L x Reader oneshots 1 // series 3 • Death Note

Stumped

A/n: a slightly shorter one about L being sad that for the first time he can't figure a case out and goes to eat his feelings with reader. I know L solves everything but this is a hypothetical situation here.

This was new...

You'd never seen him so confused and frustrated before. For the first time in his whole detective career, L was stumped. He sat there staring at the screen desperately trying to figure it out.

He'd been contacted about a disappearance case, something he'd cracked a million times. But this one has him completely stuck. He had no idea where to go from here.

"You good there L?" You snickered at his pure confusion.

"But- the... evidence... wait no hang on..." he muttered.

Scrolling back to the previous page he read it again, this time slowly in case he'd missed something. You looked over his shoulder to read along with him.

A man had gotten into his car, leaving his wallet with everything in it, house keys, phone and all personal belonging at home. He took one bottle of juice and a bag of chips. The next day his friend came to drop off something he'd borrowed to find the house empty and completely unlocked.

And that was it, that was all the evidence. The car he took was nowhere to be found on security cameras around the area, he was nowhere to be seen, no civilians had seen him.

He just got into his car with a snack and vanished. It'd been a few weeks, and eventually investigators turned to looking for a body assuming he'd be dead. They checked nearby rivers, lakes, forrests and there was just nothing.

His family didn't know, his friends didn't know, strangers didn't know, investigators didn't know and for the first time, L didn't know.

He truly had vanished into thin air.

"That's weird... was he smashed on drugs or something?" You asked.

"Without him or his body we can't tell. There weren't any in his house but if he did take something he could have done in his car or out somewhere else that day"

"Was he severely mentally ill?"

"Nope, completely healthy. If there was something wrong he'd never shown symptoms or gotten diagnosed"

"Was he talking to someone online and tried to meet with them?" You asked.

"The only out of the ordinary thing on his electronics was a slightly broken keyboard" L replied.

Well... those were your only theories... You were just at stumped as L.

"Homey you've been up for weeks trying to solve this. Clearly if he left on his own accord he doesn't want to be found. And if it was something drug or disorder related or a murder he's long gone. Mayne you should..."

"I'm not dropping this! I've solved everything surely I can solve this. He can't just no clip out of reality, he's out there somewhere. Maybe under a false name or-" L cut you off.

"I know you hate losing and solving crimes is your thing but if you ask me he clearly doesn't want to be found. Maybe he went to start a new life and made it look strange to throw people off his trail. Sometimes people just wanna start fresh for no reason" you replied.

You couldn't convince him, he was determined to find this guy. Although something told you your theory was right and he just ran away himself. But you knew there was no arguing with L, he'd come to his senses eventually.

"Ok, well I'm making some cookies, I'll bring you some when they're done" you said.

"Thank you" he replied.

While you went off to cook, L was just getting more and more frustrated, trying desperately to figure something out. It was like trying to do a puzzle where all the pieces are from different sets. He was completely and utterly lost.

And truthfully, it kind of hurt. Solving unsolvable crimes was his thing, he was never wrong and a disappearance case of all things is what stumps him? It was a bit of a hit to the confidence in his detective abilities. He read the pages over and over and over racking his brain for anything that could potentially be a solution or at least a theory.

But every single time he ended up at 'the man walked out with nothing and vanished'.

All those weeks of working tirelessly on this case were catching up to him. He was tired, he was frustrated, he was confused and he was loosing the motivation for it. Sighing in defeat, he got up and walked into the kitchen where you were mixing icing as the cookies baked.

"Finally throwing in the towel?" You asked.

He groaned in annoyance and sulked into your shoulder from the back, leaning on you as you mixed his favourite strawberry icing.

"I can't just give up..." he complained.

"If you rule it as he doesn't want to be found it's not giving up. It's adding a potential solution" you replied.

"But there's no proof for any of the theories"

"But it's the most likely isn't it? He's healthy and sober, no one had any bad blood with him and he left on his own accord"

"I mean yeah, but I hate not knowing for sure. It feels like I just kinda half assed the case" he sighed.

Putting your icing aside, you turned to face him and pulled him into a hug, he'd be sulking for the next few days you know that much.

"You tried for weeks sweetheart, it was a valiant effort but with no evidence of foul play it's safest just to assume he ran away himself" you assured, gently rubbing his back.

"But even if I file it as a runaway, there's still the question of where he went any why which makes it unsolved" he complained.

"It's better to slap the most plausible theory then just shrug and say you don't know right?"

"... I guess"

You looked up at him, he had a somber, disappointed expression on his face and his Eyebags were darker than usual.

"You need a nap" You said.

"I need some cookies"

"Well you'll have to wait won't you?"

He sighed, not wanting to wait. But he also didn't feel like burning his taste buds off, so he'd wait.

"Don't be so sad L, not every case is solvable. Some people just don't want to be found" you assured.

"I guess..."

"Look, go take a nap you're overtired. When you wake up the cookies will be done and you can email your findings to the police. Then we can do a case that's actually solvable"

Finally a slight smile broke on his lips. Even if this case was a hit to the confidence, at least you cared about him and tried your best to cheer him up.

"Alright, I'm starting to get a headache anyway" he caved.

"I love you, get some sleep. Those cookies will be waiting for you" you smiled, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you"