"How was I supposed to know umsteigen meant to change trains?" Light said grouchily, having almost missed the second train.
"I think it was obvious…" L said. Light just glared at the other man and slid down more into his seat. Mello snickered to himself as he happily snuggled more into his idol's side. Light sent an irritated look the blonde's way.
The three had been traveling for quite a while now. Right after lunch they had packed up their things at the hostel and headed out to the main train station. L had given a brief explanation of how the railway systems worked before they boarded. Apparently his explanation hadn't been good enough for Light, whom had fallen asleep on the train thus almost missing the next train switch.
A nice woman had the courtesy to wake up Light by tapping him on the shoulder. The moment Light realized he was left behind; he stampeded off the train to get to the other. He had managed to catch up just in time, which leads us to our current situation.
"Let it go princess…" Mello said sticking his tongue out at Light. The older boy tried to move across L, whom was in-between the bickering two, and grab the irritating blonde. Mello was thoroughly amused as Light got smacked in the face. The younger boy's amusement was short-lived, however, as he too got a whack to the head.
"Both of you shall remain as silent as possible on this trip and try your best not to…anger me," L said sternly.
"The little demon started it…" Light whined as he rubbed his nose that was now turning a slight shade of red after getting smacked.
"Fu—"Mello stopped himself before he got hit again. The look L was giving him was a bit unnerving the blonde had to admit. The younger boy turned to his backpack and started digging around to avoid L's gaze. L's attention then went back to Light, who sat on the other side of him.
"I don't care…" L said simply.
A lot of time passed by as the three sat there in silence. Darkness was starting to hit the countryside as they passed it along. Light admired the scenery as much as he could while the little sunlight left still hit it. He was rather annoyed that the particular train they were on now had to stop at every single little shack in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Light remembered L trying to explain to him what these certain stops were called, but the young man hadn't held enough interest at the time to care about the matter.
Boredom set in around the second hour on the train. Light decided he needed something to entertain himself with or he'd go crazy. The Kira suspect reached for the overhang luggage and dug out his Japanese-to-German dictionary. He decided he might as well learn something why he sat here in misery.
Light cracked open the book. The binding bent back and added creases to the fold. It still had that new book smell, which for some reason Light found he always rather liked. He began to study simple phrases, little tidbits that might help him in the near future. He hadn't really looked at the book since the time he had gotten completely lost in the town square. Light glowered at the embarrassing memory form behind his book. Suddenly Light felt a push from his side. L had moved considerably more into him. Light made a move to protest, but the detective caught his gaze and gestured to his other side.
"I apologize Yagami-kun; however, some things are out of my control…" L said softly in almost a whisper. Light's gaze fell to where L gestured. Mello had apparently fallen asleep somewhere along the trip. The young blond had his head cuddled tightly into L's side. He had moved his legs up onto the seat and was curled into a tight little ball. The item he had retrieved from his bag earlier was now visible. The tiny sheep doll popped slightly out of Mello's arms as he shifted in his sleep. Light turned his attention back to L.
"It's fine," Light said softly before turning his attention back to his book. He made a mental note to torture Mello later on about his little dolly. A dark cackle resonated in Light's inner-thoughts. Revenge would be sweet. Light was knocked out of his inner-plotting by L peering over his shoulder. The insomniac was really starting to invade his personal space.
It was starting to kind of creep the young man out, even if he couldn't see L. He could just feel the other man hovering over him. Light turned to tell L to ease up a bit and was taken aback. His eyes widened to their full extent as the reality of how close to two really were. L's nose brushed against his as their eyes met. His hot breath whispered on his cheek. A whiff of it caught Light's nose. It smelt like peppermints.
For a moment Light couldn't even move. L didn't seem the least bit bothered by the situation. He continued to stare right back into Light's eyes. Finally the younger man whipped his head in the other direction. He could feel heat rise to his face. He was unsure what to say. What could he say at this point after an awkward moment like that?
"When Light-kun blushes his ears turn a lovely shade of pink as well," L teased in a low voice so as to not wake-up Mello, whom was still awake. Light sputtered and scooted farther down away from L on the seat. He would've shouted in outrage if it wasn't for the fact it would awake the beast.
"Shut up, Ryuzaki…" Light muttered under his breath just loud enough for the other man to here. The young man thought he heard a light laugh from beside him, but did not intend on looking over there anytime soon. The laughter soon subsided and Light went back to his book in an attempt to forget what just took place. He could still feel his ears burning. God damn it.
"What are you reading?" L asked. Light frowned and buried his face more into the tiny book.
"What does it look like I'm reading?" Light growled back.
"No need to be rude…" L said.
"I said to be quiet you insufferable—" Light began to complain when Mello shifted beside L. Both older men turned to watch the young blonde. However, Mello merely flipped his body in the other direction. His face cuddled more into his little sheep doll. A happy sigh left the chocoholics lips, but he did not awaken.
"Thank-god," both L and Light muttered under their breaths at the same time. Light now turned his attention to the spidery detective beside him. He was confused for a second, but then a smirk slowly came to his face. L eyed him.
"Light-kun?" L questioned.
'You don't like the little brat very much either, do you?" Light replied without losing his smile.
"It is not that I dislike Mello. That isn't the case at all—"
"Then what is it?"
"If Light-kun would kindly let me finish, I shall tell him. The reason I showed relief in that fact that Mello had not awoken is because he has tendency to be a bit too affectionate towards I. Also, I enjoy my time with you when it is uninterrupted," L finished explaining.
Light grew quiet. The young man coughed into his hand and then pretended to go back to his book. He was at a loss of words. Was there some underlying meaning as to why L answered that way? Was the detective trying to throw him off? Light thought long about it; so long in fact that it took about fifteen minutes to realize that he'd grown rather hungry.
"Ryuzaki…"
"Yes?"
"Do you have any food I can have? " Light asked. There was a pause and then Light heard the sound of crinkling. He turned his head to find L digging around his pocket. The insomniac then pulled out a rather sad looking lollipop. The wrapper was half dangling off and there was a variety of different colored pocket lent stuck to it. Light almost threw up in his mouth as he eyed a rather long black hair hanging off it, "Do you have…anything…else?"
"If Light-kun is so picky about his food, there is a food coach towards the end of the train," L said.
"That sounds more promising. Thank-you," Light said as he made a move to stand up. Light was prepared to walk away when a hand gripped his arm. L stared up at him. His owl-like eyes boring into his skull. Light cocked his head to the side. What did the detective want now?
"Light-kun doesn't honestly believe that I'll just let him go off on his own, does he?" L said.
"What? You going to follow and leave Mello alone while he's asleep? " Light shot back.
"Not in the least. That would be entirely irresponsible…" L said with a smirk.
////////\\\\\\\\\
"Hurry your ass up Abercrombie Princess. I don't have all freaking day," Mello grumbled as they made their way down the train.
"Did Ryuzaki know you'd be this grouchy after you woke up?" Light said irritably.
"Do you want to eat or not asshole?" Mello said as he glared hard up at Light. The young man brushed the comment from the blonde off. He still had something he could hold over the young boy's head. A dark chuckle left his throat.
"I'd be a little nicer to me Blondie…" Light snarled.
"Or really? Why's that princess?" Mello shot back.
"I tell everyone about your little sheep!" Light said with a mischievous grin. Mello looked as if he had just choked on his own spit. His face tinged all pink and he appeared completely flustered. Then after a moment the blonde seemed to calm down. He laughed.
"Ha! You can tell anyone your little heart desires. Most of the people hear can't understand you. Plus, you don't really know anyone that I'd care about if they did found out that little piece of information. So there! HA!" Mello said triumphantly. Light didn't lose his smile.
"What about that Matt person? Or that Near dude he talked about in the chat?" Light said darkly as he referred back to the time he had messed around with the lap top. Mello's face went blank. His mouth formed into a very thin line.
"You wouldn't dare…"
"Wouldn't I?"
The rest of the trip up the train proceeded in complete silence. Light was very pleased. Mello was… plotting his revenge. L was fairly curious why Light seemed so cheerful upon his return. The rest of the train ride went by rather smoothly. The three collected their things and got off the train.
They walked out of the train station and went towards a bus stop. L studied the bus schedule and determined when their next bus would arrive. The three stood tiredly at the bus stop, their luggage making a ring around them. The sun had already gone down at this point. It was inching closer and closer to the time to sleep. The bus finally arrived and they got on.
They watched as the night lights passed them by. As the bus continued on, the amount of lights began to dwindle. All that could be seen now was the shadows of trees in the moonlight. The bus slowly pulled to a stop in front of a shady hotel. Three tiny lights lit up its wooden sign. Light eyed it questionably. This was the last stop. The three were asked to get off the bus.
"Ryuzaki are you sure this is the right place?" Light asked as he continued to eye the sign for the rather disturbing motel. The sign was mostly white except for giant pink gaudy letters that read in English "The Love Motel". The actual establishment didn't look that exquisite either.
"This is not where we are staying for the night," L assured the young man.
"Thank-god" Light said "because this looks like one of those kinds of places where they charge by the hour,"
"Why would they make people pay by the hour to stay in a shit hole like that?" Mello asked.
"I'll tell you when you're older Mello…" L said as he looked at the surrounding area ignoring the fact that Mello had cursed. Mello huffed and crossed his arms. So far on this trip everyone was treating him like a complete child. At least he would finally be turning thirteen tomorrow. Then he'd get the respect he deserved.
"Ryuzaki. Where are we staying then?" Light asked.
'There is a small pension somewhere around here. I just need to locate it," L replied.
"So what you really saying is that we're lost," Light glowered.
"I said no such thing," L said back with a rather irritable tone.
"How are we going to find this place in the dark?" Mello questioned aloud. He trusted L to the fullest extent to get them to their destination. Yet at the same time, he was aware that the task would be rather difficult with such little lighting. All the young blonde could see at this point was the crappy motel and trees. Lots and lots of trees….
"Follow me," L said as he walked forward, his luggage gripped tightly in his hand. Light and Mello somewhat reluctantly shuffled behind him. Light was almost certain that he'd rather stay at the Love Motel than chance whatever the held waited for them among the trees. A montage of horror film scenes filtered through his mind.
A single street light revealed a path up the hill. L determined that this would be the way to go. The three trudged on into the dark. The hill was starting to get really steep as they continued onwards. The luggage seemed to get heavier in their arms. Suddenly, like a beacon of hope, a rather large house could be seen in the distance.
Each traveler picked up their pace. They reached the front door. L knocked slowly. They waited with anticipation. The door slowly creaked open. An elderly woman greeted them warmly in German. L confirmed to Light that this was indeed where they would stay for the night.
The old woman led them in. She happily chatted to L as she explained things to him. The three were led to a tiny office where they received their keys. L got the key for his and Light's room; and Mello got the room for his. Before they went to their rooms, the old woman gave Mello a tiny chocolate toffee and patted his head sweetly. Mello smiled up at her, but once the three were out of her sight a deep frown set in on his face.
"I'm tired of people treating me like a kid," Mello complained.
"Well I'm tired of you," Light commented. L smacked his shoulder. Light hissed and grabbed his abused shoulder. He sent a look L's way, but the detective didn't seem to care in the least. Soon enough they parted ways. Mello went off to his own separate room and the two went to theirs.
"Good-night Mello," L said.
"Good-night L—Ryuzaki," Mello said before disappearing around the corner.
Light and L made their way to the room at a slow pace. Their ascent up the stairs of the tiny pension was relatively calm. L pulled out the key and opened the door. The luggage was dragged into the room and throw onto the ground. Light groaned.
"There's only one bed?" he whined.
"It's big enough for two," L pointed out.
"You know what…at this point I guess I don't care anymore," Light said as he kicked off his shoes. The teen then went towards the bed and flopped onto it unceremoniously. Light's face was buried into the pillow, his arms were sprawled out, and for a moment he didn't move at all. He just let exhaustion set in.
L slipped off his own shoes and placed them by the door. He slipped off his jeans and set them on a chair near a desk in the room. He ruffled his hair and walked over to the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed that wasn't taken over by Light and stared out the window.
"Light-kun…" L said softly.
"Mmrg," came a muffled reply from the other side of the bed.
"You remember the promise you gave to me to be more pleasant towards Mello correct?" L said. There was a pause, but then another muffled reply followed, "Then you must know to be on your very best behavior tomorrow since it is the date of his birth,"
The bed shifted and Light's head lifted up slightly. Light balanced his chin on the pillow and simply turned his eyes to the detective. L returned his gaze. Light flipped his body around till he was also sitting on the bed. He blew some hair out of his face and then sighed.
"I'll try my best," Light said.
"That's all I ask…"
Sorry for the delay you guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The reason I haven't updated any of the stories on this account is due to the fact that I'm currently participating in a kind of fanfiction duet with one of my close friends. Since we're so far apart from each other, we thought the best way to interact was through writing together. Our joint account is called MounkeyJames. Check it out if you have the time. I'm James in the equation. Till next chapter my lovelies!!! Review if you can! =D
Umsteigen – to change trains