"Wanna go to prom with me?"

Apollo blinked, placing the court document on the small table in front of him. He leaned back on the couch of the Wright Anything Agency and stared at the girl in front of him, trying to discern if this was a prank. But Trucy wore the same cheerful grin he'd grown accustomed to, and for once, he couldn't get a good read on her. Questions buzzed in his mind, but he decided to keep it simple.

"No."

He went back to looking at the file, but as he feared, Trucy wasn't easily deterred.

"Come on, Polly, just think about it—me, you and the rest of the twelfth grade dancing up a storm all night. Sounds pretty fun, doesn't it? The next day's Saturday, so you'll even be able to sleep in if someone spikes the fruit punch."

"No offense, but I can't think of a worst way to spend a Friday," Apollo replied, flipping the page. "The best part of graduating high school was knowing I never had to set foot in one again."

"Technically, you still won't. It's going to be held at the Gatewater Hotel."

Apollo sighed and closed the folder again. "Trucy, weren't you saying last week how proms are a conformity-enforcing scam designed to squeeze money out of girls? Why the sudden change of heart? And why me, of all people?"

"Well," Trucy began, crossing her arms and looking off to the side. "A girl's heart is a fickle thing, Apollo. I might not have wanted to go last week, but now it's this week. And we've known each other for a while now, so who better to ask than my lovely assistant, Apollo Justice?"

"Does your dad know about this? That you're asking me, I mean?"

"No, but I'm sure he'll be fine with it. I don't see why he wouldn't be, unless you're a serial killer or something."

"That's comforting," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "When is it, anyway?"

Trucy put a finger to her chin in contemplation. "Umm…two days, I think."

"What?! Trucy, there's no way I could go even if I wanted to." Which I don't... "You need to give someone the heads up at least a week in advance."

"Why? That seems like overkill, if you ask me. All guys need to do is put on a suit. You could tell someone to come an hour before Prom and they'd still be able to arrive on time."

"What if they wanted to rent a limo or get a corsage? Then what?"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Truly said, mischief sparkling in her eyes. "We're going as friends, okay? I don't need all that. And you wouldn't want Klavier to get jealous, would you?"

"Shhh!" Apollo hissed, face flushing as his eyes instinctively darted towards the door. The logical part of him knew his fears were unreasonable, that anyone who'd walk through the doors of the Wright Anything Agency wouldn't give him any grief about his sexuality aside from some gentle ribbing that he chose Klavier, of all people. But he couldn't help feeling shy and vulnerable at the thought of opening up, which is why the only person aware of their relationship was Trucy. And even then, the only reason he admitted it was because her hyper-perception led her to figure it out on her own.

Tracy rolled her eyes. "There's no one here but us." Then, her face grew more solemn. "You know, I really think y—"

He wasn't in the mood for the 'You should tell Daddy and Athena!' speech. Not today. "Look, I have other things to do on Friday. Can't you ask someone else more…age-appropriate? I know you're not into romance and want to stay single forever and yada yada, but there's got to be some guys from your school you can ask to go with as friends."

"Not really. I only have three guy friends, and they all have dates already."

"How many people are in your grade?" he pushed.

The edges of Trucy's lips flickered downward. "This might be hard to believe, Apollo, but the vast majority of high school boys don't want to spend time with a girl who practices magic for a living. They're not exactly the most open-minded people." Apollo felt a twinge of guilt and sympathy, remembering his own high school experience. "And what could you possibly be doing Friday night? I know we don't have any current cases…"

"I just don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of teenagers!" he said, finally getting to the crux of the matter. "Trucy, you know I'm twenty-five now, right? Isn't it against the rules to arrive with a guy over eighteen?"

Trucy shrugged. "I know a couple of girls who are. I think the principal said it was okay as long as they're eighteen, and the guy is twenty-five or younger. So you juuuuust made the cut."

Lucky me. "It still feels skeevy."

"It shouldn't!" she huffed, putting her gloved hands on her hips. "Since we're going as friends only. Those other guys actually dating high-schoolers are the skeevy ones. And I already let everyone know it's a friend-only thing when I bought your ticket, so don't worry."

"You what?!" He felt a headache coming on. "Trucy, I didn't even say I would go. And how did you come up with enough money to buy two tickets?"

"My shows at the Wonder Bar have been getting a bigger turnout than usual. At first I was saving my money, but then I decided it would be best if I just paid for your ticket, since you never would have agreed otherwise."

"You're right, I wouldn't. You can't just make decisions for other people like that, Trucy. It's not right."

She bit her lip, shoulders slumping. "I know, and I'm sorry. I know I'm being really pushy and selfish. It's just…it's really important for me to go to this. Please…"

Apollo sighed as she implored him with those puppy-dog eyes. He knew he had no obligation to go, but felt illogically guilty doing so after all the times Trucy helped him out in the past. But the idea of dancing around with a bunch of kids seven years younger than him was physically painful.

"But what would your friends think?" asked Apollo, still clinging to the futile hope he could escape this somehow. "I know you told people it was friends-only, but I'm still a grown-ass adult. Gossip's going to happen regardless."

"I already told my friends about you, and they're really looking forward to seeing the infamous Apollo Justice in person." Trucy giggled, and a wave of dread washed over Apollo. "As for my other classmates, well, to be honest I don't really care what they think. Why should their negativity affect my good time?"

Apollo tried to rack his brain for other arguments, but found none. Still, he wasn't going down without a fight. "Trucy, I really don't think this is a good idea—for either of us."

Trucy's smile faded. She plopped herself next to Apollo on the couch and kicked her feet on the table.

"Maybe not," she murmured. "And if you really, really, really don't want to go, then I'm not going to force you. But—" She turned to look at him, eyes shining with emotion and—

Holy shit, are those actual tears?

"I've always stuck by your side even when you had some not-so-bright ideas. If you do the same for me now, I promise you'll get free admission to every single magic show I do, from now until I'm, like, ninety. I just really want to go to this? Pretty please?"

He couldn't shake the feeling there was something Trucy wasn't telling him, but he'd also been around her enough to know that if she wasn't being upfront about something, he wouldn't be able to get it out of her this early.

And it was just Senior Prom, right? What big, dark secrets could she actually have?

Guilt finally got the better of him. He gave Trucy a weak smile and sighed. "Fine. Just make sure it's ok with Mr. Wright."

Trucy's face broke into a grin and she pumped her fist in the air, whooping. "YES! Thanks, Polly, you're the best! You won't regret this, I promise."

Yeah. Famous last words…

"I think it's hilarious."

"You would," grumbled Apollo. He tried to scowl at the rockstar next to him, which was especially difficult when the man in question winked with those sparkly, gorgeous blue eyes of his.

Klavier leaned back and crossed his legs on the coffee table, inches next to their empty Chinese takeout cartons. Apollo couldn't restrain himself: "That's unsanitary."

"Nonsense. These boots are pristine," chuckled Klavier. "And no changing the subject."

"I don't know what else you want me to say," Apollo sighed, picking up the remote and switching the channel to an action movie. "It's going to be five hours of torture."

"Only if you go in with a bad attitude." He patted Apollo's shoulder, and Apollo couldn't suppress that little excited flutter he always felt even after months of being together. "But it doesn't have to be that way. When the Gavinners first started out, some of the only gigs we could get were school dances. Those were some good times…"

A vague memory of something Klavier mentioned offhandedly months ago popped into his mind. "I'm sure that one Prom Queen you screwed agrees."

Klavier grinned. "Everly. Heh. Wonder if she remembers me."

Who wouldn't? "Depends. Did you take off the sunglasses?"

Apollo often poked fun at Klavier's old pictures, especially his teenage self's propensity of wearing sunglasses indoors. It always got a laugh out of Klavier, and today was no exception. "I think I still have that pair. Used to think they were lucky. Maybe I can lend them to you and you'll get some tail that night, ja?"

Apollo rolled his eyes playfully. "Yeah, between the principal, food caterers, and photographers, I'll be drowning in it." Then, his face grew more somber. "Look, it was one thing for you to like it when you were seventeen. But I'm an adult going as someone's date–well, fake date—and not a chaperone. It's weird."

"If the school is fine with it, there's nothing to worry about. Especially since you're going as a favor to your friend and nothing more. Nothing, ah, ungentlemanly." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively, making Apollo blush. "You're going to chat with Fraulein Wright's friends, drink some fruit punch, watch these jugen stumble into the forays of adolescent love, listen to music, dance—"

"I'm not dancing."

"I'm going to pay Fraulein Wright to make you dance. But, most importantly, you're going to have a good time. You deserve to relax every once in a while, ja?"

"That's…not easy for me," muttered Apollo. His eyes drifted to the framed Gavinners pictures on the wall. He wished he had even a fraction of his boyfriend's confidence.

"I know it's not." Klavier slipped his hands into Apollo's. "But Prom's not as intimidating as it seems. You said it yourself: you're an adult, and they're teenagers, ja? Nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid of them," Apollo protested, growing red around the neck. "I just don't want…you know."

"Attention," Klavier chuckled wryly. "Trust me, Herr Forehead, I know."

Klavier's tone was light, but Apollo shifted uncomfortably nonetheless. Klavier was open about his bisexuality since adolescence, whereas Apollo never quite overcame his own insecurities about his exclusive attraction to men.

He wished he did, though—Klavier deserved better. He deserved someone who wouldn't recoil and dry up like a worm on cement if they ever went public and endured the blaring light of the media.

"Does that bother you?" Apollo asked quietly. "Us not going public?"

Klavier chuckled. "Nah. I knew what I was getting into."

Though he gained more experience discerning Klavier moods over the past few months, the man was still ultimately a performer.

"Sorry," mumbled Apollo. His hand slipped away from Klavier's.

"Why?"

"Because it would be so much easier for you if we were."

Klavier took Apollo's hand again, caressing it gently with the smooth, nimble fingers of a musician. "But it wouldn't be easier for you, and if it's not easier for you, then it's not going to feel easier for me."

Is it easier for me, though?

Perhaps seeing Apollo's uncertainty, Klavier gently took Apollo's chin and tilted it so he couldn't avoid eye contact. "I mean it."

A playful smirk played across Apollo lips as he leaned forward slightly. "I know you do. That's why I—" Fuck it. "—love you."

The words always made him embarrassed, but they felt right in the way nothing else did. Plus, the expression on Klavier's face made it worth it.

Klavier's lips finally met his. The kiss grew deeper as Apollo leaned down on his back, and only broke once Klavier removed his purple jacket.

They spent the next few hours proving Apollo's assertion, and the bliss was almost enough to make Apollo forget about Trucy's prom.

Almost.