Author's Note: As V would say, 'this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose'—this chapter got wordier than the rest before I realized I had to end it. I don't know why, really, the plot bunnies just started to multiply in front of me and I couldn't stop typing the scenes out. Does the length of it bother anyone? If anyone gives an affirmative, I'll try to cull the bunnies' birth-rate next time around. Aaanyways, back to our scheduled programming, people. As always, conspiracy theories welcome (and even any comment to inform me you're reading. Really. Reviews are the only payment of the fanfiction writer).

'-

Starters to a Main Course

Watari was on his case the moment he walked into his room.

"You look happy, Ryuuzaki-san. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I do?"

He had walked in two seconds after he opened the door and let it swung open on its own slowly—no faster or slower than he usually did. He wasn't grinning like an ass, of jumping in joy or whatever activity that people associate with extreme happiness. He moved leisurely with the same methodical care that most people mistook for laziness and he was sure—

"Yes, you look happy. Now, was there something you need to prepare for?" Watari cut through his thoughts.

What did he need to prepare for, anyway? Was there something he needed to prepare for?

"Nothing?"

Watari did a most careful sigh. "You're home already when you're usually still with Light-chan at this hour"

Ah, so that was how he knew. L shrugged and dropped himself bodily on a high-backed chair, pulling the chocolate truffles on the small table next to it to his lap.

"This is Misa's first time returning after Light's change" he said.

"So she is spending time with Misa-chan?"

"Until dinner, at least. Her family is intent on having a family dinner," he said, and then added as an afterthought. "And I think I was invited indirectly"

Watari moved with the speed one would not even expect from a man half his age, stopping right in front of L, a hand grasping his collar already.

"Then we'd best be prepared, then"

"I'm not going to a salon" L was stubbornly clinging to his chocolates.

"No salon would want to accept you anymore after that incident with the cream bath machine in one of those hip and new places when we first arrived in Japan" Watari said with a sigh. "I'd prepare you even if I have to dunk you myself in a bathtub to do so"

"I refuse to be manhandled" L said, just as calm. He twisted himself out of Watari's grasp and easily avoided the second, third and fourth effort the older man made to catch him. He even jumped out of the couch with a level of ease and flexibility that would make an orang-utan proud, rolling on the floor once. He was always securing his stash of sweet with his body and was now perching at the top of a couch on the other end of the room. In fact, it was not unlike a giant simian warily gazing down from a skyscraper, if one knew how to read his carefully-blank face.

"Ryuuzaki-san. As much as I respect you, there are certain suggested guidelines of propriety that I will not bend even for you. If you are determined to show your worst side to Yagami-san's family tonight, then I suggest you to use the bicycle altogether and go there on your own time, on your own terms; I won't drive you and I will not interfere at all then. If you decide that a certain amount of sacrifice is worth it for Light-chan, I will be in my room waiting for to assist you"

"But she's Kira, Watari" he said, confused.

He was really too lazy to go out alone, but he knew he would have to come or Light-chan would find an excuse to throw a tantrum tomorrow; and the whole investigation team would verily be sympathetic with her flight and lay all the blame on him. He could see it already. There's a 73% probability that that was going to happen.

The other 27% was the chance of him dying of a heart attack as Light-chan decided finally that she has had enough of him... hmm. Should he tempt fate so that the team has sure-fire evidence that she is Kira? He bit his thumb, the irony of the situation only becoming apparent now.

Why is the fate of the world suddenly hanging on the results of one dinner party?

Watari shook his head. "She's still a lady that should be accorded some respect. Knowing Light-chan, she will certainly dress nicely and I will not have you throwing that in her face"

"He never cared how I dress before"

"It doesn't mean she wouldn't start caring now"

He stared at Watari for some time, unsure at how to treat this side of his guardian he had never seen before. Why is he suddenly refusing the arguments of logic? If Light ever judged him on how he looked, there was a great deal of activities they wouldn't be doing at all—he was sure he wasn't stupid in that sense. Hell, he wouldn't even care if Light-chan was to show up wearing her usual ensemble of shirt and slacks, or even a sack.

"Ryuuzaki-san" Watari said again, "As much as you...like Light-chan, I'm sure Misa-chan believes that she likes her far more than you. If she is home already, then you'll know that she wouldn't want to be left out at all and would go too. If Misa-chan's going, then I can be sure she would certainly not be coming with a bathrobe or pyjamas and you will look the worse in comparison"

He disagreed with Watari's argument. He'd always look worse compared to Misa-chan, considering that he didn't have her kind of figure at all, or the pouty lips—he certainly can't pull of all those dresses the way Misa-chan could. L pulled on the fabric of his white sweatshirt and observed it; 70% cotton, 20% polyester and 10% elastene, he analysed.

"This isn't pyjamas, Watari" his voice was reproachful.

"You sleep in them. They're pyjamas, Ryuuzaki-san"

L shrugged and threw another truffle into his mouth. Watari was holding back a very transparent urge to cover his face with his hands in despair and groan. His training as a gentleman's gentleman managed to win out and left a very strained smile on his face instead.

"At this rate Ryuuzaki-san, I'm sure Yagami-san is going to kill you before Kira does"

'-

When Matsuda pressed the button to stop recording, he was as red as a tomato and as mute as one. Mogi had pushed his current workload aside and was emptying the contents of a tub of popcorn into his stomach.

"You know, this is more interesting than daytime soap opera" Mogi said.

"Yagami-san's going to kill me..." Matsuda whined, once he had taken control of his senses and realized what they both had just witnessed.

"No he's not. Not unless you mail it to him directly, and why would you want to do that?"

"Because he'll know?"

"He's a good policeman, not an omniscient God" his co-worker clarified. The silence hung between them for a while, and they had that feeling where they knew they were at an intersection of history, where taking a different path would mean very different results.

"So..." Matsuda started.

"So..."

"Do you think it has potential?"

"As long as you write the script down and not send the video to any TV stations, you'd be fine. In my opinion, you could even get Hideki Ryuga to play in it"

Matsuda laughed. "As who, L? Wow, talk about coming full circle"

'-

Amane Misa believed with all her heart that the intersection of history that she was standing at lies in her choice between the black with white accents dress, or the black and pink with red trimmings. It was obvious to anyone who might be an observer in her own room. She hadn't even managed to take a bath in her nervousness. Both dresses were laid on her bed, both of them gothic-lolita in a way that was definitely more lolita than gothic. Humbert Humbert would be very pleased with either of her choice.

"How do I look pretty without being desperate? Is the pink going to make it obvious?" she mused aloud. "Of course not. It would be if I picked red, and I didn't. Still, is the pink a good idea? Oh dammit, I really need someone else right now—"

"I think the purple one that you wore on the DoCoMo cellphone advertisement would fit you better"

Misa screamed on top of her lungs again at the intruding voice. The next thing she did was bring her bag down on L's head like a jackhammer.

"Why are you in my room? Do you want Misa-misa to die of a heart attack?"

L didn't move from his spot by the wall, he merely shoved the bag aside and he act like the lump that seemed to be forming on his head even hurt the slightest.

"You seem to need some help" he said.

"I don't need any help, not from you at any rate!" She was going to snap at him more when she realized that he didn't wear his usual ensemble of white and jeans. He was wearing a proper shirt, for one, even if it was untucked. Despite his change from jeans, the hem of his trousers seems to be long enough for him to step on and not quite normal either. And there was that coat he was wearing, of what kind of cut she couldn't even begin to identify, because it followed his form nicely even if he was moving in that slouching way of his. No unnecessary creases or folds.

They must have bribed the tailor a fortune to even made such an odd coat, she thought, imagining proper old men in Savile Row establishments despairing of ever getting a decent measurement from their client. Watari would be at the back with his infinite patience, discreetly adding more zeroes to the cheque he was prepared to hand over and slipping it to the cashier to be accepted.

Misa would've laughed at the thought if she hadn't just noticed at that moment that L was opening and browsing through her wardrobe with casual abandon, tossing some things out carelessly, even. Like the green bra that was now on the floor along with a half-cup crème coloured companion.

"Ryuzakiiiiiiiiiiii!"

'-

It was thanks to his reflexes that her right hook only met his shoulder, instead of his left jaw as she had intended, but Amane Misa could pack a surprising amount of punch for someone who looked so small. Nothing L couldn't handle, of course, but it was a surprise nonetheless.

"Here"

He shoved the purple dress under her nose. Of course, it wasn't as if he needed to use the dress as some sort of shield between him and the too-excitable blonde in front of him. No, really, not at all. They just need to get this done quickly so neither of them would be late. Misa stared at the dress and her eyes widened. L made sure that his feet were nimble enough to jump out of the way in case she thought that a repeat of their scuffle was necessary.

"How did you..." Misa looked up at him, and it wasn't anger that was there. "You actually remembered one of the dresses Misa wore, Ryuuzaki?"

He couldn't place the tone of her voice at all. Was she surprised? He was the world's number one detective; of course he had a good memory. Was that...L shook his head to himself. He really couldn't read what she was thinking, and spurious speculation never did anyone any good.

"It's one of the nicest dresses you ever wore" he said flatly.

She cocked her head to the side, hands folded in front of her chest. "What if you're mistaken? This might be the one for that new year shot for Baby's catalogue. It was purple too, you know. It was done at around the same time as well"

Was she testing him?

"Of course not. That was two months before the DoCoMo shot and it was not even of a similar colour Misa-chan" he said with a definitive shake of his head, firm in his authority, "Besides, that was closer to lavender with silver trim. Black is rarely Baby's signature colour for their collection"

Of course, he would really be damned if she asked him why a world-renowned detective feel the need to familiarize himself with all the catalogues from major gothic-lolita fashion establishments. Research, of course, but some people cannot appreciate the sacrifices one must make to ensure the establishment of justice.

"This might as well be the one I did for the perfume—" Misa started.

"That one had more black and the theme is more velvet than satin" he replied just as quickly. "You're not about to make such a basic mistake over such a sartorial topic, are you, Misa-chan? That would be uncommonly careless of you and a big disappointment for all those brands that chose you because they believe you're going to be a fashion icon in the future"

Misa's eyes widened again, and there was that surprise that was not purely surprise that he couldn't name. Was it... awe?

'-

What does one do when one's boyfriend-turn-girlfriend barely gives one enough attention to live on, but her idle maybe-boyfriend, whom she's definitely cheating on you with, actually cares a lot about you more than he looks? What if he actually notices you more than she does?

If she was any more surprised, Amane Misa would probably break her brain.

Ironically, somewhere deep inside her brain she had probably realized that Light wasn't going to see her as more than a very useful pawn, and that was the only reason her brain isn't broken yet.

Right now she refused to treat that pang of pain and warning from inside her as just another heartache. She was used to it already; staying with Light had taught her that. Ryuuzaki looked like he dearly wanted to bolt, if only he wasn't too curious for his own good as to what she was going to do next.

"It might be a coincidence..." she said, keeping her voice light and flippant as if she could care less whether he got it right or not. Ryuuzaki's brows twitched in what she labelled as his 'feeling quite inconvenienced' expression.

"Wait" He pushed the dress towards her and she was too surprised to do anything but accept it.

Ryuuzaki turned back to the wardrobe and started rummaging again. The first thing he pulled out and unrolled was a pair of stockings, black and edged with lace and definitely matching the purple dress. The next was a violet bustier. The last was...

Panties. He dropped his new acquisitions on top of the dress in her arms. Misa blushed crimson. Ryuuzaki did not seem to take note of that as he turned nonchalantly to her.

"Do you know that your underwear was visible when the wind from the fan came from the right of the screen? Only for about 1.5 seconds, of course, but it was enough to—"

Misa's voice must have reached record decibels.

"Ryuuzaki you Pervert!"

'-

She pushed him out of her room in record time. Just before she slammed the door on him, he reminded her that her bathtub would probably be full now and she would be well-advised to follow his suggestion and close the tap. The door paused with an inch of open space between them. Misa's voice was confused.

"Bathtub?"

"You left the tap on to fill it and I'm sure it's overflowing for some time now. The water meter for your room was how I know you're taking too long"

Misa only nodded dumbly as she closed the door and locked it, still half in thought. She did go to the bathroom and closed the tap to her overflowing tub. She took a bath, of course, complete with essential oils and scrubs and whatnot. When she walked out in towel, however, she picked up the clothes Ryuuzaki had shoved to her without a second thought.

'-

The gods must hate her, Misa decided, facing a very reasonable Ryuuzaki who had been ignoring all her shouts and tantrums as if they were an acceptable part of conversation. She was quite near to tears herself if a steely part of her didn't start reprimanding the dramatist side and said that crying was going to ruin her makeup and she didn't have that much time to fix it again—and that she wouldn't want Light-kun to ever see her in a mess, right?

"Of course you're going with us, Misa-chan. I don't think you'd want to walk all the way to Light-chan's house on foot, do you? Not that we can't get the appropriate security to guard you even then"

"It's just..."

He was staring at her with that patient blank look that was getting to be as annoying as it was familiar. Her anger deflated and Misa simply exhaled a long breath. It was apparent that this wasn't a battle she was going to win. Watari stood accompanied with his own silence as usual, at the door at end of the lobby and Misa could guess that the car was probably just outside. She stalked across the room with determination, pretending not to see L who moved forward in front of her with the speed and silence of a large cat. She clenched her jaw all the way to the car and ignored the door that L held open for her. The petite blonde purposefully went around to the other side to get in from there.

There is just something very wrong in going to a dinner at your lover's house with her other lover.

Misa's sensibilities could not help but feel very prickled at the prospect.

"Just ignore me, Ryuuzaki" she said, in that dramatic sort of half-whisper that nonetheless can carry any gossip far to the rafters, "I'm sure I'm just the excess baggage here"

Then she turned to the window and stared steadfastly out as the sleek black car started moving. If Ryuuzaki saw her glassy eyes, even someone as dense as him would realize that it was no longer an act. Ten seconds later she heard him reply.

"You're not excess baggage, Misa" It was not emphatic in any way, but there was something firm in the way he stated it like it was as solid as any fact.

She snorted, completely not cute at all, and she couldn't care less. Misa bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. She tried not to think about anything at all. I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I know that Light-kun's mother actually told Light-kun that she wanted to see him, but I really am not going to cry... She didn't even say to herself how it was sort of pathetic that the only thing that made her feel better was Ryuuzaki's words. She didn't dare. There were a hundred things she'd rather not think about right now.

"If you don't want to go, we can go back" Ryuuzaki said casually.

"I want to go!" She snapped, glaring at him.

"You seem to be in a foul mood, though"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's because I'm going with you"

Ryuuzaki stared at her for some time, with black unblinking eyes that was starting to creep her out slowly. Before she could start shouting at him, he turned away at the driver's compartment.

"Watari, drop me off here"

Misa could feel the car slow down and move aside, "What are you doing?"

"Walking" he said with the same careless indifference that she now knew to be just his surface. She still couldn't say that she knew what lay below it though. "So you can go ahead and arrive first"

It took a moment for her to process that information and another for the override signal that put all of Light-kun's needs first to slam into action.

"Oh no you don't" she hissed, gripping his wrist with a strength she didn't know she had. The blonde model didn't care how she looked right now and if she was making him question her sanity. "Light-kun will definitely kill you if you screw this up. How could you even think of disappointing her in front of her parents? What kind of guy are you?"

'-

That was...surprising, L thought as he watched Misa-chan build up a rant. He ignored the iron grip she kept at his arm, completely taken by the transformation instead. The gloominess that had been hanging over her head had even disappeared to be completely replaced by righteous anger. She said to Watari that they don't need to stop here, and if there was someplace they actually need to drop by it would be a florist because genius here (Misa used the word like an insult and he felt the vaguest obligation to be offended by it), forgot to even get a bouquet of flowers.

"And chocolate! How on earth did he forget the chocolate? Misa-misa knows that he eats them everyday! Why can't he at least get a box of chocolate from his stash?"

Watari was the one who replied for him. "Forgive Master Ryuuzaki, Misa-chan, he really doesn't have a lot of experience with these kinds of things"

Was it just his imagination, or did Watari sound amused?

"That doesn't excuse him from not trying at all!" she fumed.

"I'm still here, you know" L cleared his throat to draw attention from their conversation. From the way she glared at him, Misa-chan seemed to take his presence as an affront.

"Then you better pay attention and memorize all the places we're going to drop by because Misa-misa is not going to help you twice! In fact, it Misa-misa ever hears Light-kun complain about tonight, Misa-misa is going to gouge Ryuuzaki's eyes out with a dried-out mascara brush and it will not be pretty, Ryuuzaki"

"Oh"

"Is that all you can say?"

L winced, but it was probably more from the volume of her shriek than the weight of the model's slim frame; she was very close to him that she might as well be straddling him.

Apart from still not succeeding in catching a serial killer who believed herself to be God, L thought that his life was perfect as it is.

'-

Author's End Note: Comments?