A/N: Sorry this took so long. I was procrastinating, haha. So, as promised, this is the original version for the final chapter of this short little story. I had a hell of a lot of trouble cleaning this thing up, despite its short length. This thing has a lot of problems, which is why I changed the idea for the final chapter completely, but I'll admit I still have a bit of a soft spot for this version. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ace Attorney.

This picks up from where Chapter 3 left off...

Trucy stared up at Nick, shock clearly etched on her face. "I... I gotta go," she muttered hastily, fumbling with the doorknob. She hurried inside and disappeared from view as the door slammed shut in Nick's face, leaving him stung and chagrined. On the other side, Trucy leaned wearily against the doorpost. The edges of the brooch that Nick had given her cut painfully into her hand as she automatically tightened her grip on the symbolic gift.

Nick began walking slowly back to his apartment. The part of him that was scared to tell Trucy his feelings whispered the four harsh little words in his mind.

I told you so.

-o-

On Monday morning, Trucy arrived in front of her locker to find that Nick was already there, staring at the ceiling, his school bag slung sloppily over his shoulder as always. Hesitantly, Trucy said, "Nick... About Saturday night..."

Nick gazed unwaveringly at Trucy's hat, unwilling, for once, to look into her eyes. "Yeah," he said heavily. "I get it. Look, let's not talk about it, alright?"

Trucy nodded. A chill swept over Nick's chest.

Over the next week, things settled back into routine. Trucy and Nick acted as if Saturday night had never happened. The subtle changes in their relationship, however, pierced Nick's heart like icicles. Such as how they were careful to keep at least a few inches of space between them, how quickly they looked away whenever their eyes locked, how there were times when the air between them hung heavy with unsaid words...

When Nick shut his eyelids, all he could see were Trucy's striking blue eyes. Eyes that he were now afraid to look at.

Every night, as he lay in his small bed, he thought of that evening, that dance, that kiss. And he felt the bitter taste of regret sitting in his mouth, making his tongue feel like sandpaper no matter how much water he gulped down.

He wondered if it was possible for someone to die of unrequited love.

-o-

The familiar music of the Steel Samurai theme song began blaring in Nick's dark bedroom. Groaning, Nick rolled over on his bed and fumbled around his bedside table for his cell phone, the source of the accursed noise. Who the hell would be calling at this time of night?

"Hello?" he mumbled groggily as he placed the phone next to his ear.

An achingly familiar voice answered him. "N-Nick?"

"Trucy?" Nick said, startled.

"Yeah, it's me," she responded. She didn't say any more. Neither did Nick. The faint buzzing of the telephone filled their ears.

"...What's up?" Nick finally asked. "It's," he glanced at his digital alarm clock, "one in the morning. Not exactly the best time to talk..."

"I know," said Trucy. "But... Daddy's out of town for the night. And... I'm scared."

"Of what?" Nick asked, stifling a yawn.

"Of being all alone."

The next thing Nick was aware of, he was fully clothed and inside the Wright Anything Agency, the night sky outside pitch-black. How the hell did I get myself into this mess? This was the only thought running through his mind. Just a few weeks ago, he had suffered the sting of rejection from his best friend. And now, here Trucy was, in his arms...

...sleeping with him.

Only in the most literal sense, unfortunately. They were squished on Trucy's small couch, with her snoring away and Nick wide awake and painfully aware of Trucy's small warm body curled up against his chest.

You're an idiot, Nick told himself. Look at where your pathetic little crush got you, Nicholas. You're a total sucker for her. You mean little more than nothing to her, but you'd do anything she asks of you without a second thought.

"Why did you call me?" Nick remembered asking earlier, before Trucy was asleep. "Why didn't you call Apollo?"

"I... I did," she had admitted, looking away. "But he wasn't answering his phone."

In other words, Nick had realized bitterly, I'm her last resort.

Nick's eyes traced the soft planes of Trucy's sleeping face. He was her last resort. And yet, still, here he was. He had come. He had stayed. Despite knowing that Trucy wasn't in any real danger. Despite knowing that she had only called him because everyone else was busy. Despite knowing that Trucy would never hold it against him if he chose not to go.

Despite knowing that Trucy didn't like him in the way that he so desperately wanted her to.

Despite all that, Nick was still here. And despite all the bitter thoughts snaking into Nick's mind, he dismissed each of them as they came. Nick didn't understand Trucy's fears. He doubted someone like him ever would. But he knew that he wouldn't leave Trucy, wouldn't not help her when she sounded so lonely and scared. No matter how she felt about him, she was still his best friend.

And he would still act as her best friend, whether she thought of him as such or not.

With Trucy - warm and unguarded and asleep as she was - in his arms, he couldn't help but feel trusted by her. And it felt good, being trusted. Nick was unable to sleep in the position he was in, but throughout the remainder of the long night he was content with concentrating on Trucy's warmth and her light breathing, and the mental image of Phoenix's face if he could see what his daughter was doing at that moment.

Sunlight penetrated the office, indicating the arrival of the early morning. Trucy slowly opened her eyelids, and the first thing she saw was a pair of chestnut brown eyes. Nick's eyes. Nick did not avert his gaze from hers. He knew why he had been scared to look into Trucy's bright blue eyes for the past few weeks. He was afraid he would find pity in them.

But he wasn't afraid anymore.

Trucy's lips curved into a small smile before she sat up, pulling away from her friend. Nick let go of her, but he was surprisingly not reluctant to do so. He decided to trust in Trucy, trust that although that morning he was letting her go, someday she would find her own way back into his waiting arms. In the meantime, he would be her best friend, and of course she would be his.

And maybe, for now, that was enough.

So now you probably have a lot of questions (e.g. why Trucy's scared, why Phoenix would leave Trucy home alone, why this chapter is so sappy and cheesy, etc.) but I didn't want to shift the focus of this chapter to the tiny details, okay? And wow, this chapter definitely didn't match the mood of the other chapters..

Anyways, I'm surprised I got five whole chapters (albeit extremely short ones) out of this random little thing. For any of you still reading, I'd like to say thank you! I hope you enjoyed reading this short little story as much as I did writing it. It's not even ten thousand words haha. But anyways, drop a review and tell me what you think (please?) And tell me, which ending did you like better?

THANKS FOR READING! :)