Ema had nearly decided to walk back, despite Klavier's earnest insistence she not do that very thing. Or maybe it was because of that. But the storm had only worsened and showed no signs of letting up. She was tough, but she didn't want to walk a mile in the staunch downpour and freezing wind if she didn't have to. However, she'd rather walk through the back streets all the way to her flat than spend any amount of time at the police station in this storm...

And there had been something in his voice when he'd told her to be careful. Or more, something hadn't been in his voice. The way he usually talked to her, his customary way of cajoling and teasing, always attempting to get under her skin; there had been no sign of that. He'd just sounded sincere. Maybe even concerned. And it had been enough to guilt her out of walking.

She'd had to hunt down Sweets in order to solicit a ride, and that didn't help improve her mood. The powerfully uncomfortable trip had been filled with her angry grousing ("Who does he think he is telling me to be careful? I'm always careful! He's the reckless one! With his stupid 'hog'! I don't think he's ever worn a helmet when he's ridden that thing. Probably so he won't mess up his pretty princess hair! And who even says 'hog' anymore?!") and loud complaints about the mass amounts of rain seeping in through the cracked window that Sweets explained had been unable to close fully since an incident involving misplaced keys, a wire hanger and wrongly detained civilians. How this man still had his job was beyond her.

So it was that Ema found herself once again seated at her desk, shivering in the cool air circulating through her postage sized office and staring gloomily at the giant manila folder in front of her.

Her copy of the case file.

The giant case file.

After only one day of investigation.

She sighed. There was so much work to be done, and none of it was even interesting work. It was all the tedious red tape and paper work, she wasn't going to be able to get anymore real investigation in until Monday. Not that she was overly anxious to do even that on this case, considering all the horrific details...

The pattering of continuous rain on the window compelled her senses, lulling her further into hazy thoughts, she began sorting through the murder in her head. The method, the purposed weapon, the means. Morbid day dreams brought on by the dark atmosphere.

A sudden violent crash of thunder, close enough to shake the window panes and loose objects on the desk brought Ema out of her reverie and to her feet, looking around the room fearfully with wide eyes before remembering that thunder is what happens during storms and this was, indeed, a storm she was experiencing. She shook her head, swallowing, and gathered up her sopping wet vest and coat in one arm, the case file in the other. It was definitely time to go home.

She had made it almost all the way to the front entrance when she stopped, her forehead creased in deep thought. She had been struggling with herself ever since arriving, fighting with an idea that was completely ridiculous, completely unnecessary, and completely repulsive, yet a part of her kept dwelling on it. With a sigh, she squared her shoulders both mentally and physically, turned and marched in the opposite direction. Ema had decided to go check in with Prosecutor Gavin.

After a treacherous walk through the nearly abandoned building that left Ema jumpy and anxious, she found herself standing in front of the door to the Head Prosecutor's office, biting her bottom lip.

It seemed like even less of a good idea now that she was here. She almost left, but told herself she did come all this way and it would be stupid to not at least knock. And he probably wasn't even there, after all. Rock stars have no work ethic, and combine that with lazy fops, he's probably never in his office.

She rapped her fist against the door hesitantly, stepping back so she wouldn't be too close when he opened it. Klavier was best dealt with at arms distance, at the very least.

The seconds dragged by, Ema feeling more and more vulnerable as she stood awkwardly out in the hall.

Well alright. That decided it. No answer meant he wasn't there which meant she was going to go home and not have to subject herself to another annoying encounter with King of Rock Gavin. Thank god.

But the instant she turned around, she was met with another of those impossibly loud claps of thunder that caused the florescent lights covering the ceiling of the long hallway to flicker ominously. Ema stopped in her tracks. Then the lights flashed off completely.

Ema felt her heart skip a beat and she hugged her wet coat tightly, staring into the dark. A flash of lightning outside filled the hallway with blue light, and she had to close her eyes to keep herself from imagining figures moving around in the shadowy illumination.

With a quiet whimper, she backed up to the door behind her. She had yet to form her next move, or even open her eyes for that matter, when another crack of thunder made her flinch violently, dropping what she held in her arms and unintentionally putting weight on the door handle, causing the door to give way. Once the door had left the frame, it was quite evident that the office was occupied. Soft music filled Ema's ears, overpowering the unpleasant sounds in the hall. A slow, sweet tune played on a single acoustic guitar.

When it opened fully, Ema was deposited in the office, her momentum causing her to stumble a few steps before regaining her balance and straightening up, examining her dimly lit surroundings. The entrance was directly next to the backside of a large, free standing display case that she knew to hold numerous guitars of different types. It blocked her view of the rest of the big room, and also blocked her from view. She considered pretty seriously dashing back into the hall and running for the stairs before she was spotted, but the thought of having to find her way there through the dark made her hold her ground.

While she struggled to create a plan, the flawless music continued; drifting around lightly, and Ema decided it must be a recording. Which changed some of her fear to irritated disbelief when the singing started.

"Love... Love... Slow acting and new..." Klavier Gavin sang, his clear voice mingling with the notes of the guitar. " Atroquinine... Is waiting for you."

He was listening to himself. Ema huffed out a breath and walked around the corner, trying to compose herself by turning any residual fear into annoyance, and this gave her just the opportunity.

But she stopped short, all annoyance melting away at the sight of Klavier.

He was reclined in his black chair, one booted foot planted firmly on the ground, the other pulled up on the chair, his leg leaning against the arm rest. He was playing the guitar, his left arm resting on his raised knee while his deft fingers picked out the complex tune that filled the room. The purple jacket that he normally wore was hung over the back of the chair and he'd rolled up the sleeves of his black dress shirt, revealing his tan, muscular forearms. The rings that normally adorned his fingers were laying in a haphazard pile on the small table next to his chair, freeing up his hands presumably for guitar playing.

He stared out the giant window he sat in front of; a troubled, contemplative expression on his face as he considered the raging storm outside. As Ema watched, something seemed to upset him. He furrowed his brow and clapped a hand over the fret board, shaking his head. He frowned down at the offending instrument, muttering quietly in German under his breath.

For some reason, the lightly melancholy sight arrested Ema. She couldn't stop staring at him, lost, as he was, in his thoughts.

Suddenly, his hands tightening on the guitar he held, Klavier froze. A heartbeat passed and he glanced quickly back up at the window.

Ema's eyes widened. Then she, too, looked at the window. The window that was more reflective than she had first thought. What she saw... was herself: dirty and wet, standing in Prosecutor Gavin's office for no good reason and of her own free will, looking guilty, embarrassed and scared. She also saw Klavier's spreading grin.

"Enjoying the view, Fraulein?"

Ema swallowed.

"You know, you probably shouldn't go creeping around the police department late at night like that. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I was- No, well, I didn't- I wasn't trying to-"

"Is something wrong, Detektiv?" The grin faltered as he examined her face. "You look bothered."

She took a deep breath. "No, no. I was just- The lights in the hall went out all of the sudden. That's kind of why I came in here..." Ema looked around the office. "Hang on, why is the power in here still on?"

"The Head Prosecutor's office is connected to the backup generator, same as the computer servers. To be honest, I wasn't even aware we were having electrical difficulties. No way to tell in here. I can't hear nature's rock show going on outside, either. This office is rigged up to be my veritable Fortress of Solitude."

Ema hadn't noticed it before, but the office was deathly silent apart from their conversation. The huge window they stood in front of portrayed the storm in perfect detail, roiling clouds and flashes of lightning happening too fast to pin down, but not a hint of noise could be heard.

Extracting himself from the reclined chair and carefully leaning the guitar against the wall, Klavier moved to stand in front of her, hands in his pockets. He was watching her carefully. "Are you alright?"

His closeness enhanced her embarrassment and she had to take a step back, struggling to find her words. "No. No, I'm fine. I was coming to tell you- I brought- I knocked." She gestured behind her to the door. "I knocked first." She mimed knocking in front of her, trying to avoid looking at him.

Klavier laughed. "I'm sure you did. I'm not accusing you of breaking and entering. I apologize for not acknowledging your entrance, Fraulein. I was... Preoccupied. I was sorting some things out. I couldn't hear you knocking." He, too, held a fist up, miming knocking in the air.

"Oh. Right. What were you sorting out?"

He grimaced in response and turned back to the window. "That case you're working on. It's gotten... Even more disturbing. This morning I thought it was the result of a gang feud, and now, well..."

"Well what?"

"It turns out this isn't the first murder to be carried out in that manner in the city."

Ema felt the back of her neck tingle. "What are you implying?"

"There's been six people killed just like that and all in less than a month." He was staring at the ceiling now, his face unreadable. "And you know those body parts you so expertly noted to be gone? They were mailed to the police department this morning."

She shivered again, but not because of the cold. There was a serial killer on the loose.

"What did you find at the scene?"

Ema wrapped her arms around herself. "Nothing that great, now that I know this isn't the first one. Mostly that knife I found. It had been smeared in a paralytic poison before use. It wouldn't have had any other affects aside from paralyzing the victim." She shrugged. "I don't know if that helps anything."

Klavier let out a single, succinct laugh. "So they can't move but they can still feel everything. Great." He shook his head in frustration. "Ach, this is no good." He turned to her again, attempting a smile. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem very... Out of sorts."

"No, yeah, I'm fine. Fine. I'm just thinking, that's all."

He didn't seem convinced, but nodded anyway. "There's too much to consider with something like this. That's why I was playing before. It helps my thought process."

Ema nodded. "Yeah, I heard that..." She had to get back some dignity and composure. A change of subject was just right. "That didn't sound very Gavinners of you. Aren't you supposed to be all hard rock?"

"Ach, that was how the song was originally written." He frowned slightly. "By me, that is."

"And, what, it got changed? Why did you let it? Isn't it your band?"

"Ja, however, my band or no," Klavier shrugged. "That's just not the sound that's in right now. Or so I got told."

"Hm. Well, I think I like it better that way." Ema said this without thinking and had to fight the urge to cover her mouth once it was out. "Not that I've heard the other version. Or actually like this version. I just meant-"

A genuine smile was slowly creeping back onto Klavier's face as she tried desperately to backtrack.

"And who writes a love song about poison, anyway?! That's not romantic at all! It doesn't even mean anything!"

Klavier scoffed. "Of course it means something. All my lyrics mean something. Nothing about me is meaningless, Fraulein."

Ema rolled her eyes. "Oh really? And what is 'Atroquinine, my love' supposed to mean?"

He appeared to consider this deeply, looking at her as if summing her up. His smirk indicated a decision. "I'm so glad you asked," He took a step forward, closing the distance she'd put between them. "Do you know the effects of said poison?"

"Um..." Ema cursed whatever it was that caused her to get so flustered by his nearness. Situation: unacceptable. She shuffled her feet back, trying to back away subtly.

"What am I thinking? Of course you know the effects, mein kleine Wissenschaftler." Every step Ema took, Klavier matched. He was now even closer than before. "As you doubtlessly know, it takes a very small amount of this poison to be lethal. 0.002 milligrams, to be exact. A touch of atroquinine in the body... Is the touch of the reapers scythe."

"Right. Deadly. Got it." Ema mumbled.

Step by step, Klavier was pursuing her across the office, the two doing a sort of improvised dance. "The other important part of the poison, you have to know this to understand the intricacies of the song, is the unusually long amount of time it takes to have affect."

Ema began to feel distinctly like she was being stalked by a dangerous predator, yet she couldn't help but play the part of the entranced prey. She made a noise that sounded vaguely like 'Eep!' when she felt her back bump into the wall, cutting off her escape route.

"Once you know the key points of atroquinine, the metaphor becomes much more evident. Let's review." He placed a hand over her right shoulder, palm flat against the wall. "It takes the briefest hint, the slightest touch," Ever so carefully, Klavier trailed the back of his right hand along her jawline, his curved knuckles leaving a white hot trail across Ema's cheek. "For it to claim a person completely."

"Huh..." She drew in a ragged breath.

"And even if you don't notice any changes at first, even if you're walking around feeling perfectly normal, as if nothing has any power over you," His fingertips traced a line over her cheekbone and back to her hair, gently tucking a stray lock behind her ear. "It's there, laying in wait. Ready to claim you, completely and utterly. That teeny, tiny little bit of... Atroquinine."

Klavier shifted his hand, cupping her chin. He ran a calloused thumb lightly over her bottom lip. Ema couldn't tear her eyes away from his; the cool, icy blue had her temporarily mesmerized. He angled his head to the side, bending down ever so slowly, and... The two were abruptly thrown into darkness. So much for the backup generator.

Mere inches away from Ema's face, Klavier stiffened.

"Oh," He released a heavy breath."Scheiße."

I wonder if this qualifies as a song fic now... XP

Mein kleine Wissenschaftler: My little scientist

Scheiße: Shit