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In L's opinion, the atmosphere in the car was tense. Which was unsurprising, he supposed, considering the knife sticking out of Light's side.
It had been an accident. Well, he supposed 'accident' wasn't quite the right word for it, it was more of an unfortunate chain of events if anything.
The evening had started off as a good one. After a lot of pestering Light had convinced L to let him spend the night at his place (He had been hesitant to share his address with anyone else, let alone the man he was still a little convinced was behind the Kira murders, but Light was persistent), and it had been going well… until they started making dinner.
L had hardly been cutting up the vegetables for a minute when Light started with his gripes on his methods "Your cuts are uneven!", "Why are you holding the knife like that?", "You're doing this just to piss me off, aren't you??" He complained, to which L didn't even spare him a glance. "This is how I always do it, it's not like it'll change the taste Light-kun." He said calmly. That got a huff from Light, but again, L just ignored him. It was his kitchen, which meant that Light was going to have to abide by his rules.
It was silent for the next few minutes, and L could practically feel Light's gaze burning a hole into his hands as he worked, until eventually "Oh for god's sake- give me that-", and suddenly Light's hand was on L's as he attempted to grab the knife. L, naturally, pulled back. "First of all, very mature. Secondly, snatching a knife from me is a great way to make me suspect you of being Kira again." He chided, as if he was talking to a child.
That only served to piss Light off even more, and he made another attempt at yanking the knife from L's hands. "First of all," he began, mocking the way L had been speaking "It shouldn't be that difficult to chop vegetables normally, and you can cut the crap because we both know you never stopped suspecting me!"
"Well it's not my fault that you constantly act like Kira would." was L's calm-mannered response as he gave the knife another tug.
The altercation grew from there, with the two trading harsh words that were far too intense to have started from cutting produce as the knife was pushed and pulled in the deadliest game of tug-of-war L had ever been a part of.
And when his arguments didn't seem to be going anywhere productive, L decided, in what he would later admit to himself was an extremely petty move, to let go of the knife. Just to see Light fall backwards and make an utter fool of himself at the sudden lack of force on the knife. He released his grip, and it was just as satisfying as he had imagined to watch as the other ungracefully toppled backwards, unable to even try grabbing the counter to stop himself on account of both of his hands being on the weapon. L's lips turned upwards in a smug smile.
That is until Light suddenly screamed in pain.
See, amidst the chaos, L hadn't actually stopped to notice which way the knife was facing before letting it go. It must've been facing Light, however, as it ended up lodged in his side, a circle of bright red already surrounding it on his white shirt.
For a moment no one spoke, the two just staring wide-eyed at the wound. Then Light slowly lifted his head, his eyes meeting L's "…You stabbed me" He breathed.
L brought his thumb to his mouth and chewed on the nail, still looking at the wound "Technically you were the one holding the knife," He commented helpfully.
"You stabbed me!" Light repeated, his earlier shock wearing off and being replaced with disbelief and anger.
L sighed "Okay, because you're hurt I'll compromise and say I'm at most 30 percent at fault"
Light scoffed, before wincing as the action shifted the knife slightly "There is something seriously wrong with you." He grumbled.
"Says the one bleeding out on my kitchen floor." L said idly, stepping around Light and grabbing his car keys.
Light turned his head at the sound of they keys jingling "What are you doing?? Aren't you going to call an ambulance?!" He demanded.
"It'd be quicker if I drive," L replied, tossing the keys into the air and catching them.
"How?? An ambulance would have priority on the road." Light responded, bringing one hand to grip the countertop (with the other keeping the knife in place) to try and pull himself up into a standing position, clearly struggling more than he would've liked.
"We can't guarantee that one will make it here though, the EMTs have been quite busy recently, what with the rise in heart attacks and all." L explained.
Light stared daggers into him, and L could tell that he was mentally weighing up the pros and cons of arguing with him about this for who knows how long versus admitting defeat. L smiled sweetly at him.
Light took a pained breath "…Fine, but I'm not responsible for getting the blood out of your car."
Which was what led them to their current situation. L behind the wheel, and Light sitting in the passenger seat, his hands doing their best to apply pressure to the wound. He had to admit, he had been surprised when Light had given in to his whim so quickly. If he was being honest he had been expecting him to refuse, if for no reason other than the principal of the matter.
He glanced to his left. Light's gaze was fixed on the road ahead of him, silent other than the sound of his strained breathing. By that point his fingers were soaked in his own blood, and some of his hair had fallen out of place in the panic. It was strange, L thought, to see the usually so well-put-together Light Yagami in such a state. He wondered if he'd ever get to witness something like this again, and what it would take to bring him back to this point.
He wondered how this life-or-death scenario would impact his behaviour in general, especially now that they were stuck in a small space together.
"Y'know Light-kun, it's ironic," He began "That you literally have blood on your hands, considering how you figuratively have for a while now-"
"We are not doing this right now." Light spat, glaring at L.
"Why not? It's only us here, and in your weakened state I'm more likely to get a confession from you." He replied.
"I swear to god I will take this knife out of me and stab you if you do not shut up!" Light snapped, turning his body in his seat to properly face L, forgetting about the knife until it collided with the seatbelt. He let out a string of curses as he turned back and curled in on himself a little.
"Threatening me isn't going to help your case, and neither is making your wound any bigger than it already is." was L's cool response.
"Ryuzaki," Light muttered harshly "I… I am not in the mood for your mind games right now-"
"Speed bump." L suddenly interrupted.
"Wh- son of a bitch!-" Light exclaimed as the car suddenly jerked from the obstacle in question, his words punctuated by a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a whimper. L watched as he gripped the dashboard of the car, smearing blood all over it in the process.
"Swearing is quite unlike you Light-kun." He commented.
"Just stop talking." Light hissed.
The rest of the car ride was mostly uneventful after that, and eventually L parked outside the hospital. As it turns out, having a knife sticking out of you is enough to bump you up to the front of the ER waiting list, and so after after practically dragging Light inside (he was struggling to stay upright by that point) L watched as he was put on a gurney and taken away. Just as he was being pushed away, however, he took L's hand in his.
"Ryuzaki," He said softly, looking into his eyes pleadingly, his words punctuated by his laboured breathing "Can you call my dad..? Let him know what's happening..?"
And L, in front of the ER staff, nodded "Of course, Light-kun" He replied with an appearance of sincerity.
Light smiled and let go of his hand, before getting wheeled out of the room.
Once the doors swung closed, L let out a groan. God dammit Light, He internally cursed You did that on purpose, didn't you??
Light had waited until the very last second to make that request, ensuring that L would have to call his father on his own. The man wasn't a fan of L at the best of times, and finding out that he was (less than 30 percent) at fault for his son getting hospitalised? He was absolutely going to react badly.
And Light knew all of this. L figured that he was probably cackling to himself at the thought as he was dragged to an operating room, the sadistic guy he is.
He paced the room, thinking over his options. He considered simply not making the phone call. The problem with that, however, was that not informing Yagami would only serve to anger him more when he inevitably found out anyway, and L did not want that. To his chagrin, he eventually had to accept that Light had won this time.
He took out his phone and hesitantly dialled Yagami's number. It rang a few times before he picked up. "Ryuzaki?"
"Yagami-san, hey," L began, shifting from foot to foot. "…How are you?"
"Did you need something?" Yagami asked, and L cringed. He'd have to just rip off the plaster, then. "Well, funny thing actually," He began, his eyes focusing on a random "Signs of a concussion" poster that hung on the wall. "Uhm, Light-kun and I are currently in the ER."
"What?! Is he okay?? What happened?!" Came the barrage of questions, causing L to pull his phone from his ear to prevent himself from going deaf.
"He's fine, probably-" L assured him "He just had a little run-in with a knife is all. He's in surgery now though so-"
"What do you mean?? Was he stabbed?? How?!" Yagami demanded, his voice raising "Did you have something to do with this?"
Some part of L knew that he should probably handle this situation delicately and with tact. Unfortunately, he was too petty for that. "He did it to himself, Yagami-san." was L's blunt response. "He was trying to help me with dinner and got clumsy." Before he could get a response, he quickly added "See you soon." And hung up.
All things considered that went rather well, if you asked him.
He was no longer thinking that when Yagami showed up to the waiting room.
"Ryuzaki!" He exclaimed, causing a few nurses in the room to harshly shush him. "Sorry- Ryuzaki what did you do to my son??" He demanded in a whisper.
"Nothing," L said at a regular volume. By that point he was sitting down in an empty seat in his usual hunched position and so he had to look up at the other man.
"Well that knife didn't materialise out of nowhere, did it?" Yagami opted not to take a seat, instead choosing to stay standing, his arms crossed as he glared down at L. L wondered if he was intentionally doing it to seem intimidating or if he was just like that.
"Well, with what Kira can accomplish without contact with his victims it would be foolish to act as though it was impossible," Came his response, which did not seem to please Yagami, with the way he narrowed his eyes at him. "…But that wasn't the case here, no." He added.
It took a lot of back an forth, but eventually L fully explained to Yagami what actually happened, though he wasn't entirely sure if the other man believed him, based on the way he kept looking at him with suspicion and grumbling to himself under his breath. He had made the choice to take a seat next to L by that point though, which made it easier for him to ignore the aforementioned shifty glances.
The silence between the two was suffocating, so much so that L almost wished Yagami would go back to accusing him of attempted-murder.
"…Wanna go to the hospital cafeteria?" L asked at last. "…I haven't really had anything to eat since dinner got interrupted." He looked at Yagami.
"I'm fine, thank you." Was Yagami's curt response.
"Okay then." L then got up and left, glad to have the time to himself. He wondered if the cafeteria had any good desserts.
It was a few more hours until the two were allowed to see Light, who had been given a private room in the hospital.
"Light," Yagami let out a sigh of relief at the sight of his son, and strode over to his bedside. "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better.." Light let out a small chuckle. "Though, whatever pain relief I've been given is strong, I can hardly even feel my toes. I'm glad to see you, though." His eyes flicker over to L, and the guy had the audacity to shoot him a smug grin, so quick that most would think they had imagined it, before looking back at his father.
Yep, definitely intentional. L thought bitterly.
"I came as soon as I heard," There was only one seat in the room, and Yagami seemed to decide that that was for him. No issue, L didn't mind standing by the door. Yagami put a hand on Light's shoulder "Can I ask what happened?"
"Did Ryuzaki not tell you?" Light asked, shooting L another look.
"I just want to hear your version of events." Yagami replied. AKA "I do not trust a single thing that comes out of L's mouth".
L wondered if Light would pin the blame on him, it certainly wouldn't be out of character. He eyed the button on Light's bed that he guessed was for pain meds of some sort. He wondered if he pressed it a bunch of times would Light forget about such a scheme. He was also curious as to what Light would be like high in general, would it make him docile? Or would it just knock him out? Maybe he'd even admit to being Kira while in such a state. Of course doing so would probably not go down well with Yagami, so he shelved the idea for the moment.
"Well, it's all kind of fuzzy, really.." Light said with a sheepish tone that L would bet his fortune on being an act. "I just remember us making dinner together," he brought a hand to the back of his neck.
Yagami looked at L suspiciously, at which he shrugged. "Memory loss is concerning, maybe you should get his brain checked out," He commented idly, bringing his thumb to his mouth.
Light rolled his eyes at that. "You take everything too seriously. I'm just saying it was all a blur, which is understandable considering the situation."
"Well, taking things seriously is my job after all." L replied.
"-Moving on." Yagami interrupted. "Were you told how long you'll be here for?" He asked Light.
"Not long," He replied "They said a night or two hopefully." He smiled at his father, which caused L to roll his eyes.
"That's good to hear. Though the circumstances are… less than ideal, your mother will at least be glad to have you home again while you're recovering," Yagami explained.
"Or he could come to my place," L commented casually, picking at one of his fingernails.
The other two stared at him in silence for a moment, looking as if he had sprouted a second head. "…What?" Yagami didn't really phrase it as a question, but instead as a warning for him to back down with whatever the hell he was trying to suggest.
L, however, chose to ignore that warning "I have a spare room." was all he decided to respond with.
"And?" Yagami narrowed his eyes at him.
"Why not?" L replied. "And-" He added on, speaking as if it was an afterthought (It wasn't) "-it's an opportunity. I'm sure that it'd be difficult for Kira to keep killing when under observation and held back by his injuries." His implication was clear as day, and from the looks on the other two's faces, he knew that they understood.
"No, absolutely not." Yagami declared.
"If it clears me of suspicion then I don't mind." Light said coolly.
"No way! I'm still not entirely sure he wasn't the one who stabbed you in the first place," Yagami argued. "I won't allow it."
"Dad, I'll be fine," Light reassured him. "It's worth it if it means my name will be cleared and L can focus entirely on suspects other than me."
L found himself smirking at that. So he's confident enough that he'll be able to commit more murders even in my own environment. Interesting. Now he was really hoping that Yagami would agree to the arrangement.
Yagami looked at Light for a moment, before sighing defeatedly. "I suppose I can't force you not to, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." He admitted.
Light gave him a reassuring smile "I'm sure he won't try anything, and I can handle myself."
"Like how you handled that knife earlier?" L muttered under his breath.
He was then promptly kicked out of the room.