Me: Wooo, another DN shot! This is much lighter than the first one, and much more random. It was a challenge from/gift to Angela and MiniMix, who wanted a giftfic and told me the subject/title. So, here it is!

Third Person POV. One day at Headquarters, while Light and L are handcuffed to each other, Matsuda asks why L always eats cake, and L answers. Takes place around the Yotsuba arc.

Dedicated to Angela and MiniMix, who finally requested something and I can write it. x) Hope you like it!! I'm sorry it's so short, but the topic doesn't leave a lot of room… Well anywhoosle, may you, L, Carrot and Strawberry live happily-ever-after, and when Carrot and Sakura get married, we'll be in-laws! XDD

Disclaimer: Hikari Daeron does not own Death Note or any affiliations.

Cake

"Ryuzaki…"

"Yes, Matsuda?" asked enigmatic detective L, delicately picking up a cherry and popping it into his mouth. He turned to the other man. "What is it?"

"I, er…" Matsuda hesitated, sweating slightly. Echoes of "This is not a joke!" and "Matsuda, you idiot!" resounded through his head as he contemplated asking. L's dark and heavily-bagged eyes gazed at him. "Well – "

"Yes?"

Next to L on another laptop, Yagami Light looked at the ex-policeman curiously. He leaned forward to better see the other. "Matsuda?"

Matsuda bit his lip before blurting, "Whydoyoualwayseatcake?"

Yagami Soichiro, who had entered the room just as the other said this, looked exasperated. A vein pulsed at his temple. "Matsuda…"

"Oh, Matsuda…" groaned Light, pressing his fingers to his temples. "Here I thought it was pertinent to the Kira case…"

The fickle young man coloured. "Er, sorry… stupid question… forget I asked…" He turned and made to shuffle out of the room when –

"I don't only eat cake," said L calmly, before taking out the cherry stem from his mouth. It was tied in a perfect knot.

"But it's what you have primarily!" said Matsuda before he could stop himself. Turning, he asked, "Why?"

L shrugged, taking another bite. "I like cake, Matsuda. It's my favourite."

"Aren't you ever… I dunno, overwhelmed by all of the sweets?"

Nearby, Yagami-san closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. Light was groaning.

"Not at all." L examined his dessert curiously. "I find that sugar is one of the best ways to keep my brain working. When I start to think, I crave sweets things, and so to continue to work, I eat said sweet things. Not that unusual."

He paused for a moment to sip from his cup of coffee nearby, before adding, "And as for why I happen to eat cake more than other sweets, that too is simple to answer: I like cake." He said it nonchalantly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Does that answer your question?"

No! Not at all! Instead, Matsuda chuckled uneasily. "Of course, Ryuzaki… I didn't mean to pry anyway."

Hurriedly, he shuffled out of the room. He didn't like the looks that the Yagamis were giving him.

The eldest in the room sighed and walked over to L. "Ryuzaki," he said, "this has all the dates of when the latest victims were killed."

L nodded. "Hai. Arigatou, Yagami-san." The other inclined his head and left the room.

For a moment there was silence. Then Light spoke: "Ryuzaki?"

"Hai, Yagami-kun? You're not going to ask why I eat cake too, are you?"

Light chuckled. "Not exactly…"

"Oh? A variation?"

"If you can call it that… Ryuzaki, how often do you see a doctor?"

The detective blinked, then brought up his thumb and began to chew on the back. "That's an odd question, Yagami-kun. I suppose…" The other thought for a moment. "I don't think I've seen a doctor since I was a boy."

"Ah…" Light closed his eyes briefly. "And you spend your days primarily inside and not moving about…"

"True."

"Then… how do you stay so skinny?!" the other demanded. "And how do you know you're healthy? Kira won't need your name and face to kill you – he can just wait for the sweets to take their effect!"

L gazed at Light unblinkingly for so long that Light actually began to feel unnerved. At last, the other broke the contact by looking down and sipping on his now-cold coffee. "I wouldn't worry about my health too much, Yagami-kun. This has been my eating habit for years now, I don't think anything can happen to me because of it."

Amazed, the brunet shook his head before turning to the laptop and continuing to type.

A few hours later, long after L had finished his coffee, Watari walked in. "Would anybody like some cake?"