Blew Into Town

"Franziska... As you know, settlements are nothing to mess with, in court or not. I would appreciate it if you would kindly leave so Ms. Fey and I can discuss the settlement in private." Miles gestured towards the door.

"But I'm completely unrelated to this," Franziska protested, eyes wide with feigned innocence. "I'm not even a lawyer, right now, I'm an investigator, and I need somewhere to work." It was very obvious that she wanted to hear about their 'settlement', and she hadn't budged an inch from her spot on the desk.

"You could always go somewhere else," Mia pointed out. "Isn't there a library or something in this building?" She remembered Franziska's whip, and hastily added, "Not to be rude, but this is sensitive information we're discussing, Ms. von Karma."

Franziska leveled an icily flat gaze at Mia for an uncomfortable length of time. "Fine," she finally conceded, her voice cold and clipped. She finished her tea like a shot, hefted her bag onto her shoulder and grabbed her folder, and left the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was in the hall, however, she was immediately flat against the wall next to the door, her ears straining to hear Mia and Miles talking.

Mia gave a small sigh of relief. "Great, now we can talk about this." She sipped her tea, looking at Edgeworth. "Are you sure you want me to do this without Phoenix knowing, Miles? I think he'd be a little angry if we were to do something of this magnitude and not tell him anything."

"I'm sure Wright would be thrilled to know this is what we've been discussing," Miles said coolly. "I mean, sure, he might be a little bit angry at first, you know how he is, but in the end, he'll appreciate what we're doing."

"Alright," Mia bit her thumb thoughtfully."Are there any other logistics we need to go over before we tell him? And do you think Franzi's going to want to go along, too?"

Franziska gritted her teeth in a snarl. This didn't sound like a settlement at all, and it apparently involved her, but she'd still been kicked out of the room. But she was patient, she could wait to hear details of what exactly they were talking about.

"Not from what I can tell. It should be fairly straight forward." Miles shrugged. "As for Franziska... I'm sure she'll want to once things are more concrete but for now this should be between us."

Mia nodded in agreement. "Should I videotape it for posterity? I mean, this is a pretty big moment for you guys. I know Phoenix is all into being private when it comes to these sorts of things, but I want to know how you feel about it."

Franziska gave a small gasp, and her hand flew to her mouth. This was starting to sound like... But it couldn't be. Phoenix Wright? He and Miles were friends, yes, but the weren't... Or were they? She had been away for some time. But somewhere in the back of her mind, Franziska felt a twinge of jealously. In spite of the age difference and close proximity of their raising, she'd grown rather fond of her "brother", though she'd shown it like a grade school boy, constantly taunting him and pulling his pigtails. (Though in this context, "pulling his pigtails" equated to "whipping him in the face".)

"If you want to. Although if he reacts like I think he will..." Miles got a playful smirk on his face. "This would be a moment I'd like cemented in history."

Mia chuckled as she imagined Phoenix's possible reactions. "I like how you think, Mr. Edgeworth. It's a pleasure doing business with you." She shook his hand in mock formality. "I really must head back to the office now, I apologize for cutting this meeting so short. But Phoenix is suspicious enough as it is." With that, she turned towards the door and left, smiling.

At Mia's farewells, Franziska had darted to the bench across from the office and begun leafing through her files. Then, as Mia passed, she had risen silently, stalked her for a few steps, then grabbed her in a headlock, her other hand holding Mia's wrists behind her back. "So this 'settlement' involves my brother and Mr. Phoenix Wright, does it?"

"Oh!" Mia gasped in surprise as she was grabbed, then realized who her attacker was. "You were listening?! But if you must know, yes, it does. Is that a problem, Franziska?"

'Phoenix was right, I really do need to learn karate...'

"Tell me what's going on," Franziska demanded. "I heard my name, and I'll find out eventually, but I do hate to be kept waiting."

Mia swallowed her fear and nodded. "Well, you see, Miles and Phoenix have been dating for a while...and um, Miles sort of...wants to...pop the question to Phoenix." She usually wasn't this nervous, but something about Franziska von Karma, and the way she was able to attack people, made her fearful. She hated being the weak one, and she vowed to herself that after this, she'd go take some karate lessons.

In shock, Franziska released Mia and staggered back a few steps. "Miles... and Phoenix Wright... dating?" She hadn't even known her brother was gay. Or bi? Augh, she felt like she didn't know anything anymore!

Mia straightened up, and looked at Franziska apologetically. "Yes, Franziska, they've been together since about a couple of months after you went back to Germany. I'm sorry, this must be a lot of information to chew over, I'll be taking my leave now. 'll see you around, Franziska von Karma." She turned around and headed towards the elevator, hoping no one else would accost her.

Franziska slowly came out of her funk, but as she did, she became aware of her rage towards Miles. Her emotion actually escaping in a roar, she stormed his office, whip out and slashing. "NO ONE THOUGHT TO TELL ME THAT YOU'VE BEEN DATING PHOENIX WRIGHT?!"

"HEY! What are you doing to my office!?" Miles shouted, trying to stop the potential destruction to his office. "Wait, who told you about Phoenix and I?"