Hey you guys. The Goonies anyone?
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Okay, deep breath.
"Ryuuzaki, I need to talk to you," Light stated as soon as he entered the investigation room.
"Speak then," L allowed, twisting around to face him from his computer chair.
Okay, stay strong.
"L, I need to talk to you alone," he clarified, pointedly replacing the pseudonym.
L's eyebrows moved in a minuscule upward stance and he tilted his head to the side, amused. During just three days of the lull, he'd already solved the remainder of the cases he'd originally set aside to take up the Kira investigation. He'd gotten absolutely no information out of the shinigami Rem during the entire week and since there was only one camera left in Light's room with no audio and at a nearly useless angle, the Kira investigation the previous week was a bust. Let's not forget the utter lack of Kira activity since Higuchi's "coincidental" heart attack. That being stated, L had had nothing to do for two days now. To be blunt, boredom had always been excruciatingly unbearable and so why not play with Light for a bit?
L hopped out of his chair and shoved his hands into his pockets. He said nothing until they exited the room.
"Does Light have a specific place he wishes to speak to me or shall we go to the next floor's conference room?" he asked in the hallway, making a point to drop the "kun."
"We have a conference room?" Light asked, distracted for a moment by the new information.
"Never been used," L enlightened, "Along with all the other rooms on every floor but this one."
For some reason, it had never occurred to Light that all the other floors in the building did in fact have rooms. He kind of assumed they hadn't been finished.
That didn't really matter though, did it? "Yeah, that room is fine," he answered.
They began walking up the stairs when L turned and stated plainly, having just remembered, "Of course, Watari will still have access to the video and audio."
"Yeah, I figured," Light shrugged, "Chances are pretty high that he already knows anyway, so whatever."
L didn't continue moving up the stairs, instead he abruptly stated, "Watari knows something I don't know?"
Light rolled his eyes, "I'm sure Watari knows a lot you don't know, the man's like 70 years old."
"71," L corrected and immediately continued almost frantically, "I meant about the case; Watari knows something I don't know about the case?"
"It doesn't really have anything to do with the case," Light stated, quieter. He was already nervous, the delay wasn't helping.
"Then for what reason are you wasting my time?" L huffed in Light's face.
Ouch.
Light couldn't make eye contact as he verbally defended himself, "It's personal about me, so I guess it does relate to the case."
"If it is about you, then I should know about it!" L whined angrily.
"Well, if you would have shut up, then I already would have told you, but now I'm not sure I want to," Light retorted, feeling heavy in his chest. He was upset and he was mad and there wasn't really anything he could do about it.
"Watari will tell me if it is important."
"You JUST said that you should know everything about me!"
"Well, everything is important about my Kira suspect, so he will tell me!"
"It has nothing to do with KIRA! It has everything to do with ME," Light yelled back, pushing L's shoulders to get him to back off. "If he does know, and it isn't a guarantee that he does, then I see why he kept it from you; you wouldn't know how to react. I bet you would be more of a jerk than you already are!"
Light was beginning to suspect that L really didn't have a clue about his feelings towards the detective. Here he was standing next to (arguably) the smartest person who could solve almost anything, unless, apparently, it was literally standing next to him. How could L know that Light liked him if the thought alone had seemingly never, ever, ever (ever, ever, ever, ever, ever . . .) crossed his mind.
"Why have you kept it from me then if it has 'nothing' to do with Kira?" L countered, surprised by Light's argument.
"Maybe because—despite being watched 24/7—I am generally a person who prefers that not everyone know my business."
"Privacy is a privilege, not a right. You willingly gave up that privilege to clear your name," L pointed out.
"Until you find a way to read my mind, withholding thoughts and opinions are not in violation of our agreement; my mind is allowed privacy," Light answered tightly. He was super pissed now; all of his emotions were just bottling up and he wanted to simultaneously physically attack and romantically attack the ignorant genius in front of him.
"Just tell me," L groaned out, pushing Light's shoulders.
"Don't push me."
"You pushed me first," L reminded.
Ah, yes he did . . . less than one minute ago.
Instead of admitting that, Light insulted, "Well, if you had a fraction of Watari's observation skills, maybe you would have figured it out already."
L felt that verbal hit.
"I am observant!"
"Not when it comes to me, evidently," Light reputed. He was now sure that L didn't know; he would have brought it up already.
"I know everything about you!" L huffed again, whining.
"That's bullshit; if you knew everything, you wouldn't be so upset right now."
"I command you to tell me what it is!" L huffed, using his forearms to push Light against the wall.
As much as Light actually did quite like their current physical arrangement, his pride fought back with a simple, "Fuck off, L."
L's eyes widened; that was a newly used comeback. Even if it was petty and cheap, it hit strong. "Excuse me?"
Light spoke slowly as if sounding out words to a child, "F-uh-ck aw-ff, Eh-l."
"How dare you speak to me like that!" L complained, pushing his body against Light's to pin him.
Light blushed inwardly and held back the urge to victoriously punch the air at the physical victory his body was receiving as well as to congratulate his pride at successfully flustering L.
One more victory, "Friends are allowed to cuss at each other, stupid." He wasn't going to physically fight back, no way. What if this was the last time L touched him? He was savoring this feeling; L's body heat? Hell yes.
L loosened his grip on Light slightly (unfortunately for Light) when he processed the word: friend. He really liked that word.
"Well then," L stated, looking away from Light's eyes.
Light coaxed, still happily pinned against the wall, "Well then?"
L cursed back weakly, "Well then fuck you too."
Light bit his lip as he held his breath and tightened his abs, but his face quickly grew bright red at trying to hold in the laughter that was threatening to escape at full force. That was so very clearly the first time L had ever had the need to cuss and for some reason, it was hilarious.
"Just laugh," L stated snappily, still avoiding eye contact as he let go.
With that, Light busted out in laughter, his eyes shut tight and his hands held his sides. L had cussed at him and it was so oddly adorable and flattering.
L shoved his hands in his pockets and awkwardly watched the boy laugh for 5 minutes straight. Light had calmed down and caught his breath a few times, but every time he looked back at L, he restarted his laughing fit.
After five minutes of laughing and 20 seconds of silence, L prompted, "You done?"
"Yeah, I think I'm good now," Light panted, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Should I be offended by that?" L asked, not sure.
"If you want to be," Light admitted. Most people didn't appreciate being laughed at, especially for that long and even more so when they had been serious, but this was L and the whole thing had been just too funny.
"Too much effort," L admitted and then asked, "Did I use it wrong?"
Light covered his mouth to hold in the laugh; if he let one out now, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop. He forced the laugh down and choked out, "No."
"Why was it comical?" L pushed, trying to understand.
Ugh, he was too adorable. "I never expected you to say it, I guess? And then it was—" Light cut himself off. It was adorable. It made him happy. It was just so unlike L to do that it made it exactly like what L would do.
"It was?" L prompted.
"Uh, just, I didn't anticipate it; caught me off guard with the," he paused again and chose the word, "delivery." The adorable delivery.
"Are you going to tell me what you called me out to say?" L asked, changing back the subject.
"No, not directly, but I'll answer some other questions I'm sure you have."
"Fine. For now," L conceded as they continued walking up the stairs.
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They were now comfortably seated in the conference room with L crouching across the table from the normally seated Light. They had come to the agreement that L could ask questions that would lead him to solving the new mystery but that Light could be as vague or in depth as he wanted unless asked a yes or no question. Light already told L that it would be advisable to review some of the footage of him, especially during this meeting and during the staircase argument. L was unintentionally excited for this (it was something to do); Light always seemed to find a way to amuse him. Boring was boring, but Light always found a way to occupy his time with something fun.
L began, "You say it has nothing to do with Kira?"
"Yep."
"Do you think I would think the same?"
"Well, you think everything has to do with Kira; I could sneeze and you'd find a way to relate that to Kira."
L didn't agree…verbally, but they both knew it was true.
"It doesn't relate to the case?" he asked.
"You think everything does, so…" Light shrugged.
L silently cursed allowing Light to be vague, but at least he could review the film later. "If you were Kira," L decided, changing into a hypothetical tense, "Would it affect the case?"
Light hesitated, "Elaborate, please."
"If you were Kira, would this variable affect you and/or your pattern?"
Light hesitated again: he hadn't killed L (nor wanted to) and he hadn't had Misa get the second notebook, so his original plans were completely ruined. The killing had stopped and that hadn't been part of the plan at all. He decided on his answer, "Yes."
L seemed to smile at finally getting some information.
Next question, "Does this variable affect the way you treat people?"
"People? No," Light answered. L was not people. "My turn," Light grinned, enjoying the tortured look on L's face.
L had also agreed that for every 5 questions Light answered, L had to answer one, too. He hadn't wanted to allow this, but it was the only way to get Light to agree to always answering a yes or no question. L naturally had more necessity to keep secrets, so if he found the question too invasive, he could ask for another question.
"Are you and Watari related?"
L thought. That wasn't invasive was it? It couldn't help Kira if Kira were to find out; they didn't have any linking names to each other. "Not by blood nor marriage, no."
Light seemed pleased.
"Light, does this variable affect me?"
"Yes," Light answered immediately, trying not to linger on the true depth of how it affected L.
"How?"
"That's what you're trying to figure out, isn't it?"
"Fine, does this variable affect Watari?"
"Not that I know of," Light answered. Who knew what would have happened had he gone through with his original plan?
L swallowed some of his pride and asked, "Is the variable obvious?"
"To many people, yep," Light admitted, unhappily.
"Will it help the case?"
"I'm pretty sure it won't directly help the case," Light told him, again.
"Do you want me to know it?"
Light hesitated again. The possible outcomes were on each end of the spectrum and everywhere in between: L could hate him for it, L could love him too, or something within that huge range including just not caring at all. Finally, Light answered, "Sometimes."
"Why do—"
"—ah, it's my turn," Light interrupted, pleased.
"Proceed."
"What's your favorite color?"
L was taken aback slightly, but Kira would learn nothing from that, he supposed. Did he have a favorite color? "Elaborate?" L requested.
Now Light was taken aback, "What do you mean elaborate?"
"I do not really understand what is a favorite color," L clarified.
Light wasn't entirely surprised: the man wore the same thing every day and it wasn't exactly colorful. "It's the color you like looking at the most."
"Oh, okay," L stated, pausing to think. Light couldn't help but to wonder what kind of childhood L had had, not even knowing what "favorite color" meant.
"I think light brown. Darker than honey but lighter than molasses," L answered, nodding to himself with a childlike grin. He must have been pleased at determining his favorite color.
Light wasn't even slightly surprised that L would describe colors in terms of sweet things.
"Why did you want to know that?" L asked, wondering.
"I just didn't know that about you and wanted to know it," Light stated plainly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Does Light have a favorite color?"
"Yeah, of course."
"What is it?" L asked, intrigued.
"I like grey."
"What type of grey?" L probed.
"All shades. I like the grey of a winter day and of a winter night. I like the grey that the sky turns just before a storm and just after it has finished," Light explained, grinning and blushing. It felt a little personal to talk about why he liked a color. . . he left out that the sky of a winter's night was also the color of L's eyes.
Ugh, he was hopeless.
"I see, that can be a calming color. Do you think everyone has a favorite color?" L asked.
"Most kids do, I'm sure, but I think a lot of adults stop caring and teenagers can't decide on one anymore."
L nodded at the explanation and began again, "Well, anyway, back to the variable—"
"—ah, actually, that was five questions," Light interrupted again, grinning mischievously.
L stopped and counted, "Those counted?"
"Of course. Now, how old are you?" Light asked.
"No, different question," L rejected. Kira may be able to use ages somehow. Whatever, he didn't want to be thought of as weaker just because he wasn't even in his thirties yet.
"Fair enough, can I know your birthdate minus the year?"
"I suppose that couldn't hurt. October thirty first."
They continued back and forth for hours, lost in their own world. L didn't gain much information on "the variable," but he learned a lot about Light and about himself since Light kept asking child-like questions that L had never before taken the time to think about. The most surprising thing he learned was that Light didn't actually like coffee, he just needed the caffeine intake to keep up with L's working hours.
Light felt like he was floating, he was so happy. They rarely were able to converse normally and never had they had the chance for so long. He saw so many of L's expressions that his heart was overdosed and the signs were clear: his heart rate was elevated, pupils were dilated, face was constantly threatening to show color, among other signs of being repeatedly love-struck. He wasn't sure how many times L made him blush nor how many times he'd seen L laugh; he couldn't think straight, he was just so happy.
Ugh he felt like a little kid. He was almost upset that he'd never experienced these feelings sooner so that he would be more immune to them now, but at the same time, he wasn't sure that he would have fully appreciated the elicited feelings at a younger age. Now he was being sappy again.
Finally, L looked at the clock with surprise and stated, "It is 8pm, Light."
"What?" he choked out in shock as he whipped his head around to look at the clock. They hadn't spent a few hours chatting, they'd spent all day. "We should probably get back to the investigation room."
"If anyone is even still there," L mumbled, knowing that the work ethic was plummeting now that Kira was doing nothing . . . not that he could blame them.
"I, uh, I have to talk to Watari first," Light informed, scratching a non-existent itch on the back of his neck.
L's eyes squinted with distrust, "You're going to tell him not to tell me."
"He already knows I don't want him to tell you if he's watched any of this," Light pointed out.
". . . True. He's probably watched all of it; it's the only thing happening."
"Oh come on, you don't know that," Light scoffed, "You have no idea what Matsuda could have been up to today."
L was silent.
What if the man had broken something?
What if he'd broken all the computers?
Or erased the digital files?
Burned the hardcopy files?
Burned the room?
Burned the entire floor?
And the worst part is that it would be entirely accidental. The man was only useful with a gun and yet he could definitely find a way to mess that up too, L was sure.
"L, Watari would have told you if he'd done something terrible," Light interrupted L's thoughts, knowing exactly what the detective was hypothesizing. "He probably just wouldn't stop talking and annoyed everyone."
L continued for him, "And then they forced him to go on a coffee run."
Light interjected, "And then came back late, because he got lost or forgot someone's order."
"And then spilt it on the carpet," L finished.
After a second, they looked at each other and added simultaneously, "Again."
They should have laughed . . . but it wasn't a joke.
Light coughed, "Well, I need to speak with Watari now."
"Fine, you'd do it anyway," L allowed, rolling his eyes.
Light smirked, "Thanks, L. I'll see you in the investigation room after."
L nodded and watched the boy head out the door toward the stairs.
"Light!" L yelled, remembering.
"Yeah?" Light hollered back, not bothering to return to the door.
"You need to call me Ryuuzaki once we get back," L warned.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, L," Light responded. Sarcastically? L wasn't sure.
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"Come in," Watari yelled, hearing Light knock on his door and seeing Light knock on his door via one of his many monitors.
They boy opened the door with an uncomfortable expression.
"Hey, Watari," he said slowly as if a question.
"Speak," Watari stated, watching the boy suffer.
Light began rolling his knuckles as he stood by the now closed door, "I'll just get right to the point: You know, right?"
"Most definitely," Watari answered simply. He had been watching the recordings as much as L had for any hint of Kira and had quickly discovered more signs of someone being enamored or smitten (not to say that he hadn't certainly found signs of Kira as well). If the eyes that followed L when L wasn't looking weren't glowing with affection (and, of course, sometimes—dare he say—lust) then Watari needed to retire.
Light blushed and stood more rigid, "And you won't tell him?"
"Young one," Watari addressed him, shaking his head, "If Ryuuzaki has not presumed it after reviewing what the two of you have now forced me to watch, telling him would do no good; he would not believe me."
"Eh, sorry about that," Light apologized weakly. He'd nearly forgotten that Watari had been watching the two of them while he was in his own floating little world.
"You should be sorry, that was by far the most painfully uncomfortable situation of which I've had no control over. I felt like I was peeping," Watari explained, trying to get it out of his head.
Light couldn't help himself, "You're a peeping tom, Watari? I never knew."
Watari held up his index finger, "You may be quiet now; I never agreed to watching you flirt for eleven hours." He could have been watching a drama series or reading a new novel! But no, he was stuck watching a real time attempted love scene in which one of the participants had no idea at all that it was supposed to be a love scene!
Light chuckled quietly and opened the door to leave, "Well thank you, Watari."
"Of course," Watari smiled. After all, it was young love blossoming. How sweet.
"One more thing," Watari directed, suddenly recalling.
Light raised his eyebrows.
"How did you both know the events involving Matsuda today?"
Light's eyes widened and he tried to hold his lips together, but the more he envisioned it, the tighter his abs got and the harder it was to restrain.
And so began another laughing fit.
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That there was chapter 4. You're all lucky I wrote this at all; if I wasn't procrastinating for my finals, this wouldn't have seen the light of computer (or tablet or whatever you read on).
*if Light's beautiful pronunciation of "fuck off" didn't quite match how you or the people in your region say it, that's probably because I'm pronouncing it in standard American English…Did my username not give that away? (Do I find America awesome? Not particularly, no, but would I even consider that as my username if I were not, in fact, American?)
Now for chapter 5.
~Aia~
p.s. I uh, I didn't proofread this chapter. . . so . . . eh, sorry. But it's like a 7 page Word doc, come on! I didn't want to read this monster twice, I read it when I wrote it! …that being said, I am an advocator of proofreading. Also a hypocrite. Whoopsies.