For Great Aunt Florence. Because you're one of the few people that I've counted on to support such a non-canon and taboo pairing thus far. Thank you.
Based (somewhat, but not totally) on facts 12, 13 and 14 of my other fiction, 20 Facts: Light & Sayu. This is meant to be a counterpart to Deeper Than Just Blood, but I suppose it can be read on its own. (However, some parts may allude to/reference it, and therefore can be confusing if you haven't read the first part?)
Out of character-ness, though I hope it's not too detrimental.
Sayu, at fifteen, hesitated in front of her older brother's door. Her stomach was knotted, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she hadn't had breakfast that morning—it was because he was moving out. He was leaving their home, his room, and their family behind.
…and he's even leaving me behind, she thought, her stomach clenching painfully in response. She waited a few more moments, listening to the sound of him filling and duct taping the tops of storage boxes together, before knocking.
"Ohairinasai," came the response for her to enter, and she did so quietly and with a little reluctance. Sayu waited patiently by the door, watching as her brother finished neatly labeling a box EXTRA CLOTHES. When he looked over his shoulder and caught her gaze, he smiled mysteriously. She smiled back shyly.
"Almost done packing, Light?" she asked, pleased that she had remembered to call him by his name rather than "onii-chan."
"Hai."
Her smile faltered a bit at his answer, something that Light noticed. He moved so that he was standing in front of her.
"Are you all right, Sayu?" he asked her.
She nodded quickly, the action obviously done for his benefit. Light sighed to himself. "Are you going to start that again?" he asked lightly. "Because I can tell that you're lying."
Sayu hesitated. "I'm just… I'm just going to miss you," she said softly. "It's going to be weird not having you around. You know: not seeing you every morning, not having dinner with you, not—" Her face reddened, and Light smirked knowingly.
"I know, but it's time that I moved out. I'm eighteen now, and there are some things that I"—he phrased this part carefully—"need to put in order."
But why do you have to move in with Misa? Sayu silently questioned him. She searched his face for some sign of comfort, and upon finding none, unwillingly relented. "Okay," she said, though she couldn't hide her disappointment. "I understand. Sorry for being so childish."
Light pushed the door so that it was ajar and lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers so quickly that she didn't even have a chance to respond. He made a sudden show of brotherly affection by ruffling her hair and placing a kiss against her forehead before straightening and returning to packing, blissfully unaware that Sayu was on the verge of tears behind him.
Light shifted forward and picked up his teacup, blowing at the steam and swishing the brown liquid around in a haphazard attempt to cool the contents. He kept his lips pursed lest he make another remark about the Kira investigation and incur the wrath of his mother. Light raised the cup to his lips, aiming to take his first sip when he heard the door open and a voice call "I'm back!"
He took a casual glance at the door, but the sight quickly made him do a double take. Light felt his heart do a sudden and uncharacteristic motion that could only have been described as a flutter. He had to use all of his self-possession just to keep his face impassive and hand from trembling as he promptly lowered his teacup.
Was that…?
From the corner of his eye, Light saw Misa jump up and happily exclaim a word of greeting. It was his mother who confirmed his suspicions by saying, "Okaerinasai, Sayu. Welcome home."
Sayu.
Just how long had it been since he'd last seen his sister?—Christmas, his birthday? But at the moment he couldn't say that it mattered because never in his life had he seen her looking so mature and…
…and…
He couldn't bring himself to settle on the word. It wasn't his style, he told himself. But for some reason, Light didn't find that a particularly convincing rationalization.
Unbeknownst to him, however, was the fact that Sayu was just as surprised to see him.
She looked at each of the members of the room in turn, trying to act as composed as possible, when in reality she was amazed at how incredibly attractive her brother still looked after all these years.
Her first inclination was to call him Light, since he'd told her to do so once before, but she caught herself at the last minute. "Onii-chan, Misa-san," Sayu started, managing a small smile. "It's been so long that I've seen you both! Nice to see you…"
…Light, she mentally finished.
"Light and Misa are both glad to be here!" Misa chirped enthusiastically. Light suppressed the urge to wince at her shrill voice, focusing instead on Sayu, who had struck up a conversation with Matsuda.
"You were always looking after my dad," she was saying appreciatively. Light felt a sharp pang of resentment.
"S-Sayu-chan, you've grown up!" Matsuda stammered, cheeks suddenly tinted with a scarlet blush. "And you're so pretty now! You know, the last time I saw you, you were only this tall…" He gestured vaguely by placing his hand a few feet above the coffee table.
Light's amber eyes narrowed dangerously over the rim of his teacup.
"Matsu is blushing!" Misa giggled, pointing accusing fingers at the detective, who held up his hands defensively and argued with a, "N-No! I'm not!"
Sayu blinked, once, twice, unsure exactly how to proceed. Thankfully, her father had the presence of mind to interject. "I'm never going to allow Sayu to marry a detective," he stated firmly. "That's out of the question."
Light was amused to see Matsuda glance about nervously, looking downright panicked when his mother agreed, saying, "He's absolutely right. We don't want that for our daughter!"
Misa giggled yet again. Light smirked a bit, taking a sip of his tea, as Matsuda went on to say, "I-I wasn't! It's not like I proposed to her, Father, Mother…"
Sayu watched on as her mother dropped the tray she was holding and her flabbergasted father echo, "Father?!"
She realized that she had to make this work. Saying something along the lines of, "They're absolutely right, Matsuda-san," wasn't going to work because her parents would find that extremely unusual for someone like her. Sayu sighed inwardly, coming to the lackluster conclusion that she would just have to slip in a little white lie and humor Matsuda a bit.
Sorry, Light, she thought.
"Matsuda-san, I think you are a fine man," Sayu said with a brilliant smile, much to Light's initial chagrin. But that was before he grasped the details of the situation and understood why his sister was leading Matsuda on like this.
Matsuda looked, for lack of a better term, stunned. "R-Really, Sayu-chan? You mean it?"
"Hai!" Sayu affirmed with a nod, "I might even have considered dating you if you were younger…"
...and if you actually had some intellect, Light thought smugly, although he said: "Yes, Sayu's become very mature.
"That's true!" Misa chimed in ardently. "Misa thinks Sayu is way more mature than Matsu." She paused briefly before throwing herself against Light and clinging to his arm. "Of course, since meeting you, you've been the only handsome guy to Misa!"
Sayu was pleased at the glare Light shot Misa. As she began walking to her room, she made a daring move and remarked, "You two should get married since you're working now, onii-chan."
Light swallowed, determined not to let himself look startled. But it was hard, terribly hard. He heard Ryuuk lightly chuckle behind him and Misa exclaim, "What a great idea!"
Light begged to differ, wondering why Sayu had bothered inserting a comment like that so needlessly. When Misa finally let go of his arm, he straightened, set down his teacup, and announced:
"I'm going to go talk to Sayu. It's been forever since I talked to my little sister." He had made a point in saying it as good-naturedly as possible, and as planned, the others fell for it effortlessly—save for Ryuuk, who chuckled again.
Light dropped his pretense when he heard conversation strike up behind him, his mother going on to ask Misa if she had finished sewing the new drapes for their apartment. He felt the corners of his lips curl into a smirk as he began his ascent of the staircase. Each step was slow and meticulous, taking him closer and closer to Sayu's room.
Sayu took a seat on the edge of her bed, setting down her purse and stretching out her arms. Light. She still couldn't believed that he had finally decided to visit, much less what had prompted him to make one so unexpectedly.It had been so long since they had last spent any time together— months, perhaps, but to her it felt like years. Ever since he had decided to move in with Misa, nothing had been the same. She hadn't realized until then just how much she had missed his suave and seductive voice, charismatic smile, and overall perfection.
She smiled, albeit thinly, feeling once again like that lovesick fifteen-year-old with the taboo crush on her older brother. Her fingertips touched her lips absentmindedly as she thought about their first kiss, how his lips had felt locked against hers, how delightfully he had tasted, how soft his hair had felt beneath her fingers…
A knock at the door shook Sayu out of her reverie much more quickly than she had wanted. She sighed. It was probably her mother asking her if she wanted a cup of tea. Sayu brushed the bangs out of her eyes and headed towards the door, closing her eyes in exhaustion.
"Okaa-san, I don't want any tea."
"I didn't come up here to bring you tea, Sayu."
She opened her eyes, glanced up, and hesitated at the enigmatic gaze that could only belong to one person.
"…Light?" She asked it as if she needed confirmation, when she already knew full well that it was him. Stupid question, she chided herself.
"May I come in?" he asked her quietly, amused to see her so lost for words.
Sayu sidestepped and allowed him entrance, catching a whiff of his all too familiar cologne as he passed by her. She shut the door behind him, and after pausing for a heartbeat, locked it as well, just in case.
Light was partially surprised upon entering; her room looked almost exactly like it did five years ago, the only changes being new wallpaper and a desk— which, he realized, had been his when he lived there. He let himself touch the wood for a moment before turning to find Sayu looking at him with small smile.
"Brings back the memories, doesn't it?" she observed softly.
He nodded and leaned back against the desk, meeting her gaze. "It's been a long time, Sayu," he remarked. "How have you been?"
Since her brother had never been one for small talk, she found the question rather odd. But she had no choice but to go along with it. "I've been okay," she replied, "just busy with college and everything."
"You're studying physiology, right?"
"Yeah, I am."
Silence passed between them, and Sayu suddenly felt awkward and very self-conscious of herself. Why was Light acting like this? Was he doing it on purpose just to faze her? Or had things really changed between them?
"How is life with Misa?" Sayu blurted out the question without thinking. She wished she could take it back the moment it had left her lips.
Light gave her a look that could have meant anything—or nothing at all. "Well enough," he said. "I don't get to see much of her, actually, because of the Kira investigation."
Sayu searched for something to say before tentatively settling on, "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Are you really?"
She looked up, startled. Light smirked at her and folded his arms across his chest, studying her appraisingly. "Did you mean what you said before, Sayu?" he questioned. "Do you really want Misa and me to get married?"
Sayu visibly faltered, something Light found highly suspect when comparing it to the streak of confidence she had had around their family and guests.
"…Light, I…" she trailed off and glanced away.
"Or did you do it in hopes of provoking a reaction from me? Because if you did…" His eyes flashed to scarlet, a look that she found as engaging as it was unnerving. "…it worked perfectly," Light finished in a low voice, inclining his head slightly and letting a lock of auburn hair fall over one of his eyes.
Sayu felt her heart race and desperately hoped that she wasn't blushing. She thought it best to avoid his last question because he was closer to the truth than she had anticipated. "If Misa makes you happy, then you should get married, shouldn't you?" she asked him as evenly as possible.
It didn't surprise Light that she had avoided answering his question by countering with one of her own. "If she makes me happy…" he began, feigning thoughtfulness.
An image of Light kissing Misa abruptly entered Sayu's mind, and she pushed it away just as quickly as it had come. The thought of him holding Misa in his arms and kissing her…and perhaps even… She couldn't bear to finish the thought; it was too hard to even imagine.
"What if she doesn't make me happy?" he asked, taking a small step towards her.
Sayu braced herself for what was undoubtedly about to come. Light's hand touched her arm softly before tightening slightly into a grip that was secure without being constricting.
He pulled her forward, using just enough force so that she fell into his arms but still maintained her balance.
"What if this does?" Light said it in a tone that left very little room for questioning. Sayu took the hint and said nothing. She touched the soft cotton of his dress shirt with one hand and fiddled with his black tie with the other. Her face was warm, and she was sure that it was red, too.
He leaned forward and breathed in the scent of her hair, the strawberry and kiwi scent of her shampoo a stark but welcome contrast against Misa's usually overbearing perfume.
"Light, I've missed you," Sayu finally said, voice softening to a whisper. "It's been too long. After you left, things have been so…"
"…different?" Light suggested. She looked away, feeling guilty for having placed all the blame on him—it was selfish of her. He laughed a little, bringing his hand down her arm and to her elbow. She resisted a shiver.
"I wasn't aware you missed watching me study so much," he murmured. And when she didn't say anything, he put his mouth to her ear. "Or did you just miss making out with your brother?" he breathed huskily.
This time Sayu couldn't keep herself from shivering.
Light moved his mouth from her ear to her throat, tracing the perfect contours of her neck with his lips. He nipped at the sensitive skin tersely, causing Sayu to fist his shirt in her hand and gasp his name. Satisfied with her reaction, Light pulled back to look at her, pleased to see her looking so flustered.
Sayu locked gazes with him for a moment before tilting her head up and planting an uncertain kiss on his cheek. Light tugged her even closer, pressing her to him with the hand he had set on her waist. Her heart skipped a beat. Never had they stood so close together, so intimately; he was all but pushing up against her.
Light saw the look in her eye and grinned, flashing her his perfect white teeth in the process. "Why so shy, Sayu?" he asked her. He neglected any answer she may have had and lowered his lips over hers instead. But he didn't kiss her, only touched his lips to hers, deciding that he was going to tease her rather than give in to a kiss so willingly.
She leaned forward expectantly, and he drew back. Light repeated the action again and again, much to his own amusement and Sayu's frustration. It was torture; his mouth was so close to hers, the warm breath tickling her lower lip—they were practically sharing the same breath.
"Light," she muttered.
He ignored the impatience evident in her voice and pulled away again—though this time, not for long. Light was pleasantly surprised when he felt Sayu's hand flit up to the back of his head, forcing his head back down so that his mouth sealed hers in a full kiss. He momentarily smirked against her lips before kissing back, running his hand up and down her arm and giving her waist a brief squeeze with the other.
She found her fingers knotted in the locks of his auburn hair moments later, glad that he was finally kissing her. It was better, far better than all the kisses before combined— perhaps because it had been so long, or perhaps because this time she didn't have to stand on her tiptoes just to reach his lips.
Sayu reluctantly pulled back for air, allowing Light better access to her jaw. He trailed a series of butterfly kisses along her jaw line, the taste of her strawberry-vanilla lip gloss still fresh on his lips. He saw her bite back another gasp, eyes fluttering closed as he began working his way down her neck.
That was when he heard it: a distinct creak, which could only have been caused by someone stepping off the last stair and onto the hallway.
Thoughts racing, Light abruptly pushed Sayu away from him, dissipating the mood completely. She fell back onto the bed looking completely disoriented, cheeks still a light shade of red, eyes wide with confusion. "Light—" she started, only to be cut off by a stern look from her older brother.
He put a finger to his lips and swiftly walked back over to her desk, picking up one of her mechanical pencils and a notepad.
"So you got my desk, Sayu?" While his tone was light and cheery, Sayu had never seen Light look more irritated as he hastily scribbled something down on her notepad. She blinked and her knitted her brows together.
"I still remember sitting at that desk and studying for Finals," Light remarked in that same cheerful tone, though he motioned her forward with a finger. Sayu slowly slid off the bed and started towards him.
Two quick knocks, followed by a, "Light, are you in there? There's been an emergency," made Sayu come to a sudden stop. Light hastily ripped off the piece of paper, set the mechanical pencil and notepad back down, and hurried towards the door. He shot her a glance that read Stay calm and act normal before he opened the door.
His father stood on the other side wearing a grim look on his face. Sayu tensed and held her breath, eyes darting between the floor and the piece of paper Light was currently folding with one hand behind his back.
"Dad? What happened?" Light inquired, again doing a marvelous job of acting innocent and totally composed.
"Director Takimura of the NPA has been kidnapped," his father said in a low voice. "We need to go."
"All right." Damn it, he thought resentfully. "Let me say goodbye to Sayu then."
His father nodded, saying, "Just make it quick. Your mother followed me up here, so I'm going to try and smooth things down with her," before briskly making his way back into the hall.
Light turned back to Sayu, whose face was ashen and panicked. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that their parents were talking just a few feet away. He had to downplay this as best he could.
"Everything's fine," Light stated coolly. "Dad, Matsuda, and I just need to get going." His eyes burned into hers, silently telling her to say something.
Sayu got the message. "Okay," she said, voice slightly shaky. "It was nice talking to you, onii-chan."
"Yeah," Light agreed with a small laugh that didn't match his stern visage at all. "Until next time then, Sayu." After stealing another look over his shoulder, Light pressed the now folded piece of paper into the palm her hand.
She squeezed it as though to reassure herself and nodded. He offered her a brief smirk, gaze momentarily settling on her lips and then moving back up to meet hers. The desire in her eyes mirrored his, and it made parting that much more difficult. But by using the full extent of his willpower, Light managed to turn on his heel and proceed out the door, forcing himself not to glance back at her.
"Let's get going then, Dad," was the last thing Sayu heard Light say. Footsteps hurrying down the stairs followed, along with a few soft murmurs and Misa calling out, "Be safe, Light!" before the door clicked shut.
The house relapsed into an almost uneasy silence. Sayu bit her lip and closed the door to her own room, using both hands to soften the clicking noise. It was then that she finally looked down at the paper square clutched in her hand. She unfolded the note slowly, hands trembling slightly.
Written at the top were the digits of a phone number, and underneath sat a message printed in neat script. Sayu reread the message two times in order to let the words sink in. She couldn't keep from smiling.
Above is the number to my personal cell; give me a call so we can work something out.
Incidentally, you kiss better than Misa ever has.
—Light
Oh. Em. Gee.
Did I just dissect a fragment of a Death Note plot to suit my crackish needs? I think I did.
End-Note Disclaimer: I don't own any of it!