"So I'm one of your successors now? I believe I was told something different when you explained what my position with you would entail."

L was stooped down on the floor and digging through his bags like a dog searching for his favorite bone. Most of his clothes (uniforms practically) were on the floor and he was stepping all over them.

Raito 'tsked' at the fact that the detective had yet to unpack and was still living out of his bag.

Talk about lazy.

"Just go along with it." L turned towards his bed and began to search under it, not caring at all that Raito was currently sitting on the edge when he'd suddenly flipped the sheet up and hit him in the leg; the teen scooting to the other end, a tad moodily.

"It is another one of those reasons why I brought you here," L said, voice muffled as he continued to search. "I have noticed that everyone's scores at the institution have leveled off, and while that is all fine and good, I do not want to see them growing complacent because an order has been established." Unexpectedly, Raito heard something clatter against the ground before he saw a tennis racket slide across the floor and knock against the closet.

It came to a stop.

"That is why," L resumed, as if he had never stopped, "if I were to introduce someone higher on the food-chain, so to speak, everyone would improve because they would be forced to in order to keep their spots." The detective crawled out from under the bed, another tennis racket held in his hand.

"Especially the three at the front of the pack." L handed the racket over to him without missing a beat.

"It will particularly place a lot of pressure on Near, who has been 'coasting' for this past year in certain subjects. He is very naturally talented, much more so than Mello. However, Mello has proven that he can overcome obstacles repeatedly through challenging himself and hard work. Reading the reports for this past year, I am more impressed by Mello's progress than I am by Near's static hold over 'first place.'"

L got up from his stoop and walked over to his closet, picking up the other racket.

"Fortunately for Near, I have been good enough to bring him someone that is similar to him in innate ability, but has the experience to back it up. I see he is playing very nice with you if you have already heard about what I said to Mello yesterday. I expect you corroborated my lie with one of your own."

Raito nodded. He'd been confused over why L was contradicting himself. The detective had made it very clear that he did not want Raito associated with his title, so for him to then turn around and say, 'Oh yes, Kiyoshi-kun also has a chance to become my successor' was not something he had expected to hear.

The possibility that L was lying through his teeth had immediately crossed his mind, so to be safe, he had lied as well. It wasn't like it would hurt anyone if he supported the statement. Moreover, it would give him the chance to confront L on something that he thought the detective should know.

"So you're using me as motivation?"

L nodded, shamelessly. "You have a way of bringing out the best in people," he paused, then added, "You have a way of bringing out the worse in them too, so this should be interesting."

"Interesting?" Raito questioned, "It sounds more like inconvenient to me. I mean, we all know who'll win if you put me up against anyone of these children." Continuing to test the waters he had been dunked in, he said "Maybe you should just cut out the middleman and take me as your successor."

L, who had been absently turning the racket in his hand and appearing to closely examine it, stopped what he was doing and stared directly at Raito. "I've discussed this with you before and I thought I had made myself clear."

Raito mirrored the stern expression. "Oh, I understand your reasoning completely. Obviously you don't want 'Kira' to have anything to do with the 'L' name," Raito touched a hand to his chest, "but that doesn't apply to me anymore, does it? I'm a different person. You even said so."

L took several steps towards Raito and leaned his face unnervingly close. "You say different, but you are reacting the same as your past self would. Do not make me repeat myself when I have already told you 'no.'"

Never one to back down, Raito leaned in closer. "And I'm only pointing out, why should you have to settle for second and third best when first is sitting right in front of you?" He smiled, all self-satisfied like, and L backed away, the detective straightening and trying not to look putout.

"You are charming," he stated, like he was having a hard time admitting it, "But you are also arrogant and stubborn and spoiled. I do not want to get into this with you this morning, so pick up the tennis racket and let us go for some exercise."

Raito huffed out an annoyed breath and turned his head away. "Go run around the house if you need to burn off some energy."

L paid him no mind and opened the door. "I will go ahead of you, so please go change."

Raito turned the other way, dallied for a bit, and then stood up and followed behind him, the racket in his hand. "I don't need to," he replied.

The detective locked his door. "Are you sure? I will wait. It is not often that I get to see Raito-kun running around in tennis shorts, like a well-bred rich boy."

Raito snorted at that. L was trying to insult him, but it was the tone he took that was of more importance to him than his words.

Ever since yesterday, he had noticed that L had grown bolder with him. Of course, it was an outcome of their conversation, a small wordless truce that they should at least try to act a little more tolerable towards the other. It might help with easing some of the tension between them, but it also had a good chance of working against their 'progress' as they could just as easily offend each other with too much casualness; L being guiltier of that than he ever could.

It angered him that L was taking more liberties of speech with him than he should have. But he knew the detective was not the type to step on eggshells when he was around people. He just crashed about, upsetting everyone in his path, and not caring in the least what they thought of him.

Raito could have warned him about speaking so lightly to him, but he knew it would be one of those 'in the ear and out the other' type of things, and while he was offended, he was not mortally so. He could live with it. It wasn't like he was totally oblivious to the double standard of that thought.

He was also being pretty forward with L. It was too tiring to act anything but. The detective had seen him at his best, but more importantly, he had seen him at his utter worst, and to try and hide that with polite words and reclusive behavior was not going to fix anything. It was just going to make him look like a coward and he was not about to be labeled that when he'd gone through so much over the past two years.

However, as currently disposed as he was to let things go, there was something else that was bothering him, and aware of it or not as the detective might be, he was acting on behavior that could be misconstrued as flirting. Moreover, with this being the day right after their talk, what was Raito supposed to think…?

L was just too messed up for words to properly describe. He talked to him how he wanted and treated him with the same defiance. It was unbelievably selfish to tell him how he felt and then expect him to deal with it while he had so many other things to think about, like his emotions were so important that they needed precedence over everything else.

Raito did not attempt to sympathize, because in essence, this had nothing to do with him. It was L's problem and he would deal with it by himself. Raito was more concerned with this successor-business.

It might be bold of him to say to L that he was more capable of taking over for him, but it seemed like such a natural occurrence of events. He was more suitable than his other candidates, and L had once been so set on giving it to him, so why not swallow his pride and admit that it would be better off in his hands.

L was already being so trusting – of course, it was solely due to his knowledge that Raito would not test his precarious situation by doing something as foolish as going against him now -- but at least there was no question of where his loyalties lied. It was, again, totally out of the question for him. He had absolutely nothing to gain from betraying L now and the detective had equally nothing to gain by killing him.

But Raito had never been the type to sit still and obey when he could be getting something out of a situation. He felt a need for L's title, and despite the extravagance and uselessness of that want when he was going to be working for him anyway, it did not stop the brunette from thinking it belonged to him.

And he would not be denied.

………………………………

There was a courtyard between the orphanage and the church, a place where some of the children would wonder off to when the front yard was taken over by the boys playing soccer.

A few of the kids, who were occupying themselves with a lax game of four-corners, could not help but look up at the noisy pair walking across the courtyard, L and Kiyoshi talking rather animatedly among themselves.

"I said no and that is my final answer. Why must you be so difficult?"

"You're one to talk."

"Do not start with me when I am trying to relax. I did not think this would be such a problem for you, but I now see the error of my ways."

"Oh don't give me that," the brunette replied, "you just think I'll go along with everything you say. That's unfair to me."

"Can I see that?" L asked Ophelia, the little girl just having completed drawing squares for a game of hopscotch. She looked down at the pink chalk smudged all over her palm and then handed the requested item over to L.

"Unfair is how you keep insisting on having your way," the detective continued and broke the chalk in half, returning the other piece to the girl. Walking to the other side of the courtyard, L stooped down and began to draw lines on the ground.

"You cannot have you cake and eat it," he lectured.

"But you can have the whole damn bakery," the brunette said, following after him. "All I'm asking for is a little benefit of the doubt here. What was the purpose of your big speech yesterday if you're not going to listen to me?"

"The purpose of it was to get you talk to me again, not to harass me with your opinions. Now move your foot, I need to draw the baseline there."

Everyone on the courtyard had gone silent as they watched this odd scene.

Honestly for anyone of them, it was weird seeing L actually arguing with someone; usually he just stood there with a dazed look on his face and his finger in his mouth when Roger started up with him. But even the older man backed off pretty easily after he realized L wasn't paying attention to what he was saying.

L wasn't exactly the type to listen to the other side of an argument, or even much care. Growing up here, the older ones had witnessed it, so they knew if they had any problems with the institution, the only way to get anything done was to deal with it yourself, because going to L and asking him for help was like going up to a wall and asking it to dance the tango.

It just wasn't going to happen.

"What's up with L?"

"Duh-know. Maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." Though they had seen him on his crabby days and the worst thing he would do was grumble if anyone started bugging him. What he was doing with Kiyoshi right now could very well be the first time they had seen L overtly angry.

"I heard that Mello got in an argument with Kiyoshi on the steps yesterday. It could have something to do with that."

"Oh, it was more than that," Linda chipped in, hearing gossip and wanting to join along as she abandoned her jump rope. "I was there. Mello rushed him -- you know how hotheaded he can be. Anyway," she dismissed, wanting to quickly get to her point, "I don't think they're argument has anything to do with this. Mello told me that L didn't give him any trouble because of it…" She bent towards the group of boys and girls and whispered, conspiringly, "I even heard that L was encouraging him."

"Encouraging him? But I thought that guy worked for him?"

"He does," she assured, "but Mello told me that that's not the only thing he's here for. It seems that Kiyoshi is in the running for L's title too. Maybe I shouldn't say anything, but I don't see the harm in letting everyone know when it concerns something so important, you know?"

"He's in the what?"

Everyone turned to look at the pair on the other end of the court -- L having finished drawing boundaries, and both taking sides behind the line serving as the divider, as they started a game of tennis.

Remarkably, they were still arguing.

"I knew something was wrong when he was the one giving us pointers in class."

"Why didn't L tell us about this when he was introducing Kiyoshi?"

"He didn't even announce it -- he told Mello, and if Linda wasn't there to pester him, who knows when we'd have found out about it?"

"This pisses me off."

"Not to sound elitist, but we've all practically grown up with each other. The last person to come here that was in our age group was six years ago. Letting an outsider in at this time and telling him he can get in on something that we've been struggling over for years seems unfair."

"It's survival of the fittest. If this guy has the qualifications then it's not our business to say, but if he can't handle the work then he doesn't deserve to be here. It has nothing to do with 'fairness.'"

"You can say that, but you're practically dead last. What about the rest of us who give a damn!"

"Cut it out guys," Linda interrupted, "you're acting like a bunch of brats."

"Hey Linda, did Mello say anything else?"

"Uh…not that I remember."

"Does Near know about this?"

"Oh definitely," the girl laughed, "I heard him cursing at Near from the second floor. He was using words that I didn't even know. Something about 'die Rotznase'"

"Whatever, I'm going to talk to Mello. I don't care if he kills me -- it's better than listening to you indirectly cursing at us."

"Wait up!"

After the curious had left, the ones who were content to leave things alone stayed behind and continued to play. But with all the noise that was happening thirty feet away, it was becoming increasingly hard to focus on anything.

However, it was not the obvious commotion that everyone had been privy to upon the pair's arrival since they had halted the vocal disagreements (and even from the way they had been going at it, their bickering had been mild, not anything to be upset over, only slightly surprised) No, the real ferocity existed in the back and forth swings and frenzied scuttles across the space they were using to play what should have been a harmless game of tennis.

It certainly didn't look harmless to anyone viewing it from the sidelines.

Kiyoshi had practically taken off at a full sprint towards where the now severely bruised tennis ball was about to land. It bounced towards him and he smashed it across the line that separated the two, the detective answering in equal spirits and barely making it. He lobbied it over the brunette's head in desperation, but the teen jumped and with the momentum spiked it so hard it flew past L and into the grass.

"Fifteen love," he called out and pointed towards the ball, the act serving as further insult, like an owner ordering his dog to go fetch.

They went on to play six more games, the much-abused tennis ball arcing back and forth between them, sometimes sharply, sometimes in a tired drop, until one of them wrested the point from the other.

It came down to a score of five-six, with the last point determining who would win. The brunette was leading, and sauntering over to the corner he needed to serve from, he began to bounce the ball on the concrete.

"You are stalling. Are you trying to catch your breath over? I will wait if you feel faint."

Even from this distance, it was easy to make out the glare that the brunette had aimed at L.

Promptly, he tossed the ball high up into the air and stepped into his swing as he struck it from overhand, the power behind it causing the ball to spin slightly.

L hit it back to him, the force behind his own halved by the rotation of the ball that had come at him indirectly. Kiyoshi took advantage of that, and clenching the handle of his racket with both hands, served it back at the detective with double the impact, the outcome causing many of the onlookers to question whether tennis was supposed to be a contact sport, because L had just gotten plowed in the stomach by a rubber ball.

"Oops," the brunette called nonchalantly and without the least bit of sympathy in his voice. He rested the racket against his shoulder, walked over to the line, leaned over and asked in a sugary sweet voice, "Are you feeling faint? Need to catch your breath there?"

L was currently bent over with his hands on his knees to brace him up. He straightened stiffly after a minute and stalked over to where the ball had fallen. Then he went onto serve the ball at Kiyoshi out of turn.

It hit the teen in the arm with a solid 'twack.'

"What are you doing?!" Kiyoshi yelled, clutching that part of his arm where the ball had connected and crossing the line that separated them.

"You hit me on purpose," L clarified.

"I said 'oops,' didn't I?"

"You said 'oops' and then you smirked at me. I think you are only lucky I did not toss my racket too."

Making a gesture that could only be interpreted as 'forget it' Kiyoshi turned to head back across the dividing line. "Fine, can we continue then?"

"No, you walked over to my side without good reason. You are disqualified – now go get the ball."

Staring at the detective like he was about to hit him, possibly with the racket clenched in his grasp, Kiyoshi, to the disappointment of some, turned sharply on his heel and began to walk towards the house. "You're so damn impossible. This has absolutely nothing to do with tennis and everything to do with getting what you want. Fine. Go pout, see if I care this time."

L followed after him. "It also has something to do with my leg, as it has begun to hurt." He chewed on his thumb and asked, "By any chance, are you heading towards the kitchen? Do want to take a desert break with me?"

"What does 'go pout, see if I care this time' exactly mean to you?" the brunette said, pace quickening.

"I am not mad so I don't need to pout." L lengthened his steps and finally caught up to the other."You're going the wrong way if you plan to stop off by the kitchen."

Everyone watched both men go back the way they came, the two of them not quite arguing, but not exactly getting along either.

…………………………

Mello stomped down the hallway leading to the front entrance, blond hair swishing back and forth and determination plastered all over his face.

"You're actually going through with this, huh?" Matt asked behind him, eyes glued on his handheld.

"Of course, I wouldn't be standing here if I wasn't. You know better than to question my resolve." The blond rolled up his sleeves and planted both feet on the ground. He was standing obnoxiously in the middle of the corridor. "You didn't have to follow me if you're not curious."

Matt shook his head. "I'd feel bad if you got your lights knocked out and I wasn't there to -- you know, like help out…I guess," the redhead finished, unconvincingly.

"Matt," the blond snapped, "I don't care if we hang out together, if you ever say lame shit like that to me again, I'll beat you up worse than that time we first met."

"Hey, I'm barely an inch shorter than you now, I think I can take you –" the boy stopped what he was about to say as he noticed L and Kiyoshi coming up the stairs, "don't look now, but here comes Kiyoshi."

"Bastard…" Mello hissed, attention going back to the front. He had put his hands on his hips so he was taking up even more room, like an animal puffing itself out to look dangerous and only partially succeeding…kind of…"Hey you!"

At the sight of the person blocking the hallway, Kiyoshi practically grimaced.

L seemed to have a totally different reaction, as he nudged the person beside him in the ribs, expression amused, "Look, Mello has come."

Wiping at his forehead with the back of his hand in that over-refined way he had, the brunette sighed out exasperatedly, "it's just one annoying thing after another." He gave Mello a pointed look before asking, "What do you want?"

The blond held in anything sharp, uncurling his fingers from around the papers in his hand and waving it at the brunette. "You keep bragging about how smart you are, well let's see you prove it." He pushed the crinkled mess forward, like he wanted him to take it, but Kiyoshi just about turned his nose up at him.

"Time for me to leave," L announced as he did not want to get caught up in the middle of anything, and plus he wanted that cake. "Run while you still can," cursorily advised the fleeing detective, as he passed next to the redhead who was looking on at the confronting pair.

"Look, I don't mind doing whatever inane test you've come up with," the look on his face said he was humoring him, really, "but at least approach me with something more than 'hey you!'"

"Well, it's going to continue to be 'hey you!' until you take this from me."

Kiyoshi derisively snorted at him, tossed the hair out of his eyes and abruptly snatched the papers from his hand. He briskly walked into an adjacent but full classroom, boys and girls crowding around and seemingly forewarned of these matters.

Mello did not feign to keep his intentions secret. When a few of his inquisitive peers had approached him this morning, asking about what he had planned now that the news had gotten out about Kiyoshi, the blond had been ever frank and told them exactly what he was going to do. He even invited them to come watch.

Taking a seat near the window, Kiyoshi set the papers down on the desk and made himself comfortable. "Get me a pencil, at least," he ordered and the blond, biting his lower lip in irritation, tossed the requested item at him.

"You have a time limit of one hour."

"One hour?" the brunette said as he casually flipped through the packet, "give me half-an-hour. I'll be finished by then."

What a cocky bastard!

This test was a copy of the last assorted exam they'd been given, and it was already practically impossible to finish the twenty questions in the hour that was allocated to take it. Mello hadn't even made it past number fifteen before he'd had to stop. Even Near hadn't finished, but he still got the highest score -- a seventy, a far cry from his usual perfect 100.

Kiyoshi, tapping the pencil on the desk to get his attention, asked in that infuriating drawl, "Can I start now?"

"Go ahead," the boy said and sat on the opposite table in order to closely monitor him.

A half-an-hour later, after much scribbling and a few indiscreet yawns – yes Kiyoshi actually had the mind to yawn at him, that bastard! – the brunette stood up from his chair, stretched and then told him, "Done." He began to walk away, but Mello hopped off the table to stop him.

"Where do you think you're going? I haven't even looked at it yet." He'd long ago memorized the answer sheet to this exam in order to review by himself, so grading wouldn't be hard.

"They're all correct," Kiyoshi assured, "but if you need to see for yourself, then by all means go ahead, but don't expect me to stand around here waiting for results that I already know the answer to," and without further ado, the pompous prick left the classroom, as if the earth would explode if he spent another second near them.

Mello, scoffing at the retreating figure, snatched the test up and began to skim through it, the sneer on his face gradually fading away into surprise at the contents of the paper.

"So what'd he get?" Matt asked.

Everyone had also begun to crowd around them, curious over the results.

They'd noticed that Mello's brows had furrowed together in distress, those dark eyes going wild and his hands shaking in anger as he clutched the test. Without warning, the blond suddenly tossed the exam away and stormed off in the flurry of white papers, murmuring all the while, "Verflucht noch mal!"

"What's his problem?" one of the children asked and stooped down to collect the scattered papers. After looking it over too, the boy went pale and thrust it at the person closest to him, who incidentally was Matt.

"He got a perfect score…"

"What?"

"Let me see it!"

Matt handed it over to the crowd without a word and stepped to the side. Mello had looked so upset at this turn of events that the redhead knew it was useless to follow after him; no words of encouragement would make an insult of this caliber go away.

Fuck, what the hell did L bring home with him…?

"He's right…"

"But Near didn't even get a perfect score on this! How could --"

"He's smarter than Near and Mello."

"So that stuff about him being his successor is true?"

"No one has a chance against scores like this!"

"No kidding, it looks like we have a freak of nature on our hands."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to study."

"Me too!"

"Study? Unless you plan to go up a hundred IQ points in one night, I don't see the use."

"I don't care about this stupid test, L hasn't announced his successor yet, and as far as I see it, this is only going to benefit us. Anyone who thinks Near or Mello is going to take this news too well and not totally flip out in the next few days is overestimating the human will."

"You guys are vultures."

"Yeah well, the last time I checked, Wammy House isn't filled with a bunch of singing orphans."

……………………………

Those kids were so out of their league, Raito thought, as he ascended the steps to the second floor. It was one thing to treat him like one of them behavior-wise (as insulting as that was), but it was another thing entirely to expect them to be on the same academic level.

He was older and had much more experience. Plus he was ten times more mature than all of them combined. They were just kids after all. Especially that little blond brat…

Raito hoped he had learned his lesson. To expect him to be tripped up by one of their exams was ridiculous. Of course it was challenging, but nothing that he couldn't handle. Who did they think they were dealing with – some amateur.

It just went to show who was more prepared. It certainly baffled Raito how L could say he wasn't going to give him his title when he was obviously the one most suited for it. Well, he also had to take into consideration that the detective wasn't all that grown-up yet, despite being older, he could be just as big a brat as the other children.

Arrogant, stubborn and spoiled, huh? He was so not one to talk.

Raito opened his door and immediately felt like closing it when he saw Misa jump out from hiding, the blond girl giggling and making more noise than someone so small should be able to produce alone.

"Awww, you look so mad, why are you so grumpy looking?" she asked, grabbing ahold of his hand and pulling him inside without giving him a chance to run away.

There were clothes strewn about everywhere that neither belonged to Misa nor to him, even though his closet and drawers were all wide open. He had also noticed that L was sitting on his bed and eating cake. He was using the other laptop that Raito had been given as of recent; it sounded like he was watching the news.

Wow…these two had sure made themselves comfortable…in his room.

"Look, I got to buy all this stuff for you with Ryuuzaki's credit card," Misa happily exclaimed, her hands still clamped around Raito's wrist and not letting go for anything. "It was so much fun. I never spent so much money in one go."

Raito again looked down at all the clothes scattered on his bed and folded over the sparse furniture in the room.

Oh Misa…you didn't…

"I don't need all these things," Raito told her and the girl fluttered about without a care in the world, obviously not paying attention to anything he said. God, did anybody in this house listen to him.

"But Ryuuzaki said you needed clothes, and winter is coming up."

Coming up? They were still in May.

"Here you go," obliviously stepping past him, Misa held what must have been L's credit card out to the detective.

"You keep it," he told her as he continued to stare at the computer screen like a zombie. He cut the slice of cake in two, forking up the larger piece and shoving it entirely in his mouth. "I don't have any use for it, so it would be better off in your hands," he explained and Raito frowned when he noticed crumbs falling out of his mouth and onto his pillow.

Oh c'mon, he had to sleep there.

"I noticed that Misa-san did not buy anything for herself. That is not exactly what I meant by 'purchase things you need.'"

"Ha ha," she laughed, sort of embarrassed, "I got caught up in shopping for Raito. I've never shopped for a boy before," she explained, as if she was speaking to one of her little girlfriends instead of a grown man. "But there were some really nice things. They don't have a mall in town, but they have all these cute little shops."

L nodded, pretending to listen, even though he was staring at the computer screen, which was more than Raito could say, as he had stopped listening since the first mention of shopping.

"Ryuuzaki told me your sizes," Misa suddenly blurted out, "But I don't think he's right, so you need to try on everything." She grabbed a pair of jeans from the bed and then held it out to him, "Oh, I want to see you in this. Try it on."

Raito stared at the girl like she had lost her mind. "Misa, I kind of want to take a shower," He was a little sweaty after that game of tennis, "so could you and Ryuuzaki…" Raito looked at the door as if to give them a hint.

Misa was staring back him blankly, totally uncomprehending.

L was still looking at the computer screen and not paying him any attention.

Raito felt his eye twitch and swallowed the urge to start shouting at them to get out.

"Oh," the girl said and Raito was glad she finally understood what he meant, "I'll wait here for you to finish. But hurry up, 'kay?" she smiled mindlessly and patted him on the shoulder.

Raito blinked at her and had to realize for a second time that she understood nothing.

L was sipping tea and using one of the books on his nightstand as a coaster.

Temper sorely being tested, Raito pursed his mouth and brushed past Misa, walking towards the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

…………………………

Stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist, Raito listened for any noises outside that would signal his guests had not left him alone. He heaved a sigh when he heard Misa speaking and L answering her in a lower but easily recognizable tone.

Those two…

It wouldn't really bother him if he walked out there in nothing but a towel. Even though he knew Misa had feelings for him, he could more than readily ignore her comments about being 'in love' since the way she went about was utterly ridiculous. It was hard to take her seriously despite the lengths her other self had gone to get him to fall in love with her. Ultimately, he thought, Misa's existence was not threatening to him.

It was the other one he was worried about.

L might not be as loud and as obvious with his actions, but it took a considerable amount of snubbing power to ignore anything he did. He was subtly very pushy, the way he looked at Raito and the way he chose his words.

"Maybe I should not bring it up, but we will just continue to misunderstand each other in the future. At least now, you will be more thoughtful about your actions when you are around m–"

Hmph. Thoughtful. Thoughtful?!

It took a lot of moxy to confess to him like that with the belief that a punch in the face wouldn't be waiting for him at the end of it. L had looked awfully calm during the whole process and the way he was treating him now made Raito wonder if that bastard had just done it to make himself feel better; to get rid of the remaining tensions between them so he could relax.

Telling him whatever he felt like, invading his personal space…

What a selfish jerk…

Raito opened the door to the bathroom and walked out dripping wet. He stalked towards his closet and made Misa sputter at him and turn around to stare at the wall in embarrassment. Whatever feminine modesty she had – which was not much – returning.

He told her he needed to change again and the response this time was her opening the door and running out with what sounded like a squeak. On her good days, Misa could shout to everyone about how she wanted them to go to bed together, but judging by her behavior now, she was probably a virgin. Raito thought it was kind of cute that she could still flee from a situation like this. Well, he did like girls that were more timid and reserved than bossy and possessive like Misa. Maybe if she acted like a proper girl he might give her a chance, but she was just too flashy and out-going for his taste.

Raito turned to look at his other problem, who was now gazing back at him with an unreadable stare, the newscast he had been watching going on in the background.

He raised an eyebrow and the detective responded with a, "I've seen you naked many times before…it's nothing new to me," although it was more hesitantly said than casually.

Either he was trying to be cute or he was actually serious about not being bothered. Looking at him closer, the overly grave features trained into compliance were giving him away.

Even if it was a joke, what an inappropriate way to go about it.

Raito did not let his annoyance show through as he walked up to the detective. If L could have fun at his expense, then he didn't see why he couldn't mess with him either.

"I guess you're right," the brunette agreed and fake smiled at him, the detective appearing to straighten and become more alert. "We're both guys after all. There's nothing wrong with me changing in front of you." Raito stopped in front of L and gazed down at him, eyes honey-brown in the light and moisture sliding down his stomach and collecting where his towel began.

He leaned over, drops of water falling on the bed and L's pants as he placed one hand to the right of him, next to the detective's thigh, and reached with his other to the left. L went absolutely still.

"You're sitting on my jeans," Raito told him tersely and roughly yanked it from under his leg, the detective making a noise of discontent as he was shifted.

Raito stood back up naturally, striding over to the other side of the room and pulled on his jeans without warning. From the corner of his eye, he watched as L got to his feet and stiffly walked towards the door, his face a mixture of wide-eyed discomfit and offense.

He slammed the door behind him.

Listening to the footsteps as they grew distant and finally silent, Raito turned back around and went to go lock his door. He could not help but recall the exact look on L's face as he had left, the image now stuck in his mind and causing something in his chest to tremble and shake more pronouncedly as the seconds went by.

Raito found himself slumping against his door helplessly, the shuddering making his abdomen hurt as he tried to keep it in, but after quickly realizing it was very much impossible, he pressed a hand to his mouth and suddenly, unexpectedly, burst into laughter.

God, how amusing could one person be…

A/N: All these competitive people in one house -- doesn't seem like a great vacation spot if you ask me. Though I wonder what they would have on their brochure if it was – something along the lines of 'come see society's future con artists and social misfits as they're reared from infancy to puberty, constantly fed a diet of fear and pressure to be number one, and then released upon an unsuspecting world that provides them with a wide variety of weapons and sugar.' On the other hand, I guess L and Raito would feel most at home in this kind of environment. Can't teach an old dog new tricks, I suppose…

1. die Rotznase -- (German) little snot, prick.

2. Verflucht noch mal! -- (German) "For chrissake!"/"Goddamn it!"