( No Title )
The Mechanics of Emotion (34438 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth
Athena Cykes has a problem. For years, she built her life around rescuing the man who had saved her, Simon Blackquill. She’d been imagining a fairytale ending. A kiss. A ride into the sunset. But real life isn’t as simple as a dream. Athena got her kiss, but there was no ending– there was a complication. Bobby Fulbright was suddenly back in Simon’s life in an unexpected twist of fate, and it turned out that he and Simon had been together for a whole year.
Not to mention that there are two more members of the Phantom Organization who’ve been captured that Simon now needs to prosecute, and Athena must defend. Love and chaos in LA. In justice we trust– but who understands the mechanics of emotion?
–
December 27, 5:30 pm
It had been tough for Ray to get through the rest of the day at the precinct after his nearly heart stopping revelation, and lunch in the aftermath with Bobby Ful–Halblicht.
He’d been jittery, his leg bouncing under his desk as he worked through the seemingly endless piles of paperwork he’d been given in his time off active duty. He’d been dissociating, realizing only halfway through a conversation with one of the officers that he literally had no idea what had even been said.
His thoughts kept returning back to the scrap of paper…and the things ‘Halblicht’ had told him about the machinations behind the scenes.
He still couldn’t believe it, or rather– he could, but the idea still stung. The idea that Bobby’s old life died to stop a phantom, and now he was here under the guise of someone else.
It was inspiring, heroic– and terrifying all at once. He could only imagine what he went through.
“Well, you look a thousand miles away, Hoshino.” The familiar voice broke him out of his reverie– and he realized it was already 10 minutes past when he was supposed to clock out.
Ray jolted out of his thousand yard stare to whip around with a sharp salute.
““O-oh! s-sorry ma’am! Just…uh…” He gave a sheepish smile as he murmured. “contemplating the star of justice?”
Maggey Byrde leaned her elbows on his desk and smiled down at him. “Uhuh. Would that star of justice happened to have had a memo in the office today?”
“He di—” Ray stammered and held his hands up with a smile, “it did, yes, ma’am! Kinda!”
“Uhuh, yeah I heard about that.” She wound a finger through her hair. “Actually Dick told me about it this morning, so I was going to tell you if you didn’t know already.”
Ray’s eyes widened.
“Wow…so Detective Gumshoe already knew about it? He’s always been one step ahead of the curb!” He practically sparkled as he smiled, jangling the badges on his jacket as he held his hands in front of him, clasped almost in prayer. “I can’t believe Mr. Edgeworth pulled off such a …a massive ruse! And…and taking down the Phantom like that….Mr. Fulbright’s a hero!”
“It was definitely one heck of a ruse,” Maggey murmured, leaning on her chin. “Gosh, kiddo, you’ve got stars in your eyes.”
“I mean…” Ray rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not gonna lie…I’m still kinda shaken up about it. But the important thing is that he’s back, yeah? Even if he’s gotta use a new name for a while. It’s…it’s good to know the guy I ..”
He trailed off “really looked up to isn’t gone forever. Not only that, he gave up SO much to stop the Phantom and his organization in the name of Justitia!”
“I know you were really broken up about losing him,” Maggey nodded. “I mean honestly the whole office was pretty bummed about it. So this is a great compromise, right?”
There seemed to be something else on Maggey’s mind– or maybe she just thought he was a little silly for being so excited. IT was hard to tell.
That was okay, Ray was used to being seen as a bit silly. A bit too easy to bring to smiles and laughter and excitable chattering. But he couldn’t disguise his excitement if he tried, after all…even with all the worries that plagued his mind…
He couldn’t help but think how lucky he was that Bobby came home.
“It’s a really great compromise! He even took me out to lunch, miss Maggey! Just like old times!”
“Just like old times,” Maggey nodded. “Sounds like everything’s settled then? You two talked it out?”
Ray nodded cheerfully.
“Uh huh… He told me everything! Like…except for what they did with the Phantom, but that’s top secret information, I’m pretty sure.” He put his hand on his chin with a rattling of his badges again. “He told me about it all…from being impersonated to staging the whole…whole trial thing to lure the Phantom and his cronies out. Real top level intergalactic politics type stuff.”
“Intergalactic, huh?” Maggey rubbed the back of her neck, looking off past Ray and chuckling. “Yeah it sure seems out of this world. ”
“Yeah…like something straight outta one of my space operas.” he chewed his lip “but at the very least the star of justice shone on us today, and the people responsible for– for Mr. Terran’s death and that poor Cykes girl’s troubles– they’re all going to face Lady Justice’s hammer for what they did.”
“Yeah I heard at the very least they’re going straight to the top of the chain,” Maggey murmured. She straightened up. “Hey, I uh, gotta do some filing. Didn’t you have to clock out?”
“Huh? Oh shoot, yeah!” Ray jolted, his fluffy hair bouncing briefly over his eyes as he looked around at the mostly empty office. “I uh…have fun with that! I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay?”
“Catch you tomorrow, Ray!” She gave him a jaunty wave. “Tell Bobby I say hi if you see him before I do!”
And then she hurried off down the hall.
Ray rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he watched her run off. Something was odd about Maggey Byrde today…He just couldn’t put his finger on what.
Perhaps, he thought with his hand to his chest and his eyes towards the stars, everyone dealt with the excitement of a grand return in their own way. Maybe Maggey and Detective Gumshoe were going to go off and celebrate this great victory in the name of justice for themselves.
The thought made him tear up, and a smile formed on his lips as he sniffed “I know I’ll be celebrating in Justice’s name for a long time..”
December 27, 6:30 pm
“Tomorrow we’re going to have to visit the Cosmos center,” Simon said. He had reluctantly decided that there was no hope of the three of them successfully sharing Athena’s apartment, bed and kitchen for any length of time– and the three of them had taken of Aura’s kitchen, and his old bedroom instead. Only for a few days, while they got something more permanent sorted out.
“The Cosmos Center, huh?” Athena’s smile grew a little tense as her foot scuffed gently against the tile of Aura’s kitchen. “for Aura’s stuff, I’m guessing?”
“Indeed, I promised her that I’d retrieve it for her. There’s going to be a great deal, I’m sure.”
“We should rent a truck then,” Bobby said, looking up from where he was sitting patiently on one of the stools by the table.
“Indeed. And unfortunately, I do expect some…. resistance from the director of the center.”
Athena nodded, her brow furrowing slightly.
“He’s always been the type to hold tightly to what he thinks is his…and what he thinks might bring him some kinda glory. You know? I bet he thinks everything in that lab is Cosmos property.”
“Indeed. He’s always ruled the place like his own little fiefdom.” Simon shook his head. He started taking some of the groceries he’d bought out of the refrigerator and putting them on the counter.
“I have a simple and direct solution for that, prosecutor Blackquill.” Halblicht looked over and Simon could tell from the tone that it was Robert. “It solves the truck problem as well.”
“Well. Out with it then.”
“We can simply seize it as evidence.”
“………..” Athena slapped her hands on the table as she stood “wait, we can DO that??”
Simon had stopped as well, blinking. “I… hadn’t thought of that. But if we do that, won’t we need to have it processed and stored by the police station?”
“Obviously we can and obviously we will,” Robert shrugged. “And it’ll be released when Ms. Blackquill is. Unless you’d prefer we remove it circumspectly to her property without processing it through the station.”
He paused. “Bobby’s telling me that would be wrong, but he doesn’t seem that upset about the idea.”
“It…would be wrong, y-yeah.” Athena rubbed her chin “a mild perversion and misapplication of criminal procedure…but at the same time…”
She flashed a smile “…if it makes sure mom and Miss Aura’s stuff is safe, then it can’t be THAT bad!”
“It’s Ms. Blackquill’s property in any case,” Robert said. “It’s not stealing. If anything, Cosmos failing to cooperate would be stealing.”
Simon stroked his chin. “The ethics are dubious but I admit to being intrigued by the simplicity. Well, we’ll bring you with us in your official capacity then tomorrow, and if we need to seize, then seize we shall.”
Athena laughed and flashed them a peace sign “It won’t earn us any favors with mr. Cosmos… but I have the feeling that ship’s long sailed for all of us.”
“Yes I highly doubt he’ll be happy to see any of us,” he drawled, starting to lay out vegetables to cut. “Well, it’s not as if my sister’s going to get her job back. More’s the pity for her, I suppose.”
“More’s the pity…” Athena trailed off as she walked over to lean on the counter. “…wonder what she’s gonna do when she gets out. No job..and not exactly a ‘normal’ set of skills…”
She shook her head “anything I can help with, Simon?”
“I have no idea. Do either of you have any cooking experience?”
“I’m afraid not,” Halblicht shrugged. “But I pick up skills easily, and take orders weill if you need things fetched or carried.”
“How about you, Athena?”
“I’ve got a fair bit! I mostly had to fend for myself for a while… I picked up how to make my favorite meals fast.” She made a muscle. “I’ve got some skill in this.”
“Well then, how about we show Halblicht how to cook, and he can, as he says, fetch and carry for us.”
Bobby saluted, hopping up from his seat. “It would be my pleasure.”
“Sous Chef Athena is on the case!” Athena saluted with a broad and cheerful grin as she rolled
up her sleeves and washed her hands “Just hand me some veggies and I’ll go to town on ‘em!”
“Don’t go too far to town,” Simon teased with an amused smirk. “Halblicht, bring the garbage can over here if you would.”
“On it, sir,” Bobby said, scooting over to grab it. “I can see why you declared Athena’s kitchen not large enough.”
Athena grabbed a knife with a wink.
“Only to the first bus stop, Simon” she teased back with a chuckle. “yeah…I think with two people who like cooking around a big kitchen’s a must.”
“We’ll have to incorporate that into our apartment search, won’t we?” Bobby considered.
“I suppose we will,” Simon nodded, as they all bustled around. It was a rare delight. One he hadn’t had in seven long years. One he’d never imagined ever having. Cooking together, chattering. Basking in the warm glow of simple human connection.
Athena began chopping vegetables with a whistling tune before she nodded.
“That, and space for a good bed. Anything else is secondary!” She tilted her head “and room for tatami mats.”
“Tatami mats are vital,” Simon agreed. “Paper lanterns as well.”
“Ahh–” Robert looked up as he held the trash can for Simon. “So we’re going with a Japanese theme, then? I shouldn’t say I’m surprised.”
“Uh huh!” Athena laughed cheerfully as she pushed the chopped vegetables to the side “My mom loved her mom’s homeland, so I grew up kinda nostalgic for it. You know? Nostalgia for a place you’ve never been?”
She wiped her knife off before she continued. “and I know Simon’s gonna wanna push for it, so I’m not exactly keen on fighting him on it.”
“Well then I’ll see if I can find some Japanese interior decorating magazines instead of the general ones I was going to bring,” Robert nodded.
Simon snorted. “Do you really think we need magazines?”
“You don’t trust our innate design sensibilities, Robert?” Athena asked Robert with a teasing grin over her shoulder.
He held up his hands in defense, setting down the garbage can. “If you’d prefer to do it like that, please don’t let me stop you. I’m just a bit methodical myself.”
“Well, if it’s your preference,” Simon said, emphasizing the word, “then I’d be happy to look at some magazines with you.”
Athena batted her eyelashes. “If nothing else it’ll make a pretty fun bonding activity, huh?”
Simon liked the slightly uncomfortable look that passed over Robert’s face before he smiled that small smile Simon was becoming more used to. “I’ll get some magazines then.”
December 27, 7:30 pm
Athena found herself halfway sitting at the table in the dining room of so-called ‘Blackquill manor’, a home cooked meal in front of her, and the two bodies and three men who’d helped her cook it sitting and round her. There was a pleasant glow of warmth as they ate together and chattered.
She smiled as she popped a bite of food in her mouth– it’d come out amazing. She and Simon were pretty experienced, and Robert and Bobby weren’t half bad once you gave them the proper instruction.
Somehow, she felt the company helped considerably too. Food always did taste better when you ate it with people you cared about, after all.
She looked up at them, mid sip of her water, and watched them talk for a moment. She’d gotten so used to eating alone, she forgot what it was like to feel the closeness of others over something shared.
Bobby and Robert had been teasing a bit– or perhaps not so much teasing as looking forward to– about Simon potentially gaining weight now that he was out of prison. Simon, however seemed unfazed.
“I’ll be getting more exercise in any case. Or rather, my preferred mode of it. Tell me, Robert– are you trained with a sword?”
“Not extensively,” Robert shrugged. “Though I know some basic maneuvers.”
“I see. Get ready to learn then. I insist you join me for sparring.”
“Ooooohhhh…” Athena grinned. “Simon’s already started teaching me, too. I’d love to see you in action, Robert! When we both get a little training, we should all spar together!”
“Well, if it’s going to be a group activity, how can I say no?” Robert shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to end up out of shape, either.”
“That would be a shame,” Simon purred, leaning on his hand and looking Robert over. Athena could feel the coy emotion of the teasing smile on his face.
Athena felt her face flush as she leaned on her hands. It was a little impolite at the dinner table…but she didn’t think either of them would mind. “It’d be a shame, I have to agree. You’ve got a pretty great figure as it is, Mr. Robert.”
“You think so? I’ve been much thinner before– though I’ve grown quite accustomed to sharing Bobby’s physique.”
“–and I don’t see any reason to change it,” Bobby grinned, interjecting. “Besides, Robert was only thin for the same kind of reason you can count Simon’s ribs.”
“And have you counted them?” Simon smirked.
Bobby saluted. “They’re all there, sir.”
Athena gasped.
“None missing? …impressive. I hear they stole your bones in prison…” She took another bite before she piped up “that’s all gonna change. If you guys are gonna spend time with me…I’ve got like, a crazy healthy appetite.”
“So I’ve noticed,” Simon drawled with amusement. “You’ll keep me chained to the kitchen between the two of you.”
“We could always do like I usually did and order takeout, sir,” Bobby chuckled.
Athena laughed, lightly slapping her hand on the table. “I know a great noodle place, provided you like salt! It’s a bit of a drive from here, though.”
“I do like noodles,” Simon nodded. “And it’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to indulge I suppose.”
“We’ll have to take you out then, Simon. Won’t we, Athena?”
Athena nodded, her mind drifting towards all the things they could finally do now that Simon and Halblicht were free of their mutual chains.
Her smile grew a little wider, joyful emotion pinging quietly but firmly in her heart. “Absolutely. Watch out Simon…we’re gonna drag you ALL over.”
“I’m quaking in my boots,” Simon said with a smirk and a shake of his head. “well, I suppose if I had a leg to stand on in terms of not enjoying it, I wouldn’t be here.”
“You can’t escape the truth, Simon~” Athena chirped “I can hear that you’re enjoying it with every word.”
“Even I can tell, Simon,” Robert nodded.
“Caught in a trap of my own making,” Simon laughed and shook his head.
“Ah, speaking of which,” Robert mused. “We wanted to ask some advice from the two of you.”
Athena perked up with an inward ping of curiosity. “hmm??”
“It came up a bit during our relationship discussion earlier, but I didn’t want to distract from the main point.”
Now Simon raised his eyebrow. “Go on.”
Athena felt a flutter of nerves from Bobby behind Robert’s cool wall, but Robert composed them and explained simply.
“Our lover in the police department, Ray Hoshino. He’s unaware of Bobby and my situation outside of the… official version of the story. And I’m unsure of if or how to change that. Bobby doesn’t like lying to him, obviously. I’m comfortable with it, but it may make things more complicated in the long run if he ever ends up spending time in close proximity to the group of us.”
Athena bit her lip thoughtfully.
“Oh. Oh that is a tricky situation, Robert.” She put her hand to her chin, brow furrowed as she tried to think it through. “Here’s my concern. You guys are still fond of him, right?”
"Bobby certainly is,” Robert nodded. Athena felt a little conflicted flutter from him. “And I don’t find him unpleasant myself. Please, tell me your concern.”
“If he’s going to be close to us, he’s going to start seeing signs. Sure, we can keep the act up whenever he comes around…but the longer it goes without him putting two and two together, the worse it’ll be when he does find out. He’ll be devastated, at best…furious at worst. I don’t know him well enough to guess how he’d react or what he might do.”
“And that’s why I brought the matter to you,” he nodded. “That’s my assessment as well– and neither I nor Bobby is sure exactly how he’d react. Aside from Bobby being certain he’ll be heartbroken if we keep lying and he finds out.”
“Heartbroken,” Simon murmured. He rubbed his chin. “Seems as though you’ve made quite an impression on this young man. Well, it’s simple then– I’ll spend a little time with him and see if I can feel out how he might react to the truth. How does that sound?”
Athena nodded with approval.
“That…actually would be a pretty good idea, Simon. And if you get the sense he’ll be amenable to it, we’ll just…find a time and place to open up about it and that’ll be that!” She punched her fist “and if you can’t judge it, Simon, call on me and I’ll use Widget!”
“That sounds like an agreeable course of action,” Robert nodded. Their cool expression broke into a grin and Bobby agreed. “That works for me– thank you guys for helping us figure it out.”
“Of course. It would be a shame to have a damned disruption at this stage.”
Athena chuckled, tucking her hair over her ear. “And I’ll be honest– It’d also be a shame to hurt the guy, too. Especially if quick action means we can sway him to understanding, yeah?”
Bobby fidgeted with his silverware, and Athena was practically bowled over by his wave of worried sadness. “I really don’t want to hurt him at all, you know? If it were just me I probably would have, um, well I would not have started this kind of relationship with him to begin with but now that I’m here—”
Simon raised his eyebrows. “Oh no? Do tell.”
Bobby rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s a little dubiously appropriate, you know? I’m a fair bit older than him. He was a teenager when I was a rookie, and I took him under my wing a bit because he was having…. troubles with his unjust parents.”
Simon glanced at Athena, and back to Bobby. Whatever his emotion was, it was overshadowed by Bobby’s tangle.
Athena’s heart beat in her chest as she listened, and a dull wave of sadness filled her as she took in Bobby’s tumultuous emotions and sadness. They relayed through her, and she felt tears beading in her eyes.
“Oh…so you helped him …tried to help him…with his abusive situation?”
“I even brought a civil case against his parents, to help him get emancipated early, but it failed, and they moved away.” He tapped his fork on his planet nervously. “I felt terrible. I lost all communication with him for a few years. Then I died, and he showed up at the precinct six months ago. Which of course made Robert very anxious. He’s asking me to say he wasn’t anxious but he absolutely was.”
“Of course,” Simon drawled. “Interesting.”
Athena felt a well of sympathy for the young man, her eyes dropping to her glass of water as she nodded slowly. “He came to look for you, I’m guessing? And Robert was scared because someone who knew you was the biggest threat to your cover, right?”
“It was actually one of the first clues that I was real— since Robert shouldn’t have recognized him by sight, and would only have known about him at all in connection to me by some official documents. But he did and well… the way he decided to handle it was to sort of– exploit Ray’s crush on me.” Bobby flushed, and ran his finger over the rim of his water glass. Athena could tell he felt ashamed and conflicted about the whole thing. It was clear that he cared a lot for Ray, and felt that he already may have hurt him, or done something difficult to forgive.
“Oh…which was how the relationship started?” Athena tapped her fingers against the edge of her glass. “Which you’re worried about. You feel it’s already going to be hard for him to forgive, or already hurt because the relationship started with pragmatism and deceit…yeah?”
Bobby nodded, brushing some of their tawny hair out of his face. “I am worried. I care about him a lot, and I can’t deny that when I saw him again as an adult instead of a teenager– well, he’s really attractive. That’s why Robert could convince me… but…”
“But you feel bad about it,” Simon sighed. “Obviously you feel bad about it. Robert took advantage of someone else’s trust in you and made you complicit in it. Not only that but you feel like you’re taking advantage of someone you knew when they were a teenager, and you’re worried it’s… inappropriate.”
Bobby nodded again. “You’ve got it exactly, sir.”
Athena nodded with them, Widget flashing on her chest as she leaned on her hand again “Well…speaking as someone younger than the target of my affections…that part I don’t think is that inappropriate. He’s an adult, after all.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, and Athena felt the force of his embarrassment. “I always forget how young you are, Athena. Since you’re a psychologist and a lawyer and everything. And Robert’s sense of time is so bad.”
Athena flushed deeper, and shrugged her shoulders under the weight of his embarrassment.
“I worked really, really hard to become a lawyer and master psychology, you know? And I know I’m on the younger end, but I’m still an adult.” She chuckled “…the same goes for Ray I’m sure. He’s a detective, right? I bet he worked really hard to get there so fast…and I bet he’s a little older than me , at least.”
“He is, ah, by a number of years, actually when I think about it.” Bobby had gone very red all of a sudden, and the reason couldn’t have been more obvious.
“Forget that part of the equation, then, Fool Bright,” Simon said, waving his hand. “A police detective, even a rookie one, isn’t going to thank you for thinking of him as a child. The heart of the problem is the lying, as it was with me. I’ll feel him out for you.”
Athena smiled with nervous relief…at least Simon seemed to get it. She hated…absolutely hated, when he treated her like a child. After all her work, during the trials…it only made her more determined to get him to see her as the woman she’d become.
“The issue is the lying…but I think we just need to find the right approach, and Simon meeting with him will be a pretty good starting point there.”
“Then I leave it in your capable hands, prosecutor Blackquill.”
Simon raised his glass. “Good. Now, let’s talk about something more pleasant. What we’ll do with the rest of our evening.”
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