L x Reader oneshots 1 // series 3 • Death Note

Earthquake

A/n: I had a phase as a kid where I was really into natural disasters and how they worked. And I was just thinking about that today, wondering why it's such a common autism special interest. Then I remembered Japan has a ton of earthquakes. So this oneshot idea came to be.
So tw for those scared of natural disasters.

In the time you'd been working in Japan, you'd heard the emergency alert go off a few times. Never for anything too serious though, some light tremors mostly. But the system would still go off, for those currently standing in dangerous places to seek cover. Japan was used to earthquakes, they'd designed their buildings to withstand them over the years. Shock absorption and such. But nature is a cruel mistress, you can prepare all you like but if something particularly rough hits you, it can still cause damage. Less damage than if you'd not prepared, but damage nonetheless. Given most instances were small tremors, you'd never really been scared upon hearing the alerts go off. The first time gave you a little fright, but it was quickly replaced with the adrenaline of feeling a slight shake, then nothing. Just like that it was over. There wasn't really anything to be scared about, with quakes under a level five. Some shaking, maybe some broken pots that hadn't been ties down. As long as you followed precautions and stayed calm, you could survive completely unharmed and minimal damages.

Night shift, sitting in the dark before your computer with L silently working beside you across the table. Everyone else had gone to bed, or gone home for the day. Most of your night shifts with L were silent ones, both of you just too focused on work to talk much. Not that you didn't like each other, you definitely did. You got along well actually, it was just the way you both focused hard that made those night shifts together so quiet.

The silence was broken however, by a familiar sound. The chime like alert sounding through the speakers, and the screens that were showing security footage and documents now showed the national safety alert screen.

"Damnit, that better have auto saved..." L muttered, more worried about loosing his work.

You weren't fussed either, expecting some small tremors like usual. Until you actually read the alert screen, then the adrenaline kicked in. Level 8. A fucking 8 on the richter scale. How had there not been any earlier warning signs!? What kind of freak act of nature was this?

"Holy shit-" you muttered.

Before you could even react, the tremors started. L clearly hasn't expected it to be this strong either, the look of shock you exchanged when you both had to grab the desk to keep from falling out of your chairs said it all. Quickly you both dove under the desk, standard procedure in case of falling objects.

"What the fuck!? How are they only warning us now!?" You exclaimed.

"Must have been fast if they didn't detect it earlier" L replied.

"Hopefully the alert woke the others up or they're in for a harsh shock"

The usual slight tremors you'd felt before grew, shaking the furniture in the room and causing things to start falling off surfaces. You watched as your computer mouse slipped off the desk and hung by the chord, swinging from the shaking. Across the room the stacks of boxes filled with case files began to tumble over and spread papers across the floor... that'd be fun to clean up. The sound of glass shattering made you both jump, the two of you turning to find L's empty coffee mug fallen off and shattered on the ground.

"Oh my gods-" you muttered, having never been in one this bad before.

And it was only getting worse, the tremors violent and causing the furniture itself to slide across the floor. You heard a computer monitor above you fall over, then slip off the desk and shatter the screen on the floor. A bookshelf across the room outright tipped forward and slammed into the ground. Instinctively, you grabbed the nearest thing to you to stabilise yourself from slipping. That thing happened to be L's arm. Although he had the same instinct and grabbed your arm, pulling you closer. The two of you held onto each other, watching in growing terror as things in the room fell over and broke.