Just Before The Beginning

Time: ? ?

Date: ? ?

Location: ? ?

Ema Skye didn't know what she'd done to deserve Klavier Gavin. Clearly, there had been some mistake when her fate had been breathed into her because this simply could not be her life.

Why her?

Just…. why?

.'.

Time: 11:56 PM

Date: 26 August 2027

Location: Criminal Affairs Department

"Fräulein."

Ema groaned. Surely, at almost midnight, she could get some peace and quiet from the fop? Was that too much to ask? What could the vain moron be doing here at this time?

No, he couldn't be here. She was just hallucinating. Still, the surprised tone of his voice made her turn to see, to make sure.

Okay. She was either more tired than she thought she was (because he looked unbelievably real, his hair unkempt as if he'd raked it with his hand one too many times and a stubble had gathered to frame his jaw) or he really was here.

Given her luck and inability to shake him off (not to mention a severe lack of imagination), she decided it had to be the latter.

"What are you doing here?" they said in unison, her intense irritation at complete odds with the amiability of his.

Klavier cracked a smile. "I cannot seem to find one of my rings. I thought that maybe I had left it here."

Ema blinked. "You... You travelled halfway across town for a RING?"

Klavier flashed her a smile. "I always knew you were astute, Fräulein."

"Don't patronize me, Gavin," she said sharply. "Just go buy another one."

Please, just GO!

"Ah, I cannot." He shrugged good-naturedly. "This one holds sentimental value for me."

Ema snorted. "Then it was pretty stupid of you to take it off."

"Another intelligent observation," he said with a smile.

She glowered at him, not bothering to respond this time. When he did nothing except continue to stare at her, Ema turned back to her paperwork and continued her work.

"You should not stay here so late, Fräulein," he said, walking closer to her desk. "Especially when everybody else has gone home."

"It's the only time I can work uninterrupted," she said curtly. "Or so I thought anyway."

"Ah ha ha!" he chuckled. "Fret not, my lovely detective. I will not bother you for very long."

Ema might have been thankful were it not for the fact that she very much doubted he would follow through on that too-good-to-be-true promise. So, instead of answering him, she continued with the paperwork, thankful when she saw Klavier beginning to roam the cubicles, obviously looking for his trinket.

The silence was blissful — for the entire five minutes that it lasted. When he randomly began to whistle, Ema closed her eyes in protest; she couldn't let him see she was annoyed. That was exactly what he wanted.

Her self-restraint lasted for an even shorter three minutes: the prosecutor exclaimed triumphantly upon finding the ring on the floor and as soon as he was done sliding it on his finger, he broke out the air guitar. As if the motion wasn't distracting enough, he then began to sing.

Dear God.

"Would you STOP?"

Klavier seemed not at all bothered by her outburst as he threw her a glance while his fingers continued to strum the guitar that only he could see. She watched, incredulous that anybody could be so obnoxious, as he concluded with his trademark extravagance and smirked at her.

"I refuse to believe anybody as lovely as yourself could begrudge me this small display of satisfaction at having found my family heirloom and so I can only conclude that you must be suffering from exhaustion."

"I am not suffering from — wait a minute." She frowned. "Heirloom?"

"Ja." Klavier nodded. "If my mother knew I had lost this, I can quite assure you she would have my head."

"Hmph. It's a shame you found it then."

Klavier simply laughed. "Come, Fräulein," he said with a smile. "I will drop you off home."

"I have too much work to do."

"Whatever it is, it can wait," he said, coming to stand next to her.

"It can't." To demonstrate the truthfulness of her response, she resumed her filling of the forms before her. Confirming the authenticity of forensic reports, fine-tuning details of the autopsy and submitting the evidence lists as valid…

"I am your boss," Klavier said leaning in, "and I say this can wait until tomorrow."

Ema turned her glare on him. "Well, sir, as I'm the one actually doing the work, I think it's safe to assume I have a better estimation of what can and can't wait."

"I go through the same documents after you are done with them," he pointed out. "I also have a pretty good estimation of how much time this takes."

"Then you know I can't go home yet." Why was she even bothering to argue with him?

"That is why I know you can," he contradicted.

"Would you go get your beauty sleep?" She scowled at him. "You're irritating the hell out of me and I really don't need you taking up what precious time I have left."

"I am simply concerned about your health, Detective."

Damn him. Why was he still smiling?

She turned away. "Whatever, you glimmerous fop," she said waving him off. "Do me a favour and go home. Leave me alone."

Finally! He was moving! She had obviously gotten past that ego eclipsing his brain. If only she'd known that a few harsh words was all it took, she'd have done it a long time ago.

Wait, hadn't she already?

What she didn't realise was that though Klavier was moving, he most certainly wasn't going anywhere. To her great annoyance, he crouched down beside her desk and rested his arms against the edge of her table, using them as a resting place for his chin. Ema waited for him to make some stupid remark but all she could see out of the corner of her eye, was a very quiet, very still prosecutor staring at her as if she were a recently found, priceless art.

She turned on him with suspicious scrutiny. "You're not going to go away, are you?"

One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile and he shook his head.

"And you're not going to make this easy."

The other corner of his mouth joined in the ascent as he shook his head again.

Her eyes were threatening to disappear into the thunderstorm of an expression her face was playing host to. "Do your best," she sniffed, turning to her work. "I am NOT moving from this spot."

"Neither am I," he said pleasantly.

She scoffed. "Like that bothers me."

Ema really should have known better. He always bothered her so why should this have been any different? Of course it wasn't. She was foolish to have thought it would be.

"Fräulein Detective," he said in a deceptively genial voice after a few moments of comfortable silence had passed. "Did you know that your hair is a source of intense fascination for me?"

She almost skewered the paper with her pen; the 'i' she had been dotting became an 'l' and she stared at it, subconsciously registering the mess she'd made — she disliked making the slightest mistake in such important documents — but her mind was on the ridiculous comment Klavier Gavin had just made.

"What?"

"When we are out," he continued, staring at her hair so intensely that she lifted a hand to it self-consciously, "it is almost as if it traps the very essence of sunlight in its silken confines."

Hearing her hair described in such a ridiculously poetic fashion snapped her out of it.

"Ugh."

That one sound would have had most men retreating: it carried the weight of all her disgust and displeasure but Klavier was unfazed. As Ema straightened the sheet to correct the mistake she'd made, Klavier tilted his head and it took all her willpower to refrain from looking at him.

"And when it falls around your face like that..." She almost cringed at his sigh. "It is nigh impossible to resist you."

She knew what he was doing and there was no way he would succeed. She wouldn't let him. Uh-Uh. No way.

"I am quite content to stay here all night and stare at you."

The way he was murmuring was really starting to bother her. Why did he sound so—?

NO! No! He was just trying to make her uncomfortable. She wouldn't let him! Determined, Ema pursed her lips and switched the documents, starting to fill in a new form.

"If you did not don that lab coat," he mused, "you would be fighting off men with every weapon you could get your hands on — both legal and illegal." He paused as if an idea had occurred to him. "Perhaps I should get you a handgun or pepper spray for Christmas — maybe both."

A muscle in her neck began to tick as she fought hard to keep from throttling him and — blast it — she was beginning to blush under his scrutiny. Never mind that his remarks were unbelievably nonsensical.

"Do you know how sexy you are?"

And that was about all the impatient detective could take. She slammed her folder shut and jumped to her feet, looking down into his deep blue eyes that now twinkled with triumph.

"Let's go."

Klavier's smile exploded into a laugh and he rose to his feet while pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Wise choice, Detective."

Ema thought it best to keep her thoughts to herself — she was so flustered that she could barely think straight. The faster she got out of here, the faster she could get home and out of his company. There was no point arguing the lift she was sure he would thrust upon her, wanted or not, so she simply turned away to gather her things.

Five minutes later, she was stalking out of the door, her back arched stiffly in discomfort while a grinning Klavier followed after her, the satisfaction radiating off him like the glimmerousness she always accused him of possessing.

.'.

Time: 5:48 PM

Date: 14 November 2027

Location: Gumshoe Residence

Ema smiled at the sight of Dick and Maggey Gumshoe cooing over their newborn as a crowd of well-wishers gathered to take a look at the baby.

According to the Gumshoes (and ironically enough) their son was their good luck charm. Considering the overflowing bad luck the parents suffered from, it made some sort of cosmic sense that their son would be the herald of good luck. Ever since his birth, Maggey's shocking streak of misfortunes had disappeared, Gumshoe's salary had increased as opposed to dropping every month and they were both able to move into a bigger home. Most importantly, there was not a single pot of noodles to be found in their cupboards.

Not being a believer in luck, Ema simply assumed they'd stopped doddering about because of this new responsibility. Whatever the case may be, Ema was happy for them. They deserved it.

"Herr Gumshoe looks proud, ja?"

Oh dear Lord.

Ema's scepticism went right out of the window the moment Klavier came to stand by her; whatever bad luck Maggey had had, it had obviously been transferred to her. How could she have spent every moment between arriving at the party and now trying to avoid the fop and STILL end up next to him? She'd stayed in one place for too long dammit.

"Well, obviously he's proud," she said impatiently. "He's a dad!"

"Indeed. It is a most magical moment, do you not think?" Klavier went on, completely uncaring of the exasperation she displayed every time he approached her. "Holding your child in your arms after so many months of anticipation?"

Something in his voice made Ema stop and stare at him. He was watching Gumshoe with… was that wistfulness she saw in his gaze?

"I guess so," she said carefully. Somehow, she didn't think one of her snaps would be appropriate for this moment. The faraway look in his eye told her Klavier was thinking about something important and though he irritated her, she would never intentionally scorn him for such a… sweet comment.

Ema's eyes widened. Sweet? Had she lost her mind? He wasn't sweet! He was annoying and irritating and — and —!

Well, he was downright infuriating!

But that didn't mean he couldn't be sweet. In fact, he'd proven it right now and, as much as she hated to admit to it, there was a certain warmth in Klavier's observation of the pair.

And she was strangely moved by it.

"Do you think we will ever have that?"

Ema choked on air. "W-What!"

"A child," Klavier explained, seemingly unaware of Ema's reaction. "Do you think we will have one someday?"

Shocked into splutters, Ema could do little more than gape at him while he continued to stare at the Gumshoes. When Ema didn't reply he looked at her and his smile broke out into one of those it's-time-to-annoy-my-favourite-Fräulein smiles.

"Oh." He laughed as he finally understood her plight. "I did not mean you and I as a couple." Suddenly, his eyes blazed with mischief. "Though I do believe that with our genetic pool, we would produce the most beautiful children the world ever—"

"Shut it, fop!" she exclaimed, her cheeks on fire.

Knowing that to stay was to invite further cheekiness, Ema turned on the spot and fled.

And Klavier did what every guy did when a girl ran — he chased.

.'.

Time: 1:07 PM

Date: 19 December 2027

Location: The Prosecutor's Office

Ema was in serious trouble.

Why oh why oh WHY? The world was so unfair! Whose great idea had it been to hang mistletoe in the office anyway? Didn't they know that the office was for work? If she ever found out whose fault this all was, she'd take her gun and shove it up their—

That is, if she wasn't stripped of her badge and firearm. Ema turned cold at the thought. Surely — surely — they couldn't take her badge from her for this, could they? It wasn't her fault Klavier and she had ended up under the mistletoe or that he'd decided to try his luck or that she'd slapped him right across his face…

Ema cringed. Okay, so the slap was her fault. But she wouldn't have had to smack him if he hadn't tried to kiss her! The fact that she was now in his office, waiting for him to come back from wherever he'd gone and decide her fate was unbelievably, disgustingly unfair. She'd made her sentiments for him abundantly clear and his move in spite of this was reckless, stupid and…!

Well he'd been asking for it!

It wasn't her fault that seeing him lean in with that ridiculously handsome face of his had left her panicking. In fact, the handprint she'd left him with was well deserved. He had completely brought it on himself.

"Fräulein Skye."

Ema's back stiffened when she head his voice behind her. He didn't sound as annoyed now as he had straight after the slap (she was sure that she'd remember the anger that had flickered in his eyes for the rest of her life).

Still, the fact that he was using her name rather than the usual nickname wasn't a good sign.

She glanced sideways when he moved around the desk to take his seat opposite her but she kept her gaze lowered to his feet. For once, Ema lacked the courage to look him in the eye.

"Do you realise the repercussions of your actions?" he asked in a formal tone.

Ema's head shot up and she glared at him. "My—"

She pursed her lips, knowing there was no use trying to remind him it was his flirtatiousness that had started the whole thing. Why should she have to simply accept his kiss?

Klavier raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he prompted.

"Nothing."

"No, please continue," he said leaning forward and placing his hands on the table.

"It's nothing."

"I insist."

Her eyes flashed. "Insist all you want. I don't care." What the hell are you saying? Aren't you in enough trouble as it is?

"I see." He stared at her with serious eyes.

Ema really wanted to ask him if he was going to fire her now. Somehow she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. Klavier might be a fop, a glimmerous fop, but he had always struck her as being just and honest. He couldn't seriously let his wounded ego decide her fate.

Could he?

Just stay quiet, she told herself. If you stay quiet and don't argue with him, maybe he'll feel guilty enough to let this go an you can keep your job. All you have to do is keep your eyes down, mouth shut and—

"Are you going to fire me?" she blurted out.

Nice. So much for the silent treatment.

She couldn't be sure but she thought she saw his mouth twitch at the corners. "That depends upon your answer."

"My answer?" she echoed.

"Your answer," he repeated, leaning back in his chair leisurely.

"To what?"

Klavier regarded her for a moment. "Am I repulsive to you?"

Ema's eyes widened and she was sure she hadn't heard him properly. "Um. What?"

"Do you find me repulsive?" he said, slowly this time.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed without thinking and then blushed, stuttering to save herself from mortification. "I m-mean, you're Klavier Gavin. If you were repulsive, your face wouldn't be on every billboard from here to China, would it?"

Klavier arched an eyebrow. "Indeed." He paused. "I think you to be beautiful Fräulein."

Heat flared up in her cheeks and she looked away. What had he just said?

"In any case, I will not take action against you—" she sighed in relief "—if you accede to being my date for the Christmas party."

Ema blanched. "Christmas party?"

Klavier nodded. "I will be hosting it this year — at my home, of course — and I wish for you to be at my side when the guests begin to arrive."

He wants me there before everyone else? What the heck is that all about?

Ema had always been practical so despite these rather unsettling questions, she pursed her lips and nodded. If she could handle coming to work for him every day, she most certainly could go to this… party to save her job.

"Excellent." He beamed at her dazzlingly, jumping to his feet, and led her to the door. "Your invitation will be delivered to you tonight, however the rest will not be out until tomorrow. Your silence would be most welcome until then."

As if I have a choice, she thought wryly, watching him lock his door. "Sure."

Klavier looked to her with another smile as he began to walk backwards. "I will see you soon."

"Where are you going?" Ema called out without thinking.

"I have some business to attend to," he said. "Have a good day, Detective!"

"Er..." Ema glanced at all the staff walking by who were glancing at her curiously. "Thanks."

After all, what did one say to one's boss after having slapped him and then blackmailed into being his date (Ema nearly choked) for his Christmas party?

Huh. Just when she thought she'd got herself out of a mess, Ema began to realize that it was NOW that she was well and truly screwed.

Problem was, she wasn't quite sure why.