Bean

Chapter 16: The Eclipse

Bean sat quietly in the back of the limousine, bouncing his legs a little to the rhythm of the song that was playing through his headphones. His chin was lifted slightly so he could see out the window, the vibrant, luminous colors of the urban night reflecting in his ever-curious blue eyes. His right thumb rolled the joystick of a fidget cube around in his hoodie pocket, and with a soft little inhale, he scrunched his eyes and yawned. When he opened them again, blinking back the "sleepies," as Anya used to call them, Watari was pulling the vehicle to a stop outside the entrance of a hospital.

Bennett perked up. L stood on the sidewalk talking to someone.

"Papa!" Bean unbuckled his seat belt and sat up on his knees, putting his hands against the window. He watched as Watari got out and walked around the limo to open the back door, then sat back down and shimmied over as L climbed in.

The detective wasn't finished speaking to the young man on the sidewalk as Watari shut the door, so he rolled the window down.

"Don't worry so much," L was saying. "Be patient. It'll become apparent to us if you're not Kira..."

Bean fidgeted a bit but waited patiently while the two finished their conversation. L had been gone several hours more than expected, and to a five-year-old with childlike expectations, the day had seemed especially long.

Finally, L rolled up the window, and the limousine pulled away from the curb to head back to the hotel.

"Hi, Papa." Bean grinned, bouncing a little on his knees.

"Hello, Bean- put your seat belt on, you know better."

The little boy complied rather sheepishly, sitting back down and clicking the safety belt into place. He looked up at L beside him. "Who was that man?"

"What man?"

"The man you were talking to."

"Oh. His name is Light." L's thumb rested against his bottom lip, and his mumbled answers were spoken quietly and distractedly.

"Is he your friend?"

"No."

"Is he your... agent?"

"No."

"Then who is he?"

L sighed. "Bennett, not now."

"But-"

"I said, not now."

L didn't yell. He never yelled at Bean. But his slightly raised, clipped tone was enough to make the child promptly shut his mouth. He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets, and he slouched a little further down, his right hand finding his stimmy fidget cube again.

Watari observed the interaction through the reflection in the rear view mirror, and his brow furrowed with fatherly concern. It was rare of L to be short with his son... especially after not seeing him all day. The boy hadn't done anything to merit such a response, and so the old man could only conclude that the day had been long and taxing for the unsociable detective. Clearing his throat, Watari asked gently, "How was your day?"

L was staring at nothing in particular as his teeth nipped at the end of his thumbnail. He didn't answer right away, but then he sighed, lowering his hand to his bent-up knee. "Not at all productive," he replied with an edge to his voice. He turned his head to stare out the window. "I just can't seem to figure this one out, Watari..." His words trailed away like wisps of ash from a snapping blaze.

He had lost the tennis match, which wasn't all that surprising, given the number of years it had been since he'd been active in the sport. Still though, he hated losing, and it irked him that he couldn't at least have had that one small victory today.