A Charmed Life 12 New World
A/N: This is a Ryuk/Light AU Death Note fanfic. I don't own Death Note.
***
“We can’t hide out here forever, you know.” Ryuk observed as Light finished up with some routine maintenance on one of his irrigation machines.
“You know I wasn’t planning to,” the teen retorted as he dusted the grey dirt off one of his scruffier pairs of leather pants.
His father would probably have a heart attack if he saw the sort of outfits he was wearing now. Light had brought along some of his old wardrobe but he typically didn’t wear his old suits (three piece or track suits) anymore except for during their occasional excursions to the human world for supplies. Light wasn’t particularly attached to suits-it’s just he knew how to appear respectable in human society. Light knew that one’s choice of clothes could serve as an effective as camouflage, armor, and they were often useful for making a statement. They reflected one’s profession and dressing well reflected well on himself and those associated with him. Light wanted to dress his best-both for himself and for his new husband but upon arriving in the Shinigami realm he had soon discovered that the reason why Ryuk and so many other Shinigami wore leather-it was because of the sandstorms. And while Shinigami could phase out when the storms hit the majority of Shinigami were too lazy, or got too into their card games, to bother most of the time and the sand still stung when they were corporeal. Light, being technically still a human (even if he thought of himself as a human God… and the majority of the Shinigami realm thought of him as a breeding factory) was incapable of phasing out when the sandstorms hit so he quickly adopted an all leather wardrobe. (That Ryuk always drooled over him in tight leather pants had absolutely nothing to do with it.) He never left home anymore without his goggles anymore either-they were a gift from Ryuk after he survived his first sandstorm on the Shinigami world and of obvious Shinigami make, made of chains, metal, and bone with green emerald lenses -they might make him like a dork but it was still preferable to getting sand in his eyes.
Light pushed his goggles back so that they further messed his sweaty hair and self-consciously smiled up at his husband; easily accepting his hand up. Light no doubt was a mess right now but Ryuk didn’t seem to mind. Hand in hand they made their way back to their new “apartment” which was, in actuality Ryuk’s cave on the side of the windswept mountain but furnished with what the habitants considered all the best trappings of the human world. Even though they were settling in well, Light had known he had his work cut out for him from the moment they first arrived. So far they had a bed, couch, a desk, a lap top, a couple of lamps, some chairs, some book cases with human world books on them, a fridge, a kitchenette, a TV, and an X-Box 360-just the bare necessities. They had yet to do anything about the floor other than giving it a thorough dusting. Light had initially thought about putting a carpet in their cave but not only would that be a lot of work that he’d probably end up doing but that just seemed kind of tacky. That and he found he didn’t mind the cold stone floor so much as long as he remembered to wear socks as he generally preferred to do. (Besides, bare feet kind of reminded him of a certain obnoxious someone who shall not be named from an over and done with chapter of his life.) Rugs would look nice in there though-maybe a pair of fake fur rugs with tiger stripes. One could go at the foot of the bed and the other by the hearth. He’d see about acquiring some the next time they visited the human world.
Light had entertained visions of a clean break and leaving his old life behind him but of course it couldn’t be that simple. He’d had to make several trips back to the human world for groceries and other supplies and he feared he was almost spotted on multiple occasions but he had to keep risking it if he wanted to make the Shinigami realm habitable; let alone bring about his visions of turning it into a paradise. His “farming project” was coming along well and Light hoped to one day have a completely self-sustaining ecosystem built in their backyard but until then they would have to continue to make their periodic trips back to the human world.
Light had made quite a bit of progress already in terraforming their “backyard,” the valley beyond the mountain Ryuk had claimed for them to shack up in, it was quiet, little known, and out of the way place… even for the Shinigami realm. It turned out most of the Shinigami hung around one spot all the time and didn’t do much in the way of exploring, finding much of the land to be exactly the same-just sand and more sand as far as the eye could see. Ryuk, however, had always was more curious than his counterparts and so knew about these mountains and the secluded valley beyond. The valley itself had once looked the same as anywhere else in the Shinigami realm-that is sand peppered with the occasional feature such as a viewing pool, pile of skulls, or pile of rusty gears and parts of some unknown ancient but obviously defunct machines. The valley’s one defining feature had been a small and struggling stand of native apple trees.
That was before Light happened to it.
The teenage God looked down upon the junk piles that still marred the paradise he was building and wondered what sort of civilization the Shinigami once had-it must have once been far more advanced than its current state to have constructed such machines. Light figured that would be his next project-he’d look into the archeology of the Shinigami realm after he got his orchard up and running.
“Wow, I think you’ve found your true calling as an apple farmer,” Ryuk whistled appreciatively as the genius looked on proudly at the saplings of apple trees that he had planted that were already bearing fruit. They were just the beginnings of the self-sustaining apple orchard he envisioned creating out of the barren wasteland that was the Shinigami realm.
“Yes, the apples we brought up from Earth are crossbreeding surprisingly well with the native apple species.”
“I’m up for more crossbreeding,” Ryuk teased and Light thumped him playfully on the shoulder.
“So... does that mean you’re ready to meet the guys?” Ryuk ventured to speak of that unpleasant thing they had both been putting off.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” the teen answered honestly. “Just let me get changed.”
“Really, what’s the point in doing that?”
“I want to make a good impression for you,” Light snapped.
“I’m sure you’ll do that anyway. You know I seriously doubt they’ll care what you’re wearing.”
Ryuk said honestly, thinking of the poker-playing Shinigami in their spikes, feathers, fur, leather, and strips of flesh. The only exception was Armonia Justin Beyondermason who was decked out all in gold and jewels but everyone secretly believed he was an overdressed prick.
“I don’t care about them, really it’s just. Well, I have it all planned out and-” here Light smirked diabolically, “Just wait until you see it! I'm sure you’ll thank me later,” he assured, giving Ryuk’s hand a gentle squeeze.
"You're sure?" Ryuk chuckled.
"Positive."
"Okay then."
As they ascended the rocky path, hand-in-hand, up towards their mountainous home they passed a series of spinning wind turbines. Ryuk had helped Light install them on the mountainside. They generated power for their apartment and the surrounding “farm land.” Ryuk warded them with some ancient bit of ancient Shinigami magic that he knew about so they wouldn’t have to spend all their time cleaning them. Ryuk made use of some ancient artifacts made from what appeared to be tiny animal skulls and known as the Sleeping Skulls which, when magically bound to a person or object, protected them against the sandstorms. They had set a Sleeping Skull at the base of each of his wind turbines, burying them in the sand so they would not get stolen-Ryuk informed him that few Shinigami remembered what they were originally for these days and so often used them for currency in their gambling.
It was about this time that Ryuk confessed that the goggles he’d given him also contained a pair of sleeping skulls, the bones on either side of the lenses, and that there were also some sewn into the new leather belt he got him too. While Light was truly touched that Ryuk didn’t want him flayed alive by the sandstorms he was irritated that Ryuk had, once again, neglected to tell him anything. However Light magnanimously chose to forgive his husband when it became apparent that Ryuk really hadn’t meant to keep things from him-he just used them so often it truly did slip his mind. That and Ryuk kept looking at him with those sad puppy eyes all the while Light remained mad at him. How a Shinigami had managed to master that look, Light had no idea but it wasn’t fair-that was his look dammit!
The pair ducked into the entrance of the cavern, walking through the automated blast door they had had installed against the sandstorms after finding a piece of scrap metal of the right size and shape in one of the nearby ancient junk piles. It worked so well that it was almost as if it were designed for this very purpose. Shinigami and human continued their ascent up a stairway that was carved in the very rock of the mountain by unknown hands some eons past. At the top of the stairs the tunnel then widened out into a larger cavern which Ryuk and Light had turned into their apartment-they’d even made it sort of homey. Nailed above the entrance of their apartment hung a pair of old-fashioned farming scythes that Ryuk had begged Light into purchasing for him during their stopovers in the human world-at a small farming town in Kansas to be specific. It had amused Ryuk to no end to learn that humans seemed to think that all death gods carried such scythes. It amused him enough, apparently, to want them in their home as souvenirs or rather as “exotic human world décor.” Over the door itself hung a red silk Kichō divider with the kanji for moon on it and tacked to the floor was a novelty welcome mat that read “Go Away” in English-neither of the apartment’s inhabitants were in the mood for visitors at the moment and Light found it freeing that he didn’t have to constantly pretend politeness now that it was just him and Ryuk-not that solicitors were much of a problem here in the Shinigami realm and Ryuk had yet to tell any of his “friends” that he had returned.
That was the reason Light was getting ready now-they had yet to make their “big debut.”
That was because they both knew that Shinigami were bored, able to phase through walls, had no respect for personal boundaries, and were notorious voyeurs-once they learned that Ryuk had a Breeder they would never get any peace. But they both knew they couldn’t hide forever-sooner or later another Shinigami would find them and then everyone would know. It was nothing short of a miracle they’d managed to evade them this long. But while their discovery might be inevitable it was still possible to control how it came about.
They would do it tonight.
Light approached the center of their apartment where sat their large, sturdy bed, constructed from found pieces of scrap metal they’d collected from around the Shinigami realm. It was painted a brilliant shade of gold that matched the bright and audacious red and gold tones they had painted the cave walls. They made it themselves because Light was on a budget and Ryuk wasn’t about to fly up from Earth carrying a bed frame-navigating the portal network with a queen-sized mattress had been challenging enough. Light neatly made that bed each morning pulling up the homey and comforting apple-print quilt over a fresh pair of black silk sheets that felt positively sinful when under his naked flesh. Next to the bed sat the full-length mirror because the teen always got a perverse pleasure out of watching himself as Ryuk bounced him on his lap and Ryuk was all too-happy to oblige his narcissistic fantasies while hissing sweet and dirty nothings in his ear.
But Light wasn’t feeling too pleased with himself at the moment.
Ew! I look terrible.
His hair was a mess-that which wasn’t sweaty and plastered to his skull curled upwards in awkward cowlicks. And he was dirty and sweaty, and he’d somehow managed to get a bit of grey dirt streaked across the bridge of his nose and he needed to change his clothes and…
Black claws fell on his shoulders from behind and Light could feel Ryuk peering down at him from over the top of his head.
“Light-o... don’t worry so much-we’re going to meet my poker buddies not the Queen of freakin’ England.”
“I know. It’s just…”
“What?”
“I told you, I want to look good for you,” the teen mumbled and then blushed that lovely shade of apple red.
“Oh,” Ryuk’s bulbous eyes lit up in understanding. “Light, you always look good for me, love. Promise.”
Light chuckled lightly as he extricated himself from Ryuk’s claws. “I still need to get cleaned up though and if you want to do what I think you want to do now I’ll be too tired to do what we’re planning later.”
The monster visibly pouted and Light laughed again before turning his attention back to the mirror. Dammit, he was a mess-he had to get cleaned up.
Light set to work scrubbing the dirt off with a moist towel. He would have liked to take a long hot shower but he had to be very conscientious of his water usage. So far all his clean water for drinking or washing in had to be imported from Earth and every trip back there was a risk. He would’ve like d to have just lived off the land of his new home but there wasn’t much in the way of precipitation on the Shinigami world other than the occasional bloodrain-Light had studied the rain he had collected at length and confirmed that it, indeed, had all the properties of human blood. He set up his rain collectors for it anyway for, if nothing else the bloodrain might help to enrich the otherwise barren grounds. He was working on a filtration system to filter pure water out of the bloodrain but that would take time to set up and his other projects had taken precedence. Drinking it unfiltered was out of the question because Light didn’t fancy turning into a crazy cannibal. He was also concerned that, as he got older some might think he was a vampire or something because he didn’t age so the last thing he needed was to start acting like one. Likewise showering in it would be gross and defeat the whole purpose of a shower.
Light removed his dirty clothes and threw them in the hamper atop the dirty sheets that awaited their next trip to the human world even though his dirt-stained leather pants were an obvious lost-cause and he should probably just burn them. Because of the water issues their owning a washing machine was also out of the question. It would have been too difficult for Ryuk to carry one up here anyway and though Light was sure he could build one with the materials he had on hand it would, once again, take up too much water. Since Light didn’t want to spend eternity washing their sheets he ended up frequenting Laundromats in the human world but never the same one twice-he wasn’t about to let L get back onto his trail that way-that would be well and truly embarrassing.
Ryuk wasn’t sure how, but Light had somehow managed to manipulate the signal through the portals to the Shinigami realm so they even got Internet access up here. Light mainly used it to keep track of L’s movements. Ryuk found it useful as well. Sometimes, when his husband was doing that human recuperative thing where he spent four to eight hours a night unconscious, Ryuk would duel with some fanatic gamer guy calling himself “Goggles” on Halo Reach. Light, of course, knew about Ryuk’s online friend just as Ryuk knew about Light’s taunting postcards and e-mails to L-they both knew that Light could’ve just killed L now if he really wanted to, now that he had the detective’s name. But since the detective wasn’t such a threat to him now that he’d become a God he found that killing L was no longer so strictly necessary. Besides, Light found it amusing to watch the detective squirm. Light enjoyed playing with L and Ryuk enjoyed watching him play with L so L got to live… for now. Of course if L ever became a threat to him again Light could just kill him at his leisure.
Both human God and Shinigami were perfectly at ease about each other’s hobbies. Just because they were married and living together didn’t mean they weren’t allowed to have other “friends.” Besides “Goggles” already had a boyfriend (some loud-mouthed chocoholic blond he frequently complained to “Applemonster666” in chat about) and even if Light entertained the occasional thought of L, which he did not, Light was sure they were just not compatible and would just end up killing each other in the end. In any case they both knew there was nothing to be jealous about. Ryuk had never had such an enthusiastic partner as Light and doubted he ever would again. He absolutely adored the boy, or at least as much as a Shinigami could, and Light well knew it. Just as Ryuk knew he had spoiled Light for anyone else. He would be the only one ever privy to those heated looks, those blushes, those sighs. Sometimes when helping Light with his little farming projects Ryuk got the sense that Light had him whipped but then again in their bedroom Light was all his.
While Light still kept an eye out for L’s movements he honestly he hadn’t had much time to bother with the human world as of late-he’d been keeping quite busy. The teen had soon discovered he had undertaken a very ambitious project for himself-one akin to terraforming Mars alone (but for the occasional, reluctant help of a certain whining Shinigami)-but he wasn’t about to give up on his project half-way through. After all, some might have said his goal to become God had also been overly-ambitious but now, for all intents and purposes, he was one-even if it was not in quite the way he had envisioned. But it was okay, Light knew from the start that he had his work cut out for him and so far (after a couple of false starts) things were going well and while the work was harsh and exhausting-Light honestly hadn’t had such a workout since his tennis days-but fortunately the promise of apples was usually enough to get his lazy husband off the couch and actually helping out.
Light knew he was lucky to even have this opportunity-that the Shinigami realm would normally prove inhospitable to human habitation-but fortunately for him and his future plans as Ryuk’s bonded mate Light’s body had adapted well to his new home. Though Light could’ve sworn there was now a permanent red tint to his eyes, and that his eye teeth were longer than normal… oh, and his nails had formed the beginnings of claws on his fingers.
Light found his femme fatalons the most annoying-he wished he could either trim them or that they would grow out to form full claws because as it was he had femininely long nails that he couldn’t trim. He didn’t need this. He was feeling insecure enough about his masculinity upon learning he really did prefer to bottom… not to mention his being the mother of Ryuk’s many future children. Ryuk had tried to assure him that his being perpetually pregnant didn’t make him any less of a God, that there were many gender-bending trickster gods in human fairy tales-the Kitsune for example and Loki… Light supposed he should count his blessings-at least he wasn’t pregnant by a horse.
He still didn’t like his new nails though. The only thing that could possibly make them more girly would be if he painted them red… which Ryuk did to him one night after Light, worn out from a day of planting apple trees, had fallen asleep before they could have sex. Needless to say Ryuk didn’t get any the following night either.
When Light obliquely brought up the subject of his subtle physical changes Ryuk assured him he wasn’t a Shinigami or becoming one-his body was merely adapting to living in the Shinigami realm. Ryuk also seemed to think he was already done mutating and he wouldn’t change any further due to his prior exposure to a Shinigami and his overuse of the notebook.
Which meant that he was stuck with these stupid girl-nails for all eternity.
Ryuk, however, loved them. He also very much enjoyed painting them in various colors-much to Light’s ire. Ryuk knew it bothered Light. He tried not to-he really did! But he really just couldn’t help himself. Unlike Light, the Shinigami didn’t need to sleep and he would get bored while Light slept and… idle hands and all that. Every other night he would forget just how much Light hated it, or the temptation would prove too great and Light would wake up with his nails done-often in red, sometimes in black or silver, and one time, when Ryuk had been feeling especially vindictive, in pink glitter-just the one time because then Light hadn’t even talked to him for several days afterwards.
Then one morning Light awoke to Ryuk serving him his favorite breakfast in bed and he’d discovered that Ryuk’s nail art for that night professed the Shinigami’s love for him in perfect kanji. That was about the time Light accepted he would be waking up with Technicolor nails every morning. That was also the time when Ryuk’s exile to the couch finally ended… starting that very morning when the Shinigami went right to work releasing so much pent up spirit energy that they remained in bed for the rest of the day.
Once ready, Light made his way back outside where his husband was, no doubt, impatiently waiting for him. The teen rolled his eyes-not everyone could just phase the dirt away and if Ryuk had a problem with the way he handled his hygiene he should’ve married another Shinigami.
Previous
Next
***
“We can’t hide out here forever, you know.” Ryuk observed as Light finished up with some routine maintenance on one of his irrigation machines.
“You know I wasn’t planning to,” the teen retorted as he dusted the grey dirt off one of his scruffier pairs of leather pants.
His father would probably have a heart attack if he saw the sort of outfits he was wearing now. Light had brought along some of his old wardrobe but he typically didn’t wear his old suits (three piece or track suits) anymore except for during their occasional excursions to the human world for supplies. Light wasn’t particularly attached to suits-it’s just he knew how to appear respectable in human society. Light knew that one’s choice of clothes could serve as an effective as camouflage, armor, and they were often useful for making a statement. They reflected one’s profession and dressing well reflected well on himself and those associated with him. Light wanted to dress his best-both for himself and for his new husband but upon arriving in the Shinigami realm he had soon discovered that the reason why Ryuk and so many other Shinigami wore leather-it was because of the sandstorms. And while Shinigami could phase out when the storms hit the majority of Shinigami were too lazy, or got too into their card games, to bother most of the time and the sand still stung when they were corporeal. Light, being technically still a human (even if he thought of himself as a human God… and the majority of the Shinigami realm thought of him as a breeding factory) was incapable of phasing out when the sandstorms hit so he quickly adopted an all leather wardrobe. (That Ryuk always drooled over him in tight leather pants had absolutely nothing to do with it.) He never left home anymore without his goggles anymore either-they were a gift from Ryuk after he survived his first sandstorm on the Shinigami world and of obvious Shinigami make, made of chains, metal, and bone with green emerald lenses -they might make him like a dork but it was still preferable to getting sand in his eyes.
Light pushed his goggles back so that they further messed his sweaty hair and self-consciously smiled up at his husband; easily accepting his hand up. Light no doubt was a mess right now but Ryuk didn’t seem to mind. Hand in hand they made their way back to their new “apartment” which was, in actuality Ryuk’s cave on the side of the windswept mountain but furnished with what the habitants considered all the best trappings of the human world. Even though they were settling in well, Light had known he had his work cut out for him from the moment they first arrived. So far they had a bed, couch, a desk, a lap top, a couple of lamps, some chairs, some book cases with human world books on them, a fridge, a kitchenette, a TV, and an X-Box 360-just the bare necessities. They had yet to do anything about the floor other than giving it a thorough dusting. Light had initially thought about putting a carpet in their cave but not only would that be a lot of work that he’d probably end up doing but that just seemed kind of tacky. That and he found he didn’t mind the cold stone floor so much as long as he remembered to wear socks as he generally preferred to do. (Besides, bare feet kind of reminded him of a certain obnoxious someone who shall not be named from an over and done with chapter of his life.) Rugs would look nice in there though-maybe a pair of fake fur rugs with tiger stripes. One could go at the foot of the bed and the other by the hearth. He’d see about acquiring some the next time they visited the human world.
Light had entertained visions of a clean break and leaving his old life behind him but of course it couldn’t be that simple. He’d had to make several trips back to the human world for groceries and other supplies and he feared he was almost spotted on multiple occasions but he had to keep risking it if he wanted to make the Shinigami realm habitable; let alone bring about his visions of turning it into a paradise. His “farming project” was coming along well and Light hoped to one day have a completely self-sustaining ecosystem built in their backyard but until then they would have to continue to make their periodic trips back to the human world.
Light had made quite a bit of progress already in terraforming their “backyard,” the valley beyond the mountain Ryuk had claimed for them to shack up in, it was quiet, little known, and out of the way place… even for the Shinigami realm. It turned out most of the Shinigami hung around one spot all the time and didn’t do much in the way of exploring, finding much of the land to be exactly the same-just sand and more sand as far as the eye could see. Ryuk, however, had always was more curious than his counterparts and so knew about these mountains and the secluded valley beyond. The valley itself had once looked the same as anywhere else in the Shinigami realm-that is sand peppered with the occasional feature such as a viewing pool, pile of skulls, or pile of rusty gears and parts of some unknown ancient but obviously defunct machines. The valley’s one defining feature had been a small and struggling stand of native apple trees.
That was before Light happened to it.
The teenage God looked down upon the junk piles that still marred the paradise he was building and wondered what sort of civilization the Shinigami once had-it must have once been far more advanced than its current state to have constructed such machines. Light figured that would be his next project-he’d look into the archeology of the Shinigami realm after he got his orchard up and running.
“Wow, I think you’ve found your true calling as an apple farmer,” Ryuk whistled appreciatively as the genius looked on proudly at the saplings of apple trees that he had planted that were already bearing fruit. They were just the beginnings of the self-sustaining apple orchard he envisioned creating out of the barren wasteland that was the Shinigami realm.
“Yes, the apples we brought up from Earth are crossbreeding surprisingly well with the native apple species.”
“I’m up for more crossbreeding,” Ryuk teased and Light thumped him playfully on the shoulder.
“So... does that mean you’re ready to meet the guys?” Ryuk ventured to speak of that unpleasant thing they had both been putting off.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” the teen answered honestly. “Just let me get changed.”
“Really, what’s the point in doing that?”
“I want to make a good impression for you,” Light snapped.
“I’m sure you’ll do that anyway. You know I seriously doubt they’ll care what you’re wearing.”
Ryuk said honestly, thinking of the poker-playing Shinigami in their spikes, feathers, fur, leather, and strips of flesh. The only exception was Armonia Justin Beyondermason who was decked out all in gold and jewels but everyone secretly believed he was an overdressed prick.
“I don’t care about them, really it’s just. Well, I have it all planned out and-” here Light smirked diabolically, “Just wait until you see it! I'm sure you’ll thank me later,” he assured, giving Ryuk’s hand a gentle squeeze.
"You're sure?" Ryuk chuckled.
"Positive."
"Okay then."
As they ascended the rocky path, hand-in-hand, up towards their mountainous home they passed a series of spinning wind turbines. Ryuk had helped Light install them on the mountainside. They generated power for their apartment and the surrounding “farm land.” Ryuk warded them with some ancient bit of ancient Shinigami magic that he knew about so they wouldn’t have to spend all their time cleaning them. Ryuk made use of some ancient artifacts made from what appeared to be tiny animal skulls and known as the Sleeping Skulls which, when magically bound to a person or object, protected them against the sandstorms. They had set a Sleeping Skull at the base of each of his wind turbines, burying them in the sand so they would not get stolen-Ryuk informed him that few Shinigami remembered what they were originally for these days and so often used them for currency in their gambling.
It was about this time that Ryuk confessed that the goggles he’d given him also contained a pair of sleeping skulls, the bones on either side of the lenses, and that there were also some sewn into the new leather belt he got him too. While Light was truly touched that Ryuk didn’t want him flayed alive by the sandstorms he was irritated that Ryuk had, once again, neglected to tell him anything. However Light magnanimously chose to forgive his husband when it became apparent that Ryuk really hadn’t meant to keep things from him-he just used them so often it truly did slip his mind. That and Ryuk kept looking at him with those sad puppy eyes all the while Light remained mad at him. How a Shinigami had managed to master that look, Light had no idea but it wasn’t fair-that was his look dammit!
The pair ducked into the entrance of the cavern, walking through the automated blast door they had had installed against the sandstorms after finding a piece of scrap metal of the right size and shape in one of the nearby ancient junk piles. It worked so well that it was almost as if it were designed for this very purpose. Shinigami and human continued their ascent up a stairway that was carved in the very rock of the mountain by unknown hands some eons past. At the top of the stairs the tunnel then widened out into a larger cavern which Ryuk and Light had turned into their apartment-they’d even made it sort of homey. Nailed above the entrance of their apartment hung a pair of old-fashioned farming scythes that Ryuk had begged Light into purchasing for him during their stopovers in the human world-at a small farming town in Kansas to be specific. It had amused Ryuk to no end to learn that humans seemed to think that all death gods carried such scythes. It amused him enough, apparently, to want them in their home as souvenirs or rather as “exotic human world décor.” Over the door itself hung a red silk Kichō divider with the kanji for moon on it and tacked to the floor was a novelty welcome mat that read “Go Away” in English-neither of the apartment’s inhabitants were in the mood for visitors at the moment and Light found it freeing that he didn’t have to constantly pretend politeness now that it was just him and Ryuk-not that solicitors were much of a problem here in the Shinigami realm and Ryuk had yet to tell any of his “friends” that he had returned.
That was the reason Light was getting ready now-they had yet to make their “big debut.”
That was because they both knew that Shinigami were bored, able to phase through walls, had no respect for personal boundaries, and were notorious voyeurs-once they learned that Ryuk had a Breeder they would never get any peace. But they both knew they couldn’t hide forever-sooner or later another Shinigami would find them and then everyone would know. It was nothing short of a miracle they’d managed to evade them this long. But while their discovery might be inevitable it was still possible to control how it came about.
They would do it tonight.
Light approached the center of their apartment where sat their large, sturdy bed, constructed from found pieces of scrap metal they’d collected from around the Shinigami realm. It was painted a brilliant shade of gold that matched the bright and audacious red and gold tones they had painted the cave walls. They made it themselves because Light was on a budget and Ryuk wasn’t about to fly up from Earth carrying a bed frame-navigating the portal network with a queen-sized mattress had been challenging enough. Light neatly made that bed each morning pulling up the homey and comforting apple-print quilt over a fresh pair of black silk sheets that felt positively sinful when under his naked flesh. Next to the bed sat the full-length mirror because the teen always got a perverse pleasure out of watching himself as Ryuk bounced him on his lap and Ryuk was all too-happy to oblige his narcissistic fantasies while hissing sweet and dirty nothings in his ear.
But Light wasn’t feeling too pleased with himself at the moment.
Ew! I look terrible.
His hair was a mess-that which wasn’t sweaty and plastered to his skull curled upwards in awkward cowlicks. And he was dirty and sweaty, and he’d somehow managed to get a bit of grey dirt streaked across the bridge of his nose and he needed to change his clothes and…
Black claws fell on his shoulders from behind and Light could feel Ryuk peering down at him from over the top of his head.
“Light-o... don’t worry so much-we’re going to meet my poker buddies not the Queen of freakin’ England.”
“I know. It’s just…”
“What?”
“I told you, I want to look good for you,” the teen mumbled and then blushed that lovely shade of apple red.
“Oh,” Ryuk’s bulbous eyes lit up in understanding. “Light, you always look good for me, love. Promise.”
Light chuckled lightly as he extricated himself from Ryuk’s claws. “I still need to get cleaned up though and if you want to do what I think you want to do now I’ll be too tired to do what we’re planning later.”
The monster visibly pouted and Light laughed again before turning his attention back to the mirror. Dammit, he was a mess-he had to get cleaned up.
Light set to work scrubbing the dirt off with a moist towel. He would have liked to take a long hot shower but he had to be very conscientious of his water usage. So far all his clean water for drinking or washing in had to be imported from Earth and every trip back there was a risk. He would’ve like d to have just lived off the land of his new home but there wasn’t much in the way of precipitation on the Shinigami world other than the occasional bloodrain-Light had studied the rain he had collected at length and confirmed that it, indeed, had all the properties of human blood. He set up his rain collectors for it anyway for, if nothing else the bloodrain might help to enrich the otherwise barren grounds. He was working on a filtration system to filter pure water out of the bloodrain but that would take time to set up and his other projects had taken precedence. Drinking it unfiltered was out of the question because Light didn’t fancy turning into a crazy cannibal. He was also concerned that, as he got older some might think he was a vampire or something because he didn’t age so the last thing he needed was to start acting like one. Likewise showering in it would be gross and defeat the whole purpose of a shower.
Light removed his dirty clothes and threw them in the hamper atop the dirty sheets that awaited their next trip to the human world even though his dirt-stained leather pants were an obvious lost-cause and he should probably just burn them. Because of the water issues their owning a washing machine was also out of the question. It would have been too difficult for Ryuk to carry one up here anyway and though Light was sure he could build one with the materials he had on hand it would, once again, take up too much water. Since Light didn’t want to spend eternity washing their sheets he ended up frequenting Laundromats in the human world but never the same one twice-he wasn’t about to let L get back onto his trail that way-that would be well and truly embarrassing.
Ryuk wasn’t sure how, but Light had somehow managed to manipulate the signal through the portals to the Shinigami realm so they even got Internet access up here. Light mainly used it to keep track of L’s movements. Ryuk found it useful as well. Sometimes, when his husband was doing that human recuperative thing where he spent four to eight hours a night unconscious, Ryuk would duel with some fanatic gamer guy calling himself “Goggles” on Halo Reach. Light, of course, knew about Ryuk’s online friend just as Ryuk knew about Light’s taunting postcards and e-mails to L-they both knew that Light could’ve just killed L now if he really wanted to, now that he had the detective’s name. But since the detective wasn’t such a threat to him now that he’d become a God he found that killing L was no longer so strictly necessary. Besides, Light found it amusing to watch the detective squirm. Light enjoyed playing with L and Ryuk enjoyed watching him play with L so L got to live… for now. Of course if L ever became a threat to him again Light could just kill him at his leisure.
Both human God and Shinigami were perfectly at ease about each other’s hobbies. Just because they were married and living together didn’t mean they weren’t allowed to have other “friends.” Besides “Goggles” already had a boyfriend (some loud-mouthed chocoholic blond he frequently complained to “Applemonster666” in chat about) and even if Light entertained the occasional thought of L, which he did not, Light was sure they were just not compatible and would just end up killing each other in the end. In any case they both knew there was nothing to be jealous about. Ryuk had never had such an enthusiastic partner as Light and doubted he ever would again. He absolutely adored the boy, or at least as much as a Shinigami could, and Light well knew it. Just as Ryuk knew he had spoiled Light for anyone else. He would be the only one ever privy to those heated looks, those blushes, those sighs. Sometimes when helping Light with his little farming projects Ryuk got the sense that Light had him whipped but then again in their bedroom Light was all his.
While Light still kept an eye out for L’s movements he honestly he hadn’t had much time to bother with the human world as of late-he’d been keeping quite busy. The teen had soon discovered he had undertaken a very ambitious project for himself-one akin to terraforming Mars alone (but for the occasional, reluctant help of a certain whining Shinigami)-but he wasn’t about to give up on his project half-way through. After all, some might have said his goal to become God had also been overly-ambitious but now, for all intents and purposes, he was one-even if it was not in quite the way he had envisioned. But it was okay, Light knew from the start that he had his work cut out for him and so far (after a couple of false starts) things were going well and while the work was harsh and exhausting-Light honestly hadn’t had such a workout since his tennis days-but fortunately the promise of apples was usually enough to get his lazy husband off the couch and actually helping out.
Light knew he was lucky to even have this opportunity-that the Shinigami realm would normally prove inhospitable to human habitation-but fortunately for him and his future plans as Ryuk’s bonded mate Light’s body had adapted well to his new home. Though Light could’ve sworn there was now a permanent red tint to his eyes, and that his eye teeth were longer than normal… oh, and his nails had formed the beginnings of claws on his fingers.
Light found his femme fatalons the most annoying-he wished he could either trim them or that they would grow out to form full claws because as it was he had femininely long nails that he couldn’t trim. He didn’t need this. He was feeling insecure enough about his masculinity upon learning he really did prefer to bottom… not to mention his being the mother of Ryuk’s many future children. Ryuk had tried to assure him that his being perpetually pregnant didn’t make him any less of a God, that there were many gender-bending trickster gods in human fairy tales-the Kitsune for example and Loki… Light supposed he should count his blessings-at least he wasn’t pregnant by a horse.
He still didn’t like his new nails though. The only thing that could possibly make them more girly would be if he painted them red… which Ryuk did to him one night after Light, worn out from a day of planting apple trees, had fallen asleep before they could have sex. Needless to say Ryuk didn’t get any the following night either.
When Light obliquely brought up the subject of his subtle physical changes Ryuk assured him he wasn’t a Shinigami or becoming one-his body was merely adapting to living in the Shinigami realm. Ryuk also seemed to think he was already done mutating and he wouldn’t change any further due to his prior exposure to a Shinigami and his overuse of the notebook.
Which meant that he was stuck with these stupid girl-nails for all eternity.
Ryuk, however, loved them. He also very much enjoyed painting them in various colors-much to Light’s ire. Ryuk knew it bothered Light. He tried not to-he really did! But he really just couldn’t help himself. Unlike Light, the Shinigami didn’t need to sleep and he would get bored while Light slept and… idle hands and all that. Every other night he would forget just how much Light hated it, or the temptation would prove too great and Light would wake up with his nails done-often in red, sometimes in black or silver, and one time, when Ryuk had been feeling especially vindictive, in pink glitter-just the one time because then Light hadn’t even talked to him for several days afterwards.
Then one morning Light awoke to Ryuk serving him his favorite breakfast in bed and he’d discovered that Ryuk’s nail art for that night professed the Shinigami’s love for him in perfect kanji. That was about the time Light accepted he would be waking up with Technicolor nails every morning. That was also the time when Ryuk’s exile to the couch finally ended… starting that very morning when the Shinigami went right to work releasing so much pent up spirit energy that they remained in bed for the rest of the day.
Once ready, Light made his way back outside where his husband was, no doubt, impatiently waiting for him. The teen rolled his eyes-not everyone could just phase the dirt away and if Ryuk had a problem with the way he handled his hygiene he should’ve married another Shinigami.
Previous
Next