A/N: Whew, I really had to push myself to crank this one out, but I'm so glad to have it done. Next chapter, Nick and Hugh finally have the talk that's been long overdue. I'm gonna shoot to have the next chapter finished by the end of the week, so look forward to it!
Quick shoutouts to the reviewers from last chapter
thepudz: One of your favorites! Wow, that honestly means alot! Thanks! Also, I have read the stories you've done so far, though for some reason the site is keeping me from reviewing all of them. I think you do some great work and I can't wait to see you crank out some more awesome work!
Multifangirl6: Writing Apollo and Athena is honestly one of my favorite things in these stories. They're courtship that I did in Vacation in Kurain is actually one my favorite things that I've written. Unfortunately, Nick and Hugh's talk won't be until next chapter, but I'll be sure not to leave you waiting for too long!
Skillet28561: Well, hoping is all we can do, isn't it? ;)
JordanPhoenix: Hey, I may not know personally, but I've seen that I nice rack can get a woman pretty far in life! I just refuse to believe that two little gumdrops aren't secret kung fu masters! And Maya just wouldn't be Maya without a little TMI, would she?
Melody Rose Gold: Truth be told, I was snickering the whole time I was writing that scene. And I couldn't resist reminding my regular readers of Apollo's crazy neighbor! And I'm so glad someone caught the Star Wars reference!
One last thing, the movie quotes in this chapter are from these movies in this order: Star Wars Episode 5, Judge Dredd (1995), The Princess Bride, and A Few Good Men
December 24
10:32 AM
Apollo Justice's Apartment
Apollo gulped down the last of his coffee and looked across the table at Athena. "So, you still haven't told me why you felt the need to break in and wake me up."
"Well obviously it's because we have a busy day ahead of us!" Athena cried, popping a forkful of French toast in her mouth.
"We do?" Apollo questioned, unsure of what the woman was getting at.
"Of course we do! We gotta go visit everybody and deliver their gifts!" The girl finally explained.
This caused Apollo to roll his eyes. "Alright, I can understand that. But why did you need to lob an air horn into my room?"
Athena stood from her seat and began to collect the dishes from the table, taking them to the sink. "Oh, I didn't need to. I just thought it'd be funny. And it was."
Apollo merely sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're lucky I love you. No other guy would put up with this."
Athena walked up behind her boyfriend and gave him a hug, resting her chin on top of his head. "I know. And I love you too." She then placed a kiss on his cheek. "Now go get dressed! We gotta get moving!"
December 24
11:47 AM
Wright Residence
"Maya, please don't leave me here with him." Phoenix begged his girlfriend. The two were back in their guest room, Maya getting changed to leave with Emma and the girls to finish the shopping for Christmas dinner.
"Nick, you're acting like a child!" Maya said as she tightened the sash of her acolyte robe. "You and your dad will never be able to get along if you don't talk to him about what pushed you apart. I don't need Athena's psychology degree to tell you that!"
"But I'm not ready to talk to him about it!" Phoenix cried, standing from his seated position on the bed. "Things have been going well so far. He hasn't yelled at me about my job or anything. If I bring it up, what's to stop all the angry words from flooding out of his mouth?"
"I don't think that's gonna happen, Nick. I genuinely think he wants to smooth things over with you. I just get the feeling that he's not sure how to actually start talking to you about it." Maya said, stepping close and placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"So, what? I have to be the one to start this discussion with him?"
Maya shook her head. "Nick, I don't get it. You butt heads with murderers and sword wielding prosecutors without so much as flinching, yet talking to your dad about something that tore your family apart is too much?"
"It's… Different, Maya." Phoenix said, his gaze cast downward. "Butting heads with Blackquill… It's never been about me. It's always about my client. This… I don't open up about myself easily, Maya. And it's not like I can easily just forgive my dad even if he apologizes. We're talking about years of abandonment and anger directed at me because I decided to be a lawyer."
"Nick," Maya said, taking the man's face in her hands. "You can do this. All these things you're telling me? Tell HIM. I know you won't be able to forgive him immediately, but if he wants to try and be a father to you, why not let him try? If you can't do this for yourself or even for your family…" She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. "Do it for me."
December 24
12:38 PM
Klavier Gavin's Penthouse Suite
Klavier plopped the roll of dough into the pot of boiling oil just as a buzz was heard from his intercom, causing him to flinch. "Ach!" He cried as a drop of oil splashed up and hit him in the cheek. He rushed over to his kitchen sink and splashed some cold water on his cheek. Once the burning sensation was gone, he turned off the faucet and walked over to the intercom, pressing the button. "Who is it?"
"Hi Prosecutor Gavin!" Cried a cute female voice that he recognized as belonging to Athena Cykes. "It's Athena and Apollo. Can you buzz us up? We brought your Christmas presents!"
Klavier sighed and ran a hand through his hair before pressing the button again. "Ja, just give me ein moment." He quickly rushed back to his room and threw his trademark jacket over the wifebeater he was currently wearing. He then rushed back to the intercom and buzzed the two in. "It's open. Just use the elevator to come up to the penthouse suite. It opens up straight into my living room."
A few moments later, the elevator dinged and opened up, the Greek God couple stepping inside. The two looked around in amazement at the expensive décor of the suite. Old guitars were hung up on the walls as trophies, pictures of Klavier shredding away on guitars lined the walls, and the whole of the living room and kitchen had no less than four televisions. Apollo also took note of the dent in the near one of the televisions.
Klavier cleared his throat to get the two's attention. They snapped their heads in his direction.
"Guten tag, Herr Forehead, Fraulein Cykes." He said.
Athena rushed ran up to the man. "Merry Christmas, Klavier!" She handed a small box to the German man.
"Fraulein, you didn't have to get me anything."
"Just open the box, Gavin. You don't wanna start barking up that tree." Apollo said as he stepped forward, handing another box to Klavier.
"You too, Herr Forehead? I thought you were merely joking when you said you'd bought a gift for me."
Apollo crossed his arms in front of him. "Hey, when have I ever come off as a joker to you?"
Klavier merely chuckled as he set the boxes down on his couch. "I kid, Herr Forehead. Give me a just a moment. I'll go get your gifts." With that, Klavier headed to his bedroom in the back of the suite.
Athena took a seat on the nearby couch. "Apollo, this place is amazing! Sure puts your little apartment to shame."
Apollo began to sweatdrop as he took a seat next to her. Yeah, that's exactly what I wanna hear right now.
They suddenly heard a faint meow from next to Athena. She glanced over to see a tiny kitten with fluffy white fur.
"Aw! A kitten! Athena cried, reaching out to pet the animal. Schrodinger began rubbing his head against her hand and purring. "Apollo, he's so cute!"
Klavier then made his way back into room, noticing Athena playing with his young kitten. "I see you have met Schrodinger." Athena looked up at the man and smiled as Schrodinger jumped into her lap. "He's so cute, Prosecutor Gavin! I didn't take you for a cat person."
Klavier took a seat in one of the couches and set two boxes on the coffee table. "Well, before a few weeks ago, you would have been right." He then made kissing noises, causing Schrodinger to climb from Athena's lap and jump onto his. "But this little one has a bit of a story behind him."
October 28
7:34 PM
LA Alleyway
Klavier was walking home from the prosecutor's office, having worked late due to a fairly tiresome case. Rain was pouring down from the sky as he held his umbrella high over his head. As he neared his building, he picked up on the sound a struggle between a dog and a cat in an alleyway. Normally, Klavier wouldn't have cared, but the sounds were comeing the alley just outside his building. So as he walked by, he turned his head to look at what was going on. And immediately wished he hadn't.
The alley could practically described as a murder scene, blood staining the pavement around the assorted garbage. Just in front a cardboard box stood a medium sized dog, shaking it's head violently. Klavier was just able to make out the object the dog held in it's mouth. A full grown adult cat. The dog tossed the cat aside and then began to walk near the box, growling.
Klavier was about walk away, unable to watch anymore of this grisly scene, when suddenly he began to hear another noise: The soft cries of a frightened kitten. He glanced at the scene once more to see a small kitten, obviously frightened as the mutt stepped closer.
The German man wasn't sure what came over him as he folded his umbrella and charged at the dog. "Hey, get away from there you mangy mutt!"
The dog quickly looked at Klavier before he whacked it with his umbrella, causing the animal to yelp. The prosecutor then put himself between the dog and the kitten, holding his umbrella almost like a sword. The dog stood it's ground for a moment as it sized up Klavier. Finally, it turned around and ran off.
Letting out the breath he was holding, Klavier rushed to the cat's side, hoping for a chance that the animal was still alive. But to no avail. Klavier was no coroner, but even he could tell the cause of death. The cat's neck was twisted at an odd angle and it's eyes were closed. "I'm sorry this happened to you." Klavier said. He then walked over to the cardboard box to look at the kitten. It was very young, obviously still trying to get the hang of walking instead of crawling. When it saw Klavier, it began to cry out, obviously still frightened.
Why is there only one? Thought the blonde man. He looked around the alley, and it only took a moment for him to figure out what happened to the rest of the litter. The mother cat had been injured and bleeding, but not enough to create the small puddles of blood that stained the alleyway. Klavier shuddered at the thought.
Klavier continued to study the frightened kitten, unsure of what to do. He then started to pull off his jacket and reached for the small animal. The kitten reacted be crying out louder as Klavier picked it up and wrapped it in his jacket. "Shhhh, it's ok, little one. I won't hurt you."
Once the kitten was snug, Klavier grabbed his umbrella and rushed up to his suite. The least I can do is take care of it for tonight.
December 24
12:46 PM
Klavier Gavin's Penthouse Suite
Athena was weeping her usual exaggerated tears. "That is so sad! You're so sweet, Klavier!"
Klavier simply chuckled. "Please, it was nothing anyone else wouldn't do. Now, enough sad talk," He said, handing the boxes to the lawyers. "Open your gifts!"
Athena immediately began excitedly tearing into her gift, sending the shreds of the colorful paper onto the rockstar's floor. Meanwhile, Apollo busied himself with undoing the tape on his gift, not wanting to leave trash laying on his rival's floor. Athena was just about to open the box her gift was in when she paused and sniffed the air. "Hey, is something burning?" She asked.
"Hm?"Klavier glanced at the stove in his kitchen to see smoke beginning to cloud the area."Ach! My Snackoos!" He cried before rushing into the kitchen.
December 24
1:34 PM
Wright Residence
Phoenix and his father sat in the living room of the house. Maya, Emma, Trucy, and Pearl had left nearly an hour earlier, leaving the two men by themselves. Not a word had been spoken between them since. Hugh was seated in his recliner, flipping through channels on television, while Phoenix was seated on the couch, looking through his phone, using the excuse that he was trying to figure out how to change his ringtone, something he'd been at for over a decade.
Minutes ticked by agonizingly slowly, each tick of the the second hand seeming to echo through the silent room, merely drawing more attention the tense atmosphere in the room. Hugh continued to flip through channels, each show and movie that came on seeming to be mocking the two men with the small snippets of dialogue they heard.
Luke, I am your father.
I AM... THE LAW!
My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father.
You can't handle the truth!
Finally, Hugh changed the channel directly to a local news channel. The weather man onscreen was gesturing around their area. "Now, as you can see, we're about to be hit with a powerful winter storm. All citizens are recommended to stay inside, as this snowfall will add to the 3 inches we accumulated last night, making travel on the roads incredibly dangerous. We should start seeing the first signs of this snowfall around three o'clock."
Hugh, having been silent since the girls left, finally spoke up. "I sure hope the girls don't get caught up in that mess."
Phoenix flinched slightly at hearing his father's voice, but responded nonetheless. "Y-yeah. I trust mom's driving, but I'd still rather they not be out there in the middle of the storm."
The two went silent again after that, merely watching the newscast. Until something finally pushed things too far.
"So, Margaret, how are you planning to spend the holiday tomorrow?" The male newscaster asked his female co-anchor.
"Oh, just spending time with my husband and daughter. What about you, Chuck?"
"Well, right after this broadcast, I have to go pick my mother up at the airport." Chuck replied.
"Oh?" Margaret replied. "Just your mother? What about your father?"
Oh come on! Phoenix found himself thinking.
"Ah, unfortunately, my dad's deployed overseas right now. He can't make it back for the holidays." Chuck said.
"Really? That's not what I heard. In fact, I heard your father's already in town." Margaret said, smiling ear to ear.
Chuck found himself chuckling. "And where did you here that?"
"Oh, well, only from the man himself. Isn't that right, Richard!?" Margaret called out. The camera panned off the set to show a man in military uniform stepping into the studio. The man had a wide grin on his face. "She heard right, son. Not sure where you're getting your information from.
The camera quickly cut back to Chuck, who's mouth was agape as he stood from the news anchor's desk, looking to be on the verge of tears. "Oh my God. Dad!"
Phoenix and Hugh continued to watch as the tearful reunion played out. Phoenix was cursing every deity above for this act of cruel irony. Hugh stayed silent until the show went to commercial, when he finally spoke. "Well, uh, th-that was nice, wasn't it Phoenix?"
Phoenix stayed silent for a moment, casting his gaze downward at the floor before he finally spoke up. "Dad, we need to talk."
Hugh breathed in and exhaled a long sigh before turning off the television.
Wacky waving inflatable arm flail-Click!
"You're right. Hugh said before turning to face his son. "We do."
