Love is Like Atroquinine: Slow Acting, But Powerful
Chapter 8
"Turnabout Fears"
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters and cases from Ace Attorney. All credits go to Capcom, they own the rights to everything. This storyline however, is completely original and was created by me.
*I don't recall there ever being a specific month that Apollo Justice was set in, so unless someone wants to correct me if I am wrong, the current setting I put the story in is the beginning of July.
Klavier watched Ema walk down the hallway and kept his eyes on her until she entered the elevator and disappeared from sight. He was relieved the all was resolved with her, but how he wished she could have stayed. As much as he wanted to disagree with Ema, Klavier knew it was much too early in their relationship for something as progressive as her staying the night. He was just finally getting her to open up, and he wasn't about to push her limits too far and make her retreat.
Klavier walked back into the kitchen and glanced at the clock. Ten fifty five at night. He was beginning to think about going to bed right before Ema knocked on the door, but now he was wide awake, due to a combination of thoughts revolving around what just transpired, and his deep rooted desire to continue it. He had been aching for Ema's kiss and touch for months now, and now that he had finally gotten a taste of her sweetness and innocence, he wanted more. Much more.
Realizing that he wouldn't be going to bed anytime soon, Klavier walked over to his liquor cabinet and grabbed a half full bottle of his favorite brand of whiskey and poured himself a generous glass. If he was going to sleep tonight, it wouldn't be sober. A sober Klavier would be up all night, consumed with thoughts of Ema, but a slightly drunk Klavier, while still spending a lot of time thinking about her, might eventually find the motivation to get some rest.
He mindlessly sipped his drink as he walked into the room where he kept all his books as well as his desktop computer. His eyes grazed over all the legal and forensics books he had acquired over the years as a prosecutor. Some of them were Kristoph's, given to him after his brother was incarcerated, but Klavier didn't have the heart to throw them away. He sat down in a brown leather chair and put the whiskey bottle in between his thigh and the arm rest. He brought it with him, knowing he'd be dipping back into the bottle before the night was over.
His mind somehow drifted to his brother and the betrayal that came with his being thrown in jail. It had been six months since Kristoph was indicted for the murder of Shadi Smith (a.k.a Zak Gramarye) and three months since he was tried for the murder of Drew Misham and the attempted murder of Vera Misham. Kristoph's original sentence for the first count of murder was simply life in prison, but when he was convicted on the next two counts, it was changed to the death penalty.
Kristoph was to be executed by the end of the year.
The thought that the last family member he had in this world would be dead within five months burned a hole in Klavier's chest. The loss of their parents when he was a young boy was bad enough. Kristoph was Klavier's emotional rock during that dark time in his life, and knowing that he would lose that rock, even if he barely considered Kristoph his brother anymore, still cut Klavier to the core.
Klavier remembered with a shudder that farce of a trial where his brother's true nature was revealed to the world, with Klavier standing center stage at the Prosecutor's bench. The 'coolest defense in the west' had gone from a calm and collected man to a tortured soul consumed by rage. The look on Kristoph's face when Phoenix Wright revealed the depths of his well planned out revenge scheme was a face that was seared into Klavier's brain for eternity.
"Warum Kristoph? Was zum Teufel hast du gedacht?" Klavier slammed his fist onto the chair armrest in anger.
He would never understand what was going through Kristoph's head when he decided to become a man of evil. He had a perfect life lined up ahead of him, and he callously threw it away without thinking about the consequences for anyone else, especially for his younger brother.
Every time Klavier visited Kristoph in prison to try and reason with him, Kristoph always gave him the blowoff and would tell him "Sie brauchen sich nicht auf deinen Verstand mit diesen Dingen kliene Bruder." Klavier would try to talk, but Kristoph would always give the excuse of 'needing to finish this book' and would dismiss him with a wave of his hand.
It had been over two months since Klavier last visited his brother, and he had no intention of returning. Hell, he didn't even know if he would go to the execution.
Thoughts of the impending execution made Klavier drain the remaining whiskey in his glass and immediately pour another.
As Klavier's alcohol fueled eyes roamed around the room, they settled on the stack of music discs he had next to his computer. A majority of that stack were old Gavinner's albums but there were a few mix's of songs that never made the final album cuts among them. The breakup of the Gavinner's was another touchy subject for Klavier that brought up a slew of negative emotions and was another depression that weighed down his heart.
The band didn't last long after Daryan's incarceration, and though it came as no shock that they disbanded after Daryan's arrest, it still hurt. The break up was a mutual decision between Klavier and the other three rockers, and the others, like Klavier, returned full time to the jobs they were doing aside from being in the band. Like Klavier and Daryan had been, the other three men are members of the law enforcement world. They had all met shortly before the formation of the band, but to start a band in the first place was Klavier and Daryan's idea. Daryan and Klavier had been friends since they were 13, so after 11 years of friendship and phenomenal success with their band for seven years, it made Klavier feel like he had done something wrong. He knew that he was in no way to blame for Daryan's choices in life, but it never made it any easier. Sure, he still kept in constant contact with the other band members, but Daryan had been his best friend through thick and thin, and now Ema was the only other person he could count on.
Thinking about Ema made Klavier once again, drain his glass and reach for another refill. He couldn't remember the last time he drank so much, so quickly, but that woman did things to his brain that would make a lesser mortal go insane.
The woman had been driving him crazy with lust for months now, and now that he was getting closer to her every day, it took every ounce of his self control not to jump her whenever she came into his office. Just one look at her green eyes, her chestnut hair that draped over her shoulders so perfectly, to her luscious figure that he knew existed hidden underneath that giant lab coat she loved, but he hated. He always wanted to rip that coat off and toss it on the floor, along with every other article of clothing she wore and just ravish her right there. Everything about Ema made his heard pound and send a liquid heat of emotions through his whole body.
The biggest thing that made him crazy for her was the way her face lit up every time she talked about science. He was used to seeing her scowl and pout at work all the time, but when she was at a crime scene, her face lit up and it was like he was seeing the sun for the first time, every time.
Ema and her precious forensic science. Ever since they met, he knew that was her passion and her ultimate goal. He found out from talking to others in the office that she failed her Forensics exam the first time around when she lived in Europe, and that's why she had settled for basic detective work here. So with Ema deciding to take the test a second time, she would be putting her heart and soul into passing so she could do what she loved every day. One possibility that hadn't occurred to Klavier up until that point was what would happen if she did pass her test. The Los Angeles precinct had a fully staffed Forensics team at the moment, and he didn't think they'd have room for another scientist.
"So if she passes this, that means she leaves. She's not about to turn down a job elsewhere just to stay in the city. Verdammt, if that happens...ich habe keine Ahnung" Klavier couldn't imagine his life without Ema in it. His reason for coming in to work with a smile on his face was because he knew he'd be seeing the woman of his dreams, and if that was taken away, then he basically had nothing to live for. Lately, he'd been thinking, sleeping, and living for Ema. She was all he thought about all day, every day. If she left the country, or even the city, Klavier would be devastated.
Klavier drained and finished his third glass, set it down on the bookcase and tried to stand up. He didn't realize just how drunk he was until he attempted to move. Then again, he did have three large glasses of his strongest whiskey on an empty stomach. Klavier hadn't eaten since before he left work. His center of gravity was way off and he fell back into the chair, deciding to just sleep there for the night. At least he was finally getting some rest. His eyes slid shut and he was out like a light.
Klavier, being the perfectionist that he is, was very particular about being on time for everything, work being no exception. He always set his cell phone alarm before he went to bed to make sure he never overslept. But being as drunk as he was, the nightly routine he has slipped his mind, his phone was in his bedroom, on silent no less, so the usual alarm of Guilty Love would not be waking him out of his drunken stupor tomorrow morning.
Author's Notes: I had a particularly hard time writing this chapter for some odd reason. For as easy a time I had with the others so far, this was by the far one of the more difficult ones.