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With the rustle of fabric, Franziska flopped onto her bed face first. It was dark in her room, but the streetlights by her apartment complex provided an artificial glow to her room. The rumblings of various cars’ motors that rattled by were normally quite tolerable to fall asleep to, but Franziska was extremely tired and it only brought her a sense of dread. Back-to-back cases were never her favorite thing, but being an international prosecutor as well as an assistant to Interpol was a taxing and arduous task that always demanded her presence. She groaned, covering her ears with her pillow.
It’s been ten years since she became an international prosecutor, eleven since her conversation with Miles in the airport. Eleven years since she finally figured out what path she wanted to go down, and it was thanks to Miles for guiding her.
She took a deep, heavy breath, sighing into her pillow as she turned to her side. It was quiet in her apartment in Munich, still and empty. Franziska had just spent the past 72 hours with one Shi-Long Lang, but that was already 72 hours too long with that dreadful man. In her humble opinion, she wanted nothing more than to cuddle up in the warm and soft embrace of her girlfriend, but alas she was 12 hours away, and Franziska could not possibly fathom being awake any longer.
...Despite this, she twisted around to grab her phone off the nightstand behind her, turning it on and instantly being blinded by the screen's light. A couple of blinks later, Franziska’s eyes eventually adjusted to see a photo of her resting her head on Maya’s shoulder. Franziska’s features softened, and she smiled.
She unlocked her phone, opened up the search bar, and searched for the soonest flight to LA. Luckily enough, there was a flight at 6:00 am. Unluckily enough, it was through a company she despised and the seat was in the economy class.
Franziska groaned as she paid for the flight. She screenshotted the confirmation number, saved her ticket to her email, set an alarm for 4:30 am, and clicked her phone off for the night. That’ll give her at least 4 hours to sleep, she reasoned as she twisted back around, cuddled into her comforter, and fell asleep.
Franziska woke up too late for comfort.
She stirred awake, confused, as she checked her phone for the time which read 5:30 am.
She had set her alarm to 4:30 pm.
Panicked, Franziska threw off her covers and jumped to her feet, whisper-shouting expletives in German as she tossed various clothes and toiletries into a suitcase, zipped it up furiously, grabbed a granola bar from her cupboards, and locked her apartment up for the next undiscerned amount of time.
She hurried her way down to the lobby, through the revolving doors which irritated her more than usual, and flagged down a taxi. She thrust euros into the cabbie's chest and shouted at him to drive to Munich International Airport, sitting restlessly in the backseat with her legs and arms crossed as the cabbie drove away.
Franziska hummed to herself as she mindlessly watched the passing city lights, nothing but colorful blurs in the dawn-soaked sky. Her eyes grew heavy, taking in a deep, shaky sigh as she leaned up against the door, resting her head on the back of her hand. The car’s heater thrummed tactfully, warming Franziska’s disdainful disposition as she tapped her finger along to a song, eyes closed and dangerously close to falling asleep. As she felt herself being whisked away into a tired solitude, her body furiously shook herself awake, blinking back sleep with a yawn and checking the time on her phone that read: 5:40 am.
Furrowing her eyebrows, she scowled at the time displayed on the screen, tapping her index finger in the crook of her elbow, and effectively wrapping herself in a frosty atmosphere. She decidedly opened her phone and reasoned with herself that if she messed up something as simple as an alarm in her languorous state, surely she missed something regarding her plane ticket as well. After a few moments of scrolling around, Franziska found herself surprisingly satisfied with the prepared information.
That is until she was subsequently caught off guard with a text from Maya:
Maya <3: hey franny! just wanted to make sure you were okay! haven’t heard from you in a while so I got a little scared, hahaaa….
Franziska smiled gingerly, unfolding her arms and legs and leaning up against the car door once more, furiously tapped away at the screen:
Franziska: Apologies, we just finished up a few hours ago but I was exhausted and took a nap.
She debated adding a sentence about her soon arrival, but Maya had already replied:
Maya <3: oh that’s good!
Maya <3: not good that you were exhausted, but that you’re okay
Maya <3: hey, if you’re tired, then why are you up? isn’t it like…...early there?
Franziska: Oh, yes. It’s almost 6 in the morning here. I’m headed over to see you today.
Maya <3: REALLY?! i gotta tell miles and nick, they’d be stoked to see you!
Maya <3: hanging out over at their house is a nightmare, they’re super lovey-dovey and gross so me and truce are hiding in her room
Franziska: Then I’m glad I can bring you some solace.
With a lurch, the taxi pulled to a stop, startling Franziska as she accidentally tossed her phone to the ground. She cursed to herself, panicked as she patted the questionably sticky taxi floor in hopes of finding her phone in the dark shadows of the morning light. As if god was testing her, she found her phone just as the taxi began to pull away. Somehow, her foot got caught on the seatbelt, effectively scraping her knee against the blacktop. She bit her lip to dull the pain in her knee, cursing the company that manufactured the car, and finally pulled her luggage out of the trunk. Franziska was already having one hell of a morning, and frankly, she wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t the end. Not being caffeinated was one thing, being sleep-deprived was another, but both? Being both teetered on Franziska’s sanity.
She took a minute to glance up at the airport’s grand entrance, blinded by the factory glow the building maintained, and began her race to the terminal in time.
T-Minus 8 minutes: Franziska got her luggage checked in and bolted through the airport.
T-Minus 6 minutes: She impatiently got through security, fighting with one of the security guards to allow her to bring her whip on the plane. They agreed on letting her have it, as long as she didn’t use it.
T-Minus 2 minutes: She barrelled towards the terminal, practically shouting at the attendant to hurry up and scan her ticket.
T-Minus 30 seconds: Franziska tripped her way through the aisle to her seat, flopping down and buckling up as the sun began its proper rise.
She took a deep breath, sighing it out as the prosecutor attempted to get as comfortable as possible in the world’s most uncomfortable plane seat, creaking under her weight as if it was going to deflate and crumble into nothingness within the length of the plane ride.
She huffed out a sigh again; at least she had a window seat.
LAX was a lot more packed than Munich’s International Airport, Franziska noted as she stepped off the plane and was instantly bombarded by swarms of tourists and travelers. She was almost knocked over one too many times as she stumbled her way towards baggage claim.
Praying that the incompetent airline company managed to get her suitcase onto the right flight, she watched as the carousel rotated around and around, increasingly getting more and more annoying with each passing suitcase and getting her hopes up whenever a black suitcase passed her by; a small suitcase with a Batman logo on it, no that’s not hers, a larger, dark green suitcase with various stickers plastered on it, not hers either.
Franziska was on the verge of whining at this point, except she also knew she was better than whining in public and especially not in an airport. But she was tired and achy, and she just wanted to cuddle with her girlfriend, why were the gods so cruel to her—
A small black suitcase comes around the carousel, no designs, no stickers, and it takes all of Franziska’s non-existent energy to not delude her expectations.
A glimpse of purples and yellows reached Franziska’s blurring eyesight, and she realized that the bag had a Plumed Punisher luggage tag strapped to the handle of the suitcase.
The luggage tag Maya had gotten her from her time in Khura’in.
Franziska sighed in relief. She picked up the suitcase by the handle, pulled it off the carousel, and turned just in time to hear her name shouted from across the hallway.
“FRANZY!!!”
“AUNT FRANZISKA!!!”
A blur of purple and blue flashed by, and with an “oomph”, Franziska was tackled into a hug by both Maya Fey and Trucy Wright. Maya gave her a peck on the cheek hastily, and Trucy attempted to see how hard she could squeeze Franziska’s abdomen without breaking her ribcage. Franziska closed her eyes as she returned their hugs, and a warm comfort settled into her heart.
Unfortunately, she was then besieged by the presence of her deplorable brother and his insufferable husband.
Franziska scowled at her brother, who then said, “Nice to see you too, Franziska,” with a smirk.
Miles Edgeworth was a man Franziska could respect. Well-mannered and fine-tuned, just as Franziska had been taught and reclaimed. And yet, whenever he was around that dopey defense attorney, all sense of admiration for the man was flushed down the drain. Franziska rolled her eyes at Miles as he held Phoenix’s hand cautiously, pretending as though she wasn’t extremely happy to see him in such a loving environment.
Phoenix Wright, on the other hand, was a man Franziska had to learn to respect. Granted, he was and forever will be ‘that dopey defense attorney’ in Franziska’s mind, Phoenix had also gone through his fair share of mishaps and disappointments in his life to set him on the track of mending wounds. It’s a shame it took him going through disbarment for him to earn Franziska’s respect, but she was still happy the man finally found himself again after so long.
Trucy skipped back over to her fathers, making Franziska realize that she hadn’t properly processed the fact that her brother was married and a father yet. Her brother, a man in his 30’s, is married and has adopted a child. If anything gave her hope for her own life, it was, unfortunately, comparing it to her brother’s…despite it giving her a sense of both dread and aspiration.
Maya, the love of Franziska’s life no matter how much it looked like she just rolled out of bed, shifted so that she could stand in front of Franziska, sun-kissed and freckled arms loosely hanging over Franziska’s shoulders as Franziska placed her hands firmly at Maya’s hips. Maya faked a glare, “I had to wake up extra early to meet you this morning, y’know.”
Franziska felt her eyes soften at the edges and her heart skip a beat, “Yes, I know, but you also could have stayed behind.”
Maya gasped playfully, “And miss seeing my beautiful, wonderful girlfriend almost throw a fit in front of a luggage carousel?”
“You saw that?” Franziska said in a small voice, glancing at the terrazzo flooring with an embarrassed flush creeping up her neck and cheeks.
Maya giggled, pulling Franziska closer and closing the gap with a kiss, “No, but I know now!”
“Hey, you guys do know we’re in public, right?” Phoenix called out towards the pair, who quickly separated, both blushing furiously. Phoenix laughed heartily, “Guess not.”
Franziska grabbed onto the handle of her whip, folded it slightly, and snapped it against itself, startling a fearful Phoenix Wright into the arms of his husband, who rolled his eyes, “Speak for yourself, Phoenix Wright!”
“Why am I the only one that still gets the full name treatment?” Phoenix complained as the group laughed at his expense, heading towards the terminal’s exit.
As soon as Franziska exited the building, with the sun reaching up towards its peak, she felt a wave of exhaustion tackle her and she stumbled slightly as they reached Miles’ bright red sports car. She squeezed Maya’s hand to keep her awake, who looked at her worriedly.
“Are you doing okay?” She asked earnestly, her voice lowered but not quite a whisper with sincerity in her bright brown eyes.
Franziska shot her a lazy smile, “I’m fine, just immensely tired. I only got about five hours of sleep in my bed before boarding a plane and attempting to sleep in economy.”
Maya looked at her with shock, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar, “You? The Great Franziska von Karma? Flying in economy?!”
She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand, “Yes, I know. It was the only flight available, and I wanted to see you, so I had to make do.”
Maya beamed, pulling on Franziska’s hand slightly, “Aww, Franzy! Did you miss me?”
Franziska felt her cheeks and ears warm, before glancing away, “Yes, I...missed you a lot, Maya.”
The two sat in the backseat with Trucy squished in the middle; despite Franziska’s constant badgering at her brother to get a bigger and more spacious car, Miles constantly refused. Trucy beamed at Franziska, “So! How was the case this time?”
Franziska pondered her question for a moment, glancing out the opposite window briefly. Images of ice cream, ducks, and fire flashed within her mind’s eye as her delirious, sleep-deprived self attempted to make sense of the triple cases she solved back to back to back. None of it made any sense, but she assumed she’ll make sense of it once she gets back to her office in the States.
Maybe she’ll ask Miles and Phoenix for help. They tend to get pretty wacky cases, maybe they can turn the story around.
The case seemed very cutthroat and to the point: three murder cases back to back all involving arson. Franziska had believed that it was all the same person and that there had to be something in common with the victims, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Lang, on the other hand, was certain that the murderer was three separate people, and that they all worked in a group of some kind, but even he was still stumped on what connected the victims.
Except they only arrested one guy, a Ferris Weldy, who had connections to a kidnapping ring from an earlier case. If there were two other people, they didn’t leave any tracks to circle back to them. Ferris Weldy owned an amusement park where one of the victims’ bodies was stored in a box of chocolate ice cream in a freezer in the park, and the other victims were found inside of the duck’s pen at the petting zoo and lazily tossed inside a trash can outside of the petting zoo. Each of the bodies was charred from a gas fire, but the park never had experienced such a fire ever in its days.
Franziska had seen a lot of odd cases in her time, but none of the previous assailants were this sloppy and yet still very thorough.
She massaged her scalp as though her brain was going to explode, “It was...interesting, to say the least.”
“Did you catch the guy?” Trucy asked, eyes wide and very curious, then crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, “Polly and I barely ever caught the guy when we investigated crime scenes.”
“Kind of?” Franziska didn’t mean the statement to come out as a question, but it was still partially unknown, “We arrested one of the guys, but it is still unknown how many people were involved.”
Miles glanced at her from the rearview mirror, “Would you like me to look over the case reports?”
“You have no idea how helpful that would be,” Franziska huffed, turning her attention to Phoenix, “You might need to help him, Phoenix, this one’s a wild one.”
Phoenix placed a hand over his heart in fake shock, “Aww, are we finally on a first-name basis, Franzy?”
Franziska reached down for his whip and Phoenix immediately threw his hands up in the air. “Call me Franzy one more time, and I will cut off all of your fingers,” She threatened, before clearing her throat, “I also do hope you know I’ve called you Phoenix in non-professional settings plenty of times before.”
He huffed, sitting back in the passenger's seat and looking ahead while crossing his arms, dropping the conversation as Maya and Trucy stifled laughter. Maya turned to Franziska, awkwardly reaching over to pat her knee, “You didn’t get hurt though, right?”
Franziska took Maya’s hand in hers, gently rubbing circles onto the back of her hand as she gained eye contact with Maya, “No, darling, I am fine.”
Maya let out a shaky breath, retracting her hand as she noticed the discomfort on Trucy’s face. “That’s good,” she said softly, “You scare me sometimes taking these huge cases from Interpol.”
“Yeah, Aunt Franziska,” Trucy agreed, nodding her head, “I mean, I’d be a wreck if something happened to you, I can’t even begin to imagine how Auntie Maya would feel.”
“Or me, for that matter,” Miles said, butting into the conversation, “But I’m sure you’ve already dealt with your fair share of trepidations.”
Franziska knew what he was talking about, and she understood well. A burning sensation blossomed around her right shoulder, one that was hollow and echoed the pain through her muscles. The scent of gunpowder and blood will forever be burned into her memories, and at times she thought back to her upbringing and detested the legacy she was taught to uphold. For all of her achievements in being the first or the youngest, she often wished she had a normal childhood.
One where the scent of gunpowder and blood was not so easily known.
“Maybe I’ll stay in the States this time,” Franziska mused, mainly towards herself, but she didn’t miss the slight exhale Maya gave.
The car rolled up to Maya’s apartment complex, where Franziska decided she’ll stay for the first few weeks of her visit. Maya hopped out of the car first, pulling Franziska’s suitcase out of Miles’ trunk almost too eagerly as Franziska dragged herself out of the car. The Wright’s all followed suit, saying their goodbyes with a hug and waving as they eventually got back in the car and drove away.
Franziska held Maya at the hip with one arm, watching as the car pulled away. Maya stuck her tongue out at it, then sighed thoughtfully, “They seem very…family-like.”
Franziska nodded as the two looked off in the general direction the car drove off from, “Shockingly so.”
Maya turned to Franziska, jumping on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on the taller girl’s temple, “Would you ever want a family like them?”
It was a challenging question, to say the least, Franziska thought as she stared into Maya’s chocolatey brown eyes, “Probably not.”
Maya beamed, “Good, cause I didn’t want that either!”
She took Franziska’s hand in her own, soft and warm even through the fabric of her gloves. A bubbly feeling danced within Franziska’s ribcage as she laced her fingers through Maya’s as they walked up to her apartment, giddy when Maya squeezed her hand back.
When they finally entered the apartment, hand in hand as the door shut behind them, Franziska concluded she should’ve come to years ago: Franziska wanted to marry Maya. She couldn’t imagine a life without Maya right by her side, and the thought devastated her. As Maya danced around the kitchen, humming along to the Steel Samurai theme as she prepared coffee, Franziska sat on a stool at the island counter, pulling her phone out and briefly tapping out a question:
Franziska: I need advice, could we meet up at your jeweler’s at 4 today?
Miles: Of course, may I ask why?
Franziska: No, you may not.
“Who’re you textin’?” Maya asked, sliding a coffee cup towards Franziska and leaning up against the counter.
Franziska clicked her phone off, setting it on the counter and taking a sip of her coffee, “Miles, I’m gonna meet up with him later.”
Maya raised an eyebrow to that as she downed her coffee in one gulp, humming intriguingly. “Well, until whenever that is, what d’ya wanna do?”
“Is that even a question?” Franziska contemplated, resting her head on her head and glancing in the direction of Maya’s bedroom. “I only had about 5 hours of decent sleep in the last 96 hours.”
“Fair point,” Maya said, pointing the rim of her mug towards Franziska, before setting it down on the counter, watching as a yawning Franziska dragged herself towards Maya’s bed.
“Please wake me up at one, I cannot cognitively function enough to set an alarm,” Franziska called out from within the bedroom.
“‘Course!”
Franziska flopped down onto a bed once again, though sleep proceeded to allude to her. She was insistent on sleeping, however, forcing her eyes shut but not moving underneath the covers. Sunlight filtered in through the curtains, casting the room in a golden glow but all Franziska could see was the red of her eyelids, her arms twitching slightly. She shifted positions, flipping from her stomach to her side then to her back as if she was an overcooked pancake, not quite finding the right sleeping position. Yet at the same time, her brain screamed at her to fall asleep, a blanket of warmth and familiarity attempting to override the overactive part of her mind through a battle to the death. In a wistful and damning defeat, overactivity won.
She sighed, a lungful of lavender filling her nose as she breathed, and decidedly called out a weak, “Maya…”
A few shuffling sounds echoed from the kitchen; the setting down of dishes in the sink and the clinks of cutlery against the countertop suggested that Maya had begun to fill a load of dishes into the dishwasher. A second later, the bedroom door opened up and Maya stood there in the doorway, a million questions flashing over her face as to how Franziska managed to get herself that wrapped up into the blankets.
“Yeah?” Maya asked, her eyes flitting down to a stain of water at the edge of her shirt, and subsequently fiddling with it.
Franziska scowled with a frustrated groan as she flipped around through the maze of a blanket, eventually meeting Maya’s eyes, softening with an embarrassed flush, “I can’t sleep.”
With a giggle, Maya sat on the edge of the bed, “I can tell.”
Reaching over, Franziska intertwined her fingers with Maya’s, gloveless for once as she got familiar with the certain creases and calluses that graced Maya’s hand. The warmth that normally comforted Franziska on cold evenings was burning hot without her gloves, but she welcomed the warmth nonetheless.
She caught the spirit medium’s gaze again, a question in Franziska's eyes and a smile on her lips. Maya knowingly nodded and shimmied her way under the covers, loosely holding onto Franziska as she lightly ran her fingers through the soft locks of Franziska’s hair. Maya hummed thoughtfully as Franziska sighed, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl tightly, as though she would vanish forever if she did not hold on for life. Their legs tangled together as Franziska closed the gap between them as much as she could, listening amply to the rhythmic thumping of Maya’s heart and matching her breathing to Maya’s own.
They stayed silent like this for a few moments, warmth imbued within their embrace melting away all prior stresses and concerns, before Maya pressed a kiss onto Franziska’s head and Franziska met her eyes once again. Maya’s eyes were always full of so much love and adoration whenever Franziska looked into them, consistently bright and full of life. She pressed a kiss by the corner of Maya’s right eye, earning a soft chuckle.
“I love you so much, Franziska, but you have to tell me what’s up,” Maya whispered, breaking the silence. Franziska frowned, looking away only to have Maya cup her cheeks, forcing her to look at her. Maya sniffed out a laugh in sympathy, “There’s something on your mind, I can tell.”
Franziska sighed, “I will never understand how you can read me so easily.” Maya laughed softly, wrapping her arms around Franziska once more and pressing her forehead against hers. The prosecutor smiled, but it melted into a frown after a moment’s worth of consideration, “There are...a few things on my mind, but I do not wish to take up your time as well as your bed.”
Maya playfully patted Franziska’s shoulder, “Nonsense, I rant to you all the time, Franzy! It’s the least I can do.”
Leaning onto her elbow, Franziska considered everything that was on her mind at that moment: worrying about when to propose, making sure they find the culprit in her case, worrying about which ring would be best, hoping Lang handles the case fine in her absence and subsequently Interpol, panicking over what to ask Miles to get his help proposing, worrying that Miles wouldn’t want to help...
Considering over 50% of her thoughts consisted of Maya and proposing, Franziska figured she should take the safe route and reword her fears, “It’s...part of my fears stem from a conversation I had with Miles about a decade ago.”
Franziska could see Maya calculating the time in her head—glancing at the ceiling briefly with her eyebrows furrowed—before nodding her head for Franziska to continue. Franziska took a breath, and continued, “It was right before I left for Germany again the first time.
“I was naïve, selfish, angry at both Miles and myself, and I was quite frankly a fool. I let all of my anxieties and fears take control and when Miles showed up with my whip and a promise and I...I said some things I deeply regret.” Franziska paused, a tingling sensation within her sinuses pestering her in hopes of tears. She sniffed, trying to rid the scratchy feeling only to worsen it, and glanced away, “I fear that I may not have changed much since then, that deep down I still have that never-ending stress of perfection lurking within.”
Franziska’s voice started to waver as she blinked back a few tears, a pained smile lurking at the corner of her lips, “And in that fear lies a constant drilling notion of what-ifs: what if Miles is still angry at me?; what if he’s just hiding how he truly feels?; what if I am still that same Franziska von Karma?; what if I—”
“Franziska,” Maya said with finality, reaching over and cupping Franziska’s cheeks once more, watching as Franziska began a spiral, panic stirring in her irises. “Franziska, listen to me: those are just what-ifs. They’re thoughts made up by your brain to make you feel all bad and stuff, they mean absolutely nothing in the scheme of things!”
“But—”
“Nope! No buts!” Maya declared, shining her ever-bright smile. “They’re fake! Not real! Franzy, I promise you, Miles doesn’t hate you. And if you don’t believe me, then why is he so willing to meet up with you and help you with your case?”
Franziska mulled the thought over, coming up blank, “I don’t know, maybe...because he’s the chief prosecutor now?”
Maya rolled her eyes, crossing her arms with a pointed glare, “Sounds like you’re reaching, Franny.”
“Well, it is an Interpol case.”
“And why would the chief prosecutor of LA be of any importance to Interpol?”
Franziska let out an exasperated groan, “I don’t know! But there’s a possibility!”
Maya smiled, patting Franziska on her shoulder, “Exactly, Franzy! It might be a possibility, but there’s a possibility for literally everything ever!”
Franziska raised a brow at that, “How so?”
“Okay, so like, think about it this way,” Maya started, shifting to sit up and gesturing with her hands towards the ceiling, “There’s a possibility that the roof could collapse. Right now, for absolutely no reason...virtually.”
She then gestured towards the window, “There’s a possibility that a thunderstorm rolls in suddenly, and lightning zaps our power.”
She followed up by gesturing over to the door, “There’s a possibility that the dishwasher breaks, and we would have to wash all of our dishes by hand.”
Finally, Maya places a hand over Franziska’s heart, “And there’s a possibility that Miles is helping Interpol for this case, and that’s why he wants to help you.” She moved her hand after a moment's pause, recollecting her point, “What I’m trying to say here is that all of the things I listed could happen, but they all have a low chance of happening. Thinking that something’s gonna happen and then working yourself all up about it isn’t healthy when it never happens; trust me, I’ve been there plenty of times, and I know you have, too.
“You are your own person, not your thoughts. Your thoughts are there to torment you, but at the end of the day, they’re just thoughts. You can tell your brain to just shut up for once, y’know?” Maya searched Franziska’s face for a reaction of any kind, hopeful that her advice worked its way in as Franziska sat with her eyes closed, thinking through her words. Maya sighed in empathy, “That’s just my opinion on the matter, anyway.”
“You are undeniably extremely smart, more than you let yourself believe, Maya Fey,” Franziska says finally, a small smile on her face with tear stains dried on her cheeks, “And very pretty.”
Franziska rolls closer to Maya, reaching up to Maya’s jaw and pressing her lips on hers. Maya giggled into the kiss, resting her arms on Franziska’s shoulders. “Well, Athena talks about psychology stuff sometimes when I’m over at the WAA, so I guess I picked up on a few things?”
“A few things?” Franziska scoffed, rolling her eyes, “Maya, you sounded like my therapist just then.”
“What can I say, I’m a natural,” Maya replied, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly despite the grin on her face betraying her attempt at being suave. She caught Franziska’s eyes once again, and grabbed her hands in hers, “Also, you’re nothing like the Franziska von Karma I met in that courtroom on that fateful day, you know that?”
Franziska stared incredulously at their joined hands, glancing up at Maya with confusion, “I hardly believe that’s true.”
“No seriously!” Maya exclaimed matter-of-factly, beaming at Franziska, “You were mean, and snarky, and always serious, and not saying that you aren’t still all of those things, just that it was amped up to ten thousand!”
Franziska raised an eyebrow before Maya sheepishly added, “And yeah, it was kinda hot, but that’s not my point!” Maya huffed, “Look, do you think the Franziska von Karma of 2017 would actively want to cuddle with someone, specifically her girlfriend?”
Franziska sighed, “I don’t think she could even fathom the possibility of ever having a girlfriend.”
“Franzy, Franny, Fran, repressing feelings isn’t good, no matter how much your father wanted you to believe that, but that is not the point here either,” Maya patted Franziska on her arm. “Seriously! Think about it: was there ever a point where being emotionally close to someone to this extent was something on your goal sheet?”
Mulling it over, Franziska came to her honest conclusion: most likely not. That Franziska was so driven by perfection and winning that nothing else truly mattered. Nothing else could matter. No matter how many fantasies and dreams she had created as a young child, she was forced to realize how impossible all of her dreams were at an early age. She was taught that dreams were pointless and only in the way of her true goals, and it wasn’t until that fateful day in the airport eleven stressful years ago did she truly begin to seek out change. That she ever even considered that she could change.
And change she did.
“No, there wasn’t anything on that goal sheet,” Franziska said, a hint of finality in her tone. She crossed her arms, glancing forward at the opposing wall, “Miles, he...he helped me realize that I still had hope for change in my life, that I must forge my own path and to remember where I came from.”
Bits and pieces leftover from a conversation that was never fully forgotten bleed into Franziska’s memories, piecing together all of the hints and tells of body language she didn’t truly understand then. She refocused on Maya, grounding herself in the present, “I didn’t have any goals until Miles showed me the light and you guided me through it.”
Maya’s eyes, bright and full of life, began to water as her cheeks began to blush, “You...you mean it?”
Franziska turned fully to her, relieving her back from pressing against the intricate designs of the backboard, and cupped her cheek, “Maya, if I did not have you right by my side, I would not have been able to move on from that part in my life.”
Maya chuckled out a sob, wiping her eyes as she slowly fell onto Franziska’s shoulder, Franziska then wrapped comforting arms around her as she cried, “This wasn’t supposed to happen, I was supposed to be helping you!”
With a sniff of a laugh, Franziska rested her chin comfortably on Maya’s shoulder, nudging her slightly, “You did great, dear, I love you.”
Maya sobbed onto Franziska’s shirt, hiccupping between her words, “I love you so much!”
As she regained composure, Maya wiped her eyes and glanced over at the clock, groaning ever so slightly, “You should probably get some rest, you’ve only got about two hours now.”
“Are you sure? You can stay,” Franziska said, ending her sentence with a yawn.
“I would, but I’m sure you need sleep and I’m not tired anyway and—”
“Maya,” Franziska spoke with urgency, as Maya proceeded to sit back down, “I’m tired, but I did not fly 12 hours on 5 non-consecutive hours of sleep to not cuddle with my girlfriend.”
Maya chuckled, flopping down next to Franziska, resting her head on her fist, “Fine, you win! I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”
“Thank you.”
“Fran!! Franny, wake up!!”
Franziska awoke to Maya furiously shaking her arm, the scent of coffee filling the room. Her eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings as she grumbled quietly to herself. Maya sat at the edge of the bed with a mug of what Franziska assumed was coffee, a worried expression stuck on her face. Franziska smiled, sitting up and resting her head on Maya’s shoulder.
Maya sighed, her shoulders relaxing, “I hate to do this to you right after you just woke up, but it’s 3.”
Franziska resisted the urge to groan, settling on a small frown as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She nuzzled her forehead into the crook of Maya’s neck, whispering “Are you sure?” against her skin.
Maya softly laughed, resting her head against Franziska’s, “Yeah, I’m sure.” A comfortable silence followed, neither of them really wanted to move as Franziska listened to the quiet rise and fall of Maya’s breath; she didn’t want to leave since every hour away from Maya was torture, but Franziska was a timely person and she needed someone else’s opinion on the matter of marriage.
The idea of proposing had been on Franziska’s mind for quite some time, but she was also fearful of such a commitment. Marriage was…a long commitment, and even if it wasn’t forever, it was still an everyday thing. No longer would Franziska come home to a quiet apartment in her own space with her own thoughts, but…she still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. And yet, every time Maya smiled or kissed her, it made Franziska’s heart sing. She wanted to feel that as often as she can. And as much as she’d love to wake up every morning right next to Maya and wanted to grow old with her, would Maya want the same?
Is such a domestic life even something Franziska was allowed to have?
With a sigh, Maya pulled Franziska from her thoughts, and says, “I don’t know if you wanna take a shower or something before you go, so hopefully an hour’s enough time.”
Franziska straightened up and planted a kiss on Maya’s cheek, “An hour’s fine, my love.”
Maya smiled, taking a sip of her coffee as Franziska stood, stretched, and moseyed over to Maya’s shower. “Love you!” Maya called from beyond the bathroom door.
A warm and quick shower later, Franziska physically shivered as she pulled on her overcoat, wrapping a scarf around her neck and tucking it into the coat. The sun was to set before Franziska returned to Maya’s apartment, so with Maya’s insistence, she tucked a pair of thin gloves into her pocket despite knowing that LA could not get as cold as Munich in the winter.
Franziska grabbed and pocketed her wallet, glancing back at Maya who stood at the kitchen counter, tapping away on her phone with a smile. “I’ll be back,” Franziska called.
“Mmm-kay, see you soon!” Maya said, waving as Franziska headed out, bounding down the stairs and out the front door.
The jewelers was a good 15-minute walk from Maya’s apartment; Franziska knew this because it was the same jeweler where she helped Miles with his engagement. A fairly quick walk in Franziska’s opinion, though her mind persisted to bombard her with fears the whole way there. She could see her breath in front of her with each breath out, watching cars rumble by as she walked along the sidewalk. But with each step, her anxiety about the conversation ahead grew, and by the time she reached the store, her urge to turn around reached a peak.
“Hello, Franziska.” Of course, it was far too late to return home at this point. Miles adjusted his glasses with a tap of a finger, a slight grin on his face as he pocketed his phone.
Franziska repressed her instinct to scowl, “Hello, Miles. I need your advice.”
“That much I know,” Miles reminded Franziska, who clenched her fists in the pockets of her coat. “Would you care to sit?”
The siblings sat on the open bench a few steps away from the jewelers, Franziska fiddling with her wallet’s strap as Miles crossed his arms, waiting. He was always more patient than Franziska, more kind . It used to always infuriate Franziska, but in her time of need, she was more than thankful for it. She sighed, how on earth was she supposed to start a conversation like this?
“I...” Franziska started, biting down on her lip hard as she processed what she wanted to say, avoiding eye contact. “I am sorry, Miles.”
Raising an eyebrow, Miles tapped a finger on his elbow as he asked, “Whatever for?”
“For what I said, back when I left the first time.”
Miles hummed in thought, before realization hit him, “Oh…you don’t need to apologize for that, Franziska. You were angry at me, rightfully so; I didn’t take offense from it.”
“But I…”
“Ziska,” Miles asked, the usual sharpness of his tone nonexistent, “Is this really what you wanted to ask me about?”
Franziska frowned; of course, he could tell there was something more. She asked him to meet up at a jewelry store of all places, surely there was something else on her mind. But, she did want to apologize for before, should’ve apologized long before now but both of their schedules were constantly filled, this was the soonest. Or maybe it would’ve been better if she brought it up at Christmas when everyone was gathered, but she never wanted to bring down the joyous spirit. The simple act of bringing something up from so long ago seems pointless at this point, but Franziska’s subconscious constantly badgered her about it, so much so that it didn’t feel like eleven years had passed, but it has. To everyone else but herself, eleven years have passed.
It was foolish, really, to bring up an event from that long ago. Would Miles even care?
You are your own person, not your thoughts. Your thoughts are there to torment you, but at the end of the day, they’re just thoughts. You can tell your brain to just shut up for once, y’know?
Franziska shook her head, “No, I just…didn’t know if you’d help.”
Miles sighed, “Ziska, I will always help, no matter what.” He let out a huff of a laugh, “I have a feeling I know what you want to do, though.”
“I want to go ahead on the plans,” Franziska nodded, smiling to herself, before squinting at Miles, “Are we on the same page?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.”
“You’re insufferable, you know that, right?”
“I take after the best,” Miles smiled genuinely, causing Franziska to punch his arm. “You do know that you don’t have to get married if you don’t want to, Fran.”
Franziska crossed her arms exaggeratedly, squeezing her eyes shut with a furrowed brow as she attempted her best impression of Miles, “Yeah, but the tax benefits…”
“I hate you.”
“And yet if you did, you would not be here right now.”
Miles frowned, standing up and stretching, “Alright, let’s go find you a ring.”
Of course, Maya was right; Miles didn’t hate her. He willingly wanted to help her with her case, he willingly wanted to help her find a ring; he did those things because he cares. And though they might have their falling outs and disagreements, at least Franziska can rely on Miles to always be there for her. They’re family, and family sticks together to the bitter end.
And she is glad.
-Five months later-
With the rustle of fabric, Franziska flopped onto her bed face first. It was dark in her room, but the streetlights by her apartment complex provided an artificial glow to her room. The rumblings of various cars’ motors that rattled by were normally quite tolerable to fall asleep to, but Franziska was extremely tired and it only brought her a sense of dread.
It had been five months since she had those conversations with Maya and Miles, five months since Franziska moved to Los Angeles for good, five months since Franziska worked as a prosecutor for Interpol.
Five months…and an engagement ring still sits in her nightstand’s drawer.
Franziska reached over, patting the air until she finally could grab ahold of the knob on the drawer, sighing as she pulled it open. There, hidden behind books, notebooks, her phone, and a charger was a tiny velvet box. She pushed past the wall of books and took ahold of the box, rubbing her thumb over the top and sighing again. Inside sat a simple ring—Franziska was certain that Maya would not want anything crazy—with a silver band and a purple gem in the middle. Franziska decided to go with a purple gem since it reminded her so much of Maya, though Miles insisted that it shouldn’t be amethyst—something about it being a hassle to clean—so they settled on a generic purple gem instead. Though Franziska worried about it not being 100% real, Miles ensured her that it would not matter as much to Maya. She took his word, but she still had her doubts.
And now, Franziska can barely find the right time to even pop the question. Maya deserves the most elaborate and exciting engagement in the world, and yet she has her own responsibilities to deal with. Franziska hasn’t even seen Maya in a good two weeks.
But, like Miles has said time and time again since getting the ring, what matters most is that they are both happy. She doesn’t need to have the perfect moment, timed perfectly like in the silly American films; she doesn’t need that moment to be elaborate.
She doesn’t need to perfect.
Tomorrow, Franziska will drive Maya to the testing site to take the bar exam; Maya had been studying for the test for a few years at this point, Franziska helping every step of the way. Maya decided that she wanted to be a lawyer years ago, but with being the Master of Kurain and all, she never had the time to actually get barred. That is, until now. After years of badgering the elders and insisting that acolytes alike should be allowed to pursue other careers on the side, they finally, finally, agreed. And while Franziska fears for Maya’s health in going full-time with two stressful careers, Maya ensured her that it’ll be alright. “I’ll work for Nick and Nick already agreed to not give me too many cases when things get tough!” Maya had said when they talked about it for the umpteenth time.
But Franziska believed in her, believed in her ability to be a lawyer and a leader because if there’s anyone that can handle that, it’s her.
Of course, her entire family and all of her friends will be right there alongside her, ready and willing to fight tooth and nail to make sure she can take a break if need be.
Franziska was hoping to propose before she took the test, but the closer and closer it got, the more and more proposing after it seemed like the better option.
Unsure of herself, Franziska grabbed her phone, clicking it open to find a text waiting for her:
Maya <3: wanna hang out? - sent at 10:34 PM
She glanced at the clock which read 10:36 PM in a bright, alarming red.
Franziska didn’t entirely know what “hang out” meant; to Maya that could mean literally and physically everything. Most often, it meant walking around the park for a while because Maya was stressed, which was most likely what she was talking about. Hell, her entire life could just flip like a coin tomorrow, Franziska wouldn’t blame her if she was stressed. Tonight was perfect for something like that, not too cool but not too hot. But before Franziska could even properly process it, she had jumped up to her feet and threw on a jacket, not exactly caring how she looked as she slipped the velvet box in her pocket.
Tonight will be the night.
Franziska: I’m on my way
“Sorry for making you come all the way over here this late at night,” Maya said as she opened her door, closing it behind her and taking Franziska’s hand in hers.
Franziska shrugged as they headed down the hallway, “It’s no different to me.”
Maya pouted, tugging on Franziska’s arm, “Well, you should! Sleep is very important, you know!”
“And my girlfriend is even more important than that,” Franziska said with a smile.
They continued their banter as they walked over to People Park with Maya groaning as she noticed the closed gates, “You’d think they’d know how often we walk around this park at night and just leave it open for once!”
Though Franziska was already in the middle of climbing the gate, “They won’t change the hours just for the two of us, y’know.”
“Ugh, but Fran!” Maya began her climb, hopping over and landing on her feet with practiced gusto, “Can’t we debate it in a civil court?”
“We could, but,” Franziska took Maya’s hand again, warm as always, and smiled, “I’d rather hop the fence with you.”
The two of them fell silent, enjoying each other’s company as they walked. Eventually, the weight of the box in her pocket got too much to handle, and Franziska turned to Maya, “Maya?”
“Fran?”
Franziska laughed softly, “You go first.”
Maya shook her head, “No, you.”
Franziska sighed, “Alright.” She glanced up at the sky, vacant of stars, “Are you prepared? For tomorrow, I mean.”
Maya followed her line of sight with a quizzical brow, “Yes and no. I feel like I’m as ready as I can be, and yet something’s nagging me that I won’t pass.”
“You studied intensely for months, Maya. That’s just you’re brain making you stressed for no reason,” Franziska said with certainty.
Maya frowned, “How dare you use my words against me?”
Franziska shrugged, “It’s helped me more times than I can count.”
Maya stopped dead in her tracks, turning to Franziska in shock, “Really?”
“Really,” Franziska smiled, taking both of Maya’s hands, “those were quite the wise words, Maya Fey.”
With bright red cheeks, Maya smiled, “I love you, Franziska.”
The duo had reached the other end of the park where a curved archway lit with lights sat, which lead to a garden right next to the riverbank. With Maya’s hand in hers, Franziska never felt more joy; this must be the time.
People Park was an important spot for Franziska and Maya. It was where Franziska had confessed her feelings, where they had their first date and many others after that. It was where Maya told Franziska that she was going to leave for Khura’in for two years, where Franziska told Maya she was finally moving here, where Franziska finally realized how in love she really was with Maya. It was special to the two of them, so this had to be the place.
Franziska got down on one knee, removing the box from her jacket pocket, and looked up…only to see Maya had done the same.
They stared at each other in awe, both on one knee with their own velvet box in their hands, shocked.
Both of them sputtered out a laugh, with Franziska helping Maya up to her feet, “Come on! How long have you—”
“How long have I!? How long have you had your ring!?” Maya asked between laughs, wiping a tear from her eye.
Franziska dropped her head, “...Five months.”
“Five!?” Maya pulled Franziska into a hug, kissing her on her cheek fervently, “You’re so cute, you know that?”
Franziska blushed, shaking her head, “Wait, what about you?”
“I just got mine,” Maya opened her velvet box where a beautiful gold ring sat, a blue crystal donning the center, “but I’ve been eyeing it for three years.”
Three years?! Franziska laughed to herself, “That’s a long time…”
Maya waved her hand, “Well, I saw it once before I left, and then…couldn’t pick it up until I got back.”
Franziska rested her head against Maya’s shoulder, sighing, “Wow, we’re awful.”
Maya patted Franziska’s head, “We can be awful together, then.” Maya paused, before taking Franziska by the shoulder, “I do have a few people over waiting for us, so they’re probably wondering what’s taking so long.”
“Who?”
“Miles, Phoenix, Trucy, and Pearly,” Maya said, counting them off on her fingers, before squinting at Franziska, “Wait…when you said you had to meet up with Miles five months ago, was that when you got your ring?”
Franziska raised an eyebrow, still slightly in shock by the events of the night, “...Yes?”
Maya groaned loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Oh my god! They set us up!”
“I’m not following.”
“I asked Nick like years ago how to propose to you, and he must’ve told Miles because Miles was the one who helped me pick out a ring! And if he helped you pick out one too, they’ve both known for five months that we wanted to propose to each other!”
Franziska gasped, “And they let that happen?”
“And they let that happen!”
Franziska laughed, “Well, at least they care about us.”
“That’s true,” Maya rubbed her chin with her index and thumb, “Wanna go pick on them?”
“How so?”
“Pretend we both said no and then dunk on them,” Maya said with full honesty, beaming at Franziska.
“Of course, my dear,” Franziska pressed a kiss on Maya’s cheek, and the two walked hand in hand back to Maya’s apartment.
Franziska didn’t know how she was going to propose to Maya, but she’d glad she waited nonetheless. Because there truly isn’t anyone she’d rather spend the rest of her life with than her.