By Any Other Name

C.25

So a repeat of when we came back home, I went straight up to bed, stopping to grab my favourite blanket from my bag, then wrapped myself in it, lying in bed, and just not moving.

After a few hours, L came up with chocolate pieces with caramel and crunchy bits. I smiled at him as he joined me on the bed.

"You remembered." I said and picked up a piece, biting into it.

"Of course." He sighed and gazed at me. "I want you to feel better. I'm here for you, Aurora."

"I know. Thank you." I gave the fastest smile possible.

"Anything you need to feel better, just tell me. Chocolate? Sex? Cuddles? A bath?" He asked, getting a small giggle out of me. I leaned forward on my knees and joined our lips together, my hand holding the side of his face, and I felt him melt into the kiss.

I pulled back a moment later and brushed his hair out of his face as he gazed lovingly at me, the stupidest little smile on his face.

"Just knowing you're there for me is enough, Lawliet. I love you." I mumbled and he closed his eyes, lifting his head to kiss me gently again.

"I love you too, Briar." He sighed and I smiled.

"Since when do you call me by my real name?" I asked.

"You call me by mine sometimes." He shrugged. "Only seems fair."

"I guess. I'm just so used to you calling me Aurora." I sat back, and he placed the bowl of chocolate aside, getting even closer to me.

"Is it bad that I just now realised why you gave the name Rosie as your alias to your alias?" He asked and I laughed a little.

"A little, yeah. I expected you to get it a lot faster." I nodded and he shut me up with a quick kiss.

"Briar, Aurora, Rosie. Got a rose thing going on, don't you?" His hand traced my right shoulder, where the tattoo of the roses rested.

"Says the one who got me a rose engagement ring." I rolled my eyes, and he huffed, rolling to lie beside me. "Tell me, am I the only one who thinks that Ryuzaki, L, and Lawliet are three different people?" I asked.

"Like how?" He looked up at me as his hand entwined our fingers together.

"Ryuzaki is a pretender. He goes to college, plays tennis, gets yelled at for sitting weird in exams and class." I smiled, looking down at our hands. "L is a detective who will get results by any means, even handcuffing himself to his number one suspect to prove a point. He's fucking insane. But Lawliet..." I hummed.

"Lawliet?" He looked at me, and I met his eyes, seeing a little nervousness in them. I turned to lie so close to him, almost on top of him.

"Lawliet is a fluffy teddy bear sweetheart who brings chocolate and kisses. Lawliet is the one who keeps me up at one in the morning to make love and tell me he loves me. He's the one who smiles and plays with the kids when they ask, and who loves them all with all his heart." I smiled and he just kissed my nose.

"Well, I think Briar, Aurora, and Rosie are all different, too." He said.

"Oh yeah?" I smiled.

"Mhm." He pushed some hair behind my ear. "Rosie is a murderer, who paints her face to hide herself, who laughs in the face of danger. Aurora, on the other hand, is a gentle soul who cries when her friends are put to death. She gets up at one in the morning to get drunk and forget certain things for just a little while. Aurora gets angry and swears. She swears a lot." He said and I laughed a little.

Lawliet tilted my head up, and looked at me for a long time. "Then there's Briar. Briar and Aurora are close, almost the same, but Briar likes to stay up early to be with me. Briar sings to the kids when they want, and she sings beautifully. She gets up early to cook breakfast for everyone, and also wants to clean the dishes because she's the only person who actually wants to. Briar has a huge heart, and she loves me with all of it." He traced the side of my cheek as I smiled, and pulled me in for a kiss.

I melted like chocolate into the kiss, probably the sweetest I'd ever had.