Title: Secrets of Life and Death
Genre: Supernatural/Romance(kinda)
Pairing: Mild LxLight (First shounen-ai! Yeah!)
Rating: K
Warnings: AU, OCs, but it's not bad at all. I think I made it a little confusing especially near the end. If it is, remind yourself of the second genre for this one-shot and that should be a hint. Little slash, though entering the Death Note fandom should be a warning in itself… oh yeah, and an OOC Light, I think.
A/N: This is the first time I've headed one of my one-shots like this. For some reason it makes me feel giddy.

Nakamura Hiroto was a ninety-two year old man. He was married to a wonderful, kind-hearted woman who gave him two beautiful daughters and a son better than any man could ask for. And those children grew up and he was there for the birth of all seven of his grandchildren. Hiroto was grateful that he lived to meet all sixteen of his great-grandchildren, and there was an seventeenth on the way.

Now, he lay on his deathbed with his wife of over seventy years by his side. She was crying ever so quietly. All he could do was hold her shaking hand, running his thumb over the engagement ring he'd given her when they were young and healthy, and whisper how much he loved her.

There were six other people in the room as well: Three of whom he raised to be the incredible people they were today, and the other three he came to love as if they were his own.

No, Hiroto had no regrets as he lay there. He was not afraid of death. He felt some sadness as he saw their solemn faces, some of which were tear-streaked, become blurry. He knew their sorrow would fade away soon in the happiness of life that he hoped they would have large amounts of. He knew that soon – but hopefully not too soon – he would see his wife again.

He felt his consciousness slip away, as well as his ability to hold his wife's graceful hand. Hiroto died hearing the voices of the family he was blessed with, and smiled.

Hiroto was surprised to see the Light in death – but not unpleasantly, because there was darkness all around him. He was glad to step toward the Light, and it beckoned him closer. It was so beautiful and so bright, but not blindingly so. The Light waved the darkness away, but the darkness was never vanquished. It simply left peacefully, almost as if it was saying good bye.

Then, even the Light cleared, and then there was nothing. He was not exactly standing, not exactly floating. He was not exactly living, but not exactly dead.

He saw two beautiful men, sitting on the floor – if it could even be called a floor – close to each other.

They were waiting, listening, watching for him.

The first man was beautiful. He had the palest skin Hiroto had ever seen, but he did not look sickly even though he was so thin and looked even fragile. The smooth face was a distinct difference from the man's messy hair, blacker than a starless night. Even darker than this were his large eyes. Hiroto was reminded of the abyss he'd just stepped out of. The man – not man, no, something even better. The angel sat strangely. It was more so that he was crouching instead of sitting, but he looked quite relaxed.

Leaning on this angel's shoulder was the second angel, just as beautiful as the former, if not more so. His skin was not quite as pale, and his eyes were more of a warm chocolate. His perfectly proportioned face was framed with 

delicate brown hair that brushed past his eyes. He was not as thin as the other angel, and looked even more graceful. He sat with one leg sprawled out under him and the other leg crossed over it. This angel's soft lips smiled politely at him and beckoned him closer.

Hiroto complied, realizing that he could not feel the age that weighed him down in life. As he approached them, they did not stand up, but just looked up at him. He still felt small compared to them and an overwhelming amount of respect for them.

They did not speak, though, and Hiroto realized with shock that they wanted him to speak first. Finally he asked the first angel, "Are you the Angel of Death?"

The angel smiled mysteriously up at him. "No. I am not an angel, nor am I Death. I am Life. You have come here to give me back what is mine."

Hiroto looked at them in surprise.

Life touched the other angel (for Hiroto could find no other word for it) on the hand gently, and he silently lifted his head from the shoulder. "Sit," said the dark-haired angel, gesturing towards the area in front of him.

He sat, not feeling a ground, but letting the nothingness support him.

Life leaned forward and asked him, "Will you give me back what I gave you ninety-two years ago?"

Hiroto nodded, knowing that even though he asked it in a question's form and it required an answer, it was not a question. "I will."

"Thank you." And Life smiled again – a doll's smile, Hiroto thought – and lifted his hands to hold his head towards himself gently. Hiroto leaned forward into the warmth of Life, who kissed him on the forehead, like a father to his child.

The old man felt himself fading. If there was air and if he had lungs, he might have gasped. But he had no lungs, he realized, and he had no body. He had nothing! He felt nothing like it never was before and it felt strange. He was… vulnerable! He would have shaken violently, if he could.

Suddenly he felt someone wrap their arms around him, and the feeling of not feeling faded just a little. He realized it was the second angel, moved from his spot and now he was holding Hiroto close to his chest.

"Unlike Life, you have never met me before. I am Death," the angel said to him softly. He had not spoken before. "Are you afraid?"

Hiroto could not lie, he knew it. "Yes," he said, but didn't exactly say it, for he had no mouth.

"Do not be," Death replied. "This is what you were before Life gave himself to you. You are simply unfamiliar with it."

No, how could he have been anything like this before? It was so strange…

"It is the truth," Death assured him. "Be calm. You are safe." As quiet warmth replaced the feeling of nothingness, Hiroto believed him.

"I am the Light that guided you out of your Life. Are you afraid?" The angel asked again.

No.

"That is good. You have nothing to fear, and once you get used to it, you won't even notice nothing is there." And the angel hugged him closer, giving him the same feeling that Life did when he held him.

And Hiroto faded into Death.

When it was over, Death looked affectionately back at his Life.

Life stared at what Hiroto had given back to him, holding it delicately in one hand and putting the thumb of his other hand to his bottom lip.

Death sat next to him again and asked, "Who will you give that to next, Life?"

Life sighed sadly. "A girl named Aiko. Her mother will run away and her father will abuse her until he finally suffocates her on her seventh birthday." He raised his hands and let what used to be Hiroto's rise up and pass on.

Death frowned. Lately Life had been getting a lot of himself back, far too soon after he'd given it away; Death knew it bothered him. It bothered the both of them. They were glad when the old man came to them after so long a time. He had the opportunity to make the most of Life, and he did.

Death pulled Life to himself and gently pushed the pale man onto his lap and ran his fingers though the dark hair. Life rested there and closed his eyes.

"But we will be there when she comes," Death promised. "And we will meet her father soon after." Then he bent down and whispered Life's Secret into his ears.

Life smiled. He never whispered the Secret back, for it was a powerful thing, and was his weakness.

Many humans often wondered what the Secret of Life was. Many people also wondered how one could defeat Death.

The truth is, the Secret of Life and the Way to Defeat Death were closely intertwined. The latter mystery was actually quite simple. To defeat Death, one had only to use the Secret of Life. The Secret could destroy Life (although admittedly, it might not have any affect at all), which would make Death a very weak enemy indeed.

As it was, many humans loved Life too much to find the Secret. To them, the Secret was not as interesting as the Way, and they never stop to think that the two mysteries might be connected.

But Death, was still not afraid of it, and whispered the Secret with warm teasing in his voice. And Life treasured his brown-haired counterpart's whisper too much to deprive himself of the words he'd given Death to caress his ear with.

They waited, listening, watching for us.

Ugh, I started this at eleven a.m. and it is now four p.m. How did I stay on here that long?

Okay, not very much romance. What ticks me is that I wanted the main part of this to be the romance but it ended up being about an old man's death instead. So yeah, I don't think I transitioned very well. I came up with this as soon as I woke up and didn't think it out very well. Sorry.

And I won't even mention that other fic that I REALLY should be working on. I have no excuses.

…

And sorry, I think I made L uke on accident. It's my first time, okay?