A small Death Note one-shot. Yays! Implied L/Light, don't like, don't read. Also, I really have to thank one of my best friends, Tubular Fox, for editing this. She's awesome, go read her stuff. She likes Inception :3
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. But, I have an L plushie, and I'm satisfied with that.
A quick glance at the clock, the sounds of silence broken only by the clacking of keys. It was another late night, possibly sleepless night, for L. The Kira case would nag at his conscious, preventing him from taking more than an hour of rest at a time. The detective was as quiet as possible in his research, trying not to disturb the sleeping Light next to him on the couch. Luckily, Light was a rather heavy sleeper, he observed. The glow from his laptop cast a eerie blue-white glow around the room, the light adding an almost angelic pallor to the sleeping one. L smiled slightly as Light muttered something in his sleep, before turning back to his work. It was times like this he almost regretted chaining the two of them together. He was thirsty and craving a piece of cake, yet if he moved, Light would surely fall off the couch. L didn't dare to wake him, after experiencing how testy a half-asleep Light was.
"It would be much simpler if Yagami-kun admitted he was Kira. Or perhaps, it is as he said, I want him to be Kira," L whispered. But since Light would never admit to being the infamous murderer, the detective was forced to investigate any possible leads as to whom Kira may be.
When his vision faltered for a moment, L rubbed his eyes with his unchained hand. 47 hours, 45 minutes, and 36 seconds with no sleep. I've nearly tied my record, he thought as his hands resumed typing. He barely noticed the sleeping genius beside him awakening.
"Ryuzaki? It's three in the morning," Light told him, sounding vaguely disapproving even through a haze of sleepiness.
"So it is."
"I expected you to be asleep by now," Light pressed as he challenged L to come up with a reason he wasn't.
"I've got a few more leads to follow up on," L told him, ignoring all eye contact. He was a liar, though; he'd just finished following up on the latest lead, but he still could not sleep even if he tried.
Light sat up and sighed, "Ryuzaki, your mind won't function as well the longer you deprive yourself of rest."
"I know that, but I haven't lost the capability for rational thought quite yet." L tipped his head to give Light a small, teasing smile before locking his eyes back onto his laptop screen.
"How long have you been awake?" Light asked, finally seeming to give up.
"Not too long."
Another lie…hmm, perhaps I'm spending to much time with Yagami-kun and picking up some of his traits. What am I thinking? Am I so hell-bent on wanting him to be Kira? And we...care about each other...This is not rational thought, L reasoned in his mind.
Light sighed again, but seemed to regain some of his earlier fight as he pinned L with a look and said, "Ryuzaki, you know as well as I do that everyone working this case needs rest. That includes you. Not only that, the circles under your eyes have darkened in the past couple days. You're lying to me, and not only that, you're doing it badly. Now, how long have you been awake? Now tell me the truth."
"47 hours, 57 minutes, and 27seconds."
"Practically two days," Light muttered, shaking his head. "And how much sugar did you have to devour to stay awake that long?"
"Actually, Yagami-kun, I haven't had any sugar in the past six hours. That probably means I will crash soon, and then I will get at least some rest. I'm 89% sure of it," L told him, fighting the urge to rub his eyes again.
"At least that's something, but you shouldn't have to crash in order to get some sleep." Light seemed to take a minute to think, then he ordered, "Put the computer down. Studies have shown that you actually stay awake longer if you spend more time on the computer."
L complied and placed his laptop, still turned on and open, onto the coffee table.
Light smiled.
"Good," he said, leaning over to shut the device down. "Now close your eyes and rest."
"It isn't as simple as that," L informed him patiently.
"What do you mean?"
"It's the case," L admitted. "I can't sleep. It's always nagging in my mind, keeping me awake. There is this persistent thought that if I sleep, I'm loosing valuable time. Time in which I could catch Kira."
"I had no idea, Ryuzaki," Light said, sounding concerned. "You should have told me. Maybe I can help."
Kira would say the same thing, L's mind insisted, but the genius shook his head slightly to clear it, and then a little more to deny Light. "Thank you, Yagami-kun, but I don't require your help."
"I'm afraid I insist. Here, lie down. Come on, just do it."
Light had moved to the edge of the couch, leaving enough room for the investigator to lie down, curled up, with his head resting on Light's shoulder. Smiling gently, Light wrapped an arm around his colleague and started to hum, drawing an old melody from the past.
"When did you learn to sing?" L asked, his voice sounding tired and far-off.
"Sayu had trouble sleeping when she was little. Dad was working nights then, and my mom would be sound asleep when Sayu woke up. That left me to take care of her, and I found singing worked best. Now shut up, close your eyes, and let your mind go blank-or at least try to concentrate on the song," Light told him. He hummed the opening melody to something, before starting to sing, his voice a smooth, soothing tenor.
Natsuhiboshi, naze akai?
Yuube kanashii yume wo mita.
Naite hanashita.
Akai me yo
Natsuhiboshi, naze mayou?
Kieta warashi wo sagashiteru
Dakara kanashii
Yume wo miru
He hummed the closing notes, letting his eyes slip shut as he remembered singing to his sister, all those years ago. When the song had ended, Light opened his eyes and looked over at L. The investigator's eyes were closed, and his breathing was even and slow. It seemed as though he would finally get some rest.
Light allowed himself one, small smile and used his foot to gently shut the the laptop. Settling his arm lightly around L's shoulders, he permitted his own eyes to drift closed.
"Good night, Ryuzaki."
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Yes, I know that's the song from Naruto. I like the song, and it's a lullaby, it fits.