A/N:
I know, I know. It's terribly short, but I figured an update would just be appreciated all around! XD I had it written up, and I was planning on adding more, but I'm about to leave good old east tennessee and drive four and a half hours back to west tennessee for the holidays (like, in twenty minutes), and I figured, well, it's better to put it up now than wait until after the holidays with only another measely thousand or so words added.
So, here you go!
And yeahh, the quesion people kept asking? It's answered here in this one. XD
So happy holidays people! Lemme see what I can do about throwing another one up sometime this week, hmm? Much longer than this, promise!!
Also, thank you thank you thank you for all the lovely reviews! It's wonderful to know that people are still sticking with this story!
And Nikki! Lol, sorry I didn't mention you!! If you don't mind a short chapter, then here, here's a dedication for you!
Alright guys, ready for the next installment? And turkey day, are you ready for that?! God knows I am!!
The Art of Drowning
Too Much Sleep
His arm was draped over Light's chest, his head resting on the brunet's shoulder. Light had one arm around him, holding him close. This was how L woke up the second time, and he felt at peace. It was an odd feeling. L couldn't remember if he had ever felt it before. He must have, long ago, otherwise he wouldn't know what he was feeling now.
In. Out. In. Out.
L counted Light's breaths – steady, deep, strong. The last time he'd been this close to Light, the man hadn't been breathing. He'd been cold, still. He'd been dead, and L had been drowning. Drowning in pain, drowing in sorrow . . .
L's hand unconciously tightened, the feel of warm flesh reassuring. The thought of losing Light, while unbearable before, was impossible now. Now that L finally had him back, he wasn't going to lose him again. His heart quickened at the thought of how close he'd come to losing his dearest friend, whether at the hands of Kira, Roger, assassins, thugs, or any others that seemed to have it out for Light.
L shuddered, and drew in a steadying breath, a small smile gracing his lips as he did so, banishing his worries at once.
It was just another thing about Light that L found so pleasing. Light smelled good. It wasn't sweet, or musky, or anything silly like strawberries or flowers or even triple layer chocolate fudge delight. It was a distinctly human smell, and more importantly, it was a distinctly Light smell. L closed his eyes and breathed.
L wanted to stay like this . . .
Light sighed in his sleep, his arm tightening minutely around L.
. . . for as long as he possibly could.
L must have fallen asleep again, because the next time he awoke, he was alone in bed - the room dark and the curtains drawn. The only light came from the muted television showing the local news. L's eyes flickered across the room, looking for Light.
But Light wasn't in the room.
He sat bolt upright, "Light?!"
No answer.
L threw the covers off and rolled himself out of bed. "Light?!"
His breathing was coming in shallow gasps now. He was starting to panic, wasn't he? It was a strange feeling – one he'd never gotten used to. It sort of hurt.
He checked the bathroom – no luck. The room was small, but Light wouldn't be hiding anyways. L threw the covers back on to the bed, checking underneath just to make sure, no matter how irrational the act was. He found one of his ratty sneakers instead. He grabbed it, hopping on one foot while putting it on and looking for the other.
He would have to track Light down. Someone must have kidnapped him. Light wouldn't have left without L, so the only logical conclusion was that Light had been forced to leave against his will. L felt himself seize in terror, his mind flashing through hundreds of crime scene photos – victims decapitated, mutilated – they all wore Light's face now, every single one of them.
"Goddamnit, where's my shoe?!" he wailed, and he ignored the pricking of tears behind his eyes. If he was going to save Light, then he had to keep it together. He swallowed hard.
There – his shoe was by the door!
He bent down to put it on, just as the door opened, slamming him in the head and causing him to fall uncermoniously onto his back.
"What the hell?! What's in front of the door?" demanded the one person L was desperate to see. L felt a rush of relief, so powerful that he his breath caught. Light was alive. He was fine. He was safe.
Thank God.
L exhaled noiselessly.
Light peaked around the half open door, his eyes immediately zeroing in on L's prone form. "L? What are you doing? Why the hell were you sitting infront of the door?"
L groaned. "Light-kun doesn't need to disappear without first letting me know where he's disappearing to, or more preferably, taking me along with him."
He heard Light snort, and the overhead light was flipped on. "You barely sleep. I wasn't going to wake you. Besides, didn't you see the note?"
L's eyes snapped open from where he had closed them in pain. There had been a note? "What note?"
"The one I left on the table," said Light, pointing to the small round table in infront of the window, barely big enough for the two chairs shoved underneath. L squinted. Yes, there was paper on the table.
"Hmm."
L caught Light rolling his eyes. "And they call you the greatest detective in the world," mumbled Light, sliding the chain home on their hotel room door.
L bristled, and he suddenly forgot why he had been in near hysterics for the jerk in the first place. Too much sleep – that was it. When Light didn't have enough sleep, he was snarky and emotional. Same went for L, but only if he got too much sleep.
Light held out his hand, but L glared at it.
Light withdrew his hand. "Fine. Be that way then. I don't care if you lay there like a turtle on its back. I wasn't the one hiding behind the door."
L huffed, clambering to his feet on his own. If he thought his head had been hurting earlier, having it slammed into a door had really made it hurt.
"Stop being stubborn. Look, I brought some ice. I'll go get a towel, and we'll wrap some up and put it on your head, okay? Should have done that earlier, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to put it on there now," said Light, showing L the bucket of ice.
"What's in the bag?" asked L. It was apparent that Light hadn't just gone to get ice.
"Cupcakes. They were on sale. I picked me up some food too," said Light, setting down his load on the small table.
L's head snapped up. "Cupcakes?"
"Yeah, strawberry with white frosting. I thought you might like it," shrugged Light, grabbing the bucket and taking it into the bathroom.
L dug through the bag, pulling out chips and string cheese, and finally a six count container of cupcakes. Only six? Light should have gotten two of these. He wrestled the plastic container open, satisfied when the plastic groaned and gave way. They smelled delicious, and L's stomach growled. It had been entirely too long since he'd eaten something.
The note on the table caught his attention. Bloody note. L shook his head. He really needed to adjust his sleep patterns back to normal. The note should have been one of the first things he'd noticed after Light's absence was confirmed. He licked the icing, and studied the short missive.
Ryuuzaki -
Gone to the store, be back in a bit.
- Light
Straight and to the point, and Light had had the foresight not to use his real name, but really, L expected nothing less. He sighed, setting down his cupcake as his hunger suddenly left him. He mulled over the last fifteen minutes of his behavior. L had been scared, and more importantly, he had let himself be ruled my his emotions, which in turn lead to a decrease in his abilities. That was one thing, as a detective, that L could not afford.
But L wasn't a detective where Light was concerned, and he doubt he'd ever been or would ever be.
Or maybe it really was just too much sleep. L nodded to himself, resolutely shoving the cupcake back into his mouth. That's what it was. Too much sleep. He'd have to rectify that.
The bathroom light flicked off, drawing L's eyes to man emerging from the small room.
"Here," said Light, holding out a small bundle of ice wrapped tight in a towel. "Do you think you can manage it?" smirked the brunet.
L regarded Light – he was being prissy again – with a small smile. "Of course, Light-kun. Thank you for caring about me."
There. That ought to do it.
"Uh, well, of course I care about you, idiot! I'm going to go grab a quick shower, okay?" said Light, his eyes refusing to meet L's.
Yes, that did it.
"Sure, Light-kun. I think I'll have one after you."
Light winced as the water hit his face, causing his nose and cut to sting. He'd have to dig out the anti-septic cream from his duffle bag. Light looked down at his finger tips. They looked a lot better than they had. It didn't look like trying to claw his way out of a casket would leave any scars – visible, at least.
He exhaled, slowly, trying to expell all the anxiety he'd been carrying. With everything happening so fast, Light barely had time to sleep, let alone deal properly with the roller coaster his life had been lately.
But now he had L with him. L – Light paused, the man's smile flashing across his mind – Lawli.
He vaguely remembered some embarrassing mumbles on his part that ended with L in his arms, but still, Light had been surprised to see what he had been steadfastly clinging to when he awoke this evening, and even more surprised that L was clinging to him just as much.
Light threw his head back, hitting it against the shower wall with a bang.
It didn't mean anything, damn it. It was just an honest mistake. It could never be anything more than -
"Light-kun? Are you okay?" called L from behind the door.
Light blinked, coming back to himself. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"I heard a bang," replied L.
"I -" Light paused. "I hit my head – on the shower wall."
Silence, then, "How did Light-kun manage to hit his head on the shower wall if it was not done so purposefully?"
Stupid fucking observant Lawli.
"I was bending over to get the soap, asshole!" yelled Light.
More silence.
Light scrunched his nose.
"Was Light-kun never informed of the dangers of soap dropping in showers?"
"Fuck you, L! Go eat your cupcakes!" yelled Light.
"A marvelous idea, Light-kun," agreed L, and Light could practically hear the man smiling.
Light squeezed out the shampoo with perhaps too much force than was completely necessary, all the while picturing a certain detective's head. He scrubbed his head a little too hard, but he caught himself, rinsing out the suds gently. It was no use to take out his frustrations on his hair, after all. Who knew what kind of damage his hair follicles might be afflicted with from his intense, frustration fuelled scrubbing?
Light drew in a breath through his nose. No one had ever been able to get under his skin quite like L Lawliet. Well, except maybe Ryuk, but that didn't count. Ryuk wasn't even human.
Ryuk . . .
Light froze.
Where the fuck was Ryuk?
Light slammed the water off, and threw open the shower curtain, he stumbled, his foot catching the side of the tub, and he fell down onto the tile, his elbow smacking painfully. If Light hadn't been so panicked, he would have reshowered. Who knew what kind of bacteria was making its home on the nasty motel floor? But all Light could think about was Ryuk, the Death Note, and how glad he was that he'd had the foresight to bring his duffle bag into the bathroom with him.
He ripped the zipper open.
A knock came at the door. "Light? Did you drop the soap again?" L sounded amused, but Light ignored him.
"Where is it? Where is it?" he asked himself, voice quiet, tossing clothing out of the duffle left and right.
"Light-kun?"
He reached the bottom, hell, he even turned it upside down and shook. Nothing. Oh, God, it wasn't there. The Death Note was missing. It was fucking missing!
"Light-kun? Answer me!"
Light stumbled back from the duffle, looking around on the floor, pawing through the clothes, but no, it wasn't wrapped in a shirt. It just wasn't there!
"Light-kun, I'm coming in!"
That one got his attention. His head snapped to the door.
"N-No, I'm fine," called Light, hoping his voice hadn't shaken too much. He wasn't sure.
" . . . Are you sure?"
Light almost laughed, but he knew he'd sound mad if he did. No, he bloody well wasn't sure about anything at this point.
"Yes, I'll be out in a minute," said Light, this time his voice was much steadier, and he hoped L would buy it and leave him alone.
He heard L move away from the door, and Light sat down bonelessly on the edge of the tub, staring at his empty duffle, and the pile of clothes littering the floor.
Fuck.
When was the last time he'd even seen Ryuk? Light racked his brain. Four? Five days ago? A week? How long ago was it that he had been at Greg's? Ryuk had definitely been at Greg's. Had he been at the train station? Yes, he'd been bothering Light about apples.
The train station. Light had slept at the train station. Only about two hours, but that was more than enough time for someone to have stolen the notebook! Light felt like hitting himself. How could he have been so stupid?
But then he had another thought.
Maybe it had made it to Whammy's House? It wasn't uncommon for Ryuk to disappear now and then, but never for this long, so Light wouldn't be able to pinpoint the exact time he'd lost the notebook, but it was either at the train – No. He'd been at that motel in Winchester too, and he'd been at Tanks . . .
What if Tank had it?
Perfect. Leave a killer notebook at an assassin's house. Light let his head drop into his hands. Didn't he have enough on his plate without having to worry about this too? Couldn't something in his life go right? Just for once? Would Light have to worry about another Kira now? And, fuck, he hadn't ever mentioned that he had the Death Note to L. How was that going to look to the detective? Not good. Not good at all. What was he going to do?
He just didn't know. He didn't fucking know.
L stared thoughtfully down at his last cupcake. Light really should have gotten more than one package of them. He glanced at the bathroom door. The shower had been off for at least ten minutes. He wondered what was taking Light so long.
Then L snorted to himself. When hadn't Light taken more than enough time in the bathroom?
With nothing better to do, he searched for his laptop, finding it underneath the small table. He might as well plan their next step while Light made himself look presentable, or as presentable as he could with that nose.
L smiled. Even when Light was beat up and bruised, he was still cute.
He blinked, then shook his head.
Too much sleep.
A/N: Alright then folks! There you have it! All your questions about Ryuk's disappearence answered! Kinda. Well, at least we know Ryuk's disappearence isn't an oversight by the author anymore, eh? Been waiting to spring that one on everybody! XD
Okay now. Do you know what time it is? Uh huh. It's review time! So say a little something, let me know, and I'll try and get a new chapter up this week, kay?