Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ PITCH ❯ Foiled ( Chapter 18 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

 

Pitch: (def.) 

A substance commonly utilized to bind materials in construction... Tar pitch appears solid, and can be shattered with a hard impact, but it is actually fluid. Pitch flows at room temperature, but extremely slowly. To attain maximum fluidity, to be used, it must be exposed to heat.

 

Minds are like pitch. To reveal their full potential, they must be exposed to environs that apply stress. They must be challenged.

 

____________________________________________________________< /font>

 

Part 18: (Foiled)

The feeling of instant anger was getting old, Raito thought as came upon the scene in the kitchen.

His eyes were drawn to Lawliet first, of course, and he did not miss the bruised look of his mouth, nor the skewed look of his sweater. Immediately after, Raito sought the source of such indiscretion and his eyes fell upon none other than Aiber. 

That he was looking upon this impudent man in his realm - that the foreigner had somehow slithered out from behind bars and had dared to approach the dark-haired detective.... 

Perhaps 'anger' wasn't descriptive enough. 'Outrage' seemed much more fitting. 

Oh, and it did not help that at this moment, when un-control was slipping over him, that he could precisely recall Lawliet's request of him, as clearly as if it were ringing in his ears: That he do nothing to harm Aiber, when he so dearly wanted to.

He toyed with it, weighing the consequences of such action as the morals imposed on him by the object of his desire were turning to ash in his mouth. To be controlled in any way did not sit well with him. Not at all. And yet how else but by being controlled could he in turn control Lawliet? It was a hateful sort of give and take, and he did not feel at liberty to break the cycle. Loyalty was the only thing that kept people close... and for such loyalty to remain intact, Lawliet required trust. He mustn't do anything to breach that trust, or he might lose everything.

He groped inside of himself for a calm place before making himself known.

(Lawliet's bruised mouth...)

He tried very hard to feel the calm that would allow him to be so very in control.

(Aiber had kissed him again, hadn't he?)

His fists clenched and it was not the calm place that he found within himself, but satisfaction in the discomfort he'd dealt Aiber's worthless body the night before. Nothing that provided lasting damage, nothing that would be visible unless he were to remove his shirt, merely sore ribs and bruises gained amidst the hissing of pain. Such a small thing to endure for the crimes he'd attempted.

"You have some nerve showing up here," Raito said with a gilded smile. 

Aiber turned to him and immediately his eyes narrowed with dislike. "Hallo, Yagami. It seems like only yesterday that we saw each other last."

"And it seems to me that this is the last place you should be."

Raito flipped open his cell phone and dialed building security. Aiber may have gotten out somehow, but that was easily rectified. "Security? It seems that we have an intruder."

Aiber's face tightened.

Perhaps he could revisit a more... fitting punishment upon the man this time. The thought fed the maliciousness in him like a pet.

"Yagami-san?" the security guard confirmed.

"Yes."

Sometimes the security staff irritated him with their preoccupation with protocol and their incessant observation of etiquette. What he wanted now was to see Aiber dragged out of here by his throat, to see him humbled and shamed and to make him more aware than ever that he could not weevil his way through the cracks without being discovered and thwarted. Had he really expected to steal Lawliet out from under him so easily? Raito had more than enough resources to snap the man in two.

"Uh, Sir..." the guard on the phone was saying, "I was told that if you were to call in like this, that you should contact the Chairman immediately."

The Chairman? Now it was Raito's eyes that narrowed as he realized that he was being denied, and that the guard seemed to know of Aiber's presence. Was The Chairman involved somehow? Was he the reason that the blond foreigner was roaming free? It would make sense in a fucked up sort of way.

Raito hung up on the guard, his mouth wanting to twist in disgust and agitation and dialed the old bastard's number. With each unanswered ring, he got more and more irritated. His eyes remained on Aiber, promising consequences were he to try and escape. On the sixth ring, the Chairman picked up.

"What is the meaning of this?" Raito said shortly, losing patience. He hated being thwarted. But even more, he hated it when Amane was a step ahead of him.

"Ah, good morning to you, too, Raito," the Chairman said in a jovial voice that made rage slither up Raito's spine. "Might I assume you have encountered Aiber?"

"You might," Raito ground out. "And might I ask if you are aware of his actions of late?"

"Well aware," the Chairman stated matter-of-factly. "And watch your tone, boy."

Raito bit the inside of his lip until he tasted blood. 

"Now then," the older man continued in a self-satisfied tone, surely aware of the maelstrom that Raito was suppressing and enjoying it entirely too much. He reveled in pressing his thumb down upon the younger man whenever the opportunity presented itself. "What you might not be aware of is my daughter's growing fondness for this man. What is a father to do when his daughter so tearfully begs for her new lover's release?"

Raito blanched. Misa and Aiber? The thought did not sit well. Mainly, it complicated things. His own situation was more perilous if Misa's interests were tied up in everything. "What about Ito?"

The Chairman chuckled. "You are to keep this in confidence, of course. I trust you can do that."

"Of course I can," Raito protested. "But--"

"You aren't alone, are you, boy?"

Raito viciously bit his lip again. He despised being called 'boy'. Chairman Amane knew that of course. The sleazy bastard. "No." 

"Then let me talk." There was a creaking of leather, as if he had settled more comfortably in the large burgundy office chair that resided in his home office. "I posted bail and had him released, but not without conditions, dear boy. He rightly earned his place in our fair justice system, and he will rightly earn every moment of freedom I gift him with - if he cooperates. He is sworn to secrecy on the matter of any information he procured from your residence. He understands that it is not merely your reputation he would drag down, but mine as well, and..." he laughed heartily, an ugly sound, "he is fully aware that he does not want to do that."

There was a long pause, and Raito could hear the sounds of something being drunk. Probably port, he thought acidly. 

If it hadn't been for the Chairman backing him with his name these past years, Raito could be sure that he would have just been hung out to dry and that the Chairman would be jovially watching him crash and burn for entertainment. The only interest the man had in protecting him was in protecting his own name from scandal, and most of the incidents were his affairs in the first place. Maybe on a benevolent day, he would consider his daughter's feelings and give Raito a hand if only to keep her happy. But he rarely had good days, and that just went to show that he had an ulterior motive in this as well.

"Ahhh...." the Chairman sighed cheerily. "Nothing like whetting the old whistle to make a day seem all right. Hmm, now where were we?" 

He paused for dramatic effect only, Raito knew. He ground his teeth in irritation and waited for the monologue to continue. 

"Right then.... I'm sure you are just dying to know what I could possibly think to do with an ex-con in my grasp... one that my little pumpkin is so charmed by.... a smooth talker that could rival even your silver tongue, my boy."

For a moment, Raito actually had to strain to suppress a laugh that threatened to burble up from the back of his throat. Aiber.... Aiber was being scouted as his replacement? It was too ironic, and too beautifully hilarious. Oh, how Aiber would suffer.

"Chairman," Raito said respectfully, able to let prior irritation slide for this, "that just may be your best idea yet."

He knew first-hand how stifling and demanding a role it was. And nearly the only way to escape it was to be set free or to surpass the hand that both lifted you up in the world and bound you tighter than anything else. Raito had been aiming to surpass The Chairman. It was a long road, and daunting when it involved the additional grooming into the role of son-in-law, which would be the ultimate shackle if allowed to go unchecked. Raito had barely escaped it all this time, straddling the line only through exceptional cleverness and evasion tactics. 

"I knew you'd like that, you little charlatan," the older man backhanded him playfully. "I can see promise in him if he's groomed properly and, unlike you, he'll have more motivation to do exactly as I say."

"When have I ever done otherwise?"

"Well, you certainly caused me enough problems when you broke things off with Misa, I tell you. I'll never forgive you for handing me such a pain in the ass to deal with. And what was I to do without a suitable replacement? The cameras love you, and she was too infatuated to be very useful on other fronts. I'll give you credit though for setting her at Ito's boy without her realizing it. That was a stroke of genius."

"I do try, sir."

"Yes, you are motivated, and doing your best despite me. I'd be proud if it didn't irritate me so." He chuckled again good-naturedly, but Raito knew what his brand of malice sounded like. "Are you sure you can't stomach her, son? You're still my first pick."

"Unfortunately, I've already seen that course to its logical conclusion."

"Feh. It was worth a try." There was a loud harumph from the other end. "Anyway, I think he'll play to the cameras just fine. He'll be a regular celebrity. So, I want you kids to get along."

"Excuse me?"

"I had the lad tell me everything. Down to the barest detail." He paused, pointedly. "You get caught with your pants down, and you are on your own. You are also forbidden to take action against my dear blond little laddie if he should do something to displease you, but above all else, word of his interest in that other detective will not reach Misa's ears."

Christ. Aiber told him about Lawliet? How fucking stupid could he be? Of course, such a bold move had also gained him immunity. The foreign bastard.    

So, to sum it all up, the Chairman knew about himself and Lawliet, and he was expected to keep that under wraps. Aiber was given free rein to do whatever he wanted in trying to pursue the detective because the Chairman enjoyed being a bastard and making his life intolerable, and both he and Aiber were to keep Aiber's interest in Lawliet a secret under pain of death.

He could feel the tiny seeds of a powerful headache settling just behind his eyes. "So I assume his debut will be after the merger?"

"Sharp as a whipcrack, m'boy. Ito won't be worth shit on a shingle after that and the whole deal is an irrevocable process - the best kind."

"Ah." Raito took that moment to put his attention back to the room's other two occupants, the fight having left him. Dealing with the Chairman was beyond tiring. He could almost - almost - feel sympathy for what Aiber had gotten himself into.

Lawliet was staring at him as if trying, beyond reasonability, to divine the whole measure of his conversation, and he'd certainly have been watching his expression just as intently, which was why Raito had had his back turned at specific points. It was kind of endearing though, that look, even if such perception as the detective had could be wildly inconvenient at times.

Aiber, the menace, was looking suspicious. It seemed he'd felt a chill breeze, like one from the depths of a crypt, washing over him. He was starting to wonder about his fate, and the razor thread of worry was beginning to plague him.

Raito smiled at him and the look intensified delightfully. Good. Suffer.

"I must be off," the Chairman said lightly. "So many holes, so little time."

Raito was hoping he meant golf, as the Chairman was overly fond of the game, but who could really know with someone like him?

The line had gone dead in his hand, so he snapped his phone shut and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm informed that we are now colleagues," Raito said archly, extending his hand to Aiber.

Aiber viewed his hand like a venomous serpent and for some inconceivable reason, looked to Lawliet in appeal. The slender, dark-haired detective shrugged, just as perplexed as he was. The blond man set his jaw, hatred sparking in his eyes, but he took Raito's hand and did not attempt to crush it.

Raito leaned in and spoke in a low voice. "If you want to survive the ordeal set before you, do not piss me off." As he pulled back slightly, he met glacial eyes and added, "A friendly word of advice. Keep Misa happy and it will all be a lot more tolerable for you. Under no circumstances should you make her jealous. You will live to regret it."

"How is that friendly advice?" Aiber asked, their hands still linked in a mockery of good will.

"You're more than welcome to discover that on your own." Raito smiled again, and malice was burbling up within it. His spot of empathy was being chased by the larger beast of his hatred. No one deserved the Chairman, or Misa for that matter, but there was certainly no one who deserved it more than Aiber.

Aiber dropped his hand as if it had burned and tainted him with its essence.

Raito did not look at Lawliet. He couldn't be clouded by any reaction he saw there now. The point had to be made and it had to be made now, at the inception. 

"Aib-- Oh! Raito!" Misa's startled voice came from around the corner, like fine sandpaper against his nerves. She swept into the room, and he steeled himself to her presence reflexively. It allowed him greater range of voice and expression if he did that. "And...." she squinted at Lawliet. "L, right?" 

The detective nodded his head in assent and she clapped her hands together in a peppy display of pleasure at having a few brain cells to rub together. "Daddy said we'll all be working together now."

"So I've heard," Raito said loftily, giving her the strongest stare of disapproval he felt he could get away with.

She had the good grace to look embarrassed. It had been her fault that Aiber had been given the information he needed to infiltrate Raito's home, and her fault once more that the man was no longer going to be spending his days in a concrete box with barred windows. 

Surely she realized that such a betrayal had killed his incentive to be even moderately accommodating of her anymore?

She wilted a little and secured Aiber's arm as if it could provide her sustenance. Then she fixed Raito with a haughty look. 

Aiber did not protest his enslaved arm as Misa tried to make Raito jealous, but instead kept slanting piteous looks at Lawliet.

Raito could see the suppressed desire in his colorless eyes and felt vindicated as the foreigner was forced to cage them in Misa's presence. He even looked torn, as if he wanted to say something to the slighter detective but was too limited by present company to even attempt it.

Hahaha.

"Welcome aboard, Aiber," Raito said heartily. "Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you as you adjust to everything. I'm more than happy to watch over you."

Pale eyes met his and they understood what he was really saying. I'll be watching you, and I will not let you function as you please. 

Just let Aiber try to catch Lawliet alone again.

With the Amanes as watchdogs, his every waking moment was practically spoken for. And in the off times, either of them was only a phone call away.

Aiber slanted another desperate look at Lawliet as Misa cuddled his arm in an attempt to make Raito jealous. He was starting to feel trapped - the silken cobwebs that were hardly visible were starting to tighten around him, restricting his movements even at this early stage and it looked like the taste of it was already bitter on Aiber's tongue. Raito knew that feeling all too well. And he hoped Aiber fucking choked on it. He did not appreciate the shuttered look of wanting that was apparent in the foreigner's expression, nor that it was visceral enough that Lawliet took an unconscious step backwards.

He could just see Aiber slipping his guards...

He could just see Aiber cornering Lawliet, taking him at a disadvantage...

Did the blond detective know where the insomniac lived? Was it feasible that he could get in while everyone slept? Raito had seen the layout of the house. The upstairs was largely unused except by Lawliet. A scuffle would not be heard. If Aiber slipped in, he could overpower the unsuspecting insomniac and take him by force. Bound hands and gag, and it would be all too easy, and any noise would pass unnoticed.

Raito realized he was thinking too hard about this. Not only that, his mind was drifting, replacing Aiber in that scenario with himself. It was his own hands binding Lawliet's thin wrists together, securing them to the headboard. And he couldn't even recall at this moment whether there had been a headboard on the bed, only it didn't matter, because he was forcing cloth into the insomniac's mouth and thrilling to the feeling of power at having Lawliet at his mercy, staring at him with those sharp obsidian eyes.

And it didn't take much to conjure the look of tormented pleasure that Lawliet would wear... the twisting of his head as he denied the sensations that rode his body, making it shudder helplessly.

It was at times like these that Raito was grateful for the masks he wore. Even when losing himself to distraction, he could be reasonably sure that he was not making an inappropriate expression.

He shook his head slightly, aware that he was garnering looks now from all three parties. 

Lawliet was radiating that delicious uncertainty tinged with desire, having sensed something from him with his acute perception.

Aiber had also sensed something and his demeanor had sharpened to quite a wicked edge. 

Misa was duped, however. Whatever she had sensed in Raito, she had assumed it applied to herself, and she bore a quietly preening air. She looked pleased with herself and her hold on Aiber was looser, as if trying to convey to Raito that she was still available. She seemed under the impression that he was jealous.

And he was. But not over her.

He wanted to eat Lawliet alive. To consume every protesting yet acquiescent part of him, to savor each piece upon his tongue and utterly indulge in gluttony. 

Part of him also wanted Aiber to watch. To helplessly stand by, knowing his chance would never come. Raito wanted to feel him seething, beyond jealous and unable to act - to have him see Lawliet at his most alluring, his most intoxicating, and being unable to touch, taste, or feel.

How maladjusted of me.

"Are you free over lunch, Raito?" Misa asked.

Raito scanned over possible reasons for her asking, and none of them invoked his desire to spend time with her. In truth, nothing at the moment was dragging his mind from the delightfully debased fantasy that remained playing out in the background of his thoughts, but it wasn't as if he could indulge such fancies for hours yet... Life was cruel.

"Why do you ask?" Raito said, instead of giving an answer. There were some things that he did not feel like dealing with in the office, and an extended lunch did offer reprieve of a sort. But it was best to determine first if obliging Misa would end up being more trouble than it was worth.

He couldn't say that he wanted to have to look at Aiber's face while trying to maintain an interest in eating. He was nearing his limit at being able to stand his presence.

Misa toyed with Aiber's arm. "Well, Aiber is scheduled for meetings, and I don't really feel like dining alone."

"Is Takahiro unavailable?"

"Ito?" she queried, as if only vaguely aware of her boyfriend's given name.

"Unless you have expanded your circle, yes."

"He's a bore."

"Ito?" Aiber asked. 

"Her boyfriend," Raito supplied helpfully. 

"Raito!" Misa said indignantly.

"He ought to have known about him," Raito said unapologetically. "It's no secret." He turned to Aiber. "Though it seems as if The Chairman may have supplied you with selective information, my friend." He really was getting sick of Aiber's face.

"You said you were done with Ito," Aiber said in consternation. No doubt he was feeling the precarious nature of his position. He was really up the creek if Misa's fickle nature shifted from him and onto someone else. And though Raito would love that, as it would send Aiber right back into hell, the blond detective would be much more tormented as a free man trying to keep pace with this new life the Chairman was lining up for him. 

Raito saw an opportunity to make things difficult for him. "I'd love to do lunch," he said to Misa with a million dollar smile. Hell, he'd fended her off for a while now, it wasn't like he couldn't continue to do so while putting Aiber in the hot seat.

She beamed at him, a little flustered and still obviously infatuated. That would likely change.

"Now hold on--" Aiber stepped in.

"Aw, don't be jealous, Aiby." Misa pouted and gave him wide eyes, batting her lashes a bit. She seemed thrilled at the extra attention, and at the promise of alone time with Raito. She hugged his arm cutely and tapped the tip of his nose with her finger. "You'll be in a meeting with the committee and him," she said, pointing to Lawliet. "Since the two of you will have to work out your Sherlock Holmes stuff." 

---

L felt as if his jaw had just hit the floor, though that was just a fancy metaphor people liked to use instead of saying they felt utterly poleaxed. He guessed it made one feel more dignified.

"Excuse me, Amane-san?"

"Yes?" The blonde who looked like a model gifted him with her attention. She really did act like a prima donna, he thought.

"I was not informed of this, and I do have other business to attend to..."

Raito, L noticed, was bearing the traces of a scowl. "I was not informed of this either," he said tightly.

Misa shrugged, unconcerned. "Now you know."

Aiber looked considerably more cheerful.

In turn, L felt equally unenthusiastic about the prospect. Time spent with Aiber was a thing to be avoided. Though Misa had said something about a committee. Still... how long was the meeting and how long would Raito be tied up with Misa?

"Raito, can I speak with you a moment?" L asked formally. Misa..... and that smile of Raito's... There were certainly some things to be sorted out here.

"Certainly," Raito said. "If you'll excuse us," he said to the other two, though he was not asking permission, tossing it over his shoulder like an afterthought.

"Raito," L said once they were not in danger of being overheard, "I'm not ok with this. I have real work to do, and I refuse to work with Aiber after his recent behaviour."

The brunet leaned against the wall, his back to the kitchen. His expression would be hidden from the fair-haired couple should they poke their heads around the corner. Irritation slid over it. "I knew nothing of this. Any of it," he said in a harsh whisper. "Aiber was liberated by her father."

"Why are you flirting with Misa? I'm not ok with that either."

Raito looked surprised for a moment. "Oh, that," he said distractedly. "I'm not, really, but did you see the look on Aiber's face?"

L reached out and took Raito's sleeve in hand, shaking it. "I don't care if you feel the need to antagonize him for whatever reason. Realize what effect your actions have on me as well."

"For whatever reason?" Anger slid into Raito's hushed voice. "Any time I leave you alone, it seems he manages to stick his tongue down your throat! And even if the Chairman hadn't granted him immunity, you yourself asked me for that not long ago and the very thought of it grates on my nerves."

"At least I am not soliciting his interest like you are with Misa," L flung back. "It's obvious she's not finished with you and would be quite happy ripping your clothes off."

"I'm not in any danger, not like you are. Aiber's completely fixated on you and I can see that there isn't much that will put him off. Not to mention he's built like a truck."

"He may be larger than me, but I can take care of mysel--"

"Move in with me."

L stopped mid-thought, "--f what?" Live together? The very idea was ludicrous - they'd only just met. Not to mention, he'd hardly had a moment apart from Raito since then. He needed to maintain his own residence and have the distance needed to keep a rational perspective on things. He has got to be kidding.

"Move in with me, Lawliet," Raito repeated in all seriousness.

"Raito, I have work to do." L felt antsy. Too much was going on. Too much had happened these last several weeks and he was still reeling. "I don't have time to go to these meetings for my fake job, and I cannot compromise my real job any further for you. It's distraction after distraction. I need to get my life back, not derail it further."

L had long since dropped his hold on Raito's sleeve and was unconsciously inching away. He had the feeling he was at the edge of a precipice. He needed to step back, not get more deeply entrenched in the insanity that Raito's proximity inspired.

Live together? It was mad. And worse still, L could picture it all too clearly. Sleeping together, eating together, coexisting in the same space..... everything they had been doing already. Only there would be no break from the distractions Raito offered. How would he work? How would he concentrate? How would he keep his eyes from roving the rooms? For Raito's abode was much different than the barren state of his own.

Raito grabbed his hand then, his face set, and pulled L after him down the hall.

L yanked at his arm unsuccessfully. "What are you doing?" he asked incredulously as he was hurried along, looking back over his shoulder at the kitchen where Aiber and Misa were waiting for them.

Raito said nothing, merely stalked down the hall with L's hand in an iron grip. "Raito-"

Raito viciously jabbed at the button for the elevator, and when it came up, opening with a ding, Raito slung him inside. 

"Why not?" the brunet said acidly. "Why the hell not?"

The door slid closed again as they faced off and the elevator started down with another soft ding. 

Astonishingly enough, Raito waved a keyfob over the control panel, hit a few buttons, and the elevator was shuddering to a stop between floors.

"What are you doing??" L said again, more urgently this time, grabbing at the tiny device on Raito's keychain. Why was Raito always doing things that set him on edge? Such recklessness! Did he want to get them stuck in the elevator?!

Raito held it out of reach. "It will take them hours to sort this out." Raito loosened his tie and maintained a locked gaze upon L that was palpably heavy. "Of course, I can let us out at any time. Your call."

L backed up a step. That weird light was in Raito's eyes. The tie loosened further, purposefully. It seemed rather redundant to ask again just what he thought he was doing, so instead L said, "Let us out."

"No." The tie slid apart, hanging to either side of Raito's neck like a thing with latent potential. L didn't know quite why he was staring at it, except that Raito's graceful hands upon it had been lingering strangely.

Next, L wanted to voice the redundant question, 'What do you want from me?' He didn't. He was too preoccupied with Raito and the tie that was sliding out from around his neck like a lazy serpent, deep red and burgundy.  

"Hold out your hands," Raito commanded softly, his strange eyes harboring some quality that left no room for argument.

L frowned as he unconsciously brought his hands forward, and Raito claimed them with his. Something felt off. Anxiousness fluttered in his stomach as the tie slid and wound around his wrists, red as blood, and yet he was immobile, incessantly staring at the brunet's face as he worked and his silken hair fell across his eyes. What was this? 

What was this? he wondered again as Raito finished and eerie eyes once more met his own. They filled his vision as his bound hands were brought over his head and pressed to the wall of the elevator with one tan, lean hand. L's breath stilled as long lashes lowered over those eyes and Raito's lips haunted his, making his pulse hammer in his ears.

"Why won't you give me what I want?" Raito murmured against him, a sharpness in the deceptive lull of his voice.

Small, soft brushes of Raito's mouth against his... the torture of a gently captive lip, held and explored between a more sensual pair...

...and the gradually increasing weight of a leanly muscled, perfect body against his. Abdomen to abdomen, chest to chest, and mouth to mouth.

"Give me what I want, Lawliet," Raito said huskily, covering L's eyes with his other hand. Everything went dark, and L was suddenly more aware of the fluttering in his stomach, the quality of their breaths, and the press of hips as Raito softly penetrated his mouth.

He held back a moan as he suffered such ministrations, his face heating as his lower body clenched sharply.

What had gotten into the brunet? What had possessed him to shirk work by trapping them in an elevator for an unprescribed amount of time? What was this insistence of his....?

It wasn't uncommon for Raito to use such things as a means of persuasion when he was trying to get what he wanted, but.... what was he so fixated on?

"God, I want to violate you," Raito said against his mouth as his hand skated up L's stomach. "Over and over until you beg me to stop."

L could feel a hardness at his hip, a promise enclosed in flesh and blood, and his body ached for it.

"Only I won't oblige you," Raito continued, his voice gone rougher with arousal, a secretive, carnal whisper that spoke to his body in the heartbeat language of Morse code. A hastening communication that came on as strongly as the hand that was playing at his hip and lower. "I'll take you so many times that your voice will grow hoarse and fail you. And when you have no words left with which to refuse me... then, and only then, will I be satisfied." 

L struggled weakly against his restraints as Raito touched him, pulling helpless noises from him easily like a harpist plucking strings. 

"He wants inside you as badly as I do," Raito said in his ear. "I won't allow it. I can't stand the thought of it. I swear to you, Lawliet, I don't know what I would do if that happened. I wouldn't be able to control myself."

L's eyes scrunched shut as Raito's hand grew more bold, a cry building in the back of his throat. His possessive words, damnable hands, and silken voice... they were such fearsome weapons. L's legs were beginning to shake, and his arms spasmed ineffectually. He couldn't.... think. He...

Raito released his arms, and guided them around his neck where they hung limply, held in place only because of the knotted tie that bound his wrists.

Then Raito was unbuttoning his collared shirt, exposing the beautiful lines of his chest and stomach. He pushed L's sweater up to his chest, baring his flushed, pale skin, and then L was melting in the heated, heady sensation of a desperate, thorough kiss and the feel of their naked skin. His hands twitched with the desire to pull the rest of their clothing away... to feel the bare heat of Raito's need against his own, unmasked by so many useless barriers. 

"I want to stay over your place when you are not at mine," Raito murmured as he unfastened both of their pants in turn. "I want to always have you where I can see you." L's pants were kicked off to the side, along with his shoes.

"Rait...o..." L gasped out in what had been an attempt to speak normally. It was a hopeless endeavor. He was entirely too distracted... Underwear was still in the way, but it was thin, and now the movement of hip against hip felt so.... so........ His eyes rolled in his head as each motion flooded him with need. Passion. Desire. 

"Aiber might get to you if I'm not vigilant," Raito said in a breathy, stilted voice.

And what a voice... every syllable echoed sex. He could have been reading the dictionary in that voice and it wouldn't matter just as long as he kept talking.

"Nnn," L moaned despite himself as Raito lifted him up to straddle his hips, and pressed him hard against the elevator wall, spreading his legs wider and intensifying everything exponentially.

L sought Raito's mouth, pulling it to him with the circle of his arms and dying a little as Raito ravished it with so little restraint. He couldn't feel any more strongly than this, he was sure. Wrapped in the brunet's punishing embrace, he was dying, and so sweetly. He would be a phoenix, burned to ashes and reborn every time. 

Raito cried out, stifling the noise between them; release shuddered through him, tightening his entire body like a vice and L was not long after.

---

In hindsight, it was perhaps not the best of plans but Raito did not regret it. 

Lawliet was adorably lethargic and unintelligible afterwards, whereas Raito felt energized. It was probably nervous energy. He'd never intended to jump the detective in the elevator... he'd merely wanted some answers. He hadn't liked how quickly Lawliet had refused his suggestion of living together, though dark-haired man couldn't have known the scenario that had been lurking in Raito's head: Aiber breaking in and having his way with him in his sleep, tied up and helpless...

So now they were in an elevator at Raito's work, disheveled and smelling of sex, and Raito was on the brink of being in a heap of trouble. 

It was still worth it.

In fact, he wouldn't mind doing it all over again.

But people weren't going to put up with a broken elevator for long... he needed to get out of the building before too many people saw them. He could work from home, if need be. Coming back freshly showered would be suspect. 

The fourth floor was the least trafficked, so that would be the logical choice, he thought as he solemnly buttoned his shirt. Though, the problem with that was how often Mikami liked to haunt that part of the building. Why the fourth floor? It was Mikami. He hadn't bothered to ask. Though there was a staff lounge... a rather infrequently used one at that. 

Oh, but it didn't matter what the bespectacled man was up to, as long as he was up to it in a place that was out of Raito's way. The odds were good that the fourth floor would be nearly deserted at this time. The odds were also good that, just because it would be really annoying, he would just happen to run into the man.

"Raito, I don't think I'm cut out for working here," Lawliet said in a rueful, wrung-out voice.

The detective was leaning against the elevator's railing, working the last, constricting red loops of Raito's tie off of his wrists with sleepy precision. He looked utterly relaxed and scandalously at home with his bound wrists, disheveled hair, and lopsided sweater. His pants, he'd already pulled back on, but hadn't bothered to fasten yet. It left a strip of pale skin visible where the sweater rode up, and the bones of his hips lay bare to Raito's eyes.  It struck him to be very like an American jean advertisement. All Lawliet needed was to have water dripping artfully through his hair or a cigarette in his hands, or...

The faux model-in-question raised smoky eyes to meet Raito's. They were nearly solid black with the pupils still blown and the look in them was a calm, at-peace sort of thing edged with the sardonic, wry humor that was purely Lawliet.

Raito drifted in, pressing a kiss to his lips, utterly captivated by the image he presented. "You can do anything you put your mind to."

"Mmn." Lawliet didn't seem inclined to argue, though it was obvious that he disagreed, or perhaps he just didn't want to expend the energy. 

Lawliet's expression turned a bit bland and he raised a brow. "So, how long do you gather people will be ok with a non-functioning elevator?"

Raito thought for a moment. "Oh, I'd say about--" The elevator lurched suddenly, making them both grab at the wall for balance. The sudden drop made his nerves stand on end. "--now might be the limit of their patience." 

"Did you have some sort of plan at this point...?" Lawliet looked like the tension of imminent discovery had gotten to him, too.

"Well, not really," Raito admitted with a cavalier tilt of his head. Somehow seeing Lawliet getting flustered was making him feel calmer. 

The elevator did another stuttered lurch and Lawliet's eyes widened a fraction more, his mouth compressing into a line. He looked like he was forcing his expression into a bland poker face, but it was hardly perfect. It was awful of him, Raito thought, but he was taken with the urge to tease the detective and shatter that paltry effort, endearing though it was.

He flashed a glittering smile at the dark-haired man. "Come now, are you that ashamed to be seen in such a compromising fashion? You wound me, Lawliet." The detective was doggedly trying to fasten and straighten his attire while avidly avoiding eye contact. The speed with which he'd looked away and the angry flush of color on his cheeks spoke of discomfort. "Surely by now you have gotten used to the idea?" Raito pursued that blush and turned Lawliet's willfully averted face back towards him. He gazed brazenly into dark eyes and lowered his voice, using a silky tone that always garnered an amusing reaction from his companion, "What would be so terrible about a little office gossip?" 

Raito could feel the tell-tale tuggings of a smirk lingering upon his lips, which was ruining the sincerity of his act while also earning a darkening look from the furiously blushing detective. Delightful.

The real shame was that, despite his teasing, Raito really couldn't risk the exposure of their relationship. But he didn't need to let Lawliet know that.

In fact, the less Lawliet knew about the Chairman's rules, the better; he might start throwing his weight around if he thought that Raito had to bow and scrape to anyone. The dark-haired man was much more cooperative when he thought that Raito retained absolute control over everything in his environment.

"What is it worth to you to exit this elevator without an audience?" Raito asked enigmatically.

Lawliet's startled grimace of capitulation was too entertaining for words.

This ought to be good.

 

____________________________________________________________< /font>

TBC

A/N: Elevator sex........... T__T Errrrrr... what is wrong with my demented brain?