Escape me?
Never—
Beloved!
While I am I, and you are you,
So long as the world contains us both,
Me the loving and you the loth,
While the one eludes, must the other pursue.
-Robert Browning, Life in a Love
Misa sat among a forest of lush foliage, decked in a creamy white satin négligée, her back arched against a faux railing, a seductive smile on her burgundy lips.
"Perfect!"
Click click click
"Tilt your head to the left, just a little."
Click click click
"That one looks great, I think we have it!"
Misa accepted the black silk robe someone had draped over her shoulders. She tied it closed haphazardly and got up to hop around the camera to check the pictures out.
"Ah! They came out great!" Misa exclaimed clapping her hands together. "You're so talented and you made my boobs look amazing!"
Naomi Misora was Misa's favorite photographer to work with. She was always so positive, encouraging and best of all, unlike some of the male photographers she worked with, she didn't have to worry about being hit on. Days she worked with Naomi always flew by.
Naomi laughed, switching through the photos as the crew around them began taking props and photo equipment down, "I think you should thank wardrobe for that one. And your mother perhaps."
Naomi turned to her as she slid her camera into its case, "Hey, if you have some time would you like to come over and have a coffee or something? I feel like it's been forever since we've talked."
"Yes, I'd love that!" Misa said excitedly, "I'll finish getting dressed!"
Out of all the people Misa had in her life, Naomi was the only one she counted as a genuine friend. She got along fine with the other models at her agency, but something with Naomi just clicked.
When Misa first worked with her she worried she'd be too strict. Naomi walked in with her black turtleneck and leather jacket looking beautiful, but slightly severe. Whispers around the studio said she was hard to please, but in time Misa found she was the opposite. Unlike most of the photographers her agency hired, who would fawn all over her and have her do stale poses she hated for long periods of time, Naomi deferred to Misa when it came to what looked best. She valued her input, made sure she was hydrated and comfortable. Her photo-shoots would also have a much smaller crew that she hand selected. So from the outside it made her look picky, but Misa knew it was just because she put care into her work. And it showed; the pictures she took always did the best in magazines and online sales. Whenever Misa had a choice of photographer, she chose her every time.
After a short taxi ride to Naomi's apartment, Misa settled on the couch with a happy sigh. It had been several weeks since she'd last been able to spend any time with her friend. She loved visiting her, because Naomi's home was like an oasis in the city. It overflowed with different types of greenery. Big, wild ferns nestled into corners, their spiky leaves jutting out next to floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a small courtyard that was currently filled with flowering hydrangea. Small pots with pothos hung above, their tendrils curling gracefully downward. By the front door Naomi's pride and joy, a giant monstera plant, greeted visitors. Misa noticed with some pride that the small succulent she bought her was sitting neatly on the side table.
Naomi bustled around the home, bringing her out a mug of coffee and sweets, setting them on the coffee table. "Did you talk to the agency about your stalker again?"
Misa grabbed a cookie to nibble at and rolled her eyes. "I did, but you know how they are. They're useless. They think I should be flattered."
Naomi frowned, shaking her head in disgust. "I don't like it. I know how this pattern of behavior goes. You know, I could always contact someone in the bureau to see if they could help?"
Naomi was formerly an investigator working overseas, but quit to pursue a dream of being a photographer. Something she had confessed to Misa one rare night they had gone out drinking together. She was the only person aside from Ryuzaki of whom she had confided about the stalker.
"It's okay. I found someone who'll stop this creep for sure."
Misa said this confidently, a small smile playing at her lips. She took another bite at the cookie and looked up to see Naomi leaning forward, an eyebrow arched in surprise, "Oh really?"
Misa nodded, "Only, it's a secret, so don't tell anyone! He's really good though."
"He?" Naomi eyed her skeptically. "Where did you meet this one?"
"He's not just some guy I flirted with and conned into helping me!" Misa huffed, "Trust me, I tried. He's immune to my feminine charms." She pouted at this for a moment before continuing, "But he's really smart and he's helped me before. I trust him."
Naomi settled back into her chair, "So you know him pretty well then?"
Misa nodded again. She never told Naomi about what happened to her parents or Ryuzaki. Not that she didn't trust her; she just didn't want the pity. Not to mention reliving it again would be painful. The pictures the stalker sent alarmed Naomi even without knowing about the one of her parents grave.
Naomi grinned over her cup of coffee, "Well if he's immune to your feminine charms then I guess he can be trusted."
Misa wrinkled her nose at this, "It's really not flattering. What works on other guys doesn't work on him."
"Misa-Misa doesn't work?" Naomi asked innocently.
Misa threw her a withering stare, "That's my model persona!"
She hugged a throw pillow to her chest and mumbled, "But no, it didn't work."
"Maybe he has a girlfriend?" Naomi suggested.
Misa bolted upright, "No way! You think?"
Naomi took a long sip before replying, "Or, he's not a creep and thinks the Misa-Misa thing is annoying. Either way."
"I should throw a plant at you."
"But this man...you're not interested in him are you?" Naomi asked curiously.
Misa waved her hand dismissively, "No way. I just respect him. He's totally a weirdo, but like I said: he really helped me out. I can count on him. He took me serious when no one else did. He's just..."
"Important?"
She went silent. Even when she was seventeen Ryuzaki had fascinated her. She remembered even through her grief being shocked when they brought him on to her case. Watari, who she met first, assured her Ryuzaki was the world's best, that he happened to be in Tokyo and was interested in solving her case. Why hers? She couldn't believe it at the time. That barefooted freak was who they thought would solve the case? Regardless of her misgivings, she was proven wrong.
"Misa?"
She let out a breath, "Sorry, lost in thought. Yeah, he's important. That's all."
Misa wandered aimlessly around her apartment peeking through the gauzy dark curtains to gaze at the city lights. The rain that softly spattered on her window echoed in her quiet apartment. Her phone lay black and silent on her bedside table along with a cup of tea she let go cold hours ago.
Two full weeks passed since her meeting with Ryuzaki. She was grateful for her day with Naomi to distract her, but now that she was alone she felt ill at ease.
It was nearing midnight, but she felt no urge to sleep. Just restless, wishing she could hear from him already. She wondered what he was like when he wasn't working on a case. Was he ever not working on one? She thought of his dark circles and guessed he probably wasn't asleep either. The thought gave her some comfort.
She remembered what Naomi said about him having a girlfriend and felt a twinge of irritation. He was strange enough that she probably didn't have to worry about that, she reasoned. Not that him having a girlfriend was something she would worry over. He might even be a virgin still. She stifled a giggle and then sighed. She was the weird one obsessing over the sex life of a man with bad posture and a sugar addiction.
Her phone dinged from beside her bed and she all but flew across the room to check it. Instead of a call from Ryuzaki, however, it was another dm from the same twitter account as before.
She froze. Her stomach dropped as she opened it. Inside, a string of hundreds of rose emojis lit up the screen. She frowned at it, thumb quickly scrolling through to the bottom where they had also typed, "Enjoy." A knock then sounded ominously at her apartment door.
She jerked her head towards the security camera where she could see a delivery man setting a box in front of her door and walking away. Her heart pounded furiously in her ears, her breathing accelerated. Panic was beginning to reach a crescendo inside of her before the phone rang in her hands.
An unfamiliar number.
She stared down at it in mute horror before sliding a shaking finger across to answer, "H-hello?"
"It's me."
She clutched at her chest, "Ryuzaki!"
"I'm monitoring your security camera. Don't open the door and don't get the package. I'm on my way."
Misa looked at the security screen again where the unassuming box lay. She was struck with a terrifying thought.
"What if it's a bomb or something?"
"I highly doubt that, but just in case I have a team with me to assist. Just stay where you are. I'll be there soon."
"Please don't hang up!" She pleaded, tears springing into her eyes, "Please, I'm so scared. Don't leave me alone."
The phone was silent for a beat before he answered, "I'll stay on the line until we arrive at your building."
Liquid dread coursed through her veins. She only had one way in and out of the apartment. If something happened before he arrived, she had no way out unless she wanted to jump from her window. The thought turned her stomach.
"Go sit down" he suggested.
She curled herself in a corner of her living room on the floor where she could still see the screen. She breathed heavily into the phone.
"You're having a panic attack. You should control your breathing."
"I'm fine." She lied, her eyes locked onto the box on the screen.
"You should distract yourself. Talk about your day."
She could hardly think. Her heart still beat frantically in her chest, "I don't-I don't know."
"You do." He insisted, "Did you work today?"
She thought back to Naomi at the photo shoot and said in an unsteady whisper. "Yes. I had a photo shoot."
"What else?"
"I visited my friend."
"What did you talk about?"
Bits and pieces now came back, the black waves of panic began to ebb slowly away. She thought back to their conversation and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Whether or not you have a girlfriend."
His voice sounded slightly amused when he spoke. "And what was your conclusion?"
"She said you might, but I think you're too weird." No shut up too honest, too honest! And despite her fear, she felt her face go red.
She heard him say something muffled to someone he was with along with the sound of car doors slamming.
"We're here. Stay where you are."
The line went dead. She scrambled up from her crouched position to watch the security cam. A minute later a group of men dressed in black tactical gear approached the box cautiously and scanned it with a device before carefully hauling it off.
Her phone lit up, she answered immediately.
"You can open the door now Misa."
She hugged her robe to her trembling body and unlatched the door, flinging it open.
Ryuzaki stepped in shaking the rain off his shaggy hair. She shut the door quickly behind him, locking it again.
"Well what's in it?" She asked hurriedly.
"I'm not sure yet. It's not explosive, but my team will have it tested and we'll know soon enough."
She sighed and slumped onto the couch, but sat up almost immediately. "Ryuzaki if he was watching me, he'll know what happened!"
He nodded, "Yes, I was hoping as much. We'll see what move he makes now. I've been monitoring your security camera closely and I haven't seen anyone suspicious by your apartment."
"What about the delivery guy?"
"He was paid to deliver after hours over the phone. He had no idea what he was delivering."
Misa groaned slumping back again. "This is so frustrating. What does he want, a date? To kill me? What is his goal here?"
Ryuzaki looked out the front window of her apartment, poking back the sheer curtain with a long finger.
"What were you doing when I called?"
"I was sitting on the floor freaking out! You know that."
"That's what his goal is."
Misa said nothing as he continued studying the view from her window.
"You, cowering on the floor in fear is exactly what he's after."
She swallowed the rising lump in her throat, "So what, I just pretend I'm not afraid of him?"
"I'd start first with using your blinds more often. I was able to see you get undressed tonight."
Misa's fear was briefly replaced with shock as she gasped, "You what?"
He shrugged, "You wanted me to help and part of that is seeing where there's weakness in your security. Your windows are basically open for anyone to look into."
She grit her teeth, "Fine, consider it done. Anything else you pervert?"
He tapped his chin thinking for a moment, "To address what you asked before: yes, you do need to act as though his actions don't affect you. Go about your life as normal. Don't change your routine just yet. Tomorrow I'll let you know what we find in the package."
"How do I get a hold of you?" She asked worriedly, "Can I text the number you called me from?"
"Hmm I think so..." He dug into the pocket of his worn jeans producing a small cell phone... only it was absolutely ancient.
"Oh my god how old is that thing?" Misa exclaimed in horror. The battered flip phone had seen better days. The silver sheen had flecked off leaving it nearly black around the edges and the small display screen on the front was cracked in the corner.
He looked slightly affronted, "I've had this model for years, it's very reliable. Unlike modern smartphones, it's less likely to be hacked into. Considering your situation you should look into getting one."
"I'm not getting a flip phone." She said firmly, "The stalker can have me. I bet you can't even take a selfie on that thing."
He ignored this, "I do have to insist you not call me unnecessarily."
"And what about texting?" She asked.
"Yes, I suppose that's fine just don't expect a quick response."
"On that thing? Trust me I won't."
He glanced down at her and then quickly at his phone again, "It's late. I believe you have another photoshoot early in the morning you should try to sleep."
Reluctantly, she agreed. Though, privately she reasoned it wasn't that late and maybe she could ask him to stay and talk a while...until she remembered something.
"Ryuzaki wait one sec!"
She ran back into her bedroom and dug quickly through the side table and brought out the envelope full of money she saved for him.
She handed it to him with a small bow, "I think we missed discussing payment when we met last time. I wanted to make sure I gave you something."
He was quiet, staring down at the plain white envelope with a strange expression, holding it between two fingers as if it were dirty. She babbled on nervously.
"I'm glad I've been setting aside money. I just didn't know it would be for something like this! Um...if that's not enough let me know!"
"That won't be necessary." He handed it back to her.
She tried pressing it into his hands, "No really, take it, I wanna help!"
He shook his head, pushing the envelope more firmly back to her. "I told you: I take on cases I find interesting I don't necessarily do this for the money and besides; I can already tell you I'm paid much more than what you've put in there."
"But isn't there something I can do?" She asked dejectedly, "Having to catch this guy is probably expensive and you've even got a team to help you now I just feel-"
"Cake."
"Huh?"
"I'll take payment from you in the form of cake."
She watched him a moment as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm not picky on flavor."
She let out a giggle and smiled up at him, "Alright. It's a deal."
She locked the door behind him as he left and watched his tall figure disappear through the security cam.
Feeling paranoid, she drew the blinds on her windows. No more free shows perverts. She glanced down at her robe which had slid open slightly. She couldn't help but feel a little insulted that he maintained his composure while she was prancing around practically half naked.
She crawled into bed, taking her phone with her so she could text him.
M: Thank you for your help tonight Ryuzaki you're the best!
She lay back in bed staring at the ceiling. Her panic had dissolved away entirely leaving her feeling especially exhausted. Though the ordeal made her worry, she felt safer knowing Ryuzaki was looking out for her.
He had to have been very close at one point, she mused, for him to have seen her undress...The idea didn't bother her as much as it should have and a small, completely irrational part of her brain wanted to keep her curtains open to give him another show sometime. She shook her head at this. Wow, I need a boyfriend. If only she didn't have an actual pervert after her.
She turned over, tugging the blankets up to her chin. Without that stalker however, Ryuzaki probably would have never come back into her life at all. The thought made her feel strangely empty.
Her phone beeped.
She reached for it and read his response:
R: You're welcome. And you can tell your friend you were right, by the way, I don't.
M: huh? don't what?
R: Have a girlfriend. Goodnight.
Misa threw her head back on the pillow, her hands covering her face, feeling warm beneath her fingers. I was right he's too weird for one. She buried herself into the covers and let herself smile alone and unseen.
"So that was Misa-Misa!"
"Who?"
"The model! Matsuda has her poster in his cubicle."
A group of detectives stood in front of the coffee machine in the kitchen, talking excitedly among themselves.
"Ah I guess it's hard being that popular." Said one sagely, "That's who we're detailing then?"
"Looks like it."
He let out a low whistle, loosening his tie.
"I wish I could have met her." Matsuda said wistfully. He grinned as L now approached the group of men, trying to get by them to refill on some much needed caffeine.
"I even saw Ryuzaki buying a magazine she was in recently too."
L's hand hovered for a moment over the coffee pot before answering, "Yes, for research purposes."
"I definitely plan on doing my own research if you know what I mea-" he stopped when he saw L give him a sharp look and quickly excused himself along with the other detectives.
L carried his sugar laden coffee out of the kitchen and stopped Watari who was passing by, "Do me a favor: make sure that one is put on desk duty for a while."
Watari raised his eyebrows, but nodded as L set off to his temporary office.
He threw himself down on the hard leather couch, grunting on impact. He turned to the side table, pulling out the magazine in question, thumbing through it until he reached Misa's spread. On one side she wore a tight red leather mini dress with a matching garter belt that she seemed to be in the middle of unbuckling. The other side she was draped in nothing but black silk sheets, artfully covering the more risque parts of her body, her hazel eyes half lidded, her bright red lips blowing a phantom kiss. His mind flashed back to her apartment where in the middle of their conversation her robe had drifted partway open revealing a tantalizing eye full of cleavage. He shut the magazine quickly.
His watch beeped at him: heart rate elevated. She was bad for his health.
(AN: Thanks for the feedback on the first chapter! This really is just a very self-indulgent fic for me, but I'm having so much fun writing it and knowing there's even a small group of fellow LxMisa shippers out there enjoying it warms my heart.
Some notes: L/Lawliet=Ryuzaki, as with the original story it's an alias. Hopefully that'll become more clear as the story progresses. I also wanted to make it clear if it isn't already by the rating: smut will most definitely be happening. I wouldn't necessarily classify this as a slow burn per se, but it won't happen right away either.