Incorrect Pairings
Prologue
The sounds of chips being crunched and the television blaring floated up from the basement. Two young teens lay sprawled in front of the T.V., one with a laptop, the other with a bowl of corn chips. On the screen animated people with large eyes and multi-colored hair were engaging in an epic battle of some sorts.
"Hey Becca quit hogging the chips." Said the girl with the laptop, flicking her badly dyed bangs.
"Oh, are you reading fanfiction? Any good ones?" Said Becca, ignoring the request and peering over her friends shoulder.
"Not really, all the pairings in these things are so boring."
Becca rolled her eyes behind her glasses and grabbed the laptop from her friend. The screen reflected white in her lenses as she scanned the page.
"Kim, you think all pairings are boring. In reality these are the pairings that make sense, the right pairings. People don't want to read the weird ones, they don't make good stories." Becca absent-mindedly placed the bowl of chips on the table in front of her as she continued to scroll down the page.
"We could write fanfictions that made them work. Some people just don't have our creativity." Kim ran her fingers through her streaky purple bangs again.
"Look at all these Death Note stories, some of the pairings would just be too wrong to work." Becca continued to ramble.
"Oh my gosh I love Death Note so much!" Squealed Kim and the two girls forgot about pairings for a while as they rejoiced in the glory of a fandom.
"I think L and Light are so cute together." Becca sighed but this jolted Kim back to the previous topic.
"But they aren't the correct pairing Becca, L should be with Misa!"
"There is basically no evidence to support that."
"That is what I'm talking about, people don't always agree about the "correct" pairing," Kim made air quotes and continued to talk animatedly, "We could write stories that would convince people that the wrong pairings were right. You just have to write them right and they become right, right?"
The two girls exploded into laughter at that and stayed up late into the night watching their cartoons, but they had not forgotten their goal…
Chapter 1
"So L, he's the best detective in the world, he's mostly crazy, he's insanely rich, he can have anything but all he wants is justice. " Kim began dramatically.
"And cake." Becca added, ruining the mood.
"So we can't decide who is right for him but I'm sure we can decide who is wrong for him." Kin continued grandly.
"You know who is deserves some more fandom love? Hideki Ryuga!" Becca said excitedly.
"Perfect."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
L had met Hideki Ryuga some years before while working on another case involving a missing celebrity, a jealous nanny and several blind parrots but that is a story for another day. L had not really thought about Ryuga since that case but now that one of his chief suspects was making a movie with him he began to recall vague memories of the man. It was only natural that they should meet once more when Misa brought him back to her apartments for dinner one night.
He sat next to Light as usual who sat next to Misa, holding her hand with the same detached disgust he usually did. The handcuff that dangled from his other hand and strung over to L's was not ignored by Ryuga who stared at it when conversation lagged. L did not speak. He was invisible now, just a watcher, a minor inconvenience. This is why he was mildly surprised when the pop star suddenly looked at him and addressed him personally.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" The young man's perfect brow creases slightly but he kept smiling his friendly but blindingly white smile.
"Macaw cataracts." L said with a shrug and recognition dawned beautifully across Hideki Ryuga's smooth face.
Misa and Light were a bit thrown and Misa even looked a bit put out as Ryuga spent the rest of the evening more engaged with L than with her cringe worthy accounts of Light's heroism.
L found that there was a certain comfort in talking with someone so used to expressing emotion in the most obvious way possible. When dealing with thieves and liars all day it was pleasant to be with someone completely honest, someone who even genuinely liked you. Actors were used to strange people and Ryuga was the model of politeness, not even mentioning the handcuffs.
"You know I like you, Ryuzaki, you're a pretty interesting guy. I'd like to get to know you better some time." Ryuga said finally, stretching his move star muscles and standing up. He finally looked back at Misa. "I've had a wonderful time here tonight, thank you."
L dragged Light along as he trailed Misa and Hideki Ryuga to the door. He felt slightly empty when he thought that he would probably never see the man again. He would probably die, surrounded by thieves and liars and people who hated him and people who would have killed him if they had the chance. He couldn't seem to quell the bitter melancholy that was seeping coldly into his stomach.
"Hey Ryuzaki? Do you want to go for a walk with me maybe? We could go back to my place and get some coffee." L looked up, genuinely shocked this time. Ryuga's smile was warm and inviting. He reached out a hand and put it gently on L's, the one not connected to Light. Sparks shot up L's arm and he could feel Ryuga's fingers tremble with anticipation.
"I would like that, would you give me a minute." L quickly pulled away and yanked Light into Misa's bedroom, shutting the door. "Okay Light here's the deal: I let you off the handcuffs and you go strait to your room where Watari watches you like an eagle on camera and if you do anything I swear I will convict you." L snarled, pulling a key from his pocket and jamming it into the cuffs. Light was laughing too hard do anything's but gasp,
"He's a pop star."
"I am aware of that but if I want to get away for my doomed life for one night of passionate and commitmentless sex with national sex symbols who might not want to kill me, I will." He rubbed his wrist and turned the door handle, nervous energy making his hands shake.
"Do what you need to I guess, it's the only way to live. If something makes you happy I guess you just have to take a chance and go for it. Congratulations L, welcome to real life." Light said and than chuckled to him self, "Hideki Ryuga."
That was almost human coming from Light. Sometimes the thieves and liars weren't so bad to live with as long as you kept positive. Sometimes it was the only thing to do.
Misa and Light watched as L and Ryuga walked off out of Light's window. Misa sighed and told Light she thought it was cute. Light did not believe in cute so he proceeded to tear off Misa's clothes and not care what eagle eye Watari saw.
"Hideki Ryuga," he laughed to himself again, "Sayu is not going to be happy about this."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"That was so weird." Said Kim, slightly appalled by what they had written.
"Call me crazy but it almost was cute." Said Becca with wonder. Kim hit Becca on the head with the chips for that but still giggled,
"Lets write another."