The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

So! Here I am, attempting to post another chapter to Little Things, and I find myself thinking: Where do I go from here?

It's not necessarily that I don't know the next plot point for the story- because I know exactly what the next major event is; the real thing troubling me is… the pace. Should I continue making things drag along achingly, sweetly and realistically slow between Light and L, or should I up the ante and hurry up and have them "get together"?

So for the first time ever, I'm asking for a little advice. I'm going to be posting a poll on my profile, but for those of you who don't want to bother going there, you could always feed me input through a review- hint, hint.

After all, I do live to serve.

In other news, I now have a job. HOORAY! This means that, hopefully, I'll be financially ensured to go to school next year. In between working and sleeping, I also need to work on my sketchbook and summer assignments- so updates might be a little slow in coming, but I promise that they'll continue.

Now that I've complained to you enough, here- a special treat for depriving you of L last time.

Light came home from a day out exhausted and grumpy. Today had been a promotional photo shoot for the advertisement about the upcoming DVD release, and there was nothing Light hated more than posing like an idiot while some scrawny photographer purred, "That's it baby, RAWR!" at him. Light's looks and body build could have guaranteed him a career as a model, but Light had chosen the hard path instead and become an actor, a career which actually required some measure of talent as well as looks.

He walked into the living room expecting to see the freak- pardon, RYUZAKI- sitting there channel surfing, but the couch was oddly empty of crouching weirdoes.

In fact….

Light looked around the kitchen and saw no empty cake-plate.

He went to the back of the condo, towards his library, and tapped lightly on the door. There was no page-rustling sound inside. He hesitantly pushed the white-painted door open.

Inside the library there was… no one.

So…. Ryuzaki wasn't here.

Light hurriedly looked around, but Ryuzaki's medical textbooks were still stacked up on the floor near the bookshelf, and there was a white long-sleeve shirt lying abandoned on the air mattress. So… he couldn't have left for good. Light almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then he remembered that Ryuzaki had kissed him. Right… he was mad at him. He should be glad the messy-haired faux-physician was out of the house, even temporarily.

With a haughty 'ha!' the teen superstar sauntered into the living room and proudly turned on the TV, uncontested.

It grew old in about five seconds.

Light hated to admit it- actually, he couldn't even bear to think of admitting it. But without the off-kilter man in the house, it was kind of… lonely.

"What the hell are you doing, Ryuzaki?" Light yelled at no one in particular.

////

The man sat impatiently in the clinic, kicking his feet back and forth as he sat on the examination table. He'd been ushered into this room after getting snippy with a nurse who had asked him what his ailment was. Well, the skank had deserved it- acting like he was the scum of the earth and she was so great just because she'd been to nursing school. He was a CEO, dammit; he didn't have to listen to that.

"The doctor will be with you shortly," the cold-hearted bitch (her nametag read "Lidner", and she was a hottie, but that attitude of hers would have to go) told him.

He strained his ears to hear what she said once she left the small examination room, shutting the door. She was talking to another nurse. He swore, if they were gossiping about him he'd have some strings pulled to get the skanks fired, nobody talked about Kyosuke Higuchi that way.

But they seemed to be speaking about someone else entirely. Higuchi couldn't hear everything they said, but he picked up bits and pieces.

"…you sure about this?"

"Of course. He seems odd, but he's very clever…"

"…the one who solved the…?"

"…yes… took some time off for personal matters, but… bored today, so… wanted to work in the clinic."

Obviously they were talking about some stupid-stuck-up doctor. Higuchi scoffed and looked around the small examination room, which was decorated in the obligatory medical posters and charts. The sooner he got out of here, the better.

After a few moments the door opened, and Higuchi thought it would FINALLY be the slow-ass doctor, but it was just some scrawny, hunched kid in blue jeans that barely fit him. Trying not to let his disappointment show, he waved a dismissive hand at the kid. "This room is occupied, kid."

The kid- though, when Higuchi looked at him again, he wasn't sure of his age, he could have been anywhere from seventeen to thirty- stared blankly at him. "I was told to wait in this room."

"Well, so was I, so there was obviously some sort of mistake," the businessman snapped.

"Ah. I shall just have to wait here for the doctor to amend the mistake, then," he murmured. He moved over to the chair where the doctor usually sat and hopped into it, settling into an odd crouching position. Higuchi hoped the doctor threw him face first out of the chair when he came in.

If he came in, because this was taking forever.

"What is your name?" the weird young man asked, though from the flatness in his voice it seemed like he hardly cared. Or maybe he was just a freak.

"Kyosuke Higuchi. And you are…?"

"I am hoping the doctor will get here shortly."

So not only did he have horrid posture, sloppy clothes and a boring voice, but he was also rude and he didn't give out his name. This waiting-room-mate was getting better by the second. The businessman held back his anger, however, because that hottie/bitch nurse Lidner might come back in and he didn't want her seeing him all pissed off.

"So what is wrong with you?" the hunched kid asked in that same possibly-not-even-interested tone.

"Nothing. I'm just here for a check-up."

"Your suit is very nice. You must be a businessman."

Higuchi shifted uncomfortably on the examination table. Well, at least he had the sense to give compliments where they were deserved. "Yeah. I'm a head of Technology Development."

The freak nodded vaguely and looked down at his shoes. "Do you have a foot fungus? Perhaps a venereal disease?"

"NO! What the hell is wrong with you?" This sinister-looking brat was acting like it was some kind of game, trying to guess what was wrong. "It's none of your goddamn business, and if it was, why the HELL would you think that?"

The downright frightening kid bit on his thumbnail, which only succeeded in making him look odder. "The TV says businessmen have a reputation for promiscuity, so a venereal disease seemed logical. And to wear such uncomfortable shoes all day…" He wriggled his toes in their battered tennis shoes. "A foot fungus would be sadly inevitable."

"Look, you're wrong, it's neither of those."

"Uncontrollable diarrhea? Flatulence? Erectile dysfunction?"

"NO!" God, Higuchi had never wanted to get up and choke someone more than he did now. "If it'll shut you up, I'll tell you, it's just some damn hair loss, okay?"

"Ah. Hair loss is common in men your age."

"It's not that!" Why was this scrawny little horror acting as though he was qualified to diagnose someone? "I mean, it's not like my hairline has been receding or I'm getting old and fat and bald or any of that shit. I've got thick, healthy hair and I will for a while." Okay, so maybe his forehead was a little high, but he wasn't going to point it out to this nightmare. "My father had all of his hair right up until his funeral."

"Oh. So by hair loss, you mean…"

Was he nosy enough? Still, it was worth talking, because at least the terror didn't say anything in that horrible flat voice when Higuchi was speaking. "It's all of a sudden. I just woke up this morning with it all over my pillow, coming out whenever I brush it or run my hands through it…"

The kid put his hands on his knees and tilted his head. "Ah. That's terrible. I hope the doctor can fix it. It must be important for a businessman to make a good impression. Is it very stressful keeping up appearances?"

"Yeah. Not that you'd probably know anything about it." From the looks of this guy, this was probably his Sunday best. He must have been homeless. Or a street musician. Or some crap like that. "What do YOU do?"

"A little of this, a little of that. Nothing nearly so tiring as being a head of Technology Development." He turned his creepy eyes towards Higuchi's hands. "Your wife must worry during all those long hours and board meetings." Obviously, he'd seen the wedding band on the older man's finger.

"Eh, she deals with it. I have to take my business trips when I need them, so she just has to find a hobby or something." He resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair for fear of pulling more of it loose. "It's tough crap, men's work. She wouldn't understand even if she knew what my days at the office were like."

"Ah." Was it possible to sound any more bored in a monotone like that? Because somehow, this guy did it.

"Yeah, you should hear her complain…. All this crap about me not paying enough attention to her… she should be grateful I'm out there making money for her damn bills…"

He looked up to see the freak shuffling towards him. What was he-?

Wordlessly, the dark-eyed man grabbed a handful of Higuchi's hair and, standing behind him, yanked his head back. The older man made a terrified squeak. Was this kid going to cut his throat?

Leaning forward the abomination pressed his face to Higuchi's scalp and inhaled deeply.

"Wh-wh-wh-WHAT THE HELL? NURSE! NURSE! SOMEONE- SEXUAL ASSUALT-"

The horror-movie reject released Higuchi, wiping the strands of hair that had come away on his hands on his jeans.

"A condition exists, known as telogen effluvium, which causes hair loss due to stress. However… there is only a ten percent chance that it is what you have. It's far more likely that your wife put a small quantity of Nair in your shampoo in a vengeful move after becoming tired of your behavior and the affair you are most likely having. You didn't detect the scent because you use far too much foul-smelling hair product and cologne. My suggestion is that you throw out the shampoo, begin wearing less scanted products, and purchase a toupee. I have no suggestion as how to deal with your wife's rage, however."

And he shuffled out of the room just like that.

Higuchi gaped like a fish at his retreating back, and he was still stunned speechless when Lidner re-entered the room. "Are you okay sir?" she asked, sounding slightly amused.

"I… uh… I… who was that?"

"Oh, you must mean Ryuzaki. He's just a regular patient." She smiled slyly. "Will you still be needing to see a doctor?"

"Uh…no." Higuchi grabbed his briefcase and awkwardly headed to the door. "But does anyone around here know the number of a good divorce attorney?"