I honestly didn't mean to leave it this long for another update, sorry! Anyway, this one is set just after Phoenix loses his badge.
At first, Phoenix wasn't quite sure what had woken him up. He sat up and slowly glanced around the still, dark room but found no signs of movement or sound. He lay back down a shut his eyes once more. But they flew back open a few moments later when he heard someone calling out. For a moment he froze, silently questioning why there was someone in his apartment. Then he remembered that he no longer lived alone- he still hadn't quite gotten used to that. Hastily, he climbed out of bed and made his way to the room that was slowly transforming from 'the spare room' to 'Trucy's room'. There he found Trucy sat bolt upright in bed, seemingly frozen in fear. As soon as she saw Phoenix, her trance seemed to break.
"Daddy!" she called out before bursting into tears. Instinctively, Phoenix rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug. She instantly latched herself onto him, her small hands clutching onto his t-shirt. He had never really seen Trucy cry before. She'd been living with him for almost three months now and sure, there were a few small tears about little things like getting glue in her hair and not being able to get it out or getting stuck on a particularly difficult math question. They were all normal things children got a little upset about then forgot about ten minutes later. But this was different. This wasn't annoyance or frustration. These tears were lonely and absolutely terrified. He slowly slid her onto his lap and began rocking her gently.
"Hush, it's okay" Phoenix whispered softly, running his hands through her hair "I'm sorry your Daddy isn't here, but I promise I'm trying to find him for you"
"I was calling for you" Trucy admitted quietly, her tears slowly subsiding. Phoenix was so taken aback that he found himself lost for words. He temporarily pushed those words from his mind and instead focused on calming Trucy down. Her grip on his t-shirt loosened and her sobs gradually turned into quiet sniffles and hiccups. They stayed there for a little bit longer before Trucy let out a loud yawn.
"Let's get you back to bed" Phoenix suggested, flicking back the covers and laying Trucy down. She yawned again as he pulled the covers up and over her body.
"Thanks, Daddy" Trucy mumbled sleepily.
"You're welcome, Trucy" Phoenix whispered with a smile, placing a kiss on her forehead before standing up, turning the lights off, and leaving the room. As he shut the door behind him, he glanced over to his bedroom. But after a moment of thought, he realised that he probably wouldn't be getting much sleep any time soon. So instead he walked over to the couch, sat down, and drew a long and heavy sigh.
When he had taken Trucy under his wing, he hadn't really been sure what he was doing. Her father had disappeared into thin air, she had nowhere else to go, and he had just lost his job over something he was certain wasn't his fault. To say his mind had been reeling would be an understatement. But the simple little moment of comfort that just occurred had made Phoenix realise something he hadn't had the time to consider before- Trucy trusted him, she felt safe with him, she even thought of him like a father. And, in a way, that calmed him. He had been worried she would spend her time with him feeling awkward and out of place, but thankfully that didn't appear to be the case.
Then he began to think about what kind of father Zak must have been. Sure, he appeared to care for his daughter and she appeared to love him as utterly and completely as children often did. But Phoenix couldn't help now putting all of that into question. If Trucy really did adore him as a loved daughter would, could she really have seen him as anything more than a temporary safe house- a caregiver only until her father returned for her? But what Trucy felt towards Phoenix was deeper than that. She had been in a moment of complete vulnerability and who had she called for? Him, she called out for him. Not Zak, not anyone else. Him. And that led Phoenix to believe that Zak may not have been the father he had made himself out to be.
Which then caused Phoenix to begin thinking of Trucy's mother. According to Zak, she had been killed in an accident during a show rehearsal a few years ago. However, along with other facts about the case that had cost him his badge, he was beginning to put that into question. Was she truly dead or was there more to all of this than there first appeared to be? The Troupe Gramarye seemed to have an interesting and on going habit of keeping secrets. That only made it more likely that Thalassa was, in fact, still alive. Maybe no one else knew, maybe even she didn't remember what had happened to her. But whatever was going on, Phoenix knew he had to get to the bottom of it all. He decided there and then, as he slowly began drifting to sleep, that he needed to find Trucy's mother no matter what. She deserved that much at least.
Once he finally managed to fall asleep, curled up on the couch, his last conscious thought was of Trucy's smiling face.