Wow, I've been posting so much recently. I think this is my new favorite OTP, actually. SO. ADORABLE. This is between AJ era and DD era, if you couldn't tell from the character list.
Oh right, I always forget to remind you that I don't actually own Capcom. *GASP*
(O)
Ema stood at the door of Apollo's apartment, wondering what the heck was going on. He asked me to come to his apartment. Not his office, his apartment. And now he won't even come out. This is the right freaking address, right? 134b. Yep. Unglimmerous fop!
Wait. Was that laughing?!
Ema pressed her ear up against the door. Yes, Apollo was definitely laughing.
She had never heard him laugh before.
There was another voice, too, laughing just as hard, maybe even harder. What the heck is going on in there?!
"APOLLO! GET OUT HERE! I'VE RUNG THE DOORBELL 6 TIMES ALREADY!"
Leaning back up against the door, she could hear the voices, talking this time.
"Oh, crap! I'm an idiot! I asked someone to come over…"
"Ooh, is it a girl?"
"Shut up."
"Wait, it's actually a girl?! Apollo, I didn't realize-"
"Shut up, we aren't dating or anything."
"Do you need some help? I know a few-"
"SHUT. UP."
Suddenly, Ema could hear the doorknob being twisted, and before she could react, she fell into Apollo's apartment. "Uhh, hey there."
"What are you doing?" Apollo laughed, again. Why is he laughing? I didn't think he was capable of doing that… He's so serious all the time.
"Laying on the floor of your apartment. Your carpet isn't as comfortable as I'd hoped."
"Ooh, you've been imagining how comfortable Apollo's floor is, huh?" Apollo punched the kid next to him in the shoulder.
"Shut up." Apollo's face burned as red as his vest.
"Do you need some help?" For the first time since Ema had 'entered' the apartment, she got a good look at the person with Apollo, albeit upside down. He had a wide grin plastered across his face, and black hair pushed up by a visor. A bandage of some sort ran across the bridge of his nose. His dark brown eyes gazed warmly into hers.
"That would be great." She rolled her eyes. The boy took her by the hand, which surprised her, although she probably should have expected it. He pulled her up quickly but gently, and she found her hand tingling even after he let go of it. Ema, get it together. You aren't here to be flirted with by some friend of Apollo's. Just give him the freaking papers already. "Right, here's your case stuff."
"Oh, thanks." Apollo took the papers from her, and flipped through them.
"What are those?" The black-haired boy whispered something else into Apollo's ear, and he blushed furiously, punching Clay in the shoulder.
"Oh, I asked her to do some investigating of a crime scene for me, and bring me whatever she found."
"Well, what did she find?"
"I don't know! How fast of a reader do you think I am?"
"You're right. You're a terrible reader. I remember that one time sophomore year that-"
"You don't need to remind me."
"But wouldn't your friend here want to hear it?"
"Yeah, Apollo. I think I want to hear this story," Ema laughed, watching Apollo's face grow redder and redder.
"Please, don't tell her." Apollo looked at the boy with begging eyes.
"Why not?"
"If you tell her about what I did with that book, I'll tell her about what YOU did."
"All right, fine, fine. We don't need to go down that road." What could they have done with a book that's this bad?!
"So I guess you can leave, if you want to." Apollo looked at her, almost pleadingly.
"Nah, I really need to hear what you think of all of my long, hard hours of scientific investigation. You owe me that much." Really, Ema didn't care, but it was obvious that he didn't want her to spend another second with the black-haired boy. He turned to look at said boy.
"Mind if I look over these papers for a minute?"
"Oh, not at all."
"You better not tell her any of your 'stories'."
"Oh, come on! Just one?"
"No. Seriously, can I read these in peace?"
"Oh, fine." The boy rolled his eyes as Apollo walked away with the papers. "Wait, you aren't seriously going to leave us here together without introducing us, are you?"
"Yeah, Apollo. You've been so rude ever since I got here." Ema hadn't enjoyed herself this much in a while.
"Clay, Ema. Ema, Clay." His finger bounced back and forth between the two of them. "Can I go now? Or are we going to pull a middle school stunt and go around the circle asking our favorite colors and pizza toppings?"
"Huh, I like navy blue, and sausage." Clay laughed.
"I like green more, myself. And I only really like cheese pizza." Ema snickered.
"You two are worse than Mr. Wright and Trucy," he groaned. "I'm going to take my papers and leave, now."
"Oh, come on, Apollo! You haven't told us your favorite color!" Clay whined.
"Does that really need to be said?!" he protested. "I like my colors like I like my pizza. Red."
"So you're a pepperoni kind of guy?" Ema asked.
"Yeah. In 8th grade he-"
"I said no stories, Clay."
"Fine. Take your papers and leave, you grump." Clay stuck out his tongue, and Apollo left the forensic scientist and the black-haired kid alone.
"So, your name's Ema?"
"Yep."
"You should tell me a little about yourself. Besides your favorite color, I already know that."
"I like cheese pizza."
"I already knew that, too." Ema laughed at his face, which was a mixture of amusement and unamusement that contorted his face into a weird sort of smirk.
"I'm a detective, and I like science." Her stomach growled, and she blushed. It's dinner time, I guess. "I like food, too." Clay laughed.
"I doubt Apollo would mind if you raided his fridge. I do it all the time."
"Nah, I brought snacks." She brought out the bag of Snackoos that Apollo would claim was duct taped to her back at all times. "Want one?"
"What are these things? They look like moldy cheese puffs."
"They're Snackoos. They're basically cheese puffs, but chocolate flavored."
"Eww, chocolate and cheese?!"
"No, no cheese. Just chocolate."
"Oh, ok then." He shoved his hand into her bag, and grabbed a few. "Huh. *MUNCH* Better than I *MUNCH* thought."
"Aren't *MUNCH* they? I bought *MUNCH* them at *MUNCH* Whole Foods."
"DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL! I CAN HEAR YOU GUYS FROM THE OTHER ROOM!"
"Scientifically, that's impossible. Our mouths are always full of air." She smirked, tilting her head.
"So you're into science, huh?"
"I'm not just into it. Science is my life."
"What kind?"
"Forensics, duh. I'm a detective, after all."
"Are you interested in other kinds, though?"
"It depends on the kind. Science is a big field. I like things like Chem, but make me learn about the Krebs cycle and I'll throw these things at you until you die."
"SHE WILL, TRUST ME."
"Gosh Apollo, stop stalking us!" Clay called.
"I DON'T WANT YOU TELLING ANY STORIES."
"I won't, I swear!" She heard a door slam, which Ema assumed meant that Apollo wasn't 'stalking' them anymore. "So, what about Astronomy?"
"Oh, I love space. Fingerprints can be preserved for thousands of years on the moon! For all we know, there could be prints from aliens, or our distant ancestors there!"
"Well, except for the fact that if your skin was exposed enough to leave a print, you'd die."
"So if there were any prints, there'd probably be blood, too! I could just spray luminol everywhere! There just needs to be some kind of space murder, so I could do the investigating on it."
"As long as I'm not the one who dies!" Clay laughed. "I wouldn't mind being accused of the murder, though, because Apollo would find me innocent. It would be fun, actually."
"You have a weird sense of fun. But wait, what do you mean by 'as long as you're not the one who dies'?"
"Oh, right. I'm an astronaut."
"Wait, so you've been in space?! That's so cool!"
"Well, I haven't been there yet. But I'm getting ready for a launch next December."
"Well, you should bring some luminol with you. Check for any signs of a space murder." Clay laughed.
"You really love science, don't you?"
"Yeah." She smiled.
"Your eyes get all glittery when you talk about it," he laughed.
"Yeah, I get made fun of for that."
"Why? I think it's kinda cute." Ema blushed.
"So I take it that you and Apollo have something going on?"
"What?! No! We are not a thing. At all." She pulled a Snackoo out of her bag, and threw it at him. He caught it in his mouth, which would have been cool, had he not begun choking. "Ahh! Are you ok?!"
"I'm fine." He coughed. "So are you suuuure that you and Apollo aren't involved?"
"Why do you care, anyways?! We aren't dating or anything!"
"You're getting pretty defensive…"
"I swear to science. We. Are. Not. In. Volved."
"Wow, that's a pretty huge swear, coming from you."
"Yeah. Now, will you tell me why you care?"
"Well, I AM Apollo's best friend… Is it that weird to wonder about his love life?" He grinned.
"I get the feeling that there's a reason besides that."
"And why do you say that?"
"I don't know. I don't have some fancy bracelet like Apollo does, but something definitely seems off…"
"So you want to know the real reason, then?"
"Yeah. That's why I asked."
"I'm not as interested in Apollo's love life… I was more interested in yours." He grinned, and Ema was left confused.
"What? Why?" Ema could feel herself blushing. Clay came up closer, and she felt the urge to back up, for the sake of personal space. She didn't. He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her even closer, until their noses were touching. "Wait a second…"
He didn't. Ema flinched as his lips met hers, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she just stood there, trying to regain her bearings, and scientifically analyze what the HECK was going on. She eventually gave up trying to reason with herself, and gave in to the boy, kissing him back. He began to pull away, meeting her face with a warm-hearted smirk. "Apollo's friends are cuter than I expected."
"Yeah, they are." Ema pushed up onto her toes, gaining her enough leverage to kiss him again. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she pulled his lips towards hers. He responded enthusiastically. His embrace was warm, and his arms wrapped around her snugly. The kiss grew more passionate, and Ema could feel her senses leaving her. All she could think about was the warmth, and the feel of his heart beating against hers. It was incredible.
"Hey, Ema! Thanks for the papers. I think I can win tomorrow's case with—AHH!" Apollo's entry into the room was announced with the sound of a lamp falling over as he was too shocked to remember to stop walking. "What the HECK is going on in here?!"
"You've got cute friends, Apollo." Though Ema had pulled away in shock, one of Clay's arms wrapped around her stomach, and she could feel the warmth of his chest against her back. She couldn't help but smile."
"But- But Ema! And- And you! And- my apartment! And you just m-met!" He stammered out.
"Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight, Apollo?" Ema couldn't see his face, but she knew he was grinning.
"That's only in movies, though!"
"Really? I think I have some decisive evidence to prove you wrong, Apollo…" Good luck spinning this one on its head, you bluffing fop. Ema smirked, turning her head to look at her captor. He grinned, leaning down enough to meet her lips for a brief second.
"Ahhh!" Apollo stormed out of the room. "MY EYES!"
"Apollo's really fun to mess with." Ema's dark eyes remained locked with his.
"He is." He smiled, and drew her in for another kiss.
Apollo only wished that his eyesight wasn't quite so good.
A/N: If you were wondering how this pairing became a thing, I tried (and failed) to do a pairings meme, which made me realize "wait. Ema... Clay... Science... LOVE... AHHHHHHH." So that's how the least popular pairing ever became a thing. I guess it's no longer the least popular pairing, now that it's got one story... I think that place will forever go to Oldbag x Apollo. :D (Please, keep it that way... I beg of you.)