Disclaimer: I OWN THE WORLD. Yeah, really. ;o NOT.
A/N: Whoot whoot for MORE yaoi OR friendship stories. ^^
Matt cranked the volume up on his mp3 player, tapping his foot lightly against the gas pedal as Devil in a Midnight Mass jammed in his ears.
He had never felt so pumped before. He was going to see L. Without Mello and Near stealing the spotlight. Just Matt and L. He was going to meet him in the park. L hadn't said why. He'd simply requested a meeting with him.
That suited Matt fine. He enjoyed surprises. He was going about twenty kilometers faster than the speed limit, but who cared?
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only about two minutes, he arrived at the park, where he parked his car none-too-carefully and exited, his music still playing.
"Hold you breath and count to four," he sang quietly to himself, approaching the raven-haired Japanese man who was sitting on the bench. He was easy to recognize, for how he sat, crouched like a gargoyle.
L looked up as Matt approached. "Hello, Matt."
Matt barely heard him, and he turned his mp3 player off. "Hey, what's up?" he sat beside L, crossing his legs and leaning back, hands in the pockets of his tan leather vest. The fur around the collar brushed against his chin comfortingly.
"I called you here," L said, placing a hand on his chin in a preoccupied manner, "because I wanted to talk to you about the Kira case."
Matt perked up. Was L actually going to tell him something about the case that he wasn't telling Mello and Near? Did this mean L trusted him more? Or that he wanted Matt to be the one to help solve the case? "Yeah?" he prompted, the palms of his hands beginning to sweat. He removed them from his pockets.
"I'm fairly certain, Matt," L said calmly. "that I may very well not see you again after today."
Matt's heart plummeted. "What?" he asked, his voice small.
L smiled, removing a cell-phone from the bench beside him. He held it carefully and began sorting through photos, as if only half-listening to Matt's question. "It is quite possible, I mean, that Kira will kill me shortly."
"No, he can't!" Matt objected, feeling goose bumps rising on his arms. "How could he? He doesn't know your name!"
L shook his head, looking up at Matt. "I am simply presenting it as a strong possibility, Matt. I don't know for certain how it will be done." "It's not going to be done." Matt insisted. He kicked the leg of the bench below him, beginning to feel sick. "He can't kill you."
L reached out, taking Matt's chin in his hand and turning his face until they were looking at each other, eyes locked. "It would do you well," he whispered. "to develop a habit of banishing denial. It never helps and can greatly handicap your logic skills."
Matt swallowed against L's fingers. "Can't you do anything?"
"There is only so much I can do." L said, his eyes reflecting Matt's own in their deep black pupils. "And that much, I will."
L didn't remove his hand. Instead, he brushed it upwards, over Matt's cheek. "I thought individually warning you was the best way to go." he confided. "Mostly, if I'm honest, because I didn't want to see all of you upset at once." Matt nodded, causing L's hand to now rest on his cheekbone. He removed it slowly. "I told you this so that if that day comes, you will be ready to take action sooner. Kira must be caught."
"I understand." Matt said quietly.
"That is all." L unfolded his legs from beneath himself and stood, turning slightly to look down at Matt, who hadn't moved. "Thank you."
"Thank you." Matt countered. He watched L's slouching form walk away, then leaned his head back against the bench's back, looking up at the tree branches that hung over him. He wants me to be prepared. He wants me to be OK. He's looking out for me. That thought, at least, was comforting. But what if I never see him again? Matt fingered the goggles that hung around his neck. I'll just have to remember this time. I have to memorize this and keep it. Forever.
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-waves MP3 player at you- Review? :o