A/N: How dare I start another chapter fic when I haven't updated my others, I know. I suck. Well, just think of this as a reaaaaallly long oneshot. Three chapters at the most, I swear, and then back to Mornings! Also, this is terribly cliched and has probably been done before. I just couldn't help it! Love you all.

-Abracadabra-

"Do a magic trick for me, Trucy?" Phoenix leaned back in his chair and pushed his beanie down over his eyes a little, smiling.

"Of course!" She jumped up on the table and cleared her throat.

"Woaaah. Waaaargh. Hey, you almost- you did." Apollo sighed in defeat. His half-sister peered down at him and his surrogate father/boss glared.

"What's with the noises, Justice? I'm trying to watch a magic show by the best magician in all the land."

"Oh, Daddy! You're so sweet!"

"See this big brown stain all over my shirt? That's coffee."

"Oh. You're not a very neat eater, are you, Polly?"

"What? No! You did that! You! And stop shaking the table, I'm trying to write in my journal!"

Trucy ignored him, instead bouncing some more and declaring with a flourish, "It's the amazing, the fantastic, the friendly neighborhood…"

"Oh no."

"MR. HAT!" The wooden puppet burst out of nowhere, capturing Trucy's top hat, and clacked his mouth together. "Hello, everyone! Now, hold still, close your eyes, and make a wish!"

"I've never listened to a hat before, and I'm not starting now." Apollo scrubbed harder at the stain on his vest.

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Justice, I will cut your pay."

"But I- hey, you don't pay me anything."

"A-HEM! Comply immediately or face my wrath!" Mr. Hat gave him a piercing look that seemed to threaten of ominous ends if he did not…or at least the end of his just-too-tempting-to-pull hairstyle. Apollo complied. He wondered what Mr. Wright was doing. Thinking, "The wrath of a hat too much for you, Justice?!" probably.

"Now, wish…for what your heart truly desires…"

"I'd really like this stain out of my shirt, please."

"Hush! Mortal speech has no place in this realm of ethereal spirits and panties!"

"None of my panties are ethereal," Apollo muttered under his breath.

Phoenix reached over and struck him across his hair-horns. "Shut up and wish."

Rudest. Spirits. Ever.

"Abracadabra! Allakazam! and…TA-DAAAAA!"

The stained victim in question opened his eyes without waiting for permission from Mr. Hat, who had disappeared anyway. "W-woah! The stain is really gone?!" He ran his hands up and down the red vest without feeling any coffee at all. "That's really amazing, Trucy!"

Phoenix clapped enthusiastically. "That's my girl! You'll wow all the boys- just don't let them wow you, got that?"

"Of course, Daddy!" She bowed.

"Trucy, you've got a real gift for magic, never forget that."

"Can I have pudding now?"

"Of course!"

"Can I have pudding?" Her brother chimed in.

"Absolutely not. No pudding for mortals who can't even drink their coffee properly, that's what I always say."

"Yeah! That's what Daddy always says!"

"…Man…This sucks. I don't even get paid in pudding."

Apollo looked over at the clock and groaned. "Almost midnight? I should really go to sleep, but I just need to finish my opening statements for tomorrow and then I'll…I'll…" He yawned hugely. "Aw, forget it. I'll finish in the morning." Too wiped to even drag himself over to his bed, he just switched off the desk lamp and plopped his head down on his poor penmanship. Sweet sleep.

"Polly."

Sleep.

"Paaaaaaahhhhhhllieeeeeeee."

SLEEP.

"PAAAAWWWWHLLLLIEEEYYYY."

"Why are you distorting my name so- ow!" He tried to sit up so quickly that he thwacked his head on the lamp.

"That's what you get for snapping at me!" Trucy stuck her tongue out at him and perched on the edge of his bed. "Like Buddha."

Was it just that he was sleep-deprived, or did that really not make sense? "Buddha?"

"Duh. 'What goes around comes around,' Buddha said."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not right, but Buddha aside: why are you in my room in the middle of the night? Have a nightmare or something?"

She put on a thoughtful expression and stroked an imaginary goatee. "Nope. I was just wondering what you thought Daddy wished for."

"Sorry, I still have no idea what you're saying. Are we talking about Mr. Wright now or are we still on Buddha?" Apollo grimaced, trying to rub his eyes awake.

"Daddy. The magic trick. Mr. Hat. You wished for the stain to be gone, right? What did Daddy wish for?"

"I…am honestly not a mind reader. Go back to sleep, and more importantly let me go back to sleep."

She leapfrogged aggressively over the random crap that was scattered across his floor and latched onto his neck. "No WAY, Apollo! This is important! What if Daddy feels left out because I granted your wish but couldn't grant his? What if he doesn't think I'm a good magician anymore? What if…What if Daddy stops believing in magic at all?!" Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears and, despite himself, Apollo felt a wave of pity.

"Aw, Trucy, Mr. Wright will never stop believing in you. He loves you! And besides, I said my wish out loud, how could he ever expect you to know his wish?"

"B-but that's just it, P-polly! That's what magic is! It's…it's g-granting the wishes that you never tell to anyone!" The tears escaped her and started to roll down her cheeks, one by one, shining slightly in the pale light seeping in under his door from the hallway.

He hugged her awkwardly and couldn't think of anything to say. Trucy sniffled into his coffee-stain-free sweater. He thought about how much he owed her- not just for the stain thing, but for the help on all his cases, and the encouragement, and the rent. She worked really hard. He could do just this one thing for her, right? Even if it wasn't perfect, he could absolutely come up with something Mr. Wright would wish for!

"Trucy, I think I know what he wished for."

She gasped and pulled away. "Really?! What what what?"

"Um, a new bicycle." She punched his shoulder. "Ouch, hey, what was that for?"

"No way is Daddy's true desire a bike, Polly! Obviously!"

Was it just him, or did teenagers get touchier and touchier every generation? He couldn't remember ever being that violent. "Okay okay, then…I meant, of course, to say that- er, he wants you and me to live with him happily ever after. So just be good and I'm sure you'll grant his wish."

Her eyes suddenly lit up with a very, very, very dangerous gleam. It was the Mr. Hat gleam, the salty noodles gleam, the gleam that made him want to crawl under his desk and rock back and forth until she went away. "Polly!! Polly, I've GOT it!! Daddy wants…what Daddy truly wants…is…"

Apollo braced himself.

"A MOMMY!"

Bracing just didn't help, somehow.

"Oh God, Trucy, you're not really suggesting playing matchmaker for Mr. Wright, are you?"

"Not matchmaking! Mommyfinding!"

"It's the same thing! And it's insane!"

"Let's go, Polly!" She rocketed out of his chair, tears dried, and tried to contain her excitement.

"What? Not now, it's one in the morning."

"Exactly! Just think how hard it'd be to investigate while Daddy is asleep, we've got to do it now!"

Apollo started to chuckle. Then he realized she was serious.

Apollo started to whimper.

Trucy grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out into the dark agency, the only sound a faint, distressed, "Mr.Wrightisgoingtokillme, Mr.Wrightisgoingtokillme, Mr.Wrightisgoingtokillme…" lingering in their wake.