Although L and all of his men could sprout wings from their backs and take flight as easily as any common bird, he preferred to take the jet if he had to travel any great distance or if there was any chance of danger. Since Soichiro's son, codename Lux, had come home from school to live at the Valkyr headquarters eight months ago, L had yet to allow anyone to leave headquarters without the jet. Looking over at his newest charge now only confirmed to the ever logical leader of the inherent risk in this boy. He couldn't yet put his finger on it, but there was an unmistakable air of danger about codename Lux. It would come to him. It always did…
Watari had engineered L's jet to be both silent and smooth, a black, sleek, massive design which was both surprisingly secure and spacious. The Valkyr agents had been able to board and take off for the Pacific Ocean in mere seconds. The jet's accent was so graceful, only the pilot needed to be seated at takeoff. The rest of the crew, Watari, and Lux stood in the round main cabin, shedding jackets and equipment, preparing for the five hour flight back to headquarters. L's body was unusually well self-regulated, and he rarely had the need for a jacket. Instead he stood off to the side, leaning back on his hips in that casual, feline way he had, just thinking.
Codename Lux catalogued at the tattered remains of his shirt for the first time since L's attack, in dumb silence. All that remained of the formerly white button down oxford was the right sleeve and a few shreds across his chest- just another unexpected reminder of the odd man's unlikely strength. He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do. For the first time since Watari had apprehended him, Lux's adrenaline, the warrior's chemical that had spiked his body into wary numbness, was subsiding, leaving his injured shoulder throbbing with excruciating pain. Soft, moth-like fluttering moved over the hot, sensitive swollen skin around Lux's wound, and his head jerked down immediately in surprise. L, the chieftain of the species and his family, his supposed leader, was bent down on his knees, examining Lux's chest, his elegant hands tending to the wound. L's face was so close to his bare abdomen, Lux could feel a soft blush of warmth sooth over his raw skin, where L's breath hovered.
Codename Lux took an uncharacteristically clumsy step backwards. "What are you doing?" He demanded.
L looked up at the other boy, his eyes seemingly unperturbed, but his lips curled under slightly, betraying his concern. When he spoke, his usual low monotone had the smallest tinge of regret. "Your injury is more serious than I first appraised. It needs to be cleaned and cauterized or it will get infected."
Light put out a hand, instinctually warding off any more unwelcome physical contact from L. "You didn't think getting shot might be serious?" He carefully collected his face into a sneer, hoping to mask how offset L had made him suddenly feel.
L observed codename Lux's bronze eyes, not unlike two polished ancient coins, widen in an unchecked reaction of mistrust and felt an incongruous pang of guilt in his gut. He let out a small breath and softened his low tone, "I apologize, Light. I should not have left you unattended so long. I thought only of securing the incident and not of your discomfort."
"I thought people weren't allowed to call me that anymore." Light's hand didn't move.
L sighed mentally, "Only away from my protection in headquarters. As we are in my jet currently and, like headquarters, it is an extension of my protection. I know personally that my jet is one hundred percent secure." He recited this quickly, his fingers itching to return to tending Light. "Please," he said, and Light though he heard a foreign note of tension in his voice. "Allow me to take care of it."
L's voice was both authoritative yet somehow pleading, and Light found himself relaxing his body from its guarded position and allowing his chieftain to approach. L's hands were both cool and unwavering as they guided Light's body over to a bariatric cot padded with sterile medical upholstery, anchored in a cabin in the lower part of the jet. Like the rest of the jet, the chamber was dark- all black leather and chrome. Light sank down on the coat, suddenly exhausted by the events of the day and no longer in the mood for a fight, regardless of how irritated he was with L.
L's brows knitted together in concentration. He quickly and professionally removed the remainder of Light's shirt. Against the searing pain, Light felt heat rising in his body where L's hands were brushing his chest and sucked in a breath inexplicably. He allowed his amber eyes to travel away from the L's approaching face and over to the wall.
"I'm serious," L started through gritted teeth, attempting to maintain his composure. "You can't tell me where I can or can't go."
Two of L's large, long fingers trailed up Light's chest gently to his neck where they rested firmly against a vein, checking his pulse. L kept his other hand on Light's abdomen with a mild pressure, maintaining contact so his touches wouldn't shock Light's body when his patient couldn't see what his hands were doing. L found himself concentrating on being absolutely methodical. He was more deeply affected by Light's closeness and obvious pain than he'd willingly admit to himself. He mentally justified these uncomfortable feelings by reminding himself of his duty of responsibility for all the Valkyrie. L was logical to the point of coldness at times, but he did not enjoy the suffering of any of his men.
"You've been away from the Warren for a little over a third of your life now." L murmured, allowing his hand to linger on Lux's warm chest. "I can understand why you find it hard to adjust back to our customs."
Light narrowed his eyes, momentarily ignoring the pain in his agitation, "But these aren't our ways! I had much more freedom in the Warren as a child! Had I known the great L was so neurotic, I might have refused my father's bid for me to come home to headquarters."
L withdrew his fingers from Light's neck, his movement precise and careful regardless of Light's snobbery. "I know you find it hard to trust me, although I feel I have never given you a reason, but you should trust your father, Light. Soichiro and I both have legitimate reasons to be concerned about you." L resisted the strangest urge to place his hand of Light's forehead. "Even if I didn't know your history, Light, after today I'd put you on lockdown. You were gone from the Warren for not even a day and you got shot. That alone is evidence that you're exponentially more at risk than average."
Light tossed his head, glaring at the wall, "You have no right…"
L really did sigh this time. "Rights are what the humans are always babbling about. You said you saved the American president because a lot of people count on him to keep them safe. Well the Valkyr count on me to keep them safe, and you safe as well." L sounded unusually sentimental and he added very lowly, "So that's what I'm going to do. I know you spend a lot of time yearning for the freedom you had away at school, so it probably doesn't occur to you that you are important to me and important to the Valkyr."
Light swallowed in the resulting silence, completely unsure of what to say or what to think. L seemed unperturbed. Indeed, he didn't even seem to notice the silence.
After a moment he continued, "But it hasn't escaped everyone. I have people that are very close to me like Soichiro and Watari, on whom I can trust. But you probably don't realize that I have enemies- and one enemy in particular, who would willingly hurt you."
L shook his head, both confused and a little angry. "Your enemies have no beef with me, L. And I've studied just as long as you. There isn't an organization in the world that would attack the Valkyr."
L paused slightly and put his hands in his lap. To his chagrin, Light's body missed the feeling of their warmth. He almost looked up at the leader, but thought better of it.
"You've been with the humans for a long time, Light. You are starting to think like them." L abruptly broke off the sentiments and began cleaning Light's wound again. "They would hurt you because it would hurt me." He said mater-a-factly. "And anyways, if I left you on your own, how did you expect to fly home with that bullet wound?"