fic: Save The Date (4)

[bonnefois]

Title: Save The Date (4)
Series: Ace Attorney
Character/pairing: Nahyuta/Ema, Gumshoe/Maggey, Simon/Athena, Edgeworth/Phoenix, Larry/Maya, Franziska/Adrian, Klavier/Apollo
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 11939
Summary: When Larry gets married after catching the bouquet at Sorin and Ellen's wedding, it sets off a series of weddings, all involving the next person who caught the bouquet. As Ema starts to see a pattern, her interest is caught, both for the possible scientific discovery and the chance on being able to get a wish of her own.
Author's note: Feel better, HT!! Thanks to my lovely gf for doing a quick beta for me, even though she doesn't go here.


Ema mostly used Skype to keep up with Lana, but when she'd suddenly gotten the request from the Wright Anything Agency account, she'd accepted immediately. They'd always been offline when she was on-- no surprise with the eight hour difference --until one day while she was checking her mail during her lunch, a video call request suddenly popped up.

Ema immediately accepted. On the screen, Athena smiled back.

"Do I need to lean down?" Athena asked.

She bent down and gave a worried glance towards the top of the outdated computer. Ema wasn't even sure who got the webcam in order, because it certainly wasn't Mr. Dad Phone. Maybe Trucy's new twin friends clued her into the fact that it wasn't 1994 anymore, and she brought home a webcam to keep in touch with Apollo.

The room behind her was crowded with magic props from flying spaghetti to some kind of magic boxes. The goth Samurai wannabe prosecutor behind her, however, wasn't as common a sight in the Wright Anything Agency.

"I can see you just fine. Is everything okay over there?" Ema said.

"Oh, it's fine. More than fine, actually! I was going to send you an invitation, but it wouldn't be enough time with how long overseas. I wanted to call, but overseas calls always crackle so much. It's been so difficult to keep up with Apollo that way. So, Skype! Like you're always saying, it's a new era and we should take advantage of the technology and not run around with-- what do you call them, 'grandpa phones?' 'Dad phones?' Anyway-- Simon and I are getting married"

She combed her fingers through her long red hair and stared dreamily at something long outside the view of the camera. Ema had never quite seen her smile this big, not even when she'd freed him the first time.

"Oh-- great, ahem, I mean good for you!'

Ema could already feel her wallet clutch in horror. It didn't help that both of them had very niche and specific gift wants. Prosecutor Blackquill was allll about the Japanese and English antiques, given that was his heritage while Athena liked fancy technology and expensive running clothing.

She'd already gotten one piece, but would she have to get one for both of them? Just the thought of buying those airline tickets made her a bit tired. Hopefully, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi gave her another raise soon, because all these weddings were hell on her bank account.

"Oh, and if you want to bring a date, go ahead. You don't have to check a plus one since there's no RSVP to return."

Prosecutor Blackquill had to bend down quite a ways to fit into the camera.

"Who'd put up with someone like her? The Sad Monk?" Simon laughed. "He must be trying for sainthood. He's the only prosecutor in the world who'd tolerate her temperamental and unprofessional ways."

Athena frowned at him. "Simon, be nice."

"Excuse me? That's pretty rich coming from the prosecutor who no labby wants to work with. Half the detectives thinks you'll cut them in two."

Simon smirked. "They're right. I don't tolerate tomfoolery."

Ema smirked right back at him. "Oh really? If i remember correctly, your last detective spent his time tasering you, so you sure tolerated a lot of 'tomfoolery.' Isn't that right, Prosecutor Blackquill?"

Simon looked like he'd been struck by a blow. He wasn't used to someone giving back as many cutting comments as he gave. If he was going to go for a low blow, then she would too.

Athena's voice went an octave higher, "A-Anyways! A-about the wedding..."

"Oh, right. So are you gearing up for a big bachelorette party?" Ema said.

Athena blushed bright red. "Maya joked about me having one, and Simon threatened to hijack the cake while wearing a sexy bird suit."

"That is way more than I needed to know about your sex life," Ema said.

Athena blushed beet red at that, but Prosecutor Blackquill just laughed. It took more than a ribald comment to ruffle his feathers.

Ema twirled her brown shoulder-length hair about her fingers. "So let me get this straight: none of you are going to have a wild bachelorette party? So I'm going to just have to drink shots alone at the bar out of genital-shaped glasses by myself? You guys are no fun."

Trucy chose that exact moment to peek into the view of the camera. Athena quickly covered up Trucy's ears.

"I heard that," Trucy said.

"Mr. Wright is around, so pretend you didn't," Athena said quickly.

"For the last time, I'm an adult now," Trucy said.

Prosecutor Blackquill chuckled. "You'll always be his little girl, Wright-Dono."

Of course, the data added up. Phoenix and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth certainly didn't have any wild bachelor parties. Phoenix was the only person who could get him away from his work. He'd probably had to cancel some big thing just to make room for the wedding.

If Prosecutor von Karma and Adrian had a wild bachelorette party, Ema wasn't invited. Then again, with them, the strippers wouldn't be male, and there'd totally be whips and chains and leather. Ema still would've gone for the free food, though.

"Mr. Wright is coming back and I have to send out a bunch more of these, so can you tell Apollo? I've been trying to get ahold of him all week! And I'll have none of him staying because he's working! He's coming, no questions asked!"

"Oh, I'll let him know! He's always so busy, it's hard to get ahold of him. Plus the time difference..."

"Thanks, Ema. See you there!"

She closed her laptop. Her lunch hour was about done anyways. It was then that she heard the door behind her close.

Ema turned around, and gasped at the sight of her boss. And he was sporting one hell of a grimace, too.

"Oh, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi! There's going to be another wedding!"

"I heard," he said coolly.

"Oh… just a teensy question, how long have you been there?"

His jaw set. "Long enough."

Well, that solved who he was pissed at.

Ema smiled. "So, are you going to go as my plus one?"

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi closed his eyes. "Hmmm.... I'm not sure what sounds more appealing, going to this event with that utter depraved rapscallion, or having bamboo shoved underneath my fingernails."

"Rapscallion, really? Did we time travel to the 1900s now?"

"He certainly has. A shame he forgot a code of ethics and morals along the way. To be at that wedding would be to travel into the very depths of hell."

"Which one?" Ema said. "The one with the beast at the bottom that devours, or the hell of a thousand tickling?"

"The beast," he said flatly.

Now was probably not the best time to ask for a raise, but she still had to get a dress.

"Um, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi? You're going overseas next week to Zheng Fa on some diplomatic thing, right? Can I tag along and pick up a dress? And can I have time off for this wedding?"

"Of course. However, I may not have enough time to help you select it, should the meeting with the diplomat run long."

"Yeah, gotcha." She rubbed at her cheek. "It's okay, really..."

Which was a little disappointing, but it'd have to do. Really, he ruled a country. She'd gotten lucky that he'd given her even this much time. Still, it put a damper on the excitement about the wedding and upcoming trip to Zheng Fa.

*

They landed in the capital by noon. Ema was pretty sure she'd overpacked at two suitcases for something which might take all of a day, but her mind kept having ideas.

What if the hotel had a pool and she needed a bathing suit so she could convince Prosecutor Sahdmadhi to take a dip with her? What if he suddenly asked her to dance? What if he was totally enthralled by a jazzercise class and compelled to join in, and she needed those leg warmers and leggings?

Hey, it could happen.

The skyline was filled with tall, modern skyscrapers. The sun reflected over their incredibly clean windows.

Ema set off to search on her own. Honestly, shopping solo for dresses wasn't nearly as fun. There was no commentary but her inner critical voice-- and man was she a bitch. There were so many pretty colors out there that just did not go with her complexion and so many cuts of fabric which did not flatter her at all.

Plus, it was a lot more entertaining to have Prosecutor Sahdmadhi do the translating rather than relying on apps.

But the apps, and the fact that this particular part of Zheng Fa was tourist heavy and thus staffed their best English speakers, meant that she found what she was looking for.

The store was sleek and modern with bright lights and bright white everywhere. Like she'd stepped into some sci-fi movie and was about to be put in a pod to be cryogenically frozen.

Except she’d been so caught up in the rush of the trip, she hadn't even considered she would come across a formidable foe. No, not Prosecutor Gavin, though it'd be just her luck to see him there, her bane was Asian sizing. She had grabbed a whole bunch off the rack before she remembered that she had to go a size up or more, and she never remembered the exact logistics of it.

At least she wasn't ordering online and having to do a bunch of mental math to figure out if it'd fit, only to find she'd calculated wrong and now had to send it all back.

Maybe she'd just cut the tags off, so no one would make any smart comments when they saw.

In fact, half of her first rack of try ons had to be sent back just because she'd forgotten the sizing difference again. And putting on a bunch of clothes that didn't just not fit, but looked liable to break in two if she pulled them down any farther was not doing wonders for her mood.

And really, it was disappointing to remember that she'd go out and there'd be nothing but the sales clerk, who would definitely say everything flattered her, especially that especially expensive one.

Really, you're being immature. He's given up so much time to go to all these weddings already, to say nothing of all the dress shopping, time spent in layovers and eating out afterwards.

On the other hand, it didn't matter if she was like a child throwing a tantrum, she really wanted him here! Reasonability be damned, peace be damned throw those mashed peas and Snackoos at the wall and make a fuss! She wanted to absolutely monopolize his time, and those diplomats could just suck it because it was her time now.

Ema took a deep breath to let the grumpy feelings passed. He never complained about being dragged out for dress shopping, and they always went out to eat afterwards together. And it was just always more fun with him around. Even boring things like layovers. He could probably make paying taxes and going to the DMV interesting.

Ema put another dress on the rack and started to sift through them. She caught a hint of green and lifted it up. Now this one had promise. It was a hunter green rutched mini-dress with a plunging neckline, and a small bow at the back. It hugged her curves, the generous padding in the cups actually made her look like she had more cleavage than she really did, and the color was perfectly flattering for her eyes and skin tone.

And the mirror confirmed it. She'd found The Dress, even through it all.

Ema stepped out of the changing room and looked herself over in the larger gold-edged mirror just outside.

A shame Prosecutor Sahdmadhi wouldn't get to see her in it. Of course, she'd wear it again at another event. She wasn't rich enough to have a closet full of clothes she only wore once. But there was a special feeling about weddings. Like love and eternity weren't just cliche words in pop songs, but a real option in her future.

She'd started to regret wearing the underwire one that made her boobs look super perky, because he wasn't even there to see them. She'd have to opt for another bra at the party, because the neck went low enough that green lace peeked out.

The last thing she wanted was to outshine the bride by flashing this much cleavage.

Ema adjusted the top a little, but that only made more lace show. So she kept on adjusting. And adjusting. She pulled up the top in a series of hops until she finally got the dress where she wanted it.

Maybe she'd wear a camisole underneath. She didn't want to have to start all over, just because of a little bra problem.

"Are you waiting to try something on, sir?"

"No, I'm simply waiting for a person."

Ema gave a sidelong glance from the mirror and slowly let her hands fall from her chest. She wiped imaginary dust off the skirt of the dress, like she hadn't been messing with her bra right in front of him for the second time in so many weeks.

"...Oh, you're back early. I-I didn't expect you back yet."

"Yes... They adjourned to lunch. I wanted to check on your progress."

"Um, just a tiny little question: how long have you been there?"

"A bit. You seemed busy. I did not wish to interrupt."

So much for him just getting there. It just wasn't fair. In just the past months alone, he had seen her adjusting her bra twice, to say nothing of her bras and dirty panties spilling out of her luggage, and that time he'd caught her eating crumbs out of her bra. And then there were the millions of times when she'd spilled food down on her chest, on her pants, and instead of going for the stain removal pen first, she'd just bent down and licked it up.

Sure, working together meant embarrassing things were bound to happen, but if there'd been any equality in the world, he would've had these moments too. But there were no points where Ema walked in on him scratching his finely toned ass, or spilling curry down his frock coat to where he simply decided to lick it clean.

The sleeping incident was the closest he'd gotten, and that wasn't even embarrassing, just hot.

"What do you think?"

He gave her a long gaze, then he quickly shook his head and met her eyes.

"Ah..." Ahem. "Is this your choice?"

Wait, was he embarrassed? Maybe the dress looked so good that she'd actually broken him down and he was trying his best to keep his respect women levels high enough to hide his arousal. Ema could only hope.

"You still haven't told me the rating. You know I live for the Monk Ratings."

"Monk ratings?"

"Yeah, the part where I ask a monk about fashion and question my life choices," Ema said.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Monks are lacking in fashion now?"

Of course he wore a perfectly cut suit that made him look freaking delicious, and was accented with gold jewelry, making her point moot.

Ema crossed her arms, and let out a sigh. "You know damn well you're the outlier."

"I think… the color brings out your eyes," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said slowly. There was something restrained about the way he said it. It was actually quite a bit less descriptive than his other Monk Ratings.

Ema never took her gaze off of Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. "Yup, definitely the one," Ema said.

*

A week later, Ema was all packed and ready. The car to the airport still hadn't come and she'd said all her goodbyes, or 'goodbye for nows.' Apollo was headed out on a later flight, and it'd be just her the whole way.

Ema let out a sigh. After all this time of having Prosecutor Sahdmadhi to weather the layovers, lack of outlets and boring in-flight movies she'd already seen, she'd gotten used to him being there. In fact, she'd kind of taken for granted that he'd be there whenever she wanted.

Stupid her. Especially since he had so much to do, ruling a country and all. She'd gotten spoiled by getting to spend all that alone time with him during cases and over the course of these weddings.

A guard loaded in her bags, and Ema ducked into the dark vehicle. It'd been nigh bulletproofed at this rate, with all those inconvenient issues like political assassinations and fanatical Khura'inese people trying to fling themselves into the car to touch their ruler.

Except the back of the car wasn't empty.

"Prosecutor Sadhmadhi? You're going to the wedding as well? I thought you'd rather go through torture than go to this wedding," Ema said.

"Some things are worth going through hell for."

And that was the last thing he said for a long while.

Glancing up from her phone, Ema saw that his eyes were still closed. She wouldn't blame him for taking a power nap. But he wasn't snoring or breathing in a way which suggested sleep. Either Prosecutor Sahdmadhi was the quietest, most unobtrusive sleeper ever, or he was meditating again.

As they hit another checkpoint, his green eyes opened. After he'd given a command to the driver to keep towards the airport, Ema tapped his shoulder.

"You've been awful quiet. You okay over there?"

"I am meditating in preparation for the intense anger this trip will surely incite within me."

"Hey, if I have to suffer through Prosecutor Gavin's purple sparkly monstrosity of a wedding, then you can handle a few hours with Prosecutor Blackquill. You probably won't even have to hear him sing."

"Has he proposed already? I hadn't heard anything from Apollo."

Ema sighed. "I caught him practicing his proposal when I had to go get him for court. It's going to happen any day now."

"While I am surprised at how fast this has happened, I am nevertheless glad to see my brother happy."

"Oh, they've been a thing for a while. Back during my bit-- ahem, Prosecutor Gavin years they spent the entire time flirting. Though Apollo was so dense he didn't even realize how into Prosecutor Gavin he was. I think maybe they did date for a while there, but maybe they broke up or had a long separation due to work. I don't know. I don't exactly want to hear the gossip about that fop."

"I know you dislike him, but Prosecutor Gavin has been a great help during this rocky period of Khura'in's history. And for that, I am grateful."

Ema sighed. "Look, I'll put up with him for your sake, okay?"

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi lifted his brows. "Not Apollo's?"

"It isn't my fault that Apollo has terrible taste! There are tons of eligible lawyers and prosecutors out there, both male and female, and he had to go for the insufferable fop. Apollo is seriously lacking in good taste."

Though she guessed she should've known that from his hairstyle choices.

Ema took a few deep breaths and repeated her new calming mantra. "At least I'm not marrying him, at least I'm not marrying him..."

"You've actually been taking my suggestions to heart," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

"Yeah, I do listen on occasion," Ema said.

"And, my, what interesting choice for a mantra to focus your mind on."

"What can I say? I've got super high standards, and a wee bit of an issue with grudges and judging people," Ema said.

"Whoever would earn your approval and admiration must be a truly spectacular person indeed," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said softly.

"Yeah, he's pretty awesome and a really great prosecutor." Ema said.

He licked his lips, yet before Prosecutor Sahdmadhi could reply, the driver cut in.

"Prince Regent Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, I just got word that Princess Rayfa needs your guidance!"

"Of course… I will immediately contact her.... my apologies, Detective Skye. I must attend to this immediately."

"Yeah, I got it," Ema said. She pushed all disappointment out of her voice that her time with him was being cut short.

They'd definitely brushed closer than ever before on this, but Ema would have to stuff all her feelings back down as he attended to duties, just like always.

*

After heading back to their respective hotel rooms, Ema headed out to her sister's to pick up the gift that Lana had been so kind to store all this time. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi came along as well.

Ema bent to pick up the spare key, but the door suddenly opened.

Lana wore a pantsuit, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She kept her ever-present scarf, even in the warmest months.

"I didn't expect to see you, sis. You said you'd just leave the spare key out for me."

"It's the weekend. Even I sometimes take time off," Lana said dryly.

She glanced beyond Ema, towards the doorway. Lana cleared her throat. "Is this him?"

"Oh, this is Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, my boss. We're headed to another wedding. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, this is my sister, Lana."

He bowed to her in the traditional Khura'inese way. "I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance."

"Ah, so this is the one you who stole away my sister… Ema, how many does it make now?" Lana said.

"Weddings? Uhh, three. Though there'll be four soon enough," Ema said.

"And he was at all of them with you?"

"Uh-huh," Ema said. Where exactly was Lana going with this?

"I didn't realize a Khura'inese prosecutor was so well connected," Lana said.

"He came to give me moral support and not piss off potential future coworkers," Ema said suddenly. "Also, technically, he rules the place now."

"Ah, so that's it. But, where are my manners. Would you like a drink?" Lana said.

But Ema sensed something in the air, like Prosecutor Sahdmadhi was being put on a very different kind of trial. An episode of So You Think You're Good Enough To Date My Sister, which now that she thought about it, sounded kind of like some type of game show.

Ema cut off Prosecutor Sahdmadhi before he could speak, "Sorry, we can't stay and chat too long-- Prosecutor Blackquill is going to stab us if we're too late. Another time?"

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi gave her a questioning glance. After all, the wedding wasn't until tomorrow, and Ema already had a dress and present prepared.

"Surely there's enough for one cup of tea. The water's already hot. I was making coffee," Lana said.

This certainly caught his attention. "...tea, you say?"

Ema knew there was no getting out of this quickly, not when there was free tea to be had.

"Oh, all right. I suppose we can spare a few minutes. But after that, we'll have to get ready to head out back out," Ema said.

Steam rose up from the mug. Lana got all the same brand, likely from a boxed set, all in deep browns with black insides. Ema's own choices were filled with cute and sassy sayings. Overall, that was something Ema was always struck by: the lack of personality in her sister's apartment. Any art surely was already there, because Ema was pretty sure Lana wasn't that passionate about desert scenes and beige, right?

"Be nice; don't interrogate him," Ema said under her breath.

Lana didn't respond. Ema wondered if she'd even heard, but if Ema went louder, he'd hear-- and it'd be awkward. So awkward.

"Ah… there are flavors of jasmine tea and... an undertone of berries, I believe?"

"It's a Lipton bagged kind. I don't even remember what flavor," Lana said dryly.

Ema gave Lana a meaningful glare.

He crossed his legs and took polite, even graceful sips of the drink. Nobody talked, but Lana watched him like the way he drank his tea would reveal all the secrets in the world.

"I'll-- go get something from the kitchen," Ema said quickly. "Some sugar, I mean. To sweeten my tea."

"It is already quite sweet," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

"You know Ema. It's never enough," Lana said.

As Ema headed over, she overheard Lana speaking again.

"Where do you see yourself in five years?" Lana said.

Oh, for fuck's sake, this wasn't an interview.

"Solving crimes with Detective Skye by my side," he said.

"Good answer," Lana said coolly.

From the kitchen, she could hear the interrogation continue. She said you're the ruler of Khura'in...

Ema returned, and stood over both of them with her arms crossed. If she didn't intervene, Lana would probably ask to see his resume, like she was hiring him for the job of her little sister's future boyfriend.

"And your thoughts on law reform?"

"Desperately needed in this dark age of the law."

Ema returned, with her cup in hand. She was more of a coffee person. As in, the kind of coffee which tasted almost nothing like coffee, because of the 32 shots of flavored syrup and whipped cream with sprinkles. But she made herself a cup anyways, despite it all.

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi glanced up, and broke into a smile.

"There's been a ton of weddings lately. It feels like there's some kind of Wedding Fever going on," Ema cut in.

"I've heard at work. Something like spring fever?"

Ema tapped her lower lip. "I guess. It's nice seeing them all finally get their crap together and get married. So many of them have been dragging this out for near decades. It's ridiculous how stubborn and oblivious they've been."

"Now who does that sound like?" Lana said.

"Prosecutor Gavin and Apollo," Ema said sweetly.

"Yes, Detective Skye assures me that they will likely be the next to wed," he said.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Ema always had some things to say about Prosecutor Gavin," Lana said.

"What is your thought on the latest precinct elections?"

"Ah, Ema told me of those. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth shall surely win in as you call it-- a landslide. Ema told me his opponent made lewd comments to her once, though her complaints were not heeded." He made the karuna pose with his hands. "Had I been there, that opponent surely would have been cast to the very pits of hell..."

"Good place for him," Lana said.

Ema glanced to the door as he sipped the last of his tea.

"It's been fun, but it was a long flight, and we have to get ready," Ema said.

"Thank you for your hospitality. If you have any ideas on law reform, please do not hesitate to tell them."

"While that's a nice sentiment, I have no way of contacting you," Lana said.

"Just text them to me and I'll pass them along," Ema said quickly.

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi bowed and took his leave. When he'd finally gone, Ema gave her sister a glare.

"I told you to be nice," Ema said crossly.

"...in truth, I cut off half my questions, because the way his face lights up when he sees you tells me everything I needed to know. And if I had any questions left, the way he says your name tells even more. All I have to ask is: what are you waiting for?"

My data, the possible problems, it all really paled in comparison.

"Who knows? Maybe it'll happen this time," Ema said.

Lana narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe somebody as science-minded as yourself would wait on fate. Is he rubbing off on you?"

"No! Well, not entirely. Look, I'll just deal with it when I deal with it, okay? Right now, we're just going to go to this wedding, I'm going to try and catch that bouquet, and see what happens." Ema leaned in for a hug. "I guess I should thank you for holding back and not completely prosecuting him."

"You say that like the next wedding I'm invited to won't be yours," Lana said.

"With the way everything's going, Apollo's totally getting married before I even get a date," Ema said.

"You act like you have nothing to do with this. He obviously adores you. If you want him, then go ask him out already," Lana said.

"Someday, someday," Ema said. She gave Lana one last hug before she said her goodbyes and went to where Prosecutor Sahdmadhi already was.

That left the whole rest of the day to them.

"Hey, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, are you too wrecked from the flight?"

"Wrecked? I should hope I am not wrecked," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

"I mean tired obviously. I just thought, if you weren't...we could do some sight seeing."

"I always have time for you," he said.

And maybe it wasn't a real date, but she was definitely inching closer. Both literally and figuratively.

*

The sun set golden over the palm trees. The rush of the waves splashed against the sandy beach. It was at an in-between point where the crowd of families and older people was just giving in to the kind of beach parties that happened after dark.

Ema didn't think he'd like when the noise started, especially if there was a whole beach rave going on.

Ema slipped off her heels and carried them down the beach as they finally found a bench. The damp sand squished beneath her toes as she leaned back.

"The ocean is so magnificent. Imagine being able to go to the beach and witness such a wonder every single day. What a blessing that would be." Prosecutor Sahdmadhi's voice was filled with awe.

"Sure, some people love their beach-front property, but plenty of other people take it for granted. I mean, do you go witness the wonder of the mountains every day?"

"Of course, it is part of the morning prayers. The mountains of Khura'in are our protectors. We are always thankful for the armies that they guarded us from. The Huns, The people of Zheng Fa, and the Europeans. None of them owned us because of the sovereignty of our queen, and the strength of our winters."

So much for her argument. What was she supposed to say to that? Damn you for always being grateful to everything in your life, and never failing to find wonder in even the smallest things?

"Do you know how to swim?" she said instead.

He nodded. "Yes. Part of monk training is submerging yourself within water, but also to preform long periods of holding one's breath. I tried to swim laps at one of these local pools, but the thick scent of chlorine is deeply putrid."

"It just won't do to visit the ocean and not take a dip," Ema said.

"Hmm... I did not bring any form of swimming clothing."

"Who needs… who needs swimsuits?"

"Y-You're suggesting...."

What was the point of always wearing cute clamdiggers if she didn't get a little wet? Ema left her shoes on the bench and headed out towards the waves as the sun disappeared behind golden clouds.

"Come on, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi! The water's fine!"

He closed his eyes serenely. "Oh, I thought…”

"You thought I'd make you skinny dip with me in a public beach? We'd be in jail in minutes!"

Though there were always other, more private bodies of water they could try...

"Thus my surprise," he said.

He left his boots behind. The waves foamed and sank into their footprints along the sand. Slowly, all traces they'd been there were getting erased. Gulls flew ahead. One of them had a pilfered french fry in its mouth, while others let out cries.

She laughed and bent down the splash him. The last rays of sunlight caught in the droplets. He reached out to block the water, but toppled over and landed right in the waves.

Ema couldn't stop laughing. "Oh! I-I didn't mean to knock you over-- here--" She offered her hand. For a moment he stared down, and a small smile formed across his lips. His hand enclosed around hers, and in one quick, fluid motion, he pulled her down with him. She landed with a giant splash.

"Now we are even," he said.

"Even? Like hell! Oh, it is on Prosecutor Prettyboy!"

She splashed at him with a vengeance, and he splashed right back. They both laughed together as twilight crept in slowly, in golds and purple, in bonfires over the beach and the passing cars, in the hint of sky between the palm trees.

It was so pure, the kind of joy she'd rarely known, since before all those bad things happened and turned her cynical. And it didn't matter that their clothes would need to be washed, that wet sand and sunk between her toes, or that

They splashed and played until they both laid back, exhausted as the waves flowed over them.

"God, I laughed so hard that my ribs hurt," Ema said.

He leaned up on one elbow. Even soaked he looked gorgeous in a ethereal way. "Are you all right? My apologies if I took it too far."

"Nah, no apologies. I had a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time."

Foam caught between her fingers as the waves came in around them.

"We're soaked. I doubt a taxi will even let us in. We'll probably have to public transport it back. At least it isn't too cold," Ema said.

"It was a beautiful sight...however, the stars are hidden away by the light,"

"Oh yeah, the light pollution. It's a whole lot easier to see over in Khura'in," Ema said.

"Thank you for sharing this with me," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said softly.

Ema smiled mischievously. "Always happy to get you utterly wet."

They headed out towards the bus stop. Ema figured a long shower and turning in early tonight would be her wild night. But this memory was something she would always keep close.

*

The next morning, Ema hauled the box out towards the cab. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi followed close behind her. Every so often he would glance warily towards the oversized box.

"Are you sure you do not wish me to carry this for you?"

"Nah, it's pretty fragile. If it breaks, I want it to be me so I can only be mad at myself."

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi fell silent. Ema glanced back, to see that his cheeks had flushed, and he very determinedly looked away. Sometimes, he was such a weirdo. Ema went on ahead and left the box with the mountain of other gifts.

When she returned, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi had sat in a chair, his hands in a familiar pose. "Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, what are you doing? Don't tell me you're already ticked off-- you haven't even gone into the wedding yet!"

"I needed a moment to collect my thoughts. They..ahem, went to a lower place."

"It's normal to wish people are just hit by buses sometimes or that they'd somehow be launched into space. Throwing Snackoos helps."

"...I hope you haven't had thoughts like that about me," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said gravely.

"Not recently," Ema said sweetly.

"As it is, for the moment, at least, wrath is not my sin."

"And what is? Gluttony? Wait, I think that's mine. Maybe it's both of ours..."

"...think nothing of it. I will join you soon. But ah, first I will get a cold drink. Yes, cold would do it...." He continued, his voice so low, that she barely heard him. Was he even still talking to her at this point? "...And a cold shower would help, though I have no time for one..."

"Still got sand in your shoes, huh?" Ema said.

He'd been weird ever since the trip to Zheng Fa, but of course, Mr. Stubborn McTightlips wasn't about to ever be clear about what was going on. Even more, he'd come off to this wedding he obviously didn't want to be all for some stupidly mysterious reason. Ema let out a sigh.

"All right, I'll meet you at the reception area. Just don't take too long, okay?"

He gave her a nod. "Take care, Detective Skye."

*

It took Ema some time to get her box set down with the big pile of presents in a way that wouldn't have it toppling over. In the end she settled for putting it completely under the table, after several nightmarish thoughts of it falling over and breaking right as Athena tried to open it. Because of that, she slipped in a side door when the seating had already started. Man, they were prompt. Like they were expecting the wedding to get gatecrashed by assassins or something.

The wedding was a mix of traditional Japanese (Prosecutor Blackquill's contribution), birds (also Prosecutor Blackquill's contribution) and some kind of star theme. (Okay, maybe that one was them both.)

Rather than a church wedding, they'd rented out an outdoors wedding, which was pretty ballsy, given that it could be rained out at any time. But then Prosecutor Blackquill was always making pretty ballsy, impulsive courtroom decisions, like completely abandoning the courtroom in the middle of a trial for a walk or randomly joining the defense, so it was no surprise.

He stood at the door, and greeted each incoming person with a smirk. Taka sat on his shoulder with a waistcoat and little top hat.

"Oh, it's you. Surprised you got through all that airport security when you look like you robbed an entire jewelry store."

"And taking a weapon is acceptable behavior?" Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said coolly.

"Now you're showing yourself to be even more foolish than I thought. A true warrior never leaves his sword behind. Not that you would know anything of battle."

Even Taka seemed to smirk at that.

But Prosecutor Sahdmadhi took it in stride. He formed the karuna pose with his hands, and smiled, though it was too imperious, too close to a smirk.

"Only the weak of spirit must prove their worth with violence. The noble settle their disputes within the courts of the law. Of course, I would never assume intelligence or nobility upon your part."

"Ooh, burn," Ema said.

"Indeed, as Ema said. I believe it is said: 'hashtag owned, and hashtag savage'?" Sometimes he picked up a little too much pop culture for his own good..

"Let us be seated, Ema," he said.

Prosecutor Blackquill took in a deep breath. Whatever comebacks he'd had were lost.

As Prosecutor Blackquill moved on to greet (see: insult) other guests, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi picked out a seat. With several deep breaths, he laid his hands on his legs and positioned them just right. They hadn't even gotten to the ceremony yet and he'd already had to take two meditation breaks to keep his cool. The future of this party wasn't looking great.

"I'll go get you a drink," Ema said.

"During the ceremony?" Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

"It's an outdoors wedding! Why have an outdoors wedding unless you want the guests sneaking snacks in? That's basically the whole point of risking a rain delay, so you don't have to clean up crumbs!"

"I-I had no idea that Snackoos affected so much of your society, even down to matrimonial customs. How utterly intriguing...."

"Of course it does," Ema said. And with that, she headed off to the already loaded table, snagged a paper cup and got him a drink.

When she returned, he had picked a seat near the back, and was deep in meditation. She caught sight of other familiar faces: Larry and Maya in the mid rows, Adrian Andrews-von Karma checking off lists to ensure this wedding went off perfectly, and a few rows ahead, Phoenix leaned in to tell Trucy something, as Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth read over some kind of pamphlet. But as she came closer to the seat, his brilliant green eyes opened, and he smiled.

"Sugar helps, trust me. It's how I got through working with Prosecutor Gavin," Ema said.

She dumped some Snackoos in for good measure. Now, if she could've taken her flask along, then they would've had a real interesting wedding. The mere thought of Prosecutor Sahdmadhi drunk was full of possibilities.

Of course, Ema was trying not to drink as much as she had in the past. Occasionally at an office party or Christmas party, she'd get completely smashed and embarrass herself.

"If you nap through the ceremony, I'll close the doors on you," Prosecutor Blackquill said.

"Then try and not to bore us to sleep next time," Ema said.

"You talk about boring when you have the Sad Monk over here making us wish for hell with one of his boring 'sermons'?"

Ema smiled big. "Of course. He's an actual serious prosecutor who doesn't goof off in court. You should take lessons sometime on how to be a be a real prosecutor. I'm sure Prosecutor Sahdmadhi would be happy to teach you sometime."

Prosecutor Blackquill grimaced. "Maybe I'll let you too nap instead."

He smiled for the first time in quite a while. "That was a brilliant line, Detective Skye," he said.

"Always happy to be a smartass," Ema said.

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi serenely closed his eyes and made an okay sign with his fingers. Ema always forgot what it was called, a mudra? It actually turned out it was him making a sign for 'intelligence.'

"As you say, 'hashtag burned at his own wedding,'" Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

"Where do you even get this stuff?" Ema said.

"I always study conventions and cultures to ensure I never insult my hosts."

It was really only a matter of time before Prosecutor Sahdmadhi discovered the ‘90s and picked up some 'radical' after school special slang so he could be like the fellow kids. Ema only hoped her phone was charged when that day came, so she could video every single moment.

*

Athena wore a short, modern cut dress that accented her long legs. Her red hair was left long down her back, and there was some headpiece of white flowers and stars. The veil, too, was short and filmy, and only came to about her shoulders.

The ceremony, too, was quick enough that Ema wondered if they thought ninjas would hop out and kill everyone, or were they just that excited to get it over with and get on with their honeymoon?

She glanced to Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. He seemed calmer now. She'd backed him up with Prosecutor Blackquill, and if anybody else came for them, she'd get his back. And she'd appreciate it, too, because damn it was a very fine back.

Something shining was attached to Taka's tie. Apparently they hadn't had a ring bearer at all, but a ring flyer or a ring hawker.

"I will guard you forever. I can't promise happiness, but I'll cut down anyone who tries to steal that from you." Prosecutor Blackquill even stumbled over this line. Apparently the big bad prison prosecutor was floored by his wife.

"Oh, Simon-- eeep, I forgot my lines." Athena laughed, and he leaned in to kiss her before the words you may kiss the bride.

"...I promise to love you forever. Even if you hog the covers and Taka wakes me up and you're a jerk sometimes."

"That was your closing statement? Humph. You have a lot to learn if you're going with that. No matter, I'll teach you."

"Simon!"

And when he kissed her again, Athena was completely hidden from view under the sheer mass of him.

And Ema had to admit, it was cute, and she was glad Athena was happy... but he was still an asshole, and she was still really glad that she wasn't the one marrying him.

*

There were no doves released, no rice thrown, but Taka soared above them in an arc so graceful that Prosecutor Blackquill must've trained him specifically to do just that trick. In his beak was a ribbon with words on it, but they were in Japanese, so Ema couldn't quite read them. She'd have to ask to see if Prosecutor Sahdmadhi knew.

"There you are, I didn't see you. I almost thought you'd flaked out," Ema said.

Apollo gave her a look so sarcastic, it almost matched her own sarcasm prowess. "Practicing law counts as flaking now?"

"It does when you're missing your friend's wedding," Ema said crossly. "You have to take a break sometimes."

"So sorry for working almost every second of the day," Apollo said.

Athena burst into a big smile when she caught sight of him.

"Apollo! It's been so long!"

"Polly!"

Both Trucy and Athena caught Apollo up in a big hug. He was nearly pushed over with the force of their embrace. He sheepishly patted them on the back.

Trucy bust into a big smile. "Are you coming back for good yet? We miss you so much, Polly!"

"Not yet-- I'm still dealing with the backlog of cases in Khura'in right now."

"I'll have to go on tour and do shows overseas, then!" Trucy said. She clutched her fists in determination.

"And I'll...Skype!" Athena finished.

"After the honeymoon. Unless you want to give Justice-dono a show."

"Si~mon!"

"I'd rather not. I already get a show being in the same country as Prosecutor Gavin," Apollo said dryly.

Trucy giggled. "Oh, but you like that kind of show."

Apollo's cheeks flushed at that. "T-that's..." He cleared his throat. "A-anyways..."

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth and Phoenix looked on fondly, almost like two doting parents.

"Honestly, everyone's getting married so young," Phoenix said with a sigh.

"You sound like you reached maximum dadness," Ema said.

Trucy giggled. "Daddy's gotten like this since all these weddings started happening. He gets really sad that I might get married."

Phoenix gently embraced Trucy from the back, and let out a long sigh. "At least give me a few more years. At this rate, Apollo will get married, too."

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth patted Phoenix on the back.

"They grow up so fast," Phoenix said.

"What a touching scene. I should write a song about this heartfelt reunion."

Ema fought the urge to roll her eyes and subsequently lost. It was just an involuntary reaction to Prosecutor Gavin at this point. It didn't matter what he did. It was always the wrong answer in her eyes.

"And Prosecutor Gavin, too!"

He snapped his fingers. "Fraülein Trucy and Fraülein Cykes."

"Prosecutor Gavin, thank you for sending the flowers!"

"I'm sorry the actual show wasn't quite as lovely as those flowers, Fraülein Trucy."

Trucy's expression darkened for a moment, but she broke through that sadness with a big smile, just as she always did. Ema couldn't tell if she was just forcing a smile like her father always said. "That was tough, but I've had much better shows, and now I even have two other magicians who help me with my act!"

"Congratulations on your wedding, Fraülein. I have to say, it was a surprise to see who you married. When I saw that invite, I thought for sure I knew who it would be."

A surprise to who, exactly? Ema had called it a solid year before, and she'd only worked with Prosecutor Blackquill once. If she and Prosecutor Gavin were oil and water, she and Prosecutor Blackquill were like the same side of magnets who repelled each other at a force that just blew everything in their path away.

"Well, Simon suddenly asked a couple months ago, and here we are!"

Ema had to do a double-take at that. "A couple months? Are you kidding me? What, are you knocked up too? What, is it in the air or something?"

Athena blushed deep red and clutched her bouquet tight, but Simon burst out laughing.

"T-The only thing that mattered was that Simon was there. You never know if there will be a tomorrow, so why wait?" Athena stammered out.

"I guess you have a point, though Adrian must've pulled some real strings to get this done so fast," Ema said.

Athena burst into a big smile. "Oh, her business went way up since she got Prosecutor von Karma to help. Now whenever anyone gives her any trouble, she just puts Prosecutor von Karma on the phone. If that doesn't work, she just sends her wife to pay them a visit."

That sounded a lot more like it'd become the wedding planner mafia, but if hiring her sadistic lesbian dominatrix wife was making business boom, who was Ema to criticize?

Athena held her bouquet up and grinned. "I better get throwing, or Ema's going to throw snacks at me. It's tossing time!"

"Maybe you should try calling it something else," Apollo said.

Athena playfully stuck out her tongue. "You can call it what you want when you're the one getting married, Apollo!"

"Considering you caught the bouquet, that won't be too far off," Ema said.

"I can't believe you of all people are picking up superstitions," Apollo said.

"There are more things dreamed of in heaven and earth, Apollatio," Ema said.

"Oh, come on!"

Ema laughed. "Save it for your wedding speech with Prosecutor Loverboy!"

She headed out towards the dance floor. But Prosecutor Gavin and Apollo lingered there. And it wasn't like she was trying to listen in-- the last thing she wanted to know was anything about Prosecutor Gavin's love life or anything about him period. But a rock star and chords of steel together meant everyone got to listen in on their little soap opera.

"I thought for sure it'd be you by her side, Apollo. And here I was thinking I'd have a whole album of sad songs," Prosecutor Gavin said.

Apollo flushed and rubbed at his two little spikes. "Save your songs for the courtroom."

"I certainly will if you're across me," Prosecutor Gavin said.

And while some things changed, the fact that Prosecutor Gavin and Apollo would publicly flirt anywhere was not one of them.

"Get in here, lovebirds," Ema called back, and headed out to join all the others in wait on the dance floor.

Hundreds of Japanese lanterns were hung overhead. Athena grinned and took a big swing and tossed it. And even though Ema reached, and even though she tried, the bouquet fell far from her grasp.

On the other side of the dance floor, one gloved hand lifted it up with a sigh.

"What kind of cosmic joke is this?"

She hadn't even dressed up from her usual attire for the wedding. Ema supposed that showing up at all (and without her robots, even) was enough in her eyes.

Aura's eyes narrowed. "After all this time, and you ended up marrying him. I'll be stuck with you being around for the rest of my life. It just never quits."

Athena's shoulder drooped. She glanced down, shamefaced. "I'm sorry, but..."

Simon cut them both off.

"Sister, be kind. And you, you have nothing to be sorry for. We already solved that in court."

"You know damn well I don't have a kind bone in my body. Not anymore. If only I'd found a way to replace my heart with wires and metal, I would've long ago."

She held up the bouquet, and pointed it to Athena like an accusation.

"I can't think this was a coincidence. Whatever you're planning, it isn't cute."

"I-I just tossed it up into the air. I didn't think it would land here-- I figured Ema would get it. She's been trying so hard to catch it."

Simon stepped between them. "Aura, stand down. She meant no harm. It's simply a silly superstition."

Aura tossed the bouquet aside. "There, I showed up at your wedding. But don't you ever think I'll call her family. It's too much after all that's happened."

Aura walked off towards the side exit with a staggering finality. Everything had gone quiet at the sudden spat. Even the music was low, as the DJ played some kind of Asian fusion with chill beats.

"She'll come around eventually," Simon said.

The music grew louder as the next song came on, and the conversations reconvened like nothing had happened. What an awkward thing to happen on someone's wedding day. (Though, Ema supposed, it could've been worse. Aura could've tried to stop the whole wedding with a robot invasion.)

She returned to the table across from Prosecutor Sahdmadhi.

"My condolences that you missed your chance again," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

"Oh, you know. It's just fun stuff. I don't believe in it, really," Ema said quickly.

Or at least, she hadn't long ago. But at this point her data point was nearing one-hundred percent accuracy. Well, at least until Aura came in as a wildcard. There was no way she'd be married anytime soon.

Ema supposed there was always going to be that outlier.

*

Athena brightened when she sat before the massive pile of presents. If anything, Ema had to hand it to her. Athena knew how to bounce back from sadness, no matter how great.

Athena eagerly undid the fancy gold wrapping paper. She looked a bit confused as she turned over the large tome. Her excitement soon turned to confusion as she lifted the present up.

"Oh, this one's for Simon. It's.. .a… book of the rules of conduct in court and law?"

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi nodded. "I got what was most needed for Prosecutor Blackquill."

"You must be getting senile, Sad Monk. I've passed the bar. How else would I practice law and best you in the courtroom?"

"How strange. By your actions, you could have fooled me. Not even a novice would act so rashly and make such mistakes. To compare you to a complete novice would be a grave insult to all those who embark upon learning the law."

Ema could only gape. If everyone wasn't here, she would've kissed him. She had never met a person more perfectly matched to her. Yeah, the myth of soulmates was unscientific but she was pretty sure he was her soulmate at this point. God, he was such an absolute petty bitch sometimes. Damn if he wasn't saying half the things she wanted to say the one time she'd had to work a case with Prosecutor Blackquill.

How dare he be this shady in public where she couldn't kiss him.

Prosecutor Blackquill narrowed his eyes. "Taka, go pay that Sad Monk a visit."

Taka let out a screech and flew through the air. Every lawyer who had gone against Prosecutor Blackquill flinched in response. But Prosecutor Sahdmadhi serenely held out his hands, and Taka landed there. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi softly stroked the feathers on his back. Taka didn't peck or claw at all, and indeed seemed perfectly content to be paid attention to.

Prosecutor Blackquill looked as if he'd received a blow. "T-aka, H-how could you? B-betrayed by my own bird..."

"Aww, Taka made a new friend," Athena said. She laughed, and clutched her hands together.

No surprise, given how Queen Amara always had a bunch of animals around. Birds on her shoulders, deer, even a freaking tiger would follow her around. Just chalk up being some kind of animal whisperer to Prosecutor Sahdmadhi's many hidden talents.

Which was in itself, not a surprise because nobody kept their cards closer than Prosecutor Sahdmadhi. There was still so much she was learning about him. In the end, it only made him more captivating.

"Oh, here's one from Ema!" She lifted up the box. "Oh, it's heavy--"

"Careful, it's breakable," Ema said.

Prosecutor Blackquill used his sword to cut open the packaging. He lifted it up, and his eyes widened. Even the feather in his mouth fell to the ground.

Athena clasped her hands together. "It's lovely! I'm sure Simon will love using it for his morning tea."

Prosecutor Blackquill quickly regained composure. "I suppose you can give a decent gift, at least."

"That is all you have to say, you utter depraved, ungrateful rapscallion? She picked that out before you even proposed because she was sure it would fit your tastes. And she did not even take it back after your putrid comments towards her."

Ema rested her hand on his broad shoulders. "I think it's meditation time again."

"I think you are right," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

Ema led him away. Athena scolded Prosecutor Blackquill, but it was fondly. Ema figured she could never hate him-- or she guessed, considering that Athena married the guy.

Just like Maya's bizarre choices, Ema had to just keep reminding herself that she wasn't the one marrying him. Sure, one was a complete asshole and the other one probably had multiple illegitimate children, but other people's choices were theirs to make, no matter how questionable they were. Okay, even trying the Zen thing? She judged their choices in men. But in an abstract way, like how she judged Prosecutor Gavin's purple pleather suit paired with that bling. Even Ema could keep her criticisms of the grooms to herself on their wedding day. Mostly, anyways.

When they were away from the crowd, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi spoke again. "It was kind of you to give them such a gift, even when his treatment of you was putrid."

"I'd already bought it in advance anyways. Besides, he's always like that to everybody. It wasn't like he was singling me out."

Ema glanced back towards the party. She'd already raided the buffet, said hello to Phoenix and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth. It seemed like every minute at this wedding was only making Prosecutor Sahdmadhi's blood pressure rise more.

"Hey, let's ditch this place. I have something to show you before we head back to Khura'in."

She couldn't read his expression. Taken aback, with something else she couldn't quite name. "...something to show me?"

"Yeah, some more sightseeing. I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier. I think I was just too busy with the cases and then the weddings to suggest it."

"Ah... that is what you meant. Sightseeing, yes."

"What else would I mean?" Ema said.

"...go on, then. I can always make time for sightseeing. And you."

Ema smiled.

She would've gone back to say goodbye to Athena, but she was still opening gifts with Prosecutor Blackquill right beside her. Every so often, she'd look up to him with a big smile. And it felt like maybe this wasn't a moment to be interrupted. Especially as Prosecutor Sahdmadhi would probably start bickering with Prosecutor Blackquill given half a chance.

So she just gave a little wave and headed out towards the parking lot.

*

They got to their destination with a half hour to spare.

Purple Butterfly Bushes were planted all over the gardens, as well as plenty of other pretty plants which Ema couldn't begin to know the name of. Hey, she was a forensic scientist, not a botanist. Delicate wings in so many colors fluttered about everywhere within the butterfly house. They landed on his outstretched hands, like he was coated in nectar.

He looked truly calm, now that they'd left the wedding behind.

"I wonder if they would allow me to meditate here. While the city has many treasures and wonders, it is often very loud and bright. It troubles my sleep sometimes."

"As long as you pay the entry fee, I doubt they'll care if you sit quietly somewhere. If so, then I'll give them a talking to."

He chuckled. "Ah, I would be honored. Thank you for this, Detective Ema Skye. It was a wonderful gift."

She sat down on the bench.

"I guess you've got yourself a rival now."

The butterflies suddenly all flew off of him in a cloud. She'd seen the same dark expression on Queen Amara's face during testimonies back then.

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi made the karuna pose with his hands. His inner fingers folded towards his palm, while his two outer fingers were left out. It hadn't taken long for Ema to figure out this particular sign was one of warding evil.

"Rival? Hardly. I could tolerate his antics. They are putrid and loathsome, but the chance that I would see him again were slim. Prosecutors rarely face each other in court. That day was a fluke. To me, the losses and wins are inconsequential. As long as the soul is laid to rest and the putrid criminal is caught, then that is all that matters."

He continued, more softly, "But to say such things about you, that is truly unforgivable."

"Technically, it wasn't an insult, just being blunt. He's just like that. Kind of an asshole, but I try to not take it personally," Ema said.

Also, she had to limit her deep abiding grudges with prosecutors. If she started hating other prosecutors like she hated Prosecutor Gavin then there'd be no one left to work with.

"Do not speak of yourself like that. What he did isn't to be brushed aside so easily."

He sat down on the bench beside her. Butterflies again hesitantly landed in his hair, and came to settle on his shoulders.

"Look, a couple years back, I had a rough patch in life. See, I get test anxiety really bad. So I failed my exams. Failed them a lot, actually. Eventually I ran out of retakes and had to retake the entire course. It was an absolute nightmare." Ema bent down and plucked up a dandelion from the gardens. She turned the flower over and over in her hands, and let out a sigh. The memories still hurt, even if she'd finally laid them to rest. "I was completely miserable. I lost all my confidence in myself, and my dreams seemed so far away. I got forced into a job I hated because of my lack of a degree. I even had to work for the very person who took Phoenix's badge away. I spent all that time working so hard and for what? To fail and fail and fail? So, I took it out on everyone else around me. I burned a lot of bridges with how I acted. A lot of people still won't work with me because of it."

She stared down at her hands. The stem of the dandelion was almost completely bent now. There were no downy seeds, no wishes to be had here.

"Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth kept giving me chances. And, well...don't get me wrong, I still can't stand the guy, but Prosecutor Gavin's dedication to 'protecting and respecting the fraüleins' meant that I don't have half the things I pulled in my record. What I did in the Manov Mistree case--I've done that before. In fact, I was a whole lot nicer to you than I was to Prosecutor Gavin. I pretty much spent most of my time on the stand calling my acting prosecutor an idiot to his face."

He laid his hand over hers. The warmth of his skin seeped into her skin. "Then I think even worse of him for taking a tough time within your life and rubbing salt in a wound for mere jest."

Ema could see she wasn't going to be changing his mind anytime soon. No surprise; Prosecutor Sahdmadhi could be intensely stubborn when he wanted to be. And if anything, she rather liked the thought that he'd hate someone the way she hated Prosecutor Gavin, just because this guy had been kind of an asshole to her.

"Hmm, you want to head out for sushi or ramen while we're out? Or we could try some Thai or Indian, oh and Zheng Faian food sounds good too..."

"We have until tomorrow night for when our flight goes. I'm sure we can visit all of these. So, all that is left is to figure what fate has in store for us for tonight's dining."

"So, a coin toss?" Ema said.

"There are four choices," he said.

"So multiple coin tosses. Heads, your choice, tails, my choice."

Ema pulled out the quarter and flipped it over. She lifted it up.

"Well, heads. Your call."

"All of them," he said.

"In one night?"

"My, my, Ema Skye, I thought you liked a challenge."

She laughed. "Please! That's hardly a challenge. I eat more than that on a single case."

And really, she loved that he didn't even question that she was ready for another meal right after eating at the wedding party, and how willing and eager he was to go out to eat. Other than her admiration that he always had room for seconds (or thirds), he was great to eat out with. He always had really interesting stories with all his traveling, and he enjoyed food at such a deep level, and there was never the old what do you want to eat? what do you want to eat? endless spiral because he would passionately go into the delicacies of various dishes--then Ema would get hungry they would go and get them all, much to the shock and awe of whatever servers they got.

Fifteen minutes later they were seated in a modern red booth, with paintings of mythical animals all around the room.

"How's yours?" Ema said.

"Exquisite."

"Aww, I should've gotten one. Let me try a bit of yours."

Ema reached out. She was no good with chopsticks, but she managed to still get a little bit of the peanut dish. She forgot the name and wasn't about to butcher it with her abysmal attempt at speaking the language.

He rested his hands over hers. "Like this."

His touch sent warmth through her skin. Her hand faltered, just a little, and a noodle fell between her breasts. Of all the places to drop her food. She let out a sigh and reached for her napkin.

"Ugh, let me get this."

Ema wiped up the mess and dug out the noodle.

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi glanced away, his cheeks slightly reddened. She was pretty sure it wasn't from the curry. And Ema shoved that noodle in her mouth, because it wasn't like her cleavage was particularly dirty, and she wasn't about to waste food.

"Maybe I'll just try the silverware. At this rate I'll ruin my clothes," Ema said.

"Perhaps that would be best for this curry-based dish...It could stain. It would be a tragedy to ruin that dress."

"A tragedy?" Ema laughed. "You like it that much?"

"To ruin such talented tailoring would be truly putrid, even sinful. If it stains, I will pay whatever it takes with your American 'dry cleaners' to save it."

"Okay you're just making that one up, I know there isn't a line from ancient texts about dresses from Zheng Fa, but it'd be a pain to only be able to wear this dress once."

"Ah, but there is a line about preserving the goodness and beauty in the world at any cost."

"Smooth move, Mr. Monk," Ema said.

She caught sight of one of his side dishes which had been hidden away by a larger plate. Drowning in delectable sauce, she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it yet.

"Ooh, I didn't get a taste of that yet."

He lifted up the fork. Rather than taking it from him, she took the bite long and slow, and sucked those fork tines clean. She licked her lips when she'd finished.

His gaze was on her lips. He took a long, shaky breath, and glanced quickly away.

"Delicious," Ema said.

"Y-yes... truly...ahem..."

He was starting to lean in when he suddenly stopped himself and gently dabbed the corners of his mouth.

"So, what are you going to do after dinner?" Ema said.

"Ah... I shall take a very long, very cold shower."

"Man, you're devoted to your monk practices. I can't imagine even stepping into the shower without letting it run, let alone training under a waterfall and then taking it on the run with cold showers."

"Ah, that too," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Honestly, you're something. I'll have to remember this restaurant for the next time we're here together," Ema said.

He gracefully took a bite. "True, though there will be many more to visit next time," Prosecutor Sahdmadhi said.

"You want to eat your way through L.A.? This isn't like Khura'in. There's probably thousands of restaurants around here."

"Almost enough to sate you for a weekend," he said with a faint smile.

"Hey! Don't act like you wouldn't be going for seconds, and then dessert, and then a round of sake too. You are so not an innocent in this."

"Of course I would. Many things happen. Wars spring up, you lose contact with loved ones… each moment must be treasured, in case it is the last." His voice was soft and filled with unspoken sadness.

The silence hung heavy around them with just the sound of chopsticks scraping against the dishes.

"It's not like I'm not going anywhere. Except back to Khura'in with you when this is all over."

"And for that, I am deeply thankful. More so than I can express in mere words. Your help is so integral to rebuilding Khura'in. I rely on you far more than I can say. And I know it is foreign to you, and there are many things you miss about living in the city, and yet you came anyways."

Ema twirled her brown hair about her finger. It wasn't like she'd just helped out because she was oh so saintly. The handsome prosecutor who complimented her constantly and wanted to whisk her around the world on case-solving adventures was far more a factor in her leaving her country than any hidden well of kindness.

But it wasn't like she was going to spill this on yet another not-date which felt exactly like a real date. I Can't Believe I'm Not Actually Dating My Prosecutor, the perfect new product for all those frustrated forensic scientists out there.

"And I am very aware that one day, you will want to move.”

"My contract stipulates I'll still be there for a good while, and you promised we'd do more cases overseas when that was done anways. I'm not letting you get out solving crimes together all over Europe. Besides... you're pretty good at putting it into words when you were doing all those eight hour sermons," Ema said.

"Ah, that is different," he said.

"It's always different with you," Ema said.

And for once, it wasn't just a sarcastic comeback. Because Prosecutor Sahdmadhi was the exception when it came to prosecutors, men, and even everything she'd ever planned with her life. But, there wasn't anywhere she'd rather be than right here, across from him trying out every single bite.