A/n: another self indulgent oneshot. Yep. I, like Near collect toys (and each one is named) and this came to me while hunting for a porcelain doll, which I still haven't found. Maybe one day I can post a chapter showing off my whole collection who knows.

Hc: L left everyone to move into taskforce by themselves, and the first time he walked into your room it reminded him of the past.

The taskforce wondered why you were taking so many boxes up to your floor over the past few days. Surely you couldn't have THAT much stuff right. On top of the desks by the computer was the last box, covered in fragile stickers.

"What do you think is so fragile she needed that many stickers?" Matsuda asked.

"Probably something ceramic or glass" Light replied.

L picked it up gently, feeling it's weight.

"It's not that heavy, it must be pretty thin and easily breakable then" he said.

Just as the words left his mouth you walked downstairs, hair ties up, messy and exhausted from moving in all week.

"There it is" you said, walking over and picking up the box.

"What's in it?" Matsuda asked.

"This? Oh yeah all the fragile stickers probably make it stand out"

You put it back down and grabbed a pair of scissors, slicing the tape and opening the flaps. The boys watched you brush the packing beads off and very carefully wrap both hands around something. And then, out came a porcelain doll, in a frilly gown with a bonet and curly blonde hair. Glass eyes and details paint work.

"Woah, that's some detailed sculpting right there" Light said.

You cradled the doll like a baby, very careful not to drop her. One wrong move and she'd shatter.

"Yep, that's why she cost me so much. But she was so pretty I just had to have her. Her name is Lilith and her two sisters are already in their cases" You said.

L started at the doll, the little teddies in her skirt and frilly socks reminded him of simpler times back at the orphanage.

"She has sisters?" He asked.

"Yep, I have a whole collection of all kind of toys. Mainly dolls, stuffies, figures and vintage kids toys. I've always been into it for some reason. I guess I just like the childish, elegant but a little bit creepy aesthetic" you replied.

"She's pretty, how much was she?" Matsuda asked.

"$230, it would have been more but there's a chip on her arm under the dress so I got it cheaper"

"Woah, that's a lot for a doll. But it's so detailed I get it"

"Yep, she was hand made. None of this manufactured in bulk stuff. All hand done and fried and painted right in the shop. I'd love to talk more but I have a few more toys to unpack. So I'll see you all at lunch" you replied, turning on your heels ams heading back upstairs with your doll.

The doll didn't leave L's gaze as you walked off. Something about it gave him nostalgia, and he wanted to see more of your collection. So he mindlessly followed you, and you didn't seem to mind him doing so. You opened the door to your room and stepped inside, walking over to a glass case and placing the doll among two others.

The room was like a toy museum. A massive pile of stuffies in the corner, and a few on the bed. The shelves full on figures among books. All the expensive and delicate dolls in the glass cases. There was a little hot air ballon toy hanging from the roof, and a toy box stacked full of old puzzles and board games. And just beside the bed was an old fashioned dollhouse with the walls opened to view the inside.

It reminded him of the play room at wammys. When all the girls. Would crowd around the doll house with their barbies and play princesses. The more
Tomboyish girls would join the boys with the train sets and cars. The little wooden train tracks would spread down the halls and all over the floor. Groups of older kids would take a board game and sit at a table to play. It reminded him of the many times his 4 year old self fought other kids for his favourite toys.

And it seems someone had taken after him. Followed in his toy loving footsteps, but clung to it much longer than he did.

"Woah, now I see why it took so long" he said.

"Yeah, had to assemble the cases again, and set up all the figures on the stackers" you replied, taking a few more dolls out of boxes and putting them in the cases.

L looked around the room at all the toys. Reminded of how much he loved to shut himself in his room and play as a kid. He was always a bit girly when it came to toys, he had a few teddies and dolls that were all best friends. And they'd ride the train set he stole from the playroom and hid from other kids so they wouldn't use it. Scanning all the porcelain dolls he moved to the figure self, then the stuffies, and finally the vintage toys.

That's when he spotted something and his eyes lit up.

"I had one of them!"

You turned to look at what he's picked up. It was a rather old teddy with a heart on his foot and bow around his neck, there was a button inside him that if you pressed, he'd say he loved you. But it was so old your one needed new batteries to work.

"I've had that one since I was a kid. I named him mr snuggles. Original I know, but I was like... five" you said.

"I had this exact one but in blue, I called him... what was it... shortcake that's right"

You snickered at the name. Typical L, naming something after one of his beloved sugary treats.

"Hey I was 3. He was the only thing I had since-"

He cut himself off realising he couldn't reveal he was an orphan. And if he said that shortcake was the only thing he had from his life before he was abandoned, it'd definitely give it away. You saw sadness in his eyes, he clearly missed the days were he wasn't so stressed and upset.

"-since all that stuff went down"

He put the bear back on your bedside table. Taking one last look at the room.

"You know... I know someone that would kill to see your collection. You'd get along. But it'd reveal too much"

"I'm sure I'd like them if they were as obsessed with toys as I am" you replied.

One last goodbye exchange and he left to go back to work. He seemed... sad. And nostalgic. But it did give you an idea. Maybe you'd talk to Watari later that day. You knew he'd known L since he was a kid. You didn't really know if he was his dad... or grandfather? Maybe family friend. Surely their bond was deeper than just coworkers it had to be. He must be somewhat related to L.

You kept on unpacking having a break for lunch along the way and soon it started to get dark. So after you'd thrown out all the boxes, and gotten ready for bed you made one more trip downstairs. Walking into Wataris office you caught his attention the second you stepped in the doorframe.

"Miss (l/n), it's rather late. What are you doing up?" He asked.

"Have you kept any of L's old toys from when we was a kid?" You asked.

"Some, why?"

"What about a bear called shortcake?"

"Oh, shortcake! He loved him so much. Shortcake and kai the bunny with the eyepatch. It was always those two. He wouldn't go anywhere without them. He'd take them to class, to the park, sleep with them, if he wasn't doing class work he was playing with them. And he'd get so worried whenever we had to wash them, and whenever there was a rip he'd cry for hours over it until it was fixed. I'm sure they're still around somewhere. I couldn't imagine he'd ever get rid of them"

You smiled at the little story. It made L seem more human. Gave him more depth that he used to cry over his toys when he was little. It was rather cute to know or much he loved them.

"He took a look at my collection and turns out I have a white version of shortcake. Exactly the same, just a different colour. When he picked it up he had this... sad nostalgic smile. I kind of what time get his toys back so he can smile more often. This case is really doing his head in. I can tell. But I want him to smile" you explained.

Watari thought for a moment, then got up.

"I have a few old suitcases that we take on all our cases. Full of old stuff that's too nice to get rid of, maybe his toys are in there..."

He left and came back with and old leather suitcase, opening it revealed some old photo albums, childhood story books and what looked like a kids outfit... blue jeans, white shirt and a brown winter jacket and white scarf. And underneath them all, were the exact toys you were looking for. Watari handed them to you and you looked them over.

They were obviously very very well loved. The fur still soft but not as fluffy, different colour stitching where there'd been rips. You lifted Kais eyepatch to see he was missing an eye, why he had the eyepatch in the first place. The tags were faded but there was still the faint markings of a sharpie in kids handwriting. Stating the name of the toy on one side, and a little 'belongs to L' on the other.

"Aww, he clearly loved them" you said.

"He really did. He had shortcake before I knew him, but kai was the first toy I bought him and he clung to him like glue" Watari explained.

"Thanks for this. He'll definitely have a reason to smile now"

After a few more minutes of taking about L as a kid, you went to go find him. You checked his office and he wasn't there, the kitchen? Nope. You found him in the monitor room, asleep on the desk, exhausted.

Knowing his back would only get worse if he stayed like that, you picked him up, laying him on the sofa since you didn't have keys to his room. Threw a blanket over him and tucked both toys into his arms. You stayed quiet, he needed the sleep. With a smile you left to go to bed yourself. And you slept soundly to the sound of crickets outside.

The next morning, L found himself groggy as he realised he'd been asleep for once in his life. Slowly waking up he didn't recall falling asleep at all and wondered were he was. And what on earth was he leaning on? It was soft but there was definitely something there.

He rubbed his eyes, opening them and adjusting to the light, realising he was still in the monitor room and someone had moved him to the couch. He used his arms to push himself up and when he looked down he froze.

Both his beloved toys sitting right there, just below the pillow. He didn't even know he still had them. Shortcake still had his little bow, and kai still had his eyepatch. He picked them up, squeezing the bear to see if the voice still worked. It was weak, due to old low batteries, but it spoke.

"I love you!" It said.

Your conversation with him yesterday came back to him. He knew this was all your doing and you'd gone to Watari about it. Taking both the toys, he walked up to your room, knocking on the door and hearing a sleepy "yeah?" From the other side.

He opened to find you half awake rubbing your eyes in bed.

"Sorry to wake you it's just... you found them" he said.

You smiled at him, and the sight of him hugging the toys to his chest.

"Yeah, after that conversation I got wondering. Watari still has a bunch of your kid stuff" you explained.

He sat down at the other end of the bed.

"Yeah, I thought that might be where you found them"

He looked down at the toys, smiling. You always knew how to make him smile. He knew he shouldn't be saying this, but he knew you could be trusted.

"Shortcake was the only thing I had with me when I was abandoned..." he said.

You were left speechless for a moment. Not sure how to respond to it.

"I bet so many tears were soaked into him that day. And kai, he was the first toy I got at the orphanage. Watari gave him to be because I wouldn't stop crying. I guess all that crying as a kid is why I don't cry now. I've just... run out of tears"

He clearly loved the toys, having many happy and sad memories attached to them. He sighed, the smile dropping from his face.

"(Y/n), if anything happens to me on this case. I want you to have these. They'd fit well into your collection and I'm sure mr snuggles would like a brother"

"H-hey!" You began, putting your hands on his shoulders "don't say that... nothing is going to happen to you. We're gonna catch Kira and you'll get to keep them forever"

"But if I don't..."

"You will! I'll gladly keep them safe in here when you're not around to watch them but you're going to stay alive ok? Kira won't get you, they'll have to go though me and my army of stuffies first" you said.

He didn't say anything, just held the toys to his chest and leaned on your shoulder, you wrapped your arms around him. You always knew he was emotional deep down. And it seems he trusted you enough to show it now.

"You'll be fine L. Don't be so hard on yourself, you'll make it out of this alive. If not for the sake of justice, then me, Kai and Shortcake ok?" You said.

He snuggled closer to you in recognition and you gently rubbed his back. You wondered if he'd start crying or if he really had run out of tears to shed.

"But hey, mr snuggles does need a brother..." you began, reaching over and grabbing the matching bear.

You took shortcake and kai and sat them next to me snuggles.

"Mr snuggles, this is shortcake and his is kai. They'll be your new brothers. That means L is your dad now ok? And Kai and Shortcake, I'm your mum now" you said.

L giggled at your commentary. Acting like the toys were your kids.

"What are we married with children?" He laughed.

"Yes, I'm your wife now and we have three sons"

"When did this wedding happen?"

"Three years ago and it's our anniversary soon. Hear that kids? I expect presents!" You joked.

L snickered, going along with the narrative.

"Well if I'm going to marry anyone... I'm glad it's you. You'll be a great mother for our... rather soft kids"