Away From Home
Chapter Twenty
By Andruindel
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"Amy, what are you doing up?"
I wasn't surprised to find that L was awake, and sitting in his usual chair. The dark circles under his eyes seemed darker than usual. In fact, it looked as though he had gotten no sleep at all.
Ignoring his question, I took a detour away from the kitchen, and approached him. "Have you been out here all night?" I asked. I stopped a foot or two from his chair. I gazed at him, serious, worried despite myself. I'd never seen him look so exhausted.
He nodded in reply to my question, but said nothing. Instead, he looked away.
"Did you get any sleep at all?" I inquired softly. I perched on the arm of his chair, still watching him closely. I knew that he very rarely slept. In fact, I'd only seen him asleep once. But it still worried me. The human body needed sleep in order to function correctly.
He shook his head slightly.
"Poor Ryuuzaki," I crooned softly. I wasn't sure how he would react, but I couldn't help it. It was my natural response. "Maybe you'd sleep better if you didn't spend all your time out here. You do have a room, and a bed." I reminded him.
Again, he said nothing. I was worried I might have offended him, at first. But then I saw, he had just been distracted. I followed his gaze to the open window. A pigeon had perched on the ledge outside the window.
"You shouldn't keep the window open like that." I said. When he gave no reply, I decided that he needed cheering up. "Come on, let's go see if there's any ice cream left." I said. I pulled on his arm, and he stood slowly.
Pleased, blushing slightly, I linked my arm with his, and rested my head against his shoulder as we started toward the kitchen. He gave no other reaction than to glance sideways at me.
Unfortunately, before we could get more than a few paces toward the kitchen, something buzzed in the window, and right past my face.
I freaked. Clutching at L's arm, I ducked my head, cowering. L must have looked at me. He must have wondered what kind of reaction that was to an insect. But I couldn't help it. Either way, he carefully eased himself out of my grasp, and went to where the insect had landed.
"Relax, Amy. It's just a beetle."
I did as he had said, and relaxed. "Oh, thank God…" I murmured. "Let me see it." He looked up at me, surprised, but held out his hand. I stepped forward, and looked.
He was right. It was a beetle. Just a simple, black beetle that had happened in by the window on accident. I laughed.
"In my own defense," I started, still giggling. "I thought it was a bee."
L merely looked at me. He didn't seem amused at all. "I wondered why…" He mused quietly to himself. I barley heard it.
"Let me have it," I said, and before he could react, I had plucked the beetle from his hand, and cupped it in my own.
"What are you going to do with it?" He asked.
"Put it outside." I replied. And then, to the beetle. "Come on, little guy. Time to put you where you belong." My footsteps carried me toward the window, and once there, I looked up from the beetle in my hand. The pigeon had flown away, I saw. So, in its place, I carefully set the beetle on the ledge, and then stepped back and closed the window.
When I turned around, L was watching me. "What?" I asked. "I told you you shouldn't keep the window open. Anything could fly, or crawl, or slither or ooze inside." While I was talking, he was slowly drawing closer. As I stopped talking, he stopped advancing. But he was already close enough to touch me, which he did.
Carefully, gently, he tucked two fingers under my chin, and tipped my face upward a touch. Just enough so that I was looking him full in the face. "Do I sense a touch of… fear behind those words?" He spoke softly.
I flushed, grateful that the dim light probably prevented his seeing this. "…No…" I said slowly. "It's not like I'm afraid monsters will climb in my window or anything…"
L smiled, and I blinked. This was the first time I'd seen him actually smile in a long time. "We're all afraid of something…" He whispered.
I swallowed.
"Now, about that ice cream…"
Just as suddenly as L had switched into insightful, kinda annoying mode, he switched back into business-like, obsessed with sweets mode. The transition left me speechless, and confused.
Sighing, I turned away. "Just don't eat it all, okay? I'm gonna go shower."
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I had missed the video Light had recorded, because I had been in my room, drowsing. I realized this as I stepped out of the bathroom, clean, and feeling more awake. Disappointed that I had missed the news the night before, I wandered back into the workroom. L wasn't there. I quickly swept my gaze across the entire room, and then to the kitchen. That was the most likely place to find him.
Sure enough, when I entered the kitchen, there was L. He was busy scooping some ice cream into a bowl. He looked up at me when I entered, but said nothing. He merely put a spoon in the bowl, and then held it silently out to me.
Pleasantly surprised, I accepted the ice cream. Usually six in the morning was way too early to be eating something, especially something as sweet as ice cream. But since I was sick, I could make an exception.
My eyes met L's as I took the bowl, and I smiled up at him.
I couldn't understand why he didn't smile back; why he averted his gaze and simply walked away. It didn't make sense. Only half an hour ago he had been talking with me. I shivered as I remembered the feel of his fingers against my skin.
Determined to find out why L was suddenly –although not oddly- acting this way, I followed him out of the kitchen.
"L," I started, but I stopped when the door opened.
Both of us turned toward the door, and I drew back half a pace as my eyes met those of Light. It was only six in the morning, but Light and his father had come already. I forced myself to smile.
"Good morning, Ryuuzaki, Amy-chan." Light smiled lightly back at me as he stepped into the hotel. "How are you feeling today, Amy-chan?"
I retreated another few steps as they drew further into the hotel. "Fine." I replied shortly. My fingers found their way to L's sleeve, and I held on tightly, following as L started into the work room. I didn't let go until L gave the tiniest flick of his wrist, indicating that he needed the use of his hand. Then I settled on the couch, and began my normal routine of watching L work.
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Hey, y'all! I know, I know, it's been months. Andy's been a bit busy these past few months, with things like friends, and real boys -coughcough-. ANYWAY. I finally updated. =D Now you can all stop hating me, and go back to loving me, kay? Once again, I'm sorry it took so long. I really was kinda distracted, and fanfic wasn't the first thing on my mind. Sorry it's a little short. Thanks for reading. Leave reviews, please?
