CHAPTER 36 - THE PARENTS, part II.

L suddenly felt like the temperature in the room dropped 10 degrees. He hadn't read the whole article yet, he only caught words, but it was enough to know that this wasn't a good situation. Neither for him nor for Light. He could only guess what was happening back at Hogwarts.

The eyes of madam Yagami were almost expressionless. Like one of Light's masks. But L knew she must have been worried sick and pretty mad at him at the moment. But how she knew who he was he decided to leave for later. He took his eyes from hers and started reading the article.

At first he couldn't believe what he was reading. Not only that the style of said article was lowest of low but also the facts were twisted. The fact that Akane Takada repeatedly indicated that he had forced Light into something was as serious as it was ridiculous. But at least, they didn't say which student the article was about, even when they obviously knew.

L must have admitted to himself that he was kinda relieved. Although the article was probably going to put him through some trouble, as long as Light stayed anonymous, there was no real harm done. Even if his name would somehow leak out from the school, The Prophet obviously wasn't stupid enough to broadcast it to the world. Other media he was able to handle easily.

The question was how did Light take it. L was aware that the boy was through a lot in the past few days and an article like this might have caused another magical outburst. Even when the Wizarding World didn't know who the article was about, Hogwarts students did and they already proved to be a flock of idiots. Then there were the professors and obviously… Light's parents. Which brought him to the lady sitting across the table.

Yagami-san must have realised he finished reading because she suddenly started speaking, with the same calm tone as before: "It didn't occur to me in the forest. But when I saw you looking at our family photo, I realised who you are."

L looked at her and stayed silent, waiting for her to explain herself: "Sayu writes letters home a lot. She made quite a lively description of you and your unique wand was a subject of a few discussions during the Autumn break. I figured that it was something unusual even in the Wizarding World. Then when I saw you looking at our photo, I was sure. You are L Lawliet."

L nodded slowly. There was no reason to beat around the bush anymore: "I am."

She scanned him for a moment before asking straight: "The accusations in that article?"

"False, madam."

"Can you prove it?"

"You can ask Light."

"How could I know he's telling the truth and wasn't forced to stay silent?"

L chuckled at that: "Well… if he comes back home with a mating bite you can be sure I lied to you."

Yagami-san narrowed her eyes at him and her calm tone changed into ice-cold: "Do you find this situation funny?"

"Actually, I do..." L started while returning the newspaper to her: "...I find it ridiculous how low The Daily Prophet fell. It used to be a serious journal. It will take me literally two phone calls to turn this article against them and make them apologise." L told her and he was sure he was telling the truth. This situation was easy for him to handle. Normally he would even laugh it off, but he was willing to go to certain lengths to make sure Light and his family felt comfortable about it. But madam Yagami didn't seem very happy and he could literally see the wheels turning behind her eyes:

"If you have enough power to silence the media, what is one teenage boy against you?" She suddenly asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

They were staring into each other's eyes for a moment and L realised one thing: No explanation, no matter how rational, will help him in a discussion with a worried mother. He could only try to play emotional and apologise or… tell her the truth.

"I think that the better question would be, what is he to me."

Yagami-san gave him a quizzical look.

"The answer would be: My student… and maybe in the far far future, I could be persuaded to call him a friend. If he will be interested in my friendship. But that's where it ends. I am far too exposed to risk an affair with a student and have too many enemies to afford falling in love…" L was not sure himself why he added the second part but he hadn't stopped there: "...I even ocassionally say something stupid to him, to make sure he won't catch feelings and he is disgusted with me to no end. So you can be perfectly calm, nothing is going on between the two of us."

Yagami-san was still looking at him, like she knew there was more to say and when she raised an eyebrow at him, prompting him to go on, L gave up and went full out: "Alright, to be perfectly honest, I would lie if I said I never had Light on my mind. Seriously, your son would be able to seduce a saint without even knowing it. But madam…" L leaned over the table a little: "... I maybe occasionally alpha-stupid but I am not suicidal. He is my student, son of my colleague and if I ever tried anything, he would be able to curse me to hell and back. He is powerful enough to face me and clever enough to take me down, if he really wanted to. So believe me, when I say, nothing ever happened."

L ofcourse remembered a certain moment when Light ended up sitting in his lap and a later moment, when he almost kissed him. But that wasn't normal circumstances. Light wasn't himself and L was able to hold back at the last moment. Even when he still had to go through this discussion with Light, he knew where he stood in it: It meant nothing. It was only a reaction of an omega in distress and his inner alpha's natural response to it.

Yagami-san was frowning at him still, not saying anything. She was obviously thinking about his words. Eventually she uncrossed her hands and leaned them against the table:

"What about those school points?"

L shrugged: "That part is true. I really gave him that amount of points. But he deserved them. For school tasks. Not for anything else. Omega or not, he is the best student and I see no reason to hold him down because of his second gender."

"Yes, others obviously can do it for you." She said, still sounding far from the calm woman she was before.

"This is not really about Light. I have enemies, Yagami-san. Many of them. They have been trying to take me down for years and Light's seemingly close proximity to me made him a pawn in the game. I am really sorry about that. I promise to mitigate the impacts of this as much as possible and make sure he's safe. But you can trust me when I say that there is no harm done to Light's good reputation, as he was never mentioned. Which is only evidence that this is not about him at all."

Madam Yagami was silent for a moment, examining the article with her eyes again. Eventually, she put the newspaper down and looked at L again: "What you are saying… makes sense. And I believe that you can… deal with the media. But what about the school? What about his schoolmates? What about people who already know who the article is about? How can you save his reputation in front of them?"

L brought a thumb to his lower lip and nibbled on it for a moment before speaking up: "In my opinion, Yagami-san, people who would think that Light would sleep with his teacher for some house points, are not even worthy of his attention, but if you insist on knowing… he can win them over. All of them. Exactly how he won me over. With his persistence, his determination, his wits. He just needs the opportunity, which I already gave him, even before this debacle."

"And if it wont work?"

"It will."

"If it wont?" She asked again and L felt for a moment like he was talking to Light himself. But this was not a teenager he could scold over being stubborn: "What would you want me to do?"

"Stop teaching him. Leave him be." She said without a beat.

L frowned hard. He wasn't expecting this. And the less he was expecting the anxiety that spreaded inside his chest at the notion.

"I am sorry, Yagami-san, but I can't do that."

She narrowed her eyes again: "Why?"

"Because at this point, I am the only one who can see through Light's carefully crafted mask of a perfect student and see the scared, suppressed omega that is hiding underneath. If he does not unleash it a little, he will condemn himself to a life of wasted potential, fear and outbursts of anger. And if… even if he would somehow manage to control it all… he would fade away sooner or later. The last thing I want is to meet him in 10 years, with three kids and a mate who will force him to be submissive. Nay… I will not watch that happen when I know I can prevent it…" L was talking without even thinking about what he was saying and Sachiko Yagami's eyes were growing wider with each word.

"... I am not saying I am the only one who can help him…" L continued passionately: "...with whatever is hiding inside his overthinking mind, but so far? I am his best chance. So no… Under NO circumstances I am leaving him be."

When L finished, he was breathing hard and his heart was beating fast. He knew instantly he said too much but he was so caught up in his feelings on the matter that he was unable to stop. He looked at Sachiko Yagami again and she was watching him with her mouth slightly opened in shock. Her eyes were wide, but both the mask and the anger were gone. There was something else playing in there. L was not sure how to name it and before he could she said:

"I believe you."

"I have to talk to Light immediately!" Soichiro abruptly stood up from his chair, nearly knocking down the conference table. The older man followed his suit but in a much calmer manner: "Please calm down, Mr. Yagami. Light's class has already started and pulling him out so his father can speak to him will not help this situation. The very opposite."

Soichiro waved the newspaper in the air in a wild gesture, his voice and face far from his usual calm manner: "I know what you are going to tell me! That nothing has happened and that it is just a fabricated rumour."

"Yagami-san…" Watari started but the man cut him off: "Imagine our situations were reversed. You would surely also want to talk to your son first!" Soichiro's voice got unpleasantly piercing and Watari had to raise his own voice to bring him to his senses:

"I will NOT keep you from talking to him!"

The man jerked back a little and Watari lowered his voice again and showed him his palms in a peaceful gesture: "...but please be reasonable and wait until Light is done teaching. If his father demands to see him while he is teaching, it will only support the rumours and Light will lose his authority in front of the class."

Yagami-san was still frowning hard, his lips pushed into a thin line. He was thinking hard but after a few seconds his shoulders fell and he let out a sigh: "Alright… alright I'll wait."

"Good…" Watari sat back down and looked up at the man: "More tea?"

The younger man sat down as well, still frowning: "Do you have something stronger?"

Watari nodded and waved his wand towards one of the cupboards. The drawer opened and a bottle of alcohol flew in their direction together with two snifters. When all was posed on the table, Watari opened the bottle and poured a Fire Whiskey for both of them. He handed the glass to his guest, they clinked and fastly drank the burning alcohol. When both snifters were back at the table, Mr. Yagami leaned against his legs and started twiddling with his hands. After a moment of nervous silence, he finally spoke up:

"I am sorry about my behaviour, Watari-san. My reaction was inappropriate…"

The older man only shook his head: "There's no need to apologise, Yagami-san. I must admit I was prepared for that."

"That doesn't say anything good about me." Soichiro frowned.

"In fact, it does…" Watari started while pouring them both a second round: "...You are a loving father or a highly desired omega. I would be more worried if you reacted calmly."

Soichiro seemed to be thinking for a moment before saying: "Yet… with my life experience I should know better. I know the ways of our media well enough to know the article is nonsense."

"Life experience is nothing…" Watari handed the snifter to the younger man: "...when it comes to feelings towards our children…"

"Yes… you are right. Let's drink to that." Yagami-san nodded, both men clinked their glasses and drank again. The whiskey burned at the back of their throats and it worked as a distraction to Yagami-san's brain. His initial worries were put aside for a moment and his train of thoughts offered an explanation. When he put the snifter back on the table he said:

"I think someone is trying to get L out of school and the time he spends with Light is a good excuse."

"Great deduction." Watari nodded and leaned his back into his chair.

"Which means he is on a good track with the investigation…"

"I believe so."

At that, Soichiro chuckled: "The task force will not be happy."

Watari frowned: "Why is that?"

"The dead bodies we examined tonight were not Hogwarts students. Aizawa was getting ready to tell L he was losing his time at Hogwarts."

Watari shook his head, slightly amused by the behaviour and said: "Maybe he will have a chance… L still has no direct proof that Kira has his hands amongst students."

"What about the lead he went after?"

"I am afraid I can't say anything yet. Not until he is back."

"I see…" Yagami-san said and started rubbing his moustache while thinking. There was a moment of silence between them before he hesitantly asked:

"Watari-san are you…" he paused: "... are you sure nothing has happened between L and my son?"

Watari adjusted the glasses on his nose and took a deep breath before saying: "Yagami-san… you know L. You know how he values truth and justice…" Watari was prepared to give a lecture about L's morals but Mr. Yagami stopped him mid sentence: "Yes! Yes, I know… and I admire him for many reasons. I dare to say that I trust him. Otherwise I would never send my omega son to him."

Watari was a bit surprised by that statement. He was not entirely sure if Mr. Yagami would say something like that openly without the help of alcohol in his system. Moreover, the man still continued: "...and I know my Light… he wouldn't let himself be drawn to some wicked game. He's a strong omega…"

"That he without a doubt is…" Watari nodded, not daring to say anything that would bring doubts to the other's mind. Although it sounded more like the chief was trying to persuade himself, rather than Watari.

"And yet… Light is a teenage omega. And as you said yourself, highly desirable. Are you sure L is able to keep his alpha on the leash?" The eyes of the senior Yagami pierced Watari through as if he wanted to see straight into his mind. Watari's face remained stoic. Yes, he was sure L was able to rule his inner alpha. But it was L's heart the old man was worried about.

"Yes, Yagami-san. I am quite sure about that. I hate to say it, but L is scared of mating and starting an affair with a young, unmated omega would surely lead to exactly that. And because he knows very well that nothing would bring me greater joy than seeing him mated, married and settled… I can be sure he will not do it."

The younger man's face seemed to relax and little and without asking anything, he poured himself another glass of Whiskey. He drank it fastly and then said: "Thank God my son never had any period of defiance."

"Yes, be glad… my boy never got over it. Damn alpha." Watari laughed it off but he actually noticed the deeper meaning of what Mr. Yagami said. Light was seemingly perfect even in front of his own father, which was disturbing.

"I must say that your words reassured me..." Soichiro was obviously slightly affected by those three glasses of Fire Whiskey. "...I was initially scared, but when I think about it now, Light looked completely normal when I saw him a few moments ago…"

"I believe that your son is very busy with his new responsibilities now…" Watari said with a neutral tone, going around the topic completely.

"Yes.. yes, you are right. Maybe demanding to talk to him isn't such a good idea… He might think I don't trust him…"

Watari didn't really think so, but seeing Light before, he was quite sure the boy really wanted to avoid this kind of discussion. He rather decided to let Mr. Yagami talk and let him come to his own conclusions.

"...It is true that Light's identity wasn't revealed in the article but… if it was ever to come out, it might cause him problems with finding a mate."

For this concern Watari had an understanding, but he didn't share it: "I am sure Light will have enough suitors with or without any rumours around. And he will choose the right one, when he is ready."

"I wish he had the time…" Mr. Yagami said and his face immediately fell.

Watari frowned at that: "What do you mean?"

"Ah… you didn't know… I guess I am not surprised. I would probably also not make it a public knowledge if I were Light…" Yagami-san paused for a moment and Watari was looking at him with a quizzical look. Then the younger man finally finished the thought: "Light needs to be betrothed before the admission to the Auror's office. It was one of the conditions from the ministry."

It didn't take 10 minutes for L to be seated back in the chair in the salon with a piece of matcha cake on a plate in front of him and a tea cup in his hand. Sachiko Yagami was back to her welcoming mood and was doing her best to make him feel comfortable. Which was making L extremely uncomfortable. Especially with everything he said about her son. About him being seductive and so on… But for some reason, the lady seemed to be reassured about her son's good virtues and comfortable enough to treat L as an honoured guest:

"I am really sorry about my behaviour earlier, professor Lawliet…" she started when she sat down on the sofa opposite L: "... I never meant to be rude to you, but the article made me really worried."

L shook his head: "There is no reason to apologise, Yagami-san. I should be the one apologising to you, I should have introduced myself at the beginning."

"Maybe… but I understand why you didn't. I know you are wary of revealing your face to strangers. Plus it must have been a shock to find yourself in a child home of one of your students."

L smirked at that and sipped the tea: "You have no idea…"

"I also could have revealed I knew about your identity sooner but… I needed to let you talk for a moment. I wanted to get to know your character. Unfortunately, you were nothing but sweet until I confronted you."

L's eyebrow shooted up and he tilted his head in confusion: "Sweet?!"

But madame Yagami didn't seem to notice his horror, because she continued: "Then you started acting like an arrogant ass who has the world hooked on their little finger and I seriously thought about kicking your injured leg under the table."

The horror in L's eyes doubled, but for a slightly different reason. That woman was truly terrifying. She went from a sweet mother and housewife to full terror mood within seconds. L put his cup of tea on the table and considered if he should eat the cake.

But If she wanted to poison me, she could have done it already. He thought and said:

"I guess I am lucky you didn't kick me out on the street…" L said, only half joking.

Yagami-san laughed: "Oh no, I wouldn't… watching you dealing with my husband will be much more amusing."

L swallowed hard and the lady started laughing again: "Don't worry! I am just joking… I will deal with my husband myself. You have nothing to worry about."

L opened and closed his mouth a few times. Like a literal fish.

"Yagami-san… why… why do you…" L started but was unable to squeeze out the sentence.

"Why do I trust you?" She finished the sentence for him and sipped her tea.

L nodded in full seriousness and she put her cup down on the table, fold her hands in her lap and gave him the same serious expression:

"It is because you were honest with me. You haven't denied your attraction towards Light, you acknowledged him as a powerful wizard, regardless of his second gender and you are willing to help him with the problems he seems to have." She paused for a moment, scanning L, like she was considering how much more to say before continuing: "In addition to that, Light must trust you a lot if he is willing to discuss his omegan nature with you. To tell you the truth, I was afraid something bad will happen to him, before he finally recognizes he is an omega."

Now that caught L's attention. He brought his thumb to his lower lip: "Madam Yagami… can you explain that to me a little bit? I believe understanding your point of view might help me a great deal with him."

Yagami-san nodded and after a brief moment of silence started the story telling: "Since the moment we got the message from school that Light presented as an omega, I knew he was going to be in trouble. When my Light was growing up, my husband never acknowledged the possibility of him being an omega. Not because of any preconceptions, but because Light was simply too strong, too talented and was acting like a natural leader. Everything about him screamed - alpha. It crossed my mind a few times that he could be an omega. Because he was also compassionate, carrying and his moral compass was unusually strong. A little too much for an alpha. But I never really voiced that concern. In consequence to that, Light grew up being encouraged to be a strong alpha."

L hummed in understanding: "Mmm… that is quite normal in Wizarding society."

"Yes, so I understood…" she nodded "... That's why from his early childhood we also made sure he was tolerant and supportive towards other genders and non-wizarding folk. It seemed to come naturally to him. But I guess it was easy when he thought he was the one to support and not the one who would need that support later."

"You said he presented while at school?"

Madam Yagami nodded: "Yes… two months before the end of the third year."

L was playing with his lower lip, thinking about what she said. The end of the third year wasn't exactly a late bloomer yet, definitely not like his sister, who as he heard, presented at the age of 15, but still, most of the omegas presented at the second year, latest at the beginning of the third. So it must have been twice as surprising at the time.

"I wanted to talk to him…" Madame Yagami continued: "...but I wasn't granted admission to Hogwarts because of something so natural as a gender presentation. I tried to, when he came back for summer break, but he said there was nothing to talk about and that he understands how physiology works. After that, I was never even allowed close to that topic."

L wasn't really surprised to hear that. Given how much Light was blocked towards everything that concerned his second gender. But he wasn't given time to think much, because Light's mother had still more to say: "I knew from that moment that he was trying to suppress his second gender. Even when he started writing for that Omegan-rights movement, I knew he was far from comfortable being one."

"And what about your husband?"

"He shared my concerns at the beginning, but the more successful in his mission Light is, the less Soichiro worries. He thinks that Light managed to learn to live with his second gender and that is the first step towards embracing it."

L gave it a thought before answering: "Your husband's theory wouldn't be wrong, if he had his facts right. But unfortunately… I think we both know that Light has never learnt to live with it."

Yagami-san let out a desperate sigh: "I don't think he's even tried… until he met you." She looked at him with eyes full of emotions: "You've changed him."

L frowned at that: "I think you overestimate my influence, Yagami-san."

She shook her head: "No I don't… I've never seen Light lose his composure before this year's Autumn break. But he's been acting out almost all week and got extremely emotional whenever your name was brought up. His inner omega was climbing on the surface and he was unable to control it. You have a lot of influence over him and I dare to say that he has some over you…"

L's eyes widened for a bit and his heart started beating fast. He didn't like the hidden meaning behind those words. But he knew it was true and how he seemed to be unable to leave the boy alone only proved the point.

"It's only natural because I am the first alpha he seems to be open to and…" L started but madam Yagami stopped him by raising her hand in the air.

L shut up immediately.

She slowly put her hand down before looking L in the eyes again. There was something strange in them. She seemed full of tenderness and hope: "I never even dared to hope he could find someone who he could trust with his second gender, let alone it being…" she stopped there abruptly and sucked in a breath. L frowned and she seemed to panic for a second. Then she composed herself a bit and said: "Can you help him? Can you show him how to live with his second gender?"

L was confused for a moment. She obviously wanted to say something else. But he decided it was better not to hear what she thinks of him and smirked: "No, Yagami-san. I will not help him to live with it. I will do my best to make him proud that he is an omega."