Author's Note: Ok, this chapter was so long, I tried to divide it in three to make an easier read. Hence why three chapters have been posted at the same time. It was originally supposed to be one, but I'm afraid it's way too long. I wanted to split it up for those readers who don't have a lot of time and want to take one section at a time. But of course, if you have all the time in the world and would like, you can read all three together as was originally intended. I think you'll all be very pleased. I had lots of fun revealing Light's little secret to L.
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When L awoke the next morning, he felt funny.
There was really no better adjective to describe it. It was just…funny. He struggled to express this in better terms, just for his self-satisfaction, but he could not because he had never felt this thing before.
It felt good, whatever it was. He felt lighter somehow, as if he'd been walking around with an anvil on his back all this time and had never realized it before. It was as if the air were lighter, thinner or cooler. Or maybe as if he had lost weight. But of course, that wasn't quite right, because he was sure he'd feel sickly or weak if he'd lost more weight. He certainly didn't feel sickly. He felt…a little stronger in fact.
It was more like there was less gravity. That was more accurate. It was simply easier to move about. It was easier to think. It was easier to feel all of the things he'd found so troublesome only the day before. Things were simply nicer somehow.
When he sat up, he realized he was still in the kitchen. A blanket slid off of his shoulders and onto the floor, taking the warmth with it. Blinking, he glanced down at it.
Light must have put it on me when I fell asleep. That was an interesting thought. He'd fallen asleep at the table? Before Light? L had never been a good sleeper. He had always ended up in bed many hours after the younger man. And even then he woke many hours earlier than him. But last night…sleep had simply claimed him. It took him like something he could not fight.
He could not complain. He felt rested. L could not recall the last time he felt rested and fully awake. It contributed to this new, funny, light feeling.
L did not concern himself on what this funny feeling actually was called. If it had a name, it did not matter. He liked it, and that was all that he cared about. He did not want to kill it by analyzing it or mistrusting it. He would not risk chasing it away, even for something as important as thought process. So instead, he got up out of his chair.
The first thing he did was scoop up the blanket. He folded it up and walked it back into the living room where it belonged. He laid it across the back of the couch where it originally rested as a sort of decorative piece. L didn't much care for decoration, but Light liked cleanliness, so he would not leave it on the floor.
After putting the blanket away, L discovered that he was hungry. It was a new type of hungry that he wasn't familiar with. His stomach felt empty. He had a physical urge to eat. He didn't feel at all compelled by his emotions, or his suppression of them. L recognized this substantial difference immediately. He was hungry for something special. Something different…what was it? Not chocolate. Not ice-cream. Not pastries or cake. Candy perhaps? No. Not candy.
L struggled in his indecision. He could not think of the thing he wanted. He certainly wanted to eat something. But…he didn't want…something sweet.
Alarmed, he thought about oatmeal.
Yes. That was the thing he wanted.
L went back into the kitchen and over to the cabinet that held the oatmeal. In a sort of numbed shock, he poured it out and began to make it in accordance to the instructions on the package. He did not question it, despite the oddities of it all. When he was done, he automatically grabbed the sugar. But he stopped himself just before pouring it in.
L stared at his frozen hand.
He did not want to add sugar.
Feeling completely deranged and as if he were on another planet, L took his bowl of oatmeal to the table where he sat back down. He began to eat it plain.
He enjoyed it.
The feeling of lightness and newness L had experienced in the morning did not fade away. And after breakfast he decided on something crazy: he decided to go out. He felt suddenly as if he were missing out on something important. Like something was happening outside that he should be apart of.
He'd never had such a feeling before.
But the moment he stepped outside, he understood exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to go to the aquarium. He wanted to be apart of Light's first tour group. He wanted to see Light in action. So L crossed the street and stepped out into the park.
He was not afraid.
It was odd. All of it. But he did not question it. He did not want too. All he needed to know was that it was right. And this was never doubted.
The park was wonderful looking and green. But his destination seemed much more luminous. The giant blue building grew larger on the horizon as he neared. L discovered that the walk was not very long. It was only half an hour or less. He did not bother to count the exact minutes, or to compute the percentage of likeliness that it would rain on his way back. It just didn't seem important.
L drifted along in this new existence without question. He drifted right on up to the ticket window where he paid for entry. Since it was a Monday morning, the crowds were thin and not nearly as overbearing as on weekends and holidays. The kids were in school, most adults in work. The people who were at the aquarium at all were mostly tourists. Therefore L was not overwhelmed at all. He slipped right on in with no issues.
Once inside, he continued his drifting patterns right up to the information window. He was not self-conscious about his appearance in the slightest as he walked up to the woman and offered a bright smile. The smile was equally shocking.
"I'm here for the tour," L explained. "Light Yagami's tour, specifically. Could you direct me to where it will begin?" The receptionist gave him an odd look, which L didn't seem to notice, and then pointed him off in the correct direction. L found the spot he needed just inside, and he joined the large group of waiting tourists with ease. He received a few looks of curiosity, but he paid them no mind. He instead concentrated on the excited feeling he had in his chest. He really wanted to be apart of Light's first tour, and he wanted to see him work. He would accomplish both of these things soon.
Most importantly however, L was looking forward to seeing Light's expression when he saw him in the group. L smiled just thinking about it. Yes. It would be a pleasing expression. L did not bother to contemplate why this would be pleasing to him.
The gathered crowd was only kept waiting a few minutes. Then, exactly at nine o'clock, Light stepped out from the employee's only door. He seemed slightly flustered or annoyed as he took his place in front of the crowd. L only smiled. How very much like him. Light adjusted his microphone on his blue aquarium shirt. L watched with interest. He had not seen L yet.
Light clapped his hands to get the crowds attention, and then raised both of them up into the air. The people in the small group stopped speaking to one another and faced Light, giving him their attention. L watched, intrigued when Light forced a smile onto his face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Georgia Aquarium, the largest and most engaging aquarium in the world! I am your tour guide Light Yagami and I will have the honor of showing you around our aquarium for the next two hours. In the first hour we will be exploring two of the five wings. We'll be looking at The Tropical Diver and our all-famous Ocean Voyager, which contains the only whale sharks in captivity, and also our underwater tunnels! Then we will be taking a short break so you can use the facilities. Then we'll enter our second half and take a look at the remaining three wings: The Cold Water Quest, which contains our beluga whales, The River Scout and finally the Georgia Explorer, which has our petting tank."
Light spoke clearly and accurately. His ever so slight Japanese accent however, seemed a bit more prominent with the amplification of the microphone. L realized, oddly, that he had always enjoyed Light's accent. A few in the crowd seemed to have the same reaction.
"Let's not waste too much time on introductions. I'm sure you folks came to see some sea life! So let's get right to it. If you'll follow me this way, we'll be entering The Tropical Diver first."
Light turned and headed down the first tunnel on their right. The aquatic life was fascinating. But sadly, L already knew all of the things Light was explaining to the rest of the crowd. L noted immediately that Light had dumbed down his usual flutter of intellect and wit. He supposed it was quite necessary. The crowd would have never been able to keep up with Light's brilliant speech patterns. Plus, there were small children in the group. They would only be able to grasp the very basics that they were told today.
L recognized each animal that they came across. He in particular enjoyed the moon jellyfish. Although in his opinion, the lights they put on them took away from their natural beauty. The colored lights made them look more luminescent, yes, but the problem was that the light slowly changed from one color to another. This seemed to pose a problem for the crowd, which, L was sad to discover, were more idiotic than they looked. Many thought that the jellies were changing color on their own accord. Synchronized nonetheless. None seemed to be able to grasp the idea that it was just a light shining up from the depths of the tank. L would not be bothered to explain it to them.
Light had still not seen him. Mostly because L was being careful not to be seen yet. L was surprising himself at the fact that he was now playing a game. He could not remember the last time he had played a game that didn't involve the possibility of him loosing his life. This time, it was mostly for fun. And to surprise Light at just the right moment.
L waited all through the first wing. They headed into the second. It was here that things really became interesting. The group stepped into the glass underwater tunnel.
Despite L's knowledge, he had never experienced anything like this before. He'd never been privileged enough to see such sea creatures in such a way. Water surrounded them. Blue light filtered through from the sun above. The water created spectacular patterns on the tunnel floor.
As L looked upward, a school of stingrays seemed to fly overhead like birds. There were dozens of them, and it was beautiful. Off in the distance, through both the real and fake plants that colored the tank, one of the huge whale sharks swam. It was gorgeous in many ways, and it was even more so with Light's voice speaking in the background.
It was then that L decided to make his presence known. He knew exactly what he wanted to say. He worked his way to the front of the crowd and closer to where Light stood speaking. He made his way to the very front, carefully moving his way between bodies until finally he was standing almost directly in front of Light. L immediately raised his hand, interrupting Light's speech.
"Yes, I have a question," L said. Light had stopped mid-sentence. The crowd no doubt thought it was because the strange, skinny man in the front had rudely interrupted him. But L knew that it was more accurately due to Light's surprise. His almost eyes widened with amazement as they lay on his roommate. L, deciding not to embarrass Light on his first day of tours, continued his question so as to give Light some time to recover.
"The employees, clearly, are in and out of the aquarium after hours. Are they allowed to bring guests during these times?"
Light's heart was pounding even worse than the many times it had done this to him before. It was almost as bad as a jackhammer. He tried not to dwell on this amazing moment, he tried not to think about how incredible it was that L had not only left the apartment, went outside alone, crossed the park and entered the aquarium just to be in his first group, because if he thought about all that, he'd freeze in front of the crowd and he'd never live it down.
Then he registered L's question.
Whoa! His eyes bugged. Light knew exactly what that question really meant. L wanted to come here after hours.
Light's face started to burn. That meant the two of them would be here alone. Together. He told himself immediately that it was just so L could enjoy the aquarium without the uncomfortable crowds and the stupidity of the people around him. Nothing more. Surely, he hadn't meant anything else.
The crowd waited silently. Light quickly cleared his throat, struggling to recover. Recomposing himself, he addressed the crowd in the same steady voice he'd been using until that time.
"I'm afraid I'm still rather new to the aquarium. I cannot answer that particular question without first conversing with the boss." He smiled brightly. "Let's move on." Light started to walk down the tunnel, pointing out the swordfish swimming by to the right. He babbled about what the sword on its nose was actually for, as opposed to what people normally thought of it. But all the time he was talking, he was certainly not thinking about his work. Fish were the last thing on his racing mind.
L had come to see him. What about his work? Wasn't he supposed to start as a linguist today? Light felt suddenly foolish for having not asked him about it over the weekend. Light had no idea how L's job worked. Perhaps he wasn't on a set schedule, because he was working from home? This made sense. And it was an easy job for someone of L's intellect. Perhaps he thought he could simply do it when he got back.
So what made him decide to come to the aquarium today? He'd never really shown an interest in Light's job in the past. He defiantly didn't come for educational reasons, or research. He already knew, probably more than Light did about these creatures.
Then he had come solely to see Light in his newest element? Or maybe he'd been lonely when he woke up and found Light gone? There could have been several reasons.
As Light took the tour group down into the next hall, he glanced casually L's way. Considering he was surrounded by morons and was being told very trivial things, L seemed to actually be enjoying himself. He seemed as if he were off in his own world at times. No doubt using his massive genius to come up with his own deductions about the animals around him. He seemed carefree, lighter and more joyful.
Light immediately looked away. So he'd been right then. L was different after the events of last night. He seemed a bit more mended. A bit more settled. A bit more accepting. The heavy, oppressive air that usually followed him was nearly gone. He was even standing a little straighter than usual.
Light glanced to his feet. Sandals again.
Light tried not to hurry the tour. But he in truth was dying to talk to L and find out just exactly what was going on. But even the short break in the middle of the tour would not be enough time.
Soon enough, said break indeed did arrive. But Light had his hands full with questioning children and parents who were even more ignorant than their kids. He had no chance to talk to L who hung in the back away from the crowds, keeping a watchful eye on his tour guide.
The tour started back up and Light was forced to endure another hour of curiosity. He somehow kept all of his raging thoughts and feelings inside so that no one noticed that anything was wrong. He kept his first tour as professional as possible. But once he got to the last item on their tour, the Touch Tank, he started to get antsy.
The Touch Tank was more for the kids than anything else. All the adults who had not come with children had already dispersed, not interested in touching the stingrays that swam in the shallow water. L seemed bored as well and to Light's utter dismay, he walked off.