UGH another Sunday night chapter! I'm sorry that this is so late! Okay, I have an excu- that is, and explanation: in all honesty, I lost power in my residence for the past several days and, thank goodness, I got it back a few hours ago. Naturally, my first order of business was not to complete my actual work, but rather to post the next chapter of my current fan fiction. At least my priorities are in order. Without further ado, here's chapter 121 It was the morning of the fourth day of the Legal Convention, the halfway point of the week. If one were to compare the two couples on the fourth day compared to the first, one would see... progress. For example, Phoenix and Maya looked slightly less like they just happened to be thrown onto a bed together; instead, Maya's petite figure was fully squished by the large attorney, who had rolled over in his sleep. Well, at least they were closer.

"Nick..." Maya groaned, waking up, "Nick, get up!" Struggling, she tried to push him off of her. Finally waking up, he rolled off to the side, stretching.

"Oof, sorry, Maya."

"Yeah," the medium grunted, "That was rough."

Phoenix ran a hand through his messy spikes. "Yeah, I guess I'm probably a too big to be sleeping with you like this."

"Size doesn't matter, Nick," Maya grinned.

"It did feel nice," Phoenix continued. "I'd do it again, with you, Maya."

"Any time you want to share a bed with me, I'm yours, Nick."

"What are you fools TALKING about!?" Franziska hissed, sitting up. "Stop speaking so suggestively in the presence of others!"

"Says the woman who enticed me into bed with an ever-so-suggestive tone last night," Edgeworth mused, stretching his arms.

"That was a mistake," Franziska blushed. "English is my second language, so I have some leeway."

"A mistake?" Phoenix taunted, raising an eyebrow. "The Franziska von Karma made a mistake?"

"Shut up!" she screeched, chucking a pillow in his general direction.

Dodging said pillow effortlessly, Phoenix climbed out of bed, turning back to offer Maya a hand and a smile. "You ready to take on the fourth day of the Legal Convention?"

"Heck yeah!" Maya cheered, jumping off the mattress. "Let's go listen to some more old lawyer guys talk for hours!" With that, the pair rushed off to go brush their teeth and prepare for the rest of the day.

When they had both left, Edgeworth shook his head. "How are those two not together yet!?"

"Tell me about it," Franziska smirked, flopping back onto the bed. He turned to observe her, in awe of how someone could be so beautiful first thing in the morning. In fact, she looked as gorgeous as ever, that jostled hair, the fluttering eyelids, her-

"What are you staring at, Miles Edgeworth!?" Shoot. Busted.

"Nothing," he offered, "I was just wondering what your plans are for today."

"Plans?" she echoed suspiciously.

He nodded. "You see, I was wondering if you'd be interested in getting lunch with me."

As soon as those words were spoken, both prosecutors went into a silent, temporary state of panic, each weighing a million options in their minds.

"Yes," she finally concluded. "I will... yes."

Their eyes met, and both began to blush, then hastily get out of bed to get ready.

"Excellent," he called, facing away from her, "I'll meet you around noon at the restaurant across the street."

"Very good," she replied. "I'll look forward to it."

Franziska von Karma waited alone at the table for approximately five minutes before getting up to check the time. Around ten minutes after, she got up to use the restroom, only to return to an empty table. Just as she was beginning to wonder if he would ever show up, though, a familiar violet-clad roommate of hers strolled through the restaurant doors.

"…Maya Fey? What are you doing here?"

Maya, who was just as surprised as Franziska, suddenly grinned and approached her table. "Oh, hey! I'm just grabbing lunch; the lecturer we were listening to was SO boring: the guy sitting in front of us even fell asleep! Anyway, Nick, being the awesome guy he is, said that while he would feel bad about leaving halfway through the speech, but that I should sneak out and feed myself. He even said he would cover for my absence by lying that I went to the bathroom or something!"

"What a hero," Franziska smirked.

"Tell me about it!" Maya enthusiastically nodded. After a pause, a more concerned expression crossed her face. "Are you eating all by yourself?"

The prosecutor gave off an exasperated sigh, "I was supposed to meet that fool Miles Edgeworth here, but he's late! He probably forgot…" She squeezed her sleeve, violently tugging at it. "I swear, if that fool forgot about me, I'll…"

"Calm down, deep breaths, chill," Maya urged, taking the seat across from her. "Don't worry, Franziska, I really doubt that he forgot. He's probably just late for some other reason."

As instructed, the woman heavily inhaled, then let it out a sad sort of sigh. After receiving a nod of thanks, Maya sat up, her eyes flickering with amusement. "So…if he's taking you out to lunch, does that make this a date?"

Flinching, the prosecutor countered, "I don't believe so, no."

Maya made a face. "Oh… Well…" She leaned in close, widely grinning, "Would you want it to be a date?"

Franziska narrowed her eyes. "What exactly are you asking?"

"I'm just saying, if Edgeworth were to explicitly ask you on a date, would you say yes?"

"I… might."

Maya rolled her eyes. "There's no need to be so secretive with me, Franziska! I won't tell anyone if you like him."

The woman crossed her arms, scowling. "It sounds like you're already quite convinced that I'm in love with Miles Edgeworth. It makes me want to prove you wrong."

"Franziska, you're actively cuddling with the man every night."

"That doesn't mean-"

" 'Please hold me, Miles…it's quite comforting, really.' "

"Okay, first of all my voice is not that high: secondly, that was a private conversation, you have absolutely no right to-"

"Oh come on, Franziska!" Maya rose to her feet, slamming her hands on the table in a lawyer-like fashion. "Stop trying to deny it!"

Giving off another exasperated sigh, she confessed, "Fine. If you swear to never tell anyone, I'll admit it. That is… I've been quite fond of Miles Edgeworth for some time now."

Sitting down and enthusiastically applauding, Maya chirped, "I knew it!"

"Well, good for you, I suppose," Franziska countered, looking less than impressed.

The medium only grinned. "He likes you back, you know."

This surprised Franziska. "…What? You're lying."

"Why would I? Trust me, Edgeworth has the full on hots for you!" As if on cue, the man entered the restaurant at that moment, frantically looking around.

"Speak of the devil," Maya beamed, "You should ask him about it!"

Franziska panicked. "Ask him about it!? What do I say?"

"Just tell him how you feel! Say, 'I feel', and then just let it all out!"

Franziska nodded slowly, just as Edgeworth spotted their table and rushed over.

With an apologetic look, he explained, "I'm so sorry I'm late, Franziska; I was trapped in a session, and I couldn't get out."

"Miles," Franziska mused, pausing long enough for Maya to nudge her onward, "I feel… quite annoyed. I expected you to be on time." With that, she grinned at Maya, quite pleased with herself; the medium replied with a facepalm.

The man raised an eyebrow, questioningly glancing between the two women, then concluded, "I see." After a beat, he questioned, "Am I… interrupting something?"

Maya jumped out of her chair, "No, no, no… We're not doing anything at all, just…" Suddenly, she grabbed Franziska by the wrist and started pulling her aside. "Please excuse us for a second." Once they were out of earshot, Maya turned and vehemently demanded, "What was THAT!?"

Franziska glared viciously at Maya. "THAT was an awkward disaster. I was right, keeping your emotions to yourself is always the best option."

"It was only an awkward disaster because you practically insulted him!"

"I just told him how I was feeling! I thought that was what you wanted me to do."

"Well, yeah, but not like that! ...Here, let's just try a different method. Try to remember a moment when you were particularly fond of him, one of the times when you knew you liked him."

Franziska thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright. Now what?"

"Now, you go back to that table and talk about it!"

"I bring it up, just like that?"

"Yep. Now go, you shouldn't keep the man waiting!"

With that, Maya rushed back to the table and quickly ushered Franziska into her seat. Sneaking around the table, she secretly patted Edgeworth on the back and whispered, "Good luck," before scurrying away.

There was a brief silence between the two of them, before the woman tried her best to begin.

"Miles?"

"Yes?"

She paused uncomfortable, took a deep breath, and proceeded: "Do you remember that one time when we were teenagers, and there was a double-murder in the defendant lobby, so your court debut was cancelled, and in the end the killer shot at us and then got away?"

Edgeworth smiled, relaxing slightly. "Yes, I find that day somewhat difficult to forget. Why do you mention it?"

"That was one of the best days of my life."

He began coughing, almost spitting out some of his drink. "That's certainly an interesting day to pick. What, were you that thrilled I lost my chance to officially become a prosecutor before you did?"

"That might've been part of it," she smirked. "I mainly liked the part after that, though. I was still in shock because of the gunfire, and I felt too numb to move, so you picked me up in your arms and carried me out of the courtroom. Then, you put me down on the bench in the hallway, and bought me a Swiss Roll."

"Ah yes, I remember that," he recalled. "I do believe you were crying the whole time, and I wanted to keep you quiet."

"Hmph. I don't remember crying that much."

"Sure."

She made a face, and he laughed.

"Anyway, do you remember what you said to me, after that?"

Edgeworth shook his head, unsure.

Closing her eyes, the prosecutor recounted, "You said, 'Franziska von Karma, you are one of the bravest women I know.' I'll always remember that."

The man offered a gentle smile. "That's still true, you know. Your everyday valor astounds me, Franziska."

"Naturally," Franziska taunted out of customary egotism. Then, after a pause, she added, "And thank you. I'm… really glad, Miles."

He brushed it off, then glanced at the woman's side, noticing a strange absence in her apparel. "Come to think of it, you're not carrying your whip with you, are you?"

She vigorously shook her head. "I don't need it. I can act on my own strength, without physical instruments."

He teased, "I thought you were going to say that your tongue can lash just as hard."

Folding her arms, she mused, "That's true, as well. Words should be enough to cut down any fool that opposes me."

Feigning disappointment, Edgeworth clicked his tongue at her. "After I went through all the trouble to get that back to you at the airport last year, you're just going to discard it?"

"Fool," she scoffed, "I still needed it at the time." Stopping herself, Franziska took a more sincere tone. "More than that, though, I needed you to come and find me. I needed, no, I still need y-" Her phone vibrated, setting off a timer she had set for herself. "I need to leave."

Dismayed, Edgeworth sighed, "I'm afraid our conversation was cut short. I suppose that's my fault, for arriving late."

She responded by rising to her feet and pointing at him dramatically. "Next time, you'd better show up early, Miles Edgeworth!"

"Next time," he grinned.

Meanwhile, Maya Fey, lurking in the shadows, shook her head. Dang it, Franzy, you were so frickin' close! Just what type of bad luck does it take to be interrupted at that precise moment!?

The young woman hesitated. Bad luck, or bad "karma"… That gave her an idea. I think I have a plan for tonight. If nothing else, fear will pull these two lovebirds together!

Then she was gone, disappeared into the shadows of the spirit realm.

To be continued next weekend...