Cranberries - LxLight

The taskforce HQ is quite quiet tonight... so Light goes to investigate.

It was quiet without L. Way too quiet, even though he’d been away for only ten minutes now. Always when he wasn’t there, Light would wonder where he was, and why, what he was doing and what he was thinking and feeling. Sometimes he looked so sad and tired Light wondered how it was possible that his eyes weren’t red all the time…Sure he loved red, it just wasn’t a suitable color for him, especially with L’s always-wide orbs.
      Where was he…? Light wanted to know. Watari had decided Light needed more time for himself, and obliged L to uncuff them, with the result that Light often didn’t know where he was. It unnerved him. What if something happened to him…? He knew it was ridiculous to think, but he had a feeling…
      Light excused himself and told the task force he had to go to the bathroom, but instead started searching for L. He wasn’t in their apartment, not in the bathroom and not on the rooftop, where he always went when something was wrong. He wasn’t outside of the headquarters, right…?
      As he passed the kitchen, Light peeked inside, to see something white and red on the kitchen floor. He walked closer to see what it was, and his heart stopped when he saw it was a limp hand, laying in a puddle of thick, crimson red liquid.

Watari sighed when he looked at L’s body on the kitchen floor. It had been hard, but he finally succeeded. L was unconscious, he wasn’t able to escape right now, and soon, his eyes would be closed. He was about to turn L on his back, when he heard footsteps.

"RYUZAKI!!"
      Light’s heart raced in his chest as he saw the thing he secretly feared so much. L was laying on his tummy, his eyes wide, a puddle of thick, dark-red liquid next to his face. He looked lifeless, his skin was even paler than usual, he didn’t move and the skin of his hand was cold when Light touched it. Light screamed his name again and shook L’s bony shoulder, hoping so hard that L would wake up and say something, but he didn’t, and the thought that L wouldn’t wake up again made Light whimper in angst.
      "RYUZAKI, WAKE UP, DAMNIT!!"
      It was just then that Light felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around, falling back and crushing L’s hand with his butt when he saw Watari, a shadow falling over his face.
      "W-Watari, what’s with Ryuzaki?!"
      Watari didn’t say anything, and Light thought he’d lose it if the limp detective’s helper wouldn’t say this was a very bad and tasteless joke. Oh-
      Oh, no- Could it be that Watari-
      "WHAT DID YOU DO TO RYUZAKI?!"
      The old man sighed and shook his head.
      "Ryuzaki has been awake for too long. It was time he fall asleep for once. Don’t you think the same, Yagami-san?”
      Light felt his eyes bulging out of his sockets. Watari killed L?! No, that was impossible, there had to be a reason for all this, a reason that could bring L back to life, his skin had to warm again-
      Light tried to move away from Watari, but all he did was fall back into the red and sticky liquid on his butt, the crimson red soiling his best jeans and shirt, and cooling his skin in a horrifying way. What was Watari going to do, did L really die, how was all this possible…?! Light’s vision was blurred by tears now, Watari was a monster, how was it possible for a sympathetic-looking elder like Watari to kill a young man like L…? Watari’s hand slipped to his pocket, and he was about to take something out of it…He was going to kill Light too, this was the end, Light was about to die, together with L… He sobbed and laid his head on L’s, trying to smell as much of the scent of L’s hair and skin as he could. Watari was now directing a gun at him, or holding a knife above Light’s neck, Light couldn’t see, and he thought he heard voices calling his name �"was this the end, was he already dead?-, when he noticed that L smelled like…

…Cranberries.

He glanced at the liquid that really soaked his clothes now, and noticed the small hint of purple that made him close his eyes in realization. When he opened them again, he saw Watari’s friendly face, his hand holding a small bottle with chemical sweeteners, and when he turned around to answer the coughs behind him, he saw his father and the rest of the task force, staring at him and L with big question marks hanging almost visibly above their heads. Light suddenly felt the gentle warmth radiating off L’s face, his soft breathing and the fridge door being opened, a bottle of cranberry juice laying on the other side of L’s head.
      Creating a pool of cranberry juice giving the realistic impression that L was bleeding severely out of his head.
      “Um…”
      Watari smiled.
      “Ryuzaki has a talent for falling asleep with his eyes open. I only gave him sugar-free food and caffeine free coffee today, and I think the cranberry juice was his vain attempt to stay awake. Even he has to sleep sometimes. Don’t you agree with me, Yagami-san…?”
      Light dropped his head on L’s again, burying his head in the black locks. How could he have been so damn stupid…? Did he really think Watari would kill L…?

Why hadn’t he noticed the smell of cranberries before…?

He coughed and stood up, acting like his clothes weren’t sticking to his body like girls usually did. He walked out of the room, and disappeared into the shower for a good few hours to hide his embarrassment before he dared to come out of it again. When he walked into the bedroom, he noticed L sleeping in their bed, curled up like a child, his thumb resting on his lips. It was so adorable Light kept on staring at him all night long, until L awoke lazily and blinked.
      “Light-kun…”
      Light smiled. “What is it, Ryuzaki…?”
      L felt his head, apparently decided he actually slept, sniffed his own pillow and tilted his head to the side. 
      “Do I smell like cranberry juice?”
      Light decided L would never have to know about his little panic attack from yesterday.
      “No, you don’t.”
      L shrugged and outstretched himself, and Light blushed at the fact that L wasn’t wearing a shirt. L felt Light’s eyes on him.
      “What…?”
      Light looked away. “Never mind.”

Two floors lower, in the kitchen, Watari was cleaning up the cranberry juice he’d used to disguise the blood on the floor. Luckily L had fallen asleep in time before the rest would’ve noticed the blood coming from the cabinet in the kitchen. Watari opened it and peeked inside, smiling at the remains of the man who made his favorite brand of tea disappear out of the supermarkets. No, he could never kill L, the one he raised with his whole heart.

But who said a sympathetic-looking elder like Watari couldn’t kill egoistic men who didn’t realize the joys of tea?

Watari grinned again and closed the cabinet. It was necessary to dispose of some of the evidence, though…

Maybe Matsuda would like a glass of cranberry juice?