A/N: I'm pretty sure Larry hadn't met Athena (or Apollo, I think) until the Sprocket case. He was there to get a girlfriend (who was getting married) And I have a feeling that in his head, he found one in Athena. But how well will Apollo and Simon take the news? I don't own Ace Attorney, that would be Capcom.

Larry hadn't actually met the people working for Phoenix ever. At least, not until the whole Sprocket ordeal. Apollo, he was cool with. Then he mentioned he worked in Khura'in, which sounded cool, and Larry asked if he could come sometime. Phoenix said yes, and Apollo just sort of shrugged. But then he met Athena. The first time they'd met… Sucked. He'd known that all the girls had wanted to get the bridal bouquet, but as his luck would have it, he got it! He was thrilled at first. Then he saw balled fists, and decided that now would be a good time to run. Turns out, Athena was a really good kicker. It didn't help she had heels on. But then he decided to head over to the office one day. And when he stepped in, he found the real Athena. The caring, spunky-but-not-aggressive, excitable, Athena. Who was also an analytical psychologist. So he said, "Uh, hi." Athena turned to him. "Sorry about that whole thing at the wedding. I totally overreacted." Larry replied, "Nah, it's fine. I actually came over because I wanted to find Nick. But then I noticed you're also a psych major, and I kinda have a few issues." Widget glowed yellow. "And why would you think that?" Larry responded, "You mind doing an impromptu therapy session?" Athena shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's not like I had much else to do. Besides, maybe the boss'll bump my salary up if I do it." With that, she brought him inside, and told him to lay on the couch. She brought in a rolling chair. "Alright, so first, I want you to tell me about yourself. What do you do, what's your life like, stuff like that." Larry nodded, then began, "So, I'm a painter. I get commissions from people to paint stuff. It's not usually much, but it gets me a decent enough apartment. For a while I lived up at Hazakura Temple." Athena stared. "Really? Why?" Larry responded, "Well, my mentor lived up there too. She was Misty Fey in disguise or something. I still go up there sometimes to visit Iris." Athena then asked him, "Iris, as in the boss's ex?" Larry nodded. "Yep. But that was a while ago. Anyway, when I'm not painting, I usually go around town trying to hook up with people. But it usually ends with me getting dumped. Actually, it always ends with me getting dumped. Which is why I'm here." Athena nodded. "Alright, so tell me what you think the problem is."

The discussion ended up dragging on for a while, and Phoenix came in a couple times to check on them. Eventually, Athena made her diagnosis. "Larry, I think you have a superiority complex, and are a bit too much of a yes-man. You tend to agree to anything and everything, which most people find to be a bit of a turn off, and in your head you're awesome, but otherwise, not so much. However, you do have a career, which is good. Superiority complexes tend to go away once you feel adequate. I can give you a ton of people who like art and would love to have something done for them. Sound good?" Larry nodded, feeling much better about himself. Then he said something that definitely qualified as overstepping boundaries. "Hey, you want to hang out at my place? I think the reason I painted so well was because I always had a muse. Without one, I just don't feel as good." Athena shook her head. "Sorry, but I was planning on hanging out with a friend of mine." But Larry pushed further. "And who exactly is this friend of yours?" Athena replied, "Do you know who Prosecutor Blackquill is?" Larry shook his head. "He's someone I met when I was a kid, and I helped him get acquitted. He's really nice, though super protective. And his methods of protecting me are a bit… violent sometimes." Larry laughed. "It can't be that bad, can it." Athena replied, "He has a pet hawk and is also a samurai." Larry stopped. "Oh. OK then. Remind me not to get on his bad side. But still, offer still stands." Athena shrugged. "I guess I'll think about it." With that, she walked out. Phoenix walked in. "Oh, hey Larry. Did Athena just leave?" But Larry was not at all focused on that. "I think I just got a new girlfriend, Nick." Phoenix stared. "Really? Who?" Trucy walked in the door then. "Hey dad, I'm back! And is that…" Larry nodded. "Larry Butz, painter extraordinaire! I was just telling your dad about my new girlfriend. Phoenix then tapped him. "Out with it then, who is it?" Larry replied, "Athena." Phoenix gaped. "Wait, Athena Cykes? That Athena?" Larry nodded. "Yep! She's the first person who isn't Iris to immediately turn down the opportunity to hang out with me for no reason!" Phoenix replied, "What are you thinking, Larry!? One, she's like 20 years younger than you, and two, she has Simon." Larry shrugged. "One, never stopped me before, and two, she told me about him already. I know what to do in those scenarios." Phoenix facepalmed. "And then you've got Apollo…" Larry cut him off. "He's in Khura'in." Trucy added in, "She's like a sister to me! So EW on so many levels!" Larry responded, "You're not actually siblings, though! So it's not that bad! Trust me, I've had weirder." Trucy covered her ears. "I don't wanna know!" With that, she ran off. Phoenix groaned. "I hope you know what you're getting into…"

As it turned out, Larry did know what he was getting into. The first thing he did the next morning was stop by the Prosecutor's office to talk to Simon. "Hey, Prosecutor Blackquill?" Simon looked up from his paperwork. "And you are…" "Larry. Larry Butz. Listen to me for a sec? And don't kill for what I'm about to say." Simon nodded. "Go on, Butz-dono." "I kinda want to date Athena." There was an inhuman roar, then the sound of a hawk. "TAKA! DESTROY THIS MAN WHO WANTS TO DEFILE CYKES-DONO!" With that, Taka swooped in, and Larry got pecked in the balls. But Simon noticed Larry wasn't flinching. "WHAT!? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?" Larry laughed. "Girls always go for that spot! So I brought a cup with me just in case!" Simon groaned. "CURSE YOU, BUTZ-DONO!" Larry shrugged. "Look, just tell me why you want to kill me because I want to date Athena. There's gotta be more to it." Simon sat down.

"Athena could do so much better than you."

"I knew that already."

"I want to protect her."

"From what?"

"From, well, people like you!"

"What's so bad about me?"

"You're a pervert."

"No I'm not! I just get dumped a lot, OK?"

"And why is that?"

"I'm a doormat with a superiority complex."

"And who told you that?"

"Athena."

"When?"

"Yesterday, during an impromptu therapy session."

Simon slumped back in his chair. If Athena had told him that, then that really was all the issues he had. And that was easily fixable. "Fine. But if I hear one word about you assaulting the princess, I will find you. And I will kill you." Larry laughed. "'Princess,' eh? Who gave her that nickname?" Simon explained. "It was the employees of the space center. She was like a princess and the space center was her castle. And if that were the case, her mother would be the queen." Larry nodded. "Alright. Thanks for not killing me on the spot!" With that, he walked out, feeling much more satisfied with himself. "Now there's no stopping me dating Athena!"

A/N: Now that that's in his head, what will he do? The answer: absolutely everything.