Disclaimer: Do NOT own Death Note and its characters! Never will, sadly.
A/N: This story is being written by me, Songbird Severine, and Colour-chan. We hope it pleases the masses. We ask that said masses please leave us a review – it would bring our little hearts much pleasure. Enough chit-chat – get to it, and enjoy! :)
Electronic hum filled the large room. Coupled with mouse-clicking and continuous typing noises, it had a rather curious effect on Matsuda. Frankly, it was driving him up the wall. Being the least experienced (but nonetheless ambitious) member of the team, Matsuda had already worked himself into a sleep-depraved, coffee-sloshing, stuttering mess. And now that he discovered that exhaustion drove his noise-sensitivity levels through the roof, he didn't know what to do with himself.
Light and L sat with their backs to the rest of the adults occupying the room. They were conversing quietly, apparently sharing their opinions on the latest finding. A long chain connected their wrists. Aizawa and Ukita were going through a stack of black folders on the table. 'What miniscule print,' Matsuda thought, watching the agents scrutinize the documents through a magnifying glass. Mogi and Souichiro were typing on their keyboards busily – Matsuda loathed them with unimaginable intensity. He even swiveled around to give them the evil eye a few times, which accomplished nothing. But one could always hope.
And so the routine continued and Matsuda suffered. He could kiss Souichiro when the man rose from his seat and announced it was lunchtime and all of them deserved a little nourishment for their hard work. Predictably, everyone with the exception of the resident geniuses said yes to that idea. Light and L politely declined, as usual. Nobody objected to that: Watari fed L cake ten times a day, and he wouldn't hesitate to bring something for Light if the man only asked. The two detectives were one rung above the rest of the team, but that was to be expected.
Just as Matsuda was slipping out the door unnoticed, Souichiro's voice stopped him. Not so unnoticed, then.
"Would you mind getting something for my son, Matsuda? Light started work two hours early today. I don't think he realizes how hungry he is." Matsuda gawked. Had someone glued a sign saying 'servant' to his back? But this was Souichiro Yagami, so he complied. Trudging up to Light, he felt like a waiter taking orders.
"I'll have a vegetarian salad with pine nuts, blueberries, and mint."
Matsuda grudgingly admitted that the command made Light seem even more sophisticated. He scowled, remembering the last time he was made to fetch him a salad. He had crossed half the city in search of the brand of cheese that Light had specified. At least this time, the ingredients were more common.
Matsuda shuffled to the door, making a hasty escape.
Silence reigned supreme.
"Light-kun?"
"Yes, Ryuuzaki?"
"Should I ask Watari to bring Light-kun a slice of cake?"
Light sighed. This was bordering on hilarious. L has never once accepted an invitation to eat with other detectives, and what was Light to do but follow his lead? He did not want to appear weak in front of L. This was not only a battle of intelligence, but also one of endurance. He wasn't some weakling who needed to be pampered. It was Ryuuzaki who acted like a spoiled child most of the time. He'd send Watari to get his cake and two kilos of sweets, then ask for a chocolate pocky, refuse it and request a strawberry pocky instead, then complain about the cake not being sweet enough (which almost made Light gag), and finally settle for devouring his sweets and tea with lots of disgusting lip-smacking and slurping noises.
Light leaned back against the back of his chair for a moment. The handcuffs that dangled between them clicked softly on the sides of the swivel office chairs the two men sat on. Light massaged his temple with long delicate fingers and finally looked up at L.
"No thank you very much Ryuuzaki. I will never understand how you manage to eat so much and stay so thin," he answered. L glanced at him and the edge of his lips quirked up just a little.
"I refer you to my earlier answer of that particular question Light-kun," replied the detective. Light rolled his eyes and turned back to the screen. The words were all blurry and Light rubbed at his eyes before reattempting to focus on the work. The screen swam in and out of vision. It was no good. He needed this break, it was lunch time anyway, he was no machine.
Light pushed his chair away from the desk a little and glanced at L who had returned to staring at the screen and diligently reading. His thumb was in his mouth as usual and Light winced as he watched the detective slowly chew on it. He made a small sigh hoping to attract L's attention, so perhaps he could talk him into finding somewhere more comfortable to sit while they had lunch. L's attention never wavered. Light almost scowled but he wasn't one for showing such ugly emotions on his face, and so he contented himself with sighing again, but this time a little louder. L did not move from his position, instead he blinked twice and then spoke.
"Yagami-kun, I must infer that you are being distracting on purpose. Distracting me from important work that may catch Kira means your percentage has risen by 2%."
Light stared. His mouth had actually fallen open. Then he groaned.
"Ryuuzaki, you are insufferable! How many times to I have to tell you I am not Kira!" L spun around on his chair until he was facing Light.
"Plenty of times Light-kun; however, a statement of innocence from a suspect does not hold any significance."
Light growled before turning away violently, the chain that attached them jerked and Ryuuzaki's awkward sitting position on his swivel chair meant that he had no way of holding himself up. The chair rolled forwards very suddenly causing Ryuuzaki to tip forwards and loose his balance….. toppling onto the floor face first. Light felt his wrist suddenly tugged sharply downwards and twisted to try and compensate, but he forgot to include the wheels in his calculation. They spun frantically and Light found himself propelled backwards across the floor, still seated in the chair, while Ryuuzaki was being dragged after him. He ground his heels into the floor desperately and they finally stopped a few feet short of the opposite wall. Light's eyes widened and he tumbled out of the chair down to L's side.
"Oh my god, Ryuuzaki! Are you okay?" he said pushing the man onto his back. L groaned and shook his shaggy shock of black hair.
"Yes Light-kun, I believe I am simply a little disorientated." Light moved forward and helped L sit up, letting Ryuuzaki lean against his chest as he blinked rapidly. Light leant forward a little to peer at L concernedly.
"Are you sure Ryuuzaki? Shall I get Watari?" he held L's gaze for a moment and found himself drowning in an onyx gaze. Light jerked back a little surprised and felt his cheeks heat up a little. His eyes widened and he discreetly coughed before turning away.
"Well, let me help you up," he said trying to push L's body off him. He blushed again at the fact that the detective had practically been sat in his lap, and then stiffened as he realized exactly what he was thinking.
Watching L roll his chair back towards their desk, Light once again scrutinized L's horrible posture. Was the man really incapable of walking with a straight back? It was hard to believe he was the smartest detective in the world. His appearance was rather quaint (how many identical shirt-and-jeans outfits did the man own?), and his habits weren't the sort you'd enjoy witnessing on a daily basis. Not at all. But Light had to put up with everything and anything that Ryuuzaki threw at him. Being forced into a state of constant watchfulness, he couldn't help but notice the little things once in a while.
Ryuuzaki's crooked posture wasn't the "question mark" of a teenage body or a frail slump of an old man. It was completely different and unique. Strangely, it gave L an air of respect. How such an outlandish way of walking could ever accomplish that, Light had no clue. But that didn't stop him from staring at L's back.
"Would it be too much trouble for Light-kun to move a little closer?" L said, pointing to the chain with a pale finger. The chain was taut because Light hadn't moved from his spot beside his fallen chair. Trying not to blush (and racking his brains for any reason that would explain L being the cause of such a juvenile reaction), Light picked up the chair and dragged it back just like Ryuuzaki had done.
The pair regarded each other for a few moments. L spoke and Light felt a definite sense of doom.
"Light-kun doesn't want the cake that Watari brings him."
That you tell Watari to bring me, Light corrected mentally. L's weird statements did not surprise him anymore.
"I prefer not to eat as much sugar as you do, Ryuuzaki."
"Maybe, if Light-kun accepted Watari's generosity and ate the cake that was offered to him, he could concentrate on his work better."
Light blinked. He didn't want to deal with this right now. Calmly, he raised a trimmed eyebrow at L, his expression demanding that he explain.
"Light-kun has been very distracted by his thoughts lately. As Light-kun's friend, I had wanted to suggest a way to increase Light-kun's productivity."
As irked as Light was by L's mention of their "friendship," he could stand these minor jabs. And he wasn't about to tell L that he was the exact reason for his spacing out. The detective would probably use that information to-
"Light-kun's percentage of being Kira has increased dramatically."
-support his theory of Light being Kira… Oh, what has he done now to set off Ryuuzaki's ridiculous accusations? The detective looked smug, like he usually did when spitting out his stupid percentages.
"Light-kun's thoughts are likely to be occupied with planning the next step of a certain mass murderer. In fact, Light-kun and the mass murderer are the same-"
"Stop saying things that don't make sense, Ryuuzaki. It doesn't suit you."
"But Kira-kun-"
"Don't call me that," Light warned dangerously. "I'm working with you, Ryuuzaki, not against you. It's time you stopped being a child, don't you think?" Light's patience was running out. It's been a rough week for him and he didn't think he had the strength to have a drawn-out argument over nothing.
"Kira-kun may say whatever he wants but-"
"L, this is my last warning. Please close your mouth." Light fixed the detective with a stare.
"Does Light-kun really think he can deceive me? Light-kun's abrupt behavioral change corresponds to a new wave of murders, which-"
This time, Light used a particularly well-placed punch to cut Ryuuzaki off. Or what would have been a well-placed punch had Ryuuzaki's reflexes been slower. As it were, Light's hand was intercepted and a swift kick to his knee caused Light to crumble to floor in unexpected pain. Doing so, he thrust his other leg out and tripped Ryuuzaki. The detective recovered in time to evade more blows from Light.
They both fought with great speed and agility, but as they moved around the room Light found himself backing away from L, whose attacks were overpowering Light. Being a quick thinker, Light turned the situation in his favor by wrapping the chain that linked their wrists around Ryuuzaki's arm just as it flew forward toward his stomach. Light pulled on Ryuuzaki's arm, intending to throw the detective on his back. But Ryuuzaki slid out of his grip masterfully and dealt a sudden blow to Light's side. As Light was turning around to retaliate, Ryuuzaki struck again, grazing the side of the brunette's face with his fist. Light tasted blood and twisted Ryuuzaki's arm painfully to buy himself some time. But he found that the other detective did not try to escape again. He allowed himself to be restrained and was panting slightly. He caught Light's gaze and something about those dark eyes unnerved the brunette. He looked away sharply.
"Does Light-kun wish to treat his wound?"
"It's a split lip, Ryuuzaki," Light shot back.
"Light-kun misunderstood my intentions. I was expressing my concern was Light-kun's well-being."
Curbing an overwhelming need to kick Ryuuzaki where it hurts the most, Light-kun turned on his heel and headed for the bathroom. He began rummaging through the cabinets looking for something to disinfect his lip with. He took a tissue and held it against the cut. With his free hand, he continued his search, getting more and more agitated by the second.
Now everyone will see him as a loser, and all because he had a visible injury. Many times after his fights with Ryuuzaki, he had felt the others' concerned looks. He supposed their rumpled clothing often gave them away. But this time, the situation was a million times worse! His colleagues would take one look at him and inevitably assume that L is the superior fighter. Light was sure that L had just as many bruises as him, but, regrettably, they were all hidden behind the detective's baggy clothing. Light promised himself he'd give Ryuuzaki a black eye next time, which made him feel a little better.
Still, where was that damned disinfectant?!
"Second drawer from the top, cabinet on the left, if I am correct."
Scowling, Light jerked the drawer open and took out the tiny bottle. He soaked another tissue with the liquid, and pressed it to his lip for a moment. He clenched his teeth and hissed. The cut must've been deep.
"Does it sting?"
As absorbed as he was into taking care of his lip, Light jumped when Ryuuzaki's voice sounded suspiciously close. Turning his head, his eyes widened at finding Ryuuzaki's face less than a foot away, the man's bottomless eyes boring a hole through his head. Light wasn't very comfortable with that. He was even less comfortable with Ryuuzaki blowing air on his bloodied lip. The distance between them was now mere inches.
Light's mind screamed at him to get as far from the other man as possible, right now. But Light soon found that he rather enjoyed what Ryuuzaki was doing. The fact that he was doing it to an injury on his mouth, as opposed to another body part, like his hand, felt very awkward, but it was a pleasant feeling and Light didn't want it to end. When Ryuuzaki stopped, Light dabbed his lip with the tissue again. As soon as it was lifted, Ryuuzaki resumed his task. This was repeated several times until Light threw the tissue away.
Ryuuzaki, however, did not move away. This made Light feel distinctly uneasy, even threatened. Light didn't like feeling threatened. It also didn't help that the brunette was literally cornered.
Light panicked and made a dash for the door, hoping to jostle Ryuuzaki out of the way. But a treacherous puddle proved lethal to Light's escape plan. His foot slipped and, instinctively, he grabbed two handfuls of Ryuuzaki's shirt to save himself. Ryuuzaki, not anticipating to be tugged forward, lost his footing as well, and the two collapsed to the ground.
Light's head hit the tiles pretty hard, and Ryuuzaki's weight knocked the wind out of him. Seconds trickled by and Light was coming to his senses. The first thing he became aware of was the heavy weight on top of him. Then came the realization of who that weight was.
Light blushed yet again, refusing to meet Ryuuzaki's eyes.
"Ryuuzaki, get off me," Light growled. He felt extremely embarrassed by their position. More embarrassed than he should have felt, Light mused briefly.
Suddenly, Ryuuzaki's face loomed closer, and Light was mesmerized by their predatory gaze in his eyes. He honestly wanted to do something, anything, to get rid of the helplessness he was feeling. But his reaction was too slow. A moment later, Ryuuzaki swooped down on his prey, smashing their lips together while gripping Light's wrists painfully.