Sadness and pain ahead! I don't own any rights to Ace Attorney or any of its characters. Enjoy! :)

It was never meant to happen like this. The job was a simple thing that required almost no effort, so it was insisted that only minimal backup was necessary. But then she of all people had to get herself stuck right in the middle of it.

Franziska was meant to be delivering a note from Interpol to a small, organised crime community. But they had been well informed of this and everything was to be done in a public place- a local restaurant to be exact. Their men were under strict orders to not harm Franziska so long as she did not attempt to harm them; which she had no intention of doing as she was not the type of fool to take them all on by herself. Everything had been going according to plan. But just as she pulled the note out of her pocket to place it on the table as she had been told to, a voice sounded behind her.

"Franziska?" Her eyes widened as she instantly knew who was standing behind her. With no other choice, she turned around.

"Hello, Adrian" Franziska smiled over at the other woman, praying that the men she knew were watching her would think nothing of this hopefully brief exchange.

"What are you doing here? I thought this type of place wouldn't really be to your tastes"

"Oh, I was just... checking the place out" Franziska lied. Adrian raised her eyebrows sceptically but didn't seem too suspicious.

"How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages" Adrian asked, completely naive to the situation Franziska was in.

"I'm actually kind of in a hurry. Could we catch up some other time?" Franziska said hurriedly, trying to back away towards the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the men watching her stand and take a step towards them, his hand hovering above the gun in his pocket.

"Are you okay?" Adrian took a step forward, her hand stretched out towards the other woman who immediately backed away further and that was the moment Adrian realised something was very wrong.

"Franziska, what's going on?"

"I really have to go," Franziska said, already turning for the door. She managed to take three steps before a deafening gunshot ripped through the air. For a moment, everything was still. Franziska reached down towards her stomach and expected to find a growing pool of blood and a sudden rush of pure agony. But she felt nothing; not even the slightest hint of pain. It was at this point she realised two things. The first was that she had not been shot. The second was that if the bullet hadn't hit her, then who had it been aiming for? Slowly, as though she was afraid of what she might see, she turned around. That was when she saw Adrian lying on the floor, her hand clutching at her side as blood dripped down her fingers. Everyone in the restaurant began screaming and running towards the exit. Police officers sprinted into the building and ran after the men from the crime community who were trying to escape. But all Franziska could do was stand there, completely frozen, and stare at Adrian's bleeding body. Someone, probably a police officer, called out to her. This managed to get her muscles back into motion but instead of going after the officers to catch the criminals, she stepped forward and fell to her knees beside Adrian.

"H-He was going to shoot you" Adrian managed to whisper and Franziska felt her heart clench in her chest.

"So you took a bullet for me? Why would you do that, you fool?" Franziska muttered, though her voice was more full of fear than of anger. Franziska wrapped her arms around Adrian's waist and gently pushed down on her wound to try and stop the bleeding as much as possible. Adrian groaned in pain and her whole body tensed.

"It's okay, I'm just trying to stop the bleeding" Franziska whispered reassuringly. Slowly, one of her hands slipped down and clasped one of Adrian's. Their fingers intertwined and Franziska noticed Adrian beginning to calm down a little. They stayed quiet for a few moments longer before Franziska felt Adrian slouching in her arms.

"Adrian?" Franziska's voice was laced with fear as she shook the body in her arms. She regained consciousness but could barely keep her eyes open. She was fading and Franziska knew it.

"Stay with me. Please, I need you to stay awake for just a bit longer. I don't what I'd do if I lost you" Franziska's voice rose in pitch as she felt Adrian's body growing heavy and for the first time in her life, she had no idea what to do. Her mind was so clouded by the fear of losing in the woman in her arms that all other thoughts disappeared. Her heart began to race; she couldn't lose Adrian. Not now... not ever.

"Adrian, p-please" the uncharacteristic crack in her voice was what brought Adrian back once again.

"Franziska?"

The prosecutor sighed in slight relief at the sound of the other's voice and tried to hush her to silence, but apparently she had different ideas.

"No, Franziska. There's something I have to tell you; a dying wish I suppose" Adrian admitted. At those words Franziska shook her head, her eyes wide with shock. But Adrian smiled gently in reply.

"Even since I first met you, I knew you would become someone special to me. You treated with such respect and care unlike anyone else had ever shown me before. And, I guess I've known for a while now but never got the chance to tell you. So here goes... Franziska Von Karma, I think I'm in love with you"

Adrian didn't know what kind of reaction she had been expecting but the one thing she hadn't been expecting at all was to look up and see those deep grey eyes looking back at her and a soft smile on Franziska's face.

Slowly, as if unsure of how to go about it, Franziska leant down over Adrian until their noses brush together. With one final glance back up to her eyes, Franziska pressed her lips to Adrian's. It was soft and gentle but it said everything it needed to. Adrian's lips tasted warm with a slight metallic tang of blood but she didn't care. Adrian smiled against Franziska's lips and she felt Franziska do the same before finally pulling away. Adrian sighed gently and took one last look at the woman above her before closing her eyes for the last time.

"Adrian?" Franziska's smile began to fade from her lips "Please, you can't leave me! Come back, you have to come back"

But no reply came, nor would it ever come. Franziska choked out a sob as she slowly wrapped her arms around Adrian's body and slumped herself over her. Her tears seeped into Adrian's jacket and dripped down Franziska cheeks. The room became still and silent despite the noise outside and nothing but Franziska's quiet sobs filled the room. She had no idea how long she had been there but eventually some of the police officers re-entered the room. Their first attempts to take away Adrian's body had been futile; Franziska refused to let go of her and she would scream and hit anyone who tried to move either her or Adrian. But after a while, Franziska felt her own body slumping with fatigue. As gently as they could, the officers managed to pull Franziska away and remove Adrian's body.

"Are you alright, Ma'am?" one of the officers asked, handing her a glass of water. But Franziska's ears and eyes were deaf and blind to the world. Instead, she was only focused on one thing; Adrian. Her eyes, her hair, her smile, her voice; it all rushed through Franziska's mind. Suddenly she stood up straight, causing the officer in front of her to stumble backwards a little in surprise. Without saying a word or looking at anyone, she turned and walked out the door of the restaurant she had entered almost two hours ago. Several voices called after her but all she heard were muffled cries as she walked as fast as she could down the street without breaking into a run. A deep, sharp pain slowly started to spread over Franziska's body to replace the utter numbness she had felt as Adrian's lifeless body had been taken from her arms.

She wasn't quite sure how she managed it but somehow she found herself inside her own house, still in one piece. She slowly slid down the wall next to the door until she hit the floor and curled her body in on itself. She had no idea how long she sat there and cried but eventually her throat became so dry that she couldn't even cough and her eyes had no more tears to give as relief for her heavy heart. With the last of her energy drained, she slumped down into a restless sleep right there on the floor.