"Light. Get up. We're going to be late to the teleconference." A monotone voice called from the doorway.

Wincing at the bright light of the room, the brunette took a couple of over exaggerated blinks to readjust his eyes. Once his amber eyes adjusted to the level of light, a tan room with a single sage accent wall came into view. Feeling a little groggy, Light lifted himself from his lying position. The same silken black sheets, still messy on the opposite side of the bed, a pile of abandoned clothing on the floor next to the laundry hamper and the office door left wide open. Wrinkling his forehead in confusion, Light gently set his feet on the floor, digging his toes in the small rug next to his side of the bed. Golden eyes drifted to the framed picture of him and L on the nightstand.

"Light! Hurry up! Spain will be connecting in ten minutes! At least put on a shirt and a tie."

Stepping from the bedroom, Light's eyes fell on the haunched figure in the computer chair at the grand mahogany desk. A head of messy onyx hair patiently waited for the meeting to connect, facing away from him and towards the computer screen. Light felt as if his stomach had dropped to his feet before he timidly called to the figure. "L?"

The chair spun around revealing L perched on his chair in his usual fashion, a singular index finger resting on his lower lip, a tired inquisitive expression on his face. "Yes? Are you still not feeling well?"

Feeling faint after seeing L, Light eased himself to the floor and hugged his knees. "No. This isn't right."

The meeting connected and L gave Light one last seemingly annoyed glance before spinning back around and speaking in Spanish to the others in the meeting. "No, my partner won't be joining us today, he seems to still not be feeling well."

"Well, it was a nasty car accident. I hope for a speedy recovery. However, we will still be able to count on you, correct?"

Light shot a horrified stare up towards the computer. 'Car accident? Did I dream all of that? No… it was so real, his smile, his laugh, his hands. Hands!' Light lifted his hands and inspected his fingers. On the center of his ring finger was a heart tattoo, though, seemingly faded.

L nodded his head slowly before continuing in Spanish. "Yes. I had hoped by now he'd be doing better, so I fear he will not be able to join me in Spain. I will have to leave him in the care of his sister. I, however, will be there."

As Light shakily lowered his hands, he looked up to the end of the hallway to see a small yellow sticky note laying on the floor. The brunette scrambled along the floor to pick it up and look at it. A blurry smiley face was drawn on it, but the handwriting was too blurry to be read. As his eyes left the note, they landed on the form of Beyond standing in the doorway of the kitchen, facing away from him and towards the interior of the kitchen.

Timidly lifting himself from the floor, Light glanced over his shoulder towards the office as he crinkled the tiny yellow sticky note in his hand. His gaze drifted back towards the kitchen doorway to watch the figure of Beyond step into the room. Quietly tiptoeing down the stairs, Light flashed his golden eyes towards the upper level of the home one last time before padding his bare feet into the kitchen, only to find it empty. Sighing sadly, the brunette crossed the kitchen and leaned against the counter, hanging his head over the sink. 'It was real. It was real. This is a dream. Wake up. Wake up.'

"Light? Are you okay?" Light spun around to see no one behind him.

Glancing down to his hand that still clung to the sticky note. "No."

"Come on, it's just a dream. Please wake up… you're scaring me." Light felt himself get jolted by a pair of hands on his shoulders, but couldn't find a source, causing him to yank away and huddle himself on the floor, covering his head.

A voice cut through the distractions, seemingly slightly annoyed and monotoned. "Light. What is wrong with you?"

The brunette shot his eyes upwards to see the figure of L standing in the doorway, hands tucked in his pockets while slouching. Light bit his lip and clutched the sticky note tightly. "Where is Beyond?"

L seemed to tense at the inquiry, his jaw tightening slightly. "Why would you want to know where that deadbeat is? I thought you hated him?"

Standing himself upright, Light's eyes landed on the kitchen table, directly on a string of Christmas lights. "This isn't real. You're dead."

L rolled his eyes and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. "I told Sayu that you still needed those antipsychotics. I'll call in for a refill. You'll need to stay with her while I'm out of town."

"No. If this is real. You stay. There are other detectives! Why does it always have to be you!?"

"We've been through this."

"Beyond wouldn't leave me alone or in the care of my sister! Why can't you see past your work and see me! You've always chosen work over me! And I'm sick of it L! You're always hiding something from me! Then, when I find out, you gaslight me into being the crazy one! You think I didn't know!? Sayu has no clue what you put me through! So. Many. Fucking. Times! She lectured ME!?" Finally lifting his eyes towards L. "You aren't half the person he is, so if this is reality, and he's the dream, put me back!"

Dark eyes seemed to fill with rage as L stepped forward towards Light. "Take it back!"

Light held his head high in defiance and whispered. "No."

L landed two heavy hands on the brunette's shoulders and shook lightly at first, but gained intensity. "He's a murderer! How dare you compare me to him!"

Light watched a hand lift and pull back. Snapping his eyes shut and taking a deep breath.

A hand made contact with Light's face. Light gasped for air as he lifted himself from the bed. His golden eyes darted around in a panicked pattern as a voice was heard next to him, also panicking. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know what else to do. Oh, god, please forgive me, you were scaring the shit out of me!"

Trailing his golden eyes around the small dimly lit apartment and onto Beyond who was cradling Light's cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Light, I…"

Light's eyes started to sting and fill with tears, his voice barely above a murmur. "Beyond?" The raven paused with a worried look on his face. Beyond flinched slightly when Light rested a hand on the raven's cheek. "Oh, thank god, it's you!" Diving himself into Beyond's arms. "I was so scared!"

In mild surprise, Beyond gently rested his arms around Light. "I'm sorry I hit you. I didn't know what else to do, I tried shaking you, but you wouldn't wake up."

Light squeezed the raven a little tighter. "Am I alive? Is this real? Please tell me this is reality."

A feminine voice called out to Light. "Hey, buddy, are you okay?" The brunette let out a shuddered breath as Beyond rubbed his back and Maddy pushed Light's bangs out of his face. Blinking a couple of times, Light felt the bed dip behind him and another pair of hands wrap around his chest. "It's okay. We're here for you. Yes. You are real. We're all here, okay? You're alive."

Light nodded his head quickly and tucked his face back into Beyond's chest. Beyond took a slow breath. "Maddog… my arm is trapped in between your boobs. Can I remove it? I do not want to know you this intimately."

"Perv! Why is it there!?"

Beyond groaned. "Noooo, I'm not a pervert, that's why I want my arm out! I was rubbing his back first before you trapped me with your boobs! A booby trap, if you will!" Light bit his lip before he chuckled, he felt his hand get lifted and Beyond's voice took a soothing tone. "Hey. This hurts, right?" Beyond pressed on the fresh tattoo on Light's finger, causing him to yelp slightly and yank his hand away. "That's how you know, okay? Dreams can't cause lasting pain. Please, forgive me for hitting you before I have a panic attack."

Light felt his lower lip quiver as Maddy gently massaged his shoulders. "Okay. I'm sorry for scaring you."

Beyond and Maddy shared a concerned glance. The raven lifted Light's chin with a couple of fingers and stared into his eyes. "That isn't how forgiveness works. You're supposed to say, 'it's okay', or 'hey, asshole, next time you want to hit me, buy me dinner first.'"

Light flicked his eyes downward. "But, you did buy me dinner."

Maddy snorted and muffled her laughter into her shoulder and the side of her arm. Beyond released a small chuckle and a crooked smirk. "Okay. But, I said I was sorry, you either forgive me or not. You don't have to apologize."

"But, if I hadn't had a night terror -"

Beyond rolled his eyes and interrupted Light's budding tangent. "Oh, you control those?" Light glanced up from his downward gaze and into sincere scarlet eyes. "You can't control that, you can apologize for scaring me, sure, but it's just being polite; it doesn't take the place of me also needing to apologize. Okay? You don't need to apologize for things that are outside your control. In fact, you never should."

The door flew open as Gio panted while clutching at his chest. "I got it! I found it!" He tiredly handed Maddy an item to which she puffed her cheeks out in an attempt to swallow her laughter.

"Gio, I'm so sorry, I only sent you to find an impossible item because I needed you out of the way…"

Beyond chuckled and took the odd item from Maddy's hand. "Is this seriously a cooling eye mask?"

Maddy chuckled as she rubbed Light's back quickly before giving him a quick peck on the back of the head. "I didn't think anything like that existed…"

The raven smirked and handed it to Light, who inspected the item. Gio huffed in annoyance. "Hey! I thought I was helping, okay? Look, it's even got heating instructions… it's in another language, but… but…"

Light untangled himself from Beyond's arms and smiled brightly at Gio and clutched the eye mask to his chest. "Thank you, Gio, I'm sure this will help me sleep better."

Gio returned the brilliant smile and rubbed the back of his head. "See! Light appreciates me!"

Light shifted his eyes towards Maddy and then to Gio. "But, why are you both here?"

The tattooed duo shared a look before Gio smiled again and Maddy gave a thumbs up. "Gio lives across the hall and I'm right next door. You, uh, were screaming, so I had no idea what to think, so…"

"She kicked my door practically off the hinges to kick my ass." Beyond deadpanned while glaring at the young woman.

"I thought you were hurting him!" Maddy defended.

Grumbling as he stood, Beyond stretched his body. "Maddison, that isn't why you have a spare key to my place. I'd hope, by now, you know that I'm a better person than that." The raven set a heavy glare onto the young woman as she fidgeted with her fingernails while hanging her head.

"How come she gets one? I'm your actual best friend!" Gio pouted.

"I needed to go out of town for a few days, so I gave Beyond a key to my flat to feed my cat while I was out of town, and then it felt weird that he had one and…"

"She demanded my spare in return… you know, instead of just getting her spare back from me." Beyond shuffled past the other two and filled a kettle with water.

Maddy put her hands on her hips and huffed. "It's just easier this way! What if I'm out late and Bruno needs to eat? He's on a very strict diet! He's a chunky monkey!"

Light hugged the pillow he'd been lended while smiling, watching the three of them bicker back and forth. Maddy turned to Light and sighed happily. "Let's ditch these losers later and get some coffee."

Gio knit his eyebrows together. "Losers?"

Beyond looked up from heating up the water. "Ditch?"

Maddy sent a knowing smirk towards Beyond. "We aren't open on Sunday. I wanna hang out with Light."

Beyond leaned against the counter while propping his head up. "Tomorrow is Sunday? Damn, Julie is going to be so confused when she reads my text."

Gio laughed as he was heading towards the door. "You don't even know what day it is, my guy, you need to slow the fuck down. Burning it at both ends. Hey, Maddog, maybe we should let them get whatever errands they have to do, done, maybe we could all meet up for dinner or something."

Maddy sprung up with an excited squeal. "And drinks!?"

Gio smiled at her as she excitedly bounced out of the apartment. "Yeah, maybe, we'll see." He winked at Beyond and gave him a head nod. "Later, bud. Take care of him." Gio's eyes landed on Light before he politely waved. "Night, Light."

Light smiled and silently waved as he tucked his feet up onto the bed, resting his chin on his knees. The brunette startled slightly when a cup was set in front of him on the table. "Do you want to talk about it?" Light shook his head silently before taking a long breath in and slowly releasing it. "Okay, I won't force you to, but, I'm all ears if you ever want to talk about something."

Light eyed the cup solemnly while remembering their first promise to each other. "Maybe… When I first got home, before I met you, I had wished this was just a dream, just a bad dream… but, when I dreamed of what I thought I wanted… I was upset." Light glanced his eyes over to the raven who had sat on the floor, with an arm up on the bed, head resting against it, listening to him intently. Flicking his eyes away and towards the cup. "Uh… I'm not sure what else to say… I'm not sure I've ever had anyone just listen to me ramble."

Beyond gave Light a pitied half smile and reached over to the cup and handed it to him. "It's chamomile and lemon."

Light bit his lip and chuckled bitterly. "Why are you so nice to me?"

Beyond sighed and rested his back against his bed, folding his legs onto the floor staring at the wall. "Do you want the honest truth?"

Light smelled the tea with a small smile. "We promised each other, didn't we?"

Dropping his head back onto the bed, Beyond let out a long sigh. "Curiosity. Morbid curiosity. I mean, I'm always this nice, but, specifically speaking towards you? Because, I was curious. What kind of person gets mixed up with the Lawliets? The more I learn about you, the more I realize it was a tragic coincidence. That someone like you…" Beyond paused and looked over towards Light. "Someone as radiant as you, found such a dark person. Maybe it was fate, luck, or an accident, he would never tell you, but he needed someone like you."

Light set the tea cup down after taking a few sips. "Funny. Because I needed someone like you. Someone who listens and cares. Can I be brutally honest?"

Beyond chuckled and took the cup and stole a drink from it, attempting to hide his blush from Light's comment. "We promised, didn't we?"

Light sighed heavily as he flopped backwards onto the bed while staring at the ceiling. "I don't want that house. I… I don't think I can live there, it has too many memories. But, it has to stay in the family?" Beyond nodded while hiding his blush behind his bangs. "What about Nate? He's L's first cousin, isn't that family enough? It would solve a lot of problems for them… I know they've been stressed about money."

Beyond bobbed his head back and forth before freezing at the idea. "Wait… it could go to him. He'd have just as much stake in that property as I would. And it's better than the alternative…" Light propped himself up on his elbows and curiously hummed. Beyond blushed brightly. "Ugh, don't make me say it, you don't even want the house, why would an alternative plan to keep the house matter?"

Light blushed brightly and flopped back onto the bed to hide the blush. "Oh. Yeah, I didn't even really think of it like that."

The raven hung his head slightly. "Yeah. Because it would be weird, right?"

Light raised an eyebrow. "Wait… Would you actually do it?"

Nervously scratching the back of his head, Beyond sighed. "I'm a hot mess, I don't ever plan on getting married, if you wanted the house that badly, I didn't see a problem with it. I… uh…Or, I don't know if it did work out…between us… Or… is that weird?" He looked over his shoulder to gauge the reaction of Light, with the expectation of disgust.

Light stared at Beyond wide eyed before a tiny smile cracked followed by a small laugh. "Wait, are you serious? I can't tell. Are you asking if it would be weird if we ended up together?"

Darting his scarlet eyes away from Light, Beyond stood up to take care of the cup, carrying it to the kitchen. "No, I meant it as an arranged kind of thing for the house. Uh. No, I wasn't asking about any possibilities, because, it would… uh."

Light rolled onto his side and pleaded with the raven with his eyes. "I don't think it'd be weird. It's not like he's still alive and I'm still engaged." Light internally smirked when the raven seemed to take pause and blush more at his comment before continuing to wash the cup. "I guess I'd want to end up with someone of your caliber anyway, someone who's thoughtful, kind, caring…"

Beyond chuckled while drying the cup with a towel. "Nah. You deserve someone better. Someone with a real job and a real life."

Light crinkled his nose as he flopped back onto his back with a huff of disappointment. "Money comes and goes, kindness doesn't." Beyond folded his arms and leaned against the wall in between the kitchen and living room. "I think I'll have a hard time going back to sleep at this point."

The raven smirked and flopped next to Light on the bed. "Not me. All that adrenaline is wearing off."

"Hey, Beyond?"

"Yeah?" Beyond perked up and rolled onto his side to face in Light's direction.

"Have you ever longed for something so badly, it hurts?"

"Yeah." The raven's voice seemed to flatten slightly in the response.

"That's how I feel about your attention. I've been starved of attention my whole life. I was just expected to be the best. When I wasn't, it was met with disappointment rather than negative attention. When I was the best, it was just as bad, just a proud nod and a brisk hug. I've never really been able to connect with my peers because I was the police chief's son, no one wanted to hang out with that. So, when L came around asking for me personally. It was like all of those years of waiting for someone to notice how miserable I was, paid off, but, it was more of the same." Light rolled over to his side to look at Beyond. "So, my whole life I've gotten used to suffering in silence. Until you. No one really cared, sure they'd go through the motions of asking how I was, but never actually heard the real answer… until you asked me." Light bit his lower lip and sighed. "Maybe I'm not just numb to L's death, but my whole life I've been numb. I just want to feel something, and you, you make me feel alive, seen, understood, even if you don't mean to. I feel like when you look at me, I'm the only person in the world."

Beyond leaned in slightly. "But isn't that a good thing?"

Light glanced his eyes up to meet an endearing stare. "It drives me crazy."

"In a bad way?"

Light leaned in closely and whispered on Beyond's lips. "Not in the slightest. I know we haven't known each other very long, or very well, but you draw me in, every little thing you do. And maybe it's wrong of me… but, in my dream, you were the one I was searching for, even though I had everything back. I had everything I thought I wanted, but all I wanted was you."

A little disappointed in the lack of action from Beyond, Light started to lean back onto his side before he was pulled into a consuming embrace. Light could feel himself smile as their lips met.