(A/N: I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF MY READERS FOR HELPING ME REACH 50K ON THIS STORY!! I'M VERY HAPPY THAT WE HIT THIS HIGH, WHEN ALL I COULD THINK OF WHEN I BEGAN WAS THAT IT WOULD BARELY BREAK 500 READS. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT MY WRITING WAS WORTH 50,000+ READS, AND YET HERE WE ARE. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING CHAPTER AFTER CHAPTER, NO MATTER WHAT! I'M HAPPY WE REACHED THIS MILESTONE TOGETHER, GUYS, AND I'M ECSTATIC THAT I GOT TO SHARE THESE IDEAS WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!) 

~Lawliet's POV~

When I finally stopped crying, I looked up at Mom apologetically, feeling a little embarrassed. "S-sorry, Mom," I whispered, and she sighed.

"Sweetheart, there's no need to apologize," she assured, "After all, we went through the same thing."

"You did?!" I questioned.

"Yup, and that's when we bailed on Wammy's House. L was killed, and I left. Then your mom and Matt followed me." Dad explained.

Right, Near had taught me about that...

The Kira Case, huh?

I put my head in my hands, groaning loudly. "Everyone makes the successor spot look so amazing, but when it comes down to it, I don't know if I wanna do this."

Matt looked at Dad and Mom. They somehow knew exactly what the other was thinking, and Dad stopped down, taking my hands. "Listen up, kiddo. You're my son. Granted, I haven't been able to see you grow up. I take responsibility for that. But we're going to support you, no matter what you choose."

"We know the pressure on you is horrible. We've felt it," Matt added.

"The pressure is part of it," I agreed, "But the main part is... getting the L spot, I guess. Everything we have to deal with up until a successor is chosen."

Dad flinched, and his eyes went wide, shooting a look at Mom. She looked as concerned as he did, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Mihael," she muttered.

He stood up abruptly and turned away, Matt patting his back. "...did I say something wrong??" I asked, concerned.

"No," Mom replied, "Your Dad, he got the most heat out of all of us. I didn't even know it, but he was in a really bad place while fighting for the successor spot. Its the reason your father has so many mental illnesses. And we wanted you to grow up without all that."

"I'm sorry, Law," Dad spoke, his voice cracking, "That mission, if we hadn't... you would've..."

"Mells, calm down," Matt said, rubbing his back. "Lawliet, we understand. We didn't want you to grow up here, but it was this, or nothing at all. My girlfriend would've had to take care of you. And she would've, if your Mom hadn't requested otherwise."

"This isn't your fault, either, Matt," Mom insisted, "It's not any of our faults. We just... didn't expect to lose."

"You didn't lose," I said, "You ended up helping Near in the end."

"That wasn't the plan," Matt laughed, "That was actually a complete coincidence."

I stared away from them, trying to think. I knew my parents were dead, but somehow, I didn't want them to leave. I felt a strong sadness hit me as I looked at my Dad. For the first time in my memory, I was looking at my father. My Mom, I'd somehow retained a little bit of memory of her. But my Dad, this was it. My one and only chance.

I wonder if they're even proud of me...

~Mello's POV~

When I'd finally calmed myself down, I turned back to Lawliet. He was staring into the distance, and I sighed. I knew that look, because it was one that {Y/N} often had. It meant, in her case, that she was missing someone, or that she was feeling worthless. 

"Lawliet," I spoke up, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," he lied, and I shook my head, knowing that I knew Lawliet just as much as {Y/N}.

"Just like your mother," I groaned, "I can read through you, kid, and I know things seem like Hell right now, but..."

"...We're proud of you, and we'll never stop believing in you, no matter what." {Y/N} finished.

Lawliet looked up, with tears in his eyes, and it reminded me so much of myself that I had to look away. When I was a kid, that's all I wanted, for someone to say they were proud of me, that I was doing good, that my hard work was being appreciated.

Matt looked at me with a smirk, and I knew that he could read me like a book. I pretended not to notice until Ryuk cleared his throat behind us. "Unless you wanna disappear, I suggest we leave soon."

{Y/N} heard him and looked despairingly at Lawliet, knowing that it would be years until we got to actually see him again. I walked back to them and sat down, taking hold of his hands again. "Listen up, Lawliet Keehl," I said, "Your mom, Matty and I have to go soon, but before we go, we want you to know that we love you, okay?"

"Yeah, and no matter what happens, nothing will change that we love you and that we're proud of you," {Y/N} added, "You're my kickass son, and I know that you'll be okay, no matter what comes your way."

He smiled, and I felt a small part of me warm up. After everything we'd been through, Lawliet was probably the best surprise we'd ever gotten, hands down. Matt moved forward to ruffle his hair, and then knelt down. "If you ever need us, pay me another visit. Hopefully we'll be able to find a way to talk back. We'll always have your back, Law. And as your cool uncle, lemme tell you something," he leaned in closer to mumbled in his ear, "Don't be a bitch like your dad; when you like a girl, let her know."

"Hey!" I scoffed, hitting the back of his head. "Don't tell the kid that."

"What? It's true!"

I rolled my eyes, motioning for him to move. I bent down and hugged Lawliet, hugged my son, and {Y/N} wrapped her arms around us. "We love you, okay?" she whispered, "Never forget that."

"I know, Mom," he replied, "Thank you."

With that, we all pulled apart from each other, and both {Y/N} and I stood up, taking each other's hands before turning to Matt. "We've gotta get going, Matty," she said, "Come on."

"Okay," he reluctantly agreed, and we all turned back and smiled one last time at Lawliet.

"See you around, Law," I said, and {Y/N} nodded.

"We love you." She added.

"Love you, too, guys." Lawliet replied, and we walked out of the room, tears already flowing down {Y/N}'s face.

I hooked an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. "Babe, don't cry, he's okay,"

She sniffed, looking up at me. "That's why I'm crying. All of this is my fault. He's turned out to be in almost the exact situation as ours."

"It's not your fault, stop saying that," Matt protested, "We all tried our best, {Y/N}."

"I'm his mother, Matt, I could've done better by him," she disagreed.

"We can't change anything, {Y/N}," I said, "I know, I wish I could've prevented this, too, but we're not going on a pilgrimage in the Shinigami Realm to find out if we can time travel."

"You can't," Ryuk chuckled from in front of us. "We've tried. Anyways, are you ready to go home?"

I paused to look back one last time at the hallways of Wammy's House. It was all so familiar, and despite leaving when I was 15, it just felt like home. Emotions were swirling in my head, but I knew that we couldn't stay.

"Yeah," I whispered, my arm around {Y/N}, and Matt taking my hand. "Let's go back to MU."