L sighed and shook his head, not quite refraining from rolling his eyes. "Weren't we all."
There was genuine chagrin in his voice, and annoyance; it was only a matter of proving that Yagami was Kira, a matter of fixing the loose ends around him until he was thoroughly entangled. He didn't care so much about Amane, who would be pulled under in Yagami's wake no matter what else happened. He was certain that Yagami didn't care, either.
They both seemed far away, too far to formulate the distance in his mind, even though he had seen and spoken to Amane soon after his arrival, and Matt had mentioned that Yagami had been at Landel's for a while. It would be more difficult to credit if not for the fact that he had every indication that he and Mello had both been there at one point, too.
He had been planning to mention it, and the fact of his conversation with Matt, as information worth noting. Now, that idea revealed itself as a pitfall. The things he knew about Mello would be more suspect if it seemed possible that L might have learned them at the Institute.
He caught the odd quality in Mello's voice. If it had not been for the position their meeting yesterday had put him in, he would not be inclined to humor demands. No, even then, he was disinclined, but the situation gave him little choice in the matter.
On the other hand, Mello seemed to need an answer, apart from wanting and insisting on one. A good sign; it restored some of what L felt was the appropriate balance of power. That Mello was doing a good job of hiding the need was even better: Why hide something that isn't a vulnerability? I think you want me to be L. Elements of their interaction the day before supported this theory.
"Because I am myself today." His gaze was fixed on Mello again, and he spoke in low, unamused tones. That answer, at least, would be obvious, if not for the fact that he had been so completely convinced of a lie less than twenty-four hours earlier.
"The easiest thing would be for me to write your name just above the surface of this table with the tip of my finger, but I will restrain myself; the nurses are watching. My second choice would be to mention to you that it is more hazardous to make midnight kitchen excursions here than it was when you were twelve years old -- no, thirteen -- in Winchester. Which was, by the way, the last time I saw you. It hasn't been eighteen months since then."
He dropped his gaze to the table in front of Mello, then made a point of letting it travel back up Mello's torso, to his face. "You are twenty now? Maybe you have some explaining to do, yourself." 2010 was the year Matt had given him.
no subject
There was genuine chagrin in his voice, and annoyance; it was only a matter of proving that Yagami was Kira, a matter of fixing the loose ends around him until he was thoroughly entangled. He didn't care so much about Amane, who would be pulled under in Yagami's wake no matter what else happened. He was certain that Yagami didn't care, either.
They both seemed far away, too far to formulate the distance in his mind, even though he had seen and spoken to Amane soon after his arrival, and Matt had mentioned that Yagami had been at Landel's for a while. It would be more difficult to credit if not for the fact that he had every indication that he and Mello had both been there at one point, too.
He had been planning to mention it, and the fact of his conversation with Matt, as information worth noting. Now, that idea revealed itself as a pitfall. The things he knew about Mello would be more suspect if it seemed possible that L might have learned them at the Institute.
He caught the odd quality in Mello's voice. If it had not been for the position their meeting yesterday had put him in, he would not be inclined to humor demands. No, even then, he was disinclined, but the situation gave him little choice in the matter.
On the other hand, Mello seemed to need an answer, apart from wanting and insisting on one. A good sign; it restored some of what L felt was the appropriate balance of power. That Mello was doing a good job of hiding the need was even better: Why hide something that isn't a vulnerability? I think you want me to be L. Elements of their interaction the day before supported this theory.
"Because I am myself today." His gaze was fixed on Mello again, and he spoke in low, unamused tones. That answer, at least, would be obvious, if not for the fact that he had been so completely convinced of a lie less than twenty-four hours earlier.
"The easiest thing would be for me to write your name just above the surface of this table with the tip of my finger, but I will restrain myself; the nurses are watching. My second choice would be to mention to you that it is more hazardous to make midnight kitchen excursions here than it was when you were twelve years old -- no, thirteen -- in Winchester. Which was, by the way, the last time I saw you. It hasn't been eighteen months since then."
He dropped his gaze to the table in front of Mello, then made a point of letting it travel back up Mello's torso, to his face. "You are twenty now? Maybe you have some explaining to do, yourself." 2010 was the year Matt had given him.