There was a point when your eyes lost focus, your computer screen became a white blur, and you started to stare at nothing. Ryuzaki rarely ever reached this point. He had, but he didn't do it often. However, after starting work on the Kira case, this point started to sneak closer and closer, and L had the nagging feeling that it was going to pounce on him and eat him whole. Perhaps it was happening more often because all he could ever do was go over lists of victims and the few facts about Kira. He could try to form hypotheses, but they were usually the kind one looked back on a day later and said "oh, wow, I must've been really drunk." Like that one time he deduced Hideki Ryuuga was Kira. He'd been thoroughly convinced that Hideki Ryuuga was a serial killer, and the next morning after a bite of cake, he realized roles in movies are not valid bases for deductions. Would Ryuuga even have time to be Kira? Probably not. He wouldn't even have time to be Kira, and he never went outside.

It was near one of these points, definitely within the span of five minutes, when Ryuzaki had just started to focus on the spot in the center of his screen, and his reading was just starting to slow, when he was jolted out of his self-induced stupor.

"Hey, Ryuzaki."

"Hmm?" he said, glancing up to see Light. He was holding two cups. "Oh. Are you going to bed? Sleep well."

"Actually," Light said. "It's four in the morning."

"I see."

"Four fifteen, to be exact."

"How interesting. What are you doing up?"

Light shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. I figured I may as well get up. I made myself some coffee, figured you would be up, so, here you go."

It was a kind gesture, but held virtually no meaning with the detective. "I don't drink coffee."

"I know that. It's hot chocolate, and it's for you."

"What did you do to it?"

"Nothing."

Ryuzaki picked up the cup and sniffed it. "It smells like you did something to it."

"I didn't do anything to it!"

"It smells like coffee. Are you sure you handed me the right cup?"

"I put in a teaspoon," Light said. "I figured you could use some caffeine."

"So what you're saying," L poked the cup. "Is that this isn't really hot chocolate. It's a hot-chocolate-coffee-hybrid. It's a mutant."

"It is not a mutant, Ryuzaki. It is a cup of hot chocolate, with a small spoon of ground coffee in it for the sake of energy."

L sat down the cup and went back to scrolling through a list of criminals killed by Kira. "I don't need caffeine."

"You look tired. There are huge shadows under your eyes."

"I don't need it."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"You do."

"Light-kun, I am the greatest detective in the world, I think I would know if I needed caffeine."

"Really?" Light sat down on the desk and took a sip from his own mug. "Because, you don't even know when you need sleep."

L looked up from his computer screen to glare at him. Light smiled and had another drink.

"I'm going to stay here until you drink that," he informed him. "If it's any consolation, I put in a large amount of chocolate, and at least four sugar cubes."

L gave him a suspicious look, and then picked the cup back up. He stared down into the swirling chocolate. "I still think you did something to it."

"I did. I added chocolate, sugar, and as we have discussed, a minimal amount of coffee."

"If you were Kira, you would have done something to it."

Light raised an eyebrow. "What, like make it?"

"No, don't be stupid. Like poison it, or put in a truth serum."

"Luckily for you, I didn't do that. However, since you're being such a prick about it, I'm beginning to regret that."

"So what you're saying is, you wish you had acted like Kira."

"No. I'm saying you're an annoying person and I'm fairly sure the majority of your acquaintances would gladly poison you. I'm insulting you."

"Are you confessing to being Kira?"

"I'm confessing to be one of your acquaintances. Just drink it."

L gave him another suspicious look.

"Hey, didn't Watari tell you to take some pills tonight? So you could sleep?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"It's weird that you're still up," Light went on. "You know. Since you took those sleeping pills."

L gave him a dirty look and took a sip of hot chocolate. "This isn't warm enough."

"Oh my. Maybe you should've drinken it sooner."

"Mm." L took another sip. It was very sweet. "It doesn't taste entirely terrible."

"Thank you."

"I didn't say it tasted good."

"I know." Light took a drink from his coffee. "You know," he mused. "If I really wanted to kill you, I would just, I don't know, swap out those sleeping pills for something with more… kick."

"I see. You've thought about how to kill me."

"I only just realized that. It'd be pointless, anyways. You never take them, do you?"

"I do."

"How often?"

"... Often enough."

"You don't take them, do you?"

"I have. In the past. More than once."

"That's very reassuring," Light nodded, and had another drink. "I surprise myself with my drink-making skills. What're you doing up?"

"I'm working."

"On?"

"The investigation."

"Why?"

"Because I'm being paid to, and I want to."

"Why?"

"Because I want to stop Kira."

"Why?"

"Because he kills people."

"Why?"

"I assume he has some childish sense of justice."

"Why?"

"Because he's mostly killed criminals."

"Why?"

"Light, I've never played this game before, but I'm not so stupid that I'm going to keep going on with this."

Light smirked and lifted his cup again.

"What about you? What are you doing up, Yagami?"

"I told you, I couldn't sleep."

"Why?"

Light scowled at him. "You're infuriating."

"As are you."

"If you must know, Misa was keeping me up. Did you know she talks in her sleep?"

L glanced up. "You were sleeping with Misa?"

"Well, yes. She is my girlfriend, after all."

"I didn't realize you two had slept together. You've always seemed disinterested."

"I did have no interest in doing that sort of thing- while I was handcuffed to you. And we weren't sleeping together that way, we were just in bed. She rolls around a lot."

"Hmm."

"You don't care, do you?"

L shook his head. "Not really. So, she talks in her sleep? What about?"

"Well, last night she had a vivid dream about some sort of photo shoot catastrophe. I couldn't really make out much tonight."

"No?"

"No. She was mostly muttering under her breath. I picked up a few words, though."

"What were they?"

"They were private."

"Mmm." L had another drink from his cup. The hot chocolate wasn't really all that bad, but he would have preferred more sugar, and he could still detect an undertone of coffee. "Light-kun."

"Yes?"

"This is alright."

"Thank you."

"Light-kun?"

"Yes, Ryuzaki?"

"I still suspect you of being Kira."

Light started to cough. He set down his cup and kept coughing, keeping his mouth shut. He probably hadn't swallowed properly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm f- fuh- fine-" he coughed, and then picked his cup back up and took three fast drinks, in rapid succession. "You just- you just-" he coughed again, "-accused me of being Kira-"

"I didn't accuse you, I said I suspect you. The two are in fact quite different, and you should try to avoid mixing them up because, as you immediately took it as an accusation, your likeliness of being Kira has risen."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Light, but facts don't lie."

"Ryuzaki, we caught Kira. Higuchi's Kira. Or was, either way, we got him."

"So you say. But he did die of a heart attack right in front of our eyes, and more criminals have died since then. There's definitely a second Kira."

"Are you accusing me of being that Kira?"

"No. I still think Misa's that Kira. And I still think you're the original."

Light sighed. "You're wrong, but you aren't going to listen to me, are you?"

"Probably not. Kira?"

"You're talking to me, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am, Kira."

"Please don't call me that."

L nodded. "Light-kun."

"Yes, Ryuzaki."

"You may have actually made a good hot chocolate."

Light nodded. "I know you're only saying that to make up for calling me Kira."

"I am. You put entirely too much coffee in here. Please, never make me a hot chocolate with coffee in it again."

Light smiled and laughed quietly, though L hadn't intended it as a joke.

"If you want, I can make you another."

"No, this one's fine. Kira?"

"I'm not going to respond to that."

"It's unfortunate that you're Kira, really. You've grown on me."

"People say I'm likable."

"I don't like you in the slightest. You've just kind of grown on me. Like a parasite."

"That's not how parasite's work."

"Right." L finished off the hot chocolate and sat it down. "Actually, I was talking to the Shinigami. Rem. And she told me something very interesting."

"Did she."

"She told me it was possible to relinquish ownership of the Death Note, and lose all your memories until you touched it again. Isn't that fascinating?"

"Very."

"And that got me thinking about how loud you were screaming in the helicopter. After I handed you the Death Note. You were screaming very loudly, don't you agree?"

"There is nothing about that I don't find sadistic. You sound kind of creepy right now, Ryuzaki."

"I didn't scream when I saw it. Your father did, though. But no one else screamed like you."

L looked up at Light. He'd narrowed his eyes at him.

"Of course," L added quickly. "There's no need to justify it. I was certainly unnerved when I saw Rem. I just thought that was interesting."

"Ryuzaki," Light said.

"Yes?"

"I swear- if I wasn't so comfortable sitting here- I would come over there and hit you. You are, without a doubt, the cruelest person I've ever known."

"If you're Kira, that's hard to believe."

"Even if I was Kira, at least I have the decency to be polite."

"Mm." L nodded and went back to his research. Light slid off the desk and started to pace back and forth.

"I have the decency to make you hot chocolate at four in the morning."

"Yes."

"I let you- I let you handcuff me-"

"Uh huh."

"I woke up- at four in the morning- and I thought hey, I bet Ryuzaki's up, I bet he could use some company-"

"Right."

Light was in a rage, now. "I've- I've done everything- everything you told me too-"

"Huh."

"You know what?" Light snapped. "I never thought I was Kira, but you were so obsessed with it, I went to you and said I was, and I was stuck in a cell, and then my own father threatened to kill me-"

"He did."

"You treat me- horribly! Worse than anyone else!"

"Do I."

"And- I- still- like- you!"

"Do you."

"Look at me!" shouted Light.

L paused in his reading and turned his head to look at Light.

For a moment they stared into each other's eyes, and then Light drew back, as if he had seen something.

"Oh my god," Light said. "You're flirting with me!"

"Am I."

"That's why you're so- so terrible!"

"Is it."

"Like some idiot kid on a playground?"

"So it would seem."

"You- you just acknowledged it! You confirmed it!"

"I did?"

"Yes, I said like some idiot kid on a playground, question mark, and you said, so it would seem, period. It was a statement."

"Oh. My apologies. I'm a little distracted."

Light stayed in place for a moment longer, staring into L's eyes.

Then he straightened, and leaned back against the counter.

"Why?" he asked mischieviously. L almost smiled.

"Because I'm working on the Kira case."

"Why?"

"Because I'm trying to get myself sidetracked."

"Why?"

"Because I spend too much time thinking about you."

Light was staring at him.

L kept reading.

"Ryuzaki."

"Yes, Kira?"

"That was definitely flirting."

"You just answered to Kira."

"You just flirted with me."

"Hmm."

"Ryuzaki?"

"Yes."

"It's cruel to toy with people's emotions."

"So I've invoked your emotions."

"I didn't say that. I was simply telling you."

"It just so happens that I am not, in fact, toying with your emotions. I am, it just so happens, being honest. Granted, roughly forty percent of all time spent thinking about you involves trying to figure out how you've managed to carry on being Kira in secret. And another fifteen percent is spent in relation to the case."

"Ryuzaki."

"Yes."

"That still leaves almost fifty percent."

"Yes, it does."

"Ryuzaki."

"Yes."

"Please stand up."

"I don't want to."

"Please stand up."

L sighed and stood up. "Why am I doing this?"

"Because I'm asking you to." L stood up too, straightening himself. "Now, please stand in front of me."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Are you going to try and kill me?"

"How the hell would I- please come stand over here."

"Fine." L moved to face Light head on, and they looked into each other's eyes again, Light searching for something, L just looking.

Light put his hands on L's face.

Oh, L thought.

He leaned forward.

That's why.

Light's kiss definitely made L's sudden attempts to share his feelings worthwhile.

He kissed him, and he wasn't so tired anymore, he could feel the hot chocolate surging in his veins, hot hot hot, and Light certainly tasted better than any cake. Light cupped his chin and kissed him back, softly at first, and then harder, fiercer, and L responded accordingly, reaching up to press his fingers into Light's back, and holding on for dear life.

Kira Kira Kira, sang his mind. Light Light Light, said his heart.

Shut up shut up shut up, L answered them, and kissed Light some more.

There wasn't any decision to return to bed, at least not aloud. Ryuzaki and Raito both left their mugs downstairs and moved upstairs, pausing to steal kisses and murmur things into each other's ears. Like Misa, L had his own floor, and it had a very nice, if unused, bed.

They made use of it.