kindness

'Thank you, Kira,' said Lawliet, when Light's laughter came to an end.

Light glanced at him, eyes glittering and empty. 'For what, L?'

The corners of Lawliet's lips curved upwards, but the soul-crushing darkness of his eyes did not lessen. 'For smiling when you killed me.' His eyes and his smile both widened. 'I appreciate that you let me know I was right.'

'I wanted you to die knowing that I beat you,' said Light.

Lawliet still looked delighted by something. 'It was kind of you.'

'Kindness was not my intention,' said Light, without expression except for the narrowing of his eyes.

'There's nothing more unkind than a mystery left unsolved,' said Lawliet, the thumb pressed to his lips obscuring whether or not he was still smiling.

The skin around Light's eyes relaxed slightly. 'You just hate being wrong.'

'And Kira hates to lose,' said Lawliet.

Light's lips quirked, his bangs brushing over his cheekbones, hiding his eyes. 'And we both destroyed ourselves because of that.'

'Do you think that's where the ash comes from?' asked Lawliet, watching the flecks of gray filter through the mist and settle over the ground.

Light laughed, throwing back his head. 'That's torturing you, isn't it?'

Lawliet's eyes were wiped-blank chalkboards. 'Is Kira not also curious?'

'I don't care about the ash,' said Light, hands in his pockets, kicking at the ground and sending the flakes of gray swirling.

'Kira doesn't care about anything,' said Lawliet.

Light tilted his head back, glancing at him. 'Is that really what you think?'

'If it's not the case,' said Lawliet, unblinking, 'then prove me wrong.'

Light's lips quirked. 'Is that a challenge, L?'

'Does Kira want it to be?' said Lawliet.

'I don't think,' said Light, eventually, looking upwards at the ash drifting down from somewhere far above them that they could not see, 'that it really matters.'

'I was right, then,' said Lawliet, biting at his thumb. 'Kira truly does not care about anything.'

'Did all the murders I committed seem like the actions of someone who didn't care about anything?' asked Light.

'You certainly didn't care about their lives, or the ramifications of your actions,' said Lawliet. Light looked over at him, and Lawliet leaned towards him, adding, 'I think you were just bored.'

'What do you think I'm going to do now, then?' said Light, without emotion.

Lawliet was looking delighted again. 'I'm just waiting for Kira to snap.'

'Yeah,' said Light, and looked away, glancing at the grime beneath his fingernails. 'Me, too.'