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Ever since he was young, Apollo had looked up to defence attorneys.
Maybe it was an effect of his upbringing; after all, until he’d arrived in America, the only father he’d ever known was the one who worked as a defence attorney.
He reads back for old cases, finding the defence attorneys he can believe in and follow, and then stumbles across Phoenix Wright.
The man is everything Apollo wants to be.
He watches Phoenix’s cases avidly during the next few years, keeping tabs on what he’s doing and how he’s managing to pull off win after win.
And then, when Apollo’s fifteen, his world comes crashing down hard. Phoenix Wright gets disbarred after forging evidence, and Apollo spends the next few days searching through the case files he’d collected, trying to find any sort of hint or sign that this was coming.
Nothing. Everything in the case files checks out as legitimate with no signs of forging, and Apollo goes through them again to make sure.
Still nothing.
There has to be something - some proof that will make everything make sense, that will make the former attorney back into his hero, but no matter what he does, Apollo finds nothing for the next seven years.
In the bridging years, he finishes high school, he moves in with his best friend, he goes to college and obtains a law degree.
He obtains one of the most prestigious internships available, passes the bar, and settles in to work for Kristoph Gavin.
And then, in what Apollo doesn’t realize until months later is one of the most pivotal moments in his life, Kristoph assigns him to work a case for one of his friends.
His client pulls a beanie down over his hair, offering a sardonic smile, and trusts in him to defend him against the current charges.
His hero, Phoenix Wright, accused of forgery and now murder.
Some hero, Apollo thinks.
--
Two months after that first disastrous case, Apollo stumbles into the Wright Anything Agency and meets Phoenix Wright for the first time out of court.
The strong hero worship he’d had as a teenager has started to fade, but it flares right back up at the sight of the law texts and case files scattered around the apartment and mixed in with Trucy Wright’s magician props.
It’s been seven years, but clearly Phoenix Wright hasn’t left the law world behind him, and it’s a little bit inspiring, even if Apollo’s still not sure he can trust him.
For now, he’ll trust his instincts, and his instincts say to listen to what his childhood hero is telling him.
He takes the case, when the varied errands finally turn into one, and he accepts the invitation to join up with the Wright Anything Agency.
As he slowly settles in, trying his best to relax, Mr. Wright does the same.
In a lot of ways, he’s frustrating, terribly manipulative, and secretive, but he’s still doing his best to make sure Apollo feels like he’s a part of the agency, and there’s something to be said for that.
It’s been a long time since Apollo felt at home anywhere outside of his own tiny apartment.
It becomes easier and easier to get comfortable, as he works through cases with the help of Trucy and occasionally Mr. Wright, and then the jury trial finishes and they both collapse onto separate couches, exhausted by their recent work.
“You were my childhood hero, you know?” Apollo says finally, once it’s been silent for a few minutes.
“Oh?” Mr. Wright asks, voice neutral.
“I read all your case files. Followed every trial you did.”
Mr. Wright leans back against the couch, both hands in the pocket of his hoodie. “Huh.”
“And… I followed your last trial, too. Read over everything that was public record, time and time again,” Apollo sighs.
“Interesting,” Mr. Wright admits. “Did you believe I was innocent?”
“At first, yes,” Apollo says slowly. “But… as time went on, and nothing came up, and you didn’t try to defend yourself…”
“What could I have done?” the other man points out. “I did present forged evidence. Unintentionally, but I did it.”
Apollo nods. “Yeah. I know that now.”
“Good,” his boss says, apparently satisfied.
Mr. Wright stands, brushing his sweatpants off, and heads for the door that separates the living area from the office area.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Apollo,” he says with a crooked grin, and Apollo nods.
“Yes, sir,” he agrees automatically, and stands up himself as the door shuts behind him.
Time to go home, he thinks, but at least the future’s looking brighter than it had yesterday.
--
Over the next month, he and Phoenix -- Mr. Wright -- settle into a comfortable relationship.
His boss does his best to stay out of the visible parts of the trial, but he’s always there if Apollo needs a sounding board during his investigations.
Trucy’s a great partner, but it’s Phoenix who has the familiarity with the legal world, who knows how to see things from another angle and what the best way to present things in court might be.
It’s Phoenix who he spends many late nights with, reviewing old case files to practice his deductions or to fill some unspoken errand of Phoenix’s.
They go through a lot of the cases from the dark age of the law, and Apollo doesn’t miss Phoenix attaching post-it notes to some of them, only to find the post-its and files gone a couple days later.
His boss is still being secretive, but now Apollo’s at least hopeful that he’ll let him in on the secrets before they become detrimental to both of them.
He’s seeing less of the bitter smile and more of a real smile as they continue to rehash cases, and eventually they even move on to the cases prosecuted by Miles Edgeworth himself.
They go no less carefully over these files, but none of them get a post-it note attached to them.
Probably, they’re actually reviewing these for Prosecutor Edgeworth, Apollo muses, but he doesn’t say that aloud.
Phoenix probably expects him to guess that at some point.
The problem is, during all their late nights together, Apollo had expected his renewed hero worship to fade into a comfortable boss-employee relationship.
Instead, it’s just gotten worse.
Phoenix - and that’s a bad sign, that he’s taken to calling him Phoenix in his head - is still the same man he’d looked up to all those years ago, despite the many changes in his life.
Apollo’s suddenly unsure that the feelings are ever going to go away.
Worse, he’s not sure he wants them to.
--
It’s sometime mid-February when they sit down together without case files to go through.
Trucy’s being babysat by Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, who’s only about two months into that title, and so they have the office to themselves.
“Are you going to get your badge back?” Apollo wonders when they’ve run out of small talk.
“Mm?” Phoenix says, tilting his head. “Probably,” he admits. “There’s a lot I’d have to do first, I think.”
“If I can help…”
“I’ll let you know, Apollo. Thank you,” Phoenix offers with a smile.
A real smile, not one of the pasted-on ones he’s been so prone to using since his disbarment.
Apollo is going to need to do something about this crush, he thinks, but he’s not sure which way he wants to jump yet.
Away, maybe - he’s got enough cases under his belt that he probably could start up his own firm if he wanted, and since Phoenix is no longer in the legal world, he might not ever have to see him again.
Or he could jump closer, to narrow the distance between them and at least try for what he wants.
“Tell me everything about the disbarment,” he suggests. “I’m sure there’s a lot I can do.”
Phoenix fixes him with an unreadable gaze, staying quiet for a long minute, and then nods.
“Alright. Let’s start from when I got the call,” he says, and begins his story.
--
A week later, Apollo is knee-deep in casefiles, trying to juggle all the little things that added up to Kristoph’s betrayal, to Klavier’s knowledge of the forged evidence, to everything Phoenix had done.
It’s an alarming amount of work, but for Phoenix, he’ll do it.
He pulls a few late nights, and it’s actually his boss that stumbles across him during one of those nights.
“Apollo? Are you still up?” he wonders curiously. “I thought you’d gone home hours ago.”
“I’m still working,” Apollo tells him, reaching for his pencil. “I’ll go home soon.”
Phoenix looks down, checking his watch. “Apollo, it’s nearly one in the morning. Whatever case you’re working on, it can wait. I promise.”
“I don’t think it can,” Apollo admits, looking up at him. “This one’s important to me.”
Phoenix moves closer, looking over his shoulder, and Apollo can hear his sigh when he presumably recognizes the documents he’s looking at, spread across Apollo’s desk.
“Apollo…” he says softly, leaning forward until the fabric of his beanie is brushing against Apollo’s head. “My life’s not going anywhere. There’s no rush to do this.”
“There is,” Apollo insists. “I’ve looked up to you my whole life, and then… this is fixable, Mr. Wright,” he says, catching himself on the name just in time. “And if I can help fix it, I will.”
Phoenix backs off a little, crossing his arms over his chest as Apollo turns to look at him properly.
“Apollo,” he says, and then sighs again. “Apollo,” he repeats, more slowly this time. “I’ll be fine. Go to sleep.”
Later, Apollo will blame this on sleep deprivation, but all he knows now is that he’s determined to fix this, that he’s maybe a little bit in love with his boss, that he needs to stay up and finish this work.
“If I clear your name, will you kiss me?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
Phoenix takes a step back, eyes widening, and regret immediately begins to pool in Apollo’s stomach.
He shouldn’t have said that, he thinks, but he can’t remember why through the haze of exhaustion.
Before he can take it back, though, Phoenix’s expression shifts from shock and confusion to some kind of resolve, and Apollo isn’t sure what to think about that.
“Yes,” Phoenix says firmly, finally. “If you help clear my name, because I’ll be there too. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth will be there, helping. I have a few more people in the wings, waiting to help, but… I’d welcome your help, Apollo. And if a kiss is what you want in return, I’ll give you that gladly.”
“Really?” Apollo checks, not entirely capable of keeping the disbelief out of his voice.
“Really,” Phoenix agrees. “And even if I don’t get my name cleared, I think that can still be arranged, if it’s something you want.”
Apollo nods, starting to pack the case files away for tomorrow as Phoenix pulls his beanie lower down his forehead.
“Is that something you want?” Phoenix checks, his voice carefully casual. “Because if it’s not--”
“It is,” Apollo says, too quickly. “I want that.”
“Good,” his boss decides, reaching for his hand.
Uncertainly, Apollo takes it, and Phoenix pulls him up to his feet before letting go and taking a couple steps back.
“But we’ll deal with that tomorrow,” Phoenix says firmly. “For now, go home and sleep. Tomorrow’s another day.”
“See you tomorrow, boss,” Apollo offers, and Phoenix smiles, one of his real smiles.
“See you tomorrow, Apollo,” he agrees, and shuts the door behind him.
--
It’s not going to happen overnight.
It’s going to take a lot of time, a lot of effort, and probably every favour that he and Phoenix are collectively owed. He'll probably have to get his own firm, too, just to create the distance needed to appear impartial enough.
But once that’s settled, he'll make sure Phoenix's name is cleared in full. Apollo will be there, too, on the first day Phoenix is back in court wearing that familiar blue suit.
And then, once the world is as it should be, he'll claim that kiss.
--