laugh of his father sounding within his own laughter. It made him rather happy.

They played around with cake ingredients for awhile until the point where both of them could declare themselves cakes. "Well, we certainly made a cake or two," L remarked, scooping up a bit of whipped cream with his finger and sticking it in his mouth.

Sam giggled in response. "But we didn't exactly make the cake we were looking for."

"I suspected this would happen anyhow…." He paused. A slight smile still graced his features. He looked down at himself a moment before grabbing a towel and placing it simply on his head. "There. I am clean," he stated, and stepped onto the rug to grab the phone to call room service. "I realize you have a variety of cakes, yes?" he asked bluntly. The woman on the other end of the line told him that was right. "May I make a request for room 3109?" The woman told him yes, they would do their best.

And L began to explain the cake that they would want, Sam feeding him the information through her increasingly excited thoughts and ideas. A double layered French vanilla cake, the bottom layer with blue frosting and the top layer with gold. If it was possible, lacy decorations of the reverse – you know, blue on the yellow and yellow on the blue. Oh, and gold roses at the bottom, if you can. And maybe a tube of silver icing. Yes, of course he'll pay extra if he has to. What's it for? Why, it'll be his wedding cake. Yes, yes, thank you very much. Thank you. Goodbye.

L began wiping his face of whipped cream and other cake-related paraphernalia while Sam headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She simply would not have a wedding while covered in cake ingredients. It would simply irk her too much. Besides, it would be a bit before the cake would get here, and the two of them already agreed that they wouldn't truly commence until the cake was here. Sure, they weren't having any sort of real ceremony, but they had their own little rules; a small amount of organization to this small wedding.

After wiping himself clean and changing his shirt, L sat in his chair while he waited… and when I write 'sat', I mean he actually sat, with one leg curled in front of him and the other with the knee pulled up. Immediately L realized that he would find it hard to actually relax after years of constant working. He leaned his head against the back of the chair to wait, sinking backwards…. Not entirely into Sam's consciousness, however, out of respect to the fact that she was, in fact, taking a shower.

True to her word, the shower was relatively short for her – half an hour – and fifteen minutes afterwards she came out, wandered over to his seat and looked at him for moment. He looked back. She sat awkwardly on the arm of the chair, pulling her lips into a thin line as she did so. He continued looking up at her. Shifted slightly, then put his arm across her back, his hand at her side. Sam fought the blush without avail. It was especially hard to fight the impending redness of the face when L pulled her closer to him, sliding her off of the arm of the chair and instead onto the cushion beside him, practically on his lap. She gave a little squeak, no more. …Except maybe for the extreme blush coloring her cheeks.

"Well, you're going to be my wife," he told her without much inflection, and tilted his head. "It only makes sense to be closer, Samantha."

"…Meh…," was Sam's intelligent response. There was a pause. Sam decided thinking was easier than speaking, and so decided to think rather than speak. You know, that sounds so weird when you say it like that.

Yes, who would have ever that that I would ever say that, huh? He gave a sort of flat laugh. I wasn't quite expecting it either; not anytime soon… or ever, actually.

Sam frowned ever so slightly. There was still a part of L that felt like he would lose her the moment he had her. Would fall back into darkness the moment he was really, truly happy again. It was something that simply had happened time and time again in his life; losing someone close to him, most often the only real person he let in, even if it wasn't entirely. It was almost an instinctive worry, even though he knew for a fact that Sam couldn't possibly die unless he went with her… unless, of course, she were poisoned.

And even with that, L would still be a little off-step here, with or without that worry. It seemed to have been a forever ago when L last showed affection or care toward another, so initially all he would hope for was that it would come naturally. But there were little things he felt the need to add, and the problem with that was he wasn't good with this. He was still awkward; it was hard to consciously act rather than just let it happen. Not only that, but… he wanted to live up to his father. Which was hard, considering he was working by memories, and only had stories told to show for his father's affection for his mother, considering L's mother died when he was three….

But he would try. He would try because… somehow, after all that had happened… he found himself in love. At least… surely this had to be the love his father told him so much about. Surely this was that beautiful yet fragile thing that his father would tell him to tread carefully on the path for it…. The thing he said could burn a hole through anyone who really felt it. A feeling you simply couldn't miss, his father told him. 'And you'll know when you find it,' he had smiled. But to L, it seemed a little more than that. After withdrawing; after losing the ability to trust and care for others…. Losing his mother… then Auntie, the woman who saved his life… his father, his only support left… and then even Watari…. He wanted to stop letting people in. But the Bond had forced him to accept again faster, and L was thus forced to realize that he cared about Sam, whether he wanted to or not. Even though it took him five years of knowing her to start figuring it out. Even though he was actually rather confused at first. Yet… he never would have thought it could feel so nice to… to live again, if it could be called that.

It was actually only a month ago that he realized he did, in fact, love her, and from there he had decided for this occasion to happen. (Because after all his father had told him that if ever he found a woman that he truly loved, and she wanted him too, then he should take her as his wife…. L had just thought that would never happen, not after his father had died.)

So they would sit and wait for their cake, idly conversing through thought even though there was no point to do so at the final stage of the Bond…. They thought of little things; of how the cake would taste, of Sam's friend's reactions when they finally noticed the ring, of thoughtful ponderings on when others would be wed…. (Like Matsuda. I wonder if he'll ever get married, L; what do you think?)

Time would pass, and Sam would smile, always blushing but purely happy despite this. I still can't believe I'm getting married, Sam thought to him, even though he knew of her disbelief and actually was still getting used to the idea himself.

Well, Samantha, L responded, just know that we are doing this with good reason, isn't that correct?

…What are you implying? Sam answered even though she knew, her face reddening again.

Well… the two of us love each other, correct?

Sam turned her face away with a squeak, her face going red yet again. It seemed today was a blush-filled kind of day… for good reason. I mean, did he always have to say it right out like that? But she couldn't keep her face turned away for long, because L's hand came softly to her cheek, gently turning her face back to him so he could see her golden eyes. She blinked, her face going redder.

Just know, he thought, his thumb tenderly caressing her cheek, that even if I don't express myself right, I do love you….

Her face grew steadily redder, and she worked to try and formulate a response, but… well, she was dying on the inside. And know I… I love you too….

I know. He found himself smiling.

There was a knocking on the hotel door, and L was impassive once more. "It's Roger," said a voice from behind the door, and L stood, sliding his leg out from beneath Sam.

"Come in," said L, walking over to the door.

The door handle turned and the door opened. Roger pushed in a cart with the cake L had asked for. Roger looked at L with a frown. "L, I was told you ordered a cake…."

"Yes, this is correct," L confirmed. "Thank you for bringing it up, Roger. We appreciate it."

Roger sighed heavily as he wheeled in the cake. "I know you have a day off today, L, but isn't this a little much?"

"It is a special occasion," he responded to the old man, and Roger looked at him.

"And I suppose you're not going to tell me what this special occasion is, right?" he asked the detective.

"That is correct," said L, and Roger sighed again before heading out, giving his little farewells. After the door was closed, their not-so-traditional ceremony would commence. Sam stood with her fingers entwining and untwining awkwardly, a blush still touching her cheeks. She shifted on her feet as she stood in front of the dresser with the rings placed neatly on its top. L would take the tube of silver icing and neatly decorate letters onto the higher layer. He drew a nice L with the icing, and then made an S right near it as their lettering for the cake.

L then walked to Sam, stopping two paces before her. "Shall we?" he asked her, grabbing her hand and holding it gently. He felt the warmth of it, felt its soft texture in his own hands. Keeping her hand in his own left hand, he reached to the left to carefully grab the ring with the gold band and the blue diamond, just as Sam reached for the ring with the blue band and the yellow diamond. He pulled his left hand away from hers, then, his fingertips skimming her palm before each of them had their left hands held out to the other, their right holding the other's ring. And, at the same time, they slid the ring onto their lover's ring finger.

The smile tugging at L's lips prevailed at last and shown softly on his features. "'You may kiss the bride,'" he said, and did so, thus sealing the deal with his gentle, sweet, soft lips. Sam was red again. L was rather satisfied with this, and went to get a slice of cake, his well-known chibi smile on his face as he took it – Sam was following his lead – and made his way to the head of the bed and crawled onto the mattress to get into his signature position and eat his cake. Sam sat beside him on the other side of the bed, eating her own slice.

Mental conversations whispered in their heads, somehow drawing away the sense of silence even though there was no real sound. The final rays of sunlight began to fade as they mentally conversed and they ate their slice of cake… and another slice… and another. The sky would grow dark, but the golden city lights would shine bright through their hotel windows. Eventually the cake was left alone, and silent conversations would slowly turn to thoughts of their marriage. Joking thoughts of how now L would always have to let Sam come with him on cases, gentle teases of what Sam would say when her friends were to know of the event…. Words came slower, but were ultimately sweeter when put together. Sentences began to be laced with love, and physical contact crept into their low-light setting. Fingers intertwined, bodies grew closer, and eventually Sam's head was on L's shoulder.

There came a point where even the words stopped. Only half-formulated thoughts came into any sort of focus. It was this almost-silence where L would lightly turn her head so he could see her face illuminated by the golden city lights. Almost hesitantly, he lowered his lips to hers, allowing only a brush of the lips. But even after he left her, he seemed to linger. Sam gave a tiny squeak, and L faltered. He could feel a small amount of warmth in his own cheeks. It was Sam who acted, then, lifting her head and kissing him in his awkward hesitation.

After a moment of it, L accepted the gesture and allowed his mind to relax a little. Just a little. Accept the kiss and kiss back naturally; he could do that much. Relax a little more as he allowed the kiss to deepen. A little more. A little more…. Let it go like he did that night of the moonlight. Melt away just like the two of them had then. And of course it was only a natural thing as they edged closer to becoming truly one once more…. And… as the moment of final decision came this time… there was no hesitation. It simply was, and that was that.

Thus the night wore on, from love to silence to darkness as each half of the whole drifted into slumber, one in the other's arms.

L was in a moonlit field, a sky filled with stars above him. The moon was full and shining brightly. He was sitting beside Sam, a present in his pocket. He pulled it out and gazed at the hand-made envelope tied neatly with string. He remembered Daddy and the stories he told of the night he proposed to Mommy. It was a setting like this, and this was the way he had proposed. He smiled at Sam and held it out. "I made you a gift," he spoke. His voice sounded off, as if it were echoing backwards. He sensed something off there, but Sam did not react, so he decided not to either. "Open it carefully," he said as she took it in her hand. The backwards echo sounded in his ears. "It's just… I'm asking you…." She opened the envelope, and looked up to him. "…Will you marry me?"

She stared at him, her face lighting up beneath the moonlight. A light gasp, followed by its backwards echo. "…Yes. Yes!" Her eyes glistened in the blue-ish moonlight, and she embraced him. L was smiling as he took her in and hugged her back closing his eyes.

"A hug isn't so bad now, is it, little genius?" A low, cruel, gravelly voice, clear and without the odd echo. L stiffened, his eyes shooting open. He wasn't in the field anymore.

I shouldn't have closed my eyes; I shouldn't have—

He stared at the wall of the inside of Uncle's house. Suddenly he could smell it; smell the scent of Uncle and his home; smell the sour scent of Uncle's breath as he spoke lowly in his ear. "I'm sorry," he spoke, "did I scare you?" L could just feel the man's smile twisting his mouth, even though L didn't dare look at him. And L wanted to move, get out of Uncle's embrace that made his skin crawl…. But he couldn't move. He couldn't move.

"I scared you, didn't I?" asked Uncle. "Here, how can I make up for it?" He seemed to pull L closer, and his voice became lower; softer. "Let me make it all better…." L tensed. God no. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying with all his might to pull away. "I can make it alll betterrr…."

L finally found his voice, and shouted with all his strength. "NO!"

Uncle released him, then, and L fell backwards. He tried to catch his footing but found himself hitting a wall. His head seemed to spin. He heard a crash. Glass shattering. The scene had changed. His eyes opened. He could hear Auntie crying, yelling at Uncle to stop, begging him to as she grabbed at his arm. Uncle was yelling back. L noticed that the world was so much bigger, and he realized that he was only a boy again. Uncle had a glass bottle in his hand that could easily be a lethal weapon, and he was advancing even though Auntie was trying to stop him. And Uncle would raise his arm, bottle in hand. L recoiled, somehow forgetting how to fight back even though he knew he could, and the bottle came down—

L jerked awake to find himself lying on his back, no sheet blanketing him. Completely exposed. Sam was nearby, curled up. She shifted, having had also woken up from the same nightmare. The detective looked at her, beginning to relax again. He allowed himself to smile slightly. Then, he gripped the blanket and pulled it upwards to better cover them and pulled Sam back into his arms. She gave a squeak and looked up at him. He shook his head slightly, and she laid her head down again. The two drifted back to sleep. Their dreams did not disturb them again.

Well the dream kinda ruined it, but there you go.

Considering how uncomfortable I am rereading this, it makes me wonder how I wrote it. .-. Well I hope it's good anyway.

...There was also a reference to the song 'Blue and Yellow' by The Used in here.

Fun Fact: Sam was there when I wrote the bit with the cake. She really did give all that input, starting off vague, and then just piling on more and more details, all excited like. ...Yeah.
She also described the rings.

Review? For marriage?