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Some time after Phoenix got his attorney’s badge back, Klavier noticed how Ema began to tolerate his presence.
The sharp tone she reserved for Klavier gradually lost its edge, the insults being thrown to him no longer had as much bite as they used to, and Klavier knew it’s supposed to be a good thing since it only meant that Ema could at least stand him if only he was more capable, more sensible of what was happening behind the scenes during that incident from seven years ago.
Despite everything, the way Ema was starting to treat him like how she treated other people didn’t sit well with him. Just after Klavier thought he finally had her all figured out, she changed gears out of nowhere, leaving him with no choice but to go back to square one and get to know her all over again, trying to get used to the feeling of having more of the nicer aspects of her personality directed to him.
All of it was unsettling, as if the ability to read her was taken away from him, making him arrive at the unfortunate conclusion that maybe he never really knew her as much as he thought he did.
That exact feeling resurfaces when he spots her in the office of the homicide department on a particularly rainy night. 1:16 , the wall clock reads, and she is still there even after everybody else has already gone home.
“I see you’re working hard, Fräulein. You truly are exceptional,” Klavier announces as he stands by the door, watching Ema’s figure stiffen from his unexpected presence. “But it’s quite late, why are you still here instead of taking a rest for our investigation?”
Ema sighs heavily like he was the last person she wants to see, turning away from her computer screen to face him. “And what exactly are you doing here? Your office is not around this area...” she trails off when she meets his gaze, narrowing her eyes as she examines him. “You know what? I could ask you the same thing. Also, you look horrible.”
It takes him a few moments to come up with a reply, which he covers with a chuckle. Admittedly, he is a bit too aware of how the foundation on his face is fading by the second, but he doesn’t bother touching up despite his mind nagging him to do so since it’s so late at night and he thought no one would still be in the building to see him in such a mortifying state.
As if by instinct, Klavier almost reaches for the foundation in his pocket, the one he always brought with him in case of an emergency, only to remember that it’s just him and Ema in the room and all of a sudden, the urge to do a quick touch up dissipates.
There is no point in trying to fix his appearance at this point. She had seen him in a much worse state.
Klavier walks to her cubicle, settling down next to her with a swivel chair from nearby, and he couldn’t help but notice how she doesn’t move away like she used to whenever he enters her personal bubble. He observes her for a while, careful not to let his stare linger for too long as he takes in the way her computer screen illuminates the contours of her face.
The lighting somehow only makes her eyebags look worse than they actually appear. Klavier shakes his head from the sight. “That makes the two of us, then. You seem tired yourself.”
“Well, yeah. I have to study for the upcoming forensics exam,” Ema mutters softly under her breath and directs her focus back to the screen. Her voice is drowned out by the loud pitter-patter of the rain so Klavier isn’t able to make out most of what she said, though he has a faint idea of what she was talking about. He decides not to pry on the matter, seeing how her lips are forming a small frown.
“It’s pouring down really hard, ja?” Klavier switches the subject as his eyes flicker to the windows, the city skyline blurry from all the raindrops rolling down the roof. There is no way he would be able to get back to his apartment at this rate, even his motorcycle couldn't leave him unscathed from the rain. “Are you still going home after this?”
Ema heaves a sigh for the second time that night, and Klavier starts to wonder if she really is starting to tolerate him or if she is just trying to put up with him. “Not like I could at this point.”
“This is quite the predicament,” Klavier remarks, his voice laced with the unmistakable playful lilt that always surfaces whenever something catches his interest. “The two of us, alone in a room on a rainy night, having no plans to go home…” The corners of his lips curl upwards. “What do you think could go wrong?”
“A lot of things. One of us might kill the other for all I know,” Ema answers almost too abruptly, expressionless. Klavier supposes it's not outside the realm of possibility, given the nature of their jobs, and he makes a mental note that teasing her isn’t as effective when done during the ungodly hours.
“Speaking of murder,” she turns her screen towards his direction. “Surely you have nothing better to do if you’re here instead of lounging in your office. Rather than wasting your time with idle chatter, why don't you take a look at what has been gathered so far for the next trial?”
He complies without a word and leans towards her direction, taking a close look at the documents displayed on her screen as he attempts to check every detail like he was finding loopholes in a contract, although his focus constantly gets interrupted by his yawns.
His addled mind can only do so much, so he tries to gather the very minimal information he could register at that moment. “We have no other witness of the murder, and the suspect’s fingerprints are all over the crime scene… that sounds way too convenient, ja?” Klavier pauses, practically sensing Ema holding back the urge to roll her eyes that screams, thanks for stating the obvious, fop!
Klavier makes another mental note to review the case after he wakes up.
“Either the murderer did a sloppy job or all the leads we have been getting are actually a set-up to mislead us,” Ema groans as she glares at nothing in particular, leaning to her chair and squeezing her eyes shut. “There’s no harm in hoping this is just a simple case of homicide, but knowing what the hell is going on in this country…” Ema massages her temples. “That's probably just wishful thinking.”
Klavier doesn’t reply for a while, inattentive of his surroundings, unable to register the words coming out of her mouth as he absentmindedly stares at her. He’s not entirely sure what exactly caused him to be so tired and so unaware of his own actions that night, if it is from lack of sleep or from the reduced intake of caffeine he has imposed upon himself the past few weeks, but it’s only at the very moment Klavier finds himself reaching out to Ema’s face that he learns how his judgment is close to nonexistent when he’s exhausted.
It doesn’t take a split second before Ema flinches from the contact.
“W-wha...” Ema sputters. Her warm breaths tickling Klavier’s wrist breaks him out of his trance. “What are you doing all of a sudden?”
A practiced smile makes its way to Klavier’s lips as he maintains steady eye contact, trying to hide the fact that he is just as surprised as her, if not more. It was never his intention for things to arrive to this point, but knowing Ema, he can’t just tell her it wasn’t on purpose—even if it’s the truth—and expect her to actually believe him.
It’s unavoidable for the both of them to invade each other’s personal spaces considering how often they work together, but not once have Klavier ever considered directly touching her so needlessly as it’s a gesture he had a habit of avoiding even with his approachable disposition. Despite that, for whatever reason he couldn’t come up with, the thought of pulling his hand away from Ema at that moment feels so wrong to him.
After a moment of deliberation, Klavier decides to bite the bullet and carry on with the situation he subjected himself into. Whether his decision came from unfounded courage or just plain stupidity didn’t matter to him anymore, because regardless of what he chooses to do, the last bits of his rationality are still going down the drain.
“Ach,” Klavier shakes his head as he gently runs his thumb over the harsh crease between Ema’s furrowed eyebrows. “Easy on your forehead, Fräulein. You always do that whenever you think too hard, in case you haven’t noticed.”
His lips tug into a grin as he relishes in the way Ema gazes at him dumbfoundedly, as if all the quips she prepared beforehand have been forgotten before she could even say anything. Ema blinks owlishly. “Do I?”
“More often than you think,” Klavier replies as he gives her forehead a few more slow strokes, waiting for Ema’s eyebrows to appear relaxed before drawing his hand back to his side.
Klavier only then realizes how his palm now feels a lot colder than it used to, although he pushes the thought to the back of his mind. It’s admittedly not something he would like to dwell on for too long unless he is willing to continuously fall down a rabbit hole and never stop thinking about it.
“Take ample rest after working on this case, ja? We can't have you getting too stressed out, especially with everything that has been going on recently.”
Ema shoots him a wry smile. “If you’re that worried about me, maybe you could lessen my workload?”
A round of laughter escapes Klavier’s lips from her response. “My apologies, I can’t make any promises. It seems that I count on you a lot,” he says. “You’re incredibly remarkable, I hope you remember that.”
Ema may have forgotten how transparent she could be with her facial expressions as her mood visibly drops, plummeting right to the negatives. “Remarkable, huh,” she mumbles Klavier’s words to herself as if she is trying her hardest to actually believe him, knowing he wouldn’t lie to her no matter how insufferably superficial he could be at times, when in reality she finds it difficult to think of herself that highly.
The smile on Klavier’s lips instantly disappears, his eyes flickering to hers with concern. He doesn’t know what to say. “Fräulein, is something wrong?”
Ema chews on her bottom lip.
“...I plead the fifth,” she answers after a great deal of thought, and Klavier doesn’t push it any further.
It’s one of those times again when he absolutely has no idea what is running in her head. It’s completely unlike back when she despised him, when she exposes only to him a certain side of her that makes it easy for him to tell what she’s thinking, easy to counter her. Now that she could at least tolerate him, it dawns on Klavier how there are so many aspects about Ema that he still doesn’t know yet, and he is having a hard time figuring her out especially when she refuses to be so open to him to begin with.
Klavier leans on his chair, creating a distance between them. The silence hangs awkwardly in the air like how their conversation has been left off so abruptly, leaving the both of them with unanswered questions and a couple of unspoken thoughts, which would make the silence all the more deafening if it weren’t for the rain.
After what seems like forever, Klavier looks at her again, this time more cautiously. He breaks the excruciating silence, “I just remembered to tell you something.”
Ema doesn’t bother to look back. “Is it relevant to the case?”
“Not quite, I’m afraid.”
“I’d rather you keep it to yourself,” Ema huffs, her eyes still glued to the screen. “You’ve done more than enough to distract me, as you can see. Go back to your office and do your work or whatever.”
“It has nothing to do with the case, that much is true, but I can assure you it’s important.”
Ema finally looks his way, eyes expectant. “Out with it, then.”
“You’ll be able to do it this year,” Klavier says, intentionally being as vague as he could knowing how Ema is not too open about the subject of her incoming forensics exam, but there’s something with the way Ema widens her eyes that tells him she understands what he is trying to say. “I know you can. I believe in you.”
He does. He really does, and yet there’s a small part of him that reminds him of what exactly is going to happen once she does pass the exam, prompting Klavier to stare at her like she’s the only one that mattered to him that night. He memorizes every detail of her features, knowing that he might never get another chance to do it again once she starts to work with another prosecutor.
But he's okay with that. His selfish desires pale in comparison to her aspirations. He has had two successful careers so far, so he should know better than to act on his own self-interest at the cost of someone else's happiness.
For the first time that night, a genuine smile graces Ema’s lips, and Klavier swears he isn’t imagining the slight tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. “I’ll do my best.”
The scene unfolding in front of him is a sight he burns into his memory.