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“Apollo, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Well. Something was clearly wrong here. Apollo frowned over toward Juniper, who was picking at the label on her frappuccino intently. He knew something was wrong, of course, from the moment he asked her how she was. His bracelet had made sure of that.
She looked worse now than she had then, actually. Her face was pale, her knuckles were white around the plastic cup she was clutching against her chest. She looked a bit like she’d made up her mind about something, but that something involved jumping off of a building to her doom.
“Sure,” Apollo replied, giving her as encouraging a smile as he could. “You want to sit down maybe?” They were in People Park. They’d been coming and hanging out here for a while now, chatting over coffees and walking around. It was always a nice respite from work, especially with how busy things had been recently. And having no friends outside of work made it a bit hard to just go out and get some fresh air.
Juniper kneaded the cup in her hands, the plastic clicking as it popped back into place. “N-No, I think I need to just...say it,” she decided. “I need to say it now, before I chicken out again.”
“...oh,” Apollo said. “Alright? What’s up, then.”
“Apollo…” She hesitated, looking a bit like she could start coughing any moment. Then she turned, grabbing Apollo’s hand in her own. “I… Listen, this last month has been absolutely wonderful, and...”
“Oh, good,” Apollo said brightly. “Yeah, I’ve been having fun too.”
Wrong thing to say, given Juniper’s flinch. “I...Apollo, I think we should see other people.”
Apollo frowned at that. What did that have to do with them hanging out? “...like therapists?”
“Huh?” Juniper looked confused. “No?”
“Well, there are a lot of people here, then, so I don’t know what—”
“No, Apollo, that’s not…” She winced. She took a deep breath. She set down her drink and took both of Apollo’s hands. “I’m sorry, I...I’m breaking up with you Apollo.”
Apollo blinked. Apollo blinked again. “...huh?”
“I’m so sorry.” Juniper looked close to tears as she said it. “I hope that we can at least stay friends, Apollo, you’re still such a wonderful person, I just…”
“Wait no, hold on,” Apollo pulled his hands back, mind suddenly reeling, because Wait wait when were Juniper and I dating?!
“Oh, Apollo, I’m so sorry.” Juniper was crying now, full on crying as Apollo gaped at her. “I know this is breaking your heart, but we just can’t be together anymore. I never wanted to hurt you like this, but I just don’t think that we were meant to be.”
“Meant to what?” Oh god why did Apollo feel dizzy. She was breaking up with him?! Why was she breaking up with him?! How was she breaking up with him?!
“This past month has been wonderful, and you’ve been the perfect boyfriend—”
“I have?!”
“—but I don’t think I like you the way that you like me.”
“You don’t what?!”
“I know this is hard to hear,” Juniper continued, much to Apollo’s horror. “But it’s not you, I promise. It’s me, I’m the one who’s changed.”
“I...I’m so confused.”
“Please, don’t be!” Juniper told him softly. She reached over, gently touching his face, and oh no a lot of things in hindsight were suddenly clicking into place. “I know we both thought that we were perfect for each other, but I’ve been...I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching recently, and...”
Oh god, no wonder Juniper was so nervous all the time. No wonder Juniper got so antsy when those two dating weirdos started kissing in that movie they went out to see together. No wonder Juniper kept kissing his cheek Apollo Justice she’s in high school what are you doing?!
“...Wow,” Apollo managed.
“Please, just let me explain myself,” Juniper said gently.
“Y-You really don’t have to—”
“All this time,” Juniper soldiered on, as if any hesitation and she’d lose the will to keep talking, “all this time, I thought I liked you that way, because you’re so kind and handsome and sweet, and you’re supposed to fall in love with kind, handsome people right? And I thought it all finally clicked into place, but...I think...I-I think I don’t...like boys that way?”
Oh, and now she was coming out to him. “O-Oh, that’s—”
“I’m so, so, so sorry, Apollo," Juniper interrupted. "I wish I’d figured it out earlier. I never wanted to hurt you like this. You’re such a wonderful man, and I know that someday, you’re going to find a wonderful woman who’s going to love you and appreciate you in the ways that I can’t—”
“Oh, right, a ‘woman’—”
“—but that woman can’t be me,” Juniper finished. “I keep trying to make it happen, to make everything just click into place, but that woman can’t be me.”
Apollo opened his mouth, to say something, maybe ‘That’s fine, Juniper,’ or ‘Hey since when were we dating?’ or ‘Is this a bad time to tell you I’m gay?’ but none of it was coming out, and Juniper looked a bit like she’d accidentally kicked a puppy.
After a stretch, Juniper sniffled. “...Is there any way you could forgive me, Apollo? I-I don’t...I don’t want to lose our friendship.”
“No, that—Yeah. Yeah! O-Of course we’re still friends, Juniper,” Apollo stammered out, rubbing sheepishly at his head. “Yeah! You’re—Yeah, I don’t want to ruin our friendship either. Just friends. A-okay with me.”
“...oh Apollo.” And then Juniper threw her arms around him tightly. Apollo grunted, most of his brain power a bit too preoccupied with literally everything else that had just happened to do much else, maybe swat at her back a few times in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. After a moment, she leaned back, before giving him one last sorrowful kiss to the cheek, one last goodbye to whatever it was that had been going on between them. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
“Yeah don’t worry, I...absolutely understand everything that just happened,” Apollo told her.
She nodded, giving his hand one last squeeze. Then she picked up her drink, turned, and walked off.
///
“Oh hey Apollo,” Phoenix greeted as Apollo walked into the office. “I thought you were out for the day.”
“...Yeah, I just...I need a sec,” Apollo told him.
“Oh, is everything alright, Apollo?” Athena called. “Is there anything I could help with?”
Apollo’s bracelet tightened slightly. It’d been doing that around Athena for a while now, too. Plus she’d been rather snippy with him lately, though why Apollo couldn’t even begin to guess.
“Nah, I think I’m okay,” Apollo told her, still feeling a bit dazed. “Oh, uh, also Juniper dumped me?”
Phoenix and Athena both froze. “...oh no!” Athena cried, quickly clamping a hand over the flash of several different colors on her chest. “That’s so horrible. Are you okay?”
“You and Juniper Woods were dating?” Phoenix asked, frowning immediately.
“I’m so sorry, Apollo,” Athena told him, walking over and patting his arm sympathetically. “That must be so hard for you. Don’t worry, I’m here for you any time you need me.”
“Hey Athena?”
“Yes, Apollo?”
“How long have Juniper and I been dating?”
Athena’s eyebrows shot up. “What?! You don’t even know your own anniversary?!” She snapped, suddenly looking furious. “I can’t believe you Apollo! After everything you've been through together? Hmph, no wonder she broke up with you!”
“I didn’t even know we were dating, why the heck would I remember our anniversary!”
A pause. Suddenly, Phoenix burst out laughing. Immediately, Athena grabbed Apollo’s shoulders. “Wait what do you mean you didn’t know you were dating?!”
“What do you mean what do I mean?!”
“She said she liked you and asked you to get coffee with her!”
“So?! I get coffee with plenty of people! I get coffee with you!” Apollo’s face drained of all color. “Oh god, we’re not dating right?!”
“NO!”
There was a knock at the door. Athena dropped her hands from Apollo’s shoulders as he started over, face in her hands. “Ohhh my god...ohhhh my god??? All this time...I thought you just weren’t appreciating her...how could you not know…?!”
“I’m sorry, alright?!” Apollo pulled open the door. “Wright Anything Agency how can I—JUNIPER?!”
Juniper jumped, crushing the flowers in her hands before quickly shoving them behind her back. “Apollo?! What are you doing here?!”
“I work here!”
“It’s your day off!”
“I…” Oh. Well she had a point there. “Still, what’s your excuse?”
“Oh!” She looked a bit like a deer in headlights, quickly looking away, shifting from foot to foot. “I-I-I just...I thought maybe Thena was…I mean…”
Apollo looked at her a second. He looked over toward Athena, back to the door, frozen the moment he’d shouted Juniper’s name. And then suddenly, twelve new things suddenly clicked into place.
“...wow you’re not even going to wait a week after breaking up with me?”
“I-I’m so sorry Apollo, I—”
“Athena door’s for you!” he called, turning, giving Juniper a pat on the shoulder and a grin. She looked startled, staring up at him.
Athena looked over at that too, wide-eyed. “It is?”
Quickly stepping back, Apollo waved her over. He settled himself back against his own desk. And despite whatever the heck else had been happening earlier, he couldn’t help the warmth in the pit of his stomach as he watched the two talking to each other. After all, he still cared a lot about Juniper, and Athena was one of his closest friends on the planet.
And now, with all this hindsight, this, all of this, suddenly made way more sense. He watched a moment, a smile curling at his lips at Juniper’s shy smile and Athena’s shocked red face and—
“Hey Mr. Wright I’m not secretly dating anyone else, am I?”
Phoenix glanced up blankly. Then he burst out laughing again, shaking his head, standing, and walking into the next room.
“Mr. Wright? Mr. Wright?! Answer me!! Mr. Wright!!!”