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Just A Little Game of Poker, Wright	By : Blackwidina Category: +M through R > Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Views: 1618 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Ace Attorney series, and I make no money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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- 2
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Chapter 2
Apollo felt...slightly ridiculous.
Sure, it was his idea, but wearing The Beanie on his head really just. . . thank God there wasn't a mirror, if Phoenix's open smirk were any judge. Still, he knew he had to hide his 'expressive hair,' if he wanted to start winning more.
"Maybe you should just wear a mask? I'm sure Trucy's got a few around here, somewhere."
"Shut up, old man."
"Or at least the hoodie? I mean, there are so many jokes I could make right now about desperate fanboys. . ."
"Deal the cards, dammit."
Still chuckling, Phoenix dealt again, and the game was on.
Two minutes later, Apollo sighed in defeat. "All right, ask away."
"Don't feel bad, kid. You've already beaten a champion once."
"You only lost because you know this doesn't count."
"Touche. Now, my question, Apollo Justice." Phoenix's face suddenly went deadly serious, and Apollo's bracelet pinched hard again, and though a blind person could have seen the dangerous aura around the man, Apollo was more attuned to the hand that slid inside the pocket of his jeans. "What are your intentions toward Trucy?"
WHAT THE...? For a moment, all Apollo could do was stare in disbelief. Then, realizing just what Phoenix was getting at, he started to laugh.
"Apollo!"
"N-no! Whatever you're thinking, not a chance!" He had a stitch in his side, he was laughing so hard.
Phoenix relaxed considerably. "Well, you're not hiding anything, that's for sure."
His guffaws had finally died down to very unmanly giggles. "Not about Trucy, no. She's my friend, yes. Probably my best friend, if only because I don't really have anyone else. But that grape juice has been fermenting in that brain of yours if you honestly think I have any romantic interest in her." A thought seized his mind, and he froze in horror. "Unless . . . did she . . . she doesn't . . . oh god, please say no."
Now Phoenix was the one fighting laughter. "No, no. I was just . . . being protective, I guess."
Apollo's look of terror faded a little. "Okay, then. Trucy's like a little sister to me, like I've said before," he shook his head in amusement. "In any case, let's play again. I think I'm getting a handle on this."
Another few hands went by, and Apollo was feeling a touch cornered. The boss had asked about his first grade-school crush (his third grade music teacher), his first kiss (stolen by some random girl in his class who'd apparently lost a bet), and his first date, which he still hadn't had.
"Really, Polly? No dating?"
Apollo sulked. "And I'm so sure you were the pimp king of LA."
Phoenix snerked. "Actually, my first and only girlfriend was . . . well, complicated. Technically, her name was Iris, but I knew her as Dahlia."
Apollo's spikes twitched in recognition under the beanie. "Those names . . . I think I remember that case."
The other nodded, looking a bit sour. "Turned out I was fooled by a pair of twins."
The brunette grabbed the bottle of grape juice that was sitting at his feet and took a swallow. "So, what happened afterward? Why didn't you and she...you know, get together?"
"Okay, can I take a moment to say how hilarious it is to see you wearing my hat, drinking a bottle of grape juice? Please, can I talk you into wearing the hoodie? And I know I've got another camera in here . . . "
"Absolutely not. When was the last time you washed that thing?"
"Probably more frequently than the hat."
"I didn't hear that. Answer the question."
"Win a hand, first."
It took another two hands before Apollo was able to bluff a win. Even Phoenix seemed surprised when they revealed their hands.
"You're getting better."
"All right, out with it. Why didn't you get back together with D-er, Iris?"
Phoenix pursed his lips in annoyance, "Hey, I backed off of you, didn't I?"
"Yes, the backpedaling and asking of stupid questions was duly noted. As if you really thought I would make off with your Steel Samurai crap. Though I may have spotted it in Trucy's room. Now, talk."
"I . . . wasn't interested."
Another pinch, and Apollo was easily able to see, not only the tensing in his shoulders, but the darting of his eyes as he tilted his head downward. A gesture that normally would have been hidden by the beanie brim. "You're lying."
A long sigh. "I was already in a relationship. A long-distance relationship, but still one I was very faithful to. Besides, I wasn't the same Feenie she knew back then."
Apollo tilted his head, thinking. "I guess that's fair." Something about the entire conversation bugged him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Come to think of it, what about that girl you were usually with? In the purple?"
"Maya? Uh..." Nick suddenly looked incredibly uncomfortable. "I . . . wasn't really . . . myself. After my disbarment. I . . . cut contact with a lot of my friends. Maya's the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, so she was pretty busy anyway. She and Pearls still write me, but . . ."
Apollo saw Nick swallow, and felt like crap for pressing him. "It must have been so hard. I'm sorry."
"It's . . . it's okay, now. Having Trucy around gave me a reason to keep fighting back. I just . . . I couldn't face the others." He was quiet for a few moments. "Now that it's all over . . . I don't think I could just go back to the way things were. It's been too long."
Apollo shook his head, brows furrowing. "You never know till you try. And if Maya and Pearl are still trying to reach you, that's a place to start, isn't it? And you've been friends with Mr. Edgeworth for years-"
A pinch, "How the hell did you know that?"
The younger smirked, "Ex-fanboy, remember? There was that article in the paper about the two of you."
"Oh, God, that. I remember. Miles was pissed. I had to talk him out of suing. Though as I recall, he knocked the hell out of Larry for talking to his reporter girlfriend." The corner of Phoenix's mouth curled a little. "I think that was the first time he'd ever hit anybody. And of course, it would be Larry."
"Larry Butz? The other childhood friend? Is he a lawyer, too?"
"Dear God, no." Phoenix looked horrified at the suggestion.
"So what about-"
"Why is it that when I win, I ask one question, and when you win, you ask twenty?"
Because you need me to, Apollo thought to himself. You've probably needed to talk to someone for years. With every hand I win, it's like you wind down just a little more. How long have you kept all this bottled up? All seven years? Straightening his shoulders, he replied confidently, "It's because of my amazing lawyerly abilities"
"Lawyerly isn't a word."
"Says who?"
"Miles Edgeworth."
". . . Had this conversation before, have you?"
"Worst game of Scrabble, ever."
"Fine. Deal the cards."
"You're cheating. You have to be."
"Where's your evidence?"
"Bring in a jury and they'll back me up."
"You're just mad because you're losing."
"Phoenix, I'm getting better at this with every hand. I know I am. Why am I still losing?"
"Because the more skilled you get, the less pity I'm going to take on you."
". . . Do you even really need me tomorrow night?"
"I've have a perfect record to maintain, remember? If I can beat you despite that damn bracelet of yours, that's all the better for me. But yes, I will need either you or Trucy."
It was like a goddamn light bulb went off in Apollo's head. "Dammit," he hissed.
Nick smirked a little. "Figured it out, have you?"
"My bracelet. Every time it tightens up, it gives both of us away."
"Very astute. Now, what do you plan to do about it?"
". . . ."
There was now decisive evidence of the night in the form of amateur digital photography: Apollo Justice, wearing his boss' hobo gear, drinking grape juice while hunched over a game of poker. And annoyingly enough, he couldn't help but notice how comfy and warm it was. Like . . . like a well broken in pair of shoes. And it smelled rather like Phoenix. Which wasn't a bad thing. And he was irritated that it wasn't. Dammit, he wasn't some stupid fanboy anymore, right?
The only consolation at this point was that he was winning more and more games. Apollo picked easy questions, both feeling the need to mull over previous answers, and perhaps lull Phoenix into a sense of security for when he finally picked a big question to ask.
He felt like he usually did when there was that one bit of testimony he couldn't quite figure out. There was a contradiction somewhere, and if he just thought about it long enough, hard enough, he knew it would smack him in the face. Unfortunately, playing poker with Phoenix required a lot of attention.
"I win again!" Apollo crowed, laying his cards out. "Let's see . . . what did you study for fun in college?"
"Study? Fun? I sense a contradiction in there . . ."
"Well, you must have had electives, right? A minor? What did you do that wasn't law related?"
"Ah. My first major ended up being my minor. I went to school to get a degree in Fine Arts."
Apollo just kind of stared in shock. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Completely. I thought you were a fan of all my cases?"
"I . . . oh! The one that got Dahlia Hawthorne convicted! You did say you were in the Art Department."
"And after that, thanks to my defense attorney, Mia Fey, I started focusing more on law. Miles may have sparked my interest in law, but it was Mia who helped me realize the potential a defense attorney has to change lives." Phoenix's brown eyes shown with absolute sincerity.
Apollo couldn't help but beam. "Wow. That's . . . well, it's kind of corny, but it makes me think of when you defended Billy."
Nick laughed a little, "See? We're not so different, after all, are we?"
"Well, considering that I'm seriously planning on helping you break the law, I'd say so. What kind of art did you . . . y'know, do. And please tell me it wasn't music. I think I'd have to break out the Chords of Steel for that particular obejction."
"Heaven forbid. Fine Arts, Apollo. Drawing, painting, things like that." He looked off to the side, suddenly looking a little shy. "I haven't done anything like that in years. Hell, couldn't afford to, even. They're called starving artists for a reason."
Apollo nodded. "I met a few art majors in school. Seems like if they're not drawing, they're bitching about buying materials. Deal again. I'm on a roll."
Another hand, and Phoenix called his bluff with two pair. He leaned back, hands going into his pants pockets. "All right, Apollo. Answer me this: if you're not interested in Trucy, who are you interested in?"
Apollo froze. The bracelet pinched. HARD.
He had a front row seat to see Phoenix's pupils dilate slightly and dart around in a series of movements, like he was watching something in the air around Apollo. Startled, he glanced to either side, but saw nothing. He looked back at the man himself and saw him seemingly counting to himself. "Five, hm? Wonder what you're trying to hide," Phoenix muttered, almost too quietly to hear.
"Five what?"
Brown eyes snapped to his again, and his boss visibly willed himself to relax. "Nothing. Going to answer the question?"
" . . . No one."
"That was even more obvious than the bluff you just made."
"I'm not . . . interested in anyone."
"Pull the other leg. It's got bells on it."
He couldn't help a laugh at that. "Okay, fine. It's not that I'm not interested in anybody, but I sure as hell don't want to share."
"Aw, and here I thought we were becoming such good friends."
Dammit. Apollo could feel himself blushing, and his mind raced, trying to think of something, anything, to change the subject with."
"C'mon, now, Polly. Is it Ema? Trucy said you two get along like peas in a scientific pod." Phoenix's grin was positively wicked, even as his eyes still seemed to be glancing at things Apollo knew weren't there.
"H-hey! I let you slide on the Dahlia thing. Cut me some sla—oh! OH!" Several thoughts connected in his panicked brain, and the logic was like a sudden ball of light blinding him. "You . . . were in a long-distance relationship . . . that's part of why you didn't get back with her."
The tension across the table sky-rocketed, and Phoenix was suddenly sitting up straight, shoulders tense, looking for all the world like he'd just had a surprising bit of new evidence shoved in his unsuspecting face, "All right, I'm sorry I asked. I'll stop . . ." Nervously, he gripped his bottle of grape juice and took a long swallow.
"That case," Polly continued, feeling sort of dazed, "There were four lawyers. Two of them came from abroad just for it. A long-distance relationship . . ." He suddenly slammed both hands on the desk, and pointed, "You were dating Franziska von Karma!"
Phoenix did a spectacular spit-take. Then he started laughing.
TBC
A/N: Since I'm sure someone will ask: I write Phoenix's eyes as brown. Why? Because they are in-game. Those are the eyes I first fell for, and those are the eyes I will write Wright with. I'd love to kick the promotional bastards who dared mess with perfection.
Also, I think I'd kill for fanart of Apollo right now. Or at least write a oneshot.
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Just A Little Game of Poker, Wright