Disclaimer: Ace Attorney does not belong to me. I simply derive a lot of pleasure from writing about dorky lawyers.
Author's Note: I wrote Ace Attorney! It was a long time coming, really. I actually started writing this for Justicykes week, but I knew I was never going to finish it in time. Here it is now, months later. xD Anyway, enjoy!
Third Wheel by HawkofNavarre
She had never told anyone about her crush before, but she was sure there were people who knew about it. Athena was only one example, and even though she hadn't mentioned it to the lawyer before, Athena always had that knowing smile on her face, making cheeky comments and suggestions around her co-worker while Juniper was there. The judge-in-training was absolutely terrified that Apollo would one day pick up on all of those not-so-subtle hints. But he didn't, and Juniper counted herself lucky. Sometimes she couldn't believe that Athena would be so obvious. It was so embarrassing!
Of course, since Apollo didn't seem to comprehend Athena's cryptic (well, cryptic to Apollo, at least) comments, Juniper decided she had to up her game. She hadn't...quite succeeded yet, but she was working up to it! She was going to invite Apollo to go see a movie with her. She just had to go inside and do it...which she had told herself to do about half an hour ago when she'd arrived at the Wright Anything Agency. In fact, Juniper realized a few people were beginning to look at her suspiciously, especially the doorman for the Gatewater Hotel.
But I've only paced back and forth 63 times since I got here! Juniper thought in an attempt to soothe her guilty mind—not that she had anything to feel guilty about. She hadn't done anything wrong, although she might be loitering...and loitering might not exactly be a polite thing to do...and maybe it made her look like a dubious character...
"Junie?"
"Eep!" Juniper squeaked, jumping up with a start before she whirled to see who had snuck up on her. "O-oh, Thena! You scared me!"
Athena looked cheerful as usual and Juniper found herself wishing she could be just as courageous and eager to face the day. "Sorry! I didn't mean to. You looked really focused and I figured you would want to come inside since you're here...?"
Juniper's heart rate went through the roof at the suggestion. But she wasn't ready to ask Apollo on a date yet! Oh god, she was going to have a heart attack. Or an aneurysm. Or both. Even so, she couldn't say no. She was already here and Athena clearly didn't know how long she had been wandering around the front door. Juniper didn't trust herself with words, so she simply nodded and shuffled through the door after Athena opened it.
"Apollo! I finished the dumb paperwork you told me to do!" Athena shouted as she entered the office.
"Good, and it's not dumb!" came the loud reply from the other room. "Paperwork is what holds the entire legal system together."
"Yeah, well, it put this damsel into distress!" the female lawyer retorted, wrestling with her bag to pull out the files she had worked on.
Juniper heard Apollo let out a heavy sigh before he walked into what could be only described as the living room, despite the numerous magic props lying around. "You're no damsel, but you're certainly distressing."
"Hey," Athena whined, taking a step forward and thrusting a pile of folders into his chest, "this distress-er just completed all these documents to perfection, so don't complain!"
"I don't think I was the one complaining."
She had to breathe into her flower when she saw Apollo's handsome face, vaguely feeling as though she had been shot through the heart when she spotted the curve of his lips turned upwards into a smirk. She hadn't really noticed these types of things before Apollo had so gallantly assisted Athena in her defence, but now it was clear as day how undeniably dashing the man before her was. Even with Athena basically in the process of mauling him now, he was as fine as a Greek God.
The moment he realized she was there, he set about prying the younger protégé off himself. "Oh, Juniper, I didn't see you there. Sorry you had to witness that."
Juniper opened her mouth to reply when Athena pounced on the unsuspecting Apollo once again.
"All she witnessed was me kicking your butt!"
"WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?"
Athena's aggressive antics were typical and the law student only found herself wishing that she were able to act so comfortably around Apollo. Life would be so much easier if she could take on the attitude that her best friend had grown into. And it wasn't even that she was that shy—it was just that Apollo seemed to have this profound effect on her that she couldn't shake.
"Can you at least calm down while Juniper's here?" the male attorney groaned as he finally was able to separate his co-worker from himself.
"I am calm. I am the picture of calm," she retorted, crossing her arms with a huff.
"Or calamity," Apollo muttered underneath his breath, though luckily, Athena didn't seem to hear him. Juniper was certain the remark would've just fired up Athena's fighting spirit with renewed vigour. "Anyway, what brings you here, Juniper?"
She spluttered for a moment, somewhat shocked that his attention had suddenly turned to her. She clutched at her dress, feeling the sweat of her hands cling against the fabric. "I-I was just wondering if you'd...liketogotoamoviewithme."
He blinked. "Sorry, say that again?"
"I was wondering if you'd like to go to a movie with me!" Juniper repeated as her voice jumped up an octave. Her face was fire as she spotted Athena grinning and shooting her a thumbs up from behind Apollo.
A soft "Oh..." drifted from his mouth, Apollo glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. "Actually, since Mr. Wright is out of town and Athena's presumably finished that paperwork for our last case, I think a movie sounds great."
She would have shrieked in celebration if she were in an empty room, but the current room was occupied by the object of her affections and her best friend, so instead she settled for a wide smile and her heart exploding within the confines of her rib cage. She had a date with Apollo. A date. With Apollo.
"Athena's really been wanting to watch the new Iron Samurai movie anyway."
Juniper's heart stopped mid-explosion, freezing to do a double-take. She looked to Athena with wide eyes, who was now waving her hands wildly above her.
"No, no, no!" Athena hastily intervened. "I don't really feel like watching a movie. You two go!"
Apollo just shot her an incredulous look and continued to crush Juniper's dreams further. "Obviously we aren't just going to go without you. That would be pointless when you're the one who's been bugging me about this movie for a week."
"Er, but...I have to, um, look over that paperwork again! Now that I think about it, I think I did something wrong," the younger lawyer lied, and Juniper could only wonder if she was the only one sweating right now.
"Mr. Wright won't be back for another couple of days anyway. We'll make sure it's been revised before then."
"Well...my exercise schedule...!"
"The movie's not that long. We'll be back before four."
"Athena," Juniper started, voice carefully steady, "just come with us."
There was clearly a losing side to this battle, and she was on it. She couldn't blame Athena for the way the situation played out. Besides, Apollo seemed adamant that her best friend come with them and Juniper wanted him to keep smiling. She always wanted to see Apollo smiling.
Athena's resistance crumbled after only a few moments under Juniper's eyes. An understanding passed between the two of them and immediately, Athena perked up. "Alright, fine, Apollo! But you're treating!"
"What? Do you think I'm made of cash?"
"Well, I know you're not being paid in pudding!"
And so the cycle of bickering started again while Juniper quietly followed the duo out the door. She did her best to push the disappointment out of her heart, wanting to enjoy the day at the very least. For now, there wasn't much she could do. Next time, she was going to plan better.
It was time. Juniper knew that it was time to make her move the moment Athena called her to say that she wasn't going to be at the office that day, then wished her good luck. This in itself had made a better plan, taking her best friend out of the equation this time so that Apollo wouldn't misunderstand the meaning of her request.
Well...it sounded a little mean when she thought of it that way, but Athena had specifically called her for this! This couldn't apply to being mean-spirited if her friend was the one who told her to make a move while the Wright Anything Agency was void of others. Still, she was being careful this time. The enquiry she was going to have for Apollo was whether or not he wanted to have lunch with her, and to make sure he couldn't completely say no, she had brought a picnic with her. That meant she already had the food with her and he wouldn't be able to refuse it since it had already been made and there was no one else to eat it.
...Oh, it wasn't as though she wanted to think up these little schemes! Juniper felt a pinch of guilt whenever she thought about it. If only Apollo weren't so oblivious! What else was she supposed to do when the direct approach already hadn't worked? She couldn't just randomly confess to him. That would be horrible for both parties involved since he didn't seem at all conscious of her feelings. If she sprung it on him like that, he would have no idea what to say and feel incredibly awkward and she would be embarrassed and completely unaware of how he felt in return. At least spending time together alone would bring them closer to understanding one another. They would have a decent friendship to fall back on that they didn't have now.
Of course, now she was stuck in the same predicament that she'd been in last time. Juniper was perfectly capable of preparing the things she needed in order to fulfill her mission; it was execution that was the problem. How did one knock on a door without feeling faint or jittery about what lay beyond? Why couldn't she just be normal about this instead of freaking out over what would happen if she knocked on a door?
Trying not to think about it, Juniper raised her fist to knock, but the door swung open just as she was about to do so. She stood there stunned, mouth half opened and her fist still in the air, as the heroic man she dreamed about at night appeared before her very eyes.
Obviously, she was not the first to say something.
"H-hey! Juniper!" he greeted her, looking rather surprised himself. "Are you here to see Athena?"
No, I'm here to see you! she desperately wanted to say, but the words caught in her throat and simply ended up nodding.
Apollo smiled at her. "I guess she didn't get around to telling you, but she's sick. I'm actually on my way to her place right now," he told her as he lifted up a white plastic bag in display. "I just picked up some chicken noodle soup for her, but I had to stop by the office to pick up some case files for a new client we just got this morning so she can read over them."
Juniper didn't know how to respond to that. All she knew was that her carefully put together plans had just been foiled once again by Apollo's admirable generosity. She should've known he wasn't the type of person to let a friend alone if that person was sick. It made her feel bad, because even though Athena had been the one to encourage her to score a date with Apollo in the first place, her best friend was sick. She had only been thinking about the guy she liked and had forgotten to spare Athena a second thought. She hadn't even thought to ask why Athena wouldn't be in the office today.
"Did you want to come with me?"
The question caught her off-guard, but it provided a way to make it up to Athena. Besides, she had a whole bunch of sandwiches that she had to share. She certainly couldn't eat them on her own. "Y-yes!"
"Alright then," he replied, stepping out and locking the door.
A moment later, she was on what she felt was the closest thing she'd ever had to a date with Apollo. Following him around the courthouse always felt different, because being a lawyer, even if he wasn't the main person on the case, he would never stop thinking. As a judge in training, she often knew what he was talking about when he explained things to her, but a lot of things he conceded to think about, Juniper would've never thought about herself. He truly thought like a defence attorney, and she was constantly in awe of him when he was pointing out contradictions and the like.
Now, she was simply walking beside him and there were no topics about law or crime to distract them from having a real conversation. Unfortunately, it was very quiet and more than a little awkward. It was becoming blaringly obvious that Athena was the mediator of all conversations between her and Apollo when things weren't about work. Juniper was trying to find a way to speak up about...something, but her companion beat her to it.
"So what's in the basket?" he asked cheerfully. If she was feeling the awkwardness between them, Apollo was clearly not.
"Oh, it's a picnic," Juniper responded as she opened the basket. She squeezed her lips together and rummaged through the basket to pull out a sandwich to offer him. "Are you hungry? I have plenty." She really did have plenty. She was not very well-versed in Apollo's preferred diet, so she had made a whole variety of sandwiches just to make sure he would have something to eat.
He accepted the sandwich, inspecting it casually. "Is this salmon?" Apollo asked, receiving a motion in the affirmative from her. "Looks good!"
"Thank you," she said timidly. Yes! He liked her food!
Unfortunately, that was really all it was. As Apollo chowed down on the food, the awkward silence took over once again. Juniper realized that maybe she should've extended her answer about the picnic basket before, but it was too late for that now. She wanted to ask him about something personal, and yet it didn't feel like she could just jump into that. It'd be rude. Still, she wanted to fill the silence with something other the sound him chewing.
"So, um, what's the new case about?" She kicked herself mentally. She always talked to Apollo about his work, and now she had just enquired about it again. She prided herself on being the best judge-in-training her school, but none of that confidence seemed to shine through when it came to him.
"Mm, the woman we're defending is being accused of murdering her husband," Apollo explained after swallowing a bite. "She heard a noise in the middle of the night, and when she got up, her husband wasn't in the bed. So then she went downstairs to look for him and found him on the living room floor, stabbed to death with one of their kitchen knives. Of course, her finger prints are all over the murder weapon."
"Do you believe her?" Juniper asked curiously. Obviously there were a lot of factors when it came to a case like this, but more often than not, the spouse of the victim was the person who committed the crime.
"She's not lying. I'd be able to tell right away," he informed her confidently, reminding Juniper of all the reasons she liked him so much. "I really hope Athena gets better quickly, though. I can handle the case on my own, but she definitely picks up on a lot of little things I miss."
"Athena's always been very smart," she agreed as she thought back to her days as a child. Certainly, with the work her mother did, Athena had to have some brains. She'd been awfully perceptive, despite how quiet she used to be.
"Yeah, she's really great with the Mood Matrix too. It's weird not having her around," Apollo mused aloud, almost as though Juniper wasn't even in the vicinity. "My sarcasm just flies right over her head because she's so enthusiastic. Once, we found a witness who'd returned to the crime scene and he started making a run for it, so Athena mowed him down. Jeez, what a crazy girl."
"Mmhm..." Her reply was absent, mostly because she was staring at the grin he held on his face. It had always been clear to her that Apollo and Athena got along well, but it had never really occurred to how just how close they were until right now. The fondness he with which he talked about her was definitely indicative of more than just a normal relationship between two co-workers. And now he was bringing Athena soup to make her feel better.
"Oh, we're here," he announced, trekking up the stairs into the complex where Athena lived. Unlike Juniper, he knocked on the door without hesitation.
About half a minute later, Athena answered with door with her hair down in her Steel Samurai pajamas. Her nose was red and she held a tissue in one hand, looking fairly surprised to see both people standing at the entrance. "Wha... What are you guys doing here?" she asked, her voice a little nasally.
"I come bearing soup," Apollo deadpanned, gesturing to his bag. "Juniper's got sandwiches."
At the questioning look Juniper received, she returned a reassuring smile. Last time her date plans had gone awry, she had been fairly upset. This time, it just didn't seem worth it when her friend was sick and Apollo had intended to do something nice for his co-worker all along.
"I have a ham one for you," Juniper told her brightly.
Athena stood with a defeated expression for a moment, then sniffled her stuffy nose while beaming a second later. "Thanks, Junie! Anything you cook—or layer, in this case—is delicious! I'll eat it now!"
"Don't forget about my soup," Apollo reminded her as she led them inside.
"Bleh to your soup!" the younger lawyer said, making a disgusted face.
"What do you have against soup?"
"Nothing! I appreciate it and I'll drink it," Athena shot back without missing a beat, "even if the guy who bought it for me is an idiot."
Juniper caught the sly look her best friend was giving her, and she couldn't help but giggle in response.
"Ugh," the lone male groaned with a hand on his face, "between Mr. Wright, you, and Trucy, I can't figure out how I'm still sane."
It was starting to become a pattern, Juniper thought, how she would walk down to the Wright Anything Agency with a mission on her mind. The mission was always Apollo, and not once had she completed it yet. Today, however, was another great opportunity to try and finish her mission as Apollo and Athena had just gotten a "not guilty" verdict for their latest client. Just as the young attorney had told her the other day, the woman who had hired them to defend her was innocent all along. Juniper hadn't been able to take her eyes off the brilliant man she admired as he fought his way in the courtroom to the truth. She'd gone with him and Athena to get celebratory salty noodles from Eldoon's after that and had such a great time with them that this morning, she felt brave. She could do it. She just going to lay it all out on the line, ask him out on a date and clarify things until he knew exactly what she meant.
"Juniper! Heading to the office?" a voice called out to her, and she turned to find Trucy Wright and her father waving at her.
"Good morning!" Juniper acknowledged them enthusiastically. Nothing could bring her down today! "Yes, I am. Did you have a good trip to Kurain Village?"
"It was great!" the magician swooned as she jogged to Juniper's side. "Pearly and I went walking through the valley, I showed her my new magic tricks and pictures of cute boys I've come across, and daddy even got tons of alone time with Mystic Maya!"
"When you say it like that, it's misleading," Phoenix sighed from behind them.
Trucy tossed her head back with a disapproving look. "Daddy, please, you kept flashing her."
Juniper stopped breathing and Phoenix spluttered. "T-TRUCY!"
"I meant your badge, daddy."
Juniper did not want to know the truth behind Trucy's words and focused on her goal for today. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that Mr. Wright and his daughter were coming home as well, but she couldn't let this discourage her. All it meant was that she was going to have a bigger audience than she expected watching her ask Apollo on a date.
"Ah, home sweet home," the legendary attorney sighed as he approached the door with a key in hand. "I hope the office is still intact."
"Oh daddy, you worry too much! Apollo would never let that happen! You know how he gets about watering Charley every day," Trucy reassured him. Charley? Who was Charley and why did he need watering?
She didn't have time to vocalize the thought, however, because Phoenix opened the door and the scene before them was one none of them expected to see.
The television was playing the menu of the prequel to the recent Iron Samurai movie, The Iron Infant: Son of Steel, on loop with the popular theme song drifting throughout the room. On the couch in front, Apollo had fallen asleep against the arm rest, his head tilted forward with an arm draped over Athena, who had somehow ended up lying on his lap. They were sleeping so soundly, so comfortably, that if anyone else were to have walked in on this, they would have mistaken these two to be a couple.
Juniper swallowed.
"Ahem," Phoenix cleared his throat loudly, causing his two employees to pop their eyes open immediately. Both blinked in confusion for a moment before looking at each other and jumping apart with horrified expressions.
"We didn't—we weren't—" Apollo stuttered out in complete panic.
"We were watching the movie...! We—" Athena added desperately.
Trucy wasted no time and began to tease the duo ruthlessly. Phoenix stood back and let his daughter do the work, throwing in a snarky comment of his own to further embarrass his protégés whenever he felt like it. Juniper simply stood in place quietly, a sad smile on her face.
She probably should've seen it earlier, with how absolutely unperceptive Apollo was when it came to her proposals. If he was interested, he wouldn't have inadvertently asked another girl to join them on an outing, and yet he talked about the very same girl with such unadulterated affection. Their banter was lively and fun, as if they'd known each other forever even though it had only been a few months. They spent day after day together with rarely a break from each other and even at the end of it all, he wanted to spend it with her—although Athena didn't seem to mind it either. They were best friends. They were more than best friends. They were more than they thought they were.
It was a little sad, but Juniper was not heartbroken. Apollo was a very nice man who had saved her life more than once and because of that, he would always be able to make her heart jump a little, but his sharp eyes had always been focused a different beautiful young girl, one who had always been Juniper's most supportive friend. She could not be angry. She couldn't resent that. As she watched the Wright Anything Agency family bicker, she inwardly wished Apollo good luck.
Hopefully, Athena was a little more perceptive than he was.