LARGER THAN LIFE
Like most of the general population, Scientific Investigator, Ema Skye absolutely adored weekends for many reasons: she could sleep in; she could spend the afternoon watching infomercials for scientific investigation tools; she could even go visit the Wrights (plus Justice) for dinner. But by far, Ema Skye's favourite part of the weekend was the fact that she did not have to see her glimmerous fop of a superior for two whole days.
Now she couldn't deny that their initially rocky professional relationship was steadily improving with time (and lots of patience), but even after having known the rock-star prosecutor for over a year, she was still finding her superior's arduous personality to be tolerable at best. It wasn't until a chance encounter just weeks ago that she had finally managed to connect with Klavier Gavin on a personal level, and thus was the start of their mismatched friendship. However, given the frequent nature of their work-related encounters, Ema found maintaining her friendship with Klavier to be almost as strenuous as meeting the endless demands of Prosecutor Gavin.
In desperate need of time away from her colleague/friend/glimmerous fop, the young detective found herself wandering the streets of the downtown fashion district, en route to her first lunch date that was not with Klavier Gavin in over two weeks.
And it was on that beautiful Saturday afternoon that Ema stood frozen amidst all the bustling fashionistas, gaping at the main source of her exhaustion. Much to her dismay, he simply stared back through smouldering half lidded eyes.
"Ema! I have been shouting at you since I was at the end of the block. What on earth are you doing?"
The familiar face of a discontent Lana Skye popped up in front of Ema's field of vision, obstructing her view of the rock god. Following her younger sister's unfaltering gaze, the elder Skye noticed the massive billboard advertisement that Ema's eyes were glued upon.
"Oh, for Pete's sake, aren't you a little too old to be gawking at underwear models in public?!"
"No… he… I know him…" Coherent thought hadn't quite returned to her yet, so she simply lifted an unsteady finger.
Lana turned again to confirm the identity of her younger sister's attention, as well as the conspicuous bulge the finger seemed to be indicating.
"Stop pointing, Ema," Lana scolded disapprovingly as she pushed the limp arm down, "I can assure you that most of the country is familiar with that man." She always knew exactly how to make those around her feel dumb.
"No, no!" Regaining her speech, Ema finally managed to tear her eyes away from the digitally enhanced vibrant blue orbs of her acquaintance. "Lana, I know him personally – I work with him!"
A concerned frowned suddenly overtook Lana's formerly unimpressed stare. "Have you abandoned your law enforcement career already?"
Ema quickly quelled her sister's worries, while explaining her professional relation to the "model".
In response, the former Chief Prosecutor could only bitterly mutter: "This is what happens when you leave Payne to take over, I suppose," before turning on her heels and leading the more confused of the two towards their intended destination.
"Come on, Ema. We're going to be late for our lunch reservations."
"Don't you think there's something wrong with that ad?" Ema snuck one last glance at the suggestive advertisement, before following her sister's swift pace.
"I certainly do." Her older sister answered while forging ahead in full force, "Prosecutors should be upholding a highly respectable image, even that rock-god incarnate of yours."
Ema pursed her lips, "Well, I meant besides the obvious, Sis."
This earned her a quick backwards glance, "I'm not sure what you're trying to allude to, Ema. Aside from the fact that the man on the billboard is a reputable prosecutor, I have no qualms with that advertisement. If anything, I'd say it's quite effectively done."
There was nothing in Lana's response that Ema could object to – but still, there's something off…
Ema wasn't able to give her rock-star colleague's new side job a second thought until she was stepping onto twelfth floor of the Prosecutor's Office late Monday afternoon.
As the secretary was paging the busy celebrity over the phone, Ema's gaze fell to the magazine sitting on the desk in front of her. And there stared back a shiny centrefold of the very prosecutor she was about to meet with. Again, Ema found herself inexplicably discomfited by the provocative advertisement.
Klavier was no longer flaunting his male assets, instead displaying his masculinity by protectively clutching a topless female against his bare chest. Both models were intensely staring at the camera, with seductive pouts from Cover Girl worthy lips.
Noticing her deep concentration on the photograph, the secretary turned the magazine so that it was facing Ema right side up, "Really makes you want to get into those jeans, hm?"
Ema was completely taken aback by her bold declaration, "Isn't he your boss?!"
The young woman airily laughed, "He's also a gorgeous male specimen. And judging by the way you were staring, I'd say you'd agree, Miss Skye."
"I was not staring at Prosecutor Gavin." Ema retorted evenly, "I just couldn't help but notice there's something off about him in this picture."
"Mmmmm?" the other woman pulled the magazine towards herself, examining the photograph carefully, "It looks perfect to me. Honestly, with a face like that, he's a natural at this job – modelling, I mean," she added with a wink.
Though Ema would never admit it, she had to agree that Klavier was certainly attractive enough to pursue this new career, but there was still something else gnawing away at her.
There is definitely something not natural in these photos…
Klavier immediately knew something was wrong when his favourite Fräulein Detective handed him the thick stack of papers in a dour silence.
"Is something the matter?" He asked trying to catch her eye, only to be skilfully evaded.
"Not really," was the hallow response.
Proceeding to sign the monotonous legal documents, Klavier watched from the corners of his eyes as Ema's gaze drifted around the room, falling on every object except for him.
"Have I done something to make you uncomfortable, Fräulein Detective?" His eyes flickered upwards for a brief instance while his signatures seamlessly continued to flow on the papers.
"No…" Though the way she subtly pursed her lips said otherwise.
Choosing not to badger the moody detective about her change in attitude, Klavier simply returned to the boring task before him.
"So… I went downtown this weekend…" Ema broke her silence a few moments later, though she still appeared to be adamantly refusing to look his way.
Klavier decided to feign disinterest, focussing on the papers in front of him. "Hmm… fascinating," he teased with a hint of a smirk.
His remark was ignored as the young woman continued her story, "and I saw you in heart of the fashion district…"
Out of habit, he began twirling a strand of his hair, trying to recall his own weekend, "I believe you are mistaken, ja? I was not in that area on either—"
"No, I meant…" there was another pause, "you in your clothing advertisement – that… large billboard on Queen Street."
Ah, so this is what brought about the cold shoulder.
He knew that if anyone would object to the newest addition to his resume, it would be the brutally frank detective he had recently befriended. Truth be told, he was expecting the harshest criticism to come from her and judging by her hesitant tone, Klavier could tell Ema was still testing the waters – unsure of how deep she could go given their budding friendship.
"And what did you think of it, Fräulein?"
A plethora of predictable answers flooded through his mind: 'have the decency to wear some clothes', 'stop flaunting that annoying mug', 'you're a disgrace to the judicial system'…
"… It's just not you."
Of all the possible answers, that was certainly not one he was prepared for. "Pardon me?"
Ema's gaze stopped on the sole acoustic guitar in his collection, sitting in the centre of the glass display. Her pensive tone made it sound as if she were reflecting to herself rather than making a judgement.
"These ads – they just don't suit you at all. I know the media likes to play up your infamous rock star lifestyle, but I thought you'd be more sensible than to explicitly sell yourself as a sex symbol. And even though you're a flirtatious fop to the point of being insufferable, I still expected you to be far too smart to allow yourself to fall into the category of the generic, bland male model. Maybe, I overestimated you?"
With a swift sweep of her hands, Ema had gathered the signed documents off his desk and was halfway to the door before Klavier could process her perceptive observations.
"Well, thank you for your time." She called to the stunned prosecutor still standing idly next to his desk. Pausing at the doorway, Ema finally turned to offer him a small grin, "Oh, and those dramatic pouts just make you look dumb, Klavier."
With a quiet click of the door, the rock star-prosecutor found himself once again alone in his office. After fully absorbing the blunt comments, a hearty chuckle burst from his chest as Klavier was reminded once again why Ema Skye was his favourite fräulein.
A thick file folder in hand, Ema nervously stepped in the elevator on the ground floor of the regional Prosecutor's Office. It had been now been four days since she last spoke with the man she was about to visit and guilt was weighing heavily on her conscience.
Maybe I was bit too harsh with him. I mean, he just started this modelling business and all, so maybe he needed encouragement rather than a vicious ego-crushing. That's what friends do, right? Offer support and positive feedback when their friends are struggling… right?
She let out a heavy sigh as the elevator slowed to her destination. Walking towards the receptionist desk, Ema was already rehearsing her apology in her head when she found a smartly dressed Klavier Gavin heading in the opposite direction.
"Fräulein Detective! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Where are you going?" Ema questioned, eying the guitar case strapped onto his back, "It's just after lunch, you can't be starting your weekend already!"
"Unfortunately, I have a prior appointment so I must be leaving the office early today. Is that for me?" He indicated the folder in Ema's hands.
"Yeah, it's the completed case file for the triple homicide on Wednesday. I need-"
"Actually, I'm glad you dropped by, Fräulein. I wanted to invite you out for lunch on Saturday, so this saves me the trouble of tracking you down."
"Saturday? Why?"
She was answered with a mysterious smile as Klavier slid past her and pressed the down arrow.
"We can discuss the case then too, ja? My secretary has the reservation information, so you can get that from her right now."
Stepping into the elevator, he blew her a kiss goodbye, "See you tomorrow, Fräulein Detective."
"Who does that glimmerous fop think he is?" Ema growled as she stomped to his receptionist desk.
The young woman there simply smiled sweetly back. "My, my, my, aren't we being kept busy, Miss Skye?"
"It's a full time job dealing with your boss." Ema said coldly, "Now if you'd be so kind as to give me these details, please – some of us still have to work today."
Powering down the busy downtown sidewalk, Ema felt a vague sense of déjà vu as her eyes skimmed the various distinct store facades. Arriving at a classy European café, she was escorted up a spiral staircase to a cozy rooftop patio. The sharp detective was sitting at the empty table overlooking the city scene below, when she suddenly recognized where she was. Ema turned and craned her neck so she was able to see down the street to where the gaudy advertisement had been last weekend. She couldn't help but smile at the billboard that now stood in its place.
Her superior was no longer staring back at her; instead, the naturally pale blue eyes were intensely focused on a familiar acoustic guitar that was adoringly cradled by its owner. To her pleasant surprise, Ema realized that she didn't mind the fact that he still wasn't wearing a shirt, or even the thick elastic of his black underwear that was clearly peeking out from his low rise jeans. In the end, Ema found her eyes drawn back to the gentle smile that was characteristic of the Klavier Gavin she personally knew: the honest smile that had initially earned her trust and respect; that allowed her to whole heartedly place her faith into the prosecutor for every case they dealt with; and that same genuine smile that made her glad to have him as her friend.
"What do you think, Fräulein?" A casually dressed Klavier slid into the chair across from her, long hair neatly pulled back today and designer sunglasses sitting on his nose.
"Bearable," was Ema's nonchalant response as she turned to face him, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips.
"So you approve then?" The sunglasses slid off the photogenic face as a familiar smile graced his features.
"Well that depends," Ema responded still attempting to answer with a serious look, "As a detective and fellow enforcer of justice, I believe I'm obligated to say that it is highly unprofessional to have a enormous poster of a topless prosecutor seducing the general public.
"However, as your friend and…" at which point she sighed and allowed herself a tiny smirk, "a member of the female population, I have to admit you look damn good in those jeans, Klavier."
Her friend and colleague beamed at her proudly, "So I take it you're attracted to me, ja?"
Ema's hand met her forehead with a soft thud, "This is why I refrain from complimenting you…"
"Is my lovely Fräulein Detective embarrassed?"
"Yes, it is a constant embarrassment justifying my relationship with you."
"And what exactly would you call our relationship?"
"I think I've decided on 'a big fat failure'."
"I would beg to differ, Ema. I think we have really warmed up to each other."
At this point, they were both leaning heavily onto the table, faces inches away from each other as neither refused to break their intensive glaring contest. Finally, the young woman closed her eyes with a weary sigh. Spotting an opening, Klavier moved in to claim his prize—
Only to be met with the cold hard taste of paper on his lips.
"I believe you've gotten far too comfortable, Prosecutor Gavin," drifted Ema's smug voice over the thick file folder; he could practically hear her triumphant smirk, "If you would kindly redirect your attention to the case at hand, please?"
Klavier's lips curled against the unpleasant surface, as he was yet again reminded why Ema Skye was his favourite fräulien.
Author's Notes:
[2009.03.11] The inspiration for this short, kind of scattered one-shot stems from my frustration with the new Arashi (shout-out to all my fellow JE fans out there!) calendar that was just released last week. I truly think people in their natural states are the most attractive and that's what I was trying to convey through this story. Hopefully that kind of came through? And in no sense do I mean to insult any models out there - it's just my own opinion.
My apologies if this seems kind of fragmented - it started off as a burning passion that kind of fizzled out as more and more work came piling on. I may come back and revise and add to it at a later time, but as of right now, I'm all written out.
Please feel free to comment on any and all aspects of the story - specifically, the change in perspectives midway through the story. I always told myself not to do that, but as I was writing it/reciting it in my head, the viewpoint just naturally shifted from Ema to Klavier... and then that final shift at the end - was that noticeable/weird? Feeback is always helpful!
Have a wonderful week, all!!!