A/N: This will probably seem like I'm pulling it out of my bum, but I'm really not. XD It's been in the outline from the beginning. :D EMBRACE THE TROPE!
They painted in relative peace for the next hour or so, not talking much. The room was starting to look great, and Light was pleased. The color was absolutely perfect—Wammy had nailed it—and as long as it didn't turn a funny shade while drying, this had been an excellent decision.
Light took a moment to step back and admire it when-
"Hi guys!"
C. Which necessarily meant…
Light turned around. "Hello," he said cautiously to the pair in their doorway. Out of the corner of his eye he saw L standing up as well.
"It looks great!" C enthused, lacing his and B's fingers together.
"Yes," B agreed. "I like that color." He looked at L, whose shirt was covered in it. "I observe that you are not a gifted painter."
L said nothing. His paintbrush slipped out of hands and he quickly bent to pick it up before it could glue itself to the tarp. His face was cool and impassive but there was something about the set of his back that Light wasn't used to seeing.
B's eyes turned to Light.
"He's doing fine," C laughed, looking at L's wall. "Look, not a single streak." He nudged B gently.
B nodded, back to staring at L, who turned his back on him and started painting again.
"It really looks good, K. What a unique birthday present idea," C continued.
B was still staring at L, watching every stroke of the paintbrush.
"Thanks…"
Silence. A good two minutes of it. If C noticed B's eyes following every up and every down of L's paintbrush, he didn't seem to think anything of it.
"Well, good luck you two," C said as if they'd just had a nice chat. "Don't do a second coat until that one is fully dry."
"Good reminder, thank you," Light said stiffly.
C gave him one last "off" smile, then looked as if something had just occurred to him. "Oh, K, I've been meaning to say this. We should hang out sometime. We never see each other anymore."
"Absolutely," Light said immediately. "Any time you'd like."
"Good," C nodded, and they were gone.
The moment they were out of sight, Light leapt over to the door, closing it firmly and locking it. "The window should be enough ventilation," he blurted.
L nodded several times, turning yet again to look at him. "Definitely enough ventilation. It's a window, so, the air will come in and out."
"And, this way we won't make the rest of the House smell like paint."
"We are terribly considerate."
"We are."
They looked at the window. Light thought about the windows at the house next to B's and how they'd been sealed off. He took a deep breath and poured more paint into the tray, dipping the roller into it.
"I could feel his eyes on my back," L mumbled as he hunkered back down to finish off the last edge.
"They were on the paintbrush," Light said. "He was just watching."
"…I suppose."
"No I'm agreeing with you," Light interrupted. "He was just… watching."
They were silent as they painted some more.
Finally, Light cleared his throat. "So, they're not usually. In the library at night, right?"
"No," L said, sounding relieved about it.
"Right, because. It would be weird if they were there while we were sleeping."
They both took some time to think about that.
"Of course, K-kun has already experienced that," L pointed out. "And it was fine. C likes you, he wouldn't let B…"
"Yes," Light agreed instantly. "He likes me, so he wouldn't let B. Be in the library at night."
L's shoulders relaxed visibly. "Yes. Of course."
"Of course."
They painted in silence until eventually they finished the job.
To Light's surprise, Mr. Wammy was in the cafeteria when he and L arrived for dinner.
"Hello, boys," the old man said as they sat down with their plates. "I couldn't find you."
"Then we have excellent timing," L said, taking a large forkful of cake and stuffing it into his mouth. "A meeting?"
"Momentarily, yes."
Light checked around to make sure no one new was dead, but it seemed everyone was present...
Wammy approached the front of the cafeteria, and all eyes were on him. There was a distinct tension in the room…
He noticed it and looked puzzled. "Relax, children, no bad news today."
There was an audible sigh of relief as people sat back in their seats and started eating, still paying attention.
He smiled at this. "It should be good news, I think. In any case, no tragedy has occurred."
Out of the corner of his eye, Light caught someone look over at B. He didn't blame her.
"We've had a psychologist in. A team of them, rather. Trusted ones, of course."
Oh God they were all going to be mandated so much therapy…
"They were tasked with observing not individuals but the environment of this House."
Oh good.
"What they concluded was that although the fast-paced curriculum and high-pressure atmosphere is very conducive to learning, it is having negative effects on your ability to socialize, your play and leisure activities and, well, your mental health."
Oh, so it was because of A.
"Originally, of course, I had hoped to achieve a balance between the rigor of the House and the other aspects of life. That was the purpose of weekends off and Thursday night dinners, as well as the requirement of having a roommate until the age of ten, which as you all know is no longer an option since the addition of the other orphanage. I would like to take this moment to say that I am genuinely sorry for any problems my curriculum may have caused. I hope you know that it was never by any means my intention, and that should you find yourself overwhelmed or distressed, my door is always open to discuss any problem you may have, whether it be with your own work or the very structure of the school."
The new lines that Wammy's face had developed since the death of A seemed even deeper right now.
"The recommendation of the psychologists is simple," Wammy continued. "Time off. Summers off, in fact."
Light stared. Summers off? A whole, what, four months of just nothing? Of just wandering around the House and doing nothing?
"Now I can't honestly imagine you collectively appreciating a very long summer break, but I do think you could all benefit from a month off."
A month?
"And," Wammy added, "a holiday."
Light's tiny little world of Wammy's House was collapsing in on itself. Time off, and leaving the House? What was he supposed to do with that? Or, simply, do? Weekends were tough enough to fill…
"So with Roger and the psychologists, I have designed a summer camp for you all in Reading."
Silence.
"It will be largely indoors," he added quickly.
Many sighs of relief. Light exchanged a glance with L. This was highly unexpected and… not really welcome. He supposed the stress was probably really high for some of the other students, but he didn't really want a break.
"It will take up three weeks of the month's holiday," Wammy went on after giving people a moment to whisper amongst themselves. "There will be counselors, outdoor activities, crafts, classes, teambuilding, and free time. Everything you would expect from a 'normal' summer camp experience."
Classes, good.
"The counselors will, of course, be thoroughly screened, and the outdoor activities will be… suitable. Roommates will be randomly selected, sorry you may not choose but we are also focusing on teambuilding, like I said."
Light immediately looked at B and C. C was clutching B's hand like a lifeline. Light knew they'd find a way, no matter how 'random' this selection process may be.
"Classes, which I am sure you're all most interested in, will be on leisure activities and hobbies. There will be many to choose from and they will rotate. There will also be a meditation class and a socialization class, with outside guests."
Light suspected that this was not exactly standard for camps, but he didn't have a great frame of reference. And please, socialization? He had that mastered. Though he could understand how deeply some of the others needed the practice. If nothing else it would be a chance to be charming in front of groups of students, and he was sure L would fail entirely.
"This will be happening next week. I am obviously aware that it is not summer, but the psychologists have emphasized that there is no time to lose. After this, though, assuming the event is successful, it will be an annual summer break. Are there any questions?"
A few students raised their hands and asked something, mostly about food or their ability to maintain their quirks while away (like the kid who needed to always have a stick of chalk nearby and would frequently color his palms with it, leaving handprints everywhere to the despair of Roger, who was a neat freak, and G, who was mildly allergic to chalk). When all questions were answered, Wammy excused himself and left the students to their discussion of this turn of events.
"I don't want to go," Light complained as they walked to the library. They'd stayed late in the cafeteria because everyone had wanted to ask Light what he thought of the camping idea. He'd enthused that it was brilliant, it would be so nice to all just be together without the stress of classes, that mental health should always come first and he'd been worried about some of the students, that it would be a blast, just a blast.
But to L, he went on to say, "Who wants to do nothing for a month?"
"It will hardly be nothing, K-kun," L speculated as they entered the large doors. The library was mostly abandoned, as it was a weekend. "I'm sure Mr. Wammy will fill the three weeks with many worthwhile activities."
Light huffed. "That implies that nothing here is a worthwhile activity, or that classes about hobbies are more important than learning anything we normally learn."
"I am certain that making lanyards will someday be the difference between a successful case and a forever unsolved spree killing," L said, and all at once Light realized L was being sarcastic. Shit, that was actually funny.
He sat down on his makeshift bed, looking at L as L crouched down on his own nest. "You don't want to go either," he said.
"However could K-kun tell."
Light rolled his eyes and lay back, punching his pillow to make it cooperate. He looked at L from the corner of his eye. He was crouching, looking at the ceiling.
"If I am assigned to room with C or B, may I possibly come stay with you?" L asked.
"Yeah. And me?"
"Yes, of course."
L's big dark eyes turned to Light. He didn't say anything.
The silence dragged on for a very long time under L's scrutiny. Was it just something that went with geniuses, that they all had weird eyes? C, B, L… And why was his heart rate elevated? He ordered it to stop. It didn't. Maybe meditation classes would actually be a good idea…
When Light could officially feel nothing but L staring at him, he suddenly said, "Though maybe you could use those socialization classes."
L continued staring for just a moment longer. Then, "Indeed," he said simply, and lay down to sleep.