Bitter Slash Sweet
Chapter One: Valentine
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters.
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"And this is my son, Light."
Matsuda shook hands with the teenager. Matsuda was fresh into the police force, yet the chief had decided to let his young aide come over for dinner and meet his family. He wasn't expecting the chief to have such a handsome son, though…
"Um," Light tried to wiggle his hand free. Matsuda snapped out of his space-out and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Yagami-kun-"
"Light, come help me set the table, dear," Mrs. Yagami called from the kitchen.
"Coming," Light called back. Before he left to help his mom, he flashed Matsuda a lopsided smile. It carried a cross between uneasiness and trying to be polite and good-natured. Shoot, he probably thinks I'm weird now. He looked after Light with a slight blush forming.
"What are blushing at, Matsuda?" the chief asked in a low, gruff voice that startled him stiff. "You do realize Sayu is over ten years younger than you."
Sayu? Oh yeah, the chief's daughter… "I wasn't thinking about her," Matsuda blurted out honestly.
"Like hell you weren't," the chief retorted. "And even if she wasn't so young, there's no way I'd let her marry a cop."
But the question was… would he let Light-kun?
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Less than a month later, Kira struck. No more dinners at the chiefs place… even the chief didn't eat dinner much there anymore. The only time Matsuda could see Light was when he gazed at the family pictures on his chief's desk.
From the dinner they had spent together before the Kira case began, Matsuda had learned Light Yagami was more than just an attractive high school student. Light was intelligent and hard working… Mr. Yagami was always bragging about him. And Light was cool, but always in a most modest manner. And though most of the time he seemed passive and "out there", once you had his attention, he gave you a surprisingly warm smile. A smile that made Matsuda feel guilty.
A couple of weeks passed and the Kira investigation team teamed up with L and Watari. That's when Matsuda noticed a paper with the names and birthdates of the chief's family. February 28, 1986. Why did that date make him think of Valentine's Day? And why did it feel special that in less than three months, Light would turn legal?
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"Ryuzaki," Matsuda approached L when they happened to be alone in the hotel room. "I have a question."
L swallowed the bit of cake he had in his mouth. "What is it, Matsuda-san?"
Matsuda blushed and scratched the back of his head, 'Um, I was wondering if you knew a good recipe for chocolate?"
L was slightly taken aback. This wasn't about the Kira case.. But he should have expected something unexpected from Matsuda…
Noting L's silence, Matsuda tried to think of a reason for asking L such a question. "I know you are a gourmet of sweets, and my sister wanted to know a good recipe--"
"You don't have a sister."
"My cousin--"
"Matsuda-san likes someone, doesn't he?" L said bluntly. It was February… Valentine's Day was only a few days away. L wasn't familiar with many of the general population's social customs, but you could say L had a certain "interest" in the "holiday". But as he understood it, females gave homemade chocolates to the man they liked… a lot. L glanced at Matsuda.
The poor man was pink faced with a nervous sweat forming on his brow. The chances that Matsuda was homosexual was 86.46. The other 13.64 was the chance that Matsuda was being an unpredictable idiot as usual and just wanted to make chocolate for some ungodly reason. L reasoned the former.
"Ah, I think I can help you find an appropriate recipe. What sort of person is he-- I mean, this person?"
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On Valentine's Day, L picked up the small gift that had been left behind on the coffee table after the task force left. He removed the bow and opened the small box to find assorted chocolate. On top of the chocolate laid a note with a handwritten "Thank you" on it.
L had never receive a Valentine before. But these were store-bought chocolates. Who received the homemade chocolates? He mused, staring at the Tokyo cityscape through the large hotel windows.
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Light returned home after a busy day. Valentine's Day had always been a busy day for him since middle school. He dumped his winnings on the kitchen table.
Sayu ran into the kitchen, "What a haul, Light!" His mother followed after, "Welcome home, Light! I see my son is still popular with the ladies… I think you brought home more chocolate than last year!"
"Can I have some, Light? You have plenty to share," Sayu grinned mischievously.
"Sure, help yourself," he waved toward the pile of chocolate dispassionately to a giddy Sayu.
"Thanks!" Sayu quickly gave her older brother a hug and began inspecting the chocolates.
"Oh, Light," his mother stopped him before he began climbing the steps to his room. "You have one more Valentine… it was in the mail. I would have put it in your room, but I know how you like your privacy…"
Light took the gift. "Thanks, Mom."
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Inside his room, Light carefully opened the Valentine.
"Another admirer? Hyuk hyuk hyuk," Ryuk chuckled.
Inside the box, Light found some messy chocolates and a note. In clumsy handwriting, the note read, "I hope you enjoy the chocolates, I made them myself! Happy early birthday!" The note wasn't signed.
This wasn't the only homemade chocolate he had received today. But the note being anonymous and the unique handwriting intrigued him. It was a man's handwriting, and that satisfied him for reasons only he knew. So who was this guy and how did he know his address? How did he know his birthday was coming up? Was it someone from school? But they could have left it on his desk?
He laid down on his bed on his side and inspected the chocolates. They weren't very attractive… just gooey lumps of… he wasn't going to think it. He thought he remembered reading somewhere that chocolate wasn't the easiest thing to make…
Not sure if he would regret it, he cautiously licked one of the chocolates. It was very sweet. He placed the whole gooey chocolate mess in his mouth and allowed it to fully melt… it was so rich. Despite its looks, it was the best piece of chocolate he had ever had.
He wanted to find this secret admirer. Maybe not as much as he wanted to find and destroy L, but Light had another task added to his agenda. Dropping another chocolate into his mouth, he muttered absently to Ryuk, "Kira's going to take a rest today."
Later that night…
"Wow, Light, I didn't expect you to be such a pig. Aren't you feeling sick after eating that whole box of chocolate?"
"Shut up, Ryuk," Light rolled over and spoke into his pillow, clutching his stomach as he curled into a ball.
"I bet you gained a pound, too. That was a whole box of chocolate…"
"SHUT UP!"
"Hyuk hyuk hyuk."
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Light began to wonder if L had been his secret admirer. He half hoped so due to their relationship that had started since he was released from confinement. Well, L was an anonymous sort of guy, and kind of messy. Plus he seemed to know sweets pretty well. But unless L was really shy, Light doubted that L would have written him so simple a note. Yet the note itself was ambiguous… perhaps that was meant to be complex? No… the homemade chocolates definitely meant his admirer liked him… a lot. The chocolates and the note were just a simple and sweet message of adoration.
"Light-kun, I have notes on the stuff you wanted me to research," Matsuda handed him several papers.
Light took them. Technically he didn't need the notes since the new research program installed on the HQ computers was so powerful. But he pitied the young officer, who waited around HQ for something to do as Misa's manager or for someone to ask for coffee. Maybe busy work wasn't any better, but at least Matsuda could feel as though he was directly contributing to the case.
He scanned the notes to make it look like he was reading them. But he stopped, shocked. The handwriting…! "Matsuda, you wrote all this?"
"Yup! Just like you told me to," Matsuda smiled happily. He looked so proud of himself, like a puppy that had fetched the paper and wished to be petted.
So it was Matsuda! Matsuda was his secret admirer! So… should he thank him for the chocolate? No… if Matsuda knew that Light knew, he would expect Light to admit whether he returned those feelings. And as long as L was in his life, he couldn't be in another relationship. Matsuda was cute, but Light thought of L as a soul mate. He shared Light's intelligence, serious nature, and most importantly, sense of justice. Matsuda was almost his complete opposite… heck, sometimes Matsuda even spoke of Kira as if he were a good guy! But they say opposites do attract…
"I think we have a lead on the case now, Matsuda-san! Good work!" Light praised Matsuda with a sincere smile. Light only had feelings for L, and he wouldn't lead Matsuda to think any different. Toying with someone's emotions was the worst thing anyone could do. But he could still be nice to Matsuda and see that cute smile beam at him admiringly. That wasn't selfish. Was it?
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Kill L: Check. Kira mentally scratched that task off his agenda. That left become god of his new world and find his secret admirer. But he had already discovered his secret admirer when he was without memories of the Death Note. But the task wasn't yet finished.
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The following year, on White Day, Matsuda was greeted with a gift in the mailbox outside of his apartment. Not able to wait until he was inside, he tore off the wrapping and opened the box. White chocolate! But he didn't give anyone chocolate this year… could it be? Heart pounding, he ran back to Light and Misa's new apartment.
He rang the door bell and waited anxiously. Light opened the door.
"L-Light-kun," he stammered, eyes misting. "You knew. You remembered…"
Light's arms slipped around his waist and he tenderly locked his lips with Matsuda's in a kiss that should have been fulfilled a year ago.
"Happy belated birthday, Light," Matsuda snuggled into Light's chest, wiping his tears.
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In the next chapter I intend for things to get kinky and deserving of its M rating. First date, hoooooo!
(Note on Valentine's Day-White Day: In Japan, girls give chocolate to boys on Valentine's Day; then on March 14 (White Day) boys return the favor with white chocolate. At least, that is the condensed version of it. If you want to know more, I suggest you Google it because it's interesting.)
(Note on why this is so fluffy: Watch out for girly anime. It gives you cooties.)
When I think of LightxMatsuda, for some reason YukixShuichi (from Gravitation) comes to mind. Is this just me? Do we need a Hyper!Matsu?