It takes the Yagami family five years of licking their wounds and rebuilding their lives separately before they can think of making space for each other in their individual sanctuaries.

Some part of (Y/n) had foreseen this when she conspired against Light, but she still can't help the hurt she feels. There aren't many things that she allows to get to her, but her family has always been close to her heart and their falling apart cuts her more than most would realize.

Soichiro lost face, to put it mildly. She knows he still loves them all very much, but the foundations upon which he had built his entire world had been shaken and he withdrew from the world to rebuild new ones.

He can't really be blamed. Light had been his greatest pride in how much the boy seemed to take after him. Moreover, Light had this way of standing out and outshining the ordinary masses by so much, his own parents couldn't help but place him on a pedestal.

When Light fell from grace, he took his parents down with him.

The shame had been unbearable once the shock wore away. They went from the proud parents of extremely promising children to the people who had raised the most notorious killer of their time.

Soichiro and Sachiko ran, refusing to look back, and it took them this long to finally open up to idea of trusting someone aside from each other.

Logically, they both know that neither (Y/n) nor Sayu will hurt them like Light's reveal did. Their daughters are good young women who are making their places in the world using the morals their parents imparted. Neither had been tainted by whatever darkness swallowed Light.

But they choose to hide away until they feel confident enough to provide their girls with the love they deserve rather than distrust.

At her core, motherhood is tied to Sachiko's very identity. She doesn't want to push her babies away, doesn't mean to lock them out, but she takes one look at Soichiro's crumpled figure as he cries into her shoulder after having stood strong his entire life, and she decides that she needs to help him remember how to heal before she can start trying to fix their family.

(Y/n) does her best to keep them all afloat immediately after the reveal. Sachiko knows her eldest must be just as affected, if not more, but the young woman keeps a brave face and forges through with an iron front, lugging them all behind her. She looks after Sayu when the teen goes into shock from the news, checks up on Soichiro periodically, works with Sachiko to relocate from Tokyo to the latter's ancestral property in Akita, and she never looks broken up about finding out that Light is Kira.

Sachiko wonders at first, but decides she doesn't want to know. The investigation cleared (Y/n) of any involvement very early on and that's all the Yagami matriarch needs. She can't take anything more.

Akita is nice. Up in the mountains, fresher air, quieter streets. No one knows who they are because their faces and names are kept out of the media for the most part, and Soichiro and Sachiko grab onto their lifeline for all their worth. He retires as Chief, and they decide to open a little shop not too far from the property to keep themselves occupied and to have a little extra income. Things settle. They heal.

Five years later, (Y/n) finally makes a visit to her parents.

Sayu opted out, choosing to go on a trip with some of her friends from college, and (Y/n) doesn't blame her. As sad as it is, they've drifted apart as a family in the wake of what happened. It's awkward now, but she doesn't want to severe their ties entirely, so she makes the long trip from her home in Winchester to Akita.

Her parents' new house is a traditional Japanese style building with its sloping roofs and the surrounding garden that is thicker than it needs to be. Not too large, but definitely so for an aging couple who seem to live in quiet seclusion. It would be tranquil if it didn't feel so bleak.

The woman makes her way down the uneven stone path leading through the garden out front to the door that is thrown open before she has even fully reached it, Sachiko standing behind it with a wide grin.

"(Y/n)!" Sachiko cries, and now that she's closer, (Y/n) can see the tears in her mother's eyes for only a moment before they're hugging each other tightly. Sachiko's cooing is muffled but it's there and it makes (Y/n) laugh into her mother's shoulder, feeling the prick of tears in her own eyes.

Just like this, they can pretend nothing ever went wrong.

"How have you been, dear?" Sachiko asks, pulling away but keeping a strong hold on her shoulders, squeezing as she examines her eldest's appearance. "It's been so long. Too long."

(Y/n) can only smile, a phantom ache rising in her chest that has become more infrequent over the years but persists now like it never left. "I'm good, Mom. Really good, actually."

Some of the tension leaves the elder woman's frame and she smiles, giving (Y/n)'s shoulder a strong squeeze before letting go so she can usher her daughter inside and fuss to her heart's content.

Sachiko is a mother at her core, and she knows that (Y/n) is twenty-nine now but as far as she's concerned, the ex-profiler will always be her little girl. (Y/n) may not have been born to Sachiko, but she will forever be her baby.

"How is your new boss? Or was it partner?" Sachiko asks, taking her daughter's coat while the younger crosses the threshold and wanders into the living room, smiling at the kotatsu that they've owned since practically forever.

(Y/n) hums, distracted by the paintings and tapestries lining the walls and cabinets. No photographs aside from a few from her parents' youth and a few of Sayu and (Y/n) as kids. As expected from a couple trying to outrun their past.

"He's weird," she answers Sachiko's query, vague amusement filling her at the thought of the eccentric detective. Well, amusement and the familiar warmth blooming underneath her ribs, but she chooses not to linger on that because it can be distracting. Once she starts, she doubts she'll stop.

Sachiko frowns at that. "Weird?" she repeats, looking concerned.

Turning to shoot her a smile, (Y/n) waves her hand. "The eccentric genius type. He's a brilliant detective though, and a good man."

It seems to put Sachiko at ease, but before she can say anything, the door is slid open and Soichiro Yagami's imposingly tall figure lumbers in. He has visibly aged, streaks of white in his hair and mustache more prominent and his shoulders hunched, but his smile is the same and seeing him has her stomach plummeting.

"Hey, Dad," she manages weakly, clearing her throat to get rid of the strange scratchiness. The lack of composure is a foreign feeling and she decides she hates it.

Soichiro opens his arms for her, and it's all she can do to not just melt into his hold outright. "It's good to see you again, (Y/n)," he murmurs against her hairline, rubbing her back while she breathes him in, memorizing this moment to the best of her capabilities.

"You too, Dad," she tells him, meaning it.

Sniffing, Sachiko wipes at her cheeks. "How about you sit down and I'll bring out some tea for us?"

It leaves (Y/n) alone with Soichiro, who gestures towards the kotatsu with a knowing smile, like he knows she's reliving winters at their old home. She's glad to see they still use it in spite of the connection and the fact that, at first, it probably reminded them of the son they're all trying to forget.

"How is UK?" Soichiro asks, turning on the TV and flipping to some sports channel for the sake of background noise.

She considers her response, tilting her head in thought before finally deciding, "Rainy."

It makes him chuckle. "Well, yes, I suppose that is to be expected." The corners of his eyes ease back into shape as the smile slowly fades and he looks at her seriously again. "Are you happy, (Y/n)?"

For a few seconds, she holds her breath under the weight of his gaze before relaxing. She thinks of her house and the fact that she always has to be dusting because of how often they travel for cases. She thinks of the three annoying brats she'd give the world to even though they keep raiding her fridge in spite of having a perfectly good apartment of their own. She thinks of Mr. Wammy who lives at the orphanage he established and comes around ever other afternoon to have tea with her.

She thinks of the insufferable detective who still looks at her like he's trying to figure her out even though he has her memorized after years of sharing her space and getting to know her over and over again.

(Y/n) inhales deeply at the thought of them, storing the warmth they evoke in her in her heart.

"I am," she tells Soichiro, completely at peace with where she is now. "I really am."

The man nods. "I'm glad," he says sincerely. "Your mother and I worried when you resigned from the BAU so suddenly, but if you're happy and doing well, then that's all we can ask for."

He says this with a smile that is wobbly, but conveys how hard he's trying to overcome what he considers to be his failures as a father.

(Y/n) stares at him for a long moment, and decides that it's now or never.

"Dad, about my employment--" she begins, but Soichiro cuts her off coolly.

"It's L, isn't it?"

There aren't very many instances in her life where she has been truly surprised to the point of being speechless, but this is undoubtedly one of them because her brain effectively gives up for a moment and she sits, not quite comprehending.

Her father smiles wryly, but he doesn't look upset, so she lets her tense shoulders fall at ease and nod at him.

Soichiro sighs. "I thought this might happen."

"On the basis of what?" she asks incredulously, eyebrows rising.

"I'm your father, (Y/n)," he states. "I know you." He falters a little because he's reminded that he probably doesn't know her as well as he thinks, but forges on anyways. "From the way you used to work together back then, it's not that surprising. You'd always seemed content at the FBI, and the only offer that could seem more tempting than that..."

"Would be one from the greatest detective in the world himself," she finishes for him, nodding as she does. "Yeah. I...didn't know how you would take it so I never said anything explicitly, but he offered me an equal partnership and I couldn't find a good enough reason to really turn him down."

Soichiro looks pained at her candor, gaze drifting to the TV screen to avoid her for a moment. "I'm sorry you felt hesitant about coming to us with this. We know we've been distant ever since the--" he stops to take in a deep breath. "Since the case. It hasn't been easy on any of us, but it's not much of an excuse as your parents. We should've been there for you and Sayu. I'm happy you're satisfied with your life now, and if you and your sister will allow it, Sachiko and I would love to be a bigger part of it."

Oxygen eludes her momentarily, and she has to shake away the tricky tendrils of an emotional outburst because crying really won't do her any good right now.

"That sounds great, Dad," she says quietly, but as earnestly as she can.

He looks relieved, nodding. "I'm glad."

Calm settles over them, and (Y/n) feels something shift in the universe that seeps into her bones and feels a lot like homecoming.

The storm has passed and the worst is finally over. They have rebuilt themselves, and now, they can all come home to each other.