Chapter 1 - I Love You, Apollo

April 17, 2027

It was midnight.

Trucy had left for bed a couple hours earlier, leaving Phoenix and Apollo alone in the office. But they weren't really talking; they were just… there. Phoenix had immersed himself in a stack of legal papers, and the younger man didn't want to bother him. On the other hand, Apollo had run out of things to do for the night. He pretended to scribble sentences in his notebook, but his attention was on his mentor… if mentor was the right way to describe the hobo sitting at the desk, at least. Apollo wasn't sure why Phoenix continued to study law, despite being badge-less for almost a decade, but the way old man's brow furrowed as he struggled through page after page… it was fricking cute.

It was ironic; the man Apollo idolized for so long ended up being nothing more than this unkempt, Steel Samurai-loving bully… who relied on his teenage daughter for income. But Apollo respected him all the same. They'd been through a lot over the past year.

The older man didn't notice he was being watched. He sat slouched, sifting through his papers listlessly, sporting a tired–but adorable–frown. It was past his bedtime, so he was probably waiting for Apollo to leave. Which Apollo promised himself he would. Soon. He was getting tired too.

He actually wasn't sure why he still dropped by the office most nights. There hadn't been much work for him recently, unless scrubbing the toilet counted. He just… enjoyed Phoenix's company. And Phoenix didn't seem to mind.

Of course, he didn't always stay this late. But it was April, which meant rain. The pattering of droplets on the window was relaxing, but heading outside would be a …less than pleasant experience. And why would he want to leave when the sofa was comfortable? He wouldn't be able to stare at Phoenix from his own apartment, and where would the fun be in that? But it was late, and Apollo knew he'd have to head home eventually. The rain wasn't letting up anytime soon, either. Eventually, he sighed and eased himself up from his seat.

"Apollo. Stay."

Apollo stiffened, "Stay?"

Phoenix lowered his head, obscuring his eyes. A sly smile crept over his face, "It's raining; I don't want you to catch a cold."

"…Oh." So Phoenix was just worried about his health? Apollo imagined trying to sleep on a tiny sofa in the agency wouldn't be good for him, either, but if Phoenix was asking… "Um, here?"

"The office is cluttered, so I wouldn't sleep soundly if I told you to crash on the couch." Phoenix paused briefly, and then, "How about you come sleep with me?"

"What?!"

Phoenix stood, motioning Apollo towards the door with his head; "I have a big bed, so there's plenty of room for two."

Apollo already knew that. He'd helped Phoenix into it whenever he had one too many bottles of "grape juice"–i.e. more times than he could count. But it wasn't the size of the bed that he was worried about. Apollo knew falling asleep in a bed with a crush with wasn't exactly easy. He could keep his hands from wandering, but that was the extent of his self-control. And if Phoenix had an ulterior motive for keeping him, he'd have an entirely different set of problems on his hands.

Phoenix noticed his uneasiness and explained in a reassuring voice, "I'd feel safer if I didn't have to worry that you'd… roll over onto the glass table, or trip over Trucy's junk in the middle of the night. C'mon, let's go."

"O-Okay…"

The still hesitant Apollo lingered in front of his seat. Phoenix had to gently coax him out of the room with both of his hands. Apollo had a nagging feeling that a stranger was in the man's body, but the kindness in his eyes said otherwise. Still, Apollo had walked home in the rain before, so why had Phoenix stopped him this time? Was this really about his health? Apollo doubted it. He really didn't want to get his hopes up, though. Not again. But what other reason could Phoenix possibly have to make him stay the night? He struggled to remember everything they did that day. Phoenix was …sober, right?

Apollo clenched his fists and let the old man walk him down the hallway. He wasn't ready for the rest of the night. Whatever good or bad it was going to bring him. And yet, the warmth of the Phoenix's hands on his shoulders told him everything would be alright.

They stopped at the doorway.

"Mr. Wright?"

"Mm?"

"Shouldn't we take a shower first?"

Phoenix leaned in closer and spoke softly in his ear, "…Together?" which caused Apollo to jump, blushing furiously. Phoenix laughed and patted his head, "I know what you meant, don't worry." He quieted down for a second, "…but if you wanted to…"

"I-I'm fine!" Apollo stammered, trying to ignore the growing bulge in his pants.

"Alright, sexy. No shower then. You'll probably want one after we're done in here, anyway." Phoenix playfully shoved Apollo into the bedroom, where the younger man immediately tripped and faceplanted on his bed. Apollo flipped over and faced his assailant. It was too dark to see his face, but he was pretty sure Phoenix was grinning.

"Mr. Wright… are you okay?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

Apollo didn't know whether to point out that last thing Phoenix said, the shower bit, or the fact that they were in his bedroom right that moment. It wasn't that he didn't want any of these things–he did. It just… didn't feel right. Things were happening too fast, and he needed room to breathe.

"…Everything."

Phoenix's tensed up, "Oh. Was I being too bold?"

"No, I mean yes–but I liked it so, well… don't feel, um…" Apollo's voice trailed off, "…wow, this is really awkward."

"Maybe… well, yeah."

Phoenix walked in and slumped down at the edge of the bed. He sighed, but it sounded more like relief than anything else. Apollo scooted forward and sat next to him. Neither spoke for a few good minutes, but sitting together somehow made the atmosphere feel less uncomfortable.

Apollo figured one of them would have to speak up eventually, so he guessed he'd get it over with, "So, how long have you known?"

"That I was gay?"

"No," Apollo hesitated for a moment, "that… I was."

Phoenix shrugged, "It's been awhile. Before our last case, maybe."

Apollo punched him, "And you didn't say anything until tonight? That was LAST YEAR."

He didn't get a response.

"Anyway… why now?"

"It's the twentieth of April," Phoenix explained, "It's been exactly one year since we first met."

"Kinda creepy that you'd remember something like that."

"I do because… I love you, A–"

—–—–—

"–'Pollo. What are you writing?"

Wait… what?

Apollo jolted out of his fantasy… greeted by his boss' curious face, peering over from the desk. He was still on the office sofa, and as far from getting into Phoenix's pants as ever, "N-nothing, Mr. Wright!"

"Are you sure about that?" Phoenix said, flashing his magatama.

Apollo lifted his left arm, showing off his own trinket, "I thought we agreed to keep these things out of our personal lives."

"I don't need psyche locks to see that you're hiding something embarrassing."

And it was true. Apollo's hair spikes had made a habit of defying physics just to spite him in his embarrassment. And even without that, he had a very expressive face. There was no winning here.

"Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me. I don't care anymore."

His mentor laughed, "Aw, don't be like that. Trucy already told me about your diary, anyway."

Diary? Is that what she calls the Journal of Justice? It beat explaining what he had really been writing, he supposed, but it wasn't just any old dumb diary. Apollo wasn't ashamed; he was talking to Phoenix, after all, "At least I don't own the complete collection of Steel Samurai DVDs."

Phoenix tossed a figurine at him.

"Wha– OW." I guess I found his weak spot, heh heh. Apollo picked the toy. It was cheap plastic, but definitely the spitting image of Klavier, "What the hell is this?"

"Trucy's Gavinners figurine. Why? Did you want me to get you one, too?"

Apollo pretended he didn't hear that.

Phoenix yawned, "Anyway, it's nearly two. Shouldn't you be heading home soon?"

"But… it's raining."

The older man smirked, "Didn't stop you from rushing over here earlier." He got up, "Well, I'm not gonna kick you out, but I'm off to bed. You can crash here if you want. Just keep those Chords of Steel down; I have errands to run tomorrow."

"No, no… I'm leaving."

Phoenix laughed, "Don't get wet!"

Apollo put his journal down, stretched, and watched the love of his life lumber off out of the room–this time, without him.

He sat alone for a few more moments. He didn't want to leave, and it wasn't because of the rain. But Phoenix was gone for the night, and he didn't want to be alone there, either. Apollo forced himself to his feet. Better sooner than later. It was time to get soaked.

He glanced at the calendar as he walked out. April 20th was only a few days away. But despite the various other dates with info scrawled over them, it was blank. It wasn't unexpected; Apollo didn't think Phoenix would be the type to remember, or care. That was reality.

But after a year of dealing with him, Apollo was used to it.

…It's really been a year, huh?

Apollo opened the door and stepped out into the storm.

A/N:

Hello, first off, I wanted to thank you for reading!

As you probably already guessed by the date, I'm starting this story the night before the second case of AA5 (and i'll likely continue through until a little after the final case). I'm actually writing this as I play along with the game... so apart from the first two cases and the dlc, you probably know more about where the plot's headed than I do. (I've been avoiding spoilers... apart from the Clay Terran guy, since he's... well, hot. He'll find his way into the fic eventually.)

Admittedly, I'm more accustomed to writing in first-person, but I figured that would turn people away from reading, since its a romance fic after all, hehe. Sorry for any narration mistakes I make... (That's also the reason Apollo writes in third-person, if you were wondering).

((Also, I know Apollo doesn't actually tell Trucy that he writes a diary (of sorts) until the next day (at least in the actual canon story), but let's pretend he mentioned it at some other point in time. Oops.))

—–—

One more thing:

So you know how we don't know much about the agency, or where Phoenix/Trucy live? (Unless it's stated in one of the later cases of AA5... then my bad). It was bothering me, so I basically created my own headcanon layout for the place (I whipped up a diagram of it here (remove spaces): goo . gl/FljYqR ).

I know it's inaccurate, but heck, the canon office is already pretty inconsistent (Mia's office in case 2 of AA1 was like twice as big, omg). But if you get confused with where I'm going with something, refer to the above map. (Also, ignore the fact that the office is canonically on the third floor. Whoops, haha.)

That's it for now.