Summary: Apollo comes to the office after hours and finds his boss half drunk on the couch. While helping get his boss somewhat sober again, he hears Phoenix's stories about his days before losing his badge and longing for those days of spending time with friends.

It had been a long day with Phoenix having just returned from work at the Borscht Bowl Club. He was certain Trucy and Apollo closed the Agency for the day as usual at 7:00 PM. It was about 8:30 PM right about now. Phoenix unlocked and opened the office door, closing it behind him, before plopping onto the couch with his usual bottle of wine that was almost gone. He was thankful the Borscht Club allowed free drinks to all employees and his favorite drink.

Phoenix was pretty used to doing this. It wasn't like he was going to be getting his badge and returning to being a lawyer anytime soon. Though, it was starting to get a bit lonely. Now, with Kristoph behind bars, Phoenix only had Trucy and Apollo to keep him company; mostly Trucy. Apollo was still not happy about that little card trick Phoenix pulled, after helping him prove his former mentor's guilt. Well, it wasn't like that would matter anymore. Everyone thought he was a fraud anyways.

Phoenix got out his phone, pulling out his Contact list. Edgeworth and Larry were the first to come up. He really didn't want to talk to those guys right now. They would always ask if he was drunk-calling again, he'd deny it, Larry would try to hook him up with some girl, Edgeworth would start complaining and being grumpy, then he'd pass out. Franziska was definitely a no. She'd just be calling him foolish fool or something like that, which gave him a headache when Phoenix started feeling like this. Gumshoe was a no. He'd just be like 'you better not be driving, Pal! I'll arrest you on the spot!' even though he knows Phoenix doesn't have a driver's license or a car. Maya was the next. She was always worried about him and has been growing more worried as the days pass. Pearl was a good companion, but Phoenix didn't want to make Maya have to leave her training for him.

Giving up, Phoenix sighed, then threw his phone across the couch. Just as he began resting his eyes, he heard the door unlock, then open. Startled, he opened his eyes to see if it was a burglar or not. It was just Apollo.

"Oh, Mr. Wright, sorry I left my... why are the lights off?" Apollo asked, noticing his mentor never turned on the lights.

"Eh? I don' know."

"Ugh, here," Apollo replied, annoyed, as he turned on the lights. The light was burning Phoenix's eyes, since it was dark as night in the office with the sun having gone down. Apollo picked up his Attorney's Badge he left on the desk before turning to Phoenix, whose eyes were now fully adjusted. "...are you drunk?"

"You too, huh?" Phoenix muttered, staring at the ceiling. He didn't even notice Apollo snatching the empty wine bottle.

"I'll get you some water," Apollo said as he made his way to the facet to fill a cup of water. He then returned back and handed it to his mentor.

"Thank you," Phoenix replied, drinking the water, then smiling a bit. "Would you like to stay for a while?"

"I... suppose," Apollo replied awkwardly, taking a seat on the couch next to Phoenix. "How was the Borscht Club? Got any customers?"

"A few. It has been a bit quiet since Kristoph no longer comes."

"You're certainly taking your friend's arrest for murder well," Apollo replied sarcastically.

"Hahaha good one," Phoenix chuckled offhandedly, drinking more water before sighing. "I actually never knew Kristoph all that well. Never bothered opening up to me, even during all the amount of times we've dined together. I tried opening up to him, but... eh, I don't know. He didn't seem interested."

"Oh... sorry."

"Na. We both had something to gain from each other. Though, I can't say what he'd be gaining from me. Hard to find friends that need you. Though, when you do find yourself some good friends, it's like nothing has changed no matter how far apart you are."

"... what was it like working at Wright and Co. Law Offices before... you know?" Apollo asked with slight curiosity.

"Hm... a bit out there sometimes. That was when I had an assistant with me. Her name was Maya Fey. She was my old mentor's little sister. She used to drag me around to eat burgers, go to a Steel Samurai Convention or milk off of my earnings. She was taking care of her cousin Pearls, who kept insisting that Maya was my special someone, she was only 9 at the time."

"Sounds crazy," Apollo replied, laughing a bit.

"Yeah. Maya would often watch Steel Samurai whenever it would come on. Sometimes, she'd invite Larry, Edgeworth, Pearls and... a few people we knew from cases."

"Wait, Prosecutor Edgeworth? And, who's Larry?"

"Yeah, Edgeworth's a huge Steel Samurai fanboy, but don't tell him that. Larry is a friend of mine from grade school. He's trouble, but he's good at heart."

"Still, I'm surprised you hung around with Prosecutor Edgeworth. He's your rival, isn't he?"

"He's still a good friend. He seems scary when you first meet him, but he's very loyal. He stops by and helps me from time to time when I need it. He was also the only Prosecutor that stood up for me. You can ask Klavier," Phoenix replied, showing a small, smirky smile. 

He still remembered hearing from Gumshoe how Edgeworth gave Klavier lip when he started bragging about how he exposed the fraud known as Phoenix Wright. Unlike with Phoenix, there were rumors and proof that Kristoph Gavin was involved with forging evidence to protect his clients. Of course, Klavier didn't believe it, but the fact it existed and was just as reliable as the evidence that Phoenix created fraudulent evidence was enough to shut Klavier up. After that, there was a divide in the Prosecution's Office if Phoenix really did forge that evidence or not. Even Winston Payne had his doubts.

"Wow! You're pretty lucky, Mr. Wright."

"Yeah... I wish I knew at the time. Guess it's as the saying goes, 'you don't know what you've lost until... you lose them' or however the quote goes," Phoenix muttered, his eyes wondering around.

"..."

"Don't get me wrong, they'd never believe I falsified evidence, especially Larry and Edgeworth. But... I don' know. Everyone's seems to have moved on with their lives... and here I am, sitting here hoping to provide food on the table for Trucy and me. She's getting to be at that age where she'll no longer need me... it's only a matter of time."

"... I think I know the feeling. I used to have a lot of friends when I was going to school. I even had a family I lived with as a kid, a father and brother. Now, I never hear from either of them. Sometimes, I'm afraid of reconnecting, because I don't know what their lives are. All of us are living our own lives and, if I end up moving out and creating my own law firm, what happens to me then? It's not fun... being alone."

"... you're a good kid, Apollo. Thanks for sticking by me," Phoenix said with a relieved and happy smile.

"Of course, sir!" Apollo grinned dorkly.

"Also... about that forged card... that wasn't me that did it. I didn't even know it was in your possession until you presented it. Believe me, I might have a degree in Art, but that doesn't mean I can recreate evidence, let alone fake ones. Neither can Trucy. At the time, I didn't know where that card came from and only had just found out Trucy gave it to you, so..."

"... oh."

"I'm sorry I..."

"N-No, no, it's... it's okay. Trucy isn't someone that would forge evidence or go along with it. You were just trying to protect her... and, I kinda picked up that you were probably lying once I started getting the hang of my powers. You tend to twitch your eyes when you lie and hide them from me. You hid your eyes from me that day."

"Ah. Thanks for understanding."

"Do you know who it was then?"

"... I have my suspicion," Phoenix replied.

"... Kristoph Gavin. It was him,  wasn't it?" Apollo asked, not looking even remotely surprised.

"Hmmm... as I said, just a suspicion. Trucy found it in the garbage in one of the lobbies."

"Ah."

"I thought you deserved to know. I felt bad for lying to you like that."

"N-No, it's alright. Thanks. Here," Apollo said, then walked to one of the cabinets and got out a throw blanket to put around the former attorney.

Phoenix, feeling exhausted, laid across the couch while curled up in the blanket. Apollo helped remove Phoenix's sandals, followed by his Papa cap before laying the shoes and beanie by the couch. Apollo secretly wanted to see if Phoenix's hair was naturally spiky or if it was hair gel like him. Much to his surprise, it was naturally spiky, very barbed and messy with having been inside that beanie.

"Curious about my hair, Apollo?" Phoenix teased.

"Um... well... maybe a little bit," Apollo replied bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, as Phoenix chuckled slightly. Afterwards, he went to sleep as Apollo smiled a bit.

Apollo decided to text Trucy where her father was before leaving out the door. Something told him he was going to be sticking around the Wright Anything Agency for a longtime.

A/N: I thought I could write a sweet little moment between Phoenix and Apollo. This would take place between Turnabout Corner and Turnabout Serenade at some point. I don't think Phoenix really forged that card with the drop of blood. It was likely Kristoph Gavin that did that. The reason I don't believe Phoenix did that is because in Turnabout Succession, when Apollo presented a copy of the yellow envelope to the Judge, he mentioned about how awful the handwriting was. While it was never entered as evidence, it was never meant to and actually proved something even more huge than the existence of the envelope. The yellow envelope copy was proof that Phoenix cannot produce fake evidence. One of the evidence already shown was a red envelope to Vera Misham about her payment for forging the evidence. Since Phoenix could not use the yellow envelope to prove who the forger's client was, he can prove that he was not the client. Keep in mind, Phoenix wasn't just trying to copy the letter sent to Kristoph, but he was demonstrating how Phoenix Wright forged evidence if he did attempt it. Basically, instead of proving who the forger's client was, Phoenix was proving to the Jury he couldn't have been the client. I have to say, that was pretty clever on Phoenix's part.