-2007-

There was nothing atypical about this particular spring day in London. Sunshine gleamed in puddles on the pavement and sparkled on raindrops that clung to budding tree branches. Big Ben sounded nobly from his tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, announcing twelve o'clock noon, and locals and tourists alike bustled about the city with lunch on their minds.

But high atop a grand hotel, enclosed inside a luxurious penthouse suite, there existed a small world wherein time was not a dictator.

And wrapped snugly in a plush comforter tucked within that little world, Naomi Misora was just waking up. She was lying on her stomach with her hands flopped up on either side of her head. One eyelid fluttered open, the other one submerged in a downy feather pillow, and the first thing her bleary vision took in was the clock on her nightstand displaying the time.

Now, the old Naomi Misora would have been appalled to find herself still abed at noontime. But three years working for the Great Detective L had changed that and now, sleeping and waking were no longer attached to predetermined hours.

Scrunching her eyes in a yawn, Naomi turned her head and buried her face in the pillow. She lifted her arms above her and curled her toes in a long stretch before rolling over onto her back. Having gone to bed shortly after five o'clock that morning, she still felt like she could sleep another hour or two. But L had been lost in a case, glued to the computer, when she'd turned in, and she was eager to find out if he had solved it.

Throwing back the covers, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood to her fuzzy-socked feet. She pulled on a long cardigan and wrapped it over her t-shirt and pajama pants before opening the bedroom door.

She stepped out into the living room area and noticed immediately that L was in the exact same position as he had been when she'd left hours earlier.

Naomi lifted one hand to rub her eye sleepily with the base of her palm as she yawned again. The grumbling, sputtering sound of a coffee maker turned her attention toward the kitchen.

"Good morning," Watari greeted.

"It's noon," she croaked groggily as she shuffled over to sit at the little kitchen table.

"Oh. So it is." The old man opened the cupboard and took out two coffee mugs.

"Has he moved at all?" Naomi questioned, resting her elbow on the table with her head in her hand.

Watari shook his head. "Not once."

"Ughh!" Naomi flopped her forehead onto the table. "It's been thirteen hours, Watari! How is he still buffering??"

Watari chuckled and lifted one shoulder as though to express the answer to that question was beyond him.

L was, in many ways, very much like a machine of sorts in that he was seemingly made up of a series of preset modes. And one of them activated whenever a case required no action, but rather a mental puzzle to be solved, such as a trail of clues that appeared to lead nowhere. When presented with this type of situation, he would park himself at the computer for hours, completely locked in and closed off, and just stare, mumbling to himself with his thumb in his mouth. Naomi had commented to Watari once that she could almost see a little buffering symbol slowly spinning over his head, like when a program was taking a long time to open on a computer. The old man had found her observation rather amusing and now, it was their little inside joke.

"Actually," Watari said calmly as he emptied a bag of sugar cubes into a china sugar bowl, "this is nowhere near the longest he's ever buffered."

Naomi's head came up. "Oh no. Do I want to know...? Okay, tell me, how long?"

"Seventy hours."

"Seventy-! Wha- that's three days!"

Watari chuckled again and nodded.

"Aughhhh!" Naomi groaned and dropped her forehead back onto the table.

Watari smiled beneath his white mustache as he poured the coffee and arranged it with some sweets on a tray.

Naomi stood to her feet. "Can I take it?"

"Of course." Watari handed her the tray.

Tray in hand, Naomi crossed the living room to the desk where L Lawliet was crouched in a swivel chair, staring intently at a series of crime scene photos, police reports, and data graphs displayed on a total of six different mounted computer monitors before him. As if in a trance, he sat motionless, save for his shadowed, sleep-deprived eyes, which were darting back and forth between the screens. His thumb rested on his bottom lip, pushing it to the side a little, and his other hand was settled atop one of his bent-up knees.

Naomi set the tray down on the desk.

"Thank you, Watari," L mumbled.

Naomi glanced over her shoulder and shot Watari a look that said, "Are you hearing this?"

The old man just shook his head smiling.

"Guess again," Naomi said candidly, turning back to L.

He didn't respond.

With a sigh, Naomi put her hand to the back of his head. She stood there with her other hand on her hip and played affectionately with his messy, black hair. 

He remained unresponsive as the metaphorical buffering symbol twirled relentlessly above his head.

But this was the life Naomi had signed up for.  It was unpredictable and unconventional... just like L himself.  And she wouldn't have traded it for the world.

With a sigh and a shake of her head,  she turned back toward the kitchen.

His hand suddenly moved to take her wrist.

Naomi looked down at him.  His eyes never left the screens.

He paused like this for a moment. Then he mumbled around the thumb that remained on his bottom lip.

"Thank you, Naomi."

Naomi's heart did a flip. Her boyfriend was still in there somewhere. She grinned and leaned forward to place a kiss on the top of his head.

He released her wrist, and his attention left the monitors just long enough to reach for the sugar bowl.

Around half past two o'clock in the afternoon, Naomi was standing in front of her bathroom mirror towel-drying her hair when the bedroom door opened.  She looked over as L stepped inside.

"Oh, hey!" she greeted, rubbing the side of her damp head with a fluffy towel.  "So, you solved it, then?" 

L shut the door and took a few steps over to stand in the bathroom doorway.  His hands were in his jeans pockets with his thumbs hanging over the edges.  "I did," he said simply.

Naomi turned to drape the towel over the bar on the wall, then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around L's neck.  "You know," she said fondly, "you're pretty amazing."

L met her smiling gaze with his dark-rimmed, grey eyes.  His hands remained in his pockets and his mouth rounded into half a smile.

Naomi lifted onto her tiptoes and sweetly pecked his lips.  "Welcome back," she teased.   Then she moved around him to her dresser and opened a drawer.  She pulled out a pair of socks and sat down on the bed.

"Are you going somewhere?" L asked, turning to face her.

Naomi looked up.  "I was going to take my bike out actually," she replied.  "It finally stopped raining, and I'm sick of being inside."  Pulling on a sock, she added,  "That is, unless you needed me for something?"

L shook his head in the negative.

"Well, hey, want to come with me?" Naomi grinned hopefully as she switched to the other foot.

L lifted an index finger to scratch the side of his forehead.  "Umm..." he hesitated.

Naomi stood up.  "Come on," she said, beckoning.  "You haven't been outside in four days."

"I didn't go outside for four months once," L commented.

"I know, you told me."  She beckoned again, this time with a little more emphasis.  "Come on!  Let's get you some fresh air," she said decidedly.

L chewed on the end of his thumb.  "Alright," he mumbled.  "But we're getting something to eat while we're out."

Naomi suddenly clasped her hands together excitedly.  "Oh!" she exclaimed.  "Oh, we should go on a picnic!"

L did not seem nearly as enthused.

All the same, Naomi grabbed his hand, eagerly chattering about the sunshine and the great outdoors, and led him out of the room and into the kitchen.  Watari helped her pack a little cooler with sandwiches, fruit, a thermos of tea, and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.  Naomi folded a thin blanket and laid it over top of it all. 

Once this was done, L and Naomi moved to the coat closet to get their jackets.  Both of them were genuine black leather, Naomi's having been gifted to her by L along with her sleek, black bike with the violet LED lights.  L's jacket was a present from Naomi.  She had bought it for him shortly after they had become a couple, insisting that he take time to ride with her every once in awhile now that he was her boyfriend, and he hadn't argued.  In truth, L liked going out riding with Naomi- once she actually managed to pull him away from his work for a short time, that is.

Naomi pulled her boots on over her jeans and L shoved his bare feet into his sneakers.  These were also given to him by Naomi, and they were a fashionable upgrade from the beaten, worn-out pair he'd had since he was nineteen.  Naomi had consulted Watari on the matter and had spent hours researching, in essence, "shoes for people who don't like shoes."  At last, she had settled on a pair of comfortable, grey kicks with lightweight comfort technology and all sorts of other features that Watari confirmed appropriate for the quirky, bare-footed detective. And, although he still flung them off the second he stepped indoors, L admitted that he'd never owned a pair of shoes that he hated this little.  Naomi, accepting this as a compliment, had grinned at Watari, who had offered her a triumphant thumbs-up in return.

Together, L and Naomi headed downstairs and out to the parking deck.  They climbed onto the bike, each sliding on a helmet, and Naomi turned the key in the ignition to awaken the gleaming, ebony beast.  L leaned forward and clasped his hands together in front of Naomi, holding on tightly, and they took off onto the streets of London.

Naomi headed out and away from the city.  Gradually, their surroundings changed from noisy, urban capital to grassy, English countryside.  They drove for awhile, along narrow, winding roads, past dry stone walls outlining freshly plowed farmland, and by sprawling, green fields sprinkled with daisies and cornflowers.  Sunshine spilled over the meadows that flashed by in a watercolor blur and glistened on the raindrops that were slowly evaporating into the timidly warm spring air.

At last, the motorcycle rumbled to a stop at the top of a little hill overlooking a quiet village made up of little stone structures with neatly trimmed hedges, charming window boxes, and thatched roofs.  L slid off his helmet and set it behind him, tossing his head and freeing his wild, black hair.  Naomi, who never passed up an opportunity to take in a view, had also removed her helmet but was now sitting with her hands on her lap taking in the quaint, picturesque scene before them.

L leaned forward and rested the side of his head at the base of her neck.  Naomi sighed contentedly and dropped her head back to rest against the top of his.  They sat there together, a light breeze playing with their clothes and their hair.  Clouds, white and soft as cotton, traveled lazily across a pastel sky, and from a budding branch nearby, a wood lark twittered a song.  

After a moment, L sat up again.  "I'm starving," he muttered.

Naomi smiled.  Of course he was.  "Me too," she agreed.  She swung her leg over to dismount and retrieved the cooler from the metal rack attached to the rear of the bike.

Together, they took a few steps into the grass, and Naomi spread out the blue and white striped blanket. 

Around mouthfuls of cream tea and fresh berries, L filled Naomi in on the case he had just closed.  He commended her for discovering a critical detail at the crime scene that had proven very useful in his deductions.

"You never fail to impress me, Naomi Misora," he said admiringly, glancing her way before shoving a scone layered with jam and cream into his mouth.  He was sitting on the blanket with his knees brought to his chest, his shoes and jacket having been promptly removed.

Naomi smiled and tipped her head.  "Just doing my job, Sir," she said playfully.  She finished her tea and set the china cup down with a clink.

L noisily licked his fingertips, one at a time.  "Mm."

Smiling, Naomi picked up an apple and laid down on her back.  She tucked one arm under her head, and with the other, she lifted the bright red fruit to her mouth to take a crisp, juicy bite.  Then, apple still in hand, she pointed up at the sky.

"That one looks like a cat," she said around the bite in her mouth.

L looked up to where she was pointing, an index finger hooked over his bottom teeth.  "You know I'm bad at this," he said slowly.

Naomi beckoned.  "Come here, I'll show you."

L sighed and moved to lie down shoulder-to-shoulder next to her.  This wasn't the first time Naomi had tried to get him to see shapes in the clouds.  Although he could never quite get the hang of it, she seemed to really like the little game. 

"Okay, see that big one with the long tail thing?"

L hesitated.  "...yeah."

"And then see the other side of it, how those two things sticking up look like ears?"

"I definitely don't see ears."

Naomi laughed and stubbornly continued pointing upwards.  "L, it's a cat lying down.  The big part is the body, that's the tail, and that's the head with the pointy ears."  She turned her head to look at him hopefully.

But L's wide, shadowed eyes just stared upwards, seeing nothing but white clouds in a blue sky.  Finally, he sighed.  "If you say so," he said with a shrug.

Naomi shifted so that the back of her head rested against L's shoulder and took another bite of the apple.  "It's okay," she teased, bending her elbow up to pat his arm.  "There's lots of other things you're good at."

"Like chess," L commented.

Naomi laughed.  She had never even come close to beating L in a game of chess.  "Touché," she admitted.

"And tennis," he added.

"Hey!"  Naomi elbowed him playfully.  "I'm getting better!"

"I didn't say you weren't," L innocently pointed out.

Naomi tilted her face up to look at him and gave him a mischievous look.  Her long hair cascaded over his white-sleeved arm and shoulder and fanned out onto the blanket.  L met her gaze and returned the look with an impish smile.  He reached over with his long arm and gently traced her jawline with his finger.

"I love you," he said softly.

Naomi's heart burst into butterflies as she smiled up at her L Lawliet.  Then her eyes closed dreamily as his lips met hers in a soft kiss. 

He had changed so much in the last two years, and yet at the same time, he hadn't changed at all.  He was still brilliant, quirky, stubborn, and childish.  He was still aloof and awkward, but now, with Naomi, he was protective and vulnerable.  He trusted her completely.  His analytical mind and calculating intellect were unshaken, but his once cold heart was no longer barricaded in lonely isolation.

Because now, he had someone who shared the weight of the world with him.  With Naomi at his side, he smiled a little easier, walked a little lighter, and his shoulders were a little less burdened.  She brought out a side of him he never knew he had, and he loved her for it.

In every sense, he was still L; still everything he had always been.

Only now, he was more.