A/N: I really like this one. I'd say it was a little OOC in Edgeworth's case but then we're all different when we're emotional.

Pairing: Edgeworth/ Franziska

Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. I'm practically a hobo.

The Apple Tree

"What was so important?" A voice demanded.

Edgeworth barely looked up, he was about to severely punish the ignorant person who had just barged into his office without so much of a knock until he heard her voice.

"Pardon?"

"What was so important?" She asked again through gritted teeth. "What was so important for you to be absent today?"

"I was otherwise engaged."

"With what?"

Edgeworth glared at Franziska. "Never you mind."

"He raised you!"

"You expect me to mourn the loss of a murderer?"

"I have had enough of this. I haven't said anything thus far out of respect but I see now you have none for me. Ever since becoming friends with Phoenix Wright you have become controlled by your emotions."

" If that were the case, why would that be such a bad thing?"

"If? Because your judgement is clouded- so much so that you could not spare time to respect the death of the man who taught you everything you know!"

Edgeworth slammed his fist on the desk and stood up abruptly- ignoring the sound of his chair clattering behind him.

"He did not teach me everything I know. My father taught me everything I needed to know, most of which yours made sure I forgot! Do not attempt to guilt me into mourning the loss of the man who stole my father's life for the sake of his record! He did not raise us, he trained us, he trained us to be as selfish and polluted as he was. I had hoped in your case that the apple had fallen further from the tree but I seem to have been mistaken."

Franziska stared at him. She was shaking with anger and shock; she struggled to find something to say. Anything.

"When was the last time you felt something good, Franziska?"

"What?"

"You claim that I am run by my feelings but it is you who marches around consumed by anger and contempt and bringing yourself ever closer to destroying your 'perfect' image to show what you really are; scared of letting anyone see you the way you see yourself, a scared little girl who's too terrified to mess up because she knows- you know that no one will step up and hold your hand and tell you that it's ok!"

Edgeworth paused to breath and looked away for a second, the tears forming in her eyes were becoming too much for him to witness but his attention was abruptly brought back to her when she choked out the words "Not even you?"

Edgeworth moved around his desk and debated whether to touch her or not. He decided against it and bobbed his head slightly so he could look into her eyes.

"You've been trying to burn that bridge since the day we met."

He felt his heart crack when she visibly trembled in front of him. Tears fell freely down her face- tears that he knew she had kept in all this time, even at her father's funeral. And he had done this to her. The apple had fallen even closer to the tree in his case.

He put his hand on her shoulder and forced her to look at him.

"I will mourn with you." He said numbly. "I will mourn for the father- for the man he could have been."

Next chapter a go-go!