"Oh, look!" Maya gestured eagerly at something, and before Franziska could react, she was dragged along to see the structure set middle of the park.

"They've set up an ice rink!" Maya explained, grinning. "Ooh, I want to go!"

"Ice skating?" Franziska pulled her hand back as Maya let go. "Now?"

"Why not?"

"We don't even have our skates with us!" the prosecutor protested.

"Oh, they rent them," Maya told her.

The spirit medium's face fell. "Oh. You don't want to?"

A shrewd grin spread on her face. "Could it be that you don't know how..?"

"Later," Franziska told her, in a tone of voice that clearly implied the discussion was over.

"Are you ready to go?" Franziska asked Maya.

"Yeah." She eyed the odd bag Franziska was carrying. "Where are we going?"

"I was thinking we could go ice-skating. Do you have yours here with you, or did you leave them back to Kurain?"

"My what?"

"Your ice skates," Franziska specified.

"Oh, I don't own a pair."

"I see."

"We can rent a pair for me!" Maya grinned.

Franziska watched Maya pick a pair of skates.

"Hockey skates?"

She nodded.

"Do you play hockey or..?"

"No. It's just that I had never skated before few years ago. Nick took me and Pearl to ice skating, and he had never used anything else so..."

Maya stopped to stare at the pair of white figure skates that were pulled from the bag her girlfriend had brought with her. "Oh. You have your own?"

Franziska nodded. "Yes. I have to warn you, it's been a while since I skated."

"Awh, and here I was all ready to teach you how to skate!" Maya pouted, and Franziska couldn't help a smile.

Maya watched Franziska step onto the ice, a look of concentration on her face.

Maya thought she had never seen her quite like this.

Absolutely focused on something, yes, but it usually came with anger, or at least this certain steel-like animosity. Maybe because the thing she was usually focused on was defeating someone, either in court or outside it.

And once she had gotten closer to her Maya had found out the prosecutor could seem utterly relaxed when she let her guard down.

But this was neither.

Maya watched Franziska turn around, skate backwards, and after a small twirl Maya hoped she knew the proper name of, she skated back to Maya who was still standing still.

"We should go," Franziska told her, avoiding her eyes.

"What? Why? I didn't even get to skate yet!"

"I'm not good at this."

Maya couldn't believe her ears. "What? You were wonderful! You could go backwards and everything!"

"I haven't skated in years."

Maya took a shaky step on the ice and kicked off. "Come on, we just got here."

Franziska matched her speed, staying apart from the much shakier and uncertain skater.

"Have you skated long?" Maya asked.

"I started when I was seven," Franziska told her. "But I never had the temperament for it."

"What? What kind of temperament you need for ice skating?"

"I didn't want to win," she explained. "So it was better to stop altogether."

Maya could guess who had told her that. That just enjoying herself wasn't enough, that she would need to be perfect, and compete with others to make others acknowledge her perfection.

She wasn't sure if she should ask her about it. They hadn't really talked about her father much. And middle of a park probably wasn't the best place for it.

Franziska twirled around again. "But few years ago, I bought a new pair of skates."

That was all she said about it.