DISCLAIMER: Phoenix Wright belongs to Capcom.

A/N: for those of you who don't know, or just aren't sure exactly what it is - a hickey is a bruise caused by suction. You can give one to yourself. But people will know you got it from someone else if it's on your neck or some such place.

~ Perfect Excuse ~

It was 4:30 in the morning when Franziska got up to go to the bathroom and she just happened to glance at her reflection in the mirror and see THAT. THAT was going to ruin her entire day. She was going to have to do something about THAT or she would be facing awkward questions at work all day...

She had a hickey. It wouldn't be such a problem if it had been in a place that her clothing usually covered. (She didn't even glance twice at the ones on her shoulder and chest; no one besides herself and her lover would ever see those...) However, this one was located about 2 inches below her left ear, almost even with her jawline. She couldn't wear something with a collar that high without looking like she was trying to hide something, and makeup wasn't a reliable solution. She could just leave it alone. But that wasn't a reliable solution, either. Her hair would naturally fall over that spot, but she couldn't depend on it to always be a position to cover the bruise. In fact, if she tilted her head just the slightest bit to the right... there it was, clearly exposed.

Franziska sighed, fingering the ends of her hair. If she had let it grow out long, she wouldn't be having this problem right now. She always kept it cut short because she didn't like the way it hung in her face when it was longer, and long hair was a pain to take care of anyway. Suddenly, she remembered a story she had once heard from her older sister, and smiled to herself. She had just come up with a perfect plan.

When Phoenix walked into the bathroom at 7 a.m., it was obvious that Franziska had been up long before him. She was dressed for the day in the same clothes she usually wore. (White blouse with puffy sleeves, black vest with yellow trim, black mini-skirt, black gloves, white bow with blue jewel, blue earrings, black boots.) However, one thing was very different. She had curled her hair today, and was in the process of deciding which hair accessory would be best to hold the unruly curls back from her face. Phoenix watched as she tried a white ribbon, then a black barette, then bobby pins, then a headband, and back to the white ribbon again... In the end she tied her hair back on both sides with white ribbons. She then clipped a blue pin over the center knot of each ribbon, so that they matched the bow on the front of her outfit.

"Your hair looks nice that way," he said to her, once she finally turned around and noticed him there. "You should put it up more often."

"Quiet, fool!" Franziska snapped irritably. "I wouldn't have bothered with such a useless feminine ritual if it hadn't been for you!" And with that, she stalked out of the room.

Phoenix left for work feeling like he was on top of the world. He mistakenly believed that Franziska's feelings for him had spurred her to put extra effort into looking pretty. He had no idea that it was simply a part of her elaborate scheme to keep their relationship a secret. A secret that could easily be found out if she were to show up for work with a hickey on her neck...

As expected, almost everyone she came across asked her the same question, with varying degrees of disbelief.

"Is that a hickey?"

To most of them she answered casually, with an impatient flip of her hair, "I burned myself with the curling iron this morning."

But when the question came from a certain Miles Edgworth, she smiled coyly and said, "Wouldn't you like to know...?"

-end-

A/N: Reviews are love.