Another Death Note fanfic by me! Umm...that's all I have to say, really. lol Read on and enjoy!! Oh! And I don't own Death Note! Things would be COMPLETELY different, if I did...

Sleep Observations

L never slept. Light was sure of that much.

When the handcuffs were first latched on, Light started noticing L's quirky mannerisms even more. The way he sat, the way he held basically everything delicately, t the way he ate nothing but sweets. None of these bothered him, but he was starting to get annoyed at himself for following L's eating habits; if he was offered a sweet, he would eat it. Even if it was murderously sweet. Food was food, after all.

But the fact that the detective never seemed to sleep bothered Light. Sure, insomniacs had weird ways of thinking (that much was quite obvious), but since Light couldn't exactly walk off to go sleep somewhere, he was forced into all-nighters with L.

At first, it didn't bother Light, since he was used to staying up nearly all night studying (or on weekends, when he hung out with friends or played video games). But when they started piling up night after night, Light was starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. And the last thing he wanted, was to start looking like L—deep, dark lines under the eyes, giving him the slight appearance of a panda.

Despite the sweets he snacked on, not even the sugar could help Light stay awake. During the late nights, if L wasn't moving from his spot, Light would just fold his arms on the desk, rest his head down, and fall asleep within moments. Of course, the blissful sleep would be interrupted by L—either by the jingling of the chain or him wanting to go somewhere. When he did get undisturbed sleep, his dreams were often very weird and strange. Light ultimately blamed it on the sugar. When he woke up the next morning, despite sleeping, because of the position that he slept in, his entire body would be stiff and sore. It was only during this time that Light silently thanked L for getting up and moving around every other 5-10 minutes. Moving around helped his stiff limbs.

Light was sure of one thing—If the sugar didn't kill him, the lack of sleep would.

It was another late night, with both Light and L sitting in front of computer monitors. L's fingers were dancing across the keyboard, while Light moved icons around with a click of his mouse. Though they weren't icons dealing with the Kira case—they were just normal icons on the screen. Unbeknownst to L, though, Light was arranging the icons into a design. His favorite—a smiley face.

He was tired—and it showed.

A few minutes later, Watari came by and dropped off another plate of sweets for L and cups of tea for both of them. When he left, Light decided to see what sweet L was going to eat now. He turned around...and blinked.

Sitting on the plate were, what looked like, four tast-like shapes made of pure sugar.

"Um...Ryuzaki? What is that?" asked Light, cautiously, as he pointed at them.

"It's French toast, Light-kun." said L simply, as he reached over for one, "Isn't that obvious?"

"No when it's covered with powdered sugar like that." muttered Light, as he watched L pluck it off the plate and take a bite out of it. Aside from the powdered sugar getting on his fingers, it was also starting to coat around his lips. For some reason, the sight made Light lick his own lips.

L saw this and thought Light was hungry. Without bothering to clean his fingers free of sugar, he reached over to the plate, picked up another French toast and held it out to Light, "If you want one, go ahead and take one. There are four, so we can each have two."

Light was about to protest that he wasn't hungry, but was too tired to do so. He smiled softly, as he took the sugar-saturated toast from L, "Thanks, Ryuzaki."

L nodded and took another piece of toast. Light looked at his piece for a moment then took a bite out of it.

The sweetness nearly killed him.

Along with the powdered sugar, the toast was saturated with maple syrup. It was sickeningly sweet, as Light managed to swallow the first bite. Resigning to his fate, Light ate the rest of the toast, quickly, so the sugary taste wouldn't last in his mouth. He washed the rest out with a sip of tea.

How can he eat this? I'm already starting to feel sick...thought Light, as he glanced over at the plate again. L had left one more piece, thinking that Light would eat it. He found it surprising that L was actually willing to share his sweets. Not being one to waste food, Light regretfully took the piece of toast and ate it quickly. He then regretted it, as it made him feel even more sick. With a groan, Light folded his arms on the desk and laid his head down, facing L.

"Why do you eat so many sweets?" asked Light, tiredly.

"If I don't eat sweets, Light-kun, then my deductive abilities go down by at least 29.8." explained L, without even casting a glance at Light.

"Uh huh...so, you can't stand normal food?"

"Regular foods don't have the same effects as sweets do. Unless, of course, there's sugar on them."

"...You're a weirdo."

L stopped for a moment at this. Not only did Light use a word that was so out of character for him, his voice was light and airy, sounding extremely tired. When L turned around to face him, Light was out like a...well...light.

Dead asleep.

L ran one finger along the plate that had the toast on it and licked off the sugar and syrup that stuck. All the while, watching Light sleep.

The exhaustion that Light had been fighting off for so long, finally came up on him. L noticed a few differences in Light's behavior, thanks to the five all-nighters in a row. When he actually did get some sleep, he was sitting in the chair the entire time, making it a fairly uncomfortable sleep. Most of the time he got woken up either by L, or his own dreams. He said they weren't nightmares...they were just so weird that he was forced to wake up. When L questioned the dreams, Light replied with a curt 'I don't remember' and went back to work.

Also, L noticed that Light's appetite was diminishing and he lost about 10 pounds. That can't be healthy...

L put his computer on stand-by and turned the chair slightly, so he was facing Light. Since being chained to Light, L had learned something about the other that was both interesting and amusing at the same time.

Light talked in his sleep.

At first, it was too soft and mumbled to make out, but as the nights went on, Light's sleep speech was as clear as a bell. L used this to his advantage.

L knew that the handcuff thing was hard on Light, but thanks to Light's sleep talk, L was able to find out a few things to make the transition easier. One of the nights that Light was walking, L found out that Light like to play video games every now and then. The next day, L bought a PS2 and a GameCube on the excuse that video games were a good stress reliever. And it worked, too—Light was less snappy. L also found out something about Light and wasabi, when he was muttering about it. Thinking that Light actually liked lots of wasabi, L prepared a dinner with lots of the sauce. He found out that Light didn't like it and, according to him, the wasabi nearly burnt his tongue off. He also muttered something about apples...but L couldn't figure out if he liked them or not. He did eat them, when L offered it, but didn't say anything beyond that.

Tonight, L hoped that he would find out something else that would prove helpful. He knew that it didn't take long for Light to start talking, once he fell asleep.

Light moaned softly, as he buried his face more into his folded arms. L frowned, thinking that he wouldn't be ale to hear him. But then, almost a second later—

"'Morning, Sayu..."

L blinked, as Light finally began to talk. Of course, it's about his family. L knew that Light was particularly close to his family, as he often spoke about them in his dreams. L felt a little guilty, that he was the one who tore Light away from his family. I should arrange something...L exited his thoughts, as he continued to listen to Light's sleep talk.

"What's for breakfast? ...Not ready yet? I see...I'll just sit down and wait."

So far, it's just a bunch of useless stuff...thought L, as he chewed on his thumbnail. It would've helped more to hear what was for "breakfast" in Light's dream, but apparently whoever was making it in the dream (presumably Sayu) wasn't done with it.

"Let's have something interesting happen, Light-kun." muttered L, resting his chin on his knees, as he waited for Light to speak up again.

"Hm? Hey, Sayu. What's that?"

The detective raised his head, as he heard the tone of Light's voice change. It sounded tired at first, but now it was actually serious. Sensing that something was about to happen, L leaned in a little to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"Wait...don't move, Sayu. I think that's...oh...oh no..."

L was leaning so far forward in his chair, that he thought he was going to fall off. Light's tone of voice changed again; this time, he sounded a little scared. What's going on? What's going on? ...Is the kitchen on fire, or something...?

"Sayu...why is Kira in our kitchen?"

L squeaked, as he nearly fell out of his chair. He grabbed onto the desk top next to him and pulled himself up. The chain jingled loudly, but Light didn't even twitch. Wh-What did he just say...?!

After recovering from nearly falling, L assumed his normal position and started intently at the sleeping Light. He was half-tempted to wake him up, since he didn't know if Light would remember the dream or not, once he woke up normally. If Light knew Kira's face, then L had to wake him up immediately, before he forgot!

"I...I can't believe it. So, that's Kira's true identity..."

"What is, Light-kun? What?" hissed L, urgently. Though he knew that it was just a dream, it could help them lead to the actual Kira! Just as L was about to reach out and shake Light awake, he spoke again.

"Kira...is actually...a potato salad."

L froze for a moment. A second later, he pulled back his hand and clasped it over his mouth to stifle his laughter. A potato salad?! And here I was thinking that Light-kun's dream could lead us to the actual Kira...L laughed quietly for a minute straight, his whole body shaking with fits of giggles. The chain jingled again, but Light still remained in a deep sleep.

After the detective calmed down, he went back to listening. He put "potato salad" on his mental list of things for Light. Whether he liked it or not, was still to be found out.

Light said nothing for a minute, making L think that he was done. But just as he was about to turn back towards the computer, Light spoke up again.

"It's alright, Sayu...don't cry. I'll take care of him..."

L decided to listen to the rest of the dream, even though he had a hunch that he wasn't going to get anything useful from it. So far, I have arrangements for him to spend a day with his family normally...and something about potato salads. Well, once he eats it, I'll know whether or not he likes it. But wait—since Kira is a potato salad in his dream...that means he'll eat Kira.

At that moment, a strange mental image of Light eating a person (presumably Kira) popped into the detective's head. He fell silent, as he didn't know whether to fall out of his chair laughing, or raise the percentage level that Light was Kira, because of the mental image.

"Hopefully I won't die from eating this. After all...Kira...is a freak of a killer..."

L snapped back into reality and nodded a second later, agreeing with Light's statement. Though, if he himself is Kira...then he just called himself a freak. Suddenly, Light's hand extended towards him, then landed heavily on the plate that once held the sugar-coated French toast pieces. The action made a loud noise and L froze, thinking that Light would surely wake up.

However, he still remained dead to the world.

L relaxed, as he looked at the plate that currently had Light's hand on it. There was still a fair amount of powdered sugar on the plate, which now lightly covered Light's hand. The detective frowned at this, as he gently lifted Light's hand off of the plate.

"What a waste of sugar..." he muttered, looking at the other's sugar-coated hand. A sudden thought then struck the detective. He gently pulled on Light's hand a little, bringing it closer, before leaning forward and licking a bit of powdered sugar from Light's palm.

Light's hand twitched, but he didn't wake up. Taking advantage of this fact, L continued to lick the rest of the powdered sugar off. Every once in awhile, Light's hand would twitch slightly as L's tongue danced over a few sensitive spots. But other than that, he never once woke up.

Light-kun is a very heavy sleeper...thought L, as he sucked on one of Light's fingers thoughtfully. There was a spot of sugar that wasn't coming off easily, so L decided to suck it away. His tongue wrapped around Light's finger, in an effort to get the spot of powdered sugar off. Then, for a brief moment, L's mind wandered elsewhere...as he imagined Light under him, squirming, as he pleasured him.

Wait, what? Why am I thinking about that right now? All I'm doing is licking some white stuff off of Light-kun's finger—L blushed hard and a second later, felt the blood travel to a different place, as he realized what he had just thought. ...I'm going to stop thinking. Now's not the time to be horny for Light-kun—

Before L could finish his thoughts (or even scold himself), Light moaned softly. Panicked, L quickly removed Light's finger from his mouth, moved the plate over, and set the hand back down. Thankfully, he didn't wake up, but his hand returned back to his side.

"There...all done. Kira...is finished."

The detective blinked, as he realized that Light was still sleep talking. He made himself comfortable and listened. By the tone of Light's voice, he wouldn't be talking for much longer. He should go into a deeper sleep here soon.

"Sayu, I'll...be right back. ...Gotta tell this...to a...certain someone..."

" 'Certain someone?' " repeated L, softly, as he tilted his head to the side. He was confused as to who it may be. Misa-san? No, I doubt he'd tell her. Hmmm...then maybe his father? Then again, he could've just said 'Dad.' Then, who—

"Hey, Ryuzaki...?"

"Yes?"

L flinched slightly at how loud his voice was. It took him a moment to realize that Light was still asleep; he had addressed the detective in his dreams. Will he talk back? Or—

"Guess what...?"

L waited for a moment, waiting to see if his dream-self would respond. However, Light still didn't say anything, so he spoke, "What, Light-kun?"

"I captured Kira...in my stomach..."

Before L could respond, Light laughed evilly in his sleep. The detective shuddered slightly, as the laugh sounded truly evil. I'm tempted to raise the percent of him being Kira by 5—no, 10 percent, because of that laugh. He had never heard Light laugh in his sleep, though he did giggle from time to time.

"Victory is mine! ...I have conquered over Kira! ...Ha ha! Hear...me roar! Rawr..."

L nearly busted out laughing again, as Light actually growled. Sure, it was a bit childish, but it was a growl, nonetheless. Should I lower the percentage, because of the immature growl? But he's asleep, so it wouldn't count...right?

The detective waited for a few minutes, but Light didn't say a word. Judging by his breathing pattern now, he was already in a deep sleep. There would be no more talking for tonight.

A little disappointed, L turned back towards his computer. He turned it back on and opened up a file that was titled "S.O."

"S.O." meaning "Sleep Observations."

L inputted the date and created another log on the document, describing everything before Light fell asleep, to the point where Light stopped sleep talking. The document was quite long, with the first date being nearly around the time when L first latched on the handcuffs. He then saved the document, after noting the things that he need to do—arrange it so that Light could spend time with his family...and serve potato salad to him, to see if he liked it or not.

He really never did mention, in his dream, if he liked them or not. Though, as a joke, I might put sauce on there and make it read 'Kira.' thought L with a smile, as he closed down the document. Though, knowing Light-kun, he might take it that I'm accusing him of being Kira. And he'll probably hit me. Again. I swear, Light-kun has a short fuse. I wonder what it's from...?

Almost as an after-thought, L glanced over at Light's sleeping form. Though the position that he was in was good for short naps, it was terribly uncomfortable for actual sleep. He recalled Light complaining one time, about how stiff he was when he woke up. It really doesn't seem like a comfortable position to sleep in.

L then decided that it was time for a change in pace. He shut down his computer and got out of his chair. Though they rarely used it, the detective had set aside a room just for him and Light. The only ones that could get in, were L, Light, and Watari.

The detective slowly pulled out Light's chair, while using his other arm to support him, so Light wouldn't fall. I'm not going to wake him up, just to go upstairs. Besides...he needs sleep, more than I do. I'm used to it. Light-kun is not. Once the chair was pulled all the way out, L gently scooped Light into his arms and carried him to the steps, bridal style.

He's lighter than I thought he'd be. Maybe it's because he lost weight...?

L carefully climbed up the stairs, so he wouldn't wake up Light. He stirred for a moment though, only to bury his face into L's chest and fall back asleep. The detective smiled sweetly down at him. You know...sleeping, Light-kun looks quite cute.

Once at the top of the stairs, L turned to his left and walked down the hall, until he reached the 2nd to last door on his right. Carefully, he took the key card out of his pocket and swiped it, unlocking the door. He pocketed the card and pushed the door open with his foot, as his hands were full at the moment.

L walked inside, not bothering to turn on the lights. He closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed. It was a queen-sized bed—just big enough for the two of them. The detective pulled back the covers and gently laid Light down on one side of the bed. Light adjusted almost immediately to his new surroundings, as he curled up slightly and snuggled into the pillow.

So cute...!

L couldn't help smiling to himself, as he walked onto the other side of the bed and crawled in. He made sure the chain didn't make any noise, as he pulled the covers over himself and Light. Light grabbed at them, almost instinctively, and pulled them closer to him with a content sigh.

"You really were exhausted weren't you, Light-kun?" whispered L, as he laid his head down on the pillow. Carefully, he put his arm around Light's waist and pulled himself closer. He rested his forehead against the back of Light's neck and closed his eyes.

"Ryu...zaki..."

L's eyes opened, as he heard Light mutter his name. He raised his head to see if he was awake, but Light was still dead asleep. The detective chuckled softly and planted a small kiss on Light's cheek.

"Good night, Light-kun." said L softly, as he laid his head back down, snuggled up against Light and, for the first time in a long time, fell asleep.