It was far from difficult for Ema to recognize Klavier Gavin the very first time she saw him casually stroll into the precinct as if he owned the place. After all, the only things that had really seemed to change about him were his height and that bizarre, twisty hairstyle.

Ema Skye on the other hand, had gone through a lot of changes over the past ten years. Now, at twenty-five, she had just landed a job as a detective in the criminal affairs department. To her dismay, it was far from her dream job, but she had to take what she could get after failing the forensics department's proficiency test.

Ema had worked her butt off while studying forensics abroad, but lack of sleep and raw nerves were something that no amounts of studying could prepare her for, and had gotten the best of her. Although it was nice to finally be back in the same country as her older sister again, Ema had a lot of pent up frustration. Even after all those years, her goal still looked far out of reach.

It was her first day of work, and she had been shown to her new desk by the department chief. She was in the middle of quietly arranging her belongings on her desk, trying to get as settled down as possible when Klavier-Gavin-The-Great had made his rather disruptive entrance.

The whole office seemed to brighten as other detectives greeted the flashy rock star, prosecutor with a great deal of enthusiasm.

"To what pleasure do we owe your presence today, sir?!"

"Great job on the trial yesterday, sir!"

"Prosecutor Gavin, I went to your band's concert last week, it was one of the best yet!"

Ema blinked, confused at the sudden change in atmosphere.

"Detective Skye, that's Klavier Gavin of the band, The Gavinners!" explained the balding, middle-age detective sitting at the desk next to her.

"The what-inners?" Ema frowned, genuinely lost. She knew absolutely nothing about today's popular culture, nor, did she have any interest.

Apparently writing Ema off as a lost cause, the detective ignored her furthered confusion and went to join the group of people forming around the flamboyant prosecutor.

Through cracks between bodies, Ema noticed that the tall, blond man had spotted her and was smiling right her way.

Oh, crap.

She immediately looked away, pretending not to notice.

To her horror, Klavier soon excused himself from the steadily growing mob around him, and made his way towards her in a few long strides.

"So, you are the new Fraulein detective that everyone has been talking about?" he beamed, leaning against her desk with an arm. A huge, polished, silver "G" pendant around his neck dangled in front of her eyes.

Gee, wonder what that stood for.

"My name is Ema Skye," the brand new detective replied unenthusiastically, holding out a hand for him to shake. She figured that at least someone should be professional.

"Well it's not everyday that our precinct is blessed with such a new, lovely young Fraulein detective as you," Klavier grinned flirtatiously, flashing his perfectly white teeth.

"I had to come down and see for myself."

He then proceeded to gently take her hand, but instead of shaking it as how intended, he planted a warm, soft kiss on the top of it, much to her alarm.

Ema almost let out a groan but managed to keep it within wraps. Did this guy ever introduce himself like a normal human being?

She knew it was him from ten-years ago. The mysterious boy she had occasionally daydreamed about as a young girl, the one that had disappeared from her life as fast as he had appeared. This grown-up version of him leaning over her, still invading her personal space, had the same gaudy fashion sense, and the same cocky attitude. There was no mistake.

However, it seemed that those same characteristics that had once made her heart pound in her chest, now completely rubbed her in all the wrong ways. Perhaps it was because she was now older and wiser, or perhaps because she was just a bit more cynical.

Yet, Ema did not dare bring up the past. She was not a girl of low self-esteem, but her pride was not constructed of steel, either. He obviously didn't remember her, and the last thing she needed was for him, and all of her co-workers (who were by now, staring at her), get the wrong impression. No way. She refused to add fuel to this man's noticeably oversized ego and not to mention, be the laughing stock of the precinct on her very first day of work.

So much for prince charming.

--

It was the Department Chief's birthday and someone had the bright idea of holding the party right there at the office. Ema had been working as a detective for a month now, and was finally getting the hang of things. Frankly, she was bored out of her mind with no official scientific investigations to conduct, although she did have a few covert projects on the side for fun. But what was the point, if her findings were not even used in the investigation?

Working along side Klavier Gavin had also proven to be a challenge, one of which she was not anticipating. He relentlessly continued to tease and taunt her, not once stopping since that first day of work. With a job she despised, and bothersome co-workers, poor Ema Skye could only take so much.

What she hated most was the way he talked to her. For some reason, no matter what the subject of discussion, he always found it necessary to lean in over her, which she constantly failed to understand the point of. She could hear him perfectly fine without having his face two inches away from hers.

However, she always forced herself to stand ground and absolutely refused to step back. She wasn't about to let him notice how flustered and awkward this made her feel. She refused to let him win, which would only give him added motivation to tantalize her.

Ema had joined the party late; she had been working overtime, finishing reports while everyone else had decided to start the party in the office next door. Ema rubbed her temples irritably, chewing on the last of her favorite comfort food, Snackoos. Unable to concentrate any further due to the racket bleeding through the walls, she figured she could use the prospect of an open bar to do some long overdue loosening up.

Despite the fact she was not much of a drinker, a few glasses of weak fruity mixed drinks gradually turned into a couple concoctions involving hard alcohol, and then to beer which she eventually learned took the bartender the fastest to prepare. Beer had always tasted gross to Ema, but after all the alcohol was starting to kick in, it all tasted the same.

"Fraulein Detective, I never took you as a drinker." A slightly muffled (due to Ema's clouding senses), but all-too familiar voice came from behind her as she was hovering over the portable bar located in the back of the room.

"Dude, she's wasted." It was another familiar voice. Of course, Klavier's "partner in crime," Detective Crescend, with his ridiculous hair in all its glory, was there, too. This wasn't his department. What were they even doing here?

"You come to crash the party or something?" Ema swayed just a bit, despite her attempt to look as convincingly over-the influence as possible.

"What party?" Detective Crescent snorted, but Ema ignored him and his pompous hair. She secretly theorized that his use of hair spray on that thing was solely responsible for global warming.

"Nein, we were asked to play a few songs for Herr Department Chief." Klavier grinned, amused by the pinkish shade of Ema's cheeks.

Ema accusingly pointed at Klavier's chest with her drink.

"Oh, so that was you guys making all that noise while I was trying to work," she muttered, barely audible.

"Dude, I don't know about you, but I'm outta here." Detective Crescend sounded bored out of his mind. "I've got a real party to crash. Catch you later, man."

Ema watched Klavier nod farewell to his band mate, wondering why he hadn't left yet either. Great. It was just the two of them now. And there he went, leaning over her again. Ema sighed and took an extra long swig of the beer in her hand.

"Achtung baby, allow me to buy you another drink," Klavier winked, retrieving the now-empty cup out of her grip.

"It's an open bar, Gavin," Ema rolled her eyes. "The drinks are free." Maybe the alcohol was feeding her strength after all; he wasn't making her feel as uncomfortable as he usually did -- especially considering the fact that he had indeed just winked and called her "baby."

Klavier ordered a couple of beers from the rental bartender. "Why don't we have a seat instead of standing around, ja?" he gave her a newly filled cup and pointed towards some empty office chairs a few feet away.

Ema nodded and followed him without much thought.

"What does Klavier mean, anyway?" a beer later and Ema was more talkative than Klavier had ever seen her before.

"It's German for piano, Fraulein." Klavier answered, taking a brief sip from his cup before grimacing at the awful taste of cheap beer. No wonder the criminal affairs department was able to afford the open bar.

"But you don't even play the piano, do you?" Ema scoffed rather rudely. She on the other hand didn't seem to mind the beer so much. This gave some reason for concern.

Klavier laughed, not at all offended by her tone. "I was forced to take lessons when I was a boy, but then I soon realized I'm not exactly the piano type."

"Mm…" Ema murmured thoughtfully, dreamily looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah, Mr. Edgeworth…now that's the piano type."

Klavier felt a momentary twinge of rivalry but pushed it aside. "Perhaps so, but in my opinion, the guitar type is loads more enjoyable as company--"

"Prosecutor Gavin!"

Before he could finish his thought, a red-faced Department Chief staggered up to Klavier, grabbing his free hand and shaking it enthusiastically.

"Thank you so much for playing tonight!"

"Herr Roberts, it was my pleasure!" Klavier smiled politely, not at all showing his annoyance from the interruption.

This looked like it would take awhile. The last thing Ema wanted was to be dragged into a boring conversation doused in office politics. She took the opportunity to quietly slip away before Klavier could stop her.

Deciding to go for a little stroll, Ema's first stop was at the bar to grab a fresh beer. Then after wandering around a bit, she soon literally stumbled upon an unoccupied, inviting-looking couch. She plunked down on it, oblivious to spilling a little of the bottle's contents on the smooth leather surface.

It was around then when Ema blacked out and had absolutely no recollection of the rest of the night.