( open ) it's 19c in london right now and i'm jealous

[apolly]

A. REDBRIGHT INSTITUTE: CLASSROOM

It's after hours for Apollo and he couldn't be happier, even though the feeling of exhaustion he could do without. While it's a job he loved he could definitely do with a vacation anyway.

He's currently struggling to erase the top of his chalkboard where a taller student wrote out the answers. Smart kid, but liked to quietly pick on Apollo for his size anyway, and he's close to stomping into the nearest library and grabbing a stepladder.

B. ON THE TUBE.

Apollo has a better idea of where to go for this and that, thanks to it being a few months since his move. He's currently sitting in one of the trains, coming back from Harrow, though there's one problem.

He fell asleep, earphones in, cheek pressed into the silver rail and leaving an opening for anything to be taken. Genius.

C. MISC tell me whatever and we'll do it. brackets are awesome

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

"Well, if you say so," said Heiji, watching Apollo flip through his papers. What a respectable-looking law office. What neatly filed papers. The practice seemed to be doing well, even with Apollo working two jobs.

"Do you like ladies or dudes?"

[apolly]

... Why does Apollo feel like he's going to regret this entire conversation? Then again it's Heiji. Someone who he expects a lot of regrets from.

"I, uh. I've been on dates with both? So..."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Oh, okay. Cool." Cool. Coolcoolcool. Apollo was 100% not going to regret this ever.

Heiji began rummaging around in Apollo's things, inspecting the sofa, paging through books, and looking for a minifridge. What was he looking for? Certainly not panties.

[apolly]

THERE ARE NO PANTIES IN THIS FUCKING OFFICE.

Heiji is doing exactly what he pictured Heiji doing the second he met him. And that was touch everything ever. Of course this was going to happen, of course he was going to be a babysitter.

There is a minifridge set up but not yet installed, Apollo giving up yesterday to get other things done and pull a so-called important all nighter. "Uh. Do you want another drink?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Sure, d'you have any green tea?" He opened a file to one page, shook his head and clucked his tongue at the police report in disapproval.

"They're just gonna ignore that nail hangin' off the top shelf, huh? What, were they gonna be late for dinner?"

[apolly]

"Sasuke brought some in, though you'd have to brew it." Tea always had to be hot, around here. At least it seemed that way.

"And besi— wait, what?" He peers over Heiji's arm (since he very well can't peer over his shoulder) to look at the photos quizzically. "You found a nail?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Oh, gotcha. Where's your kettle?" Just going to put the file on the table, it's fine.

"Check figure A-13. See that little dark spot near the vase in the upper right? My guess is that there's blood on it, but they didn't notice it because of the contrast. It there was an early or droplet or two on the floor, it could have been covered by the exsanguination once the body was in position."

[apolly]

Yeah, that's fine. Everything's okay. "Next to the coffee machine." An electronic kettle, no less.

Apollo fits through the appropriate images, tongue clicking in his mouth. ... It felt bad, but maybe he should bring this up in court himself and get an advantage for it. It was desperate, but it'll work.

"Uh, all right. I'll jot down a note. Why don't you just make money out of being a detective?"

[detectiveofthewest]

It could be revenge for all those times he had to cross-examine a dog or a parrot or something.

"Oh, I don't work at the cafe for money," he said, as if this should explain everything. "My family's pretty well off!"

Though even if they weren't, it'd be easy to illusion money into existence. Humans, with their pieces of paper and now their little ones and zeroes, which were even easier to manipulate. "You should worry more about yourself, workin' two jobs like that."

[apolly]

... He can't imagine for an all-fae family is supposed to work. Couldn't they possible be thousands of years old?

"I'm fine." Fine enough to fall asleep on the tube, apparently. "I usually pace myself a little better. I make time to sleep."

[detectiveofthewest]

Probably, in fact. Heiji started on the tea like a seasoned pro -- which he was, because once you had a couple hundred years to learn how to do something, you started getting pretty good at it.

"'I make time to sleep'? Wow, that sounds like a Type A personality if I've ever heard one. Your folks every worry about you?"

[apolly]

Apollo blinks, because yeah, he was a type A. Thankfully he learned about the entire personality thing through his manga, but it's still weird to hear it applied to him in person. ... It was nice, actually.

— Well, until that part.

"I don't have folks." He pauses, realizing it probably sounds like they died or something. "I've been an orphan all my life."

goddamn typo argle bargle

[detectiveofthewest]

That correction... didn't really do a good job not convincing Heiji that Apollo's parents were not dead. But it did explain a lot. Apollo wasn't a terrifying human pressure cooker waiting to go off and punch teenagers in the eye. He was just a really tense dude with two high-pressure jobs.

Who punched teenagers in the eye.

Heiji gave him a hot cup of tea -- no refusals allowed -- and took a seat. "Sorry, I didn't know. Did you go to law school on scholarship?"

OR WERE YOU IN CRUSHING DEBT...

sweep it under the rug

[apolly]

Well he tried. And Stiles was POSSESSED BY A GHOST, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS.

He takes the tea with a quiet thank you, blowing on it before taking a sip. At least hot tea was super smooth. "It's okay, most people don't." He's pretty sure he's only told... well, his job, and one other person.

"Yeah, a scholarship. It was hard but I managed to keep honors through my schools and I never had a record. It definitely helped out!" Apollo graduated a few years before people normally would, so he counts his blessing. An orphan with no money becoming a lawyer wasn't exactly an easy feat from what he can tell.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, I mean. Law school costs an awful lot. Six figures in the U.S., or so I hear." So it was rather impressive that Apollo had made it so far without any parents to support him. And wasn't Apollo fairly young for a human, too?

"I guess if you go into public service, they have them loan forgiveness programs, though..." Not that Heiji had ever really had to worry about money. But he could appreciate the concept.

"...So why'd you decide to be a lawyer?"

[apolly]

"I really had to twist some arms, you're right." Haha. Hahaha! Not literally.

... This is the first time someone was interested enough to ask him, and it puts a smile on his face while he perks up from his seat on the desk. He hasn't really told anyone about it, but it felt good with Heiji somehow.

"I was about... fourteen, and I was reading the news. There was this long article about an attorney back in LA who was in defense and winning all his cases." Which, honestly, was super rare.

"He appeared on TV a couple times after, and it was just... he was laying out the truth so easily and his clients' reactions when he won, well." Apollo still remembers how it felt as a kid, being a hero and stuff. "I had to look into it some more."

[detectiveofthewest]

"So you were pretty young! I bet it was a huge relief when they were found innocent." In many ways, Heiji's and Apollo's respective specialties were opposites: Apollo's work required him to believe in people, while Heiji's required him to be on the constant lookout for ulterior motives. They were both looking for the truth, of course...

"It's funny, most kids wanna be pop stars or athletes or doctors. Or so I hear, anyway. It's nice that you found a way to help folks out. What was the attorney's name?"

[apolly]

"It shocked a lot of the country, too. It's almost unheard of for defense attorneys to win so much."

Apollo wouldn't be surprised if they had to compete in court with Heiji on the witness stand one day. It... sounded fun, honestly.

"Phoenix Wright." He hasn't said that name in a while. "I haven't heard about him in a while, but it was enough for me to get started on a career. It'd be nice to meet him one day." Never meet your heroes is the typical advice, but still.

[detectiveofthewest]

Well, whattaya know. Apollo was actually kind of cute when he smiled. "He must be good at his job, then. Maybe even the nightmare of the prosecutor's office?"

The name sounded vaguely familiar; maybe he'd heard it, too. Hard to tell, of course...

"So now you're in London, living your dream? I hope you do get to meet him someday."

[apolly]

"Me too! He's much more low key these days, I have no idea what he's doing now." It'd still be nice to meet him regardless, but he doubt it'd happen across the globe.

"What about you? Admired anybody in the past few years?" 'Few years' being an understatement.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Me? Hmm..." Heiji had to think about that for a moment. "Nah, not really. In terms of fictional detectives, I got a couple I like, but ain't too many real-life ones makin' a splash right now."

Unless Apollo meant fae role models, in which case what were those even. "You should totally get his autograph! Though I guess that'd be hard now, since ya don't live in the same country." He took another sip of tea.

"Oh yeah, couple of my family members'll be comin' over beginning of July. You mind if they stop by here? I thought it might be good to let 'em see what the inside of a real law office is like."

[apolly]

Apollo immediately thinks of one particular famous fictional detective from the 1890's. Of course.

"Family members?" Apollo pauses, as it slowly dawns on him. Wait, hold on a second. "Fae family members?" He has never met an entire family once in his life.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, of course," said Heiji. Of course, it wasn't like Apollo was going to meet his entire family, anyway; there were too many of them to fit into his law office.

"Why, who'd you think I was talkin' about?"

[apolly]

"I guess it just never occurred to me, you seem like... such a wanderer." Apollo would not be surprised if he found Heiji illegally camping on forest ground.

"I'm not even sure who I'd be talking about," Apollo answers honestly. "You've just never talked about them before, so."

[detectiveofthewest]

"What's that supposed to mean?" Heiji said, blowing so irritably at his tea that it threatened to spill out of his glass. "You think I'm a hobo? You think I need to root through your couch for loose change?"

I mean he'd totally root through Apollo's couch but not for loose change.

"I got plenty of family! They just ain't fly all the way out here all the time, that's all. 'Less they're sightseeing."