Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Keep Your Friends Close But Your Enemies Closer ❯ Chapter 4

A/N: Zomg, it's an angst chapter! You're warned!



Raito had planned everything. Perfectly.

He had gained L's trust. He had made sure L could get more comfortable with him. He had even drunk a doubleshot espresso to ensure that he wouldn't fall asleep this time. And then L had agreed to come home with him.

His work was now laid out directly before him.

He led L into his apartment, giving him a pair of slippers to put on at the door. L refused them and slipped off his disgusting old shoes, revealing bare feet. A vein in Raito's forehead twitched visibly as he forced a smile.

“This way,” he called, leading L deeper into the apartment, towards the bedroom. “Would you like some tea?”

“No thank you Yaga—I mean, Raito,” he said absently, his eyes scanning the room's interior. A bed was set in the center of the room, with nightstands on either side. A desk sat on the opposite wall. There were no decorations, nor anything that would make the room look remotely friendly. Just plain, austere furniture.

Raito sat down on the bed, taking L's hand and pulling L beside him. L looked over at Raito's desk, where a small TV was playing the news. “Two more Kira killings,” he commented distractedly.

Raito moved his hand, almost against his will, up to L's face, cupping it in his hands. He forcibly turned it away from the TV screen and towards him, a strange light in his eyes. There was a slight flutter in his stomach as L's eyes met his own, dark and boundless.

Raito, confused at this, dropped his hand from L's cheek, but L didn't look away. Finally, L spoke. “What is it, Raito? You look pale.” His features showed concerned.

This concern, given from his mortal enemy, made Raito snap back to reality. Here he was, with L sitting on his bed, pondering his strange stomach problem when he should be moving his plans forward! Without hesitation, Raito leaned a little closer to L, so their faces were only inches apart.

“Ryuuzaki, I…” he began, doing his best to sound confused and hesitant. It came out pretty authentically since, although he could never admit this to himself, he was rather confused and hesitant.

L stared at him blankly, waiting for whatever Raito was trying to say. Looking straight into L's eyes, Raito suddenly knew what he had to do. He hadn't planned on it so early, but in this moment it all seemed so clear.

Without further hesitation or thought, he closed the small gap between them and pressed his lips against L's.

Startled, L stiffened and made to pull away, but just then a voice sounded from the doorway. “Raito, what are you doing?”

Raito immediately turned towards Misa's voice, swearing at himself for ever giving Misa a key. She was nothing but a completely useless annoyance that interfered in his extremely delicate plans.

“Good evening, Amane-san,” L said politely from his place on the bed, looking completely nonplussed.

Raito ignored him and walked over to Misa, thinking of what he could say to her to make her grasp the magnitude of what she had just done. “Misa,” he hissed, his voice like venom, “Get out of here.”

For once, Misa did not obey him. “Raito, I asked you what you were doing!” She sounded determined to have her question answered.

Raito was losing his patience, which he never really had much of with Misa in the first place. “I said get out of here.” He turned to signal the end of their conversation, but Misa grabbed the back of his shirt.

“Were you…What were you two doing, Raito?” She was almost pleading, but there was a strange edge to her voice. A dangerous, possessive edge.

Raito closed his eyes and grit his teeth. “Nothing that concerns you. Now leave before I do something I regret.” Although Raito seriously doubted he would regret anything that he did to Misa, whether he was angry with her or not.

At this, Misa spun Raito around, so he was now facing her again. “How can you say it doesn't concern me, Raito! I love you, and I thought you loved me!” She looked about to burst into tears.

“Well,” Raito said impatiently, “You were wrong.”

Misa took a deep breath at these words, her eyes widening. She seemed so about to burst into tears that Raito was shocked at the tone of her next words. “Raito, you're mine, and don't you talk to me like that!” she said in a voice filled with cold hate. Then, without any warning, she raised her hand and slapped him. Hard.

Completely stunned, Raito gave Misa a chillingly cold glare. “I formally apologize, Amane-san,” he said in a voice of complete hatred.

He knew this unfamiliarity would hurt her, and he was rewarded when a look of pure despair crossed her face. Whipping around, she stomped out of his apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Raito smiled cruelly. He turned around and was disappointed to find that L had not left, or even moved, during their fight scene. He was still perched on the bed, exactly as Raito had left him. Now, however, Raito was in no mood to play games with him. For the good of his plan, he shouldn't even try. He knew he'd end up losing his patience with the stupid brat and destroying everything he had worked for.

He laid down heavily on the bed. But before he could subtly hint to L that now was a good time to leave, L pulled his legs up against his chest, into his normal sitting position, accidentally brushing Raito's foot in the process.

Completely wound up and infuriated over the Misa incident, Raito reacted instinctively and pushed his foot against L's. L looked up at him curiously and pushed his foot harder against Raito's.

What the hell was L doing? Playing with him? Seeing how far he could be pushed? Raito's well-controlled temper snapped at this, unable to hold back his vehement rage at L's inability to comprehend anything.

He slammed his foot against L's, backing it with all the force he could get from a laying position. L, taking it as a challenge, pushed back at Raito with equal force. The two sat on the bed, legs shaking from exertion, pushing at the other's foot for several seconds. It looked like they were equally matched. But, just as Raito was regaining his composure and wondering what the hell he was doing, L conjured a surprising amount of force into his foot.

Raito, completely surprised by this, was unable to counter. He flew off the bed and landed hard on the ground, hitting his head against his nightstand in the process. The room swam before his eyes for a moment, and then everything went black.

L, still sitting unharmed on the bed, smiled a little. Looking down at the prostrate Raito he said in a low voice, “Yagami-kun, you still can't beat me.”

He slid noiselessly off the bed, slipping out of the room and then out of the apartment, wondering if Raito might invite him for cake again.

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Raito woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. The headache only worsened when he realized exactly why he was lying on the floor, instead of in his bed.

He had been foiled by a game of footsie.

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A/N: Ooooh, Raito got told! Thanks to my wonderfully nitpicky beta and friend, Magnumzero, and also to everyone whose commented on this. Comments are rewarded with some more Raito/L love!