"Are we ever going to discuss this?" Light asked, breaking the silence that seemed to be getting heavier with each passing second.

L was silent for a while but Light knew that he had heard. After a moment he finally spoke, "Discuss what?"

That was all Light's thinned patience could stand and he finally gave into the urge to yank the chain that laid between them. L instantly went flying sideways out of the computer chair and landed sprawled across the bedroom floor. The force of impact caused Light to jerk forward a bit, but not enough to bring him off the edge of the bed.

L stood slowly and glared at Light. His thumb rested on his lower lip and while his demeanor was calm, his hand was tensing slightly in irritation. Light silently wondered to himself if he'd noticed this only because he'd spent so much time with the other man. He wondered if it was normal to notice such subtle things.

"I'm sure that was uncalled for." L's voice broke his reverie and he remembered why he was angry in the first place.

"The kiss Ryuuzaki, I was talking about the kiss." He stared back, knowing he was engaging a challenge.

L accepted readily, "It really isn't something to get worked up over."

Light drew his sword. "Really? I was under the impression that inner-office dating was against policy. Not to mention I'm a suspect."

"We're are not dating. Your hormones simply got the better of you for a moment and now it is over. It meant nothing." Parry, stab, and block.

Advance, attack the weak side, go for the kill. "My hormones don't explain why you kissed me back. You enjoyed it and that scares you." Light moved from the bed and advanced on L, this time in a more literal sense.

L held his ground as the younger man approached him, he refused to falter even as Light was slowly closing the space between them. He had to deliver the final blow. This had to end. "Once is once."

That stopped him. Their eyes never parted but Light stopped in his tracks. It was mostly shock. L had as good as admitted that he'd enjoyed it. Light smiled inwardly, L may have won the point but the match wasn't over yet.

He brought himself closer, pushing the limit of what was acceptable until they were only inches apart. He smirked as he asked, "So what is twice?"

In the back of L's mind the possibility of Light being Kira was racing upward dangerously quickly but even as it did, his personal defense seemed to be falling. "Twice is...a mistake." Yet even though he knew this, L was human and humans make mistakes and so his hand fell away and the inches were closed and L knew he was losing.

In that moment however it didn't matter, because for one brief second he wasn't so cold. He wasn't so alone, he wasn't so miserable, and for once in his life something besides justice was prevailing.

Then it was broken. Light pulled away and as he stared into his eyes, L was unsure if he was looking at someone who would love him or someone who would kill him.

Light smiled, a mixture of victory and other unconsidered feelings. "Then, does that make three times the charm?" He pulled his arms around the man who appeared to be so deceivingly fragile, bringing their bodies closer.

L stayed calm and composed but inside he was breaking. "Three times will.." He didn't have time to finish as once again he was brought into a warmer place. This time the kiss was deeper. This would only lead to more. More heat, more breaking, more mistakes. He knew that tomorrow he would have to build new plans, new defense, around this. Tomorrow he would repair the damage. Tomorrow.

For tonight though, he would enjoy this feeling of being alive, even as his final thought haunted him. Three times will be the death of me.

A/N--Again with the damn block paragraphs! Grr...

This thing is old as sin but I just realized I never posted it on ffnet. So here it is. Eh, I still don't much care for it. Not much to say so here are the orginal comments for it:

"About this fic, I don't really like it.
The characters are over simplfied and it's a bit too sappy for DN. Over all I'm not extremely proud of it. I guess I just feel that DN deserves more from me. .

I had a friend read it and she really liked it but I still wasn't sure if I should post it. But I finally decided "Who cares?"
So if you like it, YAY! but if you don't, I don't blame you."

R&R As always critique is loved. Thank you.