((Holy crap, guys! Thank you so much for all the support! I really wasn't expecting that.))
"The Door to the Wright & Co. Talent Agency is Always Open!"
This always had made Apollo a little sad. He would have felt so cool if he got his own set of keys…
Running up to the door, he twisted the brass handle and threw it open too quickly, almost breaking Mister Charley's pot. Again. That had always - would always - make him feel really bad. Like he had run up and socked his grandfather in the mouth. He was muttering an apology to him when a voice came from the tacky pleather couch facing him. "You do that every day, don't you?" She chuckled.
Apollo straightened himself up to peer over the other couch at the speaker. It was Trucy, laying oh her back like an otter with a white book in her hand. "Oh, hi." He looked down at Charley one last time to make sure he was okay before going over and plopping down on the couch across from her. Since finding out they were related Apollo wasn't entirely sure how to act around Trucy. The same? More wise and brotherly? Like a bossy older assholeish brother should? Or maybe he could just sit in stifling silence and fidget around a bit. That option seemed to work out quite well. He studied a papercut on the first joint of the pinky finger on his left hand for a solid twenty seconds before muttering "So, um… Yeah. How are you?"
Trucy didn't seem to be bugged at all about their newfound blood bond, but she continued to read for an agonizing minute before answering "Oh, Daddy told me to tell you he was going to be late getting home today."
"Okay." Apollo said with a forced shrug. Mr. Wright was like an indoor-outdoor cat. He came and went as he pleased, so this was nothing new. He grew tired of scratching at his knees absent-mindedly and looked at the loudly ticking clock for twelve CLACKing seconds before looking back at Trucy. Is she ignoring me on purpose? No! She can't be, no... no. That book must just be really… Gripping or something. Yeah. Or does she hate me? She probably does. I can see why. I suck. I hate me too. I hope I get hit by a bus. A flaming bus. Filled with rocks and angry lions. On steroids. I totally deserve that.
He cocked his head to the side to get at the right angle to read the title of the book like some retarded dog with something in its ear, anything to distract himself. "Jeremy Fink and The Meaning of Life", it had a bunch of keys on it. Just as he did this, Trucy peered up over the novel and gave him a puzzled look. Taking the head tilt as a question mark, she continued. "Well, he said he needed to go over to Prosecutor Gavin's place."
"Really? That's weird. I haven't had a case in a while, let alone one with him. Why'd he go over to his office?"
"Not his office, his house. That's what he told me, anyway."
Apollo raised an eyebrow. …The hell? "Why would…?"
"He wouldn't tell me why. Said it was secret or something."
Apollo frowned. This wasn't gonna be like the last secret mission he worked on, was it? Because that was cool and he still felt kind of left out still from not being a part of it. He hated being nosy, but he made a little mental note to snoop around a bit later. Mason II might actually make sense, and he wanted in on it.
Just then the door swung open, stopping less than an inch shy of Mr. Charley's pot. Clearly a pro's work. A scruffy man walked in and waved a little.
"Daddy!" Trucy leapt off the couch and ran over to give him a big hug, the book falling pages-down on the floor by Apollo's feet. Apollo couldn't help but feel sort of jealous, but jerky older brothers aren't supposed to want affection, so he blew it off.
"Hey, Mr. Wright. What did you need from Mr. Gavin?" Tact is for squares.
Wright put down Trucy from the hug and made a face like what would happen if you crossbred a smile and a wince. "We had some things to talk over. Don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm just stopping here for a second." He crouched down in front of Trucy and put his hand on her shoulder. "I gotta go, I'll be back tomorrow night, probably. Until then," he looked up and beamed at Apollo, cranking the calm-radiating factor of his black eyes to full blast "Apollo, can you hold down the fort? It's not that I don't trust Trucy, I'd just rather someone else is here to make sure the place doesn't burn down."
What are you doing, where are you going, and why can't I come!? "Yeah, sure."
"Arright, good, then. Thanks."
I won't let you leave until you tell me where you're going, you monster! "So… Where are you going?"
"Ah… Nothing to worry about, really. I just need to be alone a little while and run an errand and… Stuff." His smile faltered. Not really a tic, but something Apollo picked up on anyways. Phoenix Wright wasn't telling him something. This was really starting to bother him. What was it that he'd hide from his kids? Why would he go over to see Klavier? What would he need him for? And why would he have to go to the Gavin's home? That meant that it probably wasn't work-related. And now he was leaving them home alone without telling them what was happening? Overnight? What's going on, and how is this connected?
"Welp, I gotta pack…" Phoenix hoisted himself up, using Trucy's shoulders for support, and tottered off to his room, walking all bandy-legged.
"Oh, shit."
"What's with the face, Apollo?"
