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The date is December twentieth, eleven o’clock at night. It’s been a long day for everyone involved in the resolution of the UR-1, but it’s finally over. Wright, Edgeworth and Trucy invited Simon to stay with them until they figured out his living situation, mainly because Athena’s tiny apartment didn’t have enough room for him. The young DA in question finally got her car back, and graciously decided to drive Apollo home at the end of this long night.
Their chatter was blessedly normal; after all they had been through the past week or so, with suspicions running wild, it’s what they deserve. It stays normal until they hit a lull in the conversation at one point, where Athena stops and looks troubled for a moment. Suddenly, she screams in surprise, making Apollo jump, afraid that they were going headlong into oncoming traffic.
“What’s wrong?!” he screams back, curling into a ball to protect himself. “Are we gonna die?!”
“Agh! -- No, I’m sorry,” Athena says sheepishly, slouching. “I just… remembered something!”
“Something that made you scream bloody murder,” Apollo snarks. He relaxes, but rests his head in his hands. “You’re going to throw my blood pressure through the roof, Athena.”
“No, it was important!” She pouts and pounds the steering wheel. “Christmas is four days away and I haven’t gotten Simon any presents!”
“To be fair, he was in prison this entire time.”
“Doesn’t matter! I’ve been slacking, Apollo!” Athena takes one hand off the wheel to make a fist, and glances at her coworker with a winning grin. “I gotta go find him the perfect gift! I’ve already done that for everyone else.”
“... I don’t know if I want to know what you think that might be,” Apollo says, dubious of Athena’s intention. The fledgling law psychologist just laughs and keeps her eyes on the road.
“Do you want to come with me?” she asks. “It’s not like Mr. Wright wants us in the office tomorrow.”
“As long as you don’t mind Klavier tagging along,” he says, with a strange grin. Athena hears a strange discord in his words; something prickly, but inherently fond. She decides not to pick on him about it right now.
“What, does he miss you that much?” she teases. That gets him to laugh, and sheepishly ruffle his hair.
“No, no, he insists on checking up on me,” Apollo insists. They approach his apartment block, and Athena slows to a stop. “Believe it or not, he was worried about me.”
“We all were, dummy!” Athena punches his arm lovingly, but it connects with a loud slap. That’ll bruise in the morning. Apollo gripes and rubs the spot she punched, but smiles nonetheless.
“Now, get some sleep! We’ll have fun going shopping tomorrow,” she promises. Apollo carefully extracts himself from the car, waves goodbye, and makes his way indoors.
Once Apollo is out of sight, Athena rests her elbows on the steering wheel and tries to think. What to get for your best friend, the former convict?...
The next day dawns. After the events of yesterday, it just seems so… normal. As if nothing had happened. But Athena knows that isn’t true, when her phone starts ringing that afternoon. The call is from an unknown number, but she has an idea of who it might be. Before now, her new favorite brother figure would never have the opportunity to call her today.
“Athena.”
“Simon!” she says, grinning widely. Setting her laundry aside to finish folding later, she sits on her bed and listens. “Did the Wrights hook you up with a phone while I wasn’t looking?”
“Hilarious. I suppose you fancy me an old man, as well?” She hears him chuckle over the static of the call. “You’re surprisingly correct, however; Edgeworth-sama and Wright-dono have been aiding me in arranging my living situation today.”
“That includes the phone, I guess.” Some cars pass by noisily in the street in front of her window, and she winces at the sound. “Anything else of note?”
“Trucy has also joined us.” Something chirps happily in the background. Athena assumes it’s Taka, and smiles. “She made the apartment tour interesting when she released five live doves, but is otherwise sharp like her father. I could learn to take a shine to her special brand of wisdom.”
“How did she…? Never mind, you wouldn’t know and she won’t tell us,” she admits aloud. Feeling restless, she stands up and paces. “What are you guys doing now?”
“Edgeworth-sama branched off. Something needing doing in the prosecutor’s office, it seems.” Something creaks in the background. Athena assumes that he’s feeling similarly restless. She can also hear something like a frying pan crackling and two others talking. “ Wright-dono and Trucy seem to be cooking something for lunch. What mischief are you up to this afternoon, missy?”
“I’m hanging out with Apollo.” A question formed in the back of her mind; she’s glad she brought up Mr. Chords of Steel, or else she wouldn’t have remembered to bring this up. “Prosecutor Gavin is apparently coming with us. On a separate note, though…”
“I sense a question coming.”
“Correct, Prosecutor Blackquill!” she says with a smile. After a moment of digging around in her desk, she produces a legal pad and a pen to write notes. “Is there anything you’d like for the holidays?”
“Ha! Like I need anything more than my emancipation,” he says teasingly. “And you already helped me get that, so I need nothing.”
“Oh, don’t be stubborn, you ass!” She pouts at the legal pad, and Widget chirps in exasperation. “There’s gotta be something you’d like. I know that Christmas isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things, but it’s your first outside of prison in seven years! Sue me for wanting to make it a little… y’know, special!”
The line is mostly silent for a long moment, save for Simon’s thoughtful sigh. Athena watches the grey storm clouds tumble outside her window, wondering if she was too harsh. In the background of the call, she can hear Wright and Trucy laugh.
“... You’re sweet, Athena. But you don’t need to get me anything, truly.”
“Well, I want to get you something. Humor me?”
He sighs again, but Athena can hear the fondness in his voice as it morphs into a laugh. Widget cheers.
“Fine, I’ll play along. Only if you tell me something you would like.”
“Deal! Now spill!” Her pen hovers over the legal pad in anticipation, and he laughs at her enthusiasm.
“I find myself lacking in casual clothes. Exercise clothes, too. I’d like to try working out again.” Athena hears a door open in the background, and what sounds like Trucy enthusiastically greeting the guest. She writes down the idea Simon gave her with a flourish, and sets down the pad and pen when she’s done. “Take from that what you will.”
“Sounds good! As for me…”
Athena scratches her chin, secretly over the moon that she’s gotten her best friend back, and that he’s getting her a Christmas present.
“I dunno. I guess I’d like some new snacks to try?”
“Done. I’ve got ten things in mind that you just might like now.”
“Don’t buy me ten things!”
“Just try and stop me,” he teases. Taka chirps beside him clearly, as if laughing. “I think the time has come for me to hang up. I believe the Wrights have finished their concoction.”
“Okay. Talk more later?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Athena ended up meeting Klavier and Apollo at the store, as her coworker had hitched a ride with the rock star prosecutor instead of her. The two looked a little windblown when they met up, and Apollo was shaking like a leaf. Klavier treats them both to a sugary drink in the attached coffee shop, and explains that they had taken his motorcycle that Apollo wasn’t quite used to it yet. Before she could question the “yet”, they move right into the store’s pre-Christmas madness.
Athena leads them into the men’s clothing section, only to find it mostly empty. The three search high and low, but are nearly unable to find anything that could even fit Simon physically, let alone fit his tastes. After about a half hour of searching, they find a pair of dark gray sweatpants, a few pairs of socks with birds on them, and a pair of exercise shorts with a pattern of sunny-side-up eggs.
And then… Apollo manages to find the perfect sweater.
It’s light grey and pink, made out of soft jersey cloth. On the front, it says “I’M A LUXURY”, and on the back, it reads “FEW CAN AFFORD.” It must be at least two sizes too big for him, but it makes all three of them laugh.
“This… This is perfect,” Athena says, wiping away her tears of laughter. “He’s gonna love this.”
The days leading up to the Wright Anything Christmas Party are a weird combination of busy, quiet and somber. Clay’s funeral was right after Athena’s day out, leaving Apollo uncharacteristically silent and not answering his calls for the day. She managed to talk to Klavier, who seemed to be the only one Apollo was talking to, and he believed that the mental wounds from the astronaut’s death had reopened. It was clear he was hurting, but she couldn’t help a person who was hiding from his friends...
As loud and chipper as usual, Apollo resurfaced when the HAT-3 launched on the twenty-third, putting on a brave voice for Mr. Starbuck. He opened up to Athena and Wright when they asked how he was doing, however, finally leaving the two feeling relieved. The close knit family of defense attorneys cleared the air over a few bowls of Eldoon’s noodles, with the ramen master himself offering sympathy and free soup.
Which brings Athena to the morning of Christmas Eve. Simon packed up his scant belongings and moved out of the Wright’s guest room, and the fledgling defense attorney is helping him move into his new apartment. It’s small, naught more than a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, a couch and an ancient TV, but the so-called twisted samurai insists that he doesn’t need much.
Pseudo-brother and sister spend the morning and afternoon unpacking, cleaning and organizing. All that fills the shelves in his little living room are a few law books and bird toys, and similarly, all that fills the closet and dresser are work clothes. The two admire their handiwork over takeout, wondering how the little space will fill up in the next few months.
“I think Taka likes the new place,” Athena notices with a giggle. Taka has taken up residence in the middle of the couch, watching the two sit on the floor. He wiggles in place and snuggles into the cushions, cooing.
“Good,” Simon says with a grin. He gently scratches under the hawk’s chin. “I must say, I’m rather fond of it too.”
They spend a few hours bumming around and watching terrible Christmas specials on the local TV channels, until it’s about time to make way to the Agency. Athena bolts up, assuring Simon that he’ll love meeting Klavier, the Feys and Wright’s other friends, but he still looks thoughtful.
“Should I dress in something other than my work clothes…?”
“If you’ve got something, sure,” she says, bouncing on her heels. “Everyone dresses pretty casual, as far as Apollo told me. Usually just Christmas sweaters and jeans.”
“Like that?” Simon points at her sweater, festively shouting “MERRY SHITSCRAM” with stitched string lights and holly. “I’ll pass. But I have some old trousers around somewhere that’ll do.”
“Just hurry up! Chief Gumshoe is bringing cocktail weenies and I wanna be there before Miss Fey eats them all!”
He chuckles at her antics, but goes no faster, much to her chagrin.
Immediately, Athena and Simon are bombarded with Maya Fey enthusiastically hugging them the second they walk in the door. Pearl hangs back, clearly frightened by Blackquill, but Maya is clearly nonplussed.
“No reason to be afraid of him, Pearly! After all, I can relate to him, I’ve spent plenty of time in prison over the years.”
“You? In prison?” Simon draws back in disbelief. “Excuse me, Fey-sama, but you don’t seem the type.”
“I know! Nick feels the same, that’s why I’m standing here now,” she says, smirking mischievously. “You and I are in the same boat, Blackquill! I know all too well what it’s like to be falsely accused.”
Simon smiles and crosses his arms, clearly intrigued. Athena leaves him to make new friends while she takes gifts out of her car.
Overall, it’s a very good night. Simon and Maya get to be friends by the end of the evening, Gumshoe and his girlfriend Maggey bring down the house with their food, and Trucy sneakily chases all the guests with mistletoe. When the moon hangs high in the clear winter sky, the group collectively decides to exchange gifts.
Athena’s gifts go over very well. Wright laughs aloud at his “#1 Work Dad” mug, Trucy loves her new chemistry kit, and Apollo is surprisingly in love with his three new ties. Everyone else gets little things; Ema got a bargain margarita chemistry kit, Klavier got a copy of one of Athena’s favorite techno CD’s that he had been asking about for months, and Edgeworth got a tea mug. Maya and Pearl got new grilling tools (a gift from the whole Agency), Gumshoe and Maggey got a crockpot (a gift from all of them, Defense and Prosecution), and from the others, Simon got a fuckton of Steel Samurai DVDs with an intense Maya and Edgeworth insisting he watch.
Finally, Athena managed to shove her gift into Simon’s hands. He shoved his own gift back, making them both laugh at their ridiculousness. The twisted samurai made her go first, watching with a satisfied grin as she unwrapped a package of his favorite Japanese sweets and snacks. She sets them aside and insists she loves them, before practically begging him to open his present.
He sets about opening it slowly, but his reaction upon seeing the pink and grey sweater was absolutely priceless. Eyes wide, he broke out into a huge grin, and couldn’t help but laugh hysterically as he held it aloft for everyone to see.
“Dear god!” he managed in between laughs. “I need to put this on immediately.”
The second he put it on, everyone started to laugh along with him. His normal getup was so different, that the juxtaposition was just utterly hilarious. Trucy snapped a picture of Simon and Athena just as the finished hugging each other, and the smiles on their face told all.
After more insisting, he opened the rest of his gifts, and fell in love with the socks and the egg shorts. They hugged again, this time for much longer, and Simon lovingly messed up her festive bun.
“Thank you, Athena. I loved all of it,” he says. All of a sudden, he looks a little misty eyed. “And… I loved being able to spend this time with you.”
Although she’d never admit it, that made Athena a little misty eyed, too. She hugged him once more, saying that she loved him too into his shoulder. This was the best Christmas she could have asked for.