#( 🔪 | ᴺᵒᵗ ᴬ ᵀʳᵃᵍᵉᵈʸ / ᴬ ᴮᶤᵗᵗᵉʳˢʷᵉᵉᵗ ᴿᵉˢᵘˡᵗ ╎ IC )

[wcrldsgreatest]

'BURNT SUGAR' COMPLIANT  /  NOT OTHERWISE BLOG COMPLIANT.

❝ You think you're just such a good person, don't you? It's honestly pathetic. You — ❞

Words that tore themselves from his throat before he could swallow them back down, a fit of rage better saved for meltdowns in your hideout than for a proper conversation with the enemy. And yet, here they were, tumbling from stress-bitten lips like poison, despite how much the killer would surely be kicking himself for that 'decision' later.

❝ Actually, I don't. ❞

What in the actual fuck was L talking about now?

❝ Excuse me? ❞  Nearly growled in contrast to the faux-civil wording there, as he paced back to the far side of the room — adding distance for the sake of clarity, perhaps, or maybe it was the exact opposite of that. Anyone's guess, these days.

Either way, Lawliet was surely SAFER if they were further apart.

Not that he seemed particularly concerned about that. No, the damned fool looked frustratingly calm as ever. Though he did finally grace the younger with his attention, darkened gaze lifting from the laptop that he'd been diligently tapping away at until now.

❝ I have never claimed to be a 'good person', B. ❞  An eyebrow arched, lips curling into a faint frown — thoughtful, at least, perhaps a bit sad. It was always difficult to tell when it came to the chronically-apathetic detective.   ❝ For that matter: I would not be here, right now, if I were. ❞

❝ Don't start that bullshit — ❞

❝ —What? Pointing out the obvious? ❞  If he didn't know better, he would have thought L actually sounded amused there. It was probably more sarcasm than anything else, though.    ❝ Now, more importantly: What is actually wrong, B? You're being dreadfully irrational today. ❞

Jaw set angrily, ruby eyes narrowing at the elder. If there was anything he did NOT want to talk about, it was his fucking feelings right now. And how DARE he excuse him of being 'irrational' when —'

❝ Beyond. ❞

A moment of brief clarity, caused primarily by surprise at hearing his actual name. Blunt fingernails had bloodied his own palms at this point, though when that had happened, he hadn't a clue; the pain surely hadn't registered. More importantly, L almost sounded... concerned, now.

❝ Look at me, Beyond. ❞  Crimson eyes reflexively refocused at the instruction. Pale fingers had been entirely removed from his keyboard now, that frown pulled tightly across his mouth, and his expression had softened slightly, morphed into something kinder than the typical apathy.   ❝ Why are you acting as though we're still fighting? I was under the impression that you wanted this... truce, to work out. ❞

Still fighting...

Truce...

Hazy memories momentarily tried to form, though they came scattered and fragmented — like somebody had taken a film-strip, ripped it to shreds, and then desperately tried to glue it back together. Fleeting echoes of kinder touch, the ghosts of apologies, the taste of strawberries and cigarette smoke that’s not his own brand, and then... nothing.

Temporary lapses were not a new concept when it came to his mental state, but it was dreadful that they could make him forget things that were so clearly important.

❝ I'm sorry. ❞   The apology felt hollow, but he didn't know what else to do with that. Everything felt... fuzzy, to the left, and he could already feel a tension headache forming.  ❝ I don't know. I'm... ❞

❝ Not feeling well today? ❞  The fill-in felt painfully patient for the circumstances, but it wasn't inaccurate by any means.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Beyond let out a heavy sigh, moving to flop across the sofa that rested against a far-wall of the room.   ❝ Something like that. Just let me sleep it off. ❞

These moments rarely lasted for very long these days, thankfully.