Disclaimer: Death Note is not mine. It's Ryuk's.
I'm listening to the Death Note opening 10 hour loop on YouTube while writing this.
L sat in front of his computer despondently, tapping his fingers irritably on the desk. The Special Task Force headquarters was unusually quiet with no one else in the room except for Aizawa. The other man was at the opposite end of the room by the door, as though eagerly awaiting the company of anyone but Ryuzaki. He was fine with the silence that permeated the room. If Aizawa were to open his mouth, L was willing to bet that the comment would only infuriate him further.
The computer screen in front of him had remained the same the past three hours with no new leads from the Japanese police or Interpol, not that L had much faith in them anyway. But there was another thing that bothered L. Generally speaking, he wasn't one to care much for celebrations, but this year was different.
No, L wasn't a sentimental person, but he was human after all. L had friends this year, unlike past years. He knew it was irrational to be disappointed, almost childlike. After all, he didn't ever tell anyone about his birthday. Were they supposed to know that today was in fact L's birthday?
Knowing Misa, she would be more concerned with the other event that coincided with his birthday: Halloween. The model was very much into frivolous activities, of which cosplaying was just one of many. Halloween was created for wastrels like her.
He could just buy himself a cake and sing happy birthday, but L wasn't that pathetic…Well, maybe not the cake part. There was always time for cake.
Aizawa approached him hesitantly, "Ryuzaki?"
"What do you want?" L replied, already going through symptoms of cake withdrawal. The mere thought of the delicacy was causing his mouth to water, but he controlled himself as he spoke.
"Chief—Yagami-san said that he got held up at HQ and will most likely not return till tomorrow. He asked me to go over after I relayed the message to you."
"Thank you Aizawa-San," L bowed his head slightly before turning back.
"Should I call Light?" Aizawa continued, "Perhaps he could…"
"It's alright. I'd rather leave the two alone today. I'm in no mood to interact currently."
Aizawa nodded once, not particularly noticing anything unusual in L's behavior. He turned around to leave, passing through the doors, leaving L to his own wits.
What irritated L was the fact that Watari had forgotten too. How could the old man, his foster father in a sense, have forgotten the day of all days? Even when Ryuzaki had no friends to celebrate with, Watari was always there, brightening up the little boy's day at the orphanage with a slice of strawberry cake.
He picked up the pen he had been doodling with, throwing it with pinpoint accuracy at the adjacent wall, exactly where he had last time. The dent in the wall was close to breaking, the hold almost visible. In a sense, it represented the deterioration of L's current behavior.
It was rather uncharacteristic of him, but right now, more than anything, he needed some company, idiotic Matsuda or even playful Misa. But if he could choose anyone's company, it would have to be Light's. The cold, calculating young man presented the air of mystery to L that he was determined to figure out.
But, the enigma provided by him wasn't the only attracting point. Light was L's first and only friend.
L flicked a sugar cube at his stack of chocolate filled panda biscuits, his mood as sullen as ever. He watched as the tower crumbled noiselessly on to the surface of his working desk, small crumbs falling off the individual pandas.
Just as he was about to restack the remaining biscuits, the doors opened slightly as a blond head peaked in tentatively, "Ryuzaki?"
"Misa?" L asked dejectedly, somewhat disappointed it had been Light instead. "Where is Yagami-kun? I want to speak to him."
Misa's tiny face pouted, "Aren't you pleased to see me?"
"Misa-chan, I am in no mood to play around. Please just send in your boyfriend."
The girl looked hurt, "But Light said…"
Ryuzaki never found out what Light said because at the very moment, said person entered, standing almost imposingly next to Misa at the doorway.
"Yagami-kun?" L whispered softly.
Light's normally calm and collected mood was slightly sour, "Ryuzaki, what are you done alone in this dark room? Come on. Take a break for once. It's not like you can catch Kira on low blood sugar."
L looked him straight in the eye, judging the other man's reaction, "But, I will catch him. Aren't I right, Light-kun?"
Light went rigid in a momentary lapse before shuddering irritably, "Enough with Kira. He can wait till tomorrow when my father arrives. Let's have some food. Misa went through the trouble of dragging me around all afternoon."
"I'm in no mood."
"Ryuzaki! You have to come! I worked so hard," Misa whined.
"Misa-san, the more you whine, the less likely I will be to come."
"Misa, keep quiet!" Light hushed his girlfriend. Turning back to L, he demanded, "Are you coming or not? The food is starting to get cold."
"Fine," L replied dejectedly. "I'll be there in a second."
L logged off from his account, knowing that there was no way to accomplish anything in the remaining few hours of the day. He didn't trust the Task Force just yet to leave his computer logged in, especially Light, but no worries. Food always solved most issues.
He walked towards the door, opening them slowly.
"SURPRISE!" Misa threw her arms around him in excitement. "Watari told us about your birthday, Ryuzaki! I went out to make it special."
True to her word, every inch of the room was decorated in streamers from top to bottom. The cleaning bill was going to be large… L found it comical to see the remainder of the party guests in party hats: Watari, Light, and Matsuda…Matsuda, not so much.
""Happy Birthday Ryuzaki!" Matsuda yelled, opening the champagne in his hand.
Light offered him a little smile, "Watari told us this morning. Misa wouldn't hear of anything else until we celebrated. Happy Birthday L," Light held out the large box in his hand.
L opened it carefully, making sure not to rip the sides of the box. There it was, pink frosting and all (personal touch of Misa), a large strawberry shortcake: Happy Birthday Ryuzaki!
I hope my writing was somewhat satisfactory. Let me know what I should improve on. I tried to keep the characters as in character as possible. I'd appreciate it if you left a review or fave.
I plan on more Death Note oneshots if people are actually interested. So…review. :-)
~TJ