A/N: The thing about people is that internal issues don't just go away, more so when they aren't acknowledged. So it goes in this chapter, I'll just get this chapter started without any other words. It's time for femslash!

Chapter 14: The art of self-reflection

December 22, 2030

Newman-Woods residence, bedroom

10:30 a.m.

Robin slowly roused herself to find out she had been moved to the bedroom at one point. She smiled to herself, knowing that it had been Juniper that had done it.

Still in a tired haze, she couldn't help but think on how truly selfless Juniper was, and what a radiant person that made her. There was a time in their relationship, though, when even that wasn't enough to rescue Robin from herself….

May 3, 2028

Location: Themis Legal Academy, Room 176

Time: 11:15 a.m.

"Ms. Newman, please cease humming. You are disturbing your classmates."

Robin stopped focusing from her notes to find that indeed she had been humming softly to herself, and looking around revealed that some of her classmates had become rather irritated with her.

"Eh heh heh heh. Sorry everyone," Robin said sheepishly. "I'll be more mindful of everyone around me, I promise!"

The teacher glared repremindily at Robin for a few more seconds before letting up and turning his attention back the class at large.

Robin herself went back to taking notes on the lecture, only this time while trying to consciously make sure she didn't start humming again.

Near the end of the class the teacher had an announcement to make.

"In only a few weeks Themis Legal Academy will be having it's final exams. I imagine this is a stressful time for most students, most especially the third years, as these tests will be the final obstacle between them and the wider legal world. But do not fear, for as long as you maintain the teachings we professors have imparted, then the exams should not pose any problems."

Most of the class looked deeply apprehensive at this news, but Robin was already packing her stuff and had subconsciously started humming under her breath again.

May 3, 2028

Location: Themis Legal Academy, Justitia's Cafe

Time: 1:32 p.m.

This hadn't actually been the first time something like this had happened, although it was the first time it had happened at school. As of late Robin had been given to just bursting into bubbly waves of cheeriness. Everything around her made her happy, and things that normally

brought her down like the reprimand she had just received slid right off of her.

At the moment Robin was munching on some homemade lunch from Juniper, with Juniper herself snuggled up comfortably against Robin, napping. Ever since the two had exchanged love confessions during the sleepover a couple of weeks ago. their relationship had been reenergized, with plenty of spontaneous kisses or the two of just cuddling up against each other like right now. Needless to say, it was the primary reason why Robin was in a near perpetual good mood recently.

"You two are starting to make my skin crawl," Myriam muttered under her breath.

Robin completely ignored Myriam's complaint, off into her own little world.

"I'd think you of all people would be happier about this," Hugh said, grinning a bit smugly. "Since you got to have the exclusive on us you've always wanted, and the newspaper club has definitely seen a lot of new members because of it."

Myriam shifted uncomfortably in her box. "That's true, sss sss sss. I'm just starting to wonder if it's worth being around this. It's so schmaltzy I think I might go into shock."

"Oh, sorry about that then…." Juniper said sleepily as she roused herself. She kissed Robin softly on the lips before she turned to Hugh and Myriam.

"You don't have to apologize, Juniper," Robin said hurriedly.

"No, we were being rude to her," Juniper said. "We want Myriam to feel welcome being around us."

Hugh and Robin shared a glance that said the same thing; Juniper, and only Juniper, would worry about making someone feel welcome when that someone tried to get her sent to jail.

But then, her thoughtfulness is just one of the many reasons I love her, Robin thought to herself.

Out loud she said, "So did you have something you wanted to say, Myriam?"

"I was wondering why Juniper's so tired," Myriam admitted. "The bags around her eyes are less than flattering, sss sss sss."

"Oh that," Juniper said, rubbing said eyes. "A couple weeks ago I was given a very important task, and on top of my regular coursework I've don't have as much time to rest as I would like."

Robin, of course, knew exactly what Juniper was talking about and so hugged her close. "Well, feel free to nap on me again if you really need to, o-k-a-y?"

"And be more mindful of your health," Hugh added. "I understand that sometimes one must manage with a less than ideal schedule, but don't let it overwhelm you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Juniper said. "Thank you for worrying about me, Hugh."

"That reminds me," Robin spoke up abruptly. "Do you have to work today, Hugh? Like say, after school?"

"Unfortunately I do have a shift that will keep me busy for the rest of the day. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, that's too bad," Robin said, disappointed. "Klavier wanted me to find someone to debate against for an exercise he's going to run me through today. Although, he did say he would find someone if I couldn't. Juniper, do you know if Athena or Apollo are free?"

"Um...Thena is going to be on a date with Ema today, and I think Apollo said he was going to be busy with something."

The disappointed feeling grew. Robin supposed that whoever Klavier managed to find would be good company, but she much prefered to be around her friends.

"I could be your debate partner," Juniper said, seeing the expression on Robin's face.

"Klavier already thought of that," Robin said. "What was it he said? 'Feel free to bring Ms. Woods as moral support, but not as your opponent. We wouldn't want you two to forget to actually debate with each other, ja?'"

"Then I'll be your moral support," Juniper said. "You'll be facing against someone you don't know, right? So I want to be there."

"Sure, I'll be happy to have you there!" Robin responded, overjoyed that Juniper would at least be with her.

All of a sudden her stomach lurched horribly.

The feeling didn't last for more than a few seconds, but Robin couldn't explain where it had suddenly come from or why she felt this way.

The rest of the day was less cheerful.

May 3, 2028

Location: Newman Residence, garage

Time: 6:41 p.m.

"Robin, where are you? Robin- oh, there you are."

Diana Newman poked her head into the garage to see her daughter working on a giant statue, which appeared to be of the Lady Justice. Yet there were a few details that seemed off, such as the fact that the statue had long hair.

"This statue….you're modeling it after the late Art Club Advisor, right? Professor Courte?"

Robin started at the sound of her mother's voice, almost toppling off the stool she had been sitting on.

"Oh hey Mom," Robin said. "No, this is a statue that the school is having me make for the graduation. Its of the Lady-"

Then she looked over her handiwork and realized she had indeed begun the shape it in Courte's image at some point.

"I guess you must be troubled if you're thinking about your teacher," Diana said. "Mind telling me what it is?"

"It's nothing!" Robin shouted as she smashed the statue into pieces. "I mean- I have been thinking about her more with graduation approaching, but I don't think it's anything beyond that. Did you want something, Mom?"

Diana narrowed her eyes at her daughter but decided not to say anything else, at least for now.

"Prosecutor Gavin's here to pick you up," she said. "So clean up your mess before you leave."

Robin swept up all the statue shards then cleaned herself up. On her way out of the garage, however, her Mom spoke up one more time.

"Whatever this nothing is that's on your mind," she said. "I'm guessing has to do with what Ms. Courte might have thought of you. Am I right?"

"What makes you think that?" Robin asked, genuinely confused on this point.

"I'm your mom," Diana said. "I can see it on your face. You know, I was the one that convinced Ricky to let you stay at the Art Club. We both initially thought it would be nothing but a waste of time. But then I met Professor Courte, and I knew that this woman would be someone I could trust to watch over you."

Robin was rendered completely speechless by her Mom's insight.

"Looks like you'll be needing more statue clay," she continued. "I'll pick some up at the store. But this month's budget is tight so I'm not sure how much I can get….."

Diana Newman left the garage as she continued to mull over her shopping list, leaving her daughter alone with nothing but her thoughts.

Just what was it that was eating away at her so badly, and why?

May 3, 2028

Location: Prosecutor's building, Klavier Gavin's office

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Robin's good mood from the beginning of the day had taken quite a beating, but was still going strong. After all, all setbacks had been minor ones, and she was ending off the day spending it with Juniper and Klavier Gavin.

With this mental track Robin was smiling once again when she entered Klavier's office.

"Ah, hello there Frauleins," Klavier said. "Welcome to my office. But for you, Robin, it's going to be a battlefield very soon. So before our special guest gets here I'll warm things up for him."

With that Klavier picked up one of his guitars and began to shred away at it, much to Juniper and Robin's amusement. Still, Robin couldn't help but wonder who was going to show up to debate with her.

"I'm here, Prosecutor Gavin. So what was- what are you two doing here?"

Wait- that voice!

Apollo Justice entered the room, looking as confused as Robin felt. He was dressed in his casual outfit of a brown jacket, white shirt, and jeans. On his left wrist was his ever-present bracelet, while on his right wrist was one of Robin's friendship bands.

"Hello Apollo," Juniper said cheerfully. "Is this that important task you told me you were going to be on?"

"It was," Apollo confirmed, now looking exasperated. "At least Gavin played it up like something important. I probably should have seen this coming considering it's him."

Klavier chuckled lightly. "You wound me, Herr Forehead. For your information, I called you here to put Fraulein Newman here through her paces. Tell me what could be more important than training a bright young mind?"

Apollo didn't say anything but was still clearly irritated at having been played by Klavier. Juniper and Robin were left baffled by the exchange.

"Are those two always like this?" Juniper asked, concerned.

Robin opened her mouth to answer the question, only to quickly realize she didn't have an answer ready. Of all the people in her life she called her friend she knew Apollo the least. The main source of this was this was that she didn't hang around with him that often; he was either on a case or running some errand. The last time she had even seen Apollo in person was at the celebration meal after her trial several months ago.

Robin knew next to nothing about Apollo. This fact caused her gut to churn horribly much like earlier today, and likewise she couldn't figure out why.

"Wait, but if Apollo was the guy you had in mind why didn't you tell me?" she asked Klavier. "I wouldn't have gone looking for someone if I knew it was him."

"I was wondering how you would react if given the choice," he explained. "Between falling back on the familiar ground or diving into the unknown. Not that there is anything wrong with the desire for familiarity."

"So now what happens?" Juniper asked.

"Mr. Justice and Ms. Newman will have the debate as planned," Klavier said. "I will give Robin a question, and she will have a minute to come up with her best performance, after which Mr. Justice will give a rebuttal. And while I will give my thoughts on both answers, victory isn't the point of this exercise. And you, Fraulein Woods, have a front row seat to this show. Although I distinctly remember saying you couldn't participate in the debate."

"Well I wanted to cheer Robin on," Juniper said as she took a seat and got started on some school work she had brought with her. "So I came along. I didn't have anything to do that I couldn't set aside for her."

Normally this would make Robin happy, but this time the horrible feeling inside Robin flared up, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Apollo suddenly grip his bracelet as he looked in Robin's direction.

Having Juniper here isn't a bad thing, Robin thought to herself. She looked over to Juniper, and the sight of her did indeed lift her spirits a bit. But it didn't make the feeling entirely go away, either.

"Achtung, baby!" Klavier declared. "I hope you're both prepared, because here comes the question: Imagine, if you will, that on the course of your job a young fraulein comes up to you and begs you for help; someone close to her has just been arrested. But a cursory glance of the situation tells you that the accused is truly guilty of the crime in question. So how do you move forward from here? Frauleins first, so you have one minute to come up with an answer, Robin."

Only one minute to come up with an answer? That's not very fair! Robin thought to herself. Klavier's scenario is very vague, but I think he did that intentionally because the point isn't about winning- it's about what I would do.

"Time's up. Hit us with your best shot!"

"Well something about this stinks," Robin said quickly, speaking the first thing that came to mind. "If this lady really wanted save someone, why talk to a Prosecutor? Why not go to a defense attorney? Coupled with the fact that this hypothetical investigation is already looking bad for the defendant, and I'd wonder if they were aiming more for a reduced sentence than a full acquittal."

"I see…..excellent answer, Fraulein Robin. Mr. Justice, do you have your rebuttal ready?" Klavier said.

"Hope you're ready, Robin, because here comes Justice!" Apollo said, evidently now in the spirit of debate.

Apollo put his index finger to his forehead. "You wouldn't be wrong to think that the situation is indicative of the defendant's guilt. But why wouldn't either the defendant or their lady have a defense attorney? If it were me I would look to see if someone is trying their hardest to make the false charges stick!"

"Well that might make sense to y-o-u," Robin said, her posture relaxed and her tone playful and teasing. "But cases like that always end up at your agency, right? Since everyone there has a reputation of turning around impossible cases. So if a defendant, or someone representing them, came to me before going to you I'd be really suspicious."

"Not necessarily," Apollo said as he crossed his arms, his own tone confident, in fact almost smug. "If say for example, the lady in Klavier's scenario was only pretending to care about the defendant while actually trying to get the defendant found guilty, that would be a different story!"

"Ahhh!" Robin shouted in surprise. "Well if that's the case, what's to stop me from talking to the defendant themselves? A little questioning could make that story fall apart pretty quickly."

"That's only if the defendant's story isn't exactly the same," Apollo countered. "That's one of the first things they teach you in law school- only have one tale to tell!"

"Eh heh heh heh. But that explanation doesn't explain why," Robin said. "It could be like you've suggested. But it could also be because they know that the defendant committed the crime for the a reason, so the confession could be an attempt atone."

"Grrr. Well, what if the defendant-"

""Enough!"

Klavier walked in between Apollo and Robin, looking really pleased.

"Ack, the temperature in this room is something else," Klavier commented. "As much as I'd love to let you two continue, if I did I fear something's going to combust."

"I don't think you have to go that far," Apollo quipped. "But that was pretty fun."

"It was a BLLAAAAAASST!" Robin shouted, feeling very cathartic. "But I'm sure I would have had you if we'd just gone a little longer."

"Um, did you miss the part where winning wasn't the point of this?" Apollo asked.

Klavier and Juniper began laughing.

"As I thought, you two just can't help but clash," Klavier teased lightly. "Herr Forehead, are you sure you and Fraulein Newman aren't related?"

"This year I've already discovered that Trucy is the half-sister I never knew about and found my birth mom," Apollo said, suddenly serious again. "I don't think I could take another revelation."

When did all this happen? Robin wondered, unexpectedly confronted once again with how little she knew about him.

"Oh right," Juniper said quietly. "I do remember you being gone a lot this year over what you called personal issues."

Even Klavier seemed to realize that this was a sore subject, as he dropped it and instead turned his attention back to Robin.

"Hopefully this was a learning experience for you," he said. "There is no one "right" perspective to a problem. So don't be afraid of seeing a different view of things."

May 3, 2028

Location: Newman Residence, front door

Time: 8:15 p.m.

When Robin had woken up this morning she had been happy and optimistic about the day ahead. Now at the end of the day, that feeling had been replaced by a pit in her stomach, one she still couldn't explain.

The only reason she wasn't feeling thoroughly miserable was because of Juniper, who was seeing her off at Robin's house.

"I think you did really well today," she said. "Watching you and Apollo felt like watching a real trial."

When Robin didn't respond right away Juniper made sure she had her girlfriend's attention before saying,

"And don't think I didn't notice how torn up you were. I wanted to be there, so you don't need to worry about me falling behind my work."

"Well it wasn't so much that," Robin explained, feeling relieved to finally have some kind of reason to attach to her funk today. "I remembered how you weren't getting enough sleep, and yet here I am keeping you up."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine," Juniper said. She kissed Robin on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too!"

The warm feeling from this exchange chased away the blues long enough for Robin to go back inside, reassured.

Surely there's nothing wrong that we can't fix together, she thought to herself.

December 22, 2030

Newman-Woods residence, bedroom

10:53 a.m.

That train of thought hadn't exactly been wrong. But back then Robin had danced around the true source of her insecurities, and how it was connected to such questions as how Apollo was related to it, why it made her think of Professor Courte, or even why even Juniper couldn't completely help her.

They often said ignorance was bliss. But if Robin had been willing to probe into herself sooner a lot of heartache would have been saved in the long run.

A/N: Next chapter is not only the Arc 3 finale, but is also the end of the entire first half of this story. It will take a while for me write the whole thing, but I'll make sure it is the best possible chapter(s). Until then, this has been Orion Fowl and thank you for visiting my corner of Romance.