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Light Yagami did not believe in resorting to violence in any situation, even if it would benefit him. His parents had taught him better, especially his father, who instilled a deep sense of right and wrong into his psyche. There had been times when his morals caused things not to entirely go in his favor, but he would always find a way out and clap himself on the back for not compromising his integrity.
Pushing that all to the side, lately there was a person who forced him to entertain abandoning these principles he had built his whole life around. That may be seen as dramatic, but how could he not take this into consideration when being around this individual always made him go red with anger? He always seemed to find a way to push his buttons, getting under his skin on a daily basis. It was getting to the point where it would be a miracle if he did not kill this man, or himself, one of these days.
This man was the one and only L, or Ryuzaki, as he was called by Light and the rest of the Task Force. Light prior to the case greatly admired him and his immeasurable intellect. He had heard stories from his father on all the cases this faceless person had solved, getting him to sometimes fantasize the prospect of a day where he and L would get to work side by side, placing criminals behind the bars they deserved. Maybe the elusive man would even be impressed by his feats and reveal his face to him.
And that dream of his had come true, but not in the way he had hoped.
The mess began when Kira, named that way by the public due to it sounding like ‘killer,’ began a rampage against those who were charged with crimes, both those already serving their sentence and those who were still awaiting trial. Light had large gaping holes of memory for what he had been up to during this time period, but he clearly remembered his first meeting with Ryuzaki and what came out of it: being named the prime suspect and his help being requested simultaneously.
Other events proceeded after this day and the dominoes fell in such a way that Light and Ryuzaki would have to be chained to each other 24/7—according to the detective anyway. Light was hesitant, but he was growing increasingly more desperate to prove himself not guilty and lift the stress off of his poor father, whose gray hairs had seemed to multiply since the start of the case. The young man settled for hoping that he and L’s shared brainpower would mean that they could get along decently and put an end to this nonsense.
He could not have been any more wrong.
The insanity had started as soon as the first day of living together. Light had been fresh off his solitary confinement, having just gotten back from the test that had been performed against him to determine whether he would murder his father, a rather preposterous idea to him, and was now negotiating his new living conditions with Ryuzaki, whose black, unruly hair reminded him of a hedgehog.
He had demanded to be granted an alarm clock in his and Ryuzaki’s shared space, one of his few conditions to try to keep some sort of semblance of his meticulous routine. The older male studied him as he made this term as if wanting to be punctual could make him a savage killer, but had accepted it and instructed Watari to get one. Light did not want to cause Watari the trouble and offered to get someone else to fetch the one in his room, which got Ryuzaki to somehow bump up his chances of being Kira by 2%.
Light found it a miracle that he did not punch the man square in the face as a result.
Though true to his word, that same day he was handed an alarm clock and allowed to adjust it to the time he desired to get up in the morning (though while under Ryuzaki’s watching gaze).
A few days had gone by since he was introduced to his new lifestyle, meaning that he and Ryuzaki had fallen into a schedule of sorts. This day was not unique from any of his other ones as of late, the alarm beeping in a shrill pitch on one of the nightstands beside he and Ryuzaki’s bed. The noise got Light to snap his eyes open and yawn before summoning the willpower to shut off the device, reaching over to the item using his arm that was not under handcuffs. This normally mundane task was difficult with his bedmate, who had somehow found a way to wrap one of his legs over Light’s arms.
That was one of the things Light did not like about Ryuzaki: his lack of personal space. He was constantly touching him using his rough hands that likely had not interacted with lotion in years. The most common areas he would touch were his shoulders and arms, handling physical contact like he was prodding a dead body. On top of that, his proximity made it so that his hot breath would tickle Light’s skin whenever he spoke to him, making not shivering take a great deal of effort on his part.
After getting the alarm to shut up, Light untangled all his limbs from Ryuzaki’s, earning him murmurs from the world-renowned detective. At the same time, Light shivered as he took off their cozy blanket in an attempt to walk away from their bed. Unfortunately for him, he was pulled back from the metal wrapped around his left wrist. He sighed from this inconvenience and got back on his bed to get closer to Ryuzaki, whose chest rose and fell in a way that was oddly serene to Light.
“Ryuzaki, wake up,” Light shook the man’s shoulders, “Ryuzaki!”
Ryuzaki fluttered his unsettling eyes open, “What time is it, Light?”
“9:00 am, which was our agreed compromise.”
“Ah yes, I remember you requesting 6:30 am and getting mad when I said no.”
“First of all, I was never mad, just a little annoyed. And 6:30 is not unreasonable. Were you never told that the early bird gets the worm, Ryuzaki?” Light responded.
“It seems Light does not want to admit that he is being uptight. But to answer your question, I was never told that because those around me understand not to question my methods.”
Light groaned, “Oh come on, how are we going to catch Kira if you’re slacking?”
“Kira is not going to end the world if I stay in bed for a little longer.”
Light disapprovingly shook his head, “You are impossible to work with. What is the point of saying that you and I were going to be collaborating if you never listen to me?”
“You sound hurt, Light.”
“Because I’m starting to get frustrated, Ryuzaki. How are we supposed to deliver justice if you’re not giving it your all?”
Ryuzaki sighed, “Since you’re so insistent, okay.”
“Great.”
From there, the two of them got off the bed. Ryuzaki immediately got back into his natural slouch, shifting him from being the same height as Light to barely being taller than Misa. Light winced at the sight of this, wondering how he was not wrecked by back pain. The only way to not think about his companion’s unhealthy habit was just to dismiss it as being another of his weird quirks that he would never be able to understand.
As he did this, he began to walk over to the walk-in closet that had been assigned to him. Ryuzaki on the other hand began to go to the bathroom, tilting his head in confusion from Light not following his lead.
“I’m getting my clothes to shower,” Light explained.
“Ah yes, I forgot you did it that way. Why don’t you just do it at night with me?”
“Are you crazy? Us showering together is just—not right. And I can’t shower before bed because sleeping in the same bed as you makes me feel dirty in the morning anyway.”
“Because I don’t have a 10-step skincare routine?”
“That would help, but it would be better if you didn’t put your feet in my face almost every night.”
“Sleeping with my limbs stretched helps increase my analytical thinking.”
“Sure it does.”
Light exited the closet when he determined the proper clothes for the day, a button-up shirt and slacks. His next step was to walk over to the bathroom that was connected to their room. The room was not too impressive in size compared to other rooms in the HQ, but it was definitely more spacious than the one in the Yagami home. It had shelves filled with grooming products (all Light’s) and his bath towel hung over a hanger. The only possession his bedmate had was a bath towel that was hung beside his.
Light pointed to their bedroom, “Get out, I’m not taking off my clothes with you around this time.”
“What have I done that was unpleasant?”
Light narrowed his eyes, “Ryuzaki.”
Ryuzaki gave Light a look that he could not read, but nodded and left the room, seeming to understand that Light would not bother debating this subject. Light then shut the door in his face before he started to strip off his clothes; thereafter he turned the shower knob towards cooler water, shivering as he stepped in and it came into contact with his skin. He did not shower this way because he enjoyed the sensation, quite the opposite really. He had been informed a few years back that the colder the water, the better it was for your skin, and he never went back to his old tendencies no matter how much his body cried for warmth. At least it woke him up.
He felt his hands limply dangle as water streamed down his body. He would soon begin to lather soap onto his body, but he first needed a moment to just let the water run down him. His eyes were also shut. As he did this, his mind tried to take advantage of the only time of the day when Ryuzaki was not breathing down his neck. Even though this meant that he probably should have been thinking of something or anyone else, his mind fell back to the man likely awkwardly standing outside the bathroom door.
Ryuzaki, or L as he was known by the world, was not like anyone Light had met before in a way that both infuriated and deeply fascinated him. The man never truly left his head, an anomaly that Japan’s top student could not crack. He and his unconventional features took up so much space in Light’s mind that he was embarrassed to say (though he would rather say he was Kira than ever fess up to this) that he was beginning to question his sexuality due to the unusual-looking man.
He had never had an interest in girls, thinking of them as a waste of time in comparison to his pursuit of greatness. This did not stop his school’s female population from concentrating on earning his heart; one time he heard a girl literally swoon as he walked by. His solution was to ignore these girls and instead dedicate his day to earning top marks in his subjects.
Then this mess with Kira started and Ryuzaki forced himself into his life. Light could recall the day as if it had only been a day or two since it had gone down. He was pleased, but not too surprised, that he had been selected to be To-oh’s freshman representative due to his perfect marks. He had been told to give the student body a speech and had made sure that he had it all mentally memorized the days leading up to this event. In addition to this, he made sure that he was dressed in his absolute best, wearing a suit that his mom insisted that she iron the morning of.
But he was not the only person told to come up to the stage. Light was a tad ticked off that someone else was going to steal a little of his thunder, but was curious to see who else could have perfectly answered all the questions thrown their way. Was it the guy beside him who smiled like he was certain that he would blow the exam out of the water? Or the girl behind him who finished it all shortly after him?
In the end, it was the last person he least expected. A man at most a few years older than him, who had repeatedly been scolded for his atypical sitting posture, dressed in the same plain white shirt and denim jeans that he had on that day. Though out of everything his eyes were his most unique feature. If you could not tell from everything else, these made it painfully obvious that he was a foreigner. His irises were as black as his pupils and so big that Light felt he would drown in them if he was not careful.
Despite how this man stuck out like a sore thumb, Light tried to shake him out of his head and put everything into his speech. But that was impossible once this mysterious person confided to him that he was L, selecting him to be a member of the Task Force not too long after.
From this day onward, Ryuzaki lived in Light’s mind rent-free. He would even pop into his dreams from time to time, making him lose his cool without breaking a sweat. Light knew these qualities should have made him hate him, and he did. Except he didn’t.
For a reason he did not want to unpack, there was something about him and his mannerisms that was kind of charming to him. He could not word it into words, but was horrified to see that he was starting to describe Ryuzaki almost how Misa described him (except he was not nearly as cheesy).
In his defense, was it really gay if Ryuzaki was orchestrating most of their tension? The detective was the one who had dictated that he and Light were never not within earshot of each other and would do anything, literally anything, to get a reaction from his colleague. The younger male was not even joking when saying that Ryuzaki had stared him dead in the eyes as he took off his clothes to shower the previous day, something that got him to kick Ryuzaki out of the bathroom.
He justified this action under the reasoning of him being straight with a loving girlfriend, not appreciating being gazed at in such a way by a fellow male. Ryuzaki retorted his claim, suggesting that Light should rethink his sexuality if he really made him so uncomfortable. His only response was to seize a fistful of the other's shirt fabric and shove him out; slamming and locking the door before Ryuzaki could make any sort of move.
He subsequently got into the room’s shower, performing an action that was rare for him: praying. His parents were mildly religious, but had never pushed either him or his sister in any sort of direction, leading him to identify as more or less a religious skeptic. He forgot all of these beliefs in that particular moment, internally begging any sort of higher power to rid him of his throbbing hard-on.
Nothing happened, its existence growing more painful due to his self-restraint as of late. He had not touched himself since before his solitary confinement, leading him to naturally be in a more sensitive state. He did not mind keeping his hands off his dick, thinking of those who were not able to control their urges as undignified. Even still, as the days ticked on, he felt he was going to burst if somebody merely brushed against his groin.
Plus, like any other young man, he enjoyed fulfilling his pleasures by jerking off from time to time. He had been doing it for a few years, always ensuring his bedroom door was locked beforehand and that a hand was firmly covering his mouth. He would even make sure he did not waste too much in this part of his routine, doing it as soon as he got to his room on the days that he was feeling up to it. He would never think of busty women or girls his age as he did so—just focusing on himself and how nice it made him feel.
Eventually, he would release his load, making a few muffled noises in the process. Lastly, he would wipe off his release using a tissue, toss it into his bathroom’s tiny trashcan, and go back to his duties as if nothing had happened—he was busy after all.
This time he had not been able to hold himself back, using a couple of iffy justifications as to why touching himself was not only reasonable, but in fact optimal. It would lower his stress and improve his mood, something that would assist in finding new leads.
Usually, this was around where he would end the notion, reminding himself of the pervert around him that was as, if not more observant than he was. If he caught onto Light’s sexual activity, he would hold it over his head until either of them was murdered by Kira. Except that was solved as well, he was out of the room and he would just do the hand motions with his free hand.
He momentarily hung his head from shame, but thought of Ryuzaki’s black beady eyes and had to lay his hand against the wall to keep himself upright. After that he took his hand and stroked his length with uncertainty, still trying to see if he could get out of this situation. He quickly got his answer from the shaky whimpers that escaped his mouth. This caused him to increase his speed, coming undone not too long after.
He took in a few shaky breaths and washed it all off him before lathering his body with more soap and scrubbing his body extra hard. This current day was no different, briefly feeling disgusted at himself for his perversion before grabbing his towel and wiping the water on his body off of him.
Once he determined that he was ready to face Ryuzaki, he wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the door for him, who babbled some words about his toothbrush that Light frankly could not force himself to listen to, not when he was still in a little of a daze. All he put his mind to was applying all his skincare products in the specific sequence he had curated for the best possible results.
Once Light was finished with all he had to do in the bathroom, they both headed to the kitchen. He had never had much of an appetite and it had only worsened when Kira began his attacks. He did not know why this was the case, sometimes wondering if this could push him in the direction of being Kira; though he would never say that to the person he was chained to, who would without a doubt wield it against him.
Ryuzaki was the complete opposite, never hesitating to devour any sweets he could come across. Strawberry cake was one of his favorites, never going more than a day without partaking in the delicacy. He was rather selfish with his food, one time swatting away Matsuda’s hand since he believed he was going to reach for one of his sugar cubes.
Light this particular day forced himself to pick up an apple and took a chomp as Ryuzaki told Watari to cut him a slice of strawberry cake. From there, they both sat down in the lounge area.
“Light?”
“Yes?”
“Are you not hungry? I’ve noticed you don’t eat as much as someone of your stature is recommended to ingest.”
“You’re saying that as if you’re the epitome of health, Ryuzaki. I’m just not hungry.”
At that moment, somebody entered the HQ and sat alongside the two of them. It was Soichiro Yagami, face as stern as ever. His son stood from his seat and walked towards him, forcing Ryuzaki to tag along. Light embraced his father for a minute before his father gently nudged him away.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
“Sorry dad, go ahead.”
Once the older man was out of the room, another man entered the HQ. This time it was Matsuda, eagerly smiling as he approached the two.
“I’m surprised I’m the first one here today! Normally it’s Chief.”
“He got here just before you, actually. He’s just in the bathroom,” Light responded.
Matsuda grinned, “At least that means I got on time.”
“Totally, so why don’t you go look over the information we have?”
Matsuda nodded, “I would normally do so, but is Misa-Misa not here? She has a modeling shoot I need to take her to.”
“My guess is that she’s just sleeping in. Do you mind waking her up?” Light asked after swallowing a bite of his apple.
“Don’t worry about it. I am her manager, after all!”
Light clapped Matsuda on the back, “That’s the spirit.”
The energetic man smiled at the praise being given to him before running to go to Misa’s bedroom. Once he was out of their earshot, Light and Ryuzaki gave each other a glance that silently judged their energetic coworker before heading over to their work area, their shared chain clinking as it dragged on the floor. They both sat on office chairs, Light in a more refined manner while Ryuzaki settled into his “scientifically superior” method. They both opened their laptops, unlocking each of their digital devices to begin combing over their information.
Soon after, Chief Yagami got out of the bathroom and joined them. He headed over to the work desk closest to his son and sat down. Aizawa arrived at work last, a smidge late. He gave a curt bow as an apology, rushing to assist his team members on whatever leads they had. Despite all their shared effort, none of them had really found anything to call out as the hours went by.
Their attempts at working were interrupted by two people, Misa and Matsuda. They both seemed ready to leave, but before Matsuda could open the door, Misa ran over to Light. She practically lunged herself on him, kissing him all over his face.
“Misa, please stop. I have to work,” Light begged.
“Well, your loving girlfriend wants to see you. Nothing’s wrong with that, right Matsui?”
“Of course, but we don’t have much time to get to the shoot.”
“See, Misa. You need to get to work,” Light said.
“I guess so. Well, bye Light! Love you. I’m going to be back super late today.”
Light gave a halfhearted smile, “Okay.”
Misa waved and left the building, dragging Matsuda along by his tie.
Light chewed at his bottom lip. He for the life of him could not understand how he had gotten trapped in a relationship with her. She was good-looking, he could not deny that, but she was an idiot. She was constantly all over him, making him want to rip his hair off his head. At the same time, he could not direct all the blame on her. Sure, she was a big airhead, but he had agreed to her being his girlfriend—a decision that made him wonder if it was him that had done that or an alien wearing his skin.
“Light?”
“Yes, Ryuzaki?”
“You seem to be concentrating hard.”
“Just thinking about the case.”
Ryuzaki’s words got Light to focus back on his job, analyzing all the information they had available to them. Since the Task Force started their work later than the usual Japanese workplace, they also ended much later than most other workplaces, the moon shining bright when Light’s father and Aizawa called it a night.
Light told his dad to tell his mother and sister hello for him, which the older man agreed to do. Once those two were out of the building, Light shut down his own laptop and buried his head in his hands.
“Come on, Ryuzaki. I’m going to bed.”
“Nobody’s stopping you.”
“Something actually is,” Light clinked his chain to make a point, “unless you want me to drag you to our bed.”
Ryuzaki finally stood up, “That would not be too pleasing. But you will have to wait a few minutes, I need to take a shower.”
They both headed to their bathroom. Ryuzaki had made it clear that he would rather cleanse himself using their washing machine, but it would not have been possible to do such a thing with their handcuffs. Light started to make his way out of the room once his companion took off his shirt, displaying his pale chest. If you took a glance at him, you would believe he was starving, part of his ribs poking through his skin.
Ryuzaki placed his hand on Light’s shoulder, “Stay here.”
“I’m not a voyeur like you, Ryuzaki. I don’t want to see you naked.”
“By all means don’t look, but I need to be able to keep an eye on you at all possible times.”
“That’s such bullshit,” Light sighed, “Just make it quick.”
Ryuzaki nodded as he fumbled at the buckle of his jeans. Light turned away from Ryuzaki, feeling his body grow hot as the other removed his articles of clothing. Before he knew it he heard water shoot out of the shower head, indicating that Ryuzaki was cleaning himself.
Light knew this process would take some time so he would allow his mind to drift to other topics. Today he thought about the day of love: Valentine’s Day. The day that was usually nothing more than a pain in his ass. Every year his locker had been stuffed to the brim with letters and chocolate. Past a certain year, he knew what was going to happen and would give his little sister, Sayu, all the candy he had been gifted (he was not a big candy person and had to maintain his diet).
Earlier this year, he had taken all the candy gifted to him and tossed all of them on Sayu’s bed as she completed her school work. To say that her eyes went wide would be an understatement. She scurried over to the pile and unwrapped a chocolate bar to take a bite of whilst widely smiling.
“Wow, Light, this is more candy than you were given last year! These ladies really love you.”
Light shrugged, “It seems so.”
“I wonder how they would feel if they knew that they spent their money on this candy every year just for it to be given to his sister.”
He grinned, “I bet they would not be happy.”
“More than that. I know how angry girls can get. They would all come together to plot against you,” Sayu then raised her hand like she was participating in a riot for dramatic emphasis.
Light laughed in the way that only his sister could make him, “Well, then I hope that they never figure out that I give all my candy to my ugly sister.”
Sayu gasped, “How dare you!”
Light could not help but crack a smile as he went over the memory. He really did miss his sister and her joking nature. She could always find a way to cheer him up no matter how terrible his day had been. What pained him most of all was that she had no clue how much was at risk, studying and hanging out with her friends like Light was guaranteed to come back to their home.
“Light?”
“What?” His voice was noticeably hoarse.
“Could you hand me my towel? It’s too far for me to reach.”
“Sure.”
Light took Ryuzaki’s dry towel and threw it over the curtain that separated the two. After a minute the curtain was drawn back, revealing Ryuzaki. He had his towel draped over his lower body as he reached for his shirt. His hair had small droplets littered throughout and his skin was ridiculously smooth considering the fact that Light knew he used no products.
Ryuzaki tilted his head in confusion, “Is there something you need, Light?”
“No. Why?”
“You’ve been staring at me. That is not typical behavior on your part.”
Light drew his eyes away, “Sorry. Don’t worry about it.”
“You also sounded upset when I asked for my towel,” L said with a tone of accusation.
“It was really nothing.”
“If you do not answer my question, I will have no choice but to increase your Kira percentage.”
Light scoffed, “Ryuzaki, do you ever shut your mouth? If you really want to know so badly, I was thinking about my sister.”
“Sayu Yagami?”
“Yes. Believe it or not, when you separate someone from his family, that person starts to miss them.”
“My apologies, but you know this is necessary for the case.”
Light invaded his personal space, “We both know that’s total nonsense. What have you gotten from me being chained to you? Nothing! I am not Kira, I never have been.”
“If you truly are not Kira, then you have no need to worry.”
Light was feeling himself grow angrier, rational thought becoming impossible. He hated how selfish Ryuzaki could be, prioritizing his results over the people around him. He despised how emotionless he sounded as he tried to comfort Light. Most of all, he could not stand the thought of him being right. That his gaps of memory and old decisions that he could not explain actually meant something.
But he pushed that all to the side, opting to instead think about how satisfying it would be to strangle Ryuzaki. The contentment he would get as his face lost its color and he struggled, hands floundering about as he tried to escape his incoming death.
Light grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him against the wall, “Do you not hear yourself? It’s totally fine that my life is being ruined since I’ll eventually be proven innocent? Who knows how long that’s going to take. It could take months or even years!”
“I would recommend you take your hands off of me.”
“And why is that?” Light taunted.
He got his answer once Ryuzaki kicked him away. Light was not expecting it and lost his balance. He fell to the ground in an ungraceful manner, slamming his head against the wall in the process. He cradled his head, pain piercing his mind. Before he could even realize what was happening, he was being pulled back up by Ryuzaki.
Light pushed Ryuzaki away, “Get off of me.”
Ryuzaki eyed him as if he were a rare specimen, but obliged. “If that’s what you desire.”
The two of them headed to their bed, Ryuzaki grabbing his laptop from a table so that he could continue whatever task he seemed determined to complete. Light’s head still throbbed slightly, but he had mostly gotten over it. He tried to shut his eyes and go to sleep, but the light from Ryuzaki’s laptop irritated him.
He tried turning his body away from him, but then he ran into the issue of the chain. It clanked as Ryuzaki typed on his laptop, a sound that made Light want to rip out his eardrums.
“Ryuzaki, go to sleep.”
“There is no need for you to concern yourself with my sleeping habits.”
“Well, can you at least turn off your laptop? The sound of you typing is driving me crazy.”
Light sat up to face Ryuzaki, “I’m being serious. Turn it off, this is why you never want to get out of bed in the morning.”
Ryuzaki did not say a word, but shut the laptop off. He reached over to the nightstand beside his side of the bed and placed the device on top, looking at it as if he was itching to open it back up. Light rolled his eyes and put each of his hands on Ryuzaki’s shoulder so that they were facing each other.
“Whatever you want to do now you can just do tomorrow. Come on, lay down.”
Ryuzaki scratched the side of his head, “Your insistence is perplexing to me, but I sense you won’t stop until I give in.”
A smirk crept its way onto Light’s face, who nodded and went to lie back down, Ryuzaki joining him. The wide-eyed detective decided to put his body into a fetal position, knees touching his chest. If Light were not so exhausted, he would have chuckled at the unusual sight. Instead, he just turned away from Ryuzaki, staring at the room’s wall before he shut his eyes.
Hopefully, the next day would be more peaceful, but knowing Ryuzaki, that would be as likely as Misa growing some sense.