Title: A Paparazzi Love Story
Disclaimer: Should read DeathNote by Tsugumi Ohba (writer) and Takeshi Obata (artist) before reading this drabble.
Rating: PG for adult conversations and some sexually suggestive material
Chapter Eleven: Warning -- No Flash Photography, Please
Light knew he was dreaming. The surreal imagery he was viewing could be nothing less than a psychotic page out of his weirdest dreams.
He was standing in a packed club, music blaring loudly and watching multitudes of male on male grinding. Light knew he was dreaming because –
A. He had never, ever been to a gay club.
B. If he had, he would not be the only one without a dancing partner, standing in the middle of the room staring like an overgrown, half-wit as he presently was doing. (He was much too gorgeous male specimen for that to ever happen either!)
And –
C. Well, he couldn't think of a C, because both A and B were currently about to become null and void.
"Light-kun. Light-kun, you have to awaken," L's voice urged, strangely appealing to Light's senses and bringing him out of his sleep-induced stupor.
"Okay! Okay," grumbled Light, slowly sitting up and smacking L's hand away from his shoulder where it had been gently shaking the younger man.
"Are you okay, Light-kun?" L worriedly inquired.
"Yes, why wouldn't I be okay?" Light demanded irritatingly, rubbing his knuckles over his unseeing, sleep-filled eyes.
He looked over where L's voice came, aggravated and not yet fully aware of his surroundings.
"Oh." It was all Light could manage in his befuddled state.
On the other hand, his perfectly cleared vision rapidly assessed sexy L, there was no other way to describe the other man staring at him owlishly in return. Trying to avoid that piercing gaze, he turned, only to find an entirely too observant audience comprised of Watari, Aizawa, Mogi, Matsuda, Misa and his father.
He groaned internally. His father? Who now that he mentioned it, looked unfazed by the whole scene and more amused, than anything else. In fact, risking another glance, both he and Watari wore identical smirks on their faces. What the Hell did they find so entertaining?
His mind had definitely gone off the deep end.
Light turned again to face sexy L, because his brain refused to remove the adjective or the italicization for emphasis, when L looked the way he did.
Takada-chan had trimmed and thinned out L's thick bushy mane, making his normally spiky, black hair, a bit wavy and then, styled it just like the pop idol, Hideki Ryuga. Light thought the hairstyle worked better for L. She had fleshed out his cheekbones with a bit of blush and foundation. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed, but Light did and he liked seeing some color in L's abnormally pale face.
The detective's eyes, widened inquisitively under Light's scrutiny, and only made these features all the more amazing and enticing to Light, who leaned closer so he could inspect every little detail he hadn't noticed before now.
"She has you wearing metallic blue eye shadow and liner. Do you have mascara on too?" Light asked, positively floored that L allowed even the barest hint of any of these cosmetics.
L nodded. "Uh-huh, and if you hadn't deserted me, I wouldn't have been forced into it by those four ninnies! Women are a force of nature that cannot be stopped, Light-kun," L voiced with a tone infused with awe and reverence.
"Why? How monstrous do I look?" L questioned, already knowing Light's real thoughts on the matter, but baiting him since he still seemed out of it, and especially since for some reason he had decided to ignore the fact they had an eager and observant audience.
"You don't look girly at all, if you thought that was what I was implying by asking about the make-up," Light replied quickly before ending his unnatural perusal of L's face.
With that reply, he made a move to stand and grabbed L's hand in the process, pulling him to his feet as well. He took L by the shoulders, turning him in a half circle so that he could see behind him and then facing him frontwards again.
"Your outfit reminds me of something House, would wear," Watari commented, drawing both men's attention.
"It does. Misa Misa approves," Misa said glowingly, wanting to receive credit for suggesting the make-over. "Didn't I tell you it would be great?!"
The name-brand black denim jeans were soft and as baggy as L liked them. The jeans hung low on his hips and didn't feel stiff like most denim. They had wanted to put a belt on him, but he had refused. The tips of his royal blue boxers showed, but L didn't care. Light had turned him around again and was fixing the collar of the black linen dress shirt that hung loosely over the very tight fitting long-sleeved t-shirt those women had made him wear.
"I like the t-shirt," Light teased, although, he wasn't joking.
"Hmmm, don't you think it's a bit tight," L mocked, squirming under Light's ministrations.
"No, not at all," Matsuda interrupted, "Light wears his that tight all the time!"
"Really?" L intoned, a bit of a pout tinting his inflection. "I haven't seen him wear anything but his khakis and loose sweater."
The t-shirt showed off L's figure in a way none of the others had ever seen. The man really had a toned body and the fitted, white t-shirt with one lone Japanese word on the front revealed it in a way Light could definitely get used to seeing. He smiled inwardly at the Japanese symbol. His name plastered on L's chest delighted him, even though he suspected that someone was having fun at he and L's expense.
"If you want, L, we'll set up Misa's sitting room like a club one night, and we will all dress the part," Light suggested, signaling for the others to back him up on the idea.
Misa clapped her hands ecstatically. Matsuda jumped a bit, having been standing too close to her when the noise hurt his ear drums.
"Hmph, don't expect Watari or I to dress the part, Light," Soichiro grumpily responded to his son's planning.
"Would you even come, Chief?" Matsuda asked, scared witless at the thought of Soichiro dancing and immediately tossing the vision out of his mind.
"Maybe," Soichiro opinioned with a grin, and looked at Watari for confirmation.
"I think I could be persuaded," Watari laughingly informed the group, but still watching the two geniuses with a speculative eye.
"Me too. I could use a break from it all and that sounds fun," Aizawa piped up, alerting Light again of his presence.
"What the Hell is that?" Light demanded furiously, pointing at Aizawa's neck.
"Light-kun, I believe, that is a camera," L slowly explained, wondering exactly what the problem with Light was, but also wondering exactly how and why Aizawa had a camera with him.
"What are you doing here?" Light interrogated, confused but feeling like something was off about Aizawa's appearance here.
"Uhm, Watari and the Chief said I could come up and see how everyone was doing," Aizawa announced guiltily. "Would you believe that I missed you all?"
"No," both geniuses said together and now standing side-by-side, facing Aizawa accusatorily.
"Did he take any pictures with that … that camera?" Light threw out this question to the entire group. Everyone tried avoiding his demanding gaze, except Misa.
"Of course he did, the Sun is offering one million Euros to anyone who can get a shot of L with anyone. They legally cannot print his face, but if you can offer proof that you really would have access to L, then they'll print just the other person and say they've been linked to L."
She was dancing around the pair of men, like a sprite or fairy at a Maypole festival.
"You know, Light, you might end up in the Sun twice. You're suppose to be my fiancé and now you'll be in there because you're L's boyfriend."
Matsuda snickered a bit before trying to diffuse the growing emotional responses that had yet to burst from L and Light. "She does have a habit of dating gay men."
Aizawa shrugged and looked slightly apologetically at Light, before offering up his lame excuse. "Light, I have a family to feed. I'll send you copies?"
Neither geniuses knew when they had learned to read the other's mind, they only knew that their actions pretty much synchronized from that moment forward, both of them rushing Aizawa at once.
In his panic, Aizawa's finger still resting atop the camera's shoot button, unexpectedly pressed down, forcing the flash of the camera to go off again and again, momentarily blinding the two men and allowing Aizawa to get away.
"Father!" Light pressed. "How could you let him take pictures?"
L didn't need to speak for Watari to feel his wrath.
The older gentlemen, when faced with such adolescent temper tantrums, merely smiled and turned to walk away.
"Aizawa is honorable. He won't let anything that will harm the investigation or L be published. However, Light, you're fair game."
Soichiro patted his son on the head as he left the room.
Boy, was his son ever fair game after that display! He was going to have to call Sachiko tonight and ask if she ever suspected.