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There was an abject absurdity to the situation at hand that might have elicited a laugh under different circumstances, but Light was too preoccupied with the pounding in his ears to fully appreciate the irony of his own plight.
“What do you MEAN, ‘our bed’???”
L ignored the frenzied panic of the question, continuing his wordless ministrations as to the perfection of his coffee. This, of course, entailed the addition of approximately 10 sugar cubes and enough cream to render the contents of his mug a milky shade of tan that Light was fairly certain didn’t even qualify as coffee anymore.
Light inhaled shakily, attempting to keep his voice level as he reasoned, “Ryuzaki, I know that you need to keep watch over me, but can we not just share a room? You’ll still be able to see me, but at least we’ll have some…personal space.”
“Unfortunately, no.” L didn’t so much as spare a glance up as he spoke, his voice as unreadable as ever.
“But WHY? What investigative purpose can there be to sharing a bed?”
At this, L finally took pause. He turned his wide-eyed gaze to Light, unblinking as he replied, “If we were to be uncuffed and in separate areas, you could take action to continue killing without my knowledge. I still don’t know exactly how Kira kills his victims, so I cannot risk such an oversight. We’ll need to remain handcuffed and in close proximity, even in the night, if I intend to properly keep you under observation.”
The silence that followed was stifling.
Though Light found himself unable to argue with such sound reasoning, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something he was missing.
Ignoring the irritating voice in his head (a voice that sounded suspiciously like Sayu) telling him to throw a fit, he forced a strained smile onto his face. “Well, it looks like we’re going to be getting very well acquainted soon, aren’t we?”
All he got in response was an owlish blink.
*****
As he settled into bed, Light wondered what deity he ought to curse for the turn his life had taken. To his left, L was propped up against a mountain of pillows, thumb catching on his lower lip as he stared absently at the glowing screen of his laptop.
“Uh…Ryuzaki?”
L didn’t exactly startle at the sudden sound, but as he slowly turned his head, Light noticed that there was an unusually troubled look in his large, unsettling eyes.
When he made no move to reply, Light offered a tentative, “Are…are you alright?”
This time, L DID startle.
“What..? Oh, yes, I’m quite alright. Just wondering if I’ve miscalculated.”
“Miscalulated? What do you mean?”
Again, there was no response. Just a vague cloud of uncertainty befalling his sharp features. It scared Light, just a little. His detective companion was rarely uncertain, and even when he was, he was skilled at hiding it.
Light tried again. “Is it Kira? Did something happen? Can I help?”
“No, no, it’s nothing to do with Kira…or is it? I can’t tell yet…I need more information before I can reach a conclusion…”
He devolved into quiet muttering, of which Light could only catch a few words, such as “unexpected variable,” “uncontrollable,” and “intentional.”
“Alright, then. If you need anything, you can wake me. I’m going to try and get some sleep.”
With what was intended to be a closing statement, Light rolled over, ignoring the slight pull of the handcuff around his wrist, and squeezed his eyes shut.
The quiet persisted for a few long moments, until an almost imperceptible murmur floated through the air between them.
“Goodnight, Light Yagami.”
*****
Light woke up to a dark room and a warm body melded into his own.
It took him a few seconds to process his surroundings, but as soon as he’d blinked the bleariness from his eyes, he’d registered that there were simply too many limbs strewn about. Some of them had to be attached to someone else.
A rush of memories from the night before flooded his mind, eliciting a gasp that he tried his best to stifle as to not wake up the sleeping form of the world’s foremost detective, who was currently wrapped around him in a manner not too dissimilar to that of a koala.
Should he try to untangle himself from L’s grasp? He mulled the idea over briefly, but as if the man had heard his thoughts, Light suddenly found himself being clutched even tighter. It seemed as if escape wasn’t an option.
He sighed gently, resigning himself to his fate. Craning his neck, he caught sight of the side of L’s face. His head was tucked against Light’s arm, but Light could still see the hard lines of his jaw and cheekbones, sharp against the tousled mess of his dark hair.
It was almost funny how peaceful he looked. Light didn’t think he’d ever seen the man look so unburdened in his waking hours. His breaths were long and steady, his chest shifting with each intake of air. Light could feel the movement against him. In this state, L was almost…vulnerable.
Something strange and foreign stirred in the pit of his stomach.
Was this what it was like, to have someone trust him enough to place their life in his hands? L’s usually-raised hackles were nowhere to be found while he was like this. It would be so easy to…to…
Light cut off his own train of thought before it could become fully formed.
What the hell is wrong with me? He felt sick. Not just at himself, but at L, for having let his guard down in front of someone he deemed to be so dangerous. He thinks I’m Kira. He thinks I’m a serial killer, and he’s sharing a bed with me.
Light swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise from his stomach and steeled himself. No. I know I’m not Kira, and I'll keep us all safe. I’ll keep him safe. Then he’ll see that he was mistaken all along.
He relaxed, satisfied with his own resolve.
As he drifted off towards sleep, the thought echoed.
I’ll keep him safe.