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1. Miles
A part of Miles wondered if he should have noticed something amiss earlier.
In his defense, his first introduction to Sebastian had not exactly been terribly positive. All he had seen was a boy who was arrogant and ignorant in equal measure, and it hadn’t even occurred to him to question whether there might have been a reason for that aside from an ugly personality. He had started to wonder when it became clear that Sebastian was actually rather pleasant when he didn’t consider you an enemy, and yet he still hadn’t thought much on it, too occupied with more urgent matters.
Then it had become obvious just how badly Sebastian had been manipulated by his father, and a lot of things had started to become clear.
Sebastian was not, Miles was starting to notice, stupid. Ignorant on some things, sure, but even that didn’t seem to be his fault. The boy was quite eager to learn, and had no trouble with admitting when he was wrong. It seemed most of his apparent cluelessness had been in fact a deliberate scheme on part of his father, who had clearly benefited from keeping Sebastian insecure and desperate for approval.
Now his father was out of the way, though, and Sebastian was in dire need of proper guidance.
Miles had never considered himself much of a mentor figure. In his younger days he had been too convinced of his own importance to spare much thought to those less experienced, and as he had come to realize his shortcomings he had also come to notice just how twisted his idea of a proper mentor was. Miles did not wish to become like Manfred, had no desire to misguide someone relying on him. In this situation, however, it seemed he had no choice. Sebastian needed someone, and there were precious few people he could trust at the moment, even fewer who Miles would trust to be good for him. As such he was going to step up and do his best, and hope it would be enough.
He supposed it was a fitting penance, in a way, for not realizing that something was amiss before Sebastian had already been pushed to the point of a mental and emotional breakdown.
*
2. Franziska
When Franziska first approached, Miles almost stopped her.
He knew Franziska was not cruel by nature, but she could certainly be strict, and she was hardly predisposed to be gentle towards Sebastian. Someone who had tried to come to the courthouse with a bullet in her shoulder would hardly consider being kidnapped an adequate excuse for shirking his duty, as Franziska would no doubt see it.
“Sebastian Debeste.” Of course Franziska would be faster than Miles’s contemplation, coming to a stop in front of Sebastian with a click of her heels. “That was… adequate.” From Franziska, that was rather strong praise.
Sebastian looked as surprised as Miles felt, his rebellious lock of hair standing up. “Um… thank you?”
“There is something you must keep in mind, though.” Sebastian shrank away a bit, and Miles stepped forward to interfere, only for Franziska’s voice to get… almost soft? Less sharp, at the very least. “You are not your father. You are most certainly not responsible for his sins, nor do you need to atone for them.”
“B-but!” Sebastian bent his baton in his hands to the point Miles was afraid it might snap. “I should have realized! He was doing all that in front of me, and I never even suspected!” Tears were already starting to well in his eyes. “I… I trusted him, even when he hurt me and used me…”
“Hm.” Franziska seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then turned on her heel. “Follow me.”
Sebastian glanced around franticly as though trying to see if there was anyone else she could possibly be speaking to, but then followed her. Miles watched them go, hoping that Franziska would be… not herself, he supposed.
It was a while before the two returned, with Sebastian clearly having spent most of the time crying. He looked less distraught, though, and Franziska’s expression was as close to conforting as she was capable of, so Miles had to conclude whatever they had talked about had not made matters worse.
Neither of them ever told him what they had discussed, but Miles could make an educated guess. If anyone truly understood the pain of having looked up to someone who had then betrayed their trust, it would be Franziska. Certainly, Miles had been more personally wronged by Manfred, but at least he had never seen the man as his father, nor had Manfred been the sole reason for his choice of profession.
“Sebastian?” He decided to approach at last. “Is everything all right?” He knew the question was ridiculous even as he asked it. Of course the boy wasn’t all right, he’d just had his world come down around him.
“I… I think so.” Sebastian didn’t sound entirely convinced, but at least he was more or less composed. Well, aside from all the tears, anyway.
“Now, don’t forget what we spoke about.” Franziska crossed her arms. “You are a better person than what that man would have made you into. Do not let me down.”
“I won’t.” Sebastian sounded slightly dubious about his chances of such, but at least he wasn’t declaring how much of a failure he would be.
It was, Miles decided, a start.
*
3. Kay
"If you drop any of that on my couch, you are going to find a way to get it off, Kay.”
“Oh, relax!” Kay grinned, waving her hand in the air. Why she had decided that Miles’s office was the best possible place to be painting her nails sparkly purple, he had no idea, but clearly that was her conclusion. “You think I’ve never used nail polish before?”
“How would we know?” Sebastian blinked, looking up from the papers he had been looking through at the other end of the couch. He was very diligent about his studies as Miles was helping him catch up on all his missing knowledge, a trait that Miles very much appreciated and Kay seemed determined to disrupt. “You’re always wearing gloves anyway.”
“Hey, it’s not about what people can see! There’s a lot of things people don’t show others that are still true.” Kay huffed, then gave them a bright grin. “Hey, I know! How about you take a break from all those musty papers and I do your nails, too?”
“Um.” Sebastian blinked in surprise. “I… don’t know if that’s appropriate.”
“Why not?” Kay huffed. “What, because you’re a boy? That’s just stupid. If Mr. Edgeworth can wear ruffles, you can wear nail polish.”
Miles rubbed his forehead. “I’m not sure the two are exactly equal, Kay.”
“Sure they are! It’s not against the dress code or anything, is it? I mean, it would obviously be sexist if something was only allowed for women and not men!”
“In theory, yes. In practice, it would be rather inappropriate for me to show up to work in a skirt and high heels.” Though he suspected Franziska would have had Things to say about it either way.
“Nobody’s talking about skirts! Even though Sebastian would totally look cute in one.” Kay was… well. Kay was most definitely one of a kind. “It’s just a bit of nail polish. Don’t be shy, now!”
“It’s not that.” Though Miles would argue Sebastian was, in fact, often rather shy. “I just… I don’t like it when people see my hands.”
“Oh, it’s okay!” Kay grinned. “I promise not to look.”
“That’s not exactly good coming from someone who wants to paint my nails.” Miles couldn’t help but approve of Sebastian’s comeback. Kay was a lovely girl in many ways, but she definitely needed someone to speak against her every now and then.
“It’s just a figure of speech.” Kay tilted her head. “Come on, why not? It’ll be fun! And if you don’t like the result, nobody’s going to see it anyway since you have your gloves.”
“Kay.” Miles frowned. “Stop pushing.” He knew she meant well, but her pushy tendencies paired with Sebastian’s insecurities were not the healthiest combination.
“No, it’s… it’s all right.” Miles wasn’t terribly reassured by Sebastian’s slightly wild-eyed look, but claiming Sebastian couldn’t decide for himself was unlikely to make him any less insecure. “I just… it’s ugly.”
“Well, no better way to make things prettier than a bit of sparkle!” Kay smiled at Sebastian. “Let me try at least? Just one finger to start. And if you don’t like it, I promise I’ll stop right away.”
Sebastian hesitated, and Miles was certain he would refuse. Finally, though, he bit his lip and nodded. “Okay. Just… please don’t stare?”
Despite himself, Miles couldn’t help but glance over as Sebastian took off a glove, his movements slow and deliberate. He had to bite down a gasp as he saw no doubt exactly the reason for Sebastian’s hesitation. His hands were all but covered with scars, some of them disturbingly fresh.
Burn marks. Blaise Debeste truly was a monster.
To her credit Kay didn’t make a comment, didn’t even as much as blink. Instead, she took Sebastian’s hand in her own, her movements gentle but not so careful as to draw attention to it. Miles wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her move with such consideration before. “Right. Which finger should we start with?”
Well. Perhaps some sparkly nail polish wasn’t all that bad.
*
4. Klavier
Miles was not sure what to think about Klavier Gavin.
Well. He knew what he was inclined to think, given the man’s involvement in Wright’s disbarment. For all that they did not always see eye to eye, Miles knew there was no way Wright would have fabricated evidence. As such, the person who had accused him of such was obviously suspicious.
No matter how he tried, though, he couldn’t find anything amiss about Gavin. He was young and somewhat arrogant, sure, but so had Miles been once upon a time. Besides that, no matter how he looked, Miles couldn’t see anything but a decent man. Gavin was friendly with just about everyone he met, sometimes overly so, but never with any apparent malice. His personality grated on some people, sure, but that was different from saying it was bad.
Even so, Miles was rather tense when he was supposed to help Gavin and Sebastian get started on a shared case. The last thing he wanted was for Gavin to undermine Sebastian’s progress by trying to upstage him when the boy was working so hard to catch up.
The last thing he expected, on the other hand, was for both of them to light up at the sight of each other.
“Klavier!” Sebastian smiled brightly, a rare sight from him. “I heard you’d come back, but I’ve been too busy to seek you out. You got your badge, then?”
“Jawohl.” Gavin grinned, then stepped forward and pulled Sebastian into a hug. Miles very nearly protested, but Sebastian seemed to be fine with it. “It’s been far too long since I’ve seen you!”
“Well, that’s clearly going to change now.” Sebastian smiled. “I’m sorry I missed your first case. I had… a lot to deal with.”
“Ja, I’ve heard.” Gavin actually looked serious for once. Miles hadn’t thought he was capable of it. “If there’s anything I can do to help…”
“I’ll give you a call, yes, I know.”
Miles cleared his throat, causing both young men to spin towards him. “Ah. I’m sorry to interrupt, but should I perhaps assume you have met before?”
“Ah. Right.” Sebastian looked slightly embarrassed. “We, ah, we actually attended Themis together.” His smile fell a little, as always when he was reminded of his studies. Sebastian still had no idea how much of his grades were due to his hard work — and Miles had no doubt he had indeed worked hard — and how much had been his father’s influence.
“Ja. Except then this one decided to graduate early, and I obviously had to catch up with him, so I finished my studies in Europe.” Gavin clapped Sebastian on the shoulder. “Doubt he’s still learned to appreciate proper music.”
“My taste in music is fine! You’re the one producing indistinguishable noise for the masses.”
“Ja, and the masses adore it.” Klavier grinned. “It’s still not too late to join the band, you know. Not that I don’t enjoy composing, but I would rather like to make use of your talent.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m pretty sure the kind of music I write wouldn’t sit well with people who enjoy yours.”
“Composing?” Miles lifted his eyebrows. “I wasn’t aware you wrote music, Sebastian.”
Sebastian looked like he was about to answer, but Gavin cut in. “Ach, of course! Mein Mausi is an excellent composer. He steadfastly refuses to extend his repertoire, though. Apparently rock isn’t refined enough for his tastes.”
“Says the person who complains classical is going to put him to sleep.” Sebastian huffed, and strangely enough it was the most aggressive reaction Miles had seen from him, for all that their banter was clearly friendly. Perhaps Gavin’s company was relaxing him? “I’m sure we can catch up later, though. For now, we have work to do.”
“Very true. We shouldn’t keep Herr Edgeworth waiting any longer.” Gavin actually took off his ridiculous sunglasses. Why he’d been wearing them indoors in the first place, Miles wasn’t sure. “Let’s get this show going, then!”
Miles still wasn’t sure what to think of Gavin, and it would likely be some time before he figured it out. For now, though, he supposed he could at least trust Gavin would not be a detrimental influence to Sebastian.
Goodness knew the boy needed more friends.
*
5. Lang
Miles wasn’t sure why he was surprised to find Sebastian on his phone as Miles walked into the room.
It wasn’t exactly unusual for someone to be speaking on the phone, particularly not in their profession. However, Miles wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Sebastian look so relaxed while talking to someone, even people like Kay. As Sebastian had once explained it, phone calls made him anxious, as he ended up overthinking his words. At least in face to face conversations he could always resort to body language if all else failed.
Despite the curious sight Miles contained himself, making to back out of the room to give Sebastian some privacy. This was when Sebastian noticed him, though, motioning for him to wait. With a few more words Sebastian ended the call, though he only managed to make Miles even more curious.
“Ah, Prosecutor Edgeworth.” Sebastian gave him a careful smile. “Did you need something?”
“I was just going to drop off some documents.” Miles indicated the pile of papers he was carrying. “Might I ask who you were talking to?”
“Hm? Oh, it was just Agent Lang. He’s been calling me sometimes to check up on me.” Sebastian’s easy expression turned into one of worry. “Um. That’s all right, isn’t it?”
“Of course.” Though he would have to check with the agent to make sure this was in fact just friendly interest and not some delusion that Sebastian might have been involved in his father’s crimes. “Though I couldn’t help but notice that your side of the conversation wasn’t entirely in English.” And while Miles hadn’t quite understood the couple of words that didn’t fit in, he could at least make an educated guess on what language it was.
“Um. Right.” Sebastian actually flushed a little at that. “That was Agent Lang’s idea, actually.”
“Really, now.” Miles lifted his eyebrows. “Should I ask what idea that would be, exactly?”
“Well… you know I’ve learned a lot of words wrong.” Though it had turned out even Sebastian himself was quite baffled to find out just how many things he was confused about. Apparently Blaise had not only not corrected his wording, but discouraged others from doing so. Judging by the rest of his treatment of the boy, Miles rather suspected this had been an indirect way of discrediting Sebastian in front of others.
“I do.” Miles nodded. “Though you have been doing well on learning.”
“Right. But it’s difficult, and more so over the phone, when I don’t even notice I’ve said something wrong unless the other person says so.”
“And you can’t really converse with Agent Lang otherwise.”
“Exactly.” Sebastian nodded. “So, ah. He suggested that instead of trying to relearn meanings and such, I could learn new words instead for things I’m not sure about.”
“Let me see if I have this correct.” Miles wasn’t sure whether to be more amused or baffled. “Because you have some trouble with your native language, Lang is teaching you Chinese instead?”
“…I know it sounds strange.” Sebastian looked a little embarrassed. “And I know I need to learn the correct words in English, too. But while I’m working on all that, it’s sometimes easier to learn a completely new word than to unlearn what I already thought I know.”
“That… sounds rather logical, actually.” And Miles was never one to downplay logic. “Do what you need to do to ease your anxiety. If this makes it easier for you to communicate with a friend, I absolutely encourage it."
“It definitely helps.” Sebastian nodded. “And you telling me when I’ve got something wrong helps too.”
“I’ll continue to do so, then.” Miles returned the nod. “Now, shall we take a look at these documents?”
Anything that helped Sebastian was an excellent thing.
*
+1: Apollo
“Why are you doing this, again?”
“I thought I made it very clear.” Klavier flashed Apollo a grin. “You, Herr Forehead, need more friends.” Apollo was about to protest, only for Klavier to cut him off before he even started. “Friends you aren’t associated with through work.”
“Isn’t it counterproductive to introduce me to another prosecutor, then?” Apollo lifted his eyebrows. “What if we end up working a case against each other?”
“Doubtful.” Klavier shook his head. “You seem to have taken a liking to murder, while Sebastian specializes in child abuse and domestic violence.”
“Now there’s a sentence I absolutely don’t want anyone to take out of context.”
“Ach, and now criticizing my ambiguous wording. You and Sebastian are definitely going to get along just fine.” Klavier rounded another corner, then started walking faster as he spotted someone further down the hall. “Sebastian! There you are!
Simply based on the fact that this was a friend of Klavier’s, Apollo had expected something, well, someone rocker-like. Instead he found them approaching what had to be one of the most professional-looking prosecutors Apollo had met so far, dressed in a neat blue suit. Even his long, curly ponytail looked downright restrained compared with Blackquill’s mane.
“Klavier!” Debeste smiled at their approach. “And friend? Ah, that’s right, you did mention you wanted to introduce us.”
“Indeed. You both need more friends, and as one of the few, I thought it prudent to involve myself.” Klavier grinned, apparently about to say something else, when his phone chimed. Digging it out of his pocket and looking at the screen, he frowned. “Ah, verdammt. It seems I need to go, so the two of you will have to handle introductions without me. Try not to make him cry, hmm, Herr Forehead?”
Klavier was gone before Apollo could even splutter out a protest. “Honestly,” he grumbled. “My hair isn’t that scary!”
“Ah. I’m pretty sure Klavier was teasing me, not you.” The prosecutor looked a little embarrassed, and it now occurred to Apollo Klavier hadn’t even told him the man’s full name. “I tend to cry rather easily.”
“Uh. Right.” That was not something Apollo knew how to deal with, not really. He had learned by now that Dhurke had not been right about everything, but it still felt less than appropriate for a man to admit to crying so easily. “Ah, excuse me. Apollo Justice, attorney.” He reached out his hand, hoping to return things to more familiar ground.
“Sebastian Debeste, prosecutor.” Debeste’s handshake was rather unremarkable, neither overly firm nor unpleasantly soft. Not that Apollo really had much attention for the sensation of such, his focus drawn on Debeste’s hands instead.
It was, quite possibly, the most contradictory sight he had seen in a while. Quite unlike his otherwise professional appearance, Debeste had his nails painted in soft pastel colors dotted with shining glitter. This stood in stark contrast with the scars covering the rest of his hands, the skin discolored and uneven.
“If you’re looking for a polite excuse, feel free to compliment my nails.”
“Ah!” Apollo felt a blush rising on his face. “I — I didn’t mean to stare.”
“It’s fine. I’m rather used to it.” Debeste gave him a faint smile. “To be honest, it took me years to stop wearing gloves everywhere. In the end I decided not to let someone else’s cruelty define what’s ugly about me.”
“Um.” And what exactly was he supposed to say to that? On the other hand, Debeste was discussing it himself, so… “I take it you didn’t just pick up a surprisingly hot teapot.”
“Not quite, no.” Debeste’s lips twitched a little. “Let’s just say there’s a reason I specialize in abuse cases.”
“Klavier did mention that.” And yet, he wasn’t sure he understood. “I’m… not sure I could do that, myself.” Cases involving family were difficult enough for him, and at least his experiences were not due to deliberate cruelty.
“Klavier keeps telling me I should switch to something easier, too.” Debeste shrugged. “I just figure that, well. I know exactly how difficult it is to stand up against someone you love and fear in equal measure. It’s only fair that other people have someone in their corner who understands that.”
“For what it’s worth, I think that’s quite admirable.” Apollo shook his head. “Even if I do think you might like to find a job that doesn’t make you cry quite so often.”
“To be fair, at this point I’m pretty sure crying is just how I process any emotion.” How could Debeste smile while saying that? “As long as it doesn’t affect my ability to do my job, I don’t see a problem.”
“I… suppose that could be it." Apollo paused. “Ah. You know, I actually have no idea why Klavier wanted me to meet you in particular. You know, aside from his comments about needing more friends.”
“I’m pretty sure he mentioned something about how I should meet someone who matches my awful taste.” Debeste chuckled. “By which I assume he means you are not a fan of his music.”
“Wait. You don’t like the Gavinners either?” Apollo blinked. “Thank god, I was starting to think I’m the only one who thinks it’s just noise.”
“Indeed. I rather prefer classical, myself.” Debeste smiled. “So. Looking at the time, would you like to have lunch while we commiserate over our atrocious taste in friends? My treat if you’ll indulge me and listen to me ranting about musical theory and how Klavier seems convinced volume equals value.”
“As long as you don’t expect me to understand more than one word in ten, it’s a deal.”
And, well. As far as shady deals with prosecutors went, Apollo figured this was the best he could hope for.