Chapter Text
i. trucy
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It'd be idiotic to assume she wouldn't notice.
Trucy's a kid, but she can see the way her Daddy gets frailer and paler with every week that goes by. He smiles at her, but she notices the subtle differences, his twitches, the way he says he's fine, but there's a sadness in his eyes that only the trained eye can detect.
Her Daddy says she can't do magic performances until she's thirteen.
It doesn't stop her from occasionally performing a magic trick and putting the extra change she gets in his wallet.
Trucy's wise beyond her years. She knows something is wrong but doesn't know what to do about it other than do the best she can to support him.
When she gets older, she sneaks money into his wallet, food in the fridge, and does everything she can to bring a smile to his face.
Daddy may have been an actor and a good one at that, but she can tell the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes properly.
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ii. apollo & athena
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It takes Apollo weeks to discover the disturbing pattern. Leave them money for food, claim he has to go somewhere, disappears for hours, and then comes back acting as if nothing happened.
It takes Athena one look and her senses are immediately alerted.
Apollo whispers to Athena one day, "Does Mr. Wright look... weird or different to you?"
Athena responds with, "Weird? Yes. Different? No."
When they turn to each other so their eyes can meet, they know.
They can both see it.
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iii. maya
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Maya may steal Nick's wallet from time to time, but she never leaves it empty.
Sometimes times are rough, as she can tell by the thickness of his wallet, so she orders the cheapest item on the menu and splits it with Nick.
She understands living day-by-day, check-by-check. Oftentimes at the beginning of her sister's career, Mia wouldn't really be able to afford a proper dinner.
(It's why she's so attached to burgers. It's fast, cheap, and pretty damn good.)
Sometimes when Nick isn't looking, Maya slips a few bills into his wallet. It's the least she can do, for all the trouble she's caused him over the years. This is just the start of paying him back.
Mia always insisted on celebrating every success, so Maya does it with Nick too.
Sometimes when things get bad, he barely touches his plate, letting Maya order whatever she wants while he orders the smallest item. He's never said no to her, never asked her to order cheaply. Whatever she says, he smiles and forks over the cash. He might pretend to get slightly annoyed, but he always relents after a single push.
Maya doesn't know what to do about that. Mia's never talked about this. She doesn't know how to handle it.
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iv. larry
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Larry knows Phoenix has been like this for a long time. It's not a recent development. Nicky's just always been like that.
Larry can't count the number of times he's given away his lunch to not just him, but to other students at school who didn't get food for lunch.
He knows he's been through rough times. After his mother died, he was left all alone to fend for himself.
It's probably not unusual he developed a high sense of sympathy, doing everything he can for the people around him.
(It takes growing up together for Larry to realize that sometimes Nick has put others way before his own needs. And even longer for him to realize that's dangerous and not at all a good thing.)
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v. miles
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When Miles was reintroduced to Phoenix Wright, he didn't know how to handle it.
When that man first showed up in the courtroom across from him at the defense bench, Miles wanted to scream.
Two thoughts run parallel to each other when he found out why Wright sat there on the couch as his defense attorney, determined to learn the truth of DL-6.
One thought was, why the hell did this man chase me for his entire life?
And the second thought was, he hasn't changed, has he?
The world sees Phoenix Wright as a savior, a hero, a self-sacrificial man who did all that he could for the people he cared about, a model of morality.
Miles sees him in a far different light.
Phoenix puts his heart, soul, and mind into everything he does. And everything he does, he does for people. Phoenix has given so much of himself up, it wouldn't surprise Miles to find out Phoenix doesn't really know who his true self is.
It, of course, would horrify Miles.
So when Phoenix barely touches his plate and instead drinks bottles of grape juice while visiting him, Miles can tell something is immediately wrong.