Condensed

Notes: Apollo x Phoenix. I recently rediscovered my AA games -well, all but the first- and am losing my mind to it all over again. And I guess I have some catching up to do now too with Dual Destinies. Have some meaningless fluff.

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Apollo's not quite used to it. Cooking a meal for more than just himself that is. It's not something he's ever really had to do before. Clay usually brings food to Apollo or insists they go out to eat the few times their schedules coincide, and there never used to be anyone else he knew well enough to hang out with.

That had changed when he joined the Wright Anything Agency in many ways.

Eating out everyday isn't a very cost effective choice in the long run though. Plus there's only so many bowls of salty broth Apollo can choke down before having a mental breakdown and raiding the cupboards in the small apartment the Wrights live in for something edible. The dusty cans of condensed soup he finds behind stacks of instant ramen aren't the best but they're years ahead of Eldoon's Noodles.

A pot of soup isn't all that much effort to throw together when he turns down his boyfriend's -and Apollo is looking forward to the day when his mind won't balk at applying that concept to Phoenix Wright- plans of going to the Noodle stand. He ignores the pouting that stance gets him and scrounges up some suspicious looking vegetables. He doubts either Phoenix or Trucy bought them, but they look serviceable enough.

Apollo's not used to cooking for two, but a can of soup is easy enough that anyone can do it. So, he's not prepared at all for the ecstatic reaction he gets when he hands Phoenix a bowl.

"You're a real genius in the kitchen, Apollo," Phoenix mumbles around the spoon still stuck in his mouth. His eyes are half lidded in a way that Apollo's not used to seeing out of the bedroom, and the noises he made when first trying the soup had made him thankful Trucy is still out. "You sure being a lawyer is what you really should be doing?"

"It's water," Apollo states flatly and ignores the way his face feels hot at the compliment. He's being teased again and he really doesn't appreciate it after the long day he's had already. "You put it in a pot with the can and heat it up. It's not like it's rocket science, Mr. Wright."

"Mr. Wright? Aw, don't be angry with me, Polly," Phoenix drawls out but he's smiling in amusement even as he pretends to look sorry. "You're a great lawyer too. You just make a really great soup. It's the best I've ever had!"

Considering that Phoenix says the same thing to Mr. Eldoon every time they go to his noodle cart, Apollo's going to take the compliment with the same amount of salt Eldoon dissolves into each bowl of his noodles. Approximately half of a one pound bag according to his investigations. "You really make me worry sometimes, Phoenix. How has Trucy survived malnourishment? Or you?"

"It's a mystery," Phoenix laughs easily. Not taking the potential insult harshly at all. Apollo knows that Phoenix had done something though. As easy as the man is about seemingly anything and everything, Trucy is his daughter, and Apollo knows there isn't a lot he won't do when it comes to her safety and well-being.

It's one of the first things that had made him realize the legendary man he'd admired so much wasn't just another lie to mask a corrupt attorney. Made him pay attention to the infuriating man who was his boss and find the real Phoenix somewhere between the idol he'd imagined and the twisted man painted by the media after his disbarment.

Apollo's pulled from his thoughts when his hand gets picked up. Phoenix is still laughing at him but his eyes are warm. Teasing still as he presses Apollo's hand to his chest with overblown flair. Apollo hadn't been all that surprised to learn what the man's major had been before he turned to law. "It's a true mystery for the ages how we ever survived without you!"

"I don't think Ema could solve that mystery," Apollo refuses to let himself be flustered further than he already it. "Just- just shut up and eat."

Cooking for more than himself isn't something Apollo's used to, but it might be worth doing it more often. Just for the honest laugh that comes out of Phoenix when he yanks his hand back, and the obvious enjoyment he gets out of the simple soup.

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