Work Text:
No one had expected it.
The morning sky darkened with unmatched swiftness. Black clouds swarmed the sky in a flash, and heavy, torrential downpour followed shortly after. While the parched fauna welcomed the burst of hydration brought forth by the sudden tempest, the busy pedestrians fulfilling their daily routine did not.
The offices of the Wright Anything Agency were shrouded in darkness, for nearly all light from the sun was blocked by the tumultuous layer of clouds. However, change was on its way, heralded by a subtle rattling of keys and, shortly after, a quiet click of the light switch.
The Wrights had arrived.
“Looks like we’re the first ones here, Truce!” Phoenix proudly proclaimed after quickly looking around the reception room to confirm the fact.
“Wow, we beat Polly to the punch? That's a rare sight!” Trucy cheered.
“Yeah, talk about an early bird... We should celebrate this victory. Pudding after work, all on me!”
“Hooray! Thanks, Daddy!”
They shook and set down their umbrellas to dry — their invaluable saviours in the catastrophe happening outside — then got in their work attire.
“So what’s the plan for today, darling?” Phoenix asked after attaching the attorney’s badge to his lapel, then giving it a proud smile and a gentle polishing rub with his thumb.
Trucy frowned, then drooped her head and sighed wearily.
“Just accounting this time. I have to finally finish filing the tax forms of the fiscal year for the Agency. Don’t wanna leave it for the last minute like the last time.”
“Oh, right, only two weeks left until that’s due. Tedious work… You know what, let’s make it two servings of pudding this evening! Something to look forward to after a hard, boring day, right?”
“Yippee! How generous, Daddy! Careful, or you’ll spoil me rotten!”
“Haha, I think it’s a bit too late for that! Okay, I’ll be in the office if anyone needs me. Apollo and Athena should get here soon as well, so keep an eye out for them, alright?”
He walked into the office proper, and Trucy was left alone in the reception, getting ready for the administrative challenge ahead and considering her hot drink options — the strongest contenders for her cup were Mr Earl Grey and Mrs Darjeeling.
Not even five minutes later, the door handle rattled again, prompting Trucy to raise her sight from her tea warmer. She beamed upon spotting the familiar red suit in the dim light of the corridor, then rose to meet it head-on.
“What’s up, Polllllllllllyyyyyyyyyiiiiiieeeeeeee…?”
Her enthusiasm fizzled out upon Apollo making the first step into the office. It was his bright suit alright, but with the additional, unorthodox décor of being soaked and peppered with coarse grains of mud up to chest height. Very chic this time of year.
The fashion model wearing it seemed to disagree as he frowned and quietly grumbled something to himself. A brown puddle started to form under him, filling the room with quiet plinks.
Trucy walked up to him and scanned him from head to toe with a mischievous eye.
“Oh my god, Polly, you look like a moist red velvet cake! You really must remember to open your umbrella in this kind of weather! Or did you just break it?” she lightheartedly teased.
He didn’t seem to find it funny as his frown deepened.
“No, that thing’s fine. What’s not fine is that there’s a pothole just filled with mud on the south-east corner of the People’s Park, and if a car drives over it fast enough, it splashes all over the sidewalk. Guess who was walking on it at that time? Just my damn luck!” he kvetched with a raspy quality to his voice, before throwing his umbrella to the ground in frustration.
For a split second, Trucy contemplated teasing him further as she always loved to, but decided against it after another moment of consideration. Even without her Gramarye gift, she could see how absolutely downtrodden Apollo felt, and she didn’t have to aggravate him further. Instead, she made her simper vanish, then grabbed his wrist and started to steadily pull him towards the office’s bathroom.
“Alright, come, let’s get you dry! Do you have any spare clothes in the agency? Never mind, I’ll grab you something from Daddy’s old ones! Want some tea? I’ll brew up some more. Actually, just have my cup, I’ll make another for myself! You sound so hoarse! Oh no, have you caught a cold? Do you feel hot? I don’t remember if we had any Tylenol left in the office! Should I go and…”
They barely made three steps before Apollo dug his heels in and shook his head, stopping Trucy’s waterfall of words.
“It’s fine, I’ll just do it myself, you don’t…”
He froze mid-sentence, then closed his eyes. After a very slow and deep inhale, he turned towards her with sincerity in his gaze.
“Nevermind. Lead the way. I appreciate the help, Trucy.”
Just minutes later, Apollo was sitting on the reception couch with a warm cup of tea in front of him. He was wearing the most ghastly thing he had ever seen, for he insisted he didn’t want to ruin anything worthwhile. It was an appallingly bright lime green shirt with one of the less popular Steel Samurai spin-off villains — the Tennessine Tsar, if his knowledge of the Samurai Extended Universe didn’t fail him now — on the front, beige track pants and black, worn down crocs. Overall, the most un-Apollo get-up in the world.
He sighed, then swatted at his hair dangling in front of his face. That splash had also ruined his trademark hairstyle, and they didn't have his favourite hair gel in the office, so his hair drooped down in large strands. He’d just have to try to shape it into something more orderly later.
For now, he simply stared at the tea cup, deep in thought. He’d always prided himself on being very self-sufficient — never wanting to bother others with his troubles unless absolutely necessary.
But that changed recently.
After the adrenaline had worn down from the exhilarating events of the UR-1 re-trial, reality caught up to him that he had truly lost his best friend forever. He tried to process the grief by himself at first, but it became clear that he couldn’t do it alone.
So he asked several people close to him, including Trucy, about notable psychotherapists in the area.
Of course, Trucy’s first query was “Why not Athena?” His response was instant — Apollo believed that she probably has her own emotional baggage to sort out now after the trial, and he doesn’t want to bother her with his own. Trucy reluctantly agreed.
But before she could suggest even one alternative, Athena slammed open the door to the adjacent room, having heard their conversation — blast her special hearing! — and offered her services. Apollo tried to decline, but her tenacity knew no bounds.
The therapy sessions helped — grief stung less after them, and as a bonus, they got to know each other better in the process. However, Athena was too skilled of a psychologist, much to Apollo’s dismay. She noticed his self-sufficiency — except she called it “shutting off from the rest of the world,” which it was NOT — and wouldn’t stay still until she could help him with that as well. He vaguely remembers her calling it “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.” Recognizing and accepting Trucy’s help just now was a part of it.
He shook his head to bring himself out of deep thought. Enough reminiscing, it was time for work. Thanks to his new attire, it was paperwork day for him. The other lawyers would have to handle anyone looking for representation in court. Their duo had worked together before with great success, so Apollo could fill out the documentation without a care in the world.
And even if, by some miracle, two clients arrived at the Agency at the same time, both of them could perform a solo act in defending. Mr Wright had solved cases all by himself before, and Apollo was sure that if Athena put all of her determination to work, she could manage it as well. She was a headstrong, confident girl.
Just then, as if she had heard her name in Apollo’s thoughts, the door was flown open by her with a hearty “Hiya everyone! I’m here!” Since the sun seemed to have disappeared because of the heavy rainfall, one couldn’t be blamed for thinking it had descended from the sky and arrived at the Agency right now.
Athena unfolded her bright yellow umbrella to dry it, shook herself, sending droplets of rain flying everywhere, and then took off her coat. Finally she turned to the couch… and seemed to completely freeze. Her eyes widened, posture became more rigid and breathing stalled, just before she mumbled an awkward “Uh… hello?” Apollo just nodded in response, trying to spare his voice.
Like a deer in headlights, she never broke her gaze from him as she awkwardly sidestepped towards the door leading to the break room and quickly jumped inside. Apollo simply shrugged, then put the still hot cup — courtesy of Trucy’s tea warmer — to his lips and took tiny, frequent sips of Darjeeling with a dash of lemon to soothe his aching throat.
A sharp whistling sound had been emanating from the break room — Trucy had put the kettle on to make a replacement cup for herself. When she took it off, it turned out to have masked a conversation between her and Athena, for all Apollo heard was the last response by the young magician.
“I don’t know who he is! He must have arrived just now. Go on, ask him what he needs — lawyering or something from me. I’ll come over right away, I just need to find our jar of honey for Apollo. Where is it...?”
Then her voice trailed off.
Apollo could feel his throat healing with every sip. He took another deep whiff of the steam rising from the cup before drinking some more of that good stuff. Just then, Athena … well, did what could be best described as sliding into his field of view on one foot, then awkwardly raised her hand and waved it side to side. She broke into a wide grin before starting her monologue with a tinge of strain in her voice, just barely perceptible enough to make the whole thing sound scripted and rehearsed.
“Hello! Welcome to the Wright Anything Agency, where you've always come to the Wright place! I’m Athena Cykes, one of the lawyers working here! What do you seek — legal representation or help from our resident talent agent, Trucy? We’re all ready to assist you!”
To say Apollo was confused would be an understatement. Didn’t she recognize him? He slightly raised a questioning eyebrow. However, at that very second Widget said something that sent both of his eyebrows up to his hairline.
“Anything for you, hot stuff!”
The same tea that healed now hurt his neck as it travelled in the wrong direction. He had choked on a particularly large sip, so harsh coughs sent droplets of the drink all over the coffee table. Athena, meanwhile, looked like she had been sunburnt in a flash. She moved closer to hit him on his back, but kept the other hand clamped over Widget and its speakers, almost completely obscuring its bright yellow glow.
“Widget! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Please ignore that comment, it’s … nothing important! Completely unrelated, really — just a reminder that I should change its batteries…”
“…to ones that are dead ,” she added under her breath.
“Please no!” a now purple Widget pleaded, muffled by her palm. Athena ignored its pleas and continued.
“What’s important is that you’re alright! How do you feel?”
Apollo was speechless, and not just because tea still stifled words in his throat. He knew all too well what Widget’s words actually meant — an insight into Athena’s inner thoughts. Did she really mean that he…?
With a ragged gasp and a guttural rumble, he finally cleared his throat and was able to look up at her face.
“Athena, what the hell?”
Athena froze for the second time today. Somehow, her sapphire eyes opened even further. If he had compared her to the Sun before, now it must have burned up all of its hydrogen and entered its red giant phase. She stumbled backwards, let her hands fly to her cheeks in shock and gasped, even louder than Apollo had.
“A— Apollo? It’s you? But you look so… so…”
He could hear the gears grinding in her head, scouring her brain for the right descriptor.
“… un-Apollo-like!” She chose to cheat. “And your hair…”
“Yeah, my suit got ruined in the rain, and these are Mr Wright’s spares. I was going to fix my hair up later. ”
Athena had no response. She stood there wide-eyed, with a blank expression on her face, her thoughts completely inscrutable … if not for Widget, who constantly flickered between yellow and purple.
She finally let out a whimper, walked around the coffee table and crashed on the other side of the couch, hunching over and taking her face into her palms.
The tension in the air was as thick as gravy. The awkwardness only kept adding flour to it, thickening it further by the second. Apollo knew that someone had to break the silence, but how can one even do that in this instance? Finally, he had enough of this stalemate, stuck his courage to the sticking place and chose to be direct.
“Soooo… uuuh, ‘hot stuff?’”
Athena just groaned in response. After a few seconds of silence showed there would be no elaboration on that groan, Apollo pressed on.
“It’s okay, Athena. I’m not mad or anything, it’s just … not something you expect to hear out of the blue, you know?”
Another groan.
“I’m more surprised than anything, really.”
Another groan.
“C’mon, Athena, talk to me.”
Another groan.
“Didn’t you say just last week about how it’s not healthy to shut off from everyone around you? You’re not setting a very good example, you know.”
Another groan… finally followed by actual words.
“What can I even say? You heard Widget loud and clear.”
“Anything’s better than silence, Athena. I’m worried about seeing you so down because of that comment … and a little bit disheartened…”
Apollo said the last part of that sentence under his breath.
It mattered not to Athena’s heightened hearing. She jolted to action, finally raising her head towards him and energetically shaking it and her hands in denial.
“What? Oh, no, no, no, don’t take it the wrong way It… it still is a compliment!”
“Then why are you so distraught? I can take a compliment!”
“Because I made such a stupid mistake! It’s just… your hairstyle is so unique and I couldn’t even imagine you without your usual suit, so I simply didn’t recognize you! A- and I admit — you do look… good with your hair down—”
“You should do it more often!”
Widget was on the coffee table in a millisecond.
“Ow!”
She continued, “Anyway, it’s nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. You’re fine! Please don’t worry! I’ll get over it… eventually.”
“Athena, I’m your friend. C’mon, it’s no big deal, really! What’s a little… uh, what was it called? A Freudian slip?”
“Yeah, that’s the name, but calling it a Freudian slip implies that I actually…” The explanation fizzled out mid-sentence.
Apollo didn’t ask to elaborate.
“Yeah, thanks. Who doesn’t get those from time to time? I still remember how, back in the boarding school, Clay and I used to make so much fun of one of our classmates who called our maths teacher ‘mom.’ We wouldn’t let him forget it for months!”
He gazed aside and wistfully sighed at the now-bittersweet memory, then turned back to Athena.
“There’s nothing wrong with calling a friend attractive. I mean, if you said it to a complete stranger instead of me, wouldn’t it be even more embarrassing?”
“Yeah, but…”
“… but you would’ve lied about Widget’s function, just like you tried just now? That’s very dishonest, Athena.”
“Gimme a break! I tried to save face and panicked, alright? Sorry…”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Look, if it will make you feel better, I won’t tell anyone about what happened. How’s that sound?”
Athena sighed, then finally straightened out and stopped frowning.
“Yeah, alright. We’ll take this to our graves. Thanks, Apollo.”
He was glad to have calmed her, and dared to tease.
“Of course. Hey, who knows, maybe I wouldn’t have done any better — if I had walked in on you with your hair down, I might have not recognized you as well!”
The red finally disappeared from her face as she let out a chuckle. “Ha! Somehow I doubt that. No offence, Apollo, but without your silly hair spikes, you are a bit … generic. Even if I didn’t rock this ponytail, I would clearly look like Athena! Plus, I don’t think you’d ever call me ‘hot stuff’ either.”
He felt emboldened now that his dare had paid off.
“Haha! Hey, I might, you never know!”
“Haha!”
The laughter stopped as Athena’s head snapped to him.
“Wait, what?”
Apollo didn’t have time to process her response, as the door to the break room flew open, and Trucy sauntered in with a tray holding a jar of honey and 2 cups of tea, providing the much needed distraction.
“I’m here!”
She took a look around the room and pulled her face into a frown.
“Hey, Athena, where did that, uh — how did you call him? — ‘absolutely sexy stud of a client’ go?”
A tiny animal died next to Apollo. At least that’s what it sounded like. He snuck a peek to the side to see Athena rapidly regaining that sunburn and barely resisting the urge to hide her face again. However, a promise is a promise, and Apollo always kept his. Trucy was sharp, and she would figure it out if he didn't interfere.
“Oh, he left. Wrong place, he actually wanted the plumber’s next door,” he said in a completely deadpan tone. Trucy frowned further.
“Oh, boo. No extra cash for us… Oh well, maybe next time. Here, Athena, you can have his cup of tea. Did you arrive here okay? Polly really got…”
As Trucy chattered away, Apollo reached for the jar of honey. He spared another aside glance to notice the deep gratitude reflected in Athena’s face. He returned the smile earnestly.
The rest of the workday continued quite uneventfully — paperwork and boredom — despite the tumultuous beginning. While that accident would remain the duo’s little secret, it planted the seeds of change in their hearts towards each other.
And sometimes, to make something sprout and blossom, a little rainfall is all you need.