"No not like that! Like this!"

"But this would look so much better here!"

"But I want Mr. Hat to go there!"

Apollo paused, his hand frozen on the handle of the door to the Wright Anything Agency Office. Mr. Wright seemed to be insisting that something needed to be done a specific way and it seemed for once Athena disagreed. Where Trucy and Mr. Hat came into this, Apollo wasn't sure he even wanted to know.

He seriously considered turning around and leaving - it wasn't as though he'd be able to get any work done with that racket going on - but a yelp from Trucy caused himself to push the door open and rush into the office.

The sight that greeted him had his hair drooping in irritation as he folded his arms in annoyance. "Mr. Wright, it is only JUST December. Did decorations really need to be done as soon as we opened this morning? And isn't there enough clutter in here without adding a Christmas tree that big to the mix? I can't even reach my desk."

Apollo frowned as Mr. Wright laughed, Trucy looked at him with an odd expression, and Widget blurted out 'ugh!'

"... What?"

"Where's your holiday spirit, Polly?"

Gritting his teeth, Apollo unfolded his arms and stormed towards the bathroom. "Ask me in a week or so when you've stopped arguing about impractical decorations and I've got Prosecutor Gavin's latest so called 'hit' out of my head."

He slammed the bathroom door shut and made to clean the toilet.

It seemed preferable to getting involved with Mr. Wright's decoration plans. Not that the girls were helping matters.

However as he was about to start, he paused as a small smile formed on his face. Yes the conversation out there had been a mess but it felt almost like a family argument.

It was far better than the clinical coldness of Mr. Gavin's law firm at Christmas, that was for certain.

Apollo was on his own in the agency office when he was startled out of his paperwork by the door bursting open and a figure wrapped in scarves slumped down onto the sofa.

“Hey, I know it’s cold, but this is a law office, not somewhere to come in for a few minutes! You could at least have asked?”

“I was under the impression that this was an anything agency.”

Apollo’s hair drooped. Technically speaking he didn’t have any retort to the stranger’s objection. Once again he was getting irritated at Trucy’s insistence that they kept that bizarre name, though Mr. Wright wasn’t helping matters. However it was then he recognised the voice. “Hey… what are you…”

“Took you long enough, Herr Forehead.”

Groaning, Apollo gave up on the paperwork entirely and moved over to the sofa. He sat down beside Klavier and rolled his eyes as the other untangled himself from the scarves. “What are you doing here, Prosecutor Gavin?”

“… I was Christmas Shopping… crowds were overwhelming and… ach… in the shoving what I had got on to disguise myself fell away. I always try to make time for fans but not like that ja? Luckily I was near a clothes shop that I’ve used in the past and they were happy to furnish me with these ridiculous scarves.”

Apollo tried not to smirk at the image the other was placing in his head, but there was another thought he couldn’t shift. “Don’t you do shopping online or I don’t know… get someone to do it for you?”

The other looked hurt at that. “What do you take me for, Herr Forehead? There would be no thought behind gifts if I sent someone else. As to doing stuff online, ja, I could, but it’s a bit late in the day to do that nein? The weather is getting terrible.”

“… Who would you even be buying a present for?” As soon as those words had escaped his lips, Apollo realised how much of a jerk he sounded. He may get irritated by Prosecutor Gavin’s excursions at times but that was no reason to point out how alone the other was. After all he knew how that felt.

He felt even worse when the other simply chuckled, and then a wave of emotion hit him as the other handed him a present.

“Merry Christmas, Herr Forehead.”

“Prosecutor Gavin… Klavier… I…”

“And no opening it before Christmas Day, I know how impatient you are!”

As Prosecutor Gavin flashed a grin and leant forward over him with that comment, all of Apollo’s sympathy for the man evaporated entirely.

Still, his intentions had been sweet, if done in an overly typical Klavier Gavin-ish fashion, and Apollo supposed he couldn’t really fault him for that.

Besides which, the image of Klavier Gavin wrapped up in so many scarves you couldn’t even see his face save for his eyes (which were instead covered with sunglasses) would be an image that would be making him laugh for weeks to come.

Kristoph’s mouth twitched in irritation as he heard footsteps head towards his cell. He had made it quite clear that he never wished to be disturbed by any of the delinquents that had put him here. Lifting his book up he hid his face behind it entirely, planning on completely ignoring whoever it was who had dared to disturb his peace.
“… Bruder?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Kristoph’s hands tightened on the book, causing the spine to creak under the pressure. Now this was interesting. He had suspected that the other had either forgotten about him entirely or at the very least had decided to ignore him. He did not fit with Klavier’s view of how perfect the world was. The question was how he should deal with this situation that had arisen. He could go with his original plan and completely ignore the other, or he could treat him with the contempt he quite clearly deserved.

Kristoph eventually put his book down and looked over to Klavier. “Oh. It is you. It has been so long since I heard your voice that I almost did not recognise it. Still copying my hairstyle I see?”

“Kristoph… ach… how can I let you hear my voice if you always deny visitors!”

“… That has not stopped you today. If you had really wished to see me before now you could have. That excuse is as feeble as your music and as lacklustre as your false persona. You cannot go through life playing a role.”

“Nein? Better that than a murderer!”

Kristoph stood up at that and moved over to the bars, looking at Klavier properly before pushing his glasses up in thought. “Ah, so, once more, it comes down to that. That farcical trial where you betrayed me by siding with Justice and Wright, even though that jurist system has not been used again. Do you really not have any doubts about that? Wright is a tricky man, he could have-“ Kristoph cut off as Klavier started laughing, and he glanced to the side as he tried to hide his irritation. “What?”

“Mein Gott, Kris! Ja, Herr Wright played his cards close to his chest but can you blame him? After you used me as a pawn to get him disbarred it’s no wonder he was not forthcoming on trusting anyone. As to him framing you for murder, why would he have done that? You were already in prison for one murder.”

“…Perhaps he was worried the evidence from the first would not hold up to scrutiny if there was ever an appeal.”

Kristoph smiled a little to himself as he watched the terror and conflicting in Klavier’s eyes increase ten fold. Perhaps the other did still have doubts about the trials, in which case he could use this to his advantage, or on the other hand perhaps it was the thought that he could file for an appeal that frightened his so called brother.

After a few minutes of neither of them moving the conversation forward, Kristoph decided to take the initiative. “What are you doing here, Klavier?”

“… It’s Christmas. People see their families at Christmas ja? Try to reconcile the past…”

Kristoph folded his arms and looked at Klavier with a bemused expression. “Family, Klavier? What makes you believe that you have any right to call me family after what you did to me? You made your choice that year, now is the time to stick to it. Go spend Christmas with Wright and those he has pulled wool over… Oh but wait. You cannot even do that can you? You cannot console yourself with having them as friends because they would never accept you as such. No matter where that forged evidence came from, you were the one who called him out on it, and you were the one who got him disbarred for seven years.”

“Face it, Klavier, you have no family and no friends. All you have is your so called fans, and even they will leave you now that you have stopped producing music. I hope you are happy with yourself, because yourself is all you have.”

As Klavier turned and ran away from the cell, Kristoph sighed softly to himself and resumed reading his book.

Hopefully there would be no more distractions.

Phoenix was cycling to the courthouse on his bicycle, hoping that this December case would not be as fraught as ones in the past had been. The winter weather was getting worse and though there was no snow it was very icy that morning.
He didn’t realise just how icy it was until he pressed the brakes on his bike and nothing happened. Swallowing hard as his heartbeat increased a little he pressed them again in an attempt to regain some form of control. However that just made the wheels slip further and he was thrown from the bike.

Phoenix closed his eyes, bracing himself for an impact. He hoped his luck with such things would hold out because he did not much fancy spending Christmas in hospital.

When he landed however, he was surprised to feel something rather soft underneath him. In a panic he re-opened his eyes. It would be just his luck if he had hurt someone else in the process of this nightmare, especially considering how today was going.

Instead he found himself looking up into the bemused eyes of Simon Blackquill.

“Wright-dono, today is not a day for trusting bicycles. How do you expect to keep your blade sharp enough for court if you cannot even keep it sharp enough for day to day life?”

Phoenix glared at him. “Not all of us have a driver’s licence, Blackquill.”

“And whose fault is that? Last I checked, no one was stopping you from learning.”

Groaning, Phoenix forced himself to sit up and dusted himself off. He looked at the large beanbag oddly. “Where did this even come from?”

“Taka likes to sit in it in the car sometimes. He alerted me to something being amiss.”

Phoenix grinned sheepishly at put a hand to the back of his head as Blackquill helped him to stand. “Well… I suppose I owe both you and him a thank you?”

“Hmmph. Spare the niceties. You can thank us by making sure you are working to your full capacity and not late.” As he headed off towards the courthouse, he added, “See you in court, Wright-dono.”

Once he was out of earshot, Phoenix groaned loudly.

If Blackquill was his opponent in court today, he was not going to live this down.

Klavier lent against the wall outside the venue during the half time break, trying to compose himself for the second half. After all that had happened over the past few years, publicly performing could sometimes have this effect on him.
When one of the city’s largest venues had asked him to reform the Gavinners for just one night for a charity event he could hardly have said no. He was still thankfully on good terms with the rest of his now defunct band, even if one or two were still rather irritated at his decision to disband it in the first place, but he could never go back to how it used to be. Ever since Daryan had been convicted of murder, the atmosphere in the dressing room had been different - not that they had done that many concerts since then.

He brushed his hair back, grimacing as he caught sight of his reflection in a puddle. No doubt the press would be asking yet again why he had not changed his hairstyle as though that was the most important thing about him these days.

“Prosecutor Gavin?”

Startled, Klavier turned sharply around and quickly forced a smile back onto his face. “Herr Forehead? What are you doing here?”

“… You know, these lines seem the wrong way round.”

Klavier chuckled, immediately relaxing. He supposed he should have stopped sneaking up on Apollo before this inevitably happened. “Ja, I guess so. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Trucy and Athena wanted to come to your show…”

Ach. There was that usual irritation that was sometimes present in the other’s voice. Klavier tried not to let it show how hurt that made him feel. “That doesn’t explain why you are here. They are both old enough not to need a guardian…”

“You can never tell with one of your shows.”

Klavier scowled and went to snap something back at his courtroom rival but then he saw the concerned look in the other’s eyes and realised that Apollo had already realised he had crossed the line. “…. That was one time…”

“Yeah. Sorry. Guess I misjudged the mood, huh?”

“It’s fine. You were just teasing ja? Gott knows I do it enough to you.”

“Not like that you don’t! Look… Klavier… are you… are you okay?”

Now that really threw Klavier and he looked at Apollo in surprise, a confused expression now on his face. Had the other really come out here because he was worried about him? “I’m fine.”

“Now who is copying who? Athena wasn’t sure due to how many people were present but she was picking up a distressed vibe from somebody inside. When Trucy came back from using her Magic Show contacts to get backstage and told me you weren’t in the dressing room I figured I’d find you out here.”

Ah. So that was it. Sighing, Klavier lent back against the wall and looked up to the sky, his eyes obscured by his hair. “I went to see Kris the other day… some of what he said…”

“Klavier… do not let him get into your head. That’s what he wants.”

Felling a hand on his arm, Klavier swallowed hard and looked back down at the shorter. “Ja… I know… but… he was my only family and now… I don’t know what…”

“You have friends…”

“Do I? I have fans, Herr Forehead.”

“… What about me?”

Klavier winced, realising the way he had phrased that may have hurt Apollo. “Es tu mir lied… I didn’t mean… but Kris, he…”

“Okay, what did he say?”

“I should get back inside and prepare for the second half…”

“Objection! We’ve still fifteen minutes. Come on you are in no state to go back into the public right now.”

Klavier managed a watery smile at that and let Apollo help him to sit down on a nearby bench. “Ach… I must look a right state if even you noticed,” he teased.

“Stop stalling.”

Straight to the point as always. Taking a few deep breaths, Klavier slowly told Apollo the key points of Kristoph’s comments to him a couple of days previously.

When he had finished, he looked over at the other and tried to read the expression on his face. To his surprise he found that Apollo was smiling sadly. “Apollo?” He asked in confusion, deciding to use his actual name for once.

“He’s wrong.”

“J-ja?!”

“Yes. If Mr. Wright really did still blame you for any of that, do you think he would be here tonight? He trusts Trucy enough to not have come for her sake and if he didn’t he would have just forced me or Athena to go with her. Instead when Trucy said she wanted a ticket for this event and Athena said she’d come along to hear some more of your music, Mr. Wright said we might as well turn it into a work outing. I put in an argument against that but I think he was concerned about you as well. Besides if you want any more proof if he still didn’t trust you there’s no way he would have let you help Athena and I with our investigation at the academy that year.”

Biting back tears, Klavier suddenly pulled Apollo into a hug.

“Danke, Herr Forehead.”

Edgeworth was considering leaving a note and vanishing again.
He knew Franziska meant well, but the noises coming from his kitchen as she tried to create the perfect Christmas Dinner were beginning to give him a headache.

He had offered to help of course; All that had done had got him on the receiving end of that whip of hers.

It was not that he was not pleased to see her, nor that he wasn’t glad that she had had the sense to come and do this now rather than later in the month when both of their moods would be far sourer, but sometimes he did feel like she was still trying too hard to be ‘better’ than everyone else.

Sighing, Edgeworth put a hand to his head and stroked Pess with the other. “You know,” he mumbled to his dog, “I would still much rather spend this month alone.” He’d been intentionally avoiding Wright as well for that very reason. December was not a good month for him and even though he now knew the truth about what happened all those years ago, he just could not bring himself to celebrate the holiday that he associated with a) his father being murdered, b) himself being arrested, and c) finding out who really had killed his father.

“Dinner’s ready little brother!”

Hearing Franziska shout out from the kitchen, Edgeworth pushed his thoughts away and got to his feet. As he headed to the dining room a small smile managed to make its way onto his lips.

At least Franziska understood, and letting her cook this dinner as had been her demand seemed the appropriate thanks.

In a way they were family, and Edgeworth had no intention of changing that.

He wanted to make sure she was alright.

Phoenix was not in a good mood. Not only was his back still playing up from being thrown from his bike a few days previously, he had now been woken up in the middle of the night by carol singing.

At least he guessed that was what it was. The screeching could hardly be identified as such but was sure he had heard ‘Wenceslas’ mentioned on at least one occasion.

Glancing at the clock and seeing it was barely 4AM, he groaned. Getting out of bed, he grabbed his dressing gown before heading to the door. The last thing he wanted was for whoever who thought it was funny to sing carols at this unearthly hour to wake Trucy.

Beginning to wonder whether he should have taken the month off and gone to visit Pearls in Kurain, Phoenix opened the front door.

He was going to shout at whoever was singing but then blinked when he realised that it wasn’t just some random stranger. Instead it was someone he knew very well.

“Larry, what are you doing?”

“Hey, Nick! Buddy! Is that any way to greet an old friend? It’s been so long I figured I’d surprise you!”

“At 4AM? With a Christmas Carol?” Phoenix retorted, rubbing his head in irritation.

“… It’s only 4AM? So that’s why it’s still so dark.”

Phoenix gritted his teeth and decided to give Larry the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the other had just returned from somewhere in another time zone? Sighing, he reluctantly stepped back from the door. “Well now you’re here, you might as well come in.”

At least Larry had disturbed him. He did not want to think about what Edgeworth may have done had Larry turned up at his door instead.

The further into the month it got, the more Apollo’s thoughts turned to Clay and what could have been.

He lay down on the grass near the space centre, looking up at the sky. Apollo had not done much stargazing since his best friend was murdered, but it seemed appropriate tonight. He’d thought about waiting until the actual date of his best friend’s death but from the current weather forecast it seemed that there would not be any stars to look at - Clay had always hated such cloudy nights.

Smiling sadly, Apollo shouted out into the night; “I’m Apollo Justice and I’m fine!” His voice cracked a little at the end but he was more sure of that now than he had been the other year.

The other year… Apollo shook his head. It was supposed to be the first time he and Clay didn’t spend Christmas together because the other was going to be in space during it, but he had never got there.

At least Apollo had got to where he wanted to be. Clay hadn’t even had one trip into space.

“… Apollo?”

Jolting out of his thoughts, Apollo glanced sharply up, and only relaxed into an uneasy smile when he realised who it was. “Mr. Starbuck. I was just…”

“Stargazing like you both used to? Yeah, I noticed. I thought you might pop round at some point this month. Why don’t you come down to the centre?”

Apollo hesitated. “I’d only be in the way. It is not as though I understood half the stuff Clay did.”

“I’m not sure I understand half the stuff Clay used to talk about. Come on. I’m sure the others would like to see you as well.”

Forcing an uneasy smile in way of thanks, Apollo nodded and got to his feet.

It was nice that he still felt welcome here.

As Phoenix had been on his own the day he had won his most recent case, he had decided to forgo the tradition of a celebratory meal afterwards.
However he had accidentally let that slip to Athena that morning and had found her and Trucy dragging him and an even more reluctant Apollo along to Eldoons for some noodles.

“Hey. I expected to see you the other day Mr. Wright.”

Phoenix sighed and held the back of his head sheepishly with a forced grin. “Yeah, sorry about that. Weather wasn’t that great and I’d already fallen off my bike once. And hey I bought more people with me today so that’s got to be better for business right?”

He relaxed as he saw Eldoon seemed happy about that answer, and he sat down with the others to wait for the noodles.

“You’re in luck actually. I’ve just started my Christmas special noodles!”

Christmas special? Phoenix frowned in thought. Did they have some form of christmassy like spice on it? Or the scent of spruce trees or something? Eldoon didn’t seem to be forthcoming with any more information.

Receiving his bowl, Phoenix muttered his thanks and dug into it.

He immediately bit back a cough and tried not to wince.

Extra Salt. Of course.

Trucy was overjoyed at how her magic show had gone this time. For once everything had gone to plan, and Apollo had made a good - if extremely reluctant - assistant.
However there was one thing still bothering her, as she headed out of the auditorium and into the foyer to find her daddy and Athena.

“Trucy, that was great!”

Trucy smiled uneasily at Athena’s enthusiasm, it only becoming more genuine when she heard Widget literally let out a whoop of joy along with it. She glanced away as she realised her father was looking at her, lost in thought.

“Trucy? Is everything alright? The show was great! If any thing went wrong it wasn’t something anyone noticed!”

She swallowed hard, knowing the other was just trying to cheer her up. She smiled her brightest smile at him in reassurance. “No, nothing went wrong, Daddy! Everything was perfect…. well…” she tapped her finger on her cheek in thought, “Polly could have been more enthusiastic and less scared, but the audience do seem to like it so perhaps I’ll leave it as it is.”

“You are not sawing me in half again!”

Trucy turned and grinned, hitting her hat with her hand. “Sure, Polly. You say that now. But quite clearly the crowd loved you. I’m thinking of increasing that part of the act.”

The look on the other’s face was almost enough to make Trucy forget about what was on her mind, but not quite. Instead she turned to her father with a thoughtful expression. She tried to ask what was bugging her in a tone that suggested that it didn’t matter. “Daddy, I was wondering…”

“Yes sweetheart?”

“Where’s Uncle Edgeworth? Was he too busy this time? Or visiting family?”

She frowned as her father’s entire demeanour changed. Gone was his smile and laid back poise, instead replaced with an uneasy smile and a very tense pose.

“It doesn’t matter!” she quickly blurted out. “I just wondered is all. It’s not like I expect him to come to every show after all.”

“Trucy…. December is not a good month for Edgeworth.”

Trucy looked at him oddly. “You mean he’s one of those people who don’t like Christmas?” She’d never understood that mentality personally.

“In a way, yeah, I guess. But he actually has a reason not to like it.”

“Then that would have been even more reason to come today! To forget that reason!” Trucy huffed, hands on her hips. She frowned a little as she noticed Athena and Apollo had left them on their own. Perhaps Athena had read something in her daddy’s emotions? “… Daddy? What’s going on?”

She tensed further as her father sighed and knelt down beside her before hugging her. “If I’ve said something I shouldn’t…”

“No, Truce. You had no way of knowing. Edgeworth, he… he lost someone at this time of year. At Christmas itself to be exact. That’s all you need to know.”

Trucy nodded slowly. She could tell that her father’s answer was the vaguest he could possibly make it without keeping her completely in the dark, but judging by how upset he seemed, she decided that it wasn’t worth prying any further. Besides which if he was respecting Uncle Edgeworth’s wishes then she understood that as well.

“Can I at least post him something?”

“Yes, Truce. I think he’d like that.”

Happier with that answer, Trucy helped her daddy back to his feet and headed out of the theatre with him to find Apollo and Athena.

Now all she had to do was work out what gift to get Uncle Edgeworth.

Christmas music filled the air of the corridors between the prison cells. For once the mood there was more light than usual.
That was apart from in one particular cell.

Hearing more of the music, Kristoph gripped tightly at the book he was reading, the spine threatening to rip under his pressure.

The celebration of Christmas seemed most illogical at the best of times, but in here Kristoph could not fathom the point at all.

Putting his book down, he stood up and instead reached for his violin. He started to play a classical Christmas tune. If he could not stop them from playing that dire pop music then he could at least attempt to drown it out.

As he played, his thoughts turned to Wright, Justice, and Klavier. The music got harsher as he played faster and faster. He could have had it all, but people were always getting in the way.

If he ever saw another deck of cards it would be too soon.

Phoenix was happy in a way that he did not have any cases right now. December cases had a habit of bringing up unpleasant memories for people he knew. Athena and Trucy had dragged Apollo Christmas shopping and as such he was in the Agency on his own for once. He smiled softly to himself as he adjusted a couple of the decorations on the Christmas Tree - no doubt Trucy would change it again later but for now he was happy that it looked less of a mish-mash.
He then moved over to Charley and watered him, shaking his head a little as he thought back to the past. So much had happened since he first started working at the Fey & Co Law Offices but through it all the plant had been the one constant. Phoenix wondered how it continued to thrive after so long. Even throughout his disbarment he had somehow managed to keep this plant alive. Perhaps because it was the only proper connection he still had to Mia at that stage. His smile faltered a little. Those seven years away from law… he was not sure what he would have done had it not been for Trucy, his light in the darkness.

Fortunately his unsettling thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Heading quickly over to it he pulled it open. About to ask what they wanted, Phoenix froze when he realised who it was, all thoughts evaporating from his head. Eventually he managed to choke out through the uneasy silence, “Apollo isn’t here right now…”

“Ja. I know. I saw them leave.”

Phoenix tried to force a smile back onto his face but he could not help but feel a little unsettled by Prosecutor Gavin turning up at his door. “Then you wanted to see me? Are you in trouble?”

“What? N-nein, Herr Wright. I’m not in trouble.”

Chuckling nervously, Phoenix offered for the other to step inside. “Good. I’m not sure I could have taken another December trial fraught with emotion.”

“… The Phantom case?”

Phoenix winced as the other sat down on the sofa, and hesitantly joined him. “Yes, that’s one of the ones I mean.” That was vague enough, he decided. He doubted Edgeworth would be best pleased if he started talking about the Gourd Lake case to one of his prosecutors. “So, if you’re not in trouble, what can I do for you?”

“Ach… I… look… this is years too late and gott knows I don’t deserve to even talk to you after all that happened… but… I’m sorry for everything. Getting you disbarred, believing that you had -“

Sighing, Phoenix held up his hand to stop the other from speaking. “You believed the evidence that you had been given. Look, Prosecutor Gavin, if I had believed you had had anything to do with the framing of myself with that forged evidence I would not have picked you for the jurist trial. Nobody’s perfect… despite what Ms Von Karma may tell you.”

He relaxed as he heard Prosecutor Gavin chuckle a little at his slight jab, but he could still see some uncertainty in the other’s eyes. “Prosecutor Gavin?”

“… Why did you? Why did you pick me for the jurist trial? There were more experienced prosecutors and doubtless ones you trusted more, nein?”

“Trusted more? Not in the country. And experience never should have entered into it. I was too cocky in our first trial, just because you were new, and I paid for that. I should have taken you more seriously, though I guess that wouldn’t have helped due to that evidence.”

“Ach… I…”

“Let me finish,” Phoenix hastily interrupted, before the other could get upset again. “I asked you to be the Prosecutor for that jurist trial not only because I knew you were after the truth and knew how you and Apollo worked together would be a positive indication as to how well the jurist system would work, but also because I doubted you would believe me if I just outright told you that Kristoph Gavin was behind my disbarment. You had to get to that truth yourself. I know what it is like to be betrayed by someone you thought you could trust with your life. Look up Dahlia Hawthorne in the case files sometime if you do not believe me.”

“Ach. Herr Wright. I am not sure Kris ever saw me as anything but a nuisance but danke all the same. I… went to see him the other week…”

Phoenix’s eyes darkened a little at that. “That probably was not a good idea. I’m guessing that’s why Athena picked up distress from her mood matrix at your concert the other day?”

“Ja. But Herr Forehead talked to me and… and that’s when I decided I needed to do this. It may be far too late and not enough, but… I am sorry, Herr Wright.”

Phoenix smiled softly and reached a hand out to Prosecutor Gavin. “It never needed to be said. I’ve known what kind of person you are for a while now. And if you still don’t believe that we can get on, then ask Edgeworth about the past. He knows I would never give up on someone who I believe to be a good person at heart.”

About to shake Prosecutor Gavin’s hand, Phoenix paused as the other looked up at the ceiling, and he took a look up as well. He blinked in surprise.

Mistletoe. Put there by Trucy no doubt. He would have to have a word with her later.

“Um… ach… Herr Wright… you don’t have to…”

Phoenix smiled softly. Instead of going for the handshake he had originally planned, he hugged Klavier and placed a kiss on top of his head like he would do to Trucy when she was upset.

“Merry Christmas, Prosecutor Gavin.”

“Merry Christmas, Herr Wright.”

Apollo had tried to say he wouldn’t go with them today, really not in the mood for any form of road trip, but for some reason Trucy had insisted that Pearl would be really upset if he didn’t go with the Wrights to Kurain Village. Apollo really could not fathom why - the times when he had seen Pearl before he’d either been left behind at the office or had been investigating on his own because he suspected someone of being involved with Clay’s murder.
No, it was more likely that Trucy would have been upset had he not gone with them, and yet he did not recall his bracelet reacting to her statement that it was Pearl who insisted that he be there.

As they got off the train and walked up to the village, Apollo had an unsettling feeling in his stomach. The over-the-top Christmas lights display reminded him of how Clay used to insist that it was the best way to celebrate the holidays. He was also surprised that Pearl had not been there to greet them, and instead they were told by one of the students to head into the summoning chamber.

Summoning chamber, really as if anyone could really - Apollo’s thoughts cut off as Pearl, or rather Clay in Pearl’s body, waved at him.

Apollo turned sharply to Mr. Wright and glared at him. “Is this your idea of a joke?”

“No it’s no joke. Apollo, I… maybe I should have asked, but when I talked about Christmas gifts the other year you seemed to imply that the only thing you wanted was to see Clay again. This is real Apollo I promise you, I’ve seen this enough times to tell you it is genuine. Look, go talk to him. I’ll leave you two in peace. You can hit me later if it goes wrong yeah?”

Sighing as Mr. Wright left, Apollo hesitantly approached the robed figure. “Clay? Is that really you?”

“Course it’s me, ‘Pollo, I know I must look weird in this getup, but you must recognise your best friend!”

Hearing Clay speak, albeit through Pearl’s form, all the irritation he had felt at being forced into this situation evaporated. Running over to him, he pulled Clay into a tight hug as tears started to stream down his face. “… I missed you…”

“Yeah. I missed you too.”

Edgeworth was getting ready for work when his doorbell rang. He almost considered ignoring it - he was in no mood for carol singers or listening to some sales pitch and he certainly was not at home to anyone who would try to get him to ‘embrace’ the Christmas spirit.

However, hearing Pess bark at the door gave him the indication that this was likely the postman. Which troubled him somewhat as he had not ordered anything. Perhaps it was a new postman worried that his dog would bite his hand off? Which was ludicrous - Pess had never bitten anyone.

Sighing, Edgeworth opened his front door and was surprised when he saw his regular postman. “Good Morning,” he muttered before taking the parcel he was holding out to him with a puzzled expression.

“Weren’t expecting any presents in the post?”

Edgeworth sighed. “Evidently not. Have a good day.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“… Same to you,” Edgeworth mumbled under his breath before closing the door. Sighing he was about to put the parcel and card down on the table when he noticed the gift tag on the present was addressed to ‘Uncle Edgeworth’.

So this was from Trucy? A twinge of guilt wracked through his body. He had largely been avoiding the Wright Anything Agency due to the memories this time of year bought him, but that really was not fair on her. He trusted Wright enough to know that he would not have told his daughter about Edgeworth’s past.

Opening the Christmas Card, Edgeworth’s thoughts were proved correct as he could tell from what she had said that Wright had said that someone had been lost at this time of year, no more, no less.

Smiling softly, he put the card up on his mantlepiece before grabbing his car keys and heading off to work.

Perhaps it was time.

Phoenix jabbed at his phone’s keypad for the fifteenth time in the past few minutes. Nothing seemed to be responding properly. Sighing he put it down and went back to his paperwork, only looking up when Apollo came into the office.
“If you need me to take the girls shopping again or to be an assistant for Trucy then I am going back to -“

“No, I need your help,” Phoenix interrupted him, feeling a little guilty when the other came over to him - Apollo had clearly been expecting some law work.

“So what’s the case?”

“The case is, I can’t get this blasted phone to work. Half the keys don’t respond and those that do are giving me the wrong letters.”

“Mr. Wright…”

Phoenix held the back of his head sheepishly with an apologetic smile on his face as he looked at Apollo whose hair had folded down, his features laced with irritation. “Yeah, Apollo?”

“I’m getting you a new phone for Christmas and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Swallowing hard, Phoenix nodded.

Maybe asking Apollo about this hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.

Edgeworth rubbed at his head as he heard faint music from elsewhere in the building. He had been assured that Prosecutor Gavin’s office was sound proofed. However it was Christmas music and he wasn’t one to begrudge his employees the pleasure of listening to whatever they wished - as long as their productivity did not suffer.

The problem was this music was rather shrill in tone and seemed to be coming from an office very near to his own.

Getting out from behind his desk and heading out of his office, Edgeworth was rather surprised when he found the sound had led him to Prosecutor Blackquill’s office - the other had not struck him as one to indulge in the Christmas spirit in this manner.

However as he knocked on the door, and entered when given permission to, he couldn’t help a small smirk form on his lips as he realised what was going on.

Taka was the one singing the Christmas Tunes.

Trucy opened the door to the Wright Anything Agency Offices and let out a loud scream.

She forced a smile as Apollo and Athena came running and asked her whether everything was okay. “I-I’m fine! This just startled me is all! If you’re going to redecorate you should run it past me first!”

“… Huh? I haven’t had time to do any decorating, Trucy. Besides wouldn’t Mr. Wright have been the one to clear… what the hell?!”

Apollo’s reaction to seeing the monstrosity of a Christmas scene painted on one of the office walls was nearly enough to make Trucy start laughing, but truth be told this was kind of beginning to creep her out.

The painting in question appeared to depict her magic box being used as a sleigh and it was being pulled by Uncle Edgeworth and her Daddy. What she assumed was meant to be herself, Athena, and Apollo, seemed to be hiding inside the box itself and it seemed to be being driven by someone in a Father Christmas costume that seemed oddly familiar.

As she tried to think of what to say, she turned as she heard a resigned sigh and forced a smile as she saw her daddy rubbing his head in irritation. “Daddy? Do you know anything about this um… this mural?”

“Yes, unfortunately. I received a text from your Uncle Larry this morning. Saying he’d a great surprise for me. This must have been it.”

At that, Trucy started laughing.

Edgeworth glanced around his living room, lost in thought. After receiving Trucy’s present it had given him a push into moving on properly but the idea of putting Christmas Decorations up after so many years of trying to ignore those few days entirely still filled him with some trepidation.
And yet the few Christmas cards he had received, that were sitting on his mantlepiece, looked rather lonely in his large room.

As Pess barked at the boxes he had bought in with him, Edgeworth managed a small, sad, smile. It would be illogical to not use the decorations now that he had bought them.

After unpacking the items, it was then that Edgeworth realised that the large Christmas tree he had bought meant climbing a ladder to put some of the decorations onto it.

Putting a hand to his head briefly, he sighed in resignation and reluctantly got his mobile phone out, dialling a number that he had not for a long time.

“Hello, Gumshoe? I have a job for you…”

And that was how Dick Gumshoe and Miles Edgeworth spent all of Sunday putting decorations up together.

Ema glanced over at the city square’s Christmas Tree, a faint smile on her face. It felt weird to be back here again, and now with her full qualifications as a forensic investigator

It had taken her far longer than she had wanted to get to this point in her life, but she was glad that she had bothered to go back to her education after all.

Once Mr. Wright’s name had been cleared of the forgery there hadn’t seemed to be any reason for her to stick around and get more and more irritated with Prosecutor Gavin’s behaviour - though she suspected like herself he probably would have wanted to disappear for a while after the Misham Trial anyway.

Things had been tough since she had returned and working for Prosecutor Sahdmadhi had been… different to say the least.

As she glanced down again at the square and saw Athena and Trucy waving to her, her expression broke into a genuine smile.

For once it felt like she was home.

Phoenix was watching Athena and Trucy Christmas shopping with a small smile on his face. He had decided to come this time, even though he was surprised that either of them still had shopping to do by this point. However he was hanging back as Trucy had demanded he not get in the way which probably only meant one thing:

She hadn’t got a present for him yet.

Shaking his head, Phoenix went to turn and head into a nearby shop with the plan of getting Edgeworth something in order to have an excuse to go check on how he was in the next few days. Instead he ran headfirst into a security guard. “Ahem, sorry, I -“

“You whippersnappers are all the same! All caught up in the Christmas rush, your head so full of nonsensical magical thoughts that you don’t pay attention to anyone around you. Christmas doesn’t make itself you know! I bet you never give a second thought to the people who cooked Christmas dinner and spent forever picking out the perfect gifts for you or had to remind you to send thank you cards to other relatives. You’re all so ungrateful. Back in my day we were glad if we got…”

Phoenix did not hear the end of her rant, instead quickly turning and heading back in the opposite direction.

It may be the season of goodwill to all, but Wendy Oldbag is, and probably always will be, impossible to talk to.

Apollo approached the office Advent calendar with some trepidation. It had been Athena’s idea to set one up but he was sure Trucy had had some input into what went into it as well as Mr. Wright. They also seemed to know what days people should open, seeing as this was a joint advent calendar.

“Why doesn’t someone else take this day?”

“Oh come on Apollo, it’s just a bit of fun!”

“Yeah, Polly! Besides it’s Christmas, would I really put a trap in there?”

Apollo’s hair drooped. He wouldn’t put it past Trucy to do exactly that but at the girls’ insistence that he needed to open this day he rolled his eyes and opened the door.

His expression turned to a scowl as he took the item out, and let out a resigned sigh before turning around to face the girls. “Okay, which of you is responsible for this?”

He didn’t care how cold it got. There was no way he was wearing a Christmas jumper with the Gavinner’s logo on it.

However, as Mr. Wright held up his bottle of grape juice scented aftershave from the day before, Apollo couldn’t help but break into a grin.

It was… nice, in a way, that they all felt comfortable enough to make jokes such as this.

But he still wasn’t wearing the jumper.

That fanart of Klavier and Apollo in the snow and Apollo is wearing a Gavinners scarf

Edgeworth awoke to a clattering noise downstairs. He groaned, putting a hand to his head. “Pess if you have knocked the tree over aga-“ he cut off as he heard a bark and realised that Pess was laying at the end of his bed.
Now worried, he got out of the bed, and put his slippers on before heading downstairs.

“Stupid tree! You’ll regret the day you tried to mess with the great Yatagarasu!”

Relaxing as he heard this, Edgeworth folded his arms and coughed loudly. “Kay. Why are you breaking into my house in the middle of the night? I am Chief Prosecutor. I should not really overlook -“ He cut off as Kay grappled him into a hug. “Ngh! What do you think you are doing?!”

“I’ve not seen you in forever! I thought you’d forgotten about me again! Besides, it’s not my fault you have been avoiding everyone at the office this whole month. Why have you been doing that anyway?”

“That is a long story,” Edgeworth muttered, glancing away, but then felt guilty as he did so. Like him Kay had lost her father to a murderer at an early age. If anyone would understand it would logically be her.

That was how, for the first time in years, Edgeworth found himself telling someone else about the DL6 incident.

To tell the truth, talking with Kay was making him feel a little better.

Klavier watched Vongole chase excitably after a ball with an odd expression on his face. Even after all this time he still wasn’t sure what to think of looking after Kristoph’s dog, but at the same time he had never had the heart to let her go into a kennel, or for Kristoph to demand his own arrangements.
After all he had bought Vongole for Kristoph as a Christmas present many years ago, not that the other seemed to even remember that gesture.

Had they ever even been friends? He wasn’t sure he knew who his supposed brother was anymore.

“Prosecutor Gavin?”

Startled, Klavier looked sharply up. He had not expected anyone else to be in the park this late at night, and certainly not on one of the coldest nights of the year. However as he saw who it was he forced his usual dazzling smile onto his face. “Herr Edgeworth. It’s good to see you. You’ve been missed at the Prosecutor’s office the past couple of days.”

“I am sure I do not need to tell you that sometimes we have our reasons for pulling away from work for a while, even I.”

Klavier bit his lip. “Ja, but you haven’t exactly been at home to anyone all month, even when you have been in the office…”

“It is nothing to concern yourself over, though if you had need to talk to me and you felt unwelcome then I apologise. It was not my intention to completely isolate myself.”

Not sure whether he bought that or not, Klavier instead turned his attention to the small dog that Edgeworth had with him. “So this is Pess, ja?”

“… Verily, ergo. And I take it that bundle of energy bashing your arm with a ball in her mouth is Vongole?”

Klavier chuckled. “Ja. Why don’t we let them play together for a bit?”

He flinched when he saw the hesitancy in Edgeworth’s eyes, and he looked away, fiddling with his fringe. “Ach… so you know this used to be Kris’ dog? Don’t worry, I’ve retrained her. She’s no longer like a rose bush.”

Klavier was relieved when that seemed to satisfy Edgeworth, and he watched as the other let Pess off her leash to go and play with Vongole.

However, he was surprised when Edgeworth took a seat beside him on the bench and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Herr Edgeworth? Sir?”

“You do not need to apologise for your brother’s actions. They were his, and his alone. You should also not feel hesitant to talk to myself if there is something bothering you. Yes, Wright and I go back a long way, but it is not without its own share of tragedy.”

Klavier chuckled uneasily. “You’re beginning to sound like him. I went to see him the other week and he said that despite what Ms. Von Karma says, nobody is perfect…”

“Humph. He has a point I suppose, though I would not recommend talking of that line of thought in front of Franziska.”

Nodding, Klavier broke into a more relaxed smile, but his eyes held an unasked question.

“Prosecutor Gavin?”

Taking a deep breath, Klavier muttered, “Herr Wright also said that if I did not still believe we could be friends, that you had proof that he never gives up on someone who he believes is a good person at heart…”

They spent the rest of their evening watching Pess and Vongole play together, and discussing just what Phoenix had meant.

It was that moment that Klavier realised how much he really related to his boss.

It was the evening of Christmas Eve, and Apollo was laying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. He missed the times when he would have spent today with Clay, often watching some old naff movie or another that they would rip to shreds.
Instead he was spending Christmas Eve alone. Trucy and Mr. Wright had suggested he go with them, but his heart just wasn’t in it tonight. They’d already spent a lot of time together and he felt like he was intruding, especially with Athena spending time with Blackquill today.

He was startled out of his thoughts by his phone ringing. Seeing the contact details, Apollo’s stomach lurched with dread. Why was Prosecutor Gavin calling him tonight of all nights?! Please, God, no more…

Hastily he hit the accept button on his phone and raised it to his ear. “Prosecutor Gavin? What’s going on? Is someone hurt?!”

“Ach… es tu mir lied. I knew this was a bad idea. Everything is fine, Herr Forehead…”

Apollo frowned at the tone to the other’s voice, for it didn't sound like he was okay. However he decided to pay that no heed for now. “What did you want, Prosecutor Gavin?”

“I… uh… wanted to know what you thought about my gift…”

Blinking, Apollo glanced across to the tree in his living room, which he could just see through the crack in his bedroom door, where the Prosecutor’s present to him was still laying wrapped under the tree. “… One that’s a strange question to ask and a bit egotistical,” Apollo muttered in irritation, “and two it is only Christmas Eve. If you wanted me to open it whilst you were present you could have just said when you first handed it to me!”

“…”

Apollo sat up, frowning with worry at the silence from the other end of the line. Sighing he put a finger to his forehead in thought. “Prosecutor Gavin? Look, I’m sorry. As I said at the time you really didn’t need to -“

“Ach, nein. If anyone should be apologising it is me. In Germany we opened our presents Christmas Eve, ja?”

Rolling his eyes, Apollo couldn’t help but smile a little. “Prosecutor Gavin, you were only there studying for a couple of years, right?”

“When in Rome do as the Romans do, ja?”

Hearing Klavier end that sentence with a hearty chuckle, Apollo managed to relax. Truthfully the way this conversation had been going was concerning him. “But we aren’t in Rome. I’ll open it tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave you in peace. M-“

“Wait!” Apollo hastily interrupted, holding his bracelet with his spare hand. “Okay, enough is enough, why did you really call?”

“… I didn’t know who else to phone…”

Blinking, Apollo lay back down on his bed, and looked back at the ceiling. “So you thought you’d annoy a poor defenceless defence attorney?”

“N-nein! Look if you want me to hang up I can just…”

Apollo sighed. He had been trying to lighten the mood but that just seemed to have made matters worse. “How do you normally spend Christmas Eve?”

“… Huh?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Prosecutor Gavin,” Apollo muttered.

“… With the Gavinners, back when we were together at least…”

Apollo winced. “And more recently?”

“… I haven’t felt much like celebrating Christmas these past few years, Herr Forehead. My so called Bruder and so called best friend are in prison for murder, and my most respected teacher from Themis is dead.”

“I haven’t really felt much in the Christmas spirit myself in recent years,” Apollo pointed out, his voice now far softer. “But I still spent time with friends and relations. No one should be alone on Christmas.”

“… But I don’t have any friends, Herr Forehead. At least not ones where I wouldn’t feel like a spare wheel these days. Perhaps, Kris-“

Apollo sat bolt upright, his grip tightening on the phone. “No. Klavier you listen to me. Do not start that nonsense again. Mr. Gavin did not know what he was talking about that day. Have you already forgotten what I told you after your concert?”

“Nein, but… you’re different Herr Forehead. And no doubt you have other plans…”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m laying on my bed at 8pm on Christmas Eve, talking to you on the phone,” Apollo deadpanned.

“Es tu mir lied. But you know that’s not what I meant!”

Getting up, Apollo reached for his coat, and begun to slip it on. “Have you talked to anyone else since that day?”

“Ja, Herr Wright and Herr Edgeworth. Neither of them seem to blame me and yet…”

Apollo sighed. “You still feel like you are intruding? You really aren’t. They are probably more concerned about you than I am.”

“H-hey! Is that meant to be a compliment or an insult?”

“Can’t it be both?” Apollo retorted with a grin. “I’m sure if you came to the Agency tomorrow you would be very welcome. As to tonight, I’m sick of counting my ceiling tiles. Let’s go for a drink.”

“… A drink? With you, Herr Forehead?”

Apollo groaned at the teasing tone to Klavier’s voice. “Yes. As friends.”

“… How can I ever thank you?”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Apollo muttered. “You don’t know what going out drinking with me can be like.” He swore if he got carded yet again…

“Okay. You’re on. Meet you at the Hog’s Head?”

“Yeah. Cya soon.”

Ending the call, Apollo picked up his flat keys, and was about to leave, when his eyes fell upon something he had received a few days previously.

Taking his coat off, he removed his current outerwear and slipped the item on over his shirt, before putting his coat back on and leaving.

He couldn’t wait to see Prosecutor Gavin’s face when he removed his coat and revealed that he was wearing a Gavinner’s Christmas jumper.

It was late morning at the Wright Anything Agency when Phoenix finally decided enough was enough and he needed to slip away for a while.

It wasn't that he was fed up of his guests company, quite the opposite in fact, but something had been bugging him all month.

He was sure the others wouldn't miss him for an hour or so - Trucy was excitedly showing Blackquill and Athena some new tricks with the aid of some of the magic props Phoenix had bought her for Christmas - Whilst Prosecutor Gavin was teasing Apollo about Taka making a home in his hair yet again much to Apollo's chagrin.

Smiling fondly for a few more minutes at this precious familiar scene, Phoenix quietly slipped his coat on before heading out of the door and onto his bicycle.

There was someone he had to see.



Edgeworth had had a quiet morning, and was now relaxing on his sofa with a cup of hot cocoa in his hands and Pess by his feet.

He glanced around his decorations with a slight frown. He'd put them up so late that the only people who had seen them had been Gumshoe and Kay. That almost seemed a waste. On the other hand he was no party host, nor did he wish to intrude on any gatherings that had no doubt been planned for weeks.

No, if anything, Edgeworth was just grateful that Larry hadn't tried to 'surprise' him by 'pretending' to be Santa again. He would have thought Larry would have learnt from previous years when he had worn that suit.

Gripping his cup tightly at that thought, Edgeworth went white as a sheet as he remembered that fateful day when he had been accused of Robert Hammond's murder, and all the nightmares about his father's death had increased ten fold in that moment. He remembered his insistence at telling Wright not to accept such a lost cause, and his frustration at his oldest friend doing so anyway, then the guilt as he admitted to his father's murder just as Wright thought he had made him a free man.

At the time he had truly believed that. But it was all lies, likely fuelled by being brought up in the Von Karma household. After that everything fell to pieces and he didn't know what to do anymore.

Which led to him hurting Wright again. This couldn't go on. Both of them had stated that they trusted each other at one time or another, and Edgeworth knew that to logically be the case. However it had taken a long time for Wright to admit needing help regarding losing his badge as well.

Sighing, Edgeworth looked at Pess and stroked behind her ears. "How long has it been now, Girl? It is 2030 now, so I make that... Fourteen years..." He shook his head a little. One year less than it had taken to find the true culprit of the DL-6 incident.

He winced. Why was he still spending this day practically in mourning? Yes it had been a sore spot, but since becoming Chief Prosecutor he had banished the majority of what other demons he still had left. He just could not seem to bring himself to face the others during this time.

It was then he heard his doorbell ring, and it sent his stomach lurching to the floor. If Wright had ignored his wishes and forced everyone upon him he would not be at all pleased with the man.

However as he headed over to the front door and yanked it open, he blinked in surprise as he realised that Wright was the only person present, and was standing with one hand sheepishly behind his head and the other carrying a gift.

"... You are alone?"

"Well... I wasn't going to interrupt the others fun for this, and besides I figured you may not even answer if it was just me, let alone a crowd of people. I needed to..."

As Wright trailed off, Edgeworth gripped his arm and turned to the side a little in embarrassment as he realised the other could see his Christmas display. "I am aware that it is rather over the top for decorations when I am here on my own, but Detective Gumshoe insisted that just the tree would look rather bare." Edgeworth had to admit that the other had been right in that regard, but he wasn't about to say that out loud to Wright of all people.

"Did you get Trucy's present?"

"Hmm? Ah. Yes. My Apologies Wright, I have not yet..."
"Don't apologise. It's fine. We all have months that have sticking points in them yeah?"

Grimacing, Edgeworth stepped back and invited Wright inside. Hesitant as he was to spend company with someone, he could hardly leave him out in the cold to have a conversation such as this. "... Would you like some cocoa?"

"... Thanks, but I should probably get back to the others soon. I didn't exactly tell them I was leaving."

Typical. Edgeworth managed a faint smirk to himself before rejoining Pess on the sofa and looking away uneasily as Wright joined him on the other side.

As the other simply rested a hand on his shoulder after placing the gift on the coffee table, Edgeworth took a few deep breaths. He could tell Wright was waiting for him to be ready, but he wasn't sure he ever would be. "... Who is at your place?" He hesitantly asked.

"Besides the usual? Blackquill and Prosecutor Gavin..."

Edgeworth looked back at him, his grey eyes filled with a mix of emotion. "Prosecutor Gavin came to yours?"

"Yeah, Apollo invited him last night. To tell the truth I don't think Apollo's been one for Christmas that much since..."

"Ah. Yes, of course. My apologies." Edgeworth sighed. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was not the only one who had lost someone around Christmas time. Finally he built up the courage to say what he wished to say. "Wright, do you think me ludicrous?"

"Huh? Depends what you're talking about. I mean that frilly thing-"

"It's a cravat," Edgeworth snapped, before looking down into his cocoa mug. "No, I mean, am I being ridiculous still sitting here on my own on Christmas Day? It's been fourteen years since I was arrested. A further fifteen years on top of that since my Father was murdered. Should I not be over this by now?"

"... I don't think anyone ever gets over the loss of a parent."

Edgeworth blinked at the sincerity to Wright's voice. "I suppose that is logical, but..."

"But nothing. Just look at Athena. From what little I know it sounds like she never got on with her Mother and yet that event and the subsequent trial caused her severe trauma but also formed who she is today. And your past formed who you are today, Edgeworth. Look... I know we've had our ups and downs... but you seem to know who you are now. More so than I do even. I'm just a redeemed disgraced attorney who many probably think should have stopped practicing law by now."

"... Phoenix, you are far more than that," Edgeworth muttered, looking back at the other properly, with a genuine smile on his face. "You have created a very reputable agency with very capable employees, and not only that you have been the father to Trucy that she deserves."

He tensed as the other hugged him. "Wright, it may be Christmas but would you kindly get off!"

As the other let go, Edgeworth felt a slight pang of guilt for shouting at Wright, but as he glanced around his lavishly decorated home, he came up with how he could repay the other. "Did you say Blackquill was at yours?"

"Y-yeah, why?"

"Did he use his car?"

"I think so."

Edgeworth nodded and stood up. "I need to get changed into something more appropriate." Right now he was wearing a black suit as he normally did out of respect for his father, but it was time he fully let go of the past. "In the meantime you can phone Blackquill and get him to bring everyone and the food here. If I am going to be a part of your Christmas celebrations I am not going to have it cooped up in that pigeon hole of a place you call an office when I have an entire empty manor at my disposal."

The look on Wright's face at that made Edgeworth's entire year.

Perhaps it would be a Merry Christmas after all.

Phoenix was not in a good mood. Not only was his back still playing up from being thrown from his bike a few days previously, he had now been woken up in the middle of the night by carol singing.

At least he guessed that was what it was. The screeching could hardly be identified as such but was sure he had heard ‘Wenceslas’ mentioned on at least one occasion.

Glancing at the clock and seeing it was barely 4AM, he groaned. Getting out of bed, he grabbed his dressing gown before heading to the door. The last thing he wanted was for whoever who thought it was funny to sing carols at this unearthly hour to wake Trucy.

Beginning to wonder whether he should have taken the month off and gone to visit Pearls in Kurain, Phoenix opened the front door.

He was going to shout at whoever was singing but then blinked when he realised that it wasn’t just some random stranger. Instead it was someone he knew very well.

“Larry, what are you doing?”

“Hey, Nick! Buddy! Is that any way to greet an old friend? It’s been so long I figured I’d surprise you!”

“At 4AM? With a Christmas Carol?” Phoenix retorted, rubbing his head in irritation.

“… It’s only 4AM? So that’s why it’s still so dark.”

Phoenix gritted his teeth and decided to give Larry the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the other had just returned from somewhere in another time zone? Sighing, he reluctantly stepped back from the door. “Well now you’re here, you might as well come in.”

At least Larry had disturbed him. He did not want to think about what Edgeworth may have done had Larry turned up at his door instead.

The further into the month it got, the more Apollo’s thoughts turned to Clay and what could have been.

He lay down on the grass near the space centre, looking up at the sky. Apollo had not done much stargazing since his best friend was murdered, but it seemed appropriate tonight. He’d thought about waiting until the actual date of his best friend’s death but from the current weather forecast it seemed that there would not be any stars to look at - Clay had always hated such cloudy nights.

Smiling sadly, Apollo shouted out into the night; “I’m Apollo Justice and I’m fine!” His voice cracked a little at the end but he was more sure of that now than he had been the other year.

The other year… Apollo shook his head. It was supposed to be the first time he and Clay didn’t spend Christmas together because the other was going to be in space during it, but he had never got there.

At least Apollo had got to where he wanted to be. Clay hadn’t even had one trip into space.

“… Apollo?”

Jolting out of his thoughts, Apollo glanced sharply up, and only relaxed into an uneasy smile when he realised who it was. “Mr. Starbuck. I was just…”

“Stargazing like you both used to? Yeah, I noticed. I thought you might pop round at some point this month. Why don’t you come down to the centre?”

Apollo hesitated. “I’d only be in the way. It is not as though I understood half the stuff Clay did.”

“I’m not sure I understand half the stuff Clay used to talk about. Come on. I’m sure the others would like to see you as well.”

Forcing an uneasy smile in way of thanks, Apollo nodded and got to his feet.

It was nice that he still felt welcome here.

As Phoenix had been on his own the day he had won his most recent case, he had decided to forgo the tradition of a celebratory meal afterwards.
However he had accidentally let that slip to Athena that morning and had found her and Trucy dragging him and an even more reluctant Apollo along to Eldoons for some noodles.

“Hey. I expected to see you the other day Mr. Wright.”

Phoenix sighed and held the back of his head sheepishly with a forced grin. “Yeah, sorry about that. Weather wasn’t that great and I’d already fallen off my bike once. And hey I bought more people with me today so that’s got to be better for business right?”

He relaxed as he saw Eldoon seemed happy about that answer, and he sat down with the others to wait for the noodles.

“You’re in luck actually. I’ve just started my Christmas special noodles!”

Christmas special? Phoenix frowned in thought. Did they have some form of christmassy like spice on it? Or the scent of spruce trees or something? Eldoon didn’t seem to be forthcoming with any more information.

Receiving his bowl, Phoenix muttered his thanks and dug into it.

He immediately bit back a cough and tried not to wince.

Extra Salt. Of course.

Trucy was overjoyed at how her magic show had gone this time. For once everything had gone to plan, and Apollo had made a good - if extremely reluctant - assistant.
However there was one thing still bothering her, as she headed out of the auditorium and into the foyer to find her daddy and Athena.

“Trucy, that was great!”

Trucy smiled uneasily at Athena’s enthusiasm, it only becoming more genuine when she heard Widget literally let out a whoop of joy along with it. She glanced away as she realised her father was looking at her, lost in thought.

“Trucy? Is everything alright? The show was great! If any thing went wrong it wasn’t something anyone noticed!”

She swallowed hard, knowing the other was just trying to cheer her up. She smiled her brightest smile at him in reassurance. “No, nothing went wrong, Daddy! Everything was perfect…. well…” she tapped her finger on her cheek in thought, “Polly could have been more enthusiastic and less scared, but the audience do seem to like it so perhaps I’ll leave it as it is.”

“You are not sawing me in half again!”

Trucy turned and grinned, hitting her hat with her hand. “Sure, Polly. You say that now. But quite clearly the crowd loved you. I’m thinking of increasing that part of the act.”

The look on the other’s face was almost enough to make Trucy forget about what was on her mind, but not quite. Instead she turned to her father with a thoughtful expression. She tried to ask what was bugging her in a tone that suggested that it didn’t matter. “Daddy, I was wondering…”

“Yes sweetheart?”

“Where’s Uncle Edgeworth? Was he too busy this time? Or visiting family?”

She frowned as her father’s entire demeanour changed. Gone was his smile and laid back poise, instead replaced with an uneasy smile and a very tense pose.

“It doesn’t matter!” she quickly blurted out. “I just wondered is all. It’s not like I expect him to come to every show after all.”

“Trucy…. December is not a good month for Edgeworth.”

Trucy looked at him oddly. “You mean he’s one of those people who don’t like Christmas?” She’d never understood that mentality personally.

“In a way, yeah, I guess. But he actually has a reason not to like it.”

“Then that would have been even more reason to come today! To forget that reason!” Trucy huffed, hands on her hips. She frowned a little as she noticed Athena and Apollo had left them on their own. Perhaps Athena had read something in her daddy’s emotions? “… Daddy? What’s going on?”

She tensed further as her father sighed and knelt down beside her before hugging her. “If I’ve said something I shouldn’t…”

“No, Truce. You had no way of knowing. Edgeworth, he… he lost someone at this time of year. At Christmas itself to be exact. That’s all you need to know.”

Trucy nodded slowly. She could tell that her father’s answer was the vaguest he could possibly make it without keeping her completely in the dark, but judging by how upset he seemed, she decided that it wasn’t worth prying any further. Besides which if he was respecting Uncle Edgeworth’s wishes then she understood that as well.

“Can I at least post him something?”

“Yes, Truce. I think he’d like that.”

Happier with that answer, Trucy helped her daddy back to his feet and headed out of the theatre with him to find Apollo and Athena.

Now all she had to do was work out what gift to get Uncle Edgeworth.

Christmas music filled the air of the corridors between the prison cells. For once the mood there was more light than usual.
That was apart from in one particular cell.

Hearing more of the music, Kristoph gripped tightly at the book he was reading, the spine threatening to rip under his pressure.

The celebration of Christmas seemed most illogical at the best of times, but in here Kristoph could not fathom the point at all.

Putting his book down, he stood up and instead reached for his violin. He started to play a classical Christmas tune. If he could not stop them from playing that dire pop music then he could at least attempt to drown it out.

As he played, his thoughts turned to Wright, Justice, and Klavier. The music got harsher as he played faster and faster. He could have had it all, but people were always getting in the way.

If he ever saw another deck of cards it would be too soon.

Phoenix was happy in a way that he did not have any cases right now. December cases had a habit of bringing up unpleasant memories for people he knew. Athena and Trucy had dragged Apollo Christmas shopping and as such he was in the Agency on his own for once. He smiled softly to himself as he adjusted a couple of the decorations on the Christmas Tree - no doubt Trucy would change it again later but for now he was happy that it looked less of a mish-mash.
He then moved over to Charley and watered him, shaking his head a little as he thought back to the past. So much had happened since he first started working at the Fey & Co Law Offices but through it all the plant had been the one constant. Phoenix wondered how it continued to thrive after so long. Even throughout his disbarment he had somehow managed to keep this plant alive. Perhaps because it was the only proper connection he still had to Mia at that stage. His smile faltered a little. Those seven years away from law… he was not sure what he would have done had it not been for Trucy, his light in the darkness.

Fortunately his unsettling thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Heading quickly over to it he pulled it open. About to ask what they wanted, Phoenix froze when he realised who it was, all thoughts evaporating from his head. Eventually he managed to choke out through the uneasy silence, “Apollo isn’t here right now…”

“Ja. I know. I saw them leave.”

Phoenix tried to force a smile back onto his face but he could not help but feel a little unsettled by Prosecutor Gavin turning up at his door. “Then you wanted to see me? Are you in trouble?”

“What? N-nein, Herr Wright. I’m not in trouble.”

Chuckling nervously, Phoenix offered for the other to step inside. “Good. I’m not sure I could have taken another December trial fraught with emotion.”

“… The Phantom case?”

Phoenix winced as the other sat down on the sofa, and hesitantly joined him. “Yes, that’s one of the ones I mean.” That was vague enough, he decided. He doubted Edgeworth would be best pleased if he started talking about the Gourd Lake case to one of his prosecutors. “So, if you’re not in trouble, what can I do for you?”

“Ach… I… look… this is years too late and gott knows I don’t deserve to even talk to you after all that happened… but… I’m sorry for everything. Getting you disbarred, believing that you had -“

Sighing, Phoenix held up his hand to stop the other from speaking. “You believed the evidence that you had been given. Look, Prosecutor Gavin, if I had believed you had had anything to do with the framing of myself with that forged evidence I would not have picked you for the jurist trial. Nobody’s perfect… despite what Ms Von Karma may tell you.”

He relaxed as he heard Prosecutor Gavin chuckle a little at his slight jab, but he could still see some uncertainty in the other’s eyes. “Prosecutor Gavin?”

“… Why did you? Why did you pick me for the jurist trial? There were more experienced prosecutors and doubtless ones you trusted more, nein?”

“Trusted more? Not in the country. And experience never should have entered into it. I was too cocky in our first trial, just because you were new, and I paid for that. I should have taken you more seriously, though I guess that wouldn’t have helped due to that evidence.”

“Ach… I…”

“Let me finish,” Phoenix hastily interrupted, before the other could get upset again. “I asked you to be the Prosecutor for that jurist trial not only because I knew you were after the truth and knew how you and Apollo worked together would be a positive indication as to how well the jurist system would work, but also because I doubted you would believe me if I just outright told you that Kristoph Gavin was behind my disbarment. You had to get to that truth yourself. I know what it is like to be betrayed by someone you thought you could trust with your life. Look up Dahlia Hawthorne in the case files sometime if you do not believe me.”

“Ach. Herr Wright. I am not sure Kris ever saw me as anything but a nuisance but danke all the same. I… went to see him the other week…”

Phoenix’s eyes darkened a little at that. “That probably was not a good idea. I’m guessing that’s why Athena picked up distress from her mood matrix at your concert the other day?”

“Ja. But Herr Forehead talked to me and… and that’s when I decided I needed to do this. It may be far too late and not enough, but… I am sorry, Herr Wright.”

Phoenix smiled softly and reached a hand out to Prosecutor Gavin. “It never needed to be said. I’ve known what kind of person you are for a while now. And if you still don’t believe that we can get on, then ask Edgeworth about the past. He knows I would never give up on someone who I believe to be a good person at heart.”

About to shake Prosecutor Gavin’s hand, Phoenix paused as the other looked up at the ceiling, and he took a look up as well. He blinked in surprise.

Mistletoe. Put there by Trucy no doubt. He would have to have a word with her later.

“Um… ach… Herr Wright… you don’t have to…”

Phoenix smiled softly. Instead of going for the handshake he had originally planned, he hugged Klavier and placed a kiss on top of his head like he would do to Trucy when she was upset.

“Merry Christmas, Prosecutor Gavin.”

“Merry Christmas, Herr Wright.”

Apollo had tried to say he wouldn’t go with them today, really not in the mood for any form of road trip, but for some reason Trucy had insisted that Pearl would be really upset if he didn’t go with the Wrights to Kurain Village. Apollo really could not fathom why - the times when he had seen Pearl before he’d either been left behind at the office or had been investigating on his own because he suspected someone of being involved with Clay’s murder.
No, it was more likely that Trucy would have been upset had he not gone with them, and yet he did not recall his bracelet reacting to her statement that it was Pearl who insisted that he be there.

As they got off the train and walked up to the village, Apollo had an unsettling feeling in his stomach. The over-the-top Christmas lights display reminded him of how Clay used to insist that it was the best way to celebrate the holidays. He was also surprised that Pearl had not been there to greet them, and instead they were told by one of the students to head into the summoning chamber.

Summoning chamber, really as if anyone could really - Apollo’s thoughts cut off as Pearl, or rather Clay in Pearl’s body, waved at him.

Apollo turned sharply to Mr. Wright and glared at him. “Is this your idea of a joke?”

“No it’s no joke. Apollo, I… maybe I should have asked, but when I talked about Christmas gifts the other year you seemed to imply that the only thing you wanted was to see Clay again. This is real Apollo I promise you, I’ve seen this enough times to tell you it is genuine. Look, go talk to him. I’ll leave you two in peace. You can hit me later if it goes wrong yeah?”

Sighing as Mr. Wright left, Apollo hesitantly approached the robed figure. “Clay? Is that really you?”

“Course it’s me, ‘Pollo, I know I must look weird in this getup, but you must recognise your best friend!”

Hearing Clay speak, albeit through Pearl’s form, all the irritation he had felt at being forced into this situation evaporated. Running over to him, he pulled Clay into a tight hug as tears started to stream down his face. “… I missed you…”

“Yeah. I missed you too.”

Edgeworth was getting ready for work when his doorbell rang. He almost considered ignoring it - he was in no mood for carol singers or listening to some sales pitch and he certainly was not at home to anyone who would try to get him to ‘embrace’ the Christmas spirit.

However, hearing Pess bark at the door gave him the indication that this was likely the postman. Which troubled him somewhat as he had not ordered anything. Perhaps it was a new postman worried that his dog would bite his hand off? Which was ludicrous - Pess had never bitten anyone.

Sighing, Edgeworth opened his front door and was surprised when he saw his regular postman. “Good Morning,” he muttered before taking the parcel he was holding out to him with a puzzled expression.

“Weren’t expecting any presents in the post?”

Edgeworth sighed. “Evidently not. Have a good day.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“… Same to you,” Edgeworth mumbled under his breath before closing the door. Sighing he was about to put the parcel and card down on the table when he noticed the gift tag on the present was addressed to ‘Uncle Edgeworth’.

So this was from Trucy? A twinge of guilt wracked through his body. He had largely been avoiding the Wright Anything Agency due to the memories this time of year bought him, but that really was not fair on her. He trusted Wright enough to know that he would not have told his daughter about Edgeworth’s past.

Opening the Christmas Card, Edgeworth’s thoughts were proved correct as he could tell from what she had said that Wright had said that someone had been lost at this time of year, no more, no less.

Smiling softly, he put the card up on his mantlepiece before grabbing his car keys and heading off to work.

Perhaps it was time.

Phoenix jabbed at his phone’s keypad for the fifteenth time in the past few minutes. Nothing seemed to be responding properly. Sighing he put it down and went back to his paperwork, only looking up when Apollo came into the office.
“If you need me to take the girls shopping again or to be an assistant for Trucy then I am going back to -“

“No, I need your help,” Phoenix interrupted him, feeling a little guilty when the other came over to him - Apollo had clearly been expecting some law work.

“So what’s the case?”

“The case is, I can’t get this blasted phone to work. Half the keys don’t respond and those that do are giving me the wrong letters.”

“Mr. Wright…”

Phoenix held the back of his head sheepishly with an apologetic smile on his face as he looked at Apollo whose hair had folded down, his features laced with irritation. “Yeah, Apollo?”

“I’m getting you a new phone for Christmas and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Swallowing hard, Phoenix nodded.

Maybe asking Apollo about this hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.

Edgeworth rubbed at his head as he heard faint music from elsewhere in the building. He had been assured that Prosecutor Gavin’s office was sound proofed. However it was Christmas music and he wasn’t one to begrudge his employees the pleasure of listening to whatever they wished - as long as their productivity did not suffer.

The problem was this music was rather shrill in tone and seemed to be coming from an office very near to his own.

Getting out from behind his desk and heading out of his office, Edgeworth was rather surprised when he found the sound had led him to Prosecutor Blackquill’s office - the other had not struck him as one to indulge in the Christmas spirit in this manner.

However as he knocked on the door, and entered when given permission to, he couldn’t help a small smirk form on his lips as he realised what was going on.

Taka was the one singing the Christmas Tunes.

Trucy opened the door to the Wright Anything Agency Offices and let out a loud scream.

She forced a smile as Apollo and Athena came running and asked her whether everything was okay. “I-I’m fine! This just startled me is all! If you’re going to redecorate you should run it past me first!”

“… Huh? I haven’t had time to do any decorating, Trucy. Besides wouldn’t Mr. Wright have been the one to clear… what the hell?!”

Apollo’s reaction to seeing the monstrosity of a Christmas scene painted on one of the office walls was nearly enough to make Trucy start laughing, but truth be told this was kind of beginning to creep her out.

The painting in question appeared to depict her magic box being used as a sleigh and it was being pulled by Uncle Edgeworth and her Daddy. What she assumed was meant to be herself, Athena, and Apollo, seemed to be hiding inside the box itself and it seemed to be being driven by someone in a Father Christmas costume that seemed oddly familiar.

As she tried to think of what to say, she turned as she heard a resigned sigh and forced a smile as she saw her daddy rubbing his head in irritation. “Daddy? Do you know anything about this um… this mural?”

“Yes, unfortunately. I received a text from your Uncle Larry this morning. Saying he’d a great surprise for me. This must have been it.”

At that, Trucy started laughing.

Edgeworth glanced around his living room, lost in thought. After receiving Trucy’s present it had given him a push into moving on properly but the idea of putting Christmas Decorations up after so many years of trying to ignore those few days entirely still filled him with some trepidation.
And yet the few Christmas cards he had received, that were sitting on his mantlepiece, looked rather lonely in his large room.

As Pess barked at the boxes he had bought in with him, Edgeworth managed a small, sad, smile. It would be illogical to not use the decorations now that he had bought them.

After unpacking the items, it was then that Edgeworth realised that the large Christmas tree he had bought meant climbing a ladder to put some of the decorations onto it.

Putting a hand to his head briefly, he sighed in resignation and reluctantly got his mobile phone out, dialling a number that he had not for a long time.

“Hello, Gumshoe? I have a job for you…”

And that was how Dick Gumshoe and Miles Edgeworth spent all of Sunday putting decorations up together.

Ema glanced over at the city square’s Christmas Tree, a faint smile on her face. It felt weird to be back here again, and now with her full qualifications as a forensic investigator

It had taken her far longer than she had wanted to get to this point in her life, but she was glad that she had bothered to go back to her education after all.

Once Mr. Wright’s name had been cleared of the forgery there hadn’t seemed to be any reason for her to stick around and get more and more irritated with Prosecutor Gavin’s behaviour - though she suspected like herself he probably would have wanted to disappear for a while after the Misham Trial anyway.

Things had been tough since she had returned and working for Prosecutor Sahdmadhi had been… different to say the least.

As she glanced down again at the square and saw Athena and Trucy waving to her, her expression broke into a genuine smile.

For once it felt like she was home.

Phoenix was watching Athena and Trucy Christmas shopping with a small smile on his face. He had decided to come this time, even though he was surprised that either of them still had shopping to do by this point. However he was hanging back as Trucy had demanded he not get in the way which probably only meant one thing:

She hadn’t got a present for him yet.

Shaking his head, Phoenix went to turn and head into a nearby shop with the plan of getting Edgeworth something in order to have an excuse to go check on how he was in the next few days. Instead he ran headfirst into a security guard. “Ahem, sorry, I -“

“You whippersnappers are all the same! All caught up in the Christmas rush, your head so full of nonsensical magical thoughts that you don’t pay attention to anyone around you. Christmas doesn’t make itself you know! I bet you never give a second thought to the people who cooked Christmas dinner and spent forever picking out the perfect gifts for you or had to remind you to send thank you cards to other relatives. You’re all so ungrateful. Back in my day we were glad if we got…”

Phoenix did not hear the end of her rant, instead quickly turning and heading back in the opposite direction.

It may be the season of goodwill to all, but Wendy Oldbag is, and probably always will be, impossible to talk to.

Apollo approached the office Advent calendar with some trepidation. It had been Athena’s idea to set one up but he was sure Trucy had had some input into what went into it as well as Mr. Wright. They also seemed to know what days people should open, seeing as this was a joint advent calendar.

“Why doesn’t someone else take this day?”

“Oh come on Apollo, it’s just a bit of fun!”

“Yeah, Polly! Besides it’s Christmas, would I really put a trap in there?”

Apollo’s hair drooped. He wouldn’t put it past Trucy to do exactly that but at the girls’ insistence that he needed to open this day he rolled his eyes and opened the door.

His expression turned to a scowl as he took the item out, and let out a resigned sigh before turning around to face the girls. “Okay, which of you is responsible for this?”

He didn’t care how cold it got. There was no way he was wearing a Christmas jumper with the Gavinner’s logo on it.

However, as Mr. Wright held up his bottle of grape juice scented aftershave from the day before, Apollo couldn’t help but break into a grin.

It was… nice, in a way, that they all felt comfortable enough to make jokes such as this.

But he still wasn’t wearing the jumper.

That fanart of Klavier and Apollo in the snow and Apollo is wearing a Gavinners scarf

Edgeworth awoke to a clattering noise downstairs. He groaned, putting a hand to his head. “Pess if you have knocked the tree over aga-“ he cut off as he heard a bark and realised that Pess was laying at the end of his bed.
Now worried, he got out of the bed, and put his slippers on before heading downstairs.

“Stupid tree! You’ll regret the day you tried to mess with the great Yatagarasu!”

Relaxing as he heard this, Edgeworth folded his arms and coughed loudly. “Kay. Why are you breaking into my house in the middle of the night? I am Chief Prosecutor. I should not really overlook -“ He cut off as Kay grappled him into a hug. “Ngh! What do you think you are doing?!”

“I’ve not seen you in forever! I thought you’d forgotten about me again! Besides, it’s not my fault you have been avoiding everyone at the office this whole month. Why have you been doing that anyway?”

“That is a long story,” Edgeworth muttered, glancing away, but then felt guilty as he did so. Like him Kay had lost her father to a murderer at an early age. If anyone would understand it would logically be her.

That was how, for the first time in years, Edgeworth found himself telling someone else about the DL6 incident.

To tell the truth, talking with Kay was making him feel a little better.

Klavier watched Vongole chase excitably after a ball with an odd expression on his face. Even after all this time he still wasn’t sure what to think of looking after Kristoph’s dog, but at the same time he had never had the heart to let her go into a kennel, or for Kristoph to demand his own arrangements.
After all he had bought Vongole for Kristoph as a Christmas present many years ago, not that the other seemed to even remember that gesture.

Had they ever even been friends? He wasn’t sure he knew who his supposed brother was anymore.

“Prosecutor Gavin?”

Startled, Klavier looked sharply up. He had not expected anyone else to be in the park this late at night, and certainly not on one of the coldest nights of the year. However as he saw who it was he forced his usual dazzling smile onto his face. “Herr Edgeworth. It’s good to see you. You’ve been missed at the Prosecutor’s office the past couple of days.”

“I am sure I do not need to tell you that sometimes we have our reasons for pulling away from work for a while, even I.”

Klavier bit his lip. “Ja, but you haven’t exactly been at home to anyone all month, even when you have been in the office…”

“It is nothing to concern yourself over, though if you had need to talk to me and you felt unwelcome then I apologise. It was not my intention to completely isolate myself.”

Not sure whether he bought that or not, Klavier instead turned his attention to the small dog that Edgeworth had with him. “So this is Pess, ja?”

“… Verily, ergo. And I take it that bundle of energy bashing your arm with a ball in her mouth is Vongole?”

Klavier chuckled. “Ja. Why don’t we let them play together for a bit?”

He flinched when he saw the hesitancy in Edgeworth’s eyes, and he looked away, fiddling with his fringe. “Ach… so you know this used to be Kris’ dog? Don’t worry, I’ve retrained her. She’s no longer like a rose bush.”

Klavier was relieved when that seemed to satisfy Edgeworth, and he watched as the other let Pess off her leash to go and play with Vongole.

However, he was surprised when Edgeworth took a seat beside him on the bench and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Herr Edgeworth? Sir?”

“You do not need to apologise for your brother’s actions. They were his, and his alone. You should also not feel hesitant to talk to myself if there is something bothering you. Yes, Wright and I go back a long way, but it is not without its own share of tragedy.”

Klavier chuckled uneasily. “You’re beginning to sound like him. I went to see him the other week and he said that despite what Ms. Von Karma says, nobody is perfect…”

“Humph. He has a point I suppose, though I would not recommend talking of that line of thought in front of Franziska.”

Nodding, Klavier broke into a more relaxed smile, but his eyes held an unasked question.

“Prosecutor Gavin?”

Taking a deep breath, Klavier muttered, “Herr Wright also said that if I did not still believe we could be friends, that you had proof that he never gives up on someone who he believes is a good person at heart…”

They spent the rest of their evening watching Pess and Vongole play together, and discussing just what Phoenix had meant.

It was that moment that Klavier realised how much he really related to his boss.

It was the evening of Christmas Eve, and Apollo was laying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. He missed the times when he would have spent today with Clay, often watching some old naff movie or another that they would rip to shreds.
Instead he was spending Christmas Eve alone. Trucy and Mr. Wright had suggested he go with them, but his heart just wasn’t in it tonight. They’d already spent a lot of time together and he felt like he was intruding, especially with Athena spending time with Blackquill today.

He was startled out of his thoughts by his phone ringing. Seeing the contact details, Apollo’s stomach lurched with dread. Why was Prosecutor Gavin calling him tonight of all nights?! Please, God, no more…

Hastily he hit the accept button on his phone and raised it to his ear. “Prosecutor Gavin? What’s going on? Is someone hurt?!”

“Ach… es tu mir lied. I knew this was a bad idea. Everything is fine, Herr Forehead…”

Apollo frowned at the tone to the other’s voice, for it didn't sound like he was okay. However he decided to pay that no heed for now. “What did you want, Prosecutor Gavin?”

“I… uh… wanted to know what you thought about my gift…”

Blinking, Apollo glanced across to the tree in his living room, which he could just see through the crack in his bedroom door, where the Prosecutor’s present to him was still laying wrapped under the tree. “… One that’s a strange question to ask and a bit egotistical,” Apollo muttered in irritation, “and two it is only Christmas Eve. If you wanted me to open it whilst you were present you could have just said when you first handed it to me!”

“…”

Apollo sat up, frowning with worry at the silence from the other end of the line. Sighing he put a finger to his forehead in thought. “Prosecutor Gavin? Look, I’m sorry. As I said at the time you really didn’t need to -“

“Ach, nein. If anyone should be apologising it is me. In Germany we opened our presents Christmas Eve, ja?”

Rolling his eyes, Apollo couldn’t help but smile a little. “Prosecutor Gavin, you were only there studying for a couple of years, right?”

“When in Rome do as the Romans do, ja?”

Hearing Klavier end that sentence with a hearty chuckle, Apollo managed to relax. Truthfully the way this conversation had been going was concerning him. “But we aren’t in Rome. I’ll open it tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave you in peace. M-“

“Wait!” Apollo hastily interrupted, holding his bracelet with his spare hand. “Okay, enough is enough, why did you really call?”

“… I didn’t know who else to phone…”

Blinking, Apollo lay back down on his bed, and looked back at the ceiling. “So you thought you’d annoy a poor defenceless defence attorney?”

“N-nein! Look if you want me to hang up I can just…”

Apollo sighed. He had been trying to lighten the mood but that just seemed to have made matters worse. “How do you normally spend Christmas Eve?”

“… Huh?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Prosecutor Gavin,” Apollo muttered.

“… With the Gavinners, back when we were together at least…”

Apollo winced. “And more recently?”

“… I haven’t felt much like celebrating Christmas these past few years, Herr Forehead. My so called Bruder and so called best friend are in prison for murder, and my most respected teacher from Themis is dead.”

“I haven’t really felt much in the Christmas spirit myself in recent years,” Apollo pointed out, his voice now far softer. “But I still spent time with friends and relations. No one should be alone on Christmas.”

“… But I don’t have any friends, Herr Forehead. At least not ones where I wouldn’t feel like a spare wheel these days. Perhaps, Kris-“

Apollo sat bolt upright, his grip tightening on the phone. “No. Klavier you listen to me. Do not start that nonsense again. Mr. Gavin did not know what he was talking about that day. Have you already forgotten what I told you after your concert?”

“Nein, but… you’re different Herr Forehead. And no doubt you have other plans…”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m laying on my bed at 8pm on Christmas Eve, talking to you on the phone,” Apollo deadpanned.

“Es tu mir lied. But you know that’s not what I meant!”

Getting up, Apollo reached for his coat, and begun to slip it on. “Have you talked to anyone else since that day?”

“Ja, Herr Wright and Herr Edgeworth. Neither of them seem to blame me and yet…”

Apollo sighed. “You still feel like you are intruding? You really aren’t. They are probably more concerned about you than I am.”

“H-hey! Is that meant to be a compliment or an insult?”

“Can’t it be both?” Apollo retorted with a grin. “I’m sure if you came to the Agency tomorrow you would be very welcome. As to tonight, I’m sick of counting my ceiling tiles. Let’s go for a drink.”

“… A drink? With you, Herr Forehead?”

Apollo groaned at the teasing tone to Klavier’s voice. “Yes. As friends.”

“… How can I ever thank you?”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Apollo muttered. “You don’t know what going out drinking with me can be like.” He swore if he got carded yet again…

“Okay. You’re on. Meet you at the Hog’s Head?”

“Yeah. Cya soon.”

Ending the call, Apollo picked up his flat keys, and was about to leave, when his eyes fell upon something he had received a few days previously.

Taking his coat off, he removed his current outerwear and slipped the item on over his shirt, before putting his coat back on and leaving.

He couldn’t wait to see Prosecutor Gavin’s face when he removed his coat and revealed that he was wearing a Gavinner’s Christmas jumper.

It was late morning at the Wright Anything Agency when Phoenix finally decided enough was enough and he needed to slip away for a while.

It wasn't that he was fed up of his guests company, quite the opposite in fact, but something had been bugging him all month.

He was sure the others wouldn't miss him for an hour or so - Trucy was excitedly showing Blackquill and Athena some new tricks with the aid of some of the magic props Phoenix had bought her for Christmas - Whilst Prosecutor Gavin was teasing Apollo about Taka making a home in his hair yet again much to Apollo's chagrin.

Smiling fondly for a few more minutes at this precious familiar scene, Phoenix quietly slipped his coat on before heading out of the door and onto his bicycle.

There was someone he had to see.



Edgeworth had had a quiet morning, and was now relaxing on his sofa with a cup of hot cocoa in his hands and Pess by his feet.

He glanced around his decorations with a slight frown. He'd put them up so late that the only people who had seen them had been Gumshoe and Kay. That almost seemed a waste. On the other hand he was no party host, nor did he wish to intrude on any gatherings that had no doubt been planned for weeks.

No, if anything, Edgeworth was just grateful that Larry hadn't tried to 'surprise' him by 'pretending' to be Santa again. He would have thought Larry would have learnt from previous years when he had worn that suit.

Gripping his cup tightly at that thought, Edgeworth went white as a sheet as he remembered that fateful day when he had been accused of Robert Hammond's murder, and all the nightmares about his father's death had increased ten fold in that moment. He remembered his insistence at telling Wright not to accept such a lost cause, and his frustration at his oldest friend doing so anyway, then the guilt as he admitted to his father's murder just as Wright thought he had made him a free man.

At the time he had truly believed that. But it was all lies, likely fuelled by being brought up in the Von Karma household. After that everything fell to pieces and he didn't know what to do anymore.

Which led to him hurting Wright again. This couldn't go on. Both of them had stated that they trusted each other at one time or another, and Edgeworth knew that to logically be the case. However it had taken a long time for Wright to admit needing help regarding losing his badge as well.

Sighing, Edgeworth looked at Pess and stroked behind her ears. "How long has it been now, Girl? It is 2030 now, so I make that... Fourteen years..." He shook his head a little. One year less than it had taken to find the true culprit of the DL-6 incident.

He winced. Why was he still spending this day practically in mourning? Yes it had been a sore spot, but since becoming Chief Prosecutor he had banished the majority of what other demons he still had left. He just could not seem to bring himself to face the others during this time.

It was then he heard his doorbell ring, and it sent his stomach lurching to the floor. If Wright had ignored his wishes and forced everyone upon him he would not be at all pleased with the man.

However as he headed over to the front door and yanked it open, he blinked in surprise as he realised that Wright was the only person present, and was standing with one hand sheepishly behind his head and the other carrying a gift.

"... You are alone?"

"Well... I wasn't going to interrupt the others fun for this, and besides I figured you may not even answer if it was just me, let alone a crowd of people. I needed to..."

As Wright trailed off, Edgeworth gripped his arm and turned to the side a little in embarrassment as he realised the other could see his Christmas display. "I am aware that it is rather over the top for decorations when I am here on my own, but Detective Gumshoe insisted that just the tree would look rather bare." Edgeworth had to admit that the other had been right in that regard, but he wasn't about to say that out loud to Wright of all people.

"Did you get Trucy's present?"

"Hmm? Ah. Yes. My Apologies Wright, I have not yet..."
"Don't apologise. It's fine. We all have months that have sticking points in them yeah?"

Grimacing, Edgeworth stepped back and invited Wright inside. Hesitant as he was to spend company with someone, he could hardly leave him out in the cold to have a conversation such as this. "... Would you like some cocoa?"

"... Thanks, but I should probably get back to the others soon. I didn't exactly tell them I was leaving."

Typical. Edgeworth managed a faint smirk to himself before rejoining Pess on the sofa and looking away uneasily as Wright joined him on the other side.

As the other simply rested a hand on his shoulder after placing the gift on the coffee table, Edgeworth took a few deep breaths. He could tell Wright was waiting for him to be ready, but he wasn't sure he ever would be. "... Who is at your place?" He hesitantly asked.

"Besides the usual? Blackquill and Prosecutor Gavin..."

Edgeworth looked back at him, his grey eyes filled with a mix of emotion. "Prosecutor Gavin came to yours?"

"Yeah, Apollo invited him last night. To tell the truth I don't think Apollo's been one for Christmas that much since..."

"Ah. Yes, of course. My apologies." Edgeworth sighed. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was not the only one who had lost someone around Christmas time. Finally he built up the courage to say what he wished to say. "Wright, do you think me ludicrous?"

"Huh? Depends what you're talking about. I mean that frilly thing-"

"It's a cravat," Edgeworth snapped, before looking down into his cocoa mug. "No, I mean, am I being ridiculous still sitting here on my own on Christmas Day? It's been fourteen years since I was arrested. A further fifteen years on top of that since my Father was murdered. Should I not be over this by now?"

"... I don't think anyone ever gets over the loss of a parent."

Edgeworth blinked at the sincerity to Wright's voice. "I suppose that is logical, but..."

"But nothing. Just look at Athena. From what little I know it sounds like she never got on with her Mother and yet that event and the subsequent trial caused her severe trauma but also formed who she is today. And your past formed who you are today, Edgeworth. Look... I know we've had our ups and downs... but you seem to know who you are now. More so than I do even. I'm just a redeemed disgraced attorney who many probably think should have stopped practicing law by now."

"... Phoenix, you are far more than that," Edgeworth muttered, looking back at the other properly, with a genuine smile on his face. "You have created a very reputable agency with very capable employees, and not only that you have been the father to Trucy that she deserves."

He tensed as the other hugged him. "Wright, it may be Christmas but would you kindly get off!"

As the other let go, Edgeworth felt a slight pang of guilt for shouting at Wright, but as he glanced around his lavishly decorated home, he came up with how he could repay the other. "Did you say Blackquill was at yours?"

"Y-yeah, why?"

"Did he use his car?"

"I think so."

Edgeworth nodded and stood up. "I need to get changed into something more appropriate." Right now he was wearing a black suit as he normally did out of respect for his father, but it was time he fully let go of the past. "In the meantime you can phone Blackquill and get him to bring everyone and the food here. If I am going to be a part of your Christmas celebrations I am not going to have it cooped up in that pigeon hole of a place you call an office when I have an entire empty manor at my disposal."

The look on Wright's face at that made Edgeworth's entire year.

Perhaps it would be a Merry Christmas after all.