A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews. PLEASE keep em coming!!!! I live for those guys.
Just for the hell of it, here's a shout out to keikopanda102 for being an awesome reviewer XD
Okey doke, let's get this chapter rollin'.
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note
The morning after the fight with L I felt like shit. I woke up in the hospital with two cracked ribs, a black eye, gauze wrapped around my left hand, and more bruises than I could count. After much persuasion from the nurses they'd allowed L to move into my room. He looked horrible, with gauze on both of his hands, two black eyes, and a broken nose.
We tried to laugh about the fight, but laughing hurt too much so we just stuck with smiling. Misa came to visit, but after about three minutes of squealing and shrieking I kicked her out.
The nurses brought lunch and L skipped straight to dessert. I asked for some potato chips, but they just smirked and left.
"Jeez, I'm in the hospital and they won't give me some fucking chips?" I grumbled.
"I could have Watari bring you some," L offered. "He's already bringing me some cake."
"I think Watari would poison the chips first. You're like his son. He probably wants to kill me," I snorted.
"Yes…" L agreed.
"L, I think we need to talk about Misa. I know it's an uncomfortable subject, but we can't avoid it forever," I said, turning the conversation somber.
"What is there to talk about?" L said, slurping Jell-o straight from the cup.
"Well…aren't you angry?" I asked, puzzled.
"I was," he admitted.
"Was? But not anymore? What are you talking about?" I questioned.
"I like to keep track of the high jinks at the task force. I have a weekly trash report, and Misa's home pregnancy test was found. I already knew that you slept with her, so I put two and two together," L shrugged.
"When did you find out?" I demanded.
"A week ago," he stuck his tongue into the bottom of the Jell-o cup.
"You knew and you didn't tell me? Wait…a week ago? The last time we had sex was less than a week ago. You knew I'd gotten Misa pregnant, and you still wanted to sleep with me?" I confirmed.
"Yes," L said simply.
I was shocked. What L was telling me made it sound like he was using me for sex. It definitely didn't seem like he was madly in love with me. However, I didn't want to be angry. L was being great about Misa's pregnancy, and I was in no position to complain about anything he was doing.
"Okay…hey, I think there are some games on the table over there. Wanna play?" I challenged L.
"I suppose so," he shrugged, putting down the Jell-o. I winced as I reached for the trivia game, feeling as if the rest of my ribs were cracking too.
"I'll ask you the first question, then you ask me the next," I decided. I pulled out the first card and tried to figure it out myself before looking at the bottom for the answer.
"You have a square and a circle and the perimeter of the square is equal to the circumference of the circle. Which of the two figures covers a bigger area?" I asked.
"The circle," L answered immediately. "The circumference of the circle is 2 x n x r, while the circumference of the square is 4 x a (the side of the square). But they are equal so 2 x n x r = 4 x a = a = (2 x n x r)/4 = a = (n x r)/2. The surface of the circle is n x r x r, while that of the square is a x a. Since a = (n x r)/2 then the surface of the square is (n x r)/2 x (n x r)/2 = (n x n x r x r)/4. If we divide the surface of the square by that of the circle we get n/4. Since n = 3.14 4, then n/4 1. Therefore, the second surface (that of the circle) is bigger," he yawned. "Is it my turn to ask?"
Damn. I thought it was the square.
"Sure, go ahead," I handed him the cards.
"'Two days ago my son was three years old and next year he will be 6'. Is this possible?" L asked lazily.
"Yes," I said after a little hesitation. "Her son was born on December 31. The mother said that on January 1. Therefore, two days before she said that (December 30) her son was 3. On December 31 he was 4 years old. At the end of the year in which the mother said that (on December 31) her son will be 5 years old. So, the year after that he will be six," I explained.
"Correct," L nodded.
"Alright…" I took the cards back. I was getting a little nervous. I'd asked L a question that he'd answered correctly immediately, and it took me a while to get the right answer.
I cleared my throat. "I'll just ask you one more question and then we'll be done, okay?"
"Hm. Are you scared of losing?" L raised his non existent eyebrows, suddenly interested.
"No! I'm not scared," I insisted.
"If you say so," he said.
"What is worse than the devil and better than God? Poor people have it and rich people don't need it. If you eat it, before long you will die," I questioned.
"Nothing," L said casually.
"Ha! You couldn't answer!" I shouted gleefully.
"No, the answer is nothing. Nothing is worse than the devil and nothing is better than God. Poor people have nothing and rich people need nothing. If you eat nothing, you'll die with time," he said smugly. "Although…" he stroked his lip. "Some might say Kira is worse than the devil," L admitted. I clenched my fists. Worse than the devil?!
"Oh," I put the game away, trying to hide my embarrassment. L smirked. "Shut up!" I chucked a piece of my chicken sandwich at him. He ducked.
"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me," L taunted.
"If you insist," I tried to stand to move from my bed to his, but my legs simply gave out from under me. I collapsed onto the floor, feeling even stupider than I had before.
L sunk down from his bed and sat next to me, his mottled eyes staring at me. Guilt washed over my body as I look at his blotchy skin. He didn't deserve my anger, and I didn't deserve his love.
I reached for his hand with my undamaged one, grasping it kindly. I knew it hurt him but he didn't let on. My thumb stroked the back of his hand softly, and he leaned in for a kiss.
He tasted like strawberries from the Jell-o, encouraging me to deepen the kiss. I swirled his tongue into my mouth and sucked on it, happy when L rewarded me with a slight moan.
We broke apart for air but our lips brushed together again quickly. I caressed his cheek tenderly with the palm of my hand, pulling my mouth away from his.
Making sure to be unbelievably gentle I swept my lips across his bruises. His eyelids fell closed as I kissed his battered black eyes. I brought his hands to my mouth and planted ten kisses on his knuckles, bringing a smile to his face.
His nose was the tricky part. Trying not to hurt him, I pressed my lips to my fingertips before touching them to his nose. L half-cringed and half-smiled.
"That's the best I can do to make everything better," I whispered.
Silently L took my hand and raised it to my lips. Confused, I kissed it. He then brought it to his chest, where his heart was.
"Some injuries you can't fix with kisses," he said solemnly.
I felt like my soul shattered into a million pieces. I wanted to write my own name in the Death Note for hurting L so badly. Every time I fucked up he forgave me, usually without much apologizing or explanation, and I only hurt him more.
"L…baby…" I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "L, I love you so much. More than you could ever imagine," I murmured. "I'm so, so sorry for hurting you. I never meant to hurt you, I swear. You're absolutely perfect, and here I am, just fucking up," I sobbed. "You're so smart, so fucking smart, and you're sweet and funny and adorable…you're so forgiving, you forgive me too much. I don't deserve you," I blubbered.
"Yes, you have messed things up a bit," L nodded.
"But I love you," I said softly. "I love you, I love you. I mean that, L, I really do. And I'll do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness."
L stuck the tip of his thumb in his mouth. "Promise?" he asked.
"I promise," I cried, kissing his hand.
"Alright. Just don't forget about the Easy-Bake Oven," he reminded me. I almost laughed.
"Fuck, I'll buy you a million Easy-Bake Ovens," I smiled weakly.
"I'm not sure what I would do with them," L replied thoughtfully. I chuckled.
Even though L was going to give me another chance that I was so undeserving of, I still felt torn. How could I choose L over justice? But it seemed impossible to kill him. Not only could I not get his name, I wouldn't have the heart to write his name in the Death Note.
But justice had to be my first priority! And if L was going to stop Kira, which I truly believed he could, he had to be eliminated!
I couldn't stop thinking about it. The idea of killing L raced through one side of my mind, while on the other side I replayed all of the sweet moments we'd shared. Every time he looked at me it was like a knife digging deeper into my gut.
***
After a few days in the hospital L and I were both discharged and given some pain meds. We spent most of our time watching TV together in the living room, putting the Kira case on pause. Watari took over the baking of L's sweets, and he ate them without too much complaining. Misa tried to visit a few more times, but I claimed I was in too much pain for visitors.
Almost a week after the fight I was finishing up in the bathroom when I saw the reflection of a familiar friend in the mirror.
"Ryuk!" I cried.
"Hey Light. Got any apples?" Ryuk cackled.
"Are you insane?! There's no way I'm giving L any more reason to suspect me being Kira," I shook my head firmly.
"WHAT?!" Ryuk shrieked. "NO APPLES?!"
"Why don't you get Misa to give you some," I suggested.
An idea blew through my head like a rocket. How could I have been so stupid?! Ryuk had Shinigami eyes! He knew L's full name!
It couldn't be that difficult to coax L's name out of Ryuk. With the promise of apples I could get him to do anything! It also helped that Ryuk loved watching human drama, and L's death would certainly cause a blow up.
"Hm. Ryuk, what would you say if I offered you a lifetime supply of all the apples you could eat?" I said casually.
"Ha ha! Whaddya want, Light?" Ryuk hooted.
"I want L's full name," I said seriously.
Ryuk laughed so loud the walls shook. "You're kidding, right? No way! It's against the rules," he snorted.
"Oh, are you a coward?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Hm?" Ryuk squared his shoulders. "No. I'm not an idiot, either."
"Fine," I huffed. I left the bathroom and limped to the kitchen, plucking a big juicy apple from the meager bowl of fruit. L watched me curiously.
I chomped down on the apple, even moaning a little to really sell it.
"Aw, come on Light!" Ryuk groaned. Ignoring him, I took another bite, letting the juice from the apple run down my chin. Ryuk twitched. "Just gimme one!" he begged.
I ate the apple down to core before throwing it away, determined to torture Ryuk into giving me L's name. When I finished I plopped down next to L on the couch, extremely satisfied.
Ryuk glared at me from the corner, and for the first time in months I felt like Kira again.
Alrighty tighty. I'm increasingly apologetic about the lack of lemons, but I'm considering writing a little citrusy one-shot about Light and L to satisfy the momentary thirst of readers. Don't stop reading; there is plenty of smut to come!
Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!