#《 I like to think what we have planned will make Raye go from closing his heart to trying to get Ed flowers and gifts 》

[sierrale8ne]

40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS CHAPTER TEN

thought i’d be lying if i said ‘i didn’t want you to myself.’ when you look me in my eyes and, tell me that it’s mine, i…

pairing wnba!paige bueckers x singer!oc

taglist @thaatdigitaldiary @ohbueckers @wbbgetsmewetter @rosemariiaa @tndaqlifwy @patscorner @pboogerswbb @xxloveralways14 @makethemhoesmad @slvt4her @uconnpazzi @luvapaigeeyy @hedidnotpleaseme @paigesbabygirl @mopopshop @omg-imtumbling @ch12334 @wbb4l

warnings angst (?), homophobia/homophobic slur, sexual innuendos, sexual content.

kalena speakss 🪽! so here’s the ACTUAL chapter ten, i accidentally posted a different version last night so if you saw that just completely disregard it lmao

July 2025 — Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California 

“‘Preciate you comin’ out, man.” I nod, my hand giving a firm dap to Julian.

Yeah, the Julian who’s girlfriend I seem to be helplessly obsessed with.

We had just beat the Fever at home in a blow out on the second night of a back-to-back. My body is aching, and as soon as I left the locker room, I was ready to push through those metal doors and go home. Maybe stop for some dinner too. 

Until I heard it. The voice that has replayed in my head rather than in my ears for the last week and a half. That slight southern drawl with the occasional upbeat ending. It’s perfect, and I didn't realize how bad I’d missed it until now.

I meant it when I thought I needed a break. Maraye was running laps in my head, like a marathon. She’s all I seem to be surrounded by. But there’s so many issues, and Nika was right: I don’t need to be getting hurt again.

So I stepped back, wanting to figure out what I really did want. 

Now I know that I want her in my bed, hands in my hair, moans of my name leaving her mouth. More importantly, though, I want her to be mine. So damn badly. I wanted to grow with her, watch her succeed up close, to do all the things with her that come with a relationship. 

That shit was fucking terrifying. I can't remember the last time I let a girl get this close to me. To learn me in the way Maraye has been able to. Or even being able to learn her in the way that I have.

So when she stands there, next to Julian in her curve hugging jeans and a cropped shirt with my name and number, her eyes looking everywhere but at myself, I know that something is off.

“Congrats All-star.” She says to me, eyes looking at me but not really. She darts everywhere but at my eyes, which normally are her main attraction.

The All-star list dropped at halftime, Rickea and Dearica making the list as well. A smile spreads onto my face and I finally drop my hand from Julian’s. “Thanks, angel.” It slips. I shouldn’t have said it, not here in front of him. I knew I shouldn’t.

It was so natural, falling from my tongue like butter. 

I see his eyebrows furrow, looking down at his girlfriend as if she would stop me from calling her that again. 

“You comin’ to Indy?”

“I was thinking about it. Yeah.” Raye answers and it’s the first time throughout this awkward exchange that I actually see those eyes. Wide, doe, eyes that I know I could happily spend the rest of my life just looking at. “Uh, we. We were thinking about going.” She corrects when Julian darts his head to her.

I nod, wiping the palms of my hands on the side of my jeans. 

“I should probably head out, Ion wanna keep y’all too long.” I force out through the tension. I don’t want to leave. Because I know that as soon as I do, I’m going to force myself into more dry texts and ignore her calls and keep myself away from looking at that damn perfect face. 

“You sure?” Julian questions me. His tone is skeptical, like he knows something that I don’t. Or that he knows something that he shouldn’t.

“Yeah, I got some places to be at too.” I hum, pulling my phone out to look at the time. It’s not late, barely even 10 o’clock, but that slight movement is enough to make them both think I have other plans.

Maraye pushes her curls from her face, the bright white hallway lights make her gold septum glisten in her nose. “I’ll see you around then?” She asks, taking a step closer to me and we hug.

The only difference is this hug isn’t what I’m used to. It isn’t the hug where her arms wrap around my neck, mine feel on the swell of her ass, and I can smell every bit of the scent she chose to wear. That would be too risky.

So instead she holds me by my side, my arm cautiously around her shoulder while her palm presses into my back. It’s difficult for me to keep my composure because deep down I know that I should be able to hug her however I damn well please. 

And I can’t.

All because of him. It’s always him.

—

The hum of the engine is all that fills the car, along with the occasional voice of whatever rapper Julian has playing at minimal volume while I drive. 

It’s been like this for a minute. Just the two of us sitting quietly, my finger tips occasionally tapping against the steering wheel while he stares out the window. I’m supposed to be taking us to his place, we’d eat some dinner and maybe watch a movie.

“So, you and Paige, huh?” He asks, his voice so monotonous.

My hands start to sweat and nearly slip down the wheel. “What?”

He turns his head towards me and though my eyes are glued to the road ahead, I can feel the way his dark eyes are burning holes into my skin. 

“You and her. Y’all got something goin’ on? She callin’ you angel and you don’t do nothin’ about it?” His voice casually picks up, going from nonchalant to angry in a matter of seconds. I briefly look at him, and even through the darkness of the night I can see his light skin slowly build in a red tint.

“Paige and I are friends, Ju.” I breathe out. I know that’s true, even though it’s also a lie. Paige and I stopped being just friends the second I kissed her on my couch.

“Then why the hell is it that you been hanging out with her so much, but the second I’m around y’all wanna be all awkward and you wanna look at the floor?”

It’s my fault for thinking that he wouldn’t be able to pick up on our awkward exchanges, because the tension was very noticeable. It was my first time seeing her since that night in the studio. She’s been avoidant lately, and honestly I couldn’t even blame her.

She was over it. And I guess I am too. 

Yet, here I stand, lying to Julian once again and letting him think nothing is wrong. Keeping him at arm's reach when I should really be letting him go.

“I’m sick of fighting, Julian.” I told him. That’s also true. I am so damn exhausted from all the back and forth yelling, but right now I just really don’t want to have this specific conversation. 

“Answer my fucking question, Raye. Are you fucking her?” He yells, never taking his glance off the side of my face.

“What, no!” I look over at him again, my hands shaking while I grip the wheel. “Quit being so insecure! Just because I got good people in my life, doesn’t mean I’m fucking them. I’m with you.”

I hate this. This lying and manipulation. I fucking hate it because this isn’t who I am. I’m not an asshole. I’m not a cheater. Then here I am, doing everything I write about in my songs, hurting him just to protect my own image.

“Insecure? You think I’m jealous of that fucking fag? Like she can give you anything that I do.” He scoffs. His words hit my ears and as I process them, they taste bitter. Every gear in my head starts turning and I start to get angry. Not at what he said, but how he speaks about her. I waste no breath in defending her.

“Watch how the fuck you talk about her, Ju.”

We approached his apartment complex.

“Why you defending her?”

“Why are you calling her out her name?” I yell back.

He’s silent. We stop at a light and I turn my whole head to make eye contact with him. “Should’ve never that you get close to that fuckin’ dyke. You wanna fuck around with her, go do that shit then.”

I reach for the panel on my door, pressing the unlock button. The click echos through the car. “Get out.”

He looks at me surprised, as if he didn’t expect me to say that to him. “Raye.”

“No. You wanna talk to me crazy, you wanna talk about Paige crazy. So get the fuck out.” I reason. “Your place is right there. Walk. Get the fuck out of my car, Julian.”

He scoffs, slumping back against the seat. “Man, you crazy.”

“Get out of my car. You think I’m fuckin’ joking?” I laugh completely irritated. I reach for his phone, taking it off aux and throwing it into his lap. I look at him expectantly.

Julian huffs, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the passenger door. He hops out, looking at me with squinted eyes. “So you—”

“Close my door.” I cut him off, no longer looking back at him, but the green light that is blaring at me to keep driving.

He huffs, slamming the door and I speed off as soon as he does so.

I sit with my own thoughts. So much running through my head, but it all goes back to her. And suddenly I don’t care about the lying or the distance. I just want to talk to her. To talk to Paige.

I pull off into a nearby gas station, pulling my phone out of my purse.

can we talk?

It isn’t even a few seconds before the gray text bubbles pop up on my screen. Then they disappear and I groan.

Until they pop up again, this time fast and insistent.

Yeah we should

Come over?

I know better. Me and Paige don’t have a great track record of keeping our hands to ourselves when we’re alone. So I should text back that we should meet somewhere else.

That’s until she texts me again: Please?

send your addy

And she does.

—

My leg bounces from where I sit on a kitchen stool. It’s not in the anxious way, but in the distracting way. My arm is stretched out over the edge of the counter that I lean on. My fingers tug on my bottom lip while I look at her.

Raye’s been here for a few minutes, going on about something Julian has done. I was listening at first, I think he knows and argument being the specific terms that stuck in my head.

She stood in front of me, pulling her curls up into a bun on the top of her head. It makes the hem of that damned cropped shirt ride up on her body and expose gold jewelry on her belly button.

So yes, it’s hard to listen to what she’s saying when she’s practically tempting me right now. But I do listen when she says:

“I dunno. I’m done with all of this shit.”

If I were a dog, my ears would practically be perking up at it. I sit up straight, leaning with my elbows on my knees to get closer. To make sure I heard her correctly.

Throughout this whole encounter with Maraye, she’s only ever told me she was tired or that she was bothered. Not once did she ever tell me she was done, and that makes all the difference.

“You’re done? For real?”

“Yes. I dunno. It’s not that simple, P.”

I let out a scoff. “Yes it is. You aren’t comfortable ‘round him like you are with me. You don’t spend all day with him like you do with me.” I shrug my shoulders, slightly frustrated. I feel like I’ve given Raye enough evidence that I’m better, as cocky as it sounds. But yet here we are. “It’s hella simple. You jus’ don’t wanna admit it.”

“I didn’t come here for you to scold me.”

“So whatcha come here for then, huh?” I ask, standing up from the stool. 

My hair tumbles down my shoulders as I tower over her. Maraye’s eyes trail down my body and the white shirts that clings to each ridge of my body.

“You wanna kiss me? Wan’ me to fuck you? Wanna keep talking about him? What do you want, Raye? ‘Cause I know what I asked you to come here for.”

“And why’d you do that, Paige?” She responds, getting in my face.

I should be bothered and put up yet another defense. Then I’m reminded that she’s already defensive, herself. She’s frustrated from all the arguing that took place the minute I left her and Julian at Crypto. 

She’s mad. And normally I’d justify her anger, but tonight; it’s all our fault. We made a mess, started seeing each other in a way that we shouldn’t have and Julian caught on. He knows.

“Well for one, Ion wanna be a home-wrecker.” I say, throwing my hands up. “You might be over him theoretically and he might be a raging asshole, but I don’t do that shit, Raye.” And I don’t.

Fooling around, seeing multiple girls, I used to do a lot of it. I can admit that. Home-wrecking, however, has never been on my list.

Raye lets out a snort. “Spell theoretically.”

I huff and run my hands through my hair. “You’re so unbelievably annoying.” I respond, stepping away and walking past her to my couch but she tugs my arm.

“Okay, wait.” She laughs. “You’re right.”

“I’m always right.”

“Yeah, okay.” I stand in front of her again. This time we’re even closer, her hand wrapped around my wrist. “What do you want me to do?” It’s more of a statement than a question because she knows.

She knows I want her to breakup with him and choose me and then let me fuck her within an inch of her life immediately after. That, I could get behind.

“You wanna hear me say it?”

“Please?” 

Raye’s free hand trails up my arm. She’s so tempting, the words so close to dying on my tongue and not being heard at all. Her voice is so enticing, and she looks up at me through her lashes like I hung the moon.

“I… want you, to make a fucking decision.” My voice doesn’t waver as I look deep into her eyes. “You can choose whoever you want, but I can’t keep doin’ this. You choose.”

This is the closest I’m going to get to fighting her off. I don’t push her arm off of me or tell her to back up. This is the closest I’ll get, because I simply can’t get enough of her.

“Okay.” Maraye nods, clutching onto my bicep.

“Okay? That’s it? You not gonna yell at me for making you choose?”

She smiles and shakes her head. The bun on her head shakes a little, and it makes me smile too. “I’ll choose. You gotta give me some time tho’. Few days maybe?”

It seems pretty reasonable to me, though I’d rather she break up with him right this minute over the phone, that would be just a bit crazy.

“We got a road trip. I’ll be gone all week, that work?”

“You’re really serious about this, huh?”

“I just need to know. You pick him, fine.” I shrug. “But if you pick me, even better.”

She grins. “It’s giving Meredith Grey.”

Now I push her off me, listening to the way her laugh fills my ears and bounces off the walls. She stumbles back a tad before catching me on the couch. My back rests against it while Maraye stands in front of me, the spot between my legs becoming designated for her.

“C’mon. It was funny!”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I’m a sexy idiot.”

I hum, rolling my eyes.

It was things like this I missed. The laughter, the jokes, the comfort. Sure she was stunning, and the flirting and kisses were otherworldly, but this topped it. These moments with Maraye that were so hard to come by.

I like the way she looks when she’s looking down at me. It’s intimidating, but still so damn hot.

“A very sexy one.” I finally respond, sitting up more so she can see me better. “These jeans look incredible on you, by the way.”

“Yeah? You wan’ a 360?” Raye jokes.

“I want a 180, angel.” I reply. My hands reach for her hips, playing with the fabric of her belt loops. Raye brushes me off, making a frown spread across my mouth. 

She bows her head to check the dainty watch on her wrist. “It’s late, P. I should get home.”

“You could stay here with me.” My hands drop from her body, instead using my eyes to suggestively try and convince her to stay the night. It’s a joke. Mostly.

“And you were the one who said no more home-wrecking.”

—

My lips are pressed against hers, tongues swirling and spit swapping between the both of us.

It’s urgent. More urgent than any way Paige has ever kissed me before. She doesn’t give me a second to think before her finger is breaking me open and I’m gushing all over her. The stretch is so foreign, and I can’t believe how unbelievably full I feel with just one finger.

“Like this?” She asks after pulling back with a nasty suck of my tongue. I’m nodding at her words tucking my lip between my teeth. 

“Mmph yes. Yes.” A whimper rumbles from my mouth. I clutch into her shoulder, tossing my head back until it hits the pillow under me. 

My legs start closing in on themselves when she adds a second one. “I’m tryna make you feel good, baby. Why you fightin’ me?” Paige asks. Her voice as deep and hungry as I ever heard it. 

Her fingers curl into me, thumb rubbing tight circles on my unbelievably sensitive clit. She found it within a matter of milliseconds, it felt like. And the lights were off.

“He fuck you better than me? Huh?”

I barely hear her over the sound of my own cunt but that doesn’t stop me from shaking my head eagerly. “No. Fuck no, P. He doesn’t.” 

I’m nearly melting at the stimulation. Her voice in my ear and her finger’s scissoring me apart

“P.” I hiccup, nothing else filling my head except the pleasure I’m feeling. Her fingers are so damn long, tickling the deepest parts of me that I didn’t even know existed. She consumes me, swallows me whole. 

Her mouth finds my neck again, biting on my sensitive spot and making my eyes roll. I’m so close, my arousal already dripping past my cunt and onto the sheets below my ass. It’s messy. Wet and messy.

“You wanna cum for me, angel?” Paige teases, licking at the mark she left on my neck.

“Fuck, Fuck! ‘Mm God, P, you’re—”

“You’re doin’ so good, ma. I know you wanna cum.” She nods. “Just let me have it.”

“Paige!” I moan, reaching to grip her hand.

“Pretty fuckin’ girl. Cum, baby. I’m right here.” 

Her words add unbelievable fuel to the fire and my back arches underneath her body. She’s talking me through it, bringing me to the edge and I gasp before waking up.

The sun peeks through my blinds and sleep still crusts my eyes. I wipe them, sitting up half naked in my bed. 

I got home late last night. Closer to one in the morning. Paige was distracting, and I simply couldn’t just leave when she was begging me to stay.

My body is sweaty, my breath is embarrassingly ragged, and My panties are so soaked under the shorts I wore to bed. 

When I sit up, the duvet covering my body, I reach for my phone. Then I see them, the hundreds of texts and calls from Julian and the text from Paige.

Hope you make the right decision

I’ll see you when I get back ma 🫶🏼

[first-frost-fallen-snow]

Raye caught where Ed's eyes has dropped, steadying his breath so it wouldn't hitch. No, he was just imagining things. He couldn't get his heart caught on every bit of perceived romance, that's how his last relationship ended. Ed was never going to even remotely care about Raye, and he had to accept that.

Yet their marriage, even as an act, was still a big milestone. One that Raye had been waiting for with Naomi, that had been ripped from him. He didn't want to be unhappy. He didn't want Ed to be unhappy, either. But the look on Ed's face during the ceremony...

No, he couldn't think about that now. How disgusting of him to even consider it. Ed's glance down was likely just to break eye contact, nothing more.

"Alright..." was all he could muster, standing uselessly in the bathroom as he watched Ed leave to get the harness.

As soon as Ed was gone, he stared down at his hands. The ring might as well have been a handcuff. But he wasn't the prisoner here, he was the monster. He stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, deciding to smooth out his hair with a comb.

He had made himself as presentable as possible on their wedding day. He could remember holding Ed's hands, looking everywhere but at the man he was to marry. He wanted to express his guilt for their arrangement, but didn't know where to start. It all happened so fast.

They were supposed to kiss.

Raye had uttered a soft "may I?" But he doubted Ed would've said yes under any other circumstances.

How could he do that to someone? How could he just... take that from Ed? It wasn't that he wanted to, but it made no difference if he did. To Ed, Raye was just another man working under L that didn't care about anyone.

He shut his eyes to try to think of something else, and to keep himself from crying. He had to keep it together. If Ed found him like this, he was sure to blame himself or hide again.

He scooped Soots up again, holding her in his arms as he stepped out of the bathroom. He had no idea what he'd do without her.

"We're married"

《 from Raye Penber @first-frost-fallen-snow because that would be the funniest route to me also sorry for like disappearing I was focusing on moving out and now my fatigue is killing me 》

Ed awoke for once not slumped over his keyboard, yet also not in the empty apartment he'd moved into when he first moved to Japan. Though he supposed technically, the apartment he was in belonged to him, as did the bed he lay in, though both truly belonged to the man laying next to him. He squinted at the clock on his nightstand, at red LED numbers so blurry, only years of practice allowed him to decipher the time without having to put his glasses on. He still had time before he had to get up, a couple of hours before he had to get to work.

A flash of gold on the nightstand drew his eyes from the clock to the ring next to his glasses. It was the only piece of jewelry he owned, and far more expensive than anything he would ever purchase for himself. There was a similar ring on the other nightstand on the opposite side of the bed that belonged to the other occupant--Raye Penber.

Ed... still didn't know what to make of his new situation, let alone the man he was now legally bound to. He didn't hate him, certainly, though whether he trusted him was yet to be decided. Their marriage hadn't been Ed's idea, nor had it been Raye's. A necessity to facilitate the Kira investigation, it had been called, and Ed had only begrudgingly agreed to it for fear of opposition somehow being used against him as evidence and landing him in prison.

Thought of their marriage left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He'd sworn when he got his job at Encom, and finally escaped his father's control that he would never put himself in any sort relationship where there was a power imbalance and they were not equals. He wouldn't put himself in a situation where he could be abused again. And yet here he was, a foreigner, far from anyone he could call a friendly face, barely understanding the language and culture, and though their partnership was supposed to be one of equals, it didn't feel that way.

Not that he had anyone on the other side of the Pacific he could call for help if he was able, anyway. His therapist, maybe. Though he didn't trust that the call wouldn't be monitored. Or an old rival, if he was desperate.

He felt trapped. He was relying on a man he barely knew to keep him from being falsely accused of mass murder. He was at risk, not just from his partner, but from the people in charge of the investigation as well, People he felt like were treating the investigation as nothing more than a game, where both his and his partner's lives were nothing more than disposable pawns.

How strange it was, that such a tiny band of metal could hold so much meaning. To others, it would have been a symbol of joy as bright as it's polished surface, but to Ed it had just replaced the physical handcuffs that had bound him to his legal partner to with a symbolic one.

[maebyshifting]

my descendants dr!

𓆷 ━━━ background info ━━━ 𓆷

firstly i haven't even watched descendants until last year when my friend forced me to and i absolutely fell in love with it

my favorite movie is def the second one, but my ranking goes two, three, then one. uma's crew brings exactly what it needed and i love them so much

in general my favorite character is evie i love her <3 mwah the older sister figure i never knew i needed

𓆷 ━━━━ about me ━━━━━ 𓆷

my name is raye fitzherbert and i am the child of rapunzel and eugene!

we are 18/19 and auradon is a university instead of a prep/high school

ben and i are basically like siblings as our parents are very close - unfortunately auradon believes we're arranged to be married since we are so close

i have a cat named sunny and she is an actual ray of sunshine i love her so much

here she is :)

i don't have any siblings, which is why ben and i are so close since we're only children

my wardrobe consists of a lot of yellow + lavender + light blue combos

i have a dagger that i have on me at all times just in case and know how to sword fight/use it

i look more like my dad but i have my moms eyes and freckles :)

𓆷 ━━━━━ extra details about my home + auradon ━━━━━━ 𓆷

while there are dorms in auradon, i do not have a roommate right now but i can request one if i want

in my home castle my room is up in the tower and is full of artistic doodles from my mom and i and its a lavender and sunny aesthetic

lots of purple and yellow if that makes sense (yellow is my favorite color even in my cr so it makes sense for me)

speaking of yellow my dorm at auradon is more yellow than lavender because its my favorite color :)

there's a lot of majors but i have no idea what i want to major in yet so i'm still figuring it all out

we actually use magic in auradon! i think magic is so central and our parents definitely passed their magic onto us so we get to use it

also in carona we have a lantern ceremony for my birthday and it is so beautiful i get emotional every time

so we celebrate my birthday and the day my mom was found, there's other festivals as well to celebrate things like harvest and fall <3

𓆷 ━━━━ timeline ━━━━━ 𓆷

i am shifting to the first movie, specifically the day that the vks are coming to auradon!

i love to meet people and experience all of that so i get to meet the vks with ben and help show them around

nothing really changes in the first movie, mal doesn't drug ben because that was wild but ben definitely has had a crush on mal for a while now

i convinced him to propose his vk plan <3

in the second movie i also go to the isle with ben and we both get kidnapped!

i made a tiktok about this but i literally follow him and wind up being taken as well- oops

but hey thats where i meet uma's crew!

and harry but thats not important rn-

third movie i'm with jane for her birthday and meet up with everyone in the woods like in the movie

so yeah other than that its like super close to the movies

i can't wait for after the third movie though timeline was because it's going to be so fun with all the villain kids in auradon with us

especially uma's crew <3 i love uma so much i respect the hell out of her

𓆷 ━━━ relationships ━━━━ 𓆷

as i already said, ben and i are basically siblings auradon doesn't agree rn smh

we speak to each other in french when we don't want others to know what we're saying

also as stated before ben has a HUGE crush on mal

because we've been doing research on the isle so he could propose his idea to his parents

anway

i'm really good friends with jane and my friend sol :) idk if they're on tumblr but they are my shifting best friend and we script each other into our drs so we can meet

anyway sol is chad's twin and they're cinderella and prince charming's kids

her and chad are very close as siblings, brains and beauty frfr

i haven't met any of the vks yet but i hope to be really good friends with them :)

especially evie and uma's crew

but like i'm excited to meet everyone

lets talk about harry hook

i like to script scenarios so if you're not into that feel free to ignore this! i like to jot the ideas down so it finally leaves my head

sooooo harry has a little crush

that's the best way to explain it

so while ben has a crush on mal, harry has a little crush on a certain princess and doesn't think it'll ever happen until the press interview said princess where they state that ben and her are more like siblings not arranged lovers

so yeah :) descendants two is going to be fun

audrey doesn't like me or mal

she thinks i'm in the way of her families plan for her to be queen but i'm literally like go! take him! i don't want ben!

but he has eyes on mal so she doesn't like that either

other than that i'm very close with my parents and ben's parents

also gil and i are going to be best friends. i haven't met him yet but that's my goal because he also speaks french and is so naturally funny

𓆷 ━━━━ extras ━━━━━ 𓆷

in this dr we do still sing and dance which is so fun

my dance partner usually was ben, but after the vks arrived it turns into jay

jay gives older brother vibes idk he makes me feel safe

there's a ton of balls as well where we dress up and wear our crowns since a lot of us are princesses/princes

here's my crown :) its like a mini version of my moms crown but in my mind its more stylized to fit the yellow/lavendar theme i have

i think that's everything i can think of- if anyone has any questions i'd love to answer them!

i love talking about my drs and this one is so special to me because the world is so amazing and i love the music so much

also if you have a descendants dr please tell me about them!

[dc41896]

New Roommate

Pairing: Paul DiskantxBlack Reader

⚠️: Fluff, slight mentions of seggsy time

“We’re gonna have so much fun bubbas. We’re gonna go to the park, on hikes-oh! And the beach! I already know you’re gonna love it,” you beam rubbing noses with the two-month, blue nose pitbull who was trying to lick your face. “First though, I gotta get your dad on board.”

It’s not that your boyfriend didn’t want or like dogs. He always said how he’d love to have one someday when he was settled somewhere.

However that “somewhere” to Paul was a house with plenty yard space, an adequate amount of privacy, and maybe located in the suburbs. Not your recently renovated, two bedroom apartment you both just happened to move into about a month ago.

You made an agreement that you wouldn’t get any pets (well besides a fish, and a small one at that) to not risk messing anything up and having some sort of consequence, which would more than likely be in monetary form. Entranced by the short haired, too adorable for words pup though, you honestly could care less about the consequences.

Plus you just knew your little buddy wouldn’t cause any trouble. You could see that in his round, soft grey eyes.

“So, you’re gonna stay with your auntie Raye until I can work my charm on him okay?” The pup only tilts his head before letting out a small bark and making you pout as you hug him close. “I know but it’s only temporary. A night at most.”

Paul typically didn’t get home until later in the evening now that he was on a new case, so you had plenty of time to clean up any traces of dog left behind after Raye would leave and start cooking his favorite meal. As an added bonus, you also thought about your short, lilac, ruched number with spaghetti straps that always made his eyes light up when you wore it. He claimed it perfectly complimented your skin and made you look even more angelic as his hands always seemed to find your sides, the small of your back, or lower if you were right beside him (which of course you typically were).

However, hearing the familiar thud of boots journeying down the hall and rattling of keys, something told you that plan might not work now.

You quickly stand up, taking the probably confused puppy with you to the bathroom where you sit him in the empty tub, along with his new bone shaped chew toy, kneeling with a finger over your lips.

“Stay here and be really quiet okay?,” you whisper just as you hear the front door unlock. Quietly rushing to close the room door behind you, you muster your best ‘I wasn’t doing anything’ smile while you approached the tired looking man.

“Hey beautiful,” he greets, sweetly pecking your lips.

“Hey, you’re home early today.”

“Yea, we had a break in the case and went undercover to get the suspect which led to a chase, then a fight, and me having bruises forming as we speak.”

Dropping his bag by the dinner table, a sigh followed by a short wince leaves his mouth as he sinks into the leather couch cushions letting his head fall back and eyes close.

“Alright plan B it is,” you think to yourself moving behind him to gently massage his shoulders, occasionally letting your hands journey forward along his pecs giving them attention as well. Hearing a soft moan at his approaching relaxed state urges you to continue, knowing you’d soon have him exactly where you wanted.

“Aww I’m sorry babe. Where does it hurt?”

“My sides mostly, but my back a bit too.”

He helps you remove his fitted black shirt, a favorite of yours, letting out a short hiss from having to extend his sore muscles. Guiding him to lie down and placing one of the small throw pillows under his head, you straddle his lap letting your fingers drag along the red and light blue marks littering his sides.

“It doesn’t hurt when you breathe does it?”

“No.”

“What about this?,” you ask pressing down to feel him flinch under you.

“Ow! Babe-,”

“Sorry! Sorry just checking.” Watching him settle back into his comfortable position with arm draped over his forehead, you slowly bend forward, lips inches from his bruise looking up at your boyfriend through your lashes. “And this?”

You feel his low chuckle vibrate his muscular upper body as your gentle, open mouthed kisses scatter from each injury to eventually find the spot just below his ear.

“I feel better already,” he smiles tilting your chin so your soft lips could meld with his. Kiss growing deeper with each passing second.

“Hooked like a fish,” you thought, lips never ceasing while being brought closer to his body as he sat up with hands squeezing your hips.

“Baby wait,” he states slightly leaning his head back and making you pout. “Let me go shower first. I’m sweaty and probably stink-,”

“What’s the point when you’re just gonna get sweaty again?,” you smirk taking his now red, fuller bottom lip between your teeth.

“All the more reason for you to join me then.” You can’t fully enjoy the combination of his tongue and lips on your neck from your brain hurriedly trying to figure out how to stop this man from finding your little surprise in the bathroom.

“Your, um..sides though! You know it’s gonna hurt trying to shower so just stay here with me.”

“Is there a reason you don’t want me going in our bathroom?,” he asks detaching from your neck with one final bite to eye you suspiciously.

“No, of course not. I just missed you.” Batting your lashes, you nonchalantly let your nail trace a line from where his pendant sat down the middle of his abdomen and just above his buckle before he shifted, swiftly lying you on your back with one hand hooked under your knee bringing it around his waist.

Men. Always so easy.

Giggling as thumbs graze the lower band of your bra and lips return to their assault on your neck and collarbone, a high pitched bark along with scuffling makes you freeze as Paul lifts his head confused.

“You heard that right?”

“Y-Yeah. It’s probably from one of the neighbors. Speaking of dogs though-”

When the barks and scuffling become more frequent, you start to wonder if Raye would mind you staying the night since you’d surely need a place to stay with Paul being mad at you.

“Nah that sounds really close,” he replies unhooking your leg to go investigate for himself. The only thing you can do is sit and nervously wait for the inevitable hearing him open the bedroom door and eventually enter the bathroom. “Honey...!”

“Hmm?!,” you ask biting the corner of your lip, turning your head at the sound of Paul padding across the wooden floor holding the noisy pup.

“Mind telling me why this little guy was in our tub?”

“....Maybe he was a gift from the front office?,” you innocently shrug making him bring his free hand to his hip, sternly looking at you.

“Y/N...,”

“Alright. My coworker and I were bored one day and started looking through the pets the shelter had for adoption online and this little guy came across the screen and stole my heart.”

“Babe we talked about this. We can’t mess this place up.”

“I know and we won’t. Before you came home, we just hung out in here and he was so calm and sweet. Even in the tub he sat there like a good boy,” you smile standing up to scratch behind his ears making his tail wag against Paul’s side.

“That’s because he couldn’t get out since the tub is taller than him,” he retorts as you roll your eyes taking your new baby from his grasp.

“Cmon Paul look at this face and tell me you can say no.”

Holding the puppy at his eye level, there’s a few moments of silence as the two simply look at each other before the grey haired dog licks his cheek making him groan.

“You know I can’t say no. To either of you,” he softly smiles petting the short fur on his head. Seeing your pout as you bring your new friend next to your face, he lowly chuckles caressing your cheek as his lips find yours. “Alright he can stay.”

“Thank you!,” you excitedly squeal bouncing on the balls of your feet. “I already have the perfect name picked out.”

“What’s that?”

“Disco. After his dad,” you both laugh.

“Well, welcome to the family Disco,” he smiles taking him from your hands to place him on the floor where he began to sniff around getting acclimated to his new home. You’re caught off guard when you’re tossed over his broad shoulder, blood rushing to your head as you gently kick your legs laughing.

“Paul!”

“Disco, look after everything. Me and mom have some unfinished business,” he smirks closing the bedroom door behind him with his foot.

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[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Death Note

I’m watching this show specifically because of that text post that said, “Watch how quickly this one guy decides to be the worst person ever” and he has killed two people in the first ten minutes

Though 2 be fair he’s killing people to save people so it’s a trolley problem kind of thing for now

“In fact I’ve been waiting for you... Ryuk” ok weird flex Light but u do u

“You’re the first one to use to this extent in five days” WAIT DID HE MURDER ALL THOSE PEOPLE IN FIVE DAYS I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST LOOKING AT A LIST OH MY GOD??

“So there isn’t a price to using Death Note?” said Light, as if killing people is just a normal thing that we all do

Fhkjfhfkjb Ryuk really went ‘u used the book so we’re friends now’ 

I was wondering why the book was in English, and I guess that makes sense British and American imperialism really Did That

“I can write down the names of criminals, and slowly reduce the number of evil people” uhhhh doesn’t u being a Book Murderer also make you a criminal Light

“Human lives shouldn’t be taken so lightly” bah dum tss

Also I guess that revelation lasted about thirty seconds for you huh

Update from 15 seconds later: Even less than that

“I would create a world of earnest, kind humans” really because I don’t think places that allow the death penalty are generally nicer societies 

It’s interesting that they use English in the classes and the notebook but the conversation at Interpol takes place in Japanese (despite the implied internationality and Ryuk’s aforementioned claim about English being most common) 

Huh I won’t lie I do think it’s confusing that the main characters are L and Light, which also starts with L

“I am justice” I mean if anything this show just proves that no one should be allowed to use the death penalty on apprehended suspects in criminal justice cases ever 

OH SHIT PLOT TWIST HIS DAD’S A COP (IT WAS IN THE TEXT POST I THINK BUT I FORGOT)

Wow this show is full of mind games already I guess I can see why like, crime show fans would dig it

“But I’m going to say this as your roommate” OH MY GOD THEY WERE ROOMMATES KJHRGKJHKJHG

Interesting that someone is following Light specifically already

I mean not to poke too many holes in your plan Light but wouldn’t it clash with your plan to become God if you die at like 35 or smth 

“You’re already much more of a shinigami than they are” Ryuk said my friends are BORING I want to hang out with this MURDER TEEN

“I may not look it, but I’m pretty popular” Light is exactly the kind of guy who ends up in a true crime special where a bunch of people say he seemed like a nice, charismatic young man

Man this poor girl that Light brought on this date is going to be straight traumatized after this

I mean isn’t it MORE suspicious if someone dies around someone with direct ties to the police even if it’s not a heart attack

“You were indeed a brilliant FBI agent once, but now you’re my fiancée” kjhfkjhg WHAT FBI AGENTS CAN’T BE MARRIED 

“Once we have a family, you’ll be so busy that you’ll forget that you were an agent” I’m not a fan of Raye Penber 

What’s the point in killing Raye at all???? He told you he was part of a special investigation so clearly he’s not that suspicious of you

Light sure is bold to announce his Killing People Experiments in the middle of a busy sidewalk 

Incredible that consistently no one notices Light’s increasingly threatening declarations????

Fjkfkfhk these five cops finding out their Hail Mary is this strange little goblin man,,,, wow

This woman has really pushed Light to the brink just by giving a fake name, I admire her tenacity

Cops wearing fake IDs really did not age well oh boy

SERIOUSLY HOW DOES NO ONE EVER HEAR LIGHT SAYING SUSPICIOUS THINGS IN PUBLIC THOROUGHFARES HE LITERALLY JUST SAID “I AM KIRA” AS A DETECTIVE WALKED BY, WHILE HE WAS TALKING TO SOMEONE HE KILLED IMMEDIATELY AFTER

Wow it really took only eight episodes for L to track Light as close as one of two families

“You have a wife and daughter, right?” “I know!” I mean..... not 2 be that guy but... cops

 “To me, apples are like... Well, like cigarettes and liquor to humans” Vcvhcjhj every once in a while Ryuk says something that really tickles me

I know the word sociopath is kind of outdated but man does Light have actual interests outside of school or does he just do stuff to fill the void of his lack of interests (outside of murder)

JKHGKJHGKJHKJHG I cannot believe that this has turned into a fake classmate situation first of all 1) are you going to become friends and 2) How old are you Ryuzaki/L?

“Where is that rich kid from? And he’s even at the top of his class? What a jerk” honestly a mood

I DESPERATELY want Light’s mother or sister to overhear his evil cackling will someone finally eavesdrop on this god complex

“If I sit normally, my reasoning skills drop by 40%” weird flex but same 

Sidenote: I can’t believe how many episodes of this show I already have watched

Ngl I was VERY shook that Mr. Yagami had a heart attack. Also does Light care if his family lives or dies or is he kind of neutral on the subject? 

“If Kira is an ordinary person who gained this power, then he is a very unlucky person” Dad and L said ‘if u ARE Kira could you please stop murdering thank you <3′ 

Light really underestimated how much cops hate anyone who has killed a cop oops

OH SO IT’S NOT LIGHT I WAS WONDERING WHY HE HAD NOT MADE AN APPEARANCE THIS WHOLE EPISODE U MEAN THERE ARE TWO GUYS WITH THIS EXACT SAME IDEOLOGY AND PLAN? INCREDIBLE

Update from ten seconds later: Two people, I guess

Well this explains the girl in the short dress which serves as the Netflix thumbnail of this show I was wondering when she would show up 

Also she sounds like she’s very young? Clearly Shinigami don’t have a minimum age of informed consent when it comes to their Murder Eyes Contract 

Hahah I bet Light didn’t imagine that his petty and fucked up apple joke would bite him so quickly in the ass

Dhkjdhdkjhd Misa is so bold dropping her Death God deets in a video for anyone to see 

“The way to kill a Shinigami, is to make them fall in love with a human” does this mean that Ryuk is going to fall in love with Light or Misa? Both would make me uncomfortable

Oh wild guess Misa became a Death Note Wielder through the Power of Unreciprocated Voyeuristic Love

“Yeah, I have a girlfriend now,” said Light, after a girl contacted him through a series of anonymous video tapes implicitly vowing to be his disciple 

“No one could tell who he’s attached to if I’m with this many people” [20 seconds pass] “Found him!” HAHAHA the funniest part of this show is consistently watch Light going “got ‘em” before it immediately is revealed that he doesn’t got ‘em 

Why is Light so incredibly searchable??? I think the only way people people could find my height online is if I happened to answer it for one of those Facebook note memes in 2007 lmaoooo

“There are many places that will go and sell your personal records” ah, data breaches; a problem that has not gotten any better in the last 15 years since this anime came out

HKJHFHKJFHF Light immediately jumping into fake-dating his weird disciple in front of his mom... what is this show

“Please make me your girlfriend” OH MY GOOOOOD

This is one of the weirdest romantic dynamics I’ve seen in recent memory but you know what? Whatever, at least it’s not Anxiety and Murder

“Does that mean I’ll have to deal with her until she dies?” Light is truly exuding some Ladybird Book of Dating Energy rn: 

The fact that to kill L all Light had to do was get an obsessive girlfriend... astounding

Beautiful that it took Misa less than a week of knowing Light to ruin his whole 15 episode game plan and also life

“I think I may be Kira” Well this show keeps taking one escalation after another this is exhausting why can’t Light just be a normal person who found it, tried it out of interest in the occult, discovered he’d committed a horrible atrocity and then went to therapy for the rest of his life only to confess to Magical Murder on his deathbed while his family goes, ‘Wow, Grandpa’s crazy’

Does L not think that keeping three different people imprisoned for days on end will lead to some psychological repercussions for him

FOR WEEKS ON END????? OH MY GOD???? The fuck L, I know two of these people are murderers but there are some minimum conditions of correctional facilities and this seems a little Stanford PE

THE DRAMA OF THIS EPISODE I KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE A BLANK BUT HOW FUCKED UP TO PUT EVERYONE THROUGH THIS L I THINK YOU NEED THERAPY!!!!!!! I MEAN LIGHT AND MISA ARE MURDERERS BUT FORCING A MAN TO HOLD HIS SON AT GUNPOINT AFTER IMPRISONING THEM FOR OVER A MONTH IS REALLY A REFLECTION OF A COMPLETE LACK OF EMPATHY (especially when you think that this version of Misa and Light don’t know anything!!! Oh my god!! The fuck)

“I will make arrangements so you and I are together 24 hours a day” call me crazy but I would not want to spend 24/7 with the man who imprisoned me for over a month while playing cruel psychological games all the while

“I’m one of those people who’ll accept Kira, I’d think of ways I could help him” Misa said Bimbo Rights

“I could never toy with a woman’s emotions like that” Light’s dating life and personality has gotten a LOT funnier since he forgot he was a murderer I kind of wish THIS could be the whole show 

Also: Nice to know Light USED to have standards of how to treat women

Honestly fair play to both L and Light they both deserved to be punched and it’s funny to see eighteen episodes of mind games culminate in punching and kicking each other in the face

“Matsuda’s being an idiot again” “Well, Matsuda is a natural at that” wghkjhgkj what has Matsuda done to any of you

"He’s punishing criminals as a front, and killing people for the benefit of this company” is Light unknowingly going to solve the murder chain he himself started... inspiring

“I was testing you” this is why Light is your only friend, L, Aizawa has kids and it’s a dick move to ask him to put his convictions before them

Poor Matsuda realizing he’s got the least to offer to their team... me in high school science labs 

I understand Aizawa’s moral crisis but why do NONE of these cops care about their wives or daughters they’re just kind of like, ‘I will provide for you but I have no interest in or fulfillment from being part of your life’ (ACAB)

Matsuda is truly about to die for being dumb and eager to help 😔 Rest in Pieces

“We must not allow Yotsuba to figure out that we are investigating them,” said L, just after it cut from Matsuda being obvious about investigating them. Oh Matsuda 😔 you’re so bad at your job 😔

MATSUDAAAAAAAA oh thank goodness; Bimbo Rights save the day

“I can’t go along with your idea, it’s wrong!” said Light, despite the fact it took him 15 seconds to get over murder the first couple of times he did it 

Staaaaaaaaay Good Light, I don’t want ur Deathnotesona I want this young man with moral convictions!!

The level of hubris it takes to answer a phone call during your secret Murder Meeting while people continue to talk about their Murder Plans is just out of this world

“If I die, you could probably become the successor to the ‘L‘ name,” said L, to the person he has been trying to catch for twenty episodes 

“I won’t say anything under any kind of torture” “Yes that’s true” Which he knows because he tortured her for six weeks!! You see that that’s fucked up, L, right? RIGHT??? RIIIIIIIIGHT? (LIIIIIIIGHT???)

Seriously not to beat a dead Shinigami but Light is so much better like this. He doesn’t want to throw people’s lives away for the investigation! He wants to protect Misa! He thinks Kira is wrong! Why does he have to be a murderer!!! Why can’t this show be about a nice young man!!!!

“Hey Ryuzaki, that’s messed up!” THANK YOU LIGHT AGAIN I KNOW YOU BOTH HAVE KILLED PEOPLE BUT YOU DON’T KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW SO FOR ALL MISA KNOWS HE’S JUST A GUY WHO TORTURES HER AND TELLS HER CRUSH WILL DIE IF SHE DOESN’T HELP

Wow Rem is so ride or die for Misa protecting Misa from creepy Higuchi, giving her info and telling her to trust Light, that’s love bitch

Props to Misa for getting a confession out of Higuchi after one (1) car ride 

Why do I feel like L is going to be responsible for reawakening Bad Light is it because he psychologically tortured him for six weeks? Had his dad hold him at gunpoint? Forced Misa to investigate on his behalf? Constantly and unerringly presses him on what Kira would be thinking as he’s handcuffed to him 24 hours a day? Maybe!! This is like Build-a-Bear but he’s customizing his Teen Murder Friend 

“Only Mr. Matsuda can do [the mission to lure out Higuchi!Kira]” Death Note really said the Himbos, Herbos and Thembos shall inherit the Earth 

They keep saying they don’t know how he kills but it seems pretty obvious that he writes down their names to kill, they literally saw him do it

I really don’t want any of the investigation team to die but things are not looking hot :(

“Ryuzaki, I never knew you could fly a helicopter” “It’s just intuition” what does that MEAN

“Those aren’t allowed in Japan,” said Light, about a gun, as if he had not killed probably thousands of people without one 

In spite of this fact I really do want Good Light to stay 😔 Why! Can’t! This! Show! Be! About! A! Nice! Young! Man!

Also they really are playing into this father-and-son duo I will be very sad when the dad inevitably dies as I’m sure he will 

Family side note: I’ve been wondering this since the prison ep but where do Light’s mom and sister think he IS now that he’s dropped out of first year uni to be a teen criminal investigator handcuffed to a maladjusted homebody private eye

AIZAWAAA and also the other two guys I guess there was a plot relevant reason for him to rejoin the police huh

Well what a clean ending to this Kira arc. No one died and the killer was caught! Yikes that the next ep is called ‘Revival’ tho 😔 Rest in pieces Good Light

Also a new and very threatening intro???? What happened to the Twilight Apple Hands 

BOOOO I knew Light would get his memory back but I was hoping it would at least fuck him up for a while he sorted out his two personas but I guess all roads eventually lead to Bad Light 

Full disclosure I stopped watching for a few days just after Light got his memory back and let me tell u coming back later hasn’t made it any more tolerable I am truly not built for this EUGH

“Do you really want to halve your life a second time” “Well, that can’t be helped” REALLY???? CAN’T IT BE HELPED MISA??? WHY ARE YOU AND LIGHT SO CRAZY

Oh I guess we’re back to Light saying incredibly suspicious things right near the investigators lmao what if those cameras secretly had audio or you know, L simply knew how to read lips 

“Misa, let’s make a new world together” Remember a bunch of episodes ago when Good Light was all ‘I could never toy with a woman’s emotions’?? What was the reason!!!

“Have you ever told the truth at any point in your entire life” L cutting straight to the core lmao (also the answer is obviously ‘no’)

This show has taken a jarring tonal shift why are they having a post-rain-confrontation massage and towelling each other off this is a level of intimacy I was not prepared for I NEED PEOPLE TOOK LOOK AT THIS:

OKAY OKAY OKAY I KNOW THAT IT WAS PROBABLY NOT THEIR INTENTION BUT THE ONLY WAY I CAN READ THIS SCENE IS AS “Don’t kill me Light~ 🥰 I’ll fuck you~ 🥰” 

I guess L knew he was forcing Rem’s hand to kill him if he disproved the rules written in the book?? But to what end omg how does this help anyone 

“In April 2012, Light Yagami, age 23, joins the National Police Agency” should’ve known we’d land here eventually (ACAB)

Ah, I see another person who doesn’t know how to sit, clearly they will inherit the L title next lmao

Update from the first few mins of the next ep: “Near should succeed L” told you

“There’s no way I’m letting Sayu marry a detective” ahjfkhkjf he’s a little old for her I think but it wouldn’t be the worst thing this show has done romantically lmao; maybe Sayu would get to investigate her brother

“I might’ve considered going out with you, if you were a little younger” HA GOOD FOR HER

“[...] the Japanese police are unreliable. In order to solve this case, we want you to hand over the notebook to our country.” Of all the Japanese-speaking Americans in this show, this is the most accurate jkhfkhf the US government really is Like That 

Ah, so that’s where Mello’s gone, oh how the turn tables 

Also way to sell your subordinates out immediately, NPA Director, will you give them the Kira task force’s home addresses too

The real question is if Light actually cares about his sister enough to prioritize her over the notebook

“Call me... N” Oh my good L... M(ello)... N(ear)... Oooooooooooooooo

It’s my saving grace that I only need to get through 9 more eps but as always I must wonder where this is going will Light just die and end up in Shinigami purgatory while the people who knew him after the fact go, ‘hey, that guy was fucked up’

“If things get bad, I’ll have to kill Sayu” well I guess that answers that question, my expectations of Light are so low and yet he continues to find new ways to be awful

Good for Mr. Yagami and Sayu for getting out of that alive I guess but hoo boy I think this is going to have some psychological repercussions for both of them 

Uh oh this episode is called ‘Father’ I’ve been dreading this one bc I think that means Mr. Yagami is about to die 😭😭😭

“It was an institution for brilliant children, to raise them to become L‘s successor” okay calm down Professor Xatari that’s not what children are for lmao 

Well I guess it’s a lot easier to track down info about these two guys than it was to figure out L lmao

HAHAHA Sidoh haunting Ryuk to ask for his stuff is a fun addition to this madness  

“He’s scary for a human” jkhhfjh how unhinged does Mello have to be to threaten a literal Shinigami 

I truly don’t understand the logistics of how they revealed Ryuk to the police force isn’t the second Kira notebook supposed to belong to Actual Kira, in the police force’s eyes????? I do not understand how Light can just turn up with another notebook and everyone’s like ‘sure cool’ did I miss something 

Mr. Yagami killed for being unable to take human life ugh this is the worst 

“You’re not Kira. I’m really glad.” WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS SO SAD MR. YAGAMI NOOOOOOOOOO THAT’S WHY HE RENOUNCED OWNERSHIP OF THE NOTEBOOK 

Neither Mello nor Near seem overly concerned with the lives of people around them does being a Super Genius Investigator also mean you have to be a dick (is this Benadryl Coddleswab Sherlock syndrome)

Lmaooo genuinely love how it’s constantly apparent that Light is the least smart of all of the smart people Light spent five years working on his reputation and it took Near one (1) phone call to destroy it 

Ghjkhgkhgkgjh Light outsmarted by Near yet again never think people will prioritize principles over money

Lol yeah Aizawa needn’t have given a name after he said the “Deputy Director Yagami would kill Kira and then himself” thing, you don’t do that just for anyone who was he fooling 

How does Light keep track of all the renunciations and notebooks bc I certainly can’t 

Ffhkfjhfj Mikami truly looks like the son of L and Light it’s like Light missed him and was like, “Miss u boo :( (even tho I kinda killed u) I’ll adopt An Evil 27-year-old in ur honour :)”

Is Mikami’s story really, ‘I got bullied in high school and have mommy issues so now I think people I don’t like should die’ ok Shonen Snape 

“I just want you to meet with me and hear me out” Light really proving to Aizawa that he can lie AND manipulate people’s feelings 

“The truth is, she’s not smart enough to be my partner” first of all Light I think this show has proven you’re not that smart, and Misa’s Herbo Energy is effervescent and will outlast you, and third of all go to jail

“He’ll look suspicious if he doesn’t say something soon” “Ide, have you ever been in love” Matsuda continues to be the only good part of this show

“You’re the only man I’ve ever respected and admired in my life” GET SOME THERAPY KIYOMI

“You’re going to be the goddess of the new world” so it’s not enough for Light to be a murderer he must also be a cheater

Lmao Near’s powers of perception do seem a little B/BC S/herlock because L tried for literally months to work out the possibilities and Near is just like ‘I KNOW IT NOW’

“The only thing I can deduce from this is that Light Yagami is popular with the ladies” HEAVEN KNOWS WHY (PUN NOT INTENDED)

Every moment Aizawa gets closer to proving Light is Kira is another step closer to death 😔

“This is definitely Mikami’s handwriting” Not to be a know-it-all, Near, but handwriting analysis has been proven faulty many times in multiple courts of law

This truly is a game of Cat and Cat. All these hidden plans give me a headache fkjhkfjh call me Misa-Misa and spin me sideways I don’t have the braincells to spare

Well this is definitely some kind of s*xual assault absolutely fucking hate it wow this show truly just drains the life out of you 

“Matt, I never thought you would be killed” why wouldn’t you think that at this point anyone who comes close to this investigation eventually dies (also wjkhkjhgk why is Matt special didn’t you kill all those thugs you had before -- Mello said ‘the lives of my allies are only important if they are drawn in handsome protag style’) 

As of yet I haven’t really talked about Near’s wild toymaking but hoo boy is that L finger puppet something to observe

“Everyone who knows about the existence of the notebook will die” I’m still pulling for their survival, particularly Matsuda (himbo rights!!!)

Imagine if they just shot Light Yagami on sight how ironic would that conclusion to all these mind games be 

“I’m waiting, for the one who will solve everything, to arrive” Lmao if it turns out L is alive I’ll pee laughing this show is so fucking stupid 

Take a shot every time there is a Humpty-Dumpty-in-Puss-in-Boots style explanation about how everything actually happened

“I’ve won, Near” I bet/hope what gets Light caught is his inability to hold in his hubris for one (1) minute

Although the last episode is called New World, in which case maybe he wins in a very weird ending to a very weird show

Sjkfhkjhfkhfkjhf well I guess what gets Light caught is that the person he invited to be his murderous disciple keeps calling him God

“A second ago, you said ‘I win.’ That’s as good a confession as any” HA hubris strikes again also bold of Aizawa to clap Light on the shoulder knowing he is a mass murderer

Ohhh Matsuda he’s so nice and believed the best of Light :((((((((((((

Watching Light become increasingly desperate and crazed is very uncomfortable give it up dude u’ve been beat (though I suppose there is time for everyone here to be murdered still lmao)

LMAO LIGHT SAID “IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM, CONVERT ‘EM”

Yeah I figured if one of them was gonna shoot it would be Matsuda :( :( Good for him for not killing Light tho!!

Huh I guess that’s the end of the show I thought Light would die but I did think we’d at least get to see him in Shinigami Purgatory or smth... what a wild ride. This certainly was a show.

[secretshinigami]

The Final Warning

Author: @complicatedmerary For: @misora-massacre Pairings/Characters: No pairings; Naomi Misora, Beyond Birthday, L, Wammy (cameo), Raye Penber (cameo) Rating/Warnings: Teen & Up, just to be safe; depression, PTSD, implicit talk about what happens in prison, especially if your successor hates your guts (and you are a terrible person), a glossed over mention of Beyond’s unfortunate appearance after the end, discussions of A’s demise, discussions of B’s crimes, L being a jerk, and B just being crass overall Prompt: A conversation between B and someone visiting him in prison (could be L, Mello or Naomi). In this case, it is Naomi and L simultaneously, but L is not facing Beyond. It makes sense in context. Author’s notes: I was reading Another Note the other day and got inspired to partially continue whatever happened to Beyond after he was arrested. This is, in a way, a prequel to my other fics about Beyond in prison, but I wrote it specifically in a certain matter to make it fit independently from them. I can now proudly say that I have finally written Naomi Misora, so hurray for that! I challenged myself not to go overboard with harsh descriptions because this could have easily gone way darker, and yet give the emotional punches I love so much. Enjoy!

***

Slow motion. Going through the motions, day by day, month by month, in slow motion. High fives blazing through like a blur, a weak arm accepting it as if it were a reflex. “You go, Misora Massacre!” They cheered, the high-pitched hoorahs ringing in her ears from all directions. Some nights, her boyfriend would turn off the movie and ask her if she was okay. Was she okay? She never knew how to respond to that question in general anyway. All she could do is nod her head with a fake smile and kiss him on the cheek as she tells him not to worry. It amazed her that it took little effort to set his mood up and running in no time. She still was not sure if this was endearing or a sign that she was a better actress than she imagined.

What would she prefer, really? For Raye to keep pressing on her mental state and get some legitimate help or to move on with her life and remove her feelings out of the equation? The tightrope was getting thinner and a single wrong move was making her dizzier. She was a professional, she needed to act like it.

There were more concerning issues in the world, she was only one person, it could had been worse.

~

If there was one thing Beyond had learned in prison was that criminals hated other criminals as much as the regular citizen. Especially if said criminal had a history of killing a little girl.

It was laughable, really; it was not like he did what he did to fulfill a deranged desire for bloodlust, he was more sophisticated than that. How many of them were here because of personal vendettas or emotional instability? If it were a contest between whose motivation did not have a personal connection to the victims, he would had been the only one standing.

They can threaten to kill him in his sleep or pound him to the floor all they wanted, Beyond was more intelligent than any other man in this prison combined. He may not know where he was or what time it was or if the security of this prison was as tight as these guards bragged to him, but one thing was for sure: He was not the type to give up so easily.

~

Naomi Misora exited the convenience store with a small bag of potato chips and strawberry gum in hand. Another side effect of this obnoxious state of mind was how she alternated between snacking almost every hour or just once a day, depending on her mood. It was not like somebody was going to stop her, it was harmless, it will go away soon, she was fine–

And then, a black limousine appeared near the sidewalk, slowly following her movements. Was she so distracted that she did not notice the large vehicle until now or was it always there? Perhaps it was a generic television actor exerting his notoriety for some autographs. And yet, it was not stopping unless she did.

“Can I help you?” Naomi raised her arms in exasperation, just wanting whatever this was to end as soon as possible.

The window rolled down and revealed an older gentleman with white hair and a white mustache, barely moved by her outburst.

“Naomi Misora, it is an honor to finally meet you.” The man said in a distinct accent.

Yes, he was definitely not from around here, Naomi thought.

“My name is Watari,” He continued. “I am with L and I’m here to delivery you to him.”

L? Again? How many times was he going to need her help?

“Tell him that I’m busy, I promised Raye that this was just a quick trip.”

“Misora-san,” An electronic voice blared from a computer. “That has been taken care of. Please get in, this is of upmost importance.”

This was not a trick, she recognized that deliberate tone. Fantastic, just what she needed.

~

“Misora-san,” The computer faced her as if it were a breathing person, as if this could not get any stranger. “I’m so glad we meet once again. I hope life has been treating you well.”

Hardly. “L, I respect you, but if this is another case, I’m afraid I cannot help you this time.”

“Oh, and why is that?” L seemed genuinely surprised. “We made a great team back then, surely you don’t resent me, do you?”

It is not you, it is me. “Just tell me what is going on.”

“Believe it or not, Misora-san, this is not a case to catch a killer, but to get a current prisoner to confess.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow. And what exactly can she do if she did not know what the confession was in the first place?

“This criminal is someone you’d already met,” L continued, as if he read her mind. “The infamous killer you were in close contact with a few months ago. I’m afraid there is some unfinished business.”

“Beyond Birthday?” Naomi said, incredulously. “He was arrested and confessed to his crimes. What could possibly be considered ‘unfinished’?”

“Ah, I see you have no context on what is going on,” There was no tact in his voice at all. “As you may remember, Beyond was someone I knew. Not personally, but I was aware of him. There are some details I left out for your sake, but if I need you to understand the gravity of the situation, all I can say that this concerns a man named A.”

“Who is A?”

“Someone Beyond knew.”

Not at all helpful after all.

“You have to give me more than that, L, what does A mean to Beyond?”

“We suspect B killed A and played the victim to distance himself from what he did.”

Naomi let out a sharp gasp. She would not put it past Beyond to commit more murders before this case, but something was off. The Beyond she knew would had left some clues that implied his involvement to assert dominance and this seemed like a plain murder. Or was she overthinking this for no reason?

“That is terrible, L, but … what makes you think he would say anything to me? I brought him down and arrested him. It’s not like we are friends or anything like that.”

“You don’t know him like I do, Misora-san,” L retorted. “It’s not about friendship, it’s about manipulation. Believe it or not, you carry more power over him than you realize. If there is anyone who would be glad to see you, it is Beyond Birthday.”

“And why is that?”

“He likes you, Naomi Misora.”

Naomi frowned. Great, just great, misplaced affection was exactly what she needed. Suddenly, the vehicle stopped.

“I already have this covered,” L said as Watari turned around on his seat and gave Naomi a small black box. “I’ll be with you every step of the way and monitoring every spoken word between the two of you. All I need is a confession. You can speak about whatever you want, but the goal is to make him talk about A. Can you do that?”

Naomi opened the box. It revealed two sleek earpieces that perfectly blended against her black hair. She instinctively put them on, aware of what he had planned.

“I will feed you information and you will repeat every word I say. You will not be alone; there will be two security guards monitoring both of you out of precaution. There is no telling what he may do if you say the wrong thing, but if my calculations are right, he will not dare put a hand of you if he knows he will be stopped immediately. You are a true professional, Misora-san, I believe in you. Can you do this?”

That was all she needed to hear. She nodded. “I can.”

~

Beyond Birthday looked around the private visitor room, an amused smirk visible on his face. Two security guards observed him from different corners, trying to intimidate him from moving. The tallest one (the name “Keith Cope” flashed above his head) gritted his teeth and growled, proving to him that this was nothing more than theatrics. He was not moved by this at all; he had gone through way worse than some punk trying to be tough, he was nothing.

What could be something, however, is the person who was visiting him today in this room: Naomi Misora. Months have passed and she still came back for more, perhaps to dissect him further for her personal notes. He did not have high hopes that she was here on her own—maybe the FBI was intrigued by him—but it was the intent that counted.

After a few minutes passed, the aforementioned woman opened the door and stared at him either in fascination or disgust. No, he knew what the issue was. She was clearly staring at the aftermath of his burned body and the untreated skin that had been left alone because L was apparently that much of a petty man to let him have some decent healthcare in prison. Fine, it did not matter, at the rate he was going, someone is bound to be fed up with him and finish him off.

Too bad it will never be me.

“Misora,” Beyond flashed an emotionless smile, the corner of his lips barely moving, as she sat down in front of him. “I knew you would come back to me.”

“Let’s save the sarcasm for one day, this isn’t personal.” Naomi scoffed. Also, the overt lack of boundaries was uncomforting.

“You haven’t changed one bit,” Beyond chuckled. “How is the FBI? I must admit, I did not mean to leave that much of an impact on you, I was supposed to go out with dignity. You learn from your mistakes and mind your business. How do you deal with that?”

You are the reason why I wake up without any rest. “Not very well. My job does not allow me to let things go.”

“Leaves you a mark for life, understandable.” Beyond said nonchalantly. “We all deal with trauma in our own ways. Have you tried screaming and crying while being watched by three unsuspected prisoners? Let’s just say, it’s good for a good bedtime story.”

The earpieces let out a crackle, allowing L to give Naomi further words to say. There was an instruction so deliberate that she wondered if this was nothing more than a game to him.

“You never learned to keep your thoughts to yourself,” Naomi said slowly and with a lower tone. “Backup, you never fail to disappoint me.”

And then, the alarms set off in his head, his eyes glazing over as his anger rose inside of him.

“You have been in close contact with L.” Beyond said between gritted teeth. And he bet that L was way closer than he imagined through Naomi Misora; he would not put it past him to use her as his mouthpiece. This was not the first time, and it would not be his last. In his earlier years of successor training, L was never present, but some of the institution’s teachers would occasionally adjust their earpieces before speaking, indicating that none of their words were their own. Incidentally, they all sounded the same: From the diction, to the deliberate robotic strictness, he figured that this was L’s modus operandi in the shadows. It almost made him laugh; either L was afraid of children or he was the least caring person on the planet. He was willing to bet on both, but he learned the hard way that L could not be put in a box. It was a fact so infuriating, and yet, it kept his fascination for him alive.

“Yes,” Naomi said curtly. “I was given more information about you that I cared to know about.”

“Do you think he is better than me?”

“What?” She was taken aback.

“Oh, you know,” Beyond shrugged. “Since the Great Detective is listening to this conversation right now, it wouldn’t hurt to hear from your own mouth how much of a failure I am. Come on, stroke his ego today, he desperately needs it.”

There was stunned silence between the three of them.

Naomi stood up from her seat and turned her back to Beyond. Faint whispers of “let me handle this” and “that’s enough for me” were barely heard, but her frantic movements were indicative that she was winning the argument. She removed her hand from her ear and sat back down, her hands flat against the table.

“He thinks nothing of you, Beyond Birthday. You were caught in the act and your terror is over. I hope prison gives you no rest.”

Beyond tsked. “Ah, so the lady can speak for herself. And here I thought I wouldn’t be able to speak to the real Naomi Misora after all. Tell me, Misora, and only you, can you truly forgive L for all the emotional damage he has bestowed upon you? He may command respect, but he has no regard for common human decency.”

Naomi fiddled with her ring absentmindedly, a nervous habit she developed after the LABB case. It was the one thing that could sooth her at this time.

Beyond let out a low whistle. “You have to give your man some credit, he knows when to lock it down.”

“What?” That perked up her attention.

“However, if that is the best ring he could get, he doesn’t deserve you. What’s his name?”

“None of your business!” Naomi fired back.

“Touchy subject, I see,” Beyond rolled his eyes. “And here I thought you could tell me anything.”

“Enough,” Naomi said firmly. “This isn’t about me; this is about you. I know what you did, Beyond, don’t let this go.”

“What, that I killed people? Shocking, no wonder why we are both here.”

“You can either confess now and have your sentence reduced or lie to the both of us and make your situation worse for you.”

“What? What are you talking about?” Beyond’s voice cracked from the sudden raise of his tone.

“You killed A.”

All pleasantries were done for, Beyond could not believe what he was hearing. L was trying to frame him for A’s death? This was a new low, even for L. And what was that about “confessing” now to reduce his sentence? L must think he was that desperate to get out of prison to even suggest that he would ever say that he killed A. Just because you lie every single day of your life it does not mean I should follow your example to save my skin. Absolutely pathetic, what are you trying to prove, hmm? That you can torture me for the rest of my life to show how little I mean to you? Admit to something I did not do? How about you admit that I’m a reminder that your games are useless and that you fail as a functional, empathetic human being? You will get what is coming for you, it may not be tomorrow, or within the next year, but mark my words, L, no one will miss you when you are gone.

“I don’t know what he told you, but he is lying,” Beyond was seething. “I didn’t kill A, he did.”

“L told me you would say something like that. This is over, Beyond.”

“Don’t believe him!” He suddenly stood up from his seat. “He made A and I train like old dogs to be like him. A did not deserve what happened to him, it was all L’s fault. There is no evidence of what he is accusing me of, and if he has something, it is a set up. I’m sick of him, you have to be sick of him, too, for making you go through this farce.”

“Backup, sit down!” Keith approached him. Beyond complied, not because he feared him, but he wanted to be here long enough to convince Naomi that he was telling the truth.

Naomi said nothing. On one hand, he was trying to prove his innocence so badly, it must be genuine. However, she had been an agent long enough to realize that guilt can manifest with overt emotions and he had been caught in a sticky situation. Either way, he was a still a murderer and did not deserve her sympathy.

“He does have proof, Beyond,” Naomi insisted. “It’s over, confess and you’ll be happier to have this burden off your shoulders.”

Beyond shook his head roughly. “No, that’s not true. He is setting me up to test me. It does not matter if I lie or tell the truth, I am stuck in prison for the rest of my life. What do I benefit from A’s death? Nothing. I know it, L knows it, even you know it. You have seen how I plan my murders, Misora. Don’t you think there is something off going on? You must realize deep down that you are nothing but a pawn in his game.”

Here was the thing: Naomi was aware at this point that she was a chess piece to this game, she would have been too naïve not to see it. However, she just wanted this to end, no matter what.

“Stop it. At the end of the day, you are a murderer and deserve what is coming to you. If you want to pretend that you did not kill A, that is your problem. This is over, I’m done with this.”

“No, this is not over,” Beyond crawled over the table, his face twisted and colorful in anger. “I’m sick and tired of this nonsense. L,” He seemed to point out at her ear. “Listen to me carefully. I will get out of here, one way or another. This is your final warning to drop the act and face me properly once and for all. When that time comes, don’t hide behind your guards and power. This is between you and me only. You are an absolutely coward—”

“Time’s up, Backup,” Keith grabbed Beyond’s arms, not caring how rough he was being. As much as Beyond wanted to resist, he just could not. He said what needed to be said and was not in the mood for an altercation. He would save all the fighting energy for the day he finally escapes.

Once Beyond was out of sight, Naomi dropped her face between her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. At least that was over.

“Misora-san?” L said in the earpiece.

“Hm?” Naomi murmured.

“You can go home now; you did an outstanding job.”

Oh, thank God.

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

Feel So Close, pt. 15

Bucky Barnes x Reader

A/N:The parts will be under 1k each, short and simple. If you want to be tagged, send me an ask or leave a comment!  

Warnings: language. Happens right after CATWS. 2 MORE PARTS LEFT.

Summary: Steve Rogers has a mission for you - help him find his old friend, Bucky.

masterlist

Steve held you close as your hand touched the back of his neck; realizing now, how much you missed your friend. He felt warm despite the cold weather and when he pulled away, he smiled at you. Knowing you owed him a lot more than an explanation, you began to talk but he interrupted you with a hand to the shoulder.

“Bucky?”

Right, you thought, feeling slightly dumb as you stepped aside. You had been Steve’s friend for years, but Bucky was his brother. You watched as the two men approached each other and quickly drew into an embrace – you noted that, months ago, Bucky would not have been so receptive. He had come a long way and truthfully, you were glad to see the old friends together. Although it did bring some anxiousness; Steve found the two of you, so what did that mean for Bucky?  

The world outside of Norway would want him to pay for his sins, the sins of Hydra. That’s what scared you the most, with one single knock on the door – your world could be over.

“How did you find us?”

Your question had Steve pulling from his friend and reaching into his coat pocket. He held out a piece of paper and you took it; it was your list of places you wanted to visit. Each place crossed off except for Norway.

“I guess you can cross that off your list too,” he said quietly. You ignored him and stared at the paper, glad that he brought it along with him. Feeling slightly paranoid, you walked to the oven and turned on the top stove. The flame came up and you lit the paper, Bucky asked what you were doing. Watching it burn almost to the edge of where you were holding it, you tossed the paper into the sink and ran the water; down the drain it went.

“I’m covering his tracks,” you explained, staring at Steve. “Who else knows you were coming here? How did you buy the ticket?”

Steve looked a bit taken aback but answered your questions. “No one, they all think I’m on a road trip across the states. I paid cash for the ticket, no one knows I’m here.”

Bucky gave you a smile and nodded. “Sweetheart, I know you’re scared but…”

“…but nothing, Bucky,” you argued back. “Steve found us, who knows who else is looking. We’ll have to move.”

“No, you don’t,” Steve urged, stepping into your line of sight. He blocked Bucky and grabbed you by the shoulders. “I’m not here to out the two of you, for fuck’s sake. I’ve been looking for my two best friends!”

His anger and hurt was felt through the tips of his fingers. Bucky stepped forward and placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder, signaling for him to let go of you. He did and sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment to regain his composure. When he opened them up, you saw that he was being sincere, and it relaxed you.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized, holding onto tears. “I-I just don’t want any of this to go away, Bucky and I – we made a life here.”

“You left a life behind,” Steve pointed out without a hint of malice. “Sam and I – we kept looking for months until I called off the search. Sam thinks you went AWOL because you fell in love with Bucky.”

Your face softened. “I guess he wasn’t too far off and the others?”

“They don’t know what to think,” he admitted and that seemed to hurt. You missed your friends but that old life, not so much. You were always so lonely and now, you were far from that. “We all miss you.”

“I miss you guys too, but I won’t go back,” you said, and he knew you couldn’t. Steve knew deep down Bucky and you would never return to the States, it was too risky. It seemed Norway was the safest place for your growing family, and he was not going to take that away. He would keep this secret for as long as you needed; he would shield the two of you from the rest of the world, and make sure no one ever comes close to what you have built here. He would do it for Bucky, for the baby, but mostly for you.

“You told me you’d find Buck and you did, and for that I’ll make sure no one ever finds the two of you.”

Unable to hold back tears, you embraced Steve once more and looked over his shoulder to Bucky. He was standing there with the greatest look of relief on his face and you closed your eyes. Everything was going to be okay now, no more looking over your shoulders or making backup plans just in case the two of you had to run again. Steve chuckled when your stomach pressed firmly against his and asked if he could touch your stomach.

“Of course, she’s going crazy in there,” you said, pulling from him. His eyes softened and when his palm came over the top of your stomach, he felt a kick. You laughed at his shocked expression, “Steve, meet your niece, Stevie. She’s going to have a strong kick like her uncle.”

Bucky patted his friend’s back and grinned. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t go around getting into fights.”

Steve laughed and shook his head, his heart filled with joy. “If she’s like her mother, she just might.”

The three of you laughed but Steve’s faded sooner than yours and he smiled weakly. “I guess this will be my first and last visit for a while then.”

Bucky smiled sadly but threw his arm around his friend and drew him close.   “Well, let’s make it a good one, punk.”

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[keanureevesisbae]

“The road to our forever” - Chapter 6

Summary: John and Darcie are planning their wedding, but it comes with certain ups and downs.

John Wick x OFC Darcie

Word count: 4.4k 

Warnings: Smut

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

It’s Valentines Day and I have been up since three. Not because I’m nervous, not because I’m scared of what can happen this day, but more because I’m really hot and bothered. Last year when it was Valentines Day, John was super romantic and took me out on the most fantastic date of all time, very fancy, very chic. Afterwards, he drove us back to the apartment and we spend the entire night making love.

This is will be a little different, since we’re going on a double date. Raye and Aurelio are going out for the first time, but Raye wants us there, since I have a history with her and John has one with Aurelio.

I mean, I want to go out with them, I really do, but I need John and I kind of need him now.

John wraps his arm around my waist as he places his head on my chest. ‘Why are you awake, sweetheart?’ he asks in a groggy voice.

Sometimes I wonder if that man ever sleeps, because when I’m awake in the middle of the night, he is already awake or wakes up within a few minutes. I always feel slightly guilty, but he insists that it’s okay and if I’m ever awake again, I should just wake him up.

I have yet to do it, but maybe one day, when I’m desperate enough.

‘Can’t seem to fall asleep anymore.’

‘Right,’ he whispers, placing a kiss on my neck.

I could just ask him for sex and knowing John, he’ll rip off both of our pajamas instantly. Still I have issues with initiating, though it’s going better and I do take more initiative.

‘Tell me what’s on your mind, baby,’ he whispers.

‘Can,’—part of me already regrets this, but I’m really horny and I desperately need him, or I’ll lose my mind—‘can we have sex?’

John turns around, so he can switch on the light on his side of the bed. He looks at me a little better. ‘Did you just ask me for sex?’ He seems amused, with his raised eyebrow and the smirk on his face.

‘I did,’ I admit. I hate that I’m going to marry this man, but I still blush like crazy around him. ‘You know what, forget it.’

‘No, no, no,’ John says, placing his hand in the dip of my waist, leaning over to kiss me on my lips. ‘How badly do you want it, sweetheart?’

‘Really badly.’

‘Well,’ he says with a smirk, ‘whatever my fiancée wants, whatever my fiancée gets.’ His hand travels down, past the waistband of my pajamas.

I have little to no patience, because I pull apart from him and get undressed in no time. I tug on his shirt and accompanied with a chuckle, John’s sheds himself from his shirt and boxers. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this,’ he notes.

I wrap my fingers around his semi hard shaft, my thumb toying around his tip, causing him to hiss. ‘You don’t like it?’ I ask, already feeling a bit turned down.

John scoffs. ‘I fucking love it, baby.’ His fingers are tangled through my hair and he pulls me against his lips, his tongue exploring my mouth. I feel his wet kisses travel down from my lips, to my jaw to my neck. He lets his tongue swirl around my sensitive nipple and I bite my lip to prevent myself from waking up the entire building.

He pushes me on my back, his kisses traveling down even more. He spreads my legs. ‘God, so wet already, baby,’ he says, pressing a kiss on my inner thigh.

John wraps his arms around my upper legs, pushing down my hips so I can’t buck them up. He lets his tongue slide between my folds. If I wasn’t this horny right now, I’d be embarrassed about how wet I sound. I bring my hands to his hair and tug his longish locks, pulling him even closer to my aching center. ‘John, please, I need you,’ I groan out and he looks up, causing me to whine. ‘Come on.’

John pushes himself up and leans over to kiss me, his beard covered in my juices. I taste myself on his wet lips. ‘Never knew you could be this needy,’ he tells me, his calloused hand placed on the side of my face.

‘I need you now, John, don’t tease.’

He smiles and leans over to my nightstand, to grab a condom, but before he can open the package, I place my hand on his. ‘Don’t,’ I say to him.

John’s eyes widen as he visibly gulps. ‘Don’t?’ he repeats.

‘Mhm.’ I pull the package from his fingers and let it drop the floor. ‘The reason I always wanted to have sex with both a condom and me being on birth control, was because I really didn’t want to get pregnant, but right now… I feel like we can be a little less uptight about it and with we, I actually mean me.’

‘Are you sure? Because I don’t want you to regret this.’

‘I won’t regret this,’ I tell him. ‘I want you to eventually become the father of our kids. Besides, I’m still on birth control and stay on that for awhile. The chances that I get pregnant now are very very minimal.’

He slams his lips against mine, his kiss a lot more passionate than the previous ones. ‘God, baby, I can’t believe this is truly happening.’

I smile, as I reach between us and bring his hard cock to my entrance.

‘I might not last long,’ he admits.

‘I don’t care,’ I whisper. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too, baby.’ He slowly sinks inside of me, while he holds my hands tightly in his and keeps them above my head. He grunts as he is balls deep inside of me. I never get used to how big he is, how much he stretches me out, but adding the feeling of him without the condom, feeling every vein on his shaft…

‘Are you okay?’ he whispers, as a whimper leaves my lips.

‘I am.’

His thrusts start slow, like usual, but I can’t stand it anymore. ‘Faster, John,’ I encourage him. ‘Please.’

John pulls out, before he slams back inside of me. He is never this rough, he is always making sure I’m okay, that I’m not in pain. But this is the John I know that is deep down there. Like usual he is in charge, but right now his thrusts are hard and rough. He pins me down to the bed, making sure I can’t escape. His hairs are falling in front of his eyes.

I bite my lip to prevent me from moaning, but right now, I can’t keep quiet anymore. Every time he slams back inside of me, a strangled cry leaves my lips.

My walls start to clench around him. ‘John…’

‘I know, sweetheart, you’re close. I’m close too.’

I wrap my legs tightly around his hips, as I start to quiver underneath his broad body, my toes curling in the process. He buries his face in my neck, while I buck up my hips to meet his thrusts. His rough and steady thrusts turn sloppy, as he spurts his thick creamy cum deep inside me. His lips fall on mine, as his grip on my hands starts to falter.

He places his head on the valley of my breasts, as he tries to regulate his breathing. ‘Are you okay?’ I chuckle, wrapping my arms around him.

‘That was fucking hot,’ he says against my skin. ‘You know that we’re going to have sex every second we possibly can, right?’

I can’t help but laugh a little louder. ‘I’d figured.’

John looks up. ‘So, you’re absolutely sure you want to have sex without a condom nowadays?’

I nod. ‘Yes, I do.’

‘If you don’t mind me asking: when are you going to stop taking the pill? Or have you not given it a thought yet? I mean, I don’t want to rush you.’

I shake my head. ‘No, no… I thought about it. I think I just want to enjoy married life with you a little bit more, but maybe around Christmas or New Years, I can stop to take the pill. Usually people don’t get pregnant right away, so I probably won’t conceive right there and then, but maybe somewhere next year, you and I might be expecting.’

Are those tears in his eyes?

‘John, baby, are you okay? Is the idea of me being pregnant that terrible that it makes you cry?’

‘No, sweetheart,’ he quickly says, his voice cracking. ‘I just can’t believe this is truly happening. We’ve talked about it, sure, but I kept thinking that maybe you’d change your mind about me and that you didn’t want this kind of future with me. But now we are having sex without a condom and you’ve been thinking about when you’re going to stop to take the pill, so we can get pregnant. I realize that I’m getting myself a family that I always wanted.’

Now I have to cry too. ‘That’s too sweet,’ I manage to choke out. ‘God, I love you.’

‘I love you too, Darcie.’ He gives me a kiss and carefully pulls out of me. He tells me to stay put and I hear him warming a washing cloth. He walks back in and spreads my legs. He licks his bottom lip, clearly admiring his work, causing me to laugh. Like John is snapped back into reality, because he quickly cleans up between my legs and gets back into bed, engulfing me in a tight hug. ‘Have you been thinking about names?’ he asks.

‘Still thinking about Livia Wick,’ I admit.

He nods. ‘You know, I always wondered: do you have a middle name?’

I turn on my stomach and place my chin on his chest, so I can look at him. ‘I do, actually. It’s Ryujin.’

‘That’s Korean right?’

‘Yes, it is. Though here in the US it’s my middle name, I usually use that name when I’m in Korea. When my grandmother had friends over, I actually introduced myself as Moon Ryujin.’

‘I never knew that,’ he says with a smile. ‘Do you want to give our kids a Korean name?’

I shrug. ‘I don’t know. It’s just that I feel so American. There is always a part of me that wants to reconnect a bit more with my roots, but… I don’t know. What about you? You want to give your official name to our kids?’

‘Official name?’ John asks.

‘Your official name is Jonathan, right?’

He clears his throat. ‘Well, I legally changed it to Jonathan Wick.’

‘Oh,’ I say. I know about his past as an orphan, but never what his real name was. I thought that Jonathan was his real name and he never stated otherwise.

‘The reason I never told you, is because I don’t want to be reminded of that part of my life.’

‘I understand,’ I tell him and I do. I know that talking about his past is difficult for him, hence the reason I never ask, since I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable. ‘But do you want to tell me your real name?’

He nods. ‘Jardani Jovonovich.’

‘And if I understand correctly, you don’t want to pass that name onto our kids? Or something in that direction?’

John shakes his head. ‘No, absolutely not,’ he clarifies. ‘I don’t want to be reminded of that time. Ever.’

‘I get it,’ I say. I place a kiss on his chest and decide to put this subject to the side. ‘So if we have a daughter, we’re calling her Livia Wick?’

Thankfully he smiles again and the worried and pained look in his eyes almost disappears. ‘And a middle name, if we can think about one.’

‘Maybe,’ I say, ‘we can give her Angel as a middle name. Though it’s my last name, I think it fits. Livia Angel Wick.’

He nods. ‘That sounds like music to my ears,’ he says. He places his large hand in the small of my back. ‘And if we have a son?’

‘I always wanted to call my son something along the lines of Samuel or Lucas.’

‘I like Samuel,’ John says. ‘Samuel Wick, sounds good.’

‘You want to give him Jonathan as their middle name? Samuel Jonathan Wick?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Would you mind if we, for example, only had daughters or only had sons?’

He shakes his head. ‘I just want kids with you,’ he says. ‘Doesn’t matter to me. I’d love them with all my heart. You?’

‘Well,’ I say, ‘I can see you as a dad of both. As a dad with sons, who would run around in the yard and be total idiots together. But I can also see you as a dad who joins the tea parties of his daughters.’

John smiles. ‘I’d love every second of it.’

‘Are you planning on telling them about your past?’

I can see in his eyes that this question hurts him. I already open my mouth to say that he doesn’t need to answer it, but he simply shakes his head. ‘I need to think about those things,’ he tells me, ‘and it’s better to do that when you’re not pregnant yet, because as soon as you are expecting, I’m going to think about the fastest route to the hospital for when you go into labor.’

The corners of my mouth curl up in a small smile. He is such a sweetheart.

John thinks about it and then says: ‘No, I’m not going to tell them. I never wanted to tell you about it and our kids shouldn’t know about it either.’

I nod. ‘Are you going to teach them how to fight?’

John shrugs. ‘I mean, self defense is always good. But I don’t know if I want to teach them myself.’

‘Right,’ I say and I decide from his facial expressions, I shouldn’t continue to pry. ‘Don’t you worry about a thing. You’re going to be an excellent father. If there is someone who needs to doubt their parental skills, it’s definitely going to be me.’

John frowns. ‘And why on earth do you think that?’

‘You have the qualities of a great parent. You stay calm in any situation, you love with all your heart and clearly you have more life experience than me. I’m easily panicked, indecisive and flabbergasted like that. I bet I’m going to be that overprotective mother that teachers are going to hate. I mean, I’m constantly worried about Tiki and Oreo already.’

‘Are you serious?’ John asks, his eyebrows raised. ‘You are kidding right?’

‘No, John, I’m actually serious.’

‘Sweetheart,’ he sighs, ‘you are going to be a fantastic mother. You have more patience than anyone I’ve ever known, you are the kindest woman and you too love with all your heart. The little kids who visit your cafe, already want to hug you, even if they barely know you and don’t get me started on how you are with teenagers. You are such a great influence on people. Darcie, you’re going to be a great mother and remember: all parents make mistakes, so we’ll make them too.’

‘That was sweet,’ I admit, causing him to chuckle. ‘You really think that?’

‘Of course I mean that and I promise you, I’m going to be there every step of the way with you. We are in this together, remember that.’

‘Oh my God,’ I say, ‘I’m a nightmare on my period already, imagine if I’m pregnant.’

‘Well, have I handled a period situation other than amazing?’ he jokingly asks. I slap him across his chest. ‘You know, we’re going to be the Wick family.’

How have I not realized that? ‘I’m the luckiest woman on earth.’

‘I think I’m the luckiest man on earth,’ he says. ‘I can’t believe on Valentines Day, we are talking about kids and I got to cum inside you.’

‘John… Do you need to say it like that?’

‘Of course,’ he laughs, ‘but only to you.’

I hide my face, but hearing him laugh, I can’t help but chuckle too. ‘I hate you, mister Wick,’ I tell him.

‘You don’t, you love me.’ He gives me a long kiss on my forehead and whispers: ‘Happy Valentines Day, sweetheart.’

⟢⟡⟣

I think it’s the sweetest thing that Aurelio and John are hanging out today. Aurelio and Raye have been non stop texting since they met, but their first date is on Valentines Day and she insisted on having me there. This morning, John received a text from Aurelio, asking him to go shop for something nice to wear tonight. I nearly threw John out of my cafe, because I desperately want him to hang out with a friend.

Since we’re short on kitchen staff again, Raye is helping out in the kitchen, while I keep an eye out on Tina, Ellie, Greg and Roger, who are sitting at John’s table. I already send him a picture of them. The guys have really gone out of their ways to look decent and the girls look absolutely beautiful. ‘To their happily ever after’ I typed with the picture, because I truly hope these kids will stay together forever. Maybe that’s a little too hopeful, but I can dream about it right?

When there are no customers at the counter and I’m cleaning up the tables a bit or doing the dishes, my mind keeps wandering off. I think about our wedding date (July 9th), about our venue (a nice outdoor wedding), but also about our talk this early morning. It’s all becoming real right now.

We’re going to have kids. We’re going to become parents.

I see that the chocolates are going fast at the table of the teenagers and I decide to give them a little more, since I’m in a loving mood and they are just the cutest. With a small plate filled with chocolates in different flavors, I walk up to their table and they all look up with a smile. ‘Hi, miss Angel,’ they say in unison.

‘Is everything going well? Do you feel the magic of sitting at John’s table already?’

‘Of course,’ Roger answers. ‘Where is mister Wick by the way? Is he mad that we’re sitting at his table?’

At first I think he is serious, but by the look in his eyes, Roger is dead serious. ‘No, he is out with a friend. The same guy who was here a few days ago.’

‘The one miss Clarke flirted with?’ Greg asks.

‘Mhm.’

‘Raye has her date tonight with him, right?’ Ellie asks.

I nod. ‘Double date, actually. She insisted on John and I joining. She’s working in the kitchen now, getting nervous for tonight.’

‘Miss Clarke is nervous?’ Tina chuckles. ‘Since when is she nervous?’

‘Since she really likes this guy,’ I say with a smile. ‘So, fingers crossed that tonight’ll go well. Wait, before I forget.’ I reach into the pocket of my apron and pull out four envelopes. I wrote their names on each of their envelopes. ‘If you want to invite your parents as well, please tell me or John, okay?’

‘The wedding invitations,’ Ellie squeals. ‘Oh my God, they are so beautiful. July 9th, that’s a Saturday!’

‘This is going to be so fantastic,’ Roger says. ‘I can’t wait.’

‘Glad you guys are excited. I’ll leave you guys to it. If there is anything, please tell me.’

‘Will do, miss Angel.’

⟢⟡⟣

Since Aurelio had to do something back at the chop shop real quick, Raye, John and I are already seated at the restaurant, where John made reservations for us. ‘I never thought I would’ve lived long enough to see Raye this nervous for a date.’

She looks over at me, nearly staring me to death. ‘Not funny.’

‘It’s just Aurelio,’ John adds, intertwining his fingers with mine on the table. ‘According to him, you’ve been talking non stop after he left the cafe and he told me that he really liked you.’

‘True,’ she says, ‘but I’m just really nervous. He is not like any other guy I’ve ever talked to. He has this certain air around him. Like… He is mature, you know?’

‘Maybe, we should have a sign, for when you want us gone,’ I suggest. ‘Or if you want to get the fuck out of here, because you don’t like him—’

‘I really like this guy,’ Raye interrupts me. ‘I want to stay. If I want you two gone, I’ll just say so.’

‘That’s true,’ I say to John. ‘Back in college, she was hanging out in my dorm room with some guy and she kicked me out of my own room, so she could have sex with him.’

‘You keep on surprising me, Raye, you know that?’ John says.

‘It’s a specialty of mine, mister Mustang.’ She holds up her wine glass, but then her eyes widen. ‘Oh my God, he is here. He looks so handsome. On scale of one to ten of how badly I need a new pair of panties, I think this is a level twenty situation.’

John looks to the side, sending me a confused look, before standing up to greet Aurelio. I stand up as well, look to Raye, who has a blush on her cheeks. Oh God, she really likes him. I give Aurelio a hug and watch how he holds Raye’s hands into his, who pulled herself together faster than I would’ve figured she would.

‘You look beautiful,’ Aurelio says to Raye, before he presses a kiss on her cheek.

I mean, it’s no lie. She does look exceptionally beautiful. Raye is wearing a lovely tight red dress, with long lace sleeves. She paired the dress with the Prada shoes John and I got her for Christmas. ‘Well, you look quite handsome yourself.’ It surprises me that she somehow kept the new pair of panties comment to herself.

Aurelio helps her to take a seat and sits right next to her. ‘Leave it up to John Wick to get us the best tables on Valentines Day,’ Aurelio laughs.

It feels weird to see John this friendly with someone else who has been part of his life outside me. It’s not that I’m jealous or anything, but I’m happy to see John slowly rebuilding his life, with parts from his past and parts from now. I can’t help to give him a squeeze in his hand, showing him non verbally how proud I am of him.

Time flies by. Raye shares tons of embarrassing stories, mainly about me, but that’s okay. She is clearly impressing Aurelio and if that means embarrassing me in the process, I’ll take it. John wants to marry me anyways, so I’m good.

‘One time, Jennie, Darcie and I went out back in college,’ Raye says, placing her utensils neatly on her plate, ‘and Jennie went home with someone, leaving me to hang out with Darcie. Miss Prude over there, was drinking like crazy, never saw her like that. This really handsome guy comes over and I blink with my eyes, to totally seeing her make out with him and she gives him a lap dance.’

‘Raye, enough,’ I say, but why aren’t I surprised that she doesn’t stop?

‘So for months her nickname was Miss Lap Dance, because the clip went viral and somehow someone recognized her from the footage.’

‘I never knew this,’ John says. ‘I thought you were such a well behaved lady in college.’

‘I was,’ I say, ‘but I made one slip up. Honest to God, this was the only time I did something like that.’

‘Not true,’ Raye says.

‘Not true?’ John and I say at the same time.

Aurelio leans back in his chair, while he has a smile on his face, watching Raye keep on tapping more stories about me. ‘Tell us about it,’ he even encourages her.

‘Eric once did certain things to you underneath the table when we had dinner.’

My eyes widen. ‘You knew?’

‘Of course I knew,’ she laughs. ‘The rest didn’t, but I notice everything.’

I hide my face in my hands. ‘Oh my God, this is terrible.’

This situation is terrible, but hearing John nearly choking in his laughter, is making this ten times worse.

‘Don’t you dare laugh,’ I tell him. ‘This is so embarrassing.’

‘Look, she’s blushing,’ Raye laughs.

Thankfully John pays for dinner and Raye decides to make her Valentines Day date last a bit longer, because she suggests that Aurelio drives her home. She hugs John and I smile as Aurelio gives me a kiss on my hand. ‘Thank you for inviting me to your cafe,’ he says. ‘I’m really happy.’

‘Well, I’m happy to give Raye to you,’ I say. ‘After being friends with her for nearly fifteen years, Jennie and I need a break every now and then.’

‘I heard that,’ Raye says.

‘I’m just totally sorry that you might’ve gotten the wrong image of me.’

He shakes his head. ‘No, I know that Raye is quite something herself.’

I can’t help but laugh, feeling a little bit better already.

Raye pulls me in a hug. ‘Thank you for tonight.’

‘I’m always willing to be the laughing stock of the evening.’

She gives me a kiss on my cheek. ‘Knew it.’

When John and I are in the car, it’s pretty silent. I stare at my hands. ‘There is nothing you need to be embarrassed about, sweetheart,’ he says.

‘My friend told you on Valentines Day in front of your friend that Eric fingered me underneath a table. I have every right to be embarrassed.’

He holds onto my hand. ‘It’s honestly not that bad.’

I look up. ‘Really?’

‘Really,’ he chuckles. ‘This won’t change the way I think about you. You had a relationship with that idiot for awhile, of course you did those kinds of things. I do have one question, though.’

‘Do I want to know?’

He smiles. ‘Why haven’t you given me a lap dance, like ever? I mean, I’m your fiancée after all.’

‘John!’ I yell. ‘You are unbelievable.’

John’s laugh fills the car.

I cross my arms in front of my chest.

‘Don’t be mad, baby,’ he laughs, ‘I’m just messing with you.’

‘Oh, really?’ I ask. ‘Because I was thinking about what song I was going to perform during my lap dance I was going to give you, since it’s Valentines Day after all… But since you’re just messing with me…’

‘You little tease.’ John places his hand on my leg, giving me a sweet squeeze. ‘What songs were you thinking of?’

Taglist: @toomanystoriessolittletime​ // @flhorah​ // @allie1804-fan​ // @cynic-spirit​ // @raven-black102​

[eerythingisshaka]

Ficmas Day #23 “Snow In Manhattan”

[Dr. Manhattan/Cal Abar x OC]

Word Count: 1.4k

Dr. Manhattan finds the holiday season intriguing.  With him being a blue god that can control matter in every form, somehow the thought of a white man giving presents around the earth one day a year just didn’t seem to meet his level in his opinion.  Santa comes into your house uninvited and just because he lives a gift, he is celebrated, yet Dr. Manhattan is feared just for the potential his power has.  

He gets that ignorance is bliss, so it doesn’t bother him that much.  The issue he has, though, is the disappointment that people face during the holiday season.  The cards and commercials and movies exhibit images of goodwill and compassion for the less fortunate, yet constantly he sees those with more passing the poor by in order to fulfill selfish desires and feed the commercialization of the spirit of the holiday.

However, at one time, he did sense the presence of a human who appeared to have a different heart, not just for Christmas, but all year long.  Raye made herself useful to others through community service and volunteer work at a local shelter.  Working two jobs during the week, and volunteering on the weekend, she has little time for herself to even enjoy a walk in the park before she is exhausted.  

One night, leaving the shelter, Raye says her goodbyes to volunteers and inhabitants alike.  Walking to her car, she finds a $100 dollar bill sitting crisp and flat against the asphalt.  When she picks it up, she looks around her for anyone nearby.

“Incredible,”  Dr. Manhattan says to himself, as she walks over to a woman sitting outside the shelter, handing her the money.

“Take this.  It isn’t mine so I’ll let you have.  I’m sorry we are at capacity, but make use out of this.  Hope it helps.”

“Bless you, baby!  God bless you so much!”  the woman replies, getting up and walking off down the street.

Dr. Manhattan knew that would happen, however seeing it in real time always felt stronger.  A week ago, Raye won a small fortune from a scratch off ticket and wasted no time to take it to a church so that they may expand their food ministry.  

Dr. Manhattan laid several ‘traps’ along Raye’s path to test her heart.  A regular person would’ve claimed if not one thing, all of them in order to better their own lives and those closest to them.  But she refuses every single one to instead pass on to a neighbor.  

One day, during a rare off day between jobs, Raye sits on the rooftop of her apartment overlooking the city.  She takes a deep breath in her chest, letting out a heavy energy on her heart.  This time of year made her the most excited and sad at the same time and when it gets to be too much, being in the air makes her feel the most grounded.

The door to the stairwell opens as a man pops out.  

“Excuse me.”

Raye looks back, watching him closely as he meanders across the roof.  “Hello.”

“Don’t mind me, I was just looking to get some fresh air.  Or is air pollution thicker the higher you go?”  He looks at her with bright eyes.  His tailored trench coat and turtleneck are out of season for the weather despite wearing them well and not a drop of sweat rolls off his brow.

Raye shrugs.  “Maybe, but it’s quieter from the noise below.”

He leans over the wall to check out the traffic quietly.

Raye hugs herself, feeling compelled to commit to small talk.  “So, do-”

“You don’t have to speak to me.  If you don’t want to.”

Raye snaps her jaw shut, looking away embarrassed.

He leans against the wall, putting a hand over his heart.  “I don’t mean to sound rude.  I understand I initiated conversation, but I don’t want to disturb your meditation.”

She nods.  “Thanks.  I’m not great with it but I’ll try if I want to.”

He holds your gaze for a moment, coming closer when he says.  “If you could entertain a question: do you have plans for the holiday?  Besides sitting up here?”

Raye smirks.  “Well, I won’t plant myself here all weekend since I have soup kitchen duty and then toys for tots in the evening.”

“You’re a giver.  That’s nice.”  

Raye nods proudly.  “I like to give my time.  It helps not to have an idle mind and hands.”

“Still it would be nice to be with family or friends for a day, right?  When do you get that time?”

Raye thinks for a minute on this.  “I don’t.  I mean I have them, but since I’m so busy, I think they just decided to stop asking me to do things?  And I’m fine because they’re right, but it still…”  her voice trails off before she fidgets uncomfortably.  “Well, I know you didn’t ask to be my therapist, huh?”

He shakes his head, sitting next to her.  “No, it’s ok.  I like to listen.”

“Aw.  Who are you by the way?”  

“Cal Abar.”

“Nice to meet you.”  

Cal turns to her slightly.  “One more question, if I may ask.”

Raye perks up.  “Ok, go for it.”

“Imagine your perfect holiday.  What does it involve?”

Raye pushes out her lips and closes her eyes to activate her critical thinking brain.  “What would I want…”  She snaps her fingers.  “Snow!”

Cal nods knowingly.  “I see.  Why such a simple request?”

Raye sighs.  “I mean...I don’t live in a snowy area.  It’s like 70 degrees but can you imagine if it snowed here?”

“Wouldn’t it be beautiful?”  Cal says.

“Yes, but that would be one more obstacle for people I see everyday.  Living on the street with ice and snow?  I’m grateful that’s one less thing to worry about for them.”

Cal points a finger as if he suddenly thinks of something.  “Take a trip!  Somewhere snowy for the holiday?”

Raye scoffs.  “With what money?  I can’t afford a trip like that.”

“That does sound nice.”  Cal stands up, pacing in front of Raye.  “How about this, close your eyes.”

Raye eyes him suspiciously.  “Why?”  

“Visualization.  If you imagine yourself being there, just maybe you’ll get the effects.”  Cal closes his eyes with his hands in front of his face in prayer position.  He peeks an eye at her.  “Try it.”

Raye closes one eye, until trust takes over the other.  

“Imagine the snowflakes falling on your face.  Cold wind biting your nose.  The crunch of tiny ice formations under your feet as you step.

Raye gets caught up in his storytelling, trying to create the picture he is painting in her head.  She feels something drop on her forehead, she touches something cold.  

“Whoa, this is kind of working Cal!”  Wind blows her face as she opens her eyes and sees slopes of snow in front of her.  Raye’s jaw hits the floor in amazement as turns around, unable to comprehend what has happened.

“Cal!  Cal, what’s going on!”  She takes a few steps forward, kicking the fluffy snow, touching the clumps and breaking it up in her hands.  “How is this possible?”  Ahead of her, she sees a figure, she assumes to be Cal.  Running towards it, the wind whips her face and the knee deep snow makes each step heavier than the last.  Once Raye approaches the figure, she sees that it’s actually a snowman.  

She walks around it, seeing its carrot nose and coal eyes.  “How did you get here?”  She touches its face and in a flash she is back on her apartment rooftop with Cal’s face in her hands.  She snatches her hand back self-consciously.  “Sorry!  But what the fuck?”

“You made it back!  How was your visualization?”  Cal asks warmly.

Raye is taken aback.  “That wasn’t a visual, I was in a snowstorm!”

“Eh, a flurry at worst.” 

“But I don’t get...How did you?”

Cal raises an eyebrow with a sneaky smirk.  “I’ll let you know one day, not now though.  Do you want to try again?”

Raye nods.  “Yeah!  But come with me.”  She closes her eyes, feeling the rush of adrenaline through her veins.  

“Next time you see me, I’ll be there with you.  Imagine the snow again.”

As she visualizes, she doesn’t feel the same immersion that she had before.  

“Cal it’s not wor-”  

As quick as he came, he was gone.  Raye ran to the stairwell calling his name in the building but no one answered.

Dr. Manhattan witnesses her searching for him from afar, coming closer to the main development of their relationship.  Once Raye is ready, he will appear again.

[thecrimsonhand]

Caer Darrow

Caer Darrow. It wasn’t a place he was intimately familiar with, but he knew the area well enough.  There was a power to the place, as old as the land itself.  A power that thrummed with slumbering potential.  A latent leyline rarely tapped into, yet more than that.  There was a tragic history there which had embedded itself into the very earth, trapped on all sides by water.  Lámh na Folah could taste it in the air as he peered across the waters to the fortified isle, once a stronghold held by Kel’thuzad and the Scourge.  He ashed his cigarillo to his left, peering at the Sayaadi to his right.

“Mnesti, you didn’t need to come yourself.” The Sayaadi smiled at Lámh broadly, eyes as dark as his peering at the cambion. “Oh, my dear cousin, when the Matriarch called for a favor, how could I not?” He grumble, peering back towards Caer Darrow. “I’ve asked to not be called that here.  However… thank you.” Mnesti bowed her head, following his gaze. “Katari, are you sure about this?  We are not yet entirely sure of this heathen’s heritage.  And this is a mortal life you’re endangering yours for.” He held his cigarillo out, holding it like it was a wand. “Our family, by and large, have always misunderstood their true value.  They’re much more than just food, cousin.  There’s much they can teach us that we miss in our centuries of life.  Besides, I made her a promise.  I am the only one who can take her life.  And you know that once I give my word, I keep to it no matter the cost.” She sighed, reaching into a pouch at her side and withdrew a long, thin hollow bone, a gem embedded at it’s end.  She peered at it for a moment before handing it over to Lámh. “This is what you’ll need to complete the ritual… I pray you find your mortal alive and well, dear cousin.” He raised his eyebrow, taking the wand in his right hand, inspecting it a moment before stowing it beneath his tabard. “Stick around for the finale.  I can introduce you to her.” She shook her head slowly, looking back to Lámh. “I’m sorry, but you know I must return home as soon as you either die or complete your mission.  I am only here to preserve your memory should you fall.” He chuckled softly, smirking. “Well then, best to get this started… Dalektharu il dask daku, dalektharu il dask daku... Azhir aghtu ethanul.” As he spoke, tendrils of energy coiled down his arm, swirling into circular patterns, shimmering as if in flux as they wove in and out of one another, creating grander, more intricate patterns.  The cherry at the end of his cigarillo suddenly erupted in flames, red, green, and purple dancing through one another before the cigarillo burnt to his prosthetic finger-tips.  The flames engulfed his hand, coalescing into his palm as he turned his hand over, closing his fist over it.  The flames vanished, the patterns freezing in place before fading into his arm.  He inspected the prosthetic for a moment before lowering it back to his side. “Wish me luck, Mnesti.” He didn’t wait for her response before diving into the waters, his ruined wing unfurling out behind him.  They were mostly useless for flight but still worked amazingly in the water, propelling him swiftly and silently through the waters towards Caer Darrow.  He slowed his pace as he neared the isle’s shore, enveloping himself in his camouflage illusion before breaking the water’s surface, slowly moving onto the land itself.  He took in a slow, deep breath, taking in the sight and scents of the isle.  He could see magic woven through the air and lands, spellwork as arrogant as the caster met his sight.  He knelt down, slowly shoving his prosthetic hand into the soil, focusing on the magic, shifting the spellwork without altering it.  He pulled his hand back, taking a handful of soil and smearing it over his face, muttering more words of power to infuse the spell with intent and will before rising to stand.  He moved slowly, carefully, through the barrier before him, a tingling sensation washing through him as he cleared the ward without activating it.  Rayes had planned for him to follow Lariadne, but he clearly hadn’t actually investigated the history of Hatal Aka’sin, Lámh na Folah, or Hakka’rin.  Lámh doubted the creature even knew his true name, otherwise this gambit would have failed from the start. He made his way closer to the main stronghold, dilapidated yet still standing firm against weather and time.  He looked for signs of recent movement, finding shocking little.  He had expected guards, or at the least, disposable minions.  But all he found was a single pathway that had most likely been Lariadne’s.  He carefully followed in her footsteps before pausing, a small light in his eyes forming as he peered ahead.  There was definitely a trap that had been sprung not far off, magical in nature, that seemed to have been haphazardly reset.  He frowned, looking around himself for a few moments, seeing something similar further up, meant to trap him he assumed if he had come from above or tried to scale walls. “Well, it seems he did anticipate company…” Lámh said, the glow of his eyes growing as he gathered more power from within himself, drawing up his camouflage illusion once more, moving closer to and then reaching out towards the trap before him.  As his prosthetic hand reached it, he felt the thrum of power keeping its shape and form, but it was just a simple trap without any additional layers to it.  He manipulated the flow of energy through it, forming a hole through which he easily passed before returning it to its original form.  There were no wards or alarms attached, showing further the arrogance of the caster. As soon as he had passed through, however, something made Lámh pause, a ghostly sensation of shackles wrapping around his limbs and neck.  He reached up towards his throat with his left hand, checking himself but it was phantasmal.  He wasn’t actually experiencing this, no, it was an echo left behind by someone recently that he was experiencing after the fact. “Lariadne…” he said softly, the glow of his eyes dimming as he shook the sensations from himself.  As soon as he had shaken loose of the echo, his ears began to pick of the faint echoes of inaudible conversation, though it seemed entirely one-sided.  Of course, a monologue. ‘Why, oh why, do they always monolgue?’ he thought to himself as he made his way towards the voice, finding a pathway down into the depths of Caer Darrow. He made his way in silence, his presence as thoroughly masked as he could manage, keeping an eye out for more traps or spellwork and finding very little aside from lighting and climate enchantments to make the place semi-livable.  It seemed this Rayes really didn’t think anyone could slip past the first set of traps.  As he drew nearer, the voice began to become clearer. “You see without you I’ve been very hungry, I can’t just go into the cities and grab victims myself can I?”

He caught sight of the creature, a poor parody of himself, a terrible joke that was more pitiable than anything.  Or a reminder of what could have been his fate if things had gone different.  However, all those thoughts were cast aside when he saw Lariadne.  He froze, shocked and not quite processing everything he was seeing.  He felt himself grow cold, his heart almost stopping from the sight before him.  And then she spoke, his name coming from her in the barest of whispers. Rayes arched an eyebrow, his grin broadening as he picked up the glass of wine, swirling it with some satisfaction.  “Oh pet, your precious cambion can’t hear you from here.  Call his name all you like, it’ll do you little good.” Something seemed to snap in Lámh.  He’d been angry before, but the rage he felt roiling within him from the depths of his soul was something entirely new to him.  Anger didn’t begin to cover the sensation that washed through his entire being.  He didn’t want this creature dead, no, that was too clean.  Too easy.  No, he had something far different in mind now. Lámh moved in closer, his camouflage illusion still shrouding him and his presence as he drew closer, moving behind Rayes. Rayes flicked his cigarette at Lariadne, his smirking grin turning into a malicious snarl. “Keep your hope for as long as you dare.  It’ll make breaking you again all the more satis-” His words were cut off as a prosthetic hand seemed to materialize around his throat, squeezing tightly.  Before he could register what was happening, a myriad of arcane symbols flew off the arm behind the hand, swirling through the air before latching onto the creature, the prepared spellwork activating and causing Rayes to pass out.  Lámh released his grip, letting the prone creature drop back into his chair.  Kneeling down, Lámh began to tie the creature to with rope he had brought with him, rope that was interwoven with threads of Ghost Iron and True Gold, both of which had been enchanted to absorb kinetic energy when activated so that if and when Rayes awoke, the more he struggled, the tighter the binds would hold. Once he had firmly secured Rayes, Lámh moved over to Lariadne, carefully inspecting the bonds that held her before disarming the enchantments and then releasing her from the physical bonds, holding her carefully so that she didn’t just fall to the ground.  He pulled off his tabard, wrapping it around her before settling her onto the ground.  She had passed out and he could not rouse her, not that he wanted to with her in this state.  Once more, he drew out the energy within himself, focusing and refining it with intent and will, kneeling over to press his lips to hers, forcefully pouring his energy into her.  He straightened up and immediately began to direct that energy through her body, focused intently on physically mending as much as he could.  There was a lot of damage that had been done and magic, though handy, was not a cure-all.  She would be left with more scars, painful reminders of this encounter that would not entirely fade with time alone. When he was sure that she would be physically fine, he got up and stood there, peering over her, committing to memory every single new scar that she had acquired. He had failed her and this was part of his penance.  He had made sure that she had never seen him work, nor had he ever given her the barest glimpse of what he was capable of.  He had been worried that if she had seen that side of him that she would have feared him and that was something he could never recover from.  But that… that was a mistake, it seemed. He turned now to face the prone Rayes, studying the mockery of a cambion before striding over and striking him in the face with his right hand, waking the poor excuse of a man. “Hu-wha?” the creature sputtered, pain slowly registering before he caught sight of Lámh, the sneering smirk returning.  “Oh, how qua-” but Lámh cut off his words with another strike, this time with his left hand, a very audible and wet crack echoing through the room, leaving Rayes’s jaw hanging at an off angle, unable to do more than hang limply.  A gargled sound of distress came from him before Lamh drew out the bonewand that had been stowed into a pocket at his vest. “You see, I had intended to just banish you with this little trinket and let bygones be bygones.  But I feel as if you would just worm your way back, thinking that since I took it easy on you that I was weak.  Someone you could just plot against and eventually win.” Lámh snapped the wand in half and plunged both halves into Rayes’s stomach, a gurgled scream coming from the manthing. “So… instead, before I take your soul, or whatever excuse for a soul you possess, I’m going to etch into your very being every ounce of rage you have inspired from me.  An Homage, from one artist to another.” He twisted the broken halves before letting go, letting the fragments of bone tear and rend flesh that was desperately trying to mend. “You see, I never fully understood the need to monologue.  But I suppose there is something cathartic about it.  Just… letting ideas flow, or maybe just helping your prey realize how utterly and entirely fucked they are.  But, I know, I know, you don’t want them to know right away.  They need to keep that little bit of defiant hope.  Yes, much like what I see now in you, stashed away in that burning light of anger, resentment, and hate within your eyes.” Rayes struggled against his bonds, the ropes tightening around his body as what may have been a gurgled ‘fuck you’ tried to escape his throat.

“Oh, save your strength now.  You’re going to need it.” As he spoke, the illusion that kept him appearing normal slowly began to melt away, revealing him as he truly was, pale skin that seemed to almost glow in the dim light of this dungeon, ragged torn wings fluttering behind him, thick horns curling from his head, wrapped and coiled like natural weapons.  He reached out, setting a hand that seemed to be covered in a naturally occurring chitinous armor atop Rayes’s head. “When I’m done with you, you won’t simply be broken.  No.  I’m going to rewrite your entire existence with pain and agony.  When I’m done, you’re going to love me like you’ve never loved anything else, not even yourself.  And when it’s time to end you, you’re going to ask me, politely, to consume you.  And I, being the one to guide you down this path, will oblige.”

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #235

Mon May 04 2020 [07:44 PM] Wack'd: Last time: EGO THE LIVING PLANET [07:44 PM] Umbramatic: ah, an old friend [07:46 PM] Wack'd: If you've ever wondered what Ego's pours look like have I got a treat for you

[07:47 PM] Bocaj: I didn't but thank you [07:47 PM] Umbramatic: p o r e s [07:47 PM] Wack'd: So after landing and determining Ego smells awful they find he's got a giant jet engine strapped to him that allows him to move through space [07:47 PM] Bocaj: Wait that’s how he does it [07:47 PM] Bocaj: I just assumed it was planetary power [07:47 PM] Wack'd: It's a "siderial propulsion unit" [07:48 PM] Wack'd: But yeah he's just got a big ol' jet pack [07:48 PM] Bocaj: What a zenoma sekot of him [07:48 PM] Umbramatic: PLANET-SIZE JET PACK [07:49 PM] Wack'd: Haha so apparently [07:49 PM] Wack'd: The giant jet engine wasn't his idea [07:50 PM] Wack'd: His as-of-yet-unnamed enemy strapped it to him to make him someone else's problem [07:50 PM] Wack'd: But he learned to control it and now he's everyone's problem [07:50 PM] Umbramatic: ego: i am going to cause problems on purpouse [07:52 PM] Wack'd: I don't have a joke for this panel I just think it looks neat

[07:53 PM] Umbramatic: oh god oh fuck i'm having flashbacks to the eighth pokemon movie [07:53 PM] Wack'd: Anyway. Fight fight fight [07:53 PM] Wack'd: Sue realizes the antibodies are following her based on her footsteps so invisibility is pointless. Instead she makes a giant pillar which they all run into like Looney Tunes [07:54 PM] Aleph Null: ego the living planet: gross as fuck [07:55 PM] Bocaj: now now nobody looks nice at that magnification [07:55 PM] Wack'd: Reed: I will make whatever assumptions I need to in order to avoid moral culpability

[07:55 PM] Umbramatic: also the cells you get rid of when you get a haircut are dead already [07:55 PM] Aleph Null: is reed a bojack [07:56 PM] Wack'd: Okay but Will Arnett would kill playing 616-Reed [07:56 PM] Aleph Null: how many hundreds of times have you contemplated a fantastic four cartoon voice cast? [07:57 PM] Wack'd: Aleph Null : How many loaves of bread have you eaten in your life? [07:57 PM] Bocaj: there's like bacteria and mites and stuff on hair i guess [07:57 PM] Bocaj: but. [07:57 PM] Aleph Null: hehe funny jojo [07:57 PM] Bocaj: He's a funny monkey [07:58 PM] Wack'd: Meanwhile, back in New York, we check in on Frankie Raye [07:58 PM] Bocaj: love me some mysterious side cast [07:59 PM] Wack'd: Oh cool I love 9 Chickweed Lane

[08:00 PM] Bocaj: Did she blindfold the teddie bear [08:00 PM] Wack'd: She did. Dunno what's up with that [08:01 PM] Wack'd: Maybe to prevent this very situation of the bear seeing her naked [08:01 PM] Bocaj: That sure is an interesting set of decisions that have led to this [08:02 PM] Wack'd: She and her long long legs contemplate giving Johnny a call and then she catches a glimpse of her naked body in the mirror and has a freakout because, as the narrative caption informs us, "she knows!" [08:02 PM] Wack'd: Big dysphoria mood [08:02 PM] Umbramatic: mood [08:04 PM] Wack'd: Back in space the Four have reached the giant jet pack and removed a battery from it. (Think, like, 1.25 Ben Grimms tall.) But before they can complete whatever plan Reed has, Ego chucks a mountain of bone at them and they have to make a run for it [08:05 PM] Umbramatic: DEM BONES [08:06 PM] Wack'd: Reed wants to blow it up next to Ego's brain to stun him [08:07 PM] Wack'd: Apparently Reed's body makes him uniquely susceptible to...the pressure of going to the center of a planet?

[08:07 PM] Wack'd: I mean I guess Sue has force fields and Ben is already extremely dense [08:08 PM] Wack'd: You'd think this would be a problem for Johnny though [08:08 PM] Bocaj: He is also pretty dense [08:08 PM] Wack'd: 🥁 [08:08 PM] Bocaj: 🙃 [08:08 PM] Umbramatic: AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY [08:08 PM] Bocaj: More psuedo sciency though he can get hot as the sun without violenting combusting the atmosphere so that means something [08:08 PM] Bocaj: Maybe. [08:09 PM] Wack'd: Sue however cannot take the heat so. YEET

[08:10 PM] Bocaj: I can't believe she's been yote [08:10 PM] Umbramatic: this is going to be one of those "and only one remains" things isn't it [08:10 PM] Bocaj: I like those things when done well [08:10 PM] Wack'd: Big ups to Umbra [08:10 PM] Umbramatic: jrpgs LOVE to do that shit [08:10 PM] Wack'd: Johnny can't deal with the pressure anymore and decides this "isn't the time for false pride”. Nopes out [08:10 PM] Umbramatic: HA [08:11 PM] Bocaj: the party based gameplay engine loves to widdle a party down to one? Really? [08:11 PM] maxwellelvis: I prefer when the party dwindles because each person is caught up in a grudge match with one of the bad guys, but this is a cool take on it too. [08:11 PM] Wack'd: ...friggin [08:12 PM] Wack'd: I was gonna be like "where have I seen 'blowing up a giant brain' as a solution before" [08:12 PM] Wack'd: But this is literally how they get Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, huh [08:12 PM] Bocaj: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: This one with more feels [08:12 PM] Wack'd: Wonder if James Gunn read this issue or if it's just the natural solution to a living planet [08:13 PM] Wack'd: Or maybe other issues since have aped this, I dunno [08:14 PM] Wack'd: Anyway enjoy the money shot of Ego's brain

[08:14 PM] Bocaj: I can't believe they're going to kill Ego the Living Planet already. What will we use to mock bad Byrne? [08:16 PM] Wack'd: It turns out Ego's enemy, the reason he came to Earth, was Galactus [08:16 PM] Wack'd: Which makes sense. Circle of life and all that [08:16 PM] Wack'd: And apparently Galactus has done fuck-all since the Sphinx saga so this Earth is where the trail went cold [08:16 PM] Umbramatic: CIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRCLE OF LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE [08:17 PM] Wack'd: Plant-eater eats planet, planet teams up with Norse god to fight him off, planet goes back on deal with Norse god, Norse god and planet-eater team up to strap a giant jetpack to planet [08:17 PM] Wack'd: You know [08:17 PM] Wack'd: The circle of life [08:18 PM] maxwellelvis: Thor? [08:18 PM] Wack'd: Yeah [08:18 PM] Wack'd: Anyway apparently being away from his sun is slowly killing Ego [08:19 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Ben throws the makeshift bomb at Ego's brain [08:19 PM] Wack'd: And misses [08:19 PM] Wack'd: He misses a target the size of a moon [08:19 PM] Bocaj: dammit ben you were a foot the ball player [08:19 PM] Wack'd: Good god, Ben [08:20 PM] Wack'd: So now Ego knows what they were attempting and is pissed off [08:20 PM] Wack'd: And decides to burn Earth to death [08:20 PM] Wack'd: Fires up one of his jet engines [08:20 PM] Wack'd: Buuuuuuut they stole one of the batteries [08:20 PM] maxwellelvis: Way to biff that one up, Ben [08:20 PM] Wack'd: So now he can only turn left [08:21 PM] Bocaj: oh my god [08:21 PM] maxwellelvis: *Mel Blanc car sputtering ensues* [08:21 PM] Wack'd: FUCK I FUCKED UP MY THROAT LAUGHING TOO HARD

[08:22 PM] Wack'd: THIS IS INCREDIBLE [08:22 PM] Wack'd: EGO YOU FUCKING DINGDONG WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TURN OFF THE ENGINE BEFORE YOU THREW YOURSELF INTO THE SUN [08:22 PM] Bocaj: wow [08:23 PM] Bocaj: Its honestly a little great how often the solution to things is to throw them into the sun [08:23 PM] Wack'd: You can't solve all your problems that way but you can solve enough of them to keep things interesting [08:24 PM] Bocaj: Is it all that you hoped for? [08:24 PM] Wack'd: Lucky for Ben instead of slowly boiling into nothing, Ego explodes, allowing the remaining three to find him and rescue him in the jet [08:25 PM] Bocaj: I can't believe Ego the Living Planet is dead forever [08:25 PM] Wack'd: I feel like probably if you're this close to the sun you're dead but alright

[08:26 PM] Bocaj: U-unstable molecules? [08:27 PM] Wack'd: big "it's a three-hour paddle home" energy

[08:27 PM] Bocaj: Did they pack days of food and oxygen [08:27 PM] Bocaj: Since I assume they don't die i'm just going to assume so [08:27 PM] Wack'd: Look they've jettisoned most of their bodies to save on energy requirements, what more do you want [08:28 PM] Bocaj: Pffft [08:28 PM] Wack'd: Also I hate how John Bryne draws Ben's head from the front [08:28 PM] Bocaj: He looks like a Toad Mariobros who needs to moisturize [08:28 PM] Wack'd: It's like one half of the cheeseburger head *Two-in-One* gives him [08:28 PM] maxwellelvis: His head looks like a big--

[wildmichaelflower]

HI RAYE ❤️ my first request is from your prompt list is - “My heart tells me to kiss you, my head tells me to walk away.” With Calum please 🥺 Sending you many hugs, gay!sos buddy 💕

Sorry for getting to this four months later!!!

5.  “My heart tells me to kiss you, my head tells me to walk away.”

Word Count: 2,190 words

Content Warnings: Calum Angst (With happy ending), Unplanned pregnancy, Breakup over text, Crying

 Calum never understood why you had chosen to broke up with him, especially over text, and especially when you two were engaged to be married in a year. In his mind, everything was perfect, until he was getting off rehearsal and the message from you knocked the wind out of him.

‘Calum, I’m leaving. I’m sorry, but I’ve decided that this isn’t what I want. I’m leaving tonight, I made sure your neighbor can take care of Duke until you get home, but by the time you read this I’ll be moved out of your home. I left my key, and the ring, on the table. Don’t call me, this number will be disconnected shortly after I send this. I wish you the best in tour and I hope you find someone who knows how lucky they are to love you.’

He blinked back tears as he struggled to comprehend the message, rereading it again and again, hoping the words would change to your usual ‘i love and miss you’ text he was used to getting. He immediately called you. hoping this was some joke you were pulling.

“I’m sorry,” the automated message greeted him, “The number you are trying to reach has been disconne-” Calum didn’t let it finish, he didn’t want to confirmation to hit, and he definitely didn’t want a robot to apologize to him. 

Instead, he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

“Hey mate,” Ashton gently slapped a hand onto his shoulder and whispered, “Everything alright?”

Calum shook his head, finally letting the tears fall and sobs emit. Wide eyed, Ashton pulled his best friend into a hug, biting his lip as Michael and Luke hurried over.

“Th-they’re leaving,” Calum cried, “They disconnected they’re n-number and left me. They don’t love me anymore.”

The boys did their best to comfort their friend through his endless sobs. 

“Should we cancel tonight?” Luke whispered but Calum shook his head, pulling his head away from Ashton’s chest.

“No,” he wiped his sleeve across his eyes, “No, the show still goes on. I just need to take these next few hours to process this.” He took a deep breath, doing his best to hold in the tears.

The boys nodded, giving him one more hug before giving him space. Calum tried to get a hold of everyone who would know where you would be, but no one seemed to have an answer for him, and he couldn’t bear to tell them that you broke up with him over text so he just said he’ll try again later. 

The concert was hell, Calum knew he played like shit, but the only thing that made him give a damn was that he let the fans down. As expected, stan twitter was buzzing about his performance, many wondering what had happened to the bassist. That alone was enough to not want Calum to be on the site, that, and the fact that your name would be dragged into it, and it wouldn’t take long for fans to realize you deleted your social media presence. Instead, he chose to head right to the bus, drink a couple beers, try your number one last time before getting the same damn automated apology, before settling into his bunk and sobbing himself to sleep. 

The boys hated seeing him like this, they had thought you were meant to be his for life, and they were just as shocked as him to hear of you leaving. When they were sure their heartbroken friend was asleep, they took their own turns trying to contact you, but they reached the same results as Calum. 

The next morning, Calum woke up to a phone call, and he too eagerly sat up, hoping it was you and the whole thing had been a nightmare, but his face fell when the caller ID said Management.

“Hello?” The bassisst grumbled into the phone.

“Hey Cal,” the sympathetic tone of one of their managers, Linda, greeted him, “I heard about what happened last night, and I know the last thing you want to do is talk about it, but in the next few days you will have to make a public statement if you are still engaged with-”

“Yeah, I know,” he cut her off, not ready to hear your name, not this soon, “I’ll post something on twitter, just give me some time to prepare.” 

“OK dear,” Calum could hear her small smile in her tone as she used to pet name she gave to all the boys, “I’ll let the team know, and if we need to cancel, just let us know OK?”

Calum took a deep breath, “Yeah, but we’re so close to finishing. I wanna power through it and go see Duke and get used to being in the house without [Y/N].”

“OK.. Just let us know, alright? We’re all here for you.”

Yeah, but I want her, Calum thought sadily to himself before responding, “Thanks Linda, I really appreciate it, you’re the best.”

He let Linda say her goodbyes before she hung up, and the rest of the tour was a blur to Calum. He kept the same pattern of getting up, going through his day, going to concerts, going to bed. The last two weeks of tour passed and before he knew it, Ashton was driving him to his Los Angeles home. Calum said nothing the whole way there, and Ashton knew this was going to be hard. 

“Listen man, if you want, I can grab Duke and some of his things and have you stay with me,” Ashton glanced at his friend in the seat next to him, biting his lip as Calum shook his head.

“No, part of moving on is getting used to what’s gone. I’ll call you if I need company though, I promise.”

The older man sighed but nodded, knowing Calum had to get through this in his own way if he was going to get through it all, but he walked him to the door and gave him one more hug before going back to his car.

With a deep breath, Calum unlocked the door and teared up at the sounds of Duke running to greet him.

“Hey bud,” he smiled as he sunk to his knees to pet his furry son, letting him lick all over his hands and face, “I missed you too.”

Duke barked happily and headed into the kitchen where his food and water awaited him. Calum followed, noticing the note on the counter from his neighbor. 

Hey Cal! I was last here around noon to let Duke out and I plan to be back around 4 in case you wanted to rest. If you are back before then, just shoot me a text so I know not to come over. I know you don’t wanna talk about [Y/N] so I didn’t say anything when you were on tour, but I hid her ring in the drawer with the bills. Also, and please don’t think I was being weird, I took out the trash when I first came over to take Duke out and noticed a pregnancy test in one of the trash bins.  [Y/N] knows now I know, but I knew you also deserved to know, you know? There’s something else I need to tell you, so when I come back at 4 I’ll tell you then.

Calum felt shock after shock as he read the letter. You were pregnant? Is that why you left? And what did the neighbor have to tell him that they couldn’t write in the note? He checked the time on his watch, seeing it was almost 3:30. He could go over and knock now, get the anticipation over with, but he remembered his neighbor car wasn’t in their driveway when Ashton dropped him off, so he settled on taking a quick shower and making a snack. He was grateful he knew what drawer not to open, the ring had too many memories he had spent the last two weeks getting over. 

It was 4:10 when he heard a knock on his door, and Calum hurried to leave his pizza rolls on the counter before rushing to the door, biting his lip when he saw his neighbor.

“Hey. Rian right? Thanks again for watching Duke while I was away... I could take him on his walk, but I did want to talk about the note you left.”

“Yeah, that..” Rian bit their lip, “So you know she was pregnant, but she left me her new number in case anything happened to Duke while you were still on tour, and her new address to send her letters too.. I talked to her before writing the note, and, while it took time, I convinced her that she had to be honest with you, in person, and she gave me permission to give you her address, if you still wanted to talk to her.”

Calum gasped, nodding, but trying to process the words. He thought he had lost you forever, and he still might have, but to get to see you again and know why everything had happened. He deserved that, and he knew that, no matter what happened at the end of the night. 

Rian wrote the address down and set it in his hand, “No matter what happens, I hope you both get the closure you need,” they smiled weakly, gave Duke some small pats, before leaving. 

The pizza rolls now abandoned, Calum grabbed Duke’s leash and his phone, quickly typing the address into the GPS before walking out with the small dog to the car. 

The Maori man had a tight grip on the steering wheel, driving past familiar sights as the map took him to an apartment complex close to where you lived when you two first met. 

He parked on the street then grabbed Duke’s leash before getting out. Taking a deep breath, he looked for your apartment number before knocking.

“Coming!” Your familiar voice rang through the opposite side of the door and Calum couldn’t believe this was actually happening. After weeks of agony, he was going to see you again.

You checked the peephole, biting your lip when you saw the man you called your fiance, still the handsomest man you have ever seen, standing with your furry son. Slowly, you opened the door, doing your best to give a small smile.

“Calum,” you greeted, “Hello..”

“Ba- [Y/N]. I know, about the baby, and I’m sure that’s why you left huh.”

Tearing up was already more than enough to confirm his suspicions, but he let you explain yourself.

“I’m sorry,” You sniffed, “I knew you would be a great dad, but I was so scared in the moment that I was going to ruin your career and your fans would hate me that I made you leave the band to raise a baby that was unplanned so I left and I had hoped that things would be fine but they’re not fine, because I hated myself for what I did to you and to me, and to our child. I’m not asking you to forgive me, the fact that you came to let me explain myself is enough.” You sobbed and placed an instinctive hand on your stomach as you waited for him to say something. 

He took a deep breath and tried to calm Duke, who was riled up by your tears, before whispering,

“My heart tells me to kiss you, my head tells me to walk away.”

You sobbed but nodded at his words, “Which one will you listen to?”

He bit his lip, “The same one that told me to drop out of high school to form a band with my best friends,” he smiled softly as he stepped inside and he watched as you stepped back, not in fear but to let him in, “The same one that told me ask you out in that bar we met all those years ago, the same one that told me to come here, even after I thought everything was thrown away.” He gently wiped the tears from your cheeks as Duke settled at your feet and as he leaned in he whispered, “The same heart that knew it would never stop loving you.” He pressed his lips to yours gently, not fighting the smile as you returned the kiss with the same passion. 

“You, me, and little one now.” you sniffed and smiled, “No more separating, no more heartache.”

He nodded in agreement, “No more walking away,” he smiled, “Only kissing.” He pecked his lips to yours one more time before sinking to his knees and whispering to your stomach, “Hey baby, it’s daddy.” He looked up as he heard you sob again, but returned the smile you gave as you assured him they were happy tears and he gave gentle kisses to your tummy.

“Only kisses,” he mumbled into your skin, sealing the promise with a small peck to your belly button before looking up with his own happy tears. 

[moro-nokimi]

chapter 5: December 31, 2010

Summary: Shit gets real. Near continues to have refuge in his audacity and Naomi continues to be snarky.

NOTES: Two more chapters! Whew boy. We've got a live one up in here. Oh Near, we're really in it now. This bitch is almost 10k, so I BETTER get a review, ask, or reply talking ab how good this is. (This is a joke; no pressure.) TW: Death of a loved one, suicide mention, allusion to gun violence and sex.

ffn.online

“Light Yagami is a registered grad student at To-Oh University, but nobody has seen him on campus since he graduated. And the Japanese police have given all the employees false job titles to hide the fact they are members of the police force. He received letters of appreciation from the police in 2000 and 2002 for advice that led to resolved cases. I think it’s safe to say that these facts and the influence of his father point to him currently being with the police.

“When I asked former students what they remembered about him, several of them had interesting comments. He had the highest score in the entrance exam, but someone going by Hideki Ryuuga--the same name as the top idol back then---tied scores with Yagami. They gave the freshman address together, and were often seen with each other. But no photograph of this Hideki Ryuuga can be found.”

So was this L? Feels like suicide to me… then again, they don’t seem to instill Wammy’s alumni with a particular sense of self preservation, Naomi thought.

“I also received information that around June of 2004, Hideki Ryuuga, Light Yagami, and Misa Amane were seen together on university campus. After that, everyone seems to have lost track of this Ryuuga. Light Yagami and Misa Amane also went missing for several months at that time,” Rester finished.

“He used the name of a popular idol to get close to Light Yagami, whom he suspected of being Kira. It was a dangerous plan that assumed he wouldn’t be killed so long as Kira didn’t find out his real name. But then the Second Kira appeared, with the ability to learn people’s names just by looking at their faces. Then, they joined hands. Everything fits. Light Yagami is Kira, and Misa Amane being the Second Kira, and Hideki Ryuuga being L,” Near said.

“It corroborates the report we received that Mogi and Aizawa went straight to Amane’s place after leaving here,” Gevanni said.

“So the fact that Amane is Light’s fiancee is…,” Lidner added, avoiding Naomi’s eyes.

“No coincidence,” Naomi finished. “She was a loose cannon, just going back to when she first appeared. No doubt, he wants to keep her close to avoid any mishaps.”

Late at night and when everyone was distracted or asleep, Naomi finally had her chance.

“You’re still holding a grudge over what Mello did?” Lidner asked.

“I think it was a damn stupid thing to do, yes. No matter if Near said for you to go along with his wishes, he still walked in and you held me back from tackling him and ending the standoff,” Naomi seethed. She rarely found herself angry, but when she did, it was enough to make others recoil.

“He never would’ve forgiven you for the blow to his pride, and it would’ve just escalated things.”

“His pride is the least of my concerns, Lidner. He pointed a goddamn gun at Near and you wanted me to be worried about his pride? He. Almost. Killed. Near.”

“I never told you to be worried about anything.”

“Don't you fucking twist my words like that. You putting his pride over Near’s life says a lot.”

Lidner's brows had knit and her eyes had narrowed. “You’re complaining to me about double allegiances? At least they’re working together now, right?”

“The last thing I want is to be working with a criminal again.”

Lidner had chewed the inside of her mouth for a second before lowering her voice and adding, “Think of it like this. Your fiance is like Near: he asks too many questions before pulling the trigger. But in this case, Mello shoots first and asks questions later. Near needs that push to act.”

Naomi’s vocal volume spiked for a second, and this drew Rester and Gevanni’s attention:

“Raye exhausted all options to make sure his gun was the last resort!”

“That doesn’t sound like very good methodology to me," Lidner said sharply.

That was the last button Lidner pushed before Naomi snapped back, volume rising, “Don’t you fucking compare them! Raye was a good man, Mello is--”

“Is there a problem?” Rester asked. Gevanni was placid, eyes sliding between them, gears turning in his head.

“No,” said Lidner coolly, eyes boring into Naomi. Naomi was red with anger.

“I’m going out. If I’m not back for a couple hours, don’t worry.” She knew her hands were shaking.

She bunched her turtleneck to her mouth and screamed as soon as she was out of earshot. She cried later on her bike and almost ran a red light.

Naomi had the urge to scream now, just thinking back on it. She stepped outside and dug the photograph out of them on the beach. That had been a fun day. Suruga had taken the picture. He was also understandably irritated when Naomi told him about the incident.

“So she just uses something she told you in confidence like that? Sheesh,” Suruga said. “That’s just shitty.”

“I screamed. Not in the room, just as I was leaving.” Naomi shuddered. “I’m not proud of it.”

“You have every right to be irritated, Naomi. Again, talking about something she told you in confidence for the sake of a comparison was just low. Especially in earshot of your other coworkers and your boss.”

“I almost woke up my boss. I don’t think he would’ve been too happy, ha… Do you think about what would’ve happened if he lived, Suruga?”

He hadn’t responded. There was an implicit yes, but she supposed he feared crying more than being transparent with his friend.

“Men don’t like crying,” Audrey had explained. “Toxic masculinity says that men have to be these pinnacles of strength. The only emotion they show is anger, and so on. Hell, Raye was expressive, but he never liked crying, especially in front of me or you.”

Naomi figured there was some truth to that. But she also figured avoiding crying was unhealthy period. No way around it.

Though, she was one to talk.

She resisted the urge to cry and stepped back inside.

“Near, this NHN announcer Kiyomi Takada was a classmate of Light Yagami’s in college. She was an excellent student, and was on close terms with him, it seems,” Rester added.

“How do mean ‘close’?” Near asked.

“I can’t assume anything, but they looked to be more than friends. I don’t believe this is a coincidence.”

“But Light’s relationship with Amane started when he was in college, too,” Gevanni pointed out.

“I don’t believe anyone’s introduced you to the concept of male infidelity,” Naomi said dryly. "Clearly there's no accounting for taste."

“Commander Rester, can you get close to Takada?”

“I’ll give it a try, but… She’s more heavily protected by Kira worshippers than Demegawa ever was. I’d attribute it to her being a woman. To the worshippers, if Kira is their God, Takada is their goddess.”

Prophet, Naomi corrected.

“You said she was an excellent student, but that was only her grades. She’s downright stupid outside of class.”

This woman hosts debates and is knowledgeable about our political landscape, and she’s stupid because she worships Kira? Naomi thought. Audrey would’ve called this misogyny. I call it underestimation.

“It may be possible for me to get close to her among all the worshippers. But Mr Aizawa and Mogi have seen my face before. They may tell L about our movements.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. There’s no reason for them to get in the way of our investigation. I’m sure they won’t tell L you are a member of the SPK. And if that information is passed to L and you die, it means L is Kira. I find it hard to believe Kira would do such a thing before finding out about Mello and I, unless Kira is in a very tight situation.

“Gevanni, Lidner, Maki, would you like to go to Japan as well? It’s almost certain the one writing the names is in Japan. I think it’s a safe call based on the people killed, and from the fact an announcer from NHN was chosen as the spokesperson.”

Naomi wasn’t too impressed with Kiyomi Takada. It’s definitely not easy to keep up with Kira and what’s going on, but it was her blind loyalty and outright reverence to a murderer that chafed. She tried time and time again to put her personal ties to the Kira case aside, but it just wasn’t possible.

“Depending upon what their sin was, Kira will not tolerate people with a criminal record…,” Kiyomi Takada said. “Starting today, I will be introducing you to messages and requests from viewers as well as expressing my own opinion on some matters. Many of the countries and companies claim to support Kira now…”

Naomi shook her head and tuned the rest of it out.

“... But that is a mere empty promise, and we do not know how they are supporting Kira or should be supporting Kira. I feel that in order to create a peaceful world as fast as we can, Kira should give orders to the army and police of each country on how they should act. I would like Kira to give a reply to this and…”

Near turned on his PA. “Rester, find out who Takada saw last night. Whatever it takes.”

Rester nodded. “Well, Kiyomi Takada is being protected unbelievably well, and even getting near her is tough. I never expected it to be this difficult. A reporter who tried to investigate the meeting last night was caught by the guards and accused of breaking and entering, then got killed by Kira on the 9 o’clock news. Her phone is completely untraceable and bug proof. She’s better guarded than the president.”

“Speaking from experience?” Naomi asked. The thought of things becoming that authoritarian worried her, despite her wisecrack.

“Very funny, Maki. All her guards are people who’ve participated in TV programs pertaining to Kira many times, and whose backgrounds can be easily traced. It’s incredibly hard to get in.”

“Gevanni and Lidner should be getting back to Japan shortly. Please get near her any way you can,” Near said.

“Near, Takada went into the Perin Hotel. Until she comes out, no one is allowed to enter or leave unless requested by Takada,” Rester said.

“Then you’re going to have to try to become one of Takada’s trusted bodyguards at the very least,” Near said.

“I’ll do my best.”

December 12 “We’re trying to get on Takada’s personal bodyguard team, but the hurdles are getting higher. We need more time,” Rester said.

“Very well. I had a feeling it would be like that,” Near replied. “Maki, would you mind making flight arrangements?”

“Yeah, just a second.”

While she cleared her cookies and went searching for airplane tickets, Near called the Japanese task force.

“This is Near. I’d like to talk to L.”

“This is L speaking.”

“It’s been a while. Thank you for keeping the connection open.”

“What do you want?”

That’s no way to greet someone, Naomi thought.

“I am in Japan to capture Kira. Right now, actually,” Near said. He snipped away at paper. “Seeing as how the best way to investigate Kira is to start with Kiyomi Takada and all.”

L paused. “I’m in Japan already, doing just that. If you’d like to cooperate, I’m willing to do so as well. But since you’re suspicious of me, I guess that’s not possible.”

Near’s brow furrowed. It quickly turned into a scowl. “Did you just say ‘I’?”

“Yes. I’ve personally gotten into contact with Takada and am making headway in the investigation.”

In more ways than one, I think, Naomi thought.

“We’ve gotten as far as having our investigator, Mogi, be able to enter NHN.”

So he knows we’re trying to get into NHN ourselves. Or is hypothesizing as so. With these geniuses, any hypothesis automatically means they know something.

“We’ll find a way to get into NHN as well, but there’s one more thing. You said you’ve personally contacted Takada and are investigating her, right? Then please tell Takada however you can that members of the SPK have escaped from the Kira worshippers in New York have entered Japan to capture Kira. Judging from the current world situation and her position, that’s the type of news she’ll have to report.

“You can even say that there are five members of the group including Near, the leader. There are four other members that Mr Mogi and Mr Aizawa met. This isn’t a lie, so it’ll be a true report. If either of the aforementioned men see them near NHN, please feel free to tell L. We don’t want to get in the way of your investigation. But please don’t show their faces as members of the SPK on TV or via other media outlets. This report is to lure out Kira.

“Including me, there’s only five of us. There’s no way Kira is going to find out, and I’m sure that Kira will make a move to try and kill us. That is where I intend to counterstrike and defeat Kira.”

Oh, great, so we’re being used as bait. I’d rather I was the killing shot, Naomi thought, and slammed her laptop lid closed.

“There are five members altogether in Japan. Is that it for the message, Near?”

“Yes. I’d gathered people who could work under me, but now that the situation has changed, numbers aren’t important. I’m in Japan. Since you are as well, we may come face to face.”

“True.”

“And that will be something worth looking forward to.”

“Indeed.”

“We’ll bring Kira to an end once and for all.”

“Of course.”

Well, he’s taciturn all of a sudden. And here I thought he’d never shut up, seeing as how all the other meetings have been.

“The only way to restore the world now is to get rid of Kira and the existing notebooks. If we succeed in both of those objectives, we win. If we die, Kira wins. This battle was not about an arrest or something measured by the laws of this world. It’s always been a one-one battle to prove who’s on top.”

Near turned the PA off.

“You’re playing a zero-sum game, Near,” Naomi said.

“You don’t have to tell me that. The original L was doing the same thing. Commander Rester, where are Gevanni and Lidner now?”

“Right now, they’re in a booked room near NHN.”

“Please connect me to them.”

“Pay close attention to what I’m about to say. I have decided to meet L---rather, Kira---in person in the near future and settle this case once and for all.”

“In person?” Gevanni repeated, the poor guy surprised into echolalia.

“Do you mean you’re going to see him face to face and capture him?” Lidner asked.

“Yes. The world is practically in Kira’s hands now. But, in Kira’s nearly completed world, only the SPK members, Mello, the Japanese task force, and I remain in Kira’s way. I remain the biggest problem as well, since he can’t easily get my name or face.

“It seems Mello’s name has already been discovered, and he’s also wanted for the murder of the Japanese police director and deputy director.

“As we all know, he lets his emotions control him. Kira may think it will be easy to kill him using his followers. If Kira succeeds in killing me, he will very likely kill the rest of you, and the Japanese task force.

“Since I, his biggest headache, who hasn’t made a move until now am now making said move, Kira will not miss this opportunity to kill me. And the fact that he’s said he’s willing to meet me means he’s accepted my challenge. The die is cast. Whether we like it or not, we must make our move.

“Let’s examine this situation. L is Light Yagami and Light Yagami is Kira. We know for sure that L would answer yes if we asked if he was Light Yagami, seeing as how he told us he’d personally gotten into contact with Takada, as well as Maki’s account of meeting him five years ago. But he will obviously deny the fact that he’s Kira. There’ve been many incidents to make us suspect he’s Kira, but no solid proof.”

Naomi was rather bitter that things could’ve gone very differently if she’d not regarded Light’s “selling” of the Japanese task force as a bit too maudlin to be genuine. Mostly at herself. She’d learned her lesson then: hard evidence only, no circumstantial evidence will be taken as fact whatsoever.

“There’s almost no doubt that he’s Kira. I’m 99.9999 percent sure. The lack of proof is the only reason it’s not a hundred percent.

“Kira… let’s call him L-Kira. Around him are several people who know of the existence of the notebook, such as Aizawa, Mogi, and the others. However, L-KIra is not using the notebook himself. That’s because there are others around him keeping an eye on him and the notebook. Obviously, there’s another who has the notebook and is using it. That’s X-Kira. Based on the fact that L-KIra has used Misa Amane in the past, as well as with relation to the attack on Mello’s hideout, I think that L-Kira does not have the Shinigami eyes. But judging from the killings of recent criminals, X-Kira definitely has the eyes. Of course, both Kiras are connected in some way. But since L-Kira is being watched, it would be almost impossible for him to get in direct contact with X-Kira.

“So, they use Takada. Note how Kira’s messages are spread through NHN, and L-Kira and Takada can meet in person without arousing suspicion. At the moment, both Kiras are able to send messages to and through Takada. Though she may be only Kira’s puppet, we can’t deny she’s highly important to us in discovering X-Kira.

“I likely don’t have to explain this, but this is a recap of the situation. I see two ways to defeat Kira. The first is…” Naomi cringed as Near pulled the trigger on the toy gun and knocked over the legos. “We kill L- and X-Kira and confiscate the notebooks. If the killings stop, it means we are correct.”

“Right. That would prove L---Light Yagami---was Kira,” Rester said.

Near returned the cork to the barrel of the revolver. “We are almost positive that L is Kira, so I’m confident we can solve this case. But we won’t be using this method, no matter what.”

“Why not?”

“Even if the killings stop, it doesn’t really prove that Light Yagami is Kira. Since no one is using the notebook at the task force headquarters, there’s always a chance that the killings stopped because of X-Kira’s death. And the killings may continue if there are Y- and Z-Kiras.

“Most important of all, we kill those two and the killings stop, then to say see, we were right… such an ex post facto justification will not be tolerated. That’s not the way we do things.”

“We?”

“Of course, we being me and L. He wouldn’t be happy if we did that.”

Naomi was still ruminating on the possibility of X-Kira’s identity. She figured it would have to be an acquaintance of Takada’s but not Yagami’s, so it would leave a pool of up to a hundred people who were regulars on her debate show.

In another life, while her and Rester were discussing this during the C-Kira case and Rester would say this and shrug and say “like it would offend L’s spirit or something”, Naomi would shrug, too, and say, “Well, that means he centers his identity on being L’s true successor.” And Lidner would take a seat on the counter and say, “That could be used as an advantage some day, by someone unsavory.”

“It would be an insult to L, who entrusted those who came after him with this case.”

And then Rester would mention that line. Naomi had sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “You’d better hope someone wouldn’t decide to create another impossible to solve case,” Naomi would say. If she closed her eyes, she could see B’s burning silhouette.

“Hence, even if we are going to kill L- and X-Kira, first we must rub their faces in the evidence and make them taste the misery of their defeat. It’s out of the question to kill them before that. So we get solid proof.”

“And how will we do that?”

“Have him use the notebook and arrest him on the spot.”

Naomi’s throat went dry.

“Then the person whose name was written will die. Do you have any plans for that?’

“Not at the moment, no. But we no longer have other ways to get proof. But I’ll think of something. When we first meet Kira, the first person he’ll write down is me, so.” Lowering his voice, Near held the miniature notebook replica. “Now what will I do…”

Holding the L-Kira labelled lego, he added, “But just as I said now, killing Kira and confiscating the notebook with hopes that the killings will stop is a plan Kira will assume we have. We may be able to use that to our advantage. But for the time being, our job is to find out who is executing the criminals as Kira. And in order to do that, we must investigate NHN and Kiyomi Takada, even though Kira knows we will be doing it.”

December 14 “The Japanese police announced at three PM today that five members of the SPK who escaped from New York have entered Japan. The police are initiating a full search for these people and are calling out for public support,” Kiyomi Takada said.

To say Naomi was unsurprised was an understatement. Takada had expressed such authoritarian views before, so this was no surprise. But the police being willing to hunt them down and be the footsoldiers for a regime like this was the cherry on top of a shit sundae.

The latest ass-kissing program (Today’s Lady Takada) began.

“Today, Lady Takada chose four female bodyguards from 20 finalists who went through rigorous testing. These four glorious women are Tatsumi Ooyama, champion of the women’s 60KG weight class in the 22nd world karate championship. Former CIA agent, Hal Lidner…

“These four all passed the tests and…”

“It’s just as you said, Near,” Rester said. “Sooner or later, Takada needed female bodyguards, which she didn’t have until now. Being with the CIA formerly made it easier for Halle to be chosen, but it’ll make it easier for Kira to notice her as well.”

“Yes… I am grateful to Lidner for putting the investigation before her safety. By the way, Commander Rester, have you been able to come up with an answer for this?”

“If I was Kira, who would I have chosen for the spokesperson after Demegawa?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t watch and listen to several screens at the same time. I can’t do it in only five days. I need more time.”

“Gevanni said the same. I was merely going to use your opinions as a reference. Don’t think too hard about it. An answer off the top of your head will suffice. Maki?”

“An easier solution would be to look at each segment of each news channel separately. You’ll lose out on sleep, but maybe you’ll have more input that way,” Naomi said.

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

“I know. If I were Kira, I’d go for someone I know and has a platform. As for X-Kira…”

“So long as it’s not someone extreme like Demegawa, they all look the same as a possibility for Kira’s spokesperson,” Rester said.

“I can’t decide either, but I wouldn’t have chosen Takada. No matter of her and Yagami’s acquaintance, she’s still a rookie announcer,” Gevanni said.

“Agreed. It seems she’s popular, having gotten second place in a magazine poll. There are, of course, more male announcers with more experience and dignified demeanors. So why was Takada chosen? It could just be that Takada is the type of woman Kira fancies, but I think it was because…”

Naomi couldn't hold back a snort.

“Takada was a Kira worshipper and Kira knew about it. The reason Demegawa was chosen is because he zealously used Sakura TV to support Kira even before the world began leaning towards him. It would’ve been easy for Kira to threaten someone into being the spokesperson, but it would be to his advantage if the spokesperson supported Kira.

“Well, in Takada’s case, I’m sure she was chosen because she’s a Kira worshipper. Here’s a comment by Takada from last night’s news.”

He turned on a clip of Takada.

“I feel that it is necessary for schools to educate children about Kira, and that Kira’s teachings are the proper way to live.”

“Ever since she started making comments to Kira, Takada’s been nothing but a stupid Kira worshipper.”

“That’s not stupidity, that’s authoritarianism and incredibly worrying,” Naomi said. "She very much has her own agenda." … So could we be looking at her becoming Kira point blank, or does she want to be his follower and nothing more?

“True. But it’s also true that Takada’s words are affecting the public, which is filled with stupid people. To Kira, this is great.”

"It's quite easy to assume that because someone supports something authoritarian that they lack the ability to rub two brain cells together. It's much scarier to think about Kira supporters being our lawyers, our realtors, etcetera," Naomi said. Near shrugged.

“Then if we believe Light Yagami is Kira, does that mean he chose Takada because he was on intimate terms with her in college and knew her feelings towards Kira?” Rester asked. That’s generous, Naomi thought.

“No, Takada only started making pro-Kira remarks after the meeting at the hotel. L/Light Yagami claims that he’s in contact with Kira for the investigation. And I’m sure that we’ll be able to confirm that with Mr Aizawa and the others.

“Therefore, if L-Kira/Light Yagami chose Takada, he would’ve been able to get Takada to make pro-Kira remarks from the moment she became the spokesperson. But in reality, Takada only started making pro-Kira comments the day after the meeting. She also spoke directly to Kira in the comment, so I can only assume that L-Kira made her say this comment, since he hasn’t gotten into contact with X-Kira at that point. Same with Takada before the meeting. That’s likely because Mr Aizawa and the others had their eyes on him and had doubts. That means Takada was chosen as the spokesperson through X-Kira’s personal judgement.”

“But isn’t it possible L-Kira ordered X-Kira to kill Demegawa and choose Takada as the next spokesperson before Aizawa and the others began to watch over him?” Rester asked.

“I won’t say that it’s impossible, but after Demegawa died, it was a week before Takada was chosen as the next spokesperson. Even if L-Kira had ordered X-Kira to use Takada after Demegawa died, it would be meaningless and odd to order X-Kira to wait a week.” He leaned down to inspect a black lego. “So it fits better to assume that X-Kira, unable to get in contact with L-Kira, killed Demegawa and then took a week to decide who to choose as the next spokesperson.”

“Then that proves Maki right, that X-Kira has some kind of connection with Takada,” Rester said.

“Yes. I understand that it’s dangerous to investigate Takada right now, but could you please look into it with Gevanni again?”

Both agreed.

“I’m going to start off by tracing all of the programs that Takada has appeared on, Starting with the most recent ones and looking at the regulars. Maki, would you mind taking record of these people?”

“Of course.”

On a hunch, she dug up a previous survey of one Teru Mikami. Near practically swam through all the DVDs to find Kira’s Kingdom, coming to a stop in front of all the monitors in front of Mikami speaking about Kira’s ideals.

“The reason I became a prosecutor is because of the frustration and helplessness I felt over all the physical and emotional abuse I witnessed as a child. All the young people going into the world should have their own goals and use their abilities to contribute to society.”

The click of a remote, and next she heard:

“I would very much like to hear Kira’s voice again, and I intend to follow your ideals. I believe that following your orders and teachings is the quickest way to achieve world peace. Kira, please let me hear your voice. If there are no orders or words from Kira, I believe that I am going to have to judge by myself what Kira’s thoughts may be, and put them into action.”

Naomi looked up from the survey.

“Near, I think you want to take a look at this.”

Right on his survey on the question of his opinion on Kira, the answer was listed as “God.”

Near peered over her shoulder, and turned on his PA to Rester.

“You no longer need to look into Takada’s friends and associates. Please come back to HQ, as Maki and I have just found a suspect. I’ll ask you to start investigating again if my assumption is wrong.”

“You’ve already found a suspect?”

“We’re good at looking," Naomi said.

December 21 “According to Lidner, Mogi is acting as Amane’s manager, which means he will often be away from L’s headquarters,” Rester said.

“That’s right,” Near replied.

“We can get Lidner to ask Mogi if they have their eyes on L when he is meeting Takada. That way, L won’t find out what we’re investigating.”

“But Mogi probably won’t tell us. And it’s highly likely that both Kiras are contacting each other through Takada. They know that we know it, so there’s no reason for us to go sneaking.”

Obviously, being clandestine isn’t our strong suit, Naomi thought, and passed Near the PA to L.

“L, if Mr Aizawa is there with you right now, is it okay for me to talk to him in person through this?”

“It’s Aizawa. What’s the problem?”

“When L meets with Takada, are you recording their conversations through wires and cameras?”

“No, we’re only using wires.”

“I see… Thank you.”

She set the PA aside and rolled her neck.

“If it’s only a wire, we can assume that L- and X-Kira are getting into contact with another through Takada. This only makes things more dangerous for Lidner. All of Takada’s bodyguards have their cell phone records checked. We can’t directly contact Lidner, so is that all right?” Rester asked.

“Lidner is well aware of the danger, but the important thing is that she is still trying to find out who X-Kira is through Takada and we have no clue as to the identity of X-Kira, so L’s attention will lie with them," Near said.

“Gevanni?” Rester asked.

“It’s about Mikami. Tailing him is strangely easy. It’s not like he’s making a move to go into hiding or anything. He’s been living at the same place for the past four years and leads an ordinary life. He’s very active with his job as well. I understand he’s a Kira worshipper from the fact he was on Kira’s Kingdom, but I find it hard to believe he could be X-Kira.”

“It’s not like Kira’s going to be waving his arms around saying ‘I kill people for justice’,” Naomi said.

“Thanks, Maki. I appreciate your input.”

“No problem.”

“The chances of Mikami being X-Kira are high, even ignoring his personal endeavors. Please be careful. Don’t try to enter his house or anything else yet. Just keep your eye on him.”

“Of course. You should try this, Maki, it’s very fun.”

Too familiar. “Stalking isn’t my idea of fun. I’d be worried if I didn’t know you were joking.”

“Please,” Rester said.

“Mikami just pulled the notebook out. There’s something---ugh, weird about it. He took a picture of the guy who was harassing a girl before writing in the notebook. He’s getting off the train, I’ll follow---” Gevanni said.

A high pitched scream followed.

“The guy who was doing the harassing just collapsed, about a half minute after his name was written… but that leaves me curious as to what the purpose to taking the picture was. And he said delete while writing it.”

“O-kay. X-Kira is definitely Mikami,” Rester said.

“Yes, but that also makes the possibility known of there being a Y-Kira,” Near said.

“So what do we do? Aren’t we going to capture Mikami?”

“Commander Rester. Please don’t make me repeat myself. Even though we know for sure that Mikami is X-Kira, we’re not going to use that method. If we do that, we’re never going to be able to get to L. If we capture Mikami, we may even face the situation that the killings stop and Mikami will appear to everyone to be Kira.

“All will be meaningless unless we prove the Light Yagami is Kira, the root of all this, and stop him.”

“Right…”

“In any event, we must get near Mikami, but there is one thing we must be extra careful about. And that is the Shinigami.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow. She’d never particularly believed in them, even as her dad told her that they take children who don’t go to sleep by 10pm’s souls. (Because what is the point of parenting if you can’t scare them a little.)

“The Japanese task force once told us that in order to get the notebook back from Mello, Kira gave the Japanese HQ a different notebook from that of Mello’s via a Shinigami. That means a Shinigami followed Kira’s orders and brought the notebook to them. And that means the Shinigami possessing Mikami will follow Mikami’s orders. So if we are going to tail Mikami from now on, there’s a chance that Mikami’s Shinigami will alert him.”

Rester said, “But the Shinigami can only be seen by those who’ve touched the notebook. Being careful of something you can’t see isn’t easy.”

“Even so, I would like you to do it. But this time, you may keep some distance from him and film his movements. It would be best if you can get an image of him talking to the Shinigami.”

“All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

December 25 If they only have wires, they’d just have to not say something out loud if they wanted to avoid being caught by the task force, Naomi thought.

Her attention was drawn by a notification that Lidner was on the monitor.

“I’m sorry, I’ve hardly had time to be alone. It was four days ago. Takada, Amane, and me met up. The conversation was really only about which of them was ‘his’---really meaning Light Yagami’s girlfriend,” Lidner said.

Naomi rolled her eyes. “So it was a covert catfight?”

“What does it mean?” Rester asked. Lidner’s expression just about screamed Are you shitting me?

“That Light Yagami’s a two timer?” Naomi said, as Near replied, “This just proves that Light Yagami is a ladykiller. Takada and Amane are infatuated with him. Though I’d be inclined to agree with Maki’s summary.”

“Seriously, Near?” Rester asked. “You too, Maki.”

“And they went after each other instead of going after Light for being a two timer.” Naomi shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“But being seriously infatuated can be a problem. They won’t betray him, and he can control them as he wants. However, what I’m more worried about is that there’s been nothing new in Gevanni’s reports,” Near said.

“But he reported today that Mikami pulled out the notebook and killed someone. Or had him killed, if we’re going with the Y-Kira hypothesis.”

“Not the notebook, but the Shinigami. If a Shinigami is possessing him, it would be normal to say a word or two to each other in three days. If they’ve decided not to talk to each other in public, then it doesn’t make sense that he pulled the notebook twice this week in front of everyone to kill someone. And then it’s strange that…”

“What is?”

“The Shinigami at L’s headquarters can be seen by the other members. That means that apart from Light Yagami, they’re also keeping a close watch on the notebook and the Shinigami. Obviously, L-Kira is not able to give orders or talk to Shinigami that easily. But judging from the fact that Kira probably got his notebook from L-Kira, then only L-Kira and Mikami should be able to see the Shinigami on that notebook.

“And if that’s so, why didn’t they get into contact with each other by using that Shinigami? It’s a lot safer than making contact through Takada, and if only the two of them can see the Shinigami, there should have been a way for them to get into contact.”

Naomi stretched her legs, careful to avoid the legos, and swivelled until she was laying on her front. “That also means the task force has touched the notebook.”

Rester’s knees popped as he got onto Near’s level. “Now that you mention it… But the only thing I can think of is that there are Shinigami that will work for you and those that won’t.”

“Yes. Or the members of the task force can see Mikami’s Shinigami too. Mello said that he’d seen a Shinigami. While he had his own, L’s investigation team must have had their own Shinigami as well. Mr Aizawa and Mogi have claimed to have seen a Shinigami that was different from the one that their headquarters. That could be possible.”

The monitors beeped.

“Gevanni?” Rester asked.

“Mikami’s talking to himself!”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, I’m wondering if he’s talking to the Shinigami. I’m too far away from him to hear what he’s saving, but I’ve been able to film his mouth as it moves. The footage is here.” Gevanni sent the footage to the monitor where everyone could see it. “It’s at the rooftop of the prosecutor’s office where Mikami works, during a break. Oh---he’s saying something right here.”

“Slow it down.” Rester leaned towards the monitors and read Mikami’s lips word-for-word perfect. “I guess he’s asking if it’s his Shinigami?”

“I see you aren’t a commander for nothing,” Near said.

“He seems to have reacted to the piece of paper to the bottom right of him.”

“He’s giving a small sigh.”

“He’s talking a little more from here. Give me a second, I’m going to zoom up to his mouth and slow down the footage.”

“That Shinigami… ever since he handed me the notebook, he hasn’t appeared…,” Rester said.

“Huh,” Naomi said. She pushed herself off the floor and into a squatting position.

“So there’s no Shinigami possessing Mikami at the moment.”

“But that makes me wonder if there’s a time limit as to when the Shinigami can appear to Mikami,” Naomi said.

“True…”

Near threw one of the Grim Reaper legos over his shoulder without comment.

“It makes things easier for our investigation if Mikami isn’t being possessed by a Shinigami. We may even be able to find proof from him that Light Yagami is Kira.”

“Yes…”

“Gevanni here. I’m at Mikami’s apartment. I’ve counted two surveillance cameras at the door to his room from my position. I’m assuming that the security inside is even tighter so even if I’m able to get inside, it’s going to be hard for me to remain unnoticed.”

“The tenants gotta be loaded if there’s security cameras everywhere,” Naomi said.

“Mikami makes 200 grand a year easily, not counting bonuses. Anyways, when he’s outside, Mikami just leaves the notebook inside his bag, so it’s not seriously guarded. But it would be undoubtedly strange if he did keep his guard up in public.”

“Commander Rester, I would like you and Gevanni to research Mikami’s behaviour patterns as much as possible, and look for any opportunity that might let us touch the notebook.”

“I thought you weren’t going to confiscate the notebook from him,” Rester said.

“Yes. I won’t use Mikami and the notebook as proof. The chances are that Mikami doesn’t have a Shinigami of his own, but we can’t be sure until we touch the notebook and monitor Mikami for several days. Of course, there’s a possibility that Mikami does have a Shinigami possessing him, and that the Shinigami will tell Mikami that we touched the notebook and have him kill us. But even so, from all the observation so far, it’s likely that Mikami’s Shinigami isn’t very cooperative with him.”

“So who’s going to touch the notebook? Me or Gevanni?”

“Well, since you’re his superior… Gevanni, I guess.”

Naomi cringed.

“I appreciate the support, Maki.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“If there is no Shinigami possessing Mikami, then there’s a plan I’d like to see put into action. But if there isn’t, I’m going to have to make some changes.”

“Very well. I’ll keep my eye on Mikami.”

“Mr Aizawa. It’s been a while,” Near said.

“I believe what you said earlier. L and Takada have been seeing each other almost every night,” Aizawa said.

“I know.”

“What about this? The two are talking to each other via notepads. I left a mark on the notepads at the hotel, and…”

“Of course. As I said before, I know what’s going on. Kira is using the notepad to give orders to X-Kira through Takada. X-Kira being the person who’s doing the killings. Anyways, it’s commendable that you found this out on your own. But it does little for us unless you’ve found any actual notes.”

“I haven’t found them yet…”

“Then it means nothing. Those notes can be ripped up and flushed down the toilet or merely handed over to Takada to dispose of, since no one can search her bodily. In other words, there are a million ways to dispose of them.”

“You said that if we could get one note, it’ll be proof! I can talk to other members of the task force and have one of them hide inside the room once it’s booked. The wire detectors don’t react to people and I can pretend to have checked the place where the investigator is hiding. That way it’ll be possible to get one of the notes before they’re thrown away.”

“Mr Aizawa…,” Near said, “please stay out of the way.”

“What do you mean?”

Near underlined just why Aizawa intervening was such a bad idea.

“Unless they were to institute cameras in certain spots,” Naomi pointed out.

“But they run the risk of detection either way,” Near pointed out. “Obviously, all of your identities have been revealed to whoever is doing Kira’s killings. They know who you are. Kira probably has it set up so he can kill you all with the snap of a finger. The only reason you’re all still alive is because of me. There’s no other reason now that everything has fallen into Kira’s hands.

“Though, if you are able to get that notepad and are killed, I could use that as proof that L is Kira. But I already know that, so it’s useless to me. It’s not the way to go. If you do this, it’ll only allow Kira to move about freely, and it’s nothing but a headache for me. Even if Kira’s identity is proven to the world, most people are still going to take Kira’s side. And even if that happens, even I will no longer be a threat to Kira. Do you follow?

“Mr Aizawa, it’s not longer a matter of merely finding evidence that L is Kira. The only way to stop Kira is for me to completely defeat him and rub it into his face.” He held up his own lego figure. “Mr Aizawa, I’m sorry to say, but Kira doesn’t even consider the task force a threat. You’re not worth dealing with to him. He sees you as a bunch of flies buzzing around him.” Near took his Kira figurine and knocked down the task force’s lego models. “However, he’ll never be able to ignore me. That’s because, to Kira, I’m his current opponent in the battle for pride between him and L. The only way to stop Kira is for me to defeat him.

“Mr Aizawa, you and the task force are no longer a part of this battle. Please stay out of our way. This is the reality of things. However, if you still wish to capture Kira and continue to cooperate with me. Just keep an eye on him like you’ve been doing. That’s the best thing you can do for me and this investigation.”

“Just keep an eye on him…”

“That’s right. Anything more will just be a nuisance to me. The plan is almost set, and I do not want you to do anything that may disrupt it. Kira is also in the midst of coming up with a plan to defeat me. As such, any moves on your part will be a waste of time.”

“Are you saying that we’re of no significance now?”

“No. There is a significance in keeping an eye on L, and that is a part of my plan. And that is how I want you to cooperate with me in order to bring down Kira.” He lined up the figurines made of the task force. “Kira kills people without a second thought as if they were bugs, but it’s very likely that he will keep you all alive until time comes to fight face to face with me. I want you to see this through to the end, to Kira’s defeat.”

Silence.

“Mr Aizawa…?”

“Okay.”

She did feel for the guy. If someone said that she couldn't do anything of use, she'd be unhappy too.

December 31 Happy birthday, Raye, Naomi thought. Kira will go down and I’ll be thinking of you the whole time.

She held her phone away from her ear as Misa Amane screamed in the backseat of Lidner’s car. “She’s temperamental isn’t she?”

“Yup,” Rester said.

“I guess Kiyomi’s angry at me again, but this’ll teach her a lesson. She’s lost face now as the host of the show!” Amane said.

“Is the lesson going to be not letting her perform on NHN again?” Naomi asked, rolling her eyes.

“What is it, L?” Near asked.

“Mogi and Misa Amane have gone missing.”

“Yes. I’ve taken the liberty of bringing them into my custody.”

The task force began cussing Near out.

“What for?” L asked.

Near smirked. “Just to be on the safe side.”

Silence. Naomi was beginning to wish they’d put away their dicks and rulers.

“Near, kidnapping and confining people is criminal! Please stop, this instant!”

You sound like you’re chastising a child instead of trying to order Near to let your employee and one of your girlfriends go, Naomi thought.

“Well, Mr Mogi and Amane have agreed to cooperate with me. They won’t be staying with me, but you can talk to them if you want to. Should I connect you to them?”

“I must find out if they are safe, and if what you’re saying is true, then connect me to them.”

“Sure.” He patched L through to the mic in Mogi and Misa’s room.

“Mogi, Misa, it’s L. I heard you’ve been imprisoned by Near, but is it true that you agreed to it?”

“Yes,” Mogi said.

“Mochi said that it would be better for us to stay put until the whole Kira ordeal is over. If not, we might all be killed, so I’m fine with that. I just want to live happily with my boyfriend once Kira’s caught.”

Naomi’s chest panged. I wanted that too, she thought.

“Very well. If you two are fine with that. There are no problems, but please remember you can leave any time you want to. I’ll be switching back to speak with Near now. Near, I’ve talked with them, and I’m okay with everything.”

She ducked her head as she wiped her eyes. I don’t think Near’s too inclined to be asking for permission or your forgiveness.

“L, if I pose as you and announce to the world about the existence of the notebook and of my speculations on who Kira really is, a lot of people will probably believe me. If I do that, there are definitely going to be people who’ll try to kill Kira, but Kira isn’t going to just stand there and be killed. He’ll make use of his worshippers to try and stop that. I don’t want such meaningless bloodshed to occur. So I’ll bring this to an end by defeating Kira myself.”

L’s tone rankled. The condescension and babying she’d put up with for a long time, whether it was at a boss or coworker’s hands, and L was just another shitheel boss who thought he knew better than someone else of arguably more expertise.

“Near, your speculations are wrong. You mustn’t announce to the world what is a mere assumption on your part.”

“You’re right. I’m going to end this by pinning solid proof right in front of Kira’s face. But if my assumptions are wrong, then… Well, even if my assumptions are correct, but if I lose to Kira, then the world will no doubt be his. When that happens, Kira will kill me and all of those who are aware of the notebook’s existence. Only then is it a complete victory for Kira.”

“Near, the world is close to being Kira’s perfect world already, so we must capture him as soon as possible. That is the only point on which I agree with you today.”

“ … Anyway, it’s incredibly likely that Misa Amane was the second Kira who had the Shinigami eyes. Therefore, I’ve decided to keep her contact in case Kira wants to use her again. I intend to keep her here until the Kira incident comes to an end. Rather, until I give her permission to leave. L, I’m sure you’re well aware of the present situation even if I don’t say any more.”

The task force debated this current situation.

“Apart from the fact that he leaves his office at slightly different times depending on his workload, Mikami’s habits are completely fixed. He’s also a bit of a neat freak,” Gevanni relayed.

“And every Thursday and Sunday, he attends the gym from nine to 10:30 pm?” Near asked.

“Yes. I’ve become a member myself to do research on that. Ever since he joined four years ago, he’s been going to the gym on those days at that time. Near Year’s day 2006 was a Sunday, and he went to the gym on that day as well. The only reason I can think of for him to have picked a hotel gym that’s open all year is because he wants to go on those specific days at that time.”

“Then I suppose it’s safe to say that he’ll be going there on the 31st.”

Naomi clenched her teeth. She’d almost forgotten in the midst of all this.

“Well. Yes. I don’t see a reason why he wouldn’t. I don’t believe he’s devout Shinto or goes to the temples.”

Near paused. “Gevanni, is it possible for you to touch the notebook at the gym on the 31st?”

“I’ll probably be able to. The lock on his bag won’t be an issue, but the location may be… No matter, either way.”

“Have you checked on the security system at the hotel?”

“Yes. There’s surveillance cameras inside the hotel, but none in the locker room for obvious reasons.”

“Right. If Mikami is at the gym on New Year’s, touch the notebook. Takada will be hosting the show, but I’ll distract L just in case.”

“What are the chances that a Shinigami is possessing him?”

“I don’t believe there’s one near him, but I’m asking you to touch the notebook to check that. If there is one, then that’s that. I’m going to have to think of another plan. Even if you want to touch the notebook and don’t see the Shinigami, I want you to keep your eye on him for a while to be sure that there is no Shinigami possessing him.”

“But if there is, I’ll probably die, right?”

“Yes. If you’re scared, I can have Rester do it.”

“It’s all right. I’ll do it.”

“Please be extra careful not to be noticed by Mikami either.”

“Of course.”

“Mikami and Gevanni would have left the hotel around eleven, and then he tails Mikami back to his house. It should be about time for Gevanni to call us,” Rester said. He took off his suit jacket and placed it over the back of a chair.

“Ooh, I can’t do anything until they catch Kira… Why am I here anyway?” Misa Amane whined.

“I’m surprised you didn’t say 2300 hours. You’re supposed to be a commander,” Naomi said.

“Very funny, Maki.”

“I try.”

Near’s thoughts were somewhere else: “Misa Amane, the person suspected of being the second Kira by the first L…”

Rester said, “But she didn’t say anything even when she was confined for more than 50 days. I don’t think you can get any information from her. Anyway, we’re talking about a notebook that can kill people. It probably has powers beyond comprehension. Of course, trying to find that out is our job, but…”

“I know. I wasn’t expecting to get any new information from Amane. This is only so Gevanni will feel a little easier about touching the notebook and in case Kira needs her eyes.”

A notification went up that Gevanni was onscreen. “It’s Gevanni. How’d it go?”

“I’ve successfully touched the notebook. But I haven’t confirmed the presence of the Shinigami yet.” He checked his watch. “I touched the notebook at 9:09. Mikami returned home at 12:07 and I tailed him back to his house.”

“And during those three hours, you didn’t see the Shinigami, is that right?’

“Yes.”

“Please continue to keep an eye on him.”

“Okay.”

“Commander Rester, please connect me to Mr Mogi. Mr Mogi, do you remember the rules of death when Higuchi was doing those death meetings at Yotsuba?’

“The rules of death? That sounds scary…,” Misa Amane said. Naomi rolled her eyes. Of course, she’d been in the job for roughly a decade, she’s desensitized. Though if Misa Amane is the second Kira, she ought to be too.

“I disagree with you when it comes to your assessment of Kiyomi Takada’s assessment, but if you called Amane stupid, I wouldn’t disagree.”

“Mm.”

Mogi looked up. “I do. It’s been quite a while now, but…”

“In return for information on Mello, I was told by the new L about the rules written inside the notebook and about the rules of death. If a person is to die of an illness, unless it takes longer for that illness to progress, the notebook is able to control people for up to 23 days before their deaths. Is that right?” Near poked at his Mogi figurine.

“Yes. It’s not that we tested it out ourselves, but the killings at Yotsuba proved that.”

“Thank you very much.” Near shut off the PA and added, “Then let us consider the possibility that there is a Shinigami possessing Mikami’s notebook, and it has already told Mikami that Gevanni has touched the notebook. Hence, Gevanni is actually being controlled by the notebook to say that Mikami doesn’t have a Shinigami with him. So we’re going to face L if Gevanni is still alive 24 days from now.”

Naomi’s eyebrows shot up. That was a gamble that she considered the former and current L to make, not…

“However, Maki, I’m going to move the plan ahead under the assumption that he will still be alive.”

[luciferpens]

Birthday Sweetness || Wesley & Raye

What: Raye’s birthday surprises; Making things official and cute presents. Basically its just fluff.  Where: Wesley’s place When: July 16, 2020

@icarialex

Raye was turning thirty, and there was no way that Wesley was going to allow himself to miss it. If the two of them were going to move forward, then they had to just embrace their present instead of dwelling on the past. So, that was what had him text her asking if she had plans for her birthday around dinner. When she’d accepted spending it with him, Wesley had asked her to come over to his house at around seven. Typically he’d have picked her up, but it just so happened that day he had a job off the isle. If he was going to get everything else ready and pick up her gifts, then he’d never make it to picking the voice actress up. When he heard the knock on his door, Wesley was just pulling the dough he’d prepped earlier out and placing it on the island. “Coming,” he called out as he wiped his hands with a towel before heading towards the door. “Hey birthday girl,” he greeted. “Come on in and embrace the thirties.” After debating what he should do for maybe five seconds, Wesley leaned down and gave her a kiss. Pretending like they weren’t going to try and work towards fixing things would do neither of them any good. Plus, it was a celebration!

--

It had been a surprise to get a text from Wesley about her birthday; sure they had talked, they had kissed and were on speaking terms…. And sure she had fallen asleep on his chest that night and she didn’t know what that actually meant for them. Yet somehow the text still had caught her off guard and made her heart flutter. She quickly responded that no she didn’t have any plans, they had only plans during the day with her friends and sister, and that yes, she would love to spend dinner with him. When he told her to meet up at his house she just went along with it, not having any idea what he had planned. Dressed simply in some black jeans, a striped black and green shirt, hair up in a messy bun she stood outside his house and smiled and knocked on the door. Seeing Wesley instantly brought a bright smile to her face, and his sweet tone only made it better. “I don’t want to embrace my thirties, I liked my twenties.” she playfully whined only to stop when she felt his lips on hers. She let her eyes close and returned the kiss. "I could get used to that again,” she said as her eyes fluttered back open. “So -- what’s this big idea you had? You were vague over texts.”

--

“You’ll rock your thirties. I mean, I make it look awesome, don’t I,” he asked teasingly as he led her further into the home. “You know, we can make that a regular thing,” Wesley responded in regards to the kiss. While they could dance around things for awhile, that wasn’t how either of them operated. For first timers maybe, but both of them had loved each other for years. The night he hoped started them back on a path towards happiness. He wasn’t naive enough to think they could immediately pick up where they left off because life didn’t work that way, but Wesley was ready to put in the work. A smile formed on his lips when she asked what they were doing that evening. “It’s good that you wore comfortable clothes,” he teased first. Building suspense was always fun. “Still, I got a birthday girl apron for you because I don’t want you to stain anything.” As he spoke, he held up the apron that he’d brought her and shook it slightly. “Well, first we’re going to make pizzas for dinner, and then we move to opening presents.” Yeah, presents. The silly apron was only part one of three.

--

Raye rolled her eyes as she followed him deeper into the house, unconsciously following where he stepped, unsure of whatever traps Mira may have laid around the house. "I can't lie, you make your thirties look fantastic. I guess it wont be that bad if I can make it as good as you" she chuckled as her cheeks slowly warmed. "Oh? We can?" she asked eyebrows shooting upwards, "I wouldn't mind that one bit." She added a moment later. And really, she wouldn't. Being with Wesley, being around him and kissing him felt like home. It felt right and brought her a sense of peace she hadn't had since -- well since she had left him. She glanced down at her clothes then back up at him, brow furrowed and a slight frown on her lips, but when she heard apron her eyes shot towards the kitchen then back to him. "Apron?" she asked realizing that meant they were cooking something. But when she actually took in the apron she froze in place. There on the apron was the logo of a video game she had lent her voice too and was that the character she lent her voice to peeking out of the pocket? Yup. There was the talking -- creature she had spent six months voicing throughout the open world game. "You got me an apron with Morgana on it?" she laughed "That's the sweetest thing."  she took the apron from him and slid it over her head quickly tying it around her waist as he spoke. "We're making our own pizzas?!" She said clapping her hands together rather excited, "And you got me presents? Wes. You didn't need to do any of this you know... But thank you."

--

“You’re always beautiful, and I don’t see that changing. Plus, you really don’t look thirty. If someone looks at you and guesses you’re thirty, they’re lying out of their ass or cheated,” he said honestly. The woman looked like she’d barely aged a day since they had first started dating, so he doubted entering a new decade would be any different. “Um, yeah,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, I’ve been kissing you, holding you, and wanting to take care of you. That treatment is only for significant others. Should I have used my words to make that more clear?” In his mind, it had been obvious. The idea of asking her to be his girlfriend or fiancé again seemed silly. Like, which did he ask? She still had the ring after all. It was too complicated. Wesley was always proud of the work that Raye did. Even when they weren’t together anymore, he’d done his best to keep up with her career and support it. “I played the game and loved it,” he said honestly. “When I saw this,  I just had to get it for you. It helped that it went well with tonight too.” He couldn’t help but smile at Raye’s excitement as he pulled out the dough that had been proving. The flour was already on the island along with his surface tablet to show them the YouTube video on how to make the pies. “Its your birthday. Of course I did. So, I learned that using a rolling pin is a big foul, so we gotta stretch the dough into a circle with our hands.”

--

Her cheeks warmed at the compliment, Wesley always knew how to make a girl feel special and adored. She had missed that the past year away from him, had missed his silly jokes and sweet words, no one she had met in her life compared to his ridiculousness or his kindness. She scrunched her nose and smiled at him as she laughed, "Or they're psychic. Could be one of our demi-god friends who can read our minds or something." she chimed in. She paused in her movements when she heard his explanation. "Wesley!" she laughed shaking her head, "I never want to make assumptions, so yes, using your words to be clear about where we stand I dont want to say one thing and you mean something else and then get wires crossed when talking to mutual friends. I don't want to assume we're one thing then hear from your sister or someone else that thats not what you actually meant." she said with a roll of her eyes. "Really! I'm so proud of you!" she chuckled. "And i'm glad you liked it, they'll appreciate knowing they have more fans out there." she still kept up with most of her former bosses, partly to see if they had more work, but mostly because they were always doing interesting things. "Well, I appreciate it" she said pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Its a foul to use a pin for pizza.. good to know. I have a feeling I'm going to end up punching a hole in mine." she said as she poked the fluffy dough.

--

”Being around all these demigods can be a big intrusion of privacy sometimes,” he said with a shake of his head. A lot of them were jokers too, so using their powers to mess with on another was definitely something that could happen. Wesley had been guilty of adjusting someone’s strength so they couldn’t pick up simple things or pulled a door handle too hard. It was hilarious. “Oh, words, right,” he said with a smirk and a nod of his head. “Well, then I guess we need to have a discussion which should be easier because I want to be with you so no fear of rejection or anything.” Not having to worry about being hurt always made things much lighter. Plus, after handling a much harder conversation and coming out pretty unscathed, they should be able to tackle anything. “You were my fiancé. Where do you see us picking up? I mean, do you want to be my girlfriend and put the ring back on when you’re ready or be a fiancé?” So complicated. That was why he didn’t like words. 

Wesley bowed in thanks to her praise because being silly was always his default mode. “You know I follow anything you’re in, so anyone that hires you has me as a fan.” It wasn’t so much about the game or anything else as much as it was him loving seeing his girl’s work. “Probably, but we’ll both fumble through it. The mess ups are part of the fun,” he said as he poured some flour onto the island. “I have toppings too. Pepperoni, olives, basil, peppers, sausage, and stuff like that for us to mess with.”

--

A laugh escaped Raye as she nodded her head, "You're not wrong." she hugged, "Their powers mess with to many of us." she shook her head thinking on the fact that if she had just -- not listened to Ava she would have been fine and her life... her life would be totally different right now. She quickly pushed that thought far and deep deep down. Today was her birthday not a day to think about the sadness.  "Yes, words" she teased scrunching her nose and shaking her head at him, she instantly smiled though and listened to him as he talked. "A discussion..." she nodded as she moved to pick up her little pile of dough and started to play with it. "Obviously there's no risk of rejection here." she said as she rolled it into a ball. "I --- I mean, in a perfect simple world, where we left off, but " she looked down then back up to him, "Girlfriend is for sure a good place to start. I didn't want to assume you'd keep up with anything I did after how we left things." she said pursing her lips but smiling, "I honestly figured you hated me for the past year." she continued as she tried to stretch her dough out. "Play the video lets try getting these pies made before my stomach makes its own album" Raye said just as her stomach started to growl. "Ohh good toping choices. We can make some yummy pizza."

--

”I mean, I’ve definitely pulled a few pranks, but being on the receiving end of it is not fun,” he whined slightly. For some that would make them rethink committing the pranks in the first place, but not Wes. All that told him was that he had to be on even more high alert to not be caught off guard. Hitting play on the video, he listened to the instructions and tried to use his hands and gravity do the work of stretching the dough. The guy made it look easy, but it so wasn’t going to be. Wesley just knew it. “Girlfriend it is,” he said with a smile. ”As long as you’re my girl, then I’m happy.” That was really all he needed to know. Everything else would sort itself out. After about three tries with the dough, he finally made a sort of decent circle with no holes in his pie. That was the win he was going to go with. ”So, not wanting this to take like three hours, I made the sauce that we’ll be using earlier,” he told her as he gestured towards the pot on the stove. It had cooled down which was good since it was going to go into the oven. ”As for hating you, I could never. I was hurt and angry, but I didn’t have it in me to hate you. Plus, that wouldn’t have made things easier. It just would have replaced the sadness with another all encompassing emotion that would be just as heavy.” In all his years the only person he ever hated was his mother’s first husband. Wesley didn’t even give him the decency of calling him a dad.

--

"Oh, what pranks have you pulled prank master?" she asked in a teasing voice as she watched the man explain stretching the dough. “How does he make it look so simple...” she muttered already having broken a hole in hers. Which caused her to rereoll it into a ball and try again. As Wesley spoke her cheeks warmed up and she smiled. "Well then you'll be happy to know that I'm all yours for as long as you want me," she said leaning over and placing a kiss on his cheek. It was so easy to slip back into their old ways, to just be themselves without the worries and fears, and honestly, that by itself was the best birthday present she could ask for. Raye was on her fourth try and puffed out her cheeks before finally getting a circle. "Stupid dough" she grumbled. She watched as he moved towards the stove and pulled out the sauce, "Smells yummy." she said getting a good whiff of it as it was set down. She took the ladle and poured some of the sauce onto her pizza before scooping more and looking to him "How much?" she asked offering to ladle it out for him. "Then, I'm glad you never slipped into that side of a breakup. Made this much easier..." she said after pouring his sauce. "Otherwise I would have returned and tried to break down all your walls and that would have been a pain, but I would have done it." Raye gave him a tiny smirk knowing that she would have figure out how to get passed the walls even if he had hated her.

--

Wesley smirked as he thought about the pranks he pulled. ”Oh, you know. I just recently made some delivery boy’s strength evaporate so much for a second that he couldn’t pick up the tiny box he was going to deliver. It was pretty hilarious,” he said with a chuckle looking back at the memory. Wesley wanted to say, “then forever,” in return to her words, but they’d just decided to start as boyfriend and girlfriend. That was proposal talk, which was hard to bit down on because he’d already done it before. It was all so weird. Still, he could handle a little bit of weird. ”Good. Just make sure you talk to me even if things are scary, okay? Then we’ll be fine. This whole thing will be something we look back on as what made us stronger one day.” He paused, “Thanks, babe,” he said as he smiled proudly. He’d come a long way from only being able to make grilled cheese dinners when he was eighteen. Thankfully, the community cooking classes offered at the university were a huge help. ”Um, the in between of extra sauce, and a little sauce. So, like Goldilocks portion.” There really was no better way to explain it. Fortunately their pies didn’t look like they’d be too thick which was good. He wasn’t a deep dish pizza guy. ”The idea of hating you is weird. I mean, I was really pissed at you and hurt for awhile when I was stuck in the hospital, but I can’t hold on to all of that for long. I’m just glad you came back,” he said honestly as he moved back to the island and pulled out all the different toppings they could choose from. He’d put them each in bowls, so it was easy for them to have access to all of the options. ”I didn’t ask, but where are you staying since coming back?” If she was staying in the same rundown kind of apartment as Gianna, he was seriously going to riot and complain to whatever board he needed to. Gianna had kept him at bay for a long time, but having two people he cared about there would drive him nuts.

--

Her mouth fell open as her eyebrows shot upwards. She let out a surprised little gasp and then shook her head as she punched his side. “Wesley! That’s so rude that poor boy” she said almost sounding truly offended, but the smile on her lips was a dead give away to the fact she was joking. “I will for sure talk to you about anything that freaks me out — or in any way involves you.” she said with a little nod. She works never make that mistake again. Besides, she wanted his opinion on everything anyways. It just made their lives so much better if they were just on the same page. “I like to think it’s already making us a stronger couple” She gave him a playful look “ Did you practice a lot while I was gone?” she asked as she tasted the sauce. “It tastes a bit — sweeter” she paused, licked a bit more off the tip of her finger, frowned, and looked at him. “missing something.” she said before leaning in on him and placing a small kiss to his cheek, then taking another taste test of the sauce. “Ah much better, you’re the sweetness,” she said tossing him a wink before she went back to smoothing out her sauce on the dough. “What’s that old saying, if you love something -- set it free?” she glanced to him “Well I set you free and you set me free and yet, we ended up back together. I guess that just means I’m yours” she winked and pulled out some cheese laying it ontop. “Oh, I rented a little apartment near the center of town, three-bedroom place, Delilah lives there with me, the third room is a makeshift studio.” she explained, she didn’t hate the place, but it wasn’t as nice as where they lived before everything happened. And it was nowhere near as nice as this.  "You'll have to come over and see it"

--

Wesley waved off the concern and laughed. ”He’s fine! Builds character,” he joked back. ”Everyone needs to learn to laugh at themselves anyway.” People were often way too serious about themselves and life in general. There was a balance in being a prankster, a fine line between being a a jackass and a break from the seriousness of life. ”Then, you’re right. With that alone, we’re already much stronger,” he replied with a wink as she worked beside Raye to get their dinner in the oven. One of the things he’d missed so much from his girlfriend was how affectionate and sappy she could be. It wasn’t something everyone knew, but man, she had the ability to be incredibly corny when she wanted to be. ”I’ve missed how sappy you can be,” he teased lightly as he put cheese and pepperoni on his pizza. Wesley waited for Raye to be done decorating her pie before carefully maneuvering both of them into the oven. After quickly setting a timer, he leaned against the counter and chuckled lightly. ”Good because I didn’t like the whole being without you experience. Tried it and can comfortably say no thanks.” They had about twelve minutes until the pies were ready, so Wesley moved towards the bar to start making them something to drink. ”I’ll go over whenever you want me. What are you feeling to drink tonight?”

--

Raye just shook her head once more rolling her eyes at her boyfriend -- boyfriend. The idea of even thinking of Wesley her boyfriend and not fiance was odd. But she brushed the idea further back into her mind and smiled at him. His wink though made her blush and she slapped at his arm a smile still on her face. “Oh you haven’t seen half of it. It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to be sappy, you’re about to get months worth of sap” she said, placing some toppings, mostly pepperoni and jalapenos on her pizza before happily stepping back and admiring how nice her pizza looked. “I haven’t ever actually made my own pizza before.” she chuckled. . She watched as he moved their pizza into the oven and smiled brightly at him. His little smile and laugh had her stomach flipping as he looked at her but as he spoke her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies. A feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time as well. “I can safely say it sucked too. So yeah, no thanks to that ever again.” she smiled moving to kiss his cheek. She watched as he moved to the bar and smiled. “Feel free to swing by whenever you’re near by the police department.” she then quickly explained the building and street name before smiling. “Surprise me -- but preferably something with rum in it.” she said. “So, pizza, jokes, some flirting and spending time with you, gotta say this is shaping up to be the best birthday ever.”

--

Wesley chuckled again at the woman and shook his head slightly at her antics. One of his favorite things about the two of them was that whenever they were around one another they were always laughing and having a good time. They could be doing something extravagant or something simple like making dinner, but they would make sure it was a great time either way. ”Should I start calling you maple or pine,” he joked lamely as he worked on making her a rum punch drink. He happened to have a lot of tropical juices in the house, so it worked out nicely. If only he was super fancy and had pineapple glasses. ”Me either, but we both like pizza enough to have it every once in awhile, so I figured it would be like most things and taste better from scratch.” There was very little foods that didn’t taste better when they were home cooked rather than ordered from a restaurant. ”Excuse ma’am, I’m a good boy and am never near the police department,” he teased. ”I can go out of my way though to visit a pretty lady. Plus, I haven’t seen Delilah in forever.” With both drinks done, he moved back towards the island and placed on in front of Raye before taking a sip of his own. It was more fruity than his usual taste, but he could work with it. ”You haven’t even gotten all of your presents yet. There are two left.” Wesley then placed his drink down and moved to stand behind Raye and wrap his arms around her. ”Have you gotten smaller,” he asked with a smile as he rested his chin on her head.

--

Raye gasped in the most dramatic fashion she could, a hand to her chest, ever so slightly curled in on her self and mouth agape. “How could you call me anything other than Maple!” She laughed now, “I’m as delicious as Maple syrup. Pines smell good but meh -- their sap isn’t yummy.” she said as a smile slid back over her red lips. “We should make it more often in the future. It’s been fun -- but you have to teach me how you made the dough and the sauce. I want to help make it totally from scratch next time.” she said as she watched him make the drinks. . She gave him a look that said she didn’t believe him at all but smiled anyways. “You could still be over that way to go to King and Daisy’s or the museum!” she said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s not like this island is big.” she added a moment later. “Good, I’m sure Delilah will be thrilled to see you and to find out were back together.” she said knowing that when she went home to see her sister they would end up having a long talk about all this. She picked up her drink and took a small sip before letting out a happy moan. “Yum” she said, “Oh -- wait three?” she asked her eyes growing wide. “You didn’t tell me that!” She squeaked, “I mean I guess I should have assumed there was more you did say presents plural. But... What are they! I'm so curious now” she trailed off and shook her head, She glanced up at him and glared. “No you’re just a giant! You must have grown.”

--

”I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Maple is all that you shall be called,” he said with a slight bow. If there was one thing they did, it was highlight how ridiculous they could be. Although, she also took it a step further into sexual mode with her next words, and Wesley genuinely had to close his eyes and count to ten to not go there too much. If he did, he’d say screw dinner really quickly. ”We’re going to touch back on you tasting like maple syrup later after dinner and gift giving,” he said with all the implications of a promise. If she’d let him, Wesley would not at all object to going there. They’d spend so long without one another that he’d be lying if he hadn’t thought about it. ”That will mean us spending more time together, and I’m always happy with that, so yes. Whenever you want, babe. Just let me know.” Wesley nodded his head in agreement. ”I’ll probably be by the furniture spot because that’s Gianna’s ex/current guy’s business. It’s a complicated story,” he said with a shake of his head. ”I’m happy your sister is a fan of me. Now we just got to work on your dad, and we’ll be in business. Lucky for you, I’m pretty sure Ares couldn’t care less who I end up with.” His dad had been much more involved in his life than many other demigods’ parents, but caring about his love life was not a topic they talked about. As long as Wesley was happy, then his dad was cool. As she realized just how many presents there were, the timer went off, and he moved to take the pizzas out of the oven. While they weren’t perfect circles by any means, they definitely looked delicious. ”You’ll see them after dinner, or we can do them before if you want,” he said with a shrug. He was focused on moving the pies from the pans onto plates and getting them cut into eight slices. When done, he moved them towards the small dining table and smiled as Raye brought over their drinks. ”What do you think” Wesley asked as he held Raye’s seat out for her.

--

Raye wiggled happily and smiled at Wesley, “Good.” she chuckled. It was so refreshing to be back to ridiculousness and playful things like they used to do. Seeing him close his eyes and a couple of moments of silence passed between them, Raye raised a single eyebrow and smirked. “You okay there hot stuffs?” She asked. “Oh oh really? After dinner?” She said, looking him up and down a smirk still lingering. “So far away but fine.” Raye said dramatically, letting her body slack a bit as she talked. She had thought about him a lot and being bcak with him in that way -- but she would never push that, not after being the one to leave in the first place. “Maybe I can make us some pie, you know, actual pie, one day too. Show you how to make a crust, how to make all the filling…” was she willingly making small sexual references? Yes. It was to much fun. 

“Sounds…. Complicated… You’ll have to tell me the story sometime.” she said with a little nod, “She is, but your sister … I doubt is a big fan of me. I need to try and fix that.” she sighed shaking her head. Raye knew that Gianna was bound to hate her for a while, but she just hoped that one of these days Gianna would become more chill with her. “My dad will come around though, when he realizes you make me happy.” she smiled, “Especially once I smack him with a newspaper for being a jerk.” Raye huffed and watched as he pulled the pizza out of the oven. The smell instantly filling the house and she licked her lips. “I can do whatever you were planning hun.” she shrugged right back as he cut the pizza. She set the drinks down on the table and grinned at him as her seat was pulled out. “Thank you” she said taking a seat, “I think we did a pretty good job for our first time!” she clapped. “I just wish they were cool enough we could eat without burning ourselves.” she laughed but picked up her wine glass and looked to him, “To us figuring shit out and becoming a couple again.” she smiled.

--

The look on Raye’s face told him that she knew exactly where his mind went  which made him roll his eyes lightly at the woman. ”Totally cool. Just having a highlight reel go off in my head, but you know, that’s nothing to complain about,” he answered back easily. Both of them were very open people, and when it came to their attraction to one another that was only exasperated ten fold. ”After dinner and your gifts because I know you’ll love what I got you.” Since they’d ironed out what they were together, Wesley really didn’t see the point in taking too many steps backwards. They weren’t picking up where they left off, but there was no way anything would be able to cool them both down completely. However, it seemed his girlfriend was determined to make it nearly impossible for them to make it through dinner. ”You’re a giant tease, you know that? Wait til I get you back.” Wesley was more of a tease during the act than anything else. He’d delay things as much as possible until his girlfriend was almost begging which Raye knew all too well.

Wesley knew things were awkward between the two women, but he believed that it would sort itself out. ”I told her what happened because she was here to help me wrap my mind around everything. She understands more now, and I’m sure things will be easier to move forward. I know my sister, and she just wants me happy and safe.” That was all they both wanted for one another. As long as the other was taken care of then they trusted their judgement with partners. It was a relief really that neither one had to worry about ridiculous significant other expectations. Parents could be nuts about that. Wesley laughed in his seat across from her at the small table. ”Only you would get away with hitting the God of the underworld with a newspaper so go for it.” Wesley and Ares had never really fought. The God didn’t act like a traditional father figure and trusted his son to figure most things out on his own. When Raye lifted the glass to toast, Wesley smiled and lightly clinked his against hers. ”And to a much brighter future.”

--

Raye chuckled and picked up a slice of her pizza as they talked, her eyes lingering on Wesley for just a moment as he rolled his eyes.  “Enjoy that highlight reel -- and keep in mind I started working out more in the past year since I knew I was going to physically be on screen,” she said with a little smirk and a wiggle of her eyebrows. “Oh you think your presents are so good I’m gonna wanna jump your bones?” she asked but kept a smirk on her lips. “I mean, the presents are gonna have to be really, really good to get me to jump you.” she said in her most serious tone, though it was a total lie. She’d jump his bones now if she could. “Try and get me back then” she winked ready to play the game of who could tease the other the most. . But she nodded her head at the conversation of Gianna. “I’m glad to hear that. But I know you,” she paused looking at him. “Don’t feel bad for telling anyone what happened to me.” she continued, “Especially your sister or your best friends.” she said reaching out and rubbing his arm but flashed him a smile. “The god of the underworld is a fucking nerd who needs to be smacked in the head with a newspaper.” she said and then took a sip of her drink “Much much brighter and I’m sure with bells in our future sooner than later.” She said with a little wink and a smile before picking up another slice of pizza and groaned “The dough and the sauce is so good.”

--

At Raye’s words, Wesley let his head fall back against the back of the dining room chair and groaned. That was not what he needed to hear in order to keep himself cool throughout dinner. His girlfriend was always hot. Literally, the computer engineer rarely bragged about anyone more than the voice actress for both her physical appearance and brains. So, the idea that she thinks her body could look even better was tempting to say the least, but there was one gift in particular he wanted to get to before he scratched the rest of the night and carried her to the bedroom. ”You know damn well I can’t hold out on you at all, so stop being mean. I already think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, so you implying that you think your body looks better is cruel. New rule, no giving me a hard on before gifts.” He stayed quiet on the gift though and just smiled. There was no way he was giving anything away about either present. ”You’ll have to wait and see.” 

Wesley finished his second slice of his pizza as he listened to Ray talk. While he didn’t like disclosing too much of their personal life, he knew that both of them had the same belief system with family. Fortunately, they liked one another’s family and friends, so there wasn’t any awkwardness or problems. ”You know I’m not a guy to disclose a lot of serious talk, but to those that need to know, I talked about it. Really only Gianna and Mira.” The latter lived with him and had very much noticed how off he’d been once he heard everything. Now, he was still sad about it, he figured a part of him always would be, but his focus was also divided with wanting to see what he could find out about the disappearances. The moment his little sister got upset, it was game on to him. ”I’m glad you like it,” he replied genuinely happy that the plan had gone well. While he wasn’t too worried because he had years of knowledge and experience with Raye to go off of, there were some jitters. The rest of dinner was filled with small talk, teasing, and playful banter as they finished their pizzas and drinks. Wesley was relieved with how simple it was for them to get back into a small rhythm as he moved dishes back into the kitchen. As Raye insisted on rinsing them, he placed them in the dishwasher. Within five minutes the kitchen was clean again which led to him taking Raye’s hand and leading her to the living room. On the coffee table were two small boxes, and he handed one over once his girlfriend was situated. ”Go on. This one first.”

--

She couldn’t help but smirk at his reaction to her comment on working out. After the attack, the loss, Raye had been working on making herself better either emotionally, physically or mentally a little bit every day. She vowed that since her little one never had the chance to better the world that she would make sure she at least, bettered herself in hopes that she could better the world. But she smiled at Wesley, gave him a wink as she wrinkled her nose. “oh trust me, I know you can’t hold out. It’s what makes it so fun. Your inability to keep it in your pants when I’ve been teasing you just makes it all the more fun. Delayed gratification and all” she mused “But fine! No more teasing.” she huffed crossing her arms. Though it only stayed that way for a moment before she uncrossed and started to eat. She nodded her head as he spoke about Gianna and Mira. 

As their night and dinner continued on it was so easy to fall back to old habits, old comforts and ways. She leaned on him as they talked, playfully shoved food in his face when they joked and happily helped clean up. She placed her hands on her hips and grinned as she looked over the clean kitchen. “Done and done.” she said b hut followed him into the living room and slid onto the sofa with a tilt of her head. Her eyes danced over the small boxes and she raised an eyebrow. “Okay...” she said playfully suspicious of what he had gotten her. Her fingers wrapped around the little box and she shook it. “Heavyish .. and noisy.” she mused and lifted the cover off the box. There inside was a beautiful silver charm bracelet. A small gasp fell from her lips and she scooped it up slowly looking over each charm. A small skull for hades, a microphone for her acting , a Greek helmet for Ares, each of their birthstones,  a heart, a couple monuments that brought back fond memories of their travels, some surprising ones of simple logos or characters from shows she had been in and hilariously a slice of pizza. She shook her head and quickly slipped it on. After it was fastened she leaned over and placed a kiss on Wesley’s cheek “That was adorable.” she said smiling.

After a moment she returned her attention to the second box and repeated the process of shaking it. This one she wasn’t even remotely sure of. It didn’t weigh much and it was relatively quiet in its packaging. “You really didn’t need to get me anything else Wes. Just spending time with you is enough.” she continued as she opened up the box and — froze. A second later she chuckled and picked up the key. “You know, I already know I have the key to your heart. You didn’t have to get a physical one” she joked but looked over at him, she knew what it was, she would be an idiot not to. “A key… to the… house?” she asked and bit her lip looking at him.

--

It was always astonishing to him how no matter how old Raye became, she still acted like a kid with presents. She loved trying to solve the puzzle of what they were before opening them. When she finally saw the first gift, Wesley smiled as he leaned back against the couch. The kiss on the cheek was one he happily received, but he was more anxious for the second box. While he knew in his heart that it was the right idea, he couldn’t help but be a little scared. Not of Raye’s reaction, but of opening their future again. His heart was still a little battered and bruised from before, but he knew that he’d feel hesitant until he just jumped in. “I know, but I think you’ll really like this one,” he said as he nodded his head towards the package to hurry up the process. He rolled his eyes at the corny joke, but was grateful for it. Raye definitely knew how to release tension when necessary. “Yeah,” he said before biting the inside of his cheek for a second. “I bought this place for us, and well, it doesn’t feel right having you knock or needing to ask when to come over. So, you have a key. This is as much your home as it is mine.”

--

Raye felt her heart swelling, her stomach flipping and a huge smile stretching up over her lips as he explained. She glanced around the house; she knew it had been bought for them but to know that she had a key, that this was her place now too. Butterflies. Butterflies were the only real explanation she had for how she felt. "I mean --" she swallowed and looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Are you sure?" She knew this was a big step to take, a big part of his soul to reopen to her and she didn't want him rushing it for any reason. "I totally love it, don't get me wrong, I just .... don't want you to feel like you have to do something like this... " She clutched the key in her hand for a moment; she knew deep down that if he had spent the time to wrap it and do this then he was serious but... she couldn't help but make sure. To make sure he knew that she didn't expect anything. "I love this house." she said softly. "And I love you Wesley" she continued "You're too good for me." Raye said "What did I do to deserve such a wonderful boyfriend?"

-- lets just say there was a fade to black this night --

[angel-with-a-pipette]

Be mine

Chatpter two: I want you for a life time

Summary: 

“I can’t do this, Riku.” “Yes, you can. All you need to do is walk over to her, offer her a fruit and bite into it.”

Sora finally wants to share a paopu with Kairi, but things go differently than he planned.

Rating: G

Genre: Romance

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney/Square Enix.

10 months ago, I submitted a first draft of this story to the mods of the twosides fanzine, a charity fanzine focusing on Sokai and Rokunami. I can proudly say that I wrote this before KH3 was released (but after the TGS trailer dropped, so I was HEAVILY inspired by it and the lyrics of "Don't think twice") - so I've been giddily sitting on this for quite a while!

I’ve posted the first ‘chapter’ quite a while ago which actually contains cut content that didn't make it into the zine because the story became too long. Today, I can finally share the piece that has been printed in the zine :3

A huge thank you to Liv and Raye for making the twosides fanzine and for making this fic possible ♥

Also available on: ao3

Please enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as he heard sand crunching beneath his feet, Sora slowed down. Staying at the edge of the wooden bridge, he pressed one of his hands against his chest, willing his breath to calm down again, only to realize how quickly his heart was beating.

How could planning to commit to the girl he loved be so much more nerve wracking than trying to save the entire universe?!

Sora started to move again, towards the crooked paopu tree on top of which Kairi sat. She stared ahead, into the slowly setting sun, a soft breeze playing with her hair which only lead to Sora's heart pounding even harder in his chest.

He couldn't do this.

He took a step back and caught his foot on that one wayward root of the tree that was strangely shaped like the head of a mouse. He yelped lightly before catching his balance again and started to chuckle lightly, throwing a sheepish smile in Kairi's direction, sure that she had caught every second of it, ready to tease him.

But she didn't. She continued staring out to the ocean, her lightly upwards curled lip the only indication that she had witnessed his moment of embarrassment. And suddenly, Sora understood.

She was giving him a way out.

He had asked her to meet him today on the paopu tree. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Sora wanted to talk about, especially since the both of them could have talked any time while staying in Radiant Garden. Yet, she patiently sat atop of the tree, ankles gracefully crossed as her hands rested on her lap. She waited for him to make the first move – as she always did.

No more. He wouldn't make her wait one more second.

Swallowing his nerves once and for all, Sora hauled himself up onto the tree. Before he could scoot closer however, she turned towards him, a dazzling smile spreading over her lips and Sora prayed to Zeus, Poseidon, even Hades that the evening sun would hide the blush creeping up his cheeks.

“Hey Sora!”

“Kairi,” he replied breathlessly and patted down his left trouser pocket as inconspicuously as possible.

Still there.

“I know you wanted to tell me something, but please, can I go first? It's urgent.”

Upon her words, Sora let go of the flap of his pocket and his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Sure. What's the matter?”

“My lucky charm worked decently up until now, but I feel like we need something stronger, something more reliable. Your last fight with Xehanort,” she faltered and her eyes flashed to the spot on his abdomen where she knew he had been injured, “it was too close of a call. And I wasn't even there to protect you.”

“It's not your job to protect me, Kairi-”

“I could have lost you.”

Sora knew that it was true. He had been in and out of consciousness for a day and bound to his bed for another two, despite countless Curagas being cast on him and gallons of potions being rubbed into his skin and poured into his throat to help him heal.

He would do it all again if it meant that his friends stayed safe.

“The coming battle is unlike anything we have faced so far… this charm will make sure we won’t be separated again.”

She let a small, red pouch slide into his outstretched hand and he looked at it curiously. It was lighter than he anticipated from its looks, tied up with a golden cord that he cautiously pulled at while Kairi began to explain.

“I commissioned this from the Moogles in Radiant Garden. To make sure we won't be separated, they worked a Thalassa shell into it. And to make sure you never get hurt as badly again, I asked them to put as many protective spells onto the charm as possible.”

Sora's eyes widened as he stared into the pouch.

“I know,” Kairi continued, suddenly shy, “it's probably weird that I asked for a ring to be made. I know you don't wear jewelry apart from your necklace, but I wanted the charm to be small and practical, so I figured a ring would be the best choice.”

“Rings.”

“Excuse me?”

“Rings,” Sora repeated and looked up to meet Kairi's eyes again who stared at him in confusion. Wordlessly, he turned the pouch upside down, emptying its contents into his open palm: two slender silver rings, a big one and one slightly smaller, with an orange-red inlay of a Thalassa shell.

Kairi stared at his hand, back at his face and again at his hand.

“Oh,” she finally uttered and even the sunset wasn't able to hide the blush that was spreading over her cheeks as she got a faraway look... before her eyes suddenly hardened. “That explains why they overcharged me! Those little..!” She shook her head. “Anyway. Maybe you can just wear both of them on a necklace? But then again, you already wear your crown necklace. Maybe you can just slip them into your pocket? Or – oh!” Kairi started to gesture frantically and Sora couldn't help but follow the movement of her right hand as an idea formed in his head. “You wore a key chain in the past, didn't you? You could put both rings on it. Or-”

“You could wear the small one.”

Kairi fell silent mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open as the familiar nervousness spread through Sora once again.

“I want you to wear the second ring,” he clarified. “You said this charm will make sure we won't be separated, right? It can't work if I hold onto both rings. And if I get lost, my ring will lead me back to yours.”

All of a sudden, something soft pressed against Sora's lips, but before his brain caught up with what was happening, the sensation stopped and Kairi threw her hands over her mouth, eyes wide in horror.

She had kissed him. Kairi had kissed him!

A dopey grin started to spread over Sora's face and he carefully tugged on Kairi's right hand and held the ring up.

“That's a 'yes', right?”

After she nodded a little dazedly, Sora slipped the ring onto her ring finger. It fit her perfectly.

Kairi took a deep breath as she regarded her new ring. She giggled lightly and reached for the other ring, but she hesitated when she looked at the hand Sora offered her.

“Your left hand?”

“Yeah,” Sora nodded in agreement, “just to make sure that my Keyblade doesn't wear the ring down. Also,” Sora lowered his gaze and stared at Kairi's hand picking up his ring while wearing her own. He couldn't help the smile that tugged on the corners of his lips upon seeing how well her ring suited her. “If I wear it on my left hand and you wear yours on your right hand, they'll touch whenever we hold hands. So they won't be separated.”

“O-Oh,” Kairi nodded, but despite the sudden tremor in her hand, she managed to slide the other ring over Sora's finger. It, too, fit perfectly.

They had just exchanged matching rings. Wow.

“Sora, I-”

“Kairi,” Sora interrupted her as he reached for his pocket. He absolutely couldn't wait any longer.

“I don't want there to be any doubts about my feelings for you.” He pulled the paopu out of his pocket, drawing another gasp out of Kairi.

“Please. Be mine.”

This time she dove forward, cradling Sora's face in her hands, the metal of her new ring cooling his skin as her lips found his again, a little longer this time before pulling away.

“I thought you'd never ask.”

Together, they held the paopu in their hands, smiling at each other. They leaned in, each biting off a piece of the fruit. Sora swallowed greedily and looked at Kairi in wonder.

She was his. He was hers. They had finally shared a paopu.

He reached out for her face, gently cupping her cheek and stroking it with his thumb as she leaned in. He couldn't hold back the “I love you” that tumbled from his lips, but there was no need to anymore. Instead, he was rewarded with the same words and the sweetest smile. A grin spread over Sora's face and he pressed his forehead against Kairi's.

“So? No impulsive kiss?”

He could barely suppress his laughter when he felt Kairi pull back from him, cheeks blown up in mock-annoyance. Cocking his eyebrow, Sora continued.

“I thought third time's the charm? I'm a little disappointed.”

“Well, I wanted to give you the opportunity to surprise me for once, you lazy bum!” She retorted as she stuck out her tongue at Sora. “But I guess if you really don't want to-”

“Who said I don't?”

Sora quickly pulled Kairi close, relishing in the feel of her body against his and smothered her short squeak of surprise when he finally caught her lips with his own.

[mikami]

Death Note Audio Drama 02

Disk 2: Collateral Damage - a summary / partial translation

Disk 1 and an attempted explanation of What This Is are here.

This episode also isn’t particularly wild as far as plot diversion goes, but it changes a key element of how Death Note manipulation works and.... introduces a whole lot of Matsuda trivia, somehow. We also say hi and bye to Naomi.

___________________

We begin with Naomi tracking down the bus driver of the busjacking. The driver is really annoyed that people keep tracking him down to ask him about it. Naomi asks about Raye. (Her vacation pic is from Honolulu in this version). Naomi presses the driver to tell her as much as he remembers about the other passengers.

_____

TITLE MUSIC PLAYS

_____

We’re back in time. Light is trying to think about how to get Raye Penber’s name. His dad’s computer has no notes about it. Light deduces that his dad doesn’t even know about the tailing. Ryuk brings up the eye deal.

RYUK: I can offer you the eyes of a shinigami.

LIGHT: U-uh, you mean a real pair of eyes? That’s disgusting!!

RYUK (amused): No, I just mean the power of those eyes.

The lifespan halving gets brought up and Light just goes “uhm... no thanks”, literally. 

LIGHT: Are there any more surprises? Some kind of bonus point system? Fine print? 

RYUK: Uuuuuhm, can’t think of anything much right now.

LIGHT: You could have written it into the Death Note, alongside the other rules. I don’t like to be led by the nose, I’m not your goddamn----

RYUK: ... what?

LIGHT: I am not your puppet.... But I can get one for myself.

RYUK: I don’t get it.

LIGHT: I know now, how to get my pursuer’s name. And that’s without making any kind of contract with you.

_______

A TV transmission. An attorney has issued a lawsuit against prisons for the way prisoners die. His client died of heart attack after writing a pentagram in his own blood. He was close to being pardoned. The lawyer says that the government has a duty to ensure safety of the prisoners, no matter what they are in for. 

_______

L and Soichiro discuss the murder and other abnormal murders like it. They have Soichiro be the one to discover the “L did you know” message, oddly. But they don’t really detail how it is coded, so it might have just literally been written down word by word in this version. L tells Soichiro to not tell anyone about this, not even his team. Soichiro immediately says he’ll only keep it in her personal data files.......

_______

RYUK: Are you really sure you should snoop around your dad’s office like this?

LIGHT: If you want a useful way to keep your eyes busy, why don’t you keep watch?

RYUK: I am not your partner. Oh, an apple. [eats]

LIGHT: Luckily, I can do just fine without your help. A-ha! Interpol listed them all!

RYUK: All your extremely dramatic deaths?

LIGHT: More or less. Seems like not all I wrote into the notebook actually happened.

They go over the stipulations of manipulation needing to be physically doable for the victim. 

LIGHT: And now I just need... a catalyst.

_______

News transmission. A news entry about the killer of the Amane parents having died. Channel switch. A Christmas-themed advertisement for Space Land. Channel Switch. A news feature about Kiichiro Osoreda and his failed bank robbing.

______

Light meets Yuri and Yuri’s dialogue is kept pretty accurate to the manga, which is something that I found really disappointing actually. Light’s and Ryuk’s dialogue here is also very close to the original. 

Raye Penber complains that he’d like to do real policework at some point again, otherwise he acts the same as in the manga here.

The whole busjacking is just really manga-close. But when Raye says he’s police undercover...

LIGHT: Oh, really? And how do I know you’re not in cahoots with this madman?

PENBER: And who are you? A detective?

YURI: His dad is a detective, that’s why he’s so smart.

LIGHT: Do you have ID? Otherwise I’ll have to deal with you first. 

PENBER: Of course! Here.

LIGHT: Raye Penber... FBI? What is the FBI doing on a bus to Space Land?

PENBER: This isn’t really the time for that, boy.

LIGHT: Alright, cowboy, then toss your lasso already. 

I cannot overstate that he literally says this. Word by word. After that, the scene returns to its canon version. The bizarre thing is that Ryuk explains the plan out loud, including telling Light’s name to Otoharada. Of course, Otoharada is brainwashed and acting according to script, but still weird.

_______

News transmission. The busjacking gets described. Light turns the news off and shows the Death Note entry to Ryuk, who reads it out loud. 

______

We hear a New Year’s countdown. 

WATARI: What in Hercules’ name was that?

INTERPOL REP (still clinking champagne glasses): It’s the time difference, Mr. Watari! It’s midnight, here in the USA. 

WATARI: Oh... I am so very sorry. I must have lost my overview. 

INTERPOL REP: Forget about it. Just a moment.

She leaves the party room. She informs Watari of the deceased FBI agents. It happened three days ago, but she only got the report now, thanks to the holiday crunch. She now refuses to involve the FBI further. 

______

Soichiro calls L. He’s pissed about L involving the FBI, now that he’s heard. 

______

Back with Watari and the Interpol Rep (her name is Paula Virilio and she’ll be referred to as Virilio in the future) are still talking about the matter. She tells Watari that on Dec 28th all the agents asked about names and photos of their coworkers, so she gave the first four the file and asked them to pass it further.

______

Soichiro is really mad about Virilio’s miss-step too. L and Soichiro work out that they need to know who sent the first email about the files. The phone call ends.

The Task Force is really mad about L still not taking the same risks as them. They actually seriously consider L being Kira for a moment. 

______

The Task Force enter the hotel L is staying in. Pardon me for sometimes just saying ‘someone’ as the speaker, I find the Task Force really hard to tell about and without context cues I am often lost.

MATSUDA: A whole hotel suite? How do you earn the money for this stuff?

L: By being smarter than everyone else, Detective Matsuda.

MATSUDA: You are... [He corrects himself from the formal ‘you’ used to address adults to informal ‘you’ here] You are L....?

L: The one. Please sit down, gentlemen.

MATSUDA: He’s still a child...

L (laughs): I am old enough to vote, Mr. Matsuda. Old enough to carry a weapon, to marry, to fall in love... and to catch a murderer.  And you are Chief Inspector Yagami. I also know you from TV.

SOICHIRO: Yes, here’s my ID, for protocol. This is Matsuda, as you know. Detectives Aizawa, Ukita, Mogi...

L: A group of dead men. 

SOICHIRO: Excuse me, what?

L: If I really was Kira, you’d all be dead now. 

MATSUDA: How can we know that, boy?

L: Because you are not dead, detective. 

MATSUDA: We call that kind of thing circular logic.

L: I call someone like you an idiot. 

MATSUDA: I don’t need to listen to this from a civilian, you little shitty---

SOICHIRO (softly): Matsuda. 

L: You name is Touta Matsuda. Graduated from Kumamoto University. Passion for sports cars and every Thursday, you go to the cinema. Big drama. Not in a relationship right now, but in pining hope for something complicated with Noriko Takai. Hm. A very concerning sympathy for both [???? I DONT KNOW THE WORD] as well as country music. Loves Korean cuisine, but....

SOMEONE: He’s got your number, Matsuda.  

MATSUDA: So what? You all can easily figure out the same from social media.

L: Yeah, that’s what I can do. Everything. About you, and your sister, and your stupid aunt who doesn’t know how to properly set the privacy settings of her account. I know where you live, you tool--

SOICHIRO: I think we got it, L. 

L: Really? Kira plays this game to win. I agreed to meet you, because you were all getting nervous about working with an anonymous specialist, so I am here. To get my hands as dirty as yours. But really, is this necessary...?

SOICHIRO: What do you want, L?

L: I want you to take this seriously.

SOMEONE: In the face of 12 dead agents, matters are serious enough, I think.

L: Correct, so you take care to not become number 13. All of you have to disappear. Get off social media, get new email accounts. If you address the public or the press, you will introduce yourself with these names. You are not going to tell anyone your real names. That’s exactly why I am still alive.

And this is how we get the fake IDs.

_____

Naomi at the NPA. The receptionist refuses to let her speak to anybody from the Task Force. Light steps in, to hand in the spare clothes for his dad. His dialogue with Naomi is similar to the manga, but audio drama Light’s insistence and volunteering of excessively much info he shouldn’t have.... it makes me laugh.

LIGHT: And you are looking for my father?

NAOMI: Uh, yeah, I--

LIGHT: I can tell you’re up to speed, miss. You’re definitely correct to not just tell your matter to the next best person. Especially after those FBI murders. We’re all suspects, am I right?

NAOMI: U-uh, I didn’t say that---

LIGHT: If you’d like, I’d gladly get you in contact with my father. I’ll get through to him, even if he usually rejects calls.

RYUK: Take the bait, missy, take it...

NAOMI: Would that be alright, u-uh, Light?

RYUK: Aaand, bullseye!

LIGHT: Why don’t we take this conversation somewhere else?

RYUK: There’s just too many video cams here.

LIGHT: As long as we don’t know how Kira kills his victims, I’d suggest a less public place. 

_______

LIGHT: Okay, where were we? My name is Yagami. Light Yagami.

NAOMI: Shouko Maki.

RYUK: And my name is Ryuk, but you’re not actually able to see or hear me.

LIGHT: I think Kira is capable of more than simply killing people. It seems as if he could influence their actions before their deaths.

NAOMI: I think the same. And here I thought I was alone with it. Yes, he can control people before he kills them. But that’s not all. He can also kill them through other means than heart attacks.

RYUK: Who is this little snooper?

LIGHT: Should that be the case, we might be facing even more murders than thought. There are cases that haven’t been considered in connection to Kira yet.

NAOMI: Exactly. Those might be cases Kira hoped would stay secret. I am fairly sure that someone... someone I know... has met Kira.

LIGHT: Hah. It might be hard to get someone to believe this statement.

NAOMI: That’s why I came in person to explain the circumstances of the case.

LIGHT: Wouldn’t it be even more convincing if your friend told his own story?

NAOMI: He can’t. He was one of the murdered agents. 

RYUK: Oh, now it’s getting interesting.

NAOMI: He was my fiancé. He told me that he got involved in this busjacking. By now, I assume that Kira was on that bus as well.

RYUK: She’s talking about Raye Penber, wow. 

NAOMI: Something wrong?

LIGHT: Why are you assuming that Kira was on the bus?

NAOMI: Name and face of the culprit were on the media day by day. He was on the run after a totally miscalculated bank robbing. And then, 8 days later, shortly after Christmas... My fiancé dies. Together with his 11 colleagues.

LIGHT: The connection seems vague to me.

RYUK: What he wants to say is.... perfect match.

NAOMI: Something must have happened there. I think that my fiancé and the culprit were used by Kira to get to the other 11 agents. 

LIGHT: The culprit was hit by a car, it wasn’t a heart attack. This is how you got to the conclusion that Kira can control actions?

NAOMI: Yes. 

LIGHT: That seems pretty far fetched. 

RYUK: It really isn’t, lady.

NAOMI: Even the first time I heard of the busjacking, the circumstances seemed strange to me. I kept asking my fiancé questions, I basically interrogated him to tell me the story again and again. 

LIGHT: And... what was his story?

______

We flash back to Naomi and Raye talking. Both of their voices are tense.

RAYE: Yes, I showed my ID to one of the passengers, okay?! Are you happy now?

NAOMI: You shouldn’t have done that!

RAYE: I know that! It was complicated. The guy wouldn’t have cooperated without me proving that I’m a cop.

NAOMI: You were undercover, Raye! 

RAYE: Stop that! You weren’t there. 

NAOMI: You had explicit order to not blow your cover.

RAYE: And you are the only person who knows I have done that. If you don’t tell anybody, nobody will ever know. 

NAOMI: But I am not the only one. Isn’t that right? We still don’t know how Kira finds and executes his victims. You can’t afford even a single misstep.

RAYE: You’d probably prefer he’d shot all the passengers then.

NAOMI: Ugh, Raye, that’s not the point---

RAYE (hitting the table): Of course that is exactly the point!! 

______

LIGHT: This whole situation isn’t free of emotions. 

NAOMI: So?

LIGHT: I just want to make sure your feelings aren’t influencing your analysis skills.

RYUK: Which are working quite excellently.

NAOMI: Hey, you. I was a special agent with several decorations before I gave up my career to marry Raye. I’m not just some random brat.

LIGHT: I agree with you, the suspicion warrants a closer inspection. 

They keep talking, Light himself brings out the deduction that the person Raye identified himself to was Kira.

______

We’re with Ukita on phone duty. Someone who thinks they are Kira is calling. Ukita is already pretty annoyed, even before the guy talks of other hallucinations. He hangs up quickly.

_______

SOICHIRO: is it important?

MATSUDA: No, boss. Ukita is just whining again. He doesn’t want to be on phone duty anymore. He texted: “When do I get a hotel suite with 24/7 room service?”

SOMEONE: Does he think we’re just chilling here?

SOMEONE: Probably. Uhm, do you want the final shrimp?

SOMEONE: Take it.

They then move on to talk about surveillance footage of the FBI agent deaths. They have footage from 3 deaths, one of them is Raye Penber. They have the most material on him. They realize he’s done more than a full round on the Yamanote line. They also notice him having an envelope that disappears. They conclude Kira was on the train, receiving it.

______

Light makes his first attempt to kill Naomi, same cause of death as in the manga. Naomi wants to go back to the NPA building now. Light comes with her, as he notices she isn’t dying. 

_____

Ukita on the phone again. Akiko Misora is calling about her daughter Naomi being misses. Ukita is pretty annoyed (”Oh really? Was she kidnapped by aliens or something?”). Akiko explains that Naomi came to Japan with her fiancé,  but he died and shortly after Naomi also fell out of contact. Akiko complains about how much paperwork getting the ashes to the US was, and says how charming Raye was and how good his Japanese was...... Ukita wants to get rid of her, until Akiko tells him Raye’s name.

____

The Task Force discusses Naomi’s existence and disappearance. She left her hotel at Dec. 29th and has been missing since. They all suspect that Naomi, being an ex-agent, has started her own investigation. But they also worry someone found her.

_____

Light explains to Naomi that the Kira team doesn’t meet with people on principle, because of the risk. He calls them ‘us’ and Naomi picks up on it, leading Light to explain he is a member of the task force. (Ryuk: “And if you believed that one, you might as well buy a fake Rolex of him now.”) Light invites Naomi to the team, like in the manga. Naomi does a lot of nervous laughing in this scene, but she does give him her real ID.

______

The task force think about Naomi, and her existence in connection to Raye being the first one to send an email to Virilio. They decide to place cameras and bugs in the houses of those who were investigated by Raye. It’s the families of Kitamura and Yagami. 

______

Light writes Naomi’s name down again, this time her real one. They walk together some more. Light points out that Naomi doesn’t just want to investigate but also to hear the full story about Raye’s death. 

NAOMI: I already knew on the day of that something was wrong. Raye was acting really strangely. He got up and left, without a word. He even forgot his cellphone. 

LIGHT: Oh, is that unusual?

NAOMI: I followed him downstairs. He was at the reception and made them print something for him. I gave his phone to him, but he said nothing at all. He was so.. empty.

LIGHT: Distracted?

NAOMI: ... empty. Not a smile, not a kiss. He took the phone and left. At the time I still thought ‘well, maybe an order’. Next thing you know, the police arrives at the hotel. Asked me to come with them... identify the body. I have no idea what happened in the final hours of his life. 

LIGHT: I do. I know the details of Raye Penber’s death down to the very last second. 

NAOMI: I haven’t even told you his full name yet...

LIGHT: He entered the station via the west entrance. Past the street musician who always plays there. He passed the ticket entrance at 11 past 3. He went down to the Yamanote line, in the direction of Kanda. 

NAOMI: I don’t understand... That’s only too stations if you directly take the Chuo line. Why this giant detour?

LIGHT: Because someone was waiting for him. The Yamanote line is the perfect place for a meeting. It has stops everywhere and nowhere. 

_____

We launch into a flashback to the Yamanote line. Light walks up to Raye and greets him, but Raye does not answer him. Light introduces himself at more depth, even using his full name and calling himself Kira right after. Raye continues to not answer. Ryuk realizes that Raye cannot answer because that is how Light has written it down. Light keeps chatting, explaining his plan to Raye. On the train, he makes Raye watch as he writes the names of all his colleagues. He also touches Raye with the notebook, to let him see Ryuk. Raye can’t do anything.

____

LIGHT: Well, Naomi, I’m afraid Raye was just sitting there. His eyes widened a little. Panicked, you know?

RYUK: Yes, panic just about cuts it. Just like the face you are making right now, darling.

LIGHT: But he couldn’t move. Just like you right now. I was quite precise with my orders, you see? 

Light continues to explain that he needed the names of the other agents and that he can do anything to people whose names he has. 

_____

The task force discusses the family surveillance further. Light says the chance of Kira being among those people is 5%, but this is their only lead. Soichiro tells L to be thorough with his surveillance, like in the manga.

_____

LIGHT: All Raye could do was sit there until the time was ripe. And then get up...

RYUK: Without a word, Naomi. Silent like a fish.

LIGHT: And he left the train at Kanda station. 

RYUK: And then he died. 

LIGHT: Right on the platform, so to say. 

RYUK: He extended his hand like in a bad movie. As if he wanted to say ‘I am cursing you’ or something.

LIGHT: And thus, Raye Penber died. I find it regrettable. 

RYUK: Because he wasn’t a murderer. Which you also aren’t, Naomi. Just wrong place, wrong time... Collateral damage.

LIGHT: But I think you understand, Naomi, that I can’t leave you alive, if I want to keep working. I know you want to move, to hit me. I know that you wish above all else to take the gun out of your pocket. But none of that will happen, because I already put your final moments into motion. And that means I’m the one who’s in power here. 

Ryuk asks what she’ll do. Light explains that he wrote the same conditions as on the first try, about her suicide.

LIGHT: So Naomi, I think you know what to do. Now go. 

RYUK: And there she went. A woman with a mission. 

LIGHT: Hey, Naomi! Want me to call my dad? Still want to talk to him, tell him everything you learned today? Hm? .... and she just keeps walking. 

RYUK: She didn’t even say goodbye. I hope it was worth it. This new direction you’ve taken, it’s going to change everything. 

LIGHT: What new direction?

RYUK: Now you’re no longer simply a criminal. You’re a police killer.