An unusually bright night, L noticed, the ripe low-hanging moon casting shadows in the dark. The Kira case, for all intents and purposes, was over. Three notebooks -- Higuchi's, Rem's, and Misa's -- had been burned unceremoniously. L, who avoided fire, let Soichiro do the honors. Soichiro, who had followed him so loyally, and who finally could breathe a sigh of relief when L told him Light was in the clear. Because they had uncovered two Kiras after all. Let the task force continue to puzzle it out in their minds; as long as the killings stopped, no one would question L's conclusions. After all, everyone had wanted Light to be innocent. Everyone except him.

Light was reclining against the slope of the steps, visibly sulking. His tanned skin was marbled beneath moonlight and clouds. Light-kun, a killer in defeat, his precious prize and prey, a beautiful human with a monstrous heart. L loved the boy's darkness, and hated it too. That someone who didn't need to murder in order to live could do so, with so little regret...

He thought back to his own days of stolen blood. In truth it was not so long ago, and he could still taste his victims' fear. He knew he could not undo the destruction he had wreaked across Europe, before Quillsh had found him, saved him, taught him mercy. More than anything, L aspired to become human (again? had he ever been? memory began to fail and slip between the cracks in the years), to rise above his fate, to be better. It wasn't his fault he had ended up like this. He didn't choose to be a predator. Light had chosen it. But Light also harbored some of the noblest intentions of any man L had run across. The paradox was hard to swallow. Figuratively, that is.

Light was not taking well to the changes, he could tell. It was as L had feared: a power-hungry creature like Light being poisoned into submission would be a painful process for the both of them. But it was worth it. Light's alternative was death, and L's was isolation.

"Light-kun," said L, squatting next to him on the concrete steps. "You did very well today. Your acting talents have not diminished."

"If I reveal your secret, you'll reveal mine," he sighed, as if the whole thing were a child's game. "I'm not dumb, Ryuuzaki." His eyes were cast downward and askance; he seemed angry with himself. "Still, I can't believe I couldn't figure you out. The whole time we were locked together, working on the case, battling it out in our minds, I never realized. I just thought you were a malnourished freak who never went outside."

L sucked on his cherry lollipop. It distracted him from the hunger and the brightness of the moonlight. On a whim, he held the confection up to the sky so that it just barely covered the moon. Much prettier like that, he thought: a red candy moon.

"Though now that I think of it," Light continued, "you always did have a sort of oral fixation.  Why do you eat sweets all the time, anyway?"

"Why do shinigami eat apples?" L replied rhetorically. "I get no nourishment from your food; sugar is merely a pleasure in which I indulge." He took Light's hand in his and added, "Much like this." He leaned in to drop a gentle kiss on Light's lips, pulling him closer, burying one hand in the crispness of his shirt and the other in his silky hair. The boy shifted and kissed him back, not without reluctance, but not without desire, either. He did not envy the war in Light's mind. But that would all be over soon. It would not be long before the boy's will was completely tamed. How very useful this creature would be...brilliant and beautiful and hopelessly devoted. He could not imagine Light as a mindless minion; that wasn't how it would be. The image of Misa, the picture of slavishness, flashed across his mind. Amane's memory had been wiped. In the end, L hadn't had the heart to punish her either. He wasn't so much interested in punishing criminals as stopping them. They would suffer enough in the end, and there was nothing he could do about that, even if he'd cared.

But unlike Misa, Light's memory of his crimes would stay intact. L liked him better that way.

"Let's go inside," he murmured between kisses. Light nodded his silent assent.

On their way up to L's room, they passed a sleepy-eyed Matsuda. He blinked blearily at the pair, Light's tousled hair and slightly rumpled shirt, but he only nodded a friendly acknowledgment as they passed. If anyone suspected they still harbored secrets, it was that secret. L knew people wondered, but no one spoke of it.

L's private bedroom was not the same one he had shared with Light while they were handcuffed. Unlike almost everything else in the building, it was dark and decidedly un-modern, paneled in rich mahogany and trimmed with Victorian accents. The room was large, but windowless, and all the lamps burned a dim gold hue that brought out the dark radiance in the wood. The bed was low and broad, its burgundy spread topped with a veritable wall of creamy pillows. This was L's personal retreat away from the constant glare of LCD screens. The setup was admittedly anachronistic, but he was old, after all, and somewhat stuck in his ways.

He been hoping for some time to bring Light to this room, and he'd always wondered how it would appear to him. Closing the double doors behind them, L observed Light's face as he took in his surroundings.

"This is lovely, Ryuuzaki," he said. It was not the reaction L had anticipated -- he didn't think he'd ever heard Light use that word. "I had no idea this was here..."

His voice trailed off as L began to massage his shoulders. It was so hard to keep his hands off Light. A jewel of a boy, perfect to a fault, righteous to the point of evil. A fascinating study in human character. He wondered, as he brought Light down onto the bed with him, whether he would still love Kira had he not been so mind-breakingly beautiful. Perhaps he would. But Light was beautiful, all his tight curves and angles, the amber eyes that could sear like fire. And L was in love. It was not the first time, but it was the first time in a long, long while.

Light sank back into the pillows as L climbed on top of him. He unbuttoned Light's shirt delicately with teeth and tongue while his hands unfastened the boy's khakis. L was drawn to the boy's warmth, ultra-sensitive to the hot pulse of blood beneath the skin of Light's groin. Parting the front of Light's boxers, he nuzzled the growing hardness there. He smelled wonderful, as always, and he tasted...

"Ryuuzaki," Light panted, "Oh god..."

L took Light's cock into his mouth and felt the boy tense up suddenly.

"Does this make you nervous, Light-kun?" he asked, between small sucks. "Are you afraid of me? You've already been bitten once."

"Not...there," said Light. L's sole response was a long slow upward lick from base to tip, making Light writhe. He looked gorgeous like that, his back arched and his neck bared, so slender and inviting. When he went down on Light, he aimed for a perfect balance between depth and delicacy. Fangs tend to interfere with oral sex, L had discovered, but he was well practiced by this point. They'd both made use of their time in chains. Light was moaning, winding his fingers through L's hair, but he still seemed wary and restrained. As he sucked, L could taste the wealth of blood beneath; it was what gave skin its flavor, along with the salts of exertion. Too tempting, Light-kun, L thought as he unzipped his own jeans.

Light winced as L's teeth scraped the inside of his thigh. It was nothing, really, just a shallow nick, just enough to let a trickle of blood flow freely down into the crease of his ass. With his ever-ready tongue, L smeared scarlet over Light's opening, licking up stray traces to coat his fingers. Nothing ever went to waste. Pushing Light's legs apart, he slid a finger wetly inside, and Light gasped, struggling to relax. Blood still seeped slowly from the small wound, and L collected it, rubbing it over his own erection. He probed Light deeper, stretching him not quite gently, relishing the teenager's little moans and the firm moist contraction around his fingers.

"You will never resist," said L as he slid into Light. "You will always give in to me, Kira." Even as he spoke he was overwhelmed with blissful sensation. He grabbed Light's slender thighs, digging his dull nails in, and thrust into him again with a beastly hunger.

"Aaanh, Ryuuzaki!" Light moaned, his eyes squeezed shut. L slid nearly entirely out and then in again, his own eyes rolling backwards in their sockets from the pleasure. Fucking Light was nothing new, but this time it seemed more gratifying than ever before. Perhaps using blood for lubrication had been a bit excessive, but no matter. It had certainly whetted his appetite for more. As he drove in and out steadily, his gaze fell and fixated on the throbbing veins in Light's neck. The twin puncture marks from the night before looked dark and slightly swollen. At this point, he knew, there was no use resisting temptation. His thrusts slowed as he nuzzled Light's neck affectionately, licking up sweat, priming the place he would strike. He kissed the old mark softly. He really did have feeling for this boy, despite everything, he thought as he bit him anew. This blood...it was the best he'd tasted in ages. He drank eagerly and deeply. Light was struggling ever so slightly, teeth clenched, tears clustering behind his lashes. God it had been so long since he'd done this, really done this, fresh blood mingled with that special sex-scented sweat...he had not forgotten what his lower body was doing, after all. It was all so automatic, a trance state wherein all his senses flooded with delight. Light. This was his. He could make it all his, now...

...but he had to wait. Yes, he'd wait, he'd draw it out, because face it, he was in love. He was in love with this mastermind, the genius that would not be dulled by slow enslavement; in love with the lustrous beauty of this golden boy, all lean muscles and throaty moans; in love with his own victory over Kira and the sheer luck that the murderer he sought had been such a magnificent creature. Kira was his pet now. This was his reward, and he would reap it forever.

"Ryuu -- "

Beneath him, Light was growing pale, cool sweat beading on his brow. He had to stop...this...Light would...

A final taste and he released him, stemming the flow with a few quick kisses. Light continued to bleed, but it was slow now, and slowing. His eyes were closed and his chest shone damply, rising and falling in shallow turns. Hovering over him, L almost felt regret.

"Come," L said, pulling Light up into his lap and leaning back on the bed. "Ride me." The weakened boy's arms quivered as he regained his bearings, still impaled on L's cock. "Do it," L urged. "You'll feel more yourself if you take some control."

Light nodded, his tawny hair darkened with sweat. "Damn right I will," he said. He touched the place where L had bitten him and winced. "Goddamn you sick bastard."

"I am sorry, Light-kun --"

"Forget riding you! I'm going to fuck you!" Light was showing some spirit again, and L couldn't help but smile. "Don't pretend I haven't done it before, Ryuuzaki. You think I'm going to submit to you all the time now, just because...?"

"Yes," said L, easing him forward softly, "I do think that. Can you not already feel it? Or do you need me to --"

Light was still shaking and pale, but the fire in his eyes raged. "Of course I feel it," he growled. "You're sapping my will. You're... changing me. I don't know if I'm becoming...like you, or something else."

"It can't be helped," L replied. "But as lifetime imprisonment goes..." he stroked Light's cock slyly, "...it could be worse, ne?"

Resigned to pleasure, Light nodded. Rolling his hips forward, his hands pressed against L's ribs as he drove himself down onto his cock. He rocked steadily, bracing himself against L, then against the bed, then against L once more, searching as always for perfection. L knew Light had found an angle he liked when the boy let out a small cry and doubled his pace. Confidence came into his eyes as he began to drive their motion. Perched astride L's pale hips, Light looked like a golden god on an ivory throne. In truth, this all-too ambitious killer had never even approached the level of a god...but his body, that was something divine indeed. Angelic, at the very least. The soft gold lamplight cast a honey color to his skin and hair. His lips were slack and his eyes languid, but his cock was fully erect, and L fondled it as their bodies rocked together. Light moaned again, his balls pressing warmly against L's abdomen, and L wrapped his hands around behind Light's ass, that tight, perfect ass which was practically dominating his cock. "Light...oh, yes, Light-kun, ride me just like that --"

"Fuck," Light gasped. "Ryuuzaki, you're making me do all the work now...but..." He shifted his weight forward again so their faces could have touched, and L reached up to kiss him. Light's rhythm didn't falter, he just rode L as the vampire leaned in and licked up the streaks of dried blood that marred his neck. This time Light didn't even bat an eye when L drew near, so far gone was he in the heated lull of sex. L kissed him desperately and was met with equally desperate lips. Something about it reminded L of their very first kiss, back in the days of infinite mind games and ever receding probabilities. Everything was out in the open now, everything...He might have mourned for their rivalry, if he hadn't been confident it would continue through future investigations. And even here, it was a pleasure to watch the boy regain a bit of contentiousness. He'd never liked anything that was easy. And he'd have to up the ante a little now, at least, where he could.

"Get on your stomach, Light-kun," he ordered. Light paused and slipped off him without argument, but L forced him down anyway, because he could. He wanted to test the limits of Light's obedience. It mattered. If he'd wanted Misa, he would have taken her instead.

"Umf," Light groaned as L bent him over the edge of the bed. This time he did resist a little as L positioned himself behind him and spread him wide. Light's ass was getting raw and the blood they'd used for lube had dried -- a problem that took care of itself easily enough when L forced his way back inside. Light screamed at the blistering force with which L could move now that he had no reason to hide his strength. At this speed, he could make Kira bleed for him yet again. Just a little. Just enough.

"Nnngh! Ryuu...zaki, oh --"

L said nothing. He only watched, delighted, as Light writhed beneath him, and relished the pleasure that drowned his senses. Just a little longer now for both of them. A small red stream coursed down Light's thigh and transferred onto L's as their bodies pounded together. Light's hands balled up in the rumpled bedspread and he screamed again -- a wild, primal scream that L knew well -- and tossed back his head in climax. L petted him and planted a few sensuous kisses down his spine before plunging into a brutal finale. It would be a long twenty seconds for Light's body, he knew, as he gave his very last measure before ecstasy took him too.

He collapsed on top of Light and pulled him into an embrace. They lay entwined like that on the bed for a full minute before Light made any effort to move. L, who had never closed his eyes, watched and awaited his beloved's recovery. At last, Light stirred in his arms and blinked up at him. The flame in his eyes had subsided somewhat.  He looked young.

"How do you feel, Light-kun?"

"As if you care," he answered weakly, but his voice was playful.

"I do," said L, gently moving Light into a place where he could lick the white and red ribbons of fluid from his body. "I care about Light-kun very much."

"I'm alright," Light said. "Ooh." He shivered a little as L lapped up the last of their co-mingled fluids. "Okay now you're tickling me."

He was really quite cute, for a diabolical villain, thought L. He considered tickling Light deliberately, but decided the boy had suffered enough.

"Your wounds will heal unnaturally quickly," he told his pet. "At least, the ones I've inflicted. I don't intend to use you and throw you away, as you once did me."

Light shook his head and lay back on the bed, his nude body the picture of exhaustion. "You have defeated me thoroughly, L."

"No, I do believe you outwitted me in some sense." He chewed on his thumb, and could sense Light noticing the mannerism. "Under the assumption that I'm human, which, though false, is understandable, Kira's plan was perfect. You couldn't have known I was immune to the Death Note."

"And you made such a scene about protecting yourself," Light replied. "You just had to pretend you were vulnerable, to mask your nature, is that it?"

L curled up next to him. "No. For all I knew, I was vulnerable to Kira. Technically, I am not any more immortal than Rem turned out to be. It was only when I saw the notebook for myself, and read the rules, and recognized it was indeed a shinigami we were dealing with, that I knew I was safe. Shinigami have no power over the undead."

"Did you ever figure out what happened to Rem?" Light asked.

L shook his head. "No...it puzzles me still, why writing my name and Watari's at that moment destroyed her, and why she would do so, since surely she knew."

"Because she did it to protect Misa," the boy answered smugly. "To kill a shinigami, you just have to make them fall in love with a human."

L's eyes widened. So that was it.

"I assume it doesn't work that way for vampires," Light smirked.

With a resigned smile, L sighed. "No, it quite obviously doesn't."