Court Records

Hey ya'll! This is my first fanfic for this site, so I hope you enjoy it!
I had read other people's fanfics for Fran/Miles pairing (If I remember their usernames, I'll name them here) and those gave me an idea. This might take maybe four chapters, depending on how much I expand.
I know Miles/Fran isn't a very popular pairing, so if you really don't like this pairing, I don't really want bashing...

Also, there will be throughout the story very slight spoilers for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice for All and Trials & Tribulations
I don't know exact specifics, but there will definitely be extremely little spoilers for (maybe) 1-4, and defenitely 2-4, and 3-5 (unfortunately, they are pretty much the endings, except 2-4 is an event). Basically, if you haven't done all the games (except AJ), I'd be cautious while reading. They're very little, though.

My writing isn't the greatest, so forgive me! It might be sorta choppy.

Title: When the Wall Crumbles
Author: Caelestis (me!)
Rating: PG (if swearing, extremely mild and rare)
Genre: Romantic/Slightly Drama
Status: Completed; all six chapters!
Pairing: Franziska/Miles (Iris/Phoenix is slightly implied)
Summary: Franziska has had feelings for Miles, but because she doesn't know how to express them, she always puts up a wall to protect her pride and herself. But what would happen to that wall if she knew that Miles felt the same way? ((I know, it sounds cheesy!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Franziska sat by herself in a booth at Tres Bien. It was finally the end of what seemed like a case of a century. The food wasn't only terrible, but now that Phoenix and his "entourage" were here (which included dispicable, wimpy Larry), the party started to heat up. The prosecution had truly "lost"; after all, what's a worse loss than the prosecutor himself being convicted of the murder? But that's not what bothered Franziska. She remembered how foolish she felt when Miles asked –no, begged– her to prosecute for the first day. She thought she would be up against Phoenix Wright, but Miles had to challenge her heart when he arrived as the defense. Franziska remembered hesitating at the court, but her wall that protected her pride and emotions came rather easily and she could put up a cold front to him; she was able to treat him like any other sniveling attorney.

Fran remembered when she finally was able to admit to herself her "crush" on Miles. It was sometime in her teens. At first, she thought she liked him because of his confidence in court, but it wasn't just that. Miles was the only one who helped her when nobody else would. Even though she had treated him like dirt all these years, he still had enough hope to smile...
She didn't want to think of the past. Wasn't she supposed to be Franziska von Karma; daughter of the best prosecutor; a genius; and a cold, emotionless person?

"Franziska?" Fran turned her head to see who was breaking her thoughts. Miles Edgeworth. His concerned face surprised her. "You're spacing out." Franziska's fingers stiffened and she looked out the window.
"I just don't like big parties," Fran replied. Her wall came up to protect her before Miles could see the core. Miles rolled his eyes and slid into the booth opposite her.
"I know the food's terrible, but that's no reason to not enjoy yourself," Miles said, his mouth crinkling to a smile. Franziska made the mistake of locking eyes. She felt her wall slowly being taken apart. She remembered those eyes and that smile... they'd never changed since the day she met him.
Oh, "gods" of love, why do you torture me so!? Franziska thought.
"...Like I said, not a big party fan," Fran answered, trying to find a response. Miles shrugged his shoulders when he didn't have a reply. Quite suddenly, however, he leaned in closer to her.

"Did I ever thank you for prosecuting that one day?" he whispered. Franziska felt her stomach tie in knots. Fran wished she could find something nicer to say, but she was never truly taught the ways of sincerity. She even always hesitated before using her whip on him; everytime she did, a small part of her always regretted doing it.
"Well, it wasn't a problem, really. Just... warn me next time that you'll be the one defending," Fran said, trying to make her voice lighter. She realized her mistake; she made it sound like Miles tripped her up, not just any other defense.

Either Miles didn't notice, or didn't care. He leaned back into his seat as Fran mentally sighed in relief.
"I was hesitant to have you be the prosecution, actually," Miles admitted. He glanced towards the party action. Someone dared Larry to drink ten cups of the Tres Bien special coffee without throwing up, and he was actually trying. It was quite amusing, but the two quickly got back to their discussion.
Fran knitted her eyebrows.

"Why?" she asked. Miles closed his eyes for a second then answered.
"I was afraid that you despised me so much, you'd reveal my, erm, "true identity", as it were," Miles explained.
Ack! I don't despise you! I lo— Franziska stopped her thought train at that moment before she'd verbally say something she'd gravely regret.
"Maybe because of your little "truth speech" last year, I decided I wanted to know the truth, too," Franziska responded.
Hah! That's only the half of it! You know the true reason you didn't say anything!
Shut up!

"You mean, you finally understand what I was talking about?" Miles asked, his smile growing every so slightly bigger. Fran felt her pride kick in.
"Well... I mean, I at least saw that you wanted to know the "truth". I decided to play along, I suppose," Fran reworded, feeling unsure of herself. She couldn't help but notice Miles's eyes fall a little, in slight disappointment.

Look what you did! You disappointed him!
I don't care
That's the problem. You DO care!
Fran hated arguing with herself, but lately she'd been doing it a lot.
She glanced at her watch and was both relieved and despaired that she'd have to leave to be packed and on time for her plane to Germany. Part of her wanted to bolt out of the restraunt as fast as she could, but another part of her wanted to stay with Miles.

"Well, Miles Edgeworth. I must leave soon; any last words before I depart?" Fran asked with a little humor, standing up. Miles's face lit up with some humor as well.
Uh-oh...

"Yes. Do me a favor and say "good job" to Wright," Miles asked. Franziska's muscles tensed and she gave the coldest scowl she could muster. "And without whipping him, please," he added. Franziska turned her back on him with a huff and decided to meet this "last request".

"Phoenix Wright!" she called out through the bustle of the party. Apparently, Larry had won the dare, but was now moving on to eating seven cups of Tres Bien's lobster bisque... if you could even call it that. Phoenix, however, heard Fran's calling among the rumble of the party. He walked up to her, his face full of confusion.
"Y-yes, Franziska?" he asked. Fran took a deep breath. Was she seriously doing this?
"I'm leaving and I just wanted to say "good job". You're a good attorney, Phoenix Wright," Fran blurted. More confusion lit up Phoenix's face. Fran ignored the stifling chuckles from Miles and resisted the urge to use her whip. She felt her wall being reinforced. "B-but someday, I will find a way to defeat you in court," she added, without its usual 'umph'.
"Thanks," Phoenix replied when he found his voice.
"W-what?" Franziska automatically replied, rather lamely. She expected him to laugh, but he was absolutely serious. It even stopped Miles from chuckling.
"I said 'thanks', you know, for the compliment. Well, I guess this is good-bye, Franziska. Good luck in Germany," Phoenix reitereated. Fran found herself at a loss for words. Once again, her wall was falling faster than she could rebuild.
"Not that she'll need it," Miles responded from behind. Franziska thought she felt her heart stop as he patted her back. Fran forced herself to give cordial, yet cold, good-byes. But before she could leave, everyone else discovered she was departing.

"Bye, Franziska!"
"Bye-bye, Ms. von Karma. Be good!"
"Hey, are you ever going to pose for my—" (Larry got a face full of whip) "Is that a yes?" (more whipping)
"Good luck in Germany, Ms. von Karma!"
"Until we meet again," Miles said. Franziska bit her lip and left the restraunt. Those words made her stomach drop as far as the victim did and she hated the feeling. Her wall had almost revealed her core and she needed to escape before Miles noticed.

"So, what's up between you and Franziska, hmm?" Phoenix said jokingly, sliding into Fran's old spot. However, he got a different reaction than he expected; Miles's face was red. "Uh, Edgeworth? I was kidding," Phoenix added.
"Oh. Right," Miles replied, trying to cool his flushing. Nick peered at him closely.
"Are you seriously—"
"Wright," Miles looked up, his face slightly angry. "Don't bring it up." Nick waved his hands as if to defend himself.
"Sorry. Guess I hit a nerve..."
"Besides, I should be asking the same about you and Iris. Last I checked, she still cared about you. And I have evidence that you still do as well..." Miles responded, humor returning. Phoenix crossed his arms as his face started blushing.
"Eh heh heh, you're funny, Edgeworth," Phoenix answered. Miles leaned back comfortably in his seat.
"Just stating what I see... just stating what I see..." Miles murmured. Nick decided to go on the attack.

"So, seriously, what's up with you and Franziska?" Phoenix asked. Miles's face became serious again.
"Look, I care about her. Is that a crime?" Miles replied defensively.
"No, but how much do you care? Enough to buy a ring?" Phoenix asked slyly. He got the reaction he hoped for; Miles put his face down on the table and his face was redder than than Tres Bien's not-usually-fresh tomatoes.
"Wright..."
"I mean, she just walked out the door! Why didn't you ask her then?" Nick continued.
"...not ready," Miles mumbled. Phoenix raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" Miles heaved a sigh before answering.
"I've known Franziska since I was about eleven. She always comes out seeming like she has a "hard shell", but I've seen her at her weakest. Still, she always seems to stive to be stronger, even when her priorities have changed. I know that if I teach her what I had to learn about prosecuting, she could become a strong woman that I would admire. Then I'd probably "buy a ring" as you call it," Miles spewed. Phoenix knew that Miles wouldn't unleash this flurry of emotions without fully trusting him. Nick actually felt "honored" of being his confidant.
"But what if she isn't like you thought she is after she learns that lesson? It's not that easy to change a person," Phoenix questioned. Miles thought for a moment.
"I'm not 'changing' herself completely; I'm hoping to have her change her "priorities". Her father taught her and me that the only thing worth fighting for in a court of law is a "guilty" verdict. But I want her to understand that what's truly important is finding the truth... no matter what the verdict is," Miles explained.
"How are you hoping to accomplish this? Like I said, she's leaving for Germany as we speak!" Nick asked, concerned that for once in Miles's life, he wasn't thinking things through.
"After I finish up here, I'm leaving for Germany in a couple of months," Miles responded. Nick nodded.
"Fine, but isn't this plan of yours a type of "manipulation"?" Nick asked, knitting his eyebrows together. Miles's eyes grew wide for a second but then he replied.
"If it was manipulation, then my goal would be strictly selfish. To be honest, even if she hates me afterward, I want her to understand the truth so that she can live with herself," Miles explained. Phoenix's eyes widened in confusion.
"So if she does hate you after all this is done...?"
"Then I will still have completed my objective. Like I said, I care about Franziska. If that means leaving her life to give her peace, then so be it," Miles sighed and looked out the window, his eyes growing sad. "But I'm not going to miss my chance to be a part of her life."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There! Chapter One completed! I'll hopefully post more chapters if I get response (I'd rather not double post...)
Sorry for the "arguing with myself" thing with Franziska; but you'll be seeing it a bit. More of her conflicting emotions will be developed and explained in the next, if not the third, chapter.

Thanks for reading!

*sigh* Oh well, hopefully no one will be too mad at me for double posting Sorry ya'll

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Two weeks later...

When Franziska arrived back at Germany, she wanted to be put back to work immediately. She didn't think twice about the cases she was prosecuting. It was until she was assigned a rather contradictory, if not "corrupted", murder case that she remembered Edgeworth's words.

The case seemed easy enough; Mr. Karl Sharz had been stabbed with a kitchen knife, the fingerprints belonging to his wife, Mary Sharz. The motive? Karl was having an affair with the witness to the crime, Laura Hans. Mary found out and killed him out of passion. Laura testified that she walked into the house seeing Mary holding the knife and had blood all over her. Never mind the fact that the stab wound was done by a right-handed person (Mary was left-handed); never mind that a piece of hair belonging to Laura was found by the victim; and who really cared that other than the knife, there was no other incriminating evidence pointing towards Mary? The prosecution office assigned Franziska the case, knowing fully well what the verdict was going to be with her being the prosecutor. Karl Sharz and Laura Hans both were in the same sector of the police force, which was where they fell in love. They were well known for doing their job efficiently and well, so the police force wanted this case to be solved quickly and without any humiliation. The case was biased and corrupted from the start, but to Franziska, it was simply another case to add to her slightly dented record.

Laura Hans was completely complacent. She knew the right words and testimony to say without Franziska having to push her in the "right" direction; a perfect witness. The defense couldn't have been more "perfect"; in Karl's will, he left almost all of his money to Laura. Mary was left with an apathetic defense lawyer, Mr. Gaffners. He was in no way as passionate about his job as detestable Phoenix Wright.

Franziska had time to "forget" about Miles when she arrived back from America; she was so swamped with work, there was no time to be thinking about him. However, when she received this case, his words would not leave her.

We prosecutors don't fight for pride or honor...
I hope you'll think deeply...
What you should be striking down with that whip...

The night before the trial, Fran's mind would not stop thinking about those piercing words. She tried looking through the case notes again and again, hoping it would calm her emotions and help reassure herself about the trial. All it did was make her more uneasy...
Is it right to make someone who's obviously innocent be declared guilty?
Why are there prosecutors and attorneys? Is it just a game? A game where the ending decides an oblivious human's life?
Where the heck are these thoughts coming from!?

Franziska tried Plan B to keep her nerves from fully unravaling; she began to pace. Maybe the calculated steps would help her mind escape from human emotions.
No good; her mind started imagining she was walking a tight rope; one fatal drop was a prosecution failure, the other was a scream of a dying innocent.

Plan C... What would her papa say in a situation such as this?
"Failure is not an option! A court is a battle of wits, with your honor on the line!" she could hear her father's words echo easily in her ears. However, Miles's words also appeared again.

Prosecutors do not fight for pride or honor...

Franziska went to her bedroom and grabbed at a box underneath the bed. It was a box she had kept since she was younger. Miles had bought a camera one day, secretly, and started taking pictures. Papa was away on some business trip. Franziska remembered how angry she was that day. She was around eleven years old and Miles decided to annoy her by taking pictures while she was studying.

"Aren't you old enough to know better!? Foolish fool!" she screamed at him, not caring how rediculous she sounded. Miles rolled his eyes and continued snapping photos. Her sister was downstairs, oblivious to the mayhem upstairs.
"Someday, you'll thank me for this," Miles said as he dodged her attempts to steal the camera. The next day, Miles left the developed photos on his desk. The camera was gone, and Fran decided to pay him back by stealing the pictures; he didn't even seem to notice. Instead of burning the photos, like she originally planned to, Franziska kept them in a box underneath her bed, hidden from existence. Perhaps Miles knew the whole time what she was going to do. She took the box with her when she moved from the von Karma mansion to her apartment. Fran glanced at the pictures from time to time, but she though that being swallowed with too many emotions would hamper her, so Franziska looked at them less often. However, the last time Franziska had looked at these pictures was a year ago when she returned to Germany after the Engarde case.

The pictures were rather silly; most of them, Fran's face was crimson with anger and Miles had taken some shots where he was next to Franziska. She put the pictures back in the box. These very pictures... she couldn't help but smile just a little as she leafed through them. Yet at the same time, she was having troulbe fully seperating herself from Miles while these pictures were in her possession. The memories between them... she knew they needed to end. Fran knew she had to forget about him, otherwise it would cost her her win in court tomorrow. But was she willing to leave behind the memories?

Fran dropped the box on her coffee table where court documents were strewn. Franziska realized that she was "greedy" for more memories; she wanted to be able to have more memories of her times with Miles.
Why should I care about this? Just throw those pictures into the fire!
You care because of how you feel about him...
Emotions will only hamper you! You don't need them
You're only human...

Franziska was able to block this mental fight for a moment to read the court files once again. She wasn't acutally concentrating on its contents, but perhaps if she tried hard enough, she could distract herself from the photos. However, seeing the transcripts again only brought more thoughts.
What did Miles say? Are you really going to prove an innocent guilty for some record?
But what did Papa say? Aren't you going to uplift the von Karma tradition?
You've already broken it...

Franziska stood up in anger and kicked her bookself. She muffled her exclamation of pain and profanity as she saw a book that dropped on the floor; Wisdom and Quotes through the Ages. Franziska had received this book as a gift from one of the prosecutors for Christmas; she didn't remember who, not that it mattered. Fran flipped through the pages and one quote struck at her.

The truth will set you free

Franziska immediately shut the book and placed it back on the self with slight annoyance. There was no need to be reminded of that.
"That's it!" she spoke aloud. She set a fire in her fireplace, something she didn't do often, and lifted the box of photos. Fran stood near the glaring fire.
Throw it away! Throw it all away!
Do you really want to strip yourself away from those memories?
It's about time you totally forgot about him!
But didn't he make you feel happy to be living, for once in your life?
If you allow yourself to keep those memories, it will result in more pain
But isn't it just as painful to leave them behind?
It will only hamper you from accomplishing your goals
You wanted to create more memories...
The truth will set you free... what is the truth? How do you truly feel?

Franziska dropped the box—unto the carpet. Instead, she took her carefully planned tactics to assure her of a "guilty" verdict and threw those into the fire.

"Miles, I cannot be with you. But I will at least do one last thing—in memory of you. I'll prove that I've been listening this whole time. Then," Fran lifted the box and shoved it under her bed. "I'll leave you behind forever."



The Next day...

"The prosecution would like to call its decisive witness, Ms. Laura Hans," Franziska gripped her whip tightly. Was this how Miles felt, when he realized he was going help the defense? Even though she threw away her plans, Franziska knew exactly what Laura was going to say.

"I was going to Karl's home to check up on him. He phoned me and told me that his wife wasn't going to be home for awhile, so we decided to meet. Apparently, he was wrong, because when I walked into the threshold, I saw Mary in the kitchen with a bloody knife in her hand and her dead husband on the floor. Naturally, I closed the door and called the police," Laura said. It was absolutely perfect. As long as the defense didn't object, then her testimony would be proven as fact and Mary Sharz would be guily of second degree murder. Franziska had already seen the contradictions she had purposefully covered up. She expected the defense to find them immediately; maybe if Mr. Gaffners found the contradictions, she wouldn't have to worry about pointing them out herself. But Mr. Gaffners was ignorant of them; he asked extremely generic questions to show that he at least tried to protect his client.

"How were you able to open the door?"
"Karl had given me the key to his door when we started our affair," Laura answered coolly. Fran could almost hear Phoenix Wright mentioning the possibility that Laura murdered Karl. But Mr. Gaffners said nothing of the sort. For once, Franziska hated the silence from the defense.

Fran then did something she thought she would never do in her prosecution career; she whipped her witness for being too "perfect".

"There is a counter that blocks your line of vision, so you couldn't have seen the crime scene without walking in the door. Further more, bloody footprints matching your shoes were found in the scene of the crime. Are you truthful in telling the court that you did indeed not walk through the threshold?" Franziska said, way too quickly. She could feel her breath coming in too fast. Perhaps fainting could do wonders to her health...

Laura made a face that most likely meant "What the hell are you talking about!?"
Fran used her whip again, on the table, though.

"Laura Hans, tell the court the truth. What truly happened?" Franziska shouted before her killer prosecution instincts prevented her. There was an uproar in the courtroom. Police officials looked shocked. Fran knew she was protected; the prosectution office would protect her from being conveniantely fired.

"Ms. von Karma, I have no idea what you're talking about," Laura said when she regained her composure. "I thought you understood that."
"Er... Ms. Hans, Ms. von Karma does indeed raise a good point; can you explain these footprints and seeing the scene of the crime?" the judge asked rather uncertainly. Franziska grabbed the table fiercely. She couldn't believe she was doing this; once again, Miles had convinced her to do something without her resisting the request. Was this weakness? Maybe she should stop this maddness before she'd regret this decision...

The question isn't whether this is weakness... the question is rather what you're doing is right...

Franziska whipped the witness stand.
"I'm tired of the lies. This court and I only want one thing: the truth," Fran said, her voice getting stronger. There was a certain strength she was gaining that she never felt before. It was a strength... a freedom... from guilt. She was free from the bondages of her papa and his words and free from feeling guilty. Fran never realized until this point just how much she hated seeing the faces of innocent people being stuck in a place they didn't deserve to go to, while the real murderers were set free. She hid these guilty feelings with pride of winning another case.

This must be how Adrian felt...
But aren't you bondaging yourself to Miles's words?
No, because I've discovered my own truth

"But Ms. von Karma—"
"Laura Hans, if you won't supply us with the truth, then I'll give evidence of what occured," Franziska interrupted. Laura never confessed to Fran that she killed Karl, but with all the evidence, it was obvious who was the real murderer.
Laura was speechless for a moment. She then finally confessed.
Apparently, Laura had been using their relationship as a stepping block to get what she really wanted. Karl found out and wanted to end the affair; he told her that when she arrived at his home. It was a crime of passion. After the deed was done, she left the knife in the body, swiped it of fingerprints, and went out the back door. Mary arrived at the crime scene and lifted the knife. Laura saw this as an oppurtunity to pin the crime on her. Fran didn't really care about the details. Many newsreporters tried to get her to explain her behavior. She only said one thing:
"The truth had to be known."

That night, Fran found herself in the same situation as the night before; she held the box of photos in her hand in front of the blazing fire.
"Good bye, Miles," she thought. Unconciously, small tears started to fall. Fran tried to wipe them away. Why did this damn problem have to be some kind of sick ritual? It should have already been done and dealt with. Franziska threw the box on the table in anger and went to bed. She was exhausted from the interviews and the day's events. Tomorrow, she'd throw the box away, she promised...



8:00 pm in Los Angelas

Miles sat down on his couch in his apartment. Cases seemed to be flying out of control and he was waiting for a lull in the onslaught. So far, there seemed to be no end. How long would Franziska wait? How long could he wait? It wasn't being with her that he was concerned about; it was teaching her the "truth". Still, a part of him was worried about having to leave her if she truly wanted it that way...

He was about to get ready for bed when his cell phone rang. Phoenix Wright; figures, he'd find out about his win in the trial. He was ready to explain to Wright that the defendant was very obviously guilty. Miles picked it up anyways.

"Yes, Wright?" Miles asked tiredly.
"Edgeworth! Turn on the news! Hurry!" Phoenix was yelling in the phone. Miles put the phone away from his ear.
"Fine, fine. What's so special—" Miles turned on his television, which was already on the news.

"The famous, young German prosecutor, Franziska von Karma, acted very strangely in court today. She made her own witness admit her guilt in the killing of Mr. Karl Sharz. When asked about her behavior in court, she only gave a few words."
Franziska was on the screen, slightly shaken, and saying her words in German. A translator was provided at the bottom of the screen. But Miles knew enough German to know what she said.
"The truth had to be known."

"Well, Edgeworth?" Phoenix slightly snickered. Miles was at a loss of words.
"I... I can't believe it. She..." Miles choked.
"So, what are y—"
"Wright, do me a favor. Call the Prosecution Office and tell them that I won't be there for a few days," Edgeworth said, bolting to his room.
"B-but Edgeworth, why can't you just do that yourself? Edgeworth? What are you do—" Phoenix tried to speak, but was interrupted by Miles.
"Because I need to contact my pilot to get me to Germany. Besides, I need to pack my bags and—" Miles sputtered.
"Slow down, Edgeworth. You can't possibly expect to get there now, do you?"
"Did you forget that I have a private jet? Now, I need to talk to my pilot. Remember to make that call, Wright!" Miles hung up before he heard anymore of Nick's complaints. He called his pilot as he packed few supplies. He had no idea how long he was going to be in Germany, but he needed to get there as soon as possible.

Franziska... have you really understood what I was saying?

His pilot said he could get ready around 9:30 or 10-o-clock. However, they would have to make some stops along the way for refueling. Miles groaned at the inconvenience, but accepted. However, there was one last preperation before he could leave...



6:15 am in Frankfurt, Germany

Franziska woke up to her cell phone. She tried forcing her eyes to open, but her vision was still slightly blurry. She picked up her phone; was she reading the caller ID correctly? Did it really say "Miles Edgeworth"? Fran took the call anyways.

"Franziska von Karma," she said automatically.
"Franziska! I saw the news," Miles exclaimed. This immediately jumpstarted her. He saw what!?
"Oh. Yes," she replied.
"Can... can you wait?" Miles asked. Fran's eyebrows shot up.
"Of course," she said quickly.
"I need to go. I'll see you." He hung up. Franziska groaned; why didn't she ask what she had to wait for!? She then realized why...
She believed for a moment that he meant he was coming to see her. Wasn't that idiotic? Foolish dreams of a foolish girl, that's what it was!

Franziska clenched her fists and went to the Prosecution Office, leaving the box of photos untouched.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some comments? I know it's not good, I'm truly sorry about that.
After this, I'll have some better one-shots. I already have some ideas in the works...

I like it great story!

I like it, as it kind of works it's way up - the self conflict makes Fransizka seem real, instead of a robot (for once).

Phoenix and Maya Fan wrote:I like it great story!

Thank you for responding! It's people like you that make me feel a little more confident in my writing!

MeiHitokiri wrote:I like it, as it kind of works it's way up - the self conflict makes Fransizka seem real, instead of a robot (for once).

I'm glad you feel that way! I always thought trying to get into Franziska's mind would be interesting. I've always imagined her trying to fight her father's words against another person she's always respected (if not loved); Miles Edgeworth. She also seems to be the type of person that's really hard on herself for daring to dream and hope, which I can actually sorta relate to, so it comes slightly more natural. I think I've made Edgeworth slightly out of character (as in, too romantic), but I'm trying to get his character to be more caring and not necessarily romantic. Hopefully that's how it came out if you read his dialogue with Phoenix in the first chapter.

I can understand why people don't think their relationship could work, I agree that it's probably not really canon. But all the same, I've always thought that they're the only two people in the (PW) world that could stand each other (I'm not including yaoi relationships, BTW. I don't support those ((no offense!!)) that's why). And I also like to imagine how a romance between two people, inexperienced in love and who come across as "emotionless", would come together.

Anyway, when I have more time, I'll post more. I'll probably edit, since I shouldn't be double-posting, but if someone responds, then I'll just make another post (hint hint... lol )

Thanks for the comments!

So whens the new chapter I can't wait!

I'm thinking of editing a little on my first two chapters. Nothing major, just a little flowing and explanation type of thing. You might not even notice the changes...

Anyway, I decided to have this chapter focus more on Miles, since I haven't developed his character that well and feel like I should. Hope you enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Many hours into Miles's plane ride...

Miles couldn't contain his nervousness. He tried sleeping, but he couldn't get any rest. While grabbing randomly for supplies for the trip, he accidentally brought with him some romantic book a female collegue had given him (probably as a "hint", he thought bitterly), which did not help his thoughts at all. He tried going through his "plan" one more time, trying to make himself more confident.

1. See if she's really learned the "truth"
2. See what her feelings are
3. Ask her...

It was the last part that was worrying him. He couldn't even finish the thought of it.

"Edgeworth" and "love" barely fell into the same sentence, unless a negative word was inserted there somewhere. It was so strange how one, young girl that he'd known since he was ten could change that so quickly. He always felt protective over her, and he supposed that he wanted to continue that. The worst part about leaving for America for his first trial that one day was leaving her behind. He'd been there for her all those years, trying to protect and help her. Then he left, leaving her to fend against her father and his teachings on her own. But it wasn't like Miles realized this right away; after all, he, too, was brainwashed by Manfred's teachings. He remembered how he thought about Franziska when he was in his mid-teens.

She's been taught that emotions are worthless and selfishness should be glorified. I just want her to be "human" for once...

Miles chuckled. He did not realize how "wise" he had been at that age. For it would only be a couple of years later that he'd be in the same boat as Franziska.

Franziska was always an interesting character. She seemed to be inherently strong, but at the same time, protected herself from the world around her by some 'wall'. As a young, yet ignorant, boy, Miles never knew that Franziska could be weak until the day that she finally showed it.

Miles was thirteen while Franziska was 6 years old. Her sister and father had left the house for one reason or another; Miles couldn't remember clearly why Manfred von Karma left a young girl in his care. Franziska was reading her father's past cases in the downstairs library while Miles was trying to focus on studying law books in his room. There was a sudden clamor downstairs. Miles tensed and opened his door, trying to find the source of the sound. He suddenly was worried about Franziska.
He quickly fled down the stairs and stopped himself before he could be seen; there were two robbers in the fancy dining room, which was connected to the library through a door. Miles carefully crept up to this door and went in before the robbers could see him. He shouldn't have been surprised; after all, Manfred was well-known and rich. It would be matter of time before an idiot would try to steal from the house. They were idiots because they didn't realize that the Von Karma's had an exclusive security team that could be contacted by phone.
Miles simply phoned their security team, which would come promptly. He then tried to find Franziska. He finally did find her; she was behind a big chair and was hiding her face from view. When Miles tried to get closer, she kept hiding herself from him. There was slight wimpering; Miles surmised that she was crying.
"Franziska? Don't worry; the police is going to get them soon. I just called them," Miles tried reassuring her. Franziska didn't move. He tried to lay a hand on her, but she smacked it away. Miles bit his tongue and tried to think of something that would make her open up.
"Franziska, look at me. I promise I won't make fun of you," Miles decided to say. After all, the one time Franziska had rocked the dining room table and Miles became very pale, Fran didn't pass up the opportunity to scorn at him.
She finally turned around. Her face was awfully swollen and red. She looked like...
A normal, scared, 6-year-old
Miles tried putting his arm around her shoulders and she surprisingly offered no resistance. Franziska said nothing and neither did Miles as they waited for the police to come...

Thinking back on it now, Miles realized that it was the first time he saw that Franziska was very capable of being human. Miles sighed at the memory and leaned back. Sure, she seemed to only "look" strong, but at the same time, she still inherently had a strength—a perseverence—in her life. Many only saw her blunt, hard shell. A selected few saw her when she was at her weakest. But only Miles could see her persistance. She was always striving to improve; it used to be she'd improve to be perfect in court, but now it looked like she was improving as a person, as well...

One thing was bothering Miles. It was Wright's comment.

"But isn't that a form of manipulation?"

Miles couldn't see what he meant at first, but now he understood what Phoenix was driving at. Franziska had already been selfishly manipulated by her father, forcing her to be reliant on his words and teachings. Was Miles any better in forcing her to change?

But yet he convinced himself that he had justification. He cared about her; he wanted her to live her life while being at peace with herself. He loved her enough to do that. Miles chuckled.

When you think about it hard enough, a lot of actions, good and bad, are done because of selfishness.
Is love selfish? You want someone to be only yours... you want that person to be happy so that you can feel happy with yourself... you believe that person would be happy only with you...
But yet all of these actions result in good things...
Even people that do good things in life keep going because it makes them feel good that they're helping other people
Maybe in order to live our life and help everyone else, there needs to be a little selfishness in our hearts; a force that makes us want to do good.
Perhaps selfishness is like confidence; too much hurts everyone else and too little hurts yourself... which, if thought through in the long run, could be detrimental to others...

Miles felt reasurred that Fran didn't mind speaking the truth. It was so subtle, but Miles remembered her face as she spoke to the reporters. She was visibly shaken up and anxious, but at the same time... there seemed to be a calmness around her. The confidence in her speech was different from her prideful conversations. She seemed like for once she was confident in her actions. Of course, Franziska was always brimming with confidence whenever she was in court; you could practically smell it. But this confidence was stronger, and not so... what was the word he was looking for... Forced. One thing that was interesting was that Fran was actually willing to change... without Miles being there to tell her to.

What is true strength? Holding onto your ideas, no matter what anyone else thinks, until the end? Or being willing to change your ideas?

Miles realized he couldn't respond to that question with an all-or-nothing answer.

He took out a granola bar and started chewing on it thoughtfully. Questions and concerns wouldn't leave his mind.

Why do you love Franziska?
She's persistant and confident. She speaks her mind and knows what she's talking about. I've... grown to care about her.
But what makes you think she loves you?

Miles found that he couldn't answer. After all, she repeatedly said she "hated" him. But that seemed like just a cover-up. However, he still didn't know for sure her feelings for him. It would be interesting to see how two, seemingly cold people could come together...

He took out one of the magazines the jet provided and leafed through them. At least it was better than reading a romance chick book. It was just absolutely vexing to have to skip pages that simply detailed scenes he would rather not have mental images of. As he looked through the magazines, a certain page suddenly jumpstarted his thinking. True, when it came to romance, Miles was left in the dark. But he knew someone who knew more than he did... and that wouldn't judge him about it.

Miles used the phone provided in front of him (It cost extra money, but it was one call. And it wasn't like Miles didn't have money to use). The pilot would complain about the use of cell phones while the plane was in the air. He dialed Phoenix Wright.

"Hello?" a tired voice spoke on the other line. Miles forgot that it was probably around 6 in the morning in Los Angelas.
"Wright, this is Edgeworth. Did you call the Prosecution Office?" Miles asked quickly. There was a slight silence on the other line
"...what...? Oh! Yeah, some guy was working late, I guess. At first, he thought that I was trying to one-up you or something, since technically we're enemies in court," Phoenix reminded him. Miles sighed; he forgot that the office would probably be very suspicious. "But I finally told him that he could go and check your house himself. Well, I guess he was too lazy and decided to believe me. But please, next time I have to call your office, please let them know that I'll tell the truth," Phoenix said, slightly bitter. Miles stifled his chuckles.
"By the way, have you told anyone... what I'm doing?" Miles asked seriously. Phoenix was quiet again. Oh no...
"Maya was pressuring me to explain why I was so intent on calling you when we saw the news. I tried saying that you had a right to know, but then she wanted to know why you were leaving for Germany. I think you can guess that I would have rather faced your wrath over the phone than her Samurai Kicks," Phoenix replied sheephishly. Miles rolled his eyes.
"Fine, fine. I don't care. Just as long as no one else knows until... well... until I ask her and know for sure," Miles said quickly.
"By the way, what time are you arriving there?" Nick asked curiously.
"According to my pilot, probably around 18 or 19-o-clock in Germany's time," Miles said carelessly.
"...Um, are we speaking in normal seconds, minutes, and hours?" Nick asked, oblivious to 24-hour clock. Miles groaned.
"Do the math, Wright! That's around 6 or 7 pm. Which would probably be around noon for you. Got that?" Miles said, slightly exasperated.
"Are you going to ask her tonight, then?" Phoenix continued, ignoring Miles's comments.
"...I guess," Miles finally admitted. "Wait, that reminds me, I need you to do me a favor and make another call."
"Again!?" Phoenix complained. Miles narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. Now, listen up..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed that little philosophy thing there! It wasn't too cliche, I pray? Anyway, the next chapter is going to focus on Franziska again, then the one after that will probably be the last one (depending on how much I elaborate; there could be six chapters). Comments (and dare I say criticizm?) are appreciated! I need major improvement!

Great story so far can't wait for the next chapter!

Good work! They're awesome!

You guys are all too kind! I should probably get the next chapter up as I'm going to be very very busy this week and will probably not be on this site until the weekend!
Oh, by the way, if you've always hated how Franziska called you a fool... this is payback; she's gonna be calling herself a fool a little bit, lol Isn't revenge just so dang sweet...?

Also, to give you some time references, this scene is going to encompass what's happening to Franziska before, during, & after Miles's scene. Hope that isn't too confusing. You'll probably understand the layout of times easier as you read it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



9:00 am in Frankfurt

Franziska almost didn't go to the office. Almost. She tried phoning Miles again and again, hoping to get the courage to ask for the specifics she foolishly didn't question. However, each time she called, his phone was busy, like he was talking to someone else... or he turned off his phone, she thought with great acerbity. Besides, Fran didn't know what would be waiting for her at the office. She was confident that they wouldn't boot her out the door, at least; they people at the prosecutor's office weren't that cruel. But that didn't mean she'd receive the same respect that she had grown so used to... The police would definetly not support her as much as they did before. She was used to incompetent police officers; Gumshoe's silly giggling face came to mind. But that didn't mean she liked it. Maybe things would not be as bad as she imagined they would be after her behavior in court... but even if they were, Franziska strangely felt no regret.

Perhaps it was a sort of "natural" pride; she knew what she did was right. And if everyone else didn't agree, she couldn't care less.

At least one person would be on your side...
Fran immediately threw these thoughts away.

She had fallen asleep again at one point, but decided that if she waited around, it wouldn't do any more good to her reputation, so Franziska prepared herself and left for work, not forgetting the whip. As she passed the living room, she noticed the box of photos.

Should I throw them away at the next available dumpster?
Not until you know what Miles is doing...

Somehow, this was a good enough arguement for her "prideful" side, so she kept walking out the door. Franziska hailed a taxi and was given one promptly. Even though she did not feel like talking, the taxi driver did.

"I saw you in court yesterday," he mentioned. Franziska made a lazy nod and looked away. "Just wanted to say 'congratulations'," he broke the silence again. Fran suddenly snapped her head and faced him.
"Con-congratulations...?" she asked, slightly shocked. He nodded smartly.
"Of course. You helped that poor defendant better than her dead-beat attorney. That takes guts, and I respect that," the driver explained. Franziska sat there speechless for a moment. She then broke into a rare, tiny smile.
"Thank you. I appreciate it."



At the office, she was greeted no differently than normal. Some of the weaker people still shied away from her wrath and whip, while the other more courageous ones made formal greetings. Her secretary, Tanya van Corre, had the paperwork necessary from the last trial alredy prepared for Franziska to read-through and sign. Franziska liked Tanya; she was quick, effiecient, and out-of-the-way. She did what she needed to and wouldn't take up any more of Fran's time than necessary. She would also often give Franziska tea, usually a special brew, which was an added treat. Tanya made office work ten times more bearable.

Franziska seated herself at her desk and Tanya delievered the numerous reports.

"Have they issued any new cases for me?" Franziska asked. Tanya flipped through some papers and shook her head.
"No, not yet. It looks like all of the present cases have already been assigned. Unless one of the prosecutors is unable to fufill their duty... well, let's just say that right now, you're probably going to be free for the week," Tanya said, smiling a little. Fran nodded.
"That's good. There are some certain... things that I need to catch up on," she answered. Tanya nodded and walked out the room. Fran looked at the pile of papers in front of her. It was going to be a long day...

Franziska soon found it difficult to concentrate. Her thoughts kept going back and forth between the events at court... and Miles.

What do you think he wanted you to wait for?
You don't possibly believe he's coming for you do you!?
Foolish fool! You're making a foolishly foolish fool of yourself!

Fran clenched her hands to fists and bit her tongue.

Concentrate...

She found herself rereading a line countless times, trying to make sense of it. What was she supposed to answer with here? What was she signing for there? Nothing seemd to make sense anymore.

It's like I'm miles from getting anywhere finished with these foolish reports...
He he... Miles... Isn't it too bad you're "miles" away from Miles?

Fran sat straight up. Was that... a girlish giggle her thoughts were construing? Where did that appear from!? Franziska grabbed her whip tightly. Impossible... absolutely, foolishly impossible...

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm down and collect her thoughts. Being this skewed was not normal for her. Franziska got through a couple of pages when more thoughts returned.

Why did you do it?
Why did you listen to Miles? What were you hoping to accomplish?
I needed to surface the truth. Is that a crime? Last I checked, it was more of a crime to cover-up facts!

The scene between the cab driver and her became more apparent. You helped that poor defendant better than her dead-beat attorney. For once, she actually appreciated the compliment. For once, she cared about helping someone out...

If her papa hadn't forced her to become a prosecutor, what she have been instead? An attorney? Or something not even remotely related to law? Franziska never thought about what she would actually do; law was the only thing she knew well. Maybe she would have become a writer... being able to ditcate thoughts in writing without anyone telling you what to write seemed pleasant. She rolled her eyes as she remembered people calling her a "prodigy at prosecution". Papa had to force law down her throat the moment she learned how to read. Maybe she was a "prodigy" at reading... but definetely not law or prosecution. Maybe her father was a prodigy at prosecution... Papa never talked about his past life that much... was he always forced to be so "perfect" as a child? Did he ever face the same challenges as her? Fran's mother had died when Franziska was very very young. After her death, Papa never even mentioned her name. The photos he had of her were more or less destroyed. She remembered hearing him mumble once, "She was my first and last moment of weakness..." Franziska chuckled. The thought of her father in love was highly improbable.

The issue of Manfred von Karma was starting to plauge her thoughts.

He killed Miles's father... What makes you think Miles could ever have the notion to want to be with you!?
Miles is indeed a foolish fool who thinks foolishly if he's going to take past decendents into the "relationship"
But you act... acted... so much like him! You remind Miles of Manfred too much!
.............

Franziska closed her eyes. Maybe it was true; maybe Miles still held a grudge against her for what happened. However, one small little sentence seemed like a small, glimmering light of hope.

...but if that's so, why did Miles believe that you could change?

Franziska suddenly found it easier to breathe. She had no idea why, but that thought alone seemed to make the knots of her stomach untangle a little. Fran tried vainly again to read the reports, but she found it high nigh impossible. She still had too many concerns on her mind to think clearly. A sudden knock on her door made her jump ten feet into the air in surprise. She felt herself come back into reality very quickly.

"Y-yes?" she called out. Tanya walked through the door with a tea set.
"Sorry to disturb you, Ms. Von Karma, but I couldn't help but notice how razzled you look. I hope you don't mind; I made a special brew that's meant to be calming," Tanya answered in a soft voice. Even though she was so complaisent, Tanya still didn't fear Franziska. They both respected and trusted each other; that was enough.
"Ah, thank you, Tanya van Corre. I appreciate it," Franziska replied, her habit of using full names coming on. As Tanya laid the tea on the desk, Fran decided to risk one, pertinent question.

"Tanya, what are the others saying about me?" she asked. Tanya seemed to stiffen ever so slightly. "Don't worry; I won't take my anger out on you if it's bad."
"Well, the police department seemed rather unhappy, but there's been rumors that the head is having some undercover research done at him; the security is smelling "cover-ups" in the investigation and "corrupted power"," Tanya explained. Fran flinched at the word 'corrupt'. "The head of the police department might be kicked out... he could also go on trial, but nothing has been official. The board is reviewing his past cases as we speak," Tanya finished. Franziska nodded. If she was prosecuting his trial... she'd let him have it for all it was worth.

"That's excellant. What about the Head Prosecutor and others?" Franziska asked, taking a deep breath. Tanya shrugged her shoulders.
"A couple of prosecutors that never liked you have tried spreading rumors that because you thought you were going to lose the trial, you wanted to look like you still "won". However, they've been shot down very quickly by other people. Most prosecutors admire your bravery and admit that they would never have the courage to do such a thing. The head prosecutor is... rather proud, I guess you could say. He doesn't seem to care either way; as long as the correct people are in jail, that's all he cares about," Tanya explained. Franziska let out the breath she had inadverntly been holding in. She was glad that she was still respected and on good terms with the head. She felt much more at peace with the happenings at the trial, now that she knew there would be no "consequences". Perhaps the truth did set you free... in more ways than one.

"Thank you, Tanya. You've been a great help to me," Franziska responded. Tanya smiled a little.
"No problem, Ms. Von Karma. I hope the tea helps," Tanya said as she was about to leave. Fran nodded.
"Please, though. Call me Franziska."

The tea actually helped. Fran was able to calm her thoughts while she worked on her report. She was almost done when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID in slight annoyance.
Why the heck is Phoenix Wright calling me...?

"Franziska von Karma. State your business, fool, or I swear, my screams will be just as, if not more, painful than my whip," Franziska answered. There was a slight pause of hesitation at the other line.
"Oh, yeah, um. I need, er, some advice," Phoenix said with obvious uncertainty.
"Advice on what?" Fran asked.
"Well, you remember Iris, right?" Phoenix asked, a little quickly.
"The defendant from that one case? Indeed, I remember her well. She caused me some... inconveniences. She's in jail for consorting, is she not?" Fran questioned.
"Yes, er, you're right. Um, I was thinking, since I knew her... before that case, and, well..."
"Spit it out, Phoenix Wright!" Fran raised her voice a little.
"Y-yes'm! Um, I was going... to ask for her hand, but I need advice on the ring. And since you're a woman, I thought I'd ask you—" there was suddenly a slight disturbance on the other line.
"Mr. Nick! How dare you! Asking for another lady's hand instead of Mystic Maya!" Fran could recognize that little girl's voice and her romantic fantasies from anywhere—Pearl Fey.
"Shush, Pearly! Leave Nick alone! C'mon, I'll explain..." Maya's hushing voice prodded Pearl. Apparently, they left the room, because Phoenix made a sigh of relief that was audible through the phone.
"You're asking my advice about a wedding ring?" Franziska said in disbelief once the mayhem was calmed.
"Uh... I'm asking about every single woman I know, so... I mean, if you were going to get married, what ring would you want?" Phoenix asked with interest. Fran bit her lip. Why-oh-why did he have to bring that up!? Franziska decided to give the fool the benefit of doubt; she remembered seeing a picture of her mother's wedding ring before Papa threw that away, too. Fran thought it was beautiful and practical; it was her style.

"Well, if we're talking about my preferences..." Franziska began. What was she doing? This was Iris Phoenix wanted help with, not herself! She kept going, anyways. "I'd like the ring to be a slightly thicker silver band so that the diamond could be inset into it. That way, it wouldn't get in the way whenever I use my gloves or going through evidence," Franziska described.
"Uh-huh, I see..." Phoenix replied. He seemed to be way too interested in what she was describing. What is he doing...? "Just one question... have you ever seen this type of ring exist?" Phoenix asked with a little doubt. Fran took a breath in.
"Yes. My mother had one like it," she replied.
"Oh! Um, thank you Franziska. You've been a great help," Phoenix said.
"...No problem."
"By the way, congratulations on your trial," Phoenix added. He then promptly hung up the phone before Franziska could get a word in.

That little... fool!

Franziska rolled her eyes. As she stared back at her report, her despised thoughts returned.

Why did you just describe a ring like that!? Iris would rather have a normal, romantic one. Right!?

Fran put her head down and stared at her tea cup. There wasn't a drop left; looked like she was in for another onslaught...

I know; you thought that because Phoenix was friends with Miles that he'd mention what you said...
Shut up!

Franziska groaned slightly in pain. Foolish girl who's made a foolishly foolish fool of herself and whose foolish mistakes will cause more foolishly foolish problems! Ugh, she needed a new word...

Fran stared at the papers in front of her. If only she could finish the last couple of pages...

Tanya came through the door the second Franziska finished her last signiture.

"I hoped the tea helped a little..." Tanya asked, taking away the tea set.
"Yes it did. Thank you. I also finished these," Fran handed her the report. "Tanya, what time is it?"
"16h00," Tanya said as she glanced at her watch. Franziska sighed. It was only four pm.
"Do I have any other work for the day?" she asked. Tanya thought for a moment.
"I guess there's always the basic organization stuff... but nothing majorly important," Tanya said after a time. Franziska rubbed the area between her temples.
"I think I'm going to go home early, Tanya. I'll probably organize the office first then leave," Fran said slowly, not believing her words. She never went home early. Her office didn't need much organizing, either, but Fran always seemed to find something to organize or replace. Tanya had a slight look of shock on her face.
"Ms. Von—Franziska, has the trial bothered you that much?" Tanya asked, slightly concerned. Fran had a confused look on her face, then realized that Tanya didn't know her problems with Miles.
"Oh, no. I actually feel great about that. There are... other issues I'm currently dealing with, though," Franziska explained a little quickly. She seemed to feel slightly out of character. Did I just say, "I feel great"?

"That's good to know. Well, if you need to leave, then I'm not stopping you," Tanya said, taking the tea set as she left the door. Franziska felt her stomach hurting; she realized she skipped lunch. She decided to carry-out some meal for dinner. She didn't feel like making something at home.



Franziska felt herself looking back at her door, expecting a visitor. Even though she knew perfectly well that no one could even come into the apartment without her permission, somehow she still expected Miles to suddenly burst through. She finished her food rather quickly and tried to keep her mind at bay through reading. Concentrating was difficult.

There was suddenly a beep at her intercom. Instead of asking who it was, Franziska immediately pushed the button for whoever it was to come through. She was on the first floor; it didn't take long for her to hear a knock on the door.

Is it...?

She had a package. Franziska took the box from the delivery man forcefully and waited impatiently for him to leave. She slammed the door.

Such a fool for thinking that...

Franziska took her anger on the poor box as she ripped it open. Ironically, it was a package for her premium teas she reordered. They were all organized in different flavors according to color. Finding something to do, Franziska took the packages of tea and opened her cupboard. Inside were more or less empty colored tins. She organized the tea bags according to color in the tins. Fran then took a green tea packet and set her kettle on the stove.

Something bitter to match my mood...

The tea kettle whistled, and still nothing at the door. Franziska sipped her tea and supposed that her bitter mood covered over the bitter taste to the point where she could barely taste it. She washed her cup and sat again at the couch. Fran stared at the box of photos; she picked out one picture and threw it in there again. She looked at the clock; it was around 7:30 pm. Franziska sighed and set her fireplace. She stood in front of it and picked up the box Like I said before, why does this have to be some kind of sick ritual!?

However, something stopped her. Another buzz at her intercom. Unconciously, she shoved the box under the coffee table and pressed the button that allowed her to talk to whoever was out there.

"Who is it?" she demanded. She wasn't about to make another fool of herself...
"It's Miles." the voice was fuzzy and distorted, but that's what it sounded like. Fran couldn't tell if it was her mind playing tricks on her or if that was what was actually being said... Either way, she opened the door for her visitor. Franziska started pacing her living room.

Is it actually him!?
You could've heard wrong; that person could have said any other name!
If it's him, what will you say? What will you do!?
I don't know!

Her stomach was in knots with painful anticipation. Too many what if's and not enough answers.

Knock-knock...

Franziska paused for just a second. Then she took a deep breath and crossed over to the door. She put her hand on the knob and opened the door.

Miles was on the other side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

((I'm sure there are teas more bitter than green tea, but I don't drink many teas and that was the first one that came to mind as far as bitterness))

One last chapter after this! Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing for ya'll...
Oh, and this chapter actually hinted at a one-shot (or a couple of chapters... haven't decided yet) that I'm thinking of writing about. I don't know if it's been tried yet (I'm sure it has), but I'm thinking of writing a little about Manfred von Karma's past. Many will probably not agree with my interpretation, but I wanted to try something kinda new

BTW, the next/last chapter will probably not be up until the weekend (but even that's pushing it... it might not be up for awhile, let's just say that)

Anyway, comments and criticizm appreciated!



((just to let you know, I know that a box of photos isn't the reason Fran can't "let go". This will be mentioned in the next chapter. No, I'm not crazy!))

Heh, well, one hand washes the other right? I thought since you were kind enough to look at and review my story, it's only right I do the same for you.

I feel like you capture the character's quite well, Fran in particular, of course in my case it's obvious that I'm not a PhoenixXIris supporter, that's not the main point of focus with this story.

You've made the changes believable as Fran goes, and the details you put into it are very well written. You were right, we do seem to have a little bit of a similar writing style. Of course yours is more polished (I pretty much taught myself everything I know, which is why I over-use Commas)

Anyway, great work! I'm looking forward to your next chapter.

Oh, and I updated mine yesterday by the way, if you haven't seen it.

This is really great stuff. I can't wait for the next chapter!

Can't wait for next chapter!

Zeon Twilight wrote:Heh, well, one hand washes the other right? I thought since you were kind enough to look at and review my story, it's only right I do the same for you.

I feel like you capture the character's quite well, Fran in particular, of course in my case it's obvious that I'm not a PhoenixXIris supporter, that's not the main point of focus with this story.

You've made the changes believable as Fran goes, and the details you put into it are very well written. You were right, we do seem to have a little bit of a similar writing style. Of course yours is more polished (I pretty much taught myself everything I know, which is why I over-use Commas)

Anyway, great work! I'm looking forward to your next chapter.

Oh, and I updated mine yesterday by the way, if you haven't seen it.

Aw, thanks for responding! You're too kind!
I'm glad that you think I've developed Fran well. I got my ideas as to how she would view Miles from other fanfics supporting Miles/Fran. But the ideas of her character development and inner battles mostly came from my own ideas of her. I'm glad that I made it believable

I used to over-use commas, too; until I learned the power of the semi-colon! Once you learn how to use it correctly, you won't know how you lived without it! lol! For teaching yourself how to write, you do a great job at it! Your writing is just as good as, if not better than, mine. You do well. But thanks for the compliment; it helps my confidence.

root_beer_junkie wrote:This is really great stuff. I can't wait for the next chapter!

Thanks a ton! I'm glad you enjoy it!

Phoenix and Maya Fan wrote:Can't wait for next chapter!

Because I'm evil ( ) ya'll are going to have to wait for the next chapter! Bwahahaha! (actually, it's because I'm super busy with a TON of crap. I have it more or less halfway finished as a draft, so hopefully it'll be up sometime...)

This isn't a pairing I'm normally fond of, but you've got a sweet story going here. The writing is pretty good and I think you've done well with the characters' personalities for the most part. I'm a little surprised that their history growing up together doesn't seem to come into their thoughts much as they both contemplate a possible relationship though. You have a few brief references, but considering they were raised as siblings to the point that Franziska references Edgeworth as her "little brother," I would think it would come into play a bit more. Other then that though, the story is quite cute so nice work. On a side note, the reference to Phoenix/Iris made me smile even being as brief as it was (and was what ended up drawing me into the story... I'm a shameless shipper. Please forgive me ).

Mia_Fey wrote:This isn't a pairing I'm normally fond of, but you've got a sweet story going here. The writing is pretty good and I think you've done well with the characters' personalities for the most part. I'm a little surprised that their history growing up together doesn't seem to come into their thoughts much as they both contemplate a possible relationship though. You have a few brief references, but considering they were raised as siblings to the point that Franziska references Edgeworth as her "little brother," I would think it would come into play a bit more. Other then that though, the story is quite cute so nice work. On a side note, the reference to Phoenix/Iris made me smile even being as brief as it was (and was what ended up drawing me into the story... I'm a shameless shipper. Please forgive me ).

I've tried to implement it, but it is slightly difficult. I've read many other Miles/Fran stories that have all of these unique stories of their life growing up together, but I'm not creative, and I'm trying to make up these "growing up" stories. I'm trying my very hardest to not be a copier of these other fanfics. That's probably why there's not that much in there.

As far as the "little brother" thing... I haven't thought too much on the subject (please forgive me!) and also I think that I may use that throught process incorrectly. Hmm... I may edit some of my other chapters; it'd be too late to add that idea in now since it's a) the conclusion and b) it'd be very awkward to just now bring it up... I'll see what I can do.

Ah, I'm glad you enjoyed that little Iris/Nick part. Ever since I played T&T, I've always been a fan of that pairing. (sorry Maya/Nick fans! I swear, it's just my humble opinion! ). I know that since you're not a big fan of the main pairing of this story, I guess it's good that there's something in it that drew you to it I'd write a fanfic on that pairing, but there's so many, I doubt I could create something creative enough to be posted
Ah well, I've got some other ideas lined up... (An in-depth look in Manfred; an Apollo/Vera fanfic; an Apollo/Maya one for something different; and a full-blown actual Turnabout Case with OC's and everything! Hopefully I write well enough that I can actually pull off those fanfics...)

I'm glad that I got a non-fan of the / pairing to read this without bashing or making fun of me for it... that alone simply makes me happy I've read your other stories and I really enjoy them; so thanks for your input, being that you're a writer that I respect.

Yeah, one has to respect all pairings even if you don't agree with them all. I'm not a huge fan of Feenie and Iris, but whatever floats your boat ^_^

Do know that when I say I taught myself to write, I don't mean from the ground up, I mean write stories, heh, someone else taught me English ^_^ Heh, but you're the second person to mention Semicolons to me, tell me more perhaps?

Yaa-hooo! Another Miles/Franziska writer! I salute your bravery. Pleased to read your stuff, comrade! We M/Fers need to stick together! Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. Seriously though, your preferences sound a lot like mine. Phoenix/Iris and Miles/Franziska are my top two. I notice we write Franziska similarly too. I also have her arguing with herself a lot. Especially after T&T, I think she'd be very conflicted. Who says you're not creative? I, for one, like what I'm seeing here. I look forward to reading the next chapter. It's very interesting to see how other shippers portray the relationship. We write Miles a little differently, but if anyone could make him that painfully earnest, it would be her. He probably relates very strongly to her and her position and that compassion could very well drive him absolutely buggy. My only regret is that I didn't notice this fic sooner. I see that you mention having read some other fics for this pairing. If I may be so nosey, are Graph's and mine among them?

I know what you're thinking:
She has time to respond, but not to put up the next chapter!?

Heh heh, those stories actually take me a couple of hours, while this takes a couple of minutes, that's why.

Zeon Twilight wrote:Yeah, one has to respect all pairings even if you don't agree with them all. I'm not a huge fan of Feenie and Iris, but whatever floats your boat ^_^

Hey, that's fine! I can see why people think Maya/Nick is a cute couple, but I've always prefered Iris/Nick. Oh well.

Zeon Twilight wrote:Do know that when I say I taught myself to write, I don't mean from the ground up, I mean write stories, heh, someone else taught me English ^_^ Heh, but you're the second person to mention Semicolons to me, tell me more perhaps?

Really!? Let me just say something: all those people who must learn English, I totally respect you guys and I'm also dreadfully sorry. English is a weird, inconsistant language. I mean, one of our "rules" is seriously: I before T except after C or sounding like "ay" as in "weigh"
Would you like me to teach you what I know about semicolons? I'm no English teacher, and my grammar can be absolutely horrendous at times. But I can give you some pointers if you want! Just PM me.

Gregory Wright wrote:Yaa-hooo! Another Miles/Franziska writer! I salute your bravery. Pleased to read your stuff, comrade! We M/Fers need to stick together! Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. Seriously though, your preferences sound a lot like mine. Phoenix/Iris and Miles/Franziska are my top two.

Indeed, I thought the same thing! We must stick together! For the PW forums are "critical" of our ideals! Lol, I'm kidding. But I'm glad a fan has replied. I knew when I first posted this that not many would read it, but I was willing to post it anyways.
Indeed, my top two are Nick/Iris and Miles/Fran. I have to say, when I first saw your sig (awhile ago) I remember thinking: "omg, he likes the same exact ships as I do! Yay!" lol. Your sig is great! I probably would've had something like that if you hadn't asked Vicki to make it first! lol!

Gregory Wright wrote:I notice we write Franziska similarly too. I also have her arguing with herself a lot. Especially after T&T, I think she'd be very conflicted. ... We write Miles a little differently, but if anyone could make him that painfully earnest, it would be her. He probably relates very strongly to her and her position and that compassion could very well drive him absolutely buggy.

I thought the same exact thing about Fran. In fact, I'd think after JFA she'd have conflicts. But T&T would probably be hard, as well. I always wondered why she was so willing to do as Miles said... especially since he never told her that he'd be prosecuting. Ah well, gives us fanfic writers more room to create.
Hehe, having Miles be "buggy" seems like an oximoron, but I still do it anyways, lol. I knew the way I wrote him would be very different. But I had trouble thinking about his motives for being with her. I didn't think he'd be the kind to be like "I love her! I need her! YOU'RE MINE!" but at the same time, I needed him to be the assertive one. I had Fran be in such inner conflict that there would be no way she would jump to the romance. So that's why Miles is a little... different. I needed him to be assertive in love and yet at the same time keep him in character. Harder than it sounds...

Gregory Wright wrote:Who says you're not creative? I, for one, like what I'm seeing here. I look forward to reading the next chapter. It's very interesting to see how other shippers portray the relationship.

Ah, thanks! I'm glad you like it! I also enjoy seeing how others have them in a relationship. I haven't read a completed romance story between them that ended them up together (but I haven't read that many; look below)

Gregory Wright wrote:My only regret is that I didn't notice this fic sooner. I see that you mention having read some other fics for this pairing. If I may be so nosey, are Graph's and mine among them?

Well, I'm glad you took the time to read and reply! That's all that matters to me!
Yours I've definitely read. I like the way you've set them up; but I'm *hint hint* waiting for an update... lol You have some lines in there that really made me laugh, but at the same time I could see them happening.
I'm not sure about Graph's. Could you maybe send a link?
I've also read (dang! forgot the screenname) 'Crying in Public' (another good one, but no updates) and one that I think was written by someone named... Rihanna? Crap, I'm realllllly bad at remembering names; I seriously will think the name started with a letter completely different than what it actually is. Anywa, "Rihanna" had finished hers and posted it on Fanfiction.net. I loved her characterization of Fran; it was absolutely beauitful (I got some inspiration from that). But she didn't end them together (I think she was also a fan of Nick/Miles, so that's why but I don't remember clearly). I wanted to write one with an ending where they end up together (oops, did I give the ending away? )

Anyway, last chapter may actually be up tomorrow! But I can't make any promises. In the meantime, I might take Mia Fey's advice and reedit my ealier chapters... but I can make no guarantees.

Don't go thinking English is my second language (Though I confuse people with it sometimes as if it were) I'm just saying that I learned Prose from reading it and getting a feel for it. I was home taught, and kinda went about things my own way during that time. (Learned what I felt like learning and such) It was enough for me my GED with fairly flying colors and move onto the career I'm training for, so I regret nothing. Anyway, my point was I never had an exclusive "Writing" class. It's part of the reason my writing is a bit...self styled...heh, and grammatically screwed up.

But I didn't want anyone thinking I'm more awesome than I am, I too have a lot of respect for those that learn English as a second language. We seriously have an antisocial Language.

Sweet! It's always a thrill to discover another interested reader. I'm very pleased to hear that you like my work so far and even more pleased to announce that work is progressing smoothly on Chapter IV. It's been a long time cooking, but once it's done, it'll be easily the longest, richest chapter so far. If my hunch is correct, it'll be well worth the wait. Graph's work can be found here in the Testimony section under the thread titled "Graphiction". In the event that the thread gets buried (as my fics-in-progress currently are), you can just follow the leftmost link at the bottom of my sig: the one labeled "Engaged to Graph". The fics themselves won't be on the thread, but all the appropriate links can be found in the first post. Speaking of sigs...I have recently acquired GIMP and done some successful messing around with sprite editing, so if you'd like, I could probably make you a sig similar to mine. If that idea interests you, feel free to PM me with the specifics of your request.

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...

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!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



"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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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!

Great story!

Heh heh, Well done! Well done! I tip my hat to you, I'm really going to have to pour heart and soul into my Phoenix Wright Fanfic to even have a chance to stand up to this piece of work.

You managed to keep both characters pretty well in character, still having their insecurities; however, slowly but surely we see them work through them in a pretty much in character way.

Perhaps I need a few non-cannon events to reference to in my story too, mostly I've been using cannon evidence from the games, but a few things that could've happened but aren't shown in game might help out too.

Anyway, Bravo! One chapter to go! Rock on sister!

Phoenix and Maya Fan wrote:Great story!

Aww, thanks! And thanks for always being so commited to the story!

Zeon Twilight wrote:Heh heh, Well done! Well done! I tip my hat to you, I'm really going to have to pour heart and soul into my Phoenix Wright Fanfic to even have a chance to stand up to this piece of work.

You managed to keep both characters pretty well in character, still having their insecurities; however, slowly but surely we see them work through them in a pretty much in character way.

Perhaps I need a few non-cannon events to reference to in my story too, mostly I've been using cannon evidence from the games, but a few things that could've happened but aren't shown in game might help out too.

Anyway, Bravo! One chapter to go! Rock on sister!

Thank you very much for the compliment! But don't worry; I can tell the heart and soul you put into your fanfic! You're doing an excellant job and I'm eagerly awaiting the next/last? chapter.

I'm glad that you believe I'm leaving them in character! I have to admit; this chapter was the hardest in terms of leaving the characters in... er, character (lol).

I was in desperate need of non-cannon material because a) you never hear what happened to Miles and Fran as they grew up and b) there wasn't as much conclusive evidence in the game that could help me alone effectively create the story. While I do believe that Fran/Miles has the most evidence of it in-game (I don't support yaoi ships, please don't shoot meee!!), that doesn't mean there was a ton of that evidence, lol! While you don't really need that much non-canon stuff, I believe that having it will set your fanfic apart from others. Non-canon events can make a fanfic more unique and interesting. So while I don't think it's a necessity for your story, it could benefit you!

Yep, one more chapter! Rock on with yours, brother!

My goodness, dear, this is fabulous! ^_^

I think the proposal was kinda fast, seeing as they weren't in a relationship yet; but it was handled in what was probably the most adorable way I've ever seen. "Need a new last name, how about mine?" Brilliance, my dear :3

Can't wait for more x3

Bawwwww, that's so SWEET! What a great story! I'm glad I stuck around for the last chapter! Or was it...?

Arcticwaters wrote:My goodness, dear, this is fabulous! ^_^

I think the proposal was kinda fast, seeing as they weren't in a relationship yet; but it was handled in what was probably the most adorable way I've ever seen. "Need a new last name, how about mine?" Brilliance, my dear :3

Can't wait for more x3

Eh heh heh, yeah, I suppose it was too fast... Hopefully you can forgive my hastiness! I wasn't going to make it that long, and I wanted it to have a happier ending... yeah.
I'm glad you thought that proposal was adorable. I wasn't sure how people would take it (again, slightly mushy for a couple like Fran and Miles), but it was too cute to not use! Besides, it's really the only couple it could work efficiently for with since even Franziska herself says (if I remember correctly): "You're no longer a Von Karma... and neither am I".

Ryu wrote:My..... even the sig alone makes me moved into tears....

Good job on the whole matter... sobbbb~

You'll have to thank Vickinator for that one! Didn't she do a beautiful job? I'm glad you like it! I didn't mean to make you cry, though...

root_beer_junkie wrote:Bawwwww, that's so SWEET! What a great story! I'm glad I stuck around for the last chapter! Or was it...?

Not quite! One last chapter because I'm a stickler for details! Actually, it's because after I wrote the first few chapters, I realized that I was starting to not like how I was using that box of photos. I wanted to kinda to make it seem less cheesy. I'm glad you like it though!

Um, you'll have to wait for the last chapter... it's coming along and will hopefully get here sometime. My schedule opened up a little this week, but I'm still very busy. Don't worry, it'll come soon!

Oh my gosh, this brought me to tears! It was beautiful! I wish I had your writing skills! Great job!

Hmm...it might be a little fast, but I'll only say that's possible. They've known each other for quite a while and we don't know the exact warp and woof of their mindsets over the course of the games, so I'd say your outcome is plausible. After all, what happens when a dam bursts? It's not quite the way I write them, but the fun of reading other people's stuff is precisely that they handle things differently and make you think about them in a new way. Yours is a fic quite worth reading. I look forward to its conclusion.

It is really sad.



Also can't wait for the next chapter!


Also I was just like to say that this and "Decisive Evidence" are the best fanfics on here!

Heh heh, I'll grant this one is no doubt one of the best, but Decisive Evidence Is only my first Phoenix Wright Fanfic, In truth I'm sure it's got a long way to go to be this good.

Zeon Twilight wrote: Heh heh, I'll grant this one is no doubt one of the best, but Decisive Evidence Is only my first Phoenix Wright Fanfic, In truth I'm sure it's got a long way to go to be this good.

Oh, don't say that! This is my first fanfic, too! I'd say you write really well if you got a nonsupporter of Maya/Nick to read and enjoy it!

Phoenix and Maya Fan wrote:It is really sad.



Also can't wait for the next chapter!


Also I was just like to say that this and "Decisive Evidence" are the best fanfics on here!

Why is it sad? Oh well, I'm glad you're enjoying it. And thanks for the compliment; I don't think mine is the best, but I'd have to agree with "Decisive Evidence"!

Ryu wrote:I didn't have tears only by looking at the sig....

>>

<<

==

I got em AFTER clicking on it and reading the fan fic~

((whoohoo! sig ads work! just kidding)) Yikes why is everyone crying!? I'll take it as a compliment since I've never considered myself a good romance writer. Thanks for reading and responding!

Gregory Wright wrote:Hmm...it might be a little fast, but I'll only say that's possible. They've known each other for quite a while and we don't know the exact warp and woof of their mindsets over the course of the games, so I'd say your outcome is plausible. After all, what happens when a dam bursts? It's not quite the way I write them, but the fun of reading other people's stuff is precisely that they handle things differently and make you think about them in a new way. Yours is a fic quite worth reading. I look forward to its conclusion.

Don't worry; I made fun of myself for making that "hasty" choice in the last chapter. I don't think I thought things though when I wrote that... oh well, I was hoping it would have been forshadowed by Miles and Nick's conversations... anyway, thanks for reading and bearing with my writing style! I know it's very different from other Miles and/or Fran fanfics, but I'm glad you think it's worth reading. I've never had that much confidence in my writing, in any case.

xrainexloirex wrote:Oh my gosh, this brought me to tears! It was beautiful! I wish I had your writing skills! Great job!

Aw, thanks! I'm glad you like it! All writing takes is practice, a little criticism, good ideas, and sometimes just reading books or other stories helps.


Thanks a ton for sticking with me, guys! I have to admit; I don't like this chapter that much because I feel like I'm reitering things I've already written. I think it's also kinda short. Oh well, I hope you guys enjoy it! And sorry, Mia Fey, I never got a chance to edit my previous posts. Maybe someday I will. I kinda want to move on because I just got a really fantastic idea for another fanfic.

Hope you enjoy the conclusion, with all its faults

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Miles woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He saw that the time was 6:00 am. The night before, after their second kiss, Miles and Franziska sat back down at the couch and she immediately fell asleep on his shoulder. He decided to go to sleep as well at that point. It had been quite the exhausting day.

He glanced at his caller ID.

Wright… figures…

“Hello?” Miles mumbled. There was quite a commotion in the background. After all, Wright had to take care of a child and a young adult, especially since the said “child” tended to have an overactive and romantic imagination.
“So, Edgeworth… what happened?” Phoenix asked slyly. “Did you do it?” Miles glanced at Franziska; she was still sound asleep. He softly held her left and fingered the new ring.
“Well, she’s asleep on my shoulder… and I see a wedding band on her left hand,” Miles responded with slight derision. He had to pull the phone away from his ear as he heard a combination of Phoenix’s laughter, Maya’s excited chirping, and Pearl’s screaming. Apparently, Pearl had forgotten for a moment how much she disliked Franziska and became excited over this. He wasn’t sure if he heard correctly, but he was pretty sure that Pearl was scolding Phoenix for not following Miles’s lead and getting a ring for Maya. Miles began to chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Franziska muttered. Miles glanced at her as she tried to wake up. He gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze.
“Good morning. Oh, Wright’s just on the phone,” Miles answered. Fran nodded sleepily, rubbing her eyes to force herself to become more conscious.
“I suppose he’s heard the news,” Fran asked matter-of-factly. Miles rolled his eyes and nodded.
“Well, he did know from the beginning,” Miles explained.
“I suppose I’ll leave you two alone. Do you think you’re going to be back here anytime soon?” Phoenix inquired. Miles glanced at Fran again.
“Well, Franziska; do you want to go back to America or stay here?” Miles asked. Franziska squinted her eyes in thought.
“I think we should go back in a few days. I’d rather have the wedding far away from this dismal place. It reminds me too much of Papa,” Franziska answered gravely. Miles nodded in agreement.
“Expect us in a few days, Wright,” Miles said into his cell phone.
“Alright. See ya then! And congratulations!” Phoenix hung up the phone promptly. Miles put the cell phone on the coffee table. He then noticed the box of photos.
“I can only imagine what Papa is thinking right now…” Franziska said bitterly. Miles laughed a little. Somehow, it didn’t quite feel right to disown her father like this, but yet…
“He’s probably rolling in his grave,” he answered. Fran shrugged; she supposed Miles did have a right to say something like that.
“What about your father? How would he feel about you marrying the daughter of his…” Franziska decided it would be slightly insensitive to remind Miles of how his father died. If Miles was still upset over it, he didn’t show it.
“I think he’d be happy for me. My father always believed that people could change. I suppose his teaching of that was why I believed so whole-heartedly that you could change, too,” Miles said thoughtfully. He was still staring at the box. Finally, he asked, “What is that?”
Fran felt her cheeks flush.

Should I tell him?
He might get a laugh out of it.

Fran stood up and walked over to pick up the box. She suddenly had a nostalgic feeling as she stood with the box in her hands; a memory of how close she was to throwing everything away… at least, what she thought was everything. Franziska walked back and sat down; Miles looked at the box with an almost eager curiosity.

“I’m sure you remember these,” Fran said aloud as she opened the box and presented the photos. Miles was at a loss for words at first, but then suddenly started to laugh nervously.

She kept them… all those years; I can’t believe it.

“Of course I remember them. I was hoping you’d keep them; I didn’t realize that you would have kept them for this long,” Miles replied. Fran nodded and fingered each picture.
“I wasn’t going to. These were supposed to be burned only a couple of days ago,” Franziska admitted. Miles raised an eyebrow.
“Eh, can I ask why?” Miles asked in slight puzzlement. Fran bit her lip, trying to carefully decide her words.
“I thought it could help me leave you behind,” Franziska finally explained. Miles stared at her a little more intensely.
“Now, why would you want to do a thing like that?” he asked teasingly. Fran reacted with a tiny smile.
“This was before I knew we had… mutual feelings. I thought the notion of being with you was impossible and hoped to erase the thought and memories by… burning them, I suppose?” Franziska responded, suddenly lost in thought. Miles took this opportunity to cut in.
“I’ve found that no matter how hard you try to bury them, memories that make you have hope and happiness have a way of making themselves appear. Despite what people say, it’s difficult to completely extinguish the flame of hope; it can become very tiny and hard to see, but it’s still there,” Miles began, reaching into the box and looking at each photo as well. “Even when I completely closed myself to emotions, I still had that flame; it just took a couple of people to make the flame glow more intensely again.” Franziska looked up at him.

“Who were these people?” she asked. Miles chuckled slightly.
“Isn’t it obvious? Phoenix Wright… and you,” Miles said softly. Fran swallowed a growing lump in her throat. “Both of you helped me learn how to trust and love again; in different ways, mind you,” Miles added, sensing Fran’s doubt.
“I still have a hard time believing that I did anything except hurt you,” Franziska said.
“You don’t have to believe me, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true,” Miles answered. “I think the important thing for you to remember is that I doubt the idea of… us would have left your mind even if you threw this box away.”
“Perhaps not. Sometimes hope and love can be painful; it can be hard to tell the difference between hope and worthless hurting,” Franziska responded, slightly crestfallen.
“I suppose it is. But pain heals… hope is a fire that never goes out,” Miles reiterated. Franziska face cracked to a half-grin.
“Well, then, thank you for being that hopeful fire,” Fran whispered.
“Anytime,” Miles answered. He stood up from the couch, leading Franziska up as well.
“We’re going to need to plan,” Franziska mentioned. “I suppose I could call my sister… she’s been through this before.”
“Well, do you want the wedding to be a big or small?” Miles asked.
“Small; close friends and family. You should already know this; I don’t like big parties,” Franziska said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s going to have to be a secret; I believe everyone in the Prosecution Office will want to join and the media… let’s not talk about that,” Miles answered, groaning.
“True; besides, the ladies at the Prosecution Office might try to stop the wedding,” Franziska replied. She laughed as she saw Miles’s face of slight repulsion and pain.
“I respect some of the lady prosecutors there… but those are the ones that don’t see the need to flirt with me,” Miles said. “Maybe that’s why I respect them so much… Anyway, what exactly are we going to be doing today?”

“I could give my sister a call. Or we can actually go on a “date”; after all, doesn’t that come before a proposal?” Franziska said teasingly, cocking her head. Miles raised his hands to his defense.
“I’ve lived with you since you were four! Doesn’t that count?” Miles asked.
“A date is different, Miles; it’s a chance to make-up lies and create a façade about yourself to your date,” Franziska answered. Miles rolled his eyes.
“Haven’t I been seeing through your façade all these years?” Miles raised, folding his arms. Franziska slightly pouted; her arms akimbo on her hips.
“Ha ha, very funny,” she replied airily. She dropped her arms and sighed softly. “You know what’s strange? I always thought I needed a wall to protect myself from everything; now I think all I really needed was a small candle against the darkness.” Miles stepped towards her kissed her forehead.
“I couldn’t agree anymore.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yeah, I think it's shorter than my other chapters. But it is the conclusion. Well, hopefully you'll see a new fanfic up soon, along with a new sig by Gregory Wright!

Yay! Well done, Bravo (Insert A picture of Gant Clapping madly that I don't have in my photobucket right now here) this ties up the loose ends quite nicely.

I'm glad I took the time to read your story, it was very well done and full of fluff awesomeness ^_^ Good show.

And haha, first review on the last chapter, not that it matters much

Because it's a touching story. And you're welcome too~

Caelestis wrote: Yikes why is everyone crying!? I'll take it as a compliment since I've never considered myself a good romance writer. Thanks for reading and responding!

Best.Edgeworth.And.Franzy.Fic.Ever.

Phoenix and Maya Fan wrote:Best.Edgeworth.And.Franzy.Fic.Ever.

Couldn't agree more