AN: This holiday break I've become far more familiar with the mysterious ways of the Internet than I should have. It's really odd some of the stuff you come across. For example, I learned recently that in Tokyo alone twenty-four people have either died or gotten severely injured by bowing to each other in the traditional Japanese style. That's...comforting.
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Blessed with one of those rare days where nothing particularly eventful happens and no one particularly cares, Chief Yagami-san and the rest of Kira Taskforce breathed easy. At his desk Mogi was pretending to examine some graphs, and Matsuda - who had been talking excitedly about some pastry he had resolved to make - was in the kitchen, presumably annoying Watari.
At the head of it all L sat on his chair, silently watching the latest episode of Misa's television show on the massive screen in front of him. "My boyfriend really likes it when I wear black lace, and I like it too! Isn't it pretty?" The Misa onscreen smiled brightly and held up a pair of gloves.
"What the hell is this?!" Raito's voice came suddenly as he pushed through the door. Seeing the image of his girlfriend stretched across the wide screen he faltered for a moment, looking at L questioningly. "Really, it's hard to handle fifty square feet of anyone, and you're watching this?"
L blinked. "I'm learning about the advantages of black lace."
"Ah. Well." Raito shook his head. "That's not what this is about! Can somebody here please explain to me why I found this in my bag this morning?" He pulled out a book from the satchel at his waist and threw it onto a table somewhat disdainfully.
It was a small, slim book, about the size of a notepad. What drew attention to it was the cover, which had been covered with dozens of hearts somebody had cut from pink paper and stuck on. Pink and silver glitter was scattered loosely over the top, and in large writing the words 'Raito's Diary' could be seen.
"You shouldn't be so rough with it. It's made of love." L said, and Raito scowled.
"With love," Yagami-san corrected.
"Yes, that's right." L nodded at him. Turning to Raito, he told him seriously: "I would have given you an of, but all I could manage was a with. I'm very sorry."
"Oh, go on. Forgive him," Mogi spoke up.
"I didn't raise you well if you can't understand what's within the realms of human possibility," Yagami-san sighed.
Raito was quiet for a few moments, looking at both of the men pointedly. "…why do you guys always side against me?" he asked finally.
"Far more amusing that way," Mogi replied easily.
"It keeps me young," Yagami-san said. The two looked at each other across the room and nodded solemnly. His anger temporarily forgotten, Raito closed his eyes and sighed wearily. His spectators waited patiently for him to continue his tirade. Minutes passed in silence.
"Raito…" L began.
"Mm?" Raito half-opened his eyes to look at him.
"Do you really like black lace?"
"Eh?! What? Why did you-" Caught off-guard, the youth struggled with his surprise.
Leaving him to his half-sentences, L turned to Mogi and Yagami-san. "I could pull off black lace," he told them confidently.
Resisting the urge to look him up-and-down, Mogi asked weakly: "…how?"
"For the last time, this is about the diary!" Raito shouted, getting a hold of himself.
"I mean, is it like…a lace ribbon? Or a…a shirt, or something? I can't work it out," Mogi spoke to Yagami-san, visibly confused.
"There are many stores across this area that sell some very cute things! Ah, look at this – little Rabbit-san! He'd feel comfortable on my phone, I'm sure of it!"
"..." L stared up at the image of Misa, his thumb at his lips.
"Why was there a diary in my bag, and why was it made of love?!"
"Do you think maybe…like, a band of black lace at his neck? Would that work?"
"Does anybody want some cake?" Matsuda called out amidst the confusion, carrying a large covered tray in his hands absently. Behind him Watari followed with a look of concern.
Miraculously the room fell quiet, Mogi resigning himself to the understanding that he'd probably never have his answer, Raito trying to gauge Matsuda's chances of making it to the table without falling over somehow, and L watching the screen without a sound. Even the televised Misa had stopped talking, the screen now showing a montage of photographs with light music playing in the background.
Matsuda put the tray down and grinned at them all, oblivious to the chaos he had interrupted. Watari managed to subtly pull the cake away from him and closer to the centre of table. Soon he had pulled out a pile of plates from somewhere and set them out neatly.
"Watari, how many phones do I have?" L asked suddenly.
"Twenty-four that I can disclose, sir."
L's head lowered a little as he thought about it. "…that is many Rabbit-sans. Would they still feel comfortable…?"
At these words everything clicked in Raito's head. Slowly a deep frown spread across his face. "How long have you been watching this show, L?" he asked darkly.
"Oh, he's always watched Misa's television appearances!" Matsuda spoke up happily. "But now Misa-misa has a new show, and I knew L was a fan, so I told him about it!"
For a minute Raito was silent, before diving without warning at L. "That's it, where's the remote!" he shouted.
L shifted in his chair, deftly avoiding Raito's lunges. "It's not 'the' remote, Raito, it's 'my' remote. And right now, I am finding out how to keep Rabbit-san from being lonely."
"Who cares if Rabbit-san gets lonely!" Raito shouted wildly. The room fell still again, and L turned away from the television to look at him, a little surprised. "Who cares if you wear black or red or blue, or whatever that idiot was talking about! Who cares if your diary has pink hearts on it or not!"
Raito paused for a moment to make sure he had his attention, and when he spoke again his voice was much quieter. "I don't, L. To be honest, I'd rather eat Matsuda's cake than watch that show for even a minute."
"Thankyou!" Matsuda said, touched.
"You're an idiot," Raito told him.
"Thankyou?" Matsuda said again, looking bewildered.
"So, what you're saying…" L started to say, ignoring Matsuda. He took a second to think, and then looked up at Raito with an expectant expression. "You like me more than Rabbit-san?"
"You-" Raito rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Ah, yes. I like you more than Rabbit-san."
"You like me more than black lace?"
"Wha…? Well, yes. I like you more than black lace. However difficult that may be to say." Raito smiled.
"You like me more than Misa?"
The smile disappeared from Raito's face, his expression showing that he understood the seriousness of what L was asking him. From where he sat watching Mogi whistled.
Raito breathed out slowly, and smiled once more at L. "Yes," he said softly. "I like you more than like, L."
L stared up at him endlessly. Without a word he moved in his seat, pulled out the remote, and held it out to Raito. Raito took it and his smile grew, his eyes full of affection. As if some sort of communication had passed between them in that moment, Raito leaned down and rested one hand on L's shoulder lightly, and they kissed, sweetly and gently.
"Damn," Mogi whispered loudly to Yagami-san. "I should have saved that whistle."
"Can you explain to me any of that?" Matsuda asked Watari, who simply shook his head. "Alright then! I'm confused, but it does seem we have something to celebrate, so let's all try my cake now, okay?"
"Doesn't that seem like the thing you would not do, if you're celebrating?" Raito muttered. L gave him a reprimanding look, and he smiled apologetically.
"Well…here it is!" Matsuda pulled off the lid dramatically, underestimating the size of the lid while doing so and very nearly hitting himself in the head.
Everybody moved forward slightly to get a better look at the dessert. "Huh." Yagami-san said.
"It's very pink, Matsuda. Which is what we would have hoped for, I suppose," Mogi told him.
"I'd say extremely pink instead of very, the flowers are a nice and somewhat edible-looking touch, and…is that a penguin drawn in icing on the top?" Raito asked in an uncertain voice.
"It is. It's exactly like Misa's. Very cute," L remarked.
"That's very good! I wasn't sure it would turn out so well, but the recipe was quite simple," Matsuda laughed.
Raito looked between them. "This cake…appeared on Misa's show."
"Yes," Matsuda said simply, reaching over to help Watari with serving.
"So, please let me get this clear. These weird discussions about lace, L's distractedness today, this cake and…my diary? They're all because you two got overly excited about Misa's show?"
"Misa says that if your boyfriend is not good at expressing his feelings, you should make a diary for him with all your heartfelt feelings and give it to him, so he can write down what he feels and you can grow closer," L informed him.
"And…?" Raito prompted.
"You're not good at expressing your emotions," L said.
"Not that…shouldn't you tell me about your feelings before trying to find out how I feel in such a weird way?"
"…" L turned away without answering.
"Ah." Matsuda frowned slightly.
Raito rubbed his face with his hand despairingly. "And all those hearts... I'll assume that was you, Matsuda."
"Why yes, you're right. You're very good at that, Raito," the other man beamed.
Looking dejected, Raito wrapped his arms loosely around L's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. Above him L's face changed from initial surprise at his embrace to a content smile. Reaching out to take the plate of cake Watari offered him with his left hand, L rested his right on his lover's back.
"I'm never turning up to work on my day off again," Raito murmured into L's shirt.
"Mmhm." L inspected the plate balancing in his hand and the fork resting on top of it, trying to work out how he could manage to get the cake to his mouth with only one hand.
"I love you, L," he murmured.
L stopped his juggle with the plate and looked down at the top of Raito's head affectionately. "I love you too, Raito. Even more than cake."
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AN: I can't say much about this story considering how long ago I wrote it (it originally appeared alongside another oneshot in a running series called 'Connected'), so I'm going to go completely off tangent in an attempt to cover for myself. Natto. You know, that stuff that you always see the poor characters in shoujo manga eating? I really want to try it. It's meant to be awful and everything, but I don't know. It seems somehow appetising. Maybe they just make it sound so bad because they're hiding a national secret - that natto is the best food in the world.
I should warn you though, it looks absolutely disgusting. Do not look it up after reading this. The effect will be severely ruined.