Sleep.

AN: First Death Note fic :D There's a hint of Matsuda x L at the end. I don't think this pairing gets as much love as it deserves; they'd be so cute together ^3^

Matsuda liked to think himself as a man with many attributes. Humorous, fun, down-to-earth and positive were just a few examples of what he hoped he achieved to be. Despite all his good traits – and Matsuda firmly believed he had good traits – it was apparent that he lacked the most simplest of things - common sense.

It was the later days of the Kira case. The group were in the headquarters, each working on their own individual aspects of the case. Light was debating possibilities with L, Chief Yagami was filing through a stack of supposedly important documents, and Matsuda was making L tea. He had been told it was the most important task to be done, but he officer begged to differ.

"Damn you L," he muttered under his breath and he banged the fridge door shut, "Damn you and your stupid caffeine addiction." Matsuda had once addressed the issue of L's fondness for sweet things, but the reply he received had both confused and scarred him for life. When asked to make tea since that day, Matsuda would promptly leave for the kitchen, not daring to disobey L.

The area where he was preparing the tea barely qualified as a kitchen. It consisted of a sleek metallic table, a fridge (loaded full of sweet cakes and little milk cartons) and a small bin.

Matsuda had taken his time to make the tea today. Everyone was giving off the 'Matsuda is a burden' vibes, and it was starting to get to him.

"Why does he have to drink so much of the stuff anyway?" The raven haired officer continued ranting to himself as he filled a plate full of little éclairs and biscuits. He didn't have to worry about being overheard; L hadn't bothered installing microphones in the kitchen. But, just in case the detective could lip read – Matsuda was becoming notably paranoid in his grand old age of 26 – he turned his back to the CCTV camera. "How does he manage to sleep at night with all the caffeine in his system…?" Matsuda lifted up the tray, carried it out of the kitchen and through the dimly lit corridor. He could hear the task force talking softly as he entered the room. Light was pointing to something at the screen and L was shaking his head in disapproval.

"It doesn't give us enough scope… Ah, Matsuda." He shot Matsuda a rare smile as the tray was set down in front of him. Light took the chance of nabbing a biscuit before L noticed.

Matsuda looked over Light's shoulder and scanned quickly over the notes the younger man had taken. They were mainly suspect-related. It was times like this that Matsuda wondered if they would ever catch Kira, and if they did, what they would do with him... Or her. Would they publically execute them? Or would that be a sign of relief for all criminals? Sometimes Matsuda thought something so shameful he would lie awake for hours, drowning in his own guilt. He would assume that maybe Kira isn't so bad. That if he was caught and killed, then criminals would return to robbing and killing once again. Then, before his thoughts went too astray, Matsuda would stop and remind himself that L was the good guy and Kira was bad.

"… Ryuzaki, it's nearly ten thirty pm… How do you expect to sleep after so much tea?"

Matsuda was pulled from his stray thoughts by Light's comment. He had been wondering that himself. How did L sleep with so much sugar and caffeine coursing through his veins? Or maybe it is a case of, when did L sleep? In the days that Matsuda had worked late, and the nights he slept at the headquarters, he had never seen his superior asleep. He'd walked in on Light and the other members of the task force sleeping plenty of times, but never L. He was either still in the main hall or tapping away on a laptop in some bedroom. He always looked exhausted, but never seemed to act tired.

"You get used to it," was L's response. He sipped his tea and ended the conversation.

A few minutes later, Light announced he was retiring to his room. The rest of the group watched the screens before them in amusement as he entered the room and was bombarded by Misa.

Aizawa left shortly after that, and one by one the police force embarked, ether home or to an assigned bedroom.

In the end, there was Matsuda, awkwardly nibbling on a leftover chocolate square, and L, furiously tapping away on his keyboard.

Unable to take the silence any more, Matsuda cleared his throat, trying to break the ice and said, "So, L, it's just you and me…"

"Go to bed, Matsuda," L said, unfazed.

"… Okay." Feeling awkward, Matsuda left.

xXx

Matsuda lay awake for two hours, tossing and turning. His room was unbearably warm, and his mind was swimming with thoughts and ideas. The most prominent, recurring one was about L and how he never slept.

By midnight, Matsuda vowed he would discover if L went to sleep, even if it resulted in him directly asking the raven-haired detective.

Getting out of bed, Matsuda decided he'd start his little investigation by finding out where L was this late at night. Making his way towards L's room, he made sure not to make any noise. His bare feet made no sound as he treaded across the cold floorboards. The corridors were dark, the only light coming from a window at the far end.

Matsuda took a sharp turn right, unaware of exactly where he was going. The headquarters looked completely different at night, so it was hard to navigate through the halls without getting confused or lost (at least, for Matsuda it was).

Suddenly, Matsuda collided with someone, foreheads bumping. "Ahhh!" He stumbled back, head throbbing.

"Who the heck is that?" Came a voice, calm and collected, as usual. Light.

Matsuda, currently seeing stars before him, answered, "Me."

"Matsuda?"

"Yeah. Him, I mean, me."

Light chuckled. "What are you doing wandering the corridor this late at night?"

Matsuda's cheeks flushed. "I was, uh, going to the bathroom." He redirected the question back to Light.

"Same as you, I was headed to the bathroom. Misa seems to have left clothes everywhere in my personal one." He reached out blindly for a light switch. "Y'know, the bathrooms are the other way…"

Clearing his throat, Matsuda added, "I was also going to get a glass of milk. I couldn't sleep…"

Light smirked to himself in the dark, still searching for a switch. "You're like Ryuzaki. He never can get to sleep." His hand hit something plastic and the lights flickered on. Matsuda narrowed his eyes as it blinded him slightly. Light gave him a clap on the shoulder before walking away.

When the brown haired man had turned the corner, Matsuda resumed his journey towards L's room. He finally made it, minutes later, successfully avoiding walking into anyone else.

The door was slightly ajar when Matsuda stopped outside. He stood, quietly, and listened. He could hear soft breaths from inside, and excitement bubbled in his stomach. L was inside, and he seemed to be sleeping.

After a few minutes of listening, curiosity got the better of him. Matsuda gently teased the door open, making sure not to make a sound. He put his leg in first, then his face, and finally his body.

The room was pitch dark. He couldn't even see a foot in front of himself. Matsuda felt like a child again, sneaking around in the middle of the night. He barely managed to contain a chuckle of giddiness which rose in his chest.

Moving foreword, he squinted in the dark, trying to get his vision to adjust to the darkness around him. He was about to take another step foreword, when a light was suddenly flicked on and L was sitting up in his bed.

"Matsuda, you have ten seconds to explain why you're in my room, and why you have with no pants on. Starting… Now."

L sat in the middle of his bed, hair the same as ever, tousled and wild, and his face still passive and pale. He looked the same as always. He certainly didn't give off the aura of someone who had just woken up. Matsuda, despite his rapidly growing edginess, found it weird to see L in a bed. He looked almost normal. ('Almost' being the key word.)

"Erm, well, I couldn't sleep, and um… I got lost and…" He licked his lips nervously. "And I didn't notice this was your room and-"

"Times up." L said flatly. He gazed at Matsuda through his dark eyes for several seconds. Eventually, he stood up – Matsuda noted with slight amusement he was wearing his regular day clothes – and walked over.

He walked around Matsuda a few times, giving him a silent analysis as he did. The officer swallowed, his shoulders giving away his tense disposition. Eventually, L spoke, "I think you're lying, Mr. Matsuda."

The raven haired man chuckled uncertainly. "Lying? About what?" He was just killing time, and L saw right through it. He always did.

"Oh, I think you know very well what I mean." L stopped in front of him, leaving an arms' reach of a distance between them both. "Why are you in my room at half twelve at night?"

The raven haired man didn't answer for twenty seconds. In that short period of time, he was having a silent debate with himself. Should he lie to L, the detective would probably figure it out in a heartbeat. But if he told the truth, he would risk being made a fool out of, though Matsuda realised that it wouldn't be the first time.

"Well?" L was watching him with those knowing eyes. They made Matsuda feel like he could see into every part of his mind, like they could read his thoughts, and in a heartbeat know his intentions.

"I was trying to find out where you slept, if at all…" He looked away, embarrassed. God, he was so stupid…

A silence followed, briefly, when all of a sudden, the room was filled with laughter. Matsuda brought his gaze back to L, who was smiling like – dare he say it – an idiot. He was laughing so much that Matsuda was becoming uneasy. L didn't laugh. He rarely smiled. Happiness was for children and carefree adults, not top-class detectives.

When the laughter was becoming unbearably weird, L stopped. He caught Matsuda's gaze, gave him a smile, and regained his composure. Just like that, he returned to his regular self.

"You want to know if I sleep?" L said, hands returning to his pockets. There wasn't even a ghost of the laughter left on his face.

The raven haired man nodded, nothing trusting himself to speak any more. He was beyond freaked out. First L laughed, and now he was within two inches of his face.

Smiling, L moved even closer, so close that the raven haired man could feel his breath on his skin, that he could get the scent of sweet cakes and tea from the detective. "You really wanna know why?"

Matsuda swallowed, nodding. He did want to know, but at the same time, he didn't. L was mysterious. L was scary. L was L, and no body could understand him or the things he did.

"It's because," now L's mouth was right beside Matsuda's ear, his breath caressing the sensitive skin, "I'm a vampire." He gave a bared his teeth playfully and suddenly sunk his teeth gently into the side of Matsuda's neck playfully. The taller man gasped in surprise. He wanted to say something – anything – but L was sucking hard on the skin on his neck. The only thing racing through Matsuda's mind was that L was giving him a hickey. L, world famous detective, was currently administrating a love bite on the side of Matsuda's neck.

L's tongue licked the skin that was bitten, only to be re-bitten again. It didn't hurt. In fact, it felt really good. Matsuda closed his eyes, allowing himself to moan slightly. L abruptly stopped biting and began softly kissing the skin. His lips worked their way up, higher and higher, kissing and caressing his neck. His tongue playfully licked Matsuda's skin between kisses.

He then stopped all together, his lips hovering in front of Matsuda's mouth. Matsuda could feel his own heartbeat rapidly beating, and he guessed L's was exactly the same. His body craved for more. He had never thought of L this way, but after that – whatever that was – he craved more…

Matsuda wanted to ask why he stopped, but he knew it would be better to stay silent. Let L speak.

Then, once again, Matsuda felt L's lips softly touch his. Only gently. It was a simple kiss, but made a big impression.

The raven haired officer felt L pull away and opened his eyes slowly. He raised his gaze and saw the detective was smirking slightly. He hand his hands in his pockets and was looking away, a small smile on his lips. His lips… Seconds ago they had been on his…

Subconsciously, Matsuda's hand reached up and touched his neck, where the hickey was visable. He opened his mouth and was about to speak, but he couldn't find the right words. In the end, he just stood there, pathetically, a blush burning fiercely on his cheeks.

After what felt like an age, L spoke.

"Before you ask Matsuda, no I'm not really a vampire." He gave a slightly chuckle, "It was a little joke of mine… And to answer your question, I don't sleep because I simply just don't like sleeping." He gave Matsuda a very uncharacteristic wink and turned away.

Suddenly, Matsuda found himself reaching out and grabbing L's arm. "What was that?" He asked, frantically searching L's face for even a hint of something, of anything. "Why did you do that?"

L's expression remained passive as he spoke. "Because I was curious." He brought his hand up to his lips and tapped them thoughtfully. "I had always had a desire to see what it felt like, and I must admit, Matsuda, you seemed the best choice. You are, after all, adorable stupid." He gave yet another wink – later that night, Matsuda would scan the skies for a blue moon or flying pigs – and turned back to his bed. "Good night Matsuda," he glanced over his shoulder at the dumbstruck police officer and added, "Feel free to join me."

Matsuda watched him climb into the bed, and without thinking, he followed. Some logical part of him was so that he could finally see if L really slept, but it was mostly because L's kisses were damn addictive and he was craving another one before the night was up.

Thanks for reading :3 Reviews are always loved & appreciated ;-D *hint hint*