Although Meredith didn't fully understand what Adam was talking about, his words still lingered in her mind like an annoying fly that kept buzzing around her ear, and she couldn't ignore them.

"You should distance yourself from the changes that are happening around you. It would be better for your well-being."

What does that even mean? Adam couldn't possibly know what changes were happening around her, as she hadn't mentioned much about what had happened with L—maybe only mentioning some trivial things about school, which Adam found fascinating.

"Meri, what are you thinking?" Tanaka tilted her head while munching on her sandwich. "You're not eating lunch? On a diet? You're too thin to be on a diet, come on."

"Ah, nothing- I am eating. See?" Meredith speared a tomato from her tray and popped it in.

With Adam's interest in her school life and not seeing him at the bike shed when it was time for those who were attending school outside Wammy's House to depart, it seemed that Adam was also the kind of child that was considered not suitable for education outside Wammy's House.

She pondered Adam's words again while rethinking the only changes that were happening around her.

L.

While dancing, L was calm. He was always calm. Not that she wasn't- outwardly, she appeared calm, too, but in that moment, her mind was in chaos, thoughts swirling contrary to L's serene demeanor.

If all those feelings, those emotions, toward L were unrequited, there was no point in letting these thoughts get to her. She would have to toughen up and give herself some time to cool down. It was obscuring her concentration on schoolwork and studies, even though it barely showed on the outside. Sometimes it was doing mathematics and forgetting what step she was on for a brief moment, which never occurred to her before, ever. Sometimes it was practicing her instruments and suddenly when it came to compositions that conveyed similar emotions of the musician, she had to pause for a second before continuing her practice, as when the music gets more intense, her mind gets more tangled as well.

"You don't look well, either," Tanaka observed Meredith. "Are you on your period?"

"Uh no- no, Tanaka, I'm fine, just thinking," Meredith replied with a dry smile that barely hid her turmoil, leaving Tanaka with a suspicious expression.

She tried to finish the food on her tray, scraping up the remaining rice and quickly devouring it. The Japanese high school cafeteria offered Japanese-style meals, including the usual miso soup, rice, vegetables, and a main dish which could be fish fillet, karaage (fried chicken), or fried pork chops, among other options. While some students brought their own lunchboxes, Meredith didn't, given her tight schedule that made it impractical to prepare one the day before. She also didn't want to trouble the cook by asking for a special meal. Keeping a low profile suited her better.

Keeping the chaos to herself, rather than telling L, also suited her better. There was no need to tell him, anyway. He didn't need to be caught in the same mess that was swirling in her mind. It would only result in his confusion, and both of them would feel awkward if she discussed these feelings toward him. Over the years, she had shared many things with him but had also kept secrets, especially those related to her birth family. Plenty of details were already hidden from L, and this one was no exception. She should have been fine with it, but for some reason, there was a lump in her throat.

Even if Adam was not talking about L—which, of course, was impossible for him to refer to L, as Adam never met L, let alone knew L's identity— his words could still be interpreted by her to suit the current situation she was facing.

Just by thinking all this made her feel a burn in her chest, and she tried to endure the feeling by giving herself a moment, figuring out what it was. Was this sadness or some kind of reluctance? Knowing that L might not feel the same, and even if he did, in the slightest possibility, she dared not to confirm with him. Or maybe she shouldn't. L should be focused on more important things, such as accomplishing great things and saving the world - as the Wammy's children would say. She certainly should not be his priority in any way.

And there was no way she could fix this.

Wammy's House followed Christian norms for holidays. Christmas Eve and Easter were two important holidays for the institution, and the children looked forward to them eagerly. They painted eggs, have an activity of finding eggs, and received chocolate eggs for dessert.

Christmas Eve, or perhaps the entire month, was much busier than Easter. Almost all the tutors, instructors, and professors were off, and classes were dismissed. The institution went into full swing preparing for the holiday, adorning the edges of the walls with elegant garlands, ribbons, and dazzling Christmas lights that emitted a warm, slowly flashing glow with changing colors. Children would select new clothes from catalogs, try on sample outfits, and receive their new attire on Christmas Eve. Tailors would visit the institution to measure those who needed new uniforms for school or other events.

Roger ordered a Christmas tree to be placed in the common area, beside the fireplace. Without needing to instruct the younger children to decorate it, they fought over the task, adding to Roger's troubles amid all the things that needed to be completed.

Most children were smart enough, or perhaps, in other words, had lost all belief in Father Christmas, flying sleds, and reindeers. When Watari was in charge, he still nonetheless prepared individual gifts for younger children. They would hang stockings by the fireplace, and older children were allowed to write a wish list, specifying one thing they wished to receive for Christmas. As for Roger, he believed that personal gifts would cause imbalances and preferred to distribute the same gifts to everyone, such as sweets and cookies.

"No, Mello, you cannot rip off other people's stocking name tags and replace them with yours," said Roger. He was busy removing all the name tags that Mello had replaced. Meanwhile, Mello grinned while serving his time-out. Another child was wailing beside Roger, babbling to Roger that Mello had cut his name tag on the stocking.

It wasn't the last trouble that Mello caused. Not long after, Roger found Mello and Matt standing before him in his office, both children wearing mischievous grins on their faces, as if they had accomplished something great and were called to Roger's office for praise.

It was evident that this was not the case.

"So, let me get this straight," sighed Roger, leaning forward with his elbow propped on the desk, his brows furrowing slightly as he addressed the two boys. "You're telling me that you both broke into the room on the third floor, turned on the computer, and somehow managed to break it?"

"It was Matt's idea—" "Mello agreed that it was a GREAT idea—" "Did not!" "You did! And Mello said that he would find the tools to unlock the room—" "It was easy-peasy, actually. Matt said that he learned there was a hidden supercomputer in that room—" "GAMES!" "And then Matt said that—" "The fan wasn't working, so I tried to unscrew the panel and find—" "It's not fair that only teens have personal rooms, Roger!" "Yeah! I want one too!" "The cables were too long, and we had to navigate the room to avoid stepping on them." "I tripped, Roger, look at my bruise on my kneeeeeeeeee— " "Who lets their room be like this anyways?"

Roger struck his palms on his forehead. Goodness sake now is not the time-

"Stop!" he bellowed, and the boys fell into immediate silence. "First, we don't go into other people's rooms without permission—"

Avoided Roger's eye contact at first, Matt's dark blue eyes looked up at Roger. "But hardly anyone goes into that room, Roger. I've checked multiple times—"

"Matt, don't interrupt me while I'm talking," Roger sighed and resumed his lecture. "We don't go into other people's rooms without permission, okay? Not even the personal rooms of teenagers. And yes, that room is still occupied by someone, and you have to respect that person's private space."

"It's not fair that only the teens have personal rooms," huffed Mello.

"You will get your personal rooms once you reach 12, Mello. Those are the rules, and we don't have spare rooms even if you insist," replied Roger, while Matt chirped, "I could sleep in the gaming room –"

"Matt. No."

While lecturing the boys, other thoughts swirled in Roger's mind. A phone call must be made to inform Watari and L about his room not being available. Whether it was necessary to replace the supercomputer. Where L should stay when his room was temporarily unusable. Currently, there were no suitable bedrooms available for the young detective, and who knows what he might need in his room...

Snow fell from the night sky as L stepped out of the vehicle, waiting for Watari to park and join him. His white scarf was tightly wrapped around his face, providing warmth beneath his nose. Pulling down the scarf, L exhaled, and tiny clouds formed, lingering for a moment before vanishing.

Snow drifted onto his raven hair, onto his white scarf, and onto his shoulders that were covered by the khaki color coat. L reached out his hands, and a snowflake gently rested in his palms, covered by his black gloves to keep them warm.

"It's like the day I entered," L muttered when Watari joined him, gazing at the snowflake disappearing in his palm. Compared to his usual white long-sleeve t-shirts and baggy jeans, the colors of his winter attire were much more vibrant, thanks to Watari's arrangement of his clothing. However, the style hadn't changed since he was a child, just the sizes, from youth to the present.

L lifted his gaze and watched the snow drifting down from the sky. "I remember it was a snowy day as well."

"It was, yes," Watari replied softly. "Shall we?"

L nodded, and together they headed to the entrance of the orphanage. Roger had left the front door lamp on for their return, and the entrance of Wammy's House welcomed them with a beautiful wreath. The wreath was adorned with golden-rimmed red ribbons neatly tied into a bow, along with red berries, crisp whitewashed cones, gold ornaments, and pretty flocked leaves.

He remembered that Meredith used to make wreaths at Christmas when he still lived here. Seeing her sitting beside him, busy with the craft in her hands, putting random materials that she collected in the nearby woods, Wammy's House's garden, or other bits and pieces that he didn't know where she got them- and weaving them into a nice, pretty wreath was something he knew he would never be able to do. Art. Music. Those kinds of things. Maybe this one was also made by her. She was much more artistic and aesthetic when it came to handicrafts…

L then realized that she wasn't waiting for him at the door. He frowned. She usually does.

"She didn't greet us at the door this time," said L. And she didn't see us off last time.

Watari looked at the teen beside him. Somehow his tone seemed to be making a fuss about it. Breaking routines upsets L. But of course, life doesn't always follow one's wishes, and he had to learn that when interacting with others. Mostly from Meredith, only.

"It's late, L," Watari checked the time from his pocket watch. Eleven thirty. "Meri must have already gone to bed, now let's enter the house."

"Why didn't you greet me at the door yesterday?" L pulled out a Jenga block from the tower and placed it on top.

"You and Watari arrived at midnight. What do you expect?"

"It was eleven thirty."

"I was in bed."

She reached for a piece of Jenga. The wooden tower was already in a crippled situation, and normally people would have already ended the game, but not for them. At least not for Meredith, for now.

L's eyes narrowed; his warning clear. "If you pull that one, I'm almost certain, about 95%, it will end the game."

His expression remained stoic, his usual deadpan demeanor intact, yet there was a subtle gleam of anticipation in his eyes. L could almost foresee the future: the tower tumbling down, signaling the start of a new game, a testament to his victory. His warning to Meredith wasn't a suggestion to avoid losing; it was a prediction. Those moments when instincts aligned perfectly with the unfolding events were something that L relished.

She wasn't moved by his warning. Pride was not a quality that exclusively belonged to L. "Watch me then," she retorted confidently, "you still have a 5% possibility of being wrong."

With a soft smile, she placed one hand on the carpet, bracing herself as she extracted the Jenga stick with utmost precision. The room was quiet, her gaze focused on the tower, her long hair cascading over her profile, while L's owl-like gaze watched her closely in the background.

And then in L's disbelief, with his eyes more widened, she pulled out the stick.

"See?" Meredith dangled the Jenga stick before L's gaze and then let it drop in front of him.

"That's impossible." L leaned in, his raven-black hair cascading forward as he examined the tower from every angle. It remained standing, not one bit of swaying. He turned to her, "How did you have the nerve to pull that one out? I was sure removing it would topple the whole thing."

So strange. Sometimes he doubted his judgment and deduction skills would drop when he was with her. Even when he was crouch-sitting. So strange, so strange…

Meredith leaned back and took a big breath of relief. It was a close call. But breaking L's anticipation was also great fun.

"Physics," shrugged Meredith, saying as if it was common sense.

"You still have to put it on the top of the tower."

"I could put it after you figured out which block you are going to pull."

He observed her expression. She does have the confidence of placing the block on the top. He was forced into a dilemma. L quickly fixated his gaze on the tower and started to figure out which piece was capable of being chosen.

While waiting for him to make his next move, Meredith inquired, "Roger said that your room is unable to be used at the moment."

L tilted his head and adjusted his posture, unable to decide which block to pull, and replied, "Apparently two boys broke into my room and meddled with my computer. Now it's broken. It's a relief that none of my documents are in that old computer now."

She pictured who might break into L's room. Maybe it was the golden-blonde-haired kid and the messy brown-haired kid that she met in Roger's office. Two little boys breaking into L's room, with no idea that it was the world's top detective's room. It was rather a funny thing to imagine. Meredith chuckled at the thought of young boys breaking into L's room, asking, "What are you going to do with the old one then? Repair it?"

"No. Too troublesome. Perhaps just take it out and sell the components to anyone interested, and smash the essential parts. I've asked Watari to buy computers and provide them in the library. At least there won't be children trying to break into my room again trying to find a computer to play video games."

"That's considerate of you," Meredith remarked, a soft smile playing on her lips.

L's stoic expression remained unchanged as he replied, "It's not about being considerate. Computers are a great tool, and they are a must-have."

"When will they be taking out the computer then? I came across your room the other day and noticed that they're trying to move the computer out."

L lowered his hand and took a wood block that was previously dropped by Meredith. He started tapping the block on the carpet. "Yes, that's correct. They couldn't find sufficient people to remove the computer during the holidays. I suppose it'll be after the New Year. Which means that for my return this time, I can't sleep in my room. Yesterday I was in Watari's room. Having the lights off at one is torture."

"One o'clock is already late."

"Watari insisted on lights out for bedtime. Including screen light. You can't do much in total darkness. It's boring."

He paused the tapping and turned to stare at Meredith. He needed to stay in a room other than Watari's. The one he was currently in seemed suitable. It was familiar, and there was something he needed to explore here. The last time, when they were dancing, he realized that feeling... was the sensation of impulse and desire, which he didn't really want to admit. He needed to test whether it was a one-time phenomenon or something else, or if it only occurred when he was with her. How much time did he need to spend with her to invoke the same feeling? How close should he get to re-experience it? A close observation might be necessary, and this plan formed in his mind... Or perhaps it wasn't about experimenting or testing his hypothesis. It just felt good to be around her more.

Meredith was familiar with that face. He was coming up with an idea, and it certainly wasn't a good one.

L began, "Maybe- "

"No."

"I haven't said anything yet," retorted L.

"I know you're up to no good."

L tilted his head again, seemingly innocent, but it was obvious that Meredith did not buy it. "Why so? It's a great idea, hear me out first."

She crossed her arms and prepared for his answer. "Alright."

"Maybe I could sleep in your room for the holidays," proposed L.

"No."

He pressed on and added, "I could sleep on the floor. There are sleeping bags- "

"No."

"Why not?"

He's tilting his head again. "It's…inappropriate, that's why," Meredith replied, her eyes flickering.

"Why is it 'inappropriate' ?" L thought he knew the answer. He still wanted to ask her anyway.

Any normal person would know why, L. "It's against the rules. Everyone sleeps in their own rooms."

"You've slept in my room before," L pointed out.

Meredith's tone softened slightly. "That was a nap. Not an overnight sleep. It's different."

"I don't sleep overnight often. So I'm not breaking the rules."

Was he playing dumb and pretending that he didn't understand the inappropriateness, or was he totally unaware of it? She couldn't distinguish simply by judging his expression and demeanor. But he seemed genuine... Ah... if she allowed it, how would she be able to suppress those feelings and cool down...?

Meredith sighed, giving up the argument. "Try to convince Watari then; I'm sure he won't agree with what you've proposed. So, have you made up your mind which piece you are going to choose?"

It certainly wasn't something that Watari had anticipated L would propose. However, when L claimed that "Meri agreed to it," it became clear that L was fabricating the situation, making no sense at all.

"I don't think it's an appropriate proposal."

"Why?"

Watari didn't think that explaining the situation would make L drop his proposal. He decided to skip it. "I'm sure Meredith wouldn't consent to that. Are you certain you have her consent?"

"You can ask her."

"L, just take a break for the holidays. Go to bed early, and soon your room will return to its usual state, and then you can do whatever you want whenever you wish."

"I'm preparing for the cases when we arrive in Los Angeles. Christmas activities aren't the most appealing ones to me."

"You can study them in the daytime, nighttime is for relaxation and sleep."

"I don't work like that."

He surely doesn't. Sometimes, Watari felt that it was getting harder to understand a teenage boy's mind, but he soon remembered that he didn't really understand F's mind either when he was a teenager at Wammy's…... F also did many strange things and had peculiar requests.

"If you wanted to sleep in another room maybe you could ask whether anyone is willing to share a room with you temporarily, maybe Matthew or Ethan- "

"No."

I thought so. L never interacts with his peers. Or maybe he should consider letting Meri share a room with another girl for the holiday, and L could have Meri's room, but that doesn't seem fair to Meri... especially on Christmas. Watari had already done enough things that were considered favoritism toward L, and it wouldn't be a good idea to let Meri compromise on L's requests…

Watari sighed. "I will double check on Meri for her consent, and only if she agrees explicitly. I am expecting you two to be in bed when I check on you."

When she opened her bedroom door, Meredith did not expect L holding a neatly piled sleeping bag and an extra duvet, topped with his personal belongings in a bag. All the things he was holding was almost obscuring his sight and figure.

"Let me in."

"What's this about?"

"I convinced Watari. Before I get my room back, I will sleep in your bedroom. I promise you I won't sleep 'overnight'."

What the hell- "Watari agreed?"

"He said he would come up later and confirm your consent. You do agree, right?"

That doesn't sound like an inquiry, more like an order. "Watari should ask me first to avoid any suspicion of collusion."

"I'm not asking you to lie. Just to confirm."

"…Fine."

Meredith helped L adjust the location of the sleeping bag on the carpet, next to her bed. She then crawled on her bed and tossed him a pillow.

L, catching the pillow, "I have a pillow inserted in the sleeping bag."

"Trust me, you'll need it."

Meredith then opened her closet, while L took a glimpse of her clothes: the numerous dresses with similar fashion styles that he was familiar with, as he had attended some of her competitions before. They were mostly plain and not very fancy, but sophisticated, with high-quality materials.

"I've never seen you wear that pink one," he pointed out.

"I wore it once, but I got second place," she replied gloomily, not very happy about that result. "I lost to someone I didn't think I would lose to. I prefer the black dress or the blue one. I regained first place wearing them."

She surely is competitive when it comes to her field, L thought. "What are you looking for?"

"It'll get colder, I'm looking for an extra blanket." As she fished out the blanket and gave it to L, she then looked for another one asking, "So what do you want to do for Christmas?"

"I'm not sure. I am not good at planning what to do at break time. Maybe just work on my laptop."

His gaze wandered around the rest of the closet while Meredith was coming up with ideas they could pursue during the holidays in the background. ("Roger bought some Chinese checkers in the gaming room; maybe we could borrow it before anyone else takes it…") In comparison to his closet, which he didn't truly have since he wore the same thing every day and Watari stored his clothes for him, hers was more...tidy. Neatly hung dresses, coats, her school uniform, and some everyday attire were neatly folded on the shelves. There was also a drawer that seemed to contain smaller clothing items. It seemed like those were under-

L quickly shifted his attention away from her closet. …That was unexpected. Maybe spending time in her bedroom wasn't a good idea. Might see things that shouldn't be seen. His focus went to her bedstand, where some of her cosmetics were placed. He picked them up with his two fingers one of the black short-tube products and examined closely.

"Why do girls have so much makeup?" L questioned, unscrewing the tube- it was lipstick- and examining other unfamiliar bottles and palettes on the bedstand.

"I don't have a lot," Meredith replied, "it's already minimal." She fished out the blanket, placed it aside on her bed and moved to L's side, and explained each product to him, "Foundation for evening the skin tone, powder to set the makeup, concealer to cover blemishes, eyeshadow palette to enhance the eyes, lipstick... Some eyeshadow I use it also as blush, contour, eyeliner…"

"Then what's this?"

"Eyelash curler and mascara. They make your eyelashes more expressive. I don't use them that often."

He put the gadgets back onto her bedstand surface. "But you don't need all that. You look fine."

Meredith blushed, "I still need some for performances and competitions." She collected her makeup supplies and had a second thought. "Let me cover those dark shadows of yours, I wanted to see what you would look like when you don't have them."

L hesitated for a moment but eventually consented to her applying the concealer. He could see her holding the concealer stick and getting closer to his face, and he squinted, tightly closing his eyes when she was about to dab the product.

The sight of him being nervous made her chuckle. "Relax, it won't bite. And I promise it won't hurt." L gradually opened his eyes, his gaze remaining fixed on her, focused on applying the makeup under his eyes. He could feel the warmth of her fingers gently dabbing on his skin, their slight coolness due to the cold winter temperature, just as he had expected. He remembered they were always cold in winter. He recalled seeing her wearing gloves indoors, and she said that frozen hands would hinder her playing, so she had to keep them warm.

So strange. He had known all this for years, but it seemed that these habits of hers had been ingrained in his mind for many years despite him not intentionally keeping them there, and now he recalled them unintentionally… Why is that…? And it's so strange, that he would give in and let her do things that he normally wouldn't let others do to him, or follow rules and suggestions…So strange…and it's always her…

As Meredith delicately dabbed his under-eye area with her fingers, she closely observed him. His seventeen-year-old face stood out from the other boys his age, who were grappling with acne and redness. Unlike the boys she saw at the orphanage or at school, his skin was unexpectedly clean and free of blemishes or skin diseases. It was evident that L possessed natural good looks. If he weren't so listless and scruffy, he could easily be one of those attractive boys in school. But even in his current state, she still liked him just the way he was.

She wasn't sure if it was because she had grown used to him as he initially was after spending all those years together, or if it was because of the feelings that had been stirring within her.

Meredith then realized L's eyelids were starting to drop. "You're tired?"

"Hm… A bit. Drowsy, I suppose." So strange. He had been nervous when she was doing his makeup, but afterward, the nervousness had given way to tranquility. It had happened before, L recalled, in the lavender field and when he saw her taking a nap in his room when they were younger. Sometimes, her sleeping face resulted in Watari discovering both of them asleep on the floor. It was so strange, so strange, so strange. Complexities and mysteries seemed distant whenever he was with her. Even though mysteries and puzzles were all that he lived for, he didn't dislike the current mindset of distancing himself from all those things and simply enjoying the tranquility.

After finishing applying the concealer, Meredith leaned back, admiring her handiwork. He looked…relatively normal. Maybe looking too wake- too energetic that didn't seem to be the L that she knew.

Her mixed expression caught L's attention. "How do I look?"

She laughed. "You don't need to know," and quickly extracted a makeup wipe and wiped off the concealer from his face before he could stop her. His dark shadows reappeared. That's more like him, she thought.

L stared at Meredith as she wiped away the makeup. He still couldn't understand why everything felt so strange when it was related to her. Observing her up close recreated some of the experiences he had encountered a few weeks ago: when she smiled, he felt something fluttering inside. Allowing her to do things to him that he had never considered allowing others to do. He could now be certain that she had some influence, and her presence was the main reason for the abnormality of his mindset.

He wanted to ask her if they should dance again, to try and recreate that same feeling he had experienced a few weeks before. But before he could say anything, he stopped. If he was certain that part of it was desire, then he wasn't sure if being physically close to her was appropriate. Unpredictable actions of his didn't seem like a rational outcome. L hesitated and decided to keep the dancing proposal to himself.

Bedtime was never a regular schedule for L. Most of the time, he worked until he passed out in his chair and woke up horizontally in it, requiring Watari's assistance to get up. When he was younger, on the rare occasions when he finally fell asleep, Watari would carry him to a bed. Meredith hardly saw him sleeping, as she would leave his room for bed while L continued to work on his tasks most of the time.

He was surprisingly cooperative today. Perhaps it was because both Watari and Roger had checked up on them separately. Watari had confirmed Meredith's consent, saying, "Are you certain you want him in your room? L could sleep in another room, and you don't have to compromise his needs, my dear." On the other hand, Roger had a skeptical demeanor when he opened the door but didn't comment on the young detective being in a girl's room. L was quirky enough, and being in Meredith's room seemed like one of the "normal things" he would do.

What Watari and Roger didn't know was that, besides "behaving" to exchange for a change of having a more flexible working schedule during the holidays (as Meredith didn't mind leaving a lamp for him if he wanted to work during bedtime) and observing Meredith from a closer proximity, L did indeed want to align his sleeping schedule with hers. Drowsiness seemed to occur more when he was close to her—an unexpected discovery. It might not be a good idea for his work, but just for the holidays, perhaps...

"It's so strange," Meredith said as she sat on her bed. L could smell her hair's scent - lavender again. She had just washed it, and the fragrance wafted through the room. Her black, shiny hair was in a more casual state. But he didn't dislike it; in fact, he liked it more. It was different from her daytime hairstyle when she tied it into a ponytail or a simple braid.

They lay down on their respective beds, with a small lamp that Meredith had left for L in case he changed his mind and decided to work. "My classmates shared their memories of going to girls' sleepover parties when they were young. I didn't see us doing something similar."

"We're not partying. We're simply just sleeping in the same room," replied L.

"I think that's the point of 'sleepover party'."

"I thought you might have done similar activity with Kimiko or other girls here."

Her answer was short. "No."

"Why not?"

"I don't think I'm close enough with them to do this."

"Do you think we're close enough to this then?"

"Do you?"

L turned and stared at her, pondering his answer. "We're... I suppose so." From what he could remember, there were too many things they had done together to fit the definition of "close". Sleeping in the same room didn't seem so special compared to all the other things they had experienced together as each other's companions over the years.

The sleeping bag didn't seem sufficient to ward off the winter coldness that was creeping into the room. England was experiencing the coldest period before Christmas.

L sneezed.

"Bless you."

"It's nothing." L sniffed.

She peeped from her sheets. "Is it too cold to sleep on the floor?"

"It's fine."

"There's still space."

His cheeks flushed pink when he realized what she meant. "I'm fine with the sleeping bag."

"Oh. But you'll catch a cold."

"I'm rather healthier than I appear."

He could see the disbelief in her eyes. After a few seconds, she crawled out of her bed, placed her pillow beside him, and folded her duvet into a makeshift mattress, putting it beside him.

L sat up. "What are you doing?"

"Sleep together. It'll be warmer." She crawled into her duvet and snuggled beside him.

"There's no need to."

"I want to."

"Fine then, it's better in bed than both of us on the floor. I'll sleep with you."

"Yay."

It was another strange moment for L as he settled into her bed. The bed was rather spacious and warm. They lay together in silence, watching the ceiling above them, feeling both the awkwardness and the comforting warmth seeping through their veins and skin.

L broke the silence. "What do your friends do when they have a sleepover party?"

"Oh…They don't do anything that you will be interested in."

He turned to her. "Such as?"

"Ummm…I heard that they chat before sleep, and share secrets. It's intimate."

"We could do that if you want."

Meredith glanced at L. "Huh? Well- if you're comfortable with that," she responded, then turned towards him, waiting for his reply.

L pondered what to say. Secrets…information that was not disclosed to anyone are secrets…certainly not classified case details in this scenario. "Sometimes..." he began, " you can only save a minority of people and sacrifice the others. When you don't play fair and aim to win at any cost, people die because of judgment and strategy. You choose who lives and who dies. Most of the time, it would be easier to ignore it and see everything as a puzzle or a game. That way, you'll be able to keep going, by sacrificing, but also making up for sins."

He continued, "I remember the monsters in my dreams from when I was younger—monsters that devour hopes and dreams, pretending to be human. Soon, I realized that I was that monster in my dreams."

"It's better for you not to understand this nonsense, as your hands would never be covered in blood like mine or burdened with the weight of people's lives.…"

His eyelids felt heavy to him. He wasn't sure why he confessed those thoughts to her. Maybe it was because of sleepiness, meddling with his brain. Or it was the scent of lavender from her hair emanating beside him. Could that be the catalyst? L wasn't sure, but the whole atmosphere was ushering drowsiness, drawing him into a deep, murky, yet oddly peaceful state.

"…L?"

All she could see was L, who had succumbed to sleep, his chest rising and falling with gentle regularity against the sheets. It was quite a rare sight for her, perhaps second only to Watari, to witness him asleep. She gazed at his sleeping face and checked if he could hear her. When she confirmed that he was fast asleep, she watched him peacefully sleeping for a moment before hesitating to share her secret.

"...I have," her eyelids lowered as she whispered, "I have."

A/N:

Came back from a trip. School's starting, so I've got to begin that thesis writing... I wanted to post this chapter and the next one at Christmas, but obviously, that would be too long for an update. I've realized I'm so not romantic so it was hard to come up slow burn ideas. Feedback is welcomed.