Sunrise in the Darkness

by ShiroiOkami777

With the rebellion over and defense attorneys being accepted in court once again, Apollo opens his own office in Khura'in to help bring the country to a brighter future. With all the responsibilities he must face, he chooses to put away his personal feelings in order to carry it all. Once Athena arrives, he realizes he never would have been able to do it without her. Justicykes

11. The First Step

Apollo walked down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets, watching the path ahead of him as he listened to Athena talk about the case they were currently working on. Ever since they finished their first case two weeks ago, it felt like they'd done nothing but work on new cases that never seemed to stop being brought to them. Though none of the new cases they'd worked on had been anywhere near as difficult as that first one, the amount never seemed to end. Even though most of the cases were easily defended and the verdict was reached on the first day, there was always another case waiting for them afterward. He knew this was to be expected. After all, not including the lawyers that had been brought in to temporarily retry the old cases, Apollo and Athena were the only two defense attorneys in the entire country. If anything, their workload should be higher. But thanks to the country's fairly low crime rate, their workload wasn't as high as it could be. It only felt like there were too many cases because no one was available to take them on except the two of them.

And, with every case they took on together, he couldn't figure out how he'd ever managed to do it all without her.

Before she got here, the workload was so high that he had no choice but to spend every waking minute working. From the minute he woke up and until the minute he went to bed, he did nothing but work. The amount of responsibilities he had were so high and the amount of time he had to do it all was so low that he often stayed up late, still working hours after he should have been asleep. Even when he started keeping the office closed on Sundays, it was never for a day off. It was so he could catch up on his tasks without worrying about talking to a client at the same time.

But as soon as Athena arrived and started helping him, all of that suddenly stopped. With her taking on half the workload, he suddenly went from feeling like there wasn't enough time to do it all to having enough time to feel like he could function again. The amount of work they had to do was still high enough that they didn't really have any free time for anything else. But he suddenly had time to do things he wasn't able to do before. He could take real food breaks instead of staying at his desk with the first thing he found in the kitchen. He got to bed at a reasonable hour instead of staying up halfway through the night. He even had enough time to keep the office clean, something he only ever did if he had enough energy left before he went to sleep. It was like there had been a heavy pressure weighing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. Then, when Athena arrived, the pressure disappeared, making him suddenly feel like he could breathe again.

But sharing the workload wasn't the only reason he was suddenly feeling better than he had in a while. Since the moment she arrived, even before she started sharing the workload with him, he felt more at ease than he had since he left. Even before she started working on anything around the office, just having her here with him was all it took to make him start feeling like he could breathe again.

And it only took him this long to see it because he'd wasted so much of his time trying to convince himself that he didn't need her. The idea of leaving her behind when he made his decision to move to Khura'in had been so hard to accept that he decided to act like he could do it all without her. With every day that went by, he wanted nothing more than to call her, just to hear her voice and see how she was doing. But he resisted every time, convincing himself that keeping minimum contact with her would make the separation easier.

Then, the moment they started speaking one on one again, he was immediately proven wrong. Keeping her away wasn't making it easier for him to move forward; refusing to let her be a part of his life was the only thing that had been holding him back from giving it his all. Since the moment she arrived, he realized that, no matter what he told himself, he needed her to be a part of his life. She made him feel content in a way that no one else had ever been capable of. And it wasn't until she was here with him that he truly felt that he was ready to take on everything ahead of him.

"But that wasn't where it was found," Athena said as they reached the door to the office. Out of habit, Apollo opened the door for her and let her go in first, following her after she went inside. "It wasn't there when the victim got home, so we probably won't be able to use that as an argument in the trial."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Apollo said as he closed the door behind him. He let out a tired sigh and rubbed his fingers against the back of his head. "I guess we'll have to check the case file for a different lead."

"Awwww!" Athena said, and he looked at her. She was facing him with her hands on her hips, giving him a mischievous smile. "Did that little walk tire you out?"

Apollo let his arms fall to his sides and he narrowed his eyes at her. Ever since Athena found out that the courthouse was only a thirty minute walk from the office, she'd started insisting that they walk to and from trials as often as they could. At first, he found himself resisting the idea. Then, he wondered why he was bothering in the first place. When she first started inviting him to go on walks with her back at the agency, he'd resisted then as well. But then, after the first time they went together, walking with her went from something he tried to avoid to something he looked forward to. So instead, he agreed to it, and now walking to and from the courthouse was a part of their regular routine. And since their caseload had been steady lately, they'd taken at least one walk every day in the past two weeks. It made him realize that, in addition to everything else he'd been putting on the back burner, he hadn't been doing enough to take care of his physical health until he felt how sore and tired he was after the first walk. It was like she knew what he needed and, in addition to everything she was already doing for him, she was watching out for his health as well. Now that she'd brought it to his attention, whether it was her intention or not, he was a little embarrassed when he realized how little he'd been doing to take care of himself. It was just one of the many things that she helped him see since he never managed to notice it for himself.

And, even though he appreciated everything she was doing for him, he could do without the fact that she was still teasing him about it.

"No," he said honestly. "Talking to the client did." It took less than a week for him to get used to the daily walks, so they didn't make him tired anymore. But the client they were currently working with was quite the piece of work. It took them hours to get him to give them a clear answer to any of the questions they asked him. He may have been innocent of the crime he was being accused of, but his intelligence was left up for debate.

Athena's smile faded and she gave him a knowing frown. "Yeah, I know what you mean. He's nice and all but... he's not exactly the brightest bulb around, is he?"

"My thoughts exactly," Apollo said, glad to see Athena shared his opinion.

Then the front door suddenly flew open, and Datz announced his presence to them as he stood in the doorway with a big smile. "Guess who's back!"

Apollo watched him with narrowed eyes, feeling even more tired now. 'Speaking of dim bulbs…' Apollo hadn't meant to think of something so negative in relation to Datz. No matter how uncouth Datz could be, he never thought of him as a dense person. But, after watching him throw the door open again after he'd asked him not to do it anymore, Apollo was reminded that the new door stop was already bent. He still didn't know if Datz was doing it on purpose because he thought it was funny or if he really didn't understand that he was slowly breaking things every time he did it.

"Hey, Datz!" Athena greeted him back with a big smile. "Where've you been? It feels like it's been days since we last saw you."

Datz shut the door behind him and put a hand on his hip, smiling at her. "Oh, you know…" He raised his thumbs. "A handyman's work is never done!"

'Yeah, especially when it's usually you breaking the stuff you're fixing.' Apollo never felt the need to keep tabs on Datz. As long as there wasn't anything pressing around the office that needed fixing, he was mostly free to do whatever he wanted. But it was true that they hadn't seen him in a few days. They knew he was around since he never missed his chance to take his share of the dinner leftovers from the fridge, but it had been a while since they'd talked to him face to face. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. But Datz had a history of making himself scarce for a while whenever he broke something and was trying to hide it while he fixed it. And since they'd barely seen him in the last few days, Apollo suspected it was something big that was taking a while to fix. Though Datz was helpful around the office because he knew how to fix things that Apollo didn't, sometimes it felt like he broke stuff more often than he fixed it.

"Actually…" Datz continued. "I just got back with a trailer I rented." He turned to look at Apollo. "I'm finally gonna load up all that junk from the shed out back and throw it out!" he grinned. "Then we'll finally have some real storage to use!"

"Oh. Good," Apollo said. That actually was something he was glad to hear. Though Apollo had moved a lot of his stuff into a storage unit back home before he moved, he had a hard time deciding what was important enough to bring. He doubted he needed much more than his clothes but, since he had no idea how long he was going to be in Khura'in, he ended up bringing more than what could fit in his room. Before Athena arrived, they were using her room as a temporary storage solution while they waited to have the time to empty the shed out back. But after they had to prepare the room for her, Apollo had to move his extra stuff to other parts of the office. Though it wasn't really a lot of stuff, it felt like too much when he had to stack it inside his own room. If Datz really emptied the storage shed, Apollo wouldn't have to worry about the stack of boxes in his room tipping over in the middle of the night. "I can help you get it started."

"Don't sweat it, AJ," Datz said, looking at Apollo with a toothy grin. "Some of that stuff is pretty heavy, so you should just leave it to me!"

Apollo glowered at Datz. Though he knew he wasn't the strongest guy around, he could have done without the sarcastic insinuation that he was a wimp.

"Then, why don't you let me help?" Athena said, facing Datz with a grin. "It will go faster with more than one person working on it."

Datz put his hands on his hips and gave her a wide grin. "Aww, that's cute!" he started. "Seriously, this stuff is really heavy. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"That's okay, I can handle it," Athena said, still smiling. Apollo thought that Athena might be upset by Datz insinuating that she wasn't tough enough for the job, but she didn't seem bothered by it.

That was, until Datz suddenly busted out laughing.

"Ha ha ha!" Datz laughed, pointing at Athena with tears of laughter in his eyes. He turned to look at Apollo after a few moments, still laughing. "You hear that, AJ? She thinks she can handle it just because she's tougher than you!"

That was when Apollo realized something that hadn't occurred to him until just now. Even though Datz had known Athena for a while now, he had no idea how tough she was.

The idea that someone could know Athena without knowing how tough she was baffled Apollo. Her strength was one of the central parts of who she was, so he didn't think it was possible for someone not to know that about her. He'd been made aware of her strength from the very moment they met, so he'd never known her any other way. But, that was what made him realize; nothing had happened since Athena got here that would make Datz aware of how tough she was. Because Apollo was made aware of that part of her before he even officially met her, it never occurred to him that someone who knew her could be unaware of that part of her. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like to see Athena as anything but the tough person she was.

And, based on the way Athena's smile faded and she suddenly started watching Datz with a narrow eyed glare, Apollo was afraid that Datz was about to find out the hard way.

"Oh, is that what you think?" Athena started. A concentrated frown appeared on her brow and she smiled, taking one step forward as she cracked her knuckles. "I'd be happy to prove you wrong."

"Aww, come on, AC!" Datz said, putting his hands on his hips and giving her a toothy grin. "Don't take it so personally. You're just so small and cute that there's no way you'd be able to handle it!"

What little bit of a smile Athena had faded and she grit her teeth angrily, her frown deepening. "I'll show you who's cute…" she said as she cracked the knuckles on her other hand.

Apollo's eyes widened and a sinking feeling in his chest made him clench his jaw nervously. He knew Athena well enough to know they were at the point of no return now. Now that she was this fired up, nothing he did or said would stop her from fighting Datz. And yet, his desire to keep her away from a fight where she could get hurt made him try anyway. "Uh, Athena, just don't worry about it okay?" he said, the sinking feeling deepening as he saw her take another step towards Datz. "Why don't we just go work on the case and let Datz handle the shed?"

"What're you lookin' so pale for, AJ?" Datz asked, looking at Apollo with a confused frown. He turned his attention back to Athena and smiled. "She couldn't hurt me even if she wanted to."

Apollo just stared nervously, not sure how to tell Datz that he couldn't be more wrong. Datz was clearly not taking Athena seriously since he had no idea how tough she really was. But, since Apollo knew better, he felt like he was watching someone who was about to learn the hard way that you should never poke a bear.

Then suddenly, the angry look on Athena's face disappeared. She straightened up and put her hands on her hips. "Okay then," she started. A determined frown appeared on her brow and she watched Datz with a mischievous grin. "How about this?" She lifted one of her hands and pointed at Datz. "If I can beat you in a fight…" She put her hand back on her hip. "...then you have to let me help you move the stuff out of the shed."

Datz started laughing again, then Athena's smile faded and she glared at him with a deep frown. After a moment, Datz saw the look on her face and he suddenly went silent. He stood straight up and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wait… you're serious?"

Athena grit her teeth and punched the inside of her palm. "You bet I'm serious!"

'Bring it, sasquatch!'

Datz's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "What... was that?"

Athena's anger suddenly disappeared and she stood up straight, smiling brightly. "Oh, that's right! I never introduced you, did I?" She picked up the little robot on her necklace between her thumb and pointer finger, lifting him up for Datz to see. "This is Widget!" she said, smiling proudly. "Say hi, Widget!"

'Hi Widget!'

Datz's eyes widened and he took a step back as if he were in shock. "What!? You mean that weird necklace can talk!?"

Athena's cheer suddenly vanished. She let go of Widget and clenched her hands, glaring at Datz with fire in her eyes. "Hey! Widget isn't a weird necklace! You take that back!"

Apollo just watched Athena glare at Datz, suddenly feeling at a loss of what to do. The longer he watched, the more he felt like he was trying to stop two kids from fighting each other.

Datz turned his wide-eyed stare towards Apollo. "Hey AJ, is she for real?" he asked, pointing at her with his thumb. "That necklace can't really talk, can it?"

"Uh… actually, he can," Apollo answered. He didn't blame Datz for being shocked. Apollo felt the same way when he first learned about Widget. "He usually just says whatever Athena is really thinking." Even now, long after Apollo had gotten used to it, he could still hardly believe all the things that Widget could do.

Datz looked at Apollo with wide eyed shock, jumping as if he just stepped on something sharp. "WHAT!? But that's insane!" Then, his shock disappeared and he ran his hand along his chin as if he were thinking about something. "Wait a minute… if that's true…" He furrowed his brow and turned to Athena. "That means that YOU called me a sasquatch!?" he said, gritting his teeth and pointing at her.

"That's right!" Athena said, putting her fist into her hand and watching Datz with a determined frown. "So, are you gonna take up the offer?" She grinned. "Or are you afraid you might lose?"

An angry frown appeared on Datz's face and he clenched his fist. "Oh, it's on now!" he said, hunching over slightly to meet Athena's glare. "You got spirit, but there's no way I'll lose to you, little girl!"

Athena met his glare and smiled. "I'll show you who's a little girl, you sasquatch!" Then, without saying anything else, they both headed for the back door that led to the small yard behind the office.

Apollo just watched them with a wide-eyed stare, then he started to follow them. The sinking feeling in his chest grew as he tried to think of a way to stop them, knowing there was nothing he could do about it now. Because he'd known Athena for such a long time, he wasn't surprised at all that Datz's provoking had led her to this. But, as for Datz, he wasn't sure which concerned him more; the fact that he was about to find out the hard way that Athena was tougher than she looked, or how easily he changed his mind about fighting her just because of a little name calling.

Once they reached the small backyard, Athena took her spot on one side of the yard while Datz took his own place on the other. Athena stared at Datz with a determined frown, smiling like she couldn't be more ready. Datz just stood with his hands on his hips, watching her with a frown on his brow. Apollo stood a little distance away, watching them with wide eyes as the bad feeling in his chest rapidly grew. On one hand, he had no doubt that Athena would come out on top. By this point, he was used to her getting herself in these types of situations and, since there was never any stopping her once she made up her mind, he'd already seen her in more than one fight. Though he never liked seeing her put herself in situations where she could get hurt, he was at least comforted by the fact that he'd never once seen her lose. No matter how good of a fighter her opponent was and no matter how much bigger they were than her, she always won in the end.

On the other hand, even though she never lost, she didn't always come out of the fight unharmed. Out of all the fights she'd had, whether he was there to see it or not, she rarely took a hit. Even when she did, it was never as big of a deal as he thought it was and she always ended up being fine. Despite that, Apollo was still terrified by the idea of Datz landing a hit on her. No matter how tough Athena was and even though he'd already seen her ability to take a hit, Apollo was terrified how badly she would be hurt if Datz really managed to land a hit. It was no secret how strong Datz was, and he could throw a mean punch. If he decided not to hold back when he fought Athena, Apollo was genuinely worried that an ice pack wouldn't be enough to fix whatever injury she ended up with.

He already knew he wouldn't be able to change Athena's mind. But he was so worried about her that he decided to at least try. "Uh, this really isn't necessary guys…" he said as he continued to watch them with wide, concerned eyes. Even if he couldn't get through to Athena, he hoped that maybe he could get Datz to change his mind.

"Stay out of this, Apollo," Athena said, never taking her stare off of Datz. She got into her battle ready position. "I'm gonna teach this sasquatch not to judge a book by its cover."

"Don't worry about it, AJ!" Datz said, grinning at Apollo and giving him a thumbs up. "I'll go easy on her."

Athena smirked at Datz. "You really shouldn't."

Datz turned back to Athena, putting his hands on his hips and watching her with a determined frown. "Nah, I wouldn't wanna mess you up too bad. Besides…" He gave her a toothy grin. "If I hurt AJ's best buddy, he might fire me!"

Apollo just stared in disbelief. 'That really shouldn't be your motivation to hold back…'

"Okay…" Athena said, not seeming at all bothered. "You asked for it."

Then they took their stances and started to circle around each other. Apollo's heart started racing as he watched, feeling helpless as he knew there was no way to stop them now. No matter how tough Athena was, no matter how many times he saw her get into these kinds of situations, he didn't think he would ever get used to how much it worried him.

Then, his heart leapt into his throat when Datz suddenly ran at her with his fist raised. He swung at her, and she ducked out of the way. The look on Datz's face was one of shock, like he hadn't expected her to dodge him. He'd put so much force into the hit that he ended up stumbling when his fist met nothing but empty air. That seemed to be the opening Athena was hoping for because, just like Apollo had already seen her do before, she took advantage of it by grabbing Datz underneath both of his wrists. Then, using a strength that betrayed her size, she pulled on his arms, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying through the air after she let go. He flew a few feet away before he finally hit the ground, landing on his back and lying still.

It was only silent for a moment when Datz quickly lifted himself up onto his elbow, turning around to stare at Athena with a wide-eyed, open mouthed stare. Athena just watched him with a determined frown, half smiling as she stood there in her battle ready position. She turned one of her palms up, moving two of her fingers in a 'come hither' gesture, inviting him to try again.

Datz just stared at her for a moment before he turned his wide eyes to Apollo. "Did you know she could do that, AJ?" he asked, gesturing toward Athena with his thumb.

Apollo was still in shock himself. Even though he'd already seen Athena do that before, Datz was significantly bigger than the last guy she threw. That either meant that she'd somehow gotten stronger since the last time, or she'd just been that strong all along. And he wasn't sure which idea terrified him more. "...Yeah…"

Datz's jaw dropped even further before he turned back to Athena. He only sat there for a moment before he suddenly jumped to his feet. "Whoa!" he said, giving her a toothy smile. "You really are tougher than you look!" He put his hand on his back and rolled his shoulder, watching her with a determined smile. "Okay, now I'm ready!" He started rolling his other shoulder as he spaced his feet apart. "I won't be holding back this time!"

"Good," Athena said, smiling right back at him. "I tried to warn you not to do that in the first place."

After Athena seemingly won the fight, Apollo assumed it was over so he started to relax. But now that they were both getting ready to keep going, the panic started spiking in his chest again. "Wait a minute!" he started, watching them with wide eyes. He'd been relieved that no one had gotten hurt, but now that they wanted to keep going he was worried all over again. "Didn't Athena win? We can stop now, right?"

"I didn't win," Athena said, keeping her eyes on Datz. "He was holding back, so that one doesn't count."

"Nope!" Datz said as he got back into his battle position. "Now that I know what she can do, we can have a real fight this time!"

And as they started circling each other again, Apollo could only watch with wide eyes and hope that no one got hurt. 'I hope we have some ice...'

Apollo just watched as they continued fighting for the next few minutes, feeling panicked every time Datz threw a punch and feeling relieved when Athena dodged them all. But, no matter how worried he was, he couldn't help but feel impressed. The amount of focus and skill it took to dodge and hit the way Athena could was something Apollo knew he would never be capable of.

"You're still holding back!" Athena said after she sidestepped another punch.

"No I'm not!" Datz said, turning and trying to hit her again.

"Yes you are!" Athena said as she ducked away from his fist. "Your movements are hesitant, so you're holding back!"

Apollo had no idea how she could tell if Datz was hesitating. Since he barely knew anything about the finer points of fighting, it all looked the same to him. He honestly had no idea if she was being serious or if she was trying to rile him up.

"I'm not holding back!" Datz insisted as he took another swing at her. He put so much force into this one that, when his fist met nothing but air, it turned him halfway around, his feet twisting together when he tried to catch himself from falling. When Athena dodged this one, she ended up standing right behind him, so she took advantage of it by kicking the back of his knee. Since Datz had yet to untangle his feet, the bending in his knee caused him to lose his balance, and he fell to the ground where he lay on his stomach. Before he could try to get up, Athena knelt down and grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm around and pinning it behind his back. When he grunted against the pain and tried to get up, she used her other hand to press the side of his face against the dirt underneath him.

The tension in Apollo's chest relaxed, and he let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. Even if he didn't always understand the finer points of the fights, he at least knew that this meant it was over.

"So…" Athena started, looking down at Datz with a smile. Datz couldn't move his head with the way Athena had him pinned to the ground, so he just turned his wide eyes up to look at her, staring at her as if he was still in shock. "...Still think I can't handle it?"

"No! No!" Datz answered, struggling underneath her grasp. "You can handle it! You win! Now please let me go!"

Seeming satisfied, Athena released her grip on him and stood up. She dusted off her hands, smiling like she couldn't be happier. "Good!" she said as Datz picked himself up off the ground. "Glad that's settled!" Datz just rubbed his arm as he continued to stare at her in disbelief.

Athena may have been happy that she'd proven herself to be tougher than she looked, but Apollo was just relieved that no one had gotten hurt.

After that, they all ended up working together to empty the shed. Even though Datz had insinuated that Apollo wasn't strong enough to help, he wasn't going to just do nothing while they did all the work. Athena and Datz talked excitedly about the fight, betraying the idea that it had been caused by a disagreement in the first place. Apollo had no idea how they could throw punches at each other then just go back to normal. At his best guess, it was less like an actual fight and more like a sport. When he remembered that the entire point was for Athena to prove how tough she was, it made more sense that it was just a test the whole time rather than an actual fight. At least, that would explain how they could act like it was no big deal. Since he wasn't really a fighter himself, he could only assume that was the case.

With the three of them working together, it took no time before the shed was empty and everything was loaded onto the trailer. With the shed empty, Apollo didn't have to worry about knocking over the stack of boxes in his room anymore. It was a small thing, but it would go a long way in making him feel more comfortable. Datz said that he would take the trailer away later, wanting to eat first because he was hungry. Athena announced that she would take care of dinner because it was her turn to make it.

One of the routines that Apollo and Athena had picked up over the past few weeks was a dinner schedule. Each day, they took turns on who was responsible for making dinner, and whoever wasn't cooking would take care of the cleaning. It was the best way to make sure they shared in the responsibilities while also being efficient with the time they used. It was something that sort of fell into place ever since the first time Athena made something for everyone. And, even though they'd been using that routine every day since then, Apollo was still having a hard time being comfortable with it. Every day, no matter who's turn it was, he had to calm his growing nerves and remind himself that the whole thing was no big deal; it was nothing more than two roommates sharing the responsibilities in taking care of their living space.

But, no matter how many weeks went by, he was never able to fully convince himself that was all it was. Not with the way he felt about her. He couldn't ignore the implications it brought on, no matter how hard he tried. Even if it was no big deal to her, even if she saw it as nothing more than sharing responsibilities with her best friend, he couldn't see it as anything less than sharing his everyday life with the woman he loved.

It didn't take long before dinner was ready, and everyone settled in to the living room to enjoy it together. They talked back and forth, mostly about how everyone was doing since they hadn't seen each other in a few days. Datz was vague when he told them what he'd been doing, saying that he'd been making deliveries and fixing stuff. It made Apollo even more sure that he had broken something and was trying to fix it without anyone knowing. At first, Apollo assumed the hiding spot was the shed but, now that they'd emptied it out, he could only guess that Datz was keeping it in his room. And, since Apollo hadn't noticed anything missing around the office, he decided that whatever he broke must not be important. Since this seemed to be a common thing for Datz anyway, he just decided that he would stop questioning it when Datz would just take off every once in a while.

"A magic show?" Datz asked, suddenly looking excited. Once dinner was over and everyone was getting ready to move on with whatever they had planned for the evening, the subject of conversation had somehow moved to magic shows.

"Yeah!" Athena smiled. She was sitting on the couch opposite of Apollo, while Datz sat on the couch that was right across from the TV. "You'll never see a better magic show than the ones made by Trucy!"

"Trucy?" Datz said as he ran his hand along his chin. "Isn't that…" He smiled when he seemed to think of something. "...Your old boss's kid, right?"

"Yep!" Athena smiled like she couldn't be happier. "You won't find a better magician than Trucy Wright!"

"No kidding?" Datz said, raising his eyebrows. "Man, now I really wish I could see one of these shows."

"Well, what's stopping us from seeing one right now?" Athena said, turning to look at Apollo. "Hey, didn't you get that recording in the mail last week?"

"Oh, um… Yeah," Apollo answered after he thought about it for a moment. Since Apollo wasn't able to see Trucy's new magic show in person, Mr. Wright recorded it and sent him a copy. Since it was being delivered to him from another country, it had taken a while to get here, so he'd forgotten about it until it arrived in the mail late last week. But, since he didn't have a lot of free time right now, he had yet to watch it.

"Great!" Athena smiled. "Why don't we all watch it together right now?"

"Oh, really?" Datz said, looking excited by the idea. "Sounds great to me!"

Apollo hesitated for a moment. On one hand, he knew he and Athena needed to work on finding a new lead for their case. They found out earlier that the one they were planning on using wasn't going to work, so they needed to find a different one before the trial started. On the other hand, one of the things Athena's arrival reminded him of was how little he'd been doing to take care of himself. Though his head was more clear now and he'd started taking better care of his physical health, he still hadn't had any time off since he got here. No matter how much easier things had gotten since Athena arrived, they still spent all of their time working on cases. Now that he was thinking about it, Athena hadn't had any time off since she got here either. And she never complained about it. Not even once. She continued to work every minute of every day with him and had yet to show any signs that it bothered her at all. She didn't even try to drag him away from his desk for a casual walk, something she used to do all the time when they worked at the agency. It wasn't until they both agreed to walk between the courthouse and the office before and after trials that they started walking together again.

But, no matter how much it didn't seem to bother her and no matter how willing she was to keep working without stopping, he still didn't want her to end up under the same stress that he'd been feeling before she got here. So, he saw no reason they couldn't take a well earned breather and enjoy a show together.

"Yeah, sure," Apollo said, standing from his seat. He walked over to the TV stand and opened the door, pulling the paper disc sleeve from the shelf. He put the disc in the player before he grabbed the remote and returned to his seat. Once he made sure everyone was settled in, he started playing the show.

As they all settled in and watched the show, Apollo was surprised by how much he ended up enjoying it. Not only was he glad that he didn't have to miss one of the magic shows that he was always there to see, but sitting here watching something with Athena brought on a sense of normalcy that he hadn't realized he'd been missing. At one point in their friendship, after they'd grown close enough to start spending time together outside of work, one of the things they started doing was watching movies together. They did it fairly regularly and, no matter what kind of movie it was, they always had a good time. Just being in each other's company made the time worth it, even if the movie ended up not being of the highest quality. As a matter of fact, it ended up becoming normal for them to purposefully choose bad monster movies to watch. Apollo had never really been into those type of movies, but Athena insisted that he should at least give them a try because they were unintentionally hilarious. And after the first one they watched, it ended up being the type of movie they watched the most. They never seemed to run out of ones to watch either, since most monster movies had a tendency to be low quality. Some of them were so poorly made that Apollo and Athena started to question how so many of these movies existed when the budget in making them seemed so low. This question ended up leading them into making a game out of trying to guess how much the monster models had cost to make during each movie's production. There was never any way for them to find out who was closer in their guesses, but that never mattered. It just ended up being another way they had fun when they watched movies together.

It made him realize that this was the first time since he left that he sat down and watched anything at all. Whether it was by himself or with another person, he hadn't had time to do things like this since he first got here. It was like there had been a strange gap in time, feeling like it was so long ago even though it hadn't really been that long at all. And now, sitting here watching something with Athena for the first time in what had felt like a long time, it was like the gap in time had closed and they'd never been separated in the first place. Their circumstances were different and they were in a completely different place, but it somehow felt like nothing was different at all.

"Hey, isn't that you, AC?" Datz said, pointing at the TV with wide eyes.

"Yep!" Athena smiled. "I was the magician's assistant for this show!"

Because Apollo had temporarily forgotten about the show since he hadn't had any time to watch it until now, he'd also forgotten that Athena was the assistant for this one. Before he moved away, the job of magician's assistant had always been his responsibility. It was something that kind of happened not long after he started working at the agency. At the time, Trucy wasn't able to hire a proper assistant, so Apollo's sudden hiring at the agency made him the perfect candidate for the job. Up until that point, Mr. Wright had been responsible for helping her practice her tricks, and he couldn't have been happier to pass the responsibility on to someone else. Even when Apollo tried to insist that he'd been hired as a lawyer and not a magician's assistant, he quickly learned that the agency had much broader job requirements than just being a lawyer. And it only took one magic practice for Apollo to find out why Mr. Wright had been so eager to pass the torch to someone else. Trucy's magic tricks were no joke, and the road to perfecting them was often painful. No matter how many shows Apollo performed in and even long after he should have become accustomed to how hard it was, he never stopped trying to get out of it.

Then, after Apollo moved away, the responsibility of magician's assistant had automatically been transferred to Athena. Since he already knew how difficult the job was, he actually felt guilty that Athena would have to suffer through the same things he had. Even though she was putting on a brave face at first, it wasn't long before he could easily tell during the group calls how much it was wearing her out.

And yet, watching the recording of the show right now, he never would have guessed that she'd been having a hard time if he hadn't known about it beforehand. He couldn't believe how easy she was making it look. Not only was she playing her part perfectly, but she looked like she was having a blast. That was something Apollo had never been capable of, no matter how hard he tried. No matter how much he prepared himself before all of the shows he participated in, he was never able to do as good of a job as Athena had in this one show. It was like it didn't matter how long he knew her or how often he'd seen the many things she was capable of; he never stopped being amazed by how she seemed capable of conquering any challenge that was brought her way, no matter what it was. It was times like this that he truly believed that there was nothing that she couldn't do.

"Oh, and Apollo…" He looked at Athena when she started speaking to him. He wasn't sure what to think of the look she was giving him at the moment. She looked like she was trying to be apologetic, but one side of her mouth was turned up in a sort of grimace, like she was thinking about something she didn't like. "I'm really sorry."

Apollo couldn't help but look at her with a confused frown. "For what?"

"I always thought you were exaggerating when you said how hard it was to be Trucy's assistant," she said, her expression unchanging. "If I knew you were serious, I never would have laughed at you for complaining. So, I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously."

Though it hadn't been ideal when Athena always seemed to find his complaints about the magic shows so funny, it never really bothered him. He understood that the job didn't look like that big of a deal to anyone who didn't have first hand experience. Apollo was guilty of that himself, not believing Mr. Wright when he mentioned how difficult being Trucy's assistant could be. It wasn't until Apollo took on the job himself that he learned that it was no exaggeration. Because of that, he never blamed Athena for not knowing how difficult it could be, so he saw no reason she should be sorry. But the fact that she cared enough to apologize to him anyway meant a lot to him.

"Oh, uh…" he started. He hadn't been expecting her to say something like this so he wasn't sure how to respond. "It's fine. You don't need to be sorry."

Athena leaned forward, placing her elbow on her leg and resting her chin in the palm of her hand. She watched Apollo with a thoughtful expression, appearing as if she was settling in to have an important conversation. "So, which trick was the hardest one for you to handle?"

Knowing exactly what she was getting at, Apollo let out a big, tired sigh. He leaned forward as well, resting his forearms on his legs and watching her with a knowing frown. "The escape trick," Apollo answered. He didn't even need to think about it first; he already knew long ago which trick was the hardest for him to handle.

"Why?"

Since one of the job requirements of magician's assistant was being sworn to secrecy, Apollo had yet to reveal the secrets behind any of the tricks he'd performed. But, now that Athena had taken on the role herself, she had most likely been made aware of the inner workings of the tricks as well. Even if she hadn't, he saw no reason he couldn't answer her question. Now that they'd both experienced the hardships of being magician's assistant, he felt less like it was breaking a rule and more like it was just two kindred spirits sharing their experiences. "In the middle of the trick, I was pulled up to the rafters by a harness. I just had to hang there and wait for the second half of the trick to start." He knew that probably wouldn't have sounded so bad to most people. Most of the other tricks had much more daunting requirements that probably would have been a lot more challenging for most people. But for Apollo, with his severe phobia of heights, he couldn't think of anything worse than that.

And with the way Athena grimaced at his answer, he knew he didn't even need to explain the reason to her. She was fully aware of his phobia and understood exactly what he meant without any further explanation. "Oh, bummer. Sorry about that."

"Yeah," Apollo said, glad she understood. "So, your turn." He hadn't expected to suddenly feel so curious to hear her answer. Other than a few small things here and there, he'd never known Athena as someone who was really afraid of anything. Because of that, he couldn't even begin to guess what her answer would be.

But, with the way she didn't hesitate to answer, he could only assume that she'd already had something in mind the entire time. "Definitely the knife throwing trick," she said without missing a beat.

Instead of understanding what she said, Apollo was a little confused. Though the shows had a number of different knife tricks, he couldn't recall one that involved throwing them. "Huh?"

"Oh, that's right," Athena said, suddenly straightening up. "I forgot that was the new trick that debuted in this show." She smiled. "You'll just have to see it for yourself."

Suddenly curious, they all turned their attention back to the show. It wasn't until a little while later that the trick she was referring to finally appeared on the screen. And when it did, all Apollo could do was stare with wide eyes. As Athena stood against a backdrop, a set of knives was thrown at her in rapid succession. Even though they all appeared to be thrown directly at her, they somehow changed trajectory right before they would have hit her, sticking into the backdrop behind her, as if she resisted them somehow. That was shocking enough, especially because he had no idea how that was even possible. But, what shocked him so much that his mouth fell open, was how Athena didn't even flinch. She continued to play her part perfectly, not even blinking when the knives were flying right at her. It never mattered that Apollo knew that none of the tricks were dangerous in any way; he'd never been able to keep his cool as much as Athena was right now. He turned his head to look at her, his mouth still hanging open. She was just grinning at him, like she found his reaction greatly amusing. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Apollo closed his mouth and cleared his throat. "Uh… yeah." He didn't even need to ask why she hated that trick. Even someone as brave as Athena would have a hard time just standing there while a bunch of knives were thrown right at them.

When the show was over, Datz announced that he was going to empty the trailer and probably wouldn't be back until late that night. After he left, Apollo and Athena went back to work so they could start looking for a new lead to use in their current case.

When they started working on their first case two weeks ago, they both ended up sitting at Apollo's desk when they first started going through the evidence. When it made them realize how much easier it was to look at the same pieces of evidence at the same time when they weren't at separate desks, they made a habit of sharing Apollo's desk whenever they were working on a case. It worked out better than they expected, though it didn't do much for how tiring it was to sit at a desk for hours on end. Their chairs were comfortable, but it was still hard to sit there for hours without a break. That was what gave them the idea to bring their work to the living room, even if it was just to feel like they were getting away from desk work for a while. But when it made them realize how much more ideal it was to work in the living room, they made it their new workspace. The coffee table was smaller than the desk, but the computer not being in the way made them feel like there was more room than there really was to lay out and sort through the evidence. Even though Apollo had invested in high quality chairs when he knew how much time they would be spending at their desks, it could still be exhausting to sit in them all day. The couch was comfortable in a way the chairs weren't, which made it easier to sit there for hours without getting uncomfortable. So they ended up agreeing that, unless there was a reason they needed to be at their desks, they would work on cases in the living room.

So tonight, just like every night, they gathered the files they needed and settled into the living room, sitting side by side on one of the couches as they sorted through the evidence that they laid out on the coffee table.

And, though they found a new lead to work on almost right away, it took another few hours for them to work it into a defense they could use in the trial. By the time they had worked on it long enough to feel prepared, it was well into the night.

When they were finally done with their task, Apollo leaned back into the couch, running his hand across his face as he let out a tired yawn. He saw Athena out of the corner of his eye as she stretched her arms high above her head, then fell back into the couch as she let out a tired sigh. "We finally got it," she said, and he turned to look at her. She was sitting back comfortably with her arms resting on her legs. She turned her head to look at him and gave him a bright smile. Though she was trying to look like she was feeling just fine, he could tell she was just as tired as he was.

Though it was only a half-smile and wasn't anywhere near as bright as hers, he returned her smile with one of his own. "Yeah." His small smile faded and he let out another sigh, rubbing his fingers along the top of his head. "But it wouldn't have taken this long if the client would have just told us about that from the start." He hadn't meant to start complaining, but it was true that building their defense would have been easier if the client had just clearly answered their questions from the start. He was used to it by now and he never blamed any of their clients when they had a hard time giving testimony for any reason, but it never made it any less tiring when they had to work this late. All of their cases so far had required them to stay up late, but this case, by far, required them to stay up later than any of their other cases had up to this point.

Athena's smile faded and she gave him a knowing frown. "Yeah," she agreed. Her frown suddenly faded and she turned to look at the coffee table, looking like she was thinking about something. "But I can't really blame him for being so afraid."

Apollo couldn't help but look at her with a confused frown. "Huh?" During their very lengthy and extensive interview with the client, Apollo couldn't recall seeing him display anything but confusion. No matter what they asked him and no matter how they worded their questions, he could never understand enough to give them a clear answer. During the entire interview, Apollo couldn't recall the client showing any emotion other than an expression of someone who was perpetually confused.

"I mean, yeah, he was confused for sure," Athena started. She turned her attention back to Apollo, still looking thoughtful. "But… more than anything else…" She paused. "...He's afraid."

When Apollo first learned of Athena's hearing ability shortly after they met, he remembered feeling confused by it. He didn't understand how she could hear the emotions in every spoken word she heard, or how that was supposed to help her be better at her job. Even when she tried to explain it to him, he could only have so much understanding of how it actually worked. It wasn't until the first time he saw her use her ability in court that he fully understood what it was and what it could do. Thanks to the Mood Matrix, the little program inside Widget that put the emotions of a person's spoken words on display, he was given a visual of what her ability was, and it helped him to understand what it was and how it worked. He remembered how amazed he was by the program, having a hard time understanding how it could exist in the first place.

But then, when he learned that the entire program had been built around Athena's own natural hearing ability, he was in even more awe than he was before. Every mood that appeared on the screen, every emotion with all of their subtle fluctuations and changes, was exactly what Athena heard on her own at all times. And he couldn't help but feel amazed by her.

And as they continued to work together after that, he watched her as she used her ability to better understand the feelings of the clients they worked with, and how much it helped them through the cases they worked on. It was a unique and helpful tool that helped them in court countless times, often being the key that brought them to victory when her ability helped bring new facts to light that would never have been found otherwise.

But, as time went by, he learned that their was somehow even more to her hearing than just that. She started off by saying how she wanted to use it to be better at her job, but it wasn't as simple as that. It wasn't just a tool that she could use when she was working and just turn it off when she didn't need it. It was a natural ability that she'd had for her entire life, and she couldn't stop it even if she wanted to. Being able to hear the hidden emotions in the spoken words of the people around her was a part of who she was, and she'd never known anything else. Because of that, she could hear the hidden emotions in every spoken word at all times, whether it was when she was working or when she was going about her everyday life.

But even now, long after he'd come to understand this as a part of who she was, there were still times that he needed to be reminded of what she could do. He'd become so accustomed to that part of her that there were times that he took it for granted, forgetting that there was little that anyone could hide from her.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Athena said, her expression unchanging. "I think… maybe that's part of why he's so confused. And maybe it's why he's having such a hard time answering our questions." She paused, her thoughtful expression deepening. "Maybe if we knew why he was so afraid… we would know why he's having such a hard time talking to us."

He was fully aware that she was referring to the client. He understood that she was only talking about how much difficulty the client was having in communicating with them. But, to Apollo, he suddenly heard a different meaning in her words. One that should have been so obvious to him, one that he should have seen right away because it had been right in front of him the whole time. And yet, it took until now for him to clearly see it.

Ever since everything that happened in the past few months, after he was forced to face the grief of the people he lost, Athena had been trying to be there for him. Since the very start, she had been there, ready and willing to help him through it. She gave him the chance to talk about it, the chance to let her help him through it.

And he refused.

At the time, he hadn't been sure why he was rejecting her help. After everything they'd already been through together, he should have known better than to push her away. He already knew from the hardships they'd faced together in the past that he was better off opening up to her. The last time he'd lost someone close to him, he tried to work through the trauma on his own, pushing her away even when he knew he needed her the most. And it took him almost no time to learn that, no matter how much he tried to tell himself otherwise, he wouldn't be able to move passed it on his own. It wasn't until he decided to confide in her that he finally started to come to terms with the loss he experienced back then. It taught him that, no matter what he was going through, he could count on her for anything. It formed a bond of trust that they didn't have before, and it was that bond that was one of the many things that led them to becoming best friends in the first place.

And yet, now that he was going through a personal loss again, even though he already learned that he was better off letting her help him through it than he was trying to deal with it on his own… he was still shutting her out.

And he didn't know why until just now.

When he lost his childhood best friend over a year ago, it was one of the hardest things he'd ever been through. But, with Athena's help, he managed to make it to a point where it no longer affected his everyday life. But, as if fate was somehow against him, it decided that he would barely receive any reprieve from that loss before he was forced to face more. Not just one more, but three. It was true that the circumstances behind each one was different, and some of them were harder to deal with than others, but they were still thrown his way all at the same time. It was so much to handle at the same time that he almost lost himself in it, being so overwhelmed by the grief that he felt like he could no longer breathe. It was so hard to accept that his mind tried to find logic in it all, trying to give a reason as to why he had to lose so many of the people he cared about.

And, in his grief, his mind turned against him and told him that he was the common thread. Anyone who was close to him was destined to befall something terrible, or at the very least, to leave him in one way or another.

He wasn't so vain to believe that any of this was true. He knew nothing that happened had anything to do with him at all. Everyone involved was their own person and was just as susceptible to danger as everyone else, whether they knew him or not. He was fully aware that it was just his grief talking, and none of it was true in the slightest.

And yet, when he thought of Athena, the fears suddenly didn't seem so hard to believe. Even when he knew that none of it was true, even though he knew it was just a fear made by his mind when it was trying to find logic in the losses he went through, he suddenly found himself not willing to risk the chance. Not when Athena was one of the ones at risk. Above all else, above any other fear he'd ever known, the idea of something happening to Athena terrified him more deeply than anything else ever had.

And so, with a fear in his mind and no healthy way to deal with what he was going through, he convinced himself that keeping her away would somehow keep her safe. It was why he never tried to call her one on one after he left, using the excuse that he was too busy for personal calls. It was one of the many things among all the others that had made him so afraid to let her come and work here with him. And it was one of the main reasons he was still refusing to let her help him deal with everything that happened. Even after she'd been here for some time, even after she'd already reached out her hand to him and given him another chance to talk to her about what happened, he was still pushing her away.

And it took until just now for him to realize that he never should have rejected her help in the first place. Even after he learned that he could confide in her about anything, it still took him until now to realize that shutting her out did no one any good at all. He wasn't better off on his own, and he wasn't protecting her from anything. All he was doing was prolonging his own grief and hurting her by letting her worry about him all this time.

"Are you okay, Apollo?"

Apollo hadn't realized he'd been staring into space until he heard Athena speaking to him. When he looked at her, he saw that she was no longer sitting back comfortably. She'd sat up and was slightly leaning towards him, watching him with a concerned expression. He had no idea how long he'd been sitting there staring into nothing. But, with how concerned Athena looked right now, it must have been for longer than he thought.

And this further confirmed that he'd done nothing but worry her all this time. She'd been trying to reach out to him, to give him a chance to talk to her, and he refused every time. She always acted like she didn't have a care in the world, but right now, he could see in her eyes how worried she was for him. Every day that they interacted together, she must have heard his hidden grief, even when he wasn't aware of it himself. He could only imagine how much that must have been affecting her this whole time, hearing the sorrow in his voice while having to pretend she didn't notice because she knew he still wasn't ready to talk about it. She spent all of her time trying to cheer him up while he just stayed back, letting her worry while he tried and failed to deal with it on his own. No matter how much he tried to keep his feelings put away, no matter how much he tried to act like everything was okay, he could never hide his sorrow from her. She knew how deeply he was hurting, and she'd been trying to help him through it this whole time. And he continued to reject her help.

It wasn't that he never wanted to talk about it; he'd wanted to confide in her from the very beginning. But his fears kept him away from her, even when he needed her the most.

And now that he realized all of this, he knew that there was nothing stopping him from talking to her right now.

But he had no idea where to start. So much had happened that it was almost a blur, making him feel like he was lost. There was so much to consider and so much to come to terms with that he had no idea what the starting point would even be.

But, maybe for now, that was just fine. After all, if he started talking about it now, he would surely catch Athena off guard. After how many times she'd given him a chance to talk about it, it would be wrong to just spring it on her out of nowhere. It would be better if he waited and thought about what he wanted to say. Then, not only would he no longer be at a loss for words, but he could wait until she brought it up herself so he could ensure that she was ready as well.

Having made up his mind, he turned his attention to the evidence laid out before him. He busied himself gathering it all into a pile, placing it into the folder until the table was cleared. He picked up the folder and stood up, walking around the table and heading for his desk across the room. He placed the folder atop his desk after he reached it, standing there for a moment as he let his mind settle. He hadn't meant to just walk away from her like that. He'd just started feeling so overwhelmed that he didn't know what else to do. But with how worried she clearly was, he should have just told her that. He could only imagine what she was thinking right now; his behavior was surely confusing to her. One minute they were talking about the case, and the next minute he was so distracted that she needed to pull him back from a reverie he didn't know he was lost in. At the very least, he would apologize to her and let her know he was okay. And, once he finally sorted through his thoughts, he would talk to her.

When he turned around, he stopped in his tracks, taken by surprise by what he saw. She was no longer sitting on the couch like she had been before. Instead, she was standing there, right in front of him. She didn't move, and she didn't say anything. She just watched him, her expression so concerned that he could even see it in her eyes.

And that was when he realized. It made no sense for him to be worried about when Athena would be ready to hear him. In those moments that she extended her hand to him and gave him a chance to talk, she wasn't offering her help in just those moments. She was always there, ready and waiting, and had been from the start. And he knew it. Without meaning to, he was just using it as an excuse to continue keeping all of this to himself. But he didn't want to carry it all on his own, and he never did. Not after he learned from their past experiences that he would never move forward that way. Until he finally confided in her, until he stopped trying to pretend he could do it on his own, he would never see past where he was now. He couldn't do it without her, and he needed to stop trying to tell himself that he could.

"Where…" he started, then paused. Even though he decided that he wasn't going to run anymore, he still didn't know where to start. But he knew that, if he just stood there trying to find the right thing to say, he never would. So, he just continued, saying the first thing that came to mind. "… do you start?"

Though the concern on her face never lessened, he saw a slight frown appear on her brow, as if what he said confused her. "With what?" When she spoke, he was surprised by how quiet she was. She must have been trying to stay calm, worried that he would stop talking to her if she upset him. But she didn't need to worry about that. No matter how afraid he was, no matter how much the rising anxiety inside of him was trying to silence him, he was done running away.

"When… you feel like…" He swallowed, clenching his hands into fists as the emotions threatened to overwhelm him. "… you always... lose anyone that ever meant anything to you?"

And as he said those words in the otherwise quiet office, everything suddenly felt heavy. It was like saying them out loud made everything that happened even more real, and it began weighing down on him like it never had before. Keeping it all in his mind had allowed him to detach himself from it, to let him remain in denial and protect him from the pain he knew he would feel when he stopped running away. He did the same thing when he first lost his childhood best friend, so he knew what kind of pain was awaiting him. Even though he knew this was the right thing to do, taking that first step was so painful that he'd been afraid to take it this whole time.

And, just like she had the first time, Athena knew exactly what he needed.

Slowly and carefully, like she knew how much pain he was in and wanted to be careful not to hurt him, she closed the distance in between them. When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around him and placed her hands against his back, resting her chin on his shoulder and pulling him close to her into a comforting hug.

He just stood there, so taken by surprise that his heart skipped a beat. In the entire time they'd known each other, this was only the second time she'd hugged him like this. The first time was after he lost his childhood friend, and it had taken him by surprise then as well. Not just because he hadn't been expecting her to do it, but because, even though he didn't know it at the time, it ended up being exactly what he needed. In all his grief at the time, he had no idea where to start dealing with everything he was feeling. But she did. She knew that words wouldn't be enough. He was still at a point in his grief that words wouldn't help. He didn't need to be told everything was okay when he was still feeling like the world was coming down around him. What he really needed was a safe place to grieve.

And just like she had back then, she was giving that to him right now.

Slowly and carefully, he raised his arms and wrapped them around her. There was no one there to judge him; it was just the two of them. There were no pressures or responsibilities holding him back; it was just them in this moment, and nothing could stop him from finally letting himself grieve.

And as the emotions began to overwhelm him, he tightened his hold on her. He suddenly felt like a chasm had opened up underneath him, and she was the only lifeline keeping him from being pulled in where he would be forever lost. He buried his face in her shoulder, tightly shutting his eyes and swallowing past a lump in his throat as the emotions he'd kept bottled up for so long finally came bubbling to the surface. His chest shook and he released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. And she didn't say a word. She just tightened her grip on him, like she wanted to ensure him that she was there, and that she wouldn't let him go. And she let him grieve.

For the first time since all of this started, now that she was holding him in the safety of her arms, he finally felt that he could start to heal.

---

Chapter Song – 'May I' – Trading Yesterday