This is a little experiment for me...I have a fondness for trying to take ideas and such that tend to go terribly wrong when written and doing them well. I don't know how sucessful I am with it, but I enjoy the challenge. This time, it's Light/L that I'm taking on. The end will follow the series, don't worry; I'm not one for meaninglessly happy endings when they'd fit in canon, let alone forcing an AU for it.
"Light…I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I'm beginning to believe you. I think Kira used you against your will." L muttered, not looking up from the book in his hand. Light set down his pen, watching the other boy with suspicion
"Why are you saying that all of a sudden, Ryuuzaki?"
"Do you expect me to say it in front of everyone as some sort of humbling confession?" L returned calmly, flipping pages as he spoke.
"I never said that…does this mean that you'll un-cuff us now?" Light raised his hand, looking at the long chain discontentedly. There was enough length to allow moments of privacy, but not enough that things like showering weren't awkward for whoever was outside the door…he'd been jerked around last night after L finally failed to keep his grip on something with that weird way of his, and he knew he had to have sent L stumbling once or twice as well. L had no shame, either; he changed and stripped without a second thought about being seen nude, and would probably shower with Light in the room if he had to. It wasn't that it bothered Light so much as it was something he wasn't used to…what did bother him was being woken up in the middle of the night, and he and L had come to an agreement that every second day L had to sleep at least half the night…
L brought him out of his thoughts with an unintentional tug on the chain as he shifted, shaking his head firmly.
"I can't do that; I would hate for my conviction to be mistaken and cost the lives of this team. Light will stay by my side until I feel without a shred of doubt that he is innocent, and that's that." L once again lowered his gaze to the book in his hand after he had finished speaking, ending the conversation whether Light wanted it or not. With a resigned sigh, the brunet turned back to his own work, again losing himself in case details.
Light sighed as he followed L into the bathroom, walking up to the side of the tub then turning his back as L stripped and adjusted the water. Once it was to his liking, L pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the shower. The now-familiar sight of L's slender body was visible in Light's peripheral vision, and he couldn't help but turn to see what the strange boy's hair looked like when it was down. By the time L was out of the shower, it was its usual tousled self, and he'd never actually gotten to see how it would look like in a normal state…if it weren't for what he knew to be the case, L could pass for a girl like that, he noticed with surprise. The boy's black hair reached his shoulders, and was completely straight, and it suited his build well. Compared to what he was so used to, seeing L that way was baffling. Shaking his head, Light walked out and shut the door behind him. He'd been a little surprised to learn the reason behind L's dishevelled appearance was simply that he had a really thick head of hair, didn't brush, and slept on it while it was still wet and tousled…it was hard to connect that appearance to someone who took lengthy showers that left the room feeling like a sauna, but L insisted that the heat and white noise helped his reasoning. Once the water heater must have been ready to give out, Light heard the slap of wet feet hitting tile and felt the chain give a bit of slack as L walked closer to him.
"Light, I'm finished."
"Yeah…I'm coming." His legs protesting slightly as he stood after being in the same position so long, Light opened the door. L had tied a towel around his waist for Light's sake, his mussed hair still dripping beads of water onto his shoulder and down the curve of his back. Light stepped close enough to allow L to reach the faucets and cut the water.
L put on a pair of sweatpants when they were back in the bedroom, then lay down in the right bed so that Light could sit at the desk and work while he rested. With his cuffed arm stretched out, Light would have more than enough length to study and he could easily sleep. It didn't take L long to drift off, and Light lost himself in the case files until he felt the chain jerk and heard a soft groan.
"L-Light…" L almost sighed the other male's name, another groan following it.
"Huh? What is it?" Light turned and was surprised to see a still-unconscious L. The tug on the chain had been L switching positions in his sleep, he realized; he was now sleeping on his back, right arm by his side. L's eyes twitched rapidly, and he continued to shift. Resigning himself to being unable to work until L's dream had run its course, Light settled on watching him. That way he wouldn't get pulled out of his chair if L rolled over again. The light blanket that L had covered himself with was halfway off now, leaving his chest bare. The skin was just as pale as everywhere else on the boy's body, and the sweets that he so adored were in no way evident in his figure. It didn't show as much when he was in that loose shirt of his, but L was really thin…he watched curiously as the dark-haired male tilted his head to the side, moaning softly and gasping.
"Please continue, Light…" Arching his back now, L's breathing had become even more rapid, excited, and he continued to cry out softly in his sleep between low cries of pleasure. Realization suddenly washed over Light as he continued watching the scene before him. L…was dreaming about him? No, he had to be mistaken…but the writhing body, panting, and erotic noises coming from L's throat couldn't be anything else…suddenly, L's eyes fluttered then opened, and he turned his head to look at Light with bleary eyes.
"Is it morning already, Light?"
"No…I'm just going to go to bed, all right? I can't focus on these papers anymore tonight."
"I suppose that it would be better for you to rest than to overlook important details…I take it I'm still to sleep?"
"Yeah, I'd prefer it." Light turned off the desk lamp, the room being plunged into total darkness for him while his eyes adjusted. He felt his way around L's bed, chain jingling with every step, and found his own. Sliding off most of his clothing, he slid under the blanket and turned his back to L. It had been the truth that he couldn't concentrate, but it wasn't exhaustion that was distracting him. As much as he hated it, hearing L crying his name like that, hearing him moan like that, had gotten him excited. He'd never had the privilege of hearing a husky voice crying his name, even if it was only do to something he was doing to them in a dream. Really, Light found L to be an attractive man in his own way…the lack of social understanding was tiresome, as was the lack of concern about appearance, but he could see himself in a relationship with someone like that. He was extremely intelligent, unconcerned with pointless things like celebrities, and he could keep up with Light in every way. Abstract feelings of attraction didn't mean, of course, that he'd forgotten the imprisonment or the reason that he was chained to L. Yes, L was saying that he was doubting him less and less, but that could all be a lie. After all, if he really trusted him he would have been allowed to return to his own room by now.
"I wanted Light to be Kira…" How could he say something like that so calmly? Constantly fighting the assumption was infuriating. He was able to rationalize things on the same level as L, so obviously he had to be Kira? Brilliant or not, Ryuuzaki wasn't the only one capable of complex reasoning…Light cursed himself for allowing arousal to cloud his thoughts; he wasn't going to get to sleep for a very long time, and L would ask questions if he got up again. …didn't he even realize that he'd been saying those things out loud? He acted like he'd simply been napping, not- Light forced his mind to stop working for a moment, reminding himself that dwelling on L's odd behaviours could last him through another century of sleepless nights. He finally did drift off, his breathing becoming slow and steady. L smiled contentedly. Phase one had been set into motion; Light had obviously been extremely shaken by the act, and if the increase in breathing rate he'd heard during the time be had been pretending to sleep was any indication, his assumption about the teen had been correct.