So L is a strange guy. That much is obvious. He spends the majority of his time in front of computer screens, in the dark. Hell, he spends more time staring at screens than cats do sleeping. So how exactly does he carry out his daily life? He wrongly suspects me of being Kira, and still doesn't trust me after I put myself up for solitary, so we're going to be together 24-7 now. It's the perfect time to find out about him. After all, he'll be watching my every move. I might as well stay one step ahead of him!

But right now it was time for bed.

"Ryuzaki, come on. It's 11:30 already. Everyone else is probably asleep by now." I protested. L ate his last cherry and looked a little disappointed.

"I don't feel particularly tired. Do you, Light?" L quirked, voice slightly muffled as he tied the cherry stems in his mouth.

"I need to study in the morning. It would be nice if I could get at least 7 hours of sleep tonight." I pointed out. L visibly rolled his eyes.

"Hm. 2 hours usually does it for me." L muttered. "...if I can sleep at all." Ugh. I placed my hand gently on his shoulder.

"Look, Ryuzaki, I know you suffer from insomnia. But, maybe if you really try, you can get some real REM tonight!" I suggested enthusiastically, getting up to pull L with me. I was a bit irritated by the exhaustion, though. And naturally, L didn't budge an inch. Damn.

"Isn't this a bit childish? If you're that tired, I assumed you would have fallen asleep already..." L drawled, apparently unwilling to get up. "Hm, and what would Kira do in this situation..." I resisted the urge to huff out in exasperation. I didn't need to be compared to Kira right now.

"Normal people need sleep, Ryuzaki." I retorted gently. There was no way I could fall asleep with L typing away and with all the bright lights around.

"Actually, college students in America sleep an average of 45 hours a week." L stated. He did have a point, but most freshman college students weren't in the police force. I didn't have any time for parties, not that they're my style anyway, and I had to sleep if I wanted to concentrate.

"How about this? You need to eat lots of sugar to keep yourself going through the day, right? It's similar for me, except I need to sleep for at least 7 hours to have adequate concentration during the day."

"I don't have to eat sugar. I just prefer to. What's really responsible for keeping me awake is caffeine." L retorted. "Though sugar is good for cognitive function." I stared at him in slight defeat. Maybe I would have to pick him up. Hm, it would appear to be an affectionate gesture if I played it correctly...and we could make a better team in pursuit of Kira if we were closer friends. It was a rash move, but I thought it was a good one to make. Considering how easy it would be to carry him...he was nearly my height, but was clearly underweight. I could do it with little difficulty.

"I guess I have no choice." I said darkly. It was a joke, really. If L thought I was going to do something aggressive, he would be sorely mistaken. He looked at me with a somewhat confused but innocent expression, mouth parted slightly, as I approached him. Quickly but gently I slipped my left arm under his thighs, penetrating his secure sitting position, and then slid my right around his back, and he was swept from his chair in an instant. He had no choice but to wrap one arm around my shoulders.

"Light."

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, but it seemed this was necessary." I was pretty satisfied with myself. Here I was, carrying the greatest detective in the world like he was a little child. Ha. I looked at his disgruntled face. He was almost cute, even. Almost.

After shutting off the lights in the main room, I carried him to the bedroom and he started squirming, sending a foot to lightly kick my face.

"Hey!" I protested. L jumped out of my arms and made his way to the adjoining bathroom, dragging me along with him. In there he opened a drawer and took out a quite large electric toothbrush. I stifled a laugh: was this how L avoided cavities?

L saw my expression in the mirror and rolled his eyes, dispensing a lot of toothpaste onto the brush and wetting it before starting to clean his teeth. Then I realized I didn't have my own toothbrush. Damn.

"I apologize, Light. I believe Mr. Yagami has your belongings in his hotel room." L said, reading my mind. "But, if you would like, you are free to borrow my toiletries instead."

"Oh, that's fine, Ryuzaki. I can wait until morning." I passed his offer. It wasn't a big deal, really.

"Are you sure, Light? I am aware that you were allowed to take a shower after your time in prison before I required that we be handcuffed together, but you didn't get to brush your teeth, did you?" L pressed, voice amusingly muffled by his toothbrush. "You could get a cavity." Ugh. Did L actually have a problem? I think he most likely had OCD judging by his behavior and his obsession with cleanliness. Maybe he couldn't stand it if others weren't clean as well? But that would be pushing it. I looked at him. His mouth was full of foam. We stood in silence for a while before L finally rinsed out his mouth. Maybe it was just me, but it felt like he had brushed his teeth for at least 3 minutes. He washed the head of the toothbrush off and handed it to me.

"It's alright. Really." I asserted, holding my hand up in assurance.

"Please." L said with a certain hospitality, tilting his head slightly. I sighed with exasperation.

"I can go one night without brushing my teeth."

"No!" L was adamant. "You weren't able to properly brush your teeth during your imprisonment either." He squirted some toothpaste onto the brush and shoved it at my mouth. I reluctantly took it.

"Alright, Ryuzaki." I chuckled. "If you insist." I guess I had gotten used to the feeling of a not-so-clean mouth. I didn't really have a choice in a prison cell. But L's toothpaste was a pleasing flavor of mint, and it would be nice to have a fresh mouth again. It was awkward, though, as I brushed and L stared off into the distance.

When I was finally done, L told me that I should have brushed for a minute and twenty seconds longer, and we turned the light off, going back to the bedroom. I kind of had to pee, but I didn't really want to deal with that issue right now and L wasn't saying anything about himself either.

"You can take the bed, Ryuzaki." I offered politely. "If you could give me a pillow and one sheet, I'll be fine on the floor."

"What do you mean, Light? It would be rude of me to make you do that, besides, you could be up to something when out of my sight, no?" L countered, gesturing to the bed. "Don't tell me you haven't shared a bed with another man before."

"No, that's not it..." I replied calmly, deciding to just go with it. I had shared a bed on the school trip in eighth grade to Tokyo, but usually during camps and sleepovers I slept on an individual futon. It wasn't a big deal, though. And maybe I could find out more about L. After all, I was pretty sure he didn't sleep at all. The bags under his eyes suggested a more-than-severe case of sleeplessness, though I didn't understand how his health wasn't affected.

"Alright then. Lights out." L said. A smile tugged at his mouth. "Get it?"

"Very funny, Ryuzaki." It would be more comfortable to sleep only in my boxers but it looked like L intended to sleep in his jeans. Maybe he would change in the morning. L turned off the lamp and got on top of the bed in his usual sitting position. I crawled in on his right side, resting my arms behind my head. This was gonna be weird, but I would try to get to sleep.

"Good night, Light." L said after a few minutes, jolting me back into consciousness as I almost lost it. Damn.

"Y-yeah. Good night, Ryuzaki." I muttered sleepily, casting a quick glance at the detective beside me. L was still holding his knees. Did he really sleep like that?

...

I woke up to a sensation on the top of my head and the sound of clicking chains. I turned my head to see L in a sprawled position, legs and arms spread out and his shirt hiked up a bit on his torso. His right hand was twitching and tugging slightly at my hair. His breathing was barely audible, but his face held an innocent expression, mouth opened slightly. He rolled over to face me, emitting an adorable noise, and I felt my cheeks heat up slightly. I adjusted myself so I wasn't facing him and closed my eyes again, telling my tired mind not to think about what I had just witnessed.

Night 1 Observations:

1. L doesn't like to sleep.

2. L brushes his teeth with an electric toothbrush for 3 minutes every night to prevent cavities.

3. L falls asleep in his sitting position but spreads out his body through the night, probably to relax his muscles after holding them in position for so long.

4. L looks kinda like a kitten when he sleeps.

I hoped to find out much more about L tomorrow.

...

A/N: haha! ummm...please let me know what you think so I can improve this in later chapters! This is my first Death Note fic but I'm really into it so I'll be writing lots more! This fic will have new themes each chapter, concerning L and Light's struggles when they are handcuffed together. I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible, so please hold your butts if you're waiting for yaoi - it will come, it is inevitable. But please note that I am trying to keep this in context for the anime more than anything.

did anyone get the REM joke? haha

I also just made a new DeviantArt and drew a picture for this chapter. Haha! You can check it out if you'd like. My deviantart: cosmopolitankitten

have a great day/night *kisses