Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He honestly never expected his life to end up as great as it is now, but here he is. 

He is living in London and fulfilling his dream of working as a defense attorney with his best friend by his side. They even have their own office now, after working on so many cases together and winning them. However, now he is not at their office but is actually sitting down at the desk in the comfort of his attic room in 221B, filling out paperwork with his partner as they take the day off from work to catch up on filling out necessary documents.He can hear the familiar bustling downstairs, the air lively with movement and familiar energy, and the faint smell of tea drifts up, lulling him into a sense of peace and tranquility

Kazuma Asougi is super grateful for the chance he has been given to turn his life around and  find the best family he could ever ask for. 

He never expected to be given a second chance. After all the events that happened a year ago- finally reuniting with Ryuunosuke and Susato, finding out the truth behind his father, practically scaring Ryuunosuke and Susato away after they saw his rash breakdown- he thought he had lost it all. After all, Professor Mikotoba had told him that Ryuunosuke and Susato were heading back to Japan soon. 

He should have expected it. 

After that intense trial, he and Ryuunosuke hadn’t spoken a word to each other, and when he heard from Professor Mikotoba that Ryuunosuke was leaving to go back to Japan, his worst nightmare was coming true. He really had scared Ryuunosuke off so badly that he was leaving as soon as the next ferry to Japan arrived. He lost his one and only friend he had come to trust. He had not only scared off his only friend, but his only lover after they were both separated for a year due to his unfortunate accident on the SS Alaclaire. That would explain why Ryuunosuke was leaving so soon and why he hadn’t bothered to get in contact with him. But if he were being honest, Kazuma didn’t blame Ryuunosuke at all for leaving so soon. Obviously, Kazuma wasn’t what Ryuunosuke thought he was. He wasn’t that fearless, admirable honor student that Ryuunosuke looked up to. He was a liar who tricked his friend into coming with him to England so that he could defend him in court in case his mission were to go wrong. He had hidden so much from Ryuunosuke, even when they were a couple. He wasn’t honest towards Ryuunosuke at all and Ryuunosuke had every right to be mad at him and even leave him. Although that didn’t stop the intense ache he felt in his heart. 

However, even after all this time, Ryuunosuke still managed to surprise him. When he joined Holmes and Iris at the port to bid farewell to Professor Mikotoba, Susato, and Ryuunosuke, he was surprised to see that the latter didn’t have any suitcases with him. He asked about it, only for Ryuunosuke to give him a small smile, stating that he was staying in London to continue practicing law there. Kazuma asked about Susato, since she was going to supposedly continue as Ryuunosuke’s legal assistant, but she simply smiled and said that she was needed in Japan as Ryuutarou Naruhodou. Kazuma wished her and Professor Mikotoba a safe trip as they left the port, leaving him with Ryuunosuke, Holmes and Iris as they all headed back to Baker Street. 

When they arrived, Ryuunosuke led him up to the attic he was going to continue staying in, and the two of them had a very long talk. It was a lot for not only Kazuma, but Ryuunosuke as well. Dirty laundry was aired, issues were explained and mostly resolved and many apologies were exchanged by both parties. However, the thing that Kazuma remembers best from that heavy talk was Ryuunosuke asking about their relationship status. Kazuma, at the time, was surprised that Ryuunosuke even mentioned it, since he had assumed that the other didn’t want anything to do with him. However, Ryuunosuke took both of Kazuma’s hands in his, and- with tears streaming down his face- told him he had missed Kazuma dearly and wanted to continue being his boyfriend. 

Kazuma was speechless. 

He couldn’t believe his ears. Ryuunosuke wasn’t afraid of or upset at him? He wanted to continue dating him? Even after he had seen Kazuma’s ugly side? 

He must have been struck silent for a while, because he could feel Ryuunosuke trembling under him and start to pull his hands away, apologizing for being rash. However, Kazuma lurched forward and held Ryuunosuke tightly as he asked him, voice cracking, why he still would want him around as a friend or even a lover. Ryuunosuke let out a teary laugh as he tightened the hug, reassuring Kazuma that he missed him and wanted no one else by his side as his partner. After hearing the term that Kazuma lovingly used to refer to Ryuunosuke back in Japan, he broke down. Happy tears stained his cheeks as he held Ryuunosuke and stroked his hair, wondering how he became so lucky to have this wonderful, amazing man as not only his best friend, but his boyfriend. 

Kazuma is startled out of his reminiscing as he feels the warm, calloused hand of one Ryuunosuke Naruhodou stroking his cheek, a concerned look on his face. 

“Kazuma? Are you alright? You stopped writing about a few minutes ago.” 

Kazuma chuckles as he uses his free hand to move Ryuunosuke’s hand that’s on his cheek closer to his lips as he presses a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s palm. 

“Yes I’m fine Ryuu. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, kind and very handsome man as my best friend and boyfriend.”

Ryuu is startled by the sudden declaration as he sputters, his face and ears burning a bright red, which Kazuma finds absolutely adorable. Even after having dated for such a long time, Ryuunosuke gets shy and flustered at any romantic gesture Kazuma demonstrates towards him. After a few seconds though, Ryuunosuke rolls his eyes lovingly and lets out a soft huff as he moves his hand back to Kazuma’s cheek and cups it. 

“And you say I’m the sappy one out of us two.”

“That’s because you are, silly!” Kazuma laughs out as he leans closer and his lips meet Ryuunosuke’s as they share a short but sweet kiss. No words in either the English or Japanese language can properly describe Kazuma’s overwhelming love for Ryuunosuke Naruhodou. He pulls back as he brings his free hand to Ryuunosuke’s cheek, cradling it ever so gently. 

“I love you so much Ryuu.”

“I love you too Kazuma, so very much,” Ryuunosuke replies as he slowly stands up, his hand coming to rest on Kazuma’s shoulder, “I’m going to get some of Iris’s tea, would you like some?”

“Sure that sounds nice. I need the energy anyway, I was feeling a bit distracted.”

“From what I wonder…” Ryuunosuke ponders aloud with a smirk on his face.

“Oh shush you!” Kazuma exclaims as he playfully shoves Ryuunosuke eliciting a wonderful, bright laugh from his boyfriend with a warm smile etched on his own face. 

Ryuunosuke calms down from his laughter as he starts to make his way out of their shared bedroom. However, before he can step out, someone else makes their way to the door with a loud thunk, their eyes shining with excitement and pride as they jump up and down. 

“Narudie! Kazumie! Come down, quick! You’ve got to see my newest creation!” Iris Watson exclaims as she begins tugging desperately on Ryuunosuke’s sleeve. Kazuma chuckles as he stands up and walks over to the door, his arms crossed. 

“And is this the ‘top secret’ invention you and Holmes-san have been working on these past few days?”

“Yup!” Iris nods vigorously, “It’s pretty much finished, but I want you and Narudie to come see it! Please?”

“Of course! I was going to come down anyway to get some of your tea. Are you coming, Kazuma?”

“Sure! Wouldn’t want to miss such an invention after all.”

The three of them begin to make their way down, with Iris holding Ryuunosuke’s hand as she leads them into the lively clutter that is the living room of 221B. Kazuma starts to get worried when he smells some smoke. When they reach the living room, thankfully there is no visible fire or anything burnt. They watch as Sherlock perks up with the sound of their arrival and springs up from his seat, a glimmer in his eyes as his daughter runs to his side. 

Kazuma finds himself starting to worry. He can understand Iris’s excitement, she has made extraordinary contraptions at a very young age and creating something that may be revolutionary would warrant excitement from anyone. However, Kazuma recognizes the glint in Sherlock’s eyes, even though he hasn’t known him as long as Ryuunosuke has. He shifts his eyes to the side to see that his boyfriend also has a worried look in his eyes, which are now shifting back and forth between Sherlock and Iris’s invention. 

“Ah! Mr. Naruhodou and Mr. Asougi! So nice to have you two here!” Sherlock exclaims, not fazed by the worried looks on Ryuunosuke and Kazuma’s faces at all. “So it seems you have agreed to Iris’s request then. Good! Let’s get this fellow running and-”

“Papa! Wait!” Iris exclaims, a small pout forming on her face. “I haven’t even told them what this is yet!”

“Wait, what request? I thought you were just going to show us your invention.” Ryuunosuke asks worriedly. 

“I am! Don’t worry Narudie, my request is a simple one! Papa here got too excited before I could even explain what this is.” Iris explains as her father makes a sheepish grin behind her. “Anyways, this here is a true wonder! Nothing like this exists yet! It’s a…. time machine!”

The room turns dead silent as Ryuunosuke and Kazuma stare at Iris. They are shocked and speechless that before they can say anything, Iris speaks up. 

“I know it sounds crazy, but it is! And it works! Papa and I tested it out with a few objects. We put them inside the chamber here and after pressing a few buttons, they traveled to this same flat 100 years in the future! I don’t know if they reached there for certain, but they aren’t inside the machine, so they must have traveled somewhere!” 

Ryuunosuke and Kazuma walk closer to inspect the time machine. There is a tall, round container, with a door leading inside it. It looks like two people might be able to fit inside if they squeeze close together. There is a small window on the door, which relieves Ryuunosuke. After experiencing being cramped in a suitcase and wardrobe for a month, the idea of being in a tight space with no way of seeing outside doesn’t sit well with him. They inspect the box-like structure next to the container, tubes connecting both pieces of machinery. The box contains some dials and buttons that make both Ryuunosuke and Kazuma’s heads ache trying to figure out what everything is for. However, they can also see a small screen showcasing the month, day, and year. Overall, it seems like a pretty decent machine, but after hearing the commotion from today and a few days ago and smelling the smoke just now, both of them are a bit hesitant. 

“So by setting the date on this screen here, you can travel to any time period, past or future?” Ryuunosuke asks Iris. She clasps her hands together in excitement and nods. 

“Yup! Well at least that’s what it’s supposed to do. As I said, Papa and I put a few objects in there, and they traveled 100 years into the future! Or at least we think they did!  We are still working on how to bring them back since we aren’t certain if they traveled to the designated time period. And this is where my request comes in!”

Ryuunosuke and Kazuma look at each other nervously, deducing what Iris’s request will be, before turning back to Iris. 

“Since we have no way of communicating with inanimate objects on whether they’ve made it to the correct time period, I need a human test subject to be able to make sure that the machine properly works and sends the designated subject to the correct time and be able to bring them back afterwards. So what do you say, Narudie and Kazumie? Would either one of you like to volunteer?” 

“Wait… WHAT?! Y-You want one of us to be your test subject?!” Ryuunosuke exclaims, recoiling in shock and fear. He grabs onto Kazuma’s arm for comfort, but his boyfriend doesn’t seem to be faring any better after hearing Iris’s request. 

“W-Why us? Wouldn’t Holmes-san be a better candidate for this? He’s more familiar with the mechanics of your invention than us.”

“Which is why I can’t do it,” Sherlock interrupts Kazuma, “I need to stay and help Iris manage the machine in case anything were to go haywire.”

“Ok, then how about Susato-chan and Murasame-san?” Ryuunosuke asks. Iris shakes her head.

“Susie and Haori are out shopping right now. Besides they only just arrived in London, I don’t want to put them through this hassle, especially Haori. She’s a guest, you know!”

“Well how about Professor Miko-” However, Sherlock cuts off Kazuma’s question with an intense glare that promptly shuts Kazuma up while Sherlock puts on a polite smile. 

“Oh Mr. Asougi, you weren’t going to suggest that I send my beloved Yuujin now, were you?” Sherlock asks rhetorically. “Besides, he has also recently arrived from Japan. He is also not as young as he once was and there’s only so much I can expose him to. This machine is not one of them.” 

“Look, Narudie, Kazumie. I’m sorry if I made you two scared or uncomfortable. You two don’t have to volunteer if you don’t want to. I can always find someone else to do so! Maybe Gina might be able willing to volunteer if I-” 

“I’ll do it!” Ryuunosuke blurts out all of a sudden. Everyone turns to look at Ryuunosuke, who’s back is ramrod straight, his eyes darting a bit, signalling his nervousness, but his eyes also yell out determination. 

“N-Narudie? Are you sure? You know you don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

“No, it’s ok Iris-chan. I changed my mind. I want to help. You have done so much for me and it’s only right I return the favor. Besides, you just need me to confirm that I’ve traveled to the right place in time and then return, right? That shouldn’t be too hard.”

Iris peeks up at Ryuunosuke, her eyes shining with gratitude and excitement as she runs up and hugs him, her small arms squeezing him tightly. Ryuunosuke chuckles as he strokes her hair gently. She lets go as she runs over to the time machine, pressing a few buttons and flipping some switches excitingly while Sherlock fiddles with some of the dials. 

“So Narudie, here’s what I need you to-”

“I volunteer as well!” Kazuma announces suddenly as he grabs Ryuunosuke’s hand and squeezes firmly but gently. He glances towards his boyfriend, giving him a warm, supportive smile as he turns back to the startled Iris and Sherlock. “While the task seems simple enough, you stated yourself, Iris-chan, that it’s ‘pretty much finished,’ but that doesn’t mean it’s fully finished. You still need to confirm that whatever or whoever uses this machine travels to the correct designated location and time and is able to return safely. I will join Ryuunosuke to make sure nothing happens to him and to also help you in the completion of your device, Iris-chan.”

“Kazumie… Thank you so much!! Alright, just to be sure, are you two really sure you want to do this?”

Both defense attorneys look towards each other, a confident look on both of their faces as they nod resolutely to Iris. 

“Ok! So I just need you two to enter the chamber while I go over the coordinates and make sure everything is set up correctly. I will be sending you two to London, 100 years in the future.” Iris begins to look over the settings as Ryuunosuke and Kazuma make their way to the contraption. Before they enter inside, Iris suddenly exclaims

“Oh! Before I forget, please take this!”

She hands over a plush cat to Ryuunosuke, who looks at the toy with fondness and confusion. However, before he can ask the anticipated question, Iris beats him to it.

“It’s a communication device! It’s set so that when I send out the call from my plush rabbit here, a hologram of myself will appear from your cat! From there, I can then see whether you arrived at the correct place and time safely and then give you two instructions on how to return home!” 

“Thank you Iris-chan. That’s reassuring. You really thought through all of this didn’t you?” 

“Yeah! Don’t worry Kazumie! I wouldn’t ask you and Narudie to be volunteers if it was unsafe or if I wasn’t fully prepared!”

“Yeah, I know Iris-chan.” Kazuma responds as he pats her head affectionately.

“Alright then!” Sherlock exclaims out of nowhere as he clasps a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Safest of travels to you and Mr. Naruhodou then! Hope you enjoy whatever the future has to offer, as short as your time there will most likely be.” 

“Thanks Holmes-san.” Kazuma laughs as he rolls his eyes playfully as he and Ryuunosuke finally enter the small compartment. 

As soon as they enter, Kazuma sees Ryuunosuke’s earlier confidence start to crumble as he darts his eyes around even quicker and starts to tremble slightly, having developed some claustrophobia after being smuggled onto the SS Alaclaire last year. Kazuma reaches out and holds his lover’s hand with both of his, massaging his hand firmly but gently. 

“It’s ok Ryuu, I’m here, see? I won’t let you go until we arrive ok? I promise.”

Ryuu nods shakingly as he nods at his boyfriend, his eyes slightly relaxing at Kazuma’s soft gaze. They then hear a knock and Iris asks them if they are ready. 

“We are ready!” Kazuma shouts.

“Ok! I’m going to start the machine then!” Iris answers back as she makes a final adjustment and then flips a switch, activating the machine. 

The machine starts to vibrate, making Ryuunosuke and Kazuma’s heads start to spin. The machine continues the constant vibration until both men hear an explosion from the outside. The smell of smoke starts to fill the chamber and they hear a sound they thought they had hoped never to hear: a scream of utter horror and fear by Iris Watson. Before Kazuma can do anything, the machine begins to shake violently and he holds onto Ryuunosuke for dear life, the spinning in both his and Ryuunosuke’s heads becoming faster to the point that it is painful and tears start rolling down both of their faces from the immense pain in their heads. They both hold onto the other for dear life until suddenly, they don’t feel the other and everything goes white.

It’s a beautiful crisp autumn day in People Park as a young attorney sits on one of the benches, enjoying her half eaten sandwich. Athena Cykes munches happily as she listens to the wind blow happily. In the distance, the happy sounds of children laughing ring through the air, and the carefree happiness in their hearts fill Athena’s ears. She sighs as she lets herself be absorbed in the beauty of the park and the sounds that accompany it. 

She had been pretty busy lately. The Wright Anything Agency had received a large influx of requests, very unusual since they normally had to seek out requests. It would have been just her and her boss, Phoenix Wright, handling the requests, but their friend, Apollo Justice, had recently returned from the Kingdom of Khura’in to work once again at the WAA. It was great for him to be back, especially since Phoenix’s daughter, Trucy Wright, missed her older brother. It was also nice for the agency because the attorneys could accept more requests and make the agency more well known. 

However, Athena is, for the moment, finished with all of her assigned cases. She sighs as she lets her body relax after an excruciating two weeks of nonstop work. She hums happily as she looks forward to taking it easy and not having to worry about another case or problem anytime soon. 

Unfortunately, her dreams are cut short as her ears pick up on the crashing sound of someone falling. However, it isn’t the crashing sound that grabs her attention, it’s the sound of his heart. At first, it sounds confused and disoriented, until suddenly the heart is screaming out in fear and panic and utter confusion. Athena jolts upwards, her sandwich forgotten as her feet carry her over to the source of the crying heart by instinct. 

She approaches some thick shrubbery with several trees as she finds a young man, who looks to be about Apollo’s age in what appears to be a black school uniform. Looking at his face, he appears to be of Asian descent, probably Japanese based on the large population here in Japanifornia, if Athena had to guess. He also has spiky hair that reminds her of someone she knows, but it’s much shorter. His eyes look strangely familiar as well. If Athena wasn’t currently trying to figure out what was wrong with him, she would joke around saying he looks like her boss. 

He is rubbing his lower back until he spots Athena. He panics and his darting eyes focus solely on her as he suddenly lurches towards her, his shaking hands grabbing her forearms. Up close, Athena winces as she hears this man’s heart screaming and crying for help. His grip is strong, and his entire body is running on adrenaline from pure fear. She can’t even begin to imagine what has happened to him that he would be so overwhelmed and scared that his heart is aching for help as if it were a life or death situation.

“P-Please…! Please! Miss! I-I need… your help!! My friend… Asougi! He’s… Please! I need to find him!! Please!!!”

Athena watches in shock as the man’s knees give out on him and he slumps to the ground, curling up in a fetal position, his breathing labored as he starts to hyperventilate. He starts to shiver violently as a gentle breeze flows by, gripping his head tightly as he squeezes his eyes shut. She hears his distraught heart crying out that everything hurts, and that everything is too loud, too bright, too much.

“Oh my god, sir!” Athena exclaims as she drops down to the curled up man, attempting to place her hands over his arms, which simply makes the man flinch as if he were burnt. Athena winces as she makes gentle rubbing motions, remembering to lower her voice. 

“Shh… sir, you need to calm down and breathe. Together with me. Take a nice deep inhale and then exhale… There we go, now again.”

Athena takes deep breaths along with the man, and surely after a few minutes, he starts to calm down significantly, his heart not crying out as much, although he still appears nervous and tense. Athena sighs a bit in relief, proud that she was able to somewhat calm down this nervous man. She stands up as she offers a hand to the still crouched man, who takes and stands up again, although a bit shaky. 

“I-I am sorry for my embarrassing incident there. T-Thank you so much, Miss…?”

“Athena Cykes, Attorney at law! And don’t worry about it! It’s not embarrassing, it happens to the best of us. I may be an attorney, but I specialize in analytical psychology, so it’s my pleasure to help you, Mr…?”

“Ryuunosuke Naruhodou.”

“Mr. Naruhodou!” Athena exclaims, confirming to herself that his name is of Japanese origin. “Well, since you still seem to be a bit tense, it’s my job to help you lower your anxiety and figure out what caused you to have such a huge panic attack. To start off, is there anything on your mind that you would like to speak about? It doesn’t matter what it is, anything would be fine.”

“I… I have been through a lot today… I don’t know where I am and I have lost my friend and I need to find him… If I don’t… I-” A violent shudder runs through Naruhodou’s body.

“Shh..” Athena says as she gently rubs Naruhodou’s shoulder. “We’ll figure out how to find your friend, don’t worry. But first, let me ask you a question. Do you know what year it is?” Athena asks just to be sure that Naruhodou is aware of the present. He quickly tilts his head down in shame, wringing his hands nervously. 

“I… I’m afraid I don’t know…”

“It’s October of the year 2029.”

“Wait…. WHAT?!!” Naruhodou exclaims suddenly, startling Athena as she winces from the sudden outburst. He stumbles back in shock as he starts to pace back and forth. “How can this be?! 128 years?! That’s more than a century! What am I going to do?! I need to find Asougi!”

“Sir, please don’t yell,” Athena interjects calmly,  “Your friend, Asougi was it? Is there any way we can contact him? Does he have a cell phone?”

“A what? If I had some way to contact him out of nowhere, I would have done so! I don’t even have Iris’s device with me… Asougi must have it.” 

“Ok ok. Well, do you have any family or friends here that we can try contacting? Maybe you could stay with them until we can find your friend?”

“No…” Naruhodou whines in defeat. “I have no family here, they are all de-.... I mean, in Japan…!” 

Athena sighs in contemplation as she fiddles with her earring, trying to figure out what to do with the poor man. He has no home here, no family at all, only his friend who seems to be missing. Thinking about it, she wants to ask how the hell he ended up here if he seems to not recognize any place and has no home or family here, but decides against it. He’s already distressed about being separated from his friend and he's not in his right state of mind if he reacted so harshly to the year. She is determined to help him, afterall, the WAA always helps those in need. Suddenly an idea pops into her head as she perks up and turns to Naruhodou.

“Mr. Naruhodou! Would you like to come with me back to the agency I work at? You can rest there and I can talk to my boss and we can figure out how to find your friend and find you a place to stay. We have connections with the police and besides, it’s my duty to help those in need! Whaddaya say?” 

Naruhodou looks shocked for a second as he ponders over her proposition. She seems to be nice and even helped calm him down when he was panicking. If the agency she works at does have connections with the police, he may be able to find Kazuma more quickly. He doesn’t know anyone here in this London of the future, so he’s going to need any help he can get. Another part of him trusts her since she stated she was an attorney. An attorney who specializes in ana- some kind of psychology. Has law changed that much in the future that all attorneys know some kind of psychology now? 

“You said you and your boss will be able to help me find Asougi, right Cykes-san?”

“Absolutely! I know Los Angeles seems to be pretty big, but I trust that we’ll be able to find your friend no problem!”

“Wait! Los Angeles?!” Naruhodou sputters in response. Los Angeles… As in America? He’s not even in London?! He sighs, deciding to worry about that later. He straightens his back as he lets out a cough. 

“Please excuse my small outburst there. But to answer your question, yes, I would like to go to your agency and talk with your boss.”

“Excelente!” Athena exclaims, surprising Naruhodou with her Spanish. “Don’t worry, my boss is really nice, I’m sure he’ll figure out a way to help you find your friend! Alright, let’s get going then! I’m going to text him and let him know that I’m bringing you over so he doesn’t get too surprised.”

“Text? Wh- You can communicate with him that quickly from here? Wouldn’t you need to locate the nearest telephone first?”

“I already have! It’s this!” Athena exclaims as she pulls out her smartphone. “Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never had a cell phone before? You can’t be older than my coworker and he has one.” 

“I…. uhh I have… I just uh.. don’t have mine with me I suppose?”

Athena eyes Naruhodou suspiciously as she sees him try to laugh it off. She decides not to judge though. He probably has his own reasons for not owning a cell phone. However his reaction to her saying she was going to text her boss was a bit strange. It was almost as if he had never heard of the concept of texting or even communicating through a cell phone... 

As strange as he may be, she simply shrugs it off for now as she leads him out of People Park and back to the Wright Anything Agency, hoping to help him reunite with his lost friend.