Geof collapsed down onto his sofa and exhaled.
Again, that was the end of another long conversation with Jerrod, who had somehow landed himself all the way on the other side of the world.
Hey, wasn't that a song? K.T Tunstall, wasn't it? Awesome song.
He shook his head and ran his fingers through his blue hair. What could he say? He had a habit of dying his hair bright colors. Yesterday, it was bright green. It kept his boring life exciting since he got out of the slammer.
Geof yawned and stretched his arms behind his head.
Man, he was tired and he had work early the next morning too.
Ironic, really. He got a job as a bank manager after robbing them for a living. Ah, the good old days. Until he felt bad and turned himself in. But, he had to admit, jail wasn't that bad. Well, then again, he got paired up in the same cell as old Jerrod. Man that guy was strong. Emotionally and physically. Geof remembered how the guy had punched out a guy twice his size, knocking him out with one punch.
Geof then shot up as a bright idea came to him.
He'd go and surprise Jerrod and that genius daughter of his with a visit! He could easily get himself some days off, people at the bank didn't like him much. He'd stay there for a month or so and then come back to work. The plan was full proof! Well, unless Jerrod didn't want him there. But, why wouldn't Jerrod want him there?! They were best friends! Jerrod wouldn't send him away and he'd probably enjoy the company!
Geof jumped to his feet and ran to the phone, punching in his boss's number to book the next month off.
***
Sybil again stood up on the roof of the hotel. This time, it was raining, but she paid little attention to it as it soaked her clothes.
A black tank top and a pair of black shorts. She wore no shoes, seeing that she had kicked them off as soon as she stepped up onto the edge. Her feet were bare and cold, but she only paid attention to the lightning striking in the sky, as well as the thunder.
She loved storms. So powerful, so natural, so beautiful.
Sybil dropped her cap to the higher ground as she remained standing on the edge of the building. She didn't want to drop it so that she'd never get it back. That hat was her safety blanket and she recognized that.
It probably wasn't a good thing, but she felt that she needed it to continue on with life as she knew it. Even if she wanted it to change.
"I thought that I'd find you here again." Sybil's eyes widened and she nearly lost her balance where she was standing.
She probably would've fallen to her death if she hadn't been caught gently around her wrist with one strong hand and an arm wrapped securely around her waist.
She let out a relieved sigh before turning her attention to L.
"Thanks. I probably wouldn't have survived that." L didn't seem amused with her sudden cheeriness.
Why did she choose now to smile? A time where she nearly plummeted to her death?
He thought back to his conversation with her brother, Troy.
If what he said was true, then there was only one explanation. Sybil didn't fear death itself, she feared being hurt by someone she cared about. A reason why she had tried to keep her personal life so secret from him before. She didn't want to suffer with a broken heart and she didn't want history to repeat itself.
L stared at her, keeping a secure hold on her wrist as he slowly and hesitantly released her waist.
Sybil blinked at him in confusion.
"Ryuu, is something wrong? You're acting out of character."
"As are you. Lately, your emotions have been rather all over the place. Yesterday, you said something that interested me and you didn't seem to want to tell me what you meant." Immediately, Sybil lowered her eyes to her feet, which she shuffled uncomfortably.
She knew what was coming.
"You called one of my brothers, didn't you?"
"Hmm, yes. Only out of concern for your safety, however. I was unable to get in touch with your brother, Taylor, but managed to contact Troy in a rather intimate moment with his fiancée." Sybil raised her eyes and couldn't help, but smile at how casual L was treating the conversation.
She had almost expected him to constantly interrogate her with personal questions, like he had when they had first met. Instead, it seemed that he had learned since then. It made her feel somewhat special for the first time in a long time.
"He was probably embarrassed as hell. Poor Pudgy." L then smiled briefly before remembering that this was a serious matter.
"Sybil, you are afraid to love me." Her eyes widened and a band of red crept across her nose as she quickly looked away to avoid his gaze.
"Wh- what?! I've never heard such a ridiculous-"
"There's no point in denying it. You are afraid to love anyone, out of the fear of ending up like your mother." Diamond tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head in an attempt to stop herself from crying.
Why did he have to discover it?! Why?! It was bad enough that she felt something for him, but now he knew that she was afraid to let those feelings show. It was exhilarating, embarrassing, and scary all at once.
L released her wrist only when he felt that she wouldn't run away from him.
He didn't want her to get herself hurt, especially not because he had finally discovered why she was the way she was. And he knew exactly why he didn't want her to get hurt.
That attraction that he had felt since, pretty much the very beginning of this, he knew was becoming something more. It was more than just a small crush, as some people would call it. In fact, L had to admit that it could very much be considered love. After all, why else would he be so protective of her? Why else would he feel so inclined to know every little thing there was to know about her?
Yes, he was a detective, but detectives only needed to know the basics. He wanted to know so much more and Sybil was a challenge. She was frustrating, talkative, but beautiful all the same.
L watched as she crumpled to her knees and began to cry. His heart wanted to go out and comfort her, like he tended to do, and he obeyed it.
For Sybil, he hardly ever used his mind anymore. All of the demands and actions he took to help or speak with her, that was based on the man's heart alone. He recognized that, despite the fact that he knew that he probably shouldn't be so inclined to get so close to her. But, they shared so much in common and it made her that much harder to resist.
L reached down and gripped her wrist gently once again, before tugging her up to her feet and into his chest.
Both detectives were cold and wet, but neither seemed to care at that point.
Sybil wanted only to cry and get it all over and done with so that she could no longer be afraid to give her heart away.
L wanted to get her to stop crying and to allow himself to confess his feelings.
Sybil didn't know how to stop fearing such a powerful thing so easily. Not something that had so much power over her for so long.
L, he just didn't know how to go about confessing such a thing. What could he do? Kiss her? Speak to her? It was then he wished that he had asked Watari for advice on such a thing. But, his pride had gotten in the way and he had mostly pushed the thought of even being remotely in love with her to the back of his mind.
Sybil just didn't want to hurt anymore, but she didn't know how to deal with such a strong fear at the same time.
"I'm pathetic." She murmured quietly as she looked up towards her companion.
L stared down at her with his onyx eyes.
"As am I." She blinked before breaking back down into tears.
"I'm so scared to give myself away. To open up. But, at the same time, I want to be able to. So far, you're the only one who's gotten so much from me. It's scary, but intriguing all the same as to how you do it. Ryuu, you're the only one that will ever get me so close to not being scared." L studied her as she clutched his shirt tightly.
He blinked as he finally put the pieces together.
Sybil had a habit of holding things tightly when she wanted to feel safe. So far, it was mainly him and his shirt.
L gently hugged her waist as an attempt to somehow show how he felt.
If she clutched his shirt so tightly so often, it was a sign that she trusted him to a great extent. L had to admit, he also trusted her and clutching her more tightly would only further show that. Of course, that was painfully obvious to most people if they were to ever observe the two together.
Sybil's eyes suddenly widened and she looked back up to him.
"Ryuu, we shouldn't be up here. At least, you shouldn't. The investigation can do with one less detective and frankly, you're more emotionally stable than I am. Besides, I'm distracting you from what's important. Putting a stop to Kira." She somehow managed to squirm out of his grasp, most likely due to the fact that she was soaked to the bone, and stood back over to the edge of the building.
L slumped in disappointment as he could almost sense what was coming.
Sybil was thinking about leaving the investigation.
She looked to him from over her shoulder and smiled weakly as another flash of lightning lit the sky.
"I'm going to do all that I can to stop Kira, even if it takes my life. That's a promise I'm going to keep. Despite all the emotional stress and how scared I am, I'm not going anywhere." He immediately straightened himself, ever so slightly, and smirked at her.
What a relief. He didn't want that girl out of his sight as long as he could help it.
"Ryuu, I promise that I'm not ever going to leave you all by your lonesome. We're going to be best friends to the end of both our lives. Perhaps-" She reddened as she thought about how to word her next sentence.
"I don't know why, but somehow, for some reason, I'm not so scared of being hurt when I think about you. Probably because I understand that you don't know the type of relationship I'm thinking of. I mean, you've never had any contact with anyone other than Watari, for probably years before you met me, right?" L blinked.
Was she asking what he thought she was asking? It wasn't difficult to say, judging by how she was blushing and how she was stumbling to get out her words.
He smirked as she continued to try and explain her feelings.
It made him look like a politician. Never had he thought that the usually well spoken, quick tongued young woman, could be so awkward.
"Hmm. Sybil, you're rambling." Her face deepened red.
"Nevermind then." L felt a little more disappointed, but knew better than to press her to try and explain again.
It would only anger her or force her to hide again.
Sybil flashed him as smile as the clouds in the sky began to disappear and the storm began to cease its rumbling.
"Let's just get back to the case. It's more important than my emotions anyway. Besides, I have a feeling that I can only go up from here and I can't get too much lower, can I?" And L too smiled.
She had made a good point. Besides, there was plenty of time for him to come up with his own way of expressing his feelings. Hopefully, he would seem more professional about it and wouldn't stumble so much over his words as she had done.
But, he had to secretly admit to himself, it meant that Sybil was slowly, but surely, coming out of her high security shell. And, she looked rather cute when she blushed.
L made a mental note to try and get her to do it more often.