Adila was sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room with papers and files spread all around her. She was wearing an oversized UCLA sweatshirt that she had cut the collar out of which caused it to drop over one shoulder leaving it bare. Unfortunately, she was wearing that and a pair of panties only and was not expecting guests. Hearing the door open, she did not move to cover herself because she assumed it was L.

"Honey, can you come look at this?" she asked, holding out a stack of papers without looking at her visitor. She looked up finally when they were not retrieved in a timely manner. "Shuichi."

"You're lovely as ever, Adila. More so now actually," he complimented, ignoring the papers in her outstretched hand.

Adila lowered her hand, setting the papers aside on the table so she would remember to give them to L. She had been poring over all this information for hours in an attempt to get up to speed on the investigation and to get started on forming a profile. Keeping her eyes on the papers in front of her, she felt a blush creep over her cheeks as he continued to stand and stare at her quietly without moving to leave. Scratching a few notes into the notebook in her hand, she made two mistakes because he was breaking her concentration with his silent perusal. Furiously marking through them, she tossed her notebook onto the table in front of her.

"What?" she demanded, glaring at him with her golden green eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, not knowing what else to say. If looks could kill, he would be a dead man because of the murderous glower she was giving him.

"Feel better?"

"No."

"That's not my problem. Can you leave?" she inquired, clicking her pen rapidly as she leaned forward to retrieve her notebook.

"I wanted to talk to you. I asked L if I could come down here to see you." Shuichi paused, scratching the back of his head nervously as he stared at his feet. "So do you belong to him? It's obvious that you two have a history."

"I belong to no man. You and I have a history as well so what is your point?" she queried with unrelenting sharpness. She was not missing an opportunity to cut him straight to the bone with her words. Relinquishing the breath she had been holding in a noisy sigh, she met his intent brown eyes with hers. "What do you want, Ichi? I have a ton of information to read. I'm playing catch up here."

"Can I help?" he asked, moving a stack of files to sit down beside her.

Adila opened her mouth to object then changed her mind. She did indeed need help. If nothing else, he could organize the files for her by names, dates, and events which would help greatly. He could also fill her in on other details by talking to her.

"All right. Help me organize this stuff and tell me what's been going on so far. L, being the ultimate overachiever he is, has gathered a ton of information already and I feel like I'm drowning in it," she muttered impatiently, rifling through the files next to her.

She explained how she would like the files arranged so that it would make them easier to go through and glean the details she needed to form the profile. After that was done, she would go on to the phase of data gathering to get a clearer picture of the suspect's personality and sorting through the minor, but sometimes important, clues to his daily method of operation as an individual. Bad habits or deeply imbedded routines have been the downfall of many criminals.

"Who's first on the list of suspects?" she asked, scribbling notes rapidly.

"Light Yagami. An eighteen year old kid fresh out of high school and soon to be starting college. Here," he said, holding the folder out to her.

Adila reached over to take it without watching where her hand was going. Her hand lay over his instead of the folder, and they both started from the unexpected contact. Their eyes met and they smiled awkwardly feeling like two children with their first crush.

"Here," Shuichi repeated in a soft voice, placing the file in her hand.

"Thanks," she croaked, promptly clearing her throat to remove the lump.

The old feelings had assaulted her without warning when she touched him. They had tried to flow back when she first saw him again but she had been able to combat the tidal wave of warm fuzzy feelings then. The unanticipated physical contact had taken her by surprise with her defenses down which allowed them to come in. So here she sat beside a married man with a rapidly beating heart, sweaty palms, and confused thoughts.

"I don't see how he could possibly be Kira," he went on once the uneasiness subsided between them. "He's our Chief's son."

"Oh?" Adila found that very interesting. That would give him unrestricted access to police information. If necessary, he was smart enough to hack into the restricted parts of the system or able wheedle the information out of others judging by what she had read in his file already. He was majoring in criminal justice to become a detective and follow in Daddy's footsteps. So he wanted to be a hero and change the world. How noble. And convenient.

"So has L said anything about why he suspects him?" she inquired, flipping to the next page of Light's bio.

"No. He just sits and thinks and types stuff on his computer. Occasionally he will share information with us but it's strictly on a need to know basis. For the most part, he feels there's not much we need to know. We are like the drones of an ant colony. We hunt and gather the information and bring it to him. He forms all of the theories and strategies. We just put them into action," he said giving a very apt description of their use by L.

'That's my L,' she thought with some semblance of pride. A soft smile graced her lips and she could feel Shuichi staring at her again.

"Stop doing that, please," Adila requested without looking at him. "It's very unnerving."

"I think I might be getting a divorce," he blurted after an extended silence.

Adila pressed her lips together to hold in the caustic words. He did not deserve them. It was her fault he had hurt her. She had allowed him to take advantage of her when she was emotionally vulnerable. He had warned her that he was considering marrying his somewhat ex-girlfriend, and they were temporarily separated to test their emotions. Hers got tested as well. She had stupidly thought that perhaps he did not love his girlfriend enough to marry her. She would not have admitted it then but she had clung to that slim possibility like it was a lifeline. Maybe he would love her enough to stay with her and save her from Teru. Instead, she had been a complete idiot to believe Prince Charming had come and they would live happily ever after. It was her fault for being an epic dumbass for believing in Fairytales. He made his decision, and he had chosen the other woman. How that all worked out is his fault. She was truly sorry he might be getting a divorce particularly since an innocent child would be suffering as well. She would not permit him to hook her again with a vague possibility.

"I wish things had not ended the way they did," he stated with obvious regret in his voice.

"Me too," she confessed keeping her eyes on the words in front her, although she could not read them. Her mind was too busy trying to calm the violent reaction of her body. Taking a deep breath to stabilize her nerves, she calmly stated, "But we both made our choices. I chose to leave my heart in your hands and you chose her. I suppose we both made a mistake."

Adila stood up, going to the tiny kitchen to make some tea. She could not stop the wry grin from twisting her lips. She had always done that with Teru. When things became uncomfortable and she wanted to run, she would retreat to the kitchen under the guise of making tea. It was one of those ingrained habits that she had formed as a coping mechanism.

"What was that all about?" L asked, unable to stop the mischievous grin from nearly bisecting his face when she jumped violently.

"Dammit, L!" she shrieked, turning to scowl at him. "Don't you ever get tired of sneaking up on me?"

"No. Because I never know how you're going to react. I like the fear reaction the best," he said, moving so close to her she could feel his body heat. He tipped her chin up with one hand so she would have to look at him. The other hand pressed to her rapidly beating heart while he held her questioning gaze.

"What the hell are you doing?" she inquired, trying to push his hand away.

"Fear is a reaction to any stimulus that gives a human reason to believe they are in danger. Adrenaline is released. The heart beat increases, the muscles tense, and the senses are on high alert. Will you fight or will you run? What are you in danger of?" he asked, giving her that soul searching gaze of his.

"Stop it, L. I'm already weary of your weird psychological games. I don't feel like playing them," she growled, pushing against his chest. He did not move a bit so she pushed harder with no results. A gasp tore from her throat when his arms went around her and pulled her against his lean, smoothly muscled chest.

"Do you know what I'm afraid of?" he whispered in her ear, gathering her hair in his hands.

Adila did not say anything, keeping her mouth and her eyes shut as he worked his fingers through her hair. She waited for him to answer his own question. Her arms slid around his slim waist when his body began to shake.

"I'm afraid of being wrong," he told her, kissing her neck just below her ear.

'How typical. Honestly, how conceited is he?' she pondered, loosening her grip on him. She had thought for a minute he was being serious and was going to share an actual feeling with her.

"If I'm wrong people die, Adila. I don't have the luxury of being wrong," he explained, tightening his arms around her.

Adila moved her arms up to his neck, standing on her tiptoes so she could rest her head in the crook of his shoulder. She refrained from saying a word, taking her wise father's advice that sometimes silence is best. Words would probably only ruin the intimate emotional moment. She was flabbergasted that he had opened up to her and allowed her a peek into his inner world, the realm he always kept hidden from everyone. Hopefully, he was receiving whatever comfort and encouragement he needed from her embrace.

"I saw what happened," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders as she faced him.

"Of course you did. Are the cameras through the whole suite or just in here?" she calmly inquired, resigned to her situation and his penchant for voyeurism.

"The whole suite," he answered bluntly, sliding his hands up to her neck to work the knotted muscles.

"The shower?"

"No. I did allow you that privacy."

"Thanks so much," she muttered, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and turning her back toward him. "Do you have a file where you've gathered the specifics? What you definitely know about this Kira? It would save me a lot of time to begin my initial profile. I can sift through all this stuff little by little to form a more comprehensive one later."

"You disappoint me. You're being lazy," L criticized her, kissing the back of her neck. He turned her to face him but continued rubbing her shoulders and neck.

"You're not going to trick me into an argument. I'm too tired," Adila said, unsuccessful in stifling a yawn. It was the middle of the day but she was tired. Her body had not adjusted to the time change and jet lag still plagued her.

"Want me to help you relax?" he asked, pecking her on the lips.

"You're such a tease," she accused, pressing her lips to his.

"You know I'll follow through," he murmured, sliding his hands down her neck while he kissed her.

Adila groaned when his thin, strong fingers dug into her tense, strained shoulders. She could feel her whole body growing limp and weak as he worked the muscles while kissing her tenderly.

"I was thinking more along the lines of something like this," he said, massaging her stiff neck.

"Oh, L," she moaned as he rolled the muscles between his fingers, releasing the tension and pain.

"Moan my name like that again and I might not be able to stop it from becoming something else," he warned her, kissing her neck after she tilted her head back into his hands.

"I need to go over some things with you. Tell me about this Light Yagami," she requested, whimpering when he stopped the fabulous massage. "Can you do that and talk?"

"Yes, but I need fuel though. Is that cake still in here?" he asked, walking away from her to open the refrigerator.

"Yes," she answered grumpily turning back to the tea. She continued preparing it for her and him since it was apparent that Aizawa was no longer her guest. That was probably a very good thing. The emotional remnants from the past had awakened, making the atmosphere between them thick with sentimentality. One more touch or long look and things would have proceeded to get out of hand.

Adila glanced at L, pausing to watch him licking the frosting from his fingers as he attempted to cut himself a piece of cake. She observed him slide the knife through the confection, purposely allowing his finger to drag through the icing. Her mouth dropped open as he proceeded to grab the large, irregularly shaped hunk that made up about a quarter of the whole cake. Not wasting time with a plate or a fork, he lifted it to his lips and took a massive bite, successfully smearing icing all around his mouth. She could not stop the giggle that bubbled up from her because he looked like a wide eyed innocent child who had been determined to help himself without parental assistance.

"Oh, honey," she murmured, moving toward him. She kissed him, then licked the sugary vanilla flavored substance from her lips. "Mmmm…you do taste good."

Adila stuck out her tongue licking the icing from his cheek. His groan of excitement and the sweet taste spurred her on to proceed to lick the rest of the icing from his face. She kissed him on the lips, smiling at him.

"What?" he asked innocently, going for another bite of the cake. Once again he covered his face with the icing.

"You're doing that on purpose," she chuckled, backing away from him.

Adila shrieked when he hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her against his body. She giggled as he kissed her, smearing the icing over her lips and face. She sighed happily when his tongue darted out to lick across her lips and cheek.

"Oh, L," she groaned, twisting her arms around his neck when her lips met his again.

"I warned you," he murmured against her lips before lowering her to the floor.

They kissed and laughed while licking the icing off of each other's faces and fingers until L had managed to eat his special kind of brain food. They made love right there on the small tiled area that comprised the floor of the kitchenette. Afterwards, Adila had a horrendous thought.

"L? Before you came down here did you turn the surveillance cameras to my room off?" she inquired, feeling her guts twists into knots with nausea.

"Oops…I didn't think I had a reason to turn them off," he murmured, hopping to his feet to begin pulling his clothes back on.

"Dammit, L!"