The woods behind the orphanage [L x Reader] • Death Note [Discontinued]

Chapter 7 | lovestruck researching

It was like overnight he'd become obsessed.

He should have known, sirens are known for being alluring and temptresses with their songs. Last night he met you, a siren and he woke up the next day obsessed with learning EVERYTHING there was to know about them. And since you'd told him that most fairytales have a hint of truth to them, he figured he could go to fairytales and myths for more answers.

Up in the orphanages library again, he was sitting in the middle of one of the aisles while the kids were off in class, stacks of books next to him about water myths and mermaid stories.

He was under your spell, one you didn't even cast. But he was still affected by it. Usually if a siren lures someone in deliberately it's with the intention of drowning them. But that first night when he just so happened to hear you sing placed him under a lesser spell and made him completely obsessed with you.

He couldn't stop thinking about you, your flowing hair, your glowing eyes, the details on your long tail, how smooth your skin was. Every little detail has him completely hooked.

He was the mindless fish, you were the fisherman that caught him in your net.

The spell you'd accidentally cast on him was hitting him hard, and you weren't even aware he was under it. To you, he was a human that managed to find the gateway in the woods. To him, you were a whole new world of magic and mystery.

Side effects of these spells include a deep fascination with merfolk and magic, daydreaming of meeting the siren again, singing sea shanties and lure calls they'd heard in passing, collecting shells and shinies, fascination with the ocean and rivers and of course a slowly developing crush on the siren.

As if he wasn't already obsessed with finding out everything there was to know about the magic land, now he was obsessed with you...

Sitting on the floor of the orphanage library, a book about the history of merfolk in mythology in his lap, he read along absentmindedly. As if he were a siren himself, he found himself mumbling along to the words he'd heard sung in mermaid movies.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid, I destain all glittering gold, there is nothing can console me... but my jolly sailor bold..."

In his daze, he was unaware he was being watched.

"He has gotten obsessed hasn't he?" Miss Applebee stated, sorting out the library returns.

"He has... I haven't seen him so entranced since he first got into detective work" Watari replied, who'd come looking for L only to find him in his own world.

"Wonder what bought this on so suddenly? He always got crime novels and when he was a kid. Now he's all over fairytales, and he seems particularly interested in mermaids recently"

"Maybe he'd trying to fill the void of not doing cases for a while. I know that it's his thing, but he needed a break from it. It's been years of non-stop work, I worry for him sometimes"

The older adults watched as L absentmindedly turned the pages of the book, humming along to his little tune.

"It's like he's an intrigued kid again" Watari commented.

"Look at the darling, he's so invested in it. Quite cute really" miss applebee replied.

"He's all grown up now you know? 23"

"I know... but I'll always see him as that shy little boy who'd rather spend time with the boring old librarian than the other scary kids"

She definitely had a bit of a soft spot for L, he was one of the more quiet and lonely kids at the orphanage.

"Well I'm afraid he'll have to come back and read later because we have new information on those three boys he'll be babysitting" Watari said.

Walking over to his foster son, L didn't even look up as he was too invested in his book.

"L"

"Hm?" He mumbled, still reading.

"We have more information on the boys, we need you to come read it so you're prepared for them" Watari said.

"Yeah, in a minute"

L's eyes were glued to the book, barely processing what his dad was saying.

"L, now"

Sighing, he put down to book and got up. He didn't really want to leave his book but he alway promised to help with the boys. So, he'd go along. He may not know much about kids but he was a scared child once, he knew what it was like and wanted to at least try and make the boys feel as comfortable as possible.

"What's gotten you so obsessed with fairytales all of a sudden?" Watari asked.

"Uh-"

He couldn't exactly say he'd found a magic gateway in the woods could he? No one would believe him unless he dragged them by the hair down there and showed them in person. And while he did want to tell his dad, he still didn't know much about the place himself, and just to be sure he wasn't kicked into a psych ward for spewing 'nonsense' he stayed silent about it.

"Someone... got me interested" L admitted.

Assuming he meant someone he'd talked to in passing on his most recent case, Watari didn't think much of it. But the librarian behind him seemed to pick up on something. She gave L a look, one that told him she knew something. He'd have to ask about that later...

"You haven't been this obsessed since you were first getting into solving crime. It's nice to see you so passionate again" Watari said.

"Don't worry I won't become a crazy conspiracy theorist, it's uh... the literature that's got me interested" L replied.

While the literature was interesting yes, he knew full well it was all the mystery and amazing discovery of a whole new land that had him obsessed. His mind was so full of questions.

How did magic work? How do the mushrooms get that big? Are the gems from the trees expensive in the land or common enough to be cheap? What was the village on the other side of the river like? What was that roar he heard? Do the fairies live in tiny villages to fit their size? What did sirens eat? Have you ever had a lollipop?

Maybe he should bring you a lollipop next time he went down there.