video; u/n l.yagami

[worldcleansing]

Do you have more questions than answers? In this world, we all do, but we can help. Linden and I wanted to let everyone know that we've recently created Tailor and Yagami Investigations so that we can lend a hand in solving some of your everyday questions.

[The video feed flickers on to show two men standing side by side. Both men are smartly dressed, but it's Light who makes the opening speech. Behind them, in the background, stand two desks, two shelves of books, and a black marble scrying basin with silver veins.

The second man looks better-kept than those who know him may be accustomed to seeing him, though nowhere near as polished as the first. His mop of dark hair is combed and smoothed neatly back, his suit is pressed and all of the buttons are aligned and in their proper holes. Though he has an overall wan and listless bearing, there's an intense focus to his eyes that's a little bit uncomfortable, even only on camera.]

Our rates are competitive, and so is our attitude. If something precious goes missing, we can guarantee that we didn't put it in the backroom of the Particularly Good Finders' storefront prior to its reported absence.

[Implying that their competition cannot say the same.]

If you're interested, you can find us at 74 Neblen Way, Suite 4 or contact either of us directly.

(ooc |If you have a preference for Light or L, let us know. Otherwise, either or both may reply. The link for the business can be found here)

Comments

[worldcleansing]

[ End the conversation. It's stupidity to keep standing here, to speak to L when he knows he's so open and vulnerable, made to be spread bare by his own hands. Unlike so many other killers, Light Yagami never wanted to be caught. Risks are only taken when they're needed, and only when they can be measured and calculated. No plan can be completely blind. The sheer danger that exists right now...

But what can L do? It's arrogance, which has always been his biggest flaw. At the very least, if this is a mistake, he'll blame pride, but there's a deeper truth, a current that runs strong but normally hidden. Light stays because he's curious. Sincerely, genuinely curious as to what would happen if this thing with L is fostered instead of muffled. ]

I want intelligence.

[ A confirmation that L hardly needs. Without his memories, it was painfully obvious how little interest he held in Misa. In spite of her beauty and natural charisma, Light didn't care. Even then, it would have been a waste of time. That Light knew he'd marry and one day have children, would join the police force and play the kind of role a husband and father should because family men were respected. By extension, that woman would have to be respected as well. Misa was wanted and loved by many, but she was just as often dismissed. Takada better fit the role, but he loved her no more than he loved Misa.

So, he'd never wanted. Light never knew want for another person. So few people managed to engage him and if he wasn't engaged, how could he feel attraction? It was in the battle with L that life stopped being so easy and required him to be fully present and always at his best. Maybe it's fitting that it's now with L that he feels something else, something he hasn't fully examined. The lack of examination is what gives him pause now. The emotion isn't new, but it suddenly has focus. ]

I've always known what I want. Now, right now, I don't.

[ I want to kiss you.

I want distance.

I want something more to come from the confession so I'm not waiting for it to come later.

I want to kiss you. ]

No, I do. But I don't know which thing I want more.

[hearthebell]

[The danger, perhaps, is quantified in unknowns. It goes beyond simply not knowing when one of them might snap and do something extreme or desperate or cruel; Light does not know that there are people here who know better than either of them the entire case's outcome. L doesn't know, fully, just how far he could stray into this foray without it being considered idiocy, insulting, or even betrayal.

His curiosity, like Light's, remains the loudest and most insistent voice in the chorus. Wide, dark eyes watch Light's face as the younger man grapples with his indecisiveness, surely what is best for Kira, and what is best for Light, and how L can be repurposed as a tool to advance either goal because he's been made to believe it's his, also.

If it weren't for that botched potion complicating matters, Light would probably already have an answer, positive, polished, and primed to manipulate L. L would probably see through it, even if it amused him, and need to act opposite to it out of a childish, contrarian desire to win, just enough to humiliate his opponent without shattering the foundation of their Bond. But there's no production without scenery and set pieces; the two of them have no reason to perform on a bare stage, sans costumes and masks.

Without pretense, what Light wants could well be what L wants.]

You do know, though.

[He reaches to grasp the place where Light's shirt comes together, smoothing the material between two buttons with his thumb and forefinger.]

You might be surprised to learn out how much you can ask for... but maybe not. You're such a fast learner, after all.

[worldcleansing]

[ The hand is innocent, but its intentions are clear. Their relationship is a tapestry woven on the thread of puzzles and pieces, their entire purpose made of games. So easy, this too could be a pawn, albeit one they enjoyed to use more than some of their other tools. Unfortunately, L is right. Light isn't able to rely on his logic and push everything else inside. Emotions and honesty are forces from his throat, which becomes a problem because Yagami Light isn't even always honest with himself.

It should feel like nothing. There's nothing special about a hand; it's a limb, nothing less and nothing more. There are many more intimate parts of the body, including the lips which had been connecting on minutes before. Only in romantic shows and books did such a touch send sparks shooting through the body, but there's a door that's been opened. The other side is dark and requires more examination, but danger might be waiting.

Light won't lose himself. Of course he won't. It's a ridiculous worry. He'll have control, he'll be in control, there's nothing to worry about. He doesn't want to lose, so he won't. There's nothing stopping him from having both worlds.

Pride often comes before the fall. Perhaps Light's fall is a long time coming.

A step forward, a hand wrapped around L's body to pull him close still, another hand touching the pale face; his movements come in quick succession. ]

It might just be a kiss. We shouldn't make decisions on anything else until we've had time to cool off.

[hearthebell]

[L shivers at the close contact, paradoxically; Light feels so warm, after all, lithe muscle to L's sharp bones. He chuffs laughter against Light's ear, and speaks softly.]

Who said anything about decisions?

[Who said you have a choice in the matter?]

It is what it is, right?

[The hand at Light's buttons presses briefly against his chest, dipping toward his ribs at a slow slide.]

To be clear... I have no desire to humiliate or hurt you, in spite of what you might think. I feel I've always rewarded honesty, however compelled it might be.

[He drags his lips along Light's cheek, stopping short of his mouth, pulling abruptly away and hopping from the counter to walk past him, beginning the process of putting the tea kettle on.]

If it does feel too much like a risk, though... definitely think on it. I won't be offended.

[In fact, L's obviously high spirits say pretty clearly that he's having a grand time. Whether or not his casual ease with physicality is a bluff remains to be seen.]

[worldcleansing]

[ He's being too heavy-handed, trying to overcorrect for the confessions and what feels like a loss of control. Light's better than this, no matter the circumstances. If he was only good at planning, Kira would have fallen much sooner. The ability to adapt and change in the moment had always been crucial. So, L knows. Nothing can be done, and no truths have actually changed. It isn't as if the confession was given to the entire world, it wasn't as if anything came as a surprise.

So, they've kiss and a part of him is unnerved at how much he enjoyed it. Light's hardly a child entering puberty. Even if he finds himself capable of that kind of attraction after all, that doesn't mean he'll lose all control. There's a very large difference between having certain wants and becoming a slave to them.

Haaa... As L seems to embrace the blooming physicality, only to pull away, it doesn't take a genius to realize this too is becoming a game, but there's also an unspoken fact: it can only be a game because the possibility is now in the open. This isn't a ploy that either could play before. Yesterday, this would have been out of place. Now, the two are dancing around a real and almost physically present possibility because there's a very real opportunity for either to reach out to take it.

L knows Light well enough to know that if the game is fun enough, he'll want to play it. Even flustered, a rare emotion on one Light Yagami, he's still capable of adaption. If not for the twist, he'd have grabbed L's wrist as he went by and continued what they started, but the tone shifts to one he doesn't hate either. Instead, as the tea begins to brew, he walks up behind L. Their bodies aren't touching; with the position, that'd be too suggestive. Nonetheless, Light is close enough that his breathing can possibly be felt against L's face. It's calm and even, a shift from the angry and shocked yells from minutes before. With the lack of space between them, it would be harder to read as someonething natural and platonic, walking the line between suggestion and doubt.

There shouldn't be doubt. Now, it's almost a matter of 'when' instead of 'if'. ]

Hn. It's something we should think about, but I'm not against revisiting the topic in the future.

[hearthebell]

[Both hands resting against the edge of the counter, L's mouth twists upward in a half-smile. He'd predicted that Light would follow him, and he didn't even have to be a diviner. Even a child knows that you can't play tag without pursuing, after all.]

Don't think you have to botch another potion to bring it up.

[Darkly playful. Should feel like no big deal, considering what you told me just a little while ago.]

Don't think you need to use words to communicate it, either.

[The terms of the new game might well have just been laid out. One of us will be the first to initiate this "revisiting." I wonder who it will be?]

[worldcleansing]

[ The bigger question is if there's really a winner or a loser no matter the outcome. In most games, especially games played with such competition, there are lines. With this, they're both trying for the same shared prize. While it would seem the first to 'crack' and instigate will be the one who loses, but there's certainly no shame in being a forward and direct suitor. Confidence is key and while Light is certainly used to being chased, he's also someone who strives to set the mood, to be in control.

But today won't see the resolution. Today, they've set the board and began to define the terms. In a small allowance, Light even admits to assuming he'll be here for a little while longer, long enough to see this to the end, however that may be. It isn't a promise to stop searching for a way out, but they both know that isn't going to be an easy find. ]

I'll try to think of creative ways to speak, then.

[ With a grin of his own, he finally steps back. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing after all. ]

I'll leave you to the tea.

[ That said, it really is dangerous to stay for too long under these circumstances. ]