A/N: Well, this chapter is out. Like, finally.
First off, I want to apologize but this chapter sort of killed me, along with studies and all the final year stuffs and teachers pressuring people and stuffs. I was meaning for this to be out wayyy sooner but no. To be clear, I had attempted this chapter three times, well four now and it doesn't look right for the most part. Then I decided to go read some other fandoms to get some uhhh, motivation…? Well, whatever it was, I wanted it back. And I fell down a really deep rabbit hole (cough thorki cough). …No I am not into incest. In my defense, I preferred the more innocent… stories… yes… I suppose that's right.
(awkward silence)
Uh, so enjoy the chapter? I apologize if it's a little shitty, heh.
He won.
L really shouldn't be surprised that he had won, he usually does. Well, always.
He thought about how the game had played out yesterday and admitted he did cheat a bit in the beginning. It was an attempt to bait Light to attack him and it worked well.
Too well, in fact.
L had counted on him striving to put him in his place. What he did not expect was that Light had managed to keep a cool head to corner him on almost every turn. Taunting him during the game would be unscrupulous, especially in a match like this so L did none of that.
Light had claimed the first deciding round and L, the second. L managed to win the third round by a small margin.
What L thought the most unnerving over the course of the three games of chess was the fact that Light would have won instead of him, if Light had not made that slight blunder in the beginning. By the time he had realized it, it was already too late to salvage it, unless L also made some mistake of his own. It was not to be, as L had put every ounce of his focus and patience into that. Nevertheless, the teen made an impressive show of perseverance right until the very end.
L was thoroughly amused by the frustrated look on the teen's face. It was quite the strange expression, seeing it on Light, his deeply furrowed eyebrows and the slight downward curl of his lips.
It was adorable, in a funny way that L almost felt sorry for him.
Unfortunately for Light, the detective planned to make full use of his prize.
"Well, Light-kun," the detective shot a brief smirk as he happily wriggled his toes, "I believe you should put the game away now."
Light, who was staring distastefully at his feet, shot a glare at him, "Your orders do not take effect until tomorrow."
"You can't add new rules to your game," L fiddled with his lip, letting Light catch another flash of his victorious smirk. "It takes effect the moment Light-kun lost, which was at 9:14pm precisely. You have 71 hours and 59 minutes left, so enjoy this."
"I didn't say anything about the time when the penalty starts."
"I shall not disturb Light-kun in this ridiculous game while you sleep," the detective stated, tapping his lips with his thumb. "Shall I stop the countdown as long as Light-kun sleeps, or shall I be merciful let the hours pass by?"
Light glowered at him, "Let it pass."
"Hm? I wonder which option is better?" L made an act of pondering and gave him an impish smile, "I'm leaning towards the first one."
"No, Ryuuzaki!"
"Well, if you insist, I'll stop the countdown."
"I will murder you in your sleep!"
"Good luck with that," L said as he let out a chuckle, "Now for my first order, Light-kun should put the board away."
Light glared at him, refusing to move.
"Light-kun…"
"I'll make a deal with you."
"Oh? Light-kun is seeking a bargain, huh?" L gave him an innocent, inquisitive look, "What shall it be? Suffering through some sweets with me? Going on a date with Misa? Or wearing my shirt and jeans for a few days?"
Light seemed to turn paler with every suggestion.
Before he could answer, L added, "I would only consider it if Light-kun chooses to do any of the three, or all of them."
Light shot him an incredulous look and softly muttered, "The first one."
He swore L's smile turned evil right at that moment.
It was gone before he could determine whether he could confirm what he saw.
"As you wish," L said, "I'll get Watari to prepare one for tomorrow."
"What exactly will that be," Light asked, worried now.
"You'll see."
"I have to eat THAT?!"
The whole room turned towards the sudden shout, where they see Light and L at their desks. L was in his chair, nibbling nonchalantly at his nail. Beside him, Light appeared to have shot up from his chair, as it rolled away from him slowly. He stood gaping at the sight behind him.
It was Watari with his cart that he usually wheeled snacks and tea in with. On it was a large, two-tiered white cake that looked more at home at a wedding. On it were intricate decorations, the first layer held a sort of vine made out of chocolate, colored in various shades of green and made to look realistic. Chocolate roses dotted the cake here and there, as the vine climbed all around it. There was even a butterfly perched on top of one of the flowers. It had looked so life-like that it seemed as if it were about to take flight at any moment. On top of the cake was the top of the entire plant, containing more leaves and roses that looked as though they were reaching out for the sky.
"Yes," L said and even Aizawa could almost hear the smile in his tone, "I had it ordered and made specially for you, all the way from France."
Everyone stared at the towering cake in astonishment.
"You did what?" Aizawa blurted.
"I ordered a cake."
"Yes, but…"
"It's a deal I made with Light-kun."
The brunette finally recovered enough to protest as he gestured to the cake quite clumsily, "I can't possibly finish that!"
"What do you mean?" L said, "I haven't even had Watari add the finishing touches yet. Watari, please."
They stared as Watari pulled a jug of golden, viscous substance from the cart.
"What is that?"
"Caramel," L supplied helpfully.
"Watari, no!"
Light let out a cry of despair as the older man proceeded to slowly pour caramel all over the cake.
"It's part of the deal," L said while Light stared at the cake in horror, now with thick caramel dripping from the chocolate leaves and roses.
"Ryu-"
"Light-kun has to finish the whole cake."
Light turned to him stiffly and plastered a strained smile on his face, "Why don't we share the cake, Ryuuzaki? You would like some, won't you?"
The detective proceeded to stare at the cake. He seemed to be in a deep thought as he considered Light's suggestion.
"That sounds like a great idea," L said, "I would like some cake, I really do. And that one over there looks especially delicious."
Light was partly relieved to hear that, perhaps he could just have a slice while L takes the rest, that might be something that saves his life from an early demise from diabetes.
"Of course, I have foreseen that."
Light spun to look at him.
L smiled as he said, "That's why I have ordered two cakes."
At that, Watari left and promptly came back with another cart with a much bigger, four-tiered white cake, filled with all sorts of fruits, biscuits, chocolate, candy, syrup, whipped cream, sugar and nuts on every layer. On top of it is a large black L that, if one is familiar with the detective's preference, would know that the entire thing is edible.
"One for you and one for me," L said, "I could share some of mine with Light-kun if you wish."
His expression crumpled.
Light sat at his desk, staring blankly at the excessively sugary piece of chocolate cake he have yet to touch, the bulk of it slathered in smooth, thick caramel that doesn't look like anything that could be eaten. What's worse, Watari had generously added parts of the decoration to his plate. Chocolate roses now oozed a thick, white liquid that he figured to be vanilla cream that had previously been contained within them. They formed tiny puddles here and there, wherever the roses were placed.
As if that wasn't enough, he can smell the cloying sweetness of the cake from here.
Light forced down the urge to throw up. He turned to face L and conveyed with his eyes that he hoped the detective was joking.
Beside him, L had already started on his second piece of cake, along with all its chocolate, sweets, syrups and biscuits and still enjoying it thoroughly. Watari wordlessly cleared away his used plate and refilled his teacup, one which L began to drop sugar cubes in while he ate the cake with his other hand.
Soichiro stood behind them and questioned, "What are they doing?"
Matsuda seemed equally puzzled, then made a noise of affirmation and nodded to himself as he finally remembered last night.
The former chief stared at him, "What?"
"I think Light-kun lost a bet."
"A bet?"
"A game I think," Matsuda pondered, "So this is the penalty?"
"I could never imagine that he would agree to this."
"I didn't either," Matsuda thought he could imagine Light's pain from here and commented, "Poor kid."
Light silently bristled when he heard that.
L, who ignored the hushed conversation behind him finally took notice of Light's staring. He turned, and raised a brow. Not that anyone would see it, though, so it looked more like L had cast Light a bland stare.
"Yes?" L inquired.
"I hate you," he muttered.
L didn't seem too bothered by his statement, turning back to shovel more cake into his mouth, "Tell me something I don't already know."
"I'm doing to smother you in cake."
"Sounds like a great way to go," he mumbled.
Only clinking noises were heard as L finished up his cake. Watari cleared the plate away and placed another in front of him, with more cake, sugar, fruits and chocolate. L happily took another bite out of it and Light turned away in disgust.
The teen stared at his own plate, reluctantly picked up his fork and speared it through his cake. As he expected, the thick layer of chocolate gave way easily, the fork cutting a creamy path through it like putting a hot knife to butter. He managed not to cringe in disguise and broke away the small piece.
Light stared at it.
L watched him out of the corner of his eye as he continued to devour his own cake.
Light slowly, slowly brought the cake to his mouth, his eyes squeezed shut as he does the unthinkable.
Don't think. Don't think. Just chew and swallow.
He failed and registered every bit of the sensation. It was smooth, it was creamy, it was disgustingly, cloying sweet. The chocolate that had just begun to melt spread all over his mouth, everywhere that it could reach, like some sort of abominable disease.
Light swallowed quickly and the sweetness clung to his throat, its taste lingers in his mouth.
He started to think about the amount of times he will spend brushing his teeth today when L suddenly said, "Is Light-kun going to finish that?"
Light turned to stare at him blankly, he looked like he had died inside a little.
He worked his jaw and winced at the faint taste of chocolate, "No?"
"I'll have some of it, then."
L reached over, took the plate and stuffed half the cake into his mouth without a word.
Light stared at him in equal parts horror, disgust and confusion, "I thought you said I was supposed to eat all of it?"
"Let me tell you something, Light-kun," L mumbled with his mouth full of cake.
Light waited.
He said nothing as he chewed and finally gulped it down, his tongue flicked out to capture any stray smear of chocolate or crumbs.
"I actually ordered two cakes for myself," he took another bite, his speech became muffled again, "I have no intention of letting Light-kun eat an entire cake except to pull his leg."
The teen stared at him incredulously, "You… You tricked me?"
L turned to him as Watari took away both plates and replaced it with a new piece, "And you fell for it, congratulations."
His expression slowly transformed to form a deadly glare, "I will kill you."
"Mm-hm," L hummed casually as he continued his feast, "Some tea, Light-kun?"
"No, thank you," he snapped, turning away from the infuriating man.
L smacked his lips and informed, while he crammed another piece of cake into his mouth, "Your end of the deal has been completed, so I will allow for the time to pass while Light-kun sleeps."
Light glanced at him briefly.
"However, that also means that the penalty starts now," L gave him a small, crooked smile, "I wish Light-kun an enjoyable experience."
"Light-kun, please pass me that piece of paper."
Light glanced at him, where L pointed at the stray document that was placed between them. He thought he hadn't notice it there before and he didn't know who had put it there. The teen was half-convinced that L had put it there himself, if only to test how far Light's resolve went.
He wasn't going to back out from the rules that he made up himself, so he picked it up and placed it into L's outstretched hand.
L snatched it over and held it up in his pincer grip. He seemed to be reading off of it and Light left him to that, resuming his own work.
It was less than a minute later that L issued his next command.
"Would you look into this for me?"
Light peered over, having no idea what L was alluding to.
"This car crash, this morning," L said, beckoning him closer to take a look at his screen. "Kira could be connected to this, so please investigate, find out what you could."
Light pulled a face, "Can't you do it yourself?"
"I'm busy."
"With what?"
A small smile crept across his face, "Cake."
Light stared at him.
L stared back.
"Fine," he snapped, turning back to his computer to search on it, even when he knew, L did not think it was related to Kira at all.
It was part of the deal, after all.
"Light-kun."
"What?"
"Tell Mogi-san to search for this," L stated abruptly as he held a list to him.
Light wanted to punch him in the face, the bastard wasn't even looking at him!
He muttered under his breath and took the paper, then realized that he wasn't going anywhere with the chain connecting the both of them. Light unhappily called Mogi over, silently apologizing for the older man's inconvenience.
Soichiro watched in puzzlement as L sent his son on another task, when there is absolutely no reason for them as the two are constantly next to each other. At first he wondered if this was another prank, or L was pulling something strange or Light was being forced into it somehow because there was just no way his son would take this calmly having seen most of their interactions until now.
He stood, propelled by the strong intention of going over to confront L.
Aizawa noticed, "Chief?"
"What are they doing?" He demanded.
Aizawa glanced over and caught another instance where L unnecessarily sent Light to take the tea from Watari instead of waiting for him to come over.
"Oh, right, this. They made some kind of bet last night, something about the loser having to obey the winner for, I don't know, three to four days?"
"Another one?" Soichiro turned to look at him, "Why didn't I hear about this?"
"You left before they started their game," he shrugged.
Soichiro looked torn between continuing on his previous course of action, to go over and get L to stop all these nonsense by sending his son on all sorts of stupid errands. However, Light had said nothing about it and presumably agreed to this bet so he might seem like he was overreacting.
He sat down and resigned himself to just watching them, making a note to himself not to interfere unless this bet of theirs went out of hand.
What was Light thinking when he agreed to the bets anyway?
Soichiro watched, helpless as L sent him on another pointless task.
The second day started out similarly, with L making him do everything while he himself lounged around and eat the remainder of his cakes.
Suddenly, the influx of orders stopped. Soichiro found himself witnessing a rather queer scene, where L crouched as he stared unblinkingly at Light and Light sat facing his computer screen.
It didn't look like Light was doing anything out of the ordinary but he thought he got a sense of frustration from L as he tore his eyes off of Light and stared at his own screen.
Seeing that nothing happened for the next couple of minutes, Soichiro reluctantly turned his attention back to his work, keeping an eye on the two just in case.
This is wrong, this is all wrong.
L sat gnawing on his thumb, thinking about how things have taken such a turn. He didn't sit staring into the darkness all night, thinking about a thousand more ways to annoy the brunette with this bet that the teen have conjured up to, at the very least, irritate him. The results of the games have backfired so beautifully and yet, what is this atrocity that had turned up instead?
The detective had spent the first few hour saying nothing, to send Light into a short period of paranoia, waiting anxiously for the commands that wouldn't appear.
L thought he had looked strangely vacant during that and figured that he wasn't allowing him the satisfaction of his anxiety.
He had called his name, making him think that it would start.
But no, it was just to ask him what sweets he should get for dinner that night, even though L had already decided what he would eat that day, and the day after, and the day after the day after.
Light showed no reaction whatsoever.
L let him wait for a while more, before suddenly bombarding him with unnecessary orders.
He had watched intently, diligently scoured for any hints of annoyance that would simply highlight his day.
There was none.
He was dumbfounded, even the teen's eyes that were quite expressive these days showed absolutely nothing. It was as if he wasn't actually there.
The detective made him run even more, the moment he sat down he was issued a new order, L did not allow him to rest for more than a second and the commands kept coming, one after another. He was expecting Light to explode after about two minutes of this but the teen was calm and annoyingly blank.
The thought that Light might be trying to irritate him passed through his mind. It was possible but there has to be something in his eyes at least, a flash of emotion perhaps, a sudden hesitation to get his anger under control, some kind of determination in his demeanor to get through these.
Nothing.
There was absolutely nothing and it invoked the feeling of unease within him, it was as if Light had decided to shut down at some point between yesterday and this morning.
L refused to believe that Light would take this without a word. By the time L had stopped and Light can finally sit down, his screen had shutdown on its own due to inactivity. Light stared silently at his screen for a moment, before gaining some semblance of mind to turn it back on by moving the mouse.
He looked like a lifeless robot.
L didn't like the thought that entered his head.
Eventually, Light resumed his task, the monotony of his typing and clicking served to unnerve him even more.
If Light had done this to irk him, it had certainly worked.
The detective sat silently, locking the teen in his sights, not allowing a single detail to escape. He wanted to catch some form of emotion, anything other than this void of a person in front of him.
There was none.
How on earth did he manage it? L wondered whether it was truly the absence of thought and feeling. If not, he couldn't figure out just what kind of resolve that the eighteen-year-old had childishly taken on overnight to be able to ignore such absurdity like this.
The visage of A entered his mind unbidden.
No, it couldn't be. Although, this absence does bear a resemblance to that.
It doesn't make sense, though. Light was fine the past few days, there was no signs of strange behaviors that might've led to this. But this sudden ability to ignore him to such an extent does not make sense either.
L did not like the look in his eyes.
The detective decided to just play along for now, subtly keeping an eye on the teen as he continued on his work blankly.
The tea that he had made Light bring over is still on his desk, faint wisps of heat rising out of it, the darkened liquid let out a scent that made L wrinkle his nose over how unsweetened it is. The bowl of sugar still sat untouched next to it.
L reached for it, intending to dump them all into his tea when he was struck with an idea.
Considering how much Light loved hygiene and his clothes…
He suppressed a dark smile.
If the commands didn't manage to drive him up the wall, this would do the trick.
L pulled the bowl closer to himself, took the sugar cubes and begun to stack them up one by one, as people usually see him do. He did it carefully, aligned the edges perfectly such that the tower looked like a tall, white, solid tube.
Soon, it went over his monitor and continued to climb higher.
L acted as if his long arm couldn't quite reach the top of his tower and in one feigned, clumsy movement, he made his chair slide over slightly. He finger crashed into the tower, it collapsed, pieces falling apart and flying everywhere.
White sugar landed on the desk, on his keyboard, the floor and even on Light, who blinked once at the sudden hailstorm of sweetness. Some of the Taskforce members noticed and stared at the scene wide-eyed.
L held the final cube in his thumb and finger, and muttered, "Oops, I seemed to have caused quite the mess."
He waited for the reaction that never came.
L stared at Light who remained staring blankly at the screen as if he's a statue.
He blinked, once, twice and had to control himself not to blurt out what he is really thinking about this unearthly occurrence.
He very calmly said, "Would Light-kun clean this up for me."
It was quite possible that Light is trying not to lash out so L decided to test that further.
He moved and picked up the pieces of sugar that was on him, on the desk, the keyboards and placed them in a pile on the table. Light proceeded to bend down and started on the sugar on the floor.
L was taken aback, in fact, he was speechless, unable to comprehend what is happening right in front of his eyes.
This is too much.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Soichiro moving closer, his expression livid.
L hopped down of his chair, quicker than anyone had witnessed. The detective grabbed his arm and caused him to drop the sugar cubes that he had been picking up.
"Come with me," he said as he dragged Light off without hearing a reply.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Soichiro wasn't allowed a chance to demand an answer when L took off with his son.
He made after them but they have already disappeared from sight. He looked up and down the hallway, seeing nothing. Soichiro returned to the workroom, lost with anxiety over the state of his son.
L slammed the door shut and turned to face the teen, "What the hell was that?"
Light stared at him blandly, the emotionless gaze creeped him out a little, "What?"
L managed not to splutter as a reaction and wondered how on earth Light almost managed to drag that out of him. He composed himself and demanded, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"This is an order, Light-kun," L said firmly, "Tell me, what is the matter with you?"
"What do you mean?"
His expression hardened, "You can't ask me questions."
"How am I supposed to know what you mean, then?"
"Why on earth are you behaving this way?"
"In what way?"
"Being so… strange!"
"Define strange."
L lost control then, as he growled and advanced on the teen, his expression morphed into one that resembled anger but not quite.
An emotion flickered in Light's eyes at that and he struck out as a reflex, nailing the detective in the jaw. Light's eyes widened, he hadn't mean to punch L in the face.
He backed away, "I'm sor-"
L snarled and pounced on him. Before Light knew it, he had fallen into the bed. Cold hands fell on him, One trapped his wrists above him, while the other closed in around his neck but did not squeeze. His brain caught up to him and he stared up, his shocked eyes meeting a dark, swirling pair.
The detective looked like he was mad and in that moment his eyes were so expressive that he worried he wasn't looking at the same person.
Then there's the matter of the hand around his neck.
"Tell me what's wrong with you," L growled, his voice tight.
Light just stared at him.
Slowly, the anger in L's eyes were replaced by surprise, as he began to register their positions and the fact that he had apparently lost a hold on his emotions.
Then, his expression bled away into nothing.
L was silent as he backed away and released Light, who stared at him like he'd never seen him before.
"Won't you answer me?" L asked in a lower and more controlled voice.
Light shook his head slowly.
L scrutinized him from the side of the bed, as the teen tentatively sat up and watched him, as if expecting that he would explode into violence at any moment.
The detective gathered that he would learn nothing and turned, hiding his frustration and astonishment at his lapse in control.
"We shall return to the workroom," L said.
As he led Light out, he softly added, "I apologize."
Light said nothing in response and the silence between them stretched throughout the day.