Chapter Text
Athena would recognize that voice anywhere. Apollo. Dammit.
As she still could not make him out due to the fountain being in the way, she quickly scooted over towards the end of the bench, Taka squawking in surprise as he was suddenly bereft of the caressing contact with either one of their hands. Simon looked a bit like a deer caught in the headlights of an approaching car, and she gazed at him intently, hoping that he would be able to understand her silent message.
He can see you. Get back into character, now.
Thankfully, Simon was quick on the uptake as usual, as he plastered a smile on his face and turned towards the direction the greeting had come from, waving.
“Hey Apollo, how are you today?”
Athena shuddered inwardly. This is actually kind of disturbing, watching the guy I traded bodies with play at being me outside of court… and he’s not too shabby at it, either.
Apollo had now rounded the fountain, and seemed taken aback at finding her sitting on the bench with the person he assumed to be his colleague.
“Oh… good afternoon, Prosecutor Blackquill… I hope I’m not disturbing?”
She found it almost too easy to slip back into her own role.
“At this point, I would say that the damage has already been done, Justice-dono.”
Her associate seemed embarrassed, lifting an arm to scratch at his neck.
“Hehe, sorry about that, I didn’t see you here before I came closer, so I just thought I’d say hi to Athena…”
“And so you did.” Now go away.
Apparently, Athena’s own powers of suggestion were still sorely lacking when compared to Simon’s, as Apollo did not get the hint. He also completely overlooked that Simon’s smile, though reasonably friendly, was becoming a little strained.
“Do you live around here somewhere? Can’t say I’ve ever seen you in this area before, aside from that one time you came by the office...”
Best to keep my interactions with him short. “I do not.”
At this point, Simon was glaring daggers at Apollo, his mouth starting to twitch into something that was not exactly Athena-like, and she started to realize that, even if her erstwhile colleague left now, the moment they had shared had passed.
“If you will excuse me…”
She moved to stand, towering over Apollo, and glanced over at Simon, nodding minutely. I’ll call you later.
He blinked his understanding, expression now grave. Understood.
Surcoat flapping dramatically as she turned around, Athena began to walk away.
***
Simon waited until Athena was out of sight, then turned his gaze back on Justice, who was still staring after her. For once, he did not really care whether he came across as angry.
“What the hell was that all about?” he hissed at his current associate, who had the good grace to cringe.
“As I said, I just wanted to say hello, and I didn’t see him until I was past the fountain… oh damn, Athena, that wasn’t that talk, was it?”
Simon crossed his arms, lifting his chin confrontationally as his eyes narrowed.
“And what if I told you that it was…?”
Truth be told, the reminder that the other man had lent him an ear in just that matter took some of the wind out of his sails, but it would be a cold day in hell before he admitted to that.
Justice seemed lost for words for a moment.
“I’m so sorry I butted in like that… I hope I didn’t ruin everything…?”
Simon’s ire began to dissipate as he sensed the discord borne out of the younger man’s sudden guilt.
“Don’t worry about it,” he sighed, annoyance still evident in his tone. “We were pretty much done talking about the important things.” Granted, we did that a few days ago, but you still disturbed…
He was not sure how to finish his thought in more specific terms than, …something important.
Justice sat down next to him on the bench, a defeated expression on his face. “I’m really, really sorry about that. It’s just that… I’m starting to get kind of tired of running away from the man at court, and I wasn’t going to turn tail once I saw him out in the open for once, so I thought I’d give talking a try… it didn’t really work, though, did it…?”
“Not really,” Simon admitted while a slightly self-conscious grin stole its way onto his features. “He’s not exactly one for small talk, or as he’d call it, jabbering.”
“I noticed,” Justice responded dryly. “So,” he turned serious once more, “how’d the conversation go?”
Considering that he had not exactly presented a lot of lies on that particular topic before, even though the truth had come from a slightly different perspective than Justice might surmise, Simon decided to stick to a mostly unaltered account of what had transpired at his apartment.
“I really didn’t know if it would work out at first, and there were some touch-and-go moments, but it seems we both agree that we should attempt a fresh start of our… relationship, whatever that is at this point.”
Justice’s features softened as he smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.” Then, his eyes started to hold a slightly mischievous spark. “Of course, it’d be even better if your truce extended to your friends, as well, but I’m sure that that’s only a matter of time now…”
Simon snorted. “I wouldn’t bet on that, if I were you. You are aware that he’s at leisure to lug an actual sword around with him outside of court again now, right…?”
He had a hard time keeping from laughing aloud when Justice blanched at that. “Oh god, I didn’t even think of that… not that I think he’d really take my head off as he always threatens, but I am kind of attached to my hair…”
“Best be careful.” Simon was beginning to enjoy the needling he was doling out. “He might not be guilty of murder, but he still has a mean bite if you don’t watch what you’re doing.”
His current associate shrugged, grinning. “I’m sure I’ll run into his blade again, both literally and figuratively. As long as you know how to deal with him again, I guess I’ll just have to live with the fallout.”
At that, Simon’s own grin relaxed into an actual smile. He is willing to brave me, even though he is obviously not exactly at ease in my presence, in order to keep Athena content. He suddenly found himself much more willing to forgive the other man’s intrusion on their conversation.
“Thanks, Apollo.” The words came unbidden to his lips, and although he was mildly disconcerted to discover that he was professing his gratitude rather a lot lately, they nevertheless felt right.
“No worries.” Justice’s voice betrayed his relief. “Hey, do you wanna go grab a sandwich or something…? I kind of just realized that I missed lunch…”
Simon had skipped the meal, as well, and he realized two things at his associate’s offer: For one, he was ravenous. For another, he was not entirely averse to spending time eating in the company of another person at this point, even though a small inner voice refused to refrain from noting that he would prefer someone else to join him in this endeavor.
“Let’s,” he agreed.