"Boys..."

L sighed, not knowing how the hell this managed to happen. But here he was sitting next to his siren lover on the side of the boat.

And all three kids sitting on the shore in front of him. It was way past their bedtime, but he wasn't even mad more confused.

"We wanted to know why you were always sneaking out..." Mello admitted.

"And why you and Miss applebee were gossiping about costumes" Matt added.

"And we wanted to see the siren... well, (y/n)" Near jumped in.

L looked over at you for help with this situation, but all you could do was snicker.

"L, you're raising three tiny detectives. What did you expect to happen?" You giggled.

That was true... he was the one in charge of them so of course they'd pick up on his habits of investigation. Although he wasn't sure exactly what to do here, he was meant to keep them safe. And also keep this place a secret. He couldn't exactly fault them for being curious, they're are kids after all. But if someone found out...

"Listen... you three are NOT to come down here again unless I'm with you or if (y/n) is with you. I can't have you guys getting hurt while unsupervised, I'm the one that's meant to take care of you and I'm going to do so. Also... it's kind of risky down here at the moment..." L explained.

"Oh yeah... I wouldn't let them go anywhere past the river, just to be safe" you replied.

"You'll keep an eye on them when they're here without me won't you? I bet at least one of these sneaky suckers will sneak off from class at some point"

"I'll watch them, don't worry"

While the boys were glad they'd closed their investigation with the answers they wanted, and having met the siren that supposedly existed, they were curious to know what exactly L was doing down here aside from coming to see you.

"Why can you go past the river and we can't?" Mello asked.

"Because... a few towns over there was a murder. I don't need you three running into the killer. You are not to wander from my sight or (y/n)s ok?" L explained.

That was enough to make them listen to him. Even if they found cases and L's detective work interesting they were smart enough to know a kid up against a murderer wouldn't end well for them. In fact it was kind of scary knowing someone was out there, only a few towns over.

"Ok, we won't go anywhere past the river. Promise" Near said.

"Yeah, promise. I don't wanna die... are you here to work on the case?" Matt asked.

"Kind of..? I originally came here to explore after finding the gateway by accident. Then I met (y/n) and started coming here for them... and then they found the sunken boat with the bodies and from there it turned into an investigation. I'm not on any offical taskforce but I want to solve it anyway" L explained.

It was adorable how existed and invested they got listening to L talk about cases. It was like they saw him as a superhero or something, you loved how much these boys looked up to him, it was absolutely adorable. And even if L wouldn't admit it yet, he'd very quickly become somewhat of a father figure to them.

"Speaking of, they recovered the wreck. They came to the exact same conclusion we did, someone tampered with the engine and the hull busted open through a smaller crack when it started sinking. So absolutely no doubt it was foul play" you explained.

"Hmm... have they identified the victims yet?"

"Not yet, the bodies are being autopsied and they're running the boats name through legal records to find the owners names"

"Damnit, I want to know more"

"We'll just have to wait until we have names for the victims I guess. But you're definitely onto something" You said.

If anyone could solve this it was L, it might be worth having him actually go into the taskforce office and ask for information, if they're willing to give it. Of course he'd need to be in his yokai outfit to blend in, and you'd have to do it on a night where you didn't have three kids with you.

"So you're gonna solve a magic case? Even though your not magic?" Matt asked.

"Yep. So far it doesn't look like magic was involved but if it is, I have (y/n) to help me. Murder is murder magic or not" L replied.

"Cooollll, you can be the first-non magic person to solve a case in a magic world"

Honestly, he might be. You'd not heard of any humans solving a case here before. L could very well be the first.

"Enough about this for now. You three need to go home and back to bed" L said.

The boys immediately let out a groan of complaint, which he expected. Kids never like being told to go to bed.

"Come ooonnnn! We just found this place can't we stay a little longer and look around?" Mello whined.

"Yeah come on L! You've seen this place before but we haven't! We just found out magic is real that's so cool!" Matt added.

L sighed, knowing he'd never hear the end of this. He looked over at Near, awaiting his complaint.

"I mean... just a little bit longer? Please" he agreed with the others.

L couldn't say no to them. Not this time, he was getting too soft with these boys.

"Fine, but only an hour" he caved.

Their complaints turned to excitement and they all jumped up to squeeze L into a group hug, happy he was letting them stay a little longer. L couldn't help but smile, hugging them back as far as his arms would reach around the three of them.

"You're welcome. But I expect you all asleep the second we get home" L said.

"Aww, look at you sounding like a dad" you teased.

"They're not related to me and I haven't signed any adoption papers you know" he replied.

"Yeah but they love you, and you love them"

He looked down at the three boys, who awaited his response to that statement. They seemed eager... but they probably hadn't heard anyone say 'I love you' in a very, very long time. Given the whole orphan situation and all.

"Yeah I do... you three made me soft" L admitted.

They smiled, feeling safe and happy with L knowing he loved them like a father figure would.

"And meeee?" You joked, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Yes and you, I love you too" L replied.

"Aw you're to kind"

"And you need to quit teasing me every chance you get"

"Nah. Now... I expect you three will have plenty of questions about magic" you teased.

And of course, they jumped from L to you as they desperately wanted answers to their pressing magic questions.

"Are sirens and mermaids different?"

"Do fairies exist?"

"Can you grant wishe-"

You laughed at their adorable hyperactivity and thirst for knowledge, but if you wanted to give them a cohesive answer they'd need to slow down a bit.

"Wooooahh one at a time kiddos, come on get in the boat and we can just go up and down the river for a bit. I'll show you everything within the safe area and answer everything along the way"