A/N: A short Raito/L piece written when I was supposed to be doing my AP World History assessment. This may or may not be continued, depending on reader response, so be sure to review.

In case anyone notices or cares, yes, I know the REM times aren't right, but I'm beyond caring. Who knows what the sleep patterns are like in Japan?

Rating: PG-13, for mentioning of sex and such. This will most likely change if the story continues, however.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Death Note. Hence, I disclaim it. See how it works?

Summary: While struggling to fall asleep one night, L discovers just what Raito dreams about, changing his entire perception of the odd Yagami boy... L/Raito slash.

Neko

L couldn't sleep.

The fact that he couldn't sleep wasn't really surprising to L. After all, not only was he accustomed to going for days without sleep, but he had also consumed too much coffee and way too many sweets during the day for his body to settle down anytime soon. L predicted that his sugar and caffeine buzz would finally run out in approximately an hour or two, increasing his chances of falling asleep to seventy-five percent.

L sighed, slumping back against the headboard. Used to sleep or not, surely slumbering was better than sitting up all night, doing nothing, letting meaningless calculations run through his head for hours. Turning his head, L glanced at the digital clock that sat blinking on a nearby nightstand. It was 3:00 AM.

L had been sitting there, awake, doing nothing, for four hours.

Sighing again and thudding his head lightly against the headboard, L groaned. It'd been four hours since Raito had dragged him off to bed forcibly, yanking on the chain that connected them, threatening murder if he was prevented from sleeping any longer. It'd been three and three-quarter hours since Raito had deeply fallen into sleep from exhaustion, not stirring a bit. It'd been two and a quarter hours from when Raito had entered his first REM period of the night, shifting slightly in the bed and murmuring unintelligible things, his eyes darting about beneath his eyelids, watching the dream only he could see.

The first REM period had lasted exactly fifteen minutes, followed by thirty solid minutes of NREM sleep, followed by half-hour period of REM, before lapsing back into NREM sleep once again. L found it relatively amusing that Raito's sleep patterns were so precise. While it was in Raito's nature to be exactly and anal about little things, he hadn't expected it to carry over unconsciously. Then again, there had been a sixty-eight percent chance that it would have, so L supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised.

L thudded his head against the wall again, trying to get all the meaningless figures his brain had accumulated out of his mind. He was probably going insane from the lack of mental stimulation.

A quick calculation of his family history and current psychological well-being confirmed the possibility: there was a thirty-seven percent chance that he, L, would go insane for one reason or another.

L mentally hit himself. Hadn't he just resolved to stop doing pointless equations in his head for the night? Resentful, L cast a glance at Raito, who was sleeping peacefully to his left, his breathing measured and even.

It wasn't fair that Raito got to sleep so easily while he, L, had so much trouble. He was the one leading the entire investigation, so surely he deserved sleep and rest more than Raito did?

Sleep was pointless, anyway, L decided, at least in such large quantities. While such a luxury was nice, he had trained his body to survive on a mere two hours per night for dreaming, healing, replenishing neurotransmitters, and everything else, while Raito required a massive seven or eight. So whilst Raito was slumbering peacefully for an eon or two, L was left awake for five hours with nothing to do.

Raito had forbidden him from bringing the laptop to bed, claiming the tapping of the keys disturbed him. He had also rejected the idea of watching TV, as the noise kept him awake. Reading required a light, which was forbidden, and music was out of the question, so L was left with nothing to do for five hours a night but sit and think.

It was no wonder the chances of him going insane were so high.

L sighed. He'd considered bringing up the issue with Raito, but he knew the teen would only respond in some sarcastic manner that there wouldn't be a problem if he would simply unlock the chain that bound them.

Rolling his eyes, L bounced his head off the wall again, enjoying the slight endorphin rush it provided. Sometimes, being the world's best detective was the worst job in the world.

A slight stirring and quiet noise to his left alerted L to the fact that Raito was entering his third REM period of the night. Although a bit of a sleep talker, Raito was mostly subdued during his dreaming periods. This proved more amusing for L than anything else, and he had begun looking forward to the times when Raito would dream.

Raito's first dream had been some unintelligible gibberish about his sister, but the second proved far more amusing, in which Raito had somehow gone to class with nothing but his underwear on. Raito's embarrassed murmurings and ashamed mutterings had amused L greatly, much more than the first dream had. L idly wondered what Raito was dreaming of now. He supposed he would find out soon enough.

Beside him, Raito shifted a bit more, murmuring something unintelligible, until he lay flat on his back. L observed him patiently, waiting for the show to begin.

He did not have long to wait.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, began to move slightly, murmuring things quietly, signaling the beginning of his dream. Amused, L sat back to watch.

This dream seemed different than the others, L noted. For one thing, Raito hadn't settled down as he had before, instead continuing to squirm about a bit on the bed. He hadn't spoken yet, either, instead only quiet whimpers coming from his lips. His brow seemed to be coated in a fine sheet of sweat, despite the chill of the room, and his eyes didn't fidgit underneath their lids as much as they should have.

L frowned. This was unusual for Raito. Normally, Raito dreamed of pointless, everyday things, such as college, his family, computers, his friends, and exhibited symptoms of such. But now, with such strange reactions, L couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong. Maybe he should wake him up.

Raito may have been a pain at times, but he was, in the end, his friend.

Raito squirmed again, murmuring something in a strangled tone. L's eyebrows rose. It was possible that Raito was having a nightmare, he supposed. After all, nightmares accounted for twenty-seven percent of all dreams.

L watched sympathetically as Raito shifted again, sharply, this time, his face scrunched up, as if in pain. His legs moved slightly, twitching, and his hands clenched and unclenched as well. He had nightmares too, and he knew they weren't fun. L wondered what Raito could be dreaming of that was so terrifying. Perhaps some nameless monster was chasing him, or maybe Kira was trying to hunt him down, or perhaps Misa was trying to get him to take her out. L snorted at his last idea. That was a terrifying thought indeed.

Raito moved again beside him, whimpering, and L had just about decided to wake up his bedmate when Raito moved again, this time murmuring a word.

"More," he whispered.

A slow grin spread across L's face, as he sat back, immensely amused. So that was what Raito was dreaming about. It certainly explained why he had been tossing and turning and rolling about, as well as justifying his whimpers and sweating. L supposed he hadn't come to such a conclusion earlier simply because he hadn't considered it. After all, he and Raito worked together, an it was hard to view him as a sexual being.

Nevertheless, it was highly entertaining to watch as Raito squirmed about on the bed, murmuring and whimpering for more.

As Raito tossed and turned, L considered. While nightmares accounted for twenty-seven percent of all dreams, erotic ones accounted for about seven percent, increasing to nineteen percent when the dreamer was still an adolescent, with all the hormones and what not. Now that he considered the probability of it all, L silently acknowledged the fact that it was completely normal for Raito to be having a dream like this, and he should have considered it as well before coming to the conclusion of a nightmare.

A lapse, certainly, on his part, but an understandable one. L was not one to think along sexual lines in most circumstances.

L watched as Raito's breath began to quicken, coming out of his mouth in short little gasps. The boy moaned quietly, his voice husky as he urged his imaginary lover on, begging for more, and L couldn't help but be intrigued by it all. It was interesting to see Raito in this new light of being a sexual creature. And now that he was seeing it, L found it fascinating.

Wondering who he was dreaming about, L silently regarded the boy, his eyes absorbing the sight, storing it away for future reference. Now that he considered it, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to see Raito in a sexual light. The thin sheen of sweat coating his forehead glistened softly in the little moonlight the permeated the room, dampening his bangs, and L felt an odd compulsion to wipe it away. The little noises Raito was making were endearing, and L found himself smiling into the darkness, despite the oddity of it all.

Raito moaned loudly, and L jerked slightly, startled, as Raito's hips bucked as he groaned in his sleep. The boy continued his moaning, in short, needy sobs, and L found himself hardening slightly beside himself. Mentally reassuring himself that he was most likely responding in such a way due to the theory of psychological projection, L pushed the issue out of his mind, ignoring his body as Raito twitched and moaned.

Nevertheless, L couldn't help but feel more and more aroused as Raito thrashed about on the bed, moaning and groaning, murmuring the occasional 'please' or 'more'. There was something decidedly erotic, he decided, about seeing someone experiencing something so personal without them having any awareness of what was going on. The fact that it was another boy only made it more exciting. Forbidden fruit was always the sweetest, after all.

L wondered idly if this was going to change his perceptions of Raito in the future. While he would undoubtedly be affected slightly, it was likely that the change would be slight. Raito's behavior was perfectly natural, and L could rationalize his own response as one of a normal teenage-observer. It was likely anyone in his position would react in the same way.

Raito groaned and rolled over completely, now lying on his stomach, his head tilted to the right as he moaned quietly. L watched, fascinated, as he winced and grimaced slightly, before letting out a long, husky groan that sent a stabbing feeling of lust straight to his groin.

Mentally trying to decipher Raito's behavior as the boy began rocking into the bed slowly, L watched with one eye as his thoughts raced. He had thought Raito had been dreaming of Misa Misa, but from Raito's behavior, it seemed he was wrong. While his girlfriend was the most plausible lover for Raito to dream about, that didn't explain the wince of pain he had saw on Raito's face.

Still, no one else really made sense. It was possible that Raito had conjured up some imaginary lover in his mind, but that still didn't make much sense. Intercourse never hurt the penetrator, only the receiver, if the girl was a virgin. Unless he was dreaming about being a girl, L couldn't figure out what was going on. He watched, still puzzled, as Raito continued his rocking. It seemed as if the boy's movements were more back towards the air then in to the bed, as would have made sense.

Mentally deciding to dismiss the issue, L watched as Raito moaned again, rocking his hips, murmuring in his sleep again, this time, a name.

"Ryuuzaki..." he hissed.

L froze. Realization flashed into his mind as he suddenly understood: the grimace of pain, the rocking backwards instead of forwards, the rolling over... it suddenly all made sense.

Raito was dreaming about him.

And more than that, he was dreaming about him in a sexual way, despite their differences, and dreaming about being the uke, of all things.

L's eyes widened, astonished, as Raito moaned his name again, louder this time, and moved quicker in his sleep. It was hard to picture Raito as interested in him, a boy, and an average one nonetheless, while Raito was a picture of the masculine ideal. Yet, here was the evidence, right in front of him, as indicated by Raito's clear lust.

Rationally, L knew that dreams gave no indication of one's orientation, as they were purely the subconscious' playground, and therefore Raito's dream was no indication if he was nanshoku or not, but currently, L was too much in shock for any of this to register. All he knew was that Raito was having an erotic dream about him, and, from his obvious pleasure, he was enjoying it.

L certainly hadn't expected this when he had agreed to go to bed.

Raito's breath shortened considerably, his moans turning to needy whimpers, and L shifted over on the bed, moving away from Raito, knowing from experience what was about to occur. Sure enough, mere moments later, Raito's whole body tensed, and with a loud cry of "Ryuuzaki!" he came hard, arching into the bed.

L quickly slipped under the covers, resting his head on his pillow cautiously, facing away from Raito, who continued to moan for another long moment, before stopping suddenly.

L shut his eyes tightly, trying not to breathe. There was an eighty-four percent chance that Raito had just woken up, and he really didn't feel like telling Raito what he had just witnessed.

A minute later, L felt Raito turn over and sit up on the bed, before muttering something that sounded vaguely like 'not again!' in disgust as his body made a squelching sound as it moved in his pajamas.

"Ryuuzaki?" Raito asked quietly, shaking L gently. "Ryuuzaki?"

L turned over reluctantly and opened his eyes slowly, feigning sleep. "What is it, Raito-kun?" he murmured. "It's not time to get up yet."

"I have to go to the bathroom," he told him, and L caught the slight tell-tale flush on Raito's face that gave away the fact that he knew what he had just dreamed about doing.

"Can't you hold it?"L groaned, pretending to roll over to go back to bed.

"C'mon, Ryuuzaki. I really have to go," Raito said, his tone taking on an edge. Giving in, L shoved back the covers, rolling his eyes.

"Fine," he said sleepily, feigning a wide yawn as he unlocked the cuffs. "Just hurry up."

Not needing to be told twice, Raito promptly went to the bathroom, picking up a new pair of pajamas on his way.

"You're changing as well?" L asked idly, looking into the darkness.

"These ones are coated in sweat. I must have had a night terror," Raito said, the lie slipping easily from his lips. "I'll be back in a moment." The door shut behind him, and L saw the light flicker on beneath the crack of the door.

Reclining on the bed, L looked up at the ceiling as he turned these new developments over in his mind. It was apparent that this had not been the first time Raito had had such a thing had happened, judging from the way Raito had lied so quickly and had a spare set of pajamas ready. And while one dream could be excused, multiple occurrences of such was an indication of attraction, if not lust.

Despite everything that had happened, L smiled. Things would certainly be more interesting from now on, and he was looking forward to seeing what would happen next.

¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤

If you read this, please review and let me know what you think. Please, review!