ℕ𝕠 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕖 - H&S

L opened his eyes. He hadn’t been asleep, just...thinking. He sat up, shook his messy black hair back from his pale face, and went to check his computer.

When L arrived at Wammy’s, it was about a minute and 22 seconds past when he was supposed to.He knew only a few of the children would notice, but there were some that would. He stepped into the building and glanced around, looking for one child it particular.

L glanced around, and as always, the smell of the place and the sight of so many children hard at work almost brought a smile to his face. Deep down, Wammy’s would always feel like home to him, and he thought that it was probably the same for many of these children as all. It was just how this place seemed to work. He glanced around, again, this time searching for one face in particular...and looked up. And met Nico’s eyes instantly. He smiled and headed for the stairs, approaching cautiously and easily. “Hello.” He said politely once he got halfway up the stairs and stopped. 

L was used to people not coming near him. He knew it wasn’t because they didn’t like him or anything, it wasn’t that personal. It was just because he was L, world’s greatest detective and probably weirdest too, and that made him someone you didn’t typically just come up to and say hi.
Which meant he was usually the one to come up to anyone he wanted to talk to. He supposed not having a bunch of people vying for his attention helped and he didn’t complain about the extra space he had to do what he needed to do, any more than he would complain if someone gave him a jumbo lollipop.
Nico, as about 50% of Wammy’s kids were, seemed shy and a little awkward. It didn’t give L any particular impression of him, it was just worth noting. He eyed the hand, considered Jico’s face...and bowed his head in an apology. “You’ll forgive me for not shaking your hand? I’m afraid I dislike touching other people.”
There. He hoped he was right about Nico disliking touch. Otherwise he probably just offended him or something...well, too late to worry about that now. Instead, he inclined his head towards a room off to the side, raising an eyebrow. “Would you come with me please? I have something to discuss with you.”

L nodded, noting that he had been correct; Nico disliked physical contact. It wasn’t surprising or weird at all in his mind - of course it wasn’t, he also disliked touching people when he could help it, he hadn’t been lying about it - nor did he think it necessarily pointed to anything in Nico’s past. It might, or course, but it didn’t have to. Some people were just like that.
“You’re not in any trouble.” He answered, though how fast Nico had jumped to that conclusion made him wonder a little. Maybe he was used to being blamed..or maybe he was just a nervous kid. L remembered being a kid, and it made him a little sad that Nico thought interaction with adults meant he’d done something wrong. He’d have to look into that, because Wammy’s wasn’t supposed to be a place that let kids fly under the radar like that. He had often felt that way as a child, and it wasn’t something he would wish on anyone else.
“You’re really not.” He added, concerned that Nico wouldn’t believe him. “You have my word. I just want to talk to you about something very important, if you don’t mind. Would you come with me? The matter I wish to discuss is somewhat sensitive and there are a lot of open ears around here.”
He gestured outside, where Watari stood by a car with the front door open. “Let’s take a drive.”
He didn’t mean to sound threatening, he really didn’t. It just tended to come out that way sometimes. He inclined his head, waiting for Nico’s answer, and hoping it would be yes. He’d respect Nico’s decision if he said no, but really, Nico was the best one for the job and he would rather not have to find someone else.

L watched the boy’s expression like a someone else might watch an intense sort of a TV show: without blinking. He saw the way his eyes narrowed slightly and the tension in his small body, and noted that Nico didn’t trust anyone but probably least of all important adults.
Well, that said a lot about Mr. Hades, didn’t it?
Not that this was news for L. He’s already finished reading Nico’s file and everything he could get his hands on about the boy, which under the wrong circumstances might be creepy but for him was simply thorough. And now he was meeting the face all those reports belonged to, and he wasn’t making any judgments until he talked to him personally.
He couldn’t stand it when people decided they knew everything about a person from a piece of paper. For one thing, you didn’t. You just didn’t. And for another thing, where was the fun in that?
“You don’t believe e, but you’re right, we can pretend you do for the sake of speeding things up.” L answered easily, his posture hunched but otherwise relaxed. His long fingers played with the keychain in his pocket, and his bare feet prodded the floor restlessly, though he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave just yet. He knew Nico didn’t believe him because everything about the boy screamed that he wouldn’t be ‘believing’ anyone about anything anytime soon, and it wasn’t a leap that L was the sort of person he was likely to mistrust the most.
The detective nodded back, then turned and headed for the car, his bare feet light on the hard floor. He wasn’t totally sure Nico would follow, but he was reasonably confident the boy wouldn’t run, because he wasn’t used to that working and he rarely tried in the past anyway. So he simply acted like it was a given that Nico would follow and waited to see what would happen.
Of course, Nico has no idea where they were actually going. That might have changed his mind about following, the odd detective mused as he reached the car and looked expectantly over his shoulder,

When L looked back, Nico wasn’t following. This wasn’t really surprising, though he did silently hope that Nico wouldn’t flatly refuse him, as that would be annoying to deal with. Nico looked more wary than anything else though, so L wasn’t too worried about it just yet.
What Nico didn’t know was that if L had decided anything unpleasant had to happen, he wouldn’t have lied and said it wouldn’t. While he didn’t necessarily always give completely whole truths, he didn’t tend to lie outright, he just...sometimes excluded things that other people wouldn’t. That was all. So if he said Nico wasn’t in trouble, then Nico wasn’t in trouble in any way that was meant to fall under that category.
He was curious how much Nico would ask, and how much he would try to figure out. That was the problem with Wammy’s he figured. The competition made it hard to tell what a kid would do under different circumstances, like the way Nico would probably have just asked if he hadn’t been worried about proving himself.
He inclined his head slightly, considering the question. “Yes.” He answered after a moment, his dark eyes fixed eerily on Nico’s. “I suppose it is. But not the test you’re assuming it is.”
He didn’t offer an explanation, or even explain what test Nico was apparently expecting. Instead he watched as Nico approached the car, his hunched body as relaxed as it ever got.
“Think about it.” He offered after another few seconds. He had, of course expected this, but there was no harm in trying to make it easier, right? “I have no reason to personally single you out, thst you know of. But I’m here. That means there’s something you don’t know, which means it isn’t something you’ve intentionally done wrong, which means you aren’t in trouble. If you were in trouble, I could have just had someone else go talk to you. There was no need to get personally involved, as I’m sure you know I rarely do. So why did I decide this was my best option?”
He was really asking. He was actually curious how Nico would respond.

It really was a test, of a sort. It wasn’t testing Nico on whether he would get in the car, and it wasn’t testing Nico to see if he was smart enough to be there at all, both of which seemed like the obvious choice if there was going to be a test. L sensed Watari in the driver’s seat, quiet and still, watching him. Watari would know what this was about, he mused, if only because Watari knew him better than probably anyone else ever would. This wasn’t about kicking Nico out, or forcing him to prove his worth at all.
It just came down to L’s motivation for being there. Some people thought him cold and uncaring, but that wasn’t it. He cared deeply for everyone, but especially he cared for the orphaned children of Wammy’s house, the place he had called home for so long himself, the place that still, really was home to him. He didn’t know how Nico felt about the place, especially since he wasn’t technically an orphan, but...he found he hoed the boy didn’t hate it too much. He didn’t like the thought that some of the children would rather be anywhere else, even though he knew it was probably true.
And of course, L had no idea how Nico felt about him personally. Plenty of people disliked him, he was used to that, but the kids at Wammy’s especially had extremely polarized views about his existence and what he chose to do with it. Watatri and Roger always told him those views were almost completely positive, but he knew that there were kids who hated him, thought he was a monster worse than the ones he hunted, even wished he were dead. He knew that, and here he was, offering the chance to go out with the world’s best detective to a kid that he didn’t even know. Maybe that was a stupid plan, but if he were completely honest, well...he was running out of ideas. He needed to crack this.
He did notice when Nico started playing with the toy in his pocket. A soothing technique. L knew from experience. He wondered briefly about trying to sooth Nico somehow, but anything he did right now would make things worse, and there would be plenty of time for that later. Assuming Nico went ahead and got in the car, of course.
“You’re correct, of course.” He agreed, pleased that Nico had called him out on that little error. “But I think there shouldn’t be the same punishment for both crimes. If the reaction fits the action, then intentional wrongdoing should have a different reaction than unintentional, and I won’t treat them the same. I am telling you, though that that’s irrelevance because you’re not in trouble either way.”
He tilted his head at that, hearing Nico’s reasoning out. He was right, sending L personally might soften the blow - if it was a blow - of getting thrown out, but the part Nico had gotten wrong was his assumption that L would come. It sounded selfish, but he didn’t really want his visits to start meaning someone was about to get tossed. He didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news to children he cared about so deeply, so he rotated that job among people who didn’t feel as strongly about it, as well as people who weren’t well known enough to have their arrival mean something monumental.
“People don’t idolize me.” He went ahead and said what they were both thinking. “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘tolerate’.”
Then Nico looked at him and he fell silent, dark eyes regarding dark eyes, until a tiny curve at the edges of his lips shifted his expression. It was almost a smile, but far more subtle and almost impossible to detect. “Well done.” He murmured after a moment. “Not only have you chosen to come with me, you’ve figured out why I’m here in a matter of minutes. I’m impressed. If you don’t want to come, knowing what you do, then I won’t force you. You’re free to turn around right now and go back inside, and I won’t bother you again unless there are extenuating circumstances. I must ask, however, that you choose now. If you get in this car, please don’t change your mind halfway there and say you want to go back. That would just be a waste of time and gas.”
He waited. Nico could make whatever decision he decided to. L wasn’t going to push him one way or the other.

It was likely that Nico was watching him for some sign that would give away the correct choice here. L knew that, but he genuinely wasn’t certain what kind of thing could convince the boy, besides him just being himself. He was being honest, he was trying not to omit anything too crucial, he was generally doing his best to not be annoying. He thought he was doing a decent job, too, though he couldn’t be completely sure of that. Unless he asked Watari, and he decided he didn’t want to do that when Nico was right there, because it seemed a bit awkward.
Not only was he in the dark about what Nico thought of him, he was also unsure of whether Nico had any interest in being at Wammy’s in the first place. If all he wanted was to go back to his father, that might make things a little bit harder. L didn’t think that was the case, though, for the simple reason that if Nico wanted that to happen, it probably would have already. It wouldn’t be easy, sure, but it wouldn’t be impossible to swing that if Nico was really invested in it. Which left them where exactly? Nico wasn’t trying to make this difficult, of course, but the facts were that L didn’t have as much information as he should have gotten, because he was distracted. He could tell Nico didn’t hate him, but he couldn’t tell whether Nico liked him. He could tell that Nico was considering getting in the car, he didn’t know whether he would do it. Yes yes, it was all very frustrating, he was too busy to pay much attention to his feelings at the moment, and instead he concentrated on the case.
Hades. L needed information about him and fast. He couldn’t simply set a tail on him and rig cameras in his house like he normally would, either, both because Mr. Hades was likely to notice and because there just wasn’t time for that. He was here with Nico because he was, in short, desperate. Otherwise he wouldn’t even think of involving the poor kid in all this, not when he had plenty of his own problems to keep him busy.
What he had noticed was that Nico seemed to have a bit of a low opinion of himself. That wasn’t good or bad, by itself, but it could sometimes hamper your ability to function at your best, because if you believed you were unable to accomplish something you were likely to not try as hard. That was what L had discovered (through personal experience) anyway. He hoped Nico’s opinion of himself wasn’t so low as to cause him to think he didn’t belong thereat any rate, because that just wasn’t true. Nico belonged at Wammy’s House as much as anyone else did, and the more L talked to him, the more he thought so. It didn’t occur to him to say it out loud, though, so he didn’t.
He stared, not answering for a moment as Nico spoke. Fly on the wall? He supposed the term was apt, though he wouldn’t have thought of it himself. Although, of course, Nico didn’t really know him or what he was to Wammy’s, or anything about his experience with the place. Did Nico even know L himself had been brought there as an orphaned child? L realized with a bit of surprise that he had no idea how common that knowledge was. He hadn’t intentionally hidden it of course, he just...well. He didn’t talk about himself that much. He was too busy interfering in everyone else’s business to really spread his own life around that much.
“Not since I…” L trailed off too, and rubbed his neck awkwardly as he realized he, too, didn’t really know how to put it. Became the world’s greatest detective, he supposed, would do. Or became the one people went to when they had no idea what was going on. Or even just left Wammy’s would suffice, since that was really when things had started to happen.
“...since I left?” He offered, raising his eyebrows in a silent question mark. He hoped that would capture what Nico was trying to say.
“Excellent.” He continued cheerfully as Nico made his decision. It wasn’t surprising, but he was relieved anyway, as he hadn’t been completely sure what choice the boy would make. That made this all so much easier, in the end.
As it happened, Nico did just fine. L slid into the seat beside him, closed the door with barely enough force to latch it, and turned to look at his new companion. Nico looked worried, much too worried for someone who was just taking a small trip. About the right amount of worried for someone taking a small trip with someone who was known as the smartest person in the world, though. Not that L believed that for a moment; he knew he was smart, but it was impossible to measure intelligence because it never looked the same in different people. For him, it looked like never sleeping, candy cane in one hand and a computer mouse in the other, ready to take down anyone he chose to chase. For others it could look like a painting that came out just so, a loaf of bread, a new mixture of chemicals, the final boss of a computer game...the possibilities were endless. That was why L Lawliet didn’t believe for a second that he could be the smartest person in the world.
And neither could anyone else.
Watari dipped his head in acknowledgment of Nico’s greeting, an amiable smile on his wrinkled features. L glanced at Nico, surprised from his reverie. “Normally, only I think to speak to Watari.” He said slowly, and his expression betrayed how impressed he was. Watari wasn’t wallpaper, but people tended to treat him that way when he and L were out together, something that bugged L to no end, yet Watari seemed to be fine with.

L wasn’t unreadable on purpose, really. If he was, he could have turned it off, making people feel more at ease around him. It would have been a lot easier to get people on his side then, instead of having to go around the hard way and create a bunch of different identities just to make people let him help them. The three greatest detectives in the world, for example, were all just him trying to get people to cooperate. It was so much more complicated than it needed to be, and yet here they were.
Well, that wasn’t totally true. Nico was being very cooperative so far. L wasn’t sure that had much to do with how likable he as a person was, because more likely it was because of his reputation at Wammy’s than anything else, but then again Nico could have said no and that would have been that. Whether Nico was aware that L wouldn’t force him or not, was a different question.
L didn’t need to sound impressive. He didn’t need to puff himself up, because he was right where he was supposed to be. Nico wouldn’t appreciate his ego anyway, and there really wasn’t much of a difference between him and the Wammy’s kids.
Age was really the only difference he considered real. And someday, when he was dead and they were older, he wouldn’t even have that.
He hoped Nico wasn’t too intimidated by him. He realized that he was something of a celebrity, which was weird incidentally, but that didn’t mean he thought he was better than everyone else. He was perfectly aware of his capabilities, as well as the fact that someone someday was quite likely to surpass them. Maybe, it would even be Nico. Not that he was going to say that when things were fragile enough as it was. Nico didn’t really trust him, and he had no real reason to. Also, L didn’t know enough about Nico to trust him either, so they were both going to need some more time before he went dropping any comments like that.
There was a big difference between knowing someone’s reputation and knowing the person themselves. L was known for solving cases, being cold and calculating, only taking on cases that were worth enough. In reality, he played with his food and made dumb jokes no one understood and went on voice calls with the kids from his old orphanage. In the end, he was utterly and completely human, and humans were far more complicated than they were often given credit for. He knew that from long and hard experience.
L nodded simply. Watari was indeed right there, and it was the polite thing to do to acknowledge his existence, but it so rarely actually happened. Watari himself said it was fine, he would rather be ignored than under as much pressure as L was daily, but L could tell from the smal smile he wore now that secretly he wished he wasn’t always invisible. He didn’t want constant attention, but there was a difference between that and never even being glanced at by anyone but a single intelligent weirdo. Watari deserves so much more than that, and L found himself warming immediately to Nico, for his decision to acknowledge the older man, as well as his clear indignation that no one else had done the same. He smiled a little to himself as the boy looked out the window, a private, secretive smile, and it would be gone the moment Nico turned back.
The question was, what would Nico be able to tell him? Would he actually be able to help? This was a bit of a gamble on L’s part, if he were honest with himself, and he could only hope it would pay off. Not that he didn’t have several backup plans, of course, but this was by far the simplest and best option available and the others were long and tedious and had a high chance of failure. None of which made him want to use them. This case was far from the worst L had decided to tackle, but it was the best either, and he wanted to solve it quickly and move on. Hades was not a man he found either interesting nor good, and he didn’t really want to spend that much rime thinking about him, if he was honest.
Why has he taken this case? There was a reason, and it wasn’t Hades. This case had more to do with the numerical worth than anything else, actually, which meant it wasn’t that personal, not even now when he was talking to Hades’ son. Who, incidentally, seemed nothing at all like his father so far.
If he’d known that Nico thought he was nice, he would have been rather shocked, because he’d never thought of himself that way before. He was smart, he was terrifying to go up against, he was a force to be reckoned with, but he wasn’t nice. Nice was for people who didn’t have to take down multiple hardened criminals a day. Who didn’t work murder cases in place of sleep. Who had friends.
He was what he needed to be, that was all. And he didn’t need to be nice.
Except he was being careful of Nico’s feelings in this case. He didn’t like making kids upset, and he liked Nico, so he didn’t want to make him mad. It would also be counterproductive to annoy the boy, but he ahead to admit that wasn’t the main reason he was being nice at the moment.
Maybe it was because he was about to be forced not to. Talking about Hades wasn’t going to be fun for either of them.
“Yes.” He answered the question simply, his tone neutral as though it didn’t matter much to him one way or the other. “It would be understandable for you to want to protect him.” He added after a moment, a little softer this time. “But I have to urge you to tell me everything you know. Whether he’s guilty or not is still uncertain, however if he is and you didn’t tell me everything, the case will be much more difficult to solve. Also, it would be very bad for you if it comes out that you obstructed justice. That’s not a threat, it’s just a fact.”
He was looking out the window now, waiting for them to arrive. “I wish I didn’t have to involve you at all,” he admitted unexpectedly. “But I fear you may be the only one who can help me now.”

L could tell without a shadow of a doubt that Nico didn’t trust him.
He didn’t take this personally in the slightest. Nico had every reason to mistrust adults, and especially ones with power, which L definitely had more than his share of that. Being not only the greatest detective in the world, but the three greatest detectives in the world at the same time, well...L wouldn’t trust L, either. Not until he knew what his own motives were, anyway. Maybe once Nico understood that this had nothing to do with him being in trouble, he would feel calmer and they’d be able to talk without this looming monster over both their heads.
As far as he was concerned, Nico didn’t have to prove himself. Not that the detective wouldn’t be testing him at every turn, but that was more for his own benefit than because he didn’t think Nico would pass. He just wanted to get to know the boy, and that was pretty much the only way he knew how.
You don’t think too highly of yourself, do you? L mused, keeping an eye on the boy as they rode in almost complete silence. No questions, not showing off, not half-thought-out attempts at deductions. Not that it would have been a bad thing if Nico had done those things, it was just interesting that he didn’t, and L found he liked this boy more and more as time went on. He was quiet and thoughtful, smarter than he knew.
All he needed really was a little more confidence. Which L hoped that helping him solve a case might be just the thing to give him that. Which would be a pleasant side effect of all this to say the least.
He wished he had a different answer about Hades. But the truth of the matter was, the man wasn’t a good person, at least he didn’t seem to be. He was perhaps an even worse father, abandoning his son like he had, and L felt a stab of deep dislike for the man shoot through him, though he did a good job of covering it up as nothing. Nico deserved much, much better, that was all. Maybe he would find that at Wammy’s.
L knew the chances of Hades not causing trouble were astronomically low. He was ignoring that fact, and didn’t want to be reminded.
“You don’t see surprised.” L noted, tone steady and neutral as he glanced at Nico. They were both talking quietly, it seemed, as though afraid of being overheard.
Or afraid of being heard at all.
His eyes widened a little as Nico went on, but he wasn’t upset to be told he’d made a mistake. After all, he didn’t agree that he had, but he was willing to listen to Nico’s argument and see. He listened quietly, eyes intense as the rested on Nico, expression so difficult to read but not unkind. “I think your father is the one who made a mistake.” He said softly when Nico had finished, his tone unexpectedly gentle. “I know you don’t think you belong at Wammy’s. Perhaps it would surprise you, however, to know that you wouldn’t be the first child or the last who’s come to me and told me they didn’t think they were smart enough to be there. I think the word genius is misleading, personally. It implies you have a set of skills that have nothing at all to do with intellect, leading many highly intelligent people to believe they’re quite dense.”
His expression was serious, with no trace of laughing at Nico in his wide dark eyes. What he’d said was true. Plenty of Wammy’s kids believed they were stupid and couldn’t believe how the smartest people in the world had made such a mistake. Since the early days, L thought he’d come a long way in building systems to help children like that gain confidence in a healthy way, but he knew there was still a long way to go, and it was possible he’d never fully rid the orphanage of self-doubt.
He hoped Nico still wanted to help him. He certainly still wanted Nico’s help, and more than that, he might need it. Without the boy’s knowledge, he had the suspicion that this case might fall wide open and leave it easy for Hades to slip away unharmed. He didn’t want that to happen, he wanted to catch him and stop him before he did something even worse, but he knew this case was resting on thin ice at the moment.
“Thank you.” L said simply, dipping his head to the boy in front of him respectfully. “I appreciate that. I know it isn’t easy to go against your own father, and I don’t expect you to do it without hesitation. But any help you might be able to give would be welcome.”
Nico, of course, didn’t know how fragile this case was. It wasn’t necessarily something L was purposefully hiding from him, it was more that he hadn’t yet gotten around to mentioning that. He would, soon enough, when they got where they were going. He could practically feel the waves of thought coming off the boy, and he could tell Nico’s thoughts about his father were...well...complicated, to say the least. He didn’t blame him. The whole situation was absurdly complicated.
Right when Nico finished speaking, the car came to a stop, and Watari looked back at the two of them, then silently got out of the car and came around to open it for L and Nico both. L nodded to Nico again, a small smile on his face. “I think, with your help, we have a good chance of winning this case.” He told him, then turned and climbed out of the car, his bare feet hitting the ground with a slapping sound.
They were standing in front of a cozy looking ice cream shop, complete with outdoor seating set far enough away from the building that eavesdropping wasn’t much of a concern. L glanced back at Nico and tilted his head slightly, indicating the building. “Please, go with Watari and order whatever you like. I’ll go save our seats.”

L himself was quiet, so he didn’t mind that Nico didn’t feel like talking. He was often told he needed to communicate a bit better, and he wondered not for the first time whether that was true.
Not that he could really do anything about that. He was the way he was, and no amount of tugging on himself was going to change that. Talking was something he did when he had something to talk about, not when he wanted to fill the silence, and he got the sense that Nico might be the same way. In fact, he didn’t doubt that under the right circumstances, the boy would be as chatty as any of the more extroverted Wammy’s kids.
He hoped to see that side of Nico sometime. He didn’t have any reason to think he would, but he hoped.
He didn’t think about Nico not showing off, so much as he thought about what the boy was doing. He was thinking. He was trying to make the best out of a bad situation. And he was probably trying to figure out what someone like L wanted with him, which was a fair question. The greatest detective in the world, or so the title went, probably didn’t have time to talk very often.
That was where he was wrong, though. Talking was a huge part of L’s work. Talking to suspects, mostly, talking to victims when they happened to still be alive, talking to family members. People like Nico, for example. He sometimes wished he could make more calls where he wasn’t the bad guy, but that was his life. It was what he’d chosen, and he wouldn’t change it even if he could.
He looked at Nico. The boy looked conflicted, as though he wasn’t sure how to answer, which was a reasonable response. For a child his age to have to deal with something like this, he was doing remarkably well, and L had no doubt that he loved his father even if he was capable of horrendous deeds. That was often the case in families, he’d noticed. Often, love had nothing to do with what the person was capable of, and everything to do with who the person was. Hades was Nico’s father.
Maybe hating him wasn’t an option.
He wondered whether Nico would tell him how he really felt. It was all right either way, but he was curious.
He nodded. That was probably as good as they were going to get, and he was impressed that Nico had said that much. Because it had to be hard, saying that about someone you cared for. Someone you wanted to be loved by. He didn’t blame Nico for trying not to actually say that Hades had done anything wrong yet, and really, L couldn’t say he had, either. He was a suspect, that was all. A very high suspect with chance of over 83% of being guilty...but a suspect. And he couldn’t afford to forget that.
He tilted his head slightly at Nico’s next words. Genius? Well, he knew that was what people thought of him, and he wouldn’t have said he wasn’t smart because he was, but he wouldn’t call himself a genius. He didn’t like the connotation that other people weren’t smart. Like the one Nico was making now, for example. He listened to the boy speak, not interrupting even when Nico implied that someone had taken a bribe to get him into Wammy’s, which was completely untrue. L knew enough to know that bribing your way into Wammy’s was neither possible nor wise to try, because it was a big deal and getting in wasn’t competitive in that way. You got in if you were suited to be in, no other way. Like Nico was suited to be there, whether he knew it or not. L knew that if he stayed long enough, there was a chance he would even begin to call that place home. And he wanted that for the boy, he really did. Just like he’d found a home there, once.
“I’m not the best.” He answered quietly, looking Nico in the eye. “I’m the greatest detective in the world that we know of, yes. There is a high chance that there’s a better detective out there somewhere, however, so ‘most well known detective’ might be a better title. But I can’t be the best, because that’s much too wide of a description for anyone to fit. But you want to know why I don’t think anyone was bribed.”
He hesitated. They were there now, and he was out of the car before he answered, looking at the ice cream shop as he did. “I don’t think anyone was bribed because I think you’re a lot smarter than you think you are, Nico. And I think…”
he paused, looking over a hunched shoulder at the boy. “I think you have a lot to offer the world.”
He headed off then, towards the seats he was going to save for them. Far enough away from the building to be safe from curious ears, and far enough to be a bit of a pain to get there, but probably not far enough for the ice cream to melt.
Probably.
Watari shook his head as he gazed after L, then looked at Nico, eyes knowing. “Don’t even think about pretending you don’t want any.” He told him, but it was gentle, like he was used to carefully convincing people they were wrong. That wasn’t what he was doing now, but he sounded like a negotiator when he spoke. “Come on. L will be able to tell of you choose something you don’t want because it’s cheaper, so I wouldn’t do that either.”
And he headed for the door, looking back to see whether Nico was following or not.

Maybe someday, L would get to see that version of Nico. Maybe he would get to meet the kid with so many questions they burned him up from the inside out, because L could relate to that. He was a detective, after all. And didn’t detectives live their lives by asking questions? Wasn’t that what he did, day after day? He asked both the right and the wrong questions, he made sure to inspect every detail he could find. Wasn’t that what it was to investigate? He looked at Nico. Somehow, he just couldn’t tell what the boy thought of him. Usually he had some idea whether someone hated his guts or not. Admittedly, he was often wrong about that, but he made up for it by being wrong about nothing else. With Nico, though, he really didn’t know. Did the boy hate him? Admire him? Wish he was dead? L was completely in the dark for now.
What he did know was that Nico loved his father, in spite of everything. This didn’t surprise him at all. Everyone, but especially children, were hardwired to love their parents, and often it had very little to do with who those parents were. Of course there were people who didn’t follow that rule, but they were the exception as far as L could tell. So it wasn’t at all surprising to see Nico struggling.
He really didn’t think he was the best. He’d made so many mistakes, serious ones, and he’d lost confidence in himself before. He believed he was capable of extreme feats of mental prowess, and he knew he was highly intelligent, but he wasn’t the best because that was a concept that made no sense. Everyone was different, and so comparing them was a waste of time. That was what he thought, anyway.
“Perhaps.” He mused, answering Nico’s question thoughtfully. “But there are plenty of reasons why someone might be as ‘good’ as me, as you say, and not be in my position. They may simply have lacked someone to recognize their abilities. Or maybe they’re ‘good’ in a completely different field than I am, one that’s less prone to recognition. There are too many reasons to list, but suffice to say I find it highly unlikely that I’m the most intelligent person in the world. The chances that I’m the best detective in the history of the world are so close to zero, there’s no point in even paying any attention to them.”
And with that, L was gone, saving seats.

Watari shook his head slightly, watching Nico closely. The boy clearly had mixed feelings about L, which was understandable, but Watari could tell that the boy meant him no harm. Nico was curious about them, and nervous too, worried that he was in trouble he that he was about to get kicked out. That, too, was understandable, but Watari wished he could set those fears at ease.
He didn’t speak, letting Nico do as he liked. The boy was clearly struggling internally at the moment, and there was no rush. Actually, L had probably chosen to go save seats himself rather than sending Watari both because he wanted to give Nico a break from his intense scrutiny, and because he thought Nico and Watari might want to talk a little, too.
Not that Watari expected Nico to talk to him. L’s handler was used to being ignored, and he didn’t take it personally. Though, Nico had spoken to him in the car. He still didn’t know why that was. L was the star of the show, there was no question about that, and that was how Watari liked it.
Still, it had been nice to be spoken to like a human being.
He waited patiently for Nico to go inside, smiling in a low key friendly sort of way as he did. The poor boy was having to work through so much unfamiliarity at the moment, after all, it was only fair to give him a moment to catch up.
Then he headed for the ice cream shop, and after a moment’s hesitation, Nico followed him.
And just like that, Nico was a kid again. Pressing his face to the glass, reading the containers, even his glance at Watari for approval was as childlike as you could get. Watari smiled to himself, remembering a certain other boy who had been hypnotized by the many flavors a single ice cream shop could contain. Nico reminded him of that boy, more than most of the other children at Wammy’s.
He made his own order after Nico: a medium cone with one scoop of strawberry and one scoop of vanilla for L, and a small cup of pistachio for himself. Then he turned back to Nico, carrying the two orders one in each hand.
“Yes.” He agreed, eyeing the cone for his favorite detective with a dubious expression. “I think so too. L always seems to think cones are better. I don’t have any idea why.”
And with that, he turned and headed out, somehow managing to get the door open and hold it for Nico, in spite of his double ice creams.

L was waiting at his tables, watching the people go by. They were mostly eating their own treats, and of course, they had no idea that the odd young man with the messy hair and baggy clothes was actually the famous L.

-

L approached the building, not bothering to check the paper with the address written on it.

Watari, though used to being ignored, found he quite enjoyed being more in the thick of things. For example, not many people were aware that he was an accomplished sniper, or that he could bake over a hundred cakes in one day. They knew he served ice cream and brought L’s laptop around wherever it needed to be, and they knew he was L’s handler, but they had no idea about all the things that entailed. And, really, he was fine with that. He needed no one’s recognition, aside from perhaps L’s. And that was because he knew L appreciated him, even if the young man said it rarely.
Nico seemed to have questions on his mind, and Watari waited patiently for them to be asked. There was no need to pry, after all. Nico was free to ask whatever he liked, and though he clearly worried about making them angry, he didn’t need to. Watari wasn’t going to get angry over a simple question. Actually, Nico probably couldn’t have made Watari angry if he’d tried. Watari was, indeed, less likely to psychoanalyze everything Nico said, but he *would* be watching the boy’s expressions closely and getting any information he could, probably to tell L later. It wasn’t a breach in privacy. It was simply them trying to solve this case as quickly as possible.
He glanced down at his ice cream and chuckled. That was one way to start the conversation. “Me neither.” He agreed. “Outside of ice cream, anyway. I prefer walnuts.”
Did that count as sharing something personal? His preference for walnuts? Probably not. He sought about for something more interesting to mention that would put Nico at ease. He could mention some cases they’d been on, but he didn’t want to bore the kid with details of past achievements.
He smiled as Nico thanked him. “Don’t mention it.” He said easily, heading for the seats at a pace he knew the kid would be able to easily keep up with. “This is a good place. It makes some of the best ice cream in the city, to hear L talk about it. Not that he’s exactly choosy.”
He looked sideways at Nico, wondering whether the boy was going to ask anything after all. He didn’t have to. But it was so clear that he wanted to.
And finally, Nico asked a question. Watari smiled in his slow, gentle way, showing Nico that he wasn’t angry. “The exact time and location is classified, yes.” He agreed. “But I can tell you, he wasn’t any older than you are. I’ve known him since he could barely walk, and I always knew there was something very special about him. He’s always been the way he is, and I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
L had picked seats a ways away, probably to avoid eavesdropping, but it meant Nico and Watari had a chance to talk a little before they got there.
“Please ask whatever is on your mind.” He added. “I don’t bite.”

L made his way up to the front door, and hesitated. This was going to be very dangerous, he knew. But there was no other choice, and the only thought in his mind as he knocked on the door was that he wasn’t going to let this be his last case,