ILL WILL

Author Notes: Well, I'm back. From quite a long hiatus here. Once in a while, you come across a series that really strikes a chord, really makes your mind work overtime, with characters that you just happen to love to a pretty great extent. And, that is what Death Note has done to me over the past year or so.

So, here I am, writing a Fanfiction, surrounded by my favorite sweet-loving detective, L Lawliet. Oh, and of course, my favorite pairing, Light and L.

I plan on this being a rather long story—Pushing at least twenty chapters, if not more, and perhaps a sequel.

Warnings? Only a few. Obviously, from what I said above, this story will be yaoi. Most of this will come in later chapters—for a while, it will be soft, fluff and the like.

My stories contain gratuitous amounts of Drama. If you're looking forward to that, good. Because I deliver.

Anything else...No, that covers it. Either way, enjoy the story! Reviews are always nice, especially these days.

Without further ado – Ill Will.

Exodus One – May the eyes remain open.

"I know why the caged bird beats his wing,

Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;

For he must fly back to his perch and cling

When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;

And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars

And they palse again with a keener sting--I know why he beats his wing!

-Paul Laurence Dunbar, "Sympathy"

He wasn't a morning person.

No one on the team could tell this, he understood. Dark eyes stared at the computer screen, with no signs of irritation or the will to curl up in a warm bed. That wouldn't be like him at all, to show those things. Moving his hand, with the other keeping its tight hold on the mouse, he brushed a few fingers over the strawberry cake on the desk beside him, each digit covered in whipped cream, as he brought them to his mouth, eagerly. Sugar was just as good as a bed—And he couldn't recall having nightmares while eating a piece of cake.

With the hand near his mouth, he had pulled the chain a bit, enough to warrant a glare from the one he was tethered to, purposely. Lights eyes bore into his own, and he realized that the suspect was more moody than usual, if his calculations were correct.

" I apologize, Yagami-kun. If you would move your computer a bit closer, then I wouldn't pull you every time I reach up. You are sitting too far away to merit comfort for both of us."

Light snorted, rolling his eyes. " Honestly, Ryuuzaki, why can't you just chain me to the desk while we are here? Wouldn't that be easier?"

" How do I know you wouldn't find a way to escape? I find it much safer to keep you attached to me."

Sighing loudly, on the border of being obnoxious, Light turned back towards the screen in front of him, with a multitude of tabs open in his browser, each showing a Kira worshiping site. It was the only lead he could think of—If Kira were as self righteous as everyone said that he was, he would have already made a website dedicated to himself. They had no other leads, aside from knowing that he was in the Kanto region—and millions lived within the area. That wasn't enough to go on, and Light was hoping that L had another trick up his sleeve.

Of course, L probably knew a lot more than he was letting on. It was just a hunch, but Light couldn't shake the feeling that the detective chained to him was even smarter than everyone gave him credit for.

And damn...That was smart.

Typing away, ignoring Matsuda laughing over something he had done the weekend prior, he attempted to block out all noise. Easier said than done—and with the chain constantly rattling, distracting as it was cold around his wrist, work was becoming less enjoyable, and far less accomplished. Stopping abruptly, he turned to L, not surprised that the other was still working just as hard as usual, continually typing, with only the tips of his pale fingers hitting each key.

Strange...Irritating.

" Ryuuzaki, lets take a break. You can't expect to catch Kira if you aren't working at full capacity."

" Speak for yourself, Yagami-kun. I believe that you are the one not at full capacity. I, however, am quite fine. If you need a boost, feel free to look in my refrigerator. There is probably something good to eat. I will even give you a piece of the new Chocolate-Peanut Butter fudge that Watari fetched for me yesterday. "

Getting more frustrated by the second, he bit his lip to keep from shouting obscenities at the other boy.

" I don't want sweets, Ryuuzaki. Listen, you haven't slept for four days straight, only eating sweets, and you say you are at full capacity? I don't buy it." Standing up, he took a step closer, keeping his voice down, so that the three other men currently in the office wouldn't hear. " You may be trying to impress these others, maybe trying to prove something, but you don't have to. Just an hour, thats all I'm asking. Then, you can come right back, and get your laptop, I don't care."

The words seemed to have at least a small effect, as the thin fingers quit typing. Waiting for a sarcastic remark, he stayed silent—but the remark didn't come. The fingers moved again to brush against the sweet in front of him, grabbing a strawberry and popping it into his mouth. After swallowing, he looked up at Light, eyes the same blackness he was used to seeing, nothing, as if he were speaking to the living dead.

" One hour, Yagami-kun?"

" One hour. Promise." Raising his arm, he allowed a small smirk to cover his face. " And if you really feel like coming back, work up the strength and pull me here. I know that you wouldn't allow these cuffs to come off, even during break." The words were hopeful, as if he thought L would consider it.

" And if you are Kira? An hour is quite enough time to kill dozens, isn't it?"

Guess not.

Standing slowly, the normal bad posture seeming worse on that Monday, L's bare feet hit the carpet, unconcerned eyes glancing at his primary suspect. " To my quarters then? I suppose you won't want to go out like this."

" Would you?"

That smirk. " I wouldn't like to go out either way, Yagami-kun."

Not surprising. Light sometimes wondered if it was even humanly possible to be as pale as L was, almost transparent. But, if he liked being inside so much, it was certainly possible. Light had pulled a few all-nighters in his time, staring at a computer screen all night. He knew that the next day, he would have some bags under his eyes, but they would disappear when he went outside, and got some sleep.

The fact that L had those permanent bags and that skin tone meant that he had, without a doubt, lived his life in front of computers, and had shunned away from the sun.

' It's like being chained to a damn vampire.' The teen reached up and ran his fingers over his neck. . 'No bite marks. Looks like I'm lucky so far.'

Pushing the macabre thoughts out of his head, he realized that they had reached the room, L leading the way in his normal, slow gait, each step well thought out. Light wondered to himself if the detective even knew how to be spontaneous—how to just do things on a whim, without worrying. Though, the fact that he wouldn't even reveal his real name was an indicator that that wasn't the case.

He hated the man more every second, his habits pushing the envelope, so out there that Light questioned the others humanity.

Hell, could things get any stranger? Someone was killing people without direct contact, and he was handcuffed to a man that sat with his knees against his chest (claiming that it only increased his reasoning), only lived on sweets (yet seemed to be healthy), and looked like he had been raised away from the light of the sun. His life had been thrown into such a turmoil, such a change, that he felt like he was suffering from jet lag.

Annoying.

L had pulled him over to the couch, sitting in the position that he was so known for, chin resting on his knee, eyes gazing at nothing. The room, though they were L's private quarters, were just as sterile as the office that they had come from, no decoration, nothing to give Light any insight on the mans hobbies, aside from chasing murderers and maniacs. Though, maybe that was all L did.

If that was so, he needed to take 'Ryuuzaki' to a movie or something. Hobbies were good, they were different than work. Distracting. And maybe thats what L needed.

Though, he wasn't just going to ask. He already knew what the answer would be.

Sitting on the couch himself, leaning back against the cushions, and letting out an exhausted sigh, he gazed up at the ceiling, not realizing how deafening the silence was. L, however, didn't like the fact that the two were alone in a room, even if Light was too tired to attack him. The possibility that Light was Kira was changing every day. Sometimes, he would say something so seemingly incriminating that he wondered why the boy hadn't yet been arrested. Other times, he would seem so genuinely kind, that L was ready to unlock the cuffs, and let the other go without a second thought.

Confusing.

Twiddling his feet, curling the toes around each other, and staring at them with interest, he felt strange. Not bad, but actually peaceful. Maybe it was the quiet that he could accredit to that, without the sound of his own fingers hitting a keyboard. He glanced at Light, curiously, seeing the other look comforted as well, that same peace spreading throughout the room.

" Yagami-kun?"

The boy looked at Ryuuzaki curiously, almost surprised to see the big eyes staring back at him.

" Yes, Ryuuzaki?" As the words left his mouth, he glanced over the others form, almost panicked by what he realized. " You look pale."

The detective smirked. " Stating the obvious. Sometimes, I wonder if you are as smart as the Japanese schools say."

Blushing darkly, angrily, he shook his head. " That isn't what I mean. You look more pale that usual."

Bringing his thumb to his mouth, he bit it slightly, gazing at the other. " Is that worry I sense in your voice, Yagami-kun?"

Growling in the back of his throat, he turned away. " Not at all. I just can't have you sick during the investigation. It would be a pain. Not to mention that we are so close, I would probably catch whatever illness you had."

" I don't get sick."

The words were quick, and in a tone that he wasn't used to hearing from the reserved sweetavour. Turning curiously, he saw the others head down, hair conveniently covering his eyes. All Light could make out were tightly pursed lips.

Was this a nerve that he had struck?

" Fine, you don't get sick. Sure." Chuckling cruelly under his breath, he whispered his next words, which were easy to hear in the quiet room. " You don't get sick if you aren't human."

That did the trick. Looking up at Light, those wide eyes making him feel like he was drowning. The words weren't so off par, were they? Normal people didn't act like L did. Normal people sat in a chair, with their feet on the ground. They ate a well balanced diet, and slept when they were tired.

That was human nature.

Whatever L did...That wasn't. That wasn't human nature at all. That was something foreign, that he didn't know how to deal with. And he was pretty sure no one else knew how to deal with it either.

L wasn't talking. Honestly, today, his expectation for smart remarks were being let down. Though, his eyes were actually reacting. There was something there that wasn't there before, something shining, almost moist. Not tears, he wouldn't let himself cry, Light knew that. But it was something powerful none the less.

That paleness was now met with a blush on the others cheeks. Seeing color in L's face would usually be something that he considered healthy—But this didn't seem that way at all.

He didn't like tension. And now was the worst time to have it, as they were chained together. He needed to make nice, or at the very least, make it not a hurtful situation for either of them.

" I'm sorry, Ryuuzaki. That was cruel."

The words sounded fake to his ears, even though he truly did mean them. Whatever he had said was cruel, cruel enough to actually enlist a reaction, however minuscule, from the normally stoic detective. L only nodded his head, turning away.

" Yes, Yagami-kun. It was."

His voice was soft and actually bordering on having some emotion. Moving a bit closer to the detective, he moved to put a hand on the others forehead.

Not the best idea.

A hand reached up, slapping Lights hand away, not exactly in a cruel way, but more in a frightened way. Looking at the other in confusion, he saw a look of terror in the others eyes, something worrisome.

" I was only going to see if you had a fever."

" I just told you, I don't get sick."

The irritation was coming back at full force. And now, he wasn't in the mood for it. Reaching down, he gripped L's wrist tightly, moving his hand to the others forehead.

It wasn't hot, he could tell. It felt normal enough. Struggling, L pulled away, scuttling to the very edge of the couch and staying there. " I'm fine."

Nodding, Light shrugged. " I guess so. No fever. Maybe you don't get sick. That would just get in the way, wouldn't it? Like sleeping." An idea struck him quickly. " Why don't you take a nap?"

" Why would I do that? I'm ready to get back to work. You're the one who said that you needed to rest."

Fed up with arguing, he began to walk towards the bed, giving Ryuuzaki no choice but to follow him. It was only a few feet away.

They didn't make it.

He heard a thump behind him. Figuring that L hadn't stood up and begun walking in time, he turned to berate him, to say 'I told you so', for not undoing the handcuffs before someone got hurt.

That wasn't the case at all.

L was on his knees behind him, holding his head with both hands, gasping for breath. A sense of panic running through him, Light leaned down next to him, not knowing what to do.

" Ryuuzaki, whats wrong?"

He tried to keep the horror out of his voice. But it was impossible, with seeing someone so strong on a daily basis, on the ground, in obvious pain.

But, of course, he would never get a straight answer from the man. After a few moments, L lowered his hands, glancing up at Light with the same eyes—yet, they seemed unsteady.

" I'm fine, Yagami-kun. Maybe I just stood up too fast, and it gave me a headache."

" A headache so bad you collapse? I doubt that." Gripping L's arm gently, ignoring the others obvious discomfort at the act, he led him to the bed, pushing him onto it.

" Yagami-kun, there is work to be done--"

" I'm calling Watari, and telling him that you can't work right now."

L opened his mouth to protest, eyebrows furrowed in obvious anger and humiliation, but Light already had the phone to his ear, speaking into it.

" Watari? Do you think that you could tell the others that L is unable to work for the rest of the afternoon?" There was an obviously paniked voice on the other side. " He seems unsteady, just collapsed a bit from what he claims is a headache. I'm making him sleep."

Watari was quiet on the other side for a few moments, peaking Lights interest.

" I'll be right up, with his medicine. Tell him that." With that, the old man hung up, leaving Light curious. 'His' medicine? As in, something that L normally took? All he ever saw was L eating sweets, never any pills or syrups.

Looking back at the man, he told him that medicine was on its way. A furious blush worked its way onto his face, before his eyes closed almost as if it were staged. Falling back against the pillows, he lay, in a state of unconsciousness. And instead of panicking, Light only smiled.

" If this is what it takes to make you sleep, its worth it."

It seemed to be horrid timing, however, as Watari showed up only a few seconds after, opening the door and rushing in at a rather fast speed for someone his age. In his hands were three bottles of pills, each unmarked.

" Is he..."

" He just kind of fell asleep. Unconscious. It isn't a fever, I already checked. He isn't warm at all."

Watari nodded slowly, putting the pills down on the table, and looking at L with worry. Reaching out, he adjusted the other so that he was laying on his side. " Don't let him lay on his back, if you can help it. If you do, he wakes up extremely sore, and we don't want that."

Light nodded gently, confused as to how the other knew so much. Of course, he was L's closest confidant, it seems...Or he had been, before they had been chained together.

" When he wakes up, give him one pill out of each of those bottles. If he fights you, you must insist. He needs them, when he gets like this."

He had questions, that was obvious. But Watari only shook his head, smiling a sad smile.

" Take care of him, for now. He needs someone to talk to, when he wakes up. This isn't an easy time."

And with that, he was gone.

And Light was alone with the detective, and quickly decided to take a nap himself. He didn't want to stare at the other while he was knocked out.

Yet, even as he crawled into bed, pushing the other onto the proper side, he found it impossible to look away.

' What's wrong, L?'

End Exodus One.

Well, how was it? For a first chapter, just setting things up.

What is wrong with L?

What isn't Watari saying?

Find out in Exodus Two – The wind blows too cold.