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Disclaimer: Death Note is owned by Tsugumi Ohba, and Takeshi Obata. Neither of whom are me.

/Author's Note: /This fic was originally written for the LiveJournal community of 30 Kisses. Yes, it was approved. We could all use some L/Misa love, let's be honest. This is an AU, and dabbles with the idea of Misa meeting L before Light. Still with me? Good. Let's go.

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Theme 12: In a Good Mood

For the next week, it seemed that if anyone in the world could prove luck existed, it was Amane Misa. Not only did she get a particularly sought after cameo role on a well watched drama series, her manager called her to announce that she had been voted most popular face for the month in Cutie. And with the publicity that created, she was bound to get jobs for even more prominent magazines.

Along with Ryuuzaki's reappearance, Misa was fairly content that absolutely nothing could derail her feeling of euphoria.

Just in case though, Misa visited the shrine near her parents' graves to pray. Her mother always said it helped when she needed it, so Misa was sure it couldn't hurt. She even bought herself a charm for luck. On a whim, she bought one for Ryuuzaki, too. She didn't think he was superstitious like she was, but maybe he'd appreciate the thought of it.

Misa also did something that she had never done since her modeling career began; she bought sugar. One large box of sugar cubes to be exact, since Ryuuzaki had once offhandedly mentioned that he was making a wall of them. Being on the other end of the phone line, Misa had wondered just how much sugar he could possibly have lying around to do such a thing.

Figuring Ryuuzaki's habits into the equation, Misa had gone out the day after her first impulse buy to get another box, just to be on the safe side. She also picked up a carrot cake, since she figured if she scraped the icing off it well enough, it wouldn't be too fattening to pick at a piece herself. It was made of carrots, after all.

When Sunday came, Misa made sure her apartment was in perfect order. She had explained to Ryuuzaki that Sundays were the only days he'd definitely find her at her apartment. While he hadn't said anything in regard to this fact, Misa was convinced he'd pop again. After all, she was on a lucky streak.

And sure enough, in the early afternoon the doorbell rang, and a raccoon-eyed Ryuuzaki greeted her with a wave, before he was nearly dragged into the living room of her apartment. A lively Misa escorted him to the sofa, and sat down next to him, all lace, ruffles, and smiles. Clearly, Misa was having a very good week.

Ryuuzaki was used to Misa's cheerful mood swings over the phone, but to see it in person was almost an experience in of itself. She sat at near inappropriately close proximity, leaning in toward him so he could actually feel her warm breath as she spoke. Her eyes would crinkle just a little when she smiled, and he would sometimes even catch a glimpse of a dimple on her left cheek, which was different from the smiles he saw her use in her pictures. He concluded this was a real Misa smile, and decided that he liked it far more than the modeling ones.

"Misa-san seems very happy," he said, if only to get her to stop rambling about a particularly cute actor she had just met. He didn't wish to appear rude, but he honestly couldn't have cared less about how nice the male lead's hair was, or how his smile was 'really sexy.'

"Misa is!" she grinned, nearly bouncing off the couch to head to the connecting kitchen. Humming, she began to heat up a kettle of water. "This has been a great week. And now that Ryuuzaki-san is here," she opened up the fridge to retrieve her previously bought cake, "it's even better!"

Ryuuzaki tilted his head back to watch her, the tip of his left index finger caught between his teeth. "Really?" The question had more curiosity than shock in its tone.

"Of course," she nodded, reaching into her cabinet for cups and the sugar cubes she had so delicately placed into a glass jar. "I have friends who work at Yoshida with me, but our days off almost never coincide, so we only get to see each other if we're on the same shoot. Even so, we talk more than Misa has talked to Ryuuzaki-san in the past couple months," she gave him a disapproving frown. "So... Having Ryuuzaki-san visit two Sundays in a row is a very big thing to me."

For his part, Ryuuzaki looked down at his feet, wiggling toes dangling off the edge of the sofa. "Hmmm," was the noncommittal response.

Misa's frowned deepened, and she suddenly held tight to the white box in her hands. "No cake for Ryuuzaki-san," she stated, childishly.

His head shot up, neck craning to get a good look at the girl behind him. "Cake?"

"Misa bought a cake with Ryuuzaki-san in mind. But you seem unhappy to be here, so no cake for Ryuuzaki-san," Misa repeated with a pout, turning to replace the box back in the refrigerator.

Ryuuzaki shuffled his feet so he was facing Misa. He leaned his already hunched form forward, restless fingers drumming along the back edge of the couch. "I apologize, Misa-san," he said, head tilted submissively downward. "I've been distracted as of late."

"Too distracted for Misa?" she questioned, not about to fall for the beaten look he was giving her. She had already noticed how his eyes were focused eagerly on the cake box she held. Crocodile tears wouldn't work on her. "Ryuuzaki-san is spending time with Misa now! He shouldn't be worrying about other things."

He began chewing on his thumb, eyes still on the prize she was holding. Misa wondered what he was thinking; it was hard to tell when he had such a blank expression. "I suppose you're right. I will do my best to be a better guest.
"And, as a good guest," he began, a little smile creeping on his features, "I feel it's my duty to tell you that a good hostess does not offer and then deny her guests food."

Misa's eyebrows shot up, her jaw dropping just enough for her to utter an undignified squeak.

"It's quite rude, you see," Ryuuzaki explained, leaning a bit more so that his chin was almost resting on the back of the sofa. "And I know Misa-san is far too polite to not be a good hostess." His smiled widened a little. "Correct?"

She shut her mouth, and gave him her best glare. But it was no use. The sly smile never left his face, and she realized that denying him this victory would make her look the fool in the end. Besides, she had bought the cake with him in mind. It would definitely go to waste if she put it back in the fridge.

With a sigh, she walked over and placed the box on the coffee table in front of him. Ryuuzaki had already turned around in anticipation, eyes bright with the idea of a fresh rush of sugar coursing through his body. She briefly wondered where it all went, since he barely looked like he ate anything. She then decided that if she had his metabolism maybe she'd eat like him, too.

When he opened the box, and smiled at the cake like a child would a shiny new toy, Misa amended her last thought. She still wouldn't eat like him. It would probably make her sick to her stomach if she tried.

"Misa will go get the tea," she said. As an afterthought, she added, "Don't touch the cake until I at least get you a plate and fork."

Ryuuzaki gave her what she assumed was an insulted look. "Of course. I'm not an animal, Misa-san."

She snorted, but trusted him to not go digging in with his fingers. For the most part, anyway. She walked back to the kitchenette, and dug out a couple tea bags in the back of a cabinet. She heard him click his tongue in disappointment when he realized that she was going to wait for the tea to finish seeping before bringing the necessary utensils for the cake. Misa knew that she could be nice, and multitask easily enough. But teasing Ryuuzaki was far more entertaining.

She was placing the cups of finished tea on saucers when she heard a phone ring. Not recognizing the tone, she spun around to Ryuuzaki, who was fishing something out of his pocket. He pulled out a silver cell phone, and flipped it open without even looking at who the caller was.

Holding it with just the tips of his fingers, as if it might be contaminated somehow, he placed it to his ear. "Yes?"

"Hey!" Misa huffed, unable to help herself. "How come someone else can have Ryuuzaki-san's phone number, but not Misa?"

Ryuuzaki ignored her. "Yes, I'm aware of that," he replied to the caller's question. He remained silent for a while, listening to the person on the other end. With a sigh, he used his free hand to scratch a little at his kneecaps. "Yes, I know that, too. But I figured a day off a week would be ideal. We don't want burnout." A pause. "Yes, that probably shouldn't apply to me."

Misa frowned. She didn't like where this strange conversation was heading. She placed the teacups down with a clatter in front of Ryuuzaki, before standing up straight with her hands at her hips. "What's going on?"

"No, you've got a point," Ryuuzaki said, still not looking at Misa. "But... Can it wait until after the cake?" he asked, almost weakly. There was a definite shout on the other end. He flinched only slightly, but looked resigned more than surprised. "I figured I could at least ask. Very well, then. I'll be leaving shortly."

"What?!" Misa shouted, livid. She had just gotten Ryuuzaki back, and now some mystery person was making him leave? Misa's imagination ran wild, and she pictured some buxom woman on the end of the line, all ruby nails and gloss covered lips, jealously calling Ryuuzaki back to her illicit love den.

The rational part of Misa's mind told her that was absolutely a ridiculous theory, but Misa was taking no chances.

"Give me that!" She snatched the phone out of Ryuuzaki's delicate grasp so quickly he barely had a chance to react.

"Misa-san, please give that back," he reached for his phone, but Misa was already stalking away from him, and placing it to her ear.

"Hello?" she said, irritation lacing her tone.

"Who is this?" the person on the other end replied, voice shocked, and most definitely male.

"You're not a woman," Misa blinked, relieved.

"I beg your pardon?" the man sputtered. "Young lady, you have no right to be on this phone. Give it back immediately!"

The demand brought back her righteous indignation. "You're the one telling Ryuuzaki-san he has to leave, aren't you?"

"W-what? Are you even listening to me?" the man questioned.

"You have no right to tell Ryuuzaki-san to leave," she mocked his words. "He just got here!"

"Young lady, I'm sorry, but I really have no time to discuss this matter with you," he said, sounding slightly apologetic, but still annoyed. "Now, please be a good girl, and give the phone back to Ryuuzaki."

"No," Misa refused.

"Now, listen here, young lady-"

"No, you listen!" she pointed at the receiver, as if he could see her. "Misa has not seen or heard from Ryuuzaki-san in almost two whole months! And now he's here, and you're telling him to leave. And it sounds like you don't want him to come back."

"Well, it's just-"

"Misa wants Ryuuzaki-san to visit!" she nearly shouted, stamping her foot. Behind her, still on the couch, the young man in question looked on with a curious expression. "Misa missed him," she confessed softly enough so only the man on the phone could hear her. Raising her voice, she declared, "So, you can't tell him he can't, understand?"

There was silence for a moment, before the man answered calmly. "I'm very sorry, young lady. I understand that you're upset, but there really are greater matters here than... Well, than your feelings. I really do apologize."

Misa would've shouted again, if he hadn't sounded so sincere. Instead she huffed a little, before a thought made her frown a bit. "You sound old," she stated, a matter-of-factly. "Are you Ryuuzaki-san's father?"

Behind her, Ryuuzaki practically bit through his thumb.

"W-what?" the man stuttered, at a lost to how to respond.

"Well, if you're not Ryuuzaki-san's father, are you his boss?" she asked.

The caller collected his dignity quickly. "Young lady, if you would please hand the phone over to Ryuuzaki now?"

"Hmmmm," Misa tilted his head up, tapping her chin in thought. "If you were Ryuuzaki-san's boss, then he would've already left. So, maybe you work for Ryuuzaki-san. Yes?"

"It's all really none of your business as to who I am, my dear," the man said, sounding as composed as he could be.

"Well, if you do work for Ryuuzaki-san," Misa spun on her heals, looking at her guest with a small smile, "then he doesn't have to listen to you, yes? Right, Ryuuzaki-san?"

He watched her hopeful expression for a moment, before carefully answering. "Well, that would be technically correct," he admitted. "If that was the case."

"I'm going to assume it is," she grinned, victoriously. "So, Ryuuzaki-san doesn't have to leave."

"Young lady," the man on the phone sighed, "you can't just do what you want by creating your own logic."

"It's not my own logic!" Misa pouted. "Misa knows that if you're the boss you make your own decisions. And if Ryuuzaki-san is the boss, he doesn't have to leave if he doesn't want to. And Ryuuzaki-san doesn't want to leave. Right, Ryuuzaki-san? Right?"

"Well... " Ryuuzaki nibbled on his thumb, eyeing Misa's pleading look, before glancing uncomfortably down at his feet.

"Misa can't finish the cake all by herself," she mentioned, sounding completely innocent. "I would have to throw it away." She watched Ryuuzaki's head jerk upwards a bit at that, and she sighed dramatically. "And then Misa would also have to throw away all the sugar cubes she bought. Since Misa doesn't really eat sugar, and Ryuuzaki-san wouldn't be visiting, there'd be no point to keep them."

"That... That would definitely be a shame," Ryuuzaki said, a tiny grin forming on his lips. "It would be an awful waste."

"Yes, it would," Misa agreed, nodding vigorously. "And Ryuuzaki-san would be a horrible guest for leaving so early, and making me waste all that time and money."

"I suppose I would be, wouldn't I?" he asked, his grin widening just a little. "We wouldn't want that, now would we? It would make me terribly rude."

"Yes," she smiled.

"I will have to rectify this possible social blunder by staying, and fulfilling my duties as a proper guest," Ryuuzaki declared, one finger tapping at his bottom lip.

"That's a brilliant idea!" Misa complimented him.

The man on the other end of the line let out a long sigh of exasperation. "Honestly, now... "

"Oh, you're still on?" Misa said, surprised at the sound of his voice. Then, she shrugged. "Misa doesn't know why she's still talking to you, anyway. This is Ryuuzaki-san time, not old man time. Bye now!" She cut the man's retort off with a resounding clack of the phone closing. She turned to Ryuuzaki, and smiled brightly. "So, cake?"

He watched her as she regained her previously cheerful demeanor. She handed him back his phone, and with a swish of her skirt, went back to the kitchen to get utensils and the sugar. Misa did it all with a smiling grace and ditzy façade that belied the precocious young woman Ryuuzaki suspected her to be.

She sat down next to him, and handed him the knife for the cake, as she took a sugar for her tea that she lamented out loud was probably cold now. Ryuuzaki told her it didn't matter if she put enough sugar in it. She could just put an ice cube in it, and make it iced tea. Her response was a pout and a slight yank to his hair.

"So, Ryuuzaki-san is going to visit again, right?" Misa asked, purposely keeping her eyes focused on her removal of her cake's icing.

"Most likely. Can I have your icing?" he asked, fork already in position to take it.

"Okay. Misa just wants to make sure Ryuuzaki-san comes back." She watched him scrape his fork along her plate, taking every last bit of icing he could, before almost voraciously devouring it. "Because Misa would miss Ryuuzaki-san. A bit," she added. "And Ryuuzaki-san would miss Misa... Right?"

There was silence, aside from his chewing.

She turned to him, frowning. "Well?"

"That really goes without saying, I'd think, Misa-san," he replied, licking his fork. "I wouldn't have gone searching for where you moved in Tokyo if I didn't want to see you. I don't like wasting my time on things that don't interest me."

She beamed. "Misa's interesting, then?"

He gave her a quick glance. "Among other things."

But that was really all Misa needed to hear. Ryuuzaki wasn't going to disappear again on her. He wanted to spend time with her. That knowledge in of itself was good enough to make Misa consider this a very good week indeed.