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‘So, you’re...’
Phoenix didn’t finish his sentence, instead he sat in thought, taking in what he had been told. Apollo stood in front of him, thin sweat lining his face.
‘You’re.. dating Klavier?’
‘Uh, yeah. Are you.. ok with that?’
Phoenix beamed. He stood up and embraced Apollo in a tight hug, squeezing until they both ached.
‘I know I’m not your biological dad, but I’m so proud of how you’ve grown. As long as you’re happy with Klavier, I’m happy for you.’
Trucy and Athena snickered in the corner of the office, whispering to eachother. Phoenix turned to them.
‘And what are you laughing about, ladies?’
The two of them burst into fits of laughter, dashing over to hug Apollo, then turning to Phoenix through gasps of air and giggles.
‘It’s just, you haven’t dated anyone in a decade, and here’s Apollo! You really need a love life, boss.’
Even Trucy agreed with this, patting her father on the back and smiling sheepishly.
‘C’mon daddy! I can’t love with one parent forever.’
Phoenix sighed. ‘You too, Trucy? Seriously?’
The four of them sat down to discuss Phoenix’s love life further.
‘What about.. what was her name again? Iris?’ Trucy looked inquisitively at him, ‘She could be a good mommy.’
Phoenix looked away, his eyes cold for a brief moment before he turned to look at his daughter.
‘Sorry, Truce. She’s just too much like an ex to me.’
‘What about Maya?’ Athena jolted upright, eagerly looking at her boss with a knowing look in her face.
But still, Phoenix shook his head and smiled.
‘Nope. She’s too much like a little sister to me’
‘Come on! There has to be someone! You can’t have gone like, ten years without a crush!’
The man was uncrackable, chuckling to himself.
‘You can’t like nobody, daddy!’ Trucy pouted.
‘Yeah, you seriously don’t have a crush on anyone?’
Phoenix smiled, and stood up to give his daughter a pat on the head. He glanced sympathetically at the rest of the agency.
‘I seriously don’t have a crush on anyone.’ Phoenix repeated.
Chaos ensued.
Apollo winced as his bracelet punched his skin, and widget twitched uncontrollably. Trucy started in awe and this sequence of mess, and started back at Phoenix, who made haste for the door.
Trucy dashed over to the exit and grabbed her father by the arm, pulling him back into his seat as Athena pulled out her screen.
‘I knew it! I knew you were lying! Widget snapped as Phoenix fidgeted in his seat, trying to think of a way to escape the prying eyes staring him down.
‘Please repeat that last statement, Mr. Wright.’
‘I said, I don’t like anyo—’
This time, Apollo screamed out as the bracelet pulled at his skin. Athena gasped as she stared at her mood matrix.
‘I’m detecting an overload of noise! Check this out, Trucy! He’s lying!’ The two girls gaped in awe at the screen, their eyes burning into Phoenix’s head.
Trucy sighed. ‘Daddy, you can’t lie to us. Now, let’s ask you some questions!’
‘I—what?! I never agreed to this! I’m telling you, I—’
‘Please don’t say it again, my wrist can only take so much!!’ Apollo cut him off, his chords of steel kicking in as he screeched.
‘So, do you currently like someone, Mr. Wright?’ Apollo asked, pacing back and forth in front of him.
Oh boy, I’m being cross-examined. How fun.
‘...No. No I don’t.’
Once Apollo had stopped crying out in pain and Athena had stopped plugging her ears, they proceeded with the questioning,
‘And do we know this person?’
‘Kids, can you please just let me go? I have to sort case files.’
A knock came from the door, and Apollo rushed to get it while Trucy and Athena kept Phoenix stuck in his chair.
The three of them started when they saw the chief prosecutor at the door.
Phoenix put on a pained smile, and attempted to wave under the restraint of the two girls holding him in place.
‘Hey there, Edgeworth. D’you think you can convince these guys to let me go?’
‘...What on earth is happening, Wright?’
Apollo butted in, glaring at Phoenix and gesturing the prosecutor to sit down in his empty seat.
‘So. I told Mr. Wright that I was dating Klavier, and—’
‘You’re WHAT?!’ Edgeworth jolted upwards.
‘N-Nevermind! And then, Mr. Wright said he didn’t have a crush, and then—’
Phoenix sighed, burying his face in his hands, obviously flushed.
‘Kids, why can’t you just believe me..?’ He made to stand up, but Trucy and Athena pinned him back into his chair.
Apollo turned back to Edgeworth.
‘So, um, Mr. Chief prosecutor—’
‘Just call me Mr. Edgeworth, Justice.’
‘O-of course, Mr.. Edgeworth,’ Apollo winced, ‘can you, uh, help us out here?’
Edgeworth looked over at the red-faced man buried in his chair, and then back at the younger defence attorney.
‘I personally don’t believe your assumptions are correct..’
Phoenix shot a tired smile at Edgeworth, and mumbled a vague ‘thank you’.
‘..But I will aid you in your investigations.’
‘Oh, come on!’
Phoenix grumbled as Apollo and Edgeworth sat down around him. Athena left Trucy to keep her boss in place as she pulled out her screen once again.
‘Wright. Are you lying about not having feelings for anyone?’
‘No, I’m not.’
Replay the chaos sequence of the bracelet and the noise. Phoenix hid his face in his hands for the second time, as everyone stared bemusedly at him.
‘Alright, fine, I’m lying. Can I go now?’
‘No you cannot. Now, do all of us know this person?’
Phoenix crossed his arms and said nothing. Athena plugged her ears at the noise from her mood matrix, and signalled for Trucy to talk to him.
‘Daddy?’ She stared at her father with wide, shiny eyes, taking his hands.
‘Could you please answer our questions? I don’t want you to be lonely forever, you know..’
Apollo laughed to himself, earning a glare of silence from Athena.
‘Ugh. Ok, I’ll answer your questions, as long as they’re not too absurd.’
A cry of cheer went up in the Wright Anything Agency, and Phoenix related in his chair as his daughter stopped pining him down.
‘So, do we know this person?’ Athena piped up.
Phoenix felt his checks turn slightly redder. ‘Uhh, yeah, you do. You all do.’
Apollo stood back up and continued his previous pacing, thinking of more questions to help reveal the identity of this person.
‘What’re they like?’ He finally came up with.
Phoenix winced. ‘Can we stick to yes or no questions?’
Edgeworth looked up at the two attorneys, a blank but smug expression on his face, a look that the ‘defendant’ here would know all too well.
‘The defence and prosecution have a right to ask any questions they deem fit. Please proceed, Mr. Justice.’
Apollo smiled, regaining some of his confidence in the question. ‘Well, Mr. Wright?’
At this point, Phoenix could let himself talk, as long as he didn’t give too much away about the identity of this person. As long as he was careful, he’d be fine.
‘Well, I met them, uh, a while ago. And at first they were kinda rude, but I.. actually think they care about me. I hope, at least.’
Athena gave Phoenix a look that reminded him of the way Pearl would talk about ‘true love’.
‘That’s so sweet, boss! Do you care about them too?’
There was no reply. They all sat in silence in this makeshift trial, and the defendant was slowly but surely turning red, at the amusement of the defense team.
‘Well?’ Athena now looked exactly like Pearl, ‘Do you?’
Phoenix looked away, his cheeks flushed, and his hand covering his mouth.
‘..More than I could possibly say.’
Athena squealed in delight, Trucy beamed, Apollo winced at how cheesy the statement was, and Edgeworth?
Edgeworth stared at the wall.
‘N-Now, if you’ll excuse me.’ Phoenix moved to leave, obviously embarrassed by his last statement, much to the displeasure of everyone else.
‘Aww, come on! You said you’d answer our questions!’ Trucy ran over and grabbed her father’s arm.
‘No, I said I’d answer them as long as they weren’t too absurd. And I know that they’re gonna get worse from here.’
Trucy dragged him back to his seat, and Phoenix grudgingly stayed in place, knowing they weren't going to leave him alone until he let some sort of major detail slip out.
That wasn’t going to happen, and he was confident in that. He wouldn’t give anything big away, or they might actually figure it out. That was the last thing he wanted. Not now, of all times. They couldn’t figure it out now.
‘Do you see them often?’ Apollo asked.
That wasn’t too farfetched, so it deserved a proper answer, Phoenix decided.
‘Yes.’
‘Aaand do you have their number in your phone?’ Trucy butted in, dashing over to the desk where her father’s phone was sitting.
‘Hey! I haven’t even answered that, don’t look in my contacts!’
Phoenix turned red again. Yes, the number was in his phone, but he had to tell them that before they continued.
Trucy shoved the phone in his face and squeaked something about unlocking it, which he promptly did. After scrolling through all his contacts to stall for time, Phoenix put his phone in his pocket.
‘Yeah, they’re in there.’
The Wright Anything Agency stormed him in hopes to retrieve his phone and the mystery contact, but Phoenix held his hand over his pocket so it wouldn’t get stolen. Eventually, the struggle was given up and everyone returned to their original places.
‘Now, the most important question!’ Athena beamed, ‘Do you think they like you back?’
Enter a small period of silence, in which Phoenix kept a pleasant smile on his face.
‘No, they don’t like me back, I’m sure of that.’
Athena’s face fell, and she quickly avoided her boss’ eyes. He wore a bittersweet smile now, and slumped in his chair, staring into space.
‘Oh, well, can you tell us.. their name?’
‘I think that’s a bit beyond what he agreed to, Athena..’ Apollo whispered to her, moving her away from Phoenix, who had regained composure and sat up straight again.
‘No thanks, kids. I’m going to sort some files, ok?’ Phoenix finally stood up without being dragged back to his seat, and made his way out of the room.
Queue yet another awkward silence.
‘Well, it appears our investigation is far from over’ The chief prosecutor spoke for the first time in what seemed like hours, and walked over to the door Phoenix had left from.
‘You’re going to go after daddy, then?’
Edgeworth tuned and gave one of his rare smiles to Trucy, and made his way out of the room.