Equivalency

[l]

L moved his gaze to stare lazily at the assortment of sweets. "Watari doesn't make these sort of things for anyone else, so yes. They are all for me." L moved his eyes up to look at Edward. "Unless Elric-kun desires some as well. For, he is more than welcome. I must warn him now, however," he learned forward and stared into the teen's eyes in all seriousness, "anything with strawberries belongs to me." And with that, promptly leaned back once more, popping a small candied chocolate into his mouth with a swift swipe of his hand. L soon let his fingers drop from his mouth however, and regained his somewhat professional air.

"Let's say that you're parents have passed away, Elric-kun. Let's also say that all of the perpetrator's other victims' parents are also deceased. We need to find a pattern. The only one we have is that he prefers attacking younger individuals. However, that is undoubtedly not enough. Does Elric-kun understand?"

He found the boy to be immensely stubborn, even as stubborn as himself. The boy was rude, like himself, though obnoxiously so. Where L had a habit of subtly outwitting and insulting someone, Edward tended to outright tell someone he didn't like them, as had been proven to the detective himself. It shouldn't be said that L was inconvenienced with such snide remarks that the blonde made. Indeed, it made the situation more interesting, and certainly peeked his curiousity.

Reaching across the table once more, L picked up another strawberry truffle and slipped it into his mouth, giving slow, deliberate chews. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde, inclining his head slightly towards the table. "Elric-kun may help himself."

[Edward Elric]

The younger felt his lip twitch at the restriction. There were practically twenty strawberry-type sweets. What was the big deal taking one? Not that Ed liked strawberries, mind you, but being ordered didn't sit well with his naturally rebellious attitude. Leaning over as if accepting the invitation, he nodded. "You don't look like you eat this kind of crap all the time." He rather purposefully extended an arm and grabbed the strawberry shortcake, taking a bite before any type of protest sounded. All the while, he somehow maintained an air of nonchalonce. If he was being manipulated into caving to the detective's demands--- even if it was necessary for the case -- he was allowed one stupid strawberry treat.

He unpropped his legs and sighed. "I don't like how you do that." Really, The younger had spent the last few months arguing about this with the agents who visited him. And now it took only a few sentences for L to force an answer. It really was agitating. "I think the great detective L would have noticed that kinda trend already. But fine, since it's so important, only my mother's dead. Hohenheim could be too, but it isn't like I'd know if he was." He bit out sardonically and took another bite of the strawberry-layered cake. "He's my dad by the way."

[l]

L shook his head. "On the contrary, I eat nothing but artificially sugared food, and naturally sugared fruits; the latter consisting of bananas and strawberries, usually." L leaned in close to the boy and stared directly into his eyes, clearly in Edward's personal space, though appearing entirely either unfazed or unaware of it. "If you use your head, you won't get fat even if you eat sweets," he whispered it, as though some meaningful, childish secret, before leaning back abruptly.

Out of the corner of his eye, L watched as part of his strawberry shortcake was consumed by the blonde. It was somewhat amusing to see just how immature the boy could be, and he hadn't disappointed yet. However, having warned him once already, L reached a hand across and plucked the cake from the Edward's grasp. He set it down on the table and wagged his finger once more. "That was rather rude, Elric-kun," he chided, as though reprimanding a small child, before swiping a finger across the whipped-cream covered top of the cake and bringing it to his lips, licking off the creamy substance.

"Most people don't like how I do a many things." L said without turning his gaze to look at the boy. He couldn't remember the number of times the police force from several countries had vehemently disagreed with his unorthodox methods; so it was no surprise that a young adult with little to no knowledge of the inner workings of proper investigations, let alone L's approach to criminals, would feel slightly irritated.

"I see." was all he said. "As aforementioned, our killer only attacks children, and it seems children without much supervision." He lifted his hand again and sucked idly on the tip of his thumb. "Hm.."

[Edward Elric]

"Eh.." Seconds away from simply shoving the ill-mannered man back into his seat and just as quickly they were an appropriate distance apart. His lips tugged downward in a confused way, really not getting that comment. It could be taken as an insult but he really doubted it was anything but a statement. And an odd one. For an intellectual to believe any stupid ideas like that would be laughable. If that were true, he'd look anorexic.

"Personal space; you heard of it? And that doesn't even make sense. Not a good excuse for pigging out, though you could use it." When he did look, the man really was thin. Almost too much so. It wasn't his business though. Mouth shut around air as the food was snatched without any warning and left him to glower. There wasn't too much left anyways, no L was simply denying him the food because he could. The second wagging finger was swat down. "Oh? Were there strawberries in that one?"

"That might be saying something," he muttered and gave up claim to the cake. He favored pie anyways. Something inside stirred and he felt the inexplicable need to snap at the other. And oh, how he tried to suppress the urge. He failed, by the way. "I doubt nineteen is a 'child'. Does that mean he was only after Al?"

Technically this allowed him to be Al's guardian but the apartment had been under Hohenheim's name. Said drunk never paid rent and only returned for a few days each month, but as far as Ed was concerned, that made life easier. Some kids were stuck with their drunken failures of parents. Fingers tapped along the arm of the couch. "How are we supposed to find him if the suspects are only narrowed down?"

[l]

Picking up yet another strawberry truffle, L slipped passed his lips and into his mouth. "The organ that uses up the most calories in one day is the brain, Elric-kun. That's why I hold no need for physical exercise." He swallowed the candy, one hand raising and resting a thumb to his lower lip thoughtfully. The detective had immediately shot down Edward's argument without missing a beat, and appeared entirely unaffected by the rude gesture of his hand being shoved away.

"You didn't notice? Yes, there were strawberries in that one. If you'd like, I can point out each one that possesses said fruit, and you can eat the other ones." His suggestion was evidently sarcastic and rude, though by tone of voice alone, it would prove immensely difficult to justifiably call him out on it.

"Oh, yes. It certainly is." L stretched his body forward, though kept his feet firmly in place upon the cushion. He pinched the handle of a hot teapot between his index finger and thumb, lifted it up and poured it into one of two floral-patterned teacups. He set the teapot down and raised the cup and saucer up, resting on his knees. Leaning his face down, L took a slow, carefully measured sip before pulling away and grimacing slightly. He reached down once more to pluck a sugar cube from a small dish and dropped it in, before continuing to drop several more in until deemed sweet enough to consume.

Sipping once more, L nodded his head and glanced upwards, peering at the blonde, and continued their conversation as though this long (and what could be considered inconvenient) intervention. "Yes, it is possible he was just after your brother. You could have been nothing but a minor disturbance." He punctuated this statement with another loud sip.

[Edward Elric]

Ed already knew that much but he had never heard that thinking hard managed to burn more calories than not. He hadn't spent much time worrying over grades let alone his absent record when he had gone to school. Back when he could manage to attend, he'd usually get into a fight or mouth off to the teacher. They always thought his perfect scores were products of skillful cheating. Doubtful that any of the hags would accuse him if he flashed them an inch of his new arm. Not like he would but the thought was amusing.

"I prefer physical. Sitting around thinking hard doesn't seem entirely thrilling." Edward grumbled under his breath as he was practically mocked, eyes now on the ceiling and feigning bored. "If I did eat one, that old guy'd make you more anyways. And no, thank you, I'll just try the guess-and-check method~"

Slowly his gaze lowered back to the detective and that lazy expression eventually turned into something of a grimace. Yea, he loved pie and had a bad habit of turning to the more sweet foods but seriously there had to be a limit. Sweatdrop. Well apparently eleven was said limit. He almost didn't notice that his words had all but been ignored. Almost. That thought would have irked him were he not abnormally disgusted by the other's display of his sweet tooth's capabilities. Upon receiving a reply, the blond had to focus and recall what he had said in the first place.

"Uh, yea, right." In retrospect, he was grateful. Most others would use that to insult him despite the inappropriate situation. This day wasn't anything like he imagined and the fact that he was loosening up really worked at his nerves. His tone dropped to the more serious voice he had adopted when he decided his plan. "So how are we going to find him then? Just wait for it to happen again?"

[l]

L nodded his head. "Yes, that old guy does tend to make me many types of sugared sweets," L agreed, clearly insulting the blonde's inability to bestow the common courtesy of remembering names, "Oh, and I will have to ask Elric-kun to refrain from his 'guess-and-check method," he said, tone of voice clearly stating that it was not up to debate, "as strawberry is my favourite." This statement was punctuated with another strawberry truffle being lifted off the table and consumed by his lips once more.

"Hm.." L said thoughtfully, sipping at the grainy substance again, "We could wait for him to do it again, and probably lose another young victim in the process..or we could bait him." He took another sip. L had no qualms using the boy himself as a tactic, though that would inevitably take time. What with the hype of the media and public, it wasn't safe to put him out where simple citizens could see him and disrupt the entire procedure. Of course, that could be just the point..

Killers tend to make a habit of killing people, and if one of their victims remains alive, odds are they would like to finish the job. He lolled his head from side to side, eyes fixed lazily on the ceiling as he thought, weighing his options. "We could use you," he said after several minutes, "to lure him."

[Edward Elric]

Oh.. oh, Edward knew what was going on here. He was horrible at this sort of insulting but he could recognize it well enough. Mustang did the exact same thing, only there was a smirk in place of that polite facade. The bastard officer didn't deserve to be a part of the law enforcement system. Due to his record with the cops, the man got away with stopping him at random- to mock and pretty much harass him. He hadn't seen that jerk excluding once at the hospital. That was one perk of protective custody. Hardly made up for the negatives of course. "Hm.." He tried on the deep-thought bull himself and rested his chin in his hands, tilting his head. "Well, I can usually tell the first few bites."

Pale lips twitched downwards and he had to force the tension to ease; that wasn't what he had meant. Of course L added on five words that halted his growing agitation. The insinuated suggestion was something he had already considered, even mentioned to the cops the first time they mentioned Al's funeral arrangements but the damn "risks". He was fine with the risks. Apparently that wasn't enough for them. Blinking slowly, he nodded without hesitation.

"The police didn't even let me outside for a second without some babysitter." Clearly the other would already understand law enforcement issues with the plan. "What kind of detective are you?" The question, for once, didn't sound annoyed or even condescending. He almost sounded like he found the situation funny. And maybe he did. There L sat, chewing at his thumb, in fetal position, hunched, scolding him about strawberry treats. It was a surreal experience, not so different from the last few months admittedly.

[l]

"I'm very glad to hear it." L replied swiftly. He sipped his tea calmly, once again staring at Edward. "Oh, yes, I've already gone over the pros and cons of the police force's objection to this sort of action." He paused, reaching a hand onto the coffee table and picked up three more sugar cubes. Dropping them into his muddy tea one by one, he continued. "However, you are of age, Elric-kun. And you are a part of this case. Therefor, if you wish to contribute yourself to the case's disposal, you are more than welcome. And I would strongly suggest you do as well, provided catching our killer is your top priority." He finished the statement with another loud (and no doubt exaggerated) sip from his tea.

"Oh?" L asked, looking momentarily surprised by the question. He let his face fall back into its usual apathetic appearance however, and replied. "I am a good detective." He reached a hand once more downwards towards the offee table and retrieved a small, chocolate coated donut. Brining it to his lips, L began licking off the chocolate frosting, rolling it between his fingers as to consume all of it, before pausing. "No.." he murmured, "I am the best detective." He nodded his head once and poked out his tongue once more, licking off the chocolate coating.

"So, Elric-kun," he said between licks, "I will accept you're final answer now. Are you sure you want to be used as bait?" He expected the retort to be a sarcastic and passionate (in the way that a teenage boy was). One that undoubtedly would possess one to two insults to either L's intelligence or appearance, and another directed at their killer himself. This wasn't the most desirable of responses, but L definitely preferred it over the other option. Declining L's offer was what most people would do, but L was fairly certain that, as a final decision, the teen would agree.

[Edward Elric]

Ed didn't care about the technicalities. He was well aware that with his record, this was probably the only time he'd be able assist the cops.. if that's who was running this operation. He had begun to doubt it since L had just overridden the cop's last order. It was also obvious that being bait was the quickest and simplest strategy. The more they had spoken, the less hopeful he had been about finding this guy anytime soon but now it would be a snap and he wouldn't even have to break into any cells to finish the bastard. It could even be called self defense.

"So would I. If I can do this than it's the only way to find him before he does it again. Of course I'd agree." Fists clenched loosely as he stared intently at the other as though he had to prove it.

"You're okay but we'll see about good if we can pull this off." He felt his mouth frown softly as the detective in charge continued lapping at the stupid chocolate. The younger reached over and took the case files since L seemed very entertained himself, as well as for a distraction from the odd scene.

"It's my only choice." Then flipped through to the pages to get passed his file, and skim through the other attacks. He'd already collected as much as he could from newspapers and had Winry retrieve any reference material on serial killers. Anything and everything allowed to the public, he had read through practically every night. The bait idea could actually work. Often did. You didn't have to be a genius shrink to understand the common sense of a killer needing to finish off their victims. "So yes. How soon would we be able to set this trap thing up?"

[l]

"That's good," L replied absentmindedly, licking off the chocolate slowly. His eyes followed the blonde's hand as he took the police report and watched him with a slight degree of interest. "I don't think it's particularly fair for one to judge another on their status when this is the first time they've met," he said offhandedly, "Though I'm not one to argue to even defend my own honour very often, I doubt you've heard of a single case that I have been involved in."

He dipped the donut into his tea, eyes glued to it in a way that implied he was far more fascinated with it than the current conversation. "Though, if you wish to be ignorant, feel more than welcome. I in no manner wish to change your opinion of me." He took a small bite out of the moistened end of the chocolate donut as he finished, feeling the slightly melted chocolate dissolve in his mouth.

"I am going to warn you however, Elric-kun," L said, voice taking an abrupt change in tone. He had turned his gaze to look at the blonde. "Do not let your anger interfere. It is not our duty to kill him, but the country's. He will undoubtedly receive the death penalty, though that does not mean you are in any way qualified to take his life. Does Elric-kun understand?" L's eyes had gone back to his donut and he dipped it once more into the too-sweet beverage. His entire composure had changed so abruptly that it seemed as though his moment of seriousness hadn't happened at all. "Oh, I'm not sure when.." he murmured. "Well, it all depends, really. Do you know self-defense?"

[Edward Elric]

The frown deepened with each distracted word. His insults weren't even accompanied by direct focus. No wonder L rarely met with people; his social skills sucked. The blond grunted and leaned heavily into the cushions of the couch as he read through the classified notes. "I heard about your other cases already but I'd rather make my opinion on my own. Never said you were bad either. I think your ego's just easily bruised." The younger yawned and didn't even bother moving the paper from between them as he spoke.

"Pfff.." Edward had rehearsed this behavior ever since he'd regained common sense and knew better than to mention revenge. There was no point announcing such when he knew full and well the police wouldn't allow it. "I know already. I only wanna stop the bastard from doing it again. That's all. I'm not stupid enough to get my ass sent to prison for someone like him."

He didn't bother lowering the paper even then, sounding more bored than anything. A horrible actor, yes, but lying was natural if one rehearsed it enough. The paper barrier made it easier. One hand released a corner to give a lazy mock salute. "Yea, yea, I understand, sir~" As soon as the ambiance returned to a more casual kind, he dropped his hand down so that the file rested in his lap. "Of course I do." A tiny grin graced his features, almost unnoticeable in that lighting.

[l]

"I don't have an ego," L replied without missing a beat, "just a sense of being." He took another small nibble out of the donut. "Anyway, we're simply basing my skills on past experiences. It is unjustly to base all of my abilities on one case. So, logically, your opinion is incorrect, Elric-kun." His eyes didn't leave his tea cup throughout this retort.

"I would appreciate it if you refrained from using such language around me, Elric-kun," he added offhandedly, "Cursing makes one seem very unintelligent, so I would suggest you prevent from using such offensive words. Though, do not let me coerce you into changing your speech patter," L sipped at his tea again, satisfied, swishing around the grainy and moistened liquid in his mouth before swallowing and continuing, "After all, I'm in no position, ne?"

"Oh, there's no need to call me sir, Elric-kun. Ryuuzaki will suffice." L licked along the donut, holding an astonishingly uncanny resemblance to a child. He tilted his head upwards slightly to look at Edward. "Oh, do you? Regardless, you will be taking lessons to further your abilities in that area." L diverted his eyes once again to look fascinatingly at the donut, awaiting the explosion that was soon to follow this statement.