Well, people... Here it is. I have been writing this thing for the past month or so, and it's done.
I felt like writing the whole thing before posting it, so all the chapters will show up at once... Nice, non? That doesn't mean I don't want you to review each chapter, though. XD Skipping to the end before you review will not be tolerated! (Don't worry, there are only nine.)
Warning: I have made L slightly OOC. Not that different, but he's clumsy, a bit underconfident, and likes to go out drinking. Also, Misa is less loyal, and more easy-going. And Light is sort of a mixture of Kira-Light and Innocent-Light. I sort of mixed them up to what I thought they'd be like if they were raised differently, in a different world, no Kira or detectives or anything. Basically, not too much has changed, but you may notice some things they might not normally do.
Title: Mud-caked Shoes
Pairings: L/Light, L/Misa, Light/Misa
Rating: M for sexual situations, alchohol usage, and language
Summary: L is the loser, Misa is his model girlfriend, and Light is the man who stole her away. If L wants to get revenge on this guy, he'll have to get his hands dirty... or his feet.
Disclaimer: Kit Pocket owns no part of Death Note whatsoever. This is a nonprofit work of fiction made for entertainment purposes only.
Thank you, and enjoy.
--
"Reality is an illusion that occurs due to lack of alchohol." –Anonymous
--
L's room was a mess. The bed was unmade and covered in shirts, ties, and pants. The floor was in similar disarray, but with bits of various food thrown into the mix; his bathroom floor was flooded. Someone had written "L is for Loser" on his wall in dark red ketchup; he suspected himself.
At that moment, he stood in front of the mirror, just staring at his reflection. He had never cared about his outside appearance, and he didn't care now, but he had to admit, he looked awful.
His hair was tangled and twisted in all different directions, even worse than it normally was. The bags under his eyes had somehow gotten darker, and his shirt—heaven knows how or why—was ripped all the way down the middle. He wasn't sure where his pants had gone off to.
What he really wished for was someone in his apartment that he could turn to and say, "Man, that was some party, wasn't it?"
Unfortunately, there had been no party, and there was no one in his apartment. There was only him and the chaos.
L slumped over to his bed, pushing off the clothes and falling face-first onto the pillows. He groaned and winced as pain shot through his skull. "…ow."
Fact: hangovers suck ass.
Lifting his head, he surveyed the damage once more. Scowling, he returned to pushing his eyes into the plain white pillowcase beneath him.
Fact: this is going to take an eternity to clean up.
Sighing, he turned over on the bed, putting an arm over his eyes to block the sunlight coming from the window. "What exactly did I do?" he asked no one in particular, wincing at the croaky sound of his own voice grating his ears.
Trying to clear his mind, L thought back as far as he could. He could only remember bits and pieces, so he put everything together from that.
Through the haze in his mind, he pictured himself stumbling around the room in a drunken stupor, pulling random clothes out of the closet and sending them flying. Angrily knocking down the lamp (and such a nice lamp, too) while clutching a bottle of vodka, taking a swig and then moving on to his refrigerator. Grabbing handfuls of leftover pizza and falling to the floor to grind the dough, sauce and condiments into the carpet, shouting and yelling until he managed to get the people from the floor below knocking on their ceilings with broom handles.
He couldn't figure out what had happened in the bathroom, though now that he thought about it, the pieces from the broken lamp had mysteriously disappeared.
Now that he had figured out just what had happened, and that yes, it was him, and not the mysterious room-destroying rhinos that had sent his apartment into such disarray, L's headache began to grow significantly worse. Groaning, L pushed his palm against his forehead, futilely attempting to ease the pain and make himself think clearly once more.
What had happened to make him do this? Why had he felt the need to attack his living space? Had the apartment insulted his mother?
Oh, wait. Now I remember.
Sitting up, L reached over the side of the mattress. His hand grabbed in the air randomly, searching the floor until he found what he needed to find. It was underneath the bed, and somehow still a quarter full.
He pulled the bottle up by the neck and took another gulp of vodka.
Fact: Misa Amane is the biggest bitch in history.
--
L Lawliet was a happy man, and lived a happy life. Lived in a nice apartment, worked in a good company, and got paid well. Always had time to have his morning coffee, and wasn't addicted to any mind-melting substances.
Not to mention, the light of his life, his little ray of sunshine, his beautiful girlfriend, Misa Amane.
Well, admittedly, he wouldn't call her the 'light of his life' or his 'little ray of sunshine'; those nicknames were actually her idea. She apparently had a thing for luminosity. But she was certainly a perk in his daily routine.
Misa was what L looked forward to while he was wasting his intelligence and talent in front of a computer screen, his only motivation while he designed software for the people of the world. Being an engineer was a boring job at the most exciting moments, but he just thought about coming home to her smiling face, and he would suddenly not care anymore. It didn't matter how long the meeting would be, or if his cubicle seemed to magically shrink, or if he was randomly placed on a team to motivate the other employees. She would always be there for him at the end of the day, to rub his shoulders and take away the stress of working in a box.
After a year and a half of going out with her, L knew Misa was getting tired of their relationship being at a stand-still. And now that they lived together, there were no more steps to take but the last one. L had never really put thought into whether he wanted to reach the top of the stairs or not, but with someone like Misa, whatever was at the end had to be worth taking the plunge.
He took money out of his savings, bought the ring, and began planning the time and place. Everything had to be perfect; luckily, he had the perfect opportunity.
Every Friday, L and Misa would go out to eat. They took turns picking restaurants, and this Friday was L's turn. He had gotten everything set up ahead of time, and all he had left to do was wait.
Friday finally came, and L was feeling nervous, but determined. While Misa was in the bathroom fixing her hair, L put on the nicest suit he owned; black, virgin wool. As he adjusted his tie and tightened it against his neck, the small box in his pocket rubbed against his thigh. Reaching down and putting a hand over it, he smiled.
Tonight's the night…
"Lolly, are we going now?" asked Misa, wearing a décolleté spaghetti strap black dress and gothic heels. She looked dazzling; L had to do a double-take before he could answer.
"You look very nice, Misa-san," L finally murmured, walking over to her and leaning down to kiss her tenderly. He pulled away and beamed. "Let's go."
She nervously grinned back.
In the car on the way to the restaurant, Misa stared out the window while L kept his eyes on the road. Usually they'd be making casual conversation, talking about their daily lives and the lives of their peers—well, actually, Misa would talk, and L would usually just listen and make little noises of agreement every now and then. He wasn't one for chitchat, and Misa often talked enough for the both of them.
But tonight she didn't say a word.
"Are you all right, Misa-san?" L asked, slowing down for a red light. He glanced at the young woman next to him, her face illuminated by the red glow of the traffic signal.
"I'm fine," Misa replied, not looking at him. She twirled a piece of her blonde hair around her pinky, watching people walk past them on the sidewalk. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise, Misa-san," said L, his foot easing off of the brake as the light flashed from red to green. "But we're almost there."
At last, they came to their destination; the New York Bar. He pulled into the parking lot, climbed out, and crossed over to Misa's side. Opening the door for her, he took her by the hand and helped her out of the car.
Misa stepped out carefully, letting go of his hand as soon as she had balanced properly in her stiletto heels. She glanced up, and her eyes widened. "The New York Bar?" asked Misa, incredulous. "You made reservations, then? I thought we were going to a fancy ramen place or something!"
"I don't wear a suit and tie for ramen," said L, entwining his arms with hers and leading her into the restaurant.
After they had taken their seats and ordered some champagne, L got to business. Gathering his resolve, L clasped his hands together and leaned forward on the table. "Misa-san…"
"Lolly, I need to talk to you," Misa interrupted, leaning forward as well. She looked nervous, but stern, like a kindergarten teacher scolding a student for something that they hadn't known was wrong.
Bad sign.
"Listen, we've been through a lot, and I've loved the time we've spent together," she continued, twiddling her thumbs, realizing she was twiddling her thumbs, and then placing her hands in her lap. "Really, I have. I just think… it's time to move on."
L blinked. "…What?"
This isn't happening, right? he thought, sticking his hand in his pocket mindlessly, fondling the precious velvet box. This is just too ironic.
"Sorry, Lolly," she murmured, smiling sheepishly. Standing up, Misa leaned over the table and kissed L's cheek. "Thanks for everything," she said, pulling the chair back and walking away from the table. "I'll get a cab."
With that, she was gone, without even an explanation as to why it had to end.
L just stared at the place where Misa had sat in stunned silence. He pulled out the ring box and laid it on the table, opening it as though he were showing it to someone who wasn't there, but should have been. His face didn't change, not showing any sign of hurt or anger or anything; he was just shocked.
Only moments after Misa had left, the waitress came to the table, holding a bottle of sparkling wine. She glanced at the empty seat, then at the ring box, and then at the man with the expression that made her wonder whether he was alive or just a wax figurine. She considered waving a hand in front of the man's face, but decided not to and instead tried speaking to him. "…Champagne?"
L looked up at her slowly, then back at the empty seat across from him.
"Leave the bottle."
--
A sudden knock at the door sent L's head on a whirlwind adventure through the world of pain.
"Ohhnn," L groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples. The person at the door knocked again, and L called hoarsely, "One moment, please…"
He opened the door just a crack, peeking his head out to see who it could be. A vague hope sprung up in the back of his mind as he looked; could it be Misa, come back to beg for forgiveness? His beautiful, lovely Misa, here to ask L to take her back?
Yes, I'll take you back, my Misa! Don't worry; daddy's not mad at you…
"Come to poppa," L muttered, his mind still fuzzy.
"The hell?" spat the delivery man, a fat, hairy person in great need of a bath.
His spirits falling, L opened the door all the way. He opened his mouth to say something, a greeting of sorts, perhaps. Before he could say anything, the man thrust a small brown package into L's arms, and stormed off.
Annoyed at the rudeness but not really caring at the moment, L shut the door, tossed the empty vodka bottle to the ground, and proceeded to rip open the package.
He pulled out a small, white box and an envelope that smelt of perfume. It was from Misa.
Sitting on the bed, L put the letter aside and opened the box. Inside was a heart-shaped silver locket that L had gotten Misa for her birthday only a month ago. L scowled, throwing it to the ground angrily.
Tossing the box away as well, L picked up the envelope next. Ripping it open and pulling out a piece of paper folded in half, L raised an eyebrow.
A dying message? Perhaps it was too awkward for her to explain in person… Or maybe… Maybe she was forced into it, and she snuck this letter to me to explain that she doesn't actually want to leave me!
Filled with new hope, L unfolded the paper and began to read.
Hey, Lolly! Again, sorry. It just didn't work out, you're too creepy for me.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I'm all right. I got all my stuff out last night—you didn't come home, though, hope you got back okay! Anyway, I'm staying with my boyfriend, Light. He's such a sweetie, he's letting me live with him on such short notice!!
Well, I need to go, so here's that necklace thingy you gave me. It just doesn't match anything, sorry. I'll keep your other gifts, though, so don't think it's personal or anything!!
Knew you'd understand. Bye!
Misa-Misa
(PS Light says hi!!)
L stared at the words, horrified. All previous hopes had flushed down his drain of disappointment.
Creepy… boyfriend… didn't match… he says HI?
The paper fell onto the bed, and L shot to his feet. Grabbing his coat and car keys, L stormed furiously out of his apartment. He slammed the door and ignored the angry yells from his neighbors, pulling on his coat as he stomped down the hall. Ramming his finger into the 'down' button repeatedly, L tapped his foot and shifted his weight here and there restlessly.
Finally the doors pulled open, and L rushed into the elevator. He pushed the button for the first floor, and the doors shut, annoyingly smooth jazz easing out of the radio.
L sighed and fell back against the wall, trying to focus on the soft hum of the elevator as it drifted slowly downward.
I need a drink.
--
Author's Notes: And there we have Chapter 1! Man, Misa is mean...
Everything I know about working in a company, I learned from Dilbert. So L is an engineer.
That note is version 3.0. I'm finally satasfied with it!
I did research on Kanto region restaurants. The New York Bar is real, my friends! The description said "romantic, make reservations", which is why L is wearing a tux. I hope that attire fits the atmosphere, I couldn't find too many pictures or that much information on it...
Doesn't L look sexy in a suit? I mean, in the mental image? I think so.
Please review!