Chapter Eighteen

                                    

                                          
A fair few days had passed since the Yagamis and Misa Amane were released from observation and watching Light and L pull each other around like manic dogs tied to a single leash was still funny. 
No, really. Light had dozed off on the couch one day (unsurprising; L had been particularly sadistic recently and had been keeping the poor boy awake for days on end) and it turned out L wanted something from the kitchen. Instead of doing the sensible thing and asking me - someone who was fully conscious and not restrained via bondage - to fetch it, the detective decided to simply stand up and drag a startled Light Yagami across the floor with him like a sack of potatoes. 
It was in that moment I truly realised how a) surprisingly strong L was and b) ultimately petty he was too. Light would get him back, I was sure.
In some ways, they reminded me of Newton's Cradle. Sometimes I'd 'accidentally' step on the chain just to watch them collide. Call it scientific curiosity. 
Some boundaries were established to make all our lives a little bit easier during that time. On nights when I needed to sleep, I took the bed and the boys stayed in the common area. In times when Light needed to sleep, we switched and I slept on the couch (often with a lot of opposition on L's part; he argued it was less comfortable to work in the bedroom - something to do with the lighting? Whatever, it was all a bunch of bullshit he pulled out of his ass anyway). The detective was adamant that we'd respect each other's space and not share a bed. He justified it by deeming it was inappropriate. Personally, I just thought he was jealous. 
The weird sleepover element we had going on was shortly ended when L announced we'd be moving to a more private, more permanent, location. He'd commissioned its construction back in December after the Task Force was assembled for the first time in person and from what he'd told me, he spared no expense. Twenty five floors. Twenty. Five. For one investigation team, even that seemed like a bit much - but no one was complaining. We all had the choice to live there and get our own floor to ourselves; it was like Christmas had come early. 
"Is everything packed?" I asked aloud, doing one last check of all the rooms. 
"I have everything I need," said Light as L gave a slow nod, too preoccupied with the cheesecake Watari had brought him earlier that morning. 
"Alright then, should we go?"
The boys stood. Light gathered his two small bags as best he could with one hand, the other extended towards L who was still busy stuffing his face as he headed towards the room door. Then, deftly, L removed the key from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs, giving Light a long warning look, reminding him that this was a privilege he should not attempt to get used to. We'd agreed beforehand that it would be best to remove the cuffs before exiting the building to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves (internally, I made sure to thank God that L had made that decision. I did not want strangers to associate me with the two freaky kinksters who walked around in chains in public). 
Checking out was a breeze, Light Yagami was a very well behaved captive, and we were on our way to the new location promptly. It was situated no more than twenty miles outside of Tokyo in Machida and boy it wasn't hard to miss. Massive in height, it was a hefty beast made of stainless steel and bulletproof glass. It wasn't grand in structure as the likes of the Ritz or the Marriott which towered over the city but it was an intimidating giant nonetheless. I had to crane my neck outside of the window to take a look at the whole of it. 
We met the rest of the force by the front door, all glancing up at our new residence with anxious excitement. L, the big boy, had taken it upon himself to explain the building's security measures to us all earlier. A six-digit PIN number which would be changed fortnightly; touch ID; a retinal screening, and then - on top of all that - a metal detector (just in case Kira decides knives are now his thing... or for when one of the men finally snap and try to assassinate L, I guess).