LxL Sleeping Corpse

Azriel1988 Birthday Drabble:

LxLight: Sleeping Corpse

After being attached to the detective for so long, forced against instinctive sleep to continue the on-going process of reading reports over and over, seeing the raven-head detective sleep was quite out of the ordinary. Even weirder was seeing the detective's mouth partly open but not spilling any blasphemous words of suspicion or stuffing it with something sweet. L's breathing was so shallow it looked as though he were not breathing. His pale skin and still chest made Light feel like he was sleeping next to a corpse.

And though Light was so tired and knew the seconds were ticking away before L would bound up and pull him back downstairs to the investigation room, he could not tear his eyes away from his face. His eyelashes were so long they touched his cheeks when they closed. His lack of sleep was impoverished to his health, making him sleep into instant REM as soon as his head hit the pillow.

“Light-kun,” L mumbled in a drowsy sleep-filled voice, eyebrows just slightly twitching.

Light's own brown eyebrows rose slightly when he heard his name. He did not say anything, though.

“Is there something you need?” One obsidian eye opened to stare at his bound companion. “Watching me while I sleep is very suspicious.”

“It's nothing,” Light said quickly, turning his gaze away.

L pulled himself upright, the chain clinked as he moved and leaned back on his elbows. “If something is the matter, I would advise Light-kun to inform me on his conflict.”

Light laid his head on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. “Did you know you look dead when you sleep?”

“Does Light-kun wish for me to be dead?”

“Of course not.” Light turned his head to look at the older detective. “But when you sleep you don't look like you're breathing. I'm afraid I'll wake up one morning handcuffed to a corpse.”

“I see. And the suspicion will fall on you as the one who killed me. That is what you are worried about.”

“No it isn't!” Light turned his head away to look at the window. The curtains were drawn to block out the city lights. “You may think that I'm Kira, but when I see you sleep, I'm always afraid that Kira has gotten you. Like I said, you hardly breathe and barely move.”

“If I did die in my sleep, Light-kun should not worry. He is smart enough to evade the others of suspicion.”

Though Light did not look, he could feel those owl-like eyes staring at him, waiting for something out of place to be noted. Light ignored him and continued to stare at the shadowy lights illuminating the curtain.

He assumed L would roll back over and fall back to sleep since every second awake should be used for investigating but was caught off guard when the detective grabbed his hand and placed it over his sternum.

Baffled, Light turned his head and looked L over with a cursory glance. His hand was still pressed firmly against L's chest, which was oddly warm for his cold appearing skin.

“If Light-kun wonders if I'm alive,” L said, vibrations tingling Light's fingertips, “Then all he has to do is feel my heart beat.”

Light did not know what to say. He did not remove his hand when L removed his, though. He felt the steady muscle beat just below bone a few seconds longer. The raven-head settled back down on his back. As quickly as a blink, he was asleep, still as a corpse.

The brunet suspect moved closer to the detective's warmth and laid his head on his chest when L lifted an arm in welcome. The pattern of beats was soothing. Hearing the vital organ pump life-giving blood beneath such a corpse-like body put Light at ease.

Every night since then, he would place his head on L's chest just to hear him breathe again.