The Alchemists

Moving to a new home was usually troublesome and stressful for most people, but this was not the case with London and L. London could pack very quickly because most of his stuff was in the penthouse.

In this apartment, he only kept a few simple pieces of clothing that he wore to trick L into thinking that he was a poor man, and three sets of nice clothes gifted to him by the girl some time ago.

He only needed to pack for half an hour, and before dinner, he was ready with his luggage. L did not have a lot of personal belongings, so she also finished packing her stuff belongings in a matter in an hour.

Most of her clothes for shows were stored in the Brilliant Mind Media office, so she didn't need to bring them home. When L placed her suitcase in the living room, London was astonished.

"You're a woman, aren't you? Why are there only so few items?" he asked.

"I'm used to moving around, so I don't want to be weighed down with things. It's troublesome," L answered. "In the orphanage, we only had a few things, and I could fit all my worldly possessions in one trash bag when I moved out."

"Trash bag?" London widened his eyes. He was very surprised to hear L's words, which were delivered in a flat tone. "Why didn't they give you a suitcase?"

"Do you know how much a suitcase costs? At the orphanage, there were a lot of orphans to care for. It's cheaper to give us trash bags because they can hold all our stuff."

"Oh ..."

London was stunned to hear that. He had no idea that life in an orphanage was so sad. He could only stare at L with a complicated look.

If he had met L ten years ago when she had just entered the orphanage ... he would have saved L from that situation.

Unfortunately, at that time he was still a teenager himself and his family was also having problems because his sister, Aleksis, fell ill for a long time due to an accident. Later, they even learned that she was pregnant and gave birth to twins, which made all the family's attention fall on her.

Inwardly, London felt very sorry for L because the girl had struggled alone at such a young age. He shuddered to imagine that if L were trapped into sleeping with another man, maybe L would have had a very bad luck. The man might not be as responsible and kind as London.

He really wanted to ask L why she could enter the orphanage, where were her parents or relatives, why did she live alone? But he was afraid to ruin the atmosphere. London could only hope that L will one day trust him and tell him everything.

For that reason, until now, he was still holding back. Jan was still trying to investigate who L really was and why she was sent to the orphanage, but all records from the orphanage were lost due to fire, and no data was available online.

Therefore, Jan was still trying to find people who have worked there and gather information. However, although London refrained from questioning L about her past, he did not hold back from showing support and affection for the girl.

He slowly approached L and hugged her very tightly. The girl was initially surprised to see his actions, but she did not protest nor break away from his arms.

"I'm sorry you experienced all that ..." whispered London, rubbing L's head on his c.h.e.s.t. "I cannot do anything about your sufferings in the past, but I will make sure you will never suffer again in the future."

London finally let go of his arms, and for a moment they both stood facing each other awkwardly.

"Uhm ... the two of us have finished packing things. Do you have anything else to bring?" asked London then.

L shook her head.

"Hmm ... maybe ..." She spoke and then fell silent.

"Maybe what?" asked London curiously.

"Hmm ... it just feels a bit sad to leave this apartment ..." L commented eventually.

London agreed with L's opinion. He spread his gaze to the ceiling, around the room, and took a deep breath of air.

No matter what, they had a lot of memories in this simple apartment.

He always woke up to the sound of L singing every morning. He also prepared their breakfast and dinner in the kitchen of this house.

And also ... this couch was where they had s.e.x passionately, even though they were both under the influence at that time ... But still, London could still remember a little of what happened.

Ahh .. there were a lot of beautiful memories here.

He could only hope that in their new home, they would be able to make many good memories too. London couldn't wait to turn over a new leaf with L, especially since she was being nicer to him now.

"Do you want to eat dinner like usual ... for the last time?" asked London then.

L looked at him for a long time, then nodded.

Without saying a word, both of them immediately headed for the kitchen, and London deftly took out the ingredients from the refrigerator.

"What do you want to cook?" asked L.

London mentioned the names of two of his favorite dishes, which were rather difficult to follow and made L dumbfounded.

"Don't say it. You just have to eat," London commented while laughing when he saw L repeatedly trying to pronounce the name of the dishes. "Those are Italian."

"Oh ..." L nodded in understanding. "Where did you learn to cook? How can you cook such delicious dishes?"

"Oh, I learned from my father. He really likes cooking. In my home, no women could cook, because my father spoils them with delicious food .. hehe," answered London with a broad smile. He was very proud of his family.

L's face looked really jealous. "Looks like you have a really happy family..."

London nodded. "That is so. We love each other very much. Do you want to meet my family? They will be very happy to see you ..."

If L wanted to meet his family, London would tell her who he really was. L seemed to think for a long time when she heard London's offer. Meeting this man's family? As what?

"I don't know ... I don't know if I want to meet your family. We are not related," Finally, the girl just shrugged.

"Why ... why did you say that? You're Lily's mother ... of course, they will be happy to meet you. Don't you want to meet my parents?"

"What ... do they know about Lily and me????" L's face immediately turned pale. "What did you say to them?"

"Eh ... I didn't say you are a famous artist ... don't worry. Even if they know who you are, they won't divulge your identity."

"You don't know, there are people who would sell gossip to entertainment media for money ... Can you guarantee they won't talk to anyone?" L asked worriedly.

London wanted to laugh at L's worry. His family is VERY WEALTHY. They don't need to sell any gossip to make money. But he understood her perspective, so he just laughed and raised his right hand, as if attesting that his family would not betray L.

"I promise, your secret is safe," he chirped.

"Hmm ... well, if you say that." L then took a knife and vegetables and helped to slice them next to London. "If indeed they can be trusted ... maybe we can invite them to come during Lily's first birthday celebration ..."

London smiled very broadly to hear that.

"Great idea!"

He landed a kiss on L's forehead because he was very happy to hear L finally wanted to meet his family. Then, as if nothing had happened, he continued to mix the spices to cook their dinner, while L helped him cut the vegetables.

Both of them looked happy, cooking together in the kitchen. It was actually a rare sight since most of the time they often looked like a cat and a mouse who were always arguing. Maybe, the feeling of nostalgia, due to leaving the apartment to move to a new house, made L and London feel closer to each other.