June 10, 5:21 PM

Global Noodles Co. Restaurant

"Ah, Gavin-dono. You're a bit earlier than expected."

Prosecutor Klavier Gavin flashed a winning smile as he sat down across from his companion. "Ja. Turns out that I had less paperwork to fill out than expected." Gavin glanced around at his surroundings. He'd never been to this food establishment before, but it seemed to be rather popular. Wait staff bustled to and fro, and the whole building was murmuring with mundane conversation. One waitress brought bowls of noodles to the next table, and Klavier had to admit they smelled pretty good. He was just somewhat surprised that his companion had suggested such a lively place to meet.

Though to be fair, he was somewhat surprised Prosecutor Simon Blackquill had asked to meet with him at all. They were acquainted, yes, but only because they both worked at the Prosecutor's Office. Blackquill was… a little intimidating, honestly. Klavier supposed some of that came from him spending so long as a convict, despite him finally being declared innocent in recent years. Not to mention the samurai act and the fact that he brought his pet hawk everywhere was kind of… weird.

"I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here," Prosecutor Blackquill began. "I imagine the request took you by surprise."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised, Herr Blackquill," said Gavin, "but I figured this might prove to be a good opportunity for the both of us. Particularly since you did tell me you wanted to ask my help for something."

The conversation broke off for a while as their waiter arrived to take down their orders. Once he retreated to the kitchen once more, Blackquill returned to their conversation. "Ah, yes. Where were we again? Right, you were cutting to the chase and asking me why I had asked you here."

"I wouldn't have called it 'cutting to the chase,' but yes, I was curious as to what exactly you needed to ask of me that couldn't be asked back at the Prosecutor's Office."

Blackquill leaned back into his chair. "First of all, this isn't a work-related request, so I deemed it a bit inappropriate to bring it up in the workplace. Second of all, the explanation might turn out to be a bit lengthy, so I wanted to ensure neither of us would get interrupted by matters of business, as is so wont to happen with how busy the office has been lately."

Gavin couldn't deny that second point; after the alleged end of the "Dark Age of the Law," there had been tons of alterations being made to the legal system. Retrials were being ordered, and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth was weeding out prosecutors who had gone corrupt and had yet to replace many of them. It certainly was a hive of activity down at the office. "Fair enough," replied Gavin. "So what is this explanation, then?"

Blackquill heaved a rather large sigh before responding. "You are well-acquainted with the Wright Anything Agency, are you not?"

Gavin raised his eyebrows. He had not expected the conversation to take this direction. "I suppose so, ja. We cross paths every now and then, and I admit I've become a bit of a fan of Fräulein Wright's magic showmanship," he admitted.

"Are the rumors not true that you have a friendship of sorts with Justice-dono, then?"

"Herr F—er, Justice?" Gavin was thrown off even more. Where the heck was this conversation going? Outwardly, he remained cool and stoic as he hid his confusion answered the question. "Well… it's a bit complicated, to be honest. I suppose you could call it a friendship of sorts, but Herr Justice would probably deny it as such. He's a bit stubborn like that."

"I see," replied Blackquill with a satisfied nod. They broke off again as their waiter returned with their orders. After making sure everything was satisfactory, he bustled off once more. Gavin took a bite and decided that whatever came out of this odd meeting, he at least found a new dining location to patronize. There was a few minutes of silent eating before Blackquill continued. "I understand my questions might come off as a little odd, Gavin-dono. And honestly, my plight itself is one you might find strange as well."

"Well, now my curiosity has piqued," Gavin truthfully told him.

Blackquill poked at his plate. "If you are familiar with the Wright Anything Agency, I trust you also know Athena Cykes?"

"Fräulein Cykes?" Gavin thought for a moment. "Oh, ja, I remember her. The lovely spitfire with red hair."

"You would do well to watch how you refer to Cykes-dono in my presence," Blackquill growled dangerously. "She is my old mentor's daughter, and anyone willing to speak about her in such a manner had best be prepared to draw his blade."

Gavin chuckled outwardly but inwardly made a mental note to not do that again. "It was a joke, Herr Blackquill. If it bothers you that much, I promise I'll behave from now on."

The murderous tone still lingered in his voice. "Good. Otherwise, I will cut you down."

Gavin sighed quietly. "So why were you asking about Fräulein Cykes, exactly?"

"Ah, yes." The anger in his voice had fully dissipated. Crisis averted. "Let us just say that Athena… is a very important person to me. Her wellbeing and happiness take precedence over my own."

The more Gavin thought about it, he slowly remembered that Athena Cykes had been involved in the incident that had gotten Simon Blackquill convicted—namely, that Blackquill willingly allowed himself to be convicted because he had been afraid that Athena had been the real culprit and was protecting her. Fortunately, it was proven—by Mr. Wright and friends, no less—that that crime had actually been the Phantom's doing. But Blackquill must truly have cared a lot for that girl to have willingly face the death penalty to keep her safe.

"My plight, ultimately… is that she is an idiot." Gavin blinked, a little unsure of what to say. He opted to just silently finish his bowl of noodles and wait for Blackquill to elaborate. And oh did Blackquill elaborate. "To clarify," he went on, "She is in love with Justice-dono and is too thick-headed to realize it."

Gavin had chosen the absolute worst moment to swallow. Blackquill's revelation caused him to choke on his noodles, resulting in an unglamorous coughing fit that lasted what was probably only a minute but what felt like ten. He spit his bite back onto his bowl and gasped for air.

"Forgive me—" Gavin broke off to cough some more before starting again. "Forgive me for that unseemly display, Herr Blackquill. I… I think I misheard you. Could you repeat that last bit again?"

"Are you sure you're alright, Gavin-dono?" Blackquill asked with concern.

"Never better," replied Gavin. "But I think I started hallucinating at the end there, because I could have sworn you said that Fräulein Cykes was in love with Herr Justice."

"I did say that. And Justice-dono is also in love with Athena, but is being just as big of an idiot as she is."

Gavin stared at his fellow prosecutor, willing words to come. But the words would not come. He had no idea how to respond to any of this. "Herr Blackquill," he finally managed, "What the hell?"

"This, ultimately, is the request I wished to make of you," Blackquill continued. "I wanted to ask you to speak with Justice-dono and try to convince him to pursue the feelings he is so obviously trying to keep hidden. I, meanwhile, will attempt to do the same with Athena."

"You… want me to help you play matchmaker," stated Gavin in disbelief.

"In short, yes, Gavin-dono," Blackquill answered with a nod.

Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose and fell into thought. After getting over the shock of it, Blackquill's claim did make a bit of sense. The two did give off a lot of vibes that they were interested in each; they had the "old married couple" act down pat. And Gavin did remember Herr Forehead getting flustered whenever he made jokes about Ms. Cykes being his girlfriend. He'd figured it was just standard Herr Forehead behavior, but there may have been more to his embarrassment than that…

"Herr Blackquill," Gavin finally said, "this is insane, and I should probably say no. And yet… I can't help but find myself interested. I don't know how persuasive I can actually be, but what the hell. I can give it a shot."

Simon Blackquill grinned, which Gavin admitted was a little frightening. "Then it seems we have an accord." He held his right hand out over the table.

Trying to not mentally compare this to fairy tales where a character makes a deal with the devil, Gavin reached out and shook his fellow prosecutor's hand. "Ja. Let's rock, baby."

June 11, 3:30 PM

Penrose Theater

"So, Polly, I was thinking about this new trick—"

"NO."

The teenaged girl pouted at the young male attorney who was assisting her with painting a number of props made of plywood. "But I haven't even told you what it is yet!" she protested.

Apollo Justice set down the now empty can of paint he'd been holding and glared at his companion. "Trucy, you promised. You promised that if I did all this work on the backgrounds that you wouldn't ask me to take part in any of your tricks. So I've done the dragon, the pink elephant, the three-eyed demon, and now the castle." He gestured to the partially complete wooden cutout he'd been painstakingly painting for the past forty-five minutes. "I am NOT going onstage this time."

Trucy Wright, the adopted daughter of Apollo's boss, grumbled. She was, without question, an amazingly talented magician, particularly despite the fact that she was barely out of high school. And because Apollo privately considered her like a little sister to him, he always was happy to help her prepare for her shows, even if he rarely admitted it. But that didn't mean he enjoyed getting turned into a human guinea pig (one trick did involve him getting turned into a regular guinea pig once, actually).

"Fine," Trucy conceded. "Although I promise it wouldn't have involved coffins or silly costumes this time."

"I'm still gonna pass," said Apollo as he searched for a new can of paint. "Wait, is there no more brown paint left?"

"Is there not?" asked Trucy as she looked. "Crap! I don't think there is… and we really need to get this bit done today. Hmm…" She thought for a moment. "You keep working on what you can, Polly. I'll go make a quick run to the hardware store."

"You sure you don't need me to go with you?" asked Apollo.

"I'll be fine. Like I said, this needs to get done by today so I'd appreciate it if you stayed here to keep working. Are there any other colors we might need more of?"

"Probably white, and maybe some gray," Apollo answered after glancing at what they still had. "But can you carry all that yourself?"

"Polly, please. I'll be fine. Be back in a bit!" Trucy scampered off before the attorney could protest anymore.

Apollo sighed in exasperation before grabbing a new can. A few drops of green splattered on his red T-shirt, confirming that changing out of his usual attire had definitely been a good idea. He plopped back down on the stage floor and resumed his task. He wouldn't blame people for thinking it weird that a defense attorney would do this kind of thing in his free time. It probably was weird. But he never could say no to Trucy. And he'd… missed doing these kind of things with her while he had been gone.

Apollo still didn't really feel like he'd come into his own as a lawyer—despite having helped topple a corrupt regime and contributed heavily to rebuilding the legal system in the Kingdom of Khua'in. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that it had been two years since that crazy incident happened. It was hard to believe where the time had gone. It had only been about eight months since he'd returned to the States and rejoined the Wright Anything Agency.

Apollo glared at the decidedly awkward-looking leaf he had just made on the tree he was painting and pondered how to fix it. He was still a better lawyer than he was an artist, at least. Why had he agreed to this again? Oh. Yeah. He agreed to this so that Trucy wouldn't put have him dress as a princess again. Or a lion. Or in that weird form-fitting spandex thing that Trucy kept hiding from him so he couldn't burn it. Just as he was deciding to leave the mistake be, he heard the absolute worst sound in the universe.

"Wasn't expecting to find you here, Herr Forehead."

Prosecutor Gavin. Of course it was Prosecutor Gavin. Apollo let out what seemed to be a mix between a groan and a sigh. "Hello, Prosecutor Gavin," he responded in a monotone.

Klavier Gavin walked up the stage towards Apollo, flashing an annoying smile. Apollo knew his irritation with the prosecutor was a bit unwarranted; Gavin was a decent guy and had even helped him out on occasion. He helped Trucy a lot too; his support had definitely helped her shows gain some good publicity. But all the same, Gavin—intentionally or not, Apollo was never sure—always managed to find ways to annoy him.

"Hard at work, I see. I hope Fräulein Wright isn't cracking the whip too much."

"Trucy ran out to get more paint, if that's who you're looking for," said Apollo, taking a great deal of interest in his paintbrush. Maybe if he ignored Gavin long enough, he'd go away.

"I see." Gavin crossed his arms. "I was looking for her, yes, but I actually was looking for a chance to chat with you as well, Herr Forehead."

Apollo raised his eyebrow. "Really?" He honestly hadn't meant the remark to be sarcastic, but it kind of came out that way, probably out of habit.

Gavin shook his head. "You wound me, Herr Forehead, you really do. Is it so much to ask for a friendly chat once in a while?"

"I guess not," Apollo admitted reluctantly. "This just seems a bit out of the blue, Gavin."

"It's just been a while, Herr Forehead. I was just curious how you've been doing."

Apollo set the paintbrush down and shrugged. "Same old business as usual, I guess. Been a little uneventful, really, minus that weird case I was helping Athena with a couple weeks ago."

"The one where all that cheese fondue was involved? I'd heard about that. I should have known you two were involved with that. That agency of yours is always involved with the crazy ones."

"I would protest, except for the fact that you're totally right," answered Apollo as he rolled his eyes.

Gavin chuckled. "And how is Fräulein Cykes? Radiant as ever, I presume?"

Apollo fought the urge to toss his brush at Gavin's smug face. "She's fine," he answered flatly. He wasn't sure why he was so irritated. Gavin could be annoying when he talked like that, sure, but this was a bit more than annoyance. The next words came out without him thinking. "Why do you ask?"

"Am I not allowed to ask? I simply haven't seen Fräulein Cykes in a while, and was just hoping she was well."

Apollo froze as he felt the familiar sensation of metal contracting against his left wrist. His bracelet was reacting. Gavin was lying. Wait, what? What could he be lying about?

"Gavin, you're hiding something," Apollo stated.

Gavin blinked, then sighed. "I suppose I should have known your fancy jewelry trick would clue you in."

"It was pretty hard to notice, but you were clenching your fist a little more tightly while you were talking about… wait…" Apollo trailed off. "Why was it reacting when you were talking about Athena? About all you wanted to know was if she was doing well?"

"Why indeed, Herr Forehead?" Gavin was using that obnoxiously suave voice again that never failed to make Apollo want to smack something, and for some reason the prosecutor's smug face was inspiring more ire in him than even before.

The idea that came to him was so ludicrous that it rivaled some of the desperate bluffs he'd made in court. Apollo stood up from the stage and stared. "G-Gavin… are you… are you interested in Athena?"

There was a moment of silence. Gavin sputtered incomprehensibly for several moments. "Are you off your rocker, Herr Forehead?"

"You are, aren't you? That freaking figures, of course you are—"

"Herr Forehead—"

"Here comes ROCK STAR PROSECUTOR KLAVIER GAVIN SEDUCING EVERY WOMAN COMING ACROSS HIS PATH—"

"Herr Forehead!"

"AND NOW YOU'RE TURNING YOUR SEXUAL, WOMAN-MONGERING WILES ON ATHENA YOU, YOU, YOU—"

"APOLLO JUSTICE! WILL YOU SHUT UP FOR TWO SECONDS AND LISTEN TO ME?"

Apollo's torrent of seething rage sputtered to a halt. Gavin almost never referred to by his actual name. "Buh?"

Gavin exhaled deeply. "Now that I have your attention, Herr Forehead, there seems to be an enormous misunderstanding. Fräulein Cykes is a very lovely lady, yes. But I do not have, nor have I ever had, any intentions of romancing her."

"You… don't?"

"Is your fancy bracelet telling you I'm lying?"

"No," Apollo admitted, feeling small and stupid now. Although he also felt small waves of… relief?

"Although… now I have a question, Herr Forehead," continued Gavin. "Just why were you so angry at the idea of me being involved with Fräulein Cykes?" The glint in his eye made Apollo a little nervous.

"W-W-Well, I mean, she is my friend and my coworker, so of course I'd be a little concerned for her sake," he answered, rubbing the back of his head.

"She's an adult, Herr Forehead. You don't really have any say on what she does in her love life."

"O-Of course I know that. I-I just… well…" Just what the heck was going on here? What was Gavin driving at?

The grin that formed on Gavin's face was the same one he used in court when the defense walked straight into a trap. "Could it be that the one interested in Fräulein Cykes… is you? And that the reason you were so angry was because you were jealous?"

Several seconds of silence passed as Apollo's brain struggled to comprehend what Gavin just said. "W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

Gavin simply folded his arms and continued grinning that accursed grin.

"I-I… that is… I… um…" Apollo's brain was too scrambled to even think of a half-baked response.

"I'm not hearing a denial, Herr Forehead."

"I… I…" Apollo's head—and hair—drooped in defeat. He really couldn't deny it, could he? He buried the thoughts deep because she was his trusted coworker, not to mention she was five years his junior. But every now and then the thoughts did come to light, like when the sunlight caught her hair just right, or when her eyes sparkled when she was talking about the latest TV show she was into. Or that sexy way she always activated her Mood Matrix that almost made him want to go up to her and—NOPE ABORT WE AREN'T TALKING ABOUT THAT. He returned his thoughts to the conversation. "Damn you, Gavin, you're the literal worst."

"To be fair, you really set yourself up for the whole thing," Gavin replied. "But chin up, Herr Forehead. It's not like you're confessing to a crime."

Apollo held his face in his hands and groaned, hoping against hope that Gavin would fail to notice that his face was probably red enough to match his shirt. Then he remembered he had had paint on his hands, so now his face was probably red and green.

"Herr Forehead," Gavin said more kindly as Apollo continued to stay silent. "Come on, talk to me."

"No." He sounded like a petulant child, but he didn't care. The rock star prosecutor just kept looking at him, making the silence longer and more awkward. Apollo got the feeling Gavin wasn't going to do anything until Apollo said something. Damn you, Gavin. Damn you. He heaved a very long and heavy sigh. "Confessing to a crime would probably be a hundred times easier, honestly," he finally said. "But… you… aren't wrong. I'm… I'm stupidly in love with Athena Cykes. Happy now?" Maybe if he stared at the floor hard enough it would swallow him whole. It couldn't hurt to try.

"I don't know why you'd call it stupid," Gavin said, "But yes, I am happy to hear you admit it. Fräulein Wright has told me that she fears you bottle your emotions up too much."

Apollo finally pulled his hands out of his face and stared at Gavin. "Trucy said that? Wait… did SHE put you up to talking about all this? Does that mean she knows?" Apollo groaned yet again. "Who am I kidding, of course she probably knows…"

"No, Fräulein Wright did not put me up to this," answered Gavin. "But considering how easy it was to figure out, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't at least suspect it."

"Good point," Apollo muttered.

"But anyway, Herr Forehead," Gavin continued, "now that you have admitted your feelings to yourself, should you not also admit them to Fräulein Cykes?"

"WHAT?"

Gavin winced slightly in pain from the loud exclamation. "Easy with the Chords of Steel there. I'm not saying you have to call her up right this moment, but you should definitely tell the Fräulein how you feel."

"Easy for you to say when you aren't the one doing it," bemoaned Apollo.

"I know it's a daunting task, Herr Forehead. But bringing the truth to light is better than hiding it. No doubt you're terrified that the Fräulein might shoot you down and not return your feelings."

"More like that's what the foregone conclusion of this whole debacle will be," Apollo retorted bitterly. "As if any girl like Athena Cykes w—"

"Mr. Justice." Apollo blinked as once again Gavin ditched his usual nickname. "Mr. Justice, first of all, you sell yourself short. If you had the confidence, the ladies would flock to you almost as much as they flock to me."

"Please, Gavin, spare me your—"

Gavin kept talking over him. "In addition, even in the chance that she did turn you down, would that not be easier to deal with than dealing with the anxiety of never knowing every day? Like dealing with the sting of disinfecting a wound rather than letting it fester and rot."

"I, but—"

"Furthermore, Mr. Justice, I believe that there is a higher probability that Ms. Cykes might return your feelings than you think."

Apollo stared for several seconds, waiting for his bracelet to react to Gavin's last statement. It never did. "W-WHAAAAT?! Y-You… you think what?"

Gavin pushed his bangs away from his face. "You heard me, Herr Forehead."

"And just what makes you say that?" implored Apollo in disbelief.

A shifty look passed over the prosecutor's face for a moment, but he was interrupted before he had a chance to speak.

"I'm back, Polly!" called a familiar female voice. "I was able to get-oh! Prosecutor Gavin!" Trucy came walking onstage, holding two buckets of paint in each hand. Apollo never thought a day would come where he'd curse something interrupting him from talking to Gavin.

"Ah, Fräulein! Let me help you with those," Gavin offered with a smile, taking a couple of cans from Trucy.

"Thanks, Gavin," chirped Trucy. "They were a bit heavier than I expected."

"That was why I offered to go with you, Trucy," groused Apollo. "And if I knew you were going to buy that many I would have insisted on going."

"Please, Polly, it was fine. I'm stronger than I look. And I just figured a few more cans wouldn't hurt."

"Well then," said Gavin as he set the cans down. "It seems the Fräulein and her assistant still have a lot of work to do. I'd better leave you to it."

"Aw, so soon?" asked Trucy with a pout.

"I'm afraid so, Fräulein. After all, I had only come here to wish luck on the upcoming show."

"Gavin?" questioned Apollo. That wasn't really his bracelet reacting again, was it?

"Just give what I said before some thought, Herr Forehead. Auf Wiedersehen!" Gavin waved cheerily at the two of them and walked off.

Apollo vainly called out to him. "Wait, Gavin! GAVIN! Damn it all…"

"Is everything okay, Polly?" Trucy asked with concern. "What was Gavin talking about? And why were you yelling at him?"

"We… had a long, weird conversation that maybe I'll tell you about later. But I'm pretty sure my bracelet went off when he was talking to you. I have no idea what that was about."

Trucy pursed her lips. "Hmm. That is weird." She stared at Apollo's face. "Why do you have so much green paint on your face?"

"Don't even ask. Let's just get this thing over with already," he muttered as he picked his paintbrush back up. Gavin may have still been hiding something, but he had made some good points that Apollo needed to think over. Working on this project might give him a good chance to do so.

"Like seriously, you look like a horn-headed turtle or something."

"TRUCY!"

Maybe he'd have to do that later.

June 11, 4:38 PM

Simon Blackquill's Apartment

"Okay, remind me again, what's going on now?"

Simon let out a long exasperated sigh. "You've honestly forgotten?"

"Give me a break, Simon. We haven't been able to do this for a while."

'This' was something of a ritual that had been going on between Prosecutor Simon Blackquill and defense attorney Athena Cykes for quite a while now. A ritual that Simon had made Athena had sworn to secrecy multiple times. Once a week, Athena would come over to Simon's place, and they would…

…Watch the Steel Samurai. Simon knew the series by heart, but Athena had only recently gotten into it. Well, "recently" wasn't quite the right word when they were on the third series, but Simon had explained that that was only scraping the surface on the number of main series, side series, reboots, crossovers, and alternate timelines that existed in Steel Samurai media.

"Alright, fine." Simon, sitting on Athena's right on the sofa, growled before launching into a synopsis. "Last time, the Evil Magistrate's cohorts were able to lay a trap for the Steel Samurai, and were able to kidnap him as a result. Now it is up to the Pink Princess to locate and save him before the Magistrate can wreak havoc on the city."

"Oh no!" Athena gasped.

Simon facepalmed. "You aren't going to cry when we aren't even five minutes in, are you?"

"N-No…"

"Somehow I find myself disbelieving you, Athena."

"Shut up, Simon," Athena muttered, discreetly attempting to rub her eyes.

They both fell silent as the show immediately launched into the action. Athena immediately became immersed, shouting at the heroine whenever she was in danger and cheering every time one of the baddies went down. She knew it probably made her look silly and childish, but she couldn't help it. She just really got into the things that she enjoyed.

Seven or eight ridiculous fight scenes later, the Pink Princess finally freed the Steel Samurai, and the duo teamed up to finally take down the Evil Magistrate.

"YEAH! TAKE THAT, EVIL MAGISTRATE!" cheered Athena as the villain finally met defeat. "Ooh, now what? Wait, the Pink Princess wants to tell the Steel Samurai something important? What could she—" Athena gasped. "Is she going to say what I think she's going to say? Is she—wait, no, why is the scene fading out? NO! YOU CAN'T END THE EPISODE HERE! SHE'S GOING TO CONFESS HER UNDYING LOVE TO HIM! YOU CAN'T LEAVE IT ON A CLIFFHANGER LIKE THAT!"

"Oh, but they did," said Simon with a dark chuckle.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Athena began sniffling.

"I should have known that would have got you crying again," muttered Simon.

"I'M NOT CRYING!" Athena insisted as she continued to cry. Simon wordlessly held the box of tissues out to her that he kept precisely for such occasions. She glared at him before begrudgingly taking one.

"Better?" he asked, a sadistic smile playing on his face.

Athena rolled her eyes. "You suck, Simon." She took a moment to blow her nose. "Just tell me they confess in the next episode?"

"What, and spoil the surprise for you?"

Athena narrowed her eyes, not liking what Simon's voice seemed to be telling her. "Are you telling me they don't?!"

Simon's eye twinkled. Twinkled. That definitely meant something bad. "And what gives you that impression?" he asked.

"You've been enjoying my pain," stated Athena with irritation, "and your last few comments conveyed that same joy."

Simon Blackquill burst into laughter. It was probably only for a few minutes, but it felt like ten. Honestly, he usually only laughed like this when he was pulling his "Twisted Samurai" act in court to freak people out. He was definitely having way too much fun here, and Athena wasn't exactly sure why. She had a question once the laughter finally abated.

"Simon, what the hell?"

"My apologies, Athena," he replied. "But yes, the love confessions do not come out in the next episode. They do not even come out by the end of this season."

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?! Why?!" Athena demanded in dismay. Simon started laughing again, though thankfully not as long and hard as before. "And just what is so funny about this?"

"Hmm. How do I put this?" he asked, putting a finger to his chin. He thought for a bit. "I suppose I find it so amusing because of the fact that I find this ironic."

"Um, ironic?" She was legitimately confused at this point.

"You think it is idiotic that the Steel Samurai and the Pink Princess would dance around admitting their feelings to one another, despite it being so obvious that a child could pick up on it. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Athena answered slowly, still completely lost. Seriously, what the heck?

Simon shook his head. "I simply find it ironic because I know of two idiots who act exactly the same way."

Athena blinked. "You… what?"

"And to be more exact…" Simon heaved a sigh. "One of those idiots is sitting next to me on this sofa."

"W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Widget exclaimed from around Athena's neck. Widget was a small AI, disguised as a necklace, whose primary function was connected to Athena's Mood Matrix, though an indirect result of this function was that he would occasionally voice out loud things Athena was thinking or feeling. Athena still couldn't find any words to respond to Simon's ridiculous claim, but Widget's outburst summed up her thoughts rather well.

"Simon," she finally repeated, "What the hell?!"

"It needed to be said, Athena. You are in love and are too thick to acknowledge that you are."

"A-And just who am I supposed to be in love with?" Athena sputtered.

"Your colleague, Apollo Justice."

Athena stared at Simon. She managed to croak a variety of odd sounds bearing no resemblance to human language. Then she stared at Simon some more. She tried to jumpstart her brain in order to say something, anything. She succeeded in opening her mouth, but not a single word would come out.

"You're looking rather red, Athena," Simon said, smirking.

Athena embarrassedly brought her hands to her face and noticed the heat emanating from her cheeks even before she touched them. "I…" she finally managed to force out, "I… That… W-where the heck did you get that outrageous idea from, Simon?!"

"Please, Athena." The older man crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling. "We have been meeting like this for ages now. You're always telling about how your week went with your latest trial or what antics you and your coworkers have gotten into. Or what the new food stand down the street is like, or what happened the last time you visited the aquarium. Mundane everyday life events that you feel the need to share with me. Every time you bring Justice-dono up in your stories, Widget glows a brighter, happier green than I have ever seen before."

Athena was dumbfounded. "He… he does?"

"Yes. Though even without that, I can tell. Your entire face lights up, and you smile… more happily than I usually see you smile. Whenever you two are in the same room, I see you stealing glances at him, and the face you make then…" Simon trailed off and averted his gaze to the right, as if to better avoid Athena's gaze.

Athena's heart was pumping as she contemplated Simon's words and wondered if he was actually right. But even amid all the thoughts and emotions running through her mind, she also was concerned about Simon. Most of his words were conveying happiness, but toward the end she had detected some sadness as well. "Simon?"

"So you did catch that. Unfortunate." He sighed and shook his head before looking at her once again. "You know how much I care for you, Athena. You are… you are like a little sister to me. You… already know the lengths I would go for you." Athena knew all too well. Those "lengths" were what had spurred her into becoming a lawyer in the first place—to save Simon from his incorrect verdict in the UR-1 incident. Which he had taken without complaint to protect her from being accused herself. "I owe it to Dr. Cykes to do everything I can to ensure your happiness."

"Simon…"

The sadness abruptly shifted to annoyance. "And that is why I am ready to slap you silly for not being able to notice that your happiness is right in front of your face, in the form of a loud, red-wearing lawyer with a large forehead."

"I-I…" She felt like she ought to deny what Simon was saying. There was no possible way that that she was in love Apollo Justice. He was five years older than her, and was a hundred times a better lawyer than she was. And he was her coworker. She couldn't deny that he was a very attractive man, sure. Probably a lot of other women would say the same. And okay, maybe that smile of his made her feel a little fuzzy inside. All of his faces, really—from that cute nervous face he made when things weren't going his way to that undeniably hot smug look that appeared whenever he crushed an inconsistency in the prosecution's face. And maybe she wouldn't mind if—

Wait.

Oh no.

"She's got it bad, got it bad, got it bad—she's hot for senpai!" Widget sang out. When the heck did Widget learn Van Halen? Though Athena supposed she had bigger issues to worry about than that.

Simon sat there with an insufferable smirk. Athena kept alternating between wanting to smack it off his face and wanting to evaporate. This was possibly the worst jam Widget had ever gotten her into. "The prosecution rests its case, Cykes-dono," announced Simon in a more smug voice than Athena even thought possible.

"You suck, Simon Blackquill," she retorted weakly. Simon still didn't drop his smirk. "Ugh, fine. If you wipe that look off your face, I'll concede."

"Concede what?"

He was going to make her say it? Yep, she was going to murder this man now. Athena heaved a long, exasperated sigh. "I concede to the fact that yes, I am…" She paused as the words got stuck in her throat and refused to come out. "I… I-I am… in love… with Apollo Justice." She determinedly stared at the dull brown carpet as her face burned hotter than she ever knew it could. Maybe if she begged enough, the universe would strike her down with a bolt of lightning or something. Simon still didn't say anything. Athena didn't really want to look up at him; he was probably smirking twice as hard now. She braced herself and looked anyway, only to be thrown completely off.

Simon was smiling. It wasn't sadistic, it wasn't smug, it was… genuine. The type of smile she associated with him from before the UR-1 incident had happened. One she'd only seen a handful of times after he'd been declared innocent. "I'm glad you've finally made that realization, Athena." She was bowled over by the happiness emanating from his heart.

"Simon… I… you…"

"I told you. I want to ensure that you are happy. And I have never seen you happier than when you are at Justice-dono's side.

"I… appreciate that, Simon. I really do," said Athena truthfully. "But—"

Grumpy Simon made his swift return. "You are not about to give me some rubbish excuse as to why you cannot tell Justice-dono of your feelings, or some idiot reason as to why the two of you cannot be together."

"But—"

"SILENCE!"

Athena winced. "Really, Simon? We aren't exactly in court here…"

"I'm not going to let you be any more of an idiot than you already have been, Athena. There isn't any reason not to tell Justice-dono how you feel."

"Except for the fact that he has no reason to be interested in me at all," countered Athena with sadness.

Simon frowned, then pressed his fingers to his lips and let out a short whistle. Taka the hawk flew in from the other room and landed on Simon's shoulder. Athena eyed the pair warily.

"I swear to God, Simon, if you set that hawk on me," she threatened.

Simon nonchalantly scratched the bird's head as he answered, "If you can raise your self-esteem even a bit higher, Athena, Taka won't need to help set you straight."

"Simon—"

"I cannot imagine what flaws you have fabricated for yourself," said Simon, "But I guarantee that even if they were true—which they are not—that they would not deter Justice-dono from returning your feelings."

Athena prepared to protest, but paused as she analyzed what his heart was saying. Simon seemed to fully believe that his words were true. Which didn't necessarily mean they were true… and yet she could stop her spirits from rising at the possibility. "You… you really think that?"

"But of course," he replied, still stroking Taka. "After all, you weren't the only one in this circus act who was acting like an obvious idiot. Your coworker was doing the same."

"Say WHAT?" asked Widget.

"I am not as familiar with Justice-dono as I am you, of course," Simon went on, "but he, too, seems a much happier person whenever you are there with him. And no doubt you fail to notice how often he looks at you. Probably as often as you look at him, really." He sighed. "You really are the biggest pair of idiots I have ever had the misfortune to meet."

"He…" Athena flushed pink, "he really does?"

"Yes. He really does. And so…" He suddenly sent Taka flying across the sofa and into Athena's face.

"ACK! SIMON!" shouted Athena.

"You need to tell Justice-dono how you feel."

"Fine! Fine! I will! Just get this bird out of my face!" Simon whistled again, and the hawk flew off. Great. Her hair was probably all over the place now.

"And if you try to back out," Simon warned, "I will take matters into my own hands and tell Justice-dono myself."

"UGH."

This was going to be a disaster.

June 12, 7:48 AM

Wright Anything Agency

Apollo's boss, Mr. Phoenix Wright, frowned as he checked the time. "It's really weird that Athena isn't here yet. She's usually here long before you."

"Yeah," Apollo agreed. The office officially opened at eight. Apollo usually came in about half an hour before then, in order to get himself set up for the day. He didn't know if it was Athena being competitive or what, but she never failed to beat him there. That was one competition he'd gladly let her win; like hell he was waking up that early. Like Mr. Wright said, it was highly irregular for Athena to be this late.

"Maybe she tried a new route to work and got lost," suggested Mr. Wright.

"That's possible." He really hoped it was something like that.

"I wonder if I should—" Mr. Wright broke off as the door opened and something that resembled a cross between Athena Cykes and a zombie shuffled in.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Wright," Athena mumbled groggily. She made straight for the coffee maker.

"To be fair, you're still on time," Mr. Wright pointed out. "But we were wondering where you were. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah… I just kinda slept through my alarm. I didn't sleep very well most of last night." She definitely looked it. She was barely keeping her eyes open as she poured the coffee into a mug.

"You couldn't sleep?" asked Mr. Wright with concern.

She picked up the mug of coffee and stared at it for a moment. "Yeah… I was… having nightmares."

Apollo frowned. His bracelet had contracted when she said that.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but you… look kind of terrible. Maybe you should go home and rest," said Mr. Wright. "We've been slow enough that Apollo and I can handle things today on our own."

"I'm fine, Boss," Athena insisted. "I just need a couple cups of coffee first." She was already halfway done with her first cup.

"Athena," warned Apollo, "Mr. Wright has a point. You really should rest."

"I'm fine," Athena repeated, exasperated. "There's nothing wrong with me." She finished her coffee and went to refill her mug.

He felt another contraction against his wrist. His voice was pained as he responded. "Athena… I know perfectly well you're hiding something."

"Dang it!" piped up Widget. Athena groaned, as she was wont to do whenever Widget betrayed her.

"Look," she said as both boss and senior colleague continued to give her disapproving stares, "I… I promise I'll talk about it later. Promise. And I promise that with a little more coffee I'll be fine to work."

Mr. Wright conceded. "All right, fine. But I'll march you home myself if I think you need it."

Apollo sighed and sat at his desk, watching Athena finish her second cup and move to pour a third. Hopefully she wasn't planning on drinking too many more—like, say, seventeen. Just what the heck was all this about? He'd had enough to think about after his conversation with Prosecutor Gavin yesterday. He'd been seriously considering telling Athena how he felt—but now he definitely had to put that on hold. Surely whatever she was hiding wasn't anything serious… and yet what could it be that she couldn't tell him and Mr. Wright?

He pulled the stack of paperwork sitting on his desk towards him, only getting halfway through the first page before stealing a glance at his younger coworker. The coffee really must have started to help; while she still looked pretty tired, she no longer looked like a zombie and was slowly starting to perk up. She started humming to herself and became more lively with her movements. A smile played on her face as she poured another cup of coffee and finally moved over toward her own desk with it. Apollo realized he'd been staring at her longer than he'd been staring at his work, but before he could go back to his task, Athena happened to return his gaze. She paused for a moment, neither of them able to look away from each other's eyes. She turned red and scampered to her desk and quickly buried herself in her own papers. Wait. She turned red? Had he really seen that? He wasn't so sure now.

He shook off the remnants of the trance he'd fallen under and returned to his work, trying his damnedest to not think of those things right now.

June 12, 1:32 PM

Wright Anything Agency

Athena caught herself staring at him again. She'd lost track of how many times it happened somewhere around the fifty-third time. At least he hadn't seemed to notice since that first time that morning.

She groaned inwardly at the disaster that was that morning. She should have just called Mr. Wright and told him she was sick. She'd seriously considered it. But faking sick would mean staying home, with nothing to distract her from her thoughts. That had been the real she hadn't gotten any sleep last night; her conversation with Simon had been consuming her even now. Coming into work would give her a decent enough distraction.

Except for the fact that she somehow failed to remember that the subject of her thoughts sat at a desk a mere seven feet away from her all day long. And not only that, but she was caught between a rock and a hard place at this point. Thanks to Apollo seeing through her stupid lie, she had to promise to tell him the truth.

Maybe it'd be best to get it over with as soon as possible. If only Mr. Wright weren't here, she'd consider confessing right here in the office. Except, knowing her, she would probably chicken out if an opportunity did arise. But then there was the issue of Simon's threat to tell Apollo should she procrastinated too long—she knew he wasn't joking about that, because he was definitely enough of an asshole to do that kind of thing. She clicked her pen a few times in irritation.

Her train of thought derailed as a cell phone went off, playing the Steel Samurai main theme. Mr. Wright pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered. "Hello? Yes, he's here, why are you—Trucy, what happened?" The boss's expression got more and more irritated as he listened. "He has his own phone; you didn't need to call me just to—let me ask him, fine." He pulled away from the phone and turned to Apollo to ask, "Apollo, did you happen to leave your phone on silent?"

"Um… I didn't think I did?" said Apollo with uncertainty. He fished out his own phone and stared at it. "WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO CALL ME THIRTY-SEVEN TIMES IN TEN MINUTES, TRUCY WRIGHT?" he shouted.

"She says yes, yes it was," Mr. Wright answered in a deadpan. "She says a few of her props fell down and broke apart. She wanted your help putting them back together."

"THIRTY-SEVEN CALLS, TWENTY-EIGHT VOICEMAILS, AND FORTY TEXT MESSAGES IS NOT NECESSARY FOR THIS," roared Apollo before devolving into unintelligible mutters that vaguely sounded like threats.

"He'll be there shortly," Mr. Wright told his daughter. "You're welcome. I love you too." He hung up and shook his head.

Everyone knew that no matter how much Apollo groaned, complained, or otherwise kicked up a fit, he would always, always do anything for Trucy. Sure enough, Apollo was putting things away and preparing to leave even before Mr. Wright was off the phone. "Sorry, Apollo," said Mr. Wright with an apologetic shrug.

"It's fine," Apollo sighed. "With any luck, this won't take long." He put on a smile. "Be back soon, Mr. Wright, Athena." Athena felt like a jolt went through her as he looked at her with that endearing face of his. The moment ended all too quickly as Apollo turned and made his way out the door.

"Did you want to go with him?" Mr. Wright asked.

Athena blinked. "Huh?"

"I don't know, the way you were looking at Apollo, it kind of looked like you wanted to go too."

Athena rolled her eyes. "Please, Mr. Wright. Any time Trucy recruits me as an 'assistant' she regrets it."

"Hmm. I wonder…" Mr. Wright tapped his chin in thought.

Athena was confused. "Wonder what?"

"Is there something going on between you and Apollo?"

"What?!" Athena gaped at her boss. He wasn't insinuating what she thought he was, right? "I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted.

A smile slowly spread out on Mr. Wright's face. "Aha. So I wasn't imagining it." Before Athena could ask him what the heck he was talking about, he pulled something out of his pocket. A small, green stone that somewhat resembled a comma. A magatama. It was easy to forget Mr. Wright had that thing. It behaved differently than Apollo's bracelet, but it could still be used to find out when a person was hiding something.

"Curses! Foiled again!" cried Widget.

"Ugh," moaned Athena at both AI and boss. "How did you even figure that out?"

Mr. Wright shrugged. "It was hard not to notice how many times you two kept looking over at each other."

Athena flushed deep red. "I-I… that is… wait. WAIT. H-He was looking at me?!"

"Um, yes. He definitely was," answered Mr. Wright, who seemed a bit taken aback. "You hadn't noticed?"

Athena's mouth fell open. "I…" She made a decision, then and there. "I'll be at Penrose Theater if you need me BYE MR. WRIGHT!" She ran out the door. Then ran back in to grab her phone and purse. Then ran out again.

Phoenix sighed. He honestly wasn't surprised by this turn of events. Not really.

June 12, 1:55 PM

Penrose Theater

Apollo was going to murder Trucy.

She'd left an inane number of messages on his phone begging him to come down to help with broken props. Annoying, but fine. But now that he'd arrived, neither the props nor Trucy herself was anywhere to be found. If this was a prank, he was not happy. He stalked off the stage and into the backstage area.

"Trucy! Where the heck are you?" he called out. "I swear, I'm really done helping you out this time. DONE. Find yourself a new—"

"Apollo?"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Apollo screamed as he spun around to face the speaker. It wasn't Trucy. "Athena?"

"Are you okay, Apollo?" Athena asked with concern.

"What are you doing here?" questioned Apollo.

Athena shrugged. "I figured maybe you and Trucy could have used some help, so I went after you."

Apollo took a deep breath and waited to let his heart rate go back to normal, trying to get over the shock Athena had given him. "While I appreciate it, we kind of have a problem. Neither Trucy nor the props are anywhere to be found."

"Really? That's… a little weird."

Irritation spread on Apollo's face. "Yeah. Somehow I get the feeling she's screwing with me."

"She won't answer her phone? She was just talking to Mr. Wright a little while ago."

"I tried. She isn't answering. Here, I'll try again." He took out his phone, but before he even touched anything, a notification went off. "Wait," said Apollo. "I think she just sent a message now." He read the text out loud.

Sorry for not answering, Polly. I had to get more glue and a few other things. I'll be back soon.

"She could have went for supplies BEFORE spamming my messages," Apollo griped. "That girl, I swear…"

"Well, at least we know where she is now," Athena pointed out. "I guess… we just have to wait for her to get back?"

"I guess," Apollo conceded. Annoying as all this was, there was a small silver lining here. Maybe he could use this as an opportunity to ask Athena about her weird behavior this morning. And maybe, you know, tell her that little thing he needed to tell her…

"Let's wait over on the stage," Athena suggested. "It's a little bit cramped back here."

"Fine with me," Apollo agreed. As they made their way there, he cleared his throat. "Hey, Athena?"

"Yeah?" Once they returned to the stage, his colleague turned to face him. He had to take a second to tear his attention away from those blue eyes of hers.

"About this morning…" Apollo began. Athena immediately glanced away, acting as though the floorboards had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the room. "Just… what was all that about? I mean, I don't want to pry or anything if it's personal, but… you can always tell me anything."

Athena sighed. "I know, I know… I know how worried I made you and Mr. Wright, but I promise, it isn't as big of a deal as it probably sounded to you. It's just… complicated to explain."

Apollo watched closely for any tells, but was unable to detect any this time. "Well, you're my friend. I'm not going to say I wasn't worried. I was… really scared something bad might have happened." A silence began growing, and Apollo realized Athena was frowning. "Um, Athena?"

"There was something weird in your voice," she said. "but I can't really figure out what…"

"M-My voice? Huh?"

"What was the last thing you said again?"

"Uh… that I was worried and scared something bad might have happened?"

Athena shook her head. "Maybe I was just hearing wrong. Unless… what did you say before that?"

"Uhhh. I don't remember…"

"Wait. I think you said… something about being my friend, maybe?"

Well, crap. He could see where this was going to end up. He took a breath. "If… If you're hearing discord in my voice from that… then I… I think I know why." He could feel his heart pounding against his chest faster than he thought was possible.

"A-Apollo?" Her eyes had widened, and she seemed to be staring at him in shock. "A-Are… are you…?"

He was pretty sure he was beet red at this point. He had to make himself spit it out. "Athena… I… I…"

"Apollo…" Athena was turning red herself. She tried to say more, but she seemed unable to get any words out.

They stared at each other for five agonizing seconds.

"I THINK I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, OKAY?!"

The silence was no longer charged with anxiety, but it was still awkward. The two lawyers blinked at each other, realizing that they had each confessed at the exact same time.

"You do?" asked Apollo, hardly daring to believe this was real.

"You do?" Athena returned, looking as shocked as he felt.

"I do," he answered. "That's probably what the discord you heard in me was about. I've been conflicted about screwing up our friendship when I've been feeling this way about you. I didn't… want to lose what we had." He managed an embarrassed smile.

"Apollo…" She shook her head in exasperation. "To be honest… that's pretty much the reason I was lying about having nightmares this morning. I was up all night, but…" She matched Apollo's own embarrassed face. "Well… I was up all night… thinking about how to tell you the truth. And imagining all the stupid ways it could backfire." She let out a weak chuckle.

Apollo chuckled too. The wave of emotions running through him—relief, shock, and overwhelming happiness—finally let themselves out, and the chuckle turned into full-blown laughter. Athena watched him uncertainly at first, then joined in. Neither one of them could stop; the joy was too infectious. They laughed until neither of them could breathe any more.

Apollo wiped a few tears from his eyes. "Well," he finally said, "I guess we were both pretty stupid, huh?"

"Yeah," Athena admitted. "So… um… now what?"

"Um…"

"I… kind of didn't think this far ahead," she muttered at the ground.

Apollo scratched the back of his head. "Me neither." The awkward silence made its return. Apollo took in the sight of the girl he'd just professed his love to, and was suddenly seized by a stroke of boldness. "Um. U-Uh." Excellent start. Flawless, even. He took a breath and tried again. "There is… one thing. If you don't mind, that is."

"Apollo?"

Apollo Justice screwed his courage to the sticking place. He closed the gap between Athena and himself, tilted her chin with his fingers, and gently kissed her. Athena widened her eyes but let it happen, then startled Apollo by throwing her arms around his neck and returning the kiss more fiercely. Apollo reciprocated by deepening the kiss further, his left hand finding its way to the back of Athena's head. After several long moments, they finally pulled back for air, panting and blushing furiously.

"Wow," Athena breathed.

Apollo had to take another moment to catch his breath, "I-I agree."

"Where did you even learn how to kiss like that?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, I wasn't expecting you to be bad at it or anything. But that was, well… incredible."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "You're yanking my chain, aren't you?"

"I am not!" she protested. "I'm serous. It was really, really good and I… um… wouldn't mind if it… became a more common occurrence." She glanced away, embarrassed.

Apollo smiled. "I wouldn't mind that either."

Athena made to say something else, but was interrupted by a very loud crash. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" she demanded as Apollo cursed. They both wheeled around towards the backstage, immediately getting an answer as to what had made the sound. The huge wooden castle Apollo had been painting all of yesterday seemed to have fallen down from the catwalk and onto the stage.

Apollo's cries of profanity and confusion were cut short as a series of voices rang out, also coming from the catwalk.

"…was a lot of work, you know!"

"Well if Herr Samurai here wouldn't have brought the hawk with him—"

"I've had enough lip from you, Pretty Boy—"

Apollo used the full strength of his Chords of Steel to cut all three voices off. "WHOEVER THE HECK IS UP THERE NEEDS TO COME DOWN RIGHT NOW AND EXPLAIN THEMSELVES!" He cast a mournful look at the castle, which had been thoroughly busted up thanks to its fall, before following Athena to the backstage area where the ladder to the catwalk was placed. Neither of them were completely surprised to see Trucy come down, but her two companions was a different story.

"Prosecutor… Gavin?" Athena asked tentatively.

"Prosecutor Blackquill?" squeaked Apollo.

Prosecutor Gavin, to his credit, had the decency to look like he didn't want to be here. Although that could have been because of the fact that Taka the hawk was perched atop his head. Prosecutor Blackquill just looked pleased with himself. Trucy looked annoyed, probably because of the now-broken stage prop.

"Will somebody please explain just what on earth is going on here?" Athena demanded. "What were the three of you doing up there?!"

"Prosecutor Blackquill thought it would be funny to sic Taka on Prosecutor Gavin," said Trucy, "who bumped into my prop to send it falling." She crossed her arms and scowled.

"Great, that's one mystery solved," Apollo said in a deadpan. "But again, why were you even up there? Wait…" he glared at Trucy. "This was a prank, wasn't it? Obviously you were lying about needing to fix the props… well, until now, anyway."

"No, it wasn't a prank," said Trucy. "A plot, yes, but not a prank."

"A… plot?" asked Athena. She cast a suspicious look in Blackquill's direction.

Trucy beamed, her irritation momentarily forgotten. "Yep! I suggested it to Prosecutor Gavin after I heard the two of you talking, Polly."

"You mean you heard all that?" exclaimed Apollo, flushing anew. "Do we need to have a conversation about eavesdropping, Trucy?"

"You needn't worry, Herr Forehead," said Gavin. "I already gave the young Fräulein such a lecture. And… Herr Blackquill, could you please get your bird off of my head already?" The black-clad prosecutor rolled his eyes, but let out a short whistle. Taka immediately returned to his owner's shoulder. "Vielen danken, Herr Blackquill," Gavin acknowledged with a flashy smile.

Apollo wanted to point out the irony of Gavin giving a lecture about eavesdropping, but Athena brought the conversation back on track. "So what was this plot, exactly?"

"Well, to be fair, I wasn't sure it was going to work," Trucy admitted. "But the point was to get the two of you out of the office alone for a bit."

Apollo blinked. "You… wanted us to… what?"

Blackquill finally joined the conversation. "To be blunt, Justice-dono, the end result of this plan was a success."

"I knew it," beeped Widget. Athena gave Blackquill an impressive stink eye.

"This was all your idea, wasn't it Simon?" Athena groused. "This was all a plot to hook me up with Apollo, wasn't it?"

"WHAT?" Apollo exclaimed.

Blackquill chuckled. "I was not expecting Ms. Wright to offer to help, but I wasn't going to turn down such an offer."

"This is… just a really weird chain of events that I can't wrap my mind around," said Apollo.

"Basically what happened is this, Herr Forehead," explained Gavin. "Herr Blackquill talked me into talking to you about your feelings for Fräulein Cykes. He was to do the same about Fräulein Cykes's feelings for you. After overhearing my conversation with Herr Justice, our dear Fräulein Wright approached me and uncovered the plan that Herr Blackquill and I had made. She proposed her own idea of bringing the two lawyers to this very place in hopes they might finally confess the truth to one another." Gavin glared at Blackquill and Trucy. "However, I was unaware that I was going to be dragged here to spy on other people's personal conversations."

"I just needed you and Prosecutor Blackquill's help moving the props to the catwalk so Polly wouldn't find them right away," argued Trucy. "It was Prosecutor Blackquill who suggested we stick around."

"So I'm to be the scapegoat, is that right?" smirked Blackquill. "Neither of you are as high-handed as you claim. Perhaps I made the suggestion, but you both had ample time to protest or leave." He cackled. "You're no less guilty than I am. Why, that reminds me of an old inmate back in the clink—"

"We get it, we get it," Gavin thankfully interrupted before the Twisted Samurai could go on with his spiel. "Curiosity got the better of us, for better or worse, and so we stayed. And thus, here we are."

Apollo shook his head and muttered, "I can't believe this…"

"Well, congratulations," Athena told them dryly, "you've achieved your goal. You can go home and feel pleased with yourselves now."

"Oh, I shall," Blackquill replied smugly, stroking Taka on the chin.

Prosecutor Gavin rolled his eyes. "Perhaps the Fräulein was hoping you'd pay closer attention to the part about going home, ja?"

"Hmm. I suppose you have a point," Blackquill conceded, to Apollo's relief. "Perhaps you would join me later for noodles again, Gavin-dono?"

"As long as you won't be asking me to play Cupid again, Herr Blackquill," Gavin returned. "While it had its entertaining moments, I don't think I have any desire to reprise the role."

"Very well." Blackquill nodded and started to leave. He only took a few steps before turning back to Apollo. "Ah, yes, there was one last thing. Justice-dono." He fixed Apollo with a steely gaze that was decidedly uncomfortable. "I have done all this for Athena's sake. I… am putting my trust in you, Justice-dono. I believe you have what it takes to make her happy, and that you are capable of taking care of her." His eyes flashed. "If I ever find you have betrayed this trust, that you have hurt Athena in any way… know that your shoulders will be promptly relieved of your head."

Apollo swallowed hard, trying not to let Blackquill's gaze unnerve him. "I-I… I understand, Prosecutor Blackquill." More confidently he added, "I promise it'll never come to that. I'd… I'd die before I hurt her."

"You two know I'm right here, right?" asked Athena with mild irritation. "I'm capable of taking care of myself, Simon."

Blackquill ignored her and gave Apollo a satisfied nod. "I will hold you to that, Justice-dono." He walked off without another word.

Widget piped up, "Simon's still an ass."

Athena tried to shush him. "Widget, what have I said about cursing?"

"Maybe you shouldn't think it, then?" Apollo suggested. She gave him a withering glare.

"As fun as all this has been," said Prosecutor Gavin, "it is high time, I, too, made my exit. My congratulations, Fräulein Cykes and Herr Forehead." He flashed that smile that still always made Apollo want to punch him. "I wish you both the best." He followed Blackquill out the exit.

"Wait! Ugh…" moaned Trucy. Athena and Apollo both jumped. She'd been silent so long that they'd forgotten she was still there. "They could have at least offered to help me fix the thing they knocked over!"

Apollo sighed. He knew what that meant. Athena looked at him and gave an encouraging smile. "We'll help, Trucy," she told the young magician. "It is what we came out here to do in the first place, after all."

"She's not wrong," Apollo conceded.

"A cute couple and super-dependable," Trucy declared, eliciting blushes from said couple. "That's why you guys are the best." She paused and pressed a finger to her chin. "I might need to go out and get more paint, though."

Apollo buried his head in his hands. "Goddammit, Trucy."

June 12, 5:15 PM

People Park

The day had been an absolute roller coaster of events and emotions, but Athena wouldn't have changed it for anything. Not when it had finally ended with Apollo and her making their way through the park after helping Trucy out, hand in hand. It still felt so surreal. She was holding his hand.

They stopped at Mr. Eldoon's stand for a quick dinner, taking their bowls to a bench to sit and eat. Every joke was ten times funnier. The noodles themselves tasted ten times better. Everything in the park was ten times more beautiful. She glanced at Apollo. He might have become ten times more handsome, too.

Apollo caught her gaze and smiled. Then he burst into laughter.

"What? What's so funny?" she inquired.

"You…" he kept laughing, "…you have onion on your face."

"Ugh… you're such a jerk," Athena griped, reaching for her face.

"Here, I'll get it," Apollo offered. He gently brushed her cheek, and sure enough in the corner of her eye she caught a large chunk of onion fall away from her face. He repeated the motion again, though she was pretty sure he'd gotten it already. She would have said something, but it felt too nice. She felt mild disappointment when he pulled his hand away to return to his bowl.

They continued eating in silence for a bit before Apollo spoke again. "So… just as a confirmation… we are… dating now, right?"

"I… guess we are," she answered. Hearing the words made her feel so strange, yet so happy. "Which I guess means that I can…" she felt a blush creeping onto her face, "I can call you my boyfriend, right?"

Apollo rubbed the back of his head and smiled that adorable smile of his. "Only… if I get to call you my girlfriend in return." His voice was mixture of embarrassment and happiness.

"Deal," she answered with a stupid grin. He grinned with her, and they both burst into joyous laughter.

When the laughter subsided again, Apollo had another question. "Do you think Mr. Wright will be okay with us dating like this?"

"He… kind of already knows, so I assume he's fine with it."

Apollo stared. "Even Mr. Wright knew? We… we were really, really being stupid about this, weren't we?"

Athena sighed. "Yeah. We really were."

"Well… there's no point in beating ourselves up over it. We figured it out, at least. We're... fine." That brought a smile back to her face. Apollo stood up to throw his finished noodle bowl in the trash. Athena followed suit.

"We should probably head back to the office and ask Mr. Wright if he needs anything else from us today," she said as she trotted down the cobblestone path. She paused and looked back; Apollo hadn't moved more than a couple of steps. "Something wrong, Apollo?"

"Sorry," Apollo chuckled. " I, ah, was just… taking a moment to admire just how… beautiful you are." He glanced away as he turned scarlet.

"Please, you're the good-looking one in this relationship," she retorted playfully, walking back up to him and poking him in the shoulder.

"No I'm—MMPH!" She preempted all the self-depreciating commentary that she knew was coming from her colleague-turned-boyfriend with a kiss. It didn't get quite as intense as the one they shared back at the theater, but it was still unbelievable.

"No more of that talking down on yourself," Athena told him. She clutched Widget just in case he tried to out her as a hypocrite.

"Y-Yes ma'am," Apollo sputtered.

"But seriously, we should get back to the office now. Race you there!"

She took off running before he could respond. "DAMN IT, ATHENA! GET BACK HERE!" Apollo yelled to the back of his quickly disappearing girlfriend.

No matter how much that day had transformed their lives, some things would never change.