Apollo sipped his coffee. It was pretty hot, but he liked it that way. So did Aura, apparently, because she was chugging half of her cup. Apollo had been visiting her in prison and one day she said that, to thank him for that, she would treat him for coffee when she was out. He thought that she was kidding at first, but she had gone through with it, even if it was just the third day after her release. It was always hard to tell when Aura was joking and when she was serious, a trait she shared with her brother.

"So how's sharing an apartment with Blackquill?" Apollo asked.

"We're arguing most of the time." Aura replied, sipping some more coffee.

"Arguing? About what?"

"I usually bring up that he left me alone eight years and he usually brings up that I accused the princess of murdering her mother."

"It's not like Athena is mad at you for that or something."

"If you don't mind, I'd rather if we don't talk about her."

"Don't tell me that you still have a problem with her."

"I don't have a problem with her. But it's hard to like someone when everybody has her as a priority over you."

"W-what?" Apollo had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

"For the most part, I understand it. I'm not sociable or nice. The princess, on the other hand, is always going out of her way to help anyone that she meets. It's just natural that she has a lot more people caring about her than me. But when it comes to Simon, I think it's unfair." She stared at the coffee inside her mug, as if there was something else there. "I'm his sister after all. But in the UR-1 incident, he decided to help the princess instead. I know that she lost everything that day. But I lost everything, too. I lost the only two persons I cared about the same day. I needed help. But my own brother couldn't help me because he was too busy covering for Athena."

"Once I heard him saying that he did that because Athena was her mother's most beloved treasure."

"I'm well aware of that. And that's the hardest part. I'm pretty sure that Metis would have supported his decision. I've always known it. Even if she had really killed her, she still would have tried to protect her. The princess was always the most important thing for her. If someone had brought her back to life to testify about her murder somehow, she would have lied through her teeth for Athena's sake. When I accused her, I knew that Metis would have hated me for that. But what could I do? I cared about my brother as much as she cared about her daughter. That's what family it's all about, isn't it? But Simon... he abandoned me when I most needed him. And I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive him for that."

"Don't say that. I'm sure that he felt horrible for doing that to you, but Athena was just a child and she didn't have anyone to help her."

"That's what Simon's always says. That Athena was a helpless kid and I was strong woman. " Aura glared directly at Apollo's eyes and sipped her coffee. "Hah. A strong woman. As if he had never seen me cry in front of him. That's just an excuse, Apollo. I'm pretty sure he would do the same today if she needed his help."

"Do what?"

"Helping the princess and abandoning me. For seven years, I was begging him to tell me about what really happened in the UR-1 incident. And every single time, she just told me to go away, as if it wasn't my business. He's my brother. I love him. He was going to get executed. How can he think that his life is not my business!?" Apollo saw a tear in Aura's eye, but she didn't let it go. "But then the princess comes back after seven years and asks him, and he's suddenly willing to undergo that therapy session. I don't know if it's for Athena, for Metis or for that stupid samurai duty sense of him, but it's obvious that he cares more about her than about me. And that hurts. It hurts a lot. Because I'm his sister. My parents died when we were kids and for a long time we only had each other. He was so young when it happened that I practically raised him. We were always there for the other, and I thought that it will always be like that." She finished her coffee. "I guess I was wrong."

"Aura..."

"I know this is selfish and stupid and extremely irrational, but... I want to be someone's more beloved treasure. I wish there was someone that cared about me more than about any other thing."

"Aura...it's fine."

"What's fine?"

"Feeling that way. It's completely normal and human. Everybody wants to be loved, and as loved as possible. That's not selfish or stupid."

"Do you really think that, or are you trying to make me feel better?"

"I truly believe in what I'm saying, Aura, because I know that feeling from experience. I don't have parents, and when I was a kid, I was always jealous of the other kids who have them. Whenever someone got hurt in school, their parents always left whatever they where doing and came to took their children home. When I got hurt, the school nurse put a ban-aid on me and patted my back. And that was it. Nobody ever came to take me home. I felt really lonely back then, but then I met Clay. He's not here anymore, but now I have Trucy, and Athena, and Mr. Wright...and I know for a fact that they really care about me."

"I'm glad to hear that the amount of people caring about you has increased over time. Quite the opposite than me, right? But you deserve it. You're the most righteous person I've ever met. I just wish I could have someone caring so deeply about me. I..."

Apollo kissed her before she could finish the sentence. She was reluctant at first, but then she kissed him back.

"Apollo..." She said when they pulled apart. "You're an horrible kisser."

"W-WHAT!?" That was the last thing Apollo was expecting to hear and his Chords of Steel took over. "W-well, I haven't kissed a lot of girls, you know!?"

"And do you think I go around kissing every guy I walk into? Who do you take me for?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that! It's just that since you're older than me, I thought..."

"Fourteen years older, to be precise. But you didn't seem to mind that when you were sticking your tongue in my mouth. Actually, I'll take that as a compliment. And I have to say, you look a lot younger than you are, too."

"I'M NOT THAT SHORT!" By now he was sure that Aura was making fun of him.

Suddenly, Aura burst out laughing and slamming the desk, much like Prosecutor Blackquill used to do during trials. "Don't worry, Apollo, I was just kidding. I wanted to see your reaction. And your reaction has been quite adorable. I don't regret it at all."

"You're evil, Aura." Apollo finished his coffee, still blushing. "So I'm not an horrible kisser?"

"You're a fine kisser. But seriously, what was that for? Do you just thought that I needed a kiss, has it really been that long since last time you kissed a woman or were you trying to accomplish something?"

"Actually, before you started to cruelly make fun of me, I was going to ask you a question."

"Go ahead, then."

"Do you want to be my most beloved treasure?" That time it was Aura who started the kiss. "Should I take that as a yes?"

"Take it as a thank you. "

"A thank you? For what? For the other kiss?"

"For listening. I really needed to get all that off my chest."

"You're welcome, then. Although I didn't thought you were the type to talk so openly about your feelings."

"And I'm not. I've never told anyone what I've told you. Not even Simon. My feelings are not my favorite topic of discussion."

"Then how comes that you've been talking about them with me?"

"Because you're already my most beloved treasure."

That time, Apollo wasn't sure who had kissed first.