It was not going to be a good day.
Light could foretell this when he woke up and hit his knee on the bed frame while getting out of bed, hopping around on one foot in agony while L watched, obviously amused. L was always watching him; many a morning, Light woke up to have the insomniac's calculating stare directed straight at his face. Light's hopping caused him to bump into the wall and fall over, whacking his head on the small bed stand in the process.
Then, when Light felt only a little remaining dizziness from the bump his head had taken and L had produced an ice pack for him out of nowhere, his mind suddenly decided to turn traitor on him. L's so nice to you, Light's inner self said, and he's cute and up for the taking.
The rational part of Light's mind backpedaled frantically, yelling, But he's L, for God's sake! Even if I liked him, which I most certainly don't, he thinks I'm Kira! A mass murderer! That's not exactly endearing!
He's smarter than Misa by a long shot, and much less clingy, the treacherous voice observed.
He is handcuffed to me because he thinks that I am Kira! And you don't call that clingy?! Misa is right, he's a pervert! Rational Light yelled in his head.
So, the war in Light's mind went on.
No, when Light retained several injuries from just the first few minutes after waking up and he was arguing with himself in his head about L- L of all people- it was definitely not going to be a good day.
Light scowled in the mirror when he brushed his teeth, L at the next sink, also brushing his teeth, though more rigorously than Light. That was all right, though, Light figured, since L ate many times more sweets than he did. Thus, L would have to brush harder if he didn't want all his teeth to fall out.
L finished his minty assault on his teeth, and spat. He watched Light continue brushing and scowling at the mirror. He looked quite strange; the toothpaste made it hard to take his glower seriously.
"Light-kun should not make mean faces in the mirror, or his face will be stuck like that forever," L said expressionlessly.
Light snorted, but accidentally inhaled toothpaste and started choking, prompting L to do the Heimlich maneuver on him. One part of Light's mind found this extremely nice because of the physical contact involved, and even the other part couldn't complain because L had saved Light's life. He noticed that L's arms were still around his waist, and gave L a stare that clearly said get-the-hell-away-from-me. L complied, but Light could have sworn he saw a faint flush race across the detective's features.
Once Light was breathing normally again, he gritted his teeth, "This, is why one shouldn't try to talk when brushing one's teeth."
L couldn't help but agree, "Light, I think you have had more injuries or near injuries just this morning than you have had this entire case. Laughing while brushing one's teeth- not a bright idea."
"Thank you for that ingenious comment, Ryuuzaki. I'll be sure to tell myself to avoid any possible near-death situations in the future. Although, that might be hard, considering I'm suspected of being Kira," Light snapped.
L winced at the 'Kira' remark, as if he didn't want Light to be Kira any more than Light did. Light, of course, knew that the wince was a fake, because L obviously wanted him to be the mass murderer. L's work came before his personal life, he had said so before, and thus he wanted his suspicions about Kira to be right more than he wanted to retain the friendship of Light Yagami, his number one suspect.
Light couldn't help some small part of him wishing, though, that L's wince had been real, and L did want Light's friendship more than he wanted to be right. L was the only intellectual equal Light had ever found in somebody. Perhaps that's why you're attracted to him? That disloyal part of his mind asked, but the other part of Light's mind quickly beat it down with the mental equivalent of a tire iron. I am not attracted to L, Light thought furiously. This is just hormones and my repressed sexuality. Surely.
Once they got down to the investigation room, Light proceeded to have his regular morning cup of coffee and L proceeded to have his regular morning breakfast. This breakfast consisted of chocolate-dipped strawberries with whipped cream on the side. Only L, Light thought, rolling his eyes, would have that… concoction… for breakfast regularly.
Work began on the Kira case, and Light slowly drank his way through three cups of coffee in an effort to stay awake through the mindless categorizing of criminals that he was assigned to do, and to keep himself alert enough that he didn't glance over at L every five seconds. That took a lot of concentration on Light's part. L kept eating his "breakfast." The sheer amount of sugar that the detective ingested every day made Light want to gag. However, as long as Light himself wasn't being force-fed sugary substances, he would hold in his disgust, because this case depended quite a bit on his and L's cooperation. Which means that the case would go smoother if you admitted your attraction… the malicious voice said. L would find a way to accuse me of being Kira if I told him that so much sugar was nauseating, and he doesn't like me at all, Light thought, saying that I was his first friend was just a masquerade. Like most of what else he does.
Light watched L eat the remainder of the strawberries and lick his fingers off slowly, one by one. Light tried to move his gaze from the detective's mouth, but he was finding it rather hard to concentrate on anything else. So, as he did quite often when he needed a distraction, he turned to math.
Light stared at the plate which had previously held strawberries and calculated what age L would lose his teeth at if he kept eating so many sweets. Relatively soon. However, this calculation only kept him occupied for several seconds, and soon his eyes were drawn back to L's currently frowning mouth. Light didn't really want to know what some part of him found so interesting about that particular feature of L's. It might have been because L had been eating strawberries earlier, and L had a habit of eating everything so… sensually. Light swore, every time that man ate something, he made sure to unhurriedly, oh-so-slowly, lick his fingers off.
And cause Light undue feelings in the process. Of course, Light would never admit that. It was just hormones. Keep telling yourself that, the double-crossing part of Light's mind snickered. He had already nicknamed this voice in his head "Traitorous Voice."
It's also not a good day when I'm beginning to hear voices in my head, Light thought, let alone naming them.
Even with the temporary distraction of the Traitorous Voice, Light had remained staring at L's suddenly very, very nice looking mouth, which, in hindsight, was not a bright idea.
L, who had noticed Light's staring, remarked, "If Light-kun wanted a strawberry, he could have just asked. As it were, they are all gone, and Light-kun would do well to go back to his work on the case."
"I prefer not to contaminate my mouth with sugar," Light said briskly, managing to tow his eyes back to his computer screen by sheer willpower.
L raised an eyebrow, but didn't inquire further as to Light's distraction. Light was thankful for this, because he wasn't sure what he would say if he was subjected to further questioning.
It wasn't that Light had any particular affection for L. Yeah, right, the Traitorous Voice said. Light's rational side ignored the comment and kept pondering. L was disgusting, perverted, blunt, and made a habit of ignoring Light's needs. Why would Light like him? Oh, and he was chained to Light constantly. Can't forget that one, Light thought dryly.
There was something about L, though, that drew Light. It was probably L's intelligence, because no matter how many movies Misa filmed, she would not be equal to L in Light's eyes, as L could carry on an intelligent conversation. Misa… could not. The fact that Light had to spend every single day for weeks around L most likely also had something to do with it.
Ah well. It isn't like L could possibly like me. I'm his number one Kira suspect, after all, Light mused, albeit that doesn't stop me from liking him. Which I suppose I must, if the Traitorous Voice is anything to go by.
Light sighed. This day was just getting better and better. Getting several injuries and then being caught staring at L's mouth, of all things, then realizing that he held not only grudging respect for the detective, but liking, too. That was all a great way to spend the first half the day.
After reluctantly filing away several more criminals, Light decided that enough was enough. He kept his fingers on the keyboard and occasionally moved them a bit, but his eyes roamed everywhere. Most often, they landed somewhere on L's person. Light began to theorize about parts of L's body to keep his mind occupied.
His eyes are that way from lack of sleep, obviously. I wonder why he doesn't get enough sleep…? I'm sure he has a nice body, if I recall that excellent tennis match in the beginning of college correctly. Nobody that good at tennis can possibly not be physically fit. And his lips are nice… and his hands are… skilled…
Then the reality of what he just thought hit Light like a pile of bricks, sending him staggering. If I thought of him as merely an acquaintance, I wouldn't be thinking about the state of his body. Great, I'm extremely bored and I'm attracted to the one person I shouldn't be attracted to. The lead detective who suspects me of being Kira, for God's sake! The same person who couldn't possibly like me back, because I'm fairly sure he's asexual and just gets perverted kicks out of watching me! And that doesn't even make sense! He's got me, his fellow genius, thinking in circles!
The entire prospect made Light want to whack his head a good few times against the desk, just to feel the satisfaction of losing some brain cells. Instead, he contented himself with imagining the reaction his teammates would have if he attempted to repeatedly hit his head on the desk.
Light continued filing then, going more slowly than before, and spending more time looking around the room again. Light didn't know what his eyes were searching for, but he did find it extremely irritating that every ten seconds or so, they would snap back to L, as if he had some sort of magnetic pull. Light tried to keep his eyes on the wall for twenty seconds, but when L shifted in his normal crouching position, the chain jangled and Light's eyes met L's for a brief moment in time. Then both pairs of eyes quickly moved back to their respective computers. Light could have sworn that in that single moment, he had felt like the world had been offered him, and snatched away just as swiftly.
So much for the looking-at-the-wall strategy, Light thought, and my feelings are definitely more than a simple like. Ugh.
Light decided that he would figure out exactly what he was feeling for L while still pretending to work.
Okay, I like his body. That much is obvious. I like his intellect. Honestly, he's the only person I have ever met who can see straight through my mask of perfection and carry on conversation. That's probably because we're both geniuses, though. Do I like him enough to… what? What do I want to do? I don't really know… do I want to kiss him? Isn't that what's normally done? Well, yes, I want to kiss him. I'm attracted to him. It would be nice. I wonder if he tastes of sugar, since he eats so much of it.
So, I'm sexually attracted to the man who thinks I'm Kira. Wonderful. Just dandy. Now that I've figured that out, I'll just crawl away and give up. Because he will never like me, and that's a fact.
Light Yagami?! Giving up?! The Traitorous Voice exclaimed in mock horror. The great Light Yagami does not give up!
You've got the wrong Light Yagami, Light's normal side lamented.
Light sighed again, opening up solitaire and beginning to play, just to see how fast he could beat the game while steadfastly ignoring L's presence in the next chair, which was a difficult task in itself. It wasn't that hard a game to beat, but it was hard to beat in under fifteen seconds, with your biggest distraction sitting obliviously next to you. Light managed to in thirteen seconds, though. He was about to cut that down to twelve when he felt a tug on the chain.
L had stood up, the cracks in his back audible.
"I have forgotten a flash drive in our room, so we are going to retrieve it," L declared, and Light got out of his rolling chair, not wanting to be dragged out of the room by his wrist.
There were several mumbled 'okays' and out they trooped.
L stalked into a rather large closet, hauling Light in after him.
"Ryuuzaki, why the detour? Why did you drag me into an empty closet, of all places? I thought we were going to go get a flash drive from our room…" Light trailed off, seeing the strange look on L's face.
"I took us into this closet, Light-kun, because I felt the need to confront you on an issue that I believed would have been embarrassing to discuss in front of the team. Do tell me, why do you seem so distracted today? It was not that bad at first, in the morning. But as the day wore on, you were paying less attention to your screen than to anything else in the room. I understand your reluctance to go through seemingly endless piles of information, however, playing solitaire on your computer to see how fast you can beat the game is not helping the Kira case in any way-"
Then Light decided to take matters into his own hands, because he wanted a taste of L and L's lecture was getting on his nerves. And the Traitorous Voice was egging him on. L was interrupted by a pair of insistent lips attaching themselves to his own. Light felt him tense up, obviously shocked by this abrupt halt to his rant. L slowly melted into the kiss, though, his arms coming up and winding themselves around Light's neck, seemingly of their own free will. L's eyes drifted to a close. Light had never had such a good surprise in his life. Never had he thought L might actually return his feelings. L was… L.
The kiss was sweet and long. L, surprisingly enough, didn't taste overwhelmingly sugary. Just a faint strawberry taste. Light was okay with this.
When they had to break for air, an awkward silence settled itself around them. A red streak was visible along L's cheeks, as if he was embarrassed for showing any affection.
"Well, Light-kun, as enlightening as I'm sure you intended that to be, I still don't know why you were so distracted today," L pointed out, with all the subtlety of a herd of elephants.
Light closed his eyes, massaging his temples as if summoning his patience, "Because you, Ryuuzaki, Ryuuga, L, whatever-the-hell you want to call yourself today, are such an infuriating, manipulative, insane, absorbed, determined, sweet, amazing, completely and utterly maddening person! You are my distraction! I can't be expected to think rationally and help solve a case when my hormones are buzzing because of the totally oblivious sugar-obsessed insomniac sitting next to me! Dammit, L, it's your own fault!" Light gasped, as if those last sentences had been physically painful for him.
L blinked once, twice, "Well, if I had known that it was myself causing a distraction to you, I would have done something sooner, Light-kun."
Before Light could react, he felt a soft pair of lips on his own again, and a tongue asking for entrance. It was Light's turn to be bewildered, and his mind finally caught up, telling him to grab the chance that was offered him like a steaming plate of food in front of a starving man. So Light went with the flow, opening his mouth. For a while, detective and suspect probed each others' mouths with their tongues, carefully mapping out the new territory.
They paused to breathe and Light hurriedly said, "Ryuuzaki, if we're planning on continuing this… relationship… thing we have, the team can't know. My dad would probably try to write me off as a mental defect if he found out I was in love with somebody who suspected me of being Kira."
"All right, Light-kun. However, one question, how do you know that you love me?" L made wide hand gestures as he spoke, which was unlike him, "After all, you have only known me for a small portion of your life, and you might just be feeling the sexual tension that will doubtlessly arise between two shackled persons forced to spend extended periods of time in one anothers' company. Perhaps what you're feeling isn't actually love, it is lust. Also, you can call me L outside of work."
"Ryu- L, trust me. I know what I'm feeling. It's love," Light affirmed. He had just figured the love thing out himself, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed true.
L gave him an unconvinced look, then shrugged, "Okay, whatever you say, Light-kun. I hope you're right, and I also really, really hope you're not Kira, because I believe I might… love you… too," with that, L raised his thumb to his lip, biting it gently, looking like he was in deep concentration. Light, mind lurching from the fact that L might possibly love him, staggered backwards into the wall, sinking to his knees. L spared him a glance, stating, "That revelation shouldn't have been that mind-blowing, Light-kun."
"Not all of us have perfected self control, L," Light stated wryly, when he had enough control over his mind to talk.
"It's okay, Light-kun. I have self-control enough for us both," L deadpanned, bending down to catch Light's lips again. L's hands came down to cup Light's face, Light's winding their way around L's neck, gently pressing down. The two were so engrossed in the kiss that they didn't notice the door slowly open.
Matsuda walked in, not paying any attention to his surroundings as usual, stating matter-of-factly, "Hey, guys, we were beginning to get worried about how long it took you to get a flash drive, so I went to find you and heard talking coming from here, so I just let myself in…" he then noticed L and Light kissing, and let out a victory yell, "Yes! I knew it! Mogi owes me a beer!"
L split from Light reluctantly, keeping his long fingers splayed on Light's cheek, after hearing Matsuda's triumphant yell, "What exactly did you bet on, Matsuda?" Danger sparked in L's eyes. Light would not want to be Matsuda right about now.
"Well, everyone could see the mutual attraction you guys had for one another, except for Misa, so Mogi and I made a good-natured bet as to whether or not your feelings would be revealed, since you both were totally oblivious to the other," Matsuda stammered through the explanation. He then proceeded to back out of the closet, probably to go and claim his free beer.
"It seems, Light-kun, that the only person we will need to break this to is Misa," L muttered, "Because Matsuda-san will not keep his mouth closed now."
"So it seems," Light agreed. He couldn't bring himself to care that they had been outed, though. He could be frustrated later, but now he just wanted to feel L's lips on his again, so he wrapped his arms around L's neck and craned his head up.
Their lips met.
Kira suspect, pah. I can worry about that later. After all, only the here and now, this moment, the present, matters, right? Light reasoned, then lost himself to the kiss.
It was a good day, after all.
Fin.
I'm back! With LxLight! Apparently, I can't stick to one single fandom for more than a week or two. Is that bad? Eh. Probably. Whatever. As Light seems to have figured out, only the now matters. And I know the plot is cliché, too. I can only seem to come up with cliché plots. Eh. In any case, R&R please.