Chapter 21: Anything

Safety. He had to get to safety.

L ran like never before, his feet smacking the ground so forcefully he was probably leaving cracks in the pavement. That wasn't good, they could use whatever he left behind to track him down. The vampire tightened his arm around his human's waist as he carried him on his shoulder.

He tried to croak out some sort of warning to his passenger, something to tell him to brace himself, but his vocal cords strained against nothing and let out a dry cough instead as he leapt up to the walls and then the rooftops of the houses they passed.

He pictured a map in his head, the map of safe-houses around the city. They had planned this out, just in case they somehow triggered the Volturi or their counterparts, but it had always been Mello they were preparing for. They had never in their wildest dreams thought L could trigger them, it was practically impossible.

Misa Amane. Oh, that woman was going to die. That pathetic excuse for a vampire, she was going to burn, sizzle on a stake, disintegrate into ashes. L would personally oversee it, he would probably laugh to drown out her screams.

L felt his legs buckle as his head turned fuzzy. No, only a few more metres…

"Ryuuzaki!" He heard Light yell over the wind whistling in his ear. The vampire stumbled over his feet, picking up speed so that his collapse would happen within the safe-house. They had to get to the safe-house…

The minute he burst into the closet-sized room under the bridge, he keeled over, his human slipping from his shoulder and tumbling down to the floor.

The world was blurring. He panted, trying to ignore the burning agony at his neck. He swallowed, but there was no saliva left in his mouth. There was barely any blood left in his system, he was done, he was a rotting corpse.

Ninety-five years of existence, ninety-five years on Earth and he had to die now?

He felt hot fingers slip under him and pull him into the room, setting him down on the floor and running frantically over him. "Ryuuzaki! Ryuuzaki, say something, please, I don't know what to do! I…what did he do to you?"

Light Yagami's face sharpened into view, his amber eyes brighter than ever as he leaned in, his brows furrowed. "I'll…I'll clean the wound…"

He tried to lift his hand and point at the single rusted strongbox in the corner of the squat room, but he knew he didn't have to. A few seconds later, there was a soft, damp cloth running over the jagged ends of his gash, feeling ice-cold against his burnt skin as it wiped away the ash. It had been a while since anything felt remotely cold to him.

"R-Ryuuzaki, t-the injury…" His human gulped. "I'll call 119."

L grabbed the teenager's wrist as he made to draw the cellphone from the pocket of his trousers. "No, Raito-kun. Useless." He managed a shaky smile. "Not human."

"Then what do I do? Who do I call? L? Your brothers?"

L shuttered his eyes, his hand making its way to his pocket. "Watari." He yanked out his cellphone and dropped it by his side. The brunet's warm hand brushed his as it picked it up. "He's contact number 12. Tell him we're in safe-house 4."

He watched blearily as his human scrolled down and called the number, those caramel eyes watching him with near-tangible concern as he waited. His face lit up when L's assistant picked up.

"Watari?" The teenager breathed. "Ryuuzaki's hurt. He's..." He paused a second, waiting for the old man to finish his sentence. "He's…somebody tried to assault him in college, and now the skin of his neck is black and crumbling and it smells like ash. He's got an open wound at his neck, it's not bleeding. It's just…flesh. I can patch that up, but he needs medical attention."

L let the words wash over him, no longer strong enough to grasp their meaning. He enjoyed listening to Light's voice, the brunet had been blessed with a strong, silky timbre that sounded calm and collected no matter what he felt.

"Blood? Where am I supposed to get blood from? Hello?" The brunet stared at the phone, then turned his wide eyes to L. His expression instantly turned resolute and he scrambled to the strongbox, rummaging through its contents.

"Fuck it. Listen, Ryuuzaki." The teenager turned back to him, his jaw set determinedly. "I'll take you to the hospital. Watari said safe-house 4 is too far away for him to get here on time, so I need to get you blood. An ambulance will take too much time in this traffic. I know there's a hospital five minutes away from here, so I'll need to pick you up, okay? Help me out, hold onto me."

L felt a hoarse laugh erupt from him, whistling out of his damaged oesophagus. His frame shook, his eyes squeezing shut as he giggled.

Light's alarmed eyes filled his gaze. "Are you in pain?" The brunet hefted him up in his arms but, predictably, wasn't able to pick him up off the ground. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. I'll call 119, I can't carry you."

"Raito-kun." The vampire wheezed, still giggling hoarsely. "He doesn't mean a transfusion."

"Then what? Is it code for something?"

"No, no, Raito-kun…" He laughed helplessly, feeling his lungs start to give out. "T-there's nothing you can do for me. Just…can I see your face?"

Light's face came into view, looming over him with that deer-in-the-headlights look, his auburn hair tousled and falling into his eyes. L twisted his lips into what he hoped was a grin. "Smile, Raito-kun? You have a nice smile."

The brunet scowled at him instead, which L found to be just as nice. "What the fuck are you doing? Stop acting like you're dying, tell me what I can do."

"Nothing, Raito-kun. I'm beyond help. If Watari can't get here on time…"

"But what did he mean by blood, Ryuuzaki? What am I supposed to do for you? Why can't I do it? Don't fucking give up, I can still help you!" The teenager gripped L by the front of his smudged sweatshirt. "Please, Ryuuzaki, you're not going to die!"

"Raito-kun…"

Light leaned in close, his breath hot on L's face. "Ryuuzaki, please don't die. Tell me what I can do, please. I can't lose you."

L smiled, letting the words burrow into his brain. This was a good way to go. "You barely know me, Raito-kun."

"That's not true!" Light yelled, his face turning pink. "You know that's not true, we're friends! We've been friends for months! We're…we're…I love you, Ryuuzaki. I love you, I love you, don't you dare die. Tell me how I can get you blood, I'll do anything!"

L felt tears prick at his eyes. "When did this happen?"

Light groaned in frustration. "That's not what's important right now!"

"Y-yes it is. Rot's spreading. Won't have strength to speak. I…want to hear it."

"Ryuuzaki…" The teenager sounded close to tears himself.

L let out a muffled whine as he felt his heart beat once erratically and grow completely still. All the blood in his body was depleted as his venom struggled to heal him. He didn't have a medium for it to move with anymore, at this point it was only a matter of time.

"R-Ryuuzaki, please don't." He heard Light bite back a sob. "P-please don't, I don't know what to do…I want to help you, please, God…"

L mustered up the strength to keep talking. His vision greyed, he couldn't see Light's auburn hair, his steady caramel eyes, his soft pink lips. "I-if I let you help, you won't…love me anymore."

The brunet snapped alert. "I can help? Tell me how, I'll do it."

L licked his lips with his sandpaper-dry tongue. "T-the blood that I need…it's your blood."

"I figured." Light said, and L did a double take before he heard the human's next words. "I looked for a way to transfuse my blood into you, but your strongbox doesn't have any equipment."

L let out a shallow, breathless laugh. "N-no, Raito-kun. I…need to drink your blood."

The teenager paused. "You need to…drink my blood? Like, I should slit my wrist or something?"

L's laugh turned into a sort of sob sticking in his throat. "A-are you sure about this?"

Light took a deep breath. "Yeah, I think I saw a knife in there somewhere, just give me a second."

"No need for that, Raito-kun." L squeezed his eyes shut. "Bring your neck close to me."

"My…neck?"

"Yes, Raito-kun." L hated that there were tears pooling in his eyes. How was it that forty percent of all his body fluids were gone, but those still existed? "Bring your neck close to my mouth."

"Okay…" The human leaned close to L, his sugary-sweet scent strong, the curve of a tan neck only inches from his lips. "What should I do?"

"You wait." L kept his eyes shut as his fangs jutted out, cutting the edges of his lips as they poked out of his mouth. "This will hurt."

L opened his mouth and sank his teeth into the brunet's warm skin.

.

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A/N: The moment you have all been waiting for! (I know I have) poor Light :( review and comment please! Give me some support! :D