A/N: Set during the 'Innocent!Light' arc, theoretically close to the beginning. Yes, I know Light is OOC. My excuse is that he's getting used to L's (non)sleep patterns, and is therefore hopped up on caffeine.

IMPLICATIONS

Light Yagami stepped out of the shower door and stopped short.

L, the infamous detective, was perched on top of the toilet seat like a particularly incongruous toad, staring fixedly Light with an unblinking gaze.

Or rather, he was staring at a rather particular portion of Light, which, while certainly appreciative of any attention, was not what Light wanted his current captor staring at.

"Ryuzaki!!" The name came out half-squawked, half-shouted, and a good octave higher than Light's normal tones. "Pervert!"

"Hmm?" Blinking out of his not-quite trance, L forced his eyes to focus again with some effort. Oh, good. Light was out of the shower. Light was... flushed and glaring, and holding a towel somewhat frantically against the front of his... well, front.

"I am sorry, Yagami-kun, did you say something?"

Light's expression was flat. "Stop staring at me, Ryuzaki. It's making me uncomfortable."

"I assure you, I was doing nothing of the sort," L answered briskly, shifting his weight as he prepared to climb off his less-than entirely comfortable perch. "I have no desire to stare at your body, Yagami-kun."

A flicker of expression flashed across the younger man's face at the comment. Was that.... annoyance?

"Is something wrong?" A hint of curiosity, laced with exasperation, touched L's voice now, and Light shuffled the towel a little closer around his waist, looking... was that guilt, now, on his face?

"Are you saying you find my body unattractive, Ryuzaki?"

"Noooo...." A blink. "Is Light-kun implying that I am homosexual?"

A raised brow. "Are you implying that you aren't?"

"Touche. Though I fail to understand why my sexual preferences would be any concern of yours."

A rattle, sharp and metallic. Light was shaking his cuffed wrist, making the chain attached to it jangle. "This is why it concerns me, Ryuzaki! This damn hunk of metal that you've got hanging off my wrist!"

"It is hanging off my wrist as well, you know. And what exactly are the implications of this 'damn hunk of metal' that have you so concerned?"

"I'm not big on kinky sex, Ryuzaki."

There was a moment of silence, a speechless stare - followed by a burst of laughter.

Light folded his arms, glared, and waited. And waited. And waited, while the world's greatest detective laughed himself very nearly blue in the face and fell off the toilet.

"What," Light demanded, when L finally managed to exert some control over himself, "was so funny?"

"You. You shouldn't be able to say..." a spasmodic twitch of the pale mouth. "...you shouldn't be able to say 'kinky sex' with a straight face. It seems remarkably out of character."

Light had his own ideas on the subject, and continued glaring as L clambered back onto the toilet seat.

"Also, this notion you seem to have that I am some sort of sadistic dominant looking for a captive whipping boy - "

"I never said that!"

"It was on your mind, Yagami-kun. And are you quite against... ah, kinky things, then?"

Light considered for a moment, grimacing. "While the thought of a ball gag for Misa does have it's merits..."

L leaned forward on his perch until he looked in danger of toppling off again. "Hmm, ball gags, yes. I can see where that would be appealing. However, I generally prefer to insert something else into the mouth..."

From the widening of Light's eyes and the spasmodic jerk of his arms as he fought the instinctive urge to cover aforementioned orifice, it was fairly obvious what conclusions he had drawn.

L, for his part, just stared at the boy with a mingling of boredom and amusement. "Cake, Yagami-kun. I was thinking of cake."

"Of course you were, you bastard. Stop trying to scare me like that!"

"Obviously Light-kun is not a fan of Star Wars."

"Huh?" It was such a blatant non-sequitur that even Light Yagami couldn't follow the seemingly derailed train of thought.

"In the classic Star Wars, Jedi Master Yoda says 'Try not. There is no try. Do, or do not.' "

As the last of the words sank in, Light relaxed infinitesimally, thinking that 'do not' meant he was safe.

At that precise moment, L pounced.

Several hours later, Light rolled over in bed, scowling at the rattling of the chain, which was twisted around the headboard. "Kinky sex, indeed," he grumbled, tugging in a futile attempt to free his hands.

"Problems, Yagami-kun?"

"No, Ryuzaki, I'm brilliant. Except I can't get my hands undone, and I won't be able to sit down for a week."

"Sarcasm and exaggeration are both highly unnecessary," L replied blandly as he stretched his long, pale body out beside Light's, the nimble white fingers making a second's work of the tangled chains.

"We both need another shower," Light said after a long moment, evaluating the sticky mess they'd made of themselves. "Before the rest of the task force gets in."

"Indeed," L responded, stretching luxuriously across the dark sheets. An impish smile crossed his face as he added, perhaps a tad smugly, "They wouldn't understand the... implications."

- END -