"Most people don't get it, but Light understands loneliness—but then, so does L. And when they meet in the Kira case, perhaps they don't have to be so familiar with it anymore."
Solitude
by bahari is a Death Note Light x L fic where Light and L fall in love during the Yotsuba arc as well as a in-depth, horrifically believable character study of Light and why he might have so many issues.
Solitude provides examples of:
- Back Story: Light's childhood is examined and L gives Light his (or, knowing L, at least A STORY) after they've been together for a while.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: because L was nice to Light Light gives up on Kira, the notebook, and his plan to kill L.
- A Boy And His Shinigami: Light and Ryuk. While Ryuk is nothing at all like Light's grandmother he found that the notebook comes prepackaged with an invisible spirit-buddy to be very cool indeed.
- Dirty Cop: Light's rapist was one of his father's coworkers.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Light never reported what happened because it wasn't expected of him and he didn't want to cause a fuss. Later Light is utterly humiliated when he wakes up crying in front of L.
- Driven to Suicide: Light's rapist. Everytime he was around Light would stare at him to let him know he knew what he did. The man eventually is consumed by guilt and kills himself.
- Exact Eavesdropping: Light hears what his parents really think of him when they think he's asleep.
- Fix Fic: averting the outcome of episode 25.
- Freudian Excuse: Light first there's how he's been broken as a result of his "perfectly normal" childhood when he is not "perfectly normal" and it's made worse when he's raped by his father's coworker.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Light was so lonely as a child that he hallucinates that his dead grandmother is there looking out for him.
- Helpless Good Side: Being Kira allowed Light to feel in control. After he was imprisoned and lost his Kira memories he no longer has that sense of security and begins suffering from recurring nightmares again.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Light grew up very alone because there was no one smart enough to understand him.
- I Know You Know I Know: every time Light was around his father's coworker he would glare at him to let him know that even though he kept quiet that didn't mean that he forgave him or he forgot what he did.
- Imaginary Friend: Young Light imagined the spirit of his dead grandmother watching over him as a coping mechanism.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Light. Acting as Kira allowed him to take back power that was taken from him.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: Solitude, it's right there in the title.
- Keeping Secrets Sucks: L and Light run into this when they actually begin to maybe a little bit trust each other.
- Love Martyr: Light is happy around L even when they fight or when L accuses him because when L's around he's not alone.
- A Match Made in Stockholm: Lampshaded with L and Light.
- Post-Rape Taunt: Light recounts that the rapist thanked him afterwards.
- Pure Is Not Good: after finding the Death Note, an instrument of pure death, Light feels clean again.
- Rape as Backstory: Light was raped when he was eleven by one of his father's coworkers. Light never reported it and kept it hidden from everyone for seven years.
- Relationship Upgrade: L and Light
- Security Cling: L feels safe to Light and clinging to him helps him get back to sleep after another round of recurring nightmares.
- Sex–Face Turn: Light and L are in a relationship by the time Light makes the decision to give up on Kira.
- Slasher Smile: "Light's smile had been genuine, but L hadn't looked unsettled by how sharp and intense it was, like other people would have been."
- Staring Down Cthulhu: Light does this to his rapist. Light would stare him down everytime they were in a room together and evidently this drove him to suicide.
- Stereotype Flip: In your typical Boys' Love Hurt/Comfort Fic the Seme usually comforts the Uke. In this fic Light (the Seme) is comforted by L (the Uke). Though this is because Light freezes up or panics every time L tries to switch their positions.
- Talking in Your Sleep: L figures out what happened to Light by watching him sleep.
- There Are No Therapists: Averted, there IS a therapist but this makes things worse-Light, being too clever for his own good, takes away the lesson from their session together that he must appear normal at all costs.
- Unequal Pairing: L worries its unethical to get involved with his suspect. Not that it stops him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Light goes to extreme lengths to make sure he's "normal" so his parents won't worry and that daddy might even be proud of him.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Light but he gets better in the end.
