The Bright Side

Disclaimer: When I own the entire universe, I will own the Ace Attorney franchise.

A/N- When I started this account, I had no idea what fanfiction to start with. After a while, after eating some spaghetti, I finally got it! Hope you enjoy! Reviews are as important as air! -Jay

As Phoenix wandered around his former office-turned home, miraculously avoiding anything that added to his growing mass of magic props, he allowed his mind to drift aimlessly.

Has it really been a year since I got disbarred? A year since I was standing in the midst of all the chatters and whispers and insults directed at me on that fateful day? A year since I… met Trucy? What would've happened if-

Phoenix's train of thought abruptly ended when he felt a jolt of pain coming through his big toe. He yelped in agony and leaped away from the attacker, which was, of all things, a chair used for floating tricks. How ironic it was when it stayed firmly to the ground when he managed to accidentally kick it.

He heard a crashing sound, and felt himself collide with both the floor and the wall at the same time. This was definitely a great atmosphere for peaceful pondering.

The door slammed open, and a young magician bounded in the room.

"Daddy, I'm home from- What happened here!? Oh my gosh, Daddy, are you ok? I'll get some ice! Wait here!"

Trucy ran to the bathroom in a panic, then to the kitchen, looking for first-aid.

As Phoenix got up, he managed a chuckle. He inspected his body, looking for any broken bones or the sort. Fortunately there were none, but he found purple splotches along his arms. How he managed to bruise his arms of all places confounded him.

"Don't worry, Truce. Just some bruises, is all." Phoenix brushed off his clothes and stood up.

Trucy waddled out of the kitchen, arms struggling to hold her cape full of melting ice.

"Then… can you help me? I… grabbed… as much… ice as I…can."

She almost fell over, but managed to regain her balance.

Phoenix smiled as he walked over to the little girl, picking her up and bringing her to the kitchen.

"Now we don't want to waste ice, do we?" Phoenix asked with a smirk.

In a fit of giggles, Trucy nodded. "Yes, of course, Daddy!"

Phoenix put the nine-year-old down, proceeding to shovel the watery ice back in the fridge. When it was all done, all that was left to do was to clean up the insulting mess in the office.

Not that it would stay clean.

His body ached as he finally put the last hula hoop on the hook. He was done, and he could go to sleep.

Sleep, full of happy memories and sweet fantasies, where you can drift off on your own, in a world of your imagination, where you smile and-

"Hold still, Daddy!"

When will he ever get a complete thought in his mind?

Phoenix stopped in his tracks, as Trucy told him to sit down, tightly wrapped around a measuring tape around his head, and wrote several notes down. She measured every angle, constantly getting frustrated at the obstructing spikes in her field of vision.

"Have you ever thought of shaving your hair?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that these are natural!"

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm done. Thanks Daddy! Tomorrow I need to go to the local store!" She pecked his cheek and quickly left the room, bringing the notebook with her.

What in the world was she planning?

The days after that, Trucy often locked herself in her room, only leaving to eat or go to the bathroom. Phoenix could often hear frustrated complaints from her room, but never really bothered to ask. It did worry him, however, that when she came home, she usually held a bag in her hands and ran to her room without a word.

Was this the right age for girls like her to act like this? He would never really know.

When Phoenix heard a racket coming from her room, he really began to worry. He jogged to Trucy's room, opened the door, and was in for a very big sight.

The first thing that caught his eye was the hat.

He walked in and picked it up. It was a crocheted beanie, to be exact. It didn't look amateur at all, save for some tiny holes and knots in the fabric. Despite that, it looked very carefully made, with an intricate design and a bright blue color. He was amazed at Trucy for making it, and looked in her direction.

She was huddled on her bed, hugging her knees close to her chest.

She had tears rolling down her face, and she tried desperately not to hiccup. When she noticed that Phoenix was staring at her, she covered her face, obviously ashamed. He didn't see anything wrong with the hat. He thought it was great. But then he felt something wet on his thumb. He realized it was paint.

A bubblegum pink was dotted all over in one section. He noticed the spilled bottle of paint on a desk, quickly spilling onto the floor. Trucy coughed, and took deep breaths, trying not to cry. He frantically searched for ideas on how to fix all this. His mind was blank, until he caught sight of a piece of paper in the corner of his eye.

It read:

"To my Papa,

Happy Parent's day! I love you with all my heart, Daddy!

Love, Trucy"

Now, Trucy broke into loud wails. Phoenix placed the hat on a table and ran over to sit with her., awkwardly hugging her. He rocked her and he cooed in her ear, "Shhh, it's ok, Daddy thinks it's beautiful. Daddy will fix it, ok?" She finally stopped, but she looked up at him with Doe eyes.

Phoenix continued to hug her and started to race ideas through his head once again, sweating. After a minute of rocking Trucy and thinking, he remembered the note. He ran around the room, searching for a brush or anything to write with. He found nothing, and ran out of the room for last hopes. He settled on an unused, but old, toothbrush, and reentered Trucy's room, picking the hat back up and dipping the toothbrush into the puddle of quickly drying paint on the floor.

Trucy looked at him, wondering what else could happen that would make this situation any worse.

After a few minutes or so, Phoenix dropped the toothbrush and cracked a smile. He put the hat on his head. It was a very snug fit, to his surprise. He confidently placed paint-covered hands on his hips.

The hat had a clumsily painted 'Papa' on it, but there was still a blotch of paint at the edge of the rim. Phoenix blushed.

"That could be fixed later," he said.

Trucy couldn't help but stare at him. She observed his eyes, pleading for a positive response.

After a while, she began to giggle, and then she started to laugh with all her heart's content. When she seemed to be done, she couldn't help but smile and start all over again. She ran over to Phoenix and hugged him tightly.

"I thought that nothing good could come out of this! You really ARE a superhero, aren't you Daddy?"

Phoenix had to chuckle at that statement. "Well, Truce, there is a bright side to everything, isn't there?"

THE END

A/N- Wow. This took me around two hours to write. Anyway, this is my first fanfiction, so please rate, review, and also constructive criticism about this is always appreciated! I will LOVE you if you do! Salamat Po~

-Jay