All the rain in the world couldn't dampen the mood of Franziska von Karma. Not that it stopped the weather from trying. Even as she strode through the halls of the courthouse, she could hear the endless cascade of water battering its walls. But she was the perfect prosecutor; she'd just won another case, put another criminal behind bars, and, most importantly, she'd brought an umbrella to work.
The lobby was filled with people either dreading the rain or running from it. She scanned the fools, taking pleasure in the plain distress on all of their faces to fill the time until she could get back to her car. The heated seats alone would make her the envy of all the suit-clad simpletons in the hall. Not that she would let them know; unless they annoyed her.
Franziska was just about to open the floodgates when she spotted a familiar young woman rummaging about beside the door. She was fashioning a couple of magazines into a rudimentary framework, which she was securing her kimono to.
"Maya Fey," Franziska greeted her with her usual frost. "What on Earth do you think you're doing?"
"Huh?" Maya peered up from her construction and flashed a smile. "Oh, hey, Franzy. I'm jus-"
"Franziska."
"Huh?" Maya tilted her head to the side, much resembling the kind of puppy that Franziska would have liked to whip in the face.
"My name is Franziska, Maya Fey."
"I know!" Maya held the device up over her head. "I'm making an umbrella, so I can get through the rain."
Franziska glanced at the makeshift umbrella, then at the optimistic eyes of Maya, and shook her head.
"That's not going to protect you at all. Where is your fool of a friend, Phoenix Wright?"
"Yes, it is. See? The kimono will catch all of the water," Maya said, as she got to her feet. "Nick said that I should watch some of the cases if I want to learn more about lawyering, so here I am."
"Did he?" Franziska raised an eyebrow. She rather doubted this Maya Fey would be able to contribute much to an investigation, but then, she had somehow dodged a murder charge, so perhaps there was more to her than met the eye. "Well, if you want to see how a real prosecutor works, you should watch one of my cases. The fools here aren't fit enough to grease my whip."
"Hmm… I don't know." Maya gave the tool a wary look. "You don't whip people in the stands, do you?"
"Not if they're quiet."
"Okay then!" Maya bobbed her head. "I'll come and see one of your cases next time. But I'm going to go back to the office now, so, um," She adjusted her grip on her improvised umbrella, but that just made one side fall and hit her head. "Can you get the door for me, Franzy?"
"Franziska." Franziska held open the door nonetheless.
"Thanks! See you later!" Maya said, as she ran into the rain with her sandals smacking against her heels. Franziska could already see the water starting to drip through the kimono, but that was the girl's problem now.
Franziska opened her umbrella, which kept her bone dry through the trip to her luxurious car. She slipped inside, just a little chilly from the weather, then turns on the heaters and relaxed back into her leather seat. Truly, this was her reward for being such a talented prosecutor. Let the rest of the world trudge through rain, victims of the whims of nature. That was no place for a von Karma; mother nature could have no influence over such perfection.
Eventually, Franziska turned the radio on and drove away from the courthouse. The cases had gone late enough into the day that it was already dark out. She'd probably have to order some takeaway food, if she wanted to get dinner at a reasonable time. She peered over the various venues she passed, none of them quite satisfactory, until she spotted the exterior of a hamburger place and a familiar face crouched beneath a sign.
The poor thing was so drenched Franziska almost didn't recognize here, but, sure enough, it was Maya Fey. Her clothes were clinging to her skin, her umbrella crumpled up to her side in a similarly dam state, and even her top knot had started to sag, so slick was her hair. Franziska would have been content to drive on, leave her to her fate like all of the other forethought-lacking fools, but something stayed her hand. Perhaps it was how pathetic she looked, crouched and shuddering. Perhaps Franziska felt some small amount of guilt for trying to put Maya away for murder.
Whatever it was, it drove Franziska to pull over beside the hamburger place and lower the window.
"Maya Fey!" Franziska called out. Maya jerked as she was addressed. "What are you doing?"
"I'm wet!" Maya yelled back. "They won't let me in!"
"And why is that?"
"I don't have any money! This thing doesn't have any pockets!" Maya huffed as she looked down at the outfit that, since leaving the courthouse, had become near enough skintight.
"I did warn you," Franziska reminded her, with a satisfied little smirk.
"Yeah… Well…" Maya's brow furrowed in concentration. "Shut up!" Franziska blinked. It wasn't a particularly good argument, but it was clear, at least. She took a look at the sky, which was still cloudier than the legality of a yakuza clubhouse, and begrudgingly unlocked the door to the passenger side.
"Would you like a ride, Maya Fey?" Franziska offered.
"Really?" Maya's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and hope. "For serious?"
"The offer is getting less serious by the second."
"Yes! Yes please!" Maya hurried over to the car door and threw herself in. She carried with her a spray of rain that splattered across Franziska's face, as well as a thoroughly soaked rag that she tossed into the back seats. "Ooh, it's so warm in here! This must have been expensive!" She said, as she held her face up to the fan.
"Must it? I hadn't noticed." One hundred thousand and twenty dollars. "Please buckle yourself in, Maya Fey, or you'll be dead as well as wet."
"Right!" Maya pulled her face away from the heater and pulled on her seat belt, then pulled her feet out of their sandals and held them on the heater instead. "That feels so good. I wish Nick's bike had a heater."
"Phoenix Wright gets to work using a bicycle?" Franziska asked, with barely-contained amusement. Half at the idea of the mental image, half at the fact that Maya apparently valued the dryness of her toes over her own sense of decorum.
"That's right! We take turns being the passenger," Maya pulled the lever on her seat and giggled as it shifted back. "But he gets all sweaty on hot days, so he has to carry baby wipes and deodorant to use in the bathroom or he'd be all stinky by the time we get to the courtroom."
"But you don't?"
"Nope! I've got a nice breeze around my thighs," Maya patted a creamy thigh and Franziska glanced down. But just for a second, so she could keep her eyes on the road "But Nick has to wear the full suit, so..."
"I can imagine," Franziska said. "Where do you want me to take you?"
"The Wright & Co Law Offices!" Maya pointed ahead as though that would help Franziska divine the location. Instead, she turned on her GPS and typed it in when they came to a stop.
"You want to go to the office? Whatever for?"
"Oh, I live there," Maya said. "I mean, I love there for now. I really live in Kurain Village, but that's too far to go to and from all the time. I get the couch every other day."
"You sleep on the couch?" Franziska shot her a bewildered look. "Just how much is Phoenix Wright paying you that you can't afford a bed?"
"Nick doesn't pay me!" Maya laughed. "I'm his helper. But he does pay for my food."
"I'm beginning to think that lawyers don't get paid enough," Franziska said, as she turned a corner. "But I suppose it depends on your competence."
"What do you mean?" Maya peered at Franziska.
"I mean that I would have the same lifestyle I do now, if I were foolish enough to become a lawyer," Franziska smiled. "I'd be just as undefeated, and I'd be able to hire twice the beautiful assistants, and they'd get actual paydays."
"Um, Nick has beaten you every time you've been in court together," Maya pointed out.
Franziska opted to ignore that and drive in the silence of the radio. That was the plan, at least, until a particularly bubbly song came on the radio and Maya started to dance in her chair. It started with simple wriggling of her hips, then she started to shift her arms and bob her head.
"What are you doing, Maya Fey?" Franziska asked, just barely avoiding a snap.
"I love this song!" Maya grinned. "Dance with me!"
"I don't have time to dance," Franziska said. "I'm driving."
"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!"
"I'm driving."
"Fine, fine..." Maya hung her head for a whole half a second before it shot up again. "Sing, then! You can sing when you're driving."
"What..." Franziska could take her eyes off the road as they came to another stop. "I can't si- I refuse to sing. It would not be proper."
"You're blushing!" Maya poked one of Franziska's cheeks as she danced. "I bet you're just shy. Sing with me, Franzy!"
"No."
"Please?"
"And my name is Franziska."
"Pleaaaaaase?"
"Franziska von Karma doesn't dance!" Franziska snapped. Maya pouted at her and fluttered her eyelashes. "Be as cute as you like. I will not bow." In truth, she was thankful for the fact that the light was just about to turn green, because even the most perfect resolve couldn't stand forever.
"Fine. But I'm going to keep dancing," Maya said.
"You do that." Franziska said, then ignored the giggle that escaped the younger woman's lips. It was just a couple of minutes of driving before they arrived outside of the building that hosted Wright & Co Law Offices. "Here you are."
"Um, there's a problem." Maya said, as she peered out at the rain-slick night.
"And that is?"
"It's still raining! I'll get wet again if I just walk right out!"
"You can use my umbrella," Franziska offered. She pulled the device out and offered its handle to Maya.
"Okay!" Maya smiled. "I'll throw it down to you."
Franziska peered up at the floor where the law offices were contained, then at the clear evidence of Maya's finesse in the back seat, and shook her head.
"I'll take you in." Franziska said. She opened her umbrella as she got out of the car, a shield against the constant rainfall, then walked around to let Maya out. The medium grabbed her kimono and clutched it to her chest as she pressed right up against Franziska's body. "Close enough?"
"The cold's going to take away all the warmth," Maya whined. "Let's go!"
Franziska decided not to object, as she led the way to the interior of the building and escorted Maya inside. It was just as dreary and dull as she'd been expecting, It was also significantly less warm than the inside of her car, which she was starting to miss with every passing second.
Maya led her passed a broken-down elevator, then up a few sets of stairs, until they finally arrived outside the closed Wright & Co Law Offiices. She knocked on the door.
Nothing happened.
"Nick! It's me! Maya! Let me in!" Maya knocked again.
Nothing happened.
"He's gone!"
"Don't you have your own key?" Franziska asked, as she looked over the immediate area. It was just a hallway like the others they passed, with barely any identifying features.
"I don't have any pockets!" Maya reminded her by smacking her sides.
"Consider yourself lucky that I brought you here," Franziska said, as she retrieved a slip of paper from out of the doorframe and held it out to Maya. "I believe this is for you."
"Ooh, a secret note!" Maya unfolded the paper. Franziska rather doubted that, but said nothing as Maya read the note. "Nick lost his key! He says we won't be able to get in until tomorrow!"
Franziska shot a glare at the door. Somehow that fool had managed to interfere with her day without even being involved in one of her trials.
"Where is he?" Franziska asked. "He must have told you somewhere to meet him."
"No..." Maya turned the paper this way and that. "There's no more space on the paper."
"Of course there isn't. Why was I expecting competence from that fool of a man?" Franziska sighed. On one hand, this was none of her business. But on the other, neither was the fact that Maya was stranded in the rain, and she'd still picked her up.
"Nick's not a fool." Maya 's brow knitted into an adorable little frown as she tucked the paper into her sash. "… Okay, this one time he is, but that's it!"
"Regardless," Franziska looked back down the dismal hall. "You need somewhere to stay for the night, so..." She plucked her wallet out of her pocket and retrieved a few bills, then held it out to Maya with two fingers. "Here. Take this and I'll take you to wherever you'd like to spend the night."
Maya stared at the money Franziska had so casually offered, then at the woman herself.
"Why can't I stay with you?"
Franziska froze. It wasn't that she hadn't thought of the possibility, but Maya was a relative stranger, and an assistant to her rival. Not to mention how it would hardly reflect well on her to lure attractive people to her apartment when they were lost and afraid. She was a predator of the courtroom, not the bedroom.
"Do I smell or something?" Maya started talking before Franziska could finish sorting through her own thoughts. "Because I can shower! I won't even use any hot water. Or, do you think I'm ugly?" Her eyes widened. "That's it, isn't it? You think I'm ugly? And you don't want to be seen with an ugly girl in your apartment! That's incredibly rude, you know!"
"Wh-what?" A single bead of sweat ran down Franziska's temple.
"You shouldn't discriminate against people just because they're ugly. I don't think anyone will even see me go in, if you're worried about that! And don't even think about making me put a bag on my head!"
"I haven't agreed to let you in to begin with!" Franziska snapped.
"Y-You're kicking me out?" Maya's hands were clasped together in worry, held up to her collar as tears formed in her eyes.
Franziska gaped at the nearly-sobbing Maya for a second, then her eyes narrowed. Where had she seen this behavior before? Phoenix Wright's bluffs. A hundred witnesses on the stand. She was half-tempted to grab her whip.
"Wipe your crocodile tears, Maya Fey," Franziska said. "I will let you stay in my apartment, but it's not because you've tricked me." Why was it? Well, she couldn't quite say. Perhaps she was taking pity on such a pathetic creature.
"Oh, thank you!" Maya's woe was replaced with glee, as she leaped forward and wrapped her arms around Franziska. "This is going to be great. Do you have AC?"
"Of course I do." Franziska wasn't prepared for an affection ambush, but it wouldn't do to lose her composure, so she gently patted Maya on the shoulder until the hug was broken. She appreciated the warmth, at least.
"Can you order burgers?" Maya asked, as she grabbed Franziska's hand and started to lead her away from the door. Franziska decided to let it happen. "We can have that for dinner, and we can sit on the couch, and what's your apartment like? I bet your shower has great water pressure."
"Of course it does." Franziska wasn't sure why she would have reason to be proud of that. "And you are allowed to use all the hot water you'd like."
"I will! But I need cold water, too. If I'm staying the night, I need to do my morning rituals," Maya said.
"And your morning rituals are…?"
"I have to stand under a cold shower, fully dressed, so that I can center myself for my spirit channeling," Maya explained. "If I don't do it properly, I won't be able to focus, and that means I won't be able to channel anyone."
"I see," Franziska opened her umbrella as they stepped into the rain, and Maya once more invaded her personal space. "I didn't expect such intelligence from one of Phoenix Wright's companions. I do the same thing."
"You do?" Maya blinked.
"I practice my whipping technique every morning," Franziska said. "If I can't hit twenty bottles from twenty paces, I can't focus on anything. I imagine the same is true for your channeling."
"That's right!" Maya nodded eagerly as she slipped back into the warm confines of Franziska's car. "I thought you'd think it was weird. Everyone else in the city does."
"One thing you can expect from fools is that they will be foolish," Franziska said, with a sage nod. "My instructor would never leave the house without a whip."
"I can't imagine you being taught," Maya said. "It's just so weird."
"I was a girl when I was being taught," A sly smile came to Franziska's face, as she recalled a good memory. "As soon as I won my first case, I had no use for her. I whipped her out of the house."
"You whipped your teacher?" Maya gasped.
"And why not? She did it to me first." Franziska pulled away from the sidewalk. "I'm thankful for the technique, but she was a mite overzealous. I consider her whipping recompense for all the unnecessary lashes."
"I guess that makes sense," Maya shrugged. "What about your other tutors?"
"There was Vanderhoff. Charming woman, aside from the fact that she insisted on being called Mistress. I whipped that right out of her..." Franziska began, and continued, as the pair of them drove through the streets. They chatted pleasantly until they passed by a drive-thru and Maya put a halt to that with a series of squeals and pointing fingers.
"What would you like?" Franziska asked, as they inched ahead.
"Two quarter pounders with cheese, and some fries, and a milkshake!" Maya grinned. "Oh, no, wait… You're paying, aren't you?"
"You don't have any money, so, yes, I imagine I am."
"Then I'll just take one quarter pounder with cheese." Maya nodded, her face set in determination.
"If you want two, you can have two," Franziska said. In truth, she didn't know how many was appropriate, seeing as she almost never ordered this kind of fast food. There was something about burgers and fries that felt particularly greasy.
"Really? Thank you!" Maya bounced excitedly in her chair as they pulled up beside the ordering station.
"Four quarter pounders with cheese, two fries, and two..."
"Strawberry!"
"Strawberry milkshakes." Franziska ordered from the dismally-dressed fast food vendor. She didn't know him well enough to determine his foolishness, but he looked miserable enough that a whipping probably wouldn't have made much difference.
"You're having the same as me?"
"Yes. I'm entrusting my stomach to your care," Franziska said. "I hope a large portion for you would be the same as a regular for me."
"What…?" Maya blinked. "You're the same height as me."
"… What?"
"Haven't you noticed?" Maya held a hand up to her head, then draw a line between the top of hers and Franziska's. There was barely an inch of difference. "I didn't think of it because you wear heeled boots, but we're totally the same!"
"No, I'm taller." Franziska could feel her cheeks getting hotter. She was not an adorable girl. She was a powerful lawyer who wielded a whip with authority.
"Are you embarrassed?" Maya gasped. "You are!"
"I am not!"
"I don't see how it's embarrassing," Maya said. "It's cool that you're small."
"I am not small!"
"Just think about it! Even though you're short, you make everyone tremble when you enter a room anyway. Detective Gumshoe is a giant, and he does. And the Judge. And Nick always sweats when you bring out your whip. And I saw that guy leaving your courtroom earlier, and he was telling the cops to get him to the prison ASAP if it meant getting away from you! You're small and you have that much authority anyway! That's much better than just being born tall and authoritative, right?"
A smile crept to Franziska's lips. It was like nineteen years of anxiety had been dissolved.
"Maya Fey, you are no fool." Franziska said, and Maya couldn't stop grinning. The food was passed over through Franziska's window and she let Maya keep it on her lap as they drove away. The scent soon filled the car, and she had to admit that it was far from the worst food she'd ever smelled. She could have done without Maya burying her nose in the bag and taking whiffs, but she didn't stop her. In fact, it brought a little smile to her face.
It didn't take long for them to drive to Franziska's apartment. They parked in the garage beneath the building and started the stroll to her apartment proper.
"Wow, the elevator works!" Maya said, as the transport shuddered beneath their feet and started to carry them up. "This is a fancy place!"
"I like it. The privacy is particularly welcome." Franziska glanced at Maya and the death grip she had on their dinner, as she clutched both bags to her breasts.
"I know what you mean! It was so hard to sleep in the city the first few nights," Maya said. "I was used to the quiet of the country and then you come here and there's all this noise. Pipes and cars and people and other apartments. But then I found some of Mia's old earmuffs, and they keep most of it out."
"You won't need them here," Franziska said. "There's some measure of soundproofing, and we're far enough away that you won't hear most of the traffic. It's not a manor in the country, but it serves."
Maya continued to react with various impressed noises as they walked through the hall, until they eventually arrived at Franziska's apartment door. She opened it with a swipe of her keycard and Maya's jaw fell open.
There was the first floor, with a leather couch and chair set around a table with a perfect view of the TV and warmed from behind by a fireplace. The bare floorboards led up to a raised section of the room, which had a piano, a set of windows that stretched from ceiling to floor and led out to the balcony, though they were half-covered by curtains. A hallway led away the window, beside a kitchen that was half-concealed by a set of shelves decorated with various pieces of art.
"Wow..." Maya breathed as she slipped out of her shoes and padded into the apartment proper. "Wow..." She span around slowly, taking in the sights of the opulent apartment. "I need to shower!" She suddenly declared, as she held the bags of fast food out to Franziska.
"Very well," Franziska decided not to argue. "But be quick about it. I'll set the table. There's a shower in the en-suite, first door down the hall."
"Thanks!" Maya darted down the hall like her life depended on it, while Franziska did her best not to salivate over their dinner. She decided to set their plates up at the coffee table, seeing as the dinner table would probably be a tad indulgent, and put some music on to fill the space while she removed the more formal parts of her attire. She'd have been reluctant to remove her metaphorical armor in the presence of an enemy, but Maya was proving less and less of that as the night went on.
Franziska sat on her legs on the couch while she waited for Maya to return. She soon saw her guest's reflection in the TV, blurry as it was, attempting to creep up behind her. Her first instinct was to grab her whip, but she'd sat down and her feet would have resented the action after a day spent in those heels. So she waited, and waited, until she caught a glimpse of Maya's hands lashing out to cover her eyes.
Maya squealed when her wrists were seized by Franziska's lightning-fast hands.
"You saw me?!" Maya asked. She rubbed her wrists when they were released. Not that they hurt – if anything, Franziska's hands were remarkably soft – but people always did in on TV.
"Did you think you could pull one over on Franziska von Karma?" Franziska clucked her tongue as Maya walked around the couch. "And here I thought you'd started to overcome your fool.. Ish… Ne..."
Maya was wearing her bathrobe, the silver-blue one with the F embroidered on the breast, the one that came down to her thighs. Maya was a little… Plumper than she was, so the fit was more snug, how it clung to her curves that much more noticeable.
"Are you wearing my bathrobe?" Franziska asked, as she tore her eyes away from Maya's thighs.
"Yeah! I hope you don't mind." Maya leaned over the plate of fast food and inhaled deeply. "I don't have any other clothes and I didn't want to take yours, and it looked so comfy!"
"I suppose it's fine." Franziska reached for her plate and plucked a fry off of it. It was a golden thing, somehow still hot in the hand, and she tentatively took a bite. It was salty, she could say that much, and far from a terror to the tastebuds. She glanced to the side and saw that Maya had already shoved a handful into her mouth, and she was opening up her gaping maw to chow down on a chunk of burger. "The food isn't going to run from you."
"Ogh. Swry!" Maya chewed through the sheer volume of food in her mouth with a little difficulty, then swallowed. "I'm just so hungry. I spent my lunch money on some candy, but then these kids came by, and they were so cute, and I just had to share it, but then I didn't have any left for me."
"… No, go ahead," Franziska said. "We're," Rivals? Acquaintances? "Not teacher and student. Eat how you like."
"Oh? Did your teachers tell you how to eat?" Maya asked, before taking another bite of her burger.
"If it can be taught, it was taught." Franziska nodded. "Eating, dressing, breathing, how to prepare an appropriate dinner environment." She gestured over the table, and at the stereo that filled the air with soothing music.
"I had a lot of training like that in Kurain!" Maya said. "Mostly the things you need for channeling, like how to dress, and act when you're doing it. We had a lot of dinners like this, although we sat around a table and knelt, and there wasn't even music."
"Had. Meaning you don't any more?" Franziska asked. Well, her evil aunt was locked away, so that was a foolish question.
"Nope! Nick has to work late studying cases, so he says organizing formal dinner isn't worth it. He'll just reheat some of Eldoon's Noodles when he's done and I'll eat them fresh on the couch and watch TV."
"Would you like to do that now?" Franziska asked.
"Oh, would you mind?" Maya peered at the other woman as she crossed her legs on the chair and brought her plate to her lap. "There's a new episode of the Pink Princess tonight and I didn't want to impose..."
"I'm sure it will be an interesting experience," Franziska said, as she passed the remote control to Maya. "What is it about?"
"You haven't heard of the Pink Princess?" Maya slowly turned her head, which was suddenly illuminated by the TV.
"I don't watch television."
"But you have a huge one!" Maya pointed at the TV, which had just flipped to some commercials.
"I also have three seats, but you'd find it hard for me to fill them," Franziska said.
"Okay. I'm going to introduce you to it. And then, the Steel Samurai."
"Just how much time are you planning to spend here?" Franziska asked. She rather doubted her accusatory tone, but she'd already spoken.
"However long it takes!" But then, just about everything other than insults to her friends seemed to bounce off of Maya. "I'll bring a toothbrush and some spare pajamas and stay over all week if I have to."
"That won't be necessary," Franziska said, "I have spare toothbrushes and toiletries for guests."
"Oh, okay! It's a date!" Maya beamed. "Look, it's starting now!" She pointed at the television, where a brightly-colored intro was playing. It was playing upbeat music, interspersed with quick cuts of action and what seemed to be the daily life of various teenagers.
"Maya Fey." Franziska reluctantly put her cheeseburger down so she could speak. She was starting to get a taste for it. "Is this a children's show?"
"It's a show for all ages, Franzy!" Maya shot her a look full of ferocity and Franziska let out a laugh. "Hey! You're not allowed to laugh at your guests! That's against the rules."
"I believe you," Franziska said, though her smile hadn't died. "Who am I to say what you ought to enjoy?" Doing that would have made her no better than her father. Or all of the people who keep asking her not to whip them.
"Y-" Maya froze for a second. "Oh. You… That was really easy. People usually argue about that."
Franziska shrugged. "I am not just anyone."
"Yeah, I got that," Maya nodded appreciatively. "Although… Is that all it takes to beat you?"
"What?" Franziska arched an eyebrow at her guest, as she grabbed her second burger. The first one had somehow disappeared.
"All I did was pout and you gave up right away," Maya said. "If I was a lawyer, I bet I'd beat you every time."
"Would you?" Franziska coolly flexed her fingers. "I wonder how well that pretty face would withstand a few lashes of my whip?"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"I think I'll go and grab it right now," Franziska leaned over in her seat and managed to lift a whole inch off of the couch before Maya latched onto her. "What are..." Maya's weight dragged her into a laying position on the edge of the couch. "You've pinned me."
"That's right!" Maya giggled, as she managed to push herself off with Franziska's shoulders, leaning right over her with her black hair hanging, separating her face from the rest of the room. "You can't whip me if you're on your back."
"True." Franziska admitted.
"Yeah." Maya bit her bottom lip and looked over Franziska's face. "Um, I didn't actually have a plan here."
"No?" Franziska found herself quite comfortable where she was.
"Nope." A smile flickered on Maya's face. "I'll get off now."
"How do you know I won't attack you in turn?" Franziska asked, as she returned the smile. "You have attempted to make me look a fool, in my own apartment."
"Nah." Maya laughed. "Because I can fight in a way that you won't."
"You doubt my ruthlessness?"
"I'll bite you," Maya said. "Biting wins most fights, probably, and you don't seem like a biter. So I'll win."
"I..." Franziska did rather like her flesh the way it was. "Concede. I will not bite."
"See? Easy victory! Boop!" Maya removed her hand from Franziska's shoulder and tapped her on the nose before she shifted back to her seat and picked up her plate.
Franziska wrinkled her nose at the boop, but sat back up without complaint. They enjoyed the rest of the Pink Princess without any more fighting, as each of them enjoyed their meals and each other's company. Maya helpfully filled Franziska in on the details, on characters she didn't know, and spent the rest of the time reacting to the events of the show with evident glee. By the end of the first episode, Franziska was quite curious about what happened before…
A couple of hours passed as Franziska streamed some episodes of the Steel Samurai, until Franziska was just as invested as Maya. Perhaps she wasn't jumping in her seat, or yelling out attacks, but she was smiling the whole way through.
"I like the Vicious Minister," Franziska said, as she sat beside Maya with both of their feet propped up on the table. "She's going to win."
"What?" Maya turned her head as the credits rolled. "The Vicious Minister's a minor villain! The Steel Samurai is gonna slash her to bits!"
"Hardly," Franziska scoffed. "She bested him with ease. Not to mention, she clearly has an exquisite taste in weapons."
"No, he was weakened, because of the Evil Magistrate poisoning the water!" Maya punctuated her point by smacking Franziska's foot with her own.
"An idea invented by the Vicious Minister," Franziska said, then retaliated with a nudge of her own.
"You just like her because she uses a whip!" Maya countered by trapping Franziska's foot between her own.
"Nonsense," Franziska smiled, as she found a winning tactic in their game of footsie and dragged her armored, or rather pantyhose-clad, foot against Maya. The barefoot woman stood no chance against her tickling technique, a fact proven when Maya's giggle made her leg lurch back. "She has relatable qualities. She demands authority, she wields her wit as well as her whip, and she's tall."
"You're not tall!" Maya said. "And you're more like the Steel Samurai anyway."
"On what planet is that a reasonable statement?"
"This one," Maya said, as she leaned in a little. "In just the last episode, the Steel Samurai saved Morgana from the blood storm, then took her into his home, and provided her with care, and food, and somewhere to sleep, so she could recover. Out of the kindness of his own heart. That's you."
"I object," Franziska glanced away from Maya's eyes. They were making her blush. "Morgana is a romantic interest. The Steel Samurai's motivations were selfish."
"Not if Morgana is interested in the Steel Samurai." Maya spoke softly. "Then it's equal."
"Perhaps..."
"And you think I'm cute, right, Franzy?" Maya's eyes were shining.
"Only a fool would say otherwise," Franziska scratched at her collarbone. How was she meant to answer?
"It's getting late..." Maya pressed pause on the stream and nodded at the nearby clock. "We should think about getting some sleep soon."
"Of course." Franziska shook her head free of the thoughts that had suddenly become far too prominent. She was imagining things. She pulled her feet off of the table and sat upright. "I only have the one room, so you can take the bedroom and I will sleep on the couch."
"Don't you want to sleep with me?" Maya asked, as she shifted a little closer to Franziska. Their thighs were touching.
"Would that be appropriate?" Franziska asked. "I admit, I've never shared a living space with someone who wasn't family, so-"
"Because I think it would be nice." Maya smiled that damned smile. "If we slept together." And then she leaned forward and placed a little kiss on Franziska's lips. She was soft and warm and Franziska lost herself in the few seconds it lasted.
"I concede." Franziska placed her hand over Maya's and let it linger until their lips met again…
It was well into the night when Franziska extricated herself from Maya's warm embrace. The cuddling, and all that preceded it, had been far more pleasant than she'd ever imagined a night with Maya Fey would be. But nature called regardless of how happy she'd have been to fall asleep in Maya's arms.
Franziska padded over to the bathroom and finished her business. She spotted that, prior to her shower, Maya had discarded her clothes on the floor. She clucked her tongue at the messiness, not that she was truly mad at her, then bent to shove them into the hamper. As she lifted the sash, she spotted the note that Maya had found in the door of the law offices. She picked it up and couldn't help but read the message there:
"Maya, Larry called for help with a legal matter. I doubt that's what it is, but it's what he's claiming, so I'm spending the evening with him. The key is in the potted plant by the door. - Nick."
The cogs turned in Franziska's head as she re-read the note and looked back at the sleeping Maya. If it hadn't been such a pleasant trick, she might have been upset. As it was, she folded the note, left it on the floor, and went back to bed.