Author's Note: This idea started out as an idea I thought of when brainstorming for one-shot ideas. Started writing it when bored during school. We had just finished some testing done on the computers and I was in the library w/ my journal and my close friend sitting next to me. So, I was stuck on a part of "To Befriend..." and I almost started writing the beginning of a lemon in my new one-shot that will most likely be posted this weekend ((YAY!!)) So I started writing this w/o any plot except the following:

Light/Raito orphaned at 14, L sends him to Wammy's. They fall in luv. L's 21. Mello's 11. Mello's jealous blah blah blah. That's pretty much all I had when I started. I had recently read several stories w/ Light's family being murdered, and the summaries for stories where the Death Note gets into someone else's hands. So, just so you know, Ryuk is one naughty shinigami. You'll see why... You'll also see why Raito is not Light in this story like my others.

Also, when dealing w/ slash couples, age doesn't really matter. And everything in here is as acurate as POSSIBLE!! I believe this starts in 2000. I already gave the ages. Everything is researched...on Wikipidia...So, if you really need an example of how age doesn't matter for guy-on-guy couples, just look at Loveless! A 12-year-old and a college guy? Yeah, that's worse than mine.

Warnings: Guy-on-guy luvin. Not yet. Sometime soon I hope. LxLight, MelloxL, MelloxMatt, NearxMello ((I hate Near, but he's gotta luv Mello. Only logical)). Will boost rating to M when neccessary.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

Chapter 1

"Mom, I'm home!" a young brunette boy, about 14 years old, called as he stepped through the front door of his home. He kicked off his shoes and placed them carefully in their place by the door. After that, he ran his hand through his perfect hair, letting it fall back into place as he walked towards the kitchen. He grabbed some chips out of the cupboard and realized he smelled something burning in the oven. "Hey, Mom?! What's in the oven?!"

Nobody answered. He walked out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, slightly worried. His mom usually welcomed him home after school. And she never let anything burn. Something was wrong.

As he walked up the stairs, he called again, "Mom?! Mom!" He reached the top of the stairs and didn't find anything unusual. "Mom?! Dad?! Sayu?!" He ended up calling out his sister's name.

Suddenly, the door to his parent's room burst open and his sister ran from it, yelling, "Oni-chan!!" Sayu grabbed hold of her older brother, tears in her eyes. She pulled her shocked brother into the room she had burst forth from, all the while explaining, "I came home and saw Momma lying on the floor in the kitchen. I thought she had fallen asleep, so I carried her up here, so she could be more comfortable. But she won't wake up and I don't think she's breathing!" the young girl cried out.

The boy looked to the bed he was led to, his mother lying on it—not peacefully, like asleep. His eyes widened and he grabbed the older woman's wrist, checking for a pulse. There was none. He quickly ran to the phone beside the bed and dialed 911. "I think my mom's dead!" he yelled once he heard someone on the other line.

"Calm down, son," the person said. "Tell me exactly what is wrong with your mother." The boy proceeded to retell his sister's story, adding in where he came in. "An ambulance and the police are on their way. Please stay on the line until they get there," came the person's reply in an apathetic, bored voice.

Tears were forming in the boy's eyes.

"Sayu!" the boy said to his sister. "Call Dad, right now!" The younger girl left the room while the boy remained frozen. Something wasn't right. The only logical explanation would be a stroke or a heart attack. But his mother was perfectly healthy. He was shaken from his thoughts at his sister's scream.

At that moment the police arrived. He ran to the door to let them in. then he led them to his parents' room, explaining what had happened. His sister was quiet once more and he excused himself to go check on her. He really didn't want to leave his mom alone, but he had to.

"Oni-chan!" Sayu yelled as soon as he entered the room. She couldn't say anything else but handed him the phone, her eyes wide and tearing.

"Hello?" he asked into the phone. Had his sister dialed the wrong number? He twirled the phone cord nervously around his finger. This was his father's work number, right?

"I'm sorry," someone on the other end said. "Your father died of a heart attack not too long ago. He was brought to the hospital, but it was too late. We tried calling your house, but nobody was home. Truly, I am sorry."

"Kids…" someone called from the door of his sister's bedroom, the room they were currently in. "Your mother died of a heart attack. There's no other explanation. I'm sorry."

"WHAT?!" the boy screamed while his sister remained mute. "That's not possible!" The man gave him a weird look. "M-my dad…he just died of-of a heart attack!" He pointed to the phone in his hand to indicate what "just" meant.

He and his sister were orphans. This could not be happening. This could not be possible. Both his parents died of heart attacks around the same time of the same day. Now he had nobody but Sayu. What were they going to do?!

The next hours passed by quickly, yet slowly. All he knew was that it all passed by in a blur, answering questions and remaining silent at the same time. Nothing was right anymore.

He didn't even know he had been crying until he was called from his inner turmoil by a woman's voice. He was sitting in a waiting room of sorts. Why? he couldn't remember or did not know. Where was Sayu? That he didn't know either. Was his sister taken from his without his knowledge?

"Excuse me," the woman was saying. Please come this way, sir." She gestured him to the door behind her. He followed, not understanding what was going on.

The room he entered was pure white with a clear desk and white swivel chairs. He sat in the chair the woman indicated, waiting for whoever was to come. The woman told him to wait, so he did.

"Sorry I'm late," called a monotonous voice several minutes later in fluent Japanese—yet without the accent of one who was Japanese—deep and charming at the same time. "My flight was delayed, which really was not helpful. So I then decided to buy my own private jet. After our meeting, I will look more into that." A strange man walked in, slouched over, hands in the pockets of his baggy blue jeans. He also had on a baggy white shirt, but no shoes or socks. His midnight black hair was messy and unkempt; under his deep, black eyes were dark bags symbolizing his lack of sleep. His skin was pale, as if he never went outside.

The man sat down behind the desk, bringing his legs up to his chest and placed one hand on a knee, the other brought to his mouth to nibble his thumb. "I assume you know why you are here," he drawled out. The boy widened his eyes, not sure how to answer. "Ah," the man caught on. "They told me you have been out of it recently…"

The boy stared at the strange man, recent events shocking him out of his usual manners. "W-what do you mean 'recently,' sir?" he asked, worried.

"They have told me you slept for a whole day, and since then you haven't slept for two. It's quite typical for someone experiencing your kind of trauma." The panda-like man brought his thumb to his lips again and said in a wondering voice, "I wouldn't be surprised if you never sleep again." The boy noticed the pronounced bags under the man's eyes. What had happened to his family?

Dark eyes stared into his sepia eyes and the man stated, "You may call me Ryuzaki. But the world knows me as L." The boy gaped, dumbfounded. This odd creature was the World's Greatest Detective. And somehow, for some reason, he was talking with him. This man was his idol! "And you are Yagami Raito, am I correct?" he voiced.

The boy could only hoarsely say, "Yes."

"Well, Raito-kun," L said. "I'd like to invite you to attend Wammy's House for Gifted Orphans."

A strange, black-haired man sitting in an odd crouch was staring at his computer screen, looking at different cases he could take on. none of the m interested him. And everyone in the world knew that the World's Greatest Detective only took on cases that interested him.

L heard the door to his room open and the squeaking wheels of his sweets cart being pushed through the door. Watari, his father figure and right-hand-man, almost butler, spoke, "L, here are the cakes you wanted. And," the older man handed a stack of papers to the detective, "here is a list of recent deaths in Japan. One group stands out to me."

L took the papers and scanned them, holding them each between his thumb and forefinger. "These two," he finally said, indifference plain in his voice. "A husband and wife both died of heart attacks around the same time…perfectly healthy…no family history…two children…Truly I cannot understand this…"

Watari pointed to several more pairs of names. "There have been several husbands and wives dying of heart attacks. They are all detectives or part of the police. That is why I brought you these papers."

"I'll take the case," L stated, a bit of emotion slipping into his voice. "This seems interesting enough. And I don't enjoy my fellow law enforcers being picked off one by one."

He looked back at the papers for some time and Watari excused himself. L studied the first couple he pointed out again. They were the first to die like this. Yagami Soichiro and his wife Sachiko; Yagami-san worked with the Japanese police. He was in fact the newly appointed chief. They had two children: Yagami Sayu, ten years old, and Yagami Raito, fourteen years old. Pictures were also with the profiles. L started memorizing the faces of the first three family members. When he glanced at the son, a shock ran through his body.

The boy, Raito, was the picture of perfection. His skin held not a blemish; he required no braces, for his teeth were shining and straight. His hair was a gorgeous dark-honey color, every hair in its place. And his eyes—they were deep and clearly showed his remarkable intelligence. Raito was a genius. And now he was an orphan.

How both his parents had died of heart attacks was a mystery—one L was soon going to solve. Both this beautiful boy was going to be sent to Wammy's House, no doubt about it. The younger sister showed normal intelligence she would go to an orphanage or boarding school or something. L did not concern himself with her.

Feelings and emotions were never L's forte, so he did not know what was going through his head as he stared his wide-eyed stare at one Raito-kun. All he knew was that he wanted to—no, needed to meet the boy, talk with him. He called Watari, to make the arrangements, then went back to memorizing everything he could about Yagami-kun.

Why did he need to see Raito, personally invite him to Wammy's? Was it his IQ that made him need this child to be his successor? Child; Raito-kun was just a child, fourteen years old. L was twenty-one. Of course, L started his detective work around that age, but he had a different childhood.

He looked back at the photo of Raito. The shock went through him again. He could not stop staring. There was something about the boy that made him incapable of looking away, some sort of attraction…

That was it: attraction.

Author's note: How do you like so far? For some reason, it's always L w/ the attraction first in my stories...idk why. Well, so you guys understand for now, the story does not skip around like this anymore. This was slightly confusing, but I've never done this much loss in one chapter before! And Raito's creepy...L is too...HE'S FALLING IN LUV W/ A 14 YEAR OLD FOR PETE'S SAKE!!

And just so you know: I have almost no idea why I chose Frozen Hearts as the title for this story. It is likely going to change when I come up w/ a new title...But for the time being, it stays. And if you have any ideas as to who the hell is using the Death Note, why, etc, PLEASE TELL ME!! I need help!! I accidently put in that sub-plot to give this story more plot!! It helped in "To Befriend..." but not in this!! Reviews are welcomed, thanx.