Even though I'm supposed to be working on my longer fic, for some reason the desire to write these little one-shots keep distracting me. Ah well.
More semi-AU Light being chained to L even though he has his memories. So tempting, eh?
I think this one won't be nearly as fluffy as my little two-shot, but you never know. It will have more citrus, though.
It's probably going to be another one that switches between L's and Light's POV. It's hard, but more fun.
The movie Catch Me If You Can is real, and based off a true story. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. I was hooked after the first few minutes.
L:
Recapping the day, I'd say it's been all in all very odd.
I stare rather blankly at the computer screen in front of me, my body folded into its usual position. People may not believe that sitting with my knees tucked into my chest helps me think, and maybe it doesn't directly, but it's a habit.
There has been little new information about Kira, and it looks like we might have a short rest before he pops back up. That in itself isn't very unusual, though.
I glance over at Light, who is looking about as listless as I feel. He has one elbow propped up on the desk and is resting his cheek on the heel of his hand, gazing at his screen with about as bored an expression that any human can have.
Even if he looks bored out of his wits, he's still very cute. How does he manage it? I blink a few times, shaking those thoughts from my mind. There I go again! If I wasn't mostly convinced that he wasn't trying to make me fall for him, I'd say that Light is intentionally making me become infatuated to distract me from the case, or to make me slip up.
"Ryuzaki," Light says, breaking the heavy silence of the mostly empty room. "My brain is about to implode here, so would you deign to leave the case alone for a few hours and let me sleep?"
"Sleep is for the weak-willed, Light-kun," I begin, still looking at my screen like I'm actually paying attention to it. "But if you insist, we can retire." I've long since realized that trying to argue gets us nowhere. Light is very stubborn. He's also adorable when he's argumentative.
With the computers switched off, we head toward the bedroom that makes up part of this suite. I walk with my usual slouching posture, one hand in my pocket while the other is pressing my thumb against my bottom lip. If I stood up straight I would be almost as tall as Light, though I will always be scrawny. The others marvel at the fact that I eat so many sweets and yet never gain weight. Truthfully I don't know either.
As Light settles down to sleep he nods curtly and turns over, pulling the covers up. I remain sitting, my dull, dark eyes fixed on a random point in the room. This is the ritual, and like my habits it doesn't change much. Though tonight, instead of staring at the far wall as I contemplate the Kira case, my eyes rest on Light's sleeping form and my mind wanders elsewhere. Every time I try pulling it back to the case, it soon deflects again. Eventually I give up and let my mind dwell on the impossible young man sleeping peacefully next to me.
I have never been a one to invest much emotion in anything. I have become quite adept at studying emotions, keeping myself firmly detached. And yet, here I am getting tangled in the one emotion I never suspected would ensnare me, and in it with the one person I never imagined would be caught up by it either.
By force of habit I take this new emotion and study it, analyzing and overanalyzing until my head aches. I am in love with Light Yagami.
If he hadn't been the main suspect of the Kira investigation from the beginning, I wouldn't dwell so heavily on it. But the fact remains that even though the other members of the task force are convinced of his innocence, I can't shake my suspicion. Maybe it's karma, though what I did to deserve this I cannot fathom.
Either way, something has to be done about this.
Light:
As I wake up, stretching languidly before sitting upright with a yawn, I glance over at L. For once the infuriating man is actually asleep. The way his unkempt black hair frames his face, now as peaceful as I've seen it in a long time, and the pale light that falls onto the pillow around the drawn shades stirs a new feeling within me that is surprising and alarming.
I shake my head slightly, denying that such an emotion is possible. I've never really loved anyone, that way. Sure I love my family, but that's filial love. Friendship, not so much. Before I got my memories back L was my friend, but now he's my enemy. I thought I'd successfully stifled that particular bond, but apparently it's back. With a vengeance.
I can't let this happen. I can't let anything distract me. I'm walking a knife's edge, and if I lose focus it will all come crashing around my ears. After I've worked so hard, that is unacceptable. I cannot fall in love with L.
L stirs, his dark eyes opening half way. As L brings his thumb up to his lips, those eyes fall on me. This new, alien emotion tugs at my heart as L's mild gaze lands on me. Those murky black eyes hold so much intrigue.
I've mastered the art of hiding my emotions, or at least I thought I had, until I met L. I can't read that man. Whatever he's thinking, it's hidden behind those dull eyes of his. How I wish I could get past that mask and see the real L.
And not just so Kira can kill him, I realize. Light Yagami wants to get to know L for purely personal reasons. I am fascinated by this man. I can't even tell how old he is, or what country he came from. I wonder if he even remembers…
Maybe it would be wise to look somewhere else while you space out, genius. Almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, L spoke. "You're staring at me, Light-kun."
I twitch my head slightly, blinking a few times as if I'd been off in my own little universe. "Hmm? Oh, sorry Ryuzaki. I zoned out there."
"True, but you were staring rather intently into my eyes. I think you knew very well that you were staring at me, even if your train of thought was elsewhere." L's lips twisted up into a slight smirk that made me want to beat that smug expression off his face.
I quickly averted my face a bit before he could notice the tinge of pink flushing my cheeks. "Ryuzaki, you always accuse me of things I haven't done. You just can't leave it at I'm still a Kira suspect, can you?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the smirk fall from his face as it reverts back to his usual, unreadable mask. "It's just my nature, Light-kun."
L:
I've never had much of a problem concentrating on the investigation, since before now nothing else has been anything near as important as whatever case I happen to be on. Now, though, I discover just how distracting infatuation can be.
Not that I allow myself anything more than a brief glance out of the corner of one eye every now and then, but once I switch my gaze back to the computer screen I want to take another glance even more.
What makes it worse is that Light, even if he has noticed, doesn't acknowledge it. As usual, he mostly ignores me as we both work. Granted, if he hadn't been more or less ignoring me, I would suspect something; since we both usually get so absorbed in whatever we're doing that not much pulls us away.
But that doesn't change the fact that I'm slightly disappointed that he seems oblivious. It's irrational and will cause trouble in the future, but it comes with the package.
Yet another reason why I usually keep myself distant. If you're on your own, there's nothing to distract you. No one's close enough to merit leaving what you're doing to humor them.
But until I met Light, I never knew how lonely it was. Once I'd gotten to know him, I realized that he was my friend, and I wondered what had been my problem all this time. Now, though, that the friendship has become infatuation, I feel alienated again.
There's nothing for it, I tell myself with a mental sigh. I'll just have to live with it. Light likely has no feelings of that manner for me, and while Kira's still out there I can't afford to let anything distract me.
In that manner the day passes, as I struggle to say focused. Something has to be done before I lose it!
Eventually the other members of the task force call it a night. Light's father is the last to leave, and I stand a few feet to one side as Light sees him off. Once the door shuts, Light and I head back toward the computers for the next few hours.
Finally I manage to stay on task, until a tug at the chain pulls me back to reality. Light is pointing to the digital clock in one monitor, which tells me that it's been tomorrow long enough to constitute sleep. By habit I sigh heavily and roll my eyes in despair, though tonight I do actually feel tired.
We turn off the computers and start the short walk back to the bedroom, and I suddenly have a small epiphany. A small mental shrug follows the idea, and I wait for exactly the right moment.
A few feet from the door, I reached out and poke Light's shoulder. He turns around, a slight scowl hooding his brown eyes. "What?"
Light:
I have no time to react as L steps forward, closing the gap between us. He presses his slender, lithe body against my own and hooks one hand behind my head, pulling it down and closing his mouth over mine.
My heart skips a few beats before going into overdrive, while my train of thought experiences a horrifying pile-up, turning into a twisted mess that will be a nightmare to salvage. My body freezes up momentarily until my heart starts working again, and I barely stop myself from returning the embrace.
I forcefully regain control of my body and lift a hand, pushing L away from me. My heart is still convinced that I'm running a marathon, and my face must be bright red by the heat that I feel. I scowl at L, who looks so much like a kicked puppy that I feel like shooting myself.
"What the hell was that, Ryuzaki?" I hiss, trying to calm my wildly palpitating heart.
"I am sorry, Light-kun." L says, his tone so downright dejected that I have to exert all my willpower not to scoop him up in my arms. "Forgive me."
"The hell did you do that for?" I demand, folding my arms and glaring irritably at L.
"I… I am not sure," L said hesitantly, staring at the floor to one side of his feet.
"Well, just don't do it again." I say, turning around and stalking into the bedroom. The abrupt tension on the chain jerks L off-balance, though he just manages to keep his feet under him and trails after me like a dog with its tail between its legs.
Until I doze off, I switch between berating myself for making L so depressed and berating myself for regretting making L so depressed. Absently, I wonder if I'll be able to get to sleep given that I'm arguing so heatedly with myself, but eventually I must have drifted off.
L:
Now at least I know for sure that Light doesn't feel the same for me, I think with a resigned mental sigh the next day as we sit once more in front of the computers. Now maybe I can get more work done, since my question has been answered.
That was the hope, but it turned out that my disappointment made me get even less done than I had yesterday. It was to be expected, but that just added insult to injury.
I thought that I'd been through some bad days before, but this one made the others seem pleasant. I try to get on with life and act as if nothing was wrong, but it didn't work out so well. Even the usually clueless Matsuda noticed that I was down, which told me that it was blatantly obvious how depressed I was.
"Hey, Ryuzaki," Matsuda suggested shortly before the task force went home for the night. "Since you've been so down, maybe you should take tomorrow off?"
"The rest of us could use a break too." Soichiro put in, glancing at Light for his opinion. I glanced over at him as well, in time to notice the wary nod of assent.
A day alone with Light and nothing to at least act like I'm doing would be worse, but since the others have seemed a bit tired I agree. Tomorrow is going to be hell.
I wake up at the normal time, and out of habit reach over to shake Light awake. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, and his face is even more handsome when all the muscles are relaxed, his skin highlighted by the dim light coming into the room. I remember that today is supposed to be a day off and decide to let him sleep. God knows that he gets little enough, chained to an insomniac like me.
So I slip the handcuff off my wrist and anchor it to the bedpost, and slither off the bed to go take a shower. I emerge dripping wet to see that Light is awake. Well, mostly. He is still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning as I walk back into the room.
"Good morning, Light-kun."
He blinks sleepily at me, then pointedly looks away. "Put on some clothes, Ryuzaki." He mumbles.
Spoilsport. I suppress a grin and pull on the clothes I'd discarded to shower, ignoring Light's acidic comments.
"You're defeating the purpose of a shower, putting on clothes you just wore."
At the best of times, Light is not a morning person. He's actually in a good mood today, probably because I let him sleep in and didn't push him out of the bed like I normally have to do to wake him up. Once he goes to sleep, he's like a rock.
I let him go take a shower and sit back on the bed, toying with the handcuffs and chain. I'm well aware that even though today is supposed to be a holiday, I could just go park myself in front of the computer and pursue the investigation. Though that would mean that Light would be forced to do the same, and since I've been denying him a life I figure I should let him do what he wants today.
My train of thought is de-railed as a towel soaked in cold water suddenly seems to be trying to eat my head. I pull the towel off and look over at a scowling Light.
"You used up all the hot water!"
I blink a few times, ignoring the faint blush tingeing my cheeks as I point at Light. "You just threw your towel at me, yes?"
"Well, d'oh."
"I hope you realize that you're standing there nude. You fussed at me for going around in a towel, so…"
Light's face turns red and he snatches back the towel I extended to him, smiling slightly. He's so shy. Why does he have to be so cute when he's embarrassed? Why does he have to be so cute whenever he does anything?
Light:
Embarrassing slip in composure aside, I think as I get dressed. I can tell that today is going to be hell.
We both hang around awkwardly in the bedroom once we're both dressed and the cuffs are back on, wondering what to do. I expect L to say that he's going to keep investigating, which means that I'll be stuck in here with him all day, but he surprises me.
"So, Light-kun." He says, breaking the silence. "Since today is supposed to be a day off from the investigation, is there anything you would like to do? I feel bad for depriving you of a life, keeping you chained." He sounded almost apologetic.
"Er…" His question catches me off guard, and I'm unsure how to answer. Since my assumption had been that we'd act like today was the others' day off, I had put absolutely no thought into what I wanted to do. Honestly, I hadn't a clue.
"I know that two men chained together walking around would seem odd," He said, taking words from my mouth even before they had come to me. "and truthfully I'm a bit hesitant about leaving the building. Kira has been laying so low lately, I worry about what he's up to. But, if you feel a desire to get some fresh air, I'll get over it."
Damn. Coming from L, that's impressive.
"Well," I say hesitantly. "I really have no earthly clue. To be honest, I expected you to insist on staying here and continuing the investigation."
L shrugged. "I don't blame you. But I figure I should start being less of an ass, considering that I'm likely already grating on your last nerve most of the time, keeping you chained to me like this."
Should I be flattered or wary? Maybe he's just trying to make up for kissing me the other night.
A minor epiphany turns on the imaginary lightbulb over my head. "Well, maybe we could go rent a movie."
"Sounds good."
L:
I can tell that Light is rather exasperated with me by the time we get back to the suite from the brief journey outside to get the movie. I can't really help it, though. Most of the others probably think that I'm incapable of much emotion, and I know it seems a bit ridiculous, but I really am rather hesitant about being outside with Kira having been taking a break. The inactivity seems ominous, like the calm before a huge storm. I don't like it one bit.
Even so, my guilt over keeping Light cooped up inside with me and my desire to make him less indifferent drove me to brave the outside. I hope Light appreciates this, I wouldn't do it for just anyone.
Light puts the DVD into one of the computers and commandeers on of the big screens usually for surveillance, and we both sit back on one of the couches to watch. Well, part of my attention is taken up glancing at Light every now and then.
I know he's noticed it, since sometimes I'll glance over and find that Light is stealing a glance at me. He blushes slightly and averts his head whenever this happens, and something in me starts to doubt that he's completely indifferent to me.
Despite this, he stoically ignores me for the most part and watches the movie. So even if he does have feelings for me, he's restraining himself. Not that I blame him, since that's what I've been trying and failing to do for several days now.
The movie reaches a point where all we see is a hotel room service cart shaking back and forth, with "YES!" being repeated heatedly by an obviously out-of-breath young woman from somewhere off-screen.
What does this have to do with anything? I wonder vaguely, glancing over at Light to notice that he's blushing faintly. Apparently he had underestimated the fact that almost every movie in existence has some sort of sex scene, even a movie like Catch Me If You Can. I found his movie choice interesting, considering the reason why Light is chained to me, but when he explained the plot I was intrigued. The main character makes me think of Aiber, but younger and better at check fraud.
Light:
Damn. Does every movie in existence have to have a sex scene? I look over at L, who seems un-phased. Then again, considering the kinds of cases he's seen before, this would probably seem tame. I really wonder how much porn he's watched.
That scene seems to last absurdly long, and by the time it cuts to a new scene my face is slightly red, and the heat is spreading southward.
L, damn him, must have noticed, since I look over and notice a mischievous smile on his face. Oh dear God.
"Light-kun, are you all right?"
"Stop sounding so smug, Ryuzaki." I growl.
"Smug? How do I sound smug?" He says innocently, leaning toward me with a faint smile.
I narrow my eyes irritably and give him my glare of death, which I momentarily forgot works on everyone but L.
"Oh please. You act like being eighteen makes you an adult, but when it comes down to "adult" activities you are still very much a child."
I snort scathingly. "Says the notoriously anti-social Ryuzaki who acts like the whole world is out to get him when he sets foot outside of the building."
My train of thought goes over a cliff as L suddenly leans forward again, pressing his lips into mine. My body freezes up, and L advances further. I find myself on my back with L splayed out on top of me. His knees straddle my hips, tongue invading my mouth and exploring it thoroughly. He pulls his head back slightly for breath, and for the first time I see a full-blown, wolfish grin spread over his face.
"Your face is bright red." He observes with a smirk.
"Naw, ya think?" I growl, my heart pounding as if it's trying to force its way out of my chest via my throat.
"And if you really weren't interested in me at all, you would have pushed me off by now. Which means that as I suspected, you do indeed have a crush on me." There was that smirk that made me want to punch his face in again.
"Brilliant work, genius." I retort caustically. "And you have absolutely no room to talk. Pulling that stunt the other night made it all too clear that you're just as hopeless."
"I never said anything to the contrary," L said, still smirking.
"Fine." I snap, still blushing furiously. "So now that we've cleared that up, would you mind getting off me?"
"What, is this making you uncomfortable?" He smiled innocently, with a glint in his murky eyes that bordered on malicious.
"Do I look completely at ease at the moment?"
He looks me up and down, seeming to ponder the question as he might a piece of evidence on the Kira case. I can tell he's just trying to make me more uncomfortable by drawing it out.
"Forget what I just said," I growl, turning my head aside as I blush more deeply. Despite my efforts to control myself, my body is belligerently ignoring me and is reacting to our rather awkward proximity. It demands that I do something about this. Now.
L must've noticed the reaction, since I heard a soft chuckle as he leaned down again, closing his mouth over mine. Bastard. Unable to control myself, I finally give up. I bury my hands in his thick, disheveled black hair, crushing our lips together further. His hands slip up under my shirt and begin wandering, their coolness against my burning skin sending yet more sparks jumping through my body.
We pull apart briefly for air and my tongue slips out of its own accord, caressing his lower lip in a silent plea. His lips part in a grin, and I return the favor from earlier. As his fingers deftly undo the button on my pants, I grimace slightly. "Cheater. You're stronger than I am."
"Maybe you can be on top next time." He chuckles into my ear, his voice husky.
L:
"I hope everyone had a restful holiday yesterday," I say to the arriving task force. Sitting beside me, Light snorts dryly.
"Oh yeah! I haven't slept in late in so long," Matsuda said with a grin. "You're looking better for the break too, Ryuzaki."
You have no idea. "Yes, I think it did us all good. A very good suggestion, Matsuda."
"Actually, it was the chief's idea." The young policeman replied. "But he didn't want to bring it up, knowing how fixated you can get."
I wave away Soichiro's annoyed glare at Matsuda, still smiling. "Oh, it's no problem. We all needed a chance to relax for a while, eh Light?"
The young man just nods, though I can tell he's trying not to chuckle.
"So, did you actually give the investigation a break?" Matsuda said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes. In fact, we watched a movie." I reply, and Light shows them the DVD case as proof.
"Gasp!"
Soichiro reached out, lightly smacking Matsuda's head. "Enough."
"Anyway," I continue, loud enough to catch their attention. "now that we've had our break, shall we continue with the investigation? Kira may be taking an extended rest, but that just means that we have a chance to catch up." I ignore the others' resigned groans. Light looks especially reluctant. I think last night he got the least sleep he's ever had. I'm used to it, except for the exertion, but poor Light has relatively normal sleeping habits.
They settle to work eventually, and silence falls over the room. Finally I can concentrate properly on the case, and by the time the task force decides to leave for the night I'm beginning to think that things are back to mostly normal. The operating term being 'mostly.'
Once Light sees his father off he turns to me with a smile, stepping close and resting his hands on my hips. "We have two choices. Work more then go to sleep, or go to bed now and get three hours of actual sleep again."
I smile slightly, twining one hand into Light's soft auburn hair. "I think I'll go with the latter of the two."
He grinned. "How'd I know you were gonna pick that one?"
Less fluff, more citrus than my other one, as promised. And I can actually pass it off as a one-shot! Gasp.
Review purleez. Feedback makes my 'fics better! Go read my in-progress 'fic (currently called Two Sided Coin) and review it, while you're at it!