--Entry into the Garden of Eden--
Walking through a Narita International that was usually bustling with noise and activity, Raito felt displaced by the out-of-character quiet that had engulfed the airport. In Japan, the degree to which population was concentrated in metropolitan areas always ensured there would be busy intersections and equally crowded buildings, and yet the silence inside a major channel for people going in and out of the country was staggering. It was enough to make him skittish. L, on the other hand, seemed to not be in the least bothered by it.
"Is this really necessary? It would have been much easier to use a private liner than commandeering a commercial one." Raito, following L in proper order -- as it seemed this man enjoyed leading him around -- was only able to make out the shrug of shoulders as the detective promptly dismissed his question.
"It's nothing to get over-zealous about, Raito-kun. So please relax," L told him flatly and continued on his merry way through the terminal. Raito glared at his back, but kept his mouth shut.
As they turned the corner and headed to the eastern side of the building, the sudden entrance of sunlight from the high windows that ran the perimeter of the building caught his attention; turning his hair into an almost straw color. By contrast, it had made L's hair seem darker, shining black like the desks where personnel would usually be stationed.
There was a need to interrogate L for the strange behavior he was exhibiting. Raito knew L took chances. It seemed to be in his blood to do the extreme whenever it fit in with his purposes. There was no questioning that he had put his life on the line many times for results, but L, like any normal human being, practiced the necessary amount of precaution. He would not do things to publicly draw attention to his whereabouts, yet here he was, seizing a sizable amount of government property that would not go unnoticed by the public eye, and his only answer for such things was a simple shrug.
Watching L stride in and out of the slanted bars of morning light streaming across their path, and through the dust motes waltzing in that same clear brightness, Raito felt the vacancy in a part of his brain lift.
Obviously, L possessed a healthy amount of fear for his life. However, he also had an abundance of pride that far outstripped his careful nature. He was a bit of showoff too, trying to prove that he was fully in control of this case, even when he was pushed into a corner more often than not.
If L wanted to hijack Japan's largest International Airport for a day and use one of its chartered planes for his own purposes, then the government would have no choice but to be compliant. L got what L wanted. He had made that painfully clear with this stunt of his, and Raito could only assume he was the intentioned target of that message. He did not know under what percentage he was currently marked as Kira, but even if it were .1 percent, L would not pass up the chance to put some pressure on him.
Checking around the terminal, and unable to find any familiar faces, Raito assumed the investigation team had already boarded. Watari had not escorted them to the plane, but had left them in the car -- probably to check the surrounding areas for anything suspicious.
In spite of this, he had yet to return, so it should not be too far off the mark to assume a man with sniper capabilities would take full advantage of the many high outlooks over this terminal. He was probably observing their procession through the scope of his gun right about now.
So when Raito saw Watari walking out of an unmarked gate with a German Sheppard at the helm, he was again annoyed by this man's unexpected entrances. Watari was always sneaking up on them, so the brunette was convinced that L had an ex-assassin in his employment.
Approaching with the bomb-sniffing dog, Watari came to a halt in front of L, while the dog charmingly sat down in front of the detective, waving its tail excitedly back and forth.
Raito had once wanted a dog.
He had a soft spot for them, as they were animals, and animals were completely different from human beings. Animals did not kill out of pettiness, or jealousy, or hatred, but for the purity of self-survival.
He amused himself with the ridiculous thought that if he had truly wanted a utopia, he would have gotten rid of all the humans and left the animals to coexist.
That would have truly been something else. However, he had never claimed to be a misanthrope. He only had the desire to pull this world up from the dregs that it had fallen into. He believed there were good people out there, like him. But good people who had no power over their fate were only that -- good people without a purpose.
This world could not be changed by mere good will alone. Someone had to pitch it off the corrupt and complacent axis it had traveled for all these centuries, and that someone would be him.
"Do you mind if I pet him?" Raito asked, reaching out a hand before he could stop himself.
"Go right ahead. I think Raito would appreciate it," L replied, without missing a single beat, and his hand halted before he could touch the dog.
"…"
"You… named him Raito?"
There were many things in this world that Raito could outwardly tolerate, as he had always prided himself on being a calm person. But this was utterly --
"She needed a name, and I happened to like yours," L said prosaically. "Plus she answers to it."
The dog wagged its tail energetically and then licked the unmoving hand in front of her nose, as if she knew Raito was the person that she had been named after.
Collecting himself, Raito kneeled in front of the dog and passed a hand firmly over its neck. He turned warm coffee-colored eyes on L, and informed him, in that completely BS way he had, "I'm glad you like my name that much." Raito stood up and fixed the detective with a gracious smile.
There was something very wrong about L naming a female dog after him, and knowing the detective, it was his very roundabout way of calling him a bitch.
How mature.
"I like many things about Raito-kun, not just his name," L said, and at the same time, he was turning in Watari's direction to confirm the all clear for their destination. The older man began to lead them to a concourse on the other side of the building.
"Raito will be accompanying us on this trip. She came on provisional loan from the NPA and has been very helpful during the boarding process. She's very smart," L said, with a serious face that his tone proceeded to readily mock and contradict.
Raito knew when he was being baited, but damn L was freakishly good at pissing him off.
"I'm glad you're having so much fun, Ryuuzaki," Raito answered tartly. He might tolerate the stupidity, but it did not mean he had to like it.
L gave him a sidelong look. "Don't be mad at me, Raito-kun. She's just smarter than your average dog."
"…"
"But she's really nothing like the person I named her after," L contemplated, as he kept those fathomless eyes on him. "For one, she's very obedient."
Raito raised an eyebrow and met the detective's stare.
One of those small, creepy smiles that L liked to aim his way whenever he was about to do or say something especially irritating lifted the corners of his mouth in silent amusement.
"Raito also rolls over when I ask, doesn't bite when I reach my hand out, and is really very sweet."
There was a word for situations like this, and even though L might not intentionally mean it that way, Raito still knew what a good case of sexual harassment sounded like.
But his irritation to the teasing had drastically abated with the sudden opening he was given. He had not forgotten about his plan to be 'nicer' to L, but it was a difficult thing to get the detective in the mood for small talk. Today, however, seemed different.
Raito gave L an exasperated look, and then softened it to show the detective that he was over his bad mood. "I don't bite either," he responded, and kept his tone neutral, as he was inviting enough trouble with such a statement. There was no need to hold out his entire arm along with the bait.
"Sometimes you do," L answered back, response time slower than usual. He might believe Raito was only teasing him in return, but that pause insinuated at other reasoning.
When they had reached the entrance to the plane, Watari dutifully stood off to the side and allowed them first entry.
"I've never flown first-class before. This is so cool." Matsuda's voice, ever active over the other members of the team, was the first thing they heard as they walked down the aisle. He had proceeded to kick his feet up on the seat in front of him, and Aizawa, the unfortunate recliner in that chair, promptly shoved them off.
Mogi had earphones on and the CD-case that read French-lingual keyed them into what the quietest member of their team was up to. Yagami-san had been sitting quietly in his seat, but when he caught sight of his son and L, he immediately turned his full attention on them.
"I take it everyone is comfortable." L glanced from each member, but his eyes stopped on Yagami-san when he caught the uncertain look on the man's face.
"Ryuuzaki," Yagami-san started up, "don't you think this is a bit ah --"
L put his hand up to stop the older Yagami, as the acorn did not fall too far from the tree, and if Yagami-san started up with him, his son would not be long in following. "Don't worry, Yagami-san. It won't kill the national budget," L said, face devoid of any expression. Then without warning L tottered off to go find his seat, leaving Raito the job of consoling his father with a quick, sympathetic smile as he was dragged behind the detective.
L did not sit with the others, but found a secluded spot on the other side of the walkway and several seats behind, with a clear shot of the investigation team if the need arose to check up on them.
He also took the window seat.
"Is this Raito-kun's first time out of the country?" L asked. Raito was momentarily distracted by Watari, as the man was already pushing a desert cart down the aisle. He began unloading saucer after saucer of deserts onto the detective's small retractable table. Then he poured tea for both of them, setting the teapot on L's side before moving onto the others.
When the clattering of plates could no longer drown out his voice, Raito answered, "yes, this is my first time out of the country."
"I would have thought you'd been on a student exchange program."
With his intelligence, he could get into several, but he had no need for travel right now. Maybe in a few years time, when he had recreated his ideal world -- maybe then he would feel up to task of traveling through his kingdom.
"I've never had the time with cram school." Raito gave his answer a touch of regret and waited to see how L would react.
"But it wouldn't be too much to expect Raito-kun to know some French," L said, while adding sugar cubes to his tea.
Some French? Who did L think he was speaking to?
«J'espère que mon accent n'est pas trop pire.» (I hope that my accent isn't atrocious.)
«Bien entendu, l'accent de Raito-kun est sans faille.» (As expected of Raito-kun, his accent is very good.)
«Et selon ton accent, je peux dire que tu as été en France précédemment.» (And I can tell from your accent that you've been to France before.)
«Le gâteau est très bon là-bas.» (The cake is very good over there.) „Aber mein deutsch ist besser." (However my forte is German.)
„Ist es? Mein Deutsch ist rostig." (Is it? My German is rusty.)
L dropped more sugar cubes into his cup. „Möglicherweise sollten wir einen Abstecher unternehmen." (Maybe we should take a side trip.)
„Das klingt lustig." (That sounds like fun.) «Mais n'êtes-vous pas en train d'oublier quelque chose?» (But aren't you forgetting something?)
«Je n'oublie pas la France, mais je devrais un jour amener Raito-kun à Berlin. La ville est magnifique lors de cette saison.» (I'm not forgetting about France, but I'll have to take Raito-kun to Berlin one day. It's very scenic this time of the year.)
«J'adorerais cela.» (I would like that very much) Raito said, with a smile that could charm the spikes right off a sea urchin.
He knew he had a disarming smile, the kind that could soften a person's guard and break their resistance, and L did not appear exempt from this category. Even with the detective having such a difficult personality, the quiet earnestness and sincerity that Raito could convey with just his smiles alone always seemed to strike a cord with him.
The detective might be done in by an Achilles heel for a pretty face, and if his flirting with Misa could suggest anything, it certainly did point this out as a reasonable conclusion.
L studied him for longer than necessary, and Raito felt the weight of that stare bear down on him before lifting and transferring its weight towards his teacup. Then he heard him say, as if he were talking to himself, "Raito-kun makes me want to take him everywhere."
Raito could readily take it as teasing, as the detective was the sort of person who always liked to turn his comments back on him, but there were times when L would be completely frank with him. This felt like one of those times.
"Would Raito-kun like to do me a favor?" L asked out of nowhere.
He picked up one sugar-cube and stopped before dropping it in his cup, instead choosing to turn it between his long fingers, a gesture that Raito had seen him do on more than one occasion. "My French feels a bit awkward and I do not want to seem incompetent when I appear before Mr. Ignatius."
«Mauvais? Ton français est très fluide.» (Awkward? You speak French very fluently.)
«Ce n'est pas un problème d'élocution. Mes qualifications conversationnelles sont un peu problématiques.» (It's not a case of fluency. My conversational skills are a bit lacking) L added, and finally dropped the sugar cube into his cup.
«Et puis, de quel sujet voudrais-tu discuter? Je suis une personne plutôt ennuyante.» (Well, what would you like to talk about? I'm a pretty boring person.)
«Ce n'est pas vrai. Je suis très intéressé pour tout ce que Raito-kun dit.» (That's not true. I'm very interested in what Raito-kun has to say.)
«Devrais-je prendre cela comme un compliment?» (Should I take that as a compliment?) Raito asked, trying to steer their conversation in a place that would make flattering remarks come easier.
«Si vous voulez, mais quand je parle français, je donne l'impression de courtiser tout ce qui est à proximité.» (If you want, but when I speak French, it makes me sound like I'm hitting on everyone within the vicinity.)
"…"
Well…that was unexpected.
«Comme c'est… charmant.» (How…charming.)
«Beaucoup de femmes ici ne pensent pas ainsi.» (Many women over there don't think so) L said, spoon now pointed up in the air.
Raito leveled him with an amused stare. Awkward didn't even begin to run the gamut of problems L had -- or claimed to have -- as Raito was quite sure this informal chatting was just another excuse for L to profile him.
«J'étais sarcastique. C'est vrai que tu es vraiment mauvais pour le badinage.» (I was being sarcastic. You really are bad at small talk.) Raito leaned on the armrest between them and openly stared at him.
«Même le sarcasme de Raito-kun semble gracieux en français.» (Even Raito-kun's sarcasm sounds pretty in French) L said, matter-of-factly. «Je devrais juste abandonner et laisser Raito-kun traduire tout pour moi. Sa voix est très plaisante.» (I should just give up and let Raito-kun translate for me. His voice is very pleasant.) L paused and then asked out of nowhere, «Avez-vous déjà chanté dans un choeur, Raito-kun?» (Have you ever sung in the choir, Raito-kun?)
What an odd question.
«Non, je ne crois pas que mon école avait un choeur pour garçons.» (No, I don't believe my school did have a boys' choir.)
«Quel gaspillage,» (What a waste,) L said. «Vous auriez fait un bon alto.» (You would have made a nice alto.)
Humph. Alto, he says.
There were two tones that Raito switched out of daily. One was his actual voice, the inside voice that he had only used with Ryuuk, and the other was his voice an octave higher than it should be. This was the voice he used with everyone else, including L.
He did not miss the sleight against him, but if Raito didn't know better, he'd swear the detective…was hitting on him; and that was just plain ridiculous, since he was trying to hit on L…!
Neither did Raito miss the attention he was garnering from his father, the man currently watching them. It did not surprise Ratio, as it was his father, and this type of behavior was expected. His dad was a worrier, and if one of his children were within visual range, the man would keep watch like a hawk until the danger had passed.
The current danger was Ryuuzaki. It did not matter if his father trusted L with his own life, when it was the life of one of his children, there was no question whose side he was on.
Also noticing the fatherly attention, L turned to Raito and spoke up; not caring if the older Yagami heard him, as the perks to speaking another language in front of non-speakers was the privacy you were guaranteed.
«Votre père semble terriblement suspicieux. Est-ce que j'ai fait quelque chose de mal?» (Your father's being awfully cautious. Did I do something wrong?)
«Peut-être sait-il quelques mots de français,» (Maybe he does know some French,) Raito teased. «Il trouverait cette conversation assez particulière.» (He might find this conversation very peculiar.)
«Il ne semble pas trop fâché.» (He doesn't look angry enough.) L got a sour look on his face that Raito only saw when the detective was eating something he didn't like, or was forced to participate in things that "tainted" the prestigious L name.
«Devrait-il? (Should he?) Raito found that expression much more agreeable than the infuriating half-smiles that L could aim his way.
«Oui, Soichirou-san est très protecteur de son fils et de sa famille.» (Yes, Yagami-san is very protective of his son and his family.)
«Je suis désolé pour Sayu. Lorsqu'elle vieillira et voudra un petit ami...» (I feel sorry for Sayu when she gets older and wants a boyfriend,) Raito threw out casually.
«Votre soeur est très jolie.» (Your sister's very pretty) L responded back, just as casually.
«Tu sais, tu ne devrais pas dire de telles choses devant son grand frère.» (You know, you shouldn't say such things in front of her older brother.)
L taped a finger to his bottom lip. «Raito-kun, vous ne ressemblez pas du tout à vos parents ni à votre soeur.» (Raito-kun, you look nothing like your parents or your sister.)
«Peut-être ai-je les traits d'un parent éloigné.» (Maybe I resemble a distant relative.)
«Vous avez définitivement un visage qui n'a rien d'ordinaire. Avoir quatre petites amies doit bien signifier quelque chose. Vous avez des traits uniques.» (You certainly have a face that stands out. Having four girlfriends must mean something)
L, the conniving -- No, he had to remember that L was using this moment to throw him off balance, and get certain reactions out of him. This was just another attempt to get under his skin and see how he ticked.
Raito frowned outwardly. "You told me you set up cameras in my room, but you never said you were digging around in my personal life as well."
«Raito-kun, rappelez-vous votre français,» (Raito-kun, remember the French,) L reminded him while smoothly responding, «Et je ne serais pas un bon détective si je ne l'aurais pas fait.» (And I wouldn't be a good detective if I didn't.)
Raito pretended to be embarrassed. «Mon père sait-il?» (Does my father know?)
«Tout le monde le sait. Raito-kun est un vrai Casanova.» (Everyone does. Raito-kun's a regular Casanova.)
Raito's frown deepened. «Tu sais, je voulais te demander quelque chose depuis déjà un certain temps, mais je n'étais pas sûr si je devrais.» (You know, I've been meaning to ask you this for some time now, but I wasn't sure if I should.) He paused to feign composing his thoughts. «Tu m'as dit que des caméras avaient été posées dans ma chambre, mais as-tu également -- » (You told me cameras were set up in my room, but did you also --)
L cut him off before he could finish, since he knew where this was going. «Je les ai faites installer dans chaque chambre de votre maison.» (I had them set up in every room of your house.)
Raito's eyes widened in fake shock. «Comment as-tu osé?! Ma soeur et ma mère -- pour qui vous -- » (How could you?! My sister and my mom -- who the hell do you --)
«Calmez-vous Raito-kun. Votre père m'a donné la permission de le faire et vous devez comprendre que c'était pour une bonne cause. Votre famille n'était pas la seule à être observée.» (Calm down, Raito-kun. Your father gave me permission and you have to understand it was for the good of the case. Your family wasn't the only one being observed.)
Raito continued his indignant charade. «Misa avait raison quand elle t'a traité de pervers.» (Misa's right when she calls you a pervert.)
«Voyons, voyons, Raito-kun, il n'y a aucune raison de devenir méchant avec moi.» (Now, now Raito-kun, no need to get nasty with me.) L stirred his cup, appearing to have not a care in the world.
«Je ne peux m'empêcher. Vous avez tous regardé ma soeur et ma mère dans la douche!» (I can't help it. You watched my sister and my mom in the shower!)
L stopped stirring. «En fait, j'ai laissé cela à Soichirou-san. C'est seulement vous que j'ai observé dans cette douche.» (Actually, I left that up to Yagami-san. I only watched you in the shower.)
«Comment exactement espères-tu me rassurer en disant ça?» (That's supposed to make me feel better how exactly?) Raito really had to take a moment and applaud his acting skills. They were getting better and better as the days passed.
It was only right to get angry at this turn of events, as any normal person would be horribly disturbed by this news. He would carry on this act for a few more lines, and then he would become resigned.
«Peut-être aurait-il été mieux que je ne vous mentionne rien de cela, Raito-kun. Des fois, j'oublie votre tempérament.» (Maybe it would have been for the best if I hadn't told Raito-kun. I forget that you have quite a temper.)
«Tu as un sacré culot.» (You have some serious nerve.) There was a fine line between acting and just out right saying what he wanted, as that last statement had been him at his most honest.
«Ah, maintenant, Raito-kun est encore plus fâché contre moi.» (Now I've made Raito-kun more upset with me.)
Raito sighed deeply and looked to the floor. «Regarde -- peux-tu seulement tenter de voir tout ça selon mon point de vue? Je suis désolé de t'avoir crié dessus, mais--» (Look -- just, can't you see this from my point of view? I'm sorry I yelled at you but --)
«C'est compréhensible.» (It's understandable) L said without a smidgen of sympathy in his voice. Then he had the nerve to slurp his tea.
«Mais en vous observant dormir, j'ai pu mieux comprendre votre état psychologique.» (But watching you sleep, I could better understand your psychological state.) He slurped his tea some more. «Vous avez un visage si paisible quand vous êtes assoupi, que j'ai pensé qu'aucune personne dormant aussi sereinement pouvait être coupable.» (You have such a peaceful countenance when you sleep that I thought no guilty person could sleep so soundly.)
«Admets-tu finalement que tu avais tort?» (Are you finally admitting you were wrong?)
L stared directly at him and told him, as if it didn't bear the slightest consequence, «Non, je mentionnais seulement que Raito-kun dort comme un ange.» (No, I'm just saying Raito-kun sleeps like an angel.)
Boldly returning L's stare, Raito fired back his conditioned response for each time L vocalized his suspicions. «C'est parce que je suis innocent.» (That's because I am innocent.)
They quietly stared at each other for a minute.
Then L broke the silence by loudly slurping.
Seeing it as a fine time to discard his petulance, Raito tried to strike up conversation again. And fourteen hours later, with seven cups of tea, an unfathomable number of cakes, another disguised argument in French, and a nap in between, Raito was quite sure he had handled L's subtle interrogation flawlessly.
He was dozing when he felt someone prod him in the side, and Raito responding with a noncommittal "mmhm?" shifted so he could see the detective.
"Raito-kun, we're flying over Paris," L told him and pointed to the window. "The view would have been nicer at night, but it's still worth taking a glimpse at. Do you want to see?" L asked him, and Raito rubbed his eyes (not at all necessary), and leaned over L without appearing to give it a second thought.
Of course he understood what a compromising position this put L in, and L would know what he was getting himself into, so why in the world, Raito had to ask himself, was L so resolute to put himself in such a situation.
The view was certainly breathtaking. The layout of the city reminded him of a massive and orderly garden, olive green trees sectioning off and bordering tan-colored buildings, which from the aerial view he was afforded, made them look like a portion of a garden that was left unplanted.
And at the center of it all, the Eiffel tower stood tall, like a slender tree with black bark. It dominated the landscape, separating itself from the greens and browns without disrupting any kind of harmony within the city, all surrounding structures appearing to be drawn in and tempted, but still not encroaching within its territory.
"It's a shame this isn't a trip for sightseeing." Raito could feel the warm press of L's forearm against his stomach as he leaned over the armrest and looked out the window. "Well I guess it's good enough that I get to see it from this angle," he continued, tone longing.
He had noticed upon waking that L had already arranged himself so his feet were on the ground and his lap was free for leaning-over purposes. This move was obviously premeditated, and L wanted him to know that, for reasons that were starting to become very clear…
It took Raito less time to act, as he was motivated by the recurrence of L getting the drop on him before he could make an offensive move. He hated being on the defensive. It always threw his rhythm off and it was high time L was taught how to follow instead of lead.
"Wow, is that Les Invalides? I can actually see the top of the chapel dome from here." Raito inclined forward out of false excitement, and as expected, his stomach pressed into L's lap.
Raito felt more than heard the quick intake of breath from L and noticed the clench of fingers on the armrest. L's eyes had gone wide, and if possible darker, the grayish ring around each pupil thinning further.
There was a hint of surprise fogging the rich dark color, but Raito knew it was more surprise for the sensation of getting a certain part of your anatomy rubbed up on than surprise for his actions.
"Ryuuzaki?" he asked out of the counterfeit concern that he had patented with L. He pulled back so he was no longer in front of the window, but still hovering over that lap, his face still near the detective's.
Raito, playing the fretful friend card again, asked, "Something wrong?"
L flicked his eyes over to him, inclining his head in his direction. His head tilted slightly to the side, and his eyes stared down between them, before coming back to rest on Raito's face. «Je ne l'avais encore jamais remarqué, mais Raito-kun est encore plus mignon de proche» (I never noticed it before, but closer up, Raito-kun is even cuter) L said, changing back to French.
He had expected some sort of smart aleck response, or an immature, disguised insult. He had expected many things, but L openly hitting on him -- he had not expected that.
However, his adaptability would not let the comment faze him, and the spiteful thought of 'that bastard worked faster than him' was the only thing to make it through his brain, before he acted accordingly.
«Ton français est-il sérieusement mauvais ou tu tentes vraiment de me draguer?» (Are you really that bad at French, or are you intentionally hitting on me?) Raito asked, not giving L a chance to brush this off.
«Français mauvais ou non, Raito-kun, je ne supporte pas l'indécision, alors ou vous retournez à votre place ou vous vous asseyez définitivement sur moi.» (Bad at French or not Raito-kun, I don't enjoy fence-sitting, so it's either get off my lap or climb on) L told him, smiling cutely, evidently proud of how he was giving him the run around.
Heh. L was some piece of work. Of course he wasn't dumb. He would have figured this out for what it was the moment Raito had leaned over him; and his own prompting of these events with his little 'lean over me' bit had the brunette certain L was baiting him on to see how he would react.
There was nothing surprising there. L didn't have a naïve bone in his body, but what L did have was a propensity to doubt and be unsure of himself when it came down to his theories. L would second-guess the motivations behind his behavior, and his purpose for being so overtly "friendly" could very easily be explained away by other means; may it be a simple case of teenage hormones, admiration taken to an extreme, even love -- whatever L wanted to supplement in for why Raito was flirting with him.
Anything and everything would do except, of course, for the original intent.
Raito glanced over at the investigation team, making sure that everyone was fast asleep.
"You know, you shouldn't say things that you can't commit to" Raito whispered and had gone back to Japanese.
L's eyes rolled up like he was thinking, and then they rolled back down to stare unaffected at him. "I don't think I would have any problems committing to you," he told him matter-of-factly.
He was smooth only when he wanted to be. Raito had to give it up to L, he sure knew how to get on people's good side when he wanted to, and Raito would definitely have no problem putting out if L kept up the generous act with him.
Biting his lip and giving him an almost shy look, Raito put a hand on the detective's forearm; however, a wakeful snort coming from the front of the plane wrested his attention away from L and towards Aizawa.
The man was peeling away the sleeping-mask from his face, and rubbing his temples, like a migraine had set in.
"Ryuuzaki, you shouldn't hog the window seat" Raito projected, and kept his gaze on the other waking members of the investigation team.
"Sorry, Raito-kun," L said, playing along, "if you want, you can sit here next time." L pointed in his own general direction. However, it could not be determined by the detective's gesture whether Raito would be given the coveted window seat to sit in…or his lap.
By the way L's tone seemed almost too helpful, Raito could infer that the detective was alluding to his lap.
A/n: I'd like to thank Savina Terriot for the French translations. She helped me out a lot.
1. Alto- the highest singing voice for a man, achieved by using falsetto.
2. Les Invalides- Listed as one of the tallest churches in Paris, the gold-capped dome is easily distinguishable from the skyline. Consists of a complex of buildings, all relating to France's military history, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans. It is also the burial site for some of France's war heroes. The most notable tomb is that of Napoleon Bonaparte.
3. Approximately, there's an eight hour time difference between Japan and France, so in Japanese time, since the investigation team left around 6 am, they would have arrived in France at around 8 pm. But converting it to French time, they actually arrived in Paris at around noon.