The previous night at the Wonder Bar had been needed. Sure it didn't help him with his headache, but Trucy did a good job of keeping him distracted enough that he didn't need to think back to what had happened.
He helped around preparing for her show, only able to sit down once it actually started, finally allowed to eat a little something. Some of these tricks were ones he had already seen many times before, but it was always nice watching how passionate Trucy looked on stage.
Then he was dragged on stage, Trucy apparently needing an assistant for some of her tricks. He could do with eyes on him in court, this was his job, but he couldn't help feeling stiff and nervous when going up to join her. Magic tricks were not his speciality.
"Mr assistant needs to look more like a magician first!" she smiled, pulling a bright red magician cape out from her magic panties, putting it around his shoulder and clipping it with a brooch that looked similar to hers. Something in him had felt warm at the idea she had a magician cape ready for him so he looks more like a real assistant. Even he needed to admit it went well with his usual red outfit.
After that, he had help her for a part of her show. At least, if helping meant stiffly letting Trucy do whatever tricks she wanted to do on him for some and following from memory what he should do for others. It was good that these were mostly tricks he had already helped practise with her, or else he would be panicked by the end of it.
He was allowed to step off the stage only when she seemed to have finished with her need for an assistant. Apollo allowed himself to go at a table a little more on the side so he could calm his nerves down, ordering something to drink. He thought he very much deserved a drink after this (or after this whole day really).
When the show had been over Apollo insisted on walking Trucy back home, it always worried him when he heard she came back in the middle of the night all by herself. He kept the cape on for most of the way, the night breeze feeling a little chilly against his bare forearms, going through the thin layer of his dress shirt.
He did take it off once they finally arrived at the right building, the young man not missing the now recognisable red car still parked in front of it. He had no intention of going back up right now, so he gave back the cape to Trucy as he went to unlock his bike.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night, Polly?" she had asked him, worry seeping into her voice again. Apollo felt like it would be too awkward doing so, especially if Edgeworth was also staying for the night. "It's alright," he had said, "I wouldn't want to be a bother, plus there seems to already be a guess right now".
A part of his reply had made Trucy frown as if she didn't like the way he was putting it ('you are not a bother Polly!' he could hear her say, it wouldn't be the first time). "It's never a bother Polly…" ah, here it was, "Are you sure… that everything is okay?" she had then asked for the second time that night.
Apollo's hand gripped harder on the handle of his bike, looking down at the ground without saying a word. He had then taken a deep breath before looking at her, trying to put a small smile on his lips. "Today's just been a long day, I am probably just exhausted". It wasn't a full lie, he did feel exhausted after all the work he had done, he was just not telling the whole truth.
Trucy must have seen he didn't want to talk about it, again, so she had offered him a small smile, concern still written on her face. "Be careful on your way back then and rest well, I am sure if you ask daddy about it he'll let you have a couple of days off, you'll destroy yourself if you keep working like that!".
He nodded at her words, feeling like he indeed should just ask for a couple of days off, he wasn't ready to face Wright again anyway. Not tomorrow at least. "Good night Trucy" he had smiled, before making sure his briefcase was well secured on his bike, making his way back home.
Going back home had been alright enough, he seemed to be sober enough not to be dangerous while riding his bike. Yet once he finally got home, had dropped his briefcase and put his bike away, the alcohol probably didn't help in making him stay calm.
He dropped onto his bed, not even taking the time to change, hiding against his pillow as he started crying. The day had been so long and all he had been waiting for was that: being able to cry away all the frustration, sadness and pain. He'd probably use his Chords of Steel if the wall of his apartment were more soundproof. 'You already had enough noise complaints for this month' he thought to himself.
He ended up crying himself to sleep and had it been only from him he would have slept in until the afternoon. But of course, he had forgotten to turn off his alarm clock, making his wake up even worse than it already was.
He still felt like shit from the day before, the little sleep he got was not nearly enough to make him feel better. He could still feel his eyes being a bit puffy from all the crying, dried tears making his face feel slightly dry. His headache was nowhere near gone, it felt nearly worse than it was the day before. He didn't bother with changing the night before and now his working clothes were all wrinkled up.
None of this made him want to go to work, even less knowing he would then need to see his boss if he did go to the Wright Anything Agency. Truly, he needed his day off now, Trucy was right about that.
He decided to freshen up a little, first going to clean his face to make himself feel less like shit. He changed into a more casual outfit, he wasn't intending to go anywhere for the day, no need to really put the effort into that either.
After that, he fished for his phone in his waistcoat, taking it back with him to the living room. He wasn't sure for how long he sat down on the couch only staring at the device in his hands, doing nothing. He somehow really didn't want to call and have to talk with Mr Wright, where the chance of bringing up what happened the day before would present itself.
"But you have to call him to ask for your days off" he mumbled to himself quietly with a frustrated sigh, "Or else they will probably both worry".
'Or well, Trucy will…' he forced himself to stop his thought, knowing where it was wandering. He dared to hope that if he were to go missing without a word Wright would notice and care about it.
When he finally dialled the number he started biting his lips a little, nervousness rising again. It rang a couple of times, making him nervous that he might have called too early. Yet it was already nine on a weekday, by this time he was usually at work and there was always at least one person already awake.
He tensed when someone finally picked up the phone, hearing the usual laid-back tone of Wright (laced with some sleepiness he could note) doing his a bit too casual answering speech. "Good morning Mr Wright" he started, clearing his throat when he heard how hoarse his own voice sounded, he should probably have drank some water before this.
"Oh, Apollo!" the man replied, making the young man surprised by how energetic he seemed to be all of a sudden. "How are you doing? You left in a hurry yesterday" the man continued, going back to his usual attitude, although Apollo felt like he could still hear worry somewhere in there.
The young lawyer decided that he wouldn't give him the time to go back over what happened the night before. Really he didn't feel like arguing about it again (although it would be easier to run away this time by hanging up, maybe rudely, but still easier). "I've had better mornings" he decided to reply, which wasn't really a lie, "My head is still killing me and I feel exhausted from the last weeks of work" he admitted, "I was wondering if it was possible to take one or two days off?".
He didn't immediately receive an answer, instead, he heard a slightly muffled "Is that Polly?" From the half-muffled voice he heard on the other side, Trucy was clearly telling her dad he needed to let him have those days off.
"He looked about to collapse yesterday, he needs these days off!" he hears more clearly, the young lady probably making her point by speaking louder. Then a quieter muffled was heard, although this time Apollo couldn't hear what they said or who it was. "See! Even Miles says you need to give him his day off!".
Apollo tried to ignore the pang in his chest at the mention of Mr Edgeworth. 'You already knew he would very likely be there, why are you even a little surprised'. He instead took a deep breath, needing to push away that feeling before he would make himself cry again. If he needed to do so he would need to wait until he wasn't on the line with Wright.
"Mr Wright?" he called out, feeling like he needed to remind the man he was still on the phone with him.
"Yes, yes" he replied, likely to show he was listening, "You did work really hard lately, your trial yesterday seemed pretty harsh too, take a couple of days off, I would hate to see you collapse because I didn't give you any".
This made Apollo sigh in relief, at least he wouldn't need to argue, or talk about what had happened. "But Apollo… when you're back, let's talk properly this time, alright?".
It sounded less like a question and more like a promise he didn't have a word to say in the matter. "Sure," he said quietly, forcing himself not to outright refuse. Maybe he would find a way then to avoid having to talk about any of this. "Have a good day then, Mr Wright" he added.
"You too Polly, make sure to rest well".
He then hung up, sighing as he let himself fall sideways on his couch, stretching a little to place his phone on the coffee table. The good news, he had his day off where he wouldn't have to face his boss, bad news said boss wanted to talk to him when he would be back.
"At this point, it's probably just a question of time before he finds out" he mumbled to himself, 'and for you to be pushed out, hopefully gently'. The man had experience pulling the truth out of even the best liars in court, Apollo didn't stand a chance if Wright was to put himself on his case seriously.
He felt tears coming back to his eyes again, feeling anxious and horrible at the idea of being pushed out of the man's life because of his love for him. He doubted it was worth putting up with the burden of his feelings when he also doubted there were many reasons to keep him around. He easily gets annoyed at the man, could be pretty sarcastic and critical of everything. All he assumed he was good for was being in court (and even then, he was only starting to feel more confident about that recently).
His conclusion was that it was easier to just not deal with him altogether if his feelings were to be found out and risk causing problems. Not that he would ever try to put himself between the two men, he knew he held no chance.
He quickly sat up on the couch, wiping away the tears that were threatening to fall, taking a deep breath. 'You'll only feel more pathetic if you cry all day about it!' he thought to himself, deciding he needed to distract himself with something. His eyes wandered back to his bed in the corner of his studio, feeling like more sleep would be a good start. He would be able to think better once he was better rested and his headache was gone.
He took those three days off (one he had forgotten that he already had before asking for two) and it was honestly something he had really needed. He slept a lot but also took the time to clean his home, do some grocery shopping and just relax. Most of it was done so he wouldn't allow himself to think about his boss, but it also helped him feel a little better. He was doing something useful, not simply crying in bed all day like he thought he might do.
But as nice as these three days off were, he still had to go back to work at some point. As interesting as it sounded, he couldn't ask for a forever day off, even if he could, it wasn't a good idea with the little money he already had left.
Apollo had hovered at the door, like the first time he had been there in the past. "It's going to be fine" he whispered to himself, "I'm fine, everything is fine". He took a deep breath, stepping into the office afterwards. He was greeted by Trucy who was once again not at school, seeming to instead be finishing her morning routine.
"Good morning Polly!" she greeted him with a large smile, leaving aside whatever she had been looking at when he arrived.
"Good morning Trucy" Apollo replied, still a little on edge as he walked to his desk in the corner, "Is Mr Wright here today?" he asked after, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Trucy laughed as she finished putting her magician cape and hat on, making her way to him. "Why do you suddenly call daddy in such a formal way?" she asked amused, "Did he tease you too much again?" she asked teasingly. After all, it had happened before, for Wright to push it a little too much only to have Apollo return to a more formal way of talking to him until the anger passed. Maybe he wasn't on a first-name basis with him (at least, not towards the older man), but he had dropped the mister when not in court.
Despite the comment being rather innocent and teasing, Apollo could see that Trucy was trying to pick more information. Clearly, after three days, if it had been the usual teasing he would have already gotten over it. If he was still mad about whatever had happened a couple of days ago, Wright had to have said or done something more important this time.
Sadly for her, Apollo wasn't interested in telling what had happened because he feared that Trucy would be able to place the pieces together more quickly than her father seemed to do. He knew he was probably not as good at hiding his feelings as he thought he was, but he also assumed it could all be explained by some hero worship for the once ace attorney.
"Daddy had some business to deal with today so he went out first" she finally replied to his question when he did not answer hers. Apollo hummed at this, taking out from his briefcase the file he hadn't touched since the night he threw them in. At least he shouldn't have to worry too much for now.
And he ended up not having to worry for a couple of days actually. When Wright wasn't busy helping with the jurist system it was Apollo who had important work to do (or at least making it seem important enough not to be interrupted) or was off to the detention centre to find a client. When it wasn't work, it was Trucy's presence that seemingly made him not start the conversation he really wanted to have (he could feel the insistent stare the man was giving him though).
That morning had been close though. It was one of the rare days where Trucy went to school ('she probably has a test today' Apollo had assumed). This left only him and his boss, making his nervousness raise and avoiding looking at him, all the while Wright looked unsure how to start without scaring him again.
He nearly jumped up when it started to be too much, rearranging some of his paper on his desk, before making sure his phone and wallet were with him. "I'll go see if I can find a client at the detention centre!" He stated, already making his way to the door.
"Apollo I wanted to talk-"
"Office hours!" Apollo replied, feeling a little bad for acting that way. He couldn't be less obvious about running away from the man, but he didn't have the gut nor the heart to have that talk. 'Because you know it will be all over after' something in him murmured.
He didn't believe he would find a defendant when there wasn't really anyone yesterday, but it still stayed a reason to be out of the office. Hence why he wasn't surprised when he still didn't find anyone. Everyone already had a defence attorney (and the one lady who didn't have one yet was lying throughout the whole interview he had with her).
He sighed when he went back into the elevator to get to the ground floor, looking at his phone to see if Trucy had seen his text. He was asking if they needed anything at the office, so he could get it (but since she was at school he doubted she would see the message). He frowned when he felt the elevator was going up, groaning when he realised he had gotten in when it was on its way to a higher floor.
A couple of floors higher he was greeted by detective Skye, which was actually a nice distraction. Before he knew it, she had pulled him in one of her scientific conversations. The start of her explanation about a better way to find fingerprints was interrupted when the elevator stopped a couple of floors lower, the door opening for someone else.
"Mr Edgeworth, good afternoon! How rare to see you take the elevator" the detective greeted, making Apollo tense when he heard the name. He then looked up, only to see that the man was indeed there.
"Good afternoon Ms Skye" the man greeted calmly, still looking at something on his phone, "the stairs are blocked for maintenance" he replied to the later statement. When the man looked up, his gaze locked on Apollo immediately, making the young lawyer freeze even more.
"Good afternoon, Mr Justice" he greeted, stiffly standing in the elevator next to him and Ema. "Good afternoon Mr Edgeworth" he greeted back politely. Seeing the man looking so stiff didn't help Apollo feel more at ease, the feeling worse once Ema's chattering stopped when she got to her floor.
The silence was tense in the small enclosure of the elevator, Apollo trying to avoid looking at the prosecutor as he watched the number slowly count down the floors. He nearly jumped off the elevator when it finally reached the ground floor, his brusque action startling the older man.
"Good day," he greeted quickly, running away before the man could start what he was about to say to him once off the elevator. He made his way to the exit, looking at his phone in the hope that Trucy had probably replied to him. He only stopped once the sound of rain caught his attention, looking up to see it was indeed raining, and pretty hard at that.
He groaned at this news, passing a hand through his hair in frustration. "Of course the day I don't look at the weather it has to rain" he grumbled to himself. He was on foot and the closest bus stop was still a couple of minutes away, not to forget that the office was also not that close to the bus stop. He would either need to wait until it died down or accept that he would finish his day with uncomfortably wet clothes.
"Is everything alright Mr Justice?" He heard behind him, making him tense a little again. He turned to look at Edgeworth, only now noticing the man had brought an umbrella. He offered a little smile to the man, hand going through his hair again "I forgot to bring an umbrella with me, but it's alright I can wait for it to stop before trying to catch a bus" he replied.
The man looked towards the rain, looking a bit unsure "I believe they said it will rain heavily all afternoon" the man warned him. 'Of course, it would be raining heavily all day the one time I do not bring my umbrella' Apollo thought to himself with frustration.
"Would you need a ride?" The man then offered after a moment of silence. Apollo felt like the man was offering simply to be polite, making him unsure of what to really say. "I don't want to bother you, the office isn't exactly close and it is probably not on your way" he politely refused.
"I was actually going to… your office," the man said after a pause, seeming unsure how to call it ('understandable, even I wonder sometimes if I should call it an office or the Wrights house' Apollo thought). This made Apollo hesitate, he was unsure if it would look too cold and rude to refuse if Edgeworth was going to the same place as he did.
Apollo had to think about it a little. In his mind, he was sure the man would think he had something against him personally if he refused (which he truly didn't have anything against the man). Plus it would be rather inconvenient to have to wait if the weather was to be like this for hours and he didn't feel like running under the rain either.
"In that case, I will have to bother you" he ended up accepting with an awkward smile. 'This also means I won't be alone with Wright at the office' Apollo thought. He dared to hope the man wouldn't start a whole interrogation against him if someone else was there. And at worst he hoped that the prosecutor would save him just like he did the last time.
The walk to the car was a bit awkward as he tried standing under the umbrella without entering the other man's personal space too much. Only once he was sat down in the expensive car did he manage (or rather forced) himself to relax now that there was a comfortable space between them.
The silence was a bit uncomfortable, the radio on a low volume the only thing filling it. But the silence was good with Apollo, he had no clue what he would be discussing with the man anyway, nor how he would start the discussion. He ended up closing his eyes, trying to focus instead on the sound of the drops of water hitting the car.
"I am sorry about the other night," the man said halfway to the office as they were waiting for the light to turn green. Apollo frowned a little, looking a bit confused at the sudden apology. It must have been more than a little since the other man continued after a quick glance was thrown his way "We disturbed your work and made you feel distressed".
A quiet "oh" escaped the young attorney, nodding at the clarification, even though he didn't think the man did anything wrong. "There is no need to apologise, you couldn't have known I was still there, I probably surprised you two more than you did me" he replied with a nervous chuckle.
"Still, Phoenix shouldn't have pressed you so much that night and seeing how distressed you were I should have stopped him earlier" the man stated. Apollo wasn't sure what to reply to this, although it was nice to notice these seemed to be what the man really thought, no lies to seem better.
The silence came back afterwards (probably because the older man noticed how awkward he seemed to be), although Apollo did feel a little bit less tense. He wasn't sure what the man thought about him, but at least it didn't seem to be something negative or forced simply because he was Wright's employee.
Once they finally got to their destination Edgeworth allowed him to share the umbrella again, this time the awkward walk being shorter than the previous one. "Um… thank you for the ride, Mr Edgeworth" he offered with a smile. The man returned a polite smile, stating it was no problem for him, before they started to go up the stairs.
"Edgeworth! You couldn't stand the time away from me" Wright immediately called when they entered, Apollo half-hidden behind the man. "You are the one who suggested coming to the office to help you with something and have tea" Edgeworth pointed out. Wright laughed his usual lazy way, before he finally noticed Apollo when he tried sneaking to his desk.
"Oh and look at that Polly is back" he smiled, "how was your visit at the detention centre? Found any client?". Apollo relaxed when the subject immediately went to work, feeling more at ease knowing Wright wasn't going to interrogate him.
"No one" he sighed as he fell back into his chair, a bit exasperated to have no client. "The only person who didn't have an attorney yet was lying throughout the whole meeting, my wrist still feels sore" he explained, seeing from the corner of his eyes the look of confusion in the prosecutor's eyes. "I'll just go back to organising your mess of paper," he said as he stood up again to go to the other side of the room where the filing cabinet was. Away from the couple.
"You are such an angel Polly, I don't know what we would do without you" the man teased, making Apollo blush a little. "I wouldn't need to be your angel if you could stop throwing your documents on the first free surface you see" he replied before sinking back on the ground where he had left piles of documents and papers to be sorted out.
He feared a little that Wright would come to bother him again, yet it never happened. Apparently, the man indeed wanted to discuss something with his lover over a cup of tea ('It's rare to see Mr Wright drink something else than grape juice' Apollo thought to himself). Soon enough the sound of talking was forgotten as the young man fully focused on his work, taking the time to see what each file seemed to be and what the forgotten letters were supposed to be ('Why are there so many bills? I hope he paid those…').
He only stopped to take a break after two hours and a lot of the paper had been sorted out (he was starting the believe that he could probably achieve the task he had given himself). When he stood up he had to help himself with the couch, feeling his legs numb after sitting cross-legged for so long, moving only to get new documents.
He picked up a box filled with documents that needed to be looked over by Wright (and not just forgotten and left aside). He took it to the man's desk, placing it on the corner, taking one last look to make sure everything he had found was in it. To make things easier, he had regrouped with paperclips and rubber bands what seemed to be similar documents, even leaving little notes ("But Polly, how am I suppose to go through this if I don't know what is what?" the man had teased the first time).
"This seems pretty well organised and sorted out" Edgeworth commented after taking a look, "At least someone in this office seems to bother about that" he added with a look towards Wright who chuckled. "If I ever need help should I ask for your help, Mr Justice?" He then asked, the young lawyer unsure if he was joking or not.
He still felt a bit embarrassed at the praise, unused to having his work complimented so directly and without teasing. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, looking aside "I am sure I cannot be that good either, Mr Edgeworth must be much more organised than I will ever be".
"Look at you, trying to steal our Polly away" Wright laughed, "Are you trying to ruin my agency Miles?" he teased. This made the young man roll his eyes a little. As if it would ruin the Wright Anything Agency (or that the prosecutor would actually hire him).
"I doubt the agency would fall without me" Apollo replied, half-joking. He then felt a bit awkward when there was a silence after his remark, making him nervous again. Wright was as unreadable as ever, while a small frown had made its way on Edgeworth's face, making him unsure if he was displeased or worried.
'Good job Justice, you made things awkward with your self-deprecating jokes…'. "I-I'll go take a break now" he smiled awkwardly before running to the kitchen. He cursed himself mentally for doing this all the time, sighing once he was alone again, trying to force himself to relax.
He looked through the cupboard, taking his mug out of it to prepare himself some coffee (the mug a kind-of gift from Wright, which he will never admit aloud that he does find the bunnies on it cute). As he waited for his coffee to be made he couldn't stop himself from pacing around, unable to fully make himself relax.
He had still to get over his broken heart and seeing the two men so close (while knowing they were a couple) was a bit hard. He just needed time, it wasn't something he could just switch off at will. Not to help, he kept being unsure just when Wright would want to torture him again and ask about it.
He was sure he was safe since Edgeworth was here to occupy Wright, yet when he went out with his freshly made coffee, Wright called out to him again. "Apollo, there's something I want to ask you," the man had said, sounding a bit more serious than previously. This immediately put the young man on edge, eyes darting between the two men.
"Offic–"
"Office hours, I know," Wright said before a slightly more smug smirk drew itself on his lips, "But right now you are taking a break, coincidentally I also am on a tea break" he added, showing his half drank cup of tea. 'You nearly always seem to be taking a break' Apollo thought to himself, but decided not to say.
He instead awkwardly stood in the middle of the office, tightly holding his coffee mug while now looking at anything but them. Maybe he could find a reason to run away.
There was a silence, as if Wright was trying to see what he should be asking to get the answer he was looking for. Apollo was wishing him luck to win, he wasn't ready to let him get that easily, not if he could just run away too. Luckily for him, Edgeworth seemed more ready to play mediator this time ('What an uncomfortable position it must be…').
"Apollo… do you have a problem with me dating Miles?" Wright asked.
This confused Apollo to no end, unsure where this was coming from. 'Does he believe I am… against it?'. He was about to ask if he had really understood what he thought the question was about, when he felt it again.
That weighing and suffocating feeling.
And this somehow angered him, making him feel a bit hurt that Wright wouldn't trust his answer alone. "Quit using that!" he said with a frown, "And if you're asking if I am bothered that you are dating a man, my answer is no" he added, looking away again, "I don't understand what makes you think I would be against that".
Apollo wasn't the most open about his sexuality, but in the past months he hadn't been that closed off about it, making hints here and there. Hell, he was pretty sure Trucy had caught onto it, since she would tease him about finding himself a boyfriend (contrary to the girlfriend she used to suggest before). If he had to guess from the flirting that had started a couple of weeks ago, Klavier had also probably figured it out too.
'But maybe he doesn't care enough about you to even notice it in the first place' something in him suggested, making him feel even worse. Of course, there was no reason for him to notice when these hints were never directed to the man. Only to vaguely inform that no, he was not looking for a girl actually, please stop asking.
The answer seemed satisfactory enough, since he was not pressed anymore about it, making him relax just a little bit. Not feeling the effect of the magatama on him also helped him, he hated the idea of someone seeing hints of his secrets (if one could call them that). He knew it was probably hypocritical coming from someone who could pick up people's lies, but it was still not something he fully controlled either.
"Then why did you react that way yesterday?".
And here it was, of course, it couldn't stay on the wildest guess Wright had to his reaction the day before. Of course, the man couldn't be satisfied with that. He had to be Phoenix Wright, digging until he found out everything.
"I was just taken aback," Apollo said, knowing he was very obviously lying to their face. But what would be the point of crafting a good lie anyway? He would be found out about it either way.
"I don't think someone who was just taken aback would have reacted the way you did" Wright pointed out.
"Wow, would you look at that, my break is finished," Apollo said, looking at the time, "office hours are back in session".
"Apollo–" his boss tried to start, only to be cut off immediately as Apollo went back to his pile of work to sort out, not facing them. "I don't want to talk about it, Mr Wright," he said in all honesty, hand gripping harder on his mug, "I don't have anything against you dating Mr Edgeworth, I am quite happy for you if you two are happy together".
And he wasn't lying either. If this meant Wright could be happy, then he would be happy for them. He already doubted he would have had any chance with the man in the first place anyway.
He was proud that his voice didn't waver when he said that, even though he could feel his eyes water a little bit.
Yeah, he was happy for both of them, he just needed a little bit of time to force his feelings away. 'Like this, you won't be a bother and you will be able to still stay by his side…'