*A/N*
Song Of The Chapter: Teenage Rebel - Chameleon Circuit (I LOVE CC)
Light shivered as he walked back to the hotel, the cold wind was biting through his collar and whipping his cheeks. He huddled into his scarf and marched forward, turning the darkened streets until he saw the familiar lights of the hotel on the skyline.
Smiling to himself, he quickened his pace and switched the heavy cardboard box to this other side.
Inside, two custom-printed scratching posts were ready for those damned cats approval. Light managed to get them through a lot of contacts, a phone call to the Foreign Ministers in Imported Goods as well as an unashamed flash of a fake high-ranking FBI pass to a local pet store.
All he wanted now was a warm drink, free arms and a cuddle with his partner. It wasn't too much to ask was it?
Light frowned as he heard a nearby police car alarm start up. The only major problem of L being such a good detective was that the members of Kira has ceased in their killings of criminals.
The wanted person at the end of that police siren could be a murderer, rapist, thief, paedophile, fraudster, mafia member or a psychopath. And Kira could have sorted them out, before they terrorized anybody else.
Even though Kira's principals were evil with the murder of people, the people they tended to target would be dead in the eyes of the law anyway, so through a quiet disposal with a heart attack, that could be sorted out. Was Kira the new solution? A more humane way to deal with danger. Not as rational as the justice system, but doubly as effective?
Light shook his head; he was actually thinking rationally about Kira, was the cold getting to him? He walked towards the hotel faster, still hearing the police car wailing nearby. He was surprised when it swept by him, this was a usually peaceful neighbourhood.
However Light knew that where L went, trouble was usually far behind, and wasn't completely surprised when the car turned towards the hotel's direction.
He sighed, and with a large flourish, he hoisted the box into a more secure position and ran down the street, dodging out of the way of the late-night moon dwellers that came out at night to enjoy the slightly cooler air.
As he turned into the hotel's street, he nearly dropped the box he was carrying. In his midst of trying to locate the cats' accessories, he hadn't noticed the increased regularity of police cars passing him, along with ambulances and fire engines.
But now, with over 20 of each automobile swarming the high-rise hotel, he wished he had been more careful. He ran down the street, pushing through the small crowd of nosy pedestrians that had come out to gape at the spectacle.
The hotel was ablaze.
Fire poured out of every entrance, and a harsh amber and crimson flamed behind every window. Glass was broken all around the street from forced open windows. And, to Light's horror, the top floor, his floor, was a smouldering wreck. The sculptured roof had caved in, leaving tonnes of rubble cascading down to the road below.
Light dropped the box, and through sheer panic, he pelted through the crowd to the safety barrier, where he clung desperately onto the hard plastic, screaming for attention.
Two police officers were speaking closely, their faces deadly serious. Light leant in closer, catching small snippets of their conversations.
"3 dead?"
"Yes, with no identification"
"Nothing?" The younger policeman raised his eyebrows, to which the elder one shook his head gravely.
"Shame… Such young men too" The older man rubbed his eyes tiredly.
Light froze, silent tears pouring down his face. He slowly raised his hand to his face and scraped down the side of his cheek, causing blood, anger, sadness and tears flow together as one.
An inhuman noise ripped through his mouth and he collapsed to his knees, covering his face with his hands and rocking slowly.
I SHOULD HAVE STAYED, I COULD HAVE SAVED THEM! MY BABY! MY BABIES! MY L!
Mello… Protect him now…
Near… Help Mello….
L… My sweet L… I love you…
My baby… I never met you…
"…It wasn't MY fault Mello".
Light's head snapped up, hearing the soft whine that was unmistakably Near.
..What… Did I die too?
"..You were the one who caused the fire Near. There was no need for you to throw the controls at the screen you know that" Mello's voice argued back.
What? Why are they arguing in… here…? What?
Light opened his eyes, looking down at the floor. Small pieces of the hotel were dotted around him, and he could feel the heat of the fire warming his body.
"I only threw it because you kept sniping me" Near snapped back.
"Well, if you ACTUALLY moved I wouldn't had been sniping you"
"I didn't expect it to be a one-on-one MELLO".
Light listened to the increasingly irritated exchange desperately. Either he was dreaming, or dead… Or somehow, he had a turn of good luck.
A dry laugh interrupted the argument.
"Honestly Mello-kun, Near-kun. It shouldn't be called World at War, it should be called Call Of Duty: Near's Bitchfest At His Boyfriend's Significantly Better Strategy. Ouch, now stop it Microsoft!"
It was him.
His voice. His angelic voice. His indescribable, immaculate, perfect voice. Light turned around, and saw 3 pairs of unusual feet.
One was in thick black leather books.
One was in white socks.
And one was in tatty trainers, with a cat twisting its body through his legs.
Light stood up, and looked directly into the eyes of L.
The world stopped in that split second. All sound, all emotion, all colour, all faces disappeared, apart from his. Light moved through the black mass, wrapping his arms around the solid warmth of L.
If this is heaven. I'll take it.
If this is hell… I'll love it.
If this is it. I don't care.
Light buried his face into L's neck, kissing the pulse point repeatedly, and licking at the soft skin above the most vital point in L's body. L relaxed and tightened his arms around Light's body, digging his hands into Light's shoulders.
"Y…you're alive" Light whispered.
"Of course Light-kun. I wouldn't leave you" L whispered back, tightening his hold as the baby kicked.