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SUMMARY: Light is annoyed at being stuck with L in handcuffs and he lets off steam by teasing him, even if it might be a dangerous move on his part. This is set during the Yotsuba arc shortly after Light points out that the deaths caused by Kira seem to be benefiting that corporation.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Whew. This one is looong. And no, this one is not yaoi. I can do more than smut, you know. You may have noticed that I’m not very good at summaries, at least not without telling exactly what’s going to happen in the end, and so I settle with the “less is more” approach of giving one- or two-sentence summaries. But I suppose that’s what a summary is…? Telling the reader what is going to happen, but not exactly revealing the end? I have yet to perfect this art.
I hope you enjoy this piece all the same.


Clouds in my coffee
---

Watching you watching me. Heh. That phrase has never been as appropriate as it is right now.

The world’s greatest detective sits beside Light, eyes flicking from his computer to the surveillance monitors and back every few minutes. Light notices that his attention largely focuses on the monitors in the top two rows where the camera feeds come from Misa’s room and this one, but his gaze especially likes to roam over the second screen from the left in the second row, which shows them both where they are sitting. The eccentric investigator is probably still looking out, if not overtly searching, for some sign of Kira in their midst. That thought never puts Light in a good mood.

He continues to gaze at the oddball out of the corner of his eye while waiting for his computer to finish a search he has inputted. Raven hair is in its usual haphazard mess: fluffy yet spiky at the same time, with a lock or two obscuring an onyx eye, a stark contrast against unhealthily pale skin. The slightly-too-big, long-sleeved shirt and baggy jeans cling loosely to his slender frame as he sits in his usual position, hunched up on the chair with his toes curled around the edge of the seat. He munches on a mouthful of the rich, double chocolate cake Light declined earlier as he continues running through the data they’ve come up with on the Yotsuba Corporation.

Now that the he has gotten some motivation back with this new lead in Yotsuba, L has returned to his regular, insomniac self, spending long days and nights running through the data they slowly but surely acquire.

L blinks midnight eyes for the first time in what seems like forever. Light watches as he blinks again. The lock of hair seems to finally be irritating his left eye. As the sleepless one blinks a third time, the brunet catches himself a tad too late reaching over to brush the lock of hair away. The unusually wide eyes immediately lock onto him, fixing him a piercing gaze before softening slightly and allowing a grin to tug at the corners of his chocolate-stained lips.

“Thanks, Raito-kun.”

Dismissing the mocking tone as a result of L’s lack of social skills and thereby faint ignorance of the importance of intonation, Light ignores the rift of annoyance that rushes through him and gets up to stretch. The chain links loudly jangle as he brings his arms up and then takes a look at his watch. Almost 9 o’clock. There is a long night ahead of them. The group hasn’t even arrived for their report.

“Let’s get some coffee, Ryuuzaki, we’re going to need it,” he says as he smoothes out his smoky green shirt and khaki pants. What he means is that, since they are chained together, the two will have to get up together to go to the kitchen. But there is no need to state the obvious.

The detective doesn’t move to get up, but instead nods and gives an affirmative “hm” as he reaches for his phone.

“Watari, would you please prepare coffee for the team? Thank you.” Wishing he could get more of a break to stretch his legs walking, Light rolls his eyes and tries again.

“Everyone will be arriving soon. Come on, let’s move to the living room.” It’s like coaxing a minx out of its cave. It would be easier if I had some cake on me, Light thinks sardonically.

L complies this time and soon enough they are sitting on the couch with Matsuda, the first to show up. Light makes sure that he and L sit as far apart as the chain allows, but doing so leaves them the only two on the piece of furniture, at opposite ends. Light’s father, Soichiro, arrives promptly at 9, followed closely by the rest. Misa passes by the room only to pop her head in and say cooing words in baby talk to Light for a moment, to his chagrin. Once everyone arrives and has settled in, L begins.

“From Yagami-kun’s findings on the Yotsuba Corporation, we have a total of twelve Kira suspects in the company out of the stack of employees Mogi-san compiled earlier.”

“Yes. From those, I would ask you to confirm and eliminate as necessary,” Light responds easily, obviously taking the other lead in this conversation, although anyone with half an ear or perhaps a decently discerning one would have realized that the ease and civility was rather forced on his part.

“I agree with all of them, Yagami-kun. Your profiling ability is excellent.”

Being chained to this socially blind man is the most trying experience Light has ever had to deal with, and the worst part is that the detective is so innocently unaware of the existence of social norms that no one can justifiably blame him for not adhering to them. Today is one of those days when Light thinks ignorance should be a crime punishable by death. Oh God, he thinks, I sound like Kira. The brunet quickly tosses the idea as far out of mind as humanly possible lest the other somehow develops telepathy. Last he checked, L has the uncanny ability to materialize all kinds of skills just when he needs them; the only failure in that ability seems to be passable social ones, unfortunately.

A thumb is brought to pale lips contemplatively. “Well, what do you think, everyone?” he opens the discussion to the rest of the investigation team.

“I think, Ryuuzaki, like Light says, it’s what you think that’s important here,” Yagami Souichirou answers without missing a beat.

It was plain to everyone that together, Light and L were the brains of the group. L is the world’s greatest detective and the leader of the investigation for good reason, and if he admires Light’s ingenuity, then they had little reason not to respect his opinions as well. Not knowing what to say in the following tense silence as the eccentric private investigator turns back thoughtfully to the information he laid out in from of him earlier–yet another testament to his social ineptitude, since anyone else would probably have reassured the others that their views did carry weight–Matsuda quickly spots a way out as Watari enters the room.

“Ah, the coffee’s here,” he announces cheerfully as Watari sets down the large tray on the side table by L’s side of the couch, since the coffee table in the middle of the room is already littered with notes and files. “Why don’t we have a drink while thinking?” Matsuda suggests sheepishly. He is quite relieved when Light is the first to get up and walk over for a cup, the chain jingling softly at his side. It makes him feel significantly less awkward about making suggestions when either L or Light finds it agreeable.

It is then that Matsuda notices what the chained young man is doing and his eyes grow almost as wide as L’s. Yagami Light is adding creamer to his coffee. It doesn’t take long to notice that Light always drank his coffee black, so the sight of him adding two spots of liquid creamer is surprising to say the least. The young man stirs the mixture, now the color of the many paper bags that litter the room from what seems to be a certain eccentric investigator’s favorite cake shop. He then calmly reaches out for the sugar bowl to add five–white, brown, white, brown and white, in that order–sugar cubes to the cup much to everyone’s shock. Even the subdirector has his eyes fixed on his son. Before anyone can comment, though, the brunet raises the cup in a swift but graceful motion and carries it the short distance to the coffee table to place it before a certain sugar addict.

Well, that’s nice of Light-kun, Matsuda thinks as he pours and mixes his own cup of coffee before handing the coffee pot back to the younger genius, who silently pours himself a cup, sipping it black as usual. The coffee gets around and everyone returns to their seats, except for Light. He stays close by L’s side, preferring to stand for the rest of the meeting…and perhaps have a bird’s eye view of the dark-haired man’s reaction. The two are separated from the group by a tangible distance now.

Meanwhile, the oddball stares at the cup with a mixture of surprise and suspicion. It is a well-known fact that he still suspects Light of being Kira despite evidence to the contrary, but it is nevertheless a surprisingly long time before the detective finally reaches for the cup, seemingly deciding that it is harmless. Wide midnight eyes widen further in astonishment at the first sip and a familiar piercing gaze returns to the brunet. Then, just as before, L smiles slightly.

“Raito-kun, did you really memorize the precise amount of cream and sugar I put in my coffee?” As simple a gesture it may be, Light bringing him coffee is so unexpected that L naturally has his suspicions. It seems I’m not the only one doing the watching. Are you looking for an opening as Kira, or is there some other reason you’re letting me in on your observation?

The college student returns the smile, certain that few, if any, would notice the slight strain in the expression. “No, I recall the color though. This coffee isn’t as strong as the last pot, so I adjusted accordingly,” he replied.

“It’s perfect, Raito-kun. I should have you make coffee for me more often.”

Matsuda looks from one genius to the other. There is something… strangely domestic about the conversation, but there is also a strained undertone that he isn’t sure if he is imagining or not.

By now, the rest of the team opposite the two on the couch, except for Matsuda, have accepted the event and have moved on to poring over the notes, shuffling through the files, and loudly discussing each suspect amongst each other. They don’t notice as Light turns to his ‘friend’ and speaks in low tones.

Light places a hand on a bony shoulder, noting with mild satisfaction the tension at his touch, and leans closer. “Are you sure about that, Ryuuzaki? Aren’t you worried that I might poison you?” he asked pleasantly, only loud enough for the slender one’s ears. He is given the same scrutiny from the same eyes as the cup had previously, and it slightly irks him that L is paranoid enough to suspect him of doing something to his coffee in front of the entire investigation team.

Twin obsidians slide from the smiling face to rest their gaze on the hand upon their owner’s shoulder. “It’s not quite your style, Kira,” the detective responds softly.

Light finds himself thinking of how L is an embodiment of opposite extremes. The older man’s voice is deep, smooth and gentle in contrast to his abrupt mannerisms while his too-thin body hides an amazing amount of strength. His posture is always entirely too relaxed, yet he is one of the most guarded and paranoid people on the planet. His sloppy appearance hides a brilliant mind that contrasts sharply with his lack of social awareness. Best of all, he can manage to say someone is his first and only friend while striving to get that same person a death sentence.

Leaning lower to deliver his next line in a murmur, Light takes some sadistic satisfaction in the shiver that the sensation of his breath on pale skin evokes. “Well… I could… put something like sodium pentathol in it and try to make you tell me your real name,” he replies, his voice practically dripping in honey.

A short pause. “Is that a confession I hear, Kira?” the detective queries, barely above a whisper and tilting his head back slightly to get the brunet’s face within his peripheral vision. Not that it mattered much, since Light probably knows as well as he that the efficacy of such so-called truth serums is highly overrated.

“What do you think, L?” Light answers back, his tone still saccharine. He isn’t Kira, of course, but the point is that L thinks he is and his obsession is mixed with conviction and paranoia.

The oddball smiles gently at that. It seems he finally realizes that Light is teasing about his paranoia. “Maybe about fourteen percent. If you or I were Kira, we wouldn’t be discussing our plans to kill each other.”

“Hm, but because you are L, you might think that I’m deliberately saying these things to make you think just that,” Light replies once again, being sure to exhale down the other’s slender neck as he speaks and delighting somewhat spitefully in the shudders that run through that willowy body.

“You see, that’s why I was depressed. Second-guessing myself like that has no closure,” L explains, leaning forward and reaching for the coffee to put some distance between himself and the brunet. Extensive physical contact with other people seems to make him uneasy, and Light is far too close for comfort. “So… Will Raito-kun keep making me coffee?” he asks playfully and at a normal volume, changing the subject as he takes a sip.

He gazes at the other’s reflection on the coffee as the younger genius straightens and smiles with mild amusement. “Maybe about…fourteen percent of the time,” the coffee reflection answers.

Somehow, Light no longer feels quite so annoyed at the strange detective anymore, and he turns back to the lively conversation still going on in front of them.

Matsuda quickly looks away, not sure what to make of the unreadable expressions he witnessed and hushed voices he strained but failed to hear. They’re all in the same room, yet those two always seem out of reach. Matsuda looks in his own cup with lament as L and Light once again take control and steer the discussion.

---
fin.

NOTE: You deserve a cookie for reading the whole thing. Seriously. I'll give you cookies.