AN: Hey there! Only a few days after my last chapter, and there's already another update! Amazing, isn't it? Well, as promised, here's the extra drabble, both to help make up for my long absence, and to (hopefully) tide you guys over, in case I don't get a chance to write anything else during this three-week interim class!
And, about this drabble... I realized that I've been focusing a LOT on L and Light... and this series has always been intended to include as many characters as possible... so! Here's one that's NOT about L OR Light, or even anyone from the original series! Instead, it's about A and B! (And if you don't know who those two are... you REALLY need to read the novel, Death Note, Another Note: Los Angeles BB Murder Cases! It's awesome, and BB is hilarious! Sadly, though, there's only a very brief mention of A...) This drabble would take place... probably just days before Beyond leaves Wammy's, and just minutes after A's suicide. Anyway, enjoy!
103. Friendship
When he was found, A looked like he was sleeping. In a way, he was – he had just taken some pills and fallen asleep… The problem was, he wasn't going to wake up again. But that wasn't what bothered B. He'd seen death before. He'd seen it his whole life, in fact, with no choice in the matter.
No, at the moment, what bothered B most about A's death wasn't the death itself, but the scene. Something was missing… Something that should be there, but wasn't. It took him a few moments to realize what it was – A was asleep, and sleeping peacefully by the look of it, but there was no bed. A should always sleep on a bed.
And that's why B was the first one to leave the study that A had fallen asleep in. That's why B went to A's bedroom. That's why B was the first one to see the letter sitting on A's pillow. That's why B was the only one to read A's final words.
B,
Thanks for being the one to find this. I knew you'd catch it first – you're always looking for what's missing, rather than what's there. No one else will probably think past the fact that I took a bottle of pills and died in my sleep. …Well, I suppose L might, but he's not here, is he?
You told me once that you can see death, or rather, when some one's going to die. So I guess you already knew what was coming, huh? But you want to know why, don't you? Of course you do, you always want to know more about everything. Because you never know what little tidbit might make the difference between winning and losing, right B?
…It was too much. Heh, I guess I just wasn't cut out to be L… or a detective, period. There were too many people depending on me, too much pressure to do the right thing, to figure out the puzzle faster, to get the higher score, to be the best… I couldn't stand it. You'll be a much better L than I would have been, anyway. Though… I wonder if either of us could ever have surpassed the original? I suppose I'll never know… Would you find out for me, B? Find out if anyone can be better than L?
…Enough of that. More than anything, B, I want to thank you. You were… well, you were there, which is more than I can say for anyone else. You distracted me, you talked way too much, you were crazier than anyone else in this nuthouse, you were a total goofball, you annoyed the hell out of me… and you were the best friend I could ever have asked for. You kept me sane for as long as possible.
And I'm sorry. I left you alone with all the uptight, rule-bound, silent-prodigy-geniuses, didn't I? And I probably made you crazier than you ever would have been, with all my whining, and worrying, and… yelling. Sorry I yelled at you.
I know you don't believe in Heaven, but I'll be there waiting for you. And if too much time goes by and you don't show up… well then, I'll just have to go to Hell and find you. Because Heaven wouldn't be good enough without my only friend there with me.
And I know you. You'll go off and do something crazy and get yourself killed early, instead of getting all old and wrinkly. So… well… don't keep me waiting too long, but don't be too quick about it either, alright?
I'll see you soon, B.
Signed, Andrew Robert Stewart.
…The whole thing was crossed out. Not scribbled out, though – the whole thing was purposely legible, but there was a single, straight pen stroke through each and every line of the note, except for one at the very bottom of the page.
B- Thank you for everything. You're the best friend I could have ever asked for. See you soon. -A
Already, the wheels were turning in B's head. 'Be better than L, huh?' Yes… he could do that. B tucked the letter into his pocket, and nodded to the bed as though A were still there, sitting on it and listening to his half-crazed rantings like he always had.
"Right. See you soon, Andrew."
