December 20, 9:12 PM
District Court - Defendant Lobby No. 5
The phantom had been exposed, both Athena and Blackquill had been proven innocent, and the truth had been found.
Walking out of the courtroom, it felt as though they were finally shutting the door on the UR-1 incident. Athena smiled brightly, Apollo looked a little sheepish but clearly proud that justice had been served, and Phoenix looked rather pleased with himself.
Edgeworth, Trucy and Pearl came over immediately to congratulate them for their victory, and they started chatting.
Athena didn't notice Simon's approach until he was right in front of her, and he spoke to her.
"...Athena."
She blinked and looked up. Here he was, the person she wanted to see the most. Smiling.
"I'm forever in your debt," Simon said. "You went to all that trouble... even taking the bar exam while you were overseas…"
"Well, I knew that if I didn't get your sentence overturned fast, you'd be executed!" she said enthusiastically, grinning and flashing a peace sign. "So I studied and studied. I was frantic! I'm so glad I made it in time!" Her hands shook, as the reality of how close it had been sunk in. "Just barely... but I still made it!"
She couldn't help the tears streaming down her cheeks. It was embarrassing, but she was so glad. So much had happened in the past 24 hours, yet in the end it had all worked out.
Simon looked away, pausing.
"Yes, I survived by the skin of my teeth, thanks to you."
"Shame on you, Simon... for trying to throw your life away like that!" Her voice shook with relief, hands shaking as she clenched them close to her chest. The way he was talking seemed so unaffected, she almost felt stupid for crying so much. She blinked her tears away.
"It was never my intention to just throw my life away." He paused. "But some things in this world are more important than your own life."
"Like what...?" Athena asked.
Simon turned so his gray eyes met her's for the first time, gaze intense.
"My honor-bound duty to protect with my life...my mentor's most beloved treasure."
"Huh?" she said. It was a strange statement. What treasure? The psych report? The moon rock? Hardly what you would call beloved. No, wait…Athena's eyes widened, and her hand came up to her mouth, as she let out an involuntary "Ah!" as the realization hit her.
Her. She was the treasure.
She suddenly felt vulnerable with the way he was staring at her so intently. Beloved. She had been beloved. The seriousness of his expression was almost as if telling her that there would be no argument about it. In a way, that straightforward nature of his was endearing.
Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn't, but the longer she met Simon's gaze, the longer she started to believe it. Her mother may have been distant at times, but what she had tried to give to Athena had shown love, and who knew better than the person who had known them both well.
For once, Athena was lost for words. "I, um…Simon..."
Simon had his signature smirk on now, but she sensed a warmth there she had long forgotten the feeling of. The way it felt to have someone looking out for you.
In the end, they'd both saved each other.
Simon had showed her what really happened that day. With that she'd helped prove his innocence, and together they'd discovered the truth.
She could feel it, the affection and protectiveness emanating from his heart and she hoped that even if Simon didn't have her power, he could feel her emotions coming across as well.
"Th-thanks Simon," she said finally, smiling so widely her eyes crinkled into half moon shapes. "It's nothing, you were the one who I should thank." His voice was gruff, face turned to the left with an awkward expression, but his arms open just the smallest amount.
The edge of her eyes burned and her lip quivered. He'd surely noticed how she was holding herself back. She could blink the tears away, but there wasn't any need to hesitate anymore, was there?
She leapt, her arms wrapping around him, clinging tightly as if to never let him go...just in time to hide the tears rolling down her face.
"Don't leave me again," she said, voice muffled in his clothes. It was a stupid and naive thing to say, but with her face buried into his chest, she felt safe. Suddenly, she was a little girl again, kneeling beside her mother's bloodstained body. And the one person who had come and comforted her, told her it would be alright, he was right here.
A tentative hand touched her back, patting gently. "Athena…it's alright now. It's all over."
"Yeah, I know," she whimpered. "I know but...I just feel so...so..."
She couldn't pinpoint what emotion she was feeling. Maybe she should have been able to, seeing as that was her expertise, but there was so much there that it simply felt overwhelming.
"Yeah, I know," he said.
Of course Simon knew, he understood better than anyone else.
Silently, he led her through the hallway, to a corner free of any prying eyes. Of course he knew what she needed.
Simon sat and leaned his back against the wall, and Athena didn't hesitate one moment longer to fall onto her knees and bawl, let the tears drip from her cheeks and hit the ground one by one. Simon's arms came around her like a blanket, and she couldn't remember ever feeling so at home.
Even in her own country, losing her mother and being a potential suspect in her murder, it had been ostracizing. Her ambitious goal had taken up much of her time and friends had been hard to come by. It was lonely, even if she wouldn't admit it.
She'd missed Simon so much back then, and the burden of having failed to save him from jail was a constant weight on her conscience. But finally, finally he was free, and even if she loved Phoenix and Apollo, it wasn't the same.
As the last sob left her body, her body felt weak and ready to collapse. How long she lay there, knowing nothing but the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and the warmth of his arms around her, she couldn't tell.
When at last she was ready to leave, she took a deep breath in, and sighed a long sigh of relief and peace. Opening her eyes, she was suddenly all too aware of where she was.
She released her grip and moved back, standing up to straighten her blouse and tie. She caught the eye of a lady coming out of a room, who flashed Simon a disapproving look.
"Don't worry," Simon said, rubbing at a large wet patch in his shirt. "You get events like this all the time in here, some people are simply insensitive to the natural progression of human emotions."
She felt a small prick of guilt, realizing that it wasn't only her image, but his as well. He was the Twisted Samurai after all, and it would be quite a lot of work to better his image again.
Still, she deserved a bit of a hug and a cry after all that had happened, right? In fact, Simon was being the odd one here...
"You know, Simon, how are you so stoic about it all?" she demanded. "I say it's unfair that I'm the only one being embarrassing here."
Simon shrugged. He leaned forward, and ruffled the top of Athena's head.
"Huh, what was that for?"
"Feel it."
She moved her hand to her head, surprised to find it was slightly damp. She removed the ribbon, which was the most soaked through, and held it in her palm. She bit her lip. There was not going to be a round three.
Instead, she perked up and nudged Simon's shoulder. "Simon, you do have feelings after all!"
"Of course." He smirked playfully. "I assume it would be too early for a Phantom joke."
Athena gasped. Simon making a joke? That was sure something. She wrapped the ribbon back into her hair. She'd tell Apollo about this new joke telling development later.
"Hey wait, where are the others?" she said.
"I saw Edgeworth-dono gather the others to leave a while ago," Simon said. "I think the impression was that we were busy."
"Oh no! I never miss Eldoon's! I'll have to ask Mr. Wright to treat me later if they already went."
"I'm sure they'll all be waiting for you just around the corner," Simon said.
"Huh? Why?"
"Just a hunch," Simon said. "Shall we go?"
Athena nodded. To her surprise, when she turned the corner and reentered the lobby, Phoenix and the rest of the agency were indeed there, all looking very intent on acting unsuspicious.
"Hey, thanks for waiting guys!" Athena said. Apollo laughed rather nervously and scratched the back of his neck, and Phoenix just smiled. In the background, Trucy silently slipped a wad of cash to Pearl, who seemed ready to bounce out of her shoes with contained excitement.
"Time for noodles then, now that everyone else is here. Mr. Wright's treat, of course," Edgeworth said.
"Edgeworth!" Phoenix protested, though it sounded more like a groan of acceptance than any real protest.
You'd think a man would be surprised when a sizable crowd of oddly dressed and mismatched lawyers marched up to his stand and ordered 7 large bowls of salty noodles.
But Mr. Eldoon seemed to have seen it all, and simply got to work, even chatting a little with Phoenix about what case he was working on and telling Apollo he needed to shine his shoes better.
When the noodles were served, Simon ended up taking one mouthful, and spending the rest of the time politely sipping at the soup until he declared he was full, giving his leftovers to the all too willing Athena. Apollo likewise donated most of his bowl to Trucy. Phoenix and Edgeworth sat at their own table making eyes at each other, Pearl biting her lip and watching intently, not sure whether to intervene.
Though it was winter, perhaps there was luck on their side, because the stars shone brightly that night on the backdrop of a cloudless sky. The group sat lazily on a small hill, the light from the lamppost casting a golden glow across the grass, the trees silhouetted black against the horizon.
A quiet had fallen over the group, an unspoken lapse in conversation to reflect on everything that had happened over the past few days.
Athena's stomach was full, her heart fluttering from the happiness she felt all around her, and she hadn't felt more at ease for a long time. She turned her head slightly, eyes shifting to sneak a glance at Simon, but when she found him looking back, she kept looking as if she'd meant to make eye contact. Because really, she wanted that one last piece of reassurance to wrap up this day.
The flame danced in the lamppost, making light and shadow flicker over Simon's face. Light and dark, like the tuft of white in his hair. And through it all, his eyes remained a constant, glowing as they reflecting the light.
They'd faced a lot of hardships and had come out scarred but ultimately stronger than before. There would surely be many more challenges in their lives, but…
Athena's hand reached over at the same time as Simon's, and their fingers interlinked as naturally as the branches swaying in the breeze.
We'll all be alright from now on, Athena thought. After all, we have each other.