Follow the Fool (Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Fanfic)

Chapter 7

The fact that she had no idea where she was didn't disturb Adrian Andrews in the least. She could certainly infer much from the surroundings. Outside the thin white curtains that fluttered in a gentle breeze, the blonde American could see a stretch of thin, pearl-white sand that stretched as far as her eyes could perceive to either side—pure white, gently glowing in the dying light of the setting sun. Past that, there was an endless, vast expanse of water, the fiery orange light of the sunset glittering off the gently rolling, crystal-blue waves in a very storybook manner.

That, plus the blazing hot weather (though tempered by a cooling sea breeze that smelled of salt and memory) told Adrian that she was, in fact, somewhere tropical—though the skyline she could make out bordering the beach looked an awful lot like Hamburg, Germany... and there weren't any beaches like this anywhere near Hamburg... but then, that knowledge was firmly pushed to the very back of her mind where she didn't let it worry her at all.

More specifically, though, she was in a hotel room, a large (if not extravagantly so) room with all the facilities one would expect out of a modern, up-to-date establishment. The entire room felt fuzzy and muted like it was in watercolor except for the vibrant beauty out the open sliding-door window, and the large king-sized bed Adrian was currently sprawled across in a most undignified manner.

Adrian sighed contently, giving a little yawn and stretching, the white button-down shirt she was wearing completely unbuttoned giving a little flutter as the sea breeze caught it. She sank back down onto the bed, resting her head in the lap of the other figure in the room, a young blue-haired woman who was sitting up in the bed, clad in a simple black sleeveless shirt—her legs concealed under the bed covers—calmly perusing a legal brief. Franziska von Karma gave no outward indication that she was even aware of the other woman's presence, though she did idly start playing with a few stray strands of Adrian's hair that had fallen by her slender free hand.

The blonde woman smiled warmly at nothing in particular, feeling the ever-so-slight sensations of her hair being played which send subtle golden tingles up and down her spine. She could feel those warm final rays of the setting sun caress the bare skin of her legs, and let herself sink into the bed, enjoying every last sensation. Slowly and almost subconsciously, Adrian started running the back of her hand up and down her companion's legs, only a thin layer of blankets between their skin... she smiled, watching the dying embers of the sunset glint off the thin gold band encircling her ring finger.

Franziska made a soft, barely noticeable noise deep in the back of her throat, a sort of "Mmf" sound that was her only reaction as her dark eyes continued to dart back and forth rapidly, scanning the multi-page legal document. She briefly stopped playing with Adrian's long hair to turn the page, a matching ring glinting in the sunlight as she did so. "How can a lawyer write a fifty-page document and call it a 'brief,'" asked Adrian teasingly, a laugh in her voice if not her body.

Without averting her eyes from her work or missing a beat, Franziska responded, "You've seen my bookshelves in my office, correct?" The American woman made a small affirmative noise, and her partner continued simply, "that's how."

The two lay there for what could have been an hour or thirty seconds, the only measure of time the slow, lazy descent of the sun to the horizon, the only sound the ruffling of paper as Franziska turned through the pages of the document. Adrianshifted positions, turning onto her side and hugging her knees to her chest, still running a slender finger across the rise of her partner's lower body.

"I'm not distracting you, am I?" she said at last, adjusting her glasses with her free hand as she did so.

Franziska looked at her, averting her gaze from her work and arching a blue-gray eyebrow inquisitively. "...a bit," she admitted with a shrug and what might have been the barest hints of a teasing smirk, "...but not excessively."