Light Yagami sat on the sofa of his house, concentrating on a spot on the carpet. Thinking. He thought about a lot of things. But lately, he'd been thinking about Misa. It seemed that she had given up on attracting his attention. At first, he found it annoying. But it had been a whole week and she hadn't done anything to catch his eye. It didn't bother him, per say, but it was noticeably strange not having the ray of sunshine that she was hanging on his shoulder, or her chides and cheers when he laughed at one of her jokes, or the look in her eyes when he had to ask her to leave. It was bothering him. He had to figure out why.

He turned his gaze to the barefoot man on the other end of his cuffs. "L."

The man looked up. "Hmm?"

"What are your thoughts on Misa?" Light asked him, hesitantly.

L furrowed his brow. "Misa-chan?"

Light nodded. "Yeah, you know. You've gotten to know her a little since… Well..." He held up his cuffed wrist in emphasis.

L paused as he thought. He wrinkled his forehead even more as he answered. "She's annoying. Don't like her that much."

"But," Light contested. "Lately, she's been calmer about things. She's changed or something."

L smirked. "Yeah, for the better, maybe."

"That's nice of you." He said, his reply dripping with sarcasm. He sought to get up from the sofa, but was forced backward from the metal chain that L had just shortened with his free arm.

"Hey." He demanded.

Light spun to face him. "What?"

"First of all," L began. "We're chained together, if you didn't forget."

Light huffed in aggravation, taking his place on the couch again. "You just don't give up with these cuffs do y—"

"—Second of all," L continued, elevating his voice over Light's. "Because of these cuffs, we now have a literal bond," He dangled the chain between them. "And third of all—"

"—I knew Misa before I ever even met you! She's one of my best friends, one of my only friends! And now all of a sudden she just stopped acting herself. What if she's ill or depressed or something? How dare you…" Light crossed his arms. He didn't want this to get uncomfortable. Though he knew that when talking with L, being uncomfortable would be inevitable.

L leaned forward, gripping Light's hand in his; the metal muffs and chain jingling at the contact. "Light-kun," he murmured, looking him in the eyes. "You can't possibly care about her that much?"

Light nervously wiped away a drop of sweat slipped down his temple, and swallowed with difficulty as a lump took place in his throat. He didn't care about her. Just concerned for her well-being, that's all. They did all live together, and if something happened it'd look suspicious. He couldn't handle the pressure. He had to leave. "I'm getting up now," he said irritably, and started for his room, L not far behind.

Closing the door, he jumped as he heard a pitched gasp from his left. It was Misa, standing near the wall next to him. Had she been listening in on him and L's conversation..?
"I need some time alone, Misa," He told her. "Can we discuss whatever you're about to say…" he added, gulping. "…Later?"

Misa furrowed her brow as she started for the door. "Light-kun," she asked tentatively. "What were…" she looked back and forth from L to Light. "…You two talking about?"

Light sighed, wishing he didn't have to lie to her. "Nothing that important," he muttered to her. "We'll talk later. If someone will stand to leave us some privacy."

Even though he knew well enough that the only sanctuary from L's prying eyes was in his mind.