'Aquarious - ah, so you're a dreamer too.'

I rarely smiled.

'Yes, I can agree with that.'

But I did.


The crackling, whispery noise of Ryuuzaki eating candy was what woke Raito in the morning. It was the lullaby to which he fell asleep at night.

"Candy is bad for you, Ryuuzaki-san. The Kira case would suffer if you were to fall ill," Raito said casually, tilting his head slightly to look sideways at the continuously-typing detective.

Raito was sure that this was a dream, now. L was dead, and he was merely dreaming of routine.

The office was where their normal banter took place, simply words that flowed, watery and slippery, uncaring where they went next. Conversation was merely to soothe the irritation of boredom, so Raito thought. He was a man of action.

The computers droned their ceaseless humming, and the ghastly glare of the screen made Ryuuzaki's face look sickly and tired.

"Sugar forces the mind to wake, and it increases the flow of productivity in work."

Raito was afraid to touch him, for in that instant, he would wake up, and Ryuuzaki would disappear, like a dream, like a soap bubble.

His friend meandered towards him, shoulders hunched, eyes shadowed, and with the lemon drop still in his mouth, brought their lips together. Raito tried to resist, knowing that the moment would be over soon, but the other's eagerness overtook him with a frightening intensity. A pleasured moan echoed in the room, sounding like either of them. The kiss tasted tangy and bitter and sour, mingling with the sensuality of his probing tongue and teeth.

Ryuuzaki left him then, in a flurry of messy black hair, glassy eyes, and taste of sweet bitterness of lemon rind that evaporated into a mist at the back of his mind.

The feeling of grogginess and restlessness plagued his mind like a thick, milky cloud, but he couldn't remember what brought on the feeling. Warm puffs of breath were felt on his cheek, but it was only sunlight, streaming through the windows of early dawn.