(-- --)
A Thread of Destiny
Ema Skye poked her head into the Wright Anything Agency. It certainly looked different than when she here nine years ago. Instead of being pristine clean and organized, props were littered around. No doubt they belonged to Trucy. She looked up at the bookshelf next to the door. She remembered they used to be filled with difficult books about the law. There were still on the bookshelf, but in between they were diluted with books about magic. Of course, Trucy.
Walking across the room, she opened the door at the end.
"Apollo? Trucy?" she called.
Now this was more like it. She definitely remembered this room. It was Mr. Wright's office. The desk that stood there was neat. A few props were on top of files. The bookshelf behind it was jam packed with books. The blinds were open and the Gatewater Hotel could be seen across the way. The Steel Samurai poster that was on the wall nine years ago was gone. It was replaced with a poster of Troupe Gramayre. Ema spotted a familiar plant in the corner of the room.
"Charley!" she exclaimed.
"Hi, Ema."
She turned around to see Phoenix in the doorway. She beamed at him. She felt like she was sixteen again. "Hi, Mr. Wright!"
"Nice seeing you again, Ema." He walked over to the desk to dump a couple of files on it. "What brings you here?"
"I came to see Apollo and Trucy. Are they here?"
"You just missed them. You're welcome to wait for them though. Doubt it will take that long." He checked his watch. "I actually have to be somewhere now. I'm meeting some old friends."
"Old friends?" Ema brightened up again. "Like Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Yeah, he'll be there. He's bringing another one of our old friends with him." Phoenix closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ema was sure she saw him shudder for a moment. "I just hope she isn't going to whip me again."
"W-whip?"
"Franziska von Karma. She's also a prosecutor. Met her in court a couple times in the past. She personally likes to whip anyone who crosses her in the slightest way. The first time she lost to me in court, she was so angry; she whipped me until I passed out."
Ema tilted her head to side a little. Franziska von Karma sounded like a fearsome woman to behold. An idea clicked in her head. She smiled.
"Mr. Wright?"
"Yeah?"
"If it's all right with you, can I tag along and meet your friends?" She fidgeted. "Specifically Ms. von Karma."
Phoenix raised an eyebrow. She could tell he was surprised that the reason she wanted to go with him was not because of Mr. Edgeworth but for someone else. He shrugged. "Sure. Let's go."
(-- --)
Ema stood on the spot, staring at the crime scene. After a thorough inspection of the scene, she had gathered all of the evidence she could. She was bored with watching other police officers scramble around the scene, trying to see if they could find anything else out. Her excitement had already passed. She already had used her bottle of luminol, and there weren't any fingerprints to be found. She was busy munching on her Snackoos to pass the time.
Then she heard it. She heard those terrible loud shrieks and giggling. She didn't have to create a hypothesis on whom it could be. It was a scientific fact. With a groan, she whirled around to see those stupid fan girls. If there were fan girls around then he would be, too. And if he was around, then her crime scene was going to get trashed.
The giggling was getting closer now. Ema stuffed her Snackoos into her bag. She plunged her hand deeper and found what she was looking for. She drew it out and uncoiled it. Since she had met Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth's "old friend," she had been practicing every night. Now was a perfect opportunity to use it.
She brandished her new whip, the end hitting the ground just in front of the group of girls. They stopped running, surprised at the way it cracked. Even the bustling police officers stopped in their tracks. They were surprised that Detective Ema Skye had a leather whip in her hand and she wasn't afraid to use it.
"This isn't a goddamn hangout! It's a crime scene! Get out of here!" she yelled.
"Jeez, what's her problem?" whispered a girl.
"Something's up her butt, that's what."
There was another crack from the whip. The girls whimpered. Ema was advancing on them, the leather whip trailing alongside her. "I said, get OUT!" She cracked her whip again. Frightened, the girls ran off.
She heard heavy footsteps approaching from behind her. She turned around and waved her whip again, its tip just meeting in front of his boots.
Klavier Gavin skid to a halt. "What's going on?" He spotted the whip in Ema's hands. He advanced on her cautiously, his hands held up. "Fraülein…"
She cracked her whip, purposely missing him by half an inch. "Don't come near me." She glared at him. She took a few steps back before turning her back on him. "Don't you all have work to do?!" she snapped at the staring officers.
(-- --)
Klavier stared at her from across the room.
The word about Detective Ema Skye's newest weapon had spread throughout the precinct. Forget hydroxyacelunodosetrase. This whip was definitely deadly. Those who had been around ten years ago remembered Franziska von Karma. Detective Gumshoe believed that she had met Ms. von Karma, and she taught Ema how to wield a whip. With Detective Skye so normally touchy, everyone was careful to keep a safe distance and only talk to her when it was necessary.
She kept him at an arm's length before. Now she really kept him at distance. She had hit him with the whip twice already. She was so adorable, he was willing to endure the pain just so he could open his mouth to tease her. Her attitude was so cold, yet fiery at the same time. It always kept him wanting more. He loved the way she smiled when it came to forensic science. He wanted her to smile like that at him. She was different from the other girls. That was what he like about her the most. She was interesting. There was no fun in chasing girls who don't run. She ran. He chased. He loved it.
It didn't take a degree to figure out that Ema was a very special girl to Klavier. It was kindergarten logic. He liked her. He teased her. He flirted with her. He asked her out. She hated him. She insulted him. She rejected his advances. She turned him down. Everyone agreed it was an adorable sight. Entertaining as well. They were sure that deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down, she liked him as well.
Klavier approached Ema's desk. She was too busy writing up reports to notice him. He leaned down, his lips hovering just above her ear.
"Fraülein Detective…" he whispered huskily.
She jumped up with a shriek. Heads turned toward them. Her hand dove for her whip, and she pushed her chair away from her desk. She lashed the whip at him. Klavier grimaced when the leather came in contact with his shoulder.
"W-what?!"
"I need a copy of the report on the victim's autopsy." He smirked at her pleasantly. He was sure she had the report completely ready, but he loved making her deliver it to his office. "I also need you to run a test for prints on the murder weapon. Bring both reports to my office when they're done."
She bit her tongue and nodded. There were so many other detectives he could ask for these reports, but no. He had to ask her. And why? Because he enjoyed annoying her. He enjoyed seeing her reaction. The only reason why she wanted to meet Franziska von Karma was because of what Mr. Wright said before.
"She personally likes to whip anyone who crosses her in the slightest way."
Klavier Gavin made her cross all the time. His stupid fan girls really irritated her. She managed to keep those girls away with the whip. Why wasn't it working with him? Was he secretly a masochist or something?
"I look forward to your reports, Fraülein," said Klavier. He turned around. He was looking forward to seeing her in his office more so than the reports.
"Glimmerous fop," he heard her mutter.
(-- --)
When he heard pounding on the door, he knew it was her.
"Come in."
She opened the door, striding into his office. Judging from the way she was walking, she only wanted to go in and get out as fast as possible. That whip of hers was coiled in her hand. Klavier eyed it for a moment.
"Here are the reports you asked for," Ema replied in a deadpan voice. She dropped two files on his desk. She rolled her eyes and turned around.
She was almost at the door when Klavier called out, "Oh Fraülein Skye?"
Ema stopped moving. She turned to look back at her boss. She uncoiled the whip in her hand. "Y-yes?"
"Quick question." He got out of his chair and leaned against the front of his desk. Oh, she hated that smirk on his face. "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"
"No," she snapped. She had managed to open the door, but Klavier had walked over to take hold of the knob and shut it close. She tried moving his hand, but he wouldn't budge. What was worse was that he was leaning against the door with his shoulder. He probably thought that he looked so cool and smug like that. Jerk.
"Oh come on…" he purred. "If we have dinner tonight, I promise no one will know. I know a lot of restaurants with dark corners so no one would know about the things we'd do--"
She brandished her whip, aiming for his chest. To her surprise, he caught the end of the whip in his hand. He twisted the leather around his arm and jerked it forward. She stumbled forward, not letting go of her end. She was too proud to let go and accept defeat at the hands of Klavier.
"Weren't you ever taught not to hit people?" Klavier asked coolly. He wrapped his arm around the whip again. Each time pulled her closer to him. It seemed like she didn't notice. She was too busy trying to tug her whip from his hold.
"Shut UP! Give me the whip back!"
He wound the whip around his arm again.
"Not a chance, Liebe." He stared down at the whip. He estimated that he could wind it around his arm two more times before their hands would touch. "I've heard before that destiny connects people together. It does so with strands of thread." He wound the whip again. "So if you think about it, then this whip right here is like our own thread."
When he wound the leather whip around his arm again, she finally noticed how close they were now. She cursed herself. She should have let go before. Klavier tugged the rest of the whip from her hand. It uncoiled from his arm and fell to their feet.
There was no way she could escape. He had pushed her up against the door. He had an arm firmly around her waist. His other hand cradled her head. She could feel his warm breath on her face. She could smell his faint cologne. She was starting to feel light-headed. He moved closer, their lips meeting. Her lips were soft and tasted like chocolate Snackoos. He pressed a little harder, sucking on her bottom lip.
Her attempts to push him away were half-hearted. He really was a good kisser. She ran her hands over his chest. They moved over his arms; she could feel the muscles under his shirt. They finally settled on his shoulders. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth. He tugged on it gently. Her lips parted, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth. Their tongues prodded each other gently.
They parted, gasping for air. Sapphire met emerald eyes. Ema's hand reached up to lightly touch her lips, which were starting to swell. Her eyes grew wide. She had just kissed Klavier Gavin, and she actually liked it.
With a hearty shove, she pushed Klavier away from her and rushed out of his office, forgetting the whip on the floor. She vigorously hit the down button to the elevator. She liked kissing him! What was wrong with her? Now how was she supposed to face him?
(-- --)
Klavier licked his lips. They still tasted like her. He grinned. He had just kissed Ema Skye, the only woman who rejected his advances. He caught her for only a moment, but she had managed to take off running. Looks like the chase was back on.
He picked up the whip from the floor. He ought to give this back to her. That way, if she tried to use it on him, he could have the chance to kiss her again.
This is my very first Phoenix Wright story, and it is a Klavier x Ema one at that. I really like this couple. They're pretty fun to write, so I might write more on them in the future.