A.N: Hello, everyone! Today is the second day of Wright Family Week 2022, and today's prompt is "Costume Box & Closet". I hope you enjoy what I wrote for today!
Day Two: Trucy's Expensive Dress
Phoenix sighed as he found himself dragged by Trucy inside the store. He just knew he should have told Athena to go with Trucy instead.
After all, shopping was far from being his thing. And since girls will be girls, the second the young magician had some pocket money, it was spent on new clothes.
And since his daughter wasn't a billionaire, the defense attorney knew he would find himself paying for all of this… as always. Not that he disliked making gifts for Trucy, but she already had a closet full of clothes. Frankly, she didn't need more.
"Come on, Daddy! There's that super cute dress Aunt Maya told me about that's on sale today! If we don't hurry, they'll have run out of them!"
I'm starting to feel bad for Apollo, who had to follow her around all these times… Phoenix thought with a sweatdrop. That's why you left the nest, isn't it…?
Father and daughter entered the clothes store and were greeted by an employee.
"Good afternoon! Welcome! Is there anything I can do to help you?" a young woman asked, looking to be in-between Trucy's and Phoenix's ages. "I'm assuming this is for the young lady?"
"Right," Phoenix answered calmly, even if he was screaming inside. This is a clothes store for WOMEN! I don't look like a woman to you, do I?! Edgeworth and Maya would mock me so much if they saw me in a dress…
The employee smiled. "Alright, then. Is there anything you were looking for, young miss?"
Trucy nodded. She explained what article she was looking for. Before long, the store employee was guiding them through the countless shelves adorning piles of girly clothes.
"Is that the dress you were looking for, miss?" the clerk asked, grabbing a long pink dress from one of the shelves.
"Right!" Trucy said with stars in her eyes. "Can I try it on, Daddy?!"
Phoenix rolled his eyes and smiled. You're too old to ask me for permission, Trucy… "Sure. Go ahead."
"Thanks!"
"Will you please follow me, miss? I'll lead you to our fitting rooms."
The young magician followed the employee through a door, leaving Phoenix to wait for his daughter to get changed. He looked around to see if there was anything he could get for either Maya, Pearls, or Athena.
Say, out of curiosity… The lawyer grabbed another copy of the dress Trucy had gone to try out. Let's see… WHAT THE HECK?!
His hands began to tremble as he stared at the price tag on the dress. He rubbed his eyes once then twice, hoping he had read it wrong.
T-Three hundred d-dollars…? A-After a 50% sale…? At this moment, he recalled how much pocket money he gave Trucy each month and realized something. S-Since she never saves her money… S-She won't even have a tenth of that amount!
"I'm back, Daddy! Huh? Daddy?"
"A-Ah!" Startled, Phoenix dropped the dress and took a deep breath. "T-Trucy. You caught me off-guard there." He picked the dress off the floor and put it back on the shelf. Young lady, I'm afraid you'll have to forget about this dress for now… or find another benefactor…!
"How do I look, Daddy?"
He didn't want to break her heart, but he couldn't get her used to getting what she wanted when it costed such ridiculous amounts of money. Still, telling her how it looked on her was free. Besides, he could probably tell her that it didn't look that good to convince her not to convince him to buy it for her.
However, when he turned around and noticed his daughter wearing the dress, his eyes widened. She was adorable. Like, super cute. In other words, would-make-Pearls-fall-to-her-knees stunning.
"D-Damn, it looks amazing on you, Trucy…" he said, absolutely stunned. He was so used to seeing her wear her magician outfit or casual clothes that seeing her wear some more mature clothes surprised him. It made him feel a little nostalgic, too, as he remembered buying her kids' clothes back in the day.
But there was no way around it: Trucy was an adult now, and she would want to dress like an adult. He had seen Maya go through the same changes back then, so he knew he shouldn't feel so surprised.
"R-Really, Daddy?!" Trucy said, her eyes sparkling with hope. "Y-You really think so?!"
Phoenix nodded with a smile. "Yeah! You look stunning in this dress, Trucy. Pearls will have eyes only for you if you wear this around her."
"Daddy!"
Phoenix laughed. He would never stop teasing her, not in a million years.
"I told you it looked good on you, miss," the employee said with a sweatdrop. Phoenix figured this meant Trucy had not believed her. "If I may give a more professional opinion, it fits you to a T, miss. It's the right size, and the color highlights the color of your eyes perfectly."
"Well, why don't you buy it then, Trucy?" Phoenix suggested innocently. "It would be a waste not to get it, honestly. Especially since it's on sale, right?"
Now he was being cruel. Suddenly, Trucy's delighted expression turned into a frown. He exactly knew what she was about to say.
"W-Well, that's the thing…" she paused, taking a deep breath. "I-I don't have enough money saved up to buy it."
Yeah, called it. The Turnabout Terror thought amusingly. "Oh, you don't? That's a problem," he told her, deciding he would mess with her a bit more. "Well, I guess that's too bad, then."
The store employee looked at Trucy sadly as the magician nodded disappointingly. He disliked making her sad like that, but it was only to make her happier after, so he figured it was alright.
"Y-Yeah. W-Well, um… I-I'll go change back into my outfit now."
The atmosphere was clearly awkward as the clerk walked Trucy back inside the changing room. Phoenix shook his head and grabbed the dress he had taken a look at earlier. He walked over to the checkout and handed the dress to the cashier.
"That'll be $299.99, please," they said factually. Phoenix winced.
He took out his credit card begrudgingly. Now he would need clients desperately. Or Athena would need to have her pay cut, Edgeworth style. Each digit of his ATM code felt like a stab wound, but he felt better imagining Trucy's smile.
"Thank you, sir. Please have a nice day, and come visit us again!"
Yeah, in a thousand years maybe! Next time, you're getting Edgeworth or Maya to pay, Trucy Wright! Phoenix thought, grabbing the small bag the cashier had given him. Why are all my friends rich? Well, at least I'll never be poorer than Larry, I guess…
The spiky-haired man waited near the door for Trucy to change back and join him. After a couple of minutes, he saw her walk over to him. It was clear that she was trying to hide her sadness. Phoenix pretended not to see it.
"I'm back, Daddy," she said without much spirit. "Did you buy something for someone?" she asked, seeing the bag in his hand.
"Yeah," he replied. He technically wasn't lying. "Well, let's go. Poor Athena is all alone at the office with her paperwork. She'll jump through the window out of boredom soon."
She nodded wordlessly. Father and daughter left the store and began to head back. Considering that Phoenix couldn't drive, they needed to move on foot. Luckily, the skies were clear, and the wind was blowing gently.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Phoenix could see the regret on Trucy's face, and after a while, he decided to cut her some slack.
"There."
Without stopping in his tracks, he gave her the bag.
"Huh?" Visibly surprised, the young performer accepted it. "Do you want me to carry it, Daddy?"
"I want you to look inside, Trucy," Phoenix replied, a discreet smirk appearing at the corner of his lips.
Confusingly, Trucy's eyes narrowed on the bag before she took out its contents. Her eyes gradually widened as she noticed the familiar pink dress.
"W-What the…?!" she exclaimed out of surprise, wide-eyed. "T-That's the dress I tried on earlier!"
Phoenix shrugged. "Seems like it, yeah."
"D-Daddy… D-Did you…?" Her frustration morphed into happiness as she realized what was happening. Phoenix rolled his eyes and looked away. "D-Did you buy it for me…?"
"You were looking too cute in it," he simply told her, and while he was trying to cover it up, he was blushing slightly. "You better wear it often!"
Trucy teared up slightly as she beamed. "I-I'll wear it every day, Daddy! T-Thank you so much!"
She wrapped her arms around Phoenix's chest and hugged him closely. The lawyer smiled and reciprocated the hug. It didn't take much for Phoenix Wright to be happy nowadays, and this was thanks to the smile on the magician's face.
And seeing this smile was worth every single cent in Phoenix's bank account, and even more.
"I love you so much, Daddy!"
"I love you too, Trucy." Thank you for being in my life…
The End.
A.N: I hope you liked it! Don't hesitate to check out the fics of other writers! Anyway, please leave a review, and I'll see you tomorrow for Day Three!
