landslide / closed to wonderwalls

[arbiter]

[The room appears to have been furnished by a minimalist, with only the bare minimum of required furniture. A familiar figure sits on the couch evidently engrossed in reading a newspaper..]

Comments

[wonderwalls]

No, I know, I...

[ He has to take a break and restart the phrase as a question. ]

When I find the real you, then you will also be at rest, right?

[arbiter]

Yes.

[A pause.]

But I only exist for as long as you're in this room and I reman the person you wish to see most.

[wonderwalls]

You'll still be the person I want to see the most.

... or maybe you'll disappear entirely when I don't need to long anymore.

[ The thought is kind of horrifying when he is sitting right next to this not-Light, so Mikami leans against him a little more. ]

[arbiter]

[He brushes Teru's hand.]

That'd make you happy, wouldn't it?

[wonderwalls]

[ Another one of the pauses that are becoming common in this conversation. ]

... yes. I want to see you. I want to never leave your side again... no matter what price.

[arbiter]

What more could you give up?

[Leaving his hand over Teru's, he raises an eyebrow.]

[wonderwalls]

After our whole world..?

[ He could not say this as easily to the real Light, he knows. ]

There isn't much more other than my physical health.

[arbiter]

You're already starting to give that one up, too.

[Gripping the hand underneath his, he speaks more softly.]

I'm repeating myself now, I know.

[wonderwalls]

I don't mind.

[ Either of these things. ]

[arbiter]

[A soft noise that could almost be amusement.]

You're stubborn.

[wonderwalls]

Determined.

I hope you can appreciate that.

[arbiter]

[He leans in close to kiss Teru's cheek.]

We both are. It'd be strange not to appreciate it in the end.

[wonderwalls]

[ Teru has to turn and look at Light directly after the kiss, feeling both comforted and a little distraught. ]

...yes. That's why we've been able to form such a partnership.

[ We both wanted to achieve something, together, and now... ]

[arbiter]

[He moves back slightly, but remains closer than he'd been previously.]

It's been a long partnership, hasn't it.....

[wonderwalls]

Almost 12 years... if we count the time since your... departure.

[ Mikami finds himself enjoying to bring their faces so close that they could almost be touching. But of course they aren't, because this isn't Light. ]

[arbiter]

[A brief pause.]

I didn't want to leave. [An unnecessary clarification.]

Do you normally count it that way?

[wonderwalls]

[ He nods. ]

Yes. We're still a couple whether or not we are physically together at a given point in time.

[arbiter]

[Interlacing their fingers.]

That makes me very happy to hear.

[wonderwalls]

[ And of course it would, but Teru will take anything right now to just feel a little more like they are still real. ]

It will be even more years.

[ He sighs and brushes his thumb over Light's hand. ]

I'm repetitive as well.

[arbiter]

[Spoken with a subtle kind of affection.]

That's to be expected from you in some respects, isn't it?

[Turning Teru's hand palm up, he writes:]

Feels like home again.

[wonderwalls]

[ Teru tenses up a little as the writing begins but does not pull away, instead staring down at their hands as if hypnotized.

It's been so long...

I shouldn't let anyone but the real....

No, this is essentially a physical daydream. None of this is real.


This resolve in mind, Mikami leans up for a short chaste kiss.

I can't welcome you home until this is real though. ]

[arbiter]

[Although Teru breaks the kiss, Light closes the distance between them again to prolong the moment for a little longer. In the end, it's only for a few more seconds before he draws back.[

Sorry.

[wonderwalls]

[ It's too much asked to resist this as it happens, but when it's over, Teru draws back a little further. ]

I initiated. Don't apologize.

[ A pause. ]

But even if I tell myself this is alike to the times I lose myself in memory of what we were, it's still different, isn't it?

[arbiter]

[A brief silence. You'e overthinking is the response he doesn't give.[

Your loyalty is incredible as always.

[He squeezes Teru's hand and lets it go.]

Not that I'd ever questioned it, but it seems you've been giving yourself a hard time, too.

[wonderwalls]

[ A sigh. ]

You're out there either dead or alone, there is nothing else I can do but push myself to the limit to try and fix what I let happen to you.