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Missile123 wrote:
I never realy gave thi pairing much thought because of the "he's like a little brother to me" thing...
But this Fanfic's made it one of my favourite pairings...can't wait for the next chapter!
I do prefer
and
pairing to
and
but i liked it anyway dispite this...
*gasp* Really!? Wow, I didn't realize my writing could make people change their minds! Well, thank you, I take that as a high compliment.
I know a ton of people prefer Maya/Nick to Iris/Nick (and with good reason; she's been at his side for all of the games where Iris appeared for one game). But I've always liked Iris/Nick; I thought it was a cuter couple and that it could work better. Heck, it's my opinion, but oh well.
Guess what? I'm updating! And another thing; as I wrote this chapter, I realized that it was too long to fit everything that I wanted to include. So this is the second to last chapter. The good news is that the
last chapter is halfway completed and will (hopefully) resolve the things that this chapter doesn't (mainly the box of photos. Yes, goshdangit, I'm going to resolve that silly little box! lol!)
Anyway, here's the next chapter! Oh, and for people who really don't like this pairing, be cautious while reading; it's pretty romantic. I tried to keep it as much in character as possible, but that's hard to do when you're working with the most coldest, "emoest", and sometimes emotionless people in the PW world (okay, they're aren't necessarily the above, but many view them that way, hence the warning).
Hope you enjoy!
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Chapter Five: Tearing Down the Wall
"M-Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska exclaimed. She started stepping backwards; she was still slightly in shock. However,
something strange happened; something she didn't have to do for a long, long time.
Her wall immediately came up.
Miles was actually smiling a little as he walked slowly through the threshold and closed the door.
"Hello, Franziska," he said quietly. Fran clenched her fists.
How dare he! Is he trying to make fool out of me!? Are you going to let him do this!?Fran did not know where these thoughts came from; she supposed it was her pride.
"What are you doing here?" Fran asked, sounding colder than she expected.
"I...I had to know for myself," Miles answered, coming closer. She was ready for the too-close-for-comfort contact; her wall was reinforced even more.
"Know what?" she said bitingly. Miles started to become more nervous as the silence between them grew.
"Franziska, are you… satisfied with the outcome of that trial?" Miles asked after awhile. Fran felt the danger to her wall and turned her back to Miles.
"How would you feel if I said 'yes'?" Fran responded. Miles raised his eyebrows.
"I-I'd be proud... glad... I don't know. Is it true, though?" Miles responded, feeling rather surprised at her reaction. Franziska's thoughts were going once again in conflict.
He's been using you, Franziska!
Wait, that's not true!
Yes it is! Whose idea was it?
But I followed through with it out of my own volition!
Of course! Because he's using your feelings to get what he wants!
Is it so selfish to want to help others...?
Get him away! Your pride is at stake!She did not know where she was having these thoughts. But her "prideful" side was getting stronger and stronger; along with her cold, bitter wall. Could she bear to let him in on the truth?
The truth will set you free...
But my wall will keep me protected"...Yes," Franziska said softly. Somehow, that small voice that failed against her "prideful" side leaked through. At the state she was in, she didn't know
why she just told that to Miles. Perhaps that small part of her still wanted him to stay...
Fran still had her back to him, but Miles heard her perfectly clear. His eyes shifted all over the room. He didn't understand why she was being so cold to him when she said that she just admitted that she was satisfied with the court’s outcome.
"Franziska—" Miles began before being interrupted.
"Why are you here, Miles Edgeworth?" Fran repeated herself. She needed a cover-up; because of her decision to tell the "truth", her wall had started to deteriorate. Her small, "hopeful" voice was slowly trying to get her to open up to him... but could she risk him seeing the core? Fran tried to protect herself.
"Franziska, just tell me this: do you or do you not hate me?" Miles asked seriously. He couldn't understand her behavior. But that didn't mean he wouldn't
try to.
Fran found that she couldn't answer that question. Either she could lie in vain or tell the truth and let the wall fall...
Instead, she fell silent. Miles sighed and glanced at the door. He supposed this was good-bye. Maybe he was wrong this whole time; perhaps she truly
did hate him.
"Fine. I understand," Miles began. He turned around and started to walk towards the door. "I'm happy for you, Franziska. But I suppose that if you don't want to see my face again, I understand. I'll leave." Fran felt her body tense extraordinarily. Thoughts and memories started swimming into her mind.
Why did he leave me behind when he went to America?
Or when he said that he "chose death"?
The time I almost gave up being a prosecutor... and he said that we would part ways if I did that...?
We left each other all those times, Miles...
And now...Fran turned to face Miles. He had his hand on the knob.
"M-Miles..." she couldn't make herself say his whole name; she didn't have the strength. Suddenly, her vision was becoming blurry; Franziska realized that she was getting teary-eyed. Even with her blurry vision, she saw Miles stop and start to walk towards her again. Her wall was getting destroyed, brick-by-brick... Each defense and reinforcement that had been specially placed was now in ruins. Fran's eyes stung as she used all of her willpower to not let the tears fall. She needed to finish her sentence, even if that meant risking having her core exposed...
"Don't leave me..." she blurted. Fran found her tears suddenly streaming from her eyes; her strength and wall were utterly gone as she was about to fall to the floor. Without any power left, Fran was readying herself to hit the ground.
But she never got that far.
Fran felt arms holding unto her bent elbows. Her knees didn't even touch the ground. However, she didn't have the strength to keep herself up; her elbows sagged, which forced the arms to reach under her armpits. This also invariably made her head fall unto clothing. It wasn't until then did she realize that she was being held by Miles... and that her head was on top of his chest. She didn't have time to feel embarrassed.
Miles held Franziska up with one arm and led her to the couch. When she sat down, she fled to the other side, trying to hide her red, tear-sodden face in a pillow. Fran was trying to wipe her tears away, but she ended up making more of them.
I can’t have him see me… not like this.
Why? He’s already seen you at this state! What difference will hiding do?
I need time to rebuild my defenses…"Franziska, look at me... I promise to not make fun of you," Miles's voice came to her ears. The sentence was awkward for someone of his intelligence, but at the same time, they were the words she needed to hear.
She turned to face Miles, with her swollen face and puffy eyes. That one time at the airport a year ago, she
had been crying... but it wasn't anything like this. At that instant, she was able to say her threats and escape with at least some dignity. But here, it was different. She didn't have a wall anymore to protect her, and yet Miles was not scorning her for her weakness. Franziska realized all those times she herself had laughed at Miles's weaker moments: his father's death, his fear of earthquakes... and even though she had done that to him, he wasn't doing
that to her, now...
Miles had found an excuse to get closer to her again by giving her a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. Fran dabbed at her eyes and found her breathing return to normal. Sobbing like that, again, was
not normal for her. Miles also had his arm around her; that, also, was not normal for
him. She was surprised to find him rubbing her right shoulder rather gingerly.
"Something wrong with my shoulder?" Fran was choking her words out, but she still was able to sound sly. Miles immediately stopped and she could feel his tension.
"That time during the Matt Engarde case..." Miles said quietly. Fran looked up and saw a wave of pain cross his face. She remembered that case well... Shelly de Killer had shot her in the right shoulder.
Franziska remembered the shock she was in when she had been shot. She tried to escape Miles's grasp and run to the courtroom, but he was too strong (or perhaps she was too weak from the shot). The look of worry on his face... he was more frightened than
she was. Fran wanted to show her strength; she wanted to prove to Miles that she wasn’t some younger sister he left behind all those years. She figured that if her father could handle a bullet in his arm for years, then she should be able to. However, her willpower and Miles had other ideas. She barely walked four steps up the courthouse steps, away from Miles’s grasp, before she had collapsed again.
Miles had the ambulance waiting by then. He carefully led her to the van; it all happened in such a blur. She sat on the seat, emergency people trying to do what they could at that point to help her arm. That whole time, Miles sat there, grasping her hand. Franziska felt slightly helpless as these events were coming at her without her taking control. Every motion and movement seemed to be too fast, so Fran had sat there without any reaction, her face showing complacent calm. Miles was trying so hard to remain calm; he had to close his eyes once in awhile to keep himself calm. Still, he seemed incredibly panicky at that time, which was unusual for him.
During the ride, Franziska supposed that she lost consciousness, because the next thing she knew, she was sitting in a hospital bed, being reeled into an emergency room. However, only moments later, she was under anesthesia and didn’t wake up until the surgery was over. Miles might have come once or twice after the trial to see how she was doing, but Franziska would barely talk to him. She didn’t want him to know that she was grateful for him saving her…
“You know it’s been healed. There may be a scar, but the overall wound is gone,” Franziska said matter-of-factly. Miles shifted uncomfortably in the cushion. He continued to rub her shoulder.
“It may be gone, but the memories live on. I have to admit, you had me incredibly worried; I was afraid I was going to lose you,” Miles mumbled, slightly uncertainly. Franziska widened her eyes.
Stop that train of thought right there, fool! You’re nothing but some younger sister to him!
He cares about me, though.
What does that change!? Besides, wasn’t he your little brother?
…Maybe I don’t want him to be a “little brother” anymore“Something wrong, Franziska?” Miles asked, breaking her train of thought. Fran closed her eyes and bit her lip. Should she ask him for the truth? Did she
want to know the truth?
There couldn’t possibly be a way that he cared about her more than just… sibling love, right?
He’s probably met many other female prosecutors at the office.
What makes you think he’d choose you
over them!?
Besides, it’s not like you made his home life any easier! Papa was cruel… You’re a Von Karma! Could he live with that?
But—“—I’m barely a Von Karma anymore,” Franziska didn’t realize that she just spoke her thoughts aloud. Miles looked at her strangely. Fran stiffened at her stupid mistake. Was it really that hard to differentiate between thinking and speaking!? Was she starting to go crazy?
“What do you mean?” Miles ventured, not quite sure what she meant. Franziska decided she needed to say
something to stop the awkward silence.
“Well, I couldn’t uplift the name, as Papa would say. He demanded perfection in court and everyday life; I lost that perfection in court…” Fran paused to take a breath. She was speaking quickly, words being spoken before being properly thought out. “And he’d probably think that what I just did minutes earlier is definitely not anything close to “perfection”; showing weakness,” she ended. Franziska started staring at her hands, not looking up to meet Miles’s eyes. She felt him shrug.
“What is the definition of “perfection”, anyways?” he asked philosophically. Franziska thought for a moment.
“I learned that it was accomplishing something without problems, flaws, or defects,” Fran responded. “This included emotions, I suppose.”
“But isn’t vengefulness a flaw?” Miles pondered. Franziska cocked her head to one side. She supposed she hadn’t thought that before.
“I suppose that even Papa couldn’t achieve perfection,” Fran said lightly. “But if what he says is true about the Von Karma name, then that means I don’t deserve it as a surname,” for the first time, Franziska chuckled a little. “Guess I’ll need a new one…” she trailed. Franziska dared a glance in his direction. Miles looked rather somber, but a light smile was creeping out from the corners of his mouth.
“Well, your sister didn’t take the legacy; we all know that I was practically “disowned” after losing to Wright; and I guess you’ve given up the Von Karma name, as well,” Miles sighed a little and put himself in a more comfortable position. But the arm didn’t leave Fran’s shoulders. “Sounds like “perfection” has died along with its radical master,” Miles continued, insinuating Manfred. “And good riddance…” Miles’s face fell into sadness. Franziska felt a pang of guilt. The crazy need for “perfection” caused his own father to die, she supposed.
“Miles, I believe I need to make an apology,” Franziska said, her commanding tone coming back to normal; however, there was a softness to it.
“About what?” Miles looked up, his face spreading to confusion.
“About your father. And mine,” Franziska said bluntly. Miles’s face continued to look quizzical.
“Franziska, you don’t need to apologize on your father’s behalf. I don’t blame you for the things he did,” Miles explained with slight passion. His face seemed very serious. “I’m just glad that you were able to break away from his insanity before it was too late.” Fran glanced down again. She felt like she
was going insane. Franziska still couldn’t tell how Miles regarded her as; a sister or something more?
“I didn’t want you to hate me for what happened,” Franziska explained. Miles raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
“Franziska, I don’t hate you. I never have and I never will,” Miles said softly. Fran felt her arms tense uncomfortably. Somehow, during their conversation, Franziska supposed that she had built herself a mini wall that protected her from breaking down again. However, that comment seemed to break that small wall, as well. “The real question is; do you still hate me?” Miles asked. Franziska sighed softly.
He truly believes that I hated him.
I suppose I did… but that ended rather quickly.For once, her mind could agree on something.
“Miles, I only “hated” you because I was slightly jealous. Papa seemed to dump many hopes onto you. I studied so hard so that I could pass you and prove my worth, but I suppose the age difference and maturity levels prevented me from doing so,” Franziska admitted. “Nevertheless, Papa still expected so much from me as a child. But other than that, I never truly hated you either, Miles.” She did not notice the inner sigh of relief Miles had exhaled. But something was still bothering him.
“What about when I walked through that door? What happened then?” Miles asked. Fran twiddled her fingers anxiously.
“Papa never taught me how to express my feelings effectively,” Fran answered. “I was used to having a protective wall around myself that no one could punch through. You are the only person who could break down that wall. That thought scared me,” Fran continued. Miles listened with keen interest. “I didn’t know how to respond or what to say. Part of me still wanted to prove to you that I didn’t need you.” Miles looked at her thoughtfully.
“You don’t realize the inner strength that you’ve buried with your “walls”. Sometimes protecting yourself with an invisible wall will do more harm than good. You start to exclude yourself from your emotions and other people. But,” Miles paused, pointing to the center of her chest. “If you just let that inner strength come out instead of hiding it with insecurities and walls, I think you’d be happy with the result,” Miles explained. Franziska looked down at the spot he had pointed at.
“I don’t even know what it feels like,” she said with slight determination to prove him wrong.
“Of course you do. It took that inner strength to stand up for the defendant when her lawyer wouldn’t. It took inner strength to break away and become independent from your father’s teachings. And it also took inner strength to have the will to listen to what I said,” Miles explained, his eyes lighting up with a strange, yet subtle, kind of excitement. Franziska put her hand over her chest and nodded. She could suddenly remember the confidence and calmness she felt as she did what she felt convicted was the right thing to do. Fran remembered feeling genuine confidence, not immature and fake pride. It helped squelch the inner conflicts she had whenever she made normal decisions like in court.
“You’re right. Thank you Miles,” Franziska finally responded. Miles glanced at her with a little surprise. “You knew all along about this, didn’t you? How could you have known?” Fran asked. Miles thought for a moment.
“It isn’t a weakness to want someone to help or take care of you. The fact that you were willing to trust me when we were younger, I believe that’s when I saw that internal power at first. You seemed much more serene when you felt that inner strength instead of your father’s teachings that led to pride,” Miles told her, a grin appearing more rapidly.
Behind the wall of pride and vengefulness was a meek little girl
But only Miles would be able to see the internal strength you carry
And there’s nothing you can do to repay him for the lesson he taught you…Franziska closed her eyes, hoping that tears wouldn’t start to swell-up. She could still hear Miles’s voice amidst the darkness.
“Franziska, earlier you said something… interesting,” Miles began. Fran kept her eyes shut, but nodded. “You said that you don’t deserve the Von Karma surname… and that you needed a new one. Do you have any in mind?”
Fran’s inward thoughts were on an all-out war with each other.
Foolishly foolish fool who can’t stop foolishly dreaming foolhardy dreams in foolish hope of being with him!
I can’t stop the “desires”, I can only control their intensity!
Too bad that this desire is just that
intense!“Well, I haven’t thought that much about it…” Franziska answered, using her right hand to wipe away the baby tears forming so that she could look at Miles at the face. Before she opened her eyes, she felt a tug at her left arm…
Miles was out of the couch and standing on one knee, holding her left hand. With his free hand, he was holding a small black box. Inside was an almost perfect replica of her mother’s ring; just as she remembered from the picture and exactly how she described it to Phoenix.
Phoenix…!“Is ‘Edgeworth’ suitable?” Miles asked slyly and a little bit of cockiness that seemed so familiar. Franziska stood there for a moment in shock.
“Phoenix Wright told you… about the ring…” Fran stuttered, not sure how she managed to speak. Miles simply chuckled.
“I asked him to. I wanted him to figure out a cunning way to ask you without too much suspicion. I have to admit, I wasn’t surprised when he told me over the phone a description of a ring that matched your mother’s,” Miles explained. Franziska stiffened at the mention of her mother, but relaxed more naturally.
“In that case… I believe ‘Edgeworth’ would be a perfect choice for a new surname,” Franziska answered, her voice coming out a lot calmer than her insides. For once, she actually felt a girlish excitement. Miles slipped the ring on. A perfect fit.
Not too strange, I suppose. We were
raised together…Miles lifted her from the couch and held onto her.
“You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve never been taught the ways of “romance”,” Miles mumbled, rolling his eyes. Franziska’s chuckles were muffled by his shoulder.
“Indeed, but isn’t there some sort of “action” two lovers are supposed to do when… well, when they’re in love?” Franziska said sarcastically. Miles’s eyes lit up with fake “realization”.
“Ah, I believe you are thinking of the verb “kissing”, my dear?” Miles answered mockingly.
“That’s right,” Franziska said, trying to control her derisive laughter. She stared him with slight amusement and wonder. “Miles, have you ever kissed someone of the opposite sex?” she asked teasingly. Miles simply rolled his eyes again.
“Have you forgotten that I was
home schooled at your
father’s home. I believe “love” was more of a weakness to him. Although,” Miles thought for a moment a little more seriously. “I seem to remember embarrassing myself in fourth grade when I was friends with Wright and Larry. I believe Larry dared me to kiss a girl. I think I tried to just to prove to him that I wasn’t afraid. Hm, why do I remember getting slapped?” Franziska had a little hard time figuring out whether he was serious or teasing.
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t mat—“ Franziska was interrupted. Miles was kissing her.
She felt soaring, or maybe she
was. It was hard to tell; the kiss made her feel so much more calm and… for once, happy to be Franziska Von Karma—no, Edgeworth. All inner conflicts that caused her to feel foolish for dreaming about this day faded away. She didn’t feel foolish or weak for loving someone.
When they parted, Franziska smiled in her more cocky manner.
“I can think of a few ladies who would die to have one kiss form you,” Franziska broke the silence. Miles raised an eyebrow.
Perhaps Gumshoe was right… Maybe I do seem to inspire a frothing desire from the female masses…“Well, Franziska, would you have died to get one kiss from me, as well?” Miles inquired mischievously.
“No. I’d rather live to enjoy it,” Franziska answered. They kissed again.
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Sorry to copy a line from the game. I should probably include this first, hold on:
Disclaimer: I do not own PW, Capcom, or anything relating to video games and their characters. I took one of Capcom's funniest lines in the game and used it in my work. I did not make that line up.
Anyway, I can just imagine Miles saying something like that... I thought it was kinda funny.
Hopefully you enjoyed the humor and romance in this chapter! One more to go!
Last edited by Caelestis on Sun May 11, 2008 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.