Tampons - An Ace Short

"Trucy, I'm just going to the shops, do you need me to get anything for you while I'm there?" Phoenix shouted up the stairs to his daughter. For 7 years now he'd had to shop for not one, but two people, on pretty small wages, since he lost his attorney badge. He expected Trucy to ask for magician stuff, since she was a magician, so he never saw it coming that he would ever have to shop for "lady things", as he referred to them.

"Yeah, actually. I know I usually buy them for myself, but I have a show tomorrow, and I have to prepare." She called back, "I'm out of tampons."

The second that last word hit Phoenix's ear, he wished he'd never asked. He was a man. Men weren't supposed to shop for their daughter's "lady things". He would buy decks of cards, hats, wands, boxes, food, anything but female stuff. It was a mother's job to shop for that kind of stuff! It was times like these that Phoenix wished Lamirior would just come out and say that she was Trucy's Mom so she could buy Trucy's "lady things" for her.

"U-uhm... S-sure." Phoenix stuttered.

"Thanks, Daddy! Anything regular's fine, although I do prefer Tampax Pearl, if they have those... Oh, but I also like-"

"Y-yeah, I-I think I got it now, Trucy." Phoenix interrupted, and sped out the door as fast as he could.

Guys are so weird, Trucy thought to herself. You ask for tampons and it's like the world's just ended. She giggled at this thought, before returning to practice taking an even bigger object out of her magic panties.

Okay, you can do it, Nick. All you have to do, is pick up the box, put it in the basket, and go to the till. It's not hard. Just do it quickly before anyone sees you.

This was what Phoenix Wright was thinking as he mentally encouraged himself. It shouldn't have been that hard. He'd been a famous defense attorney for 3 years, so why did it feel like this was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in his life?

Pick it up and run, Nick.

What would Trucy think if she knew her Daddy was a huge wimp?

Be a man, Nick! Men shouldn't be afraid of a little piece of absorbent fabric on string. Pick it up, Nick, pick it up and run!

But no matter how much he said this to himself, Phoenix couldn't pick up the box. It was too hard. So he stood there, looking at it, determined to pick it up, however his arms refused to move.

"Excuse me, sir, do you need any help?"

One of the sales assistants had come to see why he hadn't moved for nearly half an hour.

"U-uh... yeah. I n-need to get my daughter some... uh... t-... tam-..." Phoenix stuttered. He couldn't bring himself to say the word.

"Tampons?" The sales assistant asked.

"Uh... yeah, that box." He pointed to the box he had been staring at for the last 30 minutes.

The assistant picked up the box and placed it into Phoenix's basket with a smile. "Don't worry, you're not the first Dad that couldn't pick up a box himself."

This made Phoenix feel a lot better about himself, and now, with his shopping list all ticked off, he headed towards the checkout.

There was a loud clang as the front door opened and shut. Daddy must be back, Trucy thought to herself. She ran outside her bedroom and down the stairs.

"Hi, Daddy!" She cheered, "Did you get me my tampons?"

Phoenix bowed his head shamefully, nervous sweat dripping down his face. "I-I... I couldn't do it... I got it into the basket, a-and... w-when I got to the till... t-the box just k-kept glaring at me..."

Trucy giggled. "It's okay, Daddy, I found another box in the cupboard anyways."

"Oh, good." Phoenix wiped the sweat off his face, and then realized what Trucy had just said properly. "Y-you mean... I went through all that and there was a box in the cupboard the whole time?"

"Y-yeah... Sorry about that!" Trucy smiled, nervously scratching the back of her neck.