3 A.M.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters/cases from Ace Attorney. All credits go to Capcom, they own the rights to everything. I am not affiliated with the company in anyway and no money was exchanged from this story. This storyline was suggested by someone on the Phoenix Wright Fanfiction Archive, as part of the challenges section, which I am responding to with this one-shot.
Klavier Gavin didn't know why in the world he was still awake. It was three in the morning, and every other normal person in the city was asleep by now. Normally Klavier was in bed by midnight, working the long hours at the Prosecutor's Office that he did required him to do so. But for some reason tonight when he went to bed, he just couldn't get his body and mind to relax, so here he was, in the living room of his penthouse, going over court records for the upcoming Kitaki case he was prosecuting. If he was going to be awake, he might as well get something accomplished.
He was looking over the details of the autopsy report he received earlier in the day from his favorite detective, Ema Skye. As usual, she threw the files down on his stereo desk, muttered something about him being a fop, then stormed off. Klavier would chuckle, pick up the slightly scattered papers, and put them where they needed to be.
Ema Skye was an excellent detective, smart as a whip, and did her job well, but her attitude was something that put a lot of fellow detectives off. She was always frowning or pouting, mumbling to herself, and stuffing her face with these peculiar snacks she grumpily told him were called 'Snackoos'. Klavier, being her boss, worked with Ema on many cases of many varieties. He saw her work under stressful conditions, not exactly pleasant cases, and work with different style detectives.
But there was one thing that absolutely made Ema's face light up like a child's face on Christmas morning.
Science.
Ema and her precious science. When Ema wasn't pouting, yelling at someone (usually him), or stuffing her face with Snackoos, she talked about science to anyone who cared to listen. Ema was so knowledgeable when it came to science, he honestly thought she knew more than most of the members of the precinct's forensics team. Not that he'd ever tell her so and bestow her with a compliment. That'd be a one-way ticket to getting smacked in the face with a chocolate Snackoo.
But he cared about her anyway. Seeing her face when she talked about science, no walls up, no emotions other than happiness glazing her eyes, he saw the beauty of her within. That was the only reason he continued to persevere in his quest to bring her around to him.
Klavier shook himself out of his mental stupor and re-focused on the papers in front of him.
But Fate didn't want him to focus on the case at hand. Fate wanted him to continue thinking about Ema, and dealt him a good hand. His cell phone, sitting on his desk a few feet away lit up and started buzzing.
He reached over and pulled his phone over. It was a familiar number flashing across the LED screen. A certain detective's number. A number that was given to him grudgingly at the orders of the Chief Justice. Ema Skye's number.
Klavier pressed the answer button on his phone and lifted it to his ear. "Ja, Fraulein? I wasn't expecting to be hearing from you this late at night. Anything I can help you with..." Klavier trailed off, ever the shameless flirt.
Klavier could actually hear Ema do a facepalm on the other end, she did it with so much force. "No, you glimmerous fop! I don't need your help. No wait, I meant I do need your help, but not that kind of help!" Ema stuttered, flustered by what he said.
"That's too bad, Fraulein. I was sitting here at my desk all alone, needing something to take my mind off the Kitaki case. I'm glad you called..." Klavier said in his smoothest voice. He did get enjoyment out of the constant insults she hurled at him for flirting with her. Seeing her cheeks puff up in annoyance and her pink lips purse together in irritation was the most adorable thing to Klavier.
"Focus, you fop! I didn't call at ten after three in the morning to get smoothed talked by a moronic rock-star! I do need your help, although apparently that was too much to ask, thinking you would be capable of doing something other than flirting." Ema growled. She was two seconds away from hanging up and just thumbing a ride home.
Klavier chuckled and sobered up. "I'm sorry, Fraulein. What is it you need from me?"
"I need a ride home. I was on my way from a twenty four hour science equipment warehouse, and my stupid scooter died on me. Can you please come and get me, or is your foppishness going to make me regret my calling you?" Ema tried to calm herself down. She really was getting desperate, and if Klavier wasn't going to be of help, she was out of options and royally screwed. She didn't like being stuck on the seedier side of Los Angeles this time of night, but she needed to get forensics supplies for the investigations for the Kitaki case.
"Fraulein, for as much as you complain about hating me, why did you call me to ask for help?" That much was true. Ema did always insinuate that she had a really low opinion of him and that as a man, she had a high level of disdain toward him. Klavier raised his eyebrows as he waited for Ema's response. This ought to be interesting.
"I called because you are the only person that can help me. I'm in a really bad neighborhood, I have no transportation, and scientifically, I'll admit I'm scared, and I need your help. I've been sitting here for twenty minutes, on the phone trying to find someone who can help me, but no one can." Ema swallowed and lowered her voice. She'd seen groups of people walking further down the sidewalk and she didn't want to attract attention to herself. It was a Saturday night, and who only knew what kind of scum was roaming the streets of south Los Angeles at this time of night.
"Where is Lana?" Klavier asked.
"Five hours away in San Francisco." Ema answered.
"Herr Wright?"
"Rides a bike everywhere." Ema replied.
"Herr Forehead?"
"Also rides a bike. Sometimes public transportation." Ema said.
"Can you call a taxi?" Klavier just wanted to hear Ema admit that she needed him for once, one more time. Usually it was him asking her for a favor.
"It's three-ten in the morning. Who the hell is going to be driving a cab this time of night? Public transportation is done for the night too, it stopped at one A.M. Klavier please, just come get me, I don't want to be here..." Ema trailed off, genuinely scared as more time passed.
Klavier stood up and twisted his back to crack it. "Where are you, Ema? I will come and get you."
Ema breathed a sigh of relief. "I hate saying this, but thank you fop. I really appreciate this. I'm at the corner of York Street and Sixth Avenue. My scooter died on Sixth Avenue, not long after I left the warehouse."
Klavier put the call on speakerphone so he could throw on pants and shoes. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Meine Leibe. Don't move." He grabbed the keys to his Ferrari and walked to the elevator swiftly.
"Again, thanks fop. But why were you up so late? I wasn't expecting you to pick up when I called." Ema asked curiously.
"I was reviewing the papers you threw at me this morning for the Kitaki case, but I got distracted." Klavier grinned. The bait for a line was set as the elevator door closed and dinged to signal the descent.
"Distracted with what, dare I ask?" Ema held her breath, not really knowing what was going to come out of Klavier's mouth. It was the fop, after all.
"I was thinking about you, and how cute you look when you puff up your cheeks and throw Snackoos at me." Klavier chuckled.
Ema's eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a hard line. "ARGH YOU GLIMMEROUS FOP!"
Klavier laughed jovially as he hung up the phone while walking through the apartment building lobby.
Nothing like a call at 3 A.M.
Author's Notes: This was an impromptu one-shot idea/challenge that I saw over on the newly discovered by me Phoenix Wright Fanfiction Archive website. As much as I've been itching to continue with LILA so I can start on TNV and my Daryan/Ema story, this looked like a fun and quick little one-shot. Speaking of the D/E multi-chapter, it's going to be called 'Sorrow List'. I got the title from a song of a band that I absolutely love. The reasoning behind why I chose that song over the other's will become evident as the story progresses. But back to this story at hand, the prompt was 'Klavier gets a call from someone at 3 A.M. He had to be awake, working and/or doing something.' Being the hopeless Klema fan that I am, immediately set out to make it about Ema and Klavier. Well this is the final result, and I hope you all enjoyed. I rather liked flipping through some of the things people gave for writing challenges, I daresay I might do a couple more one-shots if another idea comes to me. ^_^ Do not fear though, dear LILA fans, my attention is still on the prize, but any little writing things I can do to improve my skills/style isn't really unwelcome in my book. Feedback and reviews would be awesome!