Chapter 8: Impression

"May I ask what this sort of event entails?" L asked as they drove along in Miya's car. She was at the wheel, and L was in the passenger seat, gripping the side handle on the door as it turned out Miya was not the best driver out there, or at least not the most cautious one. Normally she traveled by subway, but she thought this method of travel while in formal wear would be weird. It also didn't help that he was sitting with his knees up to his chest.

"Well my dad attends these things like every year, and I've been once or twice. From what I remember it's a dinner, and then there's dancing and mingling. All that kind of stuff."

"And as I understand it, I'm supposed to believably act as your boyfriend?" L asked, placing his thumb on his lip as he thought about this.

"Yeah," Miya confirmed. "See, I'll just introduce you to my parents. Just make it seem like we're really happy together and that you love me. Then we'll eat and have dessert."

"Dessert?" Ryuzaki asked, turning to face her. "What kind?"

"I don't know. Now focus!" Miya commanded, turning the wheel into the fancy parking lot of the first class hotel where the party was being held. "Okay, so just remember, we're happy and in love. Just follow that rule and you'll be good."

"Alright, I suppose I can manage that much," L sighed as they pulled to a stop. Miya put the vehicle in park and hopped out, walking to the other side to meet L, who was pulling himself out of the car. She still couldn't believe how awesome she was for picking a suit that looked amazing on the odd character. She just hoped her parents would see what she was seeing.

"Ready?" Miya asked, holding her arm out to him. L now understood the gesture, and so laced his arm with hers and led her toward the entrance. They stepped inside to see a large, round ballroom lined with table clothed tables and fancy wooden chairs. The middle of the room was cleared out for dancing that was sure to take place later in the night.

"There are my parents," Miya said, spotting the pair that was sitting at a table with another couple. There were two empty seats, and so Miya headed over to join the group. She couldn't help but notice the number of odd stares in her direction as she walked by on the arm of Ryuzaki. She knew they were observing his hunched-over posture and messy hair, and probably his darkened eyes as well, and for a moment she began to think that maybe Matsuda would have been the better choice. But no, Matsuda couldn't play it cool, and that was something she was sure L could do.

"Hey mom," Miya said once they reached the table. "Hey dad."

"Hi sweetheart," the burly man, Miya's father, greeted.

"So…?" her mother said, eyeing the dark haired man peculiarly. "Are you going to introduce us?" Miya knew her mother would skip any greeting to get the scoop on this new guy, and so she was prepared for her straight to the point attitude. She gulped slightly, hoping for the best, and smiled.

"Yes this is…"

"Hideki Ryuga," L finished. "Nice to meet you." Ryuga, right. Miya had forgotten to ask what his name for the evening would be. Her father smiled, but he had some hidden expression on his face. Probably confusion, as this man looked nothing like other guys Miya had been interested in before. In fact, he looked nothing like anyone he'd ever seen before in his life!

"Um…nice to meet you too, Hideki," Miya's mother said, shooting her daughter a curious expression. "Mr. Yamaguchi and I have heard so much about you. Why don't we sit down at the table?" L wasn't sure what they could have possibly heard about him, but he was assuming it was just a figure of speech. Her parents headed over to where they had been sitting, joining the other couple whom Miya now recognized as another politician in town.

"I didn't think he'd be that out of her league," her father whispered to her mother as they sat.

"Shh, be nice dear he's…unique." Miya sat down and slid her arm out from under L's, which was actually harder than she'd imagined.

"You only have to hold my arm when we're walking," Miya laughed, leaning in so he could hear her. L looked at her and nodded slightly, and then did what Miya had forgotten he would do but should have expected. He pulled his knees up to his chest in his chair and rested his arms on them. Miya's parents stared at him curiously as Miya smiled nervously.

"That's an interesting position," the politician beside her parents pointed out.

"Yes, I find it improves my deductive reasoning skills by up to forty percent," Ryuzaki explained. Miya watched everyone stare at him in confusion and suddenly found herself wishing there was a hole nearby so she could crawl in it and die.

"So Ryuga," Mr. Yamaguchi began slowly, looking to the man supposedly dating his daughter. "How long have you two been dating?"

"I'm not sure…" L answered, placing his thumb to his lip in thought. Perhaps he couldn't bluff as well as Miya had been hoping.

"Three months," Miya spit out instantly. "Remember honey?"

"Ah, yes that's right," L said, dropping his hand back to his knee. "It's difficult to remember sometimes. We're just so happy and in love." He said the words with no emotion, and Miya knew he was just repeating her instructions from the car. Damn him for being so literal.

'Oh well, nothing left to do but go along with it,' Miya thought to herself before chuckling. "Oh yeah, happy and in love. That's us I tell you." Miya's mother smiled politely and nodded.

"And just what are your intentions with my daughter?" Mr. Yamaguchi asked with a chuckle. L opened his mouth to speak, but Miya nudged him in the side.

"That's rhetorical," she said quickly before L said something embarrassing or stupid. Thankfully her parents were being polite, at least that was a relief. What she wasn't counting on, however, was the jerk of a guy at their table.

"Say, uh, Ryuga is it?" the dark haired, middle aged man asked. "Do you sleep? Your eyes are like, really dark man."

"Actually, no I don't get much sleep," L replied casually. "I have a tiring job."

"Oh really?" Mrs. Yamaguchi asked. "What is it you do dear?"

"Well I…work with the police," L answered safely. Miya gave him an encouraging smile before that jerky politician opened his big mouth again.

"Oh geez, do you know anything about that L character?" he asked curiously. "That idiot doesn't know what the hell he's doing! Kira is roaming around murdering people and where's the justice?" Miya clapped her hand to her head and groaned.

"No, actually I've never met him," Ryuzaki replied blankly. "But I hear he's doing his best."

"He's brilliant from what I've heard," Miya added, throwing a glance toward L, who looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say," the man grumbled, turning away from their conversation to speak to the woman escorting him. By this time, however, the waiters were carrying the food out of the kitchen, and Miya sighed in relief, hoping chewing would take away some of this conversation time. She could tell by her father's face that he was confused, and by her mother's face that she was wondering what the hell her daughter was doing with this weirdo.

"Ah good, food," her father said as the waiter set down the plates in front of everyone. In front of them was quite a yummy looking tray of fish, rice, and vegetable rolls. L, on the other hand, did not look impressed. Ah yes, it would be a lovely dinner indeed.

After a half hour of light conversation, Miya looked over to see that L had not touched his plate. She leaned over toward him to whisper in his ear.

"Ryuga, why aren't you eating?"

L stared blankly at his plate for a moment before whispering back, "I don't want any of this." Miya sighed and glanced to her parents, who were now looking at his full plate with curiosity.

"I'm begging you," she whispered. "Eat just a little. It won't kill you."

"It very well could," L retorted. Miya rolled her eyes.

"Don't make me put on a show!" L was obviously confused by this, and turned to her with unblinking eyes.

"Put on a show?" he asked. Miya realized that that was the only option, so she instantly burst into loud laughter.

"Oh Hideki," she laughed, picking up her fork. "Here baby, I know you ate right before we came but you can't let this food go to waste."

"What are you doing?" L asked, confused. Miya giggled and stabbed the vegetable roll with her fork before bringing it up to his mouth.

"Open wide honey," she smiled, a slightly evil smile L would say. He stared at her for the longest second before reluctantly opening his mouth. Miya took the opportunity and swooped in, shoving the bite in his mouth so fast she practically choked him.

"Now sweetheart, if he just ate there's no need to force him to eat the food," her father said with the wave of his hand. Though L was just staring at him, chewing the dreaded bite, Miya knew that his blank expression was an appreciative one.

"Oh okay," she laughed. "I just love him so much that I want to make sure he's healthy!" Almost as if to contradict her words, the desert tray rolled out, and Miya saw the gleam in Ryuga's eye.

"You're going to blow my 'you're full' cover," Miya warned him. But when the tray rolled to their table and Miya saw the strawberry shortcake, she knew it was all over.

"Yes, I'll take three of those please," L said, much to the waiter's surprise.

"Uh, okay sir…" he replied as he placed the huge slices in front of Ryuga, who picked up his fork between his thumb and index finger and dug in.

"He just…loves desserts…" Miya said with the fakest smile she'd ever sported. Her parents were staring, not only because of the amount of desserts, but also because of the way he was holding his fork and the way he was vacuuming that food up.

"Mmm…very good…" L mumbled with his mouth full. Miya tried to laugh and play it off like he was adorable, but on the inside she was screaming. This was probably the worst plan she'd ever had! How could she possibly expect her parents to believe she was happily in love with this…eccentric person? She was used to L by now, but to them he was like an alien.

After an…interesting…meal, people began heading to the dance floor. Miya's father stood up and held his hand out to Mrs. Yamaguchi, who took it gladly. He was about to leave Miya and L alone, when he for some reason decided to encourage their relationship.

"Aren't you going to ask her to dance, son?" he said curiously. L furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

"By calling me son is he securing my place as your future husband?" he wondered aloud. Miya's eyes widened and she covered it with a loud laugh.

"Ha ha, isn't he funny?" she said, standing up. "Come on Hideki, let's dance." L warily stood up and took her hand, following her parents to the dance floor. They spun off gracefully, putting even more pressure on the boyfriend impersonator.

"I'm afraid I'll need instruction Miya. I have no idea how to do this…" he admitted, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he stood facing her. Miya smiled and grabbed his arm.

"Well, for starters you need free hands," she said, pulling his arms until his hands were free from his pockets. "And now that hand goes on my waist," she instructed.

"Your…waist?" he said sheepishly. Miya laughed and grabbed his wrist, placing his hand on her side. She was fairly certain L would have blushed if he had any sort of complexion whatsoever.

"Okay and now this hand holds mine," she said, taking his hand. "And my other hand goes on your shoulder. Oh, and we're too far away." The two were standing about a foot apart, and so Miya stepped forward to close the gap. "Okay, now just keep in step with the music and it will be okay." L hesitantly took a step forward in an attempt to lead, and instead stepped on her foot.

"Ow…" Miya winced, laughing slightly. "Okay, you know what? I'm just gonna lead us. Just follow my steps, okay?"

"Okay…" L said, stepping with her as best he could. It wasn't so bad, he found, and soon they were dancing well enough.

"Hmm, I'm sorry if I haven't been the best of escorts this evening," L apologized.

"It's okay," Miya shrugged. "After all the handsomely wrapped jerks in my past my parents should be smart enough to believe that a nice guy might come in a Ryuga shaped package."

"I'm assuming that was meant as a compliment," L said. The two were actually very close together, and so L found himself almost whispering as he spoke.

"Oh it was," Miya assured him. "You're a good guy Ryuga, even if you are out of your element."

"Hmm, it's true, this is outside of my expertise," he said, glancing down at their dancing feet.

"Yeah have you ever been out anywhere with a girl before?" Miya asked curiously without thinking. She hoped he wouldn't take it offensively, and thankfully he didn't seem to.

"No, I suppose you would be my first official date," he thought aloud. "Even if it is fake."

"Well in that case, let's make it a good one," she laughed, spinning herself out and then back in. To her surprise, L actually caught her hand gracefully as if they'd practiced the dance move.

"Wow, maybe you can add this to your list of talents," she teased as they continued to dance.

"Thanks so much for doing that," Miya said sincerely on the ride home. After some dancing and a few more embarrassing conversations, the party had ended. "I know it must have been awkward for you."

"Yes, I'm sorry your parents didn't seem to approve of our relationship," L apologized. Miya laughed.

"Please, they'll be fine," she assured him. "My mom had some wine which means tomorrow she'll probably remember you as a sexy beast. She always does that."

"Sexy beast?" L wondered aloud. "Hmm, interesting choice of words."

"Don't go growing an ego over drunken memories," Miya warned as she glanced at the clock. "Oh geez, I really need to pick Noah up. My neighbor is probably wondering where I am."

"Well, if you need to go home I can call Watari to send me a car," L explained. "You don't have to go out of your way to drop me off."

"Are you sure?" she asked uncertainly. L nodded.

"Absolutely. No trouble at all." Miya thanked him a thousand times as they turned down a road that cut straight to her parents' home. She parked in the driveway and hopped out, L doing the same. He stood patiently in the driveway as Miya ran to the neighbor's and returned a few minutes later with Noah. He was walking alongside her, holding her hand.

"Mr. Panda!" he yelled excitedly when he saw L, running up and hugging his leg. This caught L off guard, and he looked down at the bright eyed boy as he let go. "Mommy said I wouldn't see you today but look! You here!"

"Okay sweetie, we need to get you to bed so Ryuga can go home," Miya said, heading for the house.

"Mr. Panda?" Noah said, grabbing his hand. "Will you tuck me in today?" L looked to Miya, who raised an eyebrow. She had no idea what his response to that would be.

"Uh…yeah sure…" he said slowly, much to Miya's surprise. Noah giggled excitedly and pulled L toward the house, bursting through the door and leading him up the stairs.

"Shh…" Miya warned. "Grandma and Grandpa are probably sleeping." They had left a little bit before Miya and L, and their car had been in the driveway when they arrived. Noah opened the door to his room, still dragging L, and headed over to his bed.

"My jammies are over there!" he pointed toward a drawer. "You get them and I go change." Miya waved a hand at L to excuse him from this and went to get the pajamas.

"Here, I'll help," Miya offered the four year old.

"No, I do it!" Noah said, grabbing the Pjs and running from the room.

"Sorry about this…" Miya said.

"I don't mind," L replied. Soon, Noah came running back and, other than his backwards t-shirt, there were no major wardrobe malfunctions.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Miya asked. Noah flashed a smile.

"Minty fresh!" he replied.

"I taught him that," Miya chuckled, looking to L. Noah jumped into bed and lay down, waiting patiently for L.

"Mr. Panda you gotta put the blankie over me!" Noah instructed. L looked around and spotted the blanket at the edge of the bed. He walked over and grabbed it in between his fingers, pulling it over the small child.

"Thanks!" Noah laughed. "And now I need Panda and Rocky!" L could not forget the stuffed animal with the "original" name, though he did not recognize the other name.

"Rocky?" he questioned, pulling the familiar Panda from the pile of toys.

"I got him at the zoo!" Noah informed L. "He's named after you cause he's a panda!" L looked over to see another stuffed panda and grabbed it, handing them both to the small boy.

"He means Ryuzaki," Miya explained. "Can't pronounce it." Noah was looking sleepy now, and so Miya decided they were good to leave.

"Goodnight," Miya said, she kissed him on the head and then headed for the door. L followed her, but turned when Noah called his name.

"Yes?" he said.

"I just want tell you that you my new best friend…" Noah said sleepily, settling into his blankets. L stared at him, and smiled slightly.

"Another friend," he mused. "Interesting." It wasn't every day that L made new friends, even if they were in preschool.

"Thanks for that," Miya said as they headed back downstairs. "You really didn't have to."

"It's alright Miya, I assure you," L insisted. "In fact, I find Noah to be quite a fascinating child."

"I'm going to assume that was a compliment," she said, quoting his words from before.

"It was," L reassured her. By this time they had reached the door, and Miya looked outside to see a car in the driveway.

"When did you call them?" she asked blankly. Not once had she seen him pull out his phone.

"I called when we got here," L replied casually. Wow, he was good.

"Okay well again, thanks for everything," Miya said, leaning forward and placing a friendly kiss on his cheek. L raised his hand to touch the spot, as he had not been expecting that at all.

"No problem…" he said as Miya opened the door.

"Bye!" she called out after him. "See you tomorrow!" L nodded as he walked away.

"Indeed. Have a good night Miss Yamagata." Miya closed the door after him and sighed. That had certainly been an interesting night, though, despite everything, she couldn't say it had been a bad one.