Foolish Rendezvous

"Fool, you're late." Franziska von Karma said tersely after she opened the door to her apartment, giving Detective Dick Gumshoe a glare as he stepped inside.

Gumshoe gulped nervously when he realized that Franziska, like always, had her whip at the ready, so he said his next words in a very timid tone, "I'm sorry, Miss von Karma…Mr. Edgeworth had me running around all day gathering evidence for his current case…I got away as soon as I could."

Franziska glared a moment longer, suddenly flicking the wrist of the hand holding the whip, not even giving Gumshoe the time to cringe. But to his surprise, he was spared the usual pain that came from a sudden attack from the whip since this time it barely slapped across his arm. He realized that the blow was not meant to hurt, it was meant to express her annoyance at being made to wait for him, yet her understanding of the situation. He let out a little breath of relief as he stepped further into the apartment.

As Gumshoe stood in Franziska's living room, his feet shuffling slightly in hesitation since he wasn't sure what to say or do, Franziska gave him annoyed look and then spoke in an irritated tone, "You may sit down, Scruffy. I shall tell you when you can come into the dining room since I need time to set the table perfectly. After we eat, we will watch a foolish movie which I have rented."

Franziska then coiled up her whip and turned away from Gumshoe, not even waiting for his reply, taking hard and deliberate steps back to the kitchen. Gumshoe sat down carefully on one of the couches in the room, and looked around him, examining his surroundings. This was the first time he had ever been inside Franziska's apartment, and he had to say that it was probably the cleanest, nicest, most ordered apartment he'd ever stepped in. He half smiled to himself when he thought about how far a cry this was from his own apartment.

There were two white leather couches in the room with a stylish looking glass table in the center. In front of him was a nicely sized television in an entertainment system with various forms of music equipment in it as well. On top of the entertainment system, he saw a few pictures. He got up from the couch to examine the pictures more closely. He saw that they were various pictures from her youth, containing her father Manfred von Karma, Edgeworth, and herself. He even spotted a more recent picture of she and Edgeworth, both looking much more serious than he thought was necessary for a relaxed picture of a brother and sister together.

As he looked a little closer to a picture of who he guessed to be a five year old Franziska with her father, both having very stern expressions on their faces, he thought in slight sarcasm to himself, Geez, I can see where she gets pleasant demeanor from.

His thoughts were suddenly broken when he heard Franziska calling him from the dining room in a harsh tone, "Scruffy! You may now come to the dining room!"

Gumshoe hurried over to the dining room, finding Franziska already sitting at the small table she had in the room, which, as she said it would be, was perfectly set with the food already on both of their plates. Gumshoe took the seat across from Franziska and then saw that she seemed to have made some interesting beef dish that smelled rather nice for them to eat.

When he sat down, he saw that Franziska seemed to be glaring at him expectantly, so he figured she wanted him to try the food first and tell her what he thought of it. One other thing he noticed was how Franziska was holding her whip as she looked at him. Awkwardly, he picked up his utensils and took a bite of the dish. As he chewed, a smile materialized on his face, the delicious flavors spreading in his mouth as he ate.

"Wow, pal, this stuff is really good! What is it?" Gumshoe asked after he chewed and swallowed another bite.

Pleased with his reaction to her food, Franziska carefully set her whip down on the table and a smug smile came to her face.

"It is called Saurbraten. I did everything in my power to make sure my cooking is nothing less than perfection." Franziska said in a haughty tone, practically looking down her nose at Gumshoe.

Gumshoe smiled awkwardly at Franziska and replied, "Well, pal, you out did yourself."

At this comment from Gumshoe, Franziska said nothing, but she did have a small smirk on her face in response. They finished the rest of the meal in almost complete silence since Gumshoe didn't know what to talk with Franziska about without annoying her, and Franziska herself was not much for dinner time conversation.

When the meal was over, Gumshoe felt like it was one of the best meals he had. He realized that it probably didn't take much to impress him and his simple palate of instant noodle dishes, but he appreciated the dinner very much nonetheless.

Franziska suddenly got up from her chair and said in an authoritative tone, "Scruffy, you may wait for me in the living room. I shall clean the dishes and then join you."

"Are you sure you don't want – " Gumshoe started to say, only wanting to be helpful, but he was suddenly cut off when Franziska suddenly cracked her whip on the floor.

"Go sit down." Franziska said, her voice dangerously quiet, "I do not want to deal with any foolish mistakes that may happen if you tried to clean my dishes."

Gumshoe decided not to argue, not really anxious to be whipped. He quickly went back into the living room and sat back down on the couch, waiting for her. As he waited, he started to feel a little nervous, realizing that this was really the first time since the earthquake that they actually had a moment alone together.

It's really hard to get any time to spend with her especially since we have to keep everything secret…Gumshoe thought in a little regret, wishing they didn't have to be so secretive.

He knew that spreading the news of their relationship would probably not help either of their jobs, so he kept as quiet as he could about it. Although, he was sure some of his coworkers were starting to suspect his fishy behavior whenever there were conversations about relationships or who had their eye on whom.

He stopped this train of thought when Franziska finally joined him in the room. She turned on the TV and started the DVD player, and joined him on the couch.

He saw the movie she put in was some sort of artsy European film that he personally would have no interest in on his own, but he decided to keep this opinion to himself to spare himself from the whip. What he didn't know was that Franziska herself was not even interested in the film, her only aim in watching it was to seem more cultured.

The longer they sat next to each other on the couch, the more nervous Gumshoe felt. He would have liked to get just a bit closer to her, but he was afraid to do something that she wouldn't like, for the obvious reasons. Gumshoe finally couldn't take the hesitation he was having anymore, just deciding to try getting closer, and dealing with any negative consequences that may happen then. He watched her carefully as he scooted closer to her on the couch until their sides were touching.

Even if she wasn't looking directly at him, he knew her well enough to know that she was watching his every move. Since she did not whip him for making this action, he decided to take a chance and to put his arm around her. At first, Gumshoe felt her stiffen and saw her tighten her grip on the whip, so he almost pulled away from her completely, but he let out a small, relieved sigh when she slowly let herself relax against him. He knew that she found it very difficult to trust other people this way, but he was glad to see that she really was trying.

They stayed this way for a while, and Gumshoe was content to just hold her and be close to her this way, knowing that these chances with her were few and far between, so he was surprised when she suddenly moved, turning toward him and forcefully putting a hand on his chest, just giving him a very intense stare. Gumshoe nearly gasped at the intensity he found in her grey eyes, feeling like he could just lose himself in them, right then and there. Usually these eyes were so cold, smug, and mocking, but now all he could see was affection, and maybe even a little uncertainty, something he was sure that most other people in her life never saw.

Just letting his emotions guide him, he slowly raised a hand to cup her face, stroking her cheek softly with his thumb. This simple and tender action caused a delightful tingle spread through her face, making her heart beat faster and her breath get just a bit deeper. As much as she was usually annoyed with his inefficient and unprofessional ways, all of those feelings disappeared the minute he touched her this way. The intense look never left her face as she leaned in toward him, her eyes finally fluttering closed as their lips came into contact.

Gumshoe carefully wrapped Franziska in his arms as they kissed, pulling her even closer to himself. She put her hands on the sides of his face, and he let out another small sigh, surprised at how soft her hands were, and the tenderness of her touch. Franziska felt herself begin to get carried away, and this feeling scared her a little since she was used to always exercising the strictest control over her emotions, but this felt so nice that she decided to throw her caution to the wind for once, just letting things happen as they may.

With this decision in mind, she decided to be a little adventurous. She certainly was extremely inexperienced in matters such as these, but she figured that the same applied to Gumshoe, and that it wouldn't hurt to try something new.

How else can I attain perfection in these things? She told herself to get the courage to try things she'd never done before.

She pushed herself still closer to him, so now she was almost on top of him, and parted her lips slightly as they kissed, lightly, almost timidly, pushing her tongue against his lips to get him to do the same.

Feeling her tongue on his lips caused Gumshoe to gasp softly, the sensation completely unexpected and wonderful to him. This gasp also caused him to part his lips inadvertently, allowing her the access she wanted to his mouth. Gumshoe also leaned backwards and slightly to the side, so now he was stretched half way across the couch.

Gumshoe's nervousness increased ten fold as he felt Franziska's tongue in his mouth and feeling her body so close to his own. He gingerly moved his tongue against hers, and found a rush coursing through him, unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

As she gingerly caressed his tongue with hers, Gumshoe pulled her even tighter against himself, which ended up in her being pulled completely on top of him as they kissed. Franziska realized this, and she broke the kiss, feeling a little apprehensive. She found herself looking down on a flushed and lightly panting Gumshoe, and this sight caused her own heart to beat even faster, making it even harder to think straight, much to her dismay.

She was never one to let her emotions have rein over her this way, liking everything in her life to be logical and ordered, with nothing getting out of its place. So, finding herself in a situation where her emotions overtook her so swiftly, her mind spun, trying to keep up with everything that was happening.

Some part of her mind kept asking her, in the four months after the earthquake, if Gumshoe was actually the one that she wanted. So many logical sides of her mind told her that it was a bad idea and that the relationship would put her in so many situations that her court experience had not prepared her for, but in the few moments they shared together in this way, her heart told her, yes, this is where she wanted to be.

Gumshoe looked up at her and felt his breath deepening as she stared at him, looking like she was studying him. He wanted more than anything in the world for her to just continue kissing him, but the last thing he would want was to make her think that she had to. His hands were gentle as he rubbed them slowly up her back and ran them through her hair, finding this closeness to her to be completely intoxicating, wishing that they never had to part.

By the time that Gumshoe's hands reached her hair, Franziska felt a shiver going through her that was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, and this caused her to let herself fall against him once more, locking lips with him again. This time her kisses were much more confident and demanding now that her emotions completely took her over.

As they kissed, she moved her hands up to his shoulders and pushed off his tattered dark green trench coat, then carefully moving her hands down his chest over his shirt.

The fool most definitely requires a new coat, since this one is obviously substandard, Franziska thought in mild disgust, but she was quickly distracted by the matters at hand.

The feelings coursing through Gumshoe's body made him tremble just slightly, making him realize, beyond a doubt, that he'd never felt this intensely about anything or anyone before, and this thought made him even more nervous. Gumshoe hoped that Franziska didn't notice this trembling so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable, but she easily did since she was acutely in tune with him and her surroundings in this moment.

She was strangely comforted when she noticed it, secretly glad that she wasn't the only one feeling completely anxious by the fact that they were now in uncharted territory. She, of course, hid these feelings from him, wanting him to feel like she knew what she was doing and that she wasn't afraid of doing something wrong, liking the control of the situation this behavior afforded her.

With this thought in mind, she got up off of him to sit beside him, taking the collar of his shirt tightly in her hands and then pulling him roughly towards her to lock him in another passionate kiss, so that now they were suddenly in a different position. All Gumshoe could do in response was gasp in surprise and readily comply, knowing very well that she could probably do whatever she pleased to him and he was in no mind to refuse.

As they continued to kiss, Franziska's grip on Gumshoe's collar did not lessen in the slightest, partly due to nervousness on her part. As she gripped his collar, she stared straight into his eyes with an almost unnerving gaze, finally bringing her hands down to his shirt buttons, undoing them slowly one by one.

"Ahh…Miss…von Karma…" Gumshoe said between a sharp intake of breath caused by Franziska's actions.

Franziska then brought up one hand and forcefully pressed a single finger to his lips, speaking softly, yet sounding intense and vaguely threatening, "No. Franziska."

Then that finger began to trail down Gumshoe's chin and neck at an almost torturously slow pace, finally stopping at his chest.

"Fran-Franziska…" Gumshoe said with a sigh as she moved her hand, her name sounding very awkward as he said it, his voice trembling not only from trepidation from her tone, but also from his rising desire.

Franziska then slipped both of her hands under Gumshoe's shirt, rubbing her hands up his chest with the intention of pushing the shirt off, when sudden loud knocking at Franziska's door startled them both. In response, Franziska pushed Gumshoe away from herself with much more force than was necessary, tried to tidy herself up as much as possible, grabbing her whip and answering her door.

The force of Franziska's push caused Gumshoe to tumble to the floor with a yelp, barely able to get up off the floor when she opened her door a crack to find out who it was.

"Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska said in surprise, snapping her whip on the ground as she gave him a glare.

Miles was not phased in the least by Franziska, quite used to this behavior from her.

"I need to talk to you about a case. I have too many and I want to give one to you." Miles said in a bored tone, walking past Franziska into the apartment.

"Detective?" Miles said with jut a touch of surprise, raising an eyebrow at Gumshoe, who was obviously trying to hurriedly button up his shirt.

This sight caused a smirk of amusement to come to Miles's face when he realized that he had obviously walked in on something.

"Ahh…M-mr. Edgeworth." Gumshoe stammered, scratching his head in embarrassment as he averted his eyes to the floor, his face reddening very quickly.

"Miles Edgeworth!" Fraziska said loudly as she snapped her whip, bringing Miles's attention away from Gumshoe to her, "How dare you come over unannounced!"

Miles's smirk grew larger, succeeding in infuriating and embarrassing Franziska still further.

"I actually did call, but you did not pick up your phone. I was passing by your apartment on the way home, so I thought I would drop by to see if you were here." Miles replied, amusement clearly breaking through his brisk tone, "I had no idea that you would be otherwise…preoccupied."

This comment from Miles caused both Gumshoe's and Franziska's faces to redden more. Miles resisted the urge to laugh at the expressions on both of their faces, specifically Franziska's face, as he took the manila folder he had in his hand and placed it on the living room table.

"The information for the case is in the file. Well, I believe I'll take my leave then. I hope you two have a nice evening." Miles said with one last look at their flushed, embarrassed faces, smirking and meeting their eyes, putting extra emphasis on the words "nice" and "evening".

In response, all Gumshoe could do was give Miles an awkward chuckle, and Franziska gave Miles a glare. Miles then made his way out of the apartment and left them alone again. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Gumshoe finally spoke.

"Well…maybe I should go, Miss von Karma…" he said with great hesitation, not really wanting to leave, but thinking that since Miles basically caught them together, it would be weird if he did stay.

Franziska narrowed her eyes at him thoughtfully, considering the situation. It was embarrassing indeed for her brother to pop in on them the way he did, and it really was strange to have Gumshoe stay now that Miles knew what he did, but a part of her didn't care, knowing that the times they had alone together were few and far between.

With Franziska looking at him this way, he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, so he picked up his trench coat by the couch and put it back on. Then he stood by the door, shuffling his feet, really not sure if he should leave or stay. Finally the silence just became too tense for Gumshoe to stand it, so he spoke again.

"I…guess…I'll see you later then?" Gumshoe said carefully, now fully turning to the door.

Do I really want him to leave? Franziska asked herself before he made his way out of her door.

She quickly made up her mind. As he was stepping out of the door, she swiftly stepped forward and grabbed the front of his trench coat with both hands. He then looked at her, his eyes wide in surprise, finding her looking at him with a devious smirk on her face.

"I think not, Scruffy." she said, somehow managing to sound suggestive and threatening at the very same time.

With that, she yanked him back into her apartment and slammed the door behind them.