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“Phoenix?” Miles calls down the hallway. “We need to leave soon if we want to be on time for the show.”
“Yeah!” Trucy calls. “It’s my first show back, and it’s sold out! The main act can’t be late! ”
Phoenix straightens his suit jacket in the mirror and runs his hand through his hair one more time, a futile attempt to get it to behave that hasn’t worked once in nearly 40 years. Sometimes he really does miss the beanie, if only for the coverage. It still hangs on the trophy case at the agency, and for a moment he considers trying to convince Miles to swing by on the way to the theater, if only to see the look on his face.
“Coming!” he calls back, giving his tie one final tug as he heads out from the bedroom. It’s a little tight around his neck, but even all these years later he’d never really gotten the hang of tying one perfectly.
Miles tuts when he sees him, walking over and carefully adjusting Phoenix’s tie. He’s quick and efficient; honestly, it’s not fair that he’s better at tying a tie than Phoenix is, considering he near-exclusively wears a frilly neckpiece instead of one.
“Thanks,” Phoenix says, giving Miles a kiss on the cheek.
Even all these years later, Miles blushes a bit at the affection. He brushes his hands down the front of Phoenix’s suitcoat, flattening it out, and then steps back to grab his car keys.
“Looking spiffy, Daddy!” Trucy says, giving him a thumbs up and a wink.
“Thanks, baby,” Phoenix says, kissing her on the cheek. “You ready for your big return?”
“ Born ready,” Trucy says. “Now, come on!”
Phoenix laughs. “Okay, okay, okay. I get it. Let’s go.”
Miles leads them out the door and to his car. Trucy chatters a mile a minute on the drive over, telling more stories about her tour (some of them are repeats, but Phoenix doesn’t mind. He’s just glad to have her back again).
The auditorium is empty when they get there; Trucy leads them backstage, ever in her element, and they come to a stop outside her dressing room. Her name is written with stars on the door, and Phoenix feels pride well up in his chest as he glances around backstage.
“Wow… my baby girl’s all grown up,” he says, wiping a fake tear from the corner of his eye as he slumps onto Trucy and knocks her hat askew. He rests his chin atop her head; they’re both lucky she got Thalassa’s height, if Trucy were taller than him or Miles, she’d be truly unstoppable (as if she isn't already). “Going around the world, leaving me behind… forgetting her dear old dad.”
“Aw, Daddy,” Trucy says, ducking out from under his arms so she can give him a proper hug. “I couldn’t forget you! I need someone who will keep me humble and tell me if things look bad on stage. Papa’s too nice.”
As if Phoenix has ever had a negative word to say about her performance.
Miles picks her hat up off the floor and gently sets it on her head, brushing off some imaginary dirt. Trucy beams up at him, and Phoenix watches, chest warm at Miles’ fond little look that he saves for the people he’s closest too.
“Ms. Wright?” a stagehand asks, peeking from around the corner. “They need you in makeup - you’re on in a bit. Plus, the de Fammes want to go over one of the tricks with you.”
“Oh, I gotta run!” Trucy says, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Bye Papa, bye Daddy!”
She gives Miles a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, and then turns to Phoenix.
“Good luck, kiddo!” Phoenix says, gathering her into a tight hug. “Knock ‘em dead.”
“I always do,” she says, hugging back just as tightly.
It’s a pattern they’ve followed for - god, ever since the first show when Miles was back in the states. Trucy’s not the superstitious type, usually, but she once said that the routine helps make her feel centered. It’s a way for her to focus on the performance ahead. Even when she was out touring, they made sure to keep the routine going; they video-called before every show, and she would say goodbye to them, to which Miles would respond, followed by Phoenix. No sense in ruining a good tradition.
“I’ll see you after the show!” Trucy says, blowing them both a kiss as she follows the stagehand off and around the corner.
Phoenix watches her go until she’s out of sight, a fond smile on his face.
“You ready?” Miles asks, nudging Phoenix with his shoulder. “We should go find our seats.”
“Yeah,” Phoenix says, giving one last backward glance as he turns, following Miles back to the auditorium proper.
A few people are milling about outside as they walk back. The lights flicker once, twice; a silent signal to find your seats. Phoenix tugs Miles behind him, slowly getting more excited. He hasn’t been able to see Trucy on stage for a while, not since she’s been on tour. It’s a weird thing to have gotten used to, considering that he’s been going to her shows at the Wonder Bar a few times a week for about a decade now.
Once they find their seats - the best in the house, as promised - he glances around. The auditorium is packed; there’s not going to be an empty seat in the house. There never is, at one of Trucy’s shows.
Phoenix is so proud of her. She’s come a long way from performing late at the Wonder Bar to a crowd of maybe 10 people. Now, she’s selling out stadiums across the country, going on tour worldwide and making sure that everyone knows her name.
It’s crazy how fast time flies. He can still remember Trucy’s first real show like it was yesterday. Her outfit had been a bit too big for her even then, and Phoenix had stayed up half the night mending it while Trucy fell asleep on the floor, back pressed against his legs. He hadn’t done the best job - sewing had never really been his forte - but it had held together alright, so he’d considered it a win.
When they’d got to the show, Trucy had been nervous; professional magician or not, Phoenix knew his kid, and knew when she was faking a smile for his benefit. She didn’t break the smile until Phoenix had pulled her away from everyone else and asked her point-blank what was wrong. It had taken more than a little cajoling, but eventually she’d confessed that she was worried no one would cheer for her.
So, he’d promised to be the loudest one in the crowd and sound like at least three people cheering. That way, she’d know he was out there and that at least one person was loving the show. Phoenix even tried out some different voices while cheering, drawing on his old acting school experience, which never failed to make her laugh.
It hadn’t mattered in the end - Trucy’s never met a crowd she couldn’t win over, even in those early days. Still, hadn’t stopped Phoenix from cheering as loudly as he could.
He knows that everyone says it, but his kid really is the best around.
“Are you alright?” Miles asks, taking Phoenix’s hand in his own and rubbing his thumb across the knuckles.
Phoenix sighs, leaning against Miles. The auditorium chair makes it a bit awkward, plastic arm jutting into his side, but he wants to rest his head on his husband’s shoulder, discomfort be damned. Miles, genius that he is, reaches down and moves the arm up so it’s sitting beneath the seat backs, giving Phoenix unlimited access. He, of course, takes full advantage of this opportunity, first pressing a kiss to Miles’ cheek in thanks before letting his head settle onto Miles’ shoulder.
“Yeah, I am,” Phoenix says, with a watery grin. “Just… proud of our little girl.”
Miles hums. “Not so little anymore, you know.”
Phoenix sighs. “God, yeah. Don’t remind me. It feels like it was only yesterday when I was still able to carry her to bed when she fell asleep on the couch. Now it just kills my back.”
Miles twists and presses a kiss to his temple. “She’s grown into a wonderful young woman,” he says, sounding just as sentimental as Phoenix feels.
“She really has,” Phoenix says. “How’d we get so lucky?”
“We’ll never know,” Miles murmurs. “You had much to do with it, I think.”
“Sap,” Phoenix teases, poking him in the side, but he’s grinning widely. Miles grumbles something that he can’t make out, but doesn’t push Phoenix away.
The lights overhead dim; the audience quickly quiets down into an anticipatory silence. Phoenix grins; he loves watching Trucy’s shows, loves watching her work the audience and show off her abilities. His babygirl is a superstar, and he couldn’t be more proud of her.
The show, of course, goes without a hitch. Trucy is brilliant on stage, a born entertainer who’s earned her status as the greatest magician. Phoenix cheers louder than everyone, clapping and hooting and hollering, making good on the promise he made years ago. He even gets Miles to join in sometimes, letting out a loud whoop! , which he considers his own biggest accomplishment of the night.
Eventually, it begins to wind down, and Phoenix checks his watch to confirm that there are only about 20 minutes left in the show. Trucy’s been more cagey than usual about her final trick this time; normally, she keeps some of the details of the show to herself so that Phoenix has something to be surprised by, but she’s refused any and all attempts ( and bribes) to talk about what the closer is going to be.
“And now, without further ado...” Trucy says, with a wide smile and a secretive wink. Her voice sounds even more excited than usual, and Phoenix leans forward as much as he can without moving away from Miles, curious. “I’d like to introduce you all to my lovely assistant for the night! It’s a special guest who we only have for today, so let’s give her a warm, loud welcome!”
She gestures toward the right of the stage, where a large wheel has appeared, with straps hanging down loosely from the side. Phoenix shifts a bit in his chair; this is probably why Trucy’d played the final act close to her chest. He doesn’t mind her doing the knife trick, but it’s definitely not one of his favorites. Trucy flashes a few knives in her palm; the handles have a familiar design, but Phoenix is too far away to place what he knows them from.
He laughs, waiting for the familiar hair horns to make an appearance. “Wow, she’s really gotten good at convincing Apollo to do the more dangerous stuff, huh?”
He’s a bit surprised that he hasn’t heard Apollo complaining about it around the office; normally, he gripes for days before a show if Trucy had wrangled him into helping out, little grumbles and mutters that Phoenix pretends not to hear unless he wants to freak Apollo out. The kid is so much louder than he realizes, even now. The put-on complaining is mostly the reason why Trucy waits until the day of to cajole him - secondary only to the reason that she and Phoenix find it hilarious .
“...Wait,” Miles says, and Phoenix hums, curious. “Trucy said her. I… don’t believe Mr. Justice is her assistant tonight. Did she tell you who it would be?”
Phoenix blinks, and then starts counting down in his head. “Truce wouldn’t tell me anything about the trick, actually. Gonna be a surprise for both of us tonight. And it’s not Pearls, she’d be staying with us. Maya swore off being an assistant after the, uh, fire incident. Athena is on a date with Juniper, so it can’t be her. Jinxie’s out of town with her dad. I don’t know who else… it… would...”
“ Phoenix, ” Miles says urgently, knocking Phoenix’s head off of his shoulder as he turns to look at him, worried.
“...No, absolutely not,” Phoenix says, disbelieving. “She - they wouldn’t, not without telling us.”
The smoke on stage clears, and the lights come back up. Trucy stands in a single spotlight, the rest of the stage dark, and then another spotlight turns on, shining directly on -
“Kaaaaaaaaay Faraday!” Trucy announces, and Kay waves at the audience from where she’s strapped down against a large, wooden wheel.
“They absolutely would,” Miles says, resigned.
“Oh my god,” Phoenix whispers, staring up in disbelief at the stage. He realizes where he recognized the symbol on the knives from. They’re the Yatagarasu symbol, the same as the pin Kay wears, and he feels stupid for not picking up on it earlier.
Miles’ entire body is tense; Phoenix can feel him barely moving as he stares at Kay. “Phoenix, how do we stop the show.” It’s not a question. Phoenix’s eyes flit to the fire alarm. It would be easy to go over and pull it, delay the show enough to talk Trucy (and Kay) out of doing this as her final trick. It’s dark enough in the auditorium that the cameras probably wouldn’t even catch him doing it, but if it did, he’s sure he could convince the judge to -
No. Not only would Trucy never forgive him and never talk to him again, he can’t ruin his daughter’s first show back in LA by pulling the fire alarm. He fakes a smile, trying to sound more confident than he feels, and sets about trying to convince Miles of the same.
“It’ll be fine,” Phoenix says, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Trucy’s knife ban got lifted two years ago, and she’s been practicing with them every day. She knows what she’s doing, and both of them are professionals. Hell, Kay taught her some knife throwing.”
“Kay did what ,” Miles says, eyes flashing, and Phoenix laughs nervously. Once, when Kay had been back in the states and was babysitting Trucy in Ema’s absence, he’d walked in to see Kay juggling knives with his twelve-year-old daughter and nearly had a heart attack until Kay showed him that no one was hurt and Trucy had promised not to touch knives until she was at least sixteen. He… forgot he’d promised Kay not to tell Miles that particular story.
“Uh, nevermind,” he covers, waving it away. The shrewd look in Miles’ eyes is familiar, and Phoenix knows that even if the conversation is done for tonight, they’ll be revisiting it at some point. Probably soon. He sends a silent apology for Kay toward the stage, where Trucy is doing some crowdwork to drum up the tension. “Miles - look, I promise they’ll both be fine. Trucy’s done this trick with Apollo and Athena a thousand times before, and they’re always fine. Even though Apollo’s hair’s the perfect target. He’s never lost a strand.”
“This is different, it -“
“Do you trust them?” Phoenix asks, and Miles sighs, eyes locked on the stage. His brow is furrowed in worry, and Phoenix reaches over and grabs his chin, forcibly turning Miles’ face towards his.
“Of - of course I do, it’s just -“ Miles’ eyes keep drifting back toward the stage, even with Phoenix’s hand on his chin, so Phoenix leans forward. He knocks their foreheads together gently, breathing slowly as Miles starts to unconsciously match him.
“Trucy would never do anything to hurt Kay,” Phoenix reasons, saying it to remind himself as much as Miles. “Or vice versa. Obviously. Within five minutes of them meeting, they decided they were sisters. Without our input.”
“Of course she wouldn’t,” Miles says. “Even with Kay’s… propensity for putting herself into situations fraught with danger, I trust Trucy, at least, to have some limits.”
Phoenix, very wisely, doesn't tell Miles about the shows he’d missed when he was in Germany. If it’ll let the rest of Trucy’s show go off without a hitch, he’s happy to let Miles believe that Trucy has responsible limits when it comes to her performances.
“She’s a professional,” Phoenix says. “Both of them are, and knowing that, which we do, they…” He wants to say they wouldn’t take unnecessary risks, but he doesn’t really like actually lying to Miles if he can avoid it, so instead he changes tracks. “They both probably practiced this before, and are being at least a little careful with it.”
“I know that,” Miles says, worrying at his bottom lip. “But mistakes happen , Phoenix, regardless of how skilled someone is.”
“Hey,” Phoenix says, thumb stroking against Miles’ cheekbone. “They both know what they’re doing, and they wouldn’t be doing this unless they were 110% sure it would be okay. Yeah?”
“But -“
“‘Miles. We can’t stop Trucy’s show,” Phoenix says, and Miles sighs.
“…You’re right,” he concedes, and Phoenix grins, kissing him on the cheek.
“I’m always Wright,” he says, and Miles shoves his face away.
“Ridiculous,” Miles mutters, but the fond little smile that Phoenix loves is back on his face, so he counts it as a win.
They both turn back toward the stage, ignoring some very pointed whispers from the rest of the audience sitting around them.
“ Ms . Faraday, are you ready?” Trucy is saying, with a knowing smirk.
Kay gives her a thumbs up, hand still shackled to the wheel. “I was born ready, Ms. Wright!”
Trucy turns toward the audience, arms spread wide. “Are you all ready?”
A chorus of cheers is the response, and Trucy tips her hat to the audience before retreating to her marked spot on the floor. One of the de Fammes (Phoenix doesn’t really make that much of an effort to tell them apart) presses a button and then heads off stage with a final bow.
When the wheel starts to spin, Phoenix's head starts to do the same. He grips Miles’ hand so tightly that he thinks it might be bruised, although Miles doesn’t protest. When Trucy blindfolds herself, Miles starts up a steady stream of German swears under his breath, voice faint. Phoenix can relate.
He surreptitiously scoots forward to the edge of his seat, ready to jump up the instant something goes wrong. Miles matches his movements at his side, and both of them watch with bated breath as the act gets underway. Each knife getting thrown nearly stops Phoenix’s heart as it embeds in the wood. Miles’ jaw is so tightly clenched that Phoenix’s own jaw aches in sympathy.
Of course, it all goes perfectly. No one gets hurt, even if there are some near misses. Which, look, Phoenix knows that Trucy has to drum up the crowd and get them on the edge of their seat, but he would much rather it didn’t involve… all this. His heart can’t take it.
Eventually, Trucy holds up her hands, showing that she’s out of knives. Kay is still grinning wildly on the wheel, which begins to slow down as the act comes to a close. Still, Phoenix doesn’t release the death grip he has on Miles’ hand until the wheel’s stopped spinning and Trucy’s taken the blindfold off, soaking up the audience’s raucous applause.
Kay slips her hands out of the straps, as though she could have done that the whole time, and goes over to Trucy. They grab each other’s hands and dip down into a dramatic bow. The crowd erupts, jumping to their feet and cheering, and Trucy throws her hand out to the side as they straighten up, pulling one of her smoke bombs seemingly from midair.
“You’ve been a lovely audience, and remember: there’s a little bit of magic everywhere you look!”
“ Goodnight !” Trucy and Kay say together, giving the audience wild smiles. Trucy throws the smoke bomb down to the ground and her and Kay vanish; when the smoke clears, they’re nowhere to be found, and the lights slowly come back up while the crowd cheers for the two of them.
Phoenix wants to appreciate it more than he currently is, because Trucy did a great job and he’s as proud of her as he always is, but his heart is still racing a mile a minute from the knife trick. Miles seems to be in a similar state, eyes fixed on the stage where the two of them vanished. Phoenix’s heart is running a bit more normally now that the danger has passed, but he can still feel the adrenaline thrumming in his vein.
The audience starts to filter out around them; nearly everyone seems to have had a wonderful time; multiple comments about how skilled of a magician Trucy is reach Phoenix, and he feels the pride swell up in his chest.
“Come on.” Phoenix takes Miles’ hand in his and pulls him to his feet, aiming for a relieved smile and probably getting closer to a mildly pained grimace. “Let’s go grab our dangerous daughters.”
The walk to the dressing room is tense; Miles is vibrating at his side, and while Phoenix is still upset with both Trucy and Kay, it’s mostly been usurped by pride and excitement at seeing Kay again. He does still want to have a strict talk with them about not putting him or Miles through that again without sufficient warning, but he thinks Miles will do a good enough job on his own.
And a good job he does, sweeping into Trucy’s dressing room without knocking and without acknowledging the very, very nervous stagehand standing outside. Phoenix gives them a sympathetic smile and a weak thumbs up before he follows Miles into the room.
“ Trucy Wright. Kay Faraday.” Miles says, with all the gravitas he can. His arms are crossed across his chest as he fixes both of them with a stern look.
“Oh, hi, Daddy! Hi, Papa!” Trucy says, voice dripping with fake cheer as she gives them a huge grin. Her eyes are darting around, and if Phoenix didn’t know better, he’d think she was looking for an escape route.
“Wuh oh,” Kay says, looking between the two of them. “Uh. Surprise!”
It’s weak; she gives them a faint grin, and she might not be actively looking for a way out but Phoenix doesn’t doubt she has five ideas on immediate escape spinning in her head.
“What on earth were you two thinking?” Miles asks.
“Miles was terrified,” Phoenix adds. Miles fixes Phoenix with the signature glare that gets used solely on criminals, Gumshoe, Kay when she steals the last German cookie Franziska sent, and Phoenix when he’s deflecting. It really is efficient.
“I seem to remember someone gripping my hand during the entire trick,” Miles says. “But that’s not the point. I understand that you are both professionals, but that was an incredibly dangerous act that could have ended up with one or both of you hurt.”
“Papa, that’s -“
“Miles, we just -“
Miles holds a hand up and they both quiet down. “Myself and Phoenix were very worried about you both, especially as we hadn’t expected both our daughters to be involved in the act.” He takes a deep breath, and Phoenix quietly takes his hand, prying his arms away from his chest. “You are both adults, and can make your own decisions, but this tricks can be dangerous, even when done by professionals.”
“We didn’t mean to scare you, Papa,” Trucy says earnestly. “Really, I promise. We just thought it would be nice, to have Kay back again and have her help me out with my show. She hasn’t been able to for years!”
Miles’ grip on Phoenix’s hand softens a bit. “I’m sure you both had the best of intentions, but still -“
“I’m really sorry, Papa. I wanted it to be a surprise,” Trucy says, looking downcast. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen Kay, I thought you both would be so happy to see her again…”
Miles falters, and Kay pounces. “Yeah,” she says, linking arms with Trucy. “We just wanted to surprise you! I told Trucy I’d be back in town and we cooked this whole plan up.
Phoenix shakes his head, slightly, more than a little amused now. Kay and Trucy are clearly working Miles over, and it’s also clearly working. He doesn’t step in, only because he can tell there’s at least a little genuine remorse and understanding under it all, even if they’ve both turned the dial up to 10.
“Please just… tell us next time.” Miles folds like a deck of cards under the twin puppy dog eyes. Both of those girls have him - and Phoenix, honestly - wrapped around their fingers, and it’s always been hard to stay mad at them for long. Phoenix is usually better at it than Miles, shockingly, but he decides to make an exception today.
He really has missed Kay, after all, and he likes having their little family back together.
“Can we do hugs now?” Kay asks, a little meekly, and Phoenix immediately reaches for her, pulling her into a huge hug.
“Get over here, Miles,” he says, getting some of Kay’s hair in his mouth. Miles sighs but acquiesces; Phoenix lets go of Kay and she bounds over to Miles, giving him an incredibly tight hug.
“Sorry for scaring you,” Kay says, sounding less apologetic than Phoenix is sure Miles was hoping for.
“I’m glad you’re both okay, and it’s good to see you again,” Miles murmurs, holding Kay close. Trucy leans against Phoenix’s side and he wraps an arm around her.
Kay pulls back a bit from Miles, mimicking Trucy’s pose against his shoulder. “So… could I crash on your couch? Ema’s off in Khura’in and I, um. Lost our keys.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be a Great Thief?” Miles asks, raising an eyebrow. “I seem to remember multiple occasions of you claiming that no lock was too complex for the Yatagarasu, regardless of my protests to the contrary.”
“Wait. Are you encouraging me to commit crimes?” Kay asks, eyes lighting up in excitement. “Wow, this is amazing - Trucy, we really broke him, he wants me to do crimes!”
Phoenix laughs while Miles sputters incoherently, flush rising in his cheeks.
“That’s - I - I meant - it -“
“Of course you can stay with us, kid,” Phoenix cuts him off, wrapping an arm around Kay’s shoulders and pulling her into a loose, one-armed hug. Miles sighs deeply at his side, face still a little red. “We always love to see you. Please don’t break into your own apartment.”
“No promises!” Kay says with a wink. Phoenix supposes that’s the best he’s going to get; she does have a reputation to live up to, after all.
“Alright, stop teasing Miles, he’s going to have a heart attack over you breaking the law,” Phoenix says, ever the hypocrite. “Truce, you got everything?”
“Almost!” Trucy lugs her suitcase over to them, squishing down all of her props as she struggles to get it closed. Kay stamps her foot on top of the suitcase, and Trucy’s finally able to zip the thing shut, standing up with a bright grin as she rights the suitcase.
Phoenix takes the handle without asking or being told, starting to herd everyone away from the dressing room. It’s starting to get late, and tomorrow is still a Wednesday. Phoenix doesn’t mind - Apollo and Athena mostly know not to expect him to come in before noon by now - but Miles still gets up at 7am like clockwork, and he’s grumpy as hell if he doesn’t get his beauty sleep.
As they’re heading down the hallway toward the front door of the theatre, there’s a loud grumbling noise. All four of them pause, three pairs of eyes turning toward Kay, who’s standing there with a sheepish smile on.
“So, maybe I skipped lunch to make it here on time?” she admits. “I couldn’t let Trucy down, and Seb is such a slow driver, okay, we were running so late and I wanted to get some tacos but then it was nearly 4pm and we -“
“Alright, alright,” Phoenix says, laughing. “We get it. What are you feeling?”
“Eldoons!” Trucy shouts, starting up a chant that Kay quickly joins in on.
Miles makes a soft noise of disgust; even all these years later, Phoenix has never been able to convert Miles into an Eldoons fan like himself, Kay, and Trucy. He doesn’t get it - sure, Eldoons is more salt than any actual flavor, but it’s cheap and delicious and Mr. Eldoon always gives them a discount.
“Well?” Phoenix asks, giving Miles an expectant look. “It is tradition. And Kay’s just gotten back, we should let her pick the place, right?”
He gives her a conspiratorial wink that she returns with a thumbs up and a wide smile.
Miles, meanwhile, presses his index finger and thumb against the bridge of his nose. “Ridiculous. All of you.”
“Aww, you love us,” Phoenix says, wrapping his arms around Miles’ waist as he kisses him on the cheek.
“Gross,” Kay says, scrunching up her nose. “You’re so sappy.”
“Sure am,” Phoenix says, unable to stop grinning as he ruffles Kay’s hair. “Food?”
“Food!” Kay and Trucy respond in a chorus. They lead the way out of the dressing room, arms linked together.
Phoenix smiles as he watches them go. He reaches down and takes Miles’ hand, who permits it with a soft huff. They follow, albeit at a more sedate pace. Kay and Trucy are cheering about something, and when Phoenix looks up at Miles, there’s a soft, fond smile pulling at his lips.
They both love having their family all together, after all.