A/N: Written so, so, so long ago, for a good friend of mine. Posted because I said so. Do not own Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney series or any of its characters.

Butterfly Wings

It was easy to see how ruffled, how flustered, the new producer was. Biting her lip in the most unfeminine fashion, she paced the floor.

"You ok?" someone chuckled.

And there, leaning against the wall was a handsome actor. He winked at her, grinning and running a hand through his hazel tresses.

"Name's Jack Hammer," he introduced himself, pushing off from the wall of the studio. "You'd better shape up and get ready. Studio life isn't easy."

"Jack! Leave the poor woman alone," another actor muttered, shoving Jack to the side. "Sorry about him, Ms. Vasquez. He likes to… Make things difficult for people."

With this, the man gave his fellow actor a dry, austere glance, rolling his eyes. Straightening his collar, the man held out a hand for Dee to shake.

"I'm Manuel."

The petite woman was instantly charmed. Manuel had the most gorgeous, glittering coffee eyes, and messy black hair that he had to keep brushing out of his face. He seemed instantly much more friendly than Jack. Dee's confidence returned, and she gave him an attractive smile in return.

"Dee Vasquez," she returned. "Are all the actors here so polite and considerate?"

Jack snorted.

"Ironic, considering he plays the villains…"

Manuel simply rolled his eyes again, and motioned for Dee to follow him. He gave her a tour of the studios, and they ended up eating lunch at the Employee Area.

"Dee?"

"Hmmm?"

"W-well… I… Here."

The brunette woman gasped as the gift was presented. It was a lovely, intricate gold butterfly pin. Manuel smiled sweetly, helping her pin it onto her dress.

"It's beautiful, Manuel. How did you know?" the producer murmured.

"Your sister," he replied sheepishly.

She smiled sweetly, face practically glowing.

"You're amazing, Manuel."

Nobody noticed the fuming actor in the background.

He's not so great. I'm better. More popular, richer, cooler. Better looking too. Hmph.

Dee was… Happy with Manuel. Happy being with someone so kind. Someone who loved her. As she rested in his arms, she contemplated. What had she done to deserve someone so wonderful? But then, she didn't really care. All that mattered was Manuel. And then her eyes came to rest on the glittering ring on her left hand; a butterfly, just like her lovely pin. Manuel had proposed. They were engaged to be married. And she was happy. With a contented sigh, Dee Vasquez drifted off to sleep.

Now that he knew what he wanted to do, Jack was trying to figure out how to do it. How…? At the action sequence practice, he was unfocused. Angry. And then, it happened.

WHAM!

And then the slice of metal on skin.

Jack winced, and when he saw what had happened, he balked, going pale.

No… No, it was an accident! I didn't- It wasn't supposed to- No! Not like this! Not this way! This wasn't supposed to happen!

And then there was Dee, screaming, sobbing. The chaos, the shouting. And all he could do was stand there, watching, watching.

And it hurt him, how much it hurt her. He had been jealous, sure. And that… Sure, he'd contemplated something like this. But to actually see it! Jack shuddered, shook. It had gone all wrong.

"Manuel! Manuel!"

"M-Ms. Vasquez!"

And Jack just stood there, taking it all in, shivering in the middle of summer. He flinched at the blood as Manuel was hauled into the ambulance, Dee sobbing, begging to go with. Pleading with Manuel to be ok. Imploring God to save him; to make him live, let him live!

Dead upon arrival.

Jack cringed.

~Â ~

Something had snapped. It hurt… So much… Dee was inconsolable. She was angry. Angry at Jack for killing Manuel. Angry at herself for not seeing the danger sooner. Angry at Manuel for going and dying! Finally, it was all too much. Her or Manuel. So she locked it all up, threw away the key. Cold. Nothing really mattered now that he was gone… So she threw herself headlong into her work, and accepted her position, finally. That she was the leader of a branch of the mafia, and dammit she was going to deal with it, because she was born into this. Everything blurred. But… No, Jack wouldn't get off scot-free.

She blackmailed him. Hid the incident so nothing could remind her of it. And Jack went along with it. Like a dog resigned to its leash. He felt guilty. He was pained at what Dee had become.

And it's my fault.

So, he set out to stop it. He was angry with her for blackmailing him, so he drugged Powers, stole the Steel Samurai costume, and set out. It hurt him to have to pin the blame on Will, but… Well, sacrifices had to be made.

And yet… When the time came, he just… Jack couldn't do it. When she pushed him away, he let himself fall. He deserved it, he decided; after all he'd put them both through.

And Jack died.