Title- Fading Dawn

So it's been awhile since I have updated. I am really sorry about that, didn't mean for it to take this long. Wonder if anyone is still going to read this. Hope you all enjoy this chapter^^.

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L hears the small jingle of the café door, indicating that Raito has officially left. "Would you like anything else?" the waitress asks flatly as she taps her pen lightly against the notepad in her hand.

"A slice of chocolate cake," L responds waiting for the waitress to leave. Meeting Raito had been interesting, though he didn't think the younger man would be such a coward. He supposed it wasn't that surprising since it didn't appear anyone had ever understood Raito's song, except for him. But still, it was such a pusillanimous move to run away like that, he had thought Raito would have more of a backbone.

The younger musician held such a strong air about him, like nothing would stand in his way of what he wanted. 'I didn't misinterpret him, did I?' L thinks as he raises a slim thumb up to his mouth. 'It is disappointing; to meet such a feeble artist like Raito, but there is still a pull toward the other musician,' L notes. Raito still held an air of poise, one that L recognized within himself.

Picking up a sugar cube, L places it in his mouth; rolling the sugar around on his tongue, while it melts slowly. The waitress came back and drops of the slice of cake before leaving again.

Picking up the fork in-between his thumb and index finger, L digs blissfully into his cake. He places the cake on his tongue and releases a happy sigh as the rich flavor invades his mouth.

'What to do,' L muses as the fork dangles out of his mouth slightly before he tugs it away and digs it back into the moist cake. 'His music needs serious work. One who does not play with passion should not play at all,' L reflects. 'But Raito's passion is there, just suppressed,' L thinks as he taps the fork lightly against his plate in thought. 'I wonder how he plays when under the influence of music.' L speculates as he quickly finishes of his desert. Laying money on the table, for the payment of the cake and tip, L makes his way out of the café and walks into the busy streets of Tokyo.

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The conversation with his family had been boring. Sayu had been overly excited about the concert she hadn't been able to attend. His mother telling him how proud she was of her son and his father had not been there. He is still upset with Raito for choosing a career in the classical music industry instead of going into the police force. The last conversation the two had involved Soichiro telling him he was wasting his life before storming out of the house.

"Raito your father loves you, he just isn't sure how to react to your career choice," Sachiko murmurs as she stands by Raito near the front door. He slips his foot into his dress shoe before looking at his mom.

"I think he has made it clear," Raito replies as he finishes tying his shoe and stands up.

"Just give him some time, he will come around," Sachiko responds gently as she smiles reassuringly at her son.

"Your right," Raito agrees with a small smile, not wanting to upset his mother.

"Come back and visit whenever you can," Sachiko reminds. It isn't often that she gets to see her son, most of the time Raito is touring, or too busy to come.

"I will, see you," Raito smiles politely as he leaves the house, already having said good bye to Sayu, since she had left early to go on a date. He doubts he will visit home soon.

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Raito enters his empty apartment and feels humiliation wash over him. He doesn't know how to face Ryuuzaki. The man tore of his mask and it made him feel bare. All his life he done what was expected of him. Became a hard working student, is the perfect son, and a protective older brother to Sayu.

But the one thing he chose for himself was to become a violinist. He doesn't think that it is a selfish decision, but his father disapproves his choice, ever since he told Soichiro he wanted to go to college to learn to be a musician instead of being a detective. 'Is it such a selfish desire to do something I loved instead of doing something that would have put me in a boring routine,' Raito wonders as he pulls his shoes of.

He couldn't resist the call of placing bow against string. He had wanted to share it with the world and now it was a chore to stand on stage and pretend he was still in love with his music.

Raito already lost his inspiration for music, why did Ryuuzaki come into his life and sprinkle salt into an open wound that was already bothering him. But Raito was no better; he had found a convenient excuse to get away. Even though it had been refreshing at first, to no longer see the other man's face, Raito knew he had ran away from Ryuuzaki.

With a small sigh Raito flips the lights on and by passes the kitchen to go into his bedroom. He sits on his soft bed and turns on the nightstand lamp before pulling out the card Ryuuzaki gave him. His eyes linger on the card for a moment. It's a regular white card with a small black number on it, nothing else. 'This is what salvation is supposed to look like,' Raito wonders slightly amused as he sticks it back in his wallet. He will call Ryuuzaki tomorrow; the other man is probably asleep. Raito tells himself before he walks out of the room.

His violin is lying on the dining room table. Raito picks it up and walks further into the room. Against the wall is a music stand that holds all the recent music he has started but not finished. A table is pressed in the corner with a window above the desk and another window is ten feet away. Raito places his violin case on the table softly. Raito turns away and makes his way back into his bedroom.

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Ryuuzaki opens the heavy hotel door and shuts it behind him quietly. He kicks of his shoes and walks across the padded carpet before veering off to the left and walks into the kitchen. Its medium sized with a fridge in the far corner and the sink is only a few feet away. A small island is in the center with a table pressed up against the far left wall in front of a window. L opens up the fridge and pulls out a chocolate pudding before shutting the fridge with his foot. Ryuuzaki tears of the lid and dips his index finger into the cold pudding, ignoring the utensil drawer. L swirls his finger around a few times before raising his finger to his awaiting oral cavity and places it in there.

"You really should use a spoon," Watari comments as he walks into the kitchen. L pulls out a chair and sits on it before responding.

"That would take away from the taste," L reasons as he licks some sugary goodness out of the cup.

"You only use utensils when you are pondering over something more difficult than usual. How did it go with Raito-kun?" Watari questions as he moves further into the room.

"A coward," L shrugs as he dips his finger back in.

Watari blinks in surprise before talking, "yet he still intrigues you."

L frowns lightly at that, he isn't sure how Watari understands his moods so well. "If you weren't interested in him you would be using a spoon," Watari responds and L nods his head in understanding.

"He does interest me. I gave him my number and told him to call if he wants to learn to play with passion," L replies as he scoops up a particular large amount of pudding.

"I think he will call you soon," Watari answers as he watches Ryuuzaki bring the pudding to his mouth slowly. Making sure none of it falls onto his white shirt.

"You have a lot of faith in him," L notes around his finger.

"He just needs someone to remind him why he chose the violin over the police force," Watari replies kindly.

"I'll turn my cell phone on tomorrow," L mutters as he tosses the empty container on the table. He licks his finger clean before exiting the room. Watari follows him out of the kitchen, after throwing the empty pudding in the trash.

In the main room is a large piano that sits in the center of the room. A few couches are facing toward the piano with a wooden table in front of it. L sits in front of the sleek piano and runs his long fingers over the ivory keys. A small smile of content settles across his lips as he plays a few scales.

"I'll leave you to play," Watari says quietly, but L doesn't hear him as he begins to play Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2.

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A loud beeping sound awakes Raito from his slumber. He leans over and turns the alarm of before sitting up. The sheets fall around his waist as Raito rubs his eyes to get the last remnants of sleep out. He leaves the comfort of his bed and walks to the kitchen. The apartment is cold, but he has grown use to such things.

Raito opens up a bag of Starbucks Hazelnut coffee before he pours that into the coffee pot along with water. It starts to brew loudly and Raito walks to the front door and opens it. Leaning over, he retrieves the paper before making his way back to the kitchen. Smoothing the creases out of the paper, Raito begins speed reading through the main articles.

The sound of the coffee maker dies; Raito opens a cabinet up and reaches for a plain white mug. Pouring some coffee in, he sips at it slowly and finishes reading the front page of the paper. 'Nothing of interest,' Raito notes dully before folding the paper back up and makes his way back to his bedroom, while nursing a cup of coffee in-between his hands. He places the mug on the night stand before picking up his cell phone and turning it on.

'A new message from Sayu, probably about her date,' Light muses as he ignores the text for now.

'I'll wait to call Ryuuzaki after I shower,' Light decides as he shuts his flip phone. He picks his coffee back up and walks into the dining room. His eyes land on his violin case and Raito walks over to it slowly. Running his hands over the cold metal locks, Raito flicks them open. He opens the case up and admires the way the sun reflects of the cherry wood. Raito plucks a string with his finger. The chord rings loudly throughout the room creating a melody to anyone who listens, but to Raito's trained ear it's a hollow sound like looking into a craved pumpkin.

Finishing of the coffee, Raito puts the mug in the sink, before going back to his bedroom. He gathers his clothes for the day and walks into the bathroom to start his shower.

Stepping out of the shower, Raito dries himself of before putting his dirty night clothes in the hamper. His hand hesitates over his wallet before he grabs it and pulls the card out.

"I shouldn't put this of," Raito mutters as he grabs his cell phone. His fingers dial the number before he presses enter. The phone rings a few times before another voice answers.

"Hello."

"Ryuuzaki its Raito, I hope the hour isn't too early for you," Raito says politely.

"It's not, through I will admit I was not expecting you to call so soon," L remarks idly.

"Is that a problem?" Raito asks in a clipped tone.

"No, are you busy today?" L inquiries as he licks a glazed donut.

"I'm not," Raito responds.

"Come to Hilton Tokyo at three pm today. Don't bring your violin." L says flatly.

"What's the room number?" Raito asks.

"2021," L cuts the connection after that. Raito stares at the phone in slight shock. He had thought Ryuuzaki would give a proper goodbye, but apparently not. Raito shuts his phone and slides it into his back pocket.

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'How does a raggedly looking man afford a suite?' Raito wonders annoyed as his eyes stare at the mahogany wood door in front of him. Raising his hand he knocks on the door lightly. The door opens silently and Raito smiles a little as he looks at Quillish.

"I didn't know you stayed with Ryuuzaki," Raito comments idly as the door opens wider.

"I'm visiting," Quillish responds as Raito walks into the hotel room.

"You have a piano in here?" Raito murmurs surprised.

"Ryuuzaki makes special requests to have pianos in his rooms, whenever he gets the chance to travel," Quillish says.

"That must cost a lot of money," Raito remarks as he walks over to the grand piano and runs his hands across the keys.

"A bit, but he can afford it. Also if he plays any music for you today he has a habit of falling into his own world. You may have to shake him out of it," Quillish kindly says.

"How long does he go for?" Raito asks intrigued.

"It depends, anywhere from a few hours to two days straight," Quillish answers.

"That is impressive, does he do it often?" Raito queries as his eyes briefly flash to Whammy before looking at the piano again.

"Quite a bit, I like the altered state of mind I fall into," L replies from behind Raito. Raito turns his attention to L and gives the man a nod of acknowledgement.

"Do you play?" L inquires emphatically. His eyes glance over to Ryuuzaki, who is standing a few feet away.

"A little," Raito answers as he presses middle C down.

"Play," L says and Raito looks at L amused.

"I don't know how to play any songs without the sheet music, do you have any?" Raito inquires with curious eyes.

"I was playing Rachmaninoff earlier, would you like to attempt?" L mocks gently as he tilts his head to his side.

"Yes," Raito says sharply and L grins lightly. The younger man looks like a chicken with his feathers ruffled. L walks closer to the piano bench and opens it up before pulling out the worn sheet. The color is turning a musty yellow and Raito briefly wonders how long Ryuuzaki has had this paper.

"By all means play," L declares as Raito takes a seat. His eyes glance over the sheet music taking in each note. He places his hands over the ivory keys before letting his hands press down the first notes. L stands next to the piano and listens to the notes that slide out of the piano. It's rough and almost painful to listen to, but the notes are sharp and clear. The song picks up a little and L can hear it, the emptiness behind Raito's life. The music is slow, but the players' essence is leaking out like blood exiting a wound. L raises his thumb to his mouth and bites down on it.

'So much potential that is going to waste,' L observes and feels like Raito is going to fade away if he doesn't find his meaning soon. The song finishes and Raito takes in a deep breath, his hands still resting against the cool keys.

"Scoot over," L instructs and Raito moves to the edge of the bench, his eyes staring at L with interest.

L's hands rest against the smooth keys before his hands dance across the keys. The song is fast and Raito feels himself being drawn in. The air is becoming tighter like someone is holding onto his lungs and squeezing them in anticipation. The music grows louder, ringing throughout the room and Raito no longer notices Quillish standing in the background.

L's mirror eyes link with Raito's amber ones and he feels trapped in that unyielding gaze. It's like his soul is being torn away and a fire is igniting in his stomach. L's eyes are burning through him and Raito can't look away. His soul feels as though it is melting with Ryuuzaki's and becoming a part of the other man. The music begins to slow down and he can feel a peace wash over him like floating in the waves of an ocean.

Slowly, the music dies away and Raito realizes that he has scooted closer to L. He can feel the other mans breath ghosting across his face and Raito scoots back to the edge of the bench, waiting for Ryuuzaki to come out of his music induced trance. He's thankful that Ryuuzaki didn't seem to realize how close they really were.

"That is how you play with passion," Ryuuzaki murmurs as he comes out of his reverie. Raito feels a sense of loss creep into his chest. His music used to draw him into a world Ryuuzaki created, but now it's like listening to a singer who is out of pitch.

"What makes you play like that?" Raito inquires as he tilts his head to face Ryuuzaki. L draws his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms loosely around his legs.

"What was your inspiration?" L fires back and Raito feels a smile tug at his lips.

"I asked you first," Raito responds knowingly.

"But you're the one who needs to learn how to play with passion again, so we should find your old reason and see if it helps rekindle your love," L answers childishly.

"At the same time, wouldn't learning your reason help me be inspired by you?" Raito replies amused.

"I don't think you wish to be inspired by a man that had you ran away yesterday."

"It was not necessarily running away, rather it was leaving a situation I didn't see fit to finish," Raito responds evenly.

"So you don't see the point of talking about music?" L questions as he raises his thumb to his mouth.

"I never said that, I had a family matter to attend to," Raito stiffly counters.

"But aren't you and your father on bad terms because of your music?" L contradicts. Raitos eyes narrow at that as he turns his attention to Whammy who is attempting to make a clean getaway.

"It's none of your business," Raito replies flatly.

"It will be my business if your music has gone downhill because of your family," L firmly states.

"That's not the reason my music lacks passion."

"We will see," L murmurs and the room falls silent for a moment as the two have a small glaring contest.

"We aren't getting anywhere," Raito points out, while releasing a small sigh.

"You should answer the question than," Ryuuzaki replies immaturely as his toes curl and uncurl around the piano bench.

"You are stubborn," Raito mutters.

"As are you," L replies knowingly.

"We seem to have reached an impasse," Raito responds as he stands up.

"We have," L agrees, before talking again. "Want to get food?" L asks as he gets up as well. His eyes stare at Raito blankly, while he buries his hands into his jeans pockets.

"Sure," Raito agrees and L feels his lip curl up.

"I'll pay if you tell me why you wanted to become a violinist," L says as the two walk toward the kitchen.

"How are you paying if we eat here?" Raito asks amused.

"Because I already paid for the food and it would be rude for you not to answer your host's question," L says as he smirks at Raito over his shoulder.

Raito feels his eye twitch in annoyance, but smiles anyways. "Alright," Raito concedes.

The table is already set with a chicken creaser salad on one end and the other end has a large slice of blueberry pie. L sits in front of the pie and smiles happily as he takes a large bite, while Raito sits opposite of him and stabs a piece of chicken with his fork. Whammy places a glass of water in front of Raito and tea in front of Ryuuzaki. A small bowl of sugar cubes of to the side.

"Thank you Quillish-san," Raito says politely and Whammy smiles back.

"It's not a problem," Quillish responds as he exits the kitchen.

"Is he your caretaker?" Raito queries once Whammy is out of hearing range.

"In a way yes," L agrees as his fork buries itself in the pie. The two eat in silence and it isn't until Ryuuzaki has placed his fork, on his now empty plate, that he asks Raito a question.

"Why the violin?" L solicits as he nips at his thumb.

"It was the first instrument I picked up in Coffee Music," Raito answers as he takes a sip of water.

"That's it, what a sad you reason you have," L mutters, while grabbing three sugar cubes and plopping them into his mouth.

Raito looks slightly disgusted at L's eating habits, but makes no comment about it. "That's not it. It's the way the bow sounded against the violin. It's a peace of mind that studying nonstop could not fill," Raito responds truthfully as he stabs a piece of lettuce.

L stares at Raito blankly. A truthful answer, he had not been expecting that. "There are many escapes, you have merely found one that suits your talents," L responds offhandedly.

"As you have," Raito replies, with a small smile on his thin lips.

"The piano is my drug," L replies simply. "Now finish your salad, so I can show you something else that might help," Ryuuzaki says around his thumb.

"Why are you so keen on helping me?" Raito asks curiously.

"I want to be the blood that gives you life again," L replies causally.

Raito stares at L oddly, "that makes no sense," Raito murmurs as he finishes of his salad.

"Your music is near the brink of death, I want to hear you play with conviction, for reasons I will not disclose to you at the moment," L clarifies. Light pours in through the window and Raito is unable to see Ryuuzaki's expression, though he doubts it has changed.

"Then let's do our best," Raito cheerfully remarks as he places his dirty dishes in the sink and follows Ryuuzaki out of the room.

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End of chapter.

I had no one beta this chapter, so I apologize for any grammar mistakes. Not to mention it is almost five o'clock in the morning, where I live.

Please review and tell me if you like this chapter. It would be much appreciated, night.

-rain angst