Whoa! I'm posting a het pairing for Death Note. Yeah, well, don't get used to it. This is a fiction for Mimi (thexamimi)'s challenge for Hated DN pairings. (Sorry, but, yeah, that does mean that I really, really dislike Misa x Light.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.

Anyway... yeah, I'm not sure how IC Misa will be, since this is my first time writing her. I personally thing Light is OOC for taking any form of interest in our little Misa-Misa, but that's just me. Aand, I may have gotten the time line and facts screwed up. Sorry. I'm really bad at that. Anyway. Enjoy.

Misa Amane jolted upright the second her ears registered the satisfying click that the lock on the door made as it was unlocked. Her heart skipped a beat, the normal response her body gave at this sound, and within a matter of milliseconds, she had jumped off the couch and had crossed the quaint, one-bedroom apartment to find herself at the threshold of the door. She held her breath as the next lock unhitched, and listened to the musical sound of the doorknob being turned, her heart pumping so excitedly that it threatened to pop out of her chest, watching from the inside as the knob turned painfully slow.

"Light-kun!"

A guttural groan came from Light's chest. "Hello, Misa."

He looked sore and worn out, like any working husband—or fiancé— would after a hard day's work as an officer. Serving justice. And one day, he would have Kira behind bars. Although it was true that Misa secretly respected Kira—after all, she was in debt to the murderer— since Light hated him, Misa hated him. Light wanted him executed, Misa wanted him executed. That was the way it worked when you had a fiancé. That was the way true love worked.

What a nice idea. True love. Misa mentally shook her head. She used to think of true love as an idea. But now… well, now she knew it existed.

Misa stretched onto her toes and gave him a loving kiss and hug, squeezing the very essence from the strong, civil man that she loved. Light cleared his throat.

"Oh, Light!" Misa giggled. "One of these days, you'll get over that silly no-touching issue of yours." She placed her small, lightweight hand on his shoulder, only to have him shrug it off, reinforcing her statement. She gave a tiny "hmph."

Light made his way past Misa briskly, setting his bag down in the hallway and turning into the small kitchen. Misa followed him like any good fiancée would, a bounce in her step that existed predominantly when Light was around.

"Hungry?" Misa asked, pleasantly. "Misa put some anmitsu in the oven a little while ago!" With satisfaction, she pranced over to the oven as Light sat down at the small, round table. Promptly, she coughed and ewwwed as she opened the oven to reveal some seriously blackened and burnt rice cakes. "Ehnn… Maybe we'll get something delivered?" Misa turned to her fiancé, who shook his head 'no'.

"Coffee?" She offered, trying once more. Light closed his eyes and nodded with a sigh. Misa pulled a mug off of the counter and filled it with lukewarm coffee from the day-old pot, placing it in front of Light along with a spoon and box of sugar cubes.

"Extra sugar," she said in a sing-song voice, sitting in the chair next to Light, and maneuvering four sugar cubes out of the box. "because my Light is extra sweet!" With a smile, she pushed the mug towards her sweetie. He didn't respond, but then, she hadn't really expected him to. "How was work?"

"Tiring," Light said, unconversationally. Misa frowned.

"Don't push yourself too hard. After all, stress causes premature wrinkles!" she giggled, though, of course, she'd still love Light even after he grew old. She sighed again at the idea. They would grow old together!

"Of course not," Light agreed, stirring his coffee and taking a sip of it. He looked briefly repulsed.

"Something wrong?"

Light sighed. "It's too late for pretty girls to be awake. You should get some beauty rest."

Misa almost blushed. Light called her pretty! …Indirectly.

"Why don't you go to bed? I'm going to catch up on the news," Light maneuvered his overcoat off and slung it over the chair behind him. Misa jumped up and fetched the newspaper off of the counter.

"You said you were tired, too," she said, trying to sound subtle about her hint. She pulled the waistline of her boxers up, and scrunched up the ends just so Light could have a better view of what he owned. "Why don't you come to the bedroom?" For some reason, her seductive skills never seemed to have any effect on him. Maybe tonight would be different.

But Light seemed to have missed the hint. "I'm going to catch up on the news," he repeated, standing from the table. He kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep," he advised, and walked out of the room, leaving his coffee on the table.

Misa's shoulders slumped, but she obeyed, slightly flustered by the fact that Light had both kissed her and called her pretty—in one night! She floated to the small bedroom, the feeling of lovesickness making her weightless.

Snug on her side of the bed, Misa pulled her hair out of her pigtails and pulled the blankets off to her neck, turning over to face the wall. The warmth of the blankets was comforting; it almost felt like Light's arms around her. Almost.

She listened to the dull sound of the TV coming from the next room. She would stay awake as long as she could, listening as he finished watching the news, showered, and then finished up his work or ate. He wouldn't climb into bed until after she was asleep. It went like that every night.

A ridiculous thought whirled into her head.

What if Light didn't want her?

But that was ridiculous. Light loved Misa as much as Misa loved him; the feeling was mutual. Light had no reason to live with her if that wasn't the case. He never accepted any of her money she offered him. He even insisted the rent for the apartment came out of his meager paycheck. He just had a lot on his plate, was all. But he did love her.

But what if he didn't?

—:—

The following morning, Misa rolled over, longing for the feeling of Light's body heat to warm her. Regrettably, all that she found was a huddle of empty, cold blankets. As per usual, he had left before she'd woken, immediately quelling any morning-lover scenes.

She looked at the clock, which read 13:08, and jumped out of bed hastily.

—:—

For the first time, Misa found that her face was hurting from all the smiling.

"Miss Amane," her coordinator yelled from her place off of the white tarp, behind the photographer. "What are you doing?"

Misa looked down at he shoes as the photographer lowered his camera with a sigh. She had stopped posing and smiling, and was rubbing her sore cheeks. This was so strange. Normally she smiled so easily—so nonstop, and it was natural. But today, it was different. The gleeful smiles felt forced. The truth was, she felt like crawling back in bed and frowning.

"Sorry," she called to her coordinator nevertheless, and then put her finger to her lip in a thoughtful, cute expression. Again, she smiled sweetly, and again the photographer started snapping pictures away. Click, click, click.

The schoolgirl outfit was itchy, and her pigtails were too tight. She didn't feel like posing like she was reading or writing, or listening to music. She wanted to see her Light again.

The photographer sighed, and lowered his camera.

"That's enough, Misa-Misa," her coordinator called with a similar sigh. "Time to change into your next outfit."

Misa put down the books with a frown, and walked to her dressing room, saddened by the fact that her strangely sour mood was putting a damper on the ways her poses were coming out. She glanced back at her coordinator and the photographer who were talking in hushed tones. She thought she could hear, "...Is just not into it. But don't worry; her best work is much better than this."

Misa cocked her head at her reflection, safely secluded in her dressing room. As she unbuttoned her school blouse, she wondered just why she was so down.

She slipped off the blouse and started working on the skirt's zipper, pulling it off as well, and then turning to her full-sized mirror to stare at herself, only wearing bra and panties, and school shoes which she promptly pulled off.

The truth was, the sickening thoughts that had attacked her mind the previous night were making their presence known. The idea that Light might not actually want her made her feel desperate, like a freeloader, and strangely alone. She had reason to believe he loved her but—how could she be sure?

Why would someone as educated, devoted and refined as Light ever want someone like her?

Misa-Misa shook her head, her blonde pigtails brushing over her face as they swung with the movement. She was being silly, again.

In a desperate attempt to distract herself, Misa pulled her next outfit off of it's hanger and ran her fingers over the fabric. It was perfectly everyday and verging on boring: a white, low cut long sleeve tee, and a black miniskirt. Nothing Misa would ever especially like, simply because it was so bland. Pinned to the shirt was a piece of paper with the directions scribbled on it, "Wear with bun and glasses." How un-Misa.

Misa didn't see how this could be described as fashion, but she did what she was told, pulling the bland outfit on with ease. She loosened her pigtails and brushed her hair into a bun, a foreign style for her. She took the pair of lensless glasses from atop her dresser and slid them onto her face. The second she glimpsed her reflection, she froze.

Wow.

Is that me?

She looked… she looked so intelligent, like the had something worthwhile to say. It certainly didn't look like Misa and she honestly wasn't sure if she liked it or not, but the truth was, she looked… she looked educated, devoted and refined. She looked like the perfect partner for a young, handsome officer such as Light.

When Misa returned back to the shoot, this time, her smiles were genuine.

—:—

A few hours later, Misa straightened the white top so that it sat snugly on her hips, an adjusted the fake glasses onto the bridge of her nose. Her heart was fluttering rapidly in her chest, and it only quickened when she thought about the fact that her Light was due back any second. Her nervous feet tapped out a rhythmless beat against the floor.

She reminded herself that she had no reason to be worried anymore. She was different now—she was prepared. This Misa, this new Misa… she was Light's Misa.

Just as Misa was about to stand and start pacing, the familiar sound of the door unlocking reached her ears. She sat up straight in her chair, waiting for Light to find her.

She could hear the soft sound of Light putting his bag down, and his footsteps walking down the hallway. "Misa?" he called.

Misa realized that it was abnormal for her not to greet Light at the door, and that was why he was confused. She felt herself smirk slightly, though she wasn't sure why. Seconds later, Light appeared in the kitchen threshold.

His tired expression soon melted as his eyes widened questioningly. "Misa? Is that you?"

"Of course it's me," Misa said, like it was sorely obvious, but in all honesty, she didn't know how obvious it was.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing happened to me, Light-kun." She adjusted her glasses. "I just changed things up a little." She had an urge to say, "You like-ee?" But she restrained herself.

Light took a step towards her. He looked uncomfortable, which made Misa nervous. Did he like it? Did he hate it?

"So, how was your day?" Misa made a point of making her words sound normal. Not like something coming out of an excited six-year-old's mouth.

"Uh—fine," Light said as he sat across from her. He sounded distracted—he was staring. "What about yours?"

"It was fine," Misa said, unconversationally, taking a sip of her coffee daintily, and crossing her legs.

Normally Misa would be the one trying to keep a conversation going. This time, it was Light.

"What did you do?"

"I went down to the studio and we snapped a couple of shots." She took another sip of coffee, wondering if it would stain her proffessionally whitened teeth. "You're awfully curious today."

"Hm," Light said, propping his head up and looking down at the table. His expression was confused, and in the same way, amused.

Misa watched him nonchalantly, but inside, she was cheering. This is what she wanted, after all, wasn't it? For Light to be more interested in her. And his response, his expression—it seemed like she'd accomplished her mission.

Finally, Light looked back up at her. "That coffee smells good."

Misa cocked her head at him. Was he testing her? "There's a pot on the counter."

"Hmmm," he sighed, leaning back and rubbing his stomach. "Wow. I'm starving."

"The number for take-out is on the fridge."

Light chuckled. "Misa—"

"What's wrong, Light? Am I frustrating you?" Misa snapped her mouth shut the second the words came out. She hadn't meant to say that.

The amused expression disappeared off of Light's face as he stood, pushing his chair out behind him, and walked over to where Misa sat.

"Oh, Misa," he mumbled, a look of strange disappointment on his face. "Why did you do this?" He took her hand and pulled her into a standing position, inches from him.

Misa felt an ounce of the childishness slip back into her voice. "For you, Light," she whispered. "I did this for you."

She shivered as he slowly pulled the glasses off of her face, and brushed his thumb against her cheek. He murmured something that sounded like, "What have you done, you clueless girl?"

"Misa—" he said, reaching behind her and pulling the two chopsticks that held her bun together out, freeing her silky yellow hair.

"I don't ever want you to change." He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, studying it as he did so, and then looked back at her clouded eyes. "I want you for what you are—Misa-Misa… Yagami."

Misa's heart fluttered rapidly as he leaned in and kissed her whole heartedly, molding her lips into his, and giving him an eager response. Surprisingly, he didn't pull away—or make any motion to do so—as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

"Oh, Light," she sighed, heaven on her lips as she said his name, when she paused to hold him.

Light chuckled and pressed his lips again to hers, lifting her feet off the ground without breaking the kiss off. With her legs around his waist, the two of them, still engaged in a kiss, finally entered the bedroom together.

Hahaha. Why does this pairing make me giggle like a six year old?

Kukuku. You guys can decide what happens in the bedroom. o
Wow, it was weird to write this...

Anyway, let me know how I did!