Some Nights I Stay Up, Cashing in my Bad Luck, Some Nights I Call it a Draw [May 1]

[dead_black_eyes]

Characters: L Lawliet, Bakura Ryou
Location: Starting at the apartment, ending in Las Vegas, baby!
Rating: PG for showgirls, and for L treating Bakura like a servant (wait, no, valet.)
Time: May 1, 4:00 PM to around 10:00 PM
Description: L has figured out where Light is hiding out after the cruel and humiliating "dinner party" events. But traveling without backup is a bad idea, and there are a lot of ways for two game-loving young guys to kill time before unfortunate quarries return to their crappy motel rooms.




L had not traveled outside Death City since arriving except through Shibusen's mirror transportation for missions. That made this a somewhat special occasion, but that being said, he was traveling very lightly. He had one change of clothes, Light's toothbrush (despite the fact that Bakura had bought him a whole stack of new ones), and his communicator, and that was about it. They barely filled half of the blue backpack L had chosen to carry his personal belongings, and so he filled the rest with candy.

He sounded like a piñata when he walked, but it was worth it to know that he would have snacks on the bus.

He waited expectently for Bakura to show up; the bus would be arriving within ten minutes, and while L was aware that Bakura was typically punctual, he would leave without him if he was late even this once.

Comments

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura, for direct contrast, had packed far more sensibly. He'd even gotten himself a proper suitcase (a blue one, of course) with wheels and everything. Carefully packed inside was the suit he had managed to rent, two spare sets of clothing, formal shoes, a small bag with his toothbush, floss, sunscreen and hair brush, two bento boxes (one with his dinner, one with deserts that he was sure L was going to flinch), a camera, a first aid kit, his DPS and three games.

The last part of the list being the most important, of course.

He waved as he spotted his friend, suitcase rolling behind him.

[dead_black_eyes]

Ah. Just as long as L could count on Bakura to pick up his ill-prepared slack, this entire thing would be well worth it.

"The bus is here, as of right now," he said, impressed by the fact that he was precisely on time but unwilling to state it outright. There was no reason to make Bakura feel like he was doing too well, no reason to stroke his ego. All of this, after all, was already expected.

"You're the valet, so take my backpack," L instructed, tossing it at Bakura. Then, seemingly as an afterthought, he plucked a book from the counter top with his thumb and forefinger, tucking it under his arm.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura caught it on reflex, wincing slightly as his arm twinged at the impact. "Eeeh? We're starting that already?"

Judging by how his suit was in the suit case and not on him, he had expected that wouldn't start until they reached the hotel....

[dead_black_eyes]

"There's nothing wrong with getting in character early. You're less likely to break it later," L answered authoritatively.

They made their way downstairs, and L boarded the bus immediately, leaving it to Bakura to load up their luggage.

First, though, he slipped the young man $30.

"I'll be providing the money for this trip, but I have decided that I don't want to be seen participating in transactions. Money is crude and it is beneath me, so you'll be involved when it must change hands."

[shiromadoushi]

"I don't break character..." Bakura all but pouted, already resigned to being treated like hired help.

...wait, did that mean no video games on the bus...?! Sou naaaaa!

Needless to say, his enthusiasm was slightly dampened when he followed L onto the bus after getting their bags into the cargo hold.

[dead_black_eyes]

It was because of this excellent attitude of resignation that L didn't rescind his invitation following coming down from the nitrous oxide at the dentist.

"$30," said the driver as soon as Bakura boarded. "Your employer said that you were handling it?"

[shiromadoushi]

"Aa-- yes," Bakura nodded, retrieving the money L had handed him earlier and holding it out to the driver with a small bow of his head.

[dead_black_eyes]

L was already settled in a window-seat, his knees drawn to his chest as he waited for Bakura to join him.

"I'm bored," he announced the moment the bus started to move... already ignoring the book in his lap.

[shiromadoushi]

It took most of Bakura's self control not to make a face. This quickly...

"What would you like me to do about it...?"

[dead_black_eyes]

"Did you bring anything to do? I hope so. Otherwise, it's up to you to entertain me."

[shiromadoushi]

"I left my games in my suitcase since you said I was on duty from the start of the trip," Bakura pointed out, keeping his voice formal and even. If Ryuzaki wanted him to be in character...

"Please let me know next time that you expect that sort of thing to be provided."

[dead_black_eyes]

"I don't remember saying that you couldn't play games," L said, sulking as he looked out the window. "What do you think a valet does, aside from keeping their employer happy? I'm unhappy. So, you should probably fix that. Tell me a story about Domino."

[shiromadoushi]

Already, Bakura was starting to regret agreeing to this trip...

"Have I told you about Duelist Kingdom?"

The Next Morning, 11:15 AM

[dead_black_eyes]

L wavered slightly as he climbed the stairs, stopping four separate times to kneel and catch his breath. He'd lost a significant amount of blood the night before, and though the messy, dark sutures held the skin shut at his slashed wrists he wondered just how well the bleeding had been stopped internally. At any rate, he was chalk-white, there was a distant ringing in his ears, and he would need to come up with an excuse for the cuts running along the undersides of his forearms. On one hand, he could tell the truth and say that Light Yagami had used his Meister ability to make him slit them... but that could result in them being even more strongly discouraged from spending time with each other, even when (strangely enough) things were actually going better now.

Fist fights and wrist-slitting were not the only things that had happened in that seedy motel room. And this time, the Madness wasn't a legitimate excuse for any of it.

He made his way back to the door at 11:15, 45 minutes before the checkout, leaving Light in the lobby. His reasoning was that, even if the man decided to flee, the fact that his travel had been cut off would severely hinder his ability to go a long distance. And if L could find him in the middle of Las Vegas the first time, he'd certainly be able to cover a one-mile radius before mid-afternoon.

Not that running really felt like an option for the younger man now, anyway,

He slid the card key through the lock, wrenching the door open and doing his best to get straight into the bathroom. The faster he could be, without allowing Bakura to get close enough to smell the sweat and sex clinging to his hair and clothes, the better.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura was torn between being still furious at how L had set him up and then vanished the previous night, leaving him in a nightmare he had had a hard time escaping from and being worried sick and debating when he should be calling missing persons.

When he heard the click of the lock, it was a mix of relief and fresh irritation, both which died on sight of his friend.

To say that L looked like hell would be an understatement and Bakura couldn't help but stare as he got to his feet. "Ryuzaki-kun, what---"

[dead_black_eyes]

L was honestly planning to be very sorry, just a little bit later, when he could sweep the larger mess under the rug.

"Nothing," he said, trying to sound nonchalant. "Just taking a quick shower before checkout..."

He shut the door; it didn't lock. He stripped, nudging his filthy clothes against the gap and turning on the shower, trying to ignore the way his vision blotched and blurred sickly as the water swirled down the drain.

[shiromadoushi]

Even if Bakura weren't the type to worry and hadn't been worried for hours before, he wouldn't have been brushed off by that. His eyes stayed on the shower door a long moment as he bit his lip.

Something had happened... Ryuzaki hadn't looked that pale when they had parted ways. What could have...

There were a lot of possibilities that flooded his brain as he tried to guess what had gone wrong, all of them making him more worried.

He glanced over at his already packed and waiting suitcase before laying it flat and pulling out the first aid kit. What ever had happened...

[dead_black_eyes]

As the water ran and L's tongue felt thick and heavy in his mouth, he mentally rehearsed what was going to happen. He would finish his shower, bag up his clothes, and ask Bakura for a spare set.

L had only brought one spare set, after all. And he had come in this morning wearing it. The clothes he had left wearing the night before were covered in blood, bagged up, and discarded in a dumpster. Probably still there, since trash wasn't collected on Sunday, but nothing L wanted to ever see again.

Really, L's plan ended there. There was only so much he could explain without it sounding absolutely ridiculous. Even the bare minimum ("need clothes, don't ask") was pushing it.

L's body would ultimately make the decision for him. As he stepped into the shower, a numbness crept into his face and shimmered over his vision, the floor tilted, and his legs gave out under him. Eyes staring and unseeing, his limbs jerked and spasmed involuntarily as the water poured down on his bloodless back.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura froze at the sound. There was something horrible to it, heavy and thick that made it unmistakable. "Ryuzaki-kun...?" he called, fingers white around the first aid kit as he walked to the bathroom door.

No answer. Why was there-- Maybe he hadn't heard. The water was loud, the water was always loud. Maybe---

He pounded on the door, panic rising. "Ryuzaki-kun! Are you okay?! Answer me!"

[dead_black_eyes]

L would definitely have answered, if he could hear anything at all. Later, the moments would feel like a story he was told about another person, or a picture of someone else, even though he knew it had to be him.

A small mercy was the fact that the tub had a drain that worked well, and there wasn't enough water on the shower's floor for an unconscious man to drown in.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura only waited seconds more before trying the knob, all but throwing the door open. "Ryuzaki-kun, are--"

He froze, eyes wide as he spotted his friend, crumpled in an ungainly pile. Oh fu--

Adrenaline kicked in seconds later as everything turned into a blur of motion. The water was turned off as he grabbed towels, crouching down to carefully haul L to be sitting up, wrapping the towels around him.

He was cold. Why was he so cold! Was he breathing? Pulse, he needed to--

The motion froze again as Bakura stared at his friend's wrists. The bulky stitching, the screaming red lines, the ugly deep red and purple around them....

Ambulance. He needed to call an ambulance.

[dead_black_eyes]

L was dimly aware at first of the fact that he was being propped up, melting limply out of the stiff hypotension-caused seizure as Bakura wrapped him in towels. The ringing in his ears returned, only to fade back so he could hear his friend's ragged breathing in painfully sharp focus.

So much for discretion... Too late to hide my injuries. Next, he'll think he has to call an ambulance, and that can't happen.

He seized Bakura's wrist; his own grip wasn't particularly firm, it couldn't be, with the mess things were under those stitches, but the message had to be clear.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura had been about to get up but the cold fingers around his wrist stopped him and he turned. "Ryuzaki-kun..." There was a bit of relief in his voice. If he was moving, it meant he was closer to being alive...

"I'm going to call an ambulance, okay? Just hang on..."

[dead_black_eyes]

L swallowed past his cotton-dry throat, not releasing his weak but desperate hold on Bakura's wrist.

"No. You can't..."

[shiromadoushi]

"You're going to die if you don't get treated!" Bakura protested, panic rising. "The first aid kit can't do anything against this! I don't--"

His breath caught a moment before the words could escape. He didn't know what else to do. His best friend was going to die and he couldn't--

Wait.

There was something he could do. That only he could do...

"Ryuzaki-kun, I need you to resonate with me. Enough so I can try healing you."

It was a long shot. He didn't know how well it would work, how well L could take resonating in the state he was in, how well anything would work, but he had to try. Every moment lost was one more moment that those ugly bruises were going to continue to grow and his friend's skin would grow colder until nothing could save him... Even if it was only a little... even if it was just enough...!