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"Oh Larry this a brilliant idea! Do you really think Daddy won't mind?" Trucy bounced gleefully on the balls of her feet glancing down at the bizarre assortment of objects laid out on one of the office's pop-up magic worktables: a colourful bundle of citrus fruits from the fridge, a bunch rusting nails and a confusing bundle of Christmas ornaments, tacky tin foil and party hats tangled to a string of fairy lights Trucy had hastily pulled out of the loft using the step-ladder which was still set upright in the middle of the room amongst the glittery chaos.
"No way! Besides science homework is just BORING, this is much more fun and you're still learning science-y stuff, right?" Larry said rolling an unfortunate lemon back and forth across the table, softening it up.
"Well I guess that makes sense when you put like that. I mean, Apollo never does stuff this fun for my schoolwork when he's baby-sitting me! It's always read this, or write that or look up the other thing..."
"That's so DULL!"
"Must be a lawyer-thing, right Larry?"
"Totally a lawyer-thing. Well tonight we're learning BUTZ STYLE."
"What is anyway? You haven't told me yet! Oh please, oh please I want to know what we're making!"
"Well..." Larry said poking his tongue out the side of his mouth as he put his complete concentration on the task at hand, squishing copper and zinc nails into the now squishier lemon. "We - are - going - to - there that should be enough - make this lemon light up using a bit of science-y trickery!"
"With the fairy lights?"
"With the fairy lights."
"How does that work exactly, Larry?"
"Well... this really pretty brunette in the pub showed me how to do it. It was awesome! Although I was a bit drunk at the time... but she connected a lime to a bunch of lights and it lit up! - Or was it the lights that lit up? - Aww, it doesn't matter we'll work it out as we go along. Anyway, it's really cool!"
"So it's a bit like... magic?"
"Yeah! Like magic!"
"This is so cool! I can use this in one of my performances!"
"Yeah and you can tell everybody you learned it from the best - the Incredible Laurice Deauxnim: Magician Extraordinaire!"
Trucy's whole face suddenly lit up. "You're a stage magician? Like, a real one?"
"Well, uh, yeah I am at the moment. I mean I'm still in training but I'm getting really good!" Larry set down the now impaled lemon and set about clipping crocodile clips to each end of the nails.
"Eeek! I can't believe Daddy found a real magician to baby-sit for the week, that's so thoughtful of him!" Larry highly doubted Nick even knew Larry was currently training to be a magician, but his friend had called him out of the blue when he had been caught short, receiving a phone-call from Europe requiring his 'immediate assistance' for his 'unique consulting services'. An offer Nick appeared unable to refuse. Larry grinned to himself recalling the phone conversation.
"Sooo... is that Edgey code for you two going out on a, uh, date or something?"
"Wha-? It's not a date Larry!"
"Hey dude it's cool by me, I mean I kind figured you two were together after what went down at Hazakura Temple an' all."
"W-we're not to-- Wait. How did you know it was Edgeworth?"
"Well duh. Who else is it gonna be Nick? Hate to break it to you, but you're not exactly THAT famous y'know... Hello? Heeello?"
Well good. Nick hadn't dated anyone since Ivy University and changing courses to become a fully-fledged lawyer, so even though it was totally unexpected (and a little bit weird, to be frank) that Nick was dating a guy - Edgey of all people, must be a lawyer thing - he was totally hyped for them and hopefully they'd get hitched one day so he could be Best Man. (Come on, he'd be awesome! He practically introduced them!)
"Is something funny Larry?" Trucy said glancing up at him from where she was unwinding a bunch of tangled fairy light wires from the various bits of decoration.
Larry looked over at Trucy for a long moment and felt a big ol' swell in his chest at how even after being disbarred Nick had managed to make another Turnabout of a bad situation and make everything good once again. A big, lopsided grin spread over his face. "You know what? You really remind me of me and Nick, Truce." Larry didn't mention Edgey, he didn't want to ruin the surprise.
Trucy cocked her her, curious. "How d'you mean?"
Larry held up his creation of squishy fruit and a mishap of nails and wires proudly. "We used to do all kinds of crazy stuff all the time, back in the day in the tree-house in Nick's yard when we were young. Good times. Some of the best." Larry nodded towards Trucy. "Never lose that Trucy."
"Well I don't know what I'm supposed to not be losing Larry, but if it's having fun then no way!"
Larry gave her a big thumbs up. "That's the spirit. Now let's get this show on road!" Larry made a couple of quick adjustments to the wires before giving another thumbs up to Trucy with the nails and crocodile-clipped fruit in his other hand.
"OK fire her up, kiddo!"
Trucy push the plug into the mains and flicked the switch.
"AAAAAAARRRRGHHH!"
"L-LARRY?!"
-
The emergency service was called rapidly minutes after the accident by alarmed nearby residents. Regardless, Wright Anything Agency hadn't fared well.
Larry groaned in pain shuffling carefully on his hospital bed, bandages wrapped on various part of his body. He blinked blearily and caught sight of a spiky haired, grey-hooded and - if it was who Larry thought it was, surprisingly clean-shaven and hat-less and was that aftershave? - man standing over him.
"N-Nick? That you, bud?... W-what happened dude... I thought you were with Edgey in Europe?"
Phoenix didn't respond, although Larry saw a very visible twitch in his jaw.
Edgeworth gave an unamused sniff from a cheap plastic chair on the opposite side of Larry, legs and arms crossed, tapping his finger impatiently against his arm. "You did, as it happens. I thought you were meant to be baby-sitting."
"H-Huh, Edgey? You're here too?" Larry turned his head slowly and oh-so-painfully towards the prosecutor and back to Phoenix again. "Is Truce OK?"
Phoenix's jaw was still set tight.
"'Truce' will be fine although you did give her a bit of a, ah, shock." Edgeworth chipped in again, plucking off an invisible bit of fiber off his impeccably pressed magenta suit.
"I'm sorry Nick, I don't know what went wrong! Is your office all right? I didn't ruin your trip in Europe did I? Aw, man I'll make it up to you two I swear! I'll babysit for you any-time, promise!"
"Let me put it this way," said Phoenix, speaking for the first time that evening. He leaned over Larry ominously, a tight-lipped smile over his face. "When I said 'you two should get on like a house on fire' I didn't mean it literally."