Work Text:
"Polly..." Trucy murmured Apollo's name in the silence, shifting in the tent. They were camping, a Wright Anything Agency (well, it did include a few prosecutors and detectives as well) bonding experience. It would 'strengthen team bonds' or that's what Mr Wight had said anyway - Apollo doubted it. So far all they had done was a lame hike which ended up with Athena and Trucy practically dragging Apollo up what felt like the biggest mountain he had ever climbed hearing Ema crunch loudly on snackaroos in the distance.
Yet now, it was late and the campsite had simmered down, nothing uttered was louder than a whisper. "I can't sleep." Trucy whispered, her voice sniffly and hoarse. She hadn't been able to sleep for a while and despite the fact that Apollo needed to get back to his own tent, exhaustion tugging at him with all its might, he refused. He promised Trucy that he'd stay with her until she fell asleep, she had seemed down a lot of the day, something Apollo had picked up on with ease. She begged him not to tell others especially Mr Wright; that she wasn't feeling well and had probably caught a cold.
Apollo smiled sympathetically. "Pretty hard to sleep when you're sick. You could take one of Athena's extra blankets - she won't mind." He reaches for one of Athena's crochet blankets. It was soft, pink and clearly hand knitted (probably by Juniper, Apollo has assumed.) and he lay it over Trucy, trucking her in.
"Can you tell me a story, Polly?" Trucy had then decided to pull out all the stops, emphasizing her sniffle and not so gracefully wiping the snot from her nose. She then pulled out the puppy dog eyes, pushing her lips into a pout. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
The defense attourney despite having chords of steel, well.... he supposed his backbone wasnt made of the same material, especially when it came to Trucy Wright. He shifted in his spot. "Fine.." He sighed. "Once upon a time..."
- - -
This story begins in the distant land of Lamiroir, a land which values truth and justice. The kingdom, usually sleepy, silent and peaceful, was filled with an uproar as busy hands rushed to get work done. A ball was coming, a masquerade ball organized by King Milo Edgeworth and his younger sister, Her Royal Highness, Francis Von Karma.
Trucy snorted "Real creative names, Polly."
"Do you want me to tell a story or not?"
Trucy fell into silence.
Anyway, The kingdom was busy, there seemed to be no moment for rest and the castle was the heart of all things busy. Young Tracy Wright, a magician and the young daughter of the king and the captain of the knights, had placed herself in charge of this years ball outfits for the Royal Guard. She had sketched the outfit herself and made a prototype with her magic. Something that may be a simple illusion spell, but many beings who possesed magic failed to create something with such a realistic end product. "What do you think?" She had hummed to her companions. Running her hand through her hair, tucking the unkempt brown locks back into her half-down half-up hairstyle. She shifted in the wooden seat, leaning foreward on the table as she threw herself into conversation, an ever-present sunny grin highlighting her features.
"Fraulein, It's beautiful." The bard hummed, he sat on the windowsit, a guitar resting over his lap. His golden hair, seemingly in his face; for he pushed it back to grin at the young princess. He strummed the guitar in thought, before futhering his obviously much needed input. "It is a masquerade though, ja? Did you think about masks that would be used to accessorize. I'm sure our knight, here, would need something that wouldn't hide his beautiful forehead."
Said knight, who was minding his buisness and doing his duty on guard, straightened his posture from his station by the door. He scannied the dining room only to spot the bard in question. Eyebrows knitting together he lifted his head. "I'll be on guard duty then anyway. It's not like I'd have time to dance much less perform like you plan to." He grumbled.
"Of course, Herr Knight. I wouldn't expect anything less from a workaholic." The Bard, Klaas Gavin, grinned. His comment laced with layers of hypocracy, ignoring the fact that he would also be working at the ball, albeit in a different way then the knight.
Before Apeles Justice could comment once more, Tracy burst out. "You're really performing, Mr. Bard?" She hummed, a grin streching over her face. She waved her hand, flicked, dismissing her magic and making the prototype of the outfit vanish into thin air. "I could plan your outfit too, something glimmerous, that fits your aura." She started sketching before Klaas or Apeles could introject.
"Ach, that would be much appreciated Fraulein, where would I be without a wunderbar princess to help with the catastrophe of choosing an outfit. After all-" Klaas' ramble was cut off by an all too familiar sound.
MUCH MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH.
It was one of the guards, Emery Skye and her infamous snackaroos. She stuck her head round the door, giving a smile to Tracy and Apeles before rounding on Klaas. "Oi, fop." she called, popping another snackaroo into her mouth and began crunching again.
Klaas beamed. "Ach! Fraulein Guard, whatever do you need." Although he tried to use all of his bard-like charm, the appeal was completely lost on Emery.
"You were supposed to help set up for your music thing 20 mins ago." The statment was followed by another MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH which punctuated her accusitory tone. "If you have enough time to distract and distrub the princess, then you have enough time to get organized for the ball everyone is trying to prepare."
The bard wiltered under her steely gaze, putting his instrument in it's case. "Ja, ja. Slipped my mi-" he was cut off by a snackaroo flying through the air, hitting him square in the forehead. KATONK! "ach!"
"Less complaining, more moving." Emery made her way over, grabbing him by the arm, flashing an apologetic smile in Tracy's direction, and dragging him out the room. It took a while until their squabbling had left the princess and knight's ears. Tracy exchanged an amursed smile with Apeles, the room falling to silence once more.
***
It seemed the tides of time waited for no man, as weeks counted down to mere hours until the ball. The palace seemed to glow under all the work that had been done. Banners lined most pubically accessible corridors, candles alight and most staff already in their outfits for the ball. The most stunning room, in Apeles humble opinion, was the ballroom itself. The ceiling was enchanted, mirroring the outside sky, and floating candles and lanterns skattered overhead. The black marble floor cleaned to perfection, so that someone could their own reflection smiling back at them.
The knight, well... guard uniform, for the ball, had a more traditional knight feel to it. It was a simple white and midnight blue outfit. The deep blue cape off the shoulder and sparkled under the candlelight, looking almost as if the stars themselves where embroidered into it. Cufflinks, and collar emphasized with a touch of gold and smart, easy to move in, black pointed boots completed the look. Apeles believed Tracy had really outdone herself.
The bell chimed, signaling eight o'clock and the people of Lamiroir had poured in, socializing amongst themselves. Each outfit perfectly mirroring its wearer. Apeles turned to the person next to him, Cliff Terran, wearing the same matching uniform as him. Cliff had his hair gelled back and kept his usual visor on his head. He seemed, extra sparkly today and when Apeles asked, his best friend explained that Tracy had done his make-up. Cliff exaggeratingly battered his eyelashed. "Do I not look absolutely gorgeous, Bestie?" Only to find Apeles snort, doing his best to stifle a laugh.
Their banter was cut short by a fanfare announcing King Milo, knight Felix Wright and their daughter Tracy. With the poise and grace of a royal, Milo decended the stairs, his husband guided him, his arm looped around the king's. Their outfits both contrasted yet matched eachother. Milo's outfit an assortment of black, red and gold accentuated with white ruffles and his infamous cravat. Felix's outfit a painting of white, blue and silver. A chunky belt with a holder for a rapier juttered at an angle. Tracy's outfit was a combination of the two, red, blues neatly enveloping eachother. She looked like a character out of a comic book. Her outfit both majesting and proud, yet mirroring her loud nature.
The fanfare disolved, the orchestra then took up it's seats, conducted by the well renowned Micah Fey, who started the ball with a 3/4 waltz, which easily roped the party-goers into an elegant dance. Apeles scanned the crowd, spotting young Tracy making her way over, her hair which had been curled for the occasion, almost floated behind her as she approached. A broad, almost mischevious grin graced her features, making a pool of suspicion rise in Apeles. "Mr. Apeles!" The singsong voice of the princess called out. "How could you just stand there and not enjoy the ball to it's fullest! Even Mr. Terran has moved to dance with those who asked him to!"
Apeles turned to his left, where his friend was standing before hand and noticed that he was missing. It was as Tracy said, the mop of black hair could be spotted in the crowd, chatting with Artemis Cykes, June Woods and Searcy Debeste. Apeles' mouth pressed into a line, he didn't not expect this to happen. After all Cliff enjoyed parties and was often the one who dragged Apeles out of his comfort zone, yet it was a little... unnerving to be left by himself. "I'm perfectly fine on guard duty." He argued. "Besides if something goes wrong, then I can be there to support everyone."
"It's a party, Apeles." Tracy informed him rather matter of factly, her hands on her hips. "Go out there and have fun."
"But-"
Tracy's eyes' narrowed, an expression that mirrored one Francis Von Karma always gave. "I could make that an order."
Apeles held his hands up. "Alright, alright im going." Tracy had kept an eye on him, watching as he made his way to the crowd. As soon as he felt her eyes leave him, he made his way to the snack table, carefully weaving between party goers before shuffling into position against the wall. He preferred to be a wallflower. It made surveying things easier. He scanned the room again, his breath catching in his throat as he saw Klaas descending the stairs.
His outfit was beautiful to say the least. It was a floor length gown flowing from a deep midnight purple to a lilac, almost white hue. His hair pulled back into a bun, accessorised with silver clips pinning it into place. His makeup was silver, complimenting the purple in his dress and matching withe the necklace that finished the look, a simple one with a silver stylised 'G' on it.
Apeles' breath hitches in his throat, averting his eyes. Yeah, he was just looking at the wall behind Klaas not looking at klaas. And no, his face was not warm. He was perfectly fine thank you very much. And no, no matter what others said he did not have a crush on Klaas, it is perfectly normal to want to kiss the annoying bard who sometimes on occasion writes songs about you... right?
"Herr Knight!" The words are warm. He was Closer then Apeles believed he was. Not so much that Apeles would have to tilt his head to be able to see Klaas' face, but he was close. Apeles shook his head slightly as if trying to dismiss his thoughts.
"Bard Klaas." Apeles hummed, hardly realizing that he used the other's first name. He felt his bracelet tighten a bit, as Klaas stiffened up. Apeles looked away realizing what he did, his face growing warmer.
It seemed Klaas wasn't expecting it either, as when Apeles peaked out of the corner of his eye, a hue pink dusted his cheeks. Though that didn't take long as a smirk soon made it's way on his face. "Ja? First name basis with you already Herr Apeles?" Apeles shrunk back, mentally kicking himself for already being so close to the wall. He pushed his features into a frown. He was not going to give Klaas the satisfaction. "I wanted to ask..." Apeles looked watched as the bard shuffled slightly, fiddling with the rings which stayed on his fingers even in his ball outfit. He seemed to mutter a string of german to himself.
The bracelet pressed tightly against Apeles' wrist, as if a piranha was nibbling at it, his hand moved to the wrist as if trying to alleviate the pain.
"Sonnenschein, may I have this dance?"
Unable to trust his words and unable to ignore his head, Apeles nodded to which Klaas visibly relaxed, the bracelet on Apeles wrist. Klaas pulled the two of them to the middle of the dance floor, passing Princess Tracy on the way by, who gave a not very discreet wink and a thumbs up. They had danced the whole night away, it seemed as if it was only both of them in the world...
- - -
"And then happily ever after?" Trucy had called out, a yawn pulling from her lips. She had almost fell asleep multiple times though seemed determined to see this story through the end. "I don't want to hear about how your OCs totally not based on you and prosecutor gavin end up kissing." Her nose wrinkled and sentence was interruped midway through another yawn.
Apollo rolled his eyes, though it seemed the tent had got very warm in that moment for he looked away. "Y-Yeah well... Goodnight, Truce."
"Night Night, Polly!" Trucy, finally allowing her eyes to close, snuggled into her blanket and seemed to fall asleep almost instantly. He stretches, clicking his back, and then picks himself up to go to his own tent. He sends a last look at Trucy's sleeping form and then closes the tent up behind him, making his way to his own tent.
"Sorry Klav, was telling Trucy a bedtime story." His tone is soft and quiet, he crawled under his own covers, feeling exhaustion hit him.
Klavier looks up from his book, illuminated under torch light. His eyes rested on Apollo, fond and tender. "Gute nacht, Schatzi."
It was quiet, an addition only after a bit, Apollo had mumbled it quietly though Klavier couldn't stop thinking about it.
"I love you, Klavier."