Sweet As Candy

Chapter II

   L sat in the darkness of the room, there were no windows so no possible way of telling what time it was. Well, aside from the clock on his computer which was the only thing that provided light. He glanced quickly at the clock, seeing it read 10:00 am and was then greeted by a little girl rushing into the room, allowing light to flood into the darkness. He smiled at her as she ran into his arms and set her down on his lap. Her soft pink hair was messy but manageable, full of lushes natural curls that hung around her face and down her back. Her puffy nightgown made somewhat of a dome shape as it rested on his lap and seemed to engulf her legs in the way a gown would.

   "Good morning, princess. Did you sleep well?" He asked, picking her up and carrying her back to her bedroom to fetch a brush.

   "Uh-huh, I had a dream that we were back at Wammy's and Mikey was there and we had a pool but instead of being filled with water, it was full of Jell-O and so Mikey took a spoon and ate some of the Jell-O but it didn't taste like Jell-o, it tasted like salt water and so he spit it out really fast and we were laughing at him." She spoke, giggling at her dream. She always such odd and amusing dreams.

   "Why would a pool be full of Jell-O?" L asked the little girl as he fetched the hair-brush from her drawer and sat down with her in his lap, beginning to brush out the tangles and calm the nest that was her hair. He had actually become quite the hair stylist since taking in Candy, what with cutting and styling her hair. 

   "I don't know, why would you eat the Jell-O from a pool?" She asked as a response which gained a chuckle from her father.

   "Touche." He finished brushing her hair and set down the brush, "What would you like to wear today, princess?" He asked, needing to know how to style her hair to match her outfits. 

   "I wanna wear my favorite!" She exclaimed to which he nodded and grabbed the green ribbons from the drawer and put her hair in low pigtails. 

   "Alright, get dressed and come to the kitchen afterward." L spoke as he got up and left the room.

   He walked to the kitchen and saw that Watari had already made pancakes and coffee. L grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured himself a cup before adding his sugar that only he and an eight-year-old would enjoy. These mornings were the best part of his day, there seemed to be nothing to worry about. Breakfast was being made, his little girl was happy, it was his own little slice of a perfect world. Though L knew he was lying to himself. The world was harsh, cruel and far from perfect.
    He heard the light pitter patter of feet come running down the hallway and saw Candy turn the corner and climb up onto the stool at the island. 
He smiled at her as she sat Lamb Lamb on the stool next to her and give a big grin as a greeting. She had lost her one front tooth but everything else was still there. Her favorite outfit was an overall type dress that was colored purple with ruffles underneath of it. She wore and white and purple baseball tee with it along with blue polka dot stockings and a yellow cardigan that was far too big for her. She was cute none the less.
   He watched as Watari plated a stack of blueberry pancakes for her and she dug in. After breakfast Candy got down from the stool, grabbing Lamb Lamb in the processes and followed L around. He was getting ready to go out, he had to meet someone at the park today. He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down at the little girl holding up her red high tops.

   "Will you help me tie these, Daddy?" She asked.

   "Angel, why do you need me to tie those for you?" He asked, getting down to her level.

 "'Cause we're going out, aren't we?" 

   "No, Candy, I'm going out. You need to stay here."

  "But I wanna go with you." She protested, stomping her foot. 

"Annabell, I am not taking you with me. You are to stay with Watari and that is my final decision. Do you understand me?" He said firmly. As much of a pushover he was for his little girl, he wouldn't risk her life like this.

   Candy's lip quivered and she pouted, looking down at the ground, "Yes Daddy." 

   He kissed her head gently and stood, "Good. I'll be back in three hours, be good for Watari." 

   With that, L left the apartment and closed the door behind him. He hated to see her upset like that and he knew very well that she wanted to go outside. She had always been a child for the outdoors and she had been cooped up inside for about three weeks now. It wasn't good for her, she wasn't a hermit like he was, she loved meeting new people. He would have to take her out one day, maybe this tomorrow while Light was in school so he had no access to her or himself.