#hate mail so cruel youve got me dropping fic snippets (this is to hide the fact that you are right and i havent drawn thena in a hot minute

[wyrmswears]

>calls himself the biggest athena cykes fan

>probably hasn't drawn her in ages

WYRM IS A FRAUD!!! UNFOLLOW HIM NOW!!!

WHY ARE YOU COMING INTO MY HOUSE JUST TO BULLY ME,,, MAYBE IVE BEEN WRITING ATHENA, HUH!? ATHENA IS ARRESTED AU SNIPPET BE UPON YOU!!!

As they approached, Cykes slipped the round metallic object into her trouser pocket.

Apollo eyed where it had disappeared and considered asking her about it, but with her fingers already reaching for her moon charm he decided it wasn’t worth stressing her about. Besides, there was something more on his mind.

“You knew all along, didn’t you? That Mayor Tenma was the Amazing Ninetales?” It was partly a bluff, but he was well enough versed in them to know that he had a good chance of being right here. Apollo had reached more than a dead end trying to figure out how L’Belle could have disguised himself well enough that Mayor Tenma’s own daughter would’ve fallen for it; it was only when the prosecution pointed out her reluctance to admit of a possible disguise that the pieces had truly clicked, and Apollo was starting to wonder if Prosecutor Blackquill was truly bragging out of his own confidence or if he himself had been a victim to the power of suggestion.

She fiddled with her ponytail, fingers combing through the ginger strands. “I had a suspicion. You were the ones to really figure it out though.”

“Thank you, Miss Cykes.” Apollo relented. He was starting to realise that perhaps he had been too harsh on her, making dangerous assumptions from too little information. It seemed that he had reached the point in the case that it was time to turn around his thinking. “I mean it.” He added, wanting to assure her of his newfound sincerity while wondering how much of his distrust she had picked up of his over the last couple days. If you had asked him before this case, he would have never thought that he would be so scared of a psychologist.

Miss Cykes paused, and studied him for a moment. It was almost enough to make him wonder if that was how his witnesses felt under his perception; the creeping feeling of being seen straight through was beginning to establish itself as omni-present when around her. After a moment, she shook her head. “Athena”, she stated, her voice oddly serious. “Please, I prefer to be called Athena.”

“Oh.” Apollo paused, trying to think of what to say, but Trucy broke the lull in conversation as she swung an arm around his neck (almost toppling him over in the process) and leant towards Miss Cy- Athena with a wide grin.

“Well then, it’s nice to meet you, Athena!” She hummed, swinging on her feet.

Athena paused for a moment and stared blankly at them both, in the same thoughtful way she always does. Then, her shoulders relaxed. “It’s nice to meet you too, Trucy. Apollo.”

And at that moment, she smiled in front of them for the first time.

It was not a cruel smile, not like Apollo would have suspected of her when he first heard of her status as an inmate; instead it’s gentle and shy, but it’s the kind that Trucy relishes in most when she finally extracts it from her audience, and Apollo can tell by the way she straightened at his side that she was taking it in with even more satisfaction than he was.

And if Trucy looked like the only thing keeping her from inviting Athena to Eldoon’s noodles was the detective waiting to escort her away… well, Apollo thought to himself, they’ve had weirder allies.