Author's Note: chapter number two, everybody. Please comment/review/like/favorite.

His mind had never been so muddled, even after that unfortunate minor surgery he'd had to undergo as a child when he had smashed through a window at home. This horrible, dull headache seemed to pervade every single conceivable thought, and even wincing at it seemed like a chore. He could hear shuffling in the room, as if someone were dragging their feet over the carpet. He could hear a kettle boil somewhere close by. Through the reddish curtain of his eyelids, he could guess that the room was well-illuminated. Whatever he was lying on was warm and soft… a bed? Then why is there light in the room? Wasn't he asleep?

Slowly, languidly, as if his memories were stuck in molasses, Light began to untangle what had happened to him from the overall mix of confusing thoughts and flashes. He had gone to the roof to get L, and when he had gotten there, the man had acted very oddly, odder than usual, even for L, and then–,

Light's eyes snapped open and his hand shot to the side of his neck. He found himself sitting upright in his bed in the room L and he shared. His eyes landed on the detective himself who was sitting in his usual crouched pose on the sofa, as if he had been waiting for Light to come to and… and what was Light supposed to do exactly? Question him? Beg for his life? This was an unprecedented situation, something neither Light nor Kira could have calculated in advance; it looked as though L was out of his depth here as well, as he gazed blankly at Light, his hands hovering over a keyboard.

For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other. Light searched L's eyes for any sign that he would be given an explanation, a justification, an account, something that would make this situation any more sensible. L simply looked back, his eyes fixed on Light's face.

Finally, Light lowered his hand to find that there was no blood on it. His neck didn't hurt either. The thought made him uneasy. What was…?

"You drank my blood," he said quietly, eyeing L with disdain. The fact that normal people did not drink other people's blood came to Light a second too late; but then again, L was anything but normal. "Why did you do that?"

L took a moment to respond.

"Because I wanted to."

"Oh."

Because I wanted to. Just as Light had thought, L would not make this easy on either of them.

"People don't usually want to drink other people's blood," Light said matter-of-factly.

"I know."

"So what are you exactly?"

"I suppose, the closest term you would be familiar with is vampire."

"I see."

There was a pause.

"And why did you never tell me?"

"Because it's a secret."

Right. Of course.

"Well," Light paused before struggling to get out of bed. His knees were still a bit weak from the ordeal, he must have lost quite a bit of blood, he supposed, and the thought made Kira rear his head in protest: for someone to forcibly take a God's blood was unthinkable. That thought made him angry enough to cross the room and take L by the scruff of his neck, his fingers failing to grasp at his shirt as strongly as he'd intended. This would have to do, Light supposed, as his vision swam.

"Raito-kun should sit down–,"

"No. I think Ryuuzaki should provide him with an explanation," Light said angrily before he did indeed sit down, otherwise his knees would have buckled. Being so close to L did strange things to his body, he realized, and he did not exactly protest against it. L's smell, which had been notable to Light before: like sugar and dust, was suddenly so much more potent. Light could barely resist leaning in and taking a whiff for himself. No. Explanations first. "You owe me that much."

L seemed unruffled by Light's demand and simply down his laptop to give Light his undivided attention.

"What exactly is it that you want to know?"

"Why me? Why now? Why… why are you like this?" Light had many questions. Most of them, he knew, seemed absurd even when he asked them inside his head. Vampires didn't exist in Light's rational universe. But then again, neither had Death Gods until a certain notebook had fallen into his hands. The supernatural was slowly taking over Light Yagami's life, and he wasn't sure whether he detested the notion that much. It sure beat rotting of boredom at university.

"I was born this way, Raito-kun, this is the way I have been my entire life. Until very recently, I have been able to control my craving for blood with sugar, which seems to be the closest thing my body would accept in lieu of actual human blood. I have to say, however, with your apparition in my life, it became… problematic." L eyed Light warily, his tastebuds still singing with the taste he'd gotten a couple of hours before. For a moment there, he had been terrified, as Light had been barely breathing when he had delivered him to the room. Having called Watari, L had been forced to listen to an entire lecture about responsibility and caution and the future of their relationship. Watari failed to grasp how little depended on L. If he had his way, he would never let Light Yagami out of his sight, he would keep him as his own personal blood bank. However, the given the possibility that Light was the culprit they were currently investigating, and the very fact that the last thing Light had said before L had attacked was freak, he was forced to take the young man's thoughts and opinions into consideration.

"Problematic? How so?" Light questioned, already suspecting where this was headed. He honestly did not care for L's obsession with him, or rather, it seemed, his blood, and the urge to get as far away from the detective now grew exponentially. This would pose an issue for his trying to convince L that had was not Kira. However, an unnaturally calm reaction would also be suspicious. "I don't feel safe around you. You must realize that, Ryuuzaki."

"I don't believe you ever did, Kira," L deadpanned.

"For the last time–,"

"I may not have evidence that would be convincing to the court, Raito-kun, but you must know that blood is very eloquent. It speaks volumes about the type of person that you are, and your blood – it's more complex than any I have tasted before, and it cannot be just for the reason that you are a brilliant university student. As of now, I am personally ninety-nine percent convinced that you are the culprit, Raito-kun."

Light sighed. Blood is eloquent, huh?

"Unfortunately for you, L, none of the judges are vampires who could confirm your little theory."

"But I know it is true," L said stubbornly, watching Light's face searchingly. It was true, Light's blood carried all the sweetness and bitterness of the would-be God, it told L stories of the things Light had done, it was imbibed with the sin and the self-perceived holiness that Light carried within himself. It was intoxicating. And it was for that reason that he did not want there to be evidence of Light's culpability. "I may be willing to make a deal."

Light stared at the older man.

"A deal? The great L is ready to get off his high horse and make a deal with the despicable Kira?"

"So, you admit to being Kira then?"

"Purely hypothetically, of course."

"Of course." L paused. Before he said anything else, he had to be a hundred percent sure this was worth it. He inched closer towards Light and placed his face at the crook of Light's neck.

"Hey! What are you–,"

"It would be good for Kira-kun to be silent at the moment, as his fate is being determined," L murmured and, having braced himself with all his might, he inhaled the air at Light's pulse point. It his him like a ton of bricks, and it was at that moment that L knew the great detective would never be the same. There was no way, despite all his morals and sense of justice, that he would ever be able to let Light Yagami go. Not with the way his blood sang to L like the sweetest nectar, a life-giving force. After he'd drunk from Light on the roof, his mind had been whizzing with ideas and concepts he'd never thought of before. Everything had seemed sharper, better, clearer. L would give anything to feel that way again.

"So it is then," he said, pulling away reluctantly. "Your blood does something to me, Raito-kun. I will not pretend to understand its full effect, I doubt I ever will; but either way, it is special, and it is special only to me. Which is why I am offering you this deal."

Light let out a disgusted little sound, shifting uncomfortably under L's intent gaze.

"I will let Kira off the hook if Raito-kun agrees to spend the rest of his life with me."

"And what would that entail, exactly?"

"I feed from you, you are left alone."

"What about Kira?"

L gave Light a small smile.

"What are you talking about, Raito-kun? Kira is still on the loose, we should work hard together to catch him, right?"

Right.

And thus, it went on. Light was slowly getting used to the strange pattern of behavior L exhibited whenever they were together alone: that is, being excessively touchy-feely and nuzzling the crook of his neck at random times, even without the intention of drinking his blood. The process itself did not hurt, and if Light were completely honest with himself, he would even say it wasn't entirely repulsive. After all, very few people were averse to someone licking and nipping at their neck, it being a statistically prevalent secondary erogenous zone. Light considered himself regular in that regard. The blood loss, however, which occurred more and more frequently as time went by, sometimes going up to two times a day, did leave him slightly disoriented and soft on his feet. L's incessant hunger seemed to tax Light's own reasoning abilities. The detective still had not revealed any of his plan to get Light off the hook, and it became more and more often that Light thought it was all just a farce to get him to donate. Either way, he was growing very tired of this unequal relationship, and if there was something they'd established, it was that L and Kira were equals. L and Light Yagami, however, were not.

The evening found L and Light on the couch, L's hans placed at either side of Light's head, his neck bent forward, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled Light's particular scent. Just as he was about to give into the urge, he felt a firm hand on his chest. Confused, he looked down at Light, his pupils blown wide.

"I thought we talked about this, Raito-kun."

"We did," Light agreed, and sat up a little, making L retreat so that they would not bump their foreheads. "But I don't want to be your walking blood-bag anymore, Ryuuzaki."

"Do you want me to arrest you as Kira?"

"Will you even be able to?" Light laughs, shaking his head. L looked down at him in confusion before realization dawned on his face.

"Is Raito-kun trying to blackmail me?"

"Not blackmailing you, never," Light assured, a small smirk playing on his lips. "This worked for a while but I cannot even think sometimes with the amount of blood you take from me. So I think it's only logical that I get something in return."

"And what is that, exactly?"

Light considered it for a moment. Really, what did he want? There was nothing that L could give him – except for freedom, but that looked like it was our of the question. So, Light supposed, he would just have to gain what he usually would get outside of the headquarters right here, right now. An unexpected push lands L on his back with Light sitting on his hipbones confidently, his hands clasped around L's forearms, holding him down. He was not fooling himself, he knew very well that the vampire was probably much more powerful than he was in terms of physical strength and much better skilled at maneuvering, however this was too refreshing to pass up.

"You won't let me see Misa, and you won't let me out. So I guess I can make do with you," Light said quietly before bending down and pressing a soft kiss to L's lips. The kiss turned out to be a little too kind than what he had initially planned, but the look on L's face said it all: Light had managed to shake him up. The two stared at each other for what seemed like hours before L let out a sigh.

"Very well. Although, Raito-kun would have to forgive me. It's been a long while since–,"

"Never mind that, Ryuuzaki. When you're a university student with raging hormones, it doesn't matter much if one is screwing a person or a tree," Light said, tugging at his shirt collar.

L's eyes narrowed. This sounded like a challenge if he'd ever heard one.

"I suppose not."