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Disclaimer: I don't own Ace Attorney.
Larry knew that he wasn't the sharpest crayon in the tool shed. No length of studying, and not one of the numerous tutors he had gone through could change the fact. He only figured this out, however, when his mother no longer threatened to wash his mouth with soap if he called himself "dumb," or an "idiot." When he came home, upset because the smart kids in class had made fun of his marks, she never stopped to squeeze his hand, while fiercely insisting that he was not stupid. Instead, looking over whatever grade he had received on his latest piece of homework, she would shake her head and sigh, "oh Larry."
This was what lead him to deciding that if his mom didn't care anymore, then why should he? Marks in things like math and science weren't all that important anyway! He didn't want to become a nerd when he grew up, he wanted to be something cool!
("Sour grapes," Edgey would often mutter to himself or, if he was in vicinity, to Phoenix.)
He may have not been the smartest, he definitely wasn't the dumbest, either. Edgey, of course, would probably laugh if he said something like that, but it was the truth!
If it wasn't, he never would have been able to notice how much closer Phoenix and Edgy seemed to be to each other than they were to him! The cool one of the group!
He would certainly never have heard the little asides they made about him from time to time.
And he would never miss the looks on their faces when he showed up.
They remained unchanged with time. Phoenix would stiffen, and smile in a sort of painful way. Edgey would also straighten his posture, but he tended to recoil, before he tucked away the irritation he felt behind a cold mask.
Poking fun at their responses made them bluster and say otherwise when they were kids. But, as they got older, neither fought hard to deny it.
Larry supposed he was at least intelligent enough to partly understand their sentiments.
When asked, most kids said they wanted to be the president, or an astronaut when they grew up. But, since he knew he wasn't smart enough to do any of those things, Larry had decided he would find the Phoenix to his Edgey. The perfect match!
If one had asked him when they first became friends, Larry might have said he would do something with art. It was the one subject he was good at, even if Edgey usually had a higher mark than him. (So what if he didn't hand all his assignments in on time?! He had put love into them! Real heart and creativity!)
In the end, it was Phoenix who was in the arts department. And he even had gotten over Edgey so he could find someone equally deserving of praise! If ever there was a time he had felt jealous, it was then. All-consuming and overwhelming, he found himself more determined than ever to find that same spark of love.
Relationships fizzled in and out with the same ease in which he could flip a light switch. One moment, he was drowning in the fiery passion which he felt for his Sweetheart. In the next instant, he was burnt down to cinders.
("The candle that burns the brightest..." Phoenix would remark in a suspiciously Edgeworth-like manner, while sympathetically patting his back.)
Phoenix and Edgey had always been closer to each other than to him, that was just the way things worked. The two were always giving each other weirdly intense looks, something which only worsened once they left school and reached the courtroom. Along with that, there was an unspoken understanding shared between them. Certain things they could clearly communicate to each other, voluntarily or not.
It was weird and passionate and Larry still didn't know if they liked each other or like-liked each other. (Edgeworth had kicked him out of his house when he last tried to ask, and Phoenix hung up without answering.) Larry figured that he would never understand their relationship.
He wasn't smart enough to comprehend, anyway.
"Phoooenix! Edgeeey!"
"Ngh!"
"Where'd he even come from?!"
As he popped out from behind the bushes, two disgruntled reactions met him. The same-old annoyed faces that he knew anticipate. Larry took a chair from a nearby table, and sat down. Phoenix protectively cupped his hands around his bowl, just waiting for him to mooch. Edgey refrained to comment, instead taking a sip of his tea.
"Who broke up with you this time Larry?"
The same-old tired response. He could not even bring himself to act offended at their annoyance, play the card of friendship from childhood. The only words he could muster up the courage to say were the ones she had told him. What sounded like a, weak, stuttering croak to him must have been a name of some kind, because Phoenix replied, "too bad about her. I'm sure you'll-"
Larry didn't hear the rest of what Phoenix had said. A waitress was going about the tables on the patio, in her hands a tray. Something ignited within him as he saw her. He didn't know how she could balance all of those dishes so gracefully, and with one hand no less! She moved in a well-practiced manner, flying from table to table, without a moment's hesitation between each stop.
"-find someone else," Phoenix dryly finished.
On her toes at all times, she glided across the smooth patio stones like they were ice. When she brought up a hand to brush the hair from her face, the gesture was like an angel's... No, it was exactly like Angel! She brushed her curls behind her ear in the exact same way! But then again, so did many others.
Windily.
Olivia.
Rachel.
Teresa.
Hanako.
Laneisha.
Eve.
Sying.
Safa.
She bent over, to scoop up a stray napkin, and her smoldering eyes settled upon him. They stoked memories of past relationships.
Lucy.
Odette.
Shao-Luoyang
Emily.
Raabiah.
His skin began to prickle, as he recalled similar stares being focused upon him. Eyes similar to that had, at one point, flooded him with warmth. The fluttering sensation seemed more dangerous, liable to burn him at any moment. Larry hastily looked elsewhere, trying to extinguish the feeling.
"D-do you think she'll-"
He squeezed his eyes shut. Faces flickered before him, the faces of an endless rotation of girls who wanted nothing to do with him. He was lazy and talentless and a slob and useless. They all threw their own kindling to the pyre. And if they didn't have any choice words to say, it was because they had walked out and never come back. All around him, the mocking sneers and searing criticisms danced. Then, the voice he expected the least cut through them all.
It was his own.
"Do you think s-she'll let me order some food?"
"I am certain you will find a way to get a phone number out of- what?"
"I kinda' snuck in," Larry explained. "But that ramen looks pretty good."
"Oh uh, yennnyee-?" Phoenix looked to Edgey for confirmation, he nodded in response.
"I'm sure it won't be any trouble."
"No trouble at all," Larry echoed, his voice trailing off.
From across the tables, the gaze of girlfriends previous burned.
Fin