Naomi's eyes fluttered open then closed again. She could sense that she was not at home but her sleepy brain hadn't figured out where she was yet. With her eyes still closed, she lifted both her arms above her head, arched her back in a good stretch, then relaxed back into the soft pillows. It had been a long time since she'd slept this well.

Her mind began to clear as she fought for full wakefulness. Slowly, it all came back to her: the hotel, the papers, the strawberry cake...

...L!

Naomi sat straight up. She was completely awake now. She grabbed the clock on the nightstand. It read 10:04am.

"Oh no!" Naomi panicked and sprang from the bed, grabbing the clothes she'd laid out the night before. Her mind was whirling.

"What must he think of me?! This is so unprofessional!"

She fled to the bathroom and, upon quick inspection, she decided that her hair could get away without a shower. She dressed quickly, fluffed her kinked hair with a brush, and freshened herself up. In under ten minutes, she stepped out of her room, thoroughly embarrassed and prepared to apologize.

The living room looked a bit different than when she had left it hours earlier. The television screen was split into six different displays, showing live footage from security cameras in some indoor location. There were wires and cables running here and there, connecting to various electronic devices and outlets.

There were multiple laptops- Naomi counted three- scattered around the room. One was closed on the couch. Another was open on the coffee table displaying a screensaver with a floating calligraphic letter L. The third was also open on the coffee table but it was facing away from Naomi.

L was seated in his odd stance in the swivel chair at the desk on the other side of the room. A desktop computer had been set up there and he was staring intently at it. His hunched back to her, he didn't seem to notice that Naomi had entered the room.

Naomi wondered what time he had gone to bed and how much sleep he had gotten. She chided herself, realizing that he had both gone to bed later than her and gotten up earlier than her. She felt so stupid for not setting an alarm.

She looked around. Watari was nowhere to be seen.

Naomi took a deep breath and crossed the room to stand at L's side.

"Good morning," she greeted, again feeling stupid that a "good afternoon" greeting would have been more appropriate had she slept much longer.

L had one hand on his knee and the other up to his mouth. His thumb rested on his bottom lip and his gaze was fixed on the computer screen. His response was spoken subconsciously, as his attention was entirely devoted to whatever it was he was looking at.

"...morning..."

Suddenly, he smacked both of his palms on the desk, startling Naomi.

"That's it, I knew that was it..." he muttered. He typed something vigorously on the keyboard, then moved the mouse slightly and clicked it triumphantly. He used one hand to push against the desk and swivel to face Naomi.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Naomi's face burned.

"Yes, I did, thank you."

"That's good," L said, standing to his bare feet. He was wearing the same clothes as he had been the night before- and at the subway station two years ago, come to think of it.

Naomi then wondered if he had even gone to bed at all. His darkened, bloodshot eyes declared the answer to be a resounding "No."

"Did... you sleep well?" she asked, hoping she wasn't prying. She figured she should know if he was going to get some sleep soon. Maybe then she could get a shower...

L had crossed to the coffee table and was sitting in his frog stance on the floor in front of one of the laptops.

"What? Oh, no, I didn't sleep."

He picked up a headset with a microphone attached to it and placed it on his head. Glancing at Naomi he said, "Please do not say a word."

He typed a password into the laptop and the screen displayed layers of audio distortion with bars that rose and fell with the cadence of L's voice as he spoke.

"Chief? It's L. You can make the arrest. I have forwarded my proof to you."

Naomi could hear a man's voice through the headset thanking L emphatically. She began to feel a little better regarding her concerns from the night before. Clearly, this was the real L and clearly, he knew what he was doing, even if his appearance and behavior were rather odd.

"Justice was served," L replied to the man. "That is what matters. Thank you as well."

He removed the headset and shut the laptop as he stood up again.

"Okay, I need some coffee- oh wait Watari..." His voice trailed off to a mumble. He brought his thumb to his mouth and began chewing on the end of it.

"Oh yes, where is Watari?" Naomi asked.

L climbed onto the couch, bringing his knees to his chest like always, and gestured toward the bedroom to the left of Naomi's.

"He went to get some sleep about... eh I don't know, a bit ago." He drummed his fingers on his knees. "We can have coffee when he gets up."

Naomi looked toward the kitchen and saw a coffee maker sitting right on the counter. Did L not know how to make coffee?

And also, was L planning on sleeping on the couch?

"Um, I could make coffee," Naomi offered. "I'd like some too actually."

She had no intention of acting as L's maid in the future but she really needed some coffee at the moment.

L looked up. "Oh... well alright. That would be good. Thank you."

Naomi smiled and went briskly into the kitchen, pleased to finally have something to do with herself, even if it was just making coffee.

While the coffee was brewing, she looked around for something to eat. She couldn't have dreamed of eating last night but now she was hungry. The refrigerator contained only desserts for some reason and the cupboards had only dishes, spices, and other cooking essentials provided by the hotel. She settled for a peach from the fruit bowl.

When the coffee was done, she filled two mugs and brought them with some spoons over to the coffee table. L was busy with something on the laptop that had been sitting on the couch.

"Do you take cream and sugar?" she asked. She herself took a little of both.

L's words were slurred, as his thumb was tucked under his top lip. "Shhugar," he said distractedly as he stared at the laptop screen.

Naomi returned to the kitchen and located the sugar in a bowl on the counter and a little creamer container in the door of the refrigerator. She brought them both to the coffee table and then sat down in the chair next to the couch.

L's eyes shifted to the coffee cup and his finger left his mouth. He reached with his long arm to open the sugar bowl and proceeded to empty the entire thing into his mug.

Naomi almost choked on her coffee. The only person she'd ever seen use that much sugar was Beyond Birthday. Why were those two so much alike? She tried not to let it creep her out too much, though she was having a hard time of it. BB had thoroughly freaked her out and she had been glad when she didn't have to spend time with his quirks and shenanigans anymore. But L seemed to have all the same peculiarities as BB did... or had it been BB who imitated L? That actually made more sense.

L stirred his coffee, the grains of sugar grinding against the ceramic mug. He took a sip and his pale lips. "Mm. Thank you," he said.

He shut the laptop and held the mug with both hands. He turned his attention to Naomi and looked at her with those tired, dark eyes.

"You probably have a lot of questions."

Naomi felt relieved that he was finally allowing time for this. She did have questions. So many questions. Where to begin?

"Ah yes well... I do. But first, ah..." she cleared and continued. "I just want to apologize for sleeping so late. Usually I am up quite early and I won't make this a habit... so, ah... sorry," she finished lamely.

L did not seem at all affected by her apology. "That's quite alright, you obviously needed it," he stated simply.

Naomi was grateful for his understanding. She decided to begin with the question that had been on her mind ever since L had first called her on Tuesday morning.

"I'm curious," she began slowly, "as to why you chose me." She suddenly felt so small.

"We worked well together," L replied plainly. "You don't have a husband or a family to leave behind, your ties to other family and friends are at a minimum, and you're an excellent agent. Exactly what I need."

He said it so unemotionally; none of it was complementary. Simply factual.

"Oh," Naomi said. It was so simple and straightforward.

"Surely you have more questions than that."

"I do, yes."

Naomi could tell that he was giving up this time for her but that he also had many other things he needed to get to (surely one of them was getting some sleep?) and so she moved on to more practical questions about the job itself, what would be expected of her, where she would live, and those kinds of things.

She learned that L simply needed someone to be a presence at crime scenes so that his information was first-hand and with nothing withheld. She would be provided with a phone and a laptop and a debit card- all of them heavily encrypted. Part of the paper signing the night before had included a license to carry firearms under L's jurisdiction and so Naomi would be receiving a handgun as well, to be carried only when the mission called for it.

As for where she would live, it was made clear that the location of "home" would change often. L traveled a lot and therefore was unable to settle down anywhere for any lengthy period of time. However, L explained that, when possible, she would be provided with a space of her own, such as a temporary furnished apartment. She should always have an overnight bag on hand, though, as many cases would require working late into the night.

They talked for nearly an hour and, at length, Naomi felt like all of her biggest questions had been answered. She was beginning to feel excited again.

"Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I am sure you have a lot you need to do today," Naomi said, gratefully.

"Of course," L replied, standing up again and heading to the desk. "Please, let me know if there is any other information I can provide that would be helpful to you."

He hopped up into the swivel chair and spun to face the desktop computer. He opened a drawer and extracted a folder with the word "Confidential" stamped across it in red ink. He held it up using only his thumb and index finger, not bothering to turn around to face Naomi.

"I need you to familiarize yourself with this case I am working on. There's a location I need you to visit this afternoon."

Naomi moved to accept the folder.

"Can I take this to my room?" she asked.

"Yes."

Naomi turned to leave but one thing was still nagging her. She made it to her bedroom door, but curiosity won and she turned to ask L one more question.

"L?"

"Yes?"

"Do you... do you ever sleep?"

L turned his head, but not all the way. Naomi could see his profile from behind his hunched back and shoulders, his wild, ebony hair falling over his face and ears and the back of his neck. He seemed to be considering how to reply. He turned his head back to the computer screen before answering.

"Maybe tomorrow," was all he said.