The lock to the front door clicked open once again. Light's eyes flew open immediately, he held his breath in an attempt to remain hidden from the intruder within the darkened room. A creeping fear began to crawl through the brunette's chest as heavy footfalls crossed the living room and entered the kitchen. The kitchen light flicked on and Light's golden eyes widened in both fear and excitement.

A figure that closely resembled L's build, though slightly wider in the shoulders, stood stiffly in the center of the kitchen, rolling his neck before a sad sigh was heard as the stranger lazily pulled a kitchen chair away from the table and dropped into it tiredly.

Light's bare feet silently landed on the cold wooden floor, stealthily lifting himself from the couch. Steady and quiet breaths were taken as he tiptoed towards the lit room. His amber eyes landed on a hunched man holding a piece of paper and a cellphone. A head of disheveled ebony hair fell into place as a hood was removed from the man's head. Light felt his whole body stiffen as his blood ran cold. "L?"

The man jolted from his seat and darted forward towards the back door while shrieking. "Holy fuck!" Deep startled breaths were taken by the opposing man while shooting up an angry stare while clutching at his chest. Light's amber eyes widened when they met a fierce scarlet, which also widened when the raven realized who he was looking at. "Oh shit." Beyond held his hands up and gently waved them towards the brunette while hurriedly speaking. "Hold on. Before you get mad. I can explain."

Light's lower lip quivered slightly as he averted his gaze from the intruder, only to have his eyes drift onto a pile of mail with script like writing on the envelopes. Taking a timid step forward, Light reached his hand out towards the most recently disturbed piece of mail. His voice shook as he meekly questioned. "What are you doing here?" His eyes landed on the medical bill that had elegant cursive writing on it. 'Paid.' His eyes shot up to the raven. "What is all this?"

Beyond nervously dropped his hands and sighed out. "I had hoped to have everything done by the time you got discharged. But, with all the extra shifts I've had to pick up to pay the expenses, I haven't fully finished." Beyond carefully pulled the remaining dining chair out to sit near the back door in case he needed to make a quick escape.

Light shifted his eyes around the kitchen, the windows sealed, the room spotlessly clean, dry foods in the pantry and the burnt out lightbulb above the sink replaced. Light felt a deep pressure in the back of his throat. "Why?"

Releasing a pained expression, Beyond leaned forward and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. "Okay. Just, uh, don't hit me, okay?" Beyond studied Light's movements before narrowing his eyes. "You have to promise! I can't afford to get any injuries right now, I'm so close to finishing paying off your medical bill."

Light shot a surprised face up to the raven who eyed him suspiciously. Light tried to take in the small details of the other's face. A familiar analytical and suspicious stare, familiar movements and the way the light caught on the diamond dermal piercing over Beyond's right cheekbone. "Yeah. I promise."

Looking back down to his wallet sadly, Beyond pulled a worn down picture carefully from the back; Light squinted slightly trying to make out what the inked letters spelled on Beyond's fingers. "L…" He slowly slid the picture across the table towards the weary brunette. "L is… was… my brother." The raven sighed sadly as the picture was gently lifted from the table.

Inspecting the photo Light felt his breath catch in his throat. The picture was of two young teens. Lights recognized the older boy as L wearing the same golden crucifix that was returned to him and a tiny smile. And the other that held a strong resemblance to Beyond sticking his tongue out at the camera. Light looked up from the picture and into Beyond's eyes. "I… I didn't know. How could he keep something like that from me? I feel like I barely knew him at all…" Seeing the two of them next to each other in the same picture, Light felt the pit of his stomach drop upon seeing the resemblances and relating them to the current version of Beyond.

Beyond shrugged and folded his arms. "You either didn't know about me or hated me, L was content with that. He and I didn't always see eye to eye… in fact, it was pretty rare when we did. Especially after our father's death. He hated me and didn't care if you did as well."

"Why did he hate you so much after your dad?"

Beyond glanced outside and uncomfortably shifted in the chair. "I killed him. How do you explain that to someone without sounding crazy or scaring that person off?" Crimson eyes drifted back to the honeyed stare before sarcastically remarking. "Oh, hey, I have a brother, but he killed our dad and maimed our mother and isn't in jail, don't worry, he isn't interested in killing me." Beyond scoffed at the proposed explanation. "That wouldn't make you unbelievably paranoid?"

Light drifted his eyes around the room looking for a potential weapon to defend himself with, if needed, before he'd realized the point Beyond had made. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Light set the picture back down onto the table and slid it back to the other.

Staring at the picture, Beyond stood up from the chair and took a couple steps in the direction of the living room, leaving the picture on the table. "Look, I just came to finish up a few things in the upstairs bathroom, so, I'll do that and leave. Since you're discharged now, I can leave the key behind… if it makes you more comfortable."

Light sighed and dropped his head back onto the chair. "But, why are you doing this?"

Beyond stopped in the doorway and rested his hand on the wooden frame. "Because… if I had finally found someone who could love me and all my broken pieces, I'd hope L would have done the same for them if the situation was reversed."

Light turned to look at the raven but he'd already left the room and was heading up the stairs. The brunette lifted himself from the chair and timidly followed Beyond to the second level and to the bathroom. Light leaned in the doorway and watched Beyond tinker with a new shower head. "What are you doing?"

The raven hissed slightly when his tool slipped from being startled by the brunette. "Uh. This place always had really hard water. So, I bought a water softener and installed it. Unfortunately, the shower heads and sinks were already pretty scaled over, so I just replaced them for a fresh start, they shouldn't lose water pressure as fast anymore." The raven leaned out of the shower and gave a cheeky smile at Light's surprised expression. "He didn't tell you about the house did he?" Light shook his head slowly and Beyond scoffed. "That's low. This is our childhood house, we grew up here. The house was left to him after both of our parents passed. And mom just died this past year… unfortunately, L wasn't far behind her. So, I inherited the house, and figured I'd fix it up before signing the title over to you."

Light choked on his own breath. "What!?" Was all he could manage between coughs.

Beyond stepped out of the shower and reached for his sweatshirt that was left on the sink. Light watched his arm, intricate inked designs coated the pale skin of the raven. "What, what? Which part of that whole mess was confusing? Is it the title thing? I really have no interest in this house and looking over the records of renovation, it seems like you've put a lot of money into the place, it only seemed right you should have it." Slipping the hoodie over his head, he continued. "It'd be kind of a dick move to swipe it out from under you… that and this place doesn't hold the happiest memories for me."

Light rested the palm of his hand over the right side of his forehead, messing the front of his hair upwards. "This is a lot to take in."

"Sorry. Like I said, I meant to have all this shit taken care of and leave the signed off title to the house on the table for you to sign." Beyond bitterly chuckled and continued. "If you would have just stayed asleep another month or so, I could have had most of this wrapped up fully and you would have never had to deal with me. I mean, you don't have to deal with me at all, really… uh. I can go get the deed from my place and bring it over sometime this week."

Light clutched his hair tightly and released a pained groan as his balance started to unsettle itself and he felt his eyes close. Quick movements startled Light into reopening his eyes. He yelped quietly when he realized he was being held up in close proximity to the raven by his arms. "I'm sorry. I'm still not…"

"Don't worry about it. Shit happens… I mean, you just woke up from one hell of a nap." The raven chuckled nervously as he stepped closer to stabilize Light more. "Not funny, sorry. Let me help you to bed. I'll finish up here and leave."

Light startled slightly when an arm wrapped around his waist and he was being led towards the bedroom. "Stay." Light muttered out and gave a sidelong glance at Beyond before closing his eyes tightly and opening them again to look directly at him to shake the resemblance of L away. "You're the only one who can answer my questions, now."

The raven froze momentarily before continuing towards the master bedroom. "Uh. If that's what you want."

Light nodded softly. "I need answers, I feel like the questions will drive me insane."

Beyond bit his lower lip before speaking. "It'd be selfish not to admit I also have some questions. I guess I kind of want to know what type of man my brother became. Even though we didn't always get along, I loved him. In my mind, he never stopped being my brother, even when I stopped being his, in his mind." The raven opened the door and led Light to the side of the bed. "I'll be back in the morning."

"No. Please stay."

Releasing an exasperated scoff. "Yeah? Where? There are three bedrooms in this house and two of them are offices. I don't fancy sleeping on a couch and I am not staying in the basement. I spent enough time down there as a kid." His tone carried a warning air to it.

Light stared at the raven with a horrified expression. "What?"

Chuckling nervously Beyond ruffled the hair on the back of his head. "Ah. Not important. But, I am not staying there."

"Then stay here." Light propped himself up on a couple pillows and turned the bedside lamp on. The room illuminated revealing warm tan walls with a singular accent wall of sage green. Light tucked his feet into the black bedding and flashed a happy smile towards the raven.

Beyond shifted a suspicious stare towards the brunette. "Pretty sure that, six months ago, you hated me and within the last hour I just admitted to murder… Can you understand why I'm a little weirded out?"

Light looked down to his hands before meekly replying. "Yeah. I do. But, it's so quiet here. And, the more I learn about this place, the less I want to be here at all, nonetheless alone." Light lifted his golden eyes and made eye contact with a skeptical crimson stare, putting forth his best effort at a pout.

Beyond groaned and rolled his neck and shook a finger at Light. "You are lucky that you are adorable." Light could feel his face flush at the comment as Beyond audibly smacked his own palm to his face. "When thought bubbles fail, eh?" Removing his hand, Beyond sighed. "Alright, alright. You win. I'll stay tonight, only because it's so late and I have an early shift tomorrow."

Light smiled a bit triumphantly but still felt the heat on his cheeks which only intensified when the bed next to him dipped and a long drawn out sigh was heard and the hoodie removed. Flicking his eyes over in mild curiosity the brunette gasped at the inked display painted on the other's back before breathily speaking. "Wow… that's beautiful."

A tattooed tree of life spread across Beyond's entire back. The top portion is a lively tree with blossoms and a waterfall cascading towards the lower half with "As Above" scrawled along the top of the tree. The lower half connected to the top half by pitch black roots, the upside down tree dead and breaking, the waterfall from the top landing in a blood red pool that lined the outer edges of the lower roots and dropped crimson from the naked branches, and "So Below" scrawled along the bottom.

Glancing over his shoulder at Light's face the raven chuckled. "Thanks. Most of my tattoos are my designs." Feeling a little bashful, Beyond pulled his teeshirt back over his head.

Light leaned in a little to inspect Beyond's arms from a respectful distance. "How many do you have?"

The raven shrugged "I lost count, I kind of just kept drawing and my buddy just kept slapping them on me. I think I lost count around a hundred."

Light leaned in a little closer with wide eyes of interest. "Where are they all?"

Beyond chuckled at the brunette's enthusiasm. "Uh. Kind of everywhere. You can see the arms and hands, but I have them all down my legs, tops of my feet, my back, chest and," Beyond lifted his chin and extended his neck, "on my neck, I even have a couple in my hairline. But, to avoid the cliche, I avoided face tattoos."

Light admired the skeletal dragon that coiled around Beyond's neck. "That's amazing. Didn't they hurt?"

Beyond dropped his chin and folded his right ear forward to reveal a number 27. "Depends on your pain tolerance and placement. I have a really high tolerance, so only a few really hurt." He chuckled. "The dragon hurt like a bitch."

Light took notice how Beyond's face seemed to reflect pain even though he laughed. "What does the 27 mean?"

"Supposedly a new beginning and a spiritual awakening." Crimson eyes drifted towards Light. "It started as a way to cover up scars, by the time they'd all been covered, I was pretty much on my way to being a full fledged deviant. So, I picked up the trade itself and that's how I make my living. You can guess why I'd be considered a skeleton in any family's closet."

Light leaned back on his pillows and smiled briefly. "I think they're cool."

Beyond laughed and rolled to his side to face away from Light. "You're interesting. Shame we couldn't have been friends before all this. Could have had you properly inked up."

"Can we?"

Furrowing his eyebrows in mild confusion, Beyond leaned back to look at Light once again. "Can we do what?"

Light bashfully looked up towards Beyond. "Be friends. I don't think how our relationship started was fair… I unfairly judged you because of my own insecurities and paranoia. But, in the small time we talked about anything other than the house or L, I really enjoyed your company." Light fidgeted with his fingers nervously. "Is that weird? Maybe that's weird of me to ask."

Beyond gave a crooked smirk. "Nah. I don't think that's weird. It's kind of what I wanted. I wanted to have a better relationship with L, so I think, if that would have happened, we would have ended up friends either way." Beyond bit his lip and rolled it between his teeth before speaking again. "I don't think you really unfairly judged me, I mean, it's not like L was very forthcoming about… well, anything."

Light held out his pinky. "Let's be friends, and promise to be honest and transparent with each other." Beyond chuckled and clasped his pinky with Light's and nodded. Light chuckled and kissed his own hand. "You have to seal it."

Beyond blinked a couple of times before crinkling his nose and chuckling before he kissed his own hand. "Never heard that one."

Light sighed happily as he was leaning to turn the light off. "It's a Japanese tradition. It's called Yubikiri. If either of us break the promise we're supposed to cut our pinky off."

Blinking his eyes rapidly, the raven chuckled nervously. "But, what if I fuck up? It'll be hard to tattoo without my dominant hand's pinky. I need it."

Light busted into a healthy laugh. "I wouldn't actually make you cut your finger off, that's barbaric." Light could feel his smile grow. "Hey. Thanks. That's the first time I've laughed in a really long time."

Beyond returned the smile, although, tiredly. "Well. I hope I can make more happen. Before I leave in the morning, I'll leave my cell phone number so you can get a hold of me if you need to, while I'm at work."

Clicking the bedside lamp off Light settled into bed and stared at the ceiling. "Can't I just come with you?"

Beyond tiredly chuckled before answering. "No, I don't think that's a great idea. I'll be back by 2pm, it's my second job… well, I mean if you want me to come back, I can after I stop by my place and pick some things up."

Light smiled quietly. "Yeah. I do. We can even play Twenty Questions. And both start getting some answers. Wait, pick up some things, like you're going to stay here a while?"

Beyond was silent for a moment before hesitantly answering. "I wasn't planning on it, but now I feel like I'd make you sad if I said no."

Light sighed. "You would. But I'd understand if you don't want to… I just want some company that isn't my sister and her husband. I love her, but she's a bit overbearing with the state of my health."

Sighing loudly the raven grumbled out. "Fine. I'll stay. Have you always been this clingy?"

Light chuckled and flipped onto his side, facing the opposite way as Beyond. "Kind of."