Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ PITCH ❯ Lines in the Sand ( Chapter 19 )

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

PITCH

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Light x L

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Part 19

L is a reclusive detective who takes his job seriously. Too seriously, in fact. Once he takes note of how neglected and stagnant his life truly is, he decides to make some changes. Challenges arise through an unanticipated meeting. AU

A/N: iPhone4. Oh my god. This has been the neatest toy/insanely useful thing I have had in forever.

Wifi networks are everywhere, so I can pop online and look stuff up randomly when I need it without getting charged (for 3G usage). I can take a picture and email it to people right then instead of the old process of taking the pic with my digital camera, loading onto the computer and then going into email and sending it. Really. Just tap the pic, choose to send, tap the contact and VOILA! (The 5MP pics are gorgeous and crisp - just as good as my digicam.)

And podcasts work quite nicely from it, with the added bonus of being able to view the little indicator that tells you if you have listened to the cast or not (which I can't see on the ipod). Hello CoffeeBreak French! So we meet again! Great podcast for language learning. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in learning French. The hosts are Scottish, which for me just adds more entertainment/culture. (Also, there is a great French language game for the DS Lite. The Japanese game is awesome too - I have played that more as I am better with Japanese and have been studying it longer.)

Wow. I just realized - a whole author's note about stuff completely unrelated to this fic! :S

(For the record, NO, I have not had dropped calls with the iphone4. Why is that the first thing that everyone feels compelled to ask when they see an iPhone4 in the wild? Strangers will even stop me on the street to ask that (or to ask the differences between the 4 and the 3GS. Wha? I'm not a sales rep, go look it up!). It's insane! People, just don't cover up the little black strips along the bottom of the side panels if you are having issues. Oh, and grab your free case from Apple by downloading their "free case" App. Load it, pick your case, verify your address, done. Free. Nice.)

Moving on!!! XD

BTW, happy holiday weekend! I hope you all have a little extra free time to enjoy!

Disclaimer: (See part 1 for full disclaimer.)

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.

Part 19: (Lines in the Sand)

L glowered sullenly. How the workings of the universe had conspired against him to such an extent? How had the stars aligned in such ill-fated formations as to bring about this......this..........

"Smile, Lawliet," Raito chided him drolly. "You aren't being very pleasant for someone who has just gotten his way."

"You told me I shouldn't smile," L muttered uncooperatively. MY way? Ha.

"I'll allow it this once," Raito said graciously, goading him with a serene smile.

"I hate your personal assistant." What L really wanted to say fell into the realm of name calling, but he tried not to stoop to immaturity... though the brunet seemed adept at pulling such childish outbursts from him. He also did not like the very pretty blonde woman that happened to be Raito's PA. He was indeed grateful that with her assistance, they made a graceful exit from the elevator with few to none witnessing their departure.... but.....

"Don't change the subject, Lawliet. Besides, Hal did nothing to incur your ire."

"You could have warned me about her," L said resentfully. "You might have mentioned that we'd met before." Indeed, he had nearly forgotten about the matter, until seeing the blonde's face had brought it crashing back... Hal, as she was introduced, was in fact the same woman who had used the alias Vic, the model. The same woman who, at the bar, had written her name with a heart on a little scrap of paper along with a phone number that had turned out to be not hers, but Raito's. "I can't believe you had your PA chat me up in the bar that night!"

Raito shrugged, unconcerned. "Hardly as successful as it should have been."

"Raito..." L growled.

Raito waved him off. "You have no idea how many times I've regretted it."

L knew better now than to mistake this for an apology. Likely, Raito was about to say something irritating...

"She took quite the liking to you and I never hear the end of it," the brunet said in a melodramatic voice. "If she isn't pestering me about getting your phone number, she's trying to maul me when she hears that we've had sex--"

L was appalled. "And why would you be telling her about that??!"

Raito slipped him an appraising look. "Well, I hardly had to tell her this time, it was written all over your face."

L's eye twitched and it took considerable willpower to keep himself in check. Raito has no shame. He has no shame. Why must I keep reminding myself of this? How could I ever forget?

"Really, Lawliet, you must learn some restraint. If you'd have schooled your expression, she might not have flung herself on you."

Twitch. "And you might have told her that groping is an unacceptable form of greeting." Hal had seemed more than capable of jumping him with as much gusto as Raito usually did... The woman's sly gaze had been eerily familiar as she'd looked him over. The most disturbing part was during the centuries-long embrace, which had taken him by utter surprise, especially after the initial shock of recognition, she'd actually had the nerve to smell him!

L resented that Raito had enlisted her help, that Raito had felt no qualms about mentioning just what had happened in the elevator as he'd spoken to her on the phone, but most of all.........

"So," Raito said casually, as they finally exited the building and entered the bowels of the parking garage. "What am I going to do with you for an entire day when you have agreed to do anything I say?"

"You could always come back to work after you change and actually earn your salary," L suggested churlishly.

"I think calling out sick would be the right thing to do. Why work at home and ruin such a choice opportunity as this?"

L muttered something under his breath.

Raito smiled at him and the expression was full of intent. "I think it's brave of you to act out of hand when you are in such a situation, Lawliet. It is really just so... inspiring. You wouldn't believe how much."

L curbed his behavior with a determinedly bitten lip. He did not need to see Raito inspired. The brunet was inspired enough as it was, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to the next many hours of his life. He'd already been informed that he would be having the honor of a guest staying over tonight (Raito), and that it would be up to Raito's benevolence whether or not he lived to regret it.

It wasn't so much that having Raito sleep in his bed was a problem... though L did feel protective over his room, which was also where he worked, and over his privacy...

Actually, he did feel anxious over that, though he had now slept over at Raito's plenty of times..... but what really bothered him was Watari, and how he was supposed to explain Raito's presence. Or maybe it was also that Raito loved to torment him and it was likely that the brunet would try to make advances on him, and shame him through forcing sex on him in such an unsuitable place. That would certainly be like him. Raito seemed to take an almost perverse joy in making him cry out as loudly as possible, and L doubted his companion would curb such behaviors for his sake.

L could feel his face heating with embarrassment at the very likely scenario, and with anger at his inability to really do anything about it or the volatile brunet that subjected him to such things. Why do I keep finding myself in these sorts of situations? Most of all, he really did not feel ready for Watari to know the nature of their relationship. Maybe he never would be, but he was sure the ticking time bomb named Raito had other ideas and had no such qualms about it.

Was Raito put on this earth merely to torment him?

---

Raito had great plans for the rest of the day. He wondered if they'd live up to the expectations Lawliet's expressions spoke of. He smiled.

He felt quite at ease now that they were leaving his work building behind. Now he had hours to kill with his favorite new pastime, who was wearing an expression quite like a cat that'd been on the wrong end of a bucket of water. And there was nothing to intrude upon that time. No excuses that could be uttered to make them part ways, unless he said. Lawliet looked convinced that he would at any time do something horrible. Not that he was planning on it, but such expectations were a nice ace to have up his sleeve. It might be fun to see just how far he could go in playing with the detective, how much he could get away with, simply because something worse was feared. Raito was rather fond of that petulant, conceding expression that the dark-haired man sometimes wore.

He did try to think of things other than how he would really like to make Lawliet make that face while they were in bed, as well as just what sort of things the detective would be so against that he could eventually be swayed into doing anyway. Hmmn... Lawliet's earlier resounding 'no' to the suggestion of being bound in leather came to mind. It had been a passing fancy even to say it - more facetious than serious - but Raito took note of how quickly the detective had shot it down, and it made him want to explore it further. At length and in detail.

But mostly, he was planning on behaving himself. He wanted to break the ice on the matter of staying over at Lawliet's when Lawliet was not staying with him, and that too had been shot down without hesitation. That did make him feel rather irritated, if he chose to dwell on it. He should punish his companion for that, at least.

Raito frowned lightly to himself. Was the detective really ashamed to be in a relationship with him?

He seemed set on never letting the truth of it see the light of day.

But if anyone had reason to not wish such a thing to be known, it would be me. Why does Lawliet care? His career would not be affected. Or did he really feel that strongly regarding the older man he lived with? Was he afraid of losing acceptance?

"Why are you sighing?" Lawliet asked him as he fastened his seatbelt with a click.

Raito looked at him with cold appraisal. He didn't do it intentionally, but he could not have his true thoughts showing on his face. He was feeling the prickling of jealously that made him want to be mean. How could Lawliet be more concerned for what that man Watari thought than what he thought? Was this the reality of his importance to the detective? Was he not in fact in the highest ranking place, but in one of auxiliary import? He backed the car out of the parking space. And here he was, worrying over Lawliet and whether or not he was safe to be left alone when Aiber was not as hobbled and behind bars as he should be. "Was I?"

Lawliet gave him that animal-like assessing look that was one part prey and one part obstinance. "If my question is seen as an intrusion, you're welcome to ignore it."

Raito rolled that around in his head for a moment, eyes on the road, seeing and yet not seeing. Lawliet could be quite keen. It was certainly one of his more compelling talents, but it was also a trait of such astuteness that it made Raito's evasiveness more transparent than he liked. As usual, he felt both touched and irritated that Lawliet could see through him. Thus, he was torn between rewarding the other man with an honest answer and shrugging him off in favor of keeping his thoughts private.

His other option was to tease the detective in some way in order to take the heat off, but he knew that Lawliet resented it when he did that.

In the end, Raito frowned and shrugged. He suddenly didn't feel lighthearted enough to torment his passenger, nor bolstered enough to want to bear his displeasure. He didn't want to reveal himself either.

"Suit yourself," Lawliet said, propping his elbow on the car door and resting his hand on his chin. He turned to look out the window indifferently.

That indifference pecked at Raito, more insistent and incessant than the drone of a buzzing insect.

It's put on, he told himself. Pay it no mind. Lawliet might not be as adept as I am, but he can still mask himself quite skillfully. But still, the thought that the other man might have inquired only due to some feeling of obligation - as opposed to curiosity - really grated his nerves.

And at times like these, the urge to do something to cause a break in that emotionless face was like a roar in Raito's ears. He knew it wasn't the proper sort of reaction for a person to have.... and he knew that the blank face in front of him was probably more natural on Lawliet's face than any of the others that he had seen.... but still the feeling welled up like an uncontrolled thing, and it twitched through his limbs - the desire to lash out. He had power when Lawliet showed him those bare, tormented expressions and focused solely on him. The opposite was true when the dark-haired man's indifferent face was turned aside, as if Raito was not even worth looking at, and Raito's thoughts boiled in the shadow of his neglect.

---

Aiber tapped the side of a pen rhythmically against his fingers. He'd tap it upon the glossy executive table, but even in his boredom, he was not keen on attracting more attention to himself.

He'd dismissed Yagami as being entirely acerbic in his vague, ominous warnings earlier... now, he was starting to think there might have been some shred of light in that black soul of his.

The more glimpses he gained into the seedy underpinnings of this group he now found himself involved with, the more he was starting to see what Yagami must have been dealing with and the more he was regretting his own position which seemed to be the one Yagami had recently vacated. He's still an asshole, though, Aiber thought with irritation. He'd decided, however, to heed the brunet's impromptu advice, jotting it down as a mental note which would be his field guide to survival.

Maybe it was Yagami's plan all along to have me switch places with him... to allow him to move freely. That rotten bastard. So while he is off doing what he wants, I am stuck here in his stead.

Aiber glanced over to the empty chair that had been meant for L.

The one bright spot to all of this had been how much closer he'd been able to get to the other detective. Enough so that he had seen through the cracks of his calm, collected, unflappable exterior, to the indecisive human underneath. To the flesh and blood beneath his seemingly mechanical façade. Aiber had looked forward to this meeting, if only because it was a chance to remain in L's eyesight, unavoidable after the words they'd exchanged, and that it would allow him to study his longtime acquaintance uninterrupted. It wasn't quite the same as the satisfying, thrilling feel of having L within his grasp, but it would do. It would be more than enough, in time, to allow him to start breaking the dark-haired detective down. He would carve his own niche, just as Yagami had, and in time, he might be able to beat the demon at his own game.

He tapped the pen against his finger, already blaming the brunet for L's absence.

Across the table from him was a blonde woman who had announced that she would be filling in for Raito. It irked Aiber that the room accepted that and moved on, whereas he himself was stuck on the fact that Yagami wasn't even supposed to be present. L was. That bore significance, did it not? That Raito's assistant was filling in for the detective? Were they sharing the PA, or was her presence a truer indication that his smooth-talking ex-employer was indeed keeping L from being present?

She glanced up, catching Aiber's eye and he realized he'd been staring. She winked at him with a playful gleam in her eye, the only change in her very professional expression.

He wasn't sure if it was her way of confirming his unspoken suspicions, or if the behavior was flirtatious.

Perhaps both?

He scribbled some meaningless words down while tuning back into the meeting. He had no intention of letting her get any sort of hooks in him. He needed to play his cards close to his chest.

'Don't make Misa jealous.'

Oh, fuck you, Yagami, he thought. Like I want to get involved with anyone else, let alone another blonde who is tied to this place.

Yet his eyes drifted back over Hal, the blonde in question. Her blue eyes were darker than Misa's and she had a more stately air about her... almost a secretive feel to her business chic appearance. Misa was more cherubic and princess-like. They probably were not that far apart in age, but they seemed vastly different in a way that was very like age.

Again she caught his eye by looking up too quickly. His expression soured. She, on the other hand, hid amusement behind a delicate cough.

Was it giving Yagami too much credit to think that he'd had a hand in this? That he would do something like offer a warning, yet try to sabotage his rival with the very thing he had warned him about?? Or did this have nothing to do with that demon child at all?

Even if it did not, Aiber harbored no warm and friendly feelings towards the brunet. He fully intended to get even, to inflict some damage, and to wrest L from those greedy, entitled fingers.

Was there a way to turn this around? A way to throw Yagami back into the hot seat, back under Chairman Amane's thumb, and to liberate himself in the process? He rested the end of the pen against his lip. Without Amane's support, he'd be back in custody. Without Misa's affection, the same. Hmn... It was a tricky situation, to be sure. Was there no way then to stay in this spot, and still have what he really wanted? More than anything, he wanted a crack at L. More than a crack.

It would be hard to come by the chance, as both the Amanes watched his every move, but perhaps he could still find a way to move independently. He did not feel that his conversation with L was by any means over. He fully intended to explore it further, and in great detail. All he needed to do was get the detective alone.

He bit down on the pen and felt it press into his lower lip, distractedly thinking of L.

---

"Truth or Dare? What are you, 12?"

"Now, now, L, dear," Celia shushed him, "don't get so worked up at Raito. I'm sure it will be plenty of fun."

Raito smiled congenially at the room, perfectly contained and emanating an aura of trying to harmlessly entertain them all.

L chewed nails in silence. This was so beyond stupid.....

"Ah, I have never played this 'game' before," Watari said.

"You aren't missing anything," L grumbled.

"Oh, so you've played before?" Raito asked, a sharpness lurking in his tone. "With whom?"

L waved him off. "It doesn't matter." Not only was the evening unfolding in a completely unanticipated fashion, but Raito seemed bent on torturing him in new and unusual ways. He tried not to think that he was disappointed, and that he would much preferred the sort of torment that he'd originally imagined (and what seemed to be the brunet's specialty.)

Tonight was an unscripted play.

Dinner with Watari and Celia was a bland affair, though not unenjoyable, really.... just.... it was so tame in comparison with what might have been in store. And beneath it all was an edge of anticipation. When would the other shoe drop? What was Raito really up to? This was too out of character for him. L was at his mercy, and yet this is what he'd come up with. What was the hidden meaning? There had to be one....

"Ok," Celia said with a small, excited clap of her hands. They were not quite finished wallowing in their assessing looks of each other from where they sat around the kitchen table in L and Watari's rented abode, but that was probably why she was putting an end to it. "I know how this works, so I guess I'll go first."

L didn't bother to mention that Watari was the only one who did not seem to know how this worked.

"Oh, this can be such fun," she said as an aside. She was fixing each of them with a speculative look in turn, as if trying to choose where to begin. "And a great way to get to know each other!"

L surreptitiously glanced at Raito. This was all too bland for the brunet. It didn't fit him at all. What on Earth had prompted his invitation for all of them to eat together and spend time like this? Yet he was sitting there at his end of the table looking perfectly at ease and devoid of any sense of urgency. As if he were right at home. He'd even downplayed his earlier antagonism with Watari, which he'd displayed the last time they were here.

"Ok, Raito!" she said, spinning to him. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

L raised a brow. Raito did understand how this game was supposed to work, didn't he? With his propensity for lying, it seemed unlikely the brunet would be playing by the rules. And if he were to adhere to this game's code, wouldn't picking 'dare' make more sense?

"What is your favorite color?" Celia declared her question with a flourish.

Raito smiled engagingly. "However am I to answer such a direct question as that in mixed company, Miss Celia?" He winked.

"Oh you," She huffed, a little flustered. "I thought we could start out with the easy ones first."

"Well, if you must know..." Raito trailed, gaining everyone's fixed attention quite effortlessly. "It is the very shade of blue you are wearing this evening."

Celia flushed pink with the flattery. Watari muttered something about his being convinced that it was a total lie.

"A lie, Watari-san? What would make you suspect such a thing?"

Watari sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "It is too convenient, for one."

Raito was getting a bit of the energized sharp look, like he wouldn't mind engaging in a proper clashing of wills. It was probably too subtle for the others to see, but L noticed the thrill of challenge sparking in his amber eyes, banked beneath the civility.

"L, is that really his favorite color?" Watari demanded of his protégé.

L was sure he did not want to get involved. He shrugged.

Celia frowned. "Is this really going to be a problem with all of you?" She looked taken aback, as if this was all absolutely ridiculous. "It's a game." She viewed their closed off faces and sighed. "Ok, then. If we can't be adults about this..." She turned to Raito. "Would you mind terribly if your turns were just 'dare', dear? I can't see any other way around this."

Raito feigned a sigh and shrugged as if trying to dislodge a heavy weight, which unfortunately remained in place. "If that will appease everyone."

L caught, however, the tiny flicker of humor in his amber eyes as he glanced at his companion. How convenient for Raito that he was now absolved of 'truth'. The jerk had probably planned it that way from the start. Now even L was barred from trying to procure information from him in the scope of the game, whereas Raito could ask anyone else anything he wanted.

"Very well, my turn, I presume?" Raito asked, good humor filtering back into his expression as if he were trying to banish the unpleasantness of a moment ago. His eyes swung towards L for a long moment, digging into him as if threatening him with what might be asked. L's mouth compressed in a thin line as the brunet's gaze intensified with a dangerously playful look.

"Watari-san," Raito said before finally shifting his gaze. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," the British man said staunchly, as if certain that saying 'dare' might lead him to a tragic end.

"How long have you been working with L?"

This was not an idle question. L sensed his interest. It was in the poise of his body, in the weight of his eyes... So he was using this game to procure information??

Watari thought about that for a while. His white moustache shifted in a half-hearted waggle as he counted the years in his head. "About 12 years?"

"Oh my! So you knew L-kun since he was practically a baby," the older woman exclaimed. "What was he like?"

Watari glanced at L. L shook his head slightly, discouraging elaboration. He felt Raito's greedy mind poised at the reservoir of knowledge, and he found he did not want to oblige him. Besides, that was a whole separate question.

"My turn then," Watari said. He looked at Raito as if he really wanted to ask him any number of questions. His eyes even narrowed a bit as he remembered that he was unallowed to. His expression accused Raito of having orchestrated that on purpose. The slight smirk on Raito's lips did nothing to dispel that accusation.

Turning to L, he said, "Truth or dare?"

L chewed on his lip a moment. Watari's questions should not be too probing.... "Truth?"

"What made you start dressing so differently recently?"

L blanched. So direct! "Ah... That was..." Watari's questions were supposed to be safe! What gives!? "That was my attempt to shake things up a little bit. It is too easy to become a creature of habit." There. That should suffice.

"I think you look brilliant, L-kun," Celia said encouragingly. "Good for you, trying something different."

L tried to offer a smile. "Truth or dare?" he asked her.

"Dare!"

L tried thinking of something that might be dare-worthy, but it was somewhat difficult. Raito waved him over. L grudgingly leaned over to accept advice.

"Are you eagerly anticipating what I might do with my turn once it rolls around?" the brunet said in a low voice that jagged through L's relative calm. The words swirled on his tongue like cream. "...what I might dare you to do?"

L pulled back abruptly, fighting off any sort of reaction to those words while Raito's eyes dragged at him, trying to submerge him in their intensity.

"So..." L said quickly, turning back to Watari's lady friend. "When are the two of you going to get married or something?"

Oops.

Celia laughed kind of nervously. "Well," she looked at Watari, who also looked put on the spot. "We haven't really committed to anything yet... but we talked about maybe trying living together in the future..." She looked embarrassed, like admitting as much was more like she was answering a question like 'are you sleeping together?'.

L was sorry he'd asked. He hadn't meant to make things more awkward.

"Um... Truth or dare, dear?" Celia asked him quickly.

"Truth," he said, feeling he owed her that.

"How have things worked out with the girl you were seeing?"

L froze. "Girl?" Oh no, he could feel Raito's gaze press upon him like razor wire. He could only hope to derail this question. He tried to feign ignorance. The only girl she could mean is the one she mistook Raito for, due to lack of information...

Celia warmed up to the question. "You know, the one you were telling me about?"

No, no, no. "Um." Confused. Act confused! "I'm not sure what- "

Celia laughed a little as if perplexed at how he couldn't remember and that she was sure he was just being shy. "You told me about her a while back." He was shaking his head. Please don't... "The one with the beautiful eyes that knew several languages?"

Goddamnit! Raito was sure to figure this out in a heartbeat-

"You don't say," Raito said with an air of smugness, the dangerous aura he'd been emitting mellowing into something rife with a different sort of interest. "What did you say that her name was again?"

"I didn't," L muttered.

"You know, I'm not sure, sweetie," Celia said to Raito. "What was her name, dear?"

"I do believe that would count as another question," L said unhelpfully.

"You never answered the original question," Raito pointed out. "If you don't answer, are you willing to take a penalty?"

"What kind of penalty?" L asked suspiciously.

"The kind where it will suddenly be my turn," he said silkily.

"It can't be your turn next, it would be Celia-"

"Ah, but she went twice in a row by accident." Raito rounded on him, making his heart rate pick up its pace. "We should really even it out. And I say that your turn should be a dare." Raito's gaze was like a snake's. He was planning something evil. Scandalously enough, as L watched, the tip of his pink tongue slid out to delicately wet his lips, drawing attention to their fullness in a way that was totally inappropriate in this setting. In any setting!

Watari cleared his throat. "Or it could be my turn," he said. His expression said that he knew the serpent Raito was, and that he was not about to let L get swallowed whole.

That malicious light shone in Raito's eyes. "Oh, but I am the only one who has yet to have a turn, Watari-san. Surely we should be fair about this?"

"Truth," L said quickly, trying to dispel the tension.

Raito's lips curved into a smile that did not set L at ease. "Why don't you elaborate on this girl you've met? Tell us what she looks like?"

"Oh, and tell us when we are going to meet her," Celia chimed in as L's face flushed.

"I-I have nothing to say about that!" L stood, scraping his chair back. He wasn't going to try and describe this imaginary girl until it was obviously really the brunet sitting at the table. He'd forfeit the game instead.

"Or if that isn't to your liking, how about a dare?" Raito offered slyly.

L's attention swung from him to Celia and back again. He was starting to feel caged. He doubted this next offer would be any better. But Raito seemed bent on continuing this little game, whether L wanted to or not. Maybe he should make a break for it.

"I dare you," Raito drawled before L could get around the table, "to move in with me."

L froze. As in, really and truly freezing to stillness in a way that made prior freezing seem like merely a turn of phrase. He felt his mouth gaping slightly, harboring his shallow breaths.

Watari's chair scraped back as he stood abruptly. "Why would he want to do that?" It was accusing, as if the man were really asking if they were in fact sleeping together.

"Didn't he tell you?" Raito asked with feigned innocence.

"Raito, be quiet," L warned him quietly, not ready to hear the blunt words that would, at any moment, be falling from his treacherous mouth. His heart was beating steadily faster and he was sure it would soon be visible to the naked eye.

Raito, of course, hating being told what to do, continued. "Didn't he tell you we-"

"Raito!" L bit out, leveling a harsh glare at him as he slammed his hand down upon the table. He couldn't bear a replay of Raito's 'we're sleeping together' bit as he had endured at Raito's parent's house. He wouldn't stand for it.

The room grew awkwardly silent.

"-get along famously, I was going to say," Raito trailed. "Though it hardly looks that way at the moment, does it." It was hard to tell if that was really all he'd been about to say or if he was merely reacting to L putting his foot down.

"There is no reason for L to be moving in with someone like you," Watari said staunchly after the echo of L's outburst had faded. Celia looked distinctly uncomfortable and seemed to be feeling bad for Raito.

"Someone like me?" Raito dropped the wounded act and bared his fangs. "Would you care to elaborate, Watari-san? Unless your biggest protest is that it would make things too convenient with Celia-san, and you have cold feet."

"Raito," she said in a hushed voice, looking anxiously between him and Watari as L was promptly forgotten.

"You know nothing about Celia or myself," Watari said scathingly. "So don't you dare try and drive a wedge between us to suit your needs. You are underhanded and self-serving, and I don't doubt for a minute what your intentions with this are. Yes, it may be crowded here with the three of us, but I am not going to allow you to do what you want and pull L into it."

Raito gave him a deadpan look. "It hardly seems fitting for a man to have his honor defended by another man while he is yet in the room."

Raito turned to the lone woman in the room. "Celia-san, might I present you with the 'girl' that you were most mistakenly informed about?" He bowed with a flourish, presenting himself.

L nearly freaked out. So Raito was going to air their relationship one way or another!

"But..." she looked a little taken aback. She met his gaze though as he rose from his bow and L fought the urge to crawl under the table. "Well, I mean..." she floundered a bit, unsure of what to say or if this was all a joke. "You do have pretty eyes... " She'd obviously decided coming about this from an analytical perspective. "Do you speak several languages as well?"

"(I speak perfect English, as do you yourself, if I am judging your accent properly.)" he said in English. "((I also speak better French than my friend here cares to admit, but I believe he has merely been too long without practice.))" he continued in French. "Need I say more?" he finished in Japanese.

"Friend, you say," Watari latched onto that term with tenacity. "Is it really all you see him as?"

Raito spread his hands in apology. "I have no idea how it came about that I was described as being of the feminine persuasion, and I am deeply sorry for any confusion that might have caused, but I doubt L ever intended to describe me as anything more than a friend. We have not known each other long, after all."

The alarms going off in L's head, which were so loud and debilitating that he'd been unable to act, lowered in volume and frequency as he detected the brunet doing one of his skillful turnabouts. It was dizzying trying to keep track of Raito's intent. One minute he seemed set on exposing things L felt were better kept hidden, and the next moment, he was preserving secrecy with his evasive style of speaking and his leading apologies.

"That... That might be my fault," Celia offered. "I saw L-kun on his way out a couple of nights ago and I assumed he was going out on a date. I know he is a little... unpracticed with people and he probably felt pressured to answer me in the way I was asking him." She looked over at L, who was dumbfounded. "Can you forgive me, L-kun? You just described the first person to pop into your head when I put you on the spot, didn't you? I'm really sorry."

L nodded slowly. He felt Raito's triumph on his one side, and Watari's stewing malcontent on his other. Celia's guilt was making her oblivious to the one glaring problem with this story, though the same was not true of his mentor. "What person in their right mind would describe a friend's eyes as beautiful, then?"

"Um..." L said, not helping his case.

"Watari," Celia said, "This is L-kun we are talking about. He obviously didn't mean anything by it, it was just his choice of wording. Raito-kun does have nice eyes, and it probably just came out wrong. If I wasn't so convinced L-kun was meeting someone for... you know... he might have said it differently."

Watari remained unconvinced, but decided not to debate the matter further.

"Perhaps we should call it a night," Raito said ruefully. "I'm sorry for my part in such a spirited exchange."

"Don't you even worry about it, Raito-kun," Celia said, wringing her hands a little. "We're sorry too. And don't you feel like you have to leave, either. We were about to retire, so you two just feel free to have the run of the place."

"Thank you, I wouldn't want to intrude." Raito said demurely, playing favorites way too easily. Watari was still bristling over the affair, but looked like he did not want to be chastised further by the well-meaning Celia. "Though my friend does owe me a game of chess that we have been meaning to get to for some time now."

"I have the board in my room," L offered grudgingly. "Unless you prefer to challenge me online?" That would be infinitely less awkward...

"L-kun," Celia looked puzzled, "if you did that, then how would you even talk to each other?"

"Well you see, most computers come equipped with micropho--"

"Don't be silly, dear. You're taking the human element right out of it."

L thought that was precisely the point. He could do without it when it came to Raito... having the human element proved to be quite overwhelming at the best of times.

"I agree," Raito deigned to speak, a loftiness hiding within his voice which hinted at deeper currents of thoughts milling beneath the acceptable words. "Besides, I am in front of computers most of the day at work. A change of pace is good once in a while."

---

Once in the relative safety of L's room, Raito exploded. "Do you have any idea how irritating it is for me to tiptoe around these people, denying your real connection to me?!"

"It's your decision to tell your family plainly that we're sleeping together," L fought back, "but it is my right to decide if mine knows."

"They aren't even related to you--!"

L felt his face close off, his expression sealed as Raito's careless words racketed inside him, stirring anger. How pompous and entitled this prince before him was. "I live with them... eat with them," he ground out. "It's the same difference!" Is it my fault that I have no proper family? Am I to be judged and looked down upon for being untraditional? As if I had control over the actions of my parents, or that I have no right to claim familial ties with people that have acted more like family than mine ever did?

"It isn't," Raito stressed, "but the point is, I was not going to actually say anything more than I said."

L switched gears, disliking the topic of family anyway. "So you were happy to make me think you were going to?? Is it so pleasant to watch me freak out?"

"Stop yelling, it's getting on my nerves."

"Your nerves??"

"Stop it, Lawliet," Raito growled, pushing him roughly backwards and harrying him. "Your attitude is starting to piss me off. I've done plenty for your sake. The fact that you would quibble over a little teasing is pathetic."

L found the bed bumping the backs of his knees. "Pathetic?" Indignation swirled inside him, mixing with the ill feelings that Raito had already raised just moments ago. "That I ask you to treat me with a modicum of respect?"

Raito leaned in with a sharp expression on his face. "You would be well aware of it if I decided to treat you without respect..." L leaned back a little, a reflexive movement, and one that could not be taken back with how close the brunet was hounding him. Now he was not only trying to stand his ground, but also trying not to fall onto the bed. It always came back to beds, didn't it? "You would be well aware of it if I stopped trusting you." Aaaand the leaning was fast becoming a severe problem. "You must just take everything I do for granted, then. You think nothing of being invited into my home, nothing of my honesty, and nothing of the things I do to cater to you."

Oh crap, L thought as he lost his balance with a windmilling of arms.

He fell upon the bed and Raito looked down upon him with a look torn between anger and entitlement. It wasn't a look that L was enjoying having directed at him.

"Raito..." L, now without the impending danger of his imminent fall to distract him, began to process that last batch of words directed at him. Raito hadn't lost the expression that had been pissing L off, yet...it seemed different. Something made L feel like beneath that snobbish attitude, the brunet was... hurt? Incongruous though it seemed, L was sure it was something along those lines. Is that why I am now feeling guilt? It was a strange feeling, foreign in the face of the anger that had just been swallowing him. There was guilt, and also regret that the normal interaction between them was so far out of reach. They twisted in his chest, nesting inside the anger that was still sliding and whispering through his veins.

"I believe you owe me something for today."

Raito's tone was becoming even icier. L swallowed. He felt wary, and uncertain whether he would continue to want to make amends in this situation. "For..?"

"For leaving your pride intact after we exited the elevator? By keeping our activities from public notice."

Oh, L thought with shame as the situation he'd tried to thrust from him immediate memory came flowing back - intense eyes that were not unpleased with him... slow, agonizingly sensual kisses... a hot whispering in his ear and the hand covering his eyes... His own voice choking on the feel of Raito's body against his.... Oh. That.

"You agreed to do anything I said for the remainder," Raito reminded him stonily, "Or did you forget, amidst all your feelings of unfair treatment, and me still asking nothing of you?"

L bit at the inside of his lip, worrying the flesh. He hadn't meant for things to be like this. It was unnerving to see Raito act so angrily and dismissively. Especially when not 10 minutes ago, he'd been on the other end of some rather lascivious looks. This drastic change in demeanor was unnerving. Confusing. He didn't like the instability of it. "Rai--"

"Take off your shirt," came the imperious command.

L frowned, complying for the moment, but....

He paused, the shirt still wrapped around his arms, the air cool against his bared skin. He failed to see how removing his shirt would do anything for the situation. He also did not particularly like being ordered around. He was about to argue such, but his voice froze in his throat. Raito's look had darkened abruptly as he even thought to attempt it, and he meekly relented on the shirt altogether.

Cowed, he watched the lean, militant brunet stride over to his closet and fling it wide.

"Close your eyes," came the sharp demand from said brunet.

Irritation peaked a little as L did what he was told. He did not like being told what to do, especially in such a snappish tone. But he especially was not fond of these sorts of moods from the brunet, and was hoping that playing along would let it pass.

The next thing he knew, his arms were being pulled together in front of him, forearms stacked and aligned wrist to elbow then bound with his black leather belt which had been living, unmolested, in his closet for some time now. Playing along was becoming more difficult already. "Raito... I really don't think...." He fussed with the binding, not liking the immovable restriction it provided.

"Quiet," Raito said, spurring him to stillness. The word reverberated in his ears, heavy and containing something unnameable.

A tie from his closet was bound over his eyes, taking his vision with it.

He bit his lip hard, seriously not liking this, and finding it difficult not to ask Raito what he was doing.

"Stand up."

"Right here?" L asked. Did it make sense to stand on the bed? Or was he supposed to crawl off the bed to stand on the floor?

There was an extremely pointed silence.

L clambered to his feet as best as he could, impeded by the state of his arms. What the fuck? He was seriously growing tired of this and was getting extremely close to... saying....

His inner ranting trailed off as he felt hands slide up the insides of his clothed thighs and slowly back down again. What...? He shuddered as they ran up higher each time, threatening to deviate from their path. He tried to remain unaffected, but Raito touching him at all seemed so incongruous with everything that it was just so totally unexpected.

His stomach jerked as those hands alighted on the front of his pants, unfastening them with deliberate slowness, and drawing the zipper down for what felt like an eternity. Then the cloth was peeled back, baring part of him within the V of that gaping opening.

He felt something brush against him there, against the cotton fabric of his underwear, the barest of touches brushing intimately against hidden flesh, making it stir. L tried to not react. He tried to remain unaffected. He tried, but he could feel a blush begin to ravage his cheeks as increased pressure and heat identified the brushing caresses as being from wandering lips and a mouth that was not mindful of the cloth that was in the way. A hungry mouth which was tasting and tormenting him, making his legs shake and his breath come in short gasps as he fought off the sensations.

L felt those hands on his hips, playing at his skin before dragging his pants lower. More exposed now to the mouth that was undoing him, he bit at his lips to distract himself from his swelling flesh and the hot mouth that was making it ache so severely. Not to mention the hand that was slipping around behind him, caressing the curve of his backside, kneading, and sliding between....

L's arms spasmed in their restraints and he wanted so badly to take off the blindfold.

What was Raito's intent? What was he hoping to accomplish?

He moaned against his will, even though he was biting his lip against making the sound. Raito must've slid his underwear down, because what he was feeling now was the embrace of Raito's hot, sinful mouth against his bare skin, and the caress of a skilled tongue cradling his aching flesh. He swayed on his feet, unsure of how long the flagging strength in his legs would last. His posture was caving in on itself, and his mind was rapidly able to affix to nothing but that decadent heat and the trailing caresses upon his backside.

Just as he thought he couldn't hold up another minute, mouth and hands left him. He sank to his knees, crumpling as the stimuli ceased and the fight went out of him. He was breathing fast and shallow, unable to get enough air. His face was inflamed, but he was far too painfully aroused to notice. It was difficult to concentrate on breathing and ignore the throbbing between his legs.

If this was Raito's way of 'punishing' him, he wasn't going to make it easy for him. He wouldn't... sit here begging for release. He'd calm his body down somehow... He wouldn't let himself be on display, if that's what this was.

"Take off your pants," Raito's voice slid into his ear. It was as if the brunet was wrapped and coiled around his body, caging helpless prey. He wasn't helpless. He wasn't trembling.

L wilfully tugged against his restrained arms.

"Lawliet," that voice warned him sharply, curbing his rebellion with clipped tones. Threats lay in those tones like jeweled promises.

L twitched. He did not like this. He did not wish to comply with this... whatever this was.

I should put a stop to it...

But he felt strangely unable to act, and his pulse was racing in his ears like deafening white noise. Raito's lips brushed against his neck then, feather light, tracing his skin maddeningly... pulling another muffled noise from his throat as the flesh he could not ignore throbbed in reaction. He could not see, but he could feel the closeness of the brunet, could taste the thickened air, could envision his beatific face which was so close to his own... could almost see the fringe of dark lashes that hid his clever eyes, the silky hair that fell across them... and those wicked lips which made as as if to soothe him as they gently worshipped his skin, though they devoured his tenuous self-control instead.

"The door is closed, for now," Raito murmured, gently tasting L's mouth as he lay the threat upon it. "Do as I say."

Frustration surged through L once more at the way Raito was pulling his strings, at his bound arms which seemed to make it impossible to do what was asked of him, and the loss of his vision. That, and he didn't really doubt that the brunet would do something as horrifying as displaying their relationship to the other people in the house in the worst possible way.

"Raito..."

"Shhh." Raito's hands smoothed down his thighs, a caress that seemed to last forever, making him shiver. They caught upon L's pants and pulled them down to his knees. The weight upon the bed shifted as Raito moved back. A long leg slid between L's own, naked flesh kissing his thighs and forcing them wider. "Now crawl towards me."

L bit his lip hard and shifted his weight to take that first dragging step on his knees. His pants released their hold as his right leg slid forward, and he realized that the brunet's leg must be pinning them in place. He couldn't so much 'crawl' as he would have needed his arms for that, but he moved forward on his knees, leaving his clothes behind.

Suspiciously, the farther forward he got, the wider his stance was forced to become. He deeply suspected that he was in fact straddling the brunet's legs, a position which did not leave much to the imagination.

His very naked legs...

Once more, L's face was burning and embarrassment stilled his progress. He wanted to run away. How far forward am I expected to go? And if Raito's lean body really was as nude as his own...

"Come, Lawliet."

"But--"

"Or would you like me to display to you why I left your mouth free?"

L frowned, hoping it wasn't the oft implied threat Raito had employed on many occasions... The one that bore testament to the brunet's overblown confidence in his ability to make him cry out (which it probably was).

...not that it's completely unfounded confidence...

...but L did not like to dwell on things which involved not being in control of himself.

L doggedly moved forward again, noticing the flare of the brunet's hips as he came upon them, grimacing a little as his own legs were forced wider. He was still painfully aroused, doing his best to forget that detail, and mourning the suffering of his dignity. It was hard not to imagine the smooth body beneath his, or the scandalous position he kept.

"Stop," Raito murmured huskily just as L felt the tapering of the brunet's waist between his knees.

L's heart thudded loudly in response to the quality of his voice. Raito's voice was always pleasing to hear, and often sexy, but just now... He swallowed, chasing the sensation that had coursed through him.

Raito's hands slid up the backs of his thighs, stroking and kneading his flesh with sure hands. Is he going to...?

All it would take was firm hands upon his hips, pulling him down... guiding him onto the brunet's lap... L wondered if the brunet was anywhere near as worked up as he was at this moment and if he was thinking to maybe... L couldn't finish the thought, though his body ached for the image in his head and desperately wanted the feel of Raito inside of him. No! I...

Raito pulled L's hips forward abruptly, catching L by surprise as his mouth closed over hardened flesh. L almost cried out at the intensity of being consumed by such engulfing heat. He clenched his teeth against it, gasping as the pleasure of it lapped at him in ever overwhelming waves.

If only he had something to hold onto... something with which to steady himself... to brace him against this onslaught.

He'd all but lost track of his surroundings. His legs were shaking, tremors racing up and down as they threatened to buckle. He couldn't think. Couldn't see. Couldn't hear, except for the rushing in his ears and the powerful pumping of his heart. Sensation was gathering like a great wave, dragging at him and threatening to drown him under the force of it when its looming form finally broke.

Cool air branded L's flesh as Raito released him.

"Do you want me to continue?" Raito said in what seemed to be a neutral voice. He was no longer mocking, but L was in no state to properly dissect tones and inflections.

Unfortunately, L was also in no state to convey the limitations of a simple 'yes' or 'no' which was all he would be able to manage. Yes, he wanted this. No, he didn't like this. He was all twisted up and at the mercy of his body, bereft without the normal functioning of his brain. He was also at Raito's mercy...

A hand trailed down L's stomach, drawing a line that speared through to the core of him. He was becoming sick with the feel of desire.

"Shall I decide for you?"

"Stop it," L said, barely audible.

Thinking hurt. Talking hurt.

Just existing was beginning to hurt.

His stomach curled and clenched emptily. His body was burning and taking him with it.

Cool hands graced his face, slipping behind his neck and forcing him to bow his head. Raito's lips reached his, sharpening his turmoil with their tender attentions. It battered against the walls of his resistance, cornering him in his own head.

"Give in to me," Raito whispered darkly, enticingly.

L tried to pull away, feeling crippled once more by the blindfold and his own debased reaction to those words. But he could not escape. Raito held him in place and forced his way into L's mouth, owning it and bending it to his will, wrenching submission from him in no uncertain terms.

L hated how his body reacted to that.

Betraying him so.

Not fighting hard enough while Raito's hands skimmed down his shaking body... Not resisting nearly hard enough while those hands found his hips and dragged him down upon the hard flesh that waited to live inside of him. No, his bound arms should not have settled around Raito's neck in the facsimile of an embrace... His breath should not have been coming in ragged gasps as Raito's lust slid up inside of him, inch by soul-stealing inch, until he was pinioned and unable to move. He felt Raito's naked chest and shoulders beneath his arms and cheek as he sagged against him like a rag doll. He could feel the throbbing of that other part inside of him, slick and constricted by the protesting walls of his desire-ridden body.

He felt like he was going to explode.

Raito had done nothing to ease his entry, save whatever he had spread upon himself, and yet that entry was still possible. There had been no pain, just the unbelievable tightness and friction of it. Just the unbelievably dirty and wanton feel of it being just this side of too much.

Raito's heart was beating hard in his chest.

He was nowhere near as calm and collected as he tried to play off.

A hand skated up L's back from the base of his spine, drawing his body taut. Raito bent towards his chest, lips playing at his skin, setting off a flurry of fluttering in L's stomach with each possessive touch. His body clenched around the flesh it held, the aching intensifying maddeningly, and he heard a soft gasp issue from the brunet's mouth. Again, reaction sizzled through him, and his body tensed against it.

Again he heard and felt the brunet react, and the mouth upon his skin became more insistent.

It was a vicious cycle, one that left him no time for tired limbs and lethargy. Raito's hands stoked his back, flowed over his hips, touching everywhere and bringing the aching, tingling, hungering feelings that much more at hand. He could hear his own shallow, soft panting. And the errant hitches of breath he could not control.

Raito rocked his hips then, gripping L's hips in place with solicitous fingers, making him gasp aloud as pleasure and discomfort swamped him. "Rai...to..." He couldn't prevent the name passing his lips. It slipped out unconsciously and unbidden. He could only think of the intensity of that feeling and the mindless desire that this person gave him... To wish for, and be fulfilled when the motion repeated... To seek the mouth that sought his, to revel in the hot, wet union of lips and tongues and drink the passion that was there for the taking...

L felt Raito slip his arms from around his neck, breaking the kiss to finish it, then dragging him down... down... until he was leaning over the partially reclining brunet, partaking of his mouth once more.

This position....

L moaned into the kiss as Raito thrust up into him, now being of a position to do so. Good god...

Raito slid almost out of him before thrusting back in deeper than before, his mouth devouring L's, his hands becoming greedy vices upon L's hips.

Kisses were too hard to maintain.

Raito leaned forward, fully seated within L, and pressed haphazard kisses upon his lips and cheeks. "Stay like that," he said, barely above a whisper, his voice distorted with lust.

L had no idea what he meant until he felt Raito move away, and could tell by the shift in his body that the brunet was now lying upon his back. L was straddling him, fully upright.

Humiliating would be a word for it. Raito would be able to see everything.

"No," L denounced it, everything. His hands were tied, so to speak, but he was still of a mind to protest this at least. "I can't..."

Raito's hands on his hips stilled his words, blinding him with wicked sensation as he was lifted up and then pulled back down upon Raito's arousal. "Yes," the brunet's breath escaped as a word. L was not sure if it was in argument or affirmation. Raito was rolling them into a rhythm that had nothing to do with coherent thought. Only wanting.

It was all too much to escape. He couldn't control himself any longer....

L's body began to move of its own accord, anticipating the brunet's thrusts, encouraging them and drawing them out. Slowly, he was moving the brunet to his own rhythm, hearing the fervid sounds fall sexily from Raito's distant mouth.

He was so angry before...

But now...

Now Raito had him in this situation and, by all accounts, Raito seemed to have complete control. Yet L could feel him coming undone. Raito was not as much in control as one would be led to believe. Was he ever? Was it all just an elaborate act that made him so untouchable and so intimidating... charming... and...... worthwhile?

How did anger lead to sex, unless Raito was merely acting like a child, trying to throw his weight around and gain his way?

This line of thinking was strangely out of the reality of the moment, as if separated from his waking mind. He couldn't think, and yet he could make such observations. No, it was more like thoughts that were drifting into his head from somewhere else. He couldn't affect them any more than he could cease the actions of his body which was nearly burning alive.

He wished that he'd not had the cloth over his eyes. It was unfair that Raito was allowed to look upon him, when he was not afforded the same luxury. He wanted to look into his face, and see whatever flickers crossed those features or burned within those eyes. Was this secrecy what enabled Raito to let go more than he ever had before?

So many secrets...

L's breath sucked in as a gasp, the growing, pulsing ache in his groin magnified as pleasure stuttered through him in punching bursts. Raito's slender fingers upon his arousal were unraveling his being. More so because of the fine shaking of their touch.

L's chest tightened at that, feeling more affected than he could have anticipated at the minuscule sign of weakness from his partner.

Such a... spoiled child...

The thought sputtered out in the cresting wave of impending release. He didn't even hear the muffled sound of his name as Raito's body arched beneath his, spearing him mercilessly at the pinnacle of his orgasm. It was all L could do to stay silent, to not betray their joining further with a vocalization that the others would hear. Because that wasn't what he wanted. Wasn't...

Hadn't Raito crept into enough areas of his life uninvited? Did he mean to have it all?

Raito had his time, his thoughts, his... love. What more did he need?? Did he really have to take away his dignity, independence, and even interfere with his career?

"Lawliet," Raito's voice crashed through everything, tugging sharply at that place in his chest that was becoming so very abused. He never tired of his name on the brunet's lips, or the inflections he could force upon it to mean any number of things. Just now, it was breathy, husky, and... and...

Raito pulled him down into a heated kiss, chasing everything else away. The brunet's body was still shuddering with release, as was L's. The kiss prolonged the lapping waves of pleasure that hadn't yet fled and strangely, created a warmth that was more cerebral than anything else.

Raito rolled them over so that he was on top, his weight creating a pressure that thrummed through L, despite the fact that he should be feeling sated. And, also flying in the face of that was...

"How long are you planning on remaining there?" L said under his breath, his heart was still racing and his breathing had by no means calmed. Raito remained inside of him, and he did not seem to be.... disinterested?

Raito stole command of his mouth, managing to make more kisses seem less restrained than before, more solicitous... It was...

L pushed at him, but his arms were fairly useless. "Rai..."

"Don't you like the feel of me inside you, Lawliet?" Raito all but crooned in L's ear, not allowing him any distance at all. He nuzzled the side of L's cheek and neck.

Yes, that was the scandalous part of it. He could feel Raito harden within him as he spoke such insufferable words... Could feel it and could do nothing. He was addicted to this rude and debased person. He still felt desire trickling through his veins, slow like honey.

"I really can't get enough of you," the brunet murmured, gentle as a confession, steely as a threat. "But tonight, I have you where I want you...and I don't feel like holding back."

---

A soft shffft noise, like the scuffing of a shoe against carpet, woke Raito from the light sleep he'd slipped into. He sat up, disentangling himself from the clutter of limbs that softly bound him. It was late. Probably 3 a.m. or so. It felt that late or early, as it were, in a timeless sort of way that made it seem as if the world just might have stopped between one breath and the next.

He'd never felt so sated.

His hand drifted over to the form next to him, the cause of this peace. This... contentment?

Lawliet was dead to the world, head buried in a pillow, and would likely remain that way for some time. He had been pushed to his limits and was utterly worn out.

It was a perfect picture. One he wanted emblazoned in his memory. One he wouldn't mind sharing...

"I thought I'd find you here," another's voice said into the dark room.

"I knew you'd come. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Raito said.

Soft footsteps, and then the other was caught in some stray moonlight. It sapped the color from his tawny hair and threw his features into harsh relief like some sort of phantom, but there was no mistaking him. His expression as he looked in the bed, his eyes tracing over the scattered, black and white dishevelment of Lawliet was anger, sorrow, and regret. Raito was naked beneath the sheets, and it was obvious that Lawliet was as well.

Raito traced a hand over L's back. The slim body stirred, but not enough to gain consciousness.

"It was supposed to be me there next to him," Aiber said, coming to the edge of the bed.

Raito's eyes were cat-like as they slanted upwards to look at him.

"I've known him longer," the blond man added.

"And what have you done in that time?" Raito asked, speaking as imperiously as if he were ensconced on a throne. He was openly mocking, as if he did not view his state of undress or the other man's superior strength to mark him at a discernible disadvantage. "Before me, you never thought to act, and now you act both jealous and entitled. You aren't equipped to ensnare him. You've known him longer, and thus your failure is multiplied."

"You think you're so clever," Aiber sneered, rounding on him. "But there are more tools than cleverness that are needed to survive in this world."

"Brute force?"

"I see nothing at your disposal here but your own two hands." Aiber advanced on him, steady, sure, menacing. Lightning fast, his hands closed upon a sleek, tanned throat. Raito's face remained rather calm as his neck was squeezed, a marble statue of stoicism aside from the wince of discomfort. The sheets barely covered his nakedness as his body tightened in resistance. "Which of us do you think has the advantage now?" Aiber asked him, triumph and malice riding the low tones of his voice.

There was a thundercrack of sound, and Aiber's hands loosened.

"That," Raito said, as Aiber slid from him onto the freshly adorned white sheets, making them red, "would be me."

____________________________________________________________< /font>

TBC

A/N: 0_0