Author's Note: So this is the 'aftermarth' although those of you who were anticipating maybe some terrible angsting, aggression, violence etc. really shouldn't have been. I guess at heart I am a romantic fluff-loving kind of person. I enjoy some sinister tension as much as the next person but this tale has always meant to be one of affection. In any case I kinda find it a little irritating when characters have raging sex then afterward just act in denial, or aggressive and pretend to hate each other and then just piss each other for a couple of chapters before having sex again – and so on and on.

Anyway just to clarify; in the end of the last chapter Light was murmuring 'oh god oh god' (it sounds so cheesy out of context) without realising it and L was trying to calm him down and telling him to shush. It was only when Light became aware of L trying to quiet him that he realised he was doing it. He was doing that just because he was so overwhelmed.

In any case this chapter is very much a fluffy and nice piece on the whole. Light and L just lying in bed and talking. That really just summarises it.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please do try and make it a habit!

Innocence

L's eyelids flickered, only slightly for a moment before falling still again. His breath came soft and regular, the rhythm that came only when the body was entirely relaxed and at least only partially conscious.

L had not slept for months. L had not slept properly, for more than half an hour at a time, for years. He had never seen it as more than a necessary function, to be postponed for as long as necessary. He could never before slow down his mind, to bring it to the gentle hum that welcomed oblivion. He had never felt this kind of warmth before, this gentle haze as he drifted, only just aware of his own flesh. He was only just aware of himself; himself within this feeling, this luxurious lull in rational thinking, this warmth.

He drifted in-between wakefulness and sleep easily, freely, letting himself feel the warmth of his skin, the pleasant nature of his situation. He had no desire to fully disengage with this state of being.

He was aware that he was naked, he could feel the sheets against his skin and his fingers and toes brushed against them while he lay there. He could also feel Light lying beside him, the warmth radiating from the other man's body and the weight upon the mattress. He could also feel Light stroking his side, from shoulder to hip, softly and slowly. The motion was very soothing. L's body responded pleasantly to repetitive motions, it relaxed him. It had been the same when he had held Light and cradled him, rocked him slightly back and forth. It seemed that Light responded the same way.

He felt like he was within the sea, with waves washing over him, soothingly swaying his world. He stretched out his fingers now and again across the bed and found Light's other hand to coil a couple of fingers over his. He drifted away now and again but it never felt like he and Light truly separated.

L's fingers felt very thin, fraglie against Light's as he drifted in and out of conscousness. Light dreamt, or at least his thoughts and feelings converged a little. He dreamt that he was somewhere impossibly warm and safe; he felt like he was a foetus floating in the womb. He was bathing in blood, but it wasn't a horrific image because it wasn't about violence, about tearing a body apart, it was a gentle image. His fingers melted into L's. They became conjoined.

Light opened his eyes to look at his lover, smiling a little at the sight of L asleep. He had never seen L's eyes closed, the lashes interlaced and the black circles curving under the heavy lids. He stroked L's shoulders gently, feeling L's finger's shift as he changed his pace and direction. L was more awake now but he kept his eyes closed.

L felt Light lean across the bed and felt him resting closer to him, looking down at him. He moved his fingers slightly to play with his friend's; a childish action, a dazed cat's cradle. Then Light's lips went to his shoulders in a wide, open kiss. He Travelled down his side kissing the curve of his slender body until he reached his hip. L lay still and Light brought his head back up again and rested it upon L's shoulder.

They were both awake now and L knew that they couldn't return to the seclusion that they had escaped to. He knew it was morning, he felt that he must have slept that long. They had spent most of the night already before they had finally fallen asleep, chased it into the early hours of the morning with shivering, and sweat and kisses. He knew that the rest of their complicated reality could only be postponed for so long. He was preparing to break the silence once more but Light did so before him, unexpectedly whispering into his skin,

"I love you Lawliet." The words surprised L more than he would have expected they would. He felt that this was a fact that they had already been expressed in a far deeper manner however it seamed that the medium of words, pure and clear truth, still touched his brain greater than that of physical communication. He opened his eyes to see Light's chest, pressed close, and their clasped hands between them.

"I love you Light," he replied tightening his grip on his friend's hand. Light lifted his head from L's shoulder and moved round to kiss him and then rested his head on the pillow beside him so that they were lying side by side and facing one another. Light interlaced their fingers underneath them and reached out to entangle his free hand in L's spidery hair.

"It's six thirty," Light told him. The words sunk into L painfully, his heart contorted by a small measure of despair.

"We have two and a half hours until the team arrives," L said, finishing the meaning to Light's comment.

"What do you want to do?" Light asked him, "until we decide our next course of action I mean, to carry things forward." L ran his fingers over his lover's face.

"I think we should act as if nothing has changed, pretend to be working on the investigation but neither of us take any action. We need to stall until you and I can reach at least a temporary agreement…"

Light knew that there were at least two discussions that he and L would have to have with one another, the first would be one of confession, of information, of facts and would lead to an initial plan. The purpose of that initial plan would only be to gain time, time for that second discussion. The second discussion would be the terrifying, soul-tearing one that neither of them was prepared for yet. The second discussion was the kind to which the only other alternative was war, which was usually the preferable option. It was easier when ideas were pure, simple and opposing. The second discussion was the kind that if conducted between countries or peoples usually took centuries or never reached any conclusion at all.

"I think that two weeks should be enough time for that, two weeks to stall while we consider our short-term priorities," L continued, "Perhaps it will be more than enough, if we are able to arrange more oppertunities to talk with each other. However we will be attempting to follow a normal pattern, we have to be careful, so we may have to conform to the normal circumstances. Develop things carefully. Can you stall for two weeks?"

"Yes," replied Light, "there isn't anything immediately underway that I can't halt. I can stall easily." He could see the need and pain in L's eyes, the need for knowledge, the entirety of Light's plans and methods but they could not discuss that now. They did not have time now. He knew that too and his lips were tight, silent, pushing his questions back.

Light raised L's hand to his lips. L's fingers brushed across Light's lips as he kissed them, the tips pressing as if wishing to explore his mouth but Light didn't accommodate this desire. He was watching L thoughtfully and had to draw back their hands to speak again.

"L, may I ask you something?" He asked. L's eyes showed dull surprise, the tense silence between them had already expressed the lack of desire to open up any avenues of questioning at this moment.

"Anything you wish," L replied.

"Were you a virgin before last night?" L smiled at the question, his childish, mocking smile but much softer than Light had ever seen it before.

"Does Light consider what we did last night to be something that would claim virginity?" He asked.

"Of course," Light replied, "why wouldn't it be? Because we're both men? Because it wasn't penetrative?"

"Yes, those are two factors I would think that could be raised in opposition," L said.

"What would you have said we did last night then?" Light asked, "would you not say that we had sex?" L considered this for a moment before replying,

"Yes I would consider that you and I have had sex Light."

"Then?" Light prompted with a smile, running his fingers over L's cheek.

"Then I would have to say that I was a virgin before last night and that now I am definitely not." He lent forward to play with Light's hair and asked, in a gentle murmur, "Were you a virgin?"

"Yes," Light replied.

"You never slept with Misa, or any other girlfriend? I know you were very popular."

"No," Light replied, "I was only acquainted with Misa outside of observation for a very short period of time, in which I tried to keep her at as great a distance as possible in case of suspicion."

"Would you have slept with her if there had been circumstance and opportunity?" L asked him, stroking his neck and shoulder.

"If she had asked it of me then probably, I imagine."

"Why not any of your previous girlfriends?" L asked with interest.

"I was never really interested in sex," Light replied with careless honesty. He lent forward to kiss L upon his cheek and neck, "what about you?"

"No, I've never been interested either," L replied. Light drew back again but lay closer to L, stroking the back of his neck and watching his friend's expression while he considered the conversation at hand.

"There was a time when I had cameras installed in your house," L said thoughtfully, "and I monitored your behaviour all the time you were at home. Were you aware of this?"

"Yes," replied Light.

"I thought so, you seemed to doctor your behaviour somewhat and of course you would have had to have known, to disguise your actions as Kira." L put his fingers to his lips, "so did you make a show of look at the pornographic magazines to make it seem as though you were behaving naturally, as if you thought no one else was watching?"

"Yes," replied Light, "it seamed the easiest and most believable action."

"Did you buy the magazines for that performance then or did you already posses them?" L asked curiously, his wide black eyes roaming over Light's flawless features.

"I bought them in anticipation of that eventuality," Light replied, "I suspected you would resort to that kind of tactic sooner or later." L nodded awkwardly, against the pillow, the action succeeding in messing up his hair even more than Light would have thought possible.

"Have you ever masturbated, Light?" He asked, after a pause.

"No," said Light, "have you?"

"No, L replied simply. There was another pause. L put his hand to the side of Light's face, his fingertips were slightly wet from where he had bitten them.

"Are you aware that that is strange?" He asked. Light moved his arms to slide his hands underneath his head, the fingers curled up beside his face.

"I am aware that it unusual and uncommon, particularly for a young man but I've never considered it a problem."

"I didn't say it was a problem," said L, his eyes looking at Light thoughtfully, "I just said that it was strange. I just wondered whether you realised that." They lay quietly for one moment more while their precious time slid away.

"It's ironic really," L commented thoughtfully, "when you tried to behave naturally you acted in a way that you never would have done naturally…what you you conclude from that I wonder?" It was in the form of a question but Light took it as rhetorical from the way that L's tone dropped downward quietly at the end, into his own thoughts again. "Really if you had wanted to be truly natural of course you should have actually touched yourself rather than just flicked through the magazine." Light frowned at his friend.

"I didn't know who was watching me but I suspected that my father might be as he holds the most senior position and is a member of the family."

"Your father was monitoring the surveillance cameras with me but it must be considered that you were trying to prove your innocence by acting naturally. With such high stakes I would have considered that you would go to such lengths that your act should have been unquestionable."

"Would you have done that?" Light asked L, "if you had been in my position?" A spark came into L's eyes; he was interested by this question. He considered it for a few moments before replying,

"I would have probably attempted to appear more natural, free with my body, but only to the equivalent level on my own standards. I would not have betrayed myself and no, I would not have done anything humiliating." He considered the matter for a few moments and then asked Light, "would you have done it if you knew that your father was not one watching the footage?"

"I don't know," Light murmured, "probably not, I wouldn't want to humiliate myself, like you said."

"It would have been rather an uncomfortable thing to act as well, I imagine," L commented, "and very difficult to fake, in some respects." There was another short silence while they both lay still, thinking.

"Have you ever been attracted to anyone else L?" Light asked him, undoing the silence carefully.

"No," L replied, "have you?"

"No," Light answered, as L had expected. He moved his hand to stroke L's side again, from shoulder to hip, back and forth, the soft fingers gliding over the white skin. L sighed and closed his eyes again and there was silence again, filled only with gentle touch.

Finding repetitive motions soothing is a symptom/ feature of autism. You might have already known that but I just reminded you anyway.

I'm aware that the foetus metaphor/ dream might seem a little strange but it was just what I was imagining and I do love my metaphors, especially ones that I feel work so well.

When L says 'what you you conclude from that I wonder' what is to be concluded is that Light is not normal as his natural behaviour doesn't even match what Light himself recognises as normal. L is more aware that he, himself, isn't normal than Light is and is interested in what Light thinks of himself. Later they will have a more deep uncomfortable conversation where they force each other to fully address their own issues. But not for a long while yet.

This is quite a short chapter but I was eager to Update. Also I promise you that in the next chapter they will have actually left this room!

In the next chapter there should also be a nice and awkward conversation between L and Light's father (awkward for Chief Yagami not for L, who doesn't give a crap) which I have been looking forward to writing. XD

Please do review! You know I love it!