Since my absence was rather prolonged, I thought I would be nice, and give you an extra chapter.
I suppose I'm spoiling you, but I prefer to think of it more as rewarding your patience.
Chapter 9
Light's ringtone ripped through the silence of L's headquarters. Light watched with satisfaction as L cringed and glared at him. "Yagami…" L growled. Light turned his eyes to the detective's innocently as he nonchalantly picked his cell phone up from his desk. "Yes, Ryuuzaki?" he asked blithely, pausing his hand –and therefore his phone –in midair. The phone rang again, and L flinched visibly with annoyance. "Answer that," L snarled. Light savoured L's wet cat impression for a moment longer, and then complied. "Yagami Light," he heralded blandly.
"Light!" a feminine voice squealed on the other end so loudly that Light pulled the phone away from his ear and grimaced. "Hello, Misa," he returned calmly. "I wanna come see you, Light; it's been like forever," Misa complained. Light rolled his eyes. They had spent almost the entire previous day together. Misa continued, "I miss you soooo much! I think we should go on another date, soon… I got this new dress yesterday –it's sooooo cute! You'll love it! And there's this new movie that just came out –one of my friends said it was like the best one ever! She cried at the end… We have to go see it! And then we could-" "Misa," Light interrupted, resting his head on his free hand. "Yes honey?" Light's eyes rose skyward. "I'm relatively free right now, if you want to stop by," he suggested calmly, shooting a glance toward L to gauge his reaction. He was rewarded by an almost imperceptible twitch of his opponent's right hand, although L's eyes remained glued to his consoles. "Really?" Misa squealed. Light winced. Annoying L had its price: at the moment, it was Light's eardrums. "Of course," Light responded.
"Okay, then come down here," she ordered excitedly. Light felt a sense of impending doom. "Misa?" he asked tiredly. "Yeah, handsome?" she responded blithely. Light barely resisted the urge to stab himself repeatedly with nearby office supplies. "Where are you?" he continued, already knowing –and dreading –the answer. "Waiting downstairs," she answered cheerfully. Light glanced up at the monitor for the entrance camera. Sure enough, there stood his 'girlfriend', dressed in fishnet stockings, a miniskirt, and a tank top that could hardly be considered decent. Off to the side, he could also see someone else: Maria, cleaning the glass doors in her customary garb. The contrast was glaringly obvious. "Coming," Light sighed before terminating the call. "I'm going down to see Misa," he informed the other members of the task force as he rose from his chair. "Don't take all day," L muttered as Light left the room.
After admitting Misa, Light admonished, "Not exactly the best time or place, Misa." Misa slid her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, fluttering her eyelashes at him innocently. "Didn't you want to see me?" she purred. "Of course I did; but we're rather busy up there, you know?" he countered mildly. Misa gave him a peck on the lips. "You're getting too involved in your job, Light; you need to spend more time with me," she pouted cutely, pressing harder against him. He wound his arms around her. I have to keep up this charade, he reminded himself. He allowed a little desire to color his voice. "Now, you know I can't do that; I have important things do to," he murmered, leaning his head down and pressing his lips to her neck. She gave a little appreciative moan and slid her hands down to his chest. Putty in my hands, he congratulated himself. As he raised his eyes, though, he locked gazes with Maria, who had paused her cleaning to watch them. Her expression was blank, except for the smallest hint of curiosity and, yes, amusement.
"Let's not get too carried away, Misa dear; we have company," he informed her, his tone promising to make up for it later. Misa turned around slightly, still pressing herself against Light as much as she could, until she spotted Maria. Her eyes narrowed possessively as she gauged the girl. Is she after Light? Misa wondered jealously. "Misa, this is Maria; she lost her family, so she's staying here to help out with the household chores, as it were," Light introduced, lifting an arm to gesture to Maria. "Maria, this is Misa," he continued after Misa nodded aloofly at Maria. He stepped back a little from Misa as he did so, hoping to regain a little personal space. Luckily, Maria seemed ready to help. "You're Misa! Oh my gosh, Light like, never stops talking about you! It's soooo cute! I feel like I know you already," she gushed, closing in on Misa and hugging her briefly, but effusively. Misa brightened a little, especially at her statements concerning Light and her apparent lack of interest in him beyond said statements. "You are soooo lucky to have a boyfriend like him!" Maria continued happily, gazing cheerfully into the other girl's eyes as if they had been friends all their lives. "You have to help me find a guy of my own," Maria informed her conspiratorially. "I just got here, so I have, like, no one to talk to!" she pouted. Misa's smile grew, and immediate friendship blossomed in her heart for the poor foreign girl stuck with all those boys all the time.
She needs me! Misa exulted happily. She examined Maria's clothing. –Really needs me. She'd be really cute, except for those clothes –although she doesn't look half-bad in them, she admitted to herself. "Girl, we have to get you to a mall, if you ever want a man," Misa commanded knowingly. She gave Maria another once-over. "Until then, though, you can wear some of my clothes; you're not too much taller than me," she decided with a nod. It was true; Maria was only a few inches taller than Misa, and, in Misa's mind, clothing that was a little tight and a little short never hurt anyone. "Oh, I wouldn't want to get your stuff dirty, though –I work, like, all the time!" Maria half-pouted, half-apologized. "Well, we can change that, too," Misa waved her off, enjoying the sweetness of her newfound companion.
Just then, Misa's cell phone buzzed in her purse. "Oh! I have to get back to the studio!" she exclaimed, looking towards the door regretfully. "See you later Maria; bye-bye Light!" she waved as she passed through the automatic doors. Light approached Maria until he was abreast of her, and together, the gazed after Misa.
"I admire your perseverance, but not your actions. It's really not fair to string her along like that," Maria admonished him seriously as they watched Misa strut away with her hips swinging enticingly. "I'm not proud of the way I've treated her," he admitted, still regarding the girl's retreating figure. "However, I think that finding out that I didn't love her would probably crush her," he commented, a little helplessly. "And you think waiting to tell her will help," Maria retorted dryly. "Regardless of your true feelings, that girl likes you; a lot. It's never wise to play with hearts," she warned. Light slid his gaze sideways.
"So say you," he needled a little. She turned a little to regard him, a small smile on her face. "I know that I have a rather… magnetic personality, shall we say. I also know that occasionally, people find me extremely attractive," she admitted calmly. Light cocked an eyebrow. "Occasionally?" he queried mildly. His response seemed to amuse her a little. "However," she continued, her face suddenly quite solemn, "It's always your choice as to how you react." Her eyes locked with his. "You always have a choice," she reiterated, quietly but earnestly. Light sighed and looked away. "As always, you are right. I'm afraid that I'm rather more prone than most to fall for you, though," he lamented softly.
She reached out and lightly placed a hand on his nearest shoulder. "But you are good," she countered, her eyes shining with a peculiar light. He cocked his head a little to the side. "Well, I don't know about that," he mused. She smiled compassionately, but made no reply. "In any case," he continued, "you can't blame me for keeping my options open," he asked, stepping closer to her and gently tucking a stray strand of silky hair behind her ear. He let his hand lightly trace her jawline as it fell back to his side and he gazed into her eyes. She is dangerous… But that is probably part of the reason why I am so attracted to her, he thought as he allowed himself to become lost in her eyes. After a moment, though, she broke the spell. "We both ought to get back to work," she said softly, dropping her hand from his shoulder. He caught it in his own as it fell and gently rubbed his thumb across the back of it. If I could rule the world with her at my side… "You are far better than I," he informed her softly, "but I will try not to disappoint you." He carefully released her hand, and walked away, wishing that the ache in his chest were just his imagination. She is controlling me; changing me… and I don't mind at all.
And so closes another chapter. As I said before, yes, this really will turn out to be an LxMaria pairing; just be patient. It just seems to me that L and Light are so similar in certain ways that it would be impossible to attract one without also attracting the other. The difference is simply that Light has a possible place for her in his plans; L does not.
I shall try to update more regularly! Please let me know how I am doing; I want you to enjoy the story as much as I do!
Humbly Yours,
~Terence Waverly