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Apollo wasn't sure what surprised him more, the way the courthouse seemed different or how nothing seemed to have changed at all when he really focused.
To be fair, he hadn't been away all that long. He'd only spent four years in Khura'in — four long years filled with work, work, and more work, but still — and frequent calls and holiday visits had kept him more or less up to date about the happenings back home. Still, it felt as though he had come to an entirely different world. In Khura'in, even the busiest days in court had been attended with a sort of reverence, Nahyuta being far from the only one who saw the courtroom as something of a holy place. Back here, while there was certainly a sort of reverence and gravitas to the proceedings, things were rather more, well, earthly.
It probably didn't help that Mr. Wright had decided to ground him very efficiently by making his first job a simple errand of running papers around, something that he probably could have gotten done himself on the side if not for his desire to give Apollo something to do right away. And to top it all off, he was now stuck waiting for Klavier Gavin to be done with a trial to get the last document he needed.
Klavier. Apollo… hadn't really thought much of him in the last few years, to be honest, had done his best not to think about him. They had been growing closer before the whole mess with Dhurke and Khura'in and everything, enough so that Apollo had occasionally thought there might be something more developing. After, though… well. He was unsure enough about relationships in general, he wasn't about to suggest a long distance one, especially not when he had very much unilaterally decided to leave behind everything about his life in Los Angeles without actually consulting any of the people in his life. He didn't have regrets about his choice, no, he still planned on going back every now and then to assist Nahyuta, but it had definitely cut off anything that might have been happening between Klavier and himself.
Except now he was back in LA, and Klavier was still prosecuting, and Apollo was sitting on a bench in the courthouse because he was too much of a damn coward to actually watch Klavier's trial. He could explain it to himself all he wanted, could tell himself he was just looking for some peace and silence, but really he just didn't want to see Klavier at the prosecution's bench just yet because he was afraid it would hit too close to home.
Damn, he had missed that arrogant fop.
Someone dropped down on the bench next to him, startling him from his thoughts. It wasn't exactly like the prosecutor's lobby was crowded, so there should have been plenty of room elsewhere. Looking up from the papers he had been pretending to read, he saw a dark-haired woman around his own age peering at him curiously. She didn't look like a lawyer, though she was reasonably well put together in a short skirt and a blouse, her hair gathered up in a high ponytail with a key-shaped ornament stuck through it. Really, she looked like she would have been more at home at a Khura'inese TV drama than here in the courthouse at Los Angeles.
"Hi!" The woman grinned at him. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"
"I, ah, I'm not sure." Apollo felt suddenly very sheepish. Yes, it was quite possible she knew him, or at least had seen his face around. Taking part in a revolution and then getting more or less forcefully adopted into a royal family tended to give you some screen time, as he had come to find. "I don't recall meeting you, though, Miss…"
"Faraday! Kay Faraday." A gloved hand was thrust out at him, and he shook it gingerly. Somehow she looked much younger when she was grinning, hiding part of her smile behind her dark scarf. "Detective Faraday, to be precise."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you." Apollo rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Apollo Justice. Attorney-at-law."
"So that's where I've seen you!" She snapped her fingers with a surprisingly sharp sound for someone wearing gloves. Instead of any of the possibilities that had him already cringing in preparation, she added, "You're in that picture at the Wright Anything Agency!"
"They still have a picture of me up?" Not that he should have been surprised, really. He knew for a fact they still kept his old jacket hanging around, even though he hadn't touched the thing in years.
"Of course! They're really proud of you, you know. Trucy just won't stop talking about her brother the prince!" Kay chuckled. "It sounds like something out of a storybook, really. Don't worry, though, they've also made it very clear that you're just a normal guy!"
"Small blessings," Apollo muttered, starting to gather his papers in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "Wait. So you've talked with them often?"
"Now and then." Kay gave him an easy shrug. "Comes with the territory, you know. What with my being a homicide detective, and friends with Mr. Edgeworth, and dating the coolest young prosecutor in town."
"Oh?" Apollo was proud of himself for not letting his voice falter. "Is — which one of those has you here today, then?"
"The last! My sweetie should be finishing up his trial soon." And she was here right next to Apollo, waiting for him to emerge. "I'd go watch him, but he says it makes him nervous when he knows I'm in the gallery. Just means I have to sneak in sometimes! He's good about not showing his nerves, though, he's really precise about making everything perfect."
"Yeah, I know the type," Apollo murmured. Then, because he was apparently some sort of a masochist, he added, "So have you been dating for long?"
"Hm, a few years now? Ever since I stopped working for the Interpol and came back here, more or less. We met for the first time when we were both seventeen, though. Can you believe he was already a prosecutor then?"
"Considering my friend was a defense attorney at eighteen? I suppose I can believe that, yes." Apollo somehow managed a smile. "You seem really proud of your, ah, boyfriend."
"Of course I am! He's the most brilliant prosecutor ever. Well, he is when he's not getting distracted by his music." Kay grinned behind her scarf. "That's why he needs the best detective by his side, of course!"
"I'm sure you're exactly that." Apollo had a bad feeling his smile was getting a bit hollow, though.
Well. Clearly he had been wrong about anything developing in the first place.
Before either of them could find another avenue of conversation, though, the door to the courtroom was opened, and a brown-haired man in a blue suit walked out. He seemed distracted for a moment, tapping his palm with a white conductor's baton, but his eyes widened as he saw them, hastening his steps to get closer.
"Kay!" he all but cried out, slipping the baton away as he reached his arms towards her. "What are you doing here?"
"Surprise!" Kay jumped up to her feet, flinging her arms up around her neck. "How was your trial?"
"The best, of course." The man huffed, but smiled as he reached his arms around her. "Klavier's still tying up some of the loose ends, but we're more or less done for the day. If you want, we can go out and celibate once I'm done with the paperwork."
"Celebrate, darling, you mean celebrate. There's a very big difference between the two."
"Whatever you say, Kay."
"Wait." Apollo blinked, things starting to slot into place. "You are her boyfriend?" He had heard Klavier wasn't prosecuting the case on his own, for once, but he had never thought…
The man blinked at him, looking confused as though he had only just noticed Apollo's presence. "Her husband, actually, but yes. Prosecutor Sebastian Faraday. What about it?"
"Nothing!" Apollo lifted his hands. "I just — I thought —" Geez. How exactly was he going to explain himself?
"Oh!" Kay's eyes widened almost comically, and she brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh my goodness! I guess I never mentioned your name. My new friend here must have thought I was dating Prosecutor Gavin!"
Prosecutor Faraday made a sound somewhere between confusion and distress. "Klavier? But everyone knows he's gayer than a queer parrot at a glitter factory. Right?"
Kay broke into giggles, one hand still hooked behind her husband's neck. "Oh, Sebastian, that's a horrible way to put it!"
"He was my first kiss, I think I have a little more insight into his preferences than you, Ms. Detective." Prosecutor Faraday kissed the tip of her nose, then blinked almost owlishly at Apollo. "Ah. You're Mr. Forehead, aren't you? Klavier's always talking about how you're doing over in Khura'in, I swear he follows your cases more closely than his own. You're back in LA, now? I'm sure Klavier's going to be delegated."
"Klavier will be very delighted, yes. And I think we should get out of the way of such reunion, no?" Kay rearranged them so that she was tucked under one of Prosecutor Faraday's arms. "Come on, I need to talk to you before you get all buried in paperwork again."
"Of course, dear." The answer was so automatic, it would have been almost comical if not for the perfectly earnest look in the prosecutor's eyes.
"Oh, and Apollo? I can call you Apollo, right?" Kay flashed him a bright grin. "Whatever my dear husband says, I'm pretty sure it's been an awfully long time since anyone kissed Klavier properly. You could try correcting that! Trust me, it's a detective's intuition."
Apollo wasn't sure if it was her words or the following wink that had him so flustered, but he was pretty sure he was still blushing by the time Klavier finally emerged from the courtroom, immediately exclaiming in delight and drawing him into a fierce hug.
He didn't kiss Klavier right away, no, but that was because he had some manners.
*
Sebastian sighed, settling into a slow pace along the corridor with Kay at his side. "You are absolutely horrible."
"Aw, that's a terrible thing to say to your wife." Kay pouted, not that she expected it to have much effect on Sebastian. Once upon a time he probably would have gotten all flustered and apologetic, but by now he knew her well enough to tell when she was actually upset and when she was just pretending to be. It might have been almost a pity, if she hadn't felt so warm and cuddly inside at the idea of him observing her so closely. "Why would you say something like that?"
"You know, I would be much more likely to trust this whole looking innocent thing if you hadn't forced me to cover for you so many times." And yet Sebastian kept his arm around her, so clearly he wasn't too annoyed. "There is no way you didn't know from the moment you saw him that this was Klavier's Herr Forehead. And there's absolutely no way you could have accidentally let him believe you're dating Klavier, not unless you were doing it on purpose." An absolutely adorable flush spread across Sebastian's cheeks. "You seem far too happy to inform anyone that you married me."
"Aw, you're no fun." Kay huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine, fine, so I thought he might need a little push. I'd say sue me, but you might take me seriously."
"You have seen too many romantic comedies."
"Excuse me! I only watch highly accurate historical dramas, I'll have you know." Kay poked Sebastian in the side, and he at least pretended to be hurt.
"Oh, fine. Too many highly accurate historical dramas about brightly-colored ninjas that could be mistaken for romantic comedies."
"That's better." She nodded, sneaking an arm around him again so she could settle closer to her side.
"Still. I don't think trying to make Justice gelatinous is the right way to go."
"Perhaps making him jealous won't work too well, no," Kay admitted. "But at least now he knows for a fact that Klavier likes men. Which, believe it or not, is not obvious to anyone who sets eyes on him."
"That's hard to believe," Sebastian murmured. Then, a bit louder, he added, "Did you actually need to see me? Or did you come all the way here just to tease Mr. Justice?"
"Nah, I just stole the opportunity when I saw him!" Kay grinned. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about your opinion on names."
"Again?" Sebastian frowned. "Kay, we've talked about this a hundred times. I'm perfectly happy to have your name, and I'm not going to change my mind."
"That's not actually what I meant." Not that she could blame him for assuming, really. He was right, they had discussed this quite a lot, even before they had been properly engaged, then more as their marriage had approached. Kay had tried to encourage him to reclaim the Debeste name for himself, but she also couldn't really blame Sebastian for wanting to distance himself from his father's legacy as much as possible. And, well, it wasn't like she was terribly upset about the thought of another Prosecutor Faraday standing in the courtroom, even as she had chosen a different path.
"Oh? Then what do you mean?" Sebastian's frown deepened as he no doubt tried to think of any other names that might be relevant. Well, time for Kay to put him out of his misery.
"I was thinking more along the lines of picking between Daddy and Papa. Though we'll also have to think about other names in the next, oh, seven months or so." For the first time since finding out herself, she felt nervous, though only for a fleeting moment. They had been married for almost two years, but they also hadn't really talked about such things, and for her to just spring this on him like this —
Sebastian halted in his steps, then turned to face her properly, eyes wide and questioning as the tuft of hair on top of his head stood up straight. As she managed a small nod and smile, though, he hugged her tight enough to lift her off the ground, only to immediately put her down again and apologize profusely. He was crying, Kay realized with a start, big, fat tears rolling down his face and into her hair, but his voice was most definitely happy as he breathed out an, "Oh, Kay."
And, well, maybe Klavier Gavin giving his old courtroom opponent a big kiss in the middle of the courthouse was going to be the main source of gossip at the prosecutor's office for some time to come, but Kay had already got the reaction she wanted, anyway.