The room was silent. The curtains were only halfway drawn, casting long streaks of dim light across the floor.

Laptops, documents, and half-eaten candy wrappers were scattered across the floor. The air in the room was a mix of the scent of sweets and old paper.

The sofa was wide, but the two people on it were not sitting apart.

Lawliet was lying back against the sofa as usual. And naturally layered on top of him was another weight—Guest.

The two were pressed together; of course, Guest had been the one to pounce on the idle man and lie prone on top of him. Her legs were loosely entwined with his.

Their chins rested on each other's shoulders. Guest was leaning her face against his shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world while reading a book, and L, with his face touching her shoulder, had placed his laptop on her back.

The faint glow of the screen illuminated his pale face.

L didn't find the posture particularly comfortable.

Being this close to someone wasn't something he was used to. Especially when that person was a woman. Her frame was much smaller than his, and the explicit sensation of her body made him even more uncomfortable.

He just sat there, stiff and awkward, staring down at the laptop screen.

...

Only the sound of keys clicking and the sound of pages turning as she read behind his neck could be heard.

I wonder if Light really doesn't like me... When is he coming?

Her voice drifted into his ears. Light-kun. The blonde man she had spoken to a few times recently.

Light-kun will be late today. He went to the university to submit his leave of absence.

Her sigh was followed by a whimper of complaint.

More importantly, when do you plan on moving? You are obstructing my view of the laptop.

It was the truth. While the warmth spreading through his usually cold body wasn't bad, he felt he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his work at this rate.