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i. first meeting
By five seconds after the scruffy black-haired man had announced to Light that he was, in fact, L, Light's brain was already ticking away, coming up with a million reasons to justify what was going on. Was he really L? If so, why would he tell Light? Why would he approach him in-person, at such a public event? Why go to the effort to take the test and enroll in To-oh? And if he wasn't L, what was the point of this?
Most importantly— Was his cover blown? How much did L know? Was he a suspect already?
Instead of voicing any of these thoughts, he took a breath and calmly responded.
This was fine.
He could act normal. He could be normal.
He was used to this, the pressure of acting under high stakes. He was used to putting on a mask.
Things were finally getting interesting.
ii. first date (?)
Light was beginning to feel frustrated.
L showing up in-person to investigate him already made things more complicated. His “test of deductive reasoning skills” had somehow both humiliated Light without directly insulting him, and made him appear more suspicious.
He still managed to behave as though this entire situation was normal, and he was not the world's greatest and most mysterious detective suspecting Light of being the world's greatest and most mysterious serial killer.
Not to mention, it was highly annoying knowing that someone who was quite possibly the real L was sitting right in front of him and Light could neither do anything about it nor get any closer to finding out his real name without putting himself in danger.
Despite all of this, Light found himself drawn to the man.
I will figure you out, he swore, staring at “Ryuga” as he rambled about Light joining the investigation. But his thoughts were quickly swept away as both of their cell phones rang in tandem.
iii. first night together
The night after Light and Misa's release-slash-execution-slash-transfer, Light curled up on his side of the bed, tugged gently on the chain cuffing them together, and said, “Ryuzaki, come sleep.”
“I can't,” L responded. “I need to use all the time available to go over data and get closer to uncovering Kira's identity. Besides, I need to make sure to observe you every moment you're awake, so I can't risk falling asleep before you.”
Light frowned. “But you need to rest. You'll have more energy if you sleep well, and if you're exhausted, your mental capacity will decrease anyway. So it'll be harder for you to both analyze data and watch me.”
“...” L did not move from his perch in front of his monitor.
“Ryuzaki.” Light tugged the chain again. “Come on, the computer light is keeping me up.”
“I see,” L said. “I've discovered your true motivation behind attempting to get me to bed. It was a selfish deed after all.”
Light sighed exasperatedly. “L... Just come to bed.”
L looked over his shoulder at Light, back at the computer screen, then at Light again. “... Fine,” he gave in. “I haven't slept in several days, so I suppose I will now. But this isn't going to happen every night.”
“You should get in the habit of resting at least a little each night,” Light told him. “Regular sleep is good for you.”
“The way I operate now is most efficient,” L insisted.
Light rolled his eyes.
iv. first kiss
When Light first spotted L out in the pouring cold rain, staring pensively into the distance, his concern and confusion warred with amusement because L looked just like a sopping-wet kitten.
He fought back the laugh and called out to L.
When L began theorizing about the origins of this mysterious bell sound he'd been hearing, Light sighed to himself and thought, Hear it not, Ryuzaki, for it is a knell/ That summons thee to heaven, or to hell.
“What are you getting at, Ryuzaki?” he said instead of speaking the quotation aloud. “Come on, cut it out. Let's get back inside.” He held his hand out, looked up at L's eyes, and smiled gently, slightly.
“... I'm sorry,” L said instead of taking his hand, curling in on himself. “...Nothing I say makes any sense anyway. If I were you, I wouldn't believe any of it.”
Water dripped off his dark hair as he stared into the distance again.
Light tilted his head, observing L quietly before saying, “That's okay, Ryuzaki. It's human nature not to make sense sometimes.”
L looked up at him. “Interesting answer. Does that mean that you, too, don't make sense sometimes?”
Light shrugged and stepped closer. “Sometimes, yes.”
L smiled slightly. “Tell me, Light,” he began, “from the moment you were born, has there ever been a point when you've actually told the truth?”
Light's ears started to ring.
“...It's human nature to lie sometimes, too,” he said after a moment of eerie silence. “It wouldn't be easy to find one person in the world who's never had to tell a lie. Human beings just aren't made to be perfect like that. Everybody lies from time to time. But most often, my lies are for the greater good of those I tell them to.”
L stared for a moment, then turned to stare at nothingness once more. “I had a feeling you'd say something like that,” he said bittersweetly. “...Let's go back inside. We're both drenched.”
Light hummed in agreement, but caught L's wrist before he could head inside.
“I try,” he started, before cutting off and starting again. “... Most of the time, I try to tell the truth to those I cherish.”
“I see,” said L, before tugging his wrist free and making for the stairs.
They sat in comfortable silence, reclined across the stairs, L massaging Light's feet and Light wiping rainwater off L's hair with a gentle hand.
“... It'll be lonely, won't it?” L asked quietly.
“Hm?” Light startled at the break in the silence.
L looked up at him through the soaked curtain of messy black hair. “You and I will be parting ways soon,” he said with certainty.
Light looked down at him with a glittering gaze. “Huh?” he said again, quietly.
L's phone rang, and he answered it. “Yes?” he drawled. “... I understand. I'm on my way.”
He tucked his phone away again and turned to Light. “Come on,” he said. “Let's go, Light.”
“Wait,” Light started without thinking.
L looked at him. “Yes?”
Let me indulge myself, Light thought, just this once.
“... Even if we'll be parting ways soon,” he said quietly. “Even if this case is finished. I like to think we still made an impact on each other. So maybe, we won't ever really be truly apart.” He chuckled slightly. “... Or maybe that's just the romantic part of me that Sayu created.”
L hummed. “... I would like to think so, too,” he said.
Hesitantly, Light stood, reached out, and brushed L's hair out of his face. “Ryuzaki,” he said. “... I'm glad we met.”
He leaned forward and quietly, quickly, brushed his lips across L's.
“... Me, too,” L agreed, and they headed to meet the task force.
v. first goodbye
The task force was in chaos. Everyone glanced around in desperation and panic.
“The Shinigami disappeared!!” one of them exclaimed.
“What's going on?” Light's father chimed in.
L jolted forward. “Everyone,” he said, “The Shiniga—”
And then he cut off with a gasp.
There he goes, Light thought, with a mix of insane elation and slight grief. Rem has done her job.
The teaspoon slipped from L's hand. L tilted forward. Light watched attentively, unable to tear his eyes away from the mark of his final victory.
He dove to catch L.
The other task force members leaned in and tittered in panic. In Light's arms, L stared up at him with wide eyes. In the privacy of their embrace, Light looked down at him and grinned widely, manically.
I am Kira, he whispered silently to L's fading breath, and you are mine.
And then L's eyes slowly shut,
and he was gone.
Light's grin faded to a deranged, desperate grief.
FIVE YEARS LATER.
vi. first hello again
When Light woke after his death, it was dark.
He was lying in a field of gray grass, under a twisted black tree of sharp branches and dead leaves.
He stood slowly and scanned his surroundings for a long, quiet moment.
A lone figure came up silently, hands in pockets, to stand beside Light.
“Hello again,” said L.
Light sighed. “Hello, Ryuzaki,” he said.
“It seems your divine victory did not last very long.”
“A victory nonetheless,” Light countered. “I still beat you.”
“It seems you did.”
“...”
It began to rain— thick, cold droplets pouring from the endless night sky.
“... If you could go back,” L started. “If you could go back and do it over again. Would you make the same choices, or would you give yourself a chance to survive?”
“... I don't regret it,” said Light by way of answer.
“No.” L stared up at the sky. “Me neither.”
“... I'm not sorry,” Light added.
“No,” L agreed. “Me neither. That's what makes us who we are.” He shrugged. “That's what makes us... L, and Kira. The chaser and the chased. The detective and his prey... L Lawliet and Light Yagami.”
“That's what makes us fucked up,” Light corrected, not sounding especially torn up about it.
“Mm.” L hummed. “That, too.”
The killer and the killed, Light thought to himself. The most dedicated, most insane game.
This is what we are.
Light sighed, then admitted, “I missed you.”
“Me, too,” L told him.
There was a beat of silence, in which they both breathed and prepared for their next words.
“... I love you,” said Light quietly.
L took his hand.
“Me, too.”
END.