Another paper was placed on the growing pile on her desk as she read, reviewed and signed what was most likely the fiftieth document that day. There wasn't much else to do but catch up on paperwork since most of their recent cases had been quick and simple, mostly false larceny charges that were easily defended in one day. She considered taking a break, but with the unfinished pile sitting to her left still being larger than the finished pile to her right, she decided to press on to get the painfully boring desk work done in one sitting.

Paperwork wasn't the most thrilling part of her job, but it was never unbearable. Not with Apollo at his own desk across the room. They would go about whatever tasks they had that day while chatting back and forth, generally just enjoying each other's company. She would joke around to keep their moods up, hoping that one of the things she said would make him smile. She even managed to make him laugh sometimes. Whenever he came into work all serious and stiff, she was unable to resist the urge to tease him. Whenever he was in one of those moods, poking a little fun his way guaranteed he'd cast her an exasperated, disapproving look and she'd see that little V shape his brow. She'd just return his scowl with the biggest smile she had, and it wouldn't be long before he would relax and smile back. It always loosened him up and put him in better spirits, which was why she did it in the first place.

She laid her pen down on the desk and leaned back in her chair. She placed her hands in her lap and let out a sigh, staring down at the unsigned paper on the desk without really seeing it. The late afternoon sun shone through the office windows, bathing the whole room in a soft yellow light. Her eyes followed the soft rays to the other side of the room. Being on the side without windows, the other side of the room dimmed as the setting sun's rays were no longer able to reach it. Her eyes followed the beams to their end, where what little light was left illuminated Apollo's desk. Even with the low light making it hard to see, she still felt the sting in her chest when her eyes landed on nothing but an empty desk.

The bare desktop was a reminder that he was no longer here. She watched as the dust particles floated through the air, reflecting the setting sun as they gently fell onto the untouched desk, further emphasizing its lack of use. The pang in her chest only grew as she watched the dust land one by one, as if counting how long it had been since he'd been gone. How long it had been since she'd seen him, how long it had been since their chats made the most boring parts of their job the highlight of her day. Now that it was just her performing these little tasks, she was constantly reminded of his absence as she worked alone in the quiet, empty office.

She leaned her head back and looked toward the ceiling, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. Without him there to fill the most boring parts of the day, time seemed to slow, making the time he'd been gone seem even longer. Seeing him every day had become one of the few predictable, comfortable parts of her life. Knowing he would be there when she walked into the office, ready to disapprove of her teasing and try to reign her in when he felt she was behaving too 'unprofessionally.' She'd become so accustomed to these daily activities that she'd become dependent on them to keep up her own good spirits. It was the best reminder of all the good she had, which in turn helped keep away all the things she'd rather not think about. After he left, their daily interactions had been reduced to an occasional call over a speakerphone, seeing as he was too far away to see them in person. It was the best way for everyone to check in with each other and catch up, though it paled in comparison to seeing each other every day. After a month and a half without seeing him and only hearing his voice about twice a week, she wondered how she hadn't lost her sanity.

A small clicking sound reached her ears, sounding rather loud in the quiet room. The light beyond her closed eyes suddenly brightened, making her open them to look. On the other side of the room stood her boss, looking sharp as ever in his clean blue suit, his finger still on the light switch by the doorway he stood in. He gave her a friendly grin, like he found her position amusing. "You know, paperwork is easier to work on when there's enough light to see it."

She returned his smile, happy to see another face in the empty room. "Yeah. Sorry about that, boss. I was just taking a little breather." In truth, turning the light on never really occurred to her. Her desk being the closest to the window, it retained natural lighting for longer than any other part of the room. Since the other side of the room would start to dim first, it was Apollo who usually turned the light on in order to see his own desk. Without him there, she just never thought to turn the light on herself.

He moved his finger away from the light switch and put his hand into his jacket pocket as he approached her desk. "A breather's always a good idea. Keeps the mind fresh and keeps productivity up."

"Yep!" She sat up straight in her chair and flashed him a wide grin. A friendly chat with her boss was just what she needed to cheer her up after a day of working alone in the office. "This is the last stack of paperwork," she said as she placed her hand on the pile to her left. "After this, we're all caught up."

"Nice work," he said grinning proudly. "I'm just about done with my pile, too." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Though I think my pile's a little taller than yours."

Athena put her hands on her hips and grinned mischievously. "Then we'll have to see who finishes their pile first!"

Mr. Wright chuckled. "I think you already won this one."

"Aww, come on, boss! Where's your competitive spirit?"

"I think it prefers taking naps over doing paperwork."

They shared a chuckle over the exchange, and Athena began to feel better. Though it was difficult not to think about how much she missed having Apollo around, she was grateful she still had Mr. Wright and Trucy.

As if she'd somehow heard Athena's thoughts, the bell on the front door to the office jingled as Trucy entered.

"Hey there, Trucy," Mr. Wright greeted her as she entered the room. "How did it go?"

"Hi, Daddy!" Trucy had her hands clasped behind her back and she was bouncing up and down on her heels. Athena honestly couldn't remember where she'd been or what she had been doing, but whatever it was, she was clearly happy with the outcome. Trucy put two fingers in a V and raised them above her brow, smiling at the two people watching her. "The show... is... ON!"

Athena shuddered, her raised spirits dampening a bit. Now she remembered where Trucy had been. She must have blocked it out for a bit which was why she didn't remember until just now. Before she left earlier in the day, Trucy told everyone that she was going to the Penrose Theater to book a time for her new show. Though Athena was happy for Trucy, her excitement was a little hampered compared to usual. Ever since Apollo left for Khura'in, Trucy had been left without a magician's assistant. Not only did that leave her without someone to perform her tricks on in her shows, but she was also left without a guinea pig to practice said tricks on. And without Apollo around to bear that burden, it was left to Athena to fill that role. At first, the prospect excited her; it was like a brand new challenge, and she was pumped to face it head on and give it her all. But then the practices started, and it ended up being an even bigger challenge than she ever could have realized. She'd spent the last few weeks being subjected to all kinds of tests, stunts, and she'd been poked, prodded and thumped with just about every prop in Trucy's arsenal. And with every practice session she was subjected to, she felt more and more sorry for Apollo, considering he'd already been through all of it before she took over the role. She always laughed at his expense, teasing him because she thought he was exaggerating whenever he complained how difficult it was. Now that she had first hand experience, she realized it wasn't as simple and fun as it appeared. She made a mental note to apologize to him the next time she spoke to him, for all the times she laughed at him for complaining.

"That's great," Mr. Wright said, smiling proudly. "When is it?"

"Next week!" She turned toward Athena, sticking her tongue out innocently and pushed her top hat forward. "Clear your schedule, Athena! The show's next Saturday!"

"Great…" Athena tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "I… can't wait."

"Good!" Trucy said, going back to bouncing on her heels. "Cause we still have a lot of practice to do before then."

Athena didn't try to hide her grimace this time. "More? Haven't we practiced more than enough?"

"Nope! Keep practicing to perfection, all the way up until showtime! That's the only way to make sure everything goes as planned."

Athena cast her dispirited face toward Mr. Wright. She had already agreed to be in the show, and she was fine with it. Despite her complaining, she was happy to help Trucy with her career. But she wasn't sure if she could stand any more daily practice sessions. They always lasted hours, and though the frequency of injuries received from slip-ups had almost completely stopped as the tricks improved, she still felt like she found a new bruise that wasn't there before on a daily basis. "Boss, can't you be her practice partner? Just till showtime, then I'll go back to it after that."

Mr. Wright raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What's this? Our Athena is backing down from a challenge?" He chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day."

Upon hearing the ridiculous notion, Athena's energy suddenly returned. She threw a punch to the inside of her palm, flashing a wide grin. "No way! Not a chance!"

Mr. Wright laughed. "That's more like it. Besides, I'm done being the test subject. Who do you think was the guinea pig before you and Apollo came along?" He gave her a reassuring grin. "After all, the tricks are going to be performed on you during the show. Wouldn't it be better to practice them on the one they're meant for?"

Athena slumped back in her chair. Despite regaining her vigor to face the challenge, the idea of another week of nightly practices was making her feel a little defeated. "Yeah… I guess." She couldn't deny that he was right. She was hoping to have a little break before the show to recover from the nightly practices, physically and mentally, but since she was the assistant that would be in the show, there was no better subject for practice than her.

"Speaking of Polly…" Trucy started, turning to her Dad, "Isn't it about that time?"

Athena felt a spike of excitement rise in her chest which made her suddenly sit straight up. She immediately felt silly for reacting that way and sat back against her chair, silently thankful that neither Mr. Wright nor Trucy seemed to notice. She knew it was ridiculous for her to react that way, but she couldn't help herself. In order to keep in touch around everyone's differing schedules, the four of them made a deal to set aside a certain time twice per week to make a group call and catch up. Since they planned it ahead of time, everyone's schedule would be free for the set time. And whenever that time came, Athena had a hard time containing how excited she was. They all looked forward to it, but Athena always felt like she had to hide just how much she wanted to talk to Apollo. She tried to watch herself and make sure not to behave any differently than what was considered normal for her. She felt the need to do all of this, but she wasn't sure why. It wasn't until a few days of thinking that she realized why. She was subconsciously worried that, if she behaved differently than was expected, someone might realize that she had feelings for Apollo. She had to do whatever it took to make sure no one ever realized it. And since she found it more difficult to hide her emotions when they talked to Apollo, she became more cautious and anxious than usual during the phone calls.

Trucy, on the other hand, wasn't afraid to show how excited she was. She was already bouncing on her heels with anticipation as Mr. Wright looked at his watch. "Well, I guess it is getting to that time." He smiled at them and turned toward his office at the back of the room. "Let's get to it."

"Yay!" Trucy followed him with a skip in her step. Athena left her seat and followed after them. 'You're thinking too hard. Nothing you're doing is going to make them assume anything. It's silly to even worry about it.' Being excited was expected of her. That's the way she was and they all knew it. There was no reason for her to be so cautious when she was acting just as everyone expected her to. But with Phoenix Wright as her boss, she could never be too sure. He was an intelligent man and a respected, successful attorney that specialized in finding the truth. And she worried constantly that he would figure out how she felt about Apollo. The idea that her keen-eyed boss might figure out that she was in love with her former coworker was almost more than she could bear. She doubted she'd ever live down the embarrassment.

Athena was the last to enter the office, seeing Mr. Wright already sitting at his desk and picking up the receiver. She went to join Trucy who stood by the desk, right next to the phone. She watched as Mr. Wright held the phone to his ear and waited for Apollo to answer, her heart rate quickening with anticipation. It wasn't long before he smiled to the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello, Apollo. How are you?" There was a short silence. "Good. I'm fine, thanks for asking." He grinned towards Athena and Trucy. "I have some people here that really want to talk to you." He meant it rhetorically, but she still hoped no one noticed the blush that colored her cheeks. He pressed the speaker button on the phone before setting the receiver down. "Go ahead. You're on speaker."

"Hey guys. How's it going?"

At hearing his voice, her heart rate quickened even further into a flutter, and she felt heat rising in her face. This was the kind of behavior that made her so worried that Mr. Wright would figure out how she felt about Apollo. If her face looked as red as it felt, then you wouldn't have to be as smart as Mr. Wright to see what she was thinking. It didn't help that she'd lost so much control over how she reacted with Apollo, even when it was just over the phone. She rarely reacted this way when he was still working at the office, and even when she did it was never a concern because it was easy to hide. Now that they'd been apart for so long, their daily interactions reduced to a twice weekly phone call, she looked forward to these conversations more than anything. This made the anticipation of hearing from him bring her so much joy that she went from acting like this on rare occasions to every single time they called. The problem was, she wasn't in the office, at her desk across the room where she could busy herself with something that could hide her face long enough for her to get her bearings. Now she was in a room too small to hide anything with two people she was trying to hide from. During each phone call, she had to decide what to do if she felt like she was losing herself; let them see her flushed face and hope they just thought Mr. Wright kept the thermostat up too high in his office, or find something to busy herself with that required looking away. Both seemed suspicious to anyone who was paying attention, so she usually just picked whichever one felt appropriate for the moment. In this moment, she decided to busy herself by looking down and brushing away some non-existent bit of dust on her shirt.

"Hi, Polly!" Trucy said excitedly, waving at the phone. "How are you?"

"Hey, Trucy. I'm fine. Just the usual. What have you been up to?"

"My new show is a go! It's scheduled for next week!"

"That's great. I know how hard you've been practicing those new tricks. I'm just sorry I can't be there to see it."

"Don't worry about that. Daddy promised to record it, so we'll send you a copy to watch whenever you want!"

"Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too! I can't wait to get back up on the stage." She turned to Athena and tipped her hat forward with an innocent smile. "And my assistant is looking forward to it, too. Right, Athena?"

Athena's mood was yet again dampened by the reminder of being the subject of all the questionable tricks in the magic show. She was starting to feel guilty for internally complaining so much, but some of the tricks had her really nervous. Trucy marked all of them with a seal of approval which, according to her, guaranteed that they were safe. And it wasn't that she didn't trust Trucy; she never believed her life was in danger or anything to that extreme. But she didn't have much faith in the safety guarantee when she had so many cuts and bruises from their practice runs. She had nothing against getting bumped up and dirty for your passions. She was no stranger to that herself; she'd gotten bumped up and bruised more times than she could ever count, both during her exercise routines and the antics she always found herself in on a daily basis thanks to her constantly flowing energy. No pain, no gain. But for some reason, she had it in her head that the real thing would turn out worse if something went wrong. Like, if it was just a bruise when messing up in practice, then it must mean a broken bone if there was a mess up doing the real thing. She knew it didn't make sense, but she was just too nervous to feel any differently about it. And the last thing she wanted was an injury severe enough to put her out of commission; she hated sitting still and didn't want to be forced to for any reason. At least thinking about the show was the distraction she needed to stop having such an emotional reaction to hearing Apollo's voice.

She tried to smile back at Trucy but accidentally grimaced instead. "Uh… yeah. I can't wait."

Apollo chuckled, and Athena was certain that her face was beet red this time. She immediately found another non-existent piece of dust on her skirt that required immediate removal and busied herself brushing it away. "Hang in there, Athena. You'll do just fine."

Her ears picked up a hidden emotion in his voice, and she looked toward the phone, suddenly not caring if anyone in the room noticed. To anyone listening to him speak right now, they would hear the joy in the tone of his voice and the slight exhaustion in his volume. But to her, able to hear things that no one else could, she heard a deep sadness. It was heavy, like it was swirling down an ever growing chasm that had no bottom. A pain twisted tightly inside her chest as she felt for him. He'd been through so much and hadn't given himself anywhere near the amount of time he needed to start coming to terms with it all. As if that hadn't been enough, he moved away to open his own law office in a country that, until recently, had no lawyers at all. He wanted to go where he felt he was needed, and right now, Khura'in needed lawyers. Not only did he feel that it was the right thing to do, but he couldn't think of a better way to honor his late foster father, the man who raised him. His heart was in the right place, and Athena respected his decision and loved him all the more for it. But he needed time to heal. And he wouldn't give that to himself. There was too much to do and not enough time to do it all, so she worried he was putting his feelings on the back burner in order to carry it all.

And that made her feel helpless. She wanted to help him, cheer him on, lend him an ear and give him a shoulder to cry on. But he was there and she was here. There was little she could do when they were separated by so much distance. She felt heat rise in her face, but this time, it was tears that threatened to fall. Tears for him, shed for him because he wouldn't shed them himself.

She shook herself to break away from the emotions threatening to take over her. Instead, she tried to do what she did best; cheer him up. There wasn't much she could do with them so far apart, but she could at least try to tease a laugh out of him. It didn't matter that he couldn't see her, she placed her hands on her hips and flashed the biggest smile she could towards the phone. "It can't be any harder than paperwork, right?"

"Hmmm, I'm not so sure. I might even take the 'saw in half' trick if it meant I didn't have to do the mountain of paperwork I have right now."

"Well, I guess that's just a mountain you'll have to conquer! But don't try to climb it. You might hurt yourself."

"I'll pace myself, I promise," he chuckled again. The sadness in his voice was still there, but it lessened, even if only for that moment. Athena's heart fluttered and her chest filled with a warmth she hadn't felt in a while. She managed to make him laugh, and that was all she could do. It was enough, for now.

'I miss you!'

The heat rose in Athena's face yet again, her eyes widening as her chest filled with panic. When they first started making regular calls with Apollo, Athena constantly worried that Widget would say something she was thinking, anything that she might not want anyone else to hear. It worried her so much that she even started leaving him at her desk for a while whenever it was time for a call. Then she realized that refusing to wear Widget, the little robot on her necklace that liked to blurt out what she was really thinking, would definitely look suspicious to Mr. Wright. If anything would make him suspect that she was hiding something, it would be that. So she started wearing Widget again, trying to control her emotions so he wouldn't blurt anything out. And he never did. Until just now. She'd lost control of her emotions when she was trying to cheer Apollo up which gave Widget a chance to read her and speak her thoughts out loud.

She was probably overreacting. She knew that. Was it really that weird for Apollo to know that she was thinking about how much she missed him? It shouldn't be. They were best friends; he shouldn't find it strange at all to hear how much his best friend missed him. Besides, they all missed him. It was no secret. But she was panicking anyway. She didn't want to put any pressure on him; that was the last thing he needed. So even though she missed him, she made sure never to say it out loud. She couldn't bear the thought of worsening his sadness, so she kept those things to herself.

"I think that's a feeling we all share," Mr. Wright chimed in.

"Yeah! I miss you too, Polly!"

There was a short pause over the phone. "Thanks, guys. The feeling's mutual."

The sadness in his voice didn't deepen like Athena expected. Instead, a soft wave of joy swept by for a few moments. She felt a sudden wave of relief that Widget's outburst hadn't caused him any more sorrow. It was reassuring to know that he wasn't burdened to hear how much the people closest to him missed having him around. At the very least, this slip up caused no harm. But she knew she couldn't count on this happening every time; she was sure that not all of her unspoken thoughts would bring him joy. So she vowed to have better control of her emotions so this wouldn't happen again.

They chatted for a while longer before Apollo had to get back to work. They agreed on another time to call and they said their goodbyes.

"Well, I think that's enough for now," Mr. Wright said, standing up from his chair. "Why don't we call it a day?"

"Sure," Athena agreed. She always felt a little down after the calls ended, knowing she wouldn't hear from Apollo again for a while. And the mess Widget almost made this time was making her feel worn out. She regretted not finishing off that last pile of paperwork, but it could wait till tomorrow. Since they weren't particularly busy, she had plenty of time to get it done.

"If you're done with work for the day…" Trucy started. Athena had a sinking feeling in her chest when she turned to see Trucy putting her hands behind her back. In one quick motion, Trucy brought her hands in front of her chest and crossed them, showing off the set of prop throwing knives she held between each of her fingers.

Athena took a step back and winced. She knew her reaction was over the top since there was no real danger. They were just harmless props. But she'd had so many of them thrown at her during their practices that she was concerned she was developing a fear of knives. Not just real ones, but the harmless, retractable rubber ones as well. "The knife throwing trick again? Do we have to do that one?"

"Yep!" Trucy said, spinning one between her fingers. Athena couldn't figure out how she was able to spin a knife around when her hands were full with the other ones. "It's the only one we haven't perfected yet."

Mr. Wright chuckled and Athena looked to him for help, knowing she would receive none. "Come on, Athena. Conquering mountains is what you do best."

Athena bit her lip, picturing an actual mountain instead of this trick. "I think I'd rather try climbing a real mountain."


Apollo hung up the receiver and leaned back against his chair, letting out a deep, tired sigh. The V shaping his brow deepened and he folded his hands in his lap, silently staring at the phone on his desk. The last of the sun's rays were disappearing with the setting sun, leaving the small desk lamp the only light to dimly illuminate the empty office. Being the only one around, the room was completely silent, offering no distractions and leaving his thoughts to run as they pleased.

He knew the adjustment would be difficult. Not once did he ever assume picking up his entire life and moving to another country would be easy in any way. Even with how much mental preparation he'd given himself before he left, there was only so much he could do to prepare himself for the many challenges he would face. In the short time he'd been here, he'd already faced many of the issues he knew he would come across, including some he never even anticipated until they were dropped right in front of him. But he steeled through it all. Because it was the right thing to do. Because he was needed. Khura'in was going through a drastic change for the better, and one of the things they needed above all else was lawyers who would bring a level playing field to their courts. And he could help bring that to them. He knew he could. All the support he'd received from so many people raised him into the lawyer he was now, and he knew he was fit for the role. He had to be.

None of that made him miss his old life any less. Being so far apart from everyone at the Wright Anything Agency, all the people who'd come to mean more to him than anything, was the hardest hurdle of all. He knew his departure wasn't a goodbye. It would never be as drastic as that. They all meant too much to one another to let something like that happen. Distance wasn't enough to keep them apart, not for long. But being as his transition to Khura'in had just begun, there was simply no time to arrange a visit, whether he went to see them or they came to see him. They had to settle for an occasional phone call that kept them in touch during a time too busy for him to do anything more. It wasn't much, but it was all they had for now.

Talking with everyone was always the highlight of his day. Having little time to refresh and unwind from his daily responsibilities, he looked forward to the phone calls more than anything else. No matter how hard the day had been, talking with them always gave him the reprieve he needed to raise his spirits again. Hearing their voices and knowing they were all happy and doing well put a smile back on his face. He did his best to be honest with them when they asked how he was doing, but he didn't want to give them any reasons to be more concerned than they already were. They knew it was difficult, and that was all they needed to know. He decided it was best if he kept his feelings to himself.

But Athena knew. No matter how he tried to keep his deeper feelings to himself, he knew Athena picked up on every single thing he was feeling with each word he spoke. That alone didn't bother him. He already knew there was little he could hide from her. What did bother him, what brought on guilt after every call, was how much his true feelings seemed to be affecting her. It was just little things he noticed at first, but after numerous calls he started to notice the pattern in her behavior. Like how she was never the first to speak, and how she only seemed to add to the conversation when someone brought her into it. That wasn't normal for Athena, the one who was never afraid to speak first or carry on a conversation on her own. It was like she was being careful with what she said, like she was afraid she would say something she shouldn't.

The wrinkle in his forehead disappeared and his eyes softened, one side of his mouth raising in a half-smile. But Widget, with all his big-mouthed glory, spoke for her. His outburst explained her strange behavior and confirmed Apollo's suspicions. She'd been quiet during the calls because she was afraid she would say she missed him. She must have felt it would put pressure on him or make him feel guilty for moving away. She didn't need to worry about things like that, but knowing she cared about him so much that she went against her own talkative nature to spare his feelings meant a lot to him.

He reclined back in his chair, closing his eyes and allowed the other side of his mouth to raise in a full smile. "I miss you too, Athena."


Chapter Song – 'Jet Lag' – Simple Plan, featuring Natasha Bedingfield