L looked up at Light innocently as a pair of small feet pounded up the stairs. "Light! Light!" Sayu screeched. "You missed it! You missed the awesome movie."
"Aw shit," Light muttered. He yanked open a desk drawer. "Get in there now!"
L looked puzzled. 'But, Raito-kun, I-"
"No buts! I have to hide you." Light grabbed L's arms and dropped him in the drawer and slammed it shut.
Sayu knocked on Light's door. "Liiight!" Sayu whined. 'Can I come in?"
"Uh, sure," Light said hurriedly. He eased open the door and flashed Sayu an easy smile. 'So, you liked the movie?"
"Yeah, it was great. You should have seen it."
"I'll watch it another time," Light assured her. He settled back onto his bed.
Sayu squealed and leaped onto the bed next to him, grabbing a box next to the bed. "An L doll? Light, you bought a doll?"
"Uh…no, not a doll. I'm just using the box to pack something in."
"Something for me?" Sayu asked hopefully.
"We'll see."
Sayu turned the box over in her hands, looking at the picture of L on the back of the box. "You know, my friend Retsuo has one of these."
Light's throat tightened. "She has an L the Lifelike Doll?" He tried to sound casual. 'So, it walks and talks and all that stuff?"
"No, it's kind of like an action figure. You can make it do splits and make it bend over and touch its toes. It just has a lot of joints to it. This L doll looks like it would be the same way, but hers isn't called L. What kind of name is L for a doll anyway? It's just a letter."
There was a slight rustling sound inside Light's desk drawer.
"Papers sliding around," Light explained. He nudged the drawer with his foot.
Sayu seemed to buy it. "Well, let me know what you're wrapping,' she said mischievously. She hopped off the bed and skipped out the door.
Light got up and eased the door shut before angrily yanking the drawer open. He glared down at L. "Nice going. You almost got us caught."
"No, you almost got us caught," L said placidly. "I tried to tell you that you left the box out."
Light groaned. 'I was managing. Why'd you have o go and started making noise in there?"
"I slipped," L said apologetically. "Does Raito-kun realize that he has an open container of lube in his drawer?"
"That's not lube, jackass," Light growled. "That's hand lotion."
L blinked at Light as he crawled out of the drawer, lotion and a few bits of Light's paper stuck to Relk's kimono and his bare feet. "You do not strike me as the messy type, Raito-kun."
"I'm not," was the aggravated reply.
L glanced down at the Post-it note stuck to his foot and shook his head. 'Why does ratio-kun have a bottle of lotion is his drawer anyway?"
Light groaned. "I'm hiding it there."
L cocked his head to one side. 'Go on."
"Look, my dad doesn't think I should be using it. He thinks lotion is just for girls. He came in one night to congratulate me on my grades and I had to toss it in the drawer really fast."
"Just like with me," l murmured.
"Yeah, now I have to keep two things hidden from my dad."
"Do you really need to keep me hidden? Perhaps you could find someone else who would take me off your hands."
Light sighed. "If I brought it up, I'd be considered crazy. And if I show you to anyone…they might think you're some evil thing and try to kill you, or take you away to experiment on you. I'd really like to avoid all the drama and just keep you a secret."
"I see," L murmured. 'Well, if you plan on keeping me in your desk drawer, I suggest you close that bottle before it makes more of a mess."
"I know." Light peered down into the drawer and sighed. "Yeah, I've got lotion all over everything."
"Including me," L reminded him.
"Yeah, I didn't forget." Light pulled a few scraps of paper off L. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wash the rest off. I usually take a bath at night anyway, so no one will suspect a thing."
"A bath?" L asked critically. "Wouldn't a shower be quicker and more efficient?"
"Well, I take a shower in the morning before school and a bath at night just to relax."
"Well, I suppose I can't complain. I will be clean either way and it is certainly best to stick to your habits so no one becomes suspicious."
"Okay, let's go," Light said briskly. He scooped L into his hand and tipped him into one of his pants pockets.
"Is this really necessary?" L asked. He stood on tiptoes and peered out.
"Yes," Light growled. "I can't have anyone see you." He pushed L's head down.
L made a slightly displeased sound and curled up in Light's pocket. "Very well. Let's get this over with."
Light shouted to his parents downstairs that he was going to take a bath. Light then padded into the bathroom and locked the door. He removed L from his pocket and set him on the edge of the bathtub.
Light yanked his shirt off over his head, slid his jeans down his legs, and kicked them to the side. He was about to follow through with his underwear when he noticed L watching with a thoughtful expression.
'What the hell are you looking at?" Light demanded.
L raised an eyebrow. "You, obviously."
"Well, cut it out. This isn't a striptease, you little perv. Get yourself undressed and stop watching me."
L sighed unhappily, but he removed Relk's kimono and let it drop to the floor. He peered down at it.
"Leave it there," Light growled. "I'll pick it up later." He was now completely naked. He turned on the tap, tested the water, and was apparently satisfied. He fished around under the sink for his bottle of shampoo while the tub filled. He set the shampoo on the edge next to L.
Light shut off the tap. "Ready?" he asked L.
L nodded and looked down at the water below hesitantly.
"Oh, let me take that paper off your foot first. I don't want wet paper floating around." Light lifted L's foot and peeled off the gooey piece. This action caused L to lose his balance and fall into the water.
Light watched L flair about in the water before grabbing the dripping doll and lifting him to eye level. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Did I mention that I cannot swim?"
"No, you forgot that little detail," Light ground out.
L shrugged "Sorry."
"Now I need to find you some shallow water you won't drown in,' Light muttered. He set L back on the edge of the tub and fished around under the sink again. He produced a plastic teacup and scooped some bath water into it. He set L inside. "There, your own little bath that not even you can drown in."
L looked pleased as Light set the teacup on the edge of the tub. "You've outdone yourself, Raito-kun. My own private Jacuzzi."
"How the hell would know what a Jacuzzi is like? You would have drowned in it."
L shook his head. "I was not always a doll, Raito-kun. As interesting as my past may be, I shall leave it at that."
Light scowled at L, but the little doll refused to change his mind. Light admitted defeat…for tonight anyway. But he would make it his business to find out more about L.