Unexpected Nobility

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Ace Attorney AU
Chapter Summary: Apollo and The Undying One finish their business at Skye's.
Word Count: 910
Rating: K
Note: Apollo Justice spoilers.  Probably spoilers for the rest of the series, too.

         They mutter over the map for a while, and then Skye glances over at Apollo.  “Won’t the kid need something to protect himself with?”
         “If you would, please.”  The demon’s sunny, even pleased with it.  But then, why wouldn’t he be?  He’s found a way to basically blackmail an innocent woman, however prickly, into doing all his work for him.  Demons enjoyed that kind of manipulation, right?
         “I’ll make sure it’s paid for,” he finds himself promising, and that earns raised eyebrows from her and a look of surprised respect from the demon.
         “Scientifically speaking, it’s not necessary,” she answers, still staring at him as if he’s the demon, and it’s making him uncomfortable.  It’s the decent thing to do, so why is she so surprised?  Unless her only customers, generally, are not human.  “You know, after I heard about the jerk and the royal family, I thought we had no true nobility left.  He lives up to the adjective.”  She pauses, then adds, “Don’t interrupt me, okay, Klavier?”  Apollo reacts with surprise—he’d gone by the name before?—and the demon’s already opening his mouth.
         She throws a pot at his traveling companion, and he winces.  Demons really are stronger than normal humans, since with a sound like that he should at least be leaning up against something, but instead he’s just acting like it’s a minor inconvenience.
         “Don’t worry, I won’t go up against one of the most powerful people in the kingdom saying things the baby’s ears shouldn’t hear.”  She sighs and crosses her arms.  “I hated your guts.  Always have.”
         Apollo sees the slightest twitch of emotion on the demon’s human face.  His grin freezes slightly.  Not that Skye noticed, it looks like, but…
         He rubs his wrist.  The bracelet’s tightened slightly.  Whatever this is, this is new.  He’d vaguely remembered his mother telling him that it was magic, but like most memories of his mother, it’s a memory he can barely recall.
         “I hated your smug self.  I hated how you thought you could always act without consequences, that you were above it all.  I hated the glimmerous fop, and it took some work for me to hate your brother more, but he earned that.”  The Undying One had a brother?  Then again, he was probably supposed to know that, from paying attention during Kristoph’s lessons.
         He glances at Klavier, who looks…resigned.  Maybe even hurt.
         He shouldn’t be that surprised that there’s bad blood among demons, he supposes.  Even family.  That’s what demons did, right?  Never could trust or work together.
         “Then that stuff with Daryan and the others—I thought,” she gulps.  “I thought I was, at last, being proven right.”
         “You weren’t wrong, Fraulein,” he says, and it’s quiet and sad and there’s the twinge at his wrist again.
         She punches him in the arm.  Hard.  That brings him out of where he had been, back into the present, and he looks at her, not with the dismissive attitude of earlier, but quiet trust.  “I’m enough of a person to admit when I’m wrong.  Which is more than I can say for you.”  She pauses.  “That being said, even you didn’t deserve that.”
         Klavier stands abruptly, a snarl on his lips.  “You find our pampered soldier a weapon, and I will pack our bags.  Your debt will be paid.”  He storms out, wind and leather and the unmistakeable smell of something burning, and Apollo’s left staring after him, wondering what just happened.  There’s no hint of a limp.
         Skye shrugs.  She doesn’t seem surprised at all.  How had she come to know a demon, then?  “He hates sympathy, he hates attempts to comfort, and it’s a touchy subject.  That I’m not going to tell you, because I’ve got self-preservation instincts.”  She brings out a sword, and Apollo’s breath catches, because even he can tell it’s beautiful.  “I’d tell you the scientific process of how I made this, but you seem like the type to not care.”  She glares.  “It was made for a friend, so you’re just borrowing it.  A couple of words of advice.  Not everything is what it seems.  Look for more evidence before you come to any conclusions.  You can, at the very least, trust Klavier to get you there safely if anyone can.  This includes trusting him over anyone you meet.  It’s more than just a job for him; it’s personal.  There’s very little demons understand, but debts are one of them.  There’s levels of trust, of course,” she continues, as he nearly interrupts her, too.  “I’m not saying treat him like a best friend.  I’m saying treat him like the bodyguard he is.  You work with the captain of the guard, or something, right?  He will do everything he can to get you there and back in one piece.  Third, beware of echoes of the past.  Not everyone’s happy with how things went, and that might make you a target.”
         He’s not sure what to make of her odd emphasis, but decides to try to figure out the mystery later.
         “Stirn!  Time to go!”  The demon still sounds ticked, so Apollo nods at her hoping it serves as a thank-you and hurries out the back to join Klavier.  He can, at least, call it an uneasy truce.
         “You lose that sword and I’ll find a way to end you,” Skye calls after them.
         Apollo shivers.  That sword may well be worth his life, by the sound of it.