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"Welcome to my...whatever is this," Light spoke as he ducked down, avoiding the vine hanging over the door.
"How the hell did you find this?" L's void-like eyes darted all over the holes on the tiled walls, observing.
Surrounding them was an abandoned room. Furniture thrown all over the place, and scattered ruins on the floor. There was an orange street cat sleeping on a broken couch in the corner, but they paid no mind, they had glass shreds to avoid.
"Middle school. Was my group of friends' secret hide out found by one of them who hates coming home,'' Light sat on a decently clean spot on the floor, his spot. And L imagined a 13 years old Light laughing with faceless boys inside those walls. For a moment wondering what they talked about. Did Light have the same energy as when he talked to him now?
"We fell off eventually, and this place sort of became my own. I still like to spend some alone time here. Especially in high school." L hummed in return. "Sit down, L."
L grimaced at the possible seats — wooden table, stone counter, abandoned drawer, dirty floor — before choosing a table closer to Light. Not without wiping the thick dust on it and had himself an emotional support slushie slurp, of course. Hopefully creaking wood was still strong enough to hold his weight.
L then glanced at the plastic bag on his hand and rummaged through it, throwing a small pistachio packet to a startled Light.
"Hey-" Light yelped, as expected. There was something oddly entertaining about catching the younger boy off guard. And the fact that L knew how to push his buttons. "The juice, please?"
"Oh, okay." This time Light was prepared for the throw. An orange juice box. Not long after L found an orange lollipop at the bottom of the bag, and held it on the tip of his fingertips, inspecting it like he tended to do.
"That's sour candy, you don't like that," without looking, Light could assume what the other was doing. Before his attention averted to the said lollipop that hit his cheek in a sudden. "Can you...not?" Light groaned. He planned to eat them tonight while doing his assignments. Swear to god if L crushed it...
"Sorry." You don't even have to look away for one second to see L already deep into his store bought a single sized sponge cake — not sorry at the slightest, obviously — that Light always thought tasted fake. But then L pointed the almost empty plastic cup to him. Last offer. "Hm, you wanna try?"
Light considered an agreement before he saw the striking red-blue colors and the chewed down straw. "Absolutely not," he cringed.
He watched L scrolling on his cracked hell of a phone, still stuffing the sponge cake into his mouth. One hand struggling at peeling the paper off, Light almost gave the offer to help when the L figured out how to do it with his teeth. Which made Light laugh. Whether it was of the stupid look on his face or the way Light found it slightly — weirdly, strangely, terribly — adorable. He once tried to push those thoughts away, but he had given it up now. There's no use, really.
He knew that L knew that he knew. The ball they were playing catch and throw with was made of the clearest glass. It's complicated like that.
"What are you staring at me for, Light-kun?" Noticed how the cake is halfway done yet Light only puts one pistachio in his mouth? Yeah, L had to admit he was kind of hungry. At times like these where he couldn't help but indulge into the habit of eating too fast, though he had worked his way to make his stomach less upset.
"Can't I? You stare at me like a creep all the time."
"That's like, my thing. You can't steal it."
"Huh, right…" Light trailed off, looking out to the setting sun through the window. The wind blew softly inside here, warm but not suffocating as one might think an abandoned place would be. That's why he loved it, perhaps. Sometimes he didn't want to go home, too. Not that he hated his home life, of course. But a complete peace in a place where there would be no calls or knocking doors is admittedly nice.
Well, except for L now. It's just dawned on him that it's the first time since...what? five years? Since the last time he had a company here, someone to talk to. It feels...somehow vulnerable, to share one thing you've been keeping for yourself so easily to someone.
It was his fault anyway. Well, short story, L was too indulged in a particularly sharp conversation slash debate to notice his stop. Which was kinda unusual, considering his personality. They only noticed when they both arrived at Light's designated station. It was a short minimarket trip that prompted Light the idea. L couldn't bring himself to oppose.
Light sighed, and before he dwelled too much into it...
"Have you ever thought of it?"
"About what?" L ripped off a bright pink lollipop's plastic packaging from the corner of Light's eyes. "Be specific, Light-kun."
"Places...like this. You know, abandoned."
"No, but go on," he was still focused on the damn candy, but Light knew he was listening.
"Casted off, left, ignored. But it's never...gone. It's either left to rot with no one to take care of it, or is being taken care of but the life, the usable points are gone. You see where I'm going with this?" He didn't give L a chance to open his mouth. "Sometimes I wonder what even this place is? A house? Office? Who lives in it? Why did they leave? You know, I always thought this was a small lab, or factory."
"That's...quite an interesting thought," L pressed the lollipop on his bottom lip, the way he always does with his right thumb when he's thinking aloud. "I think a small factory made the most sense."
"Humans left marks. They come and go. Stay and leave but the places and all things they left hold a memory still. These walls won't tell me what they have witnessed. If i tear it down brick by brick i think rather than finding out it'll be lost. I don't know if it makes sense...it's just intriguing. To me."
"Light-kun, if I'm a microscopic creature I feel like your brain would be a liminal space," he blurted suddenly. Words flowed bare and monotone from his mouth making Light wait in a build up that never existed. Maybe that was just a fancy wording of wanting to hear his voice anyway. "I like liminal spaces."
"Ha, thanks. And you'd give me a headache."
"I'm not an actual microscopic creature. But if somehow I do, I'll keep that in mind."
"What? Okay but, truthfully, you don't have to shrink to give me a crazy headache."
L hummed, seemingly thinking about a response as Light folded the half empty pistachio package. "There's an abandoned little castle in my hometown. Not the public tourism site one but more like, a manor- yeah, an abandoned manor, not castle."
"Oh yeah?" Light doesn't know how that connects to all the things he said, but he lets him continue.
"Yeah, view's great from the top. I'll take you there someday." Ah right, the classic. You know when people say friends aren't real friends if they don't have a dream travel plan to go together? Well, congratulations, Light. You've reached that point.
"Hell yeah. I like that thought."
"I'm serious." Light usually could read someone's face, searching for their sincerity and shits like that, but hell, L would ask him to bury a body in his backyard with the same expression as taking the university receptionist table's candy.
"Huh? Taking a boy home for christmas? Impressive, L."
"Now that you set the date." L shrugged and stood up, collecting the plastic wrapper he dropped on the floor to the pocket of his baggy jeans. Light decided to not take him seriously, though the thought of it could make his heart flutter like a middle school girl.
"Whatever."
"You think humans are like that to other humans? Leaving marks?" L asked.
"Of course. But not in the same way. We can speak it aloud, some occasions they would be erased with time, often are not, you can look for it with no harm, at times you do. It's just...why am I explaining this to you, we're not stone stacks, idiot," Light snickered, though the smile didn't leave his face.
"In my case, I think you do."
"What?"
"What?" Innocently, as if he didn't just win an olympic gold medal for high jumping.
"Are you-" His mouth scrambled the same time they grins. Eyes shooting into the other's smug expression. That was so bad. He fucking loved it. "Wow L, what a flirting skill you got there"
Isn't that a great compliment from the uni's biggest heartthrob?
"Thanks." L stepped away from his seat towards the door.
"Hey- leaving already?"
"It's already dark," there was a little movement of his thumb pointing at the almost dark blue sky.
"Really? Come on," Light playfully teased. "One of my friends said there's a little boy in the corner haunting when it's dark. You scared of him?"
"Why would I? I've met scarier." Light knew exactly what he was hinting at. Him. So he smirked.
"Yeah? He gave you the shivers?"
"Quite sometimes, yeah."
"Aw, I'm sorry for you. Does he haunt you at night too?"
"Yes, he's kind of obsessed with me."
"Hmm, he sure leaves marks."
"Figuratively, he did." They reached the front door by this time, stopping their steps on the sprawled wild grass.
"Figuratively?" Light tilted his head in interest. And confusion. And he actually kinda understand but holy fucking shit.
"Mhm. Want to bet?" L prodded close to him, hunched figure poking through the distance with an amused smile pressed on his thumb.
"Sure."
Their faces was literally a puff of breath away when L asked,
"Can I kiss you?"
Light appreciated the fact that he asked but at this point L might as well just be trying to mess with him but you know what? It's not going to work. It's been 4 months of this back and forth, they'd be a fool if they still managed to be caught off guard. He furrowed his eyebrows.
"What if I say no?"
"Then I wouldn't kiss you."
"Hmm," L grew impatient, Light could feel it almost that he regretted asking in the first place. "We won't like that aren't we?"
"We won't."
"Go ahead then-"
Of course, he wouldn't wait a second. It didn't take more than half a second before a pair of chapped lips pressed against his. His movements were slow, steady as if he was afraid Light might break despide the rush of anticipation he went through. It nearly wasn't enough, as Light gripped his jaw and took him deeper.
God, L's lips were sickeningly sweet. For once, Light decided he loved those cheap slush. Maybe if he pushed his tongue it'll be red too, or blue? Who knows, the thought ran around in laps before disappearing once cold, long fingers pulled him closer by the waist.
"Looks like I win, Light-kun," L said with his lips still hanging on Light's.
"Mhm, what game are we playing again?" Light shook his head. "No, no you didn't."
"Yes, yes I do and I have a train to catch, too." Light almost complained when the ghostly hands left his torso. "Goodbye, Light-kun."
Oh, just like that?
Light was still dazed from the kiss and he knew L did too. He stayed there watching the other walk away without looking back. The overwhelming joy was numbing him
---
His phone dinged right after he put on a clean shirt, ready for bed. He could already tell, even before saw the two characters representing the strange foreign name of the man who made him greet his suspecting sister a little too nice to be not suspicious when he went back. Couldn't help it, he rolled his eyes when he read the text. Plopping down on his bed, his fingers hovered over his own keyboard.
L : Friday after my psychology. Dessert shop at 51st street. On you. Hahaha
Light swore he could hear the smugness behind those words. He almost hated his fondness towards L's dry texts, he almost hated how he knew the exact time and place L would come out of his last friday class. Fuck him .
Light : :/
L : eye for an eye my friend :)
Or not
Anymore?
Light : whatever
you're still a piece of shit
L : Light-kun is so harsh to me,"
By the way, I don't think we need any 'bet' though
I was just joking
Light : I know that
L : Besides, I already got you wrapped around my fingers
Bad flirting at its finest. Now tell me why Light Yagami, subjectively the prettiest boy in the city, knew how to scoop anyone off their feet ib second was swooned by this method.
Light : Ha. You're not one to talk.
L : Fair
Light fell asleep thinking of his words. How many marks of L planted on him? How many parts of him grew between the times they shared, from their first debate to their last text history. How many Ls had lived inside him since the first time he saw him on a corner on his first day of school, how he memorized his words and for the first time since forever rewinding them over and over again.
He did leave marks.