#92 Coat
A/N: Credit to Kari Twilight Mist for giving me the idea for this chapter :)
It was evening in Tokyo, the sky was lit up with a million neon lights, bouncing off the heavy rainclouds and making the sky one big Technicolor ceiling, disturbed only by the occasional flash of lightening.
Around Tokyo U students scattered like mice, some with umbrellas, some holding spred-out newspapers over their heads, many of them laughing together at some inside joke or another as they raced to the safety of their cars or buses home.
Light walked alone, umbrella over his head, eyes fixed dead ahead. He had no need of internal jokes, his mind was full of L, of Kira, of the certain knowledge that the notebook that lay accusingly stuffed between his schoolbooks was his key to becoming a god.
Behind him, Ryuk grumbled and growled about the weather, trying to position his wings in such a way that the rain wouldn't hit him.
Light had every intention of ignoring the shinigami and rushing home as fast as possible while still retaining his dignity, but something stopped him.
The forlorn sight of a man, not much older than himself, standing alone on the curb, face turned up into the rain, no umbrella or folded out paper, not even a jacket to cover his thin frame.
Ryuzaki, as he'd introduced himself. L, as Light was almost certain he was. Standing in the rain in his usual white shirt and jeans, soaked right through to the skin.
He looked so sad, and somehow even lonelier than usual.
Light sighed, cursing his own sympathetic nature and walked over slowly.
"Ryuzaki, what are you doing out in the rain like this, you'll catch your death."
Ryuzaki turned his large, blank, black eyes on Light. Light tried not to flinch uncomfortably under that gaze.
"I am thinking." He answered. "Watari-san is unable to collect me today, I am uncertain as to how to get home."
Light sighed and looked around. Really, he should have walked away, he knew that, but then that would have made him look more like Kira, so it was better to at least pretend to be sympathetic.
"…I suppose you could come back to my house, call a cab from there." He suggested. "It's not far."
Ryuzaki's glassy eyes glimmered. Light could almost swear he saw the wheels in his head turning.
"Yes." The shabby creature finally answered. "All right, Light-kun."
They walked in silence for some while. L didn't ask to share the umbrella, and Light didn't offer. The thought of being that close to L made him wince, and anyway, the dark-haired man was already soaked through, keeping him dry now would be a waste.
It was only when Light bothered to glance down that he noticed something that shocked him.
"Ryuzaki, you've not got any shoes!"
Ryuzaki stopped, then glanced down, apparently to check. "I find them uncomfortable."
Light frowned, "You'll catch a cold, or pneumonia!"
"I have an extremely good constitution, Light-kun, I rarely get ill."
Light just shook his head and kept walking, stopping as they reached the curb. He frowned down at the road.
Mud, mud and puddles of filth, possibly pieces of broken glass and stone. Even if this was L, it was practically inhuman of Light to make him walk through that barefoot.
With a deep sigh, as if this was the last thing he wanted to do in the world, he shoved the umbrella into L's hand and tugged his own coat from his shoulders, laying it over the puddle.
Ryuzaki looked hesitant.
Light glared up at him, "Come on, before I change my mind."
Ryuzaki nodded owlishly and carefully stepped across the coat. Light picked up the muddy and ruined thing afterwards.
"Light-kun seems to have confused me with a woman." Ryuzaki said, conversationally.
Light bit his lip. "I did it because you'd have cut your feet to ribbons and then turned that into a reason to call me Kira." He snapped, opening the door to his family home. "Don't even start thinking its because I like you because I assure you, I don't!" he added, cheeks turning slightly pink. Was it a blush or from the warmth inside?
L smiled very faintly to himself and followed the young man inside.