A/N: New chapter of TSOMS! In which we provide a bit more background for a very specific purpose. It's time for femslash!

Chapter 12: Obscured history.

December 22, 2030
Location: Newman-Woods residence
Time: 9:20 a.m.

There was the sound of a key going in the front door, and Robin knew that Juniper had finally arrived home. After Robin put some finishing touches on her appearance she went to the front door to greet her girlfriend.

For now Robin had a simple light orange blouse and skirt combo on. But Robin had a special outfit ready for later today.

"Good morning, sweetie," Juniper said as she set down her purse on a nearby table.

"Good morning, my darling Juniper," Robin said in response, feeling warm all over from the compliment. "The reservation for our dinner date is at eight-thirty tonight, and since I got the day off I'm going to let you decide what we do until then."

"I have some ideas," Juniper said. "But first I'm going to go take a shower and get ready."

"That's fine, I'll wait for you," Robin said. "But I'd like to hear about how everyone is after you finish!"

"Umm, about all the people I visited while I was out. It's a surprise," Juniper said as she walked towards their bedroom. "I'll talk to you about it at dinner, so please be patient until then."

With that Juniper entered the bedroom and shut the door, leaving Robin to wait outside.

Robin went into the living room and sat down in a sofa.. It seemed that Juniper was getting something ready as well for their third anniversary, and Robin was filled to the brim with anticipation. She didn't even mind how long Juniper had been gone. It wasn't as if this was the first time the two had been separated from each other for long periods of time. It was just a part of life….

April 15, 2028
Location: Newman Residence, Robin's room.
Time: 6:45 a.m.

The sound of knocking filled the room, rousing Robin from her sleep. She blearily sat up in her bed, wondering who was waking her up so early in the morning on a Saturday. As perky and energetic as Robin was most of the time, even she needed a rest once in awhile and usually did so on the weekends. This particular weekend Juniper was off with her Grandma on a hiking trip, which meant Robin had even less incentive to get up early.

"Are you awake, Robin?" her father asked from outside the door. "I have a trial later today and I could take you along for a practical lesson in prosecuting, if you want."

Robin seriously considered the offer. Her school finals were in only a couple months, and it would also be a good excuse to drop by the Prosecutor's office to look up the dates of the bar exam.

She'd never sat in on one of her father's trials before. In the past she'd always refused these invitations because she just didn't care about becoming a Prosecutor and prefered to focus on her art.

Lately her parents had been making a conscious effort to repair bridges with her, and it would be horrible for Robin to reject this opportunity. With this in mind Robin got out of bed and said in her brightest voice,

"Sure! I'll get ready right away!"

April 15, 2028
Location: Newman Residence, Dining room.
Time: 7:00 a.m.

As Robin chowed down on her breakfast she noticed her parents pouring over some papers, whispering intensely with each other. Every so often they consulted a calculator and frowned at the figures displayed on the screen.

"You would think the man was a magician with how much money he made vanish into thin air," Richard muttered under his breath.

"That's what it seems like right now but his type always turn out to be two-bit con artists," Diana reassured him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "His tax returns are about as impressive."

"You're probably right, Diana. It's amazing how many people we've run into that have believed themselves invincible just because of the size of their bank accounts." Richard said tiredly.

"And yet those bank accounts never seem to save them from you in the long run, Ricky," Diana teased gently.

Robin couldn't help but become fascinated as she continued to listen in on her parents' banter. There was a definite undercurrent of familiarity and affection in their voices, as well as other emotions like exasperation whenever they hit a snag.

It spoke of a bond developed and tempered over the years, one that Robin hadn't actually paid much attention to normally. But with the flow of communication restored between the three of them, Robin had a feeling that she would be learning a lot more about her parents.

April 15, 2028
Prosecutor's Office, Richard's office.
11:15 a.m.

As it turned out, her dad had been more or less wrapping up his current trial, so it only lasted a couple hours. A good thing, too, as a trial about money laundering was very effective at putting Robin to sleep, which resulted in her Mom having to gently shake her awake every so often. At the very least, Robin saw the kind of Prosecutor her dad was: presenting witnesses with seemingly irrelevant testimonies only to have a plan in mind, which usually meant having evidence ready that revealed the unrelated tangents very important. Weaving these disparate points into a cohesive whole that threw light on the defendant's shady dealings. A booming voice that seemed to cause most objections by the defense to wilt away. It was all Robin could do to keep up.

All that being said, Robin noticed that her Mom seemed to be following the events of the trial perfectly well, to the point that she even arrived at some conclusions at the same time as Richard did. It was an extension of the events from this morning, and one that once again made Robin wonder how much she'd missed.

After the trial ended with a guilty verdict, Robin's father took her to his office and dropped her off there while he went to go take care of some paperwork. This was the first time Robin had ever been inside her father's office, and so sat in the room's only chair and took a good look around.

At a first glance it wasn't as exciting as Robin had hoped it would be. The office was more or less a cubicle, and had a single desk where it seemed her father kept everything such as a the docket where cases were kept and a small computer in the center of it. As she looked closer, however, she noticed a lot of small details that really spoke about her father.

His court docket was oddly bare, with only a couple cases that were being prepared for in the future. Everything on the desk was neat and tidy, with several pictures in frames. Several of them were of her parents from before they had gotten married, and judging by the Prosecutor's badge pinned on her father's collar, it seemed as her parents had worked on several cases together during that time.

There were also a lot of family pictures, chronicling Robin's life. She found it painful to look at most of them, as they reminded her of what she still was trying to forgive her parents for. But quite a few of them were more recent, including a clipping from the special edition Themis Herald about her relationship with Juniper.

Robin continued to poke around her father's workspace, eventually becoming completely absorbed in the task. One of the items she discovered seemed to be an old case file her father had left behind, regarding a murder case that had occurred at a batting range.

"The State versus Gianna…."

Robin didn't notice it when someone else entered the room, and was taken completely by surprised when she heard behind her, "Achtung, baby! So you're the pretty Fräulein that Prosecutor Newman told me about."

"WOOOOOAAHHHH!" Robin screamed in shock, the case file fleeing her mind as she turned around to see who was behind her.

"I know you! You're that rockstar prosecutor Klavier Gavin! You helped save Juniper during her trial."

"I haven't been a rockstar in quite a while," Klavier corrected gently. "But as for the rest, you are correct. And if I'm not mistaken you're Robin, the fiery little prosecutor student that also moonlights as an artist, ja?"

"Eh heh heh heh, that me!" Robin said cheerfully now that the shock had receded and she recognized Klavier. "Its great to see you again."

"Not as glad as I am to see you, Fräulein," Klavier said. "Especially since we'll be spending a lot more time together in the near future."

"Really? Why is that?" Robin asked.

"Your father has asked me to guide you through the wild world of prosecuting," Klavier explained, "since you will be graduating from my Alma Mater soon and I want to help you breathe fresh air into our legal system."

"Well it won't just be me! Juniper and Hugh are going to help as well."

It was then that Robin hit upon the first thing Klavier had said.

"Wait, you're the one that's going to give me the practical lesson? What about my dad?"

"Herr Newman is occupied with the Chief Prosecutor and so he will not be able to take you home either," Klavier said. "It seems to two have been having many conversations like this over the past few months, but as for why I couldn't tell you."

Robin had been building up irritated steam but now she was just confused. What kind of business could her dad have with the Chief Prosecutor that would last for several months? Even more importantly, why the invitation for the practical lesson if he wasn't going to give it himself?

"Don't twist yourself up into too many knots about it," Klavier advised, having read the expression on Robin's face. "Even if today wasn't quite what you were expecting, we can make it much better. And I'm sure you father will explain himself in due time."

Robin decided to go with the situation that had presented itself. Ever since she had met Klavier he had shown himself to be a great person, from his efforts in rescuing Juniper last October to being the one to prosecute the Shadow recently. On top of that, the three of them, Robin, Klavier, and Juniper, shared a connection: all three of them had studied under Professor Courte.

April 15, 2028
Location: Newman Residence.
Time: 6:45 p.m.

As it turned out, the practical lesson had been watching the money-laundering trial, with Klavier's introduction being a prelude to future lessons. At least, that's how her dad had explained it when he finally showed up several hours later after Robin had been dropped off home by Klavier. Of course, she had immediately grilled him on what he had been doing all day, but he had simply said it was something he couldn't disclose.

After Richard had gone off for a shower Robin decided to ask her mom about it instead.

"It's something work-related," Diana answered. "And like he said before he can't tell you quite yet. But I can tell you that it will be ready before you graduate this year."

Diana smiled proudly at her daughter.

"Despite everything we've done you're going to graduate at the top of your class," she said. "And with so many friends and a darling girlfriend. I am so happy for you."

"Well, if you two hadn't made sure I stayed focused I would have just quit," Robin said, determined to bury the hatchet as best she could. "and if I did that I might not have everything I have today. So thank you, Mom!"

Diana stared off into the distance. "But still…."

Diana dropped whatever thought she had been on and turned back to her daughter. "Tell you what, Robin. I won some free spa passes at my workplace recently, sp how about the two of us have a girl's day out when I can get a day off?"

April 15, 2028
Location: Newman Residence, Robin's room
8:45 p.m.

"It sounds like you had a wonderful day, Robin! It nice that you're getting along so well with your parents, and that Mr. Gavin's been doing well."

Robin considered what Juniper was saying as she lay back in her bed. Just this morning Robin hadn't been sure just what kind of day it was going to be, since Juniper had been away. But thinking on it, today had indeed been fantastic. She had bonded with her parents some more and made a new friend. Except that….

"Robin? Are you still there?"

"I'm still here," Robin said quickly. "It's just that my parents are hiding something from me, and I'm wondering if I should dig into what it is or if I should trust them and wait until graduation."

"Well, it seems like whatever they have planned has something to do with the Prosecutor's office," Juniper said. "Since your dad is talking with the Chief Prosecutor. My best guess is that it might be in preparation for when you take the bar exam."

Robin mulled this over in her head. This scenario made sense given the scant amount of information available. What was the right thing to do?

"I think I'll trust my parents," Robin said. "I have to start doing it eventually, right?"

'No one is expecting you to do it right away," Juniper reassured her. "You have all the time in the world to decide how you want your relationship with your parents to be like."

"O-k-a-y then!" Robin said. "Thanks for listening to me, Juniper."

"Anytime, Robin." Juniper said fondly.

December 22, 2030
Location: Newman-Woods residence
Time: 9:50 a.m.

The path into the courts had been an arduous one, with both Robin and Juniper in kind needing to take small steps over the years. They couldn't always be by each other's side either, but physical distance meant nothing. What mattered was that they could trust each other to remain firm while on the search for the truth. It was much like Robin had to trust in her parents again, and she was glad she did so considering what her parents' secret turned out to be.

At one point that trust that had been built between her and Juniper had been put to the ultimate test. It was during three of the darkest days of their lives, and a memory that Robin didn't feel like revisiting. Yet the path her memories were taking seem to be headed straight for that direction, in the direction of those days just last year.

A/N: So you know how a lot of Ace Attorney games have a singular case that's responsible for the game's events (DL-6, UR-1)? I would start paying attention, is all I'm saying. Thank you for your time!