Athena stared at the man for a moment. She couldn't believe her eyes! Apollo Justice, who had stayed behind in Khura'in two years before, was now standing before her.

"A-Apollo? W-what are you-? When did-?"

Apollo, however, interrupted the girl. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. And I promise I'll answer them all. But first," The horned attorney held up the bottle of wine. "I have a promise to keep, and only a few minutes left to do so. So, mind if I come in."

"Oh, uh, y-yeah. Sure!" Athena motioned for the man to come inside. Apollo made his way to the couch, Athena following suit. He set the two glasses on the coffee table and reached into his pocket, producing a cork remover. He quickly pulled the cork from the wine and poured a half glass of wine for each of them, handing a glass to the girl.

"Happy birthday, Tiger." He said, a sincere smile on his face as the two clinked glasses and took a sip.

"Mmmm," Athena sounded as the drink slid down her throat. "That's really good."

Apollo chuckled softly. "Well, I would hope so. Nahyuta did recommend the most expensive vintage he could think of that wouldn't bankrupt me."

"Oh, Prosecutor Sadmadhi helped you pick this out? Somehow, I can't imagine him drinking." Athena said as she took another sip.

"You mean, CHIEF Prosecutor Sadmadhi." Apollo corrected.

"He got promoted to CHIEF prosecutor? Holy cow!"

Apollo looked down at his glass of wine and smiled. "Yeah, as you can imagine, once lawyers started coming back to Khura'in, Payne didn't last long as Chief Prosecutor. I hear he may have fled to Borginia now."

The two shared a laugh together. The first in what felt like an eternity. Finally, a heavy silence fell over the room. An uncomfortable silence that Athena broke after several minutes.

"So, how long are you in town for this time?" She asked sadly.

"Actually…" He began. "I'm back for quite a while. Things are finally starting to calm down over in Khura'in, what with lawyers moving their practices to help with the establishment of the new legal system. I think I may be able to start actually considering moving back to the states."

"Really!? That's great!" Athena cried with unmasked enthusiasm.

"Now, calm down, Tiger. I'm not coming back just yet. This visit essentially just for some r & r. I've finally managed to catch up on my massive case load. So I left Datz in charge for a few weeks while I take a breather."

"You left DATZ in charge?! Are you sure that's a good idea!?"

Apollo laughed at the girl's reaction. "You'd actually be surprised. He's really been a huge help in re-establishing the legal system. He even earned his own badge. Said he wanted to follow in Dhurke's footsteps."

"Wow, Datz Are'bal Ace Attorney, huh? Never thought I'd say that."

"Well, Ace is going a bit far. But he's getting the hang of it. He finally stopped throwing firecrackers at witnesses."

Athena snorted with laughter at the thought of the rebel tossing explosives at people to get them to confess.

The two continued to talk. About Khura'in, about life in general, about their friends, and about their families. All the while, the amount of wine in the bottle dwindled more and more until Athena shook the bottle to get that last drop of the sweet nectar.

"Aw, nutsh." Athena slurred. "We're all out, 'Pollo."

"Really? Thatsh no good. We needa get shome more." Apollo said as he shakily got on his feet.

"But itsh Sunday. Can't buy alcohol. Maybe we should jusht go ta bed."

Apollo hiccupped. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Mind if I crash on your couch?"

"Mmmmm," Athena groaned. "If ya think can get back to it after ya take me to my room."

"Whaaat? When did I agree to that?"

"When you came here and got me drunk. Now get movin' bushter."

Apollo groaned and moved to carry the girl bridal style to her room.

"Ow! Watch it! There's a wall there!"

"Sorry, can barely even stand right now."

"Alright, left here."

"Ow!"

"I said left!"

"I went left!"

After arguing for several minutes, the two finally managed to make it to the bedroom, where Apollo placed her as carefully as he could on the bed.

"Alright. Guessh I'll see ya in the morning, 'Thena." Apollo turned to leave the room, when Athena suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Uh uh. Stay." She pleaded.

"Huh?"

"Stay here. Please?" The girl asked in a cute voice.

Apollo stared at the girl for a moment before smiling. "Of course."

The man carefully laid on the bed and once he was comfortable, Athena nuzzled into his chest.

"I missed you."

Apollo wrapped his arms around the girl and closed his eyes, letting sleep begin to overtake him. "I missed you too."