Almost is Never Enough (L X Reader X Light)

Chaper One: Dedication.

Everyday for the past few months you spent most of your time hunched over at your computer glaring at the screen. You hadn't noticed how angry you looked. Your face naturally went into a scrowl when investigating the kira case. The thought of not finding out who was doing all these murders so recklessly angered you being belief. Not ready to admit it, though it was obvious to everyone around you, you were becoming obsessed.
So obsessed even, it seemed like you were finding really good leads. Yes, you are a good detective. Yes, you are smart and have a lot of resources. But, you were young. You had a lot to prove before you were going to be taken seriously. Keeping this fact in mind yiu were utterly shocked the day you were contacted by the most famous detective in modern times.
L himself, or rather watari contacted you asking you to be apart of his team and help him find kira. You were at a lose of words. Honored by the request you quickly accepted. You were given the name and address of a hotel in Japan, and told to be there in a weeks time. A challenge, but like always you beat it against all odds. It took a lot of yelling/flirting your way into getting cheap flight tickets to the island in a week, though it seemed like this was your one big chance to make it big.
Anxiety surprisingly didn't kick in until you reached the front entrance of the hotel you were told about a week ago. You were confident until your (e/c) orbs laid eyes on what you would call home for who knows how long. This was the last reminder that you can't just turn back to America and solve petty crimes for the rest of your life. You sighed nervously and picked up your suitcase.
"Ma'am!" You heard a voice in the distance call, you turned to see a man in his 20s running up to you. You halted as he made his way up to you. "Ma'am, let me carry that for you! It looks heavy!" He explained, you rose an eyebrow.
"Do I not look strong to you?" You asked with a sly smirk "because if it's strength you're worried about maybe I can show you just how strong these little arms are" you winked at the man.
He took a step back in surprise "my apologies! I was only offering to be kind!" He explained "i-i recognize you is all!" This was your moment to be confused now.
"Recognize me?" You asked "are you L?" A nervous chuckle escaped the brown haired man's lips.
"N-no, I'm not" he admitted "but, I work with him"
"oh, well it's nice to meet you---" you trailed off
"o-oh! Matsuda!" He greeted holding out his hand for you to shake. You reached for his hand and gripped it into your own, noticing the sweat the filled his palms.
"____" you said with a simple smile "you wouldn't mind showing me where I'm supposed to be going would you, Matsuda?"
Matsuda shook his head quickly "no! No problem, just follow me!" He turned nervously and began walking towards the entrance of the building, you followed close behind.

The hotel wasn't amazing, but it certainly was out of your budget. Luckily everything was being paid for as long as you made good progress with the case. You weren't entirely sure how things were gonna work. Would you be staying in a room by yourself? Are other detectives going to be stating with you? When would you get to meet L? You pretty much assumed that you wouldn't meet the mysterious man for a while. After all, he never has shown his face to the public.
Matsuda lead you to an elevator and clicked the highest number button on the wall; 20. Did you really have to say all the way on the 20th floor? You sighed at the thought of every long ass elevator ride you'd have to take everyday.
"Why so up high?" You questioned
Matsuda shrugged "safety reasons I guess?"
"Safety against what?" You're eyebrows scrunched together. How dangerous was the job going to be? Matsuda saw the worried look on your face.
"No, no you're not in danger!" He assured you "This is for L's safety!"
You gave him an eve more confused face "L lives here?" Matsuda nodded his head "I'm meeting L now?!" You began to panic as anxiety filled your veins once more. You were not expecting a meeting so soon.
"Of course!" Matsuda explained "L is very excited to meet you"
"excited?" You asked cautiously. What did that even mean? Why would L be excited to meet you?
The elevator opened and Matsuda walled out and made a sharp left. You followed close behind. The hall was was long and strange. Not a single door was on either side of the hall, this made you wonder what was on the other side. After a few seconds of waking you reach the end of the hall, leading to a plain looking wooden door. So much for high tech security.
Matsuda pulled out a card and inserted it into a mental slot on the door. You head a click and the sound of the door swinging open. Matsuda made his way in and you follow.
Within seconds you were greeted by another man. A younger man, closer to your age. Matsuda moved to the side so the blomde haired boy could greet you. A softy smile came to his lips as he held out a hand for you to shake.
"____" he coed cheerfully "it's so nice to finally meet you!"
You extended your hand and shook his "nice to meet you too" you said calmly "may I ask who I am meeting?"
"Light" he introduced, still smiling.
You rose your eyebrows "Light?" You gasped "is that what L stands for?"
Lights smile grew a little wider at your question "no, sweet____ I am not L" Light informed you "L is-" he was interupted by a voice behind him.
"Right here" he voice said calmly. You peeked around lights body to be greeted by the sight of an awkward looking man. He was young, with greasy black hair and dark bags under his eyes. You took notice of his unprofessional posture and clothes. Your face turned to light in disbelief. No one said a word as you continued to loom confused.
After a few seconds of silence a small soiled appears on your lips and you let out a small laugh "You're joking, right?" You asked "please tell me you're joking"
L didn't change his expression but light smiled back down at you. "Are you insulting L?" Light asked in amusement. You looked up at the man and shook your head quickly realizing your mistake.
"Oh- I'm so sorry I didn't mean to offend y-" you began
"no offence taken" the strange raven haired man spoke up. He didn't seem phased by anything.
"R-right" you said softly "well, it's nice to meet you, L" you made your way towards him, extending your arm. L did not repeat this gesture, he only looked at you. Awkwardly you put your hand down as slow as possible.
"That's too bad" you heard light sigh "when L first saw your photo he seemed so excited to have someone so young and cute around. Too bad she thinks you're weird, right L?"
You turn to face light but halted when you heard L speak up "___" he said sternly. You gulped and looked him in his dark black eyes. "I think we should all sit down and discuss any questions we all might have for each other"
You nodded your head "I agree"
You, L, and light left Matsuda behind as you made your way into another room. There were two long black sofas parallel to each other with a glass table separating them. L and light took the couch closest to the door. You noticed L crouch down in a strange position as he took his seat. You ignored this and softly sat yourself across from them.
A silence crept into the room leaving you a little anxious. The two men stared at you, but not into your eyes. They eyed you up and down, as if they were sizing you up. You could feel their judgmental gazes hacking away at you. Not fully understanding the awkwardness of their evaluation you began to shake nervously.
"Why are you so on edge?" The darker haired man questioned "what do you have to worry about?"
This question surprised you. Was L trying to imply something? You moved looked over at light to see him expressionless. At that moment you realized how difficult of a journey this was going to be. Luckily, you weren't a dumb girl. You couldn't be frightened off so easily. "I'm not nervous" you stated
"You're shaking like a leaf" light added, still calm and emotionless. You looked over at L and began examining him. He too was not going to give any indications of what he was thinking. This wasn't surprising to you.
Your nerves were still screaming from within you, but you suppressed the need to give in. You wouldn't be intimidated by them. "I assure you I'm calm, unfortunately I can get over run by anxiety. No real reason for this, it's something out of my control" you answered as cooly as possible.
L nodded his head slightly but Light continued with his suspension "why would we want a detective who gets anxious at a simple conversation?" Light asked you sternly "how would you be able to handle Kira, if the situation required you too"
Before your brain could stop you your body let out a small chuckle "I'm sorry-" you began "light was it? Listen light, I don't think I'll be coming face to face with Kira. My job is to find out who he is. Now, I might be an anxious person, but I'm a smart one. Also a hell of a good detective. I assure you my anxiety does not limit my ability in anyway" you spoke on autopilot. You didn't hesitate for a single moment as your adrenaline took the wheel.
Before light could retaliate L jumped in "we all have our quirks" he smiled softly at you. You once again noted his strange sitting position, also his very informal clothes and appearance. Maybe everyone does have a quirk.
"May I ask you guys a question now?" You looked at both males raise their eyebrows, obviously interested in what you had to say. L nodded for you to continue "why did you choose me to come here? What made me stand out?"
L and light shared a small glance towards each other before looking back at you. "You'd have to ask L that question" light admitted "I only agreed after he had found you and said you were the only one he was considering"
Your eyes grew wide at the comment. You were the only person L even considered? You looked over at the strange man for confirmation. He simply nodded his head again "I'm glad you asked" he mumbled "but, in order to answer that question I have to ask you a question"
"Anything" you challenged him.
"When you filled out the application do you remember the essay portion?" He asked you, you nodded your head quickly. Though it was months ago you remember how hard you worked on that paper work. This was before a lot of information was out about Kira, there was no real leads to go by. But, the essay asked you to simply state what you know about the killings, and what leads you could draw from the little information available. "Well-" L paused for a moment "you were the only person out of hundreds that came to the same conclusions I had" he admitted "you even gave me a few pointers"
You wanted to jump and and scream in excitement. Never in your life had your skills been recognized so clearly. You began to even doubt yourself for a while. Were you cut out to be a skilled detective? L obviously thought so from your application.
"That's amazing" light said with a sly smile "I never thought I'd meet someone as smart as L"
"Let's not get ahead of ourself" L warned "I'm still not 100% convinced you have what it takes ___" this comment shot down your now inflated ego. You weren't sure how you could prove yourself further, but you knew you were willing to do whatever it takes to do so.
"What else do you need to prove that I am the best choice for this position?" You asked curiously.
"Time" L answer without hesitation. This irritated you slightly. How much time? What did you have to do in this time? How could you prove it right now? You didn't want to be the underdog in this corporation. "I know this answer doesn't please you, but I have to have time before I trust anyone"
You nodded your head trying to understand, but still kicking L in your head for not understanding how dedicated you were. You had to make it obvious you were willing to do whatever it takes "I want to prove it as fast as I can. If there is anyway I can do that I would appreciate knowing" you told him "I'm ready for anything"
If you were an ordinary person you might not have noticed the slight amusement in both of their eyes. And maybe if you were only slightly above average then you wouldn't have noticed the difference between the amused looks. You got lucky though. You knew the darker tone of amusement the second it appeared. Your body could feel the danger radiating from one pair of eyes. Unbeknownst to him you now had a mental note of this, and that only prepared you even more.
"I don't think you are" were the last words spoken on the subject.