Albeit reluctantly, Ukita had agreed to having L come with. That day, work ended early, much to Aizawa's (whose marriage had been a little stressed lately) relief. Watari had hovered around worriedly, looking very much like a mother who was letting her daughter go on her first date, if such an expression was possible for the elderly man.
"It's cold tonight, Ryuuzaki," Watari had told L as he was walking out the door, the elderly man handing him a jacket and a scarf. L thanked him, putting on the jacket and zipping it up, and then wrapping the scarf around his neck and looking very uncomfortable. He wasn't used to wearing so many layers, after all. Not to mention the shoes. Oh, how uncomfortable they were! Even with the laces untied, it still bugged L, who felt as if his feet were being suffocated. Eventually though, after getting some soup (chicken noodle), Ukita and L set off for Matsuda's apartment.
It was close enough to their current HQ that a bus or train wasn't needed, and it wasn't in necessairly a bad neighborhood. It just... made L nervous. There were noises in the alleyways. Noises that didn't really sound like some kind of animal looking for food. Heavy breathing kind of noises. In the distance, shouting was heard.
"We're here," Ukita said, stopping in front of a door that looked about to fall off its hinges. L looked at it critically, before following Ukita inside the building. They went up some stairs, and L was certain he saw some insects scuttling about. Was this really where Matsuda lived? He made a mental note to raise Matsuda's pay.
Ukita knocked on the door once, before opening the door, ignoring L's startled look; Matsuda didn't even lock his door? In this neighborhood? He added to his mental note to give Matsuda a stern talking to about personal safety.
As L stepped into the apartment, he blinked. It was... clean. Well. It was cleaner than L imagined it. Sure, the table was covered in paperwork, the sink full of dishes, garbage spilling out of the can, but aside from that it was fine. Coughing was heard in an adajacent room, and then a floorboard creaked as the door was opened.
"Ukita-kun...?" a scratchy, nasily voice called out. A pale face emerged, brown hair surrounding it.
"I brought you some soup!" Ukita said cheerfully, holding up a tall can. Barely visible, steam rose from the top.
"Ah," Matsuda said, emerging from the room, a tissue in hand. He stopped, sneezed once, twice, into the tissue before groaning softly. His dilated eyes caught sight of L, but before he could say anything Ukita spoke.
"You should sit," the cop said, walking over and taking Matsuda's arm to gently guide him to the couch. "How are you feeling?"
"A little better," Matsuda said softly, eyes droopy. "Ne, Ryuuzaki-san is here, right? I'm not hallucinating?"
"I am here," L spoke for the first time. "I'm... sorry to hear you're not feeling well." There. That was what was said when someone was sick, right? Or was that when someone close to a person died...?
"Than-" Matsuda began, before he suddenly began coughing. Ukita rushed foreward, opening the can of warm soup and putting a spoon into the liquid.
"Just eat, Matsuda-kun," Ukita said, getting a paper towel and a glass of water from the kitchen and then sitting down besides Matsuda. Feeling a twinge of jealousy, L stayed where he was, since there was no other available seating (other than in the kitchen, but he certaintly wasn't going to leave the room!).
Ukita: 1
L: 0