I Write Sins, Not Tragedies
ChipsAhoypup
Warning: Boy love. Don't like, don't read.
A/N 6-DAY WEEKEND~ :3
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Credit for plot bunnies of the story go to Nikkacatmeki.
The raven and the albino were assembling a house of cards. The usual silence built up between them as they did so.
"A, get back here!" Shouted a boy nearby as he playfully chased a smaller boy. The boy who shouted didn't notice the raven and albino's card house until he accidentally trampled it.
The boy halted, staring panicked at the ruined cards. "Oh God, I'm so sorry," He yelped, sounding strangely sincere. He knelt down by their destroyed abode and attempted to fix it.
"It's okay," The raven said quietly. "We can rebuild it ourselves."
"But it was my fault." The boy glanced up at the raven, a strange look in his eyes. "Uh… I'm B," He murmured suddenly, holding out a shaky hand.
"L," The raven replied, gripping the held-out hand and shaking it.
"Oh wow," B gasped, pulling his hand back and staring at L with wide eyes. "You're L? You're the one who's on a college level?"
"Er, yeah…" L looked embarrassed by the sudden fame.
"Hey, A, get over here," B called to the smaller boy he'd been chasing earlier. A padded over, glancing back and forth from L and B.
"What?" A asked innocently.
"This is L." B gestured towards the raven.
"H-hi…" A waved shyly.
"Hello." L offered a small smile at the modest brown-haired kid.
"I'm A," A whispered, even though L had already heard B calling this kid A earlier.
"I'm Near," The albino suddenly spoke up, fed up with being ignored for so long.
B and A seemed to finally notice him. "Hello," They said awkwardly.
"Would you like to help us build the house of cards again?" Near offered, looking happy once more.
"Sure!" A and B chirped in unison.
The four new friends began forming the largest house of cards known to Wammy's. Another silence had bubbled up between the four, but it was a welcomed one, an appreciated one, that was only broken by an occasional, "Can you pass me that card?"
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
After their little inspirational conversation, L and Light were no longer tired. It was about 4 a.m., but they were as wide awake as if it was noon. "So, what did you dream about?" Light turned the tables on his friend.
"Huh?" L stared blankly.
"When you woke up, you looked really tense for a moment. You must've had some kind of dream… possibly a nightmare?" Light pressed.
"I… I don't recall," L murmured, dropping his gaze.
"Now you're lying," Light laughed.
"Am not." L lifted his head to glare at Light intensely.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am n—"
"Okay, okay," Light interrupted with a sigh. "If you really don't want to tell me, then I guess that's fine." A large amount of depression was enveloped in his words.
"Why do you want to know so bad?" L grumbled.
"I told you all my nightmares. It should only be fair that you tell me yours," Light replied, staring at L bitterly.
"…" L didn't want to admit how true that was. "Okay, fine. But promise me you won't laugh?"
Light held up his right hand solemnly. "I promise."
"…Okay. Me and you were walking through a forest," L began, completely skipping the part where Light was concealed in a bush, "and we came across a dead coyote. A smaller coyote was laying next to it, and suddenly a white tiger killed it… And then the tiger tried to attack you, and I was ready to attack it before it got to you, but… you woke me up before I could find out what happened."
Light was silent for a moment, soaking it all in. "Why do you think we're both inside each other's dreams?" He finally asked.
"Maybe it means something," L suggested, to which Light gave him a 'no, really?' stare.
"Well, you are my best friend," Light said quietly. L was so surprised that he nearly fell backwards off the chair.
"W-what?" L gasped. He'd never been anyone's best friend before. Sure, he'd been Near's friend, but Near was also friends with A and B, and Matt and Mello. Besides, L was the outcast of the group, who simply followed them around. He wasn't special to them; just another one of the groupies. If he decided to walk off, almost no one would notice. Or, they'd notice, but wouldn't really care, waving it off, declaring that L had just gone off to get some sugary item to eat and would be back. None would follow.
A and B were best friends. Matt and Mello were best friends. And Near was too distant to have a best friend. Light's voice broke into L's thoughts, as usual.
"I don't really know anyone else here… I mean, I know them, but you're the only one who really seems to, I don't know, connect with me," Light admitted.
"…" L was still pretty blown away by this. It took a moment for him to gather his thoughts together, and reply, "I can connect to you more than anyone else here as well. Did you figure out what your mental grade is?"
"Mental grade…?" Light tilted his head to the side curiously.
"They assign each child a grade that matches their IQ. For instance, I'm at a college level, while most kids here are on a high school level."
"…Is there anyone that's at the grade that they're supposed to be at for a kid their age?"
"No. This is an orphanage for only the most intelligent children. Didn't you know that?" Judging by the blank look in Light's stare, he didn't know that. "Oh, wow. Well, you have to be intelligent to be here, and I'm fairly sure that you're qualified."
"When do you think they'll test for my IQ?" Light asked, blinking.
"I… don't know. Sorry." L shrugged his shoulders. "But since today's Sunday" L gestured at the clock, which glowed '5:15', "you should find out tomorrow."
"What's school like here?" Light asked nervously.
"I wouldn't know. I'm all alone in my class," L mumbled. "Although everyone goes to lunch at the same time, so I get to eat with A, B, Matt, Mello, and Near. They usually complain about the amount of homework they're getting."
"Really? Homework was so easy for me," Light remarked. "I usually got it done in two minutes."
"What grade were you in?" L asked curiously.
"7th. We were learning about such stupid stuff though. They hammer the water cycle into your head as if you're going to go outside while it's raining and shout, 'precipitation!' when you're older. But adults still call it rain." Light rolled his eyes.
"Can I test your knowledge on the water cycle since you seem to be so educated on the topic?" L practically pleaded, ebony eyes shining in enthusiasm.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Name all four cy—"
"Precipitation, Surface Run-off, Evaporation, and Condensation." Light counted them off on his fingers. "Do you have a more difficult question?"
L narrowed his eyes. "Okay, what do each do?"
"Precipitation is when the water in the clouds come down, either in the form of rain, snow, or hail. Surface Run-off is when the soil can't hold it anymore, and it forms a sort of river. Evaporation is when the water turns into gas molecules and goes back up to the clouds. And Condensation is when it builds up in the clouds, turning into water again," Light said. "But that's to put it simply. I'm sure there are more detailed answers."
"What's another subject you learned about?" L abruptly changed the subject.
"…I had FC Science, and we were learning about cooking tools," Light muttered, looking as if he was stifling a yawn at the mere mention of FC Science.
"What does FC stand for?" L inquired. This actually wasn't part of his 'test.' He really didn't know what it stood for.
"Family and Consumer Sciences. It's such a boring class," Light replied.
"…Name one tool and what it does."
"Rolling pin, you know what it does."
"…" L stared.
"…Sorry, I was attempting humor," Light said with a smirk.
"Oh… I don't understand jokes," L said, blankly staring at Light, who's smirk faded.
"Okay… Do you want to ask another question?" Light tilted his head to the side.
"Er… what are the symbols for tablespoon and teaspoon?"
"Big T, little t," Light answered simply.
The two continued on, with L asking questions, and Light answering them. It lasted until around 6 a.m., when L's five friends woke up and padded down to arrange their breakfast.
As Near walked by, L couldn't help but notice that the albino shot him a funny look. Was that a… glare? But the look quickly vanished, way too quickly for L to distinguish the expression, and L and Light got down from the dining room table to join the group.
The seven made breakfast, mostly in silence, with the exception of some mild side conversation. "Roger's taking us to the grocery store today," Mello suddenly piped up.
"Yeah, it's the Ls and Ms today," Matt put in.
"Ls and Ms?" Light looked clueless.
"Every month, Roger takes a selected group of kids grocery shopping. The car's really small, so it's always four. He goes in alphabetical order of first names, since most children would rather not reveal their last names in the first place. Usually it's me, Mello, Matt, and Near, but since you came, I believe Near got knocked down to next month," L explained, with an apologetic glance towards Near, who looked unruffled.
"And we have to travel in pairs. It's called the 'buddy system.' It's so we won't 'get lost.' Although me and Matt always get lost anyways," Mello added with a mischievous smirk.
"Mello enjoys causing Roger to panic. He does it every time." Matt emphasized the last two words.
"And Roger freaks out every time. If his reaction wasn't so amusing, I'd stop." Mello had an evil glint in his eyes.
"Oh yeah, and buddies have to hold hands," B added as he snatched a jar of jam from the fridge. "It's usually not a problem. But Roger punishes us if we let go of each other's hand for even a second. So stick to your partner like glue."
Light nodded in understanding. "Okay. Sounds like fun." He smiled full-heartedly as he went to get himself some cereal. L grabbed the first pastry he could find, which happened to be a donut, and nibbled on it. Maybe it would be fun, for once. After all, his 'buddy' was now his best friend.
A/N More cheesiness. Heh. I think I lowered the 'cheesy' factor a bit more, but yeah… Don't question why there aren't more Ls and Ms. This is an AU. That's why L and Light are the only Ls, and Matt and Mello are the only Ms. (Plus, they're the two most common yaoi pairings in the Death Note world. Can you say irony?)
Credit goes to my sister for the whole 'water cycle' and 'FC Science' thing. She's in 7th grade, like Light, so I pestered her. She was my go-to source for this kind of thing. And the whole "rolling pin" thing really happened. Not exactly like that, but sort of like this:
Me: Name one tool and how it's used.
Her: Rolling pin, you know what it does.
Me: …Seriously?
Her: Uh, I don't know, a pie pan?
Me: No, something a little more complex, please.
Her: A PIE PAN IS VERY COMPLEX.
Then I gave up and just used rolling pin. But yeah, credit for the highlight of that conversation between L and Light goes to Hannah. ^^
(P.S. I feel like I made L a Gary Sue by making him the only one on a college level… but in the real Death Note, everyone at Wammy's, although they're all younger than him, look up to him for his high intelligence. So I figured, he must've been the most intelligent.)
On that note, please tell me if there's anything you think was a little too… Gary Sueish? Or something in that form. I can try to tone down the Gary Sueish-ness, but… I dunno, I have a lot of the plot in mind, including the ending, so yeah…
Reviews are love, love is inspiration, and inspiration causes mass updates!