-Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, nor the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases.-

Note: If you have not read Death Note- Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, I suggest you turn back now.

Lighting crackled outside, brightening the room for a small moment. L glanced out the window, his fingers pausing over the keyboard. He sat cross-legged on his bed, a silver laptop in front of him. The detective ran a hand through his messy, black hair, his usually wide, empty eyes half-mast and cloudy.

He was so very tired. He'd been awake for days due to the case he was currently working on and was running primarily off of sugary things. Turning to the tray that lay off to his left, he stirred a few more sugar cubes into his tea and took a long drink. It seemed the more tea he drank, the more fatigued he became. He stared blankly at the computer screen for a moment, his vision swimming, before closing it with a weary sigh.

My deductive skills go down about twenty percent when I'm this tired, and if you take the way I'm sitting into account, it drops another forty percent. I cannot work like this. He moved his laptop to the side and fell back onto the pillows. The case will have to wait till morning. L's dark eyes closed, and he fell into unconsciousness.

When his breaths were even, the figure of a teenage boy detached itself from the shadows. He walked slowly to where the great detective lay, chuckling softly to himself. "This is the reason B is before L, my dear Lawliet, because B would never let himself get drugged as L did!" Beyond Birthday chuckled darkly. The knife gleamed dully in the feeble moonlight as he slashed it upward experimentally. An almost maniacal grin twisted his features, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to flash red. He was going to do this. He didn't care what the red numbers floating above the sleeping detective's head said; he was going to kill L. He had to, because when the original was gone, Backup would no longer be Backup. Backup would be the original; no, better than the original. He would surpass the original.

After all, B did come before L.

Beyond's gaze roved over L's features. This man, he hated him so much. He was the reason A, the only person he could honestly call a "friend" in this godforsaken place, had taken his life, the reason why B was Backup. He hated the empty look in his eyes, his peculiar way of sitting, the way he always smelled like strawberries and tea. He hated everything about him, and yet…

He adored this eccentric genius. Beyond snarled and attempted to push the thought away. It didn't budge, but instead remained firmly in the front of his mind. With a growl, Beyond slipped the knife into his pocket, careful to position it in such a way so it didn't cut him, and sat on the bed. Leaning forward, he whispered in L's ear, "I cannot kill you today, dear Lawliet, but believe me, one day I will. Just watch." With that, Beyond stood and left the room as silently as he came.

The next day, L would wake up and solve the case, unaware that he'd come close to being murdered the night before, and B would promise himself that, no matter his feelings, he would kill Lawliet. He had to.

B came before L.