Chapter Text
The sun was setting as they finally left the Space Center, hand-in-hand. Maybe tomorrow would finally be a "normal" day again; one could hope, right? [Not normal, not fine, better than fine!] Apollo thought to himself. Unfortunately, Apollo would have to wait for a different bus line that arrived at the Space Center's stop half an hour later. Athena's bus was due any minute now, but he didn't WANT her to go. Now that he was finally being honest with her, and himself, he wanted her to be by his side, for just a little while longer.
What appeared to be a bus began to peak over the horizon and Apollo and Athena knew their time was short. The adrenaline of it all still had both heads in the clouds, and since judgement was impaired, Apollo quickly left a peck on Athena's cheek just before the bus pulled into the station. Athena squeeze-hugged him in return before hopping onto the bus, more than a slight spring in her step. She waved at Apollo as the door closed and the bus pulled away.
Apollo's eyes didn't leave the bus until it was out of sight. Only then did he sit on the bench like a bunch of legal papers dropped unceremoniously onto his desk by Phoenix. Speaking of...there was another message on his phone, a text. "So, how'd it go?" Was Phoenix that good or was Apollo that transparent??? Another message: "You're just that transparent, in case you were wondering. All I ask either of you is that you keep it out of the workplace. Remain professional in the office and in the courtroom and what you two do on your own time isn't my problem."
Apollo was oddly irritated that he'd been found out so easily. "Wait a minute..." he thought aloud quietly, "so when Mr. Wright was asking me the other day...DANGIT! Did I have psyche-locks even I didn't know about?!" Maybe not all black psyche-locks were for tragic secrets after all...maybe they just DID represent self-delusion, no more and no less than what Pearl Fey had told Phoenix. The locks had probably shattered when Apollo had made a fool of himself to the entire dining staff... The feeling of freedom was amazing; even the sunset looked more beautiful, though not half as beautiful as... [Hold it right there, Justice. You need to calm down or Trucy will never let you hear the end of it.] That was all he or Athena needed: Trucy poking fun at them as much as Pearl did Maya Fey and Phoenix.
Upon arriving back to their respective apartments, both Athena and Apollo would collapse onto their beds, sighing out, "What. A. Month!" Their respective worlds had been turned around and upside down many times over, and while good had come of it, the cost had been so very high.
"All of this tied to Mom's death and I had no idea," Athena mused aloud to her empty bedroom as she lay there with the back of a hand over her eyes. "I finally got the answers I needed, learned the truth, but Clay had to die for it... It's not fair to him or Apollo!" A few faint trickles found their way down the side of Athena's head. Slowly she faded in and out of sleep, in a dream-like state as she imagined herself hugging her mother. What was weird was that it was her adult self doing it, not the child she had been when her mother breathed her last. "I'm proud of you, Athena. I always was, and I can rest easy now that you know you're not a killer. Now the discord in your own heart can be left in the past and you can step boldly into your future. That's all any parent wants for their child."
Athena pulled away from her mother and flashed her V pose. "You don't have to worry about me, Mom!" She struck her full pose and did her best Chords of Steel impression, "I AM ATHENA CYKES, AND I'M FINE!"
Clay's life for Athena's and Simon's freedom... Apollo wondered as he faded into sleep how Clay himself would have felt about this trade-off. Apollo would forever have mixed feelings about it himself, but as the last of his consciousness faded to sleep, he could have sworn he heard Clay, as if his friend had been standing behind him while speaking. "I lived my life to the fullest, as did you. That's why I could let it go without regrets. There were things I wanted to do, but I left no life un-lived by my own choice. I hope you continue to live your life likewise, Apollo. You'll be fine!"
Apollo, in his semi-dreaming state, turned around in his mind and saw Clay flashing his own V for victory. In the bottom of his heart, Apollo called out to the dream image of Clay, "I AM APOLLO JUSTICE, AND I'M FINE!"