Au: a mark shows up where your soulmate will first touch you.

Soul marks can be in strange spots, discreet or in plain sight. And when the taskforce first walked into that hotel room to meet the worlds greatest detective, the first thing they noticed was the big black handprint on his cheek. There were two possibilities.

Either someone is gonna slap the fuck out of him, or they'll gently caress his cheek.

Throughout the case no one he'd come across had the matching soulmark of a black print on their hand. Misa's was on her arm, Lights was on his chin, Matsuda was on his back.

And all the members of the taskforce that were married had pretty normal ones like the shape of a hug around their body or around their wrist to grab hold of it. They'd all found their soulmates years ago. Misa had conveniently ignored she and Light didn't have matching marks, L almost felt bad for her.

He was beginning to think he'd never find his soulmate. He barely shows himself to people, and everyone he has met face to face hadn't had a matching soulmark. And in a case like this who knows what could happen to him.

"Misa I'm not talking about this any further"

"Come on, if you don't go out and about you'll never find your soulmate" she said.

"And?"

"Don't you want to find your soulmate?"

He didn't know how to respond to that. Of course he wanted love, but with his dangerous his job was he couldn't help but think maybe it was better he didn't find them.

"Someone out there has a hand printed black just the right size to caress your cheek in the right spot, it's so cute!" She cooed.

"Or they'll slap me..." L replied.

"Oh nonsense! It'll be romantic"

"Misa I'm not going to find my soulmate ok? There's just no way. And I'm fine with that. Can we drop this now?"

"...fine"

Even though L throughly annoyed Misa sometimes, she did feel bad for him. He was always so depressed and hadn't met his soulmate yet. She watched as he got up to leave the room. Maybe she'd accidentally hit a chord...

L walked down the halls, to the front door and grabbed a trench coat and scarf to shield the cold snow outside. He slipped on some shoes and headed out the door.

Soulmates. How he hated the topic. If even his parents left him, why wouldn't his soulmate too? He seemed to be cursed to never find love, of any kind. He highly doubted he'd find them, not with his anonymity. Everyone around him was married with kids and had met the love of their life. Why not him? He was just... love repellent. Not even his own family loved him. Walking through the snow and kicking it around, thinking about how the topic left a sour taste in his mouth. Why did misa always have to bring it up?

Deciding to drown his sorrows in coffee, he walked to a coffee shop and got a cup to go. He sat at a park bench and sighed.

"Why does no one love me?" He whispered to himself, taking a sip of his coffee and adjusting his scarf.

It was silent for a while until he heard footsteps behind him and someone sit at the bench that had its back to his. The person let out a shaky sigh, and sniffed. Where they... crying?

"I'm so stupid... why did I believe him?" they whispered.

He listened to the person behind him sob silently into their hands.

"Stupid fucking soulmark. Who fakes a soulmark? What heartless dick does that?"

Someone faked their soulmark to match hers huh? Yikes. No wonder she was upset. A whole relationship was a lie, that person was never actually her soulmate... people like that are nothing but trash.

"If it's any consolation... I haven't found my soulmate either" he spoke up.

He wasn't the best at comforting people but this mystery man has just ruined this girl. He felt bad. Both she and he had soulmate problems.

"At least you're weren't lied to using foundation and body paint"

"People like that are the scum of the earth" he replied.

He felt the person behind him lean back into the bench. They sat back to back with him with the back of the bench separating them. He sipped his coffee as he listened to the stranger behind him.

"I can't believe I believed that dick... god I'm so stupid"

"Hey, you're not as stupid as me. I believed love existed at one point" he sighed.

"I believed that too but I guess it doesn't"

"I now understand how lucky those who find their soulmates are. Not even my own family loved me"

He didn't know why he was telling this to a stranger. But it felt natural. Something was drawing him in.

"Ouch... bad home life?" The girl sighed.

"No home life. They decided they wanted rid of me so bad they left me. Ended up in an orphanage"

"Jesus, that's awful. I hope you at least get luckier than me and find your soulmate. Sounds like you need it"

"I do... but I don't think I ever will. Not with how secluded I am. And not with the fact everyone who was meant to love me left me"

Two strangers back to back on a park bench, talking love problems in the snow. Each of them telling the other personal things they wouldn't even tell their families. Why were they telling each other so naturally?

"Hey, I've got some tissues if you need any" L said, still hearing her silent sobs in between her words.

"Yeah, thanks" she replied.

He pulled the pack from his coat pocket and turned to face the girl behind him. She reached out to grab them but froze the second she saw his face. At first he was confused but then he saw it.

Her outstretched hand has a black mark on it. Just like the one on his cheek.

Both left speechless, the gears turned in their heads.

"No... theres- there's no way..." she said under her breath.

Reaching out to him, she touched his cheek, fitting the mark perfectly. Her cold fingers against his warm cheek made his skin cold, but it didn't matter. Not now. He put his hand atop hers, just needing to know it was real. Feeling it to believe it.

A sob shook her body, but this time it was a happy one. He could feel his eyes start to well up.

After all these years of thinking it would never happen, it happened, and not even two seconds ago they were both talking about how they'd never find love. On the same wavelength, they reached out to wrap their arms around each other over the back of the bench and quietly sob into each others shoulders.

"Oh my god the irony" he half cried half laughed.

"I know" she replied.

"I never thought I'd actually find you"

The hug broke and she reached out to touch the mark on his cheek again, this time wiping away the happy tears.

"This time I'm not being lied to... I didn't think I'd ever find the true one..."

Smiling warmly at each other, hearts beating fast and emotions running wild, they laughed again at the irony of the situation.

"Well soulmate, I'm (y/n)"

"I'm... I'm L"