Chapter forty-three- Day one: part one.

It was an ungodly hour. And L knew that. That, however, did not stop him from honking his horn at three in the morning. Misa was less than amused to drag herself out of her comfortable bed to meet him.

"Quiet, will you? You'll wake the neighbors..." Misa had no love for the people she was defending, but even they deserved a decent amount of sleep.

He ignored the reprimand and honked the horn once more. "Get in already," he demanded.

She hesitated momentarily, but realized her fear was invalid. She'd been alone with L several times before. She slid inside and buckled up.

He shot her a weird look. She could've sworn he was asking her what took her so long to respond.

"Shut up, you jerk," she hissed only to be interrupted by an involuntary yawn. "It's your fault I'm up at such a sadistic hour, in the first place. And if the Kanagiris' didn't hate me before, they certainly have a reason to now. They have a three month year old, you know! I pity the people if you woke it up... That thing's got lungs of steel."

L was unmoved. "And yet, wasn't it you who was complaining to me not two weeks ago about longing for children?"

"Well, I did, but I-"

"Then what's changed your mind so quickly? If Ryuuzaki gets you pregnant, I doubt you're the type of person who'd abort, so you'd be stuck with it. That being said, I know for a fact that Ryuuzaki's not the type to leave the woman he loves behind, even if he and I share likewise views towards children. Even so, I believe he could love them, give it time."

She scrunched her nose up to show her blatant distaste towards him. "Thanks for the input. But I think you missed the point I was trying to make before you interrupted."

"Enlighten me, then, by all means." His tone was unimpressed and she was not amused.

"Fine! The point I was trying to make was the fact that I still want children and Ryuuzaki doesn't."

L froze on the spot. "How do you know that?" His voice was cold and edgy.

She scoffed at him. "You're kidding, right? It's such a dead giveaway! He's not even trying to get me pregnant, let alone thinking about it. So don't give me any of that crap, 'cause I'm not buying it!"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't aware I was selling you anything. Explain."

Misa kicked the dashboard with her foot. He raised an eyebrow at the action, though he didn't say anything to reprimand her. Yet.

"Don't you cover for him. My husband's a grown man. Or so he says."

"Explain."

She groaned, head hitting the headrest in her exasperation. "Well, if you're not trying to sleep with your wife, there's a few things off. First, you might be gay. That would explain the lack of affection he has at times. He's always so distant, so guarded. Second, you've already noted he shares your dislike of children, therefore implying he wouldn't want to even try to make one. Not even for my sake. And third, maybe he just doesn't love me. I mean, that would explain the coolness between us."

"I wouldn't worry about the first. I know for a fact Ryuuzaki's straight. I can't say in good conscience that the second point is unreasonable: I'm not him. But I know for a fact the third one is incorrect. Ryuuzaki exhibits a strange reaction whenever he's around you, or so I've deduced from our conversations. I'd also say he has his work cut out for him when it comes to you."

Misa's cheeks flared up and she crossed her arms over her chest. "That's hardly a fair assumption. How do you know it's not the other way around?"

This was a reasonable question and L knew it the moment her lips uttered it. He'd play it off easily. "I know it's not because you'd be a handful to anyone, Misa, including myself. There are not many things that can divert my attention so easily, but it's not quite unknown how you do it."

"Ho-How I do it?"

He look away from the road just to look her in the eyes. She let him have his game for a moment before assuming his position.

"Car!"

He drastically flicked back to the road and swerved the wheel to the left hard.

"Just like that," he answered finally.

Misa couldn't be more happier the car ride was over. She'd never once seen such reckless driver, and this only added on to L's crazy factor. He took the term "mad genius" to a whole new level.

Poor Misa didn't even know how much.

She doubled over and vomited just as L stepped calmly out of the car. He took one look at the double-bent girl and frowned. He hadn't been that bad...

Misa slowly returned to her upright position and glared at him before pointing a menacing finger his way. She took a few steps towards him while he stayed apathetically where he was. "Never ever, ever drive me anywhere. Ever. Again."

L ignored her and started making his way towards the headquarters. He stopped when he realized she wasn't behind him. "You're coming, are you not?"

He didn't wait for her reply, instead he pushed past the security with ease. Misa stomped her foot and ran after him.