[A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to complete this! Chapter 10 went in a different direction than I had originally planned. But thank you all for reading and for the reviews, they honestly help so much! :)

I swear to god I looked everywhere for a canon alias for Ukita but couldn't find one so I just made one up. ^_^ - d]

The black limousine continued driving through the illuminated city. It was getting late so it was quiet and very few other cars were nearby. Akemi had just fallen asleep a few minutes ago and her head was resting up on the back of the seat. But once Watari, had turned the corner to pull up in front of the hotel, the force from the turn caused her body to tilt toward L and her head ended up falling on his left shoulder. He tensed up when he felt it but then looked at her to make sure she was alright. She was still sleeping and her mouth was open slightly and she was making soft snoring noises. L just stared at her silently, nearly laughing at the way Akemi looked and sounded while she was sleeping on him.

Watari parked the limousine by the front entrance and then looked at L and Akemi through the rear view mirror. He smiled to himself when he noticed Akemi was asleep, then asked, "Are you going to wake her, Ryuzaki?"

L continued to gaze down at the sleeping girl who was still leaning on his shoulder. He lifted his right hand to her head and gently brushed a few tousled locks of Akemi's hair out of her face with his index fingertip. "I don't know if I want to," he said softly as he kept his eyes locked on her. Honestly, he could sit there with her like that all night but he knew Akemi needed to sleep comfortably in her bed. But he didn't want to disturb her either. Suddenly, L had an idea. He slipped his hand away from Akemi's and then said, "Watari, please open the door." L unbuckled himself and Akemi from their seat belts and then he managed to slip out of the limousine without causing Akemi to fall over on the seat. L leaned back into the car and as carefully as he could, he lifted Akemi up into his arms and started to carry her into the hotel. Watari realized what L was doing and asked, "Do you need some assistance, Ryuzaki?"

"No, I can handle this…" L sighed, then felt Akemi wrapping her arms around his neck in a sleepy daze. Her eyes were still closed and she drifted off again instantly. He didn't expect that extra contact and tensed up again but then told himself to relax. The last thing he wanted to do was get too distracted and end up dropping and hurting her. He was able to compose himself and focused all of his attention on what he was doing. "Just please get the doors for us, Watari."

Despite having some posture and balance difficulties since he had never attempted anything like this before, L managed to carry Akemi inside the building and within a few minutes, they were back to their suite. Watari opened the door to Akemi's room and L approached her bed and then carefully lowered her onto it. Once she was settled, he slipped her shoes off for her and then pulled the covers over her. He took a moment to just gaze at her and he noticed she appeared to be smiling in her sleep. Seeing that caused a tiny smile to form on his face just before he turned to leave, then stopped when he heard her stirring. L watched her to see if she was waking up but she only turned on her side, still beaming, then sighing, "Ryuzaki…" L had heard her and studied her closely with his curious eyes. Akemi's own eyes were still closed so he knew she probably hadn't seen him and was simply talking in her sleep. He lingered there a little longer to see if she would follow up with anything else. L moved closer to her and knelt right beside her bed and asked softly, "Yes, Akemi?" There was a brief moment of silence and then he heard her laugh softly and then say, "I love…your dimples…They're…cute…Here, have some…more cake…" She began snoring right after she spoke and all of that left L a bit puzzled by her statement's randomness but it also amused him too. He smiled at her one last time before rising up from the floor, turning around and stepping out of her room. After he closed the door, he sighed heavily as the elated feelings he just experienced were abruptly dissipated and his mind became plagued with dread. "Is everything alright, Ryuzaki?" Watari asked him from the main room. He hadn't expected L to be in her room for more than a short moment. "Is Miss Yoru alright? Did you wake her?"

"No," L replied, then bit on his thumbnail while he fell into deep thought. "Everything is fine."

"You look like something is troubling you," Watari observed.

"Akemi…" L uttered quietly, almost sounding like he was confused or just in awe.

This only concerned Watari further. "Yes? What about her?"

L wasn't sure how to explain it so he simply said, "She looked…happy."

Watari smiled softly. "You seem to have said that as if that's a negative emotion for her to express after she spent the evening with you. Were you expecting her to be upset?"

L walked over to his chair and sat down in his usual position and continued pondering. "I only find it odd how she can be happy like this during such a difficult time. I still haven't found her father or many clues as to his whereabouts, yet, somehow Akemi still finds the means to be happy while her life could very much be falling apart around her at any time. By all accounts, she should probably be exhibiting more signs of stress or dejection, as most people in her situation would. She more than likely knows this and yet…all she wants to do is spend her time with me instead of acting out on those emotions."

"Well, I think it sounds like being with you may not be what's logical but it simply might be what she needs," Watari told him. "You, Ryuzaki, are what likely keeps her from—as you put it–falling apart. There's no need to overthink it too much."

Even though it had been difficult for him, L accepted that Akemi liked him. But, part of him still wondered why. "I suppose I'm still having trouble understanding how I could make someone happy. I've never had to carry that weight. And now I wonder how long this will actually last." L dreaded the inevitable moment when he knew he would have to leave Akemi's life. He wasn't sure when it would happen but he hoped it wouldn't be soon. Despite his doubts, he still liked knowing Akemi appeared to be happy with him. Her feelings actually meant something to him. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. So, he decided that he would just try to do everything he could to make her happy in the meantime. L glanced at the clock hanging up on the wall and then said, "It'll probably be about seven more hours until she wakes." His eyes kept darting to the clock, watching the second hand move and pause every other minute. He didn't say it aloud but he was looking forward to being with her again just as she had when she waited for him to wake up the day before. Watari remembered that and smiled to himself at how alike those two were sometimes yet they didn't even realize it.

Warm sunlight peeking through her curtains and beaming onto her face stirred Akemi awake. After yawning and rubbing sleep from her eyes, she sat up in her bed and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. She realized she had slept longer than she had intended to and then tried to recall how many hours she had been out for. Akemi couldn't remember what time she had went to bed. Then she looked down and saw that she was still wearing the dress she had put on before leaving the hotel with L. She couldn't even remember coming back into her room. It just seemed extremely peculiar to her. 'Maybe this is nothing,' Akemi told herself. 'You weren't drinking so nothing too embarrassing must have happened. You were probably just too tired to remember anything…'

Akemi tried to shrug it off and then hopped out of her bed and got changed and ready for the day. When she stepped out of her room and walked into the main room, L heard her and perked up a little in his seat. He broke his focus from his laptop screen and watched her approach him with a shy smile on her face. "Good morning, Ryuzaki," Akemi greeted as she sat down on the couch beside him.

"Good morning, Akemi," he replied, locking his strong gaze on her. He noticed her cheeks were slightly flushed pink and she couldn't stop smiling and had trouble keeping eye contact with him. She was a nervous wreck but happy at the same time. His mouth smirked slightly in amusement by her reactions to simply sitting next to him. There was also a radiance about her that he couldn't recall seeing before at this time of the day. Usually after she woke up, she appeared groggy and drained but today, she was much more full of life. She was practically glowing with exuberance and energy. It was hard for him to take his eyes off her. "You look…" he began but stopped to carefully choose the right words, "…rested."

Akemi chuckled. She hadn't expected to hear him say that. "Well, I suppose I slept better last night than I have for a long time. I slept so well, I can't even remember how or when I got back into my room…"

L broke eye contact with her and then quickly reached for his cup of coffee that was sitting on the table in front of him and muttered, "Is that so…" before taking a long sip.

"The last thing I remember was being in the limousine with you," Akemi stated and eyed him curiously. He noticed and looked away as he continued to appear preoccupied with his coffee. "Ryuzaki…?" she asked, holding back a smile as she slid closer to him and then rested her chin on his shoulder. L stopped drinking his coffee when he felt it and turned his head and looked at her as she asked, "Do you know anything about that?"

Still keeping his cup near to his lips, L muttered, "Know about what?" He looked away from her again as he took another drink and Akemi chuckled softly.

"About how I mysteriously woke up in my room," she reminded him, her eyes fixed on him as they glistened with amusement. "Did I walk up here myself but just don't remember it? Was I sleepwalking? Did someone carry me?"

L suddenly started coughing and Akemi gave him a look of concern. "You alright?" she asked, raising her head from his shoulder. He just nodded once it calmed and kept drinking his coffee innocently.

"We followed you guys last night to make sure you made it back and I could've sworn I spotted Ryuzaki carrying something into the building," Matsuda spoke up from across the room. Akemi softly gasped and looked toward him, feeling sheepish because she hadn't even noticed a few of the other task force members were present since she had been solely focused on L from the moment she walked in. "I think it was Miss Yoru."

Akemi's jaw dropped a little in surprise and she turned her head toward L again. "Is that what really happened?" she asked through another smile. L didn't even look at her though since his angry stare was set on Matsuda.

L slowly lowered his coffee cup to speak. "That will do, Mr. Matsui," L muttered grouchily as he glared at him with unequivocal rage.

"Aw, come on, Ryuzaki, don't be embarrassed," Matsuda laughed with a hint of nervousness. "Girls like that sort of thing."

"I have never done anything embarrassing," L declared coldly. "The only embarrassment I have ever felt has been second-hand embarrassment from watching you act like an idio-"

"Ryuzaki, that's not nice," Akemi chimed in, hoping to ease the growing awkward tension before the situation escalated into something worse. L's fiery gaze continued to burn right into Matsuda. He hadn't even blinked once.

"Akemi, could you please step out into the hall and wait for me?" L asked her. "I think it would be best to continue this conversation elsewhere. But I have a few things to say to Mr. Matsui first."

"Oh…" Akemi wasn't expecting this. "Yeah, okay. Sure." She rose up from the couch without another word. Secretly, Akemi hoped that L wouldn't explode at Matsuda for saying what he did. He looked really mad and it concerned her. On her way out of the room, she glanced toward the kitchen area and spotted a few of the other officers eating doughnuts. She couldn't resist the urge to investigate.

"Oh, hello, Miss Yoru," Ukita greeted when he saw her enter the kitchen. He held an open box out toward her. "Would you like one?"

Akemi hadn't eaten anything since the night before and was starving. "Sure, thanks, Mr. Uchida," she replied, using his alias. She grabbed a few napkins off of the counter and then plucked two doughnuts out of the box with them so her fingers wouldn't get frosting all over them. "See you, guys! Please make sure Ryuzaki doesn't destroy Mr. Matsui!" she said and headed into the hall to wait for L.

A few minutes later, the door opened and L stepped out looking more annoyed than usual. Before Akemi could speak, he just said, "Let's go for a walk."

"Oh…Okay," was all she replied with. They stepped into the elevator and then walked on outside in silence. Akemi wanted to wait for L to calm down a bit before attempting conversation. "Is everything alright?" she asked shyly once it felt like the time was right. She didn't want to end up setting him off or worsen his mood.

"Everything's fine," he muttered through his teeth. Akemi could hear how irritated he still sounded.

"You didn't yell at him too much, did you?" she asked.

"I merely told Mr. Matsui to mind his own business," L replied, keeping the details vague.

"So…You really did carry me into the hotel to avoid waking me up?"

Akemi looked at L for his answer. His gaze remained straight ahead rather than on her. "Yes," he admitted. "I did."

"Why couldn't you just tell me that?" she asked through a growing smile.

"I tried to deduce all of my calculations down to the most probable reaction that you would convey but…there wasn't a guarantee as to how you would respond had I told you."

Akemi couldn't help but laugh a little. It was obvious to her that he was simply trying too hard. She wasn't angered by it though since it seemed he was at least putting effort into attempting to act the way she would have been the most comfortable with. "Ryuzaki…You know you don't have to overanalyze me, right? I'm not a case or a puzzle you always have to solve. And you don't have to always say the most logical things. It's okay if you just want to talk to me like we're having a normal conversation. You can say whatever you feel like saying. There's no test here."

"So…" L tried to put this all together in the correct terms. "You're encouraging me to say whatever I want? About anything?"

She smiled warmly and nodded. "Yes. I just want you to be yourself."

"But what if overanalyzing everything is actually just what I do naturally?" he inquired. "Do you still want me to be myself?"

"Yes," Akemi laughed. "All I ask is that you try not to hide things from me or stress yourself out overthinking every tiny thing. I just want you to feel like you can tell me anything. Anyway, I thought you knew me well enough to know I won't judge you or get angry at you over things like that."

"Well, I do. It's just-"

"Or were you just trying to hide the fact that you did something nice for me because you care about me?"

A long, heavy sigh escaped L. "I don't know, really. All I do know is that this whole thing is new for me and I don't think I can express myself as openly as you can. And it may be best that, if we do continue this, we keep it to ourselves as much as possible."

Akemi didn't quite understand what he was saying. To her, it sounded like he was ashamed of being with her and doing things for her. It started to break her heart a little. "So…you're just embarrassed to be with me and you just don't want to admit that you care about me?" Her gaze slowly lowered down to her feet in sadness.

L detected immense disappointment in her voice. He knew he had to be truthful with her, at least, as truthful as possible. He wouldn't say this, but he hated to admit that he wasn't as sure about all of this as he usually was when he searched for answers. As well as he thought he understood Akemi's personality, there were still instances where he couldn't always be certain of how she would interpret things he said or did. He knew how most relationships worked with most people but this was the first time he had ever personally been involved with anyone so he wanted to be cautious with the way he handled particular matters. He was aware that not all people respond to things in the same way all the time. And he knew that if he messed up, it could end abruptly and badly. L simply wanted to avoid making Akemi uncomfortable or put her in an awkward situation. To him, what Matsuda did, went too far and it angered him. Not only was he unsure of how Akemi would feel, he also didn't like the way Matsuda publicly announced that he did what most people would interpret as a good deed for someone else. All he did was carry Akemi so he didn't have to wake her, so most people might not think much of it. But L feared that, even just by doing more little things for her, the rest of the task force might figure out he had developed feelings for her. There hadn't been much talk about it between the other officers outside of their speculations and teasing that the previous night's outing was a date but L had tried his best to convince them that it was strictly an evening between friends. He wasn't embarrassed to be with Akemi. That had nothing to do with it. He was aware that if their relationship was out in the open, the wrong people might find out and it could end up being dangerous not only for him but for Akemi. "Not in front of other people, no," he finally confessed. "And I'm not embarrassed to be with you. Didn't you hear what I said earlier? I don't get embarrassed." Akemi made eye contact with him again and listened. "To be honest, I don't get attached to people very often. And I've never had to admit anything like that before."

"You've never told anyone you care about them?" Akemi asked.

"No," L replied truthfully. "Especially not in the way I…you know…with you…"

A bright smile appeared on Akemi's face as he trailed off. "And what way would that be, Ryuzaki?"

"Yeah, yeah, you know exactly what way it is…" L muttered, playfully rolling his eyes.

"Okay, fine, I won't bug you about it anymore," she promised, then remembered what she was holding in her hands. " Oh yeah, I grabbed a few doughnuts for us," she said and held his out for him to take. "This is yours."

He had already eaten several of them before leaving the hotel but accepted it anyway. "Thank you, Akemi."

"That was the last chocolate one in the box so I saved it for you," Akemi told him proudly. "I took the last one with sprinkles."

"Nice choice," L complimented.

"I thought so." Akemi's attention was focused on him so hadn't noticed that they had entered a busy street and she didn't see a larger group of people walking towards them. Most of them were moving pretty fast and it looked like she was about to collide right into some of them. L noticed though and quickly grabbed onto her free hand with his and pulled her aside to try to move her out of the way. A man talking on a cell phone collided shoulders with Akemi, but that was all that happened since L had acted as quickly as he did. The person she bumped into continued walking on as if nothing had occurred and both L and Akemi were relieved. "Are you alright?" L asked her and released her hand, then moved it to her shoulder and slowly lifted her shirt's sleeve up with two fingers so he could check her for a possible injury. "Yeah, I'm fine…" she sighed after they could both see that part of her shoulder was only a bit red from the collision. She didn't have much pain otherwise. Suddenly, she realized she had dropped something after bumping into the stranger. "Oh…" Akemi uttered and looked to the ground beneath them. "My doughnut…" Both of them could see it lying on the sidewalk upside down, the frosting undoubtedly covered with who knows what kind of dirty elements. L glanced at Akemi and noticed her disappointment.

L looked down at the chocolate covered doughnut in his hand. It was still untouched. He extended his arm toward her and said, "Here. You can have mine."

Akemi appeared to be moved by the gesture and she smiled gratefully, but replied, "No, Ryuzaki, that's yours. I got it for you."

"I already had half a dozen this morning," he informed her, then both of them heard a rumble coming from Akemi's stomach. Her face flushed red and she pressed her arms against it to silence it. L just continued on talking, thinking nothing of it. "And it sounds like you need it more than I do."

Bothered by hunger pains and not feeling like arguing, Akemi smiled again and accepted it. "Thank you. I owe you something."

"You don't owe me anything," L disagreed. He didn't want her to fuss over him.

"Oh, and by the way…" Akemi began as they continued to stroll down the sidewalk, "I don't mind that you took me back to my room. And I trust you so I know you would have been respectful to me. I think it's kinda sweet, actually."

"That's good to know."

Akemi took a bite from the doughnut she was holding, then spoke while she ate it. "You can wake me next time, though," she permitted. "Even if I'm tired and grouchy and act mad, don't worry. I'll forgive you."

"I can barely hear what you're saying through all of that muttering," L teased. "And I thought I was a rude eater…"

"Oh, silence, you!" Akemi laughed and swore she caught him smirking a bit.

"Oh, and by the way…"

"Yes?"

L gestured to his mouth and uttered, "You got something…on your…"

"I what?" Akemi asked and then wiped her lips off with her napkin. "Did I get it?"

L did everything he could to force himself not to laugh. "I think so."

Akemi just continued eating and chatting with him as they returned to the hotel. As they approached the front entrance, they passed by Matsuda and Ukita who were on their way out. "Hi, guys! Bye, guys!" Akemi called to them.

"Are you saving some of that doughnut for later, Miss Yoru?" Ukita joked. Akemi stopped walking and faced them and Matsuda looked at back at her and quickly saw what Ukita meant and started laughing as they both walked off to their car.

"Wait, what?" Akemi asked and then turned to look at her reflection on the hotel's front door. Right there on both sides of her mouth were smudges of chocolate frosting large enough for them to notice.

"Ryuzaki!" By the time Akemi turned to lecture him, he was already inside the hotel. She just darted after him, vigorously laughing the entire way back to the room.