Work Text:
2019
“Now… Is this your card?”
Edgeworth’s eyebrows raise minutely, as if surprised that Trucy actually got the right card. Sitting next to him on the couch, Phoenix grins. He’d been like that at first, not expecting an eight-year-old to be able to flawlessly pull off magic tricks. But he’d quickly realized that when she says she’s a professional, she means it.
It also means that she’s constantly making his things disappear and then pulling them out of her hat. Usually after he spends an hour looking for whatever he ‘lost’.
“Yes, that is my card. Well done,” Edgeworth says, a small smile on his face as he politely claps. Trucy beams at the praise, shuffling the card back into the deck.
“Stay here while I get my next trick ready!” Phoenix nods, Edgeworth doing the same. He relaxes against the couch while Trucy runs around getting the trick ready, doing his best to avoid the glances Edgeworth is giving him because he knows why the prosecutor visited-
(That Phoenix got disbarred is public knowledge, written all over the front page of the news. That he adopted Trucy isn’t. So it’s not like Edgeworth came here to meet her.)
-and he has absolutely no desire to talk about that. So when Edgeworth quietly says, “Wright,” he immediately redirects the conversation that Edgeworth wants to have.
“You’re the first person that’s visited. I think she likes you.” He might be redirecting, but he’s not bluffing. Trucy seems excited to meet his… friend? Rival? Ex-colleague? Or maybe she’s just excited to have someone else to show her magic tricks to. Given how quickly she went from calling him Old Boy to daddy, he wouldn’t be surprised if Edgeworth becomes ‘Uncle Miles’ before he leaves.
Edgeworth scoffs. “Children don’t like me.” Liar. “And that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” He doesn’t get to say anymore, because Trucy runs back, ready to show them her trick.
“Be prepared to be amazed, Uncle Miles!”
Hah! He’d been right!
2019
“What have you been up to, Trucy?” Phoenix asks, walking towards the table where Trucy and Larry are sitting. He hadn’t been sure about letting Larry babysit, since the man was… not the most responsible of people, but the apartment’s not on fire which is a point for Larry.
The piles of paints and colored pencils and other art supplies makes him pause, because he’s sure he didn’t have any of that in the apartment. Did Larry bring all of it here?
“Hey, Nick!”
“Daddy! Look!” Trucy picks up a piece of paper from the table, spinning around in the chair to show him. There’s a piano and cards and different magic props painted onto the paper. “Uncle Larry helped me make a poster for the agency!”
Right, he’s going to have to change everything promoting the agency. Trucy insisted that it become the Wright Talent Agency, and it’s not like he has any better ideas for it. “Wow, really? It looks great!”
“She’s a natural! I barely had to do anything,” Larry adds, reaching over to give her a fistbump. That’s obviously not true, since it’s easy to tell which parts of the poster each of them drew. Despite how lazy Larry is most of the time, Phoenix has to admit that he’s great at art. But Trucy’s beaming at the praise and Phoenix certainly isn’t going to say anything to ruin that.
“Hehe, maybe I can be an artist and magician!” Trucy grins, swinging her legs back and forth. She pushes the poster into Phoenix’s hands. “We have to make copies, daddy! That’s what Uncle Larry said! And then put them everywhere .” He’s sure she does actually mean everywhere. She’d probably bring them to school if he lets her, as if anyone there would want to hire a horrible pianist and a poker player.
He ruffles Trucy’s hair, earning a playful swat as she tries to duck away from him. “We’ll make copies tomorrow,” he promises. And he’ll make an extra copy for himself, of course, to put up on the fridge like the proud dad he is.
2020
“Trucy!” Phoenix darts forward, grabbing the bottle of fingerprint powder from her hands, and then immediately turns to face the person who was supposed to be babysitting her. “Detective Gumshoe? Why was she licking fingerprint powder?”
“It’s gross,” Trucy chimes up, sticking her tongue out in disgust. In the back of his mind, he’s considering whether or not he needs to rush her to the hospital. She was only licking it, not actually eating it, so it can’t be that bad, right? Right?
Being a dad is way more stressful than he’d thought it would be.
“I didn’t know she had fingerprint powder, pal!”
“You’re babysitting her! You’re supposed to make sure she doesn’t do anything dangerous. Were you not watching her?”
“Hey! I take my job seriously, of course I was watching her!”
Really? Phoenix’s shoulders slump, giving Gumshoe a look. “If you were watching her, then why did she have fingerprint powder?”
“Oh, um…” Gumshoe rubs the back of his neck, looking away from Phoenix. “She, uh. She told me it was candy.”
“And you believed her?!” Phoenix cries out, at the same moment that Trucy starts laughing. Well, at least one person finds this funny.
He’s going to have to find someone else to babysit Trucy in the future, he thinks.
2021
“Wait! Aunt Maya! I wanna show you a new trick!”
Phoenix watches as Trucy runs into her room, coming back only a moment later with some small magic props for her trick.
Trucy’s been coming up with reasons to delay Maya for - Phoenix looks down at his phone, raising his eyebrows at the time - nearly an hour. Trucy loves it when Maya or her other ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ visit, but it’s a different story when it’s time for them to leave. She always tries to delay, showing them magic tricks begging them to help with school projects or simply asking if they can stay the night. Phoenix doesn’t have to be an ex-lawyer or current poker player to know why. But if Maya doesn’t leave soon, she’ll miss the last train.
“Woah! That’s amazing! How’d you do that?”
“Nuh-uh! A magician never reveals her secrets! Wanna see another one?”
“Trucy,” Phoenix calls out, getting the ten-year-old’s attention and softly smiling at her. “You can show her your tricks next time. It’s getting late.” Maya looks over at him, startling as she finally seems to realize the time.
“Oh, right! Pearly will get worried if I don’t get back soon.” The way Trucy’s face falls makes his heart ache, but it’s not like Maya can stay here forever. The spirit medium seems to recognize the disappointment too, excitedly offering, “And next time, I’ll bring Pearly! We could even stay the night, right, Nick?”
There’s barely any space in the cramped apartment - he doesn’t make enough for a larger one - so someone (read: him) would have to take the couch for a sleepover. But Trucy’s face lights up at Maya’s words, at the implicit promise that she’ll be back, and, well, a couch isn’t the worst place he’s ever slept. He used to fall asleep in the office sometimes, after all. “Heh, right. It’ll be like a sleepover.” Trucy cheers and he’s sure that she’ll be planning a bunch of sleepover games non-stop for the next few days.
2028
Maybe inviting so many people to the office for a Christmas party was a bit of a mistake, given how crowded the place is now. But Phoenix hadn’t been in charge of the invite list or, well, anything besides taking Trucy to the store and being the one spending money on the decorations and food. She’d wanted to be in charge of everything, as the self-proclaimed CEO of the Wright Anything Agency. She’d done a great job too, the office decorated floor to ceiling with lights and ornaments.
It felt like she’d invited just about everyone they know, but he knows that can’t be true because then there wouldn’t even be room to move in the office. But she did invite Maya and Pearl and Gumshoe and what seems like half the prosecutor’s office. And, of course, Athena and Apollo are here.
“Daddy!” Phoenix turns at his daughter’s voice, smiling at her, and then blinks in surprise when she quickly puts something on his head. He glances up, realizing it’s a headband with reindeer antlers, little Christmas lights wrapped around them. Trucy herself has an elf hat, and a sweater that could win any Ugliest Christmas Sweater contest. “We need to take a photo! With everyone!” Ah, so that’s why she’d be running around everywhere.
“Alright. So which reindeer am I?” he asks, chuckling as Trucy starts to drag him across the office where the others are gathering. Except Prosecutor Blackquill, who seems to have been given the task of taking the photo. Probably because he didn’t want to be caught dead wearing a Christmas hat or sweater. Phoenix is surprised Trucy even let him in without following the Christmas Party Dress Code.
Trucy hums, thinking over the question before answering, “Dunder.”
“What!? I don’t get to be Prancer or Comet?”
“Nope,” she says, popping the ‘p’. Phoenix is about to say something when he sees Edgeworth, trying (and failing) to choke back a laugh.
“Ha ha. Laugh it up, Wright,” the prosecutor grumbles. The white beard and red hat make it hard to tell, but Phoenix is sure he’s scowling.
“Oh, I will. You make a great Santa, Edgeworth.” He turns back to his daughter. “How did you-?”
“No one’s immune to the puppy dog eyes.” He nods. He’s gotten resistant to them over the years, but even he’s not immune. Edgeworth stood no chance.
Phoenix holds his hand up for a high five. “Great job, Trucy.”