Light patted himself on the back (not literally, because he could barely raise his arm, let alone bend it while it was up there). Three minutes, and he already had a viable cloth ladder ready from the drapes and the sheets that had been over the bed he had determinedly pushed in front of the door.

Wounds didn't bother him while he was in crisis mode. Nothing bothered him while he was in crisis mode. His body was a tool in itself, and he would work until he dropped because it wasn't every day there was a serial killer attempting escape in order to suck out his blood and kill him, and it definitely wasn't every day that his only refuge was a house full of vampires.

Nope. Light was not going to die today. It was a bad sign that his father knew where he was, because Yagami Soichiro (as of the last time he had seen him) wasn't going to believe him about the bloodsucking monsters that resided within the Detective L's premises (a precious few people would). This meant he had to strike out on his own, which wasn't a bad option because he had prepared for this.

Three years ago, when he first realised he was gay, Light had set up an escape plan. In case his father tried something drastic, which he was prone to do. The brunet had saved up on money, slipping it into a jar under his desk every day until he had enough to buy a plane ticket to China (with some left to spare). The prices were surprisingly low, meaning that with three years of saving up, he had enough to keep himself afloat for a couple months until he got a job and moved to wherever in the world he wanted to.

In addition to that, he had practiced making cloth ladders, an essential skill for someone with a room on the first floor. He had practiced religiously for two months straight until it came to him easy as riding a bike, a skill that was coming in handy now, since L had imprisoned him on the first floor as well.

The steps to his current plan were: 1. Climb out of the window using his awe-inspiring ladder. 2. Hitch a ride home (and make sure his shoulder wound was okay, this was going to be excruciating). 3. Sneak into his bedroom using Sayu as a potential ally and pack up his stuff and hitch another ride to the airport (the rest was history).

It was the best he could do under the circumstances. His head was still foggy, possibly due to the drugs (or the venom Matt kept mentioning) and he had to prepare himself to climb out the window with no safety guards, nothing.

Wow. Now that he thought about it, this was a crazy plan. Why couldn't he think straight? Why couldn't he think of something better? What had they drugged him with?

There was no time to spare. He had managed to successfully manipulate Matt, but that wouldn't keep him for long. Once he managed to wheedle a case file from Nate River and brought it back, Light would be caught, and he knew the bed in front of the door would hardly prove an obstacle for a vampire with superhuman strength.

Light threw the sheets out of the window, watching it unfurl until it touched the bushes sprouting from the freshly mown lawn outside the manor. He tugged at where he had fastened it to the heavy wardrobe, finding it as firm as he had expected (which was very, Light didn't do things halfway).

He took a deep breath and gripped the sheets as he put all his weight on it, placing his leg decisively on the first rung.

The brunet winced as his injured neck protested the exertion, but he didn't have time to stop. He had to be gone as soon as possible. He had seen Ryuuzaki run, he had to be out of sight before the vampires realised he was gone.

Step by step by step. Light's breaths were heavy, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead, but he was so fucking proud of his cloth ladder. It was brilliant, holding up to every shift in weight, and he had made it in literally three minutes. He'd love to see anyone else making a top-grade cloth ladder in three minutes.

Against his better judgement, the brunet looked down and felt his head spin. He was so far off the ground, it hadn't looked so high from the window. Fuck. He leaned into the ladder, clutching it tightly, his nails digging into the rough cloth. He let out a whimper, then shook his head, slowly dropping his leg to nestle it into the next rung. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This was such a bad idea, he hadn't accounted for his own weakness, he wasn't used to being weak. His limbs were aching, his several accumulated bruises sapping at his strength, and his shoulder wound felt like it had been branded on by a white-hot poker.

He closed his eyes, feeling for the next rung.

The cloth ladder shuddered and Light realised with a jolt that they were already here. The vampires were trying to open the door blocked by the bed, and the motion was shaking everything in the room.

Light bit his lip, the pain drawing his attention from his rapidly beating heart to the present. There was nothing productive to be gained from freaking out, he had to move now.

The cloth ladder trembled again. Someone had shoved the bed aside with a loud thud, and the jolt of the furniture against the wall almost tossed Light off of his ladder onto the ground. He clutched the fabric, ducking his head forward. His leg shivered as he made to take the next rung down.

"Raito-kun!" Ryuuzaki's voice called from the bedroom, so full of panic and concern it hurt to think of what he had done. "Raito-kun, where are you?"

He took the next step down, willing himself not to freeze up in terror. Step by step by step, he was going to make it to the ground…

Ryuuzaki stuck his head out of the window, his face pale and shadowed by his spiky black hair in the afternoon light, taking in a shaky gasp. "Raito-kun, bloody hell. Stay still!"

No, no, no. He gulped, digging his nails into the fabric. This was the worst case scenario, if he jumped now he could sprain a leg, and he couldn't run with a sprained leg…

"Hold on." The uncannily monotone voice was tinged with fear as the ladder suddenly dragged upwards by an inch. "Hold on, I'm going to pull you up!"

Light took a deep breath and jumped.

He hit the ground running, his legs managing to take the force of the leap, a feat to be applauded especially with his shoulder wound feeling like someone had scooped his flesh out with a carving knife. He held the bandaged injury tight as he stumbled haphazardly towards the road he could see from within the yard.

The gate was a few metres away, he could see that it was unlatched and led directly into the driveway. Maybe he could hijack one of the several sports cars parked there. He knew the basics of how to hotwire a car, but he was running on borrowed time and this wasn't going to work, was it? He wasn't going to escape, this whole thing was just one last-ditch effort-

There was a loud, rapid thumping as the vampire leaped out of the window and sprinted to catch up with him. Light cried out, running so desperately his legs almost gave out. His outstretched fingers were literally inches away from the handle of the gate when cold hands encircled his waist and lifted him off the ground.

"No! No, no, no, no!" His voice grew higher in pitch with every word as he was hauled backwards. "No, please, God!" He kicked out at his captor, screaming as he reached out frantically for the receding gate. The arms around his torso and waist were iron cables dragging him away. "No! No!"

His feet stumbled along as Ryuuzaki pulled him forcefully along towards the window with the long blanket ladder hanging out of it. His every breath heaved, raking down his throat. The adrenaline rushing through him dulled the pain of his wound, but it also fogged up his brain again. All he could do was struggle wildly against the man, his nails glancing off of his stone skin, his muscles straining uselessly, his screams dissolving into strangled moans as dizziness overtook him.

"Raito-kun, I am going to carry you." The vampire's words were quiet, a rumbling that echoed through his bones. Ryuuzaki hefted him up into his arms and Light fought, kicking and wriggling as he grabbed hold of anything within his grasp, the stones along the wall, the ladder itself and Ryuuzaki's hair, which he nearly ripped out in his frenzy.

"Stop it! Why are you doing this, what have I done? Why me, Ryuuzaki? What did I ever do to you?"

The vampire deposited him resolutely on the bare mattress of his bed and Light made to scramble up before his neck stabbed sharply and he fell onto his back, panting in agony. Ryuuzaki stood over him, impassive and chastising. It gave him déjà vu.

"Do you think I'm keeping you here for my own amusement, Yagami Raito?"

Light hissed. "You're keeping me here as a snack, you sick fuck."

Ryuuzaki rubbed a hand over his face. "If I wanted you as a snack, I would have eaten you already."

Light tried to sit up again, but it was impossible. His body was drained, the most he could do was prop himself up on his elbows, sticky with sweat. "If you consume me all at once, I won't produce any more blood, will I? And then you'll have to kidnap another innocent college kid to keep your perverse fantasies going." He turned away, wiping his damp forehead on his wrist. "You disgust me."

"I disgust you, do I?" The vampire bared his teeth, and Light could actually visibly see his canines elongate. Ryuuzaki crawled onto the bed and climbed on top of Light, thrusting his face inches from his, hands on both sides of him caging him in. "I thought you said you loved me." The detective's breath was sugar-sweet, as if he had binge-eaten a pack of chocolate-chip cookies.

"I did, and I meant it, you cruel bastard." The teenager stared him down, jaw tight. "I will never forgive you for this. You'll rot in hell."

"Forgive me for what? Protecting you from Amane Misa? You think what I did to you was bad, you should just see some of her victims. Haven't you seen Hishida Shino's report? Didn't you see the state of his body?"

Light let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Matt said something like that. Apparently, you treat me like a china doll." He touched the bandages over his neck, feeling the dip where they had grown damp with blood because of his expedition. "You don't have to worry. They locked her up again while you were hiding. You can free me now."

Ryuuzaki shifted off of Light, sticking his thumb into his mouth as he chewed on his nail.

The brunet smirked. "No, you're not going to do that, are you?"

The detective glared at him. "Do you really think a decades-old vampire is so easy to imprison? The reason the vampire hunters came after me yesterday, the implications of it…she has contacts within the Volturi, friends who will bend rules to help her out. She has set her mind on making you her mate, so until she is officially behind bars you are not safe, Raito-kun. Do you have a death wish? Do you wish to become Misa's undead lover for all of eternity?"

Light rolled his eyes. "You can give up the pretence of helping me, Ryuuzaki. We both know exactly what you're planning to do with your new little human." He fell limply onto the bed, exhausted. "Go ahead, do whatever you want. I'm helpless to fight back anyway."

For a minute there was silence, and then Ryuuzaki sniffled. Light peeked up curiously and saw that the detective was hiding his eyes under his fringe, crouching on top of the bed with his hands clasped in front of his mouth.

The voice that came from the huddled creature was rough, cracking. "I told you not to help me. I told you, several times. I told you you'd stop loving me if you did it but you did it anyway."

Light gaped at the sulking man. "Don't you dare make me look like the bad guy after you choke me and bite me and lock me in a house full of vampires."

Ryuuzaki's voice was muffled and quiet. "I'd rather have died than…have this. I've lived long enough to justify death."

"Seriously?" Light tried to scramble up to a sitting position, feeling his limbs give way but unable to give a single fuck. "That is seriously your concern? Not the fact that you tore my neck open, without warning, mind you, and-"

Ryuuzaki stopped him with a kiss, leaning forward and swallowing his words. His lips were cold against Light's, but didn't press down, only flitting above him with a moth's wing touch, his fingers brushing the line of his jaw. "Raito-kun, of all the things you can blame me for, not beating myself up over hurting you is not one of them." He mumbled against his lips. "I cannot tell you how much it kills me that I caused you any kind of discomfort. If I could, I would cut myself out of your life this instant, if only Amane Misa wasn't a vamp-"

Light's fist crashed into Ryuuzaki's cheekbone, catching him off-guard and moving his head slightly to the side. The brunet splayed his fingers in the air to ward off the shooting pain and narrowed his amber eyes, glaring at the man looming over him. "Don't you dare ever kiss me again, Ryuuzaki."

Ryuuzaki looked stunned, shifting off of the brunet. "R-right. Sorry."

"Now I'd appreciate it if you go away, thanks." Light bit out, closing his eyes as he felt a spike in his headache. He heard Ryuuzaki make a choked sound and revelled in it. That's right, feel sorry about it, you lying, abusive asshole.

Ryuuzaki drew a deep breath. "One thing before I go, Raito-kun. Just one thing."

"What?" Light cracked open an eye, watching as the pale man wrung his hands together nervously.

"I-if I had told you I was going to bite you…would you have refused me?" The vampire licked his lips. "I just…because if you would have, I…I…I need to feel much sorrier than I already do…which is impossible…" He finally met Light's eyes with those deep dark pools. "I will make it up to you, Raito-kun. I will, I swear to you. I will…" With an abrupt, startling sob, Ryuuzaki suddenly fell back to his crouch, burying his face in his arms as he shot out his words quicker than Light had ever heard him speak. "I will never cross your path again. The minute Amane Misa is sentenced, you will never see me again. I won't even-"

Light rolled his eyes. "Ryuuzaki."

The detective quietened down but did not raise his head. Light sighed. "Ryuuzaki, I wouldn't have refused you. You were dying, I would have let you do anything."

The black-haired man's dark eyes peeked out of his huddle. "Really?"

"Yeah. I told you, I loved you. I would have done that for you. All you needed to do was ask, but you didn't. You did it without a single warning. Am I seriously supposed to trust you after that?"

Ryuuzaki watched him with unblinking black eyes. "I…I've understood."

The teenager stared at him. "Understood what?"

"I've understood why you are upset." He whispered.

Light raised an eyebrow. "You have, have you?"

The pale man crawled over towards the brunet, stopping shortly in front of him, his expression mournful.

"It's not because I hurt you, though that does play its part. 93.8% of the problem is helplessness. My whole approach has resulted in Raito-kun losing all control. He doesn't like being confined to this house, he doesn't like being in the dark about things. He is physically weaker than everyone around him, he has been tossed around like a paper plane for nearly a week, he is injured and irritable and has a dangerous woman threatening his life."

Light raised his palm. "Get to the point, or I'll assume this is some retarded way to absolve yourself of what you did."

At that, those icy arms enveloped him, careful to avoid his wounded shoulder as they pressed him close. His lips touched the shell of his ear, his breath was surprisingly warm. "The point is, Raito-kun, that there was a 14% chance of this being your reaction. Fourteen out of a hundred, the minority. If my estimations are to be believed…I get to keep you."

"Excuse me?"

"It's simple." His hand cupped the brunet's jaw and turned it to face his own as he laid on the bed next to him. The black-haired man placed a single kiss on Light's forehead and smiled a smile tinted with sadness. "Raito-kun still loves me."

Light turned away. "Right."

"Do you deny it? Everything he has gone through, all of the horror, it hasn't ruined his image of me, not really. If I somehow fix this, my Raito will return to me. Am I wrong?"

Light shut his eyes, listening to the sound of his own breathing, his wound throbbing with heat.

"I love you, Raito-kun. Nothing will change that. Even if you reject me, even if you tell me to stay away, I will still love you."

The brunet sighed, opting not to answer. Ryuuzaki laid another kiss on his cheek.

"I'll let you rest, have Watari change your bandages. And if you want to leave, in spite of the threat of Misa's colleagues, please just ask me. Don't make your condition worse. I would never keep you against your will."

Light watched as Ryuuzaki crawled off of the bed and shuffled over to the doorway. He turned back, giving the brunet a lingering, longing glance. The teenager lifted a hand and casually flipped him the bird, pulling his legs close as he turned to his side, his cheek resting against the firm mattress.

The detective quirked a smile. "When you wake up, I shall explain everything to you. Perhaps you will feel better then."

Light suppressed a yawn. All this talk of sleeping…and his already run-down body… He had to focus on escaping (didn't he?)…but maybe a nap really was in order.

"You know, Raito-kun, for someone who doesn't want to be a damsel in distress, you sure do act like one." The vampire zipped to the window, yanking up the ladder of sheets and drapes. "Climbing out the window with your bedsheets? Will you wish upon a star next?"

"Fuck off, Ryuuzaki."

Ryuuzaki laughed quietly, pulling the door shut behind him.

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A/N: Review and comment, it's really encouraging!