Rain pounds against the shutters with all the urgency of a freight train. Water drips from the ceiling, leaving a dirty puddle on the ceramic floor next to the leg of the kitchen table.
Ema sighs to herself as she eyes the mess- she chooses to avert her gaze to her steaming tea cup and the science journal in her lap. The steam is warm and the tea calming, and Ema leans back in relaxation.
Until the door bursts open, letting in a blast of frigid air and a tumultuous breeze. The downpour comes through the doorway and quickly dampens the entrance mat.
"Ema Skye!" A voice, loud like a chemical reaction, followed by a shock of hair, blue like the police station mascot.
"Hi, Franziska," Ema greets. She rises from her chair, only to fall back against the wood when the woman marches toward her and gets right in her face. With her heels, Franziska hovers a good few inches over Ema, and the tips of her short hair only just brush against Ema's cheeks. Despite how often Ema has found herself this close to the other woman, she still blushes.
Franziska blushes, too, which is far more unusual. Her eyes shoot around for a moment as she fiddles with her gloves and finally places a bag on the table. "I bought scones, although this cursed weather might have made them soggy. Here," she insists, pulling one of the British treats from the bag and handing it to Ema.
"Uh... Thanks? What is this for?"
Franziska puffs up immediately. "Because you won an award for outstanding detective work, naturally! Are you really so foolish as to think I would let the occasion pass uncelebrated?"
"Oh!" Ema's eyebrows raise. Her cheeks grow warmer- although police detective is not exactly her dream job, she still feels pride over the medal now hanging in her room. "I... Thank you."
"Has Maya Fey returned yet?"
Ema crosses her arms. "Not yet. I hope she remembered an umbrella... She always catches a cold after storms like this."
As if summoned, Maya opens the door a moment later. Her hair is plastered to her back and her clothes drenched. "He-lloooo," she sing-songs. She touts two wet plastic bags, which she hefts onto the table next to Franziska's bag. "And a special hello to the world's finest detective," Maya continues, a bright grin lighting her features as she reaches one hand into a bag to reveal a package of cookie dough mix.
Ema's sweettooth causes her to lick her lips unconsciously.
"I already bought her scones, Maya Fey."
"Come on, it's a special occasion, we can have both! Besides, you're gonna help me bake these."
Franziska mutters under her breath but does not protest. When Ema steps forward to help unload the ingredients from the grocery bags, both Maya and Franziska stand in her way.
"No way, Em, you go relax!"
"We have this handled. I promise these cookies will be perfectly perfect."
"If you say so," Ema responds, teasing skepticism coloring her tone. Her cheeks hurt from smiling, and she can feel that any earlier grouchiness- from her workday, the poor weather, the leak in the ceiling- has melted away. She leaves the two women in the kitchen and heads for the bedroom, bringing a scone as she goes.
As Ema finishes a second episode of Bill Nye reruns, her girlfriends enter the bedroom, each carrying a plate of cookies. The chocolately scent alone makes Ema want to salivate, and she eagerly pats the mattress on either side of her. Her girlfriends oblige her, pressing up right alongside her on the bed. The sticky summer night should be too hot for cuddling, especially since none of the women have changed out of their wet clothes, yet the trio huddle together anyway as they indulge in the homemade cookies. Ema thanks her girlfriends profusely before turning her attention back to the television screen.
Maya falls asleep quickly. Her snores occasionally overpower Bill Nye's soft voice, and Ema and Franziska must suppress their snorts of laughter to keep from waking her.
Franziska stays awake a while longer, rapt at attention by the experiments onscreen. Seeing the older woman fascinated by science hits on somethings for Ema, who finds herself unable to keep from playing footsie with Franziska. Ema burrows her head against the prosecutor's shoulder until she hears breathing even out, and then she presses a kiss to the temples of each of her sleeping girlfriends. She switches off the TV and settles in to follow them into slumber.
---
It storms on the anniversary of Mia's death. The sky and the sea wage war with one another as if sensing the tragedy of the day, leaving the inhabitants of the city trapped indoors.
Maya watches lightning streak across the dark backdrop of night as rain pelts the window. The noise becomes monotonous after awhile, depriving the spirit medium of the distraction she intended.
The clack of heels on tile alerts her to Franziska's presence. There's silence for a moment, too many things in the air. All other sounds fade besides Franziska's breathing. Franziska's fingertips ghost over Maya's shoulders, her pointer finger coiling Maya's hair. Their fingers intertwine through the harsh weathered fabric of Franziska's gloves, and finally the thin silence breaks.
"Mein Beileid," she whispers into Maya's hair. Maya knows Franziska has always felt inadequate expressing important sentiments in English- not that she feels clumsy with the language, it's just that German feels more heartfelt and natural to her. Thus, her lovers had learned a few phrases ("Ich liebe dich," for instance).
"Thanks, Franny." Maya offers her a small smile.
"Ema Skye will be calling soon. You know she regrets that she's unable to be here today-"
"Of course I know! You guys are always here for me, even if you're not /here/ here."
Franziska mutters something about cheesiness and sentimentality under her breath, but her grip on Maya's hand tightens.
The duo stay like that for several minutes, until Maya has to pull her hand away to pick up her cellphone. She answers on the first ring, allowing only the opening notes of the Steel Samurai theme song to play.
"Hey, Em."
"Maya, hi. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing okay. Nick and Pearly are coming over later, and we're going to watch one of Sis's weird crime films together. Franny's even gonna join us- say hi, Franny!" She holds the receiver up to the prosecutor's ear.
"Hello, Ema Skye. I hope your investigation is proceeding accordingly. Quickly find the perfect evidence so you may join us here. And if you see Miles Edgeworth, sneer at him for me."
Ema laughs, a melodic sounds like the ringing of a bell. "I could never do that. But yeah, I'll hurry back!"
Maya brings the phone back to her own ear and resumes her conversation with Ema, keeping the topic light both so Ema can keep working and so Maya can take her mind off of heavier things. Still, her mind wanders as she talks to her partner.
Maya sees many similarities between herself and Ema, the least of which being appearance. Maya knows Ema can relate to the plight of having a sister in trouble- Maya is glad for her girlfriend that she can still see Lana without the aid of a spirit medium, even if only through prison bars.
And Maya also recalls a prior conversation with her girlfriend, when Ema had said, "It's really cool how optimistic you are. Like, I admire how you can smile through the tough times, even after everything."
The serious conversation had come from nowhere, just manifesting as the two had laid in bed at midday having a staring contest.
Ema had continued, "I know that I.. I've let some of my experiences change me. When I look in the mirror, I don't know where the perky teenage scientist went." Ema's eyes had trailed downward then.
Maya recalls huffing in indignation and shoving one hand against Ema's chest. "She's right here! Okay, maybe she looks a little different, like she's taller now and doesn't wear a school uniform and- and- But she's still the girl who gets all excited over experiments and who loves helping people with evidence and investigations! And now that scientist has two gorgeous partners," Maya concluded with a wink.
Ema had met her eyes, a breathtaking smile on her face. "I know. When I see you and Franziska deal with your problems and move forward, and even when I see my sister and Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth doing the same, each in your own ways... I guess I realize there's more than one kind of strong. And I'm able to be proud of myself for that."
Maya thinks she giggled here, and Ema's vulnerable side had then returned to its hibernation, leaving her playful side as the two women started to shove and tickle one another. When Franziska had returned to find her girlfriends in hysterics, twisting around on the bedsheets, she had little time to ask questions before being pulled onto the mattress herself.
Maya smiles fondly at the memory. She can just see their bed through the open door in her peripheral vision. She looks around the apartment as Ema continues chittering in her ear about a promising new fingerprinting kit. Maya notices that the colors seem a little brighter than they had before.
She kisses Franziska's hand, still tangled up with hers, and tells Ema she is a nerd through the receiver. For the first time that day, Maya's shoulders feel light.
She can't wait for Pearl to channel Mia. Sis always wants to know all about Maya's girlfriends, alongside all the other significant and insignificant details about Maya's life. And Maya is always happy to share.
---
"Wait up!" Ema futilely wipes at her pink sunglasses with her lab coast as she attempts to run after her girlfriend.
Maya forges on ahead, splashing in puddles and dirtying her spiritual robes. At one point, she begins belting "Singing in the Rain." Meanwhile, Franziska hangs back, content to hold an umbrella over her head and watch her girlfriends.
They hadn't planned to be caught in this storm. Their simple night out on the town had ended mundanely enough, before dark clouds had rapidly appeared in the sky in the middle of their walk home. Only Franziska had bothered to check the weather report and thus only she had an umbrella, a fact she had not failed to mention to Maya, who seemed unperturbed, and Ema, who mumbled something about the fallibility of meteorology. Fools.
She huffs in bemusement as Maya finishes an off-key rendition of some Nickel Samurai song, which Franziska is slightly abashed to recognize. The wind whips Maya's hair out of her face, revealing an ear-to-ear grin.
At the same time, Ema crouches down by the side of the road. "Look, Franziska! The flowers are blooming!" She almost purrs with content as she starts listing off flower names and meanings. "Lilies, or alstroemerias, symbolize devotion," she begins, pointing to a batch of white flowers in someone's garden, "and purple tulips are royalty."
Franziska trails behind, enjoying Ema's obvious pride in her own botanical knowledge. Franziska herself has never been one for soft flourishes or frilly decorations- as a young girl, she forewent flowers in the hair for a crop and a severe image. But even though flowers have never been her cup of tea, she finds herself enjoying looking at them now. As she stares at them, she even begin to compare them to her girlfriends. She sees Ema in the hydrangeas (so many layers, vivaciously bursting in a thousand different directions) and she sees Maya in the daffodils (colorful and open).
She would never share this foolish poetry with either of them, of course.
As she strolls alongside them, listening to Ema name flowers and Maya sing, Franziska is startled by how the two have unconsciously burrowed their way into her subconscious and refused to let go. Before coming to America, her priorities had always been work ethic and perfection- nothing more and nothing less. But, slightly to her unease, that was beginning to change in a number of ways.
She has forsaken her perfect win record to aid Phoenix Wright in court, and she has the occasional non-professional outing with Miles Edgeworth and the scruffy detective. And beyond that, her two girlfriends have begun to occupy a large portion of her life.
Kissing Maya good morning is an important part of her day, so much so that one time when Maya was in Kurain, Franziska felt flustered all day as though something were missing. The same holds for making Ema coffee- she had first noticed early on in their relationship the scientist's tired demeanor and the way she rushed to throw together a cheap, crappy cup of coffee before work each morning. Franziska had huffed and said Ema didn't know how to properly make the beverage, and so now when Franziska prepares her tea, she also automatically makes Ema coffee- perfectly steeped and carefully mixed with expensive beans of course. That her hands now reach unthinkingly for Ema's favorite mug demonstrates to Franziska how her girlfriend has taken up permanent residence in her mind.
It wasn't that long ago that Franziska lived by herself, but she can hardly imagine those days anymore. And if it comes at the cost of making her soft, she finds, to her own surprise, that she welcomes it.
Not one to revel in sentimentality, she marches forward, past Ema crouching by a few yellow roses and past Maya overlooking the railing that hangs over the beach. She peers over her shoulder. "I'm making schnitzel tonight, so if you two aren't home and showered by the time it's done..."
Her girlfriends fill in the blank and quickly rush to her side. They each grab one of her arms and try (in vain) to fit under the umbrella. The trio provide each other body heat in the midst of the damp rain as they head back home.
---
"Game night!"
Maya's girlfriends gather at the sound of her voice. When they join her in the living room, she triumphantly places a board game, a pack of cards, and a video game on the coffee table. The sounds of the rain pelting the shutters and the wind attacking the trees carry, reminding the women why they are stuck indoors.
"We're playing these tonight. Any questions?"
Silence. Franziska and Ema exchange wary looks before sitting down at the table.
Maya beams. "Great!"
As they get started, it becomes clear that they have a very tenuous grasp on how to play. When they lay out the tiles for the board game, Rummikub, Ema starts arranging a Jenga tower. After, when they begin a game of Go Fish, Franziska lays her whole hand of cards face up on the table and asks where the fish bait is. And when they switch to a console to play Mario Kart, Maya drives backwards through the course the entire time.
Then again, none of them had much opportunity to play games with others when they were younger. Maya had been up in the mountains of Kurain; Ema was somewhat isolated because other kids didn't understand her and because they feared her sister; and Franziska had to focus on her future career, and there was no place for playtime in Papa's image of a von Karma.
Yet, now they all congregate over the series of games, even as they fumble with the rules. It helps that they all have a few Chardonnays in them: otherwise, Franziska would never have agreed to such a childish, or "foolishly foolish" activity.
Drunk Franziska is more than happy to partake, however. She grows very competitive as the Mario Kart rounds continue. When Ema is knocked from the course by a first-place shell and exclaims, "Hey!" Franziska smirks and responds, "Mario Kart is a dog-eat-dog world. Try to keep up, Ema Skye."
Maya goes all out as well. Before the next match, she navigates to the character selection screen and announces, "I call Boo! If anyone has any objections speak now or forever hold your peace." Franziska cracks a smile at the legal humor while Ema just rolls her eyes. After Franziska selects Bowser, Ema slides her cursor over Rosalina. She feels much more reserved over the game then her girlfriends, but as they get even more into it, she finds that it's hard not to get caught up in their enthusiasm. Thus, she taunts, "I bet two bags of Snackoo's that I win."
Franziska's eyebrow quirks upward. "Oh? I was unaware gambling was allowed."
"I see your two bags of Snackoo's and I raise you paying for three meals at Eldoon's noodle cart!"
Never one to be outdone, Franziska follows, "In the nigh impossible chance I should lose, the winner shall be allowed to possess my whip for 6 hours. When I win, we will watch two of my German horror films."
The trio continue their competition throughout the night, sipping their wine and making bets that no one would remember in the morning.
The raucous laughter makes their apartment as lively as the storm outside.