December 25th

12:19 PM

Wright Anything Agency

"And everything had been going so well." Ema growled. Klavier was strolling around the room, extended friendly greetings to everyone he passed. Really, Apollo had no particular reason to be annoyed by the prosecutor's presence. They were fairly good friends, after all, and only ever actively worked against each other due to their positions in the courtroom. The circumstances, however, were hardly ideal for his sudden arrival. Ema attempted to make herself inconspicuous, shuffling around behind Lana and Jake, but it was only a matter of time until Klavier would inevitably notice her.

"Apollo," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth, "go over and talk to him. I need another minute to plan this out." Apollo gave her a questioning look, but she simply glared back resolutely. With a sigh, he started across the room. Klavier had been speaking to Edgeworth when he noticed Apollo approaching.

"Ah, Herr Forehead! Frohe Weihnachten!" he called.

"Er, hey, Klavier!" Apollo called back, figuring it would probably be best to just pretend that he had even the foggiest idea what his greeting had meant.

"Excellent showing you've got here." Klavier said, taking another look around the room.

"Yeah, we were all pretty surprised when literally everyone agreed to show." Apollo responded. As Klavier continued to observe the crowd, Apollo began to think to himself.

It was interesting how, despite of having been enemies at work since day one, they could still so easily have become friends. Klavier had always been openly friendly, but it had taken until after the Misham trial for Apollo to properly start doing the same. Initially, he had found the prosecutor's overtly charming and slightly cocky nature fairly grating, and there still remained his dislike for Klavier's chosen style of music, but in all other respects, he had found it much easier to socialize with Klavier after Kristoph Gavin had finally been convicted. Thinking back to the trial, he had a fairly good guess as to why. Knowing that Klavier had been the prosecutor that personally ended Phoenix's career had been a serious personal barrier for him, but seeing the prosecutor's inwardly horrified expression in the courtroom as Vera had revealed the truth about the forgery had been the first major step to overcoming his bias. From there, Klavier went on to help him take Kristoph down, and from immediately after Vera's release from the hospital, Apollo was finally able to put his apprehension behind him and forge a proper friendship.

"Ach, where is our Fräulein Detective?" Klavier's voice snapped Apollo out of his thoughts. Without thinking, he glanced backward. Ema was doing quite an impressive job of concealing herself behind Lana, but Klavier noticed his glance. He chuckled. "Hiding, is she?" With that, he sauntered off toward Lana and Jake. Apollo cast an apologetic look back at Ema, but she returned only a furious glare. Miraculously, Klavier missed Ema as he walked by Lana and Jake. Seizing the opportunity, Ema ducked out of her hiding place and slipped back across the room.

"Plan B, then..." she whispered as she passed by Apollo. A few moments later, she stopped next to Trucy, who was talking energetically to the younger girl who had arrived with Maya. Pearl was her name, if Apollo remembered the old case files properly. After a brief and unheard exchange with Ema, Trucy rushed across the room herself. Evidently, Ema had asked her for a distraction as well. Apollo slid over to the corner Ema was now standing in.

"Come up with anything?" he asked. Ema shrugged.

"Plenty. No matter what, he's still the same old fop, though. My wording isn't gonna change his reaction." she said, a small frown crossing her face. Apollo paused.

"We'll just have to wing it, then." he muttered grimly.

"S'pose so."

A short while later, Trucy cast a glance across the room. Her eyes met Ema's, and she raised a shoulder in a questioning gesture. Ema waved a hand in response, which Trucy took as a sign to break off her talk with Klavier.

"Oh, there's Ema!" They heard her say. "Over there, next to Polly!" Klavier spun on his heel and finally noticed them.

"Ah, you found her, Herr Forehead!" he said, striding back across the room. "Couldn't hide from me forever, Fräulein." Ema seemed to be repressing an urge to break something. Apollo glanced at her.

"Should I...er-" he began,

"Go find something to do, yeah." Ema growled. Apollo nodded and slipped away toward the refreshment table. Phoenix was leaning against the wall nearest, once again chatting with Maya.

"How much longer, do you think?" Apollo heard Maya asking.

"Shouldn't be more than a couple of months, now." Phoenix responded. "By the way," he continued, noticing Apollo approaching. "Maya, this is Apollo." the woman turned toward him and smiled brightly. Apollo extended a hand.

"Apollo Justice." he said, as Maya reached out as well.

"Maya Fey, Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique and, more importantly, Nick's girlfriend." she said, shaking his hand. Upon hearing this introduction, Apollo gave a noticeable jerk. Noticing the odd look Maya gave him, he supposed that he shouldn't have been all that surprised. He had heard plenty about the Kurain Channeling Technique in the news during Phoenix's career, and even more as he had read through the shelves of old case files. Even then, he probably should have gotten some idea from Maya's elegant purple and scarlet kimono. As for the second point, he had suspected as much, judging by the ecstatic greeting she had given to Phoenix, but due mostly to Phoenix never having mentioned her in the past, the abrupt confirmation still came as a slight shock. Maya was still looking at him curiously, and he spoke up.

"Sorry, Ms. Fey. I was just a bit surprised, that's all."

She giggled in a manner that was strikingly similar to Trucy.

"What, did Nick never tell you about me?" she asked, glancing back at Phoenix. Apollo opened his mouth to answer, but just then, Trucy appeared.

"No, he definitely didn't!" she said indignantly, putting her hands on her hips and frowning at her father. "I only just found out from Pearl!"

"C'mon, Nick, that's no way to treat your daughter." Maya teasingly scolded. Trucy crossed her arms.

"Hmph. Well, if you're going out with Ms. Maya, you'd better not act like you don't know who my new mommy's going to be anymore." she said, her frown becoming a pout. Maya clapped a hand to her mouth, blushing moderately. Phoenix just laughed quietly without answering. Apollo took a moment to check on Ema.

She seemed to be managing fairly well, all things considered. She wasn't yet raising her voice or throwing things at Klavier, but like always, the prosecutor was keeping up his pursuit.

"You ought to go support her over there." Phoenix said, watching as well. Trucy slid around to stand in front of Apollo, frowning up at him now.

"Daddy's right, Polly. You shouldn't leave your date to deal with Klavier by herself." she said, as if she was lecturing a child. There wasn't much Apollo could say to argue. Defeated, he walked once again back across the room. Ema saw him coming and looked immensely relieved. Klavier was still running through his seemingly endless list of different angles to approach the conversation from, as determined as ever to successfully charm Ema.

"Come on now, Fräulein, you can't just keep turning a man down on Christmas," he was saying, as Apollo stopped next to them. "Ah, Herr Forehead. As you can see, our detective friend is still doing everything she can to resist me." he said, by way of a greeting. Ema slipped up for a moment, and let out a tiny grunt of laughter at his overgenerous choice of words. Before Klavier could take advantage of her lapse in focus, she saved herself by speaking up.

"I've told you more than enough times already that I'm not interested." she said, forcing an impassive expression. "Especially," she continued, "since Apollo's here now." Klavier cast a sideways look at Apollo, looking puzzled.

"What do you..." he glanced between the two of them, "...mean? Herr Forehead, is there something you haven't told me?" Ema looked to be reaching the end of her patience. Apollo stammered for a moment, unable to think up a tactful response, and Ema groaned.

"Oh, alright, dammit, if that's what it's gonna take." she said grouchily. Without any other warning, Ema suddenly darted forward, grabbing Apollo by the shoulders. Apollo's eyes snapped open and he half-expected his face to catch fire as Ema forcefully pressed her lips against his.

From there, everything around them seemed to freeze. The talk heard from the crowd melded into an incomprehensible drone as Apollo seemed to lose all connection to everything but Ema. After several seconds, she pulled away. Apollo stood completely still, his mind several steps behind in processing what had just happened. He stared from Ema to Klavier. Ema was giving him a wry sort of smile, but Klavier seemed to have been struck silent in much the same way as he had. Ema snickered quietly at the effect she had caused. Apollo and Klavier held their seemingly catatonic states for quite a while, but finally, the latter cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well. That was...not what I would have expected."

"No hard feelings, right?" Ema asked him. Klavier hesitated.

"None whatsoever." he said, finally regaining control of himself.

"Good. If either of you need me, I'll be talking to Mr. Wright." Ema said shortly, walking away. Apollo and Klavier stood motionlessly for a few seconds.

"Well, congratulations, Herr Forehead." Klavier said, breaking the prolonged silence. His tone was quickly sliding back into its usual state. "I am happy for you." Apollo looked at him curiously.

"So, you're not...angry? You're not jealous?" he questioned. This was the last reaction had been expecting.

"Jealous?" Klavier said, his trademark cocky grin reappearing on his face. "I don't need to be. You won the Fräulein's heart, I didn't. There's nothing else to be said." He clapped Apollo on the back. "You're a lucky man, Herr Justice. Treat her well." With that, he walked away, leaving Apollo in confusion. His mind was finally beginning to catch up with the situation. Ema had just kissed him full on the mouth, and Klavier, for lack of a better term, seemed to be giving their relationship his blessing. This was...a far better result than he could possibly have anticipated.

"Clueless as ever, aren't you, Apollo?" came Trucy's voice. The girl pulled up two chairs and sat down, motioning for Apollo to do the same.