Peaceful

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its respective characters. However I do own Layla Levandi and the writing seen here. Please do not use them without my permission.

Sleep.

It was the only time Mello really ever looked peaceful anymore, and it was a moment that Layla cherished above all others.

Mello was a little sweeter when he was sleepy, almost as if he reverted back to the childish little boy she had known in Wammy's House. Though he'd never have said it aloud, he liked to hold her against him when he slept, which suited her just fine.

Layla liked being against his chest, feeling his arms around her and the warm sound of his heartbeat, always so slow and steady against her ear.

It was too, during this time that she could memorize the tiniest features of his body. The sharp curve of his nose, the gentle slope of his lips, the way his blonde eyelashes would rest against his cheeks, eyes moving lightly underneath their lids.

He was gorgeously pure when he slept.

Layla lifted up her head slightly, and reached up a hand to caress the scarred flesh she had come to both love, and respect. As always, it was warm, and slightly textured, but the pliable softness of his scar felt good against her fingertips.

Then, her hand went down to his lips, pausing to feel the slight intake of breath and then the exhale a few moments later, leaving her fingertips slightly damp. Those lips had kissed her mere hours ago now, and she shivered lightly at the memory of the pleasure his lips had brought.

Perhaps it was love that blinded her to the scar that covered half of his face and chest. She had seen the sideways glances from others in the street, and yet Mello never seemed fazed. Sometimes she wondered if the scar secretly bothered him, although if it did, she would never have known.

Suddenly her hand slipped and Mello's eyelashes fluttered slightly. Layla cursed sharply, hating how much of a light sleeper the mafioso could be.

"Goddamn it, Kiska." Mello mumbled, his voice thick. "Go to bed."

She didn't say much of anything, merely rested her chin on his chest.

There was a halfhearted grumble and Mello reached downwards to pull her up so that the top of her head was tucked neatly underneath his chin.

"Sleep..." he mumbled softly, his voice trailing off to something inaudible as she lay against him attempting to match her breathing with his own.

She slipped her arms around his shoulders, pleased when he nestled into her, his snoring becoming heavier every few moments.

Her eyes were growing heavy now too, and she fought to keep them open to have just a few more moments of gazing at that peaceful expression before it disappeared in the morning.

There was a light scratching on the edge of the bed, followed by a slight whine and Layla smirked, leaning over to see their doberman puppy, Sirius.

She shimmied out of Mello's grasp, reaching over and pulled the puppy up against her on the bed, scratching delicately around the area of his ears that weren't covered with tape.

Though she had protested against it, Mello had insisted that the puppy get its ears cropped, and tail docked, saying something about the dog hearing better, although she had a feeling it was just purely about the look, more than the function.

But, Sirius didn't seem to be hampered by the tape on his ears, and seemed to be concentrating more on licking her face.

As much as she wasn't used to being around dogs, she couldn't help but be attached to the sweet puppy Mello had brought home that day.

It was almost like having a child, making it happy and playing with it all the time. In a weird way, the dog had been like a sign that Mello was going to stay, and that he wouldn't run up and leave, Sirius promised her that.

"Goddamn it Layla." Mello grumbled, "Go to bed. Quit playing with the puppy and go to bed."

However, at the sound of Mello's voice, Sirius leapt upwards to lap at his master's face, eliciting an annoyed groan from the man.

"Okay, okay." Mello grumbled, feebly fending off the dog with his arm, "You go to bed too."

Once the dog had quieted down, contenting himself to lay at Mello's feet. Layla watched, amused as Mello tucked his head under the nearest pillow.

"Can't I ever just get some peace?"