There were very few things that could catch L truly off guard. There were things that had happened in his life that he never quite expected to happen and thus surprised him, of coarse. Yet he was never truly off guard. He was to...aware of everything around him for that to happen. Too hyper. Too caffeinated. He had always thought himself to be the most guarded person he knew...well, until he had met Light, but that was a different thought. A different rant for a different time.
So, L was very surprised to find that he had been taken off guard by Misa's sudden affection for him and her willingness to take his arm and walk so close to him as they traveled down the road. He knew, of coarse, that this was actually all just a clever plot on her part to go out on date with Light. If she had one she could get the other. That was logical and he was actually kind of proud of her for having that type of creativity. That was the only reason he had agreed to go on this excursion with her.
...that and he loved fresh baked, sugary goodies of any kind.
...that and he, for once in his life, wanted to be the one seen with a beautiful woman attached to his arm. That was how movies and books said it worked after all. The moral detective should always get the girl.
He was caught even more off guard when the arrived at the café. He had expected that Miss Amane's next coarse of action would be to separate Light and himself so she could snuggle next to the object of her affection, thus completing the main objective of her plan: get close to her neglectful boyfriend. He was right about one part. She did separate them, Light sat nonchalantly on one side of the table and L crouched on the other, the chain resting comfortably on the surface between them.
Misa gave a giggle of delight and slipped in...next to the older detective.
L stiffened. He...had not expected that. At all. Neither did Light apparently as the younger man shifted in his seat and looked at Misa, confusion with a mix of jealousy wrapped into it covering his normal sharp features.
Misa giggled again and snuggled in to the increasingly flabbergasted detective. "Misa is so happy that Ryuzaki came out with Misa!"
"I'm...happy that you're happy Ms. Amane." L responded truthfully, still trying to figure out her angle. Contrary to the belief of several people he had worked with in the past, he wasn't inexperienced with women. No, not at all. He had been quite popular as a teenager at the orphanage...but his career had just become more important. Saving people always was, no matter how lonely or frustrating it could get.
Misa smiled and clapped her delicate little hands with glee. "Misa was worried! Ryuzaki doesn't look happy." She poked at him playfully. "Ryuzaki should smile more, he is very cute when he smiles!"
L looked away and studied the heart boarder on the wall, trying to hide an unintentional, small smile that had crept up on him at the mention of an actual super model calling him cute.
"Yes!" Giggled Misa as she snuggled closer to him. "Just like that!"
Light cleared his throat and L noticed a subtly distressed glimmer in the junior detectives eyes. "So Misa!" His voice was forced to happy, careless tone. It amused L but also sharply reminded him at how good an actor Light good be. Hm. His Kira percentage grew to 10. "How was last nights movie shoot? Matsuda mentioned that there were some complications-"
Misa surprised the both of them by sticking her tongue out at her beloved boyfriend. "I'm not on date with you, Light." She dropped her third party referral for the second time that day in their presence, an indication she was being serious. "I'm on a date with Ryuzaki and...and we are going to talk about interesting things!"
Lights jaw just about hit that table. L almost laughed in shock and amusement. Light probably wasn't used to being ignored. Hm. That probably meant he would do anything to be the center of attention. Lights Kira percentage was risen to 12 in Ls mind.
A waitress soon came by with deserts and steaming beverages that no one could remember ordering. "On the house Misa-Misa!" The woman piped. "You're our first high profile customer!"
Misa gave a happy squeal as the waitress left and dug into her strawberry sundae.
L followed suit, his thin hands trembling slightly as his fork pierced the most beautiful black forest chocolate cherry cake he had ever seen.
Light scowled and stuck to drinking his tea with out sugar or cream.
Misa broke the silence. "So, what does Ryuzaki do for fun?"
L contemplated her inquiry for a long time and decided there was no harm in the question. "When I was younger I would play tennis. In recent years, though, I usually do math equations."
Light snickered across the table. "How exciting."
Misa smiled. "Misa was very good at math when she was in school!"
Light stared. "Seriously?"
Misa never really acknowledged the non-question that was directed at her so L decided to press. "Was Ms. Amane a good student?"
Misa blushed. "Misa was...but she found it boring! Everything in school was boring compared to having pictures taken of you and pretty outfits made just for you!"
Light huffed, unkindly. L smiled. "Truthfully, Ms. Amane, I was a very..restless student. I would get into a lot of trouble in school because I was bored."
Light stared at the detective. That was the first thing the detective had ever said about his past since he mentioned being a Tennis Junior Champion.
Misa was delighted. "Really Ryuzaki?" She thought for a moment. "Oh! Misa understands! You were bored because you knew everything you were being taught...so you wanted things to be more exciting!"
L cocked his head and shoved a fork full of cake in his mouth while staring at the lovely gothic Lolita. He genuinely impressed with her. "That was very perceptive of you Ms. Amane-"
"Misa." The young woman corrected. "We are on a date Ryuzaki! You can call me Misa! Besides, Misa is younger than you...'Ms. Amane' makes her sound old."
"I'm sorry Misa." L adapted the name into his everyday speech quickly. "You are most certainly not old. You are far to pretty."
Misa blushed and ate her sundae. L kept his eyes to his cake. Light looked between the two of them, bewildered.
The silence lingered only to be broken by Misa once again. "Would Ryuzaki want Misa's strawberry?"
L looked up immediately at the mention of his signature fruit. "Misa is very kind. I would love to have her strawberry."
A devious smile spread across the young woman face. The detective, for all the profiling he did on a day to day basis, was not sure what to make of that. Misa picked up the cream and chocolate covered strawberry a placed it between her well glossed lips. L blinked.
Misa giggled and made a gesture to her mouth. L reached out to take it in his peculiar, delicate manner but Misa backed up, denying him a victory through that route. He studied her. What was she playing at? Light was right there, L was painfully aware of that fact as he was doing his best not glance at his friend lest he appear weak or lost.
Lost? No. He wasn't lost. He knew this game. He was sure that invented the whole 'sweets for fun and pleasure' racket back in high school that Misa was now carrying on with. He decided to be daring and maybe show Light what he was missing in denying this young temptress of a woman. Yes. That was the only reason he was going to submit to Misa's obvious ploy to instill jealousy in her so called 'boyfriend'.
Misa's eyes closed a L leaned into her. There was a pause then he placed his mouth over her in a calculated, yet strangely thrilling way. He used his tongue to gracefully free the strawberry from Misa's mouth and explore her own tongue for a brief moment. This elicited a pleasing groan from the model and a small sigh of disappointment when he broke away after barely a minute and returned to his normal crouching position to enjoy his well earned strawberry.
"I think I really like the café, Misa." L dead panned.
Misa said nothing, only blushed and nodded, an astonished, guilty smile on her face.
Light stared, mouth open in shock. Indignation creased his features.
L allowed himself to close his eyes. That was one damn fine strawberry.