A/N: Hello, lovelies. :3
Oh, this is going to be a good couple weeks. This is going to be a GREAT couple weeks. Why? Because it's the beginning of the NPA ball arc. And I don't know about you, but I'm so fucking excited for this. I've been sitting on this damn near since the beginning. So, instead of gushing about it, how about I just...give it to you? Sound like a plan? I think so. Love you x
And to my guest review from a little while ago, fear not, child. For I have come with a new chapter. And a daaaaaamn good one. With yet another big cliffhanger…:3 I'm such an asshole.
"Why couldn't I have gotten a punch to the dick instead?" Light groaned, just barely holding on and hardly on this side of wanting to walk into oncoming traffic, "That would've been so much better."
"Are you going to be ok?" L worried, carefully and covertly slipping his hand in Light's.
"It depends," Light thought, "Did the room drop twenty degrees or is it just me?"
"It is kind of cold in here."
"She's here," Light growled, "Fantastic. Just fucking wonderful."
L wasn't sure what to do. He never had to deal with Light like this. Not in a truly miserable state like this. Especially not in such a public setting. But bless him, he was trying his best, "Tell me who to avoid."
"Alright," Light took a slow, easy breath, doing his best to calm himself down, "But first, I need a drink. Can we go to the bar first?"
"Lead the way." At this point, Light, the world is yours. Anything you need, do not hesitate to ask me. I'll be more than happy to give it to you. L followed Light to the bar and took a seat next to him.
"Can I get a cosmo, please?" Light ordered, catching L by surprise.
"Seriously?" L wondered, "Cosmos, Light?"
"Don't fucking judge me," Light snapped, "I need a buzz to get through this night."
"Light," L grabbed a hold of his wrist under the bar, applying a subtle pressure, "I understand you're a little on edge, but you don't talk to me like that."
"I…" Light shook off his sudden bitterness, "I'm sorry. That wasn't meant for you."
"I know," L's grip eased up, "Now, tell me who to avoid."
"Ok," Light took a good, heavy drink from his martini glass, feeling that warmth run through his body. He pointed toward the dark haired man in the corner, all by himself, "Teru Mikami. Actual human garbage. After she and I split, he stalked me for a couple months. He got to the point where he scaled the side of my house while my parents were out of town and tried to climb into my bedroom. Instead of sneaking into my bedroom window, he snuck into my sister's room and curled up with her in her bed. Never fully charged with breaking and entering, but I did put my fist in his nose."
"Yikes." I knew that already, Light. I heard it straight from Sayu, "Who else should I avoid?"
"Her," Light hid a melancholic smile, nodding toward a beautiful woman in a deep red dress with a few other reporters, "Kiyomi Takada. Or, as I like to call her, the one that got away."
"The news reporter?" L looked at him strange, "Really? You managed to hook up with Kiyomi Takada?"
"Yeah," Light went on, "She was mine in my first year of college. We had a class together. She was smart and beautiful and absolutely amazing. But then, we went our separate ways when she came into the picture."
"I'm assuming you and Miss Takada ended amicably," L hoped.
"I was forced to burn that bridge," Light remembered. I wouldn't say it ended amicably. Takada was pissed, "Takada said I was cheating on her. Which wasn't true. I wasn't cheating on her. I couldn't do that. Not to someone like her. But at the time, I wasn't allowed to have any other women in my life that wasn't my mom or my sister."
"So," L figured, "No more Takada?"
"No more Takada," Light sipped on his cosmo, "It wasn't pretty. But then…Then, it was her."
"And who was her?"
"I still can't tell you that," Light reminded him, "There's a reason why she hired Mikami to serve me an NDA."
"I know," L put a discreet arm around Light's waist, "I know. It's alright, Light. I understand."
"Thank you," Light finally could muster up a smile. A real one. Not one hiding heartbreak. Not one for the sake of appearances.
"Hey!" Matsuda came running over to the bar, already with a few drinks under his belt, "Light! Ryuzaki!"
"Hi, Matsuda," Light greeted him, maneuvering out of L's embrace, "What do you want?"
"Have you heard?" Matsuda chirped, "Misa Misa's here!"
"Really?" L perked up, "What would she be doing here?"
"Thank you, Matsuda," Light brushed him off, a deep disdain in his voice, "Good to know."
"I'm going to go see if we can get a picture!" Matsuda took off, leaving L and Light at the bar.
"What's the matter, Light?" L teased, "Not a big Misa Misa fan?"
"You know who she is?" Light's blood ran cold.
"Yeah," L nodded, "Why?"
"Let's just say," Light felt his stomach turn, "I'm legally not allowed to confirm or deny if I'm a Misa Misa fan."
"What?" L wasn't sure what he was getting at. You're acting awfully strange, "Light? Are you ok?"
"Think about it, L," Light's hands started shaking, "Why might I not be able to talk about her? Her specifically?"
Come on, L. You're one of the smartest people I've ever met in my life. Please figure this one out. And don't make me talk about her anymore. Then, L started piecing things together. With every turn of the gears in his head, his eyes only got bigger. He grabbed Light by the hand and dragged him off to a much more secluded corner of the hotel's ballroom. L made sure to keep his voice down, "You were with Misa Amane?"
"I can't talk about it," Light bit his lip, "I cannot confirm nor deny."
"So, yes?" L assumed.
"I cannot confirm nor deny for legal reasons."
"So, yes," L nodded, "Yikes…"
"You're telling me," Light grumbled under his breath, "L…I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me with nothing but honesty. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, Light," L promised, "What is it?"
Light let out one deep breath, bracing himself for the answer, "Are you a Misa Misa fan?"
"If we're being honest," L answered, "I was. Every magazine cover she's ever done, I had them all saved. But I'm not anymore."
"What changed?" Light asked, suppressing another round of nausea.
"I found out she was a terrible human being," L explained, moving closer to Light. What better time than now, right? Hopefully, he'll understand, "She hurt someone I care about very much. I can't forgive her for that."
In that moment, Light's brain may or may not have completely short circuited, "What?"
What the hell is he saying? Is it because of me that he's lost interest in Misa? Is he really willing to throw away that kind of dedication for me? This is weird. All the while we were together, I was never the first choice. It was always Misa. No one cared about me. I wasn't the sparkling star in the sky like she is. But…He cares…He cares? About me? What? When did that happen? Did I miss something? Because I'm starting to think I might have missed something.
"Of course, Light," L assured him, "How could I side with someone so terrible when she hurt someone so wonderful? What kind of person would do that? I've been accused of being cold and calculating more than once, but I'm not totally heartless."
"It's…" Light struggled to find words, "It's not that…I…You…"
"Light?" a gentle voice called out to him. One he hadn't heard speak his name in so long. One he missed terribly.
"Takada!" Light gasped, "Hi!"
"Hi," she let out a sweet, little giggle, "Wow. I never thought you'd be so excited to see me."
"Yeah!" Light still wasn't sure what was happening or where his sudden enthusiasm came from, "It's great to see you."
L looked Takada over a little closer. Huh. I can see why Light liked her. She's pretty. She seems sweet. There has to be something else here. It can't be that simple. But then, L caught Light out of the corner of his eye. And his heart dropped. She's your Naomi, isn't she, Light? If you could, you'd get back together with her in a heartbeat. You were ripped apart by unfortunate circumstances and if she told you to jump tomorrow, you'd ask her how high. The thought broke L's heart. But he quickly shook it off.
"Should you even be seen with me?" the sharp acidity in Takada's voice was enough to snap L out of his headspace, "Where's your little Princess Misa?"
"Excuse me?" As if nails scraped on a chalkboard, Light flinched at the sound of a voice he wish he never heard.
"Misa!" Takada awed cattily, "I thought I smelled cheap perfume and even cheaper vodka somewhere."
Uh-oh. Light did his best to not let this escalate, "Hi, Misa."
"Light," Misa hissed, her venomous eyes glaring a hole through him, "So, you ran back to your reliable slut, did you?"
"Misa…" Light fought tooth and nail to not show cowardice in front of Misa. The minute she sniffs that out, I'm fucked.
"Anything would be an upgrade from the last bitch he was with," Takada pointed out, only stoking Misa's fire, "Some whiny little brat that figures she's entitled to the world. Misa, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"What did you way to me, bitch?!" Misa screeched.
"Misa…" Light pulled her away from Takada in hopes of avoiding any bloodshed, "What brings you here?"
"Role research," Misa told him, snaking herself around his arm, "I'm playing a criminal in my next movie, so I started seeing a cop. He thought he'd show off and take me here. What can I say? I stick with what I know. Now, how about we go somewhere a little quieter? I'd love for us to talk."
"Actually, Misa," Takada took Light's other arm, "We were just about to go get a drink. You understand if I tell you to fuck off, don't you?"
"I don't think so, sweetheart," Misa stood her ground, ready (and more than willing) to throw a punch in Takada's face.
"I have to go," Light shook them both off and ran as far away as he could, leaving L between a rock and a hard place.
"And who are you?" Misa wondered, looking L over.
"Me?" L asked, holding back a smug grin, "I'm the one that's got what you both can't have. Excuse me."
But behind L's smugness, an even deeper sadness ran through him. It's amazing. Just a few words out of her and Light's progress is out the window. I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. If anyone's going to put him through emotional turmoil, it's going to be me. Not that I'd ever do what she did to him. He doesn't deserve that a second time. Hard to believe someone like Light was with a monster like Misa Amane. Even harder to believe that the angel Misa Misa portrays in public could be so cold and cruel.
L knew what he needed to do. However, he was left torn. Do I go find Light first? No. He probably doesn't want to deal with me right now. And I'm not going to push him. I'll let him be alone. For now. He knows where I'll be when he's ready. But for now, I need to find one person. Only one would be able to make this mess make sense for him. L scanned around the room in search of Sayu, but she was nowhere to be found.
"L!" Instead of L finding Sayu, Sayu found L first, "Hi!"
"Hi, Sayu," L let out a sigh of relief, "You're just the person I wanted to see."
"Come dance with me," Sayu begged, "We can talk then. And no one would be the wiser. Light won't mind, will he?"
"I…Don't know."
"L," Sayu started to get nervous, "Where is Light?"
"I don't know that one either," L admitted, "He just took off. Can we talk for a minute?"
"Sure," Sayu wasn't going to turn him away, "Is everything alright?"
"I know now," L took her hand and led her toward the dance floor, using their dance as an excuse, "Misa revealed herself."
"Oh, no," Sayu winced, slowly moving with L, "How'd Light take that?"
"Probably as bad as what Miss Takada did," L cringed, "It wasn't pretty, Sayu. And I'm sure I didn't make it any better."
"You?" Sayu asked, "What did you do?"
"I might have told Light something I needed to keep to myself," L grumbled, spinning Sayu away from him.
"L…?" Sayu spun back into him gently, "What did you tell him?"
Meanwhile, Light had made a nest for himself in a bathroom stall. He needed somewhere quiet to ease his racing thoughts. Why? Why did they both have to be here? Why did they have to find each other? And L! I haven't even given L a thought. He…He flat out told me he cared. About me. I mean, this might have been the worst night to tell me something like that, but maybe…Just maybe, he had a method to his madness. Maybe it was the best night. Worst timing, though. But he cares.
The stories I've heard about his exes, though. I don't sound like any of them. Other than the one he told about me. The one that wouldn't ask for help if he was hanging off a cliff. The one that needs to be loved more than anyone. His favorite kind of melancholy. Maybe I am that broken. L's description got Light thinking. Not enough to make him anxious again, but enough to make him smile. How long has he been wanting to tell me this?
Light pulled himself together, doing his best to not break down again. I shouldn't leave him on his own. God only knows what he's telling Misa and Takada. I doubt he'd say anything about us, but I don't need that risk. Or worse, he could've found my dad and asked for my hand already. Light shook the thought of their spring wedding out of his head. Definitely not during peak cherry blossom season in Nakameguro. That was the last thing on his mind. I need to find L and explain everything.
However, when Light looked back up from the sink, a reflection in the mirror caught him off guard, "Did you miss me?"
