L's finger hovered over the channel button, stopping as the words of the newscaster caught his attention.

"It has been 2 months since the deaths linked to the mass-murderer Kira have ceased. This event coincides with a broadcast from the world-renown detective L confirming Kira's judgement at his hands and subsequent execution—and while Kira's reign of terror may be over, questions concerning his identity and his death still plague the world: Who was he? How was he able to kill so many people in such a short amount of time and at the same time cover so much ground while doing so? Was Kira a group, or a single person? We will now be replaying the broadcast confirming Kira's death:

"Good morning, good people of Japan. I am L. I am addressing you today because I have been personally invested in your state of affairs for some time now. As you may know, I have been tasked with conducting the Kira investigation, to which one of your citizens has been found unequivocally, 100 percent, guilty of crimes against humanity. This individual will receive Lethal Injection. Good people of Japan, you are free to walk the streets again, knowing that you and your loved ones are safe, but I also come bearing a warning for those of you that would seek to repeat Kira's crimes: I will not rest until you are judged and summarily executed. Do not idolize false gods. There is Justice in this world and it has rightfully been upheld. That will be all."

"And while Kira's reign of terror may be over," continued the newscaster, "questions concerning his identity still remain."

An image of Raito Yagami flashed across L's vision, unbidden: doe, brown eyes; silken, russet-colored hair; and thin but defined lips. A face as lovely and bright as the day they met. A person who was intelligent, beautiful, and…

Evil.

Absolutely evil, L had to remind himself. Raito had screamed, cried, begged for life, but knowing that L would not budge and Raito would not truly repent, he had gone to chair, composed…

...and full of hate.

The kind of hate that L had never experienced in his life, or had directed at him for that matter. It was personal, bitter, and it had left L a month later still staring into the void of his own thoughts. There had been no way to save Raito. Raito was so far gone, so demented, so…

L did not let himself finish that thought, which had been one of many treacherous and dangerous thoughts that had streamed through his consciousness during the investigation. He could only concern himself with cold hard facts. Raito was a murderer, and L had had a moral obligation to put him down like a rabid dog. When L questioned his actions during the investigation after the fact, then he was bound to run into many issues. He just needed to…

L heard what sounded like the faint flutter of wings towards his balcony, and he would have thoroughly ignored it, but the white lace curtains draping the French doors that led out to the terrace wavered strangely in the wind, as if some unseen force had disturbed it with its landing.

A cool breeze blew into the room, and L could smell a familiar scent-something that he recognized but could not quite put his finger on—like hazelnut mixed with a very faint smelling soap, but also somewhat sweet. Whatever this smell was, it had a way of going right up into L's nose and into his brain, and clouding his thoughts. Rapt, L stared at the balcony, like a man possessed.

He knew this smell. This smell had lain next to him in bed for an entire year...

L felt his body moving of its own accord towards the balcony, as if drawn forward by an unseen force, his shuffling footfalls making the already quiet in the room seem endless.

L stopped in the threshold of the French doors and could easily make out the silhouette of someone through the sheer lace of the curtains. Changing his stance to that of a defensive one, L shook himself out of his daze, confused as to why he had put himself in such a dangerous position. What had he been thinking?

"Whoever you are, I do not know what business you have with me, but you are foolish if you think I will let you go any further than this." L swiped the curtains aside and could not help but gasp at what he saw:

A winged being. Snow white from head to toe. It's head was bowed, so L could not make out its facial features, especially its eyes which were obscured by silken tresses of uneven bangs that sweep across its forehead, the hair short in the front but streaming like spun gold down his nape, the golden mane that adorned his head reflecting the almost unholy light from the full moon and shining like a golden crown upon his head.

He was perched on the stone edge-work of his balcony like a massive bird of prey, all clawed hands and talons, and statuesque in frame. He almost seemed like he had been sculpted out of marble, his muscled but lithe body so perfect that Adonis or Narcissist would have worshiped him as a god of beauty. And of course the massive feathered wings on his back, which had been drawn in towards himself and cloaked his shoulders like a cape, but had they been extended would relay a wingspan that to say was impressive was an understatement.

L knew Shinigami existed. Seeing Rem was proof of that, but whatever was standing in front of him did not seem like any regular Shinigami. It looked almost like an…

"What are you?" L asked, his eyes wider than they had ever been, his mouth slightly open.

"An Angel," the creature said, a slight chuckle in his voice.

L's eyes went wider as a familiar voice broke over his ears, the tone of speech as lilting, airy and sensual as ever.

"Or would you believe me more if I told you I was an Angel of Death?" Raito said, lifting his head, red-eyed and fanged, and smiling like the devil himself.

All the air in L's lungs dissipated as he stared at this figment of his past.

"That's the first time you've never had a comeback for me. I must be quite a sight," Raito casually said as he slipped off his perch, erecting himself to his full height, so he now towered several feet over L and cast a foreboding shadow over the detective. "Or, would you rather this?"

L blinked and the Raito that he had watched die from a heart-attack a few months before now stood before his very eyes, as fresh-faced and lovely as the first time L had laid eyes on him.

"I…" L had no words.

"There's no need for words at this point," Raito said, still smiling as he walked right up to L with a brazenness that had only really revealed itself in the last days of Raito's life. "While speech has always been our strong point, we've never had to actually speak to each other to communicate how we really feel. Isn't that right, Lawliet?"

"They turned you into a Death God?" L said in horrified disbelief, as the realization dawned on him.

"Do I look like any regular Shinigami to you?" Raito said with some spite in his voice, as if it was an insult for L to not recognize the difference. "The Shinigami King bestowed upon me the title of Judge-Baron. I'm the sole replacement for an extinct class of guards that once arbitrated over the Shinigami Realm. In other words, I'm now Judge, Jury, and Executioner over Shinigami Realm."

L felt his mouth go dry. When he had been questioning Rem about the Death Note, she had mentioned in passing about the Shinigami Realm and the King that ruled over them all, but she had never gone into specifics. If what Raito said was the truth, then there were truly no words left to convey the infinite injustice and insanity in the world when one of the most powerful beings in the universe had granted Raito, the most prolific serial killer in history, the ability to judge creatures that in turn controlled humanity so thoroughly through death.

"It would do you some good to bow to your new ruler," Raito said, and before L could move out of the way, Raito had grabbed him one-handed by the throat.

L felt the edge of claws digging into his throat, and he grabbed onto Raito's hand, trying to free himself. For him to die by the hand of the person he thought he had cast into pits of Hell itself, it was too much. It seemed futile to do anything at this point but die when his opponent was so much physically stronger than him, but L was never the type to quit or go out without a fight. He would never allow Raito the satisfaction of seeing him give up on life.

Never.

"You are still…as vexing as ever," L said through gritted teeth, the edge of his vision blurring as his oxygen was gradually being cut off. He was slowly being forced onto his knees by a stone-faced Raito, who had not even broken a sweat since they started to struggle, which was supremely disconcerting to the detective. "It does not matter how much power is bestowed upon you, or what form you are given by the forces of the universe…" L said, still struggling against the hand clamped around his throat, "it does not change the fact that your true form has always been a certain genus of female dog that walks on all fours and bites the hand that feeds it…"

Raito frowned down at him, obviously pissed at what L was calling him to his face.

"Take pride in the fact that you have won out over every mass-murdering psychopath in the world. You are truly in a class of your own," L said, coughing and chuckling at the same time, but sad that no matter what, he was fated to die by Raito's hand.

"I like how even when a Shinigami is choking you to death, you can't seem to shut your big mouth," Raito said, reaffirming his grip on L's throat. He rolled his eyes and suddenly let go, the detective crumpling over, coughing. "As much as I want to, I'm not actually here to kill you, L," Raito said snidely, and stepped over the detective like he was a mere pebble in his path. "I was sent here for another reason," Raito said, strolling right into L's hotel suite as if it now belonged to him. "You see, until I can completely fulfill my role as Judge-Baron, I have a few loose ends to take care off in this world."

L slowly pushed himself up and off the floor. Through the French doors he could see that Raito was now standing near his desk and staring down at his laptop and the sugar-cube castle right next to it, which L had been leisurely attending to as he did research for his next case.

L pressed a hand to his mouth, tasting blood, the skin on his neck feeling raw where Raito had just moments ago used him as his own personal scratching post.

If L did not go about this carefully, he was going to be killed. Raito had one hell of a temper. During the Kira case, L had seen a few instances where Raito's mask of politeness slipped and the detective was suddenly face to face with a cold-blooded killer. At the end of the case when L was forced to watch Raito absolutely lose it in his last few days of life, L could only shudder as the monster that lived inside this teenager revealed itself in its full rage.

Raito had been extremely dangerous as a human being, and L could only imagine the kind of havoc Raito could wreak upon humanity now that he was a God amongst gods.

"Then why have you come here?" L asked, getting to his feet. It might not be a good idea to get too close to Raito, but for some reason L still found himself walking towards the brunette, like a moth drawn towards a flame.

Raito sighed loudly, as if already exasperated with him. "I'm here…because the Shinigami King's right hand, Armonia Justin, wants me here. Even though I've been given the role of Judge-Baron, Armonia still doesn't trust that I won't interfere with the human world, so he feels it would be best to put…some controls in place for me."

Controls? L could not imagine what would be able to stop a Shinigami, let alone a Shinigami of supposedly Raito's class. But more importantly, what did any of this have to do with L? Why would this Armonia Shinigami send him here?

Raito looked L straight in the eyes, those brown eyes fixed on L so intensely that it almost seemed like defiance. "You're the sole reason why I'm dead," Raito said. "I would have lived in utter anonymity, going about my duties as Kira and preparing to be the future head of the NPA…" Raito gave him an even colder stare. "And while I will always hate you for taking my God-given right away to rule this world, I've come to realize that I only truly felt alive during the Kira investigation." Raito walked towards L, stopping mere inches from him. "As much as I hate to say it, you're my equal. You've always been my equal. The Shinigami-King also recognizes this as well and has written you into my contract with him. If I travel to this world, then I have to come to you, as in his eyes you would be the best person to keep track of my actions while I'm here."

L's index finger dropped slightly from his bottom lip, his mouth partially open in astonishment. "I suppose I should be relieved then," the detective said numbly. "But why are you telling me this, Raito-kun? I've never known you to be the honest type."

Raito rolled his eyes at him and L could not help but remember that in years Raito was still a teenager. He would have been 19 this year. "Because I was ordered to," Raito repeated. "I have to let you and your descendants know. It's part of the contract. If I'm to keep my role as the new Judge-Baron, I can't be involved in the affairs of this world."

"Descendants?" L said, his eyes growing even larger.

"Yes," Raito continued. "Once you die there's nothing to stop me from coming to the human realm and doing whatever I please. But with the continuation of your bloodline, your children will keep me from…let's say fully establishing myself on Earth. They will serve as constraints…."

"You speak of this as if it's a sure thing—that I am having children," L said, and gave Raito a strange look. "While I would not mind settling down and having a family, I first have to find a suitable partner, and as you can see I am not fairing so well in that department."

"Hmph," Raito laughed, "Really? On my end it doesn't look like you're trying very hard or even at all. To me it just looks like you're continuing on with your bad habits of no sleeping, eating junk, and solving cases that only pique your interest. You have no interest in anyone but yourself and your reputation as L. Suitable partner, my ass."

L could not help but chuckle at Raito's utterly blunt way with words. He had certainly not changed in that department. Rather he had gotten worse since he no longer had to hide his true self behind a polite mask. "Do not bite my head off because I am a little picky, Raito-kun."

Raito raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, I can't fault you for wanting perfection, and apparently Armonia doesn't either. Even though he's powerful he can't will you to fall in love. No Shinigami has that power, but he has been watching you and he does seem to know what you like."

"Raito-kun, I don't even think I know exactly what I want and yet this Shinigami claims to know me better than myself."

"Well, that's because socially you're an idiot," Raito said, and the expression on L's face soured, as he did not appreciate that kind of honesty. "You have the social skills of an 8 year-old, and yet when a case is involved you can remove yourself completely from the situation and think about scenarios logically, unlike normal functioning people who can only see the world through their own biases and defects. It's funny but your social skills are so bad that they make you a good detective."

"Raito-kun, then what does that say about you, from one socially-retarded genius to another?"

"Absolutely nothing," Raito said, "I was more than popular when I was a human. Don't lump me in the same category as yourself."

"I am like rubber, Raito-kun, and you are like glue," L said, obviously irritated, "whatever you say bounces off me—"

"And therein lies my point," Raito interrupted, staring back at L completely unaffected. "Look, I didn't come here to argue with you all day, because I know if I let you get under my skin, that's what we'd do—argue." Raito breathed in and out deeply, closing his eyes for a second, as if he needed a moment to compose himself. "No," Raito said, now composed and smirking, "I was sent here to let you get under my skin in a completely different way."

L opened his mouth and stopped himself, wondering if he heard Raito correctly.

"It wasn't hard to figure it out in those last days we were together," Raito said softly, almost tenderly, using the same voice that he had used in the past when, sometimes, late at night, handcuffed together and lying in bed next to the other, they would talk about nothing and everything, and the world was so quiet that L could hear every small bit of emotion and understanding in Raito's voice.

"You were thinking it. I could tell," Raito said, his brown eyes still smoldering at him. "You were thinking what it would be like if you didn't have to kill me, if you took me away from Japan..."

L lowered his eyes and smiled a bit, feeling somewhat stupid.

At the end of the case, when L had realized he would have to say goodbye to Raito, the detective had forgotten himself, letting his emotions get the better of him. In those last few days, L had said some pretty telling things to Raito—that since things were coming to an end he would be lonely, that they were the same, that he was sorry...

"I…did not realize I was so transparent. I thought I had been hiding it quite well."

"Certainly you hid it well from other people, but I've always known. I mean, it was one of the reasons why you didn't immediately have me killed. You wanted to prove me to be Kira, but you always knew that too, and you never truly did anything about it until absolutely forced."

L did not deny that he could have done something about Raito sooner. When he had gone up against Eraldo Coil and Deneuve he had immediately taken them out. Of course, they had made threats on his life and L knew that if given the chance they would have him killed, so all of this was done in self-defense, but even still he had not given them much of a chance. The moment they had declared war on him he had tracked them down, set their respective traps, and then left Wammy to cleanup. Within that month he had adopted their aliases as his own, so where there had been three world-renowned detectives, there was now one.

Some might call that ruthless, but to L it had been all business. There had been nothing personal.

With Raito everything had been personal. As soon as he had shown his face to Raito, he had realized that this case had become very important to him. The Kira investigation would be the case to either make or break him, and bringing Raito to Justice would be the difference between a good detective and a great one. The best, honestly, because Raito was that dangerous and that intelligent. No serial killer, no mass-murderer, no terrorist had ever been able to put that much fear in the collective hearts of the people of the world, or put that much hope and reverence in the hearts of those that had nothing to fear. For one year Raito had been the unequivocal God of the world. People had feared and loved him.

Raito had been his white tiger—that one defining capture and kill that would put him in a league of his own, so L could not have helped it when in the coming months, he had absolutely lost his mind in the cat-and-mouse chase between them. Raito had made him think circles around himself until L found himself staring at the brunette at night, utterly amazed by how peaceful Raito could sleep when he was making him half-crazy with lust and fear.

Towards the end L knew he was no longer the hunter, but had turned into prey—Raito's prey. Raito hadn't stayed with him to prove his innocence. He was staying with L to watch him and further enclose him in his trap, and Raito would have won had L not secretly tested the Death Note, and proved once and for all that false rules had been written into the Death Note he had been given.

In that moment, L had felt victorious and heart-broken at the same time.

After Raito was put to rest, Wammy had taken the body to one of his underground facilities in England, where the teenager would be studied for the future generations of Wammy House in order to replicate that ungodly genius.

The last time L had seen Raito, he was staring at the brunette through a glass-like coffin, his body kept from decaying by liquid nitrogen, anti-freeze compounds, and a sealed airless, transparent case; his face the pallor of death, but still beautiful and finally at rest.

It was then that L realized he had given up the chance at true love for the glory of victory, and that realization had left him even colder than the body that laid before him.

"You've always gotten what you wanted, haven't you?" Raito said, walking around out of sight, towards his back now. "You've been able to solve every case you've ever taken on. You have enough money and power to influence governments. And every person you've ever come across you've been able to get them to do what you want without much effort or thought. But being so intelligent has its drawbacks. You know that better than anyone."

"You're…lonely," Raito said, like he was finally admitting it to himself after years of denying it or covering it up.

At one point, L could tell that Raito had been perfectly content to be by himself. He was a strong person. L could admit much stronger than himself. Raito had always viewed himself as better than other people, and that belief had probably manifested at a young age when Raito had realized just how far below him his peers were in relation to him in intelligence. That strong belief in himself and his capabilities had made it so a young Raito had never truly let himself get attached or dependent on those around him. Even to some point, Raito had distanced himself from his family.

Such a strong belief in himself had made it so Raito had unceasing conviction in his actions. He had become an island that did not need outside praise or encouragement to work towards his goals. He was completely self-motivated. He was conceited, and one could say that because he had been fed praise his entire life, it had warped his own perception of himself, and it had to some degree. But people's opinions had stopped mattering to Yagami Raito a long time ago. The moment he had gotten ahold of that Death Note he had viewed himself outside the human realm.

But at some point in the Kira case, there had been a change in Raito. A change in how Raito interacted with L, as if he finally saw the detective for what he was and the realization had made him inwardly re-evaluate some things about himself. It had been jarring. After that Raito had looked at him somewhat…morosely. L did not know if it was because Raito had realized his fun little game was about to come to an end, some way or another, and he was going to have to go back to boring reality, because L understood that as well. As soon as the Kira case had finally come to its conclusion, L had felt an emptiness in his heart that made him realize he would never feel so alive again. He would never feel as challenged or emotional or satisfied. He would never feel as much as he did with Raito, and that knowledge had left him cold. L had been running on pure adrenaline from fear and…strange contentment, and having lost that feeling at the conclusion of the case, now made him feel hollow inside.

If he had to describe it some way, Raito had been his drug. And during those two years, L had become severely addicted to their interactions. He knew he already had an addictive personality. If he took to something—as he had with sweets, caffeine, certain clothes, and solving cases—then it was hard for him to control or even limit himself in his use. Honestly, there was no reason for him to control himself like other people who had grown up in homes with the concept of discipline. Wammy had been no slouch, but L had also learned at Wammy house, intelligence could excuse behavior that was not of the norm. To L the things he enjoyed eventually turned into compulsions. He liked to play with his food, he liked to wear the same clothes every day, he liked solving cases that challenged him...

L could not deny he was actually very fucked up, but he admitted these things to himself. Raito had only come to realize that there was something wrong with himself at the very end, when he became forlorn over their game coming to an end. Raito realized that a void had been created within his conviction—a void that could not simply be filled by himself anymore. And that realization had made Raito feel lonely, like he now occupied a building which should have been filled with people, but continued to remain empty, with only himself standing at the top, staring down on his immaculately created world.

In Raito's mind, the god of the new world would not mingle with those below him, and that was as it should be.

Lonely. Raito was a sociopath in varying degrees, but he at least understood what loneliness felt like, and could empathize with L for it. L could not deny Raito a response when he knew the other was only being genuine.

"For the short time that we were together," Raito said, "I filled that void for you." He was now in front of L again, his expression as open and understanding as L had ever seen it. "And you filled that void in me as well. We were…"

Raito didn't have to say it for L to know what he meant.

They had actually become strange companions. Taking their circumstances out of the equation, L had really and truly liked Raito as a person. He knew he was a little harder to take for Raito, but the brunette had genuinely seemed to like to talk to him and to be around him. There would be times when Raito would laugh unexpectedly at something he said or smile at him when they were alone. L knew there was nothing but pretense between them, because Raito needed to get on his good side, but L could also tell that Raito had actually…liked him as well.

Raito brushed some strands of hair behind his ear. "Speaking frankly," the brunette started, "if we had met under different circumstances, we probably would have ended up in bed together within the week."

"Ahh," L said in agreement, and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the skin there go flush.

Even before they had met, L had wanted Raito.

For about a week, L had watched Raito on cameras, and had been continuously impressed by how intelligent the brunette was, even in that short amount of time. It might not have been intelligent to draw L's attention in this way, but Raito had needed to get close to L as well to put his plan into effect, and he had certainly gotten the detective's attention, definitely more so than any of his other suspects.

Raito was also perfect.

L was a professional, but he could admit that he had been watching Raito just because he liked watching him. Within that almost week, Raito had masturbated once in the shower and another time in his bedroom, which had made Soichirou-san extremely uncomfortable, and had both times resulted in the father excusing himself from the room so he did not have to watch.

Now when people usually masturbated and the rare times that L had their residency bugged, he would glance away several times while they were in the act to give them some modicum of privacy. L would usually turn off the volume as well and go about some task or other, not paying too much attention, but still enough to know if they were trying to get one over on him. L could count on one hand how many times he had put cameras in a suspect's home. It was not that common for him because people were stupid, and he usually had enough evidence to come to a conviction without going to that extreme. Surveillance was usually reserved for those in criminal syndicates and their bosses, not regular people.

So L was at least professional in this aspect, but with Raito he had not even tried to look away or even turn the volume down. L had suspected that Raito knew about the cameras in his house and the brunette was trying to use this knowledge to his advantage, and while that did give L an excuse to not give Raito even a second of privacy, it still had caught L off-guard the first time he had watched Raito touching himself and had found himself extremely aroused by it.

Looking back on it, Raito had known those cameras were there and had been masturbating to make everything appear normal, but L could also tell when he was getting messed with. Raito might not have known him personally yet, but he had known "L" the detective was watching, and he had put on quite a show for him.

L could read body language like nobody else, and when Raito had rolled around in bed touching himself, L could not help but think the brunette was actually quite playful, despite his seemingly put-on serious and studious nature. Raito Yagami liked to play games with his prey, and even when he was touching himself, he was playing mind-games with L. He had pretty much been telling him to 'Come get me, if you dare.'

L loved a challenge, and when it came in such a perfect package as Raito Yagami, he could not walk away. At that point it had not been an option. He had to meet Raito in person. He wanted to play those mind-games with the brunette and drag him down from his perfect little pedestal.

L had gone into this case with noble endeavors like Justice and Truth, but once he had seen who he was truly going up against, L had wanted nothing more than to be let out to play. No limitations, no holding back, just pure unadulterated competition.

L could not sleep with Raito, but he had let his lust for Raito fuel their games all the same. To convict Raito would mean Raito would be his to do with what he wanted, and while L would not act upon those baser instincts-or could not while Wammy and the rest of the investigation team was watching-he had still gained sexual gratification from knowing that Raito was now under his complete control.

The last time he had taken Raito into custody, he had thought about turning off the cameras in the interrogation room and fucking Raito on the table, but Raito would have fought him to the death and L would not rape the brunette to satisfy all the urges in himself. He would not do that to Raito. As fucked up as things had gotten between them, L could not hurt Raito any more than he had to. At that point he had known he was in love with Raito, and he knew he would have to execute the teen for his crimes against humanity and, admittedly, for his own survival.

He could never have Raito, and knowing that had torn L up inside. He could not have the one thing he wanted. It had eaten him alive.

"This Armonia shinigami wishes us to…fornicate?" L asked, feeling his mouth go dry at the possibility of Raito's words. "To keep you in line? And this will all be in contractual terms? What have you gotten yourself into again, Raito-kun?"

"Nothing that I can't handle," Raito said confidently. "As far as what I was told by Armonia, if I set foot on this world, I have to come to you, and if I choose to join our blood-lines, the same holds true for our offspring. I can't escape them either, annoying as that will be."

L's brain came to a screeching halt as Raito's words finally dawned on him.

"What? H-how is that even possible? We cannot have…offspring. You are male."

Raito raised an eyebrow at him as if to say 'duh.' "Yes, I am male, but…" Raito started tentatively, and L's eyes bugged a little in their sockets.

"But what?" the detective asked, now very interested. "Considering what you are implying that is a pretty large exception."

Raito frowned at him, as if having to explain this part was beneath him. "Judges are arbiters, and as arbiters we're supposed to be extremely unbiased. The Shinigami King created these Shinigami with the intention of making them perfect. Apparently, perfection isn't born into one gender, and the ability to procreate is in itself a form of absolute control over the Laws of Nature. I told you," Raito said, "we're not like regular Shinigami. It's the reason why they went extinct. They kept mating with the human population, and the Shinigami King didn't care for that too much, so he—"

"And you accepted this body knowing what you would become?" L asked in disbelief. If he had heard Raito correctly, the brunette was now…not completely male? Raito had been such a chauvinist in his human life. How was it that he had accepted these terms from the Shinigami King? "I find it hard to believe that you would let anyone change you in any way, especially in that aspect?"

Raito shrugged as if to downplay his actions, and L had to remember that as uptight as Raito could be about his ideals, he was also equal-parts nonchalant about a lot of things that normal people would have thought twice about, especially when it furthered his goals towards becoming a God. "Of course I had second thoughts about it when it was explained it to me, but once I got used to this body, there was nothing to really worry about. It was either this or nothingness—it wasn't like the Shinigami-King gave me much of a choice. He wasn't going to make me a regular Shinigami, which I'm fine with, because there's no way in Hell I'd want to spend an Eternity being that ugly. Plus, this body definitely has its perks," Raito finished.

For a second, L had forgotten that Raito was actually a very practical person. Certainly the teenager was vain and did not care for anything that might alter his perfect self, but at the same time Raito was not stupid, and if he found a use for something, he was not one to throw it away because of pride or aesthetics. It was this kind of flexible thinking that had made him so dangerous to begin with. He saw the value in anything that could gain him an advantage. It also might not have helped matters when the Shinigami King told Raito he could make him a perfect being-the God he had always dreamed to be. Raito already thought he was perfect, but L was sure the teen had salivated at the idea of ascending even farther into his concept of god, and of evolving into something that both surpassed man and Shinigami. For Raito, letting L fuck him seemed like a small price to pay for eternal youth, beauty, and pride.

"Do you want to see it?" Raito asked abruptly, and smiled at L as if he had found a new toy, which for all intents and purposes the brunette had. Like before, when L had seen Raito transform from his Shinigami-self to his past-self, it happened within the blink of an eye. L did not even have a chance to utter a word before he found Raito standing before him—absolutely naked and very much female.

Raito's hair was that same chestnut-color, but it now extended down her back in long waves. The facial features had not changed all that much. Raito had always had a delicate bone structure, with sharp eyes, an aristocratic nose, and a well-defined mouth. Raito's female form was also tall and slender, the same height as Raito, but also very shapely.

L tried not to look directly at her chest, but for some reason he could not look away. As a man he really could not help it. It was like a disease or something…

"I'm sure you like what you see," Raito said, voice now a decibel softer and a fraction higher, but if L closed his eyes he knew it was not that different to how the male Raito sounded, as under it all he could still recognize that same melodious and sensual quality that made Raito's voice so distinct for him.

"I haven't given it a test run yet, but everything should work," Raito said. "If not, I'm sure you'll be extremely thorough."

L felt his ears burning despite himself and tried to look away. "You are lovely..."

"But?" Raito asked, now standing directly in front of the detective, upright and completely unashamed. She, as L was getting used to it, placed a hand on his chest.

"If I give into you in your current state, I feel it will only take one night for you to fulfill your contract, meaning I can only have you for one night…" L turned his head, trying to focus on anything but Raito's absolute nakedness.

"Knowing you, one night should be enough to get the job done," Raito said, pulling L closer by his shirt. "But, I was never given an exact time frame, if that's what you're getting at," Raito finished with a self-satisfied smile.

"Is that so?" L asked, as he slowly slipped his hand into the hand on his chest and lifted it to hold it between them. L took a few tentative steps forward, Raito's hand still in his own, so as they moved both seemed like a pair of improbable dance partners, L backing Raito up against the nearby desk.

"I assume Raito-kun now knows a bit about where I come from, if he knows my true name," L said, boxing Raito in even more against his desk, and at the same time he slid an arm around Raito's waist, gently drawing the brunette against him. "And if that is the case, then Raito-kun knows that I am originally from England, where men are taught at an early age to cultivate the qualities of an English gentlemen," L said, voice now hushed as he moved his face closer to Raito's, so they were sharing the same breath. "Where I come from, we do not simply copulate, we court," L stated, while looking Raito deeply in the eyes, Raito's hand still held in his, where he pressed a slow kiss.

For a second Raito just stared back at him, mesmerized, before a slow smile parted the brunette's lips. "And how long do you think this courting-business will go on until we fuck each other's brains out?"

"Until you return my love, of course," L said as if that was obvious, and slid Raito back to sit on the desk.

"Then you'll be courting me forever," Raito laughed meanly, but still let L lean in and slowly kiss her neck; and placing her hands on L's shoulders, Raito tipped her head back even more, giving L more of her neck. "I'm supposed to be fulfilling a part of my contract, not letting you court me, whatever the hell that's going to entail…"

"Yes, and it will be fulfilled," L said, ignoring Raito's lack of faith in his wooing abilities, as he brushed fingers through the silken tresses of hair near Raito's cheek. "However, that does not mean we cannot enjoy each other's company for a reasonable amount of time. I will gladly do my part when the time comes," L said, as he stroked a strand of Raito's hair between his forefinger and thumb, "but for now, I do not see any reason to rush a very desired second meeting."

Raito pursed her lips, opened her mouth to say something and came up short, so all L heard was the usual voiced exhalation of breath that the brunette would make when either startled or frustrated, or honestly both.

L could not deny that sound severely aroused him every time he heard it, and he hoped Raito would never stop making that sound as long as he lived.

"You know," Raito said, regaining her ability to speak, "you're the only person who would sweet-talk someone after trying to put them to death by lethal injection."

"I did what I had to do, Raito-kun," L said, looking Raito dead in the eyes. "If I had not gotten to you first, you would have killed me within the week. It was not hard to sense the blood-lust from you."

"I suppose," Raito said, the utter disregard in her voice obviously relaying that L spoke the absolute truth. "I can admit when I've lost. You did…beat me, after all," Raito said, breathlessly.

L looked at Raito carefully, in awe of what had brought on this response from the brunette.

L knew that he could articulate his love for Raito until he was blue in the face, but sadly, the only way Raito would ever respond to him was through sheer force of will. Raito only acknowledged L through competition, because opposition was what, apparently, turned the brunette on.

L too had learned a bit about himself and his own sexual proclivities when he had met Raito. For L, the chase was his main driving force, and while he had found pleasure in knowing he had finally bested Raito, most of his fulfillment had come from the steps it took to solve the beautiful puzzle that was Raito Yagami. It did not help that learning of Raito's deception with the rules of the Deathnote had left L feeling…betrayed. It had certainly soured his idea of victory, and while he had always known Raito was Kira, for reasons that were obvious to him now, he had wanted Raito to prove him both right and wrong at the same time, as confusing as that all sounded. On one hand he had wanted Raito to mean all those things he had said—all those promises he'd made to him, all those sweet, earnest looks he would give him… L had wanted all those things to mean something...anything. And at the same time, L had wanted Raito to be Kira, because it meant the brunette was that intelligent to elude him for a whole year while under surveillance, it meant he was that cunning, and that perfect…

It was obvious that Raito and him could never have a normal relationship, but L was trying…sort of…

"It seems we are at a crossroads yet again, Raito-kun, and I am the only person standing in the way of your path to world conquest. How unfortunate for you and fortuitous for myself that the the Shinigami King realizes that you need to be kept on an extremely short leash, to which he has been gracious enough to hand me the reigns." L pulled Raito further against him, and the brunette immediately lodged her forearm underneath L's throat to forestall the detective from getting any closer.

"Don't get smart with me," Raito said snidely. "You might be immune for now, but let's see how long that lasts. By the end of this, who knows, maybe I'll keep you around as my very own personal, human foot-stool."

"While I am strangely not as opposed to that idea as much I should be," L said slowly, realizing that the image was actually turning him on—he would analyze himself later on that—"I am not like any of your previous conquests, Raito-kun," the detective continued, as he slowly coiled his long fingers around a handful of silken strands near the base of Raito's neck. "I fight back," he replied, and suddenly tightened his grip on Raito's hair, yanking the brunette's head back.

"Ow, you fuc—" Raito didn't even get the chance to curse him before L leaned in, kissing the brunette suddenly and firmly, and tilting Raito back even more, so all that chestnut-colored hair was now sweeping against the desk in thick waves. For a split second Raito looked about ready to shove L away, and it would have been easy enough with the Death-God's new strength, but L deepened the kiss, and Raito seemed to tense then yield in the same breath.

Winding her arms around L's back, Raito sunk further back on top of desk, and L lifted Raito's legs, wrapping them around his waist—suddenly all too ready to climb further in between—when Wammy walked into the room.

"Excuse me," Wammy coughed, looking for a second truly surprised at the scene he had interrupted. L could tell Wammy had not recognized Raito off the bat, but he knew it would be too much to expect the older man to not notice the uncanny resemblance if he did not think fast.

"What is it?" L said hoarsely, standing upright, though a tad unsteadily as Raito sat up as well, but still keeping the brunette within the circle of his arms, so he was now using most of his body to shield the other. L put his hand on the back of Raito's head, turning the brunette's head so Raito's face was now hidden in his chest.

L could hear the metallic slide of Wammy disengaging the ammo clip from his gun, his caretaker tucking the semi-automatic back into its hiding place. Raito had set off a silent alarm on the balcony that L had chosen not to immediately disable because he, too, had assumed his intruder was of the normal assassin variety, but after the ensuing events had played out, L had completely forgotten about the alarm or even checking in with his phone, which was in the other room.

"I did not realize you were entertaining company," Wammy said, the older man phrasing his words in such a way so L could tell he was being corrected, Wammy obviously not too pleased with L's seeming disregard for safety protocols by allowing what he considered a stranger into the suite without a warning. It also did not help that Wammy was the epitome of an English gentleman—it was where L had received his upbringing, after all—and the man always used phrasing that meant two different things.

Being a gentleman, it was obvious that Wammy was also not too pleased with his handling of what obviously seemed like a female to him. Having carnal relations with a woman on a desk, while bound to happen at some point in a man's life and was not as serious of an offence as other affronts, was still not a very gentlemanly thing to do. You did these things in a clean bed, with a door that locked, and preferably with a person who you knew for a reasonable amount of time.

L sighed, as he knew he was going to hear it for a week. "Can you set out evening attire for my guest? We will be going out for dinner shortly," L said, knowing that Wammy would be too preoccupied with making dinner plans to immediately question him on his supposed guest.

"I assume the usual arrangements will not do?" Wammy asked, and again L could hear the unspoken censure in his voice that said 'do not pick the usual restaurants that you attend, as they are unsuitable for a proper dinner.'

L knew Raito liked Italian, and it was his luck that they were in the Swiss-Italian border city of Molino Nuovo. He could do no wrong here as far as Raito's palate went. "If you could find something in the main quarter."

"Of course," Wammy said. He bowed, but the gesture was presented more to L's female company, as there had never been any real formalities between the detective and his caretaker, not when they had years of living and silently bickering with each other under their belt. Plus, Wammy had never known L to bring a female into his living quarters. If the detective needed company, he usually snuck out, sought it out, and then left it where he had met it. And even that kind of behavior was extremely rare for L, as the detective spent most of his nights on researching potential endeavors, keeping track of their assets, or traveling from one point to another, as they did not stay in the same place for very long for obvious reasons. Once in a while, when L wanted to have his dinner out—or more accurately dessert—he would usually go to a few desolate spots he liked to frequent, and he usually went alone.

He and L had tea on the Queen's schedule and used that time to plan accordingly, but generally the day passed by in a blur of tasks and security protocol.

Wammy tried not to notice the fact that L's choice for a female companion, from what little he had seen of her, was Asian, most likely Japanese, and had the exact hair color and complexion as the now deceased Kira. He had not gotten a good look at her face, as L had become strangely guarded when he had walked into the room, nor would he attempt to gaze at a female when she was in such a state of undress, but from behind…

She looked exactly like…

Wammy should have been alarmed, but if this was the best way for L to deal with his loss, he would not fault his charge with his behavior.

"You're an asshole," Raito said, shoving L off.

"I did not mean to be rough with you," L countered, watching Raito as the brunette combed fingers through the hair that L minutes ago had knotted around his fist. You do have very pretty hair," L continued, "It is not my fault that I had the sudden urge to pull on it, which was very satisfying if I do say so myself."

"Whatever," Raito said dismissively, and hopped off the desk, transforming back into his male form and now sporting a white button-down and jeans, his feet bare. The transformation was too quick for L to catch. L supposed human eyes were not meant to see or even take in the full proceedings of such a supernatural event.

"You could have said something to him."

L smiled a little at the brunette as Raito's face took on that familiar peeved/bored look he would get when L obviously did something he didn't like but could still be persuaded to drop if L said the right things to him. On the Raito Richter scale, it registered between the less-serious miffed and just plain irritated.

"I did not even know where to begin," L said, truthfully.

"I'd rather you tell him if it lets me walk around here in my own skin," Raito responded. "I mean, he's seen Shinigami and knows about the Death Note. Once you get over that, there's nothing left to be surprised about." Raito leveled L with a knowing look. "Unless you just don't want him to know the extent of your feelings for me during the Kira case. I don't blame you, since it throws a lot of your decisions during the case into question, especially the one where you handcuffed us-

"Instead of trying to treat you like a human being, I should have just bound and gagged you in a cell if I'd known how much grief I would get for that one decision," L said, leveling Raito back with his own deadpan, annoyed look. "Wammy adopted me at a very young age. He knows my own flaws better than I do, and he has seen me do some very…" L waved his hand vaguely, as if to communicate the fact that he pretty much did whatever he wanted on cases, law abiding or not. "In any case, that is another conversation that we will never seriously have," L said, doing what he normally did when others brought up a topic he did not care for, and side-stepping it in such a blatant way that Raito could only stare at him in disbelief.

"I have missed dinner, so I am actually quite hungry. I would not mind if we began to get ready for our outing, my pet."

"Fine," Raito sighed, and tried to ignore L's sudden moniker for him. He was certain there would be more. He also forgot how much the detective could throw him off sometimes. "I guess I'll stay in disguise for now. I suppose I don't need to give Wammy a heart-attack. I feel bad enough that he has to deal with you every day." Raito then shifted his weight on his other leg, like he was considering the other side of the equation that was L's caretaker. "If he were to find out my identity, would he try anything against me? You know better than anyone that I won't hesitate to defend myself. I mean I was going to kill him after I killed you, obviously as a safety precaution. No offense."

"None taken," L responded just as quickly, now tapping his bottom lip. "I do not know for sure If Wammy would take action against you, as we both viewed you as a serious threat to the L name during the Kira case, both if you were Kira and if you started down your own path to becoming a detective. I would no longer have a monopoly over the market, as they say. Wammy does not take as kindly to competition as I do, and in his younger days he did take on some rather questionable work."

"You mean he's a former hitman," Raito said bluntly. Wammy barely, if ever, made any sound whenever he walked into a room. Raito could also tell that the man was always carrying. Raito was more observant to this behavior, since his father and his father's friends were all in the force and carried guns on their person every day, but Raito was pretty good at spotting how many weapons they had and where they strapped them. Wammy's good posture and impeccable control over his body movements had made it so Raito could barely get an accurate count of how many firearms the man actually possessed on his person at any given time. Raito had guessed a long time ago that Wammy was L's guardian, and now that L was a great detective, he now served the role as his bodyguard as well.

"Call it what you will," L said, side-stepping the subject yet again. "This is not exactly the most appropriate topic of conversation before dinner. I will go fetch you your things. Please make yourself comfortable, and I will be back shortly." L turned on his heel, heading for the door to the suite, leaving Raito to stare at the detective's back with a small smile on his face.

A/N: Ah Deathnote… I can't leave this fandom alone. L and Raito are too good together. I refuse to leave things as it is Lol. Hopefully I'll be updating regularly, or rather as quickly as I can.