Author's Note: If you're seeing this update, then congratulations on still being alive! Living is hard stuff. Writer's block had to end at some point (by which I mean I forced it to end with great effort), meaning I finally managed to finish this fic. Updates will be more regular again...if they were ever regular to begin with.
As always, thank you for the feedback!
Titration by HawkofNavarre
Chapter 11
You Weren't Afraid of Dying In A Fiery Blaze?
"You're kidding, right?"
"I'm afraid not. This is what you agreed to, fräulein."
It had been a terrible mistake, Ema realized, to ask Klavier for a ride to Trucy's premiering magic show at Penrose Theater while she was placing samples in the centrifuge. She thought she was pretty good at multitasking, but that was now proven to be at least partially wrong considering she was standing inside the precinct parking lot with a high speed death machine in front of her. Klavier was standing a couple of paces away, helmets under either arm.
She was going back through the conversation they'd had last night. Since their decision to go on as colleagues and friends, Ema didn't feel so bad asking him for favours anymore. It hadn't taken her long after receiving the call from Mr. Wright inviting her to Trucy's new show to come to the conclusion that a ride from the prosecutor would be the easiest way to get there. A taxi would cost a pretty penny. Public transportation in their area was cheaper, but also a major headache. When she thought of the allure of Klavier's pretty car and comfortable seats, there was absolutely no competition.
And so she had asked, assuming that he was driving his car today and not really paying attention to exactly what he had said before, "Is that alright with you?" The scientific procedure had definitely been the priority at that moment, but she was now inwardly berating herself for not simply finishing her work and then calling him. Making the call as an afterthought had been her downfall.
After being the one to ask for the ride and agree to transportation via guaranteed murder vehicle while half-heartedly listening, Ema could hardly complain about this. She had to accept the consequences of her actions.
Swallowing, she worked up the nerve to move forward and take the helmet that Klavier had brought for her. Judging by the knowing smile on his face, it was clear that Klavier knew what was going on in her head. Heck, he had probably sensed she hadn't been paying much attention during that phone call and was going on a mental victory lap at getting her on this dangerous hunk of metal. Not one to back down from a challenge, especially one that had presented itself due to her own irresponsibility, she eased the helmet onto her head. She immediately hated how it compressed the hair tied at the back of her head and how little visibility she had out of her periphery.
"I hate this thing already," she grumbled, making sure to project her voice enough to be heard from underneath the helmet.
Klavier only grinned at her and patted the top of her helmet as he passed her, leaving her huffing in her helmet. She felt her breath circulate back at her, momentarily trapped within the head gear.
"I promise, this will be the ride of your life," he said with a wink, mounting his bike before he pulled his own helmet on.
Ema rolled her eyes at the innuendo. She crossed her arms and followed him over before glaring hard at the seat she was supposed to occupy. The detective couldn't believe she was about to do this. Not only did she feel ridiculous with her oversized head that threatened to send her tumbling in whichever direction she happened to lean too far towards, but she was going to die in the stupid thing. Motorcycle accidents were more likely to occur than car accidents, and with her luck, she was definitely going to get in one. When Klavier was making jokes about it being the "ride of her life," he was really alluding to the fact that this was probably going to be the last ride she ever took before her untimely death.
"You'd better not be the reason I die, Gavin," Ema muttered as she grabbed onto his shoulders and took a seat behind him despite everything in her that was screaming at her not to do this.
"Hmph," was all he snickered in reply and she suddenly realized the irony of her statement. Only a few weeks ago, it had been entirely possible for him to be the reason she died.
Making no further comment, Ema wrapped her arms around the prosecutor's torso and wound her eyes shut as the engine roared to life beneath her. Her fingers tightened their hold on his leather jacket.
"Scientifically speaking," she grumbled, trying hard not to thinking about the statistics running through her mind, "this is a terrible idea."
When Klavier eventually parked them in the garage of the theater, Ema felt fuzzy with adrenaline from the ride. She almost felt like she was floating when she got off the bike. She couldn't believe she was even stepping off the thing alive. Every time Klavier had made a turn, they had gotten uncomfortably close to the ground. Ema was sure she didn't want to know what the ground felt like unless her feet were firmly planted on it.
"So, not as bad as you thought, right?" he questioned her with a wide grin as he pulled off his helmet. Despite it covering his entire head, his hair remained impeccable after it was removed.
"It was exactly as bad as I thought it would be," she retorted shakily, taking off her own helmet. She found her hair tie falling out and her bangs swept in odd directions after doing so. In her annoyance, she pulled the hair tie the rest of the way off and tried to rearrange her hair. Alien Gavin struck again with his perfectly unaffected locks. "Do you have a death wish or something? I can't believe how fast you were going!" Ema continued in distress.
Klavier blinked at her and then broke into a laugh. "Ema, I was barely going five miles over the speed limit!"
"Please, it's more likely you're so used to your crazy driving you couldn't even tell," Ema shot back, unconvinced.
"Did your life flash before your eyes?" he asked in a mocking tone and Ema only shoved him in response. "Come. Fräulein Wright has graciously allowed us to leave our bike gear in her dressing room."
She glanced around, only now realizing that they were in the parking garage rather than the main lot outside. "Special treatment?"
"I suppose," the male answered as he began heading for the door which she assumed led into the back of the theater. She didn't see anyone else other than staff around anyway. "It would cause quite the stir if I were spotted in front of the building."
"You're not wearing any disguise," she pointed out.
"Ah, and that is what we call 'promotion,' my dear detektiv. If I'm seen outside, it turns into a hassle, but seen during the show? Well, it would be rude to interrupt the performance, so I am spotted during Fräulein Wright's premier performance and news of her show is put in tabloids everywhere," he reasoned, holding the door open for her.
"Clever," she responded, genuinely impressed. "That's really nice of you."
"She is a talented hard worker whose shows I enjoy. I see no reason not to help, especially after what happened last year."
Ema nodded, recalling the murder that had occurred at Trucy's show last year. She'd been the head detective on that one while working with Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, and she had practically snacked herself to death knowing she was building a case against Mr. Wright's daughter. Luckily, Apollo had run a magnificent defence, picking up on some things she'd missed and Trucy was ultimately declared innocent. Still, she was sure the whole incident had been rather traumatic for the young magician, it being her first full-scale show and entrance into the world of the media. Ema would be surprised if Trucy ever trusted TV executives ever again. She was really glad that the girl had someone like Klavier back her up.
The corridors inside the theater hadn't changed at all since she'd last been there. Creamy white walls greeted them as they made their way to Trucy's dressing room. Outside her door, there were various props like flowers and fairy wings painted in pinks and vibrant greens to reflect the theme of the show. If Ema remembered correctly, it was called Lost in Enchantment and was going to be about a young girl who got lost in a magical forest searching for her runaway kitten.
Klavier knocked at the door which was promptly answered by a male clad in red. Ema peeked around her companion and immediately found herself beaming.
"Apollo! You're back!"
"Herr Forehead! It's about time!"
The hot-blooded lawyer looked a little bashful at the zealous greetings, running his hand over his hair in embarrassment. "H-hello to you too, Detective Skye, Prosecutor Gavin..."
Ema gave her friend a quick hug before Klavier slung his arm over Apollo's shoulders. It was clear that Apollo felt there was some serious over-familiarity with the gesture judging by his sour face. She had to stifle her laugh at his obvious displeasure as Klavier asked whether the legal system in Khura'in was treating him well.
"Detective Skye! You made it!" she heard from within the room.
The detective shoved past the younger males to see Trucy Wright in a white dress and red-hooded cloack come scurrying through her dressing room, dodging the props that littered the floor with practiced ease. Ema was sure she'd never seen so many artificial flowers in her life. Even the two black foldable chairs were covered in plastic foliage.
"Congratulations on your show, Trucy. Thanks for the invitation," Ema greeted the magician.
Trucy's eyes quickly landed on the helmet she was holding, eyes widening. "Wow! You actually rode on Mr. Gavin's motorcycle?"
"You did what?" Apollo exploded incredulously, Klavier still hanging over his shoulders.
"Ja, all the way from the police station," Klavier answered for her as he finally removed himself from the lawyer. He brandished his headwear with pride, Apollo gaping.
"Mr. Gavin!" The teenager skipped over to him cheerfully. "Thank you for the flowers! I put them on the stage," she told him eagerly. "You can leave your things in the back."
Klavier took the helmet from Ema and moved to the back of the dressing room to begin removing his leathers, thanking Trucy as he did so. Meanwhile, both Trucy and Apollo closed in on her like hungry wolves. She took a nervous step back from the advancing pair. With the way they were looking at her, they almost appeared to be siblings to her for a moment.
"Are you crazy?" Apollo demanded, still in disbelief. "You got on a motorcycle?"
"What was it like?" Trucy followed up in excitement. Clearly these two were not on the same page at all.
"Uh, it was pretty scary," she replied a little hesitantly. They were getting a bit too intense for her taste. "It wasn't like I had much of a choice. I kind of...accidentally agreed to it."
Trucy sighed dramatically, a dreamy smile on her face. "Imagine what sort of tricks I could do on a motorcycle! I wonder if daddy would let me take lessons..."
"Don't you have a show to prepare for?" Apollo hastily cut into her thoughts, looking panicked. "Detective Skye and I will get out of your way. Prosecutor Gavin can catch up with us when he's done."
Well, I guess we know who wants out, Ema thought as she followed a worried Apollo out of the room before Trucy even had a chance to reply.
"Mr. Wright would never forgive me if he knew I was there when Trucy got the idea to ride motorcycles and didn't do anything to stop it," he groaned as he led her down the hall.
"I'm sure her magic will keep her preoccupied," she placated him. "So you finally got some time off in Khura'in?"
He nodded, expression weary. "It was a lot of hard work, but we finally managed to get a lot of the false convictions overturned for the defence attorneys that used to practice law. Most people are justifiably angry, but there's a surprising number of attorneys who wanted to return to law. With them back in action, I managed to finally take a break to come and watch Trucy's show."
"Boss Apollo," Ema said in amusement.
He ran his hand over his hair spike again sheepishly as his cheeks coloured. "I-it's a little strange to be in charge of so many people that are my seniors."
She shrugged. "You're good at what you do and you're the one that got them out. I think that's all those lawyers really care about."
"Thanks, I guess..." he replied, still pink at the compliment. "Nahyuta was disappointed you didn't come back to work with him."
Ema contained her sigh as they reached the auditorium of the theater. Apollo led the way to their seats, her mind turning to the difficult decision she'd had to make a few months back. A lot had changed since then. She had recognized her feelings for Klavier, saved his life, subsequently gotten into a terrible fight with him, confessed to him after nearly being transferred to the most arrogant prosecutor in their district, and now was slowly working to get things back to normal, all while closing numerous cases with that same man. It was still crazy to think that she had somehow chosen Klavier and fall in love with him instead of throwing herself back into work in another country.
"Well, maybe the next time you take a vacation, you should bring him back too," she suggested, not wanting to make a big deal out of the issue as they took their seats nears the front of the stage. "I haven't seen him in a long time. If things slow down enough, it'd be good for both of you to take a break."
Apollo chuckled. "Honestly, I don't think Nahyuta minds all the work. Rayfa tries her best, but her ideas definitely cause him way more stress than any legal case ever could. He's patient, though. Whenever she makes a mistake, he just says to—"
"'Let it go and move on,'" a low voice interjected, and Ema could've sworn the prosecutor she previously worked with was standing behind her.
She whipped around only to see Athena cracking a wide grin.
"Jeez, Athena! I almost thought he was really here!" Apollo groaned. "You have to stop doing that!"
"I've been calling Apollo in my Prosecutor Sahdmadhi voice for the last two months and it works every time," Athena told her in a conspiratorially hushed tone.
"Oh ha ha. It stopped being funny the first time," the elder attorney sulked, crossing his arms in irritation.
Athena moved to the seat beside Apollo's and hopped over into their row. "When did you get here, Detective Skye? Boss and I didn't wanna interrupt Trucy's preparations, so we took the bus here pretty early, but we didn't see you," she stated as she settled down next to her former coworker.
She opened her mouth to reply, but Apollo beat her to it. "She came through the back with Prosecutor Gavin. They came on his motorcycle," he supplied quickly, obviously expecting Athena to be just as shocked as he was about her choice of transportation.
"No way!" Athena shouted, bouncing out of her seat energetically. "That must've been so awesome!"
"Not you too..." Apollo groaned.
"Oh, come on, Apollo! Can't you see how cool motorcycles are?"
"I should've expected this," he muttered mostly to himself.
However, that didn't stop Athena. She clasped her hands together, eyes shining. "And with a hunk like Prosecutor Gavin!"
Apollo's brow furrowed and Ema couldn't tell if it was because he was jealous or really just disliked his rival prosecutor that much.
"I mean, racing down the streets holding onto a rock star, the wind blowing through your hair, the adrenaline pumping through your veins, and whoosh!" She threw a couple of punches into the air. "You're breaking the sound barrier! Going faster than the speed of light! It's like the coolest thing ever!"
Ema stared at the glowing lawyer for a second, wondering if she knew the laws of physics or even how a motorcycle worked. Next to her, Apollo looked equally as dumbfounded. If there was anything either of them could take from that, it was that Athena definitely seemed more enamoured with the bike and the thrill of being on it than anything else; Klavier seemed more like an afterthought in her monologue.
"I don't think motorcycles can go fast enough to break the sound barrier," Apollo drawled, unmoved by her passionate rant, "but other than that, not all of us are thrill-seekers like you."
She shrugged, evidently unaffected by Apollo's opinion. "It would be way more fun than walking or taking the bus."
"What, my methods of transportation aren't fancy enough for you?"
This time, Ema was surprised to see Phoenix Wright walking towards them through the aisle, Miles Edgeworth behind him. She quickly stood up to greet the two men she had the most respect for. "Mr. Wright! Mr. Edgeworth! Good evening!"
Phoenix smiled, apparently a little amused by her manners while his childhood friend nodded at her in acknowledgement. She didn't care if it made her look rigid and desperate to impress; this was her idol Miles Edgeworth in her presence!
"Ema rode here on Prosecutor Gavin's motorcycle," Apollo commented informatively, evidently looking for someone who would share his views.
"You did?" Mr. Wright asked in astonishment. "Y-you weren't afraid of dying in a fiery blaze?"
"Contain your exaggeration, Wright. Prosecutor Gavin is a competent driver," the chief prosecutor stated. "Besides, if Detective Skye wishes to ride on motorcycles, then it isn't any of our places to judge her."
"H-hey now, I never really wanted to ride it. I would've really preferred to ride in a car, even if the motorcycle wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," the forensic detective explained. She didn't want Edgeworth to think she was some sort of daredevil.
"In that case, I could give you a ride home after the show if you're more comfortable that way," Edgeworth offered gracefully, rendering her momentarily speechless.
"Or I'll be waiting for Trucy to clean up, but we'll be taking a cab home later. You're welcome to join us," Phoenix added generously.
"And Athena and I are heading in the other direction after the show, if that works better for you," Apollo joined in.
"I even brought Snackoos just in case I get hungry!" the female lawyer piped up.
Suddenly it seemed like it had been a bad idea to say anything about the bike. She had only meant to answer their questions honestly, but now she was in the middle of a bunch of offers for rides home. It was embarrassing, really, that everyone was so eager to get her where she needed to go. Ema didn't want to be rude at all, though it was hard not to accept when her most admired figure was the one who wanted to drive her home. She opened her mouth to reply...
...And then Klavier Gavin showed up, giving a little wave to their group before he sat down next to Edgeworth and began to small talk with his boss.
"No, it's fine," she said in response, tearing her eyes away from the prosecutor. "I wouldn't want to impose."
"Are you sure? It wouldn't be a problem," Phoenix assured her.
"I'm sure," Ema replied firmly with a nod. "I mean, it was more interesting than scary, now that I think about it—you know, being on the motorcycle. It was a unique experience. Science makes it run, you know."
"That was a pretty quick change of heart," Apollo noted as he rubbed at his wrist. Maybe that bracelet he was always wearing was finally making him itchy.
"Lots of people change their minds," was all she could counter with.
Apollo seemed to consider this for a couple seconds, still rubbing at his wrist, then shot a look at his former coworker who only shrugged. "Guess so."
The lights dimmed, signaling the start of the production. Ema turned her attention forward despite mentally kicking herself. She probably would've accepted at least one of those offers (most likely the chief prosecutor) if Klavier hadn't shown up right then, but the moment she saw him, that decision flew right out the window. His stupid "hog" was no more enjoyable to her than it had been half an hour ago, yet the sight of him warmed her and she yearned for the easy banter they always shared. She'd been with him for most of the day already, but things had been going so well between them lately that she didn't think it was right to ditch him after he did her a favour at the first opportunity.
She wasn't needy, nor was she the clingy kind of girl, but the thought of coming with him and leaving without him seemed wrong somehow. She had ethics! It wasn't like Ema looking for any reason to turn down time with friends to spend it with him. And...oddly enough, whatever interaction came between them later was something she was looking forward to. Right now, she was content not to give that up.
As the curtain rose, Ema pushed her thoughts aside for the moment. There was a world on stage where her worries didn't exist. For a full hour and fifteen minutes, she was taken into a magical forest full of transformations and disappearing acts. In the end, Trucy Red Riding Hood was able to vanquish the wolf standing in her path with a magnificent explosion of fire and bring her kitten home. Ema was fascinated by the chemical reaction she must've used to create it. Then again, she was sitting quite close to the front and hadn't felt too much heat, but the effect was certainly there. Maybe that was what Trucy had been referring to when she offered to set Dayton on fire.
After the show, their group moved backstage to celebrate with Trucy. It was nice seeing Mr. Wright act like a proud father and Athena briefly excited over the tricks she had helped Trucy trial finally in action, although she paled significantly when it was mentioned that the illusionist would need assistance in the future. They took a group photo in the hallway with Trucy taking another picture with Klavier to post on social media. Ema couldn't help but think that his point earlier about promoting Trucy was extremely valid. No doubt that his appearance at the show would be all over the tabloids come morning.
"Need a ride home as well?" Klavier asked her as the festivities began to die down. Edgeworth had already departed and only employees of the Wright Anything Agency, current and former, were left in the room with them. Trucy had gone back into her dressing room to throw on some normal clothes...or whatever clothes were normal for her, and Klavier already had his leathers back on. He was holding his helmet, meaning he was waiting on her.
"Yeah, one second," she responded. It only took a few seconds to retrieve the other helmet from the dressing room and another minute or so to say their goodbyes. The fact that she was about to mount a motorcycle yet again dawned on her and she pressed forward resiliently.
"I admit, I'm surprised," Klavier commented casually as they reached the garage. He wasted no time in getting on his bike, kicking back the stand. "I thought you would have found another way to get home rather than braving the streets on my hog again."
She got on behind him, hands on his waist and wondering, not for the first time, what the hell she'd been thinking. Ethical or not, this is was nuts. She would never reach 30 at this rate. "So did I."