Chapter Text
Apollo had never been more thankful for the weekend.
The entire week had been hell. Athena flipping the police again, Trucy making his badge disappear again, Blackquill sending that damn hawk after him again, Phoenix taking a case pro bono…for the fifth time in a row.
He was thankful that Clay still somewhat lived at their apartment. Or there would be no apartment. At least Aura remembered that money was a necessity. And Clay’s only request on the months he had to pay all the rent was that Apollo get really good pizza from their favorite place when he got paid. Simple enough, and Apollo always did extra around their apartment too on those months. Cleaned, did the dishes even if it was Clay’s turn, he did anything to make Clay’s life easier yet harder at the same time.
Apollo had a reputation to keep up after all. Just letting Clay win at Smash Bros without putting up a fight was a criminal offense. And Clay could clean his own damn room. Apollo always teased him about never knowing what he’d find in there.
There was something else aside from cleaning Apollo was looking forward to. And a text confirmed his hopes happily.
Clay: Meikiko is happy. Pollo, I think she’s replaced you and stole your man at the same time.
Apollo sighed happily. He wouldn’t have to trek up to the prosecutor’s office and rescue the workaholic then. There was only so much of Blackquill he could handle in one day. And with both the Chief Prosecutor and Klavier gone to Germany for some meeting, he would be facing Blackquill alone if they happened to be in the same hallway, or even on the same floor.
Apollo: I’ll be there soon. Four blocks away.
Clay: Hurry up. I don’t wanna comfort your sorry ass if your girlfriend leaves with your boyfriend.
He ran the rest of the way, finding more energy. After a long week, having all three of them home would be good.
“K-Kiki! Cla-calm down!” The voice filled with amusement could be heard through the door, and Apollo grinned. Their apartment was by no means soundproof, but the prosecutor was a mouse compared to him and Clay when it came to volume. The attorney opened the door quietly, not wanting to draw their attention.
Sitting on the floor was Sebastian. His red coat was hanging up next to Apollo’s own coat and Clay’s space jacket. Meikiko was in Sebastian’s lap, lying on her back and playing with Sebastian’s gloved hand. Apollo had grown worried the first time she did that, before being reassured yet horrified to find out that not even Taka’s talons could get through them.
The implication that Sebastian had been attacked by Taka to find that out was what was horrifying.
Meikiko was holding his hand to her chest with her front paws, using her back to kick at him as she nipped at his fingers. Sebastian laughed, wriggling his fingers and watching as she tried to frantically attack all four at once.
Clay was sitting on the couch, torn between watching Sebastian and watching what Apollo guessed was an old episode of Star Trek. He heard the door opened and tilted his head to grin at Apollo.
‘Been like this for a half hour.’ He mouthed.
‘Good.’ Apollo answered, slipping off his shoes and dropping his bag before walking further into the room.
Meikiko was the next to see him, chirping and squirming out of Sebastian’s lap, the tags on her blue collar hitting each other. She padded over to Apollo, winding around his legs.
“Hello little Kiko.” Apollo grinned, picking her up and hugging her.
“W-welcome home.” Sebastian said. Apollo walked over to stand behind Sebastian, letting his boyfriend lean back against his legs. “L-l-long day?”
Apollo nodded. “Pro bono case against Blackquill.” Meikiko jumped down, deciding her food bowl was more interesting than lawyer talk. “Flying cops and missing badges included free of charge too.”
“I’ll tell Papa. You’ll retract- receive pay for the c-case.”
Apollo groaned, sitting down on the floor. He put his legs on either side of Sebastian, hugging him tightly. “You’re an angel. When’s Prosecutor Edgeworth getting back?”
“Not for a while.” Sebastian leaned back against Apollo. “He and Klav were rip- roped into an international case. Another lead on the Phantom.” He shuddered at the name and Apollo pulled him closer.
“All these leads but still no arrests.” Clay frowned. “This Phantom guy’s no joke.”
“He’s a master of disguise. Interpol’s pulling every connection they have to try and track him down.” Apollo said. Phoenix had mentioned in passing that even his friends in London were working with Interpol, but with no luck. “I fear for whoever mentions that name around Blackquill too.”
“Maybe tall dark and scary’s secretly with Interpol?” Clay guessed. “And Phantom has something to use against him?”
“T-that’s not it.” Sebastian said. “Mr. Armando said Blackquill o-only has two people to use against him. His sister, and miss Cykes.”
Apollo frowned. Prosecutor Edgeworth had called not only Blackquill out of jail, but Diego Armando too. He didn’t know much about him, aside from the fact that he used to be a defense attorney and had killed his dead fiancée’s mother. Phoenix had been suspiciously silent about him.
He was worried for Sebastian. It was bad enough the Payne brothers were there. But two criminals roaming the halls?
“He’s not bad.” Sebastian murmured, twisting in Apollo’s grip to kiss his cheek. “Mr. Armando is very half- helpful. He helped me on the case I had Monday. And Papa and Mr. Wright are worried about him.”
Right, poison that left him in a coma and took most of his sight. That couldn’t be healthy. It reminded him of Kristoph, and the possibilities that could have happened to him, or to Klavier or Phoenix. Or even Sebastian, Kristoph knew him too.
“So what happened for this trial? You won obviously.” Clay broke him from his thoughts.
“It was a robbery. No murder this time.” Apollo shrugged. “Our client was innocent. Turns out Athena and Widget are pretty good at picking apart photoshopped videos. Kinda takes away from the magic in CG movies now that she’s given us a crash course on what’s really going on in them.”
“You still won though.” Clay grinned. “So it’s pizza night! You staying Sebastian?”
Sebastian nodded. It was common for him to come stay with them whenever Edgeworth would go to Europe without him. Even with Phoenix and Trucy in the big house, he felt more comfortable with Apollo and Clay. “I’ll pay for it.”
“No way. Guests don’t pay.”
“I’m h-hardly a guest.”
“You’re practically family.” Clay’s grin didn’t falter. “We just gotta wait for Pollo to pop the question.”
Apollo looked back unamused at Clay. “Two words space boy, Gavin crush.”
Clay turned bright red, hiding his head in one of the couch pillows. It wasn’t that Apollo was against marriage. They had been dating for a few months and talked it over like sensible adults.
Which for them, meant talking about it while eating ice cream and tossing marshmallows at Meikiko and Pess. It was too soon in their relationship for marriage. Not to mention the fuss that would be made by Phoenix. If Apollo hadn’t seen the Master’s Degree for himself, he would’ve swore that Phoenix actually graduated as a theatre and drama major.
“I’m s-still paying for the pizza.” Sebastian had his phone out, open to the restaurant’s app. “One with every topper- topping imaginable, one with pepperoni, peppers, and extra cheese, and one with mushrooms and dried tomatoes and extra cheese?” He confirmed.
“Sounds good to me!” Clay cheered. Pizza was always a good distraction.
Apollo smiled, resting his chin on Sebastian’s shoulder. “How was work?” He asked.
“Not too bad.” Sebastian typed in a comment for the pizza before putting down his phone. “I w-was in charge today. Because Mr. Armando had a high-profile case to work on. The Payne brothers were the worst as always.”
He leaned further back against Apollo, getting comfortable. Apollo took the chance to lean back against the couch that Clay was sprawled out on, pulling Sebastian close and giving a content sigh.
Long weekdays were well worth it when Friday night came and he could relax with his boyfriend, best friend, and Meikiko.
The pizza arrived and was devoured almost as quickly by the three while they watched the newest Star Trek movie. Then came shower time, Clay announcing he claimed the first shower and leaving Apollo and Sebastian to sprawl out on the couch together.
“Did you bring over sleep clothes?” Apollo asked, hand carding through Sebastian’s hair. He was lying on his back, Sebastian on top of him with his head against Apollo’s chest.
“N-no. I came straight here from work.” Sebastian admitted.
“Hoping you’d get to steal one of my shirts?” Apollo teased. They were around the same height, but Apollo had more muscle, and his shoulders were broader. He always found it cute when Sebastian would borrow a shirt to sleep in. And the only slight difference made borrowing shirts for work or daily things easy for both.
Sebastian murmured a quiet response, shifting around to get more comfortable. Their legs tangled together and one of his hands came to rest on Apollo’s chest, the other slipped under Apollo’s neck where there was a small space between it and the couch. He looked up at Apollo. “You have tomorrow off, right?”
“I do.”
“S-so do I.” He moved again, this time to kiss Apollo softly. It was a slow, languid kiss that neither would put too much pressure into. Apollo smiled, loving the warmth that bloomed in his chest as they kissed. They were content to lay there kissing until a towel was dropped over their heads.
“Alright lovebirds, shower’s free.” Clay ran a hand through his still damp hair. “And don’t worry Pollo, that’s the hair towel.”
Apollo chuckled, taking the towel and tossing it back at Clay. “Go, I can wait a few more minutes.” He said to Sebastian.
Clay waited for Sebastian to walk into the bathroom before speaking. “I never thought I’d see you so domestic and lovey.” He smiled. “Sebastian’s good for you.”
Apollo looked at Clay with a goofy grin. “He’s amazing.” The grin fell. “I keep wondering…if Dhurke would like him. Nahyuta too. He’s a prosecutor, but not like how Dhurke described them.”
“I think they’d like him. He’s not rebel material, but he’s nice. Gentle.” Clay explained. “Meikiko loves him, and I like him. And even my dad approves of him.”
“Would he still be here if he knew though?”
Clay sighed. “Knew what? That you’re technically a prince? That English is your second language? That your first adopted dad is a kick-ass rebel?” He shook his head. “Sebastian’s friends with the glimmerous fop as the crazy detective calls him. His adopted dad is the scary Chief Prosecutor. He probably knows like seven languages just from living with him!”
“Not only that, but you two are helping take down the Dark Age of the Law. I don’t think he’s gonna look at you any differently. How did you two even meet and start this anyway?”
“He came over to the Agency to drop off some files.” Apollo said. “And Phoenix in all his infinite wisdom says ‘Oh right, I never introduced the new employee to my stepson!’ Which led to him explaining the strangest marriage I have ever heard of.”
“You told me that one before.” Clay said. “More about Sebastian!”
“Well after that, we kept getting put on cases together. Mr. Edgeworth decided Sebastian’s first murder trial in a few years should be one against me so he can see how prosecutors and defense attorneys can work together.” Apollo said. “Which led to us celebrating together after the case, really it was just our mentors trying to set us up, and we turned it into our own thing and got together on our own terms.”
“Where was I for all this?”
“Florida.” Apollo replied. “Remember? The year-long training?”
Clay nodded. “Right…”
“Can you do me a favor?” Apollo questioned. “If this q and a is going to continue, put some pants on. I can’t take you seriously in just a towel.”
His best friend laughed. “What, am I too tempting for you?” He teased.
“Hardly. This isn’t college Clay. Besides, thought you were saving yourself for the ‘hot and sexy German’.”
“You tell any soul about that and I’ll send you into space.”
Apollo fell into bed, groaning happily. He felt so much better after a shower, with his hair out of the gel and falling everywhere save for his bangs. Sebastian’s was in much the same state, with the curl refusing to fall flat no matter what the rest of his hair did.
He was already curled up on the bed against the wall, eyes only half open as he looked at Apollo. “A-a-any plans for tomorrow?”
“Taking you on a date.” He made sure to save money from his last paycheck for that. “Dinner- not Eldoon’s.” Apollo liked the guy, but there was only so much salt a person should eat in a month and he was pretty sure Eldoon put enough in for a year. “And the aquarium. Let’s hope they don’t lose that damn penguin again…”
Sebastian laughed. “Rifle’s cute.”
“Says the guy who’s good with any animal no matter what they are.” Apollo smiled, lying on his side and wrapping his arms around Sebastian. “I’m lucky if Meikiko likes me on a good day.”
“Pess likes you.” Sebastian countered. “And Vongle.”
“Vongle likes treats.” Apollo pointed out. “And I was the only one giving her some for a while.” It was nice to have a large puppy like him though. Vongle was a big baby, 75 pounds of golden retriever who wasn’t afraid to use all that to her advantage and tackle a person she wanted to cuddle.
“I like you.” Sebastian smiled.
Apollo pulled him closer, giving him a quick kiss. “I like you too.” He replied. “And I like sleep.”
“Sleep is nice.” Sebastian agreed.
It was the last sentence Apollo managed to get from his boyfriend, who was in a deep sleep soon after. Apollo yawned, resting his head on the pillow next to Sebastian’s. After a hectic week, it was the perfect start to his weekend.