Ace Attorney: Playing Cop and Lawyer
Dec. 11th, 2012 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumelleTitle: Playing Cop and Lawyer
Fandom: Ace Attorney
Pairings: Klavier Gavin/Ema Skye
Rating: PG
Summary: Klavier's schemes to keep Ema close come to an abrupt end as she finds out. However, before she can storm out of his life as easily as she leaves his office, something terrible happens. Something terrible that forces Klavier to come clean at last.
A/N: Yes, I'm counting this and AAI as different fandoms. Deal with it. >_>
Much though he loved his job, sometimes Klavier did get quite sick of all the paperwork.
Sure, he had a secretary to handle some of it, but there were a lot of things he just couldn't delegate, and they were eating up a frightening amount of his time. He should have been out on the field, investigating new cases, or at least in the courtroom bringing criminals to justice, but instead he was swamped with reports and papers and forms to the point where he was about to scream just to get a moment's peace.
Of course, screaming probably wouldn't have helped with the actual paperwork, but at least it would have made him feel slightly better.
Someone opened the door to his office, walking closer. Great, his secretary was back from her lunch. Just the person he needed right now.
"Here." Without looking up, he picked the document on the corner of his desk and handed it over. "Misplace this somewhere, will you?"
The papers were taken from his hand. "What's this?" Wait. That wasn't his secretary's voice.
"Detective Skye?" His head snapped up, eyes widening as he saw Ema standing there, holding the document. "That — give that back." Oh, no. Oh, God no.
"This is…" Her brows furrowed. "Gavin. This is my request for a transfer."
He swallowed. Much though he would have liked to deny it, such a lie would have been obviously easy to catch. "Yes."
"And whoever you thought I was, you wanted them to 'misplace' it." Her eyes narrowed. "What exactly are you playing at?"
"Nothing." How was he supposed to explain himself? It wasn't like he had any imaginable excuse for such actions.
"Sure doesn't look like nothing to me." Ema was angry now, that much was clear. It wasn't just her usual annoyance at his quirks, but actual anger, directed at him. And he deserved every bit of it. "You're actually trying to hinder my transfer?"
To that, he had nothing to say. Yes, yes he was, because he didn't want to work with anyone but her. Didn't think any other prosecutor would see her for the gem she truly was. Didn't want to see her go.
"Suppose that explains why I've had trouble every step of the way. It's all your fault, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry." He still had no way of explaining himself, so all he could do was apologize.
"Well, I'm going to save you all this trouble." Ema dropped the papers on his desk. "After this case, I'm off."
"What do you mean?" Klavier was surprised to find his own voice suddenly taking on a lower tone.
"What do you think I mean?" Ema sneered. "I'm quitting, Gavin. Ever since I started working with you, you've been doing your best to make me hate every minute of it. I'm sick and tired of being your plaything, and since you won't let me transfer, I'll just leave entirely."
"You can't do that."
"Watch me." She waved her hand. "Not like you can forcibly drag me to work. Consider this my formal notice, you self-obsessed jerk."
He should have said something. He actually opened his mouth, expecting words to come out, only to find none. All he could do was stare as she spun around, walking away. The slam of the door behind her seemed to echo in his ears forever.
"Mein Gott," he whispered, sinking his head in his hands. "What have I done?"
*
Ema hadn't answered her phone in three hours now.
Of course, this might have been just because he was angry with him, but Klavier couldn't let himself be quite that hopeful. He'd even got one of the officers to call her in his stead, to no avail. Wherever Ema was or whatever she was doing, she could not be reached right now.
Which obviously meant that he had to find her himself if he wanted to give her his news.
Though nobody knew for sure where she was, one of the officers remembered her mentioning she was planning to check the crime scene. It was as good a lead as any, so Klavier decided to follow it. He wanted another look at the place before the trial, anyway. The location was much more important than in most cases, considering that the poor victim had been pushed off a cliff.
Heh. Hopefully Ema wouldn't still be angry enough to try a reconstruction of the crime with him playing the victim.
There was nobody at the crime scene as he arrived, just one lonely officer keeping an eye on the parameter. He confirmed that Ema had arrived earlier, though couldn't say anything about whether she had left already. Of course, such an admission didn't exactly reflect well on his general vigilance, but right now Klavier was willing to let it slide. Finding Ema was much more important right now.
"Detective Skye!" He walked closer to the actual crime scene, looking around for any sign of her. "Fräulein Detective! Are you here?"
There was no one to be seen, and for a moment he thought he had been wrong, that she wasn't here after all. Then, however, he got to the edge of the cliff the victim had fallen from, and his heart came to a halt.
Hanging from a tree branch, precariously over the deadly fall, was a familiar orange watch.
"Detective!" He hurried to the edge, placing a hand on one of the trees to keep his balance, looking around franticly. The watch was broken, he noticed, the strap having given out, stuck on a smaller branch. There was no sign of its owner. "Ema!" It was stupid, calling her that, but right now he didn't care. If he could annoy her into responding from wherever she was hiding, she had to be hiding didn't she, he'd call her anything at all...
There was no response. Trying to contain his growing dread, he drew a deep breath, looking down the hill. It wasn't a sheer drop, but close enough; there was just enough of a slope for a few trees and bushes to have grown along it. There were a few broken branches, each one feeling like a stab to his chest as he spotted them, and scrapes on the ground right underneath where the watch was hanging in the tree. And then, even further down the hill, he saw something white. Pure white, like a lab coat.
"Ema!" For a moment he almost let panic take over, images of dread and terror taking precedence in his frantic mind, but then forced such thoughts to the back of his mind. Panicking would not help Ema. There was another way down, a path to the side of the cliff, the officers had used it to get the victim up and surely it would help now. He paused for just long enough to shout out to the officer on guard duty, telling him to get others down and fast, before running toward the path.
It only took him a few minutes to make his way down the uneven path, yet it felt like forever until he was down at the bottom. The hillside wasn't quite as impossible here, with enough of contours to find himself footholds as he walked toward where he had seen the hint of white among the bushes. He shouted her name again, hoping for some response, any response, even if it were just calling him an idiot. The silence made him walk even faster, only pausing enough to make sure his feet were secure before taking another step. It wouldn't help anyone if he injured himself.
He was close to the location of the victim, as he noted, seeing the signs of the officers who had investigated the location and removed the body. The thought did not exactly comfort him as he finally caught again sight of the white coat. It was, indeed, Ema.
His heart decided to skip a beat again as he made his way to her. She lay on the ground, a couple of young trees apparently having stopped her tumble down the hill, scrapes and bruises covering her arms and face. However, those did not worry him even nearly as much as the way her arm lay in an unnatural angle, her head fallen to the side, with no sign of life in her. Terror almost taking over again, he carefully reached a hand to her, touching the side of her face.
She was warm, he noted, warm and breathing, though she remained unresponsive. This was only a momentary relief, though, as she remained unresponsive. He wasn't sure what exactly he had expected, for her to open her eyes and yell at him for his stupidity perhaps, but what he actually got was just terrible silence.
Never before had he so wished to hear what a total idiot he was.
*
He wasn't sure if he should go in or not.
Of course, he wanted to go, wanted to make sure she was indeed all right, but things weren't quite as easy as simply doing what he wanted. He doubted she would like to see him, certainly not now that he had caused her to end up in the hospital.
He knew that if he had mentioned his worries to anyone, particularly Herr Justice, they would have called him silly and told him there was nothing he should blame himself for. It was just as clear that he would not have listened to them for a moment. If it hadn't been for his fight with the Fräulein she wouldn't have run off on her own, and if she had not been alone at the crime scene she would not have fallen, or at the very least she would have received help sooner than she did now. Therefore, he was feeling fully responsible for whatever injuries she had sustained after the accident.
He didn't allow himself of think about the fact that she might not have survived. That was not something he could bear to contemplate.
Finally gathering his courage, he set his hand on the door handle. The worst she could do was yell at him, or possibly throw something at him; in any case, he would survive. Any amount of rage from her would be a small price to pay for making sure that she was indeed all right.
Lips set in a thin line, he opened the door and stepped in.
Ema was pale, though he supposed he could not fault her; though none of her wounds had been too severe, she had lost some blood while lying alone in the woods. The sight wasn't exactly helped by the whiteness of the hospital bed, which made her look so very small and fragile. He paused at the doorway, before finally closing the door behind himself. The sound gained her attention, drawing her eyes from the window to him.
"Gavin." He had expected more yelling, an angry snap perhaps, but her voice was too tired to bear any actual ire. He failed to find any comfort in this. "Why are you here?"
"I merely wanted to see how you were doing, Fräulein Detective." He gave a quick bow in greeting, then walked closer, stopping a few steps from her bed. "I brought you a gift." He showed her the box of chocolates he had bought. He'd assumed it would be more welcome than flowers, given her affection for snacks.
"Right." She closed her eyes for a moment, brows furrowing as though thinking with difficulty, then opened her eyes again to look at her. "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" Klavier blinked. "It is customary to bring gifts to a convalescent, is it not?"
"That's not what I meant." She sank deeper into the bed. "Why would you care how I am?" Before he could answer, shocked at the question as he was, she shook her head. "No, don't tell me. It's because you wanted to mock me, right? Make my life that little bit more difficult."
"Never." He swallowed. It should have shocked him that she would think so lowly of him, but he supposed he had nobody to blame but himself. He had not exactly acted like a gentleman. Regardless of his motivations, he had acted against her wishes out of pure selfishness, and for that, he could never forgive himself. "I just... I wanted to make sure you're all right."
"So I can get back to work with you, hm?" Ema looked away. "I meant what I said, Gavin. As soon as this case is wrapped up, I'm quitting." She sighed. "Though I guess for now, it's all the same for me to wait until the sick leave is over."
"Ah, yes. About that." He hesitated again, then stepped closer to set the chocolates on her nightstand, trying to win some time to think. "Don't do that."
"What?" Ema narrowed her eyes. "You actually had the gall to come to my hospital room and tell me not to quit? What next, just downright threats?"
"Nein, that's not what I meant." He stepped back, looking away. He could not bear to look at her now, not when she thought him to be such a heartless monster. "Just... I sent the papers on."
"You did what?" Ema blinked.
"Your transfer papers. I sent them on, with my personal recommendations, right after you left my office. Pulled some strings for you, too." It had been one of the most painful things he had done, certainly the hardest ever since he had sent his own brother to prison, but it had still been better than knowing that he was causing her pain. "Once you've recovered, you can go to work with whoever you like. A lot of prosecutors would be delighted to have such a competent detective to rely on."
"What's gotten into you, Gavin?" The suspicion in her tone hurt, but he deserved every bit of that pain. "What are you trying to get at?"
"Nothing like that, Fräulein. I merely realised I have been quite selfish in my dealings with you, and wish to make amends. I know this does not come even close to making up for everything I have done, but I hope it is a start." He paused. "If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know." With that, he nodded again, then turned to go. Of course, he would do whatever she asked of him, but right now he wasn't quite ready to hear who she would like to work with in his stead.
It was going to be difficult enough knowing that she would not get back to work with him.
"Why?" Her words stopped him in his tracks.
"Why what?" His hand fell from where he had reached for the door handle, though he didn't turn to look at her.
"Why did you do it in the first place?" Ema sighed. "I know you enjoy teasing me, but that's hardly enough of a reason to actively try to stop me from leaving. Do you really hate me that much?"
He swallowed again. Was that truly what he'd made her think? "I could never hate you, Fräulein Detective." He paused, opening the door now. "In fact, the truth is quite the opposite."
He stepped out, then, closing the door before she could respond.
That was one thing he did not need to hear.
*
Ema looked so very small as she sat in a wheelchair in front of the court, giving her testimony.
Klavier had tried to discourage her, of course, pointing out that she was in no condition to appear in court and nobody would fault her for sending someone else in her stead, but she had been quite insistent. After everything that had happened, he hadn't wanted to directly defy her, and had left everything up to her doctors. They had apparently decided she was well enough to attend, though not walk around on her own.
So very stubborn and beautiful.
Of course, the defense attorney tried to turn this to his advantage, the slimy thing, pointing Ema as so-called proof that the fall had been accidental. Of course, Klavier wouldn't let such things slip past him. Yes, Ema had been hurt badly, but she had survived her fall; the victim, on the other hand, had landed further in a rocky spot, and Ema's fall showed just how unlikely that would have been if he had simply tripped accidentally. No, the victim had been pushed, and the only one around at the time had been the defendant.
He wrapped the case up quickly, with the jury unanimous. The creep got declared guilty, the case was over, and Ema would be free.
He was somewhat slower than usual in making his way out of the courtroom, gathering his papers without a hurry. Of course, it was somewhat childish of him; the case was over, and that was that. Even if the case had dragged on, by the time Ema got back from her sick leave she would already have another prosecutor. He'd just have to get used to working with someone else.
Used to not having her with him anymore.
"Gavin."
He froze, then breathed deep and turned to look. Ema was sitting in her wheelchair, looking pale but determined. "Fräulein. Should you not be resting?"
"I'm fine." She snorted. "They won't even let me stand up, so don't you dare tell me I can't sit, either."
"Nevertheless, you were hurt very badly." He gathered the rest of his papers, mainly so he could hold onto them to stop his hands from trembling. "Is there something you need?"
"Answers would be nice." She gave him a sharp glance. "What did you mean by that?"
"By what?" Yes, he was stalling, but then he couldn't just come out and answer her.
"You said you didn't hate me, but the opposite."
"Ah, that." He looked down at the papers, now. "Was that not clear enough?"
"Not exactly." He didn't have to look to know that Ema was frowning at him. "If you don't hate me, I can't think of any possible reason that'd cause you to make my life as difficult as you have, including stopping me from transferring elsewhere."
"Ah, the answer to that is quite simple, my dear Fräulein." He looked away. "I am afraid I'm quite fond of you."
There was silence for a moment. Then Ema said, flatly, "What."
"I am attracted to you, my dear Fräulein." He sighed. "That's why I keep requesting you for tasks that may not be necessarily challenging enough for you, that's why I keep flirting with you, that's why I didn't want you to leave. I know it is quite selfish of me, but truly, I cannot find any other way to show my fondness."
"You flirt with everyone." Was that a hint of accusation in her voice? "You flirt with Justice, of all people, and his fifteen-year-old sidekick as well. Do forgive me if I'm not going to interpret that as anything but an annoyance."
"I know, I know. As I said, I have been selfish. It was easier to make it all appear little more than a joke than to face certain rejection. If I had realised how much I was hurting you, I never would have…" He trailed off. "All I can say is I'm sorry. There is no excuse for my behaviour."
"Absolutely none." Ema's voice was frighteningly cold. "And all this could have been avoided with one sentence."
"Oh?" He finally dared to look up at her. "And what would that be?"
"'I like you, Ema, would you like to go out sometime?'"
Klavier blinked. "And that would have worked?"
"I don't know. Possibly. Depending on how full of yourself you were while saying it. It's not like I've made any secret of how much it annoys me when you act like God's gift to womankind and Apollo."
"Now, now. I would never downright claim that. It's clear enough from my very being."
"See, this? This is what annoys me." She scowled at him.
"My apologies, Fräulein." For a moment, he was quiet, wondering how badly this could go wrong. "I like you, Ema, would you like to go out sometime?" Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"I'll think about it."
"Really?" His eyes flew wide. "You will?"
"Oh, yes. Though obviously, there's the concern of dating a colleague. It might screw up things."
"Not if you're working for another prosecutor." However much the thought pained him.
"Well, if you promise not to act like an idiot, I might give you another chance." His excitement must have showed on his face, as she quickly lifted a finger in warning. "But one chance only. You start annoying me again, I'm definitely leaving."
"Duly noted, my delight." He couldn't help the grin creeping onto his face. Surely this was all a dream?
She snorted at his words, which may or may not have meant it wasn't a dream, or perhaps it was. He certainly didn't put it past his subconsciousness to make Ema mock his affection even in her dreams.
She didn't threaten to kill him as he offered to take her back to the hospital, though, so he supposed it was a good sign.
Anything was good, as long as Ema wasn't going anywhere.
Fandom: Ace Attorney
Pairings: Klavier Gavin/Ema Skye
Rating: PG
Summary: Klavier's schemes to keep Ema close come to an abrupt end as she finds out. However, before she can storm out of his life as easily as she leaves his office, something terrible happens. Something terrible that forces Klavier to come clean at last.
A/N: Yes, I'm counting this and AAI as different fandoms. Deal with it. >_>
Much though he loved his job, sometimes Klavier did get quite sick of all the paperwork.
Sure, he had a secretary to handle some of it, but there were a lot of things he just couldn't delegate, and they were eating up a frightening amount of his time. He should have been out on the field, investigating new cases, or at least in the courtroom bringing criminals to justice, but instead he was swamped with reports and papers and forms to the point where he was about to scream just to get a moment's peace.
Of course, screaming probably wouldn't have helped with the actual paperwork, but at least it would have made him feel slightly better.
Someone opened the door to his office, walking closer. Great, his secretary was back from her lunch. Just the person he needed right now.
"Here." Without looking up, he picked the document on the corner of his desk and handed it over. "Misplace this somewhere, will you?"
The papers were taken from his hand. "What's this?" Wait. That wasn't his secretary's voice.
"Detective Skye?" His head snapped up, eyes widening as he saw Ema standing there, holding the document. "That — give that back." Oh, no. Oh, God no.
"This is…" Her brows furrowed. "Gavin. This is my request for a transfer."
He swallowed. Much though he would have liked to deny it, such a lie would have been obviously easy to catch. "Yes."
"And whoever you thought I was, you wanted them to 'misplace' it." Her eyes narrowed. "What exactly are you playing at?"
"Nothing." How was he supposed to explain himself? It wasn't like he had any imaginable excuse for such actions.
"Sure doesn't look like nothing to me." Ema was angry now, that much was clear. It wasn't just her usual annoyance at his quirks, but actual anger, directed at him. And he deserved every bit of it. "You're actually trying to hinder my transfer?"
To that, he had nothing to say. Yes, yes he was, because he didn't want to work with anyone but her. Didn't think any other prosecutor would see her for the gem she truly was. Didn't want to see her go.
"Suppose that explains why I've had trouble every step of the way. It's all your fault, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry." He still had no way of explaining himself, so all he could do was apologize.
"Well, I'm going to save you all this trouble." Ema dropped the papers on his desk. "After this case, I'm off."
"What do you mean?" Klavier was surprised to find his own voice suddenly taking on a lower tone.
"What do you think I mean?" Ema sneered. "I'm quitting, Gavin. Ever since I started working with you, you've been doing your best to make me hate every minute of it. I'm sick and tired of being your plaything, and since you won't let me transfer, I'll just leave entirely."
"You can't do that."
"Watch me." She waved her hand. "Not like you can forcibly drag me to work. Consider this my formal notice, you self-obsessed jerk."
He should have said something. He actually opened his mouth, expecting words to come out, only to find none. All he could do was stare as she spun around, walking away. The slam of the door behind her seemed to echo in his ears forever.
"Mein Gott," he whispered, sinking his head in his hands. "What have I done?"
*
Ema hadn't answered her phone in three hours now.
Of course, this might have been just because he was angry with him, but Klavier couldn't let himself be quite that hopeful. He'd even got one of the officers to call her in his stead, to no avail. Wherever Ema was or whatever she was doing, she could not be reached right now.
Which obviously meant that he had to find her himself if he wanted to give her his news.
Though nobody knew for sure where she was, one of the officers remembered her mentioning she was planning to check the crime scene. It was as good a lead as any, so Klavier decided to follow it. He wanted another look at the place before the trial, anyway. The location was much more important than in most cases, considering that the poor victim had been pushed off a cliff.
Heh. Hopefully Ema wouldn't still be angry enough to try a reconstruction of the crime with him playing the victim.
There was nobody at the crime scene as he arrived, just one lonely officer keeping an eye on the parameter. He confirmed that Ema had arrived earlier, though couldn't say anything about whether she had left already. Of course, such an admission didn't exactly reflect well on his general vigilance, but right now Klavier was willing to let it slide. Finding Ema was much more important right now.
"Detective Skye!" He walked closer to the actual crime scene, looking around for any sign of her. "Fräulein Detective! Are you here?"
There was no one to be seen, and for a moment he thought he had been wrong, that she wasn't here after all. Then, however, he got to the edge of the cliff the victim had fallen from, and his heart came to a halt.
Hanging from a tree branch, precariously over the deadly fall, was a familiar orange watch.
"Detective!" He hurried to the edge, placing a hand on one of the trees to keep his balance, looking around franticly. The watch was broken, he noticed, the strap having given out, stuck on a smaller branch. There was no sign of its owner. "Ema!" It was stupid, calling her that, but right now he didn't care. If he could annoy her into responding from wherever she was hiding, she had to be hiding didn't she, he'd call her anything at all...
There was no response. Trying to contain his growing dread, he drew a deep breath, looking down the hill. It wasn't a sheer drop, but close enough; there was just enough of a slope for a few trees and bushes to have grown along it. There were a few broken branches, each one feeling like a stab to his chest as he spotted them, and scrapes on the ground right underneath where the watch was hanging in the tree. And then, even further down the hill, he saw something white. Pure white, like a lab coat.
"Ema!" For a moment he almost let panic take over, images of dread and terror taking precedence in his frantic mind, but then forced such thoughts to the back of his mind. Panicking would not help Ema. There was another way down, a path to the side of the cliff, the officers had used it to get the victim up and surely it would help now. He paused for just long enough to shout out to the officer on guard duty, telling him to get others down and fast, before running toward the path.
It only took him a few minutes to make his way down the uneven path, yet it felt like forever until he was down at the bottom. The hillside wasn't quite as impossible here, with enough of contours to find himself footholds as he walked toward where he had seen the hint of white among the bushes. He shouted her name again, hoping for some response, any response, even if it were just calling him an idiot. The silence made him walk even faster, only pausing enough to make sure his feet were secure before taking another step. It wouldn't help anyone if he injured himself.
He was close to the location of the victim, as he noted, seeing the signs of the officers who had investigated the location and removed the body. The thought did not exactly comfort him as he finally caught again sight of the white coat. It was, indeed, Ema.
His heart decided to skip a beat again as he made his way to her. She lay on the ground, a couple of young trees apparently having stopped her tumble down the hill, scrapes and bruises covering her arms and face. However, those did not worry him even nearly as much as the way her arm lay in an unnatural angle, her head fallen to the side, with no sign of life in her. Terror almost taking over again, he carefully reached a hand to her, touching the side of her face.
She was warm, he noted, warm and breathing, though she remained unresponsive. This was only a momentary relief, though, as she remained unresponsive. He wasn't sure what exactly he had expected, for her to open her eyes and yell at him for his stupidity perhaps, but what he actually got was just terrible silence.
Never before had he so wished to hear what a total idiot he was.
*
He wasn't sure if he should go in or not.
Of course, he wanted to go, wanted to make sure she was indeed all right, but things weren't quite as easy as simply doing what he wanted. He doubted she would like to see him, certainly not now that he had caused her to end up in the hospital.
He knew that if he had mentioned his worries to anyone, particularly Herr Justice, they would have called him silly and told him there was nothing he should blame himself for. It was just as clear that he would not have listened to them for a moment. If it hadn't been for his fight with the Fräulein she wouldn't have run off on her own, and if she had not been alone at the crime scene she would not have fallen, or at the very least she would have received help sooner than she did now. Therefore, he was feeling fully responsible for whatever injuries she had sustained after the accident.
He didn't allow himself of think about the fact that she might not have survived. That was not something he could bear to contemplate.
Finally gathering his courage, he set his hand on the door handle. The worst she could do was yell at him, or possibly throw something at him; in any case, he would survive. Any amount of rage from her would be a small price to pay for making sure that she was indeed all right.
Lips set in a thin line, he opened the door and stepped in.
Ema was pale, though he supposed he could not fault her; though none of her wounds had been too severe, she had lost some blood while lying alone in the woods. The sight wasn't exactly helped by the whiteness of the hospital bed, which made her look so very small and fragile. He paused at the doorway, before finally closing the door behind himself. The sound gained her attention, drawing her eyes from the window to him.
"Gavin." He had expected more yelling, an angry snap perhaps, but her voice was too tired to bear any actual ire. He failed to find any comfort in this. "Why are you here?"
"I merely wanted to see how you were doing, Fräulein Detective." He gave a quick bow in greeting, then walked closer, stopping a few steps from her bed. "I brought you a gift." He showed her the box of chocolates he had bought. He'd assumed it would be more welcome than flowers, given her affection for snacks.
"Right." She closed her eyes for a moment, brows furrowing as though thinking with difficulty, then opened her eyes again to look at her. "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" Klavier blinked. "It is customary to bring gifts to a convalescent, is it not?"
"That's not what I meant." She sank deeper into the bed. "Why would you care how I am?" Before he could answer, shocked at the question as he was, she shook her head. "No, don't tell me. It's because you wanted to mock me, right? Make my life that little bit more difficult."
"Never." He swallowed. It should have shocked him that she would think so lowly of him, but he supposed he had nobody to blame but himself. He had not exactly acted like a gentleman. Regardless of his motivations, he had acted against her wishes out of pure selfishness, and for that, he could never forgive himself. "I just... I wanted to make sure you're all right."
"So I can get back to work with you, hm?" Ema looked away. "I meant what I said, Gavin. As soon as this case is wrapped up, I'm quitting." She sighed. "Though I guess for now, it's all the same for me to wait until the sick leave is over."
"Ah, yes. About that." He hesitated again, then stepped closer to set the chocolates on her nightstand, trying to win some time to think. "Don't do that."
"What?" Ema narrowed her eyes. "You actually had the gall to come to my hospital room and tell me not to quit? What next, just downright threats?"
"Nein, that's not what I meant." He stepped back, looking away. He could not bear to look at her now, not when she thought him to be such a heartless monster. "Just... I sent the papers on."
"You did what?" Ema blinked.
"Your transfer papers. I sent them on, with my personal recommendations, right after you left my office. Pulled some strings for you, too." It had been one of the most painful things he had done, certainly the hardest ever since he had sent his own brother to prison, but it had still been better than knowing that he was causing her pain. "Once you've recovered, you can go to work with whoever you like. A lot of prosecutors would be delighted to have such a competent detective to rely on."
"What's gotten into you, Gavin?" The suspicion in her tone hurt, but he deserved every bit of that pain. "What are you trying to get at?"
"Nothing like that, Fräulein. I merely realised I have been quite selfish in my dealings with you, and wish to make amends. I know this does not come even close to making up for everything I have done, but I hope it is a start." He paused. "If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know." With that, he nodded again, then turned to go. Of course, he would do whatever she asked of him, but right now he wasn't quite ready to hear who she would like to work with in his stead.
It was going to be difficult enough knowing that she would not get back to work with him.
"Why?" Her words stopped him in his tracks.
"Why what?" His hand fell from where he had reached for the door handle, though he didn't turn to look at her.
"Why did you do it in the first place?" Ema sighed. "I know you enjoy teasing me, but that's hardly enough of a reason to actively try to stop me from leaving. Do you really hate me that much?"
He swallowed again. Was that truly what he'd made her think? "I could never hate you, Fräulein Detective." He paused, opening the door now. "In fact, the truth is quite the opposite."
He stepped out, then, closing the door before she could respond.
That was one thing he did not need to hear.
*
Ema looked so very small as she sat in a wheelchair in front of the court, giving her testimony.
Klavier had tried to discourage her, of course, pointing out that she was in no condition to appear in court and nobody would fault her for sending someone else in her stead, but she had been quite insistent. After everything that had happened, he hadn't wanted to directly defy her, and had left everything up to her doctors. They had apparently decided she was well enough to attend, though not walk around on her own.
So very stubborn and beautiful.
Of course, the defense attorney tried to turn this to his advantage, the slimy thing, pointing Ema as so-called proof that the fall had been accidental. Of course, Klavier wouldn't let such things slip past him. Yes, Ema had been hurt badly, but she had survived her fall; the victim, on the other hand, had landed further in a rocky spot, and Ema's fall showed just how unlikely that would have been if he had simply tripped accidentally. No, the victim had been pushed, and the only one around at the time had been the defendant.
He wrapped the case up quickly, with the jury unanimous. The creep got declared guilty, the case was over, and Ema would be free.
He was somewhat slower than usual in making his way out of the courtroom, gathering his papers without a hurry. Of course, it was somewhat childish of him; the case was over, and that was that. Even if the case had dragged on, by the time Ema got back from her sick leave she would already have another prosecutor. He'd just have to get used to working with someone else.
Used to not having her with him anymore.
"Gavin."
He froze, then breathed deep and turned to look. Ema was sitting in her wheelchair, looking pale but determined. "Fräulein. Should you not be resting?"
"I'm fine." She snorted. "They won't even let me stand up, so don't you dare tell me I can't sit, either."
"Nevertheless, you were hurt very badly." He gathered the rest of his papers, mainly so he could hold onto them to stop his hands from trembling. "Is there something you need?"
"Answers would be nice." She gave him a sharp glance. "What did you mean by that?"
"By what?" Yes, he was stalling, but then he couldn't just come out and answer her.
"You said you didn't hate me, but the opposite."
"Ah, that." He looked down at the papers, now. "Was that not clear enough?"
"Not exactly." He didn't have to look to know that Ema was frowning at him. "If you don't hate me, I can't think of any possible reason that'd cause you to make my life as difficult as you have, including stopping me from transferring elsewhere."
"Ah, the answer to that is quite simple, my dear Fräulein." He looked away. "I am afraid I'm quite fond of you."
There was silence for a moment. Then Ema said, flatly, "What."
"I am attracted to you, my dear Fräulein." He sighed. "That's why I keep requesting you for tasks that may not be necessarily challenging enough for you, that's why I keep flirting with you, that's why I didn't want you to leave. I know it is quite selfish of me, but truly, I cannot find any other way to show my fondness."
"You flirt with everyone." Was that a hint of accusation in her voice? "You flirt with Justice, of all people, and his fifteen-year-old sidekick as well. Do forgive me if I'm not going to interpret that as anything but an annoyance."
"I know, I know. As I said, I have been selfish. It was easier to make it all appear little more than a joke than to face certain rejection. If I had realised how much I was hurting you, I never would have…" He trailed off. "All I can say is I'm sorry. There is no excuse for my behaviour."
"Absolutely none." Ema's voice was frighteningly cold. "And all this could have been avoided with one sentence."
"Oh?" He finally dared to look up at her. "And what would that be?"
"'I like you, Ema, would you like to go out sometime?'"
Klavier blinked. "And that would have worked?"
"I don't know. Possibly. Depending on how full of yourself you were while saying it. It's not like I've made any secret of how much it annoys me when you act like God's gift to womankind and Apollo."
"Now, now. I would never downright claim that. It's clear enough from my very being."
"See, this? This is what annoys me." She scowled at him.
"My apologies, Fräulein." For a moment, he was quiet, wondering how badly this could go wrong. "I like you, Ema, would you like to go out sometime?" Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"I'll think about it."
"Really?" His eyes flew wide. "You will?"
"Oh, yes. Though obviously, there's the concern of dating a colleague. It might screw up things."
"Not if you're working for another prosecutor." However much the thought pained him.
"Well, if you promise not to act like an idiot, I might give you another chance." His excitement must have showed on his face, as she quickly lifted a finger in warning. "But one chance only. You start annoying me again, I'm definitely leaving."
"Duly noted, my delight." He couldn't help the grin creeping onto his face. Surely this was all a dream?
She snorted at his words, which may or may not have meant it wasn't a dream, or perhaps it was. He certainly didn't put it past his subconsciousness to make Ema mock his affection even in her dreams.
She didn't threaten to kill him as he offered to take her back to the hospital, though, so he supposed it was a good sign.
Anything was good, as long as Ema wasn't going anywhere.
