Chapter Text
A couple of months ago, she'd taken her last case in L.A. Now she was back. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth had asked for her help personally on a high profile case, and Prosecutor Sahdmadhi had been really reluctant to see her go. She had to admit, it was pretty awesome to have two of the most powerful prosecutors out there locked in terse negotiation over her.
Except the jetlag wasn't so great. At least she wouldn't have to worry about getting hit with customs going to Khura'in. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi ruled the place right now.
Ema hummed to herself as she filed the last of the work. She'd still have some time to get some shopping done before she left. The mountains were hell on her shoes--she was down to her last pair, having the heels break off of the last three. At this rate she'd have to start wearing Ugg boots instead.
Ema smiled as the door opened. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth stood framed in the door. Really, he always looked so imposing like that. She might not have had a crush on him anymore, but she could still appreciate how much presence he had, and how much he did for the law system.
"Detective Skye. Are you available for one more trial?"
Ema grinned big. "Sure, but I'm only in L.A. for a little bit longer. How long will it take?"
"Less than one day," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said. His voice was oddly flat. Maybe it was a really gruesome case.
"Oh, I can do that. Let me just call Prosecutor Sahdmadhi in case I have to reschedule my flight."
Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth nodded.
"It was a request of Wright himself."
"Well, I'd never turn down a request from Phoenix Wright," Ema said.
After all, he'd saved her sister. As far as Ema was concerned, she could never repay him for that. She always worked hard to make sure he got the autopsy reports he needed, and looked the other way when he wanted to investigate crime scenes. Even in places like Khura'in, which had only warmed slightly to defense lawyers.
"This time, it'll be as a witness."
"A witness? Did something happen?" Ema thought back. She hadn't witnessed any murders recently, at least.
"You'll see."
What was it with prosecutors being stupidly mysterious at every level? Ema let out a sigh, and put the last of her papers away. At least he said it would be short.
*
For such a big case, the courtroom was oddly empty. In fact, it was just Phoenix, Maya as his co-counsel, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, his personal detective who always traveled with him, and the Judge.
"I call Detective Skye."
"Is this a mock trial? There doesn't seem to be any audience," Ema said.
"This is a very real trial, I am afraid, with very real consequences," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said.
The blond spiky haired guy in the back let out a gulp. Ema narrowed her eyes as the memories of the wedding came back.
"I remember that guy. He tried to sweet talk me back when I was working that big case! I had to flick some Snackoos at him to get him to go away."
"E-Edgy...."
"Detective Skye, please specify which big case you are referring to?" Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said.
Ema tapped her lower lip. "Well, it was here, not Khura'in, so it was that wedding case in September."
His brow furrowed. "That big wedding case is not an official term, Detective Skye."
"Well, you're the one who asked! He was out there trying to steal the bride, but he stopped to randomly sweet talk me. Naturally, I had none of it. He's really not my type."
"So you can confirm that he did try and steal away a bride at her own wedding?" Phoenix said.
"Yeah, you were there," Ema said. "I'm sure Maya can confirm it too. The bride was super uninterested in running away with him, too."
"That is all, Detective Skye," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said.
Ema headed off into the back. Like hell she was bailing just yet, even if it was really close to lunch time. Besides, she might be called up to the witness stand again.
"The prosecution could have brought in more witnesses, in fact any woman in a fifty square radius of him would certainly corroborate Detective Skye's testimony. I think this is enough to show the character of the defendant," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said.
Even though they'd said otherwise, Ema couldn't figure out what they were even getting at. People generally weren't prosecuted for hitting on women. Except the guy didn't have anybody in his court, as Phoenix almost took on the role of a second prosecutor.
Phoenix tapped the back of the papers he held.
Tears poured down his cheeks. "That's all in the paast!"
"And after being 'completely in love' you still ran off to flirt with other girls, including And was it true that you tried to sneak down your co-worker's chimney?"
"She was siiick, Niiick. I wanted to bake her some cookies!"
"Cookies? That sounds good," the Judge said.
"A likely story," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said.
Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth slammed his hand on the bar. "I think the evidence speaks for itself."
"This isn't faaaair! It's like Nick is also prosecuting me! Niiick, you're being scaaary!"
The Judge frowned. "I think the verdict is clear. I declare Larry Butz Gu---"
"Objection!"
Ooh, this just kept getting more and more interesting.
Maya smiled mischievously. "I sounded just like you then, didn't I? I've been practicing."
"That is very good!" The Judge said.
"State your objection, Ms. Fey," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said, in the voice of someone constantly forced to babysit the entire legal system of L.A.
"Well, it's true, you know. We really are getting married."
"Hold it!"
"I have new important evidence!"
Larry burst into a big smile, and started to wave his sleeves happily. "See, I knew Nick would come through for me in the end!"
"On how Larry Butz is guilty," Phoenix said flatly.
"NIIIIICK!" Larry wailed. "You're not getting invited to my wedding, and now neither you or Edgey are gonna be my best man!"
"A tragedy I will surely never recover from," Edgeworth said.
"Now, now, Nick and Edgeworth are coming to our wedding," Maya said.
Our wedding? This whole thing was about Maya and that Butz guy getting married? So it was less a trial and more an intervention in the courtroom that could be summed up as Maya, please think of your life choices.
Maya put her hands together, and laughed. "Nick, Nick, you don't have to worry. He's never going to stray. Not when he meets Mia and Pearlie."
Larry looked around nervously on the stand. "Me? Stray? Ahahaha.....I would never! I'm a new man, honest! I'm in love for real!"
"I've heard that one before," Phoenix said.
Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth crossed his arms across his chest. "Multiple times, in fact."
"The truth is, he was in Kurain promoting his new book, Cupig's Holiday Adventures. We got burgers for old time's sake. Then we ended up watching every episode of Steel Samurai over a weekend." She smiled mischievously. "One thing led to another, and here we are."
"If this is some hare-brained scheme..." Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said.
"Well, I'd rather get married before the baby starts to show. That way I can fit into my dress," Maya said bluntly.
The court was stunned to speechless. Dang, this was better than a soap opera. Ema wished she'd grabbed some popcorn. She settled for some Snackoos as she watched Phoenix try, and fail to stop gaping. Even Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth was left speechless and slumped over his desk.
"Besides, you can't say anything about secret loves, now can you, Nick? You can stop trying to hide it; everyone knows."
Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth coughed and glanced away. Phoenix, however, had no such calm. He openly sweated like his bluff had just been blown apart.
"Can I say it, Mr. Judge?" Maya said.
The Judge blinked. "Well, I suppose just this once."
"I declare the defendant, Larry Butz, Not Guilty!"
"That's a stretch," Phoenix said.
"Nick, don't be cross!" Maya laughed. "You look like a grumpy hedgehog."
Maya tossed confetti in the air of the near empty courtroom. Ema returned from the seating, and headed up to where the rest of them were. Despite it all, Maya was all smiles.
"Er, congratulations on your wedding?" Ema said. Really, it was all she could manage.
Maya smiled mischievously. "Let me guess, you were going to say 'what do you even see in him'?"
"Hey! Not even I'm that blunt." To say it to her face, anyways.
"The answer is: He makes me laugh," Maya said.
"At him, or in general?" Ema said dryly.
"Both. Actually, we figured we might as well get married as soon as possible before either of us gets pulled in on fake charges again. It's tomorrow, you're welcome to come."
Working in the prosecutor's office, she just had to set aside the awkwardness of Oh, I helped prosecute you, and also your best friend, and your daughter and also your coworker when they were wrongly accused! The fact that she'd been right there, putting down evidence in Khura'in when Maya was on trial was about just as bad as she'd Snackooed Maya's future groom when he'd tried to get flirty and almost messed up her crime scene.
"Sure, I'm always up for free food. Just let me tell Prosecutor Sahdmadhi in case my flight is canceled."
*
The first thing she did when she got back to her hotel room was the overhead bra toss. "I should win the gold for this," she muttered as it hit the wall and fell to the floor. Sure, it was cute. Lacy green with underwire and it gave her great cleavage, but the boobs had to be freed. Changing into pajamas was tempting, but she still had to go get a wedding present for Maya's wedding.
But, first things first, she had to check in.
Ema dialed that familiar number again, just in case the wedding ran long. It was actually pretty flattering to have the personal number to the ruler of a country. Sometimes, she even used it to send him pictures of cats. However, calling overseas was always a hassle. The time zones were a pain to remember: from California to Khura'in, it was at least a six hour time difference.
"Greetings, Detective Skye."
"You sound like a Bond Villain when you put it like that."
"Then--Happ'raki, Detective Skye."
"I suppose that's a little less take over the world while stroking a white Persian cat," Ema said.
Static cut off his response.
"Wait, I can't hear you. You're breaking up."
Ema puffed out her cheeks. Stupid international phone calls.
"Listen, I'm going to to be busy on the last day I'm here. I've got a wedding! I should be back right on schedule in a couple days, though."
"A...wedding?"
"Yeah, you know. Two people getting hitched, holy matrimony. I know they've got it over there in Khura'in, I met a ton of married couples!"
"N-no. It is not that. This just is so sudden..."
"Tell me about it. I didn't expect this at all, but I'm going through with it, even if it'll be awkward. Can't miss that free buffet."
Static broke over the phone. She could only catch snippets of his voice amid the cacophony. "Detective Skye.... important... I... you... ...a long time..."
"I can't hear you! Call me back, okay?"
Ema waited several minutes for the phone to ring. She grew more and more irritated as he didn't call back. She didn't have time for another unanswered question among all the others she had, like was she supposed to get them a gift? And more importantly: did she had enough time for a nap or two?
Thankfully, she'd packed a cute teal number--the same which she'd worn to Sorin and Ellen's, so buying a dress wasn't on the itinerary. Ema laid out on the hotel bed and stared at her phone. It didn't ring.
She let out a sigh and rolled over. Damn, she was exhausted. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth was even more demanding of her time than Prosecutor Sahdmadhi could ever be. But soon she'd be on a plane, back to Khura'in.
"All right, I'll just rest my eyes a little bit. Then it's off to go shopping..."
She didn't even bother to change out. She just dropped her lab coat on the floor and undid her shoes before stretching out on the bed. He was bound to call soon, he always did. Her eyes shut as she waited for the phone call that never came.
*
Ema rolled over at the first alarm. The second she ignored. The third was a blaring one that made her jolt awake. "Oh, crap!"
She jumped out of bed, and nearly fell face first to the beige carpet. Her legs were tangled up in the dark sheets and blankets, and she quickly threw them off.
There'd be no time for a shower. She grabbed dry shampoo out of her bag, and applied her makeup in a rush. Breakfast was whatever Snackoos she could fit in her mouth between it all. She quickly pulled the dress over her head, and hoped that she hadn't messed up her hair or face in the process. She'd been working on that updo for at least fifteen minutes straight. Sure, it was the same get up as the last wedding, but Ema hardly had enough time to go dress shopping or look up a new style.
"You'd think at almost thirty I wouldn't be playing Russian roulette with the alarm. But noooo...."
If the bus was even a little late, she'd miss the ceremony. She bent down to tie the bows at her heels. If they came off, they'd get dirty, and trip her. But dang if they weren't cute.
A knock sounded at the door.
Ema hadn't ordered a pizza, there was no room service in this cheap hotel. (But, at least the wifi was free.) She was tempted to ignore it (hey, it could be a serial killer who had decided to pursue her due to Ema getting too close to catching him. She'd seen enough movies that went like that, it could happen!)
Then she remembered it might be related to the wedding. Had she hopped on the carpool or not? Ema couldn't remember.
"Just a second!"
There wasn't a peephole in this hotel, her detective sense reminded her. Still, she was too harried to focus on murder statistics she knew all too well.
She opened the door to gold and silver and white, all regal and damn handsome in her doorway. The last person she expected to see.
His hand tightened on the doorknob. A shadow of intense sadness crossed over his face as he saw her.
"Detective Skye.... so it is true."
"P-Prosecutor Sahdmadhi?! Don't you have a country to run?"
"Seeing you was of the utmost importance."
"Well, come in already. Uh, ignore the mess. I overslept and haven't had any time to clean up. I was right in the middle of getting ready."
The trash can was overflowing with Snackoo bags. A few of them had fallen to the floor. Her luggage was in a state of half-unpacked, with underwear and bras spilling out in her hurry to find clean clothes.
She blushed a little. He politely kept his eyes off her lacy colorful underthings, and made no suggestive comments.
Dark circles, and such a sad gaze made her wonder if he'd even gotten any sleep. He must've taken a flight immediately after her call to even reach her at this hour. And even then, he must've had to flex some political power to make it, because there was no way he got stuck in a layover. Either that or he perfected teleportation while she was gone.
"Detective Skye, even as I know this is selfish there is something I must tell you before you do this--"
Another alarm on her phone went off. Ema whirled around. It couldn't be noon already! She still had to take the bus all the way out to Kurain, and she still hadn't even gotten a real breakfast. And if there was even a little bit of traffic, she wasn't going to make it.
"Crap! I'm going to be late for Maya's wedding at this rate!" Ema said.
"...Maya's wedding?"
"Yeah, she's marrying some old friend of Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth and Phoenix's. Personally, I don't get it! He's a complete loser and even made a really awful pass at me months ago. She claiiims he's better and makes her laugh, but still. I guess there's no accounting for taste. Whatever, I'm not marrying him so I guess it doesn't matter."
Ema glanced back at him.
"What was it that you wanted to say?"
"No... it was a misunderstanding."
"You flew all the way here for a misunderstanding?" she said dryly.
"I... wanted to make sure my detective returned safely."
Leave it to him to suddenly go all terse and mysterious. Ema knew she wouldn't be getting anymore out of him anytime soon. Prosecutors were always doing that, and he was the most closed-lipped one of all.
And damn if it wasn't hot.
A thought suddenly hit her. And as usual, she acted without a bit of thought of the consequences.
"Hey, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi.... want to be my plus-one to the event? I bet you could learn a lot about Kurain while you're there. You'll have to hurry and grab a bus ticket to make it, though."
His grim expression softened into a smile. "I would be honored," he said.
*
Maya was late, but not so late the buffet was picked clean. Ema snuck in the back of the main building, with Prosecutor Sahdmadhi close behind. She somewhat regretted her choice of the seating arrangements when she could barely hear what the guy who was officiating the wedding said. He didn't seem to be a priest or a pastor, but Ema couldn't place his robes, except to say they must be traditional to Kurain. They'd already gotten to the vows by the time she'd gotten settled.
The wedding was a small semi-traditional ceremony in Kurain. Maya wore a purple kimono, though Larry had pulled on the same suit he'd worn to the last wedding. Guys got it easy--they could put on the same suit over and over and nobody called them sloppy.
It was I do and I do and Ema could only think you do you when she looked at the groom.
Larry beamed, his smile only dampening when he met Pearl's fearsome gaze. Maya wasn't kidding when she said he hadn't even met Pearl and Mia yet.
She somewhat regretted her choice of the seating arrangements when she could barely hear what the guy who was officiating the wedding said. He didn't seem to be a priest or a pastor, but Ema couldn't place his robes, except to say they must be traditional to Kurain.
Pearlie stepped up, and shone in light, and in her place a woman who Ema only recognized from old pictures of Lana's appeared. Maya hugged her.
"Treat her well, or I'll haunt you," Mia said.
And they laughed, they all laughed, really, but Mia's gaze showed this was no joke.
After the ceremony, Ema approached Maya as she greeted the rest of the few wedding guests.
"Sorry about no gift; I conked out when I got back and didn't get a chance to go shopping," Ema said.
Maya clasped her hands together and laughed."That's no problem. I accept late gifts."
She laughed, and Ema still couldn't tell how much of a joke it was.
"Er... I'll send something? What about money, would you take a check?"
Prosecutor Sahdmadhi reached into his bag, and brought out something green. He held it out, so that Ema could now see it was a necklace made of deep green magatamas.
"Consider it from both of us. It was made within Khura'in."
"Wow, useful and pretty. Nobody is going to be possessing me with that on."
He nodded, and bowed. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi left first, but Ema lingered. Once he was out of earshot, she leaned in.
"Hey, Maya, do you have any pamphlets or books? I promised Prosecutor Sahdmadhi I'd find him something to learn more about Kurain. He's really interested in the history."
"Hmm. Larry started Maggie the Magatama and the history of Kurain. It's a new children's book series that he started. He's been real inspired about making stuff for our kid and getting it published before There should be an uncorrected proof somewhere."
"Pearlie!"
Pearl rolled up her sleeves. "Got it!"
In a few moments, Pearlie returned with the book in hand.
"I'm sure he'll take great care of it. He's super careful with that kind of stuff."
Maya waved her away dismissively. "Don't worry about it. There's a lot of them. He's been trying to get the local bookstores to stock them, and brought the uncorrected proofs as examples."
"So, you're going to be Maya Butz now?" Ema said.
Maya put a finger to her lips.
"That's the funny thing! There was some kind of family tradition. Men who marry into the Fey clan take their name. It's Larry Fey, now! I'm a new man―literally! I can feel the bad luck just flowing off of me. Today is a new day for Larry Fey!"
"Well, good luck with that," Ema said.
"Before you run off with your prosecutor, I'm about the throw the bouquet. I bet you want a chance to catch it," Maya said.
She used the exact same sing-song inflection for prosecutor as someone would with boyfriend.
Maybe working in Khura'in was rubbing off on her, but superstitious as it was, Ema wanted that bouquet.
Still, maybe there was something scientific after all. Larry had married only a mere three months after catching the bouquet. If the next person who caught it also got married, that would be clear data that there was something to the old superstitions after all.
She'd have to narrow down the time, and see if it was in a distinct time frame. If the next person who caught it also got married, then she'd have more data to add to the growing collection.
As she punched in the possible ratios, she was torn. If she caught it, she might be the next one, but if waited until someone else caught it, and then they did, perhaps there would be some science behind it.
Science or smooches? When it came to Ema, science always won out. Sure, Ema was on the floor, but she didn't make a big effort. Athena jumped up, but the bouquet sailed over her head. The bouquet landed right in Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's arms. He stared down in a blank sense of surprise. He lifted it up, as if a particularly vile bug had landed right in his pudding.
"You're next, Nick!" Maya called out from across the dance floor.
"This is ridiculous," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said. "I have no need for such superstitious nonsense."
He handed the bouquet over to Phoenix, who stared down. "I guess I really am the next in line," he said dryly.
"I'm finally going to get the mom or second dad I asked for years ago," Trucy said.
Ema headed back to the seats, until she caught sight of Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. It wasn't exactly like he was hard to find. Six feet tall gorgeous prosecutors wrapped in long flowy scarves and wearing gold brocade uniforms didn't exactly blend in.
He looked up from his book as she approached him.
"I asked Maya for some help. Sure, it's a children's book, but it should give you some idea about Kurain," Ema said.
He closed his original book, and laid the new book across his lap.
"Thank you. The history of Ami Fey is quite fascinating. There is much to be learned."
Ema sat down beside him.
"You don't have to be a wallflower, you know? Maya never holds prosecutions against her. She's got like, what, five not guiltys under her belt, maybe six? I lost count."
"...The truth is, I am exhausted from the trip, and may not be at my best behavior. So it is best that I remain here."
"Yeah, that must've brutal. I don't even know how you got there that fast, unless you've mastered teleportation while I was was over here."
He turned a page. "I had to protect what was important to me," he said softly. "Even if it was selfish."
There it was again, that weird enigmatic hinting at something. Ema was too tired to overthink about what her damn mysterious prosecutor might be up to.
Even with the nap, Ema was pretty exhausted. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth demanded long hours for his cases, and the guy never seemed to go off-duty. Just as Ema signed off, she'd find herself getting texts. She was genuinely surprised that she didn't wake up to a few demands to do some more evidence testing before her flight.
"Well, I'm clocked out after this. When is your next flight?"
"Tomorrow," he said.
Twilight had fallen when they headed to the bus. Ema had slipped some of the traditional baked sweets into a napkin for the long trip home. By now, he'd gone from exhausted to barely even awake. She nibbled on her hidden treat while he silently watched the lights of the city come into view.
They didn't talk, and it was okay. The hum of the vehicle was so soothing, that Ema couldn't say when it happened, except that the bus slamming to a halt.
She'd fallen asleep on his shoulder, and he'd fallen asleep against her. His hair brushed against her cheek, and it was so incredibly silky that it was taking all her self control to not reach up and brush her fingers through his hair.
Not even a little?
No, bad Ema!
"Last stop is L.A! This isn't a hotel, so find your stop!" came the last call.
She gently patted his arm. "Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, we've got to get up. I wouldn't reccomend trying to stay the night on the bus. They'd probably toss you out...or try, at least."
After all, it'd be pretty hard to just lift up somebody as tall as him.
His brilliant green eyes slowly opened, and all she could think was wow, you'd be nice to wake up next to.
Ema had to force her mind back to the moment, like returning to their hotel. Er, hotels, plural. Because they were totally going to part and not split a room and share many other things...
Ema pushed her mussed hair back. "Oh, night. I better start heading back to my hotel. Which hotel are you in tonight?"
"I have not booked one yet."
"You didn't?"
Ema bit her tongue before she said something stupid like offer to let him stay in her room. Where would he even go? There was no way he'd fit on that loveseat, with how tall he was, and it was a single bed. Even the thought of sharing a bed with him left her cheeks burning.
"I shall do so now. Hopefully there is one within the hotel you are staying," he said softly.
"It's worth a shot, I guess."
How unlike him. He usually had these things booked with the kind of efficiency and orderly planning that Ema could only dream of managing. But it wasn't surprising, she supposed. He couldn't have had time considering how fast he managed to get there.
"Well, okay. We'll probably be in the same hotel, so it'll be easier in the morning. Um, right. I'll call you in the morning, and we can go get some breakfast before we head to the airport."
They stepped out together into the night. The lights of the city lit the night as she headed across the street. It hadn't been just a fluke that she picked the place nearest to the local Greyhound station.
"Um, goodnight, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi." She brushed her hair back. "Sleep well and sweet dreams and stuff."
He nodded. "And I wish the same to you."
The receptionist came then, so Ema headed up. The magic of the night still lingered as she took the elevator up. Well, lookit here. You did sleep with Prosecutor Sahdmadhi after all. Okay, it was on a public bus and totally G-rated, but...he's really cute when he's just waking up.
She smiled to herself as the doors opened, and she headed towards bed. Even underneath the covers, her chest still felt warm with the knowledge.
*
By one, Ema had started to pace. She'd already tried his phone twice, and gotten nothing. It was partly all the awful things in her past, to say nothing of her job, that filled her mind with horrible headlines. Khura'inese Prince Regent Found Dead In Hotel.
"Listen, I've been trying to catch my bo--"
Someone pushed behind her. "Hey!"
"Please respect the line. Now, you wanted to find your boyfriend, miss?" the receptionist said.
She'd meant boss, but she didn't correct it.
"What room number is he in?"
"I went to bed before he did," Ema said apologetically. "Ahem, we ended up meeting up, and I got a single bed, so he just got his own room. He's really tall, so there was no way he was fitting--" Ema realized she was babbling in this half-truth, which would only make her look suspicious, but she couldn't stop.
"I don't know if you saw him. Long silver braid, killer genetics that I'm jealous of, super tall, kind of looks like a fairytale prince with his gold and white suit and flowy scarf--"
The receptionist cut her babbling off. "What's his name?"
Ema was surprised that the receptionist just gave up the information like that. The detective in her wanted to point out that she could be a serial killer.
"Nahyuta Sahdmadhi."
And then, armed with a key card, Ema went up to the third floor. 301. There were no bags, his room was intensely neat. In fact, it looked so unlived in that if it wasn't for the bump in the covers, Ema would've thought he'd already checked out.
Ema carefully stepped in closer.
"Prosecutor Sahdmadhi?"
When he groggily sat up, the covers fell down revealing his bare chest. Apparently, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi slept naked.
Ema covered her mouth, as her cheeks utterly burned. She blushed right down to the roots of her hair. Oh, oh damn. She couldn't look away. The best way she could describe this was chisled. Whatever those monk stretches were he was always doing really made him lean and taut.
Dammit, the last thing she needed was another reason to be thirsty over her boss. She glanced back down dammit, Ema. Focus! And not on how you'd like to lick his abs. Every single one, and then again, just to make sure they got proper attention-- and finally forced herself to stare at the wall.
Some Asian cultures had very conventions with nudity when it came to things like public baths. But she hadn't thought Khura'in was like that, if only because it was so damn cold there. Almost everyone she met had about three-to-five layers on. And that was in the Spring.
"Uh--Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, your luggage is gone. Do you think somebody broke in--or is it in the bathroom or deeper in the closet?"
"I brought nothing but the clothes upon my back."
"You didn't even grab your bag that has your prayer book?"
He shook his head.
He'd taken a red-eye flight across seas and hadn't even packed? That wasn't like him at all.
"Is this uncouth and putrid in your culture? I assumed due to the fact that there were even advertisements with men like this, it would not be a problem."
No, the problem is you're really freaking hot.
"Yeah, guys go bare chested all the time here. It just surprised me..."
"So, you don't even have anything to change into? I suppose you could just Febreeze it and you'll be good to go. Oh wait, you spilled food on your coat? We've still got a few hours, we can buy you some on the way."
Ema chanced a glance towards him, only to have Prosecutor Sahdmadhi push the covers aside to head towards the bathroom. Right, back to staring at the wall it was.
"Uh, showers I-I'm going to go--get something from my luggage. I'll meet you outside!"
Ema caught her breath outside the door. Right now a very naked Prosecutor Sahdmadhi was getting sudsy and wet. She needed to get some space between them before she did something drastic like offer to wash his back.
*
She dragged her luggage into one of the bathrooms and quickly looked through. She wanted to look casual and cute, but not sweatpants covered in Snackoo crumbs casual. Cute, but not thirsty. Plus, if they were going shopping, she would need to have something that she could slip easily out anyways. (Unfortunately for her, it was for shopping, not sexier reasons.)
She finally settled on a cute green sundress with flowers over it.
His hair had been gathered into a messy bun and still quite dry, which was no surprise. With hair that long, he probably took hours to fully dry. Even hers took a good half hour, and that was with a hair dryer. Maybe he'd skipped that step this time.
He was in the same gilded suit. The food stain was even more prominant today. Here was hoping it could be drycleaned before they left.
"I bet I can find a place that sells Southwestern Jalapeno Burgers on the way," Ema said.
They ended up at a Walmart. Finding pants went smoothly enough (pun intended) as he picked up some kind of beige pants made of some rough material, possibly linen. However, checking the men's shirts with him was a trip. With each shirt, his brows would furrow, or raise in surprise. At one point, she was almost sure she'd seen him cross himself at the sight of one shirt featured a Game Over with an unhappy man at the altar.
He lifted up a rather sexist meme shirt with neon lettering as if it was a bug.
Me too, she thought.
Ema laughed. "Okay, maybe we should try another store. We'll have to pay more, but I doubt that's a problem with you."
In L.A., there was always another store. They ended up in a strip mall, in some small geeky store lined with shirts. Between all the Steel Samurai shirts was a single rack of Plumed Punisher shirts, as well as a small corner of merchandise.
He held up a long white shirt with a gold mask. "I had one just like this, long ago."
"You're a big fan, huh?"
"I enjoyed watching as a child. Rayfa is a big fan, though she is loathe to admit it."
"Well, we've got a winner I suppose."
He placed another, smaller women's shirt over his arm, and headed towards the check out counter.
"After this, I think some Jalapeno Southwestern Burgers are in order. And some coffee. Then we better head back."
She glanced at her phone. "Actually, we should probably check in first and eat at the airport if we don't want to miss our flight."
"We booked through the same airlines, I believe. Do you think we have the same airplane?" Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.
"Anything's possible," Ema said.
"It's more comfortable when you're there with me," he said softly.
She smiled to herself, and savored the warm and fuzzy feeling.
A few minutes after checking out, he changed out into the new, foodstain less casual Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. He looked no less imposing and graceful in beige linen pants, and a Plumed Punisher shirt. His old suit hung over one arm.
"You didn't get a bag?"
"No, I must have forgotten. However, we are running out of time. I shall buy one in the airport," he said.
"No, don't get it, they charge too much. Just fold it up and put it in my luggage. Or wad it, I don't care."
"Wadding? Ridiculous," he said, practically under his breath.
He unzipped her bag and slipped his clothes in right next to hers. And Ema couldn't help but think it was strangely intimate, his things packed so close to hers and bickering over how to pack things. Like they fit there, they belonged.
Ugh, she was thinking those weird thoughts again. It was bad enough she'd found out that her boss slept naked and had a very nice workout regime. Now she was thinking about his frockcoats folded up with her bras.
One thing was for sure: it was going to be a very long flight.