Chapter 9

After standing and watching the sky until the sun had slipped out of view, Phoenix lifted his free hand to check his watch, then did a double take. Time had passed so quickly that thirty minutes had already come and gone. He was reluctant to relay this message to Franziska, who seemed content with just standing there and enjoying the view, so he waited a few minutes more to let the last rays of the sun disappear before attempting to break the comfortable silence.

"Ah... well, uh... It's been a while since we came out here... You're welcome to go home now, if you want." He said as he glanced over to look at her as they stood there, deciding not to say anything about missing his bus, so not to make her feel guilty.

A small smirk came to her face as she looked at Phoenix again, his eyes still looking bright even if the sun had gone down.

She did not let go of his hand as she replied in a confident and rather haughty tone, "Do not be foolish, Phoenix Wright. I am well aware you've missed your bus. I will drop you at your apartment."

A sheepish grin showed on his face as he glanced downwards, embarrassed at being caught at his secrecy.

I should've known better than to try to hide something from a von Karma, I guess. he thought as he looked back up at her.

"Heh, you noticed, did you? But, uh, thank you, I-I really appreciate it." He said, grin changing from sheepish to earnest as he did so.

His grin made her heart flop yet again, and at this point Franziska wondered what the heck was wrong with her with how deeply and easily Phoenix Wright could affect her. She began to walk in the direction of where she parked her car, tugging Phoenix that way by the hand before finally letting go.

"My car is not that far away." she added, not looking back as she briskly walked there.

Following along behind her, he grew slightly disappointed when she released his hand, but cheering back up after realizing they would have had to let go eventually, and that there would be more opportunities to do so in the future.

Once they reached the car and got inside, he took the opportunity to just watch her, relaxing in his seat. When she had unlocked it and allowed him inside, he'd been amazed, and still was, at how luxurious her car was.

As Franziska started up her car and pulled out of the parking lot, she asked Phoenix for directions to his place. What a mistake that was. In between directions, he kept feeling the need to fill the silence in the car with useless chatter which Franziska only replied to in clipped tones, if she replied at all.

Even if somewhere deep inside she found the fact she made Phoenix so nervous humorous, she had to say, she was not used to making idle conversation in the slightest, so it made her more irritated and uncomfortable than anything else.

She breathed an inward sigh of relief when his apartment complex came into view, and she pulled into a spot near the entrance and stopped the car. One part of her told her that she had more than enough of this foolish date and that there were much more important court matters that deserved her attention, but another part just wanted something more.

Not sure of what to do in this situation, she undid her seatbelt and then looked at Phoenix with an intense look. The parking lot lamps reflected off his face to give his skin a yellowish tinge, but it was his eyes that really held her attention.

They were an unusual deep blue in color, filled with kindness, lighting up whenever he smiled or laughed, betraying his every emotion as he felt it. She was certain she didn't know anyone else with eyes anything like his. Though she would not readily admit it, she was certain that she could never tire of looking into them.

What foolish thoughts are these? Phoenix Wright must have rubbed off on me much more than I would ever have wanted. Franziska silently grumbled to herself, not used to listening to her heart much.

Bringing a hand up to rub absently at the back of his neck, Phoenix looked back at her, silent for the first time since getting into the car. He noticed her intense stare and blushed slightly, wondering if she was displeased with him for something. Wanting to try and keep up the date, he thought about what he could do to increase their time together.

Finally deciding that it'd probably be polite to invite her inside, he clears his throat and carefully tries to word it so that she won't take it the wrong way and get offended.

"Uh, well, since we're here, and you're already unbuckled, uh, maybe you'd like to come inside for some coffee or something? " He asked, fumbling with his own seatbelt before managing to slip it off and blush at his awkwardness.

"Alright."

The word slipped out of Franziska's mouth even before she could think through her response.

Not wanting to sound easy or the like, since funny business is usually thought to be associated with visiting someone's home after a date, so she gripped her whip tightly and brought it into view to show she was not to be toyed with and added a threatening, "But do not get any ideas, Phoenix Wright."

"Ideas? What do you- O-oh! N-n-no! I would never- I mean, I had no intention of... " Confusion briefly lit up his face as he tried to figure out what she meant by that, eyes widening and a red color taking over his face as realization hit him and he sputtered slightly, trailing off at the end. An awkward moment passed before he opened the door and got out, grinning embarrassedly, then ran around to her side and tried to open the door for her, belatedly realizing the door was still locked.

Franziska let out a sigh at his foolishness, unlocking her door and then allowed him to open it for her since he was so intent on doing so. Her mouth twitched just slightly into a smile at his embarrassment, pleased to see that she seemed to have as big an effect on him as he on her.

When they were both out of the car, she locked and armed it, and then waited to follow after him to his place. Her heart was beating fast, never having been on a date as successful as this one before, wondering exactly what would happen next.

Still flustered, he led her up the stairs and to the door of his apartment, looking through his pockets for his keys. He gave Franziska an apologetic glance as he finally fished them out of his pocket and attempted to unlock the door.

"Uh, sorry, it's a bit cluttered, b-but the couch is over there, so if you'd like to sit down... And…uhh…my coffee isn't anything really fancy, but it's not too bad." he said, finally managing to open the door and let her inside before following behind her.

"I suppose it will do." Franziska said with an eyebrow raised, moving to sit down on the couch as she was invited to do.

Phoenix went to make coffee, inwardly shaking his head - come on, he was a defense lawyer, this should be nothing compared to the pressure of a case. But somehow, he found himself completely unable to complete a phrase without stuttering, both in mouth and mind. He clattered around his kitchen, halfheartedly cleaning as he went - he was sort of embarrassed at the state it was in, but then, he hadn't expected company.

And he waited for the coffee to brew, and wasn't sure whether he should go over and try to talk to her, or maybe that would make her mad, or should he look like he was doing something important, or.... or, he could just vacillate and end up standing there like a dummy.

Franziska observed him closely in from the living room, as there was only a small divider between there and the kitchen, and she noticed he seemed to be quite indecisive about something. This caused a smirk to grow on her face at the way she obviously was making him very nervous.

He finally met her eyes, and blushed helplessly. "Ah..." he wanted to ask what she was smirking at, but on the other hand, he really didn't want to know... "So... h-how do you like your coffee?"

"I like it with both cream and sugar, although tea is much more fitting to my tastes, Phoenix Wright." Franziska said with an eyebrow raised, but her hard tone was laced with humor.

"Oh... then... do you want tea instead? I think I have some tea." Actually, he had some very nice tea, courtesy of Maya and Pearl. He could sense the humor in her tone - it relaxed him a little, he was just relieved she didn't hate him for totally forgetting to ask her if she even liked coffee, or if she wanted tea, or... he stamped on his babbling internal monologue.

"You have already started making the coffee, Phoenix Wright. It would be a foolish waste of time to start making tea at this point, and I highly doubt your tea making skills are up to par." she replied, secretly wanting him to hurry up with the coffee that would probably end up being horrible anyway, and spend time with her instead.

"Hey; I make good tea. Maya wouldn't leave me alone about it until I could." Feeling slightly less paranoid, he checked the coffee maker - nope, still some time to go, so he went over and took a seat, definitely feeling more relaxed.

"I've seen that you are close with that spirit chaneller." Franziska said in a stiff tone, suddenly feeling a bit jealous that Phoenix would dare mention her on their date.

He did notice the sudden change in tone, but he was totally clueless as to why. "Well, yeah, she's kind of like a little sister to me - a really annoying one." He made a rather exasperated face. "But uh... well, she did teach me how to make tea, so uh... maybe sometime... I could... make some for you?" Now was awkward smile time, full of hope and uncertainty and honest affection.

Franziska was about agree about Maya being annoying in a clipped tone, but the look in his eyes stole her words away. She would never tire of him looking at her that way, she was sure of it.

"Perhaps I will be able to accurately gage your tea making skills then, Phoenix Wright." Franziska said, her tone softening again.

As much as her tone softens anyway.

It melted in a full, real smile, lighting up his eyes with warmth. "I'm sure you won't be dissatisfied," he murmured, unaware of the slightly sensual tone in his voice.

Franziska felt her face reddening suddenly at his tone and she responded forcefully, "We will see."