fic: A New Holiday
Mar. 1st, 2023 01:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bonnefoisTitle: A New Holiday
Series: Ace Attorney
Character/Pairing: Nahyuta/Ema
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 1801
Author's note:
Part of Holidaze. Past works here.
Has some inspiration from F*ck That: An Honest Meditation
Last chapter.
It came all at once.
Layovers which meant they got back. A giant snowstorm which left Mount Poni Poni and the rest of the countryside blanketed in snow. Notes from Zheng Fa that her order of decorations and custom shoes for the big day would be delayed indefinitely.
And the backload of cases. God. It was horrible. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi in searching through the archives found a hidden cache of cases to heap onto their already overloaded case load.
Ema rubbed at her temples. A tension headache was brewing. She glared at another cancellation email, as her tech beeped out an error message.
Great. Just great.
*
The door opened behind her, and Ema didn't even look back. She reached the last point of her Snackoos package and nearly growled at the momentary lack of carbs.
"What is it love?"
And of course, he looked gorgeous. Which only made her more cranky because she looked like a bog creature at this rate. Too much work left her hair was dull and not shiny. Streess made her even break out like she was a teenager again.
"What isn't it?" Ema snapped.
And she counted off on her fingers. The delays. The cases. The snowstorm. How everything was going wrong, and it was almost Christmas again, and oh, how the wedding would have to be pushed back too. It was like whatever progress she'd made had been just pushed down the mountain.
"And at this rate, we might be married in fifty years!"
Without a word, he pulled out a bag of emergency Snackoos he had packed as of late. Nahyuta sure knew her well.
She gratefully grabbed for it and began to munch like her life depended on sugar and carbs.
Food had been her go-to coping method for as long as she could remember. She ate chocolate cookies when she came home to an empty apartment, and Lana worked late. She would dip them in chocolate milk and bask in the sweetness and memories of a time when she would come home to the scent of baking, and someone there.
The old gummy bear over the textbook had gotten her through organic chemistry in college, as well as a great number of annoying math classes.
She'd gotten on the Snackoo habit around the time she worked under Prosecutor Gavin, when her skies had been cloudy, as Apollo often dryly put it. When everything else was going wrong, as least she had chocolate, carbs, gummy worms and a sweet pop.
"Sit with me a moment."
"Right on the floor? It's cold," Ema said.
"We can move to an adjoining room if you prefer?"
"Eh, it'll be cold there too."
So she sat in an evidence room with her back against the wall. Nahyuta was cross-legged in a graceful way. Ema couldn't reach that level of flexibility and elegance so easily. Not to mention the amount of self control it took to just not flinch at the cold as fuck hard floors around here.
"How are you so calm all the time, anyways?" Ema said. "Even after all you've been through?"
"Meditation. Through rigorous training, I learned to still my mind," Nahyuta said.
"My faith and my meditative practices taught me a kind of strength which helped me even through the toughest of times," Nahyuta said.
"Is this that religious stuff? Because it won't really help me if so. I'm a lady of science, after all," Ema said.
"No. While The Holy Mother is the one that taught us, the tenets are separate. It is battling the monkey mind and conquering its whims," Nahyuta said.
"The monkey mind?" Ema had a mental image of her brain as a monkey. Flinging snacks at Prosecutor Gavin and anyone else who annoyed her, shrieking, playing with a phone, and screaming at the television occasionally.
"Yes. The mind which demands sweets and instant gratification."
"The monkey is certainly in control with me," Ema said.
He smiled. "Perhaps. But it is a battle that can be won."
"Really?" Ema said skeptically.
"Truly. You focus on your breath. First, prana. You take a deep breath through your nose. Then, release."
"That's it? Just breathing? You got a bridge to sell me, too?"
He smiled, and continued on.
"Breathe deep through your nose. Imagine a rain of golden light. With each breath, it turns to mist. Be aware of your body, but do not judge it. Do not judge your thoughts as they come. They are like a petal flowing in a stream to the ocean. They are of you, but not a part of you."
It sounded way too good to be true. Simply putting her troubles away by breathing? What next? Someone telling her that spending too much time scrolling on her phone and looking at social media and videos was bad for her and she'd be better off if she slept?
But, she gave it a try.
And somehow, it worked. The anger slipped away. Her breath became even. Something in her stilled, if a little bit.
"It will be all right, Ema, my love. I promise. We have been through far worse."
Turbulence and revolutions. She took a deep breath. And it was okay.
It was really okay.
*
When she was off duty, Ema scrolled through meditation apps and videos. A lot of them weren't her thing. Too granola-y and positive. Then she ran into one that caught her eye.
F*ck that: An Honest Meditation.
It sounded worth a laugh. She she turned it on.
I breathe in calm. I breathe out bullshit.
And somewhere between the laughter, and the profanity, she became calmer.
*
Two weeks later and the situation hadn't improved, but she had.
"You seem calmer today, Ema," Nahyuta said.
"I gave it a try. I'm not going to say it'll cure everything overnight, but I do feel a bit better. I don't think the flowery stuff is going to work for me. I found a vid, though."
"We should try it sometime," she said mischievously.
She turned on the app for Nahyuta to hear.
If you find your mind wandering to other thoughts, don't let it concern you. Just know that all that shit is fucking bullshit, intoned the calming voice over the app.
"How very like you," Nahyuta said.
Ema smirked. She'd found her thing. Somehow meshed the blunt, even profane side of her with the calmness that Nahyuta exuded.
*
Days later, knock at the door, and she was into his lavish office. Soul butterflies featured prominently on his office decor. A large mahogany desk took up much space (and much space in her fantasies, too.) Being that it was Nahyuta, no wonder his office was full of bookcases filled with scrolls and tomes and all sorts of knowledge.
Nerd stuff, yeah. But, then, Ema was a nerd too. And she found his relentless pursuit of knowledge and justice pretty hot, actually.
Nahyuta still wore his prosecutor's uniform of gold and white.He could've donned the robes of a prince, and put on a circlet, but he always chose the path of a prosecutor in the end. He smiled as she closed the door behind her.
"Federally mandated lunch time," Ema said cheerfully.
"Federally mandated?" His brow furrowed, and she knew he was going through all the scrolls of Khura'inese law and the legal system he had memorized over the years. And she knew he was trying to figure out what law he had forgotten along the way.
"Didn't you hear? I'm dating the Prince Regent. And as they say, behind every man is a good woman...So I say you stopping for lunch is law. And if you really respect women as much as you claim, you'll follow this new law to the letter, and enjoy lunch."
Ema laughed softly at that, like she'd told a particularly witty pun.
"Yes...you have a point," Nahyuta said.
Ema glanced down at the papers before him. His writing was neat and elegant across the pages.
"Doing lots of work, Regent?"
"I was putting in the articles for new holidays. They shall be announced soon," Nahyuta said.
He'd already passed Khura'inese Thanksgiving, and it was a huge success.
"Oh? Are we going to have another Khura'inese Thanksgiving?"
"Tempting, but no. These new holidays correspond with some of the happiest days of my life: The day I met you, the day I proposed to you and the day I marry you. I want them etched down in stone and remembered for all eternity," Nahyuta said.
"I think those are just called anniversaries," Ema teased.
"No...I want more. I want the entire of the country to remember and celebrate our love. From now to every reincarnation in this cycle of life."
"I've never had anyone want to do that before," Ema said.
She blushed and looked away.
"Now how am I supposed to top anniversary gifts? You went and made holidays for all our love so the whole country will celebrate them. Even long after we're dead."
"Simply being beside me is more than enough. However...if you truly wished for something more....that pumpkin pie was so sublime. I should like to have a taste of such paradise again one day" Nahyuta said.
Ema laughed and laughed.
"You are too much, Nahyuta. And perfect for me. I'm not much of a cook, but even I can get a store bought crust and can of pumpkin pie mix together."
"Are you still stressed about the wedding details?"
"You know, I'm not. What I'm stressed about now is lunch."
"Ema, dear. You're always stressed about your next meal. Now would be best to heed your new law and make sure both of us eat."
He looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Federally mandated lunch time, hmm....with a provision that all who are hungry and in need are also taken care of."
Man, her fiance was brilliant. He'd went and turned her joke into some mandate to ensure Khura'in was even better.
"Write down the notes, but don't get too deep. Because we need to get going if we're going to get any Pu'er tea," Ema said.
Hard to believe it was almost the end of the year again. A snowstorm, and a whole lot of case piling up meant the wedding would have to be pushed back a bit. But, honestly? For once, it was fine. Maybe Nahyuta's calm and steady presence had rubbed off on her. Maybe the meditation was working. Or, she was just along for the ride, whatever continent it would be on.
It didn't matter if she was married in a Khura'inese dress, or a white wedding dress. In a courthouse or before Mount Poni Poni. With a massive crowd, or just them, the officiate and a few close friends and family. (Because she'd never leave Lana out.)
As long as she was with Nahyuta, she knew she'd be happy. Maybe it took a year of shared holidays to find that out. And even if her wedding got pushed back even further, and it rained that day, and her dress got yak mud on it and everything went wrong...it'd still be fine in the end.
Series: Ace Attorney
Character/Pairing: Nahyuta/Ema
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 1801
Author's note:
Part of Holidaze. Past works here.
Has some inspiration from F*ck That: An Honest Meditation
Last chapter.
It came all at once.
Layovers which meant they got back. A giant snowstorm which left Mount Poni Poni and the rest of the countryside blanketed in snow. Notes from Zheng Fa that her order of decorations and custom shoes for the big day would be delayed indefinitely.
And the backload of cases. God. It was horrible. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi in searching through the archives found a hidden cache of cases to heap onto their already overloaded case load.
Ema rubbed at her temples. A tension headache was brewing. She glared at another cancellation email, as her tech beeped out an error message.
Great. Just great.
*
The door opened behind her, and Ema didn't even look back. She reached the last point of her Snackoos package and nearly growled at the momentary lack of carbs.
"What is it love?"
And of course, he looked gorgeous. Which only made her more cranky because she looked like a bog creature at this rate. Too much work left her hair was dull and not shiny. Streess made her even break out like she was a teenager again.
"What isn't it?" Ema snapped.
And she counted off on her fingers. The delays. The cases. The snowstorm. How everything was going wrong, and it was almost Christmas again, and oh, how the wedding would have to be pushed back too. It was like whatever progress she'd made had been just pushed down the mountain.
"And at this rate, we might be married in fifty years!"
Without a word, he pulled out a bag of emergency Snackoos he had packed as of late. Nahyuta sure knew her well.
She gratefully grabbed for it and began to munch like her life depended on sugar and carbs.
Food had been her go-to coping method for as long as she could remember. She ate chocolate cookies when she came home to an empty apartment, and Lana worked late. She would dip them in chocolate milk and bask in the sweetness and memories of a time when she would come home to the scent of baking, and someone there.
The old gummy bear over the textbook had gotten her through organic chemistry in college, as well as a great number of annoying math classes.
She'd gotten on the Snackoo habit around the time she worked under Prosecutor Gavin, when her skies had been cloudy, as Apollo often dryly put it. When everything else was going wrong, as least she had chocolate, carbs, gummy worms and a sweet pop.
"Sit with me a moment."
"Right on the floor? It's cold," Ema said.
"We can move to an adjoining room if you prefer?"
"Eh, it'll be cold there too."
So she sat in an evidence room with her back against the wall. Nahyuta was cross-legged in a graceful way. Ema couldn't reach that level of flexibility and elegance so easily. Not to mention the amount of self control it took to just not flinch at the cold as fuck hard floors around here.
"How are you so calm all the time, anyways?" Ema said. "Even after all you've been through?"
"Meditation. Through rigorous training, I learned to still my mind," Nahyuta said.
"My faith and my meditative practices taught me a kind of strength which helped me even through the toughest of times," Nahyuta said.
"Is this that religious stuff? Because it won't really help me if so. I'm a lady of science, after all," Ema said.
"No. While The Holy Mother is the one that taught us, the tenets are separate. It is battling the monkey mind and conquering its whims," Nahyuta said.
"The monkey mind?" Ema had a mental image of her brain as a monkey. Flinging snacks at Prosecutor Gavin and anyone else who annoyed her, shrieking, playing with a phone, and screaming at the television occasionally.
"Yes. The mind which demands sweets and instant gratification."
"The monkey is certainly in control with me," Ema said.
He smiled. "Perhaps. But it is a battle that can be won."
"Really?" Ema said skeptically.
"Truly. You focus on your breath. First, prana. You take a deep breath through your nose. Then, release."
"That's it? Just breathing? You got a bridge to sell me, too?"
He smiled, and continued on.
"Breathe deep through your nose. Imagine a rain of golden light. With each breath, it turns to mist. Be aware of your body, but do not judge it. Do not judge your thoughts as they come. They are like a petal flowing in a stream to the ocean. They are of you, but not a part of you."
It sounded way too good to be true. Simply putting her troubles away by breathing? What next? Someone telling her that spending too much time scrolling on her phone and looking at social media and videos was bad for her and she'd be better off if she slept?
But, she gave it a try.
And somehow, it worked. The anger slipped away. Her breath became even. Something in her stilled, if a little bit.
"It will be all right, Ema, my love. I promise. We have been through far worse."
Turbulence and revolutions. She took a deep breath. And it was okay.
It was really okay.
*
When she was off duty, Ema scrolled through meditation apps and videos. A lot of them weren't her thing. Too granola-y and positive. Then she ran into one that caught her eye.
F*ck that: An Honest Meditation.
It sounded worth a laugh. She she turned it on.
I breathe in calm. I breathe out bullshit.
And somewhere between the laughter, and the profanity, she became calmer.
*
Two weeks later and the situation hadn't improved, but she had.
"You seem calmer today, Ema," Nahyuta said.
"I gave it a try. I'm not going to say it'll cure everything overnight, but I do feel a bit better. I don't think the flowery stuff is going to work for me. I found a vid, though."
"We should try it sometime," she said mischievously.
She turned on the app for Nahyuta to hear.
If you find your mind wandering to other thoughts, don't let it concern you. Just know that all that shit is fucking bullshit, intoned the calming voice over the app.
"How very like you," Nahyuta said.
Ema smirked. She'd found her thing. Somehow meshed the blunt, even profane side of her with the calmness that Nahyuta exuded.
*
Days later, knock at the door, and she was into his lavish office. Soul butterflies featured prominently on his office decor. A large mahogany desk took up much space (and much space in her fantasies, too.) Being that it was Nahyuta, no wonder his office was full of bookcases filled with scrolls and tomes and all sorts of knowledge.
Nerd stuff, yeah. But, then, Ema was a nerd too. And she found his relentless pursuit of knowledge and justice pretty hot, actually.
Nahyuta still wore his prosecutor's uniform of gold and white.He could've donned the robes of a prince, and put on a circlet, but he always chose the path of a prosecutor in the end. He smiled as she closed the door behind her.
"Federally mandated lunch time," Ema said cheerfully.
"Federally mandated?" His brow furrowed, and she knew he was going through all the scrolls of Khura'inese law and the legal system he had memorized over the years. And she knew he was trying to figure out what law he had forgotten along the way.
"Didn't you hear? I'm dating the Prince Regent. And as they say, behind every man is a good woman...So I say you stopping for lunch is law. And if you really respect women as much as you claim, you'll follow this new law to the letter, and enjoy lunch."
Ema laughed softly at that, like she'd told a particularly witty pun.
"Yes...you have a point," Nahyuta said.
Ema glanced down at the papers before him. His writing was neat and elegant across the pages.
"Doing lots of work, Regent?"
"I was putting in the articles for new holidays. They shall be announced soon," Nahyuta said.
He'd already passed Khura'inese Thanksgiving, and it was a huge success.
"Oh? Are we going to have another Khura'inese Thanksgiving?"
"Tempting, but no. These new holidays correspond with some of the happiest days of my life: The day I met you, the day I proposed to you and the day I marry you. I want them etched down in stone and remembered for all eternity," Nahyuta said.
"I think those are just called anniversaries," Ema teased.
"No...I want more. I want the entire of the country to remember and celebrate our love. From now to every reincarnation in this cycle of life."
"I've never had anyone want to do that before," Ema said.
She blushed and looked away.
"Now how am I supposed to top anniversary gifts? You went and made holidays for all our love so the whole country will celebrate them. Even long after we're dead."
"Simply being beside me is more than enough. However...if you truly wished for something more....that pumpkin pie was so sublime. I should like to have a taste of such paradise again one day" Nahyuta said.
Ema laughed and laughed.
"You are too much, Nahyuta. And perfect for me. I'm not much of a cook, but even I can get a store bought crust and can of pumpkin pie mix together."
"Are you still stressed about the wedding details?"
"You know, I'm not. What I'm stressed about now is lunch."
"Ema, dear. You're always stressed about your next meal. Now would be best to heed your new law and make sure both of us eat."
He looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Federally mandated lunch time, hmm....with a provision that all who are hungry and in need are also taken care of."
Man, her fiance was brilliant. He'd went and turned her joke into some mandate to ensure Khura'in was even better.
"Write down the notes, but don't get too deep. Because we need to get going if we're going to get any Pu'er tea," Ema said.
Hard to believe it was almost the end of the year again. A snowstorm, and a whole lot of case piling up meant the wedding would have to be pushed back a bit. But, honestly? For once, it was fine. Maybe Nahyuta's calm and steady presence had rubbed off on her. Maybe the meditation was working. Or, she was just along for the ride, whatever continent it would be on.
It didn't matter if she was married in a Khura'inese dress, or a white wedding dress. In a courthouse or before Mount Poni Poni. With a massive crowd, or just them, the officiate and a few close friends and family. (Because she'd never leave Lana out.)
As long as she was with Nahyuta, she knew she'd be happy. Maybe it took a year of shared holidays to find that out. And even if her wedding got pushed back even further, and it rained that day, and her dress got yak mud on it and everything went wrong...it'd still be fine in the end.
