Chapter Text
Chapter I
Light opened his eyes as if awakening from a long dream, despite never falling asleep. He was still in the small holding cell L had placed him in, but something felt different, disoriented. For the first time in his life, Light was questioning his own reasoning. Why had he insisted L hold him here? He realized that this may well have been one of his only ways to prove to L that he wasn’t Kira, but all of a sudden this just felt like a cruel joke. Light knew that he wasn’t Kira. Surely he could’ve thought of a better way to prove this to L. Light found himself disappointed in his own lack of reasoning. Suddenly desperate to get out of the dingy cell, Light stood and called out to the microphones he knew were listening.
“L!”
After a moment’s pause, he heard the speaker crackle to life on the wall above him. “Yes, Light Yagami?” came the young detective’s voice.
“L, I’ve realized this whole thing is pointless.” He paused. “This is all pointless because I’m not Kira!”
(later, after Light is released)
Light was relieved to be free, but he almost wished he was still in that cell when he saw Misa. Why he ever agreed to “date” her was completely lost on him now. While it was true that the facade allowed for an illusion of normalcy in his anything but normal life, what benefit had this served him before signing on to the Kira case? He couldn’t seem to remember…
But Light pushed that away. For now the conversation between L, Misa, and himself was more important. Not to mention the ruckus Misa was making made it difficult to focus on his thoughts, anyways.
“You mean me and Light can never be alone? Are you just gonna watch us? What if we want to kiss?”
Light cringed at the thought, but L remained starkly calm. “You and Light can still go on dates if you like… But yes, I suppose I would be watching.”
This statement caused Misa to absolutely lose it, but Light was unbothered by her outburst, instead focusing back on his own thoughts. He looked down at the chain cuff connecting his wrist to L’s. Apparently, constant supervision was L’s idea to prove Light’s innocence. Initially, he found himself troubled by this idea, but he had to admit it was growing on him. Any excuse not to be alone with Misa was worth it. It wasn’t that he had anything against the girl; even he could see that she was quite charming. Light just found their interactions incredibly awkward (and slightly troublesome) because he found himself utterly incapable of reciprocating her feelings for him. While it was true that he had never had a crush before, Light had also never met a girl like Misa. She was exactly the sort of girl he felt he should like; she was pretty, funny, and charming, and even if Light couldn’t always see it, he knew she was intelligent. But despite all of this, he had no romantic feelings for the girl.
This troubled him more than he cared to admit.
Light glanced back down to the chain at his wrist, following it to L’s, which was placed lazily in his pocket. He regarded the young detective with a sort of airy curiosity that he hoped to play off as vague disinterest. It was true that L intrigued him, but Light would argue that it was in the same way a new virus interested a doctor. He viewed L as some sort of benign tumor spreading around him. As things were, L couldn’t (or rather, wouldn’t) harm him, but he had the distinct impression that L was like a cancer, and if he didn’t watch himself the tumor could become malignant. So, Light told himself that his interest in L was one of scientific origin, with the primary goal of studying the strange young man.
He glanced at L’s face. There was an odd sort of charm in the detective’s disheveled figure. Light was near certain L hadn’t slept in at least three days; his dark, sunken eyes and beyond pale skin gave him an almost ghostly appearance. Despite L’s apparent disregard for his own health, he nonetheless had a certain glow about him. His hair, though messy, was clean, and his face lacked even a single pimple. A simple glance may have suggested ill health and poor upkeep, but Light guessed that the man put in a bit more effort than a simple look would imply.
Light listened loosely to the conversation around him, but his mind was stuck on the Kira case. He kept wondering why he had agreed to being locked up. He couldn’t seem to remember what he was thinking. There were spots of fog all throughout the road of his memory and he kept getting lost in them. A nagging feeling kept pulling him into the mist; the more he thought about Kira, the more he found small parts of his conscience agreeing with him. Maybe there was some logic there, after all…
No! thought light. What am I thinking? He shook his head violently, attempting to rid himself of these thoughts.
L glanced at him sidelong. “Light? Is everything alright?”
This was enough to pull Light back to his senses. “Yes, of course, sorry.” He looked around the room, just now realizing how spaced out he’d been. “Where’s Misa gone?”
L looked at him with curiosity. “She left. She had to go to a photo shoot. Didn’t you notice her leave?” he said, chewing on a piece of cake he seemed to have pulled from thin air.
Light laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “No, I guess I didn’t.” He placed his hand in his pockets and looked at L. “So, what’s there to review in the case?”
“Hm… not much, to be honest. As you know, Kira has continued to kill consistently, but he hasn’t done anything we wouldn’t expect from him. For now all we can really do is review what we already have.
Light nodded and followed L to the computers. They sat there for what seemed like hours and Light quickly grew impatient. He had already reviewed this data countless times and could likely recite most of it by heart; he knew this search was useless. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling, sighing. L glanced at him. “I take it you’re finding this search just as useless as I am?”
Without sitting up, Light turned his head to look at L. “Yeah. There’s nothing out of the ordinary and no details we haven’t already noticed.” He sighed again. “It’s getting late, too. Maybe we should just call it a day.”
“I suppose you’re right. Will you be going to sleep then, Light Yagami?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Goodnight, Light.”
A few minutes later Light stirred and woke.
“Light? You’re still awake?”
Light sat up in his chair and yawned, stretching his arms behind his head. “I was dozing. I can’t really get comfortable here.
“Oh, is that so?” L muttered to himself. Directing his attention back to Light, he said, “Would you like to go to bed then, Light Yagami?”
Light froze for a moment before regaining his composure. It had just occurred to him that he would likely have to share a bed with L. The thought made him cringe slightly. Even though he was tired, he didn’t want to put himself in that situation. “Ah, no, that’s alright. I’ll stay here so you can keep working.”
L was staring at him inquisitively. “...Alright then.”
Light furrowed his brow slightly. “What, don’t tell me you still suspect me?
L paused, thinking. “I’d say there’s still a 7% chance that you’re Kira.
Light sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I suppose there’s no way for me to convince you if you still don’t believe I’m innocent. But you could at least pretend to trust me.”
L looked at him, muttering in response, “Yes, I suppose you do have a point, but I can’t seem to shake the feeling that something’s off.” L paused, thinking. “I’m sorry, Light Yagami. I hope you know I have no ill intent towards you.”
Light looked at him. “Yeah, I know, I just… I wish there was some way I could prove it to you.”
“I’m afraid I simply don’t know you well enough for that, Light Yagami.”
Light sat up slightly. “So if you got to know me better, you may believe that I’m innocent?”
“Well… yes, I suppose so.”
Light was eager to hear this. “Alright, well, how should we go about this, then?”
“Well, what do you normally do this time of day? You said you don’t go to bed until later.”
Light was slightly surprised at the question. “Oh! Well, on rainy days, I like to watch a movie.”
L nodded. “Then we can watch a movie.” With this he abruptly stood and walked into a separate room. Light jumped up, nearly falling as the chain connecting the two of them tugged at his wrist. The room was a small living area, with a couch and tv, but what caught Light’s attention were the windows. The entire back wall of the room was floor to ceiling windows. The view was spectacular. Seeing the entire city lit up at night, with the rain falling down, and lightning in the distance, Light was momentarily in awe of its beauty. A loud boom of thunder shook the room, rattling every bone in Light’s chest.
“...Wow.”
Light glanced over to find L watching him. He saw the young detectives face twitch; if he hadn’t known better, he would’ve sworn it was a smile. L looked away from him and out on the city.
“Yes, it’s really something, isn’t it?” He crossed and stepped onto the couch, perching in his usual, odd manner. “What is your favorite movie, Light Yagami?”
Light sat down next to him and paused, thinking. “Hm… probably Constantine.”
L looked at him. “I haven’t heard of that one.”
“It’s an American movie. I don’t know your tastes, so I’m not sure you’ll like it, but it’s really good.
L nodded. “Alright then.” Without another word, he turned on the tv and pulled up the movie.
As the movie played, Light found himself watching the man next to him more than the movie itself. L seemed to be enjoying the movie quite a lot, eyes focused solely on the screen. Light could see the images reflected in the other man’s dark eyes. L glanced at Light before focusing back on the screen. Light looked away quickly, finding himself slightly embarrassed at being caught staring. After a moment, L spoke up.
“This is an interesting movie, Light Yagami. I quite like Gabriel’s character.”
“Oh, yeah? He’s my favorite too.”
“Yes, he’s very… hm.” L trailed off.
“...Very what?” Light watched him, wondering what was running through his head.
L didn’t answer immediately. “Who plays this character?” His eyes remained focused on the movie.
“Oh, it’s a British actress… her name is Tilda Swinton, I believe.”
“An actress…” L trailed off again, tapping at his lower lip with a single finger. “Well, she does make quite a handsome man.”
Light blinked, surprised by his words. “...L, do you…” He couldn’t quite figure out what he wanted to say.
L looked at Light, really looked at him, for the first time since the movie had started. He regarded the younger man, tilting his head slightly. “Do I what?”
Light furrowed his brow, looking away. “...Nothing.”
L stared at him a moment longer before redirecting his attention to the movie. Light watched him watching, his brow still furrowed tight. Seeing the light in L’s eyes stirred something within him. Something was bothering him, but he couldn’t figure out what. Exhaling quietly, he relaxed further on the couch, feeling his exhaustion from earlier slowly overtake him. Light gauged that the movie was about halfway over, meaning there was another hour left. He closed his eyes, and within minutes he had succumbed to sleep.