Chapter Text
"Huh? Mr. Payne? I was under the impression that Prosecutor Debeste would be prosecuting today."
"That's right, your honor. Unfortunately, He seems to have fallen ill, and the chief prosecutor graciously gave me his case." The older prosecutor smirked, full of undeserved confidence. The judge hummed in thought, seeming to process the news.
"Great." Hugh thought, slouching in disappointment. The case was pretty open and shut, his client having been framed for a corner store robbery, but still, Hugh had hoped to go head to head with his rival prosecutor, not an old man. The rush of a good argument, the tension of picking apart a testimony where his opponent could easily shoot him down, and the strange, but not unwelcome, fluttering feeling in his chest. Of course, he had learned, the truth was most important, but a little competition in the courtroom never hurt anyone (except when the prosecutor was armed with a whip or a ceramic pot).
Come to think of it, the old guy had mentioned Prosecutor Debeste was sick. He wondered if he was alright, as it's not every day a prosecutor has to be taken off a case. He didn't want to think about it too much, but he had been excited to go against him again today.
The judge nodded, seemingly content with the new arrangement. "Is the defense ready?"
"Hugh!"
Hugh turned and smiled softly as Juniper ran up to him once the crowd in the courthouse lobby cleared. She wrapped him in a brief but tight hug, which he returned, before pulling back. "You did wonderful today! Prosecutor Payne didn't stand a chance!" She smiled.
"Of course he didn't, what's an old man to a genius defense attorney." He scoffed, and Juniper giggled. They (and Robin) all knew he wasn't the greatest (or the smartest) defense attorney, but Robin and Juniper were some of the only people who knew his confidence was a facade.
"It's a shame about prosecutor Debeste, though. I hope he's alright." Juniper said softly. Hugh had thought about it, probably more than he should have, during the trial. Hugh stroked his chin. He had an idea, but even he didn’t know where it came from.
"Juniper, do you know any good tea flavors?" He had finally asked, about 10 minutes into the drive back to their apartment. “Yeah! I have a lot of herbal blends from local places and Thena got me this cinnamon spice tea the other day. It’s really nice. I've been having it almost every day.” Juniper answered, practically glowing as she talked about her girlfriend, and he could see her knitting something out of the corner of his eye. Hugh hesitated, before making a choice. “Do you have any recommendations for something I can give to Prosecutor Debeste?”
He could feel Juniper’s eyes on him as the clicking of her knitting needles stopped. "Something for Prosecutor Debeste? I don't know if I have anything specific. Why do you ask?"
Hugh gripped the steering wheel tighter, his face going warm. "I just..well... you know..." She didn't know, or maybe she did, but Hugh definitely didn't know. Was it an act of kindness? A sign of friendship? Or was it another "genius" plan of his that he came up with on impulse? He straightened his posture, "He's my rival, and I'd like to go against him again sooner rather than later." His knuckles went white, "S-so I figured tea helps with sickness so it might speed up the recovery process. Plus I'm pretty sure prosecutors like tea." Which was a load of bullshit, knowing full well Robin despised the drink when it wasn't iced and full of sugar. Thankfully, Juniper seemed to accept the answer. "We can go to the store later and I can help you pick out a blend for him."
"Thank you."
The halls of the prosecutors building weren't terribly unfamiliar to him, having hung out in Robin's office multiple times, but it would be his first time visiting Debeste's office. He clutched the handles of the small paper bag tightly in his hands, feeling nervous as he continued down the hall of doors. He wasn't sure what was making him so anxious, but he figured it must be his fear of forgetting the office number. The awkwardness of knocking on the wrong person's door was not what he needed to deal with right now.
He came to a halt in front of one of the offices, feeling confident that he had remembered the number correctly. He could hear the soft sound of classical music coming from behind the door. That was a little comforting, he had to admit, as he figured the prosecutor was a fan of the genre from the times he would conduct to himself in court. He straightened up, chin up as he gave a good, hard knock.
The music hadn't stopped ( perhaps it was a recording? ) but he could hear a quiet cough. "Come in!" Sebastian called, and Hugh swung the door open. The office seemed to be the same size as Robin's, but rather than tarp-covered floors topped with ceramic shards there was a Piano near the center of the room. A record player spun in the corner, the source of the music. Sebastian coughed again, and though not to get his attention it still made him snap to meet his gaze.
"Mr. O'Conner? What brings you to my office?" Sebastian asked, his voice a little more quiet and nasally than usual. He sat behind his desk in the back of the room, Papers strewn across the surface and wadded up tissues lay on the floor by a trash can. Must have missed all the shots. He smirked, putting up his usual mask of bursting confidence, "I heard that my rival prosecutor was not feeling "the best", so I can offer a remedy of sorts." He lifted the paper bag, and Sebastian blinked in surprise as the strand of hair on his head shot up. "You didn't have to get me something!" he exclaimed, getting up from his seat to come around to him.
He accepted the bag from Hugh and looked inside, practically shoving his entire face into it. Guess he’s not above gifts , Hugh thought. He suddenly felt awkward, standing in the middle of the office, and he brought his hand to the back of his neck to run his fingers along with his friendship band. “These are some really nice brands, Mr. Edgeworth has some of these in his office!” Sebastian finally spoke, twitching with excitement. Hugh let out the breath he subconsciously hid, happy that he was happy with the teas… but also confused as to why the chief prosecutor would drink fairly cheap brands of tea. “Of course, I’d only offer the best.” The “for you” was left out of that statement, thankfully. Sebastian’s head shot up to him, surprised. Did he forget I was here? “Umm… you can sit if you want? Unless you’re leaving right away of course.”
Hugh hesitated, before sitting down on one of the office’s loveseats. He hadn’t planned on staying when he planned out the exchange in his head beforehand, but it wasn't an unwelcome development. Sebastian sat on the seat across from him, playing with the cuffs of his gloves. “You really didn't have to get me anything” he looked up from his lap to meet Hugh's gaze for a second before letting out a sneeze. Hugh’s hand still hadn’t left his neck, “I wanted you to get better sooner rather than later,” he spoke honestly, before jumping to save himself, “So I wouldn't have to go against a rookie prosecutor, of course! I’d rather not waste my time and ability on some old man than a more capable opponent, like yourself.”
Sebastian’s hair shot up again and he looked back to his hands. Hugh liked that part of him, it made it easier for him to tell how he was feeling, although he himself was a bit confused. What was so surprising to him about what he had just said? That he respected him as an opponent? He’s heard others give him praise before, so was this any different? Of course it is, genius. Rivals don’t normally drop by the other’s office to give them gifts and shower them with compliments. He dropped his hand from his neck, giving a fake into his fist.
“I’ll get better soon, I promise,” Sebastian said, face pink. He lifted his chin, smirking at Hugh, “So sorry that you couldn’t go against a more capable prosecutor, but at least you got to knock up- knock DOWN a few weak fries.” Hugh smirked back, adjusting his glasses, “I guess that’s true, I have the upper-hand of being in practice.” This felt comfortable, the playful banter between them, it was familiar.
Sebastian quickly turned to sneeze into his elbow, effectively breaking the moment. Hugh, remembering where he was, stood and brushed himself off. "I'm afraid I've overstayed my welcome, and I need to get back to work." That wasn't completely a lie, considering there were other cases waiting to be picked up. He started to make his way to the door until Sebastian grabbed his arm. "Wait a second!"
"What is it?"
"I wanted to ask...um..." Sebastian fiddled with his gloves nervously, "I haven't tried these flavors yet, and I'm sure you'd be interested in finding out my opinion of them."
He hadn't thought about that, truly. He hoped that he would either hate the teas or love them, completely forgetting the concept of different tastes. How stupid of him to forget something so obvious.
"So I figured... we could probably exchange numbers? To text?" Sebastian continued, "So you don't need to come back here or anything. Not that I minded hanging out with you at all, might just be easier for us." He smiled, and Hugh felt his heart jolt. Did he enjoy hanging out with him, even for a short time? Not to mention he wanted to keep talking to him? He wanted to, so badly, but he knew he’d have to come clean about his embarrassment of a past to him if they got too close right now, and he really didn't want to deal with the fear of losing a friend again.
Friends? He guessed that's what they were, in a way. Not close like Juniper and Robin, but not so distant as Miss Cykes and Mr. Justice were. He also wanted to BE closer though, and frankly, it felt different to him. He'd talk about it to the others later, perhaps, but right now he still needed to answer him.
"That would be...nice, actually." He responded against better judgment, but the spark in Sebastian's eyes made it worth it in a way. "But ah... I don't have your number."
"Oh right, of course!" Sebastian rushed back to his desk, opening and closing drawers before slapping a hand to his face. "uuugh, I forgot I ran out of business cards. I'd just put it in your phone myself but... you know..." He sniffled, proving his point. You didn't seem to have any issue grabbing my arm earlier . They decided on exchanging numbers verbally, although Hugh made him repeat multiple times to get it right. Despite it not being math, He was never really good at remembering numbers.
When they finished, they both hung around the office door awkwardly, neither one wanting to speak. "Right. Now that that's settled, you should probably get back." Sebastian spoke, straightening up, "I'll...I'll text you ok?" Hugh nodded, unable to speak, and turned to walk down the hallway, only making it a few paces before whipping around again. “I enjoyed hanging out with you too,” He blurted out, before ducking his head and making a beeline to the elevator.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE HUGH GOT A BOOOOYFRIEEEEND" Robin fake sobbed, dramatically draped on the couch of Hugh's office. Juniper was seated next to her, patting her head, "Our little Hugh is all grown-up now." she sighed, wiping away an imaginary tear.
"I'm literally older than both of you." Hugh groaned from his desk, head in his hands to hide his beet-red face. Just because he now had Sebastian's number, gave him a gift unprompted and they both mutually enjoyed each other's company did NOT mean that they were dating. Even thinking about it made him sick, with his heart beating too fast for his liking and his skin unbearably hot. It was like being on the witness stand again except the only one truly in trouble was him.
Robin shot her legs into the air, rocking forward to sit up, "So what's the plan? You have his number now so now you need to plan a D-A-T-E." Hugh groaned again. "She's right, you know. You've had a crush on Mr. Debeste for a while now, Hugh. You should make a move." Robin agreed.
"I DO NOT HAVE A CRU-'' he started to yell, but choked on his words instead. Frozen in time, he ran it all through his head. Sure, they were good acquaintances, friends even, but they only saw each other for work. Hell, this meeting they just had was the first time he had even BEEN to Sebastian’s office. Not to mention the way they talked to each other wasn't anything special. They’d bicker and taunt each other but ultimately come to agree to find the truth. And yeah, maybe he felt bad when he'd noticed a remark he made upset him, and maybe he didn't mind the teasing Sebastian gave him in court. He would do it all while giving him a cute smirk so it wasn’t like he could really be mad. Not to mention Sebastian was generally a nice, well-liked guy who always congratulated him or complimented his work after a trial. No... it doesn't mean anything... this is just normal...
Oh, who was he kidding, It all meant so much to him.
Hugh O’Conner, the “genius” defense attorney, most definitely,
most, unfortunately,
most regrettably,
had a crush.