The next session was a little different. Firstly L had had the cooks bake fresh pastries and cakes, an unlimited amount of tea and so many chocolates. The reading room smelt like a bakery and Lily's stomach rumbled.

'Good evening L,' Said her mother while she shuffled out of her blazer as the room was very warm again with the fire burning. Seemed like L enjoyed the warmth.

Lily had to admit she liked the atmosphere feeling so cosy and sweet smelling. Felt like Christmas she thought.

L was busy dunking in a biscuit in his sugary tea; he answered her after plunging the whole thing into his mouth. 'Good evening Doctor Everly,' he said with a full mouth.

Lily hadn't seen much of L in the day, only for meals mainly. He seemed to be preoccupied. It was good Lily thought, the more time they spent apart the better. Hadn't stopped her missing his presence though.

Her mother waited patiently for L to consume a few more biscuits before starting.

'How are you feeling today L, did you sleep well?' She asked

L shrugged, 'Like I said I don't feel much anymore, but I suppose I don't feel bad.' His eyes slowly focus onto Lily.

Lily smiles slyly at him so her mother wouldn't see.

'It's my mind,' He continued as if he anticipated the Doctor's next question looking back at her. 'I understand you're probably very much aware of who I am and what I do.' He leans forward and grabs an éclair from the table and starts licking away at the chocolate on top.

'I am yes; I have been following your work for a good number of years.'

'Then perhaps you could also understand that I believe sleep is a waste of time. It is recommended for people to have around eight hours of sleep. So that is let's say one third of a day, meaning one third of a person life's is spent sleeping if they were to live to at least seventy five they would have spent 25 years asleep. That number is unfathomable to me and so I make do with less.'

'How much is less?'

L finishes off the éclair with a satisfied groan. He wipes off the excess cream from his lips. 'An hour or two a day, it's usually split up throughout the day though; I don't tend to sleep at night.'

Doctor Everly resisted shaking her head; she couldn't believe someone like L whose mind was always awake and aware could still function at his level of intelligence with such little sleep.

'Do you wish you could sleep for longer?'

'That question implies that you don't think I sleep well doctor whereas I merely stated that I find sleep to be a waste of time, my mind and focus can be used elsewhere.'

Lily's gets busy writing down notes about L's sleep patterns and behaviour.

'I'm sure you have heard of serotonin and melatonin? Her mother asked.

'Yes, Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter. It is known as the happy hormone and contributes greatly to the feeling of happiness and well-being. Apparently research has also linked that the UV rays from the sun trigger an influx of serotonin to allow people to awake gently from sleep and feel more energised. Whereas Melatonin is the opposite. It is the sleep hormone produced in the pineal gland to prepare us for sleep when it becomes darker. Too much melatonin can be released when one sleeps for too long. This can cause a constant feeling of tiredness, fatigue and depression. Same also goes for a lack of serotonin, it can cause depression and because it's an amino acid having too little could cause one to feel exhausted and unmotivated.'

Neither Lily or her mother were expecting such a long and informative answer, however they weren't surprised, this was L after all.

'Impressive L, but knowing all of this information, don't you think you should be having at least six hours a night/day? Regardless of the fact that you find it a waste of time. If it is what your body requires to feel healthy then why not try?'

L leans forward again and picks up a vanilla cupcake; it takes a bite and then holds it up straight above his head. 'This is why.' He proudly says. 'Sugar, spice and everything nice.'

Lily tried not to smile but failed. He was somewhat frustrating as all they wanted to do was help, but how could you advise probably one of the most intelligent people on the planet what was good for him? Even though he wasn't acting like the young genius he was.

'Hmm, would I be correct in saying that you have low self worth?' Her mother suddenly answered.

Lily was quite taken back by the intrusive and personal question; it was only the second session after all. Was her mother always this intrusive?

L however did not seem bothered at all, 'I suppose from the outside one would think that about me. I am skinny, scruffy, I eat far too much toxic food, I don't sleep...' He finishes off the cupcake. 'But it's quite the contrary Doctor. I am egotistical, childish, I hate to lose, I hate to be outsmarted or outwitted, I love the sound of my own voice, I enjoy putting people in their place and I enjoy the being the cat catching the mouse...at least I used too.'

'Are you willing to share why this has all changed? You obviously know the reason and it will be difficult treating you unless I know the entire truth L.'

He looks to Lily again then quickly down at his feet. 'No, now is not the time.'

If her mother was frustrated she never gave it away, she always had a doctor face on as Lily called it, always the same expression with the same tone of voice, almost like a robot.

'Very well, change of pace then. Could you describe what your childhood was like? I understand you came here at a very young age, do you remember that day?'

'I remember the sound of bells; this house has a clock tower and when I hear bells an array of emotions flood my mind.'

'And they are?'

'Well the first is anxiety and sadness. You see I remember standing outside in the rain, holding a strangers hand outside the front door. I was two I believe and I knew just by the look of the place that it was where I was going to remain. I can't remember my parents but I remember the feeling of loss for them. I knew my life was going to change forever.'

He finished off his tea and clanked it down in the saucer on the table. 'But then I met Watari and he gave me a purpose in life. He unleashed what I could and eventually did become.

'And is that why you feel the way you do now? Because you don't believe you have a purpose? Because you know as you said, that there is always something much worse than you? Does that mean that something which was revealed from the Kira case can outsmart you L?'

L ruffled his hair and sat back looking up at the ceiling, he sighed loudly. 'I can see why a lot of people would feel comforted by therapy. A lot of it consists of repeating the words that the patient has said then re-wording them into professional sounding statements and advice. However I find it frustrating.'

Lily could feel L's tension, yes he probably did make a good point which Lily wouldn't openly agree with but she noticed that was a way of not answering her mother's question.'

'L, believe it or not I am here to help. You are a very unique and brilliant individual and you have people who love and care for you.'

'You believe love exists? Don't you believe the scientific evidence that is it just the chemicals in the brain?'

'Do you?'

You're deliberately ducking my questions.'

'As are you.' She shot back.

'Touché.'

Her mother chuckles, 'Alright L, just answer me one of the questions I have asked you and then we can move on.' Her mother promised.

Again L sighs and then grabs a platter of chocolates and starts to eat them one by one. He suddenly stops and stands up. Both Lily and her mother watch him closely.

He starts to make his way towards Lily. She looks to her mother quickly then back to L. He bends a little revealing the tempting tray of dark chocolates. 'Please help yourself Lily, I know you love chocolate perhaps as much I do so you know what to do, we have been here before.' He smirks at her mischievously.

Lily started to blush...again and was about to decline when the sweet smell of dark and rich chocolate filled her nostrils. 'Thank you for being thoughtful L, I'll take these two.' She quickly picked a couple of them up.

He held her gaze for a few moments; oh lord what must her mother be thinking right now? She thought.

She was relieved when he turned around holding the platter. He quickly offered up the train to her mother who just shook her head with a smile and then sat back down.

He ate a chocolate and then swallowed. Her mother waited patiently, never giving anything away, she always gave her patients as much time as they needed.

Lily subtly snuck one of the chocolates into her mouth and inwardly moaned. A few seconds afterwards she ate the other one as it seemed L might never answer her mother.

Then after for what seemed to be an hour L finally answered. 'Yes.'

'Yes to what L.'

'I believe love exists and that is something stronger than just a matter of chemicals in the brain casing a reaction.'

Lily wiped her mouth from chocolate, she had to admit but she wasn't expecting L to answer that particular question and with that answer to.'

'And have you felt love for someone else L?'

'Hmm, I'm not sure. You see I find it difficult to identify my own emotions when dealing with other people. I can easily talk to myself, get along with myself and work with myself. But I believe I am socially inadequate and so to answer your question doctor I believe it would be very difficult for me to identify love, either receiving it or feeling it for another.'

'I understand, so what about Watari? The kindness and care he has given you all these years and also contacting me because he worries for your well being seems like love to me, but would you agree?'

L raises his thumb to his lips; funny that's the same thing he did when he was watching her in the aviary Lily thought.

'Hmm, yes I suppose it would point to love. A parental love for a child, I suppose to Watari we are all his children here.'

'It certainly looks that way.'

'Then I must really be some sort of a monster.' L concludes.

'Why would do you think that?'

'Because I don't fuss about him the way he does I.'

Her mother smiles at him. 'That's because he is playing the parental role and children don't usually fuss over their parents, well not as much anyway. Would I be correct in saying so Lily?'

L looks over to Lily with a curious expression. He seemed so innocent.

'Lily chuckles as she finishes scribbling some notes down, 'yes I'm afraid so, I don't have the time.' She looks up at L who holds her gaze and nibbles his thumb in thought.

Her mother then continues, 'It just sounds to me L that you feel a little guilty with the lack of attention you give back to Watari. I would recommend if this is the case to speak with him about it and maybe you'll get to hear his views on it. It will give you peace of mind just by speaking to him. Will you try that?'

L shrugs a little and takes his thumb away from his lips. 'Yes, I suppose it can't hurt.'

'Well then I think we can leave it there for tonight.' She says pleasantly while standing up.

However L doesn't stand up, 'Thank you doctor. If you don't mind I would like to eat some more and stay until the fire burns out.'

Her mother smiles and retrieves her blazer. She looks behind her and notices Lily hadn't quite finished packing up, 'I'll see you upstairs then Lily.'

Lily looks up thinking it was a little odd for her mother not to wait for her, so she just nods.

Her mother smiles and then walks past L, 'See you tomorrow then L,' she taps him lightly on his shoulder, he doesn't move but Lily could tell he wasn't used to being touched. He didn't seem that way with her she thought. She smiled a little to herself. Okay calm down school girl she mocked herself.

It was silent as she packed up her pencil case and note books and put them in her little tote whale bag. Yes she admitted she was deliberately taken her time hoping he might say something to her, but she was also thinking she should hurry and get out trying to keep it professional.

She stood up and turned towards the door; of course she had to walk past him to get to the door.

She started making her way; he wasn't making a sound, only the fireplace and her footsteps could be heard even though it was carpeted floors.

She smiled and nodded at him as she passed even though he wasn't looking at her. 'So I'll see you tomorrow then L, goodnight.'

She went to take a hold of the door handle, 'Won't you stay and sit with me for a while?' He asked breaking the silence.

Her heart started to beat a little faster; yes she had secretly been hoping he would say something but now that he had she felt nervous and conflicted not knowing if it were a good idea.

She turned around slightly; he was facing her, his eyes wide but giving nothing away. He was so unbelievably hard to read, it was so incredibly frustrating especially to her as she always had a knack for reading people.

Seeming to pick up she was hesitant he pointed towards the trays of food, 'there is still some food left, would you like some? I'm afraid I am feeling a little full up from today's session.'

She giggled turning completely to face him now, 'well you did eat a good amount of chocolates, biscuits and cakes.'

'You may have noticed I am addicted to sugar.'

She walked closer to the armchair next to him, 'Yes I had noticed, but it may also be the dairy too, it contains casomorphines which are hormones to basically attach the calf to its mother and drink her milk getting it nice and fat.'

'Hmm well lucky for me everything here is dairy free, I believe I am lactose intolerant and have never liked the idea of consuming anything from animals. Sometimes consuming any kind of food is hard enough, except for sweets of course.'

It seemed she had made up her mind about whether to stay or not as soon as her bum sat down on the comfy armchair. 'Well now I am intrigued to taste an éclair that is dairy free.'

'Then please,' he gestures towards the pastries, 'help yourself.'

She smirks at him sheepishly then picks up an éclair from the table and bites into it. It was delicious, the cream, the chocolate everything was perfect. 'Mm, wow this is so good. You wouldn't even know the difference.'

He smiles and nods.

She doesn't take long to eat the whole thing in a few mouthfuls, then she says to him, 'I'm sorry if I look greedy, I know I'm not a stick myself but I am actually really hungry.'

He shakes his head, 'I'm not judging; you can have as many as you want.'

'Oh don't tempt me,' She winks.

He chuckles lightly; she was very amusing to watch he thought. She wasn't like anyone else he had ever met, or spoken with; mostly people were always so serious around him or were annoyed with him for some reason. Lily however seemed to completely be at ease with him as if they had known each other for a while. She was also quite pleasing to look at. L was still a man after all and even he could appreciate a woman's beauty. He also preferred that she was no stick as she had put it. He hadn't thought of it much before but when he did notice a woman he found attractive they had always been curvaceous.

Lily was certainly curvaceous and had long chestnut hair that was usually tied up in a ponytail; he wondered what she would look like with it down.

'You look deep in thought L, everything alright?' Lily suddenly asks shaking him from his musings.

'Hmm? Oh yes I'm fine, was just debating whether to eat another cupcake or not.'

'Ha-ha, well best make a wise decision, or you could blow up.'

L snorted a little. He then notices she had missed a bit of chocolate on the corner of her mouth. 'Oh you have a...a bit of.' He points to his own mouth.

'Oh god, I knew it was a bad idea to eat an éclair. Where?' She starts wiping her face all over but kept missing the chocolate.

L tries to guide her but she keeps missing, they laugh when it becomes silly.

He sighs, 'Oh just hold still,' He leans forward towards her and with his thumb starts wiping the chocolate smudge from her mouth.

She giggles at first and looks away. She tried to stop her mind thinking about making eye contact and looking at his lips. He smelt so sweet.

'It's a stubborn smudge.' He says still wiping. 'Hold on.' He turns around picks up a napkin, dunks it into his tea and turns back around. 'This should work.' He starts wiping again.'

She giggles, 'Ew I'm going to have a tea stain on my skin now.'

'Better than chocolate he smiles.'

It was really a gorgeous smile she thought. 'I feel like I'm five,'

'Then perhaps you shouldn't eat like one.'

She gasps and playfully slaps his arm, 'Says you mister grown adult eating nothing but sweets.'

He chuckles again, 'I have particular tastes.'

'I don't know how your teeth have stayed so white.'

Neither of them had realised but L had wiped away the chocolate smudge a while back but he was still leaning forward keeping their faces close.

'I have a brilliant dentist.' He boasts.

'You must have so many fillings.'

He starts to feel around is mouth with his tongue, 'No, I think it's only five, no six.'

'Only? That's a lot. Let me see.'

He rolls his eyes and opens his mouth; she takes a look in and starts to count the white fillings. 'One, two, three, four, five, six..., L you have at least ten.'

He looks a little dumbfounded, 'really? Hmm, someone must have snuck them in there when I wasn't aware.'

Lily laughed, I think you would have notice; it's a good thing you don't have the metal ones though. I've heard the mercury they use in them is toxic.'

He smiled at her then, 'sounds like you are concerned about me.' He teases.

Of course she starts to blush and then her cheeks flush even more when she realises how close he still was to her. Why hadn't he moved back?

'Well of course I am; you are my patient.'

'So you're saying it's just your profession that keeps you concerned for me?' He asks suddenly serious.

Lily knew what she should say, she should say yes it was therefore keeping that professional distance between doctor and patient, but she hadn't once felt like his doctor here, how could she? She wasn't even allowed to ask him questions.

He took her moment of silence as a yes and started to sit back away from her.

Feeling his energy drop, she placed her hand on his. He froze and then slowly looked up to face her.

'No L, it's not just because of my professional position. I care about you of course. You are incredible and I don't like to think of you being in such a low place mentally. I want to help you not just as a doctor.'

'What else?' He asks quietly.

Lily shrugs, 'someone who cares, a friend...'

'A friend, I can say I don't have many of them.'

She smiles and shakes her head, 'It's because you're different and that is a good thing, you don't want to be like everyone else.'

'Not even when being different can become lonely?'

She didn't know what to say then, all she knew is she wanted to comfort him and in a moment of insanity leant towards him focusing on his lips.

She didn't know if L knew what she was going to do but she didn't care, she just had to, no she wanted to.'

Like something out of a film a clock in the room suddenly starts to ring interrupting them. It was loud and the log fire had already died out. She peers over at the clock as notices the time, it was half one in the morning. L however keeps his focus on her.

She sighed, she didn't want to but she started to make her excuses. 'Wow it's late, for me anyway. I should be getting to bed.'

She couldn't be certain but she could have sworn L's expression was one of disappointment. He squeezed his lips together and quickly looked down at hers. He then nods and backs away quickly. 'Yes of course, it's my fault I shouldn't have kept you so late.'

Lily stood up and pulled her bag over her shoulder, 'Don't be silly, it was fun, I had fun.' She smiled innocently acting as though they hadn't been just moments away from kissing. 'I'll see you in the morning then, sleep well if you do and try not to eat so much sugar before bed.' She giggles walks over to the door and opens it stepping out.

She looks back at him and he nods with a little smile, she smiles back and closes the door.