Strawberries
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Death Note. I'm sure that's a surprise.


"Come in," L shouted. Yagami Light opened the door and walked inside the hotel room.

Looking around, the boy saw L's room in its usual state: a mess. Plates and bowls that once held sweets were scattered across the place, though plenty of new plates of sugary treats occupied the area as well. Stacks of tapes and papers from the Kira investigation were in a pile next to the couch L was sitting on.

"Ryuzaki, do you ever sleep?" Light smiled, setting his umbrella against the wall.

"I do," L responded bluntly without looking away from the multiple monitors in front of him, "though I was under the impression that Yagami-kun would be asleep at this hour." He stretched out an arm, pointing to one of the monitors. Light recognized the image as his own house.

"You're still watching my house?" Light asked L, slightly annoyed. "I thought that I was already cleared of being Kira, Ryuzaki!"

"No, Yagami-kun, I still suspect you, though the likeliness of you being Kira is less than one percent," L explained. "Still, anything greater than zero needs to be watched.

"Do not worry, though. I have only placed a video feed outside your house. What you do within it I cannot see."

Light sighed with relief, though pretended to be disappointed. "I suppose I can't change your opinion, can I?"

"No, I suppose you can't," L replied, dipping a strawberry in sugar. "I wonder, why would Light-kun come to this place at such an hour?"

Light sat down on the couch next to the detective. He yawned. "I couldn't sleep," he explained, gazing out of the window tiredly. "I've never been able to sleep well while it's raining."

L put the strawberry in his mouth and reached for another. "So, Yagami-kun dislikes the rain…" he muttered, nibbling on the sugar-coated fruit.

That guy's appetite… Light thought to himself with a smile. As he watched his rival add sugar to a new strawberry, he followed the small fruit to L's lips, seeing him savoring the taste in his mouth with his tongue-

L leaned into Light's face. "Something wrong, Yagami-kun?"

Light quickly shut his thoughts away. "No, not at all," he insisted, readjusting himself, "just feeling a little sleep-deprived, I suppose." His eyes went back to the window.

What was I thinking? I just need his name and L's finished, Light scolded himself. The weather must be messing with my head. Or maybe I really am deprived of sleep.

"I'm not quite sure exactly why this kind of weather keeps me up," he began. "It's not that I'm afraid of it, but I guess it's that the rain makes me feel… trapped."

"'Trapped'?" L repeated with a question in his tone. "I've never heard Yagami-kun talk in such a way before." His eyes stayed focused on the monitors.

"It's… difficult to explain," Light replied sincerely, smiling inwardly. L would never expect Kira to speak so openly about his weaknesses. "…but when there's no rain, I'm able to sleep and believe that I have control in my life. Rain brings me back to reality, reminding myself how real and uncontrollable everything is." He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I'm rambling. I usually don't say that sort of thing."

L bit down on his thumbnail. "It's okay," he replied. His eyes moved, but when they met Light's he quickly looked away, reaching for another strawberry.

"I guess all that sugar is the reason you can stay up so late," Light offered lightly, pointing out the various cakes and treats on the table in front of where they were sitting. "You must do all-nighters frequently, huh?"

L didn't respond this time, to the boy's surprise, so he decided to stay quiet and turn his attention to some of the monitors. No one said a word for what seemed to be an hour.

Around the time Light's focus started to fade, L gently touched Light's leg, causing him to snap into attention.

"Would you like one?" asked L.

"Hm?" L pointed to the small cup of strawberries. Light simply stared for a moment, doing nothing. "Um, sure," he said finally.

L took a fork and stabbed one of the reddest strawberries. "Here," he said, taking Light's hand and silently placing it over his. Light gave the detective a confused glance, but didn't say anything. With Light's hand on his, L slowly coated the fruit in white sugar, causing Light's heart to jump with every dab.

L lifted the fork up to Light's mouth, and Light couldn't help but notice his eyes. He'd never really taken a good look at them before. Slowly, the boy opened his mouth and brought the strawberry to his lips.

He let the taste of the fruit linger in his mouth, closing his eyes for better taste. "Ryuzaki," he swallowed, his eyes still closed, "I can see why you eat so many of these-"

Light's eyes snapped open. L's body was pressed against his, forcing him to fall back on the sofa. He's kissing me, Light realized, finding himself unable to pull away. His lips parted, and slowly he felt the detective's tongue move into his mouth, claiming it as his own.

Unable to control himself, Light let out a moan, closing his eyes yet again. It tastes sweet, he thought to himself, like sugar.

L pulled away, staring quietly at him. Light longed to know what he was thinking.

"Ryuza-" Before he could get out another breath, L began sucking on Light's neck. Light's vision became unclear, his breathing quickening. As his chest went up and down, he was aware of L's body against his.

After a short while, L pulled back, looking away. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. Light had never seen this guy so… insecure. He didn't move. He tried to think about how'd he'd gotten himself into this position. Did L manipulate him so that he'd reveal something about Kira? Had he hoped that, coming here, L would clear him of suspicion? Or did he really have feelings for-

"Ryuzaki," said Light.

"Yes?" Light wrapped his arms around his rival's body and kissed him with all of the feelings that had been bottled up inside of him. He gave in to the one person he'd thought he'd figured out so well. Slowly he saw the detective's eyes close, and they kissed, neither leading nor following.

This time when they pulled away, L lifted himself off of Light, allowing Light to sit upright. They stared at each other.

"Yagami-kun," began L, his breathing beginning to get back to normal. He brought his hand up to Light's face and touched it ever so gently. "You're crying."

Light's eyelids began to droop. He could barely hear anything, even the rain, though by now it was falling heavily outside. He leaned on L's shoulder, shutting his eyes.

"No, Ryuzaki," he murmured, heartbroken, "it's just the rain."

"The rain, huh," L replied, though by then his friend was already fast asleep. He reached for the last strawberry, then pulled away. "None left," he announced faintly.

For a moment the detective thought he'd heard laughing coming from somewhere, but it had only last a moment. He looked out the window, silently watching the raindrops fall to the ground.


"Humans are interesting," Ryuk cackled, popping a strawberry into his mouth.


AH:
This is my first Death Note fanfic, as well as my first shounen ai thing, so I wasn't really sure how to write some stuff. For example, Light especially isn't this sensitive in the series (hey, I'm a fangirl), but overall I hope I did alright for a first-timer. The rain theme was my main idea for this story, because I thought it would work as a forshadow for the episode in the series where L dies. That rain scene was really cool. (if you don't know what I mean, you need to watch that!)