CHAPTER 38 - SOMETHING'S IN THE AIR

Matt wasn't sure for how long he was standing in the great hall, looking at the back of Mello's frozen silhouette. He left out afternoon classes because he wasn't feeling well, but for some reason, he found himself drawn back to the hall, looking after his… friend?

Is that what we are? The red head was asking himself.

Yes, Matt was sure that that term was still the most fitting to describe them, but for some reason, this friendship suddenly felt more important than before. In fact, Matt wanted to do all he could to push this friendship to the background and make sure that Mello would become only an insignificant part of his life. He was looking forward to leaving Mello out and meeting new people. But lately… lately something has changed.

Mells is getting so… nice and smells so good. Matt stopped at the thought and looked at the back of the boy's head. He didn't have the guts to go to the front because Mello was able to see what was in front of him.

I mean… he was always nice in the face but… now he is somehow more… or I don't know. Matt was thinking to himself, while standing guard next to the ice statue. He had really no idea what caused the change but it was confusing him a great deal. He was supposed to show Mello he wasn't the only macho in their grade, not to start falling under Mello's personality spell. The spell that everyone seemed to be under from the first grade, but he somehow failed to see. Until now.

Why the hell is this happening? Why now? Is he going to present? Is he going to be an alpha? Matt still continued his inner dialogue and without much thinking reached out to touch Mello's frozen hand.

The contact with an ice cold skin drew Matt back to reality.

"Shit, he's so cold…" he whispered and started slowly caressing the skin on Mello's hand.

But his skin feels so soft… he thought and fixed his eyes on the blonde's fingers. He never really noticed before but Mello had quite small hands. Delicate and even. He always thought that Mello had bigger hands than him. He was taller after all. He moved his own hand a little more to try to take Mello's hand into his own and he was surprised to find out that their hands fit together perfectly.

Then suddenly the hand in his hand moved.

Matt's eyes widened and he turned his head up just in time to see the ice had melted and Mello was gonna fall to the ground. He quickly strengthened his grip on Mello's hand and pulled towards himself. The frozen and exhausted boy didn't even get a chance to fall, when he was pulled back and turned face to face with Matt. The ginger head's force practically caused them to collide with each other and Mello ended up in his arms. Matt held him tightly, because he felt that Mello was unstable on his feet. Before he knew it, he had Mello's face buried in his neck and he was violently trembling.

Mello had a hard time keeping his eyes open. Every single bone in his body was frozen even when he was unspelled and the only thing he was able to perceive was the warmth that was coming out of the body against him. He knew in whose arms he was, but he didn't have any strength left to think about how he ended up there.

"Cold…" he whispered against Matt's shoulder and closed his eyes when he felt his platonic love pulled him even harder towards himself. As if Mello's body felt it didn't need to support itself anymore his knees gave away under him and he slid a bit lower in Matt's arms. But the boy held him tightly.

"Mello?!" He heard the panic in the other boy's voice and he forced his eyes to open. He blinked a few times, struggling to keep his eyelids open. He found himself looking up at Matt's face. The boy was looking at him with a panicked expression. But there was also something else there. Something that Mello had hoped to see for years. He wanted to laugh, he was finally in Matt's arms and he was almost unable to move.

Matt was looking down at the blond boy. He was like a doll in his arms. Frozen and at the edge of unconsciousness. Matt knew he should quickly cast a warming spell and get Mello to the infirmary, but he felt paralyzed by the feeling of Mello's body against his. Mello was so vulnerable at the moment that it woke up a strong urge to protect him. And the way the blond was looking at him… his purple lips slightly parted, eyes misty and colour slowly coming back to his cheeks… There was something inviting about the sight.

Matt found himself fixing his eyes at Mello's purple lips. He wanted to warm them up, he wanted to move forward and…

Mello's eyes suddenly rolled back and he went completely limp.

L didn't exactly remember falling asleep. But he must have had, otherwise he wouldn't be opening his eyes now, feeling the sharp warmth of the setting sun. He blinked a few times, his sleepy eyes refusing to cooperate, so he closed them again. He was still too tired and too comfy in his chair and a warm blanket to move. But then he heard the clinking of something, that his brain sorted as a porcelain tea set.

Mum loves her tea in porcelain cups… his brain offered sleepily and he was ready to fall back into slumber but within a moment that thought made him realise, he was not home. Not in his chair.

L opened his eyes abruptly and found himself face to face with Soichiro Yagami. The older man sat opposite him, in the place his wife sat a few hours ago and didn't seem to pay him any attention. He was reading what seemed like an evening copy of The Daily Prophet, while sipping his tea.

"Did you sleep well?" The man suddenly asked, letting L know he was awake.

L's mouth ran dry and he swallowed hard. He had never been nervous in the presence of Soichiro Yagami before. But… he was also never before accused of fucking his son.

L cleared his throat and narrowed a little: "Yes, quite well, thank you." He was trying to keep his cool but knew that Soichiro wasn't buying it. He only looked at him through his glasses the same way Watari did when he wanted to scold him for something. L really wished he knew what the social code was in a situation like this. Technically, he was innocent so he had nothing to worry about. But explaining this, as he learnt, needed a sensitive approach and he had the sensitivity of a dead fish.

"Your wife has been… very attentive to me. You are a lucky man." L offered, trying to start a conversation.

The older man raised an eyebrow: "Yes… I am aware of that."

Then, they fell silent and the atmosphere between them grew thicker with every second. L knew that Soichiro Yagami was a calm, conciliatory man, but the hard line that his lips created in that moment was not the omen of anything good. L needed to get over this quickly and preferably without the same mistakes he had done with his wife. So saying that Light was sexy was out of question.

"Listen, Yagami-san… about the article…"

The man raised up his hand in the same manner as his wife did before and L immediately knew to shut up.

"It is not true, I know." He said calmly.

L opened his mouth, not sure how to react: "Oh…" was the only thing that left his mouth.

The older man finally put the newspaper aside and leaned forward, with his elbows against his legs: "But I would like you to make sure Light's name will never be mentioned and he will not be traumatised anyhow."

L brought his thumb to his lower lip and gave it a thought. He seriously hadn't hoped that he could get out of this situation so easily: "I can hardly promise the latter but… I will do my best." He said, getting a bit more sure of himself and gave Mr. Yagami one of his cocky smiles.

The older man did not react anyhow to that and continued: "Good… Now that this is settled we will forget about this matter and continue our professional relationship as we did until now."

"I am happy to…" L started lightheartedly, but was immediately cut off:

"But let me say this: If you ever... ever touch my son, I will make sure you'll end up in Azkaban for the rest of your life. Do I make myself clear?"

L's eyes widened and he swallowed hard: "Perfectly clear."

"Good." The older man said and took the newspaper back in his hands. He wanted to say something more but he was suddenly cut off by the voice of madam Yagami, who just came out of the kitchen:

"SOICHIRO!" her voice was an octave higher than usual.

"What?! He is not good enough for Light!" Her husband spat and watched as his wife came to L with fresh bandages. She put everything on the table in a mad gesture and said:

"In your eyes no one will EVER be good enough for Light!" She told him with a hard expression and then turned towards L with a sweet smile:

"Let me change your bandages one more time, dear."

L nodded nervously and while the lady started working on his injury he found himself once again under the watchful eyes of Mr. Yagami. His wife was not facing the man at all, but that didn't prevent her from speaking to her husband:

"You really are a little too overprotective, Soichiro. You should be glad that Light finally found … a friend… who can match him on both mental and magical level… I really can't imagine who would you like to see next to our son."

Soichiro rolled his eyes, without madam Yagami seeing it and he was about to say something to oppose her. L decided to take an opportunity to enter the discussion, before the lady would make her husband actually think about it:

"Your husband is right, Yagami-san. I am not good enough for Light." Eyes of both Yagami's were suddenly on his face: "...Actually I can hardly imagine someone being worthy of him. Yagami-san is right to worry. Your son is too precious to be wed off to just anyone. And he definitely deserves better than me."

Madame Yagami's eyes soften: "You are too hard on yourself…"

L only shook his head: "No, madam, I am deadly serious. I am a creature of the dark, operating in the shadows, guarding my identity but facing hundreds of enemies anyhow. I would never be able to give him what he deserves. He should be out in the daylight, shining, showing his achievements, side by side with someone who is not followed by scandals and ghosts from the past. He deserves better than that."

Both of the Yagami's were silent for a moment. Soichiro was hyper aware of what L was talking about. Especially after his discussion with Watari. He knew the boy never had it easy, but his usual behaviour at work never showed any signs that L would think so low of himself. Soichiro was surprised by that. And if the discussion was about anyone else's son, he would put a hand on L's shoulder and tell him that he is stupid and that he would be a great match for any omega. But… this was about Light. So though Soichiro was not glad about what he was about to say, it was necessary:

"Well, I am glad we are thinking the same thing." He said and instantly felt guilty about it. But no pain flashed inside L's eyes at the reaction, so L probably didn't take it personally.

"Soic…" the lady started again but her husband didn't let her to even finish his name: "No Sachiko, you are not gonna play a matchmaker here. L is Light's professor and that's where it ends. Now if you finished with those bandages, would you be so kind and make us tea? We have something more important to discuss."

The lady shot her husband a deadly glare, but obeyed. L was actually glad that Mr. Yagami handled the situation like this. The less talk of him and Light, the better.

When the lady disappeared behind the corner, his eyes met Soichiro's. The man just silently handed him the Daily Prophet with words: "A lot has happened, since you've been gone."

Light was nervously sitting by the table in the great hall, chewing on his dinner. He was looking towards the teacher's table every other minute, waiting for the headmaster to come to him and give him a punishment for freeing Mello. But nothing was happening. It almost seemed like the headmaster didn't notice at all.

Misa suddenly appeared and sat down next to him: "I still can't believe you did that…" she whispered with a giggle.

Light rolled his eyes: "That makes two of us… how is he?"

After he unspelled Mello, he and Misa were in shock for quite a while. They only reacted to what was happening when they heard Matt calling for help a few seconds later. Mello was unconscious in the other boy's arms and they helped to get him to the infirmary. Light left soon, but Misa stayed behind, only to return now for the dinner.

"He will be fine… he just has a really bad cold." She said and started putting some boiled vegetables on her plate.

"That's good to hear…" Light nodded and glanced at the headmaster again. The man was reading some book while gnawing on a chicken leg. He was completely ignorant to everything around. Light turned towards Misa again: "Do you think… it is possible that he… just forgot?"

Misa looked from her plate to the headmaster. He seemed oblivious about everything and quite disgusting with a grease running down his chin.

"I don't even dare to guess…" she said and met Light's eyes. For a moment they had completely stoic faces before they both burst out laughing. A few people around shot them questioning looks but Light and Misa paid them no mind. Even when Light was initially a bit scared of the consequences of what he's done, the good mood wasn't leaving him. It felt good.

"Still… This was a very Light thing to do!" Misa teased and Light smirked: "Knight Light… always at your service." he said and Misa laughed again. But their laugh was interrupted by a flock of owls bringing in the evening edition of The Daily Prophet.

When Light's copy landed on the table in front of him he let out a long sigh: "Please, not again."

Misa laughed at that and took the newspaper into her hands: "Let me take a look first."

She unwrapped the roll and scanned the front page with her eyes. Light watched as the laughter died on her face and she turned pale.

Light didn't wait for anything and leaned closer to look into the Prophet as well. The headline read:

"DOUBLE MURDER ON HALLOWEEN'S NIGHT. PAIR OF WIZARDS KILLED BY AN UNKNOWN CURSE."

Light's eyes widened. He immediately knew that this had something to do with the Kira case and with his father's presence at school. This was what he wanted to talk about with Lawliet. What he was telling about to professor Wammy.

Light quickly started reading the article:

'A husband and a wife, originally from France, were found dead in their house in South Hampshire on Monday morning. Their relative, with whom they should have met on Sunday, was unable to contact them and therefore decided to check out on the pair. When he got to the house it was unfortunately too late to help them. 'I found my cousin lying on the floor in the entrance hall. I immediately called for help, but I knew it was too late for him. I tried to find his wife and I found her lying in her bed. She was dead as well.' The relative who discovered the pair, told the Prophet. He also mentioned that the woman didn't seem to show any signs of the fight, unlike her husband. But her face was contorted with pain. 'I will never forget the sight.' said the witness: 'It was like they both saw something before dying. Something terrible.'

The Department of Law enforcement and the Auror's office did not comment on this description and only gave the media brief information. According to chief investigator Yagami, the pair was murdered the 31th of October, between 10 PM and midnight by an unknown culprit. The rest of the information from the crime scene stays classified. However, The Daily Prophet was able to find out that the investigators were unable to find any traces leading towards the culprit and the deadly curse remains unknown as well.

The authorities urge the wizarding folk to remain calm. They are sure to capture the culprit soon. But how they will do it without any witnesses and evidence is a mystery to our redaction.'

"Merlin, that's terrible…" Light said, just to say something, especially when Misa hadn't reacted to the news anyhow. Her eyes were just fixed on the article and her breath seemed shallow. She was probably in shock. Light touched her shoulder lightly: "Misa, are you alright?"

The girl flinched and looked at him. Her eyes seemed suddenly different. Sad to the point of emptiness. It was terrifying.

"Misa?"

She came back to herself and forced a smile: "Yes, yes, truly terrible… I hope they will find the murderer soon." She answered and put the newspaper down. For a moment she was looking into her plate before standing up: "I have to go, I forgot about something…"

Light frowned even deeper. It was obvious she was lying.

"You haven't finished eating…" he wanted to say but she was already rushing away.

Light was left alone, only looking at her receding figure. When she was away from the hall, he turned his eyes back to the article.

Is there anything I am missing? Why did it throw her off so much?

L read the article and his brain immediately went into overdrive. Another murdered pair. The same horrified expressions. One of them fighting, one of them dying unknowingly. Exactly the same scenario as before. L suddenly wondered if they were Animagi as well.

But if they were, why wouldn't the League tell me. Didn't they know? He was asking himself.

"The cousin who found them is a journalist working for 'Le Cri de la Gargouille' magazine in Paris. We wouldn't have been able to silence him without letting him know there is something bigger going on." Yagami senior explained how this murder case ended up in the Prophet, without L asking. But L skipped the information completely. It was out and there was nothing he could do about it. The article hasn't said that much anyway.

"Any leads?"

Soichiro shook his head: "It was completely clean as always. It seemed that the culprit attacked immediately after the victim opened the door. The man died on the spot and his wife died in her bed. She must have woken up however… judging by the expression."

L started playing with his lower lip: "Yes… we already had the suspicion that the mate is aware of the other one dying before dying themselves…"

"But there was nothing else we could go after." Soichiro continued: "No one saw anything suspicious. No flashes of light from the house. No unknown people visiting the area. The pair didn't seem to have any enemies. There is nothing that would bind them to the rest of the victims… they were not even Hogwarts absolvents this time."

L narrowed: "They weren't?!"

"No L… they were immigrants from the south of France. Both of them went to Beauxbatons."

"Mmm…" L hummed and chewed on his thumb: "And the time of their death? Is it as you said in The Prophet?"

Mr. Yagami nodded.

L chuckled and looked at the older man, who was looking at him with a baffled expression. Soichiro already knew that L's mind was always a few steps forward, but it didn't mean that it was comfortable. Especially, when the younger man was keeping most of his thoughts to himself until he felt he could gain something by revealing them. This seemed to be the same kind of situation. L obviously knew something but wasn't going to share.

"I have to get back to Hogwarts." L suddenly said and their eyes met.

"I can get you there within two hours." Soichiro answered matter of factly.

"Good… let's not waste any more time. I want to see the materials from the crime scene and talk to the task force as soon as possible." L said and stood up abruptly. Pain suddenly shot through his leg and he cursed under his breath.

"Are you alright, L?" Soichiro quickly stood up as well and helped the younger man to catch his balance.

"Yes… it's alright, I just forgot about the damn injury…" The younger man said angrily and quickly conjured up a walking stick. When he was stable on his feet Soichiro let go of him and said:

"Alright… I will go to prepare… the transportation. Please meet me out of the house in five minutes. And say goodbye to my wife. She seems… fond of you."

"Yagami-san…" L spoke up as soon as he tottered into the kitchen, not to startle the woman. She quickly turned around and her face filled with worries:

"Oh dear, you shouldn't be walking yet…" she said and came closer to offer him a chair. But L only shook his head: "Thank you, madam, but the work is calling. I have to leave."

She looked surprised for a moment, but that expression quickly changed into understanding: "I was hoping we would have dinner together, but I guess that will have to wait for another time."

L still had a hard time to understand why she was so nice to him. She even opposed her husband because of him. It didn't make any sense.

"I am really sorry to disappoint you but there is a case and…" L started, not really understanding why he was explaining himself. Luckily she cut him off mercily:

"It's alright… you don't need to explain." She said and then, as if she just remembered something, started looking through the pile of letters on the cupboard.

"But can you do something for me?"

"Mmm… sure?" L looked surprised.

She took one of the envelopes and handled it to L: "Can you give this to Light, please? It came this morning with an owl. The omegan rights movement doesn't seem to remember that he is a student and always sends his post here, instead of Hogwarts."

L took the envelope and wanted to say that he would give the letter to Light but the words suddenly died on his lips when he noticed the address of the sender:

Lawliet Wand Corporation

44 Acanthia Way

London

"Uhm… yes, of course I will give it to him." He said in the end but his mind was completely blank. He couldn't imagine what his family's company had to do with the Movement for omegan rights.

"Thank you, dear." The lady said and for a moment there was silence between them. L was about to open his mouth, to thank her for her hospitality, when she suddenly put both hands on his shoulders. That startled him a little. L looked down into her eyes, she was much smaller than him and yet, the intensity of her gaze made him feel like they were both the same height. Then she spoke up:

"I know there is no way of keeping you two apart."

A pause.

"But… at least try to wait until Light turns 18, alright?"

L frowned at her, momentarily puzzled by what she said and when he realised his eyes went impossibly wide. He wanted to say something but madame Yagami cut him off by kissing his cheek:

"Take care. Of both of you." She said and left the kitchen without another word.

L stayed on the spot, frozen as a statue. His brain was trying to reprocess over and over again what he had just heard.

Wait… did I just… did I just get a permission to… fuck Light?!

Muhehe… this chapter was fun to write… so much is going on. What scene was your favourite? Let me know and don't forget to rate the amazing art Nisawky made for this story. Do you like it? Is Light in the portrait as you imagined him? Would you like to see more of Auror's curse illustrations?