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“Larry! What are you doing here?” Edgeworth asked with his usual, slightly annoyed, slightly fed up tone. He had just entered the back room of the local art gallery. Edgeworth didn’t make a habit of visiting these kinds of places, but there was an...incident...a few hours ago.
“Oh...hey Edgey…” Larry laughed slightly, only moving slightly from his place on the floor. He paused for a second, seemingly gathering his thoughts before speaking again, “Ha, must of been a crazy night! My arts on show after all, gotta celebrate that especially with so many beautiful ladies around.”
Edgeworth was more confused than usual...Larry didn’t seem drunk, but seemed to be using that as an excuse. If it was anyone else, Edgeworth would consider him a suspect right now… but that wasn’t the case. Something was clearly wrong...now Edgeworth thought about it, Larry hadn’t even correct him on the name, that was enough on it’s own to suggest something was odd here.
“Well, can you get up at least?” Edgeworth started, staying near the door, as he looked behind at the scene in the main hall. Around him, the police officers were busy, with the large amount of witnesses and forensic evidence to be processed. “Incase you weren’t aware, there was a murder tonight.”
“Huh, Murder, that explains why you’re here then...who is it?” Larry asked, seemingly ignoring the first question as he leant back against the wall. “Hope it’s no one I know, that would suck real bad.”
“It was an artist, you may have crossed paths before,” Edgeworth replied simply, giving Larry a brief glare, “Vinny Vango was his name, are you acquaintances?”
“Oh, they got Vinny? Man that sucks, he was super talented, little weird but that’s the best thing in an artist,” Larry coughed into his hand, before placing his jacket pocket quickly.
Edgeworth stepped further into the room, more than a little concerned now, “Larry...why are you in here?” He asked again, sending Larry one of his ice-cold glares.
“What! No weird reason! I just wanted to get away from the party cause it was pretty loud and I was getting tired, that’s all it is!” Larry replied, clearly agitated already, he moved again, pulling his jacket closer around his body this time.
“Larry, do not lie to me,” Edgeworth replied, retaining his glare, “Why are you in here?”
“I told you! Anyway, just leave me alone, I’ll leave here eventually, once I’ve rested a little more, you can even lock me in here or something, so I don’t leave the crime scene or anything.” Larry replied, looking down to avoid Edgeworth’s glare.
“Larry, I would be failing my duty as both a prosecutor...and a friend…if I left you in here,” Edgeworth replied simply, slight traces of concern reaching his voice. He stopped, looking over Larry once more. Something was definitely wrong, and it wasn’t just him being ‘tired’ like he claimed, he was hiding something. “Larry, what are you hiding from me,”
“Nothing! Nothing, it’s nothing,” Larry replied, pulling the jacket even tighter over himself, a little too tight. A red mark began to appear on the otherwise pink jacket.
“Larry!” Edgeworth moved closer once more, kneeling down next to his friend, “Move your jacket.” He demanded.
“What? Why? There’s nothing I swear..”
“Larry…”
Larry gulped a little, carefully moving his jacket to reveal a small but not insignificant wound, seemingly made by a small, sharp object. His white shirt was already stained a dark red, with some of the blood seeping into a red pool on the floor.
“Larry, why didn’t you tell me you were injured?” Edgeworth asked, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and placing it against the wound.
“Well...it’s not much of a wound, didn’t want to bother you edgy with the murderer still around...didn’t want to be arrested and all that, if I hid? I could wait it out.” Larry replied, a little sheepishly.
“Wait it out? Larry you can’t even get up on your own could you?” God, Larry was an idiot, but Edgeworth was sure this was one of the stupidest things he’d done, “What would you have done if by some miracle no one found you in here?”
“I would of… Well I didn’t think that far ahead,” Larry admitted, playing with the back of his head.
Edgeworth sighed, shaking his head before looking out of the door again, “Officer!” He called out to an officer who was walking past the door, “Get medical in here.”
“Right away sir!” The officer replied, running off past the door towards the back of the gallery.
“Larry, please tell me what happened.” Edgeworth was less forceful, more concerned in his tone, although the usual exasperation of dealing with Larry was present.
“Fine...I didn’t mean to get hurt I swear, I was told by someone to come back here, I didn’t know who it was, thought it was to buy my work or something.” He paused again “I came here and it was empty then I heard someone scream and went to find out what happened when some masked figure pushed me against the wall and stabbed me with something…” Larry replied, wincing slightly as a moved his arms a little too much as pointed lazily towards his wound.
“Larry, that scream...was probably the witness finding the body….” Edgeworth thought for a moment, before a realisation hit “That was three hours ago!”
“Oh...guess I must have blacked out or something for a bit..” Larry replied with a shrug, looking towards the door in a daze.
“You mean to say, you were stabbed, fell unconscious….and still thought it was best not to tell anyone about your injury and instead tried to lie to me about being tired?” Edgeworth replied, following Larry’s gaze towards the door. What was taking that officer so long anyway?
“Huh...when you say it like that you make me sound like an idiot, Edgey... But I wasn’t lying about being tired…” Larry replied, closing his eyes ever so slightly.
“You are an idiot, Larry! But you need to stay awake…” Edgeworth added, looking at the door once more.
“I’m awake...I’m awake” Larry replied, moving slightly to lean against Edgeworth’s shoulder instead of the wall. “You’re a meanie Edgey…”
“Yes, well you have told me that before, on many occasions,” Edgeworth replied, slightly surprised at Larry’s now position but deciding not to push him off “But I think I’m justified this time, more so than usual… you could of fallen unconscious again or worse…”
“Awww Edgey….it’s almost like you care.” Larry murmured, clearly beginning to dose off again.
“Larry...you’re even more of a fool than I thought if you think I wouldn’t care that you are hurt,” Edgeworth replied, surprisingly softly, as the medical personnel finally entered the room, moving Larry from his position, where he was half laying on Edgeworth. “I’ll find out who did this too you, alright?” He added, giving Larry’s hand a small squeeze in passing leaving the room, looking back at Larry from the door before returning to the investigation.
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“Oh… Hey Edgey!” Larry seemed surprised to see Edgeworth standing in the doorway of his hospital room. The small collection of flowers and cards suggested that Edgeworth wasn’t the first to visit. There were a few names he recognised - a certain defense attorney, spirit mediums and a great thief to name a few.
"I apologise for not coming sooner...but we did find the masked figure, they were the killer in the case, hoping to use you as a suspect but luckily for you the body was found sooner than the killer thought...or maybe unlucky for you, considering your current predictiment." Edgeworth stood near Larry's bed, "How are you feeling?"
"As good as ever, the nurse is really cute.." Larry replied with a thumbs up, winking at the nurse who passed by the door, "And that masked person never stood a chance with you on the case."
"Glad to see your back to your normal self Larry," Edgeworth replied with an exasperated sigh. "But it was very unlike you to not tell anyone what had happened…"
"What can I say? I didn't want to cause problems again…" Larry admitted with a dismissive shrug.
"Ah…" Edgeworth replied, pausing for a moment "Though you are a magnet for trouble...this time the trouble was not because of your actions, if anything, you caused yourself more trouble ignoring your injury."
"I guess so," Larry replied thoughtfully, "You were worried, weren't you! You do care!" Larry replied before moving to pull Edgeworth into a hug.
"Nugh!" Edgeworth was surprised to say the least, "Larry, you're still injured."
"Ow...yeah..worth it," Larry replied, leaning back into his bed with a groan.
"And regarding my...care, I am your friend after all." Edgeworth replied, brushing down the crinkles in his suit, "Although if you tell anyone, I won't stop your inevitable next near arrest."
"Awww Edgey… You wouldn't." Larry replied with a pout, causing Edgeworth to roll his eyes.
"Well, I must prepare for court tomorrow, rest assured that the person who did this will be brought to justice," Edgeworth replied, moving to the door.
"Knew I could count on you!" Larry replied with a small smile, "Thanks, for everything."
"Of course, I expect to see you soon, under better circumstances, for once." Edgeworth replied, and for once, he realised, he didn't mind about seeing Larry again. Despite everything, Larry was a loyal friend, and they were hard to find after all.