By the time they returned to the house, L was already back in his jeans and t-shirt. He went straight to the desk and hopped into the chair, pulling a bag of animal cookies out of the drawer. He opened the bag noisily and used his foot to push off of the desk, sending the swivel chair into a rotating twirl. He stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought, as he spun round and round. His thumb and index finger transported cookies from the bag to his mouth.

Naomi set to work, hooking her phone up to the computer tower to upload the photos.

L just kept spinning beside her, using his foot to continue the momentum each time he started to slow down.

"The photos are up," Naomi said after a minute.

L placed his hand on the desk to stop spinning and rolled over closer to the computer, waving a hand toward her like he was shooing away a fly. Naomi moved over to let him sit in front of the screen.

He wasn't speaking which, in Naomi's experience, meant he just needed to think. This could take a while.

"Well, unless you need me, I'm going on a run," she announced, standing to her feet.

L answered absent-mindedly, "Alright." He flicked a bear cookie into the air and caught it on his tongue. He began typing and clicking the mouse, pausing to read things and then typing some more. He was lost in his work.

Naomi turned to leave, glad she had at least a little time for a workout. Maybe after her run, she could use one of the rooms in the nearby gym to practice her Capoeira. She was skilled in the martial art and she kept up on it. One could never be too prepared in her line of work.

The day had turned out to be a nice one. After all the excitement of that morning, it felt good to just get out and jog. Naomi was reminded again how lucky she was to be able to travel as much as she did. She took in the sights and sounds of Paris as she ran steadily along its streets.

After about an hour and a half, she had circled back to the gym. L still had not called her, so she went inside and rented out one of the rooms designed for the practicing of martial arts and the like.

But as luck would have it, her phone rang just as she was starting to stretch on the mat.

She picked up. "Yes?"

"It's L. Are you in your apartment?"

"No, I'm at the gym."

"Are you almost done?"

"Well, no... I was just about to practice some Capoeira, but I can come back if you need me to."

L's voice was immediately intrigued. "Capoeira? You still do that, then?"

Naomi stretched out her leg and leaned in to grab the toe of her sneaker. "Yeah, I try to. It's usually while you're sleeping."

"Oh. Yes, that makes sense. Huh..."

Naomi could picture him running his thumb along his lips as he paused for a moment.

L spoke again.  "Okay, well... are you alone right now? I mean, did you pay for your own space?"

"Yeah, I did. It's just me." Naomi switched the phone to her other ear so she could stretch her other leg.

"Would you mind if I came over there?"

Naomi made a face. That was a weird request. And he had made it so casually.

"Uh... why?" she asked, laughing awkwardly.

"I've never seen anyone do Capoeira in person before," he said simply. "Well, except for the time you kicked me down a flight of stairs. The view is a little different when you're the target."  There was a faint hint of teasing in his monotonic voice.

Naomi rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. She still couldn't believe she had done that.

"Ha-ha, very funny. Uhm... I guess you can come over? Sure. I'm in room 2. I'll tell them you're coming."

"Alright, see you soon." He hung up.

Naomi hung up and looked at her phone, scrunching her nose in a little scowl. L could be so random sometimes.

She finished her stretching and stood, catching the reflection of herself in one of the many full-length mirrors in the room. She had ran 6 miles and so she was already a sweaty, gross mess. And she hadn't really planned on L seeing her in her workout leggings and sports tank top.

But whatever. It wasn't as though appearance was anywhere near the top of L's priority list. Still though, she took a quick minute to redo her ponytail.

As promised, she informed the front desk that she'd be joined by someone else- "a friend," she called him.

She had barely gotten started on the large punching bag in the corner of the room when L came in.

"Hey," she said, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Hey." He kicked off his sneakers and crossed the mat, his hands in his pockets.

"How'd you get here so fast?"

"Watari dropped me off."

"Oh, okay."

Naomi wasn't quite sure what to do next. He was just standing there, staring with unblinking eyes in his curved posture and bare feet.

She decided to just get on with her practicing. She smiled awkwardly at L and then turned her full attention to the bag. Twisting her body sideways, she jumped up into the air and lifted her right leg in a large arc, rotating into a spinning kick. Her leg swung around in a circular motion and the outer side of her foot collided hard with the bag.  She landed upright on the other foot, then dropped her left hand to the floor behind her, throwing a solid kick with her right leg. 

L just watched with wide eyes as she performed several exercises, hitting the bag with perfect accuracy every time.  After a little while, he spoke up.

"Can I try?"  His thumb was clamped between his teeth.

Naomi looked at him, flushed and out of breath. "Yeah, sure." She wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist as she stepped aside.

L set his cell phone on the ground and shuffled up to take her position, his hands in his pockets. He sized up the heavy bag with his eyes and slowly removed his hands.

Naomi stood smiling with her hands on her hips. This had the potential to be rather interesting.

Then, all at once, L leapt into the air and rotated a full 360 degrees, arcing his leg in a perfect spin kick. His foot crashed into the bag, causing it to swing jerkily back and forth on its squeaky metal chain. He landed crouched on his hands and feet, like a cat that had just pounced. He looked up at Naomi, whose mouth was hanging open.

"Wait. How...?" She was dumbstruck.

"I'm a lot stronger than I look," he said simply.

Naomi scoffed and lifted an upward palm toward him. "Okay, that was not the first time you've done that!" she accused.

L stood, hunching his shoulders and returning his hands to his pockets.

"Well, no," he admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew Capoeira?"

He shrugged. "I don't. Well, not really. I've watched videos and I've tried it out a couple times, but I don't know it as well as you do."

Naomi laughed, then gestured with both hands like she was giving him the floor. "Well, what else can you do?"

L looked at the bag again. "Well..." he said, turning to face it.

His hands came out of his pockets again and he rolled his shoulders a couple times. Then, he flipped forward onto his palms and both his legs shot up, his knees bent like a scorpion. Both his feet slammed into the bag, pushing him off into a backwards flip that landed him once again in a standing position.

Then he just looked at Naomi and shrugged.

"That's pretty good," she said, nodding. "I'm impressed."

Then she walked backwards onto the mat and put her fists up defensively.

"Try to kick me," she challenged.

L stared at her with dark-rimmed eyes. He hesitated, then walked over to stand in front of her. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Her eyes narrowed competitively and mischievously. "...if you can."

L's hands slowly came out of their pockets.

"Okay..."

He turned sideways and threw her a strong high kick. 

Naomi ducked smoothly out of the way.  Her leg shot out to the side as she rotated in a complete circle, stopping the momentum of her kick just before it hit him. She grinned, her outstretched leg parallel to the floor and the side of her foot pressed against his chest.

"Okay..." he muttered, nodding as she returned her foot to the floor. They each took a few steps in a counter-clockwise direction. Their eyes were locked.

Quick as a cat, he dropped to the ground and swung his leg out in a sweeping motion.

Naomi jumped to avoid the kick, and then threw herself back onto her hands, performing a sweeping kick of her own. She took out his legs at the ankles and he fell hard on his back. She sprang to her feet again. Grinning, she moved to offer him her hand.

He was lying on his back with his feet on the floor and his knees up. He lifted his head to rub the back of his neck.

"Hmh... I see I have a lot to learn..." he mumbled, more to himself than to Naomi. He took her hand and she pulled him up.

At the same instant, they were both struck with déjà vu. They stood, appearing as though they were shaking hands- just as they had done in the subway a few years earlier. Neither had known then that they had just concluded the first of their many cases together.

Naomi let out her breath in a small laugh, pulling her hand away.

"Um, I can show you a few things, if you want," she offered.

Something that wasn't exactly excitement- more like subtle intrigue- flickered in L's shadowed eyes.  "I'd like that," he said plainly.

"Great! Well, here we go then."

The afternoon passed quickly and Naomi discovered that L was a fast learner. Her experience landed him on the mat more often than not, but he did surprise her by knocking her to the floor a few times as well. Each time one got the better of the other, they were there with an outstretched hand to help their opponent up again. By the time the gym personnel informed them their time was up, both of them were completely out of breath with their hair sticking to their necks and foreheads.

"Well," L commented, retrieving his cell phone, "that was not a bad way to spend an afternoon." He shoved his bare feet into his sneakers.

"Yeah," Naomi agreed as they exited the room. "That was actually pretty fun!"

"Yes..." L's voice was thoughtful. "It was."

They stepped out into the fading sunshine of the late summer day.

L flipped open his phone. "Watari can be here in just a few minutes," he said.

"What?" Naomi had started walking but stopped and turned to face him. "It's only a couple blocks. We can just walk!"

L looked at her and then back at his phone. He face looked as though he'd never considered such a thing.

Naomi waited with her hand on her hip.

L sighed as he reluctantly shut the phone and returned it to his pocket. "Alright... if it's only a couple blocks."

Naomi grinned as he stepped up to walk beside her. "Besides," she quipped, "you should cool down after a workout or else you will get stiff muscles."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," L answered. Then he added with a bit of a pout, "but I'm very hungry and Watari always has sweets for me in the car."

Naomi pointed a little ways in front of them. "There's a pastry shop on this corner," she informed him.

L's expression lit up ever so slightly. "Okay, let's go there."

They reached the pastry shop and, as they opened the wooden door, a little bell announced their entry. The shop was a tad crowded, but it smelled deliciously of freshly-baked French pastries.

L took one look around and leaned in toward Naomi, his voice low. "Order to go. I've already put off talking about the case with you and it's too crowded here."

Naomi nodded in understanding as they stepped up to the counter. The girl behind the register smiled pleasantly and greeted them in French. L responded in the same language.

Then, he turned to Naomi. "Do you want anything?" he asked.

"Oh, I got it," she said with a slight wave of her hand.

"It's on me, Naomi," L said, as monotone as ever. "You humored me with some helpful Capoeira tips, so it's the least I can do. Get whatever you like."

Naomi hesitated, then smiled.  "Well... alright. Just some coffee, then. Thank you."

L nodded and returned to speaking French to the girl. Using only a thumb and a finger, he pulled a beaten up wallet out of his pocket and handed the girl a debit card. He gestured toward the pastry display. "I got you a pastry," he said. "How you can come in here and not order sweets is beyond me."

Naomi laughed. "They do look amazing," she admitted.  Moments later, she was handed a coffee and a small, white paper bag.  

L received a larger paper bag and promptly turned to make his way over to the counter designed for customers to cream and sugar their coffee.  He reached into the bag and extracted a cake pop. And then he took out another one. He removed one cake pop from its stick and slid it onto the first one. Then, he took out a third and did the same. He repeated this six times and ended up with a shish kebob of cake pops, looking rather pleased with himself.

Naomi watched with thorough amusement. People were staring and a couple of them were laughing a little but L couldn't care less. He discarded the paper bag and the empty sticks and he and Naomi stepped outside again.

Naomi motioned toward the cake pop skewer as they began walking down the sidewalk again. "Well, that's... creative."

L already had a mouth full of cake. "Mmm. It's good too," he commented. He tilted his head toward her. "Try yours."

Naomi hadn't even looked in the bag yet. She opened it a little awkwardly, trying not to spill her coffee, and reached inside. She lifted out a small, elegant pastry topped with a strawberry glaze and garnished with a delicate mint leaf.

"Aw... thank you, L," she said, smiling sincerely.

"You said you liked strawberries," L said plainly, removing a whole cake pop from the stick and shoving it in his mouth.

Naomi was admiring the pretty dessert. "That's right, I did say that!" She took a small bite. It tasted just as good as it looked.

L and Naomi walked the rest of the way together in comfortable silence. Music from a French cafe drifted through the streets as the setting sun's soft, golden rays spilled through the tree branches, casting long, lazy shadows.

Naomi found herself thinking back to that first night, meeting L- the night he had asked her if she liked strawberries. She remembered how she had so stiffly answered him and how perplexed she had been toward his peculiar behaviors and bizarre eating habits. And she realized, looking at him now with his cake pop kebob, that those habits no longer fazed her.

Even when he would do something new and odd, Naomi was able to quickly and easily write it off as just L being L. His quirks had come to be a familiar part of her everyday life.

Walking beside him now, she thought to herself how much she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. She smiled fondly. It was nice to have a friend.

Well, maybe "friend" was the wrong word. In truth, they were employer and employee but, to Naomi at least, they felt a little closer than that. More like... partners. Partners in justice. Except he was still her boss. A boss who felt like a friend.

Naomi shook her head. This was getting too technical. She took a sip of her coffee and decided a title wasn't important.

They made a great team.

And that was enough.