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khurainweek · 11 months

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brother of mine (it's been a long, long time)

G, gen, Apollo Justice & Nahyuta Sahdmadhi Word count: 2588

Five times in the past that Apollo called his brother "Yuty" (and one time after everything)

written for @khurainweek day 5: past/present!

read on ao3 here! (full fic under cut)

1 — Nahyuta’s lying on his back in the centre of the room, Plumed Punisher doll in one chubby fist. He’s not playing, just staring at it, but Dhurke isn’t concerned — Nahyuta’s always been quiet; more reserved. If that’s how he prefers to play, then he won’t force anything else.

“A ga oo na!”

“You’re so right, Apollo, I completely agree with ya!”

“Aigh e ba!”

Dhurke chuckles to himself as he hears Datz and Apollo in the other room of their little house.

Apollo’s babbles are loud — everything that kid does is — but they’re slowly becoming closer and closer to actual words, almost sentences. Datz holds conversations with him regularly, treating him as if he understands perfectly.

Nahyuta lets out a hefty sigh— it’s a sound out of place coming from a toddler, and the absurdity of it nearly sends Dhurke laughing again. He lets the doll drop to the ground beside him, rolling

over onto his stomach before pulling himself to his knees. “Dad?”

“Yes, ‘Yuta?”

“Why doesn’t Apollo talk?”

Dhurke simply smiles, crouching down so he can set a hand on his son’s head. “Apollo’s younger than you, remember?” he says, “give it time.”

Apollo’s already said his first words. There’s a special kind of guilt in Dhurke’s heart for them; knowing it was meant to be another man going by the title he has now.

Nahyuta frowns. “He knows Dad and Datz and Dragon,” he says, “why dragon?”

(“A dwago neh yee!”

“Dee!” Datz yelled excitedly, holding Apollo up. Apollo grinned, reaching for Dhurke. “Dee, listen! Apollo’s got it!”

“Dwago neh yeed!” Apollo shouted.)

Dhurke huffs out a laugh. “Datz thought it was funny,” he says, “‘sides, there’s not much of a difference between ‘dad’ and ‘datz’.”

“Dadada nn yoo!”

“Yeah, your dad’s in the other room, wanna go surprise him?”

Dhurke pretends he can’t hear that, instead keeping his focus on the boy in front of him.

“You didn’t start speaking all at once either, you know,” he continues, as Nahyuta turns his bright green gaze to him (he looks so much like his mother, and some days it aches), “in fact, you were older than he is now before you decided to.”

“Really?”

Dhurke doesn’t know how old Apollo truly is— hell, he doesn’t even know the kid’s real birthday, marking him as exactly a year after Nahyuta. When they get older, he’ll let Apollo choose what day he wants his birthday to be, but for now, his sons share one.

“Every kid’s different, son,” he says, “you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Datz steps out of the second room, Apollo held on one hip. Dhurke gives Nahyuta’s hair one last ruffle before he pushes himself to his feet, holding his arms out for his other son, and Apollo’s immediately reaching out himself, big smile on his face.

“Hey, you,” he says, and Apollo laughs as he’s transferred between hands, tiny little fists in his face and hair and clothes and anywhere he can reach.

“Dada,” Apollo proclaims, before twisting around as if he’s searching for something, “nnnyyu.”

“He keeps makin’ that sound,” Datz notes lightly, as Dhurke shifts his grip to keep Apollo from wriggling out of his arms.

Nahyuta’s picked up his doll again, shuffling off to a corner of the room to play by himself once more.

“Aa nyu!” Apollo’s getting louder. Dhurke catches one of his hands between his thumb and forefinger.

“What do you want, kiddo?”

“You da,” Apollo twists again, clearly turning his head about the room.

“Yeah, that’s me. Your da.”

“You da!” Apollo repeats, even louder, “you da!”

“Apollo, your old man’s right here, what else do you need?”

Apollo’s getting increasingly frustrated, leaning away from Dhurke, hand covering his mouth to stop him from talking. “Yuda!”

Datz, having been watching in interest, narrows his gaze, as if he’s just figured something out. Dhurke is about to ask what it is when Apollo whines, before shouting again, the loudest he’s been so far: “Yuty!”

Oh.

“Apollo?” Nahyuta’s voice is so quiet in comparison, but Apollo stops as soon as he hears it, turning to the noise. His face lights up instantly, and he’s holding his hands out once more, leaning toward him.

“Yuty!”

Nahyuta’s smile is small, and he ducks his head to hide it. “Nahyuta,” he corrects, “ta.”

Dhurke knows what Apollo wants, and sets him on the ground so he can make his way over himself, face bright and legs as fast as they can carry him.

2 — Nahyuta sits beneath a tree, legs folded and hands set on his knees. It’s quiet in the mountains – he’s always preferred when they’re here, rather than hiding in the city; but he knows they can’t stay put for too long.

Nahyuta finds that with patience, the longer he sits, the more creatures find him and stay in his company; birds and rabbits coming to rest on his shoulders and legs.

Butterflies flock him, pink tail loops carrying restless souls. They’ve always sought him out, and he’s found if he closes his eyes and concentrates, he can sometimes hear them, sometimes speak to them in return.

A twig snaps and his eyes fly open, but he doesn’t flinch, and the animals remain, turning ears and heads towards the noise.

A deer creeps its way out from the undergrowth, and Nahyuta feels a small smile on his face. She bows her head to him, and he returns the motion, before she turns to look behind her. A fawn steps out to take its place beside her, and together the two of them approach Nahyuta, before lowering themselves to sit on the ground. Hesitantly, he reaches a hand out, and the doe presses her nose into his palm.

“Hello,” he says quietly, and she blinks her big eyes up at him.

“Yuty!”

The peace is shattered, and the deer scramble to their feet and dart back into the trees, the other animals leaping into the air or cover, butterflies disappearing in a flurry of wings.

Nahyuta lets out an angry sigh. “Apollo,” he complains, “be quiet!”

Apollo either doesn’t hear that or ignores it, because he’s grinning as he crashes his way through the undergrowth towards his brother.

“Hey, Yuty,” he says, and Holy Mother, how does one person make so much noise?, “Dad was looking for you.”

Nahyuta turns his head in the direction of their house, even though it isn’t visible from here. “I didn’t hear him call,” he says suspiciously.

“Duh, that’s why he told me to find you!”

He sighs, pulling himself to his feet and dusting himself off.

“Did he say for what?”

Apollo’s reply is a cheerful “Nope!”

3 — “’Yuta,” Apollo coughs out, fingers curling into the dirt, “Dad—”

Dhurke is already gone, diving once more into the river.

Apollo coughs a few more times, water dripping from his hair and nose to splatter the ground beneath him. He’s shaking — though he can’t tell if that’s from the freezing cold or his own fear.

Apollo’s terrified. He doesn’t want to turn and face the fast-running waters again, but he has to know, has to make sure his brother is all right.

He tries to stand, tries to set one foot on the ground, but he’s quivering too much and nearly falls again, elbow slamming into the dirt.

Tears spring into his eyes. This was his fault. Nahyuta had called to him to be careful.

Apollo sniffs, valiantly pushing back his tears and turning to face the river, curling up with his knees to his chest, scanning the waters for any sign of Dhurke and Nahyuta. It’s hard to see anything through the blur of tears, but still— a glimpse of his father’s dark hair, or Nahyuta’s pale lavender, anything to say they’re okay.

He may not follow the same religion as the rest of his family, but hugs his knees tighter, a prayer in every bone in his body.

Dhurke bursts up onto the river bank with a shivering Nahyuta clinging to his neck. Apollo scrambles forward, desperate and frantic.

“He’s okay,” Dhurke says, and there’s exhaustion lining his voice, but they’re safe, and that’s all that matters, “you’re both okay.”

“Yuty,” Apollo gets out, choking around the lump in his throat. He’s long since swapped out the nickname for a less childish one, but it slips out anyway, along with every emotion he can’t keep inside his body, soaking wet and shaking. He’s trying to hold it all in, trying to be brave, and Nahyuta still hasn’t let go of their dad, eyes wide and frightened.

Dhurke smiles, and that’s when Apollo bursts into tears, throwing himself at him. With Apollo crying, the tears start slipping down Nahyuta’s face, and both of them bury their faces into his chest.

4 — The jacket is too big on Apollo, sleeves coming down past his wrists. He fidgets with them, pushing one up past his bracelet, before looking up at Dhurke.

“You’ll grow into it,” he rumbles, something like pride in his voice, “it suits you.”

The atmosphere is heavy. Nahyuta hasn’t said a word in days.

Apollo’s been quiet, too, and he ducks his head, still playing with the sleeve cuff.

“You have to leave soon if you don’t wanna miss that window, Dee,” Datz says. When Dhurke turns to him, a million questions trapped under his tongue, he smiles back, jaw set. “We’ll be fine here, don’t worry about us.”

Nahyuta stares up at Dhurke, but the moment he notices his father looking back, turns his face away.

“We’ll be okay,” he says, “promise.”

He’s made a lot of promises to his kids, and he intends on keeping every last one of them.

They’ve packed light— of course they have, it’s only what they can carry on their backs, a single bag each, clothes rolled as tightly as possible and a few day’s worth of food each. There’s been extensive research into this, long nights of planning, even longer nights of wondering if this was the right thing to do.

(Apollo never belonged here, part of him reasons. He shouldn’t have let himself get attached in the first place.)

“Yuty…?” Apollo steps forward, out of Dhurke’s shadow. He’s still fidgeting with his cuff, rubbing the bracelet underneath.

Nahyuta bites his lip.

“It won’t be forever, will it?” Apollo’s putting on a brave face, “dad’ll bring me back again soon, and then I can tell you all about it and—” he cuts himself off, ducking his head down.

“Promise,” Nahyuta’s voice is raw, cracking around the edges. Apollo doesn’t respond immediately, and Nahyuta reaches out, grasping Apollo’s hands in his own. “You have to promise.”

“I promise,” Apollo says, before pulling his brother into the tightest hug possible. Nahyuta hugs back, fingers digging into the back of Apollo’s jacket, face buried in his shoulder so only a spill of pale hair is visible.

They don’t move for the longest time, and Dhurke doesn’t have the heart to break it up, instead using the time to do one last check of their inventory, go over the plan with Datz just in case.

“Stay safe,” Datz says, upturn to his lips as he gives Dhurke a light punch to the shoulder, “don’t get caught.”

“Hey, we’re dragons,” Dhurke replies, “even if we do, we’ll give ‘em hell.”

Both boys hold on like they never want to let go. Dhurke wonders, again, if he’s really making the right choice.

5 — (“I dunno, they said they got some international prosecutor on the case,” Ema shrugged, “can’t really remember the name I got given right now, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Apollo replied, “it’s fine. We can handle it. We’ll be fine, no matter who we end up facing in court tomorrow.”)

Apollo straightens out his file notes on the bench, sharing a glance with Athena. She nods, conviction sparking in her eyes.

They’ve got this. Apollo can feel the start of a smile on his face, determination surging through him.

Trucy’s innocent, and Apollo’s faith is unwavering. They just have to uncover the truth.

The doors open, and the prosecutor steps through.

His hair is long— so much longer than Apollo thought it could ever be; tied in a braid swinging freely down his back. A scarf floats behind his head, and he carries his case files in his arms with a sense of effortless grace.

Apollo can’t stop staring, feeling as if all the air’s been knocked from his lungs. Beside him, Athena furrows her brow, glancing back and forth between them.

“Are you okay?” she whispers, “do you know him?”

He must look like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth over and over as he stares.

It’s like he’s seen a ghost — in some way, he has; a ghost of his past, coming back to haunt him now, fifteen years later.

The prosecutor sets down his files, hardly making a whisper as he does. He hasn’t looked towards the defence bench the entire time he’s been in the room, keeping his eyes down.

Then, he brings his hands up into a traditional Khura’inese prayer position, mouth moving silently as he recites to himself.

The courtroom is silent— even the gallery has fallen quiet, watching the foreign prosecutor for his every move.

Apollo hasn’t seen him in fifteen years, and this is the very last place he thought he ever would.

“… Yuty?”

It's the quietest Apollo’s ever been. It echoes in the silence, bouncing off the high ceiling. He can feel Athena’s eyes on him, but can’t tear his gaze from the prosecutor standing behind the opposing bench.

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi opens his eyes, and for the first time, looks over to Apollo.

There’s no spark of recognition in his eyes. His expression doesn’t even change.

“Mr… Justice,” he says, and something in Apollo cracks.

+1 —

“Yutyyyyyyyyy,” Apollo whines, hanging over the back of the couch. Nahyuta rolls his eyes.

“Can I help you, o restless spirit?”

Apollo snorts. “You make it sound as if I’m dead.”

“You will be if you keep bothering him,” Rayfa pipes up.

“Thank you, Rayf,” Apollo says, dripping with sarcasm. He pauses. “Is that a warning or a threat?”

Rayfa purses her lips. “Threat,” she lands upon, “only I can bother braid-head.”

“Since when?”

“It is my sworn duty as the youngest S— youngest Sa—”

Both Apollo and Nahyuta watch her with casual interest as she grows increasingly red-faced.

“As the younger si—”

“Go on.”

“Oh, forget it!” she huffs, bells on her wrists jingling as she throws her hands out, “you’re both nincompoops, anyway!”

Apollo grins. “Love you too, Rayf.”

“Hmph!”

“But also being the youngest does not help your case as much as you think it does. We grew up with Datz.”

Rayfa scrunches up her nose, but ultimately decides to give up the conversation, sulking to herself.

“Oh. Right,” Apollo drapes himself further over the couch so he can set his chin on Nahyuta’s shoulder, “Yuty,”

Nahyuta sighs, but he doesn’t shift out of the way, and Apollo takes that as a victory.

“Hm?”

“I’m bored. We’ve done enough work today.”

“You used to be so diligent,” Nahyuta says, “what happened to the man who went back to work that day after a courtroom explosion?”

Apollo squawks, right in Nahyuta’s ear. “Don’t say that like it’s a positive!”

Nahyuta sets an entire hand on Apollo’s face, shoving him away with a smirk. The dragon inked on his palm shows dark and clear.

#ahhhhh!#This is so good!#I love them!#I love little Yuty and Little Polly #They are so cute #but also beak my heart #Thank you so much!#khura'in week #aa6 #ace attorney #spirit of justice #apollo justice #nahyuta sahdmadhi #aa fic

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