She didn't seem to notice. The bloody wind-

On the desk lay a heap of jellybeans, which the detective meticulously pinched, squashed, flattened, and sorted by their shades, creating a color-coded table. He then stared at the candy table in his usual position, hands on his bent knees, while he continued to think what steps he should take next.

The first thing he wanted to prove was whether Meri felt the same way about him as he did about her. The best way to do that was to ask her directly. L flattened another jellybean. And so, he went to her high school to pick her up. However, before he could ask her anything, she pulled him away from the crowd and the next thing he knew, he was biking with her seated behind him, heading back to Wammy's House.

He tried to find the right moment to ask, but he never felt that the timing was right. When he finally did find a good moment, the wind drowned out his voice, and it was clear that she didn't hear anything. Otherwise, there should have been some kind of response or reaction from her so that he could analyze and determine her feelings.

None. The sugar coat of the candy cracked between his fingers. A disappointing conclusion.

And there hadn't been a right timing since then. Timing was important. Like solving cases and waiting for the right moment to seize and arrest, to gather the most evidence to prove the hypothesis and verify deduction. Timing had extreme relativity with success and precision. He had to be sure to succeed.

More than that, there was resistance. He didn't feel at ease asking her directly afterward. The rest of that day was rather quiet; Meri studied in his room beside him, he tried to focus on reading. But no further action did he conduct. Maybe he was returning to rationality. Maybe it was after careful calculation and pondering that it wouldn't work.

He reached into the bucket of jellybeans beside him, grabbed a handful, and continued his sorting and pinching. It stung whenever he looked at her when it seemed to be the right timing to ask her. How she tilted her head, and her hair swished gently as she asked him, "What was the matter?" The first thing that came to his mind was the comforting feeling when she innocently gazed at him. Warmth spread through his chest once again, distracting him from the task at hand. He shook his head, suppressed his determination, and mumbled, "Nothing."

It felt like there was no right timing. Or was it an excuse for his unwillingness to face the potential answer…?

L paused the genocide of the jellybeans. He had to come up with another plan. A more indirect way. More suitable for him, for him and Meredith.

"Why isn't it chocolate eggs, Roger?" The short blonde-haired boy hollered while continuing to follow Roger Ruvie. Roger Ruvie quickened his footsteps, trying to shake the boy off. It was getting annoying.

"Mello- if you don't like boiled eggs, then don't have them-"

Mello followed faster. "But we could have chocolate ones, why don't you change them-"

"I have no time for this, Mello-" Roger tried to manage basic patience and sanity, for this conversation had continued for almost twenty minutes after the lunch break. "If you have opinions on what eggs we will have on Easter, then raise them to Mr. Wammy yourself. I will not change them just because you saw chocolate Easter eggs ads on TV."

Mello continued to whine. Roger continued to ignore him. Finished observing the commotion that they were making, Meredith popped her head back into her room. "Easter…it will be on April 4th this year." She turned to the boy who was sitting on her piano bench, "I suppose your classes will also take breaks, right, Adam?"

Adam hummed with a nod while continuing to read the manga in his hands. "It's my first Easter. What does this kanji mean?"

She followed his finger to the speech bubble and defined the term. "Then you could attend the spring picnic. Egg painting, egg hunts- "

"I thought older children lose interest in Easter activities," interrupted Adam, pausing his reading and looking at Meredith, puzzled.

"I like Easter. Others…I don't know," Meredith paused to think for a moment, "K thought Easter was boring. It's really the same each year- Church in the morning, a picnic on the lawn, and if it rains, it would be special meals in the dining room, egg painting and hiding, then egg hunting. It's not huge like Christmas, and we already take breaks on Sundays, so there are no additional breaks. Maybe others have the same thoughts as K."

"You don't seem to be bored. Or fed up."

"Colorful Easter eggs would want to be seen and found, and be admired by people," replied Meredith. "But I have to admit that Roger would occasionally find unfound eggs left rotten in unexpected corners, and had to clean them in disgust."

"That's a silly thought," chuckled Adam at her whimsical belief. "If eggs were to rot, then why not use chocolate eggs?"

"Watari preferred the traditional way of using real eggs. Roger followed," answered Meredith, resting her chin in her palm with her elbow propped on the closed piano. "It's part of the tradition. You can't paint chocolate eggs, can you? It'll take out all the fun."

"Tell me more about what you do on Easter."

For the next hour, she talked about how Watari would always prepare the same amount of eggs as the children in Wammy's House, regardless of how many would actually attend, and that he would have to paint the extra eggs himself, resulting in all the children knowing that the two-color eggs were painted by the man himself. Young Meredith would obediently paint one, and when older, she joined Watari, later with Roger, to finish painting the remaining eggs and helping to hide them. Roger also painted the eggs using two colors only, as he was usually occupied with maintaining order and preventing children from intentionally putting paint on each other's cheeks or ruining other people's eggs. ("Children simply have no manners and are always out of control," Roger would say.)

Seeing off a content and excited Adam, Meredith then headed to the library. The way Adam solved puzzles and his logical thinking and deduction were reminiscent of L's, although not as sophisticated. The style was getting more and more similar, she reckoned, the same precise yet rather non-linear thinking that was difficult for many to keep up with.

But more times, she saw herself in him. He was diligent and intelligent, but there was a feeling that he was in desperate need of being seen. As if Adam lacked any compliment in his daily life. Even small compliments from her, such as saying "wow" when he got all the answers right on his assignments, would bring a subtle grin to Adam's face. "I knew it." He would say. She felt that Adam knew all the answers already but only wanted her confirmation and the exclamation of her in awe.

Did the instructors not provide any kind of positive feedback on his outstanding progress? Meredith couldn't tell. Courses were advanced and difficult in Wammy, she had to admit, and instructors hardly complimented them, but surely, from time to time, there would be grades and a small good job that could be received from the instructors. At least she had. The progress that Adam showcased must be the top among his peers, it would be impossible if there were a lack of compliments.

And this friend of his. It seemed that they were taking the same courses together. It was hard to imagine a boy alone could handle such heavy-loading assignments. She did ask once that she was willing to provide homework support to his friend, the friend that she didn't know which child was. Adam only replied, "He doesn't need support. I need it more." And never mentioned it thereafter. Neither did she continue to ask; it was really not something she would ask in detail.

She walked past the opened doors of the orphanage's library. The absence of a librarian in Wammy's House's library meant that all children were instructed to return books according to The Dewey Decimal Classification system. Fortunately, the Wammy's House library did not feature a massive collection of books like public libraries. As she searched for the corresponding shelves to which the books belonged, her mind still spun about Adam's quirks and unusual behavior. He still had this habit of staring into nothingness when she observed him, and he still said something weird from time to time, such as mumbling, "Why is it declining so fast?" but never explained to her what it was. Eventually, she would ignore those little murmurs and just listen.

And he said that it's his first Easter. But is that possible? Did Adam enter Wammy's House within a year? But certainly, he would need some time to adapt to the new environment and then take basic courses instead of courses so advanced…

While standing in the aisle, sliding the last book in her arms back to where it belonged, Meredith noticed another book that clearly did not belong there - a common occurrence in the library when some people don't follow the classification system. As she took the book off the shelf to return it to its proper place, she suddenly saw L's stoic face staring directly at her, indicating that he was standing on the other side.

Her shoulders jerked, but she suppressed a yelp and composed herself, feeling embarrassed.

"Hello there, Meri," L continued to stare. "I apologize for startling you."

"What are you doing here, L?" whispered Meredith, glancing around to see if anyone was nearby. "I thought you didn't come back on weekdays."

"I thought it would be a good idea if I could ask you some opinions on my current case." L needn't whisper to speak in the library. His voice was already hushed.

"You didn't tell me that you would return." And that counts for the second time this month.

"I will head back to my place after you provide your opinion on the matters that I am concerned about," said L in a serious manner, "I'm deeply disturbed by the thought of being unable to figure out the problem. It's crucial."

It seemed suspicious. It turned out L asked her advice on what gifts to get for Watari and what he liked. "I'm thinking of a limited-edition gift box of his favorite tea," said L while drawing a mind map on a piece of paper on the floor in Meredith's room. Meredith sat beside him, watching suspiciously. Although they had given Watari birthday presents in the past, it was mostly her bringing up the topic and answering it herself, with L being present. He would either nod to agree or shake his head if he was still engrossed in the computer. He never cares for birthdays other than his, Meredith thought. But she did not question L, and only provided some other options other than tea. In the end, they were able to decide on a gift (still tea, they couldn't be too sure about anything else, along with a handmade card, as Meredith would do annually), although she was the one responsible for purchasing, as usual.

L's behavior continued to be suspicious for the following weeks.

Three times in a week, he had returned to the orphanage. Without any signs. Without informing beforehand. It was definitely abnormal. Meredith questioned L's frequent visits, but he always had an explanation that seemed genuine, yet uncanny to her.

Sometimes it was randomly appearing in the corner of the institution. There was once he randomly blocked her way while she was heading to the common room, making her bump into him. On another occasion, instead of blocking her, L waited in the corner where he knew that Meredith would make a turn. As expected, she rounded the corner and was caught off guard, letting out a yelp and stumbling backward, while fortunately, he was able to catch her just in time.

"Wha-why did you ambush me!" panted Meredith, still quite shocked from the surprise.

"I didn't mean to," replied L innocently while slowly letting her go as she found her footing. "I have something to ask you."

"It's dangerous. Please don't do it again," said Meredith, rubbing her wrist. It was quite fascinating to L that even though she was totally shocked, there was no annoyance in her tone but only earnestness.

"…I promise I won't do it again."

Meredith patted the edges of her clothes smoothly and asked, "So, what do you want to ask?"

L pulled out a piece of paper and lifted it in her face. It turned out to be a list of addresses. "This one," he pointed, "take me there."

"What is this list?"

"A list of bakeries."

"And?"

"I want you to take me there."

"…Why don't you ask Watari to drive you there?"

"The suspect took the bus to these bakeries. I need to follow his route to observe any significant locations." L paused for a moment and added, "And I heard that this specific bakery makes excellent cinnamon rolls."

Meredith gave him a confused look.

It continued till April. The abnormality that L was expressing. Frequent returning to the orphanage than before, without any notice and purpose except for trivial things that could be handled simply by a phone call? Sudden and random appearances, popping out of nowhere, as if he wanted her to constantly keep watch for him. Or to expect that he was nearby. Always.

The small radio on her desk switched to the weather forecast.

"…Some low clouds around this morning, and it will continue throughout the day with a chance of rain as April showers kick in. Daytime will reach a peak of 15, dropping to 9 at night, and set to continue until Thursday, and the cloud will gradually thin out, promising a warm, sunny Easter weekend. Following the holiday, we'll be treated to sunny skies for a few days before the rain makes a comeback..."

She lifted her gaze and watched the grey skies from her bedroom windows and quickly hurried downstairs and out to the garden. The breeze smelt like soil. There would be no one outdoors if they knew it was about to rain, creating a time when she could search for a perfect egg hiding spot without anyone discovering.

Another reason why she looked forward to Easter was that Watari would take breaks from the investigations and, therefore, make L take breaks as well, although it doesn't necessarily indicate that they would return to the orphanage. She was now quite used to it, but Easter was a time when their return was more predictable.

Meredith strolled the garden. Henhouse…no, she used that spot before. Putting an Easter egg in the hen house needed courage not only from the hider but also from the seeker. And it was a popular hiding spot. In a tree hole? No,…too predictable. She pushed aside a bush of tall grass to check if the density was enough. Maybe she should check the large plum tree on the far side of the garden. Maybe there are new holes that rabbits made.

As she headed to the tree and could see the branches of the plum tree blooming clusters of petite white flowers, she noticed a slim figure sitting in lotus position under the tree, still and eyes closed.

That would mark the eighth time L returned without any notice.

"What are you doing?" Meredith approached him and squatted down.

L opened his eyes slowly and replied in his usual stare. "I am meditating."

He does have the habit of meditating, but certainly not in this scenario and location. "I never knew you would meditate under a tree. A full bloom flower tree."

"Now you know. What's wrong with sitting under a flower tree?"

"I thought you didn't appreciate flowers."

"I could learn to appreciate them. You and Watari both like flowers."

It felt funny when he said that. Him willing to learn something seemingly 'meaningless' to him. Learning to appreciate flowers seemed pointless in terms of its usefulness in solving cases. He was acting strange. But why was she feeling a weird sense of joy bubbling inside when she heard his response?

Distract those feelings. Say something else. "Siddhartha meditated under a pipal tree and reached enlightenment. Have you reached that?" smiled Meredith.

His eyes closed again, still in his calm tone. "Not yet. There are too many questions that remain unanswered."

Meredith chuckled and continued to watch him. There were many questions unanswered in her mind as well. Maybe she should join him in meditating. Maybe by doing so, there would be an explanation of why his recent acts were abnormal. Maybe it would solve why Adam always says strange things. Maybe meditating would figure out a way to stay close to Watari and L.

Petals were gently falling from the tree, drifting down onto the green grass bed, and settling on L's hair and shoulders. But apparently, today is not the best weather to meditate outside. She reached out her hand and gently brushed off the white petals that landed on L's shoulders. "Meditate inside, then. The weather forecast suggests that it's going to rain."

She stood up, stretched out her hand, and offered to pull L up. "It couldn't be that you are missing me, so that could explain your frequent returns, right?" teased Meredith while L took her hand and stood up. It must be his usual mocking or toying, she thought.

L patted off the dust and remaining petals from his jeans, pausing for a moment before he looked straight into her eyes. "You are the one that said if I miss you, then return to Wammy to see you."

Plum blossoms drifted and fell like snow as the spring breeze caressed their faces. If it were a normal day in the garden, her eyes would follow the petals and see how far they could fly, but no, not today, as she froze and could not take her eyes off L, feeling there were petals swarming inside of her as well.

He stood in the midst of the drifting white petals, his hands in his pockets. "And I do," said L, his hair fluttering with the directions of the breeze. "I do."

AN:

Counting down to this arc, the fluffiest arc.

My beta asked me how old Mello was in this chapter; I replied, "About 7." He then replied, "Fair enough. You're ready to post."