This Alternative Universe fic was forced upon me when I had a very weird dream about adopting Misa as a baby girl. The shock was so immense I decided to get over it by handing the work to Raito and Ryuuzaki. I got very hooked up on this fic, and two more chapters are finished and the fic is theoretically complete. But a bit too long to post it as a oneshot. Therefore, if you like the fic and want me to put up the other two chapters, just tell me.
I settled this fic in London, firstly because, being an European (from Austria), I don't know much about the police in Japan, and secondly, as far as I'm informed, same-sex-marriages aren't allowed over there. So, I made them live in GB, where they are, sort of.
The title is, naturally, stolen from Blink 182, and not directly tied to the storeys content, but more, like, to the "feel" I wanted to create. Daily life with all the small things that happen and make each day unique. (Boah that's cliché). You could say it describes the atmosphere.
Enjoy and find all the little details I tried to pack into this fic, pointing straight to Death Note.
All the small things
Ryuuzaki glanced at his watch. It was two minutes to seven, and in 119 seconds, the door would open. It punctuality had been a person, it would carry the name of RaitoYagami.
He lifted the girl in his arms a bit higher, gently combing her hair. She wiggled and squirmed, making faces at him and laughing her head off.
"That hurts! Don't pull! Ouch! Daddy, you're mean!" In between her words, she giggled, betraying the complains. Ryuuzaki smiled, he knew very well how the little girl's brain worked: if daddy appeared somehow rough with her, dad would come to her rescue. Dad was, after all, a knight in shining armour in the girl's opinion. Ryuuzaki had been honestly worried at some point of her trying to marry her stepfather.
But since she was talking about becoming a model with a harem of boyfriends, he had calmed down. The idea of her being promiscuous was less disturbing than the mere possibility of her wanting to win over her stepdad.
Even though the girl's plan about hair-combing was very promising, he still had an ace up his sleeve. And, interestingly, they fought using the same weapon.
"Misa-chan, would you please hold still? You know that your dad…doesn't approve of you not looking presentable….." Astonishing, how quickly that idly chatting mouth could close.
L grinned. Sometimes, he thought, he would make a good psychologist. Or a good psychopath, depending on the point of view.
Eleven more seconds to go. Misa fixed the clock on the wall too and started counting loudly, Ryuuzaki joining her. She grabbed his arm. "Eight, seven, six, five,…." They looked at each other, grinning broadly. Dad was oh-so-predicable. "Three, two, one….zero!"
They turned in unison to the door, which opened with force. Raito was almost blown away by the decibels thrown towards him. "Welcome home, dad!"
Misa bolted towards the man, choking him and showering his face with kisses. Raito was a bit perplexed, but quickly hugged the girl dangling off his neck. "My, that's a welcoming. How are you, darling?" He set the girl down, tousling her hair. Misa gave a shriek, pushing his hand away. "No, no, don't! Daddy spent all evening combing me, you can't just ruin that!" She perked up. "And, oh, I made you a welcome present! I'll get it! Don't run off!" She bustled out of the room, leaving dust behind.
Raito chuckled, putting his suitcase down. "What did you do, feed her off pure sugar the whole week?" He turned towards the other man, loosening his tie. Ryuuzaki gave an innocent look. "Why should I do that?...she robbed the sweets department all by herself, I swear."
"You were her companion, admit it."
"No, I wasn't. I just…..let's say, benefited from it."
Raito gave a laugh, hugging the man. "How can one live on sweets? Am I the only one in this house that knows how to roast chicken?"
"Chicken? What's that? Can you eat it?" The inculpable eyes widened. Almost feeling the urge to smack the other man over the head for being this good at needling him, Raito rather opted for stopping this absolutely nonsensical argument.
"Chicken is something I'll make you eat when I'm in a sadistic mood. You'll love it." Tightening his arms around Ryuuzaki, he brushed his nose against the others'. "But besides that, it's nice to be home again. Will you greet me?"
Ryuuzakis lips curved, making him look akin to someone who is about to receive birthday gift and Christmas pudding at the same time. "With pleasure." Leaning towards the other man, he planted a small kiss on his lips. The 'small' part was rather accidental, for Misa stormed into the room again, thus effectively cutting off any reunion-kissing-sessions the two of them might have started in the living room. Showing no sign of manners, sense of timing or sorrow for having interrupted her parents in what she used to titulate 'No-time-for-Misa-cause-they're-way-too-occupied' moments, she shoved a cheerfully wrapped packet into Light's stomach, hollering, "Misa-chan is sooo happy dad's back!"
While Raito unwrapped the parcel, thanking and praising Misa for it – she had sewn a little blue puppet which looked like a monster from some freak movie, the man didn't want to know where she got these ideas from – Ryuuzaki wandered off towards the kitchen, setting himself to the task of searching chicken. Having found something which read chicken wings on the wrapping, he pondered over the possibility of frying it in honey, but had to dismiss that idea, since Raito forbid sweets as a main dish. He and Misa weren't able to see his reasoning, but for the sake of making him happy, they ate that strange stuff called broccoli – which was not sweet at all! – and to please Light, he and Misa would do far worse things.
"What exactly are you trying to do? Kill the chicken once again?" Raito stood in the kitchen door, contemplating the brown mass in the pan. Ryuuzaki stared at Light, at the chicken, then at Raito again. Then he gave up and trotted towards the other man. "There's a 67 chance of you saving dinner. Less, if you calculate the state of the rice."
Raito rubbed his temples. "Set the table, then." Ryuuzaki nodded and started picking the plates out of the cupboard, one by one. Meanwhile, the younger man conjured up any kind of spice he was able to find. A heavy dose of curry was now the only thing that was able to make up for the treatment the chicken had received so far.
Ryuuzaki slowly placed forks and knifes, watching Misa dance around the kitchen. Her song consisted mainly of 'Dad's back and Misa-chan is happy' which didn't sound too bad. He had long ago grown used to her bubbly personality. Thinking that the little girl wasn't that little anymore gave him a wave of nostalgia. She had been two years old when they adopted her, now she was busily preparing her ninth birthday. Ryuuzaki slightly dreaded the masses of ten- and nine-year-olds that threatened to invade their house in three weeks' time. The girl was sure popular.
Stirring the sauce, Raito shot glances at his husband and the peculiar way he put down the glasses. If he had been any other person, somebody not well acquainted with Ryuuzaki, he would diagnose heavy neurotic disorder. But, being RaitoYagami, master of dealing with Ryuuzaki Lawliett, he did not find it disturbing. In fact, the only thing unusual he noted was Ryuuzaki wearing a red t-shirt.
Munching on the barely rescued dinner – soy sauce does wonders in a frying pan – Raito recounted his business trip. Being chief secretary of Interpol, he had to travel often, this was the second time this month. Raito felt truly content with his job, but since he and Ryuuzaki had adopted Misa, he tried to cut the long travels abroad down to a minimum. Sometimes, he envied his husband, who was able to work in London all the time. Ryuuzaki's detective agency was running so well Raito once proposed moving to Baker Street, but since his ego would not bear being Watson, he quickly declared it a joke.
Scrubbing the dishes later, he mused over the current situation. In the days he and Ryuuzaki had both worked for Scotland Yard, their time together had been no problem. Their holidays had been situated around the same days, just like their homes had been conveniently close. But when Raito had been offered a high position at Interpol, it had grown difficult. Ryuuzaki left Scotland Yard as well, opening his own agency, leaving him more flexible. That, Raito resumed, was the only thing that enabled them to keep their relationship.
Drying the glasses off, Raito hung his head. He really spent too little time with his family. While he worked very enthusiastically, he still wanted to watch Misa grow up and enjoy his private life.
"Why are you looking so down?" Ryuuzaki sat on a chair, hunched over and his knees drawn to his chest, gazing at the younger man. Raito gave a shrug. "Nothing." Turning to his husband, he smiled. Such a strange creature. Sat like an embryo all day and demanded more sugar than a confectionery. And had the sharpest mind Raito ever came across.
"No, something's bothering you. Are you mad because of the chicken?" It was lame and both knew it, but Ryuuzaki knew no other way to express his concern.
Raito bent down to the folded-up man, wondering how his thirty-eight-year-old bones managed to put up with that trauma to any spine. "I just missed you." He kissed him, gently. "And Misa." A peck on the cheek.
Ryuuzaki tilted his head, giving him the looks of an insecure kitten. That actually described his social abilities quite well. Raito still remembered his very first encounter with his later husband many years ago – they had both been assigned to a serial killer case – and how he had declared the other man void of emotions. And Ryuuzaki thought him arrogant, which wasn't far off as well, because Raito could be the most superior pain in the ass. But in the curse of working together, something akin to mutual acceptance had been established between them, mainly based on their matching skills. Raito had to admit he had until this point not encountered another being that was able to just barely follow and understand his train of thought. Ryuuzaki, as he was perplexed to learn, not only raced ahead of him, conjuring up conclusions and theories, but tended to end his sentences for him. The first two months of the two of them talking to the same person had been…awkward. Because one of them started the sentence, the other took it over, both drew it to the brilliant conclusion and the people listening were so confused in the end that they could not tell which of them had really been talking. Raito wasn't so sure most of the time himself. Which was really creepy. Especially considering his ego.
The only thing that reassured him was the fact that Ryuuzaki had been equally astonished about this course of events. He had, as he had put it into words much later, never had had the chance to match wits with anybody. Soon they were a unit, famous and infamous in every corner of their department. But the final breakthrough for their relationship had been a rather dangerous incident. Considering Ryuuzaki – who was by no standards of society normal – and himself – who didn't really fit the definition either – it should not have surprised him. They had been on the track of said serial killer, cornering him – and falling victim to a companion whose existence they had only assumed so far. Both had been taken hostages, brought to a hideout, chained together into perfect immobility and waiting for rescue. For almost a month, both had experienced not only being held captive with constant surveillance by one of the two criminals, but also being completely dependent on another person. When they were freed, a firm bond had been woven between them – leaving Raito to realise that the rest of his life would not be spent with some sweet and pretty girlfriend, but some weird and sugar-addicted detective. He had made his decision then and there, and knowing Ryuuzaki's logic ran along them same lines as his own, he had confronted the other – only to get "I knew you would come to your senses someday." for an answer. Of course, Raito was reassured in his decision by these words, but it nagged a bit that Ryuuzaki had obviously come to the perfectly logical conclusion that neither of them would ever find anybody more fascinating a bit faster than him.
Ryuuzaki watched Raito turning back to the dishes, unsure about the others' reassurance. Certainly there was something weighting on Lights mind, but he knew him too well to assume he could be able to pry it out of that thin mouth. He was living with the man for years now, and of course he would not pester Raito about anything he was not willing to tell. He was just slightly concerned the man would gulp it all down, as he had done before. Raito was friendly and polite – but not the healthiest of minds. Defeat was not an option, and negative feelings were rigorously stuffed down his own throat. The other man was so anxious about his exterior he would never not smile.
Sometimes, Ryuuzaki wondered how a seemingly so superficial and perfection-obsessed person like Raito could ever wind up with a social freak like himself. But, probably, that was what drew Raito to Ryuuzaki in the first place, apart from their matching wits: his absolute ignorance towards standards and norms, which gave Raito the freedom to quietly, under the pretence of submitting to his partner, let himself go. Ryuuzaki had noted early in their relationship, that Raito would often draw out moments during which he seemed uncharacteristically relaxed and content. It was plausible, in Ryuuzaki's opinion. Raito was neat, groomed, flawless. Ryuuzaki wasn't and didn't care. And he didn't mind the least if Raito used him to forget his spotless image once in a while.
That's that. I would love to ramble now about how I think this could all work and...but I'll spare you. It's in the fic anyway. . Just let me remind you that I have two more chapters in store. Critisism is always welcome, and thanks for reading.