Work Text:
Simon Blackquill did not appreciate the DMV.
In the years since his incarceration, technology had kept moving forward; the majority of the system was now online, with permits and lisences mailed to the address listed. But that did not make it more operational, and the inconvenient and annoying permit test had been loading on his laptop for so long he had lost count of the minutes.
Seven months after his release from prison, Simon was...making progress. While he was one of the first to realize his background in psychology could be an asset in the re-adjustment process, as so often happened, real life had more variables than the theory. He still had nightmares--he still forgot where he was when he woke up sometimes--but the frequency with which he convinced himself that this freedom was simply a dream had noticeably decreased. He had Taka, and his own apartment; sparsely furnished, but his nevertheless. Athena and Juniper wanted to come over, and Simon was frankly waiting for Klavier to invite himself.
He was startled out of his reverie as his phone buzzed, blissfully distracting him from both his own thoughts and the infuriatingly "advanced" technology. He glanced at the screen; one message from Athena.
Simon! Mr. Wright and Polly won their case!
The Ruth Seller case?
I would like to hear how they finagled their way out of that one.
AWESOME! then come over!
Now?
yeah! we're having a bunch of people over to celebrate!
even mia and miss von karma are coming!
On such short notice? Unprecedented...
right?! so you should totally come over
you and vk can talk about attacking your defense attorneys
we already got Eldoon's so you don't need to worry!
Simon blinked at his phone, glancing between it and his still white computer screen. He should really stay home and finish this--the stares on buses were becoming both less frequent and easier to ignore, but having a car would much improve the quality of his commute.
You can expect me in approxiamatley twenty-five minutes.
awesome!
hey, so when are you going to get your driver's lisence?
He paused in the middle of standing up, wondering for a moment how far Athena's hearing really reached.
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Approxiamatley twenty minutes later, Simon Blackquill walked into the offices of the Wright Anything Agency. He vaugely wondered when he had learned the route by heart; the air conditioning that met him sent chills up his arms after the pleasant July night.
"Hi Simon!" Athena waved from the floor, then turned back to where Trucy appeared to be showing her and Pearls a new scarf trick--or card trick? Maybe a combination of both. His area was not magic, as Trucy's brand-new card deck reminded him. He strolled over, watching her work.
"Hey, look who the cat dragged in," Justice waved ruefully from his squished position on the couch. "You're not wearing your surcoat? I thought you slept in that thing".
"Justice-dono," Simon nodded simply. "Just as you do not wear fire engine red constantly".
"I think that's one's debatable." Justice grinned, receiving a raised eyebrow in return.
Klavier seemed too involved in a blue-and-red painted ukelele to notice someone new in the room, so Simon simply nodded to the group of four in a semicircle of mismatched chairs on his way to the obligatory office water cooler, deftly avoiding a new stack of papers. Heading back with a full cup, he planted himself on a worn ottoman across from the sofa, in optimal view of most other members of the party. Klavier glanced up; they nodded at each other, and then he went back to fiddling with the ukelele. Simon let out a breath he was not concious of holding and forced himself to slouch, leaning his elbows on his knees and dangling his cup of water. He made it a priority to relax his posture whenever he could, for both his physical and mental health.
Simon surveyed the room. Justice was dozing off, his legs tangled with Klavier's. Athena was walking Trucy and Pearl through the American Sign Language fingerspelling alphabet (though Pearl sudenly seemed more interested in the conversation Wright was having), and Simon had a sudden memory of doing the same with a smaller and more timid version of the young woman enthusiastically gesturing before him. He caught fragments of the older contigent reminiscing; Edgeworth--Miles?--was detailing the legal side of a case, while Wright interjected ("Oh Edgey~~~" "Be quiet!") with his own commentary. He noticed the look on Miss Von Karma's face as she looked at Miss Fey and was astonished, for a second, that she could look at anything that tenderly; then berated himself for being the last person who should think like that. Wright gained some volume, waving his hands as he proved some point, nearly knocking off Miles'--Edgeworth's?--glasses, making the two women roll their eyes. Trucy had hopped up with a flourish, producing a string of scarves from underneath her cape, which Athena and Pearl clapped enthusiastically for. In the midst of all the noise, Justice had somehow fallen asleep, which Klavier looked less than pleased with; he set the ukelele down on a stack of books and leaned over to nudge him.
Suddenly Klavier was rolling off the sofa, landing with a loud THUMP--and Simon felt the skin around his eyes crinkle as he let out a rumbling laugh.
The moment fizzled as he realized that everyone in the room was staring at him.
A bright yellow blur smashed into his side--"Oof!"
"SIMON!!!" Athena was giggling, rolling off of him and kicking the ottoman away. He was vaugely aware of Wright smiling at him; a hand was proffered and he took it, nearly slamming himself into a black shirt with an ostentatious silver necklace hanging off it.
"Ah, so Herr Honor Code has a sense of humor after all, ja?", Klavier grinned in his face, hauling Simon to his feet. Herr Honor Code's eyes narrowed.
"I suppose I have your comedic talents to thank for this startling discovery, Gavin-dono."
Loud cackling made them both turn towards the sofa, where Justice's head was thrown back against the pillows.
"Ohh shit, Klavier---"
"Be quiet! Du schliefst!"
Simon missed the rest of the argument because he noticed the water stain spreading on the carpet and spun out of the room--once again questioning himself. How did he know where the agency kept their paper towels?
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In an empty dark room, a laptop's screen displayed an online quiz that questioned "What does a flashing yellow light mean?" and "Indicate the sign that means STOP". A bubble popped up in the corner of the screen, reading "One percent battery"--and then it went dark.