Hi! This is my re-attempt to create a LightXL story. This is actually a really hard pair because if you used the actual plot line it's quite impossible for the two to have fallen in love and if you create an AU then you have to create their background story and a whole other plot just with the same characters! So, yea... Sorry if my story is hard to follow.

Warning: Future Yaoi, Light and L crazy-ness, Future Lemon, Lime, Peach, and Fluff!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my body, heart, soul, and mind!

Please enjoy!

~Sky

A Hidden Malignant Spirit

Wednesday morning went by slowly for Light Yagami. His mother had cooked him a big breakfast, which he had basically picked at and had a staring contest with, his father had already left for work, he was working on some huge serial killing, and Sayu had danced quite precariously on his, very thin and minute, last nerve. All in all, Light felt like shit, for lack of a better word. He hadn't eaten much the past few months, hadn't slept well, and both these things were becoming awfully apparent. His coffee colored eyes weren't as deep and intense, framed with dark, sleep-deprived indents; his tan skin had paled slightly and had become almost sickly looking; his golden-brown hair had lost its usual splendor. Everyone at Daikoku Private Academy had begun to notice their beautiful deity's decline in health but no one had dared come near him, for with his waning in physical condition, Light had become formidable and on edge. Misa, with all her stupidity, was the only one who dared take the blunt of all the divine being's outbursts. She went on and on about how she worried and cared for her precious Light-kun.

This, of course, only fed the instability of the ticking time-bomb that was Light Yagami. He hated her fawning. He detested her annoying, nails-on-a-chalkboard voice. He reviled her weird way of dressing. And most of all, he despised her insufferable idiocy! Could anyone even come close to how unintelligent, negligent, and imprudent Misa Amane was? Ugh, it sickened him just thinking about her!

So here he was, sitting, testily, in the back row of third year AP biology, room 2A, Mr. Aburrido, 1st class of the school day, staring uninterested at the clock as if staring at it would make time go quicker. Class had started only minutes ago and Mr. Aburrido was completely engrossed in a lecture about taxonomy, leaving students to try and take notes of the fast-paced sermon.

Light drew his eyes away from the clock, resting his head on the palm of his hand, to browse the occupants of the room. Ami, Chieko, and Fumiko had their phones out and were giggling quietly. Daisuke and a couple other guys, whom Light had seen hanging around Daisuke like shadows, were tossing a paper wad back and forth. Goro, Haruna, Junko, Kaori, and Mao were the only ones actually listening to the teacher, who had yet to notice his class' boisterous behavior.

As he scanned the small amount of students, his eyes rested on an unfamiliar face. It was a male, crouching rather strangely in his seat at the far side of the back row, dark, disorderly hair sticking in every which direction, obsidian, penetrating eyes looking intently at a document in front of him, finger tracing his bottom lip absently, pale, ivory skin making the dark rings under the gentleman's black orbs stand out quite prominently. It was these spheres that held Light captive. They seemed to be forever consuming, intellectual, coal-resembling, devoid-of-light orbs that could reach down and crush your soul.

Under the brunette's heavy gaze, the raven haired teen squirmed and looked up to meet an unexpected, powerful stare. Swiftly, Light's eyes became indifferent and he continued to stare at the unknown student, whom blinked thoughtfully and returned the slightly less unresponsive gaze.

"Mr. Yagami, would you care to answer the question?" Mr. Aburrido asked, interrupting the pairs strange gawking. Said teens turned to see the entirety of the class staring at them.

"No, sir. I'd prefer not." was Light's impassive, cryptic reply before he turned to the clock again. Mr. Aburrido huffed and turned to the oil-haired adolescent.

"How about you, Mr. Lawliet?" The pale male replied without pause.

"The difference between Archaea and bacteria is their molecular structure. Archaea cell membranes contain ether linkages. Their cell wall lacks peptidoglycan. Their genes and enzymes behave more like Eukaryotes and they have three RNA polymerases like eukaryotes and extremophiles. Bacteria, however, have cell membranes that contain ester bonds, a cell wall made of peptidoglycan, and have only one RNA polymerase. They also react to antibiotics in a different way than Archaea do." He said, utterly monotone and uncaring. A thick silence layered the room as he ended his advanced conclusion. The teacher opened his mouth multiple times before finally saying;

"Very well said, Mr. Lawliet, very detailed. Err… Now class if you'll bring your attention to the board…" Mr. Aburrido began his lecture anew and in earnest, leaving Light to ponder 'Mr. Lawliet'.

The rest of the day passed rather lazily for L Lawliet. After his encounter with the unhealthy looking brunette, L couldn't get those tawny eyes out of his, usually focused, mind. They, for a split second, held enough unadulterated emotion to make even the most stoic man breakdown and weep. In those amber orbs was the feeling of loneliness, which L had only seen so concentrated in his own eyes. He had seen raw, pent-up fury and crushing, heart wrenching depression. And deep within that concoction of heavy passion, he'd seen a scared, unloved person who wanted death over anything else. L had once considered suicide but he found the notion illogical and dismissed it. L shook his head and turned his attention back to the homework he'd been given in Calculus. The problems were easy, too easy to keep his concentration for long, so he turned to the Shakespeare book the Literature teacher had assigned him to read by Monday. Flipping it open he stared at the detailed picture Macbeth. He snorted at the simplicity of Macbeth's situation and began reading, aware of how many of the students were staring at him.

Unknown to L, they were staring at him in bewilderment about how he'd been able to get the attention of their stoic god, Light. They turned there noses to the air when they couldn't find anything amazing about him, assuming that Light had only looked at him because of how strange he was. The sole fact that their god had taken interest in him at all made them jealous and they instantly began outcasting L. Whispers arose from the class, the subject was of course L and he knew it.

"Would you mind turning and stopping your displeasing gaping?" L's voice emotionless and unyielding. Arrogance and slight fear gripped the sstudents in a vice-like grip. They turned, eyes narrowed in disgust, hands covering their faces, quite cliche-like, and making criticizing whispers turn to hateful mumbles. L snorted again in indignation before returning to his idle reading. 'Let them say what they please, just like any other school.'

The final bell rang as Light walked leisurely to the school's courtyard. He didn't have to go to prep school tonight and he sure as hell didn't want to go home and listen to his mother's worried speeches and Sayu's constant pestering. So as a result he decided just to sit under a big oak tree, maybe nap or read a book. Plopping down very un-Light-like, he put his school bag to the side and leaned against the rough bark. Shutting his eyes he tried to get some well-needed sleep but seeing as though God hated him he only succeeded in dozing between consciousness and a light, unsatisfying slumber. Suddenly the sunshine that was bathing him in its warm glow was obscured by some unwanted object. Remembering that there weren't any clouds out today, he prepared to lash out at the annoying passerby. But when he was opened his eyes, tongue ready to fire, he was met with a pair of exotic, black eyes.

"Good evening. Might I ask why Yagami-kun is sleeping in a vacant school's courtyard?" inquired the paler teen as he hovered over Light.

"It's none of your business, Lawliet." challenged the brunette as he shifted up from his half-laying down position.

"Touché." replied L, crouching next to Light. "I could ask Yagami-kun's name. But still that's just saying I could." L said, rubbing his lip. Light thought it was a monotone attempt at humor and chuckled dryly.

"Yes, you could. And my answer would have been Yagami Light, though it's none of your concern and you could have also easily found it out from one of the many dimwits at school. I could ask you your name but I'm left to wonder what your answer would be." Light said, absently enjoying the particularly witty conversation but still resentful that he was talking to someone and not instantly rejecting the other person's presence. It confused him as to why he had not sent the raven haired teen away with a good tongue thrashing. Maybe he really was just too sick in the head to care anymore.

"My answer would have been a quite plain, L Lawliet. I suppose it would also be fanciful to solicit the reason Light-kun was napping under an oak…" L implored, cleverly wording the request.

"The reply you would receive if you ever ventured to ask such a thing would be that I had no intention of going home. If I were to try and press for a response to the subject of why you yourself are strolling around a vacant educational facility, I wonder what the reply could possibly be…" Light trailed off, mouth twinging lightly in an exiguous way. L's void-of-emotion face brightened a little as his lips twitched slightly, enjoying the game-like dialogue.

"If such an interrogation was made, I'd answer quite simply boredom." L murmured, a hint of amusement leaking into his voice. "Light-kun seems to be quite intellectual when compared to the average population. I admit I haven't had a conversation this apt in nature for quite awhile." Both teens were bemused by the unanticipated, somewhat comfortable, acquaintanceship forming between them.

"I'm glad I can be of service." Light bent his head in a mock bow, again his lips tried to betray him with a smirk at the foolishness of the move. L's lips finally quirked into a microscopic smile.

"So, after many hours in the confines of this school, I've discovered Misa Amane happens to be feverishly infatuated with Light-kun. Care to elaborate?" Light's expression dropped and twisted into a scowl.

"Personally, I couldn't care less about Misa, but it seems some viruses don't have strong enough cures. At most, I'm able to go one hour without a text, call, knock on my door, or face to face meeting with her. I would describe it more as an obsession than an infatuation." Light finished solemnly, as if a great weight lay on his tawny shoulders. L suddenly had the urge to pat the other's shoulder but resisted due to the puzzling, peculiar nature of said impulse.

"Misa is... bothersome, for lack of a better word and very eccentric." L commented, looking deep in thought.

"Bothersome, eh? I suppose so. So, L, where is it you came from?" said Light, leaning peacefully against the tree.

"Well, I lived in England for a few years in my mother's Victorian villa that she passed down to me after she passed away. But I moved to my dad's old Heisei era estate in the outskirts of town." L rubbed his lip absently, legs drawn up to his chest. Light looked at his watch and sighed.

"I suppose, I need to head home." Light frowned but seconds later his face lit up for a small, fleeting instant, as if he'd just had a 'EUREKA!' moment, before becoming stoic once again. With precise movements he pulled out his Wildfire S. "What's your number?" L paused before reading off his cell phone number and wondered idly why Light looked so... intriguing in the fading sunlight. After Light typed in the contact info, he stood and reached a hand out to L. The raven hesitated in grabbing the hand and allowing Light to pull him up.

"I'll text you later. Maybe have another cerebral chat." Light said, turning and darting away, leaving L slightly confused on why the brunette ran off so quickly. Shrugging, he buried his hands in his pockets.

"You are an interesting being, Light Yagami…" L spoke softly, turning, and slouching over to the waiting limousine.

"Good evening, L." Watari opened L's door and nodded his head.

"Good evening, Watari." L climbed into the large, luxurious automobile, pulling a cherry lollipop from his pocket.

Light took in a deep, shuttering breathe as he stood before the threshold of his home. The whole walk home, his mind had chided itself on why he hadn't yelled at L to leave him alone. Light had agreed to distance himself from everyone so that he wouldn't have to deal with the headache of the world. He'd agreed that as soon as he could he'd leave Japan and find some place far from the drama of being 'Light, the perfect son, student, and person.' He had settled to not consort with anyone. But it seemed L was an exception because L was... Well, L was intriguing to say the least. From his black eyes to his bright mind, Light was drawn to him. Like a moth to flames, the brunette sought the other's intelligence and ability to carry a decent conversation with him.

Shaking his head, Light cleared his thoughts. With another shaky breathe he opened the door, greeted immediately with his mother's worried face, hands clasped together in front of her, pressed against her chest.

"Did you eat lunch today, sweetie?" She asked, expectantly. Light sighed and pushed passed his beloved, naive mother.

"No, mother. I didn't feel like it. Probably still full from breakfast." He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, twisting open the cap, and chugging half of it, causing the sandpaper feeling in his mouth he'd had since leaving L to dissipate.

"Light!" Her voice was stern and angry, hands on hips, staring at her sickly son, whom was leaning against the counter like it was the only thing holding him to the world. "You didn't take a single bite of your breakfast, so you couldn't be full! Why don't you eat? Do you want to die? Is that it? You're practically skin and bones! That's not healthy! Far from it!" Just then Mr. Yagami appeared from the living room. He gave Light a slightly disgusted, worried look.

"Light, what have I told you? Do you want to die young? It's sickening to see my once perfect child waste away! You've become the picture of the walking dead! What do you have to say for yourself? Do you want to die?" His face was red and angry as he looked at his son. Light stood straighter and thought carefully of an answer. Then in a low, rumbling, somber voice he said;

"Sometimes…" he paused, "... the goal of all life is death... and sometimes, death is," another pause as he brought his expressive eyes to meet his father's, anger over flowing to sharpen his tone, "... death is the most beautiful journey in life."

SLAP!

Silence layered the room as the sound of a hand connecting with a face resounded of the walls. Light's eyes widened and his hand came up to press against the red hand print on his cheek.

That was the first time he'd ever been slapped. The first time anyone had dared raise a hand to him... and his mother was the one to slap him... His own mother... Light's expression became detached as he lowered his hand and didn't even grace the rest of the Yagamis with a glance as he walked past them and towards the door.

Soichiro,Sachiko, andSayu, whom had been peeking through the doorway, were too shocked to stop Light from opening the front door and closing it quietly behind him.

L gazed at the blinking computer screen as images of criminals loaded along with their information.

"Come on, L. Write something already! I'm bored!"

Thanks to everyone who took the time out of their day to read this chapter. I hope it wasn't disappointing. R+R, please?

~Sky