Better than Cake
So I had a sudden urge to write a Death Note/Bleach crossover and, as L and Orihime are my favourite characters in these animes, I decided to do a fluffy fic about Orihime and L since there were none! It's just a one-shot for now, totally AU. I've just revised this, and I hope you enjoy. Disclaimer applies, I don't own Bleach or Death Note.
•
"Watari, I'm heading out for a while," L said grabbing a coat and umbrella, and also patting his coat down to see if his wallet was still securely in his pocket; it was.
"Okay, but in this weather? It's already raining heavily…" Watari mused, trailing off, "At least take an umbrella," Watari insisted to which L shook his head slightly in amusement, but conceded and grabbed an umbrella.
"It's only a bit of rain, Watari," L replied as he opened the main door of the hotel room, he then mumbled a quiet 'see you' before closing the door behind him. To this, Watari's lips curved into a small smile - L never changed.
•
As the elevator let out a small ping, he exited it and entered the large lobby/entrance area, if he wasn't quick the cake shop would soon close, therefore his footsteps were quick and assured, he knew what he wanted and by God he was going to get it. Opening up his small black umbrella he swiftly exited through the large glass double doors out onto the street. The tantalising thought swirling through his mind. His palms became clammy as he saw the lit-up shop at the end of the street.
"Need more cake," he whispered quietly to himself.
L had lots of cakes in the large fridge back in the hotel room, but they weren't his favourite. Sure, they were sweet and delicious, but they weren't what he was craving... what he was craving was strawberry cheesecake and he would stop at absolutely nothing 'til he got it. L exited the hotel and made a b-line for the cake shop in his sights.
He hurried down the street, his eyes fixed on the small shop at the end of it, his footsteps becoming desperate. When he was nearly at the end of the street he broke into a jog and then a short run, he was hypnotised by the small shop and all its lovely treats.
As he opened the shop door and shook his umbrella free from the rain the bell gave a small tinkling sound. As he closed his umbrella he noticed a woman... she was buying the last slice of strawberry cheesecake! He couldn't believe his eyes and let out a silent shriek; he needed that slice of cake! It was what his life depended on, he was on the cusp of his sanity; he would die without that cake. Yes, maybe he was being a bit melodramatic but he'd been fantasising over strawberry cheesecake for the last couple of hours. It was at least a half an hour walk to the next decent patisserie and in this weather, even with an umbrella, he'd be drenched. This couldn't be right, fate playing with him like this, tormenting him. He was the world's number one detective, for Christ's sake! He whimpered in sadness as the money was handed over and the young woman turned her head away from the cashier to face his direction.
She was beautiful, never had he seen such an angelic face before. She had long auburn hair that shone from the small ceiling light in the cake shop, making her look almost as if a golden halo was surrounding her head. Her fringe was pulled back by two blue flower pins either side of her head revealing more of her face. It was astonishing how gorgeous this woman was. She had silver grey eyes adorning her heart-shaped face with thick, dark lashes to frame them. Her dainty, cute button nose sprinkled with a few freckles and her petite yet plump pink lips, lightly coated with a shimmering gloss, only heightened her beauty. She wore a short black trench coat nipped in at the waist by a small belt, hidden beneath the coat he could see a fuchsia sweater as well as some dark blue faded jeans and black heeled ankle boots.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I just take the cake you wanted?" She then turned her attention towards L in surprise, snapping him out of his reverie, a concerned expression on her face.
Well, L was completely stunted, he couldn't reply - lost in a daze. He didn't know how to address a woman like her, never had he really talked to a woman before, and if he had she hadn't been this stunning to leave him speechless. She was addressing him and his mind started to go into total panic mode, he knew if he just stood there he'd look like a moron, but if he actually replied his mouth would surely betray him and say something stupid. He could feel his cheeks practically burning, he did not blush - the number one detective in the world did not blush.
"Urmm… do you want this?" The woman asked him, giving him a quizzical look, but still intrigued as to what he was staring at. She then held out the small box that the slice of cake had been concealed in, pointing at it with her other hand in case he didn't hear her, or to just make her point more clear. L nodded ever so slightly and the woman placed the box into his hands, smiling warmly at him.
"Here, you have it. I'll just get fat by eating it anyway and also I might get a cavity which I definitely don't want, cavities are bad, definitely don't want a cavity." She rambled to him and grinned happily.
Detective work in the past couple of months had been slow, yes, he'd had cases, the same old boring things, drug syndicates, the occasional serial-killer, nothing big, nothing that really excited him, nothing that required him to really use his brain. He was solving these cases in less than a month; he was the number one detective for a reason. L hadn't needed to change hotels quite so often because there weren't really any big cases going on at the moment so he'd been coming to this particular cake shop for a few months now, the cashier obviously recognised him.
"L! It's nice to see you again, we have a great sale today-," The cashier rambled on but L wasn't really listening, he was more focused on the woman in front of him.
"L?" The woman said curiously, letting the man's name roll off her tongue "I've never met anyone with that name before!" She grinned and bowed her head slightly, arms crossed in front of her "it's nice to meet you, my name is Inoue Orihime," she smiled and straightened up again.
"It's nice to meet you Inoue-san." L replied bowing also and gave her a small smile. "Here let me buy you another cake, I would feel bad just taking this one from you," L said courteously and turned to the cashier.
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to-,"
"I insist." L said abruptly.
•
As Orihime and L walked down the street together, each holding a small white box and L shielding them from the rain with his umbrella, Orihime asked him a question.
"What do you do? I mean as a job," she asked suddenly, curious about the man walking next to her. L really didn't know how to answer, should he tell her that he was the number one detective in the world? He guessed it couldn't hurt to tell her a bit about himself, she seemed too innocent to be a spy, but he wouldn't let on too much, one thing L had learned growing up in Wammy's House, and being a detective was that you couldn't trust anyone. You had to be on your guard because if you let anyone close, let anything slip, it could be a disaster. For some reason though, this woman, Orihime, she was different – she affected him like no other human had, not even Watari, who was practically his father. He'd only known her for the past half hour and already he felt he could trust her, relax around her, it was different this feeling, he'd never experienced it before. He'd never been good at relating to other human beings, he found it difficult to successfully communicate his thoughts to others because of the way his brain worked, because he was more intellectual than the majority of people he came into contact with, and he wasn't being arrogant, it was just a simple fact. With her though, there was something he found he could relate to, he could sense there was something similar about her, like she'd also found it difficult to relate to others, maybe she'd been on her own too, like he had.
"I'm a detective, what about yourself?" He replied noticing the rain beginning to let up and Orihime's sudden change in expression, almost like she missed the rain as soon as it was gone.
"Well, I'm just a waitress for now but I'm doing a Baking and Pastry degree - that's what I want to do, become a baker. It's a dream I've had since I was 15." Orihime gave him a sheepish smile "I want to bake cakes really, maybe have my own shop someday, I know it's not very ambitious, but just the idea of testing out different flavours together, it's almost like making magical potions." Orihime grinned at L, which he returned. "I know it's stupid," Orihime added a slight blush covering her cheeks.
"Inoue-san, it's the exact opposite of stupid!" L interjected "in fact, when you get this cake shop, I'll be your first customer." L smiled, Orihime's eyes widened, and her joy was evident at his statement.
"Hontoni!?" Orihime exclaimed with excitement. L couldn't help but give a small chuckle at her child-like exuberance.
"Hai, hai, in fact, I could even test some of your flavours and pastry beforehand," L said, the brain wave hitting him, not only would he be in good company but also free cake! However, after the initial thought L couldn't help but be surprised at his own boldness, what if she didn't want to see him again? Had he really just suggested they meet up again – almost like a date? He grew slightly nervous in wait of her reply.
"Yes! What a good idea," Orihime hummed and then looked at him questioningly, completely oblivious to his slight blush "do you live here, L-san, in the city?"
Before he replied he scratched his chin in thought "Well, kind of, I guess. I'm in a hotel at the moment." L said slowly, he couldn't see himself moving from the hotel he and Watari were in for a while, and he was certain now that Orihime wasn't the type of person to be a spy or have any ulterior motive. "Actually, I'm staying in this one," he said pointing just a few metres down the street, the text on the front of the building read "The Palace Hotel".
"Wow," Orihime's lips created a small 'o' as her gaze travelled up and up, the top of the tall building seeming a light-year away. As they gradually reached the entrance of the hotel, they both paused.
"Where do you live Inoue-san?" L questioned, not wanting to leave just yet.
"Oh, well I'm studying at a University in the city, so I rent a small house with a few friends, just a 10 minute walk away from here," Orihime said and glanced at him.
"Well, I guess, you know, s-since I'm the one with the umbrella, I could walk you to your house, that is only if you don't mind," L added hastily. Orihime turned a bit pink at this, but nodded.
"Only if you don't mind, L-san," she repeated
"Not at all," L said as they resumed walking down the wet street, the sky's dull grey becoming even darker. It just wouldn't be right letting a defenceless girl – no, woman – such as Orihime walk home alone. He knew she could probably handle herself, but he still considered it right for him to walk her home, it was only polite.
As they carried on walking, they talked about this and that, what her University was like, what their favourite cakes were - well their top ten favourite -, what their favourite places in the city were. L enjoyed her company, it was nice someone not knowing who he was for a change, he'd stayed here long enough to become familiar with a few of the local shop owners and people, but no-one knew he was a detective, he kept that strictly secret. He didn't want to really re-open the topic of his work to her, but he couldn't ignore it either as she asked him what his work was like.
"What's it like being a detective?" He echoed the question she'd just asked him. "I guess, it's, well-," he paused, thinking "honestly, I sometimes get bored, case after case," he muttered.
"How!? I'd love it, all the sleuthing," Orihime beamed "I could be Sherlock Holmes!" Orihime giggled, and then she turns her face to him "I bet you're a great detective," she smiled and he couldn't help but smile back feeling another blush – how many times had he blushed today? – creeping up his neck. "This is my stop - we've been talking for ages haven't we?" Orihime gave a short laugh then got a pen from her pocket and tentatively wrote down her mobile number on the small cake box he was holding. "C-call me whenever you feel like it, so maybe you can come over for a few pastries or something." Orihime smiled timidly, her face becoming hot. She proceeded to get up on her tip-toes and give L a peck on the cheek lingering there for a couple of seconds, letting her soft lips rest on his pale cheek, both of them drifting in the moment.
Reality came crashing back down to the both of them soon after Orihime's action, and both their brains started working over-time while their cheeks flamed a vivid colour of pink.
"A-ano, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that…" Orihime said stumbling over her words of apology.
She didn't realise L was just standing there, totally awe-struck, baffled beyond belief at what had just happened.
And all he could think was 'that was so much better than cake.'
•
'Hontoni' - Really?
Thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed this new version, I may have time to update this soon, but for now I leave it as complete, as my updating is random and I can't predict when I will write another chapter to this. Thanks!