duality

'What was with the shy act, L?' asked Light, once they'd walked far enough through the gloom that the three Shinigami were long out of earshot.

'Unlike Kira, I would rather not provoke any Gods of Death,' said Lawliet, shoulders hunched, hands tucked in his pockets. 'I would much rather be underestimated and overlooked.'

'They're hardly gods,' said Light. His tone was mild, but there was the suggestion of a sneer curling his lips.

'Kira thinks himself above them.' Fully-dilated eyes underlined with deep shadows stared out from behind dark, serrated bangs.

Light tilted his head slightly, chin lifted, glancing at Lawliet out of the corner of one eye. 'Don't you?'

Lawliet raised his thumb to his lips, gaze unblinking. 'So you want to rule over them.'

The sneer curled further over Light's face. 'Who would want to rule over such useless creatures?'

'So you don't want to rule over them,' said Lawliet, biting at his thumb.

'Honestly, L,' said Light, and shook his head, bangs brushing across his face. 'What advantage was that shy act supposed to grant you?'

Lawliet's dark gaze was unwavering. 'Kira is always very careful in his words and actions when he knows he's being watched,' he remarked.

Light glared at him halfheartedly. 'With you around, L, I'm always being watched.'

'Yes,' Lawliet said. 'And Kira is always very careful in his words and actions.'

Light snorted softly, shifting his gaze away. 'The Shinigami have become too dulled by the passing doldrums of eternity to be that careful, L.'

'Everyone acts differently when they think they're being watched by a threat,' said Lawliet, moving his hand away from his mouth, imprints of teeth edges in the pad of his thumb. 'Even Shinigami.'

Light glanced at him, a small smile playing over his lips. 'You always did like to seem nonthreatening; a wolf in black sheep's clothing.'

'Says the monster in an angel's guise,' countered Lawliet. His hands rested morosely in his pockets. 'You were always too perfect.'

Light's smile distorted, and wasn't quite a smile anymore. 'The neurotic consumption of sweets; the strange ways of sitting and holding objects; the slouched posture; the childish camaraderie,' he listed. 'How much of it was an act?" He was looking at Lawliet out of the corner of coruscant eyes, hints of laughter lurking in his voice like long, sinister shadows. 'How much of it is still an act?'

Lawliet stared at him dispassionately. 'Kira first.'

Light's laughter disentombed itself from his hollow lungs. 'So that's how it is.'

'What did Kira expect?' asked Lawliet, watching him with catacomb eyes.

Light calmed down enough to smile at him. 'It's just nice to have a hunch confirmed, is all.'

Lawliet looked up through the gloom, bits of ash falling down around them like rain, and said softly, 'It is, isn't it?'