A Million Ways To Be Cruel
Author's note:
Something I wrote ages and ages ago. I don't remember why I wrote it, but for some reason I really like it. It has a special place in my heart. mmhm. Gotta love L and Raito.
L dropped another sugar cube in his coffee and glared into the steaming cup, watching the sugar cube slowly shrink until it was nothing. He had been slightly annoyed when Yagami-kun had agreed to go out with Misa, not because he minded taking a break from his work, but because he could barely stand the way Misa acted when Yagami-kun was around. Always referring to herself in third person and doing everything Yagami-kun told her, L found that sometimes he wished he could strangle her with the chain that bound him and Yagami-kun together.
Wriggling his bare toes, he absentmindedly took another bite of the strawberry cake that Yagami-kun had bought him. He could tell by looking at Yagami-kun that he wasn't listening to a word that Misa was saying, but rather he seemed lost in his own thoughts.
"I wonder what he's thinking about?" L wondered silently, dropping a few more sugar cubes into his coffee before taking a sip. In a normal situation he could have probably figured out exactly what Yagami-kun was thinking, but having been dragged from place to place with Misa for the last three hours seemed to have caused his brain to drop into a stupor.
"L-san?"
L looked up to see both Misa and Yagami-kun looking at him.
"Did you hear what Misa said?" Misa asked him, exercising her very annoying habit.
"I'm afraid I didn't catch what Misa-san said," L said, trying not to sound to annoyed.
"Oh, then Misa will ask L-san again," Misa said perkily, "Would L-san like more strawberry cake?"
L looked down at his plate to see that the large piece of cake had disappeared, "No," he said slowly, wondering when he had finished the sugary treat, "Yagami-kun and I should be getting back to head quarters soon."
"Yes," Raito said, flashing L a grateful smile, "I'm sorry Misa-chan, but we really should be getting back to work."
L smiled inwardly at Misa's look of disappointment, but there was also a certain happiness that he felt when Yagami-kun had smiled at him. He had never noticed what a nice smile Yagami-kun had. Puzzled at this new feeling, L gazed into his coffee cup lost in his analysis of what had just happened. He was pulled out of his deep thoughts when he felt a gentle tug on the chain that connected him to Yagami-kun.
"Ryuzaki-san are you ready to go?" Raito asked, wondering what the strange boy was puzzling over.
"Ah, yes," L said, quickly sliding his feet into his beat up tennis shoes and standing up. He followed Raito and Misa out of the cafe in his usual slouch, trailing just behind the couple, glad that they would soon be free of Misa.
"Goodbye Raito-kun!" Misa cooed happily, pecking Raito on the cheek when they finally reached Misa's floor, "Misa hopes we can go on another date soon."
L noticed the way Yagami-kun smiled sweetly at Misa as he took her chin in his hand and kissed her on the lips, he looked away feeling annoyed, wishing that Yagami-kun would just end it. He didn't know why, but it also made him slightly angry when ever Yagami-kun kissed Misa.
Finally Misa disappeared into her apartment leaving L and Raito standing alone in the hallway. L, still lost in his thoughts, started to wander back towards the floor that the team used as head quarters, only noticing that Raito was walking next to him when he cleared his throat.
"Whats wrong Ryuzaki-san?" Raito said feigning worry, "You seem upset about something."
Ignoring Raito, L mentally kicked himself, why was he getting so worked up by Yagami-kun kissing Misa-san? It wasn't like he had a crush on Yagami-kun or anything...did he? L angrily jammed his thumb into his mouth and started chewing on it, of course he didn't, it defied all his calculations and L was never wrong.
"Ryuzaki-san?" Raito asked again, wondering what could be bothering the strange boy so much that he didn't take the bait that Raito was so obviously dangling in front of him.
L looked up, finally realizing that Raito was talking to him, "I'm sorry Yagami-kun, did you say something?"
"Oh, it was nothing," Raito said, "I was just wondering what kind of problem Ryuzaki-san could be puzzling over, something about the Kira case perhaps?"
L gave him a blank look, for once the genius was speechless. Millions of alibis flew through his head, but he couldn't find the words to say them.
"No," he said carefully, looking wide eyed at Raito, "It doesn't have anything to do with the Kira case, why do you ask Yagami-kun?"
"Well, I just noticed that you seemed upset by something in the cafe," Raito said smoothly, "Plus you're chewing on your thumb, and you only do that when you're puzzled or upset by something."
L silently cursed Raito for being so observant, and quickly pulled his thumb away from his mouth. He was being careless, he had to remember that Raito was suspect number one in the Kira case, he couldn't let his guard down when he was around. He secretly wondered what the Yagami boy's reaction would be if he really knew what L was thinking
"That is quite observant of you Yagami-kun," L said, as the entered the room they used as headquarters, "Your analytical skills are remarkable."
"Thank you Ryuzaki-san," Raito said politely, starting to tire of L's stalling, "But you still haven't told me whats wrong." Raito gave L a reassuring smile, put his hand on his shouulder and looked into his eyes, "I'm you're friend Ryuzaki-san, I'm here for you." he said sincerely.
L was startled at the depth that Raito's eyes seemed to hold, and stood speechless, lost in Raito's eyes. What was this strange tingling sensation on his cheeks? Breaking eye contact with Raito, he silently padded over to his computer screen and tried to catch a glimpse of his reflection. Looking into the black screen, he saw that his cheeks had turned a strange shade of red. Upon further investigation, he found that his face was warm in the places where they had turned red.
"Are you...blushing?" Raito asked, watching the young genius poking his cheeks with a look of awe.
"Is that what its called?" L asked, fascinated, "Yagami-kun, please tell me more about this."
"Um, well blushing is usually caused by an emotional upset," Raito said, wondering why the other boy was acting so oddly.
Of course, L thought, he had seen Misa-san blush many times before when Raito had shown her affection unexpectedly. Was that why he was blushing? Because Yagami-kun had been looking into his eyes with such affection?
"Are you sure everything is ok Ryuzaki-san?" Raito asked, dying to know what was going on in the other boy's head. "Why were you blushing?"
For the second time in one day, L was speechless. What should he say? L had decided the split second before that he really did like Yagami-kun, even if it did go against all of his calculations. Thinking about it, he and Yagami-kun would be the perfect match, both being genius's they would never feel like they would have to dumb them selves down for the other. Yagami-kun was refined, where L was more rough around the edges. As L thought about it, it seemed to make more and more sense, it felt like the last piece of a puzzle had just clicked into place.
"Yagami-kun, do you love Misa-san?" L asked, slowly.
"You of all people should know the answer to that question Ryuzaki-san," Raito said, "You know she drives me crazy, so why did you ask? Do you like Misa-chan? Was that why you were blushing?"
"No, of course not," L answered quickly, "Misa-san is very attractive, but I can't stand the way she acts."
"Then why were you blushing?" Raito asked, exasperated, restraining himself from strangling the other boy out of frustration. L always had a way of squirming out of questions he didn't want to answer, and making circular arguments that resulted in Raito storming off to his corner to fume while no real significance came out of the conversation. "Not this time," he thought, watching the other boy squirm in his chair.
"I guess I was blushing because of you Yagami-kun," L said calmly, looking wide eyed at the other boy, "You see, I seem to have fallen for you."