Author's Note:

This is sort of my first fanfic that I've decided to throw out into the attention of the general public. It's a joint work where the sections focused on Light Yagami are played by me, and the sections focused on L are played by my friend Interstella (check out her work!).

I appreciate all criticism and I hope it's received well!

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Light Yagami sat in a bright marble-walled bathroom. With his back to the sink, he sank down to the floor in silent relief, massaging the chafed skin on his wrist. Using the bathroom was one of the few occasions when he could be unchained from Ryuuzaki, which was why he had used the false excuse now. Sometimes he just couldn't stand it any longer; being in such close proximity to that weirdo really got on his nerves. The way Ryuuzaki sat, the way he ate, everything about him, just made Light sick to his stomach. Light's hand rose to cover his mouth involuntarily at the thought. If I see that guy eat one more damn piece of cake, I swear I'll be sick. It was true; Light hated many things about Ryuuzaki. Especially those strange looks he often caught. Sometimes Light would look over at the man chained to him and find that Ryuuzaki had been staring at him with an interested look in his dark eyes. Perhaps he was only thinking about Light being Kira. Yes, that must be it. Damn Ryuuzaki, he's never going to let that go. Light thought it especially odd however, when he would catch Ryuuzaki in one of these instances, Ryuuzaki face would flush and turn away from him. God, what is his problem? And why am I even thinking about it so much? Light stood up and turned around to look into the wide mirror before him. He turned on the water and splashed its coolness onto his face. Drying his face, he glanced at the bathroom door. It's been a while, hasn't it? He knew Ryuuzaki was standing, or most likely, crouching in that bizarre way of his right outside the door. He'd probably get suspicious if Light lingered in the bathroom much longer. Light ran a hand through his hair and sighed. It's not like I have anything to hide.

As soon as Light left the rest room, L clapped the chain on his wrist, looking at him with a knowing expression. L knew about the way Light felt when he went into the bathroom. He had half a mind to go in with Light, but he didn't want the temptation. His own desires must remain hidden behind a mask of motionlessness. If L was to go with Light, he'd want to do more than just watch Light. He'd want to touch to –

L forced the thoughts from his mind as he gestured for Light to follow him out into their work area.

It was bad enough at night.

L hadn't really thought this through when he'd chained himself to Light. For once, he'd missed a few points.

Point one: Bed. They had to share. Should they try and get two, no matter how close they were, the chain would prevent sleeping (on Light's part). Then, the fact that Light was in the same bed as him, kept L awake all night. Really, it wouldn't do to go to sleep and end up doing something he'd regret, or go to sleep and dream something with potentially embarrassing results.

Point two: Bathroom breaks. It took L a short while to figure out that he'd have to unchain Light when he went to the bathroom. He wouldn't be able to go in with him to use the facilities. But what about showering? Light could turn the shower on and use that as an excuse to cover up whatever it was he was doing. So L decided that he'd just have to shower with Light.

Light was going to love that idea.

L sighed as he sat back on his seat, absently picking up a fork and playing with the fresh slice of cake in front of him. He took a chunk and shoved it in his mouth, not even noticing the action, he was too deep in thought.

Unfortunately, his thoughts had turned to what Light would look like in the shower. Thankfully, L had previously mastered the ability to change his train of thoughts. But he was still getting distracted far too much.

Light must be Kira. That was why he was distracting L so much. He was doing it on purpose so that he wouldn't catch him.

L ate some more cake.

Light tried to concentrate on the computer screen in front of him. He knew he was researching trends in the recent rise in the Yotsuba Company's profit and the deaths from heart attacks occurring in the last two weeks. He knew this, and yet all he could discern on his screen was a jumble of names and numbers; it was all a blur to him. The constant clatter of fork against plate rang like an explosion in his ears. Why was he finding it so hard to concentrate?

He turned his head slightly to look at the hunched over genius. Ryuuzaki was eating cake, of course. Light forced his stomach to settle. This, of course, was the reason Light could not concentrate. He didn't know why, but working with this man was one of the hardest things Light ever had to do. Maybe it was because Ryuuzaki was so quick-witted, always thinking one step ahead of Light. And Light hated to lose. He paused and thought on this for a moment. He and the detective were very much alike. He'd never met anyone with the same intellect as himself. Under different circumstances, he thought, perhaps we would have….

Light chuckled slightly and shook the thought from his head. Why do I even care? The two of us are simply working together to find Kira. After that, I won't ever have to see him again. Light looked up at Ryuuzaki again, who was still eating the same slice of cake. Light noticed the smear of frosting on Ryuuzaki's chin and frowned. The man was usually so clean. Light took a napkin and sauntered over to the detective.

"Hey, you missed some," he remarked, finding it hard to hide the smile already forming on the corners of his lips. Light held out the napkin.

Blinking a few times, completely taken by surprise, L took the napkin and cleaned his face. He then turned to Light and nodded. "Thank you." He wanted to ask how Light noticed. Had he been watching him? But he didn't want Light to get the wrong (right) idea.

Besides, if he asked about that sort of thing, it was 70% more likely that Light would notice L's staring later.

Turning back to his cake, L noticed that there was still half of it left on the plate. Not really wanting to eat it, he moved it around on the plate a little. With a sigh, he turned to look at Light. "Would you care for some cake?" Wasted cake is a sin.

The detective's black eyes bore into him. Being near Ryuuzaki for too long gave Light the chills. He turned away and shivered slightly. Quickly recovering, he replied, "No thanks. I don't have much of a stomach for sweets, quite the opposite of you, in fact."

Light shifted his weight. He found it extremely awkward standing next to Ryuuzaki's chair making small talk. He stared off to the side and felt his face start to redden. Frantically grabbing at the first piece of coherent thought he could find, Light added, "I can't believe you aren't going to finish it. Perhaps you should take this opportunity to break the habit. It can't be good for your health." Light groaned inwardly. What the hell am I saying?

L just looked at Light. Is he concerned for my health, or just acting like it to avoid suspicion? He pulled the cake back and started eating it again, as if to defy Light. He did so, staring at the other, daring him to say something about it.

After a moment, he grimaced and put the plate down. His stomach was starting to rebel. With a sigh, he put the fork on it the plate and turned back to his work. After a moment, he looked up at Light with an invisible eyebrow raised. "Is there any particular reason you're standing there rather than working?" He asked, his monotonic voice inquiring.

For once, Light could not come back with a retort. His mouth opened and closed. With a hurt pride, he sulked back to his chair.

For the next hour, Light actually did some work. He had almost forgotten entirely about the man chained to him when a shadow suddenly fell over his work area.

"I require the use of the bathroom." L said, looking at Light. He pulled on the chain. He had spent ten minutes trying to figure out what to do about this. "You have a choice. You may either accompany me, or be chained to this desk." He didn't think he could stand Light being in the bathroom with him, but he knew the other probably wouldn't appreciate being chained to a desk.

He stood there, hunched over and waiting for Light to make his decision.