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“I don’t wanna talk to you anymore, Daddy!”
The frustrated anger in those words was punctuated with the harsh sound of the front door slamming. Phoenix had known that raising a teenager would inevitably bring about some form of discord. It was only natural that they would face disagreements as Trucy reached an age where she was beginning to discover how to function independently. He just never expected it to hurt this much.
Originally, Phoenix thought he was ready for the challenges this would bring. He’d expected her to pout for permission to go to parties, to sulk if he told her to go to bed early after too many late nights performing at the Wonder Bar. Neither of these felt like disputes worthy of more than a few stern looks and negotiations before they’d naturally reach their inconsequential resolution. If only his life was that simple. He should’ve known not to expect the regular teenage experience from Trucy, but he hardly expected his unrealistic expectations to lead to this.
‘This’ being a full-blown yelling match that left Phoenix standing open-jawed in the middle of his living room. He swore he could still feel the ground shaking from the sheer force of the door slamming mere moments ago. A part of him desperately wanted to run after his daughter but the shock kept his feet planted firmly on the hardwood floor beneath him. He knew she would be fine - she was seventeen after all - and knew not to run off somewhere she wouldn’t be safe. Regardless, that did little to quell the tremors of the anxious parent within his psyche.
With a deep breath, Phoenix grounded himself and reached a hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone. It was a new model that Miles and Trucy had practically begged him to buy after his old one had stopped working properly, leading to one too many missed calls and messages. He still struggled to work his way around the new device, and as he fumbled his way around trying to find his contacts list he could almost hear the phantom laughter of his husband and daughter echoing in his mind.
Oh how he wished he could hear that laughter right now.
From the moment Trucy stepped foot outside the front door, she already knew where she was headed.
Whilst she knew she would find an understanding ear or two if she headed straight for the agency, she didn’t want to risk disturbing Apollo and Athena if they were working on a case. Usually she wouldn’t be so weary, but this time it felt a little too personal to run straight to her father’s employees. Sure, the team were so close that they were practically a second family but bringing domestic arguments between herself and her father hardly felt like the appropriate thing to do. She knew the two attorneys would drop anything to cheer her up, maybe Apollo would even use his Chords of Steel to playfully jab at her absent father while Athena cackled until her mood matrix was nothing but one glowing indicator of ‘happy’.
However, the morning had unintentionally opened some old wounds and Trucy wasn’t ready to share them with the pair. Even though they wouldn’t pry, the knowledge that Athena would be able to hear the sadness in her heart and that Apollo’s bracelet would be suffocating his wrist every time she deflected was enough to deter her. She was also pretty certain that the agency would be the first place her father looked and she wasn’t so sure she wanted to face him before she’d cooled off and thought things through.
Besides, there was another location that promised relief for her pounding heart. One she didn’t even need to think twice about running toward. It was further away than she’d have preferred but she was running on pure adrenaline. Her ears were ringing from the boom of the door slamming, her breaths coming in angry huffs as her feet smacked against the pavement with every hurried step. She hardly registered which directions she was taking, having walked this route plenty of times before.
That was how she found herself standing in the reception area of the Prosecutor’s Office, arguing with the newly appointed receptionist.
“What do you mean you have no record of who I am?!” Trucy was beyond frustrated, one argument was enough for one day yet the receptionist seemed keen to start a second.
“I’m sorry Miss, but this building is for prosecutors only and you look far too young to hold a position here,” the man sighed, tutting condescendingly before waving a dismissive hand in Trucy’s direction. Clearly he had little experience with the prosecutor's office if he thought that they wouldn't hire a promising seventeen-year-old talent - or that it would be the first time. “Now, I’d appreciate it if you kindly left the building and stopped trying to disturb the prosecution staff.”
“I told you. I have permission to see my papa, Miles, whenever I need him! If he’s too busy, he’ll tell me himself.”
“Calling the Chief Prosecutor your ‘papa’ is hardly going to convince me that you have permission to be here. Now, if you don’t leave peacefully I’ll have to call security over to escort you out.”
“You’re not listening to me!” Trucy huffed. With every disbelieving look the receptionist threw at her, the more Trucy wanted to scream.
She’d arrived at this office so many times in the past, barely exchanging words with whoever was managing the desk before she was being waved through with a brief ‘I’ll tell Mr Edgeworth that you’re here’. Why, of all days, did it have to be today that the office decided to hire such a stick in the mud to get in her way?
Rolling his eyes in a manner that was nothing short of unprofessional, the receptionist reached for the intercom that lay on the desk in front of him. “Miss, you’re not allowed up to the Chief Prosecutor’s office without an appointment, those are the rules. Now if you’d ple-”
“Hold it! Now, now, that’s hardly the way to talk to a young lady, ja? ” The all too familiar smooth sound of Klavier Gavin’s voice approached from her left. “Fräulein Wright here is always a welcome guest at the office. The Chief Prosecutor would be upset if he found out she’d been turned away without anyone informing him.”
The receptionist was taken aback at the sudden interruption, from one of the office’s most reputable prosecutors nonetheless. Trucy didn’t need her heightened perception to see the fear in the man’s eyes. “O-of course sir, sorry,” he babbled, not even attempting to argue, “uh- please go ahead Miss, I’ll send a message up to the Chief's office right away.”
“That’s more like it,” Klavier grinned, offering his arm to Trucy. Stifling a giggle, she linked her arm with his and smiled sweetly at the trembling man behind the desk. Not so smug now that Klavier had stopped his little game of intimidation, Trucy supposed. “Well, Fräulein, how about I escort you to Herr Edgeworth’s office?”
“Why thank you, Prosecutor Gavin,” she laughed, skipping forward to match his pace before settling down and walking alongside him. “Seriously though, thank you,” she said once they were out of earreach of the front desk, “I kinda really need to see Papa but I didn’t want to cause a scene by calling him down.”
As much as Trucy had a flair for the dramatics, calling the Chief Prosecutor down from his office to humiliate a new hire was hardly in the range of harmless fun. Having Klavier knock the smug grin off of his face was enough of a buzz for her, she was just grateful that she’d been saved before she had no choice but to give up and sulk her way home.
Home. The fight…
“Geht es dir gut? You look a little down, Fräulein.” Klavier nudged her shoulder gently, encouraging her to look up at him after she had absentmindedly set her gaze to the floor. She knew it was unlike her to be anything but energetic and talkative, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her that Klavier had picked up on her sudden mood shift so quickly. He’d always been sensitive to the moods of others, it was what made him such a good match for Apollo.
She considered waving him off with a smile but the sincerity in his expression broke her instantly. She was usually so much stronger than this. “It’s just… I had a pretty big fight with my daddy.” Sighing deeply, she clutched at the broach that fastened her cape together. “We hardly ever fight. Sure, we butt heads every now and again but I don’t think it’s ever gotten as bad as it did today.”
Shuffling her feet along the polished stone flooring, Trucy gripped loosely at Klavier’s sleeve. Ever since he’d started dating Apollo she’d found herself growing surprisingly comfortable around him, enough to consider him a dear friend who was safe to be a little vulnerable around. “I ran out before we could talk it out, I think I was scared that if I stayed it would just get even worse. I don’t know if I’m still mad at him or if I’m just sad that we yelled.”
“Well, I suppose sometimes it’s a good idea to give yourself some time too cool off and reflect.” Soothingly, Klavier patted his free hand over Trucy’s. “It hurts to fight with people you love, it’s okay if you feel a little sad and angry about it.”
Sniffling a little, Trucy looked up at Klavier who was smiling softly at her. “You’re right,” she said, “I hate it when we can’t see things from each other's perspectives. I just wanted him to understand me… I guess he wanted me to understand him too but it was still frustrating.”
“I think it’s good then, that you’re giving yourself the space to reflect and maybe try and see things from his point of view.” Though she wasn’t so sure that she had made the right choice by running away without telling her father where she was going, Klavier had a point. “It doesn’t mean you have to think he’s right, but maybe you’ll find it a little easier to talk to him, ja? Hopefully he’s also taking the time to understand your feelings.”
“Thanks, Klavier,” she hummed, a familiar tightness rising in her throat as she begged herself not to cry. They had reached the Chief Prosecutor’s office and if her papa heard her crying from the hallway he’d probably call an ambulance.
“It was no problem, Fräulein,” he smiled in response, lifting a knuckle to rap firmly against the office door. “Herr Edgeworth, I brought your guest up for you,” Klavier said with a flourish, bowing to the door which made Trucy smile and giggle into her hand.
“Guest? I wasn’t informed that I had a guest?” His deep voice was muffled behind the thick wood, slowly growing closer as he approached the door from the other side.
Wonderful, the receptionist hadn’t told him she was here.
“It’s me, Papa,” Trucy called, voice a little distant and strained. Well, if she wanted to tell him gently that she was upset, she’d just made a fatal mistake. If she were more naive she’d hope that he hadn’t picked up on it. The sound of running and the fumbling of the door handle insisted otherwise.
The door swung open and at the sight of her other father all the tension in Trucy’s body snapped without warning. Tears were flooding down her cheeks before either of them could even blink. Klavier quietly slipped away to give them some privacy.
“Trucy?!” Miles gaped. His eyes scanned her for any signs of physical harm, a gentle hand gripping her shoulder with a warmth that she found incredibly comforting. The other hand softly brushed the tears from her cheeks, his worried gaze settling on her face as he concluded that she was unharmed but clearly emotionally distraught.
It felt as though those eyes were looking straight into her soul. The pity that so rarely made an appearance on Miles’ face was as clear as day and Trucy couldn’t handle the weight of having that stare fixed on her. She knew he could read her like a book, that he’d probably already deduced that she’d fought with her father or that maybe he’d even already been warned that she was most likely on her way to seek comfort from her other parental figure. Regardless of the truth, the crushing pain of the earlier argument finally caught up to her and the strength began to drain from her body.
Before she could succumb to the weakness, she threw herself into her papa’s chest and heaved a sob when two arms caught her without hesitation.
“Papa,” she wailed, burrowing her face into his waistcoat with his cravat tickling her forehead. A warm hand removed her hat and placed it on the nearby coffee table before returning to her head to gently stroke her hair. The other hand rubbed slow, rhythmic circles into her back, soothing her as she shook with every sob that escaped. A kiss was pressed to the top of her head and she felt nothing but safe in the familiar arms of her father.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispered into her hair. Slowly, she let him guide them towards one of the couches in the office’s lounge area and sunk into the soft cushions when he sat them both down. Now that she was snuggled into his side, his hands went back to their earlier positions and held her close to him as she cried the pain away. She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to the fabric at his back, grounding herself through the tension in her knuckles.
They stayed like that until the sun began to set outside the large office window. Eventually her sobs turned into small hiccups and the grip she had on Miles’ shirt relaxed. Her eyes stung and her body felt unbelievably heavy, exhaustion setting heavy in her bones causing her to slump further into the couch pillows. Miles continued to hold her close and rub soothing circles into her shoulder, occasionally pressing a kiss to her temple and squeezing her reassuringly.
He didn’t pry her for details. He had always been the type to let her approach him first if she wanted to, trusting her to disclose whatever was hurting her in her own time. It was what she’d needed after the events of the day; she didn’t think she could’ve explained even if she wanted to around all of the ugly sobbing and sniffling. His suit was probably in need of a trip to the dry cleaners by now, but she knew he wouldn’t mind.
“I fought with Daddy,” she whispered, voice raspy and painful.
“Your father may have mentioned that to me before you arrived,” he replied, smoothing down her hair. “That’s all he told me though, do you want to tell me about it?”
Nodding, she adjusted her posture slightly and sat up from where she had sunk into the couch. She wrapped her arms around one of Miles’ and leaned against his shoulder. “I told him I was considering studying magic abroad in Europe for a couple years and he kinda… freaked out on me.”
“Oh?” He prompted her to continue her explanation.
“I don’t know when it turned into a fight or how we started yelling at each other, it just got so out of hand, Papa. I don’t know what to do!” The sadness was rising in her again and at the memory of the resistance she’d been faced with, the anger was pouring back as well. “I just wanted him to support me but he kept asking questions and he sounded so… upset ? I get that parents are weird about their children growing up and flying the nest but this was more than that.”
“Did he tell you he didn’t want you to leave?”
“Yeah… he said he wanted me to consider other options ,’ she said mockingly, huffing in sad frustration. “I don’t want to consider other options Papa, this is what I want to do! You, Auntie Franzy, Athena, hell even Daddy spent time in Europe to learn. I want to know everything the world of magic has to offer, I can’t do that if I stay here forever.”
“So, you were planning to leave for a few years before pursuing your magic career full-time,” he stated. It wasn’t a question, just a simple fact.
“I want to be able to take to the stage knowing that I did whatever I could to put on the most amazing show in the world. I have to see more than just LA to know that,” she sighed. “Regardless of all the arguing and the yelling, what hurts the most is that he didn’t give me his support. I was expecting a few tears, sure, his darling daughter told him she wanted to leave his side - but I didn’t expect him to oppose the idea completely.”
“It wasn’t right of him to shut you down without a reasonable explanation,” Miles started, “but I think I know what the problem is and it’s partly my fault if I’m correct. I promise you, both of us would never get in the way of your dreams. I’ll hold your dad back if he makes a fuss of it again.”
“I appreciate it, but… what if he really means it? What if he continues to shut me down? I don’t want to leave on bad terms with him,” she trailed off, panic slowly rising within her. “I just want Daddy to be proud of me.”
Her voice broke into a tiny whisper and her eyes threatened to spill more tears. Arms held her tighter and pulled her into a firm, warm chest.
“Your dad has always been proud of you, sweetheart, that isn’t about to change,” he soothed. “Do you want me to tell you why I think he reacted the way he did? Or do you want to ask him yourself?”
“C-can you tell me? I’m worried that if I ask he’ll do that thing where he tells me everything is fine even though I can tell he’s sad.”
“I know, he tries to keep a brave face around you even when you want him to rely on you. He’s your parent, he just doesn’t want you to worry about him, even though it doesn’t help when he pretends he’s okay.” Miles sighed deeply and squeezed Trucy’s shoulder. “I think he’s developed a fear of being oceans apart from his family.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was separated from me for seven years because I was busy working in Europe,” he said. “We managed our relationship, of course, but it was difficult not being able to see each other for months at a time. Plus, even before I moved I'd already developed a habit of running away to Germany when we were still navigating our feelings for each other. Then, you were accused of murder when he was out of the country and unable to support you.”
Trucy had never quite realised how much the ocean had taken from her father.
“I’m not suggesting that it was okay for him to refuse to let you go, but I’m almost certain he didn’t mean it. He just needs to come to terms with the fact that he doesn’t need to hold his family within arms reach to make sure that they’ll come back to him.”
“Papa…” Trucy didn’t know what to say. It made sense, a lot of it. Even she could remember the numb pain of being thousands of miles apart from her papa growing up and ever since he’d moved back to LA she was still anxious whenever he left for a short business trip. “I think I need to talk to Daddy.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
When they arrived home, the house was dark except for a lone lamp that provided the living room with a gentle glow. Phoenix was slumped over on the couch, and startled when he noticed them walking through the front door. His face was flooded with relief and Trucy began to feel a little bad for how long she’d been at Papa’s office.
“Daddy,” she whispered, verging on tears for a countless time.
“C’mere baby,” he rasped and caught her when she slammed into him and wrapped her arms around him. He clung to her equally tight and peppered her temple with kisses. “I’m so sorry, Truce. I wasn’t being fair with you.”
“You weren’t,” she cried, voice laden with an understanding rather than criticism. “I need you to know something, Daddy.”
“What is it, sweetie?”
“No matter what, I’ll always come home to you and Papa.”
She felt him go still against her. His breath hitched and for a moment she swore time stopped as the words sunk in. Papa hadn’t been wrong. Then, he was squeezing her impossibly tight and burying his face into her hair.
“And Papa and I will always be here to welcome you back,” he promised. “No matter where you go, we’ll always be there for you.”
“Even if I go to Europe?” She asked, lightly teasing him.
“Yes, Truce, even if you go to Europe,” he laughed gently.
They stood there for a while, sniffling and giggling into each other’s shoulders. It had been an emotionally taxing day, but now that she had the love and support of her parents the weight that was pressing down on her began to lift a little. Sure there were still a few stings from the earlier argument, but she trusted her father and knew that they could work it out together. They just needed to understand each other.
Suddenly, the sound of someone clearing their throat rang out behind them. “It’s late, is there anything you both want for dinner?” Miles' face was gentle, clearly relieved to see that she and Phoenix had made up so quickly.
“Pizza!” Both her and Phoenix yelled at the same time, causing them to break into another bout of giggles.
“You convinced me to order pizza last week, no.” Miles crossed his arms and tapped a finger rhythmically against his arm. He often did that when he was considering whether or not his life would be easier if he just caved before the endless onslaught of begging from his husband and daughter started.
“But Miles, that was last week. It’s a whole new week now!”
“Yeah, Papa! Daddy and I have had a hard day, we’ve earned it,” she pleaded, pulling out the puppy dog eyes that she knew her papa had never gained an immunity to.
With a fond sigh, Miles walked over to where they were standing and pulled them both into his arms. “It’s not fair to use those eyes on me, Trucy.”
“The great Miles Edgeworth, demon prosecutor, defeated by his daughter’s puppy dog eyes.” Phoenix laughed, yelping when his husband swatted at him for the playful jab.
“Does that mean we can have pizza?”
“Of course Trucy,” he said, patting her head lovingly.
The earlier events of the day, even up to her sobbing in her papa’s office all felt so far away suddenly. Regardless of how dark the future briefly looked after words were yelled and doors were slammed Trucy couldn’t help but feel content in where she’d ended up by nightfall. Now that she was standing there wedged between her parents, things were starting to look rather bright after all.