A/N: This fic is now an official AU. Only because I realised I got the dates wrong, so the last T&T case is set at the end of December and not in February. So, Franziska finished the last case just before it turned to the New Year, hence the fireworks, etc, etc. Also, Maggey never left the police force, so she still works with Gumshoe. :)
On another note, this was going to come out a lot earlier except my laptop died. I managed to save this chapter though, so it is such a relief that I didn't have to rewrite this. ;)
Franziska
"Mm, Franziska..."
Franziska turned over in her bed to see Adrian sleeping beside her. She didn't know how she had got there, and Adrian moaned again, turning on her side and nestling into the duvet. Franziska slowly leaned over, kissing her on her forehead, and Adrian blearily opened her eyes.
"Mm..." Adrian smiled, and this time she leant her head towards her, kissing her on the mouth. Franziska blinked, but returned the kiss, slowly levering herself down on top of the other woman, her hands sliding behind her back to unclip her bra...
Suddenly she was alone, lying face up, and got up so she was sitting upright in the bed.
"What are you doing, Franziska?" A stern voice demanded. Franziska turned around, and in shock saw Manfred von Karma frowning at her.
Franziska pulled the duvet up to try and cover herself, realising she was naked, "What do you mean, papa?"
"Why do you keep thinking about this woman for?" He snapped, glaring at her with menacing eyes. Franziska's head swam.
"What?" Franziska said in a daze. The only man who could ever have this effect on her, this feeling of fear could be her papa. He clicked his fingers in an impatient manner.
"You have already tainted the von Karma name with your failures!" He barked, "Do not blacken our reputation entirely with this foolish indulgence of yours!"
"What about your reputation!" Franziska retorted angrily, "What about Gregory Edgeworth, papa! What about him!"
"He is history." von Karma replied, "As am I. But just remember Franziska. We are the same. We have a link."
He pulled down his jacket so she could see his left shoulder. A bullet wound was shown to her, the blood oozing out in thick globs. Franziska tried to look away, but suddenly felt her own sharp pain in her shoulder. She looked to her left, and noticed her own wound was bleeding as well.
"What are you doing!" Franziska exclaimed, "Make it stop!"
He laughed darkly.
"You know what to do. You are a von Karma. There is no other way for you. There is no other path." The blood trickled down her arms onto the bed and she grabbed hold of her shoulder to try and stop it.
"You know why you failed." He said, "You lost. You purposefully lost."
"She was innocent!" Franziska argued, the blood spilling from between her fingers, "I did the right thing!"
"You sound like Miles." von Karma stated, "He was a fool. There is no right or wrong. There is only perfection."
Franziska doubled over, the pain taking over her shoulder. She grimaced, and looked up at her father. He looked back, giving her a blank emotionless stare. The thing that frightened her most, was that she could see herself reflected in his eyes, herself as the same emotionless being that he was.
"None of us are perfect papa," Franziska said, "Otherwise we wouldn't be us... I don't want to be like you, even if you were perfect..."
von Karma laughed again, a sinister, evil laugh, "Franziska, you have no choice. You are a von Karma, whether you want to be or not. You cannot change that. You cannot change who you are alone."
"I have Adrian - "
He laughed again, before speaking to her in a tone of voice dripping with disapproval.
"You cannot seriously continue seeing that woman." He sneered, "Wake up, Franziska. There is nothing there. It is just a foolish novelty that you have far outgrown. It's time for you to wake up."
Franziska opened her eyes and instinctively grabbed her left shoulder. Pulling down her pajamas, she looked at the familiar red scab, but noticed in relief that it wasn't bleeding.
It was a dream. It was obvious now she had woken up, but Franziska didn't have dreams. Not often, anyway.
Her bedroom was still dark, but that didn't mean much because the sun got up late in the winter anyway. She blindly reached over to her right for her watch, but felt a rectangular object in her grip instead. She picked it up and switched the light that hung over her bed on the wall, and realised that it was her photograph. The only photograph she had.
Her eyes stayed on her father. She couldn't remember the last time she felt fear from her papa, but it seemed even in death he still managed to get inside her head and take control. Was there a part of her that still thought like her papa, subconsciously at least to appear in her dreams? Didn't she even say that she didn't want to be like her papa any more?
She suddenly became aware of the fact that it was actually true. She didn't want to be like her papa. In fact, there was a part of her that was repulsed on being like him at all. She looked away from the photograph, slamming it face down on her bedside table.
There was no such thing as perfection. Even if she wanted it, there was no way she could attain it now. As he had said, she had failed too many times already.
She shivered, and pulled the duvet covers around her. A vagueness told her that she had dreamt about being in a bed and she struggled to try and recall what had happened...
She blinked. She remembered.
I was... in bed with Adrian? She blanked. Why would she dream that – and oh! Why on earth would she dream about kissing her and unclipping her bra?
It was just a dream. It was just a dream. Franziska tried to reassure herself, but she still felt unverved. She stared at the opposite wall, waiting for some kind of revelation to kick in and tell her what it meant, but nothing happened, and she leant back over to her bedside table and picked up her watch. It had just gone quarter past nine.
Something seemed wrong with this. It didn't click until she recalled that she was at work for nine at the latest. She had overslept.
She got out of bed in a rush, inwardly berating herself on how she could possibly oversleep. She never overslept, she never had dreams about talking with her deceased papa and she never had dreams about being in bed with Adrian. She didn't have time to dwell on this though, and rushed around getting herself organised. She had just about got dressed when her mobile went off in the other room. She quickly walked over to pick it up, looking at the screen to see Scruffy was calling her.
"What is it." She snapped as she answered it. It was like he knew she was busy.
"Sir, has something happened?" Gumshoe said, sounding worried, "I mean, you're never late - "
"I'm not late." Franziska insisted through gritted teeth, looking in the mirror and combing her hair. Thank god it wasn't as scruffy as Gumshoe's namesake. She didn't have enough time for a shower.
"Ah, but sir I need to give you these documents and you're not here – "
"Scruffy. Come pick me up at my house now." Franziska instructed, "I need a lift to the prosecutor's office."
"Oh, but um... what has happened...sir?"
"If you want a decent salary this month, you will learn to keep your mouth shut when it isn't needed." Franziska said, "And Scruffy, words from you are not needed very often."
"Yes sir!" Gumshoe said, "I'll be there right away! Ten minutes max!"
Franziska hung up. As much as Gumshoe wanted to get for hers in ten minutes, she knew he wouldn't. Her house was at least half an hour away from the prosecutor's office. Ah, the wonders of a potential salary increase... It was better than blackmail, really.
Twenty minutes later, and Franziska heard a ring at the door. It was quite a good time actually, Miles was usually the one who stopped by to give her a lift, (not that she had asked for him to do this, it was just something Miles did.) and they would get there in half an hour usually. Franziska was ready, naturally, and was still trying not think about her dream and what it meant. She didn't think dreams meant anything normally, they were just nonsensical things, but this one...
She opened the door and was greeted by the shabbily dressed detective himself.
"Sorry I'm late," He said sheepishly, "I got here as fast as I could but - "
"You shouldn't set yourself such impossible tasks." She said briskly, "There is no possible way you could have got here in ten minutes."
"No, not unless I flew here on a jetpack!" He chuckled. Franziska scanned the room for her whip. She knew she had forgotten something. Gumshoe muttered something about documents and that he had left them in the car, and she found the whip curled up ontop of her shoe cupboard. She picked it up and found, amusingly, that Gumshoe quickly shut up when she had her hand around the object.
"Well, hurry up and get in the car already." Franziska said irritably. She didn't believe how late she was going to be... in by ten at the earliest.
"Yes sir!" He saluted, and walked out onto the gravel with a crunch. Franziska followed, not saying a word as she stepped into the detective's car. As she pulled the door shut, Gumshoe walked around and got in, buckling up his seat belt.
"Sorry 'bout the mess, sir." He said, "I always give Maggey a lift now, 'cause we've moved in together, so it's got some of her stuff in here..."
Franziska didn't bother to ask, but didn't snap at him that she 'didn't need to know about his love life' either. She knew about the two's relationship, everyone in the precinct knew about it. Only because the couple were both infamous separately, Gumshoe in his idiocy and Maggey in her unluckiness, so together was bound to be soap drama material. Not that she particularly cared. Franziska wasn't interested in those kinds of thing.
"So, if you don't mind me asking sir, why are you late? I mean, if it was anyone else I could understand, but you're never late - "
"Mouth shut, Scruffy." Franziska reminded. She picked up a glossy magazine that was lying on the dashboard before it fell off as Gumshoe pulled out of her drive, (she was used to having Miles' spotless dashboard) although Gumshoe interpreted this the wrong way.
"You can read that if you want, sir!" He said brightly, looking both ways before driving out, "Maggey likes reading the agony aunt and the self-help sections. Just don't unfold any of the corners, those are the bits she's reading, she can get a bit distracted sometimes and forget that she's reading three different articles, so if she folds the corners she knows where she's up to - "
Gumshoe finally stopped when Franziska told him to be quiet. Not really interested, she turn the page to where there was a folded corner, reading the article that Maggey had got up to. It was an agony aunt section, Franziska dismissed, mostly about lovesick teenagers who had nothing better to do but complain about their lives.
'I like this guy, but I don't know how I should let him know!' One distressed girl had written in, 'Should I play hard to get, or will that just make him not interested? Please help! From Rachel.'
Oh dear.
Despite this, Franziska kept reading.
'Hey Rachel! Don't worry about it, girl! Playing hard to get is so overated. Just tell him how you feel, because we found that both guys and girls are more likely to be interested if they know you are! Makes sense, huh? Just let him know you're available and looking, and he'll definitely be thinking of you tonight!'
Franziska shut the magazine. She knew that there was a reason that she didn't like trashy magazines.
Gumshoe drove the car in silence for a bit. Franziska much preferred this to his usual chatter, and looked out of the window to watch the scenery as they drove through the country lane that lead towards the motorway. Gumshoe was a strange character. Everyone else in the precinct had learned that she didn't waste time with polite conversation on people, but Gumshoe still felt the need to talk with her or annoy her in other ways, like he would do with everyone else. It seemed like however many times she whipped him, he just didn't get it, and still continued to act like the bumbling idiot that he was.
This was one of those bumbling idiot times, as he reached to turn on the radio. It was first on the news, so Franziska relaxed, until Gumshoe repeatedly changed the channel, until he found something he liked.
Franziska was tempted to tell him to turn it off, but that meant that he might try and talk to her instead, (it was obvious that he was bored), so left it alone.
Although this didn't mean he could start singing.
"All-ways have!" Gumshoe crooned, the song already into the chorus, but he was unfortunately not in tune and getting the words wrong, "I'll be there, forever and a day – always!"
He hummed the words that he didn't know, which were many. Then he started drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, and Franziska was gradually getting more and more irritated as he hummed his way through one of the verses.
"Mm mn mmm mm mn say goodbye, what I'd give to run my fingers through your hair, to touch your lips – to hold you near - "
Franziska turned the radio off and looked out of the window, trying to get the image that had suddenly popped up out of her mind.
Stop thinking about Adrian. Stop thinking about Adrian. Stop being foolish.
Gumshoe huffed. If she didn't want the radio on, she could have just said so.
She was in her office by quarter to eleven. They had got caught up in traffic, Franziska had steadily got in a worse mood as the line stretched out and being stuck with her thoughts wasn't helping things. Gumshoe had given her the documents when they had arrived, and he had quickly left to waste other people's time.
What is wrong with me today?
Franziska sighed. Looking at the documents from the comfort and familiarity of her desk, she realised that it wasn't even anything important. They just wanted her to sort out some of her old cases and input the information on her computer. Just data inputting to make sure if the facts correlated with what was on the system.
She walked over and went through her cabinet, picking out the cases they wanted her to look through. Moving back to her desk, she suddenly realised that she couldn't be bothered and looked at her clock to see if it was eleven minutes past one yet. It wasn't. Adrian wasn't going to be calling in a while.
Why do I keep thinking about Adrian this morning?
Franziska rubbed her temples. A dream she could deal with. Even if it was... unusual. But how come she had started to daydream about Adrian when Scruffy had been singing along to that song? She drifted off again, wondering what it would be like to feel Adrian's hair, pulling her close, touching her lips with her own...
Stop it! Franziska scolded herself, flicking back to her computer, Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.
She couldn't like Adrian in that way. She wasn't gay. Or a lesbian. Or whatever the right term for it was. She just wasn't like that.
She was one of those people who didn't have time for that kind of thing. Not just for women, but for men too, she just wasn't a romance-love kind of person. She was a career person, perfecting her work, nothing else existed.
They were friends. That was stretching it enough. Franziska didn't understand relationships anyway, she had told that to Adrian yesterday. She just found the whole topic awkward. Adrian was a lesbian, and the thought had occurred to her a few times that Adrian might like her. At first, she had felt a little wary and didn't know what to do if that was true. It's why she had made a point to not talk to her when Adrian rung her up during that week after the trial.
But now... well, now she didn't mind.
Actually... now she thought about it, Franziska felt like she would like it if Adrian actually liked her. Liked her more than a friend.
The Bon Jovi image came back again, and Franziska tried to banish it away. Stop it! Stop thinking about it!
No. She wasn't like that. She wouldn't like it at all.
Although it would make sense. She had been so confused over everything after that trial. But why? What had changed? So Adrian had told her she was a lesbian, what was so different about that?
Just let him know you're available and looking, and he'll definitely be thinking of you tonight!
No.
Franziska blanked. She couldn't like Adrian, just because she knew she was available. She couldn't like her just because she knew she liked women.
But it would make logical sense if I did.
It would make sense if she liked Adrian. Why she suddenly felt jealous over the fact that Adrian had decided to spend her morning with Claire instead of herself, why she suddenly waited for her to call at everyday, why she suddenly had that dream about her, why she was fantasizing, why she found her so attractive yesterday and couldn't stop looking at her...
No, no no no... I can't, I can't...
Franziska tried to think back on what Adrian had told her.
"How do you know? You... want to be with them all the time, you think about them a lot...and you like making them happy, basically..."
Well, she was certainly thinking about Adrian a lot at the moment. She was thinking about her so much, she was distracted from doing her work. All she had managed so far was turning her computer on. Being with her, well, the only reason she had asked her to go out for lunch yesterday was just because she wanted to see her. She might have said she needed to talk, but she didn't, really. She had never planned to tell her about why she had come back to America at all.
Making her happy... Franziska didn't do anything to try and make her happy. But she liked seeing her happy. She went with her to help look for that book she wanted to make her happy, she didn't like seeing her unhappy, when she talked about her family...
But surely friends would think the same way? Couldn't what she was going through just be some kind of friend thing?
"You know, doing all the couple-y things. Having dinner, going out on dates, and all the sexual stuff too, of course."
Adrian and her had been out to dinner before. She had dinner at her apartment, she had lunch yesterday, Adrian had a tea at that cafe with her...
That didn't really count as dates though. Did it? Franziska frowned. She didn't really know the difference between 'dates' and 'usual day out'. What they were doing wasn't dating, though right? No, it would only be a date if we had said it was a date. We've always referred to each other friends, we're not dating or anything like that -
"...and all the sexual stuff too, of course."
Franziska immediately relived her dream again. The thing that threw her off most, was that she liked the dream and in a way was annoyed that it had stopped there. But that couldn't be right! Franziska wasn't like that, she couldn't be...
An image of her pulling Adrian's halterneck top off suddenly sprung into her mind, and although she tried to push it away, she couldn't help but watch as her imagined self kissed Adrian for what seemed like the one hundredth time that morning, reaching for her bra and unclipping it, Adrian undoing the buttons on her jacket...
A knock at the door made her jump, and she quickly snapped back to the real world, looking flustered as Gumshoe meekly poked his head out and walked in with some more files in his hands.
"What is it?" She snapped, with a bit more venom than usual, "You're meant to wait for me to say you can come in, instead of just barging in whenever you feel like it."
"Sorry sir, I've just got to drop off some more files, I left some at the precinct by accident..." Gumshoe apologised, handing her the manilla files. She snatched them out of his grasp, trying to compose herself back to the usual Franziska.
"Well, I have them now. You can go." She said. Gumshoe jerked his head in a nervous nod, and turned to walk out.
"Ah, wait a moment, Gumshoe." Franziska stopped him. Gumshoe looked back around, and Franziska didn't believe she was going to ask him this.
Scruffy knows about relationships. He said that him and Maggey have moved in together, maybe if I asked...
She tried not to think about it too much. If she did she would only send him away again.
"So... how is Maggey...?" Franziska coughed awkwardly. Gumshoe scratched the back of his neck, confused on the sudden interest.
"Uh... she's fine, I guess." He quickly gathered that this wasn't enough when Franziska stared at him, "Oh, I mean, uh, she's great! Maggey's really really great."
"Right..."
Well, this conversation was going no where fast. She tried to sound more casual.
"How long have you been together for?"
"Well..." Gumshoe counted his fingers, "We got together after that murder at the Tres Bien... because we had a meal together there afterwards so... about two months? Nearly three?"
Franziska didn't know much on relationships, but she knew most people didn't move in after only seeing each other for two months, "Are you sure you're ready to move in together? Are you even capable of that yet?"
"Ho ho ho," Gumshoe chuckled, missing the personal jab, "Everyone says that, sir! But I like Maggey at lot and she likes me, so we didn't see the problem!"
Franziska saw many problems. Disaster-prone Maggey could do something destructive at any point in time, and she doubted the dim witted Gumshoe would be able to save the situation. In fact he would probably make it worse. He'll come in one day telling us all that his house burnt down or something...
"It was hard to get her attention at first," Gumshoe reminisced, looking a bit misty eyed, "I always gave her the usual stuff, flowers, chocolate, but it never really sunk in. Then one day, I found out she liked those little wiener lunches you get, and I had lunch with her everyday to share some of mine - "
Franziska snorted. Sounds a bit cheap. You could of at least bought her some.
Gumshoe stopped at the snort, realising he had gone off on a ramble again. Something hit him, and he looked over at her curiously, "Why are you so interested, sir? I thought you weren't interested in that kind of thing."
"I'm not." Franziska said quickly, "I just wanted to know because..."
Franziska didn't know how to finish that sentence.
"Is there someone you like sir? Someone in the precinct?"
"No." Franziska said shortly, "I was just making polite conversation."
Gumshoe chuckled again, "Hey, I can keep a secret you know. Who is it? Is it anyone I know?"
A sharp crack of the whip reminded him who he was talking to.
"Understand me Scruffy, there isn't anyone I like. Don't try to - "
Her office phone suddenly started to ring, cutting her off. Even though it wasn't anywhere near one yet, she knew it was Adrian. She ignored it. Gumshoe gave her an odd look.
"Aren't you going to pick that up, sir?" He asked.
"No."
The phone continued to ring, and Gumshoe looked both at the phone and at her stubborn expression. In realisation, he gasped with an 'Oh!' and nodded knowingly with a small smile.
Franziska picked up the phone. She kind of had to, now.
"Yes?" She said briskly, watching Gumshoe's face. He was still grinning uncontroably, a grin that was trying not to turn into a smirk. Ugh, of all times for Adrian to call...
"Oh, hello Franziska!" Adrian said cheerfully down the phone, "I'm meeting up with someone for work today, so I won't call later."
Franziska tried not to despair too much. What was the point in Adrian calling, just to tell her she wouldn't call later?
"All right." Franziska said.
"So... are you busy working now? You're always doing something productive, right?" Adrian said, sounding a little bit amused.
"I'm with Detective Gumshoe." Franziska replied, "So, no."
"Hey what are you saying?" Gumshoe said, "Is it the person you like? Do they know me?"
"Oh! That detective from the other day! Say hello to him for me!" Adrian said brightly.
Franziska didn't know how to get out of this one.
"Say hello to him for me!" Gumshoe repeated, "Even if I don't know who they are... do they know me? Is it Mr. Wright?"
"Scruffy says hello." Franziska said down the phone, "And no it isn't Mr. Wright."
"Hmm? Why does he think it's Mr. Wright?" Adrian said bewildered, "Aren't defence attorneys and prosecutors not allowed to talk to each other?"
"That's only if they are both on the same case." Franziska replied.
Gumshoe didn't have a clue what was going on. Franziska glared at him to stop being a fool.
"Ah... oh, sorry, I'm probably interrupting your talk with the detective..." Adrian apologised, "I'll call you later after my talk if that's alright?"
"That's fine." Franziska said, "Is this 'talk' an interview then?"
"Ah... so it isn't Mr. Wright." Gumshoe frowned, "Is it a witness from a case or something - ?"
"Kind of, I'm just showing him my past work and stuff - "
"Scruffy, mouth shut."
"Sounds like you're busy," Adrian said in amusement, "I'll call back later."
"That would be best, I think." Franziska sighed, "Bye."
"Bye."
Adrian hung up, and Franziska put the phone down. Scruffy was still frowning, struggling to sieve through all the people he had met and find who the mystery man was.
"So... he doesn't have a job... possible witness... interview..."
"Scruffy." Franziska stated, whipping him once, "Get out. Now."
Gumshoe rubbed the back of his shoulder as he left, quickly telling her that it was good she had found someone, and shut the door just as Franziska splayed her whip into it.
It had been pointless. She had put in the figures in her computer, but it was taking far too long, as she kept getting distracted. She would have a quick burst of energy where she would tap in the right information, even if it was dull stuff, but she always managed to just get on with it before. Now, after this burst of energy, instead of continuing on to the next case, she would stop, gazing at her books or gazing at her desk or gazing just about anywhere.
She couldn't stop thinking about Adrian, either.
It was just such an annoying distraction. Especially after that call, with Gumshoe hanging onto every word. If he hadn't had been there, she could have inquired more about her day, wished her luck for the interview, asking what it was for...
Not that she did those things usually, but she would have done today. She looked at the clock, it had gone twelve and she still hadn't done much, before realising that Adrian wasn't going to be calling her at one.
She looked at her computer screen in thought.
If Adrian got the job, that meant that they could celebrate, right? Yes. When Adrian called her up later, they could have dinner out...
As a date? No, no, no, I don't think she would want to go as a date. But I wouldn't have to say it's a date, I could just ask her out for dinner and...
Why was this so difficult? What was she supposed to do?
She wasn't even sure on her feelings for her, she liked her a lot, but how did she know that what she was feeling wasn't just teenager hormones kicking in after a long sleep? If she saw Adrian, what about if she suddenly realised that actually, she only liked her as a friend? What about if she found out that she liked her more, then what? Should she tell her, or should she not?
It would just make her feel awkward. She wouldn't know what to do...
Franziska frowned.
But I like her a lot... am I the best person for her to be with, though? I'm not exactly what you would class as a normal, and I don't really get how relationships work...
She imagined her with Claire, both of them kissing, and she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
I... feel frustrated just imagining it. What if that actually happened? Not just with Rivers, but with anyone?
That was, if she even liked her in that way. Franziska did want to do something for Adrian though. Adrian had put up with her ignoring her the whole week, and lunch didn't really seem to make up for it, somehow.
Gumshoe's words came back to her, (who knew he actually had a use!), and Franziska blinked. What about if she got Adrian a present? Something that she would like, like Maggey and her wieners, except she would obviously get something nice.
The generic things were flowers and chocolates, she saw loads of them being passed around in the precinct on Valentines Day – when one of the blond haired prosecutors had tried to give her a rose, he had been rewarded with a slash of her whip. He was a fool. But that was obvious, and Adrian would probably get the unsubtle romantic undertones there. She wanted to be subtle at least, and thought on what Adrian would actually like as a present.
Suddenly it clicked, and Franziska realised what a great thing Gumshoe's and Maggey's relationship was. Maggey did bring up someone familiar who could help her out...
"You still don't have it?"
Raven clicked his tongue as he scrolled through his long daunting list of books.
"Nope, sorry Ms. Franziska." He said, folding the paper in half to a manageable size once he had done, "We still don't have Jane Eyre."
Franziska hadn't really had much hope in Raven and the barely-hanging-on 'Ye Olde Bookshop'. If she was honest, there was a faint surprise that the place was still even open.
"It's good to see you again though," Raven said brightly, "Second-time customers are very rare here. Ms. Adrian was the first, actually. So where is she today? She could have made it a third-time customer! That's a privileged status, I'll have you know."
"She's at an interview." Franziska replied shortly. Raven twirled a finger through his curly black hair, leaning on the counter in an unprofessional way.
"Hmm. I'm surprised to see you, actually." Raven said, "You're German, aren't you? I thought maybe you were here visiting on holiday or something, but it seems you're still here..."
"Mmhm."
Not for much longer. Franziska did not like spending more time than necessary with the man. Even if he meant in the country and not in the bookshop.
"Do you know where there are any shops that might have it?" Franziska asked. She didn't know where any other bookshops were apart from that one.
"No..." He said slowly, "But look what I found out the other day!"
He walked around the counter and off into the back of the shop. Franziska was unsure whether he wanted her to follow him or not, but did, and he lead her to a door that had Staff Only in bright blue letters. He pushed it open and beckoned Franziska inside. She watched as he sat down in front of a switched on computer, typing something into the keyboard.
"We can actually order books into the shop!" He said cheerfully, "I thought that we just had second hand stuff given to us, like those charities, but apparently not. I can preorder Jane Eyre for you, if you want."
It took a long time to order. He first started babbling about what type she wanted a paperback or a hardcover, and she replied that she just wanted the usual. The paperback was the cheapest, so Franziska didn't want that, so they looked through the hardbacks. He then asked if he wanted the 'Kindle version' whatever that was which he explained had been annotated so you didn't have to know the bible inside out to understand it. Franziska said she wanted the original, which then took a long time explaining that she couldn't have the original, first copy.
He had gone on to talk about second editions, and Franziska had no idea what they were, and they finally came to an agreement with a black hardcover from a fairly old publishing company. It was expensive he said, but Franziska had gone past the point of caring, and said that she would buy it.
Who knew buying books could be so tiring...
Franziska had walked into the city, because she didn't want to explain herself to anyone who gave her a lift (Scruffy) why she had gone to such a feeble excuse of a shop. The paint had started to flake off and the D in 'Olde' had nearly fallen off. It wasn't in good shape. She hadn't taken public transport either because, well, it was public transport.
So by the time she had got back, it had gone around half one. She had picked up a sandwich from the place across the street, and discarded the wrapping in her waste bin when she sat back at her office, swallowing the last mouthful. She felt, well, quite happy that she had done something good for Adrian, something that she knew she would like, even if she had to wait a week to get it.
Even if she hadn't done any proper work.
Adrian was just being so distracting, and she had only called once and talked to her for a few minutes. Franziska still hadn't decided what to do about the whole liking Adrian thing.
If I even do.
Franziska still felt the need to add that on. Outright admitting it just wasn't allowed.
The buying the present thing had managed to take her mind away from the blond haired woman, but now she was back in her office, back to her dull operating task of inputting figures and a few explanatory sentences, Franziska felt her mind begin to drift again.
Maybe... I shouldn't do anything at all.
Franziska hadn't actually considered this yet. She had been so caught up in what she suddenly felt about Adrian, and how she couldn't like her and what she should do to make her like her back. What about if all this was wrong?
Franziska wasn't a lesbian. She and Adrian were just friends...
She looked at the receipt that Raven had given her, 'Thanks for shopping with us!' with a smiley face drawn at the bottom. Had she got carried away? Buying spontaneous presents wasn't what she did.
All just because of a dream she had?
But was that the only reason, really?
When I first came back, I always liked it most when I was with her, and I found excuses on why I shouldn't go back to Germany. Because of my guilt, because of the trial, but now... now I just want to be here with her. I don't have any excuses anymore.
But liking her – being in a romantic relationship with her, falling in love with her, could I see that happening? Not just because we're both women, but just because I like being with her, and making her happy and going on dates...
What was friendship and what was a relationship? Was it just that sexual side that changed things? Could she see herself having sex with Adrian?
Franziska was surprised to see that she could. And that she would like it, if it happened -
A loud knock at her door made her jump, and feeling flustered for the second time that day, why did everyone have to burst in dramatically this morning?, she had a slight flush on her face as Miles walked inside, not even waiting for an 'enter'.
"W-what is it?" Franziska stammered angrily, picking up her cases and shuffling them to make it look like she was doing something, "Couldn't you at least knock?"
"I did." Miles said, picking up on the stutter and looking at her with a smirk, "Why, am I interrupting something?"
Franziska whipped him as she tried to compose herself. It was almost like deja vu...
"Can't you tell I'm in the middle of work?" Franziska gestured to her files, "It's what people normally do at this time of day - "
"Oh, I thought you would have caught up already." Miles said, "Seeing as you were late this morning, and have been out of the office for a couple of hours."
If there was one person she didn't not want to see right now, it was Miles. He tended to have a suspiciously well-informed mind, and Franziska was not thinking clearly enough to argue with him today. There must have been some purpose to his visit, because he never came up just to give her some work, like Gumshoe.
Why must little brothers be so annoying...
"What is it?" Franziska said, getting to the point.
Miles was used to standing in front of her desk, and Franziska looked up at him with a glare. He wasn't perturbed though. Not that he ever seemed to be perturbed about anything.
"I'm leaving today." Miles informed her, "I'm off to Europe."
"Europe, Germany, Europe?"
"Europe, England, Europe." Miles corrected and gave her a sly smile, "You know, I've heard that as well as speaking my first language, they do good cups of tea there."
"You would go just for some flimsy reason like that." Franziska retorted, even though she knew he was playing with her, "Fine if that's all, you can go now."
"No, I wanted to talk with you about something else as well." Miles said lightly. Franziska exhaled impatiently. It's like he enjoys irritating me.
"What."
"You know the other day, at the trial?" He asked, "Well, you still didn't answer my question on why you haven't left for Germany yet."
"Yes I did." Franziska said, "I told you, there were complications."
"Not anymore there isn't." Miles said.
Franziska turned away and started tapping away on her keyboard. Miles hmphed to himself.
"Or is there?"
"Look." Franziska said, not in the mood to put up with the insufferable man, (not that she ever was), "I don't have to explain myself to you at all, Miles Edgeworth. You've told me what you needed to say, now get out."
"Franziska, you've been acting strange recently. Why haven't you left yet? Have you not told Ms. Andrews that you are leaving for Germany?"
"Of course I have." Franziska replied, "I told her not long after I came here."
"Well then why haven't you gone?"
"It isn't any of your business."
"You still feel guilty?"
"It isn't any of you business." She repeated. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off, "No, I don't feel guilty. That isn't why I'm still here."
"Then what is the reason?" Miles said.
"What is this, some kind of interrogation?"
"The fact that you are answering none of my questions makes it seem like one." Miles replied. Franziska didn't say anything, and continued with her work. This was usually her sign of saying that the conversation was over, but Miles wasn't finished yet.
"It's about Ms. Andrews though, isn't it?"
Franziska tried not to show any external recognition at the name. Inside she was back to kissing Adrian again, and clenched her mouse a little tighter than usual. She didn't reply.
Miles sighed, "It has to be with Ms. Andrews. Is she the only reason you are still here?"
"No, Adrian isn't - "
"Who else do you call by their first name apart from me and Ms. Andrews?" Miles pointed out, "How much do you like this woman?"
Franziska glared at him. For a moment, it was like they were children again, arguing over something stupid. But this wasn't something stupid, this was Adrian, and Franziska was not going to tell him anything he wanted to hear. All she wanted was for Miles Edgeworth to go away and leave her alone.
"Why do you care anyway?" Franziska said finally, "It's none of your business."
"As your adopted brother, of course I care." Miles replied. Franziska humphed.
"You're just being - "
"The fact that you are trying to get away from the topic instead of just simply denying it makes it clear to me that you do like Ms. Andrews."
"So what if I do? What's you're point?" Franziska said suddenly, "Why does it matter? Of course I like her, I've been meeting up with her many times now, so it would make sense that I would - "
"Franziska." Miles stated seriously, suddenly realising the truth, "Let me ask you again, how much do you like Ms. Andrews?"
"I'm not talking about this with you." Franziska said, "Get out of my office."
"Franziska..."
"Miles, this isn't any of your business! Who said you could come in here, and start telling me what to do with my life!"
She whipped him again, but this time he caught hold of it. She tugged at it a few times but he had it held firmly in his grasp.
"Let go of my whip." She said dangerously, "Miles, let go of my whip."
"No."
They both stared at each other. She looking at him with frustration, and he looking back with a determined look in his eyes. He wasn't going to give up, but nor was she. They both held on tightly to the whip, and she pulled at it like she was playing tug of war, but he wouldn't let go, even with the consequences of getting rope burn. She pulled at it a few more times, but he didn't budge, and in defeat she threw it at him in an angry frustration.
Miles always seemed to win against her. Even if he didn't let it show.
But she couldn't give up. Se didn't want to tell Miles, just because he would tell her the same things as her papa – even if he was just a dream version of his former self. Franziska had always followed her papa, he was a dictator in their family, and to go against him would be like going against the law. Franziska already had him telling her that it was wrong to be feeling this way about Adrian, if that was what she was feeling, and didn't want Miles – the only person she had left to trust and rely on – to go against her. He would agree with papa and say that what she was doing was wrong, she needed to concentrate on her career and that getting involved with Adrian would -
"I was never going to tell you what to do with your life." Miles said quietly. Franziska looked at him with a fresh wave of anger.
"Who was it who said, 'don't give up being a prosecutor?'" She snapped, still remembering the hurt she had felt when he had said it so dismissively, "Who was it who said 'I'm not going to wait for you?' who was it who told me to grow up and to stop being a child?"
She looked away back to her computer. She could still feel Miles' gaze on her.
"You lost on purpose during that trial, didn't you?"
She turned back to him, "What does that have anything to do with - "
"It has everything to do with it." He said, "Do you remember when we used to make hot chocolate back when we were children?"
"Yes." Franziska said, remembering the frequent times they had it together, and how Adrian had made her a cup recently.
"You were never told to do that. You just had some because you wanted it, and not because you were following von Karma's instructions." He said, "Manfred von Karma wanted you to be perfect, to win all your trials and he used me as your rival. You won everything for him, even if you weren't a true prodigy. I remember how hard you tried to study, and how you nearly failed the bar exam."
So did Franziska. Papa had been outraged when she didn't score full marks, and that was one of the times that Franziska had feared him most.
"But that last trial, you lost. On purpose. You strayed away from your father's footsteps." He paused, "Franziska what I'm getting at here, is that it's your own life. You don't have to follow me, you don't have to follow von Karma, and you don't have to follow Ms. Andrews."
"What?" Franziska said, not understanding why Adrian's name was on the end. Miles gave her a sad smile.
"You like Adrian, Franziska. But you know about her dependency, don't you?" He said rhetorically, "The more time you spend time with her, the more time you are going to be wondering if she's only spending time with you because she likes you as well, or just because she is dependent on you."
"No, that's - "
"The truth." Miles finished for her. Franziska turned away from him and rubbed her temples. Her anger had gone now, only to be replaced with a feeling of hopelessness.
Why did Adrian spend time with her? She had never really asked. Adrian had always invited her to do things with her, to go buy a book or to watch fireworks, but she had never said that she wanted to be with her. After all this time, was this whole 'friends' thing just a reason for Adrian to be able to spend time with the person she was dependent on?
"I don't know what to do." She said after a moments pause, "I don't understand these types of things."
"You're asking the wrong person." Miles said, "I just think you need to know that you shouldn't feel obligated to keep seeing her."
"I don't feel obligated." Franziska said, "I might have done in the past, but I don't any more."
The phone rang beside her. Franziska looked at it blankly, before turning back to Miles.
"It's Adrian." Franziska explained when she didn't pick it up right away, "I think you should go now."
"Goodbye, Franziska." Miles said, "Just remember what I said. You might have used Adrian during that trial, but she is probably still using you now."
Franziska didn't bother to say goodbye. Miles left and Franziska waited for the answer machine to kick in.
"Hello, Franziska, sorry you must be out... I'm just calling to say I got the job!" Franziska listened as Adrian continued to chirp happily about the details of the promoting she needed to do. She could have picked up and talked to her, but she didn't. Even though it made her happy to hear Adrian talk about her success, Franziska still had that despondent air of liking someone who probably didn't like them back.
'...she is probably still using you...'
Franziska sighed. What should she do?
"Anyway – if you're free tonight, maybe we could have dinner out to celebrate? We'll go somewhere nice this time, Guava Lights wasn't so good, right? Adrian laughed. Well, call me back when you're um... back, I hope you had a good day at work!"
The message beeped to say it was over.
Franziska didn't call back.
A/N: If my plan goes according to um... plan, this is the official halfway point. R&R as always. :)