This one turned out a little differently to what I had originally planned but I'm still pretty happy with it. Set after DD. Enjoy!
Simon Blackquill was no stranger to deceit and betrayal. They were two things that had followed him throughout his life. His family had abandoned him, his friends rarely stayed around for long, the law had turned against him, even God- or whatever holy deity that may or may not exist up there- seemed to constantly turn a blind eye to him. But this was something he could never have been prepared for. Detective Bobby Fulbright- no, The Phantom- lay on the ground, right in front of Simon's eyes. He stared, unable to move his gaze from the man's shadowed face. Everything he had known about him was a lie- everything he had told him, all that he had shown him. It was all a lie. And for some reason, that shook Simon to the very core. Trust was not something that came easily to him, yet somehow he had found himself trusting Fulbright. How cruelly ironic was it that the one person he had found himself wholeheartedly trusting in longer than he could remember was the one person to completely betray him. As he stared at the shadowed face of the man he thought he had known, memories flashed through his mind. How could he have done this? Why? That's really all Simon wanted to know; why? Had there even been a reason at all?
Everyone in the courtroom was slowly ushered out, himself included. But he kept his eyes focused on the body laying on the floor until the very last moment. He managed to keep himself away from the majority of the crowd as they surrounded Phoenix Wright; the hero of the hour, of course. But it couldn't last and eventually, Athena found him sitting by himself on the steps outside the courthouse. Although, he definitely wasn't hiding. Samurais don't hide.
"Simon, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere" Athena called out, jogging down the steps towards him. Simon looked over his shoulder towards her but still couldn't bring himself to smile despite how cheerful and well-meaning she was being. In truth, he just wanted to be left alone. But he could never turn away Athena, no matter how much he may have wanted to. She sat down beside him and smiled brightly.
"What are you doing out here anyway?" Athena asked him but the smile on her face fell as soon as Simon didn't answer her. She shuffled a little closer to him and linked her arm with his but said nothing else. She didn't try to push him for an answer which may have been why, after a few minutes, Simon found himself opening up to her anyway.
"I trusted him, Athena. I believed in every word he said to me and look where that got me" Simon finally admitted, looking down at his hands as they lay motionless in his lap.
"That's not your fault. How were you supposed to know who he truly was?" Athena instantly reassured him.
"I should have known. I should have seen right through him. But I didn't" Simon sighed, glancing over at Athena's worried face.
"You couldn't have known who he was any more than we could, Simon. He fooled us all" Athena said, nudging their shoulders together gently. A few more minutes of silence passed by before Athena suddenly stood. Simon looked up to see her hand offered down to him. Slowly he reached up, held her hand in his, and pulled himself up to standing. Athena kept hold of his hand as she gently pulled him forwards and led him back into the courthouse. He followed her obligingly and soon they turned a corner and were faced with Phoenix who smiled upon seeing them.
"I was just about to come look for you, Athena. Everyone's going down to the burger place down the road and I figured you'd probably want in" Phoenix explained and Athena's eyes lit up.
"Sure thing, boss!" Athena replied. Simon was never strictly speaking invited but it seemed no one minded him tagging along anyway despite how quiet he was being.
Slowly the days rolled into weeks and Simon's mind finally began to accept what had happened. He'd kept himself locked in his office and had even turned down any cases offered to him. Which was why it came as such a surprise when Simon arrived at his office one day to find a letter tucked under the door. He picked it up cautiously and turned it over in his hands several times before finally opening it. The letter was an invitation to a rocket launch at Cosmos Space Centre. Specifically, a rocket launch carrying Solomon Starbuck which in itself surprised Simon. How could he have the courage to return to space so soon after what had happened to him? Starbuck was facing his greatest fear mere weeks after the death of his friend and yet Simon couldn't even bring himself to leave his office most days. He sighed and pulled his hands over his face. He read through the letter one last time before making up his mind. With a determined look on his face, he opened the door to his office and strode outside. As he walked out, his receptionist glanced up at him with a curious expression.
"Find me a case" Simon requested and her eyes lit up instantly.
"Of course" she replied with a smile and Simon found himself smiling back. It was time to stop dwelling on the past, and finally begin moving forward into the future.