AN: School's seriously slowing down my writing flow DX. But I heard this song on the radio, and I knew I had to write something with it, lol. It just made things too easy :D

And just a little canon shout-out, the warehouse in this story is the one he died in. That won't be happening here xD

Warnings: Language (A teensy bit more than usual, I guess lol), Little Outburst, Brief Yaoi,


Onze

::

"I tell you what to do

Without saying a word

Because I know what you're thinking, sugar

I know what you deserve"

-Mind Control, Hal Linton

::

The woman at the front desk openly stared at the two of them as they walked past, disappointment clear on her face. L resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the way she nearly jumped over the desk at the sight of Raito. "Y-you're leaving?" She asked, making no effort to hide the disappointment in her voice. L looked away, unable to mask his annoyance by people in general. A pretty face and they lost all shame.

Raito just gave the woman an airy laugh, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side. Could the woman see how calculated every movement was - it seemed glaringly obvious to L. (He took some small pleasure in that, even though he wasn't quite sure why.) "Ah, I'm afraid I won't be able to stay there any longer...too many memories." The lies spun from his lips like silk from a spider.

"Did you break up with your girlfriend?" The chipper sound of her voice contrasted her childish pout.

"...Yeah. It's really painful," he looked down with a wry smile as though embarrassed. "But I'll just have to move on." It was as though L didn't even exist.

"Aww." It was as fake as her sympathy. "Well, if you ever need someone to talk to-" she slid her number, already written down on a small sheet of paper across the table - "I'm here!"

"Thank you, I'll try that..." Raito turned the paper over, squinting at her poor handwriting. "Sana?"

L scoffed. What a wonderful performance. Maybe if the whole psycho thing didn't work out, Raito could get into acting. Sure enough, the moment they stepped out the door, the brunette crumpled the paper up and tossed it into the nearest wastebasket. L had to wonder why he even bothered putting up that faux nice act with everyone. Maybe playing around with people was a hobby. The same way with Misa. People always made it easy for him; almost as though they wanted to hear him lie, see his act.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" Raito asked casually, as though he could read L's mind. "It really is annoying."

"Then perhaps Raito-kun should stop leading people on," L said flatly.

No response.

Raito opened the backdoor to one of the cars parked out front (a different one, L wondered just how many people Kira had in his circle), waiting for L to slide into the back before getting into the driver's seat. The fluid grace was back, nearly automatic. "You haven't asked where we're going."

"I do not intend to stay," the raven replied, only for the sake of being defiant. It seemed as though every time he thought he could back his way out, something pulled him back in. As if to remind him of its presence, the scar stung.

Another awkward pause. "The warehouse. It's not as nice as here, but it will suffice. Besides, there will be fewer...annoyances."

Annoyances. There was something about the way he said it that sent chills down L's spine. He looked up briefly, only to find that Raito had been looking at his reaction in the rear view mirror. He quickly looked away, focusing instead on the window. The raven probably wouldn't be heading up that way ever again, and he was somewhat thankful for that. He didn't think he'd be able to handle being blindfolded. Especially not when he was being watched the way he was - it made him increasingly uncomfortable. Almost as though someone was looking right through him.

"Tell me," Raito asked out of the blue. "Do you remember where we stayed before?"

"What is Kira, L? Say it loud enough for me to hear." L remembered. Nonetheless, he stayed quiet, staring out the window as though he hadn't heard a single word.

"I liked it better there - back when she first moved in and wasn't there often. We've had some interesting times, haven't we?" He was still looking expectantly at L, waiting for some kind of reaction. Once again, L gave none. Raito's grip on the wheel tightened. "We're here." The edge to his voice was unmistakable.

He didn't open the door for L that time, instead going forwards to unlock the warehouse. L held back a sigh of relief. It was much easier to move and think without those eyes burning through him, but he had a bad feeling about things now that he wasn't being stared at. It was hard to explain, he wasn't quite sure of the feeling himself. All he knew was that once the warehouse doors closed behind him, he suddenly felt nauseous.

"I won't be able to stay with you today. You'll be fine alone, won't you?"

"..." L said nothing, only standing there, nibbling his thumbnail.

His head was slammed into the wall.

Raito shook him roughly by the shoulders. "Y-you're so fucking frustrating!" He snarled. This couldn't have been the same person who'd taken 'Sana's' number with a smile. Hell, L didn't know who he was dealing with anymore. (Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? Or just...Light?) "Why the hell can't you just answer a simple question? Why would having someone know what you fucking feel be such a problem? Haven't I known you long enough?" His grip on L's shoulders suddenly loosened, his body going slack. "Haven't we been through...?"

L opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. It was as though his mind and body had locked up at the first sign of emotion. He couldn't find the right words, or any words at all.

The brunette rested his head on his shoulder for a moment, only to catch his breath. He seemed drained after the outburst. "Been through enough for me to know?" Raito's shoulders shook with what might have been a bitter, suppressed laugh. He lifted his head - only a few centimeters away from L's own - to stare him down. "I should know you, Ryuzaki," he nearly breathed. "More than..."

The pain he'd felt from being slammed so hard was replaced by a burning embarrassment. Why was it that the younger man insisted on invading his personal space so often? And why was it that he always had to fight back a reaction? He was L goddammit.

"Yagami-" The older man was cut off when the mass murderer slammed his lips into L's.

The brunette pulled away, looking at L from underneath thick lashes. "More than anyone."

::

"Is it ready?" Kitamura turned around, finally putting a stop to his incessant pacing. It took great effort on his part not to loom over the boy, to keep his 'respectful distance'. His fingers twitched at his sides, brimming to the top with anticipation.

Near said nothing, reaching for another die.

"Well?" He could barely control his voice anymore.

Without even glancing at Kitamura, Near placed the die on top of the tower he'd been working on. He paused. "Yes. Everything has been prepared."

::

"He's gone already?" Misa shrieked at the girl sitting behind the counter. She slammed her purse down on the front desk, creating a much larger scene than necessary. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"He left quite some time ago," the girl yawned, her calm demeanor only making the blond look worse.

"But my Light-kun would've called! He wouldn't just leave!"

There was no denying the smug undertone in the random brunette's voice. "Well he did."

With a huff, Misa turned around, storming out of the hotel lobby. Her fiance should have been home a long time ago. How long could it possibly take to dump L somewhere? It was probably L's fault, the former detective had a talent for causing problems. Really, Raito would have been much better off without him. Misa headed out into the parking lot, angry thoughts swarming around in her head like locusts. Damn that Ryuzaki! She'd only wanted to return Raito's phone - he'd forgotten it at the restaurant in his haste to leave.

Along with L's.

It was like a weight in her pocket, reminding her of its presence. Reminding her of L's presence. She fully intended on throwing the stupid thing over the nearest bridge, just for the satisfaction of watching something of his disappear. It was a pain in the ass, really. Just to prove itself as even more of a pain, the phone buzzed suddenly.

"What now?" She mumbled, pouting and fishing it out of her pocket. There was nothing - no texts, calls, alarms, or anything like that. It had simply vibrated, as though of its own will. What a waste.

Misa barely had the time to put it back in her pocket when a blindfold was forced over her face.


EN: Geez, it's been a while, hasn't it? Ahh well, at least I've got something up ^-^ I just wanted to say I"m so grateful to everyone who stuck with it, and reviewed, despite my scatter-brained-ness. Haha.

No questions, just anything you want.