besides having his plans ruined by the df incident…i just thought buggy being proud about beating shanks in one thing and then losing that too would be fun 🙂
Additional Tags: Romance, Boss/Employee Relationship, Summer Vacation, Beach House, Murder Mystery, Getting Together, cozy mystery, set during Apollo’s internship year, Pre-Gyakuten Saiban 4 | Apollo Justice, POV Apollo Justice
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July 10, 2025— 3:25 pm
Three months in to Apollo Justice’s internship, Mr. Gavin shut down the whole office for a week for a vacation at his family’s beach house. Apollo had been filing papers and wondering what he was going to do with himself for a whole week when a familiar shadow fell over his desk
“Mr. Gavin, sir?” Apollo looked up to see his boss’ angelic smile beaming down at him as usual. Mr. Gavin was almost never flustered, and he never yelled, which was fantastic for Apollo’s nerves. What was less good for his nerves however was the way his heart raced every time he looked at the man.
This is getting out of control. Focus, Justice. You need to keep ahold of yourself.
It was difficult though, and getting worse by the day. Last week, his boss had taken him out to dinner to celebrate a successful case. The next thing Apollo had known, he’d drank almost an entire bottle of wine, and Mr. Gavin was kissing him on his front doorstep.
They hadn’t spoken about it at work the next day. or the next. But Apollo had noticed that Mr. Gavin was looking at him more. Touching him for longer.
It was becoming increasingly distracting.
“Justice,” Mr. Gavin purred warmly, “I was hoping I might ask a favor of you”
“Of course, sir, anything!” Apollo grinned, gathering up the papers and feeding them through the copy machine. He could hardly believe how much his boss was coming to rely on him already.
“If you don’t have any urgent plans, I’d like you to accompany me this coming week as my assistant.”
This was possibly the only request that could have really shocked him. His eyes widened as he tried to make sure he’d heard correctly.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Justice? Is there a problem?” Mr. Gavin raised an eyebrow.
Apollo immediately shook his head. He certainly wasn’t going to say no, but– “I thought you were leaving for a vacation, not business.”
“I’ll tell you a secret, Mr. Justice– you never quite leave all the business behind when you’re a lawyer. You never know when something will come up.”
“Well, uh! If you’re sure, sir, I’d be happy to clear my schedule.” He tugged nervously at his tie and lowered his voice, just barely daring to even allude to the question on his mind. “Is this little like the dinner the other night?”
Mr. Gavin’s smile stiffened, and for a moment Apollo worried he had spoken out of turn. But Kristoph sighed and pushed up his glasses shaking his head.
“I can’t keep anything from you, can I, sharp Mr. Justice. I’d say– it’s a little like that, if you’d like it to be.” He put his hand on Apollo’s shoulder.
“Yes, sir!” Apollo said— probably too quickly and too loudly. He nodded, looking embarrassed. “Like I said, I’ll clear my schedule for you.”
“Good man, Justice. I’ll give you a list of things you might like to pack, and I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning— assistant.”
Apollo’s heart started racing all over again.
July 10, 2025— 7:10 pm
“Yeah, I’m really gonna go,” Apollo repeated into the phone as he folded shirts and arranged them in his suitcase. “How am I supposed to say no to that, Clay? Besides, you’re busy with that crazy simulation all week this week anyway, it’s not like we’d have time to hang out.”
“True enough,” Clay laughed, voice tinny on the other end of the line. “Just be careful, alright? Going out to stay a week at a beach house with some guy you barely know is kinda sketchy don’t you think?”
Apollo flushed, pausing mid-motion packing as Clay flustered him. “Sketchy? Barely know? Clay come on, he’s my boss!”
“Oooh, Apollo, your voice is breaking again,” Clay teased. “You’re definitely down bad for this guy. I’m just saying. Sounds like the start of a horror movie.”
“It does not!” Apollo protested with a laugh. “What do you think’s going to happen, he’s going to murder me for a demonic ritual? There’d be a huge paper trail pointing to him, he’s way smarter than that.”
“Oh you are down bad, buddy,” Clay repeated, still laughing. “Alright, alright. Have fun, okay? Just check in with me when you can.”
“I will,” Apollo promised. “Uh, for practical purposes, this is a business trip though.”
“Sure it is, pal. Have fun.”
They chatted for a while longer while Apollo kept packing, talking of Clay’s training simulation, and other things When the call finally ended, Apollo flopped backwards onto his messy bed and stared at the ceiling of his small apartment.
He could hardly believe his luck. It felt like a dream, getting whisked away for a week to a beach vacation by his handsome boss. Paying for any kind of vacation for himself at this stage in his career was simply not happening, but Mr. Gavin had confirmed that since Apollo was coming along as his assistant, everything would be paid for as a work expense. It was exciting, romantic, and a little bit naughty.
Apollo fell asleep that night hugging his pillow, and thinking longingly of that first, tipsy kiss with Mr. Gavin barely a week ago. It was obvious why nothing had happened between them since then– Mr. Gavin was an important man, and his reputation was on the line. He couldn’t be seen being overly familiar with his interns.
But at a family beach house, hours away from the office? Anything could happen. And unlike Clay, Apollo wasn’t expecting ‘anything’ to be a horror movie.
July 11, 2025— 9:05 am
Apollo had been up for hours, nervously vibrating and checking repeatedly that he’d remembered to pack everything when his phone finally buzzed with a text from Mr. Gavin that he’d arrived. He hurried as quickly as he could, wheeling his luggage bumpily down the twisting staircase of his cheap apartment and out into the warm sunshine.
Kristoph was standing next to a taxi waiting for him, and gave a languid wave. Apollo waved back, trying not to be shocked about the first time he’d seen his boss in anything other than a suit.
Instead of his familiar look, Mr. Gavin was in a pair of white khaki pants, and a pale blue tropical shirt with a pattern of pink flamingos on it.
“You definitely look ready for the beach, sir!” Apollo grinned widely at him as he caught up to him at the taxi. Kristoph immediately grabbed his luggage, and put it in the open trunk of the taxi for him.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Justice,” Kristoph smiled playfully at him. “Thank you for not forgetting where we were going and wearing a suit today.”
Apollo laughed with embarrassment. “Well, I don’t think I could forget if I tried.”
Truthfully though, even with the helpful list of what to pack from Mr. Gavin, Apollo had still had difficulty picking out what was appropriate to wear. He’d settled for a t-shirt worn with an (unbuttoned) red button up over it, and a pair of shorts. He’d been nervous about the shorts– they almost seemed too informal, despite everything– but now his nerves relaxed.
“Wonderful! Get in, and we’ll be on our way to the airport.”
Apollo paused as he was letting himself into the cab. “Airport? Oh, uh, I just realized I never even asked where this beach house of yours we’re going to is, sir.”
Kristoph slipped into the cab on the other side, and tugged Apollo to sit down. “Oh, had I not mentioned? Fair Play Island. It’s off the southern coast, just barely in California jurisdiction. A popular destination for the elite of the legal field, actually, though I don’t know that there’ll be anyone we recognize there this time.”
“Oh!” Apollo blinked in surprise. “Is that why you thought you might need an assistant, sir?”
Kristoph laughed and slipped his arm casually around Apollo’s shoulders. His skin prickled at the touch, and he felt himself almost swoon to have his boss already acting so much more affectionate again.
“Something like that, Justice. But mostly it was an excuse to get you to come with me.”
“Good to know.” Apollo flushed and played with his bracelet nervously. “I would have come along pretty much any way you asked me, though.”
“I’ll keep it in mind for next time.” Mr. Gavin’s smile took on a teasing edge again, and Apollo leaned toward him as they headed for the airport.
“Yes, sir!”
He could still hardly believe his luck. A whole week with Mr. Gavin at an island beach house. It already felt like paradise.
