He just sat there, staring into space.
Lately L had taken to doing that a lot – sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, his thumb in his mouth just barely touching his teeth, and eyes unfocused giving the impression that he wasn't all there.
Though I knew otherwise.
He was watching me. Not directly, but waiting, feeling, anticipating that I would make some kind of move. It didn't help that handcuffs linked us in a way that if I even twitched or took a breath he'd know instantly. He didn't need to see me. He just needed to know I was there.
"Uhm…" I began. He instantly turned to face me. I was amazed at how quickly he responded. Under those wide eyes I felt nervous, like he was staring right through me. I couldn't speak, I could barely breathe.
"What is it?" He asked. I took a deep breath and nervously replied, "I-its kind of late… aren't you tired? I haven't seen you sleep once since we became chained together…"
"No. I don't really need to sleep…" he muttered, turning his attention once again to the wall. "… Though I do need some more tea…"
I groaned. Did he always have to do this? Right when I was beginning to relax a little, he has a craving for something or other and makes me feel like I have to get up to help him with it.
"Let's get it over with then," I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and sitting up straight. L seemed to wait for me to stand up first, so I did. I pulled the handcuffs. "Are you coming?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I am, but my foot is asleep, so I'll need a minute."
Of course! Just what I needed… Why was he like this? I grasped his wrist. "Come on, Ryuuzaki, it shouldn't take long."
He nodded, and stood up to follow me into the kitchen. I poured him some tea that was miraculously still hot, while he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a slice of strawberry cake. We sat down together once everything was ready.
He thanked me for the tea and began to drop sugar cubes in. Five so far… six… seven…
Snapping out of my daze, I asked him, "How much sugar do you need?"
"Enough to keep me satisfied," he replied, taking a sip. "I think that's about enough for now…" He began to stir his tea, clanking the spoon against china in a motion so rhythmatic I found myself hypnotized by the movement… It was calming, and I was so tired…
I found L tapping me on the head minutes later. "Wh…what?" I stammered. He looked me straight in the eyes, swallowing me whole. I shivered. "You seem to be out of focus," He said. "You were staring at my teacup like it was a long lost sibling."
"Sorry," I apologized. "Ryuuzaki, are you done?"
"Almost," He said, pushing aside his empty cake plate. "Just a bit of tea left." As he spoke, a few crumbs fell out of his mouth and onto the tabletop. I looked at them feeling my temperature rise… he had icing just above his lip, too…
What did it matter to me what L had on his face? It shouldn't affect me in the least; it shouldn't affect him at all. He finished off his tea soon after, and sighed, icing still on his upper lip. How could he not feel it?
In spite of that, the two of us stood up and went back into the bedroom. L sat in his usual fashion at the corner of the bed, and instead of lying down like I had been previously; I sat down next to him. He looked at me strangely but didn't object – good.
I finally understood what I had to do. I grasped his free hand with my own and wrapped the chains tightly around me wrist so he couldn't get away.
"Light-kun, what are you…!" A surprised sound rose from L's throat as I covered his lips with my own. He weakly tried to push me off, but it was easy to overpower him like this. Before I knew what was going on, faint noises were erupting from my own throat, noises of longing and tempting… He still tried to get away.
I took my lips off for a second to take a deep breath. When I went in to kiss him again, he put a hand to my partially-opened mouth. I opened my eyes and noticed that his face was flushed. I smirked.
"Why… Why did you do that?" He panted. He must not have been expecting an answer, because his hand was still over my lips. I couldn't help myself – I pulled my tongue out and gently took it across his hand. He withdrew, shocked, and I laughed innocently. It was actually pretty amusing – and he had this distinct taste… almost sweet…
Then I remembered the icing on his lip. I caressed his cheek lightly, and licked the icing off slowly so as not to alarm him. I pulled away, wanting more. It tasted so good…
"I-I'm sorry," I quickly apologized. "I couldn't help it… I…"
This time it was my turn to be surprised. L had kissed me back. I felt warm and at ease, and then he parted from me.
"I know," he said. "I like Light-kun, too."