Disclaimer: DEATH NOTE IS NOT MINE. None of the characters are mine, I just borrowed them for a bit … /runs off and sobs in a corner/

Well, it's goodbye (sort of) to my crack-ish ways, with 'Tohru is a GANGSTA CHAV'. This is a serious fic, and one of the few I've ever actually FINISHED. /shock and horror/

Thank you very much for deciding to read this, I am most humbled and grateful. /bows/ And I'm ready for flames, which I will use to keep my Biffa bin deluxe suite warm at night.

Thanks, and enjoy.

3

Seven

"Yagami-kun."

Light Yagami looked up from the file from Matsuda-san he had been overlooking. "Yes?"

"Come here."

Light rolled his swivel chair over to L's, the chain binding them clinking lightly. "What is it?"

L chewed his thumb. "I've been concentrating on the lighter sides of the Internet for Kira information. Teenagers' sites, mostly. The sites that are more for schoolgirls harboured rather… strange… information."

Light frowned. "Information? Or opinions?"

L smiled ruefully. "Opinions, I suppose." He clicked on a text hyperlink simply name 'LxLight'. Light felt a bit put out. That was just about L and Light, not Kira, and hadn't L said he didn't think Light was consciously Kira any more? And since when did anyone know about L and Light's connection anyway? (1)

"Look." L pointed at the text on the screen with a slim finger.

"But it isn't about Kira, it's about you and –" Light stopped. His eyes had quickly zoomed in on the words 'kiss' 'pleasure' and 'cock'. "…What the fuck?"

"Schoolgirls seem to find it entertaining writing about us. Either performing obscene sexual acts together –" Light turned bright red "- or acting lovey-dovey together." That made Light even more embarrassed, even though he wanted to laugh hearing such a childish word coming out of L's mouth. But L was a little childish, sometimes. Too blunt, that was his problem…

"I've found one thousand, three hundred and twenty-four 'fanfics' about us. Five hundred and ninety-one are rated NC-17, one hundred and twelve are rated General and at least ninety have included a 'MatsudaxL pairing' or 'MisaxLight pairing'." L chewed his thumb again, his other hand clutching the thin denim of his jeans. He gathered a lot of the material in his fingers – he was incredibly skinny, despite the amount of sweets he consumed.

Light blushed again. "How does everyone know about us?"

L paused, his thumb slightly out of his mouth. He'd rather not admit why (2), and it was these fansites that supplied him with most of his knowledge and strengthened his theories about Kira. A third person view was certainly much appreciated, even if that person usually ended up wandering off into fluffy romance or hentai.

"…I think my virus (3) may have stumbled somewhere and some girls may have found ghost images. They're certainly more tricky to find and destroy." It hurt L a little to say that he could have made a mistake, but it was inevitable there would be some bruises to what little pride he had. (4) That blow Light had dealt him before (5) had really affected his confidence, though he had simply developed a façade based on his usual mental state when he was talking with Matsuda-san, Yagami-san or any other human being that didn't match his intellect.

Light could feel himself pulling slightly away from L. A subconscious act, which he stopped quickly. Pulling away from L was like shouting 'I'm completely humiliated'. Well, he was, but he didn't want to admit it. "…So…" Conversation. Conversation! "…Why would anyone want to write about us?"

L bit down on his thumb quite viciously. "Obviously there's a sexual or romantic appeal about our constant togetherness. The main reason of this seems to be the handcuffs." He jiggled the chain for effect.

Light stared down at the chain accusingly, but found his idea of it suddenly shifting. Before he had just seen it as a necessary, if inconvenient, tool to keep L convinced that Light wasn't Kira. Now, knowing some girls got off on it, he was embarrassed by it. But still… how did it promote sexual or romantic appeal?

"…Could I read some of them?" he asked quietly.

L looked at him coolly. He didn't seem fazed, but then again; much didn't faze him. Why would the ridiculous concept of romance between Light and L bother him?

L pulled his chair away, so Light could pull his up to the computer screen. "Go ahead," he said, deadpan.

Light blushed, but started to read.

By 11:47pm, Light had got through seven General fics and about fifteen NC-17 fics, all of which had left him blushing and half-hard. But this one fanfic he was reading was really, really making him aroused. It was seven chapters long, each chapter more obscene, ridiculous and… hot, than the last. He was on the seventh chapter. Each chapter had taken turns in whether L or Light would top, and now… Light was bottom. He was surprised to find that he found the more appealing fics to be the ones where Light bottomed. He certainly wasn't going to be able to look at L the same way after he finished this story. The same L who was barely three inches away, eating cake while he read through some file or other.

Light paused his reading, and glanced at L once. His face flared up. Many writers had described L's appearance in detail, complimenting the strange way he sat and… pretty much everything else about him. Now that Light had read these descriptions, he found some of the opinions had infected him and he was actually complimenting L! He found L's appearance much more appealing, now he really looked. L's eyes really did look fantastic against the paleness of his sun-starved skin. His spiky, unruly hair looked wild and wind-blown; adventurous; and framed his face perfectly. He wasn't skinny; he was slim, and his fingers weren't spidery; they were pianist fingers. The abnormal way he held things was unique and… dare he say it; kind of hot. The way he sat was closed in, and even though L had said it helped him think clearer, Light started to take the opinion of some of those 'Lovestarved!L' fic-writers, who believed that L sat that way because it was a way of protecting himself. It was… cute.

Light shook his head. He couldn't believe he had let himself get sucked in by these fangirl-ish ideas. But he had to admit, he whole-heartedly agreed with them. He wasn't so sure about their opinions of him, but he found himself silently wondering if L had ever thought that of Light in the way he had thought of L.

He blushed. What was he thinking?!

"…Yagami-kun."

Light jumped. "Y-yes, Ryuuzaki?"

"You've stopped reading. Are you done?" L decided not to mention the fact that he had noticed Light staring at him intently for three minutes and fourteen seconds so far. Internally, he was grinning.

Light turned quickly back to the softly humming monitor. "N-no. I'm not done, I mean…" He stopped himself. His face was horribly hot and he was most definitely out of character (6). He wasn't supposed to be thinking this way or acting like an awkward schoolgirl!

"Is it good?"

"What?" He didn't turn back to L, just stared intently at the screen as if it held the answer to the Ultimate Question (7).

"The story. Is it interesting?"

Light's eyes widened at the swimming words. Was it… interesting? It was damn well close to orgasmically good!

"…It's good."

"Let me read it too, then."

Light jolted. Oh God, he thought, Ryuuzaki, please don't read it!

But L came over anyway, and as he read over Light's shoulder Light desperately fought back the urge to bury his head in his hands. He was utterly humiliated.

L mutely reached over Light, his hand closing over Light's as he clicked the scroll button down with the mouse. He didn't take his hand away even as he read, then clicked again. Each time Light felt that slight pressure of L's hand he would clench his other hand tightly in his lap, covering his half-hard member.

When L took his hand away, Light bit back a sob. He wasn't sure if the sudden burst of would-be sound was out of relief or loss.

"…" There was silence for at least a minute and a half before L finally spoke. "…It's… good."

Light's body immediately relaxed and he buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe I was reading that," he moaned, his voice muffled by his hands.

"…I noticed there are seven chapters, and this was the final chapter. You must have enjoyed it a little to have read that much." L's voice didn't betray any emotion, so Light wasn't sure if L was disgusted or disturbed by the fact that Light had actually read a fanfic like that, and he knew that even if he turned and looked at L's face he wouldn't see any emotion. L was good at schooling his expression.

"Um… yeah. It was really well written so I thought it was pretty good –"

L's hand clamped down on Light's shoulder.

Light tensed, eyes wide. Was L going to unleash his martial arts skills on him? God knew he could throw one helluva punch, and kick like a horse too.

But instead of a declaration of battle, or a sharp blow from behind, Light felt L lean over him and say into his ear, "How did you feel, reading that?"

Light jumped out of his seat. L's hand fell gently from Light's shoulder and he stood back up, though as usual not completely straight. Light walked back and forth in short paths feverishly. He wanted to work off his nervous energy and take his mind off his raging erection. His face had been too hot for too long.

"You never answered my question, Yagami-kun," L mentioned softly, watching Light with his scarily (cutely, Light's mind added infuriatingly) wide (dark, sexy. STOP THAT! Light told himself) eyes. "How did you feel, reading that story?"

Light stopped. His erection had gone away, but his face was still flushed. He stood before L, wringing his hands, and the chain clinked between them. "It – it was a good story, it was –"

"Was it sexual the entire way through or was it romantic?"

Light's mind was slowly blurring every thought he had. "I-it was mostly, um, sexual, but there was a lot of romance in it, um, too." He knew he must have sounded pathetic. He wanted to shut up and just lie down with a pillow over his head, but he couldn't be alone with the damned handcuffs between them and he sure as hell couldn't shut up when L was asking him questions still.

"Who was seme and who was uke?"

Light's face blazed once again. Just when it had started to cool, as well. Damnit. "We, um… both topped and bottomed."

L smiled slightly. Light wasn't sure if it was mirthlessly or ruefully, but he couldn't really concentrate.

"Which of us did you prefer as seme or uke?"

Why the hell was L asking these obscene questions?! Light couldn't think straight and oh God, he really didn't want to answer this question but L's eyes were telling him to answer and really how could he resist when he was this pathetically embarrassed and OUT OF HIS MIND?

"…I preferred to be uke," he found himself admitting. And L, damn him, actually SMILED TRIUMPHANTLY.

"I had thought that Yagami-kun would actually find his control as Kira –" (I'm not Kira! Light thought, cross) "- and his role as police detective's son too much control and would, in consequence, want to submit it somehow at some point. I had thought you would say you would prefer to play the role of uke. Even so I'm surprised, Yagami-kun, that you would actually admit it."

That's because I'm out of my mind! Light thought, ridiculously defensive.

"Yagami-kun, do you like me?"

Light's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Wh-what?"

L's eyes bore holes into him. "I've been thinking about it a long time and reading these 'fanfics' has made me realise that actually I like you very much, Yagami-kun. More than just wanting to play intellectual games with you, or tennis. I've never liked someone before, Yagami-kun, and I don't like feeling unsure about whether you like me back. So, do you?"

Light's whole world was shaken. Okay, it wasn't, but it's more dramatic to describe it like that. It was more like the bottom of his stomach dropped out, and his heart rate sped up a mile a minute. It wasn't a bad feeling, but even though it felt just like being on a roller coaster, and he was rewarded a heady dose of endorphins, he found that actually it was very different from being on a roller coaster. Well, obviously there was the whole being on the ground thing, but whilst his heart was pumping at a stupidly high rate, it was also kind of singing. Not like Pavarotti singing or anything like that, just… like it was very happy and was humming a little tune or something. It was hard to explain, especially since Light didn't really recognise the feeling.

"Do you?" L repeated, already looking crestfallen. He had assumed the silence meant Light was saying no.

Light snapped out of it. "U-um… I, I don't – I mean…"

"'You don't'…" L paused. "You don't like me?"

Light's brain decided at that moment to flash an idea before him. He realised that maybe L was being uncharacteristically unsubtle about his feeling because he didn't know any better. L had probably spent most his time with himself and his work, never really experiencing what all people should – how to interact with others and to understand the way he was. No amount of psychology research could make up for that sort of understanding (8). So L was actually a novice with feelings because he hadn't had that experience. L was a child.

A child who happened to like Light very much.

Light blushed. "Ryuuzaki… L… I do like you, but –"

L flung himself into Light's arms. He gripped Light tightly for a moment, before his grasp softened and he buried into the warmth of Light's body, much like a small child would. He sighed into Light's chest.

"…Whatever the 'but' is, please can it wait a moment?" L's voice was tiny, and it broke slightly at the end. L wasn't crying, but he was obviously fighting back tears.

Light shakily wrapped his arms around L's slim body. He couldn't say a word.

"I don't understand myself, Yagami-kun. I've tried to work it out, but nothing really explains it. The closest I can get is in those 'fanfics'."

Light patted L pathetically on the back. He was awkward, and he probably – definitely – had more experience in this field than L. But he never really had had to face NC-17 fics that were on CRACK and made him feel all hot and uncomfortable and had to read soppy romantic CUTE descriptions of L that made him want to just hide away with L somewhere and hold him until they were old and gray.

L pushed away slightly, his hands convulsing nervously against Light's chest. He looked directly at Light (A/N: As far as I can tell, when L is standing up straight he's probably slightly taller than Light.). His hands slid up to touch the base of Light's neck, and stroked lightly. That spot was very sensitive and it always made Light's body offer him a light, warming dose of endorphins.

"What was the 'but', Yagami-kun?" (9)

Light paused. His arms tightened around L's waist, pulling him closer even though L's hands pushed half-heartedly against his chest, trying to move back.

"…Maybe it's just the fanfics. They got to me. I could just be seeing you in the same rose-tinted light those girls do. I've never really thought about you that way before. I know I like you as a friend, but I don't know about really liking you yet."

L looked crestfallen.

"N-no! Ryuuzaki, don't be disappointed! I think I do like you; I'm just not sure how much. The fanfics triggered something, and I know I probably like you, but I don't know… how deep… it runs. Do you understand?"

L nodded mutely.

"Good, because I don't."

L smiled slightly. "Will we get to know each other?"

"Yes."

"Will we be closer?"

"Yes."

"Will you be by my side and actually want to be there?"

Light smiled. "Yes. I wanted to a lot longer before this, Ryuuzaki."

L's skin was tinted with a faint blush. Powder pink against pale flesh. It was beautiful. Strange, but beautiful. Androgynous, Light supposed the word for it was.

"Will you kiss me?" When L said it, he suddenly looked incredibly exhausted. Had it taken that much just for him to ask?

"Would it be your first kiss?"

L blushed a little darker shade of pink. "Yes."

Light smiled. "Then I'm honoured." He tightened his grip around L, moved his head forward and captured L's full, chalk pink lips in a kiss.

There wasn't much to the kiss. It wasn't an explosion of passion with fireworks and streamers going off in the background. It was a little anticlimactic. Just a slow, gentle kiss, the slick slide of tongue on tongue and whispered promises no one, not even them, could understand. But as the author, I can say that their promise was that they would eventually they would know how strongly they felt for one another and that they would take it in their stride. They could adapt to however deep the emotions ran, they knew they could.

L and Light held each other silently, beside the humming computer with that saintly story on its screen and the discarded file L had been reading before. There was quiet for at least five minutes. Light could feel their heartbeats, echoing each other. There wasn't a strong between them yet, but it was growing, he could feel it.

The handcuffs, he realised, weren't the tool to ensure L that he wasn't Kira, or an item that provoked sexual possibilities to their relationship.

It was a physical manifestation of their newfound connection. The sign that no one would actually realise was a replica of the chain that linked L and Light's emotions together. They wouldn't say that there was a bond between their hearts; that was too sappy; just their emotions. It meant pretty much the same thing.

"You know, that story was a Work In Progress," L mentioned out of the blue.

Light grinned. "Can't wait for the next chapter."

And there we go! I've never really written a mushy romance before, and certainly not one concerning someone else's characters! I've written plenty of romances using my own characters, but characters from Death Note I knew was going to be hard.

And I haven't made any spell checks, so if I've made typos, please tell me.

Thanks for reading!!!!!!

(1) Light doesn't know about the manga me and my girl friends love so much! Poor Light-kun… Lmfao :D

(2) L knows about the manga! He read online fanscans.

(3) Doesn't L seem like the type of person to develop viruses/anti-viruses or to spend spare time hacking into porn sites? (Lol XD) I did have an idea that maybe L would make a virus based on an anti-virus software (Norton Antivirus etc) that would see anything mentioning L or the most central info on the Kira case as a virus, and would destroy it. But it would have to be thorough enough to destroy even ghost images… L's smart enough for that, though. :)

(4) L is probably a little uneasy about his opinion of himself because he's never been that sociable, I think. So I don't think he's have much pride. Even though he's a mega-genius, he's never had anyone to egg him on or to tell him he's done great. Even the people who ask for his help probably only see what he does as a duty or lifestyle or something, and never feel they should compliment him. So without that support, how could he develop much of an ego? Sure, he could be proud of himself, but his opinion wouldn't amount to much beside that of a loved one etc.

(Sorry, I go on a bit when it comes to the thought process of characters. I'm really interested in psychology.)

(5) Book 5 spoiler. Sorry if you haven't read it!

(6) OOC! Lol.

(7) That would be 42. :D

THE MYSTERY SEVEN CHAPTER FIC IS A WIP!!

(8) Boo hoo :'(

(9) L says 'Yagami-kun' a lot, but he seem like he just, well… would, y'know? If not, excuse me, but you probably have to be mentally retarded to understand my thought process. Maybe one of my friends can translate. Fo' shizzle, fools/laughs insanely/