L stopped glaring loathsomely at the boney (as if he could talk) creature and turned his swivel chair around to gaze at Light when the Task force began leaving for lunch. It was more interesting than watching the eerie bust of the creature. Who claimed that Light was not Kira and began telling him a story about how he was Kira.
As if anyone would believe his stupid story.
L had some doubts, though. He focused back on Light, who, as promised, had stopped hovering by and pestering Aizawa the moment Matsuda muttered something about having lunch. Light sighed, lingering for a second longer before he stood up straight and ambled over to his father in stead (making L glare at the boy - Come on, the greatest detective was sitting right here!). After the Yagami had reluctantly, but firmly, stated that he was not going to take Light out with him, the boy blinked sadly, his lips turning down, and turned his view away from the departing officers. He crossed his arms and stuck out his lower lip. His glimmering, bright eyes caught L's big, dark, bored eyes and the hurt projected from them vanished. He smiled charmingly at the detective, deciding that pestering him was more worthwhile.
L, despite his rational thoughts reprimanding him, tilted his head invitingly at the boy. Expecting him to walk over and begin talking, he was surprised when Light slowly made it onto the floor and began rolling his way. What?
L forced himself to blink. This could not be happening, the immaculate Yagami Jr was rolling across the floor?
Wait, he meant Junior in the sense of inheriting the Yagami love of justice, not in the sense of inheriting his father's name. If you looked at their files, you would find justice lovers of all types - police officers, lawyers, soldiers, politicians, and all those stiff careers.
Light let out a childlike chuckle when he stopped at L's chair, sitting up and folding his legs beneath him. It prompted L to stop thinking (for a split second) when he felt his insides melt at the smile that stayed on his face.
'Light-kun was rolling on the floor,' L said, perplexed.
'Yes,' he confirmed. 'You should try it.'
L was busy inspecting how Light's hair had turned slightly green where the blue lights hit the fluffy strands. He did not answer the boy.
'What about me?' Ryūk asked, clambering through L and stopping right in front of him. 'Can I try it, Light-o?'
L glared at the shinigami's back , feeling tempted to kick his bottom. He was sure it would work, because the spikes were tickling his knees and shins - meaning he was solid. He glared again, this time feeling the strain it put on his tired eyes.
Light beamed at Ryūk and smiled with two nods of his head. 'Yes, you can. Let me show you how it is done.'
L - now part of the background - watched as the creature and Light began rolling around the room, Light's giggles and Ryūk's squawks registering in his head easily. How in the world was a creature of death and an adorable kid rolling around in his building? When Ryūk bumped into his swivel chair (emitting another squawk) L glared at the creature and smirking when Light stopped behind him and shoved him through the chair.
He was vaguely (very) pleased when Light sat up and looked at him, his cheeks flushed and that endearing smile playing on his lips. . . L decided that Light should not revert back to his older self and let him take him back home in England - because Chief Yagami would have a hard time raising Light once more, not because he wanted to raise the kid himself (he was just a very thoughtful being who cared about the Chief).
'It is a lot of fun, Sir Ryū,' he said, still smiling.
L wanted to pinch his cheeks and hug him. Big brothers were allowed to do that, right? Light considered him as his elder brother (even though L would have preferred getting a "father" sort of title).
In the background, Ryūk stood up, grumbling and muttering at the detective.
'Is that so?' L asked impassively. It could not be true, Younger L had once tried rolling across the floorboards of the Whammy orphanage (he had been feeling too lazy to walk, at that time) and the experience was very unpleasant. The creaking wood had kept on digging uncomfortably into him at every single angle, not to mention it was cold.
L tucked his knees in a bit more, cringing at the memory of the cold and hard floor. Plus, if his boney self started rolling around on the floor, he doubted he would look any better than Ryūk.
Light giggled, the childlike pitch in his vocal amusement making L breath out slowly at the sound. His eyes were focused on L's bare feet, making the detective consciously still them with an inward scowl after remembering what the boy had said about them. Light inched forward and caught L's chair between his fingers, propping his head up onto the seat.
Cute. Cute, cute. L's poker-face was priceless.
'Say, Sir,' he began, slowly.
L gazed at him, feeling like a slab of butter in a warm pan when his eyes caught Light's gaze. Boy! L felt that he would do anything the kid wanted.. felt only, because doing so was always a bad idea. He was still a suspect, you know, and L was a serious detective.
L focused on the boy again, steeling himself.
Light's eyes glimmered, the lights on the ceiling reflected perfectly, a pout settling on his mouth. 'I am hungry.'
I should just kidnap him and keep this kid as mine, because the Chief would certainly not give up his adorable son. Even if the Great L wanted to adopt him. L gave Light his most professional deadpan.. 'What does Light-kun think I can do about that?'
'Feed me,' he stated, making it sound like something very simple.
L flattened the boy with his heaviest gaze, despising him down to his smooth, clean toenails. Because he knew that if he did not feed the kid, the boy will go into a fit of crying - which always made him want to beg his pardon - and L did not want to stand up from his chair. Standing up was very unappealing at the moment, standing up to go cook was even worse than unappealing. He was more comfortable with this, Light being a cute little kid and him being the centre of the kid's attention. Stopping the pleasant moment to go eat was unappealing. So L gave it one more shot. 'Summon Watari.'
'No, you lazy detective,' he accused. 'You like suffering Watari-oji all day long, while you sit like a sloth and eat.'
L rolled his eyes up to Ryūk. Was that what it looked like to others? The shinigami grinned maliciously at him.
'And scratch your messy head of hair,' he added. 'You are like Ryūku, is that why you guys became friends easily?'
'We are not friends,' L replied, with deadpan remoteness, his eyes hardening at the thought.
Ryūk chuckled. 'Why are you denying our friendship? It is great that another human can also see me - we became friends easily, Light-o.'
'Don't listen to him, Light-kun,' L ordered.
Light blinked at him slowly. 'How can I not listen to him? He is speaking and I have ears, do you want me to cover them? I would not do that - it is very childish and silly.'
Ryūk chortled. 'He just doesn't want you to know about how we bonded with a cup of tea and slice of coffee cake,' he said, seriously. Ryūk could not even believe that he knew what a coffee cake was. 'When you were asleep, under the moonlight.'
Light's eyes sparkled, inspiring Ryūk some more.
'Don't believe him, Light-kun,' L said. The moon was a thin slice, how could the moonlight filter through all the electric lights? Ryūk was obviously talking lies.
'We told each other stories, and he baked another cake when we finished eating the other one. He told me of the time he fell out of a tree and broke his arm, I told him of the time I fell off my bicycle and skinned my knees.'
Light's jaw had slackened and he had totally ignored L's words. L eyed the drool gathering with distaste, the boy's mouth was hovering over his chair, right beside his toes! L glared at the shinigami, who was sitting on the keyboard of his computer and looking like a frog who found the swarm of mosquitoes.
L was forming a bad habit of calling others frogs after Light had called him one.
Plus, for your own information, Ryūk, I am an expert at climbing trees. Wait, Ryūk knew how to ride a bicycle?
'Then we exchanged secrets,' Ryūk told. 'He told me about the girl he kissed, one time like this.'
'Ewww,' Light exclaimed, scooting back and away from L. 'Sir Ryū kissed a girl! E-uwwww.'
L wanted to roll his eyes, instead, he glanced slyly at the creature. 'Hmm, I wonder if we actually need all those apples,' he "mused" out loud. 'It might be more worthwhile to replace them with a more diverse variety of fruits.'
Ryūk froze and stopped storytelling. He had once tried eating other fruits, when he had finished all the available apples, and (oh, apples) how horrible the experience had been! That thin, long banana one - bad, especially the green ones. The round citrus fruits - bitter!! The peach had been too peachy. To shorten it all up, Ryūk was never going to raid the fruit bowl for anything other than apples again.
Apples were the best. Pointe Finale.
'Ehehehe,' Ryūk chuckled nervously. 'Weren't you hungry, Light-o?'
'Oh, yes, I was,' Light said with realization.
L wanted to groan - of course, Ryūk couldn't resist paying him back for that threat.
'Sir,' Light said, his eyes impatient. 'I.. I am hungry.'
L sighed, resigning himself to feeding the kid, and let his legs drop, standing up. A sudden idea struck the detective at the moment. Halting for a moment, he thought about it for a second and finally decided to extend a pale hand out to the boy. He had seen somewhere (the television) that it showed comradeship.
Light scooted away further, his lips pinching together in some sort of grimace. His brow losing its usual glow.
'Cooties!' he squeaked. 'Stay away!'
Cooties? L deadpanned. Do not tell me he actually believed Ryūk's stupid story? L eyed the boy, his brain providing the obvious answer. He did.
'You'll get Cooties only if I kiss you,' L explained. 'Does Light-kun wish to kiss me?'
'Eww, no!' Light shrieked, his cheeks darkening.
'Then just accept the help, dummy,' L grumbled. The kids at Whammy's fought over getting a handshake from him, and here was Light Yagami refusing a hand he held out willingly. Who did that?
Light hesitated for a moment. 'Of course, I know that,' he said, sniffing. 'I am just taking some precau - precau.. precaution.'
Ryūk, wings spread, floated into the scene, laying horizontally and eyeing L critically. He watched as Light accepted the offered hand and stood up, grabbing the hand with both of his own small ones and bringing it close to his cheek.
'Hey, Light-o,' he called, feeling mischievous. 'What do you say, I carry you to the food room - kitchen, I mean?'
Light's eyes shone, his eyes landing on Ryūk's wings, and immediately released L's hand, skipping forth to the creature enthusiastically. He lifted his arms and jumped twice. 'Up!'
He didn't even spare L a second (not even a first) thought.
'How about I carry you,' L butted in. 'You'd like that, wouldn't you?'
The boy stopped, tilting his head in thought, his socked feet shuffling uncertainly and a doubtful glint in his eyes.
L opened his arms generously.
Light looked back and forth between the two, trying to decide on who was the better choice. Ryūzaki had colder limbs than Ryūk, who was just lukewarm, but the area surrounding his chest was nice and heated. Light disliked cold things. The boy put a finger to his chin, still undecided. His warm eyes rolled to Ryūk's. Ryūk smelt like apples that had just began fermenting too much - very sweet, something that did not bother him and Ryūzaki smelt like vanilla - Light was not a huge fan of vanilla. Ryūk had wings that could fly and Ryūzaki walked, dragging or shuffling his feet. The choice was suddenly very clear.
Light grinned widely at Ryūk, his smile even sweeter than the one he usually offered swooning girls.
L, feeling extremely kicked aside, watched quietly as Ryūk grasped the back of Light's shirt and hauled Light up into the air. 'Alley-op!'
Light giggled, his face bright with happiness. 'Look, I'm flying, Ryū!'
L soured when Ryūk sent him a snapping chuckle. Yeah, flying.. yahoo.
...
The task force went searching for L and Light when they found the workplace empty, coming across the duo in the kitchen.
Which was a mess.
It was not burned down (L didn't seem to be THAT bad at cooking), but there was several pots with gooey stuff in them - onions cut in half once, carrots, meat that looked very uncooked, diced potatoes that were overcooked - placed on the table. Light was watching L measure vanilla extract into whatever he was making with a pained expression on his face.
'Sir,' Light said. 'Just make eggs like you did the other night. I do not think I can eat all these dishes.'
L looked up from his bowl. 'A growing body needs a lot of nutrients, Light-kun,' he said wisely. 'Do you wish to stay short?'
Light looked at the bread crumbs he extravagantly poured into the mix, slices of butter following after he had added a handful of caramel. L began cracking eggs, separating the egg whites from the yolks, several of them streaked with the orange of the yolks. Light flinched when L dumped a small bowl of sweet corn in while pouring liquid smoke into the mixture.
L hummed thoughtfully. 'What's left to add? Oh, right, cake mix and some milk - no wait heavy cream sounds better.'
Light's eyes widened.
'I shouldn't forget the cheese - good stuff, cheese,' he muttered expertly.
Light glanced helplessly at Ryūk, who was watching attentively (which only served to encourage L), a shiver running down his spine when L spooned in salt.
'Salt - never forget to add salt,' he said, pouring the batter into a platter. 'There is no love like one's love of salt... what a nice, wide cake pan - it'll cook faster and be easier to cut into pieces.'
He placed the platter into the oven, setting the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. He stood up with a satisfied smirk.
'Woah, you're good at this,' Ryūk praised, quite impressed.
'Of course,' he replied.
L turned to Light, who had not began eating yet. He walked up to the boy and crossed his arms, eyeing the empty bowl.
'Light-kun will not get dessert if he doesn't eat his lunch first,' he said, taking a ladle and spooning the food into the boy's bowl.
Light's stomach growled.
Well, if he is hungry, then why is he not eating? L gave him a puzzled look, before realizing something. 'I forget that Light-kun is not familiar with foreign cuisine. This is one of the various English stews - here, I'll help you.'
The Chief's jaw dropped when the man grabbed a (too big) spoon and spooned some chunks of meat and a dice of potato up, holding it enticingly in front of Light's mouth.
Light's cheeks paled drastically, but he forced a smile, trying to find a way to politely decline. 'It is.. it is..' he began. 'I am not that hungry after all, Sir Ryū.'
His stomach growled.
Light paled some more, the area between his brows almost blue. 'It is.. ah, too hot.'
He blinked up at L, his eyes wider than usual. Light did not want to eat that.
L brought it up to his face and blew on it gently. 'Here, problem solved.'
Light's eyes ran across the room, panicked, the bright orbs halting on his father and he got a sudden idea.
'Cooties!' he exclaimed with horror, jerking backwards.
'What?' the Task force murmured.
Light scrambled off the chair and to his father's leg, hugging the Chief's thigh desperately. That spoon smelt terrible.
Aizawa, having understood the word, asked the boy, 'Cooties?'
Light nodded convincingly, his eyes wide and his face solemn. 'Sir Ryū has cooties! and he blew them onto the spoon and food and everything,' he explained. 'He is going to infect me.'
L watched, his expression not even twitching.
'But Ryūzaki is a boy,' Matsuda countered. 'He can't give you cooties.'
Light shook his head. 'Nuh, huh, he kissed a girl, he has them, a lot of them!'
Ryūk huffed. 'Ha! Plus it was on the lips, Light-o. With the tongue and all that.'
Light's nose scrunched up. 'Ewww~ It was on the lips, and with the tongue and all that?'
L glared at Ryūk.
'The cooties are probably flying everywhere each time he talks!' Light said, burying his face into the Chief's leg. 'All the germs.'
Chief Yagami had another concern all together. 'You saw him do it?' he asked.
'No,' Light answered. 'I was told about it.'
The man's eyes slowly settled on the detective standing across from them, still clutching the spoon of L-Stew. 'Ryūzaki-san,' he called, his voice a low timbre.
L grunted nonchalantly, his insides squirming.
'You were telling my son about kissing,' he said deliberately. 'And now you are trying to poison him with your sorely lacking culinary skills?'
'No,' he said, flatly. 'I was not, and I am not. Light-kun was listening to Misa-Misa rant into her phone.'
Speaking of which, Misa must be quite clear of all suspect by now..
The Chief sighed, his hand landing on Light's head. 'I think that the stew you made is quite inedible, Ryūzaki.'
'I haven't had lunch, father,' Light informed. 'And all there is to eat is not real food. Plus, I do not want to disturb Watari-oji - Sir Ryū suffers him a lot.'
'Oh~' Ryūk crowed. 'What are you going to do? Cook some more?'
L thought about it for a second.
Then, stalking forth to stop in front of the Yagami, he said, 'We are going to eat out - I would rather not have a sick Light-kun in the building.'
'I thought you said that no one must know that it is Raito!' Matsuda argued.
L did not even glance at him. 'Not many people know, or recall, what Light-kun looks like. And people are less likely to question it if Light goes out with me.'
'I guess that makes sense,' the Chief said. 'It is not like as if Ryūzaki is going to start telling people about Raito.'
'Exactly. We are just going to walk to a restaurant nearby and get Rai-chan something good to eat.'
'Make sure it's not cake,' the Chief said. 'Or cheesecake.'
'It's a nice little resto with Chefs from Hattori.' L's voice tone made it hard to predict if he was lying or telling the truth. 'I think Light-kun will be just fine.'
...
Late I know. My uncle thought it would be great if I moved back to England and took my classes online, because I'd be "safer" from the Coronavirus here.
Home in Sussex is as dull as ever guys, it's hard to feel motivated when everything around you is lacklustre-like. But my friend convinced her parents the same and I've been looking forward to having company - thus the update. Trust me, gossiping ladies and pets are not grand motivation.
Stay safe, guys.