It took me a little while to figure out what to do with this chapter, but I managed to pull a short little something off for dear Justicykes.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!

Chapter 3

March 5th, 1:00 PM

Hope Springs Airport

International Terminal

"Ugh…I forgot how noisy airports can be and how many people there are too," Athena grumbled as she pulled her suitcase behind her. "I actually wish I had those old headphones my mom made me." Walking behind her was Apollo, pushing the cart that had all of her luggage in it to be checked in. Glancing over her shoulder, she called out, "Really, Apollo. You didn't have to roll the cart. I could've done it myself."

"Oh, I know you can do it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to help you out. It's the least I can do." That, and making sure I don't accidentally run into something or someone will keep me distracted, and I sure could use a distraction right now.

They both walked up to the check-in area and stood in the slow-moving line, neither one saying a word to the other. Apollo figured his junior partner wasn't in a talking mood due to all of the people around. He certainly didn't want to talk, knowing how she'd instantly pick on his feelings.

Eventually, the couple finally made it to the desk, and Apollo helped to load the luggage off of the cart and onto the platform. As the attendant collected the paperwork from Athena, she smiled at them. "Ah. Are you and your boyfriend going on vacation together? That's cute."

That caused both attorneys to blush brightly and turned away from each other. How does she know we're dating anyway? Is it that obvious?

Athena managed to speak up, despite being flustered. "U-uh, actually, it's just me travelling. I'm going to visit my family."

The attendant nodded her head as she stared at her computer screen. "Ah, I see. You're going for about two or so months, huh?" In the midst of her typing, she briefly glanced up at Apollo, her smile now sympathetic. "I'm sure your boyfriend's going to miss you a lot."

Does the lady have some kind of grudge against me that I'm not aware of?! The older attorney could feel his girlfriend's gaze on him, so he made sure to appear interested in the tiled floor. He decided it was best to tune out the rest of the conversation and only lifted his head up when the attendant wished Athena a nice trip.

"Come on, Apollo. We should walk over to the departure's area." Grabbing a hold of his arm with one of hers and using her free hand to hold onto her rolling bag, Athena led the way.

Why is she in such a rush to leave? Well, I guess it's because she hasn't seen her family in quite a while. That's okay, but… He stopped his train of thought when Athena stopped walking.

Turning around to face him, the yellow-clad attorney checked her boarding pass. "I've got an hour and a half before the flight boards. I'll be spending almost eleven hours of my life on an airplane, flying over the country and over the Atlantic Ocean! It's going to be hard to keep myself occupied during the ride. I mean, it's not like I can jog around the airplane."

Apollo smiled a little at her words, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, which were angled away from Athena. What do I say to her?

"That's odd. Isn't this the time you're supposed to tell me you'll be fine?" She teased lightly, only to frown at his lack of a reaction. "Apollo. It's only for a couple of months. I'll be back before you know it."

"I know that," he mumbled. It's easy for you to say. While you're visiting your family, the most I'll be doing is sitting around the office, missing you. I doubt I'll have any cases either, given how slow things have been lately, and that'll just make me miss you more. It just won't be the same without you.

"You've got Mr. Wright to keep you company. Trucy. And don't forget Iris," she reasoned with him.

"Mr. Wright is definitely going to make me clean the toilet more often, especially since you're not going to be there. Trucy's going to have me be her special magician's assistant, which pretty much means I'm going to be her guinea pig for new tricks, and Iris…well Iris is pretty chill, but you never know."

"Excuses, excuses, Apollo," Athena wagged her finger, smirking. She then placed her hands on her hips, becoming more serious. "I don't need Widget to tell me what your emotions are right now. I didn't even need you to speak to know how you feel either. I'll make sure to stay in touch with you as much as I can, okay? And remember, we can always video chat. Wait. Not can. We will video chat."

"Okay. What time would we do it though?"

"Hm…how about in the afternoon? Maybe around two. It'd be about five o'clock in the morning here." She grinned, adding, "I wouldn't be interrupting your Chords of Steel exercises, would I?"

It was Apollo's turn to smile as he shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I can always delay my Chords of Steel so we can talk."

"You…you'd put off doing your Chords of Steel…just to talk to me bright and early in the morning? Oh Apollo! You're such an awesome boyfriend!" She reached out and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

He had been caught off-guard when she lunged at him, but he nevertheless relaxed into her embrace, returning it wholeheartedly. Her grip became tighter around him, almost reaching the point where Apollo was worried about having his circulation cut off. It's fine though. I should treasure this moment. I'm going to have to wait two months before I can hold her in my arms again.

"Apollo…I'm going to miss you," he heard her whisper quietly into his ear.

For a few seconds, his eyes were wide, but then they softened. Of course, she was just as upset as Apollo was, even though she'd worked hard not to show it. Patting her back, he replied, "I'll miss you too, Athena." Pulling away but keeping his arms around her waist, he added, "But you'll be fine, and I'll be fine too."

"You're right. I'm Athena Cykes, and I'm fine. More importantly, you're Apollo Justice, and you're fine. We'll both be fine." Her blue eyes stared intently into his brown ones, and Apollo could feel his cheeks heat up as she leaned in closer to him and pressed her lips lightly against his own.

"Ewww! That boy's going to get cooties from that girl!" A little kid cried out beside them, pointing his finger at the couple. Almost positive he was referring to them, the two lawyers pulled away and watched as the child's parents led him away.

Athena frowned. "What a rude kid. As if I have cooties."

"More like as if there's such a thing as cooties," Apollo corrected her, not too pleased about having their kiss ended abruptly.

An automated message came through the intercom. "Attention. This announcement is for all passengers going on the iFly Airlines flight to London. All passengers are asked to proceed through security and go to the gate. Again, this announcement is for all passengers going on the iFly Airlines flight to London. All passengers are asked to proceed through security and go to the gate. Thank you."

"That's my flight." She took hold of her suitcase handle once more. "Take care of yourself, Apollo. And take good care of our Wright Anything Agency family. Oh, and if you get the chance, keep an eye on Simon for me, okay?"

"I can definitely do those first two parts. As for keeping an eye on Prosecutor Blackquill…" Someone should really keep an eye on me. With Athena being out of the country, who knows what Blackquill will try to do to me? I still don't think he's too pleased with me dating Athena…

"Just make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. How's that?" She compromised.

"That's fine."

She nodded and then stood in place. She needs to go. "Athena." She didn't respond, so he spoke louder. "Athena." When she lifted her head, he noticed her downcast eyes and smiled gently. "You need to go. You have a flight to board."

"I know. Bye…Apollo."

"Bye Athena. Have a great trip." The attorney watched as his girlfriend walked in the directions of the gates, until she finally got swallowed into the crowd of travelers.

Wait! I forgot to tell her, and…now it's too late to say it. After a few moments of hesitation though, the attorney clenched his fists, shut his eyes, and shouted at the top of his longs, "I LOVE YOU!" He opened his eyes, sighing as he ignored the few stares of passers-by. Great. I just made myself look like a crazy person. I bet she didn't even hear me. He turned around to walk towards the exit when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw it was a text message from Athena. He couldn't help the huge, goofy grin that spread across his lips.

"I love you too."

My fellow Justicykers, I feel as if I have failed you in delivering a fluffy chapter, not to mention this is super short. I apologize and give you permission (encourage you, really) to utilize your Chords of Steel to voice your opinions and make yourselves be known and heard. I'll try my best to add some more Justicykes into the story, although I can't promise a lot. On another note, an actual investigation's coming up in the next chapter, so there's something to look forward to! Thanks for reading!