Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Ace attorney. I especially don't own Juniper nor Apollo Justice, they belong to Capcom.

Wounded hearts.

Guilt built up in Apollo Justice's heart as he limped over towards the sofa in the courtroom lobby, hunched over and groaning in pain as he held on to his bandaged left arm with sweat trickling down his face and his two thorns of hair he called bangs wilted down to cover his brow.

He was supposed to be in the courtroom right this moment, defending the lovely college student named Juniper Woods. He was supposed to be slamming his hands on the desk and yelling as loud as his lungs would let him, all while he stared danger right in the face. He wanted to defend Juniper and not be stuck outside and bored out of his skull because of some stupid injuries; she had been accused of activating a bomb that had caused massive devastation in one of the courtrooms.

Not only that but poor Apollo had received some terrible injuries since he had been crushed by some rubble whilst he was trying to help the defendant escape the blast.

Of course the red clad attorney knew that he should have been in there, but he couldn't have been all because for one single instance that signalled weakness that very same morning just before the trial. He was just telling his partner, Athena Cykes, that he wouldn't lose this trial when he suddenly collapsed from the fact that he had reopened one of his wounds and was bleeding quite badly.

That was all it took for Athena to just snatch the case away from him and let him take it easy.

Just that single moment.

Apollo knew that Athena was just taking over as he was far too weak to continue defending in the state he was in but he had wished that he could have stuck it out and continued that brave front otherwise he would have been a bit happier and a lot less bored.

He had just gotten back from the nearby doctor's office and he had only managed to get his injury stitched back up before he headed back towards the court. He had been told to do little exercise and he was to put all stressful activities to a minimum unless he wanted to make his recovery process longer.

So, plopping himself down on the luxury sofa, the attorney let out a long sigh as he cradled his sore arm and let himself lean back so he could feel more at ease in the divine luxury of the seat. But his heart weighed heavier than anything as his mind had been yanked back by a very saddening memory that hurt him more than anything:

The passing of Clay Terran.

Clay had been Apollo's best friend since they were little and they had been through a lot together growing up. The two of them often conversed about their dreams in life and while Polly had, for the most part, achieved his dream, Clay's dream of being an astronaut barely left the stratosphere before he had been murdered by some dumb slime bag.

He even wore Clay's special jacket over his shoulders like some kind of badge for his memory.

When he recalled this, Apollo hung his head sadly and his eyes started to sting as tears threatened to start welling up within them; the young spiky-banged lawyer slowly released his injured arm and let his face drown in his palm. He was actually about to let his grief out whence he suddenly perked up upon hearing someone approaching.

His mind was clouded with sudden confusion and intrigue whence he quickly looked up and he took a moment to mop up the tears that were irritating the ocular structures within his eyeballs. He didn't want to reveal to anybody that he had been shedding any tears and he especially didn't want anyone to worry about him at that very moment, he wouldn't feel any better should anyone had been worried when they caught him crying.

But he was overcome with surprise whence he saw a very familiar person approach him. Apollo's eyes lit up with recognition when he saw the defendant, Juniper, slowly walking towards him from the courtroom doors.

"Juniper? Are you alright?" He asked, his face morphing into one of worry as the poor girl seated herself beside him.

She was hunched over and she had a very pale complexion, she looked far paler than when he had saw her earlier that same morning; she was looking quite sickly and she was looking so very clammy, clearly something was the matter because she looked to be in quite a bit of strife. Her gloved-chalk hands shook as he clutched her lap and her chest vibrated irritably. The flower maiden/want-to-be judge only responded to the spiky-banged attorney's question by coughing her lungs out and she had bent over, her fitfully violent coughing reverberating through the hallways.

They echoed through the whole entire courthouse as she hid her face in her knees.

Apollo worriedly reached down and started to roughly pat her back and rubbing it in calm and rather soothing circles in an effort to give her some ease.

It took a few long moments before Junie took a long inhale and straightened her posture, reclining back in the sofa, and she looked over at the young man in red who had been sitting at her side. Despite wearing an eyepatch and his arms being completely yet thoroughly wrapped in bandages, there was a certain innocence that flickered to life in his expression. She eventually nodded before she removed the sunflower from the top of her sun hat and breathed into it, inhaling the soft yet sweet pollen as it danced in her nostrils.

Somehow the nectar offered some momentary relief just like an inhaler would. It calmed her coughing down so she could properly speak so the flower girl returned the flower to her hat.

She managed a very weak grin to the concerned young lawyer and she asked, her soft-spoken voice strained, "H-How are you f-feeling now, A-Apollo?"

Apollo looked at her incredulously. "Never mind me, I should be asking the very same question! What happened in there?"

Junie feebly glanced down at her lap and didn't say a word for a very long time. Her eyes swelled and her lips trembled while they tried to keep a cough inside, but she finally managed to gently explain that she had been verbally slaughtered by the prosecutor of this case named Gaspen Payne and how she had been accused so much that she had become stressed beyond belief.

She also explained that she had been growing weaker while in that room.

The flower girl looked away ashamedly.

"...S-So I came in here to..." She paused to cough a bit "...r-r-rest for a bit."

Apollo nodded, his face firm. He imagined that the prosecution had torn into her like a vicious dog with a big chunk of meat and she looked like she was having a really bad time with her health. The poor thing must have been through hell and back with this topsy-turvy reality of a courtroom case. He turned his head and opened his mouth to comment when he suddenly found that she was fast asleep.

Junie's prone form was leaning heavily back against the plush cushions and she breathed lightly and softly, yet she had a somewhat serene and calm expression on her face...albeit she looked slightly tense in the shoulders.

Apollo's expression softened as he reluctantly as he gazed at the poor young lady with his non-eye patched eye shimmering with guilt. For awhile, he had been brooding on the inside as he had been pondering on searching for the killer of Clay and...he was even thinking about going on a leave of absence to go on this trip of seeking out the truth. Although he knew that the ever-growing seed of doubt that had become implanted within his heart was slowly sapping what little trust he had for those he had worked under away, he knew he couldn't simply allow it to go on.

But he feared that this poor woman, this poor fragile little lady, had been tangled up inside a web that he was involved in and...he worried that she would eventually hate him for what he had been thinking.

He had known Athena Cykes for a few short months and she was quite a feisty young lady and had all the makings to be an amazing lawyer, but he had to wonder if she could have killed his friend. They were only investigating the Cosmos Space centre and a lot of Athena's reactions and signals had made his bracelet go insane and he knew that he would be betraying the people he cared about to think such a thing of his co-worker.

But the truth was the truth, nothing could change this.

His eye lit up when he suddenly heard another noise beside him. Apollo looked over to find that Juniper was coughing a bit more whilst she was tossing and turning a bit as if restless.

The attorney in red felt the urge to do something but he wasn't entirely certain if it were to warrant an uncomfortable reaction on his part and disturb Juniper. His cheeks grew redder as he reluctantly stretched his bandaged arm out towards Juniper and slowly coiled it around her so he could slowly pull her over towards him. He winced from the pain in his arm but recovered as he slowly moved his arm in an effort to not move too fast and awake this sleeping want-to-be judge.

Juniper moaned softly as she adjusted to her new position and gently let her head fall on the man's shoulder, making him jerk a bit in response.

Apollo hadn't anticipated this but he supposed he had drawn her close enough so she would be forced to do that so he decided to let it go and roll with it. She leaned against him and coughed a bit more, her face tightening as if she were in slight pain, and the lawyer in red gently started to wrap both his arms around the poor young lady in an embrace. He could feel her warm breath on his neck, he could smell her hair and he couldn't help but smile a hint when he felt her position shift just a bit more. Of course, he felt somewhat awkward about this but he couldn't help but feel a bit more content and he noticed that she had probably been a tad more content too.

He knew that holding someone was a great way to comfort somebody going through a rough time.

The two sat there for quite sometime with Apollo carefully holding the beautiful maiden against his chest, ignoring the pain in his bandaged arms, and he closed his eyes with pure contentment...that was until Juniper awoke from her nap and her eyes fluttered open softly open. As time passed, the colour had returned to Juniper's paled face and she looked a bit more alert, her consciousness returned as she raised her head and glanced drowsily over at him.

"Hmmm...?" She mumbled in confusion.

Apollo put on a pleasant smile, his non-bandaged eye softening. "Nice to see you're awake, sleepy head."

The eighteen-year-old young woman only acknowledged him with a tired nod of her head before she glanced tiredly off into space and then few moments of very awkward silence passed the two by as they just sat on the sofa, both unsure of what to say to each other next -it was long, somewhat grimace-worthy and it seemed to drag out to seem like an eternity before anything else happened between either Apollo or Juniper.

It didn't take long before the horn-headed attorney noticed a forlorn expression on the slightly younger woman's face.

Apollo tilted his head to one side in confusion. What could she be so sad about, other than her predicament? He had a feeling that this wasn't about that but he would totally understand if she was just a tad saddened due to what was happening. He couldn't help but ask the question.

"What's up?"

Juniper sighed softly and hung her head.

"I lost my Bum-rap Rhiny..."

Apollo's eyes widened in total confusion.

"Your what?"

The girl repeated herself, managing to lift her gaze and look the injured lawyer in eye. It was hard for her to do this because it made her heart soar to look at him and she felt a tad embarrassed and pathetic to talk about this right now, and that she was letting it bothering her now of all times to begin with.

"My Bum-rap Rhiny. He's an adorable plush rhino that I keep my cough medicine inside of,"

Apollo then understood.

He supposed if Juniper concealed her cough medicine within one of her beloved plushies then he supposed that he'd be a bit sad about it too. He almost knew exactly what he had to do and he proceeded to start get up. He started to use his arms to push himself up, but the painful burns made it hurt a little bit. He hissed beneath his breath with pain and a rather nonchalant tone anchored his voice.

"Come on then, let's go get it."

Junie frowned gloomily. "But I lost it in the explosion..."

Apollo smirked gently, getting to his feet slowly, "Well then, why don't we find it?"

"R-Really? You would help me?" Juniper's eyes lit up like lights.

Apollo nodded his head. "Of course I will."

He was only to happy to assist Juniper, especially since he hated to see her look so sad, and he wanted to make up for not being able to defend her in court due to his injuries. He smiled as he took her hand and he led her through the hallways that would lead to Courtroom number 4, he hoped that he could find some evidence to hopefully clear the judge-aspiring, beautiful flower maiden's name.

He would get it in any hopes he could...as long as it was lawful.

The two walked down the hallways towards the wrecked courtroom, in spite of Apollo's painful limping. All the while, Juniper couldn't help but start thinking about those few intense moments before the blast -just a day or two prior.

Juniper could remember somebody wearing a special bomb specialist uniform, although why he was there to begin with she didn't know, with an odd robotic voice announcing that a bomb had been detonated and was set to explode. She could remember the intense and paralysing fear as she sat in the court gallery with a horde of terrified people rushing about around her in a hurry to escape. The next flew moments were a blur as the frightened girl leapt from her seat, dropping Bum-rap-Rhiny in the process, and quickly made her way to the exit/entrance where she found her best friend, Athena, and Apollo. Then she tripped and, after a huge "boom" rang out, rubble started falling over her and she morbidly thought that she was done for before...Apollo rescued her...he used his own body to shield her from the rubble and he got badly injured in the process.

Junie remembered it all with vivid detail and a part of her felt ashamed that it was her clumsiness that caused the love of her life to get such serious injuries. But she was ultimately grateful that he was there, her knight in shining armour...

She fidgeted anxiously as she skipped along behind the limping thorn-fringed lawyer and blushed profusely. She knew that she had to thank Apollo somehow for saving her for a second time but she didn't know how she could do it. That was when she found herself murmuring something beneath her breath before she could even stop it, she almost clasped her hands over her mouth to stop the words from slipping off the tip of her tongue.

She murmured something so quiet that was so quiet that Apollo had a hard time catching it.

Apollo paused in his steps when he heard the girl behind him say something and he started to turn around (albeit slowly due to his wounds) to face the aspiring judge, his brows knitted together and he frowned heavily with a unique mix of perplexity and confusion plastered upon his face. He couldn't help but felt his eyes widen dramatically inside their sockets and his breath caught in his throat whenever Juniper did something that neither him nor her were expecting in the slightest.

Junie acted on pure impulse and it happened, like the words she just spoken, so quickly that she could hardly believe that it had just transpired; she puckered her lips and rocked her own body forwards so she could lean forwards and stand on her toes to get high enough to properly reach his face and proceeded to land a small kiss right on his left cheek.

Upon tipping backwards to her feet, the young woman instantly realised what she'd just done and she couldn't help but feel her heart rate quicken in surprise.

She'd just kissed Apollo Justice...!

Her face reddened drastically in surprise of her own actions. How could she just straight-up kiss him so suddenly!? What on earth made her do such a thing?! What could possibly possess her to just peck his cheek like that?! She felt as though she had no choice but to roll with it now that it happened, but her mind continued to frantically question what she had just done. She placed a nervous hand over her lips to conceal a bashful smile.

She glanced down at her feet, feeling shame for how sudden that was, and repeated the inaudible words she had spoken before.

"I said...th-thank you for rescuing me, Apollo."

Apollo was silent for a very long time. He raised a hand to his cheek where he'd just been kissed and he was basically speechless so any words he had intended to say where stuck in his chest. His heart was racing and his knees were threatening to cave in and buckle. He wasn't sure whether it was the pain relief he was given to help him heal with the injuries he'd sustained but for the first time in days he felt an overwhelming happy sensation.

He felt guilty for feeling happy like this after he'd just lost...his friend...

His one eye softened as he nervously glanced away and his cheeks blazed as he started to reach up and use one finger to tentatively and awkwardly scratch at his own chin. His broken heart felt as though it would explode.

"Y-You're welcome, Juniper..."

A/N: It's been awhile since I've written a Junipollo fic but here it is.

This is what I think happened at Turnabout countdown after Juniper's first testimony. I enjoy writing Junipollo so much and I love the Ace attorney series! I hope that this is good enough, though, and I shall hopefully write more of this awesome couple more often.

-Chloemcg