“I’m working…” Was mumbled directly into a forkful of spongy cake.

“I don’t care!” At that moment, L’s head followed Misa’s hands with a groan as she had just tugged apart a knot in his hair quite forcefully.

“Light…” L cast Light a look that said control your crazy chick, dude and Light laughed heartily.

“She’s having fun and for once that doesn’t involve me so I’m not intervening. And if it’s an opportunity to see you embarrassed, I’m all for it.”

Although her hands had paused in L’s hair when her boyfriend spoke up, now that she had his enthusiastic permission, they resumed working happily.

Of course the Kiras would want to humiliate him, it must be part of their evil agenda to distract L from his work and mess up his hair. They’d want to publicly yet subtly punish L for investigating them and even if he wasn’t a shallow person, incinerating his small sense of confidence in his looks would do the job.

After a few minutes of yanking, groaning and L hissing in pain, Misa’s fingers untangled themselves from his now neatened black locks. On each side of his head sat a ponytail secured with a pink hairtie. His hair looked shorter now that it was up, it barely touched the ends of his ears and it was shockingly curly when not spiked to the side like he fell into a car wash at a 45 degree angle

“Wow… I’ve really outdone myself this time. Good job, Misa!” The girl cheered herself on, sounding quite narcissistic in L’s opinion. Light’s mouth hung open enough to see the tops of his bottom teeth and he scoffed with wide eyes.

“Cute, now put him in overalls and he’ll look exactly like a little girl.” L raised an eyebrow and Misa giggled, digging in her purse for something and then producing a pocket mirror to shove in L’s hand.

With his average, peculiar use of his thumb and forefinger, he pried the small, red contraption open and nearly choked. He looked quite pretty, tired and monotonous and pale but somehow pretty. He looked silly too and he realized with a start that the reason he looked more attractive this way was because he looked more human, more full of personality.

He looked like he went to bars and drank with friends and loudly commented on the rugby game without shame. He looked like he laughed easily and joyfully. He looked like he could smile and not feel creepy. So he did, it cracked full and fast and took everyone by surprise.

Then, he did something many would find inconceivable, and he laughed. It wasn’t a quiet chuckle or a short giggle, it was a bursting, beautiful laugh. It filled the room with ease and he didn’t stop, he shook his head and his hair whipped back and forth and he laughed even harder.

He looked so real, like he wasn’t just a machine anymore. And the first people he’d ever considered friends, whether a lie or not, laughed right along with him. Light in a slight disbelieving way and Misa in an oblivious, giddy way but they laughed all the same.

And the room would die down, everyone would restrain themselves to soft snorts and then L would chortle real loud again and it would start all over again. It was ridiculous and immature and it felt so good to just be a man for a second. To be a man with friends and to laugh with them and to be so unabashedly happy.

I hope you're doing well, and I hope you have fun these holidays and stay warm.

Would you mind writing me a fic about L or Near comforting the reader (their partner) when they keep failing at wrapping presents properly? I'm having SUCH a hard time wrapping these and I would love to hear that it's okay to try again and ask for help from either of my beloved boys.

Thank you for reading (even if you cant/don't want to do this request, I 100% understand)

Hi lovely! God, I love when people send me holiday asks and this is such a cute idea! Thank you for being so polite and kind, I really appreciate you. :)

Also omg look at this cute holiday themed divider!! 🥹

The sound of paper crunching behind L as he worked suddenly ceased. A groan echoed and he heard a small thud. Spinning in his chair, his eyes find you on the hotel floor with your head in the wrapping paper scraps.

“Y/n, what are you doing?”

“Mmurphhhdurphh..” Came from inside the mountain of cheerful Santas and Christmas trees.

“I can’t hear you.”

Your head pops up, there’s a scrap of reindeer stuck in your hair and you look exhausted. “I fucking hate Christmas.”

“That’s a hyperbole.” L stands and approaches your position on the floor, surrounded by boxes, tape and wrapping paper.

“Hardly. Do you know how hard it is to properly wrap gifts?”

“I can’t say I do.” He rounds the piles of supplies and stands next to your slouched body. “Your posture is almost as bad as mine.”

You groan and roll your eyes. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“I can’t focus with all your noise and I certainly can’t focus if you’re going to be groaning and complaining loudly.” He squats down next to you in his regular position and drops his thumb to his lips.

Suddenly, a poorly-wrapped box is shoved into his arms as you turn towards him. It’s an incredibly sad sight, there’s odd ends of paper sticking up and pockets of air where too much space is.

“If you’re going to make fun of me, you might as well be put to use. Unwrap that for me, please.”

L picks up one of the scissors and begins cutting the paper off. He watches you from the corner of his eye as you attempt to fold the wrapping paper at the right length and accidentally tearing it.

You moan dejectedly, throw the scraps away and measure out another length of the blue-spotted paper.

Once done with removing the paper, he nudges you with his elbow. “Do you want me to wrap this?”

“You can try,” You shrug, and hand him a red cylinder, “But expect me to laugh at you when you’re worse than I am.”

As he goes through the regular motion of preparing the wrapping and cutting the paper to fit the box, he lets his pupils fall on your messy hair and stressed expression. In a poor attempt to alleviate your anxiety, he begins talking.

“The Task-Force isn’t expecting presents, Y/n. The Japanese don’t celebrate Christmas very much anyway, only about one percent of the population is even Christian.”

You throw a glance his way, a half smile at his attempt to make you feel better. “Maybe, but they’ve been working so very hard on this and I know they’ll be here during Christmas. I want to show my appreciation for them, they deserve it.”

You hold up an expensive bottle of aftershave you bought for the chief and ask, “Do you think they’ll like them?”

L put a hand on your back and held two sides of wrapping paper with the pointer finger and thumb of his other hand on the box.

“I think they will be shocked and glad to even have gotten anything, my love. How much did these things cost?”

You grin. “You’ll have to check your bank statement for that, we both know money burns a hole in my pocket.”

He drops his hand from your back with a small chuckle and resumes wrapping. “I don’t see how my money could burn a hole in your pocket but I suppose it is the season of sharing..”

You sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, the occasional noises of wrapping paper, the tape dispenser and thoughtful sighs as you try to get the paper right.

L makes a unrecognizable noise next to you and you turn and see him holding a perfectly wrapped present, complete with a beautiful white lace and bow, a small, proud smile on his face.

“Oh…my…god! Oh my god! I can’t believe- What- That’s so not fair!” You cry out and wave your hands indignantly.

L laughs at your expression, one of those rare moments of his persona fading and you get presented with his authentic self.

“I guess I just have a gift,” He puts his thumb between his lips again with humor in his eyes, “It’s geometry, Y/n, it’s simply basic geometry.”

You groan and tuck your head into his neck, shaking yours miserably. “I hate you…”