Yagami Light looked down at the long chain that connected him to the famous detective L. He held up his cuffed hand and then looked at L. "Is this really entirely necessary?" he asked, seeming somewhat annoyed. He knew he wasn't Kira and he wanted to help L catch the man... or woman who was, but this seemed to be going to a slight extreme. It was definitely going to be annoying, that was for sure. And then what about sleeping arrangements. L might not sleep, but he did. And then... what about... showering? Light's face tinged pink thinking about it.

L stared at his suspect. "Light-kun, while there is even the slightest possibility that you are Kira, you realize it is necessary for me to keep strict surveillance upon your person." Though L knew he would probably have to adjust significantly to meet the younger man's needs, he was still rather proud of himself for thinking of the handcuffs. Light wouldn't be able to do ANYTHING without L knowing. The detective leaned in closer, and noticed a slight blush on Light's face. "Perhaps Light-kun is concerned about his 'personal' privacy?"

Light's blush only increased at L's words. He looked away angrily, his arms crossed over his chest. "Don't be stupid. I only meant that this seems like a lot of bother. You already have cameras everywhere, so if I were Kira and doing anything suspicious you'd catch it anyway," Light pointed out a bit huffily.

L allowed an evil grin to spread across his face. "The cameras can't catch everything, Light-kun." The detective found that he quite enjoyed making Light blush. He would have to take advantage of his suspect's vulnerability to verbal jabs as often as possible. "While this conversation is fascinating, I believe that it is tea time," he said, then added after a pause: "I hope you will join me...though I suppose you have little choice, now, do you?" Oh, yes, this was going to be very enjoyable.

"Brilliant deduction Sherlock," Light said, still in a bit of a bad mood. Later he would regret acting so childish, but right now he wasn't thinking straight and was pissed off that he would be handcuffed to L until the end of this case, or until some astounding evidence proved that he wasn't Kira. For a moment Light's face became troubled. What if I am Kira? he wondered silently. As far as he could tell, he had no recollection of doing anything wrong; no memory of killing anyone... but L was not stupid... there had to be a reason he suspected him...

L cocked his head, observing the passage of emotions across Light's face. Annoyance and anger... expected emotions from a teen whose personal space has literally been obliterated. But then the expression changed to one of thoughtful worry. Was Kira worried L would find him out? Was this a sign that Light was indeed the mass murderer?

No, it couldn't be. Light had never allowed emotions to cross his visage so freely before his confinement; why start now? Or maybe he was trying to make L think that he was different from before: By showing his expressions, it would appear that he had changed. So it could be an elaborately crafted plot.

But what if it wasn't? What if Light wasn't really Kira? What would evoke the feeling of concern from the teen?

L shook his head. This was going in circles. He wasn't going to be able to make a deduction from Light's facial expressions, at least not yet. "All right, Light-kun. Let's move to a more comfortable location," he stated abruptly, and began to tug his suspect over to a sitting room that he knew Watari had already prepared for teatime.

Light was yanked out of his thoughts by L. "Hey! Don't pull on that like I'm some kind of dog," he grumbled as he followed the older boy. Light enjoyed tea, so he didn't mind sitting down with L to have a cup. Although he did find it odd when there were more pressing matters at hand. Then again, L was probably trying to study him again. Being studied both interested and angered Light. He liked the fact that he was worth being studied at all, but annoyed by the action of it.

Light looked at the table. It did look good. He briefly thought of Misa. He knew he wasn't fond of her and he couldn't remember why she was his girlfriend. It was a great puzzlement, but one thing he knew was that she was not going to be happy with the fact that L would be accompanying them on all of their dates.

L hopped up into a plush armchair, settling into his customary odd posture. He poured himself a cup of tea and pulled a plate of cheesecake towards him before reaching for the sugar bowl. He started adding cubes to his tea.

Slightly bored with the repetitive motion of his hand back and forth from the sugar bowl to his tea, L looked up at Light. It had become a habit of his to stare at the teen, he realized. Though he really couldn't complain; his suspect was one of the most beautiful people he'd ever met, and L was more than happy to have an excuse to closely examine Light's elegant features without too much suspicion. The detective watched, entranced, at the way the afternoon sunlight glinted off of Light's chestnut hair.

Suddenly L realized that he was still adding sugar cubes to his poor tea. He quickly stopped and began to try to stir as much of it in as he could, though it looked like the liquid had just about reached its saturation point.

Light looked at L's "tea" and made a slight face. It looked more like a sludgy mixture now than tea. Light poured himself a cup and brought it up to his lips, blowing softly to cool it a bit before taking a sip. He didn't like to add sugar to his tea, or when he did he certainly didn't add very much, it messed up the pure flavor of the brew.

Light had noticed that L was staring at him. This wasn't exactly unusual; L was always staring at him, but when he noticed the abrupt stop in L's motion Light realized that L had been... distracted by him. This brought a strange deranged thought to Light's mind, that surely came from hanging around Misa too much. L couldn't possibly... like him, could he? Well, Light felt somewhat sure that they were friends... kind of, but that was all, friends and colleagues. Light was feeling flustered by this. His face flushed, but he inwardly blamed it on the warm steam coming from his cup.

L avoided looking at Light for a while, pretending to be distracted by the cake and tea in front of him. When he had eaten all but the strawberry (his favorite part, that he always saved for last), he finally looked up again. "So, Light-kun..." he stopped when he saw the slight flush on the teen's face. "Is everything well?" he asked, vaguely concerned.

Light looked up from his tea. "I think I'm coming down with a slight cold," Light lied, "My sleep patterns drastically changed ever since I started helping with this case." He shrugged a little. "It's nothing to worry about," he said. Light took another sip of his tea, glancing up at L as he did. For a man who was technically older than him, and probably in many ways vastly more mature... he could seem so childish at times. Like a little kid that you just wanted to hug.

"On the contrary, Light-kun. A cold is something that should be taken care of right away, before it turns into something much worse," L replied, moving a thumb to his mouth. The little glance Light had just given him... had it been coy? Or was L's brain simply projecting its own little...fantasies...onto the world around him? It would definitely be the first time the detective's observational skills had failed him in that way. He usually prided himself on his objectivity. "Anyway, I suggest we go to bed early, if you're feeling under the weather. I'll have Watari cook some soup for you."

Light tilted his head to one side, looking at L for several long moments before he asked a question that he had been wondering about for some time. "Do you actually... sleep?" he asked. It seemed such a silly question, but truth be told he had never seen the older boy sleeping. He never seemed to tire and he was constantly devouring sugar and caffeine. Light blushed, feeling kind of dumb. He knew for a fact that the human body could not survive without rest and eventually, even if L didn't want to his body would force him to sleep if only a little bit. He knew all that, but he wondered, did L ever sleep like a normal person, for a full 6-8 hours.

L smiled slightly. "Indeed, Light-kun. I do sleep. I simply go to bed later and wake up earlier than most other people." He took a sip of his tea-flavored sugar. "I fall into REM sleep faster than is normal, so it is not necessary for me to rest as much. I also take occasional naps, when no one is looking," he added. "But Light-kun should not worry. I will not let my abnormal habits interfere with your nightly sleep requirements."

Light smiled a little. "Thank you L," he said softly, "I appreciate that." The younger boy took another sip of the warm liquid. It felt nice going down his throat and made him relax more. His face was flushing again. Light felt kind of funny. Maybe he really was coming down with a cold. "It's good to know that you do get rest," he said softly, "For a while it seemed like you didn't sleep at all. I mean... I know you had to sleep, but it didn't seem like you ever slept... regularly.."

"It is completely understandable, Light-kun," the detective answered, contemplating his strawberry. "I do not make it a habit to seem 'regular;' you are certainly not the first person to come to such a conclusion." He popped the red fruit into his mouth, then looked up, noticing that Light's face was redder than before. "Light-kun, you really don't look too well. Please allow me to take your temperature." He stepped down from the chair, regarding the boy on the other end of the chain and cocking his head expectantly.

Light looked at the dark-haired boy in front of him. L's lips were slightly reddened from the sweet fruit and for some reason Light found he couldn't tear his eyes away. He was practically not paying attention at all. His eyes snapped up to L's eyes when he was directly spoken to. "Huh? I'm fine," Light insisted, "But if you insist." Light set his tea cup down, preparing to stand up.

L stared at the teen perplexedly. He was behaving very oddly, like he should if he was sick, but his symptoms seemed to have arrived much more abruptly than was even possible. Looking closer, he saw that Light's pupils were dilated, which was definitely not a condition of a common cold. The detective strode over to the younger man abruptly. "Light-kun, what is wrong?" he asked worriedly, placing a pale, spidery hand on his suspect's forehead and forcing him back into the chair.

Light sat back down and looked at L. His eyes narrowed slightly. "What is wrong," he repeated the question, "Well, apart from being suspected of murder and being handcuffed to another man, sleepless nights and no appetite absolutely nothing!" Light was leaning into L's face. Light covered his mouth. This was most unlike him. "Ryuzaki... I'm sorry," he said softly, "I didn't mean... well..." Light sighed, looking flustered and frustrated.

"Light-kun," L said, a tinge of sadness coloring his voice. "I am truly sorry for all of the hardships I may have caused you." He suddenly had a strong urge to hug the teen sitting before him, but managed to brush it off. Light just looked so helpless and afraid, like a lost child caught in the rain, and L supposed that the circumstances of the confinement weren't helping. However, Light's frustration only made him appear more beautiful than ever. L frowned inwardly. He really needed to stop thinking about his suspect that way. It was highly unprofessional.

He sighed and shook his head. "Well, Light-kun... As far as my suspicions and the handcuffs go, I cannot honestly dispose of either. However, I may be able to help with your physical needs for the time being."

Light was holding his head in his hands, rather ashamed of his brash behavior. He glanced upward when spoken to. "Thank you," he mumbled. He sat up again, trying to regain some composure. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to yell..." he said softly, "I haven't been feeling like myself..." Light couldn't explain it. It was like... something was missing and he couldn't place what it was.

L held straightened up (as much as he ever did... he preferred to slouch and never really made an effort to hold himself tall) and offered a hand to the teen. "Let's go for an early dinner, Light-kun. You need to eat something before you collapse." He winced as he realized that he was mostly responsible for not having made sure that his suspect ate enough... L guessed he hadn't really noticed Light's eating patterns when he was confined. That had been a stupid mistake. Well, he would try his hardest to correct that mistake while he could. The poor boy was under enough stress already without having his basic human needs ignored.

Light took the pale man's hand and stood to his feet. "I'm not very hungry," he said softly, "But if you would like." He touched his index finger to his lower lip. "Do you ever eat... non-sugary food?" he asked curiously. Since they were handcuffed together he imagined he would have found out eventually, but he was curious, the famous detective usually did not eat meals with them.

"Full of questions today, are we?" L asked, smiling softly. The way Light was resting his finger on his lips was... adorable? tantalizing? seductive? All of the above, L decided, before mentally smacking himself and looking away. "N-no. I prefer sweet foods. Though that does include all manner of fruits, which hold many vitamins and minerals..." He trailed off, cursing himself for stuttering and rambling. What in God's name was wrong with his head?

Light's eyes lit up with a questioning light. L was... stuttering? That wasn't very like him at all. "Where do you get your necessary proteins from?" he asked curiously, his eyes staying on the other boy, studying him as if to catch some other peculiar mannerism. Both of them didn't quite seem like themselves. Light's eyes moved down to the chain that connected them. He wondered how long they would be connected like this.