Rating: M for strong and suggestive language and mature themes
Warnings: BL/yaoi/slash/whatever else you prefer to call writers forcing two male characters into rampant homosexual frolicking.
Summary: Yagami Light is a young man of multiple secrets, and thanks to the newly born actress Amane Misa, L receives one more for the uncovering. But can a detective claim to be doing any real sleuthing when his main suspect is actually anxious to reveal all? LxLight, MisaxLight and LightxOther
A/N: Ah, it's been forever since I posted this story's first chapter. My hard drive crashed and I lost all of the work that I had done on this (yes, yes, I know I should back things up, but really, I wouldn't have expected it from a notebook that was only a little over a year old). I was very depressed that I lost everything, but now that I've reworked this story with so much more thought, I'm very pleased with my greater effort. I think it's turned out much better than what I can remember of my first attempt, and even if everyone didn't get to see that like I did, I hope you can still enjoy this. :)
Idol Worshipping (2/?)
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"Uh, good morning," Matsuda repeated directly to Mogi, as he crossed the room to stand beside him.
Mogi was apparently the only person in sight he deemed approachable looking, after taking in the scene. His earlier, louder greeting to the room at large had gone mostly unacknowledged. All of the assembled investigators had been at work for twenty minutes. Only Mogi's head had even raised, since he was simply standing waiting on Misa, who had an early morning appearance to make. Matsuda's voice might have turned more subdued after the initial greeting was not well recieved, but it was still perfectly audible to L, who was seated little more than ten meters away.
"What's happening? Is there something wrong with the Chief?"
"Headache, I think," said Mogi. His low timbre was more difficult to catch at that decibel level.
Matsuda briefly observed Yagami the elder massage his temples as he waded through a pile of papers, probably in an attempt to ignore the fact that the room had any inhabitants aside from himself; he was frustrated with constantly reprimanding two children who he keenly felt should know better. L felt more than saw Matsuda's attention turn from Yagami.
"Light-kun and Ryuuzaki appear to not be speaking," Mogi continued, still with that perfect neutrality. "At least after Light-kun accidentally spilled his coffee over Ryuuzaki this morning."
L was reminded of the lotus position he had been forced to assume in order to drape a tea towel over his damp lap, the closest comfortable position to his preferred crouch. Displeasure hunched his posture more dramatically than usual, and if Light's nose attempted to go any further in the air, his head might very well snap off of his rigid porcelain neck.
He didn't have to wonder what Matsuda thought about this and the stiff-backed Light beside him. His thoughts were very evident in his tone.
"'Accidentally,' you say?"
L's scowl deepened at Matsuda's heavy sigh.
"Don't look like such a victim, Ryuuzaki," Light, who was also listening to this very public exchange without giving any indication of it, murmured with so much innocent irreproachability. He was virtually inaudible except to the man seated so close to him. His lips barely appeared to move when forming the words.
It was actually the first thing he had spoken directly to L. L deduced he had been giving him the silent treatment since the previous night.
"It's your own fault for jerking the chain like that when I had a full cup. I'm not sorry for you."
"I expect Light never feels remorse for carrying out any action he's bothered with taking the time to calculate," L muttered back at him. "That is the sort of person he is."
He took a momentary pleasure in seeing Light bristle. Really he found the younger man not unlike an easily offended cat, and his current look suggested he had just been unexpectedly drenched with water.
"Must you make everything you say to me sound like a Kira accusation?" the young man hissed. "You really piss me off."
"I never said anything about Kira having a similar aspect in his profile, regardless of what I think. Constantly concerned about where you stand, aren't you, Yagami-kun? Thirty-two percent."
Light's pale face was priceless. He even faltered in his typing, L noticed.
"You are every bit as childish, Ryuuzaki. You just can't admit to being wrong."
It was unclear whether Light was referring to his suspect status in the Kira case, or alluding to some other complaint he had with L. L suspected it was the later, and decided that it was necessary he hear the full non-sugar coated complaint. The other investigators were starting to notice their steadily escalating argument, the three older men watching them with apprehension.
He hoped off his chair. When the tea towel fell to the floor, he ignored it. Light was obligated to follow after he'd taken several steps, but he was not in a gracious mood.
"Oi, Ryuuzaki, what do you think you're - "
"We're out of sugar," L announced to the room. "But please don't worry, Light-kun and I will go immediately and retrieve some."
Light scowled at the cuff encircling his wrist as he was dragged in L's wake.
Matsuda spoke up.
"Ah, Ryuuzaki? Sugar? Don't you usually have Watari bring it? And you plan to find some upstairs? I thought that the kitchens were on a lower level. Don't you keep all of the living quarters upstairs?"
L didn't pause a moment to look at him as he continued pulling Light up the stairs.
"Please continue in your work," he said. "We will return directly."
There were more scattered mumblings that L also didn't fail to catch, even though he was moving fairly quickly. "...you think we should stop them? Or at least watch the monitors?" Matsuda was saying, and he was answered by Yagami the elder.
"Let them go. Maybe it will be a quicker resolution to this."
L agreed with Chief Yagami, and he for one certainly hoped so. There was nothing he hated more than feeling in the dark about something. Currently he was feeling that he should understand Light's dark mood perfectly, but it was actually murky rather than clear to him. So he would have to investigate the cause.
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The flash of movement came barely a second after they were through the door of their bedroom. L registered it from the corner of his eye only because he had been expecting it. Light's fist flew at his face, but L was prepared for him.
He spun fully into the assault and caught the younger man's fist with his open palm.
It stung. Light wasn't in a forgiving mood and he certainly wouldn't quibble over sparing L pain.
When he realized exactly what L had done, however, his hand dropped to his side almost immediately and remained there, harmless. L rarely retaliated using anything other than his feet and certainly didn't make any move expressing a disinclination for fighting with Light, so L's actions had, as the detective anticipated they would, startled him into backing down.
After a very brief moment it was visibly obvious that Light was getting over his surprise, and he was remaining calm though wary, simply staring at L. When L was certain he wasn't planning a second attack until instigated into it, he also dropped his hand and shoved it back into the pocket he'd pulled it from.
"What the hell was that?" Light demanded, voice betraying just how shaken and uncomfortable he was.
Whenever he and L were irritated, they fought. Usually briefly and ending in a draw because, as in most other areas, they were equally matched, which meant neither ever gained advantage. It was simply a convenient outlet for aggression. It was satisfying. Afterwards they returned to their previous occupations as though it had never happened.
Neither had ever prevented an altercation so conscientiously.
L ignored the question to present his own.
"Why is Light-kun so angry with me? He has been unusually petty this morning."
Neither needed to glance at the crotch of L's pants, still several shades darker than the rest of the material, which was probably as much a stain from the coffee as it was that it was the patch was still slightly damp, to know what L meant by "petty."
Light's mouth twisted into a derisive sneer, which wasn't at all attractive on him. Mesmerizing for it's callousness, but not actually attractive, exactly.
"You're a genius, Ryuuzaki," he said. "You mean to suggest you can't figure it out on your own?"
They were near it, so L climbed onto his favorite chair, one he'd bought from a hotel he'd once visited because he found it so very comfortable and had moved around with him. His thumb came up to push at his lower lip.
"I have been giving it a great deal of consideration, Yagami-kun," he informed Light. "Usually Light-kun is easier to figure out."
Light shot him an affronted look, but said nothing.
"Light-kun is a vindictive man, and he carries out his vengeance at the first opportunity, which is how I can always guess what he is responding to," L continued, and noticed that Light accepted that statement thoughtfully, as if he had never before considered his manner of reaction. Given that he suspected him, L hardly found it surprising that Light's same method matched Kira's so exactly.
"However, the only exchange between him and myself in which Light-kun did not get what he apparently wanted - he is really quite spoiled - occurred last night when he professed his desire to see Misa-chan's movie. But by my thinking, this is not the certain cause of his displeasure with me."
"And how did you come to that conclusion?"
L looked up at him, but Light was looking away.
"For two reasons that I will happily share with Light-kun. The first that he willingly let the subject drop. Light-kun did not challenge me, which he is prone to doing when he does not get his way, so I concluded that by refusing him, I had actually given him exactly what he had been hoping for and nothing more need be said. On the other hand, if it is not the case that Light-kun received what he wanted, Light-kun knows me at least well enough to realize that when I say I expect to receive the truth or I will not do something that I am resolute in not accepting anything other than the truth, so if he had wanted to see the movie, he would have given me that."
"Your conclusions are immaterial," Light dismissed with a slightly contemptuous curl to his lips.
"Why is that, Yagami-kun?"
L was truly growing more curious by the moment. It seemed to him like he was unraveling another secret of Light, and whether or not it applied to the Kira case, it was fascinating, so he hardly minded devoting his attention to it.
"Because they are based on personal bias."
"Bias?" L repeated, considering that.
It was not often that he was accused of bias and he actually found it humorous. Although it was a very defining characteristic of the average human, and L, contrary to some very snide opinions, was in fact human, his intellect left him with a more open mind than most. That was why he had been the first investigator involved with the Kira case to suggest the possibility of Kira being a student. But Light appeared serious, so L would solicit his views.
"And what bias would Yagami-kun accuse me of?"
Light was so mild-mannered in his delivery that the message itself was amusing.
"Bias against me, of course," he said.
Clearly he did not appreciate L's smile, because he returned a scowl, ruining the carefully crafted composure.
"Light-kun thinks very highly of himself."
"It's me that we're discussing, as if you hadn't realized," he snapped back at L. "And you think I'm Kira, so of course you're going to believe that I have ulterior motives just for asking to go to a movie."
"Well, perhaps Light-kun really did want to go and that is the reason for his crankiness," L made slight concession. "But that does not explain my second reason."
"If he truly wanted to go, he would have been honest as to the reason why when I asked. He has only himself to blame if he is unhappy now."
Light swung away with a huff, as though to soothe the desire to throttle L by looking away, but then turned back again.
"You see," he said, "You just proved my point. Your assumption is that I'm a liar just because I didn't tell you something that you were expecting to hear. You profile me as a liar because you say I'm Kira and denying it and therefore everything that I say is untruthful."
L frowned.
"Is Light-kun telling me that he did not lie? If so, then why did he not defend himself last night?"
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A/N: Light and L's conversations keep running away with my story. I had intended this chapter and the next to be one in the same, but somehow they became independently unwieldy and refused to be lumped together. Ah, well.
Serria: Envision away. Light and Ryuga Hideki would be hot stuff. I've become rather obsessed with Hideki-kun because of writing this fic, I think I understand Sayu completely. ;) But Light and L are soul mates as far as I'm concerned, unfortunately for Hideki-kun. I'm flattered that you like this. Your writing is so impressive to me that I was very happy to read your review. Thank you, I work devilishly hard at narration (keeping the point of view consistent is a struggle for me, and L is so difficult to write since he's so much smarter than me) and my particular style. It's been years in evolution. :) Thanks so much for your review!
Violet Velvetine: There's a little fan in all of us, right? Ryuga Hideki's too hot for even Light to resist. ;D Thank you for your review!
SomethingI'veForgotten: Oh, I'm so relieved to hear someone say that L isn't OOC. I always worry that he will be no matter how hard I work. I know...crack topics, I'm not all that great at real plot. I'm too slow to keep up with L and Light when they go into super intelligent investigator mode, so I have to deal in pwp waff instead. Ah, the shame. ;) Thanks for reviewing!
IndependentDeath: I'm glad to hear it came as a surprise. I was worried I was being transparent, especially since it was necessary to mention Hideki-kun's being in the same movie as Misa earlier in the exposition. :) L's smarter than me too. He gets frustrated with me when I'm being a dunce. But thank you for thinking that it's all written smoothly, since I work really hard even for fan fiction. It is a premiere and Ryuga Hideki will actually be visible in person (squee, right?). -whispers- Don't tell anyone, but I've never actually been to a really fancy premiere, so hopefully I'll be able to make it seem realistic. Let me know if I do all right. Thank you for reviewing!
Red Kitsune Flames: Well, this chapter gave away most of how L reacted. Was it all right? The next installation will elaborate more. I appreciate your review!
judi42: It was a completely random plot bunny, but I'm pleased that people other than myself have enjoyed it so far. I wonder if I'd actually be the first person to write LightxRyuga Hideki? The internet is a very big place, though, so maybe I'm not. Still, I'm glad you took the time to express your appreciation. Thanks for the review!
The third installment arriving very soon, I think. As soon as I get out the third for another fic I'm writing. Review donations, please? Just so that I have something to entertain me?