L was getting uncomfortable in public.

Light noticed this as soon as they left the building. The man had pulled down his hood, covering his face, hiding from every camera…and it made sense. BB was his oldest acquaintance (barring poor Watari) and nemesis, and would easily recognise him on the street. All of his reluctance made sense, and yet he had indulged Light and followed him out..

Light didn't like how he felt towards the detective anymore. L had ruined his life. He had taken the shining record of Light Yagami, top student of Japan and aspiring detective, and quite literally killed him off. He had imprisoned his father, left his mother and sister in bereavement alone. He killed Aizawa, his father's closest friend on the task force. L was not a good man, not by a long shot.

He didn't want to feel the butterflies in his stomach when the detective's gigantic eyes flitted away from his with those fire-engine-red cheeks and that mop of hair hiding his expression. He didn't want to feel affectionate towards the eccentric man, to try to protect him from the vulnerability he must have been feeling because of BB's escape. And he most especially didn't want to see L's face as he bit into the cheesecake they were going out to buy. He had always loved seeing L eat his sweets. The utter bliss that he surrendered to, his usual guardedness dropped utterly; when he was eating something sweet the detective looked incorruptible, heartbreakingly innocent. He hadn't appreciated it enough before he discovered the identity of Kira, but to imagine that within the black heart of Kira there rested this childish, playful innocence, it was just…wrong. No wonder Light thought of them as separate people on a regular basis.

They were walking along the streets, no plan in mind. They hadn't even bothered to look up nearby café's, this was so spontaneous it made Light's OCD-tendencies squirm. If they happened to come across a coffee-shop or bakery, that would be nice, but they were both completely at ease with just walking along together, in silence, deep in thought.

Light knew for a fact that he was in love with L. It was stupid, useless, and probably led nowhere, but L was the only person Light knew who was not only of Light's level, but also with the perfect personality: like him enough so they would always understand each other, but just enough unlike each other to fight it out and force each other to think and think. He was in love with the greatest detective in the world, with Kira…and it didn't matter in the slightest. It would lead nowhere, so it meant nothing. The thought made Light sadder than he would have liked.

"Light, over there!" There was that unsettling excitement as L pointed at a nearby café, a cardboard box of a shop with large glass windows advertising a marble cake dripping with syrup, a chocolate fountain standing proudly behind it. "That's where I bought my double-chocolate layer cake while you were asleep. It's really good, and I saw cheesecakes in there too!" He was bouncing with energy, his hands gripping Light's arm like a five-year-old with his mother.

Light snickered. "Sure, then. As long as it serves coffee."

"It does! Let's go!" L dragged Light across the road, pushing the glass door open. The waitress behind the counter, a young woman in a blue apron and large polka-dot glasses, glimpsed up at them from her phone.

"Can I help you?"

L scurried up to the glass display case. "Two strawberry cheesecakes, and-"

Light held up a hand. "Ryuuzaki, no. One cheesecake, and a coffee, black, please."

"But Light-kun, I want-"

"I know what you want, and you are getting one cheesecake."

L pouted, crossing his arms. "You don't want me to be happy."

Light raised his eyebrows. "Don't be such a drama queen." He looked at the waitress, who was grinning cheekily at them. "Yes?"

"Oh, sorry." She ducked her head, hurrying to fill a paper cup with Light's coffee. "It's just, you're a cute couple. I'm glad you can be together openly like this. I'm not from California, so this culture is super new to me."

Light blinked. Ryuuzaki had turned a dark red, staring fixedly at the coffee pouring into his cup.

"Um." He thought about correcting her, but… "Thanks."

Ryuuzaki's eyes snapped to him, the full strength of his midnight gaze making Light's cheeks burn. The waitress placed Ryuuzaki's cheesecake on a paper plate on the counter, and handed Light his coffee, flashing them another grin. He took the steaming drink, taking a sip to hide his expression.

They took a seat in the corner of the café, farthest from the CCTV they had spotted in the nook above the waitress's head, where Light could peer out of the frosted glass of the window, running his fingers over the dripping condensation. He could spy Ryuuzaki's gaze boring into him, his blacker-than-tar eyes enigmatic, so he took another sip of his coffee, relishing the taste. It had been a while since he had had coffee, he had missed the instant burst of energy it gave him under that strong bitter taste.

"Light-kun."

Light glimpsed up at him, flinching back when he saw that L was leaning uncomfortably forward over the table, getting as close to him as he could without literally climbing over the furniture separating them. "Yes, Ryuuzaki?"

"Light-kun, I…" He straightened back in his seat, then relaxed into his regular crouch, sitting on the balls of his feet. "Well…"

"Spit it out, Ryuuzaki." He turned his attention back to the dripping glass, idly running a finger along the icy surface.

"I…" The detective gulped, cutting into his cheesecake and taking a gigantic bite. Light frowned.

"Is something wrong, Ryu?"

The detective shook his head, swallowing his bite. "No. I just…I wanted to tell you…you do know that…I don't want to be…"

"You don't want to be what? Are you alright?" Light's heart pounded in his chest. He didn't want to be…Kira? Was he telling Light he wanted to give up his position as God of the New World?

The detective raised his black gaze. "I don't want to be enemies, Light."

Light sighed. "We appear to have no choice in the matter, Ryuuzaki. I won't partner up with Kira, and until I do, I'm a threat to you."

"There is another way…"

Light stared at him, hope pooling in his stomach. He couldn't be saying what he appeared to be saying. The teenager watched, unable to even blink as L lifted another bite of his candy-pink confection and popped it in his mouth. The detective wasn't meeting his eyes.

He finally deigned to speak after swallowing his second bite. "Light-kun…I freed your father from his cell."

Light's coffee sat on his table, forgotten.

"I put him up in a more comfortable room and have relieved him of his handcuffs. He is under twenty-four hour surveillance, and Mikami keeps track of him personally."

The tips of Light's fingers felt icy cold against the pane of the glass where he had left them. He was drowning in L's bottomless black eyes, the light throwing flecks of grey and white in their depths.

"If you wish to talk to him, I can arrange a call for you right now. I cannot permit you to share any information regarding this case or our location, but-"

Light interrupted him with his lips, opening his mouth and kissing the detective hungrily. He felt the other man stiffen in surprise, then yield and kiss him back, taking his face in his hands. L's thumbs ran over his cheekbones, pulling him as close as he could get with the table still between them. Light realised he was almost sitting on top of it, his elbows pressing against the flat surface, supporting him as he half-stood, leaning as far as he could in Ryuuzaki's direction.

"L." He mumbled into the kiss and L dialled up the aggression, standing up on his chair and knotting his fingers in Light's hair, dragging him as close as physically possible. The detective bit Light's lip, his tongue entering his mouth, and then his hands were sliding down his neck, tracing the line of his collarbone. Light moaned softly into the kiss, and then all of a sudden L was making the strangest choking noise. He roughly pushed Light away, curling back into himself, sitting with his thighs crushed against his chest. His head was bowed, forehead resting on his knees.

Blood rushed to Light's cheeks. He glanced around (the waitress was staring at them while pretending to tap away at her phone, giving them a knowing look), plopping back down in his seat and downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp. The bitterness wasn't enough to wash away the sweetness of the cheesecake taste that had filled L's mouth. Light wished he had something stronger to drink, maybe vodka (or arsenic).

The silence was stifling. Light swished the semi-solid remains of his coffee around in the cup absently, fidgeting in his seat. There was music playing in the little bakery, a light, pleasant piano, he hadn't noticed it before.

He had been just about to break the awkward silence and suggest that they return to the apartment when L looked up from his little self-imposed shell. "Light-kun…"

Light pursed his lips, his eyes trained on the floor. "Yes, Ryuuzaki."

"Light-kun, I…I don't know what…" The detective was squeezing his legs to him so hard that his muscles were distinctly defined against his pale frame. He slowly closed his enormous black eyes, opening them again and giving Light an expression filled with so much pain it was hard to keep looking at him. "…do you wish to speak with your father?"

Light nodded meekly, and L pulled out his phone, holding it precariously between his index finger and thumb as he dialled in a number.

"Mikami, as agreed, give the phone to Yagami-san."

L extended his arm, offering the phone to Light as a maiden would her handkerchief. Light took it from him with some trepidation, holding it nervously to his ear.

"…Otou-san?"

His father breathed sharply on the other end. "Raito?"

Light raised his eyes to L and gave him a wide, genuine smile.

.

.

A/N: Review and comment please!