Prompt: Theater. This one took me a moment. I haven't written with Naomi in a while. And never with Raye. (she's almost always off with someone else XD)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Moscow Theater Company, Swan Lake, oh yeah Death Note, and children to praise.

Naomi first met him at a performance of Swan Lake.

She wasn't a huge fan of plays, that was for sure. This was probably only the second or third time she'd ever stepped inside of a theater – save for the millions of instances where her school had given grade school children a chance to prance around on the auditorium stage and show off in front of proud parents armed with cameras and praise. Speaking of children, Naomi never really put too much thought into having any of her own; she didn't have a boyfriend, though all of her friends pressured her into looking. Katlyn, her best friend since college, had even set up an eHarmony account for her, but ever since that day she hadn't bothered to log on and check out the strangers who supposedly shared her interests. She was going through a strange time in her life when she wasn't sure exactly where her life was headed.

So in September, Naomi joined the FBI; a job that would take all the attention of a twenty-five-year-old single woman who had nothing to leave behind. All her friends were busy stressing about jobs and building families, while Naomi was left in the dust, so she was quite certain she wouldn't be very well missed from the occasional get-together at the newest café on the corner.

The whole matter was slightly depressing. Upon applying, she'd been asked to list important contacts, but after tapping the pen to the paper for a good few minutes she left the lines blank. No one would be able to hold her back in her decision. She faded away from the crowds, her friends, her family, until she was alone, completely alone.

And then two years later, unfortunately, Naomi was brought back to the surface of society when an old friend from high school recognized her on the streets of L.A. Reluctantly, she stopped and caught up with the girl. Her name was Ebony Recasner, 23, dancer with the Moscow Ballet Troupe, and she was in America for only a few weeks during their debut of Swan Lake . Ebony begged her to come and watch, and for some reason Naomi found herself unable to say no. Heck, maybe this might give her a chance to get back what she'd lost of her old self.

She agreed to go, and found herself sitting alone in the third row, complete strangers on one side and an empty seat on the other. Ebony was good, really good – Naomi even saw some similarities to capoeira in the dance movements – but she found it increasingly difficult to stay focused. Her eyes wandered, flitting briefly to the stage but not really following along with the storyline. The music was too slow, soft, relaxing, and after paying a considerable amount of focus to the pas de deux found herself unable to stay conscious. She slipped down into her seat, a fleeting thought being that she hoped Ebony wouldn't see it.

Naomi was jolted awake to two hands cradling her face and a low masculine voice trying to get her attention. A man only a year or so older than her towered over with icy blue eyes and black hair that reminded her of every Disney prince her friends had fawned over. He seemed concerned, and in her sleepy daze she wondered why. Then Naomi sat up and looked around, noticing the lack of general bustle and also… people, and stood up in surprise, the shock of her findings waking her up completely as if she'd downed an entire pot of coffee. "Oh my god," she muttered, racing to the lobby of the theater, where she found Ebony bidding farewell to one last audience member. Ebony beamed when she saw her, face aglow with pride, relief, and sweat.

"Sorry!" Naomi said, bowing, for a moment forgetting she was in America. "I got into a long conversation with someone…" Flat-out lie.

"Oh it's fine," Ebony chimed, waving the hand that wasn't full of flower bouquets, "I understand."

Naomi figured that a hug was the least she could do for her. "You were wonderful! Thanks so much for the seat."

"No problem." A look of worry came over her suddenly as she glanced over Naomi's shoulder. "I would've gotten you a second ticket if I'd known you were bringing someone along."

The man who'd woken her up earlier was leaned casually against the doorway, and appeared slightly surprised when he was referred to. He pointed at himself, having overheard. "You mean me?"

Naomi turned and saw him, face going blank. "Oh." She swiveled back to Ebony, a blush reddening her complexion. "No, he's not with me, I don't know him." She saw that the statement was slightly discomforting to the stranger.

"You're still single?" Ebony nodded, still suspicious. "You need to settle down. Get married, have a few kids. Maybe get divorced once or twice, have a fling here and there."

She sighed. "That's what people tell me."

Ebony grinned like a cat. "Right, Naomi. I'll leave you two 'strangers' alone." She gestured with air quotes before giggling and running backstage.

"Naomi?" The voice came from over her shoulder, practically whispered into her ear, and she jumped, recoiling and ashamed that as an FBI agent she hadn't noticed him sneak up behind her. "Whoa, sorry." He raised his hands defensively, a smirk gradually growing. "Didn't mean to scare you." His eyes softened, making her relax. "You have a very pretty name."

She was flattered by the comment, regardless of the fact that a complete stranger now knew her real name. "…Thanks," she mumbled, turning away.

Naomi barely had a chance to take two steps when the man called out to her. "Not even a thank you?" He was fiddling with his hands, maybe his nails, with his eyes lowered until they drifted up to meet hers. His entire expression was completely relaxed, as if he were totally used to having casual conversations with strangers. Naomi saw it as anything but.

"I just thanked you!" she cried. A headache was slowly growing.

"Not for that," he said, rolling his eyes. "You'd be sleeping in a cramped theater seat for the night if it hadn't been for me."

Naomi sighed, irritated by him but slightly intrigued. "Oh. That." She blushed.. "Er, thank you." She bowed and turned to leave for the second time that evening, and for the third time the man stopped her in her tracks.

"You're from Japan?"

She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, refusing to face him again. It wasn't like she had anywhere to be at the present moment, but he was still wasting her time in her opinion. Just then, an employee of the theater emerged from the front desk and asked them to leave; the theater was being closed for the night. "Thank god," she murmured and left without saying another word to him. But he followed her anyway, this time not even bothering to hide his loud footsteps behind her. She was forced to stop at a crosswalk and cursed under her breath.

Naomi took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Yes," she answered.

He smiled. "Wonderful. My mother's Japanese, you know."

"That's nice," she imagined saying with a fake smile plastered on her face, but she couldn't bring herself to do it; he was being too kind to her, too trusting. So she resorted to a "Really?" trying to sound vaguely interested, and hoped that the man would leave after the satisfaction of a short conversation.

His smile grew, looking more like a grin, as if he's finally won her over. They talked about what it was like in Japan, what their families were like, how they were doing, until the talk took a slow deviation to personal interests. She began to like him and open up to him. When he smiled or said her name her heart fluttered as if it would fly away, but Naomi knew that if it did he would steal it away forever. She laughed as she never had before when he made the most subtle remark, so much that she thought she'd tear up and stop breathing. She let him casually put an arm around her shoulders as they walked farther and farther, not even caring where they were to end up. Her legs were tired — they'd probably traveled at least several miles — but the slight pain was ignored, disappearing when their eyes met. The sky was not very dark at this point, so much so that she couldn't tell if it was still dusk or almost dawn.

The pair soon found themselves at Naomi's hotel. Earlier in the day she'd been anxious for the day to end so she could go back to the silent emptiness of her room, but now her return was daunting. She knew they wouldn't have been able to talk forever. The building towered over her, looming as never before, a shadow that threatened to separate her from the man. She wished she were back at that theater, that they could have started off without her hostility towards him, that she could have gotten to know him more.

"I still don't know your name," she said finally.

"Raye," he said calmly, staring up at the hotel sign. Then he smiled at her again, each smile never getting old, but this one was sad, disappointed. "I guess this is goodbye, Naomi."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned towards her. She expected a kiss on the lips, but instead it was planted lightly on her cheek, and somehow this was better than anything he could have given her. She blushed. Without another word, he turned and began to walk up the street.

Would she ever see him again? She didn't even know his last name; it would surely be hard for her to find him. She'd spent all these hours talking to him and she felt like she still knew nothing about him. The further he walked, something tugged at her heart, as if he were attached to it by an invisible string, each pull getting more painful until she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Raye!"

He turned to face her again, already almost half a block away, with dull surprise.

Naomi felt herself about to cry, throat closing up, and was barely able to get her words out. "Want to get some coffee?" She fidgeted, knees going weak, hoping praying pleading that he would accept. "It's nearly morning."

Raye stood rooted to the spot, shocked for a moment, and it seemed to be the longest twenty seconds of her entire life. Then he smiled again, a big ear-to-ear smile that brought her comfort, and he didn't have to open his mouth at all before she knew that Raye would say yes.

Only a few months later, it was Naomi's turn to say yes.

Ratings and reviews are much appreciated! ~