Another day passed and Akemi found herself watching a lot of tv in her room, avoiding the kitchen at all costs unless it was necessary. Later in the afternoon, she stepped out of her room to stretch her legs a bit when she saw L sitting in his crouching position, hunched over on the couch in front of all of his monitors. She stopped and took a longer look at him. His head was down and his eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. Akemi cautiously approached him then knelt in front of him so she could see if he was alright. She sighed heavily with relief when she saw he was breathing. "Thank god…" she uttered between breaths. "You scared me for a second…"

Watari stepped in and noticed how concerned she appeared to be for L. "You needn't worry, Miss Yoru," he assured her. "He's only sleeping."

Akemi hadn't known he was there and she glanced back at him before rising up. "Oh…Yeah, I figured that…" She took a few steps back so she was standing next to Watari and just continued watching L. "It's kind of remarkable. He doesn't snore or anything," Akemi said, cracking a smile after she heard Watari chuckle softly. "I've never seen him sleep before," Akemi added, her eyes still on L. "Did he just fall asleep like this in the middle of his work? Is he comfortable like this?"

"Yes, usually he will be too overwhelmed with fatigue while he's working and will fall asleep sitting up like this," Watari replied. "It's normal. And I've tried to get him to sleep properly countless times over the years but the boy prefers sitting up in chairs and couches."

Akemi didn't judge him even though she knew if she tried sleeping like that, it would ruin her back. She just smiled since it seemed like something he would do. He may have been a little peculiar but that was part of what she liked about him. He never failed to surprise her. "Is he just napping?" she wondered.

"He's been awake for about five days straight now so he'll probably be sleeping for the next twenty hours," Watari told her, watching disappointment and confusion appear in her eyes.

"Twenty hours? But that's almost an entire day…" Akemi understood he needed his rest but she wasn't sure if she wanted to go that long without talking to him. It seemed selfish but she couldn't help thinking it.

Watari could see Akemi was feeling a bit restless and said, "He'll be awake before you know it." He disappeared into the kitchen while Akemi lingered in the main room. Her eyes went to L again as she silently wished he'd wake up. But of course she didn't disturb him. Akemi smiled as she watched him sleeping on the couch, wondering how comfortable he really was. Without another thought, she grabbed an extra bed sheet and a pillow from her room and returned to him. Akemi set the pillow on the arm of the couch and then reached for his shoulder but quickly retracted her hand, fearing she'd wake him if she touched him. She had no idea how he could react if he'd awaken and find her this close to him. If she ended up scaring him, he could probably hurt her or himself on accident. But then, Akemi dismissed those thoughts from her mind. She figured the odds of him doing that were really low and she probably had nothing to worry about. Her eyes studied him closely and she could see he was in a deep sleep. She hoped he wouldn't wake up as she slowly lifted her hand to him, then gently nudged his shoulder, carefully pushing him over until his head was resting on the pillow. His stiff body hadn't moved much otherwise and he was curled up in the same way, despite lying down now. Akemi put the sheet over him and closed the curtains completely so not even the tiniest ray of sunlight would shine on his eyes. Akemi took one last look at him before returning to her room. She hoped he was at least a little more comfortable than he appeared to be before she moved him.

The next afternoon, L's heavy eyes slowly flickered open. He was groggy so it took him a moment to realize he was lying down instead of sitting up, how he usually slept. L sat up and looked back at the pillow that had been placed on the couch for him, then noticed the sheet that had been spread over him. He didn't remember how any of this happened but he thought he had perhaps leaned over on his own while he had been sleeping and someone brought him these things to make him more comfortable. It was a bit out of the ordinary but he didn't linger his thoughts on it for too long. He figured it had to have been Watari's doing since he had urged him to sleep normally in the past. L flung the sheet off of his legs and then stood up from the couch and stretched his arms up above him. He realized he wasn't in as much pain as he normally was whenever he woke up thanks to the pillow and actually lying down rather than sitting up.

A few minutes passed and Akemi stepped out of her room and noticed L was up now, sitting on the couch, eating a sundae covered with more toppings and mix-ins than a child would put on it. Her face lit up instantly upon seeing that he was finally awake. "Oh, hey, good morning, Ryuzaki!" Akemi greeted cheerfully then remembered it hadn't been morning for a few hours. "…Or should I say good afternoon instead?"

"Good afternoon, Miss Yoru," L mumbled with his mouth full of ice cream and cookie bits.

Akemi took a seat beside him on the couch and started talking to him while his eyes stayed mostly on his sundae and the monitors in front of him. "Hey, I was just wondering something…" She felt nervous now. It had been a long time since she had asked anyone anything like this.

"What is it?" L asked as he stirred his spoon around in the bowl to blend everything together.

"Well…" Akemi began, her eyes darting around anxiously, "I was thinking that maybe we could go somewhere today?" She looked at him and waited a moment for him to respond.

After a long pause, L shoved another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, then asked, "Why?"

Akemi didn't expect him to react that way. She thought he'd either say yes or no. "Well…You know…Just to get out of this place for a while. Maybe we could go to a part of the city we haven't been before or we could just go on another walk or a drive, anything-"

"That would be counterproductive and inefficient," L told her bluntly as he continued eating.

Again, Akemi didn't expect to hear that. "Inefficient?"

"Yes. A pointless outing like that would not be of any constructive merit. It would only waste time."

"Was going on that walk with me inefficient?" she wondered, hoping with all of her heart he would say no. "Has every minute you've spent with me so far been just a pointless waste of time too?"

"Can't I at least finish my breakfast before you start asking me all these questions?" L asked her, his voice surprisingly calm. "I just woke up…"

"Your breakfast?" Akemi remarked, taking another look at what he was eating. "That is not breakfast food."

"It is for me…"

"You have half a gallon of chocolate syrup, the equivalent of ten cookies, maybe three candy bars, five scoops of whipped cream and gummy bears in there!" Akemi pointed at one of them that she saw sitting in his bowl. "At least eat some fruit or something…" She wasn't annoyed by this but she was concerned since all he ever ate was junk food so she worried for him sometimes.

"There's a cherry in here somewhere…" L muttered, fishing around his ice cream with his spoon. "Aha! Found it." He picked it up by the stem using his thumb and forefinger and showed it to her before lowering it into his mouth. Akemi almost laughed but was too disappointed to allow herself to show any amusement. She decided to try once more to change his mind. "Ryuzaki, please…" Akemi didn't want to sound desperate but she really needed to get out of that hotel for a while. "Will you go somewhere with me?"

"I have work to do," L reminded her and set his now empty bowl on the table in front of him. "I can't leave unless it's important."

"But...the other day, you..." Akemi was about to bring up the spontaneous walk again and how he didn't hesitate to do that with her. But she trailed off and didn't have the strength to continue her sentence after hearing him say that spending time with her wouldn't be important to him. It disappointed her eminently.

L was starting to become immersed in his work. He didn't seem phased by Akemi's reactions or feelings. "If you wish to go somewhere, I'm sure Mr. Matsui isn't doing anything. Go ask him instead." He started reading through some papers and Akemi took that as her cue to leave him alone. She decided to just give up. "Nevermind," she sighed despondently as she rose from the couch. "I'm sorry I bothered you…" L heard the disappointment in her voice and watched her walk back to her room with silent intrigue.

Akemi sat down on her bed and hugged her pillow as she tried not to get too emotional about this. She felt more upset about this than she had expected to. She also felt selfish and was angry at herself for it. Why was her heart set on spending so much time with him? She wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps it was because she had spoken to him the most and felt more comfortable around him than everyone else, despite his apparent disinterest in being around other people? Or maybe he was closest to her age so she felt like she could relate to him a bit more than the rest of the task force? Akemi wasn't certain. The only thing she was sure of was that she felt lonely and only wanted to be with him.

"She seems upset," L said to Watari who had just come into the main room after overhearing most of the conversation from the kitchen. L was still confused as to why Akemi reacted in that manner. "All I said was that I had to work."

Watari knew exactly why and smiled at him. "I think Miss Yoru wanted to spend some time with you, Ryuzaki."

L wasn't used to knowing someone actually wanted to be with him without any obligation or requirements or even a legitimate reason. This was completely new to him. "Why would she want to spend time with me if she didn't have to?"

"It appears she likes your company," Watari said, a bit amused how one of the smartest humans in the world couldn't piece something so simple together.

L brought a hand up to his face and then bit his thumbnail as he contemplated. "I don't understand why…" He didn't think he had much to offer anyone in the way of social conversation or company. Most people thought he was strange and didn't want to be around him if they didn't have to be. He usually felt the same and didn't mind being alone.

"There may not be any other reason," Watari answered. "It seems she's taken a liking toward you. She waited a long time for you to wake up just to speak with you. The young lady clearly cares for you."

This appeared to surprise L. "She does?"

Watari gave him a nod. "Who do you think gave you that sheet and that pillow?"

"That wasn't you?"

"No. It wasn't."

L was new to the idea that anyone could sincerely care about him. It was never a thought that had crossed his mind. All his life, he'd had trouble trusting people. Yet, from the moment he set eyes upon Akemi, he never hesitated to believe her and trust her. She just came across as the kind of person who never lied, at least, not deliberately. He then thought about the last time he had been with Akemi. She had bought cupcakes for him, they went for a walk and talked a bit. L realized that maybe Akemi had genuinely enjoyed all of that and really, truly had a fun time with him. And now, she wanted to reprise that and be with him again. It occurred to him that maybe her yearning to be with him was more than just a means of killing time. Maybe she really did want to be his friend.

Watari interrupted his silent pondering and asked, "Do you like being with her too, Ryuzaki?"

L didn't answer. He just wasn't sure about all of this. Hanging around with other people socially just wasn't something he did. Yet, thinking about it, being with Akemi wasn't something he ever felt obligated to do, even when it was required. He never found himself minding her company or feeling uncomfortable around her. And he knew he cared about her, at least enough to help keep her safe, give her presents and spare her feelings. And now he knew she cared about him too. That thought startled him. He knew if she grew too attached to him, it could complicate things. Quickly, he realized he should probably avoid more casual interaction with her. "We're still working on these cases, I simply don't have the time…"

"If you want to take a few hours off and spend them with her, you're welcome to," Watari assured him. "After working nearly five days straight, I think you deserve a little time off."

L was about to bring up the fact that he had just woke up and had wasted almost an entire day sleeping but he realized it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference. He also knew that no matter where he went or what he did, his mind would be on his investigations. So, if he was to go somewhere with Akemi, it would have to be a place where he could take advantage of certain leads. He usually had other people follow up on them in person but if he had to be out, he couldn't waste any time slacking off from such important cases. This would only be for work. At least that's what he promised himself. "I suppose I could take her somewhere."

"Should I or a few of the other officers accompany you?" Watari inquired.

"There should be no need for that," L replied. "I'll be with her."

"Are you sure?"

L didn't even need to think on it. He nodded undoubtedly. "I trust her." He was sure he could keep her safe and was more than confident Akemi wouldn't do anything rash. He also trusted her to travel with him since he rarely went anywhere without Watari and he was sure she wouldn't betray him and desert him. But before he could leave with her, he knew he had one thing he had to do. He stared at her room's door from where he was sitting, silently wondering how well that inevitable moment was going to go.

Akemi was sitting on her bed watching tv, mostly with disinterest since all she could think about was how she regretted everything that had happened earlier and how alone she was feeling. During the mildly entertaining program she was viewing, she noticed the smell of cake was in the air but that was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. That place always smelled like pastries or cookies or candy. It constantly made her hungry for desserts but she knew she couldn't eat them as often as L could and get away with it. But those sweet aromas relentlessly teasing her senses never helped. Now she was craving cake before dinner.

A little while later, Akemi heard a knock at her door. She didn't exactly feel like getting up and conversing with anyone at the moment but she lifted herself off the bed and approached the door anyway. She opened the door expecting to see Watari or Matsui. But instead, standing in front of her was L, his shoulders hunched over and his eyes darting from the floor, then her face, then down again. Then Akemi realized he was holding something. In his hands was a plate and on it was a small chocolate cake with the word 'Sorry' in nearly illegible cursive on top in white icing. This was probably the last thing Akemi had expected to see on the other side of her door. She fought back a smile but ended up surrendering and let her face light up. "Did you make this?" she asked him.

L nodded once. His eyes shifted around again before settling on hers.

Akemi softly laughed. She wasn't sure how much effort he had personally put into making the cake and she knew Watari more than likely helped him or even did most of it himself but she knew he at least had to have been the one to pipe 'sorry' on top of it. That was the cutest thing about it to her. He went through all of this when all he had to do was just say the word but of course, he couldn't just do that. She held her hands out to accept the gift from him. "Thank you," she said as he placed it in her grasp. "I love it. And…I'm sorry, too. I was being selfish and I apologize for that. We don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to."

"On the contrary, I think we should," he declared, shoving his hands in his pockets. "We can leave as soon as you like."

Akemi wasn't sure what exactly changed his mind but she didn't argue. "Oh…Okay, I'll meet you in the front room in a minute then," she replied and he stepped away from her door so she could close it and get ready. Akemi had no idea where they would end up but she couldn't wait to leave with him and get there.