Chapter 1: The Party

"Over here, Yagami-san! I picked up the drinks!"

"Yagami-san! We need approval on the curtains!"

"When are you getting dressed, Raito? The guests will be here any minute!"

To say that Light Yagami was sick of his life was an understatement. He was sure plenty of people would gladly lynch him for daring to make that kind of a statement (which was why he had resigned it to the depths of his mind) but goddamn was he sick of this. People were dying, in this world. Hoards and hoards of people were being executed, living in poverty, being ravaged by criminals and savages…and here he was, getting ready for a party.

He wished he could actually help the suffering poor (and they really did need the help), but he couldn't, could he? And that was the rub of it: he was so close to it, so close to the power, but he could never truly have it because of who he was. A trophy, that was all he was.

Maybe fifty years ago he could have been an actual person of influence, but ever since the worker revolutions, the entire social structure had toppled, and the part of the nobility Light belonged to had been given the short end of the stick in their effort to keep their riches and influence.

The Nobleman's Treaty that had finally stopped the revolution contained several clauses, some of which included: 1. the elimination of the anarchist groups, 2. the redistribution of wealth from the lower lords to the peasants, and 3. the adulteration of the bloodlines of higher nobles by forcing one member of the family to mate with members of the lower classes.

For some reason, the treaty had been very detailed on how the impurification of the noble bloodlines would be done. They had sectioned off half of the nobility into two sects, some of whom would marry peasant women and others who would marry men. If two members of the same sex were married together, they either adopted from the constant stream of war-orphans or got surrogate mothers.

Light had gone to school with the other half of the nobles, the ones left intact (according to the history textbooks, the nobles had done everything but beg on their knees to spare half of the noble houses. How else would they continue their bloodlines?).

His parents hadn't even told him their family was one of the sectioned until his sixteenth year, when they had cornered him in the living room with a book of lower-class suitors begging for his hand. Sayu was their Bloodline child, she would be married into a noble family to keep their line going. Light was their unwilling sacrifice for the greater good. And the worst part was, he had never for a minute of his life considered that this could be an option. He would never be able to sit at councils, craft up laws, debate with his equals. All of that was reserved for his future husband, all he could ever be was rich. A wealthy, attractive, well-mannered prize.

Fuck that. He was smart, it was most of who he was. Smart, ambitious, meticulous. Were they telling him that was all a waste?

Light had always assumed he would end up running away. It was just the kind of thing he would do. If he was denied freedom, he would go seek it. And if his arranged fiancé had been a dominating freak as most of them were (inferiority complexes acting up), it would only have strengthened his resolve.

Luckily, though, he hadn't had to.

Dr. Mikami Teru. Charming, disciplined and one of Shingata's best criminal neurosurgeons. Light hadn't had high hopes about his future fiancé in the beginning, especially with that borderline insane light in his eyes, but from the first minute he heard him speak Light had realised how damn lucky he was. Mikami was respectful, kind, knowledgeable (if not particularly insightful), and he made such an effort to get the brunet to like him that it was almost endearing. He was attractive enough to match the family, and best of all, he could tell the dark-haired man knew how much more intelligent than him Light was. That in itself was a blessing, it meant Mikami actually listened to what he had to say.

So the man was a little controlling. Everyone had their flaws. Like Light's neuroticism and arrogance, it was a little annoying, but it most certainly didn't spell the death of a relationship.

"Raito!" Light looked up to see his dark-haired fiancé at the top of the stairs, standing in a pressed black suit with a bright red bowtie at his collar, the glasses on his nose glinting white. "You can't stand around in your pyjamas as the guests come! Come up and change!"

The boy glanced down at his clothes. Formal trousers and a button-up shirt, they could hardly count as pyjamas, but it was really no use arguing with Mikami about things like this. The good doctor would just bring up his notion that Light was a rebellious teenager and then everything would become unpleasant.

He huffed, trudging up the stairs. He passed Mikami's tall, strict figure without a word of acknowledgement, but felt a hand grab hold of his wrist tightly. "Where do you think you're going?"

The teenager glimpsed at his fiancé over his shoulder, feeling a knot of irritation in his stomach. "I'm…going to change. Like you told me to."

For a second, he thought he saw Mikami's expression change from its default intensity to something stranger. A fearful frown appeared on the older man's face, making his smile seem eerie.

"Not inviting me?"

Light raised his eyebrows, taken aback. "I thought the guests were coming? Aren't you busy?"

For some reason, relief splashed over the doctor's face like a bucket of cold water. "I'm never too busy for you, beautiful." His hands traced down Light's torso, stopping at his waist, where he gripped him tightly and pulled him flush to himself. Light gulped as the man held him tight, breathing down his neck. "All you need to do is ask, and I'll do anything for you."

Light laughed against the older man's chest. "Okay, Mikami, I get your point, but we don't have time for anything right now."

"Believe me, Raito, if you ask, I'll-"

"Do anything for me, I get it." Light chuckled, placing his hands firmly on Mikami's chest and pushing off of him. "Maybe after the party, okay?"

"If you say so." The doctor grinned toothily. "I guess I have to keep my head today anyway. Important deals to be made, I can't afford to go in after a shot of Yagami Raito."

"You got that right." Light made a gun with his fingers and pulled the trigger, giving him a teasing grin as he sauntered into the dressing room. He enjoyed the laugh that echoed in the hallway behind him as he shut the door. Mikami didn't smile enough, and this was Light saying that.

Mikami's father had said, back during the courting stage before the engagement, that his seriousness was probably due to his mother's death, but Light suspected it went deeper than that. The doctor always acted like he hated people from the bottom of his heart, and that extended to everyone. His own father, Light's father, sometimes Light's mother, his colleagues at court and on the estate, his childhood friends…

The only exception to this was Light himself. He was the only one he had seen Mikami make actual sacrifices for, the only one he appeared to want to care for, and Light-Paranoid-Yagami would have labelled this as an act or a scheme if it wasn't for the longing he saw in Mikami's eyes when he thought he wasn't looking.

It didn't come as a surprise, the brunet had always been good at charming people to his side, but that didn't mean it didn't flatter him.

His back hurt from bowing so much, but Yagami Raito, the perfect mate, would never let that show. After all, it wasn't many mates who were allowed to participate in serious discussions as Mikami was letting him right now, it wasn't common to allow them to attend these political gatherings at all. You'd think with all the effort noble parents put into giving their child an education, the treaty would let them have a slight edge over their lower-class mates in this sphere, at least.

Hmm. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the reason his father had never allowed him to take up any extra courses, no matter how brilliant he was. He was always encouraged to pursue extracurricular activities like tennis, not so much the intricacies of history or law.

And now that he thought about it, his father was a class A bastard. Who the fuck hid something like this from their children for so many years? (And how had Light not figured it out himself? His mother was an educated, brilliant woman of her own right, resigned to a position as a housewife very much against her will. It should have been obvious).

Light bowed deeply to another diplomat from England, Mr. James, ripe for making a deal to send peacekeeping forces to assist with Shingata's recovery from civil war. It was of utmost importance that these political leaders got a good impression of Mikami and the nobles as a whole. Mikami had become quite the leader within the community, having gotten engaged to the prominent Yagami family and making his name within his profession. It was no wonder the government was having them host the party, they were pretty much the poster children for the Nobleman's Treaty working out.

Mikami grabbed Light's arm suddenly, startling him out of his thoughts. The brunet bit his lip, realising he had zoned out completely. His fiancé only ever resorted to manhandling him when his inferiority complex was acting up, as if having Light by his side automatically validated him.

"Which is why, I think, it would be a bad idea to put up so many of our soldiers in Shingata. It compromises us. You understand my point, don't you, Mikami-sensei?"

The doctor flushed red, his glasses flashing as he struggled to think of a polite way to respond to that. "Well, I think-"

No, bad idea. Mikami had never been one to mince words when trying to prove himself right. Light turned up the wattage of his smile, stepping slightly forward. The diplomat was much larger than him, with cropped blond hair and bulging muscles. His masculinity only worked to Light's advantage, Light was a naturally androgynous person, making him a much less threatening and so less offensive figure.

"With all due respect, Mr. James, this deal actually works out much to your advantage, especially if you choose to haggle some of the details." Light smiled charmingly. Intrigued, James raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Pray tell me, how would England directly benefit from sending so many soldiers to help murder a bunch of anarchists?"

He pretended to think for a minute. "Well, we don't have many resources at the minute, thanks to the anarchists, of course, but one thing we do have, it's technology. We all know that. Our technology is miles ahead of most other countries. I believe Teru supervised the invention of some revolutionary neurosurgical machinery about a year ago, he would be an expert on this." The brunet manoeuvred the conversation back to Mikami in an effort to get him involved like a good mate should, but the Englishman hardly batted an eye at the black-haired man.

"Interesting. We hadn't considered your capacity to contribute in anything but training and manpower before this, but you are right. The most valuable thing about Shingata at the minute has nothing to do with any of that."

Light nodded politely. "Exactly. Which is why we have a lot to offer you in exchange for your valuable assistance."

Mr. James's eyebrows furrowed as his ice-blue eyes swept up and down Light's slender form. "You have good points, Yagami Raito. A new perspective." A smile curled his thin lips. "I shall consider the deal once more, in that case, if only to haggle the details, as you so aptly put it."

"I'm glad." Light bowed his head and stepped back slightly behind Mikami, making the diplomat laugh.

"How very formal you are! We're allies here, no need to be so polite with us. Come here." The man reached out and took Light's hand in his, squeezing it tightly. "This is how we celebrate a partnership. A handshake. Not that you should be celebrating yet, but what the hell. With interesting people like you representing it, Shingata and England will be united in no time."

Light bit his lip, giving him a sheepish smile. "I'm flattered, sir, but I'm not a representative of anything. My fiancé, Dr. Mikami, though-"

"Bollocks." The Englishman laughed. "You're ten times more competent than your fiancé is. The amount of time he took to get to the point… No offense, young man, but your country should really rethink their policies."

Light glanced up at Mikami, a chill running down his spine. If the diplomat kept talking like this, the brunet would probably never be allowed to a formal gathering ever again. He would be a cooped-up trophy like every other nobleman under the treaty. "I…well…"

Mikami's arm snaked around him, pulling him close enough for him to feel every breath of the older man's strained laugh. "We all know how charming Raito can be. Would you like to, um, try out some appetisers?"

Predictably, after that meeting, Light was conveniently left out of every other discussion his fiancé participated in (there had come a point when he had literally gone into one of Mikami's circles to ask him something, and the doctor had blocked him out with a shoulder).

Well, no thank you. Light wasn't desperate, he wasn't going to compromise on his pride for some shitty diplomat's meeting, even though his interference would benefit the whole country. Mr. James had been right, Light was more competent than Mikami. Why couldn't his fiancé think of the greater good more often?

The teenager sighed, grabbing a chair by the punch table and slumping onto it, watching the several black-suited men and women gathering around in scattered groups around the large polished ballroom, chatting busily about things that mattered. And now fucking Mogi would come over to ask if the curtains matched the fucking flowers in the vases.

How did he get caught up in these situations? He had been a good student, he always obeyed his parents and his teachers had voted him most likely to succeed in the future (they hadn't known about his being sectioned, he used his father's surname). Why was he always so stuck?

He felt a finger tap his shoulder urgently, digging sharply into his skin, and the teenager immediately straightened up. Fuck, had he been slouching? He wasn't supposed to be slouching right now, he was at an important gathering. Fuck it, maybe this was why he was stuck. Discipline, he needed some fucking discipline.

With a forced smile, Light got to his feet, spinning around to face the man beckoning him. "Can I help-"

"Raito-kun."

The whisper was a monotone, deep and somehow tender, and it sparked something inside Light, like a word that was right on the tip of his tongue.

.

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A/N: What do you think? Is it a promising story? I love writing it XD please review me!