Final chapter this time, I promise. I loved the premise I made for this chapter, but please don't start going on in any reviews on how I'm monstrously incorrect because of this and that and blah, blah, blah. I'm taking artistic license on this one... like I always seem to do in these damn stories. And thank Kitsune55, PLEASE! She had to go through 16 pages of amateur writing, and did it with flair. Lol! Thanks hun, you're the best! And I may be convinced to do a sequel if you guys like it enough... ((buries her own grave))

Disclaimer: I don't own the damn franchise. Period.

Waiting for the Rain

Chapter Three: Piecing It Back Together Again

Italics: Flashbacks

The most common misconception people had of Hell was that it was very hot…

They, in L's opinion, were all very, very wrong.

Though the former detective didn't quite know if he was residing in Hell or not, he very much doubted he was in Heaven.

L shivered as he walked along the desert sand dunes, small crystallized pebbles sinking in between his toes. Shoeless feet scaled against the jagged rocks that lay hidden within the plentiful sands, the insomniac was, for once, remorseful for the lack of protection for his poor feet.

Large mountains made of heavy rock and tons and tons of sand were all that L saw in this place, but the constant feeling of being watched constantly lingered in the back of the raccoon eyed man's mind as he continued to hike forward.

'How long has it been…?' Thought the former detective, eyes straining under the force of the heavy winds and random debris flying around his frail body. L continued to step forward, his breaths coming out in near pants as the fretfulness of going nowhere began to hit full force.

Distant sounds of gun fire and pathetic whimpers rang in the back of L's mind, reminding him of just who he was looking for through the endless mountains of sand.

'Raito-kun... you've died as well, and yet I still cannot find you...'

How L knew the young man had died, he did not know. But when it had happened it was as if an alarm had rung off in his head, a piece of himself returning to the rightful place in his heart.

Raito was out here somewhere...

But how was L to know where to look when he himself did not know where he was?

"Where…" L coughed, his lungs feeling as if they had been set on fire. "Where am…"

"You…"

L blinked as the rough voice reverberated within his ears, dark eyes widening under the strain of exhaustion as a large body of… something landed in front of the emaciated dead man.

An ugly figure stared down at the stunned man, its body completely wrapped in leather and buckled straps as red eyes gleamed in satisfaction, a decrepit smile hanging off the being's lips as its wings collapsed behind its back.

Its face was long and bony, the figure's nose nearly crushed into its face as the wiry pink skin stretched out rather thinly wherever it was visible.

Midnight black hair hung off its head in clumps, leaving bald spots in certain spaces as a certain lock of hair hung in front of one of its radiating eyes.

"Are in Mu."

It had seemed like years (which it might have very well been) since L had heard, let alone seen, another life form of any kind, and it wasn't at all surprising to the former detective that it was a Shinigami of all things that would be the first to meet his now dead gaze.

"Who are you?" L rasped out, his voice dry from so much time of no use.

"I suppose I am the judge of this last trial… but you may call me Nephilim." The withered smile that lay on the monstrous face gleaming down on the dark haired man widened even further. "You look surprised by what I say. Did you think that you would trek these never-ending deserts forever?"

L shifted, uncomfortably aware of the crimson eyes diligently watching his every move.

"Or did you believe there was some promise land waiting for you if you kept walking long enough?" Glowing scarlet eyes narrowed as the rusty voice, full of nothing but mockery and torment continued its irritable tirade. "Were you hoping that if you kept going, your dead lover would somehow be waiting for you with open arms among these dead ruins?"

Teeth grit against each other as a noticeable glare overcame L's face.

"Well, you will not find any of that here." A decaying hand came forward; an expectant look cast L's way. "Now come. Your fate lies ahead."

Natural hesitation flowed through L's mind as he froze, dark eyes widening in fear. "I…"

"What are you waiting for? I said come here you petulant human."

Pale hands shook as a picture of a handsome brunette came flooding into L's head, suddenly propelling him forward.

'Where are you, Raito?' L took the grasp offered to him, his face once again adopting a stoic quality to it. 'Where…'

"Where is Raito?"

"Your damned lover?" Nephilim giggled insanely, a sharp knowing look engraved in the immortal being's façade.

L's gaze became distant as memories of his Raito-kun invaded his mind, ignoring the deliberate baiting the Shinigami in front of him seemed intent on taunting him with.

"You wish to know if he has gone through the same process." The ghoulish creature asked, a semi-smirk evident in its voice.

"Yes." L replied. "Please…"

"You'll have to follow me to find out." Nephilim cackled out, the voice grating to L's own ears.

Onyx eyes stared up at the monstrous figure, hesitation a thing of the past as the long deteriorating fingers holding his hand twitched in amusement.

"Take me to wherever you need to send me Nephilim-san."

Nephilim nodded as the creature's hold on L's fragile looking hand tightened just a bit more, and for L, everything faded into white.

"Can you please stop being so damn annoying." Raito snapped as the older man continually poked and prodded his shoulder.

Large eyes rimmed with dark bags blinked as the teenage prodigy continued to blearily stare into the computer screen, scanning different names and places that were deemed worth looking into.

"Don't you have something better to do than just poke me from behind?"

L smirked.

"I didn't mean it that way, you jerk." A flushed red swept itself across Raito's cheeks as those large endless eyes widened even further. "I meant it literally, you perv."

L still continued to smirk.

"Now you're just being an ass." The messy haired insomniac slid his chair closer to the disgruntled 17-year-old and sidled in over his shoulder, the chain jingling as it clacked together in movement.

"Is Raito-kun doing anything of the utmost importance?" The detective asked quietly, the darkness of the room making the small amount of lights from the computers around them illuminate even more than usual.

"You mean besides trying to catch a homicidal murderer with a psychotic God complex?"

"Besides that, yes."

"You're insane, you know that?"

Long pale fingers curled around Raito's chocolate colored locks as younger genius felt a heavy weight settle itself over the back of his shoulder, small wisps of warm breath tickling the back of his neck.

"Hm. You would not be the first one to bring up this fact, and I doubt Raito-kun will be the last."

"Damn straight." Raito whispered, shivering from the close bodily contact. "Now what do you want, you weirdo."

"Raito-kun's attention." L answered without hesitation.

"I doubt that's something I can give right at this moment."

"But Raito-kun is too tired to even read. He should just give up while he is ahead." L pouted.

'Ah, so he caught me,' Raito thought to himself in half-hearted amusement.

"Even so, we have to do all we can to-"

"Let us take a break."

Raito almost stuttered. "What?!"

"Raito-kun sounds so shocked."

"Usually I'm the one pleading for a break." The russet haired teen muttered out as he shut down his computer without another voice of complaint. He had been about ready to fall over from exhaustion anyway.

"We seem to be changing positions in more ways than one, it seems."

"Is that supposed to mean something dirty, Ryuuzaki?"

"Do you want it to, Raito-kun?"

L gave an uncharacteristic smile at Raito's back as the boy's smooth laughter filled the small, now almost completely dark, room. "You have a nice laugh."

Raito's breath hitched at the compliment, whispered against the fabric of his clothing. "You act like I've never laughed in front of you before."

The sugar addicted insomniac shrugged before lifting his head up and pulling himself on his feet.

"Shall we?"

Ebony eyes glistened as a milky white hand came forward, anxiously waiting to be filled. A genuine smile rested on Raito's pink lips as he stood as well, taking the hand in between his own before pulling the detective forward unexpectedly.

"Rait-!"

Raito stole the breath out of the detective's mouth as he buried it within his own, the gasped name forgotten within moments as both men delighted in the other's taste and became lost within each other's embrace…

And conveniently forgetting about the cameras surrounding their environment.

God knows what Watari was going to say to L next time he saw him…

But as the tanned hand lying within L's own tightened in its grip, the sugar addicted detective couldn't help but think it would be worth it in the end.

"What…" L looked around, the ruins melting away as a blinding white light took its place. "What is going on?"

"Hm…" Nephilim smirked as L snatched his hand away, the sands beneath his bruised feet falling away, so that only a smooth alabaster surface was left in its place. "Your trial, of course. Before you can move onto the final stage, we must first purge you of what is in­-"

Nephilim poked a decimated finger to L's head, causing him to stumble back with a blink.

"Here."

"How do you expect to do that?" L asked curiously.

"It is not the 'how' you should be concerned about, L Lawliet," Nephilim walked around the stunned genius, the whiteness of the area around them illuminating its distorted features even further. "But the 'who.'"

Not even a couple of seconds after the words left the Shinigami's mouth, its body began to disappear amongst the glaring light surrounding the former detective, a smile still etched on its face until that too faded away into the white oblivion around L.

'I don't understand…' His feet began to tingle irritably against the cool surface of the smooth surface as L cautiously stepped out into nothingness around him, a feeling of paranoia encasing his better judgment.

"Hello…?"

"Law-liet." A familiar voice sang from behind the confused insomniac.

L froze where he was, a smooth panic settling within his chest.

The smooth tenor voice chuckled, a sharp awareness crawling into the inner workings of L's mind as ebony eyes closed against the onslaught of feelings bombarding him all at once.

"What, have you forgotten me already Ryuuzaki?" Light footsteps, belying the lithe body attached to them, made their way to the paralyzed man, milky hands twitching in fright as the sounds came ever so closer.

"Raito-kun…" L whispered, a bittersweet smile unwillingly wrapped against his pale lips. "Or should I call you Kira? It has become so hard to tell…"

L turned around, gazing at the smirking man behind him, the smile still etched on his own lips.

"Which is which?"

"Can't I be both?" Raito declared, eyes narrowing under the white light. His eyes, once a chocolate brown, were now interlaced with a vibrant crimson matching Nephilim's own gaze in color.

"I do not think so." The former genius replied, a thumb straying to his lips as the man moved closer to him than before, his steps audible against the emptiness approximating them both. "If you would be so kind as to tell me where my Raito-kun is?"

The Raito look alike tossed back his head, a rough cackle escaping his lips as he stood mere inches away from L's personal space. "Really now? Your Raito? When was I ever yours?"

"You were not," L answered easily, taking a step back from the imposter. "Kira."

"Now you're just sounding like an idiot." There was the cackle L hated. "When are you going to get through your head that Raito and Kira are both one in the same?"

"That statement is both true and false." L icily stated. "Both you and Raito do share the same body, that I cannot deny."

"So what, it was all a case of split personality? Hand the boy some meds and everything would have been fine?" The fake Raito flipped his bangs out of his face as he glared at the spindly former detective, no hint of a smile now visible on his gorgeous face. "Don't give me that bullshit, please."

"I saw what Raito was really like, when he did not have the Death Note within his grasp." L continued, not even fazed by the imposter's words. "I saw the true person behind the monstrosity the Notebook created as clear as day…"

Obsidian eyes locked with scarlet red fortified amongst caramel brown as thin pale hands clenched together in frustration.

"And you are not him."

A mirthless smile gauged the fake Raito's lips as he paced around the former detective's person. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter either way. We've both reached the end of the road regardless, Law-liet."

"Raito-kun…" L whispered despairingly into the white endless mist.

"That body is long decayed, and the soul even more so." L brought a thumb to his lips and gently nibbled on it, a small frown marring his face.

"Well then, is there anyway…" Wide eyes glazed over as L took small steps towards the image of his late lover, hope clouding his eyes. "Is there anyway I can go where Raito-kun is?"

"You want to join him?" The other 'man' scoffed as the red began to bleed away from his eyes, his visage losing the edge that steeled his sharp features. "What if I said he was rotting in whatever Hell there is? Would you still care to follow?"

"Would I be by his side?" The dark haired man asked at arm's length, his impossibly wide eyes glistening in the white light.

"You would actually suffer eternal damnation just to be beside the ignorant fool?" A self-deprecating chuckle escaped the familiar lips as the red eyes became completely normal, its sepia color shining vibrantly with what could have been tears. "You would give up any chance you had at peace… just to be with the boy?"

L nodded as a softer version of his Raito began appearing in front of him before his very eyes. The need to run forward and grab the man trampled over L, overcoming any other sense of thought.

"I would do anything if it meant having just one more moment with my Light." L replied, his English thoroughly surprising his former lover's disintegrating doppelganger. "That day still torments me..."

A tiny grin covered half of L's face as a flood of emotions became evident in Raito's eyes, the monster melting away, only leaving his lover in its place.

"I never even got to say goodbye."

A small tear fell from the man's eye as the last vestiges of deceptiveness broke away from the once phantom's face, a look of lost life reflecting from those now loving orbs.

"L…"

Without another word, L rushed to the unstable young man, arms encasing the warm body against his own as a stinging sensation brushed his own ebony eyes.

"I have missed you, Raito-kun." L whispered, his face flush on top of the other's head. A warmth he had long forgotten rushed through the former detective's veins as the realization that this was his Raito finally hit. L's arms tightened to ensure maximum coverage of the brunette's body.

"We don't have a lot of time." Raito hurriedly whispered against the man's chest, chocolate locks tickling L's nose as he took in his lover's scent.

"That seems to always be the case, Raito-kun." Raito wrenched himself away from L's grip, a panicked expression overcoming his face.

"You don't understand. This is the last time we'll be-"

"Sh…" Arms once again wound themselves around the younger man's lithe frame as L nuzzled his lover's auburn locks. "It is not."

"But-"

"I just know." L once again interrupted, closing his eyes as a bubbly sensation settled within his being. "It will all be alright, Raito-kun."

"What if I can't find you, L?" Raito tightened his grip on L's body, even whilst their bodies began to become intangible. "I don't want to lose you again!"

"Will you wait for me?"

"More waiting?" Raito meekly questioned as the white void enveloped them, voice slurring as the emptiness slowly took over.

"More waiting…" L's voice quietly echoed. "Would you do that for me, Raito-kun? If it meant… being together again?"

Before everything fell away, leaving nothing but the never-ending white abyss, whispered words echoed throughout the space, the only mark that two souls had at one time inhabited the large rift.

"I'll wait…"

Those were the last words L heard before finally closing his eyes and letting the darkness overcome them both.

Sated gasps of pleasure fluttered out against Raito's will as he lay spent beside L, sheets of rain cascading against their window in a chorus of rumbles and crashes.

"L?

The body next to him shifted as midnight black eyes blinked, perspiration slowly drying as the detective nestled deeper within Raito's embrace.

"Yes, Raito-kun?"

"Don't leave me alone for too long, ok?"

L narrowed his eyes as Raito settled himself deep within his lover's embrace, allowing sleep to slowly take over his thought processes after another long night spent indulging his most intimate of fantasies.

"What does Raito-kun mean by that?"

But Raito couldn't reply, finally buried under the inevitable dreams of perpetual rain and hopeless grasp at memories he can never seem to remember come morning.

The sugar addicted detective sighed as he grasped his lover's hand, meshing their bodies as closely as possible as the world around L washed out into darkness, nothing but the caress of warm skin lulling him into another night of deep sleep.

August 8, 2039; Tokyo, Japan

"AKIRA!" Cried a shrill young voice, feminine pigtails bobbing up in down in a dance of annoyance. "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT YOU PSYCHOTIC LOVE CHILD?!"

Cinnamon brown eyes obscured by lengthy blonde and ebony bangs narrowed as a small girl of about eight or nine years old stood in front of them, hands on her hips as she glared back at the stubborn 16-year-old.

"You have to go to the store! Okaa-san specifically asked you to-"

"I know what she asked, Miko, don't have a conniption over it." Miyanaga Akira sighed as he ran a hand through his high-lighted locks, dark hair meshing caustically with the bright colored locks nestled in between them. "Don't know why she just didn't ask her dead beat boy toy…"

"That guy totally gives me the creeps." Miko sighed as she handed her older brother the small list and amount of yen required for said shopping trip. "Okaa-san sure knows how to pick 'em."

Akira playfully grinned, his sharp handsome features softening as he ruffled the young girl's ebony locks with one hand whilst shoving the other in his jeans pocket. "More your mother than mine."

"Hey!"

"See ya later pip-squeak!"

"Grr… I'm gonna get you one of these days Akira-no-baka!"

The teenage boy laughed as he jogged down the street, the smile slowly slipping down his face the farther he got from the small girl he fondly called his little sister, despite only being half-siblings.

Everybody else on the other hand…

'Idiots.' Caramel brown eyes rolled petulantly as the mobs of people walked around him, men in suits and women pushing strollers rushing past in a blur of everyday life.

"KIRA IS OUR GOD! OBEDIENCE IS OUR SOLUTION!" A middle aged man with wild eyes yelled out, bunches and bunches of people wearing hooded white coats with large signs within their hands cried out their agreement as they gathered around the lunatic. "WE MUST WEED OUT THE EVIL AND DESTROY THE NON-BELIEVERS!"

Akira ignored the protesters and pulled his jacket closer to his form fitting tee-shirt, police already forming to take down the fanatical group. Though many believed the original Kira to be long gone, (Akira being one of them) the ideal of the once living man still thrived quite viciously, causing havoc to many who simply wanted to live their lives in peace.

It all left the young man with a horrible taste in his mouth, a strong hate for the 'entity' the world had named Kira. In a way, his abhorrence wasn't natural, surpassing his affinity in his own morals and bordering on fanatical.

Whoever Kira had been… Akira hated him. And that was a fact.

'Stupid megalomaniacs with no common sense whatsoever…' Akira turned a corner, not looking where he was going before-

CRASH!

"Shit!"

"Fuck!"

Papers flew everywhere as the cinnamon-eyed boy clutched his head, sprawled out on the ground from the impact of the heavy collision.

"Ah." A baritone voice, stoic in quality captured the teenager's attention. Bleary eyes looked up only to be met with a pair of otherworldly ebony eyes. Pale chestnut locks, almost bordering on an almost dirty blonde, unevenly cut fell over the dark eyes, a pale face accentuated with light bags under the man's eyes tilted to the side as both men just stared at each other in slight awe.

'Do I know him…' Akira thought to himself, a feeling of de-ja-vu catching him off guard as his hand fell from its spot on his head and hit the ground inaudibly.

"Uh…"

"You were in my way." The man suddenly stated.

Akira blinked.

And then he blinked again.

"I… was in your way?" A snarl overcame Akira's smooth features, a pale flush overcoming his tanned cheeks as the man in front of him simply quirked an eyebrow up and continued to pick up his papers. "You collided into me you jerk!"

"Says who?" The other man picked up his last piece of paper before standing up, (Though it looked more like slouching to Akira) and shoving them unceremoniously into his half-opened suit case.

"Says me! And what are you doing, you idiot!" Never mind the fact Akira had never met the man in front of him before, the rebellious teen quickly stood up and grabbed the suit case out from the other man's clumsy hands and nimbly put all the papers back to where they had been with little effort whatsoever. "You were crumpling them all up, you weirdo. You could at least hold your papers correctly instead of plucking at them as if they were infested with germs or something."

"I'm so sorry. I will make sure not to do it again so not to offend you." The man stated blandly, reaching for the bag and shutting it without a second thought.

Akira blushed as a strange silence overcame the two, a feeling of familiarity crawling deep within the young boy.

"If you do not mind?" The strange man blank face bothered the young boy, uncomfortably aware of the way the gaze perused him up and down in a rather bored manner.

Before the man could completely pass him by, Akira let his foot stick out ever so slightly, a juvenile sort of delight making him smile in satisfaction as the mysterious man fell flat on his face with a slight 'oomph!'

"Nope. Not at all."

Akira gave the disgruntled man one last glance as he waltzed away, a lasting good mood set for the next fifteen minutes at the very least.

'Teenagers these days…' Lowen Ryo (He thanked both his English and Japanese ancestors for that mess of a name) thought to himself as he picked himself up, onyx eyes giving the wayward boy one last look before shaking his head in annoyance.

Though he was slightly annoyed by the collision, he couldn't help but admit that there had been something about the young boy that had captivated him…

'Very cute…' Ryo thought to himself, before he chanced a glance down at his clothing.

The 23-year-old gave his clothes a small glance, relieved he at least didn't get any dirt on his pressed white shirt and black slacks.

After a long day of teaching a bunch of high school brats about WWII, (And doubting any of the children managed to retain the information he shared) it would figure that being basically thrown on the ground by another brat (albeit a very interestingly attractive one) would just be the icing on the cake.

'Mm…' Ryo blinked as he paused in his speed walking, daydreams of pastries almost making the high school teacher drool in response. 'Cake…'

He didn't have anywhere to actually be…

Ryo turned around, making his way back in the direction he had came, hoping the pastry shop he usually attended had some warm treats ready for eating.

'Who knows,' Ryo smirked to himself as he continued to walk forward. 'Maybe they will have some fresh coffee too.'

Incident then forgotten for the time being, the young teacher made his way to the small bakery he always went to, which coincidentally was situated not too far from a certain super market an agitated 16-year-old was currently residing.

"Stupid cashiers…" Akira mumbled to himself as he exited the store, two bags in hand, as he ran a hand through his silken locks of hair.

It seemed the poor boy would always be bombarded with complete idiots.

'Nothing more and hopefully not anything less.' Akira thought in disdain. 'This is just getting to be too much…'

It probably didn't help that said 16-year-old was a certified genius.

Akira had always hoped for more than what he had been given, but it seemed between a dead father, a drug addicted mother with a series of horrible of boyfriends and a younger half-sister he himself had to take responsibility for, this was most likely as far as he was going to get for now.

Drops of rain began cascading on top of the disconcerted boy's head, the freezing drop of temperature causing him to pick up the pace. Akira brought the bags to his chest in a pathetic attempt to save the items from the fall of water as he continued to run; the rain it seemed was even faster, drenching him in a matter of minutes.

Akira then managed to spot a small bakery he went to once or twice before in a haste to get out of the rapid downpour, a feeling of relief enveloping his lithe form as he reached out for the door handle not noticing another body rapidly getting closer through the blurry waterfalls of water falling from the heavens.

'Better that than nothing at-'

CRASH!

SPLASH!

"ACK!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"You again?!" Akira called out from his spot on the ground (once again!). "Damn it!"

"I could say the same for you!" The seemingly older man cried out, a strange look overcoming his youthful face. "You wouldn't be following me, would you?"

"What?!" Akira cried out. "I don't even know who the hell you are, let alone want to follow you like a lost puppy!"

The sodden brunette got up once more, looking down at the angry teen whilst contemplating something unknown before offering a hand in assistance. Akira hesitantly eyed the pale skin and long fingers, wondering if it was even worth it to be angry at this point.

'You're soaked, bruised, and most likely not going to be making it home anytime soon.' The chocolate, eyed young man thought to himself as he shook his damp bangs away from his forehead. 'And you know you hate the rain…'

Decision made, Akira slowly grasped the other man's hand, eyes locking together in a moment of indistinct familiarity.

'Why does this…' Akira watched the other man's eyes widen in shock as his own breathing began to escalate in anxiousness. 'Feel so normal?'

"Uh…" The teen quickly picked himself up and tried to snatch his hand away from the other's grip only to be pulled closer in response. Ebony eyes examined Akira's hand within his own before glancing up to look up into the 16-year-old's eyes, still not letting go of the younger man's hand.

But nothing could have prepared the boy for the next words to come out of the older man's mouth.

"Would you like to have coffee with me?"

The question caught Akira off guard, causing him to almost stumble back in surprise.

"What?" The 16-year-old rebel almost kicked himself in the shin at the sound of the stupid question escaping his lips.

Ryo simply smirked in response.

"I will repeat the request for your benefit, then. I said; would you like to have coffee with me?"

"I'm sorry…" Came the uncharacteristically shy reply. "I don't even know your name…"

'That can't be me!' Raved a voice inside the dark haired boy's mind, but Akira ignored it, the warmth settling in his stomach fluttering as the other man continued to gaze at him with a look he could not describe.

"Well, we haven't had the time to properly introduce ourselves considering we have been too busy smashing into each other, so I suppose now is as good a time as ever. My name is Lowen Ryo, but you may call me Ryo." The man, now named Ryo, smoothly replied as he let go of the teenager's hand and smirked, hand now on the handle of the door they had both been rushing to get into.

"Miyanaga Akira." The boy stiffly responded, not sure if he should accept the offer or not. "Akira's fine, I guess..."

But still…

'Do it…' A small voice whispered in Akira's ear, paralyzing him in his spot, rain still swarming down over his head.

"I promise I will keep my hands to myself."

That pulled the 16-year-old out of his stupor.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Ryo shrugged as he opened the door for the soaked teen. "What are you waiting for?"

Akira glanced at the older man, his eyes sparkling with dewdrops lying against his long lashes.

'Waiting for…'

"I'll wait…"

"I don't know."Akira sarcastically retorted as he blushed, shivering in response to the warmth emanating from the bakery's open door as it brushed against his cold skin. "The rain to stop?"

"Yeah… right." Ryo cast a glance towards the downpour, ignoring the sarcasm in the young boy's voice. The older man was actually grateful for the cascading sheets of rain, but not knowing exactly why. "Me too."

Akira's cheeks flushed even further as a hand made its way to the small of his back, the door shutting with a jingle as Ryo ushered him inside. Without giving him another option, the onyx-eyed man guided the teenage genius to a table facing the avenues they had just been inhabiting.

The young man ran a hand through his ebony and blonde locks once again as the other man ordered two coffees (so presumptuous!) and two slices of cake for the both of them, a strange feeling of completion enveloping Akira's inner being as he continued to gaze out towards the raining streets.

'Maybe I am waiting for the rain to end…' the boy thought to himself as a waitress quickly scurried over with two cups and a pot of hot coffee and poured them liberal amounts of the wonderful liquid. 'But…'

Ryo grinned as he then grabbed the creamer and completely saturated his coffee with it, only to pour obscene amounts of sugar thereafter.

Normally Akira would have been disgusted by such a display, but for some reason, a smile overcame his own face as he sipped his own piping drink, the bitter taste satisfying his awaiting taste buds.

He had never felt this comfortable before…

"Akira-kun is barely eating a thing."

"Just because I'm not stuffing my face-"

"Akira-kun is cranky from not filling his appetite as he should."

"No, I'm-Hey! Don't put that glob of diabetes near my mouth! Ry-Gah!"

"Ah. See, isn't that better Akira-kun?"

"Mmph!"

'Something tells me I was really just waiting for you.'

Owari