A Different Suite
Chapter 8
After finally persuading L to let him put his boxers on by himself through sadistically holding his strawberry cheesecake hostage, Light turned his bare back to the detective to undress. He nervously blushed as he slipped his boxers down his toned thighs and distantly wondered why he didn't ask the detective to leave.
A small gasp sounded behind him.
He surprisingly mused if the raven was pleased with what he saw. After all, Light had maintained his athletic build through playing tennis since junior high school and was very health conscious. Perhaps obsessively so.
Frankly, he looked like a god naked.
Needless to say, his egotistical side was ascending once more.
He felt a surge of pride and admittedly, exhilaration at the notion of the detective's eyes devouring him. Light bent over achingly slow to farther slid his boxers down his legs, his hands unhurriedly caressing down bronzed skin. He was practically stripping and touching himself in front of the man, and yet couldn't find the ability to be embarrassed.
The detective was silent.
Unusually.
The youth pulled the new boxers up his hips leisurely, stealing a glance at L's expression. He wanted to see the man's eyes on him. Somehow, it was an arousing thought for his eyes to be hungrily rolling over Light's nearly naked body.
Feeling the excitement course through him, Light distantly wondered if he was an exhibitionist. Or perhaps it was just being naked around L? The student was certainly growing aroused by stripping in front of the detective.
The man's gaze was low on his hips and seeming to notice the musician looking at him, flickered up to meet Light's caramel eyes. Hooded obsidian orbs were completely dilated as they regarded Light's with what would have appeared blankly to anyone, but the youth knew L better. Judging by his slightly parted pale lips and half-lidded eyes, his gaze was ravenous. The auburn-haired man helplessly returned the man's steady gaze.
It distantly reminded the student of the look L possessed as he peered at cheesecakes beneath the display window at the café, where they met every morning for over a month. The dainty, colorful sweets teasing him from below the gleaming glass, oh so close and yet untouchable. Only in this situation, Light was the ever-teasing sweet. The younger man grinned and finally broke the gaze, enjoying his internal analogy and pleased that he provoked such a reaction in the world's greatest detective.
He moved on to slipping fresh beige slacks on, enjoying the unusual silence of the detective. Looking in his peripheral vision, he smiled as he noticed L wasn't even trying to look away.
Really, the man was shameless.
Though, Light really couldn't blame him for ogling him.
The youth turned back towards the detective, who was in the same pose with one hand shoved in the pocket of his baggy jeans and the other touching his mouth pensively. Light scooped up his crisp white button-up shirt, feeling somewhat uncertain as to how he was going to put it on. The article of clothing was proving to be very awkward to pull on with an injured shoulder.
The man flinched and let out a small pained noise as he angled his shoulder. The jolt of pain was
excruciating. L suddenly appeared next to him, as if anticipating the event and Light noticed that he could feel the heat radiating off his body.
"Light-kun must learn to let others help him."
"Gah. . . shut up." His shoulder continued to throb in protest.
The raven ignored him while pulling the article of clothing up his arms and moved to the front of youth. He was silent as his pale hands rested over Light's bare chest, before sliding down his slender torso until he pulled the bottom of the shirt together and began working the buttons together. His dark bottomless gaze roamed over the exposed skin as he worked and the room suddenly felt warmer. The skin that L's fingers grazed tinged pleasantly and Light felt his face flush once more. Ever since the other night, when L had fervently kissed him in the locker room and the hospital today, there was a lingering sexual tension.
"Light-kun is aware of how attractive he is." The monotone was paired with an equally emotional expression with only a slight quirk of his pale lips suggesting a smile.
"I have been told so my entire life." It was true. He had many admirers in his life and many had told him how attractive he was, both men and women. However, he didn't need someone to tell him he was attractive. The interested or lusty glances sent in his direction were an adequate reminder.
"Others have seen Light-kun naked?" The eccentric man suddenly inquired, while cocking his head to the side curiously.
"What? No. Well, except for family when I was younger. . ."
"Ooh? I am indeed fortunate. Has Light-kun not had sex?"
Light flushed at his bluntness, focusing on yanking on socks and shoes.
"Th-that's none of your business."
"Hmmm. . . so he is a virgin." His calculating eyes gleamed with amusement as he suddenly turned towards the bed and gathered the bags. While the student had many admirers, no one had interested him enough to attempt an intimate relationship yet and thus, he remained a virgin.
"We must leave. There is much to be discussed and I imagine you have many questions." Light nodded and followed the man out of the hospital. There were indeed many questions swirling through his mind. What happened after he passed out? Who is the killer? Where were they going this time? What exactly was going on between him and the eccentric man?
The most unsettling question:
Why did the killer look so disturbingly identical to L?
Perhaps they were related? Did L even have any siblings? His lack of knowledge pertaining to the man he had known over a month unnerved him. How could he spend countless mornings and classes with someone and yet no know nothing of their background? The student felt a swell of shame for his lack of observation of the man, he was so caught up in his own thoughts of the case and his feelings-
Feelings?
As they settled in the limo and L began pouring a cup of coffee, Light asked:
"Who is the killer? I have a distinct feeling that you know more than I do."
"Mmm. . ." He dropped a few sugar cubes into his cup, dangling them high in the air before they were sacrificed into the black, steaming pool of death. Eh, coffee.
His eyes rose to Light's as he stirred with his finger.
"Wie ist dein Deutsch?" How is your German?
The younger raised his eyebrows, not anticipating a switch in language and of all languages, German. It was likely that the man was being cautious, perhaps the limo was bugged?
The student had studied German for two years during junior high school. It was very similar to English, which he had learned in elementary school, so it was relatively easy to pick up. However, here in Japan one rarely found anyone to converse with in German.
For a moment, Light struggled to adjust to the switch. He could almost feel a cold part of his brain igniting once more and straining to work properly.
"Es ganz gut. Leider spreche ich mit niemandem." Its OK. Unfortunately, I don't speak with anyone.
"Nun, ich bin mir sicher, dass Light verstehen wird." Well, I am sure that Light-kun will understand. The man licked his finger.
The detective's accent was flawless and the youth could imagine the millions of mirror neurons erupting in his brain, preparing to emulate his speech pattern. He continued on in the soft baritone accent and Light tried to ignore how attractive his words were, falling from those soft pale lips.
"The killer's name is Beyond Birthday, otherwise known as BB. We both grew up in an orphanage called Whammy's, specifically designed as a training facility for children with exceptional intelligence or skills. After I became codename L and left the facility, the new objective became to train successors in the event of my death."
The student swiftly rearranged the words mentally and deciphered meaning. He nodded, not wanting to interrupt the man while he shared a part of his past. Light had a moment where he envisioned miniature Ls bouncing about, armed with sugar cubes and super human deductive skills. It was a cross between insanely cute and disturbing.
The raven rather loudly slurped his coffee and continued speaking in German.
"After the primary successor codenamed A committed suicide, BB was next in line to be my successor, it is highly probable that the pressure became too much for him. He ran away approximately two years ago and has eluded all searches. It explains why we failed to receive a match on any of his DNA. The children in the facility are to remain anonymous to the world."
"Why does he look like you?"
"I have met him once before and it possible that was part of his attempt to emulate me."
"Hmm. . . he seems deranged and well, obsessive."
"All of the children in the orphanage have idiosyncrasies, but I do admit, his imitation of me is very disturbing. . ." He lowered his eyes and one of his hands clenched his jeans subtly.
"It is. He even imitates your behavior patterns -the way you talk, stand, and his intelligence seems remarkably similar to your own."
"Oui, bien sûr. J'ai déduit que la série de meurtres a été créée simplement pour attirér mon attention. Il a assassiné un étudiant tôt ce matin et a laissé une marque sur lui."
Light's brain melted.
Completely.
And he thought that German sounded delicious from the man's mouth. French was just. . . sexy.
Light had always found the language utterly alluring when it was spoken correctly, and frankly, L spoke it flawlessly.
He struggled to remember how to speak in general.
"Eh. . . A moment, please."
The student managed in Japanese, feeling completely flustered. He looked away to hide his likely reddening face.
"Hmm? Light ne se me souviens pas du français? Il l'a étudié à l'école." Light-kun does not remember French? He studied it in school.
He had read extensively of Light's records and knew that the youth was excellent in his French as he spent nearly two years speaking it in high school. It was only six months ago. L cocked his head curiously and seeming to come to a conclusion, smiled mischievously. He put his coffee aside.
It was his turn to do the teasing.
He smiled as he lowered his legs to the floor and leaned towards the younger man, continuing relentlessly to speak in the smooth, luscious tongue.
"Est-ce que cela te dérange?" Is this bothering you? The raven inquired, turning Light's face towards his own with pale fingers. The melted caramel eyes were half-lidded as they regarded L's and the light flush of his skin was tempting, aching to be touched. L's fingers slid into the auburn locks, enjoying the smoothness of his hair. The sexual tension grew more heavy by the second.
"Non, c'est juste que je ne attendais pas." No, I just wasn't expecting it.
The youth's accent was gorgeous and L wanted to devour his mouth. His pale mouth lowered to Light's, hovering mere inches.
The raven slid his other hand up the man's thigh and his dark, bottomless pools held the younger man's gaze.
"Je veux te baiser."
Light let the man hold his face, and felt heat gather in his abdomen at the blunt words uttered in that beautiful, sensual tongue.
I want to fuck you.
The man certainly was straight-forward about what he wanted and in that moment, Light felt obliged to give it to him. However, someone needed to show this man that he couldn't always get what he wanted.
"Qui a dit que tu pourras me baiser?" He challenged, quirking a brow slightly and feeling altogether nervous and amazed that the words left his mouth. Who said you would be doing the fucking?
L smiled, amused at the challenge.
The limo came to a halt suddenly, and before Light could say anything, L wordlessly pulled the student and the bags out of the limo. Whatever plan L and Watari had, it apparently had to be done in haste. Light briefly noticed they were in the middle of a busy parking garage before L pulled him into an ordinary-looking, tinted many van.
Also silent, Watari quickly set them into motion again.
"Qu'est-ce qui se passe?" What's going on?
"Ah, you may speak Japanese once more. It is possible that the limo was bugged by BB and it was necessary to take precautions. He is only fluent in English and Japanese." The younger man nodded.
"What did you say before in French? Something about a body being found. . .?"
"Mm-hm. While you were in the hospital, a body was found near the investigation building. The victim 's throat was slit and it was without a doubt BB's doing. He was likely following us in the limo, so we must take precautions. It is unlikely he will identify us in this vehicle."
"Was there anything odd about the body of the victim?" Light inquired curiously. L nodded and pulled his knees back up.
"As a matter of fact, yes. There was a symbol craved in the victim's face on the left cheek. It appears to be a arrow pointing upwards. It is a message no doubt."
"An arrow? Was it pointing at anything in particular?" Light tried to imagine the gory mark on someone's face. Unless the mark was post-mortem, it was likely very torturous to endure for the victim.
"The victim was propped against a wall, so it was pointing toward the sky. It is unlikely that the message pertains to a certain direction."
"Symbolic?"
"Hmm. . . it isn't a form of cuneiform or hieroglyphics." The detective's mumbled quietly to himself and Light could almost see the well-oiled gears shifting and accelerating through the mop of wild black hair. He was gnawing on his thumb again and the youth felt the urge to pluck it from his lips before it bled again.
"It reminds me of the gender symbol," Light began absent-mindedly, "just without the circle."
"Ah, Tyr. But why. . .?" L trailed off quietly and Light raised a brow at his quick lateral thinking. It was interesting connection for the detective to draw. The gender symbol was referring to the Roman god of Mars and for him to relate that to the Norse mythology god of war was impressive.
According to Norse Mythology, Tyr was the god war, justice and order. If BB was indeed referring to this mythology, he was likely mocking the raven. He wanted to get under L's skin by not only killing another innocent person to play on L's strong sense of justice, but he also killed someone who looked strikingly similar to Light.
It was possible that BB was suggesting Light would suffer the same fate and was declaring a kind of war with L.
After about ten minutes of driving and Watari was certain no one was following them, the younger man was beginning to feel weak. He leaned against the detective, his head resting on the man's shoulder. The medication for his shoulder had worn off and his wound was beginning to throb.
"Is Light-kun alright?" L said softly, peering curiously at the musician.
"Mm-hm, I just wanna lie down."
Light nestled his head into the white, soft cotton of the man's shirt, enjoying the pleasant scent he emitted. He smelt of bar soap and laundry detergent. L laughed softly at his shameless cuddle and Light realized he loved the sound. The older man ran his fingers through Light's smooth auburn locks.
"We will be there soon, amour."
Light blushed and felt his heart swell at the term of endearment. L lowered his legs and guided the youth's head into his lap once more. Feeling utterly exhausted, Light made no protest.
Light was groggily slipping back into consciousness before he realized he drifted off in the man's lap. His head was pounding and the pain of his shoulder was certainly worse. He clenched his teeth and resisted the urge to rub his shoulder. At least the stitches in his chest weren't hurting. He sat up, embarrassed that he made the man's crotch a makeshift pillow once more.
"How long have I been out?" Yawn.
"Approximately 10 minutes, is Light-kun feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Light-kun is a terrible liar. Judging by the clench of his jaw, he is obviously in pain."
The detective pulled out a small, unlabelled bottle of pills from one of the plastic bags.
"Take two of these."
"What are these?"
Watari spoke up from the driver's seat, his eyes glancing at Light in the rear-view mirror.
"Morphine, the nurse informed me you may be feeling pain for the next few days in your shoulder as it was rather deep wound."
Light reluctantly took the pills dry and ignored the terrible, chalky taste. He normally avoided taking medicine altogether, but the pain was quickly exacerbating.
After being checked into the hotel Light was beginning to feel like a zombie. He ached to take a long, hot shower and press his face into a fluffy, smooth, possibly soiled hotel pillow. He normally avoided likely unsanitary places such a hotels or public bathrooms. But right now, he would shamelessly make out with that pillow if it involved sleep afterwards.
And knowing the possible conditions of the shower, that being a certain raven insisting he needed help, the auburn-haired young man was quite willing to procrastinate his cleanliness needs.
As they finally entered the room, Light collapsed onto the disgusting bed and snuggled the strange smelling pillow. L placed the bags on the night stand.
"Watari, please install additional cameras in the lobby and the stairway." The raven's monotonous voice was the last thing Light heard before he drifted off.
"Certainly, will you be needing anything?"
"Bring some tea and. . ." L glanced at the student's already sleeping form, "fruit, please. I already have several cakes here." L was draping a black blanket over the student. He wasn't surprised that Light fell asleep so quickly as the younger man looked ready to fall over in the elevator.
Watari hesitated before doing as the detective requested and paused near the door.
"I must say, I have been rather worried about you, L." English.
"Ooh? Why?"
"You have grown more quiet over the years and I worry about your workload."
"Watari. . ." L was settling onto the bed, pulling out his box of chocolate, ganache cheesecake.
"Don't interrupt, son. You have been working since you were nearly a child and while I adamantly support your passion for justice, I don't support you missing out on the rest of life." The elderly man's lips pressed into a thin line of concern. The raven hid how surprised he was by this statement and conversation, Watari had likely been thinking about this for some time now.
"This is what I wish to do."
"And for as long as I'm alive, I will do what I can to assist you in continuing. However, in all my years, son. . . I have learned it is a meaningless existence to make life work and work alone."
L bit his tongue in pointing out a deduction that according to that logic, Watari's life was also therefore a meaningless existence. L knew this wasn't true.
Watari once had a family of his own.
"It was meaningless to bring those who have wronged others to justice?"
"That's not what I said, nor implied. I only mean to say that you shouldn't miss out on other aspects of life, L."
The detective was silent.
He wasn't oblivious to the luxuries forfeited when he took on the role of codename L. He simultaneously lost and created an identity in the world, couldn't go to public places on a whim, and couldn't even pursue relationships of any kind. However, most of those desires had dissolved and dissipated over the years along with his social skills.
Until now.
"Hmm, its not too risky. . .?"
L's eyes lowered to the slice of cheesecake resting delicately in his lap.
The seemingly simple question hung in the air, the unspoken message lingering.
"Not with him."
The raven's gaze trailed over to Light's sleeping form and he bit his thumb pensively.
"I believe I may love him." He admit quietly.
Watari smiled warmly. If there was anything he wanted for his ward, who was practically his son, it was a connection with someone. It was an experience he deserved the opportunity to try. The young man worked for over the last decade and Watari couldn't provide the intellectual, emotional connection the man could only receive from a relationship.
"I'm happy for you, son."
L, seeming caught in his own musings, hummed in response. Watari left the room.
That was an emotion L had never thought he was capable of, nor wanted. In all of his years solving cases, love was a vicious, exhausting monster that could manipulate the most sane, civil person to commit murder or rape. It threatened to eat one alive, it clouded reason, and . . .
As L stared at Light, every argument he could conjure up with his quick mind against how he felt collapsed and dissolved away and all he could see was the beautiful, sleeping brunet.
Perhaps Watari was right.
Perhaps. . .
That was sweet, no? L was comfortable with being sexually attracted to Light, but the emotional aspect was a bit difficult for him. Light's growing to accept it. Slowly, but surely.
Firstly, I apologize for the late update. I have the half of the next chapter already finished and it will be HUGE! It will be involving BB, Near, and Mello. I thought I would have them in this chapter, but I needed to work on plot and character development. SO, NEXT CHAPTER you shall have BB. Also, special thanks to lapoulpe123 for their help in correcting my terrible French (I speak German and English). Thanks for more help in correcting a few translation mistakes from hanako as well!
Thanks for reading!
Please tell me what you think! Favorite part? Anything you wanna see happen? Review, please!