Chapter 10
Disclaimer: The Maiden of Autumn owns nothing.
-As always, she thanks her readers and reviewers, and hopes they continue to enjoy the story!
-And to Seishirou Hitsugaya, she is sorry that there's not more gore, but to her, it seems as if Light would not be one to want to get his hands dirty, and there are numerous, bloodless ways to torture a person. But hopefully the reason why Light appears to be going "easy" on Beyond is explained well enough within the chapter...
Watari raced ahead of Light once they exited the warehouse, sliding into the driver's seat and pulling the car up to Light. He jumped out and opened the door for Light, taking L momentarily so he could get in and then handed L's form over to Light. Watari slammed the door shut and rushed around to get back into the driver's seat, pulling away from the warehouse with a skid and sending gravel flying.
Watari drove with one hand while he put in a call to the base, his free hand fiddling with the GPS mounted on the dashboard.
Light could hear the moment his father picked up on the other line.
"Watari? How did it go?"
"No time for small talk. There was an incident-Light is fine," Watari said, speaking urgently and cutting off the start of Soichiro's worried questions, "but L isn't. Take control of the traffic lights- you know how to do that- and clear the road for us. I'm sending our route to you," Watari hurriedly said, pressing a few buttons on the GPS, making it pop up with a message that said, "Route Sent."
"Get the infirmary set up- make sure everything is sterilized. We'll be heading right there once we get back." Watari said calmly, although the way his hands gripped the wheel of the car belied his worry and anxiety. His knuckles were turning white, and through the rearview mirror, Light could see lines of stress etching themselves onto Watari's face.
L suddenly shifted in his lap, a small, pained whine working its way through L's mouth. Fear flashing through him, Light bent over, rubbing L's ears and whispering to him soothingly in an effort to calm him. Liquid warmth spread over his hands, staining them crimson and sending a wave of pure panic through Light.
God, what if they weren't fast enough?
His father started to speak again, drawing Light's attention back to the front.
"The traffic lights are changed, Watari. Your route is clear. Did you manage to get the blueprints?"
Watari paused for a single moment. "Yes. But they will be useless if we can't get L help. Don't call the doctor- I'm more than trained to deal with injuries of this extent, and I don't want to risk L's secret reaching the ears of undesirables."
"Understood, Watari."
"Soichiro- don't tell the others about this. L's in very bad shape, and the last thing we need his to have them panicking."
"Ah, of course. I hear you, Watari. Soichiro out." Watari clicked off the communicator and then looked up, back at Light and L in the backseat.
"Light. You need to stop the bleeding. Press something against the wound in his side," Watari instructed. "He may not make it if you don't."
Something inside of Light froze at Watari's words and desperately, Light looked around, but there was no fabric of any sort just lying there. An idea struck him and he shifted L's body, making him whimper as his side was jostled. "Shit," Light hissed, fumbling to pull his turtleneck over his head, trying not to move around too much. It was not his intention to hurt L more, and so he was as smooth as possible with his movements, tugging his arms free of the constricting shirt.
The black turtleneck slipped over his head, messing up his hair, but Light didn't pay any notice to it as he wadded the material up into a ball and pressed it against L's side.
L's yellow eyes flew open and a thin whine worked its way out of his mouth, clawed fingers clutching at the leather of the seat. "Shh," Light whispered, trying to calm L. He brought an arm around L's chest and pressed him closer, using his hand to press against L's uninjured side. He pushed the fabric harder against L's side, making him let out a feeble snarl and give a weak attempt to bit at Light's hand. He managed to latch onto Light's arm, but it wasn't a true bite- he was too weak to truly bite and Light suspected it was more of a warning bite than a true attempt to inflict pain.
"Fuck, I'm sorry L," Light breathed, pressing harder on the fabric and simultaneously feeling the teeth on his arm press in a bit harder. "But it's for your own good, you know that?"
L let out a small whine at that, his grip on Light's arm loosening and seeing L's eyes flutter shut, he looked up, panicking. "Watari! Can't you go any faster?!"
"We're almost there, Light," Watari replied, but he glanced worriedly back at L as well, and Light felt the car speed up as Watari pressed the pedal down the slightest bit harder. "Just hold on."
"You should be telling that to L," Light muttered, gazing down at L's pale, drawn face. It was starting to go an alarming shade of grey, but there was nothing Light could do about tit. He only pulled L closer and stroked his fingers over L's uninjured side.
A few minutes later, the car came to a screeching halt and Watari leaped out, running around the side to throw open Light's door and lean in to gently take L, allowing Light to slip out. Watari handed L back to Light and they ran through the doors and the metal detectors, which Watari disabled with the click of a button on a remote he pulled from his pocket.
The doors slid open as they burst through the doors, and luckily, only Soichiro was there. His eyes widened at seeing the blood staining Light's naked chest and L's body, dripping from his side and arms.
"Dad!" Light stumbled in, L's weight, thought slight, still making the muscles in his arms burn from the effort of carrying L. "Is the infirmary ready?"
"Yes." Soichiro ran ahead and opened the elevator, ushering Watari and Watari through, pressing the button for the floor where the infirmary was. "I sent the team out for an early lunch- I told them we weren't making any progress on the latest case without you, Light, so I told them to go and have a relaxed lunch until you three returned."
"Very good," Watari nodded, and then followed the other two men out when the elevator came to a stop and its metal doors opened with a whooshing noise. They rushed in the direction of the infirmary, Soichiro speaking quickly as they did so, occasionally throwing a concerned look over to L, who hadn't stirred at all since the moment in the car when Light had pressed his shirt onto the gash in L's side.
"Everything is set up already- I made sure of that."
They reached the infirmary and Watari opened the door, Light racing in and placing L gently onto the single bed in the room. He unzipped L's ruined Kevlar vest and tossed it aside while Watari rolled the small table of surgical tools over, Soichiro washing his hands. "Watari," Soichiro said drying off his hands and putting disinfectant on them, then going to L's other side, "we need to cut his clothes off. Hand me the scissors."
Watari did so silently, and Soichiro and Light worked to get L's shirt off of him, Soichiro carefully snipping the fabric apart while Light peeled it off to the side, gently lifting L's arms up so that his father could reach his sides and then pulled the fabric off of his arms.
The sound of high heels clicking on the linoleum floor of the hall drew the three men's attention and they paused as the door was pushed open, Misa's petite form stepping through. Her face was serious- a definite change from her normal, carefree expression, Light noted.
Light opened his mouth to ask her to leave, but Misa beat him to it, holding up her hand. "I saw the blood on the floor- it's hard not to notice. What happened, Light?" She asked, her eyes landing on L and widening, taking in his injured form.
"He got into a fight with… something else like him. Misa, really, later-"
"No." She cut him off once more, holding up a hand and looking around, eyes serious. "I understand. Look, you're gonna need some help with him," Misa continued in a determined voice, rolling up the sleeves of the causal, long-sleeved shirt that she was wearing. She had ditched her gothic Lolita apparel for today, since she hadn't planned on going out and wanted to be comfortable.
Really, those corsets were a bitch sometimes- worse than her production manager.
"I've worked on a few sets playing a nurse before, and I've picked up a few things when I had to work with a few real nurses. Not much, but enough that I might be able to help. Go ahead with what you're doing- he's going to need a blood transfusion with all the blood he's lost, and I can do that much, at least."
Light regarded her for a moment, taking in her new demeanor, before nodding shortly, lifting up L's torso and slipping the ruined turtleneck off of him.
"You do you know how to insert and I.V. needle?" Watari asked Misa, not blinking and eye as she washed and disinfected her hands before rolling a stand over to L. She fiddled with the bags, taking a blood-filled one from Watari and hooking it up. She fumble da bit, not really used to it, but she knew what to do and eventually got it settled.
"Yeah- that was one of the things that the nurses showed me, to make the scene more realistic, you know?" Misa said, running the tube to the needle. She gently turned L's arm over, gasping a bit at seeing a few of the cuts that ran along the underside of his arm, glancing up at L's greyish face.
Her own face paling at seeing L in such a state, she nevertheless took a rubber strap from Watari and wrapped it around L's upper forearm, tying it off. She took a squishy ball from Watari and with only the slightest bit of hesitation after getting a good look at the claws adorning L's fingers, she took ahold of his hand and turned it over. She pressed the ball into his hand and gently wrapped his long fingers around it, then covered his fingers with her own smaller one, silently counting the seconds and forcing his hand to constrict around the ball every five seconds.
Light watched her covertly out of the corner of his eye as he and his father moved down L's body, allowing Watari to step to L's side with a needle, thread, and disinfectant. Silently, he swabbed the area around the gash the experiment's fingers had left in L's side and proceeded to thread the needle. Deftly and expertly, Watari set the needle to flesh and stitched up L's side. He tugged the last stitch through and tied it off, clipping the thread.
He pressed at Ls' side, making sure the stitches were going to stay, and the motion caused L's yellow eyes to flutter and a pained whimper to leave his mouth.
Misa's head snapped up as L's arm started twitching, her eyes widening. "No, no," she said, reaching up with her free hand to pat L's face soothingly. His hazy eyes locked onto hers, glazed and half-lidded from blood loss and pain. "Sh, just calm down, okay?" Her voice lowered into a more soothing, calming timbre than her normal, high-pitched voice and L calmed, stilling once more.
"Misa, we need to remove his pants. Is that going to bother you?" Light looked up at Misa, who was faithfully making L's hand squeeze around the squishy ball in order to induce the veins in his arm to pop.
She shook her head. "No. Getting him fixed is more important. Go ahead." Her brows furrowed as she counted five seconds in between each squeeze, watching the crook of his arm carefully. Her fingers stoked along L's cheek, the gentle touch miraculously keeping him calm.
Light nodded, thankful that she wasn't going to protest and helped his father cut and peel away the black pants from L's body. He let out a shaky breath as the fabric was tossed away, and Light skimmed his fingers over a long rip in the pale skin of L's right leg, staining his fingers red, and Soichiro let out a breathy curse.
"Man," she whispered, shaking her head, before pressing the needle into the crook of L's elbow, holding it in place as she used her other hand to tape it onto his arm. She turned and pressed the button the I.V. was hooked up to and it started up with a nearly inaudible hum, blood slowly starting to flow down the tube and into L's body.
Done with the I.V., Misa gently removed the ball from L's hands and rolled the I.V. stand out of the way. She then grabbed the bottle of peroxide and began cleaning out the cuts and scrapes littering L's body, grimacing apologetically every time he flinched.
His tail thumped on the bed as he clawed the sheets, trying to get away from the sting of the peroxide, and Light looked up, seeing L attempting to get up. "No, no," Light said, dropping the bandages in his hands to the bed and switching places with Watari and his father to stand at the head of the bed, kneeling down so that he was at level with L.
L's yellow eyes were wide and hazy, his brows furrowed as he tried to understand what was going on. If he were human, he would know, but as a wolf… he was thoroughly confused and somewhat frightened.
"Hey," Light said, trying to calm him. "Sh, don't struggle. You're okay, right? Look at me, L." Light grasped L's chin and forced him to meet his eyes. L's eyes wavered for a moment, before they slid to the side and his ears tilted back, his body becoming still. "Good," Light said quietly, and looked up to nod at Watari and his father. "You can continue."
"I'm almost done," Watari said. "The experiment's toe-claws must have gotten him in the leg- this cut needed stiches," he continued, tugging the needle through L's skin one last time before clipping it and tying it off. He fixed a bandage over it and then straightened, casting a glance over L's body.
"The bleeding has mostly stopped and his wounds treated; there's not much else we can do," Watari said, starting to clean up.
"Good." Light stood up, flicking his hair out of his narrowed eyes. Now that L was alright, there was something else he needed to do. He needed information- from Beyond Birthday. And he refused to allow Beyond his little evasions this time around. "There's something I need to do."
Light gave once last glance back to L, who was still lying quietly, watching him with a tense look in his eyes, as if he didn't want Light to leave. And while Light was reluctant to leave L while he was like this… he needed to go.
"Light," Misa said, setting the peroxide aside and standing up, unrolling her sleeves, which were starting to constrict around her upper arms uncomfortably, "where are you going?"
He stared at her for a moment before he flicked his eyes away, towards the door. "Misa… you've displayed a high level of maturity today, and that makes me think that you're actually quite smarter than you act. As such," Light continued quietly, gripping the doorframe, the thought of seeing Beyond Birthday making him tense with anger, "I think that you know."
Misa studied Light for a second, before she gave a short nod. "L… he's my friend too." Misa's blue eyes hardened as she glanced away, and then looked back at Light. "Get what you need."
Light entered the interrogation room silently, not saying a word even as crimson eyes regarded him thoughtfully, taking in his shirtless state and the red that pooled onto his black pants, so soaked through it showed even through the dark fabric.
He uncapped the case slung over his shoulder, pulling out blueprints and setting them on the table, spreading them out carefully before capping the case and setting it gently onto the floor. He shifted to lean back against the table, crossing his arms loosely over his chest.
It was only then that Light looked up, and the cold glint in his eyes made even Beyond wary and sent a flash of fear down his spine.
"…L almost died today."
It was said softly, so quietly that Beyond had to strain to hear it. His eyes widened at Light's words, the start of gleeful smile slipping across his face.
"I think you know why."
Beyond's smile only grew wider at the words, and he sighed, leaning his head onto the hard back of the chair. "Yes. That little experiment was nasty, wasn't he?" He slitted open an eye and regarded Light lazily. "I did tell you to be careful. But… it looks like you disregarded my warning. Won't do that again, now will you, hm?"
Light said nothing for a moment, before pushing himself off the table and picking up a thin, long needle from the tools scattered on it. "You know, I saw some of the scars on L's chest," Light whispered, holding the pin up to the light to see it better, making the thin, sharp piece of metal gleam. "They looked quite painful."
"I wouldn't know," Beyond replied, eyeing the needle that Light was examining. He didn't do it threateningly, didn't brandish it in Beyond's face, but the way he casually held it, gazing at it, almost engrossed with it, was almost more frightening than if the caramel-haired detective had been doing so.
"No, you wouldn't, would you?" Light shook his head slightly, bring the needle down. "I've been thinking… You've done so much harm to L, to Watari… to me," Light said quietly. "You've tortured L both physically and mentally- you have no idea how… painful it is," Light continued, gripping the needle tightly in his hand, "to see him like he is. To see him like he was today."
Light was silent for a meet, before he returned his gaze to Beyond, cold anger glittering in Light's amber eyes. "You've no idea… and I've been thinking… perhaps you should learn how painful it was-is." He raised a hand to his heart, resting it gently on his chest. "It hurts… almost like a needle pricing you, burrowing deep into your skin and lodging there."
Light's voice was quiet and soft, almost soothing if not for the frighteningly emotional words coming from his lips. "But, you've always been the one wielding the needle, Beyond. I think… it's time to have the needle turned on you."
Beyond's eyes grew wide in sudden fear at seeing the deadly intent hidden within Light's amber eyes. He opened his mouth to protest, but a slim finger was suddenly placed onto his lips, hushing him. "No, don't argue. You love to learn new things, don't you? It's why you're so interested in L –to learn his limits and about the changes you've inflicted in him. Think of this, here, as a learning experience."
As he was talking, Light brought the long, thin pin up to Beyond's chest and placed the tip on his sternum, right over his heart. As the last word left Light's mouth, he paused for a second-
And then pushed.
The sharp pin slid through Beyond's skin easily, making him cry in pain, twisting within the chair in a desperate attempt to escape.
"It's painful, isn't it?" Light asked, watching in fascination as the needle dug deeper into Beyond's skin. It slipped in easily, piercing through the layers of Beyond's skin with a disturbingly engrossing ease. "Very, very painful. I've seen the size of some of the needles you used on L when we first went into the warehouse to get him- it was worse for him, no doubt. This is only a few centimeters in. The other ones were easily an inch or longer and you probably stuck them all the way in, didn't you, Beyond?"
"Stop!" Beyond screamed, feeling the needle's tip hit the bone of his sternum. "What the fuck do you want?"
Suddenly, Light's face was very close to his, furious, burning amber eyes enveloping his vision, until they were the only thing Beyond could see. "Information," Light hissed, jerking the needle deeper into Beyond's chest, scraping painfully against his bone. "I want to know everything you've withheld from me, you sick bastard. I want you to tell me about those blueprints, about who else you've experimented upon, and I want to know how the fuck to reverse the changes on L's physiology. And I want the goddamned truth, not evasions and lies!"
"I'll tell! Fuck, I'll fucking tell!"
"Good," Light breathed, jerking the needle out of Beyond's chest, making him emit another painful scream and curl up into himself within the confines of his bonds. He stood up, turning away from Beyond and set the pin down onto the table.
He then grabbed the back of Beyond's chair and swung it around, pushing Beyond right against the edge of the table. Light pushed the blueprints towards the man, tapping a spot on the chip's outline. "Explain," Light demanded, not waiting for Beyond to recover.
"Explain what?" Beyond panted. "The price of tea in China?" A smirk was visible on the psycho's red lips, and Light paused a moment, staring at him, before shaking his head faux-regretfully.
He turned back to the table and picked up the same needle he had used, advancing back on Beyond. He knelt down, making Beyond's red eyes meet his and smiled almost benevolently before pressing the tip back into the small hole he had already made in Beyond's chest.
"I want to know how to make it. What materials are needed. How to implant it. How to turn it on." Light leaned closer, eyes narrowing. "Tell me everything. Although," Light continued, starting to slide the needle back into Beyond's chest, his smile only widening as pained cries spilled from Beyond's lips, "you'll do it with this in you, because of that smart little crack you made. L's well-being is not a joke to me as it is to you, you'll well learn."
An hour later, Light emerged from the room, closing it quietly behind him. Watari was waiting silently by the door, hands clasped behind his back.
Silently, Light handed a tape recorder to Watari along with the blueprints. The elderly man took them and his eyes scanned over the blueprints, pausing for a moment as he observed the bloodstains on the edge before moving on. "The instructions are recorded on this?" Watari asked, holding the tape up.
"Yes." Light folded his arms, bending his head to peruse the blueprints as well. "Watari… fuck. Some of the stuff needed…even as L, it's going to be hard to get our hands on certain materials. I don't want to just wait around, but it might take awhile to get ahold of what we need. Are there any contacts that you know that might be able to get us what we need faster?"
Watari flicked his eyes up at Light momentarily before slowly rolling the blueprints up, nodding reluctantly. "Yes. There are certain people I'm in contact with that may be able to get us the materials. Don't ask," Watari said, seeing a curious light in the other man's amber eyes. "These people are very secretive, and trust very few others. I was fortunate enough to be able to work with them during my time as an operative, but other than that, I cannot reveal anything more."
Light reluctantly nodded, accepting Watari's explanation. "Alright. I trust you, Watari."
"What, exactly, would we need, as a rough estimate?"
Light rubbed a hand down the front of his face, shaking his head. "Some shit that I don't know how Beyond even got his hands on it. One of it's some sort of steel alloy infused with carbon. Beyond said it was like the diamond of conductive metals- very hard and impossible to break without the right tools. It's the most important part- it's what wires the chip to the nervous system of L's brain, and conducts electricity between the microchip and the brain."
Watari's bows furrowed, his hand trailing over the outline of the ship on the blue paper. "Yes, I see what he's talking about... I've heard about this steel alloy. It's supposed to be extremely conductive as well as malleable. My contacts in various governments tell me that they're planning to switch to this new alloy and use it in their electronic technologies instead of copper or gold."
"Yes. That's what Beyond hinted at. However, this type of steel alloy is an innovation of the original. They already make steel alloy, and it's widely used for construction and power tools. This new one, though, goes through a special process that makes it more suitable for use in electronics by increasing the conductivity of it. However, the process is very complicated, and only certain people know of it. The governments are trying to strike a deal with those who know the process, attempting to either let them in on the secret or produce massive quantities of it for their own use. But, you need to know the right people in order to get to the people who can supply you with the alloy. "
Watari nodded, tapping the paper as he thought, making it rustle. "That makes sense… did you get the name of the contact?"
Light gave an almost eerie smile. "It took a bit of doing, but yes. I got it. It's recorded on the tape as well."
"Yes, Beyond's not one to give up information so easily. He was always a suborn child, I remember…" Watari trailed off, a look of contemplation spreading across his features. "In fact… there is something that's been disturbing me…" Watari trailed off, and Light cocked his head to the side, waiting for Watari to finish.
"What is that?" Light asked when Watari didn't continue after a minute.
"Just that… the past few days, it seems as if it's been relatively easy to get certain information out of Beyond…" Watari's eyes narrowed as he thought back to Light's interrogation of the psychopath.
Light raised an eyebrow, giving the man a speculative look. "Easy? Watari, I took of most of his toenails and there's a few patches of skin that I burned off that I don't think will ever grow back. I don't exactly call that easy."
"For him, it was. Beyond Birthday… he's in a class all of his own. He's the most stubborn child I had ever worked with, right after L. I remember…. When he was a child, if there was something he didn't want to do, neither hell nor high water could force him to do it. That's why this situation makes me uneasy. If Beyond didn't want us to know something, there would have been no amount of pain that could have ripped that information out of him. To you, it might not have seemed easy, but I know him… It should have taken much, much more to get that information. In fact, it seems almost as if…. he wants us to have the information." Watari said, crossing his arms in contemplation.
"You think we're being manipulated?" Light asked, his eyes narrowing at the displeasing thought. If Beyond thought he could successfully manipulate him, then the psycho was so very wrong.
"I don't know what to think, Light. All I know is that it shouldn't be this easy to get what we need from him. He's practically giving it up- which is disturbing to me. I feel as if something is off, Light, but I don't know what it is." Watari told him, shifting his weight subconsciously in an outward sign of his uneasy thoughts. "This whole situation seems wrong to me."
"Watari… I admit, I don't know Beyond Birthday as well as you, other than from what I've observed and heard from you," Light said, shaking his head before continuing. "But I trust your judgment. We'll watch him closely, monitor him day and night. I'll set up shifts with the rest of the team, so that it doesn't fall all onto your shoulders. And if it turns out something deeper is going on… well, I've learned my lesson, when L almost died today. I won't underestimate Beyond Birthday again, I assure you."
"Very well." Watari readjusted the blueprints before looking up at Light, brows furrowing as he observed the younger man trying to stifle a yawn. "Now, Light, go get some rest. It's been a very long day, and I'm sure you're tired."
Shaking his head, Light snapped his mouth shut, cutting off his yawn. "No. I need to go up and see how L's doing…" Thought the thought of traversing all the way up to the infirmary and then back down to his room sounded very appealing to his heavy, tired feet, he dismissed his own body's wants. It was his responsibly to take care of L- he had gotten the man into the situation he was in now, and so he would make sure L was alright and resting comfortably before taking care of his own needs.
Chuckling, Watari thought back to the former detective. "We moved him to your room. He wouldn't settle down, even with Miss Amane there. We eventually moved him to your room. He was awake, but peaceful when I left him a few minutes ago." A knowing glint was in Watari's faded blue eyes. "I think he was waiting for you."
Light felt a small twinge in his heart at Watari's words. Even after what had happened, L still trusted him, was still loyal. The blame for L getting hurt, for almost fucking dying rested on Light's shoulders, and through he had no reason not to, L didn't hate him.
It was… reassuring, in a way, and Light let a small smile tilt his lips up, relieved. He glanced back at the door before looking away. "We'll get started on that chip tomorrow, when everyone's fresh. I think that I'll put the others solely onto solving cases for now. You and I will work on this chip." Light rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the strain of the day taking its toll on his body. "It's a good thing that I took advanced engineering classes back in college. This," Light said ruefully, gesturing at the blueprints in a sweeping motion, "wouldn't make any sense whatsoever if I hadn't."
"Indeed," Watari nodded. "In a way… I am glad that you were the one to take over as L, Light. You've performed brilliantly, balancing your search for L with your cases. There was no one else I'd rather have worked with," he said softly.
Light paused, looking up and met Watari's eyes. There was nothing but sincerity in them, and Light dropped his eyes, nodding once to acknowledge the compliment. "Thank you, Watari."
"You're welcome, Light." There was a pause before Watari started to roll the blueprints for the chip up and slid them back into their case, making sure they were safe. They were the key to L's humanity, and Watari was going to make sure that nothing would happen to them. He slung the case over his shoulder and leveled a stern gaze onto Light. "Now, go get some sleep."
Light closed his eyes for a second, smiling before he tilted his head and turned towards the door. Foolish, caring old man. Still, it made something feel good inside of Light- being cared for sometimes… well, it sorta was nice.
"Alright," Light murmured, working to stifle another yawn- man, he really was tired... "Goodnight, Watari."
He almost didn't catch Watari saying the same thing back to him, but he still heard Watari's quiet "Goodnight" as he walked back to the elevator, pressing the button to take him up to his floor.
Light wasn't sure what to expect when he opened the door to his room- L had been asleep when he left the infirmary, but Watari said that he was awake.
Not wanting to wake L up in case he was asleep, Light opened the door and then shut it as quietly as he could. The lights were off, which made it hard to see, but the lights of the city filtering in from the window gave him enough to be able to see somewhat.
He silently made his way to the bedroom, stopping to unlace and remove the black boots that he still wore. He then opened the door to the bedroom softly, closing it behind him softly and then turning to face the bed.
He was met with a pair of wide, yellow eyes that almost seemed to glow in the darkness of the room, catching what little light streamed in from the window and reflecting it.
Light had to admit, it startled him for a moment, but then he recovered and shook his head. "Guess Watari wasn't lying when he said you were awake," Light said softly, stepping closer to the bed. Light could dimly see the way L's ears pricked up and he shifted, obviously attempting to get up.
"Hey, wait a moment!" Light exclaimed, rushing forwards and stopping L with a hand placed on the other man's shoulders. L immediately stilled, before sinking back down onto the bed with a small huff, a grimace passing over his face as the action pained him.
"See, you idiot?" Light chided, but there was no real conviction in his voice. He allowed his eyes to trail down L's body, wincing to himself as he saw the bandages littering L's body- and was thankful when he saw that Watari had thought to clad him in boxers, preserving his modesty. Light shook his head almost fondly as L sniffed in haughty compliance and set his head down, watching silently as Light drew back and slipped out of his black pants, leaving him in boxers.
He climbed onto the bed, wanting nothing more to just melt into the soft mattress. God, he was tired; this whole situation was taking a toll on him, both mentally and physically. But he shoved the thought away, instead climbing up next to L and shifting onto his side. He knew l liked to sleep next to him, and he didn't want L to have to move around to get next to him.
L's head whipped around, his yellow eyes regarding him almost curiously, before he huffed and tried to slide closer to Light, a small whine leaving his lips as he failed.
Light looked back, seeing L looking at him sorrowfully- he didn't have enough strength to move to shift closer to Light.
A pang struck Light's heart at that- L really had no idea that he was in this condition because of him. If he had been more careful and not as cocksure, he would have noticed the wire they tripped as they entered Beyond's main room in the warehouse that had released the experiment.
But… damn. L didn't have to do that; the fact that he had protected Light, that he had chosen to take the blows to prevent Light from being harmed only spoke volumes about how highly he regarded Light as his alpha.
And that thought warmed Light's heart. Perhaps, even if L remained like this for the rest of his life, if the chip didn't work, it wouldn't be so bad. As long as L continued to be close to him, to stay with him, that'd be alright.
That conviction firmly in mind, Light shifted closer to L, making the other man yip in shock as Light's right arm encircled L's chest, his left hand reaching up to tangle and rub L's coarsely furred ears. L was a bit shorter than he was, and he fit perfectly against Light's chest, his soft hair tickling the sensitive skin underneath his chin pleasantly, and L's soft cheek pressed against his chest.
It was… nice. Comforting, Light thought, having L so close to him. Even though he had to be careful of the injuries on L's body, making sure that he wasn't pressing against any bandages that indicated an injury, it didn't stop Light form pulling L the slightest bit closer. L was warm, and he actually smelled…not exactly nice, because he was dirty from the warehouse and somewhat sweaty, but his hair and skin carried the slightest musky smell, one that was totally unique to L himself.
It made warmth spread throughout Light, lingering in his stomach- one that he easily recognized, now that he had had time to puzzle out his feelings for L. But this time, it didn't bring any sense of shame with it.
He knew where he stood with L, and he had sorted out his feelings and come to terms with them. He was attracted to L, and being this close to him… it made Light want to do a lot of things, the thoughts dancing and flickering around in his mind.
But he knew that he wouldn't do follow through; it would be wrong to, and so he simply laid on the bed, enjoying L being this close to him.
For he knew that he wouldn't be able to do this once L was in possession of his human mind once more, and so, he chose to simply enjoy the feeling of L's warm body against his own, tilting his head down so that he could gaze upon L's face. His hand scrubbed through L's hair, fondling the pointed tips of his ears, enjoying the feel of the hair. It was a bit dirty from his fight with the experiment, but was still soft and pleasing to the touch.
L seemed frozen for a moment at Light's pulling him closer, his eyes flickering up at Light and then down in confusion. Eventually, after a length of consideration, he seemed to accept this new change of events and he relaxed, tilting his head up to sniff at Light's chin, before giving it a small, affectionate lick, as a wolf would do to a packmate.
It was reminiscent of last night, and Light could only smile at the sign of affection as L huffed pleasedly and shifted closer, his tail curling over his knees, the tip of it brushing over Light's exposed, bare legs.
The feel of coarse black fur tickling his leg made Light jump slightly before he stilled, smiling slightly.
Even though things were majorly fucked up, with an insane psychopath locked up a few floors beneath him, an injured L, and a team who thought he was slightly insane for doing what he was, everything seemed okay, at the moment, with L with him.
And tomorrow… he'd start working on the chip. He'd start the process of returning everything back to normal, with L taking over his duties once more, a strong, driven man intent on locking up the world's worst criminals. He'd return to being Light's idol, the man he had admired since L had first started gaining recognition as the World's Greatest Detective.
And… he only hoped that after everything was fixed and back to normal, with the new chip returning L back to human… things would continue to remain okay.
Well. The little detective surely was protective of the subject, wasn't he?
This was very, very pleasing. It would just be that much easier to manipulate him when the time came to enact the final stage of the plan.
Which would be very soon, no doubt. Everything was clicking together, sliding so smoothly.
The only problem was with that damn butler or whatever the hell he was nowadays. He might suspect… no. He could suspect all he wanted; there was no way he could possibly figure out what was going on.
Everything was proceeding exactly to plan.
And it would continue to do so.