So, I wanted to write a story that was focused solely on Apollo and Athena and developing their relationship. I also thought it would be funny if they somehow went undercover to a couple's retreat for some reason. So, I thought of a concept around that and worked from there. Apollo and Athena are one of my favorite ships after Phoenix and Edgeworth (which there will be a bit of in this), and I'm sad that there aren't longer stories about them. Most of them are one shots. So, yeah. It's going to be in first person. Enjoy.

Chapter One – The Plea

Athena

It had been less than a month since Apollo came back home to us. Three weeks at most. It was a strange feeling, having him back. I remember coming to the office every day while he was gone and missing him. I would stare sadly at the corner he used as his work space when no one was looking and just think about him, wondering what he was doing at the moment. I got used to the empty feeling I had when I came into work, knowing he wasn't there. As the months went by, it was a little easier to bear the weight of him being gone. It never fully went away though. And I'm pretty sure Trucy and Mr. Wright felt the same way.

Imagine our surprise when he told us he was coming back. Back to the United States. Back to the Wright Anything Agency. Back to me. It had been a tearful reunion to say the least. I think Mr. Wright cried the hardest out of all of us. We were all overjoyed having him back, of course. Me especially. Apollo and I had always been partners, after all.

Still, it was strange having him back. There were those small moments where we would wonder how much the other had changed, or someone would start talking about an event only to remember that the other wasn't there for it. There was that awkward tension of having known someone for years, but not having anything to talk about because he's been away for so long that we don't remember what we shared in common.

The two of us were like best friends once upon a time, but I hadn't seen him in nearly two years. I was twenty-one now and he was twenty-six. It was amazing to think about sometimes. Apollo was surprised with how quickly Khura'in was able to get its legal system back together. But for me, two years was too long. Still, I was more than happy to have him back. What I'm trying to say is that I just wanted things to go back to normal as quickly as possible.

So, imagine my complete and utter annoyance when, less than a month of having Apollo back, Nahyuta Sahdmadhi just suddenly waltzed into our office, stating that he had a problem.

We hadn't had any clients in a while and it was just Apollo and me in the office at the time. Apollo had claimed one corner of the couch and was pounding away on his computer while I was working on some things with Widget. Trucy and Mr. Wright weren't in at the time. Trucy was at the theatre, getting ready for her next big performance while her father was on vacation.

It was rather quiet in the office at that moment. We both nearly jumped out of our skins when there was a sudden knock on the door. Clutching my chest to make sure my heart was still beating, I turned towards the entrance to our office.

"Come in," I called. Then the door opened and he had the nerve to be standing there, looking apologetic and everything. "What are you doing here?" I asked, managing to keep the suspicion out of my voice. Apollo looked up.

"Nahyuta?" he gasped. "What are you doing here? Surely the legal system hasn't fallen to bits that quickly, has it?"

Sahdmadhi gave us both a weary smile.

"Oh no, the system is doing fine," he replied. "Great, in fact. I wish I could say I was just visiting, but Khura'in and, by extension, I have another major problem and there's no one I can turn to inside the kingdom."

Oh no. Was he going to try and bring Apollo back to that backwards kingdom already?!

"I was actually hoping to speak to Mr. Wright about this," he said before either of us could speak. "I believe he and Prosecutor Edgeworth can help me with this."

Apollo and I exchanged glances. "That's going to be a bit of a problem then," Apollo said. Sahdmadhi gave him a look.

"How so?" he wondered.

"Mr. Wright is on his honeymoon right now with Mr. Edgeworth," I informed him. "They won't be back for a couple of weeks now."

Sahdmadhi blinked in surprise at us before letting out a groan of despair, his head falling into his hands. Apollo and I exchanged glances once more before Apollo led him over to the couch and they both sat down.

"Why don't you tell us what happened," Apollo suggested. "Perhaps Athena and I can help in some way."

The foreigner gave him a grateful glance before taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"It all started about a week after you had gone back to the states," he began. "Rayfa and I were taking a trip outside of the palace for a while and we bumped into this man. He seemed nice enough, but he wasn't from Khura'in. Rayfa was instantly smitten with him though. She started hanging out with this guy more and more and I was worried that he might just be trying to use her since she'll be queen. Everyone was worried, but she wouldn't listen to any of us. About a week ago, she and I had a huge argument and she stormed out and we haven't seen her or this guy of hers ever since."

I stared at him in shock.

"The princess is missing?" I said, worried in spite of myself. "What did you want Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth to do about it? They're not detectives, you know."

"I managed to track Rayfa down already," Sahdmadhi said with a small smile. "I know where she is. Or at least, I know where she'll be in about three days."

We both gave him a look of confusion.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I wondered. "And I still don't know what this has to do with Mr. Wright." He let out a sigh and turned away, the look on his face taking on a more awkward expression.

"…Here's the thing," he mumbled. Well, I could tell this wasn't going to end well. Nothing good ever came out of the words "here's the thing." He took another breath. "I found out that she's going to this retreat with the man and I was hoping that Mr. Wright could go there and find out what this guy is up to and possibly convince Rayfa to come home. She really looks up to Mr. Wright and I think that she would listen to him."

"Unfortunately, now Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth are on their honeymoon," Apollo sighed. "But maybe Athena and I can do it."

Sahdmadhi brightened as he looked over at his adoptive brother.

"Really?" he asked. "Are you sure? The retreat is for two weeks and you'd have to be sort of undercover. I mean, you can't let Rayfa know why you're really there."

"No problem," I said, trying not to sound too excited. The idea of spending two weeks alone with Apollo on a retreat sounded like both the best and worst idea ever. A knot was already forming in my stomach at the idea and I fought to keep my face on a neutral expression.

"Listen, if anything, I think Apollo and I are more qualified than Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth in dealing with this," I stated confidently. "He'll be able to tell if this guy is lying at all and I have Widget and the mood matrix. Mr. Wright is great, but he doesn't know the inner workings of a young girl's heart. And Mr. Edgeworth can barely talk about his own feelings, let alone someone else's!"

"That may be true," Sahdmadhi said thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps you two could help in a better way. Ok, that settles it. You two are hired."

The two of us lit up at the thought of being able to work together again. But then a thought hit me and it must have hit Apollo as well because his face suddenly fell.

"Did you say it was for two weeks?" he asked.

"Yes."

"We can't both do it then," he sighed. "With Mr. Wright gone, Athena and I are the only lawyers in the office. What if a client comes who needs representation? Trucy can't watch over the legal side of the office."

"Plus, with her show starting to become a smash, she's going to be busier than ever at the Penrose Theatre," I added. Sahdmadhi gave us one of his haunting smiles.

"I can watch the office for you," he volunteered. "It's essential that both of you are there, and I am a prosecutor as you very well know. I don't think I could go back home to wait for her anyway, so I can easily take care of things around here."

"Thanks, Nahyuta," Apollo sighed in relief. "There's just really a few things you need to take care of every day, really." Then he stood up and walked off, only to return a moment later with a giant stack of papers that everyone in the office called "The List." He dropped the papers in front of Sahdmadhi's stunned face and sat back down.

"So, this is the list of all the things we need to do each week," Apollo told him cheerfully. "Thankfully, we don't have any clients right now so there's not that much that needs to be done. Just read through it and see what you need to do."

"If a client does come around, this is the list that tells you what to do," I added, dropping an equally heavy stack of papers next to the first one. The table practically buckled under the weight and Sahdmadhi looked close to fainting. "Don't worry, you'll have Trucy to help you."

He gave us both a look and turned back towards the double stack of papers, regret battling with gratitude that we would be able to help him after all.

"The retreat is at a beach resort on the coast," he told us. "You have three days to get packed and prepare. I'll use the time to get you registered and everything. Hopefully, we'll have Rayfa wanting to come home in less than a week."

…

Three days later, Apollo and I were standing at the entrance to a fancy hotel that would have normally been far out of either of our price range. A mixture of excitement, nervousness and fear were swirling around inside me as I gazed over the lobby. I didn't know what to expect during this retreat, but I was also happy to be spending those two weeks with Apollo.

The hotel lobby, at least, had a fancy tropical theme to it. That wasn't too surprising as this was supposed to be a tropical retreat. There were a few people mingling around with their luggage piled behind them or in corners. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and the place was decorated with bamboo sculptures. Bamboo wrapped around the marble columns and tiki torches were scattered throughout.

I noticed that there were an abundance of couples milling around, waiting to check in. I guess that wasn't too abnormal. I couldn't imagine little children running around in a place like this. Though it was kind of weird that the lobby was filled with nothing but couples and work staff. Maybe the hotel was only used for the retreat? Maybe they didn't allow kids on the retreat. It was hard to say.

"I feel a little out of our element," Apollo muttered beside me. I knew what he meant. Hopefully we would be able to blend in. It was important that Rayfa didn't know the real reason of why we were there.

"We'll be fine," I replied, despite the fact that I was feeling extremely nervous. I had wanted to leave Widget at home. With his tendency to blurt out what I was thinking, I didn't want to risk him spilling anything. But part of our plan involved reading feelings and working therapy sessions with Widget. That didn't mean that I had to wear Widget the whole time.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I looked around to see if Rayfa and this man of hers was even here yet. Sadly, it didn't look she was around. It would have made our mission a little easier if we could talk to her right away.

"Looks like we can sign in over there," Apollo said quietly, nudging me gently and nodding towards a line of people.

"R-Right," I replied, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice.

We picked up our stuff and made our way over to a slowly growing line. I couldn't tell what was making me feel more nervous; the fact that I would be spending two whole weeks alone with Apollo, the fear of what would happen if our plan failed, or the couple that was making out like crazy right behind us. Apollo must have noticed the couple as well because he was squirming uncomfortably beside me.

The couple in front of us were a jolly looking pair, speaking in loud voices that would rival Apollo's. They constantly laughed at nearly everything, even if it wasn't funny, and it wasn't long before it started to get on my nerves.

"Oh, what do we have here?" said the lady in front of us as she turned around and noticed us. "Aren't you two just adorable! I could just eat you up!"

"Now honey!" the man said as Apollo and I exchanged confused glances. "You haven't even had lunch yet!" They both let out hearty laughs. "So, how did you learn about the retreat?" he asked us when they were done.

"Er, from a friend of ours," I replied, pressing lightly against Apollo.

"Is that right?" the woman laughed. "We found a brochure! We were just so excited when we heard about it! This is really going to help our marriage!"

"Oops, too much information, honey!" the man laughed. They both burst out laughing. I had no idea what was wrong with these two and I was kind of put off by them calling us cute. "Oh, how rude of us! I'm Tucker and this is Angie. My muse."

"We're the Turners," the woman giggled.

"Ok," Apollo said uncertainly.

"I'm Athena Cykes and this is Apollo Justice," I told the couple, deciding to be friendly.

"Oh, I think I remember reading your names in the paper," Angie said excitedly. "You've done some high profile cases, don't ya know! It must be fascinating! Lawyers, right?"

"We're on vacation right now," Apollo said shortly.

"Oh how delightful!" Tucker said as his wife clapped her hands cheerfully.

Thankfully, we were saved from further awkwardness with the line moving forward and the Tuckers turning back around to sign in. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Normally I didn't mind people like them; heck, I even enjoyed talking to other people. But with how on edge I was feeling, coupled with how early it was, it was just too much for me.

"Well, this is already off to a weird start, huh?" I said with a side glance at Apollo.

"Relax, we'll be fine," he muttered. I couldn't tell if he was speaking to me or himself because he certainly didn't seem relaxed at all.

Finally it was our turn. Two smiling women greeted us from behind the sign in table. I guessed they were the organizers of the retreat from the way they held themselves. One of them wore a tight bun and a creepy smile as she stared at us behind triangle glasses. The other woman was one of those peppy types, with loose flowing hair and a high pitched voice.

"Hello," the peppy woman said happily. "Thank you for taking this journey with us! In two weeks, you'll get some rest and relaxation as well as the tools that will help you grow closer. I'm Lily Taylor and I'll be your spiritual guide!"

Closer together? That was a strange choice of words, but then maybe they just assumed that Apollo and I were together.

"I'm Dr. Quinn Pidd," the other woman with the glasses introduced herself. "Now, may we have your names?"

"Er, Athena Cykes and Apollo Justice," I said uncertainly. The doctor's smile reminded me of Professor Means. I couldn't tell whose smile was creepier.

"Of course, Miss Cykes and Mr. Justice," Dr. Pidd said, looking over her list of names. "Glad to have you on board. Here is your room key and the list of first week activities! Dinner will start at six, at which point we will be going over orientation."

We took the room key and stared at it for a moment.

"Could we maybe get two separate rooms?" I asked after a moment, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. They both burst out laughing.

"That's funny!" Lily Turner laughed. "You're funny! Anyway, we truly hope you enjoy your stay with us at the Eros Cupid Ultimate Lovers' Retreat!"

Apollo and I could do nothing but stare wide-eyed at her for a long moment. Then it suddenly dawned on us about what was going on. And what we would have to do.

Apollo only just managed to catch me in time before I hit the floor.

First chapter complete! It took me forever to come up with a competent and funny way to end the chapter. Hopefully this chapter was entertaining enough. Next chapter, we'll be switching to Apollo's point of view. And we'll find out why Nahyuta failed to mention that the retreat was a couple's retreat.

Please tell me what you think with comments and such. And remember, please stay safe and smart out there. And stay lovely.