A/N Hi everyone! Welcome to chapter 12! I was going to wait a bit longer before updating, but after getting eight reviews last chapter I have decided to post it early. Yay for motivation!
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"Thanks." L muttered.
I looked up. "Huh?" What could he be thanking me for? I wondered to myself.
L's head was dropped forward and his hair covered the top half of his face so I had absolutely no idea what was swirling around in that smart head of his.
I continued to stare at his wild raven colour hair until I couldn't stand the silence anymore. "Ryuga?" I asked tentatively.
L shuffled his toes and pulled one on top of the other. He seemed very nervous. I continued to stare at him. Finally, he looked up. His jet black eyes met mine and his face softened ever so slightly. It wasn't by much, but I managed to spot it. L's hands buried themselves further into his pocket and he shifted his position again.
I continued to watch him patiently. What is this about? I thought to myself.
"I wanted to thank you properly for the bravery that you showed when you were dealing with a very dangerous situation."
"Oh that, its fine don't worry about it." I gave him a reassuring smile.
L didn't look convinced. "No. You were in danger-"
I interrupted him. "Ryuga seriously, it's fine. Kira needs to be stopped. If that's what was required then its fine. I really don't mind."
L stared at me. His face was blank and devoid of any emotion. "I would prefer it if you didn't interrupt me, Paige-San."
"Right. Sorry." I muttered as I soon found myself fascinated by the bed sheets. How could I forget about L's no interruption policy?
A nurse walked in at that point with a wheelchair that had a bag of clothes rested in the seat. "Hello, Miss Paige-San. I have your clothes here. Let's get you changed and ready to go, okay?"
I nodded and sat up.
The nurse turned to face L. "Are you taking Paige-San home?"
L simply nodded.
"What is your relation to Paige-San?"
"Oh, we're next door neighbors. We've been friends for years." L said with a small smile on his face.
Aww… I thought. He should smile more often. Wait. What am I thinking?
"I see." The nurse turned to me. "And why aren't your parents taking you home?"
Now it was my turn to lie. "Well… They had to attend an important business meeting. They work at Yotsuba. They said that they could pick me up afterwards but that won't be for a few hours yet, so Ryuga agreed to take me home."
"I see." The nurse gestured to the clothes and the wheelchair. "Let's get you in and find somewhere to get you changed."
I nodded.
With that the nurse came over to help me out of the lumpy hospital bed. With her support, I was able to sit in the wheelchair.
I waved at L as the nurse pushed the wheelchair towards the door. "See you in a minute Ryuga!"
L nodded. "Shall I head over to the front desk?"
"That would be great." The nurse replied with a smile. "I'll take Paige there after she is changed."
L followed behind the wheelchair until we had to go our separate ways.
Sometime later, I was finally changed. I was wearing my black track suit bottoms and my short sleeved red T-shirt. I was helped back into the wheelchair before I was wheeled to the front desk.
I waved, carefully, at L as we drew near.
L returned the wave and walked up. He moved round to the back of the wheelchair. "Thanks for your help. I can take it from here."
The nurse nodded. "You're welcome." With that the nurse briskly walked off. Probably to go and deal with another patient…
L wheeled the wheelchair outside and I looked up at the sky. The air smelt fresh and damp and the humidity clung to my skin. I didn't mind though, unlike Penny, I actually prefer the rain to the sun.
"It's going to rain." I said.
L looked up into the sky as well. "It looks like it may. I'll call Watari."
"I don't mind the rain." I answered.
L paused as he held the phone up with two fingers. "You wouldn't mind if it rained while we were on our way back to the hotel?"
I shook my head. "I like the rain. It would be nice to be able to get some fresh air."
L nodded. "Very well. We shall go back to the hotel on foot." L snapped the phone shut and shoved it in his pocket. He then tilted the wheelchair back and carefully pushed it down the steps.
Just as we got out of the shelter of the hospital the sky opened up and poured rain on top of us. I then remembered that L still wasn't wearing any shoes. I turned my head carefully and glanced at L's, bare, soaking wet feet.
"What are you staring at Poppy?"
"Your feet."
"Pardon?" L responded. I could hear the confusion in his voice.
"Don't you want to put your shoes on?" I answered.
"I hate shoes. I thought I already made that clear."
"You made that fact pretty clear when I watched Death Note. It's just that we're outside in the rain and you have no shoes on."
"My feet will be fine. I've done this several times before."
"Oh." I responded simply as I stared at the pavement in front of me.
"That was some very good lying. Poppy." L said a minute later.
"Huh?" I replied.
"With Light-Kun."
"Oh that. You saw it."
"I did. Your sister insisted that I kept an eye on you so I tapped into the hospitals surveillance system."
I nodded. "I thought you might do that."
"Was that lie based off of a true story?" L asked in his flat emotionless voice.
I shook my head. "To be completely honest, I've never actually had a boyfriend."
"Well that's certainly odd." L paused and the wheelchair came to a halt.
I tilted my head back and looked up at him. "What?"
L looked down at me and rested his thumb on his bottom lip. "Your sister told me that you met a boy, at the new college that you've both been attending, who you're now going out with."
"What the hell?" I muttered. "And you believed her?"
L simply blinked.
I shook my head. "Do I really look like the kind of girl who would get into a relationship that quickly?" L stayed silent and I sighed. "Broken bones or not, I'm going to kill her when we get back…" I sighed again. "That must be how you really see me, if you believed her that easily. When did she say this?"
"Yesterday." L replied.
I shook my head again and sighed. "I've been single all my life, unless you count Kyle, but I was only seven at the time and it only lasted two days… Scratch that, it doesn't even count." I sighed again. "Why would she do that? I guess I know the answer though…"
"What's the reason?" L asked.
I shook my head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"I'm really sorry Poppy."
"Huh?" I tilted my head back. L's eyes were covered in the shadow created by his hair so I had no hopes of reading his expression.
"I'm sorry for automatically believing Penny just because she's your sister. I thought she was a trustworthy source of information."
"Trustworthy?" I scoffed. "Trust her as far as you can throw her."
"I judged you based on false information. I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you." L responded.
I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I'll get her back somehow…"
"No. I feel bad. I'll make it up to you." L responded.
"It's fine. Tell you what though, if you want to make it up to me."
"Yes?" L answered.
"Don't trust Penny. If you want to find something out about me, come and ask me yourself. I don't bite."
"I will keep that in mind." L responded. "While we are around other people, I will refer to you as Paige. But when it is just you and me, like it is now, can I call you Poppy or should I continue referring to you as Paige?"
I shrugged. "If there is no one at all, then I really don't mind."
"I shall refer to you as Poppy then. I prefer that name to Paige."
"Really? Why?" I asked; curious as to why he preferred my real name.
"Well… I just prefer the name Poppy. It's a rare name and unique name. When I used to live in England, I came across several girls called Paige. It's a common name."
"Let me guess, you never met anyone called Poppy?"
L nodded. "You got it."
"I see."
"You know all of the names that I go by right? Which one do you prefer?" L asked suddenly.
"Interesting question…" I muttered as I thought about it. "Hmm… Out of your aliases, I have to say Ryuuzaki."
"Really? Why's that then?"
I shrugged. "I just do, I guess."
"I see."
"But the name I like most is your real name."
"Hmm? Why?"
I looked around just to be sure the coast was clear. "I like the double L. L Lawliet. And I like how it's pronounced. Low-Light. It just sounds cool."
"Interesting. I prefer your real name and you prefer mine."
"That is interesting," was my response.
An awkward silence fell upon us as the rain continued to soak us.
"I'm soaking wet." L muttered.
"Me too." I answered. It was then that I felt the strong need to sneeze. "I'm going to-" I was cut off as I was overtaken by the urge to sneeze. I sneezed four times; one straight after the other.
"Bless you." L said after I had finally finished.
"Cheers."
"We'll be back at the hotel soon. It was a bad idea to go back in the rain; you've only just got out of the hospital."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." I dismissed his worry by waving my good hand in the air.
"At least let me get you an umbrella."
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine." Please let it drop, L. I thought.
"I insist."
I sighed as L turned the wheelchair around sharply and pushed it into a store. He pushed me over to the wall of the store that was devoted to umbrellas and coats. "Choose an umbrella."
I sighed. "An umbrella is an umbrella. I really don't mind."
"Then you shall have this one." L rested his thumb on his bottom lip as he reached up. He straightened out his back slightly as he wrapped his long fingers around it. He lifted it off the hook and returned to his normal crouched state.
I looked at the price tag. It read ¥2,300. "Wow. That sounds expensive. What's that equivalent to in British pounds?"
"Approximately £18.50. Give or take by a couple of pence."
"That is expensive…"
L shrugged. "Money isn't an issue."
"Yeah but still…" I muttered.
"I think you need a coat, Paige-San."
"I don't think I do, Ryuga-San."
L glanced at me. "You have Goosebumps on your arms."
"So? It doesn't mean that I'm cold." I responded.
L rested the back of his hand against my forearm. I froze at his touch and L immediately drew back. "You're freezing."
"So are you." I replied.
"You need a coat." L replied.
"If I need a coat then you need a thermal coat."
L rolled his eyes. "Please just pick a coat."
I looked around. "Hmm… I want that one." I pointed to one of those coats that can be folded away into a little bag. The price was ¥435. It seems relatively cheap…
L raised an eyebrow and reached his hand out in the opposite direction to the coat I was pointing at.
He pulled it off the rack and my eyes widened in shock. "You can't be serious." I muttered.
L glanced at the coat and then at me. He then nodded. "I think it will look nice on you."
I have to admit, the coat he was holding out did look very nice. It was a black leather jacket with lots of pockets, jewels and studs. It had a hood that was lined with faux fur on the inside and it looked really amazing.
"By the look on your face I can tell that you like it." A small smile crept onto L's face.
"That looks really expensive." I wiped my awe-struck smile straight from my face and eyed the coat but I couldn't see the price tag because it was the wrong way round.
"It's ¥22,430." L said as he bent around to see the back of the coat."
My eyes widened again. "What's that in British Pounds?"
L looked away. "I don't think I should tell you."
"Tell me." I said sternly.
"About £180."
My eyes widened even further, if that's even possible. "There is no way I can accept something that expensive. You're already insisting on paying £18.50 for an umbrella for God's sake."
I tried reaching for the coat that had its own pouch, but I couldn't reach. "Ryuga please push me forward."
L didn't answer.
"There is no way that I'm letting you waste that kind of money on me when this coat over here would be perfectly suitable. I just can't reach it…"
L stepped in front of my line of sight with the coat. "It's not a waste of money. It's simply a reward for your hard work. Your sister did mention that a lollipop was a very small reward."
I clenched my good hand into a tight fist.
L looked around for a second before his gaze was back on me. "A lot of the money that I have will never be spent and will go to waste. This is a good way of putting it to use."
"What? On a coat that would cost me four weeks wages?" I replied quickly. Back in my world, because of college ties, I was only able to work Saturdays and Sundays.
L shrugged. "Well… You could look at it like that."
I nodded. "That is how I look at it." I looked down. "It's not part of my nature to accept expensive gifts. I believe that it's the thought that counts…"
"Well it's not part of my nature to give up." L replied equally sternly.
"…I know." I replied.
"I believe that it's the thought that counts as well. I could take you to a coat shop where the cheapest coats are twice the price of this one. So it is the thought that counts." L held the coat up. "Now please tell me what size you are in clothes."
"Twelve…" I muttered quietly; finally giving in. What hope could I have in an argument with the world's three greatest Detectives?
L checked the tag. "That's convenient. I have the right size here. I shall be back shortly."
I watched L as he took the coat and the umbrella over to the counter. I watched as the young girl read from the till and L pulled out a small, battered black wallet from his jeans pocket.
He handed over several notes and the girl quickly counted them up. "Here's your change and receipt." The young cashier answered when she was done.
L took the receipt. "Keep the change."
The girl looked at the coins and notes in her hand. "T-Thank you very much."
L nodded and made his way back to me.
"Well that was nice of you." I said as he returned.
L shrugged. "I don't like having loose change rattling around in my pockets. It distracts my train of thought."
"Fair enough." I answered.
"Come on let's get this coat on."
"Well you can try, but it won't work very well with a broken arm."
"Then I'll do this." L took the coat off of its hanger and he draped it over my shoulders.
"Thanks." I answered sincerely.
No problem." L answered.
"I still think you need a coat, Ryuga."
"I'm fine. I'm used to weather like this. We'll be there soon." L pushed the wheelchair to the door and put the umbrella up before handing it to my good hand.
"Cheers." I said as I took it off of him. "So you're not superstitious then?"
L shook his head. "Too much time is wasted on worrying about those petty superstitions."
"I suppose that's true."
A/N Sorry about the super long chapter, but I couldn't find another place to cut it off. I fail, please forgive me.
Thanks for all the reviews, please keep them coming! I love reviews! They make me smile and my parents look at me like I'm just a little bit insane. Reviews motivate me to work faster! *HintCoughHint*
Oh and reviewers get a cuddly toy of their favourite characters! *Holds out basket of Death Note plushies* you know you want one.
L: You can't give away soft cuddly versions of me!
Me: Yes I can and I will.
-JazzieLouise
