L doesn't return Cesar's smile, but he also doesn't make any kind of move to impede him as he leaves with both notebooks. There's a mildly dazed quality to the way he watches the other man leave, as though he knows he's watching something important disappearing, knowing full well that he's powerless to stop it.

When Cesar comes back, the coffee is ready and waiting for him, complete with cream and sugar, set at the side of a plate with three slices of absolutely charred french toast.