Author's Note: I thought of this randomly--but I did kind of want to poke fun at the fact that the majority of fanfiction writers like to place L and Light in the same bed whenever they're handcuffed together. It wasn't as if the chain is short--for plot purposes, aside, I'd imagine they would have slept in separate beds.
Thus, motivating the title 'Separate Beds'. I didn't write it as yaoi, but you can make of it what you wish.
I don't own Death Note or anything related to it.
Edit: I also forgot to thank my wonderful beta-chan, baka-neko-fan.
"I don't know what we're going to do with it, Ryuuzaki." Light and L stared at the single bed in their hotel room. In the span of time from when they had met until how, they always slept in separate beds. L rarely decided to sleep in anything resembling a bedroom, but the one at headquarters had two beds when they decided to use them. It wasn't as if L slept often, though. Even after a long day of work, L preferred to loom over computer screens rather than rest for the night. During the time that they were handcuffed, Light had only seen the man sleep three or four times at most. The detective was more accustomed to the bluish glow of the computer screens at which he stared than the comfort of his own bed, and maybe he though of his laptop as a pillow, because whenever he fell asleep, it seemed to be there. If not, then his laptop was within easy reach, and he was instead slumped against the headboard in bed. However, Light had never seen L sleep normally. Maybe L didn't want to bother with the conventions of 'sleep.
"You take the bed, Light-kun. I'll take the floor." Light blinked—he almost wondered if L would accuse him of being Kira depending upon his answer. He looked around the room; there wasn't a chair in the room and the floor plan was cramped, at best.
This week, the Kira investigation took them to Yokohama. Even as Light and L traveled around the city to investigate, Light had to admire the beauty and warmth of his surroundings—there were tourists everywhere. Somehow, though, L had picked one of the worst hotels in which to stay. Light nearly winced when he walked towards the bed—the covers were old and musty. However, considering that it was 1:00 in the morning, he could ignore that. What he couldn't tolerate, though, was L pacing around the room all night as he thought about the investigation, only remembering that he was chained to Light when the cuff pulled harshly on his wrist.
"No, you aren't," Light finally decided, "We'll share. It's big enough for two, anyways." Light wasn't sure about that, but he didn't want to be woken up in the odd hours of the night and realize that L had pulled him out of the bed while he wore circles into the carpet. L looked somewhat opposed to the idea—maybe his posture was so poor because he was accustomed to crouching on the ground all of the time, or, better, yet, under beds, by the look of his hair. In the midst of walking across the room to put his coat in the closet, his wrist jerked back; once again, he'd forgotten about the chain that bound them. L must have forgotten as well, because he, too, walked in the opposite direction before stumbling slightly at the harsh reminder. Light sighed and tossed his coat into the closet and went back to the bed, where L occupied himself by typing away on his laptop, as usual. Light dozed to the click of the mouse and keys. L was, perhaps, intent on keeping him awake, because a minute later, he asked, Light-kun?" Every once in a while, L asked questions, his shallow gaze pausing from the computer to watch Light until he responded. Light's mind was hazy with fatigue, and L's constant prodding irritated him. Finally, after what seemed like hours, L fell silent, but Light couldn't sleep. Nearly a half an hour later, he gazed at the clock. 4:53. Cautiously, he turned over to get a clear view of the detective, careful, because if L was awake and noticed this, he might resume asking bothersome questions. He only wanted to sleep, but L seemed to be against the idea.
The detective had, at some point, crashed. His laptop rested next to him, but he had fallen into a slump, and his eyes were closed. Light guessed that it was one of the rare times that he was actually asleep. Now, Light could finally get some rest. Settling under the covers, he relaxed. However, he heard a muffled thump and felt a heavy weight fall next to him. Light peered over the blanket and realized that L had fallen from his crouched position onto his side of the be—his breath was soft and warm against the side of Light's face and L's hand was unnaturally close to his cheek. When Light beckoned L to get off, his fingers only twitched.
Pushing L to the other side of the bed, Light lay as close to the opposite edge as he could without falling off—as far away from L as he could get.
Minutes later, Light nearly jumped at a sudden jolt of pain. L kicked him in the stomach. Hard. Light winced. Having fought with L before, he knew what an intentional attack felt like. There was no way that L was asleep. This had to be some cruel trick. However, he ignored it. For a few minutes, he was at peace, but L was slowly creeping towards the center of the bed. "Very funny, Ryuuzaki." Motivated by fatigue, his voice carried a bare hint of sarcasm. When L didn't answer, he disregarded the man.
L kicked him again, this time, even harder, so hard that Light nearly toppled out of his bed. Light lost his patience. He needed sleep, and L never allowed it. There was no way that anybody could kick so hard in his sleep. Considering L's circular reasoning, this was probably some clever ploy to try and make another accusation about how he was Kira. He probably thought that depriving Light of sleep would reveal some hidden aspect of his nature that would allow him to solve the case. "Can't you let me sleep? Run your experiments on somebody else!" In retaliation, he threw a punch at L's shoulder. This time, L's eyes snapped open—most definitely awake—and this time, his kick was, without a doubt, full of purpose. Light fell out of bed and L crashed to the floor next to him.
"What was that for?"
"What are you talking about, Yagami-kun?" Asked L icily, putting emphasis on Light's name. "You were the one who just attacked me.
Light gritted his teeth.
He was never going to share a bed with L again.