About the story: Miles/Franziska is one of my favorite if not my favorite Ace Attorney pairing and I felt like writing a story about them. The story ended up being much longer than I expected it to and it's quite fluffy which also came as a great surprise because fluff is not my thing. I don't hate it or something; the exact opposite. It's actually quite nice to read a cute, heart-warming story every now and then. It's just that, I don't normally write fluffy things. But I guess this pairing is lacking when it comes to fluffy stories (and fanfiction in general but I won't get started on that) so I sort of felt like filling the gap.
Next, I'd like to note how difficult it is to write these two characters and keep them in character. I tried my best not to make them OOC but whether I succeeded or not is for you to decide. Still, their complexity gave me a somewhat hard time but I also rather enjoyed my attempt to capture their personalities as accurately as possible.
This story will be a four-shot. I intended it to be a two-shot but then I realized it turned out long enough to be split into four chapters and they still are pretty long themselves. Hope they're not so long it gets tiring. ^_^"
Lastly, the events of this fanfic were supposed to take place after T&T but, since Investigations came out, I decided to place it right after the game. But, really, the timeline doesn't matter that much.
About the chapter: I wasn't sure whether I should include this chapter or not. Nothing really happens here. It just analyses what Franziska and Miles are thinking and feeling or at least my personal take on that. In case you find this chapter boring or something, I kindly request you wait until I post the second one (which should be soon, I hope) before you decide if you like it or not. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I wish the Ace Attorney series belonged to me but, sadly, they don't. Capcom owns all the characters mentioned in the story.
Chapter 1
Thoughts and a cup of tea
Franziska von Karma was sitting at her office in Germany, staring out of the window with a cup of tea in her hands. Snowflakes were gently falling to the ground and covering it in their pure whiteness even though April was only a few days away. It was a cold winter that had engulfed the country.
However, she wasn't thinking about the weather as she mindlessly sipped her hot tea. Her thoughts were filled with plans for the future.
She had quite enjoyed working with Interpol. It was as if this job was made for her. It provided the challenge she had always looked for in a vocation however tedious and stressful it was. After all, she didn't mind working more; it was the occupation of prosecuting that, for better or for worse, had defined her since her birth.
She didn't remember the possibility of some other job crossing her mind even when she was very young. That she would become a prosecutor was a fact. And so her life proceeded with that single goal in mind something that now made her wonder if things would have turned out differently had she decided to pursue another career.
Of course, she was almost scared at the thought of a different occupation. She loved deeply what she was doing, she really did. And maybe, that was one of the causes of the occasional inner turmoil she experienced the last couple of years.
She was raised in order to become someone who would give criminals what they deserved, a fighter at the side of justice. Or so she was told anyway. She had dedicated herself to that from the moment she had started to comprehend the world. How a child was able to so passionately dedicate herself to such a goal even she couldn't understand, but that was the truth.
With the belief that what she was doing was for the benefit of all society rooted deeply in her heart, the demand she should be perfect in her job seemed only reasonable. The slightest mistake would mean that a criminal would get the chance to escape the law and harm more people and that was something Franziska –or any other von Karma- could not tolerate.
And that's another thing she liked in her cooperation with Interpol: it didn't conflict with the von Karma creed.
Being in an organization committed to arresting and indicting the worst criminals worldwide meant that nothing less but perfection was expected of her. While that might have scared others off, it failed to intimidate the German prosecutor. After all, she had to cope with such a task her entire life.
Of course, it was not just the high expectations of this particular job that had attracted Franziska. It was also the fact that the possibilities Interpol would be after an innocent man were pretty much zero. As such, she would avoid these new feelings of guilt that seemed to grow stronger and stronger since her fatal decision to visit America about a year ago.
Because Franziska had long begun to realize the fault of her ways; a realization that crushed her like nothing else ever had and possibly ever would. Since her life was constructed around the strong belief that she was doing the right thing and thus should never be defeated, the realization that through her attempts to live up to her father's teachings she had probably wronged many people had devastated her.
Her entire world slowly crumbled in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could do except for try to prevent it from being destroyed or she would be destroyed alongside it.
If these seven years she had been a prosecutor were naught but a big mistake, then the childhood she had given up for the sake of her studies, the passion with which she had worked all along… they would be meaningless. She would have walked down a path made of lies with great pride and without giving it a second thought. She would have hardened herself like that for no reason at all and she would have carried other unfortunate souls with her down their collective demise.
This thought -that she had given her entire being to a mistake- was too torturing for her to cope with it. Had it not been her father's demand for perfection, she might have found the actual meaning of her profession long ago and she might have not been hurt so badly.
But then again, had that been the case, she wouldn't be Franziska von Karma and she wouldn't be sitting in that chair.
And these 'ifs' reminded her of another big part of her life: Miles Edgeworth. If he hadn't been brought to her house all these years ago, her situation would have been fundamentally different.
First of all, she would never have started her career at the tender age of thirteen. Her father's plans for her were to become the heir to his legacy when the time would be right. That is, before he discovered the potential of that boy with the sad and scared eyes who had so suddenly entered her life.
Yes, Edgeworth had much more talent than her in prosecuting and both of the von Karmas knew it. As such, Miles became the center of Manfred's attention, making Franziska feel ignored and unimportant. She had developed a close bond with the boy during the first four years of his life in the von Karma estate and, while there were no demonstrations of affection between them, they had come to a great level of understanding.
That was when Miles Edgeworth was still free from her father's perfection creed. Once he started to be affected by Manfred's ideas, their relationship started to change. He became colder even though he had never stopped treating her with care despite starting to resemble her father more and more.
Of course, that didn't bother her at first since, according to what she was taught, that was the way every prosecutor should be; sentimentalities should be avoided as much as possible in order for one to become stronger. However, when Manfred pretty much turned all his attention to Miles, Franziska started to become very competitive.
There were times she truly, honestly hated Miles Edgeworth and how he would outdo her when it came to studying and how her father would treat him like an equal when she was pretty much seen as a mere child.
Of course, deep down, she could never hate Miles and she really admired him for his intelligence. But she felt that she wanted to get the praise he was given -which used to be directed to her when she was younger- back. She wanted someone, anyone, to show some affection for her.
And the only way she could find in order for these things to happen was to defeat Miles Edgeworth. So, she started studying twice as hard trying to become a prosecutor as soon as possible.
That's why she decided to take the Bar Exam at exactly the same time as him. But, to her dismay, he once again was faster than her. Yet, she didn't let that fact discourage her. She would have plenty of time to catch up, or so she thought.
But that was when the news struck her hard. Miles would leave Germany forever. He was going to abandon her and not give her a single chance to best him. Above all, he was pretty much going to leave her all alone, with no one to consider close to her because, undoubtedly, she was much closer to Miles than she was to Manfred despite her relationship with her "little brother" gradually becoming more typical and formal.
Even that voice in her head which told her she would now have the undivided attention of her father was proven wrong. Manfred did not start to act more like a parent and Franziska had to face the harshness of the adult world before she even was an adult herself and without a single person to rely on. She had always had a harsh personality but what she eventually became was ten times worse.
In the following years, she had hoped to succeed in completely destroying her attachment to Miles Edgeworth. She thought that it would be easy now that they wouldn't see each other every single day. And indeed, the distance between America and Germany and the overwhelming amount of work they had made them grow apart. At first, she would visit him once or twice a year until all visits stopped and they would only talk through the phone. Then, the phone calls became less and less frequent until there was a time they hadn't spoken at all for two years.
Franziska wanted to think that she no longer had to feel inferior to Miles Edgeworth. He was far away after all and, with a little luck, she would forget all about him and step out of his ever-lingering and intimidating shadow.
But fate seemed to have different plans.
When one day she read in the world news section about his so-called "suicide note" her world almost collapsed. She was filled with such worry that she could hardly recognize herself for the following hours. Of course, that was only until she realized she didn't believe a single word of this foolish article.
Reluctant to even admit it to herself, if Miles had actually killed himself she wouldn't just be worried; she would have drowned in sorrow. Even though he was more like an old, loved classmate to her since she had dropped out of touch with him, that didn't mean she wouldn't be devastated if he had thrown his life away.
But somehow, there was this feeling inside her that told her he was alive and well. She couldn't tell how she knew but she trusted her gut completely and decided to do everything to make him reappear.
That was her first thought. The next thought came from her mind rather than her heart and that mind told her she would finally get her chance to surpass him. Miles Edgeworth, probably utterly humiliated from his recent losses to that pathetic attorney, had hidden somewhere to wallow in his self-pity. That's what she had thought.
At long last, she had managed to best him. His win record had forever been crushed but hers was still intact. That should have been a victory in its own but, for some reason she couldn't explain at that time, she wasn't satisfied with just that. She wanted to crush the opponent she had failed to beat so that her triumph over him would be perfect.
But alas, her plan backfired completely. Not only did she lose twice to Phoenix Wright, she also experienced one of the biggest shocks in her life when Miles returned.
He was a completely different man than the Edgeworth she knew. Still, he had the same unreadable expression and he would smirk in his own smug way but she could tell he no longer resembled her father. He had once again moved on without her it seemed.
And she found these old feelings of anger and hatred towards him flare up at his appearance. She had wanted to be able to rub her achievements at his face and she was longing to hear words of praise and admiration come from his mouth. She had wanted to see an expression of shame upon his face instead of his usual smarminess which gave her the impression he condemned or mocked her.
But there he was again, not fazed by her words and hurling witty comments which frustrated her and made her feel silly. It was not what she had wanted to experience after all these years she had deluded –yes, deluded- herself that she had broken free of his daunting presence. So, all she did was pathetically try to insult him only to walk away immediately after that.
Soon afterwards, though, it appeared as if her bitterness was going to disappear due to his actions that unfortunate morning -the one when she was shot. Something tugged at the very depths of her heart when he dragged her all the way to that dreadful clinic, worry-filled and panic-stricken in a way she had never seen him before. He seemed so genuinely concerned and he had helped her in a moment she had felt utterly terrified and weak although she would never admit it.
But he had to destroy everything a day later.
His words at the airport, no matter how true they were and no matter how much she wished she could follow his advice, had hurt her a lot and even made her cry in public –something she considered thoroughly undignified. She could swear she heard her heart break when he told her he would leave her behind if she denied the prosecutor's path. Just what was up with that utterly foolish dependence she had on him?
In an attempt to heal her wounds, Franziska didn't attempt to contact him for an entire year and she slowly forgot all about how much influence Miles Edgeworth had on her. During the next months, she was dealing with the anguish of trying to break free from the chains which restrained her her entire life but also the chains that provided her with comfort and support. That was her maturing process, she figured.
Even now, she couldn't say that she had completely gotten rid of those chains. Surprisingly, she had easily removed the ones that tied her to her father. She realized that she wasn't too emotionally tied with him to be forever dependant on him. His tactics were the next step but she could get rid of them easily as well. It's not like she couldn't stop herself from using illegal means to get her verdict. She rarely did so anyway. She had considered them unnecessary.
However, the rest weren't so easy to dispose of. She still felt a drive to emerge victorious in every challenge she took on although now she knew that a negative result wouldn't hurt her nearly as much as it would have some time ago. It was a step.
Also, perfection still seemed to be a desirable goal for her despite her understanding of how painful striving for it was. It simply was one of those things that she felt they defined her, one of her character traits she should keep in order to not lose her identity. So was her pride and stubbornness for that matter and so was the whip she never let go of. These were parts of her prosecuting career and that job was something she never, ever wanted to abandon.
But the chains she wished she could break more than anything seemed to be the hardest ones to remove. They were the ones that tied her to Miles Edgeworth.
She could never quite sort her feelings for that man out. He had managed to confuse her once again that February. At first she had felt happy that he had called her back to America and that peculiar tugging at her heart had appeared once again for a brief moment. It felt so nice when he had told her "I thought of you when I heard about this case." Then, she felt angry when she realized he had lied to her in order to lure her to prosecute in that trial; he had wanted to use her: that's the bitter thought she had made.
She had wanted to give him away that very moment, to reveal his true identity but, her heart prevented her from doing so. As if trying to make up for that decision, her mind brought up her desire to prove herself to him and she went along with his plan, aiming to thwart him during the trial. Again, this silly little warmth spread in her chest when the trial ended and he had told her she made an excellent partner even though she still felt too bitter at that moment to notice. And when she later saw him distressed by the earthquake, she had felt the urge to somehow comfort him; an urge she fought well.
It seemed like frustration wasn't going to show up this time, though. Even for a few days, her feelings toward Miles were purely friendly, without anger or pain tainting her mood. She even had some fun with him at that hideous French restaurant.
But she soon returned to Germany and decided to work for Interpol so, again, they didn't keep in touch despite the lack of hostility between them. It was in that airport she was reminded of her rivalry with the prosecutor and found herself in that roller-coaster of feelings for the umpteenth time.
Of course, he had to be involved in her case; just her luck. The fool had managed to get accused of murder and then started solving the case on a whim. As if that wasn't enough, he had the nerve to display concern over her safety for dealing with such a dangerous smuggling ring. Since when did he even take notice of her? He always seemed to mind her a little bit more than a decorative plant. Yet, why had she felt so touched by his question? Why could she hear a very faint and girly voice celebrating inside her mind?
But no, she couldn't ignore how mad the fact that he dared act so casual around her as if he had no idea what an emotional turmoil he caused her in each and every one of their encounters made her. Then again, he probably didn't. It was just like Miles Edgeworth to be oblivious to other people's feelings.
She stared back at the papers on her desk; the reason that lengthy recollection of hers had started in the first place. They were her father's will. Manfred von Karma had decided to change his will while in confinement. Franziska had bitterly noticed the fact the will had changed for she was sure she wouldn't have been left with so much fortune had Miles not participated in her father's conviction. Manfred's fortune was split between her and her sister leaving the male prosecutor with nothing. She was going to bet that, at first, the will had included Edgeworth as well. How oddly her father always acted. His obsession with perfection had even made him choose him over his own daughter and only after his entire life fell into pieces did he remember Miles was the child of his enemy and should be treated as such.
Franziska didn't like these thoughts and she didn't feel satisfied at all to inherit her father's fortune in Miles' place. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder why her father's mind worked that way. Why had he taken him in and raised him and favored him only to try to crush him fifteen years later? And if he had planned this all along, why did he make sure the boy had a comfortable life and why was he planning to bequeath a part of his estate to him?
As for Franziska, she felt absolutely nothing after it was announced to her that her father's manor and a percentage of his money would now belong to her. Her sister had gotten the rest of it in order to raise her daughter without facing economic trouble. Again, that was a slight surprise to the female prosecutor since the eldest von Karma sister didn't have the best of relationships with her father. Then again, his grandchild seemed to have brought the two of them a little bit closer so it was no wonder he wanted to make sure the little kid wouldn't miss anything money could buy and live like a proper von Karma.
However, Franziska wasn't planning to keep her father's home. She had her own house and didn't feel the need to return to Manfred's abode. There weren't that many truly pleasant memories in it after all; mostly ones of sleepless nights filled with laws and rules and feelings of inferiority and of a burden too great for a kid to bear.
But before she could sell it, she had to take with her the things she actually wanted to keep from in there. And so should Miles.
Hesitating for a moment, she picked the phone of her office and called a number she hadn't called in a horribly long time.
Miles Edgeworth was relaxing in his office with a cup of his earl grey at hand. He had really needed this long rest even though not having taken a case for half a month gave him more free time than he would have wanted. His mind strayed to all kinds of subjects...
Today, he was thinking of Franziska von Karma. He was holding an article about her success in convicting Ambassador Alba in the Cohdopian courts. There was a picture of a clearly broken and humiliated Alba being led to jail and, of course, a picture of Franziska herself standing proud and stern as always.
It had been quite the surprise when he had first seen her after their long separation, about a year ago. She had grown so much… Not that her changing was unexpected. Of course she would grow up. Yet, even though he had seen photos of her older self plenty of times, the shock was still too great.
It was hard for him not to look for the thirteen year old in Franziska's characteristics. He failed to find much at least on the outside. Because as he realized soon after, her character was the same as it used to be. Despite how mature she seemed, she was still the young girl who at times annoyed him, at times amused him with her behavior. He was sort of glad about that. It was comforting to know that something had stayed the same in a person who seemed like a complete stranger to him at that moment.
Despite the fact he would describe her as a striking woman, he had noticed that her characteristics had become harsher, her eyes were always glaring and her stance was intimidating; like a person who was forced to grow up way too soon. It made him wonder if he had gone through a similar transformation when he was brought to the von Karma household. It was possible since he faintly remembered a time when he wasn't all that serious.
Then again, wasn't the coming of age of most troubled people like that? He knew for sure that the moment he had lost his father, he had also lost his childhood along with his faith to the world. And so he became a prosecutor. Somehow, most of those who ended up as prosecutors, had experienced some sort of traumatic experience at some point in their lives. He had only found out recently what Franziska's was and he felt horrible…
The girl had always wanted to prosecute criminals, for that he was sure but, she didn't have to do it at thirteen. Possibly, the strain from studying so much while trying to act exactly like an adult had toughened her up more than needed. And he couldn't help but remind himself that it was partly his fault.
He hadn't realized his behavior had made her think he didn't care about her. Since her breakdown a year ago, he had made a point to show her he considered her an equal each time they met. Somehow, her tears had affected him more than he would have thought possible.
He knew Franziska was hiding a vulnerable side under her tough exterior. He knew because he had been trying to hide his own fears and weaknesses in the same way as well. She had been like that since he had first met her but it was a bigger shock to him to see that her inner self contrasted her outer self that much. After having to accustom himself with the fact that she was a woman now, he was suddenly reminded that she was only eighteen and probably, somewhere deep inside her, she was even younger than that; a little girl who still fought to find her place in life.
Between the span of two days, Franziska had triggered his protective instincts a bit more than he would have liked. She would never find out how deathly scared he had felt when she was shot right in front of his eyes. The thought he could have lost her was nauseating beyond belief. But still, that incident sent shivers down his spine for one more reason as well. She had been shot at her right shoulder… Just like her father… It was scary how similar the fates of the two von Karmas were. One would think that he would consider that similarity extremely repelling but it certainly wasn't so. For some reason, he didn't mind. He found Franziska identical and radically different from her father at the same time. Lately, he had come to understand that she was probably the latter: much, much different.
Then, it was the guilt he had felt when she had burst to tears at that rare moment of weakness. He had wanted to show her some affection but he couldn't because he knew he was partly responsible for her breakdown and had no idea if she would even want him to comfort her. After all, she had said she hated him herself.
It was unnerving to see how much her failures in court had affected her. Unnerving because he saw a part of himself in Franziska that day. Watching her being so uncertain, so close to giving up and throwing everything away… Just like he had been after taking on Phoenix Wright. It was rather distressing to see the woman he had always admired for her unfaltering determination to fulfill her cause -even if that cause was foul- ready to surrender -he wouldn't allow her to do that!- and he was glad when he saw that she wasn't going to.
He proudly watched her slowly grow up –truly grow up- and gain some wisdom. He had to admit that she hadn't exactly become as he had expected her to become; her temper tantrums were still there and she stubbornly insisted on trying to surpass him but, now that he thought about it, it was probably better like that. These were her unique character traits and, he could say, they were cute.
He quickly shook his head when he realized a small smile had bloomed on his face at that thought. Why he felt himself blushing when he realized he had just described her personality as "cute" was beyond himself. After all, there was nothing bad in finding her behavior, which greatly resembled that of a wild mare, sort of charming, right?
His mind trailed off. That was exactly what he had said to Wright when he had asked him how he survived being with Franziska for so many years. Miles had solemnly replied that Franziska's company wasn't all that bad and that he actually enjoyed spending some time with her. Then, being the idiot he always was, Wright had grinned and made a silly comment to which Edgeworth simply replied that he found her personality… charming.
He wondered what seemed wrong about this now. Hadn't that always been his secret opinion of her? Secret because he would never let her –or anyone else for that matter- know. How Wright had managed to get such a response out of him, was beyond his understanding.
Miles tried to take his mind off the German prosecutor but it wasn't meant to be. The familiar number that appeared on the, now, ringing phone gave a small and completely uncalled for jolt of happiness to his heart. Pausing for a moment trying to comprehend why exactly that had happened, he then cleared his throat and answered.
"Franziska?"
"Why the questioning tone?" inquired the voice of Franziska von Karma from the other end of the line.
"You rarely call." Miles pointed out matter-of-factly. Indeed, the last few years they never called each other unless absolutely necessary. How stupid!
"True." She paused seeming to mull over that fact for a second. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I'm planning to sell my papa's estate and I thought you should come over and decide whether you'd like to keep some of the furniture or gather any belongings you had left there."
"Oh!" was Miles first reaction. He hadn't really expected Franziska to sell the house she grew up in. As much as she tried to hide it, she was known for getting emotionally attached to certain things and he thought her home would be one of them. His next reaction, though, was to feel touched she had told him. She really had no obligation to inform him of her decision or offer him anything from inside that house since it was her inheritance alone. She could do whatever she liked with it. "Thanks for taking me into consideration. I'll come over as soon as I can. I assume you're in Germany?" his question was pretty much unnecessary since he had already recognized the number she was calling him from and it clearly was from her office in Germany.
"You assume correctly." She replied. "Call me once your flight takes off. We'll meet at the airport."
"See you there."
Miles hung up and lied back on his revolving chair, many different thoughts filling his mind. The von Karma household, the place where he had passed many years of his life in, was up for sale and he didn't know how he felt about it.
His stay there wasn't exactly pleasant, though he would be downright ungrateful if he said life in the manor was horrible. Of course, the relationships among the members of the household were rather formal and lacked shows of affection while Manfred von Karma had been strict with their training and secretly plotted Mile's demise. Yet, Edgeworth could not –and would not- deny that he had gained a lot during these years.
Despite how demanding von Karma was, he was the reason Miles was so successful in his career. He had taught him everything he knew even though he had led him down the illusory path of perfection. Manfred's intentions might not have been benign but Edgeworth didn't regret his choice of occupation, whether that decision had actually been made by Miles or forced on him by Manfred seemed unimportant.
Also, he was never deprived of anything as a child due to how wealthy the von Karmas were. His life had actually been rather luxurious and he owed his refined manners and style to his upbringing by Manfred, although he had to deal with unpleasant jokes about his sense of fashion and his manners plenty of times.
And, of course, his stay there gave him the opportunity to meet Franziska.
It truly was strange. The best and worst things in his life had come from that single, inhuman action of his mentor. That was probably the reason Miles was completely indifferent when it came to the conviction of Manfred von Karma. There was an equal amount of bad and good memories connected to his life under von Karma's care so he could feel neither love nor hatred toward the man.
Then again, he did miss a very important thing during his years in Germany: genuine love. Manfred was a cold person and wouldn't show much affection even to his own children. The governesses who were frequently taking care of them seemed more like they were greatly bored and annoyed by their behavior than interested in forming a closer bond with them. The eldest daughter was indifferent towards him and, even if there was a chance this would change, this chance disappeared completely when she left the house –or rather escaped- to live her life the way she wanted and make her own family since Manfred had never appreciated her due to her refusal to become a lawyer. And Franziska… Miles really thought that she was the only one who loved him inside that house but, had started to doubt she did. She seemed to hate him for constantly being in the spotlight and stealing all of her father's attention ever since they were kids.
For all he knew, though, she could be right about him wanting to be the heart of attention. He couldn't really judge any of the things he did, or in this case wanted, in his teens since he was under a lot of pressure; pressure he would like to forget about. On one hand were von Karma's teachings which clouded his logic and on the other were his constant nightmares and phobias getting the best of him. He would not judge any of his actions because he had decided to let his past behind since he couldn't do anything to change it and look on to the future.
"Let his past behind" was easier said than done since his many fears still followed him to this day, sometimes hindering his daily life. He hated these unpleasant situations that occurred due to them and he was trying to fight his fears off but to no avail. He might have managed to change his heart and mind but it seemed his body refused to do him a favor and stop shivering at the slightest tremble of the earth or at the mention of an elevator. Even his fear of heights was annoying despite it not being connected with his father's death.
With a sigh, he peeked at his watch and calculated how much time it would take him to prepare for his trip. Since he had no case in his hands right now, he could as well leave right away. He made the necessary calls to the Chief Prosecutor in order to inform her of his departure and booked his tickets online.
Tomorrow morning he would leave for Germany. A strange warmth filled him at the thought he would see the ever distant Franziska once more and he felt a peculiar excitement as his mind brought forth her form. And he would swear that, in the image that popped in his head, she looked more beautiful than usual.