L couldn't take his eyes off of Light-kun.
His thoughts were a mess. The boy had kissed him, his lips were still tingling, he had kissed him despite everything, despite the fact that L had ruined his life, had hurt him, betrayed him, destroyed everything he had worked for.
Despite the fact that he had lied to him from the very minute they met.
And he looked so radiant, sitting there whispering to his father in Japanese, reassuring the man on the other end of his physical state, of his safety, of L's intentions towards him (that had to be a point, didn't it? L's intentions were in doubt, L was in doubt. He was a villain, a terrible man who had hurt so many people…), with that small smile on his face, the smile had not faded since he had taken the phone from L.
L did not know what Light was doing, giving him those smiles, those glances, that kiss, why was he giving him hope? There was no chance for them, remember? They were enemies, didn't he remember?
There was another way...
Compromise.
L watched Light as he spoke with his father. His head was tilted ever so slightly forward, his long eyelashes moving as he blinked, dark and thick, his high cheekbones casting a shadow on his cheeks in the dim lighting. His auburn hair looked deep brown, falling over his eyes and resting tamely around his face. The line of his jaw as he spoke, ever shifting and moving, his lips, pink and perfect, neither full nor thin and so soft he wished he had never pulled away from the kiss. And then his eyes, his lovely gold-brown eyes, darting purposefully as he spoke, always direct and forceful, he had never seen those eyes dull, not even in his weakest moments. They were always thinking, always figuring something out, always working. They flitted up to snare him, now, drilling right into him, right into his core.
There was another way.
L couldn't help the mad grin that filled his face. There was another way! He could have it both, he could have it all, all he needed to do was compromise!
It was already set up for him, it wasn't as if he was acting as Kira anymore. It was Misa and Mikami who were the Kiras of now, L's position was little more than an administrative head. He was their God, but they were doing God's work. All L needed to do to get both Light and his Kiradom was let things progress. Give Mikami the Note without renouncing ownership, allow him to do as he pleased. It wasn't as if L cared in the slightest what Kira was doing for the world.
This thing, this whole thing had started because he was bored. Well, he wasn't bored anymore, was he? He could take over Mello's cases, kill off Roger to eliminate that minor suspicion, he could become the greatest detective in the world once again, with Kira as his ally and Light by his side. He could have it all!
He brushed his fingers over his still-tingling lips, and he wanted to kiss him again so badly, he wanted to press him against a wall the way he had done on their third date, he wanted to ravage him and pleasure him and make him happy, he wanted him to smile at him that way for the rest of his life.
Light's expression changed, turning sober, and L checked the clock. Exactly five minutes. Mikami was nothing if not punctual, and yet L wanted to reprimand him, shout at him for wiping the smile off of his partner's face. Light snapped the phone shut and handed it back to L, who pocketed it and looked back up to see the boy beaming at him.
"Thank you, Ryuuzaki."
L shook his head. "Don't thank me, Light. It's the least I could do."
"No, it's not. Ryuuzaki, it was really nice of you, I don't know what to say. I'm more grateful-"
L leaned over and placed his palm over Light's mouth. "Don't thank me. I feel terrible enough about all this as it is."
Light nodded, looking away. His smile was gone, but L wasn't worried. He was sure that his compromise would bring it back. It would bring it all back, he could have it all. L began to plan it out in his head, giddy with excitement. He hadn't even dared to imagine a world where he wasn't Kira four days ago. He should, ideally, thank Ryuk. The meddling Shinigami had shown him a new path to happiness, whether he wanted to or not.
"Ryuuzaki? Shall we return to the hotel, now?"
L gave Light his biggest smile, the one that made him look borderline creepy, and hopped off the chair. "Yes, Light-kun. We shall."
.
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A/N: Review and comment please!