Here's part three. Almost done with this short series. Enjoy.
3. Terminal
It was late, the hours were sluggish and the influx of information was slow. Although there was not much to do, L insisted on pouring over evidence over and over, reading, searching, scheming.
Light sat next to him, ever the faithful companion, the accidental sidekick; the friend and the foe. But that was something L didn't have to know. Both sat next to each other at the computer terminal, immersed in the world of Kira, working endlessly to catch a shadow that could slip through fingers like warm sand at a beach.
Watari was in the kitchen, making tea, while Rem hovered behind their chairs, all-seeing eyes fixated upon the fluorescent numbers floating distortedly above the detective's head.
The countdown drew close to its culmination and its imperceptible weight hung over the detective's head, ready to drop at any moment that could put Misa in danger. The shinigami spread her wide, bat-like white wings and disappeared to some place no one was aware of, leaving both suspect and detective working in silence.
But only the detective seemed to be working at that time. Light's exhaustion had finally caught up with him and the young brunette had fallen asleep.
Light's head had lolled to one side and dropped gently upon L's shoulder. The detective did not flinch, but he was certainly startled. He hadn't expected Light to fall asleep so suddenly. As much as he wanted to wake the youth up, he just couldn't. The forward spill of the brunette's hair was subtle and graceful; the small 'o' of his open mouth, lips parted and plump, was heart-breaking and adorable.
Suddenly, L had found himself paralyzed by the proximity of Light, afraid to move.
He was afraid to move because he could potentially wake up Light; but he was more afraid to make a move, fearing that he might find the guilt in Light he had been looking for all along at the very moment he wanted to ignore it. He did not want to move, afraid of what he might see, afraid to have his prayers answered.
So he watches Light dream over the whirring noises of the computer terminal, over the noise Watari made as he set up a cup of tea for L that he didn't dare touch, and the frenetic pounding of L's heart against the cage of his chest.
Maybe those changes he thought he could see meant nothing, but he was afraid to move.
He knew that if he did so, he would see every missing link.
Certainly they did, but maybe, just maybe, they didn't.
A/N: Have a nice day. There ain't much to say at this point.