Special Request

Rating: G

Genre: General/Friendship, Romantic Undertones if you squint hard enough or if you're Athena Cykes

Summary: Apollo and Athena come into another day at the Wright Anything Agency. Today, however, they are greeted with Mr. Wright with his defense attorney's badge again. Athena is convinced there is more to this special request than Mr. Wright lets on. – A slight alteration of the conversation from the beginning of Turnabout Reclaimed.

"You've already watched it five times." Apollo groaned as he watched Athena already winding up her recording for the sixth time. "Let's watch something else now!"

Athena jumped from her seat. "How could you even suggest such a thing?!" She's convinced Apollo's lost his mind. "This show is therapeutic."

Phoenix was convinced it's another typical day at the Wright Anything Agency. Almost.

"What's so 'therapeutic' about watching a killer whale?" Apollo asked already exasperated at another viewing and another day wasted away so leisurely.

Phoenix can hear the sound of Athena's fists pumping getting ready to fight, a force enough to make the air around her whip.

"What?! Don't you know anything" Athena snapped at Apollo. "Animal-assisted therapy is an established psychiatric treatment!"

"You're kidding." Apollo responded in disbelief. "That kind of thing really exists?"

"It's a real thing!" she said, vouching for the idea with her hands on her hips. "I've been to the aquarium myself to try it, and it really helps." She then crosses her arm with a smug. "I still go there every now and then to further my psychology studies."

Phoenix and Apollo sat there listening to Athena gush when she watched the dolphins' and orcas' preforming. Phoenix finds his index finger gently stroking the side of his face, lost in thought. Maybe he should just skip straight to the point again and just show my badge, just like he had done during his rookie years. Instead he found himself trying to fulfill his roll as a boss now. He cleared his throat and got their attention.

"Hey, do you think you could quit goofing off and do some work for a change?" he asked finally interrupting Athena's monologue. The pair jumped, forgetting that their boss was even there.

Before Phoenix could nag either of them to clean the toilet Apollo had reminded him that they both had done it. Twice. Both clearly did not look eager to go back and clean it for a third time.

It looked like Apollo had more to say until a spark of a familiar badge caught his eye. "...Hey, wait a minute." He was caught off guard and found himself in disbelief "Is that your badge I see?"

When Athena finally noticed she jumped in excitement with her hands clasped together. She congratulated him in a heartbeat.

Apollo followed suit adding that, "with that badge on, you suddenly look so…" he paused for a moment trying to find the right word with his arms crossed with the word possibly on the tip of his tongue perhaps it was always there, perhaps not, "capable!"

Phoenix forced a stiff laugh unsure how to take the backhanded insult. He wasn't proud of the reasons why he kept the hobo attire even though he was technically employed, but perhaps if the time ever did come they could divulge on that.

Apollo took pause for a moment before asking, "But what made you suddenly so fired up to get your badge back?"

Edgeworth immediately flashed into his mind, he had become a defense attorney, again, for him.

"Ahh...well..." Phoenix found himself chuckling a little. "I made a promise to a certain someone...an important promise."

Cocking his head slightly Apollo asked, "What could be so important?"

"It's not exactly a request I could refuse, at least not from them."

Athena jumped a little at the tone, "What makes you say that?" It wasn't her imagination, was it? She could have sworn she heard happiness.

Phoenix couldn't help but give a bit more of a heartier laugh, "Well, I've heard they consider me a 'dear and indispensable friend'."

He took pause to let those words sink in as he remembered what Iris had told him during one of his visits to prison. Edgeworth knew he never could refuse him, but sometimes it feels like he does this on purpose. Iris had to sit there for a solid ten minutes before he finally is aware of the present again.

Phoenix shrugs and continues, "if I'm apparently 'dear and indispensable' I can't exactly refuse him, now can I?"

Phoenix, only now, realized it left too much room for Athena to read into his tone of voice and too much room for Apollo to be suspicious of the request. He decided to change the subject. Pronto. He lectured on the fact now that the Wright Anything Agency had three practicing defense attorneys, they needed to start picking up more work.

As if God had heard his plea, a woman walks into the agency. The three have seen her before preforming at the aquarium before, her image is still fresh in their minds considering Athena has been marathoning the show nonstop all day.

As Sasha and Phoenix begin discussing the details of the case and her defense request Athena nudged over to Apollo.

"Who do you think Mr. Wright meant by, a certain someone?" She whispered in his ear.

He shrugged. "We should be paying attention other things right now." He hoped it would be enough of a cue to get his junior co-worker to focus. Not that he wasn't interested, it's just...the matter could wait later.

Before he knew it, Sasha had motion them to the door, "I want you to meet my friend right away! Come to the Shipeshape Aquarium with me!"

Athena, who was listening to only the first half of the conversation was already amped up, with one fist pounding into her hand she was ready to take on the case.

Apollo found himself still getting pumped too and vouch to go with them until Phoenix interrupted.

"Sorry, but I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the office until Trucy gets back." Phoenix was already hurrying out the door when he continued, "You never know when a new client comes in."

"How come I'M the one who has to stay behind?!" he asks, feeling more disappointed than anything.

Phoenix and Sasha were already heading out the office and into the main lobby. Athena and Apollo were alone in the room and then an idea comes to Athena.

Athena immediately tells Apollo,"Hey! Maybe this would be a good chance to do some research!"

Apollo wanted to roll his eyes at the idea of what she might suggest next.

"Think about it, you want to know too, don't you? Mr. Wright's certain someone whom he can't refuse?"

Eyeing and a shelf full of old case files from Mr. Wright's rookie years, Apollo would hate to admit it, but he is curious. The promise seemed too big for anyone to want to fulfill. Drop any career obligations he had already made and return to practicing law is a big promise to keep. Although Apollo had strongly convinced himself the special request wasn't from a lover, he does admit the it isn't impossible. Athena wasn't exactly helping in trying to let him dismiss that idea either as she whispered how happy Mr. Wright sounded when talking about that person. Part of him also was curious to find out who would describe Mr. Wright as "indispensable" even during his disbarred years.

Apollo divulged into thinking about it some more. Since they asked him to return to law, they must have known he practice as a defense attorney. However, it's been seven years since his badge was revoked and another year since his name was formally cleared of the evidence forging scandal. If he made a promise to them that required to return to practicing law then it's likely one of his past cases might hold a key to uncovering who might have made such a promise.

It was more than enough to convince himself it'd be something else to do other than clean the toilet or to water and talk to Mr. Charley at the very least.

"Alright, consider it done." he responded.

"Thanks a million, Apollo," Athena left and gave him a good luck wink, while rushing out the door trying to catch up to Sasha and Mr. Wright.

Now alone in the office, Apollo walked up to the shelves and ran his fingers across the spines and eventually grabbed the one on the furthest left.

"I'll consider this task a special request...from someone I can't refuse..." he muttered to himself amused.

A/N: I got off my lazy bum and decided to write something...for once. One of these days I'll go back and finish all my other unfinished projects. Ah, for now I have a silly deviation from the game's script from Turnabout Reclaimed.

I really wished Phoenix did say something along the lines of "apparently someone who thinks I'm a 'dear and indispensable friend' asked me and I simply couldn't refuse." It sounds better than "a certain someone" to be honest with you. Not to mention I personally love Phoenix's line in 1-4 when he tells Edgeworth how he can't refuse him and I also think at some point Iris will ask about Phoenix's relationship with Miles and then she'll relay what he said to her.

Also maybe some Justicykes if you squint hard enough.