The courtroom doors opened with a heavy creak.
Jay walked in first, straightening her blazer, her expression shifting back into the calm, professional mask she always wore in court.
Behind her, Keifer entered from the opposite side of the aisle with his brothers Keigan and Keiren taking seats behind him.
Jay's side quickly filled as well — Percy, Jane, and Aries settling behind her table.
At the front of the courtroom sat the judge's bench.
And already seated there, watching everything with quiet amusement, was Judge Luke Reyes.
Luke had been the judge of this case from the very beginning.
And right now, his sharp eyes were moving between Jay and Keifer like he was watching a very interesting chess match.
Luke tapped his gavel once.
"Court is now in session."
The room quieted immediately.
Jay stood first.
"Your Honor—"
Keifer stood at the exact same time.
"Your Honor—"
They both stopped.
The entire courtroom went silent.
Luke slowly leaned back in his chair, a small grin appearing on his face.
"Well," he said calmly. "This is new."
Percy whispered loudly behind Jay, "They're synchronized now."
Jane elbowed him hard.
Luke looked between the two lawyers.
"Counselors," he said. "One at a time."
Jay gestured politely. "You may go first."
Keifer raised an eyebrow slightly. "…How generous of you."
Jay gave him a small, sharp smile. "Don't get used to it."
Keifer began presenting his argument, his voice calm and confident as he explained the evidence they had reviewed earlier.
Jay listened carefully.
But this time… she wasn't just listening as an opponent.
She understood his reasoning better now. She understood how his mind worked.
Which made countering him… both easier and harder.
When it was her turn, Jay stepped forward.
"Your Honor, while opposing counsel presents an interesting interpretation of the evidence…"
Keifer crossed his arms, watching her closely.
"…the facts clearly indicate a different conclusion."
Her argument was sharp. Precise.
Luke's eyes narrowed slightly with interest.
These two had always been strong lawyers.
But now their arguments were… sharper. More focused.
Like they understood each other too well.
As Jay stepped back toward her table, her ankle twisted slightly.
It was small. Barely noticeable.
But Keifer saw it instantly.
His hand moved forward slightly before he caught himself.
Jay noticed too.
Their eyes met for half a second.
Luke definitely noticed.
From the judge's bench, he raised one eyebrow slowly.
Luke tapped the gavel lightly again.
"Counselors," he said.
Jay and Keifer both looked up.
"I must say," Luke continued slowly, "your arguments today are… unusually coordinated."
Percy choked on air behind Jay.
Keigan and Keiren immediately leaned forward in their seats.
Jay cleared her throat. "Your Honor, we are simply presenting the case."
Keifer nodded. "Nothing more."
Luke leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand.
"Hm."
His eyes flicked between them again.
"Very well," he said. "Continue."
But the small smirk on his face made it very clear.
He wasn't fooled.
Not even a little.
The gavel finally struck again.
"Court will recess for twenty minutes."
Everyone began standing and talking quietly.
Percy immediately rushed to Jay.
"You two are SO obvious."
Jay groaned. "Percy, stop."
Across the aisle, Keigan slapped Keifer on the back.
"You almost helped her."
"I did not."
"You totally did." Keiren added.
Keifer ignored both of them.
But his eyes still flicked toward Jay across the room.
And Jay noticed.
At the Judge's Bench
Luke watched the entire thing quietly from his chair.
Then he chuckled to himself.
"Oh," he murmured.
"This is getting interesting."