AUGUST 2009- KRANKENWAGON UNIVERSITY LAW LIBRARY, BERLIN

A/N: Dear reviewers. I love you. All. Thanks for your support!

In 2009, Miles Edgeworth was seventeen years old and in his second year of law school at Vienna's Krankenwagon University. When he wasn't in class, he spent most of his time studying at the law library. There was one table in particular that he liked to study at. It was a relatively long table, set in the back of the library. He liked that table because other students very rarely used it, and he preferred to study alone. He set down the stack of books he'd pulled for his essay at the end of the table, took a seat, and began working.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue—someone walking past. He looked up and found a young man in a blue suit taking a seat at the opposite end of the table. The young man was a year or two older, maybe, with brown hair and eyes, and a handsome face. He pulled a few books out of his bag and started reading.

How irritating, Edgeworth thought. He thought about moving, but decided against it. The young man wasn't bothering him. As long as he didn't try to talk with him while he was working like many of the other students wanted to do, he wouldn't have a problem.

They studied seperately for a month when Edgeworth finally tried to speak to the other man.

"Wie heißen Sie?" Edgeworth asked. What's your name? His German was not as good as he would have liked, but it would suffice. He wasn't good at small talk, anyway.

For the first time, the man looked directly at Edgeworth. There was an intelligence in his brown eyes that surprised and intrigued him—he'd noticed a fraternity's symbol on the man's bookbag before and he'd assumed the young man was a partier who sat with Edgeworth to give the impression that he was a hard worker. Maybe I've judged him wrongly.

"Bram F. Pinkerton." He had a deep voice with an almost cocky tone. Edgeworth recognized his accent as being American right away.

"Warum sitzt du neben mir?" Why are you sitting beside me?

Pinkerton shrugged. "Sprechen sie Englisch?"

Edgeworth nodded.

"Oh, thank God," Pinkerton sighed. "My German is absolutely abominable." He grinned at Edgeworth. "So I heard there was another American at this university. A young prodigy kinda kid. That's you, right?"

Edgeworth nodded, but secretly he was starting to wish that he'd pretended to not speak English.

"I think you're in one of my law classes," Pinkerton said. "We should study together sometime!"

"I-I'm fine studying alone," Edgeworth stammered.

"I know, it must come off like I'm trying mooch off your brains, but I'm not. I just..." Pinkerton's shoulders slumped. "I feel out of sorts here. It would be nice to be friends with the only other American on campus." He grinned again. "Besides, I totally beat your score on the last mock exam."

Edgeworth was accustomed to loneliness. But it might be nice to be acquainted with someone else from back home.

"Well, okay," Edgeworth said. As long as you promise to not annoy me too much, he added silently.

One day, a pretty young girl with black hair and grey eyes joined Pinkerton at the table. She looked as though she might have been fourteen or fifteen.

"Who's this?" Edgeworth said. He was a little annoyed that Pinkerton had brought someone else to the table.

"Oh, this is my new girlfriend!" Pinkerton said, putting an arm around the girl's shoulder.

"She looks awfully young," Edgeworth said.

"She's sixteen," Pinkerton replied. "She'll be seventeen in a few months."

Edgeworth pulled Pinkerton aside. "Don't you think that's a bad idea? She's not even old enough to be in university!" he whispered.

"Actually, she's a student in the university's music department," Pinkerton replied.

Edgewoth gaped at Pinkerton. "You...you're..."

"And she's absolutely in love with me," Pinkerton went on. He grinned sheeplishly, then leaned close to Edgeworth and lowered his voice. "There's this girl in my biology class named Kate that's been begging me to get with her, but Licia told me she loved me yesterday, so I think I'll keep her around for a little while longer..."

"She—she..." Edgeworth's head spun. "Please tell me you didn't tell her you loved her, too!"

Pinkerton winced and put a finger up to his lips while tilting his head toward the table where his girlfriend was sitting."Of course I did!" Pinkerton snapped. "I couldn't very well not say anything!" He thrust his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Let me introduce you to her."

Pinkerton led Edgeworth back to the table. "Licia, this is my buddy Miles."

She smiled brightly and shook Edgeworth's hand. "Pleased to meet you!" Her accent sounded strange to Edgeworth, like an Italian accent, but not...quite. There was a rhythm to her speech that was not Italian at all.

"You won't mind if I study with you guys, will you?" Licia asked.

Actually, yes. But Edgeworth shook his head instead of being honest. "As long as you aren't too much trouble."

"She won't be," Pinkerton assured him.

And truth be told, she wasn't. She was more diligent in her studies than Pinkerton, which amused Edgeworth.

She sat with Edgeworth and Pinkerton for months, and never really spoke to Edgeworth except for offhand comments about superficial things. The weather. Classes.

One day, a strange man approached "their" table. "Licia," he said. She looked up.

"Signor Luciano?"

Edgeworth and Pinkerton looked up at the man. He had black hair and eyes, a full, neatly trimmed beard, and a kind expression. He looked older, possibly in his late twenties. Not old enough to be Licia's father.

Her teacher, maybe? Edgeworth thought.

The older man, Signor Luciano, gestured toward Edgeworth and Pinkerton.

"Chi sono i tuoi amici, Licia?" he said, with a warm smile. Edgeworth didn't have to know Italian to understand the man's gist. Who're your friends?

Licia blushed. "B-Bram Pinkerton and Miles Edgeworth." She then spoke to the older man in rapid Italian, and he nodded.

Then he turned his attention to Edgeworth and Pinkerton.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said in a gentle, deep voice that had almost certainly been cultivated by years of training, "I need to speak to Licia for a moment." He spoke to Licia again in Italian, and ushered her away from the table.

Edgeworth hadn't wanted to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help hearing.

"Licia, tua nonna..."

"Aspetti, quale delle mie nonne?"

The man sighed deeply. "Obaasan."

All fell silent. Licia walked back the the table and started stuffing her things into her bag. Her shoulders slumped and she didn't even look up.

Is everything all right? Edgeworth wanted to ask, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, and Licia was too absorbed in her thoughts to speak. She looked as though she might cry at any moment.

Pinkerton stood and put a comforting hand on Licia's shoulder. She put her hand on top of his, then took it away and shook her head.

"I've got to go, Bram," she said simply. "There's...I have a family emergency to attend to." She smiled sadly, kissed Bram on the cheek, (Edgeworth noticed that she made certain to do this when the man who had spoken to her wasn't looking), and left the library without another word.

Pinkerton sighed. "That might be for the best," he said. "I...well..."
"What?" Edgeworth asked.
"I cheated on her with Kate," Pinkerton said simply. "I shouldn't have, I know. I was going to tell her." He bit his lip and shook his head. "Never mind, Miles. I'm going back to the dorms."
Licia didn't come back to the library after that.

FEBRUARY 2010- VIENNA OPERA HOUSE, VIENNA

When the spring semester started, Pinkerton was pleased to discover that Edgeworth was his roommate in the dormitory. Edgeworth was less than pleased. The first thing he'd done was set ground rules about bringing girls over to the room, despite Pinkerton's assurances that he wouldn't be bringing any girls over.

It happened on a night in February that Ada von Karma, Edgeworth's older adopted sister, dropped by for a visit.

Edgeworth always looked forward to those visits. Ada was a medical student, with a perfect 4.0 GPA and a perfect attendance record. She'd married a perfect radiologist (and kept her perfect von Karma maiden name), had a perfectly healthy little girl, and somehow managed to be a perfect mother on top of everything else.

She was, however, more laid-back than both her father, Manfred, and sister, Franziska. Perfection seemed to come easily to her, and she didn't seem to take her failures as seriously as Manfred, or Franziska, or even Edgeworth himself did.

On this visit, she had insisted on taking Pinkerton and Edgeworth to the opera. "It would be good for Pinkerton to get some culture, yes?" she teased.

Ada had bought tickets for Madama Butterfly, since Edgeworth had never seen it before.

"The story takes place in Japan. You'll love it, I mean, you love those old samurai movies, right?" Ada had said.

Edgeworth only nodded. He was impressed, though, that Ada had been able to convince Pinkerton to come. He suspected that it was Ada's beauty which had played a role in Pinkerton's decision.

"Don't even think about flirting with her," Miles warned while they waited for Ada to pick them up.

Pinkerton shrugged. "Friends' sisters are off-limits."

Miles was taken aback. Does he consider me...?

Before he could speak, Ada pulled up in front of the dormitory in her black, and Pinkerton quickly climbed into the car.

"I've made friends with the primadonna," Ada said excitedly while they waited for the show to start. "She said we could meet her backstage. I think you'll love her, Miles! She's amazing."

Edgeworth shrugged. "That remains to be seen." He sat straight as a board in his chair, his face expressionless.

"She's brilliant," Ada went on, "She made her debut in Tokyo when she was just fourteen!"

This piqued Edgeworth's interest. "Oh, really? What did she sing?" He tilted his head ever so slightly.

"I believe she sang Pamina in Die Zauberflöte," Ada said.

"She must be brilliant then," Edgeworth conceded, "But I'll suspend my judgement until I see her."

Pinkerton yawned and idly flipped through the playbill. He paused at the sight of a familiar face.

Cio-Cio-san/Butterfly, played by Licia Yamadori. He recognized the girl's photo at once. Licia? My Licia? Is this why she wouldn't see me? Pinkerton eagerly turned his head to Edgeworth and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when the houselights dimmed. I can wait until intermission to ask Miles if he knew Licia was going to be here.

From the moment that the overture started, Pinkerton was mesmerized by Madama Butterfly. He was drawn in by Licia's performance most of all—her voice was exquisite, and he found himself believing that she really was Madame Butterfly.

Toward the end of the opera, when Butterfly blindfolded her son and sent him to play just before her suicide, Pinkerton looked back over at Edgeworth. He was frowning. He even looked a little bleary-eyed.

Hah, well, if Licia can get Miles to show emotion, then she can do anything.

"I told you she'd blow you away!" Ada said as she ushered everyone backstage after the opera.

There was already a crowd around Licia. She was smiling shyly and answering the questions as best as she could. When she saw Ada, she waved.

"Ada!" Licia pushed through the crowd of her admirers and hugged Ada. "This must be your..." Her voice trailed off as she locked eyes with Pinkerton.

Ada nodded. "Yes, this is my adopted brother, Miles, and his roommate, Bram."

Licia smiled and nodded, never taking her eyes off of Pinkerton.

One of the men backstage took a step forward and extended a hand to Licia. "What an exquisite voice you have," he said.

"Th-thank you," Licia said slowly, taking her attention away from Pinkerton. She took the man's hand and shook it.

"I've never seen Butterfly played so perfectly," he went on.

"You flatter me." Licia bit her lower lip and looked away. She managed a weak smile, but never met his eyes.

"You're intimidating her, dear," the man's wife teased.

Licia returned her attention to Pinkerton. "Did you like it?"

He smiled broadly. "You are amazing. I knew you must be brilliant, but I had no idea..."

Licia took his hand. "You can come back any night, you know." She smiled widely. "I'll even make sure you get a good seat."

Pinkerton took her up on her offer. He went every night that Madama Butterfly ran.

While some of Pinkerton's friends from the fraternity couldn't understand why he'd want to see an opera more than once, Edgeworth understood and was working out what to do about it ahead of time.

MAY 2010, SALLEY GARDENS, BERLIN

There was a weeping willow tree in the public gardens that Pinkerton had become rather fond of. It was very large and very old, with branches that dipped gracefully toward the ground. A bench had been placed near it, and Pinkerton would often study there in the warmer months when Edgeworth was too busy to study with him. Pinkerton was studying there at the moment, enjoying the pleasant weather.

He heard a rustling from the direction of the tree and looked up from his work. Weird. There's no wind today...

A young woman wearing a blue dress pushed the weeping willow's branches aside and stepped out from under the tree. She had wavy black hair and walked with a graceful, light step.

Licia?

She stopped when she saw him sitting on the bench. "Bram?" She hurried toward him, and beamed when she was closer. "It is you!" She took a seat beside him.

"You're the same as ever," Pinkerton said with a bright smile. "I didn't know you liked to commune with trees," he joked.

Licia stuck her tongue out at him. "They haven't seen you around the opera house lately," she said after a minute.

"Well, I-" You're not in the opera that's running now.

"We miss you." Licia smiled. "You should come back sometime."

I don't think I could ever see another opera again unless you're in it.

"So why do you hang out under that particular tree?" Pinkerton asked, changing the subject.

"I like sitting under it," Licia said. "It's quiet, and no one bothers you because they can't see you." She leaned back against the bench and looked up at the clouds.

"Gotcha," Pinkerton replied before bending back over his homework. So premediation means...

He paused when he felt a soft hand resting on his own. He looked over at Licia, who was still gazing intently at the sky. She looked over at him, without turning her head, and then down at her hand. With a gasp, she pulled her hand away and pressed it against her chest. Her cheeks flushed red.

"I...I..." She lowered her eyes and chewed on her lower lip.

"You don't have to go to such lengths to get my attention," Pinkerton teased. His brown eyes twinkled with amusement.

Licia giggled. "I never had to work to get your attention."

"That's a fact," Pinkerton affirmed.

"You looked so serious just now," Licia said quietly. "And...kind of intimidating."

"Good." Pinkerton grinned at Licia.

"Good?" Licia tilted her head.

"I'm going to be a prosecutor, like Miles," Pinkerton explained.

"Oh, don't be like him," Licia whispered. "He's too intimidating."

Pinkerton chuckled. "There's no such thing as too intimidating in my future line of work." I hate criminals. I want to scare them, Pinkerton wanted to say. Instead, he was silent. He found himself absent-mindedly tracing Licia's jawline with his thumb. He stopped and moved his hand away. Now wait a minute, Bram. You're supposed to go out with Kate tonight. And Miles had a point about Licia being too young...

"B-Bram..." Licia's eyes were half-closed.

Before he could stop himself, he leaned close to Licia and gently pressed his lips against hers. She froze, then tentatively returned his kiss. Pinkerton pressed closer to her, deepening the kiss. His books fell to the ground, unnoticed by either of them. All that existed in his mind was the feel of Licia's lips against his, the way she was gripping his jacket, the smell of her hair. Suddenly, she pushed him away. Her face was flushed red, redder than he'd ever seen it. She stood up quickly, picked up Pinkerton's books, and shoved them into his hands.

"Licia...I shouldn't have" he said. "I..I took advantage-"

"It isn't that," Licia said, much too quickly for Pinkerton's liking. She gently pressed her index finger against his lips. "I...I have a voice lesson. My teacher doesn't like when I'm late. If you can, meet me here tomorrow. Same time."

Then she was gone.

They met the next day, and the day after that. Sometimes they would kiss and snuggle on the bench, but most of the time, Licia would sit next to him while he did his homework and just rest her hand on his. Pinkerton sometimes wondered why she never asked him over, or why she was content just to sit at the park with him, or why she never wanted to go to coffee downtown. She would always assure him that she preferred the outdoors, that she didn't like coffee, that she wasn't bored.

"I just like being with you," she said, and kissed him.

APRIL 5, 2019- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS

"So what happened after that?" Pearl asked. She'd listened with rapt attention to every last word of the story.

Pinkerton grimaced. "It's really not important. Really, it's not."

Edgeworth stared off into space with a blank expression. He absent-mindedly smoothed his cravat and frowned heavily, but said nothing.

Phoenix had an idea about where this story was headed. She got married when she was seventeen, didn't she? And she certainly didn't marry Pinkerton...

"It doesn't end well, does it?" Pearl said slowly. She, too, had figured out the end of ther story.

"Well..." Pinkerton sighed. "Well, I've told you this much. You might as well hear the whole story."

"You don't have to finish," Phoenix said.

"I think you should," said Edgeworth.

Pinkerton almost smiled. "Well, if Miles says I should..." He leaned back in the chair. "In July of 2010, Miles took some time off to go observe some trials in the US. By that time, though, I was seeing Licia again. Anyway, Miles came back in April of 2011..."

APRIL 2011- THE SALLEY GARDENS, BERLIN

Pinkerton wasn't sure that Licia would even meet him by the old willow tree today. He'd called at the last minute, and with her schedule being as full as it was...

He sighed and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a heart-shaped silver locket on a thin, silver chain. He'd missed Licia's birthday because of spring break, and he intended the locket to be a gift for her.

Edgeworth had shown a little concern about their relationship. "You'll be graduating soon, won't you? What are you going to do about Licia? She's absolutely devoted to you."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Pinkerton had replied. He didn't blame Miles for being concerned, though. Pinkerton hadn't exactly been...well, a decent human being the first time he'd dated Licia. But loving her had changed him, he was sure of that.

"Bram!" Licia's voice drew him out of his thoughts. She was wearing a green dress (how strange to see her in a color other than blue), carried a handbag, and had pulled her black hair into a ponytail. She threw her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. Pinkerton wound his arms around her and stroked her haid..

"Sorry I'm late. I wanted to say hello to Miles, since he just got back," she breathed.

Pinkerton was surprised to feel a little jealousy welling up inside him. He swallowed and grinned, trying to obliterate it. "Oh?"

"Yeah, I gave him one of the pictures I autographed while I was touring in Madame Butterfly last year. It's just like yours."

"Oh." Pinkerton was annoyed that he was still a little jealous. There was no reason to be jealous of Edgeworth. Hell, Edgeworth probably didn't even like girls!

"Are you okay, Bram?" Licia asked, putting some distance between them.

"Fine. Really, I am. Here," he reached into his pocket and retrieved the locket. "I have something for you. Happy birthday," he said, flashing Licia a bright smile.

Licia gasped when she saw the locket and slowly took it. "You...for me? It's beautiful, Bram." She smiled and carefully fastened the locket around her neck. "I'll treasure it."

Pinkerton sighed with relief. "I was so worried you wouldn't like it."

"Oh?" Licia's grey eyes twinkled.

"Er...it's...I just worried for no reason. W-why don't we go for coffee? Downtown?" he asked, lamely.

Licia frowned. She leaned back against the bench, folded her arms, and sucked her lower lip between her teeth. "Well..."

Just today, Pinkerton thought, Please just come today.

Licia nodded. "Today would be okay. I don't have any voice lesson today." She smiled. "And later this week, we could meet under our tree."

"What if it rains?" Pinkerton asked.

"I'll bring a tarp," Licia teased.

APRIL 5, 2019- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS

"How sweet," Pearl said. She sighed dreamily and rested her head in her hands.
Edgeworth shifted in his seat.
"You know, if I knew then what I know now," Pinkerton mumbled, "Even if I'd known it the last time I saw her..."
"What do you mean?" Pearl asked.
"When was the last time you saw her?" Phoenix interrupted.
"February of 2012."

FEBRUARY 2012- BERLIN, LICIA'S APARTMENT

I overstayed again, Pinkerton thought when he opened his eyes. I'm going to be late for class... He moved to climb out of the bed, then stopped. I'll wait, he decided. Licia stirred next to him, then regarded him with half-open gray eyes.

"You're still here." she murmured.

He nodded.

She absent-mindedly traced circles on his collarbone with her fingertips. He took her hand and held it.

"I really should get going," he mumbled. "I've got to pack..."

Licia pressed a kiss to his palm. "You're still going on that trip?"

He nodded. "Well, yeah. I've gotta see Miles off, and besides, I've never been to Los Angeles. And I gotta find work. I graduated in December...and I'm a little embarrassed to still be working in a coffee house."

"I'm almost finished with my degree," she said. Her eyes glimmered. "I'm sure I could find work anywhere...so we don't have to be apart for long."

Pinkerton's only response was to idly stroke her black hair. But could you be happy anywhere?

Licia sat up and watched him dress. One of the straps on her nightgown slipped down, and she slowly pulled it back up.

"When are you leaving, Bram?" she asked.

"The day after tomorrow."

Licia frowned heavily and looked down at the floor with a long sigh.

"Can you...meet me under our tree tonight?" she asked.

"Licia, it's the middle of winter." Pinkerton fumbled with his tie, then gave up, rolled the tie up, and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Please? It's important." She bit her lip. Her left arm moved up; she fumbled with the silver locket Pinkerton had given her. Her hand slid down and for a moment, Pinkerton thought that she'd rested her hand on her stomach, but no, her hand was resting in her lap.

Pinkerton shook his head. "Don't look at me like that, Butterfly," he said with a teasing smile, "You know I can't resist when you do that."

"Which is exactly why I did it," Licia replied.

Pinkerton bent over and gently kissed Licia. "Tonight, then. I promise."

Pinkerton hurried to the train station. It was cold that morning, even with his coat on. He shook his head. It's going to be even colder tonight—why did I agree to meet her?

Something was definitely strange about Licia's behavior. Why had she insisted he meet her tonight? Why hadn't she just said her piece last night...or even earlier?

Pinkerton passed by a newsstand, then stopped. He thought he'd seen Licia's face on the front page of a newspaper. What has she accomplished this time? he thought as a smile slowly made its way across his face. He turned around and walked back to the newsstand, curious about the paper...and then he frowned. What's this?

PRODIGY SINGER ANNOUNCES WEDDING DATE

Licia Yamadori, the daughter of media tycoon Kazuo Yamadori, recently announced the date of her wedding to long-time teacher and mentor, Luciano Puccini, last night. The pair has been engaged since 2010, when Licia was just sixteen...

Pinkerton lowered his eyes. So she was using me. This whole time. He clenched his fists so tightly that he could feel the sting of his nails cutting into his palm. Heartbreak was something that Pinkerton was used to giving out, but this was the first time he'd ever felt it. My God, is this how all of those girls felt when I used them and moved on? It felt like his heart was collapsing in on itself—no, it felt as though he'd walked into another world entirely, as though he'd fallen asleep in Heaven and awoken in swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the lump in his throat. Then Pinkerton turned on his heel and walked back toward the station, staring straight ahead. When he returned to the dorm room he shared with Edgeworth, he said nothing.

And that night, when Licia called him, he turned off his phone.

APRIL 5TH, 2019- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS

"I didn't meet her that night," Pinkerton finished. "And she eloped with her fiance the next week."

Edgeworth stared straight ahead, and said nothing for a long time. Then he nodded. "I see."

"How sad," Pearl murmured. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

Pinkerton looked down at the One-Act opera playbill on the table with a wistful smile.

"You went to see her when she was in that one-act opera, didn't you?" asked Phoenix. "Why?"

"I actually didn't intend on going at all," Pinkerton admitted, "Miles talked me into going with him. I thought maybe I would talk to her after the performance, but..." he swallowed. "Those reproachful eyes..." he finished.

"But you keep the playbill with you," Phoenix said.

"It's to remind me..." Pinkerton replied with a cryptic smile. "Well, it doesn't matter."

"Why would she look at you with reproachful eyes if she was using you?" Pearl mused.

Pinkerton shrugged. "Frankly, I don't care. That is the past, and the past is unimportant."

I don't believe you, Phoenix thought. If it was unimportant you wouldn't be hounding Licia. Is that why you've decided she's guilty, I wonder?

Pearl nudged Phoenix. "I think we should get Ms. Licia's side of the story."

Phoenix thought so, too. "First, though, we need to do some more investigating." And we need to get these vases out of the way...